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[Pokémon] A Smell of Petroleum Pervades Throughout

Cutlerine

Gone. May or may not return.
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> So JASMINE IS THE STRANGER ?

The Narrator was not aware that it was a secret, particularly. You've been calling her 'Jasmine' for quite some time now, and even without that you could've guessed from the whole 'got eaten by a Steelix' thing.

> I uh... She uh... Um... Wow...
Yeah, anyway... Let her join the party and head back down, and then head to the helicopter.
And oh, maybe let Vesta make a comment? >.>


"Wugh," you say, stupefied. "You're beautiful."

Smooth, Othodox. Real smooth.

Jasmine looks amazed – or as amazed as someone with only part of her face left intact can look, anyway.

"Really?"

You nod.

"Yeah. Really."

She smiles, and steely light twinkles in the pit of her missing eye.

"THANK YOU."

"Um. Hm. Oh. Right," you say, finally getting some semblance of control over yourself. "This is what's happened so far..."

Once again, you recount your tale; this time, though, you add in the stuff that happened since your coracle was wrecked on the Whirl Islands.

"I SEE," she says. "THIS STATUETTE. I KNOW IT."

"You do?"

"YES." Jasmine hesitates. "IT IS CTHULHU, THE GREAT GOD OF THE DEEP ONES. THE ONE WHO LIES, DEAD AND DREAMING, IN THE PIT OF HIS TEMPLE AT R'LYEH."

"Oh." Then you pause. Cthulhu lies dreaming? There's that word again, popping up everywhere you go; everything is a dream, or is dreaming, or runs on dream-logic. What does it mean? "The Professor's probably working on the inscription right now," you say. "Come on. I think it's time you went outside."

"YES..." Jasmine turns to look out through the glass, to where the sea glimmers and roils under the sun. "OUTSIDE..." She turns back to you. "ALL RIGHT," she says. "I THINK I'M READY."

You smile encouragingly.

"Come on, then," you say, and take her cold metal hand.

Jasmine has joined the party!

---

Jasmine loves it outside.

Unfortunately, she doesn't get much of a chance to enjoy it.

Almost as soon as you step outside you notice that there's something wrong with the helicopter; it only takes a couple more seconds for you to realise that it's groaning under the weight of a huge growth of grey coral. A long trail of the stuff snakes down the road and off into the sea – where, you realise with a feeling of rising dread, it probably terminates inside that can of FLAVOURSOME PASTE.

"Professor?" you call, running over. "Professor, are you—"

Then you see him: covered in blood, lying face-down on the ground.

I don't think he's OK, says Vesta unnecessarily.

"Oh Christ," you say.

"Save it," wheezes Elm weakly. "For God's sake, Othodox, there's a time and place for that – but not now."

Your eyes widen.

"You're alive?" you whisper.

"Yeah," he says. "Now would you kindly help me up?"

"Oh," you say. "Sure."

You offer him a hand and he gets to his feet.

"It's not as bad as the blood suggests," he says, indicating his blood-drenched clothes. "Really. The coral just... it moves fast." He turns his head to the right and shows you his neck. "Look."

You look, and then you flinch. There is a crust of grey coral fastened there like a monstrous scab; the skin around it has rippled and swollen into a grotesque weal.

"I think I may have found my starter Pokémon," Elm says, turning back and letting his collar fall into place. "I think it was the thing in the dark – an Eldritch Corsola."

Jasmine arrives. Slower and heavier than you, it has taken her a lot longer to get here; running is hard for her, especially on sand or earth.

"OH GOD," she says. "PROFESSOR ELM? IS THAT YOU?"

"Jasmine?" he replies. "Is that you?"

"OH. UM, YEAH," she says, shyly. "HELLO. ARE YOU OK?"

"Yes, I'm fine," he replies. "I have a parasitic Eldritch Corsola latched onto my neck, but other than that, I'm fine."

"THAT DOESN'T SOUND GOOD," she says uneasily.

"No, it isn't," agrees Elm. "It's probably going to metastasise and turn me entirely into coral, at which point it'll form a new Corsola."

"WON'T THAT KILL YOU?"

