First Experiences

"... Laura!" Alice was stunned, but didn't move away from the girl, or at least not right away. The sight of the trainer, which might normally comfort Sakina and Bran, was causing them visible confusion and discomfort. It didn't surprise the blonde when the cold, sickening hand wrapped around her arm. She was filled with dread, and remembered what she saw before she woke.

"Yoiu're not Laura." Alice realised audibly, staring at the other with utmost caution, attempting to stand her ground rather than be led away. "Who-- what are you? And why are you doing this?" At least her calls had finally been answered, she supposed. Alice wouldn't even be against going with them, if only she knew a where and why.

"What are you talking about?" Laura seemed confused, although a barely noticeable flicker of her eyes gave away that she knew something (due to the subtlety of this, I'll allow one character (pokemon in this case since Alice isn't allowed! :p) to notice this movement.) "Who else would I be?" Was the somewhat guarded question that betrayed the suspicion the girl had against Alice.

Brushing the topic away, she shook her head; a normal enough gesture. "Come on! We gotta get out of here!" She began tugging the girl, resisting or not, with a surprisingly strong hand. Whether friend or foe, perhaps the seemingly human might lead to a way out?

Alice's frown and mistrust remained. She couldn't trust anything in this place, but it wasn't as if this Laura was letting her wait around. "Nevermind..." She trailed off, allowing the other to pull her from the room with minimal resistance, "Where even is this place, anyway? What happened to the Pokemon Centre?"

"Don't know..." Laura managed to muse, although her curt response meant she probably knew something she wasn't letting on. Probably. They hurried on along the corridor, fog swirling around their feet, the only sound punctuating the silence being those of pattering footsteps. "..." It was a rather awkward silence.

"Damn this, how long is this corridor?!" Laura cried, grip tightening in frustration, once the silence got rather heavy. Once again, the monotony of the corridor had sent their ears buzzing, and the humidity was beginning to give the girls a headache. Perhaps it wasn't the best idea to ask her questions, given her frustration, but discretion is the better part of valour!

Alice definitely found Laura's sharpness and quiet to be suspicious. Laura was a lot more emotive than this, and with her senses she would surely have more to say about the situation than she was conveying. "Forever, probably." Alice considered. Against better judgement, she came to a rigid halt, trying to slow her friend by digging her feet down. "Listen, wandering around isn't getting anywhere. We need to do something else!"

Laura paused as her charge stiffened up; she turned around, anger and irritation darkening her face - so the executioner's lamb dared resist. "Oh, really? Like what?" She motioned with her free hand around the endless corridor; truth be told, the walls seemed narrower than before. Alice could probably touch the walls with her fingertips if she stretched out her arms. How long would it be until the walls closed in on themselves?

Laura looked as though she was thinking the same, if the worried look on her face meant anything. The look faded away, replaced with a sharper visage. "Besides, what makes you think that you can think clearly now? You're not even..." The girl trailed away. Ominous.

Alice glowered nervously. Laura was being nasty and inconsistent, and it was more clear to her now than ever it wasn't her friend she was dealing with. Sakina whimpered, drawing more attention than the other person could to the fact that the walls were closing in on them, Bran making it obvious by how his sweeps were shorter and more panicked. "I'm not what?" She demanded of Laura impatiently, "You don't think I'm what?"

"It doesn't matter," Laura said, looking glum and rather put out. The walls were, of course, drawing closer imperceptibly - all this time; whether only a few minutes or perhaps hours or even days, they'd been inching closer, one painstaking inch at a time. But in all honesty, would Alice really prefer to dare to face the unknown outside, rather than seek solace in the darkness of the inside?

"Sure it doesn't." Alice snapped back icily. She'd had enough, and what didn't help was the increasing claustrophobia and impending doom of the situation. Bran and Sakina were really panicking, which meant she was losing her calm at a quicker rate than before. "Okay, if we can't find an exit, then we break down the walls before they kill us. Everyone, let's go!"

There was a flood of bright green light and an explosion of seals, from hearts to bubbles to confetti, and out came the rest of her team. Gael sparkled as the effects all faded away. "Alright everyone, we need to break down these walls! Gael, use fissure! Farren, Sakina, Bran; all of you use hidden power and then round! Sakina, use focus energy to boost yourself up, too! If we keep trying everything, something has to give!"

