Metal Gear Minun

IC: James Arthur - Aether Paradise James was silent for a moment. He’d been working with a hunch. A chance encounter years ago lead to this moment. His hand only had one ace, but if he could play it well, it could win him the game. But he would need her to volunteer information. He shaped a small knowing smile on his face and stroked his chin with slow deliberate movements. “Is the name Silvally familiar to you?” IC: Jamie Arthur - Shabboneau Castle Jamie wandered the halls of the castle with a complete lack of direction. She and Lucia had gotten separated at one point. She hadn’t paid attention where exactly. The decorations were fancy, but maybe not as fancy as she might have guessed. There was also a severe dearth of knights wandering around. Can you really call it a castle without knights? She sighed for a brief moment. It wasn’t a tired sigh, nor disappointed. More conflicted. She both wanted to spend time with Lucia, but she really wanted to be fighting M0 right now. She wanted it gone, and she wanted it gone now. The young hero shook slightly thinking about it. Maybe she’d talk to Lucia about it when she found her. Jamie stopped in place for a moment, and dug into her bag. There was someone else that might better understand the feeling. She pressed the numbers her fellow hero taught her, and waited for a response. “Hello?” A calm and friendly voice queried, sounding just a little bleary, the sound of rushing water being heard in the background.. Jamie pondered how to respond to that. It was a simple, yet deeply profound question her mentor posed to her. What is the most hero of all greetings. She pondered it, but mainly thought of what word for greetings she knew was the longest. “Salutations!” she ended up shouting into the phone. “This is Jamie Arthur, heroine of time!” Yeah that to be right. “And I was wondering if you had the chance to talk,” she added, turning down the decibels. There was a hearty chuckle on the other end of the phone, and then Evan spoke. “Of course, I’ve got the time to chat with my fellow Heroine! What’s up? How’s Kalos?” “Good! The vacation’s totally derailed, but we’re doing something more fun than vacationing, so there is that,” she said looking around at the castle. “Well, I’m glad you’re salvaging your derailed vacation! I’d expect no less from such a clever saviour! Meanwhile, I’ve gone to Alola, where I am having a good time. I’m looking into something that’ll….weaponize posing, Jamie.” Evan said, sounding giddy. “It’s gonna be so cool.” “No. way.” Jamie said, “I cannot wait to tell Tristan. He is gonna be so excited to hear that. Tell me everything.” “Well, my source says that, with something called a Z-Crystal, a Z-Ring, and the proper posing, you can empower your Pokémon with tremendous might into their moves. That’s about all I know, but it’s definitely awesome-sounding, right?” “Totally hero! Maybe we should’ve just gone there. Well not that… Well I get the feeling that’s not really the reason we came here,” she said thinking about the call she had with Lucia’s mom. “Well, it may have not been the reason you went to Kalos, but I am glad you are having fun. Arceus knows we need something like that with everything going on.” The Hero said cheerfully. “A Hero knows when to take time to have fun for themself, you know?” Jamie smiled at that. It wouldn’t be cool if she never got to do anything fun. “Oh! That reminds me. The Kalos Gym Leader was still taking Gym Challenges, so Lucia and I challenged him! I’ll be sure to introduce you to Volty the Voltage badge when we meet again. It’s the second coolest shiny thing I’ve gotten this week. Next to the Adamant shard you gave me, of course.” Evan smiled at Jamie’s enthusiasm. “I have no doubt about that, Jamie. Did you have a lot of fun battling, even as things are now? Did you get creative? Gimme the details!” “Oh my gosh So Clemont was talking out loud about his plans so I said ”Bad idea to talk about your plans out loud” but then he was all like ”Just cause you know about my plan doesn’t mean you can stop it” And he tried to squish Gothara but Pelleas punched him and Gothara jumped on the Luxray and was like I’ll tame this beast but it bucked her off and she got hit by the Magnezone but then I said PUNCH HIM AGAIN Pelleas and he punched him into the ground and we were like whoa Pelleas you’re so cool and he was like I know But then the Luxray got between them but Pelleas was like I’ll just fly over the problem but then the Magnezone used a fake Gyro Ball but that didn’t do much because Pelleas beat him anyway and then Luxray and Pelleas faced each other and they were like-” Jamie had to take a pause from her long, rambling, highly exaggerated story to take a breath. “And then Luxray and Pelleas were staring at each other like it was high noon but then Gothara came out of nowhere and knocked out Luxray. It was hero!” Evan would have been dazed by Jamie’s rambling, if he were a normal person, but he wasn’t exactly normal. “Dang, that does sound hecka hero! You really must love battling, if you get this hyped about it, huh?” The man thought for a moment. “What else are you thinking of doing over there? Gonna see the sights with Lucia?” “Well that was the original intent at least. We met her dad on accident, and now we’re traveling to Geosenge town. Something about Team Flare.” “Sounds like you’ve got your hands full then. I wish Jenny and I could join you, if I may be honest.” The Hero said, a note of regret in his voice. “But, I know you’ll get the job done, because you’re so hero.” Jamie chuckled a bit at the praise. “Yeah, well. We’re not -officially- on the mission. We’re just going along with it and making sure it gets done,” she said, continuing to buy into the delusion she and Lucia created for her. “Oh, so you’re being a sneaky Heroine, eh? Being a little outside of the box, huh? I LOVE IT!” Evan said, amused at Jamie’s statement. “I support this, because sometimes a Hero just has to save the day somehow! Jenny and I are rooting for you!” “Heh. Thanks,” she replied. “How is Jenny doing by the way? Evan smiled at Jamie’s question, before realizing that he never told her what happened before he met her outside of James’s office. “She’s doing OK here with me. We’re having our own brand of fun over here.” He then flashed a grin. “You know, before I saw you outside of Executive Arthur’s office…….I had just finished seeing her in the hospital wing, and the wildest thing happened!” “Ooooh?” Jamie said, waiting expectantly. “I proposed to her, Jamie, and she said yes.” Evan said, recalling yesterday. “I even gave her a ring with my Shard in it to show how much I trust her.” “Wow…. that’s a cool gift,” Jamie said, awkwardly for a moment. “What do you mean by ‘propose’?” “I pledged my life and love to her. To be more blunt…...I proposed marriage to her.” The Hero said in a kind tone. “Oh I, get it.“ She didn’t get it. She vaguely knew about the concept, but hadn’t heard about anyone doing it. Was that what Lucia and her were supposed to do? How long were they supposed to wait? She had the feeling that asking more would be a dead giveaway, so she kept quiet on that. “When is the…” what was it called? “Weddin’?” “I think you mean ‘Wedding’, but close enough. After we stop the end of the world, of course. I’d hate to have done that, only for it to be rendered null and void.” Evan said, chuckling as he spoke. “Of course you’d be invited, Jamie. What kind of Hero would I be if I didn’t let all my friends come?” She didn’t know what one does at weddings but that was no reason to turn down a good invite. “Alright, I’ll be there. We will make it the best wedding that has ever been wed, just you watch… or rather wed or… dang it I don’t know the proper hero saying for this.” Evan laughed, charmed by Jamie’s muddling up. The girl had such enthusiasm, that it was hard not to get caught up in it. “It’ll be a wedding like no other, just you watch!” “I’ll bet!” Jamie said, smiling though she didn’t exactly have a standard of measure for how weddings go. “So how’s Alola… Where’s Alola?” Evan thought for a moment, and then grinned. “It seems to be far, far, far away from Kanto.” The man said cheerfully. “It’s sunny, warm, and full of nice people. We’re actually being guided by one of the locals, whom we battled yesterday!” “A battle? What Pokemon did they use? Were they tough?” Jamie asked, her eyes lighting up again. “I think she used a Meganium, a Cloyster, and a pokémon called Kommo-o. They were as tough as nails! Gnip even had trouble against her Pokémon!” “Wow, now I’m getting a little jealous,” Jamie said, laughing a little bit. “Well, I didn’t get a Gym Badge for my efforts, but I’m gonna be part of a bigger battle later in the week.” The man said, basking in the laughter of his fellow Heroine. “It’s supposedly a big thing here in Alola called the Battle Royal, where four trainers duke it out!” “Whoa, you got to tell me all about that,” Jamie said before trailing off. She began to remember why she called Evan in the first place. “Hey, Evan?” “What’s up, Jamie?” Jamie fiddled with the hand holding her bag for a moment. “Is, is it really okay for us to be away from the fight against M0? I know you said heroes need time off too but, I can’t help but feel I should back there, fighting.” Evan frowned at what Jamie said, and then smiled. “A Hero is only as good as their abilities, and right now ours are a bit wanting. Think of this ‘break’ as a way to hone yourself. That’s how Jenny and I are viewing our time away from the fight!” “Hone myself, huh?” Jamie repeated. There was wisdom in that. She would be much better off if she were stronger when the battle against M0 recommenced. But how to do that? “Hey, Evan. How do you use your power?” The Hero of Space thought long and hard about Jamie's question, before speaking. “I try to use mine to move things and people around. I have a power that ‘erases’ the space between me and a person or object, and drag them towards me. I can also see people who have teleported or may be from another world. I may be able to teleport myself eventually, even!” “That’s really cool!” Jamie said, “But I meant, like. How do you use it? Like how do you.. Make stuff happen.” The questions felt like asking how to breathe. How did she freeze time? “I….feel I'm not making stuff happen, but rather asking reality to help me out. It’s a matter of intent. Think of it like me praying to Palkia….” “A prayer…” she hadn’t thought about that term in a while. James told her about it when she was much younger. He hadn’t taught her how though. Just something else he was too busy for. The idea made sense though. And it made her a little sad. She hadn’t had the chance to thank Dialga for this chance. “Hey Evan, do you think Mr. Dialga is okay?” The man drowned. He hadn't considered how the Creation Trio must feel about this. “I think that Dialga is not only ok, but cheering us on. I'm sure the entire Creation Trio is happy to see us fighting, but wishing they could help more.” Jamie stood there for a moment. She wondered if Mr. Dialga could still hear her. She hoped she knew how hard she was trying. “Alright. Oh, you gotta tell me immediately if Mr. Palkia contacts you okay? I want to talk to Mr. Dialga as soon as I can.” “Will do, Jamie!” Evan said cheerfully. “I need to thank Palkia for giving the Power of Space back to me.” Jamie nodded, “Okay,” she let out a breath. “Thanks for letting me talk, Evan. It’s a load off.” “The feeling is mutual, Jamie.” The man said kindly. “I know things are crazy, but we'll make M0 regret ever coming here and messing with our world!” “Yeah!” The two said their farewells to each other and Jamie hung up. She punched the air a few times to shake off her excess energy before falling into thought. A prayer. She wasn’t entirely sure how to do it. She had to think it at Dialga right? She shut her eyes and thought really hard. Mr. Dialga. I hope you’re doing okay. Watch over your chosen champion, okay? I’ll make you proud. The girl took a breath, and opened her eyes. She smiled and left to go find Lucia.