"I'd be more afraid if it didn't," replies Elm. "Wouldn't you?"

Jasmine knows all about not being able to die.

"AH," she says. "I SUPPOSE I WOULD BE."

"Professor," you say. "You still haven't said. What the hell happened?"

"The thing in the dark must have been an Eldritch Corsola," he said. "My starter. Now, Corsola are made of coral – thousands of tiny individual organisms. It just dropped one of them into the helicopter and left us alone."

"The can of paste," you say, seeing where this is going.

Elm nods.

"Exactly. The polyp burrowed into the can and managed to survive for a little while on that. Then you threw it into the sea, which apparently gave it a huge burst of energy – I'm guessing there must be plenty to feed on down there, because it spread massively in a very short while. It hit the helicopter again, looking for me – but I saw it just in time and managed to get out with only a little bit stuck to me."

You frown.

"If it grows so fast, how come it hasn't eaten you yet?"

"It makes no sense for it to try and kill me too quickly," he said. "It's feeding off me, so it'll do its best not to kill me until there's nothing left for it to eat. I'm hoping that means I'm going to live long enough to finish translating the statuette inscription."

"You seem very calm..."

Elm sighs.

"Othodox. I knew I would end up dead if I followed you out of the cave. I don't know how, but I did, and I made my peace when I chose to come with you. Maybe that's the rule now; maybe no one can survive except you. Falkner, me, Jasmine... even Vesta. We're all NPCs. We're not the heroes."

You look at Jasmine.

"You...?"

She nods slowly.

"I THINK HE'S RIGHT," she says. "WE'VE ALL BEEN LIVING AS IF WE'RE DEAD... NOW WE'RE REBORN, BUT IT CAN'T LAST. THE DEAD CAN'T COME BACK PERMANENTLY."

"This is the story of Othodox and how he saved the world," Elm says. There is a sadness in his voice that lends him an age he does not have. "And I think, in the end... it leaves no room for anyone else."

> After doing what jagold suggested ( damn new rules) Maybe having a "debate" to what are we doing next ??? Also it would be a good idea heading back to ecruteak were we are protected by the gengar's power.And now i realize that we haven't visited goldenrod city yet....hmmm

Yes, you haven't visited Goldenrod yet. You also haven't visited Azalea, or Blackthorn, or Mahogany, but God forbid you make a potential plot point out of any of those.

"Anyway," says Elm, brightening a little. "What we've got to do next is get rid of the coral somehow so I can finish translating the inscription. I think I'm close to cracking it now – mostly, it's figuring out which direction the writing's meant to go in, and then that's pretty much it."

"Uh – um," you say, still reeling from what he said earlier. "Right. Of course."
 
15
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10
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O_O

...

wow.

Well Goldenrod is scary and I want to ask Jasmine what she can do (Our first encounter with her left me thinking she had powers of some sort - how did she know you needed the lift sent down? Did she go and press the button then run back to her dark corner or can she control other metal things? I don't know - I could be completely wrong and deserving of one of the Narrator's quips but I'm putting it out there)
But I think the first priority is Elm. Has anybody got any ideas? How deep is it attached to him? Can Jasmine pull it off? Can Vesta burn it off? (carefully of course)
Oh- can we use a master ball on it? will that teleport it off of Elm?
 
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11
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  • Seen Aug 21, 2014
I'm not sure that Vesta could burn it off, as Corsola is a Water/Rock type, Vesta's fire and Water and Rock are both defensively strong against Fire.

However, Rock types are weak against Steel type moves. After going through all other possibilities (and I mean all other possibilities), try using your Highly Persuasive Handgun if the polyp is still on Elm's neck.
 

destinedjagold

You can contact me in PC's discord server...
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Well, since everyone else spoke a few of my concerns, here's the other one: remove the coral from the chopper.
 

Cutlerine

Gone. May or may not return.
1,030
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14
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> But I think the first priority is Elm. Has anybody got any ideas? How deep is it attached to him? Can Jasmine pull it off? Can Vesta burn it off? (carefully of course)
Oh- can we use a master ball on it? will that teleport it off of Elm?
> However, Rock types are weak against Steel type moves. After going through all other possibilities (and I mean all other possibilities), try using your Highly Persuasive Handgun if the polyp is still on Elm's neck.


