Metal Gear Minun

IC: Lohe Mahina - Four Island

"I see," Lohe said, looking directly at Sonja. "Well I'll expect a lot of people will be happy to hear that."

He stretched his neck left and right for a moment. "The folks back home want a more... permanent solution to the problem," he said his eyes wandering for a moment. "They're afraid that even if Pokemon gain their powers back, that something like this could happen again."

He hit his head a couple of times to snap himself awake.

"I'll ask this Ford character myself after your leaders get back. Just to be sure. That was all the questions I had, thank you for time."

IC: Richard - One Island

It was an ugly end for the Leopyred, compared to the beauty of the song that killed it. Richard would have pitied it, had circumstance not forced him to fighting.

Richard chose his target virtually at random, the winged devil. The bubbles shot forth at the last word, allowing Richard a moment to take a breath.

IC: Jamie - One Island

Jamie was surprised to see the Maniakoll try to turn her attack to it's advantage. She could try to block it with her shield module, but she had a better idea. It was time to follow through on what Pelleas and Lucan taught her. She braced herself for the attack as best she could before it collided with her. The tough steel suit held firm against the force crashing against it. It hurt a bit, even through the tough exterior, but Jamie grit her teeth. And through the pain she activated Metal Burst, the damage caused to the suit creating a radiant light to shot out at the Maniakoll slamming into her.

IC: Lohe Mahina - Four Island

Lohe remained more or less focused on Sonja, with the occasional shift to Paul, absorbing the wealth of information being showered onto him. When the tale was finished he sat for a moment, processing all the data before responding.

"Just one," he stated perking up, "You said that Pokemon abilities were turned off by a card. Is there any danger of such a card being reproduced to be used by another party in the future?" he paused turning away.

"If we have one, by the look of things," he added.

IC: Lohe Mahina - Four Island

"Hmm..." Lohe ruminated as he tossed his tired head from side to side. He seemed about as clueless as Sonja on how to start the conversation for real. 

"I vaguely know who this Ford guy is, but the rest of those are lost on me," he said scratching his head. "The 'egg', was it? Let's start with that."

IC: Lohe Mahina - Four Island

"-I- hardly knew I was coming," Lohe complained. "I get a call from the big wigs, and they tell me I'm supposed to go treat with Team Liberty. They didn't even tell me how I was supposed to get here. I had to hitch a ride with someone else. Like, seriously? What sort of planning for a diplomatic mission is that?" he said chewing his lip in frustration, gripping his staff tightly. "I guess it's because I was in Kanto at the time that they sent me, but they could have afforded giving me more to work with."

Lohe let out a mix of a sigh and a yawn. "Anyway, that's the reason for all my ails."

IC: Richard Apollo - One Island

On the word wind, a stream of sparkling bubbles shot towards his original target. The rain had to conquer the sun.

IC: Jamie Arthur - One Island 

Jamie wanted to hit something.  And now there were plenty of things to hit. She was tempted to send out Tristan and have him hit things too, but right now she was strong enough to fight on her own. She created an anchor and chain and looked for an opponent. She decided to pick the thin human-like Instance that just hit the water type suit.

"Get over here!" Jamie shouted as she launched the Anchor shot the Maniakoll, intending to reel it in so she could face it herself.

IC: Lohe Mahina - Four Island

"I coulda just taken a nap there, but noooo, you're not allowed to sleep in the front entrance," Lohe grumbled quietly.

"Well I'll keep that in mind," he replied speaking up. "I should be the only one at the moment. It'd be odd if they sent someone else..." A yawn. "Especially without telling me."

IC: Claus Diamond - Four Island

Well she's an eager one, Claus thought suppressing a chuckles with his fist to his mouth. He tried to pass it off as him clearing his throat when that failed.

"I didn't really have anywhere that I was-" No, that wasn't quite true. There was one place his mind thought of. "I guess, I was sorta thinking of visiting the band hall. I could bring you along if you want."

Acedia
 

A bright hill. A full mansion. A bustling party. A grand hall. A roaring fireplace. An innocuous occasion. A great host. A mighty king. A fearless conqueror. A confident smile. A sharp suit. Fire in flesh.
 
A day of celebration. An eager crowd. An emperor's toast. A ring of glass. A sip of champagne. A joyful feeling. A hero's welcome.
 
A drop of rain. An opened door. An unlucky servant. A short man. A weak man. A sweaty palm. A fateful piece of paper. A light tap. A slight turn. A warm face. A terrified face. A message delivered. A casual thanks. A running servant. A cowardly man.
 
A quick glance. An eternal stare.
 
A simple message.
 
A simple horrible message.
 
An untimely accident. A mistake. A culpritless crime. An explosion. A great fire. A wife and child. His queen and prince. A confirmed report.
 
An eternity. An unmoving body. A word of concern. A worried shake. An empty expression.
 
A loud fire. A crackling spark. A moment of anger. A bucket grabbed. A torrent thrown. A fireplace quenched. Six Poke Balls thrown out a window. Six dear friends dismissed. Six refusals. One demand. One final fire.
 
A canceled party. A confused crowd. A great dispersal. A gray hill. A quiet house.
 
An open window. Scattered rain. A reflective man. An empty heart. A pointless empire. A grieving husband. A mourning father.
 

 
A rainy dawn. A beautiful chair. An unmoving body. A breakfast uneaten. A pill rejected. An empty glass of scotch. A worried servant.
 
An unaswered phone. A conversation refused. A visit denied. A friend's plea. A comrade's begging. An emperor's order. A dejected departure.
 

 
A month passed. A funeral missed. An unpaid salary. A resignation letter. An unstaffed house. An overgrown yard. A damp fireplace. A dead fireplace.
 
A stagnated nation. An undesired decision. A title stripped. An empire salvaged. A king abandoned. 
 
A messenger dispatched. A door unanswered. A letter left. An unreceived message.
 
A sickness took. A weak body. An unwilling heart. A dying fire.

