• A reminder: If you want to ask an RP thread creator if you can join their RP, do so in private - via conversation or profile messages - or via the thread's discussion thread, if one exists. Do NOT ask if you can join an RP on the RP thread itself! This leads to a lot of unnecessary OOC chatter and that's not what the RP boards are for.

    This is clearly stated in our RP forum rules. If you've not read them yet, do so BEFORE posting anything in the RP forums. They may be found here (for Pokémon Role Play) or here (for General Role Play). Remember that the Global Rules of Pokécharms also apply in addition to these rule sets.
  • Welcome back to Pokécharms! We've recently launched a new site and upgraded forums, so there may be a few teething issues as everything settles in. Please see our Relaunch FAQs for more information.

The Hell Gate

Yoshimitsu

Former Moderator
OOC-This is done with permission from Alex to use his characters.

I reserve the right to exclude you if I don't think you're capable enough to post in this RP.

BIC -

~*~Day one, midnight, unknown location~*~

"Pandora..."

Footsteps. Rustling clothes.

"Pandora, Pandora, Pandora..."

The footsteps stop.

"Pandora's... box?"

The footsteps echoed slightly, faster than before. Another voice.

"Pandora's box? You've been reading too many fairy tales."

And another.

"...Pandora existed..?"

"Pandora existed, and fought, and lost. And still exists." The first voice.

"Don't make me laugh."

"I have associates who were there. Who fought against it."

"...And the box..?"

"It's a story, about all the evil things in the world."

"It's untested, untried."

"...It's intriguing."

~*~Day one, one AM, Goldenrod City~*~

He was unhealthy, it seemed. His skin so pale, his hair frail, his hands almost skeleton-like. He was not the kind of person who invited warmth. He looked like he belonged under the ground, in a coffin. People would run from him. But he did not care. Sai Koro was not the sort of person who cared about others. He was a walking enigma. No one could penetrate his thoughts. This made him terrifying.

"...I will ask you again..." He said quietly. "I'm a patient man... I have waited years before now..."

Apparently, the man he was talking to thought so. His voice shook out of fear.

"I-I told you! It-it's there!"

"...Do not lie to me..." Sai Koro ordered, clicking his fingers. There was a howl of pain as the old man's right index finger bone snapped in two. "I have visited those ruins... There is nothing."

"I swear! H-he hid it away! Sealed away and-and hidden so no one c-could find it!" The old man said between sobs. "It was all s-secret! No one was m-meant to know!"

"...Sealed away..?"

"Yes! P-please, don't hurt me. If he knew th-this... If he knew I'd t-told..." The man's fear was genuine, and no longer focused on Sai Koro it seemed. Whoever this individual in question was, he was much more threatening.

"I have had enough..." Sai Koro said. "...You have three seconds to tell me the truth."

"I swear! Th-the ruins..."

"One."

"I-in..."

"Two."

"G-Goldenrod..."

Sai Koro paused. The same story. The man was not lying. He seemed to relax slightly, now that his life was no longer being threatened. Sai Koro sighed.

"...Thank you."

He clicked his fingers. The man's scream of pain did not have time to leave him as his spine and skull ripped themselves from his body, forming a crude, blood-splattered sword. The necromancer turned and left.

~*~Day one, one-thirty AM, unknown location~*~

"And so we have reached a dilemna."

"...Indeed... Without him, we have no means of so much as finding it..."

"Who says we need him?"

"You have never seen Crescent Magic. It is beyond anything you can imagine. If he has hidden it, I expect it will stay hidden."

"...There might be another way..."

"What?"

"How?"

"...I need to investigate..."

~*~Day one, ten AM, Goldenrod City ~*~

"Isn't this lovely?"

Yoshimitsu had discovered the scene before anyone else, and purely by chance. It was hardly the most suspicious of circumstances, and it was pure luck that Yoshimitsu noticed it. A building, a terraced house in fact. All the lights were off, but considering that most people worked it was not unusual. However, the tiniest thing caught his attention. On the window of an upstairs room, the corner was splattered in blood. He had not immediately realised, thinking it was paint. But after a moment of staring at it, he realised. Curiosity got the better of him, and he slipped into the house, the front door unlocked.

The room in question looked like a spare room. It was devoid of any furniture, the walls shabbily painted and years-old curtains framing the window. However, the body lying in the middle of the floor was what caught Yoshimitsu's attention. He called it a body, but its back was ripped open and its face was splattered against the floor, both skull and spine missing. The blood had dried up, blackened, all the insides already shrivelling. It had not taken much investigation to realise that it was not taken with any tools. The spine and skull and been ripped out without being touched. Telekinesis, Yoshimitsu mused.

"There's no signs a fight..." Yoshimitsu muttered, leaving the room and examining the rest of the house. "So it was probably a surprise atack... I wonder what hap-"

Yoshimitsu's sentence was cut short as he descended the stairs. A picture on the wall caught his attention immediately. There was one person in the image that he recognised. Brown spiky hair that seemed to defy all gravity, a black shirt and slightly questionable purple jeans, all rounded off with a trenchcoat. Gary Oak, though not entirely how he was in Yoshimitsu's memory. His hair was not yet silver, his eyes still had their colour.

