Hearthome

Punching them continues to be... moderately effective.

The glitch-possessed man, however, jumps back, away from most of the attacks, and through one of the torii gates, reappearing out of another and attempting to land a - much more powerful, glitch-powered-up - punch on Pent.

Luciana and Hidhoggr busy themselves with keeping the smaller glitched in check.

Torna, presumably

After gathering J-teamers and procuring an ultra-wormhole, Vi and the others who accompanied her arrive in a relatively sparse forest, in something of a dead end surrounded on three sides by high cliffs.

As is immediately notable by the fact that where Vi's Metagross once stood, a four-armed vaguely Metagross-like humanoid stands, a large axe in his hands.

Aurelius: "This is still strange."

Vi: "We knew it was going to happen. Come on, the Mobius base should be this way."

She checks her gauntlets, and sets off.

Hearthome City, Glitch Alley - Past

-Lucius is momentarily unable to find words for Pent and Ian amidst a stammering midst of angrish.-

Lucius: Oh, for the love of- look, I don't care what your damage is, you don't get to have this kind of boner for self-destruction! Your contribution to the team can't be throwing yourself to the firing squad because no matter what the rest of us are going to dive in to catch the bullets!

-He starts flying forward towards the centre of the platform, throwing out clouds of Obscuric smoke in order to conceal the other members of the team in the process.-

Stormchaser, Ever's Room

-There may be a faint knock on the door the moment Megan and Co. are gone from the vicinity.-

Hearthome

".. Oh great, he can teleport." Daydre runs at the man and throws an Obscura knife at him, while Rowan covers her from the smaller glitches.

Torna!

Daydre is here, with Rowan as per usual.

Rowan: "... Why am I human(ish) and why am I dressed like a dancer?◊>"

Daydre: "I dunno, why don't you tell me Mr. 'I spent a week at an extreme DDR competition'?"

Rowan: "Look, that doesn't count as dancing and having this discussion now will probably get us nowhere, let's just go."

Daydre shrugs and the two run off after Vi.

??? Raid

The hunters had almost just about set up shot. Some were sharpening weapons, others were fixing armour. A tent had been set up nearby with a table and a map. A man with glasses stood by with a large book in his hands. The Commander beckoned the group over. The map was of the surrounding area, with Multiman's base marked on the map.

The Commander introduced the man with the glasses. "This is the Researcher. He'll give you the run down on any monsters you encounter. There are three main entrances..." He pointed to three different Xs on the map. "Each one has a padlock surrounding it. It's obvious this Multiman guy of yours is keeping some monsters as guard pets. He showed up a couple of months ago and managed to sway some members of the Guild to his side. He managed to convince them of a life better than the one they are currently living in; one of luxury where survival didn't depend on putting your own life at risk. This base and his practices are a gross violation of the Hunter's Way. He's been hunting and experimenting on monsters en masse and extracting vast amounts of resources from the natural world."

The Researcher stepped forward. "You must understand, our lives depends on maintaining the delicate balance of nature. As well...we think his, what you call, 'Admin' is planning something." He flipped open his book to an entry on a particular monster.◊ "This is the Zorah Magdaros. It threatened the ecosystem a few months back. Our hunters managed to kill it. However, not long after Multiman showed up we found our village had been raided and most of our Zorah Magdaros parts having been stolen."

The Commander scratched his beard. "We don't know what the Admin is planning, but it can't be good. Be wary, he used to be one of us. Now, suit up, we got some supplies already for you. A way of communicating between us would be nice since you might need our expertise. I know it's a lot to take in at once, but time is of the essence. Ask your questions now."

Hearthome, VS Glitch-Possessed Man

Me: Huh... he can teleport... who knew?

Piku-chan: <Well, we better keep him from teleporting if we know what's good for us!>

Me: Yeah, you're right...

-I look over at Lucius and smile-

Me: Don't worry about us. We'll be just fine...

-turns his attention toward the glitch possessed target-

...so long as he practices proper gun safety...

-Beat-

Me: Wait... what am I talking about? Anywho...

