victory_road | 2nd Ω [Video/Action for Ecruteak]

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2nd Ω [Video/Action for Ecruteak]

[Action; Ecruteak City]

[Athena was not in a good mood. This isn't really surprising, considering her general attitude since being dragged to this planet and its strange form of captivity, but today was different. She's seen no sign of Rhys since they all arrived in town for the festival, and with Jack lurking about, all signs pointed to something bad happening. But with a lack of clues as to what exactly went down, Athena was left to pace her room at the inn like a caged lion, before deciding screw it. She was going to hunt Jack down and interrogate him if she had to.

However, the moment she stepped outside, the hairs at the back of her neck stood straight up as the feeling of being watched hit her like a truck. Mind immediately snapping back into her soldier mentality, Athena whipped around, one arm raised as if to bring up the shield that isn't there....

... Only to be confronted with a face she hasn't seen in years.

Athena can practically feel the color drain from her face as her sister stares back at her. That face so like her own and yet not, her eyes brighter and her features softer, her whole being unmarred by Atlas indoctrination and the weight of guilt over countless victims slain by her own hands. That face, a face Athena could only remember twisted with horror and pain, now looked at her with concern. A hand - one Athena could only remember holding while cold and still and slick with blood - reached out to her, and Athena nearly stumbled in her haste to keep the distance between herself and this shadow of her past.]

... Jess?

[Video; later]

[With the entrance she made, it's safe to assume that people probably had a certain... uneasy view of Athena. So when her face shows up on the gear today, pale and shaken, it's a wonder if this is even the same woman.]

How do we get rid of them.

[It's a demand more than a question. For most, they might already have a good idea of who "them" is, but for those who haven't had the misfortune of running into the ghosts yet...

Over Athena's shoulder, half-hidden by Xiphos stalwartly trying to keep the apparition a good distance away from his master, a girl can be seen. She's clearly a few years younger, and there's no hint of Athena's surly demeanor about her, but the face, the eyes... everything about her screams sister. And boy, just the sight of this kid seems to really be freaking Athena out.]

These... specters. Ghosts. All ghosts on this planet are pokemon, correct? Would that mean battling them will chase them off?

[She manages to not sound desperate, but if it was possible, she'd be going even paler at her own words. If that was the only way to deal with this, if the only way to get this ghost to stop wearing the face of her sister was to attack it again... that's one battle Athena isn't sure she can fight.]

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[have someone who looks equally shaken with a translucent figure of a guy with a green jacket and a gun behind him. if he was more with it, he'd note that Athena has issues with what's probably a dead sister. but he's not really that with it, especially considering he'd just jammed the video button without thinking and shown the entire network precisely what he's seeing. not that the information's probably useful to anyone, anyway, but still.]

No, that doesn't work-- I already tried. Not physical attacks, not fire, not punching the damn things. It all goes straight through.

[admittedly, those has all been attempted on the massive, burning guy that was following the Phantom around, while Kaz had mostly opted for trying to ignore his, but still.]

But I think you're right about it being Ghost pokemon.

[Athena wishes she could ignore her ghost. The only thing stopping it from interacting with her at all is Xiphos, and even he looks a little reluctant, as firmly as he tries to keep the girl back. To her credit, the girl (the ghost?) stays back, but the concern on her face only seems to deepen the longer Athena keeps her back to her.]

It has to be. They were all starting to gather at the bonfire, weren't they? That must have triggered something...

[Athena's brain can work as fast as any computer, especially when it comes to anything related to battle, so she's trying to put together what she had read up, the strengths and weaknesses of each type of monster...]

Maybe we need something else. Another ghost type, perhaps?

See, that's just it-- Bon's over now. If you believe in that kind of thing-- which it looks like is literally real here --it should've already happened.

[unless the spirits never made it back to the afterlife, but that thought is far too ridiculous for Kaz to entertain, considering he hasn't seriously believed in this stuff for a long, long time.]

No, not that, either, and not Dark-types.

Maybe they waited for the aftermath of the festival because they knew the guess would be at their most vulnerable. If they did it at the bonfire, the humans would have expected it, with all the ghosts lingering around already.

[Ugh, damnit. She knew these monsters weren't as harmless as everyone said, but no, they just thought she was overreacting...!]

Maybe. But what I want to know is how they knew what to turn into.

Hey! There you are!

[As though Jack has been looking for her, or something. He mostly ignores the content of the message - is he the only one who's got someone he wants to see hanging around? - and gets to what he feels is important.]

So...yeah. Clearly you've got...stuff going on, but I got stuck with something that you probably want back.

Not that I'd blame you if you didn't, but...I don't want it either. So....yeah. Wanna take care of that?

