Flipz

-==IC: Professor Elaine Alderson/Lionel Zyther/Lucia Zyther - Kalos Route 7==- (night, August 8th, 2017) Elaine sat outside her and Emily’s tent, softly stroking her upset Aromatisse. The Fairy-type was still upset by the disappearance of her brethren, and not even the company of the professor’s Comfey could bring her comfort. The professor sighed. “It’s so sad. There’s been so much damage to Kalosian ecology, and without our own Pokémon’s powers there’s nothing we can do to prevent it.” Lionel looked up from where he was grooming his Furfrou, his other two team members already standing watch over the camp. “It’s regrettable. But like you said, there’s nothing we can do about it.” He ran the brush through the thick fur a few more times, then paused once more, considering. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard any details from the scientific community about the Pokémon that have gotten their powers back?” Elaine shook her head. “Some of my colleagues have been discussing the evolution phenomenon that happened on One Island, but we don’t have anything really concrete about what happened, just some bystander accounts and distant cell phone footage.” "'Evolution phenomenon on One Island'? Do you mean that stuff with the evolving Tyranitar and Magnezone and such?" Lucia asked as she approached the tent. "Sorry, didn't mean to overhear, was going to fetch something and well… I kinda heard what you were saying." “You’ve seen the footage, too?” Lionel asked. "I was there." Lucia glanced over at Lionel when he spoke up. "My brother actually was the one who evolved the Tyranitar; it was actually kinda cool to see that giant Earthquake be used, even if it was pretty destructive." “Really? Which one?” "Oh, Ryan. Alex's been missing for a while, though I dunno if they've found him yet." Lucia scratched her head, completely oblivious to the possibility that Lionel didn't know yet. Lionel blanched. “Alex is what?! But I thought… Valerie just saw Alex in Laverre last week!” "Last week?" Lucia thought about that for a little bit. "Huh… I guess we found him, then. Last we saw him was like…" She counted on her fingers for a few moments. "About three weeks ago, during the chaos in Celadon and when I actually found out I had another brother and a sister--" There was a rather noticeable pause, as she slowly glanced over at Lionel. "... You knew?" Lionel flinched at the realization of his slip-up, before slowly nodding. “Your mother sought refuge with me right after Goldenrod, we… arranged… the paperwork after it happened.” Lionel took care not to glance toward Elaine, not wanting to even hint at the possibility of his less-than-lawful actions in front of an outsider. "That makes sense, thinking about it." Lucia sighed, as she sat down nearby and placed her chin in her hands. "Should've known, really, considering Aunt Stacy knew ahead of time as well. I just hadn't actually thought about it, really. Geez, though, Gerald was a jerk, gotta say that. Well, the Gerald I met, anyway." Lionel’s face dropped into a scowl at the mention of Gerald’s name. “Gerald Hikari is a fool. There is power, and there is power, and that man fails to comprehend the distinction between them. I was more pleased than I’m willing to admit when I saw the warrant put out for his arrest.” It took a few moments for the rest of Lucia’s statement to register. “Wait, you met him?” "It was… confusing." Lucia couldn't actually put into words everything that had gone down. "Long story short, between me and Ryan meeting, Stacy explaining about me and Ryan being siblings, and that time, that's when I found out about me even having any siblings." She scratched the back of her head. "Ryan, Chloe, and I all got to beat him up, though, so that was nice." She opted not to mention about having been mind controlled in the process. "He nearly got killed in the fight, then Ryan's friend nearly got killed in the fight, but Chloe stepped in to stop things from going wrong. I think I'm saying that name right." Lionel appeared distinctly confused as he tried to piece the details together. “And Chloe would be…?” "My sister, though mom said something about her having a different mother??? It was kinda a weird conversation, I didn't actually get everything, but I think that was it. I definitely know she's my sister in some way, though." It took Lionel several seconds to make the connection. “Ah,” he said finally, “I see.” He stroked his beard in consideration. “I suppose I’ll be making use of those books after all,” he murmured to himself. Elaine had been hesitant to interrupt the family discussion, but as the conversation trailed off awkwardly she decided to try to return to the point where it had diverged. “Excuse me, but you mentioned your brother owned the Tyranitar that transformed? Ryan…?” “Hikari,” Lionel supplied. “Ryan Hikari, my wife’s oldest.” He paused. “Wait. Wasn’t he supposed to be in prison…?” "He got released somehow, then one of my teammates drafted him. Apparently it happens often, it happened to another two of my teammates from what I've gathered." There was a small pause. "Actually, from what I've gathered, it's been the same teammate each time who's been doing the drafting. First person was before I started going on missions with my group of friends, though." Lucia gave a small shrug. "It worked out in the end, though. Something, something, brainwashing, or something like that. It was a very confusing couple of days." Lionel was not sure he approved of his daughter fraternizing with criminals, but he wisely kept his concerns internal. “So,” he said, changing the subject, “Ryan ended up on One Island with you? How exactly did that all come about? And what even happened there? If you’re allowed to tell us, that is.” Elaine drooped visibly at the reminder. “That’s right, the authorities haven’t been exactly forthcoming with the details. If you can’t tell us anything, I understand.” "Well. I don't know if I should, but I can say." A slightly mischievous look crossed Lucia's face. She briefly explained about how she'd been looking after a friend for a while to explain why she hadn't been there during the Two Island mission, but then began to explain about the One Island mission. "So, it was supposed to be a recon thing to test these new Power Suit things, but then One Island was reported to be attacked so we went to give backup. But then everything sorta went wrong in multiple different ways, and the alien things - Instances, I think they were called - sorta began to overwhelm us, but then at some point… things just turned against the alien things when we got the new evolutions. I don't know exactly what caused it, but it almost felt like…" Lucia paused as she tried to figure out the best way to explain it. "Desperation?" Elaine and Lionel exchanged glances. The Professor was first to speak, since Lionel lapsed into a contemplative silence. “Shoot,” she said with false levity, “so they were new creatures. I think I owe Emmeryn money now.” As the jest fell flat, she struggled for a new subject. “You mentioned testing something, though -- Power Suits?” “That caught my ear as well,” Lionel added. “Is that what it sounds like it is?” "Maybe, it's like…" Lucia tapped her fingers together as she struggled to think of an example. "Have you two ever heard of like, those series that like have different people being able to transform and shoot out fire or stuff?” “I’ve seen Alex’s DVD shelf, so yes.” "It's kinda like that. I got a grass suit and could fling razor leaves." Elaine swore, prompting both of her Pokémon to flinch and stare at her in concern. “Sorry, sorry,” she swiftly said, adding a comforting pat to reassure her partners. “It’s just… that sounds like the technology I’ve developed, but with a reliable delivery mechanism.” After some hesitation, she reached into her bag, extracting a small transparent cylinder about the size of a large old-timey alkaline battery, a hazy ribbon of energy floating frozen inside the viscous substance within. “This is a suspended form of the move Recover -- or at least, a sampling of it. The full moves use a supply that’s substantially larger. Was the suit you were given loaded with capsules like these?” Lucia looked at the cylinder with an awed look on her face. She had never actually seen anything stored like that before. "That's… a good question. We never actually saw the inner workings of the suits, but there was definitely a power source that we had to be wary of." She frowned slightly, as she tried to recall the details of the briefing. "I feel like there was something maybe like that, but I couldn't tell you if it was exactly like that." Lucia paused for a moment, as she thought over things. "Wait, did you say this was just a sampling of Recover? Because we had like, a bunch of different moves we could use too… I was just mentioning the one I found coolest. Like, I forget the exact moves I had, but I had Petal Dance too, and I could heal suits I think, and hmm…" The Professor seemed both crestfallen and confused, whereas Lionel seemed to be mulling over the details. “The healing,” he asked, oddly intense, “was it energy-based or nanotechnology?” "Hmm…" Lucia tried to think the best that she could. "I can't recall exactly, but…" She trailed off for a moment as she recalled how the suit had worked. She quickly explained in as much detail as she could about what the repair pods had been like, using her hands to try and add gestures to help with context. The businessman grew steadily more angry as the explanation continued. “Professor Alderson,” he said with a dangerous smoothness to his voice, “I do believe that someone, somewhere, has been snooping into private research.” The Professor, by contrast, bit her lip. “Doesn’t that seem a bit… hasty, Mr. Zyther?” Lionel inclined his head. “Perhaps. But at times haste may be just as great a virtue as patience… particularly in the realm of patent registration.” The cash-strapped professor went carefully quiet. “I’m listening.” “Whatever this is, they clearly weren’t planning to go public with it, not yet. I propose we do a bit of… convergent innovation. Completely coincidental, of course; my daughter, after all, would never reveal classified intelligence, not even to her father… but if the process hypothetically led to a product that served as a viable competitor to a technology whose components were hypothetically the result of infringement upon our own inventions, well… I don’t think anyone would see that as anything less than justice, however inadvertent, wouldn’t you agree?” Elaine considered the offer with very deliberate care. “I… suppose you may have a point, Mr. Zyther.” “Lionel,” he corrected, holding out his free hand. “We’re partners now.” With a final moment of hesitation, Elaine accepted. “I suppose we are. Elaine, then.” Lionel grinned widely. “Elaine, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.” Mischief sparkled in the professor’s eyes. “Indeed it is, Lionel. Indeed it is.” The flap to Elaine’s tent opened, and a sleepy face peeked out. “Are you all done?” Emily asked groggily. “I’ve been trying to sleep for an hour and a half now.” “Now, now,” Elaine giddily chided, “I was just concluding a very important arrangement.” “It’s past midnight. Sleep now, conspire to rule the world later, ‘kay?” With a chuckle, the group dispersed to their tents.

OOC: Content warning: allusions to transphobia and homophobia. IC: Alex the Green/Alex Zyther “So. Problem?” “Er… no?” The green Witch sighed. “Could we try to bypass the standard dishonesty? Even were I not practiced by necessity at detecting deception, we are, arguably, the same person, which would render your tells blatantly obvious to me even if we weren’t utterly incapable of maintaining a believable lie.” Alex studied his double awkwardly for a moment. “So we have a tendency toward wordiness when upset. Good to know.” Alex the Green huffed, but did not deny the assessment. “You’ll have to forgive my… defensiveness… when put under the kind of scrutiny you’ve been giving me. I assure you, it’s well-founded.” “I… ‘scrutiny’?” Belatedly, Alex realized the extent of his own actions. “Oh. Er… sorry. I don’t mean to be… well, mean or anything, it’s just… weird.” Alex the Green raised a suspicious eyebrow. “Care to elaborate on what precisely you mean by that?” Alex winced at his counterpart’s pointed tone. “It’s just… on some level, you’re me, and when I see you like that, it implies… like, not in a bad way or anything, I’m just not sure if I’m ready to outright… or even what I’d be going for in the first place. It’s all so frustrating…” The witch Alex steepled their fingers, closed their eyes, and sighed slowly through their nose, as if trying to manually vent the tension from their body. “Okay, so while I acknowledge that we are, in a sense, equivalent on a cosmic level, I have to stress that I cannot, in fact, read your mind, so if you could try that again with words and complete sentences that would significantly improve our communication situation.” Alex stared at his counterpart, distracted by realization. “You’re… completely different from me, aren’t you? You’re like Amelia. Bitter. Sarcastic. Paranoid. Constantly searching, waiting for someone to jump out of the shadows and attack you.” “I prefer the term ‘vigilant’.” “Why? What happened to make you like this?” Alex the Green gave a hollow laugh, throwing an unimpressed look at the other Alex when they realized he was sincere. “Presumably, something similar to what happened to your version of Amy, based on you comparing us.” Alex swallowed the suddenly-growing lump in his throat. “No,” he whispered, “I don’t think so. I… We would have just broken.” The witch snorted. “Speak for yourself. Seven years of suffering do a lot to steel someone.” Alex started, but forced down his surprise to nod in sympathy. “I guess that makes sense. I wouldn’t know, I can’t even remember that far back.” This time, it was Alex the Green’s turn to be surprised. “You don’t remember our childhood?” Alex shook his head. The witch sighed. “That… would explain a lot, then.” They closed their eyes. “It… wasn’t the worst childhood, but… well. We were always different, Amy and I, but it wasn’t until our teenage years that people started to think we were wrong. Actually, that’s not quite true -- the whispers started with Amy’s sister, but it wasn’t until Amy came out that they…” The green-clad witch trailed off, forcing themself to breathe and unclench their tightened fists. “I’m sorry. I should have realized -- you’re not the kind of person to be cruel and suspicious. You’re… well, you’re a lot more similar to Amy than to me.” Alex smiled wanly. “I’m glad there’s at least one universe where she didn’t suffer.” “Oh, she suffered,” the witch corrected, “but it never broke her. We can thank Belle for that. Me, on the other hand…” Silence grew between the two, but eventually Alex grew anxious enough to break it. “Do you… want to talk about it?” Alex the Green gave their counterpart an appraising look. “…Maybe. Not tonight, though.” They grimaced. “Tell you what. Tonight, we drop the subject. We go back to Geosenge, have our dinner, get some rest. Tomorrow… we have a battle.” To his dismay, Alex found himself uncharacteristically unenthused by the prospect. “A battle?” “Yes. For all the magic I’ve studied, for all the people I’ve met, there’s still no quicker way to learn a person’s heart than by battling them. If we’re going to get into this -- and I have a feeling we need to, for your sake as much as mine -- then we’re going to need that level of understanding.” Alex regarded his counterpart uncertainly. “All right. If you say so.” “Good.” The witch summoned their broom to their hand and mounted it sidesaddle, scooting toward the handle to make room for their non-magical counterpart. “Come on. We should get back to the others. They’ll need our help moving the body for the burial.” Alex’s gaze grew distant. “The burial… right…” Pushing down the trauma, the Trainer copied his counterpart, and the two Alexes flew off to rejoin the rest of their group.