-I take a Poké Ball out from my fuwafuwa^Meaning Soft to the touch, fluffy, synonym: mofumofu sash-

Me: Mothra! Come on out!

-I throw the ball into the air and out comes Mothra-

Mothra: <What are your orders?>

Me: Use String Shot to keep that Glitchy Man from teleporting!

Mothra: <Wait... he can teleport?>

Me: Apparently!

Mothra: <Not for long!>

-Mothra fires a string of sticky silk at the Glitchy Man, attempting to wrap him up-

Hearthome Brawl

Oh yeah, I'm not a Magical Girl am I?

-He's 'distracted' for a moment as the glitchpunch comes in... Before it's blocked by someone else, using a sword-

She is though~

-Two things are obvious about this Magical Girl who has plunged into the arena from a rooftop to defend Pent;-

-She is trailing Obscura with every movement-

-And anyone familiar with video games can notice that she's literally 2B-

Monster Hunter Jungle

-Somewhere around the camp is a fairly robust man trying to carve an engraving into a Hunting Horn-

-What is peculiar, is this man looks kinda like if Pent became rather beefy and dyed most of his hair red-

-Also to be noted is that Pent isn't actually on this raid because...-

Torna

-Wait hold on Pent isn't here either, where is...-

Stormchaser

-Oh, Pent's here sipping a hot lemony beverage because he's in the middle of an intense flu. Yikes-

Halis, after fiddling around doing nothing for far, far too long, has returned to the other side of the Trainer/Mon spectrum for the time being, and is training Aran for any upcoming encounters.

Halis: "Aran, uh... are you sure scaring away all of the local mons by Roaring at them is a good idea?"

Aran: <'Course it is. After all, we don't want any weak ones, right? We're training up to be strong, not to be weak.>

Halis: "Well... I guess I can't argue against that. Maybe we'd be—"

Another Roar comes from nearby, seemingly a response to all the noise Aran was making, before a larger-than-average Tauros emerges from the nearby woods.

Aran: <Aha, see? Told you it'd just be a matter of time 'fore something good showed up.>

Tauros: <...>

Halis: "..."

The Tauros and Halis look at each-other a bit, one seeming almost concerned in a way, the other wistful of a bygone time.

Halis: "You remind me of someone. I don't know why, but you do."

Aran: <Uh... Halis, this isn't the time for daydreams! We're here to train and get stronger!>

Halis: "Right... we are. Sorry, I just... nevermind. Aran, use Iron Head, please."

Aran charges forward, leaping at the Tauros with a full-force Iron Head, but he just counters right back with an equally-strong Horn Attack, the two clashing off of each-other and falling back to their starting spots.

Aran: <Hey, not bad... this'll definitely be good for the both of us.>

He starts to get Worked Up over all of this, clearly not enjoying this fight like Aran is.

Halis: "Aran, Harden while he's busy doing that."

Aran nods and does so accordingly, but before long the Tauros charges at her in a fit of Rage, but she stands her ground to the best of her abilities.

Halis: "Now, Metal Claw, maybe?"

Tauros: <Stop...>

Halis: "Uh, wait, hold on."

Aran: <...Fine, but if this is a trick, I'm not holding back.>

Halis goes over to the Tauros, worried.

Halis: "Is something wrong? You seem distressed. We just wanted to train with you, if that's what you were worried about."

Tauros: <...>

He doesn't seem to want to talk, but Halis tries to comfort him.

Halis: "It's alright... you can tell me. If it's something we can help with, we'll do so."

Tauros: <No...>

Halis: "Are you sure?"

He silently nods and starts to wander back from whence he came, though for some reason this causes Halis to panick a bit.

Halis: "H-hey, wait!"

He looks back and stops.

Halis: "Could you... maybe come with us? Please? It'd really help if we had someone with your strength, honestly."

He turns around, looking them in the eyes for a good half-minute.

Tauros: <...Ok.>

They sigh, relieved by this.

Halis: "Thank you. I promise, your trust won't be misplaced. Now, please stand still."

They walk over to him, tapping him lightly with a Great Ball, which shakes once... twice... and clicks, before they let him back out.

