Metal Gear Minun

IC: James Arthur - Executive Suite James sat at his desk waiting silently. Lancelot waited at one corner of the room. The mood had sank, and the rest of his Pokemon had left. At last, his expected guest arrived. "Ah, Lafoyae Belrose," James said as the assassin entered the room. His tone wasn't exactly unfriendly, but there was little warmth in it. "Before we can get to the point, I have to ask you to sign this," he said gesturing to a piece of paper sitting on his desk.

IC: Guinevere - Celadon Mansion How to answer that. Literally, how. She couldn't speak human languages, she couldn't use telepathy right now. She'd need to sit down to write. She had been allowed to keep the whiteboard in case the police needed to ask her more questions. She found a chair and hobbled over to it with her crutch, and sat down. She held up the whiteboard after writing one word on it. She wasn't entirely happy about being discovered in the bedroom. She'd have to bluff her way out, lest her investigation be discovered. On the other hand, she might need a human right now to help her look into her latest lead. She might as well figure out if this woman knew anything at least. She erased her name and wrote a question on the whiteboard.

IC: Lohe Mahina - Four Island Jenny’s blood had tasted off, Lohe thought as he lay on top of his bed. He wondered if he would have to feed sooner because of that fact. He’d need to establish a better system of finding meals. Maybe he’d take a trip to the hospital again later to speak with whoever was in charge of their blood bank. But that could wait. Falling asleep was his priority right then. He had just laid down to rest when his phone rang. Lohe didn’t check to see who it was, but just answered. “Hello?“ he said, his tone brimming with disinterest. “It’s me.” That voice was unmistakable. He’d recognized that smug voice anywhere. “What do you want?” Lohe asked leaning up slightly. “I’m just calling to make sure you weren’t slacking off again,” the voice said. “Also, we’d like a status report if you can be so bothered.” Lohe pulled himself up and stretched his neck slightly. “Oh gee, I’d love to write you a ten page essay about how many new friends I made today.” The voice was silent. He wasn’t taking the bait today. The two sat there until Lohe sighed and gave a serious answer. “I learned the cause of the predicament. Still gonna have to ask some more people about it. I’ll ask people about it tonight,” Lohe said. “I see,” the voice said before pausing. “Have you seen the news lately?” “Not really,” Lohe said. “Three Pokemon were spotted using moves on One Island.” Lohe narrowed his eyes at the voice’s words. “It means Pokemon power is coming back soon,” the voice continued. Lohe grumbled for a moment. That meant their employers expected results soon. “Yeah, yeah, keep your pants on. I’ll get them what they want.” Lohe swore he could hear the fake smile growing on the other man’s face. “Glad to hear it. Well, do whatever it is that you do. I’m sure you have a lot of being useless to get to.” Lohe hung up on him. He knew that somebody was gonna be assigned to keep after him. Did they have to pick him though? He needed a nap even more now.

IC: Jamie Arthur - Four Island "Eh... Just eh. I guess," Jamie releasing Lucia. "Let's just get ready to go." IC: Guinevere - Celadon Mansion Guinevere sat at a desktop computer pondering the password. When she had her psychic powers, reading passwords from people's minds was an occasionally useful tool in gaining illegal access to their machines. Of course, that required the target of the hacking to be alive. At least a ghost, maybe. She was not herself capable of bypassing the password. And asking the only person she knew who did was... difficult. Both on an emotional level and that it required spiriting someone's smartphone away. She'd have to text him due to not being able to speak his language. Thinking about him made her lose track of time. She should have given up at some point, and continued searching the bedroom for clues. She turned her attention to a frame on the desk and absentmindedly picked it up. It contained six people in the picture it held. Two of them she barely recognized. Stacy and Cassie, appearing much younger than she knew them. On further examination of the frame, Guinevere noticed that the picture was loose. Out of curiosity, she plucked the picture from the frame. She examined the backside of the frame and noticed names on the back. Presumably of the people in the picture. "Gerald, Cassie, Stacy, Christina, Alana, Patrick" it read. Gerald. She had seen that name recently. It hit her like a ton of bricks. The list of names she had seen during her investigation of the crime scene. The bottom name on the page that said victims. Gerald Hikari. Regardless of which of the two sisters wrote that document, the victim in this crime was linked to a victim on that page. She'd need to look into Gerald Hikari. She didn't technically even know if he was murdered. But if he was, then there was the possibility that the cases shared the same killer. She decided that it was too early to decide that with a shake of her head. All she had was a photograph that shared a name with a piece of paper. But it was still a new lead.

