A VISION OF WHAT'S TO COME...

[luckydragonsfoot]

January 5th, Evening

He dreams often.

No more often than he did at home, maybe. Normally they're less...voltile though, he thinks. And that's probably not the fault of this place given when they started getting this way- ever since his interactions with the Ring Spirit (the 'Other Bakura' doesn't seem to fit anymore, much to his growing irritation, and to try the words feels like oil on his tongue). But that doesn't change the unfortunate part of it, the part that has had Wicke carefully greeting him with pots of tea when a literal herd of pokemon are leading him over to a couch in the living room and turning on lamps because trying to sleep after visions such as those is near impossible.

The dreams happen regardless though, and on the eve of the 5th comes one with such urgency he can practically feel the monsters of his deck (and in his pocket) stir.

Because it is dark. Night time. There are words lowly being muttered over the air by a figure in the shadows, words that feel as if they should be familiar in their intent but not their tongue. They are not words he has ever learned, and yet the shadows themselves recognize them with concerning clarity. The words are filled with might. Filled with strength, and power-

White hair blows violently in the wind, and light shines across it (through it, from it) before the vision moves to reveal still more in flashes. Flashes of fire, and firelight. Flashes of a building, a great 'O' symbol with what could be a 'W' formed within it shining under blaring lights.

Sirens.
Sirens are sounding, and the islands practically quake as he overlooks them all, three great and mighty powers rising to the Call. The first forming from earth, great and necrotic fists clenched tight. The second from the seas, massive and coiling, a scarlet storm with twin mouths. And the third, sending a shock through his very being as he chokes and threatens to scream in reality, gold feathers and golden armor spinning from the clouds.

The Gods tower over the island so many of them call home, and the figure in the shadows reaches. Reaches as massive chains of unnatural red launch forth around the gods, an echoing cry rising to meet that of the God's own. A shout that could rend space itself, from lines, from jewels, from pearls, pearls, p-

"KhhHUUUUUHHH-!"

Something is going to happen.

Katsuya throws his jacket on, ignoring the violent 'buzzing' sensation from the pocket as he fumbles around for his Rotomdex.

"Rotom- Rotom, shit- c'mon wake up!" he snaps, the dex beeping confusedly as he makes for the door in panic.

"Nnnn-zzrrt! What is it, I was sleeping..!!"

"Not th' time, call Kaiba! ...Call Zahra! ...Fuck, call everyone, I don' care, we need-" He pauses, and turns to where he knows, just knows somehow, that Wicke will be turning the corner. "...Wicke!"

Something is going to happen.

They don't have a lot of time.

[[OOC - This is a forward dated post, taking place late January 5th; people can respond using the Rotomdex network assuming that Katsuya's rotom contacted them, but they should not feel obligated to do so! This post is, ultimately, more of a Prelude...]]

Comments

[fallers_npcs]

"You were having another bad dream," said Wicke simply, the woman holding up a light. "Did you want to talk about it?"

She didn't display urgency, but her soft voice was soothing in its own way.

[luckydragonsfoot]

Typically when Wicke comes down the hall, two things happen. First, Katsuya calms down. Second, he nods, awkwardly so, and ultimately moves for the living room.

Neither of these things happen. "Wicke!" He repeats, struggling to get the calm back. "Wicke we gotta- I dunno who t' warn, I jus'...Somethin's abou' t' happen, there were sirens, an', an'-" don't say gods don't say gods "An' things, an', someone's in trouble-!"

[fallers_npcs]

Wicke's brow furrows. "How urgent is it?" she asked. "Do I need to call Jenny on this?"

She had come to heed Jou's dreams as portents as of late. Lately they've been little things, but since she had gotten her tenant, she had noticed that even though he could be a handful, there was a lot of trouble that brewed. Especially when the trouble started. This Glomgold was constantly calling the UN, trying to get the handover done faster every day.

