Video;

[quirkynote]

[The grumpearl projects an image and this time it's of A.B.A, her chimeric form sprawled across one of Oran's many beds. She looks tired, more than usual, and especially for someone who's been out of commission for a couple of months.]

...It would appear that I've fallen ill. I'm...disappointed in myself, I don't fall ill, I'm supposed to be better than that. I survive, I rise, I'm supposed to be filled with potential. ...It's this body, it's weak, even now it's weak. Mightyena was kind enough to allow me back into the guild, and that's where I'll continue to recover. It feels bad... I feel bad...

[A pause.]

...I was aware throughout most of it, at least...I think I was. A lot of it amalgamated with my thoughts, swirling, like a dream. ....I know some of you were there, although it's possible that was also part of the dream. You should tell me if you were actually there or not, s-so I know what the reality really was. Please say you were there...

What else... Oh!

Before I succumbed, a very rude mongoose was able to tell me what my Pokémon species is called. She called it Type: Full. I like that...

...

[At this point, A.B.A isn't sure how to end her message, her stray thoughts just sort of...slipping out.]

I'm not sure what else to say...

I'm hungry. I can't buy snacks stuck in bed...

Comments

[outbounds]

You do not want to be out in this rain for too long anyway. It is like the fog in the forest. Sort of. [ There's a frisson of uncertainty that leaks through, not reflected in his mental 'tone' otherwise, at the idea of how it might interact with how she described her time in the clinic to be— aware? The entire time? But also not lucid or coupled to herself? ] So if you want snacks someone can go get them.

[ Is this him volunteering himself as someone who can, in fact, carry more? Maybe. ]

But you are awake! That is verrrrry good. I may have stopped by a few times.

[quirkynote]

Yes, I recall. That's...good. I wasn't sure. Your wisp-like form blends into dreams rather easily, so it was harder to tell. Like a ghost...

[Rain like the fog, though?]

Rain doesn't bother me, are you sure? Maybe it won't effect me, since I'm water aligned...

[outbounds]

Because I am Emmet. I am a ghost? I have figured out a slightly more solid-looking form in the last two months. I should prrrrobably not use it right now, though.

[ Shoka was a little peeved at him accidentally tricking her, and A.B.A ... well, her moods are a little mercurial! ]

But the rain. Hmm. How to say. It scatters things. Us. Memories and thoughts. [ Maybe more than that, depending. ] Doesn't seem related to type, it's not just us affected. The fog is worse but the rain is still something.

[quirkynote]

Interesting... I'd rather not have my memories and thoughts scattered anymore than they already have been...

[Especially since her memories of Paracelsus are all she really has left of him right now. If something were to mess with that, she'd have to go on a rampage. Have to. No compromise. Everything dies.]

Thank you for the warning, then. ...I've been told new Pokémon have arrived?

[outbounds]

They have, yep. Arriving from the haunted ruins connected to the caves in the south forest this time.

[ Surprise the spooky ghost forest full of fog and surprise cave ins is extra haunted.

(Also huh, Type: Full sounds like a super fake name ... what organization...?) ]

[quirkynote]

[Train boys stop hating on her cool Pokémon name.]

There are...haunted ruins?

[YIKESYIKESYIKESYIKES wait.]

Oh! A habitat for ghost-types, then?

[Please say yes.]

There's no...actual haunting, is there?

[outbounds]

Weeelll...

[ Uh. Do you want him to lie to you, A.B.A,

Because he is not going to lie to you. ]

Both. Probably!

As in. It is both full of ghost-types.

And there might or might not be actual ghosts there. Results not very conclusive. Ask Firoza and the rest of the group who went there second for more details. But there are definitely ruins there of a civilization that used to be there a long time ago, so. You know.

[quirkynote]

[This is terrible news! And A.B.A does enjoy exploring a good ruin or two, what do you mean she'd have to deal with possible ghosts?! It's the uncertainty that makes it all the more worse. Might or might not??? She'll have to get further information, but by the look on her face, it doesn't look like she'd like one of those possible answers.]

I-I-I see... And there's no further information?

[outbounds]

The fog causes hallucinations, so it is hard to completely verify everything that happens in it... And also the ghost types there like illusions too. We ran into that before. A Haunter pretended to be Firepaw.

But, hm. Supposely, when the second team went. They met an Oricorio. And a bunch of other ghosts who wanted to fight them but that isn't important. They all remembered different things happening on the trip. Except for the Oricorio. And when they asked the Oricorio too many questions, they felt some sort of presence before the Oricorio disappeared.

[ Ruins haunted. But hey, he wasn't on that specific trip, so he's just paraphrasing the previous report from Firoza, ]

[quirkynote]

[As Emmet explains the situation, A.B.A lies there quietly, trying to picture what he describes to her. However, she's unfamiliar with the Pokémon he keeps naming, and her brows repeatedly furrow as she tries to come up with something in her head. Anything.

Eventually she gives up and squints at Emmet in a silent gesture that says "Visuals, please."

She can't bring herself to say it out loud, she can't admit she doesn't know something like that so easily. His casual manner of naming Pokémon makes her feel like she should just KNOW what these things are. It makes her feel...dumb.]

[outbounds]

[ Beat. He's not a mind reader. But sure, they're on a psychic connection anyway, the intent gets through. Okay. The telepathic equivalent of a sock puppet theater it is.

ENTER: Firepaw, Emporio, Emmet, and Ingo. They are stylized looking little mental images going off into the foggy woods and developing visible question marks over their heads when the forest rearranges itself so that they can keep looping to the same clearing despite walking in a straight line. The fog around them has simplistic, myriad eyes and mouths within it; it's paired with the sensation of many others, just watching and waiting from somewhere just out of sight.

