... and the night is won...

[indigo_league]

When the Unown successfully summon their Legendary ally, the tides of the battle turn in a big way.

With Suicune creating increasingly smaller rings of gleaming ice around the swarm, the Kartana have no choice but to retreat in whatever direction the trainers and their Pokemon push them in. Which, as Suicune's melodic howls and meaningful head-jerks every time it gets close enough to someone to make one would indicate, should be directly back down into the chamber they came-- and are still coming-- from.

Sure enough, the jagged portal is still swirling right where it opened, roaring static and what can kindly be described as ethereal screaming.

Backed by the trainers, their teams, and no small number of Unown (who quite frankly look pretty happy with the results of their plan paying off-- take this, you origami bullies!!), Suicune enters the chamber purposefully, head bent and crystalline horn lowered, backing the interdimensional intruders towards the hole through which they came.

Not having any choice but to retreat, they begin to disappear into the hole with a series of bright flashes, increasing in intensity as more and more of them depart.

A ragged cheer rises from behind-- the loudest being Eusine, who yes, stuck around along with Morty to help deal with the the threat (and just about lost his mind when you-know-who showed up).

But as Suicune nears the portal itself and the last of the Kartana disappear... something happens.

Rather than simply disappear, the hole throbs in the air and suddenly widens, big enough to dwarf the Legendary Beast standing in front it. Something like the breeze that stirred during the 'seance' rushes through the chamber-- albeit about a hundred times stronger-- making Suicune's mane and ribbons stream out behind it as though blown by a gale.

Sparks fly and plasma pulses, and for the briefest instant, visible only if you happened to be looking directly into the portal when it flashed... there's a dark shape beyond. A dark shape that is much, much bigger than the Kartana.

And then an enormous wave of energy comes hurtling outward and everything goes black, the force knocking anyone and anything in the chamber clean off their feet-- and in the case of trainers and their Pokemon, clean out of consciousness.



It's hard to tell just how much time has passed when everyone starts to groan back into life... seconds? Minutes? Hours?

But the portal is gone, as are the Kartana.

In the darkness, it's hard to tell if the chamber itself looks any different... but those who stagger back up the stairs and into the open air aboveground fast enough will spot a shape limping away in the moonlight...






[And this concludes Camp Alpha! Thanks to everyone for participating, and please continue to have fun threading on both logs for as long as you like. Information about prizes and event aftermath will be added to the Info Post later today!]

Comments

[unabates]

[ there's some easing of tension in his chest to know that ford is worried about messing it up. he knows both of them have issues that wouldn't make this a walk in the park - but jack wants to try, which is more than he's wanted in a while with anything else. ]

Yeah. If something can mess up the Pokemon equivalent of a god or whatever... [ he gestures with one hand to the outside. could be bad, could get much worse. they're both paranoid enough to understand the implication of something bad happening and things left unsaid.

jack gives ford a little crooked smile. ]

I trust you too, which I usually make a point of not doing so. So you're special that way. [ some humor in this situation, sure. ]

I'm open to that too. I'd like to see where it goes, because ... ah, hell. It's been a while since I've trusted someone enough to let them in, Ford. The last guy I wasn't even dating and he tried to blow me up.

[ so you know that's where they are. ]

But I still want to try. I wanna hear more about your research when we're running and do more camping trips, and wake up to Jo trying to be your hat.

[ he smiles. ]

[meteorman]

[Ford considers pointing out they can do all those things already, right now, and decides not to. The one and only relationship he's had that wasn't with an inhuman nightmare creature was surprising to him in that it felt like almost nothing changed during the transition from friends to lovers. Maybe that's how it's supposed to work.

Still, he mirrors that little crooked smile, and that's something.]

I don't think you could stop her either way.

My next question was going to be if there's a particular term we ought to be using, but I think that 'seeing where it goes' may be it.

[That seems safer, somehow, than 'boyfriends'. Moreover it's a little difficult to think of himself as having a boyfriend to begin with. Boyfriend is a word for a man who's younger than he is, who carries a little less baggage. 'Lovers' is right out because he left purple prose like that behind when he stopped thinking of himself as the protagonist in his own epic narrative. 'Partners' feels clinical. For a scientist who generally likes to have terms for everything, this is one of those things he feels weird trying to pin down too hard.]

Will you be staying around Violet? I'll be somewhat more sedentary moving forward. Easy to find.

[unabates]

[ jack wouldn't have minded - that was the point. he's already enjoying very basic things with ford. he's used to listening to people ramble, but with ford it's more interesting than it normally is.

he gives a nod after a moment. ]

I think seeing where it goes works. I need to take things at an easy pace.

[ he can admit that, at the very least. when ford asks where he'll be staying, jack steps a bit closer. ]

I was actually thinking of saving up for a place near Cherrygrove. It's by the beach and there's plenty of space for the dogs to run around. And only a warp away from Violet.

