What in the world can this possibly mean? Arashi wondered numbly, while conferring upon his new companion the name Zelimer, which carried the meaning 'wishes for peace' - a sentiment that Arashi could really get behind right now. Perhaps there had been a new variant of Pokerus, which changed the traits of the Pokemon to catch it? Could the Pokemon be mutant? What if this Pokemon was, like this place, not naturally occurring? Well, he wouldn't treat Zelimer any different to how he would if he were normal, that much was certain. Unnerving that someone had managed to plant something on him in the night, though. Perhaps with the aid of a Psychic type or a Ghost type? Or maybe someone with those traits - if Sabrina could have funky powers, who else could, after all? "Did either of you notice when these were delivered?" He breathed to the others, gesturing at what had been left for him.

As he was caught up in wondering about the odd gift, he had not yet noticed that the Beedrill had driven them towards what he now thought of as the 'Grandpappy Tree', seeing as he had referred to it as the grandpappy of all trees. That would likely hit him soon enough, but the sound of a massive beast, possibly a Tyranitar, was very distracting. "What say you we forage as we go, and head towards the Grandpappy Tree? I'm not keen to meet whatever it is that's just woken up cranky. We should stop for a drink, though."

Gabriel froze when he heard the roar, Cynder fluttering up to nestle up by her trainer's neck as he looked out, wide-eyed, in the direction the roar had come from. "I would have to agree with you, Arashi." He looked back at Jake and bit him lip. "Should we try to check his wounds now or after we get to where we need to be?" he questioned, glancing at the other's Pokeball. "Your new Pokemon could help us a lot later on," he commented, offering a smile of congratulations. 

Hearing the roar, Jake jumped up and ran out the entrance, ushering the others out before he himself barged out. He slung Spark over his shoulder and spoke loudly over the nearby crashing of the brush, "Good idea Arashi. Lets all head over to the "grandpappy tree" and try to keep out of sight of whatever it is. I wouldn't want to face something with that much force without a full Pokemon team." 

"We can check Jake's status later, as his condition seems stable for now. That creature we can't see is the priority right now." Arashi responded, in full agreement with the others about the necessity of their retreat. While he was glad of the new addition to his party, particularly given the healing nature of Aromatherapy, he was deeply disconcerted by the manner of arrival - and that the others had been just as surprised as he. "I don't think it's close by," He added, in motion now, "But for the sound to carry the way it is, there must be an extensive windpipe - it has to be something huge, and I don't want to tangle with it any more than you." Hopefully, he mused, they'd actually be able to eat and drink without disturbance on their way.

"Here, follow me into the river. If we walk in the shallows, it will mask our scent, and at this point, we should take every extra precaution," he said, stepping into the river. It was surprisingly warm, and he waded deeper until he was up to his knees in the rushing water. He looked up, located the grandpappy tree, and walked downstream in that direction. Spark clung tightly to Jakes shirt, not eager to get wet.

Gabriel nodded and started out, following after Arashi and Jake. Hopefully they wouldn't have to run; if they did he'd probably just try to get them to go on ahead without him. He could probably find somewhere to hide if need be. HE didn't want to end up slowing them down; being a burden was the last thing he wanted actually. His inability to run long distances would certainly be a hindrance for them...

Valuing Jake's advice, as it seemed to be quite valid, Arashi followed suit. He kept an eye out for the other two as he sloshed through the water with them, just in case either fell over and required assistance. After all, one was injured and the other was a little bit delicate - not that Arashi would voice that thought to them. He gaped openly at the enormous roots, unable to reconcile this aberration with the world that he knew - or thought he knew. At least it wasn't as far as he'd feared, he reasoned to himself. The behaviour of the wild Pokemon was far more unnerving, as it was so different to his expectations and previous experience. In addition, there was simply not enough variety to make sense within the ecosystem, and it seemed to contradict most of what he had learnt. Arashi was rattled, and quite frankly at a loss for words when confronted with the sheer wrongness of it all, and that was before he saw the doorway. One thought did occur to him once it was in sight, however, and that was that this could provide a defensible home base for them, at least until they'd figured out what to do. With this in mind, he asked his newfound friends for their opinions on the matter.

