Frontier Town The Wanderin' Zera

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Lyle's mouth dropped after hearing the Voice's explanation. Did- Did it just imply that their ability to fight effectively in this world was completely dependent on it? What if something happened to the Voice? Were they supposed to just lay down and die if they got into a serious battle? Reshiram's Fur, why on earth would it think that was a good idea?

He paused after remembering his encounter with Mhynt the last week or so. He remembered that he'd suggested that maybe the reason why the Voice didn't bring a party of only humans was because it didn't fully trust that things wouldn't turn out the same way as when the last ones came? Was that why this 'connection' was also there, too?

Was this all just a way to keep them all in line?

Lyle noticed Sonora staring at them and fidgeted his forepaws with each other.

"... Sorry, we've just had a lot on our minds lately."

 

[AdamArtDraws]

That... may have been my fault. I was unconscious at the time, focused entirely on creating a link to the Silver Ravine distortion, to improve my connection to you in this region. By the time I came to my senses, the fight was already almost over. I am so, so sorry.

"If it's as you say then it's not your fault, Cloudy. Just bad timing, live and learn," Felin thought to them. She wished they'd been present for her to pat them on their amorphous wispy head.

"Right then, it sounds like that beast wouldn't have been easy to handle even if our guys had been at their best," Felin said as she shot Sonora a glance, and then turned her gaze at the others. "However, something tells me we can't just let it be either. I see two possibilities here."

She raised two fingers on her paw. "Either that was a one off unfortunate encounter, or wherever our guys were going might have more of those monsters. And If it tracked them down specifically, then this might have something to do with why we were called here at all."

 

[Jackie Cat]

So…you’re telling me our coordination is somehow your doing? Without you we’re just fucked? How does that even work?

Lyle's mouth dropped after hearing the Voice's explanation. Did- Did it just imply that their ability to fight effectively in this world was completely dependent on it? What if something happened to the Voice? Were they supposed to just lay down and die if they got into a serious battle? Reshiram's Fur, why on earth would it think that was a good idea?

Without the coordination granted by the network I provide, you are simply as strong as you are, and as experienced as you are. You must fight the way any pokémon fights.

You are not just fucked without me, Odette! However, the coordination is how you were able to defeat Empoleon Ignatius and his allies in battle, against all odds. With my help, you can defeat much stronger opponents.

Lyle... I do not understand...! All I said was that I was not able to provide the network at the time. I explained this before – I augment your ability to battle as a group. In this way, I give you an ability your opponents do not have. Is that... somehow a bad idea...? I do not want any of you to lie down and die...!

The voice sounded utterly distraught.

If it's as you say then it's not your fault, Cloudy. Just bad timing, live and learn.

I very much want to live, and also to learn! I will try hard, Felin!

“Nothing. You’re fine. Got lost in the thought of strangling everyone who got on that wagon. Affectionately, of course.”

"... Sorry, we've just had a lot on our minds lately."

"Right then, it sounds like that beast wouldn't have been easy to handle even if our guys had been at their best. However, something tells me we can't just let it be either. I see two possibilities here. Either that was a one off unfortunate encounter, or wherever our guys were going might have more of those monsters. And If it tracked them down specifically, then this might have something to do with why we were called here at all."

Sonora's face looked overcast.

"Yeah, I won't lie to ya... I don't much hope to face that thing in battle myself. 'Least, not without a lot of help. If it could take out those angels all on its own, I'll bet it would take a larger, stronger team to beat it. That special 'spark' y'all had at the gala would help, too."

She scratched her cheek-fur in thought.

"I'm no shaman or priest or what-have-you. But I get the awful feelin' Felin here might be right. What better t'fight demons, than angels?"

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Without the coordination granted by the network I provide, you are simply as strong as you are, and as experienced as you are. You must fight the way any pokémon fights.

You are not just fucked without me, Odette! However, the coordination is how you were able to defeat Empoleon Ignatius and his allies in battle, against all odds. With my help, you can defeat much stronger opponents.

