Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

Konuju · December 29, 2015

IC: Ryan/Paul

"Oh, you lived in Opelucid?" Paul looked at Jenny curiously. He didn't recognize the girl, but then again, he'd never paid much attention to the village's tourists, particularly those associated with Team Plasma. He quickly masked the scowl that had appeared on his face at the thought of Unova's government with a warm smile before taking a large bite out of a cinnamon bun.

Ryan looked up at the entrance he was facing and saw Ray walking into the kitchen. He waved at the separatist, blissfully unaware of the captain entering behind him.

OOC: Permission granted from Blade to bunny Orihime.

IC: Togie/Orihime

Togie had been happily eating a Rawst Berry Kolache when Coco approached him and inquired how he liked the food. The Togekiss grinned at the Buneary, giving his compliments to the chef. At his side, Orihime giggled as she set down her kolache to try one of the cinnamon buns. The taste was delectable, and her whole face seemed to light up. She happily turned to Coco to compliment her work, before offering the rest of the bun to Togie to try.

**Dr. Hidaka** · December 29, 2015

IC: Evan Tierra

Evan had noted Xander's entrance into the galley and nodded at Ryan's statement. "Battling is our form of greeting." Evan said, as he ate. "His greeting in particular left a good taste in my mouth." As the Plasma Agent spoke, Lazengann walked towards Sylph, exclaiming how much fun he had battling against her and that he'd love to do so again in the future.

Evan saw Ray walk in and waved to him, and noted the captain was behind him. "Well if it isn't the good looking captain, here to grace us with his presence!" Evan said teasingly. "Go on ahead and eat up! There's plenty to go around! Dahlia did a very good job making all this, and making it taste so good to boot!"

Edited December 30, 2015 by Hades

**Blessed Blade** · December 31, 2015

-==IC: Jack==-

"Really now? Good looking, and a good cook to boot. Any other talents you haven't let on about?" The captain asked Dahlia with a chuckle, as he walked up, and began to take some of the food to try out, not really seeming to care too much about what was going on otherwise.

-==IC: Ray==-

Ray waved back at the two, sighing at the antics of the captain. He wasn't sure what to do, but had a bad feeling this wouldn't end well. Despite that, he felt the ship moving again, and guessed that was where the captain had taken off to in between the battle and showing up here again.

-==IC: Jenny==-

Jenny nodded with a smile, ignoring the stuff that'd probably end badly behind her. "Yeah; for the last three or four years I've lived there; and before that, I alternated Johto, Accumula, and Undella." She explained, and then scratched her head. "Now, I'm pretty much just a roamer, really, trying to find my path."

Edited December 31, 2015 by An/A Blade

Konuju · December 31, 2015

IC: Ryan/Paul

Ryan glanced from Dahlia to the captain and back again, wondering if the captain knew anything about the gardener's reverse powers. Or whether or not Dahlia felt comfortable sharing her newfound abilities with a complete stranger, especially one who seemed so... frivolous.

"Wow, it sounds like you've been all over the place," Paul said to Jenny. "I actually grew up in Accumula Town, that's where my brother and his wife live. Me, I've never been much of a roamer myself, I settled down in quiet Village Bridge and have been living there for over a decade now." He took another bite of his cinnamon bun, thinking over the Plasma Agent's words. "Accumula and Undella are decently close, but Johto's pretty far away. Any reason you moved around so much? Were your parents in the military or something?"

**Blessed Blade** · December 31, 2015

-==IC: Jenny==-

Jenny shook her head at that. "Things are still a bit fuzzy admittedly; but no, we just traveled there a lot to visit relatives. Sometimes we'd visit Celadon, where my parents grew up; but mostly we'd go to Azalea Town and Goldenrod. My dad's cousin lived in Azalea, so we'd spend time there a lot, and head to Goldenrod to see friends of the family a lot. ... Of course, from what was said this morning, apparently they were relatives too, in a confusing way."

JiMing · December 31, 2015

IC: Dahlia/Aspen Seaton

Dahlia thanked Evan and the others for their compliments, until Jack walked inside. The gardener turned towards him, blinking at what was being said. "Oh, um, thank you???" she said confusedly, reddening slightly as a result of the flirting. "I, err, wouldn't say I've been hiding any other talents, no, I'm just a gardener who knows how to cook... And I mean, Coco helped me make these, the cinnamon buns too..." she muttered, looking around nervously. She didn't really know how to handle the captain's flirting, deciding to keep her Reverse abilities under wraps for now, unsure of how he would react to those...

"Hey, captain?" Aspen said, scowling. "You did come here to eat, I assume? You've thanked the chef, now why don't you stuff your mouth shut so you can't speak anymore?" he asked, crossing his arms. "I think everyone would appreciate that... Especially my sister."

Coco beamed at the compliments, and hopped up in jubilation. She thanked Togie and Orihime for their kind words, also noticing how they seemed cute like that, and enjoyed each other's company a lot. The Buneary smiled, congratulating the Togekiss.

Parugi · January 1, 2016

IC:

. . . You're still here.

I told you I wouldn't leave.

I know you did, but . . .

. . . Did you want me to leave?

I think . . . I just didn't believe you . . .

You didn't want to believe me.

No. I really didn't.

That makes two of us.

Is this what you wanted, then?

It's . . . not what I expected . . .

It never is.

I can believe it . . .

. . . Is something bothering you?

That's a silly question . . .

It's a valid one.

I know . . .

. . . It's a lot to take in . . .

I know . . .

. . . Do you understand now?

Truth be told . . . no. Not as I would like to . . .

I'd be surprised if you did.

What I've learned . . . It puts a lot into perspective . . .

. . .

It's just . . . Is it really that close . . .?

I'm afraid so . . .

. . .

. . .?

. . . Sophia?

Sonja . . .?

. . . I'm scared . . .

. . .

I am, too . . .

IC - Scott Stone/Jordan Robins/Robert Hill - Lavender Town, House of Memories:

"This is . . . really gnarly."

"Understatement of the century, pal."

An understatement, it was. Neither Liberty Agent Jordan Robins nor Robert Hill had seen anything quite as gruesome as what currently lay before them. Nor had Executive Scott Stone, although he at least had had the benefit of hearing about a similar scene not terribly long ago. Given that the last incident had involved his cousin, however . . .

"I might throw up," Jordan said, clutching his mouth with his hand.

"Keep it together, guys," Scott said, barely suppressing a shudder himself as he took a step across the bloody, water-damaged floor.

The remains of Drake Masters rested before them. An especially generous individual would call it a body, but none of the three Liberty Agents could quite conjure up the word. Whoever--or whatever--had killed Drake had done so with a monstrous ferocity, tearing muscle and bone from one another until the only reliably recognizable piece left of him was his face.

Face. Not head.

Needless to say, it was only because of his ties to Team Liberty that the Lavender Town police had called in for a group to help them identify the corpse, which they quickly accomplished. At their confirmation, the accompanying officer nodded, filling out a note on his clipboard before departing to his compatriots outside. There was not much else to be done aside from clean-up duties; Scott pitied the individuals who would end up responsible for that particular task.

"What're we going to do with him?" Robert asked.

"Can we do anything with him . . .?" Jordan said. "Just . . . geez, look at him. We can't bring him back to Four Island like this."

For several moments, Scott didn't answer. His gaze fell upon a tombstone across from Drake's body, upon which the name "Ema Black" had been inscribed. "Drake's partner is buried here," he said. "I didn't know either of them that well, to be honest . . . but I get the feeling they would want to be together. We can at least give them that . . ."

The group fell silent.

"Alright. If we're done here, then let's get going," Jordan said at last. "I feel more and more like I'm going to get mauled by a Mightyena or something the longer I stay here."

"Really?" Robert asked, though only shook his head as he began to follow Jordan out of the House of Memories. Scott, too, began to follow them, though could not help but bring his eyes back to the grisly sight one last time.

A moment later, he was thankful that he did. "Hold up."

He ignored the groans of protest from Jordan and Robert as he moved again towards the corpse, though this time stepped past it in order to approach the decorative indent that lined the bottom of the wall. Stooping down as low as he dared--and doing what he could to avoid touching the dried blood on the floor--the Liberty Executive reached down into the dark. When he retracted his arm a moment later, Jordan and Robert saw what Scott's changed vantage point had allowed him to see.

"A . . . Poké Gear?" Robert said. Scott nodded, flipping it over in his hand. Engraved on the back was their fallen ally's name. "Geez . . . You think the police would've found that . . ."

"Not if they assumed this was done by an animal," Scott pointed out. "Which, if this wasn't the second Liberty member in the past week to have died like this, I might've thought the same." The Executive stepped away, turning the device on. Its battery was low, and its casing bore clear signs of damage--as if it had been caught in a powerful electrical attack. It was a miracle that it was still working.

Scott hooked it up to his own Pokétch.

"Right . . ." Robert averted his gaze. He had heard rumors about the last time this had happened--inklings of Scott Stone's ties to that particular incident. Uncomfortable with the ensuing silence, he cleared his throat. "So . . . Assuming this wasn't just some--"

Scott held up a hand, eyes widening as he listened to the playback of the Poké Gear's last recording. It was garbled, which appeared to confirm his suspicions about the damage. Even so, there was no mistaking what he was hearing from it.

"What is it?" Jordan asked.

Scott moved back to them, increasing the volume. All three fell dead silent as they heard first murmurs, electrical scratches--and then bits of a conversation.

͠"͞. ̴͟. .͘ ͜͜͞su̧͘p̕҉e͏̨r̀͝i̴o̵̸̵r̵̷̛s̵͘͘ ̵̡d́i̧̛͡s̷̛p̀os̕̕e̛d̀ o̴̵͢f ̵̷ḩ҉͟e̵̡͡ŗ. ͏Th̴͟ey͏ f͢҉͝o͏ù̸n̷d́͢ ̶̴͟he͟͡͝r͞ ̷w͜ea̷̧k̨ ̵͡aņd͜ ̧̕͝ứs҉e͡leś̨͘s͝,̡͞ ̡͜an͜҉͟d̨̕ ̀͘s̢͡eǹ̛͞t̛͜ ͝hé͝r̸ ̵͢i̵̛n͝t̷͝o éxíl͞e.͞ ͢҉̨Ś͜h̷̨͟o͞rtl͢y͠҉ ̵̕͢t͠h͏e͠r͜͡è̡a̵f̴̡t́̕͟e̷͜r͢,̸͘ ̡m̛͜ý ̶̀͡m̴̢̛as̀͢͞ţ̷̧e̴̢ŕ͟ ̸stopped hearing from her.̷ ͏̴̸Sh͏e ̀i͏s̢ pr͜ȩ̶͢s͘҉u̴̕mȩ͜d̵̨͢ t҉o̸ ̷b̶e̴̡ ͏̸d̵͢eà̶d̶.̡ ̵̀But,̕ ̨s͏i̡ń̡͠ć̵e҉͝ ͘h̶͜e ́͏h̷a̕͜d ͘͞lov͟e͠d̵ ͏͘h̢͞e͞r̸̷,̵̢ ͏́h͝͝͞e ̀w͢͢an̵̡͝t̴̢̛e̡̨d̷̡ ̶t̵́o c̶̡͞o̸̧̨ń̵t́͘͠i͢n͞͏u̧̨e̷͢ h̶̛é͠r̷̨ w͏o̴r͝҉ķ͜. T̀͜h̸͝҉u͟s̨,̨͟҉ ̷̛͘I am still alive,̷ ҉̸́a̴͠n̡̕d ͞͡m̶ý m̸͢a͠s̴̴t̀͟e҉r̨ ̶͏sends me ̸to̷͟͜ ́͠d̸i̧͞sp̢̛o͝͞͞s̨e ̸̧of͘ ҉̧͡e̷͝n̴͠e͢͠m͠i̴ę͞s̷.̴ ͢Y̛͝o̕u̸'͟v̨e̷͘ ͡b̧́e͜é̡͢n͏̨ d̴̶į͞g̷͜͡g̢̀҉i҉̷nģ ́i̵ǹ̢t͞o ͞th͏͢i̢n͏͠g̷s ̸̴̵t̶͜h҉at҉ ̵͞s͟͝h̶e ̷͜͡wo̶͟u̷l҉̶d̸͠ ҉̕wa͠ń̶ţ ̨́͠k̵e̶pt̡ ̧sèc̷͘r̛è̷t.́ ̷F҉͏rǫ͢͢m͝ ̷̛mȩ, ̷f͘͢ro̢͠ḿ ͘͢m͘͝y̨ ̡̛ma̴ş͜t͏̡e͘͢r̨,҉̸ ̴͝a͟n͠d ̢f͘͜r͏o҉͞m ̶͜h̵͞ȩ͘r̴̴.̧͞"̶͝

̵̡̢"Ac̨͝e̛͘͜-̡ ͏̷̴ He w̷o̧͞ŗk͘͝ed҉ f̨҉o̵̵r͏̕.̸..̧ Ace-"
͘͢
"́͢He still does .̵͏̡ ̸̡͜An͟͡d ́͞s̸h̨e̛͘͢ s͟e̷n̵d̸͞͠s͘͏ ̧҉h͜e̸̕r͠ ̸̶̧re͜g̡a̡rd̛͡s͘.̶̸"̡̛́

The recording ended with screaming.

Screaming, and the sound of childish laughter.

IC - Fallon Coleman/Adam Miller/Sabrina/Lt. Surge/Koga - Johto, Abyss:

Abyss's medical wings were not typically subject to very heavy security protocols. Unless the base came under attack, standard defenses defaulted to those meant to protect the facility as a whole. There were guards posted nearby in any event, certainly, but usually no more than five, patrolling the general hospital district and on on call to respond to situations in nearby areas. For all intents and purposes, specifically protecting those who were already injured in Abyss was considered a secondary objective to ensuring that the base itself was protected.

Typically. This was not a typical situation.

Dr. Fallon Coleman had to remind herself of this fact every time she looked at the doors to the room, where three additional guards had been stationed--each. The reason was simple: The three patients in this room had all recently come under the effects of some sort of aggression-enhancing mental virus. Reports accompanying them indicated that it had taken three Team Liberty Agents--including one of their leaders--and another trainer to stop their rampage in Cianwood City, and transferring them from the Alamo to Abyss had required just as many guards in order to keep them under control.

These patients also just so happened to be Gym Leaders and Elite Four members, on top of being Agents for Team Rocket. The only reason they had not completely destroyed the medical wing yet (although they had certainly tried) was a combination of very efficient guards, a strong sedative, and systematic nullification of her telepathic abilities, in Sabrina's case.

All of this was well and good, and certainly had helped the situation, but it had not fixed it. And that was what Fallon intended to do in the end--regardless of whether her expertise was not in the field of medicine, as most tended to assume upon hearing the title of 'Doctor,' but rather in the field of technological development as it pertained to the war front, as she felt the need to remind her superiors during each of their visits.

Such was the case now.

As Fallon checked the progress of her three patients' mental scans, Executive Adam Miller entered, prompting an orderly salute from the six guards in the room. The doctor, being too busy to actually notice Miller's presence, did no such thing, earning her veiled looks of contempt from two of the more 'disciplined' guards.

"Dr. Coleman," Executive Miller said. "Ignoring protocol yet again, I see."

Fallon turned to the Executive in surprise, instantly losing whatever nerve she had managed to build up in order to speak to her superior. "I, er, I would hope that protocol, sir, would be the least of your concerns right now . . ." she said, gesturing with her electronic pad. "I mean, with all due respect, sir, these three have been OOC--out of commission--for at least a week and a half, maybe longer, and MIA--missing-in-action--for even longer than that, so, uh, so you'll have to excuse me if I'm a little preoccupied with, you know, diagnosing their condition . . ."

"Point conceded," Miller said. He was a tall, thin man of a dark complexion, with eyes green enough to betray the conflicting expectations that he regularly displayed towards others. His gaze swept over the three beds, the sight a reminder of why he had come in the first place. "How is your progress here, Doctor?"

"T-Truthfully, sir? Not very progressive," Fallon said, adjusting her glasses and following Miller's gaze. "I've, uh, I've still been unable to discern the exact source of the issue, sir, although scans and tests so far indicate that the, uh, what's essentially a virus is mental in nature and--and stimulated by psychic activity, so, Sabrina--we've managed to cut off her mental link to Koga and Surge and, uh, that seems, at least for now, to have helped the situation, since they've been calmer, but there's no telling--I don't know when they'll be completely cured, uh . . ."

"Is something wrong?" Miller asked.

Fallon clutched her pad to her chest. "Well, uh, sir, there . . . I mean, there is," she said. "Not with the patients, to clarify, but, uh, rather, with the accommodations--the assignment itself, I mean--I'm sorry, I mean no disrespect and I don't mean to, uh, to question anyone's orders, but I--you know I'm not a medical doctor, so I'm just still not clear, exactly, on why I'm in charge of treating these three and not, perhaps, Doctor Milan?"

It took a moment for Miller to fully process Fallon's issue. "Are you telling me you haven't received any of the research files from Elton?" he asked. Fallon shook her head. "The reason Koga, Surge, and Sabrina were missing for so long was because of an indoctrination attempt by Executive Elton in Chapel--an attempt to create super soldiers for use in a coup. Ash Ketchum and the Gym Leaders Tate and Liza were subjected to the same or even worse experiments, though were, unfortunately, unable to be saved."

"Oh . . ." Fallon said quietly. "S-So, then . . . I'm in charge because, because these experiments weren't . . . normal, in nature?" Miller nodded. "I-I see . . . I'm sorry--I should've realized--"

"You have my apologies for this oversight," Miller said. "We trust you to sort this out because we know how effectively you work--eccentricities aside. I have no doubt that your lack of access to this information was an error on our end." He pulled out his Poké Gear, turning to leave. "I'll correct it immediately and get those files to you. Once you have them, you should have a slightly easier time to figuring out how to fix our friends here . . ."

"Y-Yes, sir, thank you," Fallon said, watching Miller go. As the doors closed behind him, she let out a deep breath. Why do Executives always make me so nervous . . . She shook her head, turning back to her work. She did not get a chance to, however, as he Poké Gear suddenly began to ring. Somewhat annoyed now, she picked it up and answered it. "H-Hello?"

"Hey, Fallon."

Fallon gave a sigh of relief upon realizing that it was her sister.

"I need a couple of favors."

Fallon tensed up upon realizing that this was, in fact, her sister.

"Good to talk to you, too, Vicky," she said, switching the device to its video mode and putting on her best 'enthused' look. "What do you need? Earpiece tune-up? Poké Gear fix? New sunglasses?"

"Oh, are you offering to buy me a new pair?" Victoire asked, smiling broadly. Fallon immediately regretted mentioning it. "I might have to take you up on that--my favorite pair just got broken."

"How did that happen?" Fallon asked. Victoire froze. "What have you been doing in Kalos, Vic?"

Victoire waved her hand dismissively. "I'll tell you about it later--don't worry about it," Victoire said, immediately changing the subject. "So, hey, what I need from you--got a pen and paper?"

"Go ahead--I'll remember," Fallon said. She didn't want to stop pressing Victoire about what had happened, but she knew better than to try and continue.

"Two things," Victoire said. "First off, I need plane tickets from Anistar City to Four Island and Johto--three and one, kay? Can you get them for three days from now?"

"That's easy enough," Fallon said, choosing not to voice her confusion over the number of tickets. "What's the second thing?"

"Can you do a bit of . . . 'digging' for me on Ace?"

Fallon frowned. "What for?"

"Everything. Anything you can find about her and what kinds of projects she ran as Shadow Admin." Now Victoire was frowning. "Please don't ask why--I just need to know."

Although it went against every fiber of her being, Fallon finally agreed. "I'll get it to you soon."

Victoire smiled. "Thanks, sister. I wouldn't ask you if it wasn't important to me and if I could do it myself."

"I get it." Fallon paused. "I won't ask, but I will request--please, keep safe with whatever it is you're doing. Between this Kalos business, and now this . . . I'm not the only one who would be worried if something happened to you, Vic."

"I'll be careful." Victoire waved, offering a quick, "Love you!" before hanging up.

Fallon sighed as she closed her own Poké Gear. Well, she thought. At the very least, this'll get me some time away from this job . . .

IC - Ethan Worth/Gavin Braner - Chapel, Lounge Area:

"I have information!"

The declaration came from Ethan. After finding a place in Chapel to rest up after the confrontation in Celadon and the follow-up with Bounty (and Miriam Shields and General Coleman), the Rocket Elite (as he had begun referring to himself, having discovered a message in his inbox indicating that Joker had put in his name for an official promotion) had temporarily departed to find out what he could regarding Joker's current situation, leaving Gavin, Madison, Dack, and Luke to their own devices--which had consisted, at least on Gavin's end, of wondering whether he would actually be able to find out anything.

Evidently . . .

"I've found out," Ethan said. "That Joker's location is currently classified, which means that we can't actually go see her."

"That's . . . not useful in the slightest," Gavin said.

"That's also not everything," Ethan said. "Luckily, I'm charming enough that I was able to get the scoop anyway and find out that she'll be taking up temporary residence in Abyss starting tomorrow, along with her children." He held up his Poké Gear, smiling. "And by 'charming enough,' I mean that Joker told me. Apparently, I'm trustworthy enough for her to answer my calls."

