Metal Gear Minun

IC: Jamie - Four Island Hospital

Jamie looked from Shannon to Ryan, a few tears still spilling down her face. She'd come to grips with what had happened. But what she was about to say, she still needed to prepare herself for. What she was going to say was not going to be received well, but she had to say it.

"I-" she cut herself off as she looked back towards Lucia.

She didn't want to part with Lucia. Honestly, she wouldn't mind just not letting go right now. She wouldn't mind just holding Lucia and pretending that the monster was not her problem.

But she was a hero now, and that meant it was not an option to just pretend she wasn't involved.

She let go of Lucia, put one hand on her shoulder to grab her attention, looked her straight in the eyes and said "I'm going on that mission."

IC: Jake Harris - Eterna Forest

"I asked if you wanted help with the map earlier and you said you had a handle on it," Jake lamented at the report that they were following a trail while lost. "We're gonna have to delay our challenge if this keeps up."

He took a swig from one of his water bottles. At least he was prepared for a long walk through a forest. Not that there was any chance that he wouldn't have been prepared, but that didn't diminish the relief he felt when prepared.

"Hopefully the weather stays nice. Makes it almost worth it, eh Pikachu?" he asked the electric rodent sitting on his head. The Pikachu responded with a contented squeak as Jake softly pet him.

IC: Ryan's Pokégear
 
Ryan Sanders Pokégear signaled that it had received a message.
 

Agent Sanders,

Come to my office at your earliest convenience,

Executive James Arthur

IC: Sonja's Pokétch
 

Sonja Baron's Pokétch signaled that it had received a message.
 

Agent Baron,

Come to my office at your earliest convenience,

Executive James Arthur

IC: Jake Harris - Alamos

If Ruth wanted to make a stand there, she'd have no argument from Jake.

"Pikachu, aim a Thunderbolt at the spikes, release it when the Houndoom crosses them."

The Pikachu's cheeks crackled with electricity as he awaited his target.

IC: Jamie Arthur - Four Island Hospital

"I-I'm alright," Jamie said trying to cover up the fact that she had been crying up till recently. "Better than I was when... well..."

Jamie nodded towards Ryan who was explaining the situation to Shannon. She let him talk for a while before speaking up again.

"The situation is well... not good. We can deal with it though, we always do right? So for right now, Gavin needs our support..." she said before making the mistake of looking at Gavin's arm once more.

No, no, don't cry. Not in front of Lucia. Have to be strong. I can hold it in, need to hold it in.

She lasted about two seconds before she buried her face in Lucia's clothing.

IC: Jamie - Gavin's Hospital Room

After somebody had made the mistake of letting the door open too much that people inside could see people outside. More specifically, letting Jamie see Lucia. Without thinking, Jamie leaped over the bed, narrowly avoiding touching the injured man or knocking over the people on the opposite side of his bed. If Jamie could've slowed time, she would've (or perhaps more accurately, if she knew how to do it; she hadn't had a chance to practice since powers began returning).

"LUCIAAAAAAA!" Jamie yelled as she launched herself towards the best sight she could've wished to see.

IC: James Arthur - Vert's Cell

"I am sure they are feeling generous right now," James said knowingly. They had granted the request for snipers quickly enough at any rate. "Make your equipment request and send it to me. I will make sure you receive what you require, whether we bring them here or send you there."

"I would start packing your bags if you were allowed them," James said, as he turned to leave. "I intend to have you working by the end of tomorrow.

IC: Jamie Arthur - Gavin's Hospital Room

Jamie winced at raised voices in the room. He couldn't expect them to react any differently given the situation, but it still wasn't comfortable.

"It's those things, from that dimension on the train. Ford was trying to stop them, but he failed on now they're... here."

IC: Jake Harris - Power Plant

Jake hated to admit it but Ruth was right. And since they returned to help him, there was no reason not escape with them. The Pikachu leaped upon Jake's head. He had to retreat Squirtle and Machop. The Charmeleon was fast enough to keep up and could launch attacks at their pursuers if needed.

"Alright, let's go," he said and ran.

IC: Jamie Arthur - Gavin's Hospital Room

The young girl shook her head.

IC: James Arthur - Vert's Cell

James couldn't fault Vert for trying to bargain, it's what he'd do, but the act had reminded him that he had a gun on him.

"I can say if you do not give us anything to work with, we will have to leave and nothing will change. Though, Four Island is likely going to be evacuated in the not too distant future. The priority will be evacuating civilians and most non-combative personnel first. Prisoners will have to wait until most other groups are evacuated. It would be a shame if a few, most of them, or even just one, got left behind in the panic."

He wasn't sure if threats would work, but it felt good to respond to Vert in kind.

