Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

[JiMing]

IC: Olivia Seaton

 

Olivia watched as Shannon was being healed desperately to stop the bleeding, looking over in confusion when Lucia approached her with the tiny Torchic. "But she was in her Pokeball, how did she...." the trainer muttered, taking back the baby Pokemon. The eldest Seaton was horrified, wondering just how long she was out and how much she saw, but the fire chick chirped affectionately and nuzzled against Olivia, putting the latter's mind at rest. "Hugs will come later..." she said, recalling the Torchic once more.

 

Amethyst nodded to Zach. "I'll leave his fate up to you... You've kept the most level head out of us here after all..." the Gardevoir said with a tinge of sadness in her voice. Facing the tied up Gerald, she conjured up another Hypnosis, and fired, keeping the psychopath asleep for now...

 

Olivia looked over and saw Cassie standing nearby, and Zach occupied with watching Gerald. So she walked over to the former, standing behind her. "Hey." the redhead said to catch Cassie's attention. "You might not remember me well.... Heck, maybe we've never even met. But I've got a question for you, one mystery you didn't solve...." Olivia muttered, putting a finger to her chin. "It's about Zach. You seem to be a lot of things, but... You're not his mother, aren't you?" she asked, thinking back to one of the woman's first comments when she appeared, and the split-second confusion on Zach's face afterwards....

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Jenny==-

"Hmm. I wonder." Jenny said in amusement at the reaction, and then smirked. "Nope. Totally didn't. Not a thing." She said, keeping an innocent look on her face, and then thought for a moment. "Hmm... What are we planning on doing today, anyway?"

 

-==IC: Zach/Lucia/Cassie==-

 

Zach looked up in confusion as he heard Olivia begin to talk to his mom, even as Lucia walked over with a sigh. She was about to say something, when she noticed Zach was preoccupied with Olivia's conversation, and simply took his place in watching the monster who had caused all these problems.

 

Cassie turned to Olivia in surprise, and stayed quiet for a couple moments, but then nodded. "You're correct." Cassie said, ignoring the look of surprise from Zach. "Pretty much a different situation from Lucia; Gerald is Zach's father... but my best friend, Christina, is his mother." Cassie said with a smile, and chuckled. "We both treated him as our son, basically. Though, she was there for him more..."

 

-==IC: Ryan==-

With the speed of the extradimensional Raikou, it did not take long for Ryan to arrive at Stacy's mansion. Yet the journey seemed to take an eternity. With every step of the galloping legendary, Ryan felt Shannon's soft breath on his arm. And with it came the overwhelming fear that each pounding heartbeat could be her last. The blurred colors of the ruined city swirled together as his eyes welled with tears. Please be alright, he thought desperately, as if his thoughts could somehow will her to cling to life. This isn't what I wanted... not like this...
 
At long last, the Legendary Beast skidded to a halt at the entrance to the enormous house, roaring to announce their arrival. Ryan stumbled off of the Raikou's back, wiping his tears on his sleeve as he clambered up to the door. Just as he was about to wonder how he was going to open the door while carrying Shannon, the door opened and Stacy poked her head out to see what had caused the loud roar. She took one look at Shannon and ushered Ryan inside.
 
"I... s-she... I couldn't..." Ryan stammered as he desperately tried to explain what had happened.
 
Stacy laid a hand on his shoulder as she called for a nurse. "You can explain later," she said. "Right now she needs medical attention."
 
At that moment, a team of nurses came running from a hall, rolling a stretcher. While two of them carefully took Shannon out of Ryan's hands and laid her on the stretcher, a third hastily took notes on her clipboard as she observed the girl's wounds. Ryan numbly followed them as they began to roll Shannon away. "I'm so sorry..." he repeated. "I never meant to hurt you..."
 
He continued to follow her, muttering apology after apology, until they rolled Shannon into what looked like a hospital room. One of the nurses stepped in front of him, blocking the doorway. "Medical personnel only," she said not unkindly. "No visitors until she starts to show signs of recovery."
 
Stacy came up behind Ryan and gently led him away, offering him a cup of hot tea. "Cassie was wise to have you bring her here," she said softly. "The Pokémon Center's busy enough as it is; she could have waited hours before she got treatment." They arrived in the kitchen, where Stacy led Ryan over to the table. "Sit down; you look like you need some rest."
 
Ryan nodded with a tired look on his face, as he sat down and sipped on his tea, overcome with a sudden weariness. Why did this always happen to him? He set the tea down, and then rested his head on his arms, as he tried to make sense of how any of this could have happened.

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan
In spite of everything that had happened the day before, Ryan couldn't help but grin at Evan's reaction to Jenny's new look. His grin slowly faded as he thought about what they would have to do that day.
 
"Find Ellen," he said. The words came naturally to him, for they had been ingrained in his mind ever since Sonja had disappeared. "It's not like her to just vanish like that. We need to ask around -- lots of townsfolk have gotten to know her in the past couple of months, so hopefully they'll be able to point us in the right direction." He sighed as he recalled their other objective in the city. "I'm also going to want to visit Mr. and Mrs. Garven -- Melanie and Melissa's parents. Although they were a year above me, I went to school with Melanie and Melissa. They haven't been seen since the Ancient Darkrai attacked... until they showed up at the Alamo last week under the aliases of Lust and Greed. You all are welcome to join me when I go to visit the Garvens, but you don't have to if you don't want to."
 
IC: Dack/Madison/Luke
"Man, this place is like a zoo!" Luke scowled as he found himself jostled back and forth through the huge crowd around the Celadon Pokémon Center. "I can't imagine what it must be like inside the dang place."
 
"All these people," Madison said softly. "They're here because they need help. Because their homes, or their families, or their lives have been ruined by Hannah's attack." The skier had a melancholy look on her face as she scanned the crowd, hugging Teddy close to her chest so as to not lose the small bear cub.
 
Dack remained silent as he followed his two friends, wary not to lose sight of them in the crowd. At one point he wouldn't have given a second thought to the lives of the hundreds of people standing in their way. After all, his main concern was one person in particular: the Frontier Brain and Tower Tycoon known as Palmer. Now, however, he pushed his pride aside. Madison had a good point. They had fought against Hannah because they hadn't wanted Celadon to meet the same fate as Snowpoint had after the avalanche a year ago. Hannah had been stopped, but Dack wondered if this truly was a victory worth celebrating.
 
Luke raised an eyebrow as he saw a young woman waving at them. He beckoned Dack and Madison to follow, and as he drew closer, his face lit up in recognition. "Oh hey!" he said in surprise. "It's our waitress lady!"
 
"Natalie Dexter," the woman corrected.
 
"Er... right," Luke said with a sheepish grin, inwardly glad Dahlia wasn't around to give him another one of her death glares. "Natalie. So where's Palmer?"
 
"This way," Natalie said, leading the trio through the thick crowd. She took them all the way to the Pokémon Center's doors. As they entered the building, Dack saw that Luke had been right in his suspicions: the inside of the center was even more jam-packed than the street outside. A team of Chansey worked as fast as they could to get injured Pokémon and people looked at, while the lone nurse tried to keep everyone calm. Super Potions and other healing items were passed through the crowd to treat the less severe wounds.
 
