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Wyndon Hospital

-Avery and Apple-A-Day are the fastest to react. Apple-A-Day puts themself between Adelinde and Percy, while Avery draws in breath to yell-

Adelinde: Shhhh.

-she places a finger to her lips, and with the motion, dozens of small psychic blades appear, ringing Apple-A-Day and Avery's necks like improvised guillotines-

-another stabs the camera-

Adelinde: I'm not the greatest telepath in the world, but stupidity is a loud impulse.

-Avery's voice dies in her throat, and Apple-A-Day freezes in place-

Adelinde: Better.

-she

Black and red, consider this— nobody who knows that I'm here will live through the next hour. How many people do you want that category to contain?

Avery: (voice heated) There's—

Adelinde: Softly. These walls are thin.

Avery: You can't just kill that many people. Someone will notice.

Adelinde: You've lost my interest, I'm sorry to say. You. Mask.

Apple-A-Day: I'm—

Adelinde: Does nobody understand the basic premise of "woman with the blade to your throat makes the rules?" Stand elsewhere.

Apple-A-Day: I'm not going to do that.

Adelinde: Then I'll cut your head off and you'll stand nowhere.

Percy: A-Apple—

Apple-A-Day: I'm not just going to—

-the knife ring moves, not terribly gently, and Apple-A-Day is ushered away-

-by this point, Janie has recovered her breath, and stumbles to her feet-

Janie: Who the hell are you?

Adelinde: Don't be rude. I have a nametag.

Janie: Wh—

Adelinde: On my labcoat, you twit. Look.

-a blade appears behind Janie's head, pressing gently at the base of her skull to prod her forward-

-Axiom drifts off to the side-

Adelinde: Stop.

-and freezes in place as a stack of blades appear where she was going-

Percy: Her n-name is Adelind-de. She's a T-Templar—

Adelinde: Speak clearly or not at all, Phosphorus.

-Percy grits her teeth, takes a deep breath-

Percy: I have a name—

Adelinde: I don't care.

-Percy's hands crackle-

-Adelinde smiles slightly, the blade at Janie's head zipping to hover at eye level with Percy-

Adelinde: We've played this out before, Phosphorus, haven't we? You can't beat me.

Apple-A-Day: You can't use electricity in here.

Percy: ...

Apple-A-Day: If it goes beyond the bounds of this room, there's a real chance it could kill people.

Percy: ...

Adelinde: All these years, and you still lack fine control. I told you it would kill you someday.

Percy: You said you would. I can't help but notice you didn't.

Adelinde: I did as good as. You never did repair yourself, did you?

Percy: I'm not broken. People can't be broken.

Adelinde: What a charming theory.

-she places her hands together, and draws them apart, a new blade forming in between them. This one is much larger than the rest she's conjured.

Adelinde: But the essence of science is rigor. Would someone in this room care to be the first test subject?

-her eyes fall on Janie, who has joined Apple-A-Day between Adelinde and Percy-

Janie: ...I have a job to do. I'm not going to let you touch my—

-where she's reaching for a scalpel on a tray by Percy's bed, a blade appears, pointing down-

-Janie's scream is very short, a second blade appearing at mouth-level-

-for the first time, the Indeedee tenses-

-then sighs, and closes his eyes-

Adelinde: Show some godsdamned imagination. You pick a blade as your weapon against me?

Janie: —

Adelinde: If you so much as finish a phoneme right now, I'll cut out your tongue. You were funny for five seconds and now you're not, so let the joke die naturally or I'll kill it.

Percy: Why haven't you?

Adelinde: -eyebrow raise-

Percy: You keep talking about it. But you're here to kill me and everyone who knows that you're not supposed to be here. So...why not get started? It doesn't seem like there's anything anyone can do to stop you.

Adelinde: Leave it to a necromancer to take all the fun out of death.

Percy: Yeah. Fun. You can't, can you? 'Cause then your mission's done and you're back on the leash. Dancing like a puppet—

-something about that specific word choice-

Adelinde: -eyes narrow- Stalling.

-several things happen at this juncture-

-the blade aimed at Percy shoots forward. Percy ducks aside, and instead of spearing through her remaining eye, it leaves only a small furrow over her ear-

-the blades around Apple-A-Day do not, in fact, snap shut. The Indeedee and Axiom's eyes shimmer, not that it's visible from where they've moved to-

-the blades around Avery, on the other hand, close without issue. Avery vanishes in a puff of red smoke-

-reappears behind Adelinde-

-and Facade hops from her shoulder onto Adelinde's head-

-every blade in the room vanishes-

Edited by memyselfandI2 on Aug 6th 2021 at 2:51:29 AM

Circhester Stadium Entrance Room

Kim: (to Braker) "Well. Should we go back in?"

Braker: "I couldn't agree more. I'll get the camera ready."

(He leaves, followed by Walter and Cuddles. Kim, meanwhile turns to face Elton.)