"Right," you say. "Hold still. I'm going to try and burn it off."

Burn? I like burning.

"Yes, Vesta," you say. "Time to burn."

You grab Elm's shoulder, and he blanches.

"The hell are you doing?"

"I'm going to try and burn it off you."

"It won't come off," he said. "I can feel its tendrils in my neck – they go right round my throat."

"But you said—"

"I meant get the coral off the helicopter, so I can get the laptop out without being eaten alive," he tells you. "You do want to be able to finish decoding the inscription, right?"

Ah. Well. You certainly feel stupid.

Though in your defence, he didn't exactly make it clear.

> I want to ask Jasmine what she can do (Our first encounter with her left me thinking she had powers of some sort - how did she know you needed the lift sent down? Did she go and press the button then run back to her dark corner or can she control other metal things? I don't know - I could be completely wrong and deserving of one of the Narrator's quips but I'm putting it out there)

Of course you're deserving of one of the Narrator's quips, because the Narrator considers everyone deserving of one of his quips. But don't let me get ahead of myself; let's wait a minute.

"Jasmine," you say. "Do you have any powers? Like, the ability to use Steel moves or something?"

She gives you a look.

"WHAT? WHY WOULD I BE ABLE TO DO THAT?"

"Well, y'know," you say, shifting uncomfortably. "I mean... you knew I needed the lift, and you seemed to send it down without moving from the spot..."

"YOU LEFT THE LIFT DOWN THERE LAST TIME," she reminds you. "I OPENED THE DOOR, YES – USING THE MAIN LIFT CONTROL PANEL UP IN THE LIGHT ROOM. I KNEW YOU WERE COMING BECAUSE I HEARD YOU. I HAVE GOOD HEARING, REMEMBER?"

"Oh yeah," you say. "Heh. I knew that."

You totally didn't. And she knows it.

Damn, Othodox. This is the only girl you've met who isn't made of fire. Don't screw this one up.

> Well, since everyone else spoke a few of my concerns, here's the other one: remove the coral from the chopper.

"Right." You turn to the chopper. "There's... no way we're getting all of that off, is there?"

"I don't think so," says Elm. "The weight has bent the rotors right out of shape, and the tail's sagging – no, I'm afraid to say it's not flying anywhere else. We just need to clear a path to the laptop so I can get it out of there. The generator's screwed now, but I'll work until the battery runs out."

"OK." You turn to Jasmine. "Can you rip that stuff off? You seem... strong."

I could burn it
, suggests Vesta.

"I don't think that'll work, Vesta," you say gently. "Coral doesn't really burn. Especially not Water/Rock type coral."

Could we try? she persists.

"Oh, OK," you say. "Have a quick go."

"I'LL TEAR IT OFF AFTERWARDS," says Jasmine to you in a low voice, or what passes for a low voice for her. She's smiling; perhaps she finds the way you humour Vesta sweet. You certainly hope she does. "YOUR FIRE IS ADORABLE."

You beam at her.

"Isn't she?"

Vesta interrupts any further conversation by shooting a jet of flame at the helicopter's flank; it hits the coral and dissipates almost immediately.

Aw, she says, disappointed. It doesn't burn...

"Never mind, Vesta," you say consolingly. "There'll be other things to burn."

Jasmine steps forwards and brings one slender hand into the morass of coral on the helicopter's floor; it shatters with an unearthly and wholly unexpected shriek, and the rest of it seems to flinch away from her, crawling over the surface of the metal like spilled ink.

"YOU KNOW," she says, "I COULD JUST GO IN AND PICK UP THE LAPTOP. I THINK THE CORAL MIGHT BE SCARED OF ME."

"Well, do that then," says Elm. "But be careful! I mean, it grew over the helicopter. Don't let it grow on you."

Jasmine nods and puts one foot carefully inside the helicopter.

The coral shrinks away.

"I THINK IT'S OK," she says, pulling her other foot up. "YES. IT'S NOT ATTACKING."

She picks up the laptop and tugs out the power cord. Then she jumps back out, landing on the road with such force that she cracks the tarmac asunder.

