The land remains, the land endures

[stormkingofshepherds]

Arrival, Part 1

Anyone walking out on Stardust Beach might be surprised to see someone new, a young man with brown hair lying facedown in the sand, groaning. A Carnivine hovers over him worriedly, drifting back and forth in what looks like the equivalent of pacing. Finally, he turns over, looking up at her.

"Ugh, Macy...where are we?"

"Vine..." She sounds just as confused as he is.

Arrival, Part 2

Meanwhile, Turnbloom Gym now has a young teen hanging around outside, face pressed against the glass as they observe the gym interior. They're holding a carved walking stick that seems way too tall for them. After a bit, they try to wave down a passerby.

"Hey! Do you know where we are? And have you seen my dad?"

(Responses will come from loudvoiceloudbabybird!)

Comments

[domeinion]

[Hyperbug buzzes in the affirmative and waves a little cannon leg.]

It's true! He's always been like that. The truth is, the place we're from, our timeline, was scrambled and altered with a device called a Randomizer. It's been repaired now, but we haven't. This is just how we are.

[It's how they have to be, but she's not going to depress the poor kid.]

It isn't really a secret, since it would be exceedingly hard to cover up.

[loudvoiceloudbabybird]

Oh...so he's the only one of his kind? It's not like the new variant Pokemon the Smith was making? That sounds pretty lonely, but at least you have each other! [A pause.] I guess you might not know the Smith? He's the one who actually creates new Pokemon species.

[domeinion]

We don't have a god like that where I'm from, but I don't think you'd know Lord Dome or the others I know, either. No one else seems to. [Alice adjusts her glasses.] It's true, there used to be more randomized people and Pokémon, but mostly just me and mine plus a few others who aren't here. People here seem to understand, though. If there's anything uncommon about you, you won't be the only one.

[loudvoiceloudbabybird]

[They look a little flustered.] Oh, well...I don't think there's anything particularly unusual about me specifically. I guess some of my other teammates might be a bit more special.

[There's a pause before they quickly try to change the subject.] Um...those Godslayers you mentioned...they didn't succeed at their goal, did they?

[domeinion]

...It's a long story.

[And she wasn't there personally -- she hadn't even been alive, it was the original world -- but she'll try.]

They did, technically. Despite the name, they didn't attack them all, only those who tried to force them onto a path they couldn't meet, culminating in Helix and his Chosen Six. From what I've gathered, despite the destruction, it was meant to save the world, and it did. But they didn't stay gone. There was a time -- technically the same time, because the Randomizer had gone off 100 years in the future and then reset the world, scrambling it in the process, and so because the world was reset and yet some elements had carried over in an altered state, the timeline we're working with was started from an earlier point, but I digress! -- known as the return of the gods, where a host gathered a great many of them in their new incarnations to help repair the world and join with everyone else working to stop the person responsible.

I'm greatly simplifying, but did I cover enough?

[loudvoiceloudbabybird]

[That's...a lot to take in, obviously. Even just the idea of deliberate god-killers being the ones to save the world. When Alice brings that up, they fidget slightly, looking concerned.]

I think I kind of get it...but does tha tmean the Godslayers considered heroes for what they did? Even if it wasn't permanent, surely you can't just kill off a bunch of gods and expect nothing bad to happen to the world! Unless they all had really specific portfolios?

[domeinion]

They're not considered much of anything these days. I think that's how he likes it. The world had gone way out of balance as it was, and anyone with that much expectation on them... I wasn't there personally, but what happened between them changed a lot. Caused an upheaval it took a long time to settle down from. The forces behind them were reborn -- every so often you'd find an avatar of chaos, for example. That's where I learned it all from.

From what I see, well... it's not that killing or subjugating gods is in itself good. I couldn't say that in my position. I've dealt with some people who thought it was and threw the world into disarray for their selfish wishes. But at that time, in that place, it was the only thing that could be done to undo what was coming.

