Open Dreams of the Past

[Storm Earth and Fire]

Anyway., Sinar said, changing the subject, What will we do at this company's headquarters? Or rather, what should we do? I doubt we can do much with the sleepers scattered about. Lance said he has the woman handled, now my concern rests with Zrantox. You might think him to be 'dead', but does death truly exist for a ghost? I have come under the impression that they don't 'live' like organics do.

 

[Kali the Flygon]

The truck Tanya and the few others were in finally began moving, driving toward Goldenrod. All but one of the trucks went along with it, and could be seen through the glass panes installed in the trailer of Tanya's truck. One truck remained behind to pick up stragglers. One of the remaining dig workers called out, "Last call! If you're coming, get on, we're leaving now."

Inside her truck, Tanya replied, "Well, I plan to make sure that you all survived the sleeping process without any side effects, so the sleepers will be offered a medical examination. Then, it'll be a matter of getting everyone up to speed with our world. 300 years doesn't just go by without something happening. When I can assure the sleepers safety, as well as that of everyone else, then they may either be released or optionally take a position within the Corporation." She smiled when she said that last part. People are most loyal when they work of their own choosing. Those that don't stay are those that wouldn't give their best anyway. It was a bit odd how Tanya thought of both humans and Pokémon as 'people'.

 

[Exo-Raikou]

Effigei and Yatasori had no idea what to do, now that Zrantox had been killed. Thus, the duo had decided to join up with eh rest of the convoy as they headed for... wherever they were heading for.

"I suppose what's left now is to pick up the pieces of our mission," Yatasori said, "But how? The way things are going, we have little chance of succeeding in pokemon-human isolation."

"Attempt."

"But to what end? Had we managed to prevent the sleepers from ever awakening, as per the original plan, this could have gone much smoothly. But we couldn't, once the dig team found out. Otherwise, we'd have to violate the parameters of the mission."

"True," Effigei said.

The Claydol did not add that it had been he who had slain Zrantox, given how that had violated their mission. Yatasori couldn't know.

If the Gliscor did, the consequences of such knowledge could end the mission.

 

[Stormecho]

Skaldia laughed as the Arcanine fell off. Served him right for jumping on her! There had been a crack... Maybe he had broken a bone. Oh well. She circled once more, screeched, and then flew after the rest of the dig team. She ignored the rest of the group, intent on finding out which vehicle had that woman - who had shot at her - and Lance inside. She'd follow them, to make sure Lance didn't think he'd escape her anger so easily...

(Blahblahblah, sorry for lateness and shortness and stuff. Blame my cold. >>)

 

[Chaon]

Kleh'Drentaht groaned and tried to get up, but as he did so, a sharp pain shot through his chest. Damn. A broken rib, he thought. If he moved too much, the rib would puncture the rib and kill him. Ha had heard the aerodactyl laughing at him. He inhaled to begin breathing fire, but the rib shot another burst of pain through his chest, and he started coughing instead.

((Too early in the morning to be doing this.))

 

[Kali the Flygon]

The dig worker in charge of the final truck, a Hariyama, heard the thud of the Arcanine's hard landing. He walked over, grumbling. "What's going on back here? Are you coming or not?" But when he saw the coughing and crying out of the Arcanine, he looked a bit more worried. "What happened to you? All right, let's get you in... we'll get you some medical care back at base..." He slid his massive hands underneath the Arcanine and lifted him up into the remaining truck. He closed the back doors. "All right, we're leaving now. Next stop, Goldenrod City." The truck soon began driving off.

Tanya, meanwhile began to rest, laying her head down on the floor of the trailer, near Cole. "It'll be so nice to be back home..." The convoy was coming up close to the Ruins of Alph, the route having long since been paved as a trail between Violet and Azalea mainly, though there was also a path that turned off toward Goldenrod.

 

[Exo-Raikou]

Zrantox awoke to find himself in the chambers.

And he had much to think about.

One of my brothers... if they had everything taken from them, what would they have done?

I want to think that they would swear vengeance against humans, like me. But realistically....

realistically, I know that this isn't true.

Were they in my position, with the world the way it is...

they would do what was right.

I know what I must do, he thought, I have a new mission; new plans.

If I'm fast enough, maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to set things right.

The question, though, is how?

 

[Blazie]

((Forum is dying. D=))

Home…the word meant less to her now than it once had. Cole didn't mind this, but sometimes it felt odd for others to be so attatched to a home, a place, when she would be content to travel the rest of her life. Scooting closer to Tanya, she sighed. "Having a good, proper bed will be nice."

 

[Chaon]

"Next stop, Goldenrod City."

Goldenrod city? Damn. Where were these humans taking him? He coughed again. Well wherever they were going, they were going to take care of him. Once he was healed, he'd kill them all. Simple as that. As far as Kleh'Drentaht was concerned, the less time these humans spent alive, the better.

