Pokémon: Rise Of The Rockets

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Chloe==-

 

The girl focused on the Garchomp as she continued to run. As Gnip made her breathing more apparent, Chloe focused on that even further. A look of realization dawned on her face for a moment, only to be replaced by a small frown for a moment. She pushed herself back to her typical pace, and tried to work on controlling her breathing a bit better. A couple laps later, the psychic girl collapsed once again, as she panted heavily to catch her breath, but then forced herself to her feet quicker. "Not... yet..." The girl steadied out her breathing, as she tried to get a working balance between her movements and how she was breathing, and pushed off from the ground into a run once more.

 

After half an hour of trying to perfect the breathing technique, the girl laid down on her back, her lungs seeming like they were burning from the exertion. Chloe closed her eyes, as she simply took that moment to chill out for a moment. I think this is the most exercise I've done in a while... The girl wiped her forehead with her arm, the summer heat also starting to get to her a little bit. However, after a mere few moments, the girl slowly and unsteadily began to sit up... only to be beaned in the head with a plastic water bottle.

 

"Drink up..." Jenny said with a small frown to Chloe. "You won't get anywhere fast if you are dehydrated." The psychic appeared as if she would object for a moment, but then simply sighed, and began to drink the water, draining about half of it more quickly than she had expected.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

Gnip had slinked over to Evan, whimpering a bit. She was happy that Chloe was trying so hard. But, she also didn't want her to overwork herself. It wouldn't be fun, if the girl hurt herself. Evan patted Gnip on the head, for at least giving the Psychic that first essential push. "Jenny's right, Chloe." he said, frowning a bit himself. "It's great you are pushing yourself, but you shouldn't bite off more than you can chew....." The Plasma Agent looked at the girl, who definitely looked determined albeit a bit worn out. "There has to be a way to at least make things a little less intense on her..."

Evan thought for a while, before an idea decided to take form in his head. "Chloe, am I correct to assume that The Alamo has a a fitness center of some kind for their Agents?" Evan said, a clever grin on his face. "If so, then we can just go in there and continue this. What do you say?"

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Chloe==-

 

"Um, I think they do..." Chloe nodded, as she slowly got to her feet. "I'm not totally sure of the way, but we could try that... would be better than being out in this heat, at least." She awkwardly smiled, as she had to admit it had gotten a bit too hot outside for her liking. She glanced around to see if that was agreed as the next place to head to, and Jenny simply nodded in agreement, knowing that it was starting to get too hot as well.

[MELON LORD]

IC; Xander Cruize

 

He collected his gun from the customs office and followed the directions to the shooting range. The area was mostly empty at the moment, which wan't that surprising. Most agents would practice with their pokémon over a gun. Xander also needed to work with his team, but . . .

 

He knew how much of a game changer guns were. Pokémon fought but even extreme battle between trained pokémon rarely resulted in death, or even permanent injury. A gun, though. Aim, pull, and watch your target bleed. He shuddered at the thought, and raised his weapon for the first practice shot, against a target 9 meters away.

 

Take a deep breath and look down the sights at your target.

 

Fully extend your arms, but don't lock them.

 

As you slowly let the breath out, don't pull the trigger. Squeeze it.

 

The noise was louder than he remembered, but it had also been a long time since he had been near a gun, let alone when one was being fired. He adjusted from the recoil and took a deep breath.

 

McKinley. Boom.

 

Captain Jack. Bang.

 

Lysandre. Blam.

 

Ford. Bam.

 

Xander lowered the gun, switching the safety on quietly and pressing the button to reel in the target sheet. Five bullet holes punctured through the human shaped target. They were scattered, but each one had hit somewhere on the silhouette. Two chest shots, a stomach, one arm, and a shoulder.

 

It was a good start.

 

IC: Jared Winters

 

He stood outside the town with Anubis and Oggie on either side of him. He still had a couple of days at least before whatever was going to happen. With Lachina on the ship, he needed his team at its best.

 

That was why Styx was tied to a tree. The Absol was snarling at him, lunging every now and again to try and attack. Jared kept his distance as he assessed the creature's aura. Twisted, broken, with dark colors mingling throughout. Whatever had been done to Styx would take time and effort to undo.

 

What troubled him most, though, was that the aura stretched towards him, and mixed into his own in the same way that Anubis' did. He had controlled the beast in Vermilion, and that had cost him something, he was sure. He had lost ground, lost a bit of himself in order to keep it on its leash.

 

So why wasn't it obeying him now? He scowled. "Styx, down." If the Absol even heard him, he had no idea. It continued to lunge at the end of its leash, mindless and mad. It wasn't even aware enough to cut itself free with that wickedly sharp blade on its head.

 

With a sigh, he unclipped the other ball from his belt and tossed it into the air. "Stones," he said coolly. The Onix appeared, roaring a greeting to the world. From what Jared had seen during a brief sparring session, the rock snake was mostly lucid. It obeyed orders and even seemed to get along with its teammates. But when it entered its frenzied state, there was very little that could stop it. Jared and Anubis had had to bring it down through a combination of fighting and aura manipulation.

 

Monsters. Not the creatures themselves, no. They were the victims. Whoever had done this to them, whoever had altered their auras and closed their hearts. Those were the monsters.

 

Stones regarded him, still unsure of its new master. In the mansion, the silver-haired trainer had seemed strong and dangerous at first. After the battle though, he had turned soft and weak. When Stones had disobeyed, however, the new master had put him in his place. It was almost like having two different trainers.

 

Jared sighed. "Stones, distract Styx." The Onix nodded and lashed out to grab the Absol's attention. While Styx focused on its new target, Jared moved forward.

 

He wrapped an arm around Styx's neck, holding its front paws off of the ground and keeping that blade from turning on him. Concentrating, he let his aura spread around him, encapsulating himself and the twisted creature in silver light.

 

Minutes passed, then an hour, then two . . . Silver aura bathed them both, and when Jared let go of Styx, the Absol collapsed to the ground and stared at him in confusion. For a moment, Jared saw something in its look that wasn't madness.

 

And then that moment ended. Anubis was between them while the trainer wrapped a bandage around the bleeding bite marks. He had known this would take a while, but now he knew for sure that he could help this creature.

 

He could only hope that they both survived what was to come before.

Edited August 24, 2016 by Carbevoir

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie - Four Island

 

Jamie beamed a bright smile and a let out a small laugh filled with joy. She grabbed the outstretched hand with both of hers and shook enthusiastically.

 

"Thanks I-"-THWOMP

 

Pelleas collapsed to the ground, releasing the tree. The Heracross had been sustained by the hormone rush of Guts, and now that he had taken a break, he had no energy left.

 

"Oh Pelleas," Jamie said, worry on her face. "I knew that was going to take it out of you. You did well, go to sleep."

 

Jamie returned Pelleas to his Pokeball. Lucan was relieved the fight was over and let out two sighs of relief. A more subdued, but no less happy smile appeared on Jamie's face.

 

"So I was saying, thanks for-" Jamie interrupted herself again at seeing Yellow grip her side, "Are you alright?"

[Blessed Blade]

-==NPC: Yellow==-

 

The woman nodded, as she smiled at the enthusiasm that Jamie had displayed. "I'm alright!" She moved her hand to show that, as she chuckled. "It's just a side-effect of one of my abilities, nothing to worry about." Yellow looked at Jamie, and nodded again. "You're very welcome for the fight, too. I hope you're feeling better now, too." The younger girl appeared to have cheered up after the battle, Yellow noticed. It reminded her a little of how Red was at times, and the woman seemed to be lost in nostalgia for a little bit.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

"Whether you're sure of the way or not, lead on!" Evan said excitedly, flashing a huge grin. "I wanna see what Team Liberty's got!" He then recalled Gnip to her poke ball, and made a polite "go on!" gesture to the girl. The agent didn't want to let his excitement make him seem rude, especially considering that has happened in the past. He did note, that Chloe also seemed to be way more excited when he mentioned that she could run with her Pokemon. He made a note of that for the future. It could make things like these more enjoyable...

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Chloe==-

 

Chloe nodded, as she began to lead the now-trio back to the Alamo. After a little while, and some corrections to directions that were obviously wrong, the group reached the fitness center. The girl looked around, as it seemed a little more empty than she had remembered it being the last time she had passed by. "Um, so what now?" She scratched her head, as she looked over the different machines, wondering what Evan had in mind for her to try.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

Evan looked around the Fitness Center, looking a bit delighted at what he was looking at. While most of the machines were the sort one would see back at Plasma HQ, there were some machines that definitely caught the young man's eye. One machine definitely stuck out to him, a rather large treadmill that looked like it could fit one or two people at once.  Evan walked over to it's control, eyes gleaming with curiosity as he checked out the settings. What he could gather from it, was that not only could one alter the speed of it, but alter the elevation, how uneven it was, and simulate different terrain types as well. "It must use some of the tech from the training arenas, making it a good way for the Agents of Team Liberty to adapt to future missions." he mused.

Evan turned back to Jenny and Chloe smiling. "I think we should start with this machine." Evan said, barely containing his excitement. "It definitely seems like a good way to work out, and...........I think I'll try it first. We'll take turns," The Plasma Agent faced back towards the panel, and fiddled with the settings, til they seemed perfect for the way he was now. He got onto the machine, and started to jog a bit, trying not to exert himself too much....

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Chloe==-

 

Chloe watched as Evan jogged on the treadmill for a little while, and tried to get a feel for how the machine worked while the Plasma agent was using it. After a little while, she watched as the Hero of Space stopped the treadmill, and let Jenny give it a try. This version of the set-up seemed different from what Evan had been using, and Chloe raised an eyebrow as Jenny ran. The other girl seemed to be having some issues keeping up, but still managed to stay on the treadmill, even if it was a lot less refined than it should have been. When Jenny finished running, Chloe waited for her to set it up, and then stepped onto the treadmill.

 

The psychic squeaked out in surprise as she tried to find a proper rhythm to stay on the machine, but ran forward, as she tried to keep toward the center. She didn't want to run too fast, but also didn't want to be too slow and fall off, as she began to pant a bit. However, Chloe was determined to not mess this up, and had motivation in not being able to slow down. The girl attempted to slowly reset her breathing as she pushed forward, motioning for the treadmill to be set to a higher level.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

Evan nodded as he adjusted the settings for the treadmill, making sure to adjust it slowly. He didn't want her to be overwhelmed by any sudden changes in the machine. As soon as the settings were adjust to a reasonable level, Evan locked them in and gave the girl a thumbs up. "C'mon, Chloe!" the Hero said, pumping his fist up and down. "Show us what you are made of!" While most people would have thought this a waste of time, he figured that it was a good idea to not only relax, but also ensure that they themselves were ready.

They were still having fun, after all!

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Chloe==-

 

Chloe made sure to keep her breathing steady as she slowly upped her pace to match the increase in the treadmill's speed. As she planted her feet, she made sure to keep focus on where they were so she wouldn't trip, and kept running. I have to be able to keep up with this... She panted a bit for a moment, but made sure to try and keep focus once again, as she steadied her breathing. The girl hoped that this was helping in the long run, but did not want to give in, even if she felt she would break. They needed to get stronger, and she felt that this kind of training was the only way she would be able to increase her stamina enough to perfect grade 2 of her Synchronize ability...

 

Alvis watched from his Pokeball, as Jenny held the other girl's purse. The Gallade knew that Chloe was pushing herself because of the fight against Xander, but wondered if this was really the best way to go about this. He didn't feel it was his place to interfere, however, so the Gallade simply kept quiet, and watched the girl run.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

Evan noted that Chloe didn't seem to be making any progress. She wasn't doing bad, but she showed no signs of improving. The girl definitely had the drive and fire to do this, but she didn't seem to really......have something else. Then the Hero realized it. She needed something that everyone seeking to better themselves needed.