IC: James Arthur/Richard Apollo - Executive Suite James had just sat down when his door opened again. Richard stepped through the door catching James’s attention. "Agent… Apollo, was it? Can this wait, I have other appointments I need to-" "Hey boss man,” Richard started with a smile that could only be described as ‘too big’ and giving James far too little personal space. “So I’ve been thinking. I went around and made that huge distraction. And you know that was really hard. I had to get like fifty people on my tail for you. And they were chasing for half the day. Do you know how exhausting it is to let a security force chase you all day? On National television? Holding a violin. At least I think it was national television. I didn’t watch on TV, but someone giggled when they saw me when I returned so I think that they had watched. And then I had to sit through questioning about how apparently it’s illegal to use Confuse Ray on the line, the media, and owner of that merchandise stand, I mean that stuff is incredibly overpriced. Can you believe what they were charging for a t-shirt? Who even makes t-shirts for events like that. Not that I can blame them, I certainly had fun but why where there shirts made specifically for that event? It’s a conspiracy I tell ya. I tried offering the shirts to the guys questioning me, but that just made them angrier. I know they were bad shirts but they didn’t have to take all off them. Hades then made a joke that I should be arrested, but the police didn’t understand him. Actually nobody seems to understand Hades, heck I barely understand Hades. He has weird verbiage. But I know he was joking, because if I was gone, he’d lose my company, and he loves my company. And besides if I went to jail, he should go to jail too. I mean I only ordered the mass confusion, he carried it out! That was effective though, you gotta admit. I think it speaks to my quick thinking and ability to come up with something new on the spot. It helps me out occasionally. Not as much as my musical ability, but it’s a pretty close second. Third has got to be running though. It’s really worth a lot in and of itself. Otherwise I would’ve been caught sooner and if I got caught sooner, you would’ve been caught, and then Pierce would’ve won and we’d be screwed politically, and probably by M0 even more than we already are.” James was almost horrified at this man’s ability to just keep talking. He tried to raise his voice, but found his words drowned out by Richard’s incessant rambling. “And then there was that time that I went with y’all to Three Island. I murdered a bunch of monsters with song and dance. Do you know how hard it is to do a full song and dance routine, unrehearsed, no direction given, on the beach, no cues, no retakes, no sympathy, no nothing. I bared my heart out on that island anyway for that great performance, and who notices. Nobody, nobody notices because they’re all ‘fighting for their lives’ and whatever. Now I can get the feeling that death sucks, but come on, that’s a prime show. People pay millions to go to fancy operas, and here I was doing that all for free. And that’s not even getting into all those monsters I slayed. With song. Using the water type suit, because you took the normal type suit, which fine, that move I used was awesome. But I killed all those things with song. Except that freaking last one who I had to improvise for because he cheated. Like seriously, Torment is such a cheap tactic. Not that I’m above cheap tactics, but why would anyone ruin the music? That’s the real crime M0 is committing, ruining the fun, ruining the music. But I improvised, I found a way to make that work. Because the show must always go on. You can’t let the audience down. Now in this case, I was murdering my audience, but that’s besides the point. Whether you’re making them smile, or killing them, you can’t let them go away disappointed. And gosh darn it, I didn’t. I gave them the best show they could ask for. Not that they could ask for anything else, because they’re dead. And then I had to run again. Which brings us back to the topic of how much running away has helped me. Even you gotta admit my ability to run away is an incomparable asset for us. So in the end I beat up all those monsters with the power of music and then ran away again. And I did it all for our cause and all that. I returned here victorious after the greatest performance of my life. I survived stuff no one had any right to with a unique fighting style and saved the day.” Richard smiled for the briefest pause. "And then it hit me, I’m a war hero now. And war heroes get perks!” Richard finally took a breath. Lancelot and the others were laughing. During the speech at some point, James tried to get Lancelot to intervene but the Scizor feigned ignorance and let him suffer a little. James used the brief moment of respite to try and get a word in edgewise. “You want a-” “Can I get a transfer to the Archives department?” Richard finally paused. James looked quizzically at Richard. It was a rather inglorious position. He didn’t expect that request. What he did know, was that he was being played like a violin here. That bothered him, but not as much as Richard presently did. And the Archives department was out of his way for the time being. "You know what, fine. That is a reasonable request,” he said as the ache in his head began to die down. James hastily scrawled together a profile and email and sent them Executive Samir. “Great, thanks boss man,” Richard said almost skipping as he exited the door. James sighed as he packed his things together, ignoring the chuckling of his Pokemon who had seen James get exasperated in dealing with the bard. “I am not dealing with him today,” James said. “I have enough on my plate as is,” he muttered while typing a message on his phone. IC: Claus Diamond/Richard Apollo - Four Island Hades was waiting outside of James’s office with Claus. Richard had run ahead of them. Hades was silently taking pity on the poor man who Richard had went to meet with. Richard came out with a thumbs up. “You know you didn’t have to do that,” Claus started when he saw the other agent, “I could get the info myself.” Richard shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, don’t get me wrong. I wanted that transfer. I found out about some of their duties. I got a pitch for ‘em,” he walked past Claus who started following. “Helping you is just bonus.” Claus smiled and nodded, “Thanks Richard.”

IC: Jamie Arthur - Alamo Target spotted. Lucia had her back turned. Time for a tackle hug. Wait, we're like girlfriends now, right? Jamie realized. Do girlfriends tackle hug each other? She pondered the conundrum for a moment before deciding that nah, tackle hug had to be the way to go. "Lucia!" she yelled throwing herself at the other girl.

IC: Jamie - Four Island Jamie took the shard from Evan and began to stare silently into it. It was beautiful. It was perfect. "Proof... of a hero," she said almost in a trance. Jamie held the Adamant Shard close to her heart. "I'll take good care of it," she said quietly, almost with a whisper. "I got to go find Lucia. We're about to leave soon actually," Jamie said with an apologetic look. "I'll see you first thing when we get back," Jamie said, beaming, before hurrying off to find Lucia.

IC: James/Jamie - Executive Suite Mordred watched his trainer while having Agravain feed him berries. It was fun to watch him squirm a bit. The awkward feeling in the room was palpable. Neither Arthur looked in the other in the face. And that made for great entertainment for the Weavile. Jamie had told her story about becoming the Hero of Time to James. He would’ve called her delusional had he not seen her power for himself. That didn’t make it easier to swallow, however. The legendary Pokemon of time granting Jamie abilities beyond human understanding? She was still in his eyes, a child. He knew she had proven capable of handling herself in both Celadon and Havoc, even when he lost focus when Guinevere was injured. But it still ached him to know Jamie was planning to keep fighting on the front lines. And even worse, his brain told James the benefit it would bring to everyone if she did. Several times, he opened his mouth prepared to make some protest, but shut it again as cold logic shut him down. Mordred handed a berry to Lancelot who had joined the two in watching the uncomfortable expression on James’s face. Every twitch and frown was worth popping another berry. Jamie, for her part, didn’t exactly feel like she owed James an explanation for her powers. Mr. Dialga chose her, which meant that she was chosen by the master of time to bring peace to the world. The conversation was put on hold as James typed a message to Evan Tierra. She told him that he was the one training her. He would have to speak to him if that was the case. “Well I have sent him a message. If you are going to use your powers to fight, I would see you trained.” “Like I needed you to tell me that,” Jamie said with her arms crossed. “Well it is not gonna matter much, I’m going to Kalos for a while.” James leaned back slightly, his eyes slightly raised. “That is new. Why are you going?” “Lucia and I are going to enjoy the apple-y summer,” Jamie, unable to keep a small smile on her face. James raised an eyebrow. That didn’t sound like natural language, even for Jamie. “Why phrase it like that?” James asked. Jamie scratched her head. Did she same something wrong? Lucia reacted oddly when she mentioned that to her. “That’s just how her mom put it. She said ‘it’s going to be a nice and apple-y warm summer in Kalos’. And then when I told Lucia, she said we should go.” James sat back. That -had- to be a coded message. He fiddled with a pen that was laying on top of his desk. On one hand, the fact that she used a coded message suggested the possibility that Lucia was in danger. On the other hand, that person felt that Kalos would be a safe place for Lucia. And it did serve the purpose of keeping Jamie away from the frontlines. “I see. Well enjoy your time in Kalos then,” James said, putting the pen down. That was surprising. Not objection, nothing? “That’s it? No, ‘I have to train’ or anything?” “I said if you intended to fight I would have you train. You have done plenty to help. You deserve a vacation,” James said with an earnest smile. Jamie broke eye contact with James. “Don’t think some nice words are gonna make everything better.” The room fell silent for a moment while Jamie waited for James to respond. After moments of silence, she turned and exited the door with a pout. James sighed as he watched her go. “I am aware of that,” he said a moment too late.

