Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

[Konuju]

IC: Paul Burks (Continued from this post)
Paul circled above the ruins of Sootopolis on his Skarmory, hoping beyond hope that he could spot Ellen among the sea of people. Even with Scar’s Keen Eyes, they saw nothing. But upon closer inspection, it appeared that many people were evacuating the city on submarines. Scar dove down to where a sailor was giving instructions on a loudspeaker and used Air Slash to clear a space to land.

"What do you think you're doing?" the sailor cried, furious at Paul for making such an entrance. "You'll wait your turn like everyone else. Get to the back of the line!"

"I'm not looking to ride a boat." Paul shook his head as he pulled out his photo. "I'm looking for my daughter. Have you seen her?"

"I have seen hundreds, if not thousands of people board these boats," the sailor fumed. He peered at the photo with a frown. "Incidentally, I think I do remember that girl. She was all alone, and she looked like she was in a daze. Made me wonder where her family was. She went on a ferry to Slateport, if I recall. But don’t even think about boarding that ferry without waiting your turn in line."

"Thanks," Paul said, stuffing the photo back in his pocket. "But I have my own ride." Before the sailor could respond, Scar kicked off from the ground, charting their course toward Slateport.

IC: Madison/Luke/Shannon/Ryan
"Go, go, go!" Luke cried as he charged toward the Aggron, determined to give the family time to escape. With its arm free, the Aggron tried to grab the Excadrill. But Machoke got there first and took hold of the arm, twisting it behind the Aggron's back. Palmer's Rhyperior lumbered forward, growling a warning for Excadrill to duck as it fired off a Rock Wrecker.

Behind them, the Nidoking, enraged at its hostage going free, rammed its horn into Tyranitar, lacing what appeared to be a simple Horn Attack with Toxic. The next moment, Anzu floated behind the Nidoking and fired an Ice Shard. Palmer's Milotic slithered over to the battle, preparing an Ice Beam for when Tyranitar moved out of the way.

Samurott cried out in surprise as the Gigalith's Rock Slide knocked the other shell-like sword out of her hand. However, she refused to give up even still, and shot toward the Gigalith with an Aqua Jet. The Gigalith sidestepped with surprising speed, dodging the Aqua Jet by inches. It turned around and shot a Flash Cannon at the Samurott, taking the opportunity to prepare for the next attack with Iron Defense.

Commander Ballard cried out as Selena continued to clamp down on his fingers. The Furret seemed determined to make Ballard suffer for daring to harm Shannon. Finding himself unable to shake the Furret away, the Rocket Commander brought his other hand up to Selena and hit her away. Selena squeaked in pain as she skidded across the ground. As Ballard stood up, a glint of sunlight reflected off the blood-stained dagger he held in his hand. "I've never been fond of pests," the commander muttered, giving the resilient Furret a sharp kick for good measure. He trained his eyes on Ryan, gripping the dagger in his hand. "It seems these pests come in all shapes and sizes. But I'll just strike them down all the same."

Ryan caught a glimpse of Ballard and frowned. "Shannon," he warned, extending an arm and stepping between her and the Rocket Commander.

Shannon turned at Ryan's warning and let out a gasp when she saw Selena. "Keep him busy!" she called out as she darted around the skirmishes toward the spot where her Furret lay crumpled on the ground.

Ballard's eyes darted from Ryan to Shannon, and with a grin he moved after the girl, hoisting his dagger. "So the vermin belongs to you," he growled. "Like trainer, like Pokémon; you can share its fate."

Ryan didn't stop to think. He charged with all his might toward the commander, every fiber of his being brimming with rage. "Not a chance," he snarled as he tackled Ballard to the ground.

Ballard twisted in surprise, but turned his fall into a roll, kicking Ryan off of him. "You're annoyingly persistent," he growled.

Ignoring the pain from his fall, Ryan glared up at the Rocket. "And you're rottenly evil," he spat. He launched himself at Ballard again, trying to pry the dagger out of his hand.

Meanwhile, Excadrill dodged to the side as the Rhyperior and Machoke showed up. Taking the chance to catch his breath, he waited until the Rock Wrecker had struck before charging back at the Aggron with Drill Run. Tyranitar roared in pain at the Toxic Horn Attack, but nodded to Anzu and the Milotic as it prepared a Chip Away attack once the others were through with their ice attacks.

Samurott was batted away by the Flash Cannon, but she refused to give up, shooting back toward the Gigalith with Aqua Jet. She refused to let her enemy get the upper hand. The Gigalith used another Iron Defense as the Aqua Jet hit, using the opportunity to strike the Samurott with a Giga Impact. As the Gigalith struck, however, it was met with a Psybeam and a Grass Knot from Porygon-Z and Simisage, who had relocated from the Gothitelle fight. Samurott found herself dazed from the attack, but her teammates had done the job: the Gigalith collapsed from the surmounted attacks, unable to defend itself after its Giga Impact.

The Nidoking found its legs frozen in place, leaving it unable to dodge the Chip Away. With a resounding crash, the Nidoking fell to the ground. Aggron was a little more resilient, grabbing Excadrill by the drill and flipping him over, slamming him into the ground with a Heavy Slam. Excadrill yelped at the attack and tried to slash out with Metal Claw. The claw did nothing more than bounce off the Aggron's steel armor. At that moment, Tyranitar approached to back up his teammate, and slammed a Stone Edge into the Aggron's body. The Aggron roared as it slammed into Tyranitar, attempting to push it back into the barricade. Tyranitar stood its ground, although the poison was slowly taking its toll and sapping its strength. The two struggled, neither gaining any ground, but as poison coursed through Tyranitar's body, he felt the Aggron slowly starting to gain the upper hand.

Tyranitar was about to collapse when Samurott slammed into the Aggron with an Aqua Jet, having finally recovered from the daze she was in. Aggron growled in surprise as he was slammed into the ground, knocked out from the surprise attack.

The two men wrestled for control of the dagger, neither seeming to gain the upper hand. Ryan tried to throw a punch, but Ballard blocked it, only to have Ryan grab his other arm and twist it behind his back. "You just... don't give up... do you?" Ballard growled as he struggled against Ryan's hold. Throwing his weight to the side, the Rocket Commander buried his knee in Ryan's gut.

Ryan gasped as the wind was knocked out of him and he fell to the ground. As the trainer fell, Ballard twisted and sliced the dagger across his arm. Ryan clutched his arm in pain and tried to get up. Ballard pressed his foot against Ryan's chest, pinning him down.

"Look at you," the Commander scoffed. "You try so hard to be the hero. But in reality, you're just worthless." Pressing harder with his foot, he brought the tip of his dagger to Ryan's neck. "If you've got any final words, now's the--"

There was a sharp crack as Ballard's eyes bulged. The dagger clattered to the ground as he fell to the side. Behind him stood Shannon, clutching a chunk of concrete from a fallen building. "Guess that makes us even," she said with a smile. Upon seeing Ryan, she quickly tossed the rubble aside and knelt down next to him. "Oh no, you've been hurt!"

Ryan was surprised at the sudden turn of events, and looked down at the thin gash running down his arm. "I-I'm fine... What about you and Selena?"

"Selena will be okay," Shannon said, holding up a Pokéball. "I have her a Potion to help the wound heal, though we might want to get her checked out at the Pokémon Center. Right now she just needs some rest. I-I'm fine too... just a little rattled." With a shudder, she stared at the motionless form of the Rocket Commander. "Y-you don't think he's dead, is he?"

Ryan frowned as he looked over at where Ballard lay. "I'm... not sure." He bit his lip. After nearly getting his throat sliced by the guy, he wasn't too keen to stick around and see if he was still breathing.

Shannon's hands started to shake as she brought them to her head. "Oh, Arceus... I wasn't trying to kill him. I didn't want any of this. I just saw you were in danger and..."

Ryan looked up at Shannon worriedly. He didn't want her to be upset, so he cautiously moved closer to the Rocket Commander and checked for a pulse. A trail of blood trickled from the spot where Shannon had hit the man on the head. In spite of himself, Ryan half wished the guy was already dead. After what he had tried to do to those hostages and to Shannon, he kind of deserved it. Although it was faint, Ryan felt a pulse, and looked up with a sigh. "He's alive, but will need treatment, likely." He scratched his head awkwardly. "Um, thanks. If you hadn't done that, then I probably would be in the same spot as him... only less alive."

Shannon nodded, her chest heaving with shuddering breaths as she tried to steady herself. "I've n-never tried to hurt someone like that before..." She stared at the blood pooling around the commander's head, a sickly feeling rising in her throat. "Am I... am I turning into my parents...?"

Ryan did not answer as he closed his eyes, letting the din of combat fill his ears. The Rocket army seemed to have fallen into an organized chaos as Celadonians poured in from the barricade, their resistance revitalized by the sudden turn of events. Yells of anger, cries of pain, snarls of Pokémon, and the soft thud of bodies hitting the ground all merged together into a terrible sound that came from every direction at once.

Finally, Ryan forced himself to his feet. With a deep breath, he placed a hand on Shannon's non-injured shoulder and guided her away from the commander. "..I can't say for sure, because I've never met your parents," he said at last as he looked over at her. "But I don't think you are. You're selfless to a fault, and from what you've told me of your parents, I'd say you're better than they ever could be." Ryan tried to smile reassuringly, but faltered after a moment. "I was never really good at the reassuring thing, I gotta ask Aunt Stacy how she does it..." he mumbled just loud enough for Shannon to hear.

Shannon's lip curled into a wry smile at Ryan's attempts to make her feel better. "You don't understand. In that moment... I didn't care whether the commander lived or died. I saw him attacking you and I just... reacted. Say what you will about my intentions, but that's exactly what Team Liberty and Team Rocket do. They make innocent people suffer and then rationalize it by claiming they had good intentions." Her eyes glistened as she looked at him sadly. "But in that moment I did not have good intentions. I was overcome with rage. I've never done anything so... so violent in my life." She turned away, burying her face in her hands.

Ryan stayed quiet for a moment, then pulled her into a comforting hug. "I understand completely. I've had that feeling before, myself. But that doesn't make you any less of a good person. You did what you had to."

Shannon nodded. "I just wish I didn't have to. I know I saved your life, but I still feel awful about this. I just wish all this fighting could stop..."

"Yeah... I know what you mean. But don't let it worry you too much." Ryan smiled. He was impressed by Shannon's unfailing kindness, and he knew that she was a better person than he ever could hope to be.

Shannon looked up with a sniffle. "...That family. The hostages. Did they make it out okay?"

Ryan nodded. "They did. Selena gave enough of a distraction for us to help get them to safety."

"That's a relief," Shannon sighed. She turned to head back toward the barricade, just as a Thunderbolt headed her way. The girl gasped as Palmer's Rhyperior leapt in front of her to take the hit.

"Better watch your back!" Luke warned. "The commander may be down, but his troops haven't given up just yet."

"I have to hand it to you, Shannon," Madison said. "Your Furret really helped turn the tide."

"Th-thanks..." Shannon mumbled. "I'm just glad we were able to save those hostages."

As his Pokémon began to regroup around the two of them, Ryan glanced thoughtfully over at Shannon. "Come on, let's get out of here. They can handle the rest, and we need to get Selena to the Pokémon Center."

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Gnip

As if to confirm Jenny's suspicions, Gnip nuzzled Jenny, pleased that she caught on. She noted the frown on Jenny's face, and decided that there had to be more fun, to diminish the worry that everyone seemed to have. Gnip playfully whipped her tail at Ray's feet, a mischievous glint in her eyes. Ray yelped in surprise as he was knocked down by the landshark, who now growled in a pleased tone....

[Prowl Nightwolf]

== Alamos Power Plant ==

 

== Yugo Doseki ==
== Pidgey (Airazor)(60%) - Sandslash - Charmander (Spitfire) - Joltik(Voltia)(20%) ==

IC: Yugo looked back at Spitfire who was illuminating the cut wires so the others could see them. "Well that is not a good thing if they are still here. What good would come of shutting down part of the Power Plant? Why not the whole thing?" Yugo did not know what their next plan was but perhaps fixing these severed wires would be a good start. How to go about it though? The procedure would be simple enough the problem lies in knowing what wires to put back together. If they mixed the wrong ones then the machines could explode instead. Something Yugo suspected would not benefit the mission. "What's our next step?"

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ray==-

 

Ray yelped out, as he fell to the floor, mumbling as he slowly picked himself back up. Jenny was giggling at the scene, even as Ray brushed himself off. "That was uncalled for." Ray said with a hint of a smile on his face. Jenny seemed amused still, as she continued to pet the Garchomp, momentarily forgetting about her worries...

