Hammerlocke Alley

C straightened himself up as Nightmare placed himself underneath his feet and slid him over to Aislinn. Griffon shakes off his daze and perches back on his shoulder.

"Miss, are you alright?"

Skies over Galar, with Ferrum

Radon: Okay, so before that kid showed up, I felt something, deep within my heart. And during the explosion caused by his PSI attack and mine clashing, I felt it again. It was... a warm feeling... like, when you know someone enough to want to protect them from harm... As if... you care for them. Know anything about that?

Oasis (?), past

-Following some more talking Doppler and I are on our way out-

-My texting is interrupted by the sight of the same purple-eyed woman from before, standing directly in our path-

You. Schoolperson.

Doppler: -Starts focusing, only to be stopped by me raising a hand-

I don't sense ill-intent, and I doubt the School even knows of this "Oasis" or it would've been scattered a while ago.

-To the Schoolperson-

Who are you? I know you must be an escapee, but you feel very familiar.

Schoolperson: -Saying my name with a familiarity that more or less confirms that we've met sometime in the past- Well Tagg, I used to be known as Iridium before I escaped from the School, but it's Chiyo now. In a way you could say I kinda owe you my life.

-Confused-

Huh?

Schoolperson Chiyo: I'm not surprised you might have some trouble remembering, you were a kid back then when we last met. Didn't expect you to get so tall for one.

-Does some thinking, and memories start bubbling up-

Wait...

Wedgehurst, today

-Hanging around the train station-

Okay, do I actually head down to the Crown Tundra today or not...

Edited by rmctagg09 on Oct 12th 2022 at 5:50:11 AM

J-Con

Molybdenum: ...dammit.

Ribot: ~Hrm.~

Molybdenum: So this was a setup, then. One way or another.

-a hand blurs out to try and seize a bird by the throat-

Molybdenum: I don't have time for you. Where's your Trainer, and what are their designs on our Schoolchildren?

-you know that vending machine trick with a coin on the end of a string-

-Molybdenum slides her recently-unearthed, heavily redacted mental dossiers on the pair of them over to Merle, much in the same way-

Hades Submarine, July 5

Megan: Anytime. ^_^

Vee: <Have fun lmfao>

Pippy: -hums, pleased-

-...-

Megan: -pulling a bit of Vee on her hand like a glove- ...Suiko's color scheme changed, huh? Before it was all blue and misty, but now it's…pretty Zorua-like.

Vee: -purr- <I can change that.>

Pippy: <Oho!>

Wyndon, J-Con

Neodymium: ~Of course.~

~But they do repeat them. I met the Molybdenum of our class once. The annoying one, who never blinks.~

~But my point is...um, don't tell her, but when she was putting things into our brains, I got a little look at hers. Because I can think about two things at once.~

-she sounds very smug about something thoroughly weird-

~And she was talking about someone named Tin. I know she doesn't mean our Tin, 'cause that person was way older. But...do you think maybe she meant her Tin?~

~I know she's Valedictorian! But...what if she screwed up killing one of them?~

-the thing about Merle illusions is that it's not an Illusion, per se-

-it's Night Shade, and it burns to the touch-

-but it sizzles out, and Merle squawks angrily, flapping out of the way-

Merle: You're not good at asking for help, are you?

Narrow: <That's to be expected.>

Merle: <Yes, Narrow, I was making a rhetorical point.>

-she ruffles her feathers, staring up at a human maybe 20 or 30 times her size-

Ever? I assume taking a nap somewhere. I'm just here to keep an eye out for a Corvisquire.

Narrow: <Her rival.>

Merle: <Just a...very irritating Corvisquire.>

Narrow: <Suuure.>

Merle: <Please stop with the infosec breaches in front of the psychic enforcer. Even if she can't understand you, it's only good practice.>

Speaking of.

-she locks eyes with Molybdenum-

One does not lend out information.

-the string is, with a short burst of intense animosity, severed-

Now, can we dispense with the pretenses that there isn't something you require my willing cooperation for?