IC: Miriam Shields - Vermilion City Miriam watched the group leave before returning to the office. She slowly walked over to the desk and placed the tablet on it. She sat down at the desk and looked up at the ceiling. For what seemed like forever, she sat there in silence. The sight of the girl brought memories back of long ago. And suddenly, Miriam felt very old. She began to feel regret, and yearning. "No, you forfeited the right to those feelings," Miriam said to herself, before standing up. She picked up her tablet and left the room to go hunting down records. Maybe work would take her mind off it. It worked for her so far. IC: James Arthur - Aether Paradise “We are looking for funding and cooperation in research regarding the essence of Pokemon Types,” James said. “Have you watched the leaked video from One Island?” James said, forcing himself not to show any emotion about that particular video, or about the people he was going to murder for leaking it. “If not, I can show it to you,” he said ignoring the irony of that statement in regards to his previous thought. “Until such time as Pokemon powers return, our Power Suits are our best defense against this menace. Naturally, we are not asking for you to help build weapons. But our suits replicate Pokemon powers. We hope that you might contribute to this work.” IC: Guinevere/Natalie - Table’s Home Guinevere used her crutch to stand. They got what they needed. It was time to go. With the Grimer following behind her, she hobbled her way towards the door. "W-wait!" Bobby called out to the two as Natalie headed toward the door as well. "I-I need help! You just proved it, didn't you? Someone wants me to fall for this, and might kill me! You have to be able to do something, right?" The man looked panicked. "I need help and secrecy, please!" The Gardevoir stopped in her tracks. Guinevere thought about their options. There was a chance they could him granted asylum by Team Liberty. But to get him safely out of the country while he was still under arrest, would take some wrangling. They would need enough evidence to link Patrick to the murder of Stacy, then enough to either show the case directly affected Team Liberty, or convince Team Rocket to have him ferried over for testimony. And the only person Guinevere could think of with the connections to do that was… The Gardevoir leaned on Natalie. Using her as a stand to keep herself stable while pressed her marker to the board. She held still there for what felt like a long time. Seconds ticked by without any movement. When she finally started to write, the words came at a slow but deliberate pace. [i will do what I can.] It was little comfort to be sure, but it was all she could provide. How much this man’s life was truly in jeopardy was uncertain, but the probability of danger wasn’t zero. He didn’t deserve to die for them coming here. The man seemed to breathe a sigh of relief before he flashed the slimey smile he'd had on earlier. "Ohhh, thank you! I hope that you can help out a lot." "We'll see." Natalie said with a slightly uneasy look on her face. She glanced over at Guinevere with a small frown as she wondered how they would help, but… even if the guy was sleazy, he didn't deserve death from whoever was after him. Guinevere stepped out of the apartment. It was time to go, they had what they needed from him. Next, it was time to track down Cassie. And the first step was to call Jamie. IC: Claus Diamond/Zack Furler - Sunyshore City waters Claus was regretting taking a boat. The waves on the trip had been especially rocky. He was getting a little green around the gills. He also had a monkey on his back, though he was moving up to his shoulders. He would’ve told Flint no, but can you really say no to that face? Richard was playing the melody some sea shanty on his violin, while sitting on the rail. A complete one-eighty from how he been the day before. Oceanus and Erebus were swimming on either side of the boat. It should’ve been a leisurely swim for both of them, and it was for the Gyarados at least. The Tentacruel had to, more than once, stop what he was doing, and fix Richard’s balance before he plummeted into the sea below. And since the cause was the fact that Richard wasn’t paying attention to his surroundings, he didn’t learn his lesson when the Tentacruel corrected his balance. Richard’s mood and bearing seemed wholly different from the barely functioning man he had been the day before. Two nights ago, he had returned with -something- that the bard had asked him to copy audio files from, before Richard had left to ‘return’ it. Claus was gonna take a listen to that at some point, but he had been too tired at the time, and too busy the next day. Richard himself didn’t return until after Claus had long since fallen asleep, and had to wake up early for job training. The bard was technically only there to interview Cyrus when they met him. To be fair, technically Claus was only going to assess the situation. They were supposed to report in as soon as the meeting was over. What happens after that? Undecided. Taylor was… somewhere. She wasn’t in Claus’s line of sight. She technically wasn’t a part of the mission or Team Liberty, but this was a private boat. So if she decided to hop along (even if that decision had come from Claus asking her to), it wasn’t Team Liberty’s place to say no. A Raichu was on the deck, watching Flint. No Liberty boats were scheduled to head for Sunyshore in a timely matter. But someone Zack knew had offered to ferry them on their own personal boat. That person was the former gym leader of Sunyshore City, Volkner. Zack was speaking to Volkner about something or other. Claus couldn’t hear from where he stood. “Oy, Claus,” Richard called, suddenly stopping his violin. “Land ho!” Sure enough, the port of Sunyshore city came into full view. The next few moments were a complete blur. A mix of nervousness and nauseousness came over Claus until the boat pulled into port. When the ship finally docked, and a bridge was placed to cover the gap between the boat and the port, Claus rushed towards the dock, to get on the dry land as soon as possible. He stopped one step short. His eyes became focused on the ground ahead of him. One more step, and he’d finally be in Sinnoh. To finally be in Sinnoh, after all this time. After everything his dad told him about the region. It didn’t seem possible. What was it gonna be like? Was it gonna be like what he always imagined? What his dad always told him about? What if it didn’t live up to the hype? What if Cyrus wasn’t there? What if his dad wasn’t? What if the opposite? What if he liked it so much that never wanted to leave? Maybe he shouldn’t- Claus lost his balance when he felt a shove from behind. He stopped himself from falling to the ground, but he was officially on Sinnoh soil now. It took him a second to realize that. “Just thought I’d give you a helping push,” Richard said, smiling. “Thanks…” Claus said with a sarcastic intonation, until he realized that because he’d done it, he had stopped worrying about it. “Thanks.” “Welcome to Sinnoh, Claus.”

