Konuju

IC: Dahlia Seaton/Zoe Llyan/Alex Lockwood/Colleen Llyan/Olivia Seaton/Lucia Zyther/Klim Prizak - Cottage, Geosenge Town "Sounds good to me." Alex stifled a yawn. "If we're not well rested we won't fight at our best." "I agree," Colleen said quietly as she looked down at her sleeping sister. The aura wielder remained deep in thought. "I'm sure we can find an incubator at the castle," Lucia said, smiling at Jamie's enthusiasm. Dahlia nodded silently, inwardly wondering if she was really up for this. As Olivia tried to reassure her, Klim walked up to the sisters. "I can give you another quick training session in the morning if you're up for it," the former Hero of Reverse said. "We'll make sure not to overwork your powers too much. You did great tonight, by the way. Our work earlier really paid off." "Thanks." The gardener forced a smile. IC: Rachel Brown/Miles Frost - Streets, Black City Rachel groaned as she picked herself up off the ground. She had rolled several feet away from Sawsbuck, who was stomping his hooves in exasperation. The deer Pokémon had backed away from the point of impact, where amidst shattered glass a zombie sat atop its flailing victim. Time seemed to slow as the man realized he couldn't escape from under the zombie and stopped struggling. For a fleeting moment Rachel considered making a run for it while the zombie was still distracted. Then before she could change her mind, she whistled sharply. With a disgruntled snort, Sawsbuck pranced back toward the creature and jabbed it with his hooves. A sharp crack pierced the air as the zombie skidded across the pavement. It slowly rose to its feet and bared its sharp teeth at the Pokémon that had dared to interrupt it. Rachel was ready for it. She leveled her pistol at the zombie's head and fired. Blood and brains splattered everywhere as the now headless corpse crumpled to the ground. The Plasma agent waited a few seconds before allowing herself a sigh of relief. A scream of rage made her jump as the man she had just saved bolted to his feet, grabbed a metal bar, and began wailing on the zombie's lifeless body. "Come at me, you monster! I'll beat every last one of you freaks into a pulp!" This went on for several seconds before Rachel cleared her throat. "I think it's dead." The man paused long enough to observe the bloody mess of the zombie's remains. "Yep, that's two down." He looked up at his rescuer, recognizing her Plasma uniform. "Listen, ma'am, there's something really weird going on in that hotel. Like some sort of zombie convention where the cosplayers try to kill you. You might need to call for backup." "Not just this hotel," Rachel said as she holstered her pistol and carefully approached her bucking Sawsbuck. "We've got reports of zombies popping up all over the city. Shhh, it's alright. Thank you for helping us out back there." She continued to speak in a soothing voice as she stroked the Sawsbuck's nose. The grass-type briefly pawed at the ground before nuzzling against her. "The whole city?!" The man cried. "Great, getting out of the hotel was hard enough. Any idea what caused this?" The sound of crunching glass drew Rachel's attention to the hotel. Several zombies had started to crawl out of the broken window. A few of them eyed the people fleeing out the revolving door, but most of the creatures were focused on Rachel and the young man. "We need to get out of here." Rachel called Sawsbuck back into his Pokéball and motioned for Minccino to hop back on her shoulder. When the man hesitated, she grabbed him by the arm and pulled him toward the nearest alley. The first few zombies had made it out the window and started to pursue them. These creatures seemed to run faster than the ones Rachel had previously encountered, but the maze-like structure of the alleyways provided plenty of opportunities for them to lose the horde. Even so, both of them were out of breath by the time Rachel allowed them to rest. For the first time, Rachel got a good look at the man she'd rescued. He looked to be in his mid- to late-twenties, no more than a year or two older than her. His business casual shirt remained unbuttoned over a plain undershirt, and even in the low light she could see his slacks had become stained with blood, mud, or some combination of the two. His brown eyes darted left and right, and he held his makeshift weapon, a metal pole, close to his slender frame. "So," Rachel said as she took a seat behind a dumpster. "You got a name?" The man slowly slid down the wall opposite her, still clutching his weapon. "Miles," he said in a quiet voice. "Miles Frost." Although he tried to hide it, Rachel could tell he was scared. And if she was being honest with herself, she was too. "Rachel Brown," the woman answered as she stroked her Minccino's fur. "Listen, Miles. If you want to stay here, that's fine. It'll take the zombies some time to find you back here. But I've got someplace I need to be. If you want to come with me, you can't slow me down. Understand?" Miles hugged his weapon and nodded. "I've taken out two zombies already with this towel rack. I think I can keep up." "I hope you're not counting the one Sawsbuck helped you with," Rachel said wryly. "What Pokémon do you have? We'll need all the help we can get against those creatures." "I don't have any." "Excuse me?" For a second, Rachel thought she misheard. Miles gave a tired smile, as if he was used to such a reaction. "I never needed one," he said in an almost bored tone. Rachel figured he had given this explanation countless times before. "My old man always said I should be strong enough to defend myself without help from others. That includes Pokémon." Rachel wasn't one to judge someone else's life choices, but her expression betrayed her admonishment. Even Minccino stared at the man in disbelief. "Yep, you Plasma chauvinists always seem to take it the hardest." Miles gave an apathetic sigh. "You act like it's some cardinal sin to not associate with Pokémon. Well, I'm perfectly happy by myself. I save a lot of money not having to buy Pokéballs, extra food, and all that other stuff. Plus my world didn't come to an end after that flash of light a few weeks ago." His quick retribution stung her. "I didn't mean to offend you, I've just never met anyone like that before," Rachel said softly. "If you'd rather go on your own, we can part ways here." Miles shook his head. "Like you said, we need all the help we can get. This is my first time in Black City, so I'd just get myself lost on my own." The Plasma agent merely nodded as she pulled up the GPS on her Xtransceiver. She continued to stare at the device long after she had plotted her route. It was the best distraction from the uncomfortable silence that had formed between them. IC - Kyle Eston (Jaeda, Ruj, Kitheus, Daiga, Lyxek)/Sonja Baron (Ares, Athena, Neith, Atum, Neptune)/Chloe Hikari (Ally)/Emmerich Coleman (Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee, Machamp)/Signs Helge (Furfrou, Carracosta)/Shota (Kecleon, Mienshao)/Ayoub (Quagsire, Greninja)/Maryana (Cradily, Octillery)/Jouko (Simipour, Torterra) - Streets, Dendemille Town: “I suggest we jump it while we have surprise on our side.” Sonja nodded. “Only question is, how do we do that?” She looked to Chloe. “Any chance you could . . . I don’t know . . . force it to stop?” Chloe thought for a moment, but nodded after a moment and focused on the truck from the shadows. She focused on making the truck stop in any way she could - specifically by focusing on flattening the tires. With four simultaneous and loud pops, the tires were made as flat as a pancake. With a frown, Chloe inched forward with her hand in her purse, toward the driver's side door. She held her other hand in front of her with a frown, ready for anything as Ally stalked close to her side. The others were moving up at the same time, flanked by their various Pokémon. Simultaneously, the four Signs agents moving ahead of the truck turned at the sound of the tires popping. From her position, Chloe could see what the other three couldn’t, which was the guns rising to face them. Thinking quickly, she and Ally threw a hand forward. All four of the Signs’ rifles telekinetically snapped in half, rendering them useless. With her focus off of the cabin, the driver within took the opportunity to flee, throwing the door open and knocking Chloe back. Helge ducked under the high-risen door, hurrying forward. “Engage!” As the Signs scattered to several different points of cover around the street, they each tossed out several Poké Balls into the air, unleashing a series of white flashes that took form. A Kecleon, Mienshao, Carracosta, Furfrou, Greninja, Quagsire, Cradily, and Octillery materialized, ready and raring to fight. Sonja skidded to a halt at the back of the truck, watching all of this unfold. She flashed a thumbs-up to Chloe. “Nice work,” she said. “Glad they can’t shoot at us or anything. Those are a lot more Pokémon than I was expecting, though.” “Probably more where they came from,” Kyle said. He moved up to an alleyway near the truck, peering out, then glanced up at the sky. “If we can keep them occupied until Jaeda and the others get back, we might be able to take them out in one swing.” “What do you mean?” “Weaken them as much as we can, and then Jaeda and Kitheus can hit them with Electric and Flying attacks,” he said. “Most of their Pokémon are Water-Type. And their powers are still gone.” "Sounds good to me." Chloe nodded, as she thought about something for a moment. "Ally, let's focus especially on that Quagsire then." "That is fine by me." The Gallade said telepathically as she summoned two swords into her hands and walked forward toward the opposing Pokémon. Sonja considered the idea. “Alright.” She nodded to Atum, and then sent out Neptune. “I’ll direct you as best as I can.” The Rhyhorn and Croconaw nodded and hurried to the front end of the truck. “I’ll keep an eye on the passenger side,” Emmerich called, ducking behind the other end of the truck and sending his Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan out into the field. “Machamp, watch our six.” Kyle looked back to the field, considering his options. Finally, he pulled out Lyxek’s Poké Ball, sending out the Fraxure. The Axe Jaw Pokémon looked around, somewhat confused by the situation, before setting his eyes on the enemy group. Huffing, he ran after Daiga into the fray. The Mienshao immediately flipped over Ally, lashing out with her arm-whips to try and knock the Gallade off balance. Atum and Neptune were met by a grinning Quagsire. As the bulky water type attempted to Suplex the Rhyhorn, the Kecleon stuck its long tongue out at Neptune. Ally tracked the Mienshao. The impact of her whips did send the Gallade stumbling a step or two, but she quickly regained her footing and swung back with a sword. The Mienshao wrapped an arm-whip around the hilt of one of the swords and yanked it from Ally's grasp before whirling around to deliver a swift kick. The Gallade reeled, then activated her newly regained psychic abilities. The blade on her free arm glowed green as she lashed out with a Psycho Cut. The Mienshao tried to counter, but the unexpected psychic attack hit hard. Ally struck again, this time bringing her blade down on the Mienshao's head. The fighting-type was down for the count. The Croconaw leaped forward. The Normal-Type’s tongue lashed him in the eye, causing him to grimace. He reacted quickly, however, and responded in kind with a bite . . . right on the Kecleon’s tongue. The chameleon's eyes grew wide as it screamed in pain. Fueled with a sudden rage, it ran toward Neptune and began swiping at it with surprisingly sharp claws. Neptune garbled incoherently back at the Kecleon and responded in kind, their battle quickly devolving into a senseless cat fight of reptilian claws. Atum, meanwhile, felt some sort of strange deja vu at his current predicament, though he could not place when this specific scenario of being flipped had occurred. Nonetheless, there was little he could do to stop himself from being rolled overtop of the Quagsire and straight into the ground. The impact left a sizeable crater in the concrete; he stumbled to his feet, doing his best to shake off the hit, and then lunged back at the Quagsire. The Water Fish Pokémon simply grinned and met Atum head on -- literally. The headbutt was surprisingly strong, and for a moment it looked like the two Pokémon were at a stalemate. In the end the Rhyhorn's will won out, and the Quagsire stumbled back several paces. It took a moment to regain its footing, then charged back at the Rhyhorn from the side, aiming to throw its trajectory off balance. Seeing the renewed attack from Quagsire, Atum planted himself firmly into the ground and roared. As he did so, his body glowed with a white light, and he began to transform. His morphology shifted such that he now stood on his hindlegs, and when the light faded, he towered over his opponent. The newly-evolved Rhydon spun around, slamming his heavy tail into the Water Fish Pokémon. He would have heard Sonja’s excited shout from the sidelines if not for the battle escalating around him. ****** Emmerich's Pokémon were met with the Cradily, Octillery, and Greninja. While the Cradily tried to trip up the Hitmonlee, Octillery's eight tentacles met Machamp's four arms. That left Hitmonchan to deal with the Greninja, who leaped down from the top of the truck and struck a ninja-like pose. Out of all of their opponents, Hitmonchan fully felt that Greninja was the easiest to respond to. Its gratuitous stance left it open to a quick crack from his left fist, striking the Ninja Pokémon with what would have been a Thunder Punch under normal circumstances, but at the moment, was just a very heavy punch to the face. Hitmonlee kicked off of the ground as the Cradily lunged, snakelike, at his leg. With surprising precision, it managed to correct course, tracking and biting into his shin as he flipped forward. It was painful, but Hitmonlee had suffered worse injuries. He twisted and brought his other knee down into a hard strike against the back of the Barnacle Pokémon’s head. This put the Cradily in a bit of a bind, its head now pinned by the fighting-type. Summoning its strength, the Barnacle Pokémon swung its head like a pendulum, carrying its opponent with it and slamming Hitmonlee into the ground. Hitmonlee growled in frustration. He twisted his body, yanking his legs free, and rolled backward. After taking a moment to breathe, he dived forward and launched a kick into Cradily’s neck. Amidst the whirlwind of tentacles grabbing and grappling his fists and arms, Machamp struggled to maintain his footing. Finally, however, he slammed his foot into the concrete, forcibly creating a foothold for himself. He pulled back against the Jet Pokémon, twisting its tentacles like rope and gripping them tightly before spinning on the spot and slamming the Water-Type first into the ground, and then, like a flail, toward Greninja. The Greninja reeled back from Hitmonchan's punch. Narrowing its eyes, it prepared to counter with one of its many secret ninja arts. Then a flailing octopus slammed into the back of its head. Tongue met suction cup and for a brief moment the two allied Pokémon rolled on the ground struggling against each other. "Hey!" one of the Signs agents called out. "You're supposed to be on the same team!" Octillery and Greninja pulled away from each other and traded opponents. The ninja frog leapt toward Machamp, hurling a shuriken at it with lightning speed, while the Octillery sprayed a blast of ink at the Hitmonchan. Machamp raised an arm, aiming to block it, though ended up with a shuriken buried in his forearm. With a roar of anger, Machamp rushed forward to meet Greninja’s leap, using two of his arms to try and catch the Ninja Pokémon and a third to throw a heavy punch at it. Hitmonchan, meanwhile, raised his arms to cover his face, protecting his eyes. Octillery would be better at tanking hits than Greninja, given its body type, but nonetheless, he aimed an low-flying uppercut straight at it. ***** Daiga found himself facing a barking Furfrou. As the vicious poodle leapt toward the Sandslash, Lyxek tried to assist but was blocked by the Carracosta. The giant turtle roared a bellowing challenge to the comparatively small dragon. Dealing with the Furfrou was relatively simple: Daiga curled up. He couldn’t do much to actively attack, but his spiny shell would at least ensure that the Furfrou could do little to actually harm him. It would be a stalemate until it went after a different target or changed its approach. Lyxek could not deal with the Carracosta so easily. Undeterred by its roar, the Fraxure roared in kind, matching the volume of the Prototurtle Pokémon. Then he charged, pushing with all of his might into a tackle against the larger, more heavily-armored Water-Type. Lyxek might as well have been running into a brick wall. The Carracosta stood its ground and laughed before swatting the Fraxure away with a large flipper. The Dragon-Type rolled to a stop, righted himself and charged again, meeting the same result. By the third time, he was grimacing from the impact of slamming into a brick wall. Kyle ducked out from his place, seeing the situation. As he started forward, however, Lyxek’s form turned white, and he began to transform, much like Atum had mere seconds ago. The Fraxure’s body elongated into a more slender form, and the blades at his mouth shifted into large axe blades. His scales grew into thick armor, which turned black as the light faded around him. Lyxek the Haxorus pushed himself to his feet, roaring with renewed strength and leaning into a charge at the Carracosta. The momentum proved enough for his blades to sink into the armor on Carracosta’s underbelly, leaving bleeding wounds when he pulled back. The Carracosta swung at him; Lyxek ducked, then tackled the Prototurtle Pokémon to the ground. All the while, Kyle stared, stunned. The Furfrou, meanwhile, found out the hard way that spiky balls hurt. Backing away with a growl, it considered its options. "Hold tight, Furfrou," Helge said, producing a card from her pocket. "Shift gave us the perfect weapon for this exact situation." In one swift action the Signs agent threw down the card and stomped her foot on it. What happened next took everyone by surprise. Helge might as well have stepped on a giant water balloon. A tidal wave of water splashed out in all directions, catching the Signs and Vorhut alike in its wake. "What the heck was that?!" Shota sputtered, rubbing the spot where his head hit the side of the truck. "Some shoddy card that was." “I’ll say,” said a voice from above. When he looked up, Emmerich’s foot came down on his face, knocking him to the ground, where the gas mask cracked against the pavement. It didn’t seem to matter though, as the hit had knocked Shota unconscious already. Emmerich stooped down, cuffing his hands and pulling him into an alley out of the way. “Good, that’s one down,” Sonja said. She looked up as several shadows passed over their position. As expected, their Flying-Types were returning. She couldn’t help but smile, glancing between Kitheus and the water around the field. “Let’s take care of the rest! Everyone, return your Pokémon!” She didn’t have to give the order twice. Acting quickly, Emmerich, Sonja, Chloe, and Kyle pulled their drenched Pokémon back, leaving several very confused opponents on the field. Kyle whistled, and in a flurry, Jaeda, Ruj, and Kitheus descended along with Ares, Neith, and Athena. The flying Pokémon struck with several pointed attacks to ground the enemy team, before Kitheus, on Kyle’s order, unleashed a Zap Cannon. The water from Helge’s card helped the attack spread, jumping from target to target and leaving an entire squad of unconscious Signs agents and their Pokémon lying in the street. The only remaining opponent was Quagsire, but it, too, fell with a final psychic hit from Chloe that sent it crashing face-first into the nearest wall. And just like that, the street fell silent again. “Good work,” Emmerich said. “That could have gone a lot worse.” “Yeah,” Kyle agreed. “I didn’t realize they would have something like that . . .” “The water thing?” Sonja asked. Kyle nodded. “Well, let’s just keep that in mind from now on.” She looked back at the truck, which had continued to spew out the toxic cloud through the entire engagement. “Now, how do we shut this thing off?” The group moved to the back door, which Emmerich lifted open. The machinery inside was complex; none of them could quite pick a place where they could start to dismantle it. Finally, though, Chloe raised a hand, focusing. “I think I’ve got this.” With some careful application of her telekinesis, she picked several spots on the machine. They buckled, grinding into metallic scraps. The machine began to whine. “We should probably get away,” Kyle said, already moving backward. “Yep!” They turned and ran back down the street, taking cover just as the entire truck erupted into flames with a loud, explosive bang.

