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Post by Konuju on Aug 14, 2020 18:59:34 GMT -8
IC: Ellen Burks/Shannon Willows - Park, Ecruteak City Symbio had placed himself between Ellen and Artemis. While the two shared one mind through the power of Mega Evolution, their bodies still had individual strengths and weaknesses -- and a defensive psychic-type stood a far better chance against a fighting-type than a small human-type would.
"Artemis, listen to us," Ellen and Symbio pleaded. "We're your friends. You can fight this, we know you can."
The Mienshao gave no sign of yielding. It was all they could do to keep her from reaching Ellen. But the martial arts master twisted suddenly and ducked under Symbio's gelatinous arm. Tucking into a roll, Artemis planted herself right in front of Ellen, staring at her trainer with a dead look in her eyes.
A terrible crunching sound came from across the battlefield. Artemis blinked in confusion. In another part of the field, Corey did the same.
"Thanks for the backup." Ellen and Symbio both smiled at Shannon. The older girl curled her lip in return, seemingly still in shock about what had just happened. "Looks like there's one more. Care to help us out again?"
The final shadowy warrior was locked in combat with Chloe and Kyurem. A frozen Gnip stood nearby in warning of the enemy's power.
Shannon took a deep breath and nodded. "Let's give it everything we've got."
Ellen and Symbio closed their eyes and sent out a telepathic message. Chloe, you might want to get out of the line of fire. They sent mental commands to the rest of their party, then waited until everyone was in position. Once they were sure everyone was ready and that Chloe and Kyurem had the remaining enemy thoroughly distracted, their eyes shot open. "NOW!"
Five attacks shot out at once, all from different directions. Isabella emanated a Sweet Scent to lower the shadow suit's evasion. Artemis sent forth a glowing Aura Sphere. Fiora, flower in hand, summoned another Fairy Wind. Ellen and Symbio's eyes glowed with psychic energy as they both lashed out with Psyshock attacks.
A moment later, Shannon turned to Tyranitar, steeling herself. "You heard what I said. Everything we've got. Hyper Beam, maximum power. Let's end this."
With a savage grin, Tyranitar planted his feet in the ground, opened his mouth, and fired a blast of pure, white-hot energy at the final shadow suit.
OOC: Isabella: Sweet Scent > S3-GHOUL Artemis: Aura Sphere > S3-GHOUL Fiora: Fairy Wind > S3-GHOUL Mega Symbio: Psyshock > S3-GHOUL Ellen (Trainer Bond): Psyshock > S3-GHOUL Tyranitar: Hyper Beam > S3-GHOUL
IC: Ryan Sanders/Madison Morrow - Abandoned Boat House, Moro Island Harbor The next thing Ryan knew his mother's arms were around him, squeezing the life out of him. No, not his mother. The Instance masquerading as his mother. He knew she wasn't real; and yet the sorrowful look in her eyes and her screams of pain as he tried to fight back tore Ryan's heart asunder. Every punch he threw felt wrong. He knew she wasn't real, but she felt real. Before he knew it, the Instance had pulled him with surprising strength into a chokehold.
"Now, now, sweetie . . ." His mother's voice whispered soothingly in his ear as Ryan gasped for air. "Go to sleep like a good little boy. It will all be over soon . . ."
His vision blurred. His legs flailed in vain, his strength fading as he grabbed at the doppelganger's arm. The Pollucant behind him inched closer and closer, but he knew he would lose consciousness long before the trash-snails reached his body.
A rustle of feathers filled his ear. A squawk. A scream.
Suddenly he could breathe again. Whirling around, Ryan saw the Nobuddy grappling with Togie. The Togekiss swooped down just long enough to claw at the creature with his sharp talons before fluttering daintily out of reach. A sudden rage filled Ryan's heart. Zombies and sea serpents he could handle. They were just another enemy to defeat. But there was something particularly evil about the Missing Zero sending a creature in the form of his own mother.
As his mother's screams filled the boat house, Ryan's own scream rose in his throat. He charged forward, taking the doppelganger by surprise. With a fury borne of pain he shoved the creature off the edge of the dock and into the standing water.
As Togie began to fight the Driprown with the same technique of attack and retreat, Madison and Anzu, having subdued the Walkorpse, reached the docks and covered the Pollucant in a thick layer of ice. "Are you okay?" the skier asked.
Ryan forced himself to turn away from the image of his mother gasping for air in the brackish water. "I'm fine," he muttered, avoiding the concern in the girl's eyes. He ripped a Pokéball off his belt and opened it. "Ampere," he ordered before the Flaaffy had even finished materializing. "Thunderbolt."
The electric sheep looked at her trainer questioningly, but nevertheless sent a bolt of electricity into the water. Ryan bowed his head and walked off the dock, brushing past Madison as his mother's screams echoed throughout the boathouse.
"You don't seem fine," Madison said as she ran after the Liberty Agent.
"Looks can be deceiving," Ryan retorted. "Now let's hurry up and help Dack. There's nothing more for us to do here."
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Post by Parugi on Aug 15, 2020 19:37:40 GMT -8
IC - S3-GHOUL - Park, Ecruteak City:
Dealing with a dragon was not an easy task.
Dealing with a legendary dragon was especially not an easy task.
Dealing with a Mega Evolved legendary dragon was not an easy task, by any means.
Particularly a Mega Evolved legendary dragon that was currently pissed off.
Any person of sound mind could have been said to have overplayed their hand in choosing to engage in this sort of situation. The S3-GHOUL operator was not of sound mind--nor, truth be told, of any real mind. This was not so much a person overestimating their own abilities as it was a mindless hulk of a creature barreling through reason and logic and somehow managing to not become instantly obliterated as a consequence. It had already managed to disable one Mega Pokémon, and were it not for the intervention of Mega Kyurem, there was a strong possibility that it would not have stopped at simply freezing Gnip. Now, instead, it lived in stalemate against the Boundary Pokémon, taking and trading blows in kind.
Its endurance and power were impressive. But these traits had their limits.
The mind had all but died rounds ago. The actions now were a suit of armor taking on life of its own, sapping the body within for all it was worth. Mega Kyurem's jaws clamped down upon the GHOUL's midsection, lifting and crushing it between icy teeth. A GHOUL did not need its belly to use its arms, however; so it continued to use them, smashing them one, two, three times against the dragon's skull until both fell forward, the dragon dazed. The suit whirred more loudly, all but smoking at its seams, and it forced itself to its feet at a jagged angle. It could not kill Kyurem here, no, but it could get a solid hit in, and so it raised its arms above its head--
BOOM!
A plethora of attacks landed. Aura and fairy-powered wind crashed into the GHOUL from the side, throwing it off-balance as one of its legs came undone. It struggled, ignoring the mangling of its knee and forcing itself to its feet just as psionic energy wracked its form. The smoke that had threatened to overcome the form of the GHOUL intensified, until flames presented themselves to all, the suit finally beginning to overcompensate and tear itself apart from within.
Yet still, it struggled on.
The flames burned brighter as Tyranitar's Hyper Beam took it from the other side, searing its form. Metal and the synthetic material comprising the skin suit began to melt from the heat, fusing together in places. The face plate, once an opaque white, turned black from within, all semblance of the person behind it burning in the assault. As the beam dissipated, the burned, charred suit was left to stand there, half-kneeling, before Kyurem.
Yet still, it struggled on.
Its movements were feeble, nearly unnoticeable at first. But in moments, it was clear that this thing still was not done. It struggled to move, struggled to breathe--and yet it struggled. It forced its damaged head to lift, forced the charred neck to bend. Its armor and bones and suit all cracked with the effort as it tried to raise a hand toward Kyurem, who by now had risen back to its feet.
Mega Kyurem snarled at the inhumane creature before it, and in one swift motion, had swiped its frozen arm across the creature's shoulders. Helmet and head bounced across the field, coming to a halt some yards away. The headless body of the GHOUL remained stationary for a moment, finally collapsing before the dragon.
The shadowy cage around the field dissipated, and all was silent.
S3-GHOUL: Defeated
IC - S3-GHOUL/Gavin Braner (Mega Dothe)/Skye Hall - Mess Hall, The Alamo:
With all of his attention having been set on the GEIST, Gavin wasn't sure what the situation was with the GHOUL. All he saw as he hurried toward Lucia's side was the Rocket Agent's Clawitzer and Blissey engaged with the figure. He pointed ahead.
"Dothe, Ice Punch!"
The Mega Dusknoir nodded, twisting through the air to come at the GHOUL Unit from the side. Freezing energy gathered around his fist, and he slammed this into the red-suited enemy.
It hardly budged.
Gavin and Skye skidded to a halt in surprise, just as stunned as Dothe. While ice had partially formed from the point of impact, encasing part of the GHOUL's helmet, it appeared almost entirely unaffected by the force of the attack. Slowly, it twisted its head to face the Ghost-Type. Dead eyes glared from behind its visor, and for a moment, it did nothing. Then, with an intense whirring sound from its body, it twisted and slammed its arm against Dothe's midsection, launching him across the field and into the shadow wall.
"Dothe!" Gavin yelled. He started to head toward the Mega Pokémon, only to stop as Dothe rose and held a hand up to signal that he was okay. Gavin gritted his teeth, looking back at the GHOUL. "How did it--the fuck!?" He looked at Lucia. "Has it been shrugging off hits like that the entire time!?"
"T-There has to be a way to hurt it, right?" Skye said.
"We're going to find out," Gavin growled. He reached for his belt, pulling Ithes's and Evris's Poké Balls off of it and throwing them into the air, releasing the Starmie and Claydol onto the field. "Ithes, Rapid Spin! Evris, Earth Power!"
The two Psychic-Types moved into action. First was the Starmie, which yote itself through the air with impressive force as it spun fast enough to become essentially a flying razor disk. The GHOUL raised a hand as Ithes shot toward it, catching the attack in its palm; Ithes spun against its hand, grinding into the gauntlet for several seconds before the GHOUL pushed back, knocking Ithes away. As it did, Evris's many eyes glowed, and the ground beneath the GHOUL erupted around it, slamming into it from every angle. When the attack cleared, the Shadow Suit still stood. It seemed hardly affected by the assault.
"That's not good," Gavin muttered.
The words had hardly escaped his lips when the GHOUL raised its arms, focusing energy around itself. Darkness spread from its fingertips, coalescing into a black sphere that suddenly shattered, sending shards hurtling toward its enemies. These clung to the Pokémon in the arena, and they felt the attack chipping away at their strength--not weakening their attack power, but rather leaving them open to whatever assault would next come their way.
Dothe: Ice Punch > S3-GHOUL Ithes: Rapid Spin > S3-GHOUL Evris: Earth Power > S3-GHOUL S3-GHOUL: Shadow Down > All opponents
IC - Kyle Eston (Kitheus, Ruj)/Levi Alaric (Leif)/Will Moreno (Mime Jr.) - Forest, Unknown:
Synchronizing the map had worked; that was good news. Kyle spent some time studying it, pacing back and forth as he got himself oriented with what he was seeing and with what was around him. Finally, he snapped his fingers, moving back toward the kids and their group of Pokémon.
"Got it," he said. "Now, I still don't know exactly where we are, but it looks like there's a river not too far from here that leads down to a small town. There's probably a Pokémon Center there, so we can call for help from there--and get Will's ankle looked at."
The two boys looked at each other and then back at Kyle. "O-Okay," Levi said.
"I don't suppose we could fly there?" Will asked hesitantly, patting Kitheus's exterior to emphasize the question. The Magnezone gave a tired, mechanical groan in response.
Kyle shook his head. "I don't think so," he said. "Kitheus took some pretty big hits from that thing earlier; I don't think he'd make it very far. You definitely can't walk, though, so . . ." He pulled a Poké Ball from his belt and held it up. It opened, and a beam of white energy burst outward, materializing into the form of a large, black-armored Haxorus. The Dragon-Type growled, immediately searching for his opponent, and then turned to Kyle in confusion when he found none. "Sorry, Lyxek; I don't need you for a fight right now. Think you could be Will's legs for a bit?" Lyxek followed Kyle's gesture toward the psychic trainer, who unconsciously shuffled back a bit as the Dragon-Type laid its eyes on him. After a moment, Lyxek gave an affirmative grunt to his trainer.
"That settles that, then. Thanks, pal," Kyle said, patting the dragon on his back. He approached Will, Lyxek in tow. "Come on--let's get you saddled up." Without too much hassle, they moved Will onto Lyxek's back. The boy clung tightly to the Axe Jaw Pokémon, only starting to look relieved when it became clear that his mount had no interest in suddenly flinging him off. Kyle patted his back. "You good?"
Will nodded. "I've never ridden a Pokémon like this before," he admitted. "Usually it's been Ponyta and things like that." He glanced nervously at the back of the Haxorus's neck. "I also haven't really seen a lot of Dragon-Types in person before. Especially one so... scary."
"Well, don't be scared of Lyxek here," Kyle said. "He likes to fight, but he's a big softy on the inside--his first priority is going to be to keep you guys safe until we get to town." He looked at Lyxek. "Understood?" The Haxorus nodded. "See?"
After a moment of hesitation, Will nodded. "Y-Yeah, you know what? Let's be friends, Lyxek." The Dragon-Type rumbled affirmatively.
"Good!" Kyle turned back to his Magnezone, grabbing his Poké Ball. "Thanks for your hard work, Kitheus. Take a rest until we can get you healed up, alright?" The Electric-Type buzzed appreciatively before disappearing into the sphere. Once he had replaced it on his belt, Kyle looked at Ruj. "Mind flying overhead and keeping an eye out? We want to avoid any unnecessary fights if we can." The Gliscor nodded and took off into the air, disappearing from a brief moment. After a bit, he passed the group by overhead, searching through the trees on the path before them. "I'll take the lead; stay close behind me, alright?"
The group nodded. Kyle shouldered his bag and began walking through the woods, picking his path carefully. Levi followed closely behind, with Leif floating just beside him. Lyxek carrying Will brought up the rear. To any outside observed, the mixture of people and Pokémon might have seemed strange at a glance. Then again, Kyle wasn't even sure that they were likely to run into anyone so far out here--at least, not anytime soon.
He wasn't sure how long they had been traveling when he noticed Levi speed up to walk next to him. The boy glanced around nervously as they moved, but seemed to be trying his best to hide his fear. Kyle adjusted his bag and glanced down at him. "You alright?"
"Y-Yeah," Levi said, unconvincingly. "Um . . . H-How long are we going to be here?"
"That's hard to say," Kyle said. "Without flying, I'd say at least a day. Could be two."
"O-Oh." Levi crossed his arms across his stomach.
"We'll be okay, I promise--I have emergency supplies, so camping out here isn't going to be an issue," Kyle said. "Or are you worried about something else?"
Levi scrunched his face a bit as he thought about how to answer. "Is that . . . t-thing going to attack us again?"
With a sigh, Kyle shook his head. "I don't know," he admitted. "Let me worry about that, though, okay? You just focus on walking--and on what you want to name that Bulbasaur."
Levi couldn't help but smile a bit at this. "Okay," he said quietly. "Mr. Kyle? Do you have other Pokémon?"
"I've got a few," Kyle said. "Anything in particular you're looking for?"
"Um . . ." Levi looked back at Will and Lyxek. "Is there one I could ride, too?"
"Mm . . ." Kyle thought it over, checking the remaining Pokémon he had on hand. Finally, he shook his head. "I don't, unfortunately, aside from Kitheus. Jaeda could carry you, but she's not here. And the only other one big enough to ride on is Vailien, my Onix, but that'd be a little too fast for Will to ride on or for Lyxek to keep up with. Sorry, buddy."
"T-That's okay," Levi said. "I haven't hiked a lot, so I just wanted to ask."
"No worries," Kyle said. "Tell you what--if you feel like you need a break from walking, just let me know. I don't mind giving you a piggyback ride for a bit."
Levi rubbed the back of his neck. "O-Okay," he said. "T-Thank you."
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Post by Konuju on Aug 16, 2020 9:13:05 GMT -8
IC: Ellen Burks/Shannon Willows - Park, Ecruteak CityThe entire field brightened as sunlight broke through the shadowy cage that had surrounded the former battlefield. For a moment, nobody moved. Then Shannon fell to her knees, burying her face in her hands. Tyranitar lumbered over to his new trainer and awkwardly placed a giant hand on her back in an attempt to console her. Ellen immediately rushed over to Gnip's side, fighting the wave of exhaustion that came over her as her bond with Symbio faded and the Reuniclus reverted back to his original form. The young girl wasted no time fishing a Full Heal out of her bag and applying the medicine to the frozen dragon. As the ice started to thaw, Ellen placed a gentle hand on Gnip's scales to try and warm them up. "Are you alright?" she asked softly. "Is everyone else alright?" she asked a little louder, looking around at Evan, Jenny, Chloe, Corey, and Shannon. Shannon slowly raised her head, wiping her tears on her arm. "Wh-who were those people? Wh-what did they want?" Ellen was silent as she continued to attend to the Mega Garchomp. It was not lost on her that one of the shadow suits had attacked her directly, before she had joined Symbio in Mega Evolution. The enemy hadn't attempted to grab anyone else like that. But was it merely coincidence, or did it mean something more? She shook her head as she patted Gnip's side. "I don't know. They didn't say much, and those we didn't outright destroy disappeared before we could question them." We may have more pressing matters, Symbio said, floating over to Ellen's side. I've looked all over the field. Chrono's gone.IC: Dack Majors/Jayron Aaron/Colleen Llyan/Luke/Ryan Sanders/Madison Morrow - Harbor, Moro IslandThe group had managed to hold their own well enough. Once Colleen had taken care of the Walkorpse that stubbornly clung to Bastiodon, Dack was able to help Kammy and Luke fight the fairy dresses. And fairy was an accurate assumption on their typing, for the dancing dresses were quickly torn asunder by Bastiodon's Iron Head. Jayron and Lucario kept going toe to toe with the book-toting Instance. No matter how much they threw at the phantom, it didn't seem to weaken, and it was all they could do to keep up the attack while avoiding the various elemental attacks it threw at them. "You seem to be having some trouble there," Colleen said with a teasing smile. "These are brand new enemies," Jayron countered, trying not to seem annoyed. "We don't know anything about them." "We know one thing." Colleen moved next to her fellow aura wielder and pointed up at the Instance. "That tome it has seems to glow with a different sigil every time it attacks. If we can destroy its method of attacking, we might have an easier time finding a way to defeat it." The executive considered this for a moment. "Lucario!" Way ahead of you. The Aura Pokémon seemed to vanish from the rooftop. An instant later he appeared before the phantom Instance. While the Extremespeed didn't seem to damage the ghostly figure, it brought Lucario right up to his target. Reaching out a paw, Lucario grabbed the book and unleashed a Dark Pulse. An eerie scream escaped from the pages of the tome as the dark energy tore it to shreds. The hooded phantom dissipated into nothingness as the remains of the book fluttered to the ground around Lucario. Luke gave a low whistle. "There's a joke here about judging a book by its cover--" "Don't." Dack shot his friend a look. "This isn't over yet." As if on cue, another horde of Instances emerged from the ship. More of the grinning dresses, phantom books, and hooded figures carrying clocks. As these Instances approached the group, the ship itself continued to attack the harbor with another Barrage. "You've got to be kidding me!" Luke cried. "The last batch was hard enough. How are we supposed to defeat all of those?" The group braced for the oncoming assault. But before the Instances reached them, a barrage of Aura Spheres rained from the sky, halting the Missing Zero's army temporarily. A Togekiss descended from above, carrying Ryan and Madison. "We have to get out of here!" Madison cried. "Our ship's still at the docks. If we hurry, we can make it!" "What about Agent Shaw?" Jayron asked. "We can't just leave him behind!" Dack opened his mouth to retort but Ryan cut him off. "We already contacted Adam; he's on his way to the ship as we speak." "And what about the rest of the island?" Colleen added. "Are we just going to leave all these people to die?" "There's no way we can defeat all these enemies here," Madison said. "You may be holding them off at this point, but they've already taken the rest of the harbor. Other people are fleeing on their own boats. The whole island is evacuating. If we don't follow suit, we're as good as dead." Jayron looked at the wreckage around them. "They're right," he said. "If we don't fall back now, the Instances will just push us further inland until they have us surrounded. We need to retreat." "But--" "That's an order, Agent Llyan." Jayron gave her an understanding, yet grave look. "Fall back so we can fight another day. Understood?" Colleen knew she couldn't argue with the executive. "Yes, sir," she grumbled, turning away and hopping onto her Blastoise's back. "Kammy, make us a path! We might as well take out as many of these hellspawn as we can on our way out." The Mega Blastoise nodded in affirmation as she blasted a Water Pulse from all three of her cannons, tearing a hole through the line of enemies. *** An Abomasnow stood at the bow of their ship, sending periodic waves of ice towards the trash snails that surrounded the vessel. As Ryan, Dack, and the others ran aboard, Adam Shaw poked his head out from the lower deck. "About darn time," he said with a scowl. "What, did you guys stop for a picnic on the way over here?" "Shut your face and get us out of here," Dack growled. Adam simply laughed. "Since when do I take orders from you, Majors?" "You heard what he said." Jayron planted himself between the two Snowpoint trainers. "Pilot this boat, or move aside so someone else can." "Alright, I hear ya." Adam rolled his eyes as he made his way back below deck. "But the rest of you better help clear a path. These waters aren't going to be much safer than land, at least not until we get a good distance from the island." "We can take care of the Pollucant," Ryan said, sending out his Flaaffy. "You just focus on getting us to that safe distance." As the boat pulled away from the dock and the group targeted the Pollucant and Driprown lurking in the waters, Ryan couldn't help but look back at the destruction of Moro Island. Who knew how far the Missing Zero had spread across the sea floor? They could escape the island easily enough, but out in the ocean he knew they were far from safe.
