Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

[JiMing]

IC: Central Park

 

"You're not wrong...." Aspen chuckled as Dack mentioned his sisters. "My sisters, my parents, my Pokemon... They're what I treasure in this world. No matter how down I get, they'll always be there for me....."

When Madison and Luke finally caught up, Aspen stepped back with a grin, to give Dack and Madison more space. He looked at the two with a small smile, until he felt a pair of arms around him, giving a familiar lung-crushing experience he knew very well....

 

"A-Aspen!!" Dahlia's voice cried, as she gripped her younger brother tight. "I was so worried.... I-I'm so sorry...... The fighting got so bad, I just... Just...."

 

"Don't worry, I-I'm safe...." Aspen managed to wheeze, looking up at his sister with a warm smile. "I'm just happy you're here now..."

The middle Seaton loosened her grip slightly, and breathed in and out. "Aspen... Next time something happens, I'll be there for you.... I promise...." 

"You're already doing perfect, Dahlia....." the young trainer replied, focusing on the hug, nothing else mattering in that moment...

 

IC: Olivia Seaton at the Trouble

 

Things happened too quick for Olivia to process. First that girl named Lucia collapsed, out of nowhere. Before Olivia could even ask what was happening, Zach ran forward to check if she was okay. Before Olivia could follow him, energy blasts came hurtling towards everyone, including Zach. And even when Olivia finally ran forward in concern, Zach barely noticed, as he stared at the figure standing before everyone in horror.

 

"Who the...." she muttered, staring at utter confusion at the sudden cloaked figure. The redhead's eyes narrowed as the man began speaking, knives digging into her skin with each word. She shuddered involuntarily, standing by Zach to make sure he was alright.

 

"Ger... ald Hi... kari..."

 

"Wait.... No...." Olivia said, everything coming together. "Gerald.... That's your Dad...!" she exclaimed, turning to Zach. "You always told me... How he was never around..... Is he the cause of that mess you kept beating yourself up over??!"

 

Amethyst turned towards the sudden commotion, seeing psychic blasts hurtling towards her and Blade. The Gardevoir held her ground, conjuring a psychic barrier to defend the both of them, staring intently at the newcomer as he spoke. Everything about Gerald made her skin crawl, and she remained on guard...

 

"You've been told I'm some horrible monster... and that you're some saint."

 

Is he......?

 

"But you're my daughter, are you not? So how could... both be true?"

 

No..... That.... 

 

"No.... How.... HOW DARE YOU!" cried Amethyst, while she hurled psychic blasts from both her hands at Gerald, her eyes completely enveloped by an ominous purple light as her 'dress' billowed all the while. "Such a vile, disgusting, loathsome, devil of a human should have never been allowed to father children.... Much less blame their kids and use them to make all their horrid, painful, scarring actions against them and others acceptable!"

 

The Gardevoir hurled psychic blasts with each word, images of her own father flashing through her mind all the while as she continually stepped forward towards the father of the Hikaris. She fought back pained tears, instead choosing to punctuate each of her hurled blasts with a furious scream, a pulsing, sparking, unstable psychic haze above her head. "Fathers like you.... Should ROT AND DIE FOR ALL ETERNITY!!"

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach/Ryan/Lucia/Gerald==-

 

Lucia didn't react right away as she slowly looked over to Jamie. Her face was unreadable, a twisted mix of conflicting emotions that seemed to inwardly scream for help, but the biggest thing was that her eyes, while blank and twisted from their normal look, still had one emotion visible. Betrayal. "Go... go away... please..." Lucia said quietly. Her pose indicated uncertainty, as if it was the last thing she wanted, as she looked up toward where the others were.

 

Zach nodded with a frown, as he looked over at Olivia. "Yeah, he's been manipulating us ever since Goldenrod... I just want everything to be over with! For that monster to leave us alone!" Zach said with a slightly hopeless look as he wondered if that would ever happen, but paused in surprise, as he gripped his head with a shocked wince at Amethyst's outburst. What... what was that all about? Zach wondered, unaware of what had went on in Amethyst's childhood.

 

"Yeah." Ryan replied to Shannon, as he glared at Gerald, shaking slightly in anger at what was happening. "He is. But he's wrong. We're nothing like him!" Ryan yelled out, as he grabbed the Pokeball containing his Tyranitar, and launched it forward. The Tyranitar roared out, as he charged toward the traitorous father; however, he roared out again in surprise, as a Water Pulse knocked the Tyranitar away. Both Ryan and Tyranitar looked over in shock, as Lucia's Clawitzer was pointed at him and his Pokemon. Lucia shrugged off Jamie's hand as she walked forward, closer to the fight. However, as she did, she paused, as a Servine suddenly appeared in front of Claraga, and sent off a Leaf Storm which caused the Clawitzer to leap back to avoid it.

 

"I'll handle this! I... I think I can maybe help bring her back to her senses..." Zach said, as Ryan nodded and turned back to the fight. "Smugleaf... Use Leaf Blade!" Zach commanded through the psychic link he tentatively opened for a moment, his green eyes glowing brighter for a moment. The Servine nodded and slashed out with his tail quickly, which the Clawitzer attempted to catch in her big meaty claw. However, Claraga failed in that, and was launched backwards, even as Audinaga was sent as backup for healing purposes.

 

Blade looked over to Amethyst as she yelled out about parents, and stayed quiet. This probably hits home for her too much... Blade thought, and then looked forward, as he noticed the Audino aiming toward her partner. Blade smiled slightly, and vanished from the spot for a moment, reappearing as the Heal Pulse was launched toward Claraga. Standing in the Heal Pulse's path, Blade gratefully accepted the healing instead of the enemy Clawitzer, and then dashed toward the Audino with newly reinvigorated strength. The Audino barely dodged out of the way of the Close Combat, and slammed into the Gallade with Double Edge quickly, staggering him back.

 

Even as the chaos began to unfold, Gerald smiled further. However, his eyes turned toward Amethyst with a scowl. A wave of his hand, and a flash of light, and a giant tank-like three headed dragon hovered in front of the silver haired man, taking the psychic blasts as if they were nothing. "You think you have any idea of what I've been through?!" Gerald growled, as he glared at the Gardevoir. "A mere Gardevoir like you. I've been betrayed countless times by those I considered friend and family. My daughter's life was hidden from me. And all the attempts to take revenge... Continually foiled! Like the legendary dragons, who were stopped and returned to those 'heroes'. Or that 'hero of space'..." Gerald spat, as he snarled. "That so called 'hero', who forced me to release almost all my Pokemon, who insulted me, who humiliated me... He's next, mark my words! But right now... I will finish what I should have started long ago." Gerald growled, as he seemed to ignore Amethyst for the moment. His eyes then turned to Lucia, even as he sent out his Haunter and Electabuzz. "These will have to do..." Gerald murmured, before his eyes began to glow brighter.

 

-==IC: /_u(i@==-

 

Lucia winced slightly as she blinked a bit, the purple glow vanishing for a brief moment before returning brighter.

 

"Lucia. Why are you hesitating? Attack them. Attack them all. Show no mercy... Especially to the brown haired girl."

 

Wh-what? No! I... I won't hurt Jamie. Why do I need to fight them?

 

"Because they're all liars. You think they care about you? You think she does? I've seen her thoughts. She puts up with you only because you two are around each other all the time, and she's so pitifully 'nice'. She would betray you in a heartbeat if things worked out."

 

I... No, that's... that's not true, Jamie's not...

 

"Not what? Like that? The world is filled with liars, even if it doesn't seem like it at first sight. Tell me, does she even trust you? Have things... even ever gone right for you in terms of trust?"

 

I... I don't...

 

"Exactly. Why do you want to risk more betrayal? She doesn't care about you, and she certainly doesn't trust you. So why... would you side with her?"

 

... I...

 

Lucia's eyes filled with tears once more, as she brought a hand to her head, conflicted over everything as her other hand shakily reached for another Pokeball. Lucia looked over to Jamie, her face alternating between a pleading look and a passive one, as she closed her eyes. Why did this have to happen? Why? Lucia still didn't totally believe what Gerald said about Jamie, but the points... They... they were all true, weren't they? Even still, Lucia didn't want to act like this against her friend. However, she felt her body move almost as if it weren't controlled by her, but at the same time, she subconsciously knew it was. Tears continued to pour down her face, as Lucia threw Gothara's Pokeball toward Jamie, the Gothorita a little unwilling as well, but ready to fight because of everything that had happened... Even against this sort of opponent.

Edited June 18, 2015 by An/A Blade

[Konuju]

IC: Dack/Madison/Luke
"What happened?" Madison asked. "Ryan and Shannon said they saw you and Hannah disappear, like you were teleported or something."
 
"It's a long story," Dack said, glancing over at Aspen. He wasn't even sure where to begin explaining their encounter with Pride. "I'll tell you all about it later," he decided. A small paw tugged on his pant leg, and Dack looked down with a smile as he saw his Teddiursa gazing up at him. He laughed and picked up the little bear cub. "I see you kept Teddy safe for me."
 
"Actually it was him who kept me safe," Madison chuckled, briefly describing the battle on Stacy's roof.
 
"Good work, Teddy," Dack said as he ruffled the cub's fur. The Teddiursa purred happily and sucked on a honey-soaked paw.
 
"Where'd Hannah go?" Luke asked, glancing around the park. "Don't tell me she got away again. Where's she targeting now, Twinleaf Town?"
 
"Hannah's been stopped," Dack assured him. "I don't think she plans to attack any more cities. I'm not sure where she went, but her Pokémon flew off in that direction." He pointed to the south.
 
"Huh." Luke shrugged. "Well, she did send out an order for her army to retreat, so I guess that's a good sign." He glanced over at Aspen and Dahlia. "Heya. Glad you're safe, kiddo, but you missed the most epic battle ever. I've got to hand it to those Celadonians, they really know how to put up a resistance." The blackbelt grinned, silently hoping Dahlia didn't question why her brother had disappeared under his watch.
 
IC: Shannon
Chaos had erupted all around. It was almost as bad as the brawl at the barricade. Shannon covered her ears as a Gardevoir's telepathic screams echoed in her mind. She shook as Ryan's Tyranitar crashed to the ground. And then everyone started attacking at once. It was madness. Attacks were flying left and right, Pokémon were slamming into each other, and it was impossible for Shannon to tell friend from foe. Gerald spoke again, although his voice had lost that disturbing calmness, instead becoming frenzied and harsh.
 
This was worse than the brawl at the barricade. The Rocket army had been following Hannah's orders, and the Celadonian resistance had been defending their homes. But this battle was just full of hatred on every side. Shannon shuddered as she recalled what Ryan had said about his wrath. It seemed as if rage was something that ran the family.
 
"This is just like Hannah..." she muttered, her voice becoming lost in the din of the unfolding battle. She stared, horrified, at Gerald. "Deep-rooted anger... vengeance... it's an endless cycle pain and suffering..."

IC: Jayron/Colette
The sun had sunk below the horizon by the time Jayron and Colette reached the shores of Four Island. Colette stepped onto the empty beach and closed her eyes, waiting for her world to stop bobbing up and down. When she opened her eyes, she saw the dim outline of the Alamo at the top of a small hill. She inwardly groaned at the thought of walking all the way to the Liberty base. "Do we have to report to Goldhawk tonight?" she asked. After a morning of fighting Unown illusions and an afternoon feeling nauseous on the rocking boat, Colette just wanted to go home and fall asleep in her own motionless bed.

"I at least need your help to make sure I get all the details," Jayron said with an apologetic smile. "You may have picked up on something I missed. And when Ford's involved, we can't afford to miss any details. I know you're exhausted. But look on the bright side -- at least you don't have to fill out a performance evaluation report."

Colette chuckled. "Fine, you got me there." With a sigh, she started the long, uphill path to the Alamo. "Let's just take a day off tomorrow..."

IC: Zoe
Zoe tentatively poked her head out of the bathroom. "Alright, the coast is clear," she whispered. "Let's move." The self-proclaimed warrior princess and her Pokémon slipped down the hall.

Her backpack wasn't in her classroom, and it wasn't in the lost and found. As much as she hated to admit it, she had no idea where to go next. She had managed to procure a ring of keys from a guard, but with no clear direction the keys felt more like a burden than a tool. She had to constantly keep one hand in her pocket to keep the keys from jingling, and she had no clue which key opened which door. She would be here all night if she tried looking for her backpack behind every door.

"Where could it be?" Zoe muttered. She glanced at Esmeralda and Merida, but the two Pokémon merely shrugged. Her guess was as good as theirs. "Maybe Mr. Kallan doesn't have it after all," she said. "Maybe Travis took it." Her heart sunk at the thought. If Travis took it, he could have put it anywhere. "This could be far worse than I thought."

Zoe was so distraught at the idea of Travis going through her belongings that she didn't notice the approaching footsteps until it was too late. With a gasp, she realized someone was about to turn the corner. She looked around for a hallway to run down, but the nearest one was where the footsteps were coming from. At the last second, she slipped into an alcove and tried to duck under a drinking fountain. She winced as she banged her head on the fountain, curling up into a ball and biting her lip to keep herself from crying out in pain. Esmeralda and Merida huddled next to her, exchanging worried looks as they watched their trainer rub her head.

The footsteps grew louder, and indistinct voices murmured in confusion. Zoe had closed her eyes in pain, so she never saw the two pairs of feet approaching the water fountain. She never saw a head duck down to peer at her. And so she never expected to hear a voice in her ear.

"Hello?"

Edited June 18, 2015 by Konuju

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie - Celadon City

 

The Heracross looked coldly towards the Gothorita who materialized. He knew his strength and he had a good estimate of hers. Frankly he had more combat experience then the Psychic-type, he was quicker, and he was stronger. Whatever the Eevee's opinion on the matter, Sylph still seemed to be lending his support to Pelleas, which only furthered the Heracross' advantage. Frankly, Pelleas didn't see how this could possibly end except with him...

 

"Pelleas, I forbid you to use any move against -any- of Lucia's Pokemon."

 

...getting totaled without being able to fight back.

 

The Heracross looked back towards his trainer with an expression of shock and worry. Lucia was clearly not in her right mind at that moment, and dangerous. He knew how close the two of them were, but this was madness.

 

"Lucia... I refuse to fight you."

 

Even Celebi was taken aback by this sudden turn in events. She hardly knew Jamie, she hardly even knew of her; her preexisting assumptions thought she'd be a lot like James.

 

Disarming yourself in front of someone who means you harm? You're not like James... Not like him at all... Celebi noted to herself as she activated her power. She needed to save this moment in time. For now, she would wait and watch.

 

"You're my friend, and you're not acting like yourself. You were there for me all today, I want to be here for you now."

 

Pelleas' expression turned from shocked, to serious. As serious as he noted Jamie was. He considered himself her dad, so it was almost inconceivable that he would allow her such a risk. At the same time, as her Pokemon and her friend, he had no choice but to trust in Jamie and Lucia. He would not attack any of Lucia's Pokemon no matter what... But for -Gerald- on the other hand, the Heracross simply waited for him to make a move.

[JiMing]

(IC: Olivia Seaton)

 

Olivia felt the utter despair in Zach's voice and winced. She reached out a hand to reassure Zach, only to cover her ears upon hearing Amethyst's sudden outburst. "What's going.... Amethyst??!" the trainer muttered, completely shocked at the sheer rage coming from the Gardevoir. I've never seen her so mad.... What's happening??

 

Sadly, there wasn't enough time for Olivia to ask Am that. Gerald had retaliated, as had Lucia.... The redhead reluctantly tossed two Pokeballs, releasing Dune and Willow. "That man.... He's a very, very horrid, evil man... To say the least." she explained. "See the Hydreigon, Electabuzz, and Haunter? Those are his. I need you two to get in their way, please." she explained. "You don't have to beat them.... But make it harder for them to fight back. And if need be..... The Gothra, Clawitzer, and Audino need to be diverted too. Thing is...." Olivia muttered, hesitating. "...Their trainer's supposed to be on our side. But that man, Gerald.... He's in her head. That's why we need to drive him back. Understood?"

The Vibrava and Nincada nodded, determined not to let Olivia down. The trainer reached for Toxin's Pokeball, only to realize that she had left him to fight Rebecca when she and Zach went off to look for Aspen. But... Where is he then??