IC: Rachel Brown - Streets, Black City 11:18 PM A young woman raced through the dark streets. The city had become enveloped in a rapidly spreading panic. Screams echoed across the towering rooftops and the alleys had become a dark maze of life and death. It was this panic that spurred Rachel Brown through a sketchy neighborhood she would have avoided under normal circumstances. A small group stumbled out of some sort of bar or club up ahead, forcing Rachel to duck into the nearest alley. In the darkness she couldn't tell if these people were zombies or simply drunks, but she didn't want to take a chance either way. She crouched behind a dumpster and listened for approaching footsteps. Her Minccino clung to her shoulder, regarding the grimy alley in disgust. Rachel held her breath, pulling her Plasma-issued hat over her eyes in a desperate attempt to blend in with her surroundings. The Plasma uniform was not designed for camouflage, but the relative darkness was enough to keep her hidden. That is, until her Xtransceiver rang. Cursing herself for her negligence, Rachel quickly silenced the device. She looked up to see five zombies standing at the alley entrance, each gazing at her with soulless eyes. Then as one, the horde closed in on her. She'd heard about them from other Plasma agents, but it was the first time Rachel had seen the creatures up close. Rotting skin, mouths slightly agape, it was like they had been pulled straight out of a horror movie. Rachel found herself unable to move, her eyes drawn to the zombies' slow, arrhythmic movements as her heart pounded faster and faster. Realizing her trainer was too terrified to run, Minccino leapt off Rachel's shoulder and smacked the nearest zombie with her tail. The undead creature stopped in its tracks and blinked in surprise before taking a swipe at the Pokémon and slamming her against the wall. This shocked Rachel out of her trance. Running out from behind the dumpster, she met the nearest zombie with her shoulder as she scooped up Minccino in her arms. The zombie took a moment to react to this turn of events before reaching out to ensnare the Plasma agent in a bear hug. A swift kick between the legs knocked the zombie off balance enough for Rachel to escape deeper into the alley. She had only gone a few paces before a chain link fence came into view, spanning the width of the alley. Rachel turned around to see the zombies ambling after her. Even at their slow pace, it wouldn't take long for them to catch up. Minccino scrambled up to the top of the fence and beckoned for Rachel to follow. "Alright," the Plasma agent whispered to herself. "I can do this." Taking a deep breath, she planted one foot in the fence and hoisted herself up. Her foot slipped and she fell to the ground, much to Minccino's dismay. The zombies were closing in now, five pairs of hands grasping at their soon-to-be victim. "Sawsbuck, I need your help!" Rachel hurled a Pokéball at the horde. A large deer emerged, bucked, and back-kicked the two closest zombies with enough force to send the entire group to the ground. Before they had a chance to get up, Rachel had swung onto her Sawsbuck's back. The Season Pokémon took a running start and vaulted over the fence. Minccino hopped down onto Rachel's shoulder, and the trio took off into the night. No one dared to look back. After making sure to silence her Xtransceiver, Rachel pulled up the devices GPS function to navigate her way through the unfamiliar streets from atop Sawsbuck's back. Everywhere she looked she found more of the zombie creatures gathering while the un-zombified populace ran off in terror. The situation was getting worse by the minute. "We have to hurry," she urged her Pokémon. "I don't know how long--" A large window exploded next to her, sending shards of glass flying everywhere. Amidst the fragments, a body slammed into her with enough force to send her tumbling to the ground. IC: Miles Frost - Hotel, Black City The pulses had woken him up, but it was the fire alarm that spurred him into action. Groggy and still half-asleep, Miles Frost stepped out of his hotel room to see what was going on. Up and down the hall, the hotel's other patrons responded in a similar confusion. The hotel's courtyard style architecture allowed each patron a view of the lobby, decorated with a pristine marble fountain of Unova's twin legendary dragons. And so when the scream pierced the air, everyone was able to see a twisted figure fall from a floor up above and strike the fountain with a resounding crack. Whoever the unfortunate victim was, everyone assumed they were dead. That was when the victim staggered to their feet and began to walk in a slow, erratic fashion. Miles was sure he was hallucinating -- a byproduct of the stress, no doubt. A single word echoed throughout the courtyard from one of the upper floors; a word that provided a succinct yet outrageous definition for the strange phenomenon: "Zombies!" The dam had broken. As one the hotel's hundreds of patrons flew into a mass panic. Now that the adrenaline had woken him up, Miles retreated back into his room to grab what he could before making his escape. The sounds of shattering glass reached his ears, and he saw a number of people had escaped out their windows on flying Pokémon. Shaking his head, Miles quickly pulled on the button-down shirt and suit pants he had laying out, then grabbed his briefcase. He barely made it out the door when someone slammed into him with enough force to push him back into the hotel room. The two of them fell back on the couch and Miles's vision became obscured by a headful of long, unkempt hair and a torn nightgown. "Are . . . are you alright, ma'am?" he asked as he tried to gently push the woman off of him. The woman gave a feeble groan in response, and when she lifted her head, Miles saw something out of a nightmare. Her eyes had sunken into their sockets, her mouth hung askew, and her teeth had grown jagged like an animal's. A discolored hand reached out and closed around his neck. Eyes bulging, Miles rolled himself and the zombie woman off the couch. The impact of hitting the floor loosened the woman's grip enough for Miles to pull back and stare in a mixture of shock and horror. "This can't be real," he muttered. The zombie rose to her feet and lunged at him. Miles easily dodged and tried to grab a lamp to use as a weapon, but the furnishing had been fastened to the wall. When the woman lunged a second time, Miles swung his briefcase. His heart sank as the sound of ripping leather filled the room. The woman's nails -- more akin to claws -- had torn through the briefcase like a knife through butter. Papers flew everywhere as the ruined briefcase fell to the floor. As the woman lunged yet again, Miles ducked into the bathroom, eyes scanning the room for any potential weapon. He settled on the towel rack, a long metal beam fastened to the wall by two ends. He grabbed the shaft and pulled as hard as he could. It didn't budge. The zombie stumbled into the bathroom, and Miles had to hop onto the counter to avoid her attack. She struck the wall with enough force to loosen the towel rack. With one last burst of strength Miles managed to yank the beam free and swung it in a wide arc. The metal connected with the woman's head, splattering the walls with blood. He reeled back, the weapon clattering to the floor as he caught his breath. The woman lay still, slumped against the shower door in a bloodied mess. Miles closed his eyes and fought back the sickly feeling rising in his stomach. Muffled screams reached his ears, mixed with the continuous blaring of the fire alarm. With shaking legs, Miles slowly rose to his feet. Grabbing the towel rack, he staggered out into the hallway. People ran past him in both directions -- some headed for the fire exit to the left, others to the trio of glass elevators to the right. Some tried to drag heavy suitcases along with them, others had their hands full with children. Already, Miles could see the small stairwell to his left was over capacity. Trying to get through there would be like trying to squeeze through a can of sardines. Brandishing his weapon, Miles headed toward the elevators. At the sight of the bloody metal bar, people gave Miles a wide berth. He was on the third floor, so the elevators were jam packed with people from all of the higher floors. After what felt like an eternity, Miles managed to squeeze onto one of the lifts. When they reached the lobby, the elevator's occupants dispersed in a mad mob, racing for safety. Unfortunately it looked like more than a few people had gotten the idea to throw the zombies over the balcony into the courtyard -- the lobby was teeming with the undead creatures. About half of the people from the elevator found themselves mauled by the horde. Miles would have been one of those unfortunate victims were it not for his trusty towel rack. He swung wildly as he made his way toward the door, and for a fleeting moment it looked like freedom was within his grasp. Then one of the zombies tackled him from behind, sending him crashing through the enormous stained glass window. His momentum sent him crashing into a Sawsbuck, dislodging its rider. Miles lay dazed on the pavement, his towel rack clattering several feet away. A foul, acidic saliva drooled from the zombie's mouth as it leaned over him. This zombie was much larger than the woman in his hotel room, and Miles didn't have the strength to push himself free. He shut his eyes and braced himself for the inevitable end.