Natalie pushed her way to one of the benches, where the Tower Tycoon sat with his arm in a sling and his face in a weary expression. "Palmer!" Madison cried, running up to the Frontier Brain. "You're hurt!"
 
The Frontier Brain grinned at Madison, though the act seemed to hide a grimace of pain. "I'm fine," he assured her. "But most importantly, the Pokémon Center's fine."
 
"Mr. Palmer singlehandedly helped defend the center against the attacks," the waitress explained.
 
"Natalie, you give me too much credit," Palmer chuckled. "I couldn't have done it without your help, or the help of all those people from your restaurant." He lowered his voice as he turned to the Snowpoint trainers. "Seriously, they did most of the work. This old man was just calling the shots."
 
"Celadon is forever in your debt, Mr. Palmer, sir," Natalie said as she knelt down to check on the Frontier Brain's wounds. "Imagine the state we'd be in if the Pokémon Center had been destroyed -- especially with the hospital collapsed. Everyone's flocking here for help."
 
"Can they even handle it all?" Madison asked worriedly. "There's so many people here, and some of them are hurt more than others."
 
"I spoke with the nurse," Palmer said, wincing as he shifted to a more comfortable position. "She said help's arriving from Saffron City. From the sounds of things they're also trying to evacuate some of the more injured people to Vermilion or Fuchsia." The Tower Tycoon peered past Madison and Luke to look at Dack. "So, I take it you managed to defeat Hannah?"
 
"Something like that," Dack said. "She's been stopped." He didn't feel like explaining the battle with Pride for the umpteenth time, not when he was still trying to process what had happened himself.
 
Suddenly Natalie pulled Dack into a kind hug. "I must thank you for doing all this for our city," she said. "I can't imagine what things would be like if you hadn't warned us of the attack. How are Zach and the others? Are they okay?"
 
Dack was surprised by the hug, but awkwardly hugged the waitress back. "Aspen's fine," he said. "So is his sister, Dahlia. I believe Willows and Zach's brother are okay, too. Not sure about Zach or the others, though." He glanced at Madison for confirmation, before turning back to Natalie with a frown. He was starting to lose track of who all had been with them at the restaurant.
 
Madison opened her mouth to respond, but promptly shut it. She gave a small nod before fishing through her pocket for a Pokéball. "Thanks for lending us your Pokémon, Palmer," she said with a sudden smile. "We probably wouldn't have made it without their help."
 
"Yeah, your Rhyperior was awesome!" Luke said as he returned a blue-and-red Great Ball. "Did you hear about the barricade?"
 
As Luke heartily recounted his grandiose tale, Dack placed a hand on Madison's shoulder. "I'm glad you're safe," he said, offering her a smile. "Pride claimed I had abandoned you and Luke -- left you on your own to die while I tried to take Hannah down myself. I told myself he was just messing with my head, but... he had a point. I shouldn't have run off like that."
 
"But I wasn't on my own," Madison said, looking down at Teddy to hide her subtle blush. "You gave me the bravest little bear cub I know. And he was just as big a help as Palmer's Milotic. Honestly, it sounds like you were in more danger than I ever was. You certainly had me worried when Shannon said you'd disappeared." She looked back up at him, gazing into his dark eyes. "Let's stick together next time."
 
Dack nodded. "Sounds like a deal."

[JiMing]

IC: Olivia Seaton

 

"That explains why you didn't say you were Zach's mom, then." Olivia said, pausing before her next words. "Well your friend, Christina, really was an amazing mother to Zach, I can already tell. You too." she followed up with a small chuckle, looking over at Zach for a moment, then back to Cassie.

 

"...Look, you might not really remember me at all, but if you do, you knew I really loved and cared about Zach a lot... And I still do now, even moreso." the eldest Seaton began, brushing her hair away from her face while thinking of what to say next. "So whether you were his mom or your friend was, it doesn't make a difference to me, I still want to spend the rest of my life with him. I just... Didn't want Zach to think he had any more mysteries about this mess that he had to worry and stress over. He's probably confused about all this, heck, I am, but I don't want him to worry that there still are secrets he doesn't know about. I care about him so much and don't want him to worry, because he cared about me even more and always comforted me on every little thing I was ever worried about when growing up, I just..."

 

Olivia sighed slightly, and looked up. "...I think I'm always trying to fully repay Zach for that first day we met, when he said he wanted to be friends when I felt so alone and unwanted... I don't think I ever will, but after the things he's done for me and everything that's been happening lately to him .. I'm not going to stop trying."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

Zach looked over at Olivia in awe as she said everything, and then smiled as she said about paying him back. Zach walked up to the two a little more, and smiled at Olivia again. He hadn't ever given thought to repaying in any way, because he hadn't thought there to be anything that needed repaying... However, he figured she was right, that it was something to repay.

 

"You already have." Zach said with a warm look on his face. "You've supported me just as much; even when we were kids. And I'm certain we'll continue to." Zach said happily, even as his smile grew wider.

 

Cassie waited for Zach to finish up explaining, and smiled. "We've met before, yes. It was a while ago, but even then, I could see your close bond. Plus, Christina loved to talk on and on about how cute you two were together, even when you two denied you were dating each other." Cassie said with a soft chuckle. "That's all the secrets there are, though, unless I'm forgetting something..." She said, but sighed, unsure what to do.

 

Zach turned to Cassie after that, however. "As Liv says, I'm still a bit confused as this came out of nowhere... but, well, I think I understand it a bit. I guess it kinda ties into how Lucia's my sister, yet we didn't know about her..." Zach scratched his head, but smiled. "Even if you're not my actual mom, though... I still consider you one of them."

 

-==IC: Jenny==-

 

"I'm up for that." Jenny said with a nod, as she chuckled. "Besides, maybe they have some idea of where Ellen went too. Plus, I kinda wonder what this deal is." She added, as she had absolutely no clue what was going on with the 'Lust and Greed' thing.

Edited June 29, 2015 by An/A Blade

[MELON LORD]

IC - Slateport City: Dark blue eyes watched intently as the ocean liner made its slow approach to Slateport City's shipyard. Xander had never been on a ship before traveling from Kalos, and he was finding that he quite enjoyed it. The feeling of the sea breeze in his hair, the salty spray cooling his face, the gentle rocking motion, they all made him feel at peace. He leaned against the railing, wanting to see the city as soon as possible, eager to see some place that wasn't Lumiose City and the surrounding areas.

 

Standing next to him was his oldest and most trusted companion. Sylph only came up to her trainer's chin, and though she was as ethereal and gentle as any other Gardevoir, her beauty was tarnished by the remains of her left arm, ending just slightly past the shoulder. The two exchanged a glance as Xander straightened, a silent conversation taking place in a second.

 

With a small sigh, the trainer turned to go collect the rest of his things from his cabin. He wanted to depart the ship and explore Slateport as soon as he could; he just wished that the peaceful feeling from the ocean would last him through the trials he was about to put his team through.

 

 

OOC: So yeah, my first post in the roleplay. Never really done a mass play by post like this, so we'll see how well I manage.

[JiMing]

IC: Olivia Seaton

 

Olivia looked down for the moment, still processing what she had just said. However, she heard Zach speak up and so turned to face him, blinking in surprise when he mentioned she had already paid him back. The elder Seaton blushed slightly, not considering that she could have been nearly as supportive to him. "...O-oh Zach..." she muttered, reaching out her hand...