"HERE," she says, waving the laptop. "GOT I—"

The coral shoots up her arm—

Jasmine sighs and swats it like a fly. It cracks open and falls in chunks to the floor, waving its little tendrils madly. The remnants clump together desperately on her bicep, but she keeps brushing at it; there is colossal strength in her metal fingers, and soon there is nothing at all left but the polished steel gleam of her bare muscles.

"THAT WAS INCONVENIENT," she says – of an attack that would have killed you faster than you could blink. "HERE'S YOUR COMPUTER, PROFESSOR."
 

destinedjagold

You can contact me in PC's discord server...
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whistle in awe... we have a flightless supergirl here. :3
anyway... uh... yeah, i got nothing else. let's wait for other voices to voice their commands. >.>
 
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I think the majority of the other voices are also shocked at her strength.
When was the last time you prayed to Tabiti? I think it would be a good idea to do that.
 

Knightfall

Unforeseen Consequences
31
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10
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I know the odds aren't looking good, but is there a chance that Jasmine can scare the coral off of Elm like she did when she entered the helicopter? It's a long shot, but it's worth a go.

Knightfall signing off...
 
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I think the last thing we want the coral that's in Elm's neck to do is panic. Unless the masterball works without shredding his arteries, spinal chord or larynx, I'm pretty sure there's nothing we can do for him. It's practically a bomb collar.
I suppose if all you can do is wait for elm to finish, and Vesta can't be trained without an opponent, talk with Jasmine. You don't really know her well, ask her about... things you hope won't upset her? Will her memories of her human life upset her because she's a steel zombie now? Will talk of dreams and goals upset her because she thinks she has no future? Other voices should add opinions before you try. Hopefully you should be fine as long as you don't call her a steel zombie.
 
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What if, and I'm not certain of anything, we try to think ahead a little.
Disregarding the coral for now, although it's clearly important, what happens when the Eldritch Quilava (possibly Typhlosion by now) turns up and sets his fiery sights on the metallic body of Jasmine?

Fire is super effective, as we know, against Steel- perhaps we could try and think of a contingency plan for when he/she inevitably turns up and tries to melt Jasmine into a pile of tragic slag.
 

Cutlerine

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> I know the odds aren't looking good, but is there a chance that Jasmine can scare the coral off of Elm like she did when she entered the helicopter? It's a long shot, but it's worth a go.

"Jasmine," you say, as Elm takes the laptop and checks it for any sign of damage, "could you scare the coral off Elm's neck?"

"I DON'T THINK SO," she says. "IT WAS SCARED BECAUSE I PUNCHED IT. I DON'T THINK I CAN PUNCH THE CLUMP ON HIS NECK WITHOUT KILLING HIM."

"Yeah, I'll vote we don't put that to the test," says Elm. "Look, we need to get inside somewhere – I don't know if there's still electricity? I could plug the laptop in, and I think we could use the cover."

"Yeah," you agree. "Makes sense." You point. "That house there should do."

Minutes later, you are comfortably installed in the house on the hill, and, since the electricity is still on (as you proved so long ago with the TV and That Thing, Players rest his warty soul), Elm is soon tapping away at the translation programme.

> When was the last time you prayed to Tabiti? I think it would be a good idea to do that.

You mutter a prayer to Tabiti. Nothing happens, but then again, nothing usually happens right away.

> Talk with Jasmine. You don't really know her well, ask her about... things you hope won't upset her? Will her memories of her human life upset her because she's a steel zombie now? Will talk of dreams and goals upset her because she thinks she has no future?

"So," you say, sitting down next to Jasmine. "How are you?"

"DEAD," she replies. "NO. SORRY, THAT'S HARD TO RESPOND TO."

"It is," you agree.

"FOR NOW... I'M OK," she tells you. "FOR THE FIRST TIME IN SO LONG, THERE ARE... THERE ARE OTHER PEOPLE, AND THERE'S SUNLIGHT, AND..."

A mercury tear trickles down her cheek and splashes dangerously on the fabric of the sofa – but she isn't sad. She's smiling through the remnants of her lips, splintered teeth laid bare in a grin.