"That's . . . Never mind," Gavin said. "That does give us an entire day of nothing, then. Which means that we have a perfect opportunity to--"

"Have a battle?" Ethan asked. "I'm always down for that." He looked at Madison, Luke, and Dack. "Any takers? I'm sure Gavin would be up for one, too."

IC - Meghan Vert - The Alamo, Cell Block:

Activity within the Alamo had certainly increased over the past few weeks. Vert was not exactly surprised by this: Given the attack on R&D, it was only logical that more urgent summons had been sent out, and thus more Liberty Agents drawn back to work from their needlessly-prolonged vacations. Though she largely didn't care, a part of her couldn't help but wonder, as she observed a group of loitering teenage agents, whether her former leaders cared enough to take disciplinary action towards those who had essentially abandoned the organization at the first sign of a ceasefire. Such activity was, after all, more traitorous than her own. At least she had been acting in Team Liberty's interests . . .

Well, she silently corrected. By extension . . .

A sudden jab in her back prompted her to glare over her shoulder, gesturing to the bandages that were visible under her shirt. "Ow."

"You're lagging," her escort said, twirling his guard baton between his fingers. "Stop doing that, and I won't have to poke you."

"No respect . . ." Vert huffed, turning around and shaking her head, though picking up her pace nonetheless. "You'll have to excuse me, Officer," she said. "You see, I happen to be very aware of Team Liberty's predilection towards incarcerating their enemies and leaving them forgotten in the basement." She adjusted her glasses as best as she could given the limited movement provided by her handcuffs. "I expect this to be the last time I see the surface, at least for the foreseeable future."

"You're funny." The guard pressed the elevator call button. A moment later, the doors opened, and he and Vert entered.

The two remained largely silent as the machine brought them down to the prison block. Vert took advantage of this to peer sideways at the guard, searching the depths of her memory to see if she recognized him. After a moment, she smirked. "Andrian Night," she said. "Or is it Winter?" He looked at her uncomfortably. "I guess it doesn't matter . . . What made you drop out of R.A.L.L.Y., I wonder?" He did not respond to this. "I suppose a better question is, what interested you about it to begin with? I never could stand the thought of going out in the field, myself--too much risk for too little reward, if you ask me . . ." She rattled the chains of her handcuffs. "Then again . . . We both know how my alternative worked out for me . . ."

The elevator doors opened. As they made to leave, Andrian stepped in front of Vert, blocking the exit. He glared at her. "I don't know what kind of mind games you're trying to pull here," he said. "But they aren't going to work. So do me a favor and shut up until we get to your cell. Okay?"

Vert adjusted her glasses again. "Of course, Officer." She walked past Andrian.

The two made their way through the block. They passed by numerous prisoners--Vert recognized several of them by face, though none by name. For each occupied cell that they went by, they continued past two more empty ones--a fact that perplexed Vert, given that it seemed to prolong their walk. After a while, she realized where they were going.

Tucked away within the jail level was a block comprised of "priority cells," reserved for prisoners and captives considered to be of strategic importance. Unlike typical holding rooms, these functioned more as small apartments than anything--indeed, were it not for the bars blocking the entrance, they might as well have simply been apartments. Each was composed of two rooms--one a combined living and sleeping room, containing a bed, a desk, and a dresser, as well as room for other accommodations (such as a television set, as Vert had heard about in one instance), and the second a simple bathroom. Each room was also equipped with a computer terminal that the occupants could use of their own accord in order to file work-orders, as well as maintain limited contact with the outside world--primarily allowing them to keep up on current events outside of their cells. The arrangements had always seemed frivolous to Vert in the past, given that a prisoner was a prisoner regardless of their credentials, but now that she was the one faced with an indefinite prison sentence, she was willing to reconsider her opinion.

Her suspicions about their destination were proven correct as they emerged onto this section of the prison, prompting a small smile to appear on her lips. They passed by two cells, alternating positions on opposite walls, before coming to a stop in front of a third. From one, Vert could hear a news broadcast, though she could not make out what was being discussed. This cell she knew to be occupied by Searcher S Commander Kayne Boden. The second cell was silent, offering no clues to its inhabitant nor, really, any sign that it was inhabited at all.

She found this to be rather curious.

Her distractions ended as Andrian opened her cell door, accompanying her inside. Vert surveyed the room as he undid her handcuffs. Numerous sets of clothes and hygienic supplies had been stored already, and the bed prepared for her arrival--she recognized most, if not all of these as her own belongings, evidently taken from her former room higher up in the base.

This did not surprise her as much as the computer set-up on her desk.

"Not gonna lie, Winter," she said, crossing her arms as Andrian left the cell, closing the door behind him. "I didn't expect such home-like accommodations."

"We were instructed to ensure your comfort," Andrian said. "Traitor or not, you were a Liberty Executive. My guess is that they still have some respect left for you."

"I'm flattered," Vert said. She nodded toward the computer. "And what about that?"

"Part of our instructions," Andrian said. "That's all I know." He began to walk away. "You need help with anything, or if you want to check the food schedule, then check the terminal. Otherwise, make yourself comfortable--you're gonna be in there for a while."

Vert watched Andrian disappear, leaving only the muffled sounds of Boden's television to fill the empty space of the cell block. Adjusting her glasses again, Vert moved to the computer, examining it closer. Immediately, she recognized it not only as having come from R&D, but also as her own personal research computer. She frowned, wondering what this could mean.

Only one way to find out . . . she figured.

She turned it on.

As she waited for the systems to load, Vert set about searching the desk's drawers. She did not have to look very far. Tucked away within the keyboard drawer were three items: A Poké Gear--her Poké Gear--a PC-Poké Gear connection cable, and an earpiece with a microphone. Nested within her Poké Gear's inbox was an unread message, addressed from an unknown number.

She opened it.

Consider this an act of faith. Your research is revolutionary--better it ends up in our hands than in those of the enemy.
~04

Vert's frown transformed into a broad smile, which only grew wider as she began to check what lay within the computer.

The files were all there. Project HARMONY, Project WEAVER, Project QUELL--everything. Whoever had set up her accommodations had clearly gone out of their way to ensure that she could pick up exactly where she had left off, directing workers on the outside from down here, unsupervised and left to the shadows of her cell, set back only by the unforeseen attacks by Greed and Lust. Someone, somewhere--likely within Team Liberty's very own leadership, to Vert's delightfully ironic realization--still had a vested interest in her research.

Ad libitum, 'Zero-Four.'

Edited January 1, 2016 by Parugi

Konuju · January 1, 2016

IC: Ryan/Paul/Togie

"I see," Paul said to Jenny. "It must've been strange for you to visit a region locked in war. In fact, I'm surprised Plasma let you visit Johto at all." He tried to keep the edge out of his voice, but his bitter feelings toward the Unovan government were starting to show. He wisely fell silent after that and turned his attention back to his cinnamon bun.

A frown etched its way onto Ryan's face as he studied the captain. He looked young, yes, but he seemed a little old to be flirting with her -- the Liberty agent suspected close to a ten-year age gap between them. Not to mention, something about his method of flirting was just annoying. Up on the deck, Ryan had thought Aspen had been overreacting in trying to stand up for his sister. But now he realized the kid had a point.

...

Is this... Is this what everyone thought of my flirting with Sonja...?

Ryan felt the color start to drain from his face and he stared down at his plate in silence. He had already had lengthy conversations with Ray and Evan about his actions regarding Sonja, and he was trying to put it behind him. But the shenanigans of Captain Jack finally put his own actions into perspective. He finally understood just how much he had hurt Sonja.

Suddenly he wasn't hungry anymore, and slid his plate over to Togie and Orihime.

Togie beamed at Coco and put a wing around Orihime, nodding his thanks, both for the delicious food and the words of congratulations. Then he looked down at the plate of kolaches Ryan had passed him.

As a Togekiss, Togie was nowhere near as tied to the emotional plane as the Gardevoir sitting at the table. But he was close enough to his trainer to sense there was something wrong. Ever since Fortree, Ryan had been acting more depressed than usual. Sure, he tried to bury it beneath a friendly smile or his grim determination, but it kept coming back. Togie crooned worriedly, taking his wing off of Orihime and tilting his head toward his trainer.

"Go ahead, Togie," Ryan said softly with a nod toward the plate of food. "I'm not hungry."

IC: Dack/Madison/Luke

All in all, Dack's return to Team Rocket had gone a lot smoother than he'd expected. No one seemed to mind that he'd practically abandoned the group for six months, albeit next to the crimes of his former partner Hannah his unannounced leave of absence was easily overlooked. Now that the initial excitement was over, however, Dack felt his old impatience creeping back. Madison and Luke didn't seem to mind the wait -- after all, they were still taking everything in for the first time -- but now that Dack was back, he was ready to do something. Maybe it was the sense of impending doom left hanging in the air after hearing about Ford's recent activities, or the look on Madison's face after Coleman described Joker's fate. Either way, he felt they should be doing something more than just sitting around and waiting for Ethan to report back.

So when Ethan did report back, a smile etched its way into the corner of Dack's lip. That smile grew at the prospect of a battle. "I can't remember the last time I had a battle just for fun." He stood up and stretched. "Plus, it'll be good to make sure our Pokémon are in good shape. Outside of the past week or so, mine haven't had much practice at all for several months."

"I'll fight too," Madision said, much to Dack's surprise. "But on one condition: we make it a tag team battle. The two of you against Dack and me."

"What?" Dack paled. Tag team battles had never been his strong suit; he worked best alone. Not to mention, Madison's battle experience -- or lack thereof -- didn't exactly make her an optimal battle partner. "Are you sure about this, Madison?"

"Yep!" The skier got up and stood at Dack's side. "We never got a chance to fight together in Celadon."

"My point exactly."

"Oh, this oughta be good," Luke said with a wolfish grin.

"So how do we do this?" Madison asked. "Do you have like, special arenas, or do we just fight here in the lounge?"

Edited January 1, 2016 by Konuju

MELON LORD · January 1, 2016

IC: Xander and Sylph

Xander glanced up as Captain Jack started to flirt with Dahlia. He was just opening his mouth to speak, when Aspen spoke up. Xander smiled. For such a shy kid, Aspen didn't hesitate to stand up for his family and friends. Xander nodded his agreement. "Captain Jack, please try to flirt only with the people who will flirt back. You're making Dahlia, Aspen, and Ryan uncomfortable."

Sylph smiled at Lazengann, gently patting his head. I hope to battle you on land some day. I bet you're terrific when you have access to your ground-based moves. She looked over to the unfolding drama of Jack and Dahlia, then to Ryan Sanders. She gently tapped his hand with hers.

Is something wrong, Ryan? You seem a little pale. Gently, she prodded Xander's attention. The Kalos trainer turned to her.

"Sylph and I are gonna go topside for a bit. Ryan, you wanna come with?"

Edited January 1, 2016 by Flowey the Flower

**Blessed Blade** · January 1, 2016

-==IC: Jack==-

Jack frowned at the reactions, having not expected that, and shrugged, as he took a plateful of food. "Alright then, guess I'm not too welcome here. We'll be making a stop at One Island in a day or two to resupply. Most likely will be two, though, at this rate." He chuckled a bit, but still seemed a bit unamused at the reactions, as best as he tried to hide it. Before anyone could really comment, though, he went to walk back to the control room.

-==IC: Ray==-

As Ray continued to eat, he happened to glance over, and noticed Ryan was just not himself. However, as he began to get up, he noticed Sylph and Xander approach, and cautiously sat back down for the moment. The look on Ryan's face did not look good, however, at all. He tried to think of some way he could help out, in case the stuff with Xander didn't quite work out. Ray tried to glance over to catch Evan's attention, to try and figure out some sort of plan here.

-==IC: Jenny==-

Jenny shrugged at that. "For the most part, you don't even know there is a war, really. The one time it caught up with me, was simply a part of a bigger plan that was utterly stupid. I mean, obviously it's a thing in some parts, but..." The girl looked at Paul curiously, as she noticed something odd about him. "How about you? Have you ever been anywhere before?" She asked, as she wanted to try and get more of a feel for what might have been bugging him.

Konuju · January 2, 2016

IC: Ryan/Paul

Evidently Ryan was not very good at hiding his brooding. Sylph was right, something was wrong. But it was not something Ryan was particularly keen on talking about; he'd done that enough with Evan and Ray. Not to mention, that would make this the second time this day that Xander would try and help the Liberty agent. No, he'd given Xander enough grief.

"Actually I think I'll head to my room," Ryan said, quietly mumbling an excuse about not feeling well. Which wasn't exactly a lie.

Togie watched in concern as his trainer got up from the table and left the room. Part of him wanted to follow, but Ryan had already turned down Xander's help. The Togekiss could tell his trainer needed some time alone.

An uncomfortable silence permeated the room. Paul silently watched the Liberty agent leave before he addressed Jenny's question. "Well, this is my first time out of Unova, if that's what you're asking." He spoke in a low voice, not wanting to break the silence in the wake of Ryan's exit. "Officially I came here on business, though my true motives were to find my daughter."

**Dr. Hidaka** · January 2, 2016

IC: Evan Tierra

Amongst all the talking and goings-on, Evan saw Aspen getting a tad upset with the captain, who took his leave. Paul and Jenny were carrying a conversation with each other, with Jenny describing where she had been in the past. He then noted Ryan Sanders leaving the galley, looking far less himself than he usually did. The last thing that caught Evan's eye, was Ray glancing at him. Evan admitted that he hadn't spoken with Ray alot, but maybe it had something to do with what was going on.

Evan rose from his seat and walked over to where Ray was, his eyes gleaming with curiosity at the Rocket Separatist. "Is there something you wanted, Ray?" Evan asked, trying to keep his voice low. "It's not often, or at all, that you try to get my attention..."

JiMing · January 2, 2016

OOC: Wow! Another jam. Dahlia should have made toast for breakfast.

IC: Olivia/Chloe

Chloe stirred, as she felt herself beginning to wake up, but kept her eyes closed. She was trying to keep a hold of the dream she'd been having. As the sun shone in through the window however, she unwillingly opened her eyes and instantly shielded them from the bright light. She glanced over at the time, and blinked as she saw that it was rather late in the morning. With a sigh, the girl sat up, trying her best to not disturb Olivia, who still seemed to be asleep. Chloe smiled over at her girlfriend, and pulled the covers up a little more, as they had been disturbed slightly when she sat up. As she glanced out the window, however, she noticed two Gardevoir and a Gallade staring back at her, and blinked. Chloe paused as she opened her mouth to say something, and tentatively reached out to the three with her mind. "... Am? Alvis? Is that you...?"

Amethyst waved back at Chloe. "Yo. I think you might have forgotten about us." the Gardevoir pointed out, an amused grin on her face. "It's a good thing no one here really minds the cold, I mean, these woods were where I grew up and all. Try not to lock us out at night again, though."

Meanwhile, another Gardevoir walked into view at the window, looking inside. "Oh? Are those your trainers?" Rakel asked, seeming curious. "Hello, human! I am Mirjana, err, Amethyst's mother." she said, smiling. "Who might you and your companion be? I would like to hear more about you both, given what my daughter says, you are both good people."

Chloe blinked at the other Gardevoir talking to her now. "Oh, um, I'm Chloe, and this is Olivia... I'm not really sure what else to say, though." She sheepishly smiled in response, as she went to try and get up, unsure if that'd wake Olivia or not.

"Ah, hello, Chloe! It seems you're the trainer of this Gallade gentlemen, is that true?" Rakel asked, turning to Alvis. "He really cares for my daughter... I'd love to talk to you some more!"

Amethyst looked down at the ground a bit awkwardly for a moment, rubbing the back of her head. "Err, anyways, mind opening the door for us?" the Gardevoir asked Chloe. "It'd probably be better to hold a conversation indoors, and Mom would also get introduced to Olivia better that way."

Chloe nodded, as she got out of bed carefully, and then went to go open the door. She shivered a bit as she felt the cold air rush in, as she was still just in her pyjamas, and rubbed her arms a bit to keep herself warm, as she waited for the three to walk inside, before closing the door, sighing as heat started to slowly return better.

Amethyst walked inside along with her mother, looking around inside. "So this is where your cousin's staying at, huh?" she said, putting a finger to her chin. "Seems cozy enough... But uh, mind waking up Olivia if you can?" the Gardevoir asked Chloe, looking behind herself at Rakel. "I think Mom really wants to talk to you and her."

"That I would! Oh, I don't think I told you my name, before. I'm Rakel! Like I said, I'm Amethyst's mother." the other Gardevoir said, smiling at Chloe. "What brings you and her trainer passing through here? It's wonderful to see my daughter again, and the fine Gardevoir she's become, but I would like to hear your story, if that is possible." Rakel requested, turning to Alvis. "I'd also like to hear more about this young Gallade, and how he came to become my daughter's mate."

Chloe stayed quiet about the latter part, a little surprised about that one, but she nodded to Amethyst, and went to wake Olivia up. As she did so, she tried to explain why they were in Snowpoint as quickly as she could; not wanting to spend hours to explain, but also wanting to answer properly.

Olivia yawned, stretching tiredly. "Morning, beautiful." she said with a tired giggle, rubbing her eyes. "What time is it anyways? Seems a decent time to wake up, but usually I sleep longer for some reason." the red-haired girl admitted, looking outside her door. "Oh hey, it's Amethyst and Alvis. And um... Who's that third Gardevoir?" the eldest Seaton asked confusedly.

"Good morning! I am Rakel, Amethyst's mother." she explained, smiling. "It's very nice to meet you! I'm sorry to hear about your companion's cousin... But I trust you are doing well!" the Gardevoir said, seeming happy at that moment.

"...Wait, huh?" Olivia muttered, turning to Chloe. "Amethyst's mom? She lives in Snowpoint? Wha?"

Chloe scratched her head, but nodded. "Maybe that's why she had seemed so odd recently?" The girl suggested, as she shrugged slightly.

"Odd? Who says I'm being odd?" Amethyst snapped, before blinking and shaking her head. "I-I'm sorry. I... Yeah. Let's just say I was busy last night for a reason. The reason being beating my monster of a father into the ground with Alvis." she said, shrugging. "Traumatization at a young age isn't really fun, now is it..."

Olivia blinked, getting out of bed. "I... You never told me this." she said, turning towards Amethyst. "I-I had no idea, is that why you got so upset the other day during training...?"

The Gardevoir nodded, sighing. "Eh. Fought out my problems mostly. I'll recover eventually." she said. "But I think my mom wanted to talk to you?"

"Indeed I did." Rakel interjected, turning to Chloe and Olivia. "You should have seen my daughter last night. She and that Alvis character make a very good team. I didn't even have to intervene!" she exclaimed, beaming. "You must have trained them very well..."

Chloe giggled, and smiled. "They are both amazing. Especially Amethyst; Alvis is good, but Am kinda has the practice over him..." She sheepishly smiled at Alvis apologetically, but the Gallade simply shrugged in response with a nod, as the trainer had a point; even with all the fighting, Am had plain and simply had more experience with being a Gardevoir, than he had with being a Gallade.

"Oh, I can see how impressive my daughter has become!" Rakel replied, turning towards Olivia. "I would assume I've got you to thank for that. You really did do a great job with getting my daughter so far! I also thank you for being her friend when I wasn't there..."

"That's no problem." Olivia replied, smiling. "Amethyst's always been very impressive. She's been a good friend and an amazing partner for a while now, and I can only see her getting better." she said, grinning. "Just you wait, Chloe, until she gets more battle experience..."

"Hehe. Better watch out, you." Amethyst said to Alvis, smirking. "One day, I'm going to be able to kick your butt. Hope you're ready for then."

Rakel giggled, amused by the interactions taking place around her. "Wow! What wonderful displays of companionship. I'm more than happy to see my daughter be part of such a great group..."

"More than you already do?" Alvis asked in slight amusement, as he smiled back. "I look forward to it."

Chloe giggled, and nodded as she sat down on the bed. "I have to say, it's very nice to meet you, Rakel..." The girl smiled at her, as they heard someone coming down the hall. Chloe glanced over at the open door, as Anna looked in curiously.

"Oh, hello there, I didn't know we had more guests." The black haired girl said in surprise, as she noticed the new Gardevoir, but smiled. "What can I say, though, the more the merrier!"

"Just you wait. I've got a burning spirit inside me, and I'm going to make sure to surpass you in battle." Amethyst challenged, grinning. "You'd best prepare yourself for then."

Rakel turned around to face Anna, blinking. "Oh! Hello there. I presume you're Anna, correct?" she greeted, smiling. "Your cousin told me all about you. I'm so sorry to see you were a victim of that avalanche... I hope you have been doing well otherwise." the Gardevoir said, looking around. "It must be difficult living your life without the ability to walk..."

"Oh. That's what happened to your cousin." Amethyst said, sighing. "Oh wow, um, I didn't know that had happened... You still doing okay, Anna?" she asked, seeming concerned.