An adversary.

Evan fiddled with the control panel, slowly stopping it, to the surprise of Chloe, and then winked at Jenny as he walked onto the large machine. "Chloe, you don't seem to be trying hard enough." Evan said, smirking confidently. "We have a saying in my family. 'The north wind created us.' This basically means that challenges can present opportunities. That is why I, Evan Tierra, challenge you. Let's see who can last longer. Jenny, if/when Chloe accepts my challenge, start it up, and amp it up steadily." The Hero faced Chloe, an aura of challenge surrounding him....

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Chloe==-

 

Chloe took a moment to catch her breath for real as she listened to Evan giving the challenge to her. "Alright, but I'm not gonna hold back just because of your shoulder." The girl returned the smirk as she used the chance to stretch quickly. "I'm not going to lose, either! I have to do this, after all." Her smirk faded into a serious expression as she got into the position she usually took when preparing for battle. The girl seemed very focused on the task at hand, as she nodded. "Right, then, ready when you are!"

 

Jenny frowned slightly, as she wondered if this was really a good idea, but slowly started the machine up, and began to increase the difficulty level at a standard sort of pace. The girl watched as Chloe seemed to be somehow even more focused than earlier; yet something still seemed uneasy to the red-head.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

As the machine began to rev up again, Evan smiled and replied. "I'd have it no other way! Bring it!" However, as it started, the young man started by simply walking, despite the pace of the treadmill. His pace was quick, his breathing was slightly uneven, but yet he kept moving, as if this wasn't bothering him. He did see that the girl moving a little faster, with more intense pacing. The Hero definitely had a feeling something was up, but shrugged it off. Right now, he was more concerned with having fun, while bettering himself....

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Chloe==-

 

Chloe focused herself, as the machine began to be turned up to the faster settings. She gave a small smile, as she kept running forward. She was intent on this working out properly, but the look on her face betrayed the fact that she was most definitely having fun with this at the same time. The girl made sure to keep her breathing as steady as she possibly could with 19 years of breathing wrong while running, but felt that she could definitely do this...

 

Jenny looked between the two of them as she continued to steadily increase the difficulty level. Can they really take this sort of thing? The girl wondered, as she hesitantly looked at the controls. She was uncertain whether either of them could handle the higher levels, or whether they would stop even if they couldn't.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

Evan could feel his blood getting hotter as the speed rose higher and higher. It wasn't because he didn't want to be shown up by Chloe, but because this was just that fun for him. The feeling of pushing himself so hard, even as he was now, was incredible. His pace quickened as he tightened his focus, being unable to hide his grin. "There's no stopping me, Chloe!" The Hero said excitedly. "I'm gonna go further and further! The goal may never be in reach, but I'll still try my hardest to get there, no matter what!" With those words, Evan winked at Jenny, making it clear that he was having the time of his life....
 

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie - Four Island

 

"Hee hee, yeah," Jamie said trying not to laugh. "That was just what I needed to feel heroic again."

 

Jamie perked up as she realized Yellow said 'abilities'. Was Yellow some sort of hero too?

 

"Abilities? What kind?" Jamie asked with big hopeful eyes and a puppy dog-face.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Yellow==-

 

Yellow was surprised by the reaction that Jamie had given, and scratched her head. "Well... I'm a psychic, basically. I've been told it's because I was born in Viridian Forest. But I can basically give my Pokemon power, though as I've evolved my ability, I can also... feel what they feel sometimes." The woman scratched her head. "It's hard to explain, really."

 

-==IC: Chloe==-

 

It appeared that neither side were giving in, as Jenny continued to increase the speed and difficulty of the treadmill. Chloe stumbled slightly, but picked up her pace for a moment to catch back up and stay upright. The psychic girl was intent to not give in, but had to admit to herself that she wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this up before her muscles just complained to her too much. But until that happened, she was not going to give up, because she couldn't let anyone down.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander Cruize

 

He ejected the empty clip - magazine? What was the difference? - and nodded thoughtfully. He could get more bullets here, he was sure. He'd just have to be sure to get the proper ammo for it. Sliding the magazine back into place, he clicked on the safety and slid it into his jacket pocket.

 

He would need to get a holster as well, preferably one that didn't get in the way of his pokéball belt. With a sigh, he made his way towards the supply offices. Sylph walked beside him, her expression neutral. She worried about Xander's state of mind, he knew. He had fired every round thinking of those same four people, and was walking grim-faced now.

 

He had only shot at a paper target in an empty range, but he had a feeling that when the time came for it, he'd have no trouble pulling the trigger on McKinley or Ford.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie - Four Island

 

"Oooh," Jamie said, clearly intrigued by how that worked, "That must really come in handy!"

 

Jamie then realized the drawback to it. If she could feel what the Pokemon felt, then she could get hurt, right? She hoped her own powers didn't have such drawbacks. She was about to comment when at that moment Jamie realized the sun was going down quick.

 

"Oh my, it's getting late. Um..." Jamie looked around where she was. "Sorry do you know how to get back to the living...area...place, I... kinda forgot to pay attention where I was going," Jamie said, embarrassment all over her face.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Yellow==-

 

Yellow softly giggled at the fact that Jamie had gotten lost, but nodded. "I do. Right this way!" The woman smiled, as she beckoned for the younger girl to follow. The path seemed complicated enough that it could be mistaken that they were going in circles for a while, however, the older woman's sense of direction was proven eventually. By the time the sun had fully set, the two had reached the Alamo. Yellow walked forward for a few moments, but then looked back curiously. "Do you have a room here? You mentioned being with Rocket, so..."

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

Evan started to breathe heavily, clearly reaching his limits. He had to admit, despite his body feeling like it was gonna fall at any moment, he was doing amazingly well. But Chloe seemed to be doing as great. The young man had to admit, she was definitely pushing herself harder and harder. But, sadly....

He couldn't take any more.

The Hero gave Jenny the signal to stop the machine, and as the machine slowed, Evan panted and huffed, clearly tuckered out from the workout. He looked at Chloe, and gave the girl a weary grin, and a thumbs up. "I hate to admit it, but you've beaten me." Evan said in between breaths. "If I didn't stop, neither one of us would have, which would have left us in far worse shape. " He then looked at Jenny, tired but still very happy with how things went.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Chloe==-

 

Chloe panted as she slowed down when the machine was stopped. The girl placed her hands on her knees to support herself as she caught her breath. She glanced off and returned the smile with a tired one of her own. "That works..." She seemed lost in thought, however. "I want... to try something after we... manage to catch our breath..." Chloe panted some more, as she sat down and closed her eyes. I wonder if I'll be able to get this to work properly now...

[MELON LORD]

IC: Kalos Team

The gun was cleaned and put safely away in his room with three clips of ammo. Now, he and his team were in one of the outdoor training areas. Psyka, Astraea, Vixen, and Ellen were watching as Xander and Sylph practiced Synchronizing. The trainer and Gardevoir has slipped into the state quickly this time, with little need for preparation. Xander's eyes were closed, seeing what Sylph saw, feeling her heart beat, hearing and smelling the things she smelled.

 

They raised their right arms and reached for a strategically-placed boulder meant to provide cover or high ground in battle. An object like that would have proved to be an exercise for Sylph; for Xander, it wouldn't have been possible yet. Together, however, they lifted the rock effortlessly. Their surprise at this broke their concentration, and the rock flew a short distance up before crashing back down. Vixen and Ellen barked, while Astraea watched passively and Psyka tried to cover a snicker.

 

The two as one shook their head and reached out again to grab the rock. They lifted it slowly and gently until it hovered ten feet off of the ground. Taking a deep breath, they then changed their analogy. No longer a rope, they pictured the psychic energy instead as a hand, closed loosely around the rock. Sylph's eyes hardened, and they clenched the hand tighter. After a moment of tension, a large crack formed in the face of the boulder, and they let it drop agin.

 

They released Synchronization. Xander's hair was plastered to his forehead with sweat, his shirt and jacket drenched with it. Shakily he sat as Sylph approached him. She sat next to him and smiled. Let's have a group meditation until dinner, she suggested.

 

Xander nodded, beckoning the others over. As they formed a circle, he reached out to touch each of their minds and sank into easy meditation.

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: James Arthur/Miriam Shields/Goldhawk/Bounty/Piers Ebner/James Pierce Paris Ebner PWNed Scrub

 

A look of apprehension appeared on James's face when Goldhawk addressed him, "Do not thank me just yet sir..."

 

Suddenly, shouts were heard before Richard burst into the room and slammed the doubles doors shut. He tossed Dionysus's Pokeball into the doors, sending out the Snorlax to block the doors from opening.

 

"I did not have time to go through security... conventionally. So I had one of our agents... him... distract them."

 

The spectacle resulted in blank looks from all involved in the conversation. At last, Bounty said what seemed to be on everybody's mind: "Unconventional, but effective."

 

Richard gave a thumbs-up.

 

James sighed but nodded "Agreed. You will probably have to sort that out."

 

Miriam looked at the unkempt Liberty agent who entered the room with a vague sense of nausea, "Just get out of here while we discuss with Hoenn's provisional leaders what it will do here on out and we'll sort it out. And take him with you."

 

James smiled and with a bow said, "Not a problem, My thanks, Representative...?"

 

"Miriam Shields, I think you'll remember that," she said cryptically.

 

James looked quizzically at Miriam, not following what she meant.

 

"At any rate, a secret twin brother? I'm impressed you managed to find him Executive," Goldhawk said.

 

"It was not that hard, I used Google," James said with a smirk, not entirely joking. Letting his face grow more serious, he added, "I thought finding him was going to be the easy part but he seemed... eager to help us as you saw,"

 

"Indeed," Goldhawk replied.

 

A veritable Cain and Abel if there ever was one...Cain and Abel...

 

James flashed back towards his work on the message Jamie had given him.

 

"One moment, I need to check something," James said as he pulled out his laptop. He had a hunch.

 

After a few moments, his hunch was confirmed. After a couple of tries, he found that the two passwords were in face "Cain" and "Abel".

 

He looked at the information in front of him. It was a riddle. From he gathered from his run-in with McKinley, this was perfectly normal for him. The riddle wasn't particularly hard to solve, he guessed McKinley included it to pad out the message. Made it easier to crack.

 

"Sirs, I have some information you might want," James said to Bounty and Goldhawk.

 

IC: Jamie - Four Island

 

"I do, a friend of mine named Ryan Sanders managed to get me a room", Jamie said with a nod. She looked towards the building before turning back, "Thanks for today, I had some... issues I needed to work through." She sighed once more, looking to where the sun had been. "It's probably too late today, but I will have to make things up with my friends tomorrow."

 

"Alright... and even if you can't tomorrow, then there's always another day." Yellow smiled, as she waved after Jamie. "Good luck!"

 

Jamie gave her biggest smile and waved back. Yellow was right, she still had plenty of chances to make amends.

 

Then she heard a buzzing.

 

She looked at her phone the first time in about a week. She noticed with some delayed horror that there had been message on there from James that she only just now noticed. All there was was a file titled:

 

Decoded.txt

Edited August 26, 2016 by Valorous Angel Minun4

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

Still catching his breath, Evan was curious about what Chloe said. What was the girl thinking of trying? He really didn't know what she was up to, but he could try hazarding a guess. "What could something like what we just did, have an instant effect on, Chloe?" Evan panted, raising an eyebrow as he asked the Psychic. "Could you have made a breakthrough on something....?"

[Parugi]

IC - Bounty, On a Boat:

 

"FAMILY MATTERS: 'President Pierce' Proven Phony"

 

The news article had been quick to print, which perhaps explained why a number of details were inaccurate. For instance, 'Parez Ebner' was never a thing, had never been a thing, and if Bounty's wishes came true, would never be a thing. Second was that the journalist grossly over-reported the number of guards that James Pierce had managed to break free from, listing it at thirteen as opposed to the actual three.