 

Though her attention quickly shifted back to Cassie once she began speaking, raising an eyebrow when Cassie mentioned meeting her before, and blushing again when Christina was brought up. "Oh geez, of course Christina did all that.... It's Dahlia all over." Olivia replied, chuckling awkwardly. "Yeah in hindsight, Zach and I were kinda dating, and we are now officially... But he's always my closest friend, first and foremost." 

 

The eldest Seaton smiled at Zach's words to Cassie, and was about to speak up, when she noticed her Pokegear buzz. "One moment." Olivia said quickly, reading the message, seeing it was from Aspen, with he and Dahlia apparently wondering where she was and if she was alright. Surprised at her brother's concern, she began writing a message, pausing halfway in the process to look up at Cassie and Zach, mother and son. "Why don't you both swap numbers? Even if there aren't any secrets anymore, I think it'd be good for the two of you to start communicating more. Might be able to find out things about each other in the process anyways." 

Edited July 2, 2015 by Toph Beifong

[Parugi]

OOC: This is definitely not the only IC I've been working on for the past few days, but it is the only one that I can really post right now, and it's the only one holding anything up at the moment. So it's good. : P

 

Others will come soon, hopefully.

 

IC - Esen Windred - Outside Signs Compound:

 

The Noivern seemed almost amused by Cero's words and bow, though nonetheless returned the gesture. It was clear that she appreciated his polite respect.

 

Esen watched them with a soft smile on her face, shaking her head after a moment. "Hope he isn't trying to steal my good graces," she said to Krow, her voice quiet. "Well, in any case . . . One last flight?"

 

The Honchkrow chirped in affirmation.

 

"Knew I could count on you." She pet his head and looked back at the compound, unconsciously clenching her fist.

[Konuju]

IC: Ellen

Ellen didn't know where she was going. She was trying to get back to Fortree, but had become as lost in the city of Slateport as she was in her own thoughts. Memories flashed through her mind -- not only of the ruins of Sootopolis, but also the battle with the Ancient Darkrai, the destruction of southeast Unova, and the bombing of Castelia City.

 

When had things become so horrible?

 

The girl yearned for her days in Village Bridge, where she had lived without a care in the world. And yet, even while she had lived in blissful ignorance, the world around her had been starting to crumble. Kanto and its surrounding regions had been at war since before she'd been born. Her own father was helping a man willing to hurt innocent lives for the sake of putting an end to the war. People like Ryan, Evan, or Sonja had been through worse things than she had, and yet they continued on their lives like normal. Because to them, this was normal. All her life, Ellen had known nothing but peace. The people of these regions had known nothing but war.

 

When had things become so horrible? Perhaps it had always been that way.

 

Ellen's feet seemed to walk with a mind of their own. Her own mind was too preoccupied to control them, so she let them lead her where they wished. They seemed to lead her in a wide circle, from the Slateport marketplace down to the beach, past several piers, a fish market, and what looked like a museum, until she finally arrived back at the shipyard, where people were still pouring into the port city. It was easy to tell the Sootopolis refugees from the mere tourists: the grim, shellshocked faces stood out in stark contrast to the wide-eyed urban explorers.

 

Something about the contrast made Ellen's stomach churn. She couldn't bear to look at either the refugees who had lost so much or the tourists living in complete oblivion to the hardship around them. Lowering her eyes to the ground, the young girl quickened her pace, trying to retrace her steps out of the shipyard as quickly as possible.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander

As the ship pulled into port and people started unboarding, Xander let his eyes wander. The shipyard was incredibly populated, but it didn't have the same atmosphere as it should have. What would have been a bustling collection back home was.... somber. A few people were talking, but mostly, everyone was silent, seeming off in their own world. He watched a mother absently bouncing her child, who was crying into her shoulder. It should have seemed normal, but the look on the mother's face was distant, shocked. Her eyes didn't seem to look at anything, but were focused on something far off in the distance.

 

With trepidation he made his way through the crowd, Sylph following him closely. In this crowded place, he could feel her anxiety coming off of her in waves. He did his best to send her soothing feelings, though he was still getting the hang of such things. If she started to panic here, it could set off a chain. Most people seemed on the edge of... something.

 

He started to move slightly faster, wanting to leave the unsettling atmosphere quickly. He glanced to his left and saw a girl walking at much the same pace as he was. Taking a risk, he spoke to her. "Excuse me, miss?"

 

 

 

IC: Mercury -  Sootopolis City

Mercury walked through the city absently, hands shoved deep into the pockets of his duster.After seeing the destruction, he felt like a failure. Rationally, he knew it wasn't his fault. He literally hadn't known what was going to happen here. Still, he hadn't made it in time to... what? What had he set out to do with the list in his pocket?

 

He pulled said list out, unfolding it carefully and looking at the handwriting. It was strange to think that he could read, but he wouldn't know his own name if it weren't for the ID he'd found in his jeans. As he stared at the date, he felt pangs of guilt wash through him. Who knew how many people were dead? How many had lost their homes and their loved ones? Was it his fault? Was he supposed to warn them? Stop the disaster?

 

Fat chance. From what he'd heard, it had been the ancient Groudon that had destroyed the town. What were he and his meager team going to do against a beast like that?

 

Still, it didn't change the anger and hatred he directed at himself. In the few months of memory he had, nothing had been as big of a let down as the moment he heard the news.

 

Again, he looked at the dates and locations, and a thought, not an unfamiliar one, came to him. Who wrote this? It wasn't his handwriting, he knew. And yet, it seemed as familiar to him as the sound of his own voice. Whoever had given him this... mission, he supposed, was someone he had known very well.

 

But that might as well have been an entirely different life, for all he could recall them. Now he was alone, with just his team to support him. Weary, isolated, and drifting along with no direction anymore.

 

He needed to organize his thoughts, and to sleep, not necessarily in that order.

Edited July 3, 2015 by unknownmercury

[Konuju]

IC: Ellen

Ellen looked up at the young man, who seemed to be matching her pace. But that wasn't what caught her eye. She wasn't really in the mood for conversation right now, and would have turned away, before she noticed the one-armed Gardevoir at the man's side. That made her almost stop in her tracks. For a moment she just stared at the psychic-type in a daze. On a normal day, the missing limb wouldn't have caught her off guard so much.

 

Today was anything but normal.

 

At first she thought the Gardevoir had lost her arm in Sootopolis. But the injury seemed too healed to have just happened. Realizing she was staring, she quickly looked back to the trainer. "Um... what happened to your Gardevoir?"

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander

Xander smiled kindly at the girl. "Well, when she was still a Ralts, I saved her from a really nasty Mightyena. I nursed her to health, and when I became a trainer, she was the first pokemon on my team." He glanced at the psychic type, his smile widening.

 

"Her name's Sylph, and I'm Xander. Do you mind if I ask you something?"

 

OOC: Blegh, short replies. Hopefully I'll get better with Xander.

[Konuju]

OOC: Short replies? Welcome to the club.

 

IC: Ellen

Ellen looked back at the Gardevoir, her eyes wide. "I'm... sorry about your arm," she said. "But it's good you have a nice trainer." She sighed. She wanted to get to Fortree as quickly as possible. But she didn't have the heart to just walk away and ignore the trainer's request. Instead she turned her head and gave him a weary look. "What is it?"