IC: Lohe Mahina - Four Island Lohe waited with a cart right outside the door to Jenny's hospital room. He scratched his head as he mulled over his conundrum. He had a cart of food that his instincts told him to serve right away. Most of it, he wasn't sure how much it would affect the taste if a bit of time passed. After all, the food he had ordered. But the coffee. The coffee he made himself. And that wasn't something you let wait. But there was a moment going on in there from what he could he hear. A big one at that. Couldn't just interrupt that either. He mulled about in impatience, listening to the conversation, until it finally hit a lull. In the good name of coffee, he could wait no longer. He knocked on the door and said "Room service."

IC: Guinevere - Celadon mansion Guinevere followed one of the police officers out of the parlor. She was the last witness to be interrogated. She had gotten Whitby’s story. When he had finished telling it, she knew that Cassie would become the police’s prime suspect. She had a choice to make. The ‘correct’ thing to do here was to cooperate with the police and tell them everything she knew. However, something felt off. The entire time she had stayed there, she hadn’t witnessed any conflict between the two sisters. It was possible that conflict would have happened behind closed doors, but she felt she would have caught stray thoughts at some point. It wasn’t impossible that she missed them either, but she still could figure out a motive. The officer in front of her asked for Guin’s statement. She continued to ponder what to say, tapping the butt of her marker against her chin, when remembered something she learned from James. She began to write down most of her actions the night before. Writing a sentence or two to show the officer, before erasing the words to make room for more. She told them about hearing the scream, checking the body for a pulse, seeing the broken glass. She did leave out the details of her own investigation however. When she had finished her story, she placed the board and marker down to signal she was finished. The only other thing she had not yet told them was about the car that had driven away. “Can you recall anything else relevant?” the police officer asked her. She remembered the lesson James taught her when he first contacted Team Liberty to leak info to them. [i cannot recall.] Hedge your bets.

IC: Ryan Hikari's Pokégear Ryan's Pokégear beeped, indicating it had received a message. The message read:

-==IC: Nani/Mu==- <"That's . . ."> Despite herself, Nani found herself impressed. The sheer tenacity . . . <"I don't think I could ever challenge our guardian deity. My family -- we owe him so much."> She stared down at her paws, lost in thought. <"You know, Tapu Koko was the first champion of Clawmark Hill. Legend says that once he got bored with his never-ending victories he passed on the mantle to the first two Lycanroc, the only Pokémon who'd stood up to more than a single attack. My sister and I are their long-distant descendants."> The Rattata shook his head slightly. <”I would not be concerned. A challenge is as good as a prayer to Tapu Koko. But such a legacy can indeed be a heavy burden to bear.”> <"More than you know . . ."> A rhythmic tapping sound accompanied by a gentle jingling marked the arrival of the other island representatives, its source the female Hakamo-o at the head of the procession. Mitama tapped her staff idly against the ground as she looked up at the stars. <“The time is drawing close. Somebody should greet our guests.”> Nani was suddenly all business. <"How many do we have?"> The dragon-type shrugged softly. <”Somewhere between twenty and forty, I am not sure the exact number.”> That caught Mu’s attention. <”Quite impressive. Our team had difficulties in finding willing participants.”> <"Well . . . we . . . may have cut some corners . . ."> The Wimpod representing Ula’ula, suddenly realizing the scrutiny he’d drawn upon himself, dove behind Mitama in fear. Nani's fur bristled. <". . . are you saying you have invited those bound to humans to join our rite?"> <"Oh, lighten up."> The voice, from the back of the pack, came from Fini. <"Humans aren't the worst thing in the world, you know."> Nani's eyes narrowed, the Rockruff baring her fangs at her counterpart. <"Humans care not for what is sacred to us. Humans take whatever they want, discarding their scraps for the rest of the world to fight over. Humans are no doubt the reason we’re powerless in the first place!"> Fini scowled at the older Rockruff. <"You don't know that."> <"No. But who else could it be?"> The Wimpod, emboldened by his position behind Mitama and her thick, clanging scales, spoke up in challenge. <"I mean . . . that . . . uh . . . doesn't really seem fair? To the humans?"> <"Enough,”> Mu interjected. <”We have our participants. Let us prepare for their arrival."> With Mu’s proclamation, the Alolan Pokémon set to work, clearing debris and even moving a few small boulders in preparation for the night’s gathering. With the tasks suitably divided -- and her assistance apparently unwanted, judging by the looks the Wimpod kept giving her -- Nani was left with nothing to do but resume her earlier pacing. Lost in her thoughts once more, it took several minutes before the Melemele representative noticed Fini staring at her from nearby. <"What do you want?"> Nani asked, perhaps a bit more harshly than she’d initially intended. <"You know what your problem is, Nani? You're way too serious. Sit back. Relax. Stop worrying about stuff you can't do anything about, and just take the time to enjoy life. We've got more than enough for it."> <"Yeah, well maybe if you had some actual responsibilities you wouldn't be so . . . lax about everything."> Fini shrugged. <"I do. I've just figured out that obsession's a losing strategy. Have a nice walk.">

