Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette smiled at Zoe, and then nodded.

"Gotcha. I'll be back before you know it." Colette said as she hugged her sister. It had been a while since she'd heard those words, but they reminded her of happier times.

 

-==IC: Zach==-

 

"I have a teleporter." Zach said, as he looked up, still slightly worried about Olivia, but she seemed like she was okay. "I've also been to Celadon about 7 months ago, so I should be good." Zach said with a smile, as things didn't sound good, and he figured they could use his help.

[sonyaxe]

IC: Jake

 

"Thanks for the battle Roark! Your Pokemon are really strong." Jake complimented. He took the badge, and Pikachu jumped up onto his shoulder to get a better look at the badge. Jake then turned to his friends. "Yep! If Roark says its good, then I say battle. Good luck!" At that moment, Pikachu decided that Jake had had enough basking in his victory. He dove from Jake's shoulder, snatching the badge and Jake's hat in the same move and took off towards the bleachers, making a noise that could be classified as maniacal laughter. "Pikachu! I thought we agreed that my hat is off limits!" he called as he ran after his Pokemon, a wide grin on his face.

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

"Well, Am's also a teleporter.... But neither of us have been to Celadon." Olivia said, shrugging. "I heard what she wants to do..... And I say we need to stop it, right here and now." the redhead said with determination. "There's no way we can let Celadon get destroyed too...."

Aspen looked back at Ellen, surprised she liked the name. When Madison noted his bravery, Aspen was similarly caught off guard, and looked at the ground. "....I was scared out of my mind." he admitted. "But my sisters were staying behind, not to mention my aunt and so many others were in danger, so...." the boy muttered, shaking his head. 

 

"Speaking of Kiri..." Dahlia interrupted, with a worried look on her face. "...Could we at least wait until she gets back? I'm worried sick about her, and I'm not sure what to do...." she sighed. "I was just talking to Mom, and she said Kiri could stay over.... Am could take her back there in that case?"

 

"Oh right.... We really should make sure Kiri's alright." Olivia agreed. "We'd have to talk to her about what to do, but if she wants to stay with Mom and Dad, yeah, I could have Am teleport her over." 

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

Shrugging, the girl looked at Jake and Arius. "Well, not to be rude, but.... Your team might be a little weak against Roark, Jacob..." Ruth said with a shrug. "Maybe if I went up against him, you could have more of a chance to study how Roark fights and develop a strategy...?"

 

Ruth turned her attention back to her team, deciding who to go with first. "Hmm.... Caliburn, you're up first." she decided, much to the disappointment of Locke and Fuerte. "You ready?" she asked Roark, stepping up to the other side of the field.

Edited September 7, 2014 by Phoenix Zero

[Parugi]

IC - Sonja Baron - The Alamo, Conversing in Courtyard:

 

Sonja sat in silence for several moments after Ray had finished speaking, taking everything in. "Something's still missing . . ." she said, letting out a deep breath with the words. The Liberty Agent rubbed her eyes, trying to make sense of this newly-acquired information. Quietly, she shut down her computer and closed it, picking it up as she rose to her feet. "I mean, I guess we kind of know what he was talking about now, but that still doesn't explain a whole lot. Even with that timeline, Kane, the Ancients, and that thing that attacked Jupiter are still out, so we're no closer to knowing our enemy than we were before. And if he's known about it for six months, why is it only now coming up?"

 

She inhaled, clearly trying to settle herself down. Sonja said nothing else as she packed up her laptop, clearly mulling over everything. "Maybe I'm reading too deeply into this . . . After all, Evan's been wrong before--very wrong . . ." With a shake of her head, she looked up at Ray. "Regardless, it's good to know that Gerald is less of a threat than he was before. That jerk's got a lot that he needs to pay for . . ."

 

What went unsaid: Why hadn't he been captured when the chance arose?

 

IC - Goldhawk - The Alamo, Approaching Central Control:

 

At the same time that James had called his office--which he had not yet been evicted from--Goldhawk was making a call of his own. His was addressed to the general comm system, and he spoke with a serious, authoritative tone that he had not had to use for some time.

 

"All available agents, report to the command center immediately," he said. "This is a Code Menace. Repeat: All available agents report to the command center immediately."

 

IC - Lidiya Vasilyev/Abbing/Styles - Havoc, Moving from Server Room:

 

"Is she always this serious, you mean?" Abbing asked. "I wouldn't say all the time, no, but on missions? Definitely." She looked to her commanding officer, whose focus lay solely on the road ahead. "These are the kinds of things the Lieutenant was made for."

 

Vasilyev made a point of moving at a quick, but careful pace, double-checking any intersecting hallways that they came across before making a decision on where to go. It was clear from her movements that the safety of the group was the first thing on her mind--and the silence surrounding them had certainly not gone unnoticed. She gestured to Styles, who moved to cover a hallway while the others continued forward.

 

Abbing watched Vasilyev closely, a clear, yet hesitant admiration in the Energon Agent's gaze. "I admit she can be a bit dogmatic, but I can't really say I blame her for it right now, either," she continued after a moment. "The fact of the matter right now is that we're stuck unless we can take out those Beheeyem. So in the meantime--while we're trying to free ourselves and while we're obliged to find our leader--why not press our original objective?"

 

She paused to let Ryan answer, and was just about to say something in response when they came to a turn in the hallway. Styles took up position at the corner, and on a silent count of "3," he and Vasilyev checked the hall. Immediately, Vasilyev breathed out a quiet curse. Rounding the corner, it was easy to see why. Bodies littered the hallway, those of Energon agents, Magma agents, and their Pokémon. That was not necessarily the troublesome part.

 

That would have been the shattered armor on the ground.

 

Vasilyev moved forward, stooping down to examine the body of one of the Energon agents. The chest armor he was wearing lay in shards around him, every piece hot to the touch. A group of bullet wounds were present on his chest, the same story as all the other dead Energon agents nearby.

 

"What happened to them?" Styles asked, looking around. "I don't see any Pokémon here that could have done this . . ."

 

"If I had to guess . . ." Abbing said, her voice quiet. Vasilyev and Styles both looked at her. "It . . . looks like the armor we're wearing might be somewhat . . . defective."

 

"Clearly," Vasilyev said. She sighed, standing up. "Great . . . As if we didn't have enough to worry about already." The Lieutenant looked more closely at the bodies. "I don't see any dead Déoza agents here, but I would think that there had to have been one with these five at some point . . . Let's get their tags and then move on."

 

IC - Joker/Ethan Worth/Gavin Braner/Skye Hall - Havoc, Moving Away from Cooling Facility:

 

It was clear that whatever was going on in this facility was not good. The longer the group of Rockets walked, the more damaged their surroundings became. Splatters of blood marked the walls at random points. Bullet casings littered the floor. Every now and again, they passed by the body of a trainer or Pokémon, all of the former seeming to belong to one of two groups--Team Magma or--rarer--Team Energon.

 

None of it was desirable to behold.

 

"Starting to feel like we may have unintentionally teleported into Team Magma's base," Gavin muttered, eliciting a short nod from Joker. "And it almost seems like these Energon people might be the reason we couldn't teleport directly to Adams."

 

"Wherever we are, Adams is here," Joker said. "and we're going to find her."

 

"I'm not questioning that, ma'am," Gavin said. "It's just . . ." He trailed off, prompting Joker to stop and look at him, eyebrow raised.

 

Skye, picking up on his concern, spoke up. "Are we . . . going to help Team Magma?" she asked. "I'm not terribly familiar with Team Rocket's relationship with them, or with Team Energon for that matter, so . . ."

 

Joker sighed, turning around again. "Our priority is Adams," she said. "We'll decide who to help once we know who she's working with." She said nothing more on the subject, instead continuing to walk. Gavin and Skye looked at each other, both clearly uncomfortable with what they were seeing.

 

Only a few moments had passed before they heard a new sound amidst the silence of the halls. It was a soft clinking sound, as if someone was adjusting the bolts on a metal object of some kind. The group slowed down, moving more silently than they had been. Each step brought the noise closer, until, finally, they arrived at a T-shaped intersection between two hallways. Joker motioned for Ethan to check one side while she checked the other, which they quickly did.

 

The sound was coming from the right side, within Joker's view, though it was not the first thing that caught her attention.

 

The hall was littered with the bodies of almost a dozen Magma agents, none of whom appeared to be breathing. Almost every single one of them held a Poké Ball in their hands, having evidently been taken out before they could send out a defending Pokémon. In their midst, an armored figure crouched, facing the wall. They moved with a clear haste, attaching what appeared to be a large, cylindrical object to the base of the wall. Nearby, a Beheeyem floated, its yellow fingers projecting a circle of light over the device.