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander

Xander didn't miss the girl's sigh. The look on her face was so much like others he'd seen in the harbor, like the mother, staring at something far, far away. As he stared at her, he decided to change his approach just slightly.

 

"Is there something I can do to help you? I don't know what's going on, but you look like someone who needs... someone to talk to, maybe? Or, if you don't want to talk about it, maybe just someone to keep you company." He offered her his friendliest smile, given the circumstances. They were entering a more open area, the sober and quiet atmosphere slowly fading behind them, to be replaced with the hustle and bustle of the city.

 

"You see, I just came from Kalos. I was wanting to help with the Team Rocket issues, but... Maybe I should start small."

 

Sylph gave a small smile to the girl, and Ellen would hear a soft, bell-like voice. "He's quite kind and understanding, miss..."

 

OOC: Woo, Sylph's first audible (sort of) lines!

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach/Cassie==-

 

Cassie listened with a smile as Olivia explained things. She could see on both of their faces just how much each of them cared for the other, and nodded while both were distracted. As Olivia gave the query about the number, Cassie thought for a moment, and then nodded.

 

"I'll be sure and give you two a call every morning, just to hammer the point in." Cassie teased, as Zach chuckled. As Cassie worked on registering both of the communication devices with the other, Zach looked over at Olivia, curious as to what was going on, but then paused, as he realized something important.

 

"We forgot Aspen!" Zach cried, as he slapped his hand to his face. How could they forget what they had set out to do? Though, a lot of stuff had happened, and distractions definitely had occurred, so that was definitely a big reason. "What's the news?" He asked with a tilt of his head, hoping nothing bad had happened on the scale of what had went on moments ago.

[Konuju]

IC: Ellen

"Kalos..." A memory came back to Ellen, one that felt very far away. She found it hard to believe it had only been a day since Rugissement, that bigoted nobleman, had told her of his cousin in Kalos. "Have you ever been to Anistar City? Do you know of a woman who can read the memories of Pokémon? You see, my Purrloin doesn't like people, and I was told that woman might be able to help me figure out why." She stared at the trainer for a moment before shaking her head. "I'm sorry, that was a weird change in subject. My name's Ellen. And if you can help me find that woman in Anistar, that would be more than enough help."

 

Although she remained silent regarding the events in Sootopolis and the threat of attack on Celadon, a series of mental images flashed through the channel that had opened up between Ellen and the Gardevoir -- a consequence of Ellen's practice communicating mentally with her Duosion. She wasn't sending the images intentionally, but it was almost as if her mind couldn't handle them anymore and just had to get rid of them somehow. Each image carried with it a powerful emotion. Pieced together, they told a rough outline of the recent events in Sootopolis, from the horrors of a Groudon wrecking the city to the pain of jumping out a window to save a wild Eevee. But the images that seemed to stick the most were those of the people who had lost their homes, their families. Throughout the mental process, Ellen remained silent, with that same melancholy look in her eyes as she stared at the trainer before her.

[JiMing]

IC: Olivia Seaton

 

Olivia rolled her eyes at Cassie's teasing, shaking her head afterwards. "And I thought my mom was bad." she said jokingly, but still gave Cassie her number, then went back to working on the message again. The eldest Seaton thankfully finished once Zach made his realization, and she looked up to explain things.

"Not completely sure myself.... Something bad happened, how bad, I don't know. But Aspen's okay now, and Dahlia's caught up to him." she replied, frowning when she saw a timely reply, surprised at what Aspen had replied with once more. 

"....H-he says he's sorry... For everything..... We have to go find him. Now." the redhead declared sternly, speaking as though the apocalypse had just started.

 

IC: Lachina Adaon

 

Lachina listened as Kiri spoke of her nieces and nephews joining the battle against Groudon. As she listened, the Ranger thought back to her family... Her caring father, her loving mother, and the little sister who she doted on so much.... Could she ever bear to see them in danger, like the shell-shocked citizens wandering Sootopolis?

If they're ever in trouble, I'll help them.... Lachina thought. After all, that's what Rangers do... We help people. I help people. Starting with Kiri, Alaina, and Drew.

 

"I hope Ellen will do just fine." Lachina replied, smiling back at Kiri. "I'm also sure your nieces and nephew did wonderful job defending the city.... But now, it's our job to repair it."

 

The Ranger walked along the city, helping out where she could and generally attempted to do her part in aiding others. After a while, the party neared a section of town that happened to be near the Cave of Origin, where she saw a young trainer with silver hair, barely any taller than her. He was holding a piece of paper, and stared at it with a look of melancholy and regret, as well as confusion. 

"Excuse me, sir?" Lachina asked, walking up to the trainer. "Are you alright? I am Lachina, Lachina Adaon, Pokemon Ranger. Do you need help with anything?"

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander

Xander's face split into a wide grin. "I know her really well, actually. She helped Sylph and I through a pretty rough time. The trip to Kalos is kind of long, though. But, you know what?" He stopped, kneeling down to face the girl eye-to-eye. "She told me she has a niece that lives here in Hoenn. In Lilycove City. Apparently, her niece has the same ability that she does."

 

He cast a glance towards Sylph, his smile faltering for a brief second, before he held a hand out. "Your name is Ellen, right? Ellen, would you mind if I helped you get to Lilycove? I would hate for you to get lost or injured on your own." He paused, a contemplative look on his face. "But you're not exactly alone, are you? You have pokemon with you?"

 

IC: Mercury

Mercury spun as the woman approached, his hand dropping to his belt instinctively. After a tense moment, he relaxed, shaking his head. "Sorry... No, I'm fine. I just... Feel like there was something I was supposed to do here." He looked away, biting his lower lip. "I had thought the city to be abandoned. Was I wrong?"

 

He looked back to Lachina, taking in her outfit. Hesitantly, he spoke again. "You're a ranger, right? Does that mean there's a cleanup effort in place?"

 

His contemplation would have to wait, though he desperately wished it didn't. He had traveled for two days over the ocean, with little sleep. That wouldn't have been so bad, but seeing Sootopolis in this state had taken a toll on him. Physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, he was exhausted on every front. As he looked at the girl, his vision wavered, and he found himself lurching forward.

[JiMing]

IC: Lachina Adaon

 

The Ranger looked warily when Mercury stiffened, prepared for a conflict to arise at any point, relieved to see the silver-haired trainer relax. "This place isn't abandoned." she began explaining. "The attack happened not too long ago actually, we Rangers were sent to help in any way we could, but the actual fight stopped before we got here. Now, I'm going around doing my part to help those I can piece their lives back together, like the other Rangers."

 

She frowned after seeing just the sad state Mercury was in, and spoke again. "You don't look okay.... I really could help you, you know. After all, that's what I'm here for." she said with a smile.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Mercury

Mercury nodded at the girl's response to his question. A simple explanation, short and to the point. As he swayed again, he noticed a large tree with a mostly in-tact bench beside it. "I'll be fine... I just... need to sit down." So saying, he attempted to step towards the bench and found the ground tilting under his feet. He staggered, hand shooting out blindly for support and landing on the girl's shoulder.