-==IC: Nani/Fini==- (Night of August 7th, Four Island) Nani was sulking. Oh, she did her best to pretend she wasn’t, but her insides boiled with bottled-up frustration. Her loss at the ceremony was infuriating, and the turnout to tonight’s gathering had been abysmal by comparison. Worse, half of her own group had been among those who failed to show their faces, including… <“Fini!”> Nani spat out the name in a low growl, too angry to mask her emotions. <“Nani.”> The Rockruff shot Nani an appraising stare. <“You’re sulking,”> she observed. <“I am not--”> Nani cut herself off. <“Where were you? And where’s Mu?”> <“Oh, us? We were sneaking around the human place, looking for potions or something. I came back once Mu got inside.”> <“You did what?!”> <“Chill out, Nani, Mu’s a smart cookie, he’ll get what he needs and come back to us no problem.”> <“What he’s going to do is get us all caught, I don’t believe him!”> <“Sheesh, girl, paranoid much? He’ll be fine, have a little faith.”> Nani spared a moment to give her fellow Rockruff a glare, before resuming her rant. <“And why is he out on his own again? Doesn’t he have a handler for that? Where is he, anyway?”> -==IC: Mal==- (Night of August 7th, Four Island) Mal slowly peeked around the corner, checking to be sure no humans could see him, before darting down the dock to the ship. This is it, all right, he thought to himself, Boss came from here. Mal had nearly lost his mind when Mu had fallen from their ship, to the point where he’d accepted his return -- and the reprieve it gave him from Madame Raticate’s reprisal had her son died -- without question. Having had time to think about it, however, the Ratatta found his fellow’s miraculous return strange, almost too convenient, so he’d decided to investigate, and to his fortune, the trail led to a boat that was still there. The Dark-type kept to the shadows as he meticulously examined every inch of the cargo hold. Yep, that’s Boss’s scent, if a little wet, he confirmed. But what is…? Mal froze. He knew that scent. He’d smelled its sister every day for a week now. That scent was not supposed to be here. That pup is supposed to be in Alola! The Alolan Ratatta began backing away fearfully. The Boss had supported Nani because they could control her, because they had her sister hostage. If Lilo was here... The Boss is gonna kill me. Literally. Physically. When she finds out… Mal paused, a mousey smirk spreading across his face. If she finds out. If is good. The Ratatta ran down the docks, dodging between legs and ignoring the sudden shouts he provoked. He spotted a ship just pulling away from its mooring; he dashed, leaped… and barely latched on to the edge, pulling himself over with a herculean effort. He lay dazedly where he landed, the coil of rope conveniently concealing him from sight. He let out a long breath, trying to relax. I’m safe now, he reassured himself. Whatever happens… whatever goes wrong with that pup’s escape, it won’t be affecting me. The rat cowered down in the coil of rope, satisfied that an uncertain future was better than certain punishment.

-==IC: Shabboneau Castle==- (Morning of August 8th, 2017) “That was the plan, yes. We keep a large van on-site, and Chalmers has a D1 for it.” Lionel attempted to smile reassuringly, though it came off more self-satisfied than anything else. “I asked Chalmers to ready it last night, so once he’s off the phone…” “Ah. About that…” Chalmers re-entered the room, a plate for Lionel in hand and a troubled expression on his face. “I’m afraid the van is currently inoperable. While it would not normally be a problem for my mechanical abilities, I was just informed that the required parts will be unavailable before the thirteenth. I’m dreadfully sorry, sir.” “It’s all right, Chalmers.” Lionel’s brow furrowed. “I presume the closest supplier would be Cyllage?” “To my knowledge, yes.” “Which would defeat the purpose of driving there; Cyllage is a day and a half by foot, closer to two if you’re not exhausting yourself. By the time we made it there and back, we might as well have just walked all the way to Geosenge.” “I do apologize, if I had realized sooner--” “Chalmers, enough.” Lionel shook his head. “This is not your fault.” The butler stopped to consider that. “Perhaps not,” he granted, “but at the same time I can’t help but feel some level of irrational responsibility.” Lionel chuckled. “Well then, maybe you can put some of that irrational responsibility to work getting the rest of our guests fed.” “Of course, sir. You may rely on me.” Once the butler had taken the remaining orders and departed, Lionel sighed and shook his head fondly. “That man. All right, so this is going to change things. Day and a half to Cyllage, but call it two for safety -- you don’t want to cross the river mouth at night, the currents aren’t safe if someone falls in. Then it’s a bit less than a day’s walk from Cyllage to Geosenge, assuming nothing goes wrong. Will that work for everyone?” IC: Belle LaDonna/’Belle LaDonna’/Amelia Zann/Alex Zyther/Alma Mason/’Alex Zyther’/’Amelia Zann’. By the time Belle had stopped laughing (much to Alex and Amelia’s annoyance), the two groups had settled on the less-bloody side of the cave, the two Almas a short distance away preparing Donna’s body for burial. “So what do you watch?” Belle asked the alternate trio. “Disney,” her counterpart said. “Lots. And lots. Of Disney.” Belle snickered a bit at the tone that said she’d seen those movies too many times to count. “Y’all got a favorite?” Amelia asked teasingly. “Amy’s a big fan of Beauty and the Beast. One of our helpers nicknamed us after it, but it didn’t really stick.” “Well, it’s sticking now. I guess, uh, ‘Amy’ is the Beauty?” Belle said with a small grin. “Pft, no. My name’s Belle, so obviously I’m Beauty.” “Forgive me for saying so,” Alex said, “but she doesn’t really seem the Beastly type.” Beauty chuckled. “Believe me, she definitely has . . . an aggressive side, let’s say.” She wrapped an arm around a suddenly red-faced Amy. Alma tilted her head and shrugged as she turned to the alternate Alex. “What about you? What sort of things do you like?” “Nimbasa,” the witch replied, “and so help me, if I hear one joke about it…” “I see.” Alma nodded. “Then what if we called you Elphaba, since you are all dressed in green?” Amelia smirked at the alternate Alex. “How ‘bout it, Elfy?” The glare leveled at Amelia could have corroded steel. “I will not be called that.” Amelia winced at the note in the witch’s tone -- one she’d used herself many a time. “Sorry,” she quickly amended. At the alternate Alex’s cold nod of acceptance, Amy picked up the slack. “Alex tends to attract more… rudeness… than the rest of us. They’re a phenomenal magical scholar, and an equally excellent Practitioner, but there are still those who refuse to accept them, particularly given the traditionally… traditional Shabboneau lineage.” Alma frowned. “What do you mean?” Beauty shrugged. “Most mages focus on one specific tradition of magic, devoting their lives to its practice and letting its teachings dominate their worldview. Divination, El Naipe, Pact Magic, big players like that. Alex… doesn’t.” “They’re basically a Red Mage,” Amy interjected, “so they’ve got a little bit of everything -- offense, defense, and healing.” “Please,” the witch in question objected, “there’s a bit more distinction than that.” “Shh,” Amy admonished. “Let me pretend the real world’s a JRPG for just one night, okay?” “No.” “Anyway,” Beauty pointedly interrupted, “the point is, people get a bit… touchy when you mix traditions like that, particularly when those traditions have conflicting histories, objectives, moral judgements…” “They also don’t like my gender identity.” Beauty winced at the witch’s bluntness, but nodded nonetheless. “…and there’s that, yeah. Hopefully we’re not a bunch of superstitious barbarians compared to your world.” Amelia snorted. “Relax. We ain’t nowhere near close to perfect ourselves.” “We are getting better,” Belle added, “but we aren’t there yet.” “Well...well, uh, I mean, it’s not all bad here?” Amy glanced back and forth between her counterpart and Belle nervously. “It’s a big world. We’re stuck in the stuffy circles, but like… it’s not that bad everywhere.” “Small comfort to Alex,” Beauty pointed out. “I know.” Amy cast her eyes downward in sadness. “But it’s still… hope, you know?” Beauty gave Amy a reassuring pat on the back in reply. Alex the Green caught their counterpart brooding from across the conjured campfire, the occasional stare clueing them in to the source of the other Alex’s discomfort. “Something wrong?” “What?” The traveler started, then looked away guiltily. “No, no. I’m fine.” The green-clad witch gave a long suffering sigh. “Come on. We’re going outside. I’m not going to put up with getting stared at all night, I get that enough at Father’s parties.” The involuntary flinch made it clear this was an experience both counterparts shared. “Let’s get some fresh air, shall we?” With only a moment’s hesitation, Alex took a deep breath and nodded.

