islandshore | 67

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67 - video;

[It's late at night when Riku turns on the feed. Judging by the starlight surrounding him he's outdoors. Lights from the surrounding cityscape shimmer from afar. The camera hovers behind him as he rests along the edge of a roof.

It hovers closer, and he finally turns around, gaze distant despite the camera's close proximity.]

You ever stop to wonder about our place in this world?

[Why, yes, it's one of those messages.]

I mean, think about it. We're dragged from our homes, dropped here and expected to play by their rules. And sure, some of us are successful. We've had businesses sprout up from nothing, helped fight off giant monsters, been invited to proms...

Still, we're outsiders, and sooner or later, we might disappear, and all the work we do here gets left behind.

[He looks up, sighing softly.]

It just got me thinking... What do the locals think about us? Do we count as citizens, even though we aren't part of the world? And how much do they really know about us in the first place?

[Heh.]

But maybe I'm over thinking it. I mean, this is a world that somehow manages to sustain itself even without an obvious education, limited career paths, and a surprising amount of pacifism in the face of crime. Community service as catchall punishment's kinda light, after all...

[Leaning back, Riku shrugs.]

I don't know. What are your guys' thoughts? I've got time to kill.

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Why would we be considered citizens? In fact, why would they bother learning more about us? You said it yourself: sooner or later, we'll all leave this world, and everything we've built will fade away. I can hardly blame them for not wanting to get attached.

[He cannot imagine personally not getting attached, but he can certainly understand why others wouldn't.]

It's been five years and a half, yet this world's society still makes no sense to me. Children and teenagers obviously do not have quite the same rights as adults, yet there appears to be no support system for those who have no families here.

Yeah, and half the stuff we might say probably sounds crazy to them. I mean, if someone walked up to them and said they used to be a pony or an alien, they'd probably be the laughing stock of the day.

[So are they small minded? Tough call. Actually...]

They seem to like brushing off things they don't get, like whenever all those other outsiders come pouring in, everyone gets their powers and forms back, and the whole place goes off its rocker.

But as far as rights and support goes, I still can't believe they let kids wander off on their own. It's a tried and true custom, and nobody questions it.

Perhaps ignoring everything that does not fit their own world or routine is the only way they can accept our presence. As far as I know, there were no such events before that one November, which might mean that it is related to us. If they were to acknowledge that madness, they'd have to hold us responsible.

[And force them to wash dishes and clean sidewalks twice a year. The horror.]

I'm hardly one to talk about allowing children to participate in dangerous situations, I'll admit. But there's a difference between letting trained and well-equiped mages battle monsters alongside adults, and forcing a single child who has never travelled to walk three days in the middle of a snowstorm.

Well, yeah, training does make a difference, and it's not like I think all kids should sit around at home. My friends and I were planning to sail to another world on a raft back when we were in our mid teens, and that's... not exactly responsible.

[He smiles sheepishly at that.]

Still, self-defense isn't exactly common practice, and there's only so much a Pokémon can do for us.

...Please tell me you'd thought to bring a decent set of weapons, enough food and healing items to last for a moment, and a dedicated spellcaster along.

[But none of that would fit on a raft, would it.]

I'd feel much better about it if everyone was allowed to bring a dagger. They're use much easier to use than proper self-defense techniques.

...Well, we had food.

[A small amount of food, no weapons, and barely any other gear. A raft can only hold so much, after all.]

I'd be down for a dagger, but as it is, all we've got to work with are kitchen knives, hammers, bats, frying pans, and whatever illegal weapons we can whip up ourselves.

Which I may or may not have done before.

...Mandatory survival classes should be an important part of every educational system. Had you read up about the dangers of exposure and stavation, before hatching that plan?

[He'd bet a lot of gil on the answer to that question.]

Surely you've not broken the law in such a terrible and obviously unacceptable manner that I certainly do not condone at all, when high-quality frying pans have been proven to break through a soldier's helmet when an adequate amount of force is applied, completely legally.

Well, there's the survival camp run by Lt. Surge, but that's all the way out in Vermillion. As for back home... I did some research ahead of time, and I was more than up for trying a backup plan, if that's what it came to.

Thing is, Kairi just... showed up one day during a meteor shower, so I figured getting to other worlds wouldn't be that difficult.

[He was also a dumb teenager. Now he's a slightly less impulsive adult.]

And if it makes you feel any better, the weapon I made wasn't sharp. More like a blunt, bludgeoning tool. A giant Key.