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Post by Parugi on Aug 17, 2020 19:18:27 GMT -8
IC - S6-PREDATOR - ?:Chrono was gone, indeed. But where to? It was difficult to say. He had followed the PREDATOR Unit into a corridor of shadow. On entry, rather than teleport directly to a new location, he had found himself in a void of sorts. There was solid ground beneath his feet, and walls to either side, but everything ahead and around lay covered in thick, inky blackness. Even the portal through which Chrono had entered this tunnel shed no light into this place, its existence--temporary though it had been--only evidenced at all by the presence of those within. With the portal now closed, the only way to go was forward--as the PREDATOR now did. The figure did not notice the cat slinking through the darkness behind it. Blood seeped from the wound in its neck still; unlike the GHOUL post-Module, the PREDATOR's operator still required such fluid to function. Even now, one could hear its ragged, gurgling breaths as it stumbled through the dark corridor, toward whatever lay beyond the other end. Though the tunnel itself was not very long, the PREDATOR's belabored steps greatly slowed its movements. Finally, it reached the end. From what little light seemed to emanate from the fixtures on its body, Chrono could see the PREDATOR lift a hand forward, placing it against an invisible wall. A second later, the wall gave way, allowing the Shadow Suit to stumble forward. In the split second before it closed, the Dark-Type hurried forward, materializing through the rift in space just before it could trap him within. The sudden presence of light blinded Chrono momentarily. When his eyes had adjusted, the Purrloin discovered a place that was . . . dizzying to behold. He had appeared on a platform in some sort of large tower, a long, continuous spire that climbed up several floors and down for even more. A well-worn stairwell wound its way up around one edge, connecting to an identical platform above; back around the other way, an identical stairwell dipped down to yet another platform. Through the metal grating that Chrono stood upon, he could see beneath him several more of these, until finally they were lost to the darkness below--or else eaten by the shimmering light reflecting off of water at the bottom of the tower. Faint sounds, possibly voices, echoed up from the darkness below, distant and distorted by the space in the tower and the halls carrying them from their origin. From here, their source could not be determined. As to the platforms that composed each floor . . . They were circular in form, and opened up toward the center; careless action could easily cause one to fall inward, toward the depths beneath. More curious, however, were the smaller ledges that jutted outward from the center at regular intervals. There were six in total; upon each stood a strange contraption, almost like a modern, technological sarcophagus. Each bore a number near the top; directly in front of him stood one labeled S6, and to the right, another labeled S5, and so on around the rest of the room. Every platform, up and down, bore identical containers--there must have been at least two dozen in total. As Chrono watched, the PREDATOR Unit approached the S6 sarcophagus. The bleeding, injured person placed their hand on its surface; it seemed to pulse before opening, revealing the chilled space within. The PREDATOR climbed inside, turning and lying back against the cold surface. The structure closed around them, and the machine fell silent. While Chrono waited for what came next, another portal of darkness appeared across the way, in front of what would have been the S2. No figure emerged; however, the sarcophagus opened nonetheless. As Chrono watched, strange tendrils--somewhere between metal and flesh--extended from within and reached within the portal, seeming to grasp something before they began to retract. They pulled from the darkness the unmoving body of the purple-armored PHANTOM Unit, dragging it inside and closing around its form. This process repeated not too long after with two more portals, that of the S4 and then the S3. Where the S6 and S2 had been injured, living beings, however, these last two were mangled beyond recognition, the first appearing to have been crushed and the latter dealt massive amounts of damage by some ungodly combination of attacks. Amongst these four, sounds of similar re-acquisitions could be heard and glimpsed throughout the tower. What lay below? What awaited above? Between both, what kind of place had Chrono found himself?
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Post by Konuju on Aug 19, 2020 18:51:51 GMT -8
IC: Chrono - ? Chrono crouched in the shadows, ears flattened against his head as he watched the various shadow suits return to their strange sarcophagi. The yellowish suit he had followed retreated into the S6 containment pod before he could finish it off. A shame, for he suspected the pod's purpose was to heal the warrior within the armor. Then again, if the state of the S3 and S4 suits were any indication, it didn't matter how much damage Chrono did to his enemy.
He waited until all four suits had been sealed within their respective coffins. Whereas bloodlust had driven him through the dark portal, now the Purrloin's survival instinct kicked in. It told him he should learn more about his surroundings before taking any bold action. Sound advice, for the strange tower he found himself in felt highly unnatural. Come to think of it, the entire fight felt unnatural. Just who were these people -- if the mute warriors could even be considered people -- and why had they attacked?
Chrono's tail flicked. The platform he was on had fallen silent once more, but on higher and lower floors suits were still returning to their containment pods. Only four enemies had attacked them in Ecruteak. Did this mean these suits had appeared in more places than just Ecruteak?
A set of stairs directly to Chrono's left led up to the next floor. But what sounded like voices -- it was hard to tell amidst the sound of various pods opening and closing -- came from further below. And what seemed to be a pool of water resting at the bottom of the tower caught the Purrloin's eye. He couldn't tell how far down it was, but as far as he could tell the way up only led to more of the same platforms.
And so, sticking to the shadows near the tower wall, Chrono slinked his way around the platform to the set of stairs leading down. He paused as the lower platform came into view, scanning the floor for any more of those silent soldiers.
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Post by Parugi on Aug 20, 2020 17:59:21 GMT -8
IC - Kyle Eston (Lyxek, Ruj)/Levi Alaric (Leif)/Will Moreno (Mime Jr.) - Forest, Unknown:Night had fallen when they finally stopped to bunk down. Somewhere along the way, Kyle had indeed switched to carrying Levi on his back. Doing so admittedly made his own hiking that much harder, but Levi was surprisingly light for his age and size, so it was not too big of an ask. By the time they had found somewhere to sleep for the night, Levi had all but fallen asleep on Kyle's back; as the older trainer knelt down to let him off, Levi stumbled to his feet, rubbing fatigue from his eyes. "You guys doing alright?" Kyle asked as he helped Will off of Lyxek's back. Will's stomach growled as Kyle helped him sit down against a fallen tree. "I could go for something to eat right about now . . ." "Mhm . . ." Levi mumbled. He plopped down next to Will, still in the process of waking back up. "I've got that covered," Kyle said. He removed his bag and handed it to Will. "There should be some rations in there somewhere. Go ahead and grab those while I get a fire started." He looked to Lyxek. "Keep an eye on things for a bit--I'll be right back." It did not take much work to gather firewood. Upon return, Kyle sent out Daiga, using the Sandslash to help clear out the area a bit more and get some logs and rocks situated into a make-shift shelter. The fire, too, was easy enough to start--a quick Ember from Torith did the trick, earning the young Houndour a treat. Before long, the group had situated themselves around the fire, eating a hearty meal of whatever went into Liberty's field rations. It wasn't great, but after a day of near-death followed by trekking through the woods, it was enjoyable enough. "Do you eat this stuff often?" Will asked. "Not really," Kyle said. "Not since Operation RALLY ended. I've had pretty good luck not having to camp out since then." "That's, uh . . . that's good." "It's not very good, is it?" Will wrinkled his nose. "I mean, considering the circumstances, I can't complain," he said. "But . . . no. Somehow it's both better and worse than people've made it out to be." "Yeah . . ." Kyle said. "It's made to last, but it sacrifices a lot of the flavor in the process." He set his empty ration aside. "Well, just give it a day--once we get to town and get sorted out, we can get something more substantial to eat." Both boys nodded. After some time, having finished eating and simply resting by the fire, Levi had fallen asleep again, snuggled up with Leif and Torith for warmth. The sight brought Kyle some peace of mind. Eileen Alaric had given a much different impression of her son than what he had experienced so far. He had expected far more of a panicked response to . . . really anything that had occurred today. The fact that Levi seemed to be doing so well made him feel a little more at ease with how he had handled the situation thus far. Hopefully that would continue. He glanced back over at Will, who was still awake and staring intently into the fire. After a moment, Will looked back at him, perhaps sensing his gaze. "You should get some sleep," Kyle said. "My team and I'll keep watch." "I'm not really that tired yet," Will said. "Didn't really do all that much, remember?" He nodded toward his ankle. "Besides, the fire's nice to look at." "I can agree with you there." Kyle leaned back, looking into the flames himself. "Still doing okay?" Will nodded. "Good. You definitely had me worried there for a bit when we first got up there." "Yeah . . . Sorry again about that." "You don't need to apologize," Kyle said. "I've met more than one psychic; I know those powers can be . . . finicky." "Yeah, but they shouldn't get out of control for someone like me," Will said. "My mother's spent my entire life instilling discipline in me; I can't even remember the last time I did something with my mind without meaning to." He shrugged. "I don't know; I just feel bad about all of this . . ." Kyle rubbed the back of his neck. "Well . . . I don't know about you, but I definitely wasn't expecting to get attacked in the middle of the Alamo. Just remember that panic is a normal response to stressful situations, especially if you've never been through something like that before. And, ultimately, it turned out okay, right? Yeah, it was scary, but no one died; no one really got hurt from that fall. And now you're aware that that can happen, so you can work on making sure it doesn't happen again." "What if it does happen again, though? And what if next time there's no one around to save us?" "I don't have an answer for that, buddy." Kyle fell silent for a bit. "Just . . . Sometimes, things happen. And you can't always be prepared for those things. I've been in way more situations than I care to admit where I was completely blindsided and in way over my head. But I got through it anyway, and I'm a lot more vigilant now because of those situations. If the best you can do is to take the positives and learn from the negatives to be better prepared for the future, then that's fine. But I learned a long time ago that worrying too much about 'what ifs' can be just as bad as doing nothing at all, or as bad as running into something without thinking through the consequences." He shrugged. "I'm not trying to lecture you, but does that make sense?" Will nodded. "I think so." He tilted his head at Kyle. "Sounds like you've seen a lot of bad stuff." Kyle chuckled. "That's one way of putting it." "Could you tell me about some of it?" "Ah . . ." Kyle leaned back against his rock. "I don't know. Some of that stuff is pretty gnarly; not anything I particularly want to talk about . . ." "Alright." Will leaned his chin against his knees. After a moment, he glanced back up at Kyle. "Can you tell me about Operation RALLY? I've never heard of that before." He thought about it for a moment. "Sure," Kyle said. "So, about a year, year and a half ago now, Team Liberty got this idea into their head to start recruiting Legendary Pokémon . . ." IC - Chrono - Strange Tower: (Current position)There was no sign of movement from the next floor, save for the telltale sign that one of the pods had just closed around a returning occupant. However, as Chrono delicately measured his descent, another movement did catch his attention--from above and to his left. On instinct he shifted back, only for the . . . thing to disappear as quickly as he had seen it. A moment later, something impacted the water below. It took only a moment for the Dark-Type to realize that something had just dropped or been dropped past him, down the tower. But what? The answer presented itself soon enough. From his position at the top of the stairs, he could now look across the way and see the other side of the original S6 sarcophagus, which faced toward the empty, inward space of the tower. Whatever machinations occurring within the structure seemed to have finished, as the inside face of the sarcophagus suddenly hissed. Chrono watched as it opened. Rather than releasing the rejuvenated form of the PREDATOR, he instead saw a limp, lifeless body that soon fell out into open space. Its shell-like armor had been removed and the skintight mesh suit stripped away, leaving only a bare body. For the first time, it was clear that the creatures operating the Shadow Suits were, indeed, human--or, at least, they had been. This one was a young man. His head had been shaved completely, and his entire body was absolutely covered with surgical scars whose purpose Chrono could not determine. The most prominent were on his head, at each of his temples; in the brief glimpse that Chrono got, he could see what looked like nodes of some sort protruding from the flesh there. His entire body was gaunt, a disturbing contrast to the sheer resilience and strength that these figures had displayed. Just before the figure tumbled out of view, Chrono managed to glimpse the man's slit throat, which had spilled blood all over the front of his body now. And yet despite the damage, he still breathed--shallow, unhelpful, but breaths nonetheless. He made no noise as he was discarded, cast into the depths below. He simply fell, silent, eyes staring forward as mindlessly as they had done in the heat of battle.
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Post by Konuju on Aug 24, 2020 16:34:56 GMT -8
IC: Chrono - Strange Tower A chill ran down the Dark-Type's spine. Had he been better read, Chrono might have likened the gaunt, nearly lifeless form of the suit operator to Frankenstein's monster. But as an alley cat more concerned with self-preservation than classic literature, Chrono did not know that reference and instead simply found the silent man terribly unnerving.
He suspected the S4, S3, and S2 operators would meet a similar fate soon enough. While it seemed the operators were being discarded, Chrono wasn't sure if they were still capable of raising an alarm. And so the Purrloin stuck to the shadows as he carefully wound his way around the platform, every hair in his body standing on end.
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Post by Parugi on Aug 28, 2020 11:56:33 GMT -8
IC - Chrono - Strange Tower: (Current position)The rest of the descent down the tower was stressful, slow, and careful, but thankfully uneventful as far as things that could harm Chrono went. As he suspected, his slow maneuvering was punctuated every so often by the sound of another sarcophagus opening, another body falling through darkness to the depths at the bottom of the tower. Most were full bodies, but there were several in much worse condition--among them a figure that looked more like it had been completely flattened, its blood and organs spilling loose from its form, and a body that was so charred and burned that it could hardly be considered human anymore, let alone its severed head that fell after it. These were disturbing, disgusting sights to behold, but they posed no danger. After what felt like an eternity, Chrono arrived at the bottom of the last set of stairs. To one side, a guard rail separated the walkway from the well that had consumed so many corpses already. Peering down, he saw pristine water, encapsulated in a perfect circle formed by the tower itself. It wasn't entirely clear, but it was not murky in the way that Chrono would normally understand. The water seemed to glow faintly, very faintly, just enough that it obscured what lay beneath its surface. What Chrono could see was the vague silhouette of some sort of large, jagged thing, the nature of which he could not discern yet sent a pulse of a headache through his body as he laid his eyes on it. There was no sign of any of the bodies that had been dispensed here, despite the fact that at least some of them should have left some sort of bloody presence in their wake. Across the way, just above the surface of the water, a platform jutted out from the wall, attached to a hallway that Chrono could not look into from his angle. To the other side of his position, a dimly lit hallway stretched away from the tower and toward another part of this structure. This hallway carried voices and noises from beyond; though Chrono strained his ears, he could still not make out the words nor the exact sources. But he did pick out a few things--the beeping of machines, akin to those of medical equipment; indecipherable words; the occasional revving of machines, among them what sounded like a saw blade. Intermixed with all of this were whimpers, sobs, and the occasional scream. Two ways forward--down the hall, or into the waters.
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Post by Konuju on Aug 29, 2020 7:17:00 GMT -8
IC: Chrono - Strange Tower Chrono stared down into the water. If his senses had told him there was danger before, now they were telling him to run away as fast as he could. He couldn't discern whatever shape lurked beneath the water's glowing surface, but whatever it was he got the feeling he shouldn't be anywhere near it. His ears flattened against his head and his back arched. Pain coursed through his body, yet he couldn't look away.
Slowly, fearfully, the Purrloin backed up until the edge of the platform obscured the water below. Whatever was down there must have consumed the Shadow Suit operators. And Chrono had the terrible, sinking feeling that it wouldn't hesitate to consume him as well.
His ears pricked up. Voices. Screams. Machines whose purpose Chrono didn't want to -- yet couldn't help but -- think about. Whatever lay at the end of the hall did not seem appealing in the slightest. And yet it was surely better than that thing beneath the water.
A strange thought entered the Purrloin's mind. He was glad, grateful even, that Ellen hadn't followed him through the dark portal. This was not a place she should ever be exposed to.
And it was that thought that pushed him forward. Ellen, he was sure, wanted to stop these Shadow Suits from attacking more innocent people. It was a brave, noble sentiment -- yet also a stupid one. Chrono found himself determined to discover what he could about this place, not so he could eviscerate his enemies, but so he could spare Ellen from ever having to know about this place. And so he made his way, slowly, fearfully, assuredly down the hallway.
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Post by minun4 on Aug 30, 2020 11:01:19 GMT -8
IC: James Arthur - VIP Cell Block
A small part of James had been wondering if Ford was going to make this offer, but James hadn’t been ready for it.
He’d been working on creating his own opportunity to escape ever since he was imprisoned. But this opportunity came far sooner than he was prepared for. James thought that he’d have had a better feel for whether or not Team Liberty would require his intervention. As well as whether or not Amanda would be able to clear his name, and expose the truth.
Having Ford and Hayes as allies would raise his odds of successfully escaping, compared to escaping by himself. Not to mention, that he wouldn’t be rebuilding from absolutely nothing if he had some allies to escape with. And he could do worse in the allies department than Ford and Hayes. And if he didn’t escape now, there existed the possibility that any attempted escape in the future would be more difficult.
On the other hand, escaping at all had the same downside it was always going to. It would bury any and all chances for him to save Team Liberty, should it require him to do so. It would also probably lower the chances that he would learn the truth behind these suits. And while he would have gained allies in Ford and Hayes, it would mean permanently throwing away the position he had.