"On the other hand, our scientific personnel will likely be a priority for protection. Even those who are incarcerated while they are working."

IC: Jake Harris - Alamos Power Plant

Jake winced as he saw the first cultist fall to the floor. That would haunt him. The Houndoom bit into Machop's arm, who had placed himself between the Houndoom and the Pikachu to keep the Pikachu safe. Jake winced again as he sensed Machop's pain, unable to tune out such an emotion.

"Squirtle use Water Gun on Houndoom and Charmeleon use Dragon Rage on it too!" Jake called. The Squirtle shot forth a stream of water towards the fire type, and spewed forth a stream of draconic fire towards the Houndoom.

"Pikachu, use Electro Ball to keep the other cultists away from us."

The Pikachu prepared an Electro Ball in case any of the other cultists approached.

IC: James Arthur - Alamo Cell Block.

James chose to ignore Vert's comments about his clothing if only for the reason that he was not yet allowed to kill her. And then there was everything strewn about the room. While he can't say he knew about any of this, he can't say he was surprised that she had it either. He would deal with this later, for now he had to focus on the problem at him.

"I will have to be direct, is it possible to produce more power suits via alternative methods than the ones used previously?"

IC: Jamie Arthur - Four Island, Gavin's Hospital Room

"Yeah, she's safe." Jamie said not quite able to look at Gavin directly in the eye. "I still owe her a punch though."

"Does... does it hurt?" Jamie asked trying not to focus on the area where Gavin's arm used to be.

IC: Time’s Up

A loud pop rang in the room. If the room were quieter, it would’ve commanded the attention of everyone in it. As it was though, its audience was rather preoccupied. Harmonics would’ve checked to see what had happened, if he were not on the receiving end of a Shadow Ball. The Beheeyem slammed into a wall, uttering one final sinister chuckle before falling unconscious. Digital was caught in Hemlock’s tail and fell to the ground, defeated. The Dragonair turned to try and find her next opponent.

“Help.”

Belle’s kick connected a microsecond too late. The chamber burst into light as the process finished. A piercing Glare came from the light towards the attacker who dared attack the Serperior. A Thunderbolt heralded Wattling’s entry into the fray. The Rotom didn’t really need the attack to hit anyone so much as to disperse anyone in the way.

“Watt...ling…”

The Rotom swore he heard his name being called. Spinning his body to see Alma take a step through the door. Her red eyes flashed in the light of the room, and she lowered her gun.

Belle stepped back from the pokémon Glaring at her and cursed. That had been stupid of her, attacking without Cyanide or Hemlock nearby. Her hand dropped to her belt, ready to call out her two younger teammates.

Time slowed for the Rotom. Almost on instinct, Alma was rushed by the Monferno and the Drifblim. The Monferno rushed ahead with Fire Punch and while the Drifblim sent a gust of Ominous Wind towards her.

The assassin had only a second to see the Monferno and Drifblim attacking her. The Ominous Wind from the Drifblim hit her first, causing her to stumble back, scant inches from being hit by the Monferno’s attack. Crying out, she drew the attention of Freq. The plasma pokémon may have been young, but it would still defend its trainer. It zipped towards Alma’s harassers and unleashed a Discharge. With a primal scream, the Monferno leapt through the electricity to punch Freq, ignoring its pain. It had to save Roderick. With the assassin knocked back, the Drifblim covered Roderick’s body and used Stockpile to make herself a shield for him.

Over near Belle, Aralia summoned a raging Leaf Storm to sweep away the thief and her team. And then were was Wattling. Having snapped out of his stunned state, shock turned to rage. A pure explosion of soapy water and electricity erupted in multiple directions towards multiple targets. Belle winced, bringing her arm up to try and protect herself from the Leaf Storm. It didn’t last nearly as long as she’d expected, and she cracked one eye open to see Cyanide had interposed itself between its trainer and Aralia.

“Get it, Cy! Meteor Mash!” The Metang complied, attempting to send its body slamming into the opponent. Belle looked across the chamber and cursed as she saw Alma staggering back from an attack.

With Roderick covered, Shadow and Garnet both fell back to try and protect their mistress. Garnet slipped into the shadows and came up beneath the Monferno, claws groping for the fire type. The Monferno struggled to break free of the Sableye’s grasp. Shadow moved in front of Alma protectively, a Shadow Ball forming in his hands.

The Genesect stepped out of the purification with the chaos already unfolding, the horror having dawned on him before he could exit the chamber, those seconds giving him precious time to calm down. If there was one thing that Roderick continually scolded him for, it was for rashness. He wouldn’t mess up here. The rest of the team weren’t fighting as they normally would, the Genesect noted. They were simply releasing all of their power to try and destroy the assassins. He needed to pick his next move carefully. The fight needed to end immediately. If he could take out more than one of the targets, he could make an exit for them all to escape from with Roderick. The Genesect focused both of its arms on separate targets and its cannon on the third. Making vast calculations in nanoseconds, the Genesect locked on to all three of its targets.

