Sojaveña Wilds Timeless Oasis

[Tetra]

"Be careful..." Koa murmured. The others had volunteered before he could (maybe for the best that he didn't...), but perhaps Ridley was well suited anyway. As a mimikyu, maybe Ridley's costume would help give him protection? As long as he stayed focused.

Unease and curiosity filled Koa as he gazed across the strange clearing. If it turned out to be a bad idea they could stop their past selves from doing it...? How would that even work? He blinked away the thought.

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova opened his beak to protest. Everyone else had been in the same dreamscape and watched this guy display an absolute lack of self-preservation instincts, hadn't they? And Archie had just offered to help, too.

Was no one going to raise an objection? Nova didn't want to be the Debbie Downer, but someone ought to say something.

Then again, Ridley didn't seem obviously shadowed. And Nova knew shadowed behavior.

"I hope you know what you're doing," he absentmindedly mumbled.

 

[Hap]

Ridley noted Steven's moment of hesitation before he lowered himself to allow Ridley to climb on. That... made sense, he realised. He hadn't seen Steven since their ill-fated training session, and considering how that had ended, what Ridley had done...

Yeah, it wasn't surprising that Steven would be hesitant to interact with him. Guilt stabbed into Ridley. He'd spent so much time worrying about the people he might hurt, and not enough about the people he had hurt -

This wasn't the time for that. This was the worst possible time for that. Ridley needed to focus, not wallow in self-recrimination. He'd found it worked better to accept the emotion rather than try to force it back down, so: fine. He'd fucked up. He'd hurt people. And if he didn't manage to keep a handle on his shit he was going to hurt more people, so he'd just have to live with the guilt for a while.

"If something happens," Ridley said as he climbed aboard Steven, "or if the stone starts to struggle with the two of us, then please drop me." He remembered Wes, saying I can’t say we know each other all that well, but that doesn’t mean I’m eager to see you burst into flames, or whatever, and added, "I don't think being frozen in time will hurt me, and even if it does my disguise should help protect from the worst of it."

Ridley was probably the most disposable member of the party anyway. If they had to lose someone, it should be him. He couldn't tell whether that was a normal thought to have or something which came from the shadows.

 

[Shadow Serenity]

Of all the 'mon here, the cleffa was the one Steven was going to bring with him? The one who thought drowning in Powehi was a good idea? The 'disguise' comment went unnoticed while she struggled to make sense of what she was seeing. Ridley would not have been her first choice. Or any choice, honestly. She'd sooner have suggested Wes try to curl up on top of Steven.

Kimiko slipped over next to Sybil. "This is risky. I'm surprised you're not handling this yourself," she said, a notably passive-aggressive voice of disapproval. Not that Sybil would (likely) know what Ridley had done. It was still a mild surprise that the experienced ranger was putting her fate in these stranger's hands, though.

 

[Weazel]

So, that was it then. Steven would be taking Ridley after all. The Oshawott quickly worked to quash any doubts he’d had, and forced his face into a neutral expression. If the pair were going to do this, the last thing they needed was disapproval from the peanut gallery.

“Good luck, you guys,” he said, hesitating only a moment before adding, “Stay safe.”

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

With Ridley situated atop his head, Steven hovered back to his usual height. The Mimikyu hardly weighed anything at all. He'd had no trouble getting the both of them to the pedestal.

Provided the stone was able to protect them both...

He accepted the key from Leaf, and moved towards the clearing just until the rest of the group stood at the edge of the protection. He could feel their eyes on him and Ridley.

He floated up, and then down. A deep breath. Rolling his gaze up, he could just see the fringe of Ridley's disguise.

"I'm not dropping you," he whispered so only Ridley could hear. "Whatever happens, we're doing this together."

And with that, he gripped the stone tight, feeling it vibrate in his claws, and pressed forward towards the pedestal.

