[ti]story[/ti]MODERN REVIVAL

Sae- Um, Lord Blackthorne had filed in to Bunya's lab with everyone else. It was- odd. An event had never ended like that before, and the office was in a bit of chaos- Apparently some data had been lost. Reports had come in of some players losing items- Sae figured from what he could glean that it was all tied to Bunya's event. Some players just... respawned and had nothing to show for it.

Maybe he was lucky, then. Blackthorne pulled up his ui, tabbing to his inventory. There was a Spell Tag, which he had certainly never picked up, and an Armor Fossil. Which he had.... also not picked up. Had quest rewards been scrambled? Was there a player out there with things he had gained? Someone probably quite happy to have an Arctozolt, which... well, they weren't his favorite.

But, also, neither were Shieldon. He pulled the fossil out, looking at it, and paused to look around the room. A bunch of other players were there... including one holding a Plume Fossil.

Sae just stared at him. Alistair... loved Archen. Adored him. He liked a lot of bird pokemon, of course, but Archen was special. And he'd said in texts that he was looking for one. And one was... right there. Sae swallowed. He- He could do this. He could be brave.

Summoning his courage, he walked over to Big Bee, taking a breath and smiling. "Excuse me- I have to say, I don't quite think that suits you." Blackthorne said, eyes flicking to the kind of small Plume Fossil. "Perhaps... something a bit tankier would be better?" He mused, holding up the curved edge of the Armor Fossil.

Watching as some players spawned in to revive fossils and others spawned in to check their loot, Cypress would slowly approach the machine, both fossils in hand.

It was honestly a scary moment when the noises grew louder and louder in Mistra, the sudden ringing in her ears as suddenly, everything seemed to cut out with a error and connection lost pop-up.
But then, just as things seemed to go still, there was a sudden rush of colour - she had appeared in Briarbane, small cuts quickly healing all over her person (so much like the small cuts she'd get on her hands when she was picking up pine branches during the gentle heat of summer, laughing with-) and cold snow atop her head and shoulders to snap her out of a fleeting memory. It was at this moment she remembered to take a breath, shaky as it may be, and send out Spearmint. Just to check if something had happened (she didn't want anything to have happened, please no, please don't let her be-)

The good news out of all of this was that the Fomantis was not only with her, but also was none the worse for wear - just shaken up a bit (and really, the wolf hybrid couldn't blame her - in an environment like that, and dealing with the slow encroachment of Corruption, anyone would have been shaken up.)
But still, the chance that something could have happened, that Spearmint or her could have been hurt by whatever the Corruption was or worse...it frightened her.
Deeply.
In a way she had felt only once before-

...No. No.

Somehow, someway, Cypress wanted to protect those close to her.There could be - no, there had to be a way for her to protect those she held dear; both her team, and her potential allies.
But how?
For now, the answer would lay a mystery.

A mystery even more so than Professor Bunya's appearance now - having shed her 'corpornyal form', she still seemed the same, cheerful and willing to do science. But still, the creation of that lawnmower-based fossil machine, the lights darkening for only a moment, the screaming of a scared man as he ran for the hills - this didn't feel safe.

But if this is the only way to revive the fossils, what does she have to lose?

So, with a shaky heart, and shaking hands, Cypress would move the fossils to be carefully held in an arm, open the lid, and with a shaky inhale and exhale, place the Claw Fossil first,

Lights darkened, lightning flashed, and with a 'ding', it was done, the lid opening almost in perfect sync. REVIVAL SUCCESS!

And from it, stepped out a pokemon. Or, more specifically, scuttled out.
A strange looking crab (for that was the only way to really describe it) with white and red feathers on its sides, looked around the lab for a moment, as if it wasn't believing it was real, before their eyes focused on her.
For a moment, neither being said anything. Until finally, the Old Shrimp spoke.
"Who are ya, lass?"