Kim: "Alright, Elton. Are you ready for this?"

Elton: <You bet!>

Kim: "Very well, then."

(And with that said, they enter back into the stadium.)

Circhester Stadium Stands

(Kim, Elton, and Braker— along with his mons— all sit down in the stands, waiting in eager anticipation.)

The Wild Area- BOB

Braker: "As I thought. Lithium. And you're very much welcome."

Lithium: <You got it, Braker! Heh. Might as well set you up for the next question: what was the order of obstacles that I ran through in the Vikavolt stunt show?>

Braker: (to himself) "Let me think..."

(He pauses for a few moments, then snaps his fingers as the answer comes to him.)

Braker: "In order: tunnels, hoops, a giant ring of fire, a massive ramp, and a simulated earthquake that didn't even matter because you have Levitate as an ability."

Lithium: <Heh, true. And yep! That's the order! Alright, last question: what was my racing number?>

Braker: "73— which is the entire reason why I named you Lithium. 7 is approximately the atomic mass of lithium, and 3 is its atomic number. Plus, batteries."

Lithium: (emerging from the bushes) <Huh. I didn't know that. Anyways, nice job! That's all of them.>

(He joins the other members of Braker's team— and Braker himself smirks, turning to face Kim.)

Kim: "Well, then. There's only one member left, isn't there?"

Braker: "Indeed. And I'm pretty sure both you and I know exactly who it is."

Rebel Island

(Upon seeing Emelie break down into tears, Howie, Tommy, and Pepper look at each other with sympathy. Tommy promptly goes over to her and hugs her.)

THE HASSLEMON INTERWEBS

SK: Indeed I am. Hence why I was wondering if you had any ideas.

Studio Palace

-Uneasy-

Torture feels like a little much, we might as well have our Psychics give him a compulsion not to enter the Metaverse or bother his ex again. It's kinda morally murky, I'll admit, but far less so than that.

Crown Tundra, past

-To Channah as we reach the summit, the ruins of the Crown Shrine in front of us, its giant dead tree clear to see-

It wasn't super pleasant when I had to go up against them, no. Damned crossbow bolt ruined my shirt.

Stormchaser Training Room, Nebulous Meeting Time

-Shows up-

Tyl: -Is perched on my shoulder-

Old Cemetery, today

-It's foggy-

Crochet: <How come the fog is so weird here?>

It's my personal theory that fog in Galar may cause a weakening in the barriers between our Material Plane and the Feywilds, and the Spirit World too.

Diplo: <...Interesting theory, but I'm not sure as to its veracity.>

-Suddenly hoofbeats-

Head Dreepy: <Oh cool, violence time!>

-The figure reveals itself to be a Galarian Ponyta-

Galarian Ponyta: -Looks like she wants to fight- <Have at thee, foul beasts!>

-Headtilt-

I think you're gonna bite off a bit more than you can chew, junior.

Galarian Ponyta♀: <A true knight never backs down from a challenge!>

There's a difference between bravery and folly, little foal.

Galarian Ponyta♀: <I'm not that little, human!>

Yew: <You should catch her like Pugh, it'll be funny.>

Stormchaser Training Room

Kai: If it was just Pokefutures doing some brand new never-before-seen Pokefutures stuff, I might have considered consultung Pef instead. But this is something you and the others would recognize.

-As Pent and Tagg show up, Kai gives a wave.-

Kai: And speak of the devils. Plural. Nice to see you again. So!

-They start to walk toward the battlefield command console.-

Kai: To start things off, Pent has the right of it. This came out of a whole set of Pokefutures-made T Ms for one sketchy-looking technique or another, mostly ranging from experimental move-mashing, to questionable attempts at imitating well-documented Legendary techniques, usually at the expense of the user's own wellbeing. But this... well, it's kind of close to the latter category, but you'll see what I mean in just a moment. And why I wanted you three specifically.

-They pop the disc out of the case, and load it into the command console. It whirrs for a few seconds, processing the disc.-

-And then the light in the room shifts. The fixtures on the ceiling usually emit a cool, daylight-esque light that illuminates the whole battlefield, and their glow doesn't change. Despite it, though, the room seems to get oddly dimmer, hazier, and bathed in warm sunset hues.-

-It might be relaxing if it wasn't so unsettlingly familiar.-

Battle Outside Hammerlocke [TS]

Ray is also hanging back, waiting for Kec or Kit to make a move, creating a classic case of a standoff that will only be broken when one side moves. Ray lowers himself slightly lower to the ground, securing his stance. His mane bristles with static electricity that runs down to the tip of the star on his tail.

Hoops: Be careful Ray, Evelyn could strike at any time.

Previously Seen Place in Galar

Vana: You want me to kill Hoops!?

Scientist: Glad to see you understand simple instructions.

Vana: I won't do it. Hoops is my friend.

The scientist sighs. He stands up, cleans his glasses, and walks slowly around the room as he speaks.