Halis: "Do you have a name? If not, I could give you one."

Tauros: <...>

Halis: "Not telling for now? That's alright... just tell me when you're ready, then."

Aran: <Halis, we were supposed to train for the next gym, not make friends with random mons...>

Halis: "Oh, don't worry about it, Aran. If anything, having him with us will be a huge boon since we'll have three members instead of two."

Aran: <Fair enough. Can't deny that he's sturdy after that.>

Halis: "Come along, friend, we'll go back to Cerulean to make sure you're in good health."

The Tauros silently nods once more, the trio starting to make their way back to Cerulean City's Pokecenter.

Torna

-Is also here-

Feels weird, reminds me of that vision I had a couple years ago, except those titans looked more humanoid.

-Muddy is also here and looks pretty much the same, save for a blue crystal in his chest-

Muddy: I'm speaking [English] and there's a crystal in my chest like I'm a Starmie, just a regular day really.

Well you know how the laws of worlds work.

Hearthhome Alleyway Abyss

Max and Sunny momentarily call off their assaults to look at the newcomer, Max's ribbon wrapping back around her wrist.

"Is that your illusory proxy?" Max said as she rushed towards a glitch and bisected it with a blade of sparkles from a ribbon.

"Can he make those?" Sunny asked as she threw a flare whip into a cloud of Max's sparkles and watched them explode.

??? Universe

Eyeing the longsword, Colton didn't have that many questions that didn't stem from impatience. He simply elected to silently prepare as best he could, waiting to be given the go-ahead.

Edited by AbsentCoder on Jul 22nd 2019 at 8:58:30 AM

Arthur smiled and sighed wistfully, "You have no idea the monsters I had to hunt when I was younger. You ever seen a entire cathedral try to kill you? It's quite unpleasant."

He followed the others and picked up the heavy bowgun, "Feels right."

"Yeah hence the charm Denali gave me," Silas explained to Shaun, "They're helpful like that."

"Yes I am fine," Denali explained, "I just don't appreciate the callout from Mr. Grant over there."

"Captain Grant to you," Silas responded with a smirk.

"Denali's just into muscely people with good abs," Roxy explained, "And I can't blame em, abs are great!"

Roxy proceeded to lift her shirt up a bit to show off the abs she had, "Real glad this ship has a gym! Getting into shape, like Diane would say, "TRAIN AND FIGHT!"

Denali proceeded to get distracted again until Roxy put her shirt back down, "huzzat?"

~We're fairly certain that Denali isn't entirely sane,~ Hacks explained.

<You're just figuring that out now?> Snakeye asked.

"I mean to be fair, I hide it well and 3000 plus years of existence will drive anyone a little nutty," Denali responded with a smile.

Fox laughed a bit, "Hey some of us got power suits, we don't expend much energy, right Jackal?"

Jackal was calmly pulling out a grappling array, Fox stared, "Uh Jackal?"

"I don't got any powersuit systems in my outfit."

"Wait what?"

"Just support bracing to let me use my left arm to its full extent."

~He's got grit and determination,~ Hayon responded pleased, ~He learns.~

Fox blinked (her mask replicating the action) as Jackal recalled the team, gripped her tight, and fired the grapple, following Gaia up to the top.

Oblivion Wing

Shaun: -to Saitama- "Yeah, that's...pretty accurate. More or less."

-Shaun tilts his head at Roxy.-

Shaun: "As the owner of a set of lowercase, not bolded, not italicized abs, I agree, but you know what else is good? Pudge. It is at the very least on equal footing and I will die on that hill."

Orre Raid

-Phantom hookshots up after Gaia. AA blinks.-

The Armored Arcanine: <I thought Jackal was the smart one.>

-She shrugs and starts flying up.-

Hearthrome (?)

-Luca flips back up over the edge to defend Pent but then sees 2B.-

Luca: "Yeah, this is happening now."

"You're late, tubes."

-Luca then begins storing ~ Hamon Ripple Aura in preperation for a strong attack.-

Edited by SwiftSeraph on Jul 22nd 2019 at 11:09:52 AM

Hearthome, VS Glitchy Man

Me: Is that... 2B?

