Session 26, VP2

The group left the home of Riina and Hilde with buoyed spirits. Back at Lauren’s home, they all turned in for a well-deserved rest. Thunder echoed through the night, reaching into some of their dreams. 

Dawn revealed the weather hadn’t improved, though the rain had lessened slightly in intensity. Ariela woke with no trace of the lingering food poisoning she had been suffering from. If anything, she felt better than she had before eating the Purple Berry. When Reinhold and Bronze asked her to accompany them on their morning run, she happily obliged. 

Lauren noticed Leana was on a hushed phone call in their home office. Though she was certainly giving off a stressed aura, she mouthed that everything was okay, and that she would talk to Lauren when the call was done. Erik was nowhere to be seen- nor was breakfast. Lauren took the initiative to prepare food for everyone. 

The runners realized they should have brought rain gear but were able to buy some ponchos at a small shop on their way. As they neared the apex of their route, the group could see flashing lights coming from the direction of the Ohmslo Conductor Tower. Curious, they decided to head in that direction to investigate. 

Just as Lauren was getting to the crucial part of their cooking, Leana came over to ask them to talk briefly. Sylvie and Donner eagerly stepped in to take over the kitchen, despite their inexperience. In a calm, quiet voice, Leana explained that the storm became unexpectedly bad during the night. Several fires had been started by lightning, including one at the high school. Erik was fine and was on his way back home at the moment. Thankfully, the rain had been able to counter the flames at most of the afflicted buildings, but…Lauren could practically feel their mother wince internally before continuing: the park that Lauren and Rune used to frequent, the place they spent so much of their childhood, had been burnt down to cinders. 

With the firefighters in town working on saving the homes and businesses, no one could be spared to fight the blaze that raged through the peaceful greenery. Even without the vault active, Lauren was able to push that information down for the moment. Leana kissed their forehead and held onto one of their cheeks gently for a moment. Though she knew this news would hurt Lauren, she had also learned that her child needed to process things in their own time. Changing the subject, she led Lauren into the kitchen to see if Donner and Sylvie’s efforts were salvageable. 

Outside, the rest of the group reached the base of the Ohmslo Conductor. Despite the inclement weather, a small mob of citizens were milling about in a state bordering confusion and panic. Several uniformed police and firefighters were doing their best to keep the people away from the nearby coastal cliff, with little success. 

Ariela attempted to lift Bronze up to see above the crowd, while Reinhold found someone nearby to speak to. The man was in a mild state of shock, and kept insisting that “it was gone”. When Reinhold asked if the beach had flooded, the man shook his head, repeating that it was “gone”. At a loss for words, he gestured in the direction of the cliff. 

Reinhold took care to give the police a wide berth as he walked up to the cliff edge. Something about the view was off, but it took a few seconds for it to click in his mind. Tilligan’s Beach had sat at the base of this coastal cliff, reached by a long, rock staircase. But now… Roughly half-way down the cliff-face, a series of jagged striations in the rock below arched up and down in a long line. The “gaps” seem to have swallowed up the entire bottom of the cliff. Stone measured in the tons was missing, shorn off into the sea. The beach that had been connected to that same rock no longer existed, having sunken completely into the abyss. 

Extremely alarmed, Reinhold returned to his two fellow trainers and brought them up to speed. In silence, they began to wind their way back to the Halvorsson household, their footsteps feeling twice as heavy as before. 

Back at home, Sylvie and Donner had been excitedly adding whatever seasonings smelled good to the omelets and pancakes. This had the rather unfortunate effect of rendering the food unpalatable, though Leana did her best to hide that fact. She tactfully praised the two for their work and asked them to help set up drinks for everyone. With a wink, she and Lauren began preparing some alternatives for breakfast. 

Erik arrived home, drenched and smelling of soot. Lauren fetched him a towel to dry off. Their father looked about to hug them, before hesitating so as not to soak Lauren. Shortly after Erik had dried and changed, the rest of the party returned. While the meal was concluding, the runners explained what they had seen at the cliffs. As our heroes discussed these events, it was clear Leana and Erik were confused: wasn’t this just a natural disaster? Why were Lauren and their friends talking about it as if it were something to confront? 