Scientist: Vanadium, like I said, in this moment you hold the fate of this entire school in your hands. If Hoops or anyone else does something stupid, then a lot of people could get badly hurt, on both sides of the resulting conflict.

He kneels in front of Vana.

Scientist: But if you do this one thing, all that risk goes away. You get to be the school's hero, because not only is Hoops no longer a threat, anyone else who doesn't like our methods would understand the cost of facing us. It's one life to save so many others by averting an entire conflict.

Vana: But why do I have to do it?

Scientist: I know Vanadium, it's cruel. But the world is like this. It does its best to bite you and cut you down, and you need to learn early to bite back.

He stands up again and goes to the doorway, turning back just before he leaves Vana on her own.

Scientist: I'll give you some time to think about it, shall I? Just remember, something bad could happen to your pokemon friends if you don't cooperate.

The door closes.

Stormchaser Training Room

-the patch of shadow poofs away and Ever sits straight up-

Ever: Oh, shit.

-...-

Ever: Wait, okay, that is what I think it is, right? Wisp sauce? As the only person in this room without a little bit of legendary power stapled to my soul, I'll sit right over here, thank you.

Wyndon Hospital

Adelinde: ...

Avery: -sheepish grin-

-Adelinde reaches for her belt. It contains Pokemon, knives, a cell phone, and a wallet. Very useful belt-

-she finds it missing-

Avery: -sheepisher grin, holds it up-

Adelinde: ...

-she lunges for Avery, who vanishes again, reappearing near the others. She tosses the belt to Percy-

Adelinde: Clever.

-she isolates the problem, which is the fox on her head, and grabs for her-

-this effort is interrupted by Apple-A-Day full-body tackling her-

Adelinde: Sloppy technique.

-there's a flurry of motion, and it's Apple-A-Day's head which bounces off the doorknob's, not Adelinde's. Adelinde grabs them by the collar, holding them off the ground-

Adelinde: Be glad you wear a helmet.

Apple-A-Day: (dazedly) Concussions are no joke—

Adelinde: What cereal box did you spring from?

Hey! Leave the poorly-dressed hero alone!

Adelinde: (hissed) Make me.

I mean, if you insist.

-there's a flash of red, and Adeline's eyes turn red from pupil to sclera-

-followed by Aware laying down a Hex-

Adelinde: -blinded, cursed, lets out a little titter-

Indeedee: <Deal with her!>

-as Axiom moves into action-

-Adelinde's ears perk up, and she whips Apple-A-Day around, holding them out in Axiom's way-

-even in the confines of the hospital, though, Axiom's fast. She kicks into a slide, putting herself between Adelinde and the doorway, and hits her from behind-

Adelinde: -sent flying across the room, Percy scrambling out of her way, hits the far wall and slides down-

Apple-A-Day: -passenger- Ow.

Let's do that again!

Adelinde: Perfect.

Apple-A-Day: Wait, what did you say—

-Adelinde flings them at Janie, sending nurse and hero and tray full of sharp objects all clattering to the ground-

-and it becomes very clear to everyone that she's within grabbing distance of Percy-

Percy: -reflexive static crackle-

Adelinde: -grab-

Electricity: -proceeds as normal-

Facade: -yelps, instinctively jumping from Adelinde's head-

Percy: •_o

Adelinde: -bleeding from claw marks, fried, bruised, hair falling out of its ponytail, all details arrest themselves- :)

-"explosion in a stained glass factory" may adequately describe the next few seconds-

Galar Mountains

Seeing that Emer took out her gloves, Alyesha gave a thumbs up before doing likewise, making sure they were on tight.

Alyesha: "Perfect, I'll count on you as my belay then, Emer~ Keep that rope nice and tight~"

Having said that (and having waited for Emer to take up the rope she held out for her), Aleysha checked her equipment a last time, especially her harness before clipping in the rope and beginning the climb. Emer would have an easy time seeing that Alyesha was an experienced mountaineer, making both fast and efficient progress. About ten meters above ground, she put some anchors into the wall, she never once looked at Emer, seemingly already trusting her to keep her safe in an emergency.

Rebel Island

-After some time looking arounfd and nabbing any particular snacks The Noble Elemental may bump into Gale-

Galar Mountains

You grab the rope and brace yourself, just in case you need to help your climbing buddy. You could definitely do so, if it needed to happen but you momentarily consider that doing so may inadvertently involve popping your hero form.

Rebel Island

-Gale Knight has opted to wear something semi-formal today for the grand opening of the Riolu Rebels base and the beginning of the Rebels Initiative. For her, that means a sharp suit and a lapel pin themed after her helmet. She's honestly a little distracted appreciating the build work when she's bumped into-

Oh, hello there. I suppose given your outfit you're going to be one of the new Rebels, yes?

Stormchaser Training Room

-Pentigan noticeably pales as the room fills with haze (which is honestly an achievement, he's already quite the pale individual)-

... How did they manage to turn this into a move? Nonetheless how did they manage to figure out how this works?