In the end, it came down to one simple question. Was he really going to let Vert win that easily? Vert and Silvermind would have to prove the solidity of their rule before he would be willing to trust them with the defense of the world.
James shook his head. “I will pass on your offer. I would rather not confirm Team Liberty’s current delusion that I am on your payroll. Though if you see any of my Pokemon, feel free to make the same offer to them. A certain Weavile with a green crown might be of use if you need to break in anywhere on your way out.”
Percy also shook his head, but for very different reasons. He let out a small war cry, and James let him go. The Mega-Chandelure had regained his senses. James smiled at the development, though he really wished he had lost the confusion before he had burned James’s hand. But you take what you can get.
James took another look down to where their opponent was, as the gears turned in his head.
“Before you leave. I have some information you may find a use for.”
IC: Amanda Zarth - Four Island
Amanda was sitting at her computer, in the dead of night, probably, at a date that she had forgotten to keep track of. She was filling out a summary of her investigations into the allegations against Executive Arthur. Her work speed crawled to a halt as she had to keep double-checking her work.
She read the typed out words to herself. “Insufficient information to malicious intent.”
It was another garbage sentence that she managed to let slip through. Her eyes felt heavy, her hands were shaking and she could no longer focus at satisfactory levels. It was official. Her body was no longer capable of functioning at an adequate level to continue working at an even an adequate level of performance, much less an optimal level. There were no alternatives left but to take a period of rest. Considering that her current actions were in service of someone who had had her physically stopped her from working to the point of self-destruction, she knew that said person would want her to take a break. If not for her own sake, then at least so she would not make mistakes in pursuing his case.
Amanda listlessly picked herself out of her seat. She took a look at the bed in her room and noticed an immediate problem. Her bed had, once again, become a garden of stacks of papers. There was not even room to stand on the bed, let alone lay down to fall asleep on it. It was a bad habit, and she knew it. But every time she was done with a document, she had to put it somewhere. And it would be a problem if she couldn’t immediately find it, so she organized all the documents into different piles. And she kept acquiring more documents, and organizing them into piles. Before she knew it, the bed was full without her noticing.
Amanda turned around and contemplated the computer table for a moment before heading towards the bed. She considered simply sleeping at her desk as she moved stacks of papers off of the bed whilst trying not to mess up the organization she had the stacks in with what little space there was left on the ground. When the stacks had been placed in a way that somewhat approached her level of satisfaction, she climbed onto the bed and fell on it.
Some time passed, with Amanda constantly adjusting her position on the bed. Sleep was not forthcoming, despite her body’s tired state. Her mind kept having to do the cost/benefit analysis of continuing to dedicate time to Executive Arthur’s case, when the situation back in Unova had continued to deteriorate.
The news from Black City had not been good. Or perhaps more accurately stated, the news from the survivors of what had once been Black City had not been good. A fair amount of Team Plasma’s leadership had been taken out. So far, her orders had not changed. An illogical part of her mind was convinced that there was no one left to give her new orders. The more rational parts of her mind responded to this errant thought, affirming that Team Plasma’s chain of command was sturdy enough to accommodate for the losses. That did not preclude her mind from fabricating worst-case scenarios in her near delirious state.
Amanda flipped over and faced the other way. She turned her attention to more pleasant matters. Like all the time that had been spent on James’s case without making meaningful advancement. She had no personal reference for how long such an investigation should take. She could research statistics on the matter, but even ignoring the uselessness of such research when compared to what currently on her plate, she wasn’t sure she even wanted to know the answer. What would be worse, to learn that she is behind schedule, or to learn that the schedule asks for more time than she can afford? James’s refusal to explain his actions or his motives was not helping. What was his angle in the matter? His actions didn’t appear to be in his immediate best interest.
Amanda tightened her eyes as she tried to force sleep on herself. But her mind had been tormenting her with these thoughts. Each second that slept by was another reminder of how much she had left undone.
You still haven’t gotten James out of prison?
Yes just like that.
Wait.
That was not her subconscious chastising her again. She was familiar enough with telepathy to know when someone was contacting her, even in her tired state. Her eyes shot open to see which unauthorized individual was currently invading her private space. What appeared above her, was a flying green onion. Amanda tried calculating the probability that she was dreaming right now. It was the optimal possibility that she was somehow getting the sleep that her body needed, but nothing else about her situation indicated she was in a dream. She concluded that at the very least, if she were asleep, she would feel less tired.
She rubbed her eyes, and blinked several times. The image of the onion came into focus. “You are Celebi correct?” Amanda asked, as she sat up on the bed. “The records showed that you were in a partnership with James Arthur.”
Yes, yes. Enough about me, Celebi said, coming to rest on a stack of papers on the nightstand. Let’s talk about your investigation. You’re behind schedule.
That phrase. It was everything that she did not want to hear. She grabbed her XTransciever to check the date. She checked the current date and calculated how much time had elapsed since she started. If she compared that to how much progress she had made, she could calculate an effective timetable. No, there was a more efficient option. If Celebi knew that she was behind schedule, she could inform her what the schedule was. “I was not aware that there was a schedule I was supposed to be following. Team Liberty has yet to post an official date for James’s trial. And what information I could gather on the subject was frustratingly vague. Is this an international standard on the practices of investigation I was not aware of?”
Celebi just stared at Amanda for a moment. Celebi hadn’t quite expected that level of seriousness in Amanda’s response. I forgot who I was talking to. Celebi said shaking her head. Wait, have we met in this timeline? Celebi pondered this briefly. Doesn’t matter. You’re behind on my schedule. And I’ve come to check on what the hold up is, Celebi said casually picking a document. She got bored with it quickly, and dropped it.
Before the paper could reach the ground, Amanda shot forward and caught it. She placed it back on the stack that Celebi had taken it from.
“Your schedule?” Amanda said, a bit of incredulity slipping into her voice.
With a wave of her hand, Celebi straightened the stack of papers that Amanda had restored to completion. My powers have been restored. I’m bored of him being in prison. I want to help wiping the grin off of a certain clown’s face for what he did to someone I care about. Getting James out of prison gets me back in action as soon as possible. Do something about that.
Amanda blinked. Slowly it dawned on her what Celebi actually meant by schedule. She moved to sit on the edge of the bed, while nursing her head of a headache that was not helped by her need for sleep. “So to clarify, by schedule, you mean your conceited whims?”
That stung, Celebi decided. If you put it like that, it sounded like she was being a jerk. I mean…. Yes?
Amanda stood up and walked over to her computer. She picked up three pieces of paper from three different stacks on her way over, and handed them to Celebi. As sleep was simply not going to happen at any rate, Amanda decided she could indulge the capricious time traveler’s request. When she sat down at her computer, Celebi took a seat on top of the monitor, while taking a brief look at each of the papers.
Amanda just stared at Celebi for a moment. Celebi’s legs were making it hard to see her screen, and she was too tired for this. “I’m going to need you to relocate.”
My bad, she said levitating off of the screen.
She clicked her mouse, bringing her computer out of sleep mode, causing the sorry excuse for an in-progress report to appear. “My progress thus far has not been promising.” She began scrolling through her notes on the people she’d had investigated up to this point. “So far Executive Arthur is the only person who had the motive, the technical capability, and the opportunity to have committed the crime-”
And you believe that? Celebi asked, pointlessly resting her levitating head on her hand when what psychic power kept her afloat should have also provided adequate head support.
Amanda took a moment to shake some tiredness out of her arms. Being interrupted made her lose her train of thought. “I don’t have a strict belief one way or the other. I’m only stating what the evidence has thus far told me. May I continue?”
Yeah, my bad, Celebi said. She looked about the room for a while. Please, continue.
Amanda scrolled through her work again, looking where to begin a summary of a summary. “Team Liberty’s arguments boil down to Executive Arthur’s presence at the death of both Goldhawk and Bluefalcon, his ability to sabotage the Electric-Type suit, and that he contacted Team Liberty for the first time right before the largest scale attack Team Rocket has ever pulled off against Team Liberty.”
Celebi nodded. It was stuff she knew already, but hopefully Amanda would get to the good stuff soon. In the meantime, she carefully levitated the papers in her hand back into place. Amanda was too absorbed by the computer to turn around. All the better.
“There has been confirmation that Executive Arthur’s edits of the T-13 and T-17 suits. This was used to establish his capacity to commit the crime. A message from Hoenn from someone imitating John Ford’s mannerisms claimed responsibility for his death. Team Liberty is currently trying to find a link between Executive Arthur and John Ford’s organization Deoza.”
Celebi doubled over at that declaration. A link which doesn’t exist, she said, unable to keep from chiming in at that.
Amanda hit her desk with her fist with a level of force that a less tired Amanda would consider an unwarranted waste of energy. Celebi felt a jolt of surprise from the reaction. “Tell Executive Arthur to say that.”
Celebi was silent to that response. She already knew that one would go. And not in a “I’ve done this in a different less M0 filled timeline already” way that she usually did. But in a “I’ve been in his presence long enough to know he’s not going to do that,” sort of way.
The stalemate of silence lasted for a good minute before Amanda regained her composure and regained her train of thought.
“On Executive Arthur’s suggestion, I have requested a meeting with Shadow Admin Joker, so that I may discuss the circumstances regarding Leader Bluefalcon’s death. I have also been investigating all parties that had an opportunity to access the T-04. This primarily consists of the staff of the Research and Development department. So far none of the investigated parties had the capacity to commit the crime.”
Amanda finished speaking and just started to stare at the place on the page that she had been reading from. They were at the bottom of the document now. Right near the error that convinced her to go to bed. Something about it felt off. Earlier she attributed it to her tired state and frustration with the grammatical mistakes she was making. But something else was wrong.
Celebi took the silence to mean that Amanda was finished. She took the opportunity to note what she thought was wrong about what Amanda just said. They think that James was capable of something that the people who built the dang things couldn’t?
Amanda was tapping her finger. That would be odd, Amanda agreed, but it wasn’t quite what she meant. “They think that he had the opportunity that no one in the Research and Development department had. Dr. Vert and her immediate subordinates were monitored during the development of the power suits. And they did not have an opportunity to carry out the crime during the mission either.”
Celebi looked around the room again. That didn’t sound right to Celebi. Not one opportunity during the mission? I find that hard to believe. James wasn’t exactly near Goldhawk either at the time.
“They believe that Executive Arthur did using unauthorized remote access that Dr. Vert didn’t…”
Amanda began to stare at her computer screen again, not blinking. She just sat there, her jaw slackening into a defeated expression. Celebi waved her hand in front of her face, and then snapped several times to see if Amanda had fallen asleep. With her eyes open. And not breathing. When she eventually needed air, Amanda did snap back to reality, now hyperventilating and hitting herself in delirious frustration before furiously clicking through folders to bring up an unfinished report.
Celebi took a look down at the report on the screen. “She did have the capability to make unauthorized remote changes. I knew this. How did I manage to make this oversight for a month?”
Take a second to breathe and then tell me what you remembered? Celebi said, scratching her head.
Amanda took Celebi’s advice. She took several deep breaths before she spoke again. “During the mission, Dr. Vert made a change to the HUD of the power suits from her location on Four Island. She was able to do this because she had remote access to the Power Suits functions” She gestured to the report before her, “this remote access, while a convenient feature as it allows updates to be installed mid-mission, is also a security risk that could prove vulnerable to hackers.”
Like James? Celebi asked.
Amanda shot a confirmatory finger at Celebi “Exactly like Executive Arthur. It is exactly what they are accusing Executive Arthur of. However, if one has authorized access to remote access functions from the start-”
You wouldn’t need to hack into the system to mess with someone’s Power Suit, Celebi said, finishing the sentence.
Amanda nodded, before bopping herself on the head for her foolishness. “I overlooked the clue that I already noted was a clue before the crime was even committed.” She put her face into her hands in shame for her failure.
Is the level of remote access needed to update a HUD enough to turn the machine off? Celebi asked.
Amanda wondered about that too. But there was something else that grabbed her attention far more. “I don’t have enough information to make that claim. What I am more concerned with is why when I asked about Dr. Vert’s capability for the crime, this wasn’t brought up. Even if it isn’t possible using the methods that Dr. Vert had available to her using remote access, the possibility should’ve been addressed. The only thing that makes sense would be if somehow someone managed to cover… it…”
She pulled her head away from hands. Her eyes were wide, shining the metaphorical light of understanding “I think I might be beginning to understand why Executive Arthur didn’t say anything on the subject.”
Amanda clicked on the file containing the report she had been making and dragged it to the trash. She opened a new file and began typing furiously. The results weren’t coherent sentences, but she needed some way to get her thoughts down -right now-.
Celebi patted Amanda on the head, causing the tired woman to jolt up out of her seat when she swatted away the tiny hand, and caused the chair to fall over. Celebi chuckled a bit at the reaction. I’ll take it all back. I think you’re right on schedule. Celebi took a look towards Amanda’s bed. I think you’ve earned a good night’s sleep.
Amanda was shaking from her toes to her head. “If I have been negligent enough in my endeavors by overlooking a piece of evidence that was obvious and critical, with implications this massive, then I can’t let even a moment be wasted. Otherwise, otherwise…” she trailed off as she tried to figure what cataclysm would happen if she wasted eight hours on sleep.
Celebi picked up Amanda’s chair with the pull of her psychic powers, landing it gently upright beside Amanda. You will need your rest to attack this problem in the morning. I think you already know what needs to be done. You just need the energy to do it right. Besides your room is-
Just about done, a voice popped into her head that was similar, yet not quite exactly the same as Celebi’s.
Amanda turned around to a room transformed. All the stacks were gone. The bed was made. All the clutter cleared from the room. A different Celebi was putting the last of the pages into a binder she didn’t own, and then carried said binder up to a bookcase that wasn’t there before.”
I borrowed these from James, the other Celebi said before floating up to Amanda with one last sheet of paper. Here’s the filing system details. Amanda wordlessly took the piece of paper. Well, gotta go, the other Celebi said, a portal opening up behind her. And away she went.
Amanda just stood there, sputtering for a moment.
I owed me a favor Celebi said as she floated over to Amanda’s bed and casually lifted the blanket.
Amanda scrunched her face as she tried to puzzle out what just happened. “When did you have time to-”
I will point out that my job is to manage time paradoxes and I will oversimplify the truth by saying I haven’t yet, Celebi said with a smile a bit too big for Amanda’s comfort.
The resulting mindscrew fired Amanda’s brain for a minute before she gave up, deciding she was too tired to deal with this right now. “I thank you for making the room more suitable for me to sleep in, but I still need to-”
Celebi interrupted Amanda by using her free hand to open a window in time to show that one time that James and Amanda were debating this exact topic. Amanda didn’t question the mechanics of why her past self didn’t seem to notice this hole, deciding it was either an illusion or a one way window. The images of James and Lancelot taking care of her brought back the reasons she was trying to go to bed in the first place. “You have made your point.”
Smiling, Celebi closed the portal, and then tapped to the lifted up blanket, signaling for Amanda to get in. Considering what happened the last time she had this argument, she gave up and acquiesced.
Look, Celebi said as Amanda got under the blanket, no one wants this done faster than me. I’ll cut you a deal. Get some sleep and then I’ll warp you back a few hours so you can get back to work.
Amanda nodded, her linear views on time had already taken enough of a beating today. She didn’t need to question the logistics of it without sleep. “Alright. I… think I need to sleep on this information.” The high emotions that her realizations had caused her earlier had crashed and now she was finally ready to sleep. As Celebi dragged the cover ups, Amanda had to comment. “First Executive Arthur and now you. Is this something that Executive Arthur teaches to his Pokemon?”
Celebi looked at the figure now comfortably under the covers and shrugged. I think your self-destructive devotion to your work makes people want to take care of you.
“I will factor in that assessment…” Amanda trailing off, “in the future.”
See you in five minutes.
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Post by Parugi on Sept 1, 2020 20:02:44 GMT -8
IC - S1-GEIST/John Ford/Madison Hayes - VIP Cell Block, The Alamo:"I suppose we'll keep our eyes out for your friends, then," Ford replied. He looked down the hall past James and nodded. "Whatever you'd like to tell us, you'd best do so quickly--looks like it's back." As the Shadowed Man spoke, the remaining Shadow Suit appeared from the darkened remnants of his cell. It cocked its head to the side as it saw its various quarries gathered together. Briefly, it looked back down the other end of the hall, a scrambled call emanating from it. When it received no response, the GEIST turned back and raised its hands. Darkness flowed forth like powerful jets of water, crashing down the hallway toward the four individuals situated there. S1-GEIST: Shadow Wave > AllIC - Chrono - Strange Tower: (Current position)Slinking low to the ground, Chrono moved forward. The soft pad of his footsteps might have been amplified here were it not for the other ambient noises in the air. As he crawled forward, these sounds only grew louder and more frequent, though still remained some distance away. He came to a bend in the hallway soon enough, going right; he peeked carefully around the corner and, seeing nothing, moved once more. Further down the hall, he found another bend, once more to the right and then quickly to the left. Chrono found himself faced with another choice of direction. There were two metal doors, both of which split down the middle by a black line; he had likely seen these sorts before in the Alamo, and thus knew that they would slide to either side to allow entry. They were of little relevance to Chrono on their own--a light above them, as well as a security pad on the right side of the doorway, both glowed red, and thus were unlikely to open even if he wanted to risk going straight through them. However, there was a nearby grate that led into the ventilation shafts, and as he looked into this, he saw a split in paths similar to the hallway. Listening at each door provided some insight into what lay beyond, muffled though the sounds were. To the south appeared to be the source of the earlier buzzsaw, as well as much of the crying and screaming. The agonized source appeared to be singular; beyond the pain and terror, several other, much calmer voices spoke among each other, though their words were indistinct. To the west, several machines could be heard hissing and thudding as they performed whatever work they were designed for. The soft humming of several computers emanated from here as well, as did other voices, equally calm. Chrono looked between the two doors. West? Or south?
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Post by minun4 on Sept 2, 2020 12:37:12 GMT -8
IC: James Arthur - VIP Cell Block
The fire in Percival’s head burned brightly, as Percival leapt into action. James subconsciously tightened the grip one the wrist of his burnt hand at the sight. Percival brought his forelegs together and charged up a Shadow Ball. He launched the Shadow Ball straight ahead to clash with the dark waves.
“About our opponent,” James said, his eyes fixated on their adversary. “Something has been bothering me for a while now. Are you familiar with Shadow Pokemon? If not, the short of it is Pokemon who have had their emotions artificially suppressed, and they are given access to certain unnatural abilities. At this point, I am certain these Power Suits are using abilities taken from Shadow Pokemon.”
The Shadow Ball crashed into the waves. The power seemed evenly matched, until Percival moved forward from his position and placed his forelegs against his Shadow Ball. Percival poured more of his power into the Shadow Ball, causing the rotating sphere of ghostly energy to spin even faster, tearing into the waves and breaking through.
James looked at the display with triumph. Good to know that these Shadow Suits had seemingly yet to overpower what he was currently capable of amassing through Percival. Not that they weren’t a danger.
“Also, to elaborate on what I said earlier,” James continued, turning his eyes towards Ford. “Team Liberty’s current position is that I assassinated Goldhawk, whilst cooperating with a member of your organization. I cannot be sure they will actually try and pin some guilt on you, or how it could possibly make your situation worse at this point, but it is there.”
