flipz
Technician
Posts: 56
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Post by flipz on Nov 12, 2019 6:16:09 GMT -8
—[Prism Tower]—
Siebold had been watching the enemy beat down his Blastoise with a worried eye. It was making progress, to be certain, but he knew that even its newfound strength could not last forever. With every meal, a bill must be paid. He heard the orange-haired Trainer order his Pokémon to finish off the opponents in Valerie’s group before moving to assist, and nodded his approval — definitely the proper priority. However, he doubted the Pokémon would finish the enemies before Blastoise tired, so he withdrew a Pokéball he’d brought specially for the evening and quietly deployed its occupant into his hand. A tiny china teapot appeared, and the Elite Four member whispered quietly into it.
“Listen carefully, my friend,” he murmured, “Valerie and this young man need your help. When I give the signal, I need you go make yourself slippery and get beneath the feet of these Flare agents, keep them off-balance for them to escape while I—”
The transformed Zangoose bounced back from its final opponent, pausing for the moment needed for its enemy to realize that yes, it had been knocked out, before bounding over to back up Blastoise with Valerie’s transformed Mawile in tow. As the rest of the pair’s respective teams returned to their Trainers’ sides, Siebold quietly recalled the foreign Pokémon.
Fool, he chided himself. There are no weak Pokémon in a Pokémon battle, only weak Trainers. My partner will succeed only so long as I devote myself to his success. “Truly a bold flavor,” he said aloud to Ray. “In better days, I would very much like to see you challenge the League, young man. What is your name?”
Before the Trainer could respond, however, the tower shuddered… and slowly, ominously began to lean. The battlefield in which they now fought was on one of the lower floors, so for the building to lean so far that even they could feel it.
“Something has gone terribly wrong,” Valerie said, mirroring Siebold’s own thoughts.
Siebold nodded. “We must leave, quickly.”
“On the positive side,” she observed, “they seem to be just as off-balance.” She pointed to the Flare grunts and their Pokémon, who had almost all lost their feet. With the enemy off-balance, Blastoise had repeated its Rapid Spin to bowl through them, meeting Zangetsu and Mawile halfway. Unfortunately, the tilt of the floor meant it had traveled the wrong direction, away from the Gym entrance. Even with Flare thoroughly distraced, reaching their original destination would, quite literally, be an uphill battle. Valerie looked to Ray, something calculating in her eyes. “You’ve done well so far, but now we find ourselves into something of a Trick Room. What’s the next move?”
———————
The Archeops took the hit from the Flaaffy, and melodramatically flailed before playing dead. It poked its head up to try and check if the enemy had bought the response, having to quickly duck back down once it realized that everyone else in the battle could blatantly see it doing so.
The Carracosta, meanwhile, had not held back. It leaped to intercept Togie with a stony fin, only for Ren to latch on with Thunder Fang, practically slamming it onto Quil’s Rollout with extra force. Had the Typlosion’s attack been a typeless copy, it would have surely been knocked out by the blow, but the elemental stone surrounding it cushioned the impact into merely a solid hit, said elemental energy combining with Ren’s and the physical impacts themselves, all three together adding up to a fainted Carracosta and a Flare agent with no more Pokémon able (or willing) to battle. The man’s eyes widened, and he threw his belt to the ground before raising his hands in surrender… forgetting that he was the sort who foolishly used their Pokéball belt as a regular belt instead of attaching it externally to the normal version. His Pokémon were fortunately spared near-fatal secondhand embarrassment by their unconsciousness, be it feigned or actual.
The comedy was brought to a screeching halt as the tower shook, screeched, and slanted. The Archeops instantly bolted upright, launching into the air and making a run (fly?) for its life… only to turn around and bolt back as it remembered its Pokéball, loudly screeching all the while in sheer panic. The Carracosta, of course, remained fainted, its Trainer too busy trying to pull up his pants and avoid hitting the floor face first to retreat either of his Pokémon.
———————
Bonnie paled.
At first, it might have been thought that she had paled at Chloe’s suggestion. The recall beam passing within inches of Chloe’s face — and the massive shadow that washed over them for a moment before the beam connected — quickly revealed it to be a response to a massively oversized Tyrantrum that had lost its balance as the room tilted. Bonnie let out a sigh of relief once Hellblade was back in its ball.
“Sorry, lemme replay that in my head.”
Bonnie paled. Again. This time with an added flinch.
“Uhh…” She clenched her fists, jolting when she realized she was still holding two balls and quickly stowing them before she could accidentally unleash either of their occupants. With reluctance, she withdrew a third. “I… okay, so normally this would be a terrible idea, but… the powers are out, so… maybe?” Forcing an extremely insincere cry, she turned and released her next Pokémon. “Go! Boltreaver!”
Like her Tyrantrum before it, Boltreaver was massive, a bestial Flygon with a distinctly turquoise scale tone while its wings and tail were more reminiscent of a Vibrava than a Flygon. Or perhaps a Butterfree; the wings in particular were translucent, allowing the blood vessels flowing through them to present a distinctly insectoid appearance. The creature buzzed angrily and made a looping twirl, roaring when the attempted move apparently did not have the intended effect.
“Boltreaver!” Bonnie stared down her Pokémon, hands on her hips and lips pursed. “You know that doesn’t work right now, and besides, we need to ride you, so you would’ve just caused problems even if that had worked!”
Boltreaver screamed at Bonnie, snapping its jaws and holding its wings open in challenge.
Bonnie merely pointed at it. “No,” she said, “I don’t want to hear it. You’re going to be helpful, and that’s final.”
The Flygon looked like it was going to continue the argument further, but instead simply lowered itself down while maintaining its angry glare. As Bonnie mounted it, it let out a softer cry while eyeing Chloe.
“No snacks, either,” Bonnie ordered. She paused, considering. “Well, unless it tries to kill us. Then… maybe. But only if I say it’s okay, okay?” With the beast apparently appeased, Bonnie looked to Chloe. “If you have a Pokémon with Lightningrod, you might want to deploy it. You know. Just in case. But, uh, that aside… now what?”
———————
The Drapion, still reeling from its accidental attack on its ally, was taken completely off-guard. As Kammy’s charge launched it skywards, its overextended arms snapped back to it like rubber bands, giving it even more momentum as it slammed into its avian ally. The Talonflame, unable to use Brave Bird to achieve a Gale Wings-assisted escape, took the impact directly to its wing, the bones in one wing shattering with the Drapion’s impact and the bones in the other breaking upon contact with the roof. The two Pokémon hit the ground hard and did not rise again. A passing Parasect scuttled over to the two, looking in Collie and Zoe’s direction… and upon catching sight of Jaeda’s Flamethrower, backed away extremely slowly while maintaining constant eye contact. When the floor began to vibrate, it scurried away as fast as its legs could carry it.
Amelia was used to everything going pear-shaped around her, so when the tower floor started to tilt, she dropped, sliding while using one arm to control the arc of her slide. She glanced to one side, where the two powerful Trainers who had burst through the wall with transformed Pokémon (Gym Leaders, maybe?) were starting to flag without support. She considered changing course, but upon spotting Belle running for the aura kid her decision was made. Sina spotted the Meditite and Fennekin she’d seen earlier running unguided through the legs of the falling Flares; with a call to Ren, she and the shiny Froakie scooped up the two and pulled them along with them.
The group emerged next to Collie’s bubble. Amelia hopped to her feet and gave the barrier a rhythmic rap. “Ah’m guessin’ we’re gettin’ th’ kids out while th’ gettin’s good?”
———————
The Flare agent glared at Kyle. “Our glorious leader wouldn’t be caught dead near this trash.” The man gestured with a stump towards the sea of orange littering the floor — relatively few of which, upon further notice, were still moving. “Look around you. Anyone who was worth anything is already gone. Anyone you kill is just doing a job we would have needed to do anyway.” The man gave a sickening grin. “And yes, including me. But I’m happy to lose my life; if not tonight, then whenever it is useful to the Grand Design. This region, this world is full of filth, and even I can’t help the filth running through my veins. Flare will burn all of it away, leaving only what is pure. And no matter how much you try to fight, you can’t stop it. Our leader is no fool. Win the battle, lose the battle, it doesn’t matter. The game was already a success; you were never even a player.”
The man dissolved into nauseating cackles, what little sanity he may have had bleeding away like the blood from his wounds.
———————
The moment the tower started tilting, the tide of Flare grunts rushing to enter turned into a receding wave away from the damaged monument. Many escaped, many ran directly into the waiting arms of law enforcement, and a number fell to the bullets of their own allies, the shooters soon after turning their weapons upon themselves. Rather than continue watching the sickening sight, Grant and Ramos recalled their teams and ran to the little girl’s side.
“Young miss,” Ramos told Alma, “I appreciate your tenacity, but it’s time you flee with the other civilians.”
Grant nodded his agreement. “The battle that came through here took out most of the northeastern quarter of the ground floor. With all the holes being punched through the building, it’s lost its foundation and its structural integrity.” The Gym Leader gave a small frown. “Note to self, have a nice chat with Wulfric and Korrina later.”
“Less talk, more action, whippersnapper.” Ramos considered his remaining team members and deployed his Gogoat and Alolan Exeggutor. The latter he sent to try and brace the destroyed portion of the tower alongside Grant’s redeployed Onix, while the former kneeled before Alma. “Go on, missy. Gogoat’ll take you back to your parents before you know it. Just hold his horns and think real hard, you hear?”
Before any of them could respond, an enormous gray dragon flew out of the building, flames jetting out as it heaved to keep the tower up. Soon after, two bizarre flying Pokémon appeared in a way that could only be unnatural, leaving both Gym Leaders completely at a loss — a rare circumstance for both of them.
———————
When Alex felt the tower begin to collapse beneath their very feet, their eyes widened. They planted their legs and crutches as firmly on the ground as they could and hoped the trembling stopped soon.
It did not. The tower tilted suddenly, the Trainer starting to slide. At Alex’s cry of alarm, Raleigh and Coralie immediately abandoned their opponents, moving instead to brace themselves against their Trainer’s weight. Unfortunately, it was not enough, especially as the airborne enemies took the opportunity to dive-bomb them for unopposed damage.
Raleigh refused to let down his Trainer. This was the Trainer who had taken him in after Amelia’s rejection, after his failure to keep the two of them safe. Alex had stood by him in spite of that, had let him walk by their side like a friend instead of a tool, would maybe… just maybe… understand the goal he wanted for himself, no matter how strange. He was determined to, at the very least, have the chance to tell them, and he would not get that chance if he couldn’t keep them safe… and he knew that somewhere, deep within, he had the strength to do so.
Coralie still wasn’t sure what to think of her Trainer. She had met Alex on the worst day of her life, and followed that meeting by the most confusing circumstances possible. And yet… Alex had done nothing but try to comfort and protect her, throwing themself between her and her attackers in the cave, throwing away their battle with their counterpart the moment she got hurt. If she was to honor the pact that she’d made, surely it was only right for her to return the favor… and she knew that somewhere, deep within, she had the strength to do so.
