genessia | Truths past, present, and future || [Voice/Video] [Backdated 5/16]

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Truths past, present, and future || [Voice/Video] [Backdated 5/16]

Normally, Ted didn't hesitate with his communication device. He liked to talk, and phone calls were his preferred method of keeping in touch with his loved ones. Sadly, peaceful, relaxing times would be coming to an end. His goku uniform, which might be ready any day now, demanded his utmost strength and willpower. He had to steel himself to have any chance of surviving. To be utterly firm in his convictions.

He was appalled by the subarchways; how they preyed upon the weak-hearted and the weak-minded. Especially children. Ted knew it was the moral duty of everyone to love what's true, and hate what's false. If only he could get others to agree. The thought of motes and beams crossed his mind. If he wanted others to embrace truth, he'd have to do the same, and cut himself loose of comforting falsehoods of his own. It was time for the truth. As he dialed each number and waited to be received, He prayed that the truth would not be too terrible.

Past: To Justice

Mewtwo isn't Ted's first choice for conversation, despite the lengthy one they'd had upon their first meeting. He simply seemed to irritate the artificial creature for reasons unbeknownst to Ted. In a way, that made him uniquely poised to answer the unsettling question that weighed on him ever since Koishi's party. Mewtwo, regrettably, was himself a victim of comforting falsehoods, if his time on Lake Canaa were any indication. Perhaps that made him an expert.

"Hello J--Mewtwo. Is now a good time? I need an expert opinion. It's about my...well, pokemon in general."

Present: To Sans

Ted wasn't sure where to start with this one. Sans had worried him at first with his previous position on the wrong side of a racial war. But he'd largely forgotten it, using Sans' sloth as a convenient excuse from anything dreadful. He couldn't deny that there seemed to be more to the silly skeleton than he let on, but then Ted could hardly hold that against him. Everyone has their secrets. It's just this one in particular that nagged at him. How to begin?

"Good afternoon, Sans. I hope your frank business hasn't gone to the dogs. Tell me, are you familiar with a...shall we say, bipolar flower?"

Future: To Ronan

Ted, of course, was justice's biggest fan, both in the concrete and the abstract. He was always angling for Ronan to tell him the best stories about his time on the force, peculiar cases, and so on. Even in the short time they worked together, his legal expertise was invaluable. In the middle of one such call, like any other, Ted was especially curious about one subject they hadn't broached yet.

"Say Ronan, what are your thoughts on entrapment?"

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Mewtwo had been meditating when Ted's call came through. He opened an eye to see who was calling, and was tempted to simply ignore it. However, upon hearing the message, his curiosity was piqued. What could Ted be asking him about?

"The time is irrelevant. What do you wish to know?"

How to articulate this...

"Do you remember, back in August, all those pokemon that appeared for a month? I'm curious; how like are they to the ones that came from your original world? Did they...follow the same pattern? That is, did trainers have to beat them, pitch a ball at them, capture them, then secure a rock and a related bit of bric-a-brac to hold on to them, lest they vanish?"

Ted was trying very hard to not sound too upset near the end.

Edited 2016-06-03 15:01 (UTC)

Mewtwo sighed, closing his eyes again. Of all the dumb questions...

"Of course not. We are not some mythical force separate from our own world. We are every bit a normal and natural part of our world as humans are. This world, however, was not originally native to Pokemon, and while we can adapt to our surroundings, we are subject to this place's rules just as much as humans."

Why he was granted a pendant and permanent residence here... well that was a mystery he was still working out.

If he were in a better mood, he'd have laughed at "natural"; the Kanto scientists must have kept themselves very busy explaining half the fantastic things they were capable of. In any case, the original ones sounded much better than these. Right now he's simply frustrated; Ted's angling for details, for once. He also didn't quite believe the one answer he got; that the pokemon were connected to the place, same as themselves. If they died, would they reappear sans one memory? Ted's not exactly eager to experiment.

"So what are the differences, comparatively? Between the ones you remember and the ones that appeared here, albeit temporarily? Please, in as much detail as you can."

The level of detail Ted was asking for was... disconcerting at best. It's as if he knew something - or suspected something - and was looking for confirmation. "...Why does it matter? They are what they are, and nothing I say will change that."

Ted withheld a facepalm. Of course Mewtwo wouldn't care about these things. Utilitarian to the point of tautology. It seemed he'd exhausted his curiosity on the day they first met. He felt a twinge of nostalgia. He paused, before his features were momentarily galvanized. Koishi. She would know. There may still be one thing Justice knew too.

"...I'm afraid my need for answers is morbid, though born out of caution. Mewtwo, have you ever known a pokemon like mine to," Ted swallowed, "Die? And if so, did they return, like we can? I ask because, as is typical, we've had our fair share of breakneck adventures; some dangerous. They've helped save the life of myself and others. But if their mortality was more severe than ours...well, I'd like to know what I'm risking."