A last tidbit popped into James’s head. Something that from the last conversation he had with the man concerned, was not something he was sure Ford cared about. But it was worth mentioning just in case.
“By the way, in case it concerns you, Pierce’s brother has apparently disappeared. Just thought you should know.”
OOC:
Percival: Shadow Ball -> Shadow Wave
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Post by Parugi on Sept 2, 2020 17:16:20 GMT -8
IC - S5-NEMESIS/S2-PHANTOM - Ray Hakuda's Location:To the surprise of probably no one, an ice storm in a confined space was cold. And the intensity of Ray's magic, especially as he pushed further and further against the NEMESIS, soon amplified this fact. Try as it might to wrest control of the attack from him, the NEMESIS had no magical pull over this storm, and already it felt its joints freezing. The cold shadows emanating from its arms sputtered and died out, and it felt itself stuck in place. It was a rare opportunity to do some solid damage, and it was an opportunity that Ray's Pokémon immediately took. Byakuya dived forward, and with one clean stroke of his blade aimed at the wound that Zangetsu had left earlier. Metal sliced through muscle and bone, and the NEMESIS could only watch as its arm separated from its body at the elbow, skidding across the floor in a trail of blood. The S5 suit revved up, just beginning to free itself from its iced state, when Zangetsu charged forward. One solid hit later, and the operator found itself impaled on the claws of a Mega Zangoose. Silently, it sputtered and fell, sinking into a pit of darkness. That left only the PHANTOM. After disappearing through the floor, it had not yet emerged again. The ice storm slowed to a halt and then vanished, leaving the room covered in snow and utterly silent save for Ray and his Pokémons' breathing. They held still for a moment, and then slowly moved together into a group, back to back and eyes darting about the room for any sign of their remaining opponent. For a long time, there was nothing. Then . . . Ray looked up as a movement caught his eye, eliciting a gasp. Instinctively, Byakuya spun around his trainer and thrust a hand forward. It was a good movement. In the blink of an eye, the PHANTOM Unit had dropped through the ceiling, deactivating its Phase Module just as it touched solid ground in front of where Ray had been standing. It had not been quick enough to avoid Byakuya's attack, however. And as the three looked upon the PHANTOM now, they bore witness to the result: The Bisharp's sharpened blade caught directly through the Shadow Suit's face plate and into its head, the PHANTOM having phased directly into it. Whether Byakuya had meant to or not, it was an instantly fatal result. The PHANTOM's body slumped forward, and it sunk into a pool of shadow that appeared at its feet, freeing Byakuya's gauntlet. All was silent. IC - S1-GEIST/John Ford/Madison Hayes - VIP Cell Block, The Alamo:Ford frowned. These were three very different pieces of information and they were all equally concerning for various reasons. He looked to Hayes, whose expression reaffirmed his own misgivings about what they had just heard. "I had made similar conclusions about these . . . intruders," Ford said, nodding toward the GEIST. "How someone managed to create such machines is beyond me--it would require extensive knowledge of both Power Suit design and Shadow Pokémon creation. The only person I know of with the latter in relevant history is Shadow Admin Ace, but something tells me these are not her work, otherwise we should have seen them deployed much sooner. As for Liberty's 'assessment' of you--" He was interrupted by the battle once more. The Shadow Ball cascaded through the Shadow Wave, slamming into the GEIST Unit. The spinning sphere forced it back, slamming the Shadow Suit into the wall behind it. Cracks had started to appear on its visor now, a testament to how much punishment it had taken. Yet it still stood. Clenching its fists--one of its gauntlets, Ford noted, was also cracked--it brought its hands forward and launched a vicious whirlwind of darkness down the hallway. Hayes threw her hand up, forming a field of psychic energy to protect the three trainers. As he covered his head with an arm, Ford looked back to James. "I feel it goes without saying, Mr. Arthur, that we have had no arrangements prior to this point. If Liberty is set on proving such a connection, however . . . Well, from our experience trying to advise on the subject of Missing Zero, I doubt there is much room for negotiation with the current leadership. As much as Liberty and Rocket would oppose it, we are of no use in a cage, so if it means going against their wishes to fight this creature, then so be it. If you do intend to stay here, then we may also be of some use in figuring out the truth behind such a blatant lie. Do you have any trusted contacts that we could reach out to for that purpose?" S1-GEIST: Shadow Storm > AllIC - Evac Team Heaven Sing (Executive Josiah Lorn, Jordan Robins, Gargi Sultana, Wilford Brannon)/Evac Team Royal Watch (Executive Jessica Ortrune, Jackson Sang, Dalila Pond, Pelle Byrne) - Rocket Research Facility, Cinnabar Island: Previous. They had expected a war zone and that was what they found. Cresting over the dunes of igneous rock, the eight Liberty and Rocket Agents were granted a full view of the chaos below. The Cinnabar beachfront had evolved into a scene not unlike that of One Island a few months earlier. There were a few key differences, however. First and foremost was that there were many, many more Pokémon engaged out here than there had been back then. The return of their powers meant that they could assist their trainers in far more ways than they had previously been able to; it was for this reason, Sang suspected, that the advance guard had managed to hold their ground as well as they had. In total, he counted roughly ten Agents still kicking, each with at least one Pokémon by their side. Here and there lay an unfortunate victim of the Instances still swarming the field, but casualties seemed to have been kept to a minimum for now. There were differences on Missing Zero's side, too, however. The attack on One Island had seen the creature limited, mostly, to its basic Instances--the Single-Types. While troublesome in their own right, they had nonetheless remained somewhat predictable as far as their combat tactics and capabilities went. In the time since then, its arsenal had expanded. Double-Types could now be spotted dotting the crowd of Single-Types. As Sang watched, he noted strange, snail-like creatures that appeared to be made out of heaps of trash, as well as dozens of tiny bug-like creatures that flashed like light bulbs throughout the air. "Well, how about that?" Byrne said. Sang glanced over at the Rock-Type Suit. Though he couldn't see it, the man's tone gave away the excited grin on his face. "I've never seen so many in one place. They must really want this old rock, huh?" Robins scoffed. "They can have it," he said. "Just as soon as we've cleared you all off from it." "Lorn," Ortrune said sharply, her tone making it clear to the others that they needed to cut the chit-chat. "Anything of note before we go down there?" "Let me see . . ." The eyes of the Psychic-Type Suit glinted as the other drones detached. All four discs rose simultaneously, spreading out over the battlefield. "Well, their forces have definitely grown since we arrived. Primary threats still remain Driprown and Sinystal, but they've been joined by multiple Pollucant and a large number of Bulbug. I'd suggest putting someone on watch for the latter--from what we've observed, they aren't much threat on their own, but their unique attack is capable of paralyzing targets more or less indefinitely." "Sounds like a job for me," Brannon said. "They're Electric-Types, yeah?" "Eletric-Bug, I think," Robins said. "Either way, if you're going to be in charge of that, you need to be on top of it," Lorn said. "Once one of those things gets someone, there won't be much time before other Instances swarm them." Brannon nodded. "Understood, Executive." "Byrne, you're with Brannon on that job," Ortrune said. "I want the two of you to work on making walls ASAP as well--the sooner we can get these things into a choke-point, the better. As for the rest of you--Lorn will stay here to provide combat analysis; Sultana, you're his guard. Sang, Pond, and Robins, you're on the ground with me. We'll work our way down the beach and relieve advance forces as we go. We'll move on once each section of stone wall has been formed." She fiddled with something as she spoke; a moment later, a marker appeared on Sang's HUD, indicating that the T-01 had linked up with his suit. He assumed it had done the same with the Grass-Type and Steel-Type Suits of Robins and Pond. "Move out."
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Post by Parugi on Sept 2, 2020 20:57:12 GMT -8
IC - S3-GHOUL/Gavin Braner (Mega Dothe, Ithes, Evris)/Skye Hall - Mess Hall, The Alamo:
They were in a bad spot. The GHOUL Unit had shrugged off basically everything they had thrown at it and in return it had done something to its opponents, the effect of which remained to be seen. Gavin gritted his teeth at the situation. It had been a while since he had fought something as stubborn as he was, and at this point he wasn't sure what he could do to circumvent its defenses. At this rate, it would plow through them all before they could take it down.
He narrowed his eyes. "Fine, you bastard," he said, reaching down and unclipping his Poké Ball bandoleer. "If you wanna play hardball, we'll play hardball." With a shout, he swung the strap forward. Several flashes of light illuminated the arena; in the span of seconds, he had released his entire team, including the inexperienced Cain and Paris.
"Gavin!" Skye yelped. "What are you doing!?"
"Brute forcing this!" he replied. "If you've got a better idea, I'd love to hear it! In the meantime . . ." He thrust his hand forward. "Everyone, bring that thing down!"
It was immediate chaos as ten Dark-, Psychic-, and Ghost-Type Pokémon charged toward the GHOUL. Kora was the first to reach their target; the Mightyena leaped forward, fangs bared and snarling, and clamped down hard on the Shadow Suit's arm as it moved to defend itself. Sheer cold enveloped her fangs as she bit, creating a heavy coating of ice that grew outward and began to encapsulate the GHOUL's appendage. Immediately, its armor revved and shadowy fire emerged from its hand, melting through the ice and blasting Kora back against the floor. Irest moved in, his massive claws closing around the GHOUL's wrists and wrestling against its strength; as they struggled, he brought his tail up behind him, slamming it into the Shadow Suit's chest twice in rapid succession. It heaved, pulling the Drapion off of its feet and throwing it against the wall behind it.
As the GHOUL Unit spun around, it was suddenly pushed to the side by a heavy wind that filled the enclosed arena. It focused on the source--Vel, who hovered above the chaos and, with heavy beats of her wings, had summoned a Tailwind that greatly increased her allies' speed. As the Shadow Suit moved to retaliate, it failed to notice the spinning Pancham a little ways away, who Circle Threw a smaller Seedot into the air between Vel and the enemy. A bright orb of light emitted from the Grass-Type as it summoned a radiant sphere of sunlight, blinding the dweller of darkness. Talsim and Evris materialized on either side of it, the two Psychic-Types focusing their energy to mentally beat down the surprised GHOUL as well as slow its movements, while the large, buoyant form of Sivik appeared from the ground behind it, tentacles wrapping around its feet and employing a powerful Giga Drain that quickly sapped its energy.
As it recovered from the burst of light and struggled to regain its bearings, the GHOUL was suddenly struck by a fast-moving, rapidly-spinning Starmie that swept by, razor-like edges grinding against its visor. The GHOUL reeled, stumbling back just as Ithes came around for another hit, taking out the back of its knees with a well-aimed hit. Seeing an opening, Claraga thrust her cannon-arm forward, sending forth a Dragon Pulse attack that knocked the GHOUL off-balance. That was when Dothe appeared, the Mega Dusknoir taking up a boxing stance as he delivered several solid hits against the Shadow Suit. With a growl, he landed a final hit straight against his opponents visor, combined electricity and ice sending a spiderweb of cracks along its surface.
It appeared to be thoroughly done with this entire situation. Dark energy coalesced around the GHOUL's form, shattering outward in an explosion of shadow that knocked all of its nearest opponents to the ground. Unsteadily, it rose, focusing on its original target--Skye, currently blocked by the other two trainers. Through sheer force of will, the GHOUL charged forward, footsteps amplified by the mechanical demons lining its suit, every step like that of an elephant, leaving deep footprints in its wake. It pulled an arm back, bringing it forward in a powerful punch--that ended up blocked by Blissaga, whose body glowed from the impact. Though severely damaged, she managed a grin as she Countered the attack, redirecting its power back against its source.
The GHOUL's chest plate caved in. It seemed for a moment as if even this would not drop it; however, a moment later the revving of its armor ceased, and it could no longer sustain itself. As the assembled team watched, the arena around them began to disperse, revealing the concerned faces of the onlookers around them. Before them, the unmoving GHOUL Unit became enveloped in darkness that quickly pulled its form out of sight, leaving no trace of the body itself.
Gavin, Skye, and Lucia all stared at where it had fallen. Finally, Gavin voiced the thought running through all of their heads: "That worked!?"
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Post by Konuju on Sept 3, 2020 19:52:27 GMT -8
IC: Chrono - Strange Tower The Purrloin hesitated for a moment. The rhythmic thudding of machines certainly sounded less dangerous than the buzzsaw, and the lack of agonizing screams coming from that particular direction was also a plus. And yet it was exactly those screams that drew Chrono toward the southern door. Perhaps it was the possibility of learning more about the silent, nearly lifeless Shadow Suit operators. Or perhaps some part of him wondered if he could save the poor screaming soul. The reason wasn't important, and Chrono wasn't about to stay and analyze his choice. As silently as before, the feline crept into the ventilation shaft and headed toward the south.
IC: Ryan Sanders/Dack Majors/Jayron Aaron/Colleen Llyan/Adam Shaw/Madison Morrow/Luke – Boat, Orange Islands "Where to, Sanders?" Adam had piloted the boat away from the vicinity of Moro Island and the flood of Instances that surrounded it. Other evacuating ships had turned north toward the mainland, or else west toward the more central Orange Islands. Without any particular destination in mind, Adam had settled for "away from here," but he knew they couldn't float adrift forever.
Ryan knew it, too. He instinctively pulled out his Pokégear and brought up a map of the archipelago. "We should continue our trajectory south, towards Murcott Island."
"Oh, please." Dack folded his arms across his chest as he leaned against the railing and shot Ryan a look. "Do you really think now's the best time to continue your little hunt for your parents? That island back there just got attacked by the Missing Zero for crying out loud, and you want to keep wandering around like everything's normal. Or did you not see the giant ghost ship that's also a shark?"
"Cool it, Dack." Ryan pinched the bridge of his nose as Madison tried to hold her friend back. "Now's not the time to make a scene."
"No, I agree with Dack." Colleen planted herself between the Rocket and Liberty agent, her motion sickness adding to her already-sour mood. "We have the firepower to fight back, so why are we just ignoring the real enemy in favor of this little side mission? I thought we were supposed to be the vanguard. We should be on the front lines, not on some backwater search."
Ryan bit his lip as he measured his response. "We can't save everyone—" he began.
"So you only care about those related by blood?" Colleen shot back.
"Face it, Sanders." Dack moved to Colleen's side, brushing off Madison's hand. "The world's gone to hell, and we don't get to choose our battles. We've been out here long enough. Rocket and Liberty can both use our help."
Ryan gave Jayron a pleading look. The Liberty admin shook his head. "Look, I know what this mission means to you, but we've been chasing false leads and dead ends for too long. Maybe we should consider putting this mission on hold."
He didn't want to admit it, but his friends made compelling arguments. They were no closer to finding his parents than they'd been a month ago. Meanwhile, the rest of the world was slowly being consumed by the Missing Zero. Ryan let out a long sigh. "I can't ask the rest of you to stay for my sake. But I can't just abandon my search, especially now that the Instances have spread to this region. If I leave now, the whole chain of islands could be overrun by the time I return."
Lucario's ears perked up. I have something that may be of interest, he said. I'm detecting a shadowy aura coming from a nearby island. One that could very well belong to a Shadow Pokémon.
Everyone started arguing at once.
"Plot us a course to that island!"
"That doesn't mean it's the same Shadow Pokémon that chased Ruby."
"Weren't you just saying you wouldn't drag the rest of us along?"
"Guys!" Luke waved his arms to get the group's attention. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but should we be concerned about that?"
The blackbelt pointed over his shoulder. Off in the distance, a bank of fog had formed over the water. At first it looked like a trick of the eyes, but the faint image of a ship could just barely be seen in the fog.
Suddenly, a cannonshot echoed across the open sea. An explosion of water on the boat's starboard side marked the projectile's landing spot. The shell missed the boat by a wide berth, but was still close enough that the resulting wave rocked their tiny vessel. Like an unwanted poltergeist, the ghost ship had followed them from Moro Island.
"Get us to that island, now!" Ryan ordered.
"The ship's already spotted us," Adam said. "If we remain at sea there's a chance we can outrun it, but if we make for land we'll just be leading the Missing Zero to its next target."
Another cannonshot exploded in the water off the port side. "I don't care where we go," Jayron said. "But if we stay here we'll be quite literally dead in the water. Get us out of here, Shaw."
As Adam revved up the boat's engines, Ryan looked to Jayron. "Do you have a teleporter?"
The executive frowned as he pulled out a Pokéball. "Yeah, Midnight. But I'm almost afraid to ask what you have in mind."
Upon hearing her name, the Mew popped out of her capsule and stared at Ryan with wide, inquisitive eyes. Ryan hesitated only a moment in surprise at the sight of such a rare and powerful Pokémon before addressing Jayron. "If we can teleport the boat onto the island, the Missing Zero won't know where we've gone. We'll lose that shark-boat and reach our destination at the same time."
Jayron sighed. "Look, even if Midnight had enough energy to teleport an entire boat, there's a whole list of reasons why that's a terrible idea. We need to stand by and be ready to engage with the Instances if they get too close."
Ryan was baffled. "Not enough energy? Jayron, that's a Mew!" He reached out and grabbed the feline Pokémon by the shoulders. "Listen, Midnight, right? Do you think you can teleport us to that island? Otherwise, that ghost ship is going to catch up to us, and we'll be right in the middle of the ocean with nowhere to go. Please, Midnight, we need your help!"
The Mew stared at Ryan with her wide eyes like a child fascinated by the world around it. Realizing what was about to happen, Jayron started toward them. "Sanders, put her down!"
The Legendary Pokémon began to glow. The radiant light grew and grew until the entire ship became enveloped in a brilliant pinkish hue.
The next instant the entire vessel, and all its occupants, vanished from the open sea.
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Post by Parugi on Sept 5, 2020 17:35:29 GMT -8
IC - Chrono - Strange Tower: (Current position)There were some scenes too terrible to describe in great detail. This room opened upon one of those scenes. What Chrono saw could be summarized as a surgery. A team of five or six surgeons and nurses surrounded a man strapped to a table. He was the source of the screaming, and it was not hard to see why. IV lines inserted into numerous spots on his body pumped a steady stream of fluids into his form. His muscles and veins pulsated and throbbed as whatever this concoction was worked to keep his vitals stable, forced him to stay awake and endure the horrors suffered upon him. Chrono could see already some of what that had entailed. As the Pokémon had seen on the earlier Shadow Suit Operator, nodes jutted out from the man's temples; the surrounding skin had been cut to form around them and stitched back together again, leaving blood to seep around his face. The surgeon at the top was working on something behind his left eye now, and it was clear the man could feel every minute movement of the instruments inside. Further down his body, the surgeons worked on his insides; he could hear them speaking in hushed tones to one another, occasionally pointing out something of interest to the others. On occasion they dug in with scalpels and knives, removing flesh and tissue here, inserting chips and wires there. That which was taken away was handed off and deposited into a waste bucket, which Chrono could see was uncomfortably full. Looking further along, it was clear that they had been at this for some time--stitches littered the man's form, and there were parts missing that should not have been. Tearing his eyes away from this grisly sight, Chrono could see other, less horrifying aspects of this place. There were numerous shelves and cabinets containing medical equipment, all of which he was sure were meant for these same, monstrous procedures. Along one wall, several computers and accompanying screens had been set up; they appeared to list information about a "Subject 89," which Chrono could only assume referred to the man on the operating table. A large machine, almost like a CAT Scanner, occupied a large section toward the back of the room; another individual appeared to be inputting commands into its console, prepping it for something. Finally, there were two more doors out of this room. One, to the west, was just like what Chrono had already seen in the hall. The other was much thicker and seemed to possess additional security measures, including a guard stationed right beside it. Much like the surgeons and nurses, he appeared completely undisturbed by the ongoing operation, and all but completely ignorant to the victim's suffering. Regardless, each door could easily be circumvented by Chrono's current path in the ventilation shaft.