IC: Mu - Mt. Payat After our... acquaintance from Ula'Ula and I fell from the ship, I clung to driftwood for survival. Between the waves, the cold and the more than one predator from the sea and the sky taking swipes at me, I rated my chances of surviving pretty low. But I kept myself afloat. The current would take me to land if I just held on. I held on to that belief and kept myself above water. True to my belief, I found myself washed ashore near some sewers in some city in Kanto. Much to my surprise, our acquaintance had reached there first. And he wasn't alone. There was a gang of Grimer, there. A young group of some potential. Any discipline in that group is maintained solely by the strength of their leader, but the seeds were there. I was brought before said leader because I was trespassing on his territory, and because our acquaintance had sought their protection. Fortunately their leader was in a good mood. Apparently his daughter was visiting from out of town and he was feeling magnanimous. In exchange for forgiving our acquaintance's debts, he would help me find a boat to this island. If I was not tired from drifting, I might have been more concerned with projecting strength, but at the time I was glad to know that I could rejoin everyone here, so I agreed. I traveled with one of their Grimer as a guide. He took me to a port city some ways away from the city I wound up in. We searched the human settlement for a boat that would take me to this island. Then our story took a turn. There was a human who was speaking about going to this island. He was speaking to another under the shade of an awning. And his eyes were briefly glowing red above countless bags. Even when the glow was gone, I could tell looking at him that there was something wrong with him. My companion froze immediately, and begged me not to go closer. The human turned his head barely an inch closer to where we were and he fled. I had been close to drowning, starving, freezing or being eaten earlier and I wasn't scared. But this human scared me. I felt like if I went near him he would kill me. I didn't even know if he knew I was there, but I couldn't move. I felt fear like that once before. Tell me, have you ever seen Tapu Koko mad? I wouldn't have thought so. I have. The poor sap that crossed Tapu Koko didn't know what he was getting into. I was too enamored by the guardian's appearance that I didn't notice whatever sleight he did. Tapu Koko was... vicious. I still reel a bit when I hear thunder. I took one step back when I realized something. Mother always shielded me from the world against my wishes. And now the world was before me and I was scared. A choice was laid before me. I could seek another boat, prove my mother right that I wasn't ready. Or I could take the boat I knew would take me there, and bury that fear. And I decided then. Fine, I'll take you on Tapu Koko. I found the ship they were talking about and stowed aboard. I heard that human step aboard. For a moment I thought he knew I was there. He turned towards me for a moment before someone pushed him away. Didn't see him after that, but I felt his presence the entire trip. Anyway that's how I got here.