 

Dune took to the air, while Willow burrowed underneath the ground. The Vibrava fired a Dragon Breath from above, and spawned a Sand Tomb from underneath the Electabuzz. The Nincada rammed into said Electabuzz from underneath, while emitting a Bug Buzz as well to strike both it and the Haunter.... Both Pokemon knew they likely weren't going to do much damage, especially not to the Hydreigon. But Olivia told them to be distractions, and they planned to be the best, most annoying distractions ever.

 

Meanwhile, as Blade managed to tank a Double-Edge, a blurred shape rushed out, aiming at Audinaga. Toxin struck Lucia's Audino from behind with a Bullet Punch, looking to follow up with a Drain Punch if possible. The toxic frog had been waiting for an appropriate time to strike once Gerald had made his appearance, and assisting Blade seemed as good a time as any.

 

Amethyst's rage only seemed to build and build once the Hydreigon appeared in front of her. The Gardevoir screamed in frustration, summoning Magical Leaf after Magical Leaf to fire at the Brutal Pokemon. All the while, Gerald's retorts filled her head, causing Amethyst's eyes to glow brighter still, her dress to billow even faster, and the haze of psychic energy to pulse and spark in an increasingly unstable manner. Her telepathic primal screech of rage grew louder and louder, seeming to reach a peak where she would simply explode with psychic energy....

 

......Only for the screaming to stop, with the Gardevoir suddenly jerking her head towards Gerald. None of the elements had decreased. Her eyes, dress, and psychic haze each remained as intense as they were before. But Amethyst's expression was eerily blank and expressionless, her only movement came in the heaving of her chest while she breathed, and all her thoughts that had been communicated to those present had ceased....

 

".....I see." came her response at last, her tone flat and monotone. "You seek.... Revenge. You feel as though you have been wronged.... Time..... After time."

 

Suddenly, Amethyst jerked an arm. Gerald's long, medieval styled cloak lifted above him, and Gerald would find himself frozen in an upright position.

 

".....Yet, you haven't considered.... What you must have done, to get that many people... To foil your 'plans'."

 

Amethyst jerked her other arm. The cloak began swirling around the father of the Hikari's head.....

 

"Tell me.... Why would a hero's plans have to be foiled? Why must being humiliated be punished by death? Why would a good, kind father attack his own children... Time.... After time.... After time..... And still be believed to care for their well being??"

 

Amethyst jerked both her arms. Gerald's cloak slithered around Gerald's head, wrapping itself around his neck.... Ending up tied around his neck. 

"Control. That's what you always needed... Right?? Control over everything your kids do, leaving nothing up to them on who they want to be, even before they are born... Because you know best... And if they dare be different... You have the full right to punish them... Is that how it is??!"

 

Gerald was sent tumbling to the ground, his entire body frozen while he lay face first in the street.

 

"But you forget.... You're no emperor. You're no god. You're a weak, pathetic old man who has first been beaten by many heroes, then only one hero, and now? A 'mere' Gardevoir...." 

 

The tail end of Gerald's cloak lifted upwards. With it, Gerald's head, and soon enough, the cloak tightened around his neck, cutting off his air....

 

"You will die here, suffering. Suffering like your children have ever since you brought them into your cruel world... No one will mourn your passing. No one will wish to remember your legacy as that of a great man.... Your final failure will end with your death, at last ending a tale of suffering and fear that everyone will breath a sigh of relief, knowing it is over... And you know what? In the end.... You are NOTHING."

Edited June 19, 2015 by Toph Beifong

[Konuju]

IC: Shannon

Shannon winced as the Gardevoir's words echoed in her mind once again. She tried to block it out, but the telepathic ranting cut through all the other sounds of the battle. Her eyes widened as she saw Gerald lifted into the air, his cloak slowly wrapping itself around his neck.

 

"No..." Shannon breathed, her face paling as she realized what was happening. "Please... stop..."

 

She stifled a gasp as the man suddenly collapsed to the ground, his silver hair strewn about like that of a rag doll. For a moment, she thought the Gardevoir had actually listened to her. Then the cloak jerked upward like a noose. Gerald's eyes bulged as he gasped for air.

 

"No!" Shannon cried in horror. Without thinking of the danger, she ran toward the Gardevoir, trying to pull her back. "What are you doing?! You're killing him!" Tears ran down the girl's face as she desperately tried to do what little she could against the psychic-type. "I don't care what he's done; nobody deserves to be murdered like that! Please, let him go!"

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

"Vengeance?" Lafoyae asked, the voice in Hannah's mind sounding more intense. "I'm nobody's judge. I'm only the executioner when I am told to be. I will not judge you based on your actions. But, I will agree with you on how foolish this all was."

Lafoyae continued forward but then stopped and turned towards Hannah, her look solemn and calm. The assassin showed no visible ill will towards Hannah. There were no feelings of animosity being projected from Lafoyae either.

 

"But, despite your crimes, I did make a promise to your friend." Lafoyae said. "And I intend on keeping it, no matter what."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ryan==-

 

Ryan frowned as his Tyranitar stood back up, and headed back toward Gerald while Lucia was distracted by everything that was going on. The Tyranitar worked with the other Pokemon to push back the Electabuzz, but something seemed wrong to Ryan... As if it were too easy. Ryan looked around to make sure everything was alright, and sighed as everyone seemed okay for the moment...

 

-==IC: Zach==-

 

"I'm not sure, but it definitely seems weird..." Zach mumbled, as he looked over to Olivia with worry. Something wasn't right about this situation; he couldn't figure out why Am would start reacting this way however. He pushed the thought out of his mind for that moment, however, as he tried to focus on the fighting.

 

Smugleaf and Claraga traded more blows, as the Smugleaf seemed as if he were calling on more of his inner power almost. The Clawitzer seemed desperate, as she continued to be pushed back further and further by the glowing Servine. Clara launched off a Dragon Pulse as a last ditch effort to try and take the Servine down... Which appeared to work. The smoke billowed over the area where the attack impacted, and the Clawitzer sighed in relief. However, what came next was a shock to both Zach and Claraga, as the Servine... no, the Serperior burst out of the smoke, looking no worse for wear. Claraga's shock didn't last too long, however, as she took a Leaf Blade to the face, and finally knocked back and out. The Serperior let out a sigh of relief of his own, as he looked around for a way to help out more.

 

-==IC: Blade==-

 

Blade sighed, as his opponent had been battered away. He intercepted another Heal Pulse that was directed at the Clawitzer, and then quickly delivered a Close Combat to knock the Audino back and send her to her knees so Toxin could deal with her more. However, Blade gripped his head as the psychic screaming grew louder, and whirled around toward Am.

 

"What...? No!" Blade thought, as his eyes widened at what had happened with Amethyst and Gerald. As Shannon approached, Blade placed his hands on Amethyst's shoulders. "You have to stop and calm down! If you do this, you'll be no better than he is!" Blade said to her, and then looked over in surprise. Blade got in between Shannon and Amethyst quickly, and tried to push them back slightly, as he shot off Magical Leaves. One Pokemon had been forgotten all along, and that was the Alakazam that was eternally waiting in the shadows. The Signal Beam struck Blade, and sent him back a little ways, but he panted, as he was not out of the fight yet.

 

-==IC: Gerald==-

 

Gerald's Pokemon were utterly confused at how things were going. The Hydreigon got blasted by the Dragon Breath, and while it didn't do the greatest amount of damage, it still managed to take the focus away from the Gardevoir. The Haunter was hit by the Bug Buzz and took a good deal of damage, however, it levitated away for the moment, preparing a Shadow Ball for later. The Electabuzz, however, was really feeling it, as he took damage from Ryan's Tyranitar, and a very good deal of damage from the Sand Tomb. The Bug Buzz didn't help any either. Suffice to say, the Pokemon were being pushed back; which wasn't good with what was happening to their master.

 

Gerald was furious as he was thrown around like a ragdoll. He was not going to let that Gardevoir get away with her insolence... However, that was about when he found himself being held in the air by his own cloak. Gerald's eyes widened in fury and a lack of oxygen, as he kicked out angrily with his feet, trying to free himself. However, his savior was his Alakazam, as a very well placed Signal Beam incinerated a portion of the knot, and freed the insane madman. Gerald slowly pushed himself to his feet, his ruined cloak nearby, as he let out a low growl that slowly increased in pitch. However, that's when things started to get interesting.

 

-==IC: /_U(!A==-

 

Lucia's eyes widened among their purple glow. Why? Why hadn't she listened? She wasn't even fighting back... The Gothorita was equally astonished, but closed her eyes, as she flung out a few attacks at low power at the Heracross; however, her heart didn't seem to be in it any more than her Trainer's. However, as Lucia was utterly stunned by Jamie's acts, with tears running down her face even more, the purple glow flickered and died, her eyes back to normal.

 

What... happened...? Lucia wondered, as she felt the subconscious humming vanish as well. Lucia, however, couldn't look away from Jamie, still completely caught off guard by her selflessness there. "Jamie... I..." Lucia's shoulders slumped slightly. Why had she...? Lucia recalled Jamie's words from earlier, as she fell to her knees. Why had she let her fear take a hold of her like that? Lucia looked down at the ground, as she realized just how stupid she had been. Why didn't she just try and fight past that pain...? This was her fault in the end...

 

-==IC: ENOUGH==-

 

As the combatants all were either focused on the humiliated Gerald Hikari or themselves, a commanding voice rang out across the battlefield.

 

"ENOUGH!!" The tone was serious, and the command was simple. Ryan and Zach turned to the owner of voice in surprise, and Ryan's eyes widened as he saw who it was. Lucia dimly looked up, a vague look of recognition on her face, as an auburn haired woman strode toward them from the east, a disapproving frown on her face. "I was late, and this is what happens?" The woman asked, as she sighed. "And here I'd hoped to avoid all this..." She mumbled to herself, as Zach and Ryan both had utterly shocked looks on their faces.

 

"You!" Gerald yelled out in rage, as he scrambled to his feet. "I killed you! I made sure of it! What is this witchcraft?!" Gerald growled out, as the woman glared coldly at him. Ryan closed his eyes for a moment, as it actually all was true; everyone was just confirming it. However, he smiled, as he just had a good feeling about this now.

 

"You didn't kill me. A coward like you could never do that. I won't forgive you, though. You killed my best friend in my place." The woman stated coolly, as she walked in among the group. She calmly looked over the group, even as Gerald continued to seethe, the Alakazam putting up a barrier of psychic energy around him to prevent further dirty attacks.

 

However, Jamie had wondered since she had shown up, just who this woman was. Lucia seemed to know her, from the vague look of recollection on her broken face. But Jamie's curiosity got the better of her. "Who are you?"

 

The auburn haired woman looked over at the girl curiously, and smiled slightly. "I am Cassandra Zyther. Though you can call me Cassie, aside from that guy." She said, pointing her thumb at Gerald. "I am Ryan and Lucia's mother." Cassie looked around, and noted the confusion present on Ryan and Zach's face alike, however, she assumed it was more because of her being there and alive.

 

Zach, however, decided to prove otherwise. "... Wait, what about me...?" He asked in confusion, as some vague memory flashed through his mind for a moment. Something seemed weird. But he couldn't put his finger on what... "I don't..." Zach furrowed his brow, as Cassie looked over in surprise at Zach, and closed her eyes for a moment. However, before she could respond, Lucia pushed herself to her feet.

 

"Why...? Why didn't you ever tell me, mom...? Why didn't you tell me I had this monster for a father?" Lucia asked, as she found the courage to speak up once again. It was one of the questions that had been floating around her mind since she had heard about the news. Cassie looked to Lucia, a look of understanding dawning on her face, as she noticed the tears welled up in her eyes, and the stream dried to her cheeks. "Why...? I just..." Lucia looked to the ground sadly, as she recalled a time where she had asked her mother what her father had been like; which Cassie would never answer. One day, she had just outright asked if she was anything like her father, and Cassie had denied it. However, it hadn't truly made Lucia feel any better, as she had thought her mom had just been trying to cheer her up.

 

"Because of how you would react." Cassie said quietly, which made Lucia look up in shock. "You always were so worried about whether you'd be like your father. Even when I tried to help clear things up." Cassie bit her lip for a moment. "... And... because he is not your father." Lucia's eyes widened, as her mouth dropped open slightly. She seemed utterly confused, and Gerald snarled in the background. "Your real father... I... I got jealous one night and frustrated with how petty Gerald was taking his grudge with Patrick Hakuda. It was petty of me as well, but..." Cassie trailed off, as Lucia stayed quiet in shock. "Your real father was nice, though he had a bit of a temper when it came to his rivalry with Gerald. But something I want to say again... What defines you, isn't how you were born. It's your choices, and your experiences. No matter who you are, you are yourself... And you are nothing like this monster."

 

Lucia looked down at the ground in shock, as she tried to process what she had just heard. She closed her eyes, as she was once again reminded of just how stupid she had been just then. However, she looked up in determination. "... Then we finish this." Lucia smiled weakly, as she slowly turned to Gerald, as she had some things to settle.

 

-==IC: CHAOS==-

 

Gerald's face twisted in rage, as he heard the different things that Cassie said. No no NO lies lies lies ALL lies ALIES LIES LIES LIES THEY ARE ALL LIES!!! Gerald roared out, his eyes glowing purple, as he put all his psychic power into taking direct control over his Pokemon. "YOU LIE! ALL OF YOU!" Gerald yelled out loud, as he clenched his fists. He would not accept it; he would not! Not after everything else that had been stolen away. Not this. No. He would not accept this! Gerald's breathing became ragged for a moment, as he struggled to come back into the calm that was necessary for his powers. Gerald's eyes scanned the battlefield in hatred. Everyone there. His enemy. No-one on his side. No running. Running was a coward's way out. Gerald, however, paused with a cruelly amused smile, as his eye caught a glimpse of Olivia.

"How... intriguing." Gerald laughed hollowly, as he narrowed his eyes. "So, you returned, after everything? I remember when Zach used to talk about you all the time... But you'd stick by the 'Hero of Will', even after he proved just how worthless he is? Fitting. You were once my favourite of my sons' friends. But now, it's obvious you just listen to everyone's lies, all the same as the rest! Just the same!! You... You're just as wor-" Gerald ranted with a crazed look in his eyes, but was then cut off by one of the most unlikeliest situations.

"Shut up." Zach said, quietly at first, a fuming look on his face. "Shut up!" Zach yelled out with his eyes temporarily glowing green, as he ran toward the target of his rare hate. "No-one, and I mean no-one, speaks about Liv that way! I want you gone, out of my life! Why can't you just leave!?" Zach said, as Blade looked over, surprised at how irate Zach was getting. Blade frowned, and teleported to Zach, and placed a hand on Zach's shoulder to stop him. Zach panted, as his pure hate melted away, leaving a determined frown, as he looked straight at Gerald. "I will stop you. No... WE will stop you! And I'll make sure... you don't harm anyone ever again." Zach stated, as Gerald laughed with narrowed eyes.

 

"And how do you intend to do that?! You couldn't resist me before... And I bet you just blamed yourself! How do you think you can stop me now?! All alone, that's what you are, you and your lies, just lies, all alone!" Gerald laughed maniacally, as Cassie looked at him with a slight look of pity. "Do you forget how many lives you're responsible for, because of your weakness?!" Gerald's eyes glowed brighter with a snarl as a blast of psychic energy flung Zach backwards into a nearby wall; which seemed to knock the auburn haired trainer out. However, shortly afterward a flurry of Stone Edges targeted Gerald and his Hydreigon; the Hydreigon targeted ones hitting their mark and causing the dragon to roar in indignance, and the rest simply being redirected by the psychic shield. Ryan stepped forward in defiance, as his calm anger was directed toward Gerald, and Gerald alone at that moment.

Edited June 19, 2015 by An/A Blade

[Flipz]

-==IC: Blissie (Blissey; T:Alex Zyther)/Sylph (Eevee; T:Alex Zyther)==-

As Bliss watched the turmoil unfolding around her, she cowered helplessly. Bad enough to fight the most ruthless of foes, but now for her own allies to turn on the one she had pledged to protect in the stead of the Trainer she could not? Too much. Far too much.

 

Sylph sat in a similar situation. Unlike the earlier fighting, a fun fight against fierce foes...now Sylph stood to fight against friends, and in no friendly manner. The Eevee cowered behind Pelleas' horn and lent it his power, hoping the Heracross could halt this horror. But then, as if summoned by a Wish, a familiar face strode forward.

