[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

LURCH

Nathan, Shiva, and Heart find themselves lurching further back in time. It's a hanging lurch, where you shift out of normal space and into a timeless void where you can scarcely even think.

However... Nathan's PTC is glowing with that adamant light. Little threads flow out of it, and Nathan can see exactly where they lead.

One leads to Sarimanok's time. A jerk on that thread will pull Nathan back to avoid the lurch. Since threads tie Shiva and Heart firmly to Nathan, they'll be drawn back too.

More threads lead to people you have bonds with - a strong one to Terra, a decent one to Spira. Tiny little fragile threads to Shiva's Rapidash, to Hyksos, to Terra's artist.

Nathan realizes he has a lot of control over this lurch - not the destination, but all the details. The party of PC's will be brought along, and he can gank anyone you've bonded with as a party. He can also put off the Lurch for a time.

This is a very, very weird experience for sure.  Nathan just kinda stares at his PTC for a moment while he processes this, looks around at all the people and pokemon connected to them (and wondering how some of those connections were formed, for that matter...why is Shiva connected to a warrior from the plains and a Rapidash?!)...but it definitely looks like it's only to people and pokemon in Sarimanok's era...

He doesn't dwell on it for too long, however.  He has a feeling that he needs to act fast before they end up lurched elsewhere.  It feels like he simultaneously has all the time in the world and no time at all, though...in this timeless void, it's just about impossible to tell which is actually the case...

This is quite a lot of responsibility that's just landed in his lap, and all because of the simple fact he sent that Adamant Sphere through the PTC...

He experimentally tugs on one of the connections.  'Hmmm...seems...surprisingly firm...as far as something that seems to be made of pure energy goes, anyways...those weaker connections look like they'll snap if they're tugged on suddenly while they're at that length, though...'

Looking at the options of what everyone's connected to, there's...what's obviously a Rapidash from Sarimanok's forces...a young Farfetch'd that Terra's holding...a Hitmonlee that looks rather beat up and rather well decorated with war paint...some of the soldiers from that camp...

That battle wasn't over when the lurch happened...he could yank them all back, see if they could get a chance to get a breather before the lurch hits them again...but they'd have to get out of that battle first, and that wouldn't be super easy if they're exhausted from traveling for so many hours...by contrast, all he knows about their next destination is they're going even further back in time...is there going to be a chance to rest if they land in an even more ancient era?  He doesn't know...can't know...

...and in this moment, he's the sole one who's deciding where they try to get some rest before continuing onwards.  Nobody else seems to be fully aware of exactly what's happening as far as he can tell...it's a weighty, somewhat humbling feeling...

In that moment that seems to last forever, Nathan makes a decision.  He doesn't know if it's a good decision, he's just acting on instinct right now.

They need to get away from that battlefield.

- Terra's not Dexterous enough to be able to reliably escape from it without exerting considerable effort, particularly if he's exhausted.

- Nathan and Spira are still the only ones not in the middle of that battle.

- The longer they stay there, the higher the odds are that they'll attract attention they don't need.

- And there's also the fact that he personally doesn't want to be in that time period any longer than necessary.

So Nathan will not yank on the thread that will take them back to Sarimanok's time and delay the lurch.  However, there are some threads he is yanking...

- The thread connected to Farfetch'd.  Rather self explanatory, given what the pokedex entries on the species say.  A young Farfetch'd like that is liable to just become dinner.  He doesn't know why Terra's holding it, but he can ask that question soon enough...

- The thread connected to 'Shiva's' Rapidash.  Honestly, this is partially to satisfy some of his own curiosity and desires.  He wants to get a closer look at that horse if he has a chance to, and he also doesn't want to leave that pokemon there to whatever fate would have awaited it on that battlefield (and nobody will question a simple horse pokemon being missing after a battle.  Can't exactly do that as easily with people, though it's certainly possible).  And he has some questions to ask Shiva concerning what the heck she was doing with that horse and a plains warrior...he's not sure he'll like what he might hear, though...he might have to try and calm that horse down (or KO it if necessary) before he gets to that, though...dealing with a panicked horse pokemon over a long period of time would not be fun...

Everything else, Nathan leaves alone.  That Hitmonlee is probably fleeing the battle and not in any major danger, and all the other notable connections are people that might be missed if they're yanked through time...



In summary: Taking Rapidash and Farfetch'd with us on this trip even further into the past.

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One moment, all 5 of them, their pokemon, Farfetch'd, and Rapidash are in and around that battlefield.

The next, they're just inexplicably gone.  Simultaneously vanishing without a trace.  It all happened in a split second.