"Gary..." He muttered, looking at the other two figures in the photo. One of them, he recognised, was Gary's Grandfather. Professor Samuel Oak. His face was lined, his hair grey, but he had a look of delight on his face, contrast to Gary's somewhat more sober expression. The third person in the image, Yoshimitsu guessed, was the poor individual who was lying upstairs, missing vital parts of his body.

"I wonder..." He mused, pocketting the photo. "This might be worth a trip to see the professor."

Blinking slightly as he stepped out into the sun, he pondered the fastest route to Pallet Town. The Magnet Train would be the fastest way to Kanto, then he could get a local train to Viridian City. Pallet Town was just a walk away. With a faint smile on his face, he began towards the train station with a slightly spring in his step. A good investigation always got him in a good mood.

OOC - Entry points don't necessarily have to be meeting Yoshimitsu. In some cases, being able to sense an approaching evil or something like that, or perhaps visiting Professor Oak? Hell, if we go so far, some kind of raid on the lab wouldn't go amiss. Anything to liven up the RP a bit
 

Yoshimitsu

Former Moderator
OOC- Sho raised a valid point. Yes, this is set in the Pokemon Isles, but it's not a PRP. It follows Pokeschool continuity, which will also be explained in an in-character post later on.

So, you could use pokemon, I guess, but bear in mind that it's not a PRP and pokemon stats are highly irrelevant.

Edit: Since there was more confusion regarding this

This is not a Pokemon-based plot. This is strictly Non-PRP. Do not use pokemon.
 
564e288.png

ヒカル
I.

...Focus, focus...

Breathing had become a mere concept. His body, the beating of his heart, both little more than an idea. The grassy plain and the clear blue sky, the golden sun and it's warming rays, only figments of his imagination now. Gently, something tugged at his chest, and he felt himself rise upwards, slowly, drifting away from his physical shell.

...Calm...

It was the only word he could stretch himself to think of, lest he break this fragile state. Usually, the process would scare him, the sensation of leaving the body - it felt like dying. He'd done this before by accident, always in a dream or in the delicate stage between sleep and consciousness. Each time, he had been so terrified that he'd woken up screaming. But now, he was learning to control it, to harness the technique...

The senses worked differently here. The world was silent, or muffled rather. Perception was as hazy as in a dream and it was hard to focus on one particular thing, though with practice he could change that. He continued to hover, being tugged upwards away from the anchor which was his body. Though his eyes were closed, he could see his body below him, sitting cross-legged and surrounded by a dense mist which hid the grassy plain from view. His body was young, his skin ever so slightly tanned and his face youthful and boyish. His thick, chestnut brown hair rustled in the breeze, though he could no longer feel the air or any physical sensation, now being little more than a ghost. This was it! A sense of elation bled through his focused trance and he saw his physical self smirking in satisfaction. The weeks of training and meditation, the sheer boredom of dedicating himself to sitting still for all those hours - finally, he had acheived astral projection! The bindings tying him to his physical self had been cut - no, not cut, merely loosened - and he could now travel wherever he wanted in an instant, unrestrained, as a spirit. That was how the astral plane worked. Despite this new avenue of total freedom, it would be some time before he'd be brave enough to stray far from his body. Instead, he stayed floating in place, allowing himself to adjust to this new, peculiar form.

...Hold on...

Something was not right. All of a sudden the sky had darkened, the clouds blackened and the world turned grey. The boy snapped his neck around to check his body, but all he managed to catch was a glance of the confused expression on his own face, before a blinding storm of black dust and fog spiralled upwards from the ground and enveloped his astral self. Panicking, he tried to leave the astral plane and return to his body but found he could not, like in a nightmare you can't wake up from. For one long second, all light had disappared, leaving the boy in total darkness and silence, until...

"There's no signs of a fight..."

He found himself standing in a dark, empty room of what seemed to be a house or appartment. He caught a flash of bright blue hair in the doorway as someone left the room, continuing to mutter outside though he could not make out the words.

No signs of a fight? he pondered, shifting his focus from the doorway and looking around the room. The paint on the walls was peeling, the curtains were ancient and moth-eaten. Just where was he? How did he get here?

And then he saw it. His heart shot up into his throat and a sickening feeling curdled in his stomach. Before he had time to register the foul sight, he was screaming.

Next thing he knew, he was being yanked back through the astral plane and in a second he was back in the meadow, desperately gasping for air. His legs were numb from sitting for so long and he failed to stand up, instead slumping fowards limply, his hands holding him up against the ground as he panted for breath.

"Hikaru!"

A red ball of light danced in front of his nose, it's glow turning his drained face a rosey pink. The tiny creature flapped it's ethereal wings frantically, darting from left to right, up and down in panic. It's voice was high pitched and genderless when it spoke, like a child.

"Hikaru, are you alright? I was so worried, you were breathing so quickly and you looked troubled. What happened?"

