Arthur talked with Denali a bit as they walked through, his team stored away for the time being.

"So much has changed, and yet I know what most things are... that stone?"

Denali grinned, "Yep. I'm making a bunch of stones that can inflict moods or knowledge. However I have just one problem."

"Beyond the procrastination stone and the motivation stone?" Arthur snarked.

"More than one problem, I've made this mood stone," Denali said holding up a oddly coloured rock, "The big mood stone."

"...Okay and... what does it represent?"

"That's the problem, I have no idea, it just makes me feel... big mood."

"That's not even a proper phrase."

"I know!"

Astral: <She seemed quite upset when she asked me for a teleportation. I hope she'll be all right.>

Fortis: Well Piano gets like that sometimes, and usually it's all right but you need to stay out of her way 'cause whatever she's mad at is gonna get hurt.

Astral: <So is it a good thing that I chose to return to you rather than accompany her?>

Fortis: Uh huh!

Do not fear power... fear those who wield it.

San Dialga

-The gym is wide open-

-No need to hesitate-

-Really-

N's Castle

-Nothing happens. No Rabbids jump out, nor do they seem to be incoming-

-the clock seems to be in an odd position, though, as is the moon. Both are still, unmoving-

Mansion

-Odin recoils from being touched before staring in horror-

Odin: ...Your brain. What did they do to your brain?!

Edited by Umbramatic on Sep 17th 2018 at 2:00:40 PM

Contact Me!

The team heads inside the gym, Harold is ready for anything, Stylus however isn't entirely paying attention, more focused on his burger than his surroundings.

-Kai steps back, sending out Spectrum.-

Kai: That's no normal Gardevoir. Let's figure out exactly how, yeah?

Spectrum: <But will we ever find out why kids love the taste of Cinnamon Toast Crunch...>

Kai: It shall forever remain a mystery. Luckily, both of Fairy's weaknesses are weak to Ground moves, so that's easy to narrow down; let's see how he likes a Bulldoze!

-Spectrum buzzes, and plows into Damascus full-force.-

Guillaume's Apartment

-let's resolve, shall we?-

-the Gunk Shot lands...and nothing whatsoever happens. As Damascus gets ready to retaliate, however, Cerberus and Spectrum's attacks land, sending the Gardevoir flying back into the room and knocking over a table with a distinct clang-

Damascus: <ARGH!>

-he hops back to his...well, not feet, but-

-his chest spike is positively coruscant at this point, but his hands are out defensively, not alight with any attacks-

Damascus: <Alright, truce. Na— Guillaume isn't here. He's keeping an eye on your faerie in his collection. I'll take you to him, provided you drop that Block of yours.>

-he glares at Squiggles, before shifting his gaze to Mezzo, somewhere between irritation and shock-

-shorritation-

Damascus: <Fire attacks? Inside? I hope this isn't a usual standard of behavior for you.>

Edited by memyselfandI2 on Sep 17th 2018 at 1:31:04 AM

Dunsparce didn't stop being a thing or anything.

Mezzo: If Ever's not here, then honestly I have no reason not to burn this place to the ground.

-she then turns to Cerberus-

Mezzo: Stop.

Cerberus: <But you said->

Mezzo: I know, but let's hear what he has to say first.

-Cerberus whines and sits obediently-

Do not fear power... fear those who wield it.

-Kai pauses.-

Kai: ...Tell us what name you were about to refer to him as, and I'll stand down here. It started with an N. Different deal than your own promise to bring us to him if Squiggles releases Block.

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Sep 17th 2018 at 3:58:52 PM

Yveltal's Mansion, Past

Dolores stares past Odin and with a blank expression on her face.

"Dolores": ...Huh?... Oh... right...

She takes a slow step back.

"Dolores": Well... sometimes when... things are wrong... the beast course... of Action is... to remove... what's wrong...

She seems a bit wobbly.

"Dolores": If there's a bad growth... you cut it out...

If it's a bad brain.... sometimes.... you cut it... instead... a simple... operation...

I'm having to learn to pay the price

Guillaume's Apartment, yesterday

-As Botuli's Gunk Shot passes harmlessly-

Okay, a Steel-type Delta then.

...

Not his real name, figures.

-To Damascus-

Like Kai said, tell us that name and I'll have Squiggles release the Block. I think you'd rather us than Mezzo.

Muddy: <Just offering to take us to his trainer, seems like a trap.>

Almost certainly, but it's not like we have a choice, and we'll probably just get out of the trap anyway.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

Guillaume's Apartment

Damascus: <...>

Hm. They won't know his last name. Nathaniel will be upset, I imagine, but it's better than dying...

