Stormchaser

Jess: Thanks, I'm so sorry about this.

Jess's mum: You wouldn't understand. What's wrong with a mother wanting to make sure her daughter is staying someplace safe?

Orre Battle Academy

Daria looks at her uniform in amazement. "That. Is. Seriously. Cool. What are these made of?"

She realises that Xavier is walking away from her and rushes to catch up. "Anyway, why are you carrying that weird looking Braviary?"

PEFE Depths

It is once again time for Whitt to be fed. He goes to the window of his cell and looks out contemptuously at Gregory, who once again shoves the tray through the slot.

"It's late," Whitt says.

Gregory grumbles. "Yeah, well seems like some of these guys forgot about you. Not that you don't deserve it."

A small smile touches Whitt's lips. "You don't say..." He suddenly doubles over, clutching at his heart before falling onto the floor.

Gregory looks unimpressed. "Am I supposed to fall for this."

Whitt appears not to hear him. "This is too soon! I wasn't supposed to die here! Damn Curse!"

Gregory watches him passively. "What's this now?"

"Didn't they tell you about the Curse, Gregory?! Sometimes Schoolkids have genetic disorders that kill us over time. Mine gives me heart problems. I thought it would..." he stops and clutches his heart again, as he is hit by another wave of pain.

"And you want me to..." Gregory asks, clearly not caring.

"Help me!" Whitt pleads. "Please! I don't want to die, not like this!" He gasps and pushes himself onto his knees, staring off into the distance like he is seeing something only for him. "The bell is ringing for me, Gregory. It sounds... terrifying."

Gregory rolls his eyes. "Okay, fine. But try anything..." he lets the warning go unsaid and opens the door. He crosses the room, which he notes is like a freezer, and bends down to check on Whitt.

Whitt moves like a coiled Arbok, grabbing Gregory's wrist and pulling him towards him. Gregory is a big man, and normally he would be able to resist, but the floor is covered in a thin layer of ice and he loses his balance. Whitt, who is very much not having a heart attack, shifts his weight and slams Gregory into the ground, knocking the wind from him. He then places his knee on the guard's back, and grabs him on the top of his head.

"Now, listen," he says, his voice low and threatening. "Unless you want to discover what it feels like to have your tongue freeze and shatter inside your mouth, I suggest you do exactly as I tell you to." He smiles. "But by all means, try something. I'd love to hear how that makes you scream."

Outside The Veilstone City Gym:

“Since I actually got to see most of the battle this time, I gotta say you looked like you were doing a pretty good job,” Travis replied once Owen arrived and asked for the group's opinion. Mark would take a moment to reflect on everything that happened before saying his piece, “I'm going to be upfront by saying you definitely know what you're doing, but half the time it seems like you lucked out because of your opponent's own failures. I'm not saying you're bad, I'm saying you need better opponents, and while I get you've gotta go through all the gym leaders I still don't know how you handle battling an actual expert.”

Travis would shrug dismissively, “Not all of us beat two regional champions, and it's not like this battle got handed to Owen on a silver plate. He did have one of his pokemon get wrecked by surprise, and there were some pretty tough gimmicks to deal with,”

“That's something about modern battling that's becoming more common that I find stupid. There always seems to be some stupid gimmick or added challenge just because plain old battling is boring now...which reminds me: Do all of your battles have a concert performance attached to them? They seem way too planned out to just be coincidence, and as fun as some of them might be it's kinda...iunno, cheap and hard to believe that everyone else is buying into it?”

“It's kinda like everywhere you go to battle is part of a rock ballad, pardon the pun, but don't take it personally. Everyone's got their style, and Mark's always been a bit more serious and direct with battling, don't take it personally.” Travis added, amused with himself to the mild annoyance of Tricky who didn't care much for most forms of wordplay. Chopper would tap on Mark's shoulder a couple times before reminding him, <Are you going to mention anything positive? His pokemon were pretty tough, especially the new one!>

After nodding and clearing his throat a bit, Mark would then be sure to add, “I'll give you credit where it's due: You know how to lead your pokemon and there's no question about whether they're tough or not, you made that clear to everyone,” After scrolling through different tabs on his mobile, Travis would ask, “Are we not going to give props for this dude not only winning 1, but 2 gym battles in the same battle and having to deal with Team Lightning BS in the same day?”

