fallers_rpg | Episode 1: A Stranger In Familiar!

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Episode 1: A Stranger In Familiar!

Today on Melemele, there has been a strange and rash sequence of events!

Officer Jenny has been busy, as a series of thefts has been noted across the city. The wealthy industrialist Viren has been targeted several times with valuables relating to the Pokemon Groudon.

As researchers are coming into the town today to help work on the Ultra Hole situation, on invite of the Aether Foundation, it seems that someone might have slipped through into the town. A certain woman in green might have been spotted in several of Viren's locations before a theft has been seen.

Some people might be starting to get uneasy about the influx of people. Perhaps it's time to investigate some of these rumors that a thief might have made their way onto the island...

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"Most people are fools when given power. I worry about who has access to it, other than you, and what that means for society."

Says the man who fancies himself king.

"And my experiences with shadow magic weren't...the greatest."

And there's that grimace again. "Magic is..." She pauses, blows out a long, long exhale as she again seeks out the words, and then ultimately gives up and gestures forward. "...This is...not going to be simple to explain, I..."

Desperately, she turns. "It looks like magic. I know it looks like magic, some of it absolutely is magic but... ...What we know of...of Shadows, what we know of souls, of duels, that's not a magic," Yuume finally manages. "It's..."

She breathes. "...The glove was created, when instead of hiding those who awoke the shadows of their souls, one man sought to instead find harmony with them," she whispers softly. "...And in turn, find a way to allow the battles and duels they wished to have... ...a way to exist without harm, to anyone, or anything... A way for them to exist with the people of light without hurting them by mere existence.

"...and... ...That man succeeded. ...He's the one who runs the company now, where I am from."

"So...we're back to that. Again. Without the rampant death."

That's about as much as he understands. He pinches the bridge of his nose.

"I hope. I just..."

It's probably silly to worry so much about a world he's not going to live in, but.

"As long as Mokuba's all right."

"...Frankly if it hadn't been for the move to make everything accessible, there would have been."

She pauses, and quietly explains. "Shadows began to wake without anyone's involvment- typically from trauma, or strife...but the trouble was their influence on Solid Vision. Simply being present would make the damage real; for a time things moved to AR-Projection simply to offset it. As it is, it completely ruined the ability to host Action Duels at that point," she murmurs- and Seto may in fact have spoken to Reira about those earlier on. "By making the glove..."

Yuume holds her hand out, pursing her lips. Ultimately a screen appears above it, and she seems to go to a settings panel. "...I can't well start a duel with no one here but...aha."

'Saved gestures'.

With a hand motion, a 'hand' of cards appears- it's not unlike the V1 duel disk. First, a line on the ground, like a bridge- and the rear moves to the front as she slowly walks to demonstrate, albeit at its side. Another motion- a spinning ring, at the front, like a shield. Another, and they scatter to both sides...

"...The Glove doesn't utilize Solid Vision. It uses the energy the shadow would typically pull; it coats the area in a realm entirely impossible to damage, or even be damaged in, and uses that power to further draw each card and their cooresponding spirit from the realm. It bypasses the reason shadows were a danger- it isn't quite the Action Duel there was decades ago, but..." ....

"...Well. It's a matter of time, I think- my apprentice managed to make a system that even works around road traffic...imagine something like that during a 'Battle City', neh?" ~~no yuume battle city was terrible ahhhhh~~

"Great Grandp- erm...'Mokuba'," she coughs, though it's clear this is a very awkward way for her to address him, "Is fine. Actually he has a shadow himself, though I've only seen them....twice?"

The settings panel is closed, and she fusses with the normal menu with narrowed eyes. "I might have a photo..."

"It'd certainly be a spectacular show."

And probably end with someone half-dead. A liability for his company, so he wouldn't approve it unless he was sure he could control it. But an interesting prospect, nonetheless.

"...a photo?"

He really shouldn't, but his natural curiosity takes hold and won't let go.

"Aaah. The duels are quite fun as far as I can tell...I've only really done so occasionally, with an audience..." There's yet another cough, and she flips through the folder. "Shirou-kun...my apprentice, however, feels they've lost the creativity they used to have; there is plenty of tactics, and sportsmanship, but older duels used to have more..."