Damascus: <Nathaniel. Nathaniel is his name. Now remove the Block, as agreed.>

Dunsparce didn't stop being a thing or anything.

Mezzo: Great, now I know what to call him when I kill him. How is this supposed to help again?

Do not fear power... fear those who wield it.

-Kai smiles, relaxing.-

Kai: Thank you. Now we know his first name. Maybe that'll be important, maybe not. Depends on how far the fae rabbit hole goes.

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Sep 17th 2018 at 4:51:01 AM

Nathaniel's apartment, yesterday

-To Mezzo-

Patience.

-As Squiggles' guts retract-

A collection of fae, huh? I could declare it, but I'd rather keep that card for later.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

PEFE HQ

-Shaun and Jamie have found a stream and are now walking along the bank.-

Shaun: "Amazing. Whoever did this...I don't even feel like I'm in a module."

Jamie: <Was it the pay-fay or those Pokèfutures guys>

Shaun: "Poke-futures. No accent. And I doubt it was them. They probably shoved mons into kennels and cages."

-The stranger oozes closer, aided by the flow of the stream.-

---

Isle of [Sicily], Angela

Luca: "So, are you a trainer?"

"Dang that sure is totally poggers my good bitch"

Meanwhile...

-Vierr looks around, and closes his eyes, focusing.-

Vierr: Hmm...

-He turns his attention to where the portal was.-

Vierr: ...I think the best way to do this is to reopen the portal. Which isn't my forte, particularly, but I do have a theory how.

-He sends out Hollow, who salutes.-

Hollow: <Agent Hollow of the Bronze Birds, reporting for duty!>

Vierr: I know you're in the Bronze Birds, you mention it every time. Hollow, there's a portal we need to access. Think Phantom Force will do the trick?

-Hollow puts his wing under his beak, as if putting a bird hand to a bird chin.-

Hollow: <Perhaps. You must be prepared and follow quickly, however!>

Corrin: I think we can do that.

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Sep 17th 2018 at 6:37:52 AM

PEFE, Robin's Room

Robin: Lead the way, Hollow.

San Dialga

-There's a lot of fire decals, flame jets and somehow even lava everywhere-

-There also appears to be an obstacle course-

-Joy-

Mansion

Odin: A-a lobotomy?! Who did this to you?!

-he looks ready to hurl-

Contact Me!

Yveltal's Mansion, Past

Dolores clutches her head and collapses to her knees. Tears start flowing down her face.

"Dolores": ...Please... don't yell... I'm sorry... I'm sORrY... I didN'T...

It seems like she's starting to lose herself.

Edited by PippingFool on Sep 17th 2018 at 11:11:48 PM

I'm having to learn to pay the price

Stylus and Harold look at each other, sigh, and start running through the course, Stylus of course being the more stylish one.

"Do you have to show off?"

<Hey when you can move like me, why not? Oh wait, you could, then you opted out of it!>

Nathaniel's Apartment

Damascus: <...Thank you.>

...A deal is a deal.

-and with a Twang, everyone vanishes-

???

Nathaniel, evidently: ...You know, I'm not going to get any better than this.

Ever: May I recommend some self-reflection?

Nathaniel: I'm talking about you.

-he gestures at Ever, who is standing in a slightly off-balance position, staring off to one side, very still-

Nathaniel: At some point, I'm really just nitpicking myself on the pose. Hold that, and think about something that makes you happy.

Ever: Your nerve endings wound 'round your throat like garrotting wire?

Nathaniel: ...If that's what comforts you, sure.

-he takes a small syringe from a toolbox, and-

Twang!

Damascus: <Um, we have a problem.>

Nathaniel: (sharply) Damascus, I'm in the middle of something. What do you—

-he trails off-

Ever: Ooh, you're fucked.

Dunsparce didn't stop being a thing or anything.

-Kai smiles and waves casually as they're teleported in.-

Kai: All right, that was fun.

-They send out Holly.-

Kai: It's really convenient that you have a Gardevoir, sir. It means we can stop a problem right here and now. Holly, Imprison sounds astonishingly apt right now, yeah?

Holly: <...I mean.>

Holly used Imprison! Holly sealed Damascus's moves!

???

-To Nathaniel-

Drop the syringe, or you'll be dropping it and a limb, Macraul. Your damned family's already on my shit list for Limna.

Eating a Vanilluxe will give you frostbite.