IC: Octavyn Nowarei (Team Liberty Detention Center, The Alamo, Four Island) *THOOM!!!* The door to the interrogation room slammed open as if hit by Thunder, the sudden loud noise startling the guard off of his seat. “Why?” the bespectacled agent asked, her grim demand undercut by a momentary voice crack. “Wha…?” Octavyn pointed at the blonde-haired man on the other side of the glass. “Why is he here?” The guard regarded the communications officer with confusion. “…Because he was arrested?” The answer failed to satisfy her. “Why was he arrested?” She turned her head to confirm the prisoner’s state, giving him a small smile in reassurance before resuming her scowl at the guard. “He is the one injured.” The guard frowned, giving the man a glance of his own. “A black eye, a split lip, a couple of scratches and bruises. He’ll be fine.” The prisoner shifted as if in protest, but the guard’s attention had already diverted back to Octavyn. “If it were serious, we’d move him to a cell with medical, but since it’s not there’s no sense wasting the space on a spy for Team Flare.” Octavyn reeled as if slapped. “He… a what?!” The prisoner dragged himself forward, straining to speak. “Octy…” he near-whispered. Were she anyone else, Octy would have missed the message. “Cam… Cameron?” she asked, her voice the small, frightened tone of a lost child. The DJ swallowed several times, wincing in pain, before managing to rasp out a response. “Not… fine,” he said, his ragged voice earning a flinch from both people on the other side of the glass. “Dear Arceus…” the guard swore. Octavyn swelled with outrage. “Who did this?” she asked, her quiet calmness an order of magnitude more threatening than her earlier shouting. “Xan… der.” Octavyn’s hands clenched into fists as she turned her fury onto the guard once again. “You see? He is the spy, not Cameron. I hate it, but it’s true.” She looked back to Cameron. “That is why you went after Xander, correct?” Cameron’s pause was a second too long. “…Yes,” he croaked. Octy’s eyes widened behind her thick, pink-framed lenses. “You… you thought he had followed in his father’s footsteps, correct?” “Yes.” “And that… that is why you wanted to keep the Shadow Sneasel out of his hands?” “…Yes.” Octy stared at her friend in disbelief. “…Are you lying to me?” Cameron’s mask slipped, for a mere moment, from desperation to despair. “I… could… ne-ver…” Octy made her voice hard, even as it shook with emotion. “That… is true. You cannot lie to me. It does not work.” The communications officer could see the last light of hope drain from Cameron’s eyes. “Oc… Oc-ty…” Agent Nowaryn held up a halting hand. “You will tell me the truth. Is Xander Cruize a traitor to Team Liberty?” “Yes.” Her red eyes narrowed. “Is he specifically a member of Team Flare?” “…He… could--” “Do. Not. Lie.” The traitorous ex-Team Liberty agent slumped in shame. “Wish… he… was.” “Explain.” “So… we… could… be… on… same… side.” “You are a spy for Team Flare.” A long pause, but then the truth. “Yes.” “How long?” For a few moments, Cameron struggled, but at length he finally managed an answer he could rasp out. “Years.” Octy could not quite suppress the small sob that escaped her. Unbidden, a memory rose to the surface, a memory of the first time she’d seen Cameron defeated. “Wow, Cruize, you’re really showing your violent nature here. Maybe we’re seeing a darker side of your personality that’s only ever been hinted at before.” Cameron grinned. “But your dark moves are nothing compared to ours. Fennekin, Foul Play!” Octavyn held back her small sigh. For all his determination, Cameron really lacked the skills to back up his bravado -- with words or in battle. Still, she had promised to hold her tongue, and she valued her word too much to break it for this. "Sylph, Confusion once more if you will." Cameron's Fennekin flipped into the air...and promptly faceplanted in front of Sylph, leaving it wide open to the Ralts' retribution. Taking care this time to twirl its tail toward her this time, Sylph repeated her earlier maneuver, finally finishing the Fennekin. "Hmpf. Seriously? Is that all you've got, Cruize? Fennekin--" “Is unable to battle.” Sycamore stepped forward, gesturing to the fox lying still on the ground. “This match goes to Xander and Sylph.” Cameron frowned and pressed the button on the Pokéball, before shrugging off his own gesture. “Y’know, Xander, you’ve still got a long way to go before you’re ready to challenge me.” He returned Fennekin and flipped his hair. “Maybe learn some actual strategy before battling people.” So saying, he turned and walked away, leaving everyone else save Octavyn staring after him in shock. She alone saw what the others could not. She alone knew why Cameron would not, could not admit his loss. Not to Xander -- not ever. But he meant as much to her as Xander meant to him, and so she would leave the two to form their friendship on their own. “But . . .” Xander said before thinking better of it. Octavyn saw in his eyes the seeds of hate, and her heart fell for her friends -- but still she stayed silent. “Sylph, come on,” Xander said, “If we hurry we can get to Santalune before it gets dark.” The Ralts nodded, and they walked in the opposite direction of Cameron, heading for Lumiose City’s south gate. As Cameron and Xander both went their separate ways, Sycamore looked on with undisguised concern. Of the four friends--or possibly former friends, if that battle had been any indication--only Octavyn still stayed behind. "Miss Nowarei, I have to ask. Is Cameron...really always like this? Even at home?" The quiet Trainer considered the question carefully. "No." And just like that, it was time to leave. Octavyn set on her way, leaving only her concerned and confused mentor behind in Lumiose. “Oc… ty…?” Octavyn was startled out of her reminiscence at the sound of Cameron’s ruined voice. “Do… you… hate… me…?” Octavyn whirled. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” The disgraced DJ slowly shook his head. “You have betrayed the Team I dedicated my life to, who has protected my family for years, for the sake of a tyrant who would have had me and countless others executed because we don’t fit his twisted idea of a perfect world!” It was the longest she had ever spoken in Cameron’s presence. He barreled past for his own objection. “He… would… not.” Octavyn glared. “Oh?” “I… would… not… let… him.” “…And you think you could stop him.” “Of… course.” Octy didn’t know when, exactly, her beloved friend’s pride had twisted from that small, injured spark she’d worked so hard to heal at Sycamore’s summer camp into something monstrous. Maybe it had been there the whole time; Isabella certainly had not granted Cameron the same leniency she had. She had never seen the vulnerability beneath the ego. But that vulnerability no longer mattered. Cameron was willing to work with monsters who would kill her without a second thought, would kill millions with neither hesitation nor remorse, and saw nothing wrong with helping them. The one thing he valued, the one thing she thought could keep his worse impulses in check -- her -- had done nothing to dissuade him. For the first time, she saw Cameron’s insane assertion that he could stand up to anything in the world, could do anything he wanted without consequence, could have anything he wanted no matter what, for what it was: a delusion. Fitting, perhaps, to finally recognize it alongside the delusion she herself had borne for just as long. “We will never meet again.” “What--?” “Shut up. I refuse to see your face as long as I live. You will not contact me, or attempt to contact me, through any means.” “Oc-ty--” “You will not use that name for me ever again. You will answer fully and truthfully any questions Team Liberty asks of you. You will not try to mislead them. You will obey my demands, or I will contact Team Liberty leadership and recommend for your immediate summary execution. Do you understand?” Wordlessly, Cameron nodded. Without hesitation, Octavyn whirled and left the room. Just as she was closing the door behind her, she hesitated, giving her former friend one final glance. “To answer your question…” Cameron perked up for one small moment. “…Yes.” *SLAM!*

OOC: So, disclaimer, this post has been written up and queued for months; you'll know why I'm clarifying that when you see it. xD IC: Amelia Zann/Belle LaDonna (Reflection Cave, Kalos) Belle sighed, slowly standing. “We should go check--” She cut herself off as footsteps echoed into the cavern from one of the corridors. The purple-haired woman moved to crouch again, frowning as four people walked into the room. In the lead was a white-haired girl wearing a flowing pink dress. Close behind her was an androgynous person draped in green sitting side-saddle on a floating broomstick. Two women brought up the rear, their hands intertwined. The girl hummed. “Over there.” The body still lay near the wall, draped in Belle’s tattered cape. The group that had just entered didn’t have trouble spotting it. As the purple-haired woman released her partner’s hand and started towards it, Belle rose from where she’d been crouched and said, “Don’t.” The doubles all looked at her, and she glanced back at Amelia for help. Amelia stared back at Belle uncomprehendingly through eyes shot tear-stain red, before belatedly coming back to reality. “Wait, yer askin’ me what t’do?” “Yeah, I’m askin’ you what to do! Yer the problem solver here--” Belle was interrupted as her double snorted. She turned, blinking at her double. “What’s funny?” “No offense to anyone in the room, but if Amy’s yer problem solver, then y’all screwed up somewhere.” The other Belle turned and placed a quick kiss on her friend’s cheek. “Love ya, hon.” Amelia reflexively flinched at the diminutive form of her name. Other-Belle turned back to . . . Belle and raised an eyebrow. “So, what brings y’all here? And who’s under the tarp?” “We’re, uh . . . lost.” Belle shrugged. “Best way to explain it, I guess. And the person under the cape . . .” “It’s you,” the pink-dressed Alma said. She gently lowered the cape again, frowning. “Belle, I’m sorry, I can’t imagine what that must be like, watching oneself die.” Belle nodded slowly, eyeing the girl warily. It was definitely some variation of Alma, but there was an oddly peaceful air about her. “It was . . . definitely somethin’. Alex and Alma -- ours, I mean -- had to go get some air.” “I can’t help but notice the lack of attempted medical care or healing,” the girl stated. “May I ask why?” “The woman was ****ing shot!” Amelia glared at the alternate Alma with fiery fury. “Yes, and a stomach shot like that would have taken quite some effort, but a skilled healer--” “I’m an assassin, not a doctor, Jim. It’s not like I coulda healed her with ****ing magic or some **** like that.” The other Amy raised her hand for a moment, but hurriedly dropped it when Belle’s double cleared her throat. “Hey, d’ya mind watchin’ the language? Alma’s eleven, and Alex is Alex.” Alma waved a hand dismissively. “I thought you said there was another version of me with you? Why didn’t she do anything?” “Her interaction with life is more about takin’ than savin’,” real-Belle said. “Yer a doctor, then? We got a bit scraped up comin’ through the mirrors. Again.” “Oh, yes, I can look you both over, if you wish.” Alma stepped forward, smiling serenely. Amelia gave the girl a nonplussed look. “Yer eleven.” “So’s ours,” Belle interjected. “Killin’ people’s easy. An’ I mean, c’mon. Assassin. What, does this one use malpractice instead’a freaky ghost stuff?” The girl huffed. “I would never abuse my authority as a medical professional to-- no, just . . . no.” She glared a bit, but still walked over to them. “Which of you should I tend to first?” Belle nudged Amelia, who was staring at alt-Alma in disbelief. “This one. She got taken by some nasty folk, and who knows what all they did to her?” The healer stepped around Amelia, who could be heard to mutter the words “oh sweet Rayquaza she actually has a medical license???” as she was suddenly bathed in white light. Alma hummed and closed her eyes, her hands hovering over Amelia as she focused. “There appears to be no life-threatening injury,” she said finally as the white glow faded. “I can probably patch up your smaller abrasions and bruising with a simple spell, but--” “Wait, spell?” Belle piped up. “You mean, y’all actually have healing magic here?” “Nope,” Amelia proclaimed. “This is it. Ah’ve finally lost my marbles. This is what being insane feels like, good to know.” Alma tilted her head. “I couldn’t tell you, honestly, mental disorders are outside of my field of study. But to answer your question, Mrs. Parfum, yes, we do.” Belle opened her mouth to object, but Alma kept talking. “As I was saying, though, the smaller wounds will be easy to attend. However, I would like to take a closer examination of the wound on your back.” “Yer back?” Worry laced Belle’s words. “What happened to yer back?” Amelia paled. “No,” she said in an uncharacteristically small voice. She cleared her throat several times before she managed to speak again. “Nothin’ -- ehr, nothin’ I’d...particularly like t’ recall.” Belle was about to argue, but a look from Alma silenced her. The girl place a gentle hand on Amelia’s shoulder. “I will not ask what happened, but I would like to examine the wound and see if I can’t staunch the bleeding. We can go somewhere more private, if you wish.” “No, it’s…” Amelia tried and failed to swallow the dry apprehension welling up within her. “I...if they--” She cut herself off and tried again. “I can’t let them--” “Pond, are you…?” Alma squeezed Amelia’s shoulder gently, eliciting a wince from the older woman. “It is alright, Mrs. Parfum, you do not need to speak of it.” Something hardened in Amelia’s eyes. “No… no. I can’t let ‘em win. Ah won’t.” She affixed Alma with a steely stare, though the edge was still somewhat dulled by fear. “All right. Here’s what happened…”