Skies over Galar - With Radon

-Ferrum chuckles at Radon. Unlike the hearty guffawing he gave on the journey over, this chuckle is some dark, bitter and distant evolutionary offshoot of the laugh.-

Ferrum: ...You didn't listen to a word I said on the way here, did you? Well, guess it don't matter. It's pretty clear that I can't in good conscience recommend you for further fieldwork. But if it's any consolation, I reckon you'll find the answers you're looking for soon enough. I hear revisionary classes are real good at breaking things down to their basics.

Wyndon, J-Con 2021 - With Neodymium

Bela: ~I was in her head too. You're not special.~

-After a moment, though, she nods.-

Bela: ~I think you might be right, though. It would explain the deterioration of her mental state, her agitated behaviour, and her reckless use of lethal force in front of hundreds of potential witnesses. Something went wrong with the liquidation, and somehow the staff never learnt about it. Which means-~

-Another train of thought is cut short by the dawning realisation that, if Neo is correct, the scale of Molybdenum's error and the consequences of reporting it are beyond what she can conceive. So she simply doesn't.-

Bela: ~...Whether or not we report it doesn't matter. If that was Tin, then Molybdenum finished the job. They were clinically brain-dead when I checked. But... I don't think we can let her know that we know.~

~...Do you have any equipment on you that we can use as a siphon, or a conduit? Anything that can hold an infusion of Aura?~

Edited by Herbert40k on Jul 31st 2021 at 7:12:39 PM

Wyndon, J-Con

Neodymium: ~...I know that!~

-she processes in silence, the same as Bela does-

~It's going to be okay.~

-well, not that silent. It's Neodymium, after all-

~I'm sure there's a good explanation for all of this.~

-she fishes through her pockets. She doesn't have very many of those, but-

~...I have this.~

-she pulls out a teacup-

~It's part of a set, and I can only bring a few into the field at once. It's mostly supposed to be a conduit for barrier moves, but it'll work if you have something else in mind, especially with me enhancing your abilities.~

Wyndon, J-Con 2021 - With Neodymium

Bela: ~Good. Hold still.~

-She hesitates for a moment.-

Bela: ~And... thank you.~

-With that, she reaches out and clasps the nape of Neo's neck.-

-A second later, Neo's thoughts go all but blank, replaced by a sudden rush of light-headed wooziness. Bela draws her hand away, and what looks like a trail of faint pink thread follows after it - or at least, that's what it looks like to her. It wouldn't look like anything to the layman. Nothing noteworthy is happening here at all.-

-The thread spools around Bela's hand, before suddenly unravelling as she touches the teacup, winding its way around the rim until the whole cup is covered. It glows faintly for a moment, then fades - a memory safe in its new home.-

-As this happens, Neo's senses start returning, but her memory of the last few minutes seems... hazy. She and Bela are at the convention, that much is evident, and there's some sort of commotion going on nearby. Molybdenum is nowhere to be seen, which is strange, because she was almost certainly here a few moments ago. To Neo, it feels like she must've spent a couple of minutes spacing out.-

-But it's probably nothing. The brain has a way of filling in those sort of blanks, after all.-

Bela: ~I'll keep hold of this for now. Just in case.~

-She takes the teacup and hastily stuffs it into her belt, then snaps her fingers in front of Neo's face.-

Bela: ~Are you still there, Sixty? We need to find Alumnus Forty-Two. She can't have gone far.~

Wyndon, J-Con

-Neodymium blinks a couple times, then takes stock-

-she's hidden under an SEP field with Bela, and keeping a Fusion Charger running to power it-

-clearly something's going on, but she doesn't quite remember what-

Neodymium: ~Of course. Looks like she left, though. Do you have a pager or something?~

J-con lunch, kinda

Kal?: The point isn't to fight them. Where we are now, no one gets in and no one gets out. They can't attack us if they can't reach us, though I have a feeling being in a place like this when it collapses can't be good for someone's health.