Both Fairy-types began to glow with light. Coralie’s faded first, a manifestation of inner growth more than true evolution. But Raleigh… Raleigh was transformed. No more was he the tiny, fragile runt who could barely see past his own cap. His legs had lengthened, his arms as well, and his horns…
Most Ralts had horns on the front and back of their head, one large and one small, hard protuberances that augmented their psychic abilities. Raleigh, as yet another oddity isolating him from the rest of his kind, had hatched with four: two, smaller-than usual ones atop his head, and two more protruding sideways from the front of his chest, like a tiny bowtie. Raleigh had always been proud of his horns, and now they had blossomed; rather than the usual horns atop the standard Kirlia’s head, his larger spikes had moved behind his chest horns, presenting an eye-catching ruffled appearance. His skirt likewise bore a layered appearance, not dissimilar to some of the dresses he’d seen in Valerie’s shop. All in all, it was a look both Raleigh and his Trainer would love.
Now was not the time, however. The tower was tilting, and it was all the two Pokémon could do to put their newfound strength to — quite literally — supporting their Trainer. With an effort of determination, Alex and their team managed to halt their slide before they lost control.
With the immediate crisis resolved, Alex returned their attention to the battle. As expected, it was going poorly; the anchored Ferrothorn and the two Flying-types had been largely unaffected, while Mrs. Parfum’s Furfrou and Florges had to struggle to stay standing. At Didi’s coaching, Alex’s Pichu had managed to pin both Pelipper and Noivern beneath a single Volt Tackle, fainting the former, but the Ferrothorn had been free to faint the Florges as well. Moving carefully so as not to lose their balance, Alex retreated their two Electric-types, and glanced at their ally worriedly.
The woman waved them off. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” Her Furfrou glanced back at Alex before directing an intimidating growl at the remaining enemies.
Alex bit their lip. “They’re off their feet. Now’s our best chance to run.”
Parfum nodded. “Go. I’ll be right behind you.”
For some reason, the statement sounded like a lie. “Are… are you sure?”
Lizbet Parfum fixed Alex with a slightly pained smile. “My daughter’s name is Allie. I think she would have been born just a year or two before you. I fully intend to see her again tonight.”
Something still sounded off to Alex, but they couldn’t fault the logic. “I… okay. I’ll… I hope to see you soon.” Something inside them told them not to phrase it as a promise. You won’t, it said. Unable to respond, Alex ran anyway.
A nice thought, but you won’t, Lizbet thought. She turned back to the Admins, face twisting with hatred. “All right, you bastards. Ten years ago you tried to make this country Hell on earth. If you’re so intent on seeing Hell, then let me give you a personal escort! Sic ‘em, Belle!”
Lizbet Parfum was not a foolish woman. She knew that she and her Furfrou would not be enough to carry out her threat. But she’d be damned if she wasn’t going to try. See you soon, my princess.
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Post by Parugi on Nov 12, 2019 11:36:44 GMT -8
IC - Archivist Booker Samir/Executive Danielle Ladon - Sandbar Room, The Alamo:
"Do you have any association with the organization known as Déoza?"
IC - Lucia Zyther - Outside Prism Tower, Lumiose City:
An . . . explosion? Lucia wasn't sure what had just happened, but one moment, the fighting had been chaotic yet contained; the next, Prism Tower itself had started to collapse under its own weight, falling diagonally toward the spot where one of its supports had broken. Lucia stared, wide-eyed, as it began to tilt, a million thoughts of panic and horror rushing through her head as she thought about the people still inside--strangers, friends, and (to an extent) foes alike. If Prism Tower collapsed now . . .
She had started to run toward the tower when Hedgelord grabbed her arm, pulling her back. She whipped around to face him; he merely shook his head. As she turned back to face the tower, calculating her best course of action, the fall suddenly stopped. A large dragon-like beast had emerged, rocketing toward a higher section of the tower and using its turbine-like tail to press against it. At the same time, a field of energy had materialized--some sort of power that worked to hold the tower aloft. Then two more figures appeared, each taking to the air and using their own powers to--finally--halt the tower completely. Two figures that she could only describe as a transformed Metagross and a . . . transformed . . . Heracross . . .?
"Jamie?"
IC - Kyle Eston (Jaeda, Kitheus)/Colleen Llyan/Clue/Sumit Tirrell/Gero Braun/Quatuor de la Mort - Prism Tower, Lumiose City:
"Alright, you're insane." The man had gotten half-way through his rant when Kyle stood up and started back toward Ryan. He had hardly taken two steps when the tower suddenly groaned, and the floor began to shift underneath his feet. Instantly, Kitheus was by his side, maneuvering to let him slide into a sitting position on the Magnezone's back. Lyxek dug his claws into the ground, trying his best to stop himself from slipping with the sudden incline. Kyle quickly pulled up his Poké Ball, recalling Lyxek. He watched as Ruj took flight, moving to assist their nearest ally--the blond guy with glasses who had helped against the Melmetal and its trainer.
Another woman appeared on the back of a Dragonite. "We gotta go!" she shouted. Kyle flashed her an 'okay' sign with his fingers; seeing that he was taken care of, the woman flew over to Colleen and Zoe, who were both struggling to maintain their footing. They appeared to know her--Colleen gave Zoe a boost onto the Dragonite's back before clamoring on herself, and then recalled Kammy and Myriam once she was settled. There was another woman there--Kyle didn't recognize her, either, but again, he could see Colleen exchanging words with her, so it appeared that they knew each other. With a whistle, Jaeda hurried over, digging her claws into the ground nearby to offer the woman a lift.
The blooming chaos eased, however, as the tower groaned again, and then fell still. The floor remained at an incline, steep enough that the bodies still on the floor (including the deranged Flare Agent) had all slid into what could only be called a mass grave at the bottom. There was no telling what had halted the tower's collapse, but at the very least, it meant that they had a bit more time to get out.
The incline did have one other, little side-effect, however, which Kyle had not immediately considered as he looked around to make sure Ryan and the others were alright: There was a lot of debris around. A sudden grinding sound from above prompted him to look up--just in time to see a half-crushed table rushing in his direction. With no time to react issue a command to Kitheus, he did the only thing he could: Throw his arms over his face and hope for the best.
A tilting tower. Now that had certainly not been in the gala informational pamphlet. As the building shook around them and the floor began to tilt, there was a momentary expression of alarm that appeared on the faces of Braun and Tirrell and in the postures of the Quatuor de la Mort. Not in Clue, however. Without missing a beat, she reached two fingers into her pocket, producing another origami shape from within, and crushed it under the foot of her cane. Whitish-grey light surrounded herself and her guards; a brief moment later, and it was as if nothing had changed at all. The floor tilted further and further, and yet they remained as perfectly stable as they had before. Before long, the rumbling stopped, and the tower's fall seemed to halt completely.
"Magnificent, Madame," the fox-masked woman remarked, unable to hide her awe. "Truly, the vork of Gods--"
"Don't be foolish," Clue said, her tone sharp. "You stand balanced because of me; that is the extent of my influence here. The tower, on the other hand, is the work of another." She moved forward. "Regardless, now is not the time to fawn. Prism Tower may stand for only a few moments more. It is time to go."
"Yes, madame."
The fox woman bowed before she and her sisters moved forward, working to clear the way once more for Clue and the others. As she walked, the Signs Leader spared another look in the direction of the other room. Those that had worked to fight Team Flare were scrambling to deal with their sudden predicament. For the most part, it seemed that they had all managed to find footing--largely thanks to their Flying-Types. Still, a way to maneuver did not mean safety from harm. Even as she observed, she noted the dangers abounding--loose debris that scooted down, threatening to careen into an unsuspecting target at any moment; fires that burned here and there from cloths and furniture that had been set ablaze.
She paused, producing another origami shape from her coat. Tirrell and Braun came to a halt just in front of her, looking between their employer and the targets of her interest. "Gentlemen," she said. "Hardworking folk deserve a boon, wouldn't you agree?" Clue dropped this shape and crushed it. As grayish-blue energy climbed up her cane and into her hands, she directed several streams of power through the doorway and toward the young men and women beyond. Without waiting to see the results, she turned away again and continued forward, her guards at her back. Soon enough, they had emerged at a newly-made hole in the wall, stepping through and drifting slowly and safely to the ground below.
A strange, warm sensation washed down through Kyle's spine. For a brief moment, as a crash of wood sounded, he believed that the feeling was his nervous system collapsing entirely. After a moment, however, he realized that he was still breathing, and chanced a look upward. Dust and chips of wood floated just above him, caught against a strange, very faint barrier of gray-blue light. Looking down, he saw the rest of the table had fallen down into the pile of people below--and saw the damage this had done to the corpses. He, however, was fine. As he looked around, he could see this same, strange barrier had materialized around the other groups in the room--all, as far as he could tell, individuals that had fought against Team Flare.
"What the hell . . .?" he muttered. A wave from Colleen caught his attention, pulling his focus back to the situation at hand. He shook his head. If they were being protected somehow, he wasn't going to complain about it. With one hand, he pointed toward the broken window through which he, Ryan, and the Llyan Sisters had arrived; with the other, he held on tight to Kitheus. "Exit's that way, everyone! Let's go!"
OOC:
Kyle: -Lyxek: Returned -Ruj: Helping Clemont -Jaeda-M: Helping Amelia -Kitheus-M: Carrying Kyle
Colleen: -Kammy: Returned -Myriam: Returned
Clue: -La Gravedad > Self, Signs x6 -La Barrera > Colleen, Zoe, Ryan, Kyle, Clemont, Belle, Amelia
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Post by Konuju on Nov 12, 2019 18:25:05 GMT -8
IC: Ryan Sanders/Zoe Llyan/Klim Prizak - Prism Tower, Lumiose City Sonja's surprise mirrored his own. "Wait, what--?"
A low groan filled the room and the entire floor suddenly tilted. Togie hastily flapped his wings to bring himself and Ryan airborne. Back on the floor, Quil and Ampere began to slide down the rapidly increasing slope. Shoving his Pokégear in his pocket, Ryan fumbled for his Pokéballs. Once Quil and Ampere were successfully recalled, Ryan allowed himself to take in the state of the room at large.
Those without Pokémon capable of flight clung desperately to the floor, unable to fight the pull of gravity. Red beams of light bathed the room as trainers hurriedly recalled their Pokémon. Tables and chairs began to rain down on friend and foe alike. Togie swerved to avoid the falling debris, throwing Ryan's stomach into a somersault.
As Togie righted himself, Ryan's eyes fell once more on the doorway. The Signs woman had vanished from sight. A constricting panic formed in his chest. Suddenly his mind was back in the Egg on Two Island. He was faced once more with that impossible decision: Adams or Xander?
The moment seemed to stretch out into eternity, yet it was over in the blink of an eye. The right choice was painfully obvious. Ford had named the Signs as their only hope against the Missing Zero. He would have to trust his friends to take care of themselves.
"Follow that woman, Togie!" Ryan urged the Togekiss toward the doorway. It was a harrowing flight as Togie spun around tables, curtains, and anything else that hadn't been bolted down. On more than one occasion Ryan was sure they'd be hit, but the debris to splinter above their heads and fall harmlessly to the side. He thought he saw a grayish-blue light around them, but he didn't have time to process it.
