"You can't just be inviting the entire town here, y'know?" "I know, Rai, but she doesn't have anywhere else to stay!" "Okay, but only for the night, y'know." "Thank you Mr. Rai. I promise I won't be any trouble." "Alright, you're with Vivi so I guess I'll trust you. Good night, y'know." "Urgh... right. 'Night."
* * *
The first pair landed roughly on the ground, Jacquelyn sprawled atop Riku. She grinned sheepishly, then quickly picked herself up, fangirliness abated. "Heheh, sorry..." she said as she offered him a hand then lifted him to his feet. "Ahh! Uh, thanks... I'm Riku." "I-I'm, uh, Jeris." "Hm. Where are we?" The two dusted themselves off as they looked around for clues. They were in forest, on an obviously well used path. The sounds of people could be heard coming from one direction, so after a glance and shrug, they headed that way.
* * *
"Whoa-aaah! OOF!" Joshua and Sora were dropped ungracefully, on their rear and face respectively, onto some concrete. "Ouch... Where am I? And who're you?" Sora inquired as he picked himself up off his face. Joshua rubbed his sore bottom as he replied. "My name's Joshua. It looks like we were teleported into a city... It's gotta be Traverse Town!" "Ugh... where?" "You don't know? Oh right, we just left Destiny Islands, so you haven't been here yet. Let's go check it out!" "Uuuh... okay." Shaking off his blank confused stare, Sora followed Josh out from behind the dumpsters and out of the alley. "This... doesn't really look like Traverse Town..."
* * *
Sara stretched as she was woken by the sunlight leaking in the window. Yawning but well rested, she glanced around her, realizing that she wasn't at home. This freaked her out at first, but as the previous night's events came back to her she relaxed. Well, mostly. She still wasn't sure where she was or how she'd gotten there... Oh well, she thought, nothing else to do but go downstairs and figure it out I guess.
As she made her way to the bottom, she could see Rai in the kitchen making pancakes. Vivi was sitting at the table fidgeting in anticipation of the meal. "Morning!" he greeted her happily, waving a fork in the air delightedly. "Yeah, good morning, y'know." "Hmm... morning guys. Tell me again where I am?" she replied as she poured some orange juice in a glass. "We're in Traverse Town! We spent the night at Rai's house 'cuz he's letting me stay here! Today I'll show you around and introduce you to my friends!" "But first, breakfast, y'know?" They sat down and munched silently on the slightly charred pancakes, enjoying them none the less. They'd barely started when suddenly the door was thrown wide open, slamming loudly into the wall. The trio jumped as Seifer barged in unannounced. "What's the hold up boys? You were supposed to meet me for practice an hour ago." "Sorry, we kinda got off to a slow start, y'know?" "Hmph. I can see that. Who's your female friend? Nice PJs by the way, girlie." "Humph! Name's Sara. Who wants to know?" she answered with a glare. "Wow, cheeky aren't we? Not that I care, I only came for these two. Vivi can take you clothes shopping after practice. You guys hurry it up!" Rai and Vivi shoveled faster, finishing in seconds and grabbing their things. They were nearly out the door when they remembered the girl still eating at their table. "If it's alright with you, Rai, I'll just stay here until you're back. I don't want to be running around in my pajamas all over town. If I get bored I'll even do the dishes for you." With a nod from Rai, the guys were out the door in a flash and Sara went back to eating... at a more human pace.
* * *
The two older teens strolled down the dirt path and into the town. No one did more than glance at them and give them a wide berth as they went on their ways. A quick "Welcome to Oakvale, obey the law" was all they got out of the guards so at Jeris' insistence they headed for the tavern. "Oakvale... Now where do I know that from? Oakva- Oakvale! This is Fable, we're in Albion!" "So you know this place then?" "Mm, mhmm. You could say I spent a lot of time here... I know this, uh country, pretty intimately." Riku looked a little unsure about that statement, but didn't comment. "We can hang out and plan our next move in the tavern. Besides, I'm thirsty!"
* * *
Sora and Josh stepped out into the city and looked around. Picking a random direction, they started off down the street, observing people and buildings for possible clues as to where they were. The city's buildings were huge and people crowded the streets going about their apparently busy schedules. "Wow... I wish I had a mini map..." "A what?" "Never mind, let's just keep looking around. Something about the city's layout was very familiar to Josh and his eyes scrutinized everything in an attempt to recognize something. Within the space of a heartbeat he was rewarded. A patrolling female police officer with glaringly un-uniform hair told him exactly what world he was in and a quick sprint around a corner told him what city he'd landed in. A sign labeling the building he'd stopped at read "Pokémon Center" and across from it was another proclaiming "Welcome to flower filled Goldenrod City!". He was in Johto!
* * *
Her breakfast finished and the dishes done, Sara was upstairs washing her face. Luckily her hair hadn't gotten tangled during the night because she didn't have her own brush. Actually, she thought as she stared into the mirror above the sink, it was still nice and... styled. Everything was pretty clean, even her PJs weren't wrinkled more than was fashionable. Duh, game world! This world isn't so bad, she thought with a smile. As she dried her hands, the front door opened downstairs and she could hear someone coming up. Well, that wasn't a long practice... She left the bathroom and was met at the top of the stairs by a slightly older girl with short white hair.
"Hm?" "Um, hi... Rai is letting me stay here..." "Sara?" "Yeah, that's me!" "Oh." The white haired girl started looking around and went to check another room. "Did they forget something?" "Bat." "Oh, like Vivi's! I'll help you look." They checked up and down the hallway until Sara finally found it kicked halfway under a chair. "Here it is, found it!" "Thanks." She took the bat and started to leave without another word. "Wait, you didn't even tell me your name!" "Fuu." "Oh. Okay then. See you later I guess." "Bye."
* * *
"There you are then, miss. 450 gold for your trouble. Drinks are on the house today for all that hard work!" The barman paid her and set two full tankards on the bar. Jeris thanked him and carried them over to the table where a very exhausted looking Riku was sitting. Her face was slightly red and her hair just a bit out of place, but her breathing was even as she grinned smugly and sipped her beverage. "I don't know why you're so tired. You used to race Sora all over that island back home." "Once. Or twice and not while carrying cargo. What is that anyway?" "I think its mead... or some kinda rum. It's not all that disgusting and besides, I had him water it down with the kid's mead so it's not even strong." "I don't drink." "'Neither do I'. That's why I gave it away and got the kids' mead instead. I think it's actually root beer." She smiled and pushed him his mug. He sighed and took a gulp. "Yeah, I think you're right. It's a little flat though." They relaxed and she tried to tie the sack of money to her pant loop. Predictably, it did not work well. "Hmm... I'll be right back, don't wander too far." "Don't worry, I'm not moving anytime soon." She smiled smugly again at him and trotted out of the tavern. He took another swig then collapsed back onto the table.
* * *
Sora just stood and watched as Josh sped from one hapless trainer to another, a waist high pink lizard-rabbit thing beside him. Each time he approached one they'd pose in some kind of lame battle stance and toss a ball to the ground. Another monster would appear and the two would fight until one was left unconscious. Then the losing trainer would hand over their money and recall their comatose beastie. After an hour of this, Joshua ran back to his side panting and zapped the pink thing back into the red and white ball he carried. "Ha-haa! Now we've got plenty of money! Let's go shopping!"
* * *