"No, I have never known of a Pokemon to die in this place. That said, do not underestimate the resiliency of Pokemon. Even the lowliest Pidgey can endure damage that would kill a human a thousand times over with only a loss of consciousness. Pokemon battles do not hold anything back, and yet for all that power they unleash on each other, there has never been a casualty in any of the Pokemon Leagues around the world. The only instance of Pokemon killing another Pokemon are in the natural course of hunting. Seviper eating the eggs of Pidgeys, or what have you."

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youfool - 2016-06-08 19:33 (UTC) - Expand

[This is unusual.]

"...ya mean Flowey?" [Yeah, he's a weed.] "What about 'im?"

"A male flower, is he? So you are the skeleton he referred to." He paused, deep in thought, wondering how to explain the bizarre proceedings succinctly.

"...we played a sort of game. The name escapes me. It involved magic and seven-colored hearts and...well, by now you're either familiar or utterly confused. Anyway, we talked for a bit and I brought up how odd it was that sheer violence was so readily available. I made some off-hand comment about monsters being savage, you know, on account of them always needing to be slain in books and such.

That comment seemed to strip away all his sanity, and he remarked that I had 'no clue' as to the truth. Do you have any idea what he meant by that?"

[That was a question more serious than he anticipated. And yet, he feels that in some timeline, he should've been aware this was coming. Or perhaps the fact that this is not as important as others, he chose to ignore it.

Nevertheless, this was serious question and it wasn't something Sans would answer over the phone. He didn't answer, but instead hung up on Ted. He starts walking in a random direction, and emerges near Ted. The power of short-cuts.]

"Hey bud... Before I answer yer question... Why were ya talking to Flowey?"

"Sans? Hello? Sans?" Well that was weird. The coverage one the communicators was flawless; he'd never known them to have technical difficulties. First time for everything, he supposed. He redialed the number, looking upset. Did he offend? It didn't sound possible, given Sans' character. That would be almost impressive, in a perverse sort of way.

He was shocked to find things take on a three-dimensional quality so quickly, fumbling the phone and almost dropping it. "Oh! Hah, hello again, Sans. I think I just called your twin brother." He took a breath.

"Why?" He considered, statuesque in his immaculate contemplation. Asking Ted why he struck up conversation is like asking him why he breathed or thought. "My interpretive dance was rusty, and I doubt sign language would've found any purchase." He laughed, partly out of nerves. "Why not? Was I not supposed to?" He's open to the possibility, given how dark things turned.

[By now, Sans would've figured that if Flowey had the power, he would've done it already. His knowledge of timelines would inform him if timelines stopped or reset. So he was sure by now that Flowey lost that ability.]

"...What exactly did you want to know? ...About the 'truth' he insists I know?"

Ted's always down for a long story. "Erm, all of it, I suppose. Sorry; I'd give you more context, if I could, but Flowey must have felt cryptic yesterday." It doesn't help that Ted's light on specifics as a matter of course; idealists don't have time to deal in details. Ideally, Sans would just brush it off as the ravings of a lunatic, which would almost satisfy, were it not for the fact that such different looking creatures knew each other. Their relationship, at least, would have to be answered for.

youfool - 2016-06-03 16:05 (UTC) - Expand

[It's not like Ronan's never employed the tactic before...]

It's...got it's place. Why?

Ted laughed. "Is that right? Last I checked it was illegal. You know, the compulsive kind, where a cop lies to someone about the legality of a situation, or tries to pressure someone into something. Granted, the world's laws aren't a perfect mirror of our own, but we're both Americans. Or did Salem view it differently?

What about its benign variant; oh, what was it, those...bait cars, yes! Or bikes. You know, where cops would set up a handsome vehicle, make it look as appealing as possible, then follow it back to a warehouse or something once it found its way to the source. Supposed to be very good at rooting out thefts of that sort.

Oh, I'm simply curious."

Sometimes, you know a guy did something, but you don't have a reason to bring him in, so you bait him. Piss him off. Make him screw up. That's what I'm talking about.

Ted's a little confused on this one. It felt strange when he wanted to speak details, and Ronan wanted to discuss principles. Usually it was the opposite.

"That's interesting, and very near what I mean, but not quite. Your case posits a known criminal, while mine posits a criminal atmosphere. In cases of these attractive yet treacherous vehicles, the lawmen did not know who, precisely, the culprit was, but knew very well that whoever it was, they couldn't help themselves from more of the same. Their goal was broader; not the apprehension of one man, but of any men and all men who are so inclined.

Your case is narrower, and like all narrow things, more easily innocent. There's no chance of corruption, presumably your man is corrupted already. That's the heady danger of entrapment; that the law men will breed lawlessness.