Zoe clung to her sister as the floor began to tilt, scanning the room fearfully. When Belle arrived with her Dragonite to offer them a ride, Zoe shook her head. When Collie tried to lift her onto the dragon she outright protested. "Wait! Esmeralda and Merida!" Zoe squirmed to escape her sister's grip. "They're still out there somewhere -- I have to find them!"
As if on cue, Amelia slid into the aura barrier, carrying Zoe's Pokémon. Zoe could only stare in shock as Colleen succeeded in lifting her onto the Dragonite before climbing on herself.
Meanwhile, Klim and the civilian woman had made it to a stairwell when the floor suddenly tilted. Asriel dug his claws into the floor while Moriarty grabbed Klim and the woman to keep them from falling.
"We're going to die!" the woman shrieked.
"Don't give up so easily." A confident smile crossed Klim's face, yet internally he wished he still had access to his Reverse Powers. A quick portal to the Distortion World would have easily gotten them out of this mess. Instead, he'd just have to do it the hard way.
The woman was beside herself. "That's easy for you to say. I didn't even want to come to this stupid gala! My boss broke his arm and insisted I go in his place. Said I should feel honored for getting to attend, as if standing around mingling with a bunch of stuck-up old--"
Klim put a finger to his lips. "While I'm sure it's a very thrilling story, if we want to get out of here alive we're going to have to use the elevator."
"You can't be serious!" The woman looked at him like he'd lost his mind. "This is the absolute worst time to use an elevator! In case of emergency use stairs -- everyone knows that!"
"On the contrary, the stairs would be much too slow. As much as it breaks the fundamental laws of safety, I'm afraid this is our only option. There's no telling how much longer we have before the tower completely collapses. And besides--" Klim pulled a Pokéball off his belt. "I have a plan."
With a grumble of "can't believe I'm doing this," the woman clambered into the elevator, followed closely by Klim, Asriel, and Moriarty.
With a flash of light, a Rotom emerged from the Pokéball and began zipping around the cramped elevator space. "Edison, listen to me very carefully." Klim's normally-calm demeanor turned suddenly serious. The Rotom came to a halt in front of him, its plasma-like body shivering in anticipation. "The tower's collapsing. I need you to bring this elevator to the ground floor as quickly -- and as safely -- as you can. Understand?"
With a small crackle, Edison disappeared into the ceiling. The woman held her breath as she looked up at the spot where the Rotom had vanished. "Did he understand?" she asked in a small voice.
"Edison's a hyper one," Klim said with a shrug. "I think he understood well enough, but I'd give him a 50-50 chance of actually pulling through."
"WHA-?!"
The elevator suddenly plummeted to the ground with the speed of a bullet train. The woman screamed as the elevator's occupants felt a sudden weightlessness. A split second later the elevator began to slow down. The cart stopped with a small jolt, and the doors slid open with a ding.
Edison slid through the ceiling, looking pleased with himself. "Well done, my friend." Klim recalled the Rotom and escorted the woman outside. "Sorry about that. I had full faith in Edison. You should have seen the look on your face, though."
A thousand emotions flashed across the woman's face before she settled on disgruntlement. "Don't ever do that again!"
Ryan needn't have worried. When he and Togie arrived in the adjoining room they found the woman and her cohorts calmly walking across the slanted ground as if they were out for an evening stroll. It was a mildly disorienting sight; from the air it looked as if the tower had magically righted itself once more, yet gravity still favored one side of the room.
Even still, Ryan hesitated. What was he supposed to say to her? This woman looked like she could kill him with a glance. A dozen scenarios ran though his mind, each as terrible as the last. Before he could make up his mind, all seven of the Signs stepped through a hole in the wall. They might as well have been walking down another hallway, but the hole clearly led to the open air outside. Pushing away any doubts, Ryan urged Togie to follow.
Once he was outside, two things became immediately evident. The first was that the Signs were all floating through the air like something out of a movie. The second was that the tower was being largely supported by Kyurem. Seeing the precariously-leaning tower almost made Ryan rush back inside to help his friends. Instead he directed Togie in an arc around the group of Signs so that they descended in front of them.
"Excuse me, ma'am!" Ryan raised both of his hands to show he was unarmed. His heart pounded as he tried not to think of the thousand ways this could end badly. "My friends and I need your help." A glance up at the tower made him append his statement. "We're here on behalf of the man calling himself John Ford. You were his mentor, were you not?"
OOC:
Ryan: Potentially Terrible Mistake -> Clue Quil: Returned Ampere: Returned Togie: Pursuing Clue
Zoe: Riding Hemlock Esmeralda: Carried by Amelia Merida: Carried by Amelia
Klim: Terribly Timed Joke -> Civilian Woman Moriarty: Support -> Klim and Civilian Woman Asriel: Support -> Klim and Civilian Woman Edison: Tower of Terror -> Elevator
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Post by unknownmercury on Nov 12, 2019 20:52:43 GMT -8
IC: Mercury/Allen
Well, that didn't work. Mercury was bleeding a bit where the aura blade had split his skin. Luckily, his coat had absorbed most of the blow. With a resigned sigh, he took a step back from Zealot. "Allen, is it?"
The clone snapped his head around to stare at Mercury.
"Zealot here seems to have spawned from someone who has Dialga's ability to manipulate time. She can kill us pretty easily, I'd wager."
Allen growled, shifting his stance to face the woman. Good, he understood. Mercury stretched. "Raiden, Wukong, and... Lucan, right. Keep her team distracted. Styx! Kill!" he ordered.
Styx took the two attacks and roared a ferocious roar as he brought his claws up to strike out towards the False-Lucan. Meanwhile, Raiden and the newly-named Wukong rushed at the Buizel. It was clear that the dark creature was being affected by some sort of speed boost. Worse, it seemed to have power. The Frogadier and the Monferno would have to be in sync to defeat this foe. Raiden croaked an order, and Wukong chirruped an agreement. The fire-type came in first, kicking out with balled up feet and striking with his tail to try and trip the Buizel.
Raiden, meanwhile, jumped as hard as he could, aiming to land behind the opponent and strike it while it was distracted with his new comrade.
Mercury and Allen likewise moved in unison, rushing at Zealot from two opposing angles. Bloody aura swirled around Mercury, and Allen rushed in with just his fists.
IC: Belle LaDonna
Thank Arceus, there was Amelia. "Ah’m guessin’ we’re gettin’ th’ kids out while th’ gettin’s good?"
Belle grinned. "Yeah. Hem, go!" The Dragonite gave her trainer a dubious look, then took off with Colleen and Zoe, leaving Belle and Amelia behind. "Whattaya think, Pond? THird, maybe fourth worst situation we've ever been in?"
As she said it, a Charizard swooped down to allow the two onto its back. Belle wasn't sure whose it was, exactly, but she also wouldn't look a gift dragon in the mouth. She hopped on and offered a hand to help Amelia up as well. "Mon cher."
IC: Alma Mason/James Cruize
Alma smiled softly at the gym leaders. "Thank you, gentlemen, but I still have aid to render here. Do not concern yourself with me." She gestured to James Cruize. "He and I will help where we can and leave before any harm comes to us."
James grit his teeth. He needed to get out of here and find the girl with Reverse powers, but... "Yeah," he said, "we've got this."
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Post by Magical Girl Mimi on Nov 12, 2019 22:54:17 GMT -8
-==IC: Ray Hakuda - Prism Tower==-
Things had gotten a lot more troublesome after the room started precariously leaning. While the tilt wasn't bad enough that he lost his footing, it was definitely looking very bad for them. Thankfully, the room had stopped moving a few seconds after it started - but Ray wasn't going to take the chance that the tower might continue its descent to the ground sooner than later. Wordlessly, Ray chose two Poké Balls - a normal one, and a fiery reddish-orange coloured ball. As he tossed them out, his Togekiss and the Entei from the different dimension appeared, both with a concerned look on their faces.
"Orihime, help these two get out of the building quickly!" Ray called out to the Togekiss rapidly as he hopped onto the Entei. "We're gonna quickly make a lap around the room and make sure that everyone else can get out in time." As he spoke, he quickly called back all the rest of his team except for the Togekiss that fluttered in front of Valerie and Siebold.
Before he rode off, he spared one singular moment to glance over at the two league members. "My name is Ray Hakuda - hero of... nothing special, really, but I'm doing my best even still." The separatist gave a grin for a moment, before he rode off toward the other end of the room. After she watched the Entei speed off, Orihime turned to the two and squawked out urgently, knowing that they needed to leave now if they wanted a chance to get out before anything else happened.
----
Ray grimaced as he looked around the room at who remained. The majority of the civilians that remained seemed to have been killed by Flare already in the attacks that occurred - however, he noticed one woman facing off against a few white-coated Flare people... and a young person with a remarkably similar appearance to Xander walking toward where he had just been. With a frown, he urged Entei in that direction. He arrived at the woman first as Entei tackled two of the Flare admins to the ground.
"Hop on, now!" Ray called out as he held out his hand, an urgent look on his face as the room began to fall apart regardless of the lack of further falling.
Lizbet Parfum was not a foolish woman. She knew when the universe was extending a lifeline, and knew better than to reject it. With a brief nod, she quickly retreated her Furfrou, then grabbed hold of Ray's hand and pulled herself onto the Entei.
With the first passenger secured, the shiny Entei spun around to head toward the other person they had seen. As they approached, the Pokémon that surrounded Alex Zyther seemed to be caught off guard by the sudden appearance of the legendary beast, but Ray paid no mind as he held out his hand like he had done to Lizbet just before. "We're all getting out of here, let's go, now!"
"I..." Alex did a brief double take as they noticed Lizbet also on the back of the Entei. "Alright." With a nod, Alex hopped on alongside their Pokémon. Entei gave a whine of protest at all the extra weight, but sped off toward the exit at his top speed.
-==IC: Chloe Hikari - Prism Tower==-
Chloe was surprised by the monstrous-looking Flygon, but nodded. She glanced around as Allie slowly made her way back, some of the civilians that she had rounded up in a line. The shiny Raikou also began to make his way back toward the exit with a very confused-looking Wulfric and Korrina on his back.
"Now... we get out of here." Chloe said as she turned to Bonnie with a grim look on her face. "It looks like we've got everyone we can, now we need to save ourselves."
The Raikou dropped the gym leaders off with Allie, who vanished with her line of civilians and the two Gym Leaders, to rendezvous back at the hospital as well. With a nod, the shiny Raikou headed off toward where Chloe was as well.
"Good, you're back, Raikou." Chloe said with a grin, as she recalled the legend for the moment - as well as her Luxray that had just returned - then hopped onto the Flygon. "Alright, let's fly, now! We need to get to the hospital after this, as that's where I sent the others, but right now, my friends are probably down below."