"Ah - um," Cypress began, ears unknowingly flattening to the sides of her head - she wasn't expecting a sudden barrage of questions. "Well - currently, we're in the Professor's lab...and my name's Cypress."
"Cypress..." The Anorith began, seemingly turning the word around in their mind. "Cypress. A strong name. Wonderful - a pleasure to meet ya'."
"Likewise."
Seeing the success of the Claw Fossil, the Anorith opting to skitter about around the hybrid, Cypress's eyes moved to the other fossil in her hand - a simple little sail, encased in blue.
With a inhale and exhale, it too was placed into the machine, and with a ding, another Pokemon stepped out.
A small cyan dinosaur with rounded sapphire eyes, sails glowing a curious yellow as it too, glanced around the area almost timidly, before hiding behind the Anorith, who blinked in surprise. "W-Where am I?"
"Yer in a...Professor Lab, from what I've learned," The shrimp began, motioning with a pincer. "That strong lady over there's named Cypress, she's the one who helped you out."

The Amaura peeks from around the Old Shrimp, looking up into odd eyes with a cheerful green-yellow glow to the sails ("Nice to meet you, um...miss Cypress!") before returning to their hiding place.

Silence encroaches once again, and this time it is broken ever so quickly, the two fossil 'mon approaching seemingly as one (the anorith first and the amaura following behind them, the moon reflecting the sun, so much like how you were on your first day, nervously shadowing the other new hire-)
"Where 'ya going after this?"
A blink and a seemingly automatic response.
"Anywhere."
"Anywhere?"
A realization, and yet despite it, a little smile.
"Yeah! There's so much outside the lab to see and do! Would you...do you want to come with me?"

The Anorith appeared to think about it for a few moments, before nodding. "Anythin' beats laying in a ocean forever. What about you?" They turned to the Amaura. "What are you gonna do now?"
"I...I'm not sure. The Tundra Pokemon began, looking down to the floor as their sails turned blue. "I don't know. I'm not even sure what I'm going to do, and..."

Cypress crouched down to the dino's level, a idea on what to say lighting up within her. "Well, why don't you come with me and Anorith here? There's lots to see and do on the open road, maybe we'll find what you want to do there!"

The fossil pokemon seemed to ponder it, before coming out from behind the Anorith completely. "Y-Yeah!" The dinosaur chirped, sails returning to a cream and pink hue, before turning emerald green. in happiness "Let's go on the open road together!"

The bug type chuckled at seeing their new allies socialize together.
"Couldn't have said it any better myself. 'Right then, let's walk this road."

And with that, two Pokemon were caught.

Amaura and Anorith have been revived!

Blackthorne tried to not obviously brighten like a giddy child when Big Bee traded the plume fossil for his own. He took it gently, just looking at it, distantly realizing that the other player was still talking. "Ah- well- maybe, I'm sure!" He said, about instantly fumbling teh bag now that he'd stopped focusing on his Lordly Persona. He tried to recover. "Maybe you'll be able to trade up to a legendary." Blackthorne offered a smile.

Plume fossil in hand, Blackthorne patiently waited his turn, almost reluctantly holding his fossil up to Bunya- watching as the void-shape snatched it up, and squinted at it. He almost swore she mumbled something as she looked at it- "A snyack?"- but it was too fast for him to catch, and soon enough the fossil was dropped in the machine, which roared with a terrible noise.

At the point where Blackthorne started worrying for the safety of everyone in the lab, the machine quieted, a little beaked face pushing the lid open, a small and incredibly naked archen falling out, and instantly starting to cry.

Big Bee said:

"Maybe I can even trade it up to something wild, like that guy with the red paperclip."

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Jade from somewhere behind Big Bee, scowling like a teen dragged along to a family picnic. "Talk straight, bandana guy, you still owe me for that thing with the aliens out on the pier."

The scanty ninja character was standing in the middle of the room with her arms folded over her chest, hands clamped protectively in both armpits like she'd been stuffed into an invisible straitjacket. Jade generally liked the default temperature in this game, which is why it had been a shock to spawn back in covered in snow. If she'd known there would be a winter level she'd have crafted her character wearing a damn jacket.