[luckydragonsfoot]

"I dunno, I dunno, I-" Behind him, Rotomdex is telling Kaiba it's urgent and being hung up on. No answer from Zahra, which is Not helping. "I- Th' las' time it felt like this my plane fell int' a freakin' lake I-"

He needs to know Where. Where, or who, or-

"...Th' logo..." He stiffens, looking back to Wicke from where his attention had been scattered. "O- Oi, those Overwatch guys...th' logo's like a big O w' stuff pointin' up int' it righ'?"

[fallers_npcs]

"That's right. It's involving them, isn't it?" said Wicke. "I'll call Jenny. If this is involving them, I need to get her, and Tony in on this."

"Are there any more details?"

[luckydragonsfoot]

Okay. Okay...okay deep breaths...

"Alrigh'...alrigh' I... I know it happ'ns in th' nigh'...someone chants- bringin' out three...HUGE guys, they ain' pokemon, they're fr'm somewhere else. There's someone w' white hair, I dunno wha's goin on there, but then sirens- sirens, an' I c'n see th's big logo thing like what I said..."

And then...

"Someone's chantin words tha' I dunno- feels like I oughta, but I don'...they're all shadowed tho, an' I can' see who they are, but whoever it is they..."

He gulps, sounding and looking genuinely afraid.

"They got...somethin w' m. Somethin'...somethin' real strong," he manages with a croak. "...strong enough tha' they send out these big chains t' catch th' firs' three."

... "Th...tha's all though..."

[fallers_npcs]

Wicke nodded, committing the details to memory as she dialed a number to Jenny's home. "Chains, huge beings, maybe giants, a person with white hair, chanting, I'm going to notify Jenny, and the Kahuna. If anything maybe I..."

Suddenly, there was a trilling noise from outside as a form sped by the window. "Tapu Koko?"

Wicke scowled. "This is bad. If the Tapu is here, then... Jou, find your friends. Go. I'll handle the details from here."

[luckydragonsfoot]

"Wai', wh'..." He turns- and there they are, in a flash of memory. He never truly sees it.

But it's enough. With a fearful nod to Wicke he speeds off, gesturing to his pokemon. "R- Righ', c'mon you guys..!!"

[blue_ice]

Kaiba is fast asleep at home when his ROTOMSTORM starts buzzing, wailing until he blearily wakes up. 'Come quick---Katsuya needs help---'

And he does. He doesn't even bother with stealth or getting dressed, he just rides out with his messy hair and Garchomp-themed pajamas, speeding toward Wicke's house with a grim expression.

There's an eerie light flashing from somewhere nearby that sends a chill down his spine when he's just outside. He rolls off Stoutland, gives the scared dog a pat, and rushes to the door.

"Jonouchi!"

[luckydragonsfoot]

As Kaiba approaches the door, it becomes readily apparent that the house has...visitors. Katsuya stumbles outside, and spotting a distant stoutland waves frantically...only to stop as his attention moves a little more up.

And to the side.

And.

"...H...holysh..."

Oh, this is! A lot!

[blue_ice]

Kaiba is about to close the remaining distance and give the blond a piece of his mind when he looks Up at the foreboding presence in the sky. It's full of powerful legends, drawing closer and closer to some point...

He's not close enough to speak, and he doesn't dare to cross the distance with the gods just overhead, so he huddles against Stoutland and fires off a rotomnet text.

What the hell is this? Is this what you were on about?

[luckydragonsfoot]

Text??? Text???

No! Screw that Rotom is-

....well actually Rotom has the personality of a particularly spirited gen z kid so he's texting back.

SOMETHING ABOUT SUMMONS FROM ANOTHER WORLD

KATSUYA IS BUSY NOW

TAPUS ARE HERE! BUT SOMETHING BAD IS HAPPENING

OVERWATCH IS IN TROUBLE...

[acmellash]

"The balance has been disturbed." Intoned a deep voice within their minds as a large, cat-like being floated into view as the four deities of Alola and two large Pokemon, a sun-themed lion and a night-sky bat appeared.

From the side, Ash Ketchum arrived seconds on his Garchomp before the night sky split open and his Naganadel emerged to land. "So, you have arrived Chosen One," said Mewtwo. "Not surprising to see you have been here long after your prophesied time here."