Making Coffee “Disgusting. Make it again.” Lohe Mahina was really losing patience for this. The old man that was his instructor threw down another mug of freshly made coffee. Lohe glared as the liquid flowed down the drain. If he didn’t need to keep this job, he would’ve walked away already. This was the twentieth time he had made coffee for the old man. Today. “What’s wrong with it this time?” Lohe complained watching his work flow down the drain. “You didn’t even try the coffee this time.” The old man showed Lohe the coffee mug. Inside were coffee grounds stuck to the inside of the cup. “Your grinding the coffee beans too finely. This is a Kalosian press; you have to keep the grounds coarse for best results. You’re putting to much force into grinding your beans.” Lohe could believe that. “...On top of you ignoring my instruction on keeping the cup warm, you weren’t precise on measuring your water, and you-” *ding-dong, ding-dong* The old man sighed, they’d been at this for too long already, and he had other duties to attend to. “I suppose I will have to continue this later. Keep practicing, I’ll be back to monitor your progress.” Lohe rolled his eyes when the old man’s back had turned. “And take this seriously. If you want to keep this job, you’ll need to improve drastically.” Lohe took a seat and just glared at the press once the old man had left the room. Keeping this job was starting to get annoying. It had been going well up to this point. Ironing? No problem. Dusting? He could do with his eyes closed. Literally.But food prep? That was what made a butler’s work impossible for him. Lohe got up and walked around the kitchen. A Zubat popped off the ceiling to follow him. He looked with some dismay in the trash can. Piles of food he’d made early in the morning lay in the waste bin. The Zubat sank his fangs into a muffin Lohe had made, and promptly spat it back out. It was a pity, all of it -looked- good at least. Aesthetics were one thing, taste was another… apparently. *crash* A breaking sound caused the tired man to turn The crash was quiet; something small had broken. He looked between the press and the door. It wasn’t in the room. Wellllll…. Surely if he heard a noise, he -had- to go investigate it, right? Besides, there was little chance that he’d improve practicing on his own. Lohe approached the door and listened for a moment. No footsteps, whispers, rustling or breathing. There was no one in the hallway outside the door. He walked confidently out into the open, and began to follow where the sound had came from. It wasn’t hard, a different sound had replaced it. The sobs of someone crying. Related? Probably. As he walked through the hall, he began to hear yelling in a different part of the mansion. The old man was yelling at someone. Well as long as it wasn’t him. But who was he yelling at? As he focused on the old man’s yelling, he caught a snippet that alerted him to who he was yelling about. The nanny. Lohe sighed as he came in front of the door that the sobbing was coming from. Dealing with children was something he was never trained for. Sure enough, when he opened the door, the was a small child in the room. The room was a fancy lounge, with its own bar. Now Lohe would -never- accuse anyone without proof, but… yeah the nanny let the kid get away from her. The kid froze as he heard Lohe enter the room. He nearly shouted in fright when Nosferatu tried to casually land on the boy’s head. The kid was scared. He knew he would be punished for even entering this room. But he had done more than that. From the glass bottles and liquid on the floor, he had tried to drink some of the liquor and ended up breaking a bunch of it. He was lightly hyperventilating and crying, as if it was gonna be the end of the world. “Geez,” Lohe said shaking his head and turning towards the door. He’d found the kid at least. They’d probably forgive him ‘slacking off’ if he sold the kid out. Seriously, what would even happen to the kid? He’d get yelled at? Grounded? Dumb kid couldn’t have been older than five. Maybe not even that. Wasn’t even big enough to provide more than a morsel. None of this was gonna matter when the kid grew up. It wasn’t like they were going to- The Zubat on his head pulled on his ear slightly and he turned around. Pointless or not, it sure seemed to matter to the kid, though. Lohe sighed. Why was he about to go out on a limb for a dumb kid he’d barely met was beyond him. He walked over to the kid and kneeled down in front of him. Even kneeling, Lohe still had to look down to meet the kid’s eyes. “Look, kid, I’m not gonna yell at you,” Lohe finally said to the kid. The kid wiped the tears from his face. His eyes were still red as heck, but he managed to get himself “Y-You promise?” “Yeah, I promise. Why are you in here anyway?” The kid took a few seconds to catch his breath. “They said it was grown-up juice. They will not let me do anything until I am grown up. So I wanted to drink grown up juice to make me grow up.“ Stellar logic of a child. At least it explained why he did it though. He could probably fill in the rest of the picture. Lohe’s ears perked up. Another servant was out in the hall. They had just finished checking the next door room and were about to check this one. “Listen, I’m gonna cast a magic spell that’ll keep ‘em from finding you in here, but you have to close your eyes, okay?” The kid nodded and closed his eyes. Good kid, makes this next part much easier. Better to have his eyes closed so Lohe didn’t have to explain anything. The room was lit, making this harder. But the bar provided just enough shade for this to work. The door swung open and the servant stepped inside. He looked around the room, searching high and low for the kid. He reacted with a slight bit of shock when he saw the broken alcohol. He started to hurry in his search after seeing the broken glass, before running off to tell the head butler what he head found. When Lohe was sure the servant had left, he popped out of his hiding place with the kid. Nosferatu dropped from the ceiling and his own hiding place. “Alright, come on. Let’s sneak over to the kitchen. I’ll tell them you were there the whole time,” Lohe said rushing to the door. The kid ran after, nearly running into the door. “Uh kid? You can open your eyes now.” The kid’s face grew red and he immediately opened his eyes, “Yeah, I knew that.” Course you did, Lohe said both sarcastically and silently. He didn’t need the kid crying again. The trio worked their way back to the kitchen, with Lohe guiding them down a path that let them avoid the other occupants of the house. Inside the kitchen, Lohe noticed that the kid was still trying to pull himself together. How do you make kids stop being upset? That was beyond him. Lohe spotted the Kalosian press once again. Lohe scratched his chin. Sure, he hadn’t had success earlier, but kids have bad taste buds, right? That’s a thing. Lohe began to search the stores for their coffee beans. He thought about the old man’s lectures on the different blends of beans they owned. He hoped the old man actually knew what he was talking about and not just blowing hot air as he selected the beans. When he had selected the beans he thought best for the situation, he began to heat water before starting to grind the beans. The kid walked over trying to see what he was doing. Lohe placed himself between the warming water and the kid. “Don’t drink any of that stuff you saw in the lounge. It makes you stupid.“ Supposedly. He wouldn’t know. The kid seemed confused. Being stupid was bad. But mom and dad drank it all the time at their fancy parties. “Why do grownups drink it then?“ he said looking at Lohe with his confused eyes. Good question, Lohe decided. They say it dulls pain, makes you feel good. He couldn’t say that from experience though. He thought about it for a minute or two as he took the freshly ground beans into the press, followed by adding the now hot water to the press. He listened closely to make sure he only added the exact amount of water he would need. He’d need the rest of the water in a moment. As Lohe stirred the brew in the Kalosian press, he came to the only conclusion he could think of without any experience or knowledge. “Sometimes grownups like to be dumb.“ Lohe began to let it all steep in the press, while he turned his attention to properly serving the coffee when it was served. He looked through the possible choices, and picked a cup and saucer to place it on. He poured the hot water into the cup. All the while, the boy looked at Lohe as if he had just said that he could flip himself inside-out. “That is dumb.“ “Yup.“ Lohe didn’t even turn for that last comment. He just measured out a tiny amount of milk to add to the coffee. The coffee had finished steeping and it was time to serve. He tossed the hot water from the cup, dried it out quickly before pouring the coffee and then the milk into the cup. He mixed the ingredients quickly before placing the cup on the saucer and offering it to the child. “Now this is real grownup juice. All of the perks of marking you as a grownup, without making you dumb.“ Probably. He’d never heard of anyone getting intoxicated by coffee, but he was never able to stomach the stuff. The kid seemed to buy it though, his eyes shining with anticipation. Lohe wondered if he should really be giving this to a kid, but eh. The boy was about to inhale the cup, when Lohe stopped him. “Be careful. To get the best flavor you have to make it really hot.” The boy nodded, before blowing lightly on the liquid, and slowly pouring it into his mouth. He paused for a moment when the liquid first touched his tongue, but slowly got the liquid. “There’s a good kid,” Lohe smiled lightly. “You know, they say it’s good for keeping you awake.” The boy reacted with shock on hearing this and offered it back to Lohe. “You should drink it, then, “ he offered innocently. “Ms. Jones says you fell asleep on the floor.” A vein metaphorically burst on his forehead. If he hadn’t just worked so dang hard to cheer the boy up, he’d let him have it. “Hey, don’t push it,” the tired man said crossing his arms. Where he takes impromptu afternoon breaks was no-one’s business. Lohe turned his attention to the door. Someone was at the door. Well the jig was up. Lohe began thinking of an alibi for the boy. The door opened and the old man and the nanny stepped inside. The nanny rushed over to the boy, relief shining in her eyes. She took the coffee mug from his head and set it on a counter, before embracing the boy. “Well, well. I was about to ask you if you had seen the boy. Glad we decided to check,“ the old man said with a soft smile. “Go on and take the boy to his parents.” The nanny nodded, leading the boy to the door. The old man observed the smile on the boy’s still red face for a moment before the boy and nanny left. The old man stepped into the hallway to see them go. “Well, clean up here. You’re done with your lessons in here for today.” Lohe raised an eyebrow. “What? Don’t get me wrong, I’m thrilled. But, why?” The old man merely pointed to the cup sitting on the counter, “Because you finally made a good cup of coffee, obviously.” “How do you know it’s good? You didn’t even taste it.” The old man looked down the hall again. The boy was laughing with his nanny. “Well, I have my ways,” he said before walking back into the room and looking at the mug itself. “Sure, you spoiled it by adding milk for the boy, but you finally took the time to make it right. Your measurements were perfect. Not a single ground made it into the final brew. Might be a fluke, but you have at least made one worthwhile cup with a Kalosian press.” Lohe leaned over the cup and took a whiff. Smelled good, but he had no way to check if it tasted good at all. “Huh.” “We’ll continue our lessons on coffee tomorrow. Put as much care as you put into it today, and I think you’ll do fine.” Lohe smiled lightly, well maybe the old man wasn’t so bad. “Your next lesson will be on cleaning alcohol from carpet. We’ll start with that valuable mess the two of you left,” the old man said with a smile belied by the murder in his eyes. “Did you know I was I going to get those bottles as a present?” Lohe groaned. Nosferatu laughed. It was still a long day ahead.

