Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: James/Jamie - Executive Suite

 

Mordred watched his trainer while having Agravain feed him berries. It was fun to watch him squirm a bit. The awkward feeling in the room was palpable. Neither Arthur looked in the other in the face. And that made for great entertainment for the Weavile.

 

Jamie had told her story about becoming the Hero of Time to James. He would’ve called her delusional had he not seen her power for himself.

 

That didn’t make it easier to swallow, however.

 

The legendary Pokemon of time granting Jamie abilities beyond human understanding? She was still in his eyes, a child. He knew she had proven capable of handling herself in both Celadon and Havoc, even when he lost focus when Guinevere was injured. But it still ached him to know Jamie was planning to keep fighting on the front lines. And even worse, his brain told James the benefit it would bring to everyone if she did. Several times, he opened his mouth prepared to make some protest, but shut it again as cold logic shut him down.

 

Mordred handed a berry to Lancelot who had joined the two in watching the uncomfortable expression on James’s face. Every twitch and frown was worth popping another berry.

 

Jamie, for her part, didn’t exactly feel like she owed James an explanation for her powers. Mr. Dialga chose her, which meant that she was chosen by the master of time to bring peace to the world.

 

The conversation was put on hold as James typed a message to Evan Tierra. She told him that he was the one training her. He would have to speak to him if that was the case.

 

“Well I have sent him a message. If you are going to use your powers to fight, I would see you trained.”

 

“Like I needed you to tell me that,” Jamie said with her arms crossed. “Well it is not gonna matter much, I’m going to Kalos for a while.”

 

James leaned back slightly, his eyes slightly raised. “That is new. Why are you going?”

“Lucia and I are going to enjoy the apple-y summer,” Jamie, unable to keep a small smile on her face.

 

James raised an eyebrow. That didn’t sound like natural language, even for Jamie.

 

“Why phrase it like that?” James asked.

 

Jamie scratched her head. Did she same something wrong? Lucia reacted oddly when she mentioned that to her. “That’s just how her mom put it. She said ‘it’s going to be a nice and apple-y warm summer in Kalos’. And then when I told Lucia, she said we should go.”

 

James sat back. That -had- to be a coded message. He fiddled with a pen that was laying on top of his desk. On one hand, the fact that she used a coded message suggested the possibility that Lucia was in danger. On the other hand, that person felt that Kalos would be a safe place for Lucia. And it did serve the purpose of keeping Jamie away from the frontlines.

 

“I see. Well enjoy your time in Kalos then,” James said, putting the pen down.

 

That was surprising. Not objection, nothing?

 

“That’s it? No, ‘I have to train’ or anything?”

 

“I said if you intended to fight I would have you train. You have done plenty to help. You deserve a vacation,” James said with an earnest smile.

 

Jamie broke eye contact with James. “Don’t think some nice words are gonna make everything better.”

The room fell silent for a moment while Jamie waited for James to respond. After moments of silence, she turned and exited the door with a pout.

 

James sighed as he watched her go. “I am aware of that,” he said a moment too late.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra and Jamie Arthur, Hero to Hero

Evan hurried on his way to Executive Arthur's office, unsure of what he'd be discussing with him. The man knew that he, Jenny, and Amanda were part of Plasma's interest in this situation. As he drew closer to it, he steeled himself for what was to come.

Jamie opened the door to Executive Arthur's office. Her arms were crossed and she was pouting slightly. She turned to leave when she saw Evan. "Greetings, my fellow Hero," Jamie said, pumping her fist in a dramatic pose in imitation of the man before her.

Whatever steeling up Evan had done, had gone away, and been replaced by his usual hot-bloodness. He struck a pose to match Jamie's, grinning as he did so. "Always good to see the Heroine of Time!" The man said, still smiling. "How's it going?"

"Great!" She said with a large but wavering smile. "...Er maybe good. Okay, it has been an... odd couple of days," she said scratching her cheek.

Evan furrowed his brow at what Jamie was saying. "Odd how?" He inquired gently. "It's fine if you don't want to tell me, but as your fellow Hero, I'm -always- willing to lend an ear."

Jamie pondered for a moment. How to start answering that question. Honestly, there was one thing that had managed to trump all others at the moment. "Um... So.. you see. Last night. Lucia and I were talking last night. And she said she 'loved' me. Like, not in the family or friend kind."

Evan's face went blank at what Jamie mentioned. Did Jamie know about romantic love? Despite his confusion, the Heroine needed his help, and so he would provide. "Yeah, that happens." The Hero replied. "Did you need advice or for me to just listen? I have a bit of experience, so maybe I can be of some assistance?"

"I..." Jamie paused. "I think I need some advice. I've never felt that way towards anyone before. And I don't know if I'll recognize it if I did. What does... that kinda love feel like?"

Evan blinked at his fellow Hero's inquiry, trying to figure out how to put things. If there was a perfect time to ask this, Jamie certainly picked it. "Well, it's quite possibly one of the strongest things in this world." The Hero explained, channeling the good vibes of the day into his explanation. "It's so strong that it can make or break a person. It can make you feel invincible, Jamie."

"Ooh." Jamie responded. That sounded hero for sure. "So how do you know what it feels like, exactly?"

"Um......you know how Jenny and I hung out a lot on the boat, and whatnot?" Evan said, blushing a bit as he explained. "It's because I feel that same love for her, and she feels the same love for me."

Jamie blinked for a bit before blushing. "Oh, no, no, no. I meant how would -I- know what it feels like if I'm feeling it." Jamie didn't know why but she was embarrassed, "So Jenny and you are 'together'?"

"We are." Evan said, feeling a bit embarassed. "As for you, you'd feel.....warm and fuzzy? You'd feel light as a feather, and as strong as a Machamp."

"Huh," Jamie looked down slightly. "I don't know... if I feel that way about her or not."

Evan frowned. "Maybe, you should give it time?" The Hero explained, smiling in an understanding tone. "Let the feeling take root and grow."

"Well I'm good at giving things.... tiiiime" she said, winking at Evan.

Evan chuckled at Jamie's pun, a grin on his face. "That you are!" He said, as he struggled to come up with a space pun. "Whereas I'm good at giving things..... space.

Then something else came to mind, as Evan remembered a promise he had to keep.
 
"Oh, speaking of.....I promised you something." The Hero then reached into his pocket and produced a small diamond-like object. "This belonged to the Hero before you." The man said, grinning. "It's a shard of Dialga's Adamant Orb. May it stand as proof that you are the Heroine of Time!"

[MELON LORD]

IC: Jared Winters/Dahlia Seaton - Plane

 

Jared stared out the window silently for the first hour or so that they were in the air. For one thing, he was enjoying the sensation of flight, reveling in the sight of clouds below them. Mostly, though, he was thinking about the upcoming mission. Five people: That was how many would be on the ground in Kalos. A small team, meant for reconnaissance. What would they do if they actually encountered Team Flare? Any cells they ran into would likely outnumber this team at least two to one, and sixty percent of the group were not trained fighters. True, one of those three was an emissary of Giratina, but that wouldn't win them any fights by itself. He sighed softly, glancing at said emissary out of the corner of his eye.

 

Dahlia had buried herself in a book she had brought along. Based on the cover it seemed to be about culinary gardening. She happened to glance up and caught Jared's eye, offering him a smile. "How's it going?" she asked, marking her place and closing her book for the time being. "You nervous?"

 

"A little," he admitted. "I'm just not sure that we're actually ready for this mission.We're supposed to scout things out and report back, but if we run into trouble, it'll be a fight. If it comes to that, then we'll be in pretty deep trouble, I think."

 

"I don't envy your position," Dahlia said softly. "As our leaders, you and Colette are taking full responsibility for our safety. Ryan had the same weight on his shoulders when he led us on the mission to find Ellen. Don't forget though, you're not alone. You have Colette to help you lead. And you have all of us backing you."

 

Jared nodded. "I know, and I appreciate that. What about you, are you nervous?"

 

The gardener stared down at the cover of her book. "If I'm being honest, yes. I'm trying to distract myself, but deep down I can't help but feel anxious. We were lucky yesterday, but luck can only take us so far." She looked back at Jared and smiled. "But we have to keep a positive attitude, or we'll never get through this. If we don't believe in ourselves, we're done for."

 

"Agreed." The silver-haired trainer looked around, trying to ctach a glimpse of the other members of their group. "That's why I'm going to see if the others will be interested in training every day. If so, I'll work with you on your Reverse abilities while we travel."

 

"I'd really appreciate that." Her smile grew warmer. "It really helps knowing you've got people looking out for you, doesn't it? Who knows, maybe you and Colette can even exchange aura tips. That's how we'll get through this. As a team."

 

"Right. We'll all be acting with the same goal and defined leaders. There's no reason for us to worry." He smiled, turning back to face her. "How's your hand, by the way?"

 

In response, Dahlia held out her hand for Jared to see. The bandage had been replaced, presumably by the Alamo's medical wing last night. "It's still a little tender, but it feels a lot better. The nurse said it'll likely scab up, but I can take the bandage off in a few days and in a week or two my hand should be good as new." Without warning she lightly grabbed Jared's hand with her own bandaged one. "Thank you for helping me, by the way. You couldn't have come at a better time."

 

"Good to hear." Jared flushed a bit as Dahlia took his hand. "Hey, no worries, it was just lucky timing. It could as easily have been Ryan, or Evan, you know?" He squeezed her hand gently. "I'm just glad I was able to help."

 

"You're right, anyone could have helped." She returned the squeeze before pulling her hand away, staring down at her book to hide her luminescent blush. "But anyone could have just walked away, too."

 

Jared nodded thoughtfully, turning back to the window. "We should probably get some sleep. Kalos is like eight hours behind Kanto, and we're going to be on this plane for something like 16 hours with the stops we're making. We'll get to Kalos sometime around 4, I'd guess. We don't want to be totally jetlagged when we arrive."

 

"That's probably a good idea." Dahlia replaced her book in her bag and rested her head on the back of her seat. She closed her eyes for a moment, then peeked over at Jared. "Your nervousness . . . is it related at all to Mercury?" She spoke in a low voice, almost a whisper, cognizant of Jared's sensitivity to his other self.

 

This was met with hesitation, almost enough that Dahlia began to think he was ignoring the question. Finally, he shrugged. "A little. I don't like giving him control, but he pointed out to me that he's never injured my friends before. I don't think he'll start when we're on a dangerous mission in a foreign country." He sighed. "It's just . . . When you see what he does to people, you aren't going to like me very much afterwards. Lachina is probably willing to tell you more than I am."

 

"You've told Lachina about your . . . condition?" Dahlia's eyes opened no more than a sliver and her mouth barely moved as she mumbled to her friend. To anyone watching it would look like she had already fallen asleep, her head dangerously close to falling on Jared's shoulder. "Is she the only other one who knows?"

 

Jared nodded. "Yes. Well, maybe. I don't know if your psychic friends got into my mind or not." He sh rugged. "She and my Lucario are the only other people I've told, at any rate." He shifted, leaning his head back against his seat. He closed his eyes with a sigh.

 

Dahlia wanted to press Jared, but she could tell he didn't want to talk about it. It was a sentiment she was all too familiar with, given her own control issues. "Well, your secret's safe with me," she offered, following up her words with a small yawn. "Between you, me, and Lachina, we'll make sure nothing bad happens to you or to anyone else. I promise."

 

He nodded softly. "Thank you, Dahlia. Get some sleep."

 

The gardener nodded, folding her hands in her lap as she drifted off into the peaceful world of her dreams.

 

Despite the advice he had given, Jared found himself staring again out the window.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie - Four Island

 

Jamie took the shard from Evan and began to stare silently into it. It was beautiful. It was perfect.

 

"Proof... of a hero," she said almost in a trance.

 

Jamie held the Adamant Shard close to her heart. "I'll take good care of it," she said quietly, almost with a whisper.

 

"I got to go find Lucia. We're about to leave soon actually," Jamie said with an apologetic look.

 

"I'll see you first thing when we get back," Jamie said, beaming, before hurrying off to find Lucia.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra and James Arthur (Jam)
 

Evan waved to Jamie as she went off to do what she needed to do. “That’s a promise!” He called after her, before focusing on the door. Welp, time to see what this is all about. He politely knocked before opening the door, waving to James. “Forgive me if I kept you waiting, sir.” The Knight said as he held out his right hand for a shake. “Evan Tierra, Plasma Knight.”

“A pleasure,” James responded accepting the handshake. “James Arthur, Liberty Executive. Though I must admit, I am not calling you in my capacity as an executive. Rather I was hoping we might talk about my sister.”

About the room, Mordred and the others were picking up the remains of berries and going their separate ways. This didn’t seem like it would be as entertaining as the last meeting was.

“Your…..sister?” Evan inquired, curiously. “What about your sister?” There was a thought that maybe Jamie was the sister in question. After all, she had just come out of here, it seemed. “Who is your sister?”

“Her name is Jamie Arthur. You might have seen her just exiting from my office,” James said. “She told me that you were training her as a ‘Hero of Creation’ as she put it.”

Well now…..

“Huh, so she’s your sister, huh?” Evan said, wonder in his voice, before he focused on the fact that he knew about her being a Hero. “Not just training her. I’m one of her fellow Heroes. What did you want to know about that?”
 

“How her training is going, more or less. I thought I might be able to offer some advice in regards to teaching her,” James said looking out towards the door where Jamie had exited.

“What little we’ve done, she’s excelled. She takes her responsibility seriously, and seems very happy about being a Heroine.” Evan remarked, recalling how the woman had been when she first met him. “I haven’t been able to do much, what with the current situation, and now her leaving for Kalos, but I expect to get back to that when I see her again.”

James nodded slightly. “I see. I am not surprised to hear she is throwing her all into it…” James said trailing off into his thoughts for a moment. “A word of warning then. I expect she will become obstinate in how she goes about being a hero. If you plan to seriously train her, you cannot always be her friend. You will need to speak to her as her senior, as somebody with authority, if you plan on breaking bad habits.”

Evan slightly nodded at what James was saying. “Everyone is different, but I’ll definitely do my best in that regard.” He said, giving James a grin. “I’d rather not lose such a capable ally due to my own failings as a teacher.” The Hero thought some more. “Did you have any more advice for me, James?”

James paused for a moment. It was almost odd to hear such a friendly tone. It had been a while. “Jamie can be childlike at times. She is talented, but I fear she would get easily frustrated if she hits a plateau. Her dedication to being a hero may carry her through, but she may need coaxing to power through such frustrations.”

“I’m sure I can figure out a way to motivate her.” Evan said, taking mental notes of this conversation. “Any suggestions in that regard? I’ve noticed she loves battling and sweets. Would those work out well for her?”

“Hmm, battling is still something of an issue given the situation for most people. Otherwise the prospect of a battle would be perfect for her,” James considered. “Bribery in general has to be well regulated lest she come to expect it. I was thinking more of invoking her dedication to being a hero. You cannot let her forget that being a hero means overcoming such obstacles. If she falters, you must remind her.”

“Yeah, being a Hero takes hard work and dedication.” Evan said, nodding further at James’ advice. “I’ll keep that in mind. She seems to have a high opinion of me, so I think that’ll fly with her.”  The Hero thought some more. “Is that all the advice you needed to impart to me, James?”

