victory_road | Network and action combo

Entry tags:

Network and action combo

Who: Mikasa Ackerman and ???

Where: Route 32, Union Cave, Route 33

When: After Snorunt event

Summary: When you small and your travel buddy just vanishes near a big dark cave

Rating: E for everyone, though might need some warnings later for grim children

Log:
The network part - video
[The recording had started before Mikasa had even centered the camera on herself. Catching the hustle and bustle of a group of pokemon, all seeming a bit antsy. In particular was one big boy that a few people might recognize. All of the others out were Mikasa's own pokemon, standing guard and near their master. The Luxio and Riolu sniffing at the remains of their campsite. The normal playfulness was missing as they got to work in the early morning light.]

Does anyone know about a sneaky pokemon near the cave on...route 32?

[Very stern. For the past few months she'd just started managing to emote again, but that progress was gone now.]

Yachi was sleeping, but now she's gone. All her things are still here.

[Just vanished into the night. Right near the big cave, Yachi wouldn't have gone in willingly but...]

Around, the nearby routes
[It felt like it'd been a long time since Mikasa had been optimistic. Yet it'd been less than a year. A mere year ago, she'd have thought Yachi was fine and left looking to the adults after sending her message. Not now though. Mikasa hadn't really seen aggressive pokemon, but she'd heard stories of wolves and boars back home.

It was enough to push her into taking her pokemon and Ume and looking for Yachi alone, in the hopes she'd find her friend. And that she'd find her friend fine and well and not a body. Ume would help. Yachi's Meganium hadn't wanted to return to his ball and Mikasa didn't have it in her to force him. Besides, he was carrying Yachi's pack. While Riolu and Luxio tried to find a scent, the latter's coat lit up when they ventured into the darker areas.

Mikasa was so determined, that she didn't even realise she'd scaled a near cliff. She'd just kept moving, one foot at a time.]

Union cave
[Eventually though, they'd ran out of options. The only place left to check was the cave that had been looming over the search. There had been no scent trail to it, but there was nothing to indicate Yachi was anywhere else. So in they went.

Not that she could go far. The dark she could handle, but the water and some of the large boulders proved too much. She couldn't swim very well and hadn't brought a pokemon that could with her and not matter how much she pushed. Those boulders weren't moving for her.

So she ducked, trying to find a gap that Yachi might have fit through. Not caring about the dirt, her clothes were already dirty, a little more was fine.]

Route 32 pokemon center
[What wasn't fine was the food situation. She'd had enough supplies to last her a few days without needing to go back to society. Not that she'd actually returned to society when she was running slow, she'd just gone to the nearest pokemon center. Hungry and covered in dirt and scratches, scowling as she stared up and worried Nurse Joy. Though Mikasa seemed mostly impassive to the Nurse's concerns, just standing there and waiting for her pokemon back.]

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[AN UNKNOWN AMOUNT OF TIME LATER...

Mikasa didn't fully leave the camp she and Yachi had made. Even if she did wander off in her search. She'd left the campfire ready to be lit, a little travel tent ready. There was a small note, just in case Yachi turned up while Mikasa wasn't there.

But it was getting late, so Mikasa was coming back to sleep for the night. Even if she was bundled up in thick tights, her camper overalls, scarf, gloves, the works.

She stilled at the figure, remaining hidden for a moment. Then he spoke and she realised who was nearby. She scurried nearer. ]

Armin... [She stared up at him. Not sure what to do.]

[Armin jumps a little at the sound of his voice --how could Mikasa be so quiet, there should be rules against that-- before turning in her direction.]

Hey...

[And he wishes he had a solution to her. That he could just tell her where her friend is and make her not have to deal with all of this. He doesn't though. He just doesn't.

So what he does, is he drops to one knee, not caring about the snow on the ground to put them at a more equal level, extending his arms for a hug.]

I'm really sorry, Mikasa.

[Mikasa kept fidgeting, scuffing her boots in the fresh snow that had fallen while she was out.

