Sarah Lee
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Soldier, Poet, King
The Creed
Posts: 479
Trainer Class: 
Player Name: Barack Orama
OOC Username: Ladybug
Arena Points: 35
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Post by Sarah Lee on May 12, 2022 2:16:27 GMT 9
Sarah looked strangely at home in the endless halls, the Asian avatar framed by a hundred vermillion gates.
As Seta approached, Sarah stood up straight. She'd clicked the prompt without a second's hesitation, and was now being approached by a gold-masked figure. "I am here seeking my friend. They were taken from me," Sarah said.
Sarah kept her anger down as Seta talked. It's no more Seta's fault that I'm here than it is mine. No more my fault than it is Shinx's. "Why wouldn't they want to return?" she countered. "Shinx died as I did. Putting every last pixel. Every last scrap of their energy into saving Beta Island. That Pokemon is a hero, and we weren't parted through negligence or stupidity, but by the cruel tides of fate."
"I'm not here for atonement, Seta. I'm here for restitution. Shinx belongs at my side."
She met his eyeless stare. "Change is growth. Growth is strength. Strength is victory, and I'm a long time fan of victory. I've only ever lost once, and apparently I still came out on top. I'm here to bring my Shinx back, and he deserves a hero's welcome."
Sarah brought up her UI and sent a message to one of her very short list of friends. |
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System Admin
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Administrator
Posts: 1,415
Player Name: System
OOC Username: M00K
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Post by System Admin on May 24, 2022 0:02:22 GMT 9
"I cannot give you restitution," says the figure, immobile. They do not seem surprised by your outburst. "I can only show you the path."
They turn, and the grayness moves down the hall. They lead you to a door-shaped hole in the wall, Not a door, because that would require a barrier of some sort. Wood, a hinge. This is more like a taught black curtain strung up in a rectangular piece.
"Claim what you seek," Seta says, standing next to the door, ushering you through. "I pray you find your hero's welcome."
You pass through the darkness. It's as brief as blinking, and you find yourself in a new world.
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Sarah Lee
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Soldier, Poet, King
The Creed
Posts: 479
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Barack Orama
OOC Username: Ladybug
Arena Points: 35
|
Post by Sarah Lee on May 31, 2022 22:15:20 GMT 9
Sarah looked at the quest prompt. Around them, gray spirits roamed, shuffling from bough to bough or clambering slowly up some bright branch.
The phantoms were so pale and emaciated that they hardly looked like Pokemon anymore.
A Scyther dragged its dull, limp blades along the ground. A Magneton bumped against the base of one of the great trees, its once gleaming surface now pitted with gray rust. In the shade napped a Snorlax that must have weighed under a hundred pounds.
Sarah looking up at the overstuffed branches of the trees. Luscious fruit hung in great bouquets overhead. Welcome baskets to the afterlife held just out of reach.
"These Pokemon don't deserve to be here," Sarah said, annoyed. "Nobody does." She reached for her Pokemon and sent out Druddigon. The red faced dragon looked up hungrily at the spreading branches.
"Let's bring down the fruit," Sarah said dangerously. "We're giving these phantoms a feast." |
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Kath Ulu
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Hard Mode Survivor
Round 2
Posts: 168
Trainer Class: 
Player Name: Heather West
OOC Username: kathulu
Arena Points: 10
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Post by Kath Ulu on Jun 1, 2022 0:09:41 GMT 9
Kath Ulu sat on a big tree branch and AXIOM207 floated just behind Sarah Lee, taking the situation in.
"Brutal stuff," Kath whispered to AXIOM207. "Imagine if Grookey ended up here, haha."
"Haha," AXIOM207 replied without really laughing, "anyway, I think I can distract some of these pokemon to make it easier for Sarah to get her powerplug - I-I-I- I mean her SHINX back, yes."
"Whatcha got, nerd?"
"I'm loading up a gacha game on my laptop. I think this should distract that pack of starving Heracross, at least."
"Nice," Kath turned and whispered to Sarah Lee. "Hey, bestie, we're going to create a distraction!" |
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Sarah Lee
•
Soldier, Poet, King
The Creed
Posts: 479
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Barack Orama
OOC Username: Ladybug
Arena Points: 35
|
Post by Sarah Lee on Jun 5, 2022 12:01:28 GMT 9
The phantoms gravitated towards the bright colors and predatory design of the gacha game flashed on AXIOM207's laptop, and Sarah smiled. "Yes. YES! AXIOM207 you're a genius!"
The grayed Pokemon crowded around the only source of enrichment in this terrible purgatory, and as one of the Heracross rolled a 4 Star DPS character, Sarah gave the sign to Druddigon. The dragon headbutted one of the trees, and fruit fell like gifts from heaven. The phantoms swarmed, chewing into the sweet flesh, while those that missed out on the bounty took up the controls of the game, mashing buttons and collecting premium currency, saving up for that next pull of the slot machine.
With the phantoms distracted by food and flashing lights, Sarah was free to look for Shinx. She spotted a flash of blue high in one of the trees, and she headed for the base of the mini-Yggdrasil. "Kath! Keep them distracted. Maybe increase the drop rate of a sexy character? That should keep their attention."
