victory_road | Event: The Reveal Glass

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Event: The Reveal Glass

Across the Pokémon world, characters may have spotted a falling star last night. Or at least, one would think that's what it was: a naturally occurring phenomenon, rather than a legendary artifact. Specifically, the Reveal Glass fell to earth during a fight among a group of legendaries started by the return of a long-lost family member. But it's probably best to leave them to handle all that themselves, while your characters deal with other consequences.

The Reveal Glass shattered upon impact, and the shards scattered throughout Kanto, Johto, and the Sevii Islands… And made their way into the hearts of your characters. But bleeding isn't the concern here. Instead, the impact will hit when a character first looks into any reflective service. An eerie feeling hits them as they're transported to the Mirror Dimension.

While this realm can be many different things for different characters, one thing is always true: It is a place of honesty, where true selves are revealed. Those struck by a shard will find themselves facing truths they are no longer able to hide, and now must accept. Fortunately enough, even those who haven't been struck will be able to enter the Mirror Dimension during this event via a reflective surface to offer help. By the end of the 29th, things will return to normal. Characters will be back in the usual Pokémon world and their hearts will be rid of the shards, but time is strange in the Mirror Dimension, and the experience may feel like it goes on far longer than a day. Or, maybe that's just the emotional exhaustion.

The Reveal Glass plot is here. You can swing by the event info post for additional details and FAQ, and play out your characters’ enforced therapy on this post. As with most VR events, this plot is entirely optional and your characters don't need to take part at all.

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The person that does respond to Radley's call is neither Kalin nor Scotch. In fact, Cecil is not entirely certain it's Radley's call he's responding to in the first place.

"Hello? Is someone there? Are you alright? Wait, was that a spark?"

Despite the fact that his footsteps are approaching, that last comment is far more difficult than the rest to hear. Maybe he didn't mean to say it out loud in the first place.

Radley looks over, seeming absolutely astonished that anyone has responded.

"You came?" he says in heartbreaking disbelief.

"Of course."

The mine may or may not be too dark to see Cecil's best reassuring smile, but by now he's close enough to tell who he's speaking with, if not all the details of the scene. He suppresses a frown.

"Are you injured? I doubt I can use my healing magic here, but I can still patch up most minor injuries."

The physical ones, at least. The rest will surely be trickier.

Radley gives a dry laugh. "It's not minor here. There were rumors Malcolm's men were torturing people, but we could never prove anything. I've sure proved it now."

He comes a bit closer. "Why ... why did you come? Everyone left. The Bunch joined Malcolm out of fear. Yusei and Kalin abandoned me in here. And ... maybe it's all because I deserve it. The state this mine is in ... and the town ... maybe that's all my fault." He looks utterly defeated.

Cecil sucks in a breath, barely muffling a curse. Torture? Even if he had both time and magic on his side, the long-term implications–

That's something that can be dealt with later. For now, he offers Radley his arm.

"Whether or not it is your fault is irrelevant; you'd never deserve such treatment either way. Could you walk with assistance, or would you prefer to be picked up? I need better lighting to tell which of your injuries should be prioritized."

Where would he even find a source of light? He's not quite sure how he came here, or where's the way out.

"I wouldn't?" Radley sounds doubtful, disbelieving. "Malcolm and I were fighting for control of the mine. I knew he'd turn the town into a dictatorship if I let him have everything, so I kept fighting him.... But I know I also wanted the mine for myself out of greed...."

He shrugs a bit. "I think I can still walk ... for now, anyway." He takes a few steps and wobbles.

"If everyone who has ever been selfish or greedy deserved to be tortured, the world would be a cruel and bloody place indeed."

People who have done far worse than that have been punished far less severely. He knows that, can prove it, but somehow it doesn't seem like the best argument to make at the moment. Instead, he makes sure to stay within Radley's reach, in case the wobbling becomes too much.

"Very well. Still, stay close to me; this place may resemble the mine you know, but it may also contain unknown threats."

Radley laughs darkly. "Yeah, that's true.... But not everybody is probably responsible for a cemetery full of miners who were tortured to death. It's right outside the mine. Rows and rows of graves...." His voice catches.

He limps along, but looks to Cecil at this comment. "What kind of threats could there be other than Malcolm's men? I promise, they're plenty. Or maybe a tunnel will cave in. I can see Malcolm didn't keep this place up to safety standards."

"Even so. Any pain for the mere sake of pain would not be deserved."

He's well aware such a thought may be difficult to accept. The weight of each innocent life one feels responsible for is always heavy. But torturing Radley would fix nothing, just as torturing Cecil would have fixed nothing back then.