[Flipz]

IC: Amelia Zann

Amelia's pace finally faltered as she approached Celadon Hospital, the streams of fleeing citizens finally breaking her focus.  Up close, the building looked even worse than it did at a distance, the uppermost floors visibly askew as the ragged remains of ruined rooms perched precariously above the pavement far below.  Flammable fumes floated sinisterly skyward, seeking the sparks with which to ignite an inevitable inferno.  Still, the spy saw no sign of either of her Pokémon, so she shoved her way inside past the panicked people escaping through the emergency room entrance.

 

Flinging the fleeing left and right, Amelia forced her way behind the abandoned service desk and into the emergency room hallways.  Once inside, the atmosphere was altered entirely.  While the outside reeked of fear and panic, the interior was eerily quiet, apart from the sound of others seeking their escape through more-traveled paths a few hallways down, punctuated occasionally by the screams and sobs of those trapped who would likely not survive.  A fine mist of plaster fell from the ceiling every so often, a toxic miasma that would hardly be healthy for anyone caught in the hospital's hellish embrace, let alone for the weak and wounded who had come to be helped here.  Amelia knew she needed to find Van and get out quickly, lest she succumb and suffocate like so many others here would.  Two rights, then a left...third door...

 

She swore.  Door open, Van gone...so Harvey did make it here.  The question is, where would he have taken...?

 

As if in response, a blinding burst of light blazed forth from the stairwell in front of her, bright enough that Amelia had to blink a few times to clear her vision.  "What the...?" she muttered, before recognizing the reptilian claw marks along the floor leading to the elevator nearby.  In a renewed rush of adrenaline, she raced up the stairs, fearful of what she would find.

 

 

IC: Harvey (Larvitar; T:Amelia Zann) + Didi (Dedenne; T:Alex Zyther)

Harvey roared and rubbed his eyes, surprised and startled by the Dazzling Gleam that had been unleashed upon him.  Such a small creature, let alone an Electric-type, should surely not have posed such a potent threat--so why was he helpless to defeat it?  The creature cradled his injured eyes as he struggled to recover from the blinding blast.

 

Didi, for her part, was livid.  A strange lime-colored Pokémon bursting into Alex's room with a Carvanha on a cart was worrisome enough, but when it went to interfere with the machines to which her Trainer was currently connected, she knew she had to defend him.  Even though the reptilian invader now seemed to be stunned, she prepared a Parabolic Charge in case company came.

 

A few minutes later, Didi's fears proved right--but at the last moment she held back her attack, as it was an unfamiliar human, not a Pokémon, who appeared in the entryway.  The Dedenne squealed as she released the attack, the bolt arcing wide and blasting through a section of wall.  "Dididi?!" the Dedenne queried, wondering why the world seemed to have suddenly gone mad.

 

"Van!" Amelia called in relief, cradling the Carvanha for a moment despite its current unconsciousness.  "Harvey!  What's going on?  Why are you even up here?"  The Larvitar moaned and rumbled something in its own tongue, pointing to the myriad machinery to which the room's primary occupant was tied.  Didi bristled with electricity, clearly prepared to prevent any further interference with the medical machinery.  Amelia held up her hands.  "Whoa, chill out, you...uh...critter...mouse...thing."  What IS that Pokémon, anyway? Where's a Pokédex when you actually need one?  "Harvey, I applaud you for getting Van out of the emergency room, but this place is not better.  We need to get out of here, now."

 

"Di dene?" Didi queried, sounding concerned.  Just then, there was the sound of a spark striking metal, a scream cut short, and the delayed sound of an explosive blast.  The room shook as the walls cracked, and the windows on the floor all simultaneously shattered.  A moment later, there was a clacking sound of strained steel, and the floor suddenly dropped six inches, tilting toward the north.  While Amelia hit the floor hard, Van's gurney began to roll right towards the empty space where the window once was, before Harvey desperately shot up a Stealth Rock to stop it.  A wintry wind blew through the room, but for the moment the spike stood.  Didi, meanwhile, clung desperately to her Trainer, wondering how she could possibly protect him from the calamity around them.

 

She wouldn't have to wonder long.  Amelia climbed to her feet, opening her mouth to offer another suggestion, when a loud boom and a blaze of heat radiated through the room from a fireball erupting just outside.  The floor pitched once more, this time far more dramatically, and this time nothing could stop their slide...

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Gnip, Ray, and Jenny

 

"Oh you've seen nothing yet, little human." Gnip thought as Jenny petted her. "You need to relax more."

The Garchomp started to advance towards Ray, her eyes shining with mischievous intent. She remembered this person as the trainer who had that Bisharp. The one who stabbed her in the back in Striaton City's Dreamyard. She had paid the Bisharp back, but she still wanted to get even with Ray. Gnip began  advance faster, aiming to tackle Ray playfully.

 

Ray blinked at the speeding Garchomp, as was about to open his mouth to say something, when a blur tackled Gnip to the ground. Jenny giggled playfully with an amused smile, as she and the Garchomp rolled across the ground from the momentum behind the tackle.

 

Gnip barked in surprise as Jenny tackled her from behind, the gleam in her eyes even brighter. Growling playfully, she then rose up, Jenny's arms around her neck. Gnip then started to playfully struggle, to see how long Jenny could keep hold of her. The Garchomp knew she couldn't hold on forever.

 

Jenny laughed out, as Jenny tried to keep a hold of Gnip as she did so. Ray watched the spectacle with a smirk. Those two get along pretty well. Ray mused, as he chuckled, and sat back as he continued to watch the show.

 

Gnip continued her thrashing, growling in an amused tone the whole time. She stopped her thrashing and made a dull roaring sound. The landshark noticed that Ray was still sitting on the sidelines. She'd have to change that......

Ray covered his ears with a slightly annoyed look, but chuckled again, not realizing that Gnip had other plans for him.

 

Gnip then struggled even moreso, taking care not to hurt Jenny in the process. She slowly advanced towards Ray. The Mach pokemon lashed her tail out at Ray again, deliberately missing him. While Ray was distracted by her tail, Gnip playfully shoved her body towards Ray.

 

Ray stumbled slightly to get out of the way of the tail, and blinked, as he looked up and saw the Garchomp tackle him to the ground. Ray laid on the ground, dazed as he simply stared at the ceiling, thinking he saw about three Taillow swirling around his head.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie - Celadon City

 

With Swordy and Lancelot's flipped dispositions, the battle changed drastically. The Aegislash dropped King's Shield to unleash a flurry of four Sacred Swords towards the Scizor's torso. The first slice the Scizor evaded, the second nicked him, the third slice was laid squarely across his chest, but the fourth missed completely. The last strike missing allowed the Scizor a chance to counter attack. He pummeled the Aegislash with his steely claws in rapid succession before the Aegislash could make distance between them.

 

Caught between Lucia's questions, the battle with the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb and her own emotions, Jamie said "Yes!... No! I don't-" not know how to respond. 

 

The Rocket child was in tears (and she was only barely not) as he desperately kept trying to figure out what was wrong with his voice. The Aegislash seemed to have the rage that Lancelot had shed. But she couldn't let Lucia know, she couldn't let anyone know.

 

Seeing that Lancelot was keeping the Aegislash occupied, she called out to her Haunter "Palomides, use Hypnosis!" 

 

The Haunter released his Disable only to send hypnotic waves at Wallace. 

 

"Huh, I can talk a...gain..." Wallace mentioned softly before   sitting on the ground, before slumping over and falling into sleep.

 

Swordy lost his concentration to the sight of Wallace falling asleep on the snowy ground. Lancelot took the opportunity afforded to him to land a second Bullet Punch on the Aegislash. Balloony floated down to his fallen trainer, and tried to shake him awake. Failing that, the Drifloon settled to keep hugging his trainer in an effort to keep him warm.

 

Lucia sadly walked over to Jamie, as she could see the conflicting emotions flash across her face. 

 

"Jamie, if there's something bothering you, you can tell me... You trust me, right?" Lucia asked, as she tried to manage a reassuring smile. She was never one to ever need to do that, though, so she wasn't sure if she was even doing it right. However, she didn't like seeing her friend so... distressed. She didn't want to pry, but considering the oddity of the situation, she felt that Jamie just needed to get whatever it was off her chest.

 

"Of course I do! I would trust you with my life. But..." at this point, Jamie couldn't help but shed a tear. "I'm sorry. I know it is wrong for me to hold a secret from you, but I cannot tell you this. Please, I beg you, after today, forget about everything that happened here..."

 

Lucia paused in her tracks, as she considered Jamie's words. She had no clue what was going on, and that confusion almost certainly showed on her face. Lucia closed her eyes for a moment, however, as she knew pressing things further would be both impossible and unfair to Jamie; although she also knew she couldn't do what Jamie wanted and forget what had happened, as much as she wanted to right then.

 

"... Let's focus on right now, then." Lucia said with a distracted nod, as she looked around with a frown at the rest of the battlefield.

 

Despite having no physical body, the tower felt a nail dig into all 108 of his souls, Palomides' Curse spread equally among each of the different spirits that comprised his being. In his agony the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb unleashed a Dark Pulse in all directions horizontally. While the trainers were thankfully out of range, the Vanilluxe was struck by the Dark Pulse, causing the ice cream sundae to flinch but the Heracross spread his wings (causing his passenger to leap onto his horn) and flew above the dark wave. Pelleas inteneded to strike at the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb with Night Slash. Once again, a Flash of blinding light occurred and allowed the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb the Spiritomb to evade once again.

Edited June 5, 2015 by Totally Colette; Not Minun

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Lucia==-

 

Lucia watched as the Pokemon continued to try and fail to do much of anything to the Trevenant. However, she noticed that whatever big damage they managed to miraculously deal, was also healed by resting and suddenly waking up again. Lucia frowned, and noticed a berry sticking out of one branch. As it was used up by a Rest, it suddenly reappeared once again. Hmm... Lucia frowned, and looked over at Audinaga. "Simple Beam, Attract!" Lucia called out, as the Trevenant looked over in confusion and surprise, as a beam slammed into him.

 

Hang was not liking this moment at all. He tried to sleep to rest off the damage that was being done again to continue to taunt the opponents; however, when he awoke, he would find his Chesto Berry had not returned. Of course, that wasn't a concern to him, as he still had more than enough healing potential... All the while, the fighting continued there, and over with the other group...

 

Once again the Spiritomb felt the agony of all 108 souls feeling a nail being driven into them. This time the Spiritomb tried to calm the individual spirits with Calm Mind, but was only able to hold on so long before unleashing another Dark Pulse. But this time the Vanilluxe was ready. Right before he was struck by the second Dark Pulse, Lucan began projecting a reflective aura. With Ice Body continuing to heal him, Lucan took the second Dark Pulse well enough and reflected a much more powerful blast... at Hanged Man.

 

The Trevenant grunted as he was slammed by two consecutive Dark Pulses from Gothara; however, as he was about to just shrug it off and retaliate, Hanged Man looked over to the side at an odd projectile. Before any sort of recognition could be granted, the reflected Dark Pulse slammed right into the Trevenant, and washed over him...

 

Lucia glanced over at Jamie once more as she noticed the chain of events. I hope she's okay. Lucia thought, as the Rocket girl had been quieter since the subject had been dropped. She wondered just who this secret was about... But given how she had been so quick to act, Lucia had a funny feeling it was about Jamie herself; a fact that made her grow more curious, but also hold that curiosity off. If it was about Jamie, then Lucia trusted in her to have her own time to bring it forward.

[Konuju]

IC: Dack

For several long moments Dack remained silent as he stared at the spot where Pride had disappeared. As the Sin dissolved, the projection of Hannah vanished as well. The Staraptor, Noivern, and Charizard, however, flew off to the south, presumably towards their trainer. Dack watched them disappear over the trees, debating whether or not to pursue them. He decided it could wait.

 

Turning toward Aspen, Dack offered the youngest Seaton a smile. "Thanks, kid. I... couldn't have done that without you." He reached out to shake Aspen's hand, hoping they'd be able to put their differences behind them.

 

IC: Hannah

The Rocket Executive breathed a sigh of relief as she fell to her knees. The events of the past few days -- especially the past few hours -- had taken their toll on her. She closed her eyes as she tried to forget Pride's monstrous face. What do I do now? she asked herself. I've sought this revenge against Shannon for so long... I don't... I don't know where to go from here.

