Sojaveña Wilds Brisa's Cabin

[Jackie Cat]

Home sure didn't feel the same. 'Course, it hadn't been home for a number of years now, but still, he'd not been expecting all these... renovations. He didn't recall giving anyone but his daughter permission to stay under this roof, but it sure smlled of someone other than her, and he'd bet a good dollar that it weren't Brisa who'd cleaned up the place, swept away the dust and webs. Nor would Brisa have been the one to plant a little garden of herbs and vegetables round the front. His kid had many interests, but a green paw she was not. If that didn't cinch it, the hammock in the main living area surely did.

He ignored that thing and trudged upstairs to the master room. He'd slept in sleeping sacks, in barn lofts, motels, alleyways, a goddamn cell in the ground – it felt almost like a fake concept to come home to a bed of his own. There'd been a time he'd have fussed over it still being his and hers, but he was too tired for that.

Sleep came easily. Dreams not so much. Fitful and fierce, something hazy about fire doused in ice-water and damp earth.

He woke halfway through the morning, thought it strange he'd slept so late, then realised it was stranger he'd woken up any kind of time at all given the profound addlement of his miserable brain. It's not as if he had any appointments to make, or errands to run. Still, he needed something to occupy his time while he waited on the breeze to come home – he found himself wandering automatically to his study, where half his projects from before he set out were still as he'd left them. Stale intelligence on outlaws, a wand design he'd lost interest in, a daily planner years out of date, and so on.

He sat down and drummed his digits on his desk for a good minute, his eyes glazing over his abandoned work, settling on nothing. He wanted something he couldn't find in this ancient dust. There was a ghost in here with him, the ghost of a sheriff, and its cold touch was enough to make him stand, seize a pile of his forgotten things, throw open his door and hurl them onto the dirt path.

By the time Brisa arrived, he'd made a fierce little bonfire of waste paper and wasted years.

He looked up at her.

"Always took it as given that I'd be the one comin' home to you," he said, not even bothering to reach for pride or shame. He didn't rightly know how 'Jesse Stranger' ought to feel right now. The ghost of the sheriff would be looking at his successor right now, seeing the clanner warrior in her, and the law 'mon he'd taught. The Delphox standing at his door just saw his kid, grown bigger now than he was. His kid, safe and well.

"Took a lotta things as givens," said Brisa Escarpa, carefully. "Though I got reason t'think maybe they ain't. I'm the one wearin' a badge now, fer starters."

Jesse's mouth broke into a wavering smile, the whole of him crumbling behind his tired face.

"Yeah. You are. And I— I'm goddamn proud of you, kid."

---

Home sure didn't feel the same. Not like she'd left it, nor like before. Some of it was that she was twice her old size, and everyplace felt different in the body of a Luxray, but there had to be some accounting for her pa behaving like another 'mon entirely. She'd had enough fake arguments in her head with the Jesse Stranger she remembered that she plain didn't recognise that fox anywhere here. When had that guy ever looked like he was 'bout to shed a tear or several over her without it bein' from sheer frustration? And outta pride no less? She could scarce remember a day since she was a Shinx cub that he'd been happy to be her father, nor even happy to be him.

But here he was, sitting on the porch with her, talking. They were a few branches deep, and she was hardly following the actual conversation for want of attention, hers being wholly focused on the quiet calm in his voice, the brittle way he held himself, the warmth that radiated from his fur she'd never rightly noticed before.

There was a pause, and the sound of breath and wind. Hesitant, apprehensive despite it all, she gave voice to the question she'd carried up the hill road back home.

"I won't be stayin'. I'm set on trackin' down Starr, and bringin' her back with me. I don't know if you have any earthly idea how to go about that task, nor inclination to bend yerself to it alongside me, but—"

"I'll help."

"'Yer pardon?"

Jesse looked at her, and for once, it felt like he saw her, and not some feral animal.

"Consider me at your service, kid. Come hell or high water."

He broke with her gaze to gesture with a nod down the hillside.

"Looks like you've got some friends as might say the same."

Brisa looked down after him to see a certain few Wayfarers all on their way.

She smiled to herself. She'd be damned. Coming right to her was a dream made real.

 

[Cresselia92]

Silver was starting to regret bringing Lyra along.

