Flying Colors
Chantey's finally following along on his own. He still refuses to speak to me or anyone else, no matter how hard the crew tries.
Also, it turns out Sticks was a chef, back when anyone in the crew actually needed food. To make up for being a jerk when we were trying to save the captain, he's offered to make the first meal for me and my team once we're out of Ultra Space. It was a kind offer, but I declined.
Tapu Village
Anabel: All right, so, explain everything you can.
Rose: Okay, let's see... the last time I saw her, she said she was preparing for her trial with Acerola. She said she needed to get supplies first, so I assume she went to the Pokemon Center or something. And then I went to wait for her at the abandoned Thrifty Megamart, and she never showed up.
Anabel: I see. We should check the Pokemon Center, then.
-They head toward the Pokemon Center. Anyone who wants to encounter them may.-
edited 11th Aug '17 10:32:42 AM by BittersweetNSour
done w ur shit
Tapu Village, Previously
Youko: Huh. What a pair we are.
Lehua: Yeah... I've just... there was so much anger there, for so long, but now... it's been three years. Three years without you and I just, I'd rather not go another three years the same way.
Youko: I got to admit, it's good to see you again. I missed you.
Lehua: I missed you too, idiot.
The two embrace. Meanwhile, while Musashi looks on with a smile, his face starts to fall as he looks around.
<Musashi: As touching as this is, you two, uh... where's Lani?>
Lehua breaks from the hug and their head whips around. The large bug is correct: their Oricorio is nowhere to be seen.
Bad Luck Charm
Poni Wilds
-Ahe's Pokemon break off into small groups, warming up for the trial battles, with the exception of Hadilla-
Hadilla: <Hey, it's been a while since I've seen a Lombre! How's it hanging?>
-...Hadilla's doing that-
You see, I mistook this for some kind of... sentient garbage.
Tapu Village, Previously
-Joseph looks worried, fumbling about in his bag for a Pokeball-
Joseph: Uh, do you need help with it? I have an Oricorio who might be able to get her attention!
done w ur shit
Tapu Village, Previously
Lehua: No, no, she wouldn't wander off! Where the hell...?
They rush over to the wall where the bird was sitting previously, then yells.
Lehua: MOTHERFUCKER!
They pick a few objects off the wall: a couple of feathers, and a Team Skull wristband. Youko rushes over to them.
Youko: Shit, shit. They took her?
Atlas
Po Town
(An unpleasant prickle runs down a certain psychic Skull "mayor"'s neck. It's the kind of prickle that tells her someone under her command has just done something very, very stupid without her permission.)
Clarice: Stupid fuckers. Stupid, stupid bunch of fuckers. Why that damn wormhole couldn't have just left me in Lumiose...
(She heads out of the mansion and prowls the streets, looking for whoever might have done something stupid - a hard task, since any given Skull Grunt is liable to do stupid things on a whim. That her thunderous expression scares most of the Grunts who see her off does not help.)
Tastes better on the way back down.
Flying Colors
Po Town
-Meanwhile, the mansion's other head resident watches Clarice taking to the streets through the window.-
Paula: And there she goes, off to ruin things even more. Hope you have fun taking the blame, dumbass.
done w ur shit
Po Town
???: YOU DID WHAT?
An angry male voice rips out of one of the houses right next to the mansion. Inside, a young adult black man is glaring, furiously, at Stevo, who is holding a certain Oricorio trussed up in his hands.
Stevo: I stole his dumb bird! I'm tellin' em to step off, Trev!
The other man punches Stevo in the gut, underhand, causing him to collapse and drop the bird, which he catches.
Trevor: One! Do not misgender Lehua. I'm not sure how clear your memory is, jackass, but we used to run together, and I will not have you show such disrespect to her. Two! Not only, did you kidnap the Pokemon of a descendant of the ali'i, you just chose to piss of the ali'i nui. You've insulted the royal blood itself. Shit. SHIT. Oh this is bad, Stevo. You!
He points to another Grunt in the room.
Trevor: Go fetch the two bosses. Tell 'em I need to see 'em, stat. This is bigger than both of their rivalries.
The Grunt dashes off to go find the two, yelling for more Grunts to join them and quicken the search.
edited 11th Aug '17 11:53:43 AM by BluBeriPi
Atlas
Po Town
(Clarice sees the horde of grunts emerging from near Trevor and Stevo's place. She lets out a quiet groan.)