 

Gardevoir wrapped her arms around Hannah, sending a telepathic message to her teammates to direct them to their location. Within a few minutes, the three flying-types arrived, landing in a circle around Hannah. While Noivern stood guard should anyone approach them, Staraptor softly nuzzled Hannah with his beak. The "Charizard" began to shrink, reverting back into its true form of Hannah's Ditto.

 

Hannah looked up at her Pokémon with a teary smile. "Thanks, everyone..." She reached into her pocket and pulled out her Pokégear. With shaking hands, she slowly typed out a message to her army:

 

"Stop all attacks immediately. Report back to the helicopters and await further instructions."

 

The executive took a deep breath as she send the message. "We... we should go," she said to her Pokémon. She numbly forced herself to her feet and began to make her way out of the park.

 

IC: Madison/Luke

The pair of Snowpoint trainers helped to cover Ryan and Shannon's retreat. It was clear that Anzu, Machoke, and Palmer's Pokémon were beginning to tire. The Rockets may have been contained, but there simply weren't enough Celadonians to keep them from every part of the barricade. Word soon traveled to Luke that a section of the western side of the barricade had been breached. Rockets were pouring out en masse.

 

The Rocket they were fighting paused as he checked his Pokégear. Machoke used the opportunity to punch him in the face while Anzu froze his Poliwrath. As the Rocket fell to the ground, Luke grabbed the Pokégear, furrowing his brow as he scanned the message. "Bounty's ordering them to stand down." He looked up at Madison. "But didn't Bounty secede from the rest of Team Rocket?"

 

"Well, here's hoping they decide to listen anyway," Madison said with a grimace. "I don't think we can take anymore of this."

 

At that moment, the Pokégear beeped with another incoming message. Luke gave a low whistle. "Now Wright's telling them to retreat," he reported. "That or Dack managed to nab her Pokégear."

 

"Ask where Dack is!" Madison cried. "Is he safe?"

 

"Give me a minute," Luke said as he fumbled with the device. "In the meantime, get the word out to the Celadonians to let the Rockets go, but follow them. We need to make sure they're really going to retreat."

 

Madison nodded and ran to the nearest Celadonian. As she did so, she looked at her Pokétch and typed out a quick message to Dack, hoping he was okay.

[Flipz]

IC: Amelia Zann (Celadon City Hospital)

Amelia had a split second in which to act. Without really thinking, she sprang forth, grabbing the comatose human and the bed he was in, in an attempt to secure them both. Only after she had done so did she realize the futility of her action, as everything in the room fell forward, being flung into empty air as the medical machines crashed through what little wall had remained from the earlier explosions. Amelia made a grab for a bent bit of rebar sticking out from the edge, but it was too little, too late.

 

The seconds she had left to live spun out into a seeming eternity. Spotting Harvey and Van following her into freefall, she pulled out two Pokéballs: one a return, one a release. From the latter, Crowe came forth, already in flight, quickly clutching the Carvanha in her claws. Go, she mentally wished. Live.

 

The angle of her fall forced Amelia to stare past her two Pokémon at the hospital itself, fires flickering orange through its upper floors, upper floors that now loomed ominously above her as the structure collapsed. Below, she felt rather than saw the heat of the explosions that were accelerating the building's demise, and heard the screams of either those watching or else those caught inside. At this point, she realized, it didn't matter which--not in the time she had left, anyway. I thought this was just the worst day of my life. Turns out it's my last.

 

A sharp squeal in her ear made her wince, as she suddenly recalled the mousy Electric-type who had inadvertently delayed her escape. To her surprise, instead of the hatred she expected to feel, she only held compassion for the poor creature, doomed along with her and its own Trainer. Little guy just got caught up in things too big for it. Like me, I guess. As visions of the life that had led her here flashed before her eyes, she braced herself for the sudden stop in both sound and life--and unexpectedly, the world warped and went white as it did.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette/Jayron==-


Colette was surprised to see Jayron walking toward her, his fedora low over his eyes. She was even more surprised to see the Gym Leader Morty limping behind him. The Liberty Executive nodded to Colette, with a brief glance at Alexa. "We need to go," he said in a low voice. "Morty's coming with us."

"Huh?" Colette furrowed her brow in confusion. "What do you mean? You want to go now?" Colette seemed uncomfortable with the idea of leaving with Alexa in the state she was in right now, and at least wanted to hear out what was going on.

Jayron nodded. "As soon as possible. We need to report what happened. And... Morty says he had been trying to reach us when he crashed near the ruins. Not to mention..." he gave Colette a grim look. "Ford."

"You aren't going now, are you, Collie?" Alexa asked, hugging the aura wielder tightly. She looked up at Colette with her wide eyes, looking close to tears.

Colette seemed split on what to do as she looked down at the young girl sadly. The aura wielder glanced up at Jayron with a subtle pleading look for Alexa's sake, wondering if she would be alright if they left right then.

Jayron met Colette's look and then sighed. He turned to Alexa with a small smile. "Alright. We can stay another hour, so we can say our goodbyes. But then we really do need to go."

Colette smiled slightly, but nodded. "Yeah... But we'll come visit when we can, alright?" she softly said to the little girl, smiling warmly.

"Where are you going?" Alexa asked. "Maybe I could come visit you sometime?"

Colette thought for a moment. "Well, that could be possible, but you'd have to ask your parents..." Colette giggled slightly, but smiled. "We're headed over to Four Island."

"Oooh, that's not too far from here!" Alexa smiled as she hugged Colette again. "I'll definitely ask Daddy if we can visit!"

"Just make sure you let us know beforehand," Jayron said. "We can be very busy at times."

Colette giggled happily again, and smiled with a hug. She nodded with a chuckle at what Jayron said. "Yeah... But hopefully everything can work out!"

For the next hour, Colette and Alexa giggled and cried, both sad at their inevitable goodbye. Alexa and her family followed the two aura wielders to their boat. As Colette was about to get on, Alexa ran up to her, carrying a small box that had been hastily tied with a bow.

Colette looked over at the box in surprise. "For me?" the aura wielder asked with a smile. She opened the box and found a white flower resting in it.

"I'm... sorry I took your flower earlier," Alexa said shyly. "I thought I'd get you a new one. It's not as pretty as the old one, but..."

Colette was surprised, but gave Alexa a wide smile as she took the flower out of the box and fixed it to her hairband. "It looks amazing, Alexa... Thank you." she giggled happily drawing the little girl into a hug.

"You're welcome, Collie," Alexa said, wrapping her arms around the aura wielder. "I'm glad you like it. If you ever need another flower, be sure and come by and visit!"

Colette smiled happily and nodded. "I definitely will do that!" She still seemed a bit sad to leave Alexa like that, but she had hope for the girl. She smiled brighter to counter her sadness for the moment.

As Colette stepped onto the boat, Alexa waved goodbye, trying her hardest not to cry. "I'll be brave for you!" she cried. "I'll be the bravest girl on the island!"

Colette nodded happily and waved back. "I believe you will be!" Colette smiled widely, as she had hope that the girl would be brave, but also hoped that she wouldn't try to push herself too much.

As the boat took off, Colette continued to wave to Alexa until she disappeared on the horizon. Then Jayron approached her. "Good work, Colette," the executive said. "I'd say your first mission in the field was a success."

Colette sat down and nodded slightly distractedly as she scratched her head, wondering if it really was such a success.
Jayron sat across from her with an understanding smile. "I know you didn't want to leave Alexa. But unfortunately, this is what we do. There's other missions we'll need your help on, and you don't want to go dragging Alexa into our war."

Colette nodded, but sighed. "I just... I wish we could've helped her recover from what happened." Colette sighed again, as she knew Jayron was right about not dragging her into the war. But still, she wished there was a way for everything to have worked right.

Jayron put a hand on her shoulder. "You've helped her more than you think," he said kindly. "You've given her courage. Someone to look up to. Hope. She'll recover from this. She's strong."

Colette looked up in surprise, but smiled wryly with a nod. "True." She sighed again as she thought of the Unown, and everything that happened. "She is strong. My clone might have been from the Unown, but... I'm pretty sure she was Alexa's true creation... A sort of defense for her."

Jayron gave a reassuring smile. "And that's how I know Alexa will be okay. Because even if you're gone, she has your memory to give her strength."

Colette chuckled and nodded again as she closed her eyes, still a bit exhausted from that morning.

Before she could fall asleep, though, Morty approached her, holding onto the rail of the ship for support. "I thanked Jayron," he said. "But I never got a chance to thank you, fair lady. If it weren't for you, I don't think I would have made it."

Colette opened her eyes, and smiled. "You're welcome. I'm sorry you had to go through all of what you did, though." Colette sighed again as she recalled what she had felt in Alexa's emotions, along with everything they'd gone through in the chambers. She could only imagine what had happened to the Gym Leader.

Morty chuckled. "I'll recover. I'm just glad you were able to save the girl before she had to suffer as much as I did. She really does admire you, that girl."

Colette giggled. "Yeah... She really took a liking to me, I think. I really need to remember to visit her more in the future." She giggled again and looked up at the sky, one of the only things at that moment that wasn't going to make her sick. The day had turned bright and clear, the sun warming Colette's face as she slowly drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

"If they're still here, they have to be deeper inside the facility. I say we continue on, but slowly. We'll have to check everything." Jake said.

[Parugi]

IC - Kyle Eston/Victoire Coleman - Locked Up:

 

"Hey."

 

Kyle didn't respond. It took a moment for him to process what she had said.

 

"You okay?"

 

Kyle still did not answer. In all honesty he was not sure whether he was still hallucinating or not, with perhaps the biggest indicator that he was being the fact that his fellow prisoner bore no signs of having experienced the same mental train wreck that he had now been put through twofold. Though he could not see his own face due to the lack of any available mirrors, he could all but feel the dark circles continuing to gradually form around his eyes, as well as the worsening shivers in his body and the overall weakening of his muscles.

 

All of these were clear signs of one in a severely weakened state. None of these were present on the woman, who appeared almost as if she had simply taken a wrong turn somewhere near a fashion runway.

 

"Hello?" She gave him a concerned look, moving toward the Liberty Agent and shaking his shoulder. "Hey--come on. Show me you're alive."

 

The pressure of her hand on his shoulder sent a jolt down Kyle's spine. It was as if the physical contact reset a switch in his brain, informing it that its vessel was, in fact, awake and no longer hallucinating. He took a sharp breath, prompting a tidal wave of sensation to wash through him as he became more aware of how and where he was in pain. The most prominent spot was in his head, where a prominent bruise remained. Along with it, the impact points of the electric prongs still stung, both those on his back and those on his stomach.

 

All of that, and he was cold.

 

"I'm alive," he said quietly. The woman sighed in relief. The next moment, Kyle felt her lifting hims shoulders, helping him to sit up and turn so that he could rest his back against the wall. He grimaced at the pain in his head that came with the motion, but did not complain. "Thanks . . ."

 

"Don't mention it." She leaned closer to him, examining his face and eyes. "How are you feeling?"

 

"Between the shocks, the drugs, and the headache," Kyle said, raising his hands to rub his eyes. "Kind of like I've been hit by a train."

 

"Honestly? You look like it." She lightly touched the mark on his forehead. The pain intensified, but by now he was too tired to do anything but flinch. She took notice. "Sorry." The woman moved her hand away. "I think you might have a concussion."

 

A sound halfway between a groan and a laugh escaped the Liberty Agent's lips. "Definitely not the worst thing that's happened to me . . ."

 

The woman smiled. "Maybe not, but it's all the more reason to get out of here sooner rather than later--which we're going to do. Can you stay awake that long?" Kyle looked at her and gave a slow nod. "Okay. Give me a few minutes to finish unlocking these--" She jostled her handcuffs. "--and then I'll get to yours. In the meantime . . . Try to keep talking."

 

Kyle watched her move away, finding a more comfortable position from which she could continue to pick the lock on her restraints. He fell silent for several moments, watching her as carefully as he could through his dazed perception. "Who are you . . .?"

 

"Victoire," she answered. "Victoire Coleman." She glanced at him. "That name ring any bells?" Kyle gave her a confused look. "It's Shadow Admin Bounty's last name. You might not've known it already--that's fine; it's hardly a secret." Victoire looked back to her cuffs. "You're Kyle Eston, right? That's what Shift said earlier."

 

"Y-Yeah . . ." Kyle said, rubbing his eyes again. "That's me, all right . . ." He wasn't sure how he felt about this revelation, particularly given that enough trouble had already crossed his path as a result of Esen's relation to Ace. If Victoire actually was related to Bounty, as she seemed to imply . . . "Sorry, but . . . who's 'Shift'?"