In the cases I've been reading about, it's usually legal to trick and beguile the target through every means except the corruption of will. Join their conspiracy, provide the means to a crime, even allow a crime to happen solely for the sake of retribution. All legal, so long as they don't corrupt their hearts and minds through...what's the term...duress, or false representation, or something like that.

I'm not boring you, am I? If so, it is only because it seems terribly interesting.

Anyway, here's where it gets tricky. I was browsing a Catholic forum (as you do) and found some arguing that even in the milder cases, police cunning like that is something of a stumbling block; a very bad thing to do for Christians. That's in Luke, I think. 'Times for stumbling may come, but woe to those through whom they come.' They said that even though one may have crime in their hearts, providing an opportunity, even for the purpose of eliminating crime, was a means of making men stumble.

The other side, more pragmatic and less inclined to sympathize with these hypothetical, potential sinners, said that the crime they already thought to do was more important than its particular expression. Better to provide something tricky for the purposes of safety, than wait for a more authentic and thus, more tragic victim.

As a Catholic and a lawman, you're uniquely poised on the issue. What are your thoughts? Where do you come down? I'll even pay you a penny for them, if they're worthy."

You know, Ted. I said, once, that I was Catholic. I never said I practiced. God took away from me the one thing that kept my head above water. I don't owe him anything.

[And now that that's out of the way.]

Everybody gets tempted. It's whether or not they act on it that matters. No, tricking somebody into doing something you think they might be doing is wrong.

["The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away" is what he would've said, had Levy not instructed him to watch his words a bit more carefully. Still, Ted looks bummed out. Figured the one believer he knew in this place wasn't all that into it.]

"I'm...familiar with the feeling." [That should work a little better, maybe. He's with Ronan on the first half, though the second throws him for a loop. That wording...]

youfool - 2016-07-04 14:48 (UTC) - Expand

It took about an hour for Ted to muster the courage to call up Koishi next. He didn't know anyone else that could divine the kind of truths he needed to know. A noble goal, despite the terrible and trembling feeling that oppressed him all over.

"Koishi...hello. I hope you're having a good day. Listen, I'm afraid I need another favor from you. Do you still have that Bulbasaur you showed me the last time you held a celebration in Old Hell?"

Edited 2016-06-08 20:04 (UTC)

Koishi fumbled a little bit with the phone before answering. After some muffled sounds Koishi's face appeared on the screen. She was licking her fingers, the background showing Fayren's forest.

"Mister Spades! Hello! I was doing some hunting. Sis wanted some meat. I have three rabbits so far but I found a deer. The ringing scared it off, but that's fine. I can keep chasing."

She was rummaging around somewhere off screen. It was followed by a click and Koishi lifted a dark pokeball with a yellow and red button into view. "Yeah! See? He's right here. I always know its him because Purple Thing gave me the ball too."

Good, she still had it, and he'd correctly remembered its origin. "All right. At your earliest convenience, may we please privately meet with him in tow? Any spot in Fayren will do."

"Oh..." She blinked and looked around. "Now is fine. If you're gonna take awhile though I can kill and clean and bring the deer home before you get here. If not, then these rabbits are just fine for now. I can go fishing instead!"

He looked pained. Should he hurry, or go slow?

No, better to have it out. He needed to cultivate an attitude without hesitation anyway. "Now it is. Send me your coordinates, and I'll be along shortly." There's a good chance she won't know what that means, so Ted is ready to explain GPS functions of the phone.

He still had his two-star uniform, which shortened his trip considerably. His usual energy and vigor were replaced with a grim determination, leaving his jog more of a slog. He arrived, anxiety and dread rolling off him in waves. "Hello. When you are ready, please bring out the creature. Try to keep him still." Ted, counter to his previous speed, slowly took out the pokeball containing his Vileplume, releasing it a few feet away. She came out sitting, for her "head" was quite heavy, and had gotten used to having it assisted by the ever-courteous Cacturne. "Mind its spores; they'll irritate if you don't."

"Okay! I'll be at the lake then. I'll send you the location." And she did just that.

He would find Koishi hovering over the more shallow areas of the lake, tentacles cocked back before snapping down into the water and jerking up, followed by her hands. Her claws ensured that any grabbed fish would not escape. She was carrying one such fish over when he showed up, the little youkai having already threaded a small but strong vine through the fish's jaw, tying it to a root, and letting the animal back into the water next to several others in a similar situation. Best to keep them alive until she's done so they don't start to rot or anything.

"Oh! Mister Spades! Hello!" She unpinned her sleeves and drifted over, her eyes dimming slightly upon feeling his negativity. Her aura would help with that, certainly. She didn't comment on it though.

Taking the ball off her belt she held it up. "I have him right here!" And let bulbasaur, or rather, ivysaur out. The little pokemon turned in a circle before running right over to Koishi, his leaves waving a little as he was pet. "Did you want to battle or something Mister Spades? You could have just said so over the phone."

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Past part 2 - [Video]

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