(Sorry Kali, didn't notice you picking me up into the truck.)

 

[Exo-Raikou]

((NO! This RP CAN'T Die! I've waited far too long for a remake to have it die out like this!!))

Zrantox turned transparent and floated out of the chamber.

The first thing that he had to do was find the pokemon from before. No doubt they had already left for an unknown destination.

Zrantox decided to make it his job to find out where they were going.

He was correct in thinking that they had left, for when he exited the cave he found the area outside it to be empty.

The ghost, remaining transparent, floated into the woods by the side and went forward.

I must find them. I know that if I am ever to achieve the wishes of Giratina... and the wishes of my fallen brothers, I must find all of them.

He was rewarded when he floated slightly forward and saw several human vehicles. Atop the rearmost of these were Yatasori and Effigei.

Zrantox moved in to get a closer look, and as he did so, he reverted to visibility for the briefest instant- and for a second, Yatasori saw him.

Cursing in his mind, Zrantox turned invisible once more.

I cannot reveal myself until the time is right.

 

[Chaon]

((Kali, if you don't post here I'm going to kill you. THIS RP WILL NOT DIE!))

Kleh'Drentaht continued coughing, but something came out this time. Blood. Damnit. He needed help and fast. It appeared the lung had already been punctured. The sight of the blood made him vomit. Somehow he was allergic to his own blood? He never could stand seeing his own life force spilling away, but very few had ever injured him before, and fewer still lived to brag about it.

((I'm coughing up blood and vomiting Kali. What are you going to do? :O))

 

[Exo-Raikou]

((One last try. One last attempt for this RP to regain its former glory. If Kali, Stormecho, or any of the other "plot pivotal" members sees this, hopefully they will post. If not... then this RP will have run its course.))

Yatasori was looking in the forest around him, when he saw something that made him give off a yell of shock.

'What?" Effigei said, looking around for any possible threat.

"For a moment... I saw Zrantox, just beyond those trees."

"Impossible," Effigei said.

"Yes, yes, I know. He's dead. And the Dusknoir I saw had both arms. But... this one had his markings."

"No."

"As you said before, it shouldn't be possible. And yet, there he was..."

After a brief pause, Yatasori said, "Effigei, I've been thinking about the mission. Maybe... maybe we should make one final attempt for success."

"Why?" The Claydol asked, silently relieved that Yatasori hadn't pursued the matter of Zrantox.

"Well, when I had died, whatever brought me back to life said that I still had a job to do. I think that it was a sign that the mission should still continue."

"But..."

"It's a long shot, I know. But you thought I had been killed, and yet I'm here right now."

"True."

"And besides, once we reach Goldenrod City, we'll have nothing left. The mission is the entire reason that we're traveling together."

Effigei said nothing, though he knew that wasn't the full truth.

"No matter what happens, we should stick with the mission, if only to ensure that my reason for revival is fulfilled."

After a long pause, Effigei nodded.

Yata-Sasori smiled at his friend's answer.

Whatever happened now, they would face it as one.
----
Zrantox, having eavesdropped on the entire conversation, was satisfied after hearing their destination.

Goldenrod city, eh? Then I guess I'm going there too.

For a moment, he wondered if he was doing the right thing.

How do I know that this is really what my brothers wanted? What if Giratina's lying? What if-

He forced those thoughts away from his mind. His brothers would not have wanted him avenging them.

They would have wanted him to do what was right.

And what was right was to bring about the unification of Pokemon and Humans.

What was right was to ensure things were as they were before pokemon training, in days where the two species lived in harmony.

But that goal was far from now.

Zrantox knew that before he achieved that goal, he would need to root out any of those who opposed it. He would need to make sure he was no longer seen as a threat by the pokemon who were now his allies.

But first and foremost, he needed to redeem himself in the eyes of Giratina, and the eyes of his fallen brothers.

With that in mind, he started to float to Goldenrod City.

There was much to be done, and still a very long way to go.

 

[Arylett Charnoa]

(Sorry... I've just felt incredibly unmotivated for some reason.)

Soon enough, the car had arrived in the large bustling of Goldenrod.

Lance looked about, astonished by how much it seemed to have changed from when he had last seen it. So much more... industrial. There were all sorts of people, and all sorts of machines. The city had seemed to have been thriving as never before.

"It sure has changed... hasn't it?" His eyes rested on a particularly large building ahead of him, which Mourmedy seemed to have been walking towards. She didn't reply, and continued walking.

The former Pokemon trainer followed after his ride, and for a moment, her steely eyes seemed to flash with a sort of shy confusion. But they quickly assumed their own little apathetic guise.