 

Both Blissie and Sylph leapt faithfully forward to the figure of the one Trainer they truly trusted more than Alex himself...his adoptive mother. As the battle against the Hikari patriarch resumed, the two Pokémon prepared for battle once more, awaiting Cassandra's orders.

[Parugi]

IC - Esen Windred - Compound Boarder:

 

Cero's almost mechanical suggestion of operation took Esen by surprise. After a moment, however, she nodded. "Sounds like a plan," she said. "I'll follow your lead."

 

The Noivern nodded her approval as well, before turning to chirp at her offspring. Though the Noibat appeared hesitant, it appeared to accept her order, as it dislodged itself from her back and fluttered into the branches above to wait for the end of the coming conflict.

 

 

IC - Ethan Worth/Gavin Braner/Skye Hall - Celadon City, Building - Continued from this post:

 

A blocked passage to Central Park necessitated an alternative method of discovering why the massive tree--a monument to the Celadon City Gym Leader--was ablaze, what conflict had taken center stage in such an arena. It necessitated an investigation into why the park was inaccessible--what kind of power could prevent one from entering it.

 

Skye had suggested a climb, up and up, to the top of a building. Espionage. A binoculars-look from afar to assess the situation.

 

Such an idea was met with approval. And so they climbed.

 

For how long? No one knew. Several stories, at least. Initial attempts to use an elevator had proven . . . fruitless. The building's power supply was, for lack of a better term, distorted. Lights flashed on and off unexpectedly. Electronic locks had shut down all throughout the place--that was the only reason they had been able to pursue an on-foot ascent of the building's many floors. Step by step by step, they climbs and climbed, up and up.

 

Gavin was tired.

 

Skye was tired.

 

"Come on, guys--we're almost to the top!" Clearly, Ethan was not tired. His voice rang and echoed down the stairwell, as enthusiastic a sound as ever. As always, he led them--three steps ahead of Gavin, five ahead of Skye. This meant, of course, that he was the first one to reach the next landing. A sign near the door read, 'Floor 43.' Ethan did not appear to take notice, as he moved to continue up to the next one.

 

"Ethan, wait," Skye called. He came to a stop. "If we're trying to see what's happening in the park, then we should be high enough by now, right? At this point we just need to find a window."

 

The Rocket Agent paused for a moment. "Good thinking, friend." There was something in his grin, his simple oversight, that Skye couldn't quite pin down. It was not malicious. It was not beneficial. It merely seemed that Ethan, too, was more worn out than he had initially appeared.

 

Was Ethan tired?

 

He led the way now through the door, trying the handle and stepping aside as it squeaked open, revealing beyond it a small hallway leading into a large office squared off into cubicles. The place was empty, virtually untouched from the battle that had taken hold over Celadon--that, at this time, was still raging across the city--and it bore the distinct atmosphere of having previously been occupied, due primarily to the numerous computers and lights that ran in the background. It seemed as if those who had been present had managed to evacuate before trouble could find them, fleeing to safer areas.

 

"Okay," Ethan said, setting his backpack down. He rifled through it, searching for his binoculars. "Should be here somewhere . . ."

 

The large windows alongside one wall, facing toward Central Park, seemed perfectly ideal for their purposes. And so they migrated toward one, Ethan's stop allowing Gavin and Skye a moment to catch their breath. As she waited for Ethan to produce the telescopic tool, Skye turned, looking out toward the city. Smoke rose on the horizon from numerous spots spread out amongst the buildings. Even from where she stood, she could see several airborne combatants darting through the sky.

 

All told, it was a sorry sight.

 

"You ever think about how this was the norm not even a year ago?" Skye asked. The Rocket Agent's eyes were glued to the scene before her, a winding maze in which she appeared lost. "How old was I when the war started . . . Five." She chuckled. "That's not that long ago . . . Like the pre-Rocket era. Sometimes I forget it even exists--that there was a time before I was born where things were different, more peaceful."

 

Gavin looked at her. Part of him wanted to correct Skye--inform her that things had never been this bad, that the war had never caused this much devastation--but he knew he couldn't. It would be a total lie. He'd been with Team Rocket for a long time--ten or so years; he couldn't remember--and in that time, he'd been involved in a lot of skirmishes. The Attack on Four Island had been the apex. Ever since then, everything--the conflicts in Cerulean, in Goldenrod, the train, Havoc--had become his norm.

 

He couldn't remember the last time a large-scale battle had truly affected him, or made him look at it for what it truly was.

 

"I think every side forgets that civilians exist . . ." he said, his voice quiet. "Or that their own armies are made of people."

 

"Yeah." Skye sighed. "Well . . . Hopefully this time, it won't become a war--or a rebellion, or whatever this is--across an entire region . . ."

 

Gavin nodded.

 

"Or four," Ethan chimed in. He shouldered his backpack, binoculars in hand, and took a spot next to the Skye. Raising them to his eyes, he began to survey the park. "In any case, it sounds like we've all had more than enough of this to last a lifetime . . ."

 

"Then perhaps you'll negotiate with us without conflict?"

 

The familiar voice came from behind them, prompting Skye and Gavin to jump and whip around. Ethan let out a slow sigh, lowering his binoculars before turning to face the new arrivals. He recognized the man--the one who had spoken--as Tyler McKinley, the Hojohsin Agent who had interfered with their arrest of Quincy Adams in Havoc. The woman, Ethan did not know. She had brown hair, purple eyes, and appeared much more frail than any Hojohsin or Déoza Agents that he had ever encountered. How they had arrived there without being detected--how they had even known that his group would be here to begin with--Ethan couldn't fathom.

 

He held a hand out to stop Gavin as the younger Rocket Agent reached for a Poké Ball. When Gavin gave him a confused look, Ethan glanced at the window.

 

Gavin understood.

 

They couldn't fight. Not in this spot.

 

McKinley seemed to read his mind. "Glad to see someone finally has a sensible head," he said. The Fourth Child pulled up a chair, taking a seat and smiling pleasantly at the trio. "Relax. We're talking, right?" He chuckled. "I like to think that I leave lasting impressions on people, but just in case, I'm up for another round of introductions. I'm Tyler McKinley, Fourth Child. This--" He gestured to the woman, whose arms were now folded across her chest. "--is Second Child Madison Hayes."

 

Hayes . . . Ethan frowned. Why did that name sound so familiar? He tried to make eye contact with her, though she avoided his gaze, evidently preoccupied with whatever she was currently thinking about. All things being equal, she seemed . . . strangely disquieted.

 

"If you and the rest of Ford's troops are 'children,' then I'm a Moltres," Gavin said.

 

McKinley rolled his eyes with an amused smirk. Before he could say anything, however, Ethan looked up, having run the Fourth Child's introduction through his head--both this one and from Havoc. "Second and Fourth . . . And Quincy's the Third . . . I take it James Pierce is the First, then?"

 

"Well reasoned, Worth. You're correct--Pierce was recruited first." Ethan frowned, prompting a tilt of the head from McKinley. "You didn't think I'd read up on you after the number of run-ins you've had with Adams? That's like hearing the tsunami sirens and going out onto the beach anyway." He leaned back, looking at each of the Rocket Agents in turn. "Ethan Worth, ex-assassin-to-be, Grass- and Bug-Type specialist, total pungeon master. Gavin Braner, boxed crook, Psychic-, Dark-, and Ghost-Type specialist, a born-and-raised brooder. And, of course, Skye Hall, newbie of the group and also a criminal-turned-Rocket."

 

The former Zepher Agent shifted uncomfortably at this. Ethan frowned, glancing between the two Hojohsin Agents. "So we've done enough to get on your radar. That can't be good for us."

 

"Normally? No," McKinley said. "As a matter of fact, my initial instinct here was to blow up that window behind you so that we could wipe a couple of you out of the picture--whether by the shards of glass cutting you to pieces, or by the resulting gust of wind leading to defenestration; I'm not too picky." Gavin and Skye glanced at each other. "But then, I got to thinking--'These guys aren't so bad. Maybe their numerous experiences will prove enough that they'll be willing to talk?' And I was right, so here we are." He blinked slowly, a catlike action that appeared to be meant as a means of disarming their tension. "Not everyone's a cut-and-dry enemy, you see. Some people see enough, survive enough, piece together enough that they . . . evolve, and become opponents worthy of continued play. And your group, my, my . . ." He shook his head. "Sang, Zyther, and Arthur . . . The six of you, I have to say, you're impressive, man. I feel like anyone else would be dead by now, given what you've all been through together. Well . . ." He smirked. "Aside from maybe one other group. You might've met them before . . ."

 

Ethan did not give this much thought. "I'm sure they would all be as flattered to hear that as we are. But I don't understand what this has to do with . . . whatever it is you want."

 

"You're right--we're riding too many different tracks here, so let's simplify the conversation."

 

"I'll leave that up to you, then," Ethan said.

 

The Fourth Child nodded. "You know the four of us--Pierce, Hayes, Adams, and myself," he said. "You also know that we have another among our ranks, Calvin Truman--"

 

"Levi Alaric," Skye said.

 

McKinley nodded again. "The Eighth Child. And there are three others whom we have taken in--Van Harrison, the Fifth Child; Lyndon Grant, the Sixth Child; and Andrew Wilson, the Seventh Child. What you probably don't know is that there is meaning behind our names and our numbers. Specifically, there are meant to be nine of us in total."

 

"Why?" Gavin asked. "What do you need nine of these 'children' for?"

 

There was a pause in which the entire room fell silent. After a moment, McKinley smiled, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Peace, Braner, is the simplest answer that I can give," he said. "A means to obtain total peace, once and for all."

 

Ethan fell silent, contemplating this. Quincy had said the same thing, more or less--that the Hojohsin League, for all of the bad that it had done, truly aimed for some sort of greater good, an ultimate end to the conflicts that had universally contributed to some greater, unknowable evil. And yet . . .

 

Hayes' name suddenly clicked in his head.

 

"You'll have to excuse me if I find that--" Gavin began.

 

"Your pursuit of 'peace' includes a trail of bloodshed across at least five different regions--massacring entire groups and bombing at least one city," Ethan interrupted, carefully choosing how to word his response. Gavin looked at him. Ethan ignored this. "The Hojohsin League has continued to persecute Team Liberty and Team Rocket Agents in Hoenn, despite all initial claims that those actions were meant to dissuade the war. Continuing even after what amounts to the end of the Rocket-Liberty War." He remembered how Quincy had frozen at this particular line of questions, rendered all but unable to answer: "How is this 'protecting' anyone?"

 

"We're removing the unstable elements from the field," McKinley said simply. "Those of a volatile demeanor. Take Soil Colossus, Inc., for instance. In the midst of the Darkrai threat, they chose to continue acting against Team Rocket--one of the only organizations with any chance of defeating the Ancients. For their efforts, they were destroyed, and Team Rocket was allowed to focus more wholly on the bigger target. Team Energon and the Searchers acted in much the same way. They were . . ." He glanced about, as if searching for the correct phrasing. "Unnecessary."

 

"So Ford is trying to, what, strengthen Team Rocket and Team Liberty somehow?" Ethan asked. "What for? All he's aimed for up to now is killing both groups, why does he suddenly care enough to try and ensure that they survive?"

 

An exaggerated sigh, a display of tragic mourning, escaped McKinley's lips. "You're doing such an excellent job here, Worth, putting together all these clues and and pieces to get to the bigger questions. Were you but a decade and a few years younger, I might have been able to give you a more thorough answer to that question," the Fourth Child said. "But you're not, so I can't."

 

"What's . . . What's that supposed to mean, exactly . . . the age thing?" Skye asked.

 

He smirked. Gavin felt a deep desire to punch the Ford Agent at the sight, though held himself back, instead choosing to go Ethan's route and merely keep a close eye on the pair before them. "We're bound to secrecy," he said. "Call it magic, of a sort. The fact of the matter is that the terrible nature of the secret actively hampers our ability to share it--unless certain precautions are taken first."

 

"Like what?"

 

McKinley leaned forward. "Well, for starters, the secret can only be passed to those under nineteen years of age," he said, a gloating glint appearing in his eye, as if he relished the fact that he knew something they did not. "And only if they willingly agree to the conditions: Should they do this, they must adopt a new name, and accept their place amongst us, so that they may assist in our ultimate end goal. And if they do . . . Well, unfortunately, they can't speak what they know." He leaned back again. "Luckily, they have a family amongst us, their fellow Children." He looked at Gavin. "And that is why we're the Children, Braner--of Ford, of Gild, of Pollux, whatever technicality you want to file us under. We were inducted at a young age. And those who have surpassed it . . ." He closed his eyes. "We have not strayed from this noble path."

 

"Funny," Gavin responded. "Considering the fact that children are notoriously terrible at keeping secrets."

 

"The irony is not lost on me. Incidentally . . ." McKinley opened his eyes again. "That is why Hayes and I are here today."

 

"You're looking to recruit someone in Celadon and just happened to stop by here?" Ethan said. "That was nice of you. Should've brought Quincy and Levi along for the ride, had a full-on reunion."

 

McKinley smirked again. He folded his hands over a knee, bringing it up to his chin as he used his other foot to spin the chair he was sitting in. "Not someone in Celadon, Worth," he said. "Someone here."

 

For a split second, Ethan furrowed his brow. The next moment, he saw Gavin move out of the corner of his eye, placing himself between Skye and the Hojohsin Agents, at the same time that Skye's expression widened in surprise. "I'm the only . . . You want me to be the Ninth Child?" she asked.

 

"Oh, no, no, no," McKinley said. "It's a lot less straightforward than that. You see, Harrison skipped out on us not even a week ago, which means we need a replacement Fifth Child. The Ninth Child is a . . . work in progress, shall we say."

 

"Fifth, Ninth, or Tenth, you aren't taking her," Gavin said. "None of us are interested in helping Ford's plan."

 

"Then I suppose it's a good thing I'm not asking you," McKinley said. He nodded at Skye. "What do you say, friend? That wasn't an expression of disgust, so clearly you're open to the idea."

 

Gavin looked at his fellow Rocket Agent. She stared ahead, watching McKinley with an expression of mixed and uncertain emotions. Gavin shook his head at her, placing his hands on her shoulders. "Skye, you cannot seriously be considering going with them."

 

"Gavin . . ."

 

"You've seen what these people are capable of, remember?"

 

"I know, but--"

 

"Think about what kind of person Ford is!"

 

"Gavin! Listen!" Skye's sudden yell caught him off guard. She took a deep breath, placing her hands on his arms and pushing them away. "I know what I've seen," she said slowly. "And maybe before, if I'd only heard about what the Hojohsin League had done . . . Maybe I wouldn't believe this . . . this peace thing. But this?" She gestured to the window, a look of desperation in her eyes. "I've seen this. I've lived this. And this is without their involvement. You've seen what people can do, with or without Hojohsin directing them--I've seen what they can do. I've never lived without it in the background." She looked to the ground, at McKinley, and then at Gavin again, lost for words. "It's . . . It's a lose-lose situation, Gavin. I know that. But . . . why not give this a shot?"

 

For a long time, Gavin could only stare at Skye. Finally, he looked at Ethan, who remained still, facing McKinley and Hayes. "Ethan . . . You're going to back me up, aren't you?"

 

The older Agent remained silent. Then, "Let her do what she thinks is right." He did not look at Skye or Gavin. His tone was mixed, somewhere between frustration and understanding; no one quite knew what to make of it. At his word, however, Gavin gave Skye another look, before reluctantly stepping out of her way.

 

She watched him closely, fighting to maintain an even head. Skye looked as if she wanted to say something, but could not bring herself to do it. Instead, she moved forward, hesitating halfway between the two groups before reinforcing her decision and moving forward, coming to stand beside Hayes. Gavin watched her blankly. Skye fell silent, focusing on taking a series of steady breaths, to remain calm . . .

 

"Well, that settles that," McKinley announced. "Don't worry--you'll see each other again. And I promise: Skye will not die because of this commitment." He grinned and rose from his seat, spinning it with a hand before pushing it to the side. "And I suppose I ought to give you my side of the deal now, yeah?" Ethan raised an eyebrow. "I said we were negotiating, right? Only fair that I give you something in return. Here." He tossed Ethan a data stick, which the Rocket Agent caught. "You'll need this."

 

Ethan looked from the stick to McKinley. "What is it?"

 

"Coordinates," McKinley said. This prompted an uncertain look from Hayes--her first real action since arriving on the scene. "Decode it. Figure out the trail. Share the destination and the date on there with your friends! And once the date rolls around, head for the place." He smiled broadly. "Be sure to bring as many of your allies as possible--they're not going to want to miss what's coming up. Tell them . . ." McKinley giggled. "Tell them they've been cordially invited by Ford himself."