'Sorry' why was he sorry? She didn't understand. But she did understand the gesture. It didn't take more than a second for her to dart forward, giving a little jump as she reached to wrap her arms around his neck.

Giving a squeeze.]

[Ghhk.

Even at age ten, Mikasa is strong. But she is also hurting and has just lost her friend, and frankly, Armin is certain his neck can withstand a little more pressure.

And if it can't, well, maybe he'll finally have a chance to test that 'we can't die here' theory he's heard so much about.

Wrapping one arm around her back, his free hand goes to her hair, stroking it gently. Armin has been in this position often enough to know that it sucks and that nothing he says that can really make it better.]

It's not your fault, Mikasa. You couldn't find her because she isn't here anymore.

[If she hugs tight, then they can't get away and disappear on her. Can they?

She held on, nuzzling close. But she wasn't crying, just holding. Mikasa moved, just enough to look at the campsite.]

But she was there. I saw her. [They'd gone to bed and everything had been fine. But now... She'd known Yachi so long, she'd been away from Eren and Auntie Carla for so long.]

I know. But unfortunately, sometimes whatever brings us here also suddenly takes us back to our own worlds. That's what happened to Yachi. She's back home now.

[He keeps his hand against her back. Hugging tight won't prevent either of them from being sent back to their worlds if Arceus or nature or whatever is behind this decides it's time for them to go back, but it'll hopefully, maybe, act as a comfort to her.]

It hurts and it's really unfair.

Edited 2022-02-06 20:39 (UTC)

[Mikasa would still hold on. She didn't understand, why? It just didn't make sense. But her waking up here with the strange lady claiming to be her mom hadn't made sense either. Armin was right, he normally was. That didn't make it any easier.]

... I miss Eren... [Just a mumble. But less than six months ago she'd been living with him and his family. Just a year ago she'd been with...mother and father. It'd hardly been any time at all really.]

I miss him too.

[It's been longer for Armin though, years and years, and the absence has grown less painful. It's no longer the sharp, immediate ache that it was when he had first gotten here. If he is honest, there are days where he doesn't think about Eren at all, too caught up in everything that has become part of his life in this world. Of course, he'd still be thrilled if Eren would one day show up here, but it has become a passing thought more than a want he wakes up with every day.]

[She just nuzzled closer. Not sure what to say. This place still felt strange in so many ways. Yachi had been good at balancing it out, she knew how the computers worked and the cars. And she was someone to look out for, Yachi's worrying was a good distraction.

She'd just been uprooted so many times, so quickly.

Slowly, she broke the hug. Still looking to her feet.]

We...We were going to the bug place.

The bug-- ah, do you mean Azalea town? The town with the bug gym?

[He wants to be sure. There are also a few places that are known for their abundance of bug type pokemon (like the Ilex Forest and the National park). He's pretty sure that is not where they were going considering where they are right now, but always better to check.]

Yeah... Yachi was collecting the badges... [A stiff nod. Yachi had been the main reason she'd gotten her first badge. Mikasa hadn't been interested in the challenge before that She'd mainly gone just because Yachi had gone for her badge and she had nothing else to do.

Life hard when you've got no real goals. Even back home. Eren talked about the scouts and titans, Armin talked about what that book showed... She just wanted to be a farmer.]

Mikasa, do you want to come home with me? Just for a little bit? Just long enough to reorientate yourself.

[If she wants to keep travelling, Armin won't take that away from her. He'll worry, obviously, but travelling is a normal thing ten year olds do here. And Mikasa is far more powerful than most ten year olds.

Probably all ten year olds. Mikasa could defeat them all with her hand tied behind her back if need be.

But with Yachi so suddenly go, Armin wants to keep a close eye on her for a few days at least. Be able to give her plenty of hugs. And, from the sounds of it, it had primarily been Yachi's badge travel. Without her there now, would Mikasa just be travelling aimlessly. That can certainly be its own reward for some people, but Armin suspects Mikasa is not one of those people.]