 

Joker motioned for the others to follow her as she stepped out. She restrained herself from rolling her eyes as Skye suppressed a gasp at the sight of the bodies. Thankfully, the figure and their Beheeyem did not appear to notice the group.

 

At least, not until they got within a certain range. As soon as Joker had put her foot down over what she could only visualize as an invisible line, the Beheeyem's fingers shifted from yellow to red, and it turned around, a warning signal escaping its mouth. The crouched figure immediately turned around, and jumped to his feet at the sight of the Rocket group.

 

"You!" he gasped in recognition, pointing not at Joker--as they might have expected--but at the grouped-up Jamie, Lucia, Gavin, and Ethan. "We thought you were stuck in the Hold!"

 

"The . . . Hold?" Ethan repeated, completely baffled.

 

"Silence!" the man spat. "If you're here, then that means . . ." He shook his head, and in a flash, had grabbed and thrown five Poké Balls from his belt. A Trevenant, Amoonguss, Abomasnow, Tangrowth, and Hitmonlee emerged, alongside his Beheeyem. "Team, take 'em out!"

 

IC - Quincy Adams/Michael Travis - Havoc, En Route to Central Hall:

 

The pounding of metal on metal sounded as Adams ran after Travis, her Beheeyem following close behind her. The Hojohsin Agent had to admit that Travis was a determined survivor. Even with his likely-hurting legs, he was managing to stay just out of her reach. Even so, he also just so happened to be going in the same direction that she wanted him to go, though that almost certainly had something to do with the precautions they had taken before coming here--designating specific doors to close, after all, was a time-proven method of directional control, regardless of where the method was being used.

 

Of course, every plan has its kinks, and this was no exception.

 

Travis had turned into a rather long hallway. This was expected; that was where he had been directed. What she had not expected was for that same hallway to be the current battleground for a group of Magma and Energon agents. Perhaps this was the fault of the agent responsible for that sector; perhaps it was a fluke of luck.

 

Whatever it was, it was not good--it wasn't what she wanted.

 

The reason why--as Travis found out in a matter of seconds--was the mental conditioning that his agents had been put through.

 

Team Magma already knew Travis as an enemy. His agents, not so much. As it stood, while Travis had not been specifically designated as a target, the parameters "Kill everything in sight" were nondiscriminatory. The only exceptions for said parameters were the other Energon members in a particular group, and the Déoza agents themselves. So while Adams might not have been in danger of the weapons now being aimed at Travis, the Energon leader himself--who, after calling out to said agents and coming to a stunned stop as said agents pointed said guns at him--certainly was.

 

It was only with a look to Wizard that he was saved. With his psychic abilities, Adams's Beheeyem forced the guns to jam, shutting down their firing capabilities on the spot. With the same movement of the hand, the Psychic-Type threw the entire squad back, launching them and their Pokémon at the Magma forces blocking the hall. All of this proved enough to create an opening, which Travis wisely chose to slip through.

 

Adams was not far behind.

 

The battle behind her resumed.

 

IC - Jackson Sang/Eileen Alaric - Alaric Estate, Investigating Second Floor:

 

"Any luck, team?"

 

Tracer, Walker, and Claire could only offer a simultaneous shrug. Their meaning was not difficult to discern, and as he deciphered the motion, Sang could not help but let out a frustrated sigh.

 

"Really? Not a single clue?" Sang leaned against the wall, slipping his hands into his pockets. He closed his eyes, thinking. In his own search, he had gone into every room, nook and cranny he could find, winding up in everything from the master bedroom and bathroom to the second-floor kitchen and a large, multi-level library. Not a single place had revealed so much as a hair out of place. Whether that was the result of the cleaning that, presumably, was done every day, or because whoever had taken Levi--if, indeed, he had been abducted from home--was simply that careful not to leave any evidence behind, Sang could not be sure.

 

All he knew was that, for all intents and purposes, the second floor was clear.

 

Sang opened his eyes as he felt Walker tug at his pants-leg. The Grovyle pointed to the knob of a nearby door--one very closer to the stairwell balcony. With a questioning glance at the Grass-Type, Sang approached the door. He jiggled the handle. It did not open. Curious, he fiddled with it some more. It still did not budge. Sang stooped down, leveling his eye with the keyhole. Darkness filled the opening, the window beyond providing just barely enough light to deduce its presence without betraying any meaningful shapes. Giving up on trying to see anything, Sang took to inspecting the lock.

 

Perhaps it's not so clear, after all . . . "Walker," he said. The Grovyle straightened up. "Keep an eye out for Mrs. Alaric." Walker nodded, hopping up on top of the stairwell banister. Sang leaned away from the door. "Tracer, see if you can't get this door open."

 

With a soft pop sound, the Ditto transformed into a teal-haired version of Sang, donning the same, cocky expression that so often crossed his own mouth. "That should be easy," Tracer said, taking a spot next to his trainer. The Ditto raised his hand, pressing the tip of his index finger against the keyhole. Sang watched as the phalanx shifted from the color of flesh back into the pink, gelatinous substance that composed a Ditto's body. The gel slid into the keyhole and, once inside, expanded until it had pressed the necessary latches on the door. A soft click announced that the lock had been undone

 

"Nice work," Said said. The two Sangs stood up, the teal-haired one taking a bow. Ignoring this, the real freelancer pushed the door open, glancing behind him as the hinges creaked. When it became clear that Eileen Alaric was not, in fact, going to mysteriously appear behind him, he turned back, stepping inside.

 

It was a bedroom; that fact became clear immediately. Even clearer was that it was a child's bedroom, as evidenced by the twin-sized bunk bed that rested in one corner, its two mattresses covered by checkered dark green and yellow blankets. Bookshelves lined most of the wall opposite the bed, and a large window covered the wall across from the door, its curtains allowing only small slices of sunlight to pierce the shadows that occupied the room. The walls themselves were a dark, soothing green, very earthy in color. A brown desk occupied the corner to the immediate right of the door, with the left bearing the open entrance to the closet, in which Sang could see a collection of kid-sized coats and shirts hanging above a chest of drawers. Around the room, set atop the numerous shelves, were a vast array of books and toys, figurines, plush animals, brick models--all kinds of things. The desk was covered with papers both blank and sketched-upon, littered with art supplies and schoolbooks that seemed not to have been touched in months.

 

Altogether, these details made Sang uncomfortable.

 

Admittedly, there was nothing particularly disturbing about the place--it was everything he would have expected to find in a wealthy child's room, if a bit more than he would have thought would be present for a single child, and it was clear that even in Levi's absence, someone--whether Eileen herself or a hired worker--had made it their mission to keep the room as clean as possible for his return. Yet Sang could not help but note the sheer disjunction between what he was seeing and the current situation regarding the kid.

 

The fact of the matter was that Levi was gone. Vanished. Disappeared. Possibly--likely--almost certainly kidnapped. Any semblance of childlike innocence had been thrown out the window the minute his absence had been noticed and deemed unusual. Coupled with this was the general air of the room. The longer Sang observed it, the more and more artificial it felt. The books were too straight. The bed was too neat. Too little dust coated the perfectly-arranged toys. These things were not Levi, and it did not take a genius to figure that out.

 

Sang moved to the desk, sifting through the untouched drawings. On the top, a child--Levi--standing in a lonely, rainy clearing. Two papers down, a fire-engulfed forest. Six papers down, a solemn, blue-eyed Phantump, hand-in-hand with a frowning Levi. Within them all, the same weight: A treasure trove of troubled memories. That was Levi. And in that moment, as this realization struck Sang, it seemed almost as if he and Levi Alaric stood together in the room, the former finally piecing together an understanding of the latter.

 

A soft whistle from the hall caught Sang's ear, the signal he was so used to hearing when trouble was approaching. With a final look around the child's room, he backed out, gently closing and locking the door behind him.

 

"Did you find anything?" Sang asked as Eileen appeared at the top of the stairs several moments later.

 

Eileen sighed, coming to a disheartened stop. "Unfortunately, no," she said. "We're as clueless as we were the first time we searched through here."

 

"That is unfortunate," Sang said. "Especially since I had about as much luck up here." He recalled his Pokémon, rubbing the back of his head as he thought about what he actually wanted to tell--or ask--Eileen. The locked door, after all, likely indicated that Levi's was not a room that he should have entered; if he were going to question the First Lady on anything he had seen in there, he would have to be discreet. After a moment, his hand stopped, and he looked at Eileen. "Say, Mrs. Alaric . . ." Eileen looked at Sang. "You said Levi likes the forest, right?"

Edited September 7, 2014 by Pears Nivans

[Konuju]

IC: Zoe

The Llyan sisters stepped out of the conference room as Goldhawk's announcement echoed throughout the hallways. Zoe stood still for a moment, still fidgeting with her locket. "Y-you'd, um... better go meet with Executive Aura, then..." Zoe mumbled, not daring to make eye contact with Colette, afraid that her glassy eyes would shatter and relinquish all the tears they had stored up. "G...good luck..."