 

"White Coat," she said. "The guy who did . . . all of this." Victoire gestured to Kyle, and then to her wrists. She dug the pin she was using back into the keyhole of the cuffs. "His real name's Quentin Dallas. Shift is a sort of title--owned by one of the four leaders of the operation that's going on here. The Signs, they're called. It's a legacy thing--new people come in as the position opens to take the moniker and continue their predecessor's work."

 

"Which is . . .?"

 

"At this point, mainly illegal trafficking," Victoire said, shrugging. "If you know Team Rocket's history, they're currently what the Rockets were around twenty years ago, before they took over. Kind of pathetic, really--they used to be a lot more prestigious, a lot more . . . sophisticated." She shook her head. "At this point they've basically traded their luck with the Rockets."

 

"I see . . ." Kyle said. "You seem to know quite a bit about these people . . ."

 

Victoire chuckled. "Let's just say that the reason I came to Kalos was to follow up on some family history. Not that I haven't been side-tracked--for better or worse." She gave him a very squared look. This time, Kyle noticed that her eyes did not match--one was brown, the other blue. "I was actually trying to stop these guys from getting near you and your friends when they caught me. Talk about ironic . . ."

 

Kyle gave her a surprised and skeptical look, one mixed with a healthy dose of alarm and clear suspicion. "Why . . . when . . .?"

 

"They were watching you in Dendemille," Victoire said. "Shift thought you were here to pick something up for him. I don't know his full story, but I saw them watching you and Esen and your other friend and . . ." She sighed. "That just wasn't a meeting that would've gone down well. Not with Esen being in that weird condition she was in . . . I won't blame you if you don't believe me, but she and I . . . We used to be really close friends. Comes with being related to Shadow Admins, I guess. I was trying to look out for her." She glanced at him again, seeming to realize what she had said. "Did you know about that already? Her being Ace's kid?" He nodded, allowing Victoire to relax and return to her work.

 

Kyle's alarm slowly died away as he recognized the sincerity in what Victoire was saying. Despite how crazy it sounded . . . he had heard and seen crazier, and oftentimes the worst situations had revealed themselves by setting off a more deep-seated wariness in his gut. And so far . . . Victoire wasn't causing him that same, rooted concern. He eased up slightly, thinking. "'Used to be' . . . Did something happen?"

 

She suddenly looked very sullen. "Yeah," she said. staring at the floor. "She vanished. Just like that. No sign, no word of her for ten years, until we got placed together as opponents in the Battle Expo." Victoire looked up Kyle again, smiling sadly. "What're the odds, right? I don't know what happened to her. But she doesn't remember me, or anything from the time we knew each other, and when I tried to talk to her, she seemed . . . off. Like she wasn't herself."

 

The Battle Expo . . . Kyle leaned his head back against the wall. He had a fairly solid idea of what Victoire was referring to, remembering how Esen had almost seemed to shut down on their way to Dendemille. An unnatural fatigue that he hadn't been able to figure out, that Esen did not seem to know anything about . . . "Meeting you must've done something to her head . . ."

 

Victoire raised an eyebrow. "Are you implying something?"

 

"What? No--it's like . . ." Kyle rubbed his head, gathering his thoughts. "I know what you're talking about--about how she was acting. And this morning she didn't remember . . . well, anything about her battle. Maybe it's . . . it could be tied together. Whatever happened to her . . . why meeting you made her act so strange . . . Like . . ."

 

"Like it was a programmed reaction . . ." Victoire finished for him. She gripped the bridge of her nose. "Of course. Of course." She resumed working on her restraints. "Idiot, idiot, idiot! Why didn't I check with Fallon . . .!?"

 

"What's wrong?" Kyle asked, daring to lean forward as Victoire skirted the edge of calmness.

 

"It's Ace," Victoire said. "I think she--"

 

Chick.

 

Victoire finally managed to unlock her restraints. As she did so, a capsule appeared to burst within the keyhole, a small container of super-concentrated toxin hidden within the handcuffs that proceeded to spill forth from the tampered locking mechanism, quickly creating a sizable cloud of gas inside of the room. It was fed as well by a similar leak from the other hand, its only consolation being that both sides were now unlatched.

 

Bounty's daughter swore, quickly scrambling away and covering her face with her scarf. "Cover your mouth and nose!" she called, though much too late: By the time Kyle managed to maneuver his coat around the lower half of his face, he'd already taken a surprised and shaken breath of the stuff.

 

He fell once again into a spasm of troubled slumber.

Edited July 9, 2015 by Parugi

[Franco]

IC: The objective, the objective, the objective. Essentials: stealth, speed, maneuverability. In, check, out. Distract, and send in the spider...

 

Cero would've smacked himself if it wouldn't have created an unnecessary sound. He clenched in his wraps instead. He didn't have a spider, and he never had.

 

Still, "distract, and send in the _____" was a passable idea.

 

"Diversion," he said quietly, unsurprised and somehow blasé that he knew the word. "Got a Probopass. It distracts them on three sides, we go in the other." He petted the dog beneath his cloak, the motion a lifeless focus for his thoughts. "The Lillipup will lead us to our target."

[Konuju]

IC: Dack

Before Aspen could shake Dack's hand, the Rocket's Pokétch beeped. He twisted his wrist to read the message from Madison. "Lots of people are worried about us," he muttered as he typed out a reply, explaining that he was in safe and Central Park, and inquiring if Madison herself had managed to stay safe. As he sent the message, he looked over at Aspen. "You should probably let your sisters know you're okay," he said kindly. "If they're anything like Madison, they must be worried sick about you."

 

IC: Madison/Luke

"Luke!" After instructing the Celadonians to follow the retreating Rockets, Madison ran after her friend. She nearly tackled him to the ground as she tried to thrust her Pokétch in his face.

 

"Ow! What is it, Madison?" the blackbelt asked, pushing her arm away.

 

"It's Dack!" Madison cried. "He's alive! He's in Central Park! Come on, let's go, let's go, let's go!" Without waiting for a response, the skier grabbed her friend and practically dragged him toward the center of the city.

 

IC: Hannah

The Rocket Executive walked aimlessly through the ruined streets of the city. She tried not to think about all the innocent lives she had needlessly put in danger. She tried not to think about the countless rules and regulations she had broken to fulfill her vengeful desires. She tried not to think in general. The task was too painful for her, too taxing on what little energy she had left.

 

She was free from Pride's strings, but the severed chords seemed only to wrap around her own feet. They were no longer directly controlling her motion, but instead they were restricting her movements. They had become too entangled in her life, and she found it impossible to escape their grasp. Like a discarded marionette, she found herself lifeless, without purpose.

 

Her Pokégear seemed to almost constantly beep as Rockets questioned her orders, asking if this had anything to do with Bounty. If a message from Bounty had arrived on her device, it had become buried beneath the countless other messages flooding her inbox. For a brief moment she thought she saw a message asking about Dack. But she had neither the energy nor the desire to respond to anything. She merely trudged onward through the desolate streets of the city she had helped destroy.

 

One foot in front of the other.

 

She paused, with a sharp intake of breath as she saw a familiar face heading towards her. It was Shannon, along with the boy she had been with earlier. Willows looked almost as lost as Hannah felt. For the briefest of moments, the executive felt a strange pity rise in her chest. That pity was quickly replaced by every fiber of her body screaming at her to get out of there. Shannon was the last person she wanted to see right now. She could only imagine how much her childhood friend hated her right now.

 

Seeing Willows seemed to give Hannah the burst of energy she needed. The girl didn't seem to have noticed her yet, and so Hannah took the opportunity to duck into a narrow alleyway. Her Pokémon trailed behind her as Hannah frantically tried to escape the woman she had hated so much.

 

IC: Shannon

Shannon followed at Ryan's side. Images of the Rocket Commander she had struck flashed through her mind. The pool of blood at his head, the glazed, disturbingly lifeless look in his eyes as he lay in the street, the sharp crack that had echoed as the concrete slab hit his skull. Shannon's stomach twisted into a knot. No matter how much Ryan tried to comfort her, the memories continued to haunt her. Her mind kept playing the scene over and over, like a broken filmstrip. But instead of growing used to it, each time she saw the commander fall seemed more gruesome than the last.

 

Tears blinded her to the world outside her horrid memories. The din of battle seemed to fade, and she couldn't tell if the ringing in her ears was from the fight or simply her imagination. All she could do was cling to Ryan as he led her to safety. Where he was taking her, she had no idea. But anywhere was better than here. Anywhere away from the horrifying battle, the war she had never wanted to fight.

 

Ryan paused. Shannon looked up in confusion, and through her tears she saw the blurred form of a person standing about a block away. She blinked to try and clear her vision, but the person had already disappeared down an alley. A Noivern and a Staraptor flew after the person, however, and Shannon suddenly knew who it was.

 

"Hannah!" she cried out, pushing Ryan away and stumbling after her childhood friend. "Hannah -- wait up! Please!" Shannon reached the entrance of the alley and paused to catch her breath. Before Ryan could catch up to her, she darted down the narrow alley, running as fast as her legs could carry her. She was not about to lose her friend a second time.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: James - Celadon City

 

Carrying an injured Pokemon to a Pokemon Center of any decent size is a hard task in its own right, especially if you were denied the chance to pick up said Pokemon's Pokeball. The task is made much harder when there is a pursuer chasing after you and the Pokemon you are carrying, trying to kill both. And the task is further made more difficult if you have to carry said Pokemon through a war zone (though it would been easier if James had known about the recent retreat order that had been dispersed).

 

Fortunately having two knights to defend the king and queen made the task marginally more manageable.

 

James remained quicker than his pursuer, even with his burden, but his advantage was cut down to size by his pursuer's ability to cut through buildings without being slowed down when he had to go around corners to evade getting into further combat. However Percival was faster than the Dusknoir while retaining his ability to phase through buildings.

 

Determined to catch up with James, Death faded into shadows, determined to use Shadow Sneak to put a stop to James’ attempts to run. However, Galahad was not fooled by the Dusknoir’s attempt for a sneak attack and placed himself between James and Death. The Shadow Sneak did nothing to Galahad and the Togekiss used Flamethrower once more to dissuade pursuit.

 

The Dusknoir blocked the Flamethrower with Protect and tried to counterattack with Ice Punch. But while Galahad had intercepted the attack meant for James, Percival intercepted the attack meant for Galahad, taking only minor damage from the icy punch. Percival shot a quick Flame Burst at Death, who blocked the second fire attack with a second Protect.

 

Death kept the Protect up longer than the first, because he needed a moment to collect his thoughts and devise a scheme to take care of both the Chandelure and the Togekiss.

 

So when Death saw Percival phase through his Protect barrier, the Dusknoir just sighed and went Oh come on.

 

Percival’s Shadow Ball was enough to finish the job, leaving the Dusknoir sprawled on the ground.

 

"Excellent... work... Percival... Galahad..." James said between gasps of breath as he stopped for a moment to catch his breath. "Galahad stay with me, Percival go back to Jamie and make sure she's alright. Find my effects if you can."

 

The Chandelure merely nodded before reversing direction to head back towards Jamie while Galahad and James continued onward through the streets of Celadon.

 

IC: Jamie – Celadon

 

Hanged Man stood still, stunned by the reflected Dark Pulse, before his Ingrained room withered, the Leech Seeds died, and the ghost tree came falling down.

 

Distracted by the disastrous failure of his attack and the curse continuing to bear down on him, the Tower was unable to prepare another Flash for when Pelleas and Sylph came at him with their now tried and true Guts + Helping Hand combination making Pelleas’ already strong Megahorn into a monstrous attack which slammed the Spiritomb into the ground with full force, ending the fight.

 

If Swordy could have focused better at that moment, he would have realized that he was the only active combatant on his side left. Even if he could defeat Lancelot, he would still have to overcome the force of Jamie and Lucia’s teams. Yet the Aegislash still pressed on, locked in combat with the Scizor. The only Pokemon cheering for him to win, Balloony, had very little in the way of moves that could deal any damage. He did, however, finish preparing the only thing he could do to help. A great gale appeared behind the Aegislash, a favorable Tailwind to give a boon to Swordy’s last stand.

 

The Aegislash, as he felt his world hasten, took an even further aggressive stance out of desperation, his speed and power finally enough to start driving the Scizor back. Against the rapid succession of Sacred Swords, Lancelot was forced to forget all about offense and keep dodging with Bullet Punch. When the Scizor moved out of the range of the Swordy’s Sacred Sword, the Aegislash created a Flash Cannon and fired at Lancelot. The radiant blast struck him head-on, causing the Scizor to lose his balance.

