1st Ω [Action for New Bark Town/Video]

[kissmyaspis]

[Action; New Bark Town]

[Fresh green grass. A breeze that carries no hint of smog or pollution or any other manner of nastiness in the air. People happily walking around unarmed and seemingly unworried over the potential of being jumped or mugged even in broad daylight.

This was not Pandora.

Not that it took any of these observations for Athena to conclude that something was very wrong. Just the feeling of the sun on her face as she drowsily awoke earlier (ugh, Janey was right, she was starting to lose her edge) was enough to send alarm bells blaring through her head. After all, her and Janey's place in Hollow Point wasn't the worst, but it was far enough away from the cave entrance that they don't really get much sun. That put Athena instantly on alert, and she practically bowled "mom" over before she could even open her mouth and instinctively grabbing the pack - she didn't even care whose it was - by the door and heading outside.

So here she was now, pacing in the middle of town like an angry kraggon, looking for anything familiar... but there was nothing. She couldn't even see Elpis's broken surface in the sky, so there was no way this was Pandora. One of the Edens, maybe...? But which one, they were all better than Pandora, so she couldn't tell by just one glance in one town...

Okay... okay. She had to find her bearings. She could do that. First, check the pack for anything that could be of use. Pulling it off her shoulder and tugging it open, Athena began sifting through the contents; food, a change of clothes (pfft, like hell she was going to get rid of her armor in an unknown location), what looked like some basic medical supplies, a... red and white ball? That catches her attention.

She set her bag down so she could examine the ball more closely. Round, one button on the middle... some kind of robot? At first glance, it reminded her of Gortys before she had been activated, so maybe if she pushed the button...

And then she promptly dropped it as the ball burst into light, every one of her battle instincts flaring to life as her brain screamed grenade! But damnit, she had no guns, no shield or sword....

Wait.

Sword?

Okay... yeah. That was definitely a sword floating in front of Athena. Staring at her.]

What the...

[She reached out to grab it by the hilt, but surprisingly enough, it dodged out of the way of her hand! Frowning, Athena tried to grab it again. And again it dodged. Her frown then morphs into a full-blown scowl, and she lunges for the thing.]

Argh-- get back here!



[Video]

[OKAY EVERYTHING'S UNDER CONTROL, EVERYTHING'S COOL. Except... not. So when the video flickers on, the rather annoyed, severe face of a young woman can be seen front and center.]

I'll give whatever dirty lowlife responsible for this ten seconds to identify themselves before I start hunting them down. Believe me, you don't want that.

[There's a pause, and her frown deepens if that's even possible. This... kidnapping, or whatever it was, had happened in her home. Said home was crappy, sure, but it had been damn secure. Athena herself had made sure of it. So if whoever-it-was had been able to get her without a problem, then the other occupant of the house could possibly be...]

Springs. As soon as you see this, echo me.

[She doesn't sound worried, but the edge in her eyes fades a little, and she reaches up to run a finger along a gleaming silver ring hanging from a chain around her neck. She blinks, realizing what she just did, before she practically shoves the ring under her shirt and out of view.]

If anyone can direct me to the nearest fast-travel station, the information will be much appreciated. [There's a pause, and the curious eye of a Honedge peeks on-screen with a gleam of curiosity. The woman glances at it, scowls, and pushes it away from the camera.] Also, the nearest gun vendor.

[Because this isn't the first odd creature she's seen so far, so she's not taking any chances. If she can't have Xiphos and Aspis, or at the very least any of her more advanced guns, she'll have to make due.]

Finally, if anyone familiar to me is viewing this, I will update my status as soon as I find my bearings in this bizarre town, and we can arrange a meetup then. Until then:

Athena, out.

[Click. The video finishes.]

Comments

[usedgravity]

[Don't worry, now that she thinks about it, it's pretty darn bizarre to her too.]

Nope. [She shakes her head] Unless they're really hidden, I don't think even the police here have guns.

[Who needs guns when you have fire-breathing dogs?]

[kissmyaspis]

That's absurd. It's like you're begging to be robbed or slaughtered.

[She snorts at the mention of "police". Like she'd expect any sort of law enforcement to be of much use in that department, anyway.]

So what can I expect to use to defend myself? Can I find a sword, at least? [Again, the Honedge tries to nudge itself into view of the camera, but Athena just shoves it away.] A real sword, I mean.

[usedgravity]

Yeah, you'd think that but - that's why we have pokemon!

[There's a series of pops as Ochako gleefully opens her pokeballs and a swablu, hoppip and noibat all pop out! Yes, they look super fierce and capable of defending her.]

Ah, you have one of those too! [She's reminded of a certain spiky-haired guy who wasn't too keen on his first pokemon either...] They're, well, they're pretty much your best bet at protection if that's what you want.

[kissmyaspis]

[Athena glances between Ochako's three pokemon, to the Honedge floating besides her, then back to the girl on the screen. she doesn't look convinced.]

Right, no. There's absolutely no way I'd trust in the ability of monsters over my own. I can handle myself just fine.

[usedgravity]

[In the category of "cute things that kick ass", Ochako fits right in with all the pokemon present]

I should warn you, if you're relying on any special abilities or magic you had back home, you won't have them here! [Especially if that ability is "gun", but she already covered that] You kind of need to rely on your partner!

[kissmyaspis]

[Huh. Now that's curious. Some kind of dampener tech, maybe? But this kid makes it sound like this effect is everywhere, hmm....]

This doesn't interfere with natural physical abilities, does it?

[She doesn't feel any different, but she still hasn't gone through her morning routine, so she can't be completely sure yet.]

[usedgravity]

I mean, I don't think so - unless you had like, super strength and could jump 10 meters in the air? I guess that depends what you call "natural". [Quirks were... natural? -ish?]