EDIT: OOC: I will be temporarily taking over for Colleen, Olivia, and Lucia in order to ease the burden on Blade. A small Lucia bit has been added to this post. IC: Dahlia Seaton/Zoe Llyan/Alex Lockwood/Colleen Llyan/Olivia Seaton/Lucia Zyther - Cottage, Geosenge Town Zoe remained blissfully ignorant of Jamie's pointed glare, for she had dozed off on Colleen's shoulder, the unmarked egg nestled snugly in the backpack at her feet. Dahlia nodded in affirmation to Jared's question. She wasn't sure she was the best person to vote on such a decision, given her limited knowledge of Lumiose's various targets, but Jared's reasoning seemed sound. "I'll cover Miss Matiere," she said. "Flare got to her once before, and she was clearly still shaken by the experience when we talked to her. I'll make sure they don't lay a finger on her this time." "I'll go to Lumiose with you." Lucia placed a hand on Jamie's shoulder, although the Heroine of Time still seemed to be focused on her maybe-maybe-not-baby-brother. "If Dahlia's got Matiere, then perhaps we should check on Sycamore. What do you think, Jamie?"

IC: Dahlia Seaton/Zoe Llyan/Alex Lockwood - Cottage, Geosenge Town - August 13th, Ungodly Hour of the Night "You mean Em's not going with us?" Zoe seemed visibly disappointed at this. Or perhaps her lack of sleep had finally caught up with her. For as energetic as the girl had been up until this point, it was now way past her bedtime and it was beginning to show. "That's okay . . . Collie and I can meet up with Lucina. She'll beat Flare for good. Just give me five more minutes . . ." It was as if a switch had suddenly been flipped off. Zoe rested her head against Colleen's shoulder and was out like a light. Alex looked at the sisters in concern. "You sure you can handle it on your own?" he asked Colleen. The aura wielder glanced down at Zoe and nodded. Her stoic expression masked any worries she might have had, and her silence deterred any further questions. "I should head to Lumiose," Dahlia said with a hint of nervousness. "With my powers, it's best to put me in the middle of the action. Klim, you'll probably want to come with me, right?" "I'll go with ya too, sis." Olivia placed a hand on Dahlia's shoulder. "I still need to pick up Bree, anyway." Alex looked over at Emily. "I'll go with you to the League, then. After all, family's got to stick together, right?"

IC: Dahlia Seaton/Zoe Llyan/Alex Lockwood - Cottage, Geosenge Town "Do we even know where we're supposed to be going?" Dahlia asked. "It sounds to me like these Flare agents could be literally anywhere in Kalos. We don't have nearly enough manpower to search the whole region, and even if we did, I don't think it's a wise idea to split up too much." "We should check the local news," Alex suggested. "If there really is an uprising, it's bound to make headlines." "By the time that happens, it'll be too late," Dahlia argued. "If we wait for a report and then have to run halfway across the region, Kalos will be up in flames before we get there." "I have an idea!" Zoe declared. "All we have to do is go outside and call ask all Flare members to meet up in the city square for a super secret meeting. Then once they're there, we kill them!" Dahlia wasn't sure how to respond to a twelve-year-old suggesting murder. It was a childish notion of black-and-white morality, but if Flare really was as cold and ruthless as everyone said they were . . . would slaughtering them be the right course of action here? They had been stopped once before, but evidently they'd continued to grow from the shadows. The idea didn't sit well with her, but it would probably be the only way to ensure Flare was completely eradicated. The only question was, when it came down to it, would Dahlia be able to follow through on that resolve? She glanced at Klim for a moment before looking at Jared. "What do you think we should do?"

IC: Zoe Llyan/Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood - Cottage, Geosenge Town "We know who you really are!" Zoe said, reaching for a Pokéball. "You're--!" "Yes, we've been travelling with Dr. Alderson and Mr. Zyther for the past few days," Alex hastily interrupted. "We know who they are, but our new friends don't. Well . . . not all of them, anyway." He glanced at the other Alex, adopted son of Lionel Zyther, before continuing in a hushed whisper. "If you don't learn to keep your big mouth shut, kid, you're going to singlehandedly doom us all." Zoe rolled her eyes. "Didn't we just get done saying we couldn't--?" "Listen, Zoe." Dahlia pulled the two of them to the back of the group while the adults made their introductions. "I appreciate your enthusiasm here, but these are families we're talking about here. Emily's aunt, and Alex's -- Other Alex's -- father. We can't just make wild accusations until we're one-hundred percent certain. Otherwise, we'll just end up making things worse. How would you feel if someone suddenly accused your sister of being part of Flare?" "Well I'd start by beating them up for saying something so ridiculous," Zoe retorted. "Exactly my point," Dahlia said firmly. "We're still trying to figure out what exactly is going on here, so we can't play all our cards until we've seen the whole board." "I think what Dahlia's trying to say," Alex offered. "Is that patience is a virtue, and it's not worth burning bridges over."

IC: Zoe Llyan/Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood - Flare Lab, Geosenge Town An uncomfortable silence permeated through the group. Dahlia stepped back to give the others a chance to read the list. While Jared stepped aside to make a call, the gardener looked at the pair of Kalos Champions. "What does that list mean?" she asked softly. "And why are your names on it?" Before either of them could answer, Zoe strode up to Calem and Serena with a scowl on her face. "Do you mean to tell us that the two of you have just been a couple of hot-headed Flare Fanatics this whole time?" she asked in a loud voice. "It all makes sense now! You appeared out of nowhere in that restaurant because you knew we were getting too close to Flare's secrets. Then you insisted on following us down here, knowing full well the cloning machine was still active. You're planning to replace us all with evil clones of ourselves, aren't you?! Well, you'll never take us alive!" Zoe grabbed a Pokéball from her bag and reared back as if to throw it straight at the Champions. She might have actually hit one of them in the face if Alex hadn't grabbed her arm and pulled her back. "What do you think you're doing?" the Liberty agent cried in disbelief. "Didn't we just get over a big misunderstanding from assuming people were Flare agents?" "Yeah, well that was before we found Flare's Membership List!" Zoe retorted as she struggled against Alex's grip. "Everyone on that list is a twisted Flare Freak trying to rise from the ashes and it's our duty to arrest them all in the name of the law!" "Do you really believe all those people are working for Flare?" Alex asked as he managed to wrest the Pokéball out of Zoe's hand. "Calem and Serena helped stop Team Flare all those years ago! Besides, if they really were Flare, why would they be so eager to access such an incriminating file?" "Will both of you just calm down?!" Dahlia's eyes flashed as she forced Alex and Zoe apart. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation for all of this. Zoe, why don't we give Calem and Serena a chance to speak? And Alex, I know Zoe's jumping the gun, but you don't have to manhandle her." A wave of dizziness started to come over the Heroine of Reverse, but she pushed past it with a grimace and looked over at the two Champions. "The list was titled 'Means of Assistance.' What does that mean?"

IC: Dahlia Seaton - Flare Lab, Geosenge Town Dahlia wasn't anywhere near tech-savvy enough to be of any help. Nevertheless she approached the computer alongside everyone else. Or more accurately, she approached Alex Zyther, who had approached the computer alongside Amelia and Tristan. She didn't want to distract the trainer from getting the computer running, but she felt this needed to be said. "Hey," she tapped Alex on the shoulder before she could convince herself to back down. "About what you said just now . . . it's not your fault. You may have been the result of this lab's final experiment, but the blame lies solely on your creator. A sapling isn't responsible for where it gets planted. So don't blame yourself for all this."

