Pokemon: The Lost Arcology

[Renewal]

OOC: I'm liking the debate and world-building :-D. Keep it up! And sorry for the delay!

Jonathan lips quirked with an infuriatingly mysterious smile. "It seems you've all put a lot of thought into this." He straightened, pulling something from the cabinet, and shut it, returning to his seat. "Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I even now what Omega is myself. My ancestors certainly had my theories, but even they had nothing definite. But now, to business."

The grey-haired man leaned forward, bending over a coffee table. He carefully placed six crystalline spheres on the table, each roughly ten centimeters across and tinted with a different color. Together on the table, they glimmered with a faint light, reflecting on Jonathan's face. "These are the Prime keystones." Jonathan looked at each of them, grinning. "I'd tell you their purpose, but why don't you give me more guesses? You seem like a bright group."

Leon bent closer, a bit entranced by the light of the keystones. Raising an eyebrow, he hazarded a guess. "They... unlock things? We'll need them to access the other Arcologies?"

 

[Hadesiro]

"The Omega was said to have two forms; One that was seen by the many, and one only by its highest servants, the Paura. The Paura were supposedly the children of the Omega, those that it made like itself somehow. The commonly seen form was said to be a head with eyes covering it, with one central eye just above a huge toothed mouth, with colors of rotting flesh. The true form, as it was called, was so beautiful that all who saw at once believed that it was a god." Paulo responded to Cohen.

His senses were becoming more and more distorted. Paulo was now seeing all those around him as monstrous things, made of pulsing flesh that stank as if it was rancid. Their shapes were sick mockeries of what they had been seen as before, and their voices were nearly impossible to understand. He knew that all of this was a hallucination, but it never failed to disturb him when it happened.

The stones on the table appeared to be covered in a coating of slime. The one thing that made his hallucinations bearable was that inanimate objects were rarely as twisted as organic things. Paulo stared at the stones and said nothing.

 

[Nytie]

Karina kept a tight hold on Kreuger in case he mistook the stones for gems that he could eat. "Maybe... we'll need them to enlist the help of the other guardians?" She tilted her head to the side examining the stones more closely. "Where did these come from? I've never seen rocks or gems like this. And believe me, I know rocks." She added a bit cheekily, more at ease now that everyone seemed to be getting along. "Is there something special about what they're made of? Do they react to something in the environment, like evolution stones?" Now that her curiosity had been aroused, Karina as firing off questions about the stones.

 

[Renewal]

Leon's face was blank, mind numbing slightly as Karina shot off questions rapid-fire. Truth be told, he was a goal-oriented person. Let others bother with the 'why's and 'how's; all that mattered to him was getting the job done right. Preferably with no one hurt and in as spectacular a way as possible. Turning to Karina as she finished speaking, he said with mild awe, "You're a really curious person, aren't you?"

Jonathan laughed. "Indeed." Gesturing broadly over the six stones, he continued, "You're right, these are no natural gems or stones. The keystones are completely artificial--created at the same time as the arcologies themselves. I dare say they're the oldest things in the room, myself included." Though he winked with his little joke, Jonathan's voice and face grew more somber. "Out on the surface, these stones are nothing more than pretty trinkets. But here, within the arcologies--they are everything."

He sank back in his seat, posture suddenly weary. "Take one of them, all of you."

Leon bent forward. Looking closer at them, it became apparent that they weren't truly spheres; rather, they were shaped with dozens of facets, much like a gem would. As he drew nearer, the glow in the spheres--one red, one blue, one yellow, one green, one orange, and one purple--intensified. Shrugging, he picked the stone shining blue, weighing it in his hands. It was surprisingly dense, and cool to the touch.

 

[Jaylebyrd]

Cohen picked up the yellow one.

"It feels strange, like it is ready to shock me to death if I tinker with it..." He said

 

[Hadesiro]

Paulo reached for the red stone. It felt warm, but combined with his twisted senses it felt like a slimy, very fresh piece of meat. His Growlithe came over, and looked at the rock. She thought it might be a Fire Stone.

Paulo tried not to let his discomfort show. He was the only one that knew about his condition.

 

[Nytie]

Karina grinned a little sheepishly at Leon's question. "Yeah, I guess. It's just... This is my thing, you know? It's what I really love."

She leaned forward to take a stone, but before she could, Kreuger leaped out of her arms and snatched up the green one. "Kreuger, no! You can't eat that!"