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Post by Parugi on Sept 6, 2020 18:30:08 GMT -8
IC - Kyle Eston (Lyxek, Ruj, Torith, Daiga)/Levi Alaric (Leif)/Will Moreno (Mime Jr.) - Forest, Unknown:
The night passed peacefully, albeit not exactly comfortably. While it wasn't Kyle's first night camping out in the middle of nowhere, he usually did so with a little bit more preparation, as well as some idea of where the camping trip would ultimately lead him and how long he would have to suffer the dirt and grime of the outdoors. In this case, he had little to go on aside from the vague promise of a village somewhat close by.
A village that, for all he knew, could have been swallowed by Missing Zero by now.
That possibility was bad enough on its own, but it was made worse by the presence of the two boys, neither of whom could easily defend themselves. Right now, they were sleeping together with Torith, using the Houndour's body for warmth. They had been brave and steady so far, but Kyle wasn't sure how they might react if push came to shove. Would they be able to keep calm under pressure and follow his directions? Would the stress cause another teleportation to a random location? And what would happen to them if something happened to him?
Kyle shook the thought away. These were valid concerns, but right now, they were the result of fatigue and anxiety rather than anything concrete. First steps were to get moving and figure out what to do from there. He roused Daiga, allowing the Sandslash to take over watch so that he could get some sleep.
The sun was just beginning to shine through the trees when they set out again the next morning. They moved in the same format as the previous day--Kyle at the front with Levi trailing just behind, and Lyxek taking up the rear with Will on his back. They were accompanied now by Ruj, surveying from the sky, and Torith trotting along beside his trainer. Daiga went slightly ahead, using his claws to clear out the path a bit, and Leif and Mime Jr. caught rides with their respective trainers. As with the previous day, the trek was uneventful.
That was, until around noon.
"Torith? What's the matter, boy?"
Kyle was so preoccupied with the map that he did not immediately notice that Torith had stopped walking. He might have continued forward had he not heard Levi's voice behind him. The Liberty Agent paused, lifting his gaze and turning around; the rest of the group came to a stop as well. The Houndour stood stock-still about fifteen feet back, Levi beside him with his eyebrows knitted in worry. The Dark Pokémon did not respond, instead staring vacantly into the distance and sniffing at the air. Then he growled, bearing his teeth and crouching low to the ground. Kyle traced the target of Torith's focus.
His eyes widened.
It was difficult to pick out against the backdrop of the forest, but as his eyes adjusted, Kyle spotted it: The brown-hued Shadow Suit. It was situated on a large tree branch, crouching just below the blanket of leaves, and it was staring directly back at them. It seemed to realize what was happening at the same time as its targets, because just as soon as Kyle saw it, it disappeared into a portal of darkness that materialized on the trunk of the tree.
Kyle cursed. "Everyone, move!" The others did not need to be told twice. Lyxek took off immediately, hurrying after Daiga. Torith followed close behind, teeth still bared and glancing about for any sign of where the PREDATOR Unit would materialize. Levi hesitated for a moment but soon began moving as well; Kyle ran back for him, grabbing his hand as soon as he could and pulling him along.
They hurried across the uneven, sometimes slippery terrain of the forest, following the path of broken branches left by Daiga and Lyxek. All the while, Kyle glanced over his shoulder. Now and then he managed to catch a glimpse of the PREDATOR Unit through the trees, hopping from shadow to shadow and easily managing to keep pace with them. It moved effortlessly, unimpeded by the terrain itself and, he assumed, only holding off on any attacks because of the trees preventing it from getting a consistent line of fire on them. Still, Kyle was certain that this grace period wasn't going to last. Their course would eventually bring them to a large field devoid of the protection of the forest, and there was nothing that they could do to avoid it unless they wanted to spend even longer going around the edge of it. Even then, they would eventually have to stop to rest, and that alone meant the Shadow Suit was going to catch up with them sooner or later.
No, they couldn't avoid it forever. So they would have to take it down.
A dip in the forest floor caught him by surprise, and Kyle suddenly found himself stumbling, dragging Levi with him. The two rolled partway down an incline before coming to a stop, covered in dirt and plenty of scrapes and cuts on their arms, legs, and faces. Ignoring the pain from the fall, Kyle pushed himself to his feet. Levi, on the other hand, was a bit slower, taken by surprise and overcome with fear and stress. He gripped a particularly bad scrape on his knee, sniffling and turning back to look up the hill as he tried to get back up.
"Levi!" Kyle said, scrambling over. "Come on--it'll be okay. We need to keep moving." He helped Levi to his feet, frowning as the action caused the younger boy to wince. "Hey, what's wrong?"
"I-I don't know if I can r-run anymore, M-Mr. Kyle," Levi managed, finally breaking down and burying his face in his hand. "I'm sorry!"
Kyle was just about to respond when something zipped through the air, skimming his cheek. He yelled from both surprise and the sudden, sharp pain across his face, instinctively dropping and pushing Levi down just as another shadow dart shot past them, embedding itself in the ground below. Chancing a glance back up the hill, he could see the PREDATOR shifting position as it closed in, continuing to fire off its attacks.
This is bad, Kyle thought, frantically trying to come up with some sort of escape plan. This is really, really bad.
He gritted his teeth as another dart grazed his shoulder blade. Fighting through the pain, he looked again at Levi. The younger boy cried out in terror, covering his head and clinging to Kyle as the hail of attacks increased. The older trainer held on tightly to him, forcing them both as low to the ground as possible even as the Shadow Suit closed in. Looking at him now, a thought crossed Kyle's mind, a memory of a time long ago when his family had fled from Fuschia City. That look on Levi's face, the fear in his form, was familiar--not because Kyle had seen it before, but because he had felt it. He had been in those same shoes, terrified about what might happen as unknown assailants rained hell down upon their enemies, clinging to the one person around who could offer any sort of possibility that maybe, just maybe, things would turn out okay.
Suddenly the threat of harm didn't seem to matter much anymore. The pain in his body, the streak of blood running down his face and oozing from his back--these melted away. In their place, he felt only fury.
He looked back up at the PREDATOR, watching as the figure slid down the hill after them. It hadn't adjusted its aim--evidently it wasn't seeking to kill, not yet, just keep them pinned. That was good, because it gave Kyle the opportunity to time its approach, grabbing a Poké Ball from his belt amid the storm. He counted down the moments, waiting, waiting . . .
The PREDATOR's attack ceased, and immediately, Kyle slammed the ball into the ground.
The massive form of an Onix appeared in front of him, shunting loose dirt out of the way as Vailian materialized an at angle in the ground. The PREDATOR loosed a sound of shock as Vailian came at it from underneath, clamping his powerful jaw across its legs and dragging it further into the forest, away from his trainer. The ground rumbled as Vailian moved, and it rumbled still as Kyle pushed himself to his feet. Levi was speechless as Kyle pulled him up, kneeling in front of him to get him on his back.
"Come on--we're getting out of here."
"B-But you're hurt--"
"I'll be okay, Levi," Kyle said. "I told your mother I'd keep you safe, and I'm keeping that promise. So let's find Will and get back home."
Levi wiped his face and nodded, climbing onto Kyle's back. With the younger trainer clinging tightly to him, the Liberty Agent hurried forward, picking up the trail again and heading toward the rest of their group as Vailian engaged their assailant in the distance.
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Post by minun4 on Sept 8, 2020 14:01:38 GMT -8
IC: James Arthur - VIP Cell Block
Percival hopped into the air. He fired a quick Hex at the GEIST before landing on the ground behind Hayes’s protective field, taking no time to properly aim. He shook with a bit of anger at having to leave his position. These Shadow attacks were getting to Percy. Every one of them was dangerous, and especially this one in particular. It was worth sacrificing a chance to deal major damage in order to avoid something that powerful.
James shared Percival’s frustrations. This Shadow Suit was durable. He couldn’t remember if his Normal-Type Suit had been as durable as this one. Though his own memory was biased because every time the Normal Suit got damaged, he felt it. He didn’t know what the pilot was feeling. Or even if he was feeling.
As for what Ford had offered, it was almost a godsend. If Ford did half of what James knew he was capable of, then James had just gained a powerful tool in the name of proving his innocence. It was going behind Ms. Zarth’s back, but he didn’t hire Amanda to test her. If Ford was willing to offer his services, then who was James to say no?
“A Plasma Knight named Amanda Zarth is acting on my behalf. If you wish to help my case, then she would be the person to contact. I do have a simple request, however. Do not tell her anything I have said in this conversation that you cannot back up with solid evidence.”
It was a powerful tool indeed. But it did have the effect of biasing one of his two tests. There was something else James needed to know if he was going to be okay with that. He didn’t know how much Ford would be willing to do for him, but James decided to push his luck.
“I do have another concern that you might look into.”
He had spoken before he had fully formed a plan of what to say. The information on the suits was technically speculation, while the information on Piers Ebner and the charges he was sure he could talk his way out of if anyone complained about him spilling. They were pretty pertinent to Ford, James was willing to gamble that much in telling him. Leaking information about Team Liberty’s leadership could make things tricky, especially since he was still leaving himself in their power.
“I am more concerned with whether or not Team Liberty will maintain unity under the current administration. And whether or not they are taking appropriate actions against the Missing Zero threat,” He said knowing full well that the very fact he was having this conversation was evidence that they were not. Evidence, but not proof. The risks of not acting had to outweigh the risks of acting. “If you find any evidence relating to these subjects, you may consider passing them onto Ms. Zarth. I would consider that matter more worthy of your time than my predicament.”
James mulled over the words he had spoken. If he had gone this far already, then it was perhaps alright to say one final thing.
“My second request is that if you do not find them wanting, then you should tell Ms. Zarth nothing.”
OOC:
Percival: Hex -> GEIST
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Post by Konuju on Sept 11, 2020 11:50:29 GMT -8
IC: Chrono - Surgery Room, Strange TowerHaving grown up in the streets of Unova, Chrono was used to his share of pain and abuse. But the operation going on in this room . . . it was just plain sadistic. It made Chrono's insides curdle like rotten milk and he would have tried to destroy as much of this room as he could had he not been so completely terrified for his own well being. Keeping silent in his ventilation shaft, Chrono turned his eyes to the two paths that lay before him. He had no indication of what lay beyond either door, but he was immediately drawn toward the thicker, more guarded one. Anything worth guarding had to have some value, and Chrono was very curious what these cold, uncaring doctors could find so worthy of their protection. Steeling himself, the Purrloin headed east, toward whatever lay beyond the guarded door. IC: Ryan Sanders/Dack Majors/Jayron Aaron/Colleen Llyan/Adam Shaw/Madison Morrow/Luke – Boat, Orange IslandsRyan's stomach lurched as the disorientation that came with teleportation shifted into weightlessness. The dark gray sky was replaced with a blur of greens and browns. He only had a moment to process that the boat was falling before the vessel shook with a sudden impact that sent him sprawling across the deck. The cracking of branches echoed around him. The cacophony continued for only a few seconds before everything became still. "What did you do?!" Jayron stood over Ryan, exasperation on his face. "I got us to the island," Ryan said with a grimace. "And you nearly got us all killed in the process. Don't you ever pull a stunt like that again!" Aura flashed in Jayron's eyes and for a moment Ryan feared he would strike him. "I know you're used to leading your own little team like when you tracked down Ellen Burks, but when you're on a Liberty sanctioned mission there are rules and protocols you have to follow." "We didn't have any time," Ryan argued. "That ghost ship would have been on us in a matter of seconds." "Well regardless of how we made it, we're here," Colleen said with a frown. "Do you think we lost the ghost ship?" "That's hard to say," Dack muttered. "We're so far inland I can't even see the ocean." Ryan pulled himself up and looked over the railing. They appeared to have landed in the middle of a forest. All around them trees bent under the boat's weight, and thick underbrush obscured their view of anything that might lay beyond. In fact, the salty air was the only indication that they were still near the sea. It was Madison who spoke the question on everyone's lips. "How are we supposed to get the boat back into the water?" "Very carefully," Jayron answered. "We teleported into the air and fell several feet into the forest. Our first priority is to make sure the boat isn't damaged. Then we'll have to clear a path to the water. It will take the work of every psychic Pokémon we have at our disposal." "But shouldn't we scout the island first?" Ryan asked. "Lucario said there was a Shadow Pokémon here. Maybe my parents and Ruby are on this island." Jayron looked like he was about to retort, but thought better of it with a sigh. "We'll split into teams. Dack, Madison, and Luke will try and find a path to the water. Ryan, you and Colleen can investigate that shadowy aura. Colleen, keep Ryan in check. Adam and I will stay here with all the psychic types we have and work on the ship." *** As it turned out, they only had a handful of Pokémon with psionic abilities. Ryan offered up Togie and Entei to assist Jayron's Lucario, Metagross, Mew, Deoxys, and Shadow Absol. The lattermost provided an unforeseen complication, for its shadowy aura muddled Colleen's search for the aura Lucario had detected earlier. This did nothing to brighten her mood. "Look, I'm sorry I got us all dragged into this," Ryan said. "You didn't seem very sorry when you grabbed that poor Mew and forced her to teleport our boat into the middle of a jungle," Colleen pointed out. "I get that you're desperate. If it were Zoe or my parents that were lost, I know I'd move heaven and earth to find them. But you have to remember the consequences of your actions affect more than just you." "Yeah, I can be a little impulsive at times, can't I?" Ryan scratched the back of his head with a sheepish look. Colleen spared a glance back at him with a wry smile. "You certainly have your moments. I'm remembering a certain ball I think we'd both like to forget. But it all comes from a place of caring about others. You're a good person, Ryan. You just don't always see the bigger picture." Ryan was about to respond when they came across a patch of open field. It didn't look like a naturally barren landscape. Broken branches and flattened trees made it look like another boat had dropped out of the sky in this location. Black marks on some of the trunks suggested fire or lightning was involved in whatever had taken place here. He heard Colleen let out a gasp. Amidst the wreckage of various foliage lay the charred corpses of several grass-type Pokémon. Although Ryan had never seen this particular species before, he recognized it as a mushroom-type native to Alola: Morelull, and its evolved form, Shiinotic. "What happened here?" Ryan muttered. "Is this the work of that Shadow Pokémon?" "I'm not sure," Colleen answered in a low voice. "But we need to be on our guard. We don't want to be here if whatever did this decides to come back." The two continued in stunned silence. It was only now that Ryan realized that aside from the dead mushrooms, they had yet to encounter any wild Pokémon on this island. Most of the islands they had visited in the past few weeks had been teeming with life. Even when wild Pokémon didn't jump out at them, they could still be heard scurrying through the forests and fields. But on this island, an eerie silence pressed in all around them. The only sound aside from the leaves crinkling under their feet was the wind lazily making its way through the trees. Suddenly, Colleen stopped short. Ryan, so lost in his own thoughts, had to catch himself before he ran into her. "What is it?" he asked. Colleen pointed straight ahead. They had reached another clearing, this one much more natural than the first. The trees parted to reveal what looked like a large pile of twigs and leaves carefully woven together. It took a few moments for Ryan to realize it was a shelter. "We might have found them," Colleen said.
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Post by Parugi on Sept 12, 2020 17:45:34 GMT -8
IC - S1-GEIST/John Ford/Madison Hayes - VIP Cell Block, The Alamo:Ford nodded. "It seems we share more than one concern, Mr. Arthur. We shall see what we can find. In the meantime . . ." He cast a glance to the GEIST Unit. "I bid you good fortune in this fight--and I thank you for the information you've shared." With that, Hayes dropped the psychic field, placing a hand on Ford's shoulder. A second later, the two blinked out of existence, disappearing to parts unknown. The GEIST made a noise like a grumble as it looked back just in time to see the pair vanish, having ducked out of the way of the attack. Rather than retaliating against Percival, it threw a hand to the side, creating a shadow portal. As it stepped toward it, however, tendrils of darkness pulled at its feet and blocked the exit, the Chandelure's Shadow Tag halting its pursuit. It turned back, perhaps glowering behind its visor, and slammed a hand into the ground. A line of large, shadowy spikes erupted from the floor, cascading down the hall toward its opponent . . . S1-GEIST: Shadow Rave > PercivalIC - Chrono - Strange Tower: (Current position)The screams and sobs died away somewhat as Chrono crawled away from the operation, sneaking above the guard and into the next area. The door itself seemed to open into a short hallway, which ended in another, identical door. Crawling through the next duct to circumvent this one brought Chrono to what he sought. Peeking through the ventilation grates, the Dark-Type found a cell block below him. A single guard, dressed identically to the last, stood by the door here. Along the west side of the room was a long walkway, allowing access to the cells. There were five in total, all lined up along the east side of the room: four large, square cages and a fifth that was about half the size of the others. Every single one was crammed with a mix of men and women, some as young as teenagers and some that looked to be pushing their late forties. They had all been provided with the bare minimum of clothing, and all had had their heads shaved down to the skin. It went without saying that they looked miserable, but only a few of them had any energy left to cry about their predicament; most of the prisoners simply sat around the cell, curled up tightly inward for warmth and all doing their best to ignore the echoes of the horrific 'surgery' occurring only a room away. It was clear now to Chrono what those doctors considered so worthy of protection: Their supply of guinea pigs. Aside from the dangerous prospect of dropping into the cell block, Chrono had some options. He could turn and go back through the way he had come, or he could take another branch of the ventilation ducts to explore other unknown parts of the facility. IC - Kyle Eston (Lyxek, Ruj, Torith, Daiga, Vailian)/Levi Alaric (Leif)/Will Moreno (Mime Jr.)/S6-PREDATOR - Forest, Unknown:Even without looking back, it was clear that Vailian was struggling. It seemed as if every step that Kyle took was accompanied by the shaking of the ground around him, or by the crashing fall of a tree just out of his field of vision. He could hear the Rock Snake Pokémon roar as he engaged the PREDATOR Shadow Suit; while the initial attack had worked in their favor, granting Vailian an element of surprise and allowing Kyle and Levi the space needed to escape, this thing wasn't one to go down easily. It wasn't a surprise, then, that it had managed to free itself from the Onix's jaw so soon. Kyle just hoped that it wouldn't manage to bring Vailian down before he could regroup with the rest of his team. He was in luck: The treeline soon broke, revealing beyond it the large field that they had been traveling toward. He pushed forward, blinking through the sudden sunlight as the mantle of leaves vanished overhead. Daiga, Torith, and Lyxek with Will and Mime Jr. had gathered several yards away, so Kyle adjusted and ran toward them. "Are you guys okay?" Will called. He had pushed himself up as high as he could on Lyxek's back to get a better vantage point; now he struggled to get back down, his face alight with concern. "We're okay," Kyle said, panting heavily as he came to a stop. He dropped down, letting Levi off of his back, and then rose up again to give Will a hand. "Vailian bought us some time to get here, but that's--" He instinctively covered his face as an explosion of dirt and shadow erupted from the forest. Pushing the worst assumptions to the back of his mind for now, he looked back to the others. "That's not going to last for long." "W-What're we going to do?" Levi asked. He hugged Leif tightly to his chest. "D-Do we keep running?" Kyle shook his head. "I don't think that's going to cut it," he said. "That thing found us on Four Island and it found us out here. I think our only choice is to bring it down." The color drained from Will's face. "We're fighting it?" " I'm fighting it," Kyle corrected. He looked squarely at the two boys. "You two are going to hide here until it's safe. The grass is tall enough out here that you should be pretty thoroughly hidden. And if it doesn't become safe, you're going to teleport out." "How?" Will asked. "The one time was an accident, I can't do it again--" "Yes, you can," Kyle said with a stern voice. "I know you can, and I need you to be able to if it comes to that. Your lives depend on it." Will looked like he wanted to cry. "How?" he repeated, his voice shaking. "How am I supposed to do that?" This was not something that Kyle knew how to answer, but he had to try. He took a breath, straining to think of anything that Chloe might have told him about her powers. "Just focus and believe," he said at length. "Think of somewhere that you know is safe and focus as hard as you can on getting there. Or think of someone you know will protect you. Anything that you can use to direct those powers--they can carry you to safety if necessary. And you need to believe that you can do it--if you pull back, then you're only using part of the power that you could be using. Can you do that?" "I . . ." Will took a few deep breaths to calm himself, wiping his face on his sleeve. "I can try." Kyle patted the younger boy's shoulder. "I believe in you," he said. He handed a Poké Ball to Will. "I'm going to need to borrow Lyxek for this. Take Kitheus just in case--he's still low on power, but he'll keep you safe for as long as you need." "A-Are you sure?" Will asked. "Kitheus is your sixth, aren't you going to need your full team?" "Oh, trust me--I've got plenty more to spare." Kyle lifted the side of his coat, revealing the ten active Poké Balls on his belt. Six were empty--including Jaeda's and the other five Pokémon that he had already sent out--but four remained inhabited. "Ten Pokémon . . ." Levi said, amazed. "I thought you were only allowed to use six at once?" "Eleven," Kyle said, nodding to the one he had just handed off. "Six is more of a guideline--not one I've had much reason to follow recently, for better or worse. A couple of them are still light on experience, but between all of them, we should be fine." Another explosion sounded as Vailian burst through the trees several yards away, sending splinters of wood and rock flying in all directions. His body was covered in pock marks and burns from the PREDATOR Unit's attacks, and as it leaped from the trees, the Rock Snake Pokémon quickly rotated the sections of its body like a drill to retreat underground. Seeing the threat, Daiga immediately took off from the group, engaging the PREDATOR as a distraction. "Time to go," Kyle said. He placed his hands on Levi and Will's shoulders. To his surprise, Levi responded by throwing his arms around Kyle in a hug. After a moment, Will copied this. It took a moment to process, but Kyle soon returned the gesture. "Stay low, and stay safe. I'll be back soon." He broke the embrace and stood, looking at his other Pokémon. With a gesture behind him, he hurried toward the PREDATOR, flanked by a Houndour, a Haxorus, and the low-flying form of a Gliscor.