Was she freaked out? Oh, you better believe it.

First thing she'd checked on respawn was her Pokemon. Goose was fine, and everyone else was there too. No talk of this Everworld or whatever spooky afterlife people were always talking about. Second thing she'd checked was herself: covered in scratches and prickles, sure, but even creepier that she watched them vanish before her eyes. That's just unnatural. Then again, nothing about any of this was natural.

"So if we're just gonna stand here and not worry about all this—" she jerked her head at the weird, dark shadow that had once been a weird, magical catgirl— "Or that guy..." She was referring to the live human man who'd popped out of the machine during the demonstration. "Or that bone thing..." What kinda fossil was shaped like a ball? "...then I guess I'm next."

She stood in line, taking longer than necessary to fish what felt like literal bricks out of her inventory. That was 90% of the reason she'd shown up here— the fossils hadn't let her throw them away (some kinda inventory management mechanic), which for Jade on Realistic meant they just kept showing back up in her pack.

Guess I'll try this one, she thought, picking on a whim and putting the slightly smaller Claw Fossil into the hood of the bastardized lawnmower first. She leapt back like a startled cat, skin prickling, as shadowy electricity sparked all around the device. "Is this safe?!" she demanded, flinching visibly as the Fossil Machine dinged like a rice cooker to show it was done.

Gingerly, she pried it open again. To her relief, the result was not anything human, but instead a bug Pokemon with big googly eyes. "Aw..." she said, heart instantly melting, then stopped herself before picking it up. Her heart pounded like a startled rabbit.

What am I doing?

What was this game doing to her? Seeing giant bugs as cute? What was next, getting a pet tarantula?

Congratulations! ANORITH has been revived!
Sassy nature. Very finicky.

The Anorith peered skeptically up at her. If it wasn't clearly below eye level, Jade might think it was looking down on her. <So this is the future, huh?> it said. <I thought it would be more... well, never mind.>

"Mmm, join the group," Jade said. She collected the bug and stepped out of line for a sec to recombombulate. It'd take her a minute to get out her Jaw Fossil anyway, since it had re-spawned itself at the bottom of her backpack.

Next time she looked at the Anorith, she did a double-take and bit back a swear. There were three more of them now, smaller ones swarming around the original. "Where'd you come from?" she asked incredulously, wondering if she'd have to feed all of them.

<Oh, this is my posse,> said the Anorith, as if that was obvious. <They're my friends.> She said it as if to emphasize Jade was not part of that select group. The Catcher hitched her mouth to the side, weighing up whether to be annoyed or not, and decided it wasn't worth it.

"Gotta ask Roger what to name you."

<Um, I already have a name? And it's Megan.>

"Megan. Great." Jade blew a strand of hair out of her eyes, wondering whether it was even worth reviving the second one.

With Parker cradled in one arm, Bee hopped back in line. With so many new, screaming Pokemon it felt like he was in line to drop someone off at a daycare, or to attend a Wiggles concert.

"Where are we??" asked the big-jawed baby. "Why is it so light??"

"It's a lab! You were...revived here I guess? Do you remember anything from before?"

"No!!" she squawked. She leaned forward, and Bee let her gnaw happily on his hand while they waited for a chance to revive Relicanth.

Now at the front of the line, Bee tenderly placed the gill fossil in the machine. The curved lines of rock and bone looked almost like an ancient wi-fi signal. He shut the lid one-handed, and stepped back.

After the machine's now familiar humming, the lid popped, and before Bee had a chance to reach in a massive, rocky head pushed the lid fully open. Relicanth swam languidly up and out of the machine. Its body was studded with patches of opal scales that glimmered in the lab lights. The ancient fish swam in slow circles around him, and Bee tried to follow it for a few laps before getting nauseous. "I'm Big Bee," he said, turning his head. "What's your name?"

"....I still remember the Before Times. Vainly swimming in the endless dark..."

That was a shock. What did this Pokemon know? Was it talking about what happened to Lentimas? "Wow really? What was in the Before Times? Other Pokemon? People?"