 

Ethan was not sure that he liked the sound of that. He remained silent, however, watching as McKinley sent out a Xatu--one in a similar condition to the Wobbufett he had had with him at Havoc. The Psychic-Type paid no heed to the Rocket Agents, focusing instead on Skye, who looked eyes with it. The next instant, she fell into a daze, almost falling over only to be caught by Hayes, prompting Ethan to take a panicked step forward.

 

"Welcome to the fold, Reagan Garfield, new Fifth Child," McKinley said, patting her on the shoulder. He turned back to Ethan. "As fun as this has been, I'm afraid it's time we went our separate ways. Unless you had any last questions?"

 

"Not a question, exactly," Ethan said. He locked eyes with the Fourth Child. "Just a warning."

 

McKinley smiled, amused. "A warning?"

 

"Yeah," Ethan affirmed, a half-smile involuntarily forming at the corner of his mouth. "If we run into you again, and I catch so much as a hint that any 'Child' after you--Skye, Levi, or any of the other three--was hurt, or lied to, or mistreated in any way . . ." His eyes narrowed. "Let's just say that I'm going to put Fourth a lot of pain."

 

McKinley chuckled. "I think you'll find that you have more important things to attend to first, Worth." He gave a short and highly sarcastic wave, before motioning toward Xatu. The next instant, the group vanished, leaving Ethan and Gavin to their own devices.

Edited July 22, 2015 by Parugi

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Gnip and Jenny

Jenny quietly opened the door to outside. As she stepped out, however, her jaw dropped in amazement as she temporarily forgot the mission to find the noise. "Gnip, look..." Jenny said in awe, as she saw the stars that shone bright in the sky; she hadn't even considered it, but due to the lack of artificial light in Fortree, the stars were visible everywhere around, including constellations.

Gnip gazed longingly at the wondrous sea of stars above her. She wished she could fly amongst all those wonderful lights in the sky once more. Gnip released a low growl, aiming to please some part of her that desired to fly, in some fashion. Looking back at Jenny, Gnip saw pure wonder reflected in her eyes, as if she hadn't seen such a beautiful sight before.

Jenny was broken out of her admiration of the stars, however, as she heard the sound once more. "Gnip, come on." Jenny said, as she focused on where the sound had come from, and then ran down one of the wooden bridges that connected the different trees.

Gnip heard and obeyed Jenny's suggestion and ran behind her, taking care not to make too much noise. Stargazing would have to wait. They had to find out what was making that noise. Gnip, personally found it silly to do such a thing, but she liked Jenny, so she'd humor her.

Jenny kept running down the bridges, as she tried to figure out what was going on. However, as she passed one of the branches, she shrieked out, as her hair was grabbed from behind. "What?!" Jenny yelled out, as she tried to struggle free. However, whatever had grabbed her hair was intent on not letting go.

 

Gnip saw Jenny get grabbed by the hair and growled angrily. Gnip could not see what had done this, but she wasn't going to stand for this. Taking a deep breath, Gnip produced a low roar to surprise whatever had Jenny. No matter how hidden they were, her roar would scare them.

 

The attacker seemed to have been startled, as Jenny yelped from her hair being pulled; however, they didn't seem to be about to give up with it, and in fact, tightened the grip on the hair.

"Gnip, help!" Jenny called out, as she had no clue how to actually get free at all with this situation. However, she also wondered if Gnip could easily save her without risk eiher, and frowned slightly.

 

Gnip was running out of options. Most of the attacks she knew were too powerful to be of use in this situation. She cursed how despite being so strong, she couldn't help Jenny out of this pinch. She thought of nearly every idea, but could not reach a good idea.

Then she remembered something Jenny had said in the past. Something that could help her now.

IC: Gnip and Jenny, earlier in the day (Flashback)

Jenny sighed, as she looked over at Gnip. She knew that she was gentle, even when she kept getting playful. But Jenny also realized Gnip's sheer strength. "Gnip..." Jenny paused as she walked up to the Garchomp. "Is... it possible for you to control your strength sometimes? Like, to... hold back, almost?"

The Garchomp growled as she shook her head. She couldn't hold back if she tried. She wanted to, but there was no real point to it, when everything she has done, required her not to let up for a second. Such was the nature of her strength.

Jenny nodded sadly, but sighed. "It would be nice if you could; that way, you could always be safe to be around."

IC: Gnip and Jenny, Present time

Gnip's eyes flashed as she started to roar again, but this wasn't like her previous roars. Whereas they all sounded mighty and powerful, this one sounded solemn and almost pleading. The sound was pleasing to the ears of anyone who heard it. It was as if Gnip was wishing for a way to help Jenny. As if to reply, a single Draco struck whatever had grabbed Jenny.

Jenny seemed surprised at the meteor, and was awed by the difference. Jenny half stumbled and half staggered forward as the opponent dropped her hair. Jenny whirled around, to see her attacker scrambling away. She wasn't quite sure what could have survived that kind of attack, but she was intent on finding out, having a feeling it was related to the noises.

Gnip was grateful to see Jenny safe again and yet surprised at what had happened. The landshark was almost teary-eyed at how she actually managed to help Jenny without hurting her. She had spent most of her life being weak, and now that she was strong, she thought she could never stop being strong, as much as she wished to.

 

And now, it seemed that wish finally came true for her.

Jenny looked back for a moment at Gnip with a smile, as she motioned for the Garchomp to follow her. She was going to find out what this thing was, and what its problem was.

 

Gnip was still incredibly impressed that she managed to change things up. But there would be time for more of that later. Right now, she had to find out what caused that situation in the first place, and thank whatever it was for it, in her own special way. With the energy she had when she was a Gible, Gnip followed Jenny.

 

Jenny ran down one of the sets of stairs, as they came to a clearing in the forest. The being that had grabbed her hair could be seen in the shadow of the night; however, its back was turned. It was oddly... short, however. As the two approached, however, many more of the mysterious short beings appeared, and gathered up, even as the moon lit up the scene. Jenny's face went utterly blank, as she simply stared at the scene, unsure what expression to either use because it was so surprisingly weird. For the creatures in question were a horde of Kecleon, and they were currently gathering together to make a Kecleon-like mech.

"... Gnip... Do we attract weird things?" Jenny asked, unable to look away from the trainwreck of weirdness.

Gnip was on the brink of being weirded out and laughing. She had seen many things, but this managed to top quite a few of them. Gnip then shrugged, while still containing her laughter, in reply to Jenny's question. Then, she started to laugh as only a Garchomp could. There was no helping it! This had to be the strangest thing she had ever seen!

 

Jenny chuckled as well, but frowned. "What should we do, Gnip? They seem a bit annoyed at what happened just now." Jenny asked, as the oddity took a wobbly step toward them. If it weren't for the fact that she had felt the pain when her hair was pulled, she would have thought this was a dream.

 

Gnip recovered from her laughing fit and nodded. To be honest, Gnip had no idea what to do. She wasn't really in the mood to fight Pokémon like these. They did start this, however, so maybe she should finish it. At least she would think that, if Jenny weren't around. The Landshark then looked at Jenny curiously, as if waiting for a command.

 

Jenny looked over to Gnip, and noticed that she was looking back expectantly. Jenny thought for a moment, as she tried to figure out a way to handle this. As she thought, she recalled the incident a moment earlier, and how it had been solved. "... Gnip... Can you do what you did, except with more meteors? Many, many more?" Jenny asked with a smile. "Like a bundle of shooting stars!"

 

Gnip nodded slowly in reply. Focusing her attention on the Kecleon....thing, Gnip started to roar. The roar started out low, but gradually grew louder and louder, but not to the point of waking anyone up. This roar sounded more powerful than the others, as if Gnip was showing off.  As she did so, the star marking on Gnip started to glow as a ball of Dragon type energy formed above her.

With an impressive finishing growl, Gnip directed the Draco Meteor at the Kecleon. As soon as it was fired, the ball split into many smaller meteors that would make most attempts to escape impossible.

Jenny watched in surprise, as the mass horde of Kecleon were battered by the meteors, sending the entire mass of them collapsing to the ground. Jenny thought she had seen a white flag being waved by one afterward, but figured that was probably just her imagination. "Good job, Gnip!" Jenny said to the Garchomp with a smile afterward, and sighed. "Come on, they probably were all it was, and probably were just being mischievous. Let's head back."

Gnip growled at the pile of Kecleon in a playful manner and followed Jenny giddily. She could not wait to show her master what she had learned tonight. He'd be thrilled to know she had improved her technique with that move. Especially since it was given to her by the one he once served. She'd have to show it off next time she fought something. Before they entered Ryan's house, Gnip stopped and barked at Jenny, motioning her to come over to where she was. Jenny seemed confused, and looked over at Gnip, and then walked over to where she was, wondering what the Garchomp had wanted.

 

Gnip then gave Jenny a gentle hug. She had to repay Jenny for helping better herself. The Mach Pokemon did hope that eventually she could truly return the favor to her. Barking softly, Gnip motioned her head towards the door, her tail wagging slightly.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

Jenny smiled at the hug, but seemed lost in thought about something. She followed Gnip into the house and headed back to her room. When she entered her room, however, she immediately walked over to her backpack, and began to dig around in it for something that gleamed in the moonlight. Perfect. Jenny thought with a smile as she thought back to what had happened once more...

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan
Ryan awoke to the sounds of a chirping Taillow in one of the nearby trees. He slowly stretched with a smile. Although it had only been about a week, he was glad to be back in his own home, with the familiar sounds, sights, and smells of Fortree City. The sun was just barely starting to rise, its soft light sifting through the trees and casting a grey-green glow about his room.
 
Given the events of the day before, Ryan felt surprisingly well-rested. The disappearances of Sonja and Ellen still weighed on his mind, but somehow the situation didn't seem quite as hopeless as it had previously. The Liberty Agent rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he shuffled over to the bathroom. Before could turn on the lights, his foot landed on something soft and silky.
 
He stumbled back in surprise, fumbling for the lights. As he found the switch, his mouth dropped open in horror. Clumps of thick, blonde hair littered the bathroom floor, along with the counter and sink. For a split second he thought Terry was shedding, before he remembered that Ellen wasn't there. He let out a startled cry.
 
"Who did what to my bathroom?!"

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

Jenny yawned, as she sleepily rubbed her eyes, walking up behind Ryan not too long after he yelled out. She still looked tired, for sure, since she had only gotten to sleep around 2 AM or so.

 

"Oh, hi Ryan..." Jenny yawned again with a sleepy smile. However, she looked different than usual, as her hair was now wavier and curlier than normal, and was to her chin at max length. Her hair was also distinctly redder looking, having lost a good chunk of the blonde ends it had before, and being closer to the natural red she had as a kid. "What's with all the noise? You'll wake Ray at this rate, and that's a feat..."

[JiMing]

(IC: Aspen/Dahlia Seaton)

"Heh, neat, Luke." Aspen replied, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm sure it was exciting and you and the others got  to prove you were heroes....."

"Hey Luke?" Dahlia said, looking at the black belt. "....Did I ever give you my Pokegear number? If not..... I-I should have." the middle Seaton sighed. "I could have gotten here earlier...."

Aspen shuffled uncomfortably. "I.... Don't think so. There seemed to be something around the park... Stopped us from getting out. Probably would have stopped you from getting in...."

 

(IC: Olivia Seaton)

 

Dune narrowed his eyes at the Hydreigon, determined to stop the pseudo-legend from potentially causing trouble, firing Dragon Breath after Dragon Breath, attempting to lock down his opponent. Willow turned around to show her behind at the Haunter and Electabuzz as a taunt, using Bug Buzz again, while digging into the ground once again.

 

Meanwhile, Toxin saw he had Lucia's Audino in the ropes. Preparing a final attack, the Toxicroak was about to throw his fist forward....

 

Only to suddenly realize that Lucia was already back to normal. Blinking once, he turned his attention to the Pokemon Gerald sent out, tossing two Sludge Bombs at the Haunter and Electabuzz.

 

Once again, too many things happened one after the other for Olivia to process it. First, she finally couldn't stand Amethyst's angry words, and looked over to see what was wrong. Then that was when she caught the sad state Gerald was in, lifted up by the neck with his flowing cape as the noose.  Even as Shannon begged the Gardevoir to let Gerald go, that didn't seem to deter her in the slightest as the insane old man continued to dangle pathetically. The eldest Seaton moved to say something, but paused. On one hand..... Amethyst was about to commit murder. On the other.... The father of the Hikaris was an insane psychopath, who no one wanted to see come back. She frowned, and gripped her head, scowling, conflicted on just what to think about the situation, and how to react......

 

...But her conflict didn't last long, as an Alakazam came out of nowhere, and incinerated the cloak binding Gerald's neck. Olivia breathed a sigh of relief, that conflict over. Amethyst, on the other hand, scowled deeply, and began to jerk her arm again in an attempt to find some other way to lock down Gerald....

 

...Only Shannon didn't let up in her attempts to make Amethyst repent. She scowled, and jerked the arm to push back the trainer. "Stand aside. I know what has to be done...." the Gardevoir muttered, once more raising her arm.... Only now this time, Blade placed his hands on her shoulder, surprising her enough to get her to blink and slowly turn her head back to the Gallade. 

 

"You have to stop and calm down! If you do this, you'll be no better than he is!"

 

"N-no....." Amethyst started, slowly looking confused. "I.... This is what.... People wanted..... I.... Have to, f-for....."

 

The Gardevoir blinked again, about to shout from frustration, only for an Alakazam to take aim at Amethyst. Once she saw the attack coming though, it was much too late.... But Blade threw himself in front of the Signal Beam, skidding a few feet away.

"Blade!" Amethyst cried, the light from her eyes, the billowing of her dress, and the electric haze around her head all stopping at once, as she turned to look at the injured Gallade. She ran towards Blade with worried eyes, trying to help him up. "If only I had noticed s-sooner...." she muttered, only communicating to Blade at the moment. She scowled at Gerald's Alakazam, and fired off several Magical Leaves at their assailant. "If only I-I knew Heal Pulse.... Or Wish.... I.... If only I could do something that people need...." the Gardevoir lamented, growling in frustration while a few tears ran down her cheek, trembling from everything. "Why am I so useless to everyone??"

 

Chaos. Utter chaos. That was the battlefield. Everything was insane. At least there are no more surprises now.... Olivia thought, sighing.

 

"ENOUGH!!" 

 

....I stand corrected.

 

And so the cavalry arrived. Cassandra Zyther, evidently.... A sight Gerald didn't take too kindly to seeing. Once she introduced herself however, Olivia blinked, and frowned. .....She didn't mention Zach....? Does that mean she's....?

 

Before Olivia could process her thoughts though, Cassie kept speaking. And with nearly every word, the only thought in Olivia's mind was a resounding: Wait.... What the??

 

At that point, the eldest Seaton was quite confused. As she attempted the Herculean task of piecing the puzzle back together even more though, she flinched upon hearing Gerald's outburst, gripping the sides of her head and closing her eyes in exasperation. Oh my god make everything just pause so I can actually think for once please!!?

 

Opening her eyes again made Olivia flinch again, as Gerald was staring at her in a cruel curiosity.... His gaze boring into her innermost secrets and feelings... Yet as surprised and frightened the redhead was, she reacted to Gerald's taunting with a defiant scowl, about to open her mouth to retort when-

 

"Shut up." declared Zach, surprising Olivia. "Shut up!"

 

Olivia watched in awe as Zach stated his resolve to finish Gerald right then and there, his determination rubbing off on her, with the eldest Seaton clenching her fist in preparation for the final push against the crazed old man. Only.... Said crazy old man retorted, most worriedly, with a psychic slam leaving Zach sprawled unconscious against a wall. 

 

"NO!" Olivia shouted, dashing over to the slumped Zach, desperately attempting to wake him up. With every single unsuccessful attempt though, came that mad, psychotic laughter from Gerald.... Ringing in her head... Taunting her, and everything she cared for.......