 

Turning on her heels, Zoe ran down the opposite hall, refusing to look back. As she continued to clutch the locket that dangled around her neck, in the back of her mind something clicked. She would never consciously admit it to herself, for she firmly believed that Collie was an indestructible, all-powerful Aura master. But in the far, far reaches of her subconscious, a single kernel of doubt planted itself. And although Zoe herself did not know the reason, that subconscious thought was the source of the anxiety that suddenly plagued her. She attributed it to the fact that Colette was leaving her again so soon. But the real reason for her anxiety was far darker.

 

She was afraid that she might never see her sister again.

 

IC: Ryan

In the Liberty Laundry Room, Goldhawk's message reached Ryan as well. He sighed, wondering if Sonja was one of those agents who was 'available.' He pulled out his Pokégear, preparing to send her a message. Then he thought better of it. He paced the room with infuriating indecisiveness, unsure of what to do. On one hand, this could give him the perfect opportunity to talk to Sonja. On the other hand, he didn't like the sound of this Code Menace. If Sonja was going to be there, maybe it would be best that he wasn't there to distract her. His laundry still had twenty more minutes; he figured he'd at least wait until his laundry was finished before deciding what he should do.

 

IC: Dack

Dack rolled his eyes as the Seaton girls expressed their wish to wait for their aunt, one of the hundreds of Sootopolisians who had suffered the false Groudon's attack. "We don't have time to spare," he growled. "If you two want to wait for your aunt, fine. The rest of us will just go on without you." He turned to Zach. "Get us to Celadon. Now."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach placed a hand on his hip, as he scowled at Dack.

"No. I'm not just gonna leave them here." Zach said, not appreciating his attitude. "I can understand the time thing, but, I'm not seeing why we can't wait like a minute or so." Zach said, a return growl present. "And don't you think that we need all the help we can get?" Zach tilted his head to the side as a challenge after he said that.

 

-==IC: Ryan==-

 

Ryan nodded, agreeing that the attitude was helpful on the mission, but...

"I understand, but I don't know, something just seems to be off about this..." Ryan tried to explain his thoughts, but stopped in his tracks when they turned the corner and saw the grisly scene.

"Defective armour... That's not good..." Ryan said, a grim look on his face. However, he nodded at the others, trying to help out as much as he could.

I hope this isn't going to be a common scene...

 

-==IC: Lucia==-

 

Lucia frowned, as she got into a battle position.

"Alright, time to show our powers." Lucia mumbled, as she sent out her whole team; which, in this case, especially included Claraga and Gothy. "Claraga, Aura Sphere, Dark Pulse! Gothy, Confusion, Dark Pulse!" Lucia called out, having Claraga's Dark Pulse target the Beheeyem, the Aura Sphere target the Abomasnow, Gothy's Dark Pulse target the Trevenant, and finally, the Confusion targeting the Hitmonlee. She kept an eye out for the attacks from the opponent, however, trying to make sure that she could heal if necessary. But, all the while, she wondered one thing in particular...

The Hold...?

 

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

"So, what's next?" Jenny asked, as she hung up, and finished eating her meal, thinking that Evan might've had a bit of a point about the meal, but wasn't sure whether it really was as spicy as it seemed he was trying to say.

 

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette frowned at how Zoe was; but it wasn't something to worry about right now.

I have a mission to focus on, after all... She thought, as she headed back through the Alamo. After a while of walking, she eventually got to the beach, where she found Jayron waiting as he had said.

"Alright... I'm ready." Colette said, trying to keep a professional look on her face.

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

Dahlia's eyes widened with shock at what Dack had said, and she began to stammer. "I...." she began, though before she could continue, Olivia growled audibly, clearly angered at Dack's suggestion.

 

"You cold, selfish, uncaring...." she began, though soon found herself devolving into angry grunts and shouts, trying to worm her way out of Zach's hold on her so Olivia could sock Dack in the face once more. She was really starting to hate him, and his pompous, arrogant attitude....

 

Aspen shared Olivia's desire to whack Dack, and ran forward to deliver a solid punch to the ex-Rocket's gut. "Wouldn't YOU wait for at least a minute to see if a family member was alright?!" he challenged, pointing in the direction of Madison afterwards. "Or heck, what about your girlfriend?! I bet you'd get mad if someone said you couldn't make sure she was safe!" 

Edited September 7, 2014 by Phoenix Zero

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra, Nimbasa City

 

"Well, we still have a good deal of time left before we have to leave.", Evan said, "I think we should at least take in some of the sights."

 

Evan rose out of his seat, produced his wallet and left a generous tip for the server, as well as the payment for the meal. He turned to Jenny, slowly.

 

"So, you think you could show me some of the more interesting places here?", Evan said, "I thought I saw an amusement park in the city, but I've been in a daze so I can''t recall."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

Jenny thought for a moment, and then nodded with a smile.

"Sure! There's a few interesting places, but that and the Musical Hall are the biggest attractions for people usually." Jenny explained, and thought for a second. "Come to think of it, the amusement park was closed off because of those incidents last time, to that probably didn't help things... Even if everyone had pretty much had an up close view of the park, they probably never paid attention to it..." Jenny said, and stayed quiet for a moment or two, and then tilted her head. "I think it's been repaired recently, though; so checking it out would be pretty cool, I think." Jenny agreed, as she stood up and stretched a bit, and then nodded.

 

-==IC: Roark==-

 

"Alright!" Roark said, and sent out the Geodude, intrigued at the opponent's choice of Pokemon.

"Smack Down!" Roark called out, as the Geodude ran forward, and attempted to slam the Aegislash to the ground.

Edited September 7, 2014 by Colette Llyan

[Konuju]

IC: Dack

Dack was about to respond to Zach and Olivia when Madison placed a hand on his shoulder. "Dack, stop and think for a moment," she said. "We need their help. We can afford a few minutes to make sure their aunt actually has a home to go home to."

 

"Yeah, man," Luke said, crossing his arms. "Don't go burning bridges before they're even built. You're acting like you're the only one who wants to stop this Hannah girl."

 

Before Dack could respond, Aspen raced forward and punched him solidly in the gut, sending the ex-Rocket reeling.

 

"Aspen!" Ellen cried out, shocked that the boy could act so gentle one moment and so violent the next. "Can we please stop fighting amongst ourselves?"

 

Madison backed away at Aspen's words, a subtle blush rising in her cheeks. "E-Ellen's right," she stammered. "If we can't work together, Hannah will just have an easier time tearing us apart. I think we can wait a little longer."

 

Dack clutched his stomach for the second time in the past few minutes. Through his pain, he quickly glanced up at Madison, thinking over Aspen's words. He wasn't sure what exasperated him more, the fact that Aspen saw the two of them as boyfriend and girlfriend, or the fact that they technically weren't dating. As he cringed from Aspen's punch, he did his best to not think about Madison. Right now, Hannah was what concerned him, and he couldn't let those thoughts distract him on the battlefield.

 

IC: Jayron

Jayron nodded as his fellow Aura wielder approached. He hoped that Colette's sister wouldn't prove to be a distraction on the mission, although he did not voice his concerns. Instead he put on a smile and helped Colette on board the small boat that would take them to Seven Island. "We should reach the island in a few hours," he said.

 

As the boat took off, the executive looked back at the Alamo, where he was sure Goldhawk was gathering agents to deal with whatever was going down at Team Magma's base. He couldn't help but feel like he should be helping during such an important crisis. But at the same time, the mysterious distress signal from Seven Island intrigued him. He couldn't help but feel like it was not a coincidence, this distress call and Maxie's call both coming in on the same day. He couldn't shake the feeling that something terrible was bound to happen.

 

The clear skies reflected none of Jayron's worry as the boat sailed on, leaving Four Island as nothing more but a speck on the horizon.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette nodded subtly, as she climbed into the boat, and then gripped it, sitting down and trying to focus on things that weren't the likely rocking boat.

Don't think about the motion, don't feel the motion, just stay calm. Colette reminded herself, trying to keep focus, choosing to shift into just meditating instead.

 

-==IC: Ray==-

 

Ray nodded at everything Sonja had said.

"Yeah... I don't like Gerald too much. He just... basically caused everything bad for a lot of people... Zach, Black, Jenny, me, and probably a lot of others..." Ray said, and sighed. "I'm glad to see he was taken down a few notches." Ray continued, even if he wondered the same thing Sonja did. However, he paused and wondered about something.

"So, um..." Ray began, and paused again. "No worries if you don't wanna talk about it, but... Did you disappear last night?" Ray asked curiously, as she had briefly mentioned having an off night like he had, after all.