[ ford hadn't been the main factor but he can admit when he learned of the gym, he gave it more weight. ]

[meteorman]

['At an easy pace' is promising. It means there's room for missteps, which Ford is pretty certain he's going to make. Mistakes are easier to correct when you've got the time to do so. Good. That's good.

He doesn't move away when Jack steps closer, which is also good. Not that there's really much of anywhere to go in this tent. It's only so big.]

So we won't have to abandon our morning runs. That's good. I've gotten into the habit of it now.

[Not that he wouldn't be doing it if Jack wasn't around. The habit he's gotten into is having someone else there.]

[unabates]

[ jack absolutely is worried about missteps, his own primarily but room for ford's, too. he knows how to make things work in a relationship, in theory - but his experience with it is all from the perspective of a young man, not an old one.

also, yes, only so much space in the tent. it's why the pokemon were left outside. ]

What would you do without our stellar morning conversation?

[ the joke is there's usually not a lot of talking, unless it's been a while since they've seen each other. they can both appreciate some quiet.

jack considers a moment. should he offer to set ground rules? he's not sure now's the time for it yet and he wouldn't know where to start. he's not about to dump his pile of truth on ford, either, although he knows he'll have to to go into this honestly. after a moment, he reaches up and tugs on ford's sleeve. ]

C'mon, lets sit. I'm not a young man and leaning over isn't doing either of us favors.

[meteorman]

[Oh, right. He was so busy worrying to himself about this very fraught conversation that he forgot that a tent is not a great place for standing and talking. Oops.]

Ahah -- right.

[He's honestly a little glad to sit, if only because what happened in the Ruins is really starting to catch up to him now that his body's had time to get really good and sore. His stomach's a little unhappy with him too, but that'll go away with time. It usually does. It's still not nearly so bad as the time he took a dozen or so warps in quick succession.]

So that's settled, then?

[It's a question because this is one of those things that feels like it should be more finite and really isn't. Should they, like, shake on it?]

[unabates]

[ jack's body is starting to catch up from it, too. between the adrenaline, making sure people got out okay and taking some hits, he could use the rest. he sits down next to ford as they settle on top of the sleeping bags they've spread out. jo pokes her head in under the flap of the entrance. ]

Yeah, that's settled. I don't think we need to set any major ground rules, and we work better on the fly.

[ after a moment, though, jack leans in and presses a kiss, just to the side of ford's mouth, and then pulls back, grinning. ]

Knew I'd enjoy getting to do that, though.

FINALLY THIS ICON

[meteorman]

Improvisation. Right, we've talked about --

[Oh.

Oh, right, 'seeing where it goes' involves kissing. Casual physical affection outside of his small circle of family, adoptive and non, isn't a thing Ford has got a lot of recently. It's nice. He thinks he could definitely get used to it. The Pines family is a tactile one, once you get to know them well enough.]

That's good. That you enjoy it. This wouldn't work very well otherwise. [hahahahAHAH OH BOY. That sure was a series of sentences. He turns away from Jack, beckoning Jolene in from the tent flap. It's all clear, honey, come in and distract from the stupid thing he just said.]

GOOD

[unabates]

Well, you know. It helps, I'm sure.

[ yes, that was very stupid but jack is grinning, and reaches up to gently push his fist against ford's shoulder in a mimicry of hitting him in the shoulder.

jolene is just fine saving ford from mistakes, though, and she crawls the rest of the way in, quickly followed by crybaby, who is not to be left out. jolene settles herself in ford's lap, chirruping at him worriedly for his pains.

jack picks up the delcatty in the meantime. ]

Anyway, I'm pretty sure neither of us are the mushy public display of affection types.

[ if you are ford Now Is The Time To Share. ]

[meteorman]

[Oh absolutely not. The occasional shoulder grab or something, sure, but Ford definitely isn't the guy to go to if you want PDA. He probably won't even tell anybody about this 'seeing where it goes' unless it becomes immediately relevant, not because he doesn't want anybody to know but rather because he doesn't see any reason everybody should.

He runs a hand absently across Jolene's back. Much as she's not his Pokémon... she's his Pokémon. That's just how that works. She adopted him, he can't very well say no.]

Nnnnno. Such as I have a 'scene', that's not really it. [As the kids would say.]

[unabates]

[ jack will mention it to hank - if only because he mentioned what happened to the boat to him at all - and keep it on a need to know basis otherwise, for the same reasons.

jolene bwees at him softly and settles into his lap. jack smiles a bit, rubbing crybaby's belly. he definitely knows who jo's favorite is. ]

Me either. [ just so they're on the same page. ] Dipper make it through mostly okay?

[ he knows if dipper hadn't they wouldn't be having this conversation right now. ]

[meteorman]

Of course he did, it's Dipper.

[Does he knows this for a fact? Actually no. But Ford is at the point with his family where he knows that out of the four of them he is easily the least-capable. If he's fine then Dipper is definitely fine, because Dipper has consistently been better than him at not getting in trouble.]

He survived alone in an apocalypse event for three days, he can handle some upset origami.