 

"Shut up." Olivia said shakily, turning to Gerald, a new fire in her green eyes. "You.... You crazy old fart! I don't care what you say about me! But you don't know anything about me and Zach!! ..I've heard what happened in Unova. That wasn't weakness. He didn't even have a choice in doing anything that happened, and you still left him miserable, depressed, always beating himself up, over something that he didn't even cause!!" she shouted, the fire in her eyes blazing even hotter. "You think I'm going to leave the first person who ever gave me a chance... My best friend in the whole wide world, over that... And let him stay so guilt-ridden a-and catatonic?? He's not worthless! When I'm with him, he makes me feel the farthest from worthless I could ever be! He always did that.... Always smiling, always passing on his enthusiasm and optimism to me, every time I needed it.... Every time I felt so useless and tiny....." 

 

"So I don't care about Unova. I don't care about anything! I'm not going to abandon Zach, I won't, EVER!!" the trainer shouted, pointing at Gerald. "He's done TOO MUCH for me! I owe him so much, after all the times he's helped me when I needed him most.... And right now, I'm going to start repaying him. By standing up, and TAKING YOU DOWN!! WE ARE NOT LETTING YOU HARM ANOTHER SOUL!!"

Edited June 20, 2015 by Toph Beifong

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan

"Jenny?" Ryan turned around in surprise, staring in shock at the girl and her new hairstyle. "What did you-- why would you-- you left my bathroom a complete mess!" he stammered, trying to comprehend what had happened. While he didn't have a problem with Jenny cutting her hair, he didn't see why she had to do it now of all times, nor why she had failed to clean up after herself. "Was this really necessary?"

 

IC: Dack/Madison/Luke

Luke raised an eyebrow. "Your Pokègear number? Nope, I don't think I ever got that from you. That's a pity." The blackbelt grinned sheepishly, wondering whether or not actually having her number would have been a good thing. He suspected he'd have gotten a lot more anger from the middle Seaton for letting her brother out of his sight.

 

"Aspen's right," Madison chimed in. "You wouldn't have been able to do anything. I passed by this way earlier with Shannon and Ryan. The closer we got to the park... we... saw things. Things I never thought I'd have to see again." She glanced briefly at Dack, her eyes betraying her concern. "Whatever was going on, it seems like someone didn't want anyone disturbing Dack, Aspen, or Hannah. Or letting any of them escape."

 

"Aspen, Hannah, and I were targeted specifically," Dack said. "It makes sense that he wouldn't have wanted you interfering. Especially seeing how it was the memories of you... friends and family... that helped us win." The Rocket smiled warmly at Madison, Luke, and Dahlia.

 

Madison returned his smile, before her lips curled into a frown. "He?" she asked. "'He' who?"

 

IC: Shannon

Shannon let out a gasp as the Gallade was knocked away. If there was any good in the situation, it was that the Gardevoir was no longer trying to murder Gerald in cold blood. But that didn't mean other people wouldn't make the attempt. A woman calling herself Cassie -- Ryan's mother -- appeared. Her presence seemed to throw Gerald into an uncontrolled rage.

 

Lucia seemed to come back to her senses. Zach was thrown back in an explosion of psychic energy. Olivia was ranting much like her Gardevoir. And Gerald was laughing. The sound made Shannon sick. He may have been wronged like Hannah had felt, but the Hikaris' father was clearly a madman.

 

A sudden Stone Edge cut off the maniacal laughter, and Shannon felt her heart skip a beat as Ryan stepped forth. She wanted to call out to him, to beg him to stay safe. But her words died in her throat. She had heard about what Ryan's father had done to him before, and she had witnessed the old man's abilities firsthand through Lucia. What if Gerald chose to turn Ryan against his friends next? Would he be able to resist? Would the others hold back in their attacks?

 

Shannon felt utterly helpless. There was literally nothing she could do but watch and pray that the fighting would stop.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

Jenny nodded in response to his question. "Last night, I kinda realized a bit how much of a liability in battle long hair is." Jenny giggled, and then sighed, as she began to explain the weirdness of the night before to Ryan, emphasizing just how weird that Kecleon tower thing had been.

[Konuju]

IC: Hannah

Hannah gave the assassin a hard look. "She's hardly my friend," she muttered. "She just insists on calling herself that. Regardless, if it makes her feel better to know you'll do what you can to keep me safe, I suppose that's a good thing." The executive sounded weary, and a slight edge in her voice hinted to Lafoyae that she was not in the mood for idle chit-chat.

 

IC: Ryan

The Liberty trainer raised an eyebrow as Jenny recounted her tale of the night before. "I know the wild Kecleon can have a bit of a mischievous side at times, but I've never heard of anything like that before," he said. "I wonder what that was all about. Although attacking hair sounds like something a Misdreavous might do." Ryan chuckled as he recalled the many times he had fallen victim to Missy's hair-pulling antics. He smiled at Jenny. "Well, I'd feel bad if I forced you to clean it up all by yourself. So how about I help you, before anyone else stumbles upon this forest of hair."

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie - Celadon City

 

Jamie was still processing the most recent information, but the most important piece to digest was that Lucia had come back to her senses. Really, that's all Jamie needed, she could figure out the rest when the madman was gone. Likewise, Pelleas wasn't sure what had just happened, but he knew that he wasn't fighting Lucia now, and that was good.

 

"Come forth, Palomides," she said before sending out the Ghost-type for the third time that day.

 

Palomides had little time to get adjusted to the outdoors before Jamie called "Palomides! Use Disable and Shadow Ball on Alakazam. Pelleas, use Close Combat on Hydreigon!"

 

With one of his new arms, the Haunter sought to to stop the Alakazam's Psychic defense, and with the other hand, the Haunter created a ball of ghostly energy to strike the Alakazam when its defense was down. Pelleas, free from having to worry about the Eevee, zipped across the battle field, flying low, close to the ground, to close the gap with the Dark-Dragon. Here was a problem that he could just solve but punching until it shut up. And he intended to punch and punch as many times as it took.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Battle==-

 

The Hydreigon glared at the Vibrava as the two flew around each other. The Hydreigon dodged the Dragon Breath attacks as he launched off a Hyper Beam, which missed Dune as he continued to fly around and shoot off Dragon Breath beams. Hydreigon seemed frustrated, as he stopped in place and waited for his power to return. To the side, a couple houses began to collapse on themselves as the slicing of the beam finally began to take effect. However, as the Hydreigon was about to act, it was slammed in the face by the Heracross, who had showed up and promptly acted with his fists. The Hydreigon seemed utterly unpleased with how the day was going, righting himself as he spread his wings to stop his involuntary flight.

 

Meanwhile, the Haunter and Electabuzz were both having trouble; while the Bug Buzz was more like a buzzing of an insect to them, it was still an annoyance on top of the Sludge Bombs. The Haunter tried to intercept the Sludge Bomb targeting him with one of his own; however, the Electabuzz was hit, and sent to a knee. However, the week with his new master had taught him to never give up, no matter the situation, and the Electabuzz proceeded to stand up once again, and dashed toward the Toxicroak, readying a Thunder Punch in return.

 

The Alakazam's eyes widened as he suddenly found himself unable to use his psychic abilities to protect his master from the threatening Gardevoir. However, he narrowed his eyes quickly, as he jumped out of the way of the Shadow Ball, making sure Gerald wasn't in the path either, and then fired off a return Shadow Ball at the opposing Haunter. The Alakazam frowned, however, as he had to be careful and watch out for any of the other combatants; in case they tried anything more...

 

Blade looked over in surprise as Amethyst began to apologize and cry. He seemed confused, as he didn't know why she was apologizing and putting herself down. "It wasn't your fault, and you're not useless. If you want someone to blame, use Gerald as a target... But just trust me, you don't want to be the same as him. He who would do anything to get what he wants. Who would do anything to get results. There are better ways to defeat him permanently, than by killing him." Blade said with a smile, as he looked over to Zach with a frown, even as Audinaga walked over to heal Blade even more.

 

Lucia sighed, as the din of combat resuming allowed her time to think again. Lucia looked over uncertainly at Jamie, and opened her mouth for a moment, but then hesitated for a moment. "I... I'm sorry, Jamie..." Lucia said awkwardly, and then turned her focus back to the fight.

 

-==IC: Vision==-

 

Zach slowly opened up his eyes, groaning slightly, as he looked around in confusion. Gone was the direct battle, and here was the sign of a battle long past. Zach furrowed his brow slightly, as he slowly staggered to his feet a couple steps, and looked around. However, his eyes widened in shock, as he recognized the broken surroundings once again.

 

Why? Why this again? Zach's face twisted with a pang of guilt once more. He took a few unstable steps, though he was unsure whether it was because of the surroundings, or the situation that had gotten him into this. He was over this, he was over this, he had already gotten over this. Zach fell to his knees with a frown. But I... that was still me... All those people... That's why...

 

"You have to fight." Zach looked up in surprise at the sudden voice. It wasn't of anyone he knew, but the scene almost seemed to shift so he could see who it belonged to. It was a middle-aged woman with greying brown hair. "You have to fight, so you can protect those you care for, and gain justice for this. It wasn't your fault, when you couldn't fight back. Justify it to yourself as you will, but as it was a sneak attack, with your unfinished powers, you didn't stand a chance." The woman stated, as Zach noticed more and more people around the city as it almost seemed to be repairing itself before his eyes. Zach seemed amazed at it as he looked around in wonder, but then looked over with a frown.

 

'It isn't my fault'... That's what most everyone else kept saying too... Zach stayed on the ground right then as he closed his eyes for a moment with a small smile. Who... are you, though...? Zach asked curiously, as she didn't look familiar. The woman smiled mysteriously, and sighed.

 

"The question of the hour, now, isn't it?" The woman said, and looked around. "Perhaps we're just the background people. Those you see, yet never pay total attention to because you don't know them. All lives matter equally... Even if some are more important to an individual." The woman stated, and Zach looked down to the ground for a moment.

 

Yeah... I guess you're- Zach looked up, and suddenly the woman was gone, and everything was back to post-Kyurem Striaton. A sad look on his face as the warm feel of everything began to vanish, Zach began to look down at the ground again. "Don't lose hope." A female voice rang out, and Zach looked forward once again. The voice was familiar, as if he'd heard it so many times before; but yet, he just couldn't place it. However, he couldn't see anyone as he looked around, which confused him slightly.

 

"Who are you? And what are you doing just lying on the ground?" Zach was shocked as he looked around and saw a brown haired man. The man was looking down at Zach in puzzlement, as if he couldn't figure out what was going on. He placed his hand to his chin for a moment, and then smiled as if he figured it out. "Oh, you're that guy I saved from Kyurem. Zach was it? Doesn't explain why you're just lying there like a rock, though, now does it!" The man said with a cheerful grin, as Zach just seemed shocked.

 

Evan... Zach had no clue what to think. On one hand, he had been dying since Dragonspiral Tower, when Zekrom had shot the attack that had gone astray. On the other hand... If he hadn't been weak, then he wouldn't have died sooner. But yet... Zach recalled seeing Evan alive again, and... Zach gripped his head, as he tried to make sense of what had happened.

 

"We can talk about that later. Get up. Heroes should stand tall and proud! ... We'll meet again, and talk some more. But for now... focus on the here and now." The Hero of Space pointed to the sky for a moment with a grin, before he proceeded to glance over Zach's shoulder. Zach followed his gaze, and was surprised at the red haired girl behind him that seemed utterly confused about what was going on as she looked around. Zach pushed himself to his feet as he turned around more, finding it a bit easier to walk somehow.

 

"Liv..." Zach said in a mixture of surprise and happiness, as he smiled at his best friend. He wondered if she was a part of his subconscious like all the rest for all of two seconds, before she reacted.

 

"Ohmigosh, Zach!" Olivia spoke up in surprise, hugging her best friend in relief. "Where... What is this place?" she asked, seeming confused, but not worried, since Zach was there.

 

Zach scratched his head as he tried to figure out how to explain, as he noticed the surroundings beginning to return to normal once again. "It's Striaton City... but it's shifting from ruins to rebuilt. I think it's tied into how much hope I have at the moment, maybe?" Zach theorized with a slight blush, as he returned the hug, as things in the city definitely had seemed to start to rebuild again since she appeared. "What are you doing here, though?" Zach seemed curious, as she was definitely real, if nothing else was, but he had thought this was a vision, and now wondered what was going on.

 

The redhead listened to Zach's explanation, watching the ruined landscape transform into a beautiful, pristine city with awe, until Zach asked her why she was there. "I..... I'm not sure." Olivia admitted, frowning. "Your Dad's attack left you out cold, and while the others were off trying to fight him back, I was trying to wake you up... Next thing I know, I'm here." she explained, looking around again, then back to Zach. "I don't know what's happening... Sorry...."

 

Zach thought for a moment, as he scratched his head, and then chuckled. "Well... I guess it's possible it was my powers, but... I'm admittedly not sure either. Though, if so, I'm not quite sure how to, well, get out of here..." Zach said awkwardly, as he scratched his head. He hadn't even noticed that Evan had vanished, but wondered if maybe reigniting his will to fight would possibly work.

 

"Your.... Powers?" Olivia repeated confusedly, before suddenly remembering Zach's psychic powers. "Wait, so, this is supposed to be your mind...?" the eldest Seaton asked again, her eyes widening. "That's... That's incredible! I... I've never been in this situation before..." she said. "So... I don't know how to get out either..."

 

Zach blushed subtly at the compliment, and scratched his head. "Hmm... Maybe if I focus enough...?" Zach closed his eyes for a moment, and tried to focus; however, nothing seemed to happen. "... Hm. Maybe, uh, some sort of like... I dunno, some kinda shock? I can't tell what would work, or what wouldn't..." Zach said sheepishly, as he scratched his head. "Never really, uh, tried this kinda power before, admittedly..."

 

Olivia stared as Zach tried to focus, with said focus resulting in a whole lot of nothing. "A shock....." she pondered, trying to think what would work. The trainer then got a blush as well, and shifted around slightly awkwardly. "I.... I might have an idea." the redhead began, clearing her throat. "But... Would you mind i-if... You closed your eyes for a sec first? I think it would work better if you did...."

 

"Huh?" Zach blinked in slight confusion, but scratched his head with a chuckle. "Well, I guess that probably would help, yeah..." Zach said with a smile, though he had to admit he was curious as to what Olivia's plan was, as he closed his eyes, and waited. He hoped she wasn't going to try and scare or startle him, even if that probably would work pretty well.

 

Olivia took a deep breath, her blush growing even more. "Alright... Here goes." she muttered, putting her plan into motion. The eldest Seaton closed her eyes as well, proceeding to quickly wrap her arms around the neck of her best friend, and leaned in to kiss Zach...

 

Zach seemed surprised as he felt a warmth press softly against his lips, and blushed in surprise. He opened his eyes for a moment, and then closed them again, as he smiled. He hugged Olivia more, as he opened his eyes, wincing slightly as he suddenly felt aware of more pain against his back than a moment before, as the vision began to fade back to the real world.

 

-==IC: Return==-

 

Ryan frowned, as his Tyranitar went to back up Palomides; however, the Alakazam was proving to be tough even without his psychic powers, and was being tricky with how he dealt with some attacks. However, as Ryan scanned the battlefield, he noticed Olivia kneeling next to the still-unconscious Zach, and he frowned. "Hey, what are you doing? We're in a fight!" Ryan asked, as he looked back quickly to not be distracted too much; but was still wondering what was happening, since she was taking her time, and was vulnerable like that.

 

Olivia kept her eyes closed, but felt Zach reciprocate her kiss and hug her warmly. The redhead smiled more, feeling a strange sensation of the environment melting around her.... Leading her to gasp in shock when she was back in reality, kneeling next to Zach, with Ryan incredulously asking what she was doing. "Looks like that worked...." Olivia chuckled awkwardly, moving back and reaching to help Zach up on his feet.

 

Zach took a slight step forward, and kept a hold of Olivia's hand to keep himself steady. "We're not alone... Haven't you realized that yet?" Zach said, as his eyes began to glow green.

 

"Blade, we're using that." To say the Gallade was surprised was an understatement. It had been six months since Zach had even suggested the idea of using the synchronized state... And while the situation was desperate enough... "Blade, trust me. We'll need to make sure they're occupied enough so he can't escape." Sighing, the Gallade smirked, and stepped forward, as a green glow surrounded his eyes.

 

"I thought you'd never ask, Zach." Blade returned the thought to his partner, as he clenched his left hand, Zach mimicking the move. While Zach quickly sent Olivia the rough idea of what they were doing, Blade dashed forward. This was a different interpretation of the typical state they were in, which was necessary because of Olivia not being in on the synchronization, and therefore not able to move in perfect sync as Zach would need to. However, all the power, had been channeled into Blade's left arm... and he was ready, willing, and able to fight.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

"I suppose it is." Lafoyae replied, keeping her tone civil. "We're almost to the gathering point. From there, we shall teleport to Chapel. Hopefully the other groups had no trouble."
 

