Willy
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Post by Willy on Jan 20, 2012 1:21:37 GMT -5
When Doug opened his eyes, he was met by the still unfamiliar sights and sounds of Tyric Town. He had been here before, he remembered. Hadn't he? It felt like it had been months, or maybe even years ago. Maybe it hadn't happened. Why was he here anyway? He thought he remembered being in the forest. Why would he have fallen asleep in a forest? Why did he go to the forest in the first place?
The Treecko took him there! That was right. What was his name? Something heroic... nothing was coming to Doug. Did this Treecko attack him? No... he had been with Doug for a long time... did someone else? Doug couldn't remember. It felt like a dream. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea to ignore it until he remembered things better. Maybe it was just a dream.
Doug took a look at the town. He was currently still a good distance away. He didn't dare get too close. Last time he was in a heavily populated area he lost all ability to function. There were too many people with too many different thoughts, ideas, and mindsets. Doug's mind wasn't able to handle it. If he were to head into town, he wouldn't be able to do it unless it was either night-time, and most people were asleep, or he knew he wouldn't end up in any area that had too many people. It was probably best that he just skip town and head off into the field. Then again, he didn't really have any idea where he was going either way. Whether he headed into the town or elsewhere, he was going to need directions.
Doug decided it would be best to stay on the outskirts of town and try to find someone. He took a look around, also keeping focused on his thoughts. If there were any that didn't sound like his own, there might be someone nearby. This method never had been all that effective in locating anyone, but still. Doug needed to challenge himself to see how well he could use his uncontrollable mind reading ability. He knew that much. For some reason he was training. Or at least he was in that crazy dream of his. It was always weird how real things can seem in a dream.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Jan 20, 2012 20:13:12 GMT -5
It was odddly quiet outside of Tyric Town, as no Pokemon could be seen walking in or out of it. Or anywhere, for that matter. Almost as if the town was deserted-- oh wait, there's a Pidgey flying overhead. It flew into town, accompanied by various thoughts and general worries of family, work, travel... nothing particularly interesting for someone uninvolved. The Pidgey flew out of sight quickly, obviously in a hurry. Well, at least Tyric Town was still alive, but just like that, all thoughts but his own disappeared from Doug's head and once again he was alone. Would he ever get a chance to meet anyone waiting outside like this?
BUMP. His answer hit him in the behind.
A Trapinch, dragging a very large and heavy cardboard box backwards along a path, hadn't noticed Doug in his way and collided with him. The Trapinch dropped his box and turned around. "Oh, pardon me, sir," he said in a calm, quiet voice. "I'm afraid I didn't notice you there. You were being terribly quiet."
Oddly enough, Doug could still only hear his own thoughts. This Trapinch apparently wasn't thinking anything. In addition, his manner of speaking was a bit unorthodox as well - when he spoke, his mouth opened but did not move until he finished speaking and closed it again. He looked up at Doug with plain, unblinking eyes. "My name is Rolph. I am delivering these materials to a friend of mine on the edge of town. I am almost there, but I am getting rather tired. Would you mind helping me? My friend may have something for you in return."
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Jan 20, 2012 21:24:19 GMT -5
How odd. Doug thought to himself. It's as if he wasn't even there. Doug found that ever since gaining his ability, no-one had really ever been able to sneak up on him.
The edge of town. As in not deep into town. I can handle that.
"Of course! I'm headed that way anyway." Doug said as he moved to the back of the box. He COULD teleport it, he supposed. But then again, he had never attempted to teleport anything that large before. In addition, he knew he could probably teleport multiple things at once, but again, with the size of the box, he couldn't be sure he could really teleport himself, the box, and the Trapinch. Even if he teleported the box and left the Trapinch to walk, he had no idea where to bring the box. So he walked behind the box and started pushing. It was indeed heavy. And it was kind of hard to push while it was sliding along the ground.