There is a pause as she thinks of the word. "...Spectacle wouldn't be the right term, but I suppose the methods you could entertain an audience varied a little more? Over all, you could participate in more areas for that matter...ah-" There it is. "There... ...for personal keeping, a lot of my relatives gave me pictures from when I was younger," she coughs, going a little bit red as she turns the photo over. The old man's face cannot be seen- he's holding an infant however, and more alarmingly a large and almost ethereal dragon in armor seems to be standing at his side. His attention is divided- one part on the baby, one part on the dragon as he seems to talk to it.

The dragon seems intrigued, and enchanted by such a small thing. "This...was apparently not long after I was born," she says softly. "That is...Great-grandpa. And with him, that is his shadow; 'Maat', she's called."

"Mokuba..."

He can't see the joy he'd surely recognize even on the aged face. He can only see the weathered hands, the gentle grip...and be reminded of just how long he's abandoned his brother. With a clearer head he'd be able to admire the guardian dragon, but here...he squeezes his eyes shut tight, forcing himself to breathe.

It's a good minute before he calms down enough to say, tightly: "...of course he was happy. You were a cute kid, I guess."

"Do you think..?" She trails off, the smile she had falling quickly when she recognizes the tension of the other's tone. Her glove hand lowers, and with a sudden and cold sense of understanding she stares.

"Oh... ...no," she realizes, hurriedly turning the screen off. "...I should never have done that," Yuume hisses quietly. "I... ...I can't even imagine how that would feel, to see that while you're still..."

The woman bows her head, and steeply. "I...I cannot apologize enough for that..."

"It's...fine," Kaiba says tightly. He forces himself to remember to breathe, fighting back a tidal wave of emotion he can't entirely keep under control. He can't lose it here.

"I believed you the first time, so I should have expected it. I'm not...usually so irrational. It'll pass."

Anything to keep from breaking. He fights back the quiver in his voice and continues. "But that's a fine dragon. It protected him proudly...the same way the memory of Blue Eyes kept me going when I stumbled. I should have been there to see it."

"It's not irrational, to be shocked by the image of someone years apart from you," she emphasizes, drawing back. "For that matter it wouldn't even be your fault that you couldn't be there at this time in the image! I..."

Well. She doesn't know that for sure. All anyone knows is 'Seto Kaiba disappeared', and Mokuba seemed sad but accepting. That's all they've ever known.

"How can I just talk about these things you won't see, as if that would ever be alright..." she mutters, drawing her arms close.

"It is my fault."

Kaiba frowns and leans forward.

"I should have listened to Yugi and Mokuba. Should have accepted things the way they were. But I just had to chase the phantom of the pharaoh instead of cherishing my brother, and I abandoned him when that was the last thing he needed!"

His voice was trembling now, shoulders shaking. His eyes were burning.

"And I can't fix that, I can't go back for him, because altering the past would erase you and all your friends."

....

Heh,

".........What?"

Well, now she's confused. "I- ...Did you think you vanished in your dimensional tests?" she chokes, blinking rapidly. "...You came back from those, your experience was what contributed to the later Subway...You...You were present for the start of the Dimensional War, did you truly think...so lowly of your last actions before coming here..." she quietly finishes, the understanding falling into place within the same moment.

Kaiba swings his head up, wide-eyed. For once he looks young, close to his actual age. Lost and longing...

And then her words sink in and he angrily turns away, wiping at his eyes.

"...I just...assumed, given the nature of the tests and the warnings, that my disappearance was related."

He still avoids eye contact, folding his arms. His cheeks are tinged pink.

"If that wasn't my last act, what was?"

"...." That...is where she looks away. "That... ....was why I didn't say. ...We don't know what happened," she admits quietly. "...But whatever it was, it wasn't that. It would have been after you passed me in age if anything," she huffs, though the sound is more to hide her own frustration at what she doesn't know. "Considering not even my relatives have ever said, I would wager it wasn't something you did- but it was something serious, most likely." That much, she won't deny him.

"But you came back from those tests. I ride that subway between four different dimensions at home even- sometimes I have work in the alternate cities."

Kaiba swallows. He can't really speculate, and it's pointless to try, so he sits quietly. His distressed Pikachu crawls up to nuzzle his neck and he lets her, giving her a gentle pat and closing his eyes.

"...I appreciate knowing. And I...apologize for the outburst."

He coughs. "But the essential facts are unchanged. I'll just have to learn to live with that."

He's lived with things almost as hard already.

"But...again. Thank you for all you did today."

Edited 2019-08-17 15:26 (UTC)

Audino is frankly so lost she doesn't know who to offer tassels more. Her trainer??? Other trainer??? Feel better!