-==IC: Professor Elaine Alderson==- Elaine had slipped out of the room at the first mention of Flare, not wanting to betray her guilt and upset over her family's Flare connections to some unfeeling foreign bureaucrat. In everything that happened yesterday, I'd almost forgotten why they're following me in the first place. The professor shook her head; now was not the time to be wallowing in sorrow, now was the time to keep a clear head to ensure that the backlash wouldn't harm her beloved niece. With that goal in mind, she stepped out into the gardens, wandering over to a secluded bench and opening her Holo Caster. "Let's see," she murmured, "what exactly are my fellow Professors up to this morning?" With a chuckle at her colleagues' antics, Elaine began writing her reply. -==IC: Lionel Zyther==- Lionel, who had been busy absorbing the concise listing of the details of the mission, did a brief double-take at Jamie's tone. A moment later, however, he smiled wistfully. I wonder where Alex is now? he thought to himself. Wherever he is on his Journey, I hope he's staying safe and happy. IC: Alma Mason/Alex Zyther Alma took a deep breath of the fresh air outside of Reflection Cave. She swallowed, glanced at Alex, and bit her lip. “I . . .” She trailed off as she began sobbing quietly. The albino girl slowly slumped to her knees and buried her face in her hands. Alex wasn’t handling things much better. The Kalosian was upset, sure, but rather than pain or sadness, there was just… nothing, a hollow emptiness within that threatened to consume the trainer whole. Alex shivered, a haunting cold wracking through flesh and spirit alike, but pushed the trauma aside (at least somewhat, anyway) to try and lay a comforting hand on the girl’s shoulder. A hand reached out of Alma’s shadow and rested on top of Alex’s. Red eyes peered sadly up at the duo. After a moment Alma swallowed, cleared her throat. “Shadow says that he’s sorry. To both of us.” She looked up at Alex and swiped at the tears on her cheeks. “I apologize for my outburst.” Alex wanted to open his mouth, to offer reassurance, to deny a need for an apology. Instead what came out was “That’s going to be me someday.” Alma nodded slowly, sadly. “That will one day be all of us.” She blinked, rubbing at her eyes again. “That never bothered me before, but now it does. Isn’t that funny?” Alex had no real response, and so could only stare blankly. “I’ve spent my entire life, every day I can remember, fighting against death with every fiber of my being. To suddenly just lose like that…” “I have ushered death to more people than I can count, and never balked when it arrived. I killed my father, with a smile on my face.” Alma scoffed, shaking her head. “But when it was someone I had only known for a short time, who I have no real connection to? I am a mess.” Alex could only shrug. “I feel like Amelia would have a more useful perspective than me, if it weren’t for the fact that the woman who died was… well…” Alma nodded, considering. “Perhaps your perspective is more useful than you think.” Alma tilted her head back, looking up at the stars in contemplation. “You value the lives of others, do you not?” “I value all life,” Alex answered automatically. “How could I not? I’ve spent so much time in hospitals, watching others slip through the veil between life and death, knowing I sit directly atop it. I don’t have any choice but to see life as precious -- not when I have so little of it.” “I have never valued life. Neither my own nor others’.” She shifted a bit. “And yet, now, I find myself unsure of how I would respond, if I were to lose Belle, or yourself, or Miss Zann.” Alma sighed. “I fear that there is something terribly wrong with me, and I am not sure if it is that I am starting to value life, or that I had not before.” “I… suppose,” Alex haltingly began, “there could be… comfort? In taking life and death into your own hands? Rather than leaving things to the whims of fortune or fate?” The Trainer massaged the bridge of his nose. “I’m not sure how much I can really buy that, but at the same time, I can’t exactly begrudge Amelia of her attitude, her actions, so why should I judge you?” The albino girl nodded again. “I think you understand. If you weigh your life against another’s, you should choose yours. I suppose, in a way, that is valuing your own life, even if you are willing to risk that life to take another, and . . .” She chuckled wryly. “I am rambling. That did not make sense.” The corner of Alex’s mouth turned up in amusement, the Trainer heaving a tired breath. “What does, anymore?” Alma rose to her feet and smoothed the wrinkles of her dress. “Perhaps nothing has ever made sense, and everyone is just too mad to realize.” She looked around. “Come, Alex, I believe we have a wonderland to explore.”

IC: Amanda Zarth (The Alamo, Four Island, Kanto, 7:00 A.M., August 8th 2017) Amanda Zarth had been awake for an hour already. She diligently and decisively did her daily duties, her daily device check indicating no unaccounted-for communications from-- No, that was not true. She had briefly forgotten the strange encounter she had had the previous day, but true to the unsettling man’s word, a voice file had been left for her overnight in his name. Wary, but wishing for further context, she reached to play back the recording… *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* The unexpected noise jolted the Plasma agent from her laser-aimed focus. Glancing down to find that yes, she had instinctively drawn her Magnezone’s Pokéball, she swapped it for a more indoor-appropriate pick and went to answer her unexpected summons. Amanda opened the door, revealing a Team Liberty agent in a simple uniform -- but a uniform in a rebel organization was telling of his place. The MP saluted briefly. “Are you Plasma Knight Amanda Zarth?” At her affirmative response, the man unclipped a Pokéball from his otherwise empty belt and held it out for the Plasma woman to take, along with a small electronic pad. “Liberty Agent Xander Cruize has been taken into custody, and most of his team has been admitted to the base’s daycare until his innocence is proven or somebody else can collect them. However, he requested that you take this Pokémon into your care until such a time as he can collect it. If you accept, I will need you to sign.” Amanda cocked her head at the unusual request. “Did Agent Cruize provide a reason for selecting me as temporary caretaker?” “I believe he mentioned something about an evolution . . . thing.” The man shrugged softly. “He said that you would want to study it some more.” The pieces clicked into place. “I see. Very well, then.” Signing her name to the document, she accepted the ball and, upon confirming that the agent had no further business for her, closed the door and retreated to the edge of her bed. Opening her briefcase, the Knight retrieved first her Xtransceiver and then a second Pokéball, deploying her two personal Pokémon as she started a video recording. The Porygon and Elgyem within materialized on her right and left respectively, and she addressed her speech to both them and the computer when she spoke. “Plasma Knight Amanda Zarth, recording requested interaction with Pokémon belonging to Liberty Agent Xander Cruize allegedly regarding unknown evolution phenomenon. Interaction will begin with interview, Porygon and Elgyem deployed as potential means of direct communication.” Combination introduction and orders given, Amanda pointed the Pokéball she had been given towards the space at the center of the room and depressed the deployment button. A Gardevoir materialized in a flash of white light. She stretched, her in-tact arm going far to her side. She rolled her neck and shoulders and sighed. “Good morning, Miss Zarth. Thank you for being prompt in releasing me from confinement.” She looked around quietly, noting the other Pokémon in attendance. Amanda inclined her head in acknowledgement of Sylph’s thanks. “Your name is Sylph, correct? The one who brought you here informed me that you have information connected to the evolution phenomenon that originated on One Island, which will be referred to as Mega Evolution for simplicity’s sake during the remainder of this report. Is the agent’s claim accurate?” The Gardevoir nodded. “Yes, that is correct. I was able to perform this Mega Evolution just a few hours ago, when my trainer was threatened. The phenomenon also came with a full return of my power and abilities.” Amanda steepled her fingers thoughtfully. “That is consistent with the circumstances under which my Magnezone underwent Mega Evolution. Can you further detail the nature of your circumstances at the time?” Sylph looked over at the video device. “I am not sure if I am at liberty to make public the full circumstances of the event. It may be classified Liberty intelligence at the moment.” Amanda nodded. “Very well. Should it become necessary, we will pursue the required details through official channels.” The Plasma Knight made several notations in a text file before resuming conversation. “Is it within your capacity to demonstrate the phenomenon now?” “I am uncertain.” Sylph hummed. “We did not have time to try and replicate it before . . “ She shook her head. “No, no, I do not think so. Miss Zarth, do you remember what my trainer and I said to you about Synchronization?” The Plasma Knight tilted her head. “To my recollection, you mentioned the term, but did not provide specific details. Could you provide a summary?” “When Xander and I, and certain other pairs of Pokémon and trainer, battle, we are completely in-line with one another. We link our minds, our movements, even our breathing. It makes it so that there is no delay in our battle technique. Xander is able to see through my eyes and feel my emotions, and I can do likewise with him. “The reason this is relevant,” she continued, “is that, when I mega evolved for a brief moment, Xander and I synchronized without meaning to. I saw through his eyes, and he through mine. The thing about Synchronization, however, is that it requires a very deep bond between trainer and Pokémon.” Amanda frowned slightly. “There has been mention of such bonds among the speculation regarding the Mega Evolution phenomenon. While the commonality between all reports indicates such a bond requires a lengthy partnership with a given Pokémon -- which would be consistent with my Magnezone being my starter Pokémon -- I have yet to encounter consistent information regarding the nature of the bond.” “Well, the bond between Xander and myself is rather different than what most trainers would have with their Pokémon,” Sylph explained, trying hard not to blush and failing miserably. “Rather, we have a more romantic relationship. Obviously, this is not true of every trainer capable of Synchronization, nor ever Pokémon capable of Mega Evolution.” “I see.” Amanda paused to consider the information. “Yes, the Mega Evolution of my Magnezone would prove that, likely for both phenomena. In any case, further research on bond phenomena by independent researchers would be in order.” The Plasma Knight took a moment to add her recommendations to her report. “Is there any further information you wish to provide at this time?” “No, but I will offer to teach you psionics, seeing as you have expressed interest and mentioned that you do not have control over your own abilities. I taught Xander how, and he’s fairly proficient at this point.” Amanda raised a finger to request a pause. “Subject has indicated no further available information on Mega Evolution phenomenon at this time. This concludes the current report.” Stopping the recording, typing up a few more brief notes, and sending the whole report to her superiors, she then opened a new recording and began speaking. “Knight Zarth personal log, supplemental. Liberty Agent Cruize’s partner Sylph is offering formal instruction in training my psionic abilities.” At last, Amanda returned her attention to the Gardevoir. “While it would be advantageous to acquire more granular controls over my psionic powers, I must express at least some measure of concern. According to the agent who delivered you to me, I was granted temporary custodianship at the request of your Trainer, who is currently incarcerated pending investigation. Do you bear a connection to the events that led to your Trainer’s arrest?” Sylph sighed. “I was in the room at the time of the arrest, which is what led to my Mega Evolution. While I did try to attack the guards, Xander called me off. I was not complicit in whatever situation led to him being arrested, however.” “Do you believe that Team Liberty will hold you directly responsible for your actions at that time, or will they adhere to a Trainer-centered model of culpability?” “It is hard to say, but I do not think they will label me as dangerous, or else they would not have accepted Xander’s request that I be left in your care.” Sylph shrugged softly. “Very well, then. In that case, so long as it will not harm the diplomatic relationship between Team Liberty and Team Plasma, I am willing to accept your offer of training.” Amanda offered her hand to her new teacher. “Shall we begin?” The Gardevoir shook the offered hand. “Yes, of course.”

-==IC: Shabboneau Castle==- Chalmers suppressed a sigh at the assorted childish behavior on display. "Mistress Lucia is correct. My apologies for the confusion, Mistress Dahlia, and to you as well, Master... would Master Lockwood be acceptable? In any event, I would be more than happy to prepare anything required for Master Lionel's guests. If you have something specific in mind, Mistress Dahlia, I will begin preparing it immediately, and as for a device with a large screen, Master Jared--" "Large screen? I think I have something for that." As Lionel entered the room, he pulled from his pocket a moderately-sized black cylinder with gold bands near the top and bottom, a slightly domed top with a small opening at the center, and an expensive-looking glossy finish. The businessman planted it firmly in the center of the table, which seemed to activate the device and cause it to project an enormous holographic rectangle with rounded corners above it. "Prototype display peripheral. The technology is common, of course, but as you can see I've gone a bit larger in scale than average, especially for a wireless pocket model." Chalmers allowed himself a bemused grin. "Business at the breakfast table again, Master Lionel?" "Ambition begets progress, Chalmers, and progress waits for no one." Lionel's wry grin betrayed the smooth delivery of an oft-repeated argument. A moment later, the grin was replaced by a mild frown. "Oh, that's right, I didn't introduce you. Everyone, this is Dornez Chalmers, one of my butlers. As you've no doubt realized, he will be providing us with whatever we need before we head out to Geosenge." The butler raised an eyebrow at the comment. "So soon, sir? I had hoped you would have time to rest after your trip to Lumiose." "I'm afraid not. For the most part, that trip was my rest, before--" Lionel was cut off by the sound of a phone ringing in the kitchen. The businessman grinned at his butler. "What was that about business before breakfast?" "Deepest apologies, sir. I will return momentarily." The butler retreated to the kitchen, the ringing phone silenced shortly thereafter. "So," Lionel said, addressing the room at large, "I'm presuming the screen has something to do with the Flare investigation? New orders from base?" The businessman looked expectantly between Jared and Lucia for answers.