IC: Ryan Sanders - Streets, Dendemille Town Ryan couldn't help but laugh at the blast of heat emitted from the Rotom's oven. "Quil, why don't you show them a real--" A flurry of bullets cut off Ryan's quip, forcing him back behind cover. Pokémon powers might give them an advantage, but it didn't make them bulletproof. Quil evidently got the message, for even as Ryan hid he heard the telltale sound of a Flamethrower spewing forth from the Typhlosion's mouth. Like the old saying goes, fight fire with bigger fire. Unfortunately the presence of firearms meant Ryan couldn't get a clear view of the battlefield. As he leaned against the now bullet-strewn car, he fingered through the Pokéballs on his belt. The only Pokémon he had that could withstand the force of a bullet was Jake's Aggron, but he had left the Steel-type back at the Alamo. Samurott's armor would provide a little protection, Ryan realized he had a better option. Dark purple wisps of smoke surrounded the Mismagius' ethereal body as she materialized before Ryan, cackling at the goofy mask he wore. "Missy, I need you to take out the snipers," Ryan said. "I know you don't have your powers back, but bullets will still go right through you. Do you think you can do this?" With a tip of her witch's hat, Missy floated out from behind the car. True to Ryan's word, the bullets flew straight through her ghostly body. Even as Quil tried to snatch the Oven-Rotom out of the air, the Misdreavus sped towards the Signs woman with the Solrock. Cackling madly, she reached out to try and snatch the gun away from her. Once Missy left, Ryan chanced a peek through the car's cracked windows. His eyes widened as he saw the white smoke billowing towards the battlefield. Within moments they would all be engulfed in Shift's chemical. Anyone with a gas mask would be fine, but the Pokémon had no such protection. "Togie!" he cried desperately. The Togekiss flew away from the Armaldo it had been scuffling with and flapped his wings at the encroaching smoke. He might as well have been trying to stop a storm with a leaf blower. Still, none of the Signs agents seemed to show any signs of concern for their Pokémon about to be hit with the drug. Sure, the wild Pokémon back at the warehouse had been severely abused, but this was an entirely new level of cruelty. Ryan couldn't take it any longer. "Fall back!" he cried to his Pokémon. The next instant, the billowing smoke consumed them all. OOC: Typhlosion: Flamethrower > Heat Rotom Togekiss: Untyped Whirlwind > Shift's Smoke Mismagius: Untyped Snatch > Esther's Weapon

IC: Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood/Zoe Llyan - Flare Lab, Geosenge Town "There are a lot of us, but there's also a lot of lab," Dahlia offered. "It might help to split up to search for clues, although we definitely want to use the buddy system." "Collie's my buddy!" Zoe announced. "The debris has been cleared, yes," Alex said with a frown. "But that doesn't necessarily mean the people who cleared it were Flare." He nodded at Belle. "We followed your tracks, thinking you were Flare. If our meeting has taught us anything, it's that we shouldn't jump to conclusions." "Um, Emmy can be our buddy, too." Zoe smiled at the older girl. "Alex does have a point," Dahlia said carefully. "But we still have to investigate under the assumption that someone was looking into this stuff for nefarious reasons." She pointed back to the cloning room. "From the sounds of it, this lab was still in use long after the Old Flare fell." Zoe looked around. "Anyone else want to join?"

IC: Ryan Sanders - Outside Pokémon Center, Dendemille Town As the agents opened fire, Quil spat out a Smokescreen and pulled back. "Well, we got their attention," Ryan muttered as he took cover behind a car. The gunshots stopped as the dark smoke quickly dissipated. When Ryan poked his head out to assess the situation, the Signs agents hurled four Pokéballs in his direction. Four flashes of light erupted in the street, and four Pokémon stood to oppose the fiery Typhlosion: A Solrock, pivoting around on its jagged rays; a Crustle, peering out from beneath its stone fortress; a Rotom, floating in the form of the toaster oven it had possessed; towering above the other three stood an Armaldo, brandishing its forelegs like swords. Whether or not they had powers, Ryan couldn't tell. But he knew that they didn't need powers to resist Quil's fire attacks. Ryan was still assessing the situation when Ray approached with his Zangoose and Bisharp. The two rushed towards the Crustle and Armaldo, respectively. Ryan met Ray's eye. "They know Quil has powers," he murmured. "They don't know which of our other Pokémon do. We might be able to use that to our advantage somehow." He gave a sharp whistle -- as sharp as he could while wearing a gas mask -- and Togie dove down from above, careening toward the Armaldo. "Alright, Quil." Ryan glanced between their two remaining opponents. "Time to Rollout." The Typhlosion curled up into a ball and sped toward the Heat Rotom. He couldn't remember if Rotom took on the type of whatever appliance it possessed, but he did know that a kitchen appliance would be a lot less durable than a bundle of rock. OOC: Typhlosion: Rollout > Heat Rotom Togekiss: Untyped Dive Bomb > Armaldo

IC: Zoe Llyan/Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood - Flare Lab, Geosenge Town Zoe found herself thoroughly defeated by her sister's logic. ". . . I knew that," she muttered as she turned her eyes to the ground. "I was just testing you." IC: Ryan Sanders - Pokémon Center, Dendemille Town "I'm beginning to think the two of us are bad luck," Ryan muttered. "At least we don't have to worry about finding Shift anymore." A few moments later the nurse came back with an armful of gas masks. By now even more people had taken refuge inside the Pokémon Center. A quick glance out the window showed the smoke had started to drift over the Center due to the wind, despite Togie's best efforts. The streets were clear for now, but there was no way everyone in the Pokémon Center would make it out in time. "Alright, new plan," Ryan said as he and Ray each took a gas mask. "Everyone will need to hide out here. Don't open any doors or windows, this place needs to go on complete lockdown." "This place isn't completely airtight," the nurse said. "Depending on the nature of the smoke it could still seep in." "That's a chance you're going to have to take," Ryan said. "At the rate this smoke is spreading there's no way to outrun it. Use the gas masks if it starts seeping in. Ray and I will try and clear it from the outside." He took two additional masks to help any stragglers before affixing his own mask and heading outside. That was when they saw it. A freight truck stood at the end of the road, slowly rolling toward them, flanked on either side by a small army. Each person wore a gas mask and was armed with some sort of weapon. Thick smoke spewed forth from the truck, covering their surroundings in a thick cloud. Ryan saw a young girl try and outrun the smoke, only to trip and disappear into its white depths. Her screams mingled with that of an old man who had similarly been caught in the cloud. The sound of the victims' screams made Ryan's blood boil. Shift was exactly what he had always imagined The Shadowed Man to be: a cruel, loathsome terrorist who took sick pleasure in others' suffering. It was unforgivable. In that moment, all the hatred he'd had for Ford up until the revelation of the Missing Zero became redirected toward Shift. "Quil!" he shouted, hurling a Pokéball toward the convoy. "It's time to transform!" The Typhlosion burst out of his Pokéball and glanced back at Ryan, tilting his head at the unfamiliar command. "Um . . . I mean that thing you did against Gluttony." Ryan scratched his head. "You know, big shiny lights? Sleek new form? Our bonds give us strength?" Quil tensed up as he tried to activate the transformation. Flames erupted on his back, but there was no hint of the rainbow glow. After a few moments the Typhlosion gave up with a sheepish shrug. Behind his gas mask, Ryan frowned. "Alright, guess we're doing it old school style. Quil, use Flamethrower!" It felt surreal to call out an actual attack name. After not having powers for so long, it was even cooler to see the Typhlosion hunch down on all fours and expel a steady stream of fire at the truck's wheels. With any luck, the attack would melt the rubber and halt the Signs' progress.

IC: Zoe Llyan/Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood - Flare Lab, Geosenge Town "So . . ." Alex's head spun. "Those two are clones of your other cousin, who in turn looks like your half-brother Xander?" "And I thought Chloe's family was complicated," Dahlia muttered to her sister. "Excuse me!" Zoe, who had kept mostly quiet throughout the battle and explanation, suddenly glared at Jared. "Did you just imply Emmy's untrustworthy? She doesn't have to prove anything to anyone! She's a part of this team just as much as you or me!" IC: Ryan Sanders - Pokémon Center, Dendemille Town "Mr. Sanders, your Pokémon are ready for you." Ryan was used to just picking up his Pokémon and leaving, but the nurse insisted on going over the Litleo and Amarua's conditions. She explained how they would both need time to adjust to life with a trainer and how the Litleo especially should be kept on a specific diet until he was back to a normal weight. And so Ryan was still at the counter when the power went out. It kicked back on seconds later thanks to the backup generator. Amidst the mechanical whir of the PCs rebooting and the murmurs of surprise by the Pokémon Center's patrons, the nurse calmly insisted there was nothing to worry about. By the time Ryan had finished retrieving the Litleo and Amaura, everyone seemed to have calmed down. When Ryan and Ray turned to leave, a man came rushing through the sliding doors. "H-help!" he cried desperately as he ran up to the front desk. "My friends . . . th-they're . . . they just . . . y-you have to help them!" While the nurse tried to calm the man down enough to speak in intelligible sentences, a woman came rushing in with a similar story. "M-my son . . . he was caught in the cloud . . . my husband tried to help him, and . . ." Ryan and Ray exchanged a look before they both raced outside. If the people in the Pokémon Center were starting to worry, the people on the streets were in full panic. A massive cloud of white smoke had started to flood the town like a fog bank rolling in. Terrified screams echoed as people ran in the opposite direction like a mob; more than one person found themselves trampled under someone else's frantic attempts to escape. The cloud hadn't reached this street yet, but it was traveling towards them at an alarming rate. Twenty-four hours ago this might have looked like a very unusual weather pattern, but Ryan had a sinking feeling he knew exactly what was going on. He immediately threw a Pokéball into the air. "Togie, I need you to keep that smoke at bay as best you can! Don't let it touch you!" The Togekiss balked slightly when he saw his opponent was literally a shapeless cloud. With his best attempt at a shrug, he took off into the air and began flapping his wings at the smoke. There was no way he'd be able to stop something so enormous, but maybe he could buy them just a few seconds. Ryan had already run back into the Pokémon Center. "The city's under attack with chemical warfare! We need to evacuate everyone immediately." He looked over at the nurse. "Do you have any gas masks?" She nodded meekly. "Distribute them to as many people as you can. If that smoke is what I think it is, the last thing you want to do is breathe it in." As the nurse ran back to retrieve the masks, Ryan pulled out his Pokégear. He scrolled through his contacts to Kyle Eston and hesitated, his thumb hovering over the call button. The closer they'd gotten to Shift, the worse Kyle seemed to feel. The last thing he needed right now was to hear that an entire town was being hit with Shift's hallucinogen. Maybe it was best if he sat this one out. He scrolled down to Chloe Hikari.

IC: Ryan Sanders - Pokémon Center, Dendemille Town "Hey, the past is in the past," Ryan said in a serious tone. "Worrying about what you could have done different won't get you anywhere. That's a lesson I've learned all too well." His mouth tightened for a moment, his lips forming a thin line. "If you'd turned McKinley down, he would've just found someone else, like what happened with the Fifth Child. Besides, you were trying to do the right thing. No one blames you for taking that clown's offer. You did it for Sonja . . . and if we're being honest, I probably would have done the same in your shoes."

IC: Zoe Llyan/Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood - Flare Lab, Geosenge Town "Which one's which . . .?" Zoe looked over at Emily for clarification. "Um . . . which one is which?" "Wait a second." Dahlia regarded Jamie in confusion. "Brother? Does that mean your father is . . . a Metagross?" She didn't mean to come off as rude, although being raised by a Pokémon would explain some of Jamie's more . . . eccentric quirks.