Laura's face whipped to glare at Alice in the most vivid show of emotion yet; a face contorted with horror and rage. "What?!" As though hardly believing what Alice had just said - and then proceeded to act on no less - she stretched out an arm, first in anger then panic as every pokemon on the blonde's team appeared and rattled off a number of attacks.

The bormbardent of Hidden Power orbs, while more than capable of shattering any regular wall, did glancing damage to the walls, while Round was a rather weak substitute to the former move. Clearly the team wasn't used to the maneuver. Even Gael's Fissure, what one might take to be the biggest problem, arced along the walls, followed by a curious wake of blue light, before disappearing, leaving cracked walls, but far from crumbling.

"Y-You stupid girl!" Laura snarled, half-beside herself in rage. The odd rolling accent she gained in her last sentence only fortified the lack of identity, and the girl's eyes glowed a furious, cold blue. "You want to get out of here?! Fine!" With a snap of her fingers, and an odd, fleeting show of long, white fangs, the ground fell out beneath Alice's feet, and the girl would find herself...

Well, it was an odd state of limbo, to be exact. Alice was suspended, much in the way of freefalling, and there was certainly nothing around; only a pure, inky blackness that neither gave nor got any quarter regarding her whereabouts. Her hair streamed around her like it might in the lack of gravity, but Alice could still draw shuddering, somewhat painful breaths (the air made her lungs feel as though they were burning up from the inside) Her Pokemon were nowhere to be seen, the major source of worry, and their pokeballs were missing too. There was no wind rushing past her ears, or perhaps there was, and she simply had lost any way of conceiving it. In all manner and evidently by the looks of it, Alice Hope had, to the rest of the world, ceased to exist.

What a pity. The End.

Or is it?

"It did nothing? Again!" Alice commanded with higher desperation, but before she could have her Pokemon obey, it was all over. The panicked, false Laura had finally revealed herself for the monster she was, and destroyed the illusion that had been made for them. "No-- please! Gael--!" The ground had fallen and swallowed her up, as did the fear and dread she felt. Alice couldn't see anything, couldn't feel anything except for the pain of a tight chest and searing, struggling lungs. Tears rolled down her face, and Alice could see the droplets lift from her cheeks as she continued her timeless descent.

There were worse ways to go, maybe, if this was what death was, but all she could think about was that it was her own fault. It had been her choice to come to Navel Island and pursue the gym challenge, and now for all she knew, Laura was dead as well. At least she'd had a chance to pursue a dream that Alice had thought to be only contained in fiction, she'd even been a hero and stopped a Team Rocket mission! That was nothing to play down in a world where they were truly dangerous criminals.

Alice let her eyes drift shut, maybe, but it was hard to tell. Everything was black anyway. Memories flashed before her eyes of her Archipelago adventure, of the life in the world she had left. In the recesses of her mind, something shifted. The nostalgic sound of sea waves, blurs of pink and white, music she couldn't hear above the water, a quiet shoreline and a distant, vague tower... Her cheeks flushed, the panic held her tighter. Mind and body were taken by confusion.

"Help... Me...! Please help me...!"

Alice's cry for help existed only within the girl's mind; in this odd, unknown state of creation, where it seemed not even life could exist, the girl's lips would move, releasing only a whisper of a faint cry. The breath escaped her mouth - only this time, strangely enough, they curled and condensed, like hot air was prone to in cold areas. So now concept of temperature existed? Evidently that wasn't the only one beginning to form.

Whispers, cries reached up from under the free-falling girl; calls of desperation, a medley of mixed, human voices begged someone, anyone to save them. The voices were broken, dry, listless - hanging on to the last shred of hope, hope that their soul may still achieve salvation. When that last flicker of faith would die out, so would their voices. Would Alice soon join them?

Wheeeeee!

Charming. Someone was evidently enjoying themselves at these poor souls' expense. But....it was an answer. Was it the one Alice seeked?

Hiya there!