Lyle... I do not understand...! All I said was that I was not able to provide the network at the time. I explained this before – I augment your ability to battle as a group. In this way, I give you an ability your opponents do not have. Is that... somehow a bad idea...? I do not want any of you to lie down and die...!

So the Voice was able to pick up on their thoughts. Lyle would have to keep that in mind for the future. He wasn't sure whether or not the Voice's explanation made him feel better, but things probably weren't as bad as he thought? He got the distinct feeling that they were all in a lot deeper over their heads than they'd thought coming to Forlas, but at least the Voice seemed like it didn't deliberately intend them harm.

He should probably take a break from thinking about things before his head spun harder.

Sonora's face looked overcast.

"Yeah, I won't lie to ya... I don't much hope to face that thing in battle myself. 'Least, not without a lot of help. If it could take out those angels all on its own, I'll bet it would take a larger, stronger team to beat it. That special 'spark' y'all had at the gala would help, too."

She scratched her cheek-fur in thought.

"I'm no shaman or priest or what-have-you. But I get the awful feelin' Felin here might be right. What better t'fight demons, than angels?"

"... Wait, 'angels'? Are you talking about us here? Since... we've honestly aren't all that different from the other Pokémon we've been running into here," he said. "If we really came with some sort of divine power or whatever, I'm not really seeing it."

Though perhaps they never would see it. He definitely didn't think that there was anything out of the ordinary going on when they were fighting Ignatius, even if the Voice had mentioned that there was quite a bit going on behind the scenes. If they really were these 'angels', would they really notice anything unnatural until it was pointed out?

 

[AdamArtDraws]

I very much want to live, and also to learn! I will try hard, Felin!

"That so? I'll be rooting for you then," Felin thought again to it. She meant every word.

"... Wait, 'angels'? Are you talking about us here? Since... we've honestly aren't all that different from the other Pokémon we've been running into here," he said. "If we really came with some sort of divine power or whatever, I'm not really seeing it."

"We might not seem all that different but I'll be damned if our patron isn't fueling us with something a little extra to make our jobs easier," Felin said to him before finally taking a gulp from her drink. Even in a tense situation she still kept her appetite. "Would be moot to call on offworld folk for help if we're not different from folks already here. It'd be like... hiring novice rescuers from the air continent to take care of a local problem in the water continent."

There was a moment of pause when Felin crinkled her brow and realized her analogy would be completely lost on everyone in the room. She hoped the point went across just fine though.

 

[Namohysip]

Gerome eyed them all with a curious frown before looking over at Sonora. Then, he addressed the others, "...Right. You'll wanna be more discrete about starin' off into space in public. Y'know. Just some personal advice."

 

[Sinderella]

Yeah, yeah, I deduced that. I’d rather not lie down and die either, I just needed the clarification. Thanks.

Of course it took some divine intervention to get a group of alien shmucklings in line to fight a political figurehead. But facing probable demonic experiments would likely be another story.

All the more reason why we needed to fucking plan for it!

Sending a look toward Felin, she nodded in agreement. “Going in blind was ridiculous. But if there was a single positive to come out of it, it’s that now we know for certain going in blind was ridiculous, and we need to be ten times more cognizant than we were for Mayor Fuckface.”

Hearing the word “angel” being repeated in her and the group’s regard was throwing her every time she heard it. It was hard to consider herself an “angel” when she was so certain her soul was tethered to something quite the opposite.

Though…nobody said a demon couldn’t fight another demon.

“Oh I know,” she said back to Gerome. “But when you have a mug as pretty as mine, others usually don’t care what I do with it,” she added, lighthearted sarcasm oozing between her words.

But, back to the overall issue at hand. “Sonora, I know you said you’re not keen on meeting one of those things in battle, but do you have plans to go back to Blaguarro?”

 

[Jackie Cat]

That so? I'll be rooting for you then.

Oh! Thank you...!

"... Wait, 'angels'? Are you talking about us here? Since... we've honestly aren't all that different from the other Pokémon we've been running into here," he said. "If we really came with some sort of divine power or whatever, I'm not really seeing it."