 

Bounty would have written that off as a typo if it hadn't been repeated more than once. Alas.

 

More importantly, however, the article reported one accurate piece of information: That while Piers Ebner had returned home, Paris Ebner had up and vanished. The only clue to his whereabouts that the authorities had been able to find on the bodies of the guards was a strand of golden hair.

 

A tell-tale sign for what Bounty and Goldhawk suspected.

 

And that, in addition to the information given by James Arthur immediately after the trial, was why Bounty currently sat in a boat headed for Two Island. It was a simple conundrum--Goldhawk could amass his people quickly, and Bounty could not. Too many issues with rampaging Golurk and people and attacks on allied cities to deal with, on top of attacks on fellow leaders.

 

No; this was something that Bounty would address himself, in person.

 

And so he went.

 

 

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

 

A buzz on Ethan and Gavin's Poké Gears interrupted the conversation. The message was from Jamie. Sensing an urgency to it--particularly since the subject line immediately tied it back to the document they had given to her for decoding--the pair downloaded and opened the file.
 

Here it is

-Jamie

 

FWD: Decoded.txt

 

Untranslated: "Nysovw Emfwfn hslb us Zgp Eyyifk dp Hgs"

Passcodes: Cain, Abel

Translated: "Iulius Caesar goes to Two Island to Die." 

Iulius Casear is a reference to the month of July. McKinley's message refers to an event happening on July 31st on Two Island.

 

 

 

"'Prepare for trouble' sounds about right," Gavin said, glancing at Ethan. "Glad we finally got an update on this, though Two Island's going to be a fair amount of space to search. Right, Ethan? . . . Ethan? What's wrong?"

 

The older Agent stared, wide-eyed, at the screen, his body tense. "Today's the 29th," he said. "We need to go. Now."

 

Gavin cursed, looking at the others. "Unless one of you has been there before so that we can teleport, we're going to have to take a chopper." He shook his head, looking at Ethan. "But we can't get there and find Ford all at once. How are we going to know where to start?"

 

"We already know," Ethan said, earning him a confused look from Gavin. Ethan held up his Poké Gear, dialing back to the messages prior to their involvement in the Celadon Department Store incident. "The old couple on Cape Brink? Where that statue appeared and where they were hearing voices? That's it."

 

"How do you know that?"

 

Ethan shook his head. "Instinct." He began walking to the exit. "Come on--we don't have any time to spare."

 

 

IC - Jackson Sang/Felix - The Memory Leading the Way:

 

Felix floated in front of the gate. It creaked and groaned against the winds of the mental plain, held aloft and stalwart by tendrils of black that wrapped around and betwixt its bars. The Elgyem studied it for some time, fingers blinking off and on as if to voice the thoughts running through his head. In the mental world, it was impossible to tell how long he had been studying them--days, at least, if not weeks. He did not know. All he knew was that, eventually, he would need to raise his hands, focusing on it. And so he did.

 

As soon as his psychic fingers brushed against them, the thralls reacted violently. They cut through the psychic cloud with no effort before launching straight at Felix. He blinked out of existence and reappeared above them, where they followed. He focused on them, searching for the weakness in their defenses with Miracle Eye. Tiny specks of white appeared all along the vines' length, staring back out at Felix. He blinked away again as they closed in, appearing elsewhere and trying again with his Confusion attack. The tendrils shuddered, but kept on coming.

 

If Felix could frown, he would have. But he knew he had to keep a Calm Mind, and so he did. The locks on this gate would not hold out for long--too much was at stake. He had to break through, no matter what tried to stop him. That sense of resolve materialized on the mental plane as a veil of white that enshrouded Felix, blocking him from the renewed assault from the dark tendrils. When the light faded, the Elgyem's body had changed, and he looked upon his adversary with the eyes of a Beheeyem.

 

He snapped his fingers. Instantly, the Disable took hold, paralyzing the vines. From there, it was only a matter of utilizing Confusion--no, Psychic--to wrench the vines' hold off of the gate. They disintegrated into the shadows of the mental plane, sending the gate crashing to the floor.

 

Felix exhaled, slowly floating to the ground. The flow of thoughts seemed to carry him forward, toward the silent storm surrounding Jackson's locked memories. He parted the cloud veil aside, gazing upon the faded, spherical memory. Lifting it in his hands, he focused his energy on it, closing his eyes. A healing aura encompassed him and the sphere, and slowly, the Recover took hold, returning the memory to its proper state . . .

 

 

 

Darren Ketchum. Team Liberty agent, son of the famous Misty and Ash Ketchum, responsible for assisting in the location and recruitment of the original Mewtwo almost two years ago. More recently, he had been involved in a series of unfortunate events, beginning with his father's disappearance, which had directly to his and his mother's own kidnapping at the hands of one Tobias Elton, and had culminated in the deaths of said father and the Gym Leaders Tate and Liza--after, of course, they had been subjected to tortures of the worst kind, utterly destroying their minds and individual wills.

 

The result? One broken child and mother occupying the gym across the way, much too unstable to rely on despite the perfect ire against Team Rocket that just begged to be channeled.

 

Verdict: Unsuitable for Ford's plans.

 

Oh, well.

 

Having reached this conclusion, McKinley stood from his perch, cracking his knuckles and looking at his Xatu, a small smile plastered on his face. "Well, that's unfortunate," he said, his tone implying otherwise. "Not a problem, right? Let's move on to the next one."

 

"Leaving so soon?" McKinley turned around. A burgundy-haired man--about the same age as McKinley himself--stood across the roof, hands planted in the pockets of his trench coat. His stern expression contrasted directly with McKinley's own, a face-off between intolerance of nonsense and coy confidence. Jackson Sang took a step forward. "But I haven't found out why one of Ford's is here yet."

 

McKinley straightened up, placing his hands on his hips and grinning broadly. "I could ask you the same thing, Mr. Sang," he replied. "But first, I'd like to commend you on beating Adams. About time she got knocked down a few pegs, really. Though, it's a shame you didn't put her into a coma like the others did to Hayes." He sighed. "I expected better from you..."

 

"Maybe I would've," Jackson answered, smiling pleasantly. "Except, she crashed the train."

 

"She did." McKinley nodded. "I imagine that would be a pretty big distraction."

 

"Clearly."

 

The two Trainers fell silent, simply staring at one another, neither of them daring to move. Beside McKinley, Xatu's eyes shifted from his trainer to Sang, and back again, waiting for either an order, or for just something else to happen. The wind whistled by, ruffling Jackson's hair and coat, as well as the loose ends of McKinley's bandanna.

 

"So, you going to answer my question?"

 

"In due time, Mr. Sang," McKinley said. "Lemme clarify something first, though..." Jackson raised an eyebrow. "You recognized my uniform, right?" The mercenary nodded. McKinley chuckled. "Alright. Cool." He turned around, stepping toward the edge of the building. From their vantage point, Darren did not notice him as he pointed at the boy. "I was scouting out potential recruits for Ford, to put it simply. More soldiers to add to our ranks."

 

"I see," Jackson said. "And Darren Ketchum is one of them?"

 

"Was," McKinley corrected. "Not anymore. He doesn't meet our very exclusive criteria, I'm sorry to say." He turned around again, stepping away from the building's edge. "No. He's much too damaged, emotionally speaking. Otherwise, he'd be perfect. But, I guess that is one hazard in relying on children and teenagers to fulfill your goals--they're a lot easier to break than adults are."

 

Jackson did not like where this was going. "So, you can't just recruit adults...?"

 

"I'm afraid not," McKinley said. "Not with Ford's plans, at any rate." He laughed, noting Jackson's raised eyebrow. "Oh, don't worry, Mr. Sang. Really, all we need from them is an agreement before they become adults." He straightened up, hands moving behind his back and tone shifting to that of a stereotypical, do-no-wrong student as he recited, "'The contract states that the Nine must be no older than nineteen, and must agree of their own volition to make the Vow at the chosen place.'" 

 

"Still sounds like brainwash, to me," Jackson said pointedly.

 

The Ford agent chuckled, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "It's not, really. If the deal is made, then they're free to go on with their lives until we need them. It's not like we've kidnapped anybody or anything." McKinley's eyes turned up and to his left, as if mentally correcting himself. "Well, by and large, anyway." He looked back at Jackson. "No; the only kids directly involved with Ford are those who were enthralled with his ideals, and who decided they wanted to be involved when they were initially approached--Pierce, Hayes, Adams, and I. The others are a different story." He raised a finger. "Harrison's life is unknown to even himself, so what better opportunity for one than a direct adoption . . ." He raised another. "And Grant . . . Well, she's the weird one, really. Even so, her decision to remain on her own until the proper time is and will continue to be respected." McKinley smirked. "I cannot begin to explain to you how funny I find that last sentence, Mr. Sang."

 

"Ha. Ha. Yeah, I'm sure I'm missing out on the joke big time." Jackson clapped slowly and deliberately, stopping abruptly after three claps. 

 

"But you are, Sang." The sudden calm in McKinley's tone of voice stunned Jackson. "Would you like to know more?" Sang genuinely worried that McKinley's smile would eventually tear his cheeks, so thrilled did he appear. "Would you believe that we alone are intended to be the saviors of this little world you all call home, from a force of such pure, mindless destruction that it makes the Ancient Darkrai look like mere Caterpie in comparison?"

 

For several moments, Jackson could not think of a response to this. "What?"

 

"You heard me." McKinley cracked his neck, letting out a contented sigh. "Ironic, isn't it? How those with the intent to save are ostracized, called villain for putting the fate of the world before the lives of those who would be lost along with many more, anyway, were it not for these same terrible actions. So they say."

 

"B#######," Jackson spat. "If that's how you people justify what you do, then--"

 

"You're still not listening."

 

Jackson glowered. "What?"

 

"This isn't our justification. It's theirs."

 

Jackson stared at McKinley, understanding slowly dawning on him. "You've been sabotaging Ford . . ." Sheer horror fell upon his face. "Then they're--?"

 

"Doing exactly what I just said: Saving the world."

 

"And you . . .?"

 

"I find that little circus boring."

 

That was all of the justification that Jackson needed. He leaped forward, pulling a knife and aiming at McKinley's chest. Unfortunately, Xatu was quicker. A telekinetic force took hold of his body, flinging him aside and into the line of ventilation shafts trailing along one side of the rooftop. Jackson groaned, struggling to recover from the impact. McKinley muttered something to Xatu; a moment later, Jackson's memory began to go fuzzy.

 

"Well, I'm afraid I must be going now, so I'll see you on Two Island. Let's say . . . July 31st," McKinley said, patting Xatu on the head. "That'll be a good day. Any last questions, Mr. Sang?"

 

"Just one," Jackson said. "You seemed very intent on telling me everything. Why?"

 

"Oh, that is an easy one, Jackson." McKinley smiled, looking directly into the mercenary's eyes. "Because I know that no matter who you talk to, what you do, how hard you try, you cannot stop what is to come--the machine has gained far too much momentum for that." He frowned. "Besides, it wouldn't be a proper challenge for me if no one had any inkling of what we were doing, would it?" 

 

 

 

Jackson Sang woke up.

 

He shot up from a lying position, breathing heavily. A cold sweat ran down his face; nearby, a heart monitor frantically beeped. He didn't know where he was, except that he was in a hospital bed. Felix lay, exhausted, at the foot of his bed, having stumbled back from his trainer's sudden awakening. He had evolved; were it not for those familiar, purple eyes, Jackson might not have known it.

 

"Sang?" It was Sleight. He and Eileen stood at the door, a nurse behind them. "You're--?"

 

"Sir!" Sang cut in, throwing the bed sheet aside and jumping to his feet. "McKinley--Ford--!"