As a human she had always been surprisingly perceptive and deceitfully persuasive despite her first impression as a cheerful and innocent airhead, but those traits seemed to have only augmented once crammed in the body of a small rabbit.

Not only she could tell that this meeting was very personal to him for reasons she wouldn’t have been able to understand — unless they somehow found an imprisoned male Kotone somewhere in Forlas, which would be difficult but not impossible — and offered instant moral support, but when he refused, she promptly wore down his reluctance by using her lagomorphic charm to show a stern ‘serious judging glare’ followed by the ‘wounded kitty face.’

Result? Being trailed by a hopping motormouth with bouncy ears, who became even more hyperactive when she crossed gazes and began talking to her friends. This whole deal must’ve felt like going on a road trip or something frivolous in her mind, but he knew that when the situation asked for it, she could actually be almost serious and—

“For real, though! That’s gotta be one of the craziest missions I’ve ever partaken to, and I’ve been in plenty!” she exclaimed at some point, still surprised by their incoming encounter. “Like, you can’t deny it — that’s some mindblowing multiversal twist of fate! We’re actually sorta-kinda crashing this reunion to… gasp, figure out what happened to Silver’s genderbent persona from another world?!”

A loud groan and sonorous facepalm followed Lyra’s claim, courtesy of a thoroughly embarrassed Sneasel. Infinite words wouldn’t have been nearly enough to describe the massive relief he felt at the sight of Brisa’s cabin.

But yeah, scratch those thoughts! Silver was starting to really regret bringing Lyra along!

 

[Chibi Pika]

A cool early-spring breeze swept through the hills as Jade walked down the now-familiar path out from Frontier Town towards the cabin that Nova and Sage had come to call home. Part of her had wondered what the situation there was going to be like now that the cabin's owner(s) were back. Well, Brisa had mostly been with her clan while not on patrol but now that her dad was back, and he didn't have anywhere else to go...?

She was distracted by thoughts like that for most of the walk and only half paying attention to Lyra excitedly chatting Silver's ear off. Guess that answered the question of whether Silver had shared the news on just who they were going to rescue...

As the cabin came into view Jade raised a paw in greeting when she saw both Brisa and Jesse sitting out in front of the smoldering remnants of what might have been a campfire. "Hey! Hope now's not a bad time... uh, I was hoping now that we're all back we could kinda... share what we all know. Make a plan, that sort of thing." She was having a hard time figuring out how to avoid making it come off like, 'now that everyone's back in town, we need to leave town.'

 

[Jackie Cat]

Brisa smirked to herself. "Yeah, yeah, now we're all in one town, we'd better leave town, I know. Hey there, Jade, Koa. Good t'see y'all."

Jesse cleared his throat, and straightened up a little. "Actually, that's pretty much the topic we were just palaverin' about. You lot made yer appearance with discernin' timin'." He nodded to the Sneasel. "Howdy, Silver. Who's yer ladyfriend?"

 

[Tetra]

Helping Jade put together a plan to rescue Starr sounded like a good idea. Anything to focus on that was useful instead of getting lost in... other worries. That and he felt oddly inclined to help Brisa.

Anubis as always, followed along behind him. He'd told the Houndour he need not follow him everywhere while here, but he'd insisted still. Koa was beginning to learn that Anubis could match him in stubbornness and exceed him in principle.

"Hey Brisa," he said, waving his paw. He nodded to Jade and Silver and Lyra. "Good to see all of you." He'd heard they'd rescued Jesse, but it was good to see in person. Had he and Brisa talked...? They looked like they were doing better.

 

[Jackie Cat]

"There's a couple newcomers I can't say I'm familiar with," admitted Brisa, casually returning Koa's wave.

Jesse coughed, and fumbled for his flask, found it empty, and patted himself for smokes instead. "Yeah, there were a buncha new offworlders in th' wake a' that last big imbroglio that scattered everyone t' the four corners. Reckon they're each, y'know, previously acquainted with an existin' Wayfarer."

Brisa nodded. "Well, if'n you're friends of these folks, you're friends of mine or near enough."

So passed a couple minutes of introductions, as was the way of things.