“That's a good point actually, we've all definitely gotten some pretty good experience today. Travis I know you're a casual trainer, but I recommend really considering more battle practice with your pokemon, especially the newbies. I know they're support mons but they won't do you any good if they're easy to one-shot,” Mark would tell Travis, only to have the latter dismissively reply, “Yeah yeah...I'll figure out how to fit that in with my schedule, which is still kind of in flux right now actually. We really should consider what we plan to do next since a lot's gone down.”

“I'm guessing you're already thinking of making a B-line for the next gym, aren't you?” Mark wondered after turning to Owen.

Edited by ParadoxialStratagem on Oct 26th 2022 at 2:52:02 AM

Veilstone City- Outside of Gym

Owen paused.

"Actually, I don't think I'll be going there just yet," said Owen.

<Oh?> asked Stipax. <Why not?>

"Simple," said Owen. "I'm planning to go and dig for some more fossilmons. Specifically, a Tirtouga, a Tyrunt, and an Aerodactyl."

<Ooooh~!> cried Stipax. <That sounds fun!>

"It should be," said Owen. "For now, though... I think I should let everyone out of their PokeBalls for a few moments. Saura specifically, since she just evolved."

A thought suddenly came to him.

"What did you two think of her evolution, by the way?" he asked.

CW: Torture

PEFE Depths

Gregory makes a low choking sound. "But, you said... you were... the Curse!"

Whitt's expression darkens. "I have a question for you, Gregory. I assume this facility uses biometric scanners, so I need you to tell me if they scan eyes and which one they scan." Gregory doesn't answer, so he digs his knee further into his back.

"Left!" Gregory yells, trying to make it loud enough that someone will come running. As of now, no-one seems to be responding.

"Left," Whitt nods. "So you don't need the right." He freezes Gregory's right eyeball in the socket. Gregory screams in pain, and there are running footsteps as guards, who definitely overheard that, come running.

"Listen Gregory," Whitt says. He holds his mouth close to Gregory's ear, so that the man will definitely hear him over the sobbing. "The Curse? That's an error in the weaker Schoolkids. But me? I'm a fucking templar, I'm the perfected model. Whatever you think of your insignificant species, I am what comes next. I am superior. The School is superior. That's why you mean nothing to me, Gregory. You're not even worth my hatred. You're just a leaf that I crush beneath my boot."

He pulls Gregory to his feet just as the rest of the guards arrive. "I have a hostage," he says. "If any of you try anything, I will freeze and then shatter his brain. If you call for backup, I'll shatter a leg. Every minute that we spend in a standoff where you try and keep me here, I select a finger and shatter it. Then when I run out of things to break on him, I'll find one of your scientists and start all over again. Do I have your complete understanding of what's going to happen?"

The other guards tentatively nod. Still holding Gregory in front of him, Whitt moves out of the cell and into the wider underground area of PEFE.

Outside The Veilstone City Gym:

Mark would curiously raise an eyebrow before asking, “Fossil hunting huh? Where do you think you'll find more of those, The Underground again?”

“I wouldn't mind exploring more of The Underground if we had to, especially since we didn't happen across any real valuable finds,” Travis added before responding to Owen's question with, “Oh you mean the whole giant clay pot transformation sequence? That was probably one of the trippiest evolutions I've ever seen, and I've seen custom, simulated digital evolutions that defy reality for video games and shit!”

“Yeah that blue clay pottery thing...Never seen anything like it before in my life, but like I said to Travis earlier it always does me proud to see a meaningful evolution in action. It's not easy to pull off, and can take a lot to reach,” Mark would reply before mentioning as he reminisced unconsciously, “Funny how beating two regional champions and a few Unovan gym leaders didn't have Chopper evolve into a Machoke. It actually took him going through a bunch of tests and The 100-Mon Brawl to finally break beyond his limits and evolve.”

While Owen considered releasing all his pokemon, Travis would remember the existence of and glance at one of the concert tickets he found earlier before suggesting, “We should consider trying to make the Noize Destroyz concert tomorrow night. I've never heard of DJ G@tis, but I'm curious why several Team Lightning Sparks were all planning on going there.”