 

"Calm down, Sang!" Eileen said, pushing past Sleight. "What's going on?"

 

"I know where they're at--Ford, McKinley, Levi," Jackson said, slipping down from the bed to the floor. "And I've remembered everything."

 

 

OOC:

 

Species: Beheeyem.

Nickname: Felix.

Trainer: Jackson Sang.

Appearance: Felix's eyes are purple.

Personality: Delving into Jackson Sang's mind has had a noticeable effect on Felix. He is less timid now and more indulged in his own interpretation of the world, viewing all things around him with an air of mesmerizing uncanniness--all of this stemming from something he saw in Jackson's memories . . .

Ability: Telepathy.

Specialty: Felix's specialties as "mechanical," for lack of a better term. He is essentially a technician working behind the scenes to further his and his trainer's goals, working to increase his team's chances of achieving victory.

Known Moves: Teleport, Miracle Eye, Psychic, Calm Mind, Disable, Recover.

Edited August 26, 2016 by Parugi

[Konuju]

IC: Dack/Madison/Luke
Ethan was already halfway out the door by the time Dack pieced together what was happening. "Ford's on Two Island?" he said, running to catch up to the other Rocket agent. "And what's this about a statue?"
 
"And there he goes." Luke threw up his hands with a sigh of resignation, as if he had known Dack would run off without a second thought. "How long do you think it'll take before he realizes you all still need to heal your Pokémon? Not that I'd expect you to take on this Ford guy with the dynamic duo of Baya and Tedd-"
 
"Come on!" Madison grabbed the blackbelt's arm and hastily made her way after Dack. Her brow was furrowed in tense anticipation and it was all Luke could do to keep from stumbling as the skier half-dragged him in her wake, ignoring his stammered protests. "You heard Ethan, we don't have much time!"

IC: Shannon
The girl listened to Guinevere's story with interest. When the Gardevoir paused, Shannon gave her a reassuring smile. "No one would argue that you didn't do the right thing. To be so willing to sacrifice yourself for someone that you'd do it without even thinking..." Her eyes grew distant as she ran her fingers across the segmented bracelet she wore on her wrist. A thoughtful expression appeared on her face and she looked over at Lucia. "Where is Ryan's father...?"

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Chloe/Jenny/Evan==-

 

Chloe scratched her head at the question, as a look of uncertainty crept onto her face. "I'm not sure if it's an instant result. We'll likely need to keep this up until we leave, but..." The girl looked at her hand, as if trying to figure out how to explain things. "I feel like I could try to test this out still." She wasn't sure about whether she was right, but wanted to at least take the chance to practice. She walked over to Jenny and took her purse back, noticing that Alvis was nodding to her in his Pokeball.

 

Evan furrowed his eyebrows at what Chloe was saying. He wasn't sure what she was talking about, but he was definitely curious about it. "What do you wanna test?" Evan said, making his curiosity apparent. "I'm all ears, Chloe...."

 

"I want to try that new form of my Synchronizing powers. I don't know, it's like I can feel that there was something I was missing last time. It might be because I've had the time to think about it, or because of my training, or trying to link with the others, but... I don't know." The girl seemed puzzled, but looked at Evan. "I'd like to test this out against Gnip."

 

Evan smiled at her request, clearly enthusiastic about the idea of doing this. "I accept your request, Chloe Hikari." Evan said as he grabbed Gnip's poke ball. "I'm intrigued to what this may have done for you and your abilities!"

 

Chloe gave a small smile, and nodded, as she led the way back to where the arenas were. On the way, Jenny gave the two some more water so they wouldn't faint during the fight because of the workout. Despite her nervousness, she tried to keep her breathing steady. As she took her place on the opposite side of the field from Evan, she sent out Alvis, and quickly relayed her plan to the Gallade. "Um, are you ready?"

 

Evan unholstered Gnip's poke ball from his belt, and kicked it onto the field, trying to emulate something he read. Out of the fount of light, came Gnip, who roared cheerfully at the idea of battling again. She noticed Alvis on the other side of the field, and immediately got serious. She saw what he could be capable of, and was not gonna go easy on the Gallade. Evan smiled at Gnip's shift from her usual cheery self to "serious mode". Evan then looked at the other side of the field and then said.....

"Does that answer your question? Now bring it!"

 

----

 

Chloe focused as she noticed Gnip become serious. She nodded as her eyes began to glow green, the two starting off in the normal form of the Synchro ability. The girl set a little bit of her focus to keeping aware of what was happening with the link. She wanted to find out what had happened last time, and what might be able to 'stabilize' it. Not wanting to give Gnip an early lead, however, the two rushed forward with a Psycho Cut ready to slice out at the first opportunity, as Chloe attempted to become more in sync with the Gallade.

 

"Do as you see fit, Gnip!" Evan said, as soon as he saw the Gallade make his move. "Strike with whatever you have, and do not let up!" The Garchomp roared a challenge at Alvis, and rushed forward, unleashing a Dragon Claw to clash with Alvis' Psycho Cut. She didn't care what her opponent may be planning, she would make sure to win, or, even if she was to lose, she would put up a fight.

 

Chloe kept her breathing steady, as she made the same motions that the Gallade was currently making. She was missing something, she knew it. She could feel Alvis' will to win, and it resonated with her own, as the two attacks slammed together. The girl grit her teeth, as she felt a new sort of feeling from the synchronized link. It surprised her, but she took hold of the feeling of power and attempted to use it to further increase their strength. As the Gallade charged up a second Psycho Cut with his left arm, energy began to appear behind his head and shoulders like it had in the fight against Xander. The two did not pay attention again this time, however, as Chloe felt something felt... off. She tried to alter the amount of power was sent through the link, as the Gallade slashed out toward Gnip with a refined Psycho Cut.

 

Gnip noticed the Psycho Cut seemed even stronger than before, as Alvis lashed out with another Psycho Cut. The Mach Pokémon used her right fin to block the attack, before noticing that she had to exert a little more effort into blocking it. It definitely did not feel like that last one, as she let loose a cloud of intense fire at Alvis up close in retaliation, and charged up another Dragon Claw.

 

The Gallade quickly vanished with a Teleport, as the flames passed over where he was before. Chloe's eyes glinted, as something seemed to change in the atmosphere surrounding the two. The energy still was fluid, but seemed less random before, as the two did not let up on the assault, unleashing a Close Combat on the Garchomp in retaliation for the attempted Flamethrower.

 

Gnip was surprised when Alvis not only disappeared from in front of her, but when he appeared behind her and started unleashing a brutal, multi-hit combo on her. While the Garchomp respected the Gallade, she had no choice but to respond in kind. Gnip turned around, glowing with an intense red aura, and unleashed a powerful roar, signaling she was using her Outrage. The Garchomp struck Alvis many times with her fins, making sure that she didn't hurt the Gallade too badly. Even in her rage, she didn't want to hurt her friends. After a few seconds, Gnip's vision cleared and her aura disappeared, with her waiting for the dust to settle.

 

The Gallade stumbled back from the attack, and the two appeared to still be able to fight for a moment or two. However, the energy vanished from Alvis, as he fell to the ground. Chloe dropped to a knee, and panted as she cringed from the feeling of the hits. However, she glanced up, a slightly bittersweet smile turning simply one of respect. "Nice work, Gnip..." She pushed herself to her feet, as she recalled the fainted Gallade, and closed her eyes. "We still have a ways to go, but... next time, we're going to be able to take even that attack!" The girl appeared to be fired up, as her eyes simply indicated that she had enjoyed that fight.

 

----

 

Evan smiled, and was about to return Gnip to her Poke Ball, when the Mach Pokémon walked over to Chloe. Her trainer was utterly mystified as she got close to Chloe, and started to rub her head lovingly onto the girl's shoulder. "I guess Gnip looks forward to it, Chloe!" Evan said, allowing Gnip a little time for this. "I'll be sure to keep improving too, so you won't have just that to look forward to!"

 

Chloe giggled, as she patted Gnip's head with a small smile. "Sounds like a plan. I'm sure that we'll be able to take Ford and his friends down, if we just set our mind to it." The girl's face told a different story on her thoughts, however, she still seemed a little confident regardless. "If I can work on my other powers, I might be able to help more too..."

 

Seeing that Gnip was pretty much done, Evan recalled the Mach Pokémon to her poke ball, and smiled at Chloe. "I'm sure, that as long as you put your mind to it, and focus......" Evan said encouragingly. "You can do anything. We'll fight and win the day." The Agent then suddenly realized, that in all the excitement and such, he forgot about his fatigue, hunger and achiness. Smiling a bit at Jenny and Chloe, the Hero started to speak sheepishly. "I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to ask Jenny to take me back to our room. I'm really feeling what we did earlier, and I need to recover. But thank you, Chloe, for joining with us on this." With those words, Evan motioned for Jenny to join him to leave, while giving the other girl a respectful two-fingered salute.

 

Chloe watched the other two leave. The girl grit her teeth slightly, as she felt the hit from the Outrage again, but smiled. So that's the sort of power we need to overcome. She held up the Pokeball that held Alvis, as she chuckled. Thank you, Alvis, for not cancelling the Synchronization... I think I needed to take that head on myself, to know what we're going to be up against. The girl slowly walked off to her room, staying near the wall in case she lost her balance from everything that had happened. Her spark had been reignited, and her confidence was bolstered, but now she desperately needed some rest, and then food.

 

Over the next few days, the psychic continued to practice everything with the help of her Pokemon. For her powers, she focused on working with Barriers to stop objects, and psionic burst to attack things. Between that, practicing with breathing better and working on her stamina, and actually training her Pokemon, the hours and days passed rather quickly for the psychic girl. However, by the end, she felt that she had good enough control over the three techniques that she was hoping would help them the most, that she was confident enough to fight. When she had talked with her brother, he had mentioned that he would fight too, even despite his arm. Though Chloe tried to protest, Ryan didn't seem to be too concerned about it, and was determined to go, so he could help out against Ford.

 

The night before, Chloe stared up at the ceiling, as she wondered how things would actually go. Despite being a little nervous, the girl closed her eyes. She wondered why Ryan had seemed to be so determined to help, since it felt somehow different than the time he had helped in Celadon. Despite that, however, she shook her head, and simply started to fall asleep...

 

-==IC: Ryan/Colette -- The Alamo, Evening Before Departure==-

 

Ryan pored over his notes for the umpteenth time. Jayron had given him all of Team Liberty's intel on Two Island, but even then after studying the notes diligently for the past few days, Ryan felt like they were missing something. The island seemed plagued by constant storms as of late, so it was impossible to see any developments in the latest satellite images; and there was nothing in the images dating back before the storms that screamed 'top secret terrorist base.' Ryan had to hand it to him; The Shadowed Man certainly lived up to his name.

Figuring it was safe to rule out the possibility of Ford living in the middle of Boon Island City, Ryan turned his attention to the outskirts. That was where he noticed something peculiar; so obscure that he almost overlooked it. Detailed reports from one of Liberty's intel gatherers made brief mention of a statue that had mysteriously appeared a while back on the isolated spit of land at the northern tip of the island. Ryan would have dismissed it as a piece of art or tourist attraction, perhaps something made to rival Five Island's Memorial Pillar. But then he took a closer look at some of the older images of Cape Brink, the site where the statue had been found. Surrounded on three sides by sheer cliffs dropping off into the rocky sea, the only access to the cape was a steep path through rugged terrain, about five miles long by Ryan's rough estimation. Records showed an old couple lived in a quiet home on the cape, far from the bustling city and far from anyone's suspicion. Ryan had to admit, even if they had nothing else to go on, Cape Brink was the perfect location for a secret base.