[He also doesn't publicize it, which hopefully helps. Frying pans are a good alternative, though.]

One survival camp can hardly suffice for two whole regions. Besides, I doubt even the best camp could prepare someone for a... mysterious meteor shower-induced teleportation?

[He doubts that's what actually happened, but that's his best guess.]

A sharp weapon would have been more practical on the road, in most circumstances. And perhaps also easier to justify to the authorities, depending on its size. Though you can always claim the potential existence of giant doors...

[Would the officers even accept that excuse?]

Heh. Don't know if the meteors were related or not, but there was definitely something strange going on. We'd even had a few visitors from other worlds before-- they were just brief. Low key, too.

[For their lot, though, there's still no telling what causes them to arrive. They just do.]

...and you know, it wouldn't surprise me if there's a Pokémon out there that looks like a door. I mean, we do have Klefki.

That's a good sign. It means they had no cause or need to directly interfere with your world, or a least in a manner that affected people.

[Which is a great step up from a divine war or a bi-monthly foreigner invasion.]

...A bulky Steel-type, perhaps, to match Klefki well. Or maybe it's mostly made of wood; would that be enough to make it a Grass-type?

Well, one of them did pull a stunt that might've interfered a bit, seeing how I apparently wind up getting pulled into a huge conflict across all the worlds.

I just haven't lived it yet.

[And he's keeping it vague because, you know, promises are important.]

Hmm... I could see it working as either one, honestly. Wood does come from trees, but I think matching steel types sounds a million times cooler. That, and Steel types tend to be better from a defensive standpoint.

...Ah. One of those. Good luck with that. Such large-scale conflicts have a way of greatly changing your life and routine, and not always for the better.

[His home still shows scars from its previous conflict, and that's with only one world involved.]

It could also be dual-typed with both Steel and Grass, but that's just asking for a Fire-type attack. Hardly the sort of protection and solidity you'd expect from a door.

Heh, no kidding. It's a wonder Sora's changed so little, honestly. Don't people usually get stuff like PTSD after waging war? I mean, it might not be a war in the typical sense, but there's still fighting. Still risks...

[Physical and mental scars aren't just possible; they're inevitable.]

Hmm... Steel/Grass isn't terrible, though. Ferrothorns seem pretty solid if you keep them away from fire. Same with Scizors.

Many are broken by war, and not all find the strength to build themselves up again. But others blossom, sometimes by becoming heroes and sometimes by enjoying the destruction it brings.

[Which is, perhaps, any type of scar.]

You also have to keep them away from any Pokémon that can learn Flamethrower or Incinerate. That is a very long list of species.

...Geez. Well, I'd hope I fall more into the former than the latter. Can't imagine myself turning into some crazy megalomaniac.

[Sadly, he's heard... vague things about his future that leave him a touch uneasy. This, however, goes unsaid.]/small>

Heh, no kidding, though. Even water types can learn fire moves. Well, Slowbro and Gyarados can, anyway.

It's a very unpleasant fate, if only because of the way it usually ends. I'd not wish it on anyone.

[He wouldn't wish being brainwashed into a crazy megalomaniac on anyone, either.]

You'd think certain types would never mix, but I cannot complain about the lack of logic when it allows me to take opponents by surprise.

Seriously. Gotta wonder how they even stand it. Wouldn't they just feel... hollow when it's all over?

[But the mind of a psychopath's outside his realm of understanding. It's not like he can really relate.]

And yeah, I like having options. If you ask me, the more type coverage, the better. Plus, there's something satisfying about watching a Charizard punch a Sharpedo in the snout with over the top lightning effects.

They feel hollow long before it ends, I've no doubt.

[He remembers enough of Kefka to know that much.]

A most impressive sight, I've no doubt. And surely one that gives the Sharpedo's friends pause, when they ponder whether to join in.

And that hollowness is what allows them to keep at it, huh? Just... detachment after years of fighting?

[Ugh. How chilling... But then, maybe it's to be expected. In a real war, you can't afford to sympathize with the enemy, but lack o empathy leads to detachment, and detachment leads to numbness when taken out of control.]

The Sharpedo's trainer wasn't too happy about it, either. Wound up siccing Kyogre on me by the time the fight was over.

Detachment, a complete lack of care for their own fate in the end... Even more than their plans, their eyes are terrifying to behold.

[The rest of them too, for that matter.]

Now that's a disproportionate reaction. Surely sending out a Quagsire would have sufficed.

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67 - video;

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