Mark would scoff before saying, “They were probably just planning to go there off-work, and if their taste in music says anything it's probably not worth going to...but then again they were planning something and if The Techspo was anything to go by it's probably nothing good.”

Stormchaser, Y-squad room

-Apple-A-Day is here-

-they are no longer in the medbay, but they are still in recovery from some fairly severe injuries, and have been sleeping a lot-

-Percy is sitting by their bedside as they open their eyes. She looks slightly more haggard than usual-

Apple-A-Day: Did you unmask me?

Percy: Uh, yeah. You kind of lost an eye for a bit there.

Apple-A-Day: Feels like it's still there.

Percy: We got it back for you.

Apple-A-Day: Um, I don't remember a lot. We were in the base...

Percy: (in the tone of someone who has explained this several times) Adelinde showed up, and we had to evacuate.

Apple-A-Day: Bet you could've taken her.

Percy: (fondly, but firmly) I could not. And you were bleeding out, anyway.

Apple-A-Day: Were you...keeping vigil or something?

Percy: ...Well, it's not like I sleep.

Apple-A-Day: Kind of envy you that.

Percy: It's not what it's cracked up to be. And speaking of which, you need rest.

Apple-A-Day: Were you healing me?

Percy: I'm...not really a healer. I just kept you from dying for a little while.

Apple-A-Day: I...huh. Felt like longer...

Percy: Go to bed.

Apple-A-Day: Don't wanna. Wanna talk to you.

Percy: (covering Apple-A-Day's face with her hand) Go to sleep.

Apple-A-Day: -snore-

Sunyshore

-it's Ever time-

-they're tracking someone down-

Sinnoh Safehouse

-Neodymium is running in circles, as she occasionally is-

-it's probably a bit annoying for anyone who has to share the place with her-

-Didit is certainly a bit fed up with it. She's reading a book about the role of Copperajah in Alexander the Great's military campaigns, trying not to pay too much attention to the excitable Schoolkid polluting the telepathic environment-

-PEFE!Every is dozing on the couch, occasionally waking up, writing some notes, and going back to sleep-

-but Neo's expecting someone-

-there's a knock on the door, and she runs to answer-

-PEFE!Every opens an eye-

Dr. Tran: Hey, kid.

Neodymium: ~Hi!~

Dr. Tran: Oh, good, you're in a good mood.

PEFE!Every: Oh, it's you.

Dr. Tran: It's me. Didit, hello.

Didit: ~Hey.~

Dr. Tran: All ready to go, Neodymium?

Neodymium: ~Yep! Got my tools and everything.~

Dr. Tran: ...Right. Good.

Neodymium: ~And Didit, of course. Dunno what I'd do without her.~

-she pets Didit's head, which Didit accepts with good grace-

-if Neodymium has noticed that neither Dr. Tran nor Didit are smiling, she gives no particular sign-

-PEFE!Every has, though. She looks to Dr. Tran, who subtly shakes their head-

???

-there are a few people who even Adelinde the Scythe regularly defers to-

-most of them she doesn't have to encounter very often, thankfully. She speaks to the Magi maybe once every few years, she has talked to the Principal all of once in her life. She actively avoids the majority of the human scientists, and her treatment of Dr. Powell stands as indication of her general opinion of them-

-but every organization has its bureaucracy, and after a disaster like the compound raid, everyone has had to make appointments-

-which is why Adelinde finds herself here, waiting outside the door to the Counselor's office, a look of deep disgust on her face-

Battle Academy

Xavier: Computer said there was a bounty on him. Apparently he's not supposed to be around here. So I went and got him. As for the clothes... uh...

-She stops and taps the side of her head.-

Xavier: I dunno, actually.

-The far door opens up as a man with a shockingly powerful dedication to the color blue, with long-but-wild blue hair and blue clothes steps out.-

Desech: Ah, hello there, Xavier~ Oh, and our new transfer~ And...

-He tilts his head slightly to get a better look at the Hisuian Braviary.-

Desech: Oh my. You've been busy today.

Xavier: Can I hand this off to you? This guy's kinda heavy.

Desech: Ah haha... Yes, let me get some help...