"His men are no trouble. Even without a blade, I can kill them easily. The potential for a cave-in, however... And your case might be different, but I've no idea why I've been brought here. Who or whatever is responsible may not be friendly."

Surely isn't friendly, to leave Radley in such a state. His eyes move endlessly, looking for enemies among the rocks, the tunnels, the darkness.

Radley looks far away at this. "I wanted to believe that," he says. "Sometimes I do. I believe it when it comes to others. I don't try to get revenge or torture people I don't like or don't agree with. But ... other times ... I wonder if I was abandoned because I deserved it. I wonder if I'm wrong to feel hurt about it. Maybe it was right and just."

Sadness comes into his eyes. "I threatened Kalin, when I thought I was going to lose him.... I needed him to try to beat Malcolm, and when his friend came, Kalin acted different, like he wanted his friend Yusei to defeat him. I couldn't lose Kalin, so ... I lied and told him the device he was using to play our card game would explode and take off his arm if he tried to lose on purpose. Yusei believed me, but ... I don't know if Kalin did. If he did, though ... he probably thought I was a horrible person and I deserved to be tortured in the mines."

He sighs. "I don't know why you're here either, or why I am.... I've tried to deal with these feelings, but they're always deep down, eating me up inside." He clenches a fist. "I loved Kalin. I still love him. And I feel so betrayed."

At first, Cecil simply... listens. Radley obviously needs to get all this off his chest, after all, and interrupting would only make the process more painful. But as Radley continues, he...

Well. It's not that he would have made the same choices in his shoes or that he approves of them, but. He understands them, to a degree. Perhaps because he's met so many who've gone through difficult circumstances

"...Desperation makes us do terrible things, does it not? Yet despite the betrayal you feel, despite what you've both done, I doubt you'd be happy if you heard your friend was being tortured. Surely he feels the same, whether or not he believed your lie at the time."

It is possible that he does not, but that is not a thought on which Cecil wishes to linger.

"Yeah, that's a good way to put it," Radley agrees. He sighs. "And you're right, I would never want Kalin to suffer. Kalin, though ... he was never receptive to all my attempts to reach out to him. I knew him for almost two months, and he was always immovable. I don't think he ever liked me. Leaving me there was just the final nail in the coffin."

He sighs. "Here, though, I met someone who knew him, and I was told of some of what had happened to him before I met him. I understand him better than I did before I came here, and I wish I could see him again and talk to him now. But maybe I never will. And even if I do, maybe it will just end horribly and it would have been better to have never seen him again at all."

"...Or maybe you'll come out of it with an even greater understanding of each other, whether or not it leads to a stronger relationship in the end."

Perhaps Radley is right, and Kalin never truly liked him. Perhaps the circumstances were simply not the best for a proper friendship, and a change of scenery would help. Cecil cannot know which is true, yet he continues with confidence.

"There's no way to tell how it would end, and no guarantee that you would not regret the result... but I think it'd be nice if you had the opportunity, nevertheless."

"Yeah...." Radley sighs. "I wanna tell him I'm sorry, that I didn't understand what he'd been through or why he was acting the way he did..... And I'd tell him I'd stay out of his life if that's what he wants. But I don't know if I'll ever see him again. And that lack of closure, that constant wondering if anything would change between us ... really digs into my soul."

He laughs a bit. "I actually named one of my Eevees after him. I wonder what he'd think of that."

"A potential lack of closure is... not something we can fix, in this world. In any world, for that matter. But as long as you are ready to reach out to him to the best of your ability, you can rest easy, knowing that no chance will slip through your fingers."

And if it does not happen in this world, well. There are provably other lands where people may meet in unexpected circumstances even if they were unlikely to see each other again at home, after all.

But perhaps this is not the time to speak of that.

"Surely he'd be flattered. You chose an Eevee, after all. Not a Grimer or a Trubbish."

"Yeah. How well I know," Radley says with a sad smile. "I keep checking the network every day, hoping I'll see him hop on. So far, nothing."

He hasn't even considered that Kalin might not be there when he goes home. The last he knew, Kalin was going to stay.

He laughs at this. "I doubt he'd consider himself a good namesake for a cute, cuddly animal. Maybe he'd even think Grimer or Trubbish would be more fitting for him." That's a sad thought, though. "But hopefully he'd understand the intent behind it."

As he's finally able to speak of these things troubling him, the scenery begins to change. It faintly looks like Radley's home in Goldenrod beginning to appear.

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Event: The Reveal Glass

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