Lafoyae continued her march, lost in thought about the current situation. She knew that whoever sent her out was not going to be pleased with Wright's actions. Lafoyae also had to consider the possibility that the agents under her command, would have their actions put against Wright. The assassin continued to ponder her next course of action, her face not betraying the concern she felt towards Hannah.

[JiMing]

IC: Olivia Seaton

 

Dune dodged the Hyper Beam with ease, and didn't let up his assault. Due to the crashing and rumbling behind him, the Vibrava could tell behind him, the sweeping beam had destroyed buildings behind him. He had to stop the dark dragon's assault... And was thankfully helped out by a Heracross. While Gerald's Hydreigon staggered thanks to the fighting bug, Dune flew behind it and launched off a Rock Slide.

 

Toxin prepared to duck underneath the Thunder Punch and retaliate using a Sucker Punch. Before either Pokemon could strike each other though, Willow popped up underneath the Electabuzz using Dig, attempting to trip up Gerald's electric type. Unfortunately for all of them, it didn't seem as though Toxin could halt his forward momentum easily.....

 

Amethyst listened to Blade's reassurance, breathing heavily. "....I... I'm sorry..." the Gardevoir said at last, sighing. "I just... All I could see in that man was... Him. But... Gerald's even worse." Amethyst declared. "We have to put an end to all this... Somehow..."

 

Olivia looked on as Zach took a confident stance and made a determined declaration to Gerald. That's the spirit I remember... The will to never stop, always push on....

 

The redhead was however, wondering what Zach was doing with Blade... Wondering, until Zach sent over a quick mental explanation of what they were doing. "Wait, so... You two are moving like the same person...?" she asked, feeling very much out of her depth at the moment.

 

Amethyst looked to Blade, intrigued at the mental link he had with his trainer. "None of my tricks are as fancy as that, sadly... But they'll just have to do." she said, launching off a Magical Leaf followed by a Will-o-Wisp at the Alakazam. Then the Gardevoir thought of something, turning to Gerald once more. This time however, she discreetly fired off a Hypnosis towards the father of the Hikaris, while keeping up pressure on the Alakazam with another Magical Leaf to divert his attention away from his master.

 

While the din of battle raged on, a small flash from a Pokeball on Olivia's waist appeared, with a small Torchic ruffling her feathers afterwards. The tiny Pokemon watched as it seemed people were not being happy, confusing her greatly. Why were people worried and not being nice to each other? Such questions were booted out of the fire chick's mind once she saw her newest friend, Lucia. She made her way over, chirping to get Lucia's attention, and nuzzling against the trainer's leg afterwards.

[Konuju]

IC: Hannah

"Other groups?" The executive raised an eyebrow. "Do you intend to arrest my entire army?" She had to admit, if that was the case, she was thoroughly impressed.

 

IC: Shannon

The situation seemed utterly hopeless, yet the trainers surrounding her insisted on keeping up the fight. Shannon didn't know where to look as attack came from every direction. It was a miracle she didn't find herself caught in the crossfire.

 

Through the chaos, she slowly made her way back over to Ryan's side, just in time for the elder Hikari to glance back at his brother. Shannon was surprised to see Zach get back up with a new fire in his eyes, as he seemed to move in sync with his Gallade.

 

"What's he doing?" Shannon asked Ryan as she kept her eyes trained on Zach.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie - Celadon City

 

Jamie smiled to try to calm Lucia down, "It's alright Lucia, I'm fine, Pelleas is too. I am just glad you're okay... Um, what is that Pokemon near your foot?"

 

Pelleas had no intention of letting the Hydreigon get away. Seeing the rocks about to fall on the Hydreigon, Pelleas bounded toward the Dark-Dragon, intent on using Megahorn to thrust the Hydreigon into the falling rocks.

 

Palomides couldn't evade the retaliatory Shadow Ball. The attack, while it would have one-shot his self as of this morning, his stronger, more defined form was able to take one well enough. The Haunter seemed a little freaked out until he realized that fact for himself. Upon such realization, the Haunter smirked and created another Shadow Ball, this time with his full focus and fired at the Alakazam.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Jenny==-

"Sure." Jenny said with a nod. Although it took a little while to thoroughly clean the floor with the hair strewn all over the place, they had managed to get it all cleaned up without it taking too long. As they walked down the hall, Ray yawned hello with a wave, and headed into the bathroom, as they had seemingly just finished cleaning up in time.

 

-==IC: Battle==-

 

Lucia rubbed her arm as Jamie tried to calm her; however, she paused, as Jamie pointed out the Torchic right as she saw it too. Curious, the girl knelt down, and reached out her hand curiously to the Torchic, both to shelter her from the still-chaotic fight around them, and to see what the Pokemon had wanted.

 

"I... I don't know." Ryan frowned, as he looked at Zach and Blade. His brother almost seemed to have an entirely different air about him; which reminded Ryan of how Zach used to be when they were kids. However, the look on his face showed he meant business, even as his eyes glowed green. "But I think we're nearing the end."

 

Cassie sighed, as she watched the battle unfolding, and smiled slightly. Way to go, you three... I wish I could be of more help. She thought, as she looked down to the two Pokemon who had come to her side, and held out a hand for them to wait and watch. She wanted them to see how justice overcomes wickedness; and this was a good example here.

 

Blade nodded to Amethyst with a frown. "We will. Trust me." He said, as he focused on the fight at hand. The biggest target was the Hydreigon, but... Was it the best target?

 

Zach looked over with a smile at Olivia. "It's a power that Blade introduced to me a while back. We basically achieve near total synchronization; it allows us to react at the same time... We haven't used it in ages, though, because I've been too scared... But not anymore. Not now; not with this." Zach said, and adjusted his grip on Olivia's hand with a smile. "Not with you here."

 

The Hydreigon was battered around by the rocks and the Megahorn; however, it still refused to give up. The Hydreigon flew up into the air, and began to gather energy around itself for a last-ditch Draco Meteor attack... However, at that moment, Blade and Zach had decided their target. Launching himself into the air, Blade and Zach drew back their left arms, as a glow surrounded Blade's, and the two of them shot their fists forward. Zach hit thin air; but Blade landed a Close Combat-fueled punch on the Hydreigon. The punch dissipated the energy, as the Hydreigon fell backwards, finally unconscious. Sighing, the two psychic fighters looked around, to see who was left.

 

The Electabuzz was struck first by the Dig, and then by the Sucker Punch... The momentum of which was simply increased by the trip caused by the Nincada. He attempted to stay in the fight despite all that; however, as he began to fall to the ground, it was obvious that he was out before he even hit the floor, knocked out and utterly stunned by the attacks.

 

The Haunter smirked as he moved away from the fight. He had gotten away from the fight, and now could go help against the other Haunter interfering with his master. However, the Haunter paused in surprise, as he saw a Gallade in front of him. "Forgetting someone?" Blade said telepathically to the Haunter, and narrowed his eyes, as he quickly moved past the ghost type. His left arm acted quickly, as he moved to attack with a slash that had Shadow Sneak powering it. The Haunter wasn't even fully evolved, let alone had the battle experience of the Gallade... It never stood a chance against the attack, especially with the prior damage, as it fell to the ground, fainted.

 

The Alakazam frowned. His friends were done, his master was in trouble, and he had at least two attacks headed his way. The Alakazam tried to use Shock Wave to damage the Magical Leaf attacks; though some still managed to break through and hit the Alakazam directly. He tried to counter the Shadow Ball; but failed, and got hit as well, and forced down to a knee. He failed his current mission... But they could still leave, to fight another day. The Alakazam looked over, at the distance between him and Gerald. He would just have to get to his master first.

 

Gerald was furious. Nothing was going right. Nothing. "You low down...!" Gerald growled, as his eyes glowed purple once again, as he glared in Ryan's direction. "I made you help my plans once... I'LL DO IT AGAIN!" Gerald roared out, as Ryan stood there defiantly. Nothing happened. Gerald yelled out in frustration, as he couldn't figure out what was going wrong.

 

"Your will cannot surpass mine... not anymore. Especially not now, after the rest of the day. I'd wager your powers are even starting to slip." Ryan stated, as he began to realize Gerald failed. Ryan narrowed his eyes at his father, even as Gerald roared out once more... and then promptly got hit by the hypnosis. However, even as his arms dropped to his side, Gerald defiantly stayed standing; as if to challenge his fate, even while asleep...

[Konuju]

IC: Zoe/Jayron/Colette
Zoe shrieked in surprise at the young man's sudden appearance. Despite all her warrior princess abilities, despite all her precautions, she had been caught. Zoe already knew what would happen next. She'd be questioned about why she had been sneaking about so suspiciously. They'd discover the ring of keys she had taken from the guard, and she'd be sent to prison for theft, if not immediately hanged for treason.

And on top of all that, she still wouldn't get her backpack back.

Esmeralda and Merida knew that their trainer had only one opportunity to escape such a terrible fate, and so they leapt into action, biting and clawing the mysterious assaulter. The man cried out in pain and stumbled back, reaching for his Pokéballs to try and defend himself. A sharp kick to the legs from Zoe sent the man to his knees. The warrior princess wasted no time in scrambling out from under the water fountain. She called back for Esmeralda and Merida to follow her. What she did not count on was the man having a friend.

"Zoe?"

She felt a hand grip her by the arm, causing her to twist around as she tried to pull herself free. But as the familiar voice met her ears and she caught sight of her second assailant, Zoe's legs became tangled and she tripped over herself. She managed to twist her arm free... just in time to fall hard on her back, knocking the wind out of her. Zoe stared up at the second assailant in a daze, wondering if she was just imagining things. "C... Collie...?"

Colette looked down at her younger sister in a mixture of slight confusion and total bewilderment. "What are you even doing...?" she asked as she wondered why Zoe would be at the Alamo at night in the first place, let alone hiding and attacking Jayron.

At the sound of the older Llyan's voice, Esmeralda and Merida paused in there attack, looking up in surprise. Jayron took the opportunity to scramble away from the two Pokémon, hiding behind Colette as he tried to catch his breath. "What was that for?!" he cried.

Finally getting a good glimpse of the man with Colette, Zoe's shock turned into a smile. "Executive Aura! Sorry about that, I didn't know it was you."

"Executive... what...?" Jayron stared at Zoe in utter bewilderment, then glanced up at Colette for an explanation.

Colette smirked slightly at the question. "Zoe likes giving people nicknames. Guess we just found out yours." She chuckled in amusement as she continued to look curiously at her sister.

Zoe pushed herself to her feet and immediately wrapped her arms around Colette. "Collie, you're back! Oh, thank goodness I found you. I'm having a bit of a problem, you see. Mr. Kallan is planning to leak intel to Team Rocket and The Shadowed Man, and it's being kept in my backpack! We have to get it back before it's too late!"

Despite his injuries, Jayron's eyes widened as he jumped to his feet. "Leaking information?" he cried. "We have a mole? Who else knows of this?!"

"Just Esmeralda and Merida," Zoe said, as the Fennekin and Meditite gave Jayron an apologetic wave. "Oh, and Eilonwy, too."

Colette turned her eyes briefly to Jayron as her smirk widened a bit. Oh, this oughta be fun, she thought, as she realized that what Jayron was thinking and what Zoe was meaning were two different things entirely.

Jayron's mind raced, a deep frown forming on his face. "We should inform Goldhawk of this. Or at least find this Mr. Kallan's supervising officer. If we can put the Alamo on lockdown, he'll have less of a chance to escape with the intel."

Colette thought for a moment, as a mischievous smile crossed her face. "No, I think we can handle it," she said, looking over at Zoe with a wink. "Any ideas where to look first?"

Jayron stared at Colette in disbelief. "We can handle it? Colette, do you have any idea how bad it would be if that intel got out?"

"Which is exactly why we need to stop him now," Zoe said with a grin. "We can't risk him knowing we know what he's up to by putting the whole place under lockdown." She turned to her sister with a frown. "I already checked the classroom and the lost and found, and it's not in either of those places." There was a slight jingling sound as she pulled out the ring of keys. "I managed to get this from one of the guards, but it's still like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"You took that from a guard?" Jayron said. "And you didn't think to ask him to help you?"

"Oh, he was helping Mr. Kallan," Zoe quickly said with a smirk. "That's another reason why we can't let everyone know: we don't know who might be secretly helping Mr. Kallan."

Colette nodded with a frown. "Hmm, any other ideas to where to look, then, Zoe?"

Zoe furrowed her brow. "Hmm... does Mr. Kallan have like an office or something separate from his classroom? Wait!" She grabbed her sister and jumped excitedly. "You have aura powers! You can just track it!"

Colette thought for a moment. "Is there anything in there I could use to track, though?"

"You mean like a hairbrush?"

"Wait a second," Jayron said. "What's a hairbrush doing with valuable Liberty intel?"

"Hmm, that could work," Colette nodded, ignoring Jayron for the moment as she focused her aura. After a couple seconds, she looked to the side. "This way!" she said with a smile as she led the way.

"Hey, wait up!" Jayron cried as he ran after the two sisters. "Man, I just can't catch a break, can I?"

As Colette led the way through the Alamo, it was quickly becoming obvious that they were headed to the locker rooms. "This guy must be a sports fan, huh?" Colette looked over teasingly at her sister, unaware of Jayron's exasperatedness behind them.

"I... guess..." Zoe frowned as they drew closer to the locker rooms. Had she really just left her backpack in the locker room after the training battle? No, she told herself. A warrior princess would never do something so silly.

"Wait..." Jayron panted as he caught up to the sisters. "Which... locker room... is it in...?"

Colette looked over curiously, and thought for a moment. "This one." She motioned to the room on the right.

Jayron frowned. "Why would Mr. Kallan hide the intel in the women's locker room?"

Zoe felt her face redden. "He... um... probably thought no one would think to look there."

"Right," Jayron said, giving Zoe a suspicious look. "Anyway, I'll wait out here for you."

Colette tried to keep her face as neutral as possible, and led Zoe into the locker room in question. "Come on, over here." The sister said with a smile, as she walked toward where she sensed the aura of the object.

Zoe hung her head as she followed, not wanting to admit she'd made such an obvious mistake. When Colette paused, she finally looked up, frowning as she saw a lone hairbrush. "...Where's the backpack?"

Colette looked around with a frown. "I... don't see it," she muttered, scratching her head in confusion. "I don't see any trace of it anywhere around here..."

"Oh, why is this so difficult?" Zoe cried as she kicked a nearby locker. "Every time I think I've found it, my backpack's nowhere to be seen!"

Colette frowned slightly, and scratched her head. "Anything else that might help...?" she asked with a sigh. "I just wonder why it's not anywhere it should be..."

Zoe sighed as she sat down on a bench. "I don't know... I wore my backpack today, so can't you just track it based on that? Maybe there's some hair on it or something."

Colette frowned, as she scratched her head. "I'm not totally certain that's how it works... But I can try." The aura wielder focused for a little bit as she closed her eyes, and then opened them, and looked to one side. "I can feel a faint sense of something; but it's not in the Alamo..."

"Not in the Alamo?" Zoe said curiously. "Could Mr. Kallan have maybe brought it home?"

"I'm not sure. We'd only be able to find out when we actually get going... But, is there anyone else who might have taken it, if it's not him?" Colette was less familiar with the Alamo than Zoe was, so she figured she would ask.

"Hmm..." Zoe frowned. "I wouldn't put it past Travisty to have taken it..." She bit her lip, clearly not liking that possibility.

Colette tilted her head in confusion. "Travisty?"

"Travis," Zoe said with a clear air of disgust. "You met him during the dance."

Colette still didn't recognize him.

"He left when the monkey started dancing on his head."

"Ohhhhh, riiiight, him." Colette snickered at the recollection of the dancing Flint and the panicking boy. She looked over at Zoe. "So, this punk might have your bag?"

Zoe went from snickering at the memory of the monkey to fuming red with anger at the thought of Travis searching through her bag. "That rotten little... You'll make him pay for this, won't you, Collie?"

Colette nodded with a frown as she led the way back out of the locker room. "I don't know where he lives, though, of course..."

"But you can find out," Zoe said.

As the girls exited the locker room, Jayron looked up at them. "Find the intel?" he asked.