James’s eyes narrowed for the briefest of moments before softening again. “I think that is all I can give at the moment. If you run into a specific problem whenever you get back to teaching her. Unless you had any other questions, I am going to have to ask you to leave now. I am leaving for the Alola region tomorrow and I need to make preparations.”

Seeing a chance, Evan had no choice but to pounce on it. “Alola, huh?” The Hero said, curiosity in his voice. “I had the opportunity to talk with someone about that place. Seems they have something called Z-Moves, unique to that locale. It’s kind of sparked my interest, soooo….” Evan took a deep breath. “Would you terribly mind it if my fellow Plasma Knight and I joined you?”

James mulled it over for a moment. “No, I do not think there would be any problems if the two of you came with. I have arranged for a plane to take me there tomorrow morning. I can arrange two open seats on that plane. If you plan to join us, then meet me in the hangar tomorrow morning at 8 A.M.”

“I’m glad that you’re fine with this idea, James. I wasn’t sure how we’d get to Alola if it weren’t for you.” Evan said cheerfully. “We’ll see you tomorrow, at 8 A.M. ” With that, the Knight left the Executive’s room, almost closing the door as he exited when a foot stopped the door the closing. Without a word, the bard who Evan had done musical combat with gave Evan a thumbs-up and a wink before disappearing behind the door into James’s office and closing the door behind him.
 

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Jenny Hakuda/Evan Tierra (Jam) - The Alamo - Beginnings of a Relief==-

 

As Evan made his way back the Medical Wing, he had sent three messages out on his Pokegear: one to Zarth about heading to Alola with Jenny to check on a new lead, and that he trusted her to take care of things. One to Ray telling his future brother-in-law that his sister had accepted his proposal. Finally, one to Jenny telling her he was on his way, and that he had news for her.

When the man had finally gotten to the Medical Wing, he waved to the secretary at the front, who waved him to come on in. When he got to Jenny’s room, he knocked and came right in, noting that Lohe was gone. “I take it, Lohe had to go?” he asked the redhead. “He did say he had business to take care of, so I understand.”

Feral felt that same spark again when his better half entered the room. “Hey, jailor! You may wanna bring up what I told you to him!”

"Yeah, I'm not really sure where he left to go, but…" Jenny hesitated for a moment as she mulled over what Feral was saying. "While you were gone, Feral was saying something interesting. That there was a sort of odd feeling he got when you were here earlier?"

Feral, taking a chance on the link he had facilitated between Evan and Jenny, then spoke. “It felt like the power of Space was imbued in this woman’s body, if that makes sense?” The creature said. “It feels like you were….passing it along?”

Evan thought over what Jenny and Feral had said. “I think there’s an explanation.” The Hero said, scratching his head. “Feral is my dark half, and once wielded the power of Space. Perhaps by being sealed within you, he’s kind of…..enabling you to use the power as well?” He then rubbed his temple. “But that doesn’t explain the notion of passing it along…”

Jenny shrugged as she turned her head back and forth figuratively. "I don't know, honestly… I can't really tell what's going on, myself. I feel pretty much normal?" The woman scratched her head as she tried to figure out anything like what Feral said. "I mean, I wasn't chosen by Palkia, right? So I couldn't have powers passed down."

Feral swirled around in his mental prison. “But you’ve got me within you. I’m betting the power doesn’t need to be passed down, but maybe…” The creature mulled it over. “Hero, I want you to imagine that power of yours, and then imagine passing it like a hockey puck. I wanna test something.”

Evan nodded, and focused on the power within himself, and then imagined passing it over to Jenny. The moment he did, he felt something…be let loose inside of himself and thrown out. What the….

"What are you doing--?" Jenny looked curious at the explanations for a moment, before she felt a surge of sudden power. She didn't even know how to react as she just sat stunned. She glanced down to the ring on her finger in incredulity as it began to glow a bright pink for a moment before dulling to a subtle pink glow. "... I think. . ." The Plasma agent said slowly, as she glanced up at Evan. "That we should take a trip outside."

Evan nodded, as he looked in wonder. “This is….gonna be interesting, I feel.”  The Hero felt powerless, but he didn’t feel….empty. He saw that she had changed out of her hospital gown and into more casual clothing. “Well then, shall we?”

Feral, meanwhile, was feeling exhilarated by the power that was being channeled through him. However, he didn’t feel like he was “in control” of the power, just that he was acting as something for it to pass through. ”Hey, look who was right! Me!”

Jenny seemed amused by Feral's comments, but focused, as she tried to send the power back for the moment. She wanted to test how it worked, curious to the inner workings of it, before they actually started to test the powers themselves out. "Yeah, let's go."

Evan felt the power rush back into him, which caused him to gasp a bit. “That’s so different.” He then led Jenny out of her room and waved to the secretary. “I’m taking her out for some fresh air.” He said as Jenny and himself left the Medical Wing for a good place to figure this out.

On the way, Evan decided to break the news to Jenny. “Tomorrow, at 8 A.M., you and I will be accompanying a Liberty Executive to Alola.” He said, grinning at Jenny. “Lohe’s info was too good to pass up, so we’re gonna head there.”

"A Liberty executive?" Jenny tried to think of anyone she knew who was an executive. "Was it that guy who you went to see earlier? It sounds neat, but it almost sounds like there's some mission or something?" She tilted her head curiously as she wondered what exactly happened while Evan was away.

“Yeah, he’s the guy I went to see.” Evan said, thinking about what Jenny was saying. “I think he’s going over there to find out more about Alola. He didn’t seem like the type to go out into battle unless necessary.” He shook his head. “Regardless, it’s our best bet to get there, considering the situation.”

After a while, the pair had found themselves outside, under the gray sky that hung over Four Island. Evan scouted out an area a ways off from the Alamo so he and Jenny could figure this out without any prying eyes. When they got there, the Hero passed his power back at his girlfriend. “All right, let’s get to the bottom of this.”

Jenny took a deep breath as she felt the surge of power return, and focused on how to make this work. "Feral, any words of advice? You seemed to have a pretty good grasp on how this stuff worked, even down to recognizing this was even possible."

Feral thought for a moment. “Let’s start small: a Spacial Shield. If I what I assume is correct, you can create a barrier for a split second by swiping your hand, creating the barrier in its wake.” Give it a shot!” Feral watched intently, waiting to see what happened.

Jenny thought over the instructions for a moment, and raised her hand to the sky. She swiped downward, a slight rippling sensation on either side of her arm as the sky shimmered for a moment. It felt. . . powerful, but even the woman herself could tell it was incomplete.

Feral looked on, approving of what his jailor had accomplished. “Go on, keep trying. Let’s see you work on it.”

"Hmm…" Jenny frowned for a moment as she felt uncertain about something. Something about how the barrier had worked felt… off to her, though she couldn't place why. "Alright." The agent decided to try something different this time, and held her hands forward. "What if the focus was maintained instead?" She mumbled as she very slightly moved her hands to the right, trying to focus on maintaining a barrier around the two points instead. Curiously, she noticed a 'bar' of the shimmering sensation in front of her. Tentatively, she raised her right hand, and lowered her left, which seemed to draw the top and bottom of the bar away from the center, creating a square shape of shimmering air.

The moment Evan saw the square, he walked over to it, and started tapping it. It felt solid to the touch. “Seems the power is a little different for you, than it is for me, Jen-Jen.” The man said, grinning. “I didn’t know you learned from Mr. Mime!”

Jenny snickered at the comparison, an amused smile on her face. "Well, it's a fitting way to showcase it, having the power at my control now." She closed her eyes, a slight frown on her face. "Feral, what's that?" The woman asked out loud, as she felt a sort of. . . energy pulse coming from a nearby spot in the field.

Feral was taken aback by the sight of the the pulsing spot. “That’s…...a spot where a portal….could be made.” The creature said. ”They are usually all around the world, but I didn’t expect you to see one here…”

"Hmm…" Jenny mulled the information over for a moment, as she walked over to where she felt the pulse. She could not actually see the spot, but used her best judgement of where it could work. She mimicked the actions she took to create the barrier over the spot as she focused on the power. "It'd be… like this, right, Feral? I get the instinct that this would work this way?" The agent asked as she placed her hands over where the barrier was.

Feral was amazed that Jenny was trying this so soon, but nodded in his prison. ”Yeah, that seems right.” He said, adding his strength to hers, so the effort wouldn’t leave her as winded.

As Jenny was opening the portal, Evan looked on curiously, wondering what she was doing. The connection facilitated by Feral made it clear she was exerting a lot of power so soon. “What you got there, Jenny?”
 

"I… don't know." The woman admitted, as she began to push the energy outward. "This feels almost familiar, like I've felt the energy used before. But I don't get it. It feels right to try to open this portal, but yet…" Jenny closed her eyes as she began to force the energy to swirl around. She knew just from the feel of it that she was trying to do something beyond her current skill level, but she did not want to just give up on it.

"Just a little… more…" The woman focused as she pushed forward against the barrier. The shimmering air seemed to break, and despite the lack of resistance, Jenny did not go flying through the newly opened void. Confused at the swirling hole that appeared to just contain darkness from the look of the portal, the woman stepped back. As she did so, however, she could hear something faintly. "Hold on, I think I hear something… Evan, get ready in case it's hostile." Despite her exhaustion, Jenny got into a battle stance just in case, hand on her Scizor's Pokéball.

Evan saw a middle-aged man fall out of the portal Jenny had created, his hand on Gnip’s Poké Ball. He had a sudden realization, that he knew this man.

“Searcher?!”

 

-==IC: Chloe Hikari - The Middle Of The Air (Some parts written by Flipz)==-

 

To Chloe, the majority of the flight seemed like just a normal time. She lazily watched the news channel that was on the TV, not able to find any sort of method to change the channel. For the most part, it wasn't as interesting to her as it might be to someone else, as most of the important stuff they'd need to know at this point wouldn't likely make it onto public television.

 

One specific program piqued her interest, however, as it seemed related to Kalos. She watched with intrigue, as she idly wondered if it might be important to the Signs mission. She shifted in her seat, popping her earbuds into her ears to listen and block out the other conversations on the plane for the moment.

 

"...In the wake of Lysandre's demise alongside Team Flare, Lionel Zyther emerged as one of Kalos' leading technology tycoons.  Already respected for his work at Strange Science, a Shabboneau-owned rival to Lysandre Labs, Zyther eventually left that company to found Groupe Granbull, a conglomerate consolidating several of the smaller companies into which several of Lysandre's holdings had been split.  But Zyther was not content to rest on the laurels of existing success; soon after his acquisitions, Zyther resumed production of the new-and-improved Holo Caster, most notably featuring worldwide roaming and solar and kinetic self-charging capabilities that drove the device to even greater popularity.

 

With Zyther's successes came competition, however.  Within months, Zyther found himself inundated with legal challenges, in particular from his old employer Strange Science's new CEO, who tried to sue the man for patent infringement and corporate espionage.  The list of ever-increasing charges seemed insurmountable...until the cutthroat businessman somehow successfully counter-sued for wrongful employment, the case taking an even wilder turn after evidence emerged of the firm's higher-ups embezzling from the company, ultimately resulting in Zyther gaining ownership of the company he'd once served.  With the conclusion of the Strange Science case, many of Zyther's other legal challengers faced similarly messy fates, the tech tycoon turning tech tyrant as he turned the tables on his competitors..."

 

Huh... The psychic's eyebrows furrowed as she watched the program. Why does that name ring a bell? Zyther... Zyther... I feel like I've heard that before, not long ago either.

 

"As he continued to bankrupt and buy his competition, Zyther seemed poised to completely conquer the Kalos tech sector...but then, in 2012, it all stopped, a series of significant financial losses preceding a complete halt to Zyther's corporate maneuvering.  While most attribute Zyther's sudden shift in attitude to the untimely demise of his first wife Lila Shabboneau, others point to his later partnership with minor heiress Christina Mikazuki as a likely reason for his change of heart.  While the date of the duo's acquaintance is uncertain, what followed was a shockingly swift courtship, with their marriage and the adoption of their son Alex coming mere months after the first anniversary of Shabboneau's death.  With a new Zyther family came a new Lionel Zyther, the technology tycoon shifting his massive wealth and research almost exclusively into charitable and humanitarian causes.  While the latest Zyther investments have yet to bear fruit, most analysts expect that Zyther is still digging for gold, and if--or rather when--he finds what he's looking for, the Tech King of Kalos could very well change the world once more."

 

The implications took a moment for her to process. "WHAT?!?!?!" Chloe exclaimed in complete and utter shock as she sat there otherwise in complete silence. It had to be a coincidence, right? But yet, she distinctly remembered hearing of her mother's maiden name - and her real mother's first name. "How can this be right...? What does this mean?" The young woman mumbled almost inaudibly as she tried to figure out what had happened. She almost wanted to not stop at Mount Silver now, but knew better. She knew that even if her mom was somehow still alive, it wouldn't change anything about which mission was more important. The rest of the news program was tuned out as the psychic woman's mind whirled around with her thoughts.

 

-==IC: Ryan Hikari - The Alamo==-

 

Ryan yawned as he walked down the halls of the Alamo in the dim early morning light. After he had been cleared the night before, the man had been tempted to visit Shannon. However, the events of the mission made him hesitate. He avoided Ava for similar reasons after Lucia had told him about how the older woman had nearly attacked her. He could only guess what Shannon's reaction would be like.

 

However, he knew that he couldn't just ignore his friend. It was for that reason that he knocked on her door at a rather early time in the morning. Ryan wanted to try and talk to Shannon before Ava got a chance to, as he got the feeling that the mother would monopolize all her time. As he waited, the man's Pokégear beeped - he read the message quickly and tilted his head. Who is this? I don't recall ever meeting a Miriam. Ryan shook his head and paused as he noticed some messages from the day before. Messages from his mother, which seemed panicked almost. What had happened that had gotten her so worked up. . .?

 

-==IC: Lucia Zyther - The Alamo==-

 

I hate mornings sometimes... Lucia groaned out loud as she forced herself to go to the cafeteria. If she said that she slept well after the day before, she would be very much lying. Her dreams had been some weird combination of both the train incident that gave the group their first look into these alien monsters, a bunch of the incidents from the past month, and the deadly mission from the day before. Her decision to just stay awake to not deal with those nightmares didn't help out that much either, as her mind went into overload thinking about Jamie.

 

After the two had officially woken up and Jamie went to visit her brother, Lucia simply opted to try and find some way to stay awake. "One coffee. Black." The redhead said with a completely tired voice to the barista. Thankfully, they seemed rather understanding of Lucia's situation, judging by the quick preparation. After a moment, they returned and handed the coffee to the Rocket, who nodded in thanks and quickly paid for it. She walked over to a table and began to mull over everything that had gone on as she waited for her coffee to cool down to drinking temperature.

 

Once she felt she was able to walk around with her drink in hand, Lucia decided to try to find where Jamie was. She thought that she might be finished with her conversation with James by now, even if she didn't know for sure.

Edited March 10, 2018 by Blessed Blade

[Flipz]

Jam - Tyler McKinley/Thomas Warren/Belle LaDonna/Alma Mason/Amelia Zann/Alex Zyther - August 7th, 2017 Reflection Cave, Kalos:

 

As Amelia stepped forth into the sunlight, an artificially-amplified female voice boomed out from all around them.

 

“THIS IS THE POLICE. STEP AWAY FROM THE CAVE WITH YOUR HANDS UP.”