 

Lancelot was at a complete loss on how to strike back at Swordy now. He couldn’t match the Aegislash in speed now. He still had one trick left. It was a risk to be sure, but nothing ventured…

 

The Scizor charged forward with Bullet Punch with the Aegislash charging forward to meet him with Sacred Sword. Lancelot however stopped as he got into the Aegislash’s range. Swordy, not noticing, followed through with the Sacred Sword that he prepared. The Scizor felt the exoskeleton of his face dent as the sword struck him. Did he mind? Not really. Not when he was about to give back twice the amount of pain to the Aegislash.

 

With Counter’s deadly revenge directed straight to his face, the Aegislash faltered for a moment before finally collapsing on the ground. Lancelot paused a moment for a breath, but then turned towards Wallace Arglos.

 

Balloony shook as the Scizor walked towards him and his sleeping trainer. The Scizor took a short moment to look at the Drifloon, then he turned back to his trainer. With one arm, he gently picked up the trainer from the ground, with the Drifloon’s weak Constrict allowing him to hold on, and with the other he went back and picked up the Aegislash. He took both trainer and Pokémon over to Jamie.

 

The water Pokemon returned around when Lancelot finished off the Aegislash; their expressions were dark. With Grummore’s Future Sight and direction, and their combined powers, they were able to put out the fires and prevent them from spreading to surrounding buildings. However, the number of people they managed to bring out alive from the building was…disheartening.  If Guinevere’s condition could be classified as bad, the people they did rescue were critical. Gawain and Grummore took the people they were able to rescue and laid them before Lucia, hoping that she could do something. Anything.

Edited June 12, 2015 by Totally Colette; Not Minun

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: ???, Celadon City

Smash.

 

The sound echoed near Hannah's present location. It sounded loud, as if whatever made it wanted to make it's presence known.

Scrape. Smash. Scrape.

 

Louder and louder the sounds rang out. Their creator seemed to have hurried it's advance. There was a sense of ominousness hanging thick in the air now.

 

Smash! Scrape! Smash! Scrape! Smash!

 

The sounds were at their peak volume. One could finally see their creator. A hunched over figure, wielding two immense slabs of rock as canes. A Conkeldurr. His look exuded menace and contempt for the one before him. Followed by the Conkeldurr, was a woman and six Rocket Agents. Her eyes held the same contempt for the one before her.

 

A voice rang coldly in Hannah Wright's mind. "I am Lafoyae Belrose. I have been sent here from Chapel. Hannah Wright, as ordered of me by Shadow Admin Bounty, you are under arrest."

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan
Ryan opened the door to his house with a wide smile. "Hey, everyone! We got bar--" His mouth dropped open. Ray was on the ground, looking like he'd been hit by a train, and Jenny was clinging to Gnip, who was thrashing about with a soft growl. "--becue." Ryan stepped forward, glancing at Evan before looking back at the strange spectacle before him. "What happened here?"
 
IC: Shannon
Shannon heard the eerie sound long before she saw its source. The almost rhythmic sequence of scrape and smash echoed loudly down the alleyway. Shannon's heart raced; she had a terrible feeling something bad was about to happen. Still she pressed onward. All that mattered was getting to Hannah.
 
She finally found her at the end of the alley, her path blocked by a huge, menacing Pokémon she did not recognize. Although she did not know its name, the hard look it gave and the two stone pillars it held made its intentions clear: there was no escape.
 
"Hannah!" Shannon cried as she came to a halt near her friend. Now that she was closer, she noticed that in addition to the giant Pokémon, a group of seven people stood before the Rocket Executive. "Hannah, what's going on? Who are these people?"
 
IC: Hannah
Hannah froze as the Conkeldurr appeared in her path and Lafoyae's words echoed in her mind. She couldn't say she was surprised. She should have expected something like this. Looks like Pride got the last laugh, she thought bitterly. Couldn't escape my Sin without consequence, now could I? For a long moment Hannah stood there, staring at Lafoyae. She looked familiar; she wouldn't have been surprised if she'd seen the woman around Chapel before. The name also rung a bell. She had definitely heard it before, although she had never really paid much attention.
 
The executive was about to open her mouth to respond when Shannon came running up behind her. Arceus! Why did she have to follow me?! "This is none of your business, Shannon," she said coldly. She refused to look her old friend in the face, instead keeping her eyes trained on Lafoyae.
 
Shannon roughly grabbed her by the shoulder. "It is my business, Hannah, because you're my friend!" Shannon looked past Hannah and gave Lafoyae a questioning look. "Who are you?"
 
At that moment, Hannah's Pokémon leapt into action. Staraptor spread his wings as a warning against anyone who dared to take a step closer to his trainer. Noivern took to the sky, scanning the roads to make sure no other Rockets decided to back up Lafoyae's group. And Gardevoir, without even waiting for a command from Hannah, fired a blast of Psychic energy at the Conkeldurr that stood before them.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ryan==-

 

Ryan watched for a moment in surprise; first he had seen Hannah run off into an alley, then Shannon ran off after her, while seeming a bit quiet and just... upset. Ryan frowned, and sighed, as he quickly ran off after the two of them. However, things then got weird, as he heard the odd noises, and then noticed people confronting Hannah and Shannon... as well as a fight breaking out.

 

What's going on...? Ryan wondered with a frown, as he picked up his speed, gripping a Pokeball in his hand just in case, as he tried to figure out what the heck was going on.

 

-==IC: Ray/Jenny==-

 

Ray groaned, as he looked up in a daze, and Jenny giggled.

 

"Gnip wanted to play." Jenny said with an amused smile, as she let go of the Garchomp. She let herself be tossed a little ways away, and then landed gracefully(read: not gracefully at all), and smiled up at the other two. "I think Ray's hungry, though."

Edited June 13, 2015 by An/A Blade

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

 

Lafoyae's Conkeldurr took the brunt of the mental attack. The attack was powerful, but not enough to knock him down. He waited for further orders from his master. He wanted her to at least get her say in, before more fighting went on.

 

"I am Lafoyae Belrose, and I answer to the Shadow Admins." Lafoyae coldly told Shannon through telepathy. "I was sent here to arrest Hannah Wright, and round up those who joined her. There are many groups here in Celadon. I was told specifically by Bounty to retrieve her alive."

 

Focusing her attention more on the situation at hand, Lafoyae had to get those pokemon out of the way. She could not risk Wright getting away without facing the weight of her crimes.

"Call them off." Lafoyae said, nodding to Hannah's pokemon. "I can promise that I will not do anything to harm you. My prime concern is taking you back to Chapel. There you may answer for what you have done. Scary Face, Conkeldurr."

The Conkeldurr smashed his canes down and unleashed a terrifying look upon Hannah's Pokemon, aiming to lessen their urge to fight. He really did not want to fight as well, but for other reasons.....

 

IC: Evan Tierra, Fortree City

 

"Well, of course she wanted to play!" Evan said happily. "She is Gnip, and you two seemed bored, I bet. So let's ea-oof!"

As Evan was speaking, Gnip pounced upon him. Thankfully, Ryan had the food in his hands. The Garchomp playfully growled as she landed on her master, happy to see him. The Hero of space laughed as he gently pushed Gnip off. The former Hero of Space yawned and then grinned at the others.

"So, what are we waiting for?" Evan said. "Let's dig in!"

[JiMing]

IC: Aspen Seaton

Aspen watched.

He watched Dack speak of his friendship.

He watched as Pride's form became coated in ice.

He watched as Hannah spoke of her humility.

He watched as Pride's form finally faded away, leaving behind parting words assuring him that his strings were now severed.

He watched where the Sinner had just been, and contemplated.

Friendship.... Humility.... And love.....

So engrossed was he in his thoughts, that he only managed to register Dack had thanked him several moments later. "Thanks.... For everything..." he replied, offering a small smile out of one corner of his mouth, though before he could extend his hand, Dack had gotten a message from Madison, and so he was prompted to let his sisters know he was okay as well.

"Right, thanks...." he muttered, taking out his Pokegear, letting them know he was safe now, and was in Central Park.

IC: Olivia Seaton

Olivia watched as Zach let go of her hand to walk forward, pleading for Rebecca to hold back. Wait, he said best friend, wha- she thought for a moment, until the only thing that she could process was the Beartic charging forward at what appeared to be Zach. "N-no!" she cried, about to grab Zach's arm and pull him out of the way. However, a badly battered Blade prevented the collision, knocking back the Beartic.

Next to Blade teleported Amethyst, who turned back to both trainers. "Go check on Aspen. We'll handle this." said the Gardevoir, facing Rebecca's team afterwards. "Let's make this quick for all of us, then." the psychic type muttered, grabbing the Beartic into a Psychic and flung it in the direction of the Goodra.

As the Medicham was trapped, Dune saw it as his chance to launch a Dragon Breath at Rebecca's Pokemon, to hopefully faint it this time.

Olivia stared at the fight going on for a moment, before shaking her head and deciding to just book it. The redhead quickly grabbed her best friend by the arm, trying to get him to follow her. "Come on, you dummy! We gotta find Aspen before you get yourself killed!" she hissed, trying to find where Aspen was, her only real lead being that he mentioned the park....

IC: Dahlia Seaton

The middle Seaton watched as Coco frantically beat back the Granbull. After a while, her opponent managed to slam into her with a Headbutt, but the Buneary struck back with a Thunder Punch to the Fairy Pokemon's cranium, sending it sprawling over on its back. Coco then leaped upwards, performing a forward flip, before finally landing on her opponent's stomach with a Bounce, leaving it unconscious.

"You have GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!" the Rocket Agent hissed. "I AM NOT GOING TO BE HUMILIATED BY THAT.... THING! I'll.... I'LL......"

Then the irate agent noticed his Pokegear buzz though, and saw a message from Hannah, ordering all the agents to stand down. He stood there breathing heavily, conflicted on whether to win back his honor or keep his job. Eventually he chose the latter, and recalled his Pokemon, sprinting away.

"W-wait, what's happening?" Dahlia muttered, as it seemed conflict all around them was stopping in droves. All of Dahlia's Pokemon circled around their trainer, equally as confused. Then her own Pokegear buzzed, and with it, Dahlia realized she had missed a plea of help from her brother.... Only for it to be resolved somehow.

"Umm, Erika?" she asked. "I-I think I need to go see my brother..... Thanks for your help with everything, though." she said, smiling at the Gym Leader and fellow gardener.

IC: Ruth Fishers

"That is a very, very good question, Yugo." Ruth replied. "And the answer is, I'm going to do something very, very stupid, all in the name of finding answers. Any of you guys can help, if you want, especially if you're scared witless like I am." the trainer responded to her companions, before venturing into the dark hallways once more.

With her guardian ghost-blade Caliburn at her side, Ruth made her way past the tampered machinery. Carefully, she guided her way through the darkness ever so slowly, keeping one hand on the wall at all times to lead her steps. "This place is creepy...." she muttered quietly, desperately attempting to get her eyes adjusted to the low light.

Suddenly, when she placed her hand against the wall, it gave way, and it was only thanks to Caliburn grabbing her in time that the trainer didn't stumble down a flight of stairs that had been hidden by a fake wall.
"Guys?" Ruth called. "I kinda found something... Might wanna check this out...."

Edited June 14, 2015 by Toph Beifong

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan

The Liberty agent chuckled at Gnip's antics, although he gave the Garchomp a wide berth as he walked over to the table and set the food down. Then he went over to Ray and offered a hand to help him up. "You had me scared for a moment," he said. "I thought we were under attack. Anyway, I hope you like barbecue. We got enough for all of us -- including the Pokémon."

 

IC: Dack

"No problem," Dack said. He started to walk toward where Pride had shattered, glancing back at Aspen. "I was wrong about you, kid. You've got a good head on your shoulders. Don't let your pride get the best of you, and you'll go places." The Snowpoint trainer smiled as he paced back toward the youngest Seaton. "I told Madison we were in Central Park, so I suppose we'd better stay here until she arrives. Unless you were planning on meeting your sisters somewhere."

 

IC: Shannon/Hannah

"I don't care what your Shadow Admins say!" Shannon cried. She stepped in front of Hannah and extended her arms, ignoring the Conkeldurr's frightening face and staring straight at Lafoyae. "There were orders to take me alive too, but today I've almost died more times than I care to count. I know how you people work! Hannah's my best friend; I won't let you lay a finger on her!"