Colette looked at Zoe expectantly, as if waiting for her to explain. "We were too late," Zoe said, seething with anger. "Mr. Kallan turned the intel over to Travisty -- er, Travis. Arceus knows what he'd do with that info. He's the one who's going to make the deal with The Shadowed Man. Luckily, Collie's gonna help track him down!"

"Wait," Jayron said as Zoe brushed past him. He was surprised by the girl's sudden anger, as well as their sudden change in direction. "How do you know this Travis has the bag?"

Despite her anger, Zoe managed a smirk. "Aura. Duh." She winked at her sister.

Colette amusedly smiled, but led the trio out of the Alamo, as she followed the faint sense of aura once again...

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette/Zoe/Jayron==-

Jayron and Zoe followed Colette south to the outskirts of Keturi City, the latter with an expression on her face halfway between excited and furious, the former with a furrowed brow of confusion that only grew as they got further from the Liberty Base. Had he not been so exhausted from the mission on Seven Island, Jayron would have found it odd that an adolescent girl and her Pokemon were the only ones to know about a threat to Team Liberty's security. But as it were, the executive thought it best to act now and ask questions later. Colette led them down a small subdivision, where they came across a fairly sizeable house.

"Is this the place?" Jayron asked, raising an eyebrow at the innocent-looking home.

"Seems to be," Colette replied, as she detected the aura traces from Zoe's bag in the house. "Let me handle this." The aura wielder quickly strode up to the door and knocked, trying a peaceful tactic first.

After about a minute, the door opened, revealing a sleek-haired blonde boy about Zoe's age. He gave Colette a look of confusion, which soon melted into a smile of recognition. "You're the girl from the dance! I remember you! Come to take me up on that offer?" He reached for her hand to lead her inside. "I wouldn't do this for just any girl, but you're more than welcome to stay as long as you like."

Colette grit her teeth as she slapped his hand away. Plan A was officially over. "The bag," she growled, narrowing her eyes at Travis in response.

"What bag?" Travis asked with a pleasant smile. His eyes did not betray any pain from Colette's slap, although he subtly rubbed the spot where she'd hit him. "Why don't you come on in -- you can tell me all about this bag over a nice romantic dance."

"Um... Colette?" Jayron piped up. "Are you sure this is the guy? He looks a little on the young side. And it seems like you two have some history..."

Colette glared over at Jayron for a moment before glaring back at Travis. "No thanks," she said with a cold edge that could probably be felt from Kalos. "What you're going to do is give my sister's bag back. Now."

Travis raised an eyebrow but otherwise remained calm in the face of Colette's cold fury. "Now, what makes you think I have your sister's bag? What interest would I have in something so cumbersome as that? Your sister probably just misplaced it somewhere. You know how she is."

"Shut your face, Travisty!" Zoe cried.

"Oh ho, you've brought Zany Zoe herself!" Travis laughed. "Sorry, Z-Z, but my invitation was only open to your lovely sister."

Colette clenched her fist as she took a threatening step forward. "What, did Travisty misplace the bag too? Because I know it's here. And you playing dumb isn't going to help anything."

The young boy smirked as he stepped back and motioned for Colette to come inside. "Tell you what. How about you and me go on a date, and I'll give you back the bag there. It doesn't have to be anything too fancy; we can even go out tonight if you want."

At the mention of a date, Jayron just about lost it. "Alright, what in Arceus' name is going on here?" he demanded, jabbing a finger at Travis. "You say he's trying to leak intel to Ford, and now you're going out on a date with him? What is this?"

For a brief moment, Colette's aura flared up, before she moved forward and grabbed Travis roughly by the shirt. "How about you just give back the bag you stole from my sister instead, you creep!"

For the first time, Travis showed a hint of worry. His confident smile quickly returned, however, as he looked up at Colette. "Whoa, whoa, hold up there, Cupcake," he said. "Don't go getting too violent, now. It's just one little date."

Colette's eyes showed no sign of letting up. "Give it back. Now."

Travis' smile shrunk. "M-maybe just a little smooch?"

"Hey!" Jayron barked. "I don't know who you think you are, or what you're trying to do here, but you'd better give back what you stole right now." He flashed his executive's badge as he gave the kid a cold glare. "Or I will place you under arrest for theft of Liberty intel."

At the mention of arrest, Travis went into a full-on panic. "Hey now, no need to get all up in arms about it! I-it was just a little joke, seriously!"

Colette suddenly had a feeling that things had gone too far. "Bag. Now." She let go of the kid's shirt so he could run off like the rat he was to get the stolen bag. "And I will know if you remove anything."

Travis wasted no time clambering up the stairs as fast as he could. The moment he had disappeared, Jayron walked up to Colette. "Mind telling me what that was all about?" he asked.

Colette sighed. "Sometimes you're too serious," she mumbled as she began to explain about what had happened with Travis during the dance, and the real reason for the bag search.

Jayron was stunned. "So... there was never any information leak?"

"Nope," Zoe said with a chuckle. "But it certainly made looking for my bag a lot more fun!"

The executive shook his head. "I can't believe this..."

At that moment, Travis came running down the stairs and practically threw Zoe's backpack at Colette's feet. "Everything in there, I swear! Seriously, Zany Zoe, you take things way too seriously sometimes!"

Colette picked up the bag, and handed it to Zoe. "Everything in there?" she asked, keeping a watchful eye on Travis. She still didn't trust the creep, and was ready to act if even a single thing was out of place.

Zoe quickly looked through the bag, her face reddening as she realized Travis could have easily looked through her stuff before putting it back. Nevertheless, she lifted her head and nodded at her sister. "Everything's there," she reported, to which Travis gave an audible sigh of relief.

Colette relaxed a bit and stepped back. "Right. Now stop bothering my sister. And if I find out you did something like this again..." The aura wielder let her words hang in the air as she turned around. A subtle wave of aura made her hair billow menacingly as if in the wind to complete the illusion of intimidation.

Zoe stuck out her tongue as she shouldered her bag and turned her back on a white faced, shaking Travis. The moment Jayron closed the door behind them, Zoe threw her arms around her sister. "You're the best, Collie!" she cried. "Thank you so much!"

Colette giggled with a smile, as she dropped the act almost immediately. "You're welcome... Can't have people getting the idea that they can just pick on my little sister, now, can I...?" She giggled again, then sighed. "I might've been a bit harsh on him. But he was getting on my nerves, and I just wanted him to realize there are consequences."

"You were a big help too, Executive Aura!" Zoe said as she gave Jayron a hug as well. "Sorry about the confusion with the intel and all."

"Zoe... we need to talk," Jayron said seriously. "You too, Colette. Ford is no laughing matter. I almost died facing one of his agents, and Colette, you saw what happened on Seven Island. Now, it's great that you have such a vivid imagination, Zoe, but you should probably avoid mixing wanted men like Ford into your games."
 
"Aw, you take all the fun out of life," Zoe pouted. "But I understand. The Warrior Princess will just have to go after more original baddies from now on."
 
Jayron managed a smile. "That's the spirit. And Colette, you say I'm too serious, but this is a war we're fighting. War's a serious matter. I don't mean to be raining on your parade, but this isn't the time for silly games."

Colette looked over at Jayron with a frown, as she sighed. He was right, after all, about what happened and everything. However, as he mentioned the games, she looked up with a mixture of incredulousness and slight annoyance. "I get your point, and I shouldn't have misled you like that..." she said slowly, mulling over what he had said again and again. "But I don't agree about the games. What should happen otherwise? Just death, and destruction, an endless cycle?" Colette gave the executive a hard look, leaving the unstated mention of a certain mind controlling incident hanging in the air.
 
Jayron clenched his fists. Part of him was annoyed with Colette's attitude. After all, she hadn't gone through what he had. She hadn't been shot at. She hadn't been fighting this war for over a year. Then he sighed, as he recalled how much Alexa had looked up to her. Not to mention, wasn't the Liberty Ball intended to be a way for agents to let off steam? "You're right, we can't just be all doom and gloom all the time," he said. "But there's a time and place for games like that. Or did you forget that we still have to report to Goldhawk about what's really going on with Ford?"

 

Colette looked away and sighed. "True. Let's get to that then," she said, looking over at Zoe for a moment.

"RIght," Jayron said, a bit put off by suddenly getting the cold shoulder. "Although some of what we have to say is confidential, so Zoe will have to sit outside the office. Otherwise, we really will have an intel leak."

"Hey, I won't tell!" Zoe cried.

"Sorry, but rules are rules."

Colette chuckled. "Sorry Zoe, but he's got a point here... And you probably don't want to know some of the stuff right now anyway..." A sad look washed over the aura wielder's face for a moment.

"Fine," Zoe said. "Just don't go running off on another mission. You just got back!"

Colette chuckled and sighed tiredly. "Oh, trust me... I don't think I want to go anywhere for a long while..."

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

 

Evan was reading as he laid on the couch in the living room, his focus slightly broken by Ryan's shouting. Gnip laid curled up nearby, tired from last night's antics with Jenny. She wasn't gonna show off her new attacks to her master. She would wait until the time was right. Evan got up, continuing his reading of the book. It was titled "PokéWanderer". It was about an Assistant Spoink-Keeper who goes on a journey to try and find his parents, as well as his identity. He dreams he's the lost son of a rich king, but is worried he could just be the son of a poor Mareep herder. There were several more he read during the night, but this one really caught his eye.

As the Ex-Hero was walking, he caught sight of Ryan. He had to give the Liberty Agent more credit. His choice of reading material was quite good. Good enough to keep him awake, at least.

 

"Morning, Ryan!" Evan said cheerfully, trying to hide his fatigue. "What was with all the noise earlier? You'd swear someone had gotten killed."

[Konuju]

IC: Shannon

Shannon held her breath as Gerald focused on Ryan. If what had happened to Lucia was any indication, she knew that things would turn very bad if Ryan succumbed to Gerald's mind control. "Stay strong," she whispered. "I believe in you."

 

Sure enough, Gerald's powers seemed to have no effect on his son. Shannon sighed in relief as the silver-haired man was hit with a Hypnosis. "Your powers are useless against someone like Ryan!" she cried. Once the man fell into his slumber, however, she looked around. The battles all around her seemed to be wrapping up. She looked back at Ryan with a questioning look in her eyes. "Is it... is it finally over?"

 

IC: Ryan

Ryan chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry about the ruckus," he said. He raised an eyebrow as he saw the cover of the book Evan was holding. "PokéWanderer? Excellent choice. That's one of my favorites." The Liberty Agent grinned as he glanced back down the hallway, where Jenny was still hidden out of sight. He gave her a subtle wink. "As for what the noise was all about... well, you should probably come and see for yourself."

[JiMing]

IC: Aspen/Dahlia Seaton

 

Dahlia froze, slowly turning to her brother. "....Aspen?" she asked, quickly turning pale. "...He who...?"

"....I d-don't think it really was a 'he'.... If it was human before, it wasn't anymore...." Aspen began, looking down. "W-we got taken here by something calling itself 'Pride'.... Tried to get in our heads, break us down, and then do... I'm not sure what would have happened." he said, pausing. "But then... Then I remembered what was important. Like my Pokemon, or you, Dahlia, heck, even you three." Aspen said, smiling to everyone present. "Dack and Hannah also came to their senses, and Pride..... Pride froze and said how each of us are... Free from our strings, or something like that..."

After Aspen finished his explanation, Dahlia slowly turned to Dack, Madison, and Luke, still as pale as before. "Here's my Pokegear number..." she mumbled. "I-If we ever see each other again, then...."

IC: Olivia Seaton

 

Olivia listened to Zach's explanation of the synchronization with awe, looking over at the hands they were holding together when he adjusted his grip. "O-oh..." she muttered when he made his last comment, watching as he and Blade moved in perfect tandem to fight off Gerald and his team, chuckling softly afterwards. "Dangit Zach.... Why do you always have to be so amazing....." the redhead said softly, smiling at her best friend again. 

 

Dune was shocked at the Draco Meteor attempt from the Hydreigon, and tried to think of a way to stop it. Luckily, it wasn't long before Blade and Zach used their combined strength to knock the dark dragon unconscious. Exhausted, the desert dragonfly landed on the ground breathing heavily. He looked over at Pelleas, and nodded his thanks to the Heracross.

 

Toxin barely registered fainting the Electabuzz with a critical Sucker Punch. Tripping over Willow caused the Toxicroak to tumble and roll onto his back rather painfully. Willow wasn't in much better shape from the tripping accident, and it was a bit before either of them got up once more. 

The tiny Torchic looked at Lucia's extended hand, and nuzzled her head against it, chirping with happy approval. She then looked up at Lucia, chirping a little bit more, asking for a cuddle, while she hopped up and down slightly. The Torchic looked up at the trainer with big, shining eyes filled with an innocent joy only an infant could have. 

 

Amethyst sighed when Gerald was struck by the Hypnosis, as things seemed to be coming to a close. However, she eyed the Alakazam looking in Gerald's direction, and narrowed her eyes. "Oh no you don't." she muttered, grabbing the Psi Pokemon into a psychic grip, flinging it towards Blade. "Now, you two! This is your chance to end things, go and take it!"

Edited June 25, 2015 by Toph Beifong

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie - Celadon City

 

Pelleas made a sound akin to a whistle, except it was more like a buzz because well bug but the indication that the sound to convey was that of being impressed, like a whistle from a human might. The Gallade just got two knock outs in a row (even if one was stolen from him) and was moving at higher speeds than he expected possible.

 

Okay, I admit. I want to know how they did that.

 

The Heracross looked back towards where the Hydreigon was to see the Vibrava nodding to him. Pelleas saluted back to Dune, content with having gotten a fair bit.

 

"Palomides, Mean Look on Alakazam!" Jamie called, looking back towards the battle from the Torchic.

 

The Haunter shrugged, but Jamie had lived around a Psychic-type long enough to remember that Teleport was indeed a thing. The Haunter's stared at the Alakazam with a rather disgusted look and red spectral energy coming from his eyes.

Edited June 25, 2015 by Totally Colette; Not Minun

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Finale...?==-

 

Lucia seemed surprised by the small Pokemon's insistence, and sighed, as she picked up the Torchic, and hugged it for a moment, blushing slightly as she wondered if anyone was watching. As she looked around to confirm the only ones would likely be Jamie and Cassie, Lucia smiled at the Torchic, and pet her head for a moment.

 

Zach panted slightly, but looked over at Olivia with a smile. However before he could reply, his attention was caught by the Gardevoir calling out to finish off the Alakazam that was flying toward Blade. Zach and Blade nodded, as Blade's left arm glowed with shadow-y energy once more. The Gallade vanished behind the Alakazam, and then sliced out quickly, finally ending the menace of Gerald's Pokemon.

 

Ryan watched the surroundings, but frowned. "No. It's not over." Ryan stated, though there seemed to be an edge to his voice, as he motioned to his Tyranitar. "Our enemy... he's still there." Ryan looked to Gerald, as everyone seemed to turn to him at the same time.

 

"What do you mean?" Lucia asked, as she had a puzzled frown on her face. "He's out cold, he got defeated by us already." The red haired rocket had a bad feeling where this was going.

 

"Yeah? And didn't he say himself that he was defeated before? He'll return, one way or the other, and we're going to regret it." Ryan stated, as he gripped his fist. "I won't let that happen, not after everything he's done."

 

"And what will that serve?! He might be an enemy, he might be the worst person in the world, but he still lives a life like everyone else." Lucia said, and shook her head. "Even after all he just did to me... I can't condone acting like a vigilante. Every life matters, no matter what." Lucia stated, but shivered at the lack of any reaction from Ryan.

 

"Ryan, don't!" Shannon grabbed him by the arm, a pleading look in her eyes. "You're not a killer. I know you; you're better than this." As she tried to pull him back, Shannon thought back to earlier that day, to the many times Ryan had saved her life, as well as the lives of others...

As Ryan and Shannon had been walking through the streets earlier that day on the way to his aunt's house, they had run across a young boy near the restaurant that the group had gathered at. He seemed lost, and otherwise a bit scared, but not hurt. Ryan stopped as he noticed the kid, and walked toward him.

"Hey there." Ryan said, as he knelt down. "You okay?" The black haired trainer tried to be helpful, but his face still looked kind of scary. The kid's lip quivered as he retreated a little further back into the shadows of an alley. Ryan sighed, as he smiled sadly. "I'm not going to hurt you..."