Radium stops attempting to steal other people's food for a second.

Radium: <Believe me, it's not.>

Kal: (to Aurelia) So was this a while ago? The templar's not here right now?

Wild area

Loki: <Yeah, that'll do.>

Loki puts Florence's armband back on them, turning them back into a slightly-easier-to-carry Whimsicott. They try to pick them up, but there's only so much a small bugmon can manage.

Florence: <Don't worry about me, I'm fiiiiine.>

J-con bake sale, a few days ago

Eva and Gwen are talking.

Eva: So then I wake up on the floor feeling like I've just fallen off the ceiling.

Gwen: And you're saying this happens every night now?

Eva: Yup. Every morning.

Gwen: Is it sunrise when you wake up?

Eva: How did you know?

Gwen: I'm not sure how to tell you this, but... You might want to ignore that sleep schedule of yours for a night. See what happens when the sun goes down.

Eva: Are you implying something?

Gwen: I'm saying I don't think that was just any old pokemon that bit you.

J-Con

-the good(?) thing about standard-issue armor for a very interesting take on an Auric research foundation is that said armor is fairly hardened against spectral assault!-

(-the nice thing about mental links is that they are assuredly not- :o)

Molybdenum: -breaks off, hissing in pain-

-she bristles, halfway toward reaching after those memories into what's surely a Beartic trap-

-...and much in the manner of a Meowstic assuring people that it meant to do that all along, Molybdenum rights her body armor and settles into a prim sort of stance-

Molybdenum: ...have you tried hunting Steenee? Corvisquire love Steenee.

-well, it's not like she was decanted with any particular sense of boundaries-

Molybdenum: -approximately- <That's right. I...have compiled a language dictionary from your friend's mind. Your secrets are bare to me.>

-well, she sure is saying "human" over and over-

Molybdenum: -Ever? nah- ...dammit.

-pressing her fingertips to the front of her mask, in a way that probably would look cooler and more sensical if that mask had any semblance of a face- Fine. Tell me where they are and I won't burn your airship to the ground with everyone in it.

-eventually- ...and I'll give you.

-and she metaphorically pats down her pockets-

-this mostly takes the literal form of snapping her fingers and a guy walking over and handing her his wallet-

Guy: Thanks.

Molybdenum: Don't mention it. Also, don't remember it. You got mugged, or something interesting like that.

Guy: Wow, I can't believe—

Molybdenum: Interesting to your friends. Go away.

-and he fucks off-

Edited by Asterisk395 on Aug 1st 2021 at 7:31:11 AM

Sky over Galar

Radon: But this isn't about ANY of that "right or wrong" stuff! It was different! It was a warm feeling I felt in my heart and it had a strange power to it! That kid knows what I'm talking about.

And for the record, you didn't recommend me for this assignment. Dr. Azala assigned me to assist you. They were right to warn me about you.

But still, there was something about this whole mission that I didn't understand! When I asked the grandmother where Goldy was, I sensed that she was ready to protect her granddaughter from us, even if she lacked the combat ability. There was a reason the granddaughter didn't trust me. The girl we were sent to retrieve, she saved them from a speeding truck. And the kid... His psychic attack was empowered by that same feeling I picked up from Goldy and the grandma. If what you said about right and wrong being illusions was true, then what was that warm feeling I felt?

Wild Area, Standing United After the Fight

Aurelia: -to Loki- Just wondering. How does your trainer feel about teleportation?

J-Con Lunch

Aurelia: Well, the Templar's not here now, but he did say that I can't hide forever. But I know I won't be alone when he does return for me.

J-Con Lunch

He rubs the back of his head in a silent apology. "If that's directed at the Team, we can't make any promises. We, uh, have a reputation but we're mere mortals," he reasoned. "Them Templars, all we can really do is find them and…" with a bit of confidence back, he cracks his knuckles and a large amount of Obscura pours out, filling the room cut off from the rest of the hall.