IC: Zoe Llyan/Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood - Flare Lab, Geosenge Town Alex looked over at his cousin in a mixture of confusion and surprise. "You have a half-brother? How come I never knew about that?" Dahlia meanwhile, relieved the fighting had stopped, was busy trying to wrap her head around everything the other group had told them. "So let me get this straight," the gardener said, taking a hesitant step forward and leaning on her Dragonair for support. "The two of you are clones that were born in this facility." She pointed at Amelia. "You managed to escape but lost your memories in the process." Her finger moved to Alex Zyther. "You were rescued from this place by Mr. Zyther, who adopted you, before he married into Lucia's family, making the two of you step-brother and step-sister." She then looked over at Emily. "And on top of all that, Xander Cruize -- the same Xander who sent us on this mission in the first place -- has been your half-brother this whole time . . . and Alex Zyther looks just like him. Does that mean you're a clone of Xander?" "That could explain why he wanted us to investigate this Flare stuff," Alex Lockwood said slowly. "He probably wanted to make sure they weren't trying to clone anybody else." "Yes, but why not tell us that from the start?" Dahlia asked, bringing a hand to her head. "And why Xander, of all people?" The pieces were all lined up, and yet something was missing. "Wait," Zoe said in a small voice. Although she remained in her corner, the girl's eyes were locked on Emily. "Does that mean those eggs are clones, too?"

OOC: Happy Ninth Anniversary, Rise of the Rockets! Another year come and gone. This one saw long-awaited adventures in Kalos, the investigation of Ford's base, an entire Alola Arc, and even the return of a few familiar faces. As Kalos builds up to its eventual finale, I can't help but look back at how far we've come. Ellen may be laying low for now, but Zoe's finally gotten her time to shine. Shannon's shown a bit more independence, while both Dack and Dahlia are facing very different forms of personal demons. But perhaps my favorite moment of this past year was the chance to finally bring Ryan's personal struggles to a resolution. I've written many, many posts over the past nine years but the Mega Typhlosion reveal was by far the most cathartic for me personally. I want to thank all of you for reading, writing, and overall enjoying this collaborative story over the past nine years. None of this would have been possible without each of us playing our part. So here's to the start of another fantastic year of storymaking! IC: Ryan Sanders - Pokémon Center, Dendemille Town Ryan nodded in agreement. "It's like the answers are just beyond our grasp. Kind of reminds me of trying to get information out of you and the rest of Ford's Children. We had just enough to go on while still being kept in the dark." He glanced over at the Separatist. "I'm sorry about that, by the way. It must've been hard, not being able to tell us what you were really doing." IC: Zoe Llyan/Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood - Flare Lab, Geosenge Town Alex heard his name called out and someone else answered for him. While he couldn't see through the darkness, he recognized Lucia's voice as the one who had called his name. For a second he was confused, but then he recalled the rather embarrassing misunderstanding at Lionel's castle. And if Lucia was the one calling, that meant the Alex in question would have to be . . . Absol's fight with the orange canine -- he couldn't tell if it was a small Arcanine or a large Growlithe -- interrupted Alex's thoughts. Whoever their opponents were, it was clear they weren't pulling any punches. There wasn't any time for hesitation. "Absol!" he called out. "It's bigger than you, so use that to your advantage! Lure it into a corner where it can't maneuver as well!" The dark-type allowed his opponent to hit him, yelping dramatically. He responded with a halfhearted swipe of his claws before backing up into an unoccupied corner. It was a risky gambit that relied on him being able to get out from under the fire-type's next attack. Otherwise Absol himself would be pinned and at the mercy of the giant dog. While Dahlia was too exhausted to follow much of the chaotic battle, one word caught her ear: Mercury. She looked over at Lachina in surprise; letting an uncontrollable killer lose seemed like the last thing the Ranger should be suggesting. Her mind thought back to the battle in the Berry Fields. She didn't want to hurt anyone . . . but if these Team Flare people were really as bad as everyone said they were, then they needed to be stopped at all costs. Dahlia understood perhaps better than anyone now that Jared's dark side wasn't inherently evil. Mercury wanted to bring Team Flare to justice just as much as anyone else did; he just had a different definition of the word. Who was she to say that his definition wasn't the right answer for a group so cruel and inhumane? Dahlia looked over at Zoe, whose eyes were filled with tears. The Heroine of Reverse clenched a fist. Jared had told her to stay out of the fight, but if things got bad, she couldn't just stand by and do nothing. She kept a close eye on the aura wielder, steeling herself in case she was needed. IC: Dack Majors/Jayron Aaron – Streets, Shamouti Island "So. You want to tell me what's going on?" The executive's question broke the uncomfortable silence as the two walked down the streets of the island's main town, accompanied by Jayron's Lucario. The tropical air should have felt refreshing after being cooped up in the boat, but present and not-present company made it hard to relax. "You're an aura wielder." Dack scowled. "Can't you just read my mind or something?" Lucario looked like he wanted to punch Dack in the face, but resisted when Jayron let out a belabored sigh. "I read emotions, not thoughts. And I've been getting an immense anger from you ever since we left Four Island. I know you and Agent Shaw have a history, but I want to hear it in your own words." "I don't know what else there is to say," Dack muttered with a shrug. "I hate him, and he hates me. I joined Team Rocket so I could beat him, and now I'm forced to work with him. It's just all sorts of wrong." That made both Jayron and Lucario pause. "You joined so you could settle your vendetta? Not out of loyalty to your country or anything?" That earned a sharp laugh from Dack. "Loyalty? I'm loyal to my friends, nothing more." "Well it would seem you're loyal to your enemies, too." The aura wielder gave him a pointed look. "You certainly seem to have no qualms about helping Agent Sanders after you arrested his parents." Dack turned away to look down the street. "I repay my debts," he said simply. "Aren't we supposed to be looking for clues or something?" IC: Madison Morrow/Luke/Adam Shaw – Shrine, Shamouti Island "Disturb not the harmony of fire, ice, or lightning . . ." Luke peered at the inscription, then gave Madison a sidelong glance. "Little late for that, wouldn't you say?" "What are you muttering about?" Adam scowled as he kicked a stone off the cliff and watched it fall into the ocean below. "It's just a stupid legend. Unless it says something about a giant three-headed dragon flying over the island we're wasting our time here." The shrine they had stumbled across was pretty far removed from the town, erected at the edge of a bluff overlooking the vast sea. One of the townsfolk had mentioned seeing a large Pokémon resembling a Hydreigon flying around this part of the island several months ago. While the shrine showed no signs of a dragon's nest, three small islands were just barely visible on the horizon past the shrine. While Madison and Luke studied the weathered words engraved on the stone obelisk, Adam had grown increasingly impatient. "It's a prophecy," Luke corrected. "Don't you see? Dack's the barely-contained fire, you're the unforgiving ice, and Jayron's the lightning that's about to smite both of you if you don't cooperate." "Does it say anything about the ice smiting the two annoying interlopers?" Adam shot Luke a glare that made even the blackbelt flinch. "'Cause that's what's about to happen." "Will both of you just stop?" Madison rolled her eyes at the two men. "Honestly, Luke, you're being just as bad as Dack." Luke narrowed his eyes at Adam. "If I was as bad as Dack, I'd have pushed him off that cliff as soon as he stepped up to it." "See, this is exactly what I'm talking about!" Madison cried. "All of you are living in the past. We were kids, and kids can be jerks. Haven't we all matured past the point of petty grudges?" "Maddy." Luke gave her a serious look. "This is Adam Freaking Shaw we're talking about. The guy whose Snover tried to freeze the bindings on your skis. The guy who ruined Dack's tenth birthday. The guy who—" he faltered for a moment before continuing in a deathly whisper. ". . . the guy who beat up and put down Matthew every chance he got." Madison met his gaze with a steeled look. "I know what he's done," she said softly. "And I also know that people can change. Dack did." "Yeah, and it took him being abducted by some crazy dude calling himself Pride." Luke shook his head. "As much as I'd love to see Adam face judgement for his Sins, I don't think that's happening anytime soon. Plus, the way Dack's been acting lately, can you really say he's changed for good?" Madison stared at him for a moment before dropping her eyes to the ground. "That's what worries me," she admitted. "It's like he's gone back to six years ago. He may have defeated his pride back in Celadon, but it's rearing its ugly head again in the face of Adam. I just wish they could settle their differences and move on." Luke looked out at the trio of islands on the horizon. "Some scars run deep," he said gravely. "Adam's ripped open a fresh wound, and Dack's reacting with gut instinct. It's fight or flight, it's not something he can just get over in a couple of weeks." "Are you two done muttering about me behind my back?" Adam had walked up to the shrine and ran a finger across the ancient carvings. "The Hydreigon's obviously not here, but it could have flown to one of those smaller islands." "He has a point," Madison said. "But it could just as easily have flown off in another direction. I think we need to get more information from the townspeople. We don't want to return to Jayron with only half an answer."

