Hamlet, The Basement

Well, with the key claimed it seems like probably one of the two doors in that room with the table and fake Corviknight corpse could be unlocked with it.

The water wheel continues to go thunk-thunk like footsteps or a heartbeat as moments of decision pass.

Meat Palace

-It doesn't take much to get inside through the upper window again... But the inside of the factory has suffered a change with the delivery of the Calling Card-

Anthem: <Well this is... Not great.>

-The normal lighting has been turned off, replaced with an overbearing and all-tinting red from ossified klaxons. The machines have also been turned off, leaving the belts still and mostly empty aside from the occasional clump of unprocessed meat. And shuffling clumps of white-tinted Shadow material patrol about occasionally lightly battering at the machines or the floor for a moment-

-Rakash pulls up the map and pales a little-

He's locked all the doors. Damn it.

The Face: Well I already have an answer. Anyone else want to take a crack at it?

Jubilife City

-The Nightingale isn't one to let a piece of understanding out of her grasp, so as the final perilous fall happens to that iced up feather she breaks into a run and in the last few steps a full on slide (which happens to look pretty dang cool) to try and catch the object before it can break-

Orochi Tower, Halloween

~Ding~

-Gale Knight and the secretary step out of the elevator into the brief lobby to the clearly large office that takes up this high floor of the tower. The secretary quickly bounds behind their desk again, almost spinning in the chair before assuming a very serious position-

Sharp-Dressed Secretary: Miss Thane is waiting, go on in.

-Without a word, Gale braces herself and pushes through the big double doors. True to assumptions, the office beyond is large in a cinematic fashion (though it seems that actually most of this floor is a penthouse apartment glimpsed through a door off to the side) and carries in its structure the same minimalist cleanliness the rest of the Orochi Tower's interior and exterior had... Barring the fact that around the edges of the office were shelves of unusual trinkets and personal items. And at the far end of the room, sitting at a desk and framed by a decorative array of eight wall-mounted masks, was Lily Thane; a former member of Team Mobius and the ultimate leader of the Orochi Group-

-Who is currently in a phone call-

Lily Thane: Damien. Dave— Okay fine I won't. I get you want to— maybe you could just make a new film in Battle City? Like I don't know a documentary or something. Whatever. I can reassign you after Stormfall so just... Calm down, okay? I gotta call the call anyways cause one of your clan just stepped in. Caio.

-She hangs up the call with a definitive little poke to her smartphone and sets it down on the table-

Who was that?

Lily Thane: Oh, one of your clan. Not important. Take a seat.

-It was a long walk over to the desk and as Gale sat down on the (smaller than Lily's own) chair on the near side of the desk her eyes drifted to look at the masks on the wall-

Lily Thane: Ranseian burial masks, a little throwback to the namesake yaknow? The ol' Ghost Lord's mythical monster. Whatever, that's not important. What's important is you right now Galey. More specifically, the fact that I want to know how you managed to put out a hit on one of my Division Heads and how you ended up being so terrible at hiding it.

E-excuse me?

Aurabolts Textspace

-There's no text response from Pent or the Nightingale-

-Mostly because-

Castelia City

-Pentigan emerges more directly from the shadows of the same alley and strides up-

Did they say why she's a suspect?

-He's trying to sound serious but there's this undercurrent of concern to his tone-

If need be I could check with my business contacts for a lawyer...

Castelia Alleyway

Kendall shook the recoil off his palm as he looked at Gale. "If they did, I never heard a word of their reasoning. It would have to be something Aurabolts-related; I don't think very many people know that Kamui is fox," Kendall considered. "But at the same time, they knew I had connections to her. They also referred to her as "Kamui", rather than "Amy Hikari-Rever"," he realized, only to pause.

"They have to know," he realized. "That Kamui is fox. But who told them?"

Meat Palace

R n' L looked around in disgust, like all the meat around him was rancid. Torn between his blindfold saving him from the red light and Ahemait's sniffing out everything, he stuck with the former.