Just as his breathing had steadied, the question of what had happened sent images of the revolting, sickening scene flooding back into his mind's eye and he began to choke, wretching on all fours. He could taste acid in his mouth and had to breathe heavily to stop himself from vomiting.

"...Hikaru?" the fairy wavered.

"I'm-... fine," he choked. "Something happened. I-... I did it, Taea, I astral projected!"

The fairy stopped zipping around and looked at Hikaru stunned, before shuddering in excitement. But Hikaru held up a hand and the fairy stopped instantly.

"I saw..." he breathed. The stark image was vivid in his memory, burning like fire in his mind's eye. "I saw a- a body, I think it was a body, in a room somewhere and some blue-haired guy leaving. Oh god, oh god, Taea, it was so... mangled... it wasn't human. Not anymore. Oh god, it's spine. Taea, I, I-..."

Taea the fairy drew closer, her bright red glow lighting up the night. Hikaru hadn't even noticed that the sun had set. The fairy moved cautiously, her wings flapping slowly in concern.

"Hikaru, you've done enough for today. Let's go home."

He nodded; it was all he could manage. He was so drained from the experience, yet he knew he wouldn't sleep after what he'd just seen. Hikaru sighed heavily, closing his eyes, still holding himself up against the grass.

"I call upon the powers unseen,
Return me home... so mote it be."

He was too exhausted for a full spell, but surely, Hikaru vanished from the meadow, the little red light following him through the ether and leaving the place in darkness.

---

[[OOC: Exhausted. Sorry if there are any mistakes, typo or plot-wise. Not sure about the names Hikaru and Taea - let me know what you think.]]
 

Rex

Resident Furry
OoC: I didn't know if you wanted us to pm you with it beforehand, so sorry about that if you did. Feel free to remove it if it doesn't reach your standards or if you want it pmed for approval…

BiC: "Dr. Oak, Dr. Elm, Dr. Birch, and Dr. Rowan"

Rex had left the desert that he had known for so long to find the men with those names. He had taken a big risk with the ship and the train, but no one paid much attention to him.

"Dr. Oak, head of Genetic Research, that's who I'm visiting first" Rex owed the doctors much. His damaged Immune System, the fact that he was a healthy carrier of SARS, his appearance, all of this he could thank the doctors for. It was a few hours walk from the train station in Viridian City to Pallet Town. During the hike, Rex reflected on his current situation.

It had been maybe two years since he was kidnapped by Dr. Birch, whose job it was to find good test subjects. He was knocked out on his way back home from school, and bundled off to White Plateau. When he woke up, he was in a white room, and there was a pain in his right arm.

Dr. Elm, who at that time was only a Grad. Student stationed at the facility, had explained everything to him, before leaving him alone in the room. At first he had attempted to escape, the door was made of think iron, and the only window was out of his reach. After about 10 minutes the pain in his arm faded, replaced by an itch. The itch had travelled down his arm, were he first got a look at the black fur that currently covered his body. After his entire body was covered by the fur, the itch went away, to be replaced my more pain. He knew the pain was his skeleton changing. His face pushed out, mouth and nose merging into a muzzle. At the same time, a tail grew out of the base of his spine. His ears changed shape, and moved a bit up his head. Finally his teeth had sharpened a little bit, not much, but enough for his mouth to bleed.

Rex was so engrossed in his thoughts that he smacked into a passing girl.

"Uh, sorry" He muttered.

She stared at him, as if petrified by fear, before running off. After she left, he made sure nothing had been knocked off when they hit each other. Everything was where it should have been, scarf over the muzzle, hat over the ears. So why had she looked at him with such a fear in her eyes?

The rest of the trip to Pallet Town was uneventful. The memory of the incident fell to the back of his mind. Once he arrived at the town he was hit by a sudden realization. He did not know were Dr. Oak had his lab. A young man walked him, looks like he didn't have any choice but to ask…

"Excuse me sir, do you know where I may find Dr. Oak's lab?"

"Yeah its up that hill, I'll take you if you want"

"No, that's okay, thanks for the help."

With that Rex walked off towards the hill, and hopefully, towards the answers he was searching for.

OoC: Not very long, but it is only an introduction, So i didn't feel the need for much detail.
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Yoshimitsu

Former Moderator
~*~Day one, Pallet town, 11AM~*~

Sai Koro did not like sunlight. Among other things, it made his already pale figure look even more ghost-like. The bright glare was distracting and it made him uncomfortably warm when he was hiding his appearence under his usual overlarge coat and scarf. However, he never showed a single outwards display of discomfort as he walked up the path to Professor Oak's laboratory. As he stepped, an unusual clinking sound could be heard, like metal hitting metal. He had no desire to conceal his presense, apparently.

The fact that he had no appointment meant very little to him. As he well knew, the Professor did not mind visitors in the slightest. Any and all were welcome to see him, providing he was not busy. The receptionist looked at him slightly strangely as he approached, taking in his unusual appearence.