IC: James Arthur - Aether Paradise “It is a beautiful facility you run, Ms. Lusamine,” James said looking out the window. He could still see Gawain. He was relaxing in a river in the conservation area. He was being attended to by the representative that had brought them. At least partially to make sure that their hospitality towards James’s team did not disrupt the fragile ecosystem they had made in the area. James turned his attention back towards the Aether president. Time for business. “I trust you are well aware of the situation in the Sevii Islands. I hope you are open to our offer of partnership.”

IC: Miriam Shields - Vermilion Rocket Branch Miriam stared back at Dack, as she listened to him. The names were meaningless to the bureaucrat. So she defaulted to what protocol would demand of her. "That's not technically true. There is a ceasefire, but a formal treaty has yet to be signed. Legally, they are still enemy operatives." A technicality that was probably unwelcome in this situation, but still technically the reality. "I can at least look up their file. Depending on the veracity and severity of their crimes, we could appeal for release or leniency. Otherwise we'd have to either convince Team Liberty to release any prisoners they may have, or convince our superiors to release them as an act of good faith. I can't claim I consider this to be my highest priority, but I should be able to check your claim while you make hotel reservations."

IC: Miriam Shields - Vermilion Rocket Branch. Miriam slowly looked over the tablet. She began to massage her temple slowly. Technically her business with Agent Hikari wasn't finished yet. She was considering just going home now; Hikari and company would probably appreciate the break. Still, the film crew wasn't cheap. Every day they were on Team Rocket's payroll meant more money being squandered. A quiet sigh escaped her lips. A decision could wait for the length of a conversation. "I'll... hear you out at least."

IC: Lohe Mahina - Inner Cell Block El Naipe. Signs. Those words seemed like things that Lohe's bosses would know about. Well, he was supposed to drop them a line after this. He had pushed the conversation as far as he should. "Alright, I'll be sure to give them your exact words," Lohe said as he corrected his posture again. "Hopefully, that will be enough to satisfy them." "Well," he said turning towards Blackskull. "I guess I asked him all the questions I had." He began to take a step away from Blackskull, towards the exit, when he stopped and turned back towards Ford, a curious look on his face. "Gathered how, by the way? Have you been keeping him up to date, Blackskull?"

IC: Jamie Arthur - Camphrier Town Jamie stared at the castle for a few moments longer, brief mutterings escaping her lips. She eventually shook her head to snap out of it. "Well, no use just standing around," Jamie said. "I want to check out the castle, but we can do that later if there is something you want to do." IC: Miriam Shields - Vermilion Branch Miriam stepped outside of the office. The door was open so she could hear what was going on inside. But she didn't want to be there for this conversation. She'd rejoin them when it was over. For now, she pulled out her tablet and kept working. It wouldn't get her mind off of things, considering the subject matter of her work, but it would distance her from any pain in that room. She opened up the footage that she'd captured before quickly growing uncomfortable and closing. She was going to need to wait before she was willing to sit through it. Still, pain or no pain, the footage was worth keeping. She wrote a message to the film crew, and sent along the footage to them. They would have to recreate it, showing the actual inside of the base was kind of a no-no. But it would make for good inspiration.

IC: Lohe Mahina - VIP Cell Block Lohe turned his head from side to side, and scratched his head. He placed a perplexed look on his face. He opened his lips as if he was going to speak more than once, before pointedly closing his mouth. "Grimoire? Recipe?" he asked at last. Lohe up-righted his posture for a moment before he slouched again. "Could you elaborate on those for me? I'm not sure my bosses will accept that explanation unless I can tell them what they mean. What's the 'Grimoire of the Signs'? And what do you mean by a recipe?"

IC: Jamie Arthur - Camphrier Town Jamie's eyes widened as she took in the structure in front of her. It was the first time that Jamie had ever seen a castle. She crossed her arms and began to think on the matter. It wasn't as mind-blowing as she expected it would be. It was cool, but not instantly life changing. "Hey, Lucia. This was not the castle King Arthur lived in, was it?"

IC: James Arthur - Aether Paradise The rest of the trip was comparatively uneventful. James was in a better mood after the battle. Fighting things at least had clear win conditions. He’d just have to figure it out when he got there. A structure came into view on the horizon. A large white tower in the middle of the ocean. A genuine marvel of engineering. Even the Pokemon on the deck where admiring it as they saw it. “Our pride and joy,” the Aether representative commented as the ship pulled near. The events that transpired between his arrival and his meeting were thoroughly uninteresting. James ended up waiting for a while in a room of nearly solid white. The decor was elegant, if almost glaring when the sun from outside the room. Lancelot was seated while James was looking out of a window. He could see some of his other Pokemon in the conversation area below. After enough of a wait, there was a wooshing sound as the door to the room opened. "Mr. Arthur, I presume?" An elegant flowing voice rang out behind James as a woman with extremely long blonde hair walked into the room, heels clacking as she walked. James put on his best business smile. He didn’t have the best knowledge of the woman’s personality. Yet her reputation preceded her. “That would be me. A pleasure to meet you, President Lusamine.” IC: Miriam Shields - Vermilion "She..." Miriam was taking deep breaths. She was still staring at the ground where the monster's corpse was. She bit her lip before exhaling one last deep breath through her nose. "No, there's nothing to discuss. I made a foolish lapse in judgement. That's all." A number of agents finally showed up. Finally. She would have to see to it that the base's emergency protocols were updated. Some of the agents were looking to deal with the body. She would vaguely remember one of them asking if she was alright. She replied that she was physically unharmed. "Let's return to the office. We don't need to be here any longer."

IC: Jamie Arthur - Kalos Route 5 “Nah I am good. Are you alright, Bedevere?” Jamie said calling out to the Cloyster. The Cloyster beamed. It was great to win a fight again. He hadn’t taken too many hits. Pelleas looked a little jealous, but knew that the Cloyster deserved a chance to fight. Jamie nodded, “You did great, Bedevere, return.” Bedevere returned to the Poke Ball from whence he came. “Ooh wee though, did you see that last move Jared did, Lucia? I better step up my game.”

IC: Lohe Mahina - Ford’s Cell Lohe looked at the man who sat in the cell. So this was the man that all the fuss was about. The man who erased Pokemon power. He was feeling pretty awake right now. He could hear the shift of a camera in the corner of his ear. “I’ve been asked to get some answers from you. About that stunt you pulled.” Lohe looked at the bars that separated him from Ford. “Am I allowed in there?” he said to Blackskull before shaking his head. “Naw, doesn’t matter. That Pokemon de-powering thing you did. How’d you do it, and how do we know someone else won’t?”

IC: Miriam Shields - Vermilion Rocket Base Miriam's excitement at the footage was almost insulting, considering the emotional struggle Ryan was undergoing. She saw the monster through the uncaring eyes of the camera. Thoughts of the PR potential rushed through her mind. She was mouthing 'finish it' to the Tyranitar, when she made a mistake. Miriam looked over the tablet. She wanted to see the final blow with her own eyes. Then she saw her. Miriam's eyes widened. Her pulse stopped. Her sense of reason dulled, and time slowed down. It called out to her in words she never thought she'd hear. And then the moment, that Miriam had been so eagerly waiting for, finally came. Miriam dropped the tablet, held out an arm towards the girl. "No!" she yelled as he heard the crunch, as she watched the image slowly fade away. When the illusion finally died, and the corpse of the monster was revealed, time began to move for Miriam again. When she realized what she had just done, she hit the wall in frustration. That reaction was unforgivably foolish of her. She'd seen this creature's ability. She knew it was fake. There was no way that she would be here. "The reinforcements should be here soon. Let's wait for them to dispose of this trash," she said as she picked up the tablet, which she used to hide her face.