Anna smiled at the two, and nodded. "Yep! It's a bit tough to get around at times, but I'm getting a bit better... I wish I could do more things, yeah, but at least I don't have to stay in bed all the time anymore..." She smiled weakly a bit, betraying how she wished she could go back to exploring the town more, and how much she missed company.

Olivia frowned, seeing how Anna's spirits had plummeted. "I'm sorry that you had to have this happen to you... You sure you're really okay? You don't look so good right now..."

Rakel sensed Anna's longing, blinking. "Oh my... You really miss a lot of things." she said, going silent and thinking for a bit. "Hmm... You also feel lonely. Perhaps I can help out?" Amethyst's mother offered, smiling at Anna.

Amethyst blinked, turning to her mother. "Huh? What's your plan now?" she asked, looking between her and Anna.

"Well, she needs someone to help her around the house and talk to, right? I could do that." she said, turning to Anna. "Of course, it's ultimately up to you, but you have a good heart. I wouldn't want to see you suffering any longer with your loneliness. After all, Chloe and Olivia will eventually leave... But I can help you, should you wish it."

Anna looked over in surprise, as she got the offer. "I..." The girl paused for a few moments, but smiled. "I'd be happy to have you here." She giggled with a smile, definitely alright with that idea.

"Really? Alright then! I'll be helping you around the house and talk to you whenever you want." Rakel said, beaming. "I'm more than happy to be of service!"

Olivia blinked, looking at Rakel. "Huh. You offered that to someone you barely know?" she said, seeming a bit impressed. "Wow. That's really kind of you."

"Well, I know what it's like to be lonely, myself. I wouldn't want this girl to suffer through that while also being unable to walk." she said, smiling. "Of course I'd choose to help! It's just the right thing to do... And plus, I like having something to do, so housework would be good for me. I get bored a bit easily." the Gardevoir admitted with a chuckle.

Anna and Chloe both giggled at how Rakel was, and Anna nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me. I'm mostly fine with getting around the house, and the doctor admittedly says not to rely on people for walking, but..." She still smiled at that.

"Well, who says I'll just be helping you to walk around?" she asked warmly. "I could help run errands for you, or maybe take care of something in the house while you're busy. Whatever you need, really."

Amethyst smiled at the offer her mom was making, smiling. "You're just as nice as I remember you, mom." she said, hugging Rakel. "Too bad I won't be able to stay, I've got my own journey to go on with the others... But maybe we'll get a chance to visit Snowpoint again. I'd like that, really." the Gardevoir admitted.

"I understand, Amethyst. You're a grown Gardevoir, after all, with your own quest to embark on." Rakel replied. "But if you ever want to see your mother again, well... Chloe can come visit her cousin, then." she said, smiling.

Chloe nodded with a smile, and giggled, as her and Anna both found the scene rather heartwarming. Choe thought for a moment, and yawned a bit. "Should we leave you and Anna to have some time to get to know each other, then? We could probably use a bit of time to visit town anyway, so it's up to you..." She smiled more, glad that Anna had found someone to keep her company.

"I'd be fine with that!" Rakel replied, walking over to Anna. "From what I can tell, you're a very kindhearted young girl, but it'd be great to know you better. You wanted someone to talk to, right? Well, why not start now?" she asked with a chuckle.

"Well I guess we're all headed outside to see what Snowpoint's like." Olivia said. "I'll go get my winter jacket, then, so I don't freeze solid." she muttered, going back inside her room.

Chloe nodded, as she giggled. "Changing out of our pyjamas would probably work too." She said, as she followed Olivia. A little while later, she walked out in the winter clothes, and looked rather cute, especially with the makeup she had put on. "Ready now, Liv?" She smiled at her friend, ready whenever Olivia was.

Olivia quickly followed Chloe out of the door, also in her winter getup. Seeing her girlfriend put on makeup inspired her enough to try and do the same, though she didn't find it had the same sort of effect as Chloe did. "Y-yeah. I'm ready to head out." she replied, preemptively shivering. The red-haired trainer wanted to see what town was like though, and so knew she had to tolerate the freezing temperatures regardless...

IC: Aspen/Dahlia

Aspen nodded at Jack's words, his arms still crossed. "Alright, stop at One Island. Good to know." he muttered, giving the captain one more glare as he left the kitchen. Dahlia was probably worried about his attitude then, but it didn't matter. He wasn't going to let some floozy flirt with his sister like that, no matter what.

Dahlia sighed, making a mental note to talk to Aspen later about his actions. However, she looked up, seeing Ryan suddenly acting strange. "Wait, Ryan-" she started, right before he left the kitchen to go to his room. The middle Seaton sighed, and looked around. Coco looked up at her, seeming worried about his current state. She deliberated a bit, and stood up from the table. "I'll be right back." the gardener said, leaving the kitchen to head outside of Ryan's room, knocking on his door. "Hey, Ryan? You seemed upset back there... Do you need someone to talk to?" Dahlia asked with a concerned tone, unsure of what was happening as he didn't seem to be depressed last she talked with him...

Edited January 12, 2016 by Noriaki Kakyoin

**Blessed Blade** · January 5, 2016

-==IC: Jenny==-

Jenny nodded. "That makes sense. It's too bad you came here for such tense reasons, though... I mean, it's good to look at the scenery and such too, and..." She paused slightly, as she tried to figure out how to explain what she was trying to see, not really paying much attention to everyone vacating the kitchen. "Like, going on and on and on will just tire someone out, and exhaust them. Have you had a chance to take in the sights or so?"

-==IC: Ray/Evan(Jam)==-

Ray frowned, as he watched Ryan leave the room. He glanced back to Evan, as the other trainer approached, and then looked back to the door. "Something's odd with Ryan, don't you think? I mean, he's been leaving the room suddenly a lot the last few days... Any suggestions?" The orange haired separatist seemed uncertain of what to do. He didn't want to bug Ryan, and that day had been a rather long and tiring one... But this had been so sudden, and without much of any reason. He couldn't think of anything that Ryan might have done to get so down so quickly, and he didn't think it was because of earlier still. So what could it have been?

Evan frowned and shook his head. "I've spoken to him in Fortree." Evan said. "I don't think we should prod him anymore. Perhaps what he needs is someone new to talk with. A new perspective, ya know?"

Ray scratched his head at that, as he nodded. "I mean, I told him to talk to the other Ryan... But I don't think anyone's had the time to do that. I just, did you see how he looked when he walked off just now?"

"Yeah, but.......maybe there is something he can't talk about with us....." Evan spoke, furrowing his brow. "Maybe.....it's too painful to face us with? Maybe he needs someone, where it doesn't feel like he committed a crime."

Ray frowned more, as he tried to think of what could fit all those symptoms, and also make sense for why it'd be so sudden... and then he paused, as he finally fit the puzzle together in his head. "... Sonja? Do you think he's still taking that hard...?" The Separatist asked curiously, as he resisted the urge to get up and follow to try and help set that better. There were times to be hasty, but Evan had a point about letting someone else try; as much as he wanted to help, it probably wouldn't work with him.

"Yeah, I'd assume that's what's got him like this." Evan said. "Not that could be helped, considering he never got to apologize, I bet."

As Evan spoke, a thought crossed his mind. One that never appeared to him before........

"What about you, Ray?"

"Huh?" Ray looked puzzled, as he looked up. "What do you mean?"

"You haven't exactly been Mr. Talkative about what's gone on lately......." Evan replied, noting the look on Ray's face. "No one's really asked you how you feel about it all though, ya know?"

"Feel about... what happened to Sonja?" Ray seemed a bit guarded about how he phrased it, as he wondered which part of it all that Evan actually meant. "Well, I definitely am not crazy about that guy who showed up. But if it was fully her choice, I can't really blame anyone. I know she wanted to talk with her sister more, but..." He still seemed to be choosing his words a bit carefully, as if trying to not say something, that wasn't related to his own recruitment.

"Well, Ray, those aren't all the thoughts about her that you have locked in your head, are they?" Evan said, taking care of how far he was going. "You pretend to be cool headed, but like me, you are on fire inside. If there is something you can't say to me, that's fine."

Evan stood up and made a "come with me" gesture to Ray as he spoke. "We should go out onto the deck, for some of that fresh ocean air, eh?"

"I..." Ray was kinda caught off guard by that. "Okay, that's probably a good idea..." He said, unable to figure out what else to say in response, unsure just how much Evan had guessed about.

Evan walked Ray up to the deck of the ship, and started to talk. "I had to get away from the others." Evan said. "Something told me that you weren't exactly comfortable talking about Sonja in there. Mind looping me in, if you can? I know we're not exactly chatty with each other, Ray, but if there is something on your mind, please tell me."

Ray stayed quiet for a moment, as a conflicted look washed over his face. "I guess there is one thing... And it's been kinda bugging me... Do you remember when we all first returned to the Alamo the other day?" He glanced over at Evan with a slight frown, as he recalled his mistake then.

"Yeah, I do." Evan said, breathing in the air. "What about it, Ray?"

"I might be responsible for what went wrong with Ryan." Ray went quiet again, and began to explain about how he had wanted to go with Sonja to just talk and catch up, and how he had accidentally made everything so awkward by his wording and by thinking Ryan had already walked off. "I kinda recall his expression now, and... I think that's the first thing that actually made everything go wrong... And I don't think that Sonja liked anything regarding it, even if she didn't seem to hold it against me. Then I messed up more in Opelucid similarly, and just..." The orange haired man trailed off there, and chuckled slightly to himself.

"I dunno, Ray." Evan said, smiling. "Sonja doesn't seem like the kind of person who would hold much against someone unless it really hurt her, you know? Especially her friends......."

"Well, I dunno whether anything went too far there. Especially with how stressful things had been. There was a dance, and things just... didn't go well that night, from what I saw, heard, and read in between the lines for." Ray shook his head. "I ran into her the next morning, and she seemed a bit... uneasy, so to speak. She'd been seeming to get more comfortable again, then more stuff happened, and just... She seemed kinda impatient after that. Understandable, but..." he still seemed a bit conflicted about all this, and even talking about these things, as if he should be keeping quiet about what happened.

"Is there more, that you can't talk about?" Evan spoke softy. "I really think you are worrying way too much. You should try to relax, Ray. I can't read your mind, but I can read your face, and you look very at odds with yourself, and I must ask, why?"

"I just wonder if..." Ray couldn't find the words, despite them not being locked away. "If I'm actually good at all. If I'm just too hasty in all ways." He scratched his head, but frowned. "Though, one other question... do you think Sonja's one to keep her word...?"

"I can't be too sure about that, sadly." Evan said, "But, I do know, that you are good in your own ways, Ray."

The Plasma Agent took another deep breath and started to speak again. "At least you see that you are hasty, you know? That means you can at least try to fix that problem, you know? I think Sonja'd want that......"

"How, though? I just... even when I try to just work with the situation, I make decisions that end up backfiring. Or just utterly do things wrong otherwise." Ray wanted to believe what Evan said, and chuckled. "Ironically, the least hasty action was when I was in danger, and even that was otherwise an idiotic choice. Worked, but..." He looked over the ocean, as he wondered where everyone was now. He felt as if a weight was holding him down, though, realizing that he shouldn't be there, after what had happened with the other two. Was he just there to stall everyone? Had he actually been removed from the role and it wasn't mentioned? He doubted that, but figured that would be the guy's attitude, from the impression he'd gotten from the blonde.

"Join the club, Ray...." Evan said, sounding a little doubtful himself. "Sometimes I've questioned some of the hastier decisions I've made in the past, but I don't regret most of them, you know? Like Unova, among other things."

Ray looked over in surprise at that. "... Really? You've always seemed good to me, especially there. Heck, you've kinda inspired me in some ways." He hadn't thought that Evan would have felt things were hasty; since most times, he had been the most level headed one, even through the hot-bloodedness.

"I have, huh?" Evan replied in surprise at Ray's comment. "One of the things I kind of regret, especially after this morning, is not getting to know those I call friends...........or, in Jenny's case, a girlfriend. It's always been about the mission, you know? I haven't had time to get to know everyone as well as I'd like...."

Ray chuckled, as he nodded. "I agree. That's probably also one reason..." He took a breath, and shook his head. "Anyway, I definitely get that. We all need to actually take some time to actually get to know our friends better. I've already told Ryan to talk to Chloe tomorrow; but we should try to get everyone in on that." He thought for a moment, however, and frowned slightly. "Jenny hasn't told you much, though?" He asked, as he seemed to be a bit concerned about something.

"I think it's more I haven't asked, but yeah....." Evan said, a note of worry in his voice. "I'm not too sure how she'd feel about telling me. I saw a bit of her past way back before the Ancients, but I am not sure if she'd be comfortable telling me about it personally." The Plasma Agent sighed, as if the weight that was on Ray, had shifted over to him.

"Hmmm..." Ray thought for a moment. "Well, I'll admit; I don't know if she's actually recovered all her memories. I had to help her out with something when we were talking yesterday." He smiled after that, however. "I might have an idea how to help, though. Wouldn't really... go against anything."

"What's your idea, Ray?" Evan asked. "And I also don't know about her memories being completely recovered. It's kinda of confusing, which only makes it harder to ask..."

"Especially when she'll probably deny anything being wrong." Ray smirked, but chuckled. "My idea, though... What if I explained my past to you? Would help with Jenny too, since she's there or a good chunk of it too, so..."

"You sure about that?" Evan said, a faint grin on his face. "The past can be a painful thing. Especially what I probably saw from Jenny's memories."

Evan then said, before Ray could respond. "Loop me in, Ray Hakuda. Tell me about yourself."

Ray chuckled again, as he leaned against the side. "Alright, but I won't leave anything out." He began to tell his tales of when the two siblings were kids, from as far back as he could remember. He told about his brother who had been lost when Ray was just a baby. He then proceeded to mention the good times of Jenny and himself just having fun as kids; and when she would stick up for her younger brother... and when Ryan would have to step in for both of them upon Jenny biting off more than she could chew.

As he went on, though, things slowly grew darker and darker, as the fun times ended, and everything began to turn for the family. He gave his take on what happened to Jenny, and then explained about their parents, and how they had gone back to Unova, even while he was still in school in Johto. He then told about how he had gotten the call that something had happened, and made the trip to discover his parents were gone. "After that, when I returned to Johto, I joined Rocket, seeing nowhere else to turn to. I ran into some of my old friends in there at times; even Olivia a few times. But everyone just seemed like me... or maybe that was just my mood then clouding everything else."

He moved on through the remaining years, until he reached the things that started everything. "I don't know what happened. I got recruited to a mission by Joker, and that's pretty much when everything started to go weird for me. First was that cursed manaphy mission where everything weird that could happen, happened." Ray seemed uncertain about something, though. "It's actually where a couple of us met Sonja for the first time, too... I dunno what it was, but she just seemed nice. At first, I was intrigued by her because of that; and nice Liberty agents seemed like a foreign concept to me back then, but as the stuff kept going, I just... realized I was wrong about Liberty, basically. But Sonja still just..." He seemed conflicted again. "I just felt like I wanted to talk with her more and such. It wasn't very logical. I don't even know how I managed to do any of it. Probably just because we both had reasons to contact each other because of what we were hearing about and investigating and such..."

Ray sighed, but continued to explain about the goings on, until they had caught up to where Evan had shown up. From there, he began to explain some things about his viewpoint of events. "Before I begin, though, I'll apologize in advance, because some things..." As he began to recount how he had overheard Evan and Sonja talking, he apologized again, but then continued on. He gave his reasoning for some of the events, such as wanting Ryan to stay back because of everything being dangerous, and wanting everyone safely evacuated. He explained about what had happened while Evan was gone. He explained his thoughts on what had happened after the events in the Giant Chasm. He also mentioned just how Evan had inspired him to just take a more active role in things, and that the reason he had left was a bit of guilt for getting everyone involved, and to try and prevent anyone from getting hurt, and to try and stop anything if it was time sensitive. "Honestly... The group became like family. At least... the core members, since we had so many people just coming and going. It might've been selfish and hasty, but I didn't want to see anyone get hurt."

"Sheesh, you've been through a lot, Ray." Evan said, trying to take it all in. "But, you should know, selfishness....goes both ways. It's neither good or bad. Especially when it's to protect one's 'family', you know? I won't deny it was hasty, but it is endearing to hear that you care about us like that......"

Evan breathed the salty air again and started to speak again. "You've given me a lot to think about, maybe I should return the favor, later.....?"

Ray nodded. "Sounds good to me." He took a deep breath as well, surprised at how much he had been talking. "Also... I agree with what you said, but..." He frowned again, seeming to be unable to full shake his worry. "I just don't think everyone gets it. The others didn't seem to be that impressed over the times I was hasty, to protect everyone. Like, in Opelucid, I tried to help protect Sonja while she was off guard, but it just got me yelled at by like everyone. I get that it was a bit overkill, but considering that fight, I thought it was necessary..." He sighed, as he glanced over the water again. "... Am I too overprotective of everyone...?"

"Ray, if there is anything I learned while I've hung around you guys, it is......" Evan spoke softly. "That people are going to get hurt, no matter how protective you are of them. It could be the outside world.......or you who hurt them."

Ray stayed quiet from that. "... Should I try to stop doing that somehow, then...?" He seemed a bit melancholic, as he thought for a moment of the reason why he accepted the blackmail. Of why he was drawn into this mess.

"Honestly, don't change." Evan said. "That you are willing to do so much for us. But, Ray, fair is fair. If you're gonna do that sorta thing for us, at least allow us to do the same for you. That's what I believe. Is that fair to you?"

Ray nodded, unsure whether it would actually help, but he agreed with that. He stayed quiet for a bit, as he bit his lip. He didn't want to talk about Sonja too much, but there was just one more thing that he just wanted a second opinion on...

"C'mon, Ray, don't you have anything more to say?" Evan said, smiling at the Separatist. "I know it's a bit of a tricky question, but I thought you of all people would have an answer..."

Ray looked over, but nodded again. "I think it's fair. I just dunno if anyone will ever have that chance." He scratched his head again, and bit his lip for a moment. "Do you mind me saying one last thing about Sonja? Or, well, not about her, but a worry I have or so, and all that stuff..."

"Speak your mind, Ray." Evan said cheerfully. "And I shall listen."

"... I'm worried she doesn't like me or something. I mean, I just... When she left, that was twice she left without waiting. And she never actually said goodbye or so." Ray grimaced slightly. "Maybe it's a crazy thing to be worried about... Maybe I'm totally wrong... I just, I don't know."

".......Do you care about her?"

Evan's voice rang in a very sincere tone. He had a feeling there was something familiar about this situation. But he had to make sure. He didn't want Ray to regret telling him this.

"Do you truly care about her in another way?"

Ray didn't answer right away. After a little bit, he nodded slowly. It seemed almost one of resignation, but it was there. "A secret of mine, yeah."

"I'm pretty sure, she still likes you, Ray." Evan said, aiming to comfort him. "Just because you don't say good bye, does not mean you hate someone....."

Evan then held out his hand. "As long as you are honest, I am sure that things will be fine...."

Ray didn't seem quite so reassured. "Maybe. But after the past week or two, I'm just not sure." Ray closed his eyes for a moment. "I'll apologize to Ryan, though, next chance I get."

"Sounds like a plan, Ray." Evan spoke kindly. "If you have anything else on your mind later, I am here to talk with you, buddy."

Ray gave a smile that seemed a little odd. "Alright. Thanks for the help, too." He said, and turned away, as the smile faded once it couldn't be seen anymore. As Ray began to walk toward his room, a troubled look crept onto his face again. Evan had good points, but from what he could figure of the situation... the orange haired man wasn't certain just how well being honest would help here.

Konuju · January 6, 2016

IC: Paul
"I didn't come here to sightsee," the blacksmith said as he grabbed another cinnamon bun. He had a hint of irritation in his voice, although if Jenny looked closely, he would see a mix of sadness and weariness in his eyes as well. "I came here to get my daughter, and once I find her we're going home. The only sight I want to see is my little Ellen in her mother's arms once more."

OOC:

OOC: Wow! Another jam. Dahlia should have made toast for breakfast.

Well, Dahlia might not have made toast, but at least she got her jam.

IC: Dahlia/Ryan
"Do you need someone to talk to...?"

For a moment, Dahlia was greeted with silence. Then a muffled "No" came through the door.

Dahlia blinked, shaking her head. "For some reason you don't sound so sincere." she replied, leaning against the wall. "I don't really have anything better to do right now. You can let me know when you change your mind."

Again there was silence. Then Ryan spoke again, a hint of irritation in his voice. "Look, I've already talked to Ray, and Evan, and even Xander. I don't need another lecture about not beating myself up over everything."

"Hmm. I see." Dahlia said, sighing. She stood by the door some more, thinking silently. "Well, who said I was gonna lecture at all? Seems like what you need right now is just someone to talk to." the gardener said. "I just want to listen to you, hear what's going on. I won't be babbling on and on afterwards. Is that reasonable?"

The silence was longer this time, and the gardener suspected Ryan was weighing his choices. When at last he spoke, his voice was quieter, and Dahlia had to struggle to hear him through the door. "You won't like what I have to say."

"...I think I'll be the judge of that." she replied in a kind tone. "Could you let me in, though? It's kinda hard to hear through this door." Dahlia asked, rubbing the back of her head.

