[ti]location[/ti] PRECIPICE SHRINE

Codie blips into being, his pink and blue form stark against the harsh blacks and whites of the landscape.

Viewed from above, he looks almost like a sprite from a video game. A single, blocky fighter jet against a background of endless blackness.

Twin lasers shoot from his eyes, splitting and crisscrossing at a thousand points as they project a sweeping grid down into the furthest recesses of the Precipice Shrine. In a moment he is done. The unknown has been scanned. Analyzed. Mapped? It is hard to say, but some quantity has been surveyed.

Codie buzzes to himself as the data is processed and logged, and an instant later he is done.

The fabric of the world twists, and Codie disappears.

Max was coming to the shrine to heal after the nosepass battle and scaught somebody sending pokemon into it. She looked furious, and walked OVER. "what the bloody earth is wrong with you?!" She was appauled, her Fidough in her arms also despairing at the action having hidden in her hair. "Pokemon are living beings like us! You really have no heart!" Tuesday

The Bloody Earth?

Is that something said by the kids these days? Were it not for the odd expression, Tuesday would have likely completely ignored Maxine Mayfield and gone on her merry way, but as fate would have it, it's her utter confusion upon hearing such an unusual combination of words that causes the Alchemist to pause and turn to look at the girl.

Is this person insane?

Unlikely, for insanity is much more rare than what many would like the world to believe, but her avatar does indeed look like no more than a teenager, so logic dictates that she's probably a child who can't tell the difference between a game and reality. Poor thing.

It's for the child's sake that Tuesday decides to be charitable and teach her a valuable lesson today.

With a click of the golden pokéball clipped to her belt, a SKWOVET is released to be held by the scruff, which keeps it still as it would with a dog or a cat. The pokémon trembles, fluffy tail between its hind legs, yet Tuesday's ruby and sapphire gaze remains fixed on the child.

"UNOVR is a game. You'll do well to remember that, girl."

No more is said before the Pokémon is tossed into the abyss, and allowing no time for a response or retaliation, Tuesday turns to take her leave. She steps upon the shrine's glorious lavender fields, giving an acknowledging nod when glancing in Genesis' direction.

Just like that, Tuesday leaves, her every step creating ice that she glides upon as if she were skating. Her RAINBOW FLAME CLOAK billows, white feathers gleaming under the sun while specks of gold are left behind by the Alchemist – carried away by the chill breeze of the Misty Timberland.

TUESDAY SACRIFICES SKWOVET TO THE PRECIPICE SHRINE

I’m quite tired of fish.
Perhaps some lamb, instead?

This is what the abyss had said.

When corruption had overtaken the Birchwild and its spawn had perceived her as the greatest of threats, Tuesday had prayed to the Precipice for its aide. The reasons as to why she had done such a thing are something the Alchemist is yet to admit to herself, but doubtlessly, when her stolen circlet had grown cold and the master of the shrine had spoken into her mind, the response she had given her had been... a fucking joke.

The AI must have known, right?

It must have seen her actions, read her thoughts, and determined that this simple mockery, this seemingly joking suggestion, would lead Tuesday on an unofficial quest that many would have given up on in seconds. After all, Mareep, the only lamb in Asper, had been System Admin:ProfessorAsh's request for people too – the special hunt of the Surging Steppes. No one had found one in the Steppes while the ASPER SAMPLING quest was ongoing. Only Sarah Lee had rescued one from poachers. And yet, despite growing increasingly aware of some of these facts, because of these deceptive words, Tuesday had grown determined to find a Mareep for the Precipice.

Time and again, she returned to Asper's Route 3, fighting her way through everything the Steppes might throw at her. Storms, dragons of steel, mighty Yanma... She had defeated them all, and now a Mareep hangs from ice chains over the centre of the shrine — a Cryogonal overhead, holding it in place without a complaint.

She had achieved it.

She had done as the Precipice wished.

For what purpose?

Perhaps that in itself is what she intends to answer when gloved hands come together, fingers intertwining as a melodious soprano speaks a prayer by the edge of the abyss:

"O Precipice.
O Abyss.
O bringer of the all-consuming mist.
She whose fields of lavender give us endless illusion and dream.
Feast and thrive.
Lamb, as asked."

A simple nod causes the Cryogonal to unravel its chains, releasing their prey. The lamb falls into the darkness, bleating until the very end, and while mismatched eyes stare into the shrine's depths, the Alchemist looks... content.

TUESDAY SACRIFICES MAREEP TO THE PRECIPICE SHRINE

Valentine wasn't the type to sacrifice Pokemon willy-nilly, that much was clear. But her box was getting full with Pokemon she didn't really need for much of anything, Pokemon that might be able to find a better home in the Everworld... and, of course, Logan had read about a way to enter some special event in the game that involved specific sacrifices. It was a win-win situation: clear Valentine's box, get the Pokemon a new home, unlock the event. Right?

As long as she didn't feel too bad for the Pokemon being sacrificed along the way, anyway...

But never mind all that. On to the sacrifices.

Red meat.

Valentine had never had to consider before what kind of meat cats were. Valentine... would rather not be considering that now, either. But it had to be done. As it turned out, cats were red meat, according to the Internet, and so she left the Poke Ball for her Purrloin--a hard-won battle at the time, but she had no purpose for the Pokemon now, and could always get more if she changed her mind--at the edge of the Precipice as her first sacrifice.

White meat.

Valentine had planned on keeping that Rufflet she caught initially, she really had. But she didn't need it, not really, not when she already had two other Flying-types that were nearer and dearer to her heart. So his Poke Ball, too, was left at the edge of the Precipice.

Vegetable.

This one had never had any other purpose. She'd caught the Paras specifically because she'd heard about this challenge, had no need for another Grass-type when her beloved Nova was by her side. The third Poke Ball was left as a sacrifice without so much as a second thought.

That would do it, right? That would be enough. It had to be.

"So this is a shrine..."

He peered past the rim of the black hole. The abyss's gaze looked back at him. Its gaze is fathomless and unknowable.

"What do I do?" He questioned aloud. Hoping for some sort of answer to his woes.

"I need to heal my Pokemon... Can you do that?"

He asked out loud, expecting no answer.

And perhaps that was for the best.

Redead stretches with a wide yawn. Looking down into the abyss he gives a wave to it. Though not expecting any sort of response he starts talking regardless of who or what can hear him. "Right! So my Pokemon aren't beaten to an inch of their lives this time! But they do need some healing. So get to it, Shrine! Chop! Chop!" Hopefully, the shrine wouldn't get too offended at his crassness. But he really needs to go run around in the wild more. And he couldn't do that with exhausted pokemon! So the shrine needed to its job! Stat!