"I'M VERY GRATEFUL, OTHODOX," she says. "THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR – FOR RESCUING ME."

You blush a little; it's hard to avoid it when someone says something like that. Especially someone who shines as beautifully as Jasmine does.

"Oh," you say, feigning indifference. "It was nothing, really. I mean – I was just – we need to survive," you finish lamely. "As many of us as we can."

Her smile fades a little.

"WE WON'T LIVE," she tells you. "IN A WAY, OTHODOX, THERE IS NO ONE HERE BUT YOU. ANYONE WHO MEETS YOU CAN TELL IT IMMEDIATELY. THERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT YOU... WE'RE JUST, WELL, EXTRAS. PUPPETS. YOU... YOU'RE SPECIAL." She hesitates. "THIS IS YOUR WORLD NOW," she says. "SINCE THE PLAYERS SPAWNED YOU, THE REST OF US ARE..."

She doesn't finish. Elm's fingers hover over the keyboard, frozen. He's staring ahead, unseeing.

There is silence.

"I don't know about any of that," you say eventually. "Maybe you'll die. Maybe you won't. Maybe I'll die. But let's say that you do, and I do – let's say we all die. Let's say that that Eldritch Quilava tears down the wall and kills the lot of us in ten minutes.

"So we're all dead – but we're not dying slowly in a cave. We're not crying forever in darkened rooms. The sun is shining on us. The monsters have retreated. And we're doing everything we can to fix the break in the world." You catch Elm's eye and draw him out of his blankness; once you have his attention, you turn your gaze on Jasmine. "We're being heroes," you say. "There's no shame in dying like that. Much less than slowly wasting away in the dark."

There is another silence. Then, without a word, Elm returns to his translation, fingers hammering the keys faster than ever.

For her part, Jasmine hugs you – extremely carefully. It's a little like being caught in a very gentle man-trap.

> Fire is super effective, as we know, against Steel- perhaps we could try and think of a contingency plan for when he/she inevitably turns up and tries to melt Jasmine into a pile of tragic slag.

Um... run, I guess?

Seriously, though. What else could you do? Shoot it with the Highly Persuasive Handgun? You're not sure, but you think that might just make it mad.

Hm. Well, y'know, running is still an option.
 
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Do whatever you can to prepare for an attack. The only thing I can think of is making some sort of barricade and plan out an escape route. After that try finding more food, water, lootable stuff.
 
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Feed Vesta and try to train her a little more if you can. If not just rest until Elm is done. Youve been on the move too long in a consistent manner.
 
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Is there anyway to make a shield out of dead coral? Because that would be dead useful against Quilava's ranged attacks. Especially, for Jasmine - can you imagine how convenient it would be if we could shape her a suit of coral? - if she was safe from his fire, she would be strong enough to fight it, probably.
OH! See if Jasmine can grab some polyps and put them in jars or bottles (empty ones) so they can become anti fire grenades!! What if you loaded it into the spratchery and shot it at Quilava!! It's water/rock with heavy defense, there's GOT to be a way to use this. Masterball? Catch what's left in the helicopter?
 

Cutlerine

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1,030
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> Do whatever you can to prepare for an attack. The only thing I can think of is making some sort of barricade and plan out an escape route. After that try finding more food, water, lootable stuff.

You push those items of furniture you don't need in front of the door, and open the window. Then you close the curtains. That way, you're disguised from the outside, but you can jump out easily if you need to.

There is nothing left to loot.

> Is there anyway to make a shield out of dead coral? Because that would be dead useful against Quilava's ranged attacks. Especially, for Jasmine - can you imagine how convenient it would be if we could shape her a suit of coral? - if she was safe from his fire, she would be strong enough to fight it, probably.

Maybe you could, but you haven't actually seen any dead coral, and you don't want to risk putting your hand on any live coral. Besides, you're pretty sure that dead coral would lose whatever makes it so good against fire, and go back to being a rather fragile form of rock. After all, the organism inside would be dead.

> OH! See if Jasmine can grab some polyps and put them in jars or bottles (empty ones) so they can become anti fire grenades!! What if you loaded it into the spratchery and shot it at Quilava!! It's water/rock with heavy defense, there's GOT to be a way to use this. Masterball? Catch what's left in the helicopter?