 

Belle cursed softly, raising her hands silently above her head. She’d been through this sort of process enough times to know it was better to do as instructed. Alma frowned, following the older woman’s lead.

 

Caught off-guard, Amelia had her hands nowhere near her gun, which left her with no option but to comply with the command. Alex simply froze, both arms full and completely unprepared to be stopped by police rather than summoning them.

 

A Luxray and a Houndoom jointly circled behind the group, quietly but firmly cutting off any chance of escape back into the caves.

 

For their part, McKinley and Warren seemed more surprised than anything. They did not even feel the need to comply with Jenny’s orders, with McKinley instead giving her a casual, two-fingered salute.

 

“This is unexpected,” Warren said. “Is there a problem--?”

 

“Hey, let me handle this one, Tommy,” McKinley said, nudging Warren. He cleared his throat. “Well, this is unexpected! Is there a problem, Officer?” He ignored Warren’s unamused scowl.

 

Officer Jenny raised an eyebrow, but kept her gaze fixed on the unresponsive Alex. “McKinley. Why am I not surprised? I don’t suppose you’re aware you’re traveling with wanted felons?”

 

This snapped Alex out of his fugue. “Wh-what?!” The Trainer fell to his knees, crutch clattering to the ground as he belatedly held up his hand, raising the other a moment later once the Carbink wiggled free.

 

Officer Jenny’s mouth drew thin as she nodded to her two Pokémon, who herded Belle and Amelia away from the others. “Amelia Zann. Belle LaDonna. You are under arrest for three hundred counts of grand larceny, thirty-eight counts of aggravated assault, six counts of battery, fifty-four counts of accessory to aggravated assault, eight counts of accessory to battery, two counts of escape from police custody, twelve counts of impersonation of a government official, seven counts of impersonation of an officer of the law, three counts of impersonation of a member of the International Police, two counts of dereliction of duty from the International Police, one count of possession of a deadly weapon in violation of parole, three counts of evidence tampering, forty-three counts of theft of International Police evidence, forty-six counts of obstruction of justice, two counts of kidnapping a government official, four counts of kidnapping a member of the International Police, eighty-two counts of trespassing, sixty counts of trespassing on government property, seven counts of vandalism, three counts of arson, one count of grand theft auto, one count of destruction of public property in the Kalos Canyon National Park, and--” Officer Jenny did a double-take as she read out the final charge, exasperatedly muttering something that sounded suspiciously like “darn it, Officer Meekins” before finishing with “...and four counts of jaywalking.”

 

Belle stared, too shocked at the list of crimes, and impressed that the officer had read that all in one breath, to say anything until it was all over. “Now, hold on, I’m sure those numbers don’t quite add up . . .”

 

Officer Jenny scowled, the dark expression seeming out of place on her normally cheerful face. “Those are just the charges since the last time you broke parole.”

 

Thomas and Tyler tried not to seem impressed, but failed to do so before Officer Jenny noticed. The policewoman pointed to her eyes and then them, as if to say “I’m watching you,” though the half-amused spark in her eyes robbed the gesture of its sting. Still, it was enough to forestall their inevitable interruption.

 

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you do not have one, one will be provided to you…”

 

Alex’s mouth worked wordlessly as Officer Jenny continued to read out the two women’s rights before securing them inside her police cruiser. It was only after she’d finished that the Kalosian finally found the ability to speak again. “N-now wait just a minute,” he objected, “that…that can’t be right. Amelia would never...”

 

Officer Jenny glanced over at Alex, sympathy spilling across her face as she registered the Trainer’s genuine shock. “I’m sorry. If it makes you feel any better, you’re not the first person she’s taken in, Mr.…?”

 

Alex hesitated, but felt compelled to comply. “Zyther, ma’am. Alex Zyther.”

 

The policewoman’s brow furrowed, as if trying to recall something, but she ultimately dismissed the thought in favor of her duty. “Well, Mr. Zyther, as for you and Ms.…”

 

“Alma Mason,” Alma supplied helpfully.

 

“As for you and Ms. Mason, I don’t see any mention of either of you in my reports, and you don’t have any outstanding warrants, so as far as I see it you’re guilty of nothing but an unfortunate association. The two of you are free to go.” The policewoman turned her attention to Belle and Amelia’s Poké Balls, which finally prompted Tyler into action.

 

“If you don’t mind, Officer,” McKinley said, raising a hand. “We’d actually like to take their Pokémon with us.”

 

“…And why exactly would I allow that?”

 

“Well, for one, I’d argue they’re little more than accessories to their owners’ crimes,” McKinley said. “But I know not everyone would agree with me there, so putting that can of worms aside, they appear to have been afflicted with some sort of unnatural condition that we’d like Ford to take a look at.”

 

“Yes, it is affecting my own Pokémon and Alex’s, as well,” Alma interjected.

 

“It could very well end up being a matter of national security,” Warren added. “We’d rather not take any risks with it.”

 

Officer Jenny shot the two operatives an appraising look. “All right. Make sure Ford lets us know what he finds, we’re going to be processing them quickly so the window to add additional charges without a second trial will be rather small.”

 

McKinley gave a small bow. “Ford appreciates your understanding.”

 

The officer in question nodded, scanning the group one last time before turning away. Suddenly, however, something clicked within her mind, and she turned her attention back to Alex. “Mr. Zyther. You said your name was Alex, correct?”

 

“Y...yes?”

 

Officer Jenny frowned. “Strange. I could have sworn the Zythers’ only had a daughter...Cassandra, that was it.” The policewoman affixed Alex with a piercing stare.

 

Alex swallowed. Beside him, the Carbink reached out a tiny hand, the Trainer calming at her touch before taking a breath in preparation. “It’s, uh...Alex isn’t my birth name,” the Kalosian stated truthfully.

 

Officer Jenny’s sharp intake of breath was swiftly followed by a brief, understanding nod. “I apologize, then. I take it your...current identity is not widely known?” When Alex nodded, the officer smiled sympathetically. “All right. In that case, I can leave that detail out of my report.” After a moment’s hesitation she added, “From what I’ve heard, Lionel and Lila Zyther are good people. When you’re ready, I’m sure they’ll accept you with open arms.”

 

Alex could only nod, countenance ashen at the thought. He was too distracted to see Officer Jenny’s sad but encouraging smile at him, only noticing she’d left as her cruiser pulled away from the scene. Still at a loss for words, Alex’s feelings were ultimately summed up by Alma’s succinct question:

 

“What should we do now?”

[Konuju]

IC: Shannon Willows/Ryan Hikari - Barracks, The Alamo
The knocking roused her from a sleep she hadn't realized she'd fallen into. She stared at the wall, wondering whether her trance-like state could truly be called sleep, for she felt less rested than before. Her spiral-bound sketchbook lay discarded on the floor, the now-dry blood serving as the only indicator for how long she had been laying there.

The knock came again. Either she was more awake, or the knocking was louder this time. In some far corner of her mind she knew that the knocking would not cease until she answered the door. She pushed herself up from her bed, sapping her strength. After several deep breaths, she stumbled toward the source of the incessant knocking, which had grown more desperate with every second she left it unanswered.

She swung the door open and her heart caught in her throat. Ryan Hikari stared back at her, and in that moment she knew she must have looked like a mess. She had never changed her clothes from the day before, and she became acutely aware of the sweat and tears that stained her wrinkled shirt. Her hair was disheveled worse than an angry Spearow's nest, and her tears had ran long streaks through her smeared makeup.

She wanted nothing more into the world than to close the door in Ryan's face and make him forget the horrible sight he had just witnessed. But she found herself frozen in place, like a child caught stealing cookies or a Deerling caught in the headlights, unable to turn away from the black-haired man who stood before her, who saw her in her most vulnerable state.

The moment of silence continued for a moment before she noticed Ryan hold up a small bag. "Breakfast?" The man asked with an indiscernible tone in his voice. Shannon stared at him for a long moment, leaning on the doorframe for support. It was a simple question, yet she had no clue how to respond.

Finally, her stomach answered for her with an unmistakable growl. She nodded silently and opened the door wider to let him into her discombobulated room. "S-sorry for the mess," she mumbled as she shuffled back to her bed, hanging her head to hide her embarrassment. Why did he have to show up now of all times?

"No worries at all." Shannon heard the reply over the other sounds of the door closing and the swishing of the bag that Ryan held. She didn't pay much attention as the footsteps trailed off toward the few kitchen appliances the apartment room held.

It was only when she sat back down on the edge of her bed that she looked up and saw Ryan preparing something on the stove. He seemed entirely focused on the task of making her breakfast, as if nothing else in the world mattered. She stared down at her feet and twiddled her thumbs. "It's . . . um . . . good to see you again. After that mission, that is." A thought crossed her mind, and she instinctively clasped her hands together. "W-wait, how did you know where to find me?"

"Oh, I asked the receptionist. I got a couple dirty looks because of how exhausted they were, but it was a pretty quick answer. They seemed a little confused too, but…" She could hear the sounds of pans clanging around, occasionally muffling the man's voice for a second or two. A clattering of plates caught her attention again for a moment as she glanced up again and saw the Rocket head toward her with a plate of what looked to be a yellow. . . thing.

"What's that?" Shannon asked incredulously, casting a wary eye on the plate. It looked like someone had run over a Dunsparce and sprinkled pepper over it, the thought of which made her stomach do a backflip as Ryan momentarily brushed against her hand.

"Oh, it's an omelette. My mom taught me how to make it a while ago, but I haven't really had a chance to practice it much at all recently. Mostly I've been living off noodles, honestly."

A bit of color returned to her face as she burst into laughter at the sorry attempt at breakfast. "You call that an omelette?" She took a forkful and held it out in front of Ryan's face with a teasing smile. "Tell me if this tastes like an omelette to you."

Before Ryan could protest, she shoved the fork into his mouth. She watched as he seemed to consider the taste of the omelette for a moment before swallowing the sample. "Okay, maybe I got things a little wrong, but the basics are still there! Worst case… think the cafeteria's serving pizza already?"

"Worst case, I have some cereal in the pantry." Shannon walked over to the kitchen nook, leaving the so-called omelette by the sink as she grabbed her breakfast of choice, along with a pair of bowls and spoons, and returned to the bedside. "I hope you like the ones with marshmallows in them," she said as she poured Ryan a bowl. "It's something I never outgrew. When I was a kid, I . . ." Her voice trailed off as she finished pouring the cereal and handed it to Ryan, then proceeded to pour one for herself. For a long moment the only sound came from the soft clink of her spoon against the bowl as she slowly ate.

"My sister liked to eat this brand all the time. It seems like it shrunk in the past 5 years, though." The silence was broken by Ryan's attempt to turn things to a better subject for the moment. "Sometimes she kept trying to deny she liked it, but would always ask for it to be replaced whenever it ran out."

Shannon chuckled at the story, but remained focused on her own bowl. Ryan had been on that mission with her parents, hadn't he? Did he know what had happened? Was that why he had come to visit? Why wasn't he saying anything about it? The questions gnawed at the fringes of her mind, soaking through her thoughts like the milk soaked through the marshmallows of her cereal.

After what felt like an eternity, Shannon set her bowl aside, leaving it only halfway finished. "Why did you come?" she asked pointedly.

"I thought you might want or need the company right now." Ryan replied as he turned his head to Shannon. "I… didn't know how to bring anything up, but I just thought you might… well…" His voice trailed off. "I'm sorry, about how things went."

Shannon abruptly got up to bring her bowl to the sink. "About how things went on the mission?" Her voice was strained, and she kept her back to Ryan as hot tears sprung to her eyes. "You made it back alive. Nothing else matters. That's all I care about. So don't apologize because you survived. I-I couldn't be happier."

There was silence for a moment. "I'm not apologizing because I survived, but because of people who were less lucky." There was a pause. "Do you want any help or anything?"

She shook her head but remained at the sink, continuing to scrub out her bowl long after it was clean. "How did it happen?" she asked softly. "My father? How did he . . . ?"

"One of the aliens…" There was a moment of hesitation. "I didn't see it myself, but it… wasn't good. It went right through the armour." Footsteps sounded behind her softly. "I don't know exactly what happened otherwise; I was just getting back to the battlefield at the time. Then I got into a fight with something I thought long dead. I just… I'm sorry."

Shannon continued to vigorously scrub her bowl. "He got what he deserved," she said bitterly. "You've met him and my mom, you know what they're like. I don't care that he's dead. In fact, it's probably better this way. I'm finally free of his incessant control."

She paused as she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I used to think the same thing." Ryan's voice sounded intimately close, a soothing sound barely louder than a whisper directed straight into her ear. "Remember it wasn't that long ago that I wanted my father dead. It took a very brave and very caring girl to stop me."

Shannon squeezed her dishrag as her face heated up. "Th-that was different, you were ready to kill--"

Two hands wrapped around her from behind, pulling her into a warm embrace. "Wanting someone dead is just as bad as killing them, is it not? That's not like you. That's not the Shannon I know."

The dishrag fell from her hands as tears sprung to her eyes. "I hate him," she sobbed, turning around and burying her face in Ryan's shoulder. "I-I don't even know how I'm supposed to feel right now . . . I don't even know how I do feel . . ."

In response, Ryan's arms only pulled her closer. In his embrace she felt his strength and his sorrow. She had always known he carried with him a heavy burden, and the last thing she wanted to do was to bother him with her own problems. But to her surprise he seemed to shoulder her troubles with ease, as if he knew what she was going through.

He couldn't know, she thought to herself as her hand tightened around the neck of his shirt. There's no way he'd understand. Yet his embrace did not seem to care. A tempestuous whirlwind of emotions swirled inside of her: anger, loss, relief, joy, disgust, gratefulness. There was no way she could even begin to comprehend it on her own. But Ryan's arms offered a shelter, a sanctuary where she was free to let loose. He would not judge her, he would not scold her. Whether it was because he knew she needed time to figure things out on her own, or because he genuinely had no idea what to say, she could not be sure. But what she did know was that in his arms, she was free to be whatever she needed to be.

And so she became an uncontrollable sobbing mess. She never even noticed that he had led her back to the bed, she was only dimly aware of the two of them sitting on the edge of the mattress.

She wanted this moment to last forever. Her pouring her very soul into his arms, raw and unfiltered, from her crumpled bedsheets to her unkempt hair to her sweat-stained shirt, and him not giving a second thought to any of it, but embracing her for the bumbling, emotional mess that she was. This was her in her most vulnerable form. It was like he could see into the darkest corners of her life . . . and he accepted her for who she was, not for who she wanted to be. She clung to him as if he might vanish at any moment. She wanted to savor every last second. Even as she choked on her tears, she couldn't help but smile. "Th-thank you . . ."

Through blurred vision, she spotted her sketchbook on the ground. Her breath caught in her lungs as a memory forced its way unbidden to the forefront of her mind.


"You're a really talented artist, Shannon."

 

It was night before the big mission to Three Island. Her father had come to her hospital room and, as per usual, had taken it upon himself to look through her belongings without permission. With every page of the sketchbook that he flipped, it was like he was stealing another glimpse into her personal life. She felt violated, yet nothing she said would stop him. Any attempts to get him to stop were met with accusations of guilt. If she had been a less secluded daughter, he wouldn't have had to resort to such intrusive methods to learning about her.

 

He flipped to another page and paused. His eyes widened, and he held up the portrait for Shannon to see. "This is the boy you were with earlier." Sure enough, it was one of the pictures she had drawn of Ryan Hikari. Her father held an irritatingly amused smile on his face. "You have strong feelings for him, don't you?"