IC: Jamie/Lucia The cogs took a second to line up. “Oh neat…. Wait. Whaaaaaaaat?!” Jamie shouted her jaw dropped to its full extent. “You mean that girl you like, the one you said all those nice things about… is me?” Lucia meekly nodded. Jamie had to sit down. “Whoa, whoa,” she said confused. “I just learned about these feelings and now you’re telling me my best friend has them for me,” she began to think aloud. “It’s not that I don’t love you, but I can’t say yet if I know I do either. But…” Now Jamie’s face was red. She was embarrassed and unexperienced in this field. She didn’t know if it was normal for one’s best friend to confess to them, but here it was. “I wouldn’t mind, trying to find out,” Jamie said awkwardly. “Where do we go from here?” Lucia had to admit to herself that she had not thought that far ahead. “I… don’t really know…” Her thoughts felt jumbled up now, as she focused on a spot on the floor that suddenly seemed very interesting. “I… I didn’t really think that far ahead…” She thought to herself for a moment - she didn’t really think at all, did she? Had it gotten hot in here? “Um, sorry, but I think I need to get some air and cool down a bit…” Lucia occupied herself with adjusting her clothes a little bit before she headed to the door. “Sorry…” As she opened the door, she quickly passed by Pelleas and Tristan before she walked down the hallway at an equally quick pace. She didn’t notice, however, that she had left her Pokegear in her bag after pulling out the gift. Pelleas and Tristan had manly tears in their eyes as they walked back into the room. They had tried to fight against the tide of their little girl growing up and failed. They would have to accept that their little girl wasn’t so little anymore. Jamie lay back in her seat thinking. She wondered if it was possible for her slow down time right now. She needed a lot of it right now so she could think things through. A ringtone began to play from Lucia’s bag catching Jamie’s attention. Its loud ringing snapped her from thoughts and urged her to dig through Jamie’s bag. Pulling the phone from the bag, she took a look at the caller ID. “Mom” “Lucia will want to talk to her,” Jamie reasoned to nobody in particular and pressed talk on the phone. “Um, hello. Lucia is away at the moment, this is Jamie, her-” Jamie paused as she realized their relationship was changing and she didn’t exactly know how to put it yet. “This is Jamie.” “Oh, hello, is she alright?” The voice on the other end of the line couldn’t mask the relief in her voice as she replied to Jamie. “She hasn’t been answering all day, so I just wanted to make sure she was alright.” “Hm, yeah, she’s fine. She just went out to go get some air,” Jamie said leaning against a table. “Do you need me to run after her? She has not been gone long.” “You don’t need to, just tell her I called when she gets back, alright?” Cassie didn’t sound entirely convincing. “Um, how have things been? Did Lucia and Shannon get there without incident? Has she-” There was a pause. “Actually if she hasn’t, then…” Another pause. “Um, disregard that! Anyway. How have you been?” “Disregard that? Okay,” Jamie responded unquestioningly. If she didn’t have to say Shannon’s father died to anyone who asked about her, she wouldn’t. “I have been… good. Really good, I think? Lucia gave me this awesome dress and uh.” Jamie paused again. “Hey, um. Can I ask you a question?” Jamie didn’t wait for an answer. “Let’s say for a moment that Lucia, um, said that she… more than liked me,” Jamie said, dancing around the issue. “And I don’t… -not- more than like her, what do we do?” Pelleas and Tristan were heartbroken that Jamie had asked Lucia’s mom instead of them. There was a long pause as Cassie considered the question. “Do you think you could explain a little more?” “I can try,” Jamie said after a few moments. “I have never thought about… love before. And well today Lucia told me that she… had a crush on me,” Jamie said, phrasing it the way Lucia had. “And we’re both confused. I don’t know if I love her in return yet, but I want to find out with her.” “Hmm… that makes sense…” Cassie sighed, as she seemed to be mulling that question over. “That’s a tough one. I don’t really know what advice I can really give. It takes time to figure things like that out, but there’s not always the time -to- figure it out. I don’t know if that makes sense or not, but this certainly is a situation you’re in.” She sighed again, but gave a small chuckle. “That’s my daughter for you, though, always making things complicated.” “Heh,” she laughed in response. “Well that is fine by me. Thanks for hearing me out.” “You’re welcome… I hope things go well. Oh, by the way, if you want to give Lucia a message for me, tell her it’s going to be a nice and apple-y warm summer in Kalos. Perfect for a trip, I’d say.” “Nice and apple-y warm,” Jamie repeated. “Got it, I’ll tell her.” Both parties said their farewells, and Jamie hung up the Pokegear. She signaled Pelleas and Tristan to follow her as she left the room; she had to go find Lucia.