 

Hannah stared at Shannon. She was once again humbled by the girl's undying loyalty. Hannah had thoroughly explained her motives earlier; Shannon knew that the executive could easily stab her in the back. And yet she still stuck up for her. "Shannon..." At that moment, Lafoyae's words registered in her mind and she realized what her Pokémon were doing. "Stop," she said. Staraptor folded his wings while Noivern descended. The glow in Gardevoir's eyes disappeared and Ditto, who had begun to transform into a replica of the massive Conkeldurr, sadly resumed his pink, gooey form. Hannah gently but firmly pushed Shannon aside. "I said stop," she repeated. "I know what I've done. And I know what I deserve."

 

Shannon shook her head, fighting back her tears. "The Hannah I know would never do something like this. You're a good person, Hannah."

 

Hannah managed a bittersweet smile at her one-time friend. "Maybe I was at one point," she said softly. "But I'm not the Hannah you thought you knew. I'm sorry, Shannon. You deserve better friends than the likes of me." She tore her eyes away from Shannon and stepped toward Lafoyae. "Whatever the punishment," she muttered, her voice barely audible. "It won't be enough to atone for my Sin. The strings are too deeply rooted."

 

"Hannah, no!" Shannon cried, tugging the executive's arm. "Don't do this! I... I lost you once. I can't bear to lose you again." She turned her tearful eyes on Lafoyae with a pleading look. "I beg you to reconsider. No one deserves this. I just want all the fighting to stop."

[Prowl Nightwolf]

== Alamos Power Plant ==

 

== Yugo Doseki ==
== Pidgey (Airazor)(70%) - Sandslash - Charmander (Spitfire) - Joltik(Voltia)(40%) ==

IC: Yugo smiled in the dark when Ruth suggested she wanted to do something stupid. Life was made of choices others would see as stupid. Coming into this dark place without a real plan was stupid, thinking they had any idea what they were dealing with was stupid, going against who or whatever damaged these machines completely unprepared was stupid. Yugo looked back at Jake, "Well it would appear Ruth agrees that exploring deeper is the plan. Are you two coming along?" Yugo asked of his two remaining companions before getting to his feet and followed Ruth to the hidden stairwell. "You know Ruth great discoveries have come of people doing seemingly stupid things at the time." Yugo looked past her into the stairwell, "It would appear you have stumbled onto such a possible discovery. Now why would a Power plant need a hidden staircase unless there was something they had to hide?"

 

Yugo had to think on that last comment a second. Maybe it really was an inside job?? Someone doesn't want someone to see or know what they are doing. "Well, now that we have found it what do we do with it? I guess we may as well see where it goes." Yugo motioned for his Charmander to use his flame to illuminate the stairs as he slowly started down them.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ryan==-

 

Ryan frowned as he had continued to walk forward; but he then paused, as he overheard a bit of what Hannah had mumbled.

 

... Sin...? A look of shock passed Ryan's face, as he tried to comprehend what was going on; however, he then paused. "Wait!" Ryan ran up with a frown, and warily looked between Lafoyae and Hannah. "... What happened after you vanished?" Ryan asked cautiously, as he was still ready to act, but... something just seemed off. Between what had occurred just now, the random vanishing, and Hannah's odd mood change... he had a bad feeling about what had taken place.

 

-==IC: Jenny/Ray==-

 

"Finally, some food..." Ray sighed, as he finally recovered, and stumbled over to the table. As Jenny followed and sat down at the table as well, Ryan set the food down on the already set table.

 

As the group ate dinner, they talked about the plans for the next day. Time passed quicker than any of them expected, however, and by the time they finished eating, it was already well into the night.

 

"Geez, where'd the day go...?" Ray yawned, and sighed, as he scratched his head, as he looked around at the group. "We should probably get some sleep, I'm beat... Where we sleep, Ryan?" The orange haired boy asked, as he looked over at the home owner in question.

[Konuju]

IC: Hannah/Shannon

Hannah looked at Ryan and bit her lip. "That's none of your business," she said coldly. "What's it matter, anyway?" The executive turned to Lafoyae and took a deep breath. "Let's just get this over with."

 

"No." Shannon pulled her back, trying to keep her voice calm. "Hannah, what happened? You can tell me."

 

For a long moment, Hannah just stared at Shannon. Then she shook her head. "I can't. You... you wouldn't understand."

 

"What happened?"

 

Hannah closed her eyes, struggling to make sense of her thoughts. After a long while, she spoke. "Let's just say I was humbled. By you, Shannon. After everything I've done to you, all my hatred... even now, you insist on being my friend. Why?"

 

"Is that even a question?" Shannon asked. Her voice cracked as she blinked back tears. "Because you are my friend. You may not believe it, but you are."

 

"Shannon..." Hannah's voice wavered. "I don't deserve your kindness. You've done more for me than you realize..." The executive turned her eyes back to Lafoyae. "But I can't change what I've done."

 

"But that doesn't mean you have to suffer for it!" Shannon cried. "Ms. Belrose, please. Hannah didn't mean it. Don't do this to her."

 

Hannah shook her head, a tear running down her cheek. "But I did mean it. I told you you wouldn't understand. You could never understand. I've sinned. And I must live with that for the rest of my life."

 

IC: Ryan

"Hm," Ryan said. "Jenny, you can have Ellen's room, seeing as she's not here. Evan and Ray, you can have my room and the spare bedroom. I'll take the couch."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ryan==-

 

"I knew it." Ryan looked over at Hannah, and stepped toward her for a moment. "That teleportation wasn't natural. You found... something, didn't you?" Ryan frowned, as he considered what was being said once more. He also then recalled what had happened as they passed near the park, and paused. "I don't agree with your logic." Ryan said bluntly, as he looked briefly at where Shannon was, and noticed the Conkeldurr seem to advance...

 

"You think you're the only one? Who's ever had things happen? Then let me go first. A week ago, give or take. Goldenrod City. A guy named 'Wrath' targeted me because of my then-perpetual anger. Had the uncanny ability to cause weird things to happen, such as causing a giant Golurk to go berserk." Ryan frowned more, as he focused on Hannah, not meaning to be so blunt, as he sighed, his expression seeming to soften a bit. "I dunno about you, but that's seeming rather similar to this. But I believe that second chances are possible. I myself had a run-in that I'd rather go back and fix; but you're right. You can't change what happened." Ryan frowned again at that, as he briefly closed his eyes.

 

"... But... that doesn't mean you're irredeemable." Ryan opened his eyes, as he tried to conceal his confused look. He didn't know where this confidence was coming from, but he was certain of it. "You showed mercy even back before whatever happened. You refused to attack Shannon despite wanting revenge; you hesitated as she explained things, and you stopped when she got in between our attacks. That's more mercy than your lackeys ever showed. All day we've faced Rocket after Rocket trying to attack Shannon and some of them nearly killed her. And now you're showing regret for your actions, even if you probably won't admit it." Ryan seemed perplexed. It all made sense... it all was because of what Shannon had said earlier about him being good... but when did he start believing it? When did he get this certain? A chill ran down Ryan's back, as he realized that for the first time in a very long time, he thought himself able to be redeemed. Feeling humbled, Ryan realized that if someone like him could be redeemed, Hannah was not beyond redemption either.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

 

Lafoyae raised an eyebrow at what Ryan was saying, then looked at Hannah. If she had any idea of what was going on. It would indeed be a waste to kill her. But, her first priority was to silence Shannon. She did not need anything more.

 

Focusing her mind, she threw a command at her Conkeldurr, who nodded as he put down his canes, and started to advance towards Shannon. Little by little he advanced closely, his face not betraying any emotion for his next action. As he finally got close to Shannon, the Muscular pokemon reached out to her with both arms.........

........Which then wrapped gently around Shannon and drew her close. The Conkeldurr grunted soothingly to Shannon, aiming to comfort her troubled self. As he did so, his master threw her thoughts at Shannon. She was very angered by Hannah's actions, but this new development may have changed things, however slightly.

"I'm not reconsidering my actions, as they are my orders." Lafoyae stated to Shannon telepathically. "I also feel you should know that the rockets under Hannah's command will be punished as well. The fighting ended when I got here, and it will stay that way for quite a while."

 

Lafoyae continued, "But, I would rather not see any causalities, even after this incident. So, I will stake my reputation as the top assassin of Team Rocket, that no harm will come to Hannah Wright. Will that put your mind at ease?"

IC: Evan Tierra

"Thanks for the offer, Ryan, but my sleep hasn't been the best." Evan said trying to hide a yawn. "I'm just gonna go out and look at this place. Gnip, go with Jenny."

 

Gnip growled, as if to make it clear that Evan may have been hiding something. She couldn't tell what, but knew that he needed help in some form. The Garchomp tromped to near where Jenny was and stood there, waiting patiently for Jenny to give the word.....

[Konuju]

IC: Shannon/Hannah

Shannon gave a sharp intake of breath as the enormous Pokémon gently wrapped its arms around her. She didn't know what to think. "Top assassin?" she said. "Y-you kill people for a living. Why should I trust you?"

 

Hannah stared at Ryan in surprise. "Wrath?" she muttered. "Yes... it all makes sense now. I bet that was your only encounter with this 'Wrath,' wasn't it? You didn't let him into your mind... into your heart. He merely targeted you; he never influenced you. You may be able to redeem yourself. But I'm too far gone." The executive recalled her Pokémon into their balls and stepped toward Lafoyae, pausing as she passed by Shannon.

 

"Hannah..."

 

"Don't waste your time on me," Hannah said bluntly. "Your kind heart would be better spent on someone who matters." She briefly glanced over her shoulder before turning away and walking up to the Rocket assassin. Her eyes betrayed no emotion as she stood silently, waiting for Lafoyae to make her move.

 

IC: Ryan

"You sure?" Ryan said, giving Evan a worried look. He shrugged and turned to Ray, trying to fight his growing exhaustion. "Looks like you get the spare bedroom, then. See you all in the morning."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ryan==-

 

"That's a lie." Ryan growled, as he stared directly at Hannah. "Maybe he didn't 'influence' me. But I've been influenced by others to do worse things, which arguably is worse than some otherworldly being. I've had that 'Sin' in my mind during my fight with him. But here's the thing. You're standing here. Everything I've heard about, if you don't beat the guy, then you don't leave. You standing here proves you're better than that sin. You might still have traces; I sure as heck get angry still. But despite what you seem to think, it doesn't rule you, no matter what. If you really think that, then go. But maybe you should keep in mind just what's happening here." Ryan tried to keep his breathing in check, as he knew that she wouldn't listen to him. But he had to get it out.

 

Ryan looked over cautiously at the Conkeldurr. He wasn't absolutely thrilled that yet another was there... which again probably had Guts. He was even less thrilled about the situation regarding said Conkeldurr, as while it seemed to be... hugging Shannon? Ryan blinked, as he tilted his head at the scene, having only just realized what was going on there. Ryan found he had absolutely no words for that, and just blankly stared at what was happening, trying to register just what was happening.

 

-==IC: Erika==-

 

Erika smiled at the young trainer with a nod. "You're very welcome, and thank you for the help." Erika said, and then thought for a moment. "Say, can you come see me later? I want to thank you properly for helping to protect my city." The gym leader smiled more, as she had an idea for a thank you gift; but she didn't have the time at that moment, and knew that Dahlia had to go check on her brother.

 

-==IC: Jenny/Ray==-

 

"That sounds good, thanks." The girl smiled, and yawned slightly, as Ray already vanished after a brief wave to try and find the room he was going to be staying in. Jenny chuckled at Ray's antics, and yawned again, as she motioned to Gnip, as she headed toward her assigned room.

 

-==IC: Lucia==-

 

Lucia sighed in relief as the final Pokemon had been defeated, and briefly looked over at Jamie worriedly. However, her worry was deflected to another target, as she saw the Pokemon bringing over the rescued people. She faltered as she saw the sheer amount of injuries, and seemed a bit unsure, as the Pokemon seemed to be looking at her expectantly. Lucia scrambled over to the people, and looked them over a little. "I... I don't know what I can do... We... we need to get these people to the closest place they can be healed." Lucia seemed to have paled at the sight of the injured people, and looked up at the burnt building, hoping that this was all who had been inside.

Edited June 15, 2015 by An/A Blade

[Konuju]

IC: Hannah

The Rocket Executive stared at Ryan, then gave a bitter laugh. "You think you know me," she said. "You don't know anything. Pride may be defeated, he may not control me, but I can't escape what I've done. You're acting like I can just walk away, pretending all of this never happened. Like defeating my Sin was just another victory. Well, it wasn't." She looked over at Lafoyae with a look of defeat. "What are you waiting for, Belrose? I'm all yours."