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Post by Parugi on Sept 13, 2020 17:05:51 GMT -8
IC - S6-PREDATOR/Kyle Eston (Lyxek, Ruj, Torith, Daiga, Vailian) - Forest, Unknown: Enmarta - AestheticsThe Onix disappeared beneath the earth. The ground rumbled beneath her feet as it tunneled below, but it did not appear again--not yet. It was injured, and likely needed a moment to recuperate. It was a self-preservation tactic that many Ground-Types utilized when injured, to go somewhere where their assailants could not. She had seen it before, time and again-- The PREDATOR gripped its head as pain like static exploded through its mind. Where was the boy? It turned. The scanner was on. It had not lost the mark. The Tracker Module had found him across miles of forest. It found him here, too. The boy was hiding in the field of grass. The S6-PREDATOR straightened up, shifting course toward him. Sand and dirt erupted before it, but it was not the Onix. The spiked back of a curled-up, spinning Sandslash slammed into the PREDATOR's chest; it raised its hands just in time to defend against the attack. The spikes ground against the armored gauntlets, sending sparks flying in every direction. Finally it shoved upward, forcing the Mouse Pokémon over its head. The Pokémon unfurled in midair, landing behind the PREDATOR and immediately kicking forward to attack. It spun around, throwing a shadowed kick forward to meet the incoming Scratch attack. "D̷́ͅä̴̧̱́̓ḯ̴̭g̵̗̚a̴̰̔͝?̶̩̽̄" She pushed against the attack, shifting into a backwards somersault before coming to rest on her knees and hands. Daiga peered at her quizzically as she raised a gauntlet, pressing it against the side of her helmet. "D̵̖̋̔̂a̵̱̠̫̅̑͘ȋ̸͈̈́̅ģ̸̖͂ả̶͓͉͐̄ ̵͓̘͐.̶̧̲̰̀̌̈́ ̵̣̕.̶͈̫̭͛͆̃ ̸̯̞̖͌͆̄.̴̩̚͝ ̶̫̱͉́͗͝R̴̥̦͊u̸̳̖̅n̶̡̰̙͒.̵̜̮͝͠" The PREDATOR raised a hand toward the Sandslash. It poured energy forth into a Shadow Wave attack. The sudden explosion of water caught the Ground-Type by surprise; he was caught in the blast and pushed back, out of sight into the field beyond. The Shadow Suit rose to its feet, shaking useless, fleeting memories from its mind. It had an objective to fulfill. It would succeed in its objective or be discharged. Its HUD lit up and it began toward the field again. The line of grass rustled. A group appeared from within--three Pokémon and the older boy. The PREDATOR Unit stopped in its--in her tracks, frozen. Kyle stared back at the covered face of their pursuer, waiting. Daiga and Vailian were nowhere in sight; had this thing taken them out already? His fist clenched at his side and he took a deep breath. One way or another, he had to end this game of cat and mouse. Without taking his eyes off of the Shadow Suit, he reached down to either side, pulling out several more Poké Balls. "I don't know who you are or what you want," he called. "But this has gone on long enough." He hurled the orbs into the air. Four flashes of light erupted from them, cascading down in front of him to form the rest of his team--Sanshou, Kovian, Taia, and Rodax. Each and every one of them had seen the chaos unfolding over the past day and a half, and they all joined their trainer and the rest of their team in glaring down this mindless stalker. It was now or never. Static erupted across the PREDATOR's mind again. She wanted to scream but found she could not; she wanted to tear the helmet off but her arms would not move. The voice, the face, these things brought back feelings and sensations that she felt she had not felt in what seemed an eternity and she wished so desperately to cling to them but the S6-PREDATOR Unit needed to focus. This boy stood in the way of the objective. If he wished to perish, then so be it. A wish made would be a wish granted. Its body went limp, almost like a rag doll, and then it leaned forward into a charge, shadow gathered like gauntlets at its fists. It was an uncanny sight, but Kyle ignored the shiver that went down his spine and threw a hand forward, shouting off an order. Lyxek ran forward. The large, bladed Dragon-Type slammed into the PREDATOR's attack head-on, locking against it. A shimmer of energy glowed around his body as he Endured the Shadow Ram; with a roar, he channeled the damage he had sustained into a counterattack of his own using Reversal. The PREDATOR shifted its grip on Lyxek's horns, using them as leverage to hop over the arc of his tail before throwing a kick straight into his face. As he reeled from this, the PREDATOR raised a fist, preparing another attack, only to be interrupted as Ruj slammed into its midsection. The momentum dragged it off of the Haxorus's body and Ruj followed it up by twisting, throwing the Shadow Suit into the ground below. It did not take long for the PREDATOR to recover from the impact. As it began to push itself up, Sanshou appeared above it. The Mienshao's eyes glinted as she threw a hand forward, her whips lashing out toward her target's head. The PREDATOR rolled sideways, narrowly avoiding the Drain Punch attack. It threw a hand forward in retaliation, catching the Fighting-Type around the chest and pouring a surge of dark energy into her. Sanshou cried out in pain; it only ceased when the PREDATOR threw the Mienshao to the side. Ruj hissed in fury as he came around for another attack, but this time the PREDATOR was ready. As the Gliscor slammed into its midsection, carrying it off of its feet again, the Shadow Suit gripped its hands around the side of his head. His tail flailed wildly as a coat of black ice began to cover his body from head to toe. As the two fell back toward the ground, Ruj's nearly-frozen tail lashed forward, catching the PREDATOR in the side with a Poison Jab attack before finding that he could move no more. It yanked the barb from itself, ignoring the bleeding wound, and threw the Pokémon aside just as it had done to Sanshou. Sweat poured down Kyle's face and he could not help but grit his teeth as he watched the battle transpire. This thing was determined and capable, and he was running out of options faster than he could think of alternatives. He looked to Lyxek, the strongest remaining member of his team. He had taken a nasty hit, but he was still standing, albeit he looked confused. Pointing, he turned to Taia. "Help Lyxek out with some Aromatherapy!" The Liberty Agent looked to the rest of his team. "All or nothing, everyone. Go for it." Rodax, Kovian, and Torith looked between their trainer and their opponent. They were all young Pokémon, but they were determined to do what they could to help. And so they did, running forward to join the fray. The PREDATOR did not even pretend to consider them a threat, striding forward rather than assume any sort of offensive stance. The Aron threw itself toward her with a Headbutt; it caught the attack in its hand, pushing the Iron Pokémon aside. Torith barked, sending a torrent of Embers at it, but it merely brushed these aside as well. With the loud battle cry, Kovian lunged at the PREDATOR with scalchops in hand, swinging with precision strikes as he hopped around its feet. This did catch the Shadow Suit Operative somewhat off-guard, and it moved accordingly to dodge. He kept up the pressure, channeling every instinct he had into his assault. The PREDATOR lifted a foot, gathering shadow for a retaliatory attack; Kovian immediately dove forward, ducking between its legs as it stomped, unleashing a burst of black spikes that jutted outward toward where he had been standing. As he passed beneath, Kovian aimed a swing at the back of the PREDATOR's knee and allowing the Shadow Suit's weight to do the rest. It collapsed forward from the hit, the spot sparking with electricity and darkness. With perfect timing, Lyxek chose this moment to re-enter the battle. Now cured of the daze that had been inflicted on him, he ran low to the ground and slammed into the PREDATOR with a Giga Impact attack. The Shadow Suit was sent sprawling along the field, weakly pushing itself up as it came to a stop. Spent of energy, the Haxorus took a moment to catch his breath, though did not need to continue the attack--Vailian did that for him. The Onix burst from the ground once more, refreshed a bit now from his earlier wounds, and caught their joint opponent in his jaws again. He raised his head high and brought his full weight down in a Heavy Slam attack. As the ground rapidly approached, the PREDATOR pulled a fist back and jammed it into the side of Vailian's head, managing two solid hits before both slammed into the dirt. When the dust had settled, the Rock Snake Pokémon's eyes were closed, and the PREDATOR's visor had cracked. It pulled itself free and stood, half-dead but still standing, and fully ready to continue the fight. 'Continue' in a sense, anyway. As Lyxek and the others charged once more, hoping to finally put an end to this, the PREDATOR gripped its head. Even from a distance, Kyle had to cover his ears as an ear-splitting shriek escaped from the Shadow Suit, distorted by the machinery in its helmet. It was enough to stop his team in their tracks, all of them recognizing what Kyle was: Not the scream of a monster, or a scream signaling some endgame attack, but one of pure, unadulterated agony. A scream of rage and horror and hopelessness, made possible only by the absolute desolation of one's entire self--the destruction of home, the pain of torture, and the chains of obedience forced upon them. "S̷t̶o̵p̶ ̴.̴ ̷.̴ ̷.̴ ̶I̶ ̴c̶a̵n̴'̴t̷ ̸.̸ ̶.̸ ̷.̸ ̸S̷T̸O̶P̴!̸"̶ A storm of shadowy energy wrapped around it, building and building into a localized maelstrom that, finally, erupted in every direction. It slammed into Lyxek, into Taia, Torith, Rodax, and Kovian, sending them sprawling in every direction. Kyle felt sharp stings of pain all across his body as shards of ice rushed around him, cutting at his skin; finally the force of the wind knocked him off his feet and he slammed backwards onto the ground, his vision going dark for split second. He blinked slowly, his head spinning. Every breath he took felt like a Herculean effort, and he struggled to regain his bearings. Nearby, Kovian had landed hard against the ground; Kyle couldn't tell whether the Dewott was conscious or not, or whether he was even still alive. All the rest of his team lay beyond his sight, but he couldn't tell whether any of them had withstood the attack, either. It didn't matter, anyway; a moment later a plume of smoke and dust had washed over the Water-Type, obscuring him from view. He turned his head the other way, toward the PREDATOR. It stumbled toward him on uneven footing. One hand hung loosely in front of it, as if feeling for the way forward; the other rested on its helmet still, fingertips gripping tightly, futilely at its visor. It struggled to move, seeming almost as if it was fighting itself; one moment it limped toward the field, where Levi and Will hid, and the next it corrected its course back toward Kyle. All the while, he could hear it muttering to itself--herself; now that he could hear it more clearly, he could tell that it was a woman. "S̸t̸o̸p̵ ̴i̵t̶ ̶.̴ ̴.̴ ̸.̸ ̸S̶t̸o̵p̸ ̴i̴t̴ ̷.̶ ̸.̷ ̵.̷ ̸" Kyle pushed away as she neared him, scrambling against the uneven ground. His hands slipped against wet stone and dirt, and he realized that what he was feeling wasn't water but his own blood seeping around his hands. The effort was futile, as she reached him. One foot lifted over him, and a moment later Kyle found himself staring into the palm of her gauntlet as she aimed it directly at him. "P̷l̷e̴a̸s̴e̵ ̴s̴t̴o̸p̵ ̴i̷t̶ ̷.̶ ̸.̶ ̶.̸ ̶I̴ ̸d̴o̵n̸'̵t̸ ̷w̷a̷n̵t̷ ̸t̷h̸i̵s̷ ̷.̶ ̴.̴ ̸.̴" Darkness gathered around her hand. Even as he watched his impending doom, his mind blank with pain and fear, he couldn't help but feel a sense of recognition, and with it a sinking feeling in his chest and stomach that made him want to vomit. He raised his gaze from the attack to the visor, trying to look past the ghastly helmet in order to see the person beyond it. Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but through the opaque face plate, he could faintly make out her eyes. "W-Wait," he coughed. "You're . . ." In response, her hand began to tremble. He thought he saw a glimmer behind the visor. "Y̶o̷u̷ ̸c̷a̶n̵ ̶s̷e̷e̶ ̷m̷e̸ ̶.̷ ̵.̷ ̵.̶" Her entire body suddenly lurched forward and she let out a gasp of surprise and pain. Kyle's eyes widened in shock. A large, white blade had pierced through her midsection from behind. The culprit was an even larger Samurott, who stared down the PREDATOR as she turned her head toward him. He was breathing heavily, and it looked to take everything in him to keep standing, but he had managed to land this last, fatal attack. And as the Formidable Pokémon shifted his gaze toward him, Kyle realized that this was the final evolution of Kovian, arriving just in time to save his trainer. Kovian pulled the blade free, collapsing backward with the action. For a moment, the PREDATOR Unit just stood there, blood spilling from the wound and onto the ground around her, staining Kyle's jacket. Before long, she collapsed. Kyle's heart raced with a mixture of emotions that threatened to overwhelm him; he felt his eyes sting with tears as he crawled toward her, in disbelief over what this had all come to and in contested hope and despair over what he was about to find. She did not resist, nor even react, as he came to a stop beside her, merely turning her head slowly, loosely, to look at him. His hands shook as he reached forward, feeling around the sides and underside of the helmet for any sort of latch mechanism that he could use to unlock it. Finally he found one against the edges of his fingers. A sharp hiss escaped from the mechanism as it unlocked. Carefully, he pulled the front panel away, removing the face plate. His heart sank. Her hair, once long and beautiful, had been shaved away. Her once-clear skin was covered in a mess of horrific scars, and blood seeped around one of her eyes from the intensity of their battle. Her eyes, once so bright and full of hope and dreams, stared back at him with a dull, almost dead sheen. But despite all of these changes, there was no denying the identity of the dying girl in front of him. "Gecynde . . ." The tears that had threatened to spill now broke forth; he felt the streaks running across his face as he took one of her limp hands in his own, shaky grasp. "I . . . I'm so sorry; I didn't know it was you . . ." A soft smile crossed her lips; a little bit of that light he had known so well returned to her eyes. "You did nothing wrong," Gecynde said, her voice hardly more than a pained whisper. Her own eyes teared up as she looked back toward the sky. "I tried to stop . . . It wouldn't let me . . ." "You weren't in control . . ." That knowledge made him feel even more sick. "Gecynde . . . Who did this to you . . .?" "I . . ." She started to cough, blood sputtering across her face. "I don't know . . . They got me . . . in Viridian . . ." The ground around her began to turn dark as shadows coalesced beneath her body. Kyle felt her grip on his hand loosen as she began to sink into the shadows. "They're calling me back now . . ." "Please don't go," Kyle begged. "Please, there has to be a way--you can't go like this! What do I need to do?" "You can't," she said gently. "It's okay; I'm free now . . ." Her fingers brushed against Kyle's for a moment before she pulled her hand back, lying it across her stomach. Gecynde's gaze turned back toward the sky as the last remnants of life slipped away. "I'm free at last . . . Thank you, Kyle . . ." Her eyes closed just as she disappeared beneath the surface of the evaporating darkness, leaving no sign that she had ever been there. Kyle didn't know how long he spent staring at where she had been before he forced himself to his feet. His entire body felt numb, and for the first time in a long time, he felt truly, utterly lost. With no other path to follow, he wiped his eyes, steeling himself and setting about to collect his team. Rain was rolling in; he needed to get the boys to town before then. If for nothing else, than this had been worth it to keep them safe. At least, that's what he could tell himself for now.
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Post by Konuju on Sept 14, 2020 18:18:06 GMT -8
IC: Chrono - Prison Room, Strange Tower In former years Chrono could have cared less about the prisoners packed into the cells. Better them than me, he'd say. But it seemed his time with Ellen had softened his heart, for the dark-type wished for a way to rescue the men and women held captive by these monsters. Of course, there was no clear way to do that. There was plenty of room in the air ducts for a Purrloin, maybe a small child, but there was no way he could get the prisoners out this way, especially not without drawing unwanted attention to himself.
Speaking of which, Chrono realized he didn't even know the way out. Perhaps if he knew more about this place he could devise a way to set the people free, but until then he was better off sticking to the shadows. Yet another reason to be glad Ellen wasn't here, for her pure heart would have undoubtedly led her to do something stupid and reckless.
With a swish of his tail, Chrono turned around and headed back through the ducts to the surgery room. Then he continued west toward the other, less guarded door.
IC: Ryan Sanders/Colleen Llyan – Shelter, Island From the outside the shelter looked like a meager pile of twigs, but it was deceptively large. As Ryan and Colleen drew closer they saw a small grassless patch decorated with a small pile of used firewood. The interior of the structure was about the size of one of the Alamo's dorm rooms. One side of the structure had collapsed, leaving it open to the elements. The floor, while covered in debris, also held large leaves had had been placed in four distinct piles. Ryan caught his breath. The piles were roughly the shape of beds.
"They're here," he told Colleen excitedly. "They're on this island! My mom and dad . . . and Ruby and the Liberty agent who rescued my parents. We've found them!"