-He taps the lapel mic on his collar.-

Desech: Mckenna? Asera? I could use a couple of hands up at the main courtyard~

-He taps it again and it hums off.-

Desech: So how have the two of you been doing? Aside from the...

-He looks Xavier's dirty, dusty body up and down.-

Desech: Immediately physically presented?

Xavier: I'm hungry again.

Edited by DuneTheWanderer on Oct 27th 2022 at 10:16:43 AM

That 'pep talk' from Pavo is enough to spur Machamp Major into an even greater fury! Instantaneously, the ice that kept him trapped shatters like glass, as he flexes his entire body!

The four attacks aimed by Kendall at Major's wristbands from behind would have struck dead on if he had not moved at the last possible moment. Alas, the attacks instead glance off their targets, leaving marks on the bands and impacting on the floor and ceiling. Will he ever get another chance at this sort of attack?

Major grabs the stroller from Minor's hands, gives a withering look at Coil and pals, and throws the stroller at them, spilling its contents everywhere! That'll show them for figuring out where the Amok is!

As for Minor, he grabs Auguste and Edmond by their heads and throws them at Kendall and the Nightingale, respectively. As one might expect, both of them scream as they fly through the air. What a brute, using innocent Pokemon as projectiles!

Battle Academy

This comment from Xavier causes Daria to realise that she hasn't eaten anything all day. Any intention she has of keeping that quiet immediately vanishes when her stomach rumbles loudly enough for everyone around to hear. Chew shifts uncomfortably as her own stomach rumbles.

"Well, since Xavier wants to eat I guess I could too," she says, attempting and failing to play it off. "Where do we go for that?"

PEFE Depths

Whitt moves as quickly as he can through the corridors of PEFE, holding Gregory close to him. It slows him down quite a bit but there's no alternative. The other guards follow them, ready to pounce if he should make any mistake.

"There," he says, seeing what he was looking for. One of the pokémon habitats, designed to stop the pokémon inside from leaving. He makes his way over and hits the release button. The door slowly opens.

"Horus. Ullr. Morrigan. Time to leave." His pokémon, which have been here for quite a while now, are immediately ready to leave. Horus's two blades fly towards Whitt and Gregory, and at his direction positions the blades around the man's throat. This gives Whitt the ability to step away from his hostage. "But don't forget," he says. "Try anything and you'll regret it."

He spots another habitat, which contains many ice type pokémon within. He raises his eyebrows, and grabs one of the winter coats that hangs on a hook outside. "I've missed these," he mutters. "Now, Ullr, use Mist."

Ullr releases a cold mist that fills the tight corridors. The guards find themselves blindly groping around trying to find him. One of them thinks to turn on their heat vision, but the coldness of the mist is messing with them.

"Get to the exit!" one of them yells. They do, leaving the corridor clear.

But, Whitt has not headed for the exit. He and his pokémon are running in the other direction, with Morrigan and Horus carrying Gregory so that he might still be a hostage. Scientists see them coming and dive out of the way.

They round a corner, and a guard sees them coming. "Stop!" he yells. Horus flies into Whitt's hands, and Whitt slides across the floor, slashing through the guard's ankle. The guard screams and falls, but Whitt pivots and swiftly finishes them off.

<What are we looking for?> Ullr asks. <Why not go to the exit?>

"Why would we?" Whitt asks. "This is a PEFE base. Do you know what kind of things they have down here? Why just escape when I can bury all of it?"

???, The Counselor's Office

-There's very few people in the School who can keep the Scythe waiting. Not for long - maybe sixty seconds, perhaps a little longer. But for a man who keeps his appointments to the minute, the pause before the door opens is both deliberate and noticeable.-

The Counselor: Ah, Adelinde. It's been far too long since you and I last had the chance to talk. Please, come in, make yourself comfortable.

-Despite his tone, his fixed smile suggests that he's not really looking forward to this any more than she is.-

???, Counselor's Office

-Adelinde paces in, hitching her own face into something vaguely neutral-

Adelinde: So I think we can all agree that that was a barely-mitigated disaster.