-==IC: Kyurem - Lumiose City==-
The dragon was rather stunned, as they noticed the tower was - at least currently - not falling anymore. Or moving in the other direction for that matter. It was like time itself had frozen the building in place. They weren't sure how long this would last, but the grey dragon decided to risk it and flew back down to the ground. As they approached the ground, they noticed that the combatants were still fighting despite the fact that the tower had nearly collapsed. They decided to focus on the task at hand instead of kicking the hornet's nest, and began to create an icy replacement for the supports to at least stall the collapse for a little longer - though they prepared to fly up at even the slightest provocation from either the combatants or a hint that the tower's fall had resumed.
-==NPC: ?? - Ambrette City==-
Lachina stirred. She seemed to be in an unfamiliar room - it did not look like she was in the Fossil Lab anymore. However, she noticed some people nearby as she awoke - though she seemed to be tied up now. If she focused, she would notice that there were three people present in the room - the two from earlier and one newcomer.
"Hahaha, this was easy... and it just needed the three of us, too! What a backwater town. And by now, everyone else should have done what they needed to." The agent with the gun said with a cackle. The newcomer said something quietly, her dark-brown hair the only thing that Lachina could see from her position.
"Eh?" The other frowned, as the two other grunts turned toward what appeared to be the entrance to... somewhere. "What do you mean, you hear someone? Who would know where we are?" Before the two could react, the newcomer drew two small daggers and quietly got into an attacking stance. Lachina closed her eyes before the woman could plunge the daggers into the necks of the Flare agents, but the thuds were a rather telltale sign at what happened. There was a set of footsteps that approached her. Then, the ropes binding her arms and legs loosened.
"Are you okay?" The woman asked Lachina quietly, as she noticed that the girl had woken up, even though she had her eyes closed for the moment.
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Post by Parugi on Nov 13, 2019 15:06:29 GMT -8
IC - Clue/Sumit Tirrell/Gero Braun/Quatuor de la Mort - Outside Prism Tower, Centrico Plaza:
Seven pairs of feet touched solid ground, arriving just as gently as if they had stepped down the final stair onto an adjoining landing. They had moved far enough away from the tower, into a clear section of the nearby public park, that--aside from some extra-observant onlookers--they had managed to bypass the notice and physical presence of the civilians and emergency personnel that had surrounded the tower. Clue took a moment to take off her hat, dusting it off and replacing it as she turned to address her entourage.
"That certainly proved more eventful than usual," she said. Clue replaced the hat on her head, adjusting it just so. "Now to home--I suspect we will soon have a few unwanted--"
"Excuse me, ma'am!"
The call came from a young man on a Togekiss. He arced downward in their direction, landing a short distance in front of Clue, hands raised. Immediately, the quartet of masked figures moved, forming a haphazard wall between him and their mistress. Misty orbs of energy glowed in several of their hands, each of them ready to strike on a moment's notice. For her part, Clue remained motionless, merely watching him. Closely. He looked nervous. The stress of the battle? Or perhaps he had some idea of whom he was addressing?
"My friends and I need your help." He glanced at the tower--not, it seemed, to indicate where the help was required, but rather in a realization that he had misspoken. "We're here on behalf of the man calling himself John Ford. You were his mentor, were you not?"
"I do not know any 'John Ford,'" she said. It wasn't an aggressive response, but it was curt. "Is that all?"
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Post by Konuju on Nov 13, 2019 16:13:10 GMT -8
IC: Ryan Sanders - Centrico Plaza, Lumiose City Ryan furrowed his brow in frustration -- not at the woman's apparent lack of knowledge, but at his own oversight. "'John Ford' is a pseudonym. A name he took up after he left your group." Ryan couldn't for the life of him remember Ford's real name. He couldn't provide any details of Ford's action's, either. For all intents and purposes, the life Ford led as The Shadowed Man was completely different from his life as part of the Signs.
Perhaps Sonja or Chloe might have been able to provide additional information, but Ryan was on his own here. His mind raced. In a few precious moments the woman would leave and he'd lose his chance. The grimoire was still in Vertrag, along with Bounty's cane -- both items that were supposed to have gained them an audience with the Signs. He had nothing.
The portrait flashed in his mind again. Along with it came an epiphany. "You would have known him as Shift." Although he tried to keep his voice calm, he couldn't hide his desperation. "Not the current Shift -- we ran into that guy in Dendemille -- the previous Shift. He would have left the Signs around twenty years ago. The reason Pokémon powers stopped working? That's his doing. He was trying to stop something terrible from coming to this world, but he was betrayed, and now he needs your help -- we need your help -- to save the world. Please."
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Post by Parugi on Nov 14, 2019 12:40:50 GMT -8
IC - Clue/Sumit Tirrell/Gero Braun/Quatuor de la Mort - Outside Prism Tower, Centrico Plaza:
Clue's expression was difficult to read. For several long moments, she merely stared at Ryan, her head tilted slightly back and an eyebrow raised. On closer look, the corner of her lip had curled slightly. It was impossible to tell whether she was amused by this development, or something else entirely. Finally, she held a hand up. The Quatuor de la Mort eased, allowing the magical energy in their hands to dissipate, though they remained planted between Ryan and the Signs Leader.
"Ironic that Lane Garnet would reach out now, burned by betrayal, when his own departure did nothing but harm the Signs," Clue said. Her tone did nothing to clarify her stance on the topic. "Desperate moves made by a desperate man, I suppose." She straightened up. "Very well, boy; you have my attention. Speak quickly--I have no intention of remaining here any longer than I must."
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Post by Konuju on Nov 14, 2019 16:46:23 GMT -8
IC: Ryan Sanders - Centrico Plaza, Lumiose City "R-right." Ryan's mind raced as he took a second to gather his thoughts. "I don't know how much you've heard about the situation in the Sevii Islands. Ford -- Lane Garnet -- was aware of this . . . thing from another dimension. It's been completely devouring worlds one at a time, and it had its sights set on this one. For the past twenty years Ford has been trying to find a way to stop it. He had this whole elaborate ritual set up involving nine willing children and some extremely powerful magic cards."
For a second, Ryan considered explaining that these were the same types of cards that the current Shift used, but he had a feeling the woman would be familiar with the tools of the Signs.
"This thing -- we call it the Missing Zero -- it's drawn to conflict. Ford's solution was to use a magic card to shut off Pokémon powers across the entire world and then bar the Missing Zero from ever reaching this world." Ryan took a deep breath as he recalled the events in the Egg. "The problem was the Fourth Child, Tyler McKinley, had been killed during a reconnaissance mission to the Missing Zero's world. Ford had no idea that he had been replaced with a . . . a puppet. It might as well have been the Missing Zero itself, or an extension of its consciousness, masquerading as McKinley. He betrayed Ford at the crucial moment, right when all Pokémon lost their powers, and summoned the main body of the Missing Zero. Now that thing is here, and we're powerless to fight it."
He took another deep breath, acutely aware of how long his explanation had become.
"Ford's ritual came from the Signs' grimoire. We have the grimoire in our base, but we need someone from the Signs to help decipher its pages and look for a way to defeat the Missing Zero." Ryan tried to decipher the woman's expression, but he had no clue what she was thinking. He gave one more effort to convey the gravity of the situation. "Without that knowledge, the world's as good as doomed."
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Post by Parugi on Nov 14, 2019 18:36:58 GMT -8
IC - Clue/Sumit Tirrell/Gero Braun/Quatuor de la Mort - Outside Prism Tower, Centrico Plaza:
For all the detail that he gave, Ryan might as well have only mentioned the Grimoire. As soon as that word left Ryan's lips, Clue's demeanor shifted. It was hard to pin down exactly what changes had occurred, but it was clear that--somehow--she had turned even more serious than she already had been. Any remaining semblance of her considering this encounter a joke had melted away. Even her guards, stoic in their own right, gave her a wary glance, a couple of them--including both of the larger, burly men--taking a half-step away to distance themselves from her.
"Very curious," she said. Clue's voice had fallen a little quieter, her cadence somewhat stilted. Somehow, that was more unnerving than the louder, projecting level she had maintained throughout the entire ordeal. She tugged on one of her gloves. "If what you say is true, then it sounds as if we each have something of value to offer one another." Her head tilted back slightly, eyes falling closed for a moment before focusing on Ryan again. "Of course, I have no way of knowing whether what you say is true, do I?"
"Ve are at your disposal, Madame," the hyena-masked woman said. "Just say ze vord." She held another card in her hand; this one bore a symbol resembling ropes on its surface.
Clue considered Ryan for a moment. "No; I have an alternative solution," she said at last. The guard backed down again. "What is your name, boy?"
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Post by Konuju on Nov 14, 2019 19:04:14 GMT -8
IC: Ryan Sanders - Centrico Plaza, Luimiose City Ryan spared a glance at the woman's masked cohorts before turning his attention back to the Madame herself. For the first time he considered the fact that this woman had mentored The Shadowed Man, enemy of both Rocket and Liberty. For as powerful as Ford was, this woman was even stronger. If she had any cause to doubt him, he would no doubt be dead in an instant.
His mouth felt suddenly dry. He forced himself to take a breath. "My name is Ryan Sanders, ma'am."
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Post by Parugi on Nov 14, 2019 22:40:30 GMT -8
IC - Clue/Sumit Tirrell/Gero Braun/Quatuor de la Mort - Outside Prism Tower, Centrico Plaza:
"Ryan Sanders . . ." Clue quietly repeated the name to herself. To the surprise of Ryan and all six of her guards, she walked forward, stopping just in front of Ryan. She was almost a full foot shorter than him, but her demeanor demonstrated where the power balance in their interaction truly resided.
"Very well, then, Mr. Sanders," Clue said. "As much as I would like to believe you on your word alone, you can surely understand why that is not a gamble I am willing to take." She tilted her head slightly, a slight smile crossing her lips. "Here is my proposal--a test, if you will. If you and your friends are indeed working on behalf of my former protégé, then you will have no issue securing the location for a rendezvous between us. I will give you forty-eight hours to locate and make your way to Pale Horse Manor. You are welcome to bring whatever friends you deem necessary to make the journey. Or, you can come alone--I honestly do not care." Her eyes narrowed slightly, a hint of danger added to the pleasant smile on her face. "Regardless, you will bring the Grimoire. It does not belong to Lane and should never have left the Signs' possession. Return it to me in the time allotted, and I will consider your word--and your skills--worthy of further attention. We will discuss the full details of our arrangement then."
She held out a hand to Ryan, leaving the other resting on the handle of her cane. "Do we have a deal, Mr. Sanders?"
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Post by Konuju on Nov 15, 2019 6:39:20 GMT -8
IC: Ryan Sanders - Centrico Plaza, Lumiose City "Pale Horse Manor. Grimoire. Forty-eight hours." Ryan repeated the instructions to ensure he'd heard them correctly. He had no doubt in Vertrag's ability to locate the rendezvous point. He just hoped this fiasco with Team Flare wouldn't prevent them from meeting the Madame's deadline. He firmly shook her hand. "We have a deal."
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Post by Parugi on Nov 15, 2019 10:58:42 GMT -8
IC - Clue/Sumit Tirrell/Gero Braun/Quatuor de la Mort - Outside Prism Tower, Centrico Plaza:
Clue offered a respectful bow of her head before releasing Ryan's hand. As she moved past him she lifted a hand up, gesturing to her followers over her shoulder; they began to follow. A yard or two away, she paused, turning back to Ryan just as her was beginning to leave.