 

[Namohysip]

Mhynt watched cautiously as well, not wanting to take the risk herself for something so unknown when she'd be much more valuable as a scout, as backup, or as a disruption. But against a time distortion or illusion or whatever it was, she wasn't sure any of them could. They were in over their heads.

They only had Sybil to trust.

"Have you ever seen this before?" she asked plainly.

 

[Inkedust]

"The others of your group didn't want me handling the stone," Sybil said to Kimiko simply. "Not that I believe it would make much of a difference." She turned to Mhynt and shook her head. "Not firsthand, no. But I have read enough accounts of this dungeon to recognise this particular phenomena, all turned back at this point. We may just be the first to solve this puzzle, look."

Sybil tilted her head towards the clearing where everyone could see the stone pulsing with a glow as Steven and Ridley moved further through the time lock. Although it managed to repel the effects enough, moving through the clearing felt like trying to swim through tar. Ridley also found holding on to be similarly difficult. As Steven cut through the frozen air, Ridley would feel as if he was being pushed off Steven's back and out of the Stone's protective radius.

The stone glowed brighter and brighter as the two inched closer to the pedestal and when Steven found himself within a metre of the pedestal's radius, Steven would feel the stone strongly pull towards it, yanking the metang and his mimikyu rider along with it. Closer, the force was too strong to hold onto and the stone flew free of Steven's grasp, magnetized towards the divot. The grove's effects fell upon the two pokémon instantly, becoming part of the view. Just how long did the two remain there? Mere milliseconds or countless eternities? From their point of view, it was impossible to tell as every aspect of them, from their movements to their very thoughts remained motionless.

Alongside their frozen teammates, the group on the edge would notice the stone hovering above its pedestal for a few seconds. It pulsed one final time and then slammed down into its rightful place with a soft but audible click!

Instantly, a wave of bright green energy pulsed through the entire dungeon, ruffling the fur, feathers and leaves of Sybil and the Wayfarers, relinquishing everything within the clearing to the flow of time once more. Distantly, everyone would feel the sensation that more of the dungeon had opened to them but going deeper would also mean that its effects would intensify, especially now without the stone. For now, everyone had time to recuperate in this new, stable zone but not before hearing...

"I wasn't informed there'd be visitors. What brings them here?"

Sybil's voice. From the Wayfarer's very first meeting with her.

 

[Shadow Serenity]

"The others of your group didn't want me handling the stone,"

Kimiko rolled her eyes. Of course they didn't. She had a very different outlook, apparently.

She lost track of time after that, with Steven carrying the stone and it's protective field away... until, suddenly, an energy wave had her shielding her eyes, and she found everything moving 'normally' again.

"That was... unsettling." And to think, that was only step one. And now they didn't have their protective stone.

"Well, I'm not sure how that-"

She cut herself off as she heard Sybil speaking. Familiar words. Words that were not said within this dungeon.

She looked around, as though she might see the scene playing out in front of her. But how could it? They were still at the ranger HQ when they met Sybil... how would the dungeon know that? Had it... pulled it from her memory, somehow? Mhynt seemed to think there was something going on with that earlier...

 

[Weazel]

For one, horrible moment, it seemed like they were going to lose Steven and Ridley forever. As the pair approached the dais, they moved slower and slower, creeping along inch by painful inch, until suddenly the stone was ripped from the Metang’s claws, and the pair froze entirely. The stone, too, seemed to freeze for a moment, so close to the goal, and yet impossibly far away now that it was well and truly out of their, or anyone else’s grasp.

But then it moved again, slamming into its appointed spot. The Oshawott grabbed onto his hat to prevent it getting blown away by the resulting burst of green energy. When it passed, the bubble of frozen time was gone. The grass blew in the wind, suspended dewdrops fell, the leaves rustled in the trees. And the Metang and Mimikyu were still there.

“Steven!” Archie yelled, rushing out to meet the Psychic Type. “Are you okay?”

For the moment, he didn’t even think to question the voice of their guide as it echoed around them, and very distinctly not from the muzzle of the Wyrdeer herself.