Gabriel stared at the tree very openly once they reached it, biting his lip slightly. "It does seem like it would be a good base of operations," he responded, looking around. "Safer probably that the cave, since with this we have the option of a door to keep things out." He rubbed his arm slightly. Everything about this place was /wrong/ and he wanted out immediately. It felt unnatural and it was starting to put him on edge.

Jake stepped into the hollow and shuddered. The air felt cold against his suddenly clammy skin, and the whole place just felt wrong. Besides, the behavior of the Pokemon outside was unnerving, and he openly voiced his concern about it, wondering out loud why someone would build something like it. Spark huddle closer to him, cowering down in fear, and Jake knew that something wasn't right about this place. Though he had only know his little electric type for a week, he trusted him with his own life. 

The hair was prickling on Arashi's arms and neck, and he had to admit that Jake had a point about this place. It felt distinctly alien to him, and not at all pleasant. He didn't have any answers about why such a place would be constructed, or what its purpose might be, but he felt that it had to have something to do with the riddle of the keys. "I thank you for your words and sentiment," He began slowly, addressing Jake, "I count myself fortunate that those who were marooned alongside me are those that I can trust, and I myself feel as you do - this is a dangerous place. However, it might be needful to at least observe what we can of the place if we will not stay. I suspect we are being tested, and that this place has something to do with it. I do not propose to stay long, but I will point out that - upon consideration - we appear to have been herded here, and may be again. We do not have to linger within, we could simply peer inside, but knowledge is power, and we have little enough of that at the moment. If you are adamant that we not do so, I will follow, as I will if there is sign that I am mistaken, but I feel it necessary to point out this other option, that it at least be considered." It had not been lost on Arashi that their partners were agitated - Hada among them - but he was not about to blindly follow. Follow, maybe, but with open eyes.

Gabriel nodded gently, biting his lip a little bit. "It all feels wrong here," he said gently, looking around. "But I do agree that we may have been pushed here, so at the very least we should see what's going on here before he head off again, just to know what we may be in for if we're forced to return," he said softly, rubbing his arms as he shivered lightly. "The feeling around this place is...unsettling at best." He moved so he could carefully return Cynder, whispering a soft apology as he did so before holding her Pokeball close to his chest. 

Jake sighed. "Alright, you two have a point. But only a quick look, alright? This place gives me the creeps," he said, looking up at the roof of the hollow. He stepped farther into  the room and began tugging at the door to no avail. "Hey guys, come help me with this," he said, straining to budge the surprisingly heavy trapdoor.

((So Allora are we getting to decide what the chemicals do? o3o))

Arashi's nerves jangled when their route out abruptly decided to shut them in, and he internally berated himself for not taking the chance to leave when it was first presented to him. It didn't matter that he knew that his logic had been reasonable, and that the same thing could have happened if they had tried to escape earlier - they were trapped and that was really bugging him. When pushing and pulling failed to present any creditable results, he attempted to make use of the principle of leverage to get them out, by means of a stick, but that didn't work either. Muttering imprecations under his breath, Arashi cast about for a wall panel to undo so that he could try to manipulate some wiring.

While Arashi was making this search attempt, he noticed that whatever-it-was that Jake had found had opened up - but regrettably not to the outside world. He'd been just about to call across to his friend with a question, when the panel on the floor began to flare with light. This simultaneously shut him up and flipped a switch in his memory. Sabrina has things like this in her Gym, I've seen them on the television. This must be important! I'm not sure I recall precisely what it is, but I think it relates to transport somehow. But where does it lead? It could be very dangerous, but it may also be our only way out of here... As he mused over this, Arashi became aware of a claustrophobic feel to the room, and an odd fruity-metallic tang to the air, and he felt a lurch inside him as he grasped at possible reasons for this.