“Targeting parameters locked.”

Then a flash of light covered the room and all actives moves instantly died.

Alma saw the Genesect emerge past Shadow and her eyes widened. The ancient pokémon no doubt had more than enough power to wipe them all out. As the cannon charged, she closed her eyes tightly. Even through her lids, her sensitive eyes picked up the flash of light and she waited for the impact. But nothing happened. After a moment, she slowly opened her eyes again.

Everything had come to a stand still. Shadow’s Shadow Ball was gone. Garnet was still gripping the Monferno, but didn’t seem able to use any other attacks. Alma herself was aware of the absence of a sense she’d never been without before. She couldn’t even communicate with Shadow, her closest companion. Despite all this, she smirked. “Well, isn’t this interesting?”

Wattling desperately tried using Hydro Pump repeatedly, frantically trying to summon water from the machine; all he got were drops that were caught in the main chamber before he was ejected and the machine fell uselessly to the ground. This was impossible. It was a physical impossibility. Of all times, why did the impossible have to occur now?

“Wattling…”

The Rotom heard his master’s voice and hurried over towards his master, Blimpy having brought him closer towards a wall. He had managed to summon enough strength to sit himself up, but the bleeding was not stopping.

“Get-” a cough of blood interrupted his words. “Get them out of here. I don’t know what’s going on here, but without your power, Harmonics and Digital are defenseless.”

Roderick tried to force a smile, but the expression was hollow. Wattling could not compute the words that Roderick was saying. They had come through relentless trials together. This couldn’t be how it ended.

“Mina… tell her, I’m sorry.”

“I wonder . . .” Alma hummed, bringing the gun up again. “Rest in peace, Roderick Krane.” The gun fired, and Alma smirked as the blood splattered across the ground.

The Rotom’s plasma began fluctuating wildly and futilely as Roderick fell over. Wattling flew down towards his master, his best friend’s body and kept trying to receive a response. He was finally pulled away from him by the Drifblim who phased him through the wall. As for the Genesect, he was stunned for a moment as he realized he was feeling anger, genuine anger for the first time in a long time, before sprinting into action. He scooped up the unconscious bodies of Harmonics and Digital and ran. Ignight and Aralia broke away from their respective opponent and followed after. Genesect smashed a hole in a weak wall and ran through it, doing his best not to look back.

After a couple of quiet moments, Belle took a step forward. “Is he--” she started to ask, staring at Roderick’s prone form.

Alma nodded. “I believe so. Take what you want, I need to gather proof that he’s dead.” She pulled out a PokéNav and started taking pictures. Belle knelt next to the man and lifted his arm. A shudder went through her as she started unstrapping it.

Finally, after years of searching, she had what she wanted. The Snag Machine was finally in her hands, and all she’d had to do was help murder someone. She straightened, sliding the sleeve over her arm and flexing to test the fit. “Now what?”

“Do you have any camping supplies? Matches?” Belle nodded, and the girl held out her hand.

An hour later -- just enough time to gather some useful items and get things rigged up -- they were flying away on Hemlock’s back, as the lab smoked and started to burn. Belle pulled her P★DA from her pocket and dialed a number. “Pond? It’s Blake. I need a place to hide out for a bit, where are you staying?”



Whether it was from the energy of the fire, or simply a drop of life that still clung to Roderick before he could expire, Roderick opened his eyes. Knowing something about building machines himself, he had to admit he respected the ability to make the blaze that surrounded him now from damaging all the machines. Even without Pokemon to create fire for them, humans could be ingenious when they put their minds to it. He pulled himself up one last time. He didn’t have the strength to stand, he didn’t think he even had enough to crawl to an exit if he even found one.

He heard a familiar beeping, using what little strength he had he picked up his P★DA.

“Genesect regained the door to its heart! Would you like to give Genesect a nickname?” it read.

Almost managing to smile at the banality, he inputted yes. He reached to input a letter… but fell limp.


Ashes to Ashes.
Dust to Dust.

IC: James Arthur - July 31st - Four Island

Unfortunately, James could not immediately fulfill Goldhawk's orders. He had to first stop by medical to receive treatment for burns, so he arranged for Blackskull to meet him a couple hours later. His suit jacket received the worst of McKinley's Flamethrower, but there were spots on his back that needed tending. Between his bandages from his battle with Lancelot and his new bandages from McKinley, his torso was beginning to look mummified.