In a pulse of light, and an explosion (hope Alice squeezed her eyes shut!) of colour, the black - and the voices - died away, to be replaced by a wave of white. The transition (if it could be called that) was soundless, but regardless, Alice could begin to hear familiar, comforting sounds again. The blood rushing in her ears, great sobbing breaths that didn't hurt anymore, a merry heartbeat within her chest. She was alive. She was alive!

Wah, Alice. You really messed that one up!

Somebody wasn't mincing words. But who was it? In all manner, it seemed to be the voice of a child, high and mildly annoying to hear. But to the lost Alice, it was probably manna from heaven. It was difficult to determine the gender from the voice, as was wont of children, but the undying cheeriness of it was rather grating on the nerves. And worse of all, the source of the voice was nowhere to be heard. It seemed...to be emanating from all around her.

Don't worry! I'm here to save you though. Of course I am; I'm awesome that way. Although to sneak you back unnoticed, it'll take me a while or two. I'm sure you have some questions. You can ask me...three! Because, you understand, it's no fun if all the answers are given right away! :3

It was unknown how the voice managed to fit a type-written emoji at the end of its sentence, but...it managed. It also seemed rather narcissistic, but hey, all said and done, three questions were rather decent! Ask away!

(GDI no colour shows up right on that horrendous olive background D:)

Hearing the voice made Alice's heart swell, the hope of her namesake reaching a fever pitch when it promised rescue. The immaturity of the sound caused little upset here. At least she wasn't alone anymore, at least it was on her side-- so long as the illusionist wasn't taunting her more.

"I did, yeah... I really screwed up this time." She confessed, her throat no longer sore or tight. It was relieving to feel cool air in her lungs, even if her blue eyes squinted against the blinding light. "Three questions? I can't blame your sense of fun. It sounds like mine."

Alice paused for thought, almost enjoying the serenity of the odd space. "My three questions... Okay. Damn, you make it hard." She laughed nervously. "Who and what are you... And how do you know me? I was tempted to ask why you'd help. But in the end it doesn't really matter if we're okay in the end."

Hehe. Well, you're lucky! Everybody doesn't get three answers! ;3

The voice seemed rather light-hearted for someone who was evidently working on getting Alice back to the dystopian illusion world. Regardless, answers were answers.

Who am I? Well, something- someone, it hastily corrected, of a higher power, a god, if you will, as mortals know us. The sense of my identity differs among people's perception, but does it really matter? :3 And I've known you for a while now, Alice. I've been watching you; but that probably sounds horribly creepy. You don't know how important you are, do you? No matter - not much matters in my domain.

As to why I'd help, naturally out of my good will! :3 That, and you seemed to have strayed in here. Somebody seemed to have wanted you out of the way...but again, no worries! Your safe passage back to world begins...now!

As the voice said so, the "now" reverberated through the 'domain', allowing streaks of black and grey to appear around Alice, not unlike the passage through a tunnel. All the lines converged at a single point, and judging by the female's free movement, it seemed to be in the general direction she was floating towards too. The floating quickly turned into a free fall, and within the span of a blink, Alice would find herself high above an unfamiliar world.

It was something out of nightmares. With a dark, overcast sky and low-hanging black clouds, the atmosphere spoke of doom and gloom and despair. The ground was a curious dark red, though it seemed to be the natural pigmentation of the earth and the grass - although the colour was unnervingly similar to blood. Dead, leafless trees were scattered around the plain, black and burnt and twisted, and the very earth spake of rejection. This was no world of life. The one consolation that would strike the female, still descending from the sky - she'd probably hit the ground before reaching terminal velocity, but she was falling - was the looming building about a mile away. Her bird's eye view would give her irrefutable proof - wreathed in mist, was the Pokemon Centre. The general lack of light in the area made everything seem darker, and the building was but a smudge against the horizon. But more observation aside, how was Nish to descend safely without becoming part of the dirt, a mere smudge on the ground, as she certainly would become if she didn't slow down, and slow down fast!

Those were the vaguest spoilers Alice had ever heard, and she grumbled as much until the light slowly faded away. She peered downwards, jaw dropping in horror at the place this benevolent being had supposedly dropped her-- and it had dropped her indeed. She had been suspended on high for only a few moments before gravity gripped her, and Alice began to tumble towards the bloody ground. Her heart lurched, but it was then that she noticed the pink, sealed spheres in the air near her. Think fast or die faster.

