The Melody of The Sea is now Silent

[mineralgirl]

Characters: Jasmine and you!
Setting: Dorm floors, cafeteria, and floor twenty-five.
Format: Staring with prose, but I'll match you!
Summary: Jasmine wakes up in the Tower and tries to deal with the fact that everyone she knows and loves is dead.
Warnings: None that I can think of!

When Jasmine woke up and found herself in an unfamiliar room and in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar nightgown, she was more than a little worried. Who had kidnapped her? Team Rocket? And why? Looking around, she saw a couple of letters on her nightstand, and while they were a bit informative, Jasmine had a very hard time swallowing it. Joto destroyed? Amphy dead? Olivine no more? All her friends and family dead? Jasmine sighed and bit her lip. In such times, she had to be strong. She hadn't gotten to be a Gym Leader by weeping at every cricis that happened along. She had to figure out what exactly was going on here.

So, she got out of bed and opened up her trunk, hoping to find something useful..and did. She quickly changed into her clothes and did up her hair before gathering up the Pokeballs that were in the trunk. So, her friends hadn't died at all. At least..some of them hadn't. Quickly, she opened up one ball and pulled out her Magnemite, which called out to her. Smiling, she patted it on the head. "Don't worry..we'll figure this one out."

With that, she ran out into the hallway, looking for anyone that she could find, her Magnemite trailing behind her. As she ran, she held onto her other Pokeballs. She wanted to pull them out, but Steelix was rather large, and she didn't want to tire Skarmory, even though she was rather strong.

While the bowl of oatmeal the man had handed her was rather unappetizing, Jasmine was trying to make the best of it and eat it as quickly as possible. While she ate, her Magnemite flitted about, and her other two Pokeballs sat on the table. Even though they weren't out, Jasmine wouldn't leave her friends out of a meal.

After going down the stairs for awhile, Jasmine had finally found a floor large enough for Steelix. Smiling, she released the large Pokemon, and it called out rather loudly as it was let out. "Sorry..this place is a bit smaller than home." In response, it lowered it's head and Jasmine, smiling, patted the large Pokemon on the head. They were made out of Steel and tough, but that didn't mean she had to be tough when she didn't have to be. After all, they were her friends.

Comments

floor 25

[dusknoir]

Morty quite liked the meadow, for reasons he couldn't explain. It wasn't even all that much like home, even in the summertime. Chandelure, at least, appreciated soaking up the sunshine. So while Morty hid under the shade of a tree and read a book he'd borrowed from the library, the Fire-type was resting out in the open, apparently blissed out on all the sunshine. Froslass was on hand, also under the tree, to watch. Gengar was... who knew where Gengar was.

However, the sudden presence of a Steelix is usually enough to snap anyone out of their thoughts, and these three were no different. Froslass and her Trainer both looked up simultaneously at the huge shadow that had spread across the meadow, and with only a small glance shared between them, Morty and Froslass stood up to see what had happened. Imeediately, Froslass floated over and shook Chandelure awake. Once everyone was collected, the group moved a bit closer — and Morty almost immediately broke into a jog once he saw who was standing next to that Steelix.

"Jasmine!"

Floor 25

[mineralgirl]

Jasmine recognized that voice as Morty's. It was near impossible for one Gym Leader of a region to miss another Gym Leader in the same region, so she turned toward him, her smile a bit smaller than what it had been before. While she didn't mind dealing with people, she was always a bit..nervous when it came to dealing with them. Tended to happen when your town was full of huge, intimidating, and loud sailors.

While she didn't quite recognize the Pokemon Morty had, they looked like a Ghost and an Ice type..but that wasn't important right now.

"Oh..Morty! It's nice to see a familiar face here. Um..is Joto really..destroyed? How..did we end up here?"

Floor 25

[dusknoir]

Cutting right to the chase... that was what everyone did when they came here, apparently. Even someone demure like Jasmine. He was delighted to see her, of course; any sign that his beloved Johto was still standing, even through just one or two people living in the Tower, was a beacon of hope for our friend Morty here. It was kind of sad, all things considered, how he held on so hard to the distant hope that maybe his prayers would be answered (actual prayers, yes).

Still, he could not speak falsehoods, and especially to Jasmine. So... "We don't know. All signs point to it so far, but..."

Floor 25

[mineralgirl]

Even though Jasmine was demure and very shy, it was her love of Joto and Olivine City that prompted her to cut a bit to the chase. She had to know if it was really destroyed..if Amphy, the port, and everything else was alright.

