Thanks to Every and Hoops for spagging this!

Sinnoh Skies

-An unusually-colored Mega Charizard Y soars through the sky, like a raptor searching for prey. On her back, a misshapen crystal juts out of her spine, gleaming amber.-

-Also on her back are her trainer, and said trainer's coworker.-

Whitt: I was waiting so long for you to actually call for my help, I was starting to think you’d forgotten all about me.

Nitrogen: Of course not. I stick to the deals I make. Unfortunately, I've had other things to attend to.

Whitt: Well, I’ve been busy as well. Fight on a mountain top, almost killed a few people, you don’t want to know the details.

-Nitrogen snorts.-

Nitrogen: Pff. "Almost." I hope you're not planning on this also being an "almost."

-Whitt’s face flushes with embarrassment.-

Whitt: I meant to leave them alive. You know, leave them scared of me and all that. I’ll tell you though, whoever fucked up by not double tapping that mummy fucker should really be glad that we have other templars to fix their messes.

Nitrogen: Hah. Suppose I can't fault you for that. Fear is delicious.

Whitt: Regardless, don’t worry. This time will not be an almost.

Nitrogen: Good. This should be fun, then.

Beck: <Found her. Hang on tight.>

-Regardless of her lack of Monese comprehension, Nitrogen heeds Beck's warning on instinct, bracing herself against her as she dives, picking up speed and surrounding herself with a cloak of flames.-

—

Brie: —yeah, I mean, I dunno. I was thinking I might head to Paldea soon.

That Kid: You cannot be serious.

Brie: I assumed you died! You've left me alone for years now!

That Kid: And you were okay with that?!

Brie: Yeah. You're awful. Why haven't you aged? I'm almost thirty, you should be like…an adult human.

That Kid: Geez. Well, you were in Sinnoh. You're allowed to fly there.

Brie: What about when I was in Galar? You didn't give me any crap then.

That Kid: Oh, I'm banned for some reason.

Brie: Imagine that.

That Kid: Hmph. I'll let you off with a warning. But I better not see you flying across the ocean any more.

Brie: …Here to Paldea is mostly overland.

That Kid: Don't you do it!

-they fly off on their Hydreigon-

Brie: Good grief. If anyone else bothers me while I'm up here, I'm going to lose it.

-Beck barrels into the Dragonite keeping Brie aloft, attempting to drag her into a death spiral.-

Nitrogen: Surprise!

Brie: Augh!

Veilstone City, by the Meteors

Atrin: Looks like we're throwing in the big guns early. In that case, let's take the Scraggy out with a big one! Orchard! Draco Meteor!

A meteor of draconic energy comes flying from the sky, aiming right at the Scraggy, crashing into it, just at the same time the Sneasel is hit by the large blade of steel energy. Both seem to struggle to stay up, seemingly doing so for a moment, before both collapse at once and are recalled.

Atrin: That was...anticlimactic.

Davey: You dadgum trainers! We were gonna strike it rich!

Desmond & Morgan

Desmond: Now... uh... huh...

he and Morgan gape, surprised by how easy it was.

Desmond: Now get outta here. You were never gonna succeed.

he sheathes Morgan, still in shock.

Edited by Jules-Firenze on Aug 14th 2023 at 7:04:36 PM

Desmond & Morgan, Maylene Leaps Into Action!

The thieves, finding that they were already outmatched with just one of them, saw that with two of them, they were absolutely, utterly screwed. They did the only thing they could think of at the moment. They ran. Screaming their heads off, they made a mad dash away from Atrin, Desmond and the meteors. They would've gotten away with it too (most probably not), had it not been for-

Veilstone's Barefoot Fighting Genius: You're not getting away, evil-doers!

yells a girl, probably in her late teenage years, wearing a dark blue tank top, fingerless gloves, and white pants (but no footwear). Pokeballs hung at her side, but the girl leaps forward and does a flying kick, knocking out Davey in a single blow. Jonesy yelps, stepping backwards rapidly. However, the girl wasn't done, and with a twirl faster than most could see, ended with her foot outstretched, and Jonesy down on the ground.

???: Whew! All in a day's work for the gym leader!

She laughs and dusts off her pants. She then turns and spots Atrin and Desmond, the latter looking at her with respect in his eyes.

Desmond: You're pretty good at fighting.

he understates, and Morgan flies out of her sheathe to get a closer look.

???: Oh... You guys were the ones who defeated these bandits.

she mutters, hands on her hips.

???: I... uh... sorry for getting here late...

she chuckles awkwardly, putting a hand behind her her head. She lightly slaps her cheeks, and she calms down, a determined gleam in her eyes.

Maylene: I'm Maylene. Veilstone's Gym Leader.

Desmond: Pretty cool moves, Maylene.

he whistles, and Morgan peers at her.

Maylene: Huh, haven't seen a Pokemon like this before!

Morgan turns to Desmond and nods, before turning back to Maylene and bowing.

Morgan: <Greetings, Maylene. I'm Morgan, this is Desmond, Atrin and Orchard.>

Maylene: Cool! You can understand your Pokemon! I mean, I can too, but I haven't met a lot of non-psychic types who can. You two here for a Gym Battle? Because I'd be happy to oblige!

At her affirmation, Desmond and Morgan high-five.

Desmond: Ready to go, Atrin? Get another badge under your belt?

Veilstone City

Atrin: "I'm ready if you are, yeah. Orchard, return.

Atrin recalls Orchard.

Atrin: As he said, I'm Atrin. And I'm ready for anything.

To the Veilstone Gym!