PEFE HQ, Robin's room

F!"Robin" nods. "We'll be ready."

All are significantly abnormal in a normal world... All are significantly normal in an abnormal world.

PEFE Holodeck

The Unovan and his doppelgänger stared each other down. The simulated wind being the one sound aside from the original’s breathing.

The hard light Unovan vanished and Colton raised a Protect when he noticed, hearing the other’s Faint Attack collide on the back of the barrier.

The Protect dropped and a pair of Night Slash Claws raked the double’s chest. “Time!” He hollered when the double fizzled.

A display beeped. 4.76 seconds. Rrgh, too slow.

What the hell can I accomplish? Colton asked himself when the next round started, the double’s turn to defend. The two looked at each other, wind blowing again.

I’m nowhere near as strong as I like to think. Damn it; I’m pretty sure the deck is just giving me a power fantasy, he hypothesized before he sank into a patch of shadow provided for him and struck the Protect from behind, attempting to raise his Claws to catch his opponent’s but failing. 3.73.

I need to be able to defend myself in human form. I can’t rely on Talbain forever, he considered, pausing to grab his double’s collar and slam his head into its head, watching it fizzle from the head down. When it finally faded away, in its stead was a Dusk Lycanroc about half his height, a Sun Stone hanging by a string around his neck.

He looked at the console, where he saw Sean staring at him with concern. He sighed and looked down at the Lycanroc, who instantly leaped into the air and forced Colton to parry his Iron Tail with his Claws. With the momentum gone, Colton managed to grab the Lycanroc’s tail and slam him to the ground with Foul Play.

Still in proximity to the Wolf Pokémon, Colton’s feet gave out from under him as the Lycanroc vanished into the ground below, leaving behind a hole Colton looked through but couldn’t dive into as it closed behind him and he was soon caught off-guard by the Dig causing the ground to give out from below and take the wolf’s nose directly to his back.

Colton went tumbling, slowly picking himself and allowing the Lycanroc to chase him down with Headbutt. He noticed the Lycanroc was aiming for his head, just like he would. He countered with a Sucker Punch, grabbing the rocky scruff before contact and slamming his own head into the Lycanroc’s only for his own Headbutt to meet the Sucker Punch.

The Lycanroc went sprawling while Colton stayed in position, clutching his pounding head. “Real subtle, Sean! Oww...” he moaned, looking at the Lycanroc that somehow didn’t looked all that fatigued. Right, simulation...

<Don’t you get it?!> Sean hollered, pausing the Lycanroc mid-blink and running onto the holodeck’s floor. <You’re more than your Pokéform!>

“I know that, Sean!” Colton said bluntly, firing a Dark Pulse Orbitar at Sean in an attempt to ward him off of his prey.

Mindscape

“You guys think becoming a weremon was a bad idea?”

Reality

When the darkness died away, a blindfolded Lucario stood where Sean once was, who merely sighed. <This,> he said simply. <Is exactly what Andrew wanted from us. It’s not healthy.>

“Am I really just becoming another person focused on a short-sighted goal with no concern for the consequences and the souls he hurts?” Colton asked.

<And unlike with Andrew, it’s not with Pokémon only,> D.C. said. <Think about the rest of the J-Team, and how what you’re doing could affect the rest of them,> he said, this time as Lucario.

“Just for reference are you recommending I do more or less?”

<I’m not asking you to do either,> Lucario said. <I’m asking you to do what’s right.>

“... I’m currently training to take back Lumiose,” Colton summarized.

<Look, Sean was trying to give you a pep talk, D.C. wanted to keep you in check and I want to remind you you’ve got room for improvement,> Lucario explained. <Our priorities aren’t the same, which is kinda weird when we’re one and the same.>

“Hey, it just means a lot that all three of you, even D.C., are looking out for me,” Colton said as he approached Lucario, placing a hand on his head and petting him, scratching him behind the ears and under his chin.

They both shared an expression of contentedness, Lucario more so than his trainer, but that ended when Talbain emerged and started nuzzling Lucario.

<You know this was what Sean was advising against?> Lucario chuckled.

<Shut up; both my forms have their strengths,> he said lightheartedly.

They’d both just sit there for a few minutes, silently nuzzling and petting each other before falling asleep together.

[Insert Unoriginal Stinger Here]

San Dialga Gym

-The obstacle course has flame jets-

-Joy-

Mansion

Odin: -tears forming- No, please... I'm sorry... Whatever you need, I'll help you...

Contact Me!