Of course, if the Cape Brink really was where Ford was hiding out, he would no doubt have set up precautions. Teleporting was out of the question, and arriving by air would draw too much attention; not to mention it would be dangerous if those storms kept up. They would have to make the rugged trek on foot. That probably worked out for the better; even if Aria chose to stay back with Aspen, between Luke, Jayron, Lucario, and Colette they had enough aura wielders to pinpoint Ellen's exact location once they arrived on the island.

"Speaking of Colette..." Ryan looked at his watch and cursed. He was supposed to meet the aura wielder in five minutes. He scrambled to organize the papers he had sprawled out over his desk, and ducked into the bathroom to gauge his appearance. Mrs. Llyan had invited him back for dinner, both as an apology for the argument that had broken out last time and as a bit of a going-away party, since they were scheduled to depart for Two Island the following morning. Ryan wasn't used to getting invited to other people's homes for dinner, but when he asked Colette if he should dress up for the occasion, from the look she gave him one might have thought he'd grown a second head.

Regardless, the dark circles under his eyes and his unkempt hair were hardly worthy of a dinner party, however informal it might be. Ryan quickly splashed some water in his face and ran a comb through his hair before turning on his heels and heading out the door.

While Ryan had been busy strategizing, Colette had been kept busy training herself and her Pokémon. She had recently taken on Togie and Orihime as her protégés, and sure enough when Ryan arrived in the small clearing in the woods just outside the Alamo, he found the girl and the two Togekiss deep in the middle of meditation. If Ryan didn't know better, he would have thought they were all taking a nap. He watched them for a moment before clearing his throat to announce his presence. "Um... hi."

Colette looked over at Ryan when he spoke, seeming surprised by his presence. "Hi. Is it time already?" The girl pushed herself to her feet with a slight frown, wondering if she had really lost track of time that badly.

Before Ryan could answer, Zoe ran into the clearing. "Collieeeeee! Training time's up, it's time for dinner!" The girl began tugging on Colette's arm.

"That answer your question?" Ryan said with a chuckle. "How's it going? Togie and Orihime seem to be enjoying your training." At Ryan's words the pair of Togekiss crooned happily, and Togie even formed an aura sphere to demonstrate. "Um, you could do that before, Togie," Ryan said with a laugh.

Colette chuckled at the antics, and smiled at Zoe. "Alright, alright, dinner it is..." She glanced over and scratched her head. "Well, they seem to be doing okay, I think. It takes time, after all, and Togie at least does seem to know how to form an aura sphere. Ori, on the other hand..." She awkwardly laughed to cover the fact that she wasn't absolutely sure how to train anyone else's Pokémon to use aura; she was mostly just copying the training her own Pokémon had gone through.

"Ori, huh?" Ryan grinned. He made a mental note to tell Ray about the Togekiss' new nickname. In response, Orihime closed her eyes, allowing a loose aura sphere to flicker to life in front of her before dissipating. "Wow, I don't remember her being able to do that before." Ryan raised an eyebrow and looked at Colette, clearly impressed. "Anyway, we should probably get going."

"Yes, yes, let's go!" Zoe cried gleefully. "The grand feast awaits!" The girl skipped ahead, laughing as the pair of Togekiss flew after her.

Ryan and Colette remained a few paces back, taking the chance to talk out of Zoe's earshot. "So tomorrow's the big day," Ryan said with a nervous laugh. "Think you're ready?"

Colette seemed hesitant to reply. "I'm... I'm probably as ready as I'll ever be." She sighed, a distracted look in her eyes.

Her hesitation was not lost on Ryan, who glanced over at her with a reassuring smile. "You'll do fine." The Liberty agent furrowed his brow. "It's really me who should worry about being ready," he murmured.

"Why's that?" The girl raised a skeptical eyebrow.

Ryan grimaced, as if berating himself for saying that out loud. "Oh, nothing," he quickly said. "It's just a lot of responsibility leading everyone into the belly of the beast."

Colette frowned thoughtfully. "Have you gotten any of that planning done? Have you asked Jayron about it at all?"

Ryan nodded. "I have, I just... I hope it's enough. I just keep thinking I'm forgetting something. Maybe I'm just paranoid; but if things go wrong, I'll be the one to blame..." He shook his head. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to dampen the mood right before dinner. I'm just anxious, that's all. Like that night-before-a-big-test kind of anxious."

"That's understandable." The aura wielder decided not to press the issue, and kept walking. She didn't want to burden an already anxious person with her own issues; she had learned that lesson after what happened with Zoe the other night.

The two walked in an uncomfortable silence, watching Zoe skip ahead and feeling a slight envy at the young girl's blissful ignorance. Ryan glanced over at Colette. "Thanks again for training Togie and Orihime... Ori, that is."

Colette nodded at that, a small smile on her face. "You're welcome... it was nice to relax with them." Her eyes drifted back to Zoe, closing her eyes as she thought back to her sister's reaction the other night. She sighed, wondering if Zoe had really bounced back from that, or if she was just hiding her emotions, like Colette herself had done so many times before.

"Maybe someday you'll have to show me how to do that relaxing thing," Ryan said with a laugh. His smile faded when he saw the melancholy look on the girl's face. "Something wrong?"

"N-nothing..." Colette looked over as she could see the trio approaching the house. "Hey, look, there's the house. Race you there!" She gave a small smile and ran toward her home to try and avoid answering that question right then.

Ryan barely had time to register what was going on before Colette was already halfway to the house. He shook his head, making a mental note to question her about it later, and ran after her. When he finally caught up, he found Colette waiting for him on the porch. He gave her a pointed look, unamused at how she had just run off on him.

"Slowpoke." Colette smiled amusedly at the look she was being given. "Now, now, no need to be a sore loser..." She giggled slightly, and stepped into the house before he could object.

"Yeah, Slowpoke! Collie won fair and square!" Zoe teasingly stuck out her tongue before following her sister inside. Ryan shook his head at the sisters' antics and gave Togie and Orihime each a quick pat on the head before heading inside as well.

 

-==IC: Lucia==-

 

"By now, he should be in jail." Lucia said with a small chuckle. "If he's not yet there, he should at least be on his way to solitary confinement in Unova. That's the best place for criminals like him; no contact, and no chance to escape to do anything worse."

[Konuju]

IC: Shannon
Shannon nodded slowly, seeming distracted. Her brow furrowed in frustration as she closed her hand around her wrist, covering the bracelet. "Is it really the best...?" Her voice was quiet and she looked away from the others, as if she already knew they'd protest. "Was... was it worth saving his life only for him to live out the rest of his days in complete isolation? Hannah, at least, was sorry for what she did..."

IC: Ryan/Colette/Zoe – Llyan Household, Evening Before Departure
The smell of fresh pizza hit Ryan's nose as he entered the Llyan home. He had half a mind to try and corner Colette in a hallway and question her further, but he was not given a chance, as he was quickly given a warm greeting by Mr. and Mrs. Llyan and bombarded with questions himself as to how he'd been, how the preparations were going, and what toppings he liked on his pizza.

While Ryan was busy with the parents' interrogation session, Zoe raced into the kitchen to lick the jar of pizza sauce and steal as many toppings as she could without getting caught. Colette watched her sister with a raised eyebrow for a moment, and then tapped Zoe's shoulder after a little while. "So... whatcha doing?" she asked with a somewhat amused look on her face.

Zoe turned around with a mischievously guilty expression on her face. "Free snacks!" she said through a mouthful of diced onions and peppers. She held out the jar of sauce. "Want some?"

The aura wielder shook her head. "No thanks... but remember, if you fill up on snacks, you're not gonna have room for the awesome pizza..." She giggled with an amused smile.

"Foolish Collie," Zoe grinned. "You underestimate the depths of my hunger!"

Colette shrugged. "Alright then, don't say I didn't warn you..." The girl walked back to the table chuckling at the antics of her younger sister. The aroma of the fresh and cooked ingredients made her mouth water, and if she hadn't been anticipating the full pizza, she would have been right next to Zoe snacking away herself.

It wasn't long before Ryan entered the dining room as well, collapsing in the seat across from Colette. "Well, now that 'twenty questions' is over..." A small squeak could be heard from the kitchen, but Ryan ignored it. "Are your parents always this... enthusiastic when it comes to guests?"

"Dunno." The girl shrugged. "It's not often I'm here when they have guests. Only time I've really seen their enthusiasm is when it's because of me... and usually that was when they were the guests."

Ryan chuckled, then grew pensively quiet. "So, outside, before you started that race... what was--"

"You two look like you could use some appetizers." Mr. Llyan smiled as he brought in a plate of garlic breadsticks. He was tailed closely by Zoe, whose cheeks appeared oddly stuffed. "Enjoy."

As Zoe started devouring the breadsticks in a fashion similar to Gnip at the breakfast buffet the other day, Ryan leaned across the table toward Colette. "What was that all about?" he asked in a low voice. "Something was clearly bothering you back there."

"Nothing." Colette shrugged and moved to grab some of the breadsticks herself before Zoe got them all. When Ryan appeared unconvinced, she tossed one of the breadsticks towards him with a look of her own indicating that she didn't really want to talk right then.

"If you say so." Ryan caught the breadstick and decided not to press the issue. He leaned back in his seat and took a bite, keeping his eyes trained on the aura wielder. Whatever was bothering Colette, he hoped it wouldn't be an issue on their mission.

"What're you two talking about?" Zoe asked through her stuffed face.

"Nothing," Ryan and Colette said in unison.

"Suuuuuure." Zoe gave a knowing smirk as she took another bite.

"So, uh, how was your day, Zoe?" Ryan asked in an attempt to change the subject.

"Oh, it was amazing!" the girl cried. "I got to play with the True Hero and the Shooting-Star Dragon – the real one, that is – and we had all sorts of adventures!" Zoe then proceeded to go into yet another long-winded story regarding her adventures with Evan. She was still in the middle of the tale when Mrs. Llyan arrived with the pizzas.

"My, Zoe's definitely been more excited than I've seen her in a while," the woman said, giving Colette a knowing look. "Must be all that time with her sister and her new friends."

"Why don't we give Collie a chance to speak?" Mr. Llyan said as he sat down. "You all set to embark on the grand adventu—" A stern look from his wife made him balk. "—I mean on the super-serious rescue operation?"

"Uhhh, yeah, I think I am..." Colette put on a smile, as she inwardly hoped her training had paid off.

"Can I continue now?" Zoe asked, annoyed at having her story interrupted. "I was just getting to the best part. So anyway, Merida and I decided to combine our strength and tackle the Shooting-Star Dragon at the same time..."

Ryan was only half-listening as Zoe rambled on. His thoughts drifted back to his plans, to their past fights with Hayes and McKinley, to what he'd heard about Adams and Pierce, even Goldhawk and Blackskull's tale of their encounter with The Shadowed Man himself...

Every now and then one of Colette's parents would ask him a question, to which he would mumble an automatic response. Before he knew it, dinner was over and they had all moved into the living room to chat. Mr. Llyan was telling a story of how his wife had saved his life once on a Liberty mission.

"The important thing to remember is, always watch each other's backs," the man said. "One eye forward, two eyes back, I always say. If your enemy's smart -- and Ford definitely is -- he'll try to attack from where you least expect it."

Ryan listened patiently to the stories, not wanting to appear rude by cutting the man off. All the while, he could tell that Colette seemed about as distracted as he was. When there was a break in the conversation, he stood up. "Colette, can we step outside for a moment?" he asked. "To, uh, talk about mission stuff."

Colette frowned slightly, sensing he had something else in mind. She nodded, however, as she knew that protesting would simply draw more attention. As she stood up, however, she felt lightheaded. Spots appeared in her eyes and she blinked for a moment, moving a hand to her head, before she fell to the ground.

"Colette?!" Ryan was about to rush to her side, but Zoe got there first.

"Collie!" the girl cried, shaking her sister. "Collie, what's wrong?! Is it food poisoning? Did you have too many breadsticks? I knew you shouldn't have eaten so many!"