Edited by Pentigan on Aug 7th 2021 at 9:42:56 PM

Crown Shrine, past

Channah: -grimace- -stops and looks around upon reaching the top- Bit creepy, but I like it. Speaks to me somehow. Now what?

J-Con, past

Kamon: -blinks stupidly at the newcomers, then tries to straighten up- Oh... hullo. Nice shirt. Are you here for an autogra- Oh wait, no, signing was - earlier. My bad.

Veil: -to Puxiki- <wow wow you have a trainer already that's super now you can watch movies together and go on adventures and walk into people's houses and take their stuff>

J-Con— Axis' Section

Puxiki: (happily) <Yeah!— wait what was that last part?>

Axis Hunter: "Oh... you're welcome. I take it you're a fan of Homestuck?"

Tekkan: <Or are you a fan of Greek mythos instead? Or- or- even better? Both?>

J-Con, past

Rockstar: <Dinnae aboot Kamon, though he'd get in aboot with Zeus an his mates well enough. Actually, a studied Greek mythology a bit in mah uni days. Preferred Orpheus an Eurydice masel.>

Veil: <yeah there's a lot of cool things you can do if you're an adventurer oh and you can battle friends and dynamax and EVOLVE i can't wait what about you>

Kamon: Homestuck? Not - Never heard of it. I just like - -yawns again- graphic shirts. -motions vaguely to his Mawile tee- Street fashion's like, my thing.

J-Con— Axis' Section

Axis: "Ah. I didn't know."

Puxiki: <That sounds really cool! Although... speaking of evolving...>

Axis: "Ah, yes. Do you by any chance have a Moon Stone on you?"

Rebel Island

Noble Elemental: Oh, uh yeah!

-A Donphan pops out of a Pokeball slot in Neon's armor-

Catty: <Y-you must be Lady Gale! It is an honor to meet your splendiforousness.!>

Oran OS: Didn't realize we had a fangirl in tow.

Crown Shrine, past

-Ahead of us is a Pokémon with what appears to be a large bulb on their head-

The King of Bountiful Harvests, I'd presume. I felt you when we entered this sub-region.

Calyrex: <Yes, I am Calyrex, you are Tagg, emissary of the Hall of Origin. I have long foreseen your arrival, but before I do what you ask, there's something I need from you first.>

Eh?

Calyrex: <Well... my loyal steeds have gone missing once again, and I'll need your help getting them back. Of course, there's more of us than just me here, as I'm sure you know.>

Muddy: <Another gofer mission for us, huh?>

Helios: <Seems like it.>

Stormchaser Training Room, nebulous time

-A certain back scar aches as I look upon the demonstration-

I'd ask the same question.

Old Cemetery, today

Galarian Ponyta♀: -Strikes out at Muddy with a Tackle-

Muddy: -Casually holding back the Ponyta with one arm- <You're 10,000 years too early to take me on.>

Galarian Ponyta♀: -Struggling with all her might, but it hasn't managed to move the Swampert an inch-

Liquidation!

Muddy: -Lightly slaps the Ponyta with an arm wreathed in water-

-Of course... even with it being lightly the massive power differential between the two means...-

Galarian Ponyta♀: -Is sent flying and sprawling on the ground, struggling to get up-

You want to be a knight, you said? Boasts are nothing without the power to back it up, and the wisdom to know when not to pick a fight.

-Pulling out an Ultra Ball-

That said, I respect your tenacity. As per the Vow, consider this a learning opportunity.

-The ball flies before hitting them in the forehead and shaking once before clicking shut-

Edited by rmctagg09 on Dec 18th 2023 at 5:03:24 AM

J-Con, past

Kamon: A...? Oh yeah, I bought a tonne of evolutionary stones before I started training, here - -digs through his bag and tosses one out- There's like ten more where that came from, in case you need any.

Crown Shrine, past

Channah: -tilting head at the legendary- Uh, any idea where they are?

Wyndon Hospital

-most of the Pokemon in the room is abruptly put to work blocking the dozens of Psycho Cut blades hurled in every direction-

-Apple-A-Day covers Janie with their body, and more to the point the Indeedee conjures up a Protect shield to cover them both-

Janie: I'm pretty sure you're more injured than I am.

Apple-A-Day: It's the spirit of things, ma'am.

-a wall of text appears, cutting Adelinde off from the door-

Avery: Holy shit. Holy shit.

I got you.

Avery: Yeah. Just gotta...

-while Aware and Percy, working together, set up another Hex, shooting the blades down as they form-

-the mannequin fades as blades shoot through it, leaving cracks in the wall-

-Axiom, for her part, dodges around the flying blades, leaps up, and aims a flying kick at Adelinde's face-

-a sliver of attention parries it with a blade of light. Adelinde steps around it, putting Percy in between her and Axiom, and draws another sword out of nothing-

-Percy scrambles backwards off the bed as four more swords plunge down from above, spearing through where she was sitting a moment ago. The sword in Adelinde's hand is flicked out at the Indeedee-

Adelinde: I am not impressed by the company you've chosen to surround yourself with, Phosphorus.

