Unova, Azala's Lab

"Dr. Azala": Er... well... it's not truancy, per say... She flat out escaped.

???

The Counselor: ...Oh.

-There's a moment's pause, which might seem to be building up to some sort of outburst - but instead, there's a flat, monotonous kind of laughter.-

The Counselor: Ohohohohoho. Thank you for delivering this to my desk, Azala. I always appreciate those who are willing to lend the feathers in their caps to others.

-He spins his chair around so that he is no longer facing the girl sat across from him.-

The Counselor: ...Ferrum's curriculum is empty at the moment. Frankly, I think he could do with a rigorous academic assignment. His potential would be squandered otherwise. Do you recommend him for such a course?

Unova, Dr. Azala's Lab

Dr. Azala: Of course, Counselor. I was thinking about making this a group project. Would you mind if I sent Radon to assist in Ferrum's studies?

???

The Counselor: ...If you believe that would be beneficial. I will warn you though, Ferrum has been known to be... abrasive. A minor issue in his programming, perhaps. Don't worry. It'll be addressed in time.

-Unseen by the individual on the other end of the line, he gives a smile.-

The Counselor: Will that be all, then?

Unova, Dr. Azala's Lab

Dr. Azala: Yes, Counselor. That will be all.

???

The Counselor: Of course, Azala. And thank you, once again. You displayed remarkable forethought in coming to me first. Such initiative won't be forgotten.

-He ends the call, and spins his chair back around to fix the girl in the room with him with an apologetic frown.-

The Counselor: ...My apologies, Bela. It looks like we're going to have to end this session early. Is that okay with you?

Bela: ~Of course, Counselor. It is not my place to make reply, or reason why.~

-The Counselor claps his hands together and grins.-

The Counselor: Yours but to do or die, correct? Ah, Tennyson, I love it. You are one of my favourite students, you know that?

-Bela remains impassive. The Counselor stands up from his chair.-

The Counselor: But there will be a test coming up, and you know how it is with tests. Some students pass, some fail. After all, it wouldn't be a test if everybody passed. You understand that, right?

Bela: ~...Yes, sir.~

-The Counselor smiles.-

The Counselor: Good girl. I have no doubts that you'll pass with flying colours. You wouldn't disappoint us, after all.

-He pulls out his phone whilst still addressing Bela.-

The Counselor: How about an hour in the rec room? As compensation for not getting a full session.

-Bela almost bolts out of her seat, but tries to reframe the motion as standing smartly to attention.-

Bela: ~...Thank you, sir.~

The Counselor: Please. "Sir" makes me feel like an old man. You can reserve that mode of address for the other staff. Regardless, you're dismissed.

-Bela nods, and speedwalks out of the room in a manner that just barely manages to conceal her enthusiasm. The moment she leaves, the smile fades from the Counselor's face, and he taps something into his phone before holding it to his ear.-

The Counselor: Ferrum? ... Yes, of course it's me, I have your authentication code. You've been delivered an assignment...

Castelia City - some time later

-There's a figure leaning against a wall in an alleyway, framed in shadow. It's hard to make out any features, thanks to his bulky trenchcoat and hat pulled down so that it covers his face. About the one thing that is clear is that he's playing with a butterfly knife.-

-...Except if you focus for a moment, you notice that his hand's not actually moving. Rather, the butterfly knife is simply dancing around it in midair, making all the motions you would expect from someone familiar enough to pull off such moves without cutting themselves, but he seems to have removed the risk by letting it dance by itself around his gloved hand.-

Edited by Herbert40k on Jul 1st 2021 at 5:44:59 PM

???, rec room

-there's someone here-

-Neodymium is playing pool, which for her involves carefully racking the balls, lining up a shot for about a minute, and then immediately sinking all of them-

-apparently the skills that make someone good at creating psychic feedback loops are applicable to other things-

-Didit is wandering around the edge of the table, nibbling on a Cornn berry-

Neodymium: ~Oh, hi Beryllium!~

???, Rec Room

-Bela's enthusiasm seems to be immediately curtailed upon noticing the other presence in the room. She pauses, then stiffly nods at Neodymium.-

Bela: ~...Sixty.~

-At a very deliberately-controlled pace, she marches herself over to a long-antiquated CRT TV. She very methodically inserts one of the few tapes available, sets it to play, and then immediately afterwards sets the TV to x10 fast-forward.-