Yuume seems to be recovering at least, albeit slightly. "I... ...Right. ...And...I'll endeavor to be more candid, about the things relevant to you," she offers with a swallow.

Ahhh but this- "Ahhh...It really wasn't much that I did though..." The sword on her back probably Could have helped, sure, but it seemed much!!

"I appreciate it."

Kaiba reaches over to give Audino a pat too. She's good. He takes a breath, looks over at Yuume, and then...

"But you're used to this. You must have...quite the job."

Well that's a nice gesture at least. Audino still seems a bit anxious but with these two that's probably not changing.

Especially not with Yuume openly wincing as her job comes up...again. "It...certainly is," she manages, telltale avoidance running strong. "I... ...If you really have to ask anything, I guess..."

It's a code for Don't, probably

"...is it that bad?"

He won't ask directly, not now, but...

"Look. I've made some hard choices to get to where I am. If you were following your best path, it's what you needed to do. I'm not going to judge."

....

She told him she would be more candid.

...She can't just go back on that immediately, because it suits her. Yuume's eyes are distant, and they stare off down the road ahead rather than to Seto himself. "...You would consider it bad, I feel. ...You already have such grim thoughts for what becomes of the world with the addition of Shadows, and the like. And for all the trade-offs involved, I can't see any way to explain what I do without you viewing it with disgust. I... ...I chose my work for a reason," she manages softly. "A reason that for me, shaped my very life. ...But with all I know about it, and about the risks involved, I cannot at all say it's 'not so bad'. Without my job, things would be so much worse, for so many... ...and more than that, the world I live in...it's my home. ...Of course it can't be perfect, but..."

But somehow it's that much worse to expect to hear fear, and distaste, if such things are explained.

"Even I'm not so excessively rational as to deny help when it's truly needed...and sometimes, the things I couldn't control were all that saved the world."

He pulls Goomy up into his lap and gives her a look.

"I trust that you're a rational person who makes informed decisions, and I strive to do the same. I won't judge you hastily."

"...."

Yuume's look does not meet Seto's, not for a while. It moves to the ground if anything, as she considers her words. Perhaps even what to say precisely.

When she looks up it is with as schooled an expression as she can manage. "...When the glove was created, most people in the world did not have a shadow. And as well, there were those who were locked into a timeless state, due to the loss of their own in earlier times. In times of war, and even before it. But more importantly, there became a demand. ...And with the demand, those who would tear the gloves apart to find their own ways to 'use' them.

"...These hacked devices... ...they were used to steal the shadows of others. Initially, they could only sever- leaving renegade, unbound shadows locked in our realm. But then they began to tie them to objects as well... ...and more importantly, leave more 'time-locked' victims in place. They needed to do something. KaibaCorp...felt responsible, and in a sense was," she continued, closing her eyes.

And she holds up her glove, breathing out almost shakily. "...And so two unique gloves were created, and regulated, with two groups of people trained for their use. Officers, to catch those who would commit crimes against the Soul. ...And Doctors," Yuume explains. "...Those who would repair them."

"My job...what you saw against that pokemon, is not something I often do in duels against other people- or even in reality," she tells him. "My job is to enter the minds- the 'Dreams' of those who have been locked away from time itself, to re-find a shadow that matches the soul most among the monsters that have found their way in. To re-kindle the necessary bond and wake them again. ...That... ...That is what my investigations, and fighting, are for."

"To clean up messes." Kaiba's heard that one before. He shifts a little uncomfortably during the explanation, and he feels some indignation bubbling up, but he clamps down on it with a soft breath.

And another. He nods.

"I'm...exasperated that things came to that, but I'm not blaming you. You're doing important work. And it's hardly going to be an issue here."

He nods. "I...appreciate your honesty. I won't pry any more."

Yuume can practically hear her own heartbeat as she waits for the response. The reaction. The...

Disapproval, she supposes. It's gentle but it's there, and she can feel the discomfort in his words. But the words, all the same, are important.

Swallowing thickly, Yuume nods. "...Thank you," she says quietly. "For understanding." Understanding as much as could be understood, at least.

Shifting awkwardly, she runs her hand over one arm. "...I should leave- I suspect Nina will be wondering where I am, given the hour... ...I'm sure there's someone here who would do the same for you, neh?"

"Miss Anela tries not to smother me, but...I should, yes."

He rises and dusts himself off. "Thanks again. I'll...see you soon, I hope."

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shadowslipping - 2019-08-22 23:01 (UTC) - Expand

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