-she pulls the chair to herself with telekinesis as she walks in, sits down, and then brings the chair in front of the Counselor's desk-

-she doesn't look great. Her face is thinner than usual, and there are a few new streaks of dyed purple in her hair, most likely replacing gray-

-though, you know, it's Adelinde. She's probably still a bit scary-

Adelinde: Can you sign my papers so I can get back to training Lutetium? These are critical moments in the formation of the testing line.

???, The Counselor's Office

-The Counselor allows himself a small, dry chuckle at Adelinde's first remark.-

The Counselor: "Disaster" doesn't even begin to cover it, in my honest opinion. But I've already spent enough time in some of my other sessions lamenting what I see as easily-preventable mistakes. You don't need to hear a feeble old man's ramblings about what he might've done differently in the same situation.

-He settles down behind his desk, spending a few moments sorting through a dossier before he speaks again. If he has any thoughts on Adelinde's current appearance and the relative fearsomeness thereof, he doesn't deign to share them.-

The Counselor: That said, however, this is your session, and we do unfortunately need to discuss recent events that have transpired. I appreciate that this is indeed a crucial juncture in the formation of the latest batch, but we can hardly proceed as if nothing even happened at all. I'm sure Lutetium will still be hale, hearty, and ready to learn a half-hour from now.

-He smiles again.-

???, Counselor's Office

Adelinde: I think that's fair. I already more or less know what you'd have done.

-she smiles slightly, and very briefly-

Adelinde: ...I feel very, very, bad about whatever it was someone thinks I did, and I'm sure it will never happen again because whoever made it happen is probably dead now. Good enough?

???, The Counselor's Office

-The Counselor allows himself another small chuckle.-

The Counselor: Almost. For someone who happens to know what I'm thinking, you seem to be expecting a reprimand where none is forthcoming. On the contrary, your conduct during the raid helped to bring a speedy resolution to things, whereas I suspect the saboteurs would've been able to do further damage without your intervention. If you'd been engaged from the very beginning, able to isolate the truant, the whole disaster might even have been averted... but, well, nobody's that perfect.

-His tone is light, conversational.-

The Counselor: Speaking of perfection, I know we still share some flaws. We still have... urges, that we need to give vent to, or frustrations, at what we perceive as lax performance from colleagues. That's normal. It can almost feel like self-preservation, indulging those instincts, for the sake of one's own self. But we are, unfortunately, in a position where we need to carefully conserve assets. And those instincts can be much better directed elsewhere. You understand that, yes?

Edited by Herbert40k on Oct 27th 2022 at 2:42:54 PM

???, Counselor's Office

-Adelinde's fingernails tense on the desk. A few fragments of wood are carved away-

Adelinde: I was unavoidably occupied with...my work. I filed the liquidation report as soon as I had time.

-...-

-she looks more tense at that. Not angry. Worried-

Adelinde: Reports will show that Dr. Powell was killed in an accident during routine powers testing. Was there trouble with the filing?

???, The Counselor's Office

-The Counselor shakes his head and takes a couple of notes on his pad.-

The Counselor: Not at all. Dr. Powell's work had been subpar for some time. It's honestly quite a surprise there wasn't an accident in that lab sooner. But we need to be careful to try and avoid such sudden accidents going forward, yes? Of course, these things are occasionally unavoidable - progress is impossible without risk, after all. It's just that, as to the where and the when... that's something we, as men and women of science, have some control over. Accidents happen. I'd simply rather they happen in certain places rather than others.

-He looks back up at Adelinde.-

The Counselor: Anyway, let's talk about something a little cheerier, shall we? Namely, promising young Lutetium, whom you seem to have taken quite an interest in. I have your report here, but I'd much rather hear it from your own mouth - or mind, whichever you prefer. You're certain he won't end up like the others?

Edited by Herbert40k on Oct 27th 2022 at 5:16:49 PM

???, Counselor's Office

Adelinde: ...Of course, yes. It shouldn't be a problem from here on in.

-she brightens up considerably at the mention of Lutetium-

Adelinde: He'll excel. I know everyone has their pet projects, I know you like that Beryllium, but Lutetium has extraordinary potential. He has the mindset for combat, his power has immense potential, and I do think he's at the threshold of exceeding his limitations for the first time. Offensive teleportation, not simply personal and group translocation.