"More t'the point, our business today is plannin' a rescue of one Starr Sakari," growled Jesse, who'd found a battered cigarette to puff on. Not his usual vice, but something to fall back on when he fell dry of whiskey. "Don't s'pose any of y'all have any leads on that account?"

Brisa looked as if she had something in mind, but his mouth skewed sideways as she wrestled with something difficult. Whatever she knew, perhaps she felt conflicted or uncertain of it?

 

[Cresselia92]

Jesse cleared his throat, and straightened up a little. "Actually, that's pretty much the topic we were just palaverin' about. You lot made yer appearance with discernin' timin'." He nodded to the Sneasel. "Howdy, Silver. Who's yer ladyfriend?"

“Hey. Good to see you in you piece,” Silver said, genuinely glad to see Jesse out of that horrible prison. He motioned to the Buneary, who in turn grinned and greeted the Forlasian pair with a paw-wave. “She’s Lyra, a friend from home.”

“That’s to put it very simply! We’re actually way more than that!” she chirped, before patting Silver on his shoulder with the tip of one ear. “We’re besties~!”

The Sneasel shot an emotionless sideways glance at the Buneary. “…Never claimed such a thing,” he muttered flatly, earning an amused giggle from Lyra, then focused again on Jesse and Brisa. “But yeah, we’ve been through thick and thin. She might be bit of a blabbermouth, maybe,” he smirked, already feeling a pout aimed at him, “but she’s trustworthy and reliable.”

Awww, that’s so sweet of you to say, he heard in his mind; a clear sign that she was back to her smiling and cheerful self.

After a quick round of introductions, it was time to get to business. To the one loose end that had been bothering Silver during those endless days. And he wasn’t going to fail this time.

"Don't s'pose any of y'all have any leads on that account?"

Silver sighed and shook his head. “Unfortunately, we only know what you told me before we got warped across the entire continent,” he said, frustrated with the lack of information. “In fact, we’re here because we hoped you knew something more ‘bout that Radiance facility. It doesn’t matter how insignificant a detail might appear — anything helps.”

Lyra glanced at Silver with a hint of concern and at Brisa with a puzzled blink, but she didn’t say anything. Even she understood the severity of the situation and waited to hear what father and daughter had to say.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade nodded along with Silver’s words while resisting the urge to immediately reply to Jesse with, “We came here hoping you’d have a lead!” If he didn’t have anything, then the whole CDE mission was… No, it wasn’t for nothing, they’d recovered Betel’s body. And breaking Jesse out of prison was still important, she wasn’t going to pretend it wasn’t, even if she didn’t get anything out of it. She just… she just was tired of feeling so close and yet so far from this one singular goal, and it was making everything else feel unimportant by comparison.

Jade inhaled deeply through her nose to center herself before she said something she’d regret. Then she glanced over at Brisa.

“When we met up in the Comb dungeon… you mentioned you’d been there for a while trying to gather leads from the whispers. Was there anything that stood out to you…?”

 

[Jackie Cat]

Brisa glanced away, wrestling with her inhibition a moment longer.

"It's like the boy says," murmured Jesse. "Any detail could be a lead. Even a hunch or a loose thread that don't quite make sense is somethin' as can be followed to th' truth. That's detective work for ya."

The Luxray nodded, and blew a heavy exhalation from her leonine muzzle. "Alright, fine. When I was stuck down Whisperwind way... I heard voices on the wind, o' course. Like y'all would, right? Drives ya half off yer mental reservation t'listen to 'em, feelin' you can almost make sense of whatever words they're sayin'. Eventually I started to get weird fuckin' dreams, about stuff I'd been through in th' dawn of my life – but from eyes other'n my own, I'd wager – and then stuff I'd no right to seein' but knew was true enough. Events as happened to Wayfarers, fer instance... and some of what took place up on Sunrest Mesa, at that."

Brisa grinned a little, as if revealing a secret that'd make her courage against the Commonwealth Army seem less brazen.

"And eventually... I got dreams a-plenty about some kinda dungeon, a Mystery Dungeon, through the eyes of some kinda beast-like pokémon. Roarin' and tumblin' around after hapless 'mon, lashin' out 'gainst the whole world, but trapped down there in the dark, with an awful burnin' darkness inside herself..."

She swallowed hard, her voice tightening a little.