IC: Guinevere/Natalie - Black City The two ascended the stairs to their target’s apartment. Guinevere had combed Natalie’s hair to look more neat. There wasn’t much they could do about Natalie’s outfit now, so Guinevere worked on the only things she could. They were interrupted when Guinevere asked to take another pit stop at a public restroom. Guinevere didn’t say why, but pattern recognition meant Natalie could probably guess. They stopped in front of the door to Bobby’s apartment. It had a great view of White Forest from its position in the complex. The complex itself had so far been remarkably clean and its staff was friendly. That only further convinced Guinevere of the high price of the apartment. She gestured for Natalie to knock on the door. After a moment of the woman knocking on the door, a wiry man appeared in the door-frame, eyes locked onto Natalie and Guinevere. "Yes? How many I help you?" The man asked with a hint of unease in his voice. Guinevere peered into the room. It seemed even more opulent inside than out. Not super rich, but the decor wasn’t exactly that of a poor man. A prison guard didn’t make that much money. "My name is Natalia Grants, and this is my partner Guinevere. I am an accountant for the company Leavanny Strauss, may we have a word?" Natalie asked, as she pushed up the glasses that she now wore. Guinevere pulled out her trusty whiteboard, and wrote a message on it. She would let Natalie start, but she wanted to be part of this conversation. [Pleased to meet you =D] The man eyed the two as he seemed to consider 'Natalia's words for a moment. "I see." His face seemed scrunched up in contemplation for a moment, but he then looked over the woman. "What are you doing around here, then, with little ol' Bobby Tables? I don't believe there's much of a countin' to be done here, seeing as I've not been with Leavanny Strauss for years now.." Natalie cleared her throat. "We're here to clear up some… irregularities that have cropped up." Natalie said with as much formal conviction as she could muster. "We were hoping you could aid us in this matter." Guinevere had become a master of the erasing-and-writing game as of late. [We got majorly scrambled during the attack on Celadon] [Any help you can give would help us a lot!] While they were speaking with Bobby, one Grimer was squeezing his way through the man’s pipes. It was even worse than the prison had been, the pipes were in better condition and Guinevere’s directions had been even worse. ‘Follow us?’ Doing that was an absolute nightmare. He stuck one of his eyes out of a hole, and noticed something odd. He was on the ceiling. Somebody put a water pipe that connected to the man’s ceiling. This would be the outright worst time for some fire Pokemon to gain its power back. Bobby looked around nervously for a moment. "Right, right…" He half-mumbled as he could not see any way around this at the moment. "Right this way. What would… you like to check on first?" The man asked, as if having to force himself to ask that. Guinevere was already writing as Bobby was talking. [We need to see your financial statements from the time of your employment.] Erase, erase, erase. Write, write, write. [And could you state the reason for your resignation?] "Ah, uh…" Bobby looked at the whiteboard with an uneasy look on his face. He seemed as if trying to recall what the reason was. "You see, Patrick's death was rather, ah, traumatizing. I simply couldn't stay there when a trusted co-worker had passed away." He looked between Natalie and Guinevere. "If you would stay here, I'll go get the statements you need." Natalie watched as Bobby vanished to a room further into the apartment. "I don't trust him at all. He's too shifty." Natalie whispered to Guinevere as she crossed her arms while waiting. Guinevere had to agree. He claimed trauma, but was working in a high stress environment. She somewhat doubted that he was gonna be totally honest with what he showed them. But that’s why you send a spy. Bobby locked the door behind himself as he let out a long sigh. "Why would they send people after me…? Wasn't that betrayal of trust enough? What are they even trying to do…?" The man muttered darkly under his breath. He shook his head. "Doesn't matter, Bobby, doesn't matter. You've got this, this is an easy fix, just as they told me to do if anyone else went after me." With a nervous chuckle to himself, the wiry man walked over to the safe where he kept his financial records. The safe wasn't too fancy at all, but the contents were rather out of the ordinary. As he picked up one set of files, he looked over to a second set that looked visually similar, outside of a small X in the top right corner of the manilla envelope. "Don't worry, they won't ever find you." Bobby said as he close over the safe door for a moment, not bothering to lock it while he still needed to return the files that were in his hands once he was finished with them. With a reinvigorated energy, the man began to walk back out of the room to head back to where Guinevere and Natalie were, humming a small song quietly as he did so. All the while unaware of the eye that had followed him around the room. The Grimer popped out of the ceiling. The poor idiot really should’ve locked it anyway. Not that it would have stopped him from getting that safe open. He saw how the man opened it. And if he couldn’t open it well, he’d just have to slip in anyway. Thanks for telling me exactly what I needed to know, he thought as he took the papers from the safe. "I'm ever so sorry for the delay." Bobby said as he returned with an overly sweet smile on his face. Natalie felt like it was the sort of smile a Rattata would give, though could not think of a fitting scenario for when that would happen. The woman was pulled out of her thoughts regarding that as the man began to hold out the papers to her. "You will look over them and then leave, no?" Guinevere took the papers from from Bobby before Natalie had a chance to. The speed that Guinevere took them, might’ve been called snatching. [Yup we just need to] She paused in her writing, and began to double over slightly. The Gardevoir looked up with an embarrassed expression, with but the briefest glance behind Bobby. [Excuse me, could I use your bathroom?] Bobby couldn't help but grimace. "Yeah, sure, whatever, right down the hall to the left. Just don't take too long, y'hear?" Guinevere nodded with a smile, and hobbled over to the restroom. True to her nod, she wasn’t in there that long. A minute at most. She definitely seemed like she was in a better mood. She hopped over to a chair and sat in it. She wrote a message quickly asking permission to use it. [Hope you don’t mind.] Though she really didn’t care for what he would have responded. She began to look over the information in her arms, making a show of how much she was focusing on the words. Guinevere nodded as she read through the documents that were in her hand. She read at a slower pace than she needed to, letting Bobby stew there for a bit. When she got to the end of the first page, she seemed like she was going to move on to the next, her fingers on in prime position to change pages. But then she put the papers down and wrote again. [it must be tough to be on house arrest.] "Pah." Bobby tapped his fingers against his now-folded arms. "I was framed. Framed I tell you. I don't have a clue why someone would go after me, but they -did-. 'Course, it feels like no-one believes me." [Of course you didn’t You’ll be fine.] Guinevere worded her reply to not be convincing, despite the fact that she honestly believed him. Just because she believed him, didn’t mean she wanted him to believe her. The Gardevoir began reading through the documents much more quickly. She seemed to only be skimming through a few of the pages, until she got to a certain page. She covered her mouth as she read the page at a more deliberate pace. She had to hide her smile. [That’s strange. These pages don’t match.] Bobby was about to reply with a bitter tone about her not believing him, but paused when he saw the second reply. "Wh-what? What do you mean?" The man asked with a wary look on his face and a shocked tone to his voice. Natalie glanced over as well, trying to show her curiosity to Guinevere over what she had found - but hid it from the shocked man standing near her. "The pages don't match? Do elaborate." [You got a few pages that show your finances over the same period.] [but the numbers on these pages don’t match.] [According to this version you had a number of debts.] [Debts that disappeared right before you moved.] "Wh-wh-wh-what?" Bobby's eyes subtly widened as he glanced at the papers. He didn't dare move in case it gave anything away, but he didn't feel it could have been possible. Guinevere smiled. She meant for it to be slightly reassuring, but she felt like a predator closing in on her prey. [i don’t think it’ll be a problem.] [I just need you to answer some questions.] [From around the time you moved.] "O-of course!" Bobby said all too enthusiastically as he smiled more confidently. "Go ahead, then." Guinevere thought about what to ask him. They needed information on their culprit. A culprit they had vague clues on, but no hard evidence on. Well, best to keep focus. They had gotten permission to ask details about the time of Patrick’s death. May as confirm some details. Time for the real battle of wits to begin. [What were you doing at Patrick’s house the night of his death?] Bobby visibly bristled at the choice of words. "Are you accusing me?" The guard asked all too quickly as he seemed on edge about the subject. "I had nothin' to do with that, nothin' at all, ya hear?" When neither the Gardevoir nor Natalie actually reacted to the defensiveness, the man calmed down slightly. "Alright, if you really need to know, I was checking up on my friend and co-worker at the time. He'd invited me over for the big game that night, but then just stopped responding to my messages in the afternoon. I wanted to make sure he was alright." A coincidence then? Guinevere thought. She didn’t believe his words, considering his earlier defensiveness, but she would remember them. [How close were you to Patrick?] "We were pretty close, you know. Drinks at the pub every night, that sorta thing." Bobby said with a wave of his hand. He watched as Natalie crossed her arms slightly and realized she believed him about as much as Guin did. "... alright, alright, so maybe we were more like acquaintances." Guinevere just nodded. He didn’t have much reason to lie about that per se. But it made his earlier claim more suspicious. [Why did you leave Celadon after Patrick’s death?] "It was traumatic, you know? It's not every day that you go to visit a pal and you see their bloody house up in blazes. I figured the least that could be done to honour the guy's memory would be to try and help keep things safe here. Plus, I'd saved up enough to move here beforehand, so it was just a matter of time." Bobby shrugged, though Natalie kept a close eye on him. Something didn't feel like it fit well, but she opted to keep quiet for the moment in case Guin had an idea there. The Gardevoir’s smile fell. She made slow deliberate strokes with her marker. She held up the documents that proved the man’s financial troubles and turned the board around. [Do not lie to me.] Bobby's face contorted in a mixture of fear and desperation as he fell quiet for a moment or two. He tapped his finger against his leg as he glanced around the room, something that Natalie decided to keep an eye on. "I was gonna get a bonus, you see? I did loads for… for the company, and they were gonna pay that back big time." Natalie shook her head as she frowned at the man. "No you weren't. That was never in the plans at all." "Grk…" Bobby shifted uncomfortably in his chair. "... more like a gift…" The man quietly mumbled, an awkward look on his face at the constant scrutiny. Guin was proud of Natalie for that one. She’d love to praise her for it, but what Bobby just said was quite revealing. [Let me get this straight] [You were at the house of a man you barely knew the night he died.] [Soon after he died you came into a significant amount of money] [It just seems like you seem to benefit from his death.] Bobby grew increasingly agitated as the messages on the whiteboard were written. He stood up, hands clenched. "Are you accusing me?!" He yelled as he glanced between Guin and Natalie. After a couple seconds, he turned around and bolted toward the door, but then stopped as an oddly coloured Grimer blocked the way. "That isn't such a good idea, Mr. Tables. Running could very much land you in trouble with the people who have you under house arrest." Natalie said with a slight cough to get the man's attention. "Why don't you sit down?" The wiry man reluctantly listened as he walked back over to the couch and sat down with a small grumble. Guinevere was worried. They were so close, but if he turned violent, they might not be able to stop him from running away. She didn’t know what Pokemon he might have had, nor what combat strength Natalie had. She had to finish this quickly. [Where did you get the money for this apartment?] "Well, I had a side job you see, which uh…" Bobby trailed off as he saw Guinevere holding the papers in her hand. That was not a thing he had accounted for. With a slightly frustrated noise, he put his head down. "I made a deal with someone high up in Leavanny Strauss. Didn't catch her name, don't care to try to remember even if I did, but that's how that happened." There. That was something she’d been waiting to hear. Guinevere just needed one more push. [Why were you framed?] "How should I know?!" Bobby looked like he was about to flip the table as it seemed as if a sore spot had been hit. Natalie subtly moved back in her seat, not exactly trusting that the table wouldn't still go flying sometime in the near future. Nonetheless, they waited until Bobby calmed down a bit more. He still looked frustrated, however. "I don't have a flipping clue who would want to frame me. I've been trying to figure this out for the past week, you know? But I can't think of anyone." Guinevere had an inkling. She had no proof of this, there was every possibility that she was wrong. But it made sense to her, and more importantly, she knew he would buy it. [You took money from someone at Leavanny Strauss.] [That someone now considers you] [a loose end.] Bobby paled visibly as the gears turned in his head as well. "A loose end…" He repeated, as he started to shake ever so slightly. [What was the deal?] "I- I don't think that's something accountants need to know." Bobby seemed to buckle down once again, but his guard appeared to be broken now, as he still seemed shaken over the realization. Guinevere paused for a moment. If this was a chess match, the game was over the moment he admitted to making a deal. Now it was finally mate in one. [You were framed for a murder over this.] [Do you really believe that’s the end?] Bobby fell silent at the mention of that. "I- I…" The man began to tremble again. "You're right. What do I do?! I don't… this isn't what I signed up for at all, you know?!" Guinevere did feel pity for the man, but they needed what he knew. They could work on his situation once they had what they needed. [What was the deal?] Bobby bit his lip for a moment. "I was approached and paid to be a witness to Patrick's death." He glanced around nervously. "If this gets out at all, I'm a dead man." [is Patrick still alive?] "... Yes." Guinevere leaned back. Ooh boy.