"...Is the Professor free?" He asked in his quiet voice. He enjoyed the effect his voice had on people. It sounded unearthly, undead. There was a cruel pleasure is seeing goosebumps appear on the receptionist's skin.

"He is... currently in an mee-" she started, but then noticed someone leaving the Professor's visiting room. Sai Koro watched the man walk past. He was nothing special. Not noteworthy. He turned back to the receptionist.

"...Is the Professor free now?" He asked.

"I... believe so. Go on ahead, I'll let him know you're coming," she said, looking distinctly relieved that she did not have to speak to Sai Koro any longer.

~*~Day one, unknown location, 11AM*~

"Why do you just let him run off on his own?"

"I wouldn't expect you to understand."

"What's the point in killing one man at a time? Just nuke the lot of them."

"And where, pray tell, do you expect the information to come from?"

"I dunno, do I? I'm gonna go look at that spot you said it's hidden in."

"Very well. Don't create any unecessary commotion."

"Yeah yeah, whatever."

~*~Day one, Magnet Train, 11AM*~

Yoshimitsu sat on the train from Saffron City to Viridian City, leaning back a comfortably as was possibly on these trains. While they were easily better than most of the trains in the rest of the world, they were still mass-produced. He glanced out the window, watching the scenery fly by as the train made it's way through Kanto.

When he left the building, barely minutes ago, he had noticed something unusual. There had been another entity in the building, but he had no idea what kind of entity. It was not a physical being, nor was it hostile. It just seemed to exist. However, he had not stopped to investigate. If it was a spy of some kind, he did not want to linger.

"Gary Oak..." He muttered to himself, pulling the photo from his pocket. He had no doubt whatsoever that the person had been killed because he knew something about the Crescent Mage, or possibly knew nothing at all. While concern for Gary was not something Yoshimitsu felt, overwhelming curiosity about the murder was. Why would someone be looking for Gary? And just who was this man in the picture? What was his connection to the Oak family? Yoshimitsu sighed. There was nothing he could do about it right now, on the train.

"Professor Oak," he muttered. "I hope you're in."

~*~Day one, Goldenrod City, 11AM*~

Alameth was another person who found no delight in being in the sun. However, that was due to his own fashion choices, which he was currently beginning to spite. The only light piece of clothing he wore was his t-shirt, but that was hidden underneath a dark jacket that looked to be made of scales. The weight of his clothes, his cargo pants and combat boots, did little to ease his comfort. On the positive side, his somewhat threatening appearence and build meant that no one was bothering him.

"I can smell this place," he said to himself, striding through the streets of Goldenrod City. Daytime in Goldenrod City was very rarely a nice time. It was always very busy, full of people working or shopping, small children running around without a care in the world. Alameth smirked. They'd care soon enough. He turned a corner around the department store and walked across the road, passing through the traffic jam and heading for his destination.

"No wonder... This place is dripping with magic..." He said, passing several ruined buildings. While most of the city had been rebuilt, there were still a few areas that had not been reached yet. Builders driving bulldozers and diggers swarmed the area, clearing out the debris so that they could once again build. Alameth shook his head mockingly.

"Here we are."

He stood in front of what looked like just another ruined building. It was unremarkable visually, looking exactly like the buildings around it. He reached out, as though feeling for something in the air. Something was there. He could sense it, he could practically smell it. His hand met no resistance, though he thought he felt electricity in the air, the hairs on his arm standing on end. Quickly, he raised his dagger and pulled a small jewel from his inside pocket.

"Eagle," he breathed, slotting the jewel into the hilt of the blade, causing it to glow for a moment. Suddenly, he saw everything clearer and much sharper than he had a moment ago. There was something special about this particular spot.

~*~Day one, Pallet Town, 11:10AM*~

"...Samuel, you are not being very cooperative..." Sai Koro commented in his quiet, terrifying voice. "...It's a simple question."

"Please... I don't know... No one has been in touch with him for years!" Professor Oak said, nearly sobbed. The Professor had found himself locked to the wall, being held in place by skeleton arms that had wrenched themselves out of the wood. His arms, legs and head were all locked in place and no matter how much he struggled, he could not break free.

"...Do not lie to me, Samuel," Sai Koro said. "...You are one of the last people who saw him... Are you telling me you don't know where your own grandson is..?"

"I don't, I swear!" Professor Oak cried, panic and terror etched into every line on his face.

"...For every time you keep the information I want from me..." Sai Koro said, his voice quieter and somehow more threatening. It was barely more than a whisper. "...I am going to rupture one of your organs..."

"N-no! Please!" Professor Oak begged. Sai Koro removed his hat, scarf and overcoat to reveal his figure underneath, aiming to scare the professor into breaking. His torso was horrifying. It was made up of three patches of skin, sewn together. One of them was his own, pale and unhealthy. The patch that stretched along his stomach, stopping just before it reached his side was purple, definitely not human. The final patch was healthy, a soft pink colour. From an inside pocket of the labcoat he was wearing, he pulled out a human skull.

"...Tell me. Where is Gary Oak?"

"I d-don't know!"