Percy: Per—

-Adelinde kicks the bed, zero windup, hard enough that it slams into the other bed, sandwiching Percy in between them. She coughs, chin slumping down onto the bed-

Adelinde: I wasn't done speaking.

-she exchanges a few more blows with Axiom without looking or moving a muscle-

Alright, the Medicham's impressive, I guess. But she'll stop now, if she doesn't want to be responsible for some deaths.

-a blade hovers by Percy's eye-

You had a second chance, Phosphorus. You could have been anyone— well, anyone with most of their skin and muscle missing and a terrible personality. And you settled for...running a stand at conventions.

Percy: I...make things better...when I touch them. You wouldn't...understand it.

Adelinde: You see yourself in them, don't you? These broken things. If you can make them work again, you could be worth something to someone.

Adelinde: -bounced off a wall, hisses-

Syrnewt: <Somehow, you are not the most intimidating supervillain I've faced down.>

-all the same, he darts out of reach of Adelinde's return stroke-

-she narrows her eyes at Apple-A-Day-

Apple-A-Day: (still a little woozy-sounding) She's worth something to me.

Adelinde: Ohoho.

-she smiles-

I told you I'm not the best telepath, but you're not the most complex person out there, so let me give it a try? I'd talk a bit about the person behind the mask, but we all know they're not the one that matters, right? You put it on once as a lark, and you found that people actually gave you a second thought, and now...well, you're scared that there's nothing else left. You wonder what sort of deep damage would lead someone to build their whole identity around hiding it.

Your dad thinks this is a phase he can ride out, so you know. He thinks that about a lot of things about you.

Apple-A-Day: That...clearly isn't true. You wouldn't be able to know that.

Adelinde: But it's the idea that eats you up inside, isn't it? That the only things you've ever been able to hold onto as really mattering mean nothing to anyone but you. That scares you more than anything.

Apple-A-Day: A true hero—

Adelinde: Never feels fear, I'm sure. But I think we all know you're just a child playing pretend.

Percy: They might actually be older—

Adelinde: Don't interrupt me. (to Apple-A-Day) Well? Go on, if you're so brave. Take a swing. I won't even use my powers. It worked out last time, didn't it?

-Apple-A-Day tenses. Adelinde doesn't so much as twitch-

-then she flicks a finger, and a blade whistles out past Apple-A-Day-

Avery: augh

-who crumples to the ground, hands pressed to what she hopes isn't a fatal injury-

Adelinde: That trick only works once.

-Janie darts to Avery's side, doing her best to help with applying pressure-

Apple-A-Day: You're not as omniscient as—

Adelinde: You're boring now. All of you are boring, because you're all so...interconnected. I don't even have to really beat you all, I just have to make sure that you're too scared to act overtly. And now that the only one of you with any sense of acting covertly is bleeding out on the linoleum, I find I have no more interest in keeping any of you alive.

-Percy opens her mouth-

Adelinde: Don't worry, Phosphorus. I'll kill you properly this time.

-the sword in her hand extends, spearing towards Percy's head-

-and is intercepted by Mallory, the illusion around them falling away-

Mallory: ...Huh.

Adelinde: ?

Mallory: ...Well, it's...I mean, it's as good a test as any, right?

Rebel Island

-Gaia looks somewhat unsure how to react as Emelie starts to cry, but steps forwards and pats her on the shoulder nonetheless.-

Gaia: You had no way of knowing, yet you decided to stand up and try to be a hero regardless. That alone is worthy of respect. It's why I arranged for you to be brought here, and receive proper training as a member of the Rebels. We want you to be able to do this right. It is entirely your own choice whether you wish to accept our offer, of course, but it would seem a shame to waste talents such as yours.

Wyndon Hospital

-Mallory sags-

Adelinde: ...?

Avery: Mallory!

Adelinde: Don't scream, dear, you'll stress the hole I just put in your lung.

-Apple-A-Day makes a heroic effort to tackle Adelinde-

-who doesn't even look at them, casually bouncing them off a wall-

-they slump to the ground and don't stand back up-

-Adelinde reels in the blade impaling Mallory, taking them by the collar-

Adelinde: You're...one of us. Another runaway.

I don't recognize you, though. You're not on any of our lists. Designation?

Mallory:

Adelinde: Well, you'll talk, one way or the other—

-they're dead-

Adelinde: ...

-she blows a stray strand of hair out of her face-

Phosphorus, be a dear and reanimate this one, won't you?

Percy: -sputters, partly because of still being wedged between two heavy objects and partly because that's not how it works and partly because fuck you-

Adelinde: Hm.