 
A second month. A great flood. An isolated hill. A solitary house.
 
A sickness deepened. An emaciated body. A putrid smell. A feeble frame. An empty bottle of pills. A lonely man. A tired man. A wishing man. A final spark.
 
A faint spector. A hallucination. A dream. A hope. A prayer answered. An addled brain. A light on his face.
 
Three ghosts.
 
Three familiar faces.
 
Three sets of longing eyes
 
A whole family.
 
A gentle smile. A longing call. An outstretched arm.
 
A smile returned. A call responded. An arm clasped.
 
A reunited family.
 
A final drop A last flame extinguished. A storm quieted.

 
A delayed rescue team. A flooded level. A collapsed staircase. An uneasy foundation. A task impeded. A task far too long delayed. A failure reported. Two grieving comrades. A mourning group of six.
 

 
For a long time after. A dusty chair. A rotten suit. A sitting skeleton. A rusted fireplace. A dark hill. An empty house.

IC: Butler - Old Chateau

The butler's face hardly changed. He was taken aback slightly by the threats, but didn't seem immediately threatened.

"The mistress is always stubborn about these things. Not helping is the presence of the clown who organized the party," he complained, turning away from the group for a moment.

"Your clothes are currently being laundered. They will be ready for you in the front hall," the butler remarked offhandedly before stepping towards the door.

"If you wish to leave, I will not stand in your way," he said holding the door open. "However, do think about accepting her invitation. It would make things easier for all of us."

IC: Jamie Arthur - One Island

"Y-yeah. Yeah, that makes sense," she said whilst clenching her fists. "Yeah, come on!" she shouted, trying to pick up speed to outpace the others, but the weight of the Steel type suit kept her running about even pace.

IC: Richard Apollo: One Island

As the raindrops beat against the sand, Richard leaned back imagining the sound of a violin. He'd love to play this song before beginning this performance. Before he could start to sing, however, he remembered the piano. For a brief moment, his lip wavered as he remembered those notes.

"You are the ocean's gray waves, destined to seek

Life beyond the shore, just out of reach,"

At his words water from the rain began to coalesce into bright bubbles. The reflecting light created a spotlight on Richard.

"Yet the waters ever change, flowing like time

The path is yours to climb."

At the conclusion of the line, the bubbles formed waves of water. Those waves rapidly danced away, rushing towards the Leopyred.

OOC: Richard: +1 Def

IC: Lohe Mahina - Four Island

The tired man looked vaguely in the general directions of each of the three people in the room with him. His yawning had subsided somewhat, but his head still drooped on occasion. When Lohe heard the names 'Blackskull' and 'Silvermind' he leaned his head up slightly trying to recall those names.

"All I got told was that they were all busy with some mission," Lohe said looking towards Sonja. "Couldn't tell you what it was, though."

"Been trying to find someone to deal with since I got here, but it's been havoc. I haven't even found a place to put my stuff," he said, vaguely gesturing to the backpack on his back. "Who's even in charge of diplomatic housing?"

IC: Claus Diamond - Four Island

"Used to it," Claus grumbled quietly as he got up.

"My name's Claus," he said dusting himself off. "I wasn't exactly looking where I was going either. So... sorry," he said awkwardly. "I guess I have a lot on my mind right now."

IC: Guinevere - Stacy's Mansion

Guinevere was staring into a glass of water whilst two Grimer were tending to her, when a shout rang out into room. Before any of the three could react, the sound of police sirens too were entering the room.

A crime? Here? the Gardevoir thought with a worried expression on her face. The mansion was never exactly empty, especially with the Grimer moving in and out of it. It wasn't exactly an easy place to rob. She had a pit in her stomach, so she turned to her attendants.

Could you keep the police outside for a few minutes? I want to know what is going on, she asked as one helped her stand up. She was down to one crutch now, even without psychic power on her side.

Both of the Grimers bowed to her before ducking into the nearest restroom. Asking Grimer to distract anybody was quite literally dirty business. But they were effective, she could only hope the police wouldn't figure out it was her that was going to be the cause of their noses requiring psychiatric care.

Guinevere rushed as fast as a crutch would allow her to towards the sound of the scream. For her to have heard it through a closed door, it could not have been far. As she entered the hallway, she turned and saw a broken door leading outside. If the police took it, her distraction was going to be meaningless. She had to hope the element of surprise would be enough. Turning down a corridor, she saw an open door. Peeking inside, she saw the mansion's kitchen. But more importantly, she saw what had caused the scream. She rushed towards the opposite side of the room to see more closely, hoping her eyes were mistaken.

They were not.

There she was. Stacy lying on her back, a knife sticking out of her chest, as blood pooled on top of her clothes. Using a wall to guide her descent, Guinevere leaned down to the ground. The Gardevoir shook the face of the woman slightly. The body felt cold and elicited no response. She placed her fingers on the woman's neck. No pulse and her chest wasn't moving. Guinevere averted her eyes for a moment. This wasn't the first corpse she had seen, and depending on her choices, it would not be likely not be her last. Still it hurt. It was not that they were close. She had been a stranger to Stacy, yet she had been welcomed in her home when she felt like she didn't have one.

She brought her hand up to her face, clenched it and exhaled into it. There was little chance that she would be able to add anything of value to the investigation, but she wouldn't be satisfied until she had taken the chance. Guinevere forced herself back up using the crutch and the wall.

The first thing to check was the body. Blood was pouring from where the knife entered the body at a trickle. She had already exsanguinated by this point. However she didn't see another source of blood. While it was possible Stacy had other injuries obscured by her clothing, she couldn't afford to disturb the body any further. The handle of the knife was straight before ending in a slight curve. No cross-guard or grooves. It didn't seem to be a combat knife, not like one she had seen at least. That probably meant...