"It's unlocked."

"Oh." Dahlia stood around awkwardly for a bit. "...Well alright then! I guess I'll let myself in?" She slowly opened the door, closing it behind her when she walked in. "So. Start from the beginning, please." she asked, giving him a kind smile.

Ryan was sitting on the edge of the bed, a weary look on his face. He looked over at Dahlia for a moment before looking back down at his feet. "Before I begin... I have a question for you. What do you think of how our captain's been treating you?"

Dahlia bit her lip, and blushed very slightly. "...T-to be honest, I, um, don't really know how to react to that stuff..." she muttered, putting a hand behind her neck awkwardly. "I, um, yeah, just not used to flirting and all. I didn't know how to react to that and stuff, but I-I got a little uncomfortable. Yeah..." the gardener muttered. "What's this got to do with anything?"

The Liberty agent twiddled his thumbs, looking very uncomfortable. He continued to stare at his feet as the color started to rise in his cheeks. He took a deep breath. "I... I've done the same thing. Th-the flirting, that is. I'm just like the captain."

Dahlia blinked, resting her chin against her wrist. She remained silent for a while, before nodding. "Okay. What happened?" she asked, keeping a soft and comforting tone. The middle Seaton didn't want to upset Ryan, who already seemed to be very flustered...

Ryan closed his eyes. "What happened? I'm still asking myself that question." The Liberty agent took another deep breath and buried his face in his hands. "Sonja Baron happened. I... I don't know how to explain it, I just... went too far. I tried to draw her in, but I only pushed her away."

Dahlia's expression softened, and she moved closer to Ryan and hugged him comfortingly. "Shhh, shhh, breathe deeply..." she said, patting his back. "You liked this Sonja Baron, then? Once you're able, could you be able to tell me more? Seems like you've got a lot to say..." the gardener noted, still trying to calm him down.

Ryan nodded even as he sniffled. Following the gardener's instructions he took several deep breaths before continuing. "Sh-she's a fellow Liberty agent, from Unova," he explained. "She acted as a tour guide of sorts during our missions there. She was a great friend, and at some point I started to think of her as more than a friend." Ryan paused and blushed, as if he was still uncomfortable with admitting his crush. "Problem is, well, those feelings weren't mutual. We didn't see each other for about six months, but after that I couldn't keep my eyes off her. I thought I was being cute, or romantic... but after seeing Captain Jack today, I realize I was nothing more than obnoxious at best, obsessive at worst." He sniffled again, and tears started to well up in his eyes as he looked straight at Dahlia. "No girl should have to put up with that kind of behavior, especially from someone who's supposed to be her friend."

"Hmm. That's what happened?" she muttered, still rubbing Ryan's back comfortingly. "...What happened to Sonja after you fell for her? What happened that made you regret so much...?" Dahlia asked, freeing an arm to wipe away Ryan's tears.

Something in either Dahlia's words or actions made Ryan's eyes water even more, and he took a moment to wipe his tears on his own sleeve before continuing. "D-do you know why we're here...? On this boat? I know you and your brother just kind of joined us, but how much do you know of our mission?"

Dahlia hugged Ryan tighter, thinking for a moment. "Well... It's Ellen we're worried about, right? She got kidnapped from what I've heard..." she muttered, biting her lip. "...That's not all though, is it?"

Ryan shook his head. "S-Sonja was with us, trying to help us find Ellen. Ellen was kidnapped by someone working for John Ford -- or The Shadowed Man, as he's called. But Sonja..." He broke down again, burying his face in Dahlia's shoulder as hot tears rolled down his cheeks and onto her sleeve. "Sh-she... she joined Ford willingly. E-Evan and Ray... t-told me it wasn't my fault... B-but I still feel guilty. W-we did not part on good terms at all..."

The middle Seaton nodded at Ryan's words, closing her eyes. "I understand. Shhh, it's okay; cry for as long as you need to." she said comfortingly, rubbing his back soothingly. "It's alright... I know you feel guilty. That's understandable..." Dahlia hugged him tighter. "Take as long as you need. If you need to cry, let the tears flow..." Ryan nodded as his shoulders heaved. He was quiet for a few minutes, the silence only broken by the slow creaking of the boat and his occasional sniffles. Dahlia held him close while he sobbed, offering what comfort she could provide. Finally, she looked up and smiled. "There. Do you feel a bit better, now?"

The Liberty agent pulled back from the hug and wiped his remaining tears on his sleeve. He nodded silently. "Th-thank you for listening to me. Sorry for just dumping all that on you. I just never realized how I must've made Sonja feel until I saw your reaction to the captain."

Dahlia nodded, sighing. "Nah, it's fine. I understand why you feel the way you do. It's good you talked it out." she said, smiling. "I mean, I don't think your situation is exactly the same... But hey, you're moving forward all the same, huh?"

"Honestly, I feel like it keeps weighing over me, like I can't move forward." Ryan bit his lip, but gave her a smile nonetheless. "It is good having someone to talk to, though. I just wish I could talk to Sonja herself about it."

"Well, I suppose little old me will have to do for now." Dahlia replied, shrugging. "I know you don't really want a lecture on how you're fine and great. I will say, if you ever need anyone to talk or vent to, well... I'm here." she said, smiling. "Is there anything else on your mind, maybe? I can stay for a bit to listen."

Ryan scratched the back of his head. "Well... I know you probably think this sounds crazy. But in Fortree I was approached by a man calling himself Gluttony. Or rather... I summoned him. With my own gluttony for attention. You see... I couldn't keep my eyes off Sonja... and I didn't want her to take her eyes off me." Ryan bit his lip as the color rose in his cheeks. "Things just got out of control."

Dahlia listened curiously, nodding her eyes when things suddenly seemed to click into place "You said Gluttony? Could it be that... Is it possible?" she muttered, putting a finger to her chin. "That did seem a bit too fishy to just be an isolated incident, but..."

"Hm?" Ryan looked up at her curiously. "Did you encounter Gluttony as well?"

Dahlia shook her head. "No, nothing happened to me. But... You see, a few days ago back in Celadon, Aspen... Ran into trouble." she said, biting her lip. "He was whisked away along with two others by something calling itself 'Pride'. He had to fight valiantly to avoid being consumed, from what I understand... Not physically, but mentally and emotionally." The gardener looked curiously over at Ryan. "Does that sound similar to what you had to do with this Gluttony?"

The color drained from Ryan's face at the description of Aspen's encounter. He nodded slowly. "I know I've only just met your brother, but he doesn't seem like one who'd be a target for Pride. Did... did he seem noticeably different after his battle?"

The gardener closed her eyes, and nodded. "He... He's quieter. More melancholy, ever since the battle." she said, looking down. "He was always so bitter beforehand... Aspen hid his anger with a sharp tongue; but I felt it. There was jealousy, cynicism, and a lack of faith in those around him. He was disillusioned with the idea of goodness and heroes. I blame myself for that by allowing things between him and Olivia to go so sour..." Dahlia admitted, putting a hand on her neck. "But after he fought Pride... That's all gone. All I feel now is sadness and regret. I do hope he'll be alright..."

Ryan's lip curled into a frown. "Well... if his bitterness is gone, that's a good thing, right?"

"Well, yes. I just hope he doesn't withdraw away from others, though..." Dahlia said with a sigh. "It's what he would do before he learned how to hide the pain with wit. I don't want to see Aspen going back to old habits..."

"Withdrawing away from others...?" Ryan gave a wry smile. "Kinda like I'm doing, huh?"

Dahlia chucked a bit, nodding. "Yeah, like that. But you don't have to do that, no more than Aspen does." She gave him a warm smile. "I'm here for my friends, alright? That's why I'd be willing to listen to you whenever you want. I can't promise I can solve all your problems, but I'm offering to do what I can. What do you say?"

Ryan smiled back. "Xander told me more or less the same thing. I'd hate to keep throwing all my personal problems on you, but if you're willing to listen, that would be great. Sometimes I think I just need someone who can listen and not try and turn my life around for me. Thanks, Dahlia."

"No problem. I do my best." she replied, giggling slightly. "Well, like I said, I don't have much to do. If you want me to stick around, I could." Dahlia said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "If you want to talk about anything else, feel free."

A thoughtful look appeared in Ryan's eyes. "Well, while you're here... I'd been meaning to talk to you about your Reverse Powers. You were pretty awesome last night."

Dahlia blinked, not expecting such a drastic change in subject. "O-oh, you want to talk about that...?" she said, blushing slightly. "That was... Interesting. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I was even doing. That was just a spur of the moment thing..." the gardener admitted, giggling slightly. "I had asked Mr. Giratina to give me the powers to keep everyone safe, not really knowing how to do that. Good thing it worked out, huh?"

Ryan chuckled. "Yes, good thing indeed. How did it feel? Did things just come naturally for you, or do you need to like, undergo special training or something?"

"I've never had special training yet, but I think I do... See, while I sort of knew what to do, I didn't exactly know how to control my Reverse abilities." Dahlia explained. "And after I used them, I kinda... Well, collapsed. So the heroism, I suppose, was natural. Using my powers? Not really..."

"Seems you're as natural of a hero as Evan," Ryan said with a laugh. His spirits seemed to be improving with the change in subject. He offered Dahlia a genuine smile. "What you did last night was way better than anything I've ever done."

"I'm not so sure of that to be honest..." Dahlia said sheepishly, rubbing the back of her head. "Maybe it was impressive, but, well... Like I said, I didn't know how to control it. All of the things I did just sorta... Happened." she explained, blushing a bit at admitting it. "So if I need tips for anything... It'd be that."

"Well, I can't promise I'd be of much help." Ryan shrugged. "But after you took the time to listen to my sob story, I owe it to you to at least try and help."

"Thanks, Ryan. That's very sweet of you." she said with a smile. "So, you said you've used Reverse before, right? How did you get yourself to, you know... Use it when you wanted?" Dahlia asked, looking over curiously.

Ryan shifted on the bed, looking down at his hands for a moment. "I'm... not entirely sure myself," he admitted. "Kinali just told me to focus on the void... on the nothing. I never really had much practice using it, and it's certainly been a while, but from what I remember, I just tried to focus on numbing the pain." He shrugged. "That's not to say that's the only way to go about it. Evan might be able to help more, and I know Kinali could help if you ever managed to find him."

"Hmm... The void? Numbing the pain?" Dahlia repeated, raising an eyebrow. "That sounds... Weird. But then again, I suppose Reverse is an odd power. Thanks, but uh, could you maybe explain more? It's fine if you don't know. I'll just ask Evan if he could help me out or so; I'm not sure what the situation with Kinali is, but we'll have to see."

Ryan nodded and bit his lip, looking like he was struggling to remember the details of his power. "My ability let me reverse the effects of status conditions on my Pokémon in battle," he said. "Sleep, paralysis, stuff like that. So this might not correlate to your full reversal powers, but I tried to focus on the feeling of those status effects. The pain of a burn, the disorientation of confusion. And then I tried to just relax, and try to feel nothing. There might've been something more to it, but after that, whatever condition my Pokémon had went away." He glanced at Dahlia. "That's what I meant earlier about it being such a weird power. It takes more effort than you think to feel nothing."

Dahlia listened on, frowning a bit. "That... Hmm. That's very strange." she said, rubbing the back of her head. "To be honest, I'm not sure I can tackle that right away... I could barely use my power for more than a few minutes after all... Maybe I do have to ask Evan for help?" she said, rubbing the back of her head. "Not that you didn't help, it's just... I'm not sure how to approach practice from now on."

"Yeah..." Ryan scratched the back of his head. "Maybe just practice on your endurance? I mean, that's what my Pokémon do when they try to learn a new attack."

"Hmm. This is going to be a different experience, probably. I can't possibly let Mr. Giratina and everyone else down now that I've been given this role though... So I'll just have to forge on." Dahlia declared, smiling slightly. "I mean, once I've gotten my endurance down, I'll be a lot more useful to everyone, since I won't be passing out after a few minutes..." she muttered, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly.

Ryan's eyes lit up. "Mr. Giratina! Er... Giratina. He might be able to help you, right?" He scratched his head again. "I mean, he's gone through Kinali and who knows how many Heroes of Reverse before you... surely he'd be able to help you harness your powers. I mean, it's worth a shot, right?"

"Hmm... I could maybe talk to him. Though, he only really shows up in reflective surfaces... Otherwise it'd be just be him speaking to me in my mind." Dahlia put a finger to her chin. "I'm... Not sure how to get his attention, though. Usually he speaks up when I ask him alone, but I don't know if he talks when there are others around."

Ryan frowned. "Well, do you need to step out and talk to him, then? Do you have like a pocket mirror or something with you?"

"Uhh, not really. That's fine though, I don't have to start training right away; not when there are dishes and such to be cleaned." Dahlia replied, chuckling lightly. "Though, I do think it's been nice to talk to you. Try not to linger too much on what you did, alright? And if you do, you just tap me on the shoulder and I'll sit down with you again."

The Liberty agent smiled. "Thank you, Dahlia. I'll try not to think about it too much. And you be sure and keep me updated on how your training goes, alright?"

"No problem, Ryan!" Dahlia said, smiling. "We should talk to each other more often... I can talk about my training and you can keep me updated on other things. It was nice to meet you!" she exclaimed, holding her hand out for the Liberty agent to shake.

Ryan smiled back and shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too, Dahlia. I can't thank you enough for hearing me out."

"No problem! Anytime for a friend, you know?" the gardener replied, smiling. "I might have to leave to wash the dishes... But if you want to keep talking, we can." she offered, smiling.

"Oh right, dishes." Ryan gave a sheepish smile. "Tell you what. I think I'm all talked out right now, but I'll give you a hand with those dishes. I did promise earlier that we'd all help with that." The Liberty agent stood up, walked over to his door, and opened it. "After you."

Dahlia giggled, walking through the door briskly. "Practicing your manners, huh?" she asked amusedly. "Thanks. Now, you said something about helping me out with the dishes?"

**Blessed Blade** · January 6, 2016

-==IC: Jenny==-

Jenny studied Paul's face for a bit, as she thought for a moment. "That would be a good sight." The girl agreed with a nod. "But, don't you think you might be a bit too... absorbed in this? I mean, it's good to have a goal, and we all wanna help Ellen..." She frowned slightly, as she didn't like the sound of how overly focused he was. "But, we have to take time for ourselves sometimes. And we have time to wait, so why not take in the sights now? It just feels wrong to waste the time that could be used to take in the scenery."

Konuju · January 6, 2016

IC: Paul

The blacksmith warily eyed Jenny as he sipped his coffee. She seemed nice enough, but she was a Plasma agent, which made him take anything she said with a grain of salt. Not that he'd admit that, of course. He could tell this was a tight-knit group, and if the response to Ryan's reaction towards Chloe was any indication, any form of disagreement or strife would be met in kind. He needed these people to help him find his daughter; and so he was careful to mind his tongue, in order to avoid any disputes.

He set his coffee back down on the table, keeping his eyes on the Plasma agent before him. "She's my daughter," he said slowly, careful to keep his voice calm. "I have every right to be absorbed in this. Until she's safe in my arms once more, I can't afford such luxuries as tourism. There'll be plenty of time to enjoy the ocean once I have my Ellen back."

**Blessed Blade** · January 6, 2016

-==IC: Jenny==-

"It doesn't sound like that, though." Jenny stated in a calm, but concerned, tone. She looked up at Paul with a frown. "You sound like as soon as that happens, you'll head right back as soon as possible. Why can't you even allow some time now? Do you think that by constantly being on guard and worrying about the future, that we'll get to Ellen faster? Please take some time to relax. We're at least a day out from One Island; we've still got time enough to relax before we can get to Four Island." She went quiet for a moment, as she looked out the window. "I'm glad you're doing all you can to help her..." She furrowed her brow slightly, however, as she glanced over at Paul after. "I just worry you might... be pushing yourself, and everyone, a bit too hard."

Konuju · January 6, 2016

IC: Paul

Paul bit his lip as he continued to stare at the Plasma agent across from him. "I just watched my daughter get snatched out of my arms," he said in a low, trembling voice. "So I think you can forgive me for being a little on guard. With all the effort Ford took to actually get Ellen, with all it took for McKinley to actually change her mind about things... I don't think we'll be getting my daughter back without a fight. So I need to be ready. You and your friends are used to facing enemies left and right -- especially those involved in the war. But me? I'm just a blacksmith. If I'm not prepared, Ellen might not have a father to run back to." He gave a heavy sigh and massaged his brow with a rough hand. "As for once I do get my Ellen back... I promised my wife we'd head back as soon as possible. She's just as worried as I am, and all she can do is sit around and wait for my updates. It would be cruel for me to spend time with Ellen and leave Anna home alone."

**Blessed Blade** · January 6, 2016

-==IC: Jenny==-

"Hmm..." Jenny thought it over with a nod. "We do need to be ready. But... Take it from me, to be on constant guard, and worry about every little thing that could go wrong, will just end up causing more problems in the long run." The girl sighed, but gave a smile. "One part of being prepared, is to give time for yourself sometimes. It'll do none of us any good for all of us to be paranoid over everything that could go wrong. And if you're going to be leaving as soon as possible, then that means that you should take the time now, while it's still calm and quiet."

Jenny took a bite of food as she waited for Paul's reply. Something seemed a bit off, though, as if something other than what he was talking about was troubling him. She didn't question that yet, but was curious as to what was bugging Paul in general.

Konuju · January 6, 2016

IC: Paul

"Who's to say we can't enjoy the scenery in Village Bridge?" Paul studied Jenny carefully. He was starting to get a little suspicious of all this probing. She and Evan claimed they weren't here on Plasma business, but he could never be too certain when it came to the Unovan government. "Things will be perfectly calm and quiet once I get Ellen back. Sure, we can't have everyone being on guard, but someone has to be."

At his feet, Terry gave a small whimper, sensing the growing unease in the air.

MELON LORD · January 6, 2016

OOC: Sorry for the absence, went to Oklahoma

IC: Xander and Sylph

Xander sighed as he watched Ryan leave, followed shortly by Dahlia. As he was settling back into his seat, he took notice of the growing tension between Paul and Jenny. He didn't know Evan's girlfriend very well, but she seemed nice enough. Paul was starting to get growly, and Jenny wasn't easing off.

The Kalos trainer cleared his throat. "Hey, guys. How about we let this conversation die out here? We're all after the same thing, right now. We'll let the rest come after we've rescued Ellen."

Sylph had subtly moved to stand behind Xander instead of sitting. She watched the other trainers closely, waiting for either of them to act with hostility. Paul is Ellen's father. What happens after we have rescued her is up to him, barring unforeseen circumstances. As Xander said, however, we don't need to worry about that until afterwards.

Xander waited, his hand clasped on his belt, beside the pokéballs that contained Ellen and Vixen. If the others kept this up, they might need to break up a fight.

**Blessed Blade** · January 6, 2016

-==IC: Jenny==-

The look in Jenny's eyes hardened at what Paul said. "You're older than me, and yet you're more naive than I am." The girl held her hand up to Xander, as he approached and gave the warning. She wasn't about to let things get out of control, but yet... "Do you really believe that? My brother told me about what happened to our parents. It wasn't a product of war, it was a product of a criminal who was purely neutral. Things won't be 'perfectly calm and quiet'. And you're a hypocrite for thinking that after what happened in Castelia." Jenny took a breath, to try and calm herself. "Why do you have such a chip on your shoulder, anyway? As Xander said, we're all here for the same reason. I was trying to help, so everyone wouldn't be stressed out of their mind, as has been the case for the past week. And yet, you've just seemed to ignore everything, just because. Do you think that we're vulnerable, just because we aren't constantly glancing around in fear of what'll happen next? If we believe that, they've won, since we'll just defeat ourselves that way."

Konuju · January 6, 2016

IC: Paul

"I'm not saying we should be paranoid," Paul said through grit teeth, glancing from Xander to Sylph to Jenny. "I'm just saying we can't just let our guard down and act like nothing bad will happen. When we do that, that's when the enemy's won, because that's when they'll strike."

At that point Terry started to bark, warning everyone to calm down. The Herdier had seen enough fights break out in the past few days, and he didn't want to see another one.

Paul closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat. "You don't understand how hard it is to raise a daughter when war is on your very doorstep, threatening to spread like wildfire. I know this world is full of strife. I know I can't make things perfect. I just want what's best for my daughter. I don't want her to have to worry or be afraid. Is that really too much to ask?"

**Blessed Blade** · January 6, 2016

-==IC: Jenny==-

"Sometimes you have to take a step back, and ask if what's best, is really what is wanted or needed." Jenny frowned slightly, as she sighed. "I know how you're feeling... but... is it really the right way to go about everything? Stressing yourself out, being on edge and nearly going to fights, and everything like that?" She took a deep breath again. "I might not know anything about raising a child... but I know what it's like to be treated as if I need to be just 'protected' for all my life." She looked over at Paul with a slight frown, however.

"Is there another reason you've seemed to be uncomfortable the last little while, though?"