Colette blinked, and giggled awkwardly. "No, I just stood up to fast." She seemed to be amused by Zoe's reaction, but reassuringly patted her sister's shoulder. "I'm fine, really."

"You sure?" Mrs. Llyan asked as Zoe wrapped her arms around Colette. "The summer heat can be pretty draining; you should probably drink a glass of water before heading outside."

Ryan simply stood nearby, letting the sisters hug. He raised a curious eyebrow at Colette but didn't say anything. When Zoe finally pulled away, he held out a hand to help the aura wielder up. Colette chuckled, and nodded as she grabbed onto Ryan's arm to pull herself back to her feet. "I'm fine... but maybe water would be good, yeah."

Her mother scuttled off into the kitchen and returned with two cups of ice water. She handed one to Colette, and the other to Ryan. "We don't want you collapsing out there either," she said with a kindly smile.

Ryan thanked her and took the glass. He wasn't too thirsty, but still drank about half the glass. "Well, I'm ready when you are," he told Colette. He didn't want to rush her, especially when she might collapse again, but he also didn't want her dodging his questions forever. It was clear she wasn't too happy with being called outside, and as Ryan waited he ran through hypothetical conversations in his mind, trying to figure out the best way to word his question without making the girl mad.

While Colette wasn't exactly mad, she was already feeling uneasy. As she downed her water, she tried to plan out responses to the questions Ryan was likely to ask. She also knew that she couldn't keep dodging forever. The girl gave a small nod when she finished her water. She walked to the door without incident, and silently waited for Ryan to follow.

[Blessed Blade]

-==IC: Lucia==-

 

"Maybe not." Lucia frowned, as she crossed her arms. "Maybe he deserved worse, or better, or something entirely different. But we can't change the past. Dwelling on it won't make any difference, and likely will just end with us regretting things we had no control over, and can't change now. I've been there for a while. But you did what you felt was best, and you gave him something above what he deserved, which makes you better than he could ever be." The red haired healer bit her lip, as she wondered if she had gone too far, but shook her head.

 

"My father would never be sorry for what he did, as he feels it was everyone else's fault. I got a brief glimpse into that when he tried to possess me. I understand where you're coming from, but you'd regret it more if he were released or something like that." Lucia went quiet after that as she bit her lip.

 

-==IC: Ryan/Colette -- Llyan Household, Evening Before Departure==-

 

The sun had just recently set, its residual rays painting the sky a dim yellow-blue. Ryan stood on the porch for a moment before heading down the steps, leading them to a spot in the middle of the Llyans' yard. When he stopped, he turned around to look directly at Colette.

"I understand if you don't want to tell me," he said, the seriousness in his tone betraying his concern. "But whatever's on your mind... it's really affecting you. You were pretty quiet all throughout dinner, not really paying much attention to anyone, and just now you fell on your living room floor. Don't take this the wrong way, but we can't have this kind of stuff happening on Two Island. So please... what's going on?"

"That wasn't because of what's bothering me," the girl protested. "Well, not really. It might've played into me keeping quiet at dinner, but..." Colette rubbed the back of her head with a slight frown. "I'm worried about Zoe. And I've been training a lot for the mission..." She pushed up the sleeves of her jacket to reveal the weighted bands around her wrists.

Ryan raised an eyebrow at the bands. "What kind of training?" He wasn't an expert on aura, but he failed to see how physical strength played a role in lobbing aura spheres at opponents, and he highly doubted Colette planned to punch Ford in the face (although that was a pretty entertaining idea). "Are you sure you're not overworking yourself?"

"I'm sure." An agitated look appeared on Colette's face. "I need to get my endurance up, non? If I tire easily, how would I be able to fight? Or use any of my abilities? I feel like I need to push myself, or I'm not going to be able to use the techniques I need for this fight."

Ryan bit his lip. That feeling of powerlessness, of not being able to pull his own weight, was all too familiar to him. He couldn't tell her not to train; he had already tried that with Dahlia, and the gardener still refused to talk to him. "Maybe I'm just being paranoid," he said. "I get that you need to push yourself... I just don't want you to push yourself too hard." A frown crossed his face. "What about Togie and Orihime? Or your own Pokémon? Have you been pushing them as much as you've been pushing yourself?"

"They've been working as well, but they go at their own pace." The girl looked at Ryan with a skeptical look. "I'm not pushing myself too hard, though. If it's my collapsing on the floor that worries you, I think I just forgot to drink enough water."

Ryan peered at the aura wielder, struggling to decide whether or not he believed her. As if in response, Togie and Orihime flew down from the trees, crooning their agreement with Colette. Ryan couldn't help but smile at the pair of Togekiss. He glanced back at the aura wielder. "Got any more of those training weights?"

"For them...?" Colette seemed surprised, but knelt down and rummaged around in her bag. "I'm not sure, but..." After a moment, she pulled out some smaller weights. "I think Kammy and the others used these, actually..."

Ryan scratched his head with a sheepish smile. "Um, got any bigger ones? I meant for me."

Colette blinked in surprise, at first thinking she'd misheard him. Ryan waited patiently, his aura indicating that it wasn't some joke. "Oh, um..." The girl searched around her bag again, and then finally pulled out a few weights that were lighter than the ones she wore, but still better than nothing. "These might work..."

The Liberty agent fixed the bands on his wrists and smiled. "Let's go for a little walk, then." When Colette hesitated, he turned around and laughed. "Come on, you said you needed to push yourself, and I could use the exercise after sitting around all day."

Colette still seemed uncertain, but then smiled slightly as she began to walk off on the path she had often taken in the past few days.

Ryan followed Colette in silence, still getting used to the feeling of the weights on his wrists. After they had gone some distance from her house, he spoke up. "So you said you're worried about Zoe? I thought Evan did a pretty good job of giving her something to keep her busy until you return."

The aura wielder kept quiet for a few moments, until finally she began to explain about what had happened the other night with Zoe. She tried not to ramble, but she didn't want to accidentally leave out any information. Before she knew it, her explanation had become as lengthy and detailed as one of Zoe's outlandish stories. "I'm just really worried about her," she finished with a sigh. "It's like she's using her imagination to hide from the truth or something."

"That's... disheartening." Ryan frowned as he rubbed his wrist. He stared off into the distance. "It almost reminds me of Ellen, in a way. She was the happiest kid in the world, it seemed like nothing fazed her. But between Hayes, the stuff with Chloe's father, and the Ancient Darkrai... she might have been affected worse than she let on." Ryan shook his head, and looked back to Colette. "What did Zoe's aura say?"

Colette rubbed her arm. "I didn't actually check." She sighed, wondering if she should have done something more.

Ryan watched the girl in concern. "If I had to guess... I'd say she's probably scared. Perhaps just as scared as your mom was the other night regarding the mission. If she can't live with the thought of you getting hurt... well, it'd make sense for her to convince herself that you can't get hurt. Physically or emotionally." He sighed, staring down at his feet. "It almost makes me wonder if there's something she's not telling us... something she's trying to hide beneath that cheerful persona..."

"Something she's not telling us?" Colette looked over at Ryan in confusion. "I mean, my mom thought she might be scared of the responsibility of growing up, but... is that what you think she's hiding?"

"I don't know..." Ryan frowned. "You would almost think it'd be something more... something that would make her wonder if you'd come home safely. I wish I could do more to help, but... I get the feeling if you tried to confront her about it she'd just shut you out even more." He sighed again. "Man, these weights are more tiring than they look."

The aura wielder looked away, her brow furrowing in frustration. "Then what am I supposed to do?" she muttered. "I can find our way to Ellen, I can take on Ford in battle, but I can't do a thing to help my own sister!" She clenched her fists, her muscles throbbing under her weighted bands. At that moment, Pollyanna burst out of her Pokéball and went into a strange, almost frantic dance while blowing bubbles all around in an attempt to cheer her trainer up.

"Let's take a break," Ryan said, sitting down on the side of the road. He looked over at Colette, his lips drawn tight in a sympathetic frown. He waited until Colette was seated next to him, her Poliwag cuddling in her lap, before continuing. "You have a really close bond with your sister, and that's something I admire about the two of you. I know you'd do anything for her, and I understand how worried you must be. I really wish I had a good answer for you. But like I said, I have zero experience when it comes to little sisters." Ryan sighed, biting his lip as he pondered the aura wielder's predicament. "All I can say is, sometimes the subtle approach works best. Zoe really looks up to you, so lead her by example. You don't have to tell her not to worry; show her that you never falter in the face of danger. Give her small reminders that you're always there to protect her, that she has no reason to be afraid. I can't promise it'll work, but... it's the best I can offer."

Colette strummed her fingers against her locket, deep in thought. She nodded, and glanced over at Ryan with a soft smile. "Thanks. It's nice talking to someone about it. And thank you, Pollyanna, for always trying so hard to make us all feel better." She drew her arms around the tadpole Pokémon in a warm hug. The Poliwag happily chirped in response, blowing more bubbles.

Ryan couldn't help but smile at the scene. He glanced up at the sky, where Togie and Orihime drifted overhead, then looked back at the aura wielder. "Say, Colette... I've been thinking." The girl looked over curiously, causing Ryan to hesitate. "Um... you're really good with Pokémon, right? I mean, you seem really close to your and Zoe's Pokémon, and you've kind of bonded with Togie and Orihime after just a couple days of training."

Colette slowly nodded, unsure where he was going with this.

Ryan reached into his backpack. "Well, um, a while ago, Togie and Orihime had this egg. I-it's not that I don't want it, but my team is already pretty full as it is. I definitely don't want to donate it to the Alamo's Hatchery – I think they only accept selectively bred eggs anyway – and I wouldn't want to just give it to some random trainer, either. I had considered maybe giving it to Ellen, but if she goes back to Unova then Togie and Orihime wouldn't get to see their baby grow up. So, um... I thought that maybe you could take it. I-if you want it. Togie and Orihime seem to think you're an excellent choice." As Ryan held the egg in his hands, he gave a sheepish smile. His monologue had seemed way less awkward in his head.

Colette blinked at the offer, and scratched her head for a moment as she thought things over. "I think that would work..." she said slowly with a small nod. "I mean, there's no guarantee that'll work out the way you think, with Togie and Ori being able to visit their child whenever they want, but... I'm willing to try and hatch it. I do have a spot, after all..." She gave a small smile, and moved to take the egg.

Ryan seemed almost hesitant to let go of the egg. "Just, uh... be careful with it, alright? I mean, we're going to Ford's hideout or whatever; it's probably not the safest place for an egg or a newborn..." He held the egg back slightly, wondering if this really was the best decision. As if in response, Togie and Orihime fluttered down and cooed their approval of Colette's foster care.

Colette gave Ryan a sort of look. "Do you really think I'd not be careful with the egg, or the hatchling?" She raised her eyebrow to try and emphasize that point. "Even if we're going into the heart of battle, that doesn't mean I can't be careful to protect it from getting damaged."

"I-it's not that I don't trust you..." At that, Colette gave him another look of exasperation, causing Ryan to sigh as he relinquished his hold on the egg. "I dunno, even though it's still just an egg, I've kind of grown attached to the little guy." He gave the speckled egg a nostalgic smile. "Or girl."

Colette simply sighed and very subtly moved her head back and forth. She took the egg and carefully placed it into her backpack. "Well, whatever the Pokémon is, I'm sure it'll be very healthy." She gave him a reassuring smile before standing up, glancing back over her shoulder. "Shall we get back to walking, then?"

Ryan got to his feet and stretched his arms over his head. "You know, I actually hatched Togie from an egg," he said as he followed Colette. "So I guess I have sort of a soft spot for baby Togepi."

Colette chuckled in amusement, giving Ryan a teasing smile. "You know, from the way you're going on, it's like you only offered me the egg under duress from Togie and Ori."