-she drops Mallory's body, conjuring a new sword-

Anticlimactic, but not the most boring fight I've ever—

-she looks down, to find a Sableye holding onto her leg-

Adelinde: ...Who are you?

Avery: Optics.

Optics the Sableye♂: -little wave-

Avery: Foul Play.

Adelinde: -wrinkles her nose-

-the many, many blades floating around the room turn from purple to...well, it's still purple, but more a plum than fuchsia-

Adelinde: ...

Wyndon Streets

-PEFE!Every is heading home from the con, taking some notes on some forms she's collected-

-it's a pretty solid gig, lately. Put on a blue wig and a denim jacket, sign up a few fans to help socialize baby Drifloon-

-but it sure is a lot of paperwork-

-she's walking by the hospital, a nice building next to some public green space. Sometimes after dealing with large numbers of people, she goes out to the forest and sleeps on a bed of pinecones-

-it's much nicer-

-anyway, there she is, when a large and property-destructive sound becomes readily apparent-

PEFE!Every: ...

-and a small comet of pink light whizzes past her and into the woods-

PEFE!Every: Huh.

Crown Shrine, past

Calyrex: -To Channah- <There are those in the ruins that dot this place, and those who make their roosts at the Dyna Tree to the south.>

Stormchaser Training Room

-Kai nods-

Kai: I'd love to know as well. Guess Pokefutures' scientists have been hard at work for almost a decade.

-They pace through the haze a bit-

Kai: It doesn't seem quite the same, though. I've made a point not to mess around too much with just the Stormchaser's simulation, but I don't think it's going to be giving us any out-of-body experiences any time soon.

-They pull out a hand fan just large enough to blow against the haze, and indeed it partially shifts around as they swing it.-

Kai: It seems more like... a weather effect. One that dampens the impact of a lot of things, except for the Auric Spectrum, and moves of the same types that might not be directly Aura-fueled. All in all, it seems like a fairly reasonable technique; what really worries me is how far Pokefutures might have kept going after establishing this.

-They put the fan away, and stick their hands in their pockets.-

Kai: I never met Annoski, at least not the real deal. I was just a kid back then, stuck on vacation by a fog out of nowhere that reduced me to a wandering spirit for months. I only joined after his fall. So I don't really know the full gravity of it being known again, other than to freak out some of the others who were stuck in the region at the time.

-Still pacing-

Kai: I know destroying it would prevent anyone new from stealing it again and messing around with it. But as a Frontier Brain, I see the merit in learning from it, learning how this version is made and what it really does, and being prepared in case we face someone who's already intimately familiar with it. But I'm definitely no Aura Guardian, so I don't know if that's my call to make, knowing the little bit of its history that I do realize.

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Aug 7th 2021 at 4:46:48 AM

Stormchaser, Training Room

Ever: Insofar as I have a relevant vote, I'm pretty sure information wants to be free.

What I want to know, and what affects how worried we should be, is the line between this and real Twilight. If it's a matter of power, it's too late, and at some point, we'll have to deal with the technique being weaponized against us by someone else. If it's a matter of quiddity, then we're probably safe— I doubt there would be reason to associate this with Twilight any more than Phantom Force acts as a portal to the Distortion if you boost your attack enough.

Wyndon Hospital, outside

-PEFE!Every stares after the comet, and then in the direction it came from, where there is currently a large hole in the outer wall of the building-

-several people come stumbling out of it-

-one of them appears unconscious, and is being carried by an Incineroar-

-two of them are supporting a fourth, who looks conscious but barely-

-both of the supporters are limping, and one of them appears almost shambling. Flickers of blue light dance around them both-

???: Anyone have a teleporter?

??? #2: Yes, but she's unconscious right now and won't do anyone much good.

PEFE!Every: Interesting.

-they approach, and-

PEFE!Every: Wait, Avery? Is that you? What happened?

Avery: School—

Percy: (holding her ribs with the arm not supporting Apple-A-Day) There's a hole in your lung, please try not to talk.

PEFE!Every: Who are— oh! That's macabre. Very neat, though. Electro-obscuric suspension of non-innerved flesh and amuscular bone...

Percy: Yeah, thanks, it's great at parties. Who are you, how do you know any of us, and what color are your eyes?

PEFE!Every: Avery lived at my place of work for a bit. I'm Every Memito, and I have brown eyes, but you mentioned a hole in the lung, and that's very fatal, so you should really go back to that hospital you just left, I think.

Percy: We left for a reason.

Avery: Every.

PEFE!Every: (seriously) Hi! You shouldn't talk.

-Facade appears on Presentation's shoulder-

Presentation: <Hey, come on! You startled me!>

We're trying to get to the Stormchaser, but it's all the way in Wedgehurst, and we're on a time-limited budget.

-there's a flash of purple from the woods-

PEFE!Every: Oh. I'll lend you Rotary, then. But you should get Avery to a healer quickly. And— oh, I know you, apple person. You're concussed.

Apple-A-Day: M'fine.