--=IC: Professor Elaine Alderson==- Elaine did her best to conceal the amused grin that threatened to escape her. "Ah, to be young again," she mused. "I hope you used protection? I can tell you from experience that pregnancy is not an experience to enter into lightly."

-==IC: Shabboneau Castle==- (Morning of August 8th, 2017) As if on cue, the butler reappeared from the kitchen with Alex, Zoe, and Elaine's meals. A glance at the stragglers prompted the man to give them further attention. "Ah yes," he said, "Mistress Dahlia, if I am not mistaken? We seem to have missed each other yesterday evening. I will of course take your order momentarily, but first I must address an issue that has arisen. Last night, I could not help but notice you chose to employ Master Alex's bedchambers. While I cannot blame you for exercising your prerogative in light of Master Lionel's open-ended invitation, it would most likely be in your best interests to remove your belongings from the space before they attract Master Lionel's notice; I do not believe he would particularly approve of your choice in that regard." Chalmers' gaze was polite and, to the average appearance, ungrudging, but more practiced eyes and ears might catch the faintest air of disapproval from the thoroughly proper man.

-==IC: Shabboneau Castle==- (Morning of August 8th, 2017) Sunlight streamed through the tall iron-framed windows, the lightly-tinted panes granting glimpses into the glorious gardens outside the dining room. Inside, an enormous mahogany table lined by nearly a dozen chairs per side dominated the long but narrow space, the antique cabinets in the corners bearing fine china surely worth several years' worth of an ordinary man's salary. The dark but highly-polished wainscoting on the lower half of the walls made an ideal contrast with the yellow background of the grapevine-motif fresco along the upper half, a rather feminine-looking antique cast-iron chandelier with a matching grapevine design finished tying the space together. It is this scene that the unlikely group of travelers found themselves gravitating toward, drawn in by the scent of cooking breakfast wafting through from the kitchen next door. As the guests began to take their seats, a vaguely-familiar black-haired man wearing dark pinstripe pants, an emerald green vest, and a black necktie on top of a crisp white button-up shirt made his entrance. He paused upon seeing the arrivals, quickly adjusting his monocle to cover his surprise. "Ah yes," he said, "good morning Masters and Mistresses. I was just coming to wake you." Professor Alderson stifled a yawn as she wandered in after the others. "Good morning, Mr. Chalmers." "Just Chalmers if you please, ma'am. I've prepared Master Lionel's usual, but are there any dietary considerations I should be aware of?" "Oh, no, it's fine," she replied, "and besides, I really wouldn't want to be a bother." "No bother at all, ma'am," the butler reassured. He turned to the rest of the group. "And for the rest of you?" Once the considerations (and in a few cases, requests) were taken, the butler retreated into the kitchen. Shaking her head in disbelief, Professor Alderson sat down in wonder. "I feel like I'm dreaming. Castles? Butlers? If I'm not careful, I could get used to mornings like this." The professor chuckled. "How are the rest of you doing? Is everyone all right after yesterday?"

-==IC: Professor Alderson==- Elaine chuckled at the newly-christened Marsala's antics. "Inkay are Psychic- and Dark-type, dear. It may take quite some time before he overcomes his instinctive fear of Bug-types." -==IC: Lionel Zyther/Professor Alderson==- "Hotel? What's this nonsense about a hotel? Ridiculous. No, as long as you're my guests in my city, you'll be staying at my castle." Elaine's attention was forcibly torn away by Lionel's authoritative declaration. "Surely not," she said in disbelief. "You can't mean to say that you own Shabboneau Castle?" Lionel smirked, waggling a finger at the professor. "Au contraire, Professor, I very much can say I own the castle because I do own it." "But... but it's a historical landmark--" "That's been in my late wife's family for generations, which means it now belongs to me. Now, you can sit here and argue the sincerity of my hospitality, or you can come with me and experience it firsthand." The Professor gaped at Lionel for several long seconds. Finally, however, she managed a reply. "That... that seems... reasonable." "Excellent. I'll have Chalmers prepare refreshments once he's finished readying everyone's chambers." Lionel typed a brief missive into his Holo Caster, a common one it seemed by the familiarity with which his fingers flew. "If anyone wishes to enjoy Camphrier's more mundane pleasures, feel free, Chalmers will let you in at the gate once you're finished. Do try not to stay out too late, though; he worries when there's guests out after sunset."

-==IC: Lionel Zyther==- "Yes, I was impressed by young Mr. Winters there. I of course have my concerns with his degree of control, but he did a masterful job of recognizing an opportunity to bring the fight to a definitive conclusion and capitalizing upon it." The Bisharp leading the way in front of him made a hollow, echoing noise. Lionel grinned wryly. "I'm aware that's usually our job, my friend. But in a group this large, I think we're going to have to accept a degree of overlapping roles and capabilities." He chuckled. "We'll adapt. We always do."

-==IC: Professor Alderson==- Professor Alderson, too, hung back, looking hesitantly back and forth between Dahlia and Jared as they conversed. Once their exchange ended, however, she approached Dahlia, the newly-captured Inkay resting on her outstretched wrist as she delicately ferried it back to its new Trainer. The professor raised the Pokédex in her other hand, consulting the data on its display as she delivered her report. "I... finished my analysis on your Inkay. Like I suspected, this Inkay comes from one of the western colonies near Route 8, but seems to have been living solitarily for at least the past while. If I had to make a guess as to why... my scans seem to indicate a deformity in his statocysts and the connecting nerves, which would leave him to tend toward... well, the closest human equivalent would be motion sickness. I suspect he was shunned by the rest of his kind, though why he would flee into the territory of the Fairy-types on Route 7..." The professor shrugged. "In any event, I appreciate you capturing him so I could get this data. Do you plan on keeping him, or will you release him back into the wild once we reach the coast? Oh, that reminds me..." The Professor fiddled with her Pokédex for several seconds, finding it unusually difficult to navigate the less familiar portions of its menus with only one hand. "This Inkay has the Contrary ability, and would normally have the moves Hypnosis, Swagger, Topsy-Turvy, Constrict, Foul Play, and Psybeam. There's genetic data here suggesting that he could potentially learn Guard Swap in the future as well, if you wanted to put in the effort to train for it. Anyway, thank you again, Dahlia, he's all yours now." The professor smiled at Dahlia, though the expression was rendered slightly awkward by her efforts to keep Jared out of her peripheral vision. -==IC: Lionel Zyther==- Lionel's Lilligant and Bisharp were Jamie and Lucia's first indicators of the businessman's approach. "The two of you are unharmed?" he asked with uncharacteristic uncertainty. "I know Chalmers can patch everyone up once we reach the castle, but if either of you are injured I'd rather get something in place now rather than risk letting you go untreated." He looked up at the horizon, the stone wall around Camphrier slowly growing more distinct as the afternoon wore on. "It won't be more than an hour or so at this pace, but still..." IC: Amelia Zann/Alex Zyther/??? LaDonna/??? LaDonna/Alma Mason *BANG* The distinctive sound of a bullet bearing death echoed in Amelia’s ears, despite its source being literally a universe away. A ringing white noise blurred all else, filling her mind like an ocean of black tar, dragging her down, down, down… “Amelia!” She was falling, falling, the forest below filled with thick, black smoke, hazel eyes glaring in accusation before burning pink with hatred-- “Amelia!” The name rang out in an ever-increasing litany, but cut off as she hit hard metal, the old and rusted room a long-forgotten prison trapping her in with a lime green lizard, its eyes blazing red even as its fins flashed teal and its enormous jaws opened wide in the final sight she’d ever-- “AMELIA, HELP **** YOU!!!” The voice of the dead shook Amelia from her stupor -- only to plunge her neck-deep into a new nightmare. An incredibly pale-looking Alex knelt next to Belle, hands pressed desperately to an abdominal wound gushing with blood and viscera, while another Belle stood shaking Amelia by the shoulders. “Snap the **** out of it!” she shouted, arm winding up for a wake-up slap. Amelia caught the arm before the blow could land. “Ah’m here, ah’m here,” she reassured…Belle? ‘Donna’? Belle? She wanted to shake her head to clear the confusion, but the world already felt like it was spinning, and the rapid motion could only make it worse. Alma had the woman’s head in her lap, her own head down so her hair concealed her face. “Miss Zann, she’s asking for you. Please, make haste. She does not have long.” Amelia shuffled forward, dropping to her knees at the purple-haired woman’s side. “Ah’m here… ah’m here…” she repeated, voice cracking like a damaged record. The woman -- Donna? Belle? Donna? -- looked up at her with a glazed look in her eyes. “Sorry, Pond,” she slurred, blood dribbling from the corner of her mouth as she spoke. “Guess . . . guess ya were right. Looks like I really am leavin’ ya.” She coughed, droplets of blood spraying across Amelia’s face in its wake. The purple-haired woman gasped for breath, her face scrunching in pain. Amy was paralyzed. What should she say? What could she say? Who was she even saying it to? “If I could…” she started, stopping short as the lump in her throat grew too tight to speak. “If I could even begin to… to…” She found herself at a loss for words, wishing her sheer emotions would be enough to break the barrier between them. She cursed herself internally. “If I was half the woman you think I am…” “You are,” two voices said in unison. The woman in front of Amelia kept talking. “You fought fer a world that weren’t yours. Ya coulda left us, left me . . .” She coughed again, this time turning her head to avoid spraying blood on Amelia. “Sorry I wasn’t any help.” “You were,” Amelia forced through tears, “you were.” “Don’t you lie to me--” “No… no. Because every time I thought… whenever I couldn’t…“ Amelia shut her eyes, trying to close off the horror and fear she’d suppressed throughout the lab, her torment, her escape. “You were there. Your voice, your face, they reminded me of why I… why I…” “…Why you keep living.” Donna’s eyes brimmed with tears. “I was gonna be with you -- her. Forever.” “I know.” “Rest of my life. Traveling. Together. Amy and Donna… but I can’t go back.” “I’m sorry--” “Don’t be. We had the best of times. The best.” The woman’s eyes clouded, shuddering as she took her last breaths. “I don’t… I don’t wanna go…” The woman’s body went limp in Amelia’s arms. It was over. Alma gently set the woman’s head down and stood. The young girl wiped at her eyes and sniffed. “I am going to check our environment,” she said quietly. “Alex, will you come with me?” Alex nodded and stood to follow her, leaving Belle and Amelia alone with the body. Belle walked over and quietly untied her cape. “Pond, I honestly don’t know what to say in this situation.” She draped the silver cloth over her doppelganger’s corpse. “I guess . . . I’m here, if ya wanna talk.” Before Belle could say any more, Amelia’s arm shot out, grabbing her hand and gripping it tightly, painfully even. The two stayed together in silence for many long, dark minutes.

