The Rostical Users - Sceldrant's Comet

by Michael Rogers

  PKMY: "No, no, no-" *She thoroughly moved her arm in the RPG bag, sticking her tongue out in concentration.* "No, no, ah? Yes!"

  Ashton: (She must have a lot of stuff in there-)

  PKMY: *She stopped moving her arm and smirked, pulling out an odd coloured blue ring.* "Yahoo, this Rosterology item is condensed with Neurons."

  Ashton: "Right?" *He nodded his head, taking a step forward.*

  PKMY: "Wear this ring, and we'll try again after another break."

  Ashton: "Of course." *He spoke with respect, placing the ring on his finger.* "So, PKMY or Teresa."

  Teresa: "Hmm?"

  PKMY: "Eh?"

  Ashton: "I was just wondering, how do you think my training is going?"

  Teresa: "It is too soon to ask, it has only been one day."

  PKMY: "Well, let me say it's very convenient that you're not stupid. I find it frustrating otherwise, I have hope in you."

  Ashton: *He smiled with gratification.* "Thank you, I appreciate that."

  PKMY: "OK, break's over, do it again!" *She yelled in a stern voice, causing Ashton to stand up straight.*

  Ashton: "Yes!" *He tensed his body up, focusing his attention to the wind.*

  ----------

  *Pepper, Alicia and Lance walked across a large grassy meadow.*

  Pepper: "To find a man named Millard?"

  Alicia: "Y-Yep."

  Pepper: "I say, sounds like you're both on an adventure."

  Alicia: "Tee hee." *She giggled to herself in excitement, nodding her head.* "It's fun-"

  Lance: "Finally!"

  Pepper: "Finally what, yeah?"

  Alicia: "Y-Yeah, what is it, Lance?"

  Lance: "I finally see AriAri village, or wateva you call it."

  Alicia: "Yay, that's great-"

  Lance: "Pssht, I'm goin' first." *He grunted, running towards the village like a child.*

  Pepper: *She touched her forehead, feeling disorientated.* (My perception is slightly off, either that or I'm feeling light headed-)

  Alicia: "Lance is really annoying sometimes, running ahead as usual." *She sighed, staring at Lance run into the village.*

  Pepper: *She looked at Alicia, tilting her head on a side.* "How long have you two been together?"

  Alicia: *She coughed, awkwardly stepping forward.* "Wha-?"

  Lance: *He ran up to a villager, panting to catch his breath.* "Oi! Have you seen a man named Millard?"

  Village: "H-Huh?!" *He stepped back, staring in front with fear.* "A-An Astral Projection!" *He threw the broom in his hand to the ground and started to run away.*

  Lance: "Umm-?"

  *Pepper and Alicia walked up to Lance, staring at the villager with confusion.*

  Pepper: "I say, what was wrong with the villager?"

  Lance: "Dunno, maybe he saw Alicia's face-"

  Alicia: "Or maybe because we're still invisible?"

  Lance: "Aye?" *He started to pick his nose, observing the villagers around him.*

  Alicia: *She whimpered, stamping her foot.* "We are on a stealth based mission, you shouldn't reveal our cover like that."

  Lance: "OK, I forgot, get over yourself."

  Alicia: "..." (So if the villagers can't see us, then, why can Pepper see us?)

  Pepper: "I say, should we continue further into the village for your friend?"

  Lance: "Yea, wateva." *He grunted, walking into the village central.*

  Pepper: *She looked at Alicia with a blank face.* "He should treat you nicely, he's not a very good boyfriend-"

  Alicia: "N-N-No." *She awkwardly chuckled, shaking her head.*

  Pepper: "I say, are you ill? Your face is red?"

  Lance: *He glanced around looking disappointed.* (I had a feeling I was going to see Millard here.)

  Alicia: "W-Why don't we focus about the reason we're here?"

  Pepper: "Sounds fair to me, yeah?"

  Alicia: "Unfortunately I don't see Millard anywhere here."

