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Topic: What if?: Journey of a Dead Man

What if Straw died and never came back? What would happen then?

Spirit World

Straw wakes up in a swirly, monochrome void. He stands up, feeling like there's nothing to stand on, but is standing anyway.

"Where the hell am I?"

He looks around, and sees nothing.

"...Oh that's right...I died."

A bubble pops up of the scene of his death, the exact details too hard to make out due to the fuzziness of the image. A bloody Straw can be clearly seen though.

"...This is one image I hoped I wouldn't see ever again. But that's okay...because I'll come back, right? I always come back..."

The area around him flashes for a brief millisecond, and suddenly there's other spirits around him, float-standing in a similar way. He walks past them, listening in on their ramblings.

"B-But I can't be dead! There's still so much I wanted to do! Like become a phone operator!"

"Figures I'd end up here. All that crime had to lead somewhere after all..."

"NO! HOW DARE I BE DEAD! I'm too pretty to be dead!"

"B-But...mommy said she'd be back for me...She promised...She wouldn't just just leave me in the forest alone..."

As Straw passes all of these dead people, he can't help but wonder what's happening back in the world of the living, how Crewe's feeling, how his Pokemon are taking it, and what will happen to them. He doesn't have long to wait, for the big black door swings open. Straw immediately feels a subconscious will to move into the door.

"...This means I'm being revived, doesn't it? It did last time..."

Straw moves through the door with the other spirits, the door slamming shut behind them. It glows red and black, before fading away, returning the area to its monochrome state.

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Re: What if?: Journey of a Dead Man

Spirit World

Straw appears on the other side of the door, standing in front of a sprawling complex of houses, walls, gates, etc. forming a city surrounded by mist.

"...I'm not back in the world of the living? This must be a mistake..."

"No mistake. Your life is over." A booming voice projects down onto him from above.

"W-What?"

He doesn't get a response.

"...Guess I really am dead."

"....Straw? Is that really you?"

A woman in a white dress comes up behind Straw, who notices that his clothes have also turned white, as well as everyone else around him.

"...Taylor."

"...Hi Straw." she says, trailing off, "I didn't hope to see you here so soon... You didn't deserve this."

Straw looks down at the...void.

"Yeah, me neither..."

Taylor hugs him.

"Well, at least you know someone in this place. I'll show you around."

Straw follows Taylor into the complex of buildings.

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Re: What if?: Journey of a Dead Man

Taylor leads Straw through a row of homes.

"Everyone lives pretty much the same as when they were alive. Except for the dead part, " Taylor explains, "Some of the higher up spirits live in fancier houses."

Straw looks around the town, not saying much.

"You're still thinking about everyone, aren't you. Aurora, Crescent, that girlfriend of yours..."

Straw nods.

"Yeah..."

"I remember going through that. It was hard. But I eventually got over it. It's all you can really do here. Move on."

Taylor leads Straw to a border, passing two gates, one leading to the inner circle, the other to outside the townish area.

"What's out there?"

Taylor looks over at the outer gate.

"The Spirit Wilds. The dead Pokemon reside there, as well as other creatures. "

"Other creatures?"

"They're Pokemon, but more. There's a Ditto out there that is known to steal the spirit of its foes, rendering them nonexistent. It's a terrible way to die, again. I went out there once, and was almost crushed by a Machamp made of stone."

"Sounds dangerous."

"Indeed it is. But enough about that. There's more to see. Like my house. "

Taylor leads Straw through the inner gate.

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Re: What if?: Journey of a Dead Man

Spirit World, Inner circle

Taylor leads Straw into the inner circle, where the buildings' more elaborate architecture clearly indicates the change in neighborhood.

"Wow, dead people have really fancy houses."

Taylor smiles.

"Well, it all depends on how you were in life and your actions here."

She stops in front of a smaller, but still detailed home.

"Here we are. House Angel."

"Huh, it's smaller."

Taylor nods.

"I didn't want a giant house. What will you use it for? We're all dead here. "

Straw becomes more crestfallen at Taylor's remark. She hugs him.

"C'mon. Don't keep dwelling in the past. There's nothing you can do about it now."

"I guess..."

Taylor takes his hand hand pulls him into the house. Inside, a pale, brown haired girl is sitting at a table. She looks up at Straw and Taylor's arrival.

"...I know you." She says.

"...You do? From where?" Straw answers quizzically.

"You're Straw Aspear. You're a descendant of my cousin."

"...Who are you?"

The girl smiles, then looks directly at Straw.

"Silly me. You wouldn't know who I am.  I'm Sarah Aspear. Iron Maiden's original trainer."

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Re: What if?: Journey of a Dead Man

"You're Iron Maiden's original trainer? It's all starting to come back to me now..."

Sarah nods. "You gave me a proper burial after my bones had been sitting in that cave for decades. I have to thank you for that."

"You're welcome, though I guess she's trainerless again, now that I'm dead. "

Sarah gives him a reassuring smile. "By the way, there was someone who wanted to see you. I think it's one of our ancestors."

Straw pauses, wondering what his ancestors would want with him. "Alright, did they say where they would be?"

"The plaza by the inner circle gate."

Taylor thinks for a moment. "Oh, I can show you where that is."

"Okay. Well, see you around, Sarah."

Sarah nods. "See you, Straw."

She waves to Taylor and Straw as the former leads Straw outside.