She scanned the room for a minute. It occurred to her in her search that except for the corpse and the blood, there were no signs of a struggle. No knocked over pots or overturned tables. No other bloodstains. The Gardevoir thought about the human body for a moment. She wasn't sure of the precise location of vital organs in their bodies, but the fact that Stacy was already dead implied that one had been hit. Between the lack of a struggle and a well aimed stab, the culprit had either been able to take her by surprise and was very lucky, or was experienced enough to know exactly what they were doing. No concrete proof either way though.

Using her crutch, she hopped over to the other end of the room. Being the kitchen of a mansion, the room was relatively large for a kitchen. Guinevere had to rest for a moment when she reached what she was looking for. A block of kitchen knives. The handles matched the one sticking out of the corpse, and precisely one was missing. Lacking the time to confirm that there were no others knives in the kitchen, she had to make the assumption that the murder weapon was the missing knife.

She pondered the size of the room again as she looked back towards the body. Taking note of the obstructions of counters in the room, she concluded it was possible that someone could enter in the room and take a knife before being seen. Without further evidence, it would be impossible to tell who entered the room first.

Guinevere was hopping back over to the body, when she noticed the table. On it were various pictures and a folder. She paused for a moment, considering that the folder may be searched for fingerprints. Turning around, she grabbed a spatula from a holder and turned herself around again.

When she reached the table, she took a moment to look at the photographs. The faces in them were unknown to her, but she seared the images into her head. If she saw any of these faces again, she would recognize them. Finally turning her attention to the folder next to them. Carefully, she turned the folder open with the spatula revealing it's content. She flipped through a few pages, when noticed that page numbers were occasionally being skipped. Were pages missing? If so, who took them?

Her thoughts were interrupted. The police sirens had intensified, she didn't have long. Whatever the Grimer were doing would be cleared up in a few moments. She needed to finish quickly. She turned one more page and paused.

At the top of the page was the word "Victims". Directly beneath it was a list of names she didn't recognize. Names that probably matched the pictures, she considered. She tried to memorize as many of these as she could before her eyes turned to the bottom of the page. At the bottom of the page "Revenge?" was listed.

She wanted to ponder what that meant, but she had to leave now. Using the spatula to flip the folder closed, she started for the exit. She paused only long enough to return the spatula, before exiting out the back door.

New Pokemon

Species: Alolan Grimer (colloquially "Slimer")

Nickname: [TBD]

Trainer: Guinevere

Appearance: standard for an Alolan-Grimer

Personality: An outcast mistrustful of others. Bit of a bully.

Ability: Power of Alchemy

Specialty: Can deactivate Power of Alchemy mid-battle to prime it again.

Known Moves: Bite, Poison Fang, Shadow Sneak (Egg Move), Mean Look (Egg Move), Disable, Minimize

IC: Richard Apollo - One Island

"Time to set the stage," Richard said, starting up the Rain Dance protocol. He had to manipulate it just right. It couldn't cover the fire-user on the other side of the beach, yet he had to make it big enough for him and Goldhawk to use effectively.

The ambiance created as water hit sand was worth it, in his opinion.

"Are you all ready? I'm going to start my performance. It's gonna take up some space, so be careful!" he warned.

IC: Jamie Arthur - One Island

Jamie giggled brightly at the praise she got. This armor thing was so cool. She would have been lost in her thoughts about how hero it was, until she looked at the corner of her HUD as a response to hearing Lucia's words.

"What the-? What- What is with all the orange?"

Her eyes widened for a moment as James's status briefly flickered before disappearing.

"Where did James's status go? I think my display's broken."

She didn't sound convinced.

IC: Shard

James and Lancelot had been the closest to the Leopyred. When the smoke cleared, there were no armored knights in it. Only a burnt piece of James's helmet and the ruins of the Psychic type drone.

IC: Lohe Mahina - Cafeteria

"That's kinda harsh," Lohe responded to Paul's statement. "Not entirely unwarranted given that you don't who I am, but still, it hurts."

The tired man stretched his neck a bit.

"Lead the way..." Lohe said sleepily.

IC: ?????? - Old Chateau

"I am the head butler of this great house" he spoke with a bit of pride as looked at the elegant walls of the room. He was slow to add anything further, as he trying to avoid looking directly at any of the trainers in the room.  

"You have all been invited to the party on behalf of my mistress,"

He looked embarrassed to have said such an innocuous message. 

IC: Lohe Mahina - Cafeteria

"You really should think about my advice," Lohe said, still not making eye contact with anyone.  "As it is... I did try to speak to anyone in charge. It seems most of them, and their," another yawn, "immediate subordinates, are gone on some sort of mission."

Olivia's comment was the first one to make Lohe turn to face someone specifically, raising an eyebrow at her comment. "The news pretty much all but said it. Giant egg or something, a terrorist apprehended, all at the same time in the Sevii Islands."

The second one to make him turn with Ellen's. It was a large contrast to the loud man that he had to guess was her father (It'd explain the defensiveness at the least). He had to respect the sentiment, and gave a slight approving nod. "It doesn't matter to me who tells me what, but I need specifics on the matter."

Slapping himself on the cheek to keep himself awake, he turned his head in the vague direction of Chloe. "If you wouldn't mind, it would make things easier I think. I would be surprised, though if someone could overhear things better than I can."

IC: ???? ?????? - Cafeteria

The man listened to their words, but only seemed to be barely paying attention. If he was worried about what anyone else in the room might do to him, he didn't show it. He seemed more like he was trying to stave off sleep than caring about the response he received. A few moments passed without a word from him. At last, however, he finally spoke up.

"A piece of advice..." he paused to yawn once again. "If you're trying to allay suspicion from someone, I'd suggest not immediately getting so defensive," he said. His words were directed at Paul, but he didn't bother to look at him.

He blew air out of his mouth in a gesture of exhaustion. He relented however and started to speak. "Alright, give me a chance to start this again," he said looking at no one in particular. "My name is Lohe Mahina, I'm here on behalf of the Alolan government. I'm not here to accuse anyone of anything, everything is just in a tizzy because of this whole mess, and we're looking for solutions."