-she smiles-

You understand better than most of the scientists, Doctor. The template is important, of course, but what really matters is the mind behind it. I would have been nothing if I'd been so inflexible as to confine myself to simple swords.

Battle Academy

Xavier: At the cafeteria. It's over this way!

-Xavier goes jogging off, fulling expecting to be follow.-

Desech: Have a good... Lunch? Dinner? I suppose it doesn't matter at this point~ Have a good meal, you two~

-Desech then realizes that he's been left alone with an ambiguously unconscious apex predator.-

Desech: ... Oh. Um...

-The Braviary begins to stir.-

Desech: Uh oh.

-Desech throws his coffee mug at the Braviary's head, knocking it unconscious again.-

Desech: There we go.

-Desech then realizes that he now doesn't have any coffee, and is somewhat saddened by this.-

???, The Counselor's Office

-The Counselor's smile returns, as if pleased with Adelinde's enthusiasm.-

The Counselor: Of course, of course. Perhaps it's a symptom of my role of the School's counselor, that I understand the need to look beyond the template and focus on the potential of our individual subjects. So often the mindset is what distinguishes between success and failure. It's what drives me to place such faith in Beryllium... and yourself, of course. I have every hope that Lutetium will live up to the same high expectations.

-He glances down to make a couple more notes on his pad.-

The Counselor: On the subject of pet projects, I've actually been indulging in one recently. Assigning those of the Freshman batch to work alongside their older counterparts, in order to both provide them with valuable field experience, and make sure they understand what is expected of them. I was considering putting you and Lutetium on assignment with Molybdenum, with whom I'm sure you're familiar. She's the most gifted Alumnus we have at our disposal - it may require your combined talents to deal with our little truant problem. And if Lutetium happens to learn a few things in the process, then all the better, hmm?

???, Counselor's Office

Adelinde: I wouldn't mind getting a chance to work with Molybdenum again. She's been erratic lately, hasn't she? I'll get her back into shape.

-she sits back in the chair-

Ah, it's strange seeing them grow up, isn't it, doctor?

???, The Counselor's Office

-The Counselor nods.-

The Counselor: She has indeed. I'm hoping you can do just that; remind her how important it is for her to keep herself disciplined, both in mind and deed. After all, when one acts so erratically out in the field, loses themself to their own emotions, accidents tend to happen. I have every confidence you'll be able to prevent that while you're working together to solve our truant problem. After that, though... well, none of us can see the future, can we? At least, not yet. I suppose we'll just have to wait and see what happens then.

-He leans back in his chair as if to mimic Adelinde, a beatific grin on his face.-

The Counselor: Watching the fruits of our labours is a strange sensation indeed. Truth be told, I never suspected I'd see you or Molybdenum standing where you are today. Life has a way of surprising you, and yet I wouldn't trade where I am now for anything. I think, in the end, that's what we must strive for. Perfection in the roles we're given.

Edited by Herbert40k on Oct 28th 2022 at 8:09:33 PM

???, Counselor's Office

-something about the Counselor's remarks makes Adelinde's eyes narrow-

Adelinde: Well. It's those of us who can surprise our creators who make it.

-...-

Adelinde: I disposed of a truant recently. She said something interesting. If I'm stuck here, I thought you might want to know about it.

???, The Counselor's Office

-The Counselor raises one thin eyebrow.-

The Counselor: Oh? Do tell. I've not heard about this - the liquidation order may have been before my time. Which would be interesting, if that were indeed the case. Truants aren't supposed to last that long.

???, Counselor's Office

-that's an interesting piece of information-

Adelinde: She was older than I am, even. Rhodium from the 1992 batch. No real threat— tenacious and irritating, but I handled it.

-she's polite enough not to mention Tellurium's difficulty in handling it herself-

But what she said before I killed her was that I'd had a predecessor. Melinoe the Eidolon. I looked up the name. A nymph, associated with nightmares and madness. And the Templar herself seems to have been adept in both, and similarly in my personal speciality.

-she places her hands on the desk, leaning forward-

I wasn't able to access those files with my current clearance. Nor, in fact, the departed Dr. Powell's. I'd like you to tell me what happened to such a perfect Templar.