"I dunno that this is any more'n pure speculation, but... I reckon that were Starr's eyes I was lookin' through, and wherever that place was, that's where we'll find her. Only issue is, I ain't never seen nor heard of a dungeon matchin' those visions of mine. What's th' point a' mentionin' any of that shit if'n it's no goddamn good to us?"

Raising a brow, Jesse stubbed out his smoke, and cleared his throat. "Well, uh, what'd y'say the place looked like, exactly?"

"I guess I didn't, rightly. Can't say it was too clear an image, neither – dark enough that it'd have to be somewhere underground, or else far from the shine of our sun... Environment weren't regular enough t'be an entirely manufactured structure, my gut tells me it were natural, with architectural additions made after the fact. From what I could recall, its definin' characteristic has gotta be those great goddamn crystals. Huge fuckin' clusters of 'em, like ball-cacti if'n they were evolutionary stones the size of a fuckin' wagon."

Jesse nodded slowly, a slightly manic smile flicking at his face.

"Well, at least all that probin' I did was good fer somethin' in the end," he growled. "'Cause if'n I'm not very much mistaken, I do believe I know just the particular Covenant base matchin' those credentials of yours. Outta dozens of goddamn facilities, only one fits yer description."

Brisa's gaze shot to Jesse.

"No shit. You fer fuckin' real?"

"You're goddamn right I am. We're goin' to Site A-06. Also known as Prism Hollow."

 

[Tetra]

Having spent all of a few hours in Whisperwind the thought of Brisa enduring days and weeks there made him shudder. Hopefully she hadn't overheard too much of Wayfarer secrets...

Brisa's description of the dungeon was equally fascinating and ominous, her escription of Starr even more unsettling. If she was trapped somewhere for this long, would she be okay? "Prism Hollow?" Koa asked curiously, looking between Brisa and Jesse. It was hard not to notice the way the two seemed to be doing good with each other. Seeing her with her father, it left an odd pang in his chest.

"What do you know about it?" he asked Jesse eagerly. At least they were off to a good start with a location.

 

[Butterfree]

Jean was very excited to come see Brisa, of course. But also, everything in Forlas was still new to her. They were late setting out to the cabin because she got distracted watching the Maus at work, and then kept bouncing off to try lighting some small plant on fire or practicing moves against the wild Pokémon on the way.

When they got there the others were already there - Jade, Silver and that new bunny friend of his that Jean had already declared she was besties with, Koa and his Houndour partner (just as sapient as anyone else here - what a wild fucking thought). Jean was immediately mesmerized looking at Brisa's new, bigger, sleeker Luxray form - bigger than her father, even. She must be excited about that. Back home, she hadn't exactly had much room to enjoy being taller than him.

They managed to catch Brisa describing visions of being Starr trapped in a dungeon, and Jesse recognizing that dungeon. Fuck yes. Finally some actual progress to be made towards finding the girl who'd gotten them all summoned.

"Ooohh!" Jean said. "Prism Hollow!"

She said it like she had any idea what the fuck that was. Dave was pretty sure she just thought the name sounded cool and exciting. She was absolutely not coming with on this mission. But he figured that was a parenting discussion that didn't have to take place right here where it'd distract from what was important.

"So she was 'lashing out against the whole world'? That sounds like she might be Shadowed, right?"

"I'm Jean!" she said, beaming at Brisa with wide eyes. "Are you the sheriff? That's so cool!"

"Jean, remember, we're here to talk about rescuing Starr."

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade could feel her chest tightening as Brisa spoke. She didn't know how literal to expect the dreamlike whispers of the dungeon to be. All she knew was that she didn't want to think about the reality that it implied. It was almost over, they were going to find her, they were going to rescue her, everything would be fine. She had to be.

Jade swallowed, forcing her attention to Jesse's next words. He recognized the place, he had a name for it.

"And you know how to get to this place, right?" Jade immediately replied.

 

[Cresselia92]

Under other circumstances, Lyra would be mesmerized by the description of mystery dungeons. Those near-magical places that bent the rules of reality wouldn’t be out of place in a fantasy novel that she’d read in a heartbeat.

But hearing Brisa talking about that whispering dungeon injecting pure nightmare fuel straight into her brain through ominous voices for days? Oh boy. Now that was the stuff outta some horror thriller!