Pre-approved by Pears

Username: Metal Gear Minun

Name: Lohe Mahina

Faction: [Redacted]

Hometown: [Redacted]

Age: [Redacted]

Appearance: Messy black hair and dark skin. Fairly tall at 6 foot 2 inches, he appears shorter due to always being hunched over. His brown eyes always have bags under them. Patches of five-o-clock shadow.

Wears a wrinkled dark brown suit over a wool turtleneck sweater and brown pants. 

Personality: [Redacted]

Background: [Redacted]

Equipment: [Redacted]

Pokémon: Nosferatu, Ruthven, Mu

Species: Crobat
Nickname: Nosferatu
Trainer: Lohe Mahina
Appearance: Body is a bit bluer than other Crobat. Sharper fangs.
Personality: Likes to harmlessly bite others playfully. Also likes to harmfully bite others playfully
Ability: Infiltrator
Specialty: Extra proficient with draining moves.
Known Moves: Leech Life, Giga Drain (Egg Move), Hypnosis (Egg Move), Cross Poison, Quick Guard

Species: Noivern

Nickname: Ruthven
Trainer: Lohe Mahina
Appearance: Fur is very well groomed and luxurious
Personality: Hates noise of any sort, doesn’t like to fight much due to the noise that his attacks make. Does love to show off his flying skills to any audience that can remain silent.
Ability: Infiltrator
Specialty: Silent movement but loud attacks.
Known Moves: Boomburst, Screech, Supersonic, Dragon Pulse, Moonlight, Tailwind

Species: Alolan Rattata

Nickname: Mu

Trainer: Lohe Mahina

Appearance: If I think of anything interesting, I'll tell you.

Personality: Sought to prove his independence and got caught. Disciplined and serious.

Ability: Hustle

Specialty: Disciplined movements lessen Hustle's accuracy drop.

Known Moves: Sucker Punch, Endeavor, Focus Energy, Pursuit, Counter (egg move), Quick Attack

IC: One Island

"One sec!," Richard called through the comm, as he shot forth a blue goop from his arms at the Leopyred charging towards Essence Ponder. He didn't have the time to start his performance here, but using Soak to change the Fire type to Water on the way to attack the Grass and Steel type suits would go a long way to turning the tide. Once the liquid had been fired, he turned around and headed west to follow his team.

"Lyre Play 4, trailing behind," Richard called once more as he ran to catch up.

Jamie was unaware of what Richard's attack had been, so she took up a defensive position facing the way they had came, placing herself between Lucia, Skye and the Leopyred. If it wanted to target them, it would have to go through her first.

James was apprehensive of the idea to split up. He could see the benefit, but he still felt that the suits were too fragile to risk splitting their forces. Furthermore, he was personally split between protecting Jamie and moving south towards the heart of the problem. With his practical suit experience, and the combat experience of his team, he figured they had to be the group to plunge furthest into enemy territory for the mission to have a chance at success. He decided to compromise and draw away one of the Instances. He also needed to copy the buffs that Amanda had been building. Fortunately, the macros he set up were perfect for this situation. He activated the Converge protocol to copy Amanda's boosts, whilst calling the Magnode towards himself.

"TC-3, Lancelot, prepare to intercept the Magnode. TC-2, assist Echo Order with the Maulice."

OOC:

James: (+5 Def, +1 SpA, +4 SpD, +2 Spd)

Jamie (+2 Spd, +1 Atk)

Richard (+1 Def)

IC: ?????? - Old Chateau

A wisp of fire danced in his hands. He overheard the commotion going on outside and gathered the staff, and mulled over what to do. This was annoying. Why did he have to follow his orders? Not that there wasn't a bit of fun in it. He sent his staff forth to greet the guests.

A few moments after giving the command, a number of Misdreavus appeared before each of the trainers and Pokemon gathered before the building. So preoccupied they were with each other that they had gone unnoticed.

Being invisible helped too.

So it was too late for them to react to their flurry of Hypnosis. Some resisted, but all eventually fell into that deep sleep.

IC: Jake Harris - Eterna Forest 

Jake on the other hand was spared the fate that befell his friends, because someone approached yelling "Wait!" at the moment he had been moving to head back towards the group. Jake turned and immediately felt the urge to vomit. The man's fashion sense was terrible. The gaudy colors, the pants worn way too high, and the shirts buttoned way too low.

And the less said about his hair the better.

"Can I help you?" Jake asked knowing he'd regret it.

IC: The gang - ???

The four trainers who fell asleep due to the various Hypnosis attacks woke up at some time later. The first thing they might have noticed was the ornate room they were in. The well crafted furniture, the beautiful paintings. All of these they might have noticed. On the other hand, if they had chosen to look at each other, they would be overcome with laughter. Or if they had chosen to look at themselves, overcome with horror. When they had been asleep, someone had changed their clothes.

The room was obviously older than the clothing they were wearing. Yet the timeless nature of the decor made the dated nature of their clothing more apparent. Not even just dated. More of a caricature of a period that the consciousness of humanity had tried to bury in the furthest reaches of its mind.

IC: Jake Harris - Old Chateau entrance

Jake was still unclear as to why he had agreed to let the strange man he had met go with him, but he forgot about it when he saw the Chateau again. Even ignoring the fact that his fellows had disappeared, there was something else wrong.

Namely the veritable army of ghosts descending into the mansion.

"That's not a good sign," Jake stated the obvious.

IC: One Island

Jamie was the first one off Tier Climb. It hadn't quite landed yet, but the anticipation was killing her. She pulled forth a sword and began to charge.

"Jamie!" she heard a yell coming from above of the din of the helicopter's blades. James stepped out of the helicopter and spoke softer now that he could be heard.  "Shift gears, Jamie, do not charge off recklessly,"

"Oh right," she stopped herself. "I forgot about Shift Gear, thanks!" she said as she activated Shift Gear.

