Event: The Reveal Glass

[indigo_league]

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.

Comments

Radley | OTA

[crystalmaster]

((OOC: Content warnings are physical and emotional torture, possible suicidal thoughts and thoughts of worthlessness, feelings of abandonment and betrayal, and caring about someone who may or may not be worth it.))

Anyone finding Radley will see the inside of a mine, dark and not up to safety standards. Radley himself looks barely able to stand. His eyes, normally filled with light and laughter, are dead. Around his neck is a shock collar that's sparking dangerously.

"Kalin?" he calls without hope. "Scotch?"

This Radley has been abandoned by everyone and left to suffer in his rival's mine. Some of these demons he has tried to deal with, but others are still there, most particularly his feelings about Kalin Kessler, which have not been able to be resolved.

[paladinlost]

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.

[crystalmaster]

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

"You came?" he says in heartbreaking disbelief.

[paladinlost]

"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.

[crystalmaster]

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.

[paladinlost]

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.

[crystalmaster]

"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.

[paladinlost]

"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."

[crystalmaster]

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."

[paladinlost]

"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.

[crystalmaster]

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."

[paladinlost]

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.

[crystalmaster]

"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."

[phoenixwiz]

It happens to be a miracle that the person responding to Radley’s cry for help wasn’t even Kalin or Scotch. As soon as he arrives in the mine, Harry could tell that something is not right and the mine’s questionable quality is enough to make him very concerned. Not exactly the safest place in any world. But it it's the shock collar that gives him more concerns than a potential cave in. That thing looks like it could harm anyone greatly.

He is worried that the mine is going to collapse in on everyone who is unlucky to be inside so he needs to act fast quickly and do something quickly. At the same time he is worried that Radley might not know that he is coming to help him out or worse not being able to recognize him as he does his best to come for him.

“Hello? Is anyone in here? Are you okay as well. Hold on, did I just saw a spark right now?”

[crystalmaster]

The mine thankfully probably won't collapse. But Radley looks like he is out of hope regardless. However, he perks up extremely when Harry approaches.

"You came?"

The fact of anyone coming for him seems to leave him in utter, disbelieving awe.

[phoenixwiz]

“Yes, that’s right: I’m here to help you. Don’t worry: We’re going to get out of this mine in no time,” Harry hates to see a friend in distress, experience has taught him well that no one should get left behind as the last few years in his world are of any note.

[crystalmaster]

Radley limps over to him. "Why did you come? Everyone else left me here...."

[phoenixwiz]

Oh Merlin. Just seeing Radley in this state really breaks his heart. A part of him wants to cry over his current situation and hug him really badly but he has to stay strong for him right now. Better save the tears for later.

“Because I don’t want to see someone being left behind in a place like this. I don’t know how on Earth did you wound up in here but I don’t like having to leave a friend alone in mines, caves, or even tunnels and not getting the help they need so much. Anyone who dares to leave their friends all alone and miserable really needs to look at themselves and question their decision to abandon them cold heartedly.”

Sounds suspiciously like what Peter did to his parents and Sirius. If he had his magic back, he would have been tempted to Stupefy whoever left Radley to rot in a very unsafe mine and made him wear a shock collar. Anyone bold enough to hurt his friends or innocent people and creatures is going to pay dearly.

[crystalmaster]

Radley smiles wanly. "My rival sent me here when I lost to his brother. This is his part of the mine we shared. My friends joined him out of fear when I fell, and Yusei and Kalin were here but left without me. Maybe they just couldn't find me. I don't know." His voice cracks. "I've never talked to them since then."

[phoenixwiz]

“Oh dear, that is really messed up that your friends were, in a way, forced to join him because of a lost fight or bet. I’m really sorry that this had to happen to you. I’m pretty sure that your friends didn’t mean to leave you alone in here and desert you but I’m going to try and help out even if I might wrench my ankle on the way.”

[crystalmaster]

"Yeah," Radley sighs. "He threatened them and they joined him because I'd lost to him. I guess they didn't think they had any hope of beating him when I couldn't."

He stares off into the distance. "Was Kalin my friend? I kept trying to reach out to him, but he always rejected me. Then he and Yusei left me here.... I shouldn't still care about him, should I? I feel so betrayed. And yet ... I do still care about him. I even named one of my first Eevees after him."

He looks to Harry in concern. "I don't want you to hurt yourself...."

[phoenixwiz]

“I don’t think that they would have abandoned you this easily. Even if they were forced to be with your rival from you losing to him, it is very possible that they haven’t forgotten about you one bit. Maybe they are planning to escape his grasp over them right now so they can come back to find you at the cost of enraging him. Believe me, I had moments when I have fears of being left alone without no one else by my side.”

Harry knows what is it like to feel abandoned: most of his maternal relatives were horrible to him, the stresses he went through as he grew older messed his head, and the heavy weigh of fame and a prophecy looming over his head made him feel more isolated.

“Don’t worry about me. You need to recover from whatever injuries, physical or otherwise, that rival had inflicted upon you. By the way, are you still able to walk normally? I have a feeling that the mine might very difficult to navigate.”

[crystalmaster]

Radley smiles sadly. "It's a nice thought, anyway."

He sighs and looks around the tunnel. "I can walk. This place ... I still see it many times in my dreams." He runs his hand along the wall as he moves forward. "I replay it over and over ... stumbling down here, trying so hard to get out ... the place where I collapsed, dying...." He goes ahead a bit to an area streaked with blood. "I couldn't go on any more. And I'd lost all hope. I just closed my eyes ... and gave up."

[phoenixwiz]

Harry sighs as he tries to lighten up the mood, “Hey, you can’t give up trying to get out of a dark place like this. It may be hard to escape a mine but it is not that impossible. Sometimes it can be difficult to walk in the darkness or, in this case, a mine alone and that we might need a friend to carry each other through. Maybe I can get my torch for us to use so it will make navigating this mine a little easier to do.”

Harry brings out a flashlight (or a torch as the English would call them) and turns it on to lighten up the way and hopefully try to find a way out of this horrible place.

[crystalmaster]

"I didn't give up because it was hard to find the way out," Radley says. "I gave up because I'd been brutally beaten, my shock collar was still shocking me worse and worse every time it activated, and I'd been abandoned. It felt like there was no reason to even keep fighting to live." He smiles wanly. "If I'd had even one person back then, I would have fought with all my might to live.

"Somehow I survived, but the scars are still there on my heart."

He smiles more as Harry stays and brings out his flashlight. "Thank you for coming for me, and staying."

A bit of light shines at the end of the tunnel.