Ryan laughed, stumbling a bit as Togie playfully landed on his head. "Well, now I'd feel awkward asking for it back after I already offered it to you..."

The aura wielder closed her eyes as she briefly scanned the other trainer's aura. Yes, Ryan was feeling conflicted about giving up the egg he had carried for so long, but deep down he knew that this was the best decision for the hatchling. "Well, it's a good thing you won't be asking for it back," she said, still looking ahead as a smile crossed her lips. "I think I might be growing attached as well."

The two laughed and joked as they continued, not even realizing that their walk had led them back to the Llyan household. Colette paused on the porch, her hand halfway to the door, and glanced back at Ryan. "Thanks again," she said sincerely. "For listening." The Poliwag in her arms crooned cheerfully.

Inside, Ryan said farewell to Mr. and Mrs. Llyan, as well as to an unusually quiet Zoe. Ryan couldn't tell if the young girl was just tired or if this was something related to Colette's worries. Mrs. Llyan offered him some pizza for the road, but Ryan politely refused. With a final goodbye to Colette, reminding her of their meeting place at the docks the next morning, the self-proclaimed leader of the group turned around and began the long journey back to the Alamo.

[Konuju]

IC: Shannon
"Hannah was convinced everything was my fault," Shannon mumbled. "And in a way, it was..." She shook her head as her face twisted in a betrayal of her internal conflict. She stared at Lucia, her question evident on her lips long before she actually spoke. "Do you truly believe your father is beyond redemption?"

IC: Ryan – Alamo Docks, Morning of Departure
Ryan stood on the Alamo docks, shivering slightly in the cool morning breeze. The sky was overcast, a grim reminder of the weight of their mission. Evan and Jenny had arrived first and boarded the boat hand-in-hand, followed shortly by Xander and Sylph, who greeted Ryan as one. Kyle and Esen arrived next, and then Jayron, then Paul.

Dahlia wore an unwavering, resolute look on her face as she boarded the boat. Ryan hesitantly asked her how her training had gone, but the gardener had disappeared before he could get all the words out. The Liberty agent bit his lip as he looked back after the girl. He couldn't tell if she was mad at him or just focused on the mission, but he sincerely hoped it was the latter.

He didn't have much time to dwell on that plight, though, for shortly afterwards Jamie arrived with her ever-present Heracross and Vanilluxe, giving Ryan a spirited greeting. The Liberty agent forced himself to smile as he returned the greeting. Much to his surprise, Ryan Hikari appeared with his arm in a sling. The Liberty Ryan asked him if he was seriously planning to go in the state he was in, but a stern look from the black-haired trainer silenced any further protests. Chloe arrived next, explaining how Aria and Olivia had both decided to stay back to take care of Aspen. The girl asked if Dahlia had made it on board yet, to which Ryan nodded distractedly.

At this point they were just waiting on Colette. Ryan watched the minutes tick by on his Pokégear and desperately hoped the aura wielder hadn't forgotten. Or that her mother hadn't changed her mind at the last minute.

A few minutes later, the aura wielder in question walked toward Ryan and the boat. Colette held her hands behind her back for some odd reason, a seemingly tired smile on her face as she approached. "Hi there..."

"About time." Ryan tried not to appear too annoyed at Colette's late arrival, but he was more relieved that she had actually showed up. He forced a smile to his face. "Zoe give you a long goodbye?"

"That's one reason." Colette chuckled slightly and shrugged. "Everyone took a little while to see me off; I had to convince them all not to come all the way out here just to say goodbye too. Plus, it took a little bit to wake up this morning..." She awkwardly smiled as she tried to diffuse the annoyance she was sensing from Ryan, though she had a feeling her explanations weren't really helping.

"Well, we're all here now." Ryan glanced up at the dark clouds overhead. "Come on, looks like a storm is brewing. We should probably head out before things get too bad."

"Hmm... alright." The girl nodded as she shivered a bit from the early morning wind. "Also, um, I wanted to thank you again for the last few days..." Colette shifted a bit to keep her back hidden as she began to walk to the boat, not wanting to waste time.

Ryan glanced back at the girl with a smile. "Honestly, it's me who should be thanking you. You're the one who took it upon yourself to train Togie and Ori, after all."

Colette chuckled at that, and nodded as she continued to walk toward the boat. "Then consider this a bit of a thank you, and a bit of an apology gift." She brought her hands out from behind her back and held out a papier-mâché Cyndaquil. It looked like it had a couple of rough spots, but in overall it was recognizable as a Cyndaquil. "I, um, noticed you had a Typhlosion, and his aura seemed to trust you a lot, like you had gone through a lot... so I figured that this might be fitting."

Ryan's mouth dropped open as he stopped walking. He stared dumbfounded at the Cyndaquil for a moment, his mouth moving up and down but his voice refusing to cooperate. "Colette... I... uh... I don't know what to say..." Quil burst out of his Pokéball and gave the aura wielder a huge Typhlosion grin before pulling her into a hug. Ryan laughed awkwardly as he took the papier-mâché Cyndaquil in his hands to admire it. "Um... thank you. This... wow, this is really thoughtful of you." He looked up at Colette. "Is this why you were running late...?"

Colette was surprised by the sudden Typhlosion hug, but awkwardly smiled. "A bit... I stayed up a little late last night to finish it." She shifted her weight, clearly a little uncomfortable from all the fanfare, but smiled a bit more. "You're welcome... um, should we be getting on the ship, though?"

Ryan had still been admiring the Cyndaquil, and looked up distractedly. "Hm? Oh, right." He smiled sheepishly. "Let me just... put this up in my cabin. I don't trust it not to get crushed it I try putting it in my backpack." He looked back at the papier-mâché Cyndaqiul, then back at Colette, unable to keep his grin off his face. "Thank you for this. This is... it's wonderful. Thank you." With another awkward smile, the Liberty agent turned around and made his way up the ramp to the boat, still admiring the gift. When he made it to the stairs leading below deck, he paused and glanced back at Colette once more. "Maybe you should try and get some sleep. I appreciate the effort you put into this, but you look like you stayed up all night."

Ryan wasn't that far off from the truth. Colette rubbed her arm, and smiled weakly. "Maybe that's a good idea..." The girl wasn't entirely certain just how much rest she would get on the constantly moving boat, but nodded nevertheless. She waited for Ryan to go downstairs before heading down herself, seeking an unoccupied room in which to lay down. She just hoped that she could make it through however long the trip would take. The storm clouds also suddenly registered in her mind and did little to ease her worry about spending the next few days at sea.

***

The heavy clouds didn't let up over the next few days. If anything, they got worse. The journey was wrought with strong winds and heavy rains, and it was all the captain of their boat could do to keep them on course for Two Island. Colette was not the only one to get seasick; strong waves seemed to toss and turn the boat every which way, making more than a few people queasy. If the journey to Four Island had been disastrous, the journey to Two Island was simply uncomfortable. The anticipation of battling Ford mixed with the churning seasickness in Ryan's stomach, creating a very unpleasant combination.

And so it came as a great relief when they finally pulled into the docks near Boon Island City. Ryan stepped onto dry land, but still felt the world undulating up and down as if he was still on the boat. He closed his eyes for a moment to clear his head, a light rain spattering his face in the strong wind.

"We're out of time!" Paul yelled over the gale. He pointed to his Xtransceiver. "It's July 31^st, the date McKinley gave us! Whatever Ford has planned, it goes down today!"

Ryan grimaced. The storm had delayed them a few days, almost as if nature itself was trying to keep them from stopping Ford's plan. As Ryan counted heads to make sure everyone had made it off the boat, Jayron stepped forward, one hand on his fedora to keep it from blowing away. At his side, his Lucario closed his eyes, no doubt already scanning the auras on the island. "Let's get moving then," the executive said. "We've got a party to crash."

 

OOC:
 

AND SO IT BEGINS.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander Cruize and Sylph

 

The weather was fitting. Grim and dreary, it matched his mood perfectly. He double checked the gun on his thigh, made sure he had the two extra magazines in his pocket. Then his hand drifted to the pokéballs on his belt. He looked towards Ryan Sanders and, instead of shouting, mentally asked, What's the game plan?

 

He looked up as a flash of lightning lit the sky, followed immediately by the thunder. Fitting, in more ways than one. His journey here had begun with a storm, after all. He turned his face up to the rain, feeling the cool drops on his cheeks and nose and chin. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, smelling ozone and salt and brine.

 

Sylph took his hand, squeezing lightly in reassurance. They would find Ellen, Ray, and the others, and they would stop Ford and McKinley.

 

IC: Jared Winters and Anubis

 

The storm raged overhead, as it had on and off since before they had made port here. Jared hadn't returned to the ship, though, preferring to stay on land and get drenched than face Lachina currently. He had told her to stay on board while he did this, and she had been upset. Actually, upset was putting it mildly. She had been furious, screaming at him, saying she had to help.

 

But, no. He had told her what might happen if she went into combat with just her Altaria and whatever wild pokémon she could scrounge from the island. He had reminded her of Vermilion, how she'd been completely impotent once they were indoors and fighting. She had finally relented, and he'd paid the captain off to keep her on board at all costs.

 

Now, he sat in the pokémon center, listening to rain beat at the roof while lightning flashed and thunder boomed hard enough to shake the windows in their panes. The wind roared outside, and Jared clenched a fist. This hurricane was getting worse. Was this what destroyed the island? A natural disaster that he couldn't stop?

 

No, there had to be a way. Otherwise, why would the Xatu have seen it along with whatever had happened in Lavaridge, Fallarbor, and Sootopolis? He stood, and Anubis looked up from where he was meditating.

 

Where are you going? the Aura pokémon asked him.

 

"I need to move. Whatever's happening is happening today. We need to be on the lookout."

 

Anubis rose fluidly, and the two stepped out into the storm. As they started walking, Jared pulled his coat tighter around himself.

[Dr. Hidaka]

IC: Evan Tierra

We made it.

Many feelings whirled around in Evan Tierra's head, lust like the wind in the storm. Anxiousness, anticipation, confidence, among many more. All of them danced around in the Hero's mind, as a countless amount of scenarios played in his head. He had been preparing for this day, since that encounter in Fortree, but could not help but feel unprepared for this. He wasn't sure what to expect, and that made him a little afraid.

"Wimping out right now, 'Hero of Space'?"

"Of course not. I made a vow, and I am going to go through with it. Even if I am afraid." Evan replied to the voice in his head.

"It's ok to be afraid. But, for a good while, you've been so afraid. Be it due to me, the events of the past, or anything, really. You've got all your friends here to back you up if things go wrong. You've even got Jenny, and by proxy, me, ready to help you."

"You're right. It's time to stop being afraid. I will find Ellen, and I will help stop Ford. What kind of hero would I be, if I wasn't only afraid, but brave at the same time?"

"Attaboy, now go get 'em! I'll be here for both of you, cheering you on!"

Evan's expression changed from uncertain, to cautiously confident, at Feral's last message. He as raring to go, but instead of charging off, the Hero stayed with Jenny, and then asked a question directed at the head of the operation. "What's the game plan, Ryan? I'm not going anywhere until you give the command."

 

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan/Jayron/Paul

Ryan felt the eyes of everyone in the group trained on him. For a moment he let fear and uncertainty grip him. All his preparations, all his strategizing, it had all led to this moment. Thunder clapped above him and echoed ominously. Taking a deep breath, he turned to Colette and Jayron. "Before we do anything, I need you to try and locate Ellen again. Remember, our primary objective here is to rescue Ellen, Ray, and Sonja... along with any other 'children' Ford and his lackeys might have kidnapped."

 

"Of course." Jayron nodded toward Colette. "It shouldn't be nearly as strenuous as last time, but the island is still pretty big. It might help if we-"

 

"She's here." Jayron's Lucario had stretched out a paw, pointing in a roughly northeasterly direction. When he opened his eyes, they were wreathed in a harsh blue glow. "I can't get an exact pinpoint on her location, but she's definitely on the island. Somewhere in the north."