"Why are you following me?" Her voice sounded rather stiff, and forced. "I gave you your ride..."

The man smiled, and her steely eyes seemed to threaten to break down again, but they continued to glare on ahead coldly.

"I'd like a tour, if you don't mind. See what this... company of yours does?"

He wasn't so sure what her response would be, but he could feel as if she'd back down, a sort of moment of her letting her guard down. For a moment, those eyes looked thoughtful, as if contemplating this matter deeply.

"Tanya can show you around. I'm not here to play tour guide."

And his smile turned into a playful grin, her expression faltered again.

"But they aren't here yet. Surely you can show me around first...?"

It was rather hard to tell what she was thinking at this point, due to her expression faltering strangely and trying to contort back to its original look. Her next response was one of those rare things that was both unexpected and expected. It seemed as if she'd concede... and yet it didn't.

But she did.

"All right, fine. Come on, let's go."

So the two walked off, further into the city.

 

[Blaziking the God General]

((Gah, this thread is almost dead. Kali had better get here soon))

Zemhal was sitting in his office. It was ridiculous to think that he had to organize a meeting with his father. His own father! The entire thing was ridiculous. Why couldn't he just walk right in there and announce to his father that his experiment was a success. However, his father never was keen to that sort of behavior, so on second thought, it really wasn't a great idea.

Zemhal slouched in his chair behind his incredibly messy paper-covered desk, and he closed his eyes, hoping to get some sleep, when there was a knock at the door.

"What?" Zemhal asked bitterly, not opening his eyes. He heard the door open.

"Um, sir," a voice said, "there's been an, um, well-"

"Spit it out, what did you do?" Zemhal said adamantly, still keeping his eyes shut.

"Well, the dig team is on their way back with..." the voice paused.

"As much as I love silence," Zemhal said, "you're really pissing me off right now, so silence isn't the best option for you right now."

"The dig team dug up some Pokemon."

Zemhal opened his eyes and sat up in his chair abruptly. "What? You must be kidding me!"

"N-no, I-"

Not waiting for the answer to finish, Zemhal stood up and rushed out of his office. Why dammit, why?

 

[Stormecho]

((Hey guys, I finally figured out why I suck so much as a GM. XD I have no railroading instinct - I tend to just follow along even when I should be boosting the plot. >>))

The city they were approaching looked impressive from far off - tall buildings crowded the skyline. Steam and smoke rose from factories, and people teemed in the streets. But there was a large difference to the sleepers - barely any Pokemon could be seen, and those that were visible were being useful: carrying humans from one place to the other, or helping in construction. This side of Goldenrod was about one fifth of the city - the rest was either slums, or crumbling ruins that were too dangerous to explore and rebuild. Its good side thrived, but the deeper into the city one went, the easier it was to see decay and ruin.

Skaldia sped up to get a better look, but quickly fell back at the rather stunning sight. Last time she had seen Goldenrod, it had had only one true skyscraper: the Radio Tower. Now, she couldn't tell where it was at all. Curious, she gained height and skidded along the side of one of the towers, trying to peer into the rooms. Seeing nothing of interest, she turned and went back to keep pace with the trucks, a bit unnerved.

 

[Exo-Raikou]

"I've never been much of a city person," Yatasori said as the caravan arrived. The Gliscor jumped up, taking in the sights... or trying not to.

"Why?" Effigei said, hovering away from the caravan.

"I don't really know. Maybe it's just all this controlled chaos. Maybe it's something more. Maybe it's just because I can't spend time around all these humans- I'm kidding," he added, as Effigei looked at him, surprised, "Point being, I much prefer the country to the city."

The Gliscor flew upward, to get a better idea of where to start.

He circled a few times before flying back down.

"I'm not entirely sure how we should start this. The city's in bad shape, any pokemon that are here are doing mundane tasks, four-fifths of the place is in ruins..." He shrugged, saying: "I think we've got our work cut out for us."

Effigei didn't say anything at first. Several of his eyes were trained on a faint outline that was slowly moving away from the caravan.

Could that be...

"Effigei, you okay? Have you gone deaf?"

"Huh?" The Claydol whirled around.

"I think you're starting to get senile, friend. Did you hear anything I was saying?"

"No."

Yatasori gave an exasperated sigh. "Well, what I was saying was that this entire place is in awful shape. Our only lead are the pokemon who are doing tasks for the humans."

"Why-"

"Just hear me out. If we can convince the working pokemon to abandon the humans and head for wherever they desire, then we'll be able to cut off pokemon and humans from each other. With that done, we'll have accomplished something."

"But..." Effigei tried to put as much skepticism as he could on that lone word.

"I'm well aware that there are holes in this plan a Rhyperior could charge through," Yatasori said, "But the way I see it, it's a start. We need to try something if the mission is to succeed."