Doug decided a little bit of Levitation couldn't hurt, so he used his mind to lift the box a few inches off of the ground. Much better. If I never find a way to get back home I could always start a one-man moving service. Doug thought to himself, slightly amused.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Jan 23, 2012 16:01:01 GMT -5
"Thank you kindly," replied Rolph as he clamped down on his side of the box again with his jaw and guided it towards town. The levitation and strength of Rolph combined made it incredibly easy to move for both of them. As they neared the town, voices began to fade in and pile up in Doug's head, though not nearly as many as the active center of town. The Trapinch led Doug to a particularly secluded building on the fringe, where the thoughts of others were partially drowned out by a loud mechanical drilling noise.
Rolph adjusted his stance and reached for the doorbell with his back leg. The bell sounded, and the drilling stopped. 'Ah, that must be him, sooner than expected,' a thought responded. The door opened. Hovering in the doorway was a Magnemite, though it was painted a darker gray and over its magnets were a pair of metallic three-fingered gloves. The gloves' fingers flexed as the Magnemite drifted upwards and downwards. "Hello, Rolph, I wasn't expecting to see you back in such a timely manner," the Magnemite said in an oddly inflected voice. He peered behind the box to see Doug levitating it from the other side. "I see you have brought a friend. Hello! My name is Marlon. Thank you for helping my delivery bot-- er, BOY, retrieve the parts I ordered! Please come in." He backed away from the entrance to allow the movers some room.
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Jan 24, 2012 1:21:15 GMT -5
As they made it into town, Doug was finding it a bit harder to keep his focus on levitating the box. It faltered once or twice, but Doug made sure not to let it happen again.
'Ah, that must be him, sooner than expected,'
Him? Who was I expecting again? Oh right, the guy I'm helping deliver this box to, I guess.
Doug entered the building, making sure not to drop the box too quickly, and remembering to shut the door behind him. "Nice to meet you Marlon, I've been expecting you," Doug blurted, "er, no... I mean..."
Oh goodness, what a silly thing to say. Well. Go on. Fix it, you idiot!
"I mean, I was expecting you... might be able to be of some help!"
Nice save. Douglass Host: Slickest guy this side of the Dimension.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Feb 7, 2012 12:12:02 GMT -5
Marlon followed As Rolph guided Doug around a corner. "Help? Oh yes, I am capable of giving help. Time is all I have!"
The room that Rolph was carrying the box to was full of curious things. It was a massive workroom, and large quantities of metal parts littered the tops of counters as well as the floor itself. Among the metal parts were half-assembled robots, resembling Pokemon of all types, shapes, and sizes. Here an Absol, there a Porygon, over there a Slowpoke. In the corner was the massive framework of a Palkia-shaped automaton.
The room was not void of activity, however, as there were a few Pokemon working on some of the robots. A Machamp rapidly put together the many complex parts of a Haunter using its four arms. A Hitmonchan was punching a Wobbuffet multiple times like a punching bag, but the latter didn't seem to mind. A Politoed and a Minccino cooperated on some kind of blueprints. And despite all of the activity, there were still no new thoughts whatsoever besides those of Marlon's.
"Right there is fine, thank you!" Marlon issued, and Rolph dropped the box carefully. "Now as you have been a help to me, I will be happy to be a help to you. What is it you are needing?" 'I hope he is quick, I've been needing these parts forever...'
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Feb 10, 2012 0:30:05 GMT -5
Great. Now you need to think of something you need help with. Didn't think this far ahead, did ya, slick? Doug chided himself.
"Well, Uhh... I'm very new to the area and... I was wondering..." Doug began to lose himself in his surroundings. What was this? These weren't real pokemon. But they were moving. Some kind of statues that could move on their own. As if they were alive. This reminded him of a puppet show he had seen once. The puppeteers had very skilled hands, using strings to manipulate their puppets every move. But Doug saw no strings at all. Perhaps some of them were real? No. Surely Doug's head would be swarming with thoughts. "What are these things?" Doug said, unaware that he had even asked the question aloud.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Feb 24, 2012 13:02:21 GMT -5
Waiting for Doug's question, Marlon grew ever so slightly more impatient, hoping for something interesting at least. When Doug finally spoke, the disappointment was prevalent in his disposition for a few moments, but his mind sang a different tune. 'Things? Did he just call them things? Are they really that obvious?'