PEFE!Every: Not at all. Rotary!

-she sends them out-

Can you take them to the Stormchaser? Make sure they're reasonably unlikely to die before you leave them alone, though.

Rotary: <...That might be tough, but I'll see what I can do.>

PEFE!Every: Alright...

-she turns her attention to the forest-

-as Adelinde emerges-

-dozens of blades flutter around her, holding her suspended in the air, cleaning the blood from her, even scraping the dirt and grit from her clothing-

-despite the fight she just had, by the time she lands in front of PEFE!Every, she's spotless and doesn't look winded-

-and she's very visibly annoyed-

PEFE!Every: -holding out a hand- And you are?

Adelinde: -blades raised- You're Ever Memito, aren't you?

PEFE!Every: No.

Adelinde: ...You're an atrocious liar. But Molybdenum can clean up her own spilled messes, I think. My quarry appears to have gone to ground.

PEFE!Every: Have you tried figuring out where they're likely to go and setting traps?

Adelinde: ...You've got a smart mouth. Watch someone doesn't remove it for you someday.

PEFE!Every: -shrug-

Adelinde: Ah, well.

-...-

-she reaches for her belt, only to remember that it is still in the hospital, she never retrieved it, and a lot of people are currently calling the police-

Adelinde: Do you ever have days where you find yourself overburdened by the vagaries of life?

PEFE!Every: On occasion.

Adelinde: How do you cope?

PEFE!Every: Science, mostly.

Adelinde: ...Hm.

-she strides off in the direction of the hospital, leaving PEFE!Every to resume her evening cryptidification-

ohyestheydid.livejournal.com

August 5th, 2021 5:49 pm Kamon Waterhouse Faints In Public

CURRENT MUSIC: Palaye Royale - Nervous Breakdown

TAGGED: kamon-waterhouse henry-parker weirder-stuff

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August 6th, 2021 8:01 pm Serena Sets New Fashion Goals

August 7th, 2021 10:15 am Palace Maven Spenser Denies Having Tried Magic Mushrooms

Crown Shrine, past

Channah: ...Oh. Good to know.

{Undisclosed Location} - Past

The Counselor: ...Well, this is all rather embarrassing, isn't it?

-He looks up at the trenchcoat-clad individual stood on the other side of his desk.-

Ferrum: I'm telling you, that Gold brat has more up her sleeve than you thought. And the one you stuck me with was no help at all.

The Counselor: Spare me, Ferrum. I'm sure the details of how you were bested by literal children are fascinating, but there's only one detail of real importance. You failed. And I shouldn't need to remind you of the consequences for failure.

Ferrum: I didn't fail! The kid failed! He's the one you should be hauling in here! Stick him in a blender, use him for parts, whatever you wanna do, but that's all he's good for!

The Counselor: The fate of the children in our care is for the staff to decide, Ferrum. Not you.

-Ferrum glares at the Counselor for a moment - then, suddenly, the lights flicker and die as shelf brackets tear themselves out of walls and the lamp on the desk hurls itself across the room. The Counselor's metal pen finds itself hovering in the air, half an inch away from his throat.-

-The Counselor, for his part, appears unfazed.-

The Counselor: Go ahead. I am a perfectly mundane individual, lacking any of your psychic prowess. I am middle-aged and admittedly below the fiftieth percentile in terms of physical fitness. It is well within your power to kill me. I don't think you will, though. I think you value the life we gave you too much for that.

-Ferrum is silent for a moment longer, before his fists unclench, the lights return to life, and the pen falls to the floor.-

The Counselor: Another power fluctuation. I keep telling the engineers, the lights ought to be on a closed circuit, but do they ever listen?

-He gives a faint chuckle, seemingly to himself.-

The Counselor: Back on track. Your observations about Radon's conduct have been noted and will be brought up in his next psych evaluation. Not that the fate of one lone prototype should concern you. Unless the boy really did manage to get under your skin?

-Ferrum says nothing. The Counselor tuts, shakes his head, and makes a couple of notes.-

The Counselor: Perhaps you'll fare better with Beryllium and Neodymium. They're both more orthodox than Radon, according to my notes, so they may be easier for you to wrangle.

Ferrum: I don't need another couple of brats getting in my-

The Counselor: That wasn't a suggestion, Ferrum. I don't make suggestions. If you find yourself unable to shepherd - and again, I honestly cannot stress this point enough - a pair of literal children, then perhaps that indicates an issue with your template more than anything.

-He looks up at Ferrum, smiling gently.-

The Counselor: You have your assignment regarding subject Ruthven. Dead, recaptured, memories drained and returned to us via application of Beryllium's abilities - it hardly matters. What matters is results. We'd end up looking quite foolish if we let our failures be displayed to the world, won't we?

-Once again, there is no response from Ferrum. The Counselor seems to take that as confirmation, nodding and jotting down more notes.-

The Counselor: I'm glad we're both on the same page. Your instructions will be relayed to you shortly. Oh, and Ferrum?