"Of course, I've got something very special for Molybdenum…"

Wild area

Florence doesn't respond.

Loki: <I'm sure they'd be fine with that right now.>

J-con lunch

Kal: Phew. See? There's no one here.

Kal?: Are you sure?

Radium: <Are we really doing this again?

The construct almost laughs. The room fades somewhat and the rest of the mess hall becomes vaguely visible.

Kal?: You really think I'd do what I did with two random strangers? Do you really have that little faith in me?

Radium: <Well yeah. You did seem pretty intent on... Ya know...>

Kal?: As I said before, that was self defense. When you've got a fever and some random strangers come bursting into your personal world who wouldn't assume they were coming to liquidate you?

Kal: Can we please not discuss this right now?

Skies over Galar - With Radon

-Ferrum wheels around atop his Metagross to face Radon, his voice a low growl as his patience finally snaps.-

Ferrum: Oh, please! You wanna know what's a warm feeling? Blood seeping through your clothes and filling your lungs because you decided to stand in our way for the sake of some other poor sap! If you wanna get yourself killed protecting some random, insignificant chump just to chase that "warm and fuzzy feeling", then be my fucking guest. There's plenty more where you came from. I thought they brought you kids up to be sensible, not to start believing in the fantasies of your inferiors the second you step outside the classroom.

-He turns away, pulling his hat brim down low.-

Ferrum: There's only one warm feeling in me, kid, and it ain't the one you think you felt. It's the one that burns like fire, keeps you going like a furnace in your chest. And if you know what's good for you, I wouldn't keep stoking it.

Wyndon, J-Con 2021 - With Neodymium

-Bela shakes her head.-

Bela: ~Unfortunately not. Stupid oversight. We were supposed to maintain a constant mental link, but failed to prepare a contingency in the event that the link was broken. Something that could've been achieved with a simple Embargo. Thankfully, I believe the crowd are sufficiently distracted, so active concealment should no longer be necessary.~

-She drops the SEP field and sends out a psychic "ping", searching for Molybdenum's mental signature - and thanks to Neo's Fusion Charger, range shouldn't be an issue.-

Wyndon, J-Con

Merle: <Steenee. Interesting.>

-she rifles through the wallet. If she's bothered by its provenance, she doesn't let it on-

Narrow: <Are we going to ignore the intrusive presence in my mind?>

Merle: <Yeah, it's not an issue.>

-she tosses out a few credit cards, some cash, and pictures of family, and settles on a very old bus token-

<Here we go.>

-she stuffs it into her tail-

<So, two kids, age 14 or thereabouts, brown skin, purple eyes, one with black hair, one with purple and blue hair like a Mareanie. Yeah, probably not too tough to find. These kids smart, or are they going to run around looking for you while you run around looking for them?>

Neodymium: ~...To be fair, Embargo would turn off a pager too.~

-but she sits and waits-

Wyndon Hospital

-Apple-A-Day returns to the room with a Gatrade bottle-

Janie: You can't bring food in here! And frankly, none of you are related to this woman, so none of you should be here at all.

Apple-A-Day: Well, you can't prove I'm not her family.

Janie: Got a trainer card I can see?

Apple-A-Day: ...

Janie: That's somehow what I thought.

Apple-A-Day: ...Anyway, she needed Gatrade, so—

Janie: She's on an IV. It's the same ingredients in quantities that are actually useful and not deeply excessive.

Apple-A-Day: Well...I don't know. I mean, she goes through gallons of this stuff.

Janie: That cannot be healthy.

Apple-A-Day: I mean, I kind of trust her opinions, because presumably she knows herself better than you do?

Indeedee: -moves to intercept-

Avery: -moves to intercept the Indeedee-

Indeedee: -is three feet tall- ~For fuck's sake.~

-Apple-A-Day helps Percy with the Gatrade, and she drinks the entire thing-

-at which point, the orb of light where her right eye was supposed to be flickers back into place-

Avery: ...

Mallory: ...

Apple-A-Day: ...

Janie: ...

