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"not quite what i was expecting." the whole terrain varies greatly from hoenn. at least the parts derek has been to. stone spires overhead, with mist and vine looming down over those passing through. how they got here didn't matter now. they were here. and before much else, they really ought to figure out what 'here' was, and why 'here' mattered.
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"where are we even supposed to—" the gym leader grows quiet when he starts making out some kind of pokemon in the mist. the ghimmighoul ferryman seems to be imploring the group to take a ride across the body of water coming into view before them. for a fee, of course. it's large chest is nearing full, but there is still plenty a room for coin.
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"that's not creepy timing at all." it was like something out of a movie, really. but were there really any other options? their group was roaming blind in this place. "think we should trust the little guy?" derek asks of the others, feeling as though they could afford the risk.
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it wasn't like this pokemon could pose them a threat.
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...right?
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freya's dragons had not taken kindly to spelunking in this otherworldly realm. she is on edge, scalp prickling with danger-sense, fingers itching against the necklace settled against the hollow of her throat. her pokemon rest neatly in the balls fitted in the piece of jewelry. a pack at her hip houses more - paranoia has made her more than careful. 

they are not entirely strangers that walk beside her - thomas is a colleague who has seen a rise and fall similar to she. derek is a name she's come across in league files, an inconsequential piece of information sprung from her days back on the council.

the last to join them is a stranger. 

but none of that matters here. she strays closer to derek and looks down at the ghoul as it shifts its weight, staring up at them expectantly. there are laws to this place she does not understand, but her foray with other realms has given her enough sense to know they can't force their way through.

so as much as she wishes to take to dragonback and explore the floating isles herself, instinct tells her otherwise. 

'daughter of the moon,' lilts the wind in a hushed murmur. she shrugs her delusions aside. 

"we should trust nothing," she says, "but we play by their rules. the laws of this place are unknown to us and as long as we're trespassing here, we need to be as careful as possible."

Thomas Benoit @esmee DEREK HOFFMAN
starting freya's prompt uvu

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"right, trust nothing except the ferryman. got it." they seemed harmless, and in the event they weren't...
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they'd cross that bridge if and when it came to it.
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for now it seemed they were stuck together for the ride. derek wasn't feeling very talkative today. something about this place had his spirits down. he'd allow the others to initiate any small talk on their way south.
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help...
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the sound of something out on the water catches his attention. his head rotates as if on a swivel, but there is nothing to be seen. so he ignores whatever it is.
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help... me...
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his head turns again, but still nothing.
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WHY WEREN'T YOU THERE TO HELP ME!?!?
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it's much louder this time, as if the voice was inside derek's head. as if he's reliving some kind of past trauma. the gym leader responds as any would, startled upright in a manner that caused the ferry to begin shifting about haphazardly.
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but the others look at him, puzzled or perturbed.
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"you guys...don't hear that girl screaming?"
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seemed this place was going to be more than he bargained for. but what was that voice talking about? it riddled derek with vague curiosities, and the frustration that came of questions with no answer.
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sitting down in silence, he tries to prepare his mental state for whatever this place might loose upon him. what derek fears most is that he knows this voice. but he hasn't heard her in so long. there was no being sure. for now, he would just have to endure...

---

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tl;dr[break]
derek prompt (in progress): tortured by spirits of the past (megalopolan war, victim #1)

and by trusting nothing, she cannot find it in herself to exclude her companions from the sentiment. so she boards warily when thomas offers the coin and the ghoulish pokemon waves its ghostly arms, stepping aside to allow them passage. the skiff tips to the side when she enters and she peers into the dismal blackwater. 

fog curls over the surface, swirling in a hypnotic pattern that languidly blinks up at her. lips past, breathing an acrid, agonized whimper.

reptilian eyes blink up at her and curved black horns extend into the water. those wavering lips open and rows upon rows of teeth yawn up at her. a prickle on her scalp and she remembers herself. her nose is mere inches from the water when she jerks back and upright. 

her likeness shudders a ghastly grimace and then sighs. freya blinks and it's just tendrils of white over the surface, no shape indistinguishable among the rest. 

he died for you. we died for you. and you've nothing to show for it, freya.

she sits, gaze lifting to the others, though her cool façade is cracking.