-==IC: Route 5==- A roar, a screech, a whimper--the scar-eyed Frogadier skidded to a stop and turned to survey the carnage. As the Scraggy scattered, their leader dragged off by the one who'd been fighting Myriam, the four Frogadier caught each other's eyes, all pale with the realization of what happened. The cross-scarred Frogadier recovered first, letting out a loud whistle and waving the others into the tall grass. One by one they departed: the yellow-striped Frogadier tossing the captured Inkay a pitying glance; the scar-eyed Frogadier leaving the humans a glare of hate; the young-looking Frogadier fixing Lachina with a stare of fear, heartbreak, and betrayal. The last, the cross-scarred Frogadier, studied the group grimly. She leveled her gaze upon each of the group with a quiet intensity, watching, studying, before at last turning away to join the squad she led in her elder's absence. One thing was clear: She would remember this. -==IC: Lionel Zyther==- With an expression of surprise, Lionel studied Jared as he went to return his Pokémon, only at the last moment stopping as they indicated their wish to remain outside their balls. Shrugging, the man tucked the balls away once more, shooting Winters a puzzled glance now and again as if trying to assess an offer he hadn't expected to receive.

-==IC: Professor Elaine Alderson==- "Oh, good," the Professor exclaimed upon sighting Dahlia, "you caught it!" She held up her Pokédex as she made her way over. "Mind if I get a closer scan?" -==IC: Lionel Zyther/Route 5==- Anubis and the Froakie put themselves in prime position to end the Scrafty's fight in one fell swoop, but they were missing one key factor: They'd forgotten a Scraggy. The smaller Dark-type let out a shriek and tackled the Water-type off of its leader's head, the warning giving the boss just enough time to interpose an arm in the way of its attack. Of course, an arm glued to one's head did little to aid in one's balance or maneuverability, and the Scrafty tripped over its own shed skin as Colleen's Aura Sphere struck it in the chest. The gang leader wavered, wincing at the strength of the attack, but clung to consciousness even as it rolled to avoid Anubis' inevitable follow-up. Down, but not out--but it was on the defensive, at least. Lillina looked curiously at Pelleas as the Heracross offered conversation. <"Special,"> she answered. <"We have tried branching out, but my flexibility is...limited. We tend to rely more on him."> The Lilligant tilted her head towards Lionel's Bisharp in illustration. <"It has made recent events rather...difficult."> Looking back and forth between his daughter and her partner, Lionel managed to conclude that neither was in immediate danger--for the moment. Satisfied that Lillina was sufficient backup for Jamie's team, the businessman locked eyes with his Bisharp. "Watchful eye," he ordered, "you see the chance, end this." The Bisharp nodded, but still stayed close to Lucia for the moment. Seeing its leader had already left, the scar-eyed Frogadier surveyed the battlefield, seeking a new opponent. Seeing a human-summoned Vibrava menacing his yellow-striped companion, the Bubble Frog leaped over to join the fray.

OOC: No Lionel response yet b/c waiting on Lucia post. -==IC: Route 5==- The old-looking Frogadier scoffed at Em's definition of "handled", but turned away to survey the situation. The Inkay had been captured--not ideal, but at least no longer an imbalance. The Scrafty and its gang, while too aggressive for their own good, were technically within their turf, so not a valid target even if they had attacked the others. That only left-- The Fletchling was used to going up against opponents stronger than itself--it was how it had developed a rivalry with the Scrafty gang leader, after all. What it was not used to was those opponents being airborne, nor clutching it in their talons like prey, sending every instinct screaming into a panicked overdrive. Despite Aolani's attempt at a firm-but-gentle approach, the Fletchling struggled, scratching and pecking with all its might. The small bird's struggles seemed futile, but at the last moment it struck a nerve, forcing itself free as Aolani's foot twitched involuntarily. The Fletchling tumbled briefly, needing a moment to gain its bearings-- --but taking a moment too long, as it found its prison of claws exchanged for a prison of bubbles. The old Frogadier leapt above the other combatants' heads to catch the ensnared Fletchling and gently cradle the helpless bird to his chest. Croaking out a response to the other Frogadier, he gave them a wave and then bounded off to return the Fletchling to its usual habitat. The Scrafty was displeased. It had enjoyed taunting the little bird, and wasn't finished playing with its victim. With a scowl, the Fighting-type launched in a flying leap at the old Frogadier, but the younger Frogadier Lachina had befriended leapt to his defense, the frail frog wincing as she was spiked to the ground, winded. As it landed, the Scrafty's scowl slipped into a smirk as it advanced on the stunned foe.

-==IC: Route 5==- The Scrafty's aura showed merely malice, a casual cruelty that was apparent even without the aid of aura sense. It was, however, primarily focused on the Fletchling, enjoying its torment even more than it did beating up the bystanders who'd gotten in its way. As the Fletchling swooped in to take another attempt at the gang leader, the Dark-type casually leaned aside, snickering cruelly as the bird screeched its frustration. The yellow-striped Frogadier seemed just as conflicted as her younger friend, on top of being disoriented by the attacks. Though she readily conceded the wisdom of the suggestion, the "common enemy" was less readily defined--and she seemed less inclined to trust the Trainer and her foreign Pokémon than she had been the Ranger or the Professor. She settled for flinging her Frubbles at the Fletchling, the disruptive wild card seeming the safest bet for the moment. The pale older Frogadier, on the other hand, scoffed at Spitfire's threats. He lacked the aggressive dislike of humans that his partner with the scarred eye possessed, but that did not mean he would welcome human meddling in Pokémon affairs. He maintained his pointedly neutral stance, still as equally unwilling to throw the first punch as he was to allow the Trainer to escalate the situation further. The cross-scarred Frogadier narrowed her eyes as the Cloyster sailed through the air at her. She leapt upward at the last moment--but a hair too slow, as the Bivalve Pokémon clamped down on her right foot. Doing her best to shrug off the pain, she landed slightly off-balance and bounced upwards once more, intending to wield the Water-type as a club against the opposing Heracross in a de-powered approximation of an Aerial Ace-- --only to find itself caught in a leafy grasp as Lionel's Lilligant rushed in to offer aid. "Good, Lillina," Lionel praised, "now spin and bow." The Grass-type complied, twirling in an elegant spin before slamming the Frogadier to the ground safely away from Pelleas and his Trainer; the clamped-on Cloyster took the blow as well, but the defensive Ice-type was far more safely suited to such than the comparatively frailer Frogadier. The Bubble Frog clambered woozily back to its feet, glancing warily back and forth between her two opponents as she carefully considered her next move. Lionel did not remain idle; with Lillina supporting Jamie, he next turned his eye to his daughter, sending out his Bisharp to back up Blissaga; while under ordinary circumstances the choice would be downright suicidal, the businessman had belatedly realized the reversal of fortunes brought on by the outage and took the opportunity to take advantage of it. "Leave my daughter alone, punk," he warned the Scraggy, which merely sneered as it punched the Steel-type--only to wince and shake its fist in pain as the blow failed to deal any appreciable damage. The Scraggy aimed a crotch-kick at Blissaga in frustration, though the attack resembled half-hearted flailing more than any kind of disciplined attempt to cause injury.

IC: Amelia Zann (Sina, Harvey)/’Belle LaDonna’/’Mel’ Zann’s Pokémon (Sina-Weavile, Qrow-Honchkrow) & IC:Alex Zyther (Didi, Raleigh, Coralie) & IC: Alma Mason (Howler, Cuchulain)/’Mel’ Zann/Belle LaDonna (Hemlock) “Not that way,” Amelia declared. Belle looked back at her in surprise, stopping short of the staircase before her. “But we’re underground. Shouldn’t we be moving up?” Amelia shook her head. “That’s what they want ya to think. Disorients intruders. There’s only one real stairway out--this way.” To Amelia’s surprise, Belle simply nodded and fell into step behind her. Right, she remembered, this world’s me knows how to get in and out of this place. The sudden realization was enough to stop her in her tracks. …so why do I know, too? Belle stumbled trying to avoid running into Amelia, the Pokémon behind her skidding similarly to a stop. “Pond? Is something--?” The woman’s eyes widened as they caught a glimmer of light. “Look out!” A silvery projectile whirled through the air towards Amelia, the overwhelmed mercenary too startled to dodge. A pained screech, a flash of red-- Not red, Amelia realized as she picked herself up off the ground, pink. The fully-evolved Sina hissed obscenities at their attacker, biting a nearly-severed claw from her hand and spitting it to the floor. A moment later, their unseen assailant chose to reveal himself. Lex scowled as he looked the group over. “Two Sinas? What, are you suddenly a Pokémon breeder, Ames?” He unclipped two Pokéballs from his belt. “Let’s see how you like this, then. Gallade, Malamar!” Two blinding flashes of light, and the two Pokémon appeared. The Gallade seemed normal enough now, without the fancy cape or the wicked blades along its forearms. Lex reached up and twisted a ring on his left hand. “Let’s show them who’s boss,” he said as the Gallade was surrounded by rainbow energy. “Sina, stop them, let’s go!” Amelia ordered. To her surprise, not one but two pink Dark-types surged forward, claws outstretched menacingly. A burst of rainbow energy deflected any blows directed at the Gallade, and it came flying out of the flash of light with blades extended. The Malamar floated forward as well, tentacles lashing for Sina the younger in an attempted use of Superpower. The Sneasel reared back suddenly, as a lime green blur seemingly appeared in front of her, absorbing the would-be-fatal Superpower. It was only in midair that she got a fix on the object: a near-unconscious Harvey, saved from a nasty collision with the floor only by Belle’s timely catch. Sina’s Weavile counterpart used the opening to perform an intricate dance, several ethereal swords swirling around her before she snatched one out of the air, turning it violet in her hand before ducking beneath the Malamar’s tentacles and slashing at the Gallade. The Gallade’s own blade came up, deflecting the blow but cancelling its momentum. The black-caped fighting-type glared at its greatest rival, then used Close Combat against said rival. As his defenses lowered, the Malamar spun, spots glowing, to cast Topsy Turvy on the Gallade. The Weavile would have been knocked out by the attack, but as she backflipped into the air a blur of dark purple feathers shot past and into the attack, knocking the Gallade off-balance once more. Lex spat an epithet as he saw the Honchkrow glaring down at him. “Not this time, birdy!” he called as he returned the Gallade. A Delphox took its place, their wand blazing even as it appeared. Lex cast a hand out dramatically. “Shock Wave!” The fire-type waved its magic wand, and a forked bolt of lightning shot out, filling the hallway with crackling electricity that shocked all of Amelia’s team. The two Ice-types winced at the jolt, while Qrow cried out in surprise and pain. Even as he fell, however, the Honchkrow angled his wings to provide a last-ditch Tailwind to support his team. The brisk breeze rustled scales and hair, speeding up the two Sinas as they ducked and weaved around the Malamar’s renewed Superpowers, the Sneasel Sina sinking its claws into the Malamar’s back as her Weavile counterpart prepared a Night Slash against the Delphox. The Overturning Pokémon spun screeching, trying to fling its fellow Dark-type off. Harvey saw his chance. Eyes snapping open, he leaped from Belle’s arms, propelled by the actually-unconscious Qrow’s prior Tailwind, and skittered across the floor. The little lime lizard dug its claws into the floor, pulling up a panel which it then proceeded to smash atop the Malamar’s head. The Malamar whirled once more, finally flinging its original attacker away, as its eyes struggled to focus on the tiny creature that had dared attack it. The Delphox jumped back away from the Night Slash and glanced back at its trainer. Lex nodded, reaching again for his belt. “Right. Gallade can come back out now that you’ve fried that bird.” Amelia’s eyes widened. “Sinas!” she ordered, “Take the shot!” No sooner did the ball leave his fingers than the Flare admin found his feet yanked out from beneath him by a snarling Sneasel, its evolved counterpart coalescing an Icicle Crash directly above him. The Delphox made to interpose itself, but was stymied by Harvey as he darted around the still-dazed Malamar to clamp his jaws around the Fire-type’s ankle. “Oh, ****,” Lex murmured a moment before the enormous icicle pierced through his chest and into the ground below. Blood from the impact splattered on the walls and ceiling, evoking images straight from a horror movie. He spasmed briefly, then went slack. The Gallade appeared at that instant and, upon seeing the battle’s bloody result, grabbed the Malamar and Delphox before vanishing. After a brief pause, Belle whistled. “Wow. Guess he really was Lysandre’s dragon.” The one-liner gave Amelia a moment of pause, before she chuckled and let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding, her remaining conscious Pokémon soon following suit. Unfortunately, the moment wasn’t to last. --------------- Can’t stop. Won’t stop. Musn’t stop! Didi doggedly dashed down the hallway, trusting (or at least hoping) that her partners and Trainer were keeping up. She didn’t dare stop to check, however, as she could practically feel the power of the Pokémon chasing right on their-- Squeals erupted from the Electric-type as some discarded object sent her tumbling end over end. Her hoarding instincts sent her scrambling to pick up the strange razor-sharp claw before she belatedly realized she’d stopped running and dove to the side, the others following suit a few seconds after. “Alex?” a familiar voice asked, while a second familiar voice shrieked “Alex?!” with a tone of terror. The Antenna Pokémon was unable to chastise Belle for her unwarranted terror, as the source of her own warranted terror smashed through the wall with an outraged roar. “Alex, what did you do?!” “I don’t know! She just started screaming about--” “ABOMINATIONS!” came the predictable psychic screech. “HOW DARE--DOES THE DEPRAVITY OF YOUR KIND KNOW NO BOUNDS??” Before anyone could reply, the enraged Legendary Pokémon began gathering energy, the enormous pink orb forming between her antlers shining bright as the full moon as it grew, and grew, and grew… The hallway’s occupants, people and Pokémon alike, glanced around in horror. Didi could see no escape--the space was too narrow, too long, and the Life Pokémon stood between them and the only intersection close enough to afford them an escape from the-- *BANG!* The Moonblast evaporated, its creator staring in shock before her cross-shaped pupils dilated and glazed in death and her lifeless corpse slumped heavily to the ground. The resounding quiet echoed even more loudly than the gunshot mere moments before. An extremely wet-sounding laugh broke the stunned silence. As one, the group turned to the body of the Flare prince pinned to the floor, grinning madly as he held a smoking gun. “What?” he asked faux-innocently. “I used up all my knives.” Like the unholy killer in a slasher film, the man slowly began levering himself up the icicle, pulling the icy spear further through the wound and out the other side to the sound of his own pained laughter. At last he rose to his feet, leveling his predatory gaze upon the horrified onlookers. As he caught Amelia’s eyes, he opened his mouth, uttering only a single ominous command as blood dripped down his chin: “Run.” --------------- Meanwhile, Alma and a group of terrified people made their way around a corner in another part of the complex. Alma twirled a knife in her hand, blood dripping down its blade, but being absorbed by Shadow before it could hit the floor. The girl smiled a bit as she saw Belle and ‘Mel’ still fighting the red-suited people from earlier. Her left hand reached into a fold of her apron and brought out two Pokéballs which she opened. “Howler, Cuchulain, help them.” Hemlock was struggling, wrapped around another Dragonair who actually had power. As she tried to untangle herself, a small, dark form landed on the intertwined bodies. Howler barked a greeting to his companion, then lunged forward to bite at the other Dragonair’s neck. It didn’t do much damage, but it did distract the opponent. As Hemlock uncoiled, a larger form shot past, and the giant Growlithe’s fangs did more damage, shredding through scale and muscle to find bone. There was a crunch, and the opposing Dragonair went limp, though its head still whipped around. The two dog Pokémon turned to face the other opponents as Alma stepped up beside her companions. “The prisoners have been freed,” she said casually. “Hopefully we find your Amelia and Donna soon.” Cuchulain and Howler were tag teaming another opponent, a Bayleef that wouldn’t have stood a chance if either one had had powers. As it was, Howler was doing a good job of distracting the grass dino with quick guerilla attacks while Cuchulain circled in search of an opening. A Vine Whip shot out, narrowly missing the agile Poochyena. Howler lunged in to grab the vine, keeping the Bayleef from continuing its attack. Cuchulain leapt in, landing heavily on the grass-type’s back. As the Bayleef staggered under the weight, Howler jumped up and bit its leg, causing it to crumple to the ground with Cu’s immense weight pinning it to the ground. The Growlithe clamped its jaws on the opponent’s neck and jerked his head. There was a soft ‘pop’ sound, and the Bayleef went limp in death. Belle patted Alma’s shoulder softly. “Good job, kiddo. Mel says if we c’n get past these guards--” She was cut off as a pink form ran around the corner and began cutting through said guards. The Weavile was followed by the rest of the group, all wearing panicked expressions as they booked it down the hall. “…Oh, that ain’t good. Donna, behind m--” Barely stopping to grab her Trainer’s wrist, Mel’s Sina dragged her Trainer out the destroyed door, the rest of the team following a moment later. As the party made their escape, they found themselves most closely chased not by the twisted Team Flare admin, but rather his deranged laugh.