Clarice: Of course it's that little shit. Even by this place's standards...
(Shaking her head to clear it of thoughts about all the colourful punishments she would gladly inflict on Stevo, she storms up to the Grunts.)
Clarice: Okay, okay, what's the story here?
Tastes better on the way back down.
Flying Colors
Po Town
-For a while, there's no sign of Paula coming. When someone finally does show up, it's Punk instead.-
Punk: Uh, what's going on here, exactly?
done w ur shit
Po Town
Trevor: Thank you for coming, Clarice. Punk, where's your boss? You know what, never mind, if she wants to play games, she can play fucking games. Here's the situation. Stevo here, in a misguided attempt to assert our authority, monnapped Lani here.
Carefully, he lays the bird in question down on a nearby bed. He speaks, initially, with his back to the others, keeping an eye on Lani.
Trevor: Lani, you may or may not know, is the Pokemon of one Lehua Moi, local dancer and waitress, descendant of Kamehameha, and former member of the Three Punk Gods. Furthermore, he did it right in front of Youko, the other former member of the Three Punk Gods. Even worse, international meddlers and do-gooders, the J-team, are in town.
He turns back to face his audience.
Trevor: Sound the alarms and batten down the hatches. We're about to face a war. I'll do my best to disarm things with Youko and Lehua, we go way back. But worse case scenario, this may be it for Team Skull.
Tapu Village
Youko: I'm going to kill him.
She puts her fingers to her mouth and whistles loud. In the distance, a motor can be heard revving up and approaching. Meanwhile, Lehua merely stares down at the wristband in their hand.
Lehua: I left them alone. I thought, hey, you know what, they're not that bad. They're just rebelling, you know, sticking it to the system, like we used to do. I ignored the reports of gun running, drug pushing, after Guzma left. I didn't want to confront my past. I didn't want to face him.
Their hand clenches into a fist around the wristband.
Lehua: Fuck that. They shall no longer prosper on these islands. We shall burn them out of their homes and their shelters, and take them by force. The blood of my ancestors is screaming to me. For too long have I shirked responsibility and let this poison fester in these islands. No more.
Youko's RV pulls up, apparently driving itself, and she hops in, digging around for something or other. Finally, she pulls out an old, battered flip phone, which she turns on.
edited 11th Aug '17 12:03:52 PM by BluBeriPi
Poni Wilds
Rumba: -to Hadilla- <Doing pretty fine. You?>
"life is just a series of increasingly canon-eluding ao3 tags" ~ everydunsparce "Keep your hellfruit away from me, tempter" ~ also Every
Tapu Village, Previously
-Joseph and Munn stand nearby, waiting somewhat awkwardly for what comes next-
Atlas
Po Town
(The moment Trevor's spiel is finished, Clarice, whose expression had been growing more and more furious with every word he said, rounds on Stevo with a literal enraged glow in her eyes.)
Clarice: You. Motherfucking. MORON!
(Multiple Psychocks blast gaping craters in the ground inches from Stevo's head. After a few deep breaths, Clarice looks him straight in the eye and explodes verbally instead.)
Clarice: I mean, you were always a moron among morons, that's for fucking sure, and the fact you follow around one of the few competent crooks in this whole damn town just makes your ineptitude all the more fucking obvious, but... wow! Wooooow! Yeah, go ahead and steal a Pokemon from the girls with temper problems and a long-buried beef with all things Skull! It's not like they're potentially strong enough to wipe you imbeciles out while fucking blindfolded, it's not like they're probably gonna burn the Arceusdamn place to the ground! Noooo, Stevo here had to prove what a big, brave thief he is, didn't you, you little fuckwit?
edited 11th Aug '17 12:15:49 PM by Uilleam
Tastes better on the way back down.
Flying Colors
Po Town
Punk: Riiight. This is... not gonna be a fun couple of days.
-He just sorta watches Clarice's outburst, wincing.-
Punk: Yikes.
done w ur shit
Po Town
Trevor: Enough! What's done is done, playing the blame game helps no one. Stevo, get lost, hide yourself somewhere, wait for this to blow over.
Stevo nods frantically, then scrambles out of the room. Trevor pulls out his own battered flip phone, and dials a number. Once he connects, he puts it on speakerphone.