They keep going! The ground caves in, suddenly and harshly. The Cubone and Litten topple down and out of sight, while the Zoroark and Typhlosion manage to keep their footing. Not that it matters much, because then they're headed down into the caves too, probably to retrieve the other two... Emporio gets collected first. A Litten shows up in the caves, too, and follows them for a bit... only for the others, now suspicious, to turn to it as its appearance transforms into a cackling ghost that launches a few phantasmal attacks at them before fleeing, vanishing into the shadows.

They collect the real Firepaw after that. The group books it back to town because the kiddos did not have a fun time and are looking worse for wear.

Round 2! ENTER: Firoza, Guilmon, Courier Six. The Nidoran, Charmeleon, and Dragonite head into the foggy south woods as well. This one is much less of a play by play since Emmet doesn't know the details of what all went on, what they did or didn't hallucinate, so it kind of just skips to running into a lavender-colored bird after the air all around them is filled with confused question marks. They go together for a bit! Question marks intensify. The ground gives away again and Firoza goes tumbling down. The other three go after her. They meet up, all look around. Turn to the bird as a big question mark appears over their heads.

The sensation paired with the eyes from before returns, magnified. The bird vanishes. The cave walls reveal themselves to be ruins. Ta-da! ]

[quirkynote]

[You know, that's way more effort than she was expecting. Have a very impressed little talon clap.]

[outbounds]

[ Thank you, thank you, she'll get the mental sense of him taking a bow. ]

So! In conclusion, the forest is full of ghosts probably. Also if you go south you should be prepared for cave ins.

Also the fog is extra haunted maybe.

[ Just. Getting back to their original subject here. ]

[quirkynote]

I was already aware the fog wasn't particularly...kind. I've ventured into it before... There were bones... So many bones...

[And she may have stolen a skull.]

If there are ghosts, then we'll just need an even more terrifying ghost on our side. You're already quite frightful. We should work on that... Make you even more intimidating...

[outbounds]

[ Bones? Wait, real bones and not rocks hallucinated into the shape of bones? How many bones?

(Hey Ingo, about the Pokemon you think are lost in the fog.) ]

I am Emmet. I am immune to ghosts, yes.

More intimidating though. Hmm. Not sure about that part. What would you suggest exactly.

Also, elaborate on the bones.

[quirkynote]

I'm....not sure how else to elaborate on bones.... Ngh... Um... The...hard, rigid parts that make up the skeletal system... Providing support, structure, and protection to the body. Bones are made of...connective tissue reinforced with calcium and specialized bone cells. Most bones also contain bone marrow, where blood cells are created.

[A pause.]

They are...crunchy.

[With the way her eyes start to dart around, it's clear she's trying to come up with more bone information. As if this is ANYTHING he actually wants to know. Maybe she should focus more on his intimidation...]

You said you can shift forms...right? You simply have to take your current form and...amplify it.

[outbounds]

Oh. I mean more. How many. Scattered? Individual? Full skeletons? Is it a lot of them, enough for search parties who got lost, or does it look more like singular Pokemon who got lost at different points? Oooorrrr is it more than that even?

[ How haunted should they expect the forest to be, A.B.A, ]

As for changing shape ... I have maybe figured out a llllittle bit of it? Work in progress still.

[ What have the Hisuians mentioned? 'Alphas'? Ehhhh... ]

Though I am not sure how exactly I am supposed to test whether or not I am managing to be scary enough. Hypothetically.

[ Ingo has issues with the Zoroark thing for other reasons, and honestly it feels like it'd be a sweltering day in the Great Chasm before a bunch of the others here would ever admit they were scared of something. ]

[quirkynote]

[Oh!

Well!

That makes much more sense, then.]

The entirety of the forest floor was coated in bone, like a mass grave of sorts... Although...the fog did blanket it from sight. You wouldn't know what you were stumbling into until you...stumbled into it...

Paracelsus was waiting for me there.

[Hang on, give her a second. She shuffles slightly on her bed before holding up...an entire Gogoat skull. The skull itself is clean, at least.]

See? Isn't he beautiful...? Not quite my Paracelsus, but a Paracelsus all the same. Smile, dear~

[Just gonna...wave the skull around.]

[outbounds]

[ She ... named the Gogoat skull. Sure. This seems like a better thing to focus on than the apparent entire mass grave of bones carpeting the ground somewhere in the central forest that no one thought to mention before now, considering Ingo very nearly wandered right off into it.

(So, very haunted! Very, verrrrry haunted.) ]

Hello, Paracelsus! I am Emmet. It is verrrrry nice to meet you.

1/2

[quirkynote]

[As Emmet addresses her stupid skull, something feral unleashes in A.B.A, causing her to react reflexively.]

KEEP YOUR LEERING EYES OFF MY-!!

[quirkynote]

[She stops. Catching what she just pulled, which is honestly a lot of self-awareness for her. But she did tell Paracelsus she was going to try to be better... Perhaps this is a sign that she actually has it within her to change...

Or maybe it's just easily to reflect when deep down, she knows it's not the real Paracelsus.]

I mean...

[With a small sigh, she places the skull down, removing it from the psychic image.]

He doesn't wish to speak with you right now. He's...shy.

[outbounds]

Well. If that is all then.

[ Is this resource guarding. Maybe Type: Full (that is a verrrry fake name. Whoever got dibs on naming this one sucked at it. Someone should give the species a better name,) is a very loyal and protective species?

Or maybe that's just A.B.A. ]

That is okay. Sometimes I do not want to talk much either.