Ash looked a little put off. "I was supposed to go home after this, Mewtwo," he replied. Turning towards Jou and Kaiba, he tossed two Pokeballs at them. "We need to get to the Overwatch detainment compound as soon as possible. Whatever's summoning these deities, is there. The Tapus aren't going to hold back and go into battle with them shortly. They're disrupting the harmony of the land. Look!"

As if on cue, the land of Alola was buzzing with visible Z-energy, the land itself was rising up with crackling power. "It can't hold this kind of strain for long with such a dangerous summon," said Mewtwo, turning to Jou. "But your deity, young summoner, if it was brought out in a more stable method could be wielded in a more... careful manner."

[blue_ice]

Kaiba listened with a grim expression. This was spiraling out of control way too quickly. He managed to catch the Poké ball on cue, despite being sleep-deprived, and rode up beside Jonouchi when he was sure they weren't about to get roasted.

"Then we'd better stop it. Ready for this, Jonouchi?"

[luckydragonsfoot]

Gods. Gods, of a sort are here and talking. He watches, practically numb- and then barely catches the ball in his hand, the card in his pocket pulsating.

Katsuya is speechless. His head aches- hieratic pounding through from earlier summon chants, the presence of the gods from another Egypt only making it worse. And the Z energy coupled with the very world's strain had him feeling it's pain and deeply.

'His' deity. His heart pounds, and slowly he takes out Ra's card, his throat feeling dry. Across it, actual sparks of power seem to fly, and he can barely look at it.

But not because of fear. "Man...I.. ...Ra wasn' even mine," he croaks, shaking. "I don' ev'n think 'e want'd t' be summoned here, jus'..." And yet.

And yet the card Quiets, forcing itself to do so. The sparks fade into a calm glow, and a warmth floods through his very body. He is reminded, somehow, of the 'prayers' chanted for their summons. He had heard so many (once upon a time, so many times, long ago,), so many from so many places. Those who saw Ra as life and death, those who saw Ra as the sailor of a great barge in the sky...so many things, for a god's power was what the belief of the people made it, for better and for worse.

Katsuya has one card in his hand, yet there were two balls. He has one and yet...

He can see in his mind's eye the presence of two, even despite that.

His eyes are watering, and he knows not why. "I... You're tellin' me tha' I.."

...

Deep breaths, Katsuya.

YOU are more WORTHY than you KNOW, LITTLE ANCIENT!

"I..." He swallows, and looks to Kaiba. "...I don' know...how this'll work," he admits, swallowing anxiously. "But I..." ... He steels himself, and looks more completely to his friend. "I'm ready."

"Do y' trust me, Kaiba?"

[blue_ice]

To be honest, Kaiba doesn't know how he feels. He's exhausted, embarrassed, and still way in over his depth. From what little he can gather, the legendary Pokémon are entrusting Jonouchi with an important task. And Kaiba has to help, somehow.

Here it goes.

"I came running out here dressed like this the moment I heard you were in trouble," he grouses, his cheeks slightly pink. "I think that forces me to admit that I care. And I might as well help you through whatever it is you need to do at this point."

He nods. "You're leading this one."

[luckydragonsfoot]

It is all, or nothing.

With Kaiba's words Katsuya nods, and turns his attention to the empty space ahead of them. Gods and people out of his vision, or at least, the ones closest. Deep breaths... Deep...

"...In 'xactlty two minutes," he begins, the card slowly lowered to his side in one hand and the ball in the other, "Throw."

The word is in Egyptian. He is already entering the trance, allowing past memory and power alike to to take hold.

It is the last word he says in Egyptian.

...For that language was never his first. For prayers are changeable things, and the Gods take the shape that is most needed of them by their people. He remembers many variations- many which became central, required, preferred even.

But the words he speaks have never been printed on the card and Kaiba will hear and know this clearly. They are not necessary after all, for this is not a field as the Gods are so used to. It is not a battle of monsters in the sense that was ever foreseen. The words granted to them by Egypt cannot apply here-

And it is for that reason that even Ra, ever particular, ever demanding, encourages the prayers of an older sort.

