This world is inhabited by creatures that we call pokemon. People and pokemon live together by supporting each other, but now the scourge threatens the safety of the entire region. Kohaku has become a dangerous place, where children stay at home and only brave souls go adventuring.
Welcome to KOHAKU. Come for the nightmares. Stay for the tea and crumpets.
The season is SUMMER. It is easy for survivors to forage for food from the land, as there are entire abandoned farms ready for harvest. On the downside, you can smell the corpses.
swarms
GRAND OPENING !
Welcome to KOHAKU REGION's grand opening! If you're interested in joining, come check out our grand opening giveaway!
Neo stared at Tresilian for perhaps a second too long before she was certain it was him. After that, she was content just to stand still, glancing up at the red sky every now and then. "Sorry for the trouble," she said to the butler while she waited. "Does the sky do this thing often around here?"
It wasn't a long wait. When Juno returned, she smiled and took the C-Gear from him. "Thank you."
Neo bit her lip as she dialed her own number. She didn't expect a call to anyone she knew to work, but the first to try was her own. She was defenseless without her pokemon.
those phone calls weren't happening in ten years or more. literally, considering where neo was standing right now.
tresillian poked his head out of the door and noticed the sky. it was very hard to miss. the red tinge it had was completely unnatural, and the butler had never seen anything like it. his face was evidently rather confused at the phenomena, but he remained calm, and placed a hand on the child's shoulder.
"do come in," said the butler, "you really shouldn't be standing out there in this ... weather." he was at a loss for words. "would you like some tea in the meantime, or -- a coat. it's rather cold out there."
the inside of the house was less empty compared to the present. there were more people around, and more help as well.
the child skipped into the house and bounced onto a couch. "i'm tired of being called juno," he announced, much to tresillian's apparent relief.
"good. i'm glad you have come to your senses. what would you like to be called next?"
"i don't know." the child glanced back at the rest of the maids, and then at neo. "suggestions from the floor?"
---
the silhouette shredded another hole in the room, and proceeded through it. it emerged in the same point of time as neo, before flipping its butterfly knife shut to contemplate something. maybe it was time to talk to her again.
Neo wasn't sure why she kept trying the C-Gear. Maybe third time lucky. Maybe fourth time lucky? She couldn't get through to Thalia or Delilah either, which was hardly a surprise.
"A coat would be fantastic. It is rather chilly." Rather embarrassing too.
She held onto the C-Gear in her hands, which had gone cold and clammy. She couldn't feel her fingers and she dialed a familiar number. It rang through, and someone picked up with the audible click of an landline C-Gear. When Neo heard her father's voice on the other end (Hello?), she hung up. Her hands shook.
She shouldn't have tried that. There was nothing to learn from her past.
The smile she provided the child was the most pasted on she'd ever managed. In a fashion, Neo was kind of proud of it. "I liked Juno. I guess it's out with the old and in with the new these days though. Let me think about it."
tresillian left to obtain a suitable coat for neo. it wouldn't do if she caught a cold; the weather had yet to show signs of improvement. it hadn't snowed today due to the odd skies, yet the thermometer failed to indicate a rise in temperature. in fact, it might have even dropped a few degrees. he quickened his pace, bringing a maid upstairs along with him to aid in his search.
the child didn't notice anything amiss on neo's expression. it was still a child, after all. "but juno's the name of the city," it complained, "imagine if your name was a place's name. juno is fine, but what if you were named di manes?" it shook its head and started flipping through television channels.
"leonida, if you weren't called leonida, what are you going to call yourself?" the child propped its hands up on the edge of the couch and rested its head upon them; a curious sort of gaze had settled upon its face.
The house was almost a familiar one by now, but different. Something about it was newer, for being a decade fresh, but something else about it was old and anachronistic. Then again, Neo was the anachronism here.
...She missed the Hello Skitty toys.
"I'd be named Decima, if I named myself for where I lived. It has a nice ring to it. Place names are trendy anyway," she said, at least ten years before it would become trendy. "Not Di Manes though. That one's not so good."
She knew exactly what she'd call herself if she weren't Leonida, but those were under different circumstances--circumstances that wouldn't exist. "I don't know. Something pretty, I think. Maybe Marie. Kalos names are so romantic. Or maybe after someone I admire. Oak? No. Oak would be a silly name."