"One last thing," she called, as if the thought had just occurred to her. "A free agent with the knowledge you possess poses certain . . . concerns for an organization like my own. Should you fail to meet at the appointed time, I will not hesitate to set the Quatuor de la Mort after you." At her word, the four masked women shifted their heads to stare at Ryan, underlining the threat. Clue turned back, continuing to walk away once more. "I look forward to our next meeting, Mr. Sanders."
Moments later, the Signs had vanished into the darkness of the night.
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Post by minun4 on Nov 15, 2019 17:12:18 GMT -8
IC: James Arthur - Alamo Sandbar Room
"No comment."
IC: Zealot - Lumiose City
The false Buizel covered himself with water. The Frogadier chopped him from behind. The Aqua Jet formed, allowing him to keep his balance. He rushed at Wukong.
Lucan had figured out by this point that his duplicate was refusing to attack him. While he didn’t know why, he was not going to waste the opportunity to protect Styx. He kept his distance from the scary Absol, but placed himself right in front of the fake Vanilluxe. The fake Vanilluxe still trying to resolve the contradiction, started to speed away from Lucan and Styx, trying to get more room to maneuver.
Zealot looked between the two targets as her power fully charged. Lucan had been doing a good job at protecting his ‘allies’ from her power. But to just keep running at her from the front, when she had such power, was foolish. The one who was running into melee range. The Flare monster, that would be her first target.
The circumference of the blast would be large enough that aiming wasn’t a huge concern. Allen wasn’t making himself a hard target to be sure. A dark blue beam that tore at the fabric of time itself came from Zealot’s hands. The blast didn’t just tear into Allen. His flesh didn’t just burn, it rotted away. Flesh gave away to bone, which gave away to dust.
Anymore details would be unnecessary.
“Justice has been served.”
She didn’t have time to celebrate. While attacking Allen may have been the correct offensive choice, it was the wrong defensive choice. Mercury had a clear shot of her back. The aura blade tore into her. It launched her a great deal. She landed front first on the ground. Cracks formed in her back. She was weak to that attack, she realized. That was Fighting type? She was weak to Fighting type. She reached under her mask. What was the appropriate response to this, anger? She pushed her grin into a frown. It would have to do.
“Grr, you won’t get a chance to do that again villain!” she said with her best impression of anger, as she forced herself off the ground.
“You won’t get another chance!” a different but very similar voice called.
Several large green pins found themselves lodged in the fake Lucan’s backside. Both heads of both Lucan’s turned to see Jamie and what looked like Pelleas show up. They could vaguely see what looked to be Tristan in the distance, trying to do something at the tower. The real Lucan spun with joy. The fake Lucan, still trying to keep away from Styx and his real counterpart, tried to charge a retaliatory strike.
Zealot stood still for a moment. She wasn’t certain with what emotion she was supposed to react to this. “...So the tower was your doing, after all. I suppose you are not entirely useless,” she said in a completely even tone.
Jamie glared at her duplicate. “You have done enough. Stop now, or I will be forced to stop you.”
Zealot took a moment to consider the situation. The Flare soldier was dead but she still needed to bring justice to Mercury. But the presence of Jamie made the fight more complicated. Jamie hadn’t sent out the Buizel, but if Zealot had to maneuver around both Lucan and the Buizel, it would be much harder to kill Mercury and Styx. And that would waste time and energy that she would need to kill Flare.
“...Very well, I am done here. There are still more Flare agents in the area,” Zealot said, sticking her hands out. The fake Vanilluxe and Buizel collapsed into a pile of shadows that flew towards Zealot’s hands. “Justice must be brought to them, first. I can come back for him when they have been dealt with.”
A portal of darkness opened up behind Zealot. Pelleas ran after her. Zealot had time on her side though, and easily escaped by speeding herself up.
This caught Jamie off-guard. “Wait!” Jamie yelled as Zealot disappeared into the portal.
Zealot reappeared on a nearby rooftop. “You have Pelleas. If you are not going to deal with Flare, you should deal with that villain instead,” Zealot said, pointing at Mercury. “You think that he is evil, too.”
“...” Jamie chose not to respond to that. Zealot didn’t wait for a response and disappeared through another portal.
Jamie was silent until Zealot had disappeared. “Are you alright?” she asked Mercury.
OOC:
Buizel?: Aqua Jet -> Wukong Lucan: Body blocking Lucan?: Autotomize -> Self Zealot: Roar of Time -> Allen Pelleas: Pin Missile -> Lucan?
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Post by unknownmercury on Nov 15, 2019 17:34:06 GMT -8
IC: Merc-- Jared/Belle/Alma/James Cruize
The silver-haired trainer hit his knees with a gasp as the abomination vanished. He fumbled for his Pokéballs, but paused as he saw his team approaching. Raiden. Wukong, who was minorly injured from the Aqua Jet.
Styx. The Absol's face was twisted in a growl, but no noise came out, and it wasn't attacking anyone. The trainer looked up at Jamie.
"I... I'll live. Is everyone else alright?"
"Some civilians died from Flare," Belle said as she and Amelia landed nearby on the borrowed Charizard. A lot of people were touching down presently, and Jared let out a shaky sigh.
"But nobody was hurt by the tower falling?" he asked.
"Injured, some," the purple-haired bounty hunter responded. "Broken bones, bumps, bruises. Nobody died from it. What happened?"
Jared looked down at his hands, clenched them into fists. "Mercury."
Alma approached, frowning. "The bloody aura? That's a separate entity?"
"More or less." Jared sighed, standing. He paused as he saw Xander's dad staring him down. The older man scowled.
"Where's Dahlia?" James Cruize asked. "Or her sister? Elaine was injured during our fight, and I need Dahlia to fix it."
"I don't know. She was supposed to go to the Looker Bureau and then the hospital."
"Checked there. Already abandoned, both places."
"Then I couldn't tell you. Do we have anywhere else to check on, or should we start making our way back to Shabboneau for rendezvous?"
"Emily, Alex Lockwood, and the champions are still at the League headquarters. Emily was shot during the fight, and her cousin got torn up a bit, too." James sighed. "Inigo and I can go grab them and take them back, though."
IC
The girl blinked softly, rubbing at her head. "I... You... saved me? Thanks? I'm not sure what's going on." She looked around the room, some sort of office, and frowned. "I feel like I should know what's happening."
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Post by Konuju on Nov 15, 2019 19:10:01 GMT -8
IC: Ryan Sanders - Centrico Plaza, Lumiose City It wasn't until the Signs had vanished from sight that Ryan let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. Any peace he felt about managing to convince the Madame was undercut by the very real fact that he could still wind up dead.
After taking a moment to recover, Ryan hastily dug his Pokégear out of his pocket. "Sonja, you still there? Sorry about putting you on hold like that, things got a little crazy. Listen, I managed to strike a deal with the Signs woman . . . ."
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Post by Magical Girl Mimi on Nov 22, 2019 19:42:14 GMT -8
-==NPC: -- Ambrette Town==- The woman frowned as she looked at the girl she had rescued. "Team Flare attacked you - I stopped them just now, and made sure nothing happened after they took you from the fossil lab." She thought for a moment. "What's your name?"
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Post by unknownmercury on Nov 22, 2019 19:49:38 GMT -8
IC: Nameless Girl - Ambrette City Fossil Lab
"Flare?" The girl's brow furrowed as she looked down at the two people in suits. "That sounds familiar, but..." She shook her head and raised a hand to rub the tender spot on the back. "My name? I'm not sure. Everything's kind of fuzzy..."
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Post by Magical Girl Mimi on Nov 22, 2019 19:55:29 GMT -8
-==NPC: ? - Ambrette City, Not-Fossil-Lab==-
"Hmm... I see." The woman placed her hand to her chin. "That's understandable, and about what I figured." She glanced up to the entrance. "I don't think anyone else will be visiting this place, but we should head out none-the-less."
The woman threw her red jacket to the ground and let out a sigh of relief as she did so. "So stuffy wearing two coats like that, but I wanted to be able to break cover as soon as possible." She stood up straight and glanced back over to the girl. "My name's Sina. Let's get someplace safe, then we can discuss this more."
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Post by unknownmercury on Nov 22, 2019 20:13:18 GMT -8
IC: Nameless Girl - Ambrette City
The girl nodded. "Sounds good, lead the way."
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flipz
Technician
Posts: 56
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Post by flipz on Nov 27, 2019 12:55:52 GMT -8
—[Prism Tower]—
As Hakuda rode off on a shiny Entei, Valerie and Siebold traded looks.
“Dibs,” they declared of the Trainer in unison, grimacing immediately after at each other’s simultaneous response. The two wordlessly shelved the disagreement in favor of making their escape with the Togekiss’ help.
———————
Clemont, who had been busy inspecting and treating his Luxray’s injuries, looked up at Ruj’s prodding, just in time to see the remains of a chair and several sets of silverware floating harmlessly atop the monochromatic barrier around him. While his brain scrambled to contextualize this scientific impossibility, the Gliscor once again nudged him back to reality.
“Er, right, thank you, but I’ll be fine with the help of Magnezone. Er… Luxray, will you be…?”
The Electric-type barked out a reassurance, leaping down the slope as sure-footedly as any mountain Gogoat. Clemont spotted his two undefended fellows, Wulfric and Korrina (both of whom sans their own Mega Evolved Pokémon, most likely fainted) being picked up by — was that a Raikou?! — and ferried to safety. The man whose Gliscor had come to help him pointed out an exit, and Clemont nodded. “Lead the way, friend.”
—[Centrico Plaza]—
The Battle of Prism Tower was won. The war… that remained to be seen.
The first rays of dawn began to filter through the Lumiose skyline as those occupants who were able evacuated Prism Tower. The survivors gathered to one side of the damaged building — the side that didn’t have the Tower itself looming ominously overhead, thank you very much. Bonnie’s taste in Pokémon may have been insane, but even she wasn’t that crazy. She dismounted her mutant Flygon and quickly recalled the beast before it could drool over the survivors too much. The survivors, she saw, were more than a handful in number… but still far fewer than there should have been. The leadership of Kalos had gathered to address the region’s plight, but what now remained were mere embers and ashes left behind in Flare’s wake. Emergency medical teams picked their way across the plaza, carrying out the grim task of separating out those who could be saved from the dead and dying, while the construction crews raced to establish a solution for the damaged Tower more permanent than two Mega Evolved Pokémon and another region’s Legend.
Right, the dragon, Bonnie remembered. The Trainer mentally underlined her self-reminder to ask Chloe exactly where she could get one what the story was about that. A few moments later, Clemont touched down alongside a bunch of strangers, with the other defenders of Prism Tower gathering nearby as they made their own escapes. The groups were finally reunited, finally able to trade much-needed answers.