Bela: ~You shouldn't address me by name. It's unprofessional. The staff don't like it.~

???, Rec Room

-Neodymium bristles a little. She turns to watch Bela's movie, apparently not distracted from her game-

Neodymium: ~That's easy for you to say. Everyone else has really high numbers, like sixty or forty-two. If I call you by your number, that's just four. That sounds weird.~

Didit: <Gods, you kids are weird.>

???, Rec Room

Bela: ~You ought to get used to it, since it's what you should be calling me. I'm more powerful than you, so therefore I got assigned an earlier number. It's only the staff that're allowed to call me Bela. It'll make for a good Templar name someday.~

-It's hard to say where her gaze is focused, seeing as her helmet is completely eyeless, but it doesn't seem to waver from the TV as she addresses Neodymimum.-

Bela: ~...Alumnus Forty-Two gave you items from outside the school. I could report her for that, you know. And you.~

Unova, The Hidden Lab of Dr. Azala

Dr. Azala: Of course, Counselor.

-Dr. Azala hangs up and then turns to face Radon, who is dressed to look prim and proper, like a student at a private school^note which he sort of is.. He wears a cap similar to Ian's, but the orientation of the symbol on it and the colors are inverted.-

Dr. Azala: Well, Radon. I've received orders from on high. Your next assignment will be a group project. The Counselor wants you to team up with Ferrum to retrieve the Schoolkid designation number 79.

Radon: Goldy, eh? Just tell me where he^* Ferrum is and I'm sure we'll ace this project.

Dr. Azala: I should only be fair and warn you that Ferrum can be a bit abrasive at times.

Radon: Heh. I'm sure he'll warm up to the concept of teamwork.

Dr. Azala: He's in one of the back alleys of Castelia City.

Radon: Say no more, doc. I'll be on my way.

-Radon jumps into the air and hovers for a moment as in a flash of firelight, Radon's clothes change from his regular School outfit into his flight outfit. Dr. Azala then opens the skylight and Radon flies out of it.-

Dr. Azala: And please, Radon... Try not to hurt her...

-Dr. Azala then returns to their desk and starts writing up their report.-

Dr. Azala: -hums to themselves- ♪Azala, Azala, soon the world will sing your name~♫
♪Azala, Azala, soon nothing will be the same~♫
-Dr. Azala then sighs.-

Dr. Azala: I don't get paid enough for this...

Castelia City, Skies Above...

-A scarlet flame streaks across the skies of Castelia City. Radon looks down at the city below and sees a shadowy figure leaning against the wall of one of the back alleys. "That might be him", Radon thinks to himself as he goes in for a landing.-

Castelia City Back Alley

-The fiery aura that surrounds Radon as he hovers gently to the ground lights up the back alley.-

Radon: Pardon me, but are you Ferrum?

Edited by AnimeboyIanpower on Jul 1st 2021 at 1:11:44 PM

???, rec room

-Neodymium's eyes go wide, and then her mind clamps shut past the necessary communications-

Neodymium: ~It's not contraband or anything. It's just some foci. She wouldn't do something that would get her in trouble.~

Didit: -pinches forehead with the energy of a 60-year-old librarian-

Neodymium: ~And anyway you're not more powerful! Molybdenum said I might graduate too!~

Castelia City, Back Alley

-The figure leaning against the alley wall looks up at Radon, revealing the glint of sunglasses and a toothy white grin. When he speaks, it's in an indeterminable accent that sounds like it's trying to vaguely resemble a [Southern] drawl.-

Ferrum: Well, well, well.

-Suddenly, the butterfly knife that was floating around his hand flies forward until it's hovering less than a foot away from Radon's throat. At the same time, sharp metal scraps burst forth from nearby dumpsters to create a field of jagged iron surrounding him as the knife inches ever closer.-

Ferrum: Aren't I lucky? I'm sent into town to pick up a runaway, and they happen to show up in this very alley. Thing is... the boss didn't specify alive or dead.

-He chuckles - and then all the levitating metal falls to the ground, save for the butterfly knife, which zips back into his hand.-

Ferrum: Just kidding. I got the dossier, I know what the kid looks like. Question is, why'd this have to be a babysitting job on top of retrieval?

???, Rec Room

Bela: ~...Hmph. You wish.~

-She pauses - seemingly recognising that Neodymium has shut herself off - and turns to face her. Her voice is muffled both by her helmet and the fact that it sounds like she's scraping every word across sandpaper.-

Bela: I w-won't tell. Not if you g-give me so... some of it.