Professor Oak gave a terrible scream, one that would have curdled the blood of anyone. Anyone but Sai Koro.

"...That was your stomach... If I left you like this, you would die anyway... But I'm sure I can get a few more melodious screams from you..." Sai Koro said. "...Where is he?"

"He left! He left us y-years ago! He s-said he went travelling, he sent us letters at first b-but then he stopped!" Professor Oak sobbed. Sai Koro grabbed Oak's face and looked at his eyes. Fear, panic. However, Sai Koro could tell he was not lying.

"...Very well, Professor. Then you will kindly tell me... How do you open Pandora's Box..?"

The professor's already pale face, contorted with pain, went a lighter shade of white.

"P-Pandora's Box? But that's just a story!"

Sai Koro looked at him again. He was still not lying.

"...That is all professor. Please don't die..." Sai Koro said politely as the skeletal arms released their grip on the old man, who slumped to the floor, gripping his stomach. "...I have no doubt that I will be seeing you again..."

Sai Koro exited the room, closing the behind him. As he walked away, he looked at the receptionist, who looked distressed and worried. She was clearly on the phone to authorities, but as soon as he looked at her, she stopped talking.

"...The dear professor has had an unfortunate accident... Please ensure his safety..." He said, with a cruel smile before exiting the lab.
 

Rex

Resident Furry
OoC: So sorry it took so long!

BiC: Rex reached the doctor's Lab to find the building surrounded by Civil Services. The doctor was being loaded onto a stretcher. He watched from the shadows as the doctor was taken away, possibly to the hospital. He couldn't possibly get any information from the man, so he would have to go to the next man on his list, Doctor Elm.

Then one of his weird ideas hit him. If Oak was attacked, the other three might not be safe. The lab was abandoned, so Rex ran to the door. He pulled out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote:

"Oak is in the Hospital, possibly attacked? Bad feeling for the others, heading to Elm's. Meet me there if you have any info, R."

He stabbed the paper through a nail on the door. It was a risky move, and Rex didn't even know if the doctor had been attacked. But the doctors could be in danger. Rex needed them alive! But, it may be a good idea to search the lab for any info pertaining to White Plateau before heading to Elm's. Rex pulled out his Browning Hi-power and entered the building.

One room had an odd smell about it. Death, mixed with gastric acid. It was a nose curling stench. The room behind that was the doctor's study. The desk had all sorts of files in it, mainly about the Doctor's main work. But Rex did find several papers on White Plateau. He took these, and slipped out of the lab.

The walk back into town was uneventful. Rex had put his handgun, and the papers, back into his pack. Once he reached town he began the long hike back towards Viridian City. It was a long way to New Bark Town, where Elm was situated, but Rex hoped Elm would be able to provide the answers he needed.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
564e288.png

II.

Hikaru...

Quiet, I'm dreaming.

...Hikaru...

Firaga! Blizzaga! Thundaga!

Hikaru.

I can cast any spell I want... This is incredible!

Curaga!

"Hikaru."

No, I like this dream. Go back to sleep.

...

Where has my dream gone?

"HIKARU! Wake up!"

A luminous red ball hit the slumbering mage square in the face.

"Argh, Taea!" Hikaru moaned, flipping over onto his stomach and burying his face into his pillow.

The fairy sighed. She had known Hikaru for many years now, but still met the boy's sheer laziness with much frustration. Pondering for a moment, the tiny fairy's red glow turned an icy blue as she shot a mini-torrent of water at the back of Hikaru's head.

"Ahh!" Hikaru gasped, the cold water sparking him into motion.

He sat up in bed, eyes still closed against the harsh light of the morning. Yawning, he buried his head in his hands. He felt like he had had no sleep whatsoever. What had kept him up so late? Suddenly, a sickening feeling in his gut had Hikaru wishing he hadn't asked himself that question. The memories came flooding back of the previous evening; astral projecting, the strange dark force that grabbed him, the grotesque, misshapen body... The memory made him wretch.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't think my water spell was that potent yet," Taea panicked.

"No, it's not that... I've just remembered yesterday," Hikaru took his head out of his hands and looked up to see Taea hovering in front of him, her wings flapping slowly.

"Hikaru..." she started. "Hikaru, we can talk about this later, but you have students today."

"It's fine. I'm fine. I'm getting up."

---

"You could cast any spell you wanted?!" Taea buzzed.

"Any spell!" Hikaru grinned, recalling the dream he'd had that night.

"Even... Flare?!"

"I don't know. I don't think I tried it."

The bus was packed today and the two had resorted to standing in the aisle. At least, Hikaru stood, whilst Taea perched on the boy's shoulder. She had learned her lesson since the first time she had tried hovering inside of a moving vehicle.

"...How could you not try Flare?!"

"I was dreaming, okay?!" Hikaru laughed. "It didn't occur to me."

"Hikaru, you are an A-grade student of the Arcane Academy. You need to be aiming high!"