You think that would break the Spratchery; it can only really handle organic matter, and the calcium carbonate exoskeleton of the coral would seriously mess with its mechanisms.

You put the 'grenade' idea to Elm, though, and he points out that the coral needs to grow on something to stay alive. Otherwise (as pointed out above) you're going to end up just throwing rocks in bottles. Which is awesomely weird, but rather pointless.

Unless you're willing to give up some of your food supply to grow the coral on inside these bottles, it won't work. Your call.

> Feed Vesta and try to train her a little more if you can. If not just rest until Elm is done. Youve been on the move too long in a consistent manner.

You break some floorboards and feed Vesta, which is much appreciated. You can't train her, unfortunately; like all Pokémon, she grows mainly by battling others, and there isn't much she can take on around here.

Since there appears to be nothing else to do, you rest, and soon find yourself asleep.

---

Down, down, down you go; you had almost forgotten about this, so long is it since you last slept away from Lugia's psychic influence, but it all comes back now, and the familiar sickening feeling grabs your stomach and hauls it down towards the ocean floor, dragging you along in its wake.
Bug-eyed fish swim past, twitching and snapping spasmodically; the water fades from blue to black, and then at last to a murky, unearthly green, as you reach the weed-strewn streets of the city that you have at last realised must be R'lyeh. Once again, you follow the Deep Ones in their flopping, graceless march towards the summit of the mountain city, floating through twisted streets lined with wall-eyed temples and hideous grinning houses; you float past statues that remind you unpleasantly of beach-buried idols, and others of five-pointed barrel-like things, always depicted beneath the feet of the cuttle-headed alien thing.

Beneath you, the Deep Ones bay, their voices booming like cannonfire beneath the waves. The thin, monotonous piping grows louder and more insistent; the buildings on either side grow larger and more spectacular; the street rises, and the chanting seems to roll straight through you.

"Iä! Cthulhu!"

And now you can actually see the surface above you, and the Deep Ones are bursting through it into the unbelievable brightness of a tropical midday, onto the beaches that have built up around a great jag of rock like the root of a mountain. Somehow, you are still floating, drifting above them; you see the gaunt black gulls that nest on the upper reaches of the island, circling like vultures; you see the Deep Ones proceeding with awful majesty to the door, vast as the face of a god, that sprawls across the island, and as they take their positions by its side with their levers you hear them cry out something in a language older even than the simian ancestors of humanity.

They plunge the levers down, and the door begins to open—

---

"Hey," says Elm. "Othodox. I've got it!"

"Huh?"

You start awake. It is dark now in the little house, and the only light is that of Elm's laptop screen.

"I've done it," he says. "I've completed the translation!"

"You have?" You are, all at once, very much awake. "Well, let's hear it, then!"

"OK." He scrolls for a moment. "It starts with 'In his house at R'lyeh—'"

"—DEAD CTHULHU LIES DREAMING," finishes Jasmine. "WE KNOW THAT ONE ALREADY."

"Ah. Yes, OK." He coughs. "Well, it goes on: 'The stars once were good, and great Cthulhu and his brood had their mark on the world; but the stars changed, and they could not live. Dead, dreaming; that is not dead which may eternal lie. When the stars align once more, then shall he come to a waking dream, and then shall his servants open wide the tomb-door, and Cthulhu, great High Priest of the Old Ones, shall rise to reclaim what is his.'"

There is a long silence.

"Dreams," you say slowly. "Dreams, always dreams... at least this Cthulhu isn't awake yet."

"YES," agrees Jasmine. "WERE CTHULHU TO WAKE, NONE OF US WOULD SURVIVE. IF EVERY CREATURE IN THE WORLD SIMULTANEOUSLY TURNED ON HIM – EVEN THEN, HE WOULD DESTROY THEM ALL AS CASUALLY AS YOU WOULD SWAT A FLY."

"But obviously the stars have aligned," says Elm. "Which means that these dreams..."

"The waking dream of Cthulhu," you say. "I don't know. Perhaps that's what he's dreaming of. The Deep Ones, come to open his temple and unleash him."