The aura wielder was hesitant to join in the excitement. "Let's not jump to conclusions just yet," she said. "Four beds doesn't mean it's your parents. And even if it is . . . I'm not picking up any human auras on this island aside from our group. Regardless, it doesn't look like anyone's lived here for a while."
"No, it's them," Ryan said. "It just has to be. If they're not here, that means they found a way to leave the island."
Colleen was silent for a moment. "All it means is they're gone. We don't know exactly what happened." She hesitated, then shook her head. "We should keep moving. There's nothing more for us here."
Ryan was about to leave when a glittering something caught his eye. He knelt down to pick up a silver necklace. Tears sprung to his eyes as he ran the fine chain through his fingers. "This is my mom's necklace," he said through his tears. "My dad gave it to her as an anniversary gift . . . she wears it all the time. The means she was here." He looked to Colleen. "My mom was here. We're on the right trail."
"Yes, but she isn't here now, and we don't know where they went," the aura wielder argued. "All we know is that they were here and likely being hunted by that . . ." Her eyes widened. "Get down!"
With surprising strength Colleen tackled Ryan to the floor of the shelter. Ryan was about to yell out in protest but she clamped a hand over his mouth. A second later a dark shadow passed overhead. The sound of large, beating wings reached Ryan's ears. The trees rustled and swayed in the wind left in the creature's wake. A moment later it was gone.
Ryan ripped Colleen's hand away from his mouth. "Wasn't that the Shadow Pokémon we're supposed to be hunting?" he asked.
"Yes, and if it heard us it would have blasted this shelter to pieces," Colleen said. "It would have destroyed any further evidence this place holds."
"Yeah, well now we have to catch up to that Pokémon." Ryan stepped out of the shelter and looked up into the sky, straining his eyes for any sign of the creature. "It looked like it was heading in that direction."
Colleen swore. "That's where the others are. It thinks we're intruding on its territory." She looked over at Ryan. "We have to warn them."
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Post by minun4 on Sept 17, 2020 11:43:52 GMT -8
IC: James Arthur - VIP Cell Block
With Ford gone, all of James’s focus returned to the problem at hand. He had to finish this fight. And then deal with his burn before he lost use of his hand. James recalled his knowledge of the power suits. If the Shadow Suit’s specs were even in the same league as the one he piloted, then it was time to take the offensive.
Perhaps because its quarry escaped, their opponent was attempting to escape. The problem with that was more readily apparent to James and Percival than it was to the GEIST unit.
“You are not getting out of this that easy,” James said.
Percival had spent the time the GEIST unit wasted trying to wriggle out of his web preparing for the inevitable retaliation. He was burning with anticipation. Pieces of his head leaked out of his cage. The flames danced around Percival, ready for one final offensive.
The GEIST unit slammed a hand into the ground, causing spikes to emerge from the ground converging on Percival.
“Get past them,” James said, his eyes focused on the target.
Percival pressed his legs on the ground and jumped forward into the air. The Chandelure swung between spikes. One ill-timed swing, landed him taking a glancing blow from one spike. Even a glancing blow was a terrible thing from a Shadow attack. The attack chipped right a piece of his central cage. But Percival held his focus firm and kept both his building flames and his forward momentum. Their earlier caution was in service of this moment. Percival knew he could take one hit, when it came time to attack. All so he could get right up into the Shadow Suits face. He entered the room. His entire body was covered in white fire. Between the Shadow Tag and his flames, there was no escape.
“Percival, Overheat!” James shouted.
OOC:
Percival: Overheat -> GEIST
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Post by Parugi on Sept 20, 2020 15:35:43 GMT -8
IC - Chrono - Strange Tower: (Current position)Chrono's timing matched that of the surgeons. As he was heading through the air duct above the west door, they were wheeling the subject of their work away from the large scanning machine, having evidently finished whatever project they were working on. The man's wounds were all stitched closed now, and he was no longer screaming, nor reacting in any way whatsoever to his situation. Through the vent grates, Chrono could see his blank eyes simply staring upward, alive yet devoid of life. The door had hardly closed behind the gurney when one of the surgeon's voices emanated through the vent behind Chrono, a dull, lifeless monotone that simply said, "Bring in the next one." Keeping pace with the nurse and victim, Chrono watched as the gurney was wheeled down a wide hallway. It turned north for a bit before reaching another set of doors; these opened up as the hospital bed neared. The room beyond was some sort of recovery bay, not unlike that of a hospital. Several beds were lined against one wall, each bearing a similarly-mutilated prisoner, and others were lined across the opposite wall, alternating in a regular pattern. Some appeared to be sleeping, but most simply stared at the ceiling with that same, soulless look in their eye, hardly blinking. Of the roughly fifteen available spaces, eight were currently filled. Several nurses wandered about, keeping an eye on the subjects; as Chrono watched, one pushed the new arrival into place and hooked him up to several machines. His vitals appeared on a nearby screen. Despite the trauma and terror of his situation, which he had so readily displayed earlier, his heart rate remained completely steady, a slow, regular beat that joined the chorus of others around the room. The east side of the room opened up toward the middle into a smaller space, with a door exiting toward the south. Chrono saw another new arrival pushed through this door, and soon moved into position in one of the recovery stations. Evidently, another surgery theater lay beyond there. There was another door on the west wall, which also saw a new arrival. This was some sort of engineer--hard to tell past the uniform, which was not unlike that of the guard he had seen earlier. The engineer surveyed the 'patients' as they conferred with one of the nurses. Finally, they pointed to a nearby bed, where a woman rested. The nurse nodded and began to unhook her from the monitoring equipment, allowing the engineer to wheel the bed out the same way he had come. IC - S1-GEIST - VIP Cell Block, The Alamo:The Mega Chandelure was directly in front of the GEIST before it could react. The next moment, every inch of the Shadow Suit's field of vision was encased in impossible heat. The temperature was enough to evaporate any vapor left from the earlier use of the extinguishers, burning right through to the core of the S1 Suit. The attack finally subsided. The outward damage was difficult to ascertain, save for the visor that had turned a sort of caramel color from the heat. One could only assume what had become of the body within the suit. As it fell back hard against the ground, however, one thing was clear: This suit's operator was dead. Almost immediately upon its collapse, the lights in the block flickered back on. This was followed by an emergency alarm as the damage to several of the cell gates finally was allowed to register in the Alamo's system. It would only be moments before security arrived. IC - Kyle Eston/Levi Alaric/Will Moreno - Forest, Unknown:The aftermath of the battle had been quiet. Kyle had done the work of recalling all of his injured Pokémon before returning to Will and Levi. With his team almost entirely knocked out, they did not have the luxury of having Lyxek around to carry Will anymore, so they made do with Kyle offering him some support. It was clear to the boys as they walked that Kyle's mood had taken a significant downturn from the confrontation, so although they were keen to ask and find out what had happened, they did not pry, and instead merely took his directions and continued the last leg of their trek toward civilization. While a new weight of silence had fallen on them, they could at least take comfort in knowing that they were no longer being pursued by the mysterious Shadow Suit--at least, not by the one that had been hounding them. It took a long time, and they were exhausted by the end of it, but at last they crested over a hill overlooking their destination. For the first time since they had left the clearing, Kyle cracked a small smile. "Look--there it is." It truly was a sight to behold. Most towns, if they had one, were built around the bridge, but the little village they had found had actually been constructed on the wide bridge connecting both halves of the river. Some buildings dotted the shores, but almost everything was contained on the structure itself. Kyle pulled out a pair of binoculars, searching around. Soon, his smile faltered. "I don't see a Pokémon Center," he muttered. "That's not good . . ." He lowered them, thinking. "I guess it could still be down there--I'm not really familiar with this style of architecture, so I don't know that I'd be able to find it without a sign . . ." "Can I look?" Levi asked. Kyle handed him the binoculars, which he immediately peered through. He looked about before focusing on a sign. "'Village Bridge Restaurant.' Can we go there to eat? Someone might be able to give us directions." "That's a good idea." Kyle began carefully making his way down the hill, wracking his brain with each step. "Are you okay, Mr. Eston?" Will asked. "Yeah," Kyle said slowly. "Just thinking . . . If this is Village Bridge in Unova, I actually know someone from here. We might be able to get some help from her and her family even if there isn't a Pokémon Center in town." "That's good news," Will said. "Do you know where she lives?" Kyle hesitated. The only time he had had a chance to come to the Burks household was when he had come to Unova while chasing Ryan Hikari, and he had split off from the rest of the group at the time instead. "I don't know exactly," he said at length. "But I think her father's a blacksmith, and the town's not that big, so it shouldn't be that hard to find them." He moved to catch Will as the younger boy slipped on a loose section of earth. After making sure he was steady, Kyle began moving again. "You guys let me worry about that, though. If nothing else, three beat up kids wandering out of the woods will get us sympathy from someone--might even land us a free meal at that restaurant." He smiled. "Just gotta find the silver lining." IC - Sonja Baron/Ethan Worth - Beach, The Alamo:Their battles had been fought. The beach bore the scars of their combat. And in the end, all three training sessions had ended in draws. It seemed that neither Sonja's Pokémon nor Ethan's had been able to figure out an effective means of navigating around each other. But that was fine--training was training, and there was nothing lost in practice. So now the two trainers approached each other and locked in a handshake in the middle of the field, eyes met in rivaled intensity. "Good work, Ethan Worth," Sonja said. "You are, truly, a worthy opponent. I haven't felt that alive in months." "And you as well, Sonja Baron," Ethan replied. "Those battles, light as they were, shall go down in history as incredible displays of power between friends. Now, what do you say we head to the cafeteria and--" The interruption was something that neither of them could have possibly predicted. From out of nowhere, the air nearby distorted and a pair of figures materialized. Immediately, the jovial air of the beach tensed with a mixture of surprise, alarm, and a notable amount of frustration. Ethan and Sonja simultaneously pulled back, shifting their stances to prepare for combat. "What are you doing here?" Sonja demanded. "And how did you get out of your cells?" John Ford held up a hand. "There is little time to explain in such an open environment, Miss Baron," he said. "Suffice it to say that this was a necessary course of action under the circumstances." "What do you mean?" Sonja said. "Did something happen?" Ford looked at Ethan, and then back at Sonja. "Is he trustworthy?" "I'd say so." She glanced at Hayes. "I don't think it'd be difficult to confirm that." "Then we need to get to Vertrag. I will explain everything there."
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Post by minun4 on Sept 21, 2020 12:17:26 GMT -8
IC: James Arthur/Percival - VIP Cell Block.
As soon as the light came on, Percival vanished. The Mega Evolution energy dissipated into heat. And the mighty web of shadows Percival had weaved, dwindled to the smallest fiber extending only an inch from the body. James could only pray that the cameras would need a minute to come back online. He didn't have the time to check right now, first he had to deal with his burn. He ran straight to the sink in the bathroom. He turned the faucet with his unburned hand, allowing a stream of cool water to come out. He placed his hand into the stream. It stung at first, but relief soon followed.
He would need a few minutes of letting the water pour onto his hand to stop the pain. In the meantime, he decided focusing his thoughts on what just happened would serve to distract from the pain, if only a little. What immediately came to mind was a reminder that the the lights coming back immediately after the death of the Shadow Suit operator. Such a coincidence was far too well timed for his liking.
"There is no way it was just luck," James muttered, before wincing from the pain again.
The power going off and on with the appearance and defeat of the Shadow Suits, meant that either they or someone working with them, had access to Team Liberty's power grid. Not to mention the fact they were able to break in in the first place. Either Team Liberty's security was even more lax than he thought, or Vert and Silvermind were involved. Past experience taught him that either was possible. Personal bias leaned towards the latter.
Why attack Ford and Hayes? James raised his eyes to the mirror. James didn't have an answer for that. If it was Team Liberty that was behind the Shadow Suits, then why attack Ford? He was in their custody. What did they intend to do with him?
And where would they have gotten enough data on Shadow Pokémon to make Power Suits based on them? Roderick would have had access to that sort of information. But would he given it to Vert? If he did, James thought with a sigh, it was James's fault for introducing them in the first place. Then were was what Ford mentioned. Shadow Admin Ace had the knowledge as well. If she had it, then it stood to reason someone else at Team Rocket did as well. A collaborative effort would be able to produce the Shadow Suits. But who in Team Rocket would be willing to work on this? Did the Shadow Admins support this project? Was someone able to do this without them knowing?
James grunted as another wave of pain shot through him. He needed more to go on, and more time to think on it. Preferably without a burn distracting him. Maybe when security inevitably got down here, he could worm more information out of them.
Back in Ford's cell, Percival was trying to hold down his breakfast from becoming yet more ectoplasmic fire in the room. He had just checked the body. It was dead. There was no two ways around it. Percival had just killed someone to save John Ford. It had to be done, Percival told himself. If non-lethal force would stopped it, it would have fallen way earlier.
He wasn't convincing himself very well.
If only the others had been here. If only James wasn't stuck in his cell. Such thoughts were useless, Percival told himself. But his mind couldn't help but think of imaginary ways this could've been avoided.
Forcing himself to move, the invisible Percival got to work on the body. There wasn't time to waste on feeling disgust or sympathy. Percival stopped. That probably was not the best sentiment, Percival thought as he remembered what James said about Shadow Pokémon. If he couldn't feel before, he certainly couldn't now...
...There were scorch marks that needed taking care of.
Forcing nausea aside, he took a look at the wound that did the poor sap in. This was a problem. Pretending that the body wasn't killed by fire was probably impossible at this point. And Hayes probably didn't have any explicit fire powers, otherwise she'd probably have used them, right? But maybe they could pretend she turned his own attack against him. Psychics were good at that sort of stuff. Use some ghost energy to give the burn marks a shadowy edge. Shadow, Ghost, Dark. All felt the same to him. At the very least, it would buy them time if they had to look into what the Shadow Suit was capable of. If it was even possible, considering the state that this was in. Best part was if someone tried to call foul play right off the bat, it would be proof that they were involved with this mess, right? Proof enough for him, at any rate.
Percival had to suppress his sparks from visibility. This must be what it felt like to be James all the time. Looking at the body once more killed any sense of joy he had just gained. Nothing like facing the grim reality that he was about to desecrate the corpse of someone he killed to hide evidence to kill the mood. It had to be done, Percival told himself as he spat a bit of ghostly energy on to the corpse's burn marks, it had to be done.
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Post by Konuju on Sept 25, 2020 10:33:50 GMT -8
IC: Recovery Bay - Strange Tower With Chrono's limited medical knowledge, he could only guess at what had been done to these patients to put them in such a deathlike, sedated state. And he was sure he didn't even want to know. As the engineer directed for one of the women patients to be brought into the west room, Chrono silently followed, fearing what new horrors awaited the patient.
IC: Dack Majors/Madison Morrow/Luke – Beach, Island "Someone else was on this island," Dack said. The Snowpoint trio had made their way to the edge of the forest, where the trees gave way to sand which led to the ocean a short distance away. However, their attention was drawn to a number of things under the shade of the trees that led to Dack's suggestion that they were not alone.
The first and most immediately noticeable was a circle of wood situated in the form of a campfire. A few paces away sat a pile of vines of various length. Upon closer inspection, the supposed campground was littered with fine sawdust.
"I'm no expert tracker," Luke said. "And I can't use Aura to say for sure what happened here. Can Aura even do that? I don't really know how it all works." Dack and Madison shot him a look, prompting the blackbelt to hastily continue his original train of thought. "Anyway, my point is, take what I'm about to say with a grain of salt, but I think whoever was here was building a raft."
"You mean to get off the island?" Madison asked.
Luke nodded. "Did you notice the trees back in the forest? A number of them had been chopped down. They would have been sanded down and lashed together with vines. I bet if we looked carefully we might see some scuff marks on the ground showing where they dragged the completed raft out to sea. And from there, there's no telling where they might have gone . . ."
"But if you're right, whoever used to be here is long gone," Dack muttered. The three trainers looked at each other for a moment. Suddenly all three of their Pokétches beeped with an incoming message. A moment later, an explosion sounded in the distance. "Looks like Colleen and Ryan found that Shadow Pokémon," Madison said, scrolling through the message.
"And it sounds like it found Jayron and Adam," Luke said. "Serves Adam right, but we should probably go help Jayron nonetheless. I was joking!" he added at a stern glance from Madison.
Dack pulled out a Pokéball. "Swellow, scout ahead of us. See if you can't hold down the front until we get there." The large bird nodded once, then took to the skies.
IC: Paul Burks/Anson Brawns - Vendor Stand, Village Bridge Village Bridge was generally a peaceful, quiet little hamlet. Especially now that the Black Storm had been eradicated, the villagers were eager to return to their quiet lives. Of course, one section of the bridge had always been bustling with energy, and that was the marketplace. Street vendors lined the bridge, each one loudly advertising their wares to any passerby. From seashells collected from the riverbanks fashioned into jewelry to the village's famous sandwiches, nearly anything could be found at one of the vendor stands.
The newly re-opened Brawns, Silver, and Gold was no exception. After the previous store had burned down, the shopkeeper had decided to move to the marketplace. His business model had changed, too. Whereas before he had sold all manner of stones and gems, he now specialized as a refinery for rare metals and stones. Not just any old slab of metal could cause an Onix to evolve into a Steelix, for example. Optimum results required the Metal Coat in question to be perfectly refined and purged of any impurities. The same held true for evolutionary stones. And with the help of his newly-hired blacksmith friend -- not to mention the timely return of Pokémon powers -- Anson Brawns found his business booming.
"What can I interest you in today, my good lad?" the burly man asked a young trainer who was keenly eyeing the wares with his Minccino. "Perhaps a nice Shiny Stone for your friend there? I also have a nice stock of Normal Gems if evolution's not quite your thing."
The kid continued looking up and down the shop, then turned to Anson with a frown. "Do you have any Mega Stones?"
"Any what now?"
"Mega Stones," the boy repeated. "People say they help with Mega Evolution. My friend said they're selling them in Opelucid, but they're really expensive. I thought I might find them cheaper in a smaller town like this one."
Now it was Anson's turn to frown. "Word of advice, kid. That's a load of crap. All you need for Mega Evolution's right here." He pointed to the kid's chest. "And here." He pointed to the Minccino's chest. "Trust me, I've seen it happen before. And it's truly a sight to behold."
The kid laughed. "You're just pulling my leg, old man."
"He's not." A man in his mid-thirties stepped out of the back room, where a mobile forge was burning with enough heat to keep the entire village warm through winter. He wiped the sweat off his brow and took a big gulp of water. "My own daughter achieved Mega Evolution through nothing but sheer will and determination. You're just throwing your money away if you buy into any of that Mega Stone nonsense. Now if you aren't going to buy anything, then scram."
The boy rolled his eyes. "Let's go, Minccino. I can tell when we're not wanted."
Anson shook his head as he watched the kid go. "You didn't have to be so hard on him, Burks. I could have at least sold him a Normal Gem."
"I just can't believe there are people out there trying to profit of Mega Evolution!" Paul set his water bottle heavily on the table. "I mean, 'Mega Stones?' Seriously? Sounds like something you'd collect in a videogame. And these poor kids are just lapping it up. It makes me sick."
"You miss her, don't you?" Anson looked over at his coworker with a soft smile. "You don't normally get this agitated."
Paul slumped into a chair and picked up the Shiny Stone Anson had tried to sell to the kid. "I know she's in good hands," he muttered. "But it's still hard to let her go."