Edited 2016-08-17 23:59 (UTC)

[Ohhhh boy. If looks could kill, Jack would be dead at least ten times over. Even Xiphos and the girl he's keeping away from Athena seem uneasy with the murderous aura now surrounding Athena.]

What. Just get to the damn point.

[Holy shit. That is a much more extreme reaction than Jack was expecting.]

...oh. Just assumed you were missing one ex-Hyperion idiot.

[between Athena's admissions and Rhys' conflicting stories about her, he just thought they'd been sticking together. Maybe not.]

Not...really sure who else to call to get rid of him. Today's not a day I can deal with...his whole deal.

But, uh, never mind, I guess.

[Well this is.... not good, not at all. But it helps clear her head a bit. The anger is sharp, cutting through the wavering haze clogging her head, and it gives Athena something other than the ghost behind her to focus on.

So she looks a little less like she's going to explode any second now, but the intensity of that expression doesn't ease up at all.]

Where.

[It's... probably not a good sign that Athena's sticking to short sentences. Tread carefully, Jack.]

...where do you think? Golden...rod.

Aw crap. You've never been here, have you? You...can't come pick him up.

[Jack hadn't thought of that.]

God damn it! Guess he's just gonna have to find his own way back, when he finally wakes up...

[Fuck. Fuck. Of course he had to get dragged all the way back to Jack's place. If the rational part of Athena's brain was functioning right now, she might think this is actually a good thing. Rhys having been to Goldenrod means that if they need to make a move against Jack, they'll be able to fast-travel right there.

But, uh... she's not exactly rational right now. She just continues to seethe, to the point where Xiphos turns away from his watch of the ghost girl to float closer to his master. Boy, if a sword could look concerned right now...]

Send him back. If he's not in Ecruteak within the hour, I'm going to head out there myself.

[She doesn't care if it's a few days walk away, she's marched through the night several nights in a row before. This... ghost issue be damned, she has other important things to deal with now.

.... Ah, and because she most certainly knows Jack...]

If he's injured at all, I'm going to make sure to do the same to you, but ten times worse.

For the love of...

[Jack sighs. He pinches the bridge of his nose. And doesn't notice when a certain pale, blue eyed face peeks into the view of the screen at his side. Not at first.]

He got fall down drunk last night, Athena. Sicked up on my shoes, couldn't get off the ground. He was literally on the ground in a soggy mess of his own poor life choices. I let him sleep it off on my couch. He's still there.... oh...uh...damn it.

[Yup, that sure is a rather familiar little girl clamoring into his lap.]

No...no...baby, I'm on the phone...

[He really wishes he could get her to listen a little better.]

Look, I can't promise he'll be back in an hour. I haven't been able to wake him up. When he does wake up? Trust me, I want him out of my house. I'm...busy today.

[This is the face of someone who doesn't believe a word he's saying. And she's not going to take back her threat - not until she can see Rhys in person. And even then, there's no guarantee that Jack won't try something later on...

But that. Ohhh that catches her eye, enough to distract her for the moment. And all the puzzle pieces are beginning to fall into place inside her head...]

So the ghosts have wandered outside the cities where the festivals were being held.

Don't give me that look, see for yourself.

[He picks up 'Angel' - while aggressive physical contact is impossible, affectionate contact seems to not be a problem - and moves to show the view of his living room. And a drooling, sprawled Rhys on the couch, covered in Meowth.]

See? He's fine! I mean, I dunno, maybe he's got alcohol poisoning, but that's not my fault. I tried to cut him off, he flipped out and started chugging moonshine. He...he is not a smart guy.

And yeah, I guess so.

[... Okay, that's promising. But still, there's a world of difference between getting a look at someone over video and in person. She's still not convinced he's a hundred percent okay right now, so her expression doesn't change at all. Call her paranoid, but she's dealt with all manner of unsavory people during her life as an assassin and after, so she knows not to trust anything like this at face value.]

If you're smart, you'll keep your distance from it. Who knows what they want from us, masking themselves like... [She nearly kicks herself as she hesitates briefly, fighting around the lump in her throat.] People like this. It can't be good.

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[Athena isn't the only one currently haunted, though the situations are... very different. From the moment Tim first saw his specter, he's been freaking out. Because... well, how the hell else could he react to seeing someone he knows damn well is dead? He watched this man die, after all.

And after freaking out on his own for a while, he leaves his room, because he just... cannot deal with this right now. And Athena has her shit together, so maybe she'll know how to handle this. If not... Well, there's always the network? Yeah.

So when he goes out and spots her, he immediately heads right for her, still followed by the image of one very dead Hyperion scientist.]

Hey, Athena, did you--

[And then he spots the ghost. And that appearance is...

...Oh.

Immediately, his own freakout is forgotten.]