IC: Jamie Arthur - Route 5 Sooo... are you more a special attacker or a physical? Pelleas asked Lillina. Pelleas had gotten most of the frubbles off himself, but at this point Bedevere was covering most of the Frogadier's body. There wasn't exactly much he or Lillina could do. Any attacks were more likely just going to hit the Cloyster, leaving the Frogadier basically unharmed. So the Heracross tried to make small talk while waiting for orders. Jamie, for her part, was getting kind of impatient. Most of the other fights had wrapped up already. She wanted to give Bedevere some exercise, but this was taking too long. The same song and dance routine had been going on since Bedevere first clamped on. The Frogadier would thrash around, try to get the Cloyster off but Bedevere would slowly gain more ground. She wanted to send Pelleas at the Scrafty. But with the amount of combatants already fighting it, she was worried sending Pelleas over would disrupt their cohesion. So Jamie would have to wait. Bedevere's full weight was brought to bear on the Frogadier. The clamping was more of a bonus at this point.

IC: Lohe Mahina/Richard Apollo - Inner Cell Block Hades tried to warn Richard before Blackskull saw them, but failed. Richard froze as he heard Blackskull's voice. Anyone not of his rank would be better than the top brass. The gears in Richard's heads were turning. Sadly, his mouth was already talking. "I'm doing an interview," he said, starting again on his strategy of 'use technical truths'. "I'm from the archives department." Lohe could hear the subtle uncertainty in his voice, that belied the false confidence on Richard's face. Whether or not the boy's words were false or not, Lohe knew he was lying in spirit. Chances he was supposed to be here? Zero percent. Lohe had to hand it to him though, this was pretty far in. The boy made it as far as he did. Maybe he'd have to ask how he infiltrated so far. "Well, now we are," Lohe said. "Riiight," Richard casually packing up, dumping what he could onto the Sableye by him. "Well, don't mind me. I was just wrapping up," he said, trying to start walking in the other direction.