Hikaru grinned. In truth, the arts he practised were a whole other school of magic from the spells he had been dreaming of. Only specialised mages used spells with names like that. Hikaru's ability was mainly in long, drawn-out spells with incantations attached, not the flashy, sparkly, ka-boom! magicks he'd been casting in his dream. They were a fantasy away.

It was true, Hikaru was a high-flyer at the Arcane Academy - or Arcana, as its students referred to it - one of the world's leading schools for magi. Alongside traditional incantations, Hikaru's fields of study covered magic artefacts, ancient texts and basic battle magic. One day, he would make a fine Field Operative in some fancy corporation. As long as they didn't expect him to be the most offensive mage; his forté lied more in curative and defensive spells than, well, Flare...

"Our stop!" Taea jingled, jumping into the air and zooming down the aisle and over heads like a jet of fire, out through the bus door. Hikaru followed, pushing his way through the wall of people who had been packed somewhat impossibly into the tiny bus.

Here it was: Arcana, the Arcane Academy, standing valiant and proud as ever in all of its stone and marble glory. The Academy was comprised of several buildings, spread out like a university and Hikaru felt confident striding around the campus, himself having been an Arcana student for two years already. The place was abuzz with students, many as young as sixteen and others in their early twenties. Several teachers gave Hikaru a friendly nod as he passed them. He was rather respected within the teaching body, now that he had become a Mentor. It took a little getting used to, but Hikaru loved the feeling of being a little bit more senior to the rest of the students, a little bit more in charge...

"Hikaru, where are you going?" Taea called from a little way behind him. "You're teaching in the Circle Building."

"We still have a good twenty minutes," Hikaru called back, spinning on the spot but still travelling in the same direction. "I wanna speak with the Oracle."

Spinning back around quickly, Hikaru nearly walked straight into two female students who shot puzzled looks at him. He swiftly dodged out of the way and picked up the pace towards the Oracle's office, hoping Taea wouldn't kick up a fuss. After several sets of steps, Hikaru passed through a door into a dimly lit building on the outskirts of the campus. Taea slipped through the gap just in the nick of time, before the heavy door slammed shut behind them, muting the hustle and bustle of the campus.

There were no students here. Just a silent, dark room with several old leather seats, a coffee table and a long corridor with several doors leading off. Hikaru hesitated subconsciously, before stepping one foot towards the corridor.

"Hikaru, what are you thinking?!" the little red fairy hissed, burning crimson as ever. She darted in front of the mage as if to block his path and buzzed around frantically. Her voice was a whisper, though there was no one around. "The Oracle?!"

"I wanted to ask about what happened to me yesterday," Hikaru shrugged.

"But - Oh please, Hikaru, the Oracle of all people?"

"I'm not sure if you realise how frightened I was yesterday, sucked into that dark void and-... and seeing what I saw" Hikaru trembled, though more due to adrenaline than fear. Determined, he began walking slowly across the room and into the corridor. "He could give me answers."

"Hikaru, you know why people don't speak to the Oracle if they can help it," Taea's voice was ringing like a bell by this point. "He's a bad omen, he's astrologically unstable, his fate line is chaotic, you're going to get caught up in it. More to the point I'm going to get caught up in it!"

"Relax," Hikaru glanced at the fairy, before letting a mischievious grin spread over his face. "I'm hardcore."

"More like soft in the head," Taea remarked. "Go on then, but hurry up. We're probably already caught up in that old loon's messed up destiny."

All of a sudden there was a slam behind them and a voice rang out.

"I hope it is not I you speak of, little fairy girl."

The two friends, human and fairy, froze on the spot, before turning around slowly to see a little old man wearing a straw hat which hid his eyes from view.

"Oracle!" Hikaru gasped. "N-no, sorry. Um, Taea and I-"

"No matter, no matter..." the little man mumbled, before bumbling through Hikaru and Taea down the corridor. "I know why you've come. Follow!"

"How convenient..." Taea sighed.

"If he knew we were coming, that means he must have answers," Hikaru whispered, cautiously following the Oracle to the furthest door.

"I know, Hikaru. That's what I'm afraid of."

1950244.png
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Yoshimitsu

Former Moderator
~*~Day One, Goldenrod City, 11:30AM~*~

Alameth's eyes looked over the ruins slowly this time. He had been stood there for at least ten minutes, looking for anything immediately unusual about the ruins. There was not a single book present, nor any standing walls. It was all rubble. His eyes slowly examined every rock, every piece of concrete, ensuring that he had not missed anything. However, despite what his eyes were telling him, he could not shake the feeling that something was very wrong about the scene. It was not as he immediately thought.

However he twitched, irritated, as something in his pocket began to glow. With a very blatant look of annoyance on his face, he drew another crystal from his pocket, this one larger and clear with a cord attached to it. It looked like some kind of necklace.

"What do you want?" He asked the crystal, slipping the cord over his head.

"Is there anything immediately recognisable?" A voice enquired, coming from the crystal.

"No. I'm trying to look, but it just looks like ruins," Alameth replied. "It's all rubble, but there's something not right about it."

"It's alive with magic. I'm surprised you haven't seen any kind of side effects."