"Uh, yeah," replied Sonora. "Y'all are from other worlds, right? Here to come help folks here? Protectors from beyond the stars sounds like angels to me."

When Sonora said 'angels' that time, the offworlders listening got the sense that she was saying it in a different language to the rest of the sentence. For a second, it wasn't clear whether she'd said angels or humans.

"Divine power's got nothin' t'do with it. You're thinkin' of Saints."

“Sonora, I know you said you’re not keen on meeting one of those things in battle, but do you have plans to go back to Blaguarro?”

The cat turned to face Odette. "Huh? Saints, no. No." She shook her head for emphasis. "I gotta look after my crew and hold down a new job, not get burnt to a crisp by somethin' outta my league. Blaguarro's got nothin' fer me as I can see."

 

[AdamArtDraws]

"What's going on in Blaguarro?" Felin quirked a brow, somehow only now first hearing about any of this. She knew about Blaguarro as a place that existed but so far she had only been looking into Frontier Town with plans to expand from there.

 

[Namohysip]

Gerome muttered to himself, "Some of your ilk ain't any angels I've heard of."

 

[AdamArtDraws]

"That so? What kind of angels you've met?" Felin asked Gerome, her smile laced with curiosity and a hint of amusement.

 

[Namohysip]

"My wife."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Sonora chuckled at the exchange, seemingly genuinely charmed at Gerome's answer, then interjected to answer Felin's question.

"Blaguarro's a shithole mining town northeast of here. It's one of the larger Commonwealth settlements in the frontier, but it's not such a great place to live or work of late. Last few years, much of the mining work's dried up, or so I hear. There's... y'know. Lotta folks just tryin' to get by, up that way."

She growled softly to herself, looking over to the door again as another 'mon walked through. Just a regular, nothing to worry about.

"And just lately, there're stories of monsters attackin' livestock of nights, menacin' the locals. That kinda thing. Could be that feral demon-charmeleon, or somethin' of a similar nature. Saints know if it's a plague, or a curse, or somethin' else."

 

[Sinderella]

"Right, right," Odette murmured, pinching the bridge of her beak with her thumb and index finger. Stupid question; of fucking course, she wouldn't go back.

"No, that's a good call. Besides, your face likely looks...better...at the forefront of this joint rather than...on a wanted poster," she said, slowly losing her confidence over the course of the statement. It had sounded far nicer in her head, and she realized that a little too late but decided she'd look and sound dumber if she just stopped. She simply loved being reminded that nine times out of ten, socializing wasn't her game.

"Do me a favor and pretend I sounded coherent when I said that." She flagged down Gerome for another water and didn't say anything else until it was in her hand. "All of that to say, prior to the start of this conversation, you looked like you were enjoying yourself."

Another long sip, and she willed herself to stop talking again.

When Felin queried about Blaguarro, Odette refrained from looking at her. It sounded like she was none the wiser to what had been discovered about Terminal Two and the like, and Odette had half a mind to explain it to her right then and there. But, doing so in a public bar hardly seemed like the right place. Sonora wasn't saying anything about it, so she was keen on following that lead for now.

"Well...whatever the stone is," she said cautiously, "I don't intend to leave it unturned. But I'm hoping that when we go looking again, we'll be more prepared and not as uncoordinated."

And maybe we won't have such shit timing with the Cloud, she thought in annoyance.

"I can't say for certain how angelic that's going to look from this world's standards, but the goal's still the same. Concrete answers, and hopefully a solution as needed."

 

[Spiteful Murkrow]

Sonora chuckled at the exchange, seemingly genuinely charmed at Gerome's answer, then interjected to answer Felin's question.

"Blaguarro's a shithole mining town northeast of here. It's one of the larger Commonwealth settlements in the frontier, but it's not such a great place to live or work of late. Last few years, much of the mining work's dried up, or so I hear. There's... y'know. Lotta folks just tryin' to get by, up that way."