Shannon knelt down near the boy and held out her hand. "It's okay," she said softly. "We're here to help." When the kid still didn't respond, Selena crawled forward and snuggled against him.

The boy looked up tentatively, giggling slightly at the Furret snuggling against him, and cautiously took Shannon's hand. "I... I can't find my way home..." The boy said with a slight sniff. He looked up into Shannon's eyes, feeling a bit awkward about getting lost, but then shuddered as more attacks flashed through the sky.

"Don't worry," Shannon said as he led the boy down the street. "Selena here will keep you company while we get you somewhere safe." As the Furret chittered happily and curled herself around the back of the boy's neck, resting her head on his shoulder, Shannon turned to Ryan. "You don't think your aunt could take him in too, do you? At least until we can find his parents?"

Ryan scratched his head. "That sounds like a good idea, actually," he said, hoping his aunt would be alright with taking in so many new people. "Hey," he added, giving the kid a warm smile. "There's no need to be afraid. I'll keep you safe. I promise."
 
The boy looked up at Ryan and managed a timid smile, before he looked over to the side. As if summoned by Shannon's words, a middle-aged woman ran up to the three, panting, as the boy smiled widely and wrapped his arms around the woman. "Mama!" The boy called out. Ryan smiled at the reunion and chuckled slightly as he looked over at Shannon, slightly surprised that worked out that well, but also glad it did. The woman looked up at the two trainers in gratitude.

"Thank you ever so much for helping find my son; he got separated from us earlier, and I was worried he'd gotten hurt in everything that had happened." The woman said with a smile at Ryan and Shannon. Ryan nodded in response, inwardly glad he could have helped like that.

"He's a brave kid, your son," Shannon said, admiring the trust the boy had put in her. Selena chittered a friendly goodbye as she left her perch on the boy's shoulder and leapt back into Shannon's arms. "I'm just glad we happened to be passing by," she added with a smile.

 

The woman smiled, and the boy grinned widely at Ryan and Shannon before his mother led him down the street. "I'm glad we were able to help him..." Ryan said with a smile as he watched them go. Once they had disappeared around a corner, he looked over to Shannon. "Let's go; not much further now."
 
"Don't do this!" Shannon begged, tugging on his arm to try and get him to reconsider. "Send him to prison, lock him up and lock up his Pokémon, but don't kill him! Please!"

Ryan remained silent as he stared coldly at the source of all his problems since he was a kid; the reason he didn't have a sister for years, why Alistair had to stay in hiding, why his family broke out in a feud, and why Jessie - who was apparently related to him or something - was presumed dead for many years... and why his mother, biological or not, was killed. His father. The reason he was sent into a rage-fueled depression - used, manipulated, then just left like a broken puppet after the plan to destroy Unova both succeeded and failed. The one responsible for everything in this very battle. Ryan silently pulled himself free of Shannon's grasp. The snap of his fingers echoed through the street that had fallen quiet. Ryan's Tyranitar broke the silence as he roared out, a jagged edged stone appearing in front of him and aiming itself towards Gerald.

Edited June 25, 2015 by An/A Blade

[Konuju]

IC: Dack/Madison/Luke
Dack nodded to confirm Aspen's story. "That's how I know Hannah won't be a threat anymore," he said solemnly. "It was her pride that had caused this entire attack. Aspen and I had our own pride issues, but Hannah seemed to have been manipulated by this Pride guy himself. Apparently the attack in Sootopolis was his idea, as some sort of twisted prelude to this attack. But... as corny as it sounds, it was the power of love, friendship, and humility that allowed us to defeat Pride." The Rocket agent glanced over at the spot where the Sin had vanished into the air. "That's not to say that we've completely rid ourselves of our own pride... but that's not what defines us."
 
Madison threw her arms around Dack again. "Of course it isn't," she said, tears running down her cheeks. "You are so much more than that, Dack... Don't ever forget that."
 
"I'm glad we could help you, even if we weren't there," Luke said, smiling at both Dack and Aspen. "It's certainly been one heck of a day. When I woke up this morning, I never would've imagined we'd go through all this. On that note, we should probably see how Palmer is doing, and give him back his Rhyperior and Milotic." The blackbelt glanced back at Aspen and Dahlia. "Might also want to check on your other sister. I doubt she went through anything as crazy as this Pride guy, but you never know. Either way, she's probably worried about you both."

IC: Shannon
Ryan wasn't listening. He was going to kill his own father, adding to the blood that had already been spilt that day. Shannon could relate to having a less-than-stellar father, but even with everything her parents had done, she would never wish them dead. As Ryan wrenched his arm out of her grip, Shannon knew she had to stop him. Her eyes swimming with tears, she pushed past the black-haired trainer and ran between the Tyranitar and Gerald, spreading her arms out defiantly.
 
"Stop!"
 
The scream reached Shannon's ears, though she wasn't sure if it was Ryan's or her own. She choked on her tears as she stared at Ryan, searching his eyes for some sign of the kind protector she knew he was. He was not a murderer. He was not like his father. There was a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. Shannon glanced toward the Tyranitar, and her heart skipped a beat as she saw the Stone Edge shoot toward her like a jagged bullet.
 
There was no time to react.

Impact.

Edited June 25, 2015 by Konuju

[Blessed Blade]

OOC: Some visualization notes: Ryan's to the 'southwest' of Gerald, and therefore, this attack.

 

-==IC: Ryan...?==-

 

Ryan felt a chill run down his spine, as he saw what happened. "N-no!!" Ryan yelled out in anguish, as he ran forward. No, no, no, this couldn't be happening. Why had she done that? The Tyranitar was faster, though, much to the Pokemon's regret. Before he could even stop himself, the Tyranitar had launched the Stone Edge. There was nothing that could be done.

 

The colour in Ryan's face drained, as he kept running forward; but there was no time. Why wasn't there time? Why did this... Why?!

 

As Ryan ran toward the girl, he saw the stone start to crack. He covered his eyes as the rock suddenly fragmented, sending shards of debris everywhere. When he lowered his arm, Ryan gasped in shock. Shannon was laying on the ground, surrounded by sharp fragments of stone. The Gallade that was standing nearby seemed to have done the trick. Ryan ignored the Pokemon for the moment, however, and quickly ran toward Shannon, feeling a mixture of relief and guilt.

 

"Sh-Shannon!" Ryan called out, as he slowed down once he neared her, and then knelt down beside her. "I-I'm sorry, I'm... I..." Ryan's mouth moved slightly, but no words came out, as he closed his eyes tightly, and then looked down to the ground. Gerald wasn't worth this; not anyone else getting hurt.

 

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Blade's eyes widened, as he noticed the girl run onto the battlefield more, into the path of the attack. However, the Gallade had fought that Tyranitar before; he knew just how long it took to set up the attack... and to stop it. A chaotic mess of thoughts crossed Zach and Blade's mind as they quickly exchanged thoughts, and the Gallade vanished from the spot in a teleport. As the rock neared the girl, Blade closed his eyes, hoping they weren't too late, and slammed his fist into the side of the speeding projectile quickly. If he were lucky, it would be sent harmlessly off course. If he missed... Things would be bad.

 

Impact.

Blade's fist slammed into the stone, shattering it into countless fragments. The force of the blow knocked Blade off balance as the shards of stone flew in every direction. He was unable to stop the shrapnel from hitting Shannon, knocking her to the ground. However, the shards did not seem to have hit anything vital.

 

Zach let out a sigh of relief, as he sunk to his knees with a pant, the green glow slowly fading from his eyes. "Good work... Blade..." Zach panted, as the Gallade gave him a tired thumb's up.

[Franco]

IC: Cero found a spot where the flash of Piedra's Pokeball would not be visible and let loose. The Probopass materialized, eyes grimly questioning its trainer. "Split." The mini-noses fell off Piedra, the motion as robotic and steely as Cero's voice. "Sneak two drones to the right and left edges of the compound." Magnet Rise propelled half the parts in a stealthy float through the woods around the fence, settling in parallel positions across the width of the area.

 

Cero paused. The robot in his head stopped talking, and he felt himself again, reached under his cloak and clutched Viajero like a lifeline.

 

He turned from Piedra to Noivern, solemn now less from numbness and more from respect. He didn't know what he was doing nor its consequences. He did know he had to do it.

 

"You've rendered us a great service, and without you, we wouldn't be here. You stopped us from running into danger. You carried me this far."

 

Struck by a sudden impulse, he knelt before the bat and murmured gently.

 

"Will you carry me to the end?"

 

 

 

 

 

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie, Celebi - Celadon City

 

Jamie and Pelleas let out breaths that neither of them knew they were holding. Neither of them knew Shannon, yet both were glad to see that no harm had come to her. The Heracross was glad that Gerald was spared (thus far) as well. Not because he cared whether Gerald lived or died (in fact, he would have preferred the latter), but because he didn't want Jamie to see yet another terrible sight. He felt bad enough letting her be exposed to certain other events that happened in Celadon that day (not to mention letting her got to Havoc and that otherworldly place they got to by train).

 

Celebi marked the point in time, figuring she had enough to show James by that point. 

 

Well that nearly turned real sour real fast. Good job there, Mr. Blade on stopping that. How about we all calm down, check out the girl's injuries and then politely discuss what to do with the madman, the Time-traveler telepathically projected to everyone else present.

 

Palomides merely scoffed at the whole display. Everyone always talking about death likes it's the end of the world or something. So someone nearly died, boo-hoo. Try actually being dead.

[JiMing]

IC: Aspen/Dahlia Seaton

 

Dahlia was lost in thought for a moment, looking up at Luke with a small smile. "Right.... Thank you all..." she replied, still appearing disturbed by the explanations. "I hope we can all meet again under.... Better circumstances."

Aspen walked over to his sister, and quickly waved to the three friends. "Yeah, until then though, good luck." he said, as he and Dahlia began walking out of the part, while he started writing a message to Olivia to check where she was...

 

IC: Olivia Seaton

 

The baby Torchic squealed in joy once Lucia picked her up and pat her head, rather enjoying the affection. However, a horrified Lucia gasped, startling the tiny fire chick, who was hugged tighter by her new best friend and was unable to turn her head. Afterwards, the trainer seemed to relax, prompting the tiny Pokemon to look up and tilt her head, wondering if everything was okay still. 

 

Olivia turned her head when she heard shouting, her eyes widening. What is she doing?? the trainer thought incredulously at the sight of Shannon running in front of Ryan's Tyranitar. She watched as Blade appeared in front of the Stone Edge, holding her breath as the rock hurtled forward... And released it in a sigh of relief once the Gallade shattered the rock, preventing the sharp rock from impaling Shannon.

 

Amethyst appeared in front of the injured girl examining her injuries, and turned her head to Audinaga. "You, you can heal. This girl needs your healing." the Gardevoir said, teleporting over to the Audino, extending her hand to offer the Hearing Pokemon a teleportation over to Shannon. "And I mean she needs it now..."

[Konuju]

IC: Shannon

Pain coursed through her entire body. Her lungs screamed with every breath, her head felt like it had been hit with a Rhydon, and a warm something that seemed suspiciously like blood trickled down her side, its flow undulating with each rapid beat of her heart. Yes, her heart was still beating. Despite all her pain, one thought slowly permeated through her mind, although dazed as she was, it was a while before she truly understood its meaning:

 

She was still alive.

 

Images of the stone edge flashed through her mind. It had all happened so fast. She should have been dead. And yet here she was, lying in a steadily growing pool of her own blood. She heard voices talking. They sounded panicked. Yet they were too muffled or too far away for her to comprehend what they were saying. Her chest heaved up and down, each breath sending a new wave of pain through her body -- probably the result of a broken rib, maybe two.

 

She tentatively opened her eyes, blinking against the bright light. She wasn't sure what she had expected to see; the sun, perhaps the tops of some buildings or an overcast sky. Instead she saw the paled face of Ryan Hikari. She opened her mouth to speak, and coughed up blood. A quick glance down revealed her arms were lined with cuts and gashes, with the occasional chunk of rock embedded in her skin. Her clothes had similar markings where the stones had cut through. Her shoulder ached, its bandages torn and revealing the raw skin underneath. A deep cut in her side marked the source of a pool of blood that was growing at an alarming rate.

 

At the sight of her own blood, a nauseating feeling rose in her stomach, and she was forced to close her eyes. Her head throbbed as her labored breathing continued. She felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. At first she tried to resist. She clung to consciousness like she clung to life. But as the pain began to overwhelm her, she found herself longing for the peaceful rest that would come with sleep...

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Ryan/Lucia/Zach==-

 

"No, no, no, no, no..." Ryan mumbled as he kept his eyes glued on Shannon, as if turning away would spell bad news. However, as Amethyst teleported over Audinaga, the Audino gently shoved Ryan out of the way, so that she could work on healing the girl. Ryan stumbled slightly, but watched as he slightly shook, even as the Heal Pulses slowly started to take effect. This isn't what I wanted... This isn't what I wanted at all... Why...? Why did this... Ryan thought, as he blinked tears away. No; he had to keep... hope... But what hope was there?

 

Zach sadly looked over at Ryan with a grim frown on his face. "We need to get her better treatment, and fast." Zach said, as he stared at his brother. "We also need to like, tie Gerald down. You have a chance, don't waste it." Zach said, as he sighed, and turned to the scene once more; preparing the Pokeball of his Raikou for quick transport. Ryan was still focused on Shannon, but numbly sent out his Simisage to help with Gerald. The grass monkey quickly tied up Gerald's hands and feet, making sure he couldn't get anywhere even if he wanted to. Blade walked over, and grabbed the Pokeballs from Gerald's belt, and recalled the fainted Pokemon, knowing they'd be of little help in the state they were in.

 

Lucia pet the Torchic for a moment reassuringly, but then quickly walked over to Olivia, and handed her the Torchic. "I... I'm guessing this little one belongs to you..." Lucia said, as she didn't want the young Torchic to really see this, as she quickly went over to assist her Audino, giving instructions to help out. She watched as the bleeding began to stop, and the wounds began to close over a bit, and sent out Blissaga to help, worried about how things were going. She didn't know the girl, but she wasn't just going to sit back and watch her die.

 

Cassie walked up, and looked at Ryan with a sad frown, and sighed, as she pulled out her Poketch to send a message in advance to Stacy. "The Pokemon Center was jam packed when I walked by, it's probably best to take her to my sister's place. Stacy has a personal medical team. We don't like to talk about why. But they are good, and will work to help out here... Just be quick." She warned with an upward glance to the black haired trainer, as Ryan nodded.

 

Ryan looked to the side for a moment, as Zach sent out the alt Raikou. Zach nodded to Ryan, as Lucia and her Pokemon finished with the heal pulses, the bleeding fully stopped. Ryan looked down at Shannon, as he carefully picked her up and got onto the electric legend. He turned to Zach with a frown, as he looked at their tied up father. "... You decide what to do with him..." Ryan said, as he looked away. Obviously I'm not the one who should decide his fate... He added in his mind, as he looked back down at the girl. "I... Shannon, I'm so sorry..." He mumbled, as the Raikou headed off toward the mansion. "Everything's going to be okay... we're headed somewhere that can help. Just... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... Hang in there, please... Please be alright..."

 

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach sighed, as he watched the Raikou speed off, and then looked over at Gerald. "Geez. He just can't take a hint..." Zach mumbled, as he looked over to Amethyst. "We'll bring Gerald back to the mansion... Am, can you make sure he stays asleep? He might be out cold now, and tied up... But I don't trust him if he wakes up." Zach said, as he looked around the battlefield with a grimace. So much destruction... And all this over a grudge that spun out of control... Zach thought sadly, as he turned his eyes to the sky. In more than just one way, too...

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

 

"It's a really good read, Ryan." Evan said smiling tiredly. "I read the other books to stay awake and just lost myself."

Evan saw the grin on Ryan's face and could not help but be curious as to the why. He wondered why Ryan would be smiling about something he screamed about earlier. It had to be something good or some silly prank by Ryan, just waiting to happen. Evan walked over to Ryan and looked in the direction he was looking at.

The sight almost floored the Hero of Space.

Standing before him, was Jenny Hakuda, her hair looking much less blonde than Evan remembered. It was much more red, like roses in bloom. There were still traces of blonde, but they weren't what made Evan wanna fall down. It was how wonderful the change made her look. It suited her personality, at least to his eyes.

"Sheesh, Jenny." Evan said, trying to focus his mind. "Do something with your hair lately? Because, you look very different today!"