[JiMing]

IC: Aspen Seaton

 

"Nah, I let 'em know I was here already." Aspen replied, looking at the trees around him, falling into a silent contemplation again. Flare, Meadow, and Torrent still gathered around his legs comfortingly, while Aria continued to watch from a distance. The young boy looked back at each member of his team, then gripped Saya's Pokeball, before finally turning to Dack again.

 

"Your friends...." he began, looking down for a moment to figure out how to continue. "....They really care for you, right? Even if things aren't perfect, everything they do is in your interest." Aspen said. "That dedication... It has to be a fantastic principle to live by. So... You give them the same kind of dedication, and your relationships... Things'll be beautiful for all of you." the trainer finished, giving Dack a small, but genuine smile.

 

IC: Dahlia Seaton

 

"Huh?" Dahlia muttered, surprised that Erika seemed to be offering her a gift later. Her look of disbelief became a smile, however, and the middle Seaton nodded, bowing a bit as well. "Of course, I'd love to stop by your Gym soon!" she replied, but looked in the direction of the park.

 

"Again though, thank you for helping us, Erika. You helped a lot of people today." Dahlia said, before turning away and heading to the Central Park, wondering just what had happened to her little brother...

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie - Celadon City Pokemon Center

 

The trip to the Pokemon Center was made in silence. The injured people were carried as softly but quickly as possible as to not risk further injury, but to try and get them the medical attention they needed. Jamie could not bring herself to look at any of them for long. The Pokemon who knew Heal Pulse kept focusing on trying to provide some sort of healing to the people where they could, but there was little else they could do.

 

The Pokemon Center was as hectic as Jamie could imagine it. But they were thankfully quickly noticed, and the people they brought were removed from their care to be taken to ER.

 

Jamie watched for a bit as the injured people were taken away before turning to Lucia.

 

"I am going to go check on James," she said quietly trying to mask the emotion in her voice.

 

Jamie stood in a line full of people wanting to find their loved ones and talk to a receptionist who could direct them to theirs. She spoke not a word the whole time she was in line, not even a peep to Pelleas or Lucia who stood by her the whole time. When it was her turn to ask which room Guinevere was in, the receptionist promptly searched through a list and gave her an answer. She politely thanked her and walked away.

 

Jamie did not stop on her way to Guinevere's room, except to allow doctors and patients by. But when she finally reached the door to where Guinevere was, she paused. Jamie slightly opened the door to peak inside. She saw James, with his back towards her, kneeling beside a bed his hands clasped and his arms firmly on the side of the bed, with an unconscious and bandaged Guinevere lying in the center of the bed. She heard the beep of a heart monitor occasionally beep and faint whispers coming from James' mouth.

 

Jamie couldn't bring herself to disturb either of them at that moment and so she silently closed the door and walked back the way she came. She saw an chair and promptly sat in it, silently.

Edited June 16, 2015 by Totally Colette; Not Minun

[Blessed Blade]

OOC: Jam to help get things into position.

 

-==IC: Lucia==-

 

Lucia was surprised, and did an abrupt about turn as Jamie turned around and quickly walked back the way the three of them had come. The look on Jamie's face told a lot, however, especially as she watched Jamie slump down in her chair. Lucia sadly looked over, and sighed, as she walked over to where Jamie was. She was a bit awkward after what had happened earlier, but right now, Jamie needed something, and Lucia wrapped her arms around her friend part from the side, and part from behind.

 

Jamie was slightly surprised by Lucia putting her arms around, but the slight shock was enough to open the floodgate of her emotions. She held on to Lucia's arms tightly and began crying. She kept her weeping quiet, but the tears were flowing freely.

 

Lucia leaned her head against Jamie's, and just let the girl cry, knowing she'd want the same in a reverse situation. "She's a fighter. She'll make it through." Lucia said after a while, as she wanted to help soothe Jamie more, but because of her position, this was about the best she could do.

 

"Th-thank you Lucia," Jamie said quietly between muffled sobs, "I know she will..."

 

Lucia smiled, but simply stayed there for a while longer, knowing she needed this. After Jamie's crying start to slow to a stop, however, Lucia looked over at her. "Wanna take a walk with me? It might help..." Lucia said gently, as she didn't want to push Jamie to do something she didn't want to, but knew how walks helped her a lot... And getting out of sight of all this tragedy would probably do both of them some good.

 

"Y-yeah," Jamie said wiping off her face. "I need to get out, I can't bring myself to stay here any longer."

 

Lucia nodded, and let her arms slip out of Jamie's grasp gently, and they held out her hand to help Jamie up. Jamie clasped Lucia's hand and pulled herself up. Wiping away the last of her tears, she tried to put on a brave face, but found her defaulting back to a melancholic expression. Lucia looked over at Jamie sadly, but tried to smile to help her out, as they headed toward the door. Knowing they couldn't head back east, Lucia walked west instead, even with the thought that things might be even worse that way, as she knew there was otherwise no escape from the destruction in the city.

Edited June 17, 2015 by An/A Blade

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

 

"Just because I kill people, does not mean I relish doing so." Lafoyae replied as Hannah walked up to her. "Conkeldurr, return to me. Our job here is done. Thank you for complying with us, Hannah. I'll see that you are taken care of."

With those words, Lafoyae produced a pair of handcuffs and slapped them gently onto Hannah's wrists. Her Conkeldurr released Shannon from his hug and patted her gently on the head, smiling warmly as he turned towards Lafoyae. As he rejoined her, the Rocket Assassin turned and walked away with her prisoner and squad.....

IC: Gnip and Jenny

 

Evan waved Gnip off as he sat down in the living room and started to read a magazine. Gnip turned towards Jenny and followed her, continuing to growl gently. She didn't want to leave Evan, but she also didn't want to leave Jenny alone either.

Jenny looked over at Gnip with a smile, as she motioned for Gnip to stay outside for a moment, as she quickly slipped in and out of the bathroom to change. As they entered Ellen's room, Jenny laid down on the bed, laid down on the bed with a sigh and stared at the ceiling. She went over different thoughts, as she heard the sounds of everyone either going out of the house or to sleep. However, as she was about to fall into a deep sleep, a sudden noise caused her to bolt up. Jenny listened, but then frowned, as she didn't hear anyone else stirring, but heard the noise again, coming from outside.

"Come on, Gnip, let's go investigate." Jenny said, as she hopped out of bed, still in her pyjamas. Not caring about dirt or anything, she slowly and quietly walked through the house, having grabbed her Pokeball belt first, as she looked around, wondering what the noise could have been.

 

 

Gnip growled in reply and followed Jenny, making sure to match Jenny's pace. She had heard the noise as well, but could not tell what was causing it. All she knew was that Jenny wanted her to come with.

 

[Konuju]

IC: Shannon

Shannon was silent as she watched Hannah and Lafoyae disappear down the street. She wanted to follow. She wanted to run after them, to declare that if Hannah had to go, she would go with her. But the girl could do nothing but stand there, rooted to the ground as she wiped her tears on her sleeve. She would have to trust Lafoyae. But would she ever see Hannah again?

 

Suddenly she was reminded of a similar situation long ago, when she had left Ecruteak. The same uncertainty she had felt back then weighed on her again. After a long moment, she looked back at Ryan. "She's gone," she said. "There's nothing I could do... I know Ms. Belrose meant well, but I just feel so hopeless. Do... do you think the rest of Team Rocket will be as merciful to Hannah?"

 

IC: Dack

Dack smiled back, placing a hand on the youngest Seaton's shoulder. "Thanks, Aspen. Madison and Luke -- they're practically family to me. And I must say, I admire the bond you have with your sisters. You seem like a really tight-knit family; you all look out for each other. Don't ever take them for granted, Aspen. I can tell they're just as special to you as Madison and Luke are to me."

 

IC: Madison/Luke

As the Snowpoint Trainers reached the park, they looked around desperately for their friend. "Dack!" Near the very center of the park, Madison spotted him. Leaving Luke behind, she broke into a run, throwing her arms around Dack and hugging him as tight as she could. "Don't ever leave me like that again! We were so worried about you!"

 

Dack was taken completely by surprise and just stood there dumbfounded as Madison squeezed the breath out of him. "You're starting to sound like my mother..." he muttered as he struggled to breathe against her hold.

 

"Hey look, it's that Aspen kid," Luke said with a sigh of relief. "Good, now his sisters won't have to kill me. In fact, I technically found him, so that makes me the hero... just kidding, of course!"

 

Madison didn't seem to notice Aspen or Luke. She had eyes only for Dack. She clung to him as if he might get teleported away again if she let go. "Y-you're not hurt, are you?"

 

Dack shook his head as he returned Madison's hug. "Nope. How are you holding up? I wanted to join you after finding Hannah, but..."

 

"I'm fine, now that I know you're safe," Madison said through her tears. "I don't know how you do it, fighting wars like this. There's so much chaos and destruction and I didn't know if you were even alive..."

 

"Shhh," Dack said softly as he rubbed her back. "It's over now. It's okay." He trusted that if Hannah had been able to defeat Pride, she had come to her senses enough to call off the attack. Part of him wanted to find the Rocket Executive to make sure. But right now, Madison needed him more.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Lancelot - Celadon City Pokemon Center

 

Lancelot stood still in a corner and watched the chaos of the Pokemon Center, after he had dropped off Wallace and his Pokemon. Gawain was speaking with Percival who was floating near Galahad, while Jamie was waiting in a line. When Jamie got out of the line, the Scizor followed her from a distance and ducked around a corner when she stopped by a room. He waited until she and the others who went with her left before he ducked into the room himself.

 

James turned when he heard the metallic body of Lancelot step in to the room.

 

"Lancelot..."

 

The Scizor walked over beside James. Trainer and Pokemon felt their eyes meet, and then Lancelot knelt by the bed as well. The room was once again fell silent, but the atmosphere felt better to James with all three of them in there.

 

Please God. Please let Guinevere wake up, James prayed, hoping his prayer would be heard and his thoughts would reach the unconscious telepath in front of him.

 

IC: Jamie - Celadon City

 

Heading west wasn't exactly much better than staying at the Pokemon Center, but it did allow Jamie to distract herself from more recent circumstances. The signs of battle were omnipresent during their walk, a continuous reminder of the chaos of that day. The pair walked for several blocks with the same trend of destruction before an odd sight took them. The area in front them was oddly... ordinary, tidy, with nothing out of place. The epicenter of the neatness was a pond and the only signs of conflict were a few Rockets running from the area yelling something about a green devil.

 

Hey, you're Jamie right? a voice suddenly appeared in Jamie's head.

 

"Um..." the younger Arthur turned around to where she 'felt' the voice came from. The source of the voice was a small green Pokemon floating bend her. "That's right I'm Jamie Arthur. Who are you?"

 

I don't think we've been properly introduced, but I'm an associate of James'. You can call me Celebi. Do you know where James is? He had me over here protecting a bunch of Grimers, but I haven't seen him since the chaos started.

 

"Well, I don't think he ought to be disturbed right now. He's... with injured company."

 

Huh, really. In that case, mind if I hang with you guys for a while? I could probably jump ahead to when things are better, but I probably shouldn't...

 

The legendary seemed to be weighing something in her mind.

 

Yeah, do you two mind?

 

"Um, it is okay with me I guess. Is it okay with you Lucia?"

[Blessed Blade]

OOC: First three ICs are jams.

 

-==IC: Lucia/Jamie==-

 

Lucia was surprised at the sudden appearance of the Celebi, and thought about the question for a moment. "Alright." Lucia nodded finally, as she didn't see any issue with that.

 

Alright, cool. Lead the way, said the Celebi. She was curious about what the other Arthur was like, and figured if James needed space, she could give him time.

 

Lucia nodded, and seemed a tiny bit amused that the group had grown even larger, and chuckled to herself. She paused and looked over at Jamie with a slight pause for a moment, but then smiled, and leaned against her to hug her slightly. She was still curious who that secret was about... but she was willing to leave the seemingly touchy subject alone, in case it was about Jamie herself. Besides, Jamie needed support, not questions at that moment.

 

Jamie smiled slightly upon receiving the hug. Hugs were always so nice and she definitely appreciated the gesture. Celebi was slightly surprised on the timing of the hugging, but hey, who was she to judge about timing? Oh wait.

 

Lucia kept smiling, however, as she walked, the thought that kept popping into her head once again showed up. ... That man who was said to be so evil... I... I'm his daughter apparently... What... does that say about me...? Lucia looked down to the ground as she walked, lost in thought once again...