-looks over at Pentigan-

Me: Pent... is this who you were waiting for?

Stormchaser, Ever's Room

-an annoyed voice comes from inside the room-

Ever: I've already answered the door once today, I hope you're not too attached to your soul!

-the door is opened, to reveal...-

??? Raid

Lance would catch up with the group with Fritz's Pokeball at the ready and Amalath flying behind him.

Logan: -blink- Well, we can't have that.

-likewise stepping forward, squirrel on their shoulder- We have experience dealing with Mobius, if not your monsters. However we can help best—direct us to fix their messes, and remove them from your ecosystem.

When you say "deal with", do you mean to set them free, stun and capture them, or...hunt them down, before they can be unleashed?

Porygon-2: -in the form of a flickering, polygonal, bipedal cat, strangely enough, emerging from the Styler- Communication, we have.

Logan: With home?

Palicogon-2: No, the line cut off when the Wormhole shut. Reconnection attempts all failed.

Logan: Ah, damn. I was looking forward to having overwatch again.

Palicogon-2: Still, we've got walkie-talkies—didn't know if this world had satellites we could piggyback off of, so I came prepared.

-and they offer one, a small, sleek model, to the Commander-

Megan: -stares blankly at the page detailing the Zorah Magdaros, a legendary, titanic magma-spewing beast the size of an enraged Groudon- I'm sorry, did you say your hunters managed to kill that?

Palico!Vee: ...do I have thumbs?

-as opposed to Palicogon, who is dressed vaguely like an anime-esque, feline Guildmarm, Vee is wearing a wide, patterned hat with a poof on the top, as well as a robe that matches it-

-the addition of her Vaporeon neck frill and eyepatch makes her look vaguely like a pirate clam with a cat body-

-she then grows a muscular tail about four times as long as she is-

-bouncing on it for some extra height- Better.

-and she examines the parasol and boomerang set she came equipped with-

Saitama: -writing this down for future generations- <I see.>

Vee: <...y'know, the source you heard it from is us.>

Saitama: -wryly- <Someone taught me the importance of fact-checking, yes?>

Megan: -to Shaun, nodnod- Oh, yeah.

Pippy: -beams-

Megan: -pondering- ...you know, I have some ideas I'd like to try and implement? Before I forget.

-Megan is somewhere, nursing [Schrödinger's post-raid aches and pains]-

Megan: Happy birthday to meeee

-let's just...leave her in this limbo for a little while longer, shall we?-

Edited by Asterisk395 on Jul 23rd 2019 at 10:57:04 AM

"Lay em on me," Silas responded to Megan, smiling, "I'm looking forward to making those ideas come true."

Megan would get a brief text, complete with a picture of a actually smiling Silas on it.

The New World Raid

The Commander takes the talkie and thanks them. "Uh, show me real quick how to work this. I am no sure what a 'satellite' even is."

He flashes Arthur a toothy grin. "Try a volcanic mountain, my friend."

He turns to Megan. "Yes we did. It was no easy task either."

"Now as for the monsters you'll be facing, ideally I want them captured, not outright killed. Your bags should have a few stun traps and Tranq Bombs. Gunners in the party should have access Tranq Ammo. Some monsters will retreat if damaged enough. Only slay if absolutely necessary."

Lita chose a Longsword that looked like a katana. Des meanwhile was checking out a Light Bowgun.

"So, hold on, are the projectiles propelled by a bowstring or gunpowder?"

"Yes" The gunner hunter replied. "You can also shoot your allies to heal and buff them."

"Wha..."

As the J-Team finished their preparations a swarm of Aerodactly-like creatures flew overhead, dangling ropes. The Commander started belting out orders.

"Alright, this is it! Grab hold of the flyers and they will take you to one of the padlocks! We'll be here to give you support and quick extraction if you need it. Maintain constant communication."

As the flyers began taking J-Teamers and Hunters up the Commander yelled out one more thing.

"OH YEAH, WELCOME TO THE NEW WORLD!"