IC: Ryan Sanders - Streets, Dendemille Town "That's a good point." Ryan scanned the streets with a contemplative look. "There was a time when I would've just kept my head down and pretended not to notice. I guess I've been hanging around Evan too much; his heroism is starting to rub off on me." Ryan cracked a smile. "Sometimes I forget that most people aren't the type to go around saving the world in a teleporting base." It was then that Ryan spotted the familiar red roof of the Pokémon Center. He led the way into the building, which thankfully wasn't too crowded. Placing the Litleo and Amarua's Pokéballs on the counter, Ryan gave the receptionist a brief explanation about how they'd found the pair of injured Pokémon. The nurse didn't ask too many questions, much to Ryan's relief. Once the Pokémon had been taken back for examination, Ryan wandered around the lobby, finding himself drawn to a large map of the region printed on the wall. "It still doesn't feel like we're in Kalos," he muttered to Ray, letting the thought sink in. "Everything happened so fast, it's just hard to believe we're really here." IC: Zoe Llyan/Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood - Flare Lab, Geosenge Town Zoe had no idea why Jamie was calling the pale egg her brother, but she could tell the Rocket girl was very angry with her. She shrunk back into a corner as the scary lady walked into the next room. It took all of Zoe's effort not to cry in front of the group; that wouldn't be very warrior-like, after all. Emily ushered her into the next room, but she stayed at the back of the group, putting as much distance as she could between herself and Jamie. That was when the fight broke out. Under normal circumstances, Zoe would have been happy to join the battle. With Jamie voraciously calling out attacks, however, a strange feeling lying somewhere between guilt and fear drained Zoe of her fighting spirit. Instead she cowered in the corner, too petrified to move. Dahlia felt similarly drained, but for a different reason. She hadn't been quick enough to react to the mechanical arm that had attacked -- or 'sampled' -- Dracos, and now she found herself in the middle of yet another battle, unable to call upon her Reverse powers to help. She wasn't sure if she even had the energy to command her Pokémon. Dracos, Coco, and Nutmeg quickly assessed their trainer's situation and formed their own strategy. While the rest of the group met their mysterious attackers head-on, Dahlia's Pokémon chose to remain on the defensive. Coco turned to the assorted trainers and motioned for them all to back up. Dracos slithered in front of the group to act as a barrier, keeping a wary eye on the opposing Pokémon. Nutmeg gently nudged Olivia's leg, herding the redhead and her sister back toward Zoe's corner. Alex saw what Dahlia's Pokémon were doing and promptly stepped past the Dragonair. While he understood the need to keep the non-combatants safe, he also knew it would be hard to command his Pokémon if he was stuck in a crowded corner. He threw a Pokéball at the orange mound that had tackled Jared to the ground. An Absol emerged, fangs bared, and pounced towards his opponent. IC: Ryan Hikari/Corey Bouchard/Aori Yamamoto/Shannon Willows/Lauren/Caroline/Alice - Festival, Ecruteak City Aori stayed fairly close to Ryan and Shannon as they wandered through the festival, though now and again she would run a few feet ahead to look at a kimono or some fans or a cart of baked goods. Despite her normal quietude, she was happily exclaiming and pointing things out as she became absorbed with the festival’s atmosphere. She turned to face the adults and hopped lightly from one foot to the other. “Are there going to be fireworks tonight?” "There should be." Shannon glanced at her friends for confirmation. "Of course there'll be fireworks." Caroline grinned. "It's not a festival without fireworks, now is it? You should be able to see them from pretty much anywhere in the city, but the best view is in front of the Bell Tower." Alice craned her neck to look over at the famous landmark. "Now the best view would be from inside the Tower. We'd be right in the middle of them." "Um, I'm pretty sure we aren't allowed up there," Lauren murmured in a quiet voice that went unheard over Caroline and Alice's lively debate. As the two girls squabbled in the front of the group, Shannon smiled down at Aori. "Don't worry about those two. They've been butting heads since we were kids. I'm sure it doesn't matter where we go. Do you like fireworks, Aori?" The girl paused to consider, as if this were the first time that somebody had asked her whether she liked fireworks and she had to mull it over. Finally, she shook her head. “They are pretty, but they are also very loud. And sudden. I do not like sudden loudness.” "Yeah, I definitely get that." Ryan said with a chuckle as he walked alongside the two. "Nicer to watch on like, a TV screen or something. I don't really like loud noises either, honestly." "We don't have to watch the fireworks, then," Shannon said, squeezing Aori's hand a little. "They won't be as loud if we stick to the other side of the city. There's plenty of other things we can do. Magikarp scooping, live music . . . ooh, we could even get some shaved ice!" Aori nodded softly. “I would like that. Thank you.” Up ahead, Alice and Caroline continued to discuss the fireworks. "Hey," Shannon called out to her friends. "Aori wanted to skip the fireworks. We'll enjoy the other parts of the festival instead." Caroline cocked her head. "But she's the one that brought it up," she said with a slight pout. "And I kind of wanted to see them from the Tower." Alice jabbed her with an elbow. "If you want to see them that badly, Caroline, go on without us. Just remember Shannon will be leaving tomorrow." "Um, I think we should stick together . . ." Lauren moved over to stand next to Shannon and Aori. "After all, we don't get to see each other that often." "Fiiiine, but only cause the kid's so darn cute." Caroline rolled her eyes and started leading the way down to the food stands. "Geez," she muttered as they walked past a dynamically dressed man travelling with two women by his side. "Don't feel bad about your t-shirt, Lauren. You can't go worse than Mr. Muscle Man over there. Seriously, who wears that to an Ecruteak festival?" Just as Lauren was berating Caroline for speaking within earshot of the strangely dressed man, Shannon ran up to the man in question. "Um, excuse me," she said, studying the man's face. "Are you by chance Evan Tierra?" Evan was caught a little off guard by this woman’s question but smiled and performed a bit of a pose. “That I am. Who’s asking?” The man asked, before his eyes widened as he recalled who he was speaking to. “Are you Shannon?” The girl's hazel eyes lit up. "Yes! Hey, Ryan! Ryan! Look, it's Evan! Evan Tierra!" She looked back at the Former Hero of Space. "So what brings you to Ecruteak?" “Well, you see….” The Plasma Agent began. “I’m here with my girlfriend and a friend we met in Alola. As for the why, Jenny, mind telling them? It’ll make more sense if you explain.” "Well, to keep things short, I'm trying to get back my memories." Jenny said as she scratched the back of her head. With a curious look on his face, Ryan walked closer. "Evan?" The black-haired trainer asked in complete surprise as he approached. "Never expected to see you here. So you're here because of Jenny's memories? Is there something special about them here?" "It's because she went to school here." Marie chimed in, which prompted Ryan to turn to her, first about to ask who she was, and then in confusion about who she was. "... Have… I seen you before?" Ryan asked with a confused look on his face. Marie shook her head, however. "Oh, you went to school here, too?" Lauren asked, walking up to Jenny. "We all did, too. Which school did you go to?" As Jenny and Lauren discussed schools, Shannon looked over at the unfamiliar blonde girl. "I know Evan and I've heard about Jenny, but I don't think I know you. My name's Shannon." "Oh, my name's Marie." She introduced herself, though kept the 'alternate universe' part to herself for the moment, not wanting to overwhelm anyone or give her identity away to anyone who shouldn't know it. "Marie Homura, where I'm from is complicated." "I think we're all complicated to varying degrees." Shannon gave a good-natured laugh. "So how did you get caught up with Evan and Jenny?" "Met them back in Alola during a big event there, definitely got caught off guard by that weird form evolution thingy Evan could do, but I feel I held my own pretty well too." Marie said with a proud look on her face. "Wait, Evan can do it, too?" Shannon grabbed Ryan and dragged him into the conversation. "Ryan, did you hear that? You've got some competition!" "Wait, what?" Ryan glanced from the mysterious girl to Evan. "You can evolve something too? What is it?" “My Swampert can do it, yeah.” Evan said, grinning. “He became quite the powerhouse, I'd say. All it took was a life or death battle, and boom! He got all buff and such.” "Huh… I'm kinda surprised, but I guess that makes sense." Ryan nodded as he glanced to the others. "Well, that should help things out, more Pokémon that can help fight is always a good thing." "New evolutions, huh?" That got Alice's attention. "I wonder if Aurora can do it, too." The girl stroked her Umbreon's silky fur, a soft smile playing on her lips. "I'd heard about those transformations on the news, but I never would've thought I'd actually meet someone who had done it. Shannon, how on earth did you get involved with these people?" "Oh, that's a long story." Shannon waved a dismissive hand. "They're not the only ones who can do it, though. Those two just happen to be really great trainers." "And what about you?" Alice asked with a smirk. "We used to pit Aurora and Selena against each other all the time back in the day. Care to see how they fare now that we're older?" At the promise of a battle, the Umbreon pawed the ground anxiously. "Oh, you'd . . . probably beat me." Shannon looked away. "Selena doesn't really fight unless she has to. Besides, without powers it would just be a fistfight." Alice broke out into hysterical laughter. "She doesn't fight? Who are you and what have you done with Shannon?" Shannon shifted uncomfortably. "I'm gonna get some shaved ice," she said suddenly. "Ryan, Aori, do you want any? What about you, Corey?" Corey tore their eyes away from studying the newcomers. "Sure. I'll come help if you want, too, carrying it back'll be a challenge with just one person." Ryan glanced over in surprise, but nodded. "Sure, you can pick what flavour." Aori nodded. “Can I get blueberry please?” "Sure thing." Shannon gave Aori a smile and left her in Ryan's capable hands. She glanced over at Corey as the two of them walked toward the food stands. "So how are you enjoying this festival?" she asked. "You ever been to one before?" "A buncha time a long while ago. Not too sure how much I'm enjoying things this time, but it's okay I guess." Corey scratched the back of their head before simply shrugging. "Maybe I'm just not used to things being so…" They tried to find the word they wanted to use, but then frowned. "I don't know, normal?" "It's definitely surreal," Shannon agreed. "But I think we should try to enjoy it while it lasts. After all, hanging out with a bunch of friends without a care in the world . . . that's the stuff you tend to take for granted until the day it's all torn away from you. These moments are meant to be cherished." "That's a fair point." Corey said as they nodded. "Still…" They bit their lip for a moment as they sighed. "No, you're right, maybe I just need to learn how to enjoy this kinda stuff again, without like, constantly checking over my shoulder for threats." "Well, you can start by smiling more." Shannon giggled slightly. "Seriously, there's no need to be so uptight. This is a public festival; it's probably the least likely place for something bad to happen."

IC: Zoe Llyan/Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood - Flare Lab, Geosenge Town All eyes turned on Zoe. The girl had been peering out from around the corner to see the Heroine of Reverse in action, although she wasn't sure if her overt gawking or Jared's ability to sense her aura was to blame for her shocking yet inevitable discovery. She instinctively ducked behind the corner, silently assuring herself nobody had seen her. That claim was rebuked in a matter of moments as Collie poked her head around the corner, a disapproving frown evident on her face. "I-I'm not Zoe!" the girl quickly stammered. "I'm just a Ditto who transformed into your friend to follow you! But, um, not a Flare Ditto. No, I'm just a normal, innocent, inconspicuous wild Ditto who happened to get her powers back." Collie was not buying it. "Alright, I'm sorry." Zoe hung her head as she approached the rest of the group. "I just couldn't stay back while the rest of you saved the world. I mean, what if the Flare spies doubled back and kidnapped me while you all were out investigating this place? It's safer with you guys." "Safer than trailing behind us unseen," Alex muttered. "Either way, you're here now. So you might as well stick with us." Dahlia didn't seem to pay much attention to Zoe, instead focused on sending out her Dragonair. Dracos slithered around the gardener, providing extra support to lighten Olivia's load. Coco and Nutmeg continued to huddle at their trainer's side, anxiously peering down the hallway. "Are we ready?" Dahlia asked in a small voice. IC: Ryan Sanders - Streets, Dendemille Town Ryan and Ray had already left the common room by the time Chloe brought up the investigation of the Children's rooms. Oblivious to whatever discussion might be going on inside the mobile base, the pair emerged on the hillside at the edge of Dendemille Town. Not wanting to draw attention to themselves, they discreetly picked their way down to the main hub of the town. People bustled back and forth, blissfully ignorant to the horrific poaching ring that until recently had operated just a few miles away from the comfort of their homes. "It reminds me a bit of Unova," Ryan said as they passed by a middle-aged man carrying his son alongside a Pancham who rested comfortably on the shoulders of a Pangoro. "Just like the Unovans didn't know about our war, these people have no idea what Shift's been doing under their noses. How could nobody have noticed? If they knew what was going on, there's no way the townspeople would allow this trafficking to continue. Right?"

IC: Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood - Flare Lab, Geosenge Town The world spun around and it was only Jared's gentle hand that kept her from collapsing on the floor. "I-I'll be fine," Dahlia managed, although she gratefully accepted Jamie's hand. "Don't worry about me, we need to chase after those guys before they get away." "Yes, but we can't have you collapsing in the middle of the chase," Alex said with a frown. "Someone should stay back with you while the rest of us go ahead." "I'm fine," the gardener insisted, although another step sent her knees buckling and Jared had to catch her once more. "Alright, maybe I'm not so fine. But someone needs to go now or those people will escape and all this will have been for nothing." IC: Ryan Sanders - Common Room, Vertrag "Sure thing." Ryan accepted the Pokéball, offering a gentle smile to the Amaura inside. "Don't worry, Beira. I'll take good care of you." He glanced over at Chloe and Ray. "Either of you have any Pokémon that need medical attention? Or if you want, you could join me for a walk in the Windy City."

IC: Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood - Flare Lab, Geosenge Town "No way." Dahlia narrowed her eyes at the pebbles tumbling down from the wall. "Whoever we're after doesn't want to be followed." "They were willing to make a cave-in, potentially trapping themselves, in order to stop us." Alex had caught up with the others. He shook his head. "Either they're really that dense, or they know of another way out. We just have to find it before they escape." "Or . . ." Dahlia took a deep breath. "We make our own way through. Something tells me these Flare fanatics haven't heard of the Heroes of Creation." She gave Jamie a sidelong glance. "What do you say we give them a proper introduction?" Steeling herself, Dahlia extended her hands towards the mountain of rubble. "Revert back to your original form and let us through." It was a gamble. She had already used up a lot of energy during her earlier training, and if the rubble was too thick she would only wear herself out. But if she could undo the collapse, then they would be able to catch up to their enemies and take them by surprise. IC: Ryan Sanders - Common Room, Vertrag "We can't just give up," Ryan said. "The Signs were supposed to help us decipher the Grimoire, right? What if we just gave the book a quick read ourselves? Together the five of us might find something Ford missed. Although first . . ." He pulled a Pokéball from his belt, his expression growing somber. "I need to get this Litleo healed up. Vertrag's healing machines can heal off its battle injuries, but I'd like to take it to Dendemille's Pokémon Center if possible to get it treated for any infections. My leg could use a good once-over, too." Ryan glanced at the rest of the group. "I don't know how badly injured the rest of the Pokémon you found were, but you're all welcome to come with me. Otherwise, I'd suggest start looking at the Grimoire. Who knows, maybe there's some sort of spell in there to locate the Signs' base."