For a moment, the group fell silent. Lauren hesitantly began to explain the truth behind what the group had encountered in Drillsberg. Whether or not their parents believed the more fantastical elements was unclear, but when Lauren alluded to the group “putting Gudbrund down”, they immediately grew concerned. In a protective tone, Leana spoke directly to Lauren, ignoring the rest of those present: were they okay? Were they safe with these new friends? Lauren did their best to allay the parental fears, but it was clear a further discussion would be had later. Erik gently led Leana to their bedroom, to give both groups some space. 

The party sat awkwardly for a few moments, unsure how to proceed. Ariela looked out the nearest window and started. Like a stray puppy, Sixten was glowering outside the kitchen window. She rushed to let him inside, and the group confusedly asked him why he was outside. He explained that “no one invited me in, and I didn’t want to be rude”. Though exasperating, this at least got the group talking again. Once Sixten had quit sulking, Lauren gently spoke up. The destruction of the cliffs rang an unfortunately familiar bell in their head. They had wondered many times if they would ever share the Pelipper that had been weighing on their neck…and it seemed the time had come. 

Fighting to keep a tremor from their voice, Lauren explained that they had been suffering a terrible recurring nightmare for years. One that felt both prophetic and true. Taking a hand each from Sylvie and Donner, Lauren closed their eyes and opened their mind. There was silence in the kitchen, as our heroes felt themselves living through Lauren’s personal hell. Each image felt as vivid as they had so many years ago, sickening and disturbing in equal measure. 

The vision faded, leaving an aftertaste of death in everyone’s mouths. No one was sure what to say, or how to proceed. Having now experienced it first-hand, they could all feel how the nightmare felt more like a warning, an ill promise of the future. Why fate had been so cruel as to burden their friend with this, they did not know. But, as one, they swore that they would stand beside Lauren to meet whatever may come. No matter the cost. 

In time, the topic was changed to the group’s next plans. Several of them wanted to do some last-minute restocking at the mall before leaving town. Remembering how they had planned to meet with Hilde at some point today, Lauren was able to put their focus elsewhere, at least for a time. 

Once they had reached the Ohmslo Ohmodome, Bronze set up a small stand to hawk some of her hand-made Pokéballs. The rest of the group split up to gather various supplies. Sixten stayed near Bronze’s “shop” to act as “security”, much to Bronze’s indifference. 

With their money spent, the party regrouped at the mall’s entrance to wait for Hilde’s arrival. Once she joined them, Lauren got themselves into “Professor mode”: with the donations of their friends, they were able to offer Hilde three Pokémon to choose from for her starting journey. After some debate, she decided to choose Bronze’s Flabebe. The two new partners seemed to get along great, as Hilde thanked our heroes once again. She swore to do her best on her own journey and wished everyone safe travels until they met again. 

The talk of leaving caused Reinhold to turn to Sixten. Using Hilde as an example, he insisted that Sixten should get a Pokémon of his own. Nonchalantly doing repeated backflips, Sixten explained that he didn’t need anyone’s help to be a hero. Recalling how Sixten had asked him to spar the other day, Reinhold took out a glove and threw it at Sixten’s feet. 

It was hard to tell if Sixten was more surprised or elated when he realized that he would be getting the fight after all. Reinhold told him to meet up atop the Ohmslo Conductor in an hour, and Sixten ran off with zeal. The party took their time getting there, taking in a few small sights in the city. Given the heavy rain, the viewing deck of the Tower was empty of townsfolk. Sixten stared off at the wind-swept sea with his arms crossed. 

Reinhold levied the terms of the fight: if Sixten won, Reinhold would recognize his abilities to fight alone. If Reinhold won, Sixten would need to get a Pokémon. The rest of the group stood nearby to observe the battle. Remembering they hadn’t yet eaten the watermelon, everyone but Donner began enjoying a slice. Similar to Rusty’s Purple Berry, there were some strange side-effects. This time, at least, they weren’t unpleasant. The melon seemed to make them all feel utterly relaxed- and made them all want to swim, for some reason. 