IC: James Arthur - En Route to Aether Paradise The waves felt extra bouncy today. James was waiting inside the ship while Lancelot was on the deck (or perhaps beside it. We’ll talk about that in a bit). The representative the Aether Foundation had sent was doing his best to tend to James and Lancelot. James was thinking about his strategy for the upcoming meeting. He hadn’t had the best luck with places called Paradise. In today’s defense, unless a Machamp Thunderpunches him, it couldn’t end up worse than how the first time he’d been to a place called Paradise. And if it did, he’s hiring that Machamp, they need all the help they can get. Lancelot, on the other hand, was catch and release fishing. He was hanging off the side of the boat, using his wings to keep himself stable. Between the fast vibrations of his wing, and holding onto the bumping boat without breaking it, it was actually pretty good training. Pretty nice to have a practical benefit to hurting fish. There was a Finneon in his clutches that clearly wanted to get back in the water. James eventually got fed up and came up the deck. There were really wasn’t anything he could do to prepare that he hadn’t already done. He saw Lancelot hanging off the edge. The Scizor seemed to be enjoying himself. “Having fun down there?” James asked leaning over the edge. Lancelot decided to release the Finneon after a moment of letting it struggle in his pincer. He climbed back aboard to see what James wanted to talk about. “I thought to mention,” James started pulling out a disc from his coat pocket, “that I got a present for you. I had some ideas last night, about how to improve your fighting style. Our style. I think this move will compliment those ideas.” James returned Lancelot to his Ultra Ball so that he could apply the TM. After the process was finished, he sent Lancelot back out. “I cannot say I do not have any reservations about this, Superpower is a strong move to give up. Well, we will have to test it out soon,” James said with a slight bit of apprehension in his voice. Lancelot stretched his body. He thought about what he had just learned about his new move. The move was less crushing and personal than Superpower, but it harsh and would require his finesse to use to its full potential. He could see where James was going with this. “Well, that is all I had to say for now,” James said waving to Lancelot as he started to walk back inside. “You can get back to what you were doing.” Lancelot obliged, and retook his fishing position. The Aether representative walked by. He grimaced at the sight of Lance’s claws on the guard rail. If James didn’t pay for the damage if it broke, it would come out of his salary. He didn’t say anything though, he was told to make sure they were comfortable, and Lancelot clearly looked to be in his element. Lancelot was observing the waves. There was a small disturbance some ways ahead. He worked out the timing in his head. He shot his arm into the water, clutching a small fish right as the boat was passing it by. The fish was small, he could’ve crushed it with one hand. Lancelot’s glare caused the fish to start crying. The pathetic sound brought a crooked smile to Lancelot’s lips. What he didn’t expect was for light to start pouring out of the fish’s eyes instead of tears. The light caught the attention of the Aether representative, who turned to see what happened. He paled as he saw the fish in Lancelot’s clutches. “Throw it back, quick!” he shouted. Lancelot looked towards the man as if he’d grown a second head. Why let it go? Then it hit him. He knew what kind of fish this was. It had been a while since he’d seen one, but he remembered. But the realization dawned too late, already a multitude of shapes were converging on their location. “Oh no, no, no, why did you-” the representative was interrupted by a great shaking. Lancelot loosened his grip for but a moment, letting the fish into the water. The shapes began to coalesce into one. The shape rushed the boat, causing it to rock violently, and a wave of water to rush over the deck. “What is going on out there?” James called out from the door to the deck, really hoping they had just hit a rough patch. A really rough patch. “We’re being attacked by a school of Wishiwashi!”. The representative called back, his clothes soaked from the wave. James grimaced. “I will deal with it.” The representative didn’t feel comfortable letting the man he was responsible for escorting safely throw himself into danger. But James was already moving past him onto the deck, pulling out an Ultra Ball from his briefcase. James sent Gawain out onto the deck. Gawain took a look towards the enemy in the water. The Swampert dove over the edge of the ship, as Lancelot climbed back aboard. The large shifting form was unlike any opponent Gawain had seen in his life. He’d seen schools of fish before, but nothing like this. He swam towards the mass. The cohort of fish that made up the legion’s right arm swam in perfectly sync. Despite Gawain’s best efforts, he was repelled by the combined efforts of the right cohort. Gawain tried to grab some of the fish as he was launched back, but they swam out of his grasp, leaving him with only one hostage. And judging from the charging mass, that only served to enrage the legion. Right as the mass was about to collide with Gawain, a sword cut into the water, separating Gawain and the mass. The legion turned its attention to the Scizor that interrupted its attack. The Scizor was hovering right over the surface of the water. The legion threw its left flank at Lancelot. As it broke the surface, it slowed slightly, giving Lancelot a chance to dodge. He sliced through the flank, severing the flank from the body, for all the good that did. Some of the Wishiwashi were indeed knocked out by Lancelot’s attack, but the rest merely reformed its shape. The legion decided not to react to Lancelot directly. Instead it hit the ship again. The ship rocked, nearly flipping. James held onto the railing, barely holding on. James tried to focus on a strategy while the ship rocked. Normally when fighting an opponent like this, wide ranging special attacks, such as Discharge were ideal. He didn’t have that, per se. This would be an ideal opportunity to test out Lancelot’s new move. “How convenient,” James said with more than a hint of irony. He dropped an Ultra Ball carrying Galahad onto the ground. The Togekiss took stock of the situation and waited for James's orders. “The enemy lies just below the surface. I need you to distract it,” James said looking over the water. Galahad nodded and hovered over the water. Lancelot and Gawain were both dodging around the legion’s attacks. Galahad slammed into the face of the legion that was poking slightly out of the water. It had the desired effect, the legion’s attention turned to the Togekiss. Galahad deftly dodged torrents of water that the legion raised up. “Gawain, carry Lancelot into the center of the school while they are distracted. Lancelot, when you are in there, use your new move,” James called out. “Galahad, lead them closer to Gawain!” Lancelot landed in the water next to Gawain. The Swampert was watching the legion’s movements right beneath the surface. He watched as Galahad approached with the legion following close behind. Giving Lancelot just enough time to hold his breath, Gawain dove beneath the waves with the Scizor holding onto his back. The legion was too focused in a single direction. It didn’t see the Swampert and Scizor rise up into its belly. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect. Galahad rose at the last moment, causing the legion to rise near the surface. Lancelot eyes glinted. He brandished his incorporeal swords and turned them sideways. His gauntlet and blades became wreathed with the power of darkness. He span in a great arc, the blades acting like blunt fan blades, scooping great numbers of Wishiwashi with his swords. The pained cries of the small fish only encouraged Lancelot further, causing him to spin faster. When his spinning stopped, the legion had been completely dispersed. Those of the legion who had not been knocked out, tried to reform ranks, but found many of their cohort knocked out. Deciding further combat was not worth the cost, they dragged their allies away. They formed up enough to create a large tail, which they slapped at the ship as one last act of defiance, before swimming away for good. James was standing on the deck, right above where the Wishiwashi decided to splash. He saw the action coming, and quickly pulled out an umbrella from his briefcase. It was a decent sized umbrella, and it kept him mostly dry. Not entirely, he would need a bigger one in the future. He closed the umbrella, and twirled it until halting it as it faced straight down. The trio of Pokemon that had fought the legion climbed back aboard (or just flew over in Galahad’s case). James smiled at them. “Great work all of you. Lancelot, glad to see you are capable of using Brutal Swing. Gawain, Galahad, your positioning work was on point.” Gawain seemed happy with the praise, while Galahad seemed neutral about it. Lancelot on the other hand, was actually more concerned with the umbrella. James hadn’t brought that to Alola with him. It was new. “Oh, this? I thought I might need it. Tell me, how do you all feel about rain?” OOC: Lancelot: Superpower -> Brutal Swing.

IC: Jamie Arthur - Route 5 When the cross-scarred Frogadier tried to attack Pelleas, Jamie grinned. Even immobile and depowered, Pelleas was a mighty force in a physical battle. The Heracross readied himself for Jamie’s command. She had a plan that could be best described as ‘Volleyball with Bedevere as the ball and where you intentionally spike the ball at your opponent’s face.’ She opened her mouth to tell Bedevere to let go of the Frogadier. Then Lillina knocked the Frogadier away. Jamie’s lip wavered as she pouted. She wanted to be the one to hit the Frogadier. “Mrgrgr, don’t get in my way!” she yelled at the Lilligant. The Cloyster shook his head as he shrugged off the pain from the friendly fire. He was never the most bulky of his kind. He generally liked to hit hard and fast. Still, his shell did its job. He wasn’t getting knocked out from it at least. “Bedevere, climb higher!” Jamie yelled to the Cloyster. Using his shell, Cloyster pulled himself forward. Intent on using his heavy shell to simply weigh the Frogadier down, he climbed up the Frogadier to close his shell around her chest. There was a side effect to this plan of attack. It was unclear if she knew it, but because Bedevere was clamping on the Frogadier’s chest, he served as a sort of armor. He made it quite difficult for anyone that wasn’t himself to attack the Frogadier. Meaning, Lillina and Pelleas couldn’t really do much while Bedevere struggled with the Frogadier.