After returning to his office, James began to pour through his closet to decide what to replace his old suit jacket with, may it rest in peace. The back up suit to the one he was wearing was also dead. The tan one didn't fit anymore. The green one was at a dry cleaners, and he hadn't heard back from the tailors about the new one. He wouldn't be caught dead in the Alolan shirts Celebi got him. The Rocket uniforms were right out. Most of standalone button-down shirts were dirty. He came to the final item in his closet.

That one.

THAT one.

"Is this really the only suit I have left?" James said, his face paling.

Lancelot checked back and forth through the closet. It was.

"Where did I even acquire that suit?"

His knight lifted his head back as to think about where James did buy that particular suit while James went about trying a match a better pair of pants to it. He remembered going to that one tailor in Lumiose afterwards. It was hard to forget laughing at a guy for two hours straight while he had to stand perfectly still as the tailor took perfect measurements.

"Ugh. At least with this pair of pants, it is at least presentable," James said as he began to change. "I do not care if the world is ending, we are getting a better suit the moment I have an opportunity."

So it was that James arrived at the agreed upon place in a garish blue suit that hadn't been in fashion for the last several hundred years. Blackskull sized James up for a moment and said.

"New outfit? Excellent choice."

James hid his embarrassment well, but a red tint still managed to claw its way to his face. He couldn't find the words to respond with, so he wordlessly lead Blackskull into the prison complex. He remembered the path he needed to take from the last time he had visited the complex, not that he particularly wished to visit again.

"Doctor Vert, we are coming in," James called into the room when he got there and began entering in the code to open the door to her cell.

IC: Jamie Arthur - August 4th - Gavin's Hospital room.

If the cries coming from Gavin's hospital room were not proof that someone else occupied Gavin's room, nothing would serve. They also served as undeniable proof that it was mistake to let Jamie in to see Gavin.

"GAVIN!YOURARMISGONEIT'SALLMYFAUL-*hic*TISHOULDHAVESTAYEDBEHINDANDFOUGHTWI-*hic**hic*THYOUAHERODOESN'TLEAVETHEIRFREINDS*hic*TOFIGHTALONEICOULDHAVEBEAT*hic*THEMALLOREVENTRIEDRE-*hic*WIND*hic*hic*INGTIMEANDTHENYOU'DSTILLHAVEANARMBUTIWASTEDTHEOPPORTUNITYANDIT'SALLMYFAULT!"

Her rambling incomprehensible speech was only interrupted when Ethan managed to pull her off of Gavin, to stop her from shaking him. That wasn't helping.

IC: James Arthur - Alamo Board Room

James stood holding the remains of his suit jacket in his hand. Considering that almost nothing he could say at this point would make anyone feel even worse, he decided to go first.

"In a one versus one confrontation, a Power Suit is capable of defeating this thing's foot soldiers. And perhaps together, they stand a good shot of overpowering McKinley. Conventional weapons are also capable of dispatching the foot soldiers if used precisely. A team of snipers covering a team of trained soldiers in the Power Suits could them off for some time."

If James had built up any hope, it was likely to be dashed with his next words.

"However, time is all they can buy us. As long as it keeps producing units at the rate it held, they will be overrun. How much time that they can buy us versus how much time we need is the question. Without any knowledge of how long we need, I cannot say whether the sacrifice would be worth it or if we should simply have them help us retreat."

The Executive covered his mouth for a moment to cover a weary sigh that escaped his lips.

"When they are overrun, we would be pretty much sitting Duckletts, deprived of resources that we still need. I support a mass evacuation from the Sevii Islands."

IC: Miriam Shields - Chapel

Miriam was pretty sure this was awaited bad little bureaucrats when they died. Reports had been coming in from all over regions controlled by Team Rocket that the powers of Pokemon simply stopped working. The reports had flooded her inbox, people rushing to and fro her office with hastily assorted documents, burying her desk with paperwork. At first she was completely incredulous. Expelling everyone from her office for a moment, she sent out Twister and told her to summon forth a sandstorm, to test it for herself. Not a grain.

If Pokemon were out of commission, Team Rocket could find itself severely understaffed if a disaster broke out during this mess, Miriam considered. If any of Team Rockets enemies chose this moment to attack, no, if this had been planned out by Ford, to lure Sleight away from Chapel and then attack with agents who wouldn't need Pokemon. The attack by the Darkrai on his home assured that Sleight would come for Ford himself.

Miriam shook her head. There was still too much too many variables to come to that conclusion. What Team Rocket needed right now was information on how to respond to this mess.