Textspace

Textspace

Faction Offices

-Knock, knock, and then Alice's door opens-

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Nov 9th 2022 at 6:28:37 AM

Textspace

Faction Offices

-As it turns out, Alice was just about to get the door when it opens. She's wearing her usual black suit, though her hair falls somewhat loose and messily around her shoulders, and her smile looks rather tired.-

Alice: Ah, Kai, Brie, hello. I didn't realise it was my birthday today, and yet here I am, lucky enough to receive the two of you.

-She places a kiss on the back of Kai's hand, then takes Brie's as if to do the same, but hesitates.-

Alice: ...May I?

Jubilife City, Streets

Tony pondered for a moment, before doing a slight shrug.

Tony: You're talking about the J-Team's ship right? I'm kinda skeptical about that...just how secure is that place anyway?

Stephen: <I'm sure it's secretive enough to discuss this matter->

Then he'd turn to Saffy and Jasper.

Stephen: <-but I'd like to hear what you two think, since you've been associated with them and all.>

Sneasel: <I'm fine with wherever we go, to be honest.>

Edited by ThanosBoi on Nov 9th 2022 at 5:43:05 AM

Jubilife City, streets

Saffy: It's pretty secure. I'm pretty sure it's alive these days. Certainly good at keeping people out. I'm sure we'd be able to find a quiet corner to chat. Anyways, come on out Gilby!

Saffy quite dramatically sends out her Alakazam.

Saffy: So yeah, ready to teleport over there when you are.

Jubilife City, Streets

Tony: Well, if you say so-

Then he heard about the stormchaser being alive.

Tony: Wait, it's alive? I thought that was just a rumor out on the streets.

Stephen: <I'm pretty sure it might be friendly to us.>

The Sneasel then looked a little nervous about the teleportation.

Sneasel: <I for one have never teleported before, how does this work again? I get motion sickness very easily...>

Tony would then pat Sneasel on the back a bit.

Tony: Don't worry, I'm positive it lasts in like the blink of an eye.

He'd then turn to Saffy and clutched his suitcase in hand.

Tony: I think we're all set to go now.

Edited by ThanosBoi on Nov 9th 2022 at 6:20:57 AM

Jubilife streets

Saffy: Well I personally haven't seen the alive stuff, but I've heard other people have and its internal layout does seem pretty changey. Anyway, let's blow this joint!

Gilby: <Here we go!>

The group vanish...

Stormchaser

...and reappear in a suitably quiet area of the stormchaser. Saffy looks around.

Saffy: Huh, how convenient. Looks like there's no-one else around here right now.

Stormchaser

While everyone seems to appear here fine, the Sneasel immediately falls on his face.

Sneasel: <Owwww...that's gonna sting for a while...>

Tony: See, it wasn't that hard-...Oh...we should probably get him a bandaid.

Stephen: <Thanks for stating the obvious Sherlock. We really need to get in there though.>

Stormchaser

Saffy lets out a quiet grumble.

Saffy: Do we need to head to the medbay or can we talk about this case of yours first?

Gilby: ~I can teleport us all again if you need!~

Jasper: <Isn't that what caused this in the first place?>

Faction Offices

-Brie leans down and kisses Alice's hand-

Brie: You may!

Faction Offices

-Kai giggles, kissing Alice's hand in response to their own hand being kissed.-

Kai: You know, you could ask for us whenever you want. Always seeing you worn out like this makes me think you need these breaks more often~

-They pull out the bouquet, simply holding it in front of them as they watch Alice's typical "Brie is here" self-consciousness take hold, and smile from the side.-

Faction Offices

-Alice flushes a faint shade of red as her hands are kissed, and reciprocates the gesture with Brie in turn before taking the bouquet from Kai.-

Alice: T-Thank you. This... goodness, this is a most beautiful present. I very much appreciate the gesture, but the true gift lies in the spontaneity of it. I wouldn't want to spoil that by calling you up and insisting that you bring me offerings like some sort of despotic high priestess. Though it's always lovely when it happens, of course.