Indeedee: ~...This has been a weird past week.~

Edited by memyselfandI2 on Aug 1st 2021 at 11:29:02 AM

Somewhere in Kanto, around 20 years ago

So one day I was just walking when I saw this teenager and her Minior (Weird for Kanto) getting chased by these two guys in suits and they'd managed to corner her in an alley, so I used my thing that makes people not notice me to follow them, but then they saw me and...

Templar: Okay runt, it's time we stopped playing aroun-

Venusaur: -Smacks one into the alley wall before knocking the other into both him and his Solrock- <Trash.>

Minior: -To Venusaur- <Impressive.>

Iridium: -Watching- Well I guess School's out for me.

-Confused-

School? Are these guys like really zealous truant officers or something?

Iridium: Would it be right to involve some kid in this whole mess? Even if they are apparently some sort of uber trainer with how that fight went for them, those Templars will then be chasing after both of us.

-Speaking-

...You could say that. You got a name, kid?

-Scratching the back of my head-

Er, Richard? Sometimes I'm Tagg. Who are you?

Iridium: He feels funny, might be a latent Auric with how he managed to get the drop on these guys.

Alright then Tagg, I'm...

Iridium would be kinda weird so...

Katy Boundree.

-Eyebrow raise-

Really? Sounds kinda fake.

Iridium: I might change it. Anyway, thanks for the help kid, I really owe you one. but we need to go our separate ways before those guys wake up, or there'll be trouble. Do you think they got a good look at your face?

-Shakes head-

Iridium: Okay, good. I gotta go, but I hope we meet again one day under better circumstances. Remember what I said.

-To her Minior, a grim look of determination on her face as they depart-

Come on Dactyl.

If I survive that is...

Dactyl: -Bows before following behind-

Oasis, past

-Coming out of the flashback-

Oh yeah, now I remember. What happened afterwards?

Chiyo: A lot of hiding and close calls, but eventually I managed to make the School think I died for a while, and eventually I came across the Oasis.

-Looking away briefly-

I suppose they also learned to fear me too...

-Noticing the emotions but deciding to table it for the time being-

Are there any other former Schoolchildren there?

Chiyo: A couple, but not everyone knows everyone, it's good to keep things compartmentalized in case the wrong people find out about us. One of them died not too long ago, but not because the Templars or our still brainwashed fellow Schoolchildren finally caught up to them, but the curse of our "birth", if you can call it that.

Oh?

Chiyo: When we're made by the School, they're just trying to get test subjects as soon as possible and so they're not really checking for any "defects" past what's immediately debilitating, and that can lead to issues if we manage to make it to late puberty or adulthood without being liquidated since we're not really meant to survive that long. Me, I was pretty lucky where that's concerned, as far as I can tell nothing's happened to me yet, but a lot of us aren't.

-Bitterly-

My batch's Curium, like their namesake, died from an aggressive cancer, for instance. That was before I knew about the Oasis though.

-Disturbed-

Do any of the other Schoolkids that we know know about this?

...Everything I learn about these people just gets worse and worse. So a good percentage of you are basically doomed to die even if you're "successful" enough not to be liquidated?

Chiyo: We're all expendable to them, even the Templars are in the end despite being the "improved" version of us. All that matters to the School is results, no matter how many bodies need to be stepped over. Why bother making sure they're not prone to cancer, or some other issue, if you can just create a new one as needed once they die, or even better, a Templar.

I... need to do something about this. Can't rescue people only to have enough time to give them a decent burial.

Chiyo: Well if you can somehow pull that off, I'll be glad, and so would a lot of us. Not sure how though.

Galar, en route to the Crown Tundra, today

-Looking out at the scenery-

Feels kinda weird, but once we're done with the Crown Tundra my mission in Galar will be complete.

-Thinking back to what I learned a couple days ago-

But the School still remains.

Edited by rmctagg09 on Oct 12th 2022 at 5:53:10 AM

Battle Outside Hammerlocke [TS]

Ray: Already only two are left.