 

His other hand went to his jaw, feeling the scar pulsing beneath his fingertips. "I... Sorry. Lachina?" He nodded softly. "Lachina, if you could just point me to somewhere I can get some rest. Anubis can help me get there." He frowned. Anubis wasn't out at the moment. "My Lucario, I mean."

 

He wasn't aware that he was still leaning heavily on the younger girl. She didn't look older than thirteen, and his mental filter seemed to be completely out of order now. "Aren't you a little bit young to be a ranger? When I was your age... Well, I really dunno what I was doing. Maybe I was doing the same thing. Who knows?" He caught himself and closed his mouth before he could spout more inane gibberish. Still, wouldn't that be ironic? Berating someone for being too young, when he himself might have been a young ranger.

 

The thought struck him as funny, and he started chuckling softly to himself. Not laughing. No, he didn't want to seem crazy.

 

OOC: Who says brooding characters can't have comical moments?

[Konuju]

IC: Ellen
The girl blinked in confusion. "Pokémon..." Her eyes grew wide as she flipped her bag off her shoulder. "What's wrong with me?" she muttered, grabbing a handful of five Pokéballs and sending out her Pokémon. "I'm so sorry, everyone. I should have sent you all out as soon as I got off the ferry. I don't know why I didn't... I guess with everything that's happened, I just..." Artemis, her tall and stoic Mienshao wrapped an arm around Ellen, giving her a comforting hug. Terry, her Herdier, gave a small whimper and started to lick her face, while her Turtwig Maturin nuzzled against her leg. "Thanks, guys," Ellen said with a smile. "I needed that. It's just... all that destruction in Sootopolis... and to think that the same thing could happen to Celadon..."

Chrono watched the group hug with a scowl. But underneath his frown, the Purrloin was sincerely worried. He had seen Ellen face some nasty things, perhaps the worst being the fight with the Ancient Darkrai. But the battle in Sootopolis seemed to have affected her more than anything else. Her Duosion also hung back, unsure of what to say. On one hand, Duo was just as mortified from the Groudon incident as Ellen. But on the other, he did not like that Ellen had kept him in his Pokéball longer than she had to. Ever since his evolution it had felt like they had grown more distant. Duo desperately wished he knew how to fix that, but Ellen seemed to turn a cold shoulder to his every attempt. Instead the Duosion turned to the trainer that stood before them. So who's the new guy? he asked, projecting his thoughts to everyone within the vicinity.

"Oh." Ellen looked back at the trainer. "I'm sorry, I don't think I caught your name. I'm trying to get to Fortree as quickly as possible to meet a friend, but you're welcome to come with me. Once Celadon's taken care of, we can go to Lilycove."

Lilycove? Duo piped up. Weren't we just there yesterday morning?

IC: Kiri/Drew/Alaina
"Hey!" Drew cried at the young man now leaning most of his weight on the Ranger. "Miss Lachina's definitely old enough to be a Ranger! She saved our lives twice!" While he was yelling, the urchin boy reached up to grab a slip of paper out of the man's hand. Had the man been in a better state, he might have had a firmer grip on his paper. But Drew took advantage of the man's disorientation and the paper slid easily from his fingers.

 

Before the man could respond to Drew's retort, he retreated a few steps backward to observe his find with his sister, an action that went unnoticed by Kiri, who approached Lachina to help guide the man to the nearby bench.

 

"What is it?" Drew asked, squinting his eyes at the shapes and patterns scribbled on the paper.

 

"It looks like a list of some kind," Alaina muttered with a frown.

 

"What's it say?!" Drew asked urgently, shoving the paper into Alaina's face.

 

The girl batted her brother's arm away in annoyance as she took the list and stared at it. "I don't know," she said. Alaina, like her brother, had never learned to read, although life on the streets had taught her a few words. "It looks like that says 'Sootopolis'... though I can't read much else." She sighed. "It's probably worthless, anyway..." Nevertheless, she slipped the paper into the folds of her tattered gown. Perhaps they'd be able to decipher it later.

[JiMing]

IC: Lachina Adaon

 

Lachina was once more caught off guard by Mercury's actions, this time when he leaned his weight on her shoulder, beginning to ramble afterwards. "Umm, sir..." she began, unsure of what to make of the man as the conversation went from help, to his Lucario, and then her age. "Well first of all sir, I'm fifteen, well within the average age range of Ranger School graduates... And I ask regardless of how young I look, to acknowledge my position." she sighed, having a feeling people would say stuff like to that more often.

 

The Ranger continued supporting Mercury's weight, walking him over to the bench. "You can't stay on that bench forever, but you seem to be in bad condition, sir. What happened to you to get you this exhausted?" she asked, seating the man on the bench gently. "I don't believe I got your name either, sir... What is it?"

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander

Xander watched as Ellen released her team, stepping back for the ensuing group hug. He cast a glance towards the Purrloin and Duosion, wondering why they weren't joining in the group.

 

He was momentarily startled as the floating pokemon projected its thoughts, and then he looked back to Ellen. "I'm Xander, and I'll go with you to Fortree, sure." He smiled lightly. "What's going on in Celadon?"

 

Sylph looked to Duo, Your trainer wishes to visit the Memory Girl there. She heard about the one in Kalos, but we know of one in Lilycove.

 

IC: Mercury

He didn't notice the list being taken from him, his awareness limited to the ranger girl and the bench she helped him to. "Sorry, I'm... not really myself today. It's been kind of..." He trailed off, not sure how to complete the sentence.

 

"I came to Sootopolis, hoping I could figure out what I was supposed to do. I slept for two days on the back of my Lapris, which wasn't exactly good for sleeping..." He shook his head. "I was fine, up until I actually got here. Seeing it like this... I think I was supposed to help stop it or... At least, mitigate it somehow. It was a heavy blow."

 

He rubbed at his eyes, sighing. "I need some sleep, is all. I'm going to let my Lucario out of his ball, now. He'll take care of me." It felt strange putting so much of his trust into the pokemon. Effectively, he'd only known Anubis for a few months, but the Lucario was always there to help him and try to keep him from overdoing things. "Is there somewhere I can find you later? I'd like to talk more after I get some rest."

[Konuju]

IC: Ellen

"The person who attacked Sootopolis," Ellen said in a wavering voice. "It was part of a bigger scheme. A prelude of sorts for her attack on Celadon. That's why we have to get to Fortree as fast as possible."

 

You've got to be kidding me! Duo cried, floating in circles around the group. Lilycove? We were literally just there! Wasn't the whole reason we went to Sootopolis in the first place so we could learn where in Kalos this Memory Girl was? Geez!

 

"Duo, will you let me think?!" Ellen cried, bringing her hands to her head. She looked back to Xander with an irritated sigh. "Some other people who helped defend Sootopolis are already in Celadon, but one of my friends is a powerful trainer. That's why we're going to Fortree to find him."

 

IC: Kiri/Alaina/Drew

"Are you sure you'll be alright?" Kiri asked, giving the man a worried look. "We're more than happy to help. And don't worry about what happened to the city -- I don't think anyone could have seen that coming."