-She turns and heads inside to find a place for the bouquet, aware of the redness in her cheeks induced by the desert heat and absolutely nothing else.-

Alice: Besides, I can't be seen as abandoning my responsibilities. I need plausible deniability on occasions such as this.

Edited by Herbert40k on Nov 9th 2022 at 3:49:17 PM

Silas started to pace, considering all the points and details, what enemies they had made, who had to know, what-

"The Guild," Roxy said.

Silas stopped. "Pardon?"

"It has to be the Guild. We got their big man arrested and tossed into prison, he said that they had always suspected our identities but never worked off of suspicion," Roxy explained. "With Delta in prison they wanted to retaliate, they aren't getting him out but they want to make clear what they're willing to do."

Silas blinked. "And... even if they're wrong, the message is still sent. They can hit any of us, collateral be damned."

Roxy nodded. "This means they have something set up to make Amy the primary frame up."

JD went to talk, Manya held up her hand and silenced him. The door opened and in walked a man in a blue suit, he sat down next to Kamui, opened his briefcase and began speaking with her.

"You don't have to answer anything, you can direct all answers through me, the conversation is being recorded and I'm having it saved to an external cloud so nothing can be misconstrued. You are free to say nothing and let me talk, or you can speak yourself, just let me know."

Manya smiled and let out a sigh of relief. "That's better. Alright, so, to start off. Amy Hikari-Rever, you are currently accused of the murder of one Naomi E.S. Ferd, an investigative journalist with Geosoc. Her research papers were found burnt at the site, dumped in a wastebasket."

JD pulled out the charred remains of blackened paper, a large knife with dried blood, and the trainer card of Naomi. The face on which displayed a bright eyed young woman with dark curly hair.

"Do you have any knowledge as to why she may have been targeted, and why you would be accused?" JD asked.

Interpol Holding

Amy shrugged, an over-exaggerated gesture as she leaned back in her chair, the unbuttoned jacket flying open with her palms outstretched, her shirt's "誰" visible to the officers.

"First I've ever heard of that name or seen that face in my life," she summarized.

Castelia Alleyway

"Kamui told me about Delta and the Guild," Kendall considered. "How would they have been able to get something that put the b-"

A pit formed in his chest as he recalled a trademark of Lamb, reaching into his jacket's pocket, far deeper than should have been possible, before he pulled out one of her calling cards. It was cheap, cardboard, and only bore the emblem, like she had commandeered the printer at the office to make them.

But it was still Lamb's calling card.

He grit his teeth.

"Arceus fucking damn it. You try to be cool, and you pay for it in blood, I guess," his other hand clenched into a fist, the urge to facepalm strong as the illusory calling card vanished into Obscura.

Hamlet

She pointed through the doorway behind her, intent to try the key on both doors.

It's not like she had to choose one, right?

Sunyshore

Kendall hummed in curiosity, looking up at Voyd.

"My phone is telling me about this, Legendary Hotel," he started. "That might suit your needs..." He sized up the newcomer.

"I wanna say... Necrozma?" He whispered under his breath.

Edited by AbsentCoder on Nov 11th 2022 at 11:45:16 AM

Snowpoint

Daydre raises an eyebrow.

"... That's better than nothing, but a whole Region?"

Counterraid, Hmmm....

Daydre, in a burst of energy, manages to grab Megan as she passes out. Her being taller than Daydre is a bit of a problem, but Daydre has at least enough stamina to keep her from hitting the floor.

Ramona is perfectly capable of implanting these memories— Daydre may have been subconsciously soaking her brain in Obscura but she wasn't exactly practicing her mental defenses.

Of course they managed to escape just fine. Why wouldn't they? That's just how these things go.

There's no reason to be so angry, either.

This was just a normal raid with the J-team. The heavy hitters swept through, Daydre sat back and didn't do much- until the time came to make a heroic entrance and save her partner from danger with the power of love and violence. She did something for once! How exciting. Now it's time to go back and recuperate. Happily ever after, or something.

Daydre's Mind

Somewhere in the depths, a child shivers.