"marie sounds nice ... kalosian names are a bit difficult to say, though. but they sound nice!"
the child listened with wide eyes and amusement. names could be very interesting. decima was a cool name -- the reasoning neo had was the exact same as it had in the first place. it thought that naming itself after the place it lived was a good idea, but apparently not. it had tired of it rather quickly.
before it could say anything else, tresillian returned with a coat and a mighty transformin' ditto rangers t-shirt for neo. "here you go," said the butler, "the changing rooms are up the stairs and the second room to the right. and you, young man -- it's time for dinner."
the child hopped off the couch. "i'll see you later, leonida!" it said, "maybe i'll think of something to call myself after you're done changing. i'll let you know!"
"Thank you so much. You're a godsend, has anyone ever told you that? Because you are," she said warmly and took the clothes from Tresillian. She meant every word. She was going to change out of this godforsaken outfit, and then she was going to burn it.
Neo waved with another bright smile to the child as he left for dinner. Then she headed for the changing room, the warmth and good cheer drained out of her face. Expressionless--alert, but neutral--she walked up the stairs and entered the second room on the right.
The silhouette with his knife was starting to become a familiar fixture. She smiled at it too, but the smile was more of a grimace than anything else--a contortion of muscles. "We should talk," she said. "But I'd like to change first, if you don't mind."
it sat in the changing room, smiling as always. the haze in neo's mind ensured she would never see it for what it was. the butterfly knife twirled in its hands; it wore a look of sharp eyes and a dead smile, but what neo couldn't see, she couldn't know of. the knife snapped shut.
"you would like to talk? most certainly," it said, breath heavy in its syllables, "and i shall turn the other way while you change."
it didn't seem to be subject to the laws that governed both the real world and the land of nightmares or even the dream world. it slipped through a gap in the wall, and the hole sealed itself after it passed through.
"tell me when you're ready."
---
tresillian watched the child as it washed its hands and got ready for dinner.
"would you like to ask your new friend to come down to dinner when she's ready?"
The knife scared her, but Neo tried not to mind it. It wasn't going to hurt her with it--or it had passed up quite a few chances to already anyway.
"If you can do that," she said, raising her voice slightly to be heard through the wall, "how am I supposed to know that you can't see through walls as well as walk through them?"
Nevertheless, she changed quickly. The t-shirt was comfortable although far too large on her, but she didn't mind (and the blue ditto ranger on the shirt was her favorite). She slipped on the coat, which was long enough to hide her general lack of clothing. All in all, it was an improvement. Granted, anything would've been an improvement.
Neo knocked on the wall for Butterfly Knife's attention. "Okay. I'm good."
She waited for him to return. She wasn't too pleased with him. "So, who the hell are you? And why am I here, in this time, in this place? Because you didn't mention, and I didn't care enough to ask earlier."
it returned from the other room, and perched itself atop a stool.
"i am the third point in the battle. i take no sides, as i have told you. i brought you here because it's the beginning of everything -- you started your conquest from juno, as the rest of eos does. would you rather appear before professor cypress? would he have offered you help, over a decade ago while he was still buried amongst books?"
it paused.
"i offered you an exit. the land will know if you leave while it is active; i chose a dormant point to release you from. the land has yet to wake at that point in time.
"when you open this door, it will be precisely thirty-six hours from what i call a redsky phenomenon. the skies turn red and the sun will dim -- just like what you saw a moment ago. it cannot be prevented, but at least eos will be aware of what happened.
"i wish you luck."
and with that, the silhouette disappeared and a knock sounded from the other end of the door.
"leonida?" it was the child. "tresillian asks if you want to join us for dinner. we've got chocolate souffle for dessert, but if you don't want to, that's fine." there was a pause as it shuffled outside the door for a while.
"That's a lot of cryptic bullshit," Neo said. It was a statement of fact. She wasn't complaining; she liked a good mystery, even if now was not the best time for one.
She stared at him impassively while he talked, until her brows furrowed into a faint scowl when it wished her luck. The benevolence was disturbing. At least it was genuine, but finding a friendly (if unseen) face in the Land of Nightmares felt too good to be true.
"Thanks," she said, putting in some effort to sound genuine. She meant it, but it was hard to sound even halfway pleasant in her current state.
It was difficult when she tried for Butterfly Knife's sake, anyway. It was easier for the child. "Actually, I have to go," she called out through the door. "It's quite important, I'm sorry."
Neo touched the doorknob, didn't turn it yet, and paused. She laughed, too softly to be heard by anyone else, except maybe Butterfly Knife if it was still listening. "Delta's a good name. I like it."
She opened the door, and the Land of Nightmares faded away.
Neo stared at Tresilian for perhaps a second too long before she was certain it was him. After that, she was content just to stand still, glancing up at the red sky every now and then. "Sorry for the trouble," she said to the butler while she waited. "Does the sky do this thing often around here?"