James sighed as he also activated his preparatory move. Not what he meant, but fine. He turned towards Lancelot, "Prepare to move on my signal," he instructed. The Scizor nodded. He was in a good mood, he felt ready to fight.

Richard waited for the helicopter to land on the ground before he got off the helicopter. He didn't exactly want to be the first one off when they were surrounded by Electric type things and he was effectively Water Type. He decided to stick behind the others and use WIthdraw to start. Wasn't a good time to start the show yet.

OOC:

Status:
James (+1 Def, +1Sp. Def)

Jamie (+2 Spd, +1 Atk)

Richard (+1 Def)

IC: Claus - Four Island

Claus walked around the Alamo after leaving the hangar. He had a bad feeling in his stomach about this mission. It wasn't that he wanted to go on it, in fact the idea of it left him terrified. But whether he wanted to go or not, he felt like he should have gone. Not that he knew what he could have done to really contribute. At least, contribute any more than an agent chosen at random. 

But that left him precious little of importance to do. Couldn't pass the time Pokemon battling either. He already made enough food. Maybe he'd go to-

A mass slammed into Claus, knocking him over. He hadn't exactly been paying attention, but he wasn't looking at his feet either. He concluded that in this case, he was not at fault.

"Hey, what's that about?" Claus asked in a slightly annoyed tone as he pushed himself back up.

IC: Helicopter

James sat silent for a moment longer. He had come up with a simple idea really. But whether it was a good one depended on knowledge that he did not have. At least he activated the comm once again.

"TC-1 speaking. We can use your T-08 to transport people between different helicopters. We will arrange the helicopters as close to a single file row as we can. The first helicopter will hold, EP-2, EP-4, TC-2 and myself. The Bug Type Suit can support the other three. Using my Normal Type suit, I can keep attacks from the island focused on the lead helicopter. The Steel Type suit, the Fighting Type suit, and if absolutely necessary, my Normal type suit can be used to protect the helicopter from incoming assaults. In the mean time, the rest of you will need to scan the ocean beneath us for attacks and react accordingly. Over."

IC: Helicopter

"Why are we still talking about this?" Jamie shouted over the comm. "Let's go already! The quicker we get to One Island, the better chance we have.... Oh, um, EP....2? I think? Over."

Richard didn't speak up, figuring the point had been made. And no one really wanted to hear that going to One Island made for a better story. Especially since his finale had turned out only to be Act 1.

James Arthur leaned back as well as he could in the armor. He had chosen to not immediately voice his opinion so he could listen to which way the wind blew. He took in the mostly one-sided and partially hypocritical debate and sighed quietly. Tactically, going to One Island was the wrong move. Public opinion could be manipulated if they tread carefully, but if they let these Power Suits fall into M0's power, it could very well be the point of no return. Not just that they would be sacrificing their last best weapons against M0, but it could give M0 material for new instances. However, at this point, even if a decision was reached to go to Three Island, morale would be shot.

"Tier Climb-1 speaking," James started. "LP-1's comments should not be discounted. To change course does carry with it significant increased risks."

James could feel the outrage building from EP-2 from where he was sitting. "However!" he shouted to cut off the inevitable objection. "I do have a plan that could minimize risk if we are attacked during the approach."

IC: Hangar

James's face was not as bright as his voice had been. In truth, he did not care for the surveillance now attached to his shoulder. Being a criminal and a conspirator made him wary of such devices. But as he didn't plan on doing anything that he would object to others knowing, he accepted the proposal. Plus, refusing would have been suspicious.

He turned around and saw the assassin he fought yesterday entering the helicopter. But it was what he didn't see that caught his attention. Lancelot had been standing behind him while he had been talking with the Plasma agent. Where had he gotten off to?

"Are you sure about this?" Claus asked looking at the Poke Balls in his hand.

Most of Richard's Pokemon were eating the poffins the pair had made the day before behind Claus. Only Dionysus and Hades stood near the now suited up Richard.

"Well it's not like they're gonna be much help to be honest," Richard said. "At least I can throw Dionysus at things, and Hades..."

The Sableye looked up towards Richard a little pitifully. Hades knew there was not much he could do here. But he couldn't bring himself to stay behind either.

"He's... moral support?" Richard offered unconvincingly.

Claus raised an eyebrow but didn't argue. He knew it was too late for Richard to back out and he was right that his Pokemon wouldn't be able to help.

"Even the violin, though?" Claus asked looking at the instrument case in his arms.

"I'd definitely break it if I took it," Richard said wistfully. "I've got a different performance I've got to make."

Lancelot sat the Poke Ball down on a desk. Stealing from his king wasn't something that the Scizor enjoyed, but he had to do this. He had taken a spare Poke Ball and replaced his on James's belt. James spent his life in the pursuit of greater options. Money, power. Merely tools that opened up further options. His decision to take the Normal Type suit reflected this. Even he, with his seventh move, was a reflection of it. Not once had James given everything that he had. He always held something in reserve. But Lancelot was different. In order to be ready to win this fight, he had to be ready to give everything. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that. But if it did, he hoped James would forgive him.

IC: James Arthur/Lancelot - Liberty Training Grounds

James exempted himself from the training, due to having both executive privilege and the fact that he was already experienced in the use of his suit. He chose to use that time to test out the new firmware in his suit, as well as make sure no problems arose in Jamie's Steel Type suit. He didn't even need to be near Jamie to keep checking on her, as the programs he installed into her suit gave his suit updated feedback from the Steel type suit. When training was concluding elsewhere he was already at the training fields to go spar with the training partner he brought with him, unaware of the one chosen for him. While he wasn't occupied with Disabling and Encoring Lancelot this time, the fact remained that Lancelot had his powers deactivated in a fight against his Normal type suit before and he still found a way to come back on top. So James had asked the Scizor to help with his final preparation for the mission.