 

Blushing crimson, Shannon snatched the sketchbook out of her father's hands. "Mind your own business!" she snapped.

 

She expected her father to respond in anger at her outburst. Instead, he gave an amused chuckle. "No wonder you wanted to go on that mission so badly . . . you must be so worried about him."

 

Shannon pulled the blankets up to hide her scarlet face and rolled on her side so she didn't have to face that irritating smile. "I-I never said that . . . !" she stammered.

 

Her father placed a warm hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to say it."


Shannon blinked through her tears, turning her focus from the notebook to the black-haired man before her. Her heart throbbed inside her chest, its rhythmic pounding deafening. Her emotions were in turmoil. She couldn't possibly sort out how she felt about her father. But there were some feelings that she couldn't ignore. As much as she hated to admit it, her father was right about one thing.

She didn't have to say anything.

She had always pictured her first kiss to be like something out of a fairy tale. Her heart would flutter as their lips fit into place like two pieces of a puzzle, everything would feel warm and fuzzy, and there'd ideally be some romantic music playing in the background. Instead, she could taste her own tears on his lips as she tried to find the right balance of pressing against him and giving him room to breathe. It was sloppy, messy, and not at all picturesque. Her lack of skill at the delicate art of kissing was probably readily apparent. And yet somehow her bumbling attempts as she fumbled to keep their lips intertwined made their moment feel all the more intimate.

It seemed to take a long moment for Ryan's surprise to wear off -- or maybe the moment only felt like an eternity to her -- but after some time Ryan's hand moved up to her cheek. Their lips pressed firmer together, and suddenly their kiss felt more complete. She realized, much to her relief, that Ryan wasn't exactly a perfect kisser either. She figured he probably hadn't had much more experience than her when it came to the art of kissing. That was just fine by her . . . they'd just have to make it up as they went along. Shannon closed her eyes and leaned closer against Ryan. For the moment, all her worries melted away. Nothing else mattered. Nothing could come between them.


IC: Alex Lockwood – Lysandre Café, Lumiose City
If Magenta Plaza took him by surprise, Lysandre Café completely swept Alex off his feet. He never would have expected such a small and tucked away café to be so . . . extravagant. He followed Emily to a table, still taking in the unusual atmosphere of the place.

"Lysandre was some big crime lord or something, right?" He was sure to any native Kalosian this should have been common knowledge, but his studies in world history were sadly lacking. "Kind of like Kanto's Giovanni? I'm surprised they'd name a café after him. The Shadow Admins in Kanto seem to want to make us forget Giovanni's Team Rocket ever existed. They claim it ruins the image of the new Rocket government or something."


IC: Ava Willows - Barracks, The Alamo
Ava Willows was not having the best of days. After an overnight stay in the Alamo's medical wing, she had been forced to identify her husband's body and answer a series of questions that ranged from ridiculous to mundane. His date of birth, his medical history, his blood type. A doctor had to perform an official autopsy and she had to sign off as a witness to his death.

The medical staff assured her that her daughter had already been informed of Theo's demise. At least she wouldn't have to be the one to break the news to her. Even still, Ava was not looking forward to meeting with Shannon. For years her daughter had avoided her. Theo had always been convinced it was just a phase, he blamed emerging hormones or whatnot. Ava knew better. Their daughter despised them. That was the ugly truth her husband refused to accept.

She despised them, yet they were sworn to protect her. Ava was not looking forward to speaking with Shannon. How would she take her father's death? The thought gnawed at her mind until she could delay no further. She had to seek her out.

Shannon had been discharged from the hospital the day before. Rather than room with her parents, the girl had taken it upon herself to get her own room in some other wing of the barracks. It took some time for Ava to track her down, but eventually she found the room in question.

Along the way she stopped by the cafeteria to pick up a couple of bagels. Breakfast had not been a family activity for many years, but Ava hoped the small offering would rekindle what they had lost.

She paused in front of Shannon's door and took a deep breath.

Then she knocked.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Emily Lockwood - Scarlet Café, Lumiose City, Kalos

 

Emma chuckled softly as they sat. "It's actually called the Scarlet Café, these days, but good job on the Kalos history. He owned the place back when Flare was active. He even had a secret lab in the back. If you wanna shell out a bit of money, we can actually go back and have our coffee there, though the police removed all the important equipment. Still, you can't say you've done anything as interesting as having coffee in a secret base for a criminal organization."

 

IC: Aspen Seaton - Alamo, Four Island, Late Morning

 

Aspen had woken and dressed with only minor difficulties that day; it was getting easier to work around his cast and crutches. After a quick breakfast -- begrudgingly, he had Aria carry his meal to the table for him -- he made his way to the indoor training hall. Aria had been restless lately, and he thought that a bit of a workout might help calm her down, even if it wasn't a proper battle.

 

The Lucario was currently stretching, loosening herself for the real workout. Aspen leaned against the wall as he watched; he wouldn't be able to do much as a spotter, but at the very least he was there if something went wrong.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose, Training Hall

The sound of numerous impacts rang through the training hall, as Lafoyae, with her swift hands, struck at the punching bag in front of her. She hadn't seen that silver-haired boy, but wasn't surprised. He had said he was going on a mission today, so she wasn't disappointed. It allowed her to focus more on her training. The assassin's Accelgor was out, watching his master's movements, making sure to be ready to aid her if she grew fatigued. She had already done so much in here, and she only looked halfway tired, despite the late night the Rocket Agent had.

"After this, I'll continue reading that book that girl gave me." Lafoyae thought, her focus entirely on her target. "Maybe I could learn to augment my strength with more study."

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie Arthur - Alamo

 

Target spotted.

 

Lucia had her back turned. Time for a tackle hug.

 

Wait, we're like girlfriends now, right? Jamie realized. Do girlfriends tackle hug each other?

 

She pondered the conundrum for a moment before deciding that nah, tackle hug had to be the way to go.

 

"Lucia!" she yelled throwing herself at the other girl.

Edited March 12, 2018 by Metal Gear Minun

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Lucia Zyther - The Alamo==-

 

"Lucia!" Was the only warning the woman in question got before she got tackled from behind into a hug. With a grin, Lucia turned her head to get a glimpse of the wild Jamie that had just appeared.

 

"How'd things go?" Lucia asked as she smiled at her friend's hug. In her opinion, her tackle hugs never got old.

 

-==IC: Shannon Willows/Ryan Hikari/Ava Willows - Barracks, The Alamo==-

"Is someone at the door?" Ryan took a moment to catch his breath as he let the question hang in the air. He knew from the receptionist at the front desk that Shannon had only just recently moved into this room, so he had to wonder who else would know she was here.

Shannon's response was to tackle him onto the bed to prevent any further investigation of the mysterious knocking. "I'm sure whoever it is will go away if we ignore them," she said before resuming their ritualistic lipwork.

The knocking persisted. Shannon doubled down on their kissing, as if she hoped to drown out the distracting noise. For a moment her plan worked -- and Ryan enjoyed every second of it.

Then the knocking turned into an earsplitting pounding. Whoever was at the door was not giving up. Shannon resurfaced and swore under her breath, her messy hair tickling Ryan's nose as she swung off of him to answer the incessant knocking.

As Shannon walked away, the man stopped to reflect on what had just happened. The turn of events had definitely taken him by surprise, but overall it seemed like things had turned out well. Still, the more he thought back on it, the more the worry and doubt started to creep into Ryan's mind. Was this the right choice? Was it actually okay to be kissing her? It was nice, he had to admit, but he felt worried that he might unintentionally be taking advantage of Shannon's emotions. The Rocket sat up for a moment to try and see what would happen, equally curious about who could be at the door.

The moment the door opened Shannon let out a squeak. Ryan craned his neck to see her face turn beet-red. A moment later he felt his own stomach drop as Ava Willows stepped into the room.

Shannon's mother seemed to take in the entire scene before her, jumping to her own conclusions in a matter of seconds. The half-eaten omelette by the sink. The ruffled bedsheets. Shannon's crimson face, wrinkled t-shirt and obvious bedhead. And the mastermind behind it all, Ryan Hikari, sitting like a criminal on her bed, caught equally red-handed and red-faced.

The look on Ava's face made Samurloch seem like a cute puppy. "What is going on here?" she asked, seething. "I've been looking for you all morning, only to learn that you left the hospital without telling anyone, and now I find you've gotten a room with this boy!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Ryan held up his hands with a deep blush. "That's, um, this isn't my room. I just visited to try and see how Shannon was doing after yesterday… but I have a totally different room, next to my sister's." He stumbled over his words a couple times as he spoke, not at all prepared for that sort of comment.

Ava took a threatening step towards the bed. "Oh, so you're 'just visiting.' I see how it is. You invite yourself over to my daughter's room under the pretense of 'comforting' her, like you're some knight in shining armor, and not even twenty-four hours after her father's death! You're just taking advantage of her emotional state. It's an insult to my husband's memory and a disgrace to our family! You disgust me!"

"What are you even talking about?" Ryan seemed to be more dumbfounded than anything at that point. He wore a poker face well when Ava attempted to poke at his own worries, but everything just confused him at this point. "I just got here like thirty minutes ago. I knocked, just like you did, and offered some breakfast to make sure that she at least was able to have something. Because I've been in her shoes before." The man nodded to the bag that was on the counter that had the leftover ingredients that hadn't already been put into the fridge. "Check the receipt if you want."

Shannon stamped her foot on the ground. "Seriously, Mom, how could you even think that? Quit jumping to conclusions, Ryan only came here to help!"

Ava narrowed her eyes at the black-haired man, her fist clenching around a bag of what smelled like fresh bagels. "Regardless, this is a family matter." She spoke slowly and carefully, as if each word held the risk of triggering an explosion. "So I will kindly have to ask you to leave."

Ryan debated the possibilities of everything in his head for a moment as he wondered what could help out the situation the most. As he ran through everything, he visibly paused for a moment as he stood up. "Um, Ava, can I talk with you for a moment?"

This took both Willows women by surprise. Ava seemed to consider the offer for a moment before nodding and opening the door so they could step into the hallway. Shannon shot him a worried look that suggested her mother might try and strangle him, but he gave her a reassuring smile as he stepped out of the room.

****

The moment the door closed, Shannon began pacing around her room, her face buried in her hands. "Oh, how could I have been so stupid?" she muttered. "Of course she would come and visit. Ugh, she just had to ruin everything!"

Selena popped out of her Pokéball and curled around the girl's neck as a way to comfort her. Shannon stroked her fur, and allowed her to nibble on the remains of Ryan's omelette. Her thoughts drifted back to the moment she had shared with Ryan. She wished time could have just stood still around them, so that they could enjoy each other's love for eternity, forgetting all their other problems.

****

As Ryan closed the door behind him, he glanced over at Ava. "I, um, know we've both gotten off on the wrong foot. I'm sorry for anything I've done or said that may have given you a bad impression of me. But I think that if I stay, I could maybe help out. I've been in this situation before, but my dad and I had no-one else to help us. Nothing really got better because of that, but I almost feel like I might be able to help here." He took a deep breath after he finished talking. He hoped that Ava could maybe consider the idea at the very least.

Mrs. Willows crossed her arms and frowned. "You're right, I don't like you. Shannon and I have never been close, but we always managed to tolerate each other. It seems like ever since she met you, she's been more openly rebellious against Theo and I. I don't know what ideas you've been putting in her head, but I don't like it. Like I said, this matter is solely between my daughter and me. But if you think you can get Shannon to at least listen to what I have to say, I'll allow you to stay."

"I haven't been putting any ideas in her head." Ryan said, as he tried to keep his tone calm. If there would be any resolving this situation without people getting hurt, then he'd need to keep himself in check for the moment at least. "Things aren't always as simple as it seems, including the matter of this matter. I think hearing what I have to say, and what Shannon does might do everyone some good. I've seen how this ends without people hearing each other out, and it's not good. If I had done things better with other stuff, then maybe things could have gone better…" The man's voice trailed off for a moment as his gaze fell to the floor. He glanced back up, however. "So, please. At least listen to your daughter - maybe everyone will learn something new today."

Ava bit her lip. "You seem to genuinely care about Shannon. I think I'm starting to see what Theo saw in you. I'll do my best to listen. But I can't promise things will turn out the way you want them to."

"That's all that can be asked for, I think." Ryan gave a smile as he seemed to be okay with it being at least a possibility that things could work out. "Alright, let's get back inside."

The black-haired man opened the door back up as he walked back in, Ava following behind. "Want me to help get the bagels ready, Ava? I think that we can spare some room for them, right?" He glanced over to Shannon with a smile.

Shannon squeaked in surprise, dropping her sketchbook to the floor, where it fell open on a surprisingly detailed portrait of Ryan. She hurriedly picked up the book and set it aside on her nightstand, giving Ryan and her mother an incredulous look. "When did you two get so chummy?"

Ava wore an amused smile on her face as she started preparing the bagels. "Don't test your luck. I'm only doing this because your boyfriend begged me to."

Shannon clenched her fists as her face turned a deep fuchsia. "W-who said he was my boyfriend?"

Ava looked over at Ryan and raised an eyebrow as if to ask if she had misinterpreted their relationship.

Ryan paused for a slight moment as he thought back to everything leading up to the kiss. Were they boyfriend and girlfriend? Was Shannon just being shy or was he just reading too much into things? "Um, well…" He felt two pairs of eyes staring at him, pressuring him to give an answer. "E-either way, the point stands that things are definitely… uhh... " He trailed off as he bit his lip. "I think what we should really focus on here is how much talking we can do! Yes, talking." The man decided to just leave the bagels to Ava after how the omelette turned out. "So, um, who's ready for an unforgettable discussion?"

Shannon looked unamused. "You really expect me to hear out this old hag?"

Ryan glanced over as Ava slammed a plate on the countertop so hard it nearly cracked. "I knew you wouldn't be able to change a thing, Hikari," she muttered.

The man laughed nervously, as he frowned slightly. "Listen, I've been in your situation. I'm not expecting miracles, but I'd like if both of you could at least try to talk this out peacefully. I know that things between you are… strained, to put it extremely mildly." He paused as he tried to find words that wouldn't get anything thrown at him. "But right now, the only way this can go without discussion is… very badly. I've requested that you be heard out, Shannon, so can you at least try to talk things out? I'll be here to be a neutral party. Does that sound good?"

Ryan watched as Shannon turned her head and gave her mother an icy glare. "Fine," she said through gritted teeth. "We'll try."

"Alright," The Rocket took a deep breath as he hoped that things wouldn't go as horribly as the current situation suggested. "Let's begin."

 

-==IC: Taylor==-

 

Taylor yawned as she looked down the halls curiously. She bit her lip as she wondered how to go about the situation in multiple ways. After her and Claus had gone their separate ways the night before, the girl had tried to call her father multiple times. However, each time simply ended in failure the same way. She felt worried, especially at how Claus might react to that sort of news. Despite that, she felt motivated to try to find some way to fix this. To find out what was going on.

 

The biggest problem she faced at the current moment, is that she had no clue where Claus even was.

 

-==NPC: Natalie Dexter - Celadon City==-

 

It had been a restless night. Everything had been fine two nights before after she left the mansion, but when she woke up, she was bombarded by questions, interviews, officers who wanted to double, triple, quadruple check their stories. But to Natalie it was all just a whirlwind of confusion, of uncertainty. That night had just allowed her to stew on it more and more, until her dreams forced her awake with a start.