Parugi · January 7, 2016

IC - Ethan Worth/Gavin Braner - Chapel, Lounge Area:

"You know, I was going to say that this might be a good opportunity to actually get to know each other . . ." Gavin muttered. After a moment, he shook his head and stood up. "I'm game if you are, Ethan."

"I'm always game," Ethan replied. "Follow me--training arenas are that way." He turned and pointed toward a door to the left, leading them through it. He grinned at Madison and Dack over his shoulder. "Just so you're aware, Gavin and I have seen a lot of action at this point--more than most other Rocket field agents can claim to their names--so don't expect us to go easy on you."

"Don't underestimate them, Ethan," Gavin said. "You don't want a repeat of Windy."

Ethan looked at Gavin. "Just playing around, buddy." He turned on his heel so that he was facing Luke, Madison, and Dack, all the while continuing to walk backwards. "In all seriousness, you said you were in Celadon during the big attack that was going on there?" He gestured to himself and Gavin. "I don't think we've mentioned it, but we were there, too. Can you believe that kind of coincidence?"

Konuju · January 7, 2016

IC: Paul

Paul narrowed his eyes. "What are you implying?" he asked the Plasma agent, failing to keep the steel out of his voice. "My daughter was stolen from me; isn't that reason enough for you?" Terry whined again, prompting the blacksmith to give Xander an apologetic look. "Sorry about all this," he muttered. "Maybe I should take a leaf out of Ryan's book and just take some time to cool down."

IC: Dack/Madison/Luke

"Yeah, it's a small world," Madison said as she followed behind Ethan and Gavin. She had a grin of anticipation on her face for their upcoming battle, one that was so happy, Dack found he couldn't be mad at her for dragging him into a tag team battle. After all, it was just for fun; this wasn't going to be a life-or-death situation like Celadon was.

"It sure is crazy," Dack muttered with a slight chuckle. "Hopefully you were actually fighting for Team Rocket, and not for Hannah's army."

"Did you see the barricade?" Luke asked excitedly. "I was part of that. We trapped a large chunk of the army in the west by barricading the streets with a wall forty feet high!"

"It was not forty feet," Madison said with a playful nudge. "That story gets bigger every time you tell it. And you forget that half the army escaped using flying or teleporting Pokémon."

"It was still epic," Luke said defensively. "Someone needs to get in touch with Pokéstar Studios; that battle would make an awesome movie!"

MELON LORD · January 9, 2016

IC: Xander and Sylph

The Kalos duo nodded. "I think we should all just relax for a bit, go de-stress some. I have training to get back to, so... You both have fun doing what you do." He walked out quietly, a scowl drawing his eyebrows down. They hadn't even been on the ship a full 24 hours, and already things were getting tense between the group.

What should we do? he thought. I want to find Ellen, just like them, but if everyone's getting on each other's nerves already...

Would it be best to take Paul and go, aura tracker or no? Or would it be better to stay in a large group? If he did split off with Paul, would that build resentment in people he considered friends? Would they want to keep Paul and himself out of the way later? What would--

You think too much, Sylph said, grabbing his hand. Let's go train and get your mind off of it.

Xander chuckled, squeezing her hand. You're right, of course. Thank you. They walked into their cabin, and Xander winced as he remembered the state in which he had left it. Riiiiight . . . He sighed and started picking up splinters of wood and glass.

Edited January 9, 2016 by A Conversation

JiMing · January 9, 2016

OOC: This oughta be delicious, folks. You've had your strawberry and blueberry jam. Now get ready for the ultimate innovation in fruit spreads... MIXED BERRY JAMS.

IC: Chloe/Olivia/Palmer

Tower Tycoon Palmer trudged through the light snow that covered Sinnoh's northernmost city even in the middle of the summer. The icy flakes had covered up the scorch marks on the ground in front of the Snowpoint Pokémon Center; remnants of the battle with the rogue Heatran.

The Frontier Brain had already spoken with the people at the Center and surrounding areas. Most of them had been shaken up at the time, but it seemed the city had recovered relatively quickly from what could have been a much worse disaster. The Pokémon Center reported nothing had been damaged in the attack, although the nurses were only able to give secondhand reports. Apparently Vanessa, the nurse in charge at the time of the Heatran attack, was currently out checking on an out-patient. Palmer knew he could probably trust the other nurses' judgement that everything was fine, but he was curious to hear Vanessa's story firsthand, and he knew Dack would want to know if anything had gone wrong because of the Heatran's rampage.

After asking the other nurses where this Vanessa had gone (and working around the legal issues of gleaning the address of an outpatient without said patient's written consent), Palmer found himself in the northernmost outskirts of the city, in a small neighborhood with houses spread so far apart that at first glance they appeared completely isolated from one another.

As he approached the address he had been given, Palmer saw two figures leaving the house -- the nurse and her patient, Palmer figured. He waved them down, but as he drew closer, the Frontier Brain realized that the two people looked surprisingly familiar. He did a double take.

"Olivia!" he called. "Zach! Fancy meeting you here!"

Upon being addressed by her old name, Chloe paused in hesitation, and glanced over at Palmer uncertainly as she noticed him approaching. She hadn't expected him to be here, and in that moment realized that there were a few people that she had forgotten to tell. "H-hi..." She offered a small smile, but used her 'new' voice to reply, instead of masking it like normal. She wasn't quite sure what else to say for the moment, caught off guard by this surprise appearance.

"Huh? Wait... It's you?" Olivia replied, turning to face Palmer. The red-haired trainer was very surprised to see the Frontier Brain from Celadon pop up again, though she recalled the Battle Frontier taking place in Sinnoh... "Oh. Uh, hello. Weird how we bumped into each other again." she said, not really sure what else to say. The eldest Seaton turned towards her girlfriend, mouthing a question on what to tell him, if Palmer didn't already recognize her change in appearance, she wasn't sure how he would react to a more direct statement...

"So what brings you two lovebirds to the coldest point in Sinnoh?" If Palmer suspected anything about Chloe, he didn't say it. Instead he gave the two a warm smile. "If you're looking for Dack, I'm afraid he's not here yet. He went up to Chapel to report Hannah to the authorities."

"Oh, um, we were just, um, visiting my cousin... Remember how Madison and Luke said they hadn't heard from her in a while...?" Chloe seemed a little uncertain of exactly what to say, both thankful that her coat was bulky enough to hide things, and a little disappointed as that might've made talking about this a lot less awkward.

Olivia nodded, rubbing the back of her head. "Yeah, so the two of us wanted to check if she was safe... And well, she's definitely safe now." she explained, but sighed, looking down. "Anna must have gotten into an accident back then, though... She can't walk still. So she's stuck in her house and can only get around on crutches." the red-haired trainer muttered. "So I guess we're here in Snowpoint to keep her company for a while. You?"

"Well, Dack actually asked me to come check on the city," Palmer said. "Last time he was here, Hannah had set that Heatran loose near the Pokémon Center. Thankfully it looks like nothing too catastrophic happened... definitely not on the scale of Sootopolis or Celadon. But the nurse who was in charge when the attack happened isn't at the Center right now... turns out she's checking on a patient: one Anna Scalene. I thought the name sounded familiar. I came here looking for the nurse. And it looks like instead I found you. I'm sure Dack, Madison, and Luke will be pleased to know your cousin is alright and in good company."

Chloe nodded, giving a small smile again, before seeming to become nervous once again. "That was nice of him to do that, then..." She said with a slight nod, as she seemed perplexed slightly. "Umm... Mr. Palmer? Do you... happen to know anything about, um, well, um..." She paused uncertainly, and decided to change her mind about that. "Well, about what happened after the army left Celadon? We kinda had a few troubles and all..."

"We... Uh, sorry for disappearing I guess? We didn't want to wait to check up on Anna, so we left the next day after breakfast. Then we kinda got held up back in Lilycove for a bit..." Olivia explained, rubbing the back of her head. "Hannah's been taken in, right? The psychopath and her army are definitely getting what they deserve, right?" she asked, suddenly scowling. "What a rotten witch. She better be stuck in a damp prison cell for the rest of her life."

The Frontier Brain scratched his head. "Well, I can't speak for what happened to Hannah, but I can only assume Rocket knows who she is and what she's done, especially after Dack went in to report her. I can tell you that the Celadon Pokémon Center was spared, thanks to your friend Natalie. The Pokémon Center was pretty much the hub of the relief efforts until Saffron was able to lend its help. It's definitely going to take the city some time to recover from the attack, though. Thankfully it seems horrible acts like these are what brings the people together more than ever."

Chloe nodded with a smile, as she heard how things had gone. "That's a relief... I'm glad everything turned out alright in that case; and at least better than..." She trailed off, as she recalled how Sootopolis hadn't gotten off quite as easily; though not for a lack of trying. "I hope it recovers. It was such a pretty town, from what little we got to see before it was attacked..." For a moment, her thoughts turned to Kiri, and wondered how her and Sootopolis in general were doing, after the attack.

"Hmmmm... Well, that's a relief, then." Olivia said, taking a deep breath. "Sorry. Temper flared up. I really don't like Hannah. Not at all." she muttered, looking down at the ground. "Fighting her stupid goons didn't help any, either. She caused the destruction of two cities. At the very least, that calls for life in prison, I don't care what the law says." the eldest Seaton muttered, balling up her fist. "So many people dead. And for what? Her own selfish desires? Irredeemable. The only thing that would give those families affected by her solace, is Hannah being brought to justice."

"What Hannah did was horrible," Palmer agreed. "I think that's why Dack wanted to make sure the authorities took her in. I imagine he'll be back here once he's done at Chapel, so if you two are still around you can ask him what became of Hannah." The man scratched his chin with a grave frown. "Of course, not only did she kill people, she also took advantage of her role as a Rocket Executive. I'm sure Team Rocket will have a thorough punishment for her."

"...Fair enough." Olivia said in response, nodding. "Hopefully politics don't screw anything over regarding her punishment. Though, knowing her, she's probably got the jury hung, or something, and will get off scot-free." she muttered bitterly. "Such a selfish and soulless person wouldn't admit defeat so easily... I hope things don't go the way I think they will. If not... Well. I'll just have to track her down and deliver justice myself."

"Sounds like you would've wanted to go with Dack," Palmer said with a chuckle. "It's a shame things were as crazy as they were after the battle. That Willows girl was in a bad pinch... broken shoulder, I think. Madison told me she was alright, but the last I saw her she was running out of the Pokémon Center, with your brother running after her." He looked at Chloe. "It would've been nice to at least tie up all our loose ends."

Chloe stayed quiet throughout the conversation as they talked about Hannah. She wanted to simultaneously agree, but also disagree. What if she learned from it...? She could have learned what she did was wrong... She thought to herself; but got jarred out of it, as Palmer mentioned Shannon and what had happened to her during the fight. "Oh... right..." She awkwardly giggled for a moment, and frowned slightly. "Well, um, things kinda got a little more... 'pinchy'..." She struggled to find the right words to start off explaining, and glanced over at Olivia for a moment, to try and get help on how to explain what had happened.

Olivia stayed silent for a while, waiting for Chloe to continue speaking. She waited for an awkwardly long time, before realizing she was expected to continue the conversation. "O-oh. Okay. So... Next time we ran into Ryan and Shannon, well... We ran into someone. That someone tried to kill us, Ryan almost made a huge mistake, and Shannon stopped that, getting herself hurt in the process." she explained, sighing. "Trying to recall everything that happened exactly would be difficult..."

"Someone tried to kill you?" Palmer looked at the two trainers in concern. "Someone other than Hannah? Another rogue from her army?"

Chloe shook her head. "No. I'm guessing either Celadon was popular for people with a grudge, or it was a target of opportunity after seeing us there... but my good-for-nothing father showed up again, and tried to turn my sister against us, and tried to kill all of us, because we stopped his plans six months ago." She paused for a moment, and smiled sheepishly. "Okay, well maybe I didn't stop his plans, but I wanted to. I just... kinda was being used as a pawn in it." She gave an awkward smile, but overall seemed to have come a long way from being unable to talk about Unova at all.

Olivia squeezed Chloe's hand comfortingly as she spoke. "Apparently he's an insane sociopath. Not very surprised though. He never treated anyone around him kindly, from what I remember..." Olivia muttered, sighing. "He's taken care of, though. I doubt he has the influence and tools at his disposal to manipulate the system, so he'll face justice for sure." she said, grinning a bit. "Hey, maybe we should visit him in prison. Laugh in his face about how much of a failure he is." the red-haired trainer suggested to Chloe, seeming amused by that idea.

"What good will taunting him do?" Palmer asked. "He's already behind bars, right? I think you'd be better off doing other things, like making sure Hannah gets the same treatment. What happened to the Willows girl, though? Is she alright?"

"She's doing better now; though she was in kinda rough shape for the first little while. Ryan saw it as his fault, but I think he was doing better last we saw him; though he went in place of us, to help a friend who went missing or something." Chloe, as much as she cared for her friends, had really not been following that discussion very well, so all she knew was that Ellen had disappeared and that they were looking for her.

Olivia nodded, turning back to Palmer. "Remember Ellen? She's been kidnapped, apparently. My brother and sister are also helping Ryan search for her, me and Chloe decided to go with our original plan to check on Anna, though." she explained. "I hope they find her, and everything goes well... Though, admittedly they had a really large group, so they probably don't need us... Probably."

"That's right, Ellen was supposed to meet back with us in Celadon, wasn't she?" Palmer frowned. "I certainly hope she's okay, she was such a brave girl, helping us in Sootopolis and everything. Well, it sounds like you've got a lot going on, between Ellen, Anna, and Shannon."

Chloe nodded, as she seemed uncertain whether to mention anything about that Guy they'd enountered in Lilycove, since it might backfire on her if she ever gathered up the courage to reintroduce herself. "Yeah... I'm sure we can handle it, though..." She said nervously, as she tried and failed to cover up her reappearing uncertainty on what would be thought of her.

"Eh. We're tough enough to pull through." Olivia said, smiling somewhat. The red-haired trainer turned to her friend, tilting her head. "Say, do you happen to have anything else to say, maybe?" she asked, trying to give Chloe a slight nudge. "If you do, now would be a good opportunity."

"Umm... I don't think so; I-I think that's about it... It's only been a few days, after all..." She nervously laughed, shivering slightly to try and use the cold to her advantage to hide her nervousness about the situation a bit more.

Palmer smiled, pulling his coat tighter around him. "Well, if that's everything, I think I'd better head on inside and see if I can speak to that nurse. Maybe Anna too." He waved goodbye and started to head toward the house. He paused and turned to look back at the two trainers. "You two want to head inside too? You look pretty cold, Zach; your cheeks are red and you're shivering."

"I-I'm good..." Chloe said with a distracted look on her face, as she felt that her cheeks probably were red from a mixture of things that weren't her makeup at the moment. "I'll probably be fine once we start walking and such, yeah..."

"Alright," Palmer said with a shrug. "Well, it was good talking to you. See you around."

"...Yeah. See you later." Olivia said, waving goodbye. "Good luck to you, Palmer. Hopefully we see each other again someday."

"See ya..." Chloe managed a small smile, as she waved goodbye as well, even as she realized just how foolish she had been to not say anything... But she just didn't know how to actually do so.

IC: Aspen Seaton

Aspen sat quietly in his chair as Paul went back and forth with Jenny. He closed his eyes, listening to the cacophony and passion behind the argument, though he was surprised to hear even Xander spoke up. After a while, it was clear the tensions had simmered down, prompting him to stand up out of his seat.

"I think I'll take a moment to figure out what to do myself, then." the boy said, turning to walk outside the room. "Don't blow up the boat while I'm gone. Even if it becomes tempting." Aspen muttered, walking outside. Despite acting as though he didn't know what to do next, Aspen knew exactly where he was headed. It wasn't long before he walked by the room without a door, Xander and Sylph inside. "Hey. I'd knock on the door to ask to come in... But that wouldn't really work in this scenario." he said, shrugging.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Noriaki Kakyoin

**Blessed Blade** · January 9, 2016

OOC: Even more jams... Yare yare daze...

-==IC: Chloe/Olivia(Jam)==-

Olivia watched as Palmer left, leaving her and Chloe. "You didn't say a thing... Why?" she asked her friend, frowning. "Now he still thinks of you as Zach... Doesn't that make you upset? Why didn't you say anything...?" the red-haired trainer questioned, seeming confused.

Chloe stayed quiet, as she looked at the snow, uncertain what even to say to her. "I just... I don't know how to say anything. I hadn't expected this to happen, and after getting caught off guard like that, I just froze up..." She rubbed her arm a bit, as she had an uncertain look on her face from all of what had just happened.

"...Chloe. You're not Zach, right? So why are you letting people know you as that?" she said, gripping Chloe's hand tighter. "You don't have to be afraid of your identity. I mean, for those who don't believe you, okay, it happens, But what about everyone else? We want to support you, you know?" she said, smiling.

"What if it goes wrong, though...? You mentioned that people not believing me happens, but what if they're the ones who are 'everyone else', and everyone so far have just been the exceptions? what if I always just seem like a faker...?" Her voice grew quieter, as her nervous trembling became a little more obvious. She had thought that everything had been working right, but Palmer hadn't even had to blink to notice who it was.

"...Well. Never said that this would be easy." Olivia muttered, biting her lip. "Okay, fine. Let's scale it back. What about your friends? I thought you called them that one morning. Don't they all like you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure that there are enough people out there who would welcome you with open arms. It just won't happen right away... But no matter what happens, you have to believe in yourself." the red-haired trainer said. "None of it's easy. To be honest, I have trouble having confidence in myself. But knowing people who care about you... Well. It makes it easier."

Chloe nodded, but still didn't really seem totally convinced. "I'm scared... I thought things might work for me, and I want to have confidence, but I..." She bit her lip as well. "I thought I had enough confidence, and that I'd be noticed as the real me, but it didn't happen... do you really think I can do this...?" She looked up, wanting to believe what Olivia said, but just having a bad feeling about it.

"...Yes. Yes I do. I believe in you, Chloe, I want to see you succeed..." Olivia muttered, hugging her tight. "I know you can do it, okay? I'll be there, always. I have to make up for the years of not seeing the obvious..." she said sadly, looking down. "If anyone's hurt you... It's me. I should have known. But I didn't, even when I thought I was so close... I'm... I'm sorry. I'll make sure no one hurts you like that again..."

Chloe giggled slightly, a slightly distorted smile on her face from the worry that had etched onto it, but a genuine one. "That's not your fault, silly... Even if you had figured it out back then, I... probably wouldn't have admitted it..." She seemed a bit quiet for a moment, but sighed. "That's the trouble of being unable to say anything about it because of knowing the biggest reactions would be bad. Even if you knew, you wouldn't have been able to help me back then." Chloe returned the hug, with a reassuring smile on her face that was slowly beginning to overcome her worry. "Thank you..." She took a couple deep breaths, shivering for real as the cold air acted to jolt her back to reality more. "Maybe we should take Palmer's advice after all... and maybe have a redo at my chance to reintroduce myself..."

"Well, that's up to you." she replied, hugging a bit tighter to hold on to what little warmth she still had. "I mean... Inside sounds nice and warm and comfy... Though, do we know where Palmer went?" Olivia asked, frowning. "I think we might have to wait until next time we bump into each other, then..."

"Well..." Chloe scratched her head, as she thought back to what was said. "He had mentioned having to talk to a nurse and maybe Anna... So I'm guessing he's probably still at the house. Maybe if we're quick enough, we can warm up and talk to him at the same time." She giggled at the thought, knowing how much both of them weren't keen on the cold.

"Hmm... I suppose that would work, then." Olivia said, nodding. The girl hugged Chloe some more, and kissed her on the cheek. "Okay. If this is really our plan, you have to promise to be brave, okay? Hug me if you get scared... Though, don't choke me." she said teasingly, chuckling lightly. "But does that sound alright?"

Chloe giggled again, and nodded. "Sounds like a plan to me..." She smiled back at Olivia, and began to walk toward her cousin's house again. She still seemed a bit uneasy, but this time, was willing to give it her best shot.

Konuju · January 10, 2016

OOC: What's better than a mixed berry jam? Two servings of mixed berry jam.

IC: Chloe/Olivia/Palmer
When Chloe and Olivia opened the door, Palmer was in the middle of a conversation with Anna while the nurse was inspecting the girl's leg.

The Frontier Brain turned his head at the sound of the door opening. "Back so soon?" he asked with a chuckle. "I would've thought you'd be out longer. Too cold for ya?"

Chloe chuckled slightly. "Yeah, a little bi-" She was cut off shortly after that, however.

Anna peeked her head over Palmer's shoulder, the best she could. "Oh, hi Chloe! Hi Olivia! Palmer and I were just talking about Madison and Luke." She giggled, as she had not been filled in on what Palmer didn't know about yet. Chloe paused slightly, not having expected that to happen, and let that hang in the air for a moment. It was about then, that Anna realized that there might have been a mishap, and stayed quiet for the moment, wondering how things would proceed.

Palmer stared at the couple in confusion. "Chloe?" he repeated, looking down at Anna, then back at the trainer holding Olivia's hand. "You mean... Zach?" The Frontier Brain tilted his head curiously as he continued to stare at Chloe.