As Orihime touched down next to her Trainer, Valerie slid from the Flying-type’s back in a practiced motion. She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small metal object, pressing it into Ray’s hand. “That battle back there… dealing with misdirection in a chaotic environment, and coming through with flying colors? It’s like they tailored it to my Gym Challenge.” Her lips quirked into a small smile, though it quickly faded. “There was even a Trick Room of sorts.” She glanced worriedly toward the tilting tower, but forced herself to keep her attention on Ray. “The point is, you’ve more than earned the Fairy Badge… but if you find yourself in Laverre once everything’s back to normal, I definitely wouldn’t say no to a proper battle.”
Behind her, Siebold crossed his arms.
Valerie sighed. “We can backfill the League paperwork later.”
Siebold nodded his approval. “I’ll echo her offer. You’re quite the impressive Trainer, young man. I’d very much like to see you challenge the League one day. My TMs are, unfortunately, at home, but should you ever visit my restaurant consider your next meal on the house.”
Clemont, meanwhile, was busy giving thanks of his own to Kyle’s group. “Thank you, everyone. I… still don’t know what exactly that guy’s deal was, but you all really saved my bacon. I’d… reward you with a badge or something, but unfortunately I think the Gym… might be out of commission for a while.” The Electric-Type specialist surveyed the damaged building with a mournful air. His Luxray, now reverted from its altered form, nuzzled comfortingly against his side.
Alex dismounted the Entei, murmuring an apology to the overburdened Legendary Beast. They took a few minutes to check over their team members, applying Potions, wiping off stains, brushing fur. When they were done, they retreated the still-exhausted Raleigh, Coralie, and Pichu (making a note to find a good name for the latter), leaving only Sylvia, Didi, and Bliss to support them. They made their way through the growing crowd, searching for one face in particular, only to run into a different one instead.
“…Miss Valerie?”
The Gym Leader looked to Alex in surprise. “Alex Zyther. I’m surprised to see you here.” She paused. “I’m sorry, I didn’t get the chance to speak with your father. I was expecting to see him at the gala, but…”
Alex looked away, their gaze meeting the ground at their side. “Yeah… he… wasn’t in a state to make it.” They forced a smile back onto their face before forcing themself to face Valerie once more. “But it’s fine now. I’m sure he’ll be back to his old self really soon, and then everything will be fine.”
Valerie knew a lie when she heard one. “Will it?”
Alex’s grin faltered, but they replaced their uncertainty with determination. “I… I intend to make it so.” A glance to the side caught the Trainer’s original objective. “I’m sorry, Miss Valerie, but I need to go check on my sister.”
“Of course. Take care, Alex.”
“You, too.”
Alex made their way towards Lucia, only to come to an abrupt halt when they saw her heading towards Jamie. Right… her. Alex shook their head, their thoughts confused. After a few moments’ consideration, they drew back, returning the way they’d come. Sylvia crooned in confusion, and Alex spared a glance for the Eevee. “We’ll leave her be for now,” they explained. “It’s not like we won’t have time after this. That creepy guy will fix Dad, and we can all go see Mom and my Hikari brothers and Aunt Stacy and Uncle Joe, and we’ll finally all be one big happy family. Together.”
Hearing the desperate wish beneath the words, Sylvia leaned in to rub against her Trainer’s leg, tail wagging at the small smile they gave in return.
Grant and Ramos managed to find the group by following Alma’s path, the ghostly girl apparently unconcerned by their presence. The two Gym Leaders exchanged a glance.
“I reckon she might be even more detached than you,” Ramos quietly jabbed.
The Rock-Type specialist shook his head with a grin. “Perhaps. She’ll make a fine challenger once she’s older… if she can muster the motivation.”
After a few moments talking with a group of people they didn’t recognize, one of them vanished alongside their Gallade, returning a short while later with a group of newcomers accompanied by the Champions, all of whom Alma clearly recognized. Seeing that the girl had found her way to what seemed to be her parents (or at least, a group of responsible adults who seemed to know her), the two Gym Leaders drifted over to check on their fellows.
“Bonnie!” a woman’s voice called. A few moments’ delay revealed its owner to be a brunette woman with a Heliolisk in tow. A blonde woman with similar features was running in her wake, struggling to keep up.
“Alexa! We’re over here!” Bonnie called back, waving.
The reporter rejoined the others, her sister gasping as she stumbled in after her.
“How… are you… so much faster?” Viola complained.
Alexa shot her sister a smirk. “I’m a reporter, Sis. Running’s a survival instinct for us.”
Bonnie wrapped her arms around Alexa. “I got so worried when I saw you cornered, if it wasn’t for Chloe…”
Alexa gave her apprentice a comforting pat. “It’s all right. We made it out. Everything’s fine now.”
Bonnie couldn’t help but shoot a glance at the Tower, the enormous dragon shifting slightly to allow work crews to put more scaffolding into place. “Not everything,” she whispered, mind drifting to everything she’d seen inside, “not for everyone.”
Alexa nodded. “That’s sometimes the way of it.” She glanced around, stretching for a distraction. “So… ‘Chloe’?”
“Yeah, that’s her right there. It was her Gardevoir that helped you.” She paused. “And she’s also the Trainer of the big ice dragon.”
Alexa raised an eyebrow as she turned to survey Chloe. “You’re Kyurem’s Trainer? Color me impressed. I don’t suppose I can convince you to give me an exclusive?”
“Hey!”
“Sorry, give us an exclusive?”
From the same direction Alexa and Viola had come, a masked man in a garish Blaziken-themed costume approached, supporting a limping individual in some sort of enclosed armor suit.
A very tired-looking Korrina glanced up at the approaching duo. “Blaziken Mask?”
“And Essentia,” an equally-tired Wulfric added. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”
Korrina shook her head. “Forget that, where were you all night? We fought, like, half the city getting here, but there was no sign of either of you! Some superheroes…”
“I understand your frustration,” Grant said, “but if you just take a moment to focus your perspective—”
“Grant, I swear to Xerneas…”
“It’s all right,” the masked man said in an affected voice. “I’ve earned your ire. I got caught up in tonight’s events and wasn’t able to serve this city openly. I apologize for the failure. Essentia, on the other hand, was actively pursuing some of the Flare assets, and was injured in the line of duty. She would have joined you at the Tower, but it took me far too long to respond to her distress signal.”
“It was not your fault,” a synthesized but slightly female voice replied, “my injury was a result of my own overconfidence. You came for me as fast as you could.”
“We’ll have to agree to disagree, then.” The man scanned the assembled faces, and quickly made his way to Chloe. “You, citizen. You were at the hospital. I… er. That is. Your friend Meyer wanted me to tell you that the authorities were able to assemble to escort the civilians to safety, and that he’s safe, and…” The man trailed off, seeing Bonnie staring at him. “Er…”
Tears welled up in Bonnie’s eyes. “Dad…”
“I, uh…” Mask glanced back and forth, as if just noticing all of the assembled witnesses.
“I’m so glad Dad’s okay!”
Behind Bonnie, Clemont shot his sister a look of sheer disbelief before also remembering the witnesses and rapidly schooling his features. Mask, for his part, seemed simultaneously relieved and disappointed.
“Yes,” Essentia answered for him, “your father is absolutely safe. In fact, he is currently surrounded by people who have his well-being at heart.” Essentia’s visor was opaque to the outside, but her smirk was obvious even through the synthesized tone.
“I’m impressed you can tell that much from all the way out here,” Mask said. “Truly, you are the world’s greatest detective.”
Clemont cleared his throat loudly before the two superheroes could get into one of their infamous snark-offs. “Not to bring down the mood, but… was there a reason you came here?”
Essentia nodded, pointing at Jared. “That man,” she said. “He was one of the ones I fought with. He and the other entity left a swath of destruction through the city, before a third man joined our battle. I was forced to withdraw after the newcomer injured my leg, but—” The suited heroine paused. “You. You… were investigating Flare. Why would you…?”
A scowling Amelia stepped in. “Hands off, lady. He’s on our team. We’ve been workin’ for a while to stop Flare, ain’t no sense in infightin’ just ‘cause of some collateral damage.”
Essentia crossed her arms. “The phrase ‘some collateral damage’ doesn’t come close to covering the havoc they caused.”
“Look, lady, you fight assholes, shit gets broke. You just gotta deal with it.”
“Language,” Belle hissed, glancing back and forth between the various minors (and Alex) present.
A blonde woman in what used to be a very nice black dress raised a hand for attention. “I, for one, think a lot of this will get cleared up if we just sit down and explain everything from the beginning. Some of us are missing a lot of information, after all.”
Alex Zyther nodded at Parfum. “Ms. Parfum has a point. Speaking of which… is that a news van?”
Not far from the group, an intrepid TV reporter was doing her best to cover the developing situation, the red light on her cameraman’s instrument indicating a live broadcast. A monitor in the back of their news van showed the broadcast as it was being sent out. The woman’s report became audible as the conversation quieted.
“—still unclear, but initial reports seem to indicate the majority of the Flare forces were young people of around college age. We do not as of yet know how the notorious organization managed to gather so many recruits without authorities’ knowledge, but sources say that a government investigation is already underway.
In other news connected to tonight’s attack, cell networks remain down following the destruction of Prism Tower. Landlines appear to be unaffected, but the full scope of tonight’s actions remains to be seen. Using the national emergency broadcast system, Vice-President of Kalos Akamaro Chalmers has issued the following statement from a sequestered location.”
The light on the camera went out, as one of the crew members in the van switched the monitor’s feed to the prerecorded message. The reporter and the rest of their crew watched the recording with interest.
“People of Kalos.” Several of the news crew gasped at the man’s appearance, drenched in blood and heavily bandaged, though his clothes at least seemed to have been recently changed. “Tonight we have witnessed tragedy the likes of which we have not seen in ten long years. Team Flare, an enemy we long thought defeated, has risen from the ashes to scorch our region once more. The brave people of Kalos have fought back against our enemies, and I commend them for their efforts, but our victory did not come without cost. Many good men and women have perished amidst the flames this night, including, to our nation’s sorrow, President Morte De Villepin. I was in the president’s office when the assassin struck, and by the time I made my escape he was well beyond help. You may rest assured, at least, that his demise was swift and likely without pain.”
The man paused, shielding his face with a hand as if to compose himself. He met the camera once again with a fierce gaze. “With the passing of our beloved President, it now falls to me to lead our nation into the uncertain future ahead. As you can see, I have been secured in a safe location, guarded and untouchable by any would-be assassins. The tragedy we have endured this night will not be repeated. We must rather move forward into a bright and beautiful future, rising from the ashes Team Flare has left in their wake. And it is with that future in mind that I must warn you, citizens of Kalos: be mindful of who you trust.
“In all honesty, I ought not share what I am about to tell you, not before the full investigation has been concluded, but I feel it is my duty to arm the people of this Region with foreknowledge: I was not alone with the assassin in the President’s office. Lionel Zyther, the much-beloved maintainer of the Holo Caster, sacrificed his life, and in doing so protected my own. It is his blood that stains me now, and in a way will continue to stain me until I, too, pass from this mortal coil. But the person who shot him? Was not a member of Team Flare. It was a foreigner. An agent of Kanto’s government, Team Rocket.”