She took a deep breath and began sorting through all the information that had been unceremoniously dumped on her. Reports about the incident in and of itself were mostly superfluous and could be ignored. The only new facts that had arisen from her cursory glance, was that aura wielders and psychics had felt a similar effect to those suffered by Pokemon. A summary of the reports detailing the origin of the light concluded that the light had originated in the Sevii Islands.

Where Sleight went to fight Ford, Miriam thought, as she began to pen a forwarding message to be sent to various key military leaders. If there was a possibility they were going to be attacked, they needed to be warned.

She was about to finish when reports of a second wave of light began to come in. Humans that were in areas covered by this wave began to show that they had their own abilities back. Their Pokemon however remained powerless. It would hit Chapel soon.

Now that left her briefly stumped. It made no sense for Ford to switch the powers that some humans held off and then to switch them back on. If some convoluted circumstances forced him to do it in this manner, she could not fathom it. There was a chance that Sleight and those that were with him had a found a way to, at least in part, reverse the process. Chapel needed Sleight to contact them as soon as possible.

"It's hope at least," she decided muttering to herself.

And hope was marketable. If she could exploit that by diverting any available aura or psychic users to city centers to give a show that this situation would pass, even if a lie, could prevent mass panic. This needed proper care and planning. She scratched her Hippowdon's head for good luck.

The bureaucrat began writing a new suggestion to be sent up the chain of command.

IC: Richard, Claus

The bard was glad to have sunlight again. He took his violin and positioned it where it belonged.

"Richard! Are you all right?" Richard heard Claus ask as he ran over. He was sure the fellow agent had more questions, but concern caused him to choose that one.

Richard finally began playing the violin. Random, scattered notes and chords. More or less trying to distract himself for a moment while his brain processed what just happened.

"That... wasn't good song material."

IC: James

The Executive walked up to his leader with a heavy heart. He had an idea and it was making him sick thinking of what, or rather who, it required dealing with.

"Goldhawk, sir," He started. "If what we saw down there gets released into the world while our Pokemon are still unable to fight, we are going to need another weapon."

Even without waiting for a response, James knew that Goldhawk was not going to like where he was going with this, "If there was a scenario that Project HARMONY would be needed, this is it."

IC: James/Lancelot

James was impatient. Understandably so, The snowman who tried to attack Pelleas earlier had made its way close to the entrance and a snake was closing in, and James swore he saw more monstrosities exit the blob. As it was Lancelot was holding his current opponent off for now, but the snowman's Ice Beams were starting to freeze his claws. James fired a shot from his revolver at the snowman, seemingly stunning it while Lancelot followed by bashing his partially frozen claw on the snowman, causing it to retreat for a moment.

The situation wasn't helped by what appeared to James to be people faffing about in there when they were out of time. Most relevant to himself was Bounty. The Shadow Admin appeared to be searching the area and not actively trying to escape the area.

"Bounty, get moving!" James shouted to his technical ally, forgetting protocol due to stress in the moment. "Whatever you are looking for, it is not over there!"

The Executive saw the Rocket Agent throw out his Swellow to pester McKinley. Narrowing, James took aim at McKinley. Depending on how long the Swellow fared, he would have to engage the monster as well in order to buy time for the Shadow Admin to escape.

IC: Guinevere - Celadon

When the red flash struck, Guinevere had regained enough of her Psychic power, that she needed no other crutch to hold herself up. Then the flash hit and her legs collapsed without any of her power to support her. Thankfully her father's protectiveness came in handy right then as the Grimer who had been assigned to guard her caught her and broke her fall.

Not that that was much better. Getting embraced by a Grimer, even one who raised you and you love dearly, generally required a bath or several afterward.

She got set aside by the Grimer, so that he could fetch her actual crutches. After she managed to get up, with some help, she decided to go look for Lucia. She needed to figure out what was going on.

IC: James/Jamie

James swallowed as he saw Pierce being swallowed. He had no love lost for him, but it was still a pointless waste of life. Thankfully, Jamie and the others arrived at the entrance to the room relatively unscathed. Jamie and Lucan had regained enough of their bearings that Pelleas was able to regain his arms and allow them to move on their own. Unfortunately there were still a number of people in the room. This included Ford who still held the most knowledge about the situation. The Executive weighed the cost of leaving versus the risk of staying when Celebi flew over. She cast one look towards Ilios that made James sigh.

"If they do not hurry up, I am leaving," James muttered as he thrust his briefcase into Pelleas's now free arms. He needed both arms to be free. "Keep moving, stay with the others."

After Celebi, Jamie and her Pokemon had left, James and Lancelot took opposite sides of the entrance. Both were ready to run if they needed to cut their losses, but until that time came, James held the revolver to shoot at any of the creatures who neared Ford or themselves.