"where are you taking us, little one?" she asks. the ghoul stops counting its coins and waves a nubby arm towards a tall spire. freya squints.

"they're spirits," she whispers to the others and points. they're hard to identify among the ever-present smoke and fog, but now that she's looking for them, she can spy dozens of them trailing through the air.

from the water, some are half-formed, lumbering things. they try to claw their way out of the lake; most of them end up sinking or are sucked back in by some unknown force, clawed hands and soundless screams marring their twisted faces as they are restrained. 

fingers scratch at the side of their boat. 

"let's go. i don't want to spend more time in this boat than we have to."

DEREK HOFFMAN @esmee Thomas Benoit
sees & hears artemis' ghost

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"it's not even if they're real or not." the souls catered to derek are sobbing as he and the others discuss the general unease setting in. like victims who had finally given into despair, their sorrow is noxious. contagious.
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"it's what we did to deserve this."
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these could be spirits from their world.
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or they could be from the universes damned to save their own. derek wasn't sure which was worse.
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we'd better make this whole thing worth it.
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simply trying wasn't enough for the price they paid.
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"at least the rides about to be over." as the other side of the river begins coming into view, there is an obvious culmination of spirits at the southern cliffside. they appear drawn towards something in the cliff face. "but i don't like the way that looks over there."
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the pit in his stomach deepened as the sobbing gradually grew into screams, yelling and one voice above the others ridiculing derek. goading him into running away once more.
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there was only one incident fitting that description.
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"any of you feel like trapezing your way up onto that thing?" probably not. worth a shot.
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tl;dr[break]
derek prompt (in progress): tortured by spirits of the past (victims #2)

more of those shapeless, shifting beings follow them as the boat glides over the water. agonized faces form and then twist away as though by a current. limbs, forming as quickly as they can, grasp weakly at the boat as it passes them by. once, a stronger spirit manages half a body, but it crawls up at the top of the bow and is knifed through its middle. 

it melts like ooze, parts of it crawling down the inside of the skiff and turning to water by the time it reaches the bottom. still, freya tucks her feet up and is careful not to touch it. 

those spirits that had made it ignore them by the time they reach the other side of the shore. they glide between and amongst each other, some aimlessly, others looking listlessly up at what freya can now see is a seal of some sort. 

but the cliff face is dangerously steep and as she peers over it, the fog obscures the bottom. she reaches for a pokeball at her necklace and mute faces turn towards her, eyes burning in warning. 

they glide onward, incorporeal bodies unbothered by the lack of ground. 

"look," freya says and points. a threadbare rope stretches into the fog, strung taut. she gives an experimental tug on the peg it's attached to and it holds fast. but she frowns. how are they possibly meant to use this? 

@esmee DEREK HOFFMAN Thomas Benoit

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"is that really—" derek didn't speak up quickly enough, allowing ceruledge to take action in the form of a phantom force.
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"...the best idea." no, it probably wasn't. oh well.
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but maybe it would do the trick? wouldn't be derek who knew. he really ought to try to silence these spirits though, which began screaming of as he and the others drew closer to their first real checkpoint. next time i'll bring a ghost type for these things.
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at least now they were able to traverse the bridge.
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drawing closer to whatever the thing was, it eventually came into view. some kind of seal tucked away, with many of the spirits seemingly drawn to it. whether it was out of fondness or something else was up for debate.
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a closer look showed that the seal could be pried away. "think there's something valuable inside?" probably not. but if derek knew, he probably wouldn't huddle so close.

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tl;dr[break]
derek prompt: tortured by spirits of the past #3