"I can feel the magic. Shit, I don't think there's anyone who can't feel it," Alameth commented, raising his hand again. This time, a spark visibly jumped between his fingers. "I'll be damned if they actually rebuild over this."

"They wont be able to. The magic prevents the place for being tampered with," the voice stated matter-of-factly.

"What magic?" Alameth asked, glancing around.

"I'd rather not say while you are so exposed. Leave, and return here as soon as you can," the voice ordered. Alameth's expression hardened again. However, he turned and began to walk away from the ruins.

"I just need to visit Viridian City to check something," Alameth said. "Then I'll come back and you can explain just what's going on."

~*~Day One, Viridian City, 11:30AM~*~

Yoshimitsu felt the train slowing a short while before everyone else. He was somewhat thankful for that. For some reason, he could not shake the feeling that he was being observed. After a quick scan of the train, he noticed one individual who was attracting a small amount of attention due to the cloak she was wearing. His eyes lingered on her for a moment before he looked away again, just in case she was the one watching him. Aiming to look casual, he fixed his attention on the landscape passing by as the train rolled into the station. A small part of him was thankful that he had his sword on him, concealed underneath a scarf tied around his waist.

"Okay, and Pallet Town's just a quick walk away," he muttered to himself as he disembarked the locomotive. However, he did not immediately set off. Instinct, pure instinct was telling him to remain in Viridian City for a a while. So rather than head south out of the city, he lingered, making his way to the Neo Crescent Mage library despite not recalling anyone dwelling in it for the moment.
 
1950244.png

III.

"I am about to send you both on your first mission," squeaked the Oracle.

He was such a little man and his high-pitched voice said as much, though it also rattled and rasped in age. He fumbled around with an athamé, lightly carving shapes into his desk. Hikaru sat across from him in a tacky brown, ripped, leather office chair. The floor was littered with dusty old tomes and strange magical devices which looked much too important to not be on display in some museum somewhere, whilst various other trinkets and stacks of paperwork were scattered about the place. The Oracle's office was dimly lit like the waiting room, wooden shutters shaping the light so that it cast long shadows around the room, adding to the chaos.

"First mission? You're giving us missions now?!" Taea screeched, turning a bright purple which Hikaru had not seen her glow before, before crying, "Aiya nadri, aiyana din-skry!"

Hikaru glanced at his companion inquisitively.

"Oh, Hikaru, I honestly had no idea - how honoured you must feel!" the Oracle chortled, eyeing Taea curiously, his laughter rough and raspy. It sounded as if he had been smoking forty a day, for forty years. He continued to mark shapes in the desk with the blade. When he said nothing more, Hikaru frowned.

"Er, sorry?"

"It's nothing, ignore him," Taea whispered, descending to rest on Hikaru's shoulder, her usual colour returning.

"Nothing?!" the Oracle grinned, stabbing the athame into the desk so it stood upright on its own. "Little girl, If I am not mistaken - and I am quite certain that I am not - you have just this minute cursed at me in High Faerie. I hope you will not protest that this is not 'nothing', but is in fact quite something. Rather remarkable - odd, eccentric, but remarkable nontheless - for one of your kind to be acting as a Familiar - to a human no less."

Hikaru frowned again, Taea said nothing. He had never heard her speak this strange language before. He noticed that when she spoke it, her voice rang out two-tone, as if she had two voices inside of her speaking at the same time. Odd. Why hadn't he heard this before?

"So, Hikaru." The Oracle stood up from his chair and Hikaru was shocked at how tall and powerful the little man now seemed. The old man plucked the dagger from the desk and pointed it directly at the young mage in one swift movement, who was growing more confused every second he spent in the room. "Are you prepared, as every single mage and more importantly, as every single mage who calls himself an Arcana student should always, consistently be?"

Thoughts raced through Hikaru's mind like cars crashing into one another. Too much, too fast. In all of his confusion, the only logical thought that managed to form itself into words was:

"B-but, I-I'm teaching in five minutes!"

"Nonsense. Your class was cancelled days ago, students have been notified. You must allow me more credit in future, my boy. Despite how the chaos of my office must present me, I am rather organised you know."

The Oracle made one final incision in his desk. Hikaru had been quite aware of the pattern being marked out in the wooden surface and had been trying to figure out it's purpose before Taea's strange outburst had caught him off-guard. The pattern had become a whole lot deeper, several times more intricate and detailed than before in such a short space of time, now resembling a glyph that was all too familiar to Hikaru.

"Wait, what are you doing?!" The boy shot up at such speed that his chair wheeled backwards and toppled over, crashing onto a pile of magical artefacts, which whirred, jolted, burst into bright lights and raised themselves into mid-air. Taea zoomed overhead to escape the din, whilst Hikaru backed his way towards the door.

"Now Hikaru, please do calm yourself, you are making a mess of my tidy office."

"Tidy-...? Oracle, with all due respect, that is a Teleportation Glyph configured to warp myself and Taea away in less than a minute! What's going on?!"