Daydre's other Aspects fade further into the background, though their importance to the mind keeps them from disappearing entirely.

The infrastructure remains, but the facade has changed drastically.

In ancient times foxmons were alleged to wear skulls to look at the night sky and tell the future.

There's something to be said for looking at the night sky and attempting to shape the future with your own hands.

Baakwu smiles at the moon, smiles even more when it is pressed into her hand. She makes a noise somewhere between a purr and a chirp when her head is petted.

Baakwu: "hehe."

She stretches her influence, soaking into each crevice of the mind. Carefully spreading, like kintsugi- her own colors seeping into the cracks left by depression and doubt.

Baakwu: "I'll be yours. If you can afford to keep feeding me~"

   Baakwu's Mind   

The core closes her eye again, seemingly satisfied.

In lieu of an answer, the plasm surrounding her eagerly accepts the silk into itself.

A mask closes itself around her face.

The Obscuraplasm pulses outwards into the impressions of a Zoroark's face, eyes, claws... Excited.

purpose. purposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurposepurpose-

We have a deal. Hehe.

Oreburgh City, The Ingot Inn:

When Owen would reach the counter and request a room, he would find that Travis had already paid for his room, which would be revealed to be a neighboring adjoined suite built near-identically to every other room. Aside from the occasional picture promoting different tourist traps and sights of interest in Oreburgh, the Ingot Inn had the kind of style and architecture one would expect from a chain of mid-tier, standard hotels that weren't super fancy but better than roach motels.

Meanwhile Mark was passed out in his own bed, having already been long fed up with an exhausting day. Though he had managed to finally get a new lead on Team Lightning and their activities, he suspected there would be a lot more to deal with than he had initially bargained for. Travis meanwhile had passed out on a nearby desk, his mobile by his side with several apps left open in developer mode that even Haxx took a break from further developing to rest, while Tricky was curled up sleeping on a nearby couch and Chopper had claimed the other bed for himself.

Faction Offices

Brie: To be fair, we are a couple of very competent people! Who's to say what you need us for?

Pastoria

Ever: Hmm. We could visit the Great Marsh, maybe? Let Toxicroak's family know he got turned into— what was it again, sorry?

Mix: <Narration.>

Ever: ...Right. You know, I wonder if that's at all connected to my favorite Schoolkid.

Ghost: <...>

-Ever perks up slightly-

-and takes a step to the side, as they are very narrowly missed with a flying kick from-

All: Ever.

Ever: ...Well. As threats to my life go, I guess this is at least one of the more manageable ones. Have you been working out?

-indeed, perhaps as part of his effort to visually distinguish himself from Ever, All has gotten in very good shape-

All: Is that what you're focused on right now?!

Ever: Kinda, yeah. Why are we doing this again? I thought we made some vague agreement to fuck off from each other's lives.

All: We did! But first it turns out you didn't invite me to the last Revy thing—

Ever: Well, I really wouldn't consider it a desirable experience—

All: And then a woman in purple cut my throat and tried to kill me, calling me Ever Memito the whole time.

Ever: ...Oh. Right. Yeah.

All: Would you like to explain that one?

Ever: Is there an explanation I could offer that would make you agree that it was pretty normal that I forgot to tell you?

All: We're going to battle now.

Ever: Oh. Alright.

Faction Offices

-Kai gives a warm smile-

Kai: I guarantee, you won't be seen as abandoning responsibility. Honestly, if I were to ask anyone else here, they'd probably say you need a vacation, knowing how much of a workaholic you are.

-She joins Alice inside, smiling as she places the bouquet somewhere appropriate-

Kai: Maybe that's precisely what you need us for. I, for one, would love some more surprise visits from you, whenever you find the time~

The City of Envy

Tanya: Would you... care to repeat that, doctor?

-Myo quietly slid into the bathroom and locked the door.-

Jae-Heon: You will be receiving a new member.

Tanya: I've already got four cats to fucking herd! And I get dinged every time one of them gets killed! Why the hell should I take another one?!