IC: James/Jamie/Richard/Celebi

Welp, I'm out of here, Hades, said pulling on Richard's leg. He did -not- sign up for this. Neither did Richard for that matter. Deserting seemed to sound really nice about now. Unless those things spread all over and there was nowhere left to run.

The bard wordlessly took his instrument from his Sableye and placed it back in its case. This... wasn't something that could be made into a song. He went with the group, following behind the others that had left.

James stood to one side to let people pass. He wasn't going to leave while Jamie was still in there. Pulling out his revolver, he aimed at towards the blob. The Executive didn't know which target his ammo would be best used on, so he held off from firing. He needed to save his ammo until he -had- to fire.

"Lancelot retrieve Jamie," he ordered, causing the Scizor to run into the room. "Galahad..." there wasn't much the Togekiss could accomplish in this situation, "exit the room. Take Agravain with you."

Galahad nodded and scooped up the small bug. The bug, seemingly still unable to grasp the gravity of the situation, protested but was unable to do much about it.

Lucan wasn't shaking. The Vanilluxe was too scared even to shiver in fear. He was frozen. He knew what this was, he had seen all of this before. Before it was just the idea of it, but now the reality had arrived. And worst of all, he couldn't fight. The one thing that allowed him to be brave was gone. He had grown so much since the day he saw a master of ice die and still he could do nothing.

A sentiment shared by his master.

Their shared reaction forced Pelleas to lift both of them up to take them away. A snowman drew near and tried to claw the Heracross but was forced out of the way by Lancelot's weight as he threw himself into the monstrosity. Heracross didn't have time to thank his former companion but simply kept moving, with Lancelot turning to follow.

Celebi looked towards Ilios, seeing him back to his senses relieved her. There was much she wanted to ask him, but right then was not the time. Without her power, she was more or less a sitting duck, even Lancelot was better suited to the situation, as much as she hated to admit that. She headed towards James, as quick as she could.

IC: James/Jamie/Richard

Huh, he actually won. Hades thought as he saw the Umbreon fall into sleep. If he had been running a gambling ring, he'd in be in deep debt right now. The Whismur was looking awfully pleased with himself, but also looking in a lot of pain from Toxic. Richard was still regaining his bearings, so Hades grabbed the Poke Ball from his trainer and decided to retire the Whismur himself.

As James got back up, he muttered "What in blazes..." before turning towards his companion and saying, "Lancelot, stand on your guard."

The warning was more for his own sake than Lancelot's. The Scizor was already on guard, ready to make a move when but asked.

Jamie's feelings of 'focus on battle and don't even think about anything else' were intensifying at the latest developments. But the Haxorus was probably no longer her main concern.

"Lucan! Dual-Ice Beam on McKinley!"

The ice-cream sundae deluxe, sharing Jamie's sentiments, tried to form two cold beams to freeze McKinley solid.

Celebi had a pained expression on her face for a moment as she turned towards Ilios for a moment. Turning back towards McKinley, she tried to summon another tendril to have a shot at McKinley again.

IC: James/Jamie/Richard

"Lucan, Icicle Spear and Mirror Shot!"

The Vanilluxe launched several rows of icy spears towards the Haxorus from his right head while the left head produce spheres of metallic power that traveled between each volley of spears towards the Haxorus.

Lancelot slammed himself, James and a barely recovered Richard down to the ground to evade the Flamethrower. Being near the edge of the room, they had time to react before the flame reached them and were mostly unharmed. Mostly, Jamie's suit was not entirely spared. The full realization of said tragedy would not hit James until later, but the suit would not survive. Richard's sobs could still be heard, but they were much better than they would've been if he had been caught in the flames. Hades ran out of the room to hide the violin so it would'nt be damaged in the crossfire.

Galahad rose above the flames without a sound. Celebi too rose above the fire. As the Raichu ran away, she glanced between it and McKinley. With each glance at McKinley, her face grew angrier until she gathered one large tendril together and laucnhed it at the clown, to try and sap the life out of it.

Orpheus grew a bit impatient with Toxic ticking away, so he hopped over to the Umbreon and began to Sing. He sang a quiet lullaby for an audience of one.

OOC:

Celebi: Giga Drain > McKlownley;

Lucan: Icicle Spear + Mirror Shot > Haxorus;

Orpheus: Toxic Turn 3; Sing > Umbreon:

James: Suit singed.

Richard: Stunned

IC: James/Jamie/Richard

Thankfully for Jamie, she had a bug on her arm. Or more precisely, she had a Heracross holding onto it. And Pelleas wasn't exactly a stranger to being thrown about and having to gain his bearing spiraling mid-flight. Flapping his wings and using his body as a pillow, Pelleas managed to soften the blow to his daughter.

"Lucan, keep fighting!" she called to the Vanilluxe as she and Pelleas began to regain their footing.

Lucan's focus was nearly broken until Jamie's call to action. Heartened by the partial freezing of his opponent, Lucan opened both of his mouths to form Ice Beams. Both of the Vanilluxe's heads focused their Ice Beams into one stronger beam. The combined beam shot forth towards the Haxorus with the combined momentum of both individual beams.

Richard had finally decided on a song to play when he was lifted from the ground. The Sableye on top of his head was miffed at this. At least they weren't being blown -towards- the freakshow, but he liked his perch. Hades's rather cavalier attitude turned to horror however, when the violinist's violin was ripped from his arms. Using Detect to trace the violin's path, Hades leaped from his perch into action. With incalculable speed, the Sableye managed to catch the violin before it hit the ground. Hades wiped imaginary seat from his brow. A Richard with his violin was a happy Richard.

Though at the moment, Richard was not happy as he had just collided with Lancelot, effectively a wall made of steel.

"Are you all right, Agent Apollo?" the Executive asked showing a bit of concern.

The bards muffled whimpering could barely be heard.

At the same time, Orpheus was happy that he seemed to be doing well, but he hadn't heard Richard say his next orders yet, so he stood still and did nothing. He was hoping the orders would come soon, the toxic was starting to hurt.

Celebi did not break the tendril connecting her and Raichu. If that was the game the Raichu wanted to play, she could play it. As the Thunderbolt raced across the tendril and into her body, she was shocked for a moment at the Raichu's power, but held the tendril firm. She was confident that she could win a battle of attrition. Forcing as much power she could into her tendril, Celebi continued her Giga Drain assault in spite of the pain.

OOC:

Celebi: Hit By Thunderbolt; Giga Drain > Raichu

Richard: Stunned;

Orpheus: Toxic Turn 2; Waiting for orders

Lucan: Dual Ice Beam > Haxorus

IC: James/Jamie/Richard

The Toxic gunk flew too quick for the Whismur to dodge. Richard was a bit happy that his choice of target was good (if his first move maybe backfired a bit). Any direct attacks from any of these participants would be enough to KO the young Orpheus.

"Now Orpheus, Roar!" Richard gave his next command.

The Whismur opened his mouth and shouted at the Umbreon. The goal was to disorient it enough that it would start attacking its own allies. Richard was about to begin playing when McKinley went through his disgusting transformation.

"Do I have to remember every detail of that for the song?" Richard said very quietly as he watched. Maybe he skip a few details here.

Celebi felt the Safeguard envelope her, and thus allowed the small jolt to reach her futilely. Four green tendrils extended from her hand. One Giga Drain tendril for each image of Raichu shot forth to dispel the fakes and flush out the true one.

"Well, -that- was revolting. Could you do it again?" James said using sarcasm to cover his unease. With Sloth behind him and this monstrosity before him, he was between a rock and a hard place. And Celebi didn't seem to be in the mood to listen to him, so she was unreliable if an exit was required. Plus, Jamie was here and leaving her behind was not an option.

Lancelot and James exchanged glances, and the Scizor prepared to use Swords Dance in anticipation of whatever McKinley, whatever that thing was would do next.

Pelleas held Jamie's arm. She was shaking with so many emotions at the moment. Anger, anxiety, fear, nausea. She wanted to join her fellow hero in fighting the monster. But the sight of the monster dropping his human disguise left her paralyzed for a moment, until she saw Lucan. Lucan's focus on the battle in front of him kept him steady, even when normally the battle itself would have scared him. Seeing that focus, she calmed back down and focused on the battle in front of her. -That- she could fight.

Lucan turned one head to face the incoming Charizard. The head that faced the Charizard covered itself with an acidic substance to harden his body. When the Charizard collided with him, he allowed himself to spin to slow the change in momentum and decrease damage to both Charizard and Vanilluxe as well as put the other head in position to fire an Ice Beam at the incoming Hidden Power. The two attacks collided but the Ice Beam powered through and closed in on the Haxorus.

OOC:

Celebi: Thunder Wave blocked by Safeguard; Giga Drain > All Four Raichu images

Lucan: Acid Armor > Half-Self; Hit by Jaeda; Ice Beam > Haxorus;

Orpheus: Badly Poisoned; Roar > Umbreon

IC: James/Jamie/Richard

The Rocket Agent regained her footing. She had been frozen by her fear and confusion on what to do. But that was then. This was something that Jamie knew. She could fight the enemy in front of her. Holding herself as how a Rocket agent must, she called towards her chosen Pokemon.

"Lucan, engage the Haxorus," Jamie said pointing towards her chosen target.