Chalmers shook his head. “I know not Kanto’s interest in our Region. There had been rumors of foreign investigation into the assets of Team Flare, but Team Rocket was certainly not the expected source. One must wonder, then, if those actions and the sudden revival of Flare were truly unconnected.” He raised his hands in a placating gesture. “But of course, it would be hasty to make such a judgement now. We cannot rule out the possibility that their participation in tonight’s events was not entirely of their own volition. There is, unfortunately, documented evidence that certain agents of Team Flare are capable of manipulating the minds of others, even twisting them against their own will — one of the many reasons that investigation into old Flare assets has been, and remains, strictly restricted. Nonetheless—”
Here, the man’s gaze grew stern and focused, a familiar sight for those who had faced him in battle. “Nonetheless, one truth still remains: it is imperative that foreigners are not to be trusted, until such a time as this government can determine their true intentions. In light of this, all travel into and out of the Kalos region is now prohibited without specific government authorization. Effective immediately, both Lumiose International Airport, as well as all external land and sea transportation hubs, are on full lockdown until further notice. Additionally, we are in the process of establishing a network of Psychic-type Pokémon and their Trainers to trace all teleportation activity in the region. I understand the inconvenience that this will cause, but I hope you, in turn, will understand the necessity of these restrictions in order to secure the safety of our great and glorious Region. I will endeavour to keep you all updated on future actions as the situation develops; for now, I bid you farewell.”
Silence reigned over the survivors. Eventually, Wulfric broke the stillness.
“So. Team Flare now controls Kalos.”
Siebold’s lips thinned, the Elite Four member not wanting to speak his agreement and admit to its truth. Calem and Serena exchanged meaningful looks, as did Grant and Viola.
Ramos spoke next. “You lot. You need to get out. Now, before it’s too late.”
“I agree.” Valerie looked distraught, but was desperately focusing on the group in order to distract herself. “We’re not militarized the way Unova or the Kanto regions are, so it’ll take time for the government to establish a full monitoring web. Anything into or out of cities will be caught right away, but if you stick to isolated areas out on the Routes you’ll probably have a few weeks before they can lock everything down.”
“Longer.” Serena crossed her arms, frowning. “Powers are still out, remember?”
“Not for everyone.” Bonnie glanced over at Chloe, then back to the rest of the group. “Chloe’s Gallade and Gardevoir have their powers back, and one of the Flare grunts got away using their Gardevoir as well. It was only one person, but…”
“But it means it can be replicated,” Calem finished. “The Ralts line is popular here in Kalos, and Flare was out for blood. From what happened with our group at the League, I’d wager there’s a lot more Pokémon with their powers back than there were a few hours ago.”
Serena still wasn’t convinced. “It’ll still take the government a long time to gather them all into a network.”
“Granted, but it’s still a bad idea to stick around long enough for them to actually get it set up.”
“Korrina,” Wulfric said, “You need to go with them.”
Grant nodded. “You too, Clemont.”
“What??”
“But the Gym… the city… we can help!”
“I’ve been training so hard, and now you want me to run away at the first sign of trouble?”
“Korrina’s right. We’re Gym Leaders, we have a duty to the people.”
Ramos held up a hand to silence the protests. “Listen, you whippersnappers. You’re young, still got most of your lives ahead of you. Flare won’t hesitate to snuff you out, and we can’t have that. You’re some of Kalos’ greatest legacy. I’m not about to let them take that.”
Blaziken Mask was nodding right along with Ramos. “Bonnie. Go with your brother.”
“But…”
“Please.”
“…Okay.”
Viola bit her lip, deep in thought. “Sis—”
Alexa raised her hands. “You don’t have to ask me twice. I know exactly how fond they are of truthful and curious reporters.” She glanced up at Mask. “I’ll keep keeping an eye on her, as best as I can.” She paused. “That’s, ah, for Meyer.”
Mask said nothing, but nodded to the reporter.
Siebold surveyed the group, a little daunted by its sheer size. “Is this all of you? I’d recommend you get outside the city and leave Kalos as quickly as possible. We may have some time before things really heat up, but it’s best to move sooner than later.”
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Post by Magical Girl Mimi on Nov 27, 2019 16:02:12 GMT -8
-==IC: Ray Hakuda -- Lumiose City==-
Ray sat on the Entei in surprise as he got handed the badge from Valerie and got complimented by the two. For a moment, he smiled with a nod at the two of them, in agreement about the idea of maybe challenging the league eventually. Then something Valerie said clicked. "Ummm, about Laverre..." The trainer said as he remembered everything that had happened not long ago. "That might be a bad idea, considering a criminal is from there and tried to take over Dendemille the other day - and fled only because of something hitting Laverre and... I just have this bad feeling that Laverre might be the last place you want to be right now." He paused for a moment. "We stopped the takeover of Dendemille, so that should be safe enough for now from falling meteors or whatever the thing was, and criminals, and... well, hopefully Flare."
It was about that moment when the news clip of the supposed president came on the air and put blame on Team Rocket.
"You have got to be kidding me."
-==IC: Chloe Hikari -- Lumiose City==-
Chloe tried her best to keep up with the multitude of people showing up, but only managed to get out a word before something else would happen. And then the news report came on. Chloe's fists clenched further and further as she listened to the story the president tried to spin. However, she froze when she heard one of the names. Lionel. Where had she heard that before? Zyther... wasn't that Lucia's name? Wait, so that would mean...
She was snapped out of her thoughts both as she made the connection of who Lionel was, and as the president tried to place the blame on all foreigners.
"That low-down dirty rat." She managed to say audibly before her rant turned to muttering under her breath.
She took a deep breath after a few seconds. What had this been for? They might have taken out a good number of the Flare agents that had been trying to take over the region - but they succeeded anyway, and managed to pin the blame on anyone but themselves. And now the region that they had all risked their lives for - and that Olivia nearly died for - was against them. Still. She had to take a few more seconds to calm herself down.
Despite all of this, they had saved the city from being flattened - had saved a good number of locations. "We might have longer here than you might think." Chloe said, as she motioned to Kyurem. "That's not easily ignored. We saved Lumiose. We've saved a good few other places from Flare too. I think we can at least manage a little while longer, which... we'll need, because we're here to get help to stop those alien things we call M0." She decided to mention the mission they were on in an attempt to show that they really had a reason to stay for a little while - even if it risked more people finding out than they'd like. Still... She had to admit the gym leaders had a point in at least some ways. She glanced at the remnants of the second group they had sent to Kalos earlier that week. Most of them looked like they were super about to collapse for one reason or another.
"Let's rendezvous at Dendemille for now - we made friends with the residents the other day when we helped save them from a bunch of nasty people; I'm sure we can at least get some rest there, heal up, and figure out a plan of action." Chloe glanced over at Blaziken Mask. She sent a telepathic thank you to him, then looked over to the others. "I can at least give some explanations once we're there, plus give some advice on what we're dealing with - tonight has been very rough, and we should have all the info we can get." She took another deep breath, as Kyurem approached, the scaffolding having been locked in place enough that they weren't needed.
"And I'll try to give at least some explanation for Kyurem too, alright?" The psychic girl gave a sheepish smile as she realized that there would be a lot of questions about that to answer - both from the gym leaders and her fellow friends.
-==IC: Lucia Zyther -- Lumiose City==-
As things settled down, and Lucia had finished up with treating everyone she feasibly could see in trouble, the Rocket trainer made her way to where Jamie currently was. As she approached, she saw a lot of people gathering around the group. With a frown, she approached Jamie and opened her mouth to speak to her. However, just as she was about to do so, she heard the news report from "President" Chalmers. Her jaw clenched shut as she thought she saw everything in a red tinge for a brief moment.
Instead of trusting herself to speak for the moment, she patted Jamie on the shoulder with a reassuring nod, then listened to the rest of the group discuss everything.
-==IC: Ray Hakuda/Chloe Hikari -- Lumiose City==-
Once everything had died down a bit and Chloe had finished her idea of heading back to Dendemille, Ray nodded. "I agree." He said as he glanced around at the gathered group. "We have some friends there that could help like, keep an eye on the situation or so, while we work to find some way to try and fix this." He didn't mention what groups the friends belonged to, as that might seem bad in this case, but still. "We should also try and work on a plan to get stronger or find people willing to fight against Flare."
"Isn't that just the same thing?" Chloe asked as she crossed her arms skeptically.
"Well, still, the point stands!--"
"So, what you're saying, is that we need evidence?" Lucia asked as she took a step forward, a determined look on her face. "I videotaped the entire time we confronted Chalmers. Right from the time we walked in, through him unknowingly confirming on tape that he's Flare to heavily insinuating he killed the president, to us finding the president, already dead before we got there."
"Wh-" Ray blinked as he saw Lucia appear, from his perspective, seemingly from nowhere. "Who are you again?"
"Lucia Zyther, Lionel's daughter - adopted, but still." She frowned as she glanced around the room. "The rumours of his death are highly exaggerated too. A..." Lucia trailed off as she pondered on how to explain who that pale man even was. "Friend of my father's showed up to help him - by now, I imagine that he's already on his way to full recovery, especially since I stabilized him with my Audino before he could outright die, after being used as a human shield by Chalmers."
Chloe seemed surprised by the turn of events, but nodded. "That makes this even more important to get back, we'll need to make a plan of action for how to get that evidence out to the public." With another hasty nod to herself, she turned around as Allie and Amethyst appeared nearby. As she walked forward, she stopped herself before she ran into a person with crutches. "Oh, I'm sorry, hope I didn't get in the way there." Chloe apologized with an awkward chuckle. She noted how similar the person looked to Xander, and wondered if they were an older sibling of his or something like that.
-==IC: Colleen Llyan -- Lumiose City==-
"What in the world..." Colleen froze with her mouth agape as the man who was apparently Emily's - and Xander's? - father reappeared with the group that had gone to the Pokémon League... minus Elaine. Everyone except the two champions looked like they had been through the wringer, which had finally caught her attention after she had been lost in thought about everything that had happened since they were forced to leave the tower. With a frown, Colleen scrambled off of the Pokémon she had been brought out on and hurried over to where the two Lockwoods were.
"What happened to you two?!" The aura wielder asked in surprise as she looked at the wounds the two had received while at the Pokémon League. With a grim look, she glanced around before taking over on trying to help with making sure their wounds didn't get worse - though was thankful when what looked like an Audino wandered over and began to... use a Heal Pulse on the two of them? She wasn't about to question the luckiness of that, she just looked around at anyone who could answer just what happened at the league.
-==IC: Marie Homura/Corey Bouchard -- Olivine City==-
Marie groaned as she opened her eyes. She had lost track of time since the night Ryan had died, but yet, here she still was, keeping an ear out for any news on Jenny. Last she'd heard, things were in the clear, but she still wanted to be nearby for the sake of everyone. Plus - Shannon and Aori hadn't left just yet, so she figured that there was time enough for that.
"Hey, sleepyhead, this'll help you not drift off on a bench." The girl's shoulder was nudged, which prompted her to look up. The vigilante who was part of the group Ryan and Shannon were in was holding a rather hot looking beverage - if she had to guess, it was likely coffee of some sort. With a mumble of thanks, Marie took the drink from Corey and began to blow on it, having the common sense to not try to instantly down it. When she looked up again, she noticed that Corey was focused on a news report on the TV, to which she followed their gaze. She couldn't quite focus on the words on the screen at that moment, but the place shown on the screen looked like it was a night-time scene - but in a place that looked completely unfamiliar to her.