[Konuju]

IC: Jayron

When Jayron turned from his thoughts, he saw Colette meditating. He watched her curiously for a few minutes, not wanting to disturb her, but his curiosity got the better of him. "What was it like training with Lucina, by the way?" he asked. "I've heard stories about her being a great Aura Master, but I never knew she'd taken in an apprentice. From what I saw in your file, it looks like you've learned a lot from her."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette opened an eye, intrigued that Jayron was so curious.

"Well, it was definitely a nice experience." Colette said, unsure how exactly to describe her training simply; so instead, she nodded at what Jayron said about her learning a lot. "I've been training for years now, so... yeah, you could say I've learned a lot." Colette said with the intrigued look still on her face, admittedly surprised that someone who was an executive would want to know about stuff like that... Wouldn't he already have the proper training, after all?

[Konuju]

IC: Jayron

"I've gotta admit, when Lucario and I first came to Four Island, we had no clue that Team Liberty already had their own Aura Master-in-training. I thought I was the first of my kind at the Alamo. But what I wouldn't give to have the training you've had... is it true that you can create your own Aura Spheres?"

 

From the side of the boat, Jayron's Lucario looked on amusedly. He hadn't seen Jayron this excited since the two had met Riley on Iron Island. Still, this Colette was definitely a curiosity. Whereas he and Jayron had done their Aura training together, Colette had been trained by a renowned master. But as good as training was, both Jayron and Lucario knew that it was nothing compared to first-hand experience. Just how skilled this Colette really was would soon become apparent.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette rubbed the back of her head; she honestly hadn't expected these questions, especially when she'd heard about him being an aura wielder, but she nodded.

"It's probably not totally perfect or anything, but..." Colette mumbled awkwardly, and thought for a moment, as she slowly stood up, having almost forgotten they were on a boat, and aimed up toward the sky, trying to take caution to have a steady foothold, as she focused on generating a sphere in her hands, as she hoped all the while that the boat wouldn't suddenly rock and set off her motion sickness, as that would definitely not make her day.

[Konuju]

IC: Jayron

Jayron stared at the orb of Aura with a look of astonishment. "Amazing," he said. "Just like Riley and Sir Aaron. You don't think you could teach me--?"

 

At that moment the boat lurched upward on a particularly large wave, forcing Jayron to reach for the guardrail to keep his balance.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette would have responded, as the Aura Sphere dissolved, and the agent-to-be stumbled back and grabbed hold of the other guard rail, and then slowly breathed in and out with a grimace on her face. She tried her best, however, to keep her stomach under control, as she was feeling very queasy, and slowly sank to her knees. Colette tried to get into a position where she wouldn't be affected as much, while she focused on recovering from that, hoping it wouldn't get any worse.

[Konuju]

IC: Jayron

"Colette?" Jayron cried, seeing his fellow Aura wielder sink to her knees, looking suddenly sick. "Are you alright?" He rushed to her side, wondering if this was perhaps a side-effect of the Aura Sphere she had produced.

 

The sudden wave was just an abnormality, though, and after a bit more rocking, the boat became still again -- or at least as still as it could be when out on the ocean; the ship still bobbed up and down, but there was nothing as violent as the wave that had caused everyone to lose their balance.

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

"Aspen!" cried Dahlia, indignant at his actions. "You know better than that! We just met him, and he's probably just worried...." she muttered, unsure of what to do or say.

 

"He deserves it!" Olivia managed to say, still trying to free herself from Zach's hold. "That Dack guy thinks he's the final authority on everything that'll happen, and that he's just sooooo much better than the rest of us idiots....." she growled, looking at Dack with her green eyes ablaze. "...When all he is is a pathetic, crying loser trying to get back on some stupid bully from when he was a kid!" Olivia screamed. "How does that give you the right to say we can't even check up on our aunt?!"

 

Aspen ignored Ellen's words, and stared into Dack's eyes with his glasses reflecting light, obscuring his own eyes. "You aren't our leader.... And you never were." he muttered with contempt. "Get off your high horse and take a good, long look at yourself.... And figure out that we will not leave until we know Kiri's safe...." he said, poison creeping into his voice once more. "....I don't know what she sees in you..." he said much more quietly, turning his gaze towards Madison, who, despite her efforts, was still clearly blushing.

 

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

Roark's Geodude used Smack Down, and rushed forward at the floating Aegislash. Ruth simply shrugged. "Uhh, same thing as always for those kinda attacks, King's Shield." Caliburn obliged, quickly tossing up a hexagonal barrier to which the Geodude struck and simply bounced off of, receiving a reduced attack for his trouble.

"Alright, now raise your strength with a Swords Dance!" Ruth called out. The Aegislash took no time to begin floating around, raising his strength in the process.

Edited September 9, 2014 by Phoenix Zero

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

"Liv!" Zach said in surprise, as he tried to calm her down, a slight frown. "I get what you mean, but, well..." Zach said, as even he hadn't really been that angry. However, he definitely knew why she felt that way, so he wasn't going to disagree with her at all. However, with Madison and Luke agreeing, and Dack already seeming to understand that... He wasn't sure if constant yelling would help anything, or just make it worse.

 

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette breathed in and out slowly for a little while longer as the boat settled, and then slowly stood up, but still looked a bit queasy.

"I'm... alright..." Colette said, and then looked to the deck slightly. "... The... waves were a bit of an issue..." Colette finally said, as her cheeks were a bit red, despite the queasy feeling. "Not a word of this... to anyone..." Colette said at last, not really wanting people, especially Zoe, to know that their great Aura wielder had motion sickness.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: (James)
 
James did not frown because, honestly, the situation before him was better than he could have hoped. When he sent out the call, someone had heard the call, and that someone had rallied up Celebi, Guinevere, Lancelot, Percival and Galahad. What hurt him was that Mordred had outright refused to go along with them, and Gawain was never found.
 
A briefcase and a holstered firearm floated before James as he looked towards Guinevere who was suspending them in air with Psychic.
 
"Ah, thank you very much, Guinevere. I had completely forgotten."
 
There was an unspoken "What would I do without you?" but James really did not want to even think about that possibility.
 
"My team and I are as ready to go as we will be, sir."
 
IC: (Jamie)
 
As soon as Pelleas spotted the first bullet casing the group had come across, he and Tristan entered 'full-bodyguard mode' with the Heracross guarding her from the front and the Metagross behind her. Even, or rather especially, when they came across the enemy agent, were loathe to leave her side to fight. Thankfully however, she had other options, as her Pokémon appeared before her. 
 
"The... Hold?" she muttered as four Pokémon appeared. A guess appeared in her head, but now was a time for combat, not contemplation.
 
 "Grummore, use Psychic on Amoonguss! Palomides, use Hypnosis on Amoonguss as well! Lucan, use Ice Beam on Tangrowth, and Bedevere start Shell Smashing!"
 
 
IC: (Richard)
 
Richard didn't hear the Code Menace go out. This was because he was still around where he had caught that Pokémon he had started to call 'Orpheus'. Why was he still there, when he had two Pokémon to heal. He was stopped by the sudden thought of "Orpheus is my seventh Pokémon, yet I've heard one could only hold six."
 
The thought had lead to a small conversation between Richard and Ponos, though little headway into the problem was made. The two resumed moving towards the Liberty Pokémon center, when they stumbled upon a situation far less acceptable than two hurt Pokémon. One sad Zoe. Two of those words were okay, one was not... and it wasn't 'one' or 'Zoe'. 
 
Richard had an idea to rectify this, thankfully he had two of four things he needed to pull it off... well to be honest there were a lot more, but three things that weren't taken for granted... well right now anyway. And he knew where to get the third and fourth, right at once.
---
Where Zoe was, or if she was still moving, at the moment Richard was sneaking around behind her after he had acquired the final item, I don't know, maybe Kon does. What's more important is that a certain Diglett (thing 1), holding a trombone (thing 3) and a mute (thing 4) popped out of the ground in front of her and she did not fall over.
 
The Diglett stayed still for a moment before starting to play. Now all musicians are different, and the Diglett was still a pretty fresh trombone player, but his song went a little like

.

 

As the trombone playing Diglett continued his 'song', one Richard snuck behind Zoe with the final thing, thing 2, his arms. When he was finally in range, he embraced Zoe in a hug. The Diglett's song stopped.

 

"I don't even know what it is, but whatever it is. Let it out," he said kneeling and turning Zoe around to face him.
 
IC: (Claus)
 
Claus was at breakfast when the Code Menace went out. He regretted that the meal had to be cut short, but then again, that might have been for the best, he thought while looking at what he had taken for a moment.
 
With three Pokéballs on his belt, the Liberty agent hurried at a quick (well for him) pace as he hurried to the command center. Arriving there, he stood amongst other arriving agents to receive orders.
 
One thing of note he saw, was a Scizor and Gardevoir standing next to a suit wearing agent.
 