Hoops: Right, but we can't get too cocky. Use Crunch on Kec!

Ray runs towards Kec, opening his jaws wide.

Somewhere in Galar

Scientist: What is this!

He holds the small form of Spinny in his hand, having ripped it from Vana's grasp when she couldn't hide her in time.

Vana: That's... that's Spinny!

Scientist: Where did it come from?

Vana remains silent. The scientist flushes red with anger. He leans down into her face, and screams the question again. Vana recoils in fear.

Vana: I caught her!

Scientist: What?

Vana: I left the facility one day, and I caught her.

The scientist goes to strike her, but then a thought occurs. He smiles, offering a metaphorical carrot.

Scientist: Did you have help, Vanadium?

Vana shakes her head. The scientist sighs.

Scientist: Vanadium. There's no way you could have caught this pokemon without help. You wouldn't even have a pokeball to use.

She still says nothing. The scientist lifts Spinny.

Scientist: If you tell me, I'll allow you to keep... Spinny.

Vana: A trainer helped me. Their name was Hoops.

The scientist smiles and throws Spinny back to Vana. The Milcery yells in surprise at the movement, and Vana catches her and pulls her into her chest.

Scientist: Good girl, Vanadium. Good girl.

J-Con

Ribot: -to Narrow, derisive- ~It isn't as though you have much to spy on, bird.~

-likewise, Molybdenum seems to accept Merle's choice of payment as sensible without further comment-

Molybdenum: They are highly intelligent. The best of their batch. I won't stand for anything untoward to happen to them for the likes of—

-she receives the mental ping, and stills-

Molybdenum: -repeating- ...highly intelligent. Your services are no longer required, Merle. Keep the change.

(-as a matter of course, she attempts to covertly slip a cognitive trap or two into a few birdbrains; nothing more than Confusion to an esoteric trigger, hedged for a Rainy Day-)

(-no one could begrudge her her professionalism, after all-)

Molybdenum: You have nothing useful. Stay away from them or live to regret it.

-one moment, there's no one within perception; the next, there is-

Molybdenum: Fine work, you two.

-no sign exists of her arrival; for all they knew, she could've been standing there the whole time-

-she's in full body armor, and she's dusting off the knuckles of one gauntlet-

Molybdenum: -flicking off a piece of scrap- You both not only responded quickly and effectively to changing circumstances, but managed a full extraction without my assistance. Fine use of the powers available to you, both of you.

-that mask is inscrutable-

-inclining her head- Neodymium, the assistance at a critical moment is noted and appreciated. No evidence remains.

-she pauses a moment...cocking her head, in response to some signal available to only her-

Coordinating with the other agents on-site: the operation in tandem to ours was a failure; we may be on-call to finish what she started.

-glancing about- For now, we have some time to spare, if there is any aspect of society you would like to review in greater detail.

-she turns to gesture out at the surrounding metropolis-

-...before hesitating, turning the faceless front of her mask over her shoulder in their direction-

Molybdenum: ...I hope today was educational?

(-the telltale prickle of a mental state scan; fairly routine and notably non-strenuous—much in the manner and tone of a parent sibling Trainer patting their Pokémon down to make sure all their parts are there-)

Hammerlocke Alley, Past

Aislinn groans again and shakily gets to her feet.

Aislinn: "I'm... fine."

She is clearly not fine.

Aislinn: "I can.. walk it off. Couple Heal Pulses and I'll be good."

She goes about returning any mons she didn't before and starts making her way to the end of the alley, one hand keeping her steady against the wall.