Orre Raid

Stranger sent out Tiresias who flew him up to where the others are.

"I hope those two you guys left back there know what they're at."

The New World Raid

Lance: So, might as well go to the Volcano.

He plugged his headphones into his phone and started to listen to an 80s/90s song playlist. He would run over and quickly grabbed a Light Bowgun, then leaping towards and clinging onto one of the ropes. He then started muttering to himself as the Aerodactyl-esque monsters started flying off.

Lance: Okay, capture monsters, only kill if necessary...

Edited by Routeferret on Jul 23rd 2019 at 11:50:50 AM

Megan: -awed- oh golly

Palicogon-2: -approaching- Oh, "satellites" aren't involved—you just press here to talk, and here to listen.

Logan: -grin- It's certainly good to be here—if only it were under better circumstances.

Logan: -hefting a bag- ...I guess I'll need, just in case...is this an instrument?

-and reaches for a Hunting Horn-

Logan: ...

-and fails to pick up a Hunting Horn-

-upon closer inspection, it's larger than them, so it's not surprising-

I'll...take this one.

-and they pick up what looks like a cross between a rifle and a staff, the base unfolding and lighting up as they handle it-

Addie: -looks intently at the light-

-she licks the glowing part-

Logan: ...Addie??

-and spits, because no-

Addie: <pleh—It—it felt like a signal!>

Logan: ...

-examining it- ...it feels like it did something?

-they press different parts, the light flashing different colors in response-

Palicogon-2: Hold on, there's an instruction manual in here somewhere...

-and they dig around in the papers provided for the tutorial section, as the pair intuits behind them-

Megan: hm...

-she hefts her own trident, but curious, she picks up what looks like a tidy little bundle of machinery under a sign that reads "A Fond Farewell"-

Hello, what's...is this hide? Carapace?

-she shifts a piece, and something goes clunk-

That's an interesting thing to make a weapon out of...

-she shifts some more pieces, experimentally, and manages to unfold it into a functional axe without de-limbing herself, its odd mix of mechanical and biological components yet more apparent-

Megan: Huh, there's some kind of a trigger...does it have a ranged option?

-she aims it at a distant rock, and squeezes the trigger-

-with a hard ka-chunk, the axe head slides down to the hilt to make way for the oversized, flower-patterned sword blade that emerges-

-it hums in her hand as it rearranges itself, its well-oiled joints spinning smoothly to the warm crackle of internal mechanisms-

-and settles into a lethal-looking weapon, releasing a plume of steam with a satisfying hiss-

Megan: -wide-eyed- . . .

-and, transformation complete, power surges violently around the blade, contained blazing and entire within a wild, swirling maelstrom of clinging water-

Megan: -weakly- ...oh.

oh, Azelf...

-she's actually blushing slightly-

-aaand it's time to go! Vee decides "desert" and "volcano" are perhaps slightly Not For Her, and opts for "jungle"-

-Logan, anticipating this, opts for the same-

Megan: It was nice to meet you a—

-and she blinks-

Oh!

-beaming- Here's what I've got~

-and she lays out the next stage of her Plans, offscreen, as to feed the beast known as 'anticipation'-

-Megan smiles from the quantum thought-experiment box at the lovely smile of her friend, resolving to respond when her waveform collapses-

Edited by Asterisk395 on Jul 24th 2019 at 4:28:01 AM

Hearthome Brawl

Yeah she's the gal I was waiting on. Or possibly she's my Stand, [Machine Heart]!

-Pent Jojoposes, it takes a second for 2B to notice and try and pose as well-

Nah jokes, she's the Magical Girl I recruited. Get to work 'tubes'.

-Pent backs away from the action because he's done his Extra thing and now it's time for the sword-swinging mystery girl to do her stuff-

Monster Hunter Camp

-The weirdly beefy Pent finishes engraving his Hunting Horn and stomps over to grab onto one of the ropes-

-He shoots anyone who finds this weird a 'I'm going on this Hunt and you can't stop me' look, but otherwise remains silent-

Hearthome Brawl, VS Glitchy Man

-Ian bows with respect to 2B-

Me: It's very nice to meet you, madame.