Things get exceedingly complicated from there and I'm sure you wouldn't believe me regardless, but I can tell you one thing I know for sure, even if it's difficult to. Beyond space and time, they still exist. Both sides, both teams, and both leaders. Even though their timeline was undone and rewritten, they managed to revive, and they met each other again, without anything at stake this time. It's thanks to the force that guided both of them to their destinies and the stream between worlds and times. And I think, if anything happened again, they wouldn't fight each other this time.

Was that simple enough? I know I tend to go overboard with my explanations, especially when it comes to inter-universal physics and timeline study.

[loudvoiceloudbabybird]

[This is a lot for Brinda's tiny bird brain to process. Listening to all this, they're just really glad they aren't one of the legendaries in charge of the more metaphysical aspects of the world. Because sorting all that out sounds like a lot of work.]

I...think it does? It sounds like the world you know works a lot differently from the one I know...but I really like what you said about them managing to revive in the end. It sounds kind of like how everyone thought the God-Hunters had permanently killed a bunch of legendaries, but one by one Quan's Hope are bringing them back...

[As one of the first Legendaries brought back and one of the closest emotionally, they do like that part of the story.]

[domeinion]

Who are they? [She looks over to him and adjusts her glasses.] I presume a group with some manner of power over death, or at least over the nature of reality, but how? Oh, I suppose I shouldn't assume you know everything, but it's fascinating to hear about. And important, in case something happens.

[loudvoiceloudbabybird]

Oh, um, nothing that big! Most of them were just ordinary Trainers who wanted to help fix things, and they had all sorts of ways to revive the Legendaries. They figured out what was disrupting their cycle of reincarnation, and were able to find various loopholes around that disruption. Like using fossils of previous Legendary incarnations combined with an advanced version of the fossil revival process! Or having a Ghost-type anchor the Legendary's soul.

[domeinion]

Oh, I see! I still think that sounds extraordinary, but the kind of thing you'll usually find. And you also had holy fossils? I used to think that was a constant in every world, but the fossil gods seem very uncommon in the worlds represented here.

[loudvoiceloudbabybird]

Yeah, they did a lot of good work. My dad's part of them! Did I mention that yet?

The fossil gods? I'm not sure that's quite the same thing, since the fossils didn't have any power on their own until the scientists actually started doing their science stuff to them.

[domeinion]

Oh, the fossil gods aren't always -- regardless! So that's why you were worried and looking for your dad earlier. I'm sure he must be capable, but if he's here, he must be worrying for you too. I'll help you look. What should I know about him?

[loudvoiceloudbabybird]

Well, he's about this tall, with brown eyes and dark brown hair. [They lift a hand to helpfully indicate Nathaniel's height.] And if he doesn't have his walking stick with him, he'll probably have Macy-that's his Carnivine-by him. And, well, he's got burns all over the left side of his face. [Their voice gets softer when they bring up that last bit.]

[domeinion]

[Alice nods. She draws out a Poké Ball and lets out an Altaria that promptly loafs on the ground and gives a cheerful "vui!"]

Here. Altareon, can you help us scan the area? It'll be easier to find this kid's father from there.

[She turns back to Brinda with a smile.]

If that's okay with you.

[loudvoiceloudbabybird]

That's fine with me! [They look a bit curious about the Altaria's behavior, as well as interested to see another Flying-type in general.] I really hope he's not too far!

[domeinion]

[Alice climbs onto Altareon and pets her. The Altaria chirps and tilts her head at Brinda curiously, inviting them to come with.]

She says you can hop on! Oh, I guess I shouldn't assume you don't understand. Just a lot of people here don't.

Probably going to merge this with the ongoing Nathaniel thread

[loudvoiceloudbabybird]

[Brinda is already moving to get on, although they pause when she mentions people not understanding.]

Oh! Well, I thought her body language was pretty obvious. [They're already moving to settle on Altareon's back, carefully balancing their walking stick.]