Edited by Herbert40k on Jul 1st 2021 at 11:49:57 AM

Castelia City, Back Alley

Radon: I'm not the runaway you're sent to retrieve. I'm Radon. The Counselor and Dr. Azala sent me to assist you in retrieving the runaways you were sent for. I'm here to help.

Also, do that again, and I will melt your knife into slag. I can do that, y'know.

Edited by AnimeboyIanpower on Jul 1st 2021 at 6:55:23 AM

Wild Area

Vana: You know what my powers are? And anyway, I've never actually given people memories before. I didn't even know it was possible for me to do that, but I could give it a go?

She looks at Hoops, who shakes their head to indicate that she will not, in fact, be doing that.

Hoops: Okay, so you guys are clones with superpowers. I'd say that's insane, but two of my best friends are a magical boy and an actual witch, so. Relative.

Vana: You sure I can't try and give you my memory? It would speed things up a lot?

Hoops hesitates. They are forced to admit that they trust Vana.

Hoops: Fine. But make it quick.

Once again they kneel down and allow Vana to put her hands on their head. Vana concentrates, but having never used her powers like this before it is shaky. Her nose bleeds, and Hoops gets what feels like intense brain freeze, but it works. She shows them mostly what the school is like.

Hoops: ...wow.

Edited by theoncominghoop on Jul 1st 2021 at 12:01:48 PM

??? Rec Room

Neodymium: ...

F-fine.

-she goes over to a bag that Didit's holding onto, carefully moving her body to put it between the bag and the cameras in the room, and pulls out-

-a cheeseburger-

H-here. Eat it quickly.

Kaizone, past

Brie: Makes sense. Uh, good luck. Say hi from me.

Oh, I'll tell you when the egg hatches!

Edited by memyselfandI2 on Jul 1st 2021 at 4:06:37 AM

Wild Area

Curiously, Chaos sniffed the air around the second Kirlia, and Cesium herself knelt and reached to stroke her.

Rather, where she knew the back of Diego's head would be when his illusion faltered.

And then Vana did her thing.

Cesium and Bismuth looked at her, a bit of concern forming for her bleeding nose. But they turned their attention back to Hoops.

"Yeah, that's uh… that's our life. Rather, it was, for many years, until we got our first taste of freedom," Bismuth summarized. "But, the School is too powerful to let us stay away - we believe, anyway.

Castelia City, Back Alley

-Ferrum chuckles, seemingly unintimidated by Radon's bravado, and tucks his knife into one of the inside pockets of his trenchcoat.-

Ferrum: I'd be almost disappointed if ya didn't try! There's no fun unless there's a little sport in it, you know? Which is why I can't say I'm super jazzed about this one. Anyone can stick a kid on a rail spike, you don't need to be me to do it. Though it sure helps.

-He steps forward and gives Radon a clap on the shoulder, still wearing that same wolfish grin.-

Ferrum: So how about you take the lead on this one, kid? Show me what you're made of and all that. Who knows, you pull this one off and maybe you won't be thrown into the meat grinder with all the others!

???, Rec Room

Bela: I... I c-can't. Helmet.

-She glances from side-to-side - and then, in what she probably thinks is an inspired idea, grabs the cheeseburger and stuffs it into the point where her breastplate meets her neck.-

Bela: ~...I'll eat it later. There's a spot in my room, on the corner of the bed. The cameras can't see there. I try not to spend too long there, in case they notice, but it's there.~

-It's unclear if these thoughts are directed at Neodymium, or just happen to be what's going through her head at present.-

Wild Area

Hoops: Is there nowhere you can go? I mean, surely the School isn't here right now, so what's to stop you from just hiding somewhere?

???, rec room

Neodymium: -nodnod-

-if she thinks anything's weird about Bela's behavior, she sure doesn't let it on-

-which, given Neodymium's general capacity to conceal her thoughts and opinions, is pretty indicative-

-with the transaction complete, she returns to her pool game-

Neodymium: ...