"No one said it was easy," Anson said. "But you're doing the right thing. And hey, at least she got your permission, this time. Now come on, let's get back to work. Life may be a forge, leaving you battered and bruised as a hammer does to a nail, but you'll both turn out stronger because of it. Ellen's a strong girl. Have a little faith, my friend."
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Post by Parugi on Sept 26, 2020 17:44:22 GMT -8
IC - Chrono - Strange Tower: (Current position)Following along above, Chrono kept pace with the engineer as they wheeled the gurney into a long hallway. It spanned north and south; he turned north, toward a door lying at the far end. Not too far along another hallway split off to the west; he ignored this, though Chrono could hear similar sounds to what he had witnessed in the other rooms so far. The northern room was smaller than any the Dark-Type had seen yet. Rather than a prison or a surgical theater, this appeared to be an examination room. The man maneuvered the gurney into a space in the corner, before pulling up a data pad and accessing something on it. He glanced up at the 'patient' on the bed. After a moment, he approached a work station on the other end of the room, where he gathered a needle and a vial of liquid. He approached the woman as he filled the vial, before wordlessly injecting the substance into her neck. He stepped away. "Subject S1-024," he said. "Stand." Silently, the woman shifted on the bed, dropping her feet to the ground and standing. Her arms hung at her sides and she stared forward. "Subject S1-024. Identify yourself." "I am Subject S1-024," the woman responded. Her voice was raspy, perhaps from disuse, or perhaps from whatever had been done to her. Her affect was completely flat, devoid of any true sign of life. "Where are you from, Subject S1-024?" "I am from nowhere." "What are you, Subject S1-024?" "I am an operator for the S1-GEIST Shadow Suit Unit." "What is your purpose, Subject S1-024?" "My purpose is to fulfill the directives given to me." "What is your current directive, Subject S1-024?" "I am currently awaiting directives." "Stand by, Subject S1-024." The woman stood silently as the engineer conducted a series of examinations on her. It was uncomfortable to watch, not helped by the utterly disinterested, methodical manner in which the engineer operated--it only served to emphasize how unnatural and surreal the situation was. When the man was finished, he started toward another door on the north end of the room. "Follow, Subject S1-024." Chrono crawled after them through the vents. As the door opened, a cacophony of noise spilled out into the examination room. This room--much, much larger than any other he had seen--housed a large number of machines. A storage area of some sort rested in the north-east section of the room, where it housed several of the sarcophagi that had been present in the tower. Several workers were busy moving these into position. Elsewhere, Shadow Suit parts were in the process of inspection, as were more of those sarcophagi in the process of being built. As Chrono watched, one of the black sarcophagi was moved into a station nearby. The woman--Subject S1-024--was led in front of it. The machine opened, allowing her to step forward and take a seat inside of it. The machine closed around her. Several moments later, the machine opened again, and a fully-armored S1-GEIST stepped out. It took several steps forward before coming to a standstill. "Good . . . Very good," the engineer said as he moved around her, taking notes. "The integration process went off without a hitch. How are you feeling, Subject S1-024?" The GEIST responded in a scrambled, mechanical voice that Chrono could not understand. Strangely, the engineer did not seem to have any issues comprehending her answer. He nodded slowly, before approaching and fiddling with something on the helmet. When he was satisfied, he stepped back. "Very good. Return to stand-by operations, Subject S1-024; you will receive your directives soon enough." The GEIST turned and moved back into the sarcophagus, which closed around her once more before falling completely inert. A group of workers approached, beginning the process of returning the machine to the tower, as the engineer finished his report and returned to continue with the next examination. IC - Kyle Eston/Levi Alaric/Will Moreno - Forest, Unknown:Maybe it was because the streets were so lively, or maybe it was a case of not wanting to get involved, but the three boys did not garner much attention as they picked their way through the crowds of Village Bridge's marketplace. It was a lot busier than Kyle had realized while looking in from the hills--evidently they had arrived in the middle of some sort of Farmers' Market event that had taken up a notable section of the already-notable construct. While Kyle led the way, supporting Will at his side, Levi trailed a little bit behind. The level of activity was somewhat intimidating, but at the same time it was a little fascinating as well. Village Bridge was unlike anything he had ever seen before, so to get a look at it up close and to see how the people here went about their day-to-day activities was an entirely new experience. He saw food stands with all sorts of fruit and meals to go that made his mouth water. There were leather stalls with homemade wallets, belts, hats, and other accessories. A few stalls had been opened with fascinating art pieces on display, including one selling caricatured portraits of--now that Levi looked closer--prominent members of Team Liberty and Team Rocket, including his father. A little ways down the street, however, was something he had not expected: A stall selling all sorts of evolution stones, as well as other geodes of various shapes and sizes. That alone wouldn't have been noteworthy, except that he recognized one of the men speaking to each other behind the table. The sight gave him pause as he stared, trying to remember where he had met the man before. "Hey, Levi," Kyle called. He and Will had stopped a few yards away from the younger boy, looking back at him with tired, concerned, and somewhat pained expressions. They both were beginning to feel the full effects of their injuries. "Don't fall behind, buddy." "Oh, r-right," Levi said. He started toward the pair, but hesitated. He pointed shyly down the road. "Um . . . Mr. Kyle? Isn't that Mr. Burks?" "Wait, really?" Kyle hobbled back over with Will. He peered down the lane, doing his best to look through the crowd. Finally, his face lit up with clear relief. "I think you're right, Levi." He shifted Will's arm over his shoulder, taking a little bit more of the younger boy's weight. "Come on--just a little bit further and then we can get your ankle taken care of." Will nodded, gritting his teeth in pain. "A-Alright," he said. "I'm sorry--I don't want to slow us down." "You're doing fine," Kyle said. "Just push through it a little bit more. Levi, can you lead the way?" "S-Sure!" Levi hurried ahead, disappearing into the crowd; every so often his voice piped up through the surrounding conversations with a nervously polite "Excuse me!" or "Pardon me!" Soon enough Kyle and Will had lost his particular trail, but that didn't matter so much given that they could see where they were going by now. Quiet as a mouse, Levi approached the end of the table. He bounced on his toes, peeking over the displays to look at the two men. "Um, excuse me, Mr. Burks," he said. "I don't know if you remember me, but we met each other on Four Island a few months ago and I was wondering if you could help us out?" IC - Executive Danielle Ladon - VIP Cell Block, The Alamo:It took a surprisingly long time for someone to come down the hall toward James's cell, but when it happened, it was preceded by a different noise: The sound of heavy metal doors being forced open further down the hall beyond his sight. Immediately, several harsh voices shouted, and the sound of dozens of footsteps echoed down the corridor. "We've got one!" "Secure it before it disappears!" "Ma'am, Ford and Hayes's cells are open." Executive Ladon's voice sounded from the hallway in an angry curse. "Secure both cells." Beyond the the door of James's cell, several figures appeared. Each was decked out in a guard uniform, and some were accompanied by Pokémon. They hurried past, checking the rest of the cell block for any sign of further struggle. A moment later, Executive Ladon appeared at the door herself, looking in. "Arthur?" she called. Ladon looked to another guard. "Get the door open." They did so, allowing her access. They moved into the cell. "Arthur!" The Executive looked genuinely relieved upon finding James. She turned back toward the hall, ordering another guard, "Get a medic in here," before turning back to James. "Are you alright?"
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Post by Konuju on Sept 28, 2020 18:13:23 GMT -8
IC: Chrono - Strange Tower By now Chrono had a good idea of what the Shadow Suit operators were. They were zombielike drones, but they were also victims of whatever cruel science experiment had gone on in the surgery room. The Purrloin's sense of direction told him Subject S1-024 had been moved into the tower he had initially come from.
That left two more exits from this room, not counting the one that led back to the examination room. One door led north, the other led south. After some deliberation, Chrono made his way toward the northern door, wondering what he would find on the other side.
IC: Paul Burks/Anson Brawns - Vendor Stand, Village Bridge It took Paul a moment to recognize the young boy standing before him. "You're Ellen's friend, aren't you?" he said with a soft smile. "Levi, right?"
"Oho! And what brings you here, young Levi?" Anson's voice boomed with enthusiasm, causing the boy to shrink back. "I'm afraid if you're looking for Ellen you're a tad too late. She's somewhere in the Johto Region now."
"Don't mind Mr. Brawns," Paul assured him. "He's a good man. He helped Ellen out a while back. Now, what was it you said about needing help?"
At this point the blacksmith spotted another of Ellen's friends, Kyle Eston, along with another boy he didn't recognize. Paul had initially assumed the tired expression on Levi's grungy face was the result of horseplay. He was a young boy, after all. But seeing Kyle and the other boy in a similar state -- in fact, Kyle seemed to be supporting the younger boy -- gave Paul a pretty good idea what Levi had meant by help.
Hurrying toward Kyle, Paul offered his shoulder to the other boy and led them the rest of the way to the vendor stall. Anson and Paul only had two seats in their makeshift shop, which they readily offered to Levi and the other boy. Anson ran into the back to grab some bottles of water while Paul helped Kyle get the limping boy into a chair.
"Are you guys alright?" Paul asked, looking over at Kyle. "You look like you've had a rough time of it. Do you mind if I ask what happened?"
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Post by minun4 on Oct 1, 2020 11:35:16 GMT -8
IC: James Arthur - VIP Cell Block
Percival sank deeper into the ground as people and Pokémon entered the cell. He'd done his job long enough, it was time to split before the jig was up.
James did not remove his hand from the sink at Executive Ladon's approach, nor did he immediately turn to look at her. His hand was making itself a bigger concern than politeness at the moment. Still, dealing with Executive Ladon was better than dealing with Vert up at least. Though he was going to have to speak to her at some point, if he was going to learn more about what happened today. For now, it was time to dodge blame.
"I will live," James said before pulling his hand out of the stream of water to show the other executive. "I took a look at the fight, and I got burned for my curiosity."
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Post by Parugi on Oct 4, 2020 19:57:03 GMT -8
IC - Chrono - Strange Tower: (Current position)The northern door opened up to another hallway, which Chrono followed. Soon enough it branched off to the east and west. The eastern hall was shorter; it soon stopped at another high-security door manned by a guard. A quick peek into it from the vents above indicated that this was another, slightly larger prison; this one possessed a door heading north, which--judging from the sounds carrying from the vents that way--seemed to lead to more experimentation rooms. Backtracking to the west, and then following the connecting hallway north, Chrono found the first real respite since his arrival in this facility. The room was small, close in size to the examination room, but appeared to be closer in function to a break room. There were several sets of lockers lining the walls, as well as benches and a table in the middle of the room. What caught Chrono's eye--particularly since he noted the lack of anyone currently in the room--was what was on the table. It was a small handheld device lying face down against the tabletop. The back of the case was engraved with a set of initials, which Chrono could make out as "R.D." It was small enough that Chrono could likely retrieve it without any issues if he was quick enough. A quick look through the door to the north indicated that there were no people immediately on their way toward the room, leaving Chrono to ponder his option here: Retrieve the device or continue on without it. IC - Kyle Eston/Levi Alaric/Will Moreno - Market, Village Bridge:The sense of relief was immediately visible on all three of the boys' faces. Now that he finally had a safe place to rest, Will drew his foot back and focused his abilities around his injury again. For a brief moment he winced in pain, but soon enough he relaxed as a soothing sensation washed over his ankle. Levi, meanwhile, wasted no time in guzzling the water that Mr. Brawns had provided after uttering a quick, "Thank you." As soon as they had gotten Will settled, Kyle sighed, falling back against a support beam and sliding to the ground, one hand pressed hard against his shoulder. None of his wounds from the fight against the Shadow Suit--against Gecynde, he mentally corrected himself--were too severe, but they ached nonetheless. He gave a grateful nod to Mr. Brawns before leaning his head back, taking a moment to recover. "We were at the Alamo, someone attacked us, and we accidentally teleported into the wilderness a little bit north of here. One of them got teleported with us and tracked us down, but I . . ." Unconsciously, Kyle's hand dropped to the blood stains on the belly of his coat. "I think we're safe for now." He shook his head, pulling himself together. Opening his eyes, he rubbed the sweat, dirt, and blood from his face before looking at Paul. "I'm sorry to drop in on you like this; I didn't even realize where we were until we got here." "Is there a Pokémon Center nearby, Mr. Burks?" Levi asked. "We didn't see one when we were coming in." IC - Executive Danielle Ladon - VIP Cell Block, The Alamo:Before long, a medic arrived; Ladon directed him to take a look at James. The other guards returned as well, bringing their reports on the status of Ford and Hayes--namely, the fact that they were gone. Ladon frowned. While the possibility that the two had escaped was not ideal, it was even less ideal to consider that others had made off with the pair. "James Arthur," she said. "I'll level with you if you level with me. Do you know what happened to Ford and Hayes?" IC - John Ford/Madison Hayes/Sonja Baron/Ethan Worth/Vertrag - Vertrag:The trek back to Vertrag did not take long--that was the benefit of Sonja having spent so much time in the area; she'd figured out the fastest ways to get to and from the entrance. It had been a somewhat awkward walk back, in no small part due to the rush that Ford appeared to be in, but the other circumstances--namely, Ethan's palpable hesitation around the pair, the angry static between Sonja and her sister, and the general fact that they should not have been out of their cells--did not help at all. There was only a brief bit of levity upon entering Vertrag, wherein Ethan could not hide his astonishment toward the nature of the place, but no one was in a rush to offer him any explanation at the moment. Soon enough, they found themselves in the Command Center and, true to his word, Ford had wasted no time in detailing what had occurred in the VIP Cell Block of the Alamo. "I see," Sonja said once all had been said. "So you used the opportunity to escape." "Seemed like the best option, given the circumstances," Hayes said. "We had no way of knowing whether more of these Shadow Suits were on their way, not to mention the fact that our abilities were being wasted in those boxes." "I'm just surprised there weren't any guards to stop you. The VIP Cells are supposed to be top-level security areas." "They are," Ford said. "The fact that no guards responded to the incident indicates one of two possibilities: They were complicit in the attack, or they were incapacitated." "And which do you think it was?" Ford rubbed his stubbled chin. "At the moment, that is difficult to say. From what I observed, it seemed as though the power grid to the VIP Block itself had been deactivated; yet these suits were able to open our cells regardless. That leads me to assume that they had direct access to the grid and were able to influence it as needed. But whether they gained that access by force or by design is something that I cannot say. It is certainly possible that someone within Team Liberty or Team Rocket set up the situation in order to spirit us away to some unknown destination, likely to circumvent orders from the top of the chain. But if that were the case, why send such specialized forces for the task instead of the guards that already had access to us, and why send so few of them?" He shook his head. "There are many possibilities. Regardless of the answer, we will need to investigate further." Sonja couldn't help but sigh. "Well, that's frustrating, but at the very least this means we won't have to find a way to break you out ourselves." "Oh, was that on your agenda?" Ethan asked. "Eventually, if Team Liberty didn't put them back onto the field." Sonja looked squarely at him. "Is that a problem?" "Nope," he said. "Not really a secret that the top dogs haven't been seeking any sort of feedback from Ford, and I happen to be in agreement that that's a waste of a resource." "Well, I appreciate your confidence, Mr. Worth," Ford said. "Now, what I would like to know is whether this was an isolated incident or not. I believe that will help narrow down the possible suspects behind our attack." I believe I can answer that.All four looked toward the spectral Jirachi as it appeared within their circle. The sight immediately caused Ethan to jump back in surprise, as if a ghost had just popped out in front of him. Ford, on the other hand, smiled at the sight, bowing his head respectfully to Vertrag. "My friend, it is good to see you." The Jirachi mirrored the motion. And you, as well, Master. A block of information appeared next to the AI. As per your question, the answer is no. Reports are incoming that a similar attack by similar forces occurred in the Alamo's Mess Hall not long ago today. Likewise, another attack occurred in the Alamo's Daycare Facility at roughly the same time."Three attacks at the Alamo all at once?" Sonja said, visibly stunned. She looked at Ford. "An attack in the VIP Cells is one thing, it's another to have two additional attacks in broad daylight and in public places like the Daycare and the Mess Hall. There's no way that was ordered by someone on the inside, unless they genuinely didn't care about getting caught." "Vertrag," Ford said calmly. "Who was targeted in these other attacks?" The Mess Hall attack appeared to involve Rocket Agent Lucia Zyther, Rocket Agent Gavin Braner, and Rocket Agent Skye Hall. The combat sight is being addressed as we speak, though no one in that group appears to have sustained serious injury. The Daycare attack is reported to have involved Esen Windred, Samara Moreno, Wilson Moreno, Levi Alaric, and Liberty Agent Kyle Eston. According to the report, Esen Windred and Samara Moreno were forced to dispatch one Shadow Suit after the other was teleported away to an unknown destination alongside Wilson Moreno, Levi Alaric, and Kyle Eston; attempts to reach them have proven unsuccessful. All three Shadow Suits that were confirmed defeated vanished shortly thereafter.Ethan and Sonja both looked horrified at this information. Ford remained as calm as ever; watching him, it was clear that the gears were turning in his head. "What of Ray Hakuda and Ellen Burks?" At the moment, no information has come in regarding attacks against them."Why those two people, specifically?" Ethan asked. "Because they're the other Children," Sonja said. She looked at Ford. "That's it, right? The Shadow Suits went after you and Hayes. They went after groups including Skye and Levi. If they went after Ellen and Ray, then that would mean the Shadow Suits were specifically targeting those individuals who were directly involved in the ritual." "And there are only so many people who would have an interest in targeting those folks." Ford rubbed his chin. "Vertrag, put a call out to Mr. Hakuda and Miss Burks immediately. It would be in our best interest to ensure their safety as soon as possible." Calling now. Please stand by."I'm going to get Skye, Gavin, and Lucia," Ethan said, moving toward the exit. "If they're being targeted, I'm not letting them out of my site." He had hardly taken two steps before his Poké Gear rang. He paused, pulling it out to check the message. Simultaneously, Sonja's Pokétch rang . . . IC - Gavin Braner/Skye Hall - Mess Hall, The Alamo:The response to the end of their battle was quick. The cage of darkness had vanished, leaving Gavin, Lucia, Skye, and their team of Pokémon to breathe freely once more. It seemed that as they had fought, a group of individuals had formed a ring around the arena, allowing Team Liberty's guards to create their own perimeter. It didn't take long for the guards to move in afterwards to check on the Shadow Suit targets, taking statements from them and helping to patch them all up before closing the mess hall for clean-up. Now the three stood in the hall outside, well aware of the grumblings of other Liberty Agents around them. Gavin ignored them, glaring back at a small group as they dispersed. He looked over at Lucia and Skye. "Well, that was a bunch of bullshit." "You can say that again," Skye muttered. "What kind of person launches an attack in the cafeteria of a military base?" "People who don't care for their lives?" Gavin shrugged. "I don't know. It'd probably help to know what they were after, but I've got nothing." He turned to Lucia. "Anyway, guess that's it for lunch unless you want to go somewhere else to eat. Otherwise I guess we could keep talking while we look for Ethan? He'd probably want to know about--" He trailed off as all three of their Poké Gears beeped with a message. Simultaneously, nearby monitors on the wall lit up. It was an announcement from the joint Liberty-Rocket leadership, not unlike the announcement a while back regarding the mission to One Island. They watched as the message played across the screen . . . IC - Message, All - The Alamo; Chapel; Abyss; Divide; All other Liberty/Rocket/Allied facilities; All allied comm devices:
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