 

"Then what are we waiting for?" Paul, like Xander, had holstered his gun. His hand moved toward the Pokéballs on his belt, already itching for battle. The stormy weather reminded him of his fight with his daughter and McKinley's subsequent kidnapping. A scowl appeared on his face. "Let's go get her!" At his feet, Terry barked in agreement and began sniffing the ground for any signs of Ellen's scent.

 

"Not so fast." Ryan held up a hand before Mr. Burks could go running off. He looked over at Lucario with a grim expression. "To the north, you say? That confirms my suspicions. Our goal is the Cape Brink, at the very northern tip of the island. We'll have to make the journey on foot -- and be on guard at all times. Lucario, I want you to keep your focus on Ellen's aura; make sure we don't get off track. Jayron, Colette, you two need to be on the lookout for any hostile auras. If Ford really has something planned today, he'll have taken every precaution to make sure it runs smoothly." He looked over at the rest of the group. "Chloe, Xander, I need your psychic abilities for more or less the same purpose; be on the lookout for any threats on the mental plane. Luke can help Jayron and Colette on the aura side of things. As for the rest of us..." Ryan looked at Kyle, Esen, Dahlia, Jamie, Evan, Jenny, Paul, and Ryan Hikari each in turn. "Keep your eyes peeled. The path to Cape Brink is supposed to be treacherous, so we should tread carefully, but also be aware that Ford's goons could spot us at any time. The psychics and aura users will take the lead, since they're more likely to detect our enemies before they detect us."

 

"And what do we do if we do find a Ford Agent?" Jayron asked. "Or if they find us?"

 

"We'll take them out," Ryan said simply. "As quietly as possible," he added with a stern look at Paul. "We don't want them raising any alarms if we can help it. In an ideal world, we'll be in and out with our friends in tow before Ford knows what hit him."

 

The blacksmith rolled his eyes. "You know, we Unovans have a saying about ideals. They tend to put you at odds with the truth."

 

Ryan ignored him. "Any questions?"

[Parugi]

IC - Jackson Sang/Eileen Alaric/Elijah Alaric - Clearing near Cape Brink, Two Island:

 

Inexplicably, the rain stopped.

 

It wasn't a gradual change. Rather, one moment their helicopter was descending toward a clearing and it was raining; the next, they touched ground, Shadow Admin Sleight stepped out, and it wasn't. Whether that was a good omen or a bad one was a debate that they would sort out later. As it stood, they had encountered no resistance outside of the weather, and their destination lay only a short hike ahead, into the haze that currently covered Cape Brink.

 

Sleight looked at Sang as he and Eileen stepped out of the helicopter. "Got anything with wings?"

 

"I've got a Ditto," he replied.

 

Sleight nodded. Both pulled a Poké Ball from their belts, Sleight releasing his Charizard and Sang releasing Tracer, who instantly morphed into a replica of the Flame Pokémon. He climbed onto Tracer's back.

 

As Sleight and Eileen did the same for Charizard's, the Shadow Admin turned back to the chopper, nodding to the pilot. "Standby in case we need to make a quick retreat."

 

"Yes, sir!"

 

Sleight gripped Charizard's shoulders. The Fire-Flying-Type roared and flapped his wings, taking to the skies. Not long after, Tracer followed, and the pair began toward Cape Brink, ignoring a nearby helicopter headed in the opposite direction . . .

 

 

IC - Kyle Eston/Esen Windred - Dock, Two Island:

 

"Any questions?"

 

The rain stopped as soon as the words left Ryan's mouth. The storm clouds lingered above, but they did not weep.

 

Kyle frowned and pulled his hood off of his head. "Weird . . ." He looked at Ryan. "Aren't we on a time crunch? Maybe we should try to take advantage of this break in the rain to fly over instead of walking."

 

"And risk letting them know that we're coming?" Esen asked.

 

"They already know that we're coming, don't they?" Kyle pointed out. "Think about it--when have they ever not known that someone was coming to fight them? Especially if McKinley straight-up told you guys when all of this was happening."

 

 

IC - Ethan Worth/Gavin Braner - Clearing near Cape Brink, Two Island:

 

Ethan did a double-take as two Charizards flew past their window, both carrying people on their backs. He twisted around in his seat. "Sleight!" The Rocket Agent turned toward the cockpit. "Eddard! Find somewhere to land!"

 

"On it, Worth!"

 

The process was quick, particularly since another chopper marked with the Rocket insignia had already scouted out a landing site. As they descended toward it, their pilot connecting with the standby-pilot in the other chopper, Ethan looked at Luke and Madison. "Would you two be offended if I asked you to stay put for this mission?"

 

 

IC - Bounty - Shore, Two Island:

 

"Will you be needing anything else, sir?"

 

Bounty turned his attention away from the Cape overlooking their position on the beach, directing it toward the captain. He shook his head as he pulled a Poké Ball from his coat, releasing his Metagross onto the beach before them. "No," he said. "That won't be necessary. Actually I would suggest you get as far away from here as possible--this could get ugly."

 

"Understood," the captain said.

 

Bounty waved farewell. As the boat revved its engines and took off, back toward Hoenn, the Shadow Admin climbed on top of his Metagross, directing it to begin its climb up toward their destination . . .

 

 

IC - Goldhawk - Boat, Approaching Two Island:

 

It was fortunate that the rain had stopped--it made the captain's job of directing the boat toward Two Island that much easier. From his place on the deck, Goldhawk stared out at the island, aware of a growing sense of foreboding within his chest.

 

He turned to the group of ten Agents behind him. "If you haven't already, then get ready," he said. "This is going to be a show."

 

They hit land.

Edited August 27, 2016 by Parugi

[Metal Gear Minun]

IC: Jamie - Two Island

 

Jamie had been completely surprised to learn that the others had deduced the same info that she had gained from the use of aura (not sure what that was, but it sounded useful).

 

She knew the game plan had been to mainly look for this "Ellen" but she had her own target. She needed to find Skye.

 

Jamie sucked in a deep breath. Today felt like a final battle kind of day. It looked like apologies would have to wait.

 

She considered sending out Grummore to take point with the other psychics, but he wasn't exactly a fast enough walker to 'take point'.

 

Well, then I'm going to go in there and drag Skye all the way over to Abyss and force her to apologize! Jamie thought with a determined look on her face. No one could stop her from accomplishing that now. If they tried, they'd get frozen!

 

Then Kyle made his comment about flying over.

 

"Uh, if we're gonna fly, I am gonna need to borrow someone's Pokemon to do so."

 

IC: James - Two Island

 

James checked the condition of his revolver. He had Percival shadowing him transparently and Lancelot ahead of him. His bulletproof briefcase was ready to deploy if necessary and his laptop ready to pull out if it was needed. And his looked perfect, if he dared say so himself. All his Pokeballs were prepared to throw as well.

 

Richard checked his violin strings. James had nearly forbidden him from bringing it, but he managed to convince the Executive that he was more effective in battle with it (or at least managed to convince James that arguing the point was a bigger headache than it was worth). Though James had made it clear that if he gave away their position to an unaware opponent, Richard would be sans one violin. Hades wanted to claw out James's face for that threat, but then looked at Lancelot and decided that it wasn't worth it. The Sableye was on his head, while Richard carried Dionysus's Pokeball on hand. The rest were in his pockets.

 

And then there was Claus. He didn't have any of the same preparations to make as James or Richard. He didn't have a gun or a violin. He was probably in over his head and extremely honored to be here. He had his Pokemon and that was it. But at the same time, he didn't under-equipped either. He found he had at least one secret weapon during that Gym Battle.

 

James looked over the other agents that had been brought along. He watched the others finish their preparations and turned to Goldhawk.

 

"I believe we are ready, sir."

 

OOC: Guin IC and flashback of Gym Battle starting tomorrow probably.

[Konuju]

IC: Ryan/Jayron/Paul

Paul wasted no time sending out his Skarmory. "I'm all for getting over there as quickly as possible. Besides, if we attack from the skies, wouldn't that give us a tactical advantage?"

 

Ryan grimaced. He knew Kyle had a point but he didn't like the idea of flying in where Ford and all his agents could see them coming. But he also knew they were pressed for time. And if Ford really did know they were coming, the only element of surprise they had left was how they chose to arrive. Ryan bit his lip and nodded, looking around at the rest of the group. "Does everyone have flyers?" he asked. "If not, find a buddy." As if on cue, Togie landed in front of Ryan while Orihime offered her wings to Colette.

 

"Good thing I came prepared," Jayron said as he sent out his Flygon. The green dragon happily stretched its wings and performed a series of midair backflips before picking landing next to the executive.

 

"We may be coming by air instead of land, but our roles remain the same," Ryan said as he mounted Togie. "Aura users and psychics, be on the lookout for guards or Ford agents. Everyone else, be prepared for aerial combat if they see us coming."

 

IC: Dack/Madison/Luke

"Yes, we would be offended!" Madison said hotly. She took a threatening step toward Ethan, exasperated that the Rocket agent would even consider such a thing. "We came here to help, not to just sit by on the sidelines!"

 

Luke jumped to his feet. "Whoa, Madison, calm down! I'm sure he didn't mean--"

 

Dack quickly stepped between Ethan and Madison, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "Look, I know you want to help. But this is-"

 

"We can handle ourselves," Madison shot back. "Or do I have to remind you what we were able to do in Celadon? We're not helpless citizens that need protection. I won't accept being useless!"

 

Dack saw the fire in Madison's eyes and knew she wouldn't back down. He grabbed her firmly by the shoulders and pressed his lips against hers. That was enough to get Madison to at least listen to what he had to say. "You're not useless, Madison. You're anything but. I know you want to help, and trust me, you will. You and Luke are our reinforcements. Our backup, if anything goes south. If something happens to us, our lives are in your hands. Can I trust you with that?"

 

Madison nodded as color rushed to her cheeks. She seemed to choke on her words for a moment before finally stammering out a breathless "Y-yeah..."

 

With a reassuring smile at the girl, Dack glanced over at Luke, giving him a knowing look. "I'm trusting you, too."

 

"You can count on me." Luke was grinning ear to ear. "Lighten up, Maddie, I think our chances of survival are astronomically higher if we stay in the chopper for the time being. And that's perfectly fine with me."

 

Satisfied his friends would be safe, Dack turned back toward Ethan and Gavin. "I'm ready when you are," he said. What he did not mention, neither to his fellow Rockets nor to his friends, was that his entire strategy of making Madison and Luke their backup centered around them not needing backup.

 

He did not want to think about what would happen if they did.

[MELON LORD]

IC: Xander Cruize and Sylph

 

The pair listened to their orders and nodded. They cast a quick glance up at the sky, but didn't bring up their nervousness about the storm starting. Ryan had already thought about it, and deemed it an acceptable risk to get there in a timely fashion. With a sigh, Xander grabbed Sylph's ball and returned her for the time being. "Sanders, mind if I hitch a ride with you?" 

 

He couldn't justify asking anyone else, since Ryan had asked him, Chloe, and the aura wielders to be on the front lines. Xander couldn't ask Paul or Evan to take the point with them, but Ryan was taking command here, which meant he would need to be close to front in any case.

 

IC: Jared Winters

 

The rain stopped and he looked up with a frown. He had the feeling that something had just begun, and the sound of a helicopter in the distance seemed to confirm it. "Anubis, let's go!" He started running, his Lucario at his side.

 

Casting glances up at the sky, they saw a group of people and pokémon flying overhead. That was either a good sign -- he was on the right track -- or a bad one -- he was running right into the Pyroar's mouth. Only time would tell which it was.

Edited August 27, 2016 by Carbevoir