IC: Guinevere - Mansion Parlor Guinevere looked from side to side at the cops in the room. Technically they weren’t supposed to be talking to each other, but the room was large and filled with people. But she had to be careful, what she was about to do was certainly illegal. But what was clear was that the man was afraid. At first what she asked were innocent innocuous questions. Asking his name and giving her own. “Ness Whitby,” he had replied. It was a small thing, but he was talking now. And that was a start. She probed him about his fear. Not directly at first. She showed concern at first that he was not looking good. With a few precise prods, she found out the source of the man’s fear. “I’m,“ Ness paused for a moment, choking. “I don’t, I- I don’t want to mess this up. People are counting on me right now, and I don’t think I can do it.” Guinevere made a soft serene smile. The same smile James made whenever something he wanted entered into his grasp. [Want some help?] the whiteboard read. Ness’s eyes lit up as they met Guin’s face, reassured by her smile. [Pretend I’m the police] A quick erase and some marker strokes. [say it to me like you will to them] She only continued to calmly smile as he bared his soul.

IC: Jamie Arthur - Four Island "Ooh!" Jamie said with a big smile as she took the package from Lucia. She voraciously tore the wrapping off and opened the box. Inside was a light blue summer dress and matching bag to go with it. "Wow, this looks good," she said as she admired the dress, her admiration all the greater because of Lucia's normal fashion sense. "Gosh I have just been wearing your borrowed clothes. Guess I got used to it." she said as she realized that she'd just been wearing the pairs of clothes she 'borrowed' from Lucia back in Celadon. "I guess I really should return those." Guilt began to set in because of how long she'd been borrowing Lucia's clothes. A guilt only deepened by a lack of presents to give Lucia in return. "Now I feel bad that I did not get you anything," Jamie said with a slight pout. 'When is your birthday Lucia? I definitely can't let that pass up without the best present for my best friend." IC: Claus Diamond - Four Island Claus unconsciously tightened the fists that lay by his sides. Flint's face drooped slightly. "That's alright," Claus lied. "Do you think you could try calling him a few more times tonight?" He didn't want to worry her, but it bothered him that she couldn't get through. It could simply be a coincidence, and as long as it could be one he didn't want to say anything more. Not until he's had a chance to check some things.

IC: Guinevere - Mansion Parlor The night passed and gave way to day. Guinevere was sitting in a parlor with all the mansion’s staff that had been present on the previous night. When she had returned to the mansion, the police had detained her until she could give a statement. The chaos of the situation and the late hour convinced the police to do the questioning the next morning. But no one could leave until they were done. She had been given a whiteboard so that she would be able to give her statement. She fiddled with the marker as she thought what to write. Not simply what she was going to show the police, but what she gonna show the nervous man sitting next to her. The man was a bundle of nerves. One of the Grimer told her that there was apparently a witness to the murder. His nervous demeanor singled him out. It was technically only a hunch to be sure, but she felt that she could bet on it. So she had intentionally found a seat right next to him. She marked a message onto the whiteboard, but then erased it. It didn’t quite sound right. She began to write a second message, but erased it when the letters came out wrong. She hadn’t had time to practice writing in a long time. Not since James and her were children. She snapped herself out of that nostalgia. She had a job to do and little time to do it. She observed him for a moment longer. The Gardevoir noticed that the man’s breathing was erratic. She wrote one final message and poked the nervous man. [Deep breathes] the whiteboard read as she began to mime the motions the man badly needed to copy right now. IC: James Arthur - Four Island James walked back towards his office. Despite the injuries he had received, he in general decided the mission was a success. If the injuries he received was the cost of Lancelot getting his old powers back, let alone the new powers he had also received, then he was perfectly fine with sustaining them. At least he would be in hindsight he thought as pain from the burns flared up again. Still the pain had subsided compared to when he had first received them. He would be able to deal with them for now. He longed for his own bed though. He had used executive privilege to check himself out when the nurse told him he should stay overnight. If bed rest was the prescription, he'd rather use his own bed, so he could get back to work to the next morning. The tired man reached for the door to his suite. James paused. The door was unlocked. Somebody was in there. He looked towards Mordred. The Weavile had to have gone in there before him. Mordred recoiled slightly before nodding slightly. The Weavile hadn't told him something. James was bothered by that, but if it wasn't dangerous then he had no reason to keep standing out in the hall. He opened the door wide and saw who was inside. "Ms. Silver Eyes," James said cordially as he saw the 'not-girlfriend' of Roderick sitting in his chair, "It is good to see..." James paused. Mina's eyes were red and full of tears. Around them were Pokemon that he recognized. Pokemon that he knew did not belong to Mina. In front of her on James's desk sat a file. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came forward. She pushed the document towards him, her fingers trembling. With dread building in his stomach, James picked up the document. His eyes didn't make it past the headline on the first page. He stood still completely motionless, frozen. 'Roderick Krane. Status: Deceased.`

IC: Jamie Arthur - Four Island This was going well. "Yeah. You see, he's the Hero of Space. He's been doing this for much longer than I have." Jamie scratched her head when she realized that Lucia asked about training. "Uh.... training, training. Well I have been having Pelleas throw stuff at me to see if I can stop it? It has only really worked when I really need to though. Not sure what I am really capable of."

IC: Jamie Arthur - Four Island "Yeah so... " Jamie paused for a moment. She somehow doubted this was a normal event that occurred to many people so she hesitated in phrasing it. "In the middle of that conversation, Mr. Dialga contacted me. In my head. With telepathy. And he asked if I would become the next Hero of Time. Told me he would grant me power in exchange for protecting peace and justice!" she said punching a fist in to her other palm, her face beaming. "A chance to actually be a hero? I couldn't pass that up."