"Something's happening in Kalos?" Corey mumbled, eyes trained on the TV with a confused frown. Marie watched the screen herself - it looked like a scene out of some kind of action movie. There was a wave of orange outfits in a herd headed toward the entrance, and a bunch of people and Pokémon trying to keep them out of whatever tower was there. After what seemed like hours of that happening, the tower suddenly began to tilt - before a giant dragon flew out of the tower to hold it upright. Then in what looked like an instant, two strange looking Pokémon with a resemblance to a Metagross and a Heracross appeared to seemingly hold the tower in place singlehandedly, judging by how the dragon was able to go and help recreate the supports.
And that was when the camera focused on some of the people who were managing to escape the tower. And as the camera passed over a Flygon that had escaped the tower, the two froze for reasons that were both the exact same and entirely different. Before either of them could react to what they saw, some person came onto the news report and spouted off what they could only describe as propaganda.
"Is this guy daft?" Marie finally asked to break the silence. "We have like one thousand problems here, including those things that are attacking..." She glanced over to Corey, who simply nodded and didn't help her out in the slightest. With a roll of her eyes, she just continued. "Whatever they are. Why, why would anyone at all be dumb enough to go and try to kill anyone there, when we have so many other things to worry about? It just doesn't make sense at all."
"Yeah..." Corey frowned as they stared at the screen, even as it cut to a commercial break. "Though... why were people there helping keep that tower up, then? There's something..." The blonde's eyes widened as they suddenly remembered the group of people they had met in Goldenrod about a week earlier - some of which had been featured in the escape footage. Is there something that might help where they are? Is that why they're there?
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Post by Parugi on Nov 28, 2019 11:49:58 GMT -8
IC - Archivist Booker Samir/Executive Danielle Ladon - Sandbar Room, The Alamo:
"In the debate against then-President of Hoenn James Pierce, a known associate of John Ford, you presented a last-minute witness in the form of Professor Piers Ebner--the twin brother of Paris Ebner, alias James Pierce. Ford and Pierce are both known to have close association with Déoza. How did you come upon Professor Piers Ebner and his relation to James Pierce? Are you aware of any association, beyond the familial with Pierce, that Professor Piers Ebner may possess with Déoza?"
IC - Sonja Baron/Emmerich Coleman - Command Center, Vertrag:
"Okay," Sonja said, as Ryan finished his explanation. She saved the document in which she had been taking notes. "That's a good starting place--and a real stroke of luck, too; if that had been Shift, I doubt you'd be in a place to talk right now." With a pause, Sonja glanced to one of the nearby screens. "Vertrag is still scanning for the locations of the Signs bases, but it looks like that's almost done--we should have the location of Pale Horse Manor well within that two-day deadline. Get everyone back here as soon as possible, and then we can work on our next steps." Ryan couldn't see it, but a small smile crossed Sonja's face. "And Ryan? You did a great job with that negotiation. We'l see you guys soon."
As they were having this conversation, Emmerich was focused on another set of monitors, having successfully secured the frozen Flare scientist in a holding cell. He sipped a cup of coffee, chancing a larger drink just as several of the Kalosian news stations began to play now-President Chalmers's message.
"In all honesty, I ought not share what I am about to tell you, not before the full investigation has been concluded, but I feel it is my duty to arm the people of this Region with foreknowledge: I was not alone with the assassin in the President’s office. Lionel Zyther, the much-beloved maintainer of the Holo Caster, sacrificed his life, and in doing so protected my own. It is his blood that stains me now, and in a way will continue to stain me until I, too, pass from this mortal coil. But the person who shot him? Was not a member of Team Flare. It was a foreigner. An agent of Kanto’s government, Team Rocket."
The last sentence caused Emmerich to choke on his drink, almost spitting it out across the monitors. Luckily he managed to restrain himself, only painfully sputtering instead as coffee burned his windpipe. He all but slammed the mug down on the nearest flat surface.
"You have got to be fucking kidding me," he growled between coughs. In an instant, he connected his Poké Gear to the console, opening up a new transmission to Chapel. "Chapel Command, this is General Emmerich Coleman. Patch me through to Shadow Admin Sleight immediately--I have an urgent situation that he must be informed of."
IC - Kyle Eston (Jaeda, Kitheus, Ruj) - Outside Prism Tower, Lumiose City:
As Chloe and Ray discussed the current situation with the Kalosian League Officials, Kyle was busy appreciatively patting his team and returning them, as well as doing a head-count. He wasn't terribly familiar with most of the individuals here, so he was more focused on ensuring that the members of Silver Team were all accounted for--which, as he looked around, Kyle became aware of the fact that they were not.
"Ryan?" he said, looking around. "Hey--Ryan!"
With such a large crowd around him, he doubted he would even be able to tell if Ryan heard him. Kyle climbed onto Jaeda's back, directing her to take flight and go above the crowd. From the air, he did another count, looking around on the outskirts. Finally, he relaxed as he saw Ryan approaching from another side of the tower. Jaeda headed over, landing nearby.
"There you are!" Kyle said. "I was afraid you hadn't gotten out of the tower. Where'd you disappear to?"
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Post by Konuju on Nov 30, 2019 9:03:08 GMT -8
IC: Ryan Sanders - Outside Prism Tower, Lumiose City Still in a slight daze, Ryan quickly rattled off the same explanation he'd given to Sonja. "Sonja says Vertrag should be able to locate the Pale Horse Manor soon." He glanced up at the tower that appeared to have at last been relatively stabilized. "Looks like things have settled down here a bit. Have you found Ray and Chloe? We need to get back to Vertrag as soon as possible to recoup and set up our plan. We should probably let Colleen know we're heading out, too . . ."
His voice trailed off as he glanced at Kyle, his unspoken question made evident. As a group, Vorhut had yet to have a full discussion on who they wanted to trust with the knowledge of Vertrag's existence. In Ryan's opinion, the less people who knew about it, the better. Colleen might be trustworthy enough, but he highly doubted Zoe's ability to keep the existence of a teleporting Jirachi-base to herself.
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Post by Parugi on Nov 30, 2019 14:58:54 GMT -8
IC - Kyle Eston (Jaeda) - Outside Prism Tower, Lumiose City:
"Everyone is gathered at the southern side of the tower," Kyle said as he led Ryan in that direction. The rest of the group wasn't too far off--already, several individuals were visible around the side of the building. Having caught Ryan's eye, Kyle placed his hands in his pockets, giving a nervous look in that direction. "The four of us should probably call and have a talk with Sonja. I don't know about you, but I don't really know anyone who was a member of Gold Team, and it looks like they've picked up even more people since the last time we saw them. And . . . Well, if I'm being totally honest, I don't have any idea what we're supposed to do with a dozen extra people on our hands."
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Post by Konuju on Nov 30, 2019 17:18:51 GMT -8
IC: Ryan Sanders - Outside Prism Tower, Lumiose City "You're right," Ryan said. He waved a hand to try and get Chloe and Ray's attention. "Vertrag aside, I don't think it would be smart to bring people we don't even know to this Pale Horse Manor. Not when we have so much on the line. I don't want to seem rude, but I think our friends on the Gold Team may have to find their own accommodations -- at least for the time being. But you're right, we should all talk with Sonja and Emmerich about this."
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Post by unknownmercury on Nov 30, 2019 20:21:04 GMT -8
IC: Isabella Fontaine
"No... No, no, no, NO!" Isabella slammed her fist on the overcrowded desk, jostling the contents. Her Holo Caster hit the ground with a clatter. With a wordless scream, she kicked the useless device across the room to slam against the wall. She couldn't use it to get a hold of the team, anyways. Communications had been down for hours, and she had no way to warn her team of Emily, of what she'd discovered.
Useless. She was useless.
IC: Xander Cruize
Xander frowned softly as the international news broadcast finished. From what the Vice President of Kalos had said, Rocket had attacked and killed the president.
But Xander had met Rocket agents. Ray, Ryan Hikari, Jamie, Olivia... They certainly weren't bad people. And the timing couldn't be a coincidence. Just when it seemed Team Flare was alive, Rocket carries out an assassination attempt? No. It could only mean one thing.
Flare was running the country and passing blame to outside forces. Xander had grown up hearing such stories, and he had to wonder... How long had that been going on? How long had Flare been putting pieces on the board and manipulating the citizens of Kalos?
The TV flicked off, and the guards ushered Xander and the few other inmates out of the rec room.
IC: Aspen Seaton/Aria
"Again!" Aspen commanded to the fallen Lucario.
Aria lunged.
IC: Emily Lockwood/James Cruize
Emily looked at Colleen with bleary eyes. "'m sorry..." she murmured quietly. "I..."
"Emily was shot," her father said. "Flare had some sort of control over her, and she attacked Alex before she snapped out of it."
"So sorry..." Emily said quietly. Her father put a hand on her shoulder.
"It's okay, it wasn't your choice," he said reassuringly.
Emily didn't respond.
IC: Jared Winters/Alma Mason
Jared stood with his back to the tower, not wanting to look at what Mercury had done. He could see the masked heroine looking his way frequently, and he tried to avoid her gaze. It seemed like she was being kept at bay by Amelia and Belle. For now. The white-haired girl, Alma was sitting near him, astride her giant Growlithe. He wasn't sure if she was supposed to be keeping him company or if she just felt like standing there, and he didn't want to ask.
As two people approached, they both turned. Jared blinked. "Ryan," he said flatly. "I didn't know you were here."
Alma waved. "Hello," she said. "Pardon my having overheard, but did you mention Pale Horse Manor? I don't suppose that's like Black Horse Manor?"
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Post by Konuju on Dec 1, 2019 6:45:16 GMT -8
IC: Ryan Sanders - Outside Prism Tower, Lumiose City Ryan tensed slightly as a young girl approached them, revealing she had overheard their conversation. It left him wondering what else she might have overheard. He shook his head. "Sorry, I don't think they're the same."
The truth of it was, having never heard of this Black Horse Manor, and having never actually been to the Pale Horse Manor, he couldn't tell if they bore anything in common aside from their names. Nevertheless, he glanced up at Kyle, silently indicating that they should both be more careful about speaking in a public location.
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Post by Parugi on Dec 3, 2019 8:37:41 GMT -8
IC - Kyle Eston (Jaeda) - Outside Prism Tower, Lumiose City:
For his part, Kyle could only shrug at Ryan. Jared's flat inflection was . . . odd, to say the least. And something about the girl in front of them made him uneasy. The knowledge that she seemed to be eavesdropping only put him off even further.
Kyle cleared his throat and moved past, giving Ryan a look. "I'm going to grab Ray and Chloe," he said. After recalling Jaeda, he pushed into the crowd, carefully making his way toward the pair. When he reached them, he tapped Chloe on the shoulder, and then tapped Ray. "Hey--Silver Team needs to have a meeting. Now."
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