 

[Tetra]

Probably best to ignore Kimiko's comment... Koa watched Steven and Ridley, his body tense. What if something happened? They wouldn't even be able to try and rescue them. No. He pushed aside his worry and watched them as they drew ever closer, and as the the stone glowed.

A pause, and then a rush of energy and a bizzare sensation of expansion. And then a familiar voice.

"That's... That's you." Koa turned to glance at Sybil. "How would the dungeon know that if it just appeared...?" he murmured, half to himself and half out loud. Just how much did dungeons know... and how could it know?

His gaze shifted to Steven and Ridley. "Steven?" he called. "Ridley?" They'd be fine now, right?

 

[Ambyssin]

Nova's patchwork fur rippled. His turquoise feathers curled up slightly. Then he blinked and shook himself out. "What did—"

He stopped himself, ears twitching. "Ah, joy. More dungeon fuckery." Nova sat down and scratched furiously at one ear with a hind leg. "I'm gonna have headaches for sure, aren't I?"

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

He hadn't expected so much resistance. He could feel Ridley sliding as he pushed forward as hard as he could. He winced as the ghost type had to grab hold of him to keep from falling off.

They were close, gods they were so close. And then without warning, he was yanked forward with enough force to wrench the stone from his grasp.

"No--!"

The next thing he knew, he was staring at his own empty claw to the sound of hurried steps approaching through the grass.

“Steven!” Archie yelled, rushing out to meet the Psychic Type. “Are you okay?”

He blinked, lowering his claw. "I think so?"

"But the stone, I--" he was about to say he'd lost it, failed in the one thing he'd tried to do, but before the fear took hold a realization struck. The clearing was different. Time flowed normally. Archie was here next to him. That wouldn't be possible unless...

They'd... succeeded? But how?

He fixed Archie with a bewildered look. "What happened?"

 

[Weazel]

Before he replied, the Oshawott looked the Metang over. Everything seemed fine? Then again, how would you even tell if there were any lasting issues from being frozen in time?

“The stone’s there,” he said, pointed at the pedestal, “It… Made the rest of the journey on its own. You two were frozen the second it left your claws!”

He decided not to stress the Metang further by bringing up how worried he was they’d lost him forever. Especially since it was the Oshawott’s suggestion the Metang take the stone to begin with. He’d’ve never been able to forgive himself. And it was likely the dungeon would only get more dangerous from here.

“Putting the stone in its place changed something about the dungeon,” he said instead, “We should be able to go deeper in now.”

 

[Phoenixsong]

Leaf hadn't missed the way Sybil had mentioned her taking the stone, when she was pretty damn sure that wasn't what they'd seen. As far as she was concerned that just meant that none of that really mattered, though. It made more sense to decide things based on what they wanted to do than worry about whether it was following visions or whatever.

Then there wasn't much to do but watch as Steven and Ridley took the stone toward the pedestal thing. (It'd been kind of a shame to let it go—it was just kinda nice to be near it.) Seemed like it'd gone as well as it could've, from her perspective: a couple scary seconds when the two of them suddenly stopped moving even though Ridley they hadn't done anything wrong, but then the stone just kind of put itself where it was supposed to go and then everything was fine.

So, then. Take five to make sure Steven and Ridley were all right, then figure out what next. She was so busy poking at the edge of the clearing that she almost didn't catch what Sybil said next. Or, uh, didn't say. Right? Oh, brother.

"Uh, don't suppose you're seeing any other visitors around here now, are you?" she asked the wyrdeer. (Had she seen anything here in the dungeon? Or just been thinking about the other day? Or had the dungeon really just pulled that outta nowhere?)

 

[Inkedust]

Sybil shook her head. "I'm right here and it sounded like..." She turned to face the path that led deeper into the dungeon. "It came from there," she finished. She took a few steps forward, trying to get a better view of what lay ahead but the forest path extended well beyond view. Sybil took a deep breath, steeling herself for when the Wayfarers would give the word to press forward. If she was being honest with herself, she wouldn't have been able to control herself and keep still, all of this was just so exciting but for the sake of sticking together as a group, she would have to just be just a little more patient.