More explosions and dazzling lights illuminated the room as each artefact charged and discharged, letting loose spells and electricity, setting off others in every corner of the office, an etherstorm spreading like fire. The Glyph was a timebomb waiting to go off and pull Hikaru and his familiar through the Rift to an unknown place.

"Hikaru, Taea," the Oracle spoke calmly, standing still in the eye of the storm, oblivious to the chaos erupting around him. "The path may seem winding at first, but I am confident that you will both meet each other with new-found power and clear sight."

"Hikaru! What did I tell you?! I knew this was a bad idea!" Taea rang, zipping around the ceiling like a bird loose in a house.

But just as Hikaru had feared, the Glyph exploded into dazzling light, filtering the Oracle from view behind the desk, which split down the middle to reveal a portal of white lights on the ground. Hikaru felt the tug of the rift pull him slowly at first but soon causing him to accelerate into the portal without a chance to resist. Struggling with the notion of fight or flight, he noticed a red light shoot into the Rift and knew that the spell's force was far too mighty for the tiny Taea.

Hikaru shot one hand into the light and yelled "Astrum Manus!", causing his palm to glow black-violet, dragging Taea out of the portal straight into his grasp before tucking her safely into his chest. There was no fighting the Rift, but Taea's size made her easy to manipulate - she was so vulnerable. In the moments before the light swallowed them whole, the Oracle appeared through a lapse in the lightshow and Hikaru met his gaze once more.

"I truly am sorry that I have had to resort to measures such as these. Really, you have no need to worry, the spell is less dramatic than it appears. You are entirely safe..." The Oracle looked away for a moment, pausing, as if pondering on those last words.

"You-... You were the dark force!" Hikaru gasped; a strong wind had picked up and was taking his breath away. "You dragged me through the astral plane! Showed me the body."

"This was not of my doing."

Hikaru stared incredulously into the Oracle's all-seeing, ancient eyes, which twinkled with just a glimmer of youth.

"Oh, and Hikaru," the Oracle spoke, in a tone much too conversational in light of the situation, his robes flapping erratically and swirling around him like a tornado. "Consider this your final exam."

Hikaru's eyes shot wide open and he clutched Taea even closer to his chest. In a final burst of light, they were gone.

The old man chortled, papers and dust slowly falling to the ground around him as the room returned to peace.

"Well... That went well."
 
Last edited by a moderator:

Rex

Resident Furry
The road back to Viridian City was empty. No one was traveling between the two towns. The road was eerie when empty, and several times Rex was sure that he could hear the gravel crunching somewhere behind him. Each time he turned around, there was nothing there. Eventually, he reached the city, and the sound of footsteps behind him never bothered him again. It was pretty early, the next train to Saffron wasn't coming for another two hours or so. So instead of waiting at the station, he went to the local cafe, content to relax there and read the papers he had taken from the lab.
 
8158192.png

IV.

This plane was a swirling vortex of white lights and rainbows, multi-chromatic clouds of electricity pulsating, diamond fog shattering the light. Taea braced herself against Hikaru's chest. They span violently through the nether, white noise like static deafening them, eyes closed to the dazzling brightness.

And then, for just one tiny moment, Hikaru opened his eyes.

---

This place was old. Dust rippled like waves over the rubble, stirring up a gentle sandstorm which whipped across to the furthest edges of the ruins, where it held and quickly gained tremendous power and velocity, picking up rocks, old tiles and bricks, lashing them about erratically. In the center of all this, a small white light like fire sparked in mid-air and grew slowly, cutting its way out through the dimensions. The white fire smouldered and breathed, like some strange amorphous creature, gradually growing larger and larger until it was the size of door, at which point it spat something out and burst in a flash like lightning, settling the storm.

"TAEA!"

Finding himself being launched three foot above the ground, Hikaru thrust out his hands to break his fall, hitting the rubble with an audible thud. "Ahh!" Hikaru gasped, his hands burned in pain, the debris and force of impact cutting through several layers of skin. He looked up to see his hands grazed, blood seeping from the burst capillaries, before noticing that he was in the middle of no where surrounded by rubble. He rose slowly and awkwardly into a kneeling position, twisting around to see the portal had disappeared, Taea no where in sight. His blood began to boil as he pictured the Oracle in his mind.

"I don't know where I am!" he yelled, to no one in particular.

Managing to stand, he realised that his legs were in great pain and instantly fell back over. Rising more carefully this time, he began to hobble, crossing loose stone and the foundations of fallen walls, in what must have been the ruins of a large building. And magical too, for he could feel it and the place reeked of old spells and stagnant ether.

What had gone wrong? He visualised the Oracle's glyph and though it had been intricate and incredibly detailed, it was not too complicated for a student of Hikaru's level to figure out. He decided that he could see nothing wrong with it. It should have taken himself and Taea to the same place, even if he hadn't have let go of her as there was no other destination marked out.

He should never have opened his eyes, he scoulded himself. He felt a sinking in his chest as worry and guilt set in. If Taea had been lost in the Rift, he could never forgive himself.
 
Top