Uh. Whoa.

Are... you alright?

[... Sorry Tim, Athena. Really doesn't have her shit together. She's so focused on the specter in front of her that she doesn't even notice him approach, so when he speaks up, she whips around so fast that it's surprising she didn't give herself whiplash.

Thankfully, she's shaken up enough that she doesn't notice the scientist behind him, because that's one more layer of guilt that she really doesn't need right now, but it's still bad enough that he's seeing her like this.]

Don't. [Her voice wavers only slightly, but god, she hates herself for revealing even just that much.] Stay back. Something... something's not right.

[... Yeah, she's aware she's stating the obvious here.]

[Tim just about freezes at that. He definitely halts his approach, at least, though he had already slowed down. Yep, okay, this seems like a good place to just stand.]

...Yeah, no kidding.

[He looks over at the ghost again and... Man, even though he knows he shouldn't stare, he can't help it. Now that he's getting a better look, there's no mistaking the family resemblance here. Shit.]

What the hell is even going on here...

This is so messed up.

[Also fairly obvious.]

[The ghost notices Tim staring, and tries to offer a reassuring smile. Which... considering how much she looks like Athena, might come off as pretty unnerving. But the smile doesn't last long before her focus is back on Athena, who she tries taking a step closer towards. Sadly, she doesn't get very far before Xiphos darts forward, putting himself between her and his master.]

Something happened at the festival. The ghosts had been gathering... [A pause as she takes a deep breath. She's starting to pull herself together, or is trying to at least, but god, she can't even look at the girl in front of her...] This is just a trick. A screwed-up trick.

[It sounds more like she's trying to convince herself, not Tim...]

[Oh, everything about this is coming off as unnerving. Consider him well and truly unnerved here. The fact that there's still a ghost behind him as well also... doesn't help.]

Right... yeah, there were a lot of them. So it's got to do with that, right? So... [He almost glances back at his own spectre, but... he can't quite bring himself to.] Has she... it... [Man, what word does he even use?] I mean, has yours actually done anything? Or said anything?

[He's gonna guess no, since his sure hasn't.]

[It's conflicting. A part of her burns over Jess being called just "it", but another part of her can acknowledge that this thing isn't Jess. She needs to separate the two, this ghost from her sister, or else the small steps she's made at getting past her guilt and grief are all going to be undone.]

No. It hasn't said a damn thing, so my guess is that this is just some way to torture us.

[The ghost looks hurt at the suggestion, and it (she?) quickly shakes her head. But Athena doesn't seem convinced of its sincerity.]

I-I don't know. Not ruling that option out, sure, but...

[...

It's kind of difficult to find an argument against that when he can't bring himself to look at the ghost haunting him. Both because of guilt and just because... how the hell are you supposed to deal with seeing a dead man everywhere?

Having it be a relative... God, that would kill him. It's hard to tell how Athena feels, but... it can't be good.]

Anyway, it's really just illusions then. Um. Right. Okay. So, uh, I'm just assuming here that you probably don't know what to do about... all this.

Guess at least this isn't a regular thing here. That's... good.

If I did, this ghost wouldn't be here right now.

[It's not as harsh as it could be, but there's a definite bite in her voice. And when she turns to look at him, really look, it doesn't take long for her to notice the ghost behind him as well. Oh boy. That manages to hit her too, though not nearly as hard as the image of Jess does. Even after all this time, the memory of Jack venting those scientists, Jack tricking them into helping him vent the scientists... the guilt still bothered her.

Guilt...]

They must be reacting to traumatic events in our pasts. I don't know how that can be used to get them to go away, but it's something.

...Right, yes. Obvious. Sorry.

[The last night of the festival was already rough, but this is... something else. Combine both of those, though, and it's honestly almost too much to handle.

The ghost he knows is standing behind him, pretty much a walking symbol of his guilt, is making him incredibly nervous. He just... needs to keep looking at Athena. And at nothing else.]

I-I mean, yeah, I guess? That's kinda how it works in ghost stories and stuff, right? Like there's some reason or meaning behind it and well, yeah, trauma's usually a big thing. Regret, guilt, all that...

But... I dunno, there's gotta be something they want, right?

I wouldn't know of such stories.

[Maybe once upon a time she did, when she still had a family and parents to read her bedtime stories. But those memories are a haze now, even more so after her fallout with Atlas. She'd blocked out what little happy feelings regarding her family she had left, leaving her with only her anger and grief.]

If they're waiting until after the festival to pull this stunt, perhaps they're attempting to prey on those who attended who they believe might be in a vulnerable state of mind.

[Not that it would apply to her, in that case. Athena pointedly refused to get involved in any of that festival nonsense, outside of being dragged into playing a few games.]