Olivia shook her head. "No. I dunno if you can get it, old man, but she-" she said, gesturing to Chloe, "-is my girlfriend. And I love her very much." she declared, leaning over to kiss her on the cheek. "Go on. Introduce yourself."

Despite the utter change in plans, Chloe took a deep breath, and stepped forward. "I am Chloe Hikari. I am me, no matter what ever happens; even if I'm showing myself differently than others saw before." She took her coat off for two reasons; to show her clothes better, and because she was getting a little overheated from having it on in the house. However, she looked up at Palmer, uncertain how he would take this. "I'm sorry for not mentioning this sooner... I was too scared of how things would go."

For a moment Palmer was silent, a look of shock on his face. Then he walked over to Chloe and put a hand on her shoulder. "I saw you fight in Sootopolis, and in Celadon. But this was the bravest thing you have done, Chloe. I know how hard it can be to come out like that, how vulnerable you must feel right now. But I like your attitude." The Frontier Brain broke into a grin. "Congrats." He looked Chloe over, impressed at the transformation from the boy he had seen in Celadon. "Incidentally, is this why your father wanted to kill you?"

Chloe seemed a little surprised at the reaction, but smiled in response. However, she blinked for a moment at his question, and giggled. "Honestly, I wish that was the case, that would've been kinda nice. I kinda wish I had've come out then, would've made a good 'take that' as he was losing. But no, he's just a mean rotten person who really doesn't care much for any of us." She smiled still, glad that he wasn't upset or anything like that.

Olivia smiled, raising an eyebrow. "Hmm. You impress me, old man. Congratulations." she said, clapping. "She was so scared to talk to you. Even after I had told her to believe in herself, she was still so frightened... But how do you feel now?" she asked Chloe. "On top of the world? On cloud nine? What?"

Chloe giggled with a slight nod. "It's a very nice feeling, yes..." She was certain this time that the redness in her cheeks weren't from the makeup or the cold. She smiled, a little shy and awkward for doubting. "I think I worry too much, admittedly. But I'm glad, and it kinda gives me hope..."

Palmer gave a warm smile. "That's good to hear, Chloe. Don't let that hope die, now, you hear?" He turned to Olivia with a chuckle. "I'm impressive for my old age, aren't I? It probably helps that I have a granddaughter who went through the same thing." The Frontier Brain's eyes lit up as he looked back at Chloe. "Say, you and my granddaughter should get in touch! Would you mind giving me your Pokégear number so I can pass it along to her? I would give you hers, but she's a little shy about just passing her number out to strangers."

Chloe seemed surprised at what he had said, and thought for a moment, before smiling widely. "That sounds amazing!" She said with an awed smile. She knew that there were other people who had been in her shoes... but she never actually had let that truly register. "I'll try to not give too many silly messages or anything, of course..." The girl scratched her head awkwardly, but pulled up her Pokégear's menu, and scrolled to find her own number, and then thought for a moment. "Um, would it be best to write it down for you, or...?" She sheepishly smiled, unsure what would be best, or whether Palmer had wanted her number as well, so they could keep in touch too.

Olivia smiled, turning to Chloe. "That does sound like a good idea, Chloe... See? There are people who want to help you after all!" she said, hugging Chloe tight. The red-haired trainer giggled uncontrollably, squeezing her girlfriend tightly. "You had so many concerns, and look how things worked out! I'm so happyyyy!!" she exclaimed, smiling. "I knew things would go well, huh? Told you so~!"

Chloe giggled with a wide smile, and hugged Olivia back. "Yeah... I'm glad you were right about this." She seemed pretty excited, even as she tried to keep that mostly in check. Her curiosity got her mind racing, as she wondered what the other girl was like, and everything along those lines.

"Just give it to me," Palmer said as he fiddled with his Pokétch. He smiled at the two girls and their giddy joy. "I'll send you mine, that way if you ever find yourself in a pinch, I'm just a phone call away."

"Alright... Thank you." Chloe said with a smile, as she rhymed off her number, glancing at her Pokégear a time or two to make sure it was all correct.

Olivia took a deep breath, letting go of Chloe. "So, wait, Palmer... Just wondering." Olivia started. "Who's your granddaughter? What's she like?" she asked, tilting her head. "I mean, she's probably nice if you're giving her Pokégear number to Chloe, but what about her personality and stuff...?" As Olivia asked her question, Chloe looked over curiously as well, as the other girl had pretty much asked what she was thinking.

"What's she like?" Palmer scratched his head. "Well, I already mentioned she's shy around strangers. Probably for the same reasons as Chloe here. But she takes after her old man, who in turn takes after me. And by that, I mean she's a tad impulsive. Likes to act before she thinks, and once something catches her attention, she can't think of anything else. Like trains." The old man chuckled to himself. "I got her a train set when she was little, so I take full responsibility for her love of trains. I will say she's not quite as big into battling as her father, or as the two of you, but I've managed to teach her a thing or two." He sighed and shook his head. "Unfortunately, it seems she loves me more than her own dad. You see, my son can be a bit... thick-headed at times. When she came out, they didn't exactly see eye-to-eye. So I understand how hard it can be, Chloe. I've seen the strife in my own family. Perhaps that's why I didn't like the idea of you taunting your father in prison. But enough musings of an old man. You'll get to know her more when you actually talk to her yourself. She's a very sweet girl."

Olivia listened, frowning. "Hmm. That doesn't sound fun at all, no... I don't think that could happen with your family though, right?" she asked her best friend, rubbing the back of her head. "Your Dad's all jailed up and pretty much everyone else likes you a ton... If Ryan and Anna were happy for you, the rest should be too, right?"

The Frontier Brain gave the girls a kind smile. "Well if you ever have any problems with that, Chloe, be sure and call on old Palmer to knock some sense into people. I've seen enough loving people torn apart due to simple misunderstandings and disagreements. Don't get the wrong idea, though. My son still loves his daughter very much. They just butt heads, as hasty people tend to do."

Chloe giggled, but nodded in response. "Alright, sounds like a plan to me!" She smiled at Palmer, and thought for a moment. "Maybe sometime in the future Ryan can talk with you more; I think you're like his idol or something."

"Wait, really? Wow. I know that Ryan is actually the biggest dork, but, just wow." Olivia said, snickering amusedly. "Nice talking to you again, Palmer. At least this time, we got the introduction right." she giggled, poking Chloe in the shoulder.

"Oh, I'm his idol?" Palmer laughed with a sheepish smile. "Good to know I still have fans out there."

At that moment the nurse, who had been inspecting Anna while the other three had been conversing, stood up and packed up her bag. "Looks like you're doing well, Miss Scalene," she said. "I'll be back next week to check on you again. But it's lovely to see you have so many visitors keeping you company."

"I think so, yeah... I mean, it doesn't really mean they will, but I can still hope." Chloe seemed to still have the hope from earlier, and sighed. "Plus, maybe if things had've gone better, my dad would've been alright with everything too..."

Anna smiled. "Yeah, and I've got a friend for life now, I think..." She looked over to where the Gardevoir she had befriended was, and looked back over to the other three. "I think they really did help, though."

Chloe glanced over as she noticed the nurse stand up, but nodded with a smile. "He probably wouldn't admit it, but the picture his mom got inspired him, I think. I think he has a different battling style, though." She giggled at that one, and wondered how her brother was doing with the other group.

Rakel smiled, placing a hand on Anna's shoulder. "Yeah, she's ecstatic to see everyone here. Anna's a sweet lady, but she's had to tough out these few, lonely months..." the Gardevoir sighed, looking to the others. "It would be nice if everyone could stay a bit longer, but she's already grateful for the time that's been spent together already."

Olivia snickered at Chloe's description of Ryan, turning to face Rakel and Anna. "Hey, no problem. I'm just glad to see she's alright." she said, nodding. "Dunno how long me and Chloe will stay, but it was nice to meet you, Anna."

The nurse smiled again. "As much as I'd love to stay, I must be getting back to the Pokémon Center."

"I'll go with you," Palmer said. "The reason I came here in the first place was to talk to you about the Heatran attack the other day. Hope you don't mind the company."

"Alright... It was nice to see you again, Palmer... Hopefully someday there'll be a chance to meet up again." Chloe smiled, as she nodded. Anna giggled, as she was glad at how everything turned out despite her mess up, and waved goodbye to the nurse and Palmer.

IC: Ryan/Dahlia/Paul/Jenny
When Ryan and Dahlia rounded the corner, they were surprised to see the kitchen was mostly empty. Only Paul and Jenny remained... along with the dishes of everyone else. "So much for 'everyone's going to help,'" Ryan muttered as he got to work gathering the dirty plates and bringing them to the sink.

"Everyone decided to take a leaf out of your book and cool down," Paul said.

"They needed to cool down?" The Liberty agent raised an eyebrow. "Geez, I thought I was the one with issues. What'd I miss?"

Dahlia had went to go get the plates, humming quietly to herself, before Paul explained what had happened. "...What? Calm down?" she asked, a look of concern on her face. "I-if you don't mind me asking, um... What happened? Why was it so bad everyone had to run off...?"

Jenny looked over at Dahlia and Ryan, choosing to focus on them more. "He's stretching the truth. Evan and Ray left first, then Aspen and Xander left because things were getting... heated." She tried to keep her calm still. "It seems Paul and I have some... disagreements on some things. Even if they're rather silly things."

"It's really nothing to worry about," Paul assured Dahlia. "Water under the bridge, right Jenny?"

"Nothing to worry about?" Ryan said skeptically. "I would've said the same thing about me. We can't have these little disagreements becoming an issue when we arrive at wherever Ford's holding Ellen."

Dahlia frowned, turning around to face Jenny and Paul. "Ryan's right. Trust me, I've seen how destructive not seeing eye to eye and ignoring things can be..." she said, looking down. "...It tore my siblings apart. And I don't want a repeat of that this time. Not when there are lives at stake." the middle Seaton said, looking up. "What's wrong? If we just ignore this issue... It'll strike back during the worst possible time, like Ryan said..."

"Agreed." Jenny said, as she seemed skeptical that it was over and done with as well. She glanced at Paul a little oddly, as if there was something that was not being said to anyone; as if he was acting suspicious for a reason. "For one, though; we started by disagreeing with people not being uptight and on guard all the time. Or rather, that they shouldn't be, even if the situation's dangerous. But I think there's more to it, and I kinda think it'd be better to get to that now, rather than later."

Paul returned Jenny's glance with a frown. "Jenny here thinks I'm being too uptight," he explained. "But my daughter was taken from me; I think I have a right to be on guard."

Ryan paused at the sink, letting water run over one of the plates as he looked up at Paul. "Like how I was on guard and cautious when Chloe came out this morning?" he asked quietly.

Dahlia bit her lip, and sighed. "Paul... I seriously doubt anyone is faulting you for being a concerned father. Ellen was such a sweet kid.... And that's why everyone wants to find her." she said, washing dishes while she spoke. "But if you get too heated, push yourself and everyone else too much, and antagonize us too... Isn't that counterproductive? Doesn't that just make it harder to find your daughter?"

"I'm not pushing anyone but myself," Paul said defensively. "And Jenny here is trying to tell me I can't do even that. Just because she's with Plasma doesn't mean she can tell me what to do."

Ryan's ears perked up at that. "Jenny's not acting as a Plasma agent right now," he said. "She and Evan are here on their own business. And right now that business is finding your daughter."

Jenny frowned, as she looked at Paul piercingly. "Is that what you've been acting like this for? Seriously? You're acting like a child, Paul..." She did not seem too amused at the accusation at all.

"I'm no Lucario, but I'm sensing some longtime bitterness here." Dahlia said, not turning away from the sink. "Paul, you might not believe this, but people are more than their affiliations. I've known Jenny from years back, she's upbeat and strives to bring the best out of those around her." she explained in a quiet tone. "You can't let your grudge blind you like that... It's only going to cloud your judgement. The last thing Jenny would do is talk you down with some position of superiority that doesn't even mean anything right now. We're all trying to find your daughter... Please please please PLEASE don't declare war against those with the same goals as you."

Paul gave an irritated sigh. "It's nothing against Jenny. I just don't like Plasma. And right now she's acting the way Plasma likes to act: controlling its people and telling them how to live their lives."

Ryan bit his lip. "Then why go back to Unova? If you hate Plasma so much, why not move here?"

"Because Unova's safe from the war," Paul muttered. to bring the best out of those around her." she explained in a quiet tone. "You can't let your grudge blind you like that... It's only going to cloud your judgement. The last thing Jenny would do is talk you down with some position of superiority that doesn't even mean anything right now. We're all trying to find your daughter... Please please please PLEASE don't declare war against those with the same goals as you."

Jenny frowned, as she crossed her arms slightly. "How can you keep saying that, though? Right now, that's the point; both nowhere and everywhere is safe. From what we heard, the only reason there's been any fighting have been enigmatic people unaffiliated with the war, Ford, and rogue operatives. So right now, that's not really much of an excuse..." She shook her head, and sighed. "Here." She pulled from her pocket the Plasma badge that she usually carried, and set it on the table.

"I'm not here because of Plasma. I'm here because my friends wanted me... Because my brother wanted help with things we'd encountered. Because I wanted to help Ellen. I'll agree that some things are controlling... but isn't that exactly what causes a lot of fights? When anyone is controlling? Is it really just because they're controlling...?" Jenny frowned slightly. Something wasn't adding up. She didn't know everything about Plasma's past, but wasn't sure why Paul seemed so... bitter about them.

The blacksmith sighed. "I didn't mean any offense, Jenny," he said. "You obviously joined Plasma long after Ghetsis, so you probably don't know much of their history. Let's just say before they became Unova's governing body, Plasma did some very bad things." Paul stood up and brought his plate over to the sink. "But enough about that. We did say we were going to help clean up, didn't we?"

Jenny frowned, as she looked over to where Paul was, and nodded, as she went to help clean up the kitchen as well. However, she seemed perplexed by the half-finished story, and looked over again as she began to clean. "What did they do, though? Was it Plasma themselves, or this Ghetsis person?"

For a moment Paul was silent as he cleaned his dish. "Both," he finally said. "Ghetsis was the mastermind behind it, but the rest of Plasma is just as guilty. They tried to go about 'liberating' people's Pokémon, claiming they were better off without trainers. They acted like we were holding them in some sort of captivity or abusing them." He closed his eyes, appearing to be remembering an encounter with the Plasma of old.

"That's ridiculous," Ryan said. "All anyone would have to do is just take one look at Ellen to see that they don't need liberating."

Jenny finished up cleaning off her dish, and looked over quietly for a moment as she reached for another of the dishes. "Did you have personal experience with that?" She asked Paul curiously, but nodded to Ryan.

Paul nodded with a heavy sigh. "My Bisharp. Pawniard at the time. I was just a boy at the time, and when I refused to release my Pokémon they tried to take him by force..." The blacksmith sniffled and then resumed cleaning his dish, keeping his head low. "I'm sorry," he muttered. "It's not often I get emotional like that."

Jenny frowned sadly, and sighed. "I'm sorry to hear that... I'm glad that everything seemed to end well, but I can tell how that would be bad. Those people sound like they were monsters..." She said, and wondered just what those people could have been like, since they seemed like horrible people. However, she paused with an uncertain look, as she recalled some of the rougher Plasma agents she had met.

Dahlia hid her frown by not looking up from the dish. "...And do you think Jenny is like that, Paul?" she asked. "You claim not to hold a grudge against Jenny specifically. But you certainly do hold contempt for those who are a part of Plasma right now." the middle Seaton pointed out. "I know that you must have hated them back then... It's hard to let go of the past in a lot of cases. But for the sake of everyone who just wants to help your daughter... Could you please try?"

The blacksmith looked over at Dahlia, then looked back at Jenny. "…No," he said. "No, I don't think you're like that at all, Jenny. It's very clear to me you're nothing like Ghetsis' goons. Maybe I have held onto this grudge a little too long. You had nothing to do with Ghetsis, and I'm sure most of your co-workers don't, either."

"It kinda reminds me of Team Rocket, to be honest," Ryan said quietly. "Twenty years ago they were a criminal organization. Now they're the government, and yet they are completely disassociated from Giovanni. That's not to say they still don't have their bad apples, but, well, you get my point."

Jenny nodded as Paul explained himself, however she sighed. "Most of my fellow agents are good, yeah; as Ryan said about the bad apples... Plasma has some, that's for sure." She slightly shuddered as she recalled what happened to her back when she wasn't recognized as an agent. "But I think that's a thing with everything, really. Doesn't mean we can't work around it." She gave a smile, and nodded to Paul, wondering if that might have cleared anything up.

Dahlia smiled, nodding at Jenny's words. "Yeah, that's the spirit! Of course not everyone part of these organizations are good... But that also means not all of them are bad. Most are probably just decent people trying to get by, you know?" she said, looking down for a moment. "I've seen what happens when people associate the bad individuals with all of a certain organization... It's not pretty. That's why I'm glad to see steps be taken to move past that."

Paul managed a smile. "I'm sorry for doubting you, Jenny. I guess that's what makes me different from my daughter; she can see the good in everyone. Perhaps I could learn something from her."

Ryan nodded as he dried his dishes. "Of course, she could learn something from you, too. I mean, I've been with her for over six months now, and if anything she's too trusting. I mean, that's the whole reason she got taken; she somehow saw good in people like McKinley and Ford." The Liberty trainer shook his head and turned to Dahlia. "Where do these dishes go, by the way?"

"Hmm? Oh, just put them in the dishwasher for now." Dahlia replied, stepping away from the sink to do just that. "I might not completely understand what's going on yet, but I'm glad we can all be on the same side here. Don't worry, Paul, we WILL find Ellen, and we'll do it together." she declared.

"Thanks, Dahlia," Paul said. "Ellen wouldn't want us to be fighting amongst ourselves; I guess I just got a little too defensive. Sorry about that."

"She wouldn't like it," Ryan agreed as he followed Dahlia to help put the dishes up. "But she wouldn't exactly be surprised. Even our group in Unova had a lot of in-fighting." The Liberty trainer chuckled as he remembered how Evan had punched Ray square in the face for being rude.

"Oh?" Jenny seemed curious about that, since she had been a part of the second group. "What happened to cause fighting in the old group?" She wondered if it was something big like there had been here, or if it were just small things that had caused the fighting before.

"I'm not sure exactly what caused it," Ryan said, scratching his head. "My best guess is it was just a combination of stress, chasing after Black, and Zach -- er, Chloe -- being gone. I think Ray kind of made himself the new leader of the group, and that was a lot of responsibility for him to take on."

Dahlia finished placing the dishes away, turning to Ryan. "Hmm... Chloe didn't seem to like her time in Unova, is it safe to assume the same for your group?" she asked, blinking curiously. "What even happened as a result of stress and disagreements?"

"Well," Ryan said sheepishly. "I wouldn't exactly say it was unenjoyable, at least not entirely. Mostly just Ray being impatient. And then, well, everything that happened with Kyurem."

"Ray's like that sometimes." Jenny agreed with a nod. "I can't comment on anything else other than Kyurem, though, because yeah..." She sheepishly smiled, as she hadn't actually been with the group half the time.

Dahlia blinked, shrugging. "Well. Whatever what happened, do you think we can learn from things and stop from this group devolving into arguments?" she asked, placing a finger to her chin. "Sometimes these things happen, but as humans beings, we're supposed to learn from our mistakes and make the best of what we have. Or something like that..."

Ryan nodded, glancing from Paul to Jenny to Dahlia. "I think I can definitely learn from my more recent mistakes."

Paul bit his lip and gave a slow nod. "Yes, I think it would be best if we all moved on from this."

Dahlia breathed a sigh of relief. "Glad to see everything worked out. We're all in this together, Paul. We all want to find Ellen." she said. "And we will find her, but only if we keep ourselves levelheaded and work with each other, not against."

Jenny nodded as well, but still glanced over at Paul. "I agree; but before we do, can we just make sure we're all good? I mean, I don't really want this to pop up again or so..." She sheepishly smiled again, as while she was fine with everything being good, she just didn't want to find out he was annoyed at any of them for another reason.

Paul placed a hand on Jenny's shoulder and looked her squarely in the eye. "You have my word, Miss Hakuda. I hold nothing against you. We're all good."

Jenny nodded at what Paul said, and smiled. "Right. And I really do suggest taking the time to sightsee from time to time; not as a Plasma agent, but as a friend. Especially now, since the sea really can calm someone; we need clear minds, I think. One of the people we'll have to fight is good at mind games... figuratively, and literally."

Paul nodded. "I understand. I'll try to relax. Thank you, Jenny."

Edited January 11, 2016 by Konuju

**Dr. Hidaka** · January 11, 2016

IC: Evan Tierra

Evan walked around the upper deck of the ship, savoring the fresh air. How good it was to relax, despite all that had happened. The Plasma Agent looked around, noting he was the only one topside. He thought about what he could do to kill time, at least before the next surprise event. The hero chuckled to himself as he pondered.........

Then he had it.

Evan sent out his Swampert, who exclaimed happily at the sight of the ocean. Monstro turned towards Evan, clearly intent on swimming. "Not right now, Monstro." Evan said as he patted his friend. "Let's wrestle."