And, when Morty said that it probably wasn't, Jasmine gripped her dress tightly, and Steelix mumbled in concern. Even though the idea of Joto and her hometown being destroyed was horrible, she had to stay strong. Steel Pokemon were tough, and you had to be in order to stand above burly sailors.

"But..there's still..some uncertainty. Not much though, I'm guessing.."

Floor 25

[dusknoir]

"Some uncertainty, yes." In direct contrast to his mood five minutes ago, Morty now looked quite sullen; he was just as upset about this development as Jasmine was, and talking about it always sobered his mood. "It's important to keep your homeland in mind, but don't devote all of your time to it. At least try to meet people here in the Tower to keep loneliness at bay." ...Not that he's been doing such a good job of that himself. Loneliness and his Pokémon are Morty's new best friends. And even though he didn't have many friends before, now it was just... different.

[notagiraffe]

Taiki liked this floor, he walked hand in hand with Sanshi, he had finally made friends with her and Gohran again. Gohran was currently in the form of a small puppy and running at his heals.

When he saw the large creature his eyes widened and Gohran growled drawing near to Taiki and changing into a red wolf, but Taiki had spotted the girl nearby. "Hello..."

[mineralgirl]

Jasmine turned toward the girl when she heard a dog growl, and she smiled a little at the boy.

"Oh..hello. Don't worry...Steelix is strong, but he's not a bully. He's not going to hurt you."

While it was a little odd that there was a red wolf now instead of a dog, it was probably because she had just mistook the sound.

[notagiraffe]

"Oh..." Taiki nodded with a shy smile and Gohran turned back to a puppy, they didn't want to seem threatening either. "Sorry... he's just big..."

[mineralgirl]

Well..that was surprising. Pokemon evolved, but it didn't happen without some time, growth, or the right item. Jasmine looked a little puzzled and fidgeted as she thought before speaking again.

"Oh..I know. He's huge..but he won't hurt you. Just because he's strong doesn't mean..that he'll attack you."

Jasmine paused for a moment before speaking again.

"Um..why did your wolf turn into a puppy?"

[notagiraffe]

Taiki nodded and smiled at the creature, trusting her words. "Oh... um... sorry... Gohran is a shirei... um a demon... but he won't hurt you... He can change into lots of things but he likes being a puppy... and a wolf..."

[knightime]

Jasmine may hear a curious bark of some kind behind her as she speaks to her Steelix. A Ninetails is bounding up towards them, curiosity in her eyes as she regards the unfamiliar faces. Dave is leisurely just walking up though. If he needed to call her back, he could.

She wriggles her tails excitedly before bounding back over to run circles around Dave as though to tell him to look. "Sorry 'bout that. She doesn't see other Pokemon around here too often.

[mineralgirl]

Jasmine smiled at the Ninetails as she ran towards her. While she was a Steel user, she loved other Pokemon, and Ninetails was no exception. In response, Steelix watched the Ninetails and called out to it. Even though it might have sounded intimidating, it was a friendly call. Jasmine tried to get close enough so that she could pet the excited Pokemon, but it ran off back to it's owner before she could.

Not that she really minded. As it ran circles around it's owner, she chuckled lightly to herself before replying. "It's alright. It's good that she's happy to see other Pokemon here. ...Pardon..but why aren't other Pokemon here? And..where is this place? Is Joto destroyed?"

[knightime]

Dave approaches her. Missy nudges at Jasmine's hand with her nose curiously as he approaches. "There's a few people here with their Pokemon. But it's not completely common to have throughout the population. Missy here was a gift from a friend. I actually know jackshit about Pokemon otherwise." He gives her a quick pat on the head. "This is a shitty Tower and the actual location of it isn't really something I can tell you."

"...Probably. Yeah. They kind of weren't exactly lying about that part." Dave seems hesitant to admit it though. Like he doesn't quite believe it still.

[mineralgirl]

Jasmine kept on smiling as she petted the Ninetails..but when she heard that this boy didn't know much about Pokemon and that Joto was destroyed, that smile fell rather quickly. However, she forced herself to keep it together. You couldn't be a Gym Leader if you were going to fall to pieces, especially in Olivine City.

Steel Pokemon were strong, so she had to live up to that. "Why..isn't it common? And..how was Joto..destroyed? And can you not tell me..or won't you tell me?"