IC: Miriam Shields - Vermilion Rocket Branch Miriam, despite the situation, found herself smiling with glee. She sent a message asking that a half decent video camera be brought down there (and those reinforcements showing up any time would be nice). As soon as it had been sent, she used to her tablet to start recording the Tyranitar. It wouldn't be good footage in and of itself, but it might be useful to the crew she had hired. She vaguely heard the comments that Dack and Madison had made. She had to agree that staying in close quarters with an enemy they did not know the capabilities of was probably a very bad idea. She started backing up towards the door, while still keeping the camera on the fight. IC: Jamie Arthur - Route 5 Jamie knelt near Pelleas. He was stuck, and Jamie was having problems pulling the frubbles off. Pelleas tried flapping his wings to pull himself up, but the weight of Bedevere was quite counter-productive right now. The Heracross figured that he could probably remove the binding substance with his strength, but he was gonna need his arms for that. No other choice. Jamie and the Heracross nodded to each other. “Alright, this is your time to shine Bedevere!” he said calling to the Cloyster Pelleas was holding. Bedevere could feel himself moving back and forth. From Jamie’s words, he knew why. And he loved it. He began to chant, encouraging the Heracross to do it. With a great war buzz, Pelleas hurled the Cloyster at the cross scarred Frogadier. It had been so long since the Cloyster felt such fast movement that he couldn’t help but let out a cry of joy, as he sailed through the air, intending to clamp his shell on the frog.

IC: Jamie Arthur - Route 5 "Ranger?" Jamie muttered quietly. Yet another thing she wasn't very familiar with. She would've been a bit more concerned about it but, there was something more important at the moment. "I didn't know you wanted to become a ranger, Lucia. When was that?" IC: Miriam Shields - Vermilion Rocket Branch hatchery Miriam had let Ryan go first, by virtue of him having the Tyranitar. She got caught up in studying the specimen for a bit, but shook her head and regained her focus. There would be time for that later. What the others said was disconcerting. "Our reinforcements should be here soon," Miriam mentioned. "If we stay here, it's likely to attack again. But why was it targeting the hatchery?" She asked that last question without really expecting an answer.

IC: Mordred - James's office Mordred was living in his own filth when James was gone. It was a rare pleasure. Not living in his own filth, but making a mess of James's office. He could have ate food that was good for him, but he was interested in what humans ate. So each day, he went to the cafeteria and picked up a meal on 'Executive Arthur's behalf', because no one thought to tell them that James wasn't on the island. Well, that or they didn't care. Mordred would feel slightly cheated if that were true though. The Weavile was eating a piece of cake when he heard a knock on the door. The cake wasn't agreeing with him, but it did taste good. It was quite a quandary. Sadly, he'd have to resolve it after seeing what the deal with the knocker was. He looked through the peephole in the door to see who was out front. It was that guy from earlier. The one he visited Vert with. May as well see what he wanted. He opened the door just enough to poke half of his slender body out. He looked at Xander, waiting to hear what he wanted. IC: Jamie Arthur - Route 5 The day seemed just fine by Jamie's standards. She decided to keep Pelleas out of his Poke Ball during the journey, but the Heracross had become bored. Pelleas wanted some exercise on the road, so Jamie was letting him use Bedevere as weight to carry the whole way. That arrangement was just fine by Pelleas. It was a bit less fine by the Cloyster. When she heard Lachina's question, she replied, "We're here on vacation. Don't mind us," before winking quite conspicuously to Lucia. -==IC: Evan Tierra/Jenny Hakuda/James Arthur/Kris -- Alola -- [5]==- After Kris’s lesson on Parrying had ended, she went on about her defensive lessons to the trainers. Evan paid attention, absorbing every detail on the maneuvers she described. When all was said and done, the man definitely saw a lot of holes in his team’s capabilities as a result. The Hero applauded the blue-haired woman. “Is there any more?” Evan asked, before a thought about James came to mind with the time. “Executive Arthur, what about your meeting?” James moved his sleeve slightly so he could check his watch. “It is starting to be around that time. I should head back to the beach.” “Um pardon me,” a voice suddenly piped in. A man dressed in a white jumpsuit and sporting a white suit walked closer to the group. “I didn’t want to interrupt your training, but he said Executive Arthur, right?” “Yes, that is me. Are you from the Aether Foundation?” he asked. The man nodded, “Yeah, I’m here to pick you up. The President is expecting you at Aether Paradise.” “Thank you, give me just a moment,” James said turning towards the others in the group. “Well, I hope you will forgive me leaving you, but I must be off.” Evan grinned at the Executive. “It’s fine. We’ll just ask figure out more about Z-Moves from Kris while you are away.” The man said, enthusiasm in his voice. “I’m certain she will help us out in that regard, especially after that workout.” "Z-Moves?" Kris turned to Evan with a raised eyebrow. "Did you hear about that from people around here?" Evan faced Kris, a smile on his face. “A representative of Alola told us about them……..after I started posing.” The Agent said, doing one of those poses after he finished that sentence. “If Lancelot was any indication, Moves will be coming back, and we want to be ready.” "Very interesting." Kris thought over what was said for a moment, then nodded. "What will you use them for? Z-Moves are a lot more dangerous than you might give them credit for. Imagine something like Earthquake. When powered up as a Z-Move, that could be ten times as devastating. Is it something that you're sure is right for you?" Evan’s smile faltered for a second, before he steeled himself once more. “I’ll use them to protect this world. I’m sure they can be destructive, but we have to do -something- about what’s going on.” "Protect the world…" The blue-haired woman fell silent for a moment. Jenny looked over with a curious look as she wondered if Kris would begin to talk again. After a moment, the older woman sighed. "You're talking about the things that the news have been saying is happening around Kanto, aren't you? Those things remind me of the beasts that invaded Alola five years ago..." Kris eyed up Evan with the same sort of look she had given Lancelot when she had connected the dots. "You aren't just a tourist, are you? You know this Executive, and wish to protect the world from aliens that appeared in another country. You also exude a power that… well, typically those tourists head to the Battle Tree. But here you are, inquiring about Z-Moves. Who are you, Evan Tierra?" Evan’s eyes glinted with energy as he began to pose. He knew the Aether Foundation Rep would think he was showboating if he did this, but Kris seemed more perceptive than that. “I am Evan Tierra, and I am a Hero! It is my job to help protect this world, and that’s where my power is focused on.” The man finished his pose, grinning at Kris. James was mulling over the mention of beasts that Kris mentioned as the Aether employee looked confused at Evan. “Do you know what he’s talking about?” the Aether employee asked as he began to lead the way towards the beach. “I am sure you will find out in the coming months,” James said as he followed the other man towards the beach.

IC: ???? A man labored over a map. He was in a dark room, pouring over the details. If the scarcity of light made it difficult for him to read it, he didn’t show it. He traced over a particular route again and again. He hand seemed to move back on forth on particular points. A sheathed knife lay on the map. He picked it up and unsheathed it. Each piece of equipment was vital to tomorrow. It seemed in perfect condition, as was everything. They had every advantage, but yet it still didn't feel like enough. His phone rang. Maybe the insolent child was finally reporting in. He got out the device and saw the message that was sent to him. A vein popped on the man’s head. A scowl crawled over his face. His hand began to shake. The phone started to crack. “That little punk…” he said tossing the phone aside. With a crack it slammed into the wall. He was gonna need a new phone after that. “He wouldn’t know good coffee if it bit him on the rear.” He flung open the door and rushed down to the boat that had been rented for him. His business could wait. His honor had been tarnished. IC: James Arthur - Akala Island James was tired. His eyes held bags. He didn’t sleep well and it was early in the morning. He had scoured the internet last night for recommendations, when it was clear he wasn’t going to sleep well. He would’ve sent Mordred ahead of him to scout the place, get a good feel for the scent, but the Weavile was still back on Four Island. So James had to find his way there himself. The payoff was worth it however, when he finally held the coffee in his hand. It was good coffee. Not the best he’s ever had, but better than what he could get at Four Island. Maybe he’d have to ask Blackskull where he got his coffee. The man across from him seemed pretty proud of it. “It’s a good blend. Drink it while it’s hot, but be sure to savor it.” James nodded and began to walk towards the door. It was a simple pleasure thought James as he was drinking the warm fluid. If only he could just leave and find the others, it would be a good morning. Better than he’s had in a while, despite the rough night’s sleep. If only. The door slammed open, and a man stepped inside the shop. The man was almost offensively well groomed. His long hair was pulled back, and he appeared overdressed. His clothes were a match for James’s own. But his face completely belied the look. His scrunched brow, the glare of his eyes. James decided he did not want to deal with this man. Fortunately, the man walked right past James, narrowly avoiding bumping into him. He spoke to the store owner for a moment, and then got a response that apparently, he didn’t like. “What do you mean you’re out?!” the man yelled at the store’s owner. “I sailed all the way from Ula’Ula island overnight to get here!” The owner crossed his arms. “Out means out. Zilcho, zero. We are out of stock. You’ll have to come back later. I had to use the last of that blend for his cup,” he said pointing at James. James really wished that he hadn’t been brought into the conversation. The man stormed right up to him. “Well I sure hope you enjoy that mug,” he said with the largest, fakest smile that James had ever seen. In his hurry to take his rage out on someone who may have incidentally deserved it for reasons that had nothing to with the coffee, his cravat shifted. Sticking out from under the cravat was a pendant cut in the shape of a crescent moon. James stared at it. He’d seen a similar pendant before, but couldn’t recall where. The man hastily covered it up again and stormed off. James stared after him. Where had he seen that pendant? IC: Jamie Arthur - Hotel Richissime Jamie processed Elaine's words for a while. She hadn't actually met anyone else named Jamie, but apparently Elaine's brother went by it? Or she just called him that? Something like that. Guess James didn't -just- change his own name slightly. Jamie had to admit, she became slightly worried about that at some point. Of course, she didn't mention any of that out loud. She kept those thoughts to herself.