  Lance: "Huh?" *He overheard two villagers, causing him to wave Pepper and Alicia over.*

  Alicia: "W-What's wrong-?"

  Lance: "Shh." *He frowned, pointing at the two villagers.*

  Villager A: "Can you believe Millard has finally started to look for Kath?"

  Villager B: "Yes, after so many years, finally."

  Villager A: "I hope he's blessed with the Astragons, he deserves it."

  Villager B: "I agree, occasionally and randomly passing by, donating funds after a tax."

  Villager A: "Trying to find someone as powerful as Kath, I really hope he doesn't get killed."

  Villager B: "Too bad I didn't get to say bye, he might not show himself for a while now."

  Alicia: (O-Oh no, it seems like he's already left.) "W-We should report back to Season."

  Lance: "W-Wha-?" *He gasped, catching Alicia and Pepper's attention.*

  Alicia: "W-What's wrong?"

  Lance: "Did something smart come out of your mouth?" *He stepped forward, gently touching Alicia's forehead.* "Are you sick?"

  Alicia: "Grottom bottom." *She spun around and started to walk out of the village.*

  Lance: "Pssht, wateva." *He mumbled to himself and rolled his eyes, following Alicia out of the village.*

  Pepper: "I say-"

  Lance: "You say what, Pepper?" *He smirked, causing Alicia to shake her head.*

  Pepper: "Do you two always act like that towards each other?"

  Alicia: "He does."

  Lance: "Aha, no. Pretty sure docta tubby fubby over here starts it all." *He stared at Pepper and nodded his head, pointing at Alicia.*

  Pepper: (What, unusual people?) *She smirked with slight confusion.*

  Alicia: "Well, it's not like you're some divine being either, Lance."

  Lance: "Not as divine as those volcanic fart-like rumbles you do."

  Alicia: "E-Excuse me!-"

  Lance: "Excused? You fart again-?"

  Pepper: (Divine?) *Her eyes widened, as several images flashed in her head.*

  ----------

  *An enormous castle enveloped in bright light, stood tall on a floating island.*

  ----------

  Pepper: *She gasped and leant forward, holding her forehead in pain.* (W-What was that?)

  Lance: "So, Pepper." *He placed his hands on his head, unaware of her confused state.*

  Pepper: "Yes?"

  Lance: "Don't take this the wrong way, but you don't seem to have a personality?"

  Pepper: "Well, I-" *She paused, looking down with confusion.*

  Alicia: "Don't take that the wrong way? She can't remember anything at all!-"

  Lance: "S-See wat I mean!" *He pointed at Alicia like a child.* "She started it!"

  Alicia: "Y-You're so, stupid."

  Lance: "Stupid? Now it's on, little girl!"

  Pepper: *She stared in front in a daydream-like state.* (That castle? That feeling.) "I say, it's time for me to leave."

  Alicia: "Y-You're leaving?"

  Lance: "That's wat leavin' means-"

  Pepper: "It was nice to meet you, Lance, Alicia."

  Lance: "Oh yea! My name was mentioned first! Beat that stinko winko!" *He threw his arms in the air, waving them like a child.*

  Alicia: *She face palmed, sighing at Lance.* "Pepper, why not stay with us?"

  Lance: "Y-Yea, you maybe borin', but you know how to fight."

  Pepper: "I don't know."

  Alicia: "Surpreon would be a good place to help find whatever you're looking for."

  Pepper: *She shook her head, flicking her long hair over her shoulder.* "No, I want to try and find my memories by myself."

  Alicia: "A-Are you sure?"

  Pepper: *She enthusiastically nodded her head, looking into the distance.* "Yes."

  Lance: "Wat 'bout them Scoldrants?"

  Pepper: "Excuse me?"

  Lance: "Like, by yourself, the Scoldrants?"

  Pepper: "Don't worry, I don't sense any in the direction you're heading."

  Alicia: "And what abo
ut yourself?"

  Pepper: "I can handle being on my own."

  Lance: "Fair enough."