Kreuger scampered around, making his cackling little cry, then set about examining the stone. Much to his disappointment, he quickly realized that it wasn't a natural gem that he could eat. He made a face resembling an apologetic grin and hopped over to drop the stone in Karina's lap. She sighed and patted him on the head. "Behave. This is serious." She admonished him.

 

[Vayre]

Eli reached over and picked up the purple stone stone, to his surprise the stone barely weighed anything, and just holding it sent a chill up his spine. Claire popped her head over his shoulder, cooing in an interested manner as she ran her antennae over the stone. After letting Claire have a feel of it he placed the stone in his lap, uneagre to touch ti with his skin.

(Couldn't figure out if it was meant to be Poison or ghost, so I went with ghost. If i'm wrong correct me.)

 

[Jaylebyrd]

"So, what exactly do we do with them?" Cohen asked.
Swampy hopped over to the gem, sniffed it and started to Mud-Slap it.
"Stop, Swampy! It's an inanimate object!"
Swampy glared at the gem as Cohen put it in his pocket.

 

[Renewal]

OOC: Sorry for the delay; wall of exposition coming up!

Jonathan nodded in approval at the five, each with a keystone in hand. "Well, you've all felt their power, haven't you? The keystones are imbued with elemental power, drawn from the raw might of the Legendary Pokemon themselves." He picked up the last keystone, glowing orange, and gazed into its depths. "Back, before Omega, there was a legend about the super ancient Pokemon of Hoenn: Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza. It was said that each was associated with an orb of wondrous power, and would come when that orb's power was invoked."

Jonathan tore his gaze away from the keystone, and shrugged. "Whether the legend is true or not, I don't know. But the architects thought it was worth pursing, and somehow captured the essence of the Legendaries in these crystals. As far as I am aware, Omega's rampage was able to awaken nearly all of the Legendary Pokemon."

The Guardian pointed at Paulo. "That is the Prime Fire Keystone, imbued with Reshiram's power." He turned to Leon next. "That is the Water Keystone, blessed by Kyogre." He looked at Cohen, Karina, and Eli in turn. "The yellow is the Prime Electric Keystone, blessed by Zekrom; green is clearly Grass, taken from Shaymin; and the purple is Ghost, from Giratina." Jonathan sighed. "This last one is Ground, charged with Groudon's power, though it seems Rose isn't here to carry it yet." He placed the last, unclaimed keystone on the table.

"Now, there are purportedly fourteen keystones in total--there were no Poison Legendaries, to the builders' knowledge, while Arceus was nowhere to be found, making a Normal Keystone impossible. Lastly, none of the Guardians know where the Dragon Keystone is, or if it even exists." He grimaced, and rubbed his jaw. "Though no one's heard from the Tenth Arcology's Guardian in years... Regardless, these keystones are one of the primary safeguards of the arcologies. You were right Leon--a keystone is needed to gain access to the other arcologies. Teron was lucky to receive five of the fourteen; their inventor was my ancestor, and settled here. The rest of the arcologies have one each. Just as I guarded these five, the other Guardians watch their arcology's keystone."

Jonathan paused, allowing the information to sink in. Leon was wordless, slightly awed at the power in his hand. Blessed by Kyogre itself? Wow...

 

[Jaylebyrd]

Cohen held the Prime Electric Keystone in his hand, mulling it over.

Zekrom? THE Zekrom? Wow... No wonder why Swampy didn't like it... So, um, do I tap it?

Cohen's finger reached out to tap the orb.

NO!

Cohen hesitated, how did that voice just get inside his head.

OK... Hmmm, so, I'll just wait.

Cohen decided to break the silence.

"So, how exactly do we use them?" he asked, while sketching Zekrom on his notepad.

 

[Hadesiro]

Paulo was getting a weird feeling. He knew what it meant, that his hallucinations were receding.


Another besides the six in the room was watching, one older then all the arcologies. She had just saved one young boy from an unpleasant electric shock. She needed them to continue, and anything needlessly negative was to be avoided, even though she couldn't be with them all the time. This is what her master would have wanted.

 

[Nytie]

Karina was starting to feel slightly uneasy, as though there was a strange pressure on the room. She stared at the orange Keystone. Groudon was connected to it...

Picking up on the change in mood, Kreuger crawled back into her lap and looked up at her meaningfully. Karina understood; he felt it too.