Maylene: Great! Can't wait to see how you two fight!

she laughs, before breaking off into a run towards the gym, dodging people, Pokemon and miscellaneous stuff. Desmond pauses a split second from the shock of her speed, before Morgan yells,

Morgan: <What're you waiting for?!    GO! GO! GO!   >

and Desmond yelps and runs as fast as he can, even though he's a ways away from the martial artist.

Sunyshore, Abandoned Salon

-The air in the main room feels clammy, for lack of a better term. The skylight is covered in wooden boards, and some of the water basins are leaking. Most disturbingly, every single mirror on both walls, where the hairdressers would have been able to show off their work to their clientele, are broken. Some of the chairs still stand, but most are broken off at the base, either caused by rust or vandalism.-

-As Gale and Flamel enter the room, they'll notice that when the door closes behind them, it closes flush, as if locked by electromagnets.-

Mysterious Girl: It's so troublesome dealing with the daily rabble when it comes to fighting, so I figured this would make a much more fun location to remove you from the equation.

-The voice seems to echo from both walls of broken mirrors.-

The GM House

-Dune looks through the multilayered plexiglass at the inside of the workshop. Baby Phosphora coos as she watches the sparks and light erupt from the room beyond.-

-On one desk, Deziree has her fourth prosthetic limb mid-production.-

-On another, Mobius and Code Talker are finishing the last touches on the lower abdominal replacements.-

-On her computer desk, a live feed of her client's vital signs are being fed from the hospital.-

-And on the PA system, she has an EDM song that one of her playlists just happened to shuffle to. Like most EDM, it only has one repeated lyric.-

-"Follow the white crow".-

-Deziree throws her cup of coffee into the massively overflowed pile of disposable cups that have been pouring out of her wastebasket for the better part of a week. She reaches up and grabs a new one from the rack of coffee cups Vinegar set her up with.-

Continued thanks to Every and Hoops!

Sinnoh Skies

-Atlantis… looks largely unbothered by taking a direct Flare Blitz-

Atlantis: <...You do know that I'm a dragon, don't you? Like, a dracomorphic Pokemon, I mean— scales and everything.>

Brie: Atlantis now is not the time—

Atlantis: <Oh, and back off, or whatever. I don't really do trash-talk.>

Beck: -snarls- <Evidently.>

-Atlantis swivels mid-air, clouds gathering around her-

-colliding with Beck and knocking her away, while Brie scans the sky, figuring out which way to go-

-The water from the Aqua Tail has scattered on the ground below, covering everything in a thin layer of moisture. Brie notices that the water is beginning to freeze over, closing in from all sides. Whitt approaches from behind, leaving small growths of ice everywhere he steps.

Whitt: Luckily for her, she was prepared for dragons.

-When Brie looks up again, she sees that Whitt’s Froslass and Cryogonal have gotten into the air above her. Khione raises her hands and uses Hail, and soon a heavy blizzard begins to fall, only cut through in Nitrogen and Beck's immediate vicinity.-

Beck: <It's a shame, I'd love to banter, but I suppose you won't have time to spare.>

-Beck approaches again, fire now burning blue around her claws as she rakes them into Atlantis's side-

-Nitrogen takes the opportunity to jump off Beck's back and onto Atlantis's, grabbing Brie by the coat collar.-

Nitrogen: Still having fun fighting me, miss Madrigal?

Whitt:: Honestly Nitrogen, I’m surprised you needed me for this. I thought this one would be more of a challenge based on the way you described it.

Nitrogen: Take that as a compliment, Brie. Or an insult, either's fine.

Brie: I mean…kinda still having fun, yeah.

Atlantis: <I'm not!>

Brie: Working on it! Nitrogen, try to hold on. Atlantis, Extremespeed!

Nitrogen: (flabbergasted) Try to hold on–!?

-Atlantis accelerates, wings swelling out, and despite Nitrogen's dumbfounded protests, she clings to Brie's waist to not fall off.-

Veilstone City

Atrin: Okay...

Atrin just casually walks to the gym after pulling up a map on his Rotom Phone.

Have I mentioned that Every and Hoops helped? They helped!

Sinnoh Skies

-they leave Beck behind, honing in on the Cryogonal instead-

Beck: <Gah– get back here!>

-Beck chases after, diving and dashing in erratic yet practiced patterns through the gusts of Nitrogen's Delta Stream to gain speed.-

-Ullr takes the hit, not being so good when it comes to dodging. However, Khione sees this and fires off a Shadow Ball at Atlantis and Brie-

Khione: <Submit, and we will make your death less painful.>

Nitrogen: Careful where you're aiming, asshole, I'm still here too!

-Meanwhile, Whitt watches from the ground-

Whitt: I suppose if this is turning into an aerial battle I should do my best to keep up.

-He calls out Horus, and instructs the Doublade to lie flat before stepping on. Horus rises into the air with Whitt standing on top of him.-

Brie: This is not looking great. Right, Nitrogen? Thanks for that Delta Stream, by the way. We're in this together now!

-she winks. Nitrogen's face goes red.-

Nitrogen: Wh– I'm your enemy, you lunatic! And I can cut it off whenever I want, you know!

-On cue, the wind abruptly stagnates, and the intensity of the sun from Beck's Drought makes itself apparent.-

Beck: <Ahh, much better!>

Atlantis: <Perhaps a little less conversation…>

Brie: I'll give you a break. Sorry, Froslass, but I've made a bit of a career out of not losing sky battles! Foam! Surf!

-she recalls Atlantis, and sends out a Mantine-

Foam: <We're so high up! The world is round! The sky is blue!>

Brie: Did you not know that?

-some of the ice in the air melts in the intense sunlight, and Foam plunges towards the ground, chilly water swirling all around him and spraying out at Whitt, as well as his and Nitrogen's Pokemon-

-Nitