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victory_road2021-09-03 12:20 am
indigo_league) wrote in victory_road2021-09-03 12:20 am
Lost temple - part three
Today is the day. After a month of search, exploring, and okay, maybe one or two people nearly getting eaten by giant crabs, all the pieces of the puzzle have finally been collected and it is time to see what lays inside the sanctuary.
The Legendary Seekers, wanting everybody to be able to attend this momentous occasion, don't immediately put the stone slab together. Instead, a notification goes out to everybody -- those who helped solve the riddles, those who explored the temple, and even those that haven't been a part of this at all -- announcing that on September 2nd, the door will be opened and humanity's greatest treasure will be revealed.
***
On September 2nd, the temple is buzzing with excitement, and the Legendary Seekers seem ready to burst into excited tears with each piece of the puzzle they fit into place.
(There is also an older man there filming everything on an old-fashioned video camera. Pay no attention to him.)
Finally, Legendary Seeker Jackson holds aloft the final piece of the puzzle, allowing a hush to fall over the gathered crowd before he very formally places it and completes the puzzle.
Finally, the text that had been hidden for so long becomes fully visible.
The home of the seafaring to rest and recover
From the shifting tides and stormy seas
Joined by its children, a family of drifters
Round and round, spiraling down into the depths
Its nest hidden from view, kept safe by our key
And behind them, with a shudder that reverberates through the whole temple, the large door that has thus far barred entrance to the inner sanctuary slowly starts to slide open, allowing all gathered their first glimpse at what is inside.
The inside of the sanctuary has been entirely made of pale, white stone, and it actually contains very little. No grand treasures or heaps of coins. Instead, the furnishings are minimal (some benches, a small stone pool for water, and jars and pots that must have once contained various plants. The biggest, most eye-catching feature of the sanctuary stands in the middle of it.
Hewn from the same white-pale stone the temple is made from, stands a cradle. Pale branches, as those from a coral, have been woven together to partially cover the cradle with a canopy and inside of it, on a pale pillow sits a pokemon egg.
It's not like any egg you've ever seen before though. All eggs here in Victory Road are the same -- a soft off-white colour with green spots. This egg though is bright blue -- the blue of a bright and calm ocean. The colour is not entirely solid either, but instead constantly shifts ever so faintly, as if it was in fact made of water. A red gem is visible within the blue. The egg occasionally seems to shiver and jump slightly, all signs that whatever might be inside this very strange egg is very close to hatching.
But before anyone can step forward and examine the egg more closely --
"Halt! We'll be taking that."
Suddenly there is a flurry of movement and sound as several black-robed, hooded figures teleport into the sanctuary. Their hoods are drawn deeply over their faces, making it impossible to see who these people are, but the back of their robes are emblazed with a symbol that some might recognise. Each has a pokemon at their side, but in all cases, the eyes of the pokemon are strangely glazed, staring ahead without any emotion.
One of the strange, robed individuals steps forward slightly, raising one hand.
"We claim this egg as a tribute to our Master. Though you are nonbelievers, we have no quarrel with you. However, if you try to stop us, we will unleash our might upon you!"
So, what will you do? Will you step back and allow these strange individuals to claim this egg for their own or will you stand and fight?
The Legendary Seekers, wanting everybody to be able to attend this momentous occasion, don't immediately put the stone slab together. Instead, a notification goes out to everybody -- those who helped solve the riddles, those who explored the temple, and even those that haven't been a part of this at all -- announcing that on September 2nd, the door will be opened and humanity's greatest treasure will be revealed.
On September 2nd, the temple is buzzing with excitement, and the Legendary Seekers seem ready to burst into excited tears with each piece of the puzzle they fit into place.
(There is also an older man there filming everything on an old-fashioned video camera. Pay no attention to him.)
Finally, Legendary Seeker Jackson holds aloft the final piece of the puzzle, allowing a hush to fall over the gathered crowd before he very formally places it and completes the puzzle.
Finally, the text that had been hidden for so long becomes fully visible.
From the shifting tides and stormy seas
Joined by its children, a family of drifters
Round and round, spiraling down into the depths
Its nest hidden from view, kept safe by our key
And behind them, with a shudder that reverberates through the whole temple, the large door that has thus far barred entrance to the inner sanctuary slowly starts to slide open, allowing all gathered their first glimpse at what is inside.
The inside of the sanctuary has been entirely made of pale, white stone, and it actually contains very little. No grand treasures or heaps of coins. Instead, the furnishings are minimal (some benches, a small stone pool for water, and jars and pots that must have once contained various plants. The biggest, most eye-catching feature of the sanctuary stands in the middle of it.
Hewn from the same white-pale stone the temple is made from, stands a cradle. Pale branches, as those from a coral, have been woven together to partially cover the cradle with a canopy and inside of it, on a pale pillow sits a pokemon egg.
It's not like any egg you've ever seen before though. All eggs here in Victory Road are the same -- a soft off-white colour with green spots. This egg though is bright blue -- the blue of a bright and calm ocean. The colour is not entirely solid either, but instead constantly shifts ever so faintly, as if it was in fact made of water. A red gem is visible within the blue. The egg occasionally seems to shiver and jump slightly, all signs that whatever might be inside this very strange egg is very close to hatching.
But before anyone can step forward and examine the egg more closely --
Suddenly there is a flurry of movement and sound as several black-robed, hooded figures teleport into the sanctuary. Their hoods are drawn deeply over their faces, making it impossible to see who these people are, but the back of their robes are emblazed with a symbol that some might recognise. Each has a pokemon at their side, but in all cases, the eyes of the pokemon are strangely glazed, staring ahead without any emotion.
One of the strange, robed individuals steps forward slightly, raising one hand.
"We claim this egg as a tribute to our Master. Though you are nonbelievers, we have no quarrel with you. However, if you try to stop us, we will unleash our might upon you!"
So, what will you do? Will you step back and allow these strange individuals to claim this egg for their own or will you stand and fight?
GOOD ENDING
"Have it your way, but know that this is not the end! Our Master will rise and your foolish opposition will be punished. You will regret what you did here today."
And then he too teleports away, leaving the sanctuary once again free of strange robed figures.
***
Before anycelebrations can break out, however, a high, anguished cry comes from one of the Legendary Seekers:
"The Egg is gone!"
It is true -- the cradle is empty, not a sign of the strange egg that had rested there before. Could the cult have taken it anyway? Was the dramatic defeat and last words merely a distraction so someone could sneak in and grab the egg? Where have they gone? They could be halfway across Kanto by now using those teleport moves!!
"Uhm, actually--"
It's not entirely clear who says it, but a pointed finger directs everybody's attention to where a certain trainer stands, his arms wrapped protectively (?) around the egg, looking a little surprised to suddenly have everybody's eyes on him. A hero surely! Someone willing to protect the strange egg even with their own body!
Because that is absolutely what is happening here, right?
In any case, there is no room for anyone to speak, nor for any motives to be questioned, not when the egg held securely in Doppio's arms suddenly starts to vibrate wildly, its previously blue shell suddenly glowing bright, bright enough that it is hard to look at directly until it disappears just as suddenly as it started, and where the egg was sitting just now, a small blue pokemon sits in Doppio's arms instead, blinking its large eyes rather adorably at the gathered crowd.
Wind gusts through their sanctuary, carrying with it the salty scent of the ocean and those haunting odd sounds from the spires above. As well as one other thing --
"Phi!"
Coming not from the small Phione held in Doppio's arms but instead from the entrance of the temple, where everyone can now see another strange blue pokemon, looking rather tired but also very happy. The small spheres at the end of its antenna glow and everybody can hear its voice as Manaphy speaks.