Video

[crystalmaster]

[Radley isn't really surprised when all the Eevees are gathered around the small pond on their property. Evie especially is fascinated, pawing at something in the water. So of course Radley comes over to see.]

... Wow, what is that?

[The strange fish leaps up, smacks him in the face, and jumps back in the water. Radley gasps and sputters, annoyed to the nth degree.

Evie runs over, feeling responsible. "Eevee-vee?!"

Radley wipes his face and pets her with his other hand.]

Oh, I'm okay, pretty girl. Just insulted is all. Come on, let's leave the fish alone....

[The cold chill hits the back of his neck and he sees something out of the corner of his eye. He turns ... and goes sheet-white.]

What the ... ?!

[All around him are spectres of people from home ... miners whose deaths he watched while a prisoner of Malcolm. They're all staring at him with blank eyes. He screams and runs. The Eevees run with him and then they're back in the building and he's bolting the door. But the Eevees are growling in the next instant. When Radley turns, the spirits are all still there.]

... What the hell kind of a curse is this?!

[He backs up against the wall as they all stand there, staring ... just staring.... His mind is blank. He has no idea what to say. He still blames himself for their deaths. He wasn't able to stop Malcolm before they all died. He watched them die....]

I'm sorry.... I'm so sorry....

[His voice catches. They're all still staring wordlessly. Finally he just sinks to the floor against the door and sobs.]

Comments

Video

[scalpelofmarmora]

[Ulaz had been so far lucky, having been away from the waterways with Foudre and his growing team... though one of them probably would have preferred to be there than away from it. But as they were sitting there, he watched this happen, Foudre coming over to try and see having heard Evie]

Are you alright? Do you need someone to come there?

Re: Video

[crystalmaster]

[ Evie is relieved to hear a friend on the PokeGear. "Eevee-vee!" she exclaims.

Radley looks up, a bit chagrined that somehow all of this has been broadcast to the Network.]

I ...

[He draws a shaking breath.]

I don't know what happened. This fish hit me and suddenly I'm seeing dead people I haven't seen since ...

[He trails off. Not since he'd had an out of body experience back home and saw the dead all pointing at him....]

I don't know how to make them go away!

[scalpelofmarmora]

[Foudre replied to Evie's cry, practically barking back. She's a Poochyena who will never forget her friend and she wants to help]

I am unsure as well. Where are you? I can come and see if I can assist. Irkut may be able to assist. He is a young Espurr, but his mother thought that he was good at assisting others.

[crystalmaster]

[Evie is very grateful! Evan and Kiryu come over too, not having met them yet.]

I'm in Goldenrod.

[Radley gives the address.]

I'm fixing this place up to be a restaurant and Eevee sanctuary. We're living upstairs. But I don't want these guys following us around everywhere!

[He's not sure he could stay sane if the spirits don't leave him alone. What happened must be connected with the fish, somehow....

He smiles a bit.]

Cool. Thanks a lot.

[scalpelofmarmora]

[More friends? More friends. She's got her own little troupe here she can introduce Evie to as well, two of them just babies.

Ulaz nodded, making a not of the address mentally. He was used to not writing things down. Writing them down led to trouble so he was quick to memorize]

Of course. If nothing else, I can come and try to keep them back if they will interact with me. Ikrut may be able to assist with some of the anxiety associated with them if they don't intend to leave just yet.

I will be there shortly.

[And sure enough, he would set out immediately after that and arrive not long later. Whether he had connected it to the fish yet, he was on a mission so he did not pay much attention to what was around.

When he arrived at the location, he knocked]

[crystalmaster]

Either would be great.

[Radley is relieved when Ulaz arrives. He gets up to answer the door, his three Eevees scampering around at his feet. They all greet! The spirits stand eerily behind Radley.]

Thanks a lot for coming.

[scalpelofmarmora]

Of course.

[Ulaz glanced behind him at the spirits]

I see your... friends have joined you inside.

[Foudre wagged her tail, prying herself out of her bag and jumping down. All the friends! You must meet new friends!... One of which was the Espurr that Ulaz was holding]

[crystalmaster]

Yeah, they sure have.

[Radley sighs. But he smiles at the sight of the Pokemon.]

Hi there. It's great to see all of you.

[Meaning Ulaz and the Pokemon.

Evie is delighted and dances some more. Evan and Kiryu are very curious too!]

[scalpelofmarmora]

I will do what I can to assist with them. It is good to see you as well.