Where those two... the ones from the ball?
 
IC: (Mordred)
 
A Weavile sat in a tree and did nothing. Not even sleep. But his act of doing nothing was not just an act of laziness. It was one of defiance. The Gardevoir had stopped by earlier and told him about James' current predicament.
 
He responded with a flat "No" and turned away from her.
 
The Gardevoir didn't waste much effort on the Weavile, and gave up pretty quickly. Mordred was actually a bit surprised how quickly she gave up. Either she thought that he wasn't needed, or that he was right in his defiance. Or some third reason and he really didn't know her that well. Not that he cared.
 
If the human wanted to bring him along, he could climb this tree and get Mordred himself.
 
IC: (Gawain)
 
It was a pretty hard task to search all of Four Island for two specific Pokémon. Quite even more so, when one of those Pokémon was quite deep underwater, such as Gawain was now. The Swampert was in the midst of his memories, recalling his time with his first trainer. The (what was that organization called again, Snagit?) agent had not been a kind trainer. No matter how hard the, at the time, Mudkip had tried to please him, it had never been enough. But when his ownership shifted hands, and James had been a much better trainer, encouraging him, leading him, he thought he had found a trainer he could trust.
 
How quickly trust shatters. Much like a rock, that was feeling the force of his Earthquake. Like -the- rock that just felt the force of his Earthquake.
 
Up above, if Lancelot had been a few seconds later in checking an area, he might have felt the vibrations of Earthquake.
 
IC: (?????)
 
"We'll arriving at Four Island pretty soon here," a captain of a certain small ship said to his main passenger.
 
The passenger in question, a young man, looked up from his work and said "Ah, thank you very much for telling me this. And again for taking me again."
 
"It's no problem, a friend of the old man is a friend of mine."
 
As the captain walked away, he turned back to his work. He was currently working on fixing up an old washing machine that was unusually on the fritz. It was normally on the fritz, but now it was so in a way that wasn't helpful. He was better at code, than he was at fixing a washing machine, yet it seemed he was just about done. Rubbing his glasses, he checked his work one last time before deciding to call it good.
 
"There we go," he said before stepping out of the room he was in, "Hey! It's ready!"
 
A Rotom and a Castform were floating up above, the former of which upon hearing this, floated down and took his place in the old machine. The Rotom-W that appeared, seemed quite pleased with the trainer's work.
 
"Glad to hear it," the trainer said smiling.
 
His work done, he walked surrounded by the two Pokémon as he looked over towards Four Island in the horizon. He hadn't been back to Four Island in what felt like ages. He had been busy working in Orre, but felt pretty disconnected from the organization he was a part of. For that reason and a couple others was why he was returning now.
 
The short farewell he made with the captain of the ship was much warmer than the call from Goldhawk that was his welcome.
 
"A Code Menace?" he hadn't  "That sounds bad indeed. Let's get over there as quick as we can, Wattling, Swirl."
 
The trio of man and Pokémon rushed about as quickly as his skinny legs could take him. He arrived at the command center in a relatively short amount of time. As he walked into the room, he noticed a few people he recognized, namely Goldhawk and James. He walked towards the former and spoke.
 
"Agent Roderick Krane reporting sir."

Edited September 10, 2014 by Claus Von Minun the 4th

[Konuju]

IC: Dack/Ellen

"Stop it, both of you!" Madison cried, taking a threatening step toward Aspen and Olivia. "You're both making accusations without knowing the full story. I know Dack, and I know he didn't mean to offend you. Sure, he can act a little insensitive at times, but--"

 

At that moment, Teddy, who had been perched on Dack's shoulder, had had enough. With a small (bordering on cute) growl, his eyes darted between the two Seatons in question. Both Aspen and Olivia had said mean things about Dack. But Aspen had taken things a step further and, although the young cub couldn't understand the whole meaning, it was clear that the Seaton boy had insulted Madison as well. And so it was Aspen that Teddy decided to lunge toward, claws outstretched.

 

Dack had other things on his mind than Madison and Teddy standing up for him. Olivia had mentioned that he had been trying to get back at a bully from when he was a kid. She hadn't been up near the Cave of Origin when Hannah had mentioned Adam, so how could she know about that? His eyes narrowed when he saw the Gardevoir at her side. "I don't know who you think you are, 'Liv'," he growled, standing up now that the pain in his gut had more or less subsided. "But you and that Gardevoir of yours had better stay out of my head."

 

Ellen watched indignantly as Aspen ignored her and the argument escalated. She looked fearfully at Zach, her eyes silently telling him that something had to be done before things got even more out of control.

 

IC: Jayron

Jayron nodded slowly, still giving Colette a worried look. "I'll keep quiet about it," he assured her. "It seems like it was just a fluke, anyway. But if getting thrown off balance causes you to lose your focus that much... What I mean to say is, if this continues to be a problem, as your supervisor for this mission I'll have to include it in my report to Goldhawk."

 

The Lucario approached the two Aura wielders, sensing that Colette was still feeling a little sick. Are you sure you don't need to sit down for a bit, Miss Llyan? the Lucario asked.

 

IC: Zoe

Zoe had in fact gotten herself turned around in her aimless wanderings. Had she not been so worried about Colette, she would have realized that she was lost in an unfamiliar wing of the Alamo. As it was, she remained in blissful ignorance of her predicament. That is, until a Diglett suddenly popped up in front of her, muted trombone in mouth, and began to play... something.

 

Zoe wasn't sure if the sounds coming out of the muted horn were supposed to be music or not. Before she could decide, two strong arms pulled her into an embrace. Zoe let out a gasp as the hug pushed the air from her lungs. For one heart-pounding moment she thought she was being kidnapped. Then she was whirled around (not unlike the spinning of the night before) and found herself face to face with the talented musician himself.

 

"Mr. Bard!" she cried, throwing her arms around her friend (somewhat awkwardly, as one of her hands still held a firm grip on her locket). Suddenly she found herself weeping into Richard's arms, trying to explain what had happened. "C-Collie... s-she, s-she's... gone! S-she left on a m-mission with... w-with Executive A-aura..."

 

She sniffled and looked up at Richard, trying to wipe her tears away faster than they came. It was only then that she looked around at the hallway she was in and realized that she was inexplicably lost.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach===-

 

Zach frowned as things continued to spiral out of control. He caught a glimpse of Ellen, and noticed her look, the pleading look that he knew all to well.

"If I would, I believe I could be of assistance here." Raikou's voiced chimed into Zach's head, as Zach nodded, realizing Raikou's plan. With a further frown, and trying to keep Olivia back still, Zach fished out Raikou's Pokeball, and tossed it into the air, his eyes briefly glowing green as the two synced for a minute.

"EVERYONE, STOP!" Zach yelled out angrily, as Raikou released into the air, to prepare, and send a Zap Cannon down into the empty space to catch everyone's attention, while it hopefully still was empty; making sure to purposely avoid where Teddy was running to and from.

"Now could everyone..." Zach panted, a look of annoyance on his face, as he stared especially at Dack. "Calm down...?"

 

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette blinked, and then tilted her head in confusion.

"Getting thrown off balance?" Colette scratched her head, as it dawned on her, and she giggled slightly with a bit of an amused look. "Oh, that wasn't what caused it..." Colette said, as she nodded to Jayron's Lucario, and sat down again, trying to keep focus.

"I..." Colette started to say, and then sighed. "Well, I already tried to hint it, so might as well explain fully... Basically, it'd only happen on like, water." She shrugged, and then rubbed the back of her head awkwardly. "Well, uh, that is to say... I kinda have a bit of motion sickness..." Colette said, trying to at least clear up the misconception that she'd lose focus that easily, although she was still kinda embarrassed to actually say it.

Edited September 8, 2014 by Colette Llyan

[Konuju]

IC: Jayron

"Oh," the executive said. "That makes a little more sense, then." He peered at Colette, who still seemed to be recovering from the sudden movement of the boat. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?" he asked. "Motion sickness probably should've been the first thing you mentioned before getting on a boat."

 

Colette nodded as she scratched her head. "I'll be alright... it's not usually too bad on calm waves, honestly... I think I'll be ok," she said with a slightly reassuring look on her face.

 

"Well that's a relief," Jayron said with a smile. He sat down as well, holding his gloved hands out in front of him. Try as he might, even with the aura-concentrating gloves, the Liberty Executive was unable to form an Aura Sphere. He only succeeded in frustrating himself. After a few more failed attempts he turned to Colette. "How did you make that Aura Sphere, anyway?" he asked. "Any chance you could give me a few pointers?"

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

With the Teddiursa apparently after Aspen, the boy took a step back, knowing that even with his cute mannerisms, the tiny bear was more than capable of actually harming an ordinary human like him. However, Coco quickly jumped inbetween the two, and quickly tried to convince Teddy to leave Aspen alone and calm down, with Laurel scuttling behind and sharing the Buneary's sentiments.