Once both fighters were ready, the brawl began. Wind and rain danced around the combatants as they traded savage blows back and forth. Reinhold quickly gained the upper hand, mocking Sixten’s flippant attitude. Before his sentence was finished, he lashed out with a surprise kick, catching Sixten in the chin. There was no glee or mirth in Reinhold’s face as he explained that the foes Sixten might face would not fight fair. There would be enemies who wanted nothing more than to take a life, to whom honor meant nothing. Wiping blood from his jaw, Sixten’s eyes hardened as he fell silent. 

Enraged, the younger man began launching a flurry of blows at Reinhold. Several of them were blocked, but a few landed. As Reinhold cracked a smile, and began to praise Sixten’s seriousness, Sixten sucker punched Reinhold in the stomach. “So, I should fight like this then?” he said with a grim smile. 

Reinhold regained his wind from the blow and nodded. Punches and kicks blazed through the air. Sixten was clearly getting angrier, but Reinhold kept his cool. With a roar, Sixten ran forward for a lunging strike- and began to lose his footing on the wet floor. Seizing the chance, Reinhold swung his arms up and over in a hammer blow, driving Sixten head-first into the ground. Both fighters were bloodied and bruised…but Sixten did not get back up to his feet. 

Reinhold reached down and put one of Sixten’s arms over his shoulder as the young man woozily came back to his senses. The rest of the party broke out with light applause before wandering off to find somewhere to swim indoors. Reinhold let the group know that he would meet up with them after he and Sixten had gotten patched up. 

After visiting an urgent care, the two martial artists had a brief heart-to-heart. Reinhold explained that he took no joy in beating Sixten as he had. His goal was to impress upon him the need to have allies to rely upon when trying to stand up to protect others. Sixten took a moment, before saying that he understood, and thanking Reinhold. 

Satisfied, Reinhold called Donner, recalling that he was the only one who hadn’t been acting strangely. Donner gave him the address of an indoor community pool that the group was relaxing at, clearly a bit frazzled. The veteran mentioned his worries that, being unable to swim, he wouldn’t be able to help if anyone needed it in the water. Reinhold assured him that he and Sixten were on their way. 

The duo went straight to the address- after stopping for ice cream, of course. When they entered the building, they could see the group all drifting lazily around the pool in water wings. Donner mentioned that he had been able to convince them all to wear them for safety reasons. Reinhold decided to join the rest of the group in the pool for a bit. 

The group looked over to see if Sixten would be joining them, but didn’t see him: instead, a middle-aged man stood in his place. The man gave them a wink, wiggled his handaxe at them, and calmly left the building. Clearly, Sixten’s weapon had more powers than they had seen thus far. 

After a few hours, the watermelon’s effects faded. Pruny, and slightly embarrassed, the group began walking back to the Halvorsson home. Lauren’s parents were sitting at the kitchen table when the group arrived. It looked like they had been deep in a conversation. Before Lauren could say anything, Leana took Erik’s hand. Though addressing Lauren directly, she spoke for the whole group to hear. 

The two of them had realized that, despite their anxieties, this was clearly the happiest Lauren had been in years. They would worry, as was their right, but they didn’t want to stifle Lauren’s recovery and growth. She ended by telling her child how much they both loved and trusted them. 

The silence afterwards was warm, but slightly uncomfortable…until Erik leaned around Leana to simply state “I got a cake.” This broke the tension, and our heroes sat once more at the kitchen table. 

The next morning, every member of the party woke with lingering vestiges from the shared nightmare. Though they felt a bit drained, it was not enough to hinder their plans. Lauren and the rest said a warm farewell to the Halvorssons after one final breakfast. 

The rain falling was lighter than the day before, as they once more re-entered the Varfjell Fields. Each of them was leaving Ohmslo changed from their stay. Things had been learned; things had been gained; relationships had been deepened. Though the future was an unknown, and now seemed darker, there was comfort in knowing that they all would be welcome to return to this city. No matter how deep the shadows before them would grow, these past few days had cemented the fact that they would face whatever came together: united by bonds of friendship and blood.