Final checks complete, James noted as his software made its last check. "Alright, Lancelot," he called to the Scizor standing about twenty feet away, "Shall we begin?"

"No holding back, Conkeldurr."

Lafoyae had let loose a barrage of punches on her sparring partner. Despite her experience, the Rocket Assassin definitely felt different in the Fighting Suit. From what she could tell, the suit had a limited capability to use other types in it's attacks, but she wanted to experience what she had first. Her Conkeldurr swung his left cane when she had leapt back. As she dodged the swing, the orange-clad woman noticed another person in a power suit sparring with their Scizor. The way he fought showed he was clearly experienced with how his worked.

"Hold off Conkeldurr." She spoke in his mind. "I may be able to give both of us a good workout."

The main reason she had skipped the meeting, despite everything, was she had made sure to get a good read of the suits' capabilities. She needed to be at the top of her game for when she had a rematch with these creatures. She hopped the person she was approaching would help accelerate that...

James felt a nagging feeling accompanying a muffled voice in his head. The nagging feeling nearly caused him to mistime his Protect. Nearly, as the Scizor's claw bounced uselessly off the field emitted in front of his arm. It took James a moment to realize that someone was trying to talk to him via telepathy. It had been a while since he felt it, but he instinctively had tried blocking out the intrusion in his mind. "Lancelot, hold for a moment," James called to the Scizor.

The Scizor seemed disappointed, but nodded and backed off.

James turned around and saw a woman in the Fighting-type suit. "My apologies, but would you repeat what you said?"

She sighed, and then gently pointed to him. "It would seem you are quite deft with that suit. I'd like to spar with you, if you would allow it."

James wondered why she didn't simply speak with her voice, but was more receptive this time. He considered with dismay the fact that she was using the one type that was strong against his, but the rational side of him told him, better to prepare with someone who doesn't want you dead. He smiled and nodded back, "Thank you for the compliment. I would be honored to be your sparring partner... only," he started looking towards the Conkeldurr, "to make it more interesting, let us bring our Pokemon into this and make it a double battle."

"I find your terms interesting, and more importantly, acceptable." Lafoyae remarked, her psychic tone sounding agreeable as she and her Pokemon drew close to where James was. "My Conkeldurr and I hope we are suitable opponents for you and your partner Pokemon."

"Likewise," James said as he activated a program to reset his custom protocols. "If you're ready then," the Normal Type suit spurred to life with James's words. On James's display were the words 'Auto Buffing Started: repeat{Stockpile, Work Up} for 3 cycles'

"Start."

Without missing a beat, Lafoyae stomped her right foot on the ground and flexed. Bulk up would afford her some useful power and defense, to hopefully deal with what James could strike her with. She then rushed towards him, making sure to anticipate what he could do. As she rushed towards the Liberty Executive, her Conkleldurr stared down Lancelot, grinning. He cracked his neck and knuckles, and proceeded to lumber towards his sparring partner.

Lancelot sized up the Conkeldurr heading towards him. He seemed strong, stronger than most of his opponents these days. As a Spotlight fell on him, he thought it a pity that wouldn't get to fight such an opponent one-on-one. Upon James's screen was a new command: Deflect protocol active: initiate {Spotlight, Baton Pass}. The lamp emerging from James's shoulder forced both opponents to target Lancelot, whilst also giving Lancelot the boosts that his protocols gave. Lancelot bounded towards the redirected Lafoyae, determined to drive his pincer into her chest.

Lafoyae had noticed she was more inclined to attack James' Scizor. Whatever was going on, she would just have to adapt. As she and the Scissors pokemon drew close to each other, Lafoyae clenched her fist, which became clad in flames. "You may have me drawn to your pokemon, but......" Lafoyae projected. "Your Scizor is the Venomoth drawn to the flame here." As she attacked, Her Conkeldurr was prepared to back his master up, as he had done many times in the past.

James wagged a finger with a smug look on his face. Before Lafoyae could reach Lancelot, she felt herself being drawn back towards James. A second prompt started beneath its brother: Converge protocol active: initiate {Follow Me, Psyche Up}. The suit copied the same stat boosts he had transferred to Lancelot showered all attention on him. He ran towards Lafoyae, a small dagger protruding from the suit. He wasn't looking to land a blow, but merely to force her to focus on him and lower her guard, so that Lancelot could assault her unimpeded.

She saw the dagger.

Life as an assassin had tempered Lafoyae to sudden changes. A lot of her jobs had sudden complications. Her surprise was then exchanged with a cool expression. "Quite the trick you have there." The assassin projected, a playful tone in her voice. "But the fighting type is more than brute force!" The moment she finished, a wall of light appeared around her.

Detect, James noted. Well, best part of the Normal Type suit was its ability to deal with anything that could be thrown at it. A false image of James appeared and struck the Detect, dispelling it. As James followed it at high speed, it seemed that he might like he might land the first blow. However, the goal wasn't to strike her, but merely move past her. With James out of the way and the Detect removed, Lancelot had nothing in his way. Twisting his arm like a corkscrew, Lance shot a punch at Lafoyae's back.

Again, she had missed, and she paid for it with being struck by Lancelot, sent a ways away from him. However, the moment -after- that, the Scizor found his offending pincher gripped hard by a big meaty right hand. Connected to that hand, was a glowering Conkeldurr, who was in the process of throwing a mean left handed punch.

Lancelot found himself unable to move any significant amount. He was used to facing strong foes, but in comparison to facing down Pierce's Golurk, the Conkeldurr's strength was much more compact. He braced himself for a strong hit, but felt nothing. The fist was barely an inch in front of Lancelot's face when it slowed to a near crawl, drastically reducing its power. James seemed to exerting himself a great deal whilst both of his hands were extended towards the Conkeldurr. Even with the full power of the suit being directed towards Disabling the Conkeldurr, stopping the Conkeldurr's attack was almost impossible. The Scizor clicked with joy. He was excited from that smack at the suited woman. It had been a while since he had tasted combat, since he inflicted pain. A wicked smile appeared on the Scizor's face as he reached for the arm grabbing his own, intended to snap down on it until it let go of his own hand.

The Conkeldurr growled in pain as he released his grip, freeing Lancelot's pincher. As he did so, the fighting type gave a small grin of respect to his opponent. It'd had been a while since he had a worthy opponent. The air suddenly grew hotter, however, when Lafoyae impacted the Scizor with a Blaze Kick. No words this time, for she was getting quite serious now.

What advantage James and Lancelot had was lost with the Blaze Kick's connection. Regardless of whether it was from a Blaziken or a human in a suit of armor, a Blaze Kick's 4x super-effectiveness was going to do massive damage. Lancelot tried to roll from the attack, to dispel both the impulse and the flame attached to him. James clapped his hands together and bowed his head. On the screen before him was another custom prompt: Prayer{Wish, Heal Bell}. He was prepared on his end, but Lancelot would need to be ready on his his. The Scizor regained his footing and took a defensive stance.

Lafoyae didn't miss a blink. She fired a Vacuum Wave at Lancelot, to distract him, as she rushed towards James, a Mach Punch charged in her fist. Her Conkeldurr, meanwhile, rushed towards the Scizor, clearly having the time of his life. He wanted to fight this most interesting foe, who seemed to be cut from the same cloth as him....

Lancelot kicked himself backwards to make some room for a Spotlight to fall on him. Lafoyae once again found herself having to redirect towards Lancelot, but this time a healing force came along with the buff. The melted parts of exoskeleton reforged, leaving only minor wounds behind. He leapt a short hop back once again so he could see both Lafoyae and Conkeldurr.

"Enough. Conkeldurr, to me."

Those were the words projected by Lafoyae as she used Blaze Kick to propel herself towards Lancelot again. However, instead of hitting him with it, she chained that into a Close Combat. Not soon after, she activated the last charge of her Fire Punch, and let loose one Fire Punch amidst her volley of punches on the steely body of her foe. Seeing how Lafoyae had focused on his foe, her Conkeldurr had decided to change how he fought. From what he was seeing, he just had to wait for the right moment, to strike him.

Lancelot decided that dodging the one Fire Punch was worth taking a number hits from Close Combat. He had been passed two defense from the Normal Type suit. Still the Fighting Type suit was an impressive machine meant for offense, and he definitely felt them. Once the Fire Punch was finished, Lance gave a one-two jab in return. James was eerily reminded of the first time he used the power suits. The chance of attacking his foe if he was willing to chance Lancelot being hit. Not this time. This time he chose to support Lancelot by using Glare on Lafoyae. A pair of paralyzing eyes appeared in front of him, to try and paralyze the assassin.

Due to the Glare, which she couldn't dodge in time, Lafoyae's rush of punches began to slow down, until the assassin had stopped, panting heavily. The assassin looked at Lancelot, a look in her eyes, one could be certain, would make Gyarados pause. Seeing his chance, her Conkeldurr threw his left Cane, aiming for James' head.

James had focusing on making the Glare connect, so he had only seen the cane after the Conkeldurr threw it towards his head. The force it had been thrown with, the precision of its strike. Fear crept on his face, forcing panicked indecision into his head. Lancelot saw the Conkeldurr throw it. Time slowed for the Scizor. One look at James's face, at the cry for help that he couldn't utter, and his best friend sprang to action. Lafoyae's own glare went totally ignored, as the Scizor brushed past her. Without thinking, Lancelot ran after the cane. The cane's speed was impressive, impossible to catch up to even. But Lancelot chased desperately after it, moving quickly and then faster, until he reached his top possible speed.

And then he ran faster still.

Following his fist, he charged at increasing speeds, until he had overtaken the cane. Both his and James's eyes had expanded out of shock, but the Scizor had no time to consider the possibility of his actions. He turned and shot his fist forward, colliding with the cane. And the cane shattered, showering both Pokemon and trainer with debris. Both were hurt, but it was a far kinder fate than letting the cane hit intact. "Lance, you, that, what?!" James sputtered, his normal composure taking a fair bit to return. This shock James that now experienced was not a bad feeling.

Instinctively, James compared video of Lancelot in his fight against Lance to what the suit was reading Lance's speed to have just been. The video was specifically of when he had been Encored and Disabled, in a similar state as to what he was now. Completely an analysis between the two in seconds, the conclusion was clear. If both runners had been moving at top speeds, then the test told him that the chance that both runners were the same being was virtually zero. The only time James had ever seen Lancelot move that fast...

"Lancelot, use Bullet Punch!"

The Scizor immediately knew what James was asking, and shot his hand forth... only for it to be a normal punch.

"I do not get it," James muttered aloud, trying to figure out the mystery, before remembering that he was still on a battlefield.

Were this an assassination, Lafoyae would have commanded her Conkeldurr to strike James with his other cane, this wasn't an assassination. In her experience, despite trickery and pragmatism being her forte, sparring matches were exempt from that policy. "I concede defeat, James Arthur." The assassin's gentle voice echoed in the executive's mind. "It may seem foolish, considering things....but it'd be poor form to strike a future ally while they are distracted. Don't you agree?"

Funny, it does not feel like a victory, James bemused silently. Still a gentleman was gracious in both victory and defeat, as it were. He bowed his head and Lancelot did the same. "Thank you, I will learn from this experience. It was an honor to face you Miss..." James checked the logs to see who was using the Fighting Type suit, "...La-Lafoyae Belrose?"

James had been a Rocket. One who held tons of (illegally accessed) information. He expected that one day he would have to face at least one of Team Rocket's top assassins, but he hadn't expected it would be under such relatively friendly circumstances.

"As it was to face you, James Arthur." The assassin projected with a curtsy. "It was quite a show, seeing such masterful use of that suit. I do look forward to working with you, during the mission."