Wyndon, J-Con

Narrow: <That's just...so unnecessarily rude.>

Merle: <Yeah, but interesting. Hold still.>

Narrow: <Why am I—>

Narrow: <...> (weakly) <Ow.>

Merle: <Sorry. She seems to have a thing for leaving behind little traps.>

Narrow: <I'm Ghost-type.>

Merle: <Yeah, but better now then whenever. Help me get a phone, we should tell Ever about this.>

-Neodymium's thoughts are pretty normal-

-she's excited about the praise, glowing a little-

-she also seems tired and confused and a little sad, in general-

-nothing seems super out of the ordinary. There was a bit of a kerfuffle, Bela and Neodymium found a place to hide during it, that's all-

Neodymium: ~I think I'm kind of done with society. It'd be nice to just go home and watch some cartoons.~

-everything's fine, Molybdenum, yeah?-

Wyndon Hospital

-the next few minutes are deeply unpleasant for anyone watching-

-where parts of skull are missing to expose the equally missing parts of brain, more lightning appears, filling the empty space-

-and Percy's remaining arm and leg twitch-

Percy: Ow. Fuck.

Apple-A-Day: ...Can I get you more Gatrade?

Avery: Is that your current immediate concern?

Percy: Get me my arm and leg back for a start, please. My skull would be nice too.

Apple-A-Day: Y-yeah.

-they pause by the pile of bones, giving Janie a look-

Janie: (horrified) Go ahead.

-Apple-A-Day hands them over, and Percy grabs them, shoving them roughly into place-

-where each bone goes in, obscuric tissue forms around it, holding it in place. The arm and leg seem to have some wooden extenders attached to them, and the femur is in fact entirely wood-

-Avery and Mallory exchange an uncomfortable glance and think about Totentanz-

-eventually, Percy has completely reassembled herself. She grabs her hat, places it on her head, and pulls it down a little to hide the parts of her face that are exposed bone-

-then a pulse of lightning flickers across her right arm, and the skeletal digits wriggle briefly-

Percy: Alright. Okay.

Everyone:

Percy: Yeah, I could probably use some more Gatrade.

Janie: what the fuck

Hammerlocke Alleyway

Unable to continue watching Aislinn stagger, Sunny breaks away from her Future Sight scrying to Wish for her recovery.

J-Con 21

"A dark half able to defend you without conscious input? Man, what I'd give for that," he trailed off.

Edited by AbsentCoder on Aug 1st 2021 at 6:58:50 AM

Wyndon, J-Con 2021 - With Neodymium

-Compared with Neodymium, Bela seems a little more on edge - but given everything that's happened today, that's probably pretty normal, too.-

Bela: ~I would say so, yes. I do feel I could have reacted in a more propitious manner to the initial situation, but it was enlightening to note how efficiently such things are dealt with. I shall keep that in mind should we be called upon to carry out further operations today.~

-She glances around the con floor.-

Bela: ~...For once, I broadly agree with Sixty. I have no desire to linger. Though I am curious as to what societal imperative leads people to form strong emotional attachments with large pillows differentiated from each other only by imagery.~

Hammerlocke Alley

C furrowed his brow.

"Well...what was that all about? Masked weirods don't just jump anybody."

j-con mess hall

Radium: <Yeah, it's great and all until they trap them in their own world despite the fact they desperately need treatment for a fever and when I bring some people to come rescue them they->

The construct flings Radium across the room before she can finish.

Kal?: Finally someone who appreciates my work.

Kal: Believe me, they can be more trouble than it's worth especially now I've escaped.

Kal?: See? You agree with me. Leaving was a bad idea.

Kal: That's not what I meant.

elsewhere at J-con

Evo is looking at some comic books at a stall. Florence wanders over, still looking pretty roughed up from the fight with Ferrum the other day.

Florence: Hmm... Wonder if they've got any good ones.

Florence picks up a Crobatman comic Evo was about to go for.

Evo: <Hey! That was the last one too!>

Evo looks up at Florence and recognizes them.

Evo: <Wait a second... Florence?>

Florence: Yup! Wait, how do you know my name?

Evo: <Ah, right. Can't exactly expect people to recognize me like this. What with me being dead and all... How 'bout I give you a hint? The fact I ended up as a Mimikyu is pretty cruel irony.>

Florence: That's not very- wait... Professor?

Evo: <The one and only.>