Trevor: C'mon, c'mon.
Tapu Village
As soon as Youko turns on her phone, it rings. She immediately answers, then puts it on speakerphone.
Youko: Trevor. How good to hear from you.
Trevor: I'm terribly sorry about this, it's a big misunderstanding. The party responsible-
Youko: - Stevo -
Trevor: - Stevo, yes, is being punished now. We'll return Lani, no questions asked, and this can all go away peacefully.
Youko: Trevor. Trev. You fucks monnapped Lani. And what's all this I hear about drug pushing and gun running? No. No I don't think so.
Meanwhile, with every word Trevor speaks, Lehua gets more and more incensed. Strange, spectral tattoos start glowing on the visible parts of their skin.
Youko: Brace yourselves, assholes. We're coming, and we're bringing everyone.
She hangs up, then turns to Joseph and Munn.
Youko: Alright, guys, I know we just met a little while ago. But can I ask you a favor?
Tapu Village
-the two answer in almost-unison-
Joe and Munn: Arceus yes.
-the two of them have apparently been thirsting for something like this for a while-
Flying Colors
Po Town
Punk: ...Shit. Arceus damn it all. Anyone else think they can talk my boss into taking some sort of action? Doubt she's gonna listen to me.
Bad Luck Charm
Poni Wilds
Hadilla: <Pretty good. I'm really psyched for this trial. It's gonna be our hardest fight, and I can't wait to KNOCK SOME HEADS!>
You see, I mistook this for some kind of... sentient garbage.
Poni Wilds
Rumba: <Heh, good luck.>
"life is just a series of increasingly canon-eluding ao3 tags" ~ everydunsparce "Keep your hellfruit away from me, tempter" ~ also Every
done w ur shit
Po Town
Trevor: I'll roust her myself. That being said, we'll use the town walls to our advantage, set up ranks upon ranks of Grunts. Clarice, I don't mean to order you around, but you and Paula need to stay back in the mansion. While we can't stop them, we'll slow them down and weaken them out front in the town, so hold out here.
He turns to face Punk.
Trevor: We have at least two to three days while they prepare. Tomorrow, I'll go talk to Paula. First, you go tell her whats up and see how much progress you can make. Go!
He steps to the door.
Trevor: If anyone needs me, I'll be in the trophy room.
Tapu Village
Youko: Thank you. Call a few friends, anyone you think might want in. Not too many. We escalate too far they might break out the guns. Meanwhile, I'll do much the same.
She turns back to the flip phone and starts scrolling through it till she gets to an option labeled: "P. PHONE TREE."
She hits it, and it starts dialing.
Youko: Hi! Yeah, it's me. Listen, here's the thing..."
She keeps calling and calling, spreading the word.
edited 11th Aug '17 1:02:43 PM by BluBeriPi
Trans Terminus Homo
Falconan, Moonbase
Alyesha had no idea what happened, she tried looking for the source of the blaster-bolts, after a while finally drawing her sniper rifle to peek through the scope in hopes of finding their attackers.
"One may feel fear in the face of danger so long as one banishes fear when danger actually arrives"
Flying Colors
Po Town
Punk: I'll try my best. We're gonna need everyone we can.
-He heads back toward the mansion-
Atlas
Po Town
(Clarice can't help but grin when gun running and drug pushing are mentioned.)
Clarice: Well will you look at that, my hard work is paying off! I'll make a proper organised crime outfit outta you bozos yet!
(Then she looks less enthused when Trevor tries to send her back to the mansion.)
Clarice: What, the powerful psychic with the actual semi-efficient mons, stay cooped up in her house while everyone else gets to have a blast? Fuuuuck no. I'm gonna be on the front lines.
(Beat)
...gonna give that Lehua girl her bird back, though. Why the hell did he even take it? What do we need with an Oricorio?
(She turns around.)
Clarice: Anyhoo, I'll go back to the mansion for now and see if my darling rival can't be persuaded to leave her pit. See ya, dumbasses.
Tastes better on the way back down.
Falconian
Phaz is woken up by this.
Phaz: "U-Uh, yes! S-Sorrry!"
He aims at where it came from, trying to bounce the laser to hit his target. He yawns, and shoots.
What's the use of money if you ain't gonna break the mold? Even at the center of fire, there is cold All that glitters ain't gold