[Irkut the Espurr responded to the greeting, still in Ulaz's arms. He wasn't going to stay there long as Foudre started to make noises at Ulaz, basically asking him in her own way to put the baby down so the Eevees could meet him. Ulaz obliged, setting Irkut down so they could come over and say hello. Irkut was going to stay close to Foudre, but certainly wasn't afraid of the Eevees]

[crystalmaster]

Thanks.

[The Eevees all come say Hello. Evan tries to hold back a little so Irkut won't get overwhelmed, hopefully. Evie is very bouncy and friendly. Kiryu warbles.]

[scalpelofmarmora]

Of course. Who are those who have begun to follow you?

[Since it might work better to understand who they were supposed to be.

Irkut greeted Evie, practically smiling at her excitement, before greeting Kiryu and Evan in turn. So many Eevees and since Foudre was friends with them, it was all good. Foudre wagged her tail. Look everyone at her new kitten brother. Foudre was proud of him]

CW: References to torture

[crystalmaster]

[Radley sighs, heavily.]

They're the souls of miners I saw die back home. They used to work for me as ... well, I guess the equivalent of hired guns. Instead of weapons, they used card decks. Every night, my rival and I would put up a person to fight for us by playing this card game. Whoever lost would go to work for the boss of the winner. They agreed to that and everything, but my rival tortured his miners. I couldn't ever prove it until it was too late. I've been afraid they blamed me.... Long story short, I got tortured too and had an out of body experience. I saw them all pointing at me. Now here they are again, all blankly staring at me....

[He runs a hand over his face.]

I just don't know what to do.

[Evie is thrilled for more friends! "We'll help Radley and then we'll play!" she says.

The other Eevees happily greet too.]

[scalpelofmarmora]

I see... that definitely sounds like it was not pleasant, for them and for you as it seems that you didn't have much recourse to make things right. Those from my world were not kind to their prisoners either so perhaps I can speak to them. Irkut.

[Even as the pokemon were agreeing to help. Irkut came wandering over, not very fast, but walking right over to Radley. He looked up at him and made a sound at him. You know you want to pick up the psychic kitten, right, Radley?]

video

[fearinahandfulof]

[Cassandra has a few ghosts of her own, though she's heard from them enough in her own head that she's rather better at tuning them out.]

Are you going to be all right?

Re: video

[crystalmaster]

[Radley looks up in surprise as someone else checks in on him.]

I ... I don't know. If these guys don't go away, I ...

[He shakes his head.]

I'm not sure I can take that.

Re: video

[fearinahandfulof]

[Cassandra considers that for a moment.]

Things like this usually aren't permanent. If this did turn out to be, it would be... too much of a departure, I think. Even those times when we get our powers back and the pathways between cities become unstable never last longer than a weekend.

Re: video

[crystalmaster]

... That's good to know.

... Wait, what?! What happens when the paths become unstable?!

[fearinahandfulof]

[Oh. She probably could have phrased that better.]

On weird weekends, leaving one city puts you onto the path of another at random. It's helpful if you haven't unlocked the PokeCenter warps at the new destination, but otherwise it can be a bit aggravating because you have to hope the path away from the new place will eventually take you to the one you want, and that can take a while if you're unlucky.

[crystalmaster]

... That sounds really miserable. And what about the people with powers? Are they still able to control them after not having them for a long time?

[fearinahandfulof]

I think that depends on whether they have advance warning. And how well they controlled their powers in their worlds.

[crystalmaster]

[Oh boy....]

Is it even possible to have advanced warning for something like that?!

[Radley thinks this sounds like something to hide from. But he'll probably end up pulled in anyway.]

[fearinahandfulof]

Limited. It mostly seems to happen in late May or November, and is accompanied by a large influx of people from other worlds who also retain their powers. So if you've been told about the pattern, or have been here long enough to get used to it...

[And, because she knows there are going to be questions about this:]

Sometimes those people stay and lose their powers - they become like us. Most just seem to disappear, though... probably back to their own worlds?

[crystalmaster]

... I wonder if I'll see anyone from my world.

[That thought is enough to make him want to be involved, in spite of the danger. He still wants his friends back ... and to see Kalin again.... He wonders, still, if there's any chance things could be different between them now.]

[fearinahandfulof]

It's hard to say. Sometimes people are reunited with friends or even enemies from their worlds, but I've never seen anyone from mine.

[She's never sure whether or not to be grateful for that.]

[crystalmaster]

So it's all pretty random, huh? Just like all of our arrivals seem to be....

[He wonders why he was chosen, or if there was a reason at all.]