Ferrum: Yeah?

-The Counselor's smile is easy, warm, and nowhere close to reaching his eyes.-

The Counselor: Don't let us down again.

Wyndon Hospital, last night

Janie: This is going to be weird to explain.

-she's Revived the Indeedee, who is currently helping her sort through rubble-

-around the hole in the hospital, a few police cars have gathered, lights flashing. Questions are being asked with a routine incompetence, and Janie is doing her best to avoid being made to answer anything that police are unlikely to believe-

Indeedee: ~Could be worse.~

Janie: Well, yes, I guess it could be worse than my hand being stabbed, watching several people possibly die, the hospital being half-smashed, and my career probably over.

Indeedee: ~You could be one of the people someone else watched die, for one.~

Janie: True enough.

Indeedee: ~Hey, found this if you were looking for it.~

-he holds up Adelinde's belt-

Janie: Oh. Yeah, uh. Those sure are Poke Balls, huh. We should probably turn them into someone.

Adelinde: Yes, you really should.

-Janie freezes, as several blades appear around her neck-

Indeedee: ~How'd you make it past the cops?~

Adelinde: I'm a doctor. I have to attend to my patients. Clearly I am nothing more than a victim of this tragic accident. Much like yourself.

Janie: ...You can't get away with killing me right now. I can see an officer twenty feet from us.

Indeedee: ~I'm familiar with the effect you're creating, and a sudden corpse is not the kind of thing it will tolerate.~

Adelinde: Perhaps you're right. It would most certainly be annoying, killing all these people to cover my tracks. But let's face it, I am already deeply annoyed this evening.

Janie: Because you screwed up and let that woman with the skeleton face go?

Adelinde: Commentary on this is not the kind of thing that increases your survival odds.

Janie: You know what I think? I think that the skeleton woman was right.

Adelinde: I think you should stop talking.

Janie: I think you like bullying people more than you like killing them. I think you need to demonstrate that you're the most powerful, dangerous, untouchable person in the room before you can actually get about it.

Adelinde: ...Maybe so.

-the blades move from around Janie's neck, orbiting Adelinde's hand-

But on the other hand, the other four people who were in this room are dying now. I, as you will note, am essentially unharmed.

-she really does seem to be, outside of some light scuffing-

Do you really want to see what happens when this stops being something I care about, and becomes a routine cleanup?

Janie: ...

Adelinde: I'll make a deal with you, Janie Walker. You will return to me my effects. You will not tell anyone that I was here because you will find no support or traction for these accusations, and if you try, I will find you again and it will be a much shorter conversation. In exchange for your cooperation and your silence, I will leave you, your Indeedee, and everyone on this block alive.

Janie: ...Y-yeah. Okay. Sounds good.

Adelinde: Thank you.

-she takes the belt back, and sends out a Magneton-

Camazotz. It's time to go.

Camazotz: <Her?>

Adelinde: Maybe later.

Camazotz: <Fair enough.>

Stormchaser, a room somewhere

Brie: You're lucky we were here, you know!

Avery: I'm not— ow— feeling so lucky right now.

-the Y-squad is currently holed up in a room with Brie and Amanita, receiving some medical attention from Applause and Quickdraw. Avery, as the most injured (after managing to convince Amanita that the corpse and the zombie were not actually of primary concern beyond a Gatrade bottle or two), is feeling a little fussed over-

Brie: That's what happens when you pick fights with people like that! You could have died!

Avery: I am starkly aware of that fact.

-Brie puts a hand on her shoulder. Avery winces-

Brie: Oh, uh, sorry. Well, uh...it sounds like you did the right thing, at least.

Avery: I'm...pretty sure? Just freaked out.

Applause: <Don't be such a baby. You had a punctured lung. That's an easy fix.>

Avery: ...Well, and my nice jacket got two holes punched through it.

Applause: <That's actually probably going to be the longer-lasting of the consequences of today, yes.>

Avery: That's...good to know, I guess.

-she points at Apple-A-Day-

Are they gonna be okay?

Quickdraw: -pokes Apple-A-Day with Shellder-

Apple-A-Day: -continues lying facedown on the bed they were placed in- Mmf.

Quickdraw: <Well, they're definitely concussed, but I've fixed the worst of it. They should probably not fight any more villains for a while.>

Apple-A-Day: Mmmmmf.

Amanita: (to Percy) So, you're sure, by the way, that all your bones being exposed is fine?

Percy: Hasn't been an issue so far.

-she drains the rest of her bottle of Gatrade-

Percy: I have to tell you, it's a bit disconcerting that after everything that's happened today, this airship is still probably the weirdest thing I've seen in my life.

Avery: Ah, yeah...

Percy: It's alive, you know.

Brie: I'm still not sure how that works.

-...-

Mallory: -gasps-

Brie, Amanita, and Percy: -yelp-

Avery: Welcome back.