As the other Wayfarers gathered themselves, faint whispers of what happened and what was to come began to build from deeper in the dungeon, growing louder and louder until one voice cut through above the others, clear as crystal for everyone to hear:

"Well, aren't you the lucky one, then." She hadn't meant to sound so snarky about it, but she couldn't help herself. "You know what? Congrats to you for finding the exceptions. Honestly, if that's all true and you're not just making shit up, then I'm genuinely happy for you that you somehow managed to find not one, but three ghosts who you can rely on. I mean that.

And then...

“You know, recently I remembered that I was a Ranger, back when I was a human,” he said. “Maybe that’s why I always feel like I have to stick my nose in when I see a Pokemon in trouble?”

And then...

"Rich words from the useless coward who's only here because he abandoned his pokemon and Rui. You deserve to hate yourself."

The whispering fell silent and Sybil's eyes widened ever so slightly, allowing the past words of Kimiko, Archie and Koa to echo through the clearing.

 

[Namohysip]

Mhynt looked skyward, thoughtful, scrutinizing. "Hm," she finally said after a silence of letting those words wash over her. "And I thought Owen was a breach of privacy."

 

[Tetra]

What.

Koa's body went rigid. The sound of the other's voices was unnerving enough, and he found himself shooting a look at Kimiko. What was her problem?

The sound of his own voice sent a jolt through him. A chill blanketed his body, followed by a rush of heat.

How? His mind raced and his gaze darted frantically around. Was the dungeon reading their minds? Pulling from their memories?

On reflex, he glanced at Wes, then at Archie. Was that what he sounded like? He edged away from Archie slightly, suddenly ashamed. The shame quickly morphed to anger.

Wes had been the one to start that fight, just like last time! If Wes hadn't declared Koa belonged in an evil team it never would have happened! He'd defended himself he'd... He hadn't meant it.

He opened his jaws to speak but words deserted him. Finally showing your true colors? What would they think of him? Sybil and Steven and Leaf and... Archie. Would Archie think poorly of Koa now? Would he take Wes's side?

Worst of all, there was nowhere to go. No one to turn to. Running off in a dungeon was idiocy, no matter how bad he wanted to. All his earlier worries about the dungeon came back and he almost regretted coming if not for the necessity of it. The sooner they got out, the better.

Clenching his paws, he gazed ahead, not meeting anyone's eyes. His voice came out cool and detached. "The dungeon is playing tricks on us. We should keep going."

 

[Hap]

Getting the stone to the dias had been... unpleasant. Despite Ridley's suggestion that Steven throw him off if there was any sign that the stone was struggling, when he started to feel himself sliding off of Steven he panicked and held on more tightly instead.

Fortunately, being briefly frozen in time didn't seem to have hurt either of them beyond the sudden disorientation of the world changing around them. Ridley's presence had been entirely superfluous, but if he hadn't helped then at least he hadn't hindered either.

And then came the whispers, an indistinguishable jumble of overlapping voices, until three voices rose out of the susurrus as clear and distinct as hearing your name called in a crowded room.

"...are those real things you've said?" Ridley asked. If so, they hadn't been said in this dungeon, not unless he and Steven had been frozen in time for a lot longer than Ridley had thought. He wasn't sure why the idea that the time manipulation effect extended beyond the borders of the dungeon disturbed him so much, but there was something profoundly uncomfortable about the whole situation.

 

[Ambyssin]

"I think they're genuine," Nova said. "But they've gotta be snapshots. From the past. No context."

What was he supposed to take from that? That people got angry? "I'm not the most in the know but we don't all get along. If the dungeon wants to mess with us, it ought to do better than statements of the obvious."

He shook his head and kept walking. "Let's press further. We stop and we let the dungeon think it's winning."