 

Olivia growled more, shaking her head. "What's wrong?! All I did was try to figure out what was going on up there at that cave so I had Am read your minds! I didn't ask her to go look into your childhood, but you people blabbed about it anyways!" she yelled, not at all pleased with Dack. "What's wrong?! You don't like having your position challenged or something?!"

"P-Please, can we all just sto-" Dahlia began meekly again, just as the normally kind and calm Zach snapped like a twig and yelled out for everyone to stop, sending out his Raikou. She gasped at this sudden aggression from a person with a temperament such as Zach's, and his apparent use of force to see his mandate through. Even Olivia and Aspen were left speechless, with the former looking up confusedly and the latter staring in horror. No....... Everything is just.... Falling apart.... Dahlia thought sadly, closing her eyes and shaking her head. This is wrong..... All wrong......

 

Amethyst ignored the Raikou who gazed threateningly at everyone present, and turned her focus onto Dack. "...What my trainer said is entirely correct. We only got to see what was happening up on top of the Cave of Origin." the Gardevoir began. "And here you are... Telling me to stay out......" she muttered, closing her eyes and folding her arms. Her eyelids hid a purple glow emnating, as Am silently began to file through the ex-Rocket's memories, wanting to see just what he didn't want her to find....

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Roark==-

 

Roark raised an eyebrow, already off to a not so great start.

"Stealth Rock." Roark said, using the downtime to his advantage as well, as the Geodude launched off rocks around the arena.

 

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette thought for a moment, and slowly nodded. While she knew, she wasn't entirely certain how to actually explain it in words.

"Well, uh, basically it's like... You focus on gathering the aura energy, and then push it to your hands, where it begins to generate... But it's a lot harder than it sounds, admittedly." Colette said somewhat sheepishly, as she looked over. "Let's see?" Colette asked, curious to see how Jayron was attempting to generate the sphere.

[Konuju]

IC: Dack/Ellen

Teddy was about to swipe Coco aside, but the Raikou's sudden appearance made the bear cub stop in his tracks.

 

A shocked silence fell over the group after Zach's outburst. Madison glanced from Madison to Aspen, the look in her eyes telling Teddy to back down. Luke stared from Zach to Dack, wondering if the latter would try to retort again. Ellen held her breath, wondering if Zach's method would work. Dack looked from the Raikou to its trainer and gave a slight nod.

 

"You're right," the ex-Rocket said. "Getting all worked up right now is useless when our enemy is-- augh!" At that instant Amethyst began sifting through Dack's memories. Having not dealt much with psychics before, the ex-Rocket found himself defenseless as the intrusive Gardevoir rummaged through his thoughts in search of whatever incriminating evidence she could find. The images were scattered haphazardly, brief snippets of his past, and it was all Dack could do to try and make sense of them all.

 

He was facing his parents, informing them that he planned on joining Team Rocket.......He was flying on his Swellow, sparring with his partner Hannah on her Staraptor........He was at the top of the Void Tower, face to face with the Spacial Horror that called itself Feral........He was in a building in Jublife, his newly evolved Luxio fighting Adam's Lairon.......He was in Fortree, facing the boy he had failed to capture half a year before........He was half-buried in snow, in the ruins of his home, unable to dig it out........He was right in front of Madison, gazing into her deep, blue eyes as they slowly inched closer........

 

At the last memory, Dack's eyes snapped open and although he was no telepath, he put forth all his mental energy toward trying to break his connection with the Gardevoir. "I said--get--out!"

 

Teddy looked around frantically, trying to find what was assaulting his trainer. Spotting Amethyst's glowing eyelids, the Teddiursa dashed toward the Gardevoir, his claws gaining a dark aura as he prepared a Night Slash.

 

Ellen saw what was happening and started forward. "Stop fighting, please!" she cried. "We're all going to need to work together if we want to protect Celadon!" She looked at Zach questioningly. "How was it that everyone in Unova managed to work together?"

 

IC: Jayron

Jayron closed his eyes and concentrated. His gloves started to glow blue with aura, like they always did when he activated his powers. He rotated his hands apart, etching the outline of some invisible sphere.

 

Pop!

 

The aura stored between the executive's hands exploded outward in what could only be described as an aura firecracker. The sudden sound startled Jayron, causing him to lose focus entirely and the blue glow to fade from his gloved hands. "That could've gone better," he said, glancing sheepishly at Colette.

 

Off to the side, Jayron's Lucario chuckled to himself, effortlessly forming an Aura Sphere in his own palm.

 

Jayron shook his head with a sigh. "Show off."

[Blessed Blade]

OOC: ... Oh. I missed a line in the last Zach post. >>'' Raikou spoke too, he was why it was italicized. >>''''

 

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach watched in shock as things still continued to go wrong, and then shook his head.

"I... don't know..." Zach said, as he looked down, obviously defeated that the plan hadn't worked. "I don't know if..." Zach started to say, and then faltered, as he gripped his head, it being sore from the sheer annoyance he had felt. I don't know if I'm cut out to be a leader at all... Zach thought, as he put his head down further.

 

Raikou, on the other hand, looked between all the group, and simply shook his head.

"I know Zach was loud, but I must remind you, I said stop too." The Raikou stated, sending his mental presence around the group so that they could hear his voice. Raikou slowly moved over to the Teddiursa, and tried to, as gently as possible, make so that it wouldn't cause too much trouble, as he realized that all it was trying to do was help.

"I get tensions are high, but could we focus on what's necessary at the moment? There's a time for these shenanigans, but it's not now." The Raikou reminded everyone, tempted to just make a Reflect in between everyone, but knowing that wouldn't help anything at all.

 

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette's mouth twitched a couple times as she struggled with herself. However, she utterly failed, and ended up busting out laughing.

"I'm sorry, but that sound..." Colette said, just as sheepishly, but then smiled. "You were kinda close, though, I think. I seem to remember something happening like that to me... except... less noisy." Colette said, as she leaned back, and looked over to the Lucario that was showing off. She was tempted to do the same, but figured that would just be taunting the poor guy. "If you keep practicing, I'm sure things'll go even better!" Colette instead chose to say, slightly glad for this, since it was doing a good job of keeping her mind off the water, and hopefully any further waves that happened... But so far, that one wave had been a fluke, and the relatively calm waters were pretty chill in comparison.

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

Even as things continued to go wrong, Aspen continued to stare silently in horror at Zach and Raikou. ".....I-I knew we couldn't trust y-you...." he said at last in a shaky voice. "You know w-we don't have Legendaries at our side, or have powers like yours, y-you know...." the boy stammerer fearfully. "A-And when things don't go your w-way, how can we know you wont t-try to silence us, just like you did there...? Dack and that Heatran of his too.." Aspen continued, his eyes suddenly darting back between the two trainers, slowly stepping back fearfully.

 

Olivia listened on to Aspen's words, eyes widening. "Zach....?" she said quietly, turning to face him. What Aspen had said.... That couldn't be possible.... Could it? That wasn't the boy she knew....

Then again.... I've changed some, from the last time we saw each other... Olivia thought, but quickly shot down that thought. No... No, Zach would never do that.... Stop doubting him...

 

Amethyst ignored Teddy coming after her and Dack's command, snapping her eyes open as they glowed purple. "If you don't have anything to hide.... Then you wouldn't be so opposed to searching through your memories..." the Gardevoir replied. "Now I'm curious.... Are you the person your friends think you are...?" she continued, combating Dack's attempt to drive her out to the best of her ability, grabbing onto whatever memories she could find.

 

Dahlia's eyes darted around the entire group, before she closed them with a frustrated look on her face. Why was everyone still fighting each other...? Why did they all distrust one another...? When did things go wrong....?

"I-I'll go see if Kiri's alright!" the girl exclaimed suddenly, turning around quickly towards the Pokemon Center, on the verge of tears and completely unsure of how to get everyone to work together.... Or if she even could get them too...

 

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

Roark's Geodude set up floating rocks around Caliburn, trapping him.

"That's okay!" Ruth called out. "Stay in place, and use Iron Defense!" she commanded. The Aegislash buffed his defense, catching on to his trainer's plan. If the Geodude continued to try attacking like he was currently, the ghostly sword and shield could easily negate the attacks, continuing to buff his stats. Sooner or later, the Geodude would need to take a much closer approach, or risk having Caliburn become even more powerful....

Edited September 9, 2014 by Phoenix Zero

[Konuju]

IC: Dack/Ellen

"What are you saying?" Ellen asked Aspen, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "You're talking like Zach would use his Pokémon to destroy us given the chance! He's not like that, he was just trying to get your attention!" The young girl looked desperately from Aspen to Dack to Olivia, shaking her head in frustration. This group of trainers was more stubborn than Chrono.