IC: Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood - Flare Lab, Geosenge Town Dahlia had been about to suggest sending out Marsala or Gerri to scout ahead when Jamie rather forcibly pushed a Heracross past her. "W-wait, shouldn't we think about--" Her concerns were cut short when Coco eagerly chased after the Heroine of Time, not wanting to miss out on the action. With a sigh, Dahlia rushed after her Buneary, thinking back to her training with Klim. She certainly hoped she wouldn't have to rely on her powers to bail them out of a trap, but she wanted to be ready just in case. Steeling herself, she turned the corner. IC: Ryan Hikari/Shannon Willows/Aori Yamamoto/Corey/??? - Goldenrod City, Johto The rest of the day progressed without too much incident, though Ryan had to practically drag Corey away from the table at dinner that night. Despite worries that Phil might find them again to fulfill his alleged threats, there was no sign of the man. After they all woke up the next morning and everyone was ready, the new group of four headed out toward Ecruteak City. As he walked along toward the northern route, Ryan stopped for a moment and turned around, looking from side to side. "Something the matter?" Corey asked with a curious look at Ryan's pause. The Rocket shook his head with a small frown. He turned back and began to walk again. "Thought I saw someone familiar. Can't see them, though, so maybe it was just my imagination." Ryan explained, then chuckled. "Come on, shouldn't take too long to get to Ecruteak from here." *** As the group walked off, a balding man stepped from out of an alley behind them. Well, well. Looks like the rat was telling the truth after all. Seems he decided to show his face again. Interesting. How very… interesting. *** True to Ryan's words, with the proper shortcuts that Corey and Ryan both showed off to the other two, they managed to make it to Ecruteak by the middle of the day. Ryan felt super tired from the long hike, but even still, they had made it. A sizable lump formed in Shannon's throat when she saw the city's iconic towers off in the distance. Memories of her childhood rushed back to her faster than she could process them. The distinct slope of the roofs, the sounds of traditional instruments, even the smells coming from various food stands. “It is beautiful,” Aori said in quiet awe as she tugged on Shannon’s hand. “You lived here?” Shannon sniffed back her tears as she smiled down at the girl. "Yes, I did. I never thought I'd see this place again. It really is beautiful, it looks just the way I remember it." Selena chose that moment to pop out of her Pokéball. The Furret squeaked in joy as she ran up and down the city streets before coming back to Shannon's side. "You miss our home too, don't you, Selena? You know, while we're here we should see some of the city's sights. There's a beautiful little water garden on the grounds of the Bell Tower, and the Dance Theater. Maybe we could even visit one of the city's shrines and offer a prayer that we find Aori's parents." "We should eat before anything else." Corey spoke up as he glanced around for any sign of a restaurant. "I don't need to eat all that often, but I still know how bad hunger can affect things. Here, I think I see a place over here." The swordsman waved a hand as he walked over toward a place that smelled good. As they ate lunch outside the small deli Corey pointed out, Aori suddenly bolted to her feet. “Papa!” she shouted, pointing. Sure enough, a man with long auburn hair was turning the corner, walking away from them with a sword on his hip. Aori took off running without waiting for permission; if she didn't catch up to him now, she might lose him forever. "Aori?" Ryan and Corey both jumped to their feet as the girl suddenly started to run without warning. The two also didn't wait for Shannon to catch up, just in case they lost sight of Aori while waiting. Ryan in particular frowned slightly - it would be great if they found Aori's father here, but if it wasn't him, then her getting lost in the process would just cause everyone much more worry. As the adults came around the corner, Aori managed to catch up to the man. She grabbed his sleeve and tugged. He turned, surprised at the sudden feeling. Aori let her hand drop instantly and took a half-step backwards. The man blinked and crouched a bit. “Can I help you?” he asked. By the time Ryan caught up, Aori had her face buried in her hands as sobs wracked her body. The man -- far too young to be anyone’s father -- seemed bemused by the whole situation as he tried to comfort the girl. “I’m sorry, is everything alright?” "Aori!" Having finally caught up with the others, Shannon ran over to the girl and wrapped her up in her arms. "Don't run off like that again, you scared me half to death! What were you thinking?" Aori buried her face in Shannon’s shoulder as she tried to muffle her sobs. “I thought--” she said before her crying overtook her again. The foremost ball on her belt opened, and Hana appeared to wrap her vines around the girl in a gentle embrace. Aori quieted to soft whimpering noises as she kept her face hidden. Now that she was over her initial shock, Shannon gently stroked the girl's hair. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. You were just excited to find your papa, weren't you? The thing is, you can't just run off like that without telling us. What if you had gotten hurt? We care about you, Aori, and running off unexpectedly makes us worry about you. Understand?" The girl nodded mutely, sniffling and rubbing at her eyes. “Gommen,” she said quietly. She turned quietly and bowed to the man. “Gommen,” she repeated. “I thought you were… someone else.” “Ah, no worries,” he replied quietly, waving his hand. “Good luck. I hope you find him soon.” As he walked off, Aori turned and hugged Shannon tightly. “I am sorry for worrying you all,” she said. "It's alright." Corey said with a kind smile to Aori. "It's in the past now, and it worked out. I can understand why you ran off like that; not exactly in the same way, as it's more my brother and friends, but… I get it." Footsteps sounded behind them. Shannon looked over her shoulder to see a waitress from the restaurant trying to catch her breath. "Sorry, we didn't mean to run off like that," Shannon said quickly. "We had a bit of a crisis." It was only when she met the waitress' eyes that the recognition clicked. A wide smile grew on the woman's face. "Oh my god, Shannon! It's really you!" Her blonde hair had been tied into a bun and a pair of red-rimmed glasses now adorned her face, but the waitress was without a doubt Shannon's childhood friend. "Lauren!" Letting go of Aori, Shannon ran over to the woman and threw her arms around her. "I can't believe it! You've grown so much!" "Speak for yourself, Shan. It took me a while to recognize you. How've you been? What brings you back to Ecruteak? Is that your daughter? She's so adorable!" Shannon's cheeks flushed bright red. "Wh-what? No, she's too old to be my daughter! This is Aori, she was on One Island when that attack happened the other day. We've been trying to find her parents, we think they might have been sent over to Olivine." "Old friend, I take it?" Corey asked, as he relaxed slightly. "I thought the same thing too, though, that we were in trouble with the restaurant management for just running off like that. Friends are definitely better though." He decided to just quiet down for the moment, however, as he stepped over to the side so they could catch up. "Everyone, this is Lauren. We went to grade school together, before I had to move to Celadon. Lauren, this is Ryan, Aori, and Corey." Shannon's mood seemed to have brightened tenfold. It was like she'd turned into a kid in a candy store, and the joyful smile on her face was refreshing to see. "It's nice to meet you." Lauren gave the group a shy wave.

IC: Ryan Sanders - Signs Warehouse, Kalos Ryan suppressed a shudder as he looked around the torture chamber. Hearing about Kyle's experience was one thing, but seeing where it took place made it all the more real. He glanced at the white dust Emmerich had pointed out, making sure to keep a safe distance away. "That's what they drugged Kyle with?" he asked. "You don't suppose Vertrag could analyze it and come up with some sort of antidote for it, do you? It could be useful whenever we actually do find Shift. If we even manage to find him." Ryan strode back to the door before turning around to survey the room in its entirety. After a moment he let out a long sigh. "It doesn't seem like Shift's group left any sort of hints as to where they went after abandoning this place. It seems like we're at a dead end, unless you want to try digging through that rubble."