"...Well I don't know. It was dark, wasn't it?" replied the creature. It huffed air out of its stony gills in little puffs of grating laughter.

"Okay great. Well what's your name?"

"...You may call me...Odyssey."

Big Bee said:

"So what do you say? I'll trade you this pristine, brand new fossil for that jaw bone. As an apology for the thing with the aliens."

Jenny had a real problem saying no to people, especially when she had no good reason to. "It's mine! I dug it up fair and square!" and "But I really want to keep this one specific Pokemon I've never heard of!" weren't very strong excuses, and lying never even crossed her mind.

Grimacing, eying Big Bee like she could still yoink it back at any second, she held out the cinderblock-heavy chunk of jawbone. "Sure, whatever. Let's swap, see if you can get a house out of it. ...Actually, hell, if you do, I get dibs on a spare room. Deal?" Couldn't be anything but an upgrade from Russell's trailer.

The Armor Fossil or whatever the hell was even heavier than the jaw one had been, and Jade found herself counting down the seconds in her head as she waited in line for the creepy machine to revive it. When she finally found herself at the front again, she lugged the rock forwards, propping it up against her hip while she slapped with her elbow at the lawnmower hood to pop it open.

<Wow, you might want to like, work on your technique,> said Megan the Anorith, followed by a chorus of <Yeeeeah!>s from the peanut gallery. Jade shot them a dirty look and managed to tip the fossil into the machine, closing the lid after it.

When it reopened (post—activation sequence), a little sauropod with a large, polished black face blinked up at her.

Congratulations! SHIELDON has been revived!
Sassy nature. Sturdy body.

"Hey little buddy," Jade said, bending down to peer at it a bit closer. "You're sure a—"

<Ew, oh my god,> it said, in a voice eerily similar to Megan's. Jade felt her stomach sink into a pool of terrible, terrible dread. <Where am I? This is weird.>

Another one? Are you goddamn serious?

The Shieldon clambered out of the Revival Machine, jumping down onto the litter-strewn linoleum. <Hello?? Where's my posse at?>

"No. Nono!" Jade cut the dinosaur off, attempting to seize it around the middle like a small dog and hoist it off the ground. It was every bit as heavy as it had been as a fossil and she found herself staggering. "You're not gonna call a bunch of mini-mes. I don't got enough Pokemon chow to feed all of you, so you're just gonna have to tell the rest of your little clique to—"

<Um, she's with us?> Megan interrupted. The Shieldon saw her and brightened immediately. <Hey girl!>

<Oh my god, hey girl!! It's been like, 10 billion years?>

"I wanna sign out," said Jade, looking for an exit.

Dr. Bunya shedding her corporeal form was creepy, but it was also a relief to see her be human again instead of a ghost. The huge bag of fossils became Pokémon he imagined had never seen before on UNOVR; he was quite jealous of Nero 's Aerodactyl. The rock-type fossil Pokémon possessed incredible speed, though he was uncertain how much of that speed he would be able to utilize, given UNOVR's height limit in the air.

As he would find out in due time, the Pokémon he revived from the PLUME FOSSIL would be able to carry him into the sky once he jumped through a few hoops: evolution and a trip to the Identity Parlor. All his plans seemed to revolve around that seedy place in the back alleys of Briarbane, didn't it?

When the Professor asked who was next, Josh raided his hand, handing over the fossil when prompted. The dimming lights and lightning coming from the device made the scout flinch, nearly getting singed by a stray bolt before the machine dinged, revealing a small Archen that came to rest on the Pokémon racer's head. "Welcome to the team, Terry," Josh named the rock-type.

"I waited eleven thousand years to be with a crazy like you?!" the cranky bird screeched, Josh not expecting the fossil Pokémon to speak to him. "I see that Liepard outside; how can you treat her like that?" he continued to rant, positively disgusted at the sight of a saddle that was obviously too small for the trainer to even sit in. To him, it wasn't right!