  Alicia: "Oh, okay."

  Pepper: "I say, thank you for keeping me company." *She spoke, distracted in thought.*

  Alicia: "Th-Thank you as well."

  Pepper: "Herm?"

  Alicia: "For scaring away the Scoldrant."

  Pepper: "..." *She smiled and started to run into the distance.*

  Lance: "Oi! Angler!" *He faced Pepper, yelling out to her.*

  Pepper: *She quickly stopped, looking over her shoulder to Lance.* "I say, yes?!"

  Lance: "We owe ya one." *He mumbled, smirking in a mature-like manner.*

  Pepper: (Angler?) *She looked confused and waved, before running into the distance.*

  Alicia: "She was a pleasant girl."

  Lance: "I don't know." *He smirked and rolled his eyes.*

  Alicia: "Angler?"

  Lance: "Did ya see her hair?"

  Alicia: "..." *She shook her head, silently walking ahead.*

  Lance: "Ya don't find it funny 'cause you don't understand!"

  Alicia: "..."

  Lance: "Oi, don't walk ahead!" *He grunted, walking faster to keep up with Alicia.*

  ----------

  Ashton: *He hunched forward, gasping for air.* "Ouch-"

  PKMY: "You're making excellent progress."

  Ashton: "Th-Thank-"

  PKMY: "Now the next test, I'm going to throw my daggers at you."

  Ashton: "Ah, I'm sorry?"

  PKMY: "You are to block them."

  Ashton: "B-Block?"

  PKMY: "You won't feel any pain, but you've got to believe in yourself."

  Ashton: "But-"

  PKMY: "Just to be clear, you have to block them, you're not allowed to dodge them."

  Ashton: "Okay." *He touched his chest, nervously nodding his head.*

  PKMY: "And don't worry, I won't aim for any major arteries."

  Ashton: "Major arteries-?"

  PKMY: "Relax, and focus on what I told you about the Astragons."

  Ashton: "Astragons, I understand."

  PKMY: "Now show me, the results of all those exercises!"

  Ashton: (Good grief, focus Ashton! Focus!) *He started to concentrate, causing the ring to flicker clusters of light.*

  PKMY: *She noticed the ring, causing her to smile.* "Heh."

  Ashton: *The air around him warped, as his body glowed a shade of blue.* (Concentrate!)

  Teresa: *She stood up and stared at Ashton, showing more interest in the training.* (He is significantly improving, the amount of Astragons he is releasing is causing the air to warp.)

  Ashton: *He frowned in concentration, as the air visibly warped in front of him.* "..."

  Teresa: (I do not know if it is due to PKMY's training, but the level Ashton is at now, it is not normal.)

  PKMY: "Now!" *She raised her arm, revealing four daggers.*

  Ashton: "Tssk." *He stared at the daggers, cautiously taking a step back.*

  PKMY: "Harh!" *She spun around, blasting the daggers towards Ashton.*

  Ashton: (You can hear the daggers piercing the wind-) *He watched the daggers slow down before stabbing him in the chest.*

  Teresa: (All four stabbed him-)

  PKMY: "Heh." *She spun around, throwing another dagger towards Ashton's chest.*

  Ashton: *His eyes widened, staring at the dagger in shock.* (No!-) *The dagger slowed down and altered course, stabbing him in the arm.*

  PKMY: "Hmm?" (That was meant to stab him directly in the chest-) *She frowned with a slight smirk, throwing another dagger towards Ashton's head.*

  Ashton: *He raised his arms, focusing his attention to the dagger.* (I can't let this one hit me-)

  PKMY: "..." *She watched the dagger wobble in mid-air, before stabbing the ground next to Ashton's feet.*

  Ashton: "I-I did it?!"

  PKMY: "Release more, I don't want the dagger to come near you!" *She yelled, throwing another dagger towards Ashton's face.*

  Ashton: (More!) *He grunted and stepped forward, causing the surrounding grass to blow back.*

  PKMY: *She watched the dagger suddenly stop in mid-air, causing her to glance at Ashton with a smirk.* (Awesome-)

  Ashton: "Grarh!" *He grunted and watched the dagger fall to the ground.*

  Teresa: (That is somewhat impressive.)