IC: Jamie Arthur - Hangar "Nah, it is not. Well, hmm..." Jamie said scratching her head. "It is not something I mind anyone overhearing," Jamie said looking off to the side. "Though I don't exactly mind leaving here if you just want it to be the two of us," she said with a naive smile. The two left the hangar quickly. In the hallway outside, Jamie looked deep in thought as she tried to think of how to explain everything that had transpired regarding her powers. "You remember that conversation we had where I said I'd punch Skye in the face? Oh remind me to do that after we beat Missing Zero."

IC: Claus - Band Hall Flint did front-flips for joy. He performed such airborne somersaults that landed him on top of Taylor's head, which he noogied with ecstasy. Claus on the other hand looked shocked. His mouth hung open for a while. It took him a while for him to collect is thoughts. "Do you know where he is now? Can I speak to him please?" he asked hopefully. From near the entrance came a knocking. The two trainers were too distracted to hear it. They were too distracted to even see the Cubone come out of his Poke Ball. The knocking was incessant enough for the Cubone to warrant investigation. The Cubone opened the door to check what was knocking on the door and stepped outside. Nyx turned away from the oboe she was admiring when she saw Lucas walk out the door. She looked back and forth between where Lucas had gone and Claus, still absorbed in the moment, and tried to let out a weak cry. Claus didn't hear her. She began to run back and forth, before deciding to run after Lucas to try and bring him back. IC: James Arthur - Infirmary James looked from side to side, and gestured weakly to the room they were in. "Well that first request might be a problem. I am currently laid up here for time being," he said omitting the pain he was suppressing to be able to speak. "I can certainly give criticism when you finish your report but I do not believe I will have sufficient time to prepare one myself." "As for a training session, that should be easy to arrange. For 'Samurloch's' sword, I will see about that when our analysis on it is complete." It wasn't exactly a guarantee of compliance, but he had acknowledged the request and didn't deny the request either. "As for a psionics expert, I will see who I can get you in contact with."

IC: Jamie Arthur - Hangar Jamie was shocked out of her self-reflection by the act of being squeezed by Lucia. She wondered how she should respond, but decided she should just be happy for the hug. Not that there was much else she could do at the moment, due to the aforementioned squeezing. Lucia still wasn't saying anything, which only made Jamie feel guiltier for not telling Lucia about the whole Hero of Time thingee. Well if Lucia wasn't going to break the silence, Jamie would. "Hey, uh, I guess you want me to tell you about what happened back there, right?"

IC: James Arthur - Infirmary James eavesdropped on Amanda's conversation with a small amount of curiosity (and a burning desire to distract himself from his injuries). He thought it odd that someone who seemed as practical as her had not taken steps to rectify the situation. He felt like thinking of a snide remark about the fact that he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, but his sense of humor was exhausted for the time being. "I do," he said as a Weavile walked into the room, holding an older suit jacket of James's. He couldn't switch into his normal attire while he was still in the infirmary, so he had Mordred bring him an old suit. He'd at least have something. "I was hoping I could get your tactical assessment on this previous mission. Would you object to compiling a full report on the effectiveness of all agents who participated in the mission?" he asked as he placed his arms through the jacket's sleeves, hiding a wince he made when the jacket touched his back. IC: Jamie Arthur - Hangar Jamie watched quietly as James was taken away from the hangar. When he was finally removed from the suit, his burns were clear to see. He barely managed to speak to her when she had approached cautiously. "Come see tomorrow. I want to talk about that... thing you did," James had said, not enough energy to figure out the right word to say. She could have argued with him, but seeing him in that state made her silent. It was her business being a hero, and if she wanted to tell someone, that was her business too right? Still, she couldn't find it in her to argue, so she didn't protest. "I should probably tell Lucia too..." she muttered aloud when James was fully out of the room.

IC: Richard Apollo - Hangar Richard quietly stepped off the helicopter that brought him back. Of the original team who got sent to One Island on that helicopter, he was the only one who got out relatively unscathed. While generally he'd be in the mood to sing, he didn't feel like hurting the poor widow any further, and bowed out as soon as he could. Hades popped out of his Poke Ball looking dejected. He hadn't been able to help during that mess at all. Richard scratched the Sableye's head (as best he could considering its ethereal nature). "Aww, come on. It was just time for me to have a solo performance for once, that's all. No shame in giving the spotlight to someone else every now and then." Hades just watched as the Scizor left the room. Richard's eyes followed Hades's own. "Nothing can be done about that," Richard said with a slight sigh. "I'm just glad somebody got that power when we needed it. Come on, let's take a walk to clear our heads," he offered to the Sableye. The Sableye shrugged at least and walked out into the night with his trainer. IC: Claus Diamond - Liberty Band Hall Flint's muscles locked completely out of shock and he fell perfectly over. Claus's jaw hung open for a bit. The odds of this happening were incredibly low, and yet it had. "My dad's name is Lucas. Lucas Diamond. And I think he was your dad's best friend." IC: James Arthur - Liberty Infirmary James made yet another loud grunt through gritted teeth as another piece of gauze was applied to him. Adrenaline had worn off and the pain had set in. Under normal circumstances, Chansey would've been using Aromatherapy and Heal Pulse. That would've alleviated the pain he felt to some degree. But right now there was nothing for it. He just had to bear it. His body began to look more covered in bandages than not. Lancelot was nowhere to be seen. He had been taken away for examinations. This phenomena was still absurd. Incredibly fortuitous, but absurd. He wanted to discuss it with Lancelot but there was little chance for that until next morning. He had been ordered to remain in the infirmary until he had been cleared by the nurse. His authority was enough to overturn such an order, but due to the present state of affairs, he didn't feel like moving much anyway. Still, that wasn't an excuse to not get stuff done, he had decided when he had someone send for Amanda Zarth. Even with the adrenaline gone, his mind was not yet fully clear. He needed a second opinion on today's events, and she had seemed level-headed when he had met her earlier. Anything to take his mind off the pain.