Piku-chan: <How's restraining the Glitchy Man going for you, Mothra?>

Mothra: <It's going well... Just gotta keep it up...>

Piku-chan: <Good to know.>

Raru: <I'll try to hold 'im down with Confusion so Mothra can wrap this up.>

-Raru's eyes glow a bright blue as he employs a psychic pulse to try and hold down the Glitchy Man-

-Noelle is sitting in a chair with Sunny in her lap, petting him-

-Mezzo is sitting in bed playing her Switch nearby-

Mezzo: Sorry about that. I'm just used to cuddling something in my sleep. Usually Ever.

Sunny: <Aww...>

Noelle: It's okay, it was nice.

Sunny: <You two looked really cute together!>

Mezzo: So I get why I'm on your cuddle list, but why Sunny?

Noelle: Why not? He's cute and sweet and gives good romantic advice.

Sunny: <Yeah!> -purrs-

Noelle: And it's nice to talk to another shipper, you know. I'm actually an avid reader of your fanfics... well, the femslashy ones at least.

Sunny: <Eee! Always nice to meet a fan!>

Noelle: They're always so cute and romantic. I especially like the Mezzily one!

Sunny: <I thought about writing one of you and Fortis, but Piano said no.>

Mezzo: I meant it too, don't encourage them.

Noelle: Why not, though?

Mezzo: Because I don't want you dating my little sister, and you don't want to date her either?

Sunny: <It's fun to imagine though, isn't it? Not every pairing I write about has to be canon.>

Mezzo: It was weird enough when I thought you had a crush on me.

Sunny: <Ooh! A Mezzoelle fic wouldn't be a bad idea at all...>

Noelle: I'd read that~

-Mezzo facepalms-

Mezzo: Now I've done it.

-Noelle scratches Sunny behind the ears-

Noelle: You gave me really good advice the last time we talked. Yeah, I have feelings for her, but that doesn't mean she's ready for a relationship. How do you do it?

Sunny: <You can't write good romance if you don't know what good romance looks like.>

Noelle: That's a smart outlook.

-Sunny purrs more-

Mezzo: Hold on. Why is Fortis' name on there? I thought the whole reason you were doing this is because you were anxious about your crush on her.

Noelle: Well, I couldn't leave her out. Besides, I know she'd be up for cuddling if I asked. And like I told you, these are platonic cuddles.

Mezzo: Then why did you draw a heart next to her name?

Noelle: Because... um. Because I like her. Because it's my list and I can put hearts next to whoever I want, that's why.

Sunny: <Eee!>

Mezzo: -sigh- Don't hurt her, or you will have to answer to me. Actually, no, you'll have to answer to all of us.

Noelle: Eep... I um, I won't, I promise.

hearthome, glitch alley

Eva: Ooh, a new guy! Who are you exactly?

Merah: <Meanwhile, have some ammo.>

-Using rock bkast, Merah produces a selection of boulders, which Eva sends flying at the glitch via telekinesis.-

??? Raid - Jungle

Colton picked up a longsword modeled after a Samurott's seamitar, admiring the temper, feeling its heft, giving it a few practice swings away from everyone, forehand and backhand.

How he was able to do this while dangling from a rope not even he knew.

Orre Raid

Lamb's a little confused, but doesn't say anything. Just keeps one of her fists cloaked in flames.

Stormchaser, Ever's Room

-...Tokarev.-

-Nah, just kidding, it's the usual skinny, dark-haired twink.-

Lucius: Honestly, I'm really not that attached to it. I'm not even sure who has it right now. Am I interrupting something?

Hearthome City, Glitch Alley - Past

-Lucius rolls his eyes at Pent and 2B's shenanigans.-

Lucius: You know, it would've been a lot more helpful if you could've done that at the start of the fight.

-He remains hovering in the air, trying to chase down the glitch-possessed man.-

Orre, Factory Tower - Past

-Gaia is already at the top of the stairwell, waiting for Jackal and the rest of the team.-

Gaia: What kept you?