 

Having fully inspected the list and found they couldn't do anything with it for the moment, Drew and Alaina peered at the man on the bench with curiosity, wondering if his pockets held any more treasures. Unfortunately with both Kiri and Lachina standing nearby, it would be impossible to make a clean swipe. Drew looked up at the Ranger with his wide eyes. "Miss Lachina?" he asked. "Are you going to save him like you saved me?"

[JiMing]

IC: Lachina Adaon

 

The Ranger looked to her side, smiling at Drew's question, bending down to ruffle his hair. "Of course I will, Drew." she replied with a smile. "There's no way I could leave him in that state.... He might pass out in a crowded area, or stumble off a cliff. Can't let that happen under my watch, now can I?" 

 

Lachina turned back to the exhausted man, nodding at Kiri's words. "Kiri's right, that attack was real sudden. Apparently we Rangers were still attempting to work out agreements with Hoenn's government when the attack hit, so we had to drop everything and head on over. So don't worry about it, sir." she explained, smiling. "My Capture Styler could contact you if you had anything, but it might be safer if you were to come with me somehow..... Though, hmm...."

She looked over at Aolani, who was nearby, glaring at Mercury. Lachina grinned, and turned to him once again. "How would you like to take a nap on the back of Aolani? She's a little rowdy sometimes-or maybe always, but lemme tell you, those feathers are soft." 

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander

"I see," Xander said, straightening. "Well, we could walk there, but that could take a while. Or Sylph could attempt to teleport us there, but it will be a little risky." He looked towards his Gardevoir. "She would read your mind while you're focusing on Fortree City, and try to teleport us using that information. The trouble is, if she doesn't get it right, we could end up even further from where we want to be, or teleported into the air, or... inside a wall." He cleared his throat. "So, how about we walk?"

 

I agree. Teleporting into walls sounds... not fun.

 

IC: Mercury

Mercury raised his gaze to the second woman, nodding. "I'll be alright, I promise." He looked, then, to the ranger and the boy she was talking to. "I won't fall off a cliff. Like I said, I'll have Anubis."

 

He had no idea what a capture styler was, but, "I don't have anything that you could contact me on. No dex, no nav. Just my trainer's card and... an appointment log." He lied, not wanting to send up any red flags.

 

He then looked towards the Altaria that Lachina mentioned. It was giving him a very unsettling glare. "Are you sure it would let me? It looks more likely to swallow me whole than allow me to sleep on its back..."

[Konuju]

IC: Ellen

"Yeah, we can walk," Ellen agreed with a nod. "Time is of the essence, and we can't afford to make any mistakes. Not to mention, I'm not sure how well I can focus on Fortree right now..." She fell silent as she thought back to Sootopolis.

 

The skies above Slateport, which had been completely clear that morning, had became dark and overcast as the day wore on. The wind started to pick up, and the sea roared as waves crashed heavily against Slateport's seawall. In the open market, merchants rushed to store their items before they blew away in the wind. Across the street, the Pokémon Fan Club members rushed inside, determined to continue their festivities.

 

Ellen's hair billowed in the strong wind as she led Xander to the northern end of the city. She looked at her new companion with a hint of worry. "Looks like we've got a big storm coming! We'd better hurry!"

 

IC: Kiri/Drew/Alaina

"He wouldn't swallow you whole!" Drew cried out in protest. "Aolani's a nice bird! Look!" He reached out a hand toward the Altaria, ignoring the sharp intake of breath from his sister. "Hey, Miss Lachina!" he said with a grin. "Can I have a ride on Aolani?"

 

Kiri frowned. "Drew, I think we need to let this young man have a ride instead. That is, assuming the Altaria even lets him."

[JiMing]

IC: Lachina Adaon

 

Lachina turned her head just in time to look at Aolani, giving her Partner Pokemon a glare, stopping the cloud bird from screeching annoyedly at Drew, and making her relent and let the urchin boy pet her more. "Aolani's got a.... Strong personality, yeah. But she'd let you rest on her back, sir, and do so without complaint, or eating anyone around her." the Ranger said sternly, Aolani appearing to roll her eyes yet not protest.

 

"See? Nothing to worry about." she said. "You can rest on her back. As for you, Drew, you'll get your chance soon, I promise!" Lachina told the urchin boy, patting his shoulder in the process. 

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach nodded with a frown, as he heard Olivia's description of the message. "Let's go, then." He agreed, as he had to do a double take at how she was describing it. That... doesn't sound like Aspen. He frowned further, as he paused, and looked over at Lucia and the others.

 

"We'll take him to the Rocket base here. We can't just keep a hold of him all day, and they're the best equipped for that." Lucia stated, and Zach paused uncertainly, but then nodded distractedly, and looked over to Olivia. Nodding again, he walked off, and Lucia stayed quiet for a bit as she watched the two of them head off. "... Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" She questioned her mother, as she turned her head slightly to Cassie.

 

"Because you would have been in danger had you known about all this and acted the wrong way... And recently, because Patrick died... They aren't good reasons, but I just didn't want you mixed up in this." Cassie sighed, and Lucia looked to the sky for a moment, before she sighed as well and nodded in understanding.

 

"Come on." Lucia said. "I might not like your reasons, but I get them. Right now, we have a criminal to finally put away." She said, as she headed off in the direction of the Rocket base.

[MELON LORD]

IC; Xander

Xander looked up as storm clouds rolled in, the first flashes of lightning illuminating the sky. He looked at Ellen. "Sounds good. Do you know the way?" He had his pokedex in pocket, and it would be quick work to get a map of the region, but the less time spent here, the better.

 

He cast a nervous glance at the sky. Maybe he was wrong, though. Maybe it would be best to seek shelter while they could, instead of getting caught out in the open. A look towards Sylph, another quick, silent conversation, and a determined look filled his eyes. "The only way out is north, right?" He'd looked at a map at one point, on the ship, but that suddenly seemed like a long time ago.

 

IC: Mercury

Mercury rose to his feet slowly, managing not to lose his balance. "Alright, if you're sure..." He looked at the girl. Fifteen, she'd said? She looked incredibly young. Between her and the two street kids, he wasn't feeling exactly fresh. "Stop calling me sir, it makes me feel old. I'm Mercury."

 

He started towards the Altaria, shoving his hands into his pockets. Between one step and the next, he froze, eyes widening. "Wait..." He dug in his jacket's pockets, then pushed it back to reach into his jeans, searching frantically. "Where's my list?" He spun, staggering from the sudden movement. "Lachina, was I holding a piece of paper?"

[Konuju]

IC: Ellen

Ellen nodded as she pushed forward through the wind. "I have a general idea of where to go, although I've never been out this way before." The city seemed strangely abandoned, with most of the people having taken shelter from the storm. The young girl shuddered, the empty city reminding her of Sootopolis. "Let's go," she said, urging Xander onward. "The sooner we get to Fortree, the better."

 

IC: Kiri/Drew/Alaina

"Thank you, Miss Lahina!" Drew cried, wrapping his small arms around the Ranger's waist. "I can't wait, it'll be so much fun!"

 

Alaina shifted uncomfortably in the back of her group. Not only was her brother acting very strange in front of this Ranger, but the man, Mercury, had realized his list had gone missing. She silently berated her brother for making so obvious a steal. A seasoned thief would have taken something a little more hidden, something whose absence wouldn't be discovered until much later. After all, there was a reason why their particular line of trade was called a pickpocket. The girl instinctively brought a hand to the folds of her gown to assure herself the paper was still there. She wasn't sure what to do. On one hand, Mercury might be able to decipher the list for them. But on the other, if they returned the paper, they'd likely never get it back.