-==Kalos Route 5==- The four Frogadier tensed as an array of unfamiliar Pokémon emerged into existence in front of them; though Gothara had successfully pinned Esmerelda, the frisky Fennekin still seemed perfectly willing to go on the attack if given but a moment's reprieve, and the nearest of the Frogadier stared at the Fire-type warily. One of the Frogadier, with slightly shorter stature and larger eyes giving it a younger appearance than the rest, took a step forward to respond to Gerri's query--and was suddenly surrounded by Lachina's Capture Styler. The other Frogadier jumped back in alarm, even drawing the attention of the one that had broken off to deal with the Inkay; the Psychic-type took advantage of the reprieve and distraction to drift back toward the Sitrus tree and claim another Berry. As the youngest Frogadier turned to tell its companions of Lachina's lack of malice, the other four regarded it with suspicion. One of them, an angry-looking specimen with a scar across one eye, snapped back at the young Frogadier with a clear accusation of idiocy, while another, somewhat pale-looking Frogadier croaked a more reasonable reply, though still seemed unwilling to let the humans pass. The fourth Frogadier, bearing twin yellow stripes running from its nose all the way down its back who had formerly been negotiating with the Inkay, scoffed at the older Bubble Frog Pokémon and gestured to Lachina and Elaine as if they explained everything, while the final Frogadier, the grim-looking one with cross-shaped scars on its arms who had been threatened by Esmerelda, gestured toward Zoe, Emily, Alex, and, strangely, Lionel in counterpoint. The Inkay twitched nervously as the five Frogadier debated. It drifted down to the ground with its prize, grasping another stone in its free tentacle for fear the Fletchling might repeat its earlier stunt. It was a pointless gesture, however, as the Fletchling's attention was suddenly drawn to the arrival of newcomers. Behind the human group, a gang of five Scraggy emerged from the bushes, their Scrafty leader swaggering out grandly behind them with a challenging hoot. The Fletchling swelled with rage and recognition, and upon catching sight of the bird the Scrafty chuffed tauntingly, plucking a stolen red feather from where it had been tucked in its crest, holding it up to the Fletchling in a clear imitation of a particular rude gesture. It took exactly two seconds for everything to go wrong. Before Spitfire could go from yelling to fighting, the Fletchling shot off at the Scrafty, the Dark-type sneering as it got its desired reaction. The yellow-striped Frogadier leaped to intercept it, but this took her into Ronin and Amaura's path, the latter of whom carried out its threatened headbutt against the Bubble Frog. The cross-scarred Frogadier, who had been preparing her own countermeasures, leaped to her companion's defense and body-checked her out of the way, but the headbutt hit thus sent her down instead, causing her to fling her handful of frubbles wildly, inadvertently adhering one of Pelleas' legs to the ground. The Frogadier with the eye scar also threw Frubbles, but this was towards the still-struggling Esmerelda and Gothara; unfortunately, his attack was ill-aimed, and only served to knock the Psychic-type off of the Fennekin and pin one arm to her side, leaving the Fire-type free to rampage. The pale older Frogadier, meanwhile, sighed and stepped forward to cover Spitfire should she go after the Fletchling, careful not to directly engage him or any of the others until they attacked him or one of the other wild Pokémon, while the younger one's gaze darted back and forth in confusion and concern as it tried to figure out who she should fight if anyone. The Scrafty, meanwhile, chuckled nastily at the Fletchling as one of its subordinates met the Fletchling's peck with a punch, with the other Scraggy advanced menacingly upon the unengaged opponents. Lionel, no longer willing to leave the matter to the others, released his Lilligant, while Elaine hesitated between a couple different Pokéballs trying to decide which if any would be useful to their situation. She nonetheless scanned the newcomers with her Pokédex, mentally filing the entries away in case someone needed the information.

-==IC:Lionel Zyther/Professor Alderson -- Kalos Route 5==- "I'll have one sent to the house," Lionel said, tapping out a message on his own Holo Caster. "No sense waiting at a store when you can buy direct from manufacturer, after all." The businessman had been doing his best to mind his own business, but even he couldn't ignore the repeated mentions of Shabboneau Castle. "Visiting hours are normally by appointment only," he informed the group, glancing backward with a sly grin, "but I suppose in this case I can make an exception." Elaine smiled indulgently at the Seaton sisters. "Well, my specialization is studying the effects of healing Pokémon moves on humans, but of course that naturally means studying their effects in general. Most of my field work involves watching Pokémon use moves like Recover or Heal Pulse or Draining Kiss in their natural habitat, so I can go back to the lab and compare the differences to how they're expressed in a controlled environment. From there it's a matter of working out exactly how each move would affect a human, but that's its own struggle. The medical board is quite strict, after all." The Professor sighed. "More recently...well..." The Professor hesitated, but decided to keep going. "I really shouldn't be saying anything, the work is still at far too early a stage to raise hopes or anything, but for the past few months my team and I have been working on developing artificial means to deliver Pokémon moves, in hopes of getting better control over certain variables. So far we've managed to store individual charges of various moves, but the outage hit before we could develop an effective delivery mechanism, and for obvious reasons we're hesitant to use up our move supply in testing." Lionel raised an eyebrow, forcibly impressed. "That's...a significant development, Professor. Have you optioned the technology yet?" The Pokémon Professor shook her head. "It's still too early in development for that permanent a solution. Besides, we're government-funded, which means..." "You don't have that degree of ownership to offer, I understand. Still. Tech with that flavor is right up the Strange alley, if you're willing to co-develop I'd be happy to make a few introductions in Geosenge." "That's quite kind of you, Mr. Zyther, but I'm not certain we..." Elaine trailed off as the floating shape she'd spotted before drifted into plain view, a small pink-and-blue Pokémon with two nearly translucent tentacles. The creature floated up to one of the trees overhanging the path--a Sitrus tree, by the look of it--and plucked one of its Berries, flipping the yellow fruit upside-down before taking a bite. "Is that an...? But they shouldn't be this far east..." Mind fully in research mode, the Professor unclipped a somewhat outdated-looking Kalos-style Pokédex from her belt, the device scanning with a musical chime before silently displaying data upon its somewhat small screen. "Inkay," she read off, "the Revolving Pokémon. Inkay may look like an aquatic Water-type Pokémon, but is actually a Dark-and-Psychic type that lives on land. Research suggests that it can only evolve while inverted. The nearest recorded habitats are..." She frowned. "That can't be right. The Pokédex lists their habitats as Route 8 and Azure Bay. This one is significantly too far inland, and seemingly isolated from its cohorts to boot." The professor glanced at the others, concerned. "I hate to ask, but...could one of you capture it? A mucous sample would narrow down its origin and possibly indicate if this is a lone wolf or some sort of--" The Professor was cut off by the Inkay's cry as a bright red blur swooped from the sky and stole its Berry; the Inkay shrieked and swooped to the ground, gathering pebbles to throw at the fluttering red bird (though its efforts were hampered by its insistence upon inverting each and every stone before throwing it). A shadow passed over the ground as a Dragonair flew westward above them, a flustered-looking Frogadier bursting from the bushes beside the road and waving its arms in protest at the errant Dragon-type. Elaine's eyes widened. "Something is seriously wrong here," she murmured, "this is nowhere near any of these Pokémon's natural habitat." Four more Frogadier emerged from the woods to console their frustrated cousin, then froze as they spotted the upset Inkay and the group of humans fixated upon it. While one broke off to address the Dark-type (making obvious shooing gestures and croaking an obvious insistence for it to go away, both of which the Inkay pointedly ignored), the others spread out between the humans and the other Pokémon holding up both hands in an attempted calming gesture to stay back; above them, the thieving Fletchling alighted upon a branch, polishing off its meal and looking on mischievously. Lionel fingered a Pokéball in his pocket as he studied the Water-types blocking their way. "Any ideas, or shall I handle this?"