At those words, Monstro's head fins perked up and a fire lit up in his eyes. He knew that idea was never a bad one. The Swampert slammed his fists together as Evan moved away from him. "Let's have a good workout, all right?" Evan said, grinning as he spoke. "Like the last few times, huh?"

Swampert and trainer rushed towards each other, as Evan laughed manically. There was no better workout, as he had learned in Unova, like wrestling with a tough pokemon. As Evan and Monstro tried to seek out a weak point in the others' defenses, Evan thought about how he had wrestled with Gnip back in Unova to improve his strength. Most of the matches ended in the Garchomp's favor, but the Hero of Space, had tenacity and eventually won out against her. Monstro wasn't as good, but had the same will to win as his master, and would alway try everything he could to win.

Evan tackled Monstro, shaking up the footing of the Mud Fish pokemon, but not enough to stop him from retaliating with as much force. Monstro pushed away his trainer and rushed towards him, eyes burning fiercely. The Swampert lunged at Evan, who dodged just barely enough. As a counter, Evan leapt on top of his pokemon, and started to try and secure a pin. Monstro struggled to break free, but just couldn't shake off his master. The Swampert gave up, but didn't lose the fire in his eyes.

"Good match, Monstro!" Evan said as he got off Monstro. "You're still as tough as ever and a worthy rival in this!" Monstro nodded as he laid down to catch his breath. Wrestling with his master, fun or not, was very tiring. The Swampert started to snore, the gentle rocking of the boat lulling him to sleep. Evan laid on the deck himself, aiming not to sleep, but to just relax......

MELON LORD · January 11, 2016

IC: Kalos Team/Aspen Seaton

Xander and Sylph looked up as Aspen spoke. The duo chuckled, and Xander shrugged. "Bit of a mishap earlier. What's up, Aspen?" Ellen, who'd been sitting on the bed with Vixen, barked a greeting to the boy, tail flicking happily.

"Oh, nothing. Just thought I could use a bit of a culture lesson, perhaps." he said, walking inside the room. Aspen smiled and pet Vixen on the head, and then Ellen, sitting down next to them afterwards. "Yeah... This morning. Is that a Kalos thing? The Pokeball thing?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "Cause if it is, well, the more I know."

Xander blinked, racking his brain. "Pokéball thing . . . ? I think you might need to be a bit more specific. This morning was kind of a blur for me!" He grinned, rubbing the back of his head. "Not every day you battle someone like Evan."

Sylph tilted her head as she watched Aspen, and a blush started to color her cheeks. She looked away, using telekinesis to pick up another piece of glass from the carpet.

Aspen nodded, his eyes quickly darting to Sylph, refocusing on Xander almost an instant after. "Hey, no problem, man." he said, chuckling. "He does seem like a colorful foe. But I was talking about that thing where you kissed the Pokeball. Is that a cultural gesture from Kalos?" the trainer asked, shrugging. "Just something I didn't really recognize. And admittedly, I don't really know the culture and customs of Kalos really well..."

Xander paused, blinking a few times as he thought. "Oh . . . Uh, no, not really a cultural thing. I mean, a few people probably do it for various reasons, but, like . . ." He cleared his throat. "I mean, I haven't gotten a chance to battle with Ellen or Vixen, yet, but I don't think I would kiss their ball unless it was a reallygood battle . . ."

He cleared his throat. "Not that the battle on deck wasn't really good, but that isn't why I . . ." He scratched his nose, then tugged on his cap. A flush was creeping up his neck as he grew more nervous. "I did that for other reasons, but, uh . . ."

Vixen barked, pawing at Aspen's leg. She sent a wave of emotions at him: slight irritation for discomforting her Alpha, but also a lot of humor at how flustered Xander was getting. Ellen just shook her head, tail flicking softly.

Sylph put her hand on Xander's arm, smiling softly.

Aspen put a finger to his chin, nodding slowly. "Hmm. Yeah. Other reasons sounds pretty good." he said, looking up. "Come to think of it, there was that thing you said before the battle was over... Hmm. You've got some very strong conviction, Xander." he said, grinning ever so slightly. "Your emotions really show in whatever you say."

"Honestly, it boggles my mind no one on this deck seems to have connected the dots yet." said Aria, leaning against the doorway. "It's incredibly frustrating to work with humans. They need so much information to make light of such obvious situations..."

Aspen looked over behind him, shaking his head at Aria. "But yeah. Those words you said... You really meant them, huh?"

Xander blushed, shrugging. There was no denying it, no pretending he didn't remember what he'd told Sylph. "I really did. We grew up together, traveled for years, just the two of us. We spent three years in a secluded forest with nobody but the wild for company." He smiled, taking Sylph's hand and squeezing.

Sylph giggled at Aria's remark. This is true, even for the ones who can read your mind. She looked back to Aspen, smiling softly. You probably want to ask more questions. We'll answer what we're comfortable answering.

Xander nodded. "To start with, it's not illegal or immoral or anything. Sylph can communicate fully, and is at least as intelligent as I am. It's not like I'm in a relationship with Ellen, or Vixen--"

Though, once they evolve, they will also be able to communicate, if Ellen becomes an Espeon. A better example would be . . . a Hitmonchan, maybe? Or something that hasn't reached full maturity, like a Geodude.

Xander nodded. "Other than that . . . Go ahead and ask whatever you want. Lucario -- Aria, sorry -- would you like to sit with us?"

Aria closed her eyes. "Thank you for your offer. But no thanks. I've grown accustomed to standing upright over the years."

Aspen nodded slowly, a curious expression on his face. "Hmm... Interesting. I did notice you two seeming... Intimate, the first time we met." he said. "Hmm. Circumstances would fit, yes... Hmm." the trainer muttered, shrugging. "Seems love's in the air as of late. You're about the third couple I've managed to run into, not counting my sister and Chloe... Wonder who's next." he muttered.

"Okay, back to the matters at hand, are you at all afraid of what the others will think?" Aspen asked, raising an eyebrow. "I mean, after my experiences, I'm not really in a position to judge anyone, so you have nothing to fear from me... But the others?"

The duo exchanged looks, and Xander sighed. "Honestly? Yeah. If the others think it's . . . 'unnatural' or something, it's going to be a big problem. If they make a fuss, we'll go, plain and simple. The . . . What I said up there was a slip-up, but it also sort of let them know that 'Hey, I'm in a relationship with a Gardevoir.' If they didn't pick up on it . . . Well, we're not exactly the best-kept secret, are we?" He chuckled wryly.

Sylph nodded. We've had people who found out and were . . . disgusted is putting it mildly. But most are like you. They don't give a care one way or the other, and are just glad to see we're in a happy, healthy relationship. Xander is my trainer, and I obey him, but he also knows where my boundaries are and respects them.

Xander nodded. "That's the key, really. Respecting the other person's feelings and where they draw the line." He chuckled. "I mean, I probably couldn't give you advice on getting a girlfriend; I have absolutely zero experience with human girls, and this was just how circumstances turned out." He shrugged softly, watching Aspen. He was blushing less, now that he knew the younger boy wasn't judging him and Sylph.

Aspen blinked, blushing very slightly. "Err... I don't remember asking anything about that...?" he protested, rubbing the back of his head. "And no, I wasn't gonna ask later. Sylph can read my mind. I've never had a crush, and I don't think that'll change anytime soon..."

"You don't help your case by defending yourself so, Aspen." Aria cut in. "You need a better handle on your emotions. Sure, those like myself will be able to read them. But you'll obscure the vision of a vast majority of humans." she noted.

"Thanks for the advice, Aria." he muttered, shaking his head. "Well, whatever. Okay, next question. Are there any differences at all in interactions?" Aspen asked. "Or is it pretty much standard fare for like, the average human couple? Like, do you just go to the movie theater or fancy restaurants to date? Do you date at all?" the trainer questioned, pausing for one moment. "Also, wouldn't the, hmm... Culture between Pokemon and humans be fundamentally different? I mean, you're not gonna be taught the same things growing up in a human household versus the wild right? How did you get past those?"

Xander rubbed the back of his neck, grinning at the questions. "Well, people don't really notice if you take one of your pokémon to dinner, especially if it's something like a Gardevoir or a Lucario." He smiled. "We didn't really do movies or anything; we weren't in public very often after we got together."

That is correct, Sylph said. We lived alone in the woods for about three years, during which time we became an item. We had a couple of meals in Kalos before we got on the boat here, but that was the extent of it.

"As for the different cultures, well . . . Kissing isn't as much of a romantic gesture to Gardevoir. It's more done to help immunize against diseases and germs, which may be where the human concept comes from originally."

Once Xander explained it to me, though, I was happy to take on the custom. It is pleasant. She smiled. Other than that, pokémon adopt customs and cultures from humans once captured, anyways. For instance, sleeping at night. It is something we do, but we don't need to sleep as long, and we will nap during the day. Once captured, though, I adapted to fit Xander's sleep patterns.

"What about you, Aspen. Why haven't you had a crush before?"

"Err, well... I can think of a few reasons." Aspen muttered, his eyes darting around awkwardly. "Like, well... I dunno. I guess part of it was barely making any friends when I grew up." he said, twiddling his fingers. "And, uh, I never really paid attention to others around me. So... Yeah. Didn't have social skills, didn't talk to people, oh, and everyone thought I was lame. Can't forget that." he said with a chuckle. "Heck, I'm pretty sure Aria loved her old trainer more than I'll ever love anyone in my life.

Aria's eyes snapped open, as she slowly turned her head towards Aspen. "...You are referring to Master Alistair Hakuda." she said. "Hmmph. I suppose by one definition of the word, I 'loved' him. You could say it was familial in some ways." the Lucario muttered. "Yes, I was very close to him, and he was close to me as well. If there's anyone I've ever been able to call a friend in my life, it's Alistair. And you will NOT turn him into some cheap gag."she growled, eyes flashing blue for a moment.

Aspen recoiled, nodding slowly. "O-oh. Sorry. I, uh, didn't mean to upset you..."

Sylph frowned. Now, now, Aria, I don't believe Aspen was trying to belittle your old master. He could have used Togie and Ryan as an example, but you were here. She smiled. Aspen, I have full confidence in your ability to find yourself a lady friend. Or . . . perhaps not a lady? She giggled softly. I tease, I tease!

Xander grinned. "That was how I was as a kid. Shy, withdrawn . . . My dad was a terrorist, and everybody knew it. You'll find someone eventually, I'm sure. And if you don't, well, that's cool, too." He stretched."Hey, do you have any tips for training young pokémon? I can't exactly challenge Paul or Jenny to a battle with Ellen and Vixen."

Aria closed her eyes again, and looked away. "...Yes, it was just a harmless joke." she muttered. "Master Alistair left me with Aspen with the task of helping him grow. This may more difficult than I first envisioned..." the Lucario muttered, going silent afterwards.

Aspen blinked, chuckling lightly. "Heh, thanks for the vote of confidence, but if I actually find someone, that'd be the day..." he said, thinking over Xander's query. "Hmm... Yeah, that's sorta tricky, isn't it? One thing I'd suggest is not actually starting out with battling. Instead, it should focus on perfecting one move per session, with an older Pokemon overseeing the process." the young boy explained, pausing again. "Once they've gotten a grip on enough moves, then you could form strategies for them to try out, with again, an older Pokemon supervising. In that case, it'd be a sort of mock battle, and whatnot... I'd definitely hold off of actually throwing them into a fight without having first gotten some direction on what actions to take during said battles."

Xander nodded softly, grinning. "Sorry for changing the subject, just thought I'd ask before I forgot. Any more questions? Or do you just wanna hang out for a bit?"

Aspen thought, and shrugged. "Err... Well. Not like I had anything better to be doing." he said, chuckling. "Looks like I'm a secret keeper now, then. Questions, questions... How long did it take for you both to officially decide to be a couple?" the trainer asked. "Admittedly, my reference pool for people in relationships is small, and the only one I've seen officially happen took around... 14 years, give or take."

"Well, Xander said, "let's see . . . I was eight when we met, and was ten when we started traveling together. Then, it was a little over two years to make our way around Kalos region and challenge the Elite Four . . . So, I was thirteen when we went to the woods, and . . . I think it was our second year of being alone there that we made it official." He nodded. "So, it took us a good seven years, but I think we had feelings for one another since I was twelve or thirteen." He chuckled. "I'm not sure what's considered 'normal,' really."

Aspen shrugged. "I don't think there is a normal timespan, from what I can tell. Obviously stuff like love at first sight isn't natural and all, there has to be some sort of time before actual love happens, but then again, I really don't know what I'm talking about." he chuckled. "Hmm... Ah, right. So, Pokemon maturation is kinda... Different, from humans and stuff, right? How did that like, affect things? Are you two still somewhere in the same age range or is there a significant gap?" the trainer asked, rubbing the back of his head. "If these get too personal, you can let me know..."

Xander shrugged. "It's sort of different. Like, she was a Ralts until I was ten, so she was sort of like a kid, but she was only about five years old whens he evolved into a Kirlia. I was eleven, then, so she's . . . ten-ish years old? But, she's evolved and is fully mature now, while I'm still not entirely sure I'm done growing."

Sylph smirked. I hope not, or you're going to be terribly short compared to some of your friends. She giggled, nudging Xander lightly.

"I am an average height!" Xander shouted indignantly.

"Yeah, it seems I'm about as tall as you, Xander. I get that feeling." he said, rubbing the back of his head. "Like, I'm not short, it's just everyone else is tall." the trainer muttered, chuckling. "Oh well. I'll just hope the precedent set by my sisters is true, and I'm due for another growth spurt. Shorties unite, huh?"

"A thrilling and engaging conversation. I truly feel as though I am learning something." Aria muttered in a deadpan voice. "Could you please go back to asking questions? At least those provided information of some value."

Aspen looked behind him with a glare, and shook his head. "Okay. Hmmm... I'm not sure what to ask..." he admitted, chuckling a bit. "It's just, sorry, I'm still a bit out of my depth.... I mean, I sorta knew in the back of my head interspecies stuff happened, but uh, apparently I'm at a loss of what else to say." the young boy muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "Always nice to see a happy ending, though."

Xander nodded softly, smiling. "If you ever want to hang out, or just talk while we're on the road, you're welcome to find me." He stretched softly, feeling something pop. "And if you ever have any questions about . . . this, then you're free to ask."

Aspen chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Thanks, Xander. It's nice talking to you." he said, standing up from the bed. "Welp. I better leave you and Sylph some alone time, huh? Guess I'll be talking to you some other time."

"See ya around, man. For now, we need to figure out how to put a door back together." Xander chuckled. Sylph smiled, waving to Aspen and Aria.

Aspen nodded. "Yeah... Good luck with that." he said amusedly, walking through the empty doorway. "Bye. Maybe next time I see you, you'll have repaired the door with your psychic powers or something." the trainer chuckled, before walking through the hallway. Aria quickly glanced into the room, and followed Aspen shortly. She left the admittedly unusual couple to sit in the room, occupied only with them and Xander's other Pokemon.

Konuju · January 11, 2016

OOC: Two characters with a first name that start with an R, and two characters with a last name that starts with an S. Time for another mixed jam.

IC: Ryan Sanders/Aspen Seaton/Ryan Hikari
After making sure the kitchen was cleaned, Ryan went back down the hall and approached the other Ryan's door. Just as he knocked, he noticed Aspen leaving Xander's room. "Hey, Aspen."

Aspen looked up, blinking when he saw Ryan. "Oh, heya. Fancy bumping into you again so soon." he said, chuckling a bit. "What's up?"

The Liberty agent shifted uncomfortably. "Um... Dahlia told me about what happened to you in Celadon." He scratched his head.

Immediately, the color drained from Aspen's face. "She... She did...? O-oh, I see..." he said quietly, turning away. "Um. You don't need me to bother you... I'll just... Get out of your way..." the trainer said, walking in a straight line away from Ryan.

Ryan closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Aspen," he called. "Wait. I, um... You're not alone in this." He opened his eyes with a heavy sigh. "I... the same thing happened to me in Fortree." He was quiet for a moment. "W-well, not the same Sin, but from what I hear it was more or less the same effect. I thought you might want to... talk."

Aspen stopped in his tracks, and faced Ryan again slowly. "Y-you what...? Faced a 'Sin'? That's what they're called?" he said, eyes widening. "...Y-yeah. I have to hear more about this. Find out what really happened." the trainer muttered, walking back up to the older Liberty Agent. "Let's have this talk."

Ryan nodded gravely. "Dahlia said yours was Pride, right? The one I faced called himself Gluttony."

At that moment the door opened and Ryan Hikari stepped out. "I fought a Wrath," the Rocket said nonchalantly, as he approached the two others quietly.

"Huh? Gluttony, Wrath?" Aspen said in a confused tone, looking at the two Ryans around him. "So it wasn't an isolated incident... These Sins. What are they, and what is going on...?" he asked, eyes wide with dread.

"They're called Sins," Ryan Sanders said. "I first heard about them a week ago when Blackskull filled me in on recent events." He slowly counted his fingers "At the time there were... four, that had appeared? Envy, Wrath, Lust, and Greed. Never thought I'd be facing one of my own, though. And with Pride, that makes six." He glanced over at Hikari. "That's why I wanted to talk to you, actually. I encountered Gluttony."

The other Ryan seemed a little surprised and intrigued about that. "Hm. Interesting, then." He thought for a moment, as he tried to make sense of what was going on. "They're definitely mysterious... did both of the ones you fought, like... die at the end?" He glanced between Aspen and Sanders curiously, as it sounded very similar to what had happened with him.

Aspen nodded at the Hikari's question. "Yeah... Pride froze and shattered. Told me my puppet strings were severed before he died." he replied. "What about Gluttony or Wrath, then...?"

"Gluttony withered away, like a decaying leaf," Sanders said quietly. "Although he was more than just Gluttony. Before he became Gluttony he was a man. Albero DeLargo. The same can be said for Lust and Greed... they used to be twins, who went to my school in Fortree. Melanie and Melissa."

"Hmm..." Ryan Hikari frowned, as he tried to think of anything regarding Wrath's prior state. "I don't remember if Wrath said anything about whether he used to be anyone or not. Might have, but it's been a long and hectic time. But... I remember that he burnt away, as if a fire, and said that many eyes would stare on me with hate." His glance turned to the ground after that.

"Hmm. So all these Sins used to be human?" Aspen asked, seeming surprised. "Hmm... What on earth could have happened? Whatever I fought was just... Wrong. Something beyond comprehension..." he muttered darkly.

"They're what we could become," Sanders muttered. He bit his lip upon seeing curious looks from the others. "I mean, we each overcame our Sins. Otherwise we wouldn't be standing here right now. But Gluttony, Pride Wrath... they used to be people just like us... only they gave into their Sin. They let it consume them. I don't know about you two, but I know that in Gluttony I saw... more of myself than I'd like to admit." The Liberty agent closed his eyes, leaning heavily against the doorframe. "I-I don't know, I just..."

Aspen' shoulders sunk as Sanders spoke. "I could have become... That? O-oh." he said quietly. The trainer became much more sullen, and stared down at his shoes. "Pride saw right through me, he seemed to know everything... I just, what the..."

"...I know," Sanders said. "Gluttony saw right through me too. He... he knew me better than I knew myself. I was scared to admit my own problems, but he saw through that. I... Sometimes I wonder whether or not I truly overcame Gluttony."

"I know that feeling." Ryan Hikari sighed for a moment, but frowned. "That said... I think that we have. It's just not a thing that... is an overnight thing, you know? I still get mad. Sometimes way too mad. But I still beat Wrath."

"I-I guess we did beat them, yeah... Sort of a different situation for me, though." Aspen muttered, looking down still. "I mean, yeah, I beat Pride, and I'm not prideful anymore. But instead, I just feel useless and that I can't help with anything." he said, sighing. "Either way, our battles are still going, huh?"

Ryan Sanders sighed. "Will the battles ever end, though? Or is this just who we are?" He shook his head. "I want this to get better. But ever since I faced Gluttony I've just been feeling worse and worse. I've talked with Ray, with Evan, and even with Dahlia. They all tried to make me feel better, but... You two. You two understand what I'm going through, don't you? You know what it's like, that overwhelming guilt and shame, that feeling of hopelessness."

"I think I'd know it best..." The black haired Ryan looked down at the ground for a moment. "I definitely understand it. But... I don't think it's an endless fight. At least not for you two." He looked at Sanders especially, and frowned a bit. "Even people who haven't quite gone through the exact thing can help, though. You don't need to let it rule you; otherwise, I get the slight feeling we'd be playing into their hands."

"I mean, I guess the point wasn't to get rid of your sin. I beat Pride by accepting mine as a part of myself, but refusing to let it define me." Aspen said, rubbing the back of her head. "I guess all we can do is make sure that never happens, we never let our sins consume us... No matter how hard it gets."

"But how?" Ryan Sanders had a pained look on his face. "How do we make sure we aren't consumed? How do we stop that? You saw how I freaked out earlier with Chloe. How can I keep my sin from defining me?"

"I nearly killed three people in Celadon." The other Ryan simply frowned. "We just have to do our best to work to prevent it from causing problems. I'll say it's not easy, and I wish that it could be... But, I also think that I can at least try to change it. Maybe not alone, but I don't think anyone can do anything alone, not like this at least."