 

-==IC: Ryan/Shannon==-

Ryan scratched his head as he considered what Shannon had said. "I don't know, but I have hope." Ryan admitted, as he recalled his own stay in prison back in Unova. What he didn't say was that from what he'd seen already, the Rockets were a bit more eager to jump the gun than Plasma. However, with Ethan and the rest, along with Lafoyae... He had a feeling she might be in good hands, as long as she didn't just give up.

 

Shannon gave him a weary smile. "I guess that's all any of us can do now: hope." She moved toward him, wiping away the last of her tears. "Come on... we should get our Pokemon healed at the Pokemon Center."

 

"Yeah." Ryan agreed, as he began to walk back out of the alleyway with Shannon. Ryan looked over, however, as they walked back down the streets. "How's your shoulder, anyway?" He asked, as he had nearly forgotten about that in the chaos.

 

"It's doing much better, thanks to you getting me to the Pokemon Center earlier," Shannon said. "Although now that the fighting's over, now might be a good time to give it a more thorough look... assuming they aren't already swamped with injured people and Pokemon."

 

Ryan chuckled, and nodded. "Good point there. Hopefully it's not swamped." Ryan said, as he continued to walk forward, but then stopped, as he noticed the redhead and brunette walking in roughly their direction with a green... what was that thing? "Is that Lucia?" Ryan mumbled in confusion, as he began to walk toward where the two were.

 

Shannon followed behind Ryan, frowning at the newcomers. "Who's Lucia?" she asked Ryan.

 

"She's my... sister, even though that's still kinda weird to say. Long story short, just found out I had a sister a few days ago." Ryan explained quickly, though seemed both intrigued and amused that Lucia was hugging the other girl, wondering if there was a story behind that.

 

Shannon tilted her head and furrowed her brow in confusion. "That's... interesting," she said, waving to the pair of girls. "Who's her friend?"

 

Ryan wondered how exactly to explain right then, but scratched his head. "I think she's an old friend; her name's Jamie. I admittedly don't know too much about her..." Ryan said with a sheepish smile. "Lucia!"

 

-==IC: Zach/Olivia==-

 

As the two tried to get away to go help Aspen, Zach recalled his Pokemon quickly, and hurried along with Olivia. "I'll take this one, I think I know the way." Zach said with a reassuring smile to Olivia, as he led the way through the streets. As he did so, however, he heard the sounds of battle slowly starting to die down, and frowned curiously. However, pushing the thought of what had happened out of his mind for the moment, he saw an opening in the alleyway, and the two headed through there to find... right where they had started.

 

Zach blinked, as he saw the Pokemon that had been left there to help aid the escape, and seemed utterly confused. "I... this shouldn't be right..." Zach seemed confused, and looked around sheepishly, as he had to admit the mistake he had made there.

 

Olivia looked across the scene, frowning when she saw much of the same. "Did we just..... Go in a circle??" she muttered, blinking hard. The redhead kept glancing around, sighing as they were indeed in the same place, with their Pokemon still there.

 

"You must have. That Rebecca Roberts was called back, as were the rest of the Rockets, so we've kinda just been waiting for you two." replied Amethyst, attempting to tend to a wounded Blade. "Welcome back... Now could you help me out? I don't know Heal Pulse."

 

"Ugh, you doofus...." Olivia sighed in exasperation. "Couldn't you at least have brought up a map on your Pokegear?"

 

Zach smiled awkwardly, as he laughed nervously. "I... Yeah, that seems to be the most common thing for me to forget." Zach admitted, as he scratched his head awkwardly.

 

Olivia rolled her eyes and gave Zach's shoulder a firm punch, though not with enough force as to actually injure him. "Well,now that we're here, how about you get the map then? We have to find Aspen...." she muttered concernedly...

 

Zach nodded, and was about to bring up the Pokegear's map, when he noticed Ryan and Lucia nearby too, with others. "Hmm... I wonder if they could help, since we don't know what the situation's like..." Zach said, as he knew they had to get to the park, but if things were dangerous... With a sigh, Zach took a step toward the group, glancing back to see if Olivia agreed.

 

The redhead nodded, looking at the Hikari siblings and their friends. "One of them's gotta know where Central Park is...." she said, sighing. "Hang in there, Aspen...."

 

OOC:

 

-==IC: Trouble==-

 

Lucia looked up with a confused look as she heard her name called, and then noticed Ryan headed their way. She didn't truly recognize the other girl with him, but somehow she seemed familiar; like she had seen her in the background but never actually interacted with her. As she was about to respond, however, as the two got close to her and Jamie, a sudden intense feeling shot through every part of her head. Barely managing a strangled gasp of pain, Lucia brought her hands to her head and fell to her knees, as she tried to keep her breathing steady through the intense pain she was feeling.

 

"Lucia?!" Ryan seemed utterly surprised by what happened, and ran forward. Zach's eyes widened as well, and ran up to the group that was now gathering, as he knelt down beside the girl, wondering what had caused her to suddenly collapse like that, despite seeming still conscious, from the protests of pain she was still giving. Ryan looked up with a frown, as he glanced around; nothing seemed different... So why so suddenly- Ryan paused for a moment, as he slowly turned his head to a roof nearby. Was that a...? Recognition flashed in Ryan's eyes as the shadow on the rooftop vanished, and he whirled around. Ryan yelled out, as he was sent flying back by a blast of psychic energy.

 

Zach looked up in shock at that, as Jamie was pushed away as well. "Ryan, Jamie!" Zach called out, and instantly got on guard. But... Amethyst said everyone had been told to retreat... So why...?! Zach yelled out in surprise as he was tossed back by a similar blast; but he stumbled to keep off his back, though he was forced to his knees from being pushed off balance. Zach looked to the right, and his face instantly paled at the sight. "Y... you..." Zach said, as he pushed himself to his feet again. The look of shocked surprise on his face punctuated the appearance of the silver haired man in a medieval style cloak not far from the group. Zach didn't register Olivia moving closer, as his shock slowly faded to a frown.

 

"Well, well, well... I didn't expect quite this turnout. One of you maybe. Definitely not both of you." The silver haired man said with a cruel smile, as he walked toward Lucia slowly. "And most definitely not you... Lucia, my daughter, every bit as beautiful as I had hoped you would have grown up to be." The man said, a trace of softness coming through to his voice. The girl looked up through her pain, and shot a dagger-like glare his way, as she realized even in this state who he was. The one who made her question herself, who seemed to ruin her chance at a normal life with her apparent brothers.

 

"You..." Lucia struggled to her feet. "Ger... ald Hi... kari..." Lucia growled out, as the man in question frowned. He was about to answer, when Lucia clenched her right fist. Lucia's left hand was against her head, as she glared at the man. "You... You...!" Lucia tried to say, but inhaled sharply, and fell to a knee again, as the man's gaze grew colder.

 

"... I see." Gerald said simply. "You've been fed lies, have you not, my dear daughter? Just like everyone else lies. You've been told I'm some horrible monster... and that you're some saint." Gerald's eyes seemed to glow purple for a moment, as Lucia looked up through pained tears. "But you're my daughter, are you not? So how could... both be true?" Gerald smiled at that, though it seemed to be slightly insincere for the briefest of moments. Lucia, however, didn't notice, as her tears briefly stopped, as she looked at him in a horrified and shocked manner.

 

"I... but... I..." Lucia looked toward the ground in disbelief. It was everything she'd been worried about. Except said out loud. It was out loud, right? But how did he know? Was it really true? "I... I...!" Lucia's tears started up again, as she brought both hands back to her head. She just wanted this to stop. For everything to be just right. Why did this have to happen? Why was this fighting needed? Why did so many people have to be hurt like this...? She wanted to help; that's why she had joined the medic squad in Team Rocket. But... was that even true? She had left them to join with Ethan's group. And she had met so many friends... were they really friends...? Did... they even... tell the truth...?

 

"They lie. They just tell you what you want to hear. If you can realize that... Maybe your suffering will stop too. And you can reunite with me and your real family..." Gerald said, though Lucia couldn't tell what was going on now. Everything just didn't seem real, none of this seemed right... But it was right in front of her, was it not? Her mind was pounding .

 

I want it to stop. Her thoughts were scattered through the pain.

I want it to stop. "Lucia...!"

I want it to stop. Was that voice in her head? Or out loud?

I want it to stop. "Don't listen to him!!"

I want it to stop. She felt as if the world was spinning around her.

I JUST WANT IT TO STOP!!

 

Zach and Ryan looked in surprise, as Lucia slowly stood up once again. Even from the distances they were at, they could tell she was shaking. Neither could tell why, but after what Gerald had said, they both had very good feelings as to what was going on. But... had she listened to him or not? However, they never expected what had happened after. Lucia looked up with glowing purple eyes, still shaking with tears running down her face, as she took a tentative step forward, not seeming to be in pain anymore...

 

"... Alright, father."

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

 

As Lafoyae walked with her prisoner, she couldn't help but think about what caused all this. What could have been so important, to cause so much damage and chaos? The thought clawed at her, from the depths of her mind. Why would Hannah Wright start something like this? She had to find out, at the very least....

"Why did this happen, Wright?" Lafoyae threw her thoughts at Hannah. "Why did you cause so much disorder?"

[Konuju]

IC: Hannah

"Are you my judge now, too?" Hannah said as she followed Lafoyae through the streets of the city. "It's none of your business."

 

For a long moment, the executive remained silent. She tried not to focus on the battered street signs and fallen buildings, but she had nowhere else to look. They were right in the middle of the destruction, and Hannah knew it was all her fault.

 

"...Revenge," she finally said. She fell silent again, but before Lafoyae could inquire further, Hannah continued. "Shannon Willows, the girl we just left; her parents work for Team Liberty. Years ago, they led an assault on our hometown of Ecruteak. I joined Team Rocket so I could prove to Shannon that I was better. I led this attack to make her feel what I felt when my city was ripped to pieces, desecrated, thrown by the wayside."

 

Hannah stared at the ground as she walked, returning to her hard silence. Today's attack had been the reason she had joined Team Rocket in the first place. She had dedicated her life to this one moment. Now that it was over, she had nothing. No army, no purpose... she didn't even have a sense of accomplishment for fulfilling her dream.

 

"How silly it all seems now..." she muttered quietly.

 

IC: Shannon

"Ryan!" Shannon gasped as she saw the older sibling blasted back from a strange psychic energy. She ran to his side and desperately checked for a pulse, relieved to see that he was only dazed. "You're okay," she said, as much to herself as to Ryan. "It's going to be okay. We've had enough death and destruction for one day..."

 

Once she was convinced Ryan was alright, Shannon looked back up at Lucia. She was startled to see a cloaked man standing before the girl. His long, silvery hair was matted and frayed, contrasting his frighteningly calm demeanor. As the man approached Lucia he gave a gentle smile, although something about it sent a chill down Shannon's spine.

 

"This man..." she said quietly to Ryan, her voice shaking. "Is he... your father?"

 

At that moment, Lucia stood up and stepped toward the man, mirroring his calmness. Shannon struggled to keep her breathing steady. A thousand questions raced through her mind. What had happened to Lucia? Would the rest of them be targeted next? Why was this man doing this, and why was he doing it now of all times?

 

Shannon didn't know what to do. Her heart raced as she looked from Lucia to the cloaked man with an increasing sense of foreboding.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie - Celadon City

 

Pelleas was knocked handily back by a psychic push. In addition to his psychic weakness, the distraction caused by his shock at seeing Jamie being thrown backwards. The Heracross spread his wings to stabilize himself mid-air at the expense of nearly tossing the Eevee clear off him (the Eevee's paws had received a lot of work out in hanging on that day). Celebi was also pushed back by Gerald's psychic ability. Her own Psychic resistance and ability kept her from being knocked over or losing her orientation but her light weight allowed the push to move her backwards.

 

Well that was rude... the time-traveler announced telepathically.

 

When the Heracross had stabilized himself, he immediately flew over to Jamie who had picked herself up after falling over.

 

"What just happened?" Jamie said as she registered the recent events.

 

Lucia just a few moments ago was worrying over her feelings, but now Jamie was the one who felt concern. Lucia's eyes were the wrong color, she was crying, and she was generally acting abnormal.

 

"Lucia?"

 

The concerned friend walked towards Lucia, with a wary Heracross following right behind her, ready to spring if Gerald tried anything. She approached at normal walking speed, but the short distance felt like light years.

 

"Are you alright? Lucia?" Jamie continued to ask as she laid her hand upon her friend's shoulder.