 

"And don't you dare think that Dack would do something like that with Heatran, either!" Madison cried, taking a step toward Aspen. "He's better than that. You've got a lot of smack for someone who's just met us, you little brat!"

 

Dack barely heard the others arguing, for he was still locked in a mental struggle that he was quickly losing. Amethyst rummaged through his memories like a child digging through a toy bin, picking up and discarding his thoughts faster than Dack could keep track of. The ex-Rocket screamed in agony as memories flashed by his mind's eye like a discombobulated film strip someone had spliced together.

 

He was battling against Karen in Dark Cave.......He was looking on the burning Pokémon Center of Snowpoint City, enraged at the Heatran that had caused all this devastation.......He was in the Ice Geode, watching helplessly as a Master Ball closed around the Manaphy he had been fighting for........He was in an eerily silent Snowpoint, the sky darkened by the Ancient Darkrai's shadows.........He was in the darkness of Stark Mountain, inches away from a Heatran that could burn him to a crisp at any moment........He was looking up at his parents, an empty present in his lap and a Tailow flying happily in circles around his head.......

 

Teddy paused as Raikou moved to block his attack. He listened intently as the Legendary Beast tried once again to get everyone to stop fighting. Then Dack's screams reach the bear cub's ears. Sidestepping around the Raikou, Teddy continued his assault, leaping toward the distracted Amethyst, intending to take her down with Night Slash.

 

As Dahlia turned and ran from the group, she was so distraught that she didn't even see the person in front of her until she had run right into her.

 

"Dahlia!" Kiri said in surprise. "Are you alright? What's going on here?" On Kiri's shoulder, Mickle cooed worriedly, sensing the high tensions in the group.

 

IC: Jayron

Jayron stared at the ground out of embarrassment. Not only was this newcomer more skilled at aura than he was, but now she was laughing at him...

 

He felt a little better when Colette offered her encouragement. "Hey, no one gets it right on the first time, right?" he said. The executive a few more times to make the Aura Sphere, but had the same result each time. He sighed, sitting back in defeat. "It's probably not a good idea to exhaust my powers before we even get to the island," he said. "After all, we still have no idea what's happening there." Jayron fell silent, the foreboding feeling from earlier returning. Just what awaited them at Seven Island?

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

"I wouldn't do that..." Zach said quietly, as he barely heard Ellen defending him. Zach looked up when Olivia looked over to him, the look on his face making it pretty obvious that he currently was feeling rather hopeless, especially about this situation, and felt that he had made things entirely worse... and he half wondered if he was seeing a bit of doubt on Olivia's face, or if he was just imagining it, but it definitely wasn't helping how he was feeling at that moment.

 

Raikou mentally sighed to himself, and looked over to Aspen, seeing that stopping Teddy was a slightly impossible thing at that moment. However, the legend slowly walked over to Aspen, approaching the boy cautiously, with a look asking if it were okay for him to approach further.

 

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette nodded, and sighed.

"I'm sorry about the laughing thing, it's just the sound it made was so unexpected..." Colette said with a slightly sheepish look on her face, but thought for a minute more. "It took a long time for me to figure out how to get it working right, though, so practice should work." Colette said, to try and help not have Jayron be so disappointed. It was odd, she had been totally wrong, and looked over curiously. She'd thought that this executive had been a powerful Aura Wielder, trained for ages in the art, like she had. But yet, it was like he was just a normal kid who'd stumbled across the powers, and it was just so contrasting...

Well, I guess there's probably one upside to that... Colette thought, as she dared a quick look out the front toward where they were heading. She wondered how close they were to their destination, and what even could have caused the distress signal to be sent out...

 

-==IC: Roark==-

 

"Bulldoze." Roark said, as the Geodude slammed his fist into the floor, attempting to send up a rather large rock in the Aegislash's direction, since it didn't look like typical attacks would work.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra, Nimbasa City

 

"Come to think of it, I did see a ferris wheel that one time.", Evan said, "But I wonder what else the amusement park has? Mind showing me?"

 

As Evan spoke, his heart raced. Even though he had faced some of the more fearsome enemies in the world, none of them made his heart beat like it was now.

What was it? Why was this happening? He supposed he'd find out eventually....

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

"Sure!" Jenny said happily, as she nodded, and thought for a second, as they walked out of the restaurant. "Alright, this way!" Jenny said, as she motioned to the left. Jenny was pretty glad for the time off they had, but even still, she seemed a bit nervous about this... Partially because so much stuff had happened in Nimbasa that she was kinda unsure about it.

What if... Something sinister attacks? Like a long lost brother!? Jenny thought, as she subtly looked around, a comically suspicious look on her face.

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

"B-But power corrupts, doesn't it...?" Aspen stammered, looking around in confusion. Ellen's eyed welled up with tears, and Madison was fuming at him. Zach and Dack had people defending them.... But why? Why was he all alone in his worried...?

Am I...... Wrong? he wondered, but shook his head immediately, reaffirming his concerns were valid. Just then, Aspen noticed Raikou slowly approaching him. Eyes widening, he held out an arm to warn the Legendary to not zap him, and looked to be ready to bolt at any moment.

 

Olivia looked away soon after Zach made his affirmation, closing her eyes and scowling in frustration. She wanted to disbelieve her brother's words and write them off as simple paranoia.... But the outburst that happened was very unlike the Zach Olivia knew...

How much have things even changed... she wondered, the worry that things would be unable to work out between the two of them creeping into her thoughts....

 

Amethyst became intrigued by Dack's memories ignoring his screams while she shuffled through his consciousness. However, the Gardevoir heard tiny footsteps running towards her, and looked down to see Teddy running towards her, preparing a Night Slash. Sighing, Am decided she had seen enough for now, releasing Dack's mind from her mental presence. She gripped the Teddiursa mentally, and carried him over to the side of his trainer, gently setting him down on the ground.

 

Dahlia stumbled back after running into Kiri. "I-I'm sorry!" she cried afterwards, with Kiri asking her what was going wrong.

"Th-Things are..... Completely insane...." she muttered sadly. "I-I suggested to wait for you t-to get back, and this boy named Dack disagreed... Then Aspen and Olivia got angry with him and his friends got defensive and it's just a mess..." Dahlia said, shaking her head and sighing. "I-I don't know what to do..."

 

IC: Ruth Fishers

 

"Move outta the way!" Ruth called out, Caliburn floating to the side of the attack. The rock slightly grazed his shield, but otherwise, the Aegislash was fine.

"Swords Dance!" Ruth commanded, wanting to stall the battle until the Geodude was forced to make the approach...

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Raikou==-

 

Raikou nodded, and cautiously approached more. Raikou understood why Aspen was feeling so fearful, however, as he got close, he simply stayed there for a second, and then attempted to nuzzle up against Aspen for a moment.

"It's alright, young one... I only wished to catch your attentions when I did that." Raikou explained, as he tried to calm Aspen's nerves and show that the Legend was not a threat.

 

-==IC: Zach==-

 

The look on Olivia's face. Zach's spirits dropped like a rock, as he lowered his gaze back to the ground, once more. That look just reminded him of all the looks he had seen from everyone. The look like he was a monster. Like he was no better than the people he tried to stop from causing damage and harm... The look Aspen had given him ever since they had returned to Unova. The look he figured everyone was giving him right now.

No-one... believes me... Zach thought, not even looking around, as he slowly seemed to sink to the ground, as he figured his legs were starting to give out in his current mood. Th-they just think... Zach closed his seemingly glassy eyes, not wanting to look at anything then. Not wanting to focus on anything else. If they were acting this way at all this... then that meant that... he was probably totally right about what everyone had thought about Unova... and that he was right as well.

 

Blade looked on in concern from his Pokeball, wincing as he could just feel Zach's emotions right now, and they just got to the Gallade as well. He had no clue what to do, though, but it looked like he had to take the entire focus on the teleportation when it did happen... So, as a result, Blade let himself out of the Pokeball for the moment, a slight frown on his face, as he tried not to look over at Zach, just because he knew he wouldn't be able to handle it.

[Konuju]

IC: Dack/Ellen
Teddy swiped furiously at Amethyst as the Gardevoir mentally picked him up. But the more the Teddiursa struggled, the further he moved away from his intended target. When he was gently placed back on solid ground, Teddy paused, seeing the crumpled form of his trainer right next to him. Dack slowly picked himself up, bringing a hand to his head. He would have yelled something at the Gardevoir, but he was too weary from the mental intrusion.
 
"Dack, are you okay?" Madison rushed to her friend's side, helping him to his feet. The ex-Rocket slowly nodded. Upon seeing Madison, Teddy gleefully climbed up Dack's side and perched himself between the two trainers.
 