She climbed the rough bark, hard hands pulling her upwards into the mess of branches. "Shinx! I'm her to take you home!" she called, eyes peeled for another flash of blue. |
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Kath Ulu
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Hard Mode Survivor
Round 2
Posts: 168
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Heather West
OOC Username: kathulu
Arena Points: 10
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Post by Kath Ulu on Jun 5, 2022 17:41:10 GMT 9
"A sexy character? Smart," AXIOM207 tried to act innocent. "I happen to have on ready to go."
"Good job, pervert," Kath said. "Now target that gang of Simisages!"
"Simisage? More like Simpisage," AXIOM207 quipped. He released the sexy character into the loot pool, and watched as the Simisages tore each other apart for a go.
"Yeah, good one, nerd," Kath clapped him on the back extra hard.
An enormous Grumpig looked up at the sound of slapping rock. It ignored the falling food, and started waddling toward the source of the noise.
"Shit," Kath said, nursing her hand, "That grumpig is gonna spot us!"
"Time to turn that Grumpig," AXIOM207 sent out a targeted discount on premium currency, "Into our Paypig!"
"Hell yeah!" Kath frowned, "So gross."
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Sarah Lee
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Soldier, Poet, King
The Creed
Posts: 479
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Barack Orama
OOC Username: Ladybug
Arena Points: 35
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Post by Sarah Lee on Jun 7, 2022 10:19:07 GMT 9
Up in the canopy, Sarah clung to the branch. She'd made the mistake of looking down, and now she had to deal with the knowledge that one bad handhold could send her right to the ground. I wonder what happens if I die in the Everworld? Do I white out as normal? Do I become a phantom?
Something whined nearby, and Sarah forced herself to crawl further down the branch. She pushed aside a sprig of emerald leaves, and there they were: a little blue cub huddled shivering on the branch. They'd climbed up to get food, but since all the fruit hung down they couldn't get at it.
"Shinx!" Sarah said, and the Pokemon jumped. She winced. "No. Shhh, it's me. I'm here to bring you back."
Shinx turned around. Something about them looked different. They looked thinner, for a start, and there was a creeping greyness to their blue fur, as if the color was leeching out of them. "Save me?" asked the Shinx. The voice was feminine. Sarah had never heard her speak before.
"Yeah," Sarah said, swallowing. She reached out an arm and pulled Shinx in close, holding her against her body. "I've got you. Don't worry." |
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Sarah Lee
•
Soldier, Poet, King
The Creed
Posts: 479
Trainer Class:
Player Name: Barack Orama
OOC Username: Ladybug
Arena Points: 35
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Post by Sarah Lee on Jul 4, 2022 14:07:08 GMT 9
Down below, one of the phantoms hit a 5-Star character and Druddigon slammed into the tree, shaking it so hard that the branch underneath Sarah snapped. It happened too fast to do anything. Too quickly to call for help, or send out another Pokemon. One moment she had an arm around Shinx, and the next she was falling, her vision tilting upwards as everything fell out from under her.
Time slowed, her mind and body lost. Ungrounded.
Is this it? she wondered absently, as the tree, branch, fruit, and world revolved around her. Is it over?
The only anchor she had was the ball of blue fur that she held to her chest. A friend saved, at any cost.
Scaled arms caught her from the air, pulling her in and holding her close, just as she held Shinx to herself. She looked up, blinking, the shock of the fall still running through her body and numbing her brain. A brutish red face smiled down at her.
"Thank you," she said pressing into Druddigon's chest. Shinx said something too, but it was smothered by the tight ball of emotion that the three of them were making.
The sounds of gacha games dinging and sparkling and rewarding luck-based gameplay sounded through the orchard, and Sarah unwound from her spot in Druddigon's arms. They were surrounded by phantoms. Hungry ghosts that gorged themselves on the fallen fruit. They looked better already. The Snorlax was filling out nicely and the Scyther was slowly cutting up an apple, its blades sharper than before.
Sarah picked up a piece of fruit and offered it to Shinx. The little lion opened its mouth and swallowed it whole, almost taking off one of Sarah's fingers. "Hey!" she said, pulling her hand back just in time and laughing. "Hungry, huh?" Shinx nodded.
"Can I have more?" Shinx asked, hunger burning in her eyes. "I'm starving."
Sarah grabbed several pieces of dropped fruit. She fed a purple one to Shinx. "You can have as much as you want, Shinx." Shinx gobbled down the rest, seemingly famished from their time in the Everworld. "We need a name for you. I can't keep calling you Shinx."
The little blue Pokemon jumped from her arms, darting between the legs of a Heracross phantom to snatch another piece of fruit. It bounced back to Sarah, full of energy. "Call me Fall!" |
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System Admin
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Administrator
Posts: 1,415
Player Name: System
OOC Username: M00K
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Post by System Admin on Jul 6, 2022 0:30:13 GMT 9
As the newly-named Fall bounces back to Sarah Lee, fruit clasped in its jaws, the color fades from the already pale world.
"Your hunger for restitution never outshadowed your Pokemon's," says Seta from somewhere nearby. "You have passed the Trial of Hunger."
The gray at the edge of your vision pushes close, engulfing you and your saved soul, and then a flash of vermillion as you find yourself back in the hall you started in. Back at the crossroads.
Red gates fill the sky, and Seta is nowhere to be found, though his words echo in your mind long after you leave the halls.
"Nothing leaves the Everworld unchanged."
Shinx has been restored to Sarah Lee's box.
Shinx has learned Grav Apple! |
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