As if the tone of her could cause nerves to steel, the Vanilluxe's shaking slowed and he eyed his target. The Vanilluxe directed an Ice Beam from one mouth and the other head sent three waves of Icicle Spears towards the Dragon-type.

Hades looked around. There wasn't going to be space for Dionysus at this point. Oceanus wouldn't be much better. Not until they cleared people out. Erebus needed the Raichu cleared out so he could safely bring rain to the field. Which meant he was the best option in this scenario.

"Now hold up, Hades," Richard said holding a Poke Ball. "Rest for the next verse. We'll start this off," he said sending out Orpheus.

Hades questioned the merits of sending the young Whismur to fight this battle, but whatever kept him out of the that mess. Richard wasn't so cruel to send the poor Whismur to die. Direct combat wasn't what he needed the Whismur to do.

"Orpheus, use Supersonic on the Umbreon," Richard called, as Hades migrated to Richard's head to make room for the violin, that Richard plopped into position.

The normal sly geniality the Celebi normally held was absent. Wordlessly and without prompting, she flew into the fray. Her sight briefly dashed towards the chamber containing Ilios followed by McKinley. With a scowl, she sent a yellow energy into the floor beneath the Raichu. After a moment, the ground would erupt with Earth Power. The legend was not naive enough to believe this would be a quick battle, but she wanted it over with.

Galahad focused in on the Time Traveler. Emotions were running high, and the strong auras in the room made it hard to focus on any one aura. With enough effort, Galahad was able to gain a glimpse of Celebi's emotional state. It wasn't quite anger that she felt. But it was something similar. Hate?

Celebi's technical trainer had an inkling of why she had dashed off. Why was it never made known to me that Nine was the Darkrai working for Ford? James thought as he remembered the meeting between himself, Celebi and the Darkrai. They had seemed cordial at the time, but James was guessing there was more to it to spark such a reaction.

Lancelot took a step forward before James held up a hand to signal him to stop.

"Lancelot, let us hold off until room has been made. As it is, you are more likely to be hit in the crossfire. Galahad, you may wait as well."

James sympathized with Celebi if his guess was correct, and noted the need to win this battle. But considering how McKinley currently was, James was not entirely convinced that 'merely' defeating Ford's team would finish all the fighting. He decided to reserve as much strength as they could. Celebi would have to handle herself for now.

OOC:

Celebi: Earth Power > Raichu;

Lucan: Ice Beam; Icicle Spear > Haxorus;

Orpheus: Supersonic > Umbreon;

IC: Jamie/James/Richard

The executive's eyes narrowed at Ford. He didn't need Galahad's Aura ability to sense the mood coming from Ford and his children. James took one deep breath and forcefully exhaled. Depending on how Ford reacted to James's conclusions, well, the Fourth would get his battle. Maybe some bloodshed with it. "I can think of at least two potential methods he could make it so that Pokemon could no longer battle."

The thought of the first idea calmed James. It wasn't as bad in his eyes. Though perhaps he was alone in that appraisal. He couldn't quite judge.

"If he could affect thought processes he could make it so no one would be willing to fight. Or even have any conflicts at all for that matter. He could alter humanity and or or Pokemon so that battles can no longer happen because no one would have the will to make one happen."

Richard turned towards James with a look of shock on his face. The thought of what James suggested shaking him out of his fantasy and bringing him back to reality, if only for a while. Even Celebi seemed perturbed by the executive's suggestion. James, on the other hand, had a cold look on his face. He hoped this next idea was wrong. If he was wrong, he could convince the others to let Ford divert the threat with his ritual. And then there would be one less problem in the world. But if he was right...

"And the other... the other idea I came up with, is that he could make it so that Pokemon no longer exist."

IC: James/Jamie/Richard

Richard tried to jog his memory. He knew a story with something like what Ford had just mentioned it. Someone's mythology or another. Not his specific field at least. "That kind of magical contract, what's it called again, a geese? A gas?"

Jamie nearly collapsed on hearing Ethan's response, Pelleas had to catch her to keep her from falling to the ground. Lucan likewise froze, not with his normal fear of everything, but with a concrete dread from knowledge. Her brother nearly ran over to her, but stopped himself. No, there was still one thing that they, that he, needed to know before they could make a solid judgement on what to do next. Jamie would have to survive a little bit longer.

Taking but a moment to hide the emotions of concern that nearly surfaced, her turned back towards Ford and asked, "Before you finish your ritual, I still believe one question, at minimum, needs to be answered."

Hopefully it would prove fruitless, but it needed to be asked, just in case. As for trusting Ford, that was another matter that would be settled with the group.

"You said that you plan to render this place useless to your target. What makes a place useful, and more pressing, what makes a place useless to your target? That is to ask, how exactly is your ritual going to accomplish what you say it will?"