She curled her hand around the Keystone Kreuger had picked up, the one connected to Shaymin. She had a feeling that he had taken the Grass Keystone for her on purpose. To take Groudon's would probably just tempt fate...

 

[Jaylebyrd]

Cohen stopped for a second.

If Rose doesn't come, who will take the ground keystone?

He repeated it to the group.

 

[Renewal]

Jonathan frowned. "I suppose I'll have to keep it for whenever she does show up." He gave them all a meaningful look. "Carrying two keystones, without any experience, may prove disastrous to you. If there is one thing the myths agree on, it's that Legendary Pokemon do not get along very well."

Jonathan stood, cracking the joints in his back as he stretched. "But I suppose an old codger like me has held you up long enough. Keep those keystones safe. And let me give you something for your journey." He turned and entered a backroom, before returning with five packs and five red devices. He passed one pack and one device to each of them. "Those packs contain some weatherproof clothing and tents that'll probably help in the more... extreme habitats." Indicating the device in Leon's hand, he continued, "And these are a bit more important. They're Poke Codices: special versions of the Pokedex, designed exclusively for use in the arcologies. Each Poke Codex has the standard Pokemon recognition software. More importantly, they can access the arcologies' computer systems if you can find a terminal."

Jonathan cracked one last smile at the group. "There's nothing more I can do for you. You'll have to find your own way to the next arcology, learn to use the keystones on you own."

 

[Nytie]

Krueger immediately began rummaging through the pack in search of anything shiny as Karina examined the Codex. "Um.. does anyone here know how to make the terminals work? I'm great with digging up Fossils, but computers... well, not so much." She admitted.

 

[Hadesiro]

Paulo had come out of his hallucination, and his surroundings appeared to be normal once more. He picked up the Codex, and began scanning the pokemon in the room.

When he attempted to scan Krueger the Sableye, the pokedex went into a grey screen of static. "Poke..mon unkno..wn.." It coughed out before it shut off.

"Something's there! Behind the Sableye!" Paulo said, frightened at the machine's response. He had seen what looked like the space itself move in response.

"No one ever has been able to scan me. Not before, not now. Guess I'm just too mixed. Oh, and I might be back for the Ground Keystone!" There was a distortion of space behind Krueger, as if something had teleported away. Paulo couldn't tell if the voice had spoken out loud or through telepathy. It had felt like a knife stabbing into his mind and ears. "Did you guys... hear that?" he asked.

 

[Nytie]

Kreuger screeched at the strange voice and leapt away, nearly knocking Karina over. She barely noticed, holding her head in pain from the voice's resonance. "Wha... what was that?! Groudon's Keystone..." She was shaking all over, partly from fright at being so close to such an alien presence, partly because of what it had said about returning. She looked around at everyone else, eyes wide. "Y-you all heard that too, right?"

 

[Jaylebyrd]

"I could probably hack into the terminals if I adjust -" Cohen flinched at the sound of the hollow voice. "Aah!" he yelled, before calming himself. "Yes, Karina, I definitely heard that."

An ear-splitting crash of thunder came out of nowhere, even though it was a sunny day. It seemed to come out of his own mind. He clutched his hands over his ears and yelled "YOU CAN HEAR THIS TOO, RIGHT?"

Nobody could.

 

[Renewal]

Leon was pale, trembling slightly, hands clenched around his Codex and the Water Keystone. "I don't know what I heard... but I heard something..."

Jonathan's eyes narrowed. "But I didn't." His jovial demeanor gone, jaw clenched and hands fisted, he quickly pocketed the Ground Keystone. "Whatever that presence was, we can't let it interfere with the Journey. You need to go. Now." He looked at them for the last time. "There's nothing more I can help you with. I know you're all splendid, capable Trainers. Teron's future couldn't rest in better hands." He gave them a halfhearted grin. "Don't worry about the computer systems; they're supposed to know what to do." He made to leave the room, but stopped, shooting one last thing over his shoulder. "If Rose ever shows up, I'll send her after you. Please, make haste. Head to the south gate of town; the elevator to the wild zone will be right there." And with that, he was gone.

Leon stood too, legs just a bit unsteady. He clumsily shoved the Water Keystone into his front pocket, and fumbled for the Poke Ball on his belt. "Come on out, Thorn," he mumbled. The Axew materialized, tilting his head at the unfamiliar surroundings. Leon looked at his new comrades. "Ready, guys?"