He glanced back at the "things" that were busy doing work and tests in the background. None of them seemed to be aware that they were the subject of the conversation, or that Doug even existed, for that matter. "Er, yes, yes, these are my helpers," Marlon explained. "Science is busy work, but also can be very profitable, and so I am always having, ah, volunteers." The Pokemon seemed a bit more devoted to their work than volunteers looking to make a quick buck. "You wish to profit? I am always finding work for volunteers. Easy job, generous pay, right friends?"
There was much nodding and chatter of agreement in the room as the workers stopped for a moment to affirm their boss's statements. And they went right back to work afterward. 'Yes, well done Marlon. I am convincing myself, even!' "Straight from the Ponyta's mouth! What do you say?"
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Feb 29, 2012 22:11:52 GMT -5
Oh goodness. They reacted! And without a thought! Doug had known people who could keep him from hearing their thoughts, but this large of a group? How was it possible? Perhaps this Magnemite could be of much greater help than Doug had thought.
"That sounds good. I was looking for work anyway," Doug said, only half lying, trying not to seem too excited. "You have yourself a deal! When would you like me to start?" Whatever the work was, perhaps if he did it well enough, he could convince the Magnemite to tell him how the rest of his employees concealed their thoughts so easily. Or he would, if he could figure out how to do it without letting them know about his abilities. Or perhaps they already knew. This was the problem with not being able to hear peoples thoughts. You no longer knew what they were thinking!
Thank you captain obvious.
You be quiet.
In any case. Perhaps he could figure it out simply by observing his new coworkers.
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Oct 6, 2012 19:14:32 GMT -5
'He actually bought it!' sang Marlon in his head. 'But... what task am I giving him...' He hadn't thought that far. "Wonderful!" he replied, his one eye lighting up in delight that would look mostly genuine if Doug couldn't hear his thoughts. "You can start right now if you wish!" He hovered about the room, looking at various things. 'Surely there was something...' He stopped in front of the Palkia frame. It had gathered a bit of dust, indicating that it hadn't been worked on in some time.
'Oh, of course...!' He turned back to Doug with renewed confidence. There was something he could do for him after all. "There is one thing I am being unable to get a hold of... and it is absolutely necessary for my, ah, work!" He leaned in ever so slightly closer as if the job were anything other than ordinary. "Have you ever heard of something called an 'odd diamond'? There are a few of them scattered about this world, and I have heard rumors that they hold some kind of insight into the creation of everything, if you will."
He briefly paused with a fleeting thought of how he might come off as slightly mad, but he continued nonetheless, hoping that he didn't already lose his potential mercenary. "But... they are usually being guarded by something... dangerous terrain, powerful Pokemon, and I simply am not cut out for this kind of field work. I AM, however, willing to pay top dollar for anyone who is! Up to, say, ¶10000!" He almost seemed startled himself at the sound of such a number. "Oh, and I guarantee you simply cannot earn that kind of money elsewhere! I am certain that if I advertised this job, I would be overwhelmed by applicants before the day ended! But you, there is something special about you. I can feel it! If anyone can find and recover an odd diamond, it is you!"
'I hope I am not overselling this... I had better be wrapping it up.' He made a sound that was similar to the clearing of one's throat, even though he clearly did not have one. "That is my proposal. I can give you any supplies you are needing for the journey, and when you are ready, I can send you straight to one of the places I suspect a diamond is hiding... so, whatever you need to get prepared, do not hesitate to tell me and I will do my best to provide!"
Merlon's other employees, meanwhile, continued to silently carry out their duties, paying little attention if any to his job description.
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Oct 7, 2012 1:44:42 GMT -5
"Er... Sounds kinda hard to do, really. But I guess I could give it a shot." Doug said, still looking at all the workers. "After all, this really seems like the kind of thing I would probably end up doing for some reason anyway. May as well get paid doing it." It seemed like an odd thing to say, even to Doug himself, but he didn't let it worry himself too much.
Something about these workers was starting to get to Doug. The way they moved... sometimes it made them seem like they weren't quite real somehow. Doug wasn't sure what that meant, exactly. How could that possibly be true, anyway? A person has to be real. That's what a person is anyway. What else would they be?