  Ashton: *He awkwardly stepped forward, ignoring the sweat and blood which dripped on to the grass under him.* "H-How did I go?" *He stared at PKMY, anxiously waiting for her response.*

  PKMY: *She walked up to him and smiled, carelessly ripping out the daggers from Ashton's chest.* (He's able to fluctuate the air around him, causing my daggers to alter course, missing its targets.)

  Ashton: "PKMY?"

  PKMY: (Judging by the Astragons around him, and when the daggers started to lose their momentum-) *She stared at her reflection in the dagger, thinking to herself.* (I'd say the aura formed a circular shape, similar to a bubble. A good defensive trait-)

  Ashton: "PKMY?"

  PKMY: "Pfft, stop saying my name, I was clearly in thought."

  Ashton: "I'm terribly sorry!"

  PKMY: "Good work." *She presented a root with symbols engraved on it.* "Take this, it will heal your wounds fast."

  Ashton: "What is it?"

  PKMY: "It's a hybrid version of Acro Berries."

  Ashton: "Acro Berries? They sound interesting, why are they called-?"

  PKMY: "I don't want your life story, just eat it."

  Ashton: *He slowly bit down on the root, causing his lips to quiver.* (Terrible, this root is bitter.)

  PKMY: *She dropped the dagger and turned around.* (He truly is a defensive type.) *She smirked in excitement.*

  Ashton: *He looked down, chewing with disgust.* "I'm not badly hurt am I?"

  Teresa: "Only minor damage was caused."

  Ashton: "I see, thank you, Teresa. You can tell when Alicia isn't here, she'd be using her healing powers."

  PKMY: (Healing powers-?)

  Ashton: "How far away am I from completion?"

  PKMY: "I would like to try one more exercise before retaking the exam." *She zipped up the RPG bag, throwing it at Teresa.*

  Teresa: *She noticed the blood on the grass around Ashton.* "Perhaps a rest is in order?"

  Ashton: "Please! Allow me to continue!"

  PKMY: "Not with those wounds you aren't."

  Ashton: "Please, allow me continue."

  PKMY: "No-"

  Ashton: "Excuse the rudeness, but I need to."

  Teresa: "Hoh? Need?"

  PKMY: "Yea, need?"

  Ashton: "I, want to protect my friends." *He looked down, panting with exhaustion.* "I can't protect them if I don't complete this training."

  PKMY: "..."

  Ashton: "So please, let me continue. I won't give up." *He looked up, staring at PKMY with determination.*

  PKMY: (His drive, heh-) *She smirked and sighed.* "Alright, fine."

  Ashton: "Thank!-"

  PKMY: "But if you drop dead due to exhaustion, then that's your own fault."

  Ashton: (Good grief, how charming.) "So what's the next exercise?"

  PKMY: "OK, you've got the understanding of basic manipulation, but that poor ring is working at its limit."

  Ashton: "Oh?" *He raised his arm, staring at the ring with worry.*

  PKMY: "Even powerful Rosterology items can run out of power if used for too long."

  Ashton: "I see, can I recharge it somehow?"

  PKMY: "Well, we need to focus on your Neurons."

  Ashton: "My Neurons?"

  PKMY: "We need to raise your stamina in using Neurons, so you're not constantly using the ring at one hundred percent. Does that make sense?"

  Ashton: "So it basically means I'm using this ring at its maximum capacity and if I don't improve my Neurons it will run out of power?"

  Teresa: "Precisely."

  PKMY: "Heh, spot on. I'm glad I didn't have to repeat myself."
r />   Ashton: "So does this mean I can use Rostical without the ring?"

  PKMY: "No, we're merely raising your performance in Neurons so you don't wear out that ring."

  Ashton: "I don't quite understand, but okay." *He coughed with slight disappointment.*