 

The woman paced around the halls of her home, as she pondered what she could do to help. She had been told that the shares that Stacy had held in the company had passed onto the nearest person in the inheritance chain who wasn't a suspect. Because of the recent offer and because of her alibi making a fool of herself at karaoke at the very time the murder occurred, she was immediately ruled out. While she wondered why Stacy's husband hadn't been considered, she assumed it was the fact that he already held stake in another company. She briefly thought about trying to use the company to find her mother figure's killer - but then realized that a clothing company wouldn't help with that in the slightest.

 

With a frustrated groan, the woman went to the bathroom to splash her face with water. There had to be something she was missing. What about those people who were there, who was being cared for by Stacy? Maybe they heard something? Natalie knew the police would have looked into that already, but she felt as restless as the sleep she got. She had to try something. So she pulled on her coat and walked into the early morning mist, determined to find out something that could help lead her to whoever did this.

 

-==Board of Directors - Leavanny Straus boardroom, Celadon City main building - August 5th, 8:05 PM==-

 

"So, what is our plan of action?"

 

The room began to fill up with shadows as the last remnants of the daylight slowly began to fade over the horizon. The gathered people sat around a table with a device embedded in the middle of it. One person pressed a button on the desk to create a hologram from the device. The hologram shifted between images before finally settling on two emblems. One appeared to be a white and red insignia, while the other appeared a lot more subdued - like a clothing brand logo.

 

"It's simple. Our forefathers were sloppy. They paid for it." A woman leaned back as she placed her hands behind her head. "But we've learned. We don't need to do the same things to get what we want. The current big thing is that threat in the Sevii Islands that is constantly reported on. That can work in our favour - we build things up while waiting this out."

 

"And how do you propose we do that?" A brown-haired man leaned forward, hands covering his mouth. "We don't know at all what is going on there - the news refuses to run many stories on whatever is happening. All we have is shaky amateur hour footage. That will not cut it!"

 

"It doesn't need to. We're not fighting, after all. But we certainly can use it to our favour. This company is the perfect opportunity for us to build up notoriety and credibility. We can supply the equipment that the dear late Mrs. Trilan was in the middle of working on to whoever needs it. We'll be seen as heroes by both Liberty and Rocket, especially in this time of need." A smile crossed the woman's face as she addressed the room. "We can be certain that the world is working around the clock to find out how to stop this threat. Perhaps they simply need a little backing at times. But imagine if we sell this equipment to them, while also incorporating the designs like Mrs. Trilan wished. . ."

 

The woman stood up and pushed a button, as the hologram changed to a number of different clothes. The enhanced materials that Stacy had started research on to try and make clothing more resistant and protective were shown to be woven into the clothes. "It's quite simple too and inexpensive for us. Mrs. Trilan was worried, worried that it might be abused. I say that she was scared for no reason." She stepped back, as she held her hands out to point to the hologram. "This, this is the future. This is our future."

 

She smiled again as she shut the hologram off. "This is the future of our organization. Our forefathers were wrong about their approach. They should always have just stuck to the shadows. . . now I will show you all just how wrong they were. All hail Cipher."

[Konuju]

IC: Alex Lockwood – Scarlet Café, Lumiose City, Kalos
"Coffee in a secret lab? Sounds exciting." Alex walked up to the counter and requested the special offer. As the receptionist led them over to the back of the small café, Alex leaned close to his cousin, his anticipation giving way to a wary frown. "This thing's worth it, right?" he whispered. "It's not just some tourist trap?"

IC: Shannon Willows/Ryan Hikari/Ava Willows - Barracks, The Alamo
The tension in the room was suffocating. Selena climbed up onto Ryan's shoulders and gave a worried croon, glancing fearfully between the two Willows women. Even with Ryan promising to act as the middleman, there was no guarantee this wouldn't end badly.

Ava sat down on the edge of the bed, her hands folded in her lap as she looked up at her daughter. "I know we've had our differences," she began. "But believe me when I say that your father and I only ever had your best interests in mind."

"Don't make me laugh." Shannon scoffed and turned towards Ryan. "You know that's a total farce. How long do you expect me to--"

Ryan placed a hand on her shoulder. "Just hear her out," he said quietly. "Then you'll get your turn to vent."

"As I was saying." Ava cast her daughter a warning look. "Your father and I joined Team Liberty because we believed you deserved a future free from Rocket rule. We had a choice to move here to Four Island, but we wanted you to have some semblance of a normal life. And so we stayed in Ecruteak for as long as we could. When the situation there grew too hostile, we moved to Celadon so you could continue to grow up in a city. We didn't want you living on a military base, and so we commuted. We did all of this for you -- and your continued ungratefulness is an insult to the sacrifices we've made. Theo paid the ultimate price to keep you--"

"Don't bring Dad into this!" Shannon burst out.

Ava stared at her incredulously. "How is this not about your father? He sacrificed everything for you, and you--"

"You sacrificed my childhood!" Her unkempt hair and icy glare gave Shannon the appearance of a banshee. "Don't act like Dad's death somehow makes that all better!"

"How dare you speak about your father in that tone!" Ava stood up and strode over to Shannon, looking equally horrifying. Selena seemed to retreat into Ryan's shoulder. "Theo sacrificed everything, and this is how you repay him?!"

"Um!" Ryan stood up quickly to try and step between the two before a brawl broke out. "I know this is an emotionally charged subject, but maybe we could refrain from like… this?" The man laughed nervously, as he wished that Chloe was here to help. "I feel like this subject might be too much of a… I forget the word, but maybe we can change to something else for a little bit, to build up to it later?"

"Sure," Shannon spat bitterly. "Let's change to something else. How about we talk about how you completely ruined my childhood by taking me away from my friends in Ecruteak? That attack in Celadon? The one that had you so worried about me? That was because of you, you know. Hannah Wright was out for blood because you led an attack on our home after stealing me away!"

"Hannah Wright is a lunatic," Ava shot back. "It's time you grew up, Shannon. She's clearly not your friend anymore, and if she's really that maniacal then it's probably a good thing we took you away from her."

"Ava." Ryan held up a hand in warning. "Just going to add my two cents here. I saw the aftershocks of that attack personally when I went to school right after. The kids weren't harmed for the most part, but a good bunch of them were very shaken up by their home being attacked like that. I'd wager that Hannah wasn't the only one who got affected as badly as she did, though everyone's affected differently, so I doubt everyone would go and try to spread that pain." He kept his hand up as he paused for a breath. "But I know very well what that pain feels like. My own home city was attacked just a few years later. I thought that everyone I cared about had been killed, and in my pain I did things that I regret to this day. I don't feel it's healthy to just write people off without considering the whole story."

"See?" Shannon crossed her arms over her chest. "You claim you were doing this for me, but you hurt my friends and drove them to madness. So who do you think is the villain of this story?"

Ava took a sharp breath. "I did what I had to! If Liberty didn't launch that attack, the Rockets would have wiped out our outpost. Just because we shot first doesn't make us the bad guys."

"It's a grey area." Ryan cut in again, this time to address both of them. "War, especially in a case like this, doesn't care who's the victim or who isn't. If you have people leading the attack or advising from the base who are too reckless, then there will be a price to pay that might not be anywhere near what you want." The man turned his focus to Ava. "Was it impossible to guard the outpost, or draw the fight to somewhere outside of the city? Was it necessary to take the fight to places with civilians, people who have no stake in the war outside of just wanting a peaceful place to live in?"

"You're asking about an operation that took place years ago, the details of which were not given to me. Theo and I were field agents -- we followed orders. You said it yourself, war doesn't care who's the victim. It's not our fault innocent people got hurt, that was completely outside of our control."

"But you're still the ones who pulled the trigger!" Shannon cried. "You could have left Team Liberty, instead of choosing them over your own daughter! You chose to be murderers instead of parents -- so don't act so surprised when I say I hate you!"

"We made a hard call!" Ava yelled back. "It's not like you could have done any better. Leaving Team Liberty would have made all our years of sacrifice for nothing! If we didn't pull the trigger, someone else would have! Your friend Hannah still would've been traumatized. If you want to hate something, hate Team Liberty, hate war, but don't put all the blame on the parents who raised you!"

"Raised me?!" Shannon shrieked. "I practically raised myself because you were never there for me! And it's only when I get hospitalized at Ms. Stacy's house that you come crawling back to care for me, acting like nothing's changed. Well guess what? You lost your chance to raise me when you moved to Celadon!"

Ava was silent for several moments. "What about before Celadon?" she asked quietly. "What about your birthday parties, our walks to the park, our trips to the dance theater? Did that mean nothing to you?"

Shannon's breath caught in her throat. Her lip quivered. "Th-that's . . . that doesn't change everything else you've done!"

"No, it doesn't. But it doesn't change the fact that you loved us once. We can't go back to those days, but maybe we can learn to love each other again. After all, with Theo gone, you're all I have left."

Much to Shannon's surprise, tears started welling up in her mother's stalwart eyes. The girl clenched a fist. "I hate you," she said in a trembling voice. "Nothing you do will change that." She looked over to Ryan, visibly shaken. "I've heard her out," she said. "We're done here."

"No!" Ava cried, falling to her knees. "No, we're not done! I just lost my husband, the love of my life! Don't make me lose my daughter too!"

"You should have thought of that sooner. You lost me a long time ago."

Ava looked desperately toward Ryan, silently pleading for him to change Shannon's mind. Ryan could only offer her a helpless look as Shannon grabbed his hand and led him out the door, leaving Mrs. Willows to wallow in agony.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: James Arthur/Richard Apollo - Executive Suite

 

James had just sat down when his door opened again. Richard stepped through the door catching James’s attention. 

 

"Agent… Apollo, was it? Can this wait, I have other appointments I need to-"

 

"Hey boss man,” Richard started with a smile that could only be described as ‘too big’ and giving James far too little personal space. “So I’ve been thinking. I went around and made that huge distraction. And you know that was really hard. I had to get like fifty people on my tail for you. And they were chasing for half the day. Do you know how exhausting it is to let a security force chase you all day? On National television? Holding a violin. At least I think it was national television. I didn’t watch on TV, but someone giggled when they saw me when I returned so I think that they had watched. And then I had to sit through questioning about how apparently it’s illegal to use Confuse Ray on the line, the media, and owner of that merchandise stand, I mean that stuff is incredibly overpriced. Can you believe what they were charging for a t-shirt? Who even makes t-shirts for events like that. Not that I can blame them, I certainly had fun but why where there shirts made specifically for that event? It’s a conspiracy I tell ya. I tried offering the shirts to the guys questioning me, but that just made them angrier. I know they were bad shirts but they didn’t have to take all off them. Hades then made a joke that I should be arrested, but the police didn’t understand him. Actually nobody seems to understand Hades, heck I barely understand Hades. He has weird verbiage. But I know he was joking, because if I was gone, he’d lose my company, and he loves my company. And besides if I went to jail, he should go to jail too. I mean I only ordered the mass confusion, he carried it out! That was effective though, you gotta admit. I think it speaks to my quick thinking and ability to come up with something new on the spot. It helps me out occasionally. Not as much as my musical ability, but it’s a pretty close second. Third has got to be running though. It’s really worth a lot in and of itself. Otherwise I would’ve been caught sooner and if I got caught sooner, you would’ve been caught, and then Pierce would’ve won and we’d be screwed politically, and probably by M0 even more than we already are.”

 

James was almost horrified at this man’s ability to just keep talking. He tried to raise his voice, but found his words drowned out by Richard’s incessant rambling.

 

“And then there was that time that I went with y’all to Three Island. I murdered a bunch of monsters with song and dance. Do you know how hard it is to do a full song and dance routine, unrehearsed, no direction given, on the beach, no cues, no retakes, no sympathy, no nothing. I bared my heart out on that island anyway for that great performance, and who notices. Nobody, nobody notices because they’re all ‘fighting for their lives’ and whatever. Now I can get the feeling that death sucks, but come on, that’s a prime show. People pay millions to go to fancy operas, and here I was doing that all for free. And that’s not even getting into all those monsters I slayed. With song. Using the water type suit, because you took the normal type suit, which fine, that move I used was awesome. But I killed all those things with song. Except that freaking last one who I had to improvise for because he cheated. Like seriously, Torment is such a cheap tactic. Not that I’m above cheap tactics, but why would anyone ruin the music? That’s the real crime M0 is committing, ruining the fun, ruining the music. But I improvised, I found a way to make that work. Because the show must always go on. You can’t let the audience down. Now in this case, I was murdering my audience, but that’s besides the point. Whether you’re making them smile, or killing them, you can’t let them go away disappointed. And gosh darn it, I didn’t. I gave them the best show they could ask for. Not that they could ask for  anything else, because they’re dead. And then I had to run again. Which brings us back to the topic of how much running away has helped me. Even you gotta admit my ability to run away is an incomparable asset for us. So in the end I beat up all those monsters with the power of music and then ran away again. And I did it all for our cause and all that. I returned here victorious after the greatest performance of my life. I survived stuff no one had any right to with a unique fighting style and saved the day.”

 

Richard smiled for the briefest pause.

 

"And then it hit me, I’m a war hero now. And war heroes get perks!”

 

Richard finally took a breath. Lancelot and the others were laughing. During the speech at some point, James tried to get Lancelot to intervene but the Scizor feigned ignorance and let him suffer a little. James used the brief moment of respite to try and get a word in edgewise.

 

“You want a-”

 

“Can I get a transfer to the Archives department?” Richard finally paused.

 

James looked quizzically at Richard. It was a rather inglorious position. He didn’t expect that request. What he did know, was that he was being played like a violin here. That bothered him, but not as much as Richard presently did. And the Archives department was out of his way for the time being.

 

"You know what, fine. That is a reasonable request,” he said as the ache in his head began to die down.

 

James hastily scrawled together a profile and email and sent them Executive Samir.

 

 

“He is your problem now. -Executive James Arthur” 

 

 

 

“Great, thanks boss man,” Richard said almost skipping as he exited the door.

 

James sighed as he packed his things together, ignoring the chuckling of his Pokemon who had seen James get exasperated in dealing with the bard.

 

“I am not dealing with him today,” James said. “I have enough on my plate as is,” he muttered while typing a message on his phone.

 

 

 

IC: Claus Diamond/Richard Apollo - Four Island

 

 

Hades was waiting outside of James’s office with Claus. Richard had run ahead of them. Hades was silently taking pity on the poor man who Richard had went to meet with. Richard came out with a thumbs up.

 

“You know you didn’t have to do that,” Claus started when he saw the other agent, “I could get the info myself.”

 

Richard shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, don’t get me wrong. I wanted that transfer. I found out about some of their duties. I got a pitch for ‘em,” he walked past Claus who started following. “Helping you is just bonus.”

 

Claus smiled and nodded, “Thanks Richard.” 

Edited June 13, 2018 by Metal Gear Minun

[MELON LORD]

IC: Aspen Seaton

 

From across the room, Aspen and Aria saw the woman training. The pair looked at each other, and Aspen shrugged. "Couldn't hurt to ask, I guess," he said as he straightened. The duo made their way over, stopping short of the Accelgor. Aspen cleared his throat. "Excuse me? Hi, um, sorry to interrupt . . ."