Jae-Heon: Because she was tailor-made to kill a particularly troublesome runaway.

Tanya: GODDAMMIT, THAT'S MY JOB!

Jae-Heon: Then think of her as a useful tool, if that helps. But this is not a point of argument.

Tanya: It sure as hell is!

Jae-Heon: If you kill her, you will be immediately labeled renegade. Delphi has already expressed interest in how long you could last against her.

Tanya: Tch...!

-Her teeth grit hard enough to be audible.-

Jae-Heon: Expect her in the coming week. Her designation... is "W".

Faction Offices

-Alice allows herself a chuckle.-

Alice: Well, perhaps that's a sign that one of these days I need to challenge the Battle... what was it, again? I swear it changes every time I check.

-She turns back to Kai and Brie with a weary smile.-

Alice: I don't doubt that the two of you are supremely competent in your fields. I suspect that's why I fell hopelessly in love with the both of you in the first place. Yet somehow I doubt that you'd be terribly interested in protracted legal investigations. However much paperwork you imagine is involved, I assure you, it's more than that.

-She drapes her arms around Kai's shoulders.-

Alice: Still, I won't deny that perhaps I've been neglecting my duties as a girlfriend. Maybe I need to start thinking about gifts of my own. I do have quite an expansive wardrobe to consider, but I'm not sure whether you'd prefer seeing it on you or on me~

Edited by Herbert40k on Nov 10th 2022 at 7:44:39 PM

Snowpoint City Gym Battle

"Snover, I choose you!" Candice yells, throwing out her pokémon. It lands on the icy floor and begins to effortlessly slide around.

Xaster smiles. "Just like Sno. In that case, LuLu, I choose you!" He sends out his Riolu, who immediately slips on the ice and falls on her back.

"And that's our cue! Icy Wind!" Candice yells. Snover blows a cold wind towards LuLu, who is just getting up. It knocks her down again, and forms a cover of ice over her.

"Now, use Headbutt!" Snover jumps into the air and flies down towards LuLu, hoping to smash her in the ice.

"Use Force Palm!" Xaster yells. The ice around LuLu shatters and she reaches up, catching Snover with one hand. It flails for a moment. LuLu places her other hand against its head and releases Force Palm. Snover is thrown back, where it lies unconscious on the ground.

"Well done," Candice says, returning the pokémon. "But that was just the warmup. Go, Weavile!" Her next pokémon is the black and red ice type. It begins to skate easily across the ice, moving far quicker than Snover did.

"Keep your guard up, LuLu," Xaster warns.

Candice makes the first move again. "Night Slash!" Weavile rushes forwards, drawing a long black blade as it does, and slashes at LuLu, catching her in the chest. LuLu yells in pain and falls to her knees.

"Now, Ice Punch!" she yells. Weavile comes in again, and hits LuLu with a fist covered in ice. LuLu is sent spinning across the ice. She tries to steady herself, but she has no grip on the ice.

"Metal Claw!" Xaster shouts. LuLu nods, and two long claws extend from the ends of her hands. She jams them into the ice, and uses them to hold herself in place.

Weavile is still coming, however. "Use Night Slash again!" Candice commands. Weavile brings forth two blades of darkness this time, and brings them down on LuLu.

"Metal Claw again!" LuLu keeps one claw lodged in the ground, and raises the other to defend herself. She catches the dark blades and struggles to hold them back, but she is quickly weakening.

"Use Swords Dance!" Xaster shouts. LuLu begins to push harder on her claws as her attack power increases. Swords fly around her, with one of them striking Weavile and knocking it away.

"Now use Force Palm again!" he yells. LuLu uses her Metal Claw to push herself forwards across the ice, before slamming her palm into Weavile's middle. Weavile doubles over in pain.

"Metal Claw!" Xaster yells.

"Ice Shard!" Candice yells back.

LuLu creates her claws once more, while Weavile forms a shard of ice in each hand. They dance around one another for a moment, striking at each other and blocking each other's blows. They are each struck at the same time, and they go down. Both pokémon are declared unconscious.