"THEY OBVIOUSLY HAVEN'T DONE IT," observes Jasmine. "HE HASN'T WOKEN. AND IT HAS BEEN YEARS SINCE THIS STARTED..."

"You're right," you agree. "Something must be preventing them from opening it. But the dreams... the dreams, and the time-stop, and the Unown..." You scratch your head. "There's something here, I know it," you sigh. "I can feel it."

But what is it, exactly? You have all the clues now, you realise, all the pieces of the puzzle – but how do they fit together? What is the Dreaming, and why is it happening?

The infection spreads. Elm is Mildly Inconvenienced.


Note: Debate is encouraged here. Please feel free to take as much time as you need.
 
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Mr. Black

Master Of Reality
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The infection spreads. Oh Crap !!! There has to be a way to get that off elm otherwise he will die because the narrator wants it :P
So what's next ??? Maybe visiting the ruins of Alph ( or Goldenrod ??) ?? Maybe there is something there related to the unown...maybe an inscription on the wall of a ruin ???
And what about Lyra (?) she had made a weird call earlier right ???
 
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25
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11
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  • Seen Aug 21, 2014
Well, since Cutlerine said to debate, I've decided to put some of what I've taken note of here.
~~~
A part of the puzzle has to do with the prevails/pervades phrase.
====
Phrase
--
Call: A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.
Title/Remembering: A smell of petroleum pervades throughout.
====
Definitions
--
prevail:
1. To be greater in strength or influence; triumph: prevailed against the enemy.
2. To be or become effective; win out: hoped justice would prevail.
3. To be most common or frequent; be predominant: a region where snow and ice prevail.
4. To be in force, use, or effect; be current: an ancient tradition that still prevails.
5. To use persuasion or inducement successfully. Often used with on, upon, or with. See Synonyms at persuade.

The fourth definition makes the most sense in context with the phrase. Rephrasing it using the fourth definition in mind gives "A smell of petroleum is in force throughout".

pervade: to spread through or throughout, esp subtly or gradually; permeate

This phrase is rewritten as "A smell of petroleum is gradually spreading throughout".
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Rephrased Phrases
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Call Def 4: A smell of petroleum is in force throughout.
Title Def: A smell of petroleum is gradually spreading throughout.

I normally would find how the two would relate to each other, but a quick scan of the beginning of the adventure made me realize that "Lyra" was the person who gave us the call phrase (I forgot to write that down when I made that note). There was also a "Bloodstained Mail" by Lyra. Although the contents of the message are to be a bit expected, the way it was delivered wasn't.
Are the Lyra from the mail and the Lyra from the call the same?
If they are, who's blood is on the letter? I doubt it would be her's, unless she was bleeding at the time that she wrote it. It makes some sense that it could be someone else's blood.
If they aren't, then who has Lyra's PokeGear? What happened to Lyra? Could the person have knocked off Lyra, and thus it's her blood on the letter?
When was the letter written?

...Yeah, some of my notes are questions. Anyways, I think that whoever is on the other end of Lyra's PokeGear has something to do with this.
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Commands
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> Do you have your PokeGear? See if you can call Lyra up again.
> Also, how exactly are we going to get to Goldenrod or the Ruins of Alph from Olivine? Head to Ecruteak first, you may be able to get some protection for Elm and Jasmine because they're with you.
> Completely random idea here, but smell the air.
 
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  • Seen May 12, 2021
I actually did a little research and discovered that the phrase "a smell of petroleum prevails throughout" is what a man answered was the secret of the universe. However, the original wording I discovered was "a strong smell of turpentine prevails throughout." This probably doesnt mean anything though.

Another thing. All the talk of the Deep Ones is strictly Lovecraftian. And what the Deep Ones want is to reclaim the world they left behind. The Dreaming is a means to this end. Im not sure how.

We also have the Bad Egg. Usually, when a Bad Egg hatched in game, the game would freeze and youd be forced to restart. I think thats whats going to happen here. The Bad Egg is going to hatch and force restart the universe.

My Command to further the narrative: Check on the Bad Egg and discuss the mystery of Lyra with Elm, who may know where she is, and Jasmine.
 
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