 

IC: Emily Lockwood

 

The girl grinned lightly. "I promise, there's nothing cooler than this." They were taken through the door, where the decor made a noticeable change from "coffee shop" to "secret laboratory." Metal were the walls and floor, and even the chairs that had been brought in were of stainless steel. Instead of normal tables, the owner had frugally repurposed several old control panels, putting glass tops on to preserve the machines themselves. Large televisions hung periodically throughout the space, sowing various news channels, as well as sitcoms, cartoons, and sports.

 

Milling about the room, taking orders and topping off drinks, were waiters dressed in red suits and sunglasses. As Alex and Emma were escorted to a table, one such person approached them for their order.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

 

The woman was so focused on her training, she almost didn't pay the newcomer any mind. Halting her workout, she faced Aspen. "Oh, hi." She projected awkwardly, wondering why a boy was addressing her. "I'm Lafoyae Belrose, what do you want, boy?"

Edited March 14, 2018 by Dr. Hidaka

[Konuju]

IC: Alex Lockwood – Scarlet Café, Lumiose
It was definitely an unusual juxtaposition. The control panels and cold metal chairs made him feel like he was in some archaic version of The Alamo's control room, and he found himself unconsciously stiffening to attention. As he took a seat, however, he began to take in the casual atmosphere of the place. Businessmen chatted over cappuccinos, a young couple frolicked over a frappe, and a rowdy group in the back cheered on their favorite sports team on the television. He forced himself to relax. This was, after all, a café. And if he was shelling out money for this unique experience, he might as well enjoy it.

He took a seat across from Emma and smiled. "So, what exactly did you want to talk about?"

Before Emma could answer, a waiter approached their table, taking Alex by surprise as he enthusiastically welcomed them and asked for their order. He wasn't sure how accurate the Flare Grunt cosplay was, but it felt like something the Plasma Agent Evan Tierra might wear were he to have specialized in fire-types instead of ground.

"Um, I'll just take a coffee," Alex stammered, not entirely sure what he wanted. "Er, make it Kalosian Roast."

"And how do you like your coffee?" the waiter asked. "Crème de la Lumiose, or Flared Black?"

"Uhh . . ." he glanced at Emma for help. "With cream, please."

"Very well," the waiter said, writing down the order. "And for you, Miss?"

IC: Ryan Hikari/Shannon Willows – The Alamo

Shannon led him through the winding halls of the Alamo at breakneck speed, fueled by her anger towards her mother. When she finally ran out of steam, neither quite knew exactly where they were.

It was a courtyard of some sorts, dotted with large trees to provide shade from the summer heat, and a small stream. The perfect place for a romantic date. Shannon came to a halt under the cover of a sturdy oak and took several deep breaths. Her mother's words echoed in her mind.

"We can't go back to those days, but maybe we can learn to love each other again."

Her father had said much the same thing the last time she'd seen him. And she had thrown his words in his face.

"I want to get to know you, Shannon. The real you. I want to make up for all those years we've lost." He smiled brightly, as if he could somehow break through the icy barrier she had built up over countless years in a single moment. "As soon as I get back from this mission, I'll come visit you."

 

"Don't bother."

 

The smile faltered, but her father refused to lose hope. "I know you're mad at me, but I think if we try, we can fix what we've torn apart."

 

She scoffed at his stubborn optimism. "Good luck with that."

 

"I know it won't be easy. We've had too many years to grow more and more distant. But starting tomorrow, I promise to be a better father to you."

Starting tomorrow . . . .

"I hate them," Shannon muttered, grimacing as her eyes welled up with unbidden tears. "I absolutely hate them. S-so . . . wh-why am I . . . ?" She slid down the tree and buried her head in her knees. As hot tears ran down her face, she heard Ryan sit next to her and felt him place an arm around her. He did nothing more, nothing less. He just sat there as she bawled her eyes out, providing what silent comfort he could.

When the wave of tears had subsided, Shannon finally had the courage to speak without fear of her voice breaking. "Y-you saw my mom break down earlier. Am . . . am I a horrible person? Am I wrong to hate them so much?"

"I don't think you're a horrible person." Ryan stayed quiet after that for a moment. "I can't say if it's wrong or not, honestly. But I feel like it's a little tough to change how you feel about someone, even if you really want to. Sometimes, you just can't change how you feel, either. Whether that feeling is good or bad."

Shannon sniffled, leaving her head buried in her knees. "So . . . h-have I managed to change how you feel about me . . . ?"

"What do you mean?" Ryan asked with a hint of confusion in his voice.

Despite her tears, a small chuckle escaped from Shannon's lips. "You really can be dense sometimes, can't you." Even with her head buried, she couldn't hide the burning sensation in her cheeks. "Our kiss. W-we . . . never really got a chance to talk about things before my mom interrupted . . ."

There was a slight pause. "Y'know, I don't think we were doing much talking to begin with regarding that." Ryan gave a small laugh, then fell quiet for a moment. "We probably should talk about that, though…"

That managed to pull Shannon from the refuge of her legs. She looked over at Ryan, her face still damp with tears. "Well," she said awkwardly. "Um . . . what did you think of it? I-it wasn't too weird or anything, was it?"

"I don't think it was weird… It was pretty nice, really." There was a brief moment of silence between them. "What about you? What did you think?"

"I didn't." Shannon blushed. "Didn't think, that is. I-I just sort of . . . acted. It was . . . strange, but in a good way. Like starting a brand new book, where you don't really know what to expect, but it kind of sucks you in, and next thing you know you're in another world entirely . . ." As she spoke, her hand somehow managed to find his of its own accord, and held it firmly. She looked down at their clasped hands and smiled shyly. "S-so . . . what does this mean for . . . us? I mean, where do we go from here?"

Ryan put a hand to his chin as he seemed lost in thought about that, if not a tad nervous. "Hmm… well, there was one place I was thinking we'd go. Yesterday I helped save a lost child on that mission after we had to head to One Island instead. I heard they evacuated to Vermillion, and I promised that I'd check in with her after the mission but among all the chaos after I got back to the battlefield, there wasn't enough time to do so. Maybe we could go check on her?"

Shannon gave him an incredulous look. "That's not what I-" She was interrupted by her Pokégear beeping with a message from Lucia.

"Check out this neat video! Apparently someone shot this video of my bro from yesterday, you should totally see it."

She clicked on the attachment. The video was shaky, clearly amateur footage, but it zoomed in on Ryan in a black suit of armor speaking to a soldier at what looked like a shipyard. A small, timid girl, no older than seven or eight, squeezed his hand tightly, as if he was the only thing keeping her from a complete breakdown. In her other hand she clutched an Eevee to her chest.

Shannon squeezed Ryan's hand tighter as she watched him kneel next to the girl, his words lost before they ever reached the cameraman's microphone. "Is this the girl you were talking about?" She showed Ryan the video just in time for him to see himself turn away from the girl and head out into the ruins of the city. A burst of light heralded his Samurott before the video abruptly ended.

Ryan looked surprised to see a video from that day, but nodded. "Yeah, that's her. She was separated from her parents in the chaos of the evacuation. I hope that she was able to find them again, but they weren't on the ship she took and I don't know if they would have been on an earlier one… either way, I want to go and check in on her, make sure everything's going okay and such."

Shannon restarted the video, pausing when it zoomed in on the little girl. She looked so helpless and lost -- she reminded Shannon of herself when she had learned of the attack her parents had led on Ecruteak. Or of how Hannah must have felt during that attack.

"You certainly have a knack for saving helpless girls during city-wide attacks." She looked over at Ryan with an amused smile, before her expression turned serious. "We're definitely going to find that girl. I really hope she found her parents, but if not then she must be totally terrified. You said she evacuated to Vermillion?" Ryan nodded. Shannon stood up, still clutching his hand with a steeled look in her eyes. "You and I are taking the next boat to Vermillion, then."

Edited March 15, 2018 by Konuju

[MELON LORD]

IC: Emily Lockwood

 

Emma smiled as she spouted off some long, winding order that Alex couldn't quite keep up with. "Oh, and a croissant." She smiled, turning back to Alex. "So, why don't you catch me up to what happened to you after everything went to heck? Where were you, what were you doing?"

 

IC: Aspen Seaton

 

Aspen scratched the back of his head. "Well, uh, I was wondering if you were interested in a sparring session with my Lucario. She's been pretty antsy lately, and since we can't have real battles, I just thought . . ." He cleared his throat. "Y'know, nevermind, it was a dumb idea."

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

 

Interesting....

 

Lafoyae pondered the idea, the gears in her mind turning. "I've sparred with all kinds of Pokemon, mostly fighting-types." She projected confidently. "I can't say I've sparred with a Lucario before, however. Maybe I should remedy that." The Assassin looked at Aria, her gaze focused.

 

"Think you can take me?"

Edited March 15, 2018 by Dr. Hidaka

[MELON LORD]

IC: Aspen Seaton/Aria

 

The Lucario nodded and reached up to unwind the scarf that hung from her neck. She passed it carefully to Aspen, who wound it a few times around his arm and backed off. Aria took a fighting stance, taking a deep breath.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

Now!

The moment the Lucario took her breath, Lafoyae was already rushing towards her. The moment she drew close, she loosed a heavy punch at Aria's face. Despite it being just a sparring match, she wouldn't deprive this potentially worthy foe of the chance to witness her fighting style. "No hard feelings." She projected apologetically. "But even without power, you are still stronger than us."

Edited March 16, 2018 by Dr. Hidaka

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie Arthur - Four Island

 

"Eh... Just eh. I guess," Jamie releasing Lucia. "Let's just get ready to go."

 

 

 

IC: Guinevere - Celadon Mansion

 

Guinevere sat at a desktop computer pondering the password. When she had her psychic powers, reading passwords from people's minds was an occasionally useful tool in gaining illegal access to their machines. 

 

Of course, that required the target of the hacking to be alive. At least a ghost, maybe.

 

She was not herself capable of bypassing the password.  And asking the only person she knew who did was... difficult. Both on an emotional level and that it required spiriting someone's smartphone away. She'd have to text him due to not being able to speak his language.

 

Thinking about him made her lose track of time. She should have given up at some point, and continued searching the bedroom for clues. She turned her attention to a frame on the desk and absentmindedly picked it up. It contained six people in the picture it held. Two of them she barely recognized. Stacy and Cassie, appearing much younger than she knew them. 

 

On further examination of the frame, Guinevere noticed that the picture was loose. Out of curiosity, she plucked the picture from the frame. She examined the backside of the frame and noticed names on the back. Presumably of the people in the picture.

 

"Gerald, Cassie, Stacy, Christina, Alana, Patrick" it read.

 

Gerald.

 

She had seen that name recently.

 

It hit her like a ton of bricks. The list of names she had seen during her investigation of the crime scene. The bottom name on the page that said victims. Gerald Hikari. Regardless of which of the two sisters wrote that document, the victim in this crime was linked to a victim on that page. She'd need to look into Gerald Hikari. She didn't technically even know if he was murdered. But if he was, then there was the possibility that the cases shared the same killer.

 

She decided that it was too early to decide that with a shake of her head. All she had was a photograph that shared a name with a piece of paper.

 

But it was still a new lead.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Aria

 

The Lucario's head turned with the force of the blow, and a soft growl rose in her. If that's the way this woman wants to fight, then so be it, she thought, though she was sadly unable to project such thoughts out into the room. She brought one paw back, only to slam it forward in a palm strike that would leave someone breathless even without her aura to back it up.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

Before she could react, the Assassin was struck in the gut by Aria's palm strike, knocking the wind right out of her. This is looking like it'll be fun. Lafoyae thought as she caught her breath. Focusing herself, the woman rushed forward and feinted, readying herself for an uppercut against the Aura Pokemon.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Aria

 

The Lucario took the bait, throwing a roundhouse kick at where she thought the assassin would be only to hit empty air. As her momentum carried her around, Lafoyae's fist came up, managing to knock Aria off of her feet. As Aria hit the ground, she rolled, quickly regaining her feet and taking a low, firm stance. She's quick, but so am I. If I can knock her off balance, I can press that attack.

 

Aria rushed at the opponent, coming in low to try and sweep Lafoyae off her feet.

[Parugi]

IC - Miyu - Refugee Center, Vermilion City:

 

IC: Aori Yamamoto

 

It took a moment to realize what Miyu meant. "Huh? Oh! Her name is Yuri." She smiled softly. "She was a gift from my mama."

 

 

Miyu nodded. Her expression was still stilted, but it appeared that she was thinking--even offering what was perhaps a look of awkward awareness. "I am apologize," she said. "I am not speaking well. English is only my second speech." She looked at Yuri. "May I pet?"

 

 

IC - Tyler McKinley/Thomas Warren - Outside Reflection Cave, Kalos:

 

Alex could only nod, countenance ashen at the thought. He was too distracted to see Officer Jenny’s sad but encouraging smile at him, only noticing she’d left as her cruiser pulled away from the scene. Still at a loss for words, Alex’s feelings were ultimately summed up by Alma’s succinct question:

“What should we do now?” 

 

 

Warren spent some time mulling over the question. At last, he moved his hand from his chin, dropping it to his hip. "I feel there is something not quite right at work here," he said slowly. "I was content to simply endure the walk before, but now . . . It would seem time is of the essence. I suggest we move and report to Ford immediately. If nothing else, he can prevent the police from doing anything rash with your companions before their guilt is proven--or disproven."

 

"What, you don't trust the fuzz?" McKinley asked, unable to stop a grin from overtaking half of his face. "I thought Jenny's work was 'flawless.'"

 

"I have never made that claim," Warren responded. His huffed attitude implied otherwise. "Regardless, I--" He sighed, shaking his head. "I don't have time to get into this with you right now, McKinley. Just take us to Ford."

 

"Alright, alright, have it your way," McKinley conceded. Luckily for him, Warren did not appear to hear him mutter "Buzzkill" over the sound of Xatu emerging from its Poké Ball. The Signs Agent looked at Alma and Alex. "You two cool with teleporting? We're going to, anyway, but I feel obligated to ask. You know, consent and all."

 

 

IC - Kyle Eston/Sonja Baron/Emmerich Coleman - Goldenrod Airport, Johto:

 

All things considered, Kyle had to give it to the pilot: That was perhaps the smoothest plane landing he had ever experienced. As a matter of fact, he likely would never have known that the plane had stopped at its destination had the pilot not taken to the intercom and announced as much.

 

"Folks, this is your captain speaking," she said. "We've arrived at your first requested stop in Goldenrod City. For those of you making your final stop here, disembark procedures will be completed momentarily. For the rest of you, we will be heading out in about thirty minutes, once we have finished refueling. Thank you for choosing Unsanctioned Liberty Flights and have an excellent day."

 

Not a drop of sarcasm was lost on the cargo.

 

Sonja, Kyle, and Emmerich stood up. "Alright," Sonja said. "I guess it's time we split up." She looked at the members of 'Silver Team,' giving each a brief nod. "I don't really know any of you that well, but . . . Stay safe until we meet up." With no outward sign of her internal struggle to do so, she looked at Ellen and Paul. "You two . . . Have a safe trip back home. Say hi to Anna for me, will you?"

 

It was all she could really bring herself to say. After all, the more she had thought about it, the more painfully obvious it became that she likely wouldn't see Ellen again--at least not for a long time.

 

That was, of course, assuming that they lived that long.