"I'm not really sure what I might need to accomplish this, though. I suppose I could always use an extra hand if you have one to spare. Other than that, I guess anything you happen to have that could give me an edge in trying to get this Diamond would be most appreciated."
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Oct 7, 2012 16:25:54 GMT -5
"An extra hand..." Marlon looked back at his workers a bit protectively. "Er... I would rather not send any of my r--helpers. They are not, ah, cut out for this kind of work, as it were. But... I do think I am having something that would give you quite an edge in this environment..." He hustled over to a door, which he opened to reveal a large storage closet. 'Now where did I keep that thing...' After digging around for a good minute, he finally pulled out a small bright blue ray gun. Plugged into the back was an icy-colored gemstone. "This is a contraption I like to call the Ice Ray," Marlon explained. "It fires a super-cold beam of ice... quite like the move Ice Beam. But, use it sparingly as each shot consumes a little of the loaded Ice Gem's power. I think each gem can handle somewhere between 3-6 shots, I have not had the chance to be testing it thoroughly. But I assure you, it will be very helpful for dealing with the hazards of your destination." He handed Doug the Ice Ray, as well as a spare Ice Gem. "A word of caution, however - I have not been testing loading any other elemental gem into the gun, but if you do I hypothesize quite the backfire."**Doug received an Ice Ray and one Ice Gem!** "Now, if you are being ready, here is the device that will send you on your way," Marlon clarified, indicating a big cubic chamber that resembled an elevator. "Step inside and I will do the rest. Once there, you are looking for a gravity-defying white-bricked castle. I cannot tell you what is inside, as every time I have tried to enter..." He shuddered a little. 'I dare not even say...' "I simply could not. But I am positive that an odd diamond is sheltered inside." He pressed a few buttons on the side of the elevator with the finger of his metal glove, causing the chamber to light up and beep a few times. A mechanical whirring noise sounded and intensified. "The machine is ready for transport and will activate once you are as well!" 'And I do hope he actually returns this time... I still have not heard from the last one I sent...'
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Willy
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Post by Willy on Oct 7, 2012 17:14:42 GMT -5
Doug suddenly wasn't so sure about this. But, whoever that last guy was, he certainly didn't have Doug's abilities. He'd probably be fine. Wait... last guy. What last guy? Who are we even talking about here?
Doug took the Ice Ray and Ice Gem and stepped into the machine. A deal was a deal after all. He tried his best to relax. "Alright. Just gotta find a way into that castle, grab the gem, and get out. Simple enough. Popping into a place and back out is practically all I do. I'll be back before you know it."
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Post by Blahsadfeguie on Oct 7, 2012 17:44:40 GMT -5
The interior of the machine was very cozy, and was much reminiscent of the elevator of a 5-star hotel. There was a full keypad and display next to the door on the inside as well, and it was already set for "16,500f". The elevator also seemed a bit bigger on the inside. With Doug tucked into the machine, Marlon nodded. "Very well then. Good luck!" 'You will need it...' He pressed one last button and the elevator doors closed. A light jazzy tune began to play. There was a loud noise like a large metal door opening, and Doug began to feel the elevator move upwards. An indicator above the door began to rapidly increase, starting at "1f", and quickly climbing into the thousands. The rate and magnitude of the elevator's ascent suggested that the "f" did not stand for "floor", but rather, "feet". Even so, it took a good few minutes for the elevator to reach its destination, and when it did... The doors popped open with a high "Ding!" noise, revealing a bright white landscape. The wind was somewhat strong up here, and instantly a coldness seeped into the elevator room. It wasn't freezing, but it was certainly enough of a change to cause a bit of discomfort. The ground was white, hilly, and fluffy, almost like a cloud, and in fact there were similar-looking clouds everywhere, various shapes extending for miles, but the clouds looked almost solid enough to walk on. In the distant sky, one could make out the faint shapes of flying Pokemon, but they were too big at that distance to be birds. An echoing roar identified what those figures belonged to: they were none other than dragons. **You may now make a thread in Drakumulus.**
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