[knightime]

"Not everyone here comes from where you came from is why. I mean, there's some of you guys around, but this place is such a melting pot that no one is really a majority here," Dave replies. Missy licks Jasmine's hand enthusiastically sensing that she seems slightly saddened. "I can't really tell you because I don't know where here is. Our location has never really been something that was explained. Just that our worlds met their end and we're stuck here. I wouldn't call it saving though."

He's aware how hard the news must be, but it's probably better for her to know over being lied to.

dorm floors - hi roomie!

[witchoftheweek]

Patchouli had stepped out of room 3-11 just long enough to get changed and put some of her hair up. When she'd left, the young woman who she supposed was her roommate had still been asleep, and the magician had decided to leave well enough alone. The sleeping young woman was wearing a collar similar to her own, and even if the liquid inside it was a different color, that was enough to rule out her involvement.

She wasn't used to sharing a small space, but she would have to get used to it, she supposed. "A good philosophy to take," she said, voice quiet.

The creature's presence was a bit of a surprise - it certainly wasn't like anything she'd seen before. Patchouli raised a curious eyebrow; it wasn't a smile and wouldn't be, but it certainly wasn't unfriendly.

Hello! Now you're not alone!

[mineralgirl]

Jasmine wasn't expecting anyone else to come into the room, and she hadn't heard the girl come in, so while she forced herself to not jump in surprise, she did fidget nervously for a moment, trying to collect herself before she spoke. While she did so, Magnemite floated closer to the newcomer, making a curious noise.

"I suppose..um..who are you? And..do you know..if Joto really is destroyed?"

[witchoftheweek]

"My name is Patchouli Knowledge. It appears we're to be roommates," she answered, reaching out a hand - first towards the Magnemite; a curious metal creature, indeed - and then extending it towards Jasmine.

"I didn't mean to startle you. You were still asleep when I woke up, and I thought it would be rude to wake you," she continued. "Your home is a place called Joto? I'm afraid I don't know of it, so I can't say for sure."

She paused for a moment, thinking.

"I don't know that I believe this letter, though. My own home, Gensokyo, is protected by a magical barrier that hides it away from the Outside World. It would take defeating two extraordinarily powerful forces in combination to destroy that barrier, much less destroy the land itself. I'm skeptical that anything could truly manage it. They would burn themselves out first. It bodes well for other worlds."

[mineralgirl]

While Magnemite had no hands to shake Patchouli's with, it gave a happy cry, and Jasmien took her hand and shook it.

"It's..nice to meet you then, Patchouli. I'm Jasmine..and that's alright. It was nice of you.."

However, it was odd that Patchouli didn't know of Joto. Maybe this Gensokyo was a far-off region that was protected like Patchouli said. However, her words did provide some comfort. Some.

"...That does make sense then..but what do you mean by..other worlds?"

[witchoftheweek]

Patchouli wasn't often one to smile, but the metal creature's happiness was a bit infectious, and she couldn't help giving it a smile.

"It's nice to meet you, too."

The witch nodded. "Other worlds. You see, Gensokyo is special because it's like a sanctuary for creatures that most humans don't believe in. Fairies, spirits, born magicians like me...we can't normally exist in the Outside World, because there isn't enough belief in us. It's because of the barrier around our world that we can exist at all. The barrier keeps us safe."

She paused again, looking up at Magnemite. "It would be like your friend. We both see it, and we know it exists. I believe in it, because I see it, and because I specialize in elemental magic, I can tell that by the classical types, your friend would be Metal. Of course, I believe in that. But if people suddenly decided to stop believing in it, and there was a chance that it would disappear? There would be a safe place for it to go, because the barrier would let it cross. It would be safe in the world I'm from. That's how the barrier works."

Floor 25

[scentofmakai]

"That's a pretty impressive demon. Or at least a pretty big one."

Zett strolled up to Jasmine casually. Nobody'd explained what a Pokemon was to him yet, so he'd assumed what he would have assumed on his own world - a nonhuman supernatural creature that would fit in a ball had to be a demon.

Floor 25

[mineralgirl]

Well, that was a pretty wrong assumption, and her love for her Pokemon actually beat out her urge to fidget and make sure she got her words right around this new person.

"Steelix isn't a demon. He's tough..but he's not a demon."

[scentofmakai]

"So what is he? He's definitely not a human."

Explain things to him, please.

[mineralgirl]

"Um..he's a Pokemon. They're living creatures..and people can make friends with them and be partners. People who do so..are called Trainers."

[scentofmakai]

"...So you're not a demon summoner?"

Give him a sec. "Okay. Sounds like the same thing."