 

She made for the exit as quickly as she could.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

Layfoyae saw the incoming sweep coming, and decided she didn't like where the Lucario wanted to take the fight. Then I should take matters into my own hands. The woman rushed towards her foe, and then leapt at her. She needed grapple to with the Aura pokemon if she wanted to win, and this was the best way to get to that result.....

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Chloe/Olivia/Ray -- Goldenrod City Airport (Jam)==-

Chloe glanced over to Olivia as she stirred awake from the announcement. The woman seemed to still be half asleep, but the psychic smiled at her.

"Alright, this is my stop, but we'll be as quick as we can, okay?" Chloe said with a reassuring smile. Olivia looked a little disappointed, but nodded with a small smile of her own. She stayed quiet, however, even as Chloe began to pick her stuff up to head off. The auburn-haired girl gave one glance back as she saw Olivia begin to look out the window. She knew she had to focus -- she looked forward as she made her way down the plane. In front of her, Ray was already saying goodbye to Ellen.

"I'm sorry again about ditching the Christmas party last year." Ray said with an apologetic smile, his messy hair looking strikingly out of place to Chloe as she watched. "I'll make it up this year, though, okay? I'll bring everyone, too."

Ellen gave a small smile. "That sounds fun . . ." She threw her arms around him. "Just promise you won't run off this time."

Paul clapped the redhead on the shoulder. "A Christmas reunion? We'll look forward to seeing you there." Neither Paul nor Ellen brought up the unspoken wish that Ray and everyone else would actually survive that long to attend a Christmas party.

"I promise." Ray said with a smile and returned the hug as he nodded to Paul. "Should be enough time to plan for everything. I'm gonna try and keep it a surprise for some of us, though…" He wore a mischievous look for one moment, before that vanished.

"Well, I'll be sure to let Anna know," Paul said with a chuckle.

"I'll see you then." Ellen squeezed Ray for a moment, as if afraid he might disappear if she let go, before she finally relinquished her embrace. "Goodbye . . ."

"See ya soon." Ray gave Ellen a cheerful salute with another reassuring smile before he walked off the plane. Chloe watched with an impressed look on her face, and then walked forward to take her turn to say goodbye.

Ellen offered her the same small smile she had given Ray. "Good luck," she said, throwing her arms around the psychic girl. "And thank you. For everything you did yesterday . . ."

Chloe wrapped her arms around the girl in return with a smile of her own. "You're very welcome, Ellen. Thank you too." She knew she was more reserved than Ray had been, but she didn't think that mattered at the moment. "You'll have to take me on a tour of Village Bridge someday; I never got to see it the last few times I visited Unova."

"That would be great," Paul said. "I'm sure Ellen has a ton of places she'd love to show you." Ellen only nodded silently in response as she held her embrace. Mr. Burks smiled at them. "You're a very brave girl, Chloe. I'm glad my daughter got a chance to meet you. Don't lose hope. You and your team will do great."

"Thank you." Chloe smiled up at Paul as she held Ellen longer. She knew that the longer the goodbye took, the more the pilot and everyone else might get annoyed, but she knew this had to be on Ellen's terms. So she let her actions do the talking for her and simply stayed there as a shoulder for the young girl.

Tears were in Ellen's eyes when she finally pulled away. She smiled up at Chloe, mouthing a silent "Thank you. And . . . goodbye."

Chloe returned the smile once more as she picked up her purse again, a puzzled look briefly on her face as it felt heavier than she remembered it being earlier. "I'll visit as soon as I can, I promise. Goodbye for now, though!" The woman smiled, as she gave Ellen a wave and then stepped off the plane.

 

-==IC: Ryan Hikari/Shannon Willows -- Barracks, The Alamo(Jam)==-

 

Filled with a new determination, Shannon led Ryan back to her room so they could begin packing for their trip to Vermillion. Thankfully, Shannon's mother had left the room by the time they got back.

Seeing the messy state of her room seemed to make Shannon suddenly more self-conscious about her own hygienic state. "Ugh, I feel like a Grimer," she muttered as she frowned at her bedheaded reflection in a tall mirror.

Ryan glanced over as he wasn't sure whether to disagree or not. He noticed her golden hair was a tangled mess. Her eyes, still red from crying, had an exhausted look to them. Her t-shirt hung loosely from her shoulders - it looked less wrinkled than earlier, but he could still tell it had been slept in. Frankly, she looked like a mess, but Ryan didn't want to say anything at that moment either way.

Thankfully, he didn't have to. "I'm gonna go freshen up." She retreated into the bathroom, leaving Ryan on his own. The sound of the shower running indicated that she'd be a while. For a moment, the Rocket pondered what to do.

He gave a loud knock on the bathroom door. "I'm gonna go get my stuff ready, I'll be back after. Mind if I use your key for a moment?" he called over the sound of the water.

"Yeah, it's on the kitchen counter!" Shannon's voice yelled back. With an unseen nod, Ryan walked over to the counter and took the key for the moment. He quickly locked up the door as he left her room.

Ryan glanced around at the numbers to try and find the best way to get back to his own room. However, he paused as he pulled out his own key. "That's odd…" The black haired man looked between the two keys with a puzzled expression on his face. However, his eyes widened as he looked up across the hall. Tentatively, he walked to the door there and tried his key. It worked. ". . . Well, this is something I won't be telling Ava…" Ryan mumbled under his breath as he ducked into his room.

As the Rocket gathered up the few things that were scattered across the dresser, he had to admit that it was a good thing that he didn't just unpack and move in when he had gotten the room. For once thing, it wasn't as if this was a place he could just stay for a while in. It was one thing for Chloe, for whom Liberty had become a family in a way. But Ryan had no ties to Liberty at all - one day or another he'd be on his way elsewhere, just as he had been for the past four years.

 

So the man picked up his backpack. He debated having a shower as well, but figured that he'd be good without one. As he locked up and walked back to Shannon's room, he thought back to the day before. Why had Wrath been reborn as one of those… things? Ryan shook his head. Something felt weird to him, but the entire situation since August began had just been completely and utterly alien to him.

Ryan turned his focus back to Shannon's room. He could still hear the water running, and so decided to use the time to try and be helpful. The man began to tidy up the room a little bit, as he pulled the covers and sheets up on Shannon's bed and smoothed it out. After, he headed over to the kitchen and began to tidy up the dishes that had yet to be put away after the doubly failed breakfast plans.

"Alas, poor omelette. Maybe your next life will do you better." Ryan said dramatically, as he solemnly placed the sad omelette into the compost bin. He quickly placed the remaining dishes and the pan in the sink, but decided to wait on washing anything until Shannon was finished. He glanced around, but didn't see much else until he noticed the sketchbook on the nightstand that was still open on the drawing of him.

Curious, Ryan walked over and looked at the drawing as he heard the water turn off. He had to admit, the attention to detail was a remarkable thing compared to some of the other drawings from other people he had the pleasure of seeing. Still, he also felt a little modest about the drawing. He was surprised that Shannon wanted to draw him more than anything. He also wondered with a slight blush whether some of it was from memory.

"What are you doing?!" The sketchbook was suddenly snatched off of the nightstand, and Ryan looked up to see a red-faced Shannon clad in nothing but a towel and a scowl as she held the book aloft in her hands. Her hair was still dripping wet, leaving wet spots on the floor. "Who said you could look through my stuff? That's personal!"

 

"... it was already open?" Ryan said, as he tilted his head in confusion. "Why… are you in a towel?" He didn't quite understand what Shannon was doing out here like that, but had a funny feeling that he was treading on thin ground as it was. "I cleaned up the room a bit, by the way."

Her face turned a deeper shade of red as she tightened her grip on her towel. "I-I just came out of the shower, why wouldn't I be in a towel?" she shot back. "Besides, you were supposed to be off in your room packing!" Seeming to be some awkward combination of angry and flustered, Shannon flipped the sketchbook closed and set it on top of her dresser.

 

"I did." Ryan held up the backpack full of his stuff. "I didn't have that much stuff to pack." He stood up and walked back over to the kitchen to finish cleaning up the dishes. "Sorry, though; I should've knocked and told you I was back."

Shannon ignored him, digging through her dresser for a change of clothes. He heard her mutter something about "no concept of privacy" before she vanished back into the bathroom, slamming the door shut.

 

Ryan blinked as he turned his head to the slammed door. With a sigh, he just finished washing the dishes as quick as he could. Once he did so, he set them on the drying rack and patiently waited for Shannon to come back. He wondered how he even got into that mess in the first place.

After what felt like an abnormally long time, Shannon emerged from the bathroom, fully clothed. Her damp hair hung by her shoulders, and she meekly strode over to the kitchen nook and took a seat at the table. "I didn't mean to blow up on you like that," she said quietly, staring down at her bare feet. "I shouldn't have yelled at you, I'm sorry."

"It's okay." Ryan said rather simply as he sat down. His face was otherwise pretty passive as he subtly slid off his shoes for the moment. After a second, he nudged Shannon's left foot with his own. She glanced up at him. He repeated the action without any comment.

As if trying to gauge his intent, she hesitantly nudged his foot back. As if in response to that, he once again nudged her foot, a small amused smile on his face. She nudged back, holding her foot against his for a moment. "Thanks for cleaning up," she said with a soft smile.

 

"You're welcome." Ryan replied, as he leaned forward a bit to rest his chin on his hand. "I'm sorry for looking at your sketchbook without asking."

Shannon shook her head. "It's not your fault, it was open. My parents were notorious for looking through my private stuff like that, and -- well, as you could probably tell, there was some stuff in there I didn't exactly want them looking at . . . ." With a heavy sigh, she rested her own chin in her hand, mirroring Ryan's posture with an amused smile. "You, however . . . well, what did you think of it?"

 

"It was pretty neat." Ryan replied with a smile. "Was that from memory, or from a picture or so?" He had to ask the question that he had been wondering about since he saw the drawing. "Like, it was pretty well done in my opinion, but I don't know what you had for reference or so…"

Her cheeks flushed at the praise as she busied herself with her Pokégear for a moment. "I asked Lucia for a reference pic, and she gave me this." She leaned forward slightly to show him the photo in question, taking the opportunity to study his face. "I wish I could have done that from memory," she mused with a sheepish grin.

"That's pretty good; very clever idea too." Ryan was amused a little at how the picture had been obtained, but smiled as he glanced up at her again. "I'd say you did pretty well, though. Chloe swears by reference pictures the few times she actually does draw stuff, too, so I definitely get it."

"I didn't know your sister drew. I should get together with her sometime, she seems like a neat girl." Shannon let out a small giggle as she playfully nudged his foot again.

 

Ryan nudged back as he leaned forward again slightly. "Yeah, I think when things settle down a bit and she gets back from wherever she went this time, it'd be nice for a bunch of us to just relax and get to know each other." The man didn't seem to mind the fact that their faces were rather close at this point, as he smiled.

"That'd be nice, it's been forever since I've just spent a day hanging out with a whole bunch of friends." Shannon didn't seem to notice their proximity, or if she did, she didn't mind it either. "Of course, hanging out in a smaller group has its perks too . . ."

 

"Perks like this?" Ryan asked with a teasing smile, as he moved to lean in the rest of the way.

Before he could reach her lips, she grabbed her Pokégear and leaned back in her chair. "Oh my gosh, look at the time!" She looked back up at Ryan in horror. "We need to finish packing if we want to make the first ferry to Vermillion!"

Ryan leaned back with a look of surprise on his face as she mentioned about the boat. "Alright!" He quickly stood up with a smile. "I'll help you pack, it'll be faster that way."

 

-==IC: Natalie Dexter -- Celadon City==-

 

Natalie pushed the front door to the mansion open, after checking in with one of the officers standing guard. It still felt surreal that this quiet place continued to have trouble after trouble come to it. She shook her head and began her search around the mansion. It quickly seemed to be proving fruitless, however, as much of the staff either hadn't seen anything, or didn't want to tell her anything. Frustrated, Natalie decided to take matters into her own hands.

 

"Maybe I can find something on my own. If so, then maybe they'll be more willing to help out..." However, as she opened the door to Stacy's bedroom, she quickly noticed a Gardevoir who seemed to be on the way to leaving the room. "... who are you?"

Edited March 22, 2018 by Blessed Blade

[Konuju]

IC: Alex Lockwood – Scarlet Café
"It's a long story," he warned. Emma was not deterred. Resigning himself to reliving his adventures, he decided to start at the beginning.

He spoke of how Team Rocket had invaded his home and killed his parents, the incident that Emma had once believed had ended up with Alex dead too. He told of his escape and his aimless wandering. He spoke of finding Team Liberty, and how he finally felt like he'd found his place in the world. He spoke of his adventures with the rebel group, from tracking down Ho-Oh to being handed a Celebi by a Rocket defector. "Throughout this little R.A.L.L.Y. operation, I had a core team of agents helping me," he said. "Jake Soren, Alec Lighttree, and the newcomer Ryan Sanders. I was the oldest, so I became the de facto leader." He briefly reminisced on their team dynamic before going into the Battle of Four Island, watching Blackskull fight Joker before The Shadowed Man killed Bluefalcon.

It was around this time that their coffee and other food arrived. Alex paused to take a sip of his drink. "So what do you think so far?"

IC: Ryan Sanders/Ellen Burks/Paul Burks – Plane, Goldenrod City

As Ryan waited for Ray and Chloe to finish saying goodbye to Ellen, he turned around to say his farewell to Dahlia. He found the middle Seaton fast asleep, her head dangerously close to falling on Jared's shoulder yet somehow remaining confined to her own seat.

He considered waking her up, but she looked so peaceful resting there like that, he didn't want to disturb her. After yesterday, she definitely needed this rest. Instead, he simply nodded at Jared. "Keep her safe," he said. "Keep everyone safe." Without waiting for a response he abruptly turned away. He passed by Colette, offering her similar encouragement as he made his way toward Ellen, who had just finished her farewell to Chloe.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye," he said, kneeling down to be on eye level with the young girl.

"You'll come visit." It was not a request.

Ryan broke into laughter as he pulled her into a hug. "Of course I will."

She held him tight, as if she was afraid to let go. "I never got a chance to say goodbye to Sonja," she whispered. "She left before I could say anything."

Ryan pulled back from the embrace to look her in the eye. "Sonja just has a lot on her mind," he assured her. "I know she cares about you. I think that's why she left so quickly."

For a moment the old, inquisitive Ellen was back. "That doesn't make sense. Why would she do that?"

"She probably didn't want to make a scene." A smile briefly flashed across Ryan's face. "Sonja hates drama. I know that better than anyone. She just didn't trust herself not to break down into tears. She may not show it, but I think Sonja's going through the same thing you are. She doesn't want to make you worry, that's all."

Ellen hugged him again. "Tell her goodbye for me, will you?"

Ryan smiled. "Of course I will." He finally stood up, turning to face the girl's father. "Have a safe journey."

"I could say the same to you," Paul said, shaking his hand. "You know you're welcome at our house anytime."

Ryan gave the father and daughter one last look. Then with a final wave he took off, running to catch up with his friends. He would have to hold onto the hope that Ellen would be alright. That was the thought that kept him going.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Chloe/Ray -- Goldenrod City==-

"Ahhh, it's nice to be on the ground again…" Chloe said as she stretched her arms out. She grimaced as she adjusted her purse's straps on her shoulder. The group was reunited once more outside the airport, the psychic woman glancing around to get a mark of where they were. "So much stuff has changed around here since I was a kid; I either don't remember there being an airport here, or I just plane forgot."