 

No, it was best to hold on to it, at least until its value could be properly judged.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra, Fortree City

 

Find Ellen.

Those words snapped Evan back to reality. Ellen was the priority now. He wasn't sure what had made her leave Fortree. All he really knew is that the group could not let any information slip through, regarding her whereabouts. He had to see her again, and he would stop at nothing to ensure he did.

 

"I'll join you for the meeting with the Garvens." Evan said. "We have a mission and any info would help, Ryan."

[JiMing]

IC: Olivia/Aspen/Dahlia Seaton

 

Olivia wasted no time in plotting out the path to Central Park, not giving Zach another chance to loop both of them back around. The eldest Seaton mulled over Aspen's last message. Was that even really him...? she questioned, confused at what must have happened for that to be her brother's response.

 

Zach looked over and noticed her confusion, and frowned. He stopped for a moment to silently throw his arms around Olivia, drawing her into a reassuring hug. She looked back at her friend with a smile, then resumed her brisk walk towards Central Park.

 

When Dack, Madison, and Luke left, Aspen stared at the ground for a while, not saying anything. After a while, he began to quietly cry, at the tension of that day and the mistakes the youngest Seaton realized he had made. He felt a pair of arms wrap around his side, seeing Dahlia, his sister, the one who he had always looked up to and counted on. ...Even after what I told her, she's still trying to help me... Aspen thought, the flow of his tears slowing down while he breathed heavily. 

 

"There they are." Olivia told Zach, as they at last ran into Dahlia and Aspen. "Aspen! Dahlia! Me and Zach-we're here!" she called out, running over to her siblings.  

"Hey...." Aspen said, offering a small smile. He hadn't ever felt more overjoyed to see Olivia and Zach than he did in that moment, and reached out to embrace Olivia, breathing in and out as he did so. 

"A-Aspen?!" Olivia exclaimed, surprised at the gesture of affection. "Aspen... Wha... What happened to you....?"

IC: Lachina Adaon

 

The Ranger giggled at Drew's enthusiasm, putting her arms around the urchin boy as well. "Yep, it will! But first, you gotta wait a bit before you can try.... And make sure to ask me first, alright?"

Lachina then turned to Mercury, surprised at his words. "Sir-I mean, Mercury, I didn't see you holding a list before..." she muttered, thinking about what that could have meant. "I-I'm not sure what to.... Drew? Alaina?" the Ranger started, looking over at both urchin children. "Did you take Mercury's paper?" 

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander

Xander nodded. "Maybe you should call back most of your team. Keep them fresh, in case there's any trouble down the road." He looked to Sylph, thoughts of returning her to her ball crossing his mind for a brief second.

 

Those thoughts abated quickly when she gave him a severe look. They had traveled in worse conditions together, after all. She hated being confined, with little idea of what was happening outside her pokeball. How could she protect her master unless she was free to act quickly?

 

Still, she could keep up, so that wasn't a concern. It was the smaller pokemon he was worried about. If they wore themselves out on the humans' pace, they wouldn't be any good if there was a fight, and Xander's other two pokemon were still relatively young and weak.

 

IC: Mercury

Mercury was starting to panic as he was told that Lachina hadn't seen the list. His breath was coming shorter and quicker than before, his heart was racing wildly. And then Lachina addressed the children, and he turned his own grey eyes on them.

 

For the first time in weeks, he had to actually focus to make out their auras. He stared for a second before the shift happened, and then he was stepping towards the children, scowling. "Give me that paper," he growled. What had been panic was now rage. He started to reach for the boy, then thought better of it. Even though the children were guilty, the ranger and the older woman probably wouldn't appreciate them manhandling them.

 

He stopped in front of the boy, running a hand through his own hair, pushing it away from the scar on his jaw. "It's not worth anything to you, I promise. Hand it over."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Zach==-

 

Zach seemed as surprised at Aspen's reaction as Olivia did, however, he smiled as Aspen didn't seem to be hurt. As Olivia was taking the questioning initiative, however, he stayed quiet. Even still, he watched with intrigue, as something seemed different about Aspen, almost.

 

-==IC: Ray/Jenny==-

 

As Jenny was about to respond again, Ray sleepily walked down the hall, and then blinked. "Oh, it's a party. I like parties." Ray said, totally missing what was even going on. Jenny sighed, as she shook her head.

 

"Ray, wake up already. I don't know how you manage to always stay half-asleep for like an hour after you wake up. It's impressive, but not that good." She said, and proceeded to pinch Ray's face. Ray yelped out, and indignantly looked at his older sister, mumbling something about not needing to go to those extremes. "Ray's in too, by the way." She turned to Ray, and then smiled amusedly. "We're talking to the Garvens, then going to find Ellen."

 

Ray frowned, as he recalled yesterday more, and nodded, however, he got lost in thought once more, as the events of the day before were drawn back to the forefront of his mind. Why had all that even occurred...? Ray wanted answers... And he was going to get them, even if he had to take them forcefully.

Edited July 6, 2015 by An/A Blade

[Konuju]

IC: Ellen

"No," Ellen said firmly. "These Pokémon are my friends... my family. They don't like to be confined to their Pokéballs. The only reason I had them there earlier was because I had to recall them for the ferry from Sootopolis."

 

Yeah, there's no way I'm going back in there, mister! Duo cried, sending waves of telepathic protests to the pair of trainers. As the Duosion bobbed up and down in the air, Terry helped out the slower Maturin by offering the Turtwig a ride on his back. Artemis stuck by Ellen's side, while Chrono walked several paces ahead of the trainers, his face curled into a scowl.

 

"They can handle this just as well as we can," Ellen continued. "We've been through everything else together, and that isn't going to change with one little storm."

 

IC: Kiri/Drew/Alaina

"I don't know what you're talking about," Alaina insisted, taking a defensive step backward. Drew's face paled under Lachina's accusatory look, and he seemed about to confess. Mercury must have noticed his guilty expression, for the next moment the man walked up to Drew and demanded the list. It was almost as if he knew the urchin boy had stolen the paper.

 

Drew's legs started to wobble as he looked up at Mercury. He would have spilled the whole story to Lachina, but Mercury's cold glare froze his tongue to the roof of his suddenly dry mouth. If he'd still had the list with him, he would have thrown it at the man to deter his wrath. As it were, he found he could do nothing, for he wouldn't dare turn the focus of Mercury's rage toward his sister.

 

It turned out he didn't have to.

 

"Stop!" Alaina cried, throwing herself between Mercury and Drew. Keeping one arm outstretched, the street girl shoved a hand into her ragged dress and pulled out the folded paper. "Here's your stupid list," she said, thrusting the paper under Mercury's nose. "Now leave my brother alone!"

 

IC: Ryan

"Morning, Ray," Ryan said with a chuckle. "You're just in time, we were just about to leave. Here, I've got some apples for breakfast. Everyone ready?" As Ryan passed out the fruits, the group nodded one by one (Ray looking still in a bit of a daze). With their breakfast distributed, Ryan then led them out into the humid morning air of Fortree.