~Is the Counselor in a good mood today? I have my psych eval in just a bit.~

???, Rec Room

-Bela nods at Neodymium, perhaps somewhat more enthusiastically than she'd usually allow herself to.-

Bela: ~He is! He had to cut my evaluation short because someone else turned truant, but I think Ferrum's taking care of that. Which is good, 'cause I don't wanna deal with that.~

-She scoffs.-

Bela: ~I just dunno why anyone bothers trying. I got something from one of the wardens that they're keeping us apart now, to stop anyone who's considering going truant from giving anyone else any ideas, but how dumb do you have to be to think that would work? And for what? To pretend to be people? We're better than people. That's why we're here.~

???, rec room

Neodymium: ~Yeah! And, I mean, it's not like anyone's going to get anywhere. You'll still die, you'll just be doing it alone. It feels really tragic.~

-she frowns-

~But yeah! We're hanging out, and we're not doing anything wrong, right?~

~Right?~

Didit: (faintly bored tones of a schoolteacher on a field trip) ~Take it easy, you two.~

???, Rec Room

-It's impossible to see Bela's expression, or even read the tone of her voice, given that even when she talks it sounds like it's coming from the bottom of a well. Yet the moment Neodymium brings up the possibility of wrongdoing, her thoughts start racing.-

Bela: ~I don't think so! I mean, the Counselor gave me rec room time, and he must've known that you were in here. So he must've been okay with the idea of us talking, right? Unless... unless we weren't meant to. But then again, we didn't do much of the air vibration talking, so maybe he doesn't know! Maybe he... well, maybe I...~

-Her thoughts seem to fade away as she disciplines herself, and she turns her helmet back to face the CRT monitor.-

Bela: ~...I think it's about 113 seconds before your evaluation. You should try to be punctual.~

Wyndon Stadium Entrance Room

Kim: "That's fair. Still, though, I'm very happy about this. I couldn't imagine my life without you two in it."

Circhester Stadium Entrance Room

(Eventually, however, after a bit, Kim reenters, wearing her Gym Challenge Uniform. She soon turns to face Braker.)

Kim: "Well, Braker... I believe it's time for us to go in." (She pauses.) "But, before that..."

Braker: "Oh?"

(Kim smirks, then throws a PokeBall into the air.)

Kim: "Red alert, Ozzy!"

(In a flash, Ozzy the Corviknight appears, landing on the ground and turning to face Kim.)

Ozzy: <Ah, greetings, Kimberly. Why have you sent me out...?>

(And then he notices Braker, Walter, and Cuddles.)

Ozzy: <Also, who are you?>

Kim: "Simple. I've sent you out for the sake of the Gym Puzzle. As for those three, they are Leonard Braker and his two main Pokemon, Walter and Cuddles."

Ozzy: <Ah. Pleasure.>

Braker: "Greetings."

Walter: <It's nice to meet you.>

Cuddles: <Hello there~! Do you want a hug?>

Ozzy: <...well, I would gladly accept one, but given that I am made of armor, I feel as though it would be a bit hard to give me a hug.>

Cuddles: <Oh. Okay.>

Ozzy: <I do apologize, Cuddles.>

Cuddles: <Oh no! It's okay~!>

Ozzy: <Good.> (then, to Kim) <You said you needed me for the Circhester puzzle?>

Kim: "Yes. Indeed."

Ozzy: <Very well, then.> (He looks around.) <Where are Ian and Evelyn?>

Kim: "At the Hero's Bath. Braker will be recording."

Ozzy: <Shouldn't we wait for them first?>

Kim: "It might be a while before they return. I say we just go in."

Ozzy: <Very well, then.>

(And the five of them enter the puzzle room.)

Hasslemon

PI: I'm doing very well, thank you. I believe I have a new news story on my hands after seeing what happened to Lithium.

The Wild Area

Oliver: "Hello everybody..."

Milo: (to the Pokemon) <Hello there!>

Teru: <Nice to meet you all.>

Oliver: (to the Timekeeper Twins) "So... um... I... I'm sorry, but... I still don't fully understand how your powers work... I mean, I kind of get it, but..."

The Stormchaser

THE FOLLOWING WILL CONTAIN DIRECT TRANSCRIPTIONS OF THE CRASHBOX GAMES "TEN SECONDS" AND "SKETCH PAD" AS FEATURED IN EPISODE 40 OF CRASHBOX

???, rec room

Neodymium: ~...Yeah! Yeah, it must be fine.~

-she smiles at Bela, just a little-

-then her eyes go wide, and she drops the pool cue, carefully rearranging her hair and clothes until she looks probably about the same as she did twenty minutes off the line-

~Right! I'll be out in just a bit then.~

-Didit at her heels, she heads off into the other room-