Arashi, not trusting the air anymore, endeavoured to take shallower breaths, trying to filter his intake by pulling his top up over his mouth and nose. It wasn't especially effective, but he hoped that it would buy them some time. Urgently, he gesticulated at the pulsating green portion of the floor, hoping that someone would take note and, possibly, recall more clearly than he what it was for. Indeed, his mind was feeling rather fuzzy at the edges right now, and clarity of thought was rapidly evading him. He'd had the presence of mind to recall his Pokemon, as their small stature would render them more vulnerable, but he had no way of preventing his own or his friends' declining mental condition. Whether it truly was hallucinogenic, or he merely had an odd reaction to the gas, Arashi had begun to see strange, colourful things as the debate with the others on what to do went on. There were odd, cavorting felinoids serenading him about someone named Tugger, while the ob
ject of their singing pranced and gyrated his pelvis and declared himself to be a most contrary and awkward cat to care for - there was a transvestite from Transylvania urging him to do the Time Warp - there was a band of irregular bipeds with television screens on their bellies and arials on their heads - there was a mad man with a blue box - there was a legion of freaky revolutionary toys rising up against an oppressor named Sid - there was ChaoS! In the end, frustrated and unwilling to be cuddled by a rather large nonexistent pink and green snugglemonster, Arashi jumped onto the panel, which he had come to perceive as a tunnel of light that would lead him to the fairy kingdom of picnics and sunshine.

It took a little while for the gas to clear from his lungs, and its effects to remove themselves from his brain, but Arashi eventually became aware of his surroundings, and ceased in his attempts to make conversation with the imaginary Wizard of All Things Purple. Flushing with acute embarrassment, and worried about the plight of his friends, Arashi looked around the room he found himself in in order to ascertain whether there was anything he could use to drain the gas from the previous room, or else bring his friends into this one. He quickly found that he could not return, which concerned him, but he had no wish to exacerbate the headache the gas had given him, so he tried to remain calm. Not the most easy of tasks, but he would make the attempt. After all, he would be of no use if he lost his head. The room was rather bare, and the key atop its only pedestal its sole defining feature. Intrigued, Arashi examined the pedestal and key carefully, then moved on to examining the floor, the walls and the ceiling. After all, a clue as to what he was to do could be anywhere, and he was unwilling to trust that there would be no boobytraps.

((Do excuse my using the introduction of mystery gas as an excuse to throw common sense completely out of the window - it was fun and I stand by my hilarity. Does this count as getting my character high? I wonder how much he mumbled about... Did you catch all the references?))

Gabriel took a step back as both of his human comrades vanished. His eyes grew wide and he moved to hold Cynder's pokeball close as the gas began to surround him more than it had before. Instead of anything funny, however, the gas began to bring Gabriel more in tune with the terror he felt so easily.

Arashi first turned from his room-examination at the sound of Jake's voice, concerned that it might be auditory hallucination but hopeful that it was not. When he saw that it was, indeed, his friend, he allowed a grin to split his face wider than it usually would - the gas having left him slightly giddy ((and just a wee bit out of his usual default emotional state. I've added a little bit of Hetalia's North Italy's bubbles for gas after-effects)). "Jake! I'm so glad you made it! I was going to try and figure out what to do about bringing you and Gabriel in here, but I couldn't get back, and do you see this key right here? I think it's important, but I can't tell if it's okay to pick up, or if there are some reeallly subtle booby-traps on this sucker. Not much in here, is there? I think I'm babbling, and I feel inexplicably cheery, but I think it'll wear off in a minute or two. Are you this affected? I hypothesise that we may all have different tolerances for the gas we were exposed to, and maybe different reactions, and wasn't it interesting? I saw prancing kitties and transvestites dancing! Well, not at the same time, but they were doing pretty similar things with their hips. I don't think I'm as flexible as that, but it's never come up - how about you? I can just tell that I'm going to be mortified by this later, but I don't seem to care very much right now~ This seems to be all very stream-of-consciousness."

Before he'd had someone appear to talk to, Arashi had not had any idea that he would start spouting whatever small thing was on his mind, but now he couldn't really seem to shut up. Some of it, he was certain, was his relief that Jake was alright, but some of it had to be the gas. When Gabriel appeared, he hurried over to check on him, babbling all the while. "Are you okay, Gabriel? I'm so glad to see you, you know, I was really quite worried when I couldn't get back to see if you and Jake were alright, and then only Jake showed up. How did you get here? I tried to get to the fairy kingdom of picnics and sunshine, myself, but I was obviously not feeling myself at the time. That hasn't actually worn off yet, but it's still me talking. Did something scare you? Is it mortal? There doesn't seem to be anything scary in here at the moment, unless the key counts and I didn't notice. I haven't found any booby-traps yet, though I haven't actually tried to pick up the key, either. Please say you're okay? I haven't had human friends since I was six! I can't lose you guys!"