 

Tailow chirped, Swablu hummed, and the occasional Kricketune played a soft melody as Ryan led the way across the vast network of bridges and platforms. Fortree truly was a city intertwined with nature. It didn't take long for Ryan to bring them to a house at the end of a long bridge.

 

"Here we are," Ryan said. "Now remember, the Garvens probably don't know about Melanie and Melissa. So we'll be breaking the news to them. As important as finding out about Ellen is, I think it's only right that we give them time to mourn." The Liberty agent bit his lip, his bright spirits suddenly turned solemn. Taking a deep breath, he reached out and knocked on the door.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander

Xander paused for a moment, before grabbing the other two pokéballs off of his belt. "You're right. Pokémon and trainers should go through these things together." He tossed the balls up into the air, releasing his Fennekin and Eevee onto his shoulders. "We'll face whatever comes as a team, then. Lead the way, Ellen."

 

Fennekin watched the other team curiously, tail flicking in excitement. It sent a rudimentary thought-form, more emotions than anything, towards Duo. Curiosity, playfulness, anticipation, all rolled into a barely directed psychic wave.

 

IC: Mercury

Mercury took the list, glancing it over quickly before folding it and shoving it into his pocket. He tried to stop glaring at the kids, but ultimately had to turn away from them. His other hand was pinching the bridge of his nose as he took deep, calming breaths. "Sorry for losing my temper like that... You shouldn't take things without asking."

 

He then looked back to Lachina and the Altaria. "Alright, I'm assuming we're not sticking around here while I catch up on my beauty sleep, so where are we going?"

[Konuju]

IC: Jayron/Colette
Jayron let out a sigh of relief as Goldhawk walked away. The pair of aura wielders had just finished detailing their mission to Seven Island, including the encounter with the Unown and their recruitment of Morty, who was currently in the Alamo's hospital wing. After what had happened with Zoe, Jayron had feared Colette might try and spin some wild tale, but he was pleasantly surprised to find that she had stuck to the truth.
 
The moment the Liberty leader had stepped out of the room, Colette made to stand up. "Well," she said with a yawn. "It's been fun. But I think I'd better get some sleep."
 
"Wait." Jayron grabbed her arm and pulled her back into her seat. He drummed his fingers on the polished wood of the table as he tried to think of the best way to approach this topic. "I just want to reiterate," he said slowly. "How bad that little game of yours was. I don't care if it was a joke, you effectively lied to an executive."
 
Colette gave an irritated sigh. "I know that, alright? We've already gone over this. Now can we just drop it?"
 
"No," Jayron said firmly. "We can't. I'm supposed to grade your performance. And that little joke of yours--"
 
"You're not seriously going to--"
 
"Not to mention, the way you threatened that Travis kid--"
 
"Did you even see how he was treating my sister?!"
 
"Colette." Jayron placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Calm down. You've spent many more years than me training your aura. You should know it's not a power to be taken lightly, to be used for petty things like getting back at school bullies. Surely Lucina taught you that much."
 
Colette opened her mouth to speak, then shut it. She instinctively raised a hand to twirl the locket that hung around her neck, a habit she often did when thinking of Zoe. "I'm sorry," she said at last. "I really am. It's just... this whole mission has left me exhausted, and I hadn't seen Zoe in a while, and I just..." She sighed. "I shouldn't have tricked you. But I wasn't seriously going to hurt Travis. I got angry and that aura flare just... happened."
 
"That doesn't make it any better, you know," Jayron said. He slid a file across the table, turning it to face Colette. The file was old and tattered, and bore the words Operation H.O.P.E. in faded letters across the front. "Like it or not, you were trained to help Team Liberty win the war. And even if the war is at a standstill right now, Ford is still a very real enemy."
 
Colette opened the file and began to skim the pages. Lucina had thrown the term 'Operation H.O.P.E.' around a few times, but Colette had never seen the actual file Team Liberty had on her training program. It was almost surreal to her entire life documented and recorded. Being so far away from Four Island, she hadn't realized just how involved Team Liberty had been in her training. Her eyes widened in surprise as she saw yearly reports written by her parents -- she suddenly realized there had been an ulterior motive to her family's annual vacations to visit her in Kalos. She flipped through the pages, growing more and more disgruntled. Once document in particular caught her eye. The date on the top was her fourth birthday, and a quick skim of the text revealed it was the final approval of her training program. She bit her lip as she read the document more thoroughly.
 
"Given the proper training, the child could prove an invaluable asset to Team Liberty in its struggle against the tyranny of the Rocket government." Colette read the line over and over, a lump forming in her throat. Is that all I am to them? she wondered. An asset? A tool? She looked up at Jayron, her face set in a hard frown. "I'm not a weapon," she said quietly. "And you know that."
 
"Of course you're not," Jayron said. "No one thinks of you as a weapon."
 
Colette gave a wry smile. "This file seems to prove otherwise." She spun it around so the executive could read. "I'm nothing but an asset. A secret weapon to defeat anyone they point me at; be it Rocket or Ford. That's the reason I was trained."
 
"You were never meant to end the war." Jayron shook his head. "You simply had the potential to become a powerful agent. One of many. And keep in mind, this was twelve years ago. I don't think Team Liberty had any aura wielders at the time, nor did we have our current arsenal of powerful trainers and legendary Pokémon."
 
"But they still expect me to fight."
 
"To protect people. Isn't that what you want? To give the future generation, kids like Alexa, a better life?" Jayron leaned forward. "Team Liberty gave you this training. It's your duty to use it for the greater good. You're not a weapon, but you wield a powerful one."
 
Colette's lip curled into a frown. "And yet I get reprimanded for helping my sister. Maybe I'm not some cure-all for all of Liberty's problems, but they still choose my missions for me. What about what I want? If I'm expected to follow orders with no questions asked, then how am I not a weapon?"
 
The executive sighed. "Look, I'm not saying you can't question us if something doesn't feel right. But you have to start acting a little more serious. You're a Liberty agent and an aura wielder. You have to accept the responsibility that comes with both those titles."
 
"Right." Colette looked away, seeming unconvinced. "And right now I'm a very exhausted Liberty agent and aura wielder. I don't think I'll be a very useful asset to you if I'm sleep deprived. Now, may I go take my sister home?"
 
"Go ahead," Jayron said, rubbing the dark circles under his eyes. "I think we both need sleep. Think about what I said, though."
 
Colette merely gave a curt nod as she stood up and walked out the door. Jayron sighed as he closed the Operation H.O.P.E. file. From the Pokéball at his waist, he felt the telepathic chuckling of his Lucario. Well, that could have gone better.

[sonyaxe]

OOC: Arrgghhh I can't believe I missed those posts!

 

IC: Jake

 

"Come on Jacob, they're gonna leave us behind. Wait up guys!" Jake called, jogging slightly to catch up with Yugo and Ruth. Strangely, he could only see the two trainers and their Pokemon ahead of him, who seemed to be outlined and glowing with a blue light. Thinking nothing of it, and not noticing that his irises started glowing brighter, he came up alongside them and looked down the stairway.

 

"I don't think I even need to say it this time," Jake commented dryly. "Are we going down?"

[Flipz]

EDIT: noticed error, fixing, will repost later

Edited July 7, 2015 by Flipz