Effigei didn't comment. He knew this was true.

"Good that you agree, then." The Gliscor flew into the city.

"Come on, Effigei. We need to get started."

Effigei nodded, and floated after Yatasori.

It was time to begin in earnest.
----
Zrnatox had reached Goldenrod City along with the caravan, and aside from his brief moment of visibility earlier, he had remained transparent.

The Dusknoir had eavesdropped on Yatasori and Effigei, and after hearing their plan, he formulated one of his own.

They're halfway to the point. Talking to those worker pokemon is the right way to go... but they need to receive a different message.

And who better to deliver that message than me?

The Dusknoir floated after the two pokemon.

His work had begun.

 

[Kali the Flygon]

(Ugh, I've been really busy and totally unmotivated to do anything recently... I'm sorry guys.)

The caravan finally made their way into the large city of Goldenrod, traveling along one of the major avenues of the city. Over the past 300 years, Goldenrod had transformed dramatically, from a rural center of commerce for an agrarian society, into an enormous metropolis, teeming with life of all kinds making their rounds for survival in everyday life. Humans seemed apparent to be dominant in this world, but there were Pokemon around as well. Skyscrapers lined the skyline all around, somewhat blocking out the sun, and the buildings only looked bigger the closer the trucks came. While much of the city appeared run-down and ugly, the center in particular rose up above the rest, like a beacon of paradise and progress in a sea of despair. And it was to this center that the caravan traveled. One building in particular looked like an enormous tower, surrounded by a massive castle wall, but instead of stone, it was made out of metal and glass. This building made up an entire city block, and stretched nearly a thousand feet into the air, ending in a broadcast tower at the top. There was a small hole in the surface level of this building, designed for access to the sub-basement parking structures, that the trucks began to enter. While patron vehicles were guided in one direction, the trucks drove through a gate, into a special loading/unloading bay, located about 30 feet underneath the enormous structure, finally parking.

Tanya opened the trailer door of her vehicle, and a couple of the other dig team members were there to meet her. "All right, everyone out. It's time to unload. The crystals, I want taken to the research labs on the 34th floor. Everyone else, we're going to first come to the medical center on the 8th floor, for a quick health examination, and if there are any serious injuries, they will be taken care of. Afterward, I'll be happy to give you a personal tour of the facility, and answer any questions that you may still have."

 

[Kali the Flygon]

(I don't own the NPCs or this RPG, and I wasn't riding in the same truck as you, so I might not realize yet. If you need to use a NPC to even alert me as to how bad your condition is, go ahead. But, all right, I'll do it this time.)

A Hariyama shouted out from the last truck to arrive at the base. "Tanya! We need a stretcher brought down right away! This Arcanine's in really bad shape." Tanya groaned. She turned to Cole, the human who had been riding with her. "Call the medical center and ask them to bring a paramedic team. You know there's a service phone right next to the service elevator we'll be using. Just dial the floor number of the medical center. I'll check the Arcanine while we wait." She slithered over to the back of the truck involved, looking inside at the Arcanine, then climbed inside. "Relax, it'll be all right..." She blew a gentle ring of water around him, coating his body with an Aqua Ring. "I have a team coming now to help you heal..."

 

[Blazie]

((So happy that this RP is back. =D))

Cole streched before clambering out of the trailer slowly. The basement, though lit than just as well as the cave she had spent much of her time in during the dig, unnerved her. She wasn't sure if it was how artificial it was, perfectly flat walls full of right-angles. Or perhaps it was the fact that there was a thousand-foot building above them which would crush her flat in seconds if the foundation above her somehow broke…

No. If she thought of that she'd probably freak out. She'd had enough terror recently to last quite a few years.

An Arcanine needed medical attention. Peering into the back of the truck holding the patient, she winced. There was blood, and the Pokemon looked…bad. She couldn't really describe it, and really, she didn't want to think about it.

"I'm on it, she murmured to Tanya. Cole ran across the loading bay to a large elevator marked 'Service'. Grabbing the phone beside it, she raised her right hand to dial…and froze. Tanya had said two numbers…and she hadn't been here for so long that she was confused. 34 or 8? The research lab had been…34. Cole quickly punched in 008 and put the phone to her ear.

"Medical Center, what do you need?" said the male voice on the other end.

Breathless, Cole couldn't stop her words from running together. "Wejustgotbackfromthedigandthere'sahurtPokemonsoweneedtheteamdownhere."

"…Could you repeat that?"

"There's…a hurt Arcanine…he—she—it looks really bad. We need a medical team down here."

"Gotcha. I'll send them down."

Cole hung up the phone. She really needed to take some time and relax.

 

[Chaon]

Klah'Drenaht was still coughing up more blood, and now, even worse, he was beginning to shake violently.