There were two options, and Alice chose both. "Gael, use water pulse to break our fall!" She called out, clutching the object. A hit of the button and a display of mint and blue bubbles erupted. Alice gripped the shining turtle in one arm, reaching for Bran's ball in the free hand, "Bran, just let us hold on with all your strength! Give us a fighting chance!"

The ghost came forth, twirling and following, and it was Gael's move first. Red rock bottom was ever closer, and the Pokemon spat an echoing jet of water below them. It held them up a short distance, Alice clutching Bran in her free hand. The jet of water began to weaken, but it didn't matter. Alice already felt winded from the impact of the hit, and they dropped a far less damaging distance, Alice splaying herself out and finally releasing her two companions. The other balls landed idly nearby.

"Oh, thank whichever God at least gave us a chance..." She groaned, inhaling greedily. This place was still cold and spooky, and Alice thanked Gael before returning him. It wasn't his best terrain. Rolling herself over painfully, the blonde dragged herself from the ground. It wasn't the kind of area to hang around in, "I saw a Pokemon Centre that way. Let's go, Bran."

As Alice would get to her feet, a whisper would reach her ears,

Remember, Alice. Trust no one...

And just as suddenly, the voice would disappear. Atleast the girl was now out of that death trap of the endless corridors. And undetected no less! Nevertheless, as she would draw closer to the Centre - did she really want to go inside? - smears would be visible on the wall. They looked rather suspicious, and it was difficult to determine if they were burn marks by some form of liquid fire, or blood stains. Either way, they arced from a rather high height, about 8-9 feet above the ground, to the bottom of the Centre, where they trailed off. Right next to the stains was a large crater that had cracked the very wall, causing it to cave inwards, as though something strong and heavy with a pointed head had crashed into it. There were metal chips lying next to the ground, few in number, but light and durable to the touch.

The door, while transparent to the best of Alice's knowledge, held only a wreathing darkness within. The automatic doors refused to work, and Alice would likely have to pry the door open with physical strength, if possible, but again, did she really want to do that?

(P.S. Don't! o3o)

The building before her screamed horror, like the video games she used to watch streamers play. The mysterious stains and lack of working doors were typical tropes of the genre. She wouldn't have been surprised to learn this was Outlast or Five Nights rsther than the world of Pokemon.

"We're going to have to break in, I think." She said. Looking up at Bran, the ghost's mouth curved downwards. "What? What's wrong?"
"Shupp... Shuppettt..." The baby drawled worriedly. Alice grimaced.
"I'm scared, too. But we need to find our way out. Although this doesn't look like our Pokemon Centre or even where we were before." Alice said, taking a step back. "Maybe it would be best if we keep exploring. You lead this time, you have better instincts for this sort of thing."

It seemed the Pokemon had better instincts than the human. Of course, with the surroundings being so spooky and such, the Shuppet should be in his element here. The baby ghost type would twirl in the air before deciding to point in a seemingly random direction. While he had chosen a direction, he seemed unwilling to lead. Well, one could hardly blame him. Even for a ghost type this place was scary.

If Alice were to proceed in the aforementioned direction, as indeed she probably would, soon the horizon would darken in an irregular pattern. Mountains. A whole chain of them. A range of tall mountains would appear in the far distance, and the ground would begin to appear more uneven too. A couple of meters away, there was an elevated piece of land, a wee hillock. It rose perhaps two or three feet off the ground, and dipped in equal measure on the other side, but besides its elevation, there was nothing different about it. Maybe Alice could stand on it and gain a better view of the surroundings?

It would be around this point that she'd also begin to notice grass - different from the blood red strands everywhere. These contrasted the ground sharply; in their dark coloured pigment, almost black, they looked more alike blood than ever. If Alice were to reach down and pluck it, they would disintegrate into fine ash in her hand. Odd. This was, in all senses, no better than the sense of limbo she was stuck in. Humans needed stimulus - they actually preferred pain over lack of stimulus. Perhaps this would be the driving force behind Alice's actions, whatever they may be. There was the mountain range up ahead, promising a long walk before she would reach even the foot. Or, if she could gain her bearings, she could always return to the forsaken Centre...