She growled softly to herself, looking over to the door again as another 'mon walked through. Just a regular, nothing to worry about.

"And just lately, there're stories of monsters attackin' livestock of nights, menacin' the locals. That kinda thing. Could be that feral demon-charmeleon, or somethin' of a similar nature. Saints know if it's a plague, or a curse, or somethin' else."

Lyle tilted his head with a dubious frown at the Floragato's explanation. He... wasn't sure whether or not that was something he wanted to get wrapped up in. Lyle wasn't exactly a stranger to being on the opposite side of what 'mons would consider safe, but they were strangers to this world. And if that Charmeleon... thing was indeed the cause of those incidents and genuinely strong enough for it to be questionable as to if they could defeat it under ideal circumstances, did it really make sense to just go over and start rooting around?

"I don't suppose you've heard anything more about what's been happening around Blaguarro, or else know someone in town who would?" he asked. "After what happened to the others who were with that wagon, it'd probably be best to try and prepare ourselves before we tried looking around closer out there."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Sonora chuckled drily at Odette's inelegant attempt at a compliment.

"Very coherent," she drawled. "Thank you kindly. And I'll wish you and yer crew better luck'n last time if you really are gonna crawl up Blaguarro-way askin' fer trouble."

She turned to Lyle and pawed her chin.

"Well, I can't say I have many contacts up there or nothin'. But you could ask around about the wagon-puller. She's a Mudsdale, not the brightest gal around, she went racin' past me up the highway fleein' the scene. Failin' that, you'll just have to pound pavement, I guess."

 

[Sinderella]

I'm such an ass, she thought through her agonized internal screaming. Really, what was so hard about saying something nice about another person? It came like second nature to most people, but her and idle chitchat just didn't mesh.

Nonetheless, she nodded. "Unfortunately, I'm a reckless idiot. The only thing I'm good at is asking for trouble," she said flatly, tucking her palm under her chin. "But, hopefully not too much. I'm not much of a doctor person." She said it as a joke, but nobody needed to know she meant it.

The last thing Odette wanted to do was question a fucking moron, but sometimes that's just what had to be done...if said idiot in question could even be found. Apparently, the mudsdale had run off (Odette couldn't actually blame her for that), and even Sonora didn't know where she was. Odette made a mental note to keep her eyes and ears out for anything pertaining to a skittish, airheaded mudsdale.

With a huff, she set both her hands back on the table. "Well, I appreciate the insight. I have a lot of thinking to do," she said, standing up and reaching for her little bag. "I know you're on the clock, so let me not hold you up anymore."

She pulled out a few coins, which she set down on the bar. "For the water. And tip. And for...slamming the counter?" She shrugged. "Yeah, that."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Sonora gave Odette a small nod. "No problem. Always happy to lend you folks a hand after what you done fer my crew and this town. Don't you get killed, now, y'hear?" She shot the Mawile a wink, before resuming her surveillance of the bar.

 

[Namohysip]

"Mm." Gerome nodded along. "So what's the story behind those Pokemon bein' trafficked around anyhow?" he asked. "Where are there, considerin' you stole 'em? Never thought t' ask."

 

[Jackie Cat]

Sonora stiffened, ears flattening against her head, then visibly forced herself to relax.

"Guess with king bird under lock an' key, I can speak a little freer about it," she said, softly. "Most of 'em weren't even real criminals, just suspects fer this or that case, drunks, outta-towners who'd made a nuisance of themselves, or shoplifters. That kinda thing. Anyone who weren't important enough to go to trial, and wouldn't be missed if they disappeared. They never had a goddamn clue where they were bein' taken to, and Saints know my heart freezes up thinkin' of the ones we missed."

She sucked air between her teeth, eyes narrowing at empty space.

"We squirreled 'em away in different places. Rarely the same place more'n twice. Sunward took a couple, clanners took one, some of the villages around the county took some. We sent more westward, if they were headed that way t'begin with. Bet some ended up with the monks, or on the coast, with the tribals or any far colonies they've got out there. And, of course, my scout. Vago."