[She hesitated. She liked it here, looking at all the nature on the routes, more than the still strange towns and cities. They still seemed too big. Too loud, with strange smells. But did she want to travel and explore alone...?

No. Not really. She wasn't much of a traveler, she just wanted to be somewhere peaceful with people she liked.

Slowly, she nodded.] Okay...

[Her hope and optimism gone.]

[Hearing her voice so struck down really twists the knife in Armin's heart, and he can't help but pull her into another hug. He had wanted this world to just be a paradise for Mikasa, a place she could live and grow in without needing to worry about any of the things that plague them back home. But unfortunately, even a world like this was not without its pains.]

I'm really sorry. I know what it is like. I've... made a lot of friends here that have gone back to their own homes too.

What happens to them when they go home? [Yachi had always seemed shocked when Mikasa mentioned home... and that was without her mentioning things like titans. Just food shortages and the kidnappers. That meant Yachi's home was safer, didn't it? A part of her realised that she was asking things Armin couldn't know. But the thoughts just slipped out.]

Well, they go back to where their own world, most of which are very different from ours. I've talked to a lot of different people about what their world are like and I've never heard of any world that is even remotely like ours.

[With, you know, the titans and all.]

Someone I knew a lot time ago came from a world where people can do magic and he went around and took care of magical animals. And Shiro and the others are from a world where they travel through space. I don't know exactly what Yachi's world was like, but I'm sure she'll be okay there.

[There are also a lot of other terrible worlds out there, of course. Like the one Angel is from. But there is no reason to tell Mikasa about those. Besides, if Yachi had been from a world like that, she'd probably have been a bit less... sheltered.]

While people are back in their own world, they don't remember being here, but [he combs his fingers through Mikasa's hair.] sometimes they do come back here and remember this world. Angel has gone back to her world a few times, but she has always come back.

[Armin. Armin, that's a lot to handle. So Mikasa's head dipped, processing all that. Magical animals wasn't so bad. That was pretty much what this place was like, wasn't it? But traveling through space? Like the stars? She was too medieval for this.

But the words slowly sunk in.]

...She won't remember me?

[But friend.]

[It would be easier to lie, to tell Mikasa that Yachi would for sure remember her. But Armin doesn't like being less than truthful, and he worries that should it ever come to pass, it would hurt even more if Mikasa was unprepared for the eventuality.]

It... it's a possibility.

I know that's a painful thing to hear and I wish I could make it different, but sometimes when people come back to this world, they don't remember having been here. But-- even when that happens, that doesn't mean you can't rebuild your friendship! Jean has been here twice. the second time, he didn't remember the first time at all, but we become good friends again either way.

[Of course, them having come from the same world helped. But he's trying to give Mikasa hope without pretending it isn't an issue.]

[She took a breath, her grasp on him tightening again. Even if it was only for a moment. Giving a small hum as she pulled back. Awkwardly shuffling her feet, trying to warm up again. Had it been this cold before?

Hesitating.]

Have...Have I been here before?

You haven't. At least, not for as long as I've been here.

[People have been coming here for over a decade, so theoretically there was always the possibility Mikasa had been here before Armin had ever arrived here, but if that was the case, then he had never heard about it.]

And you've been here more than five years... [A long time. He'd been here longer than she'd known him. Like how she'd known Yachi for almost as long as she'd known Eren and Armin back home.

Would she get used to it? Armin seemed to be.

There was one last small question.]

Why is Ume here but the other pokemon aren't? [Where they go?]

It's hard to say. After someone goes back to their world, some of their pokemon go to people they were close to. Like Ume did with you. Yachi's other friends may have gotten some pokemon too. And I've heard of a nice big ranch where all the other pokemon go. If Yachi ever comes back, she can go there and get her old friends back.

[This was so much learning.]

Like when you get seven pokemon? [Even before he'd answered, she was nodded. Giving a little sniff as she squared her shoulders. Standing straight. Firm.] I couldn't find her.

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Network and action combo

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