((Collab Post between Letter Bee and Viridity))<br/><br/>Morgan took notice of Merin's confusion, and, although he was only avarage in talking, decided to answer:<br/><br/>"Uh...that? Don't freak out, but you're in Afghanistan. In an old temple where...something just happened."<span style="font-style: italic">Something that brought Pokemon over from their world to ours.</span><br/><br/>Merin was visibly confused by the man's response. Not only was it rather unhelpful, it also only seemed to answer part of his question.<br/><br/>"What's Afghanistan?...You still haven't answered my question as to who you are, and what you would be doing in a place like this.<br/><br/>"You don't know what Afghanistan is?!" Morgan exclaimed in suprise.<span style="font-style: italic">Did this man have amnesia, or live under a rock?</span><br/><br/>"Do you know about the Taliban, or 9/11, or the War on Terror?" he asked, sort of wildly, before remembering the man's other question.<br/><br/>"Oh, yeah, my name's Morgan Black, and I'm...working with a group dedicated to investigating anomalies, like the one that killed so many people here."<br/><br/>Merin couldn't quite understand why the man almost seemed manic, swinging from incredulous surprise to somewhat calm in the course of a handful of sentences.<br/><br/>"No, I don't know what Afghanistan is, or the<span style="font-style: italic">towel ban</span>or any of those other things. What I do know is that something rather...unpleasant happened here and that I have a splitting headache."<br/><br/>A suspicion began to develop in Morgan's mind, causing him to decide to test the man's patience a bit more.<br/><br/>"What country are you from, then?" spoke the man. "As for what happened to you, that's what we're here to find out, and we'd gladly appreciate any help you can give us."<br/><br/>Merin was growing somewhat tired of these questions, and this one in particular concerned him the most. Surely if he answered at least somewhat truthfully, it would only lead to more questions.<br/><br/>"I cannot answer that, but if you agree to stop asking me all of these questions, I will consider helping you, as I too want to know what has happened."<br/><br/>Morgan sighed in exasperation, and spoke:<br/><br/>"Fine, but in exchange, you'll have to listen to some exposition, as well as my own suspicions. You see, Afghanistan is a country on a planet called Earth. It is a war-torn place, where a dark group called the Taliban is fighting the prime superpower of this planet, the United States of America. Therefore, it was not a good place for magical phenomena to happen, yet something obviously mystic<span style="font-style: italic">did</span>." He then gestured to the Pokemon corpses on his shoulders.<br/><br/>"This mystic phenomenon caused the deaths of many people, some human, some magical creatures, and, finally, some magical creatures that shouldn't exist except in fiction."<br/><br/>"I know, I sound mad, but, quite frankly, you would do so to my teammates; of my group, only I and our...rescuee wouldn't lock you up at the moment you showed non-knowledge of the Talibs and Afghanistan."<br/><br/>Surprise briefly flashed across Merin's face when he heard Morgan mention the name of the world he was now on, and his...theory. He was so shocked that he almost didn't pay attention to the rest of what Morgan had to say.<br/><br/>"I have not heard of a world called Earth...I come from a world with a different name, but the name of that world is not very important, as I assume I am no longer on it now. I will help you, only as long as you agree to not ask where I have come from, and what happened there."<br/><br/>Morgan nodded, deciding to agree for the moment. Guess the Oshawott and Pikachu corpses will have to do as evidence for Ascot. He then said:<br/><br/>"Done. But now, we have to go deeper to the temple; it may hold clues to what's happened. Since I'm the one with the weapon," he pointed to his gun, "I'll move first."<br/><br/>Merin stood up, although a little bit unsteadily. He decided that it would be better if he wouldn't inform Morgan about any of his...abilities, as he wouldn't be able to use them very much anyway. He wasn't planning on getting teleported to some other world when he packed his bag.<br/><br/>"Very well, lead the way."<br/><br/>Morgan, the Oshawott and Pikachu corpses on his shoulder, then moved forward, slowly walking towards the top. As the Journeyman went on, he began to hear voices; were they cultists, or other people like Merin?<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="font-style: italic">END</span></span>