"I didn't kill anyone, but I kicked Hannah's head while she was down back in Sootopolis." Aspen admitted, sighing. "Ryan's right... Uh, Ryan H. is right. We can't change what happened, but we can look for help from others to stop it from ever happening again." he said. "And we've got a lot of friends here, right? And I've got my sister. Maybe we can make it through this with their help."

"Right. Friends." Ryan Sanders nodded. "That's what everyone's been saying. But can they really keep us in check? Can they really change us?" He bit his lip, thinking back to Sonja. "Or... will we change them instead?"

"Those are questions I don't have the answer to." Aspen said, shrugging. "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how much we can change. All I know is after that experience... I don't want to be alone." he muttered, looking down. "Should I fall again, I want to have someone there to catch me. The last thing I'd want to do is end up hurting them..."

"That's... that's what I'm afraid of," Sanders muttered. "That should I fall again... I will end up hurting them. I don't know if I can take that risk..."

Ryan thought about that for a moment. "I think people are more forgiving than you think. I thought the same thing, and someone got hurt in the process of me losing my cool the last time... but she still believes things will work out for me. That I still have a chance. So maybe..." He took a moment to scratch his head. "Just believe in yourselves more? I'm not sure, but that sounds kinda right..."

"Sounds kinda cheesy if you ask me," Sanders said with a frown. "But hey, whatever works." He sighed. "It's easy for others to forgive me. The real kicker it seems is forgiving myself."

"It's a struggle, yeah." Aspen said, shaking his head. "But hey. We don't really have any choice, do we? Maybe we should make some sort of pact, or something. The pact of sinners?" he suggested, shrugging. "Just to always look out for each other, and those around us. What do you say?"

"That sounds good; hopefully we'll keep around each other to fulfill it." The black haired Ryan chuckled, as he nodded. "I like the idea, though."

"Alrighty, that's settled, then." Aspen said, smiling. "I'm sticking with this group for a while, so I'll definitely come to any future meetings of us. Maybe we should have a weekly schedule?" he asked, shrugging. "You know, to check up on what's new and all that."

"A support group?" The brown haired Ryan raised an eyebrow. "You know, I'm tempted to say I can figure things out myself... but after these past few days, I know that's not true." He held out his hand. "Count me in."

Ryan Hikari chuckled, as a slightly amused smile crept onto his face. "What do we call this, then, like; 'Sinner's Anonymous' or something?"

"Why not? The best name I can come up with is Sinnamon Rolls Unite, or something like that." Aspen said awkwardly, seeming amused. "Sinner's Anonymous it is. Do we need like, a slogan? Secret handshake? I mean, this is a group, right?"

Ryan Sanders laughed. "I don't think we need a secret handshake. As for a slogan..." He gave a thoughtful look. "Our Sins Do Not Define Us."

Aspen closed his eyes, and nodded. "That's a perfect slogan. Alright team, it's official. Shall we adjourn the first meeting of Sinner's Anonymous?"

"Yes, we shall." Ryan Sanders smiled as he shook Aspen's hand, and then shook the other Ryan's hand. "We should also exchange Pokégear numbers, just in case anything comes up."

Hikari nodded at that. "Good plan." He said, as he brought his hand away to scroll to his number, and called it off to the other two.

Aspen rattled off his number and registered those from both Ryans. "Thanks. It was nice talking to you." he said, smiling and nodding. "See you around."

Sanders smiled back as he called out his number. "See you."

**Dr. Hidaka** · January 13, 2016

IC: Evan Tierra/Jenny Hakuda (Jam)

As the group split up, Jenny waved goodbye to Paul, and headed across the deck, as she hummed all the while. Upon reaching the front of the deck, she noticed Evan and his Swampert resting in the sun, and chuckled to herself, as she approached, and hovered over him. "Heya."

"Heya, yourself." Evan said as he continued laying down, smiling at Jenny. "Sorry I walked off, had to take care of something."

"No worries; Ray? I noticed you two talking before you left." Jenny chuckled, a slightly amused smile on her face. "What's talking with him like for you? I dunno how much you two talked in Unova, so... I'm curious." She smiled more, and sat down nearby.

"He's kind of hard to pin down." Evan remarked, as he thought. "But what I do know is, that he lets doubt and whatnot cloud his eyes, regarding many things. That and he's a bit hasty regarding things."

"Hmm..." Jenny looked up at the sky, as she mulled that over. "Yeah, I can agree with that. I don't think he was exactly like that as a kid; but I've noticed it a lot more since we met up again."

"Yeah, he was like that in Unova, especially after he thought I died at Giant Chasm." Evan said as he took a deep breath of the air. "The guy does care, but he need to think first, then act."

"Yeah..." Jenny sighed, as she scratched her head. "Maybe it has to do with what happened to me and what he mentioned happened to our parents? I mean, it'd make someone be worried a lot, for sure, I'd think." She giggled, however. "I agree, though; he needs to be less worried, and just take it step by step."

"He did tell me about you and your family." Evan said as he slowly rose up from his position. "I can see why he'd be worried about us, especially with how things are now....."

Jenny nodded about that, but smiled. "Yeah. He mentioned about us, though? I hope he put in a good word." She giggled, and leaned forward. "So, what sorta juicy gossip did he have about me?" She asked, as she seemed more than a little more curious than she probably should have been.

Evan smiled and spoke. "He had a lot to say about how cheerful you were, as well you having times where you bit off more than you could chew. He also stated you would stand up for him time and time again." Evan then frowned. "He also.....mentioned the darker times."

"Darker times?" Jenny seemed curious about what was meant there, but smiled. "But yeah; he's a good kid, and I liked being the awesome older sister. Sadly, didn't really succeed all the time, but it still helped! Even if just for his morale." She giggled again with a smile.

"Yeah, you sounded like someone a sibling would need!" Evan saic, chuckling a bit. "He told me what happened to your family, and everything. How things changed for him since he joined Team Rocket.... I wonder if Plasma changed me...."

"Ooooh, yeah, that would make sense." Jenny nodded, but glanced over more when he mentioned Plasma. "I don't think it did, honestly." She gave a small smile. "Have you ever heard of the tales of the old Team Plasma?"

"I'm glad you think so" Evan replied, as he trie to think about Jenny's question. "Apparently, they were supposedly a pokemon liberation group, but that turned out to be a lie on top of more lies, but that's all I really know...."

Jenny nodded, and explained what Paul had told the other members of the group not that long ago. "I don't agree with the ideals of that version of Team Plasma. I get that they were trying to help everyone, but they just didn't see the truth of the matter; that people were happy. and if they were really just manipulated, it makes the situation even sadder..."

"Can't say I agree either." Evan said, looking down a bit. "But even now, Plasma feels intimidating. It was especially like that.......when I was actually among the fold in Plasma. After the fight with the Ancients that is...."

"Hmm..." Jenny frowned slightly, as she rubbed the back of her head. "I've had some run-ins with people who were not nice, from Plasma no less... but I believe that's not what the entire group is like. I mean, isn't that the same thing with Liberty and Rocket too? But we know not everyone's bad there either."

"Yeah, but try being a Plasma agent with Landorus." Evan said, as he looked upwards. "It was no secret that people knew about how I actually got Landorus, and how he's with me now. As a result, I was either alienated by people who may have been jealous, or hounded by people who wanted to know how I did it."

Jenny nodded, and sighed. "That is a problem, yeah. People just don't know when to leave others alone sometimes, especially in that sorta situation..."

"Well, it wasn't all bad, but it was still bothersome." Evan remarked, smiling a bit. "I have a question for you, Jen-Jen; Why did you join Team Plasma? Was it to keep the peace? To help others?"

Jenny scratched her head, as she thought about that. "That's a good question... At the time, I just felt like I had no way to help others. I wanted to help keep the peace that I loved so much; and maybe they had a feeling something was different about me even then... I was allowed to start training; then slowly worked my way up. Everyone always said how I could seem both extra happy, and overly sad depending on the times; but I had just brushed it off then. But I really wanted to make a difference, even just on a low scale."

That's admirable, Jenny!" Evan said as he drew closer to her. "It's very good reason, to at least try and make a difference. It's far better than the initial reason I joined Team Plasma, or rather, was forced to join them..."

"Oh yeah? What was yours?" Jenny asked curiously, as she looked over at Evan again, wondering just what kind of reason his was.

"Well......." Evan said, trying to figure out how to explain it. Evan then told Jenny of how Feral sent him to Unova, and how he had battled Landorus. He added in, that the battle had managed to sway the Abundance Pokémon to Evan's side. He explained how Plasma had arrested him and was going to punish him for his so called "crime".Evan fell into silence as he remembered what brought him to Unova.

"I was given two choices...." Evan said, after breaking the silence. "Either end up a prisoner, or join them. I chose to join, after Landorus spoke on my behalf. The Sages basically had me on a leash for a while, so I was more a less a prisoner anyways, except I had a legendary pokemon as a result."

Jenny stayed quiet for a bit, and shook her head wth a sigh. "That doesn't sound like it was a fun time; but since you were with the group and such, obviously it wasn't that short a leash..." She smiled slightly, but sighed again. "That sounds like they were being way too uptight then, though... have they gotten better, though?"

"They did get better, seeing as I am here, and no agents are chasing me." Evan said, smiling a bit. "But I can understand why they acted as such......"

"Oh?" Jenny looked at him curiously at the last statement.

"Well, considering my behavior and that I was an unknown element......" Evan said, starting to lean back again. "I guess they were justifiably afraid I would misuse the power of Landorus."

"Hmm... That makes sense; but I don't think that it was justifiable." Jenny shrugged before scratching her head. "I don't know; you just don't seem the type to misuse that power for petty reasons... just when it's absolutely needed. Like what's been happening recently and all."

"Yeah, I think you are right, Jenny." Evan said, halting his decline a bit. "I think Plasma may have changed me, but maybe, just maybe, it was for the best...."

Jenny chuckled, and smiled. "Probably. Besides, we probably wouldn't have hung out as much otherwise." She smiled more, this time in amusement, as she stretched slightly. "I hope, one day, everyone can get along. It probably won't happen, but I wish it could."

Evan rose up again, and drew Jenny close, smiling at her. "It was thanks to Plasma, that I did meet you." Evan said, his eyes twinkling. "Everyone getting along, may be a tough thing. Perhaps the toughest thing ever. But we can still hope for it, Jenny, like you said."

"Yeah." The girl nodded, as she smiled back. "Besides... I think with everyone's help, it might not be quite as impossible as we might think. Even Paul showed his good side today." She said the last part a little quietly because she didn't want conspiracies happening, but still giggled. "But seriously, I think it can happen with enough trying, and I really hope it does."

"With you and I helping out, it's very possible, Jenny." Evan said as he leaned in close. "The future is uncertain, but one day, we'll all be friends. I assure you." The Plasma Agent then gave Jenny a heartfelt kiss, blushing slightly as he did so.

"Because you all are my best friends...."

Jenny blushed as she smiled and returned the kiss, and then nodded afterward. "Right! Right now we have to focus on the here and now, and get Ellen back; but afterward, we try to do our best to make our dream come true."

Edited January 15, 2016 by Hades

Parugi · January 17, 2016

IC:

. . . You're the new girl, huh?

. . .

Not much of a talker, are you?

. . . Not really . . .

Join the club . . .

. . .

What are you looking at?

Sorry . . . It's just . . .

. . .?

. . . We've met before . . .

. . . Right. Havoc.

Yeah . . .

Not a good first impression, was it?

No . . . You're . . .

What? A monster?

. . .

. . . You aren't wrong . . .

. . . You think of yourself that way . . .?

Doesn't everybody?

About you, or about themselves . . .?

. . .

I'm sorry . . .

What do you have to be sorry for? All you did was ask a question . . .

I know, but . . . I didn't mean to make you sad . . .

. . . You didn't . . .

. . . Okay . . .

. . .

. . . What am I doing here . . .?

. . . I've been asking myself that question for years, kid . . .

I'm . . . sorry to hear that.

You have nothing to be sorry for . . .

It's just . . . so confusing . . .

You think so?

I do . . .

It shouldn't be . . .

. . . Why not?

It should be black and white . . . What's coming . . . What we need to do . . .

I guess . . .

. . .

. . . By the way . . .

. . .?

I was going to say . . . different . . .

. . . . . .?

Not that you're a monster. You're just . . . different from what I expected . . .

. . . Okay . . .?

. . . It's Quincy, right?

Yeah . . .

Is that your real name?

. . . No.

Do you mind me asking . . .?

. . .

. . . I'm sorry . . .

. . . It was Tiana . . .

. . . That's a beautiful name . . .

. . .

. . . I'm Skye, by the way . . .

. . . Thanks, Skye.

. . . This may not mean much from me, but . . . you don't need to wear a mask to earn respect . . .

. . . I thought that once, too . . .

. . .?

Take care, Skye.

IC - Ethan Worth/Gavin Braner - Chapel, Walking:

"I'm sure they'd stay about as faithful to the actual story in Celadon as they did with Ash Ketchum's exploits," Gavin said. "Which is to say, not at all."

"Gavin, are you implying that you don't believe that Ash Ketchum flew across the sea's surface all anime-like at the behest of an ocean crown?" Ethan asked. "The nerve."

"I think a healthy amount of skepticism is very justified," Gavin replied with a smirk. He looked at Dack. "But no, we weren't fighting for Hannah--very much the opposite, although we only ended up actually battling one small group from her army. As it happens, we were more concerned with finding out what was going on in Central Park." He turned back around, hiding his troubled expression from the others. "Not that that happened . . ."

Though concerned about this sudden, dour shift, Ethan maintained a smile on his face. "In any case, it's all good," he said. "We're all here, Hannah's taken care of, and pretty soon, we're gonna get a chance to finally put everything to rest--Ford, these Sins, the conflicts between Team Liberty, Team Rocket, and the Hojohsin League . . ." He cracked his knuckles, grinning. "Oh, yeah. There's a finale coming--I can feel it." He glanced over his shoulder at the other three. "And in the meantime, we have this fight to look forward to."

**Blessed Blade** · January 18, 2016

-==IC: Ray==-

A day and a half passed, as Ray walked across the bow of the ship. Everything had been quiet in comparison to the hectic days beforehand, and the separatist sighed. Maybe this is what was needed. From what I saw, the others seem to have calmed down; and even I'm not feeling as intense. He scratched his head, though, as he glanced to the brilliant orange sky. He heard the sounds of battle from the other side of the ship, and knew that Jenny was training again. She never lets me watch, though... I wonder why?

-==IC: Jenny==-

Jenny panted, as she steeled herself. She had gotten the assistance of Landorus to create a sort of small training area out of sand, that'd prevent the boat itself from getting damaged. "Alright, Dragon Claw!" Her Emboar was acting on her own intuition, as she tried to work with Gnip. The Garchomp saw the Emboar charging up a Superpower-based punch, and craftily dodged around the punch as it sent ripples through the sand. Jenny jumped back as the platform was stabilized, and kept a close eye on the fight, as Gnip speedily slashed out at the Emboar's side. The Emboar stumbled back, and then dashed forward, as the two continued to trade blows.

"Enough." Jenny was pulled out of her trance of watching the fight, as she felt the sand platform begin to lower to the ground. "I believe that is enough training for the moment." Landorus said, as Jenny sighed, and nodded. She recalled her two Pokemon, and took a moment to catch her breath. She wasn't entirely sure if this was working correctly, but after the past few days, she was slowly getting better at reading the flow of battle... or so she hoped.

"You two both did well." The girl said, as she smiled at the two Pokeballs. She stretched for a moment, and then went to go catch up with the others, in hopes they were doing something exciting.

-==IC: Chloe==-

As the night time began to fall over Sinnoh, Chloe glanced at the clock in their room, as she laid on the bed. "If the time is close to what I think; everyone should be free now. I'm gonna call now." She giggled as she mentioned that to Olivia, and called up Evan's number, since he knew of the plan more than her brother did. When Evan picked up, she took a deep breath. "Heya; do you think you can gather the others for that talk? I'll put you on videophone when you call back, okay?"

**Dr. Hidaka** · January 18, 2016

IC: Evan Tierra

Evan had been laying in bed when Chloe had called, enjoying the gentle rocking of the boat as the waves did their thing. Evan answered the call, smiling as he heard her voice again.

"You've got it, Chloe." Evan said cheerfully as he prepared to hang up. "Talk to you soon!"

The Plasma Agent hung up his pokegear, and exited out of the room, his pace energetic and excited. This was something he had been waiting for since he suggested it. Since he felt so good, he had to tell the others what was going on, in his own way. The Hero made a beeline for the lounge as he cleared his throat.

"ATTENTION, EVERYONE!" Evan said happily as he ran down the hallways, making sure his voice was heard by all. "MEET ME IN THE LOUNGE. WE'VE GOT ANOTHER CALL FROM CHLOE, AND YOU WOULDN'T WANT TO MISS IT!"

Konuju · January 18, 2016

IC: Dack/Madison/Luke

"Do you really think these conflicts will finally come to an end?" Madison asked curiously. "I mean, things have been pretty quiet for the past few months, and it was only in the past few weeks that all this stuff started happening."

"Either way, Ford's definitely getting ready for something big," Dack muttered. "One way or another, it sounds like everything's going to change."

Madison went quiet for a moment, then looked over at Ethan and Gavin. "What will you do?" she asked. "When it's all over. Would you keep doing government work for Rocket, or would you pursue a more civilian life?"

"Someone's got to maintain the peace, Madison," Luke said. "Just because the conflict might end, it doesn't mean Team Rocket will no longer have a need for field agents like Ethan, Gavin, or Dack."

At the mention of his name, Dack looked up in surprise. The question had been directed toward the other two Rocket agents, but Dack realized he wasn't entirely sure how he would answer it himself. He had assumed he'd just drop off the radar again like he'd done after the Ancient Darkrai had been defeated, but Luke had a point. Someone had to be out there maintaining the peace.

OOC: Mild bunnying approved by Blade.

IC: Ryan

The Liberty agent had felt a lot better after talking with Aspen and the other Ryan. Even so, he had kept to his room a lot for the past day and a half, running through scenarios in his head and doing his best to plan a strategy for getting Ellen back. Which was much easier said than done, given that he didn't even know where Ellen was being kept, let alone what defenses Ford might have set up. Was she on an island? At the top of a mountain? Hidden in a maze of tunnels? And just how did she fit into Ford's plans?

When he wasn't wrestling with these impossible questions, Ryan took to training on the deck in a secluded corner. Orihime hadn't left Togie's side since the boat had left Lilycove, and with Ray just wanting to relax, Ryan had taken it upon himself to train the two Togekiss in tag battles. It was clear the pair had formed a close bond, but they had to learn to communicate in the heat of battle, to become familiar with each others' attack patterns and cover each others' weak spots.

Ryan had just finished one of these training sessions and returned to his room to flop down on the bed when Evan's bombastic voice echoed through the halls. "Really...?" The Liberty agent groaned as he face-planted against his pillow. "I was looking forward to a long nap."

Orihime chirped impatiently as she nudged Ryan.

"I know, I know," Ryan's muffled voice came through the pillow. "Ray told me I'd want to talk to Za- er, Chloe again, I just don't want everyone else breathing over my shoulder when I do it, waiting for me to do something wrong."

Togie gave a supportive croon. When Ryan refused to get up, Orihime stamped up and down before beating her large wings and fluttering out of the room, presumably to fetch Ray.

At this, Ryan poked his head up. "Alright, alright, I'm up!" he cried, scrambling out of the room and chasing after the Togekiss. Upon seeing Ryan following her, Orihime redirected her flight toward the lounge with a smug look on her face. Togie merely grinned as he followed suit.

JiMing · January 18, 2016

IC: Aspen/Dahlia Seaton

Aspen went back to his room, his spirits much better after talking to the Ryans. He didn't feel in the mood to talk to anyone else and the upper deck already sounded like it was in use. So the youngest Seaton simply relaxed on his bed until Evan's alert reached him.

"Huh? Another call?" he muttered, getting off the bed. "Wonder what it could be this time."

Dahlia walked out into the hallway just as Aspen opened his door, with the latter quickly catching up to her. "Sounds like another talk is coming up." she said, looking towards the lounge. "Maybe things will go better this time."

"Hopefully they do." he said, shrugging. "I'm not sure what we could be discussing now, though... Just an update on their situation?" Aspen muttered, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Well, we'll have to see." Dahlia replied, nodding. She walked towards the lounge with her younger brother following suit, both awaiting their second discussion with Chloe and what she would have to say.

IC: Lachina Adaon

Lachina closed her eyes, and thought it over. "Sure, I mean, not really sure I have anything better to be doing at the moment anyways." she said. The Ranger looked back at Mercury, and frowned. "Just... See if you can hold back this time? I know you probably couldn't help doing a number on that guy..." she muttered, shrugging. "But please do what you can, alright? I mean, if anything else goes wrong this time, at least me and Aolani'll be there to make sure things don't get ugly."

Edited January 19, 2016 by Noriaki Kakyoin

Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

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