The reactions to the pun from Ryan and Ray were mixed, to say the least. Ray decided that was a good point to cut in. "So, you do know where to take us, right tour guide?" His valiant efforts to prod Chloe earned him a look from here that seemed like it could cut through him.

"Of course I do." Chloe mumbled with an uncertain tone in her voice, as she glanced around again. "The train station to Blackthorn's in the middle of the city. And unlike some places, it's actually designed good, so even I can find it." She didn't sound that confident about their chances. "Besides, I've lived here my whole life." A pause. "Until I had to move to Four Island at least, but still!"

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan Sanders - Goldenrod City

Ryan laughed at Chloe's pun. He looked around at the group. For the first time since Unova, it felt like they were on a grand adventure again. Sure, the stakes were higher -- they were trying to save the world, after all -- but somehow being together with everyone on a mission like this felt less stressful than trying to rescue everybody McKinley had stolen.

 

Chloe's confidence seemed to waver, threatening her good spirits. Ryan knew he had to intervene. "Sounds like you've trained for this moment your whole life." He grinned as he gave Chloe a friendly nudge. "Don't let us down, Chlo. How hard can it be to find a train station? You've got this!"

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Lohe Mahina - Four Island

 

 

Jenny’s blood had tasted off, Lohe thought as he lay on top of his bed. He wondered if he would have to feed sooner because of that fact. He’d need to establish a better system of finding meals. Maybe he’d take a trip to the hospital again later to speak with whoever was in charge of their blood bank.

 

But that could wait. Falling asleep was his priority right then. He had just laid down to rest when his phone rang. Lohe didn’t check to see who it was, but just answered.

 

“Hello?“ he said, his tone brimming with disinterest.

 

“It’s me.”

 

That voice was unmistakable. He’d recognized that smug voice anywhere.

 

“What do you want?” Lohe asked leaning up slightly.

 

“I’m just calling to make sure you weren’t slacking off again,” the voice said. “Also, we’d like a status report if you can be so bothered.”

 

Lohe pulled himself up and stretched his neck slightly.

 

“Oh gee, I’d love to write you a ten page essay about how many new friends I made today.”

 

The voice was silent. He wasn’t taking the bait today. The two sat there until Lohe sighed and gave a serious answer.

 

“I learned the cause of the predicament. Still gonna have to ask some more people about it. I’ll ask people about it tonight,” Lohe said.

 

“I see,” the voice said before pausing. “Have you seen the news lately?”

 

“Not really,” Lohe said.

 

“Three Pokemon were spotted using moves on One Island.”

 

Lohe narrowed his eyes at the voice’s words.

 

“It means Pokemon power is coming back soon,” the voice continued.

 

Lohe grumbled for a moment. That meant their employers expected results soon.

 

“Yeah, yeah, keep your pants on. I’ll get them what they want.”

 

Lohe swore he could hear the fake smile growing on the other man’s face. “Glad to hear it. Well, do whatever it is that you do. I’m sure you have a lot of being useless to get to.”

 

Lohe hung up on him. He knew that somebody was gonna be assigned to keep after him. Did they have to pick him though? He needed a nap even more now.

Edited March 23, 2018 by Metal Gear Minun

[Parugi]

IC - Kyle Eston/Sonja Baron/Emmerich Coleman - Goldenrod Airport, Johto:

 

Given that he hardly knew anyone else on the plane, Kyle felt a little awkward offering anyone but Ellen and Paul his farewell. Even then, he knew he wasn't the closest with either of them, and he figured that his companions had said all that really needed to be said between them. As a result, he merely gave the pair a wave and a smile before following after Ray and Ryan.

 

The others were assembled already. He shouldered his bag, nodding to Chloe. "Yeah. Let's not stress about the small things--we've got enough on our plate already."

 

"I agree," Emmerich spoke up. "I've taken this train to Abyss enough times to know where to go. There's nothing to worry about." He glanced at his watch. "Except for the time, perhaps. We should get moving if we want to keep on schedule."

[Flipz]

IC: Alex Zyther (August 7th, 2017, Outside Reflection Cave, Kalos)

 

"Something is definitely wrong," Alex muttered, eyes hooded. "Cassandra is my mother's name." And Lila Zyther is dead, the Kalosian mentally finished.

 

'Not quite right' was an understatement, really.

 

Something ticked away in Alex's mind, some legend or story the Trainer had read on some long, bedridden evening. Unable to place it, however, Alex could only nod assent to Ford's agents. "Are you okay coming with us?" the Kalosian asked the Carbink. At her hesitant nod, he cradled her once more, carefully retrieving his crutch--including Belle's attached machine--with his other arm. "Ready when you are, I guess," Alex told the others, Amelia's Pokémon joining Alex's at his side. Unable to suppress a smile, he cheekily added, "Zyther to McKinley, six to beam up," before the teleport took them.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra/Josiah Lorn (Jam)

After processing what happened, the pair made sure to see if the man was all right. When they figured out Searcher was only barely all right, they lead the man shoulder to shoulder to the Alamo's Medical Wing. When they got there, they explained what had happened to the receptionist, and asked her to call security and the executives. She nodded and asked the couple to stay in the medical wing so they could explain what happened to Josiah Lorne.

He arrived soon after with a group of guards in tow. Spotting Evan and Jenny, Lorn approached. “Where is he?”

“Over in this room.” Evan said, motioning to a nearby room. “Sorry to cause a ruckus, but it was so out of nowhere, that this seemed the best thing to do.” He definitely felt far more nervous with this executive than James, but there would be time to deal with that later.

The Executive hardly seemed concerned. He turned back to the guards behind him.

 

“Wakefield, Anika, cover the door. Ruzsa, Derby, you’re on me,” he ordered. “Everyone, stay alert. We know very little for certain about the Searchers except for the fact that they had a reputation for employing mind control. The second he tries anything, he’s a threat. Treat him like one.”

Without wasting another second, Lorn opened the door, sweeping in with the other two guards. He didn’t lower his pistol until he saw for himself Wil “Searcher” Holtman’s weakened condition for himself; even so, his subordinates kept their weapons trained on him. The man in question was bedridden, extremely pale--almost as white as snow, presumably from a lack of true sunlight for the time he had been imprisoned. His frame was weak, muscles atrophied from hunger. His belongings were nowhere to be found--they appeared to have been taken when the hospital staff had changed him into a patient gown.

 

“Wil Holtman,” Lorn said, rousing the man from his dazed state. “Do you know where you are?”

 

“Not exactly.” He said weakly, facing Lorn. “Is this just another version of the place that…..thing sent me to just to get more out of me, or is it someplace more merciful?”

“You’re in Liberty Hospital,” Lorn replied. “Do you remember Liberty?”

“How could I forget Team Liberty?” Wil answered. “Just another enemy my organization had to deal with.”

Lorn couldn’t suppress a smirk. “Then it might interest you to know that you’re very much in Team Liberty’s custody,” he replied. Lorn moved further into the room, taking a seat at the foot of Searcher’s bed. “Where have you been since last December?”

Wil furrowed his eyebrows as he tried to think of a way to explain where he had been. “I guess you could call it an….abyss? The man answered. “There was nothingness as far as the eye could see…”

“Thank you, that tells me noth--” Lorn cut himself short after a nudge from Office Ruzsa. He shook his head. “You survived for eight months in a plane of nothingness. How?”

“To be frank, I have no idea.” Wil replied. “I think whatever sent me to the desolate world, was potentially keeping me alive for its own sick amusement.”

“You keep bringing that up. How did you end up there?”

“It was something that took hold of one of my former operatives. It defeated me in combat, and sent me to that place. It called itself….Feral Tierra?”

Tierra. Lorn glanced at the doorway, and then back to Searcher. “Was this the same entity that annihilated your organization?” He tilted his head. “Do you even remember what happened to your organization? Or why it happened? One day we’re getting readings about Searcher activity, and the next . . .” Lorn snapped his fingers. “Nothing. Gone into the aether. What can you tell us about that?”

Wil grimaced as he recalled that day. “The thing that sent me away didn’t have the raw power to do that.” He answered. “Ho-Oh burned our base down to the ground, potentially in response to our activities.”

“Are you absolutely certain it was Ho-Oh?”

“I saw the prismatic fire myself.” Wil said, narrowing his eyes at Lorn. “There are many powerful fire types, but only one so mobile, and with fires so terrifyingly beautiful.”
 

Lorn relaxed. At the very least, this meant that the Searchers’ destruction was not caused by any of the Sin anomalies. He drummed his fingers together. “Alright. Are you aware of the current status of the Hojohsin League?”

“Not that I know of.” Wil replied, seeming a bit confused. “What happened?”
 

“Are you aware of the current world situation?”

“That I am not. What has happened?”

For a moment, Lorn did not answer, instead merely pondering Searcher. “Do you remember anything of your part in Ford’s master plan?”

“Somewhat. Did he go through with his plan?”

“Perhaps not the one you’re thinking of.” Lorn leaned back in his seat. “Ford wiped the board of what he considered ‘outlier’ groups--organizations that could put his real plan in jeopardy because of their own grudges and agendas.” He rubbed the back of his head. “The gist of it is, Pokémon no longer have power, and the world is on its way to being consumed by an extra dimensional creature called Missing Zero. Ring any bells?”

“What? How did this happen?” Searcher asked, alarmed by how dire the news sounded. “Did Ford’s plan fail?”

“Iiiin a manner of speaking,” Lorn responded. “In an ‘ideal world’, powers would have been shut off and Missing Zero would’ve turned its attention away from this universe. Would’ve sucked, but it wouldn’t be here. But it was doomed to fail from the beginning thanks to a scumbag named McKinley sabotaging the plan. Are you sure you don’t remember any of this?”

“I…..can’t say I knew how deep his plan truly went, but this is troubling indeed.” Wil said, concern in his voice. “What do you need from me?”

“That,” Lorn said, giving Searcher a pointed look. “is what I’m trying to figure out. You don’t know anything about Ford’s magic plan. You don’t know anything about the power outage or how to reverse it. Obviously you don’t know anything about Missing Zero. Your organization is gone, and by now all of your assets have been sold off under the presumption that you were dead. At this point, I’m not really seeing what we can do with you, outside of keeping you from making any messes.”

Wil felt each word hit him like a brick. What could he do? He didn’t ask to be sealed away by some monster, let alone come back to a world in chaos. “Could I perhaps….lend what I know to better aid you in your fight?” He asked cautiously. “I’d like to do what I can to help.”

“That depends on what you know and what you can offer.”

“I can offer knowledge of my inventions, and add my expertise to your group.” Wil said. “I know I’ve done little to convince you otherwise, but I’d rather not see this world fall to ruin.”

For a moment, Lorn said nothing. Finally, he stood. “I’ll send for an Archivist and an R&D tech to help you put together a file on everything you can offer to help. Blackskull and Silvermind will decide what to do with you from there.”

“Very well.” Wil said, eyes lighting up a bit. “Hopefully this will be the beginning of a beneficial relationship.” The man was grateful for a chance to make up for everything he had done, and there was no better chance than saving the world.

“Hopefully.” Lorn said. “In the meantime, my four agents here will be on guard rotation for your room. Standard procedure for a potential threat-slash-target--I’m sure you get it.” He looked to the Liberty Agent on his left. “Derby, you’ve got first shift. Wakefield will relieve you in a few hours.”

“Yes, sir.”

With a curt nod to Searcher, Lorn led Agent Ruzsa out of the room.

Edited March 26, 2018 by Dr. Hidaka

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Guinevere - Celadon Mansion

How to answer that. Literally, how. She couldn't speak human languages, she couldn't use telepathy right now. She'd need to sit down to write. She had been allowed to keep the whiteboard in case the police needed to ask her more questions. She found a chair and hobbled over to it with her crutch, and sat down. She held up the whiteboard after writing one word on it.
 

Guinevere

 

She wasn't entirely happy about being discovered in the bedroom. She'd have to bluff her way out, lest her investigation be discovered. On the other hand, she might need a human right now to help her look into her latest lead. She might as well figure out if this woman knew anything at least. She erased her name and wrote a question on the whiteboard.
 

Who are you?

Edited March 26, 2018 by Metal Gear Minun

[MELON LORD]

​IC: Aspen Seaton/Aria

 

As the two clashed, Aspen realized just how strong one could become by sparring with Pokémon. This woman, whoever she was, wouldn't have had any troubles incapacitating him if she needed to.

 

Aria, however, was not Aspen. As the woman grappled her, the Lucario brought her knee up in attempted strike at the woman's gut.

 

​IC: Yamamoto Aori

 

​"Oh!" Aori smiled, switching to the language that was more common in her village. <"Is this better? English can be tricky.">

 

She gently held the Eevee closer for the other girl. <"She likes when you scratch under her chin.">

 

​IC: Jared Winters

 

​Jared could only nod in response before Ryan was gone. With a sigh, he glanced at the sleeping girl next to him. "I will protect her," he said aloud to himself. Presently, however, he stood. They wouldn't be taking off for a while yet, which gave him the chance to check in with the other members of the team. He gave a brief nod to Lachina as he passed; the Ranger was fiddling with her Styler, though she seemed unfocused. Her aura was somewhat chaotic. Concerning, but not immediately pressing.

 

Instead, Jared turned and continued down the aisle to speak with his co-leader. "Hey, Colette, do you mind if we talk a bit?"

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Lafoyae Belrose

Lafoyae felt the wind get knocked out of her, as Aria's knee hit her square in the gut. The woman leapt backwards, gasping for air as she considered her next move. However, she didn't even get five seconds before she heard her Pokegear sound off. "Time out." She projected as she checked the comm device. She raised an eyebrow at the sender and what the message entailed. The Assassin looked at Aria apologetically. "I'm sorry, but I have to leave. An executive has called for me, and I mustn't keep him waiting." Lafoyae projected at her sparring partner, with a regretful note in her voice as she walked away. "Hopefully we can spar again later."

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Chloe/Ray -- Goldenrod City==-

 

"Right--" Chloe was about to speak further when her purse suddenly started to shake. "... This might be stating the obvious, but that's not supposed to do that." She mumbled in confusion, as she unbuttoned the purse. As if just waiting for that cue, a Rowlet popped out of the bag and fluttered into the air.

 

"What's a Rowlet doing in your purse?" Ray asked with a raised eyebrow. Chloe looked between everyone, a look of equal shock on her face.

 

"I'm... not sure. I don't recall seeing it when I put everything away earlier. Maybe it flew in when I had it set down...?" The woman seemed completely baffled as she moved toward the Rowlet slowly. It chirped happily, and then flew off in the direction they were headed in. "Wait!" Chloe yelped, as she had not expected the Rowlet to fly off like that.

 

-==IC: Colleen -- Goldenrod City Airport, On A Plane==-

 

"First of all, I'm going by Colleen now, figured this was the best opportunity since there wasn't really any time for a big explanation earlier." The aura wielder said as she looked up in confusion at Jared's rather spontaneous question. "Second, what's up?"

[MELON LORD]

​IC: Aria/Aspen Seaton

 

​Aria huffed and nodded, crossing her arms. Aspen smiled weakly. "That seemed like a decent workout. Thank you."

 

​IC: Jared Winters

 

​Jared sat next to the other aura wielder and smiled. "I just think I need to get to know everyone a bit better before we touch down in Kalos. And, since we're going to be sharing leadership, I figured I'd start with you. You're from Kalos, I think Xander or someone said?"