The fighting had stopped. This much, Ellen was glad of. But the tensions did not seem to have eased in the slightest. Aspen still eyed Raikou fearfully, Dack seemed to have lost the will to argue, Zach seemed to have lost the will to do anything, and Olivia looked like she was at odds with herself. Ellen eyed each of them with growing uneasiness. If these trainers couldn't figure out how to work together, Celadon was doomed.
 
Then Ellen noticed that Dahlia was missing. Turning around, she was surprised to find the middle Seaton with none other than Kiri.
 
"Oh dear," Kiri said, pulling Dahlia into a comforting embrace. She then approached the group, raising her voice so they could all hear her. "If waiting for me is the only reason you're fighting, you can stop now," she said coolly. "I thought you were all on the same side?" From her shoulder, Mickle chirped in agreement.
 
IC: Jayron
Jayron nodded at Colette, then leaned back in his seat, tipping his hat to keep the sun out of his eyes. "Wake me when we get there," he said.
 
Although Jayron closed his eyes, he did not sleep. He thought. The Liberty Executive reflected on all that had happened in the past year. The war had evolved from a simple rebel group fighting against the government to a force that had drawn the attention of countless factions and had affects that stretched even into other nations. An intricate spider web had formed of related groups, locations, and events.
 
But like any spider web, this one had hidden threads, ones that remained invisible until you were right up next to them -- or hopelessly tangled within them. The ceasefire had been a welcome time of rest and recovery. But Jayron knew he wasn't the only Liberty agent that questioned how long this time of peace would last. There had been multiple strange occurrences in the past several days: attacks on Goldenrod, Opelucid, Nova, and now Havoc... not to mention the recent fiasco that had occurred right in Team Liberty's own R&D Department.
 
That's three different attacks on the bases of three different factions, Jayron said to himself. All one right after the other. He couldn't shake the feeling that these events, including the attacks on the two cities, were somehow connected. But who was pulling the strings? And how did this distress signal from Seven Island fit into all that?

 

"Executive Aaron, sir." Jayron peeked an eye open to see the boat's captain looking at him fearfully. "We've lost all navigation systems. Our radios aren't working either."

 

Jayron quickly sat up. At some point while he had been resting, dark clouds had rolled in, forming an overcast sky. A cool breeze swept across the boat, causing Jayron to bring a hand up to his hat to keep from losing it. The waves had grown choppier, too, and off in the distance a large, rocky island jutted out of the sea. The executive pointed to the rocks. "Is that Seven Island?"

 

"Aye, sir," the captain replied.

 

"Then you don't have any need for a compass, do you?" Jayron said, looking slightly annoyed. "Take us to shore. Hope you're ready, Colette. Your first mission is about to begin."

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

Aspen had been completely tense, sure the Raikou was to zap the boy as punishment for his behavior. Instead though, the Legendary began to nuzzle against him, ans reassured Aspen of his good intentions.

"....H-Huh....?" the boy muttered confusedly. While he remained somewhat tense, he tentatively reached a hand out, wondering if this was really happening.

 

Olivia continued to struggle with herself, locked in a conflict with herself. But at that moment, Zach's grip began slipping away. That made the redhead pause, and she turned around immediately. She found him looking down at the ground, obviously despondent. Blinking, Olivia wondered if she had done this to him, by not trusting him....

"I-It's alright...." she muttered, wrapping her arms around Zach, embracing him tightly.

 

Amethyst sighed and rolled her eyes, glad the Teddiursa was out of the way. Just then, she noticed Blade out of his Pokeball looking concerned. The Gardevoir followed his gaze, finding Zach unable to support his legs and Olivia attempting to comfort him. Frowning, she walked next to the Gallade, unsure of what to do about their trainers.

 

Kiri alerted the entire group to her presence, to which Dahlia was overjoyed at, glad that things might get better at last. Breathing heavily while still hugging her aunt, she didn't speak up, wanting to calm her nerves enough to even do so....

Edited September 11, 2014 by Phoenix Zero

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Raikou==-

 

The Raikou let Aspen reach out his hand, not making any moves to attack as Aspen began to pet him.

"Ohhhhh, that's the spot..." Raikou said, as he looked away as if to mimic a human's blush, as it wasn't really something that the Raikou did often. Usually it was just reserved for the common Pokemon, but Raikou didn't care, and it seemed to help mend things with Aspen, so that was a plus.

 

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach didn't look up right away even when Olivia hugged him.

Alright...? Zach thought as he continued to look down, being too lost in his thoughts to notice anything but what Olivia had mumbled. How can you say everything will be alright, when everything goes wrong when I'm involved...? When I'm just a... a monster...? Zach kept repeating the same sort of argument over and over, not getting anywhere with himself. The small voice of sanity in him was saying that it obviously wasn't true... But it just kept getting washed away by the doubt from the rest of his mind. From what he'd seen. And from what he'd caused...

"Zach......" Zach heard Olivia's voice, but was slightly surprised when he felt her hand try to move his chin up. "None of this w-was your fault......" Olivia continued to say, and while it seemed at first like Zach was going to resist the attempt to move his head up, he let her, even though tears were still streaming down his face at the moment. Zach was about to respond somehow, when he was hugged even tighter than before. "I'm sorry..." Olivia said, and Zach stayed there silent for a moment, as he tried to figure out a way to respond after that.

"... C-can't breathe..." Zach said quietly, a hint of a smile showing on his seemingly otherwise hopeless face, as he took a moment of clarity to actually try and gather his thoughts, as he felt the hug loosen, and heard Olivia giggle a bit. "I-it's not your f-fault either..." Zach sniffed, as he took a moment to wipe his tears away, as he tried to take deep breaths before he returned the hug more. "I-I just... you don't think I'm... d-do you actually... believe me?" Zach asked to be totally sure, as he struggled to phrase his question right.

 

-==IC: Colette==-

 

Colette looked forward with a slight frown, as she caught part of the discussion about the navigation systems, and looked up, seeing the clouds gather, as she tried to keep steady as best as possible, feeling like she'd be able to keep hold of herself until they actually reached the island... But she felt uneasy about something other than her stomach; as this all just seemed like an ominous sign... And she hoped it was just her imagination there.

 

-==IC: Roark==-

 

Roark frowned, but then sighed.

"... Rollout, then." Roark commanded, as the Geodude looked back, but reluctantly used the command, as Roark knew that this was a stalling game at this point, one he couldn't really win at this rate, without trying other tactics.

Edited September 12, 2014 by Colette Llyan

[Konuju]

IC: Dack/Ellen

Dack looked up at Kiri, then at the rest of the group. It seemed the fighting had finally ended, and he was in no hurry to start it up again. "Let me know when you guys are ready, then," he said with a sigh.

 

Ellen walked up to the Raikou and began scratching him behind his ears. "See?" she said, forcing a weary smile at Aspen. "He's even friendlier than that Eevee we rescued."

 

Kiri had also seen that the fighting had stopped, but her attention was soon focused on Olivia, who was currently supporting a downtrodden Zach. "Really, you shouldn't be the ones worried about me," she said, resting a comforting hand on Dahlia's shoulder. "You were the ones doing the fighting -- I should be asking if you guys are alright."

 

IC: Jayron

Jayron stood at the bow of the ship, Lucario at his side, silently watching the ever-approaching island. Sure enough, his own communications device appeared to be malfunctioning, and if Colette checked her Holo Caster, she would find that it didn't have any signal either.

 

While the captain moored the ship, a dim glow appeared in Jayron's eyes as the executive activated his Aura, hoping to get a preliminary reading of the island. Thankfully whatever was causing the devices to go haywire did not affect Jayron's ability to read Aura.

 

"The island's main civilization is just north of us," he told Colette as they stepped onto the dock. "But the distress signal we received came from further south. We could either head into the city and see if the people here can give us any information about what's happening, or we can journey south and try to go right to the source of the problem. What do you think?"

[JiMing]

IC: The Seatons

 

Raikou's words and actions thoroughly baffled Aspen. Am I seriously petting a Thunder God? he thought incredulously, but saw that Ellen had begun to scratch behind the Legend's ears. The boy gave up trying to make sense of the situation, and continued to pet Raikou, his worry slowly but surely dissolving. 

 

"Do I..... Believe you?" Olivia repeated, somewhat confused by the wording of the question. Contemplating the question, the redhead nodded in response. "Of course I do, Zach..... N-Next time, I'll make sure to always stand by your side...." she reassured, smiling warmly. Kiri's words made her turn her head though, still wrapping her arms around Zach.

 

Her aunt's hand calmed Dahlia's spirit, the girl's tensions finaly melting away. "W-Well, that's all over with, and we're fine...." she said at last, returning Kiri's smile. "We were worried about you, though..... Will you be okay staying here in Sootopolis?" Dahlia asked with concern. "Or would you like it if you were brought to our house for a little while...?"