IC: Dahlia Seaton/Alex Lockwood - Flare Lab, Geosenge Town "They called this a lab?" Alex muttered, casting a wary eye toward the barred cells. "Looks more like a prison if you ask me." Nutmeg looked around the lab with a nervous croon. Dahlia knelt down and gently picked up the Turtwig, stroking her shell. "Lab or prison, I'm amazed anything works down here with all this rubble. What do you think could be down here that would make these supposed Flare members keep coming back?" IC: Zoe Llyan - Flare Lab, Geosenge Town Zoe waited until the rest of the group was inside the lab before following. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she looked around at the decrepit facility. It was like something out of a spy movie: she had finally found the villain's evil lair, and if she was quick enough she might even see Collie take down Flare's leader once and for all. Of course, it was hard to move quickly when one is constantly distracted by every trivial feature of the lab or its ruins. Zoe had just stopped to investigate an elevator when she froze in place. Voices were coming from around the corner. Hardly daring to breathe, Zoe reached for Esmeralda's Pokéball. If these Flare Grunts were the type to challenge her to a Pokémon battle, she would be ready. If they were more the shoot-first-ask-question-later type . . . well, that was something Zoe preferred not to think about. The voices started to grow softer when Zoe pressed herself against the wall. She chanced a peek and had to bite her lip to keep from doubling over in laughter. The voices didn't belong to Team Flare after all, but to the friends she had been following. Regaining her composure, Zoe waited until they had turned another corner before silently following behind them. IC: Shannon Willows/Ryan Hikari - Trilan Mansion, Celadon City Shannon quietly entered the drawing room. "Aori's asleep," she announced. "She's excited to see Johto tomorrow, but a little nervous." Ryan merely nodded in response, keeping the same pensive look he'd had all through dinner. With a sigh, Shannon sat down next to him. "So what's really going on?" she asked. "Ms. Stacy's not really on a business trip, is she?" Ryan shook his head with a sigh of his own. "She… died last week, from what Uncle Vance was saying." He bit his lip, not sure exactly how much to tell Shannon about what happened. A chill draft seemed to blow through the room. "What?" Shannon breathed. "N-no. She can't be dead. She was here just a few weeks ago. She was so nice. How could she be . . . ?" "Someone attacked her, from the sounds of it." Ryan took a breath to keep himself steady, as he tried to repeat what he had been told earlier - leaving out the part about who the prime suspect currently was. "Things have settled down since then, but…" He rubbed his arm uncertainly, as it was still confusing why it happened in the first place. "Settled down?" Panic started to rise in Shannon's voice. "How can you say that? Your aunt was murdered! She was the sweetest woman in the world, she wouldn't hurt a Cutiefly. Who would do such a thing?" "I- That's not what I meant…" Ryan bit his lip, but frowned uneasily, as he looked down to the ground. "I really have no clue, I've been wondering the same thing, Uncle Vance said before it happened there was some strange guy... but there's been an increase in people guarding the house since, and no sign of that guy ever since." He shook his head. "I just don't get it, and I just, why did it have to happen…" The rocket man closed his eyes, still trying to take deep breaths. Shannon was quiet for a long while, nervously twiddling her thumbs. Several times she looked over at Ryan and took a breath, only to look away. When she finally spoke, her voice was a shaky whisper. "What are we even doing here, Ryan?" "What do you mean?" Ryan glanced up, eyes opened again in confusion. She stood up and walked over to the fireplace, running a finger along the mantle. "I mean what are we doing in Celadon?" She chanced a glance back at Ryan. "We're on a wild Swanna chase, and you know it. Aori's father was never going to be at the roof of the department store. So why do we keep pretending everything's going to be fine?" "Because sometimes we just can't give up hope. I get where you're coming from, and I'm worried about how things go too, but… I have faith that it'll work out." Ryan took a deep breath to keep himself calm as the subject changed. "Don't give me that!" Shannon whirled around and stalked up to him, tears streaming down her face. "Ms. Stacy is dead! For all we know, Aori's parents are, too! Did you ever think of that?! Or are we just going to keep looking for them for the rest of our lives? We're not Aori's parents, and I don't know about you, but I don't know the first thing about being a mother!" By now Shannon had positioned herself directly in front of Ryan and gripped the collar of his shirt with surprising force. Her brow furrowed in anger. "You may be fine playing Daddy Hikari, but I'm not ready for something like this! So stop telling me to have faith when we've got freaking Missing Zero Miyus walking around on the streets and people getting assassinated in their mansions! Faith didn't do squat when my parents uprooted me from Ecruteak, and it sure as h### won't help now!" Ryan froze up as he simply listened to what Shannon said. His mind whirled as he did his best to avoid immediately countering what she kept saying, but he head just simply tilted down to look at the floor as he found that he couldn't think of a single thing to actually say that would sound right. "I know… I know that things are absolutely horrible. I know that everything sucks, and I have no clue what to do about anything either." He closed his eyes once more, unsure what else to even say. "I'm sorry. I don't know, a lot of this feels like me not wanting anyone to have to go through what I have, but… you're right." Ryan looked up with an uncertain smile, tears already forming too. "I dragged you into this mess in so many ways. I keep wanting to help… but how can I say that's actually helping anything?" He sighed. "You're right, though. I can't say that with…" Ryan paused for a moment as he realized he was seconds away from making a very unfitting pun, then quickly changed course. "Certainty, that anything will work out. I want it to, but I can't even say it myself with how my own life has been wrecked beyond recognition for like years now. I'm sorry." Biting her lip, Shannon let go of Ryan's collar and took a step back. "Look at us. My mom is practically the devil incarnate, and your dad's like an international criminal or something. Not exactly model parents if you ask me. So how are we supposed to raise Aori? If her parents really are dead . . ." Shannon took a breath and stared at the rug, a pained expression on her face. "She'd be better off at an orphanage. I know there used to be one here in Celadon, if it survived the attack. Maybe we should start looking into that." Ryan fell silent for the longest time, a look on his face as if he were debating with a lot of things. "I…" He slowly started, as he turned his head away and glanced at the wall - looking to anywhere but Shannon. "...don't agree…" The Rocket had no idea what to say at the moment, but he really didn't like the idea of that. "I don't like it either." Shannon shifted her weight and focused on a point over Ryan's shoulder. "But we have to think about what's best for Aori, even if that means saying goodbye. Raising a Pokémon is one thing, but neither of us know how to raise a child. A good orphanage would make sure she has everything she needs . . ." Her voice cracked and she turned away with a soft sniffle, her blond locks concealing her tears. "...we know what not to do, though." Ryan mumbled, as he otherwise stayed quiet. "And if this doesn't work out the way it should and we don't find her parents… I don't think any orphanage would have everything she needs." He was running on just rapidly drifting trains of thought as he tried his best to figure out anything good to say. "What if it's not a good orphanage though? I don't… I don't think we should put her through that…" "We'd have to make sure it's a good one." Shannon hugged her arm, running a finger over her Furret-themed bracelet. "Don't think I don't know what that little television shoot you had in Vermilion was really about," she murmured. "You're one of only three people in the world right now who has a Pokémon with powers. Team Rocket won't let you just sit back and babysit a little girl; sooner or later they'll send you back into battle." "We'd keep Aori out of the fighting itself-" Ryan started to say before he was cut off by Shannon holding her hand up. She shook her head. "You don't get it. That's exactly what my parents did with me, and it sucked. I'm not putting Aori through that. I don't want to give her up to an orphanage, but I honestly don't see any other way." "...is it really exactly like that?" Ryan quietly asked, as he turned his head to the floor. "It sounded like things were fine until you had to leave Ecruteak… what if they had just listened to you more? Would things have really gotten this bad?" The man shook his head. "I don't know… I don't think that any random place on the street would be good for Aori… she needs more than just a roof over her head, especially considering how the last few days alone have been." He sighed. "I get where you're coming from, I just, I don't know, I don't think this is a good idea." Shannon remained quiet as she pondered Ryan's words. She softly brushed past him to sit down on the couch, bringing her feet up to hug her knees. "I want to look after Aori," she finally said. "I really do. But at the same time, it scares me. We can't just replace her parents, we have no right to take her under our wing. But that's exactly what we'll end up doing if we can't find them." Her voice trembled as she buried her face in her hands. "Look at me, I can't even keep my own life together. How am I supposed to be there for Aori?" "I… can't say I know how." Ryan bit his lip as he rubbed his arm. "But… it's not just you, and it's not even just me. Right now it is, sure, but if we get a chance to meet back up with the others, then… we'll have help, right?" He fell quiet again. "No-one has all the answers anyway. Not even the good parents. They might have some of the answers, but half the time they're just winging it and doing what they think is best, or what will help out best." "You're right." Shannon sniffled and wiped her tears on her sleeve. "I just . . ." She looked up at Ryan, finally meeting his eyes. Her words caught in her throat and before she could get them out, a maid approached them. "I'm terribly sorry, but I have to ask that you retire to your rooms for the night." The woman's eyes darted between the two trainers in an expression a nanny might reserve for a pair of troublesome children. "I wasn't aware there was a curfew," Ryan said warily. "In light of recent events, no one but the main staff is allowed to wander the halls at night," the maid recited in an almost bored tone. "I'm terribly sorry." Ryan bowed his head to hide his uneasiness. "We'll be on our way." "Do you think whoever attacked Ms. Stacy would really come here again?" Shannon asked in a hushed voice as they made their way over to the bedrooms. "I don't know; I don't think they would, personally, but I don't even know why she was attacked in the first place." Ryan frowned slightly as he rubbed his arm. The two came to a stop at the room Shannon had claimed, adjacent to the one where Aori currently slept. The silence between them only made the room feel even more spacious. "Well, goodnight." Shannon started to walk to where her bag lay strewn on the bed. "Alright then… night." Something in the way he spoke made her freeze. The next thing she knew she had pivoted on her feet. Bracing one hand against the doorframe, she reached out and grabbed the cuff of his sleeve, forcing him to a sudden halt. "W-wait!" she cried as her words finally caught up to the rest of her body. Their eyes met, his full of concern, hers full of shock. The realization of what she had just done finally hit her, and her arm dropped timidly to her side. "I, uh . . ." Her gaze became focused on his right foot. "I don't want to be alone. Not in the same house where Ms. Stacy . . ." "I understand." Ryan nodded gravely and followed Shannon into her room. The door hardly made a sound as it closed behind them. *** Once everyone was asleep, Phil tossed and turned in his bed. With a sigh, the man got up and glanced at the time. 12:30 AM. With a shake of his head, he got out of bed and decided to walk the halls to try and figure out a way to actually feel tired. He didn't really plan out any sort of place to head to, but ended up on the first floor of the mansion. "Hm." With a curious glance around, Phil wondered what the mansion actually was like at night. He'd never visited any of the times that Natalie was around, so this was all new to him. As Phil wandered the halls, he stopped in front of a glowing blue keypad on the wall, that seemed attached to nothing. The man examined the keypad curiously, humming slightly. For a place that had such a conspicuous keypad, there seemed to be a surprising lack of security. "Who's there?" ...or so he thought. Phil turned to see a woman holding a flashlight - which was pointed directly at his eyes, prompting the man to instinctively raise his hand to shield his eyes from the light. He didn't want to seem suspicious, so he raised his other hand too, just in case. "Sorry, sorry. I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd take a little walk around; I'm with Ryan and the others." Phil said with a smile that was half concealed thanks to his arm. "The device here distracted me because it seems extremely out of place." "Well, don't get distracted." The woman said pointedly, an annoyed look on her face as she lowered the flashlight slightly. "We had a murder here just a week ago, so everyone who wanders the halls gets treated like they're suspicious." The woman walked forward and grabbed Phil by the arm as she intended to drag him away. "You're going back to your room. If you can't sleep, there is a "complimentary" TV in there that you can use, instead of snooping around private property." With a sigh, Phil nodded in acknowledgement, though he insisted on not being dragged back by the arm.

IC: Zoe Nyan - Geosenge Town, Kalos 4 13wwwwwwwwwwwe OOC: April Fools from me and Peanut! Real post coming later. IC: Jayron Aaron/Dack Majors/Madison Morrow/Luke/Adam Shaw - Shamouti Island, Orange Archipelago The boat ride from The Alamo to the Orange Islands went about as well as anyone would have expected. Dack spent the majority of his time holed up in his assigned cabin, only coming out for meals and the occasional meeting Jayron forced him into. The Rocket agent refused to even acknowledge Adam's presence, and any time the two of them were in the same room the atmosphere immediately turned icy. If Jayron hadn't gone through so much trouble to get this mission approved, he would have turned the boat around by now. As it was, he had to trust that Dack's promise to Ryan Sanders and Adam's loyalty to Team Liberty superseded any grudge the two held against each other. The executive spent his days poring over maps of the Orange Islands and what few sightings Team Liberty had on file that could hint to Ruby's or the Sanders' whereabouts. It reminded him of the start of a game of Battleship, where he could only blindly guess at where either party lay. The lack of present knowledge was excruciating, and the bitter feelings among his crewmates only made things worse. By the time the captain announced their arrival on Shamouti, Jayron was glad to be off the ship. Madison and Luke had been forced to act as liaisons between Dack and the rest of the group. While they didn't harbor quite the same vendetta as Dack, both of them felt uncomfortable around Adam. The journey to the Orange Islands stretched on for weeks before Jayron informed them they would be docking at Shamouti Island. "About time we got off that ship," Dack muttered as he raised an arm against the bright sunlight. "Yeah, any longer and you would've turned into a vampire!" Luke gave his friend a playful nudge before racing down the pier. "Can you imagine if we'd had a big battle in the middle of the ocean or something? With you playing Mr. Shut-In it would've been up to Maddie and me to save the day." "Just be glad we didn't run into anything," Madison said with a serious look on her face. "Don't forget, the Missing Zero traveled underwater to get from Two Island to One Island. We're lucky we didn't encounter it on our way here." "Yeah, why couldn't we take some of those power suits with us?" Adam scowled as he squinted against the sun. "Would've been mighty useful the way things are now." "The suits are undergoing repairs and testing," Jayron said with a belabored sigh. "After what happened with Goldhawk I imagine they'll want to give all the suits a thorough review." The Liberty agent gave him a pointed look. "And what did happen with Goldhawk?" he asked in a low voice. "You were there, weren't you, Executive?" Jayron looked away. "That's true, but the details of Goldhawk's death are not relevant to our current mission. Speaking of which . . ." He cleared his throat. "A large dragon resembling a Hydreigon was reportedly seen flying over this island not long after Ruby went missing. We need to talk to the townspeople and gather any additional evidence we can. Understood?" "So we're splitting up?" Dack asked. "We'll travel in two groups," Jayron said, casting a wary eye over the party. "Dack, you're with me. Adam, Madison, and Luke will search the opposite side of town. We'll meet up near the town square." "Separating the problem children." Luke glanced between Adam and Dack. "Good call."