IC: Guinevere/Natalie - Black City The duo headed off in the morning to where Bobby Tables was stated to live. Natalie and Guinevere felt like they had nearly gone out of the city by the time they reached the apartment. It looked like a rather nice apartment from the outside, though Natalie had to wonder how much of that was because of how close to White Forest it was. "Alright, what's our plan?" Natalie asked quietly, as she noticed an unmarked car that had someone sleeping in the driver's seat. If she had to guess, that was likely surveillance - but it looked like it might be non-visual surveillance. Guinevere had been pondering the whole way over about that. Well that, and how much it sucked to still have to use a crutch. She was somewhat surprised there was so little security. Not that she had knowledge of the average amount of security a man on house arrest would normally get. The biggest issue was why would Bobby want to talk to them. The Gardevoir pulled out the whiteboard. She leaned back on a wall to use for support so she could write. "According to the papers we found, that's right." Natalie replied as she glanced around the street. "I think that Plasma would have pretty up to date records of that sort of stuff if it's needed, so I think we can take that as fact." "Uhh." Natalie thought for a moment as she looked over the apartment again. "Way more than my waitress salary, that's for sure." "Hmm…" The woman considered that for a moment as well. "I don't really know how much guards make, but I'd guess so, yeah. That is pretty odd, isn't it…" Natalie trailed off as she looked at the apartment with a frown. "There could be a few reasons for that, but we'll have to go and find out what's up. But it definitely seems weird that Bobby would be able to live here on that kind of salary." Guinevere squeezed her chin slightly. It was strange but by itself wouldn’t guarantee that he’d talk to them. They also didn’t exactly look like police. The company angle had to have something they could use. Natalie considered that question for a moment. "A fair chunk. I've inherited her position, and she was teaching me how the company worked before…" She cut herself off with a deep breath before she could dwell on that again. "I learned enough to be able to have a pretty in depth knowledge, I think. I'll have to do a lot of studying when I get back, but…" . . . Well that was new. Guinevere had to pause for a bit to digest that information. She looked up and down at Natalie.

IC: Jamie Arthur - Hotel Richissime Jamie thought about it felt to be introduced as someone's girlfriend. She decided that she didn't really have any stronger feelings on the matter. So when Jared responded, her thoughts turned towards more pressing matters. "Pleased to meet you, we will be stalking your group for the duration of your mission," she said with a one-hundred percent straight face. It was the truth. After all, they were not a part of this group. So following the group around the region without official sanction qualified as stalking. She never stalked anyone before. It was technically un-hero, like a troublesome child. She had to admit though, it was almost a little exciting. Pelleas and Tristan were a wee bit nonplussed about how Jamie chose to introduce herself. Hopefully everyone else would take that as a joke. But not a funny one. Just one that would be acknowledged and forgotten about as quickly as it was said.

IC: Jamie Arthur/Lucia Zyther - Hotel Richissime Jamie and Lucia’s night had been spent peacefully enough. If you discounted all the time Jamie spent bouncing on the bed. They woke up the next morning and were preparing for the day. There were some problems in doing that. Namely, spacious as the room was, nobody expected the need for a Metagross to have vertical space over the dresser to help a girl do her nails while a Heracross was brushing her hair. That was rather inconsiderate of the architect. Such is life. "Tristan, Jamie, do you need any help?" Lucia asked, as she noticed that it looked like the Metagross was having trouble getting comfortable while he worked. "I could probably help out with that if you wanted…" Tristan was about to object, when he bumped his head on the ceiling for the umpteenth time. It wasn’t that it hurt, rather he was more worried that he was gonna break the ceiling and they most definitely did not have the money to fix it if Lionel got mad and demanded they pay their share. So he had to admit defeat and made way for Lucia to work, while the Heracross flashed him a sly grin. The grin only lasting long enough for Tristan to see it, a perfectly innocent sweet smile was on his face when either Jamie or Lucia looked at him, while he continued to brush Jamie’s hair. Honestly, they might be a bit too competitive on who’s the best dad. As Lucia worked on painting Jamie's nails, she occasionally stole a glance upward while she was moving to the next nail. "Um, say, just to ask so that I don't overstep anything; if anyone asks about us, or like, I have to introduce ourselves together or so… what should I say? Like… I mean, obviously your name for one, but sorta how I was introducing you as my best friend for a while and such. I'm just curious, like… I don't know how to phrase this, but do you want to be introduced as something different, something more, or…?" The redheaded healer left unsaid any further clarifications that she might have wanted at that moment. If Jamie needed anything, then she'd clarify when she was asked. Pelleas twitched slightly. So did Tristan, but Pelleas’s twitch was more important because he was currently brushing Jamie’s hair. “Ow, Pelleas,” Jamie said distracted from Lucia’s question by the sudden pulling of her hair. The bug buzzed an apology, while the Metagross behind him shot back a sly grin much like the one he had received. Jamie tried to get her head back on track about the question. “I don’t know what you call girls in our… situation. I guess girlfriend is what you call it? We have not exactly had the chance to actually date. But well…” How to phrase it. “If it makes it easier for you, I don’t mind you calling us girlfriends.” Lucia seemed a bit surprised at the response and looked down for a moment. She focused on putting the clear nail polish on another finger, in order to hide her face until it didn't feel warm anymore. "That… that would be nice, but I also don't want to make you feel uncomfortable or like anything's being rushed." After a moment she did look up with a smile to make sure Jamie didn't think her response had upset her. “I mean, I don’t know what else to call us. You feel closer than best friends, right?” Lucia nodded as she bit her lip and looked down to Jamie's hand again to continue that while she talked. “Then I don’t mind you calling us that. Unless you had another suggestion.” Lucia thought it over, but then shook her head. "I don't really have anything else in mind that would really make sense…" She felt like there was something else that should be said, but nothing came to mind. "Uh, so how did you like the gym battle and dinner yesterday?" Pelleas could feel the deep breath that Jamie was taking to go into minute details about things they all already knew about. He tapped her shoulder and pointed to a clock in the mirror. “Okay fine. It was really, really cool. I won my first gym battle ever. -We- won. I don’t think anyone can beat the two of us,” she said, the brightness of her smile causing a glare in the mirror. Lucia smiled as she looked up, finally done with painting Jamie's nails, although she still held onto her hand. "That actually brings up something… can you help teach me how to get stronger?" “Huh? I mean okay?” Jamie said thinking about how she could do that. “I don’t think I have any particular secrets, but I wouldn’t mind helping. You seemed plenty strong to me. Gothara took out that Luxray after all.” "I mean, you softened the Luxray up." Lucia said with a small smile. "I feel like there's more I could do, though. I feel like something's… missing somehow." She closed her eyes. "Maybe one of these gym challenges or so could like… I don't know, act as a training session or date?" “Yeah, that sounds like a great idea,” she said nodding. “Double battling against the entire league sounds like a great idea for a date to me,” she said as Pelleas finished her hair. Now ready to face the day, she stood up. “Now let’s get food, we can’t save the world and beat the Kalos league on an empty stomach!” With a nod, Lucia stood up as well, then the two began to head down to the dining area.