"Roarin' and tumblin' around after hapless 'mon, lashin' out 'gainst the whole world, but trapped down there in the dark, with an awful burnin' darkness inside herself..."

Soft hissing got her attention, and Lyra turned her head to see Silver snarling, his eyes burning with red fury and his claws dripping venom. She didn’t need telepathy to know why he was behaving like this: Starr. Something about that tale shook him to his bones, and he probably felt as if it were happening physically to him, too.

Against better judgment, Lyra wrapped a paw around his claw. She felt him flinch and its tip grazing her fur as it retracted, but nothing else. At least some tension had left his body after that gesture.

‘…Reminded you of your time with Team Rocket?’ she ventured, a deep sadness etched into her mental voice. He didn’t respond verbally, but the quiver of his mouth confirmed her assumption. He was, and it still pained him greatly. ‘That’s what she did to you and how she made you feel? Your, huh, grandmother?’

‘She’s no grandmother. Never was.’

Lyra bit her lower lip, worried about that scary-sounding undertone. She reached out for his claw again and sighed in relief when he bent it to hold her paw.

‘You’re not alone anymore. You’re free and safe from her clutches. You’re okay.’ This time Silver looked back at her, his anger melting to reveal his own worry. She responded with a determined pump of her fist, and her voice filled with unbridled optimism. ‘And soon it’ll be the same for Starr, too!’

Of course. Silver wanted nothing more than that, and finally they had an actual clue that could lead to her whereabouts: Prism Hollow. Still, there was someone else who shared that wish.

While Lyra greeted Jean and Dave with an enthusiastic “Hiii Jean!!” and a paw-wave, he glanced at Jade. “Hey. We’ll get her outta that cursed prison. You’ve got my word,” he said resolutely, fully intending to keep his promise.

There was another question that needed some answering, which he promptly added to the pile, “And, especially, how could we get outta there? A rescue mission worthy of its name needs an escape plan, after all.”

 

[Jackie Cat]

"So she was 'lashing out against the whole world'? That sounds like she might be Shadowed, right?"

"I'm Jean! Are you the sheriff? That's so cool!"​

"Jean, remember, we're here to talk about rescuing Starr."

Brisa chuckled drily. "Howdy, Jean. Pleasure t'meet ya; I take it you're Dave's kid. I ain't the sheriff, exactly – that'd be my partner Sonora – but I may as well be, being as I'm the Union Ranger directly responsible fer this town."

"'S'basically th' sheriff," muttered Jesse, pawing at his cheek. "Anyhow, what's this 'bout her bein' Shadowed? These Lantern bases like Site A-06 are all fer doin' testing regardin' Radiance. I was expectin' to hear that the poor gal was up to her eyeballs in madding light."

Brisa blew air through her nose and shook her head, looking uncertain. "Can't be sure. Felt like both, if I'm truthful, not that I've a slew of experience with either."

"Prism Hollow? What do you know about it?"

"And you know how to get to this place, right?"

“And, especially, how could we get outta there?”

Jesse nodded, and snapped his fingers before pointing in a moving arc at the nearest patch of thin hill-scrub grass. A tight sphere of flame manifested at his indication, and moved much like the dot of a laser pointer, drawing a simple map of Landsverd marked with points of interest.

"It's a fairly obscure dungeon on account of bein' on a private estate; I figure the owner has Covenant connections. Still, we can make our way there from the nearest rail stop without too much trouble. Your 'voice' in yer heads can detect rifts, if I ain't mistaken? So we can fall back on that if'n we get waylaid. Once we're there, I'm expectin' standard Covenant efforts to keep us out, most a' which are obviated by us knowin' our purpose in bein' there and refusin' to back off. Fightin' our way in would normally be a troublesome prospect, but I've seen how you motherfuckers fight. Pardon my tongue, there, li'l miss. But as I say, I've every expectation we'll trounce the staff there."

Jesse paused. Brisa, intuiting the reason, took over.

"The real fight isn't gonna be the lab-Lanterns in this place. If my gut's right, and it all too often is, we'll end up fightin' Starr afore we can put her back in her right mind."

The Luxray's face was grim, but her voice stayed steady. She'd come to terms with this a while ago already.