-==IC: Lionel Zyther==- "The base model is covered by Kalos' Trainer subsidy. One like mine, though?" The businessman chuckled. "Let's just say even my daughter's salary would weep without a family discount." -==IC: Professor Alderson==- Elaine smiled wistfully as the nearby conversations washed over her. "It's been too long since I've been around newcomers to Kalos; sometimes I forget how beautiful and wondrous our region is to explore for the first time." The veteran Professor sighed and shook her head. "You know, I'm not even sure I know how to pass through places like these without lapsing into fieldwork; I feel like I should be scanning the area for move signatures, or recording unusual migration--" The Professor's gaze shot to the woods beside the route, but after just a moment she made herself relax. "There I go again," she chuckled, mostly to herself. "Don't mind the antics of a paranoid old Professor, just enjoy yourselves, you hear? You're only young once, you know." IC: Belle LaDonna/’Mel’ Zann/Alex Zyther/Alma Mason (Route 11, Kalos, Flareverse) & IC: Amelia Zann/??? (unknown location, Flareverse) Belle kept fidgeting, casting glances back towards the mouth of the cave. After the fifth time, ‘Mel’ took notice “Somethin’ botherin’ ya?” Belle shook her head. “Not really. Just you -- er, the other you. Amelia.” “You miss her. Ah get it. Dunno what I’d do if I was lost in another dimension without my Donna. Don’t worry, couple more hours an’ we can sneak ya back in an’ get ya through the mirror, an’ then sooner or later y’all’ll hook up again.” Belle stared at the alternate Amelia. “Am -- er, Mel. We didn’t leave her behind. She came with us.” ‘Mel’ seemed confused. “But. . . then why wasn’t she. . .?” “Sprained ankle. She’s probably waiting in the cave for us to get back right now.” The rebel operative swore vehemently. “Belle. . . Ah have some bad news for ya, sugar…” --------------- Amelia awoke to the smell of blood. The woman flinched, then flinched again at the pain flinching caused her. Okay, she thought to herself, so: definitely injured, easily trackable by scent. What else? She reached around to trace the incisions left by the mad Flare operative, only to draw back sharply with a hiss. All right, check that later then. Still not even partly healed, so I haven’t been out long. She finally risked opening her eyes. She’d been left lying facedown on her stretcher, carted away into some sort of recovery room. Her restraints had been removed--Why? she wondered--and she’d been left unattended in the room. She scanned for security cameras without moving her head and, spotting none, rolled over in order to-- Pain. Searing, debilitating pain. She shot up, swearing and screaming, barely managing to cut herself off before she attracted unwanted attention. She continued swearing mentally for several seconds before finally getting a hold of herself. What did they DO to me?! she asked herself. She didn’t have time for pain, however. The room was lined with cupboards, most likely full of medical supplies, and she intended to loot them for everything she could find that would help her get out of this nightmare hospital. To her disappointment, however, once she’d gritted through the pain to investigate, she found merely scrubs and linens, along with… Uniforms? The outfits certainly seemed to match what she’d noticed the casual grunts wearing when she’d caught a glimpse of them. Why exactly they wore gaudy orange suits with oversized red sunglasses escaped her, however. She hesitated, before pulling on one of the starched white shirts they wore beneath the orange jackets, hissing at the pain as the fabric pulled against her injuries but slowly getting used to it. She left the rest of the outfit, however, doubting it would disguise her enough to risk crossing sightlines. If one of them sees me, they die, she promised herself, hoping she could live up to that promise. With much trepidation, she tried the door. To her surprise, it swung freely open. What in the world…? Are they trying to let me escape? Still, though she was more than willing to look a gift Horsea in the mouth, she wasn’t willing to stay trapped in an enclosed room full of known hostiles. Steeling herself, she slipped outside as silently as she could. For all its oddities, the facility seemed strangely familiar to Amelia. She couldn’t recall where or when she’d seen it, but she was certain she’d been in a facility just like it before. She followed her instincts through the halls, even as she felt there was something missing from the memory. Let’s see...left here, then follow the ring around to the Pokémon labs… “...Pond?” Amelia’s head snapped around as she zeroed in on the familiar voice. “Belle?! They got you, too?” Belle sagged in shame behind her cell’s electrified bars. “I’m sorry. This wasn’t supposed to…I know this is exactly what you were trying to…” “Shhh. It’s okay. I’ll get ya out of there, promise.” Pulling a pin out of her hair, Amelia began fiddling with the screws on the cell’s keypad to try and gain access. “And you even left Sina with me. . . Sina. . . I failed her, too. I’m a terrible Trainer…” Amelia froze. “…You had Sina?” “And Qrow, too. I’m so sorry.” Amelia’s mind whirled as she rapidly recalculated the situation. Could she be…? “If I’d just listened and left sooner, neither of us would be here, you’d still have your agents, your team--” “Hush,” Amelia commanded softly. “Yer sayin’ words but only half are makin’ sense. I ain’t gonna get mad at ya ‘til I know I got reason, and that ain’t gonna happen ‘til we’re both outta here, all right?” Belle nodded, a relieved smile turning up the corners of her mouth. “I didn’t catch the whole thing, but I think I saw 2-3-5 when they opened the cell across the way?” Amelia grunted an acknowledgement, and after a minute’s work, the sparking electricity faded, the bars retracting into the floor and ceiling moments later with a whoosh and a clunk. “C’mon,” she said, “we gotta find my Pokémon.” Belle stared at Amelia like she’d lost her mind. “Wait,” she protested, grabbing Amelia’s arm, “what about the rebels?” Amelia stared back at her closest friend’s counterpart in confusion. “Rebels?” “Rebels, Resistance, whatever you call yourselves, your agents. The ones you sent with me? Aren’t you gonna break them out too?” “Belle, we ain’t got time for this, Ah’m gettin’ our Pokémon an’ I’m gettin’ us out ‘fore the twisted psychopath shows up again and realizes we’re loose. End of story.” Belle bit her lip, but acquiesced. As she followed Amelia through the twisting halls, however, she quickly realized something was wrong. “Wait, are you bleeding?” Amelia winced as she felt Belle’s touch at her back. “Belle, no--” Her protest was cut short as fire tore through her flesh. Belle gasped, then gagged as she lifted Amelia’s shirt to see the horrific damage beneath. “Babe, you should’ve told me. . . dear Arceus above, when you said they were twisted psychopaths--” “When I say somethin’, I ain’t jokin’,” Amelia forced out through gritted teeth. “That was an understatement,” Belle cried with barely-contained horror. “Pond, they carved their symbol into your back, who the f--” “Belle,” Amelia hissed. “Escape now, be traumatized later? Quietly, if possible?” “…Yes, dear.” Belle forced up an uncertain smile. “At least they couldn’t break your snarky spirit.” Amelia snorted. “Takes a lot more than some arrogant prince to break me.” ’Specially since I know who he is without the evil organization. Gotta hand it to ‘im, though, kid’s got a lot more steel than I gave him credit for, that’s fer sure. “C’mon, let’s get goin’, we got Pokémon to free.” --------------- “Is anyone else concerned that we’re breaking into a prison again? Like, maybe we’re forming some bad habits here?” Belle’s glare was pure venom. “You sayin’ we oughta abandon Amelia? Leave ‘er to the wolves?” “What -- no! That is -- no! I’m just saying. . .” Alex trailed off helplessly. “Mel, help me out here.” The alternate Amelia simply grinned with the same shark-like smile of her main-universe counterpart. “Not a chance in heck, kiddo.” Her countenance grew grim. “If yer nervous, though, I don’t blame ya. Stay here with the girl. I’ll leave Belle to guard ya, an’ I’ll bust everyone out on my own.” “N-no, it’s fine, that wouldn’t be fair--” “Fair’s got nothin’ t’do with it. Flare’s the real deal. Real evil. What y’all are gonna see in there -- it ain’t gonna be pretty. My Donna ain’t never had the stomach to face it, I ain’t gonna blame ya if y’all ain’t got it either.” “Flare,” Alex said to himself, almost like a reminder. “Flare. N-no. I’m. . . it’s Flare. I won’t back down. They’re evil. I shouldn’t, and I won’t.” Mel was clearly unconvinced, but she didn’t press the issue further. Alma looked between the three adults and tilted her head. A knife was in her hand, and she was twirling it idly while she waited. “Perhaps I am missing something. What makes Flare so terrible compared to other such organizations?” Belle shrugged. “Honestly, I ain’t certain m’self. They got Amelia, that’s all I care ‘bout.” Mel briefly stared at Belle like she’d lost her mind, before suddenly remembering their strange circumstances. To her surprise, however, it was Alex who next spoke. “Flare. . . they’re. . .” Alex scowled, searching for words. “They’re evil. Way more than words can describe. Take the most cruel, heartless, evil think you can imagine, and then multiply it by itself. They tried to commit genocide, Alma. It wasn’t enough to conquer and rule -- they wanted anyone who disagreed with them dead, and they weren’t picky about what counted as ‘disagreement’. I wasn’t around when their whole plan collapsed -- or, well, at least not that I remember -- and frankly I’m glad of that. It’s been almost a decade since they fell in our universe, but people remember. We’re just barely at the point now where we can talk about it, where it doesn’t feel like they could spring up anew any minute. They’re the shame of Kalos, and we’re all incredibly grateful they destroyed themselves before they could spread their poison anywhere else in the world.” Mel gave Alex a hard look. “I envy you.” The words weren’t accusatory, nor understanding, but an indescribable mix of both. The silence stretched out uncomfortably. It was Belle who finally cleared her throat, breaking the moment. “Alright. Best get movin’. Our friends are waitin’ for us.”

-==IC: Lionel Zyther==- "It was a Lysandre invention to start, but I modernized it. Stripped down his OS and rebuilt it, improved the signal range, added crosslink with the consumer-model Pokédex, that sort of thing. I revolutionized the device that had already revolutionized Kalos. Even managed to add a kinetic charger, though it's still a bit power-hungry despite the boost."

-==IC: Professor Alderson==- "I see. Well, then, I apologize for the mistake." The professor was silent for a while, chewing thoughtfully as she and the others ate. "Well, if your father is anything like my private funders, he'll likely be up by now--early bird gets the worm and all. The least we can do to repay his hospitality would be to not keep him waiting. Shall we?" The Pokémon Professor stood and gestured toward the lobby. -==IC: Lionel Zyther==- By the time Jared reached the lobby, Lionel was already waiting with his bag next to him, Holo Caster out and filled with emails. The tycoon seemed to be viewing and answering them in some pattern known only to him, utterly indecipherable to anyone else, but upon noticing the dour Trainer he quickly shut the device down. "Ah, good, you've arrived." The man paused with a frown. "...It occurs to me that I don't know the proper names of the majority of our...companions. You can brief me once we're on our way." Noticing movement, he glanced toward the dining room to spot the rest of the group making their exit. "Speaking of the rest of our contingent...Lionel Zyther. You may be familiar with my work," he said, indicating his late-model Holo Caster as a means of introduction. "Are we prepared to talk transit, or do you need a moment to gather your belongings? I'd prefer we get on the road as quickly as possible, if it can be managed."