For there are other prayers after all, necessary and otherwise depending on the moment. The proof itself lays in Ra's brethren, for if such a thing was truly required at all times it would have been printed upon their cards as well. But instead...

Katsuya's words bring tears to his closed eyes, for they are words from two separate sources. One is from his heart- the heart that shows him what he Needs to know rather than Wants to know, and the heart that he now, in this moment, fully trusts.

The other...

The words rumble from the Dragon, his eyes red but warm, his scales black as the calm night sky. "What does your heart say?" he asks, with the kindness that his own father has never shared.

The dragon is gone, and he wishes he could see him now, as the Ancient tongue passes from his lips the way that they had taught him.

He calls-

"I call upon you, who are but parts of the greater whole of Light. You who were Her Crown, and you who now wield Her shining power. I call upon the one who carries the might of the Sun, who has been reborn countless a time, who has taken and granted life in equal measure, who has looked upon the earth and caused it to tremble-

I ask for you and I do not ask for you Alone. I call upon the guide in the Stone, the Soldier who sleeps far beneath. He whose name has been forgotten by time yet still wakes for those who cry for his might, he who has acted as the fists of the Gods. I call upon you that you SHATTER the chains of the other world, and be renewed through the voices of those who have OFFERED to you their STRENGTH! I ASK-"

Two Minutes. Right on cue he throws, the ball and the card both. Right on cue the card scatters into dust, enveloping the ball before whatever lies within is released.

And from the light that shines, something Winged tears forward, just as stone carves forward from the other.

"...AND SO YOU ARE ANSWERED!" roars the voice of Ra, fiery and powerful, and understood regardless of connections to the ancient tongue. "For though I came for REST, there are POWERS that cannot be IGNORED! YOUNG ANCIENT!" the great bird calls, cycling through the air before lowering themselves before them. "PRIEST and KING from another realm! WE SHALL FIGHT!"

[blue_ice]

Kaiba nods and readies the ball in his hand, listening intently. All he can do is lend his silent support and listen, trying to make sense of this incredible situation.

Okay. So he's summoning Ra. Kaiba gathers that much. But the stone priest with fists of fury....?

Oh. Obelisk. He knows why he's here now. Kaiba closes his eyes, concentrating on that swell of power deep within that he hasn't felt since he faced down Aigami.

At the same moment, he focuses what little power he has and calls out.

"Obelisk the Tormentor! Hear my call from across the dimensions! I have need of your aid once more!"

Kaiba throws his ball at the same moment, unleashing a somewhat-tall and strangely shaped stone Pokémon...but even though he lacks Katsuya's spiritual connection to the gods, he hears Ra's answering call and knows.

"SETO! I HAVE RETURNED FOR YOU!" booms the great voice, as the Stonjourner stomps over to Ra's side. THOUGH OUR FORMS MAY BE...DIMINISHED, OUR POWER REMAINS UNMATCHED! COME, OUR WORTHY PARTNERS, AND LET US STOP THIS FOOLISHNESS AT ONCE!"

...yeah, okay, so that Happened. Kaiba nods stiffly and looks over at Katsuya. Time to go?

[acmellash]

"It is done," intoned Mewtwo placidly as the Tapu chirped their agreement. "Their souls have been interwoven with our chosen champions."

Turning to Ash, he said, "Chosen One, guide them to their destination. It is time to settle these ancient deities to their slumber once and for all, and reprimand the mischievous spirits who have awakened them from slumber."

Solgaleo roared as he went over to Jou and Kaiba, lowering his back for them to get onto. "Solgaleo will guide you," said Mewtwo, as Ash nodded and boarded his Garchomp.

"Let's go then," said Ash. "Champion Cynthia and Leon are awaiting us there."

"Know this," said Mewtwo as the pair would board. "An ancient deity stirs in this land, one that you know well Chosen One. The Pearlescent Being has sided with those who you call foe. Ware his power."

Ash nodded, as he turned to Jou and Kaiba. "C'mon, lets go."