But in all honesty, she could also end up roaming around this endless plain, lost, forever...

"Okay. That way it is." Alice agreed with her Shuppet. For one thing, going back imto the Centre might get them rediscovered and squashed. It was likely occupied if the doors were stuck, after all. The mountajns looked more like the place the monster didn't wanf them to go to, which was promising.

"... This is taking forever." Alice eventually concluded, not even at the true beginnings of the trail. "This isn't even our world! Why bother looking around?!" At least she knew that dying here was the end, but still. They needed some way out. "That thing didn't want us attacking the walls before. I wonder if that means we can break the illusiom by force? Wanna try, Bran?"

Already, she had two Heal Balls in trembling hands. Alice was doinv her best, but this place was wearing her down.

The Shuppet hesitated, before the baby slowly nodded. Perhaps not the best decision, but then again, what else could they do? Before Alice could call out any definite moves, Bran created a small sphere of energy - Hidden Power - and hurled it up in the air. Both trainer and pokemon watched it disappear out of sight before the Shuppet gave a discontent burble. What was he trying to discover through such an experiment? It seemed he got his answer, though, whatever it was.

It was enticing, the prospect that freedom and the real world lay beyond a thin layer of red-world-coloured glass, but it was doubtful that was the case. Even so, Alice wouldn't know much better than to try in the best way she can.

"You think it didn't work?" Alice asked. She felt a sense of dread from that. What if the deity had tricked her, or she juat died out in the real world while stuck here? "It's okay. Gael, Farren-- let's all attack the same spot on the ground with Bran! Toxic, water pulse, hidden power, fissure! We need to get out of here!" She called, releasing two extra allies into the open.

The powerful eruption of moves treated the ground unkindly, but even so it prevailed. While Alice's pokemons moves themselves had been unaffected, behaving as they would in the 'real' world, the ground seemed...otherwordly. Naturally. The barrage of attacks left a curious, smooth indent in the ground, as though somebody had just cut a piece out of the ground, leaving behind a perfectly symmetrical hollow. It was a fairly small hole, perhaps 3 feet wide and a foot or two deep. What was going on?

As the dust settled, the miasma began thickening. Deep roiling fog began settling low on the realm, creating a rather infamous familiar icyness. "Oh Allliiiceee~~" Someone's low voice hissed out. It was undoubtedly female; Laura?! Or the one masquerading to be her? What had Alice gotten herself into?
Thankfully, the small amount of reassurance she had was that Laura was a physical being, and was obviously approaching from a side. All she had to do was run in the opposite direction...right? Even now, with the disarraying fog, Alice could see a moving silhouette towards her left.

A haunting whisper reached her ears.

Run.

Alice's eyes widened. Finally, some kind of success! Surely, if they kept going the way they were, they could break this madness wide open? She was abput to say as such, until a familiar voice sent a cold chin down the woman's spine. They had been detected after all.

Run. Alice didn't need to ne told twice. Returning the sea turtle and pine bug, Alice rallied for Bran to follow her. It was a damn good thing that she had been training so hard, because now she might have a chance of fleeing their hunter. Only, Alice had to wonder if she coulx truly beat them at their own game and in their own domain. How long could she run for?

There had to be a better way yhan this and something that could be done.

Just when it seemed that Alice had outrun the voice, the figure terrifyingly appeared in front of the girl. It's hand reached through the fog, towards her...close enough for her to brush her fingers against the girl's hair...

When suddenly, with the sound of an impact, the figure, still darkened and hazy from the fog, violently fell over with a thud. A glint of steel; something flashed past Alice's ear - a...throwing star? As absurd as it may seem, that was what the object looked like. Suddenly, a brush of soft fur against Alice's hand, and a large flowing shadow. This way.

You'll be safe here.

Alice screamed, the sound unrestrained and carrying through the dead expanse. She stopped in shock, taken aback that their pursuer had suddenly keeled over. She watched their saviour go, but couldn't help remembering previous advice. Trust noone.

"What do you think, Bran?" Alice asked. She didn't see any better alternatives, but if the Shuppet had a bad feeling, Alice wouldn't ignore it.