"You were great, LuLu," Xaster tells her as he returns her to her pokéball.

Candice nods. "That Riolu of yours is certainly strong. I hope your other pokémon can match up." She throws a pokéball, revealing a towering Abomasnow. As it comes in, the arena grows somehow even colder than before, and a powerful hail begins to fall from the sky.

Xaster gulps. "Not quite like Sno." Nevertheless, he selects a pokéball. "ChiChi, come out!" His recently evolved Chimecho takes to the field, flicking her long, ribbon-like tail.

"Use Psychic!" he shouts.

"Blizzard!" Candice yells. Abomasnow releases a mass of ice and wind from its body which washes over ChiChi. She tries to create a psychic barrier to protect herself, but she is overwhelmed. The blizzard eventually disperses, but then she takes damage from the hail.

"Wood Hammer!" Candice shouts.

"Dodge!" ChiChi manages to pull out of the way of the attack, though only barely. "Now, use Uproar!" She opens her mouth and begins to shriek. Abomasnow staggers back, covering its ears.

"Sheer Cold!" Candice shouts. Abomasnow's eyes snap open, and it releases a freezing blast towards ChiChi. She has just enough to time to gasp before she is frozen solid and knocked unconscious.

"And all of a sudden the score is even," Candice says, as Xaster returns ChiChi to her ball. "What will you do next?"

Logan: -huff- So, who's still alive?

Counterraid, Bye

-they

 Daydre's Mindscape 

get

    Baakwu's Mindscape    

away-

Molybdenum: Maybe you'll be something miraculous.

-she, who has hewn off so many parts of herself she's forgotten their names—yes, Baakwu will be fed-

Stormchaser

-and presumably make it here, for whatever comes after-

-...leaving a woman swaying in the ruins of a building...in the part brought down by someone she herself cultivated-

Ramona: ...fuck.

-she goes around and starts salvaging what she can, purely in the resource sense-

-she's amazing to garner what she does- -the J-Team is merciless indeed-

Raid, End

-Fritte's hooves sail over a straggling Templar's head, his nicker warning against trying him, just then-

Hiro: -through gritted teeth, jostled- Almost...

Fritte: -sober, for once- <Honestly tell me you could have finished her, and I will take you back.> -he honestly cannot-

Hiro: -closing his Eyes- ...

-the list of restless he brought with him comes to him-

-...and that of the few that remain-

Fritte: -galloping- <...let's catch the ship.>

-Hiro tries not to bleed out-

Hearthome, Apartment

-a Bibarel, forgotten, finally chews through the wall-

-falls stories to the street-

-and-

-runs-

Edited by Asterisk395 on Nov 11th 2022 at 6:27:47 AM

School Facility ???

-Pavo and Victor are having a conversation-

-It's a half-telepathic conversation so Pavo is just kind of staring at Victor as he talks-

Jublife, past

Noble Elemental: ~WAIT! Smash the feather! It'll remove Pavo's influence!~

Elvis the Zebstrika: <So that's how it works! On it!>

-He hits Machamp Minor with a Wild Charge-

Snowpoint

Thetis: "...I can't reveal much more than that. There are... Forces preventing me from doing so. They will lift.... soon."

-She winks at Merlin. Merlin blinks, then grins.-

Merlin: "...Oh. I see how it is."

-He turns to Daydre-

"Let's split up. We both have some research to do on Paldea yet. I'll bee seeing you!"

-He heads off. Fou and Thetis look at each other-

Fou: <...We need to keep an eye on him.>

Thetis: "...Definitely."

-to Daydre-

Thetis: "Thank you for the help. And sorry you got dragged into this mess."

Meat Palace

Lead Monkey: <Can the locks on those doors be picked? I can try. I have dexterous monkey fingers.>

Lavender Tower

-The colored pencil blasts the gate open as Olivia is shoved out of the way-

-More colored pencils start raining down-

Jackie: Shit! I can't fly you guys up in this! We gotta climb!

-She heads up the ladder inside the fence-

-Olivia follows-