As this was happening, her Conkeldurr held out his left arm, rendered caneless by Lancelot's punch, out to his opponent. He knew his foe was just as dedicated to battle as he was, and he had been taught by his master to show respect to his foes.

Lancelot returned the gesture with his pincer, but it could be seen in his face that he was still distracted by something.

IC: James Arthur - Research and Development

"Solid choice," James muttered to himself as he looked at Jamie's response. He had moved straight there after ending his conversation with the Plasma operative. He needed to have a station prepared for him to alter both the Normal Type suit and whichever suit that Jamie had chosen.

Tatsuro (or was it Tetsuro? Even in person the two were identical) was having the Normal Type suit brought in. He signaled Tat-Tet... he signaled the researcher over and told him to bring in the Steel Type suit as well.

As the suits were brought in, James checked over the programs he had written once more. As he edited the copy meant for Jamie's suit, Lancelot walked up behind him. As James watched the researcher leave, he spoke up.

"What do you think, Lancelot? Between the Steel suits capabilities, my fail-safes, and Tristan should everything go wrong, Jamie should be as safe as possible, right?"

Lancelot checked James's hands as they moved across the keyboard. To most, the most interesting thing about his movements would be their speed. But Lancelot knew him longer than most. And to him the most important thing was the stiffness of his movements. Normally when typing James's hands moved fluidly across the board as if his hands were searching for alternative, more elegant ways of overcoming his obstacles. But these were rigid movements, no deviation allowed. His hands when typing were one of the few tells that Lancelot knew James had. Between the tell and his words, Lancelot knew that James was terrified. But for whose sake?

James stopped typing as he felt Lancelot's gaze on him. He turned towards the Scizor and stared back. He decided that his last sentence wasn't exactly convincing. Nothing seemed to be enough to James. He could try to exercise his authority to have Jamie removed from the mission, but Jamie would never forgive him for that.

"There... there is still one thing I can do," James said, averting his gaze for one moment. "One thing to keep her safe," he said bringing his gaze back towards Lancelot. "Lancelot you-"

The Scizor immediately shook his head.

"Wh- Lancelot, why in-... I mean, why not," James corrected himself, his face clearly distraught.

He felt the Scizor's pincer press against his chest. The intent behind such a gesture took only a moment to register. James tried to protest, but relented under the Scizor's gaze.

"Going to make sure I do not get my self killed in the process," James said as he realized that he had been panicked and calmed down. "Alright. I will still do everything in my power to protect her, but I will make sure I protect myself as well."

The Scizor nodded pulling his gauntlet away from James's chest. They stared each other for a while. James clearly had something that he wanted to say, but he either did not know what to say or if he did know, he was uncomfortable actually doing it. It was over a half a minute before the discomfort of saying nothing overtook the discomfort of trying to say it, so James spilled what was on his mind.

"Lance, you have always stood by me. I won't ask why, just know... I appreciate it. I trust you, more than anyone."

-That- nearly caused the Scizor to fall over. 'More than anyone?' He literally couldn't recall a time where James said he trusted anybody. Not even Guinevere had he actually put that sentiment into words. The absurdity of James expressing that sentiment was enough to elicit raucous ringing of clicks from the Scizor. James knew enough about Scizors to know that he was witnessing the rare occurrence of Lancelot laughing at him. Quite hard, from the sound of it.

James made an over-the-top sigh to make a show of feigned offense to cover up a genuine pang of hurt, "Is it so hard to imagine me saying that?"

As the Scizor regained his composure, he nodded.

"I suppose you are right," James said with a wistful smile, "I am not very good at it, after all. I hardly have the right to be discerning with who I trust, considering that I have betrayed more trust than anyone, including your own, and yet..."

The expression on James's face could only be described as pained. Lancelot silently thought of how to respond. James wasn't the only one who was bad at expressing himself, to humans more than most. When Guinevere was there, she could relay a message to him, but that wasn't an option right now for various obvious reasons. He wanted to show that for all James's faults, he truly believed that James was trying to improve himself, and that he was willing to trust James in turn. Yet, no single act Lance could think conveyed that, so he remained silent.

IC: Jamie Arthur - Alamo

Jamie heard Ray's question and paled. She had her eye on a couple that she managed to look at before she left with Ray.

"NOPE!FORGOTTO!GOTTAGOBYE!" she yelled, not bothering to look at Ray as she ran down the halls, nearly bowling over the poor aura wielder as she did so.

Vaguely remembering which halls she needed to go down, Jamie had to dodge a number of people to avoid slowing down before arriving back at the Command Center, nearly running smack into some lanky guy and his Sableye, that she was sure she had seen before but can't think right now.

A technician was packing up the materials as Jamie ran in. The Rocket agent grabbed a data pad and scanner from him.

"Sorry, I need this," Jamie apologized as she hastily stuffed six Poke Balls into the scanner and saw the results, not just for her T.A.P. score, but for which suits were left.

Ice and Water had been taken. Bug and Psychic too. She was getting worried until she saw Steel. That one had a sword and shield. How cool was that?!

"And select! Here you go, sorry about that again," she said with an apologetic look as she carefully placed the materials back where they belonged. "If you will excuse me," she said walking out of the room.

She was about to return to Ray when she remembered James's words. She digged in her pocket for her phone, and typed a message out to James, informing him of which suit she picked.

IC: Jamie Arthur - Alamo

Despite what Ray had said, Jamie followed Ray closer to Colette so she could hear her response. She looked from Ray to Colette with a look of confusion on her face. She could feel the tension in the room, she knew where they were, and yet none of it quite made sense to her.

It was just someone falling down right?

She'd tripped before, and sure it hurt but it wasn't something you'd go to the hospital for. It could've been a really high fall, but that didn't sound like what Colette was describing. She was about to speak up when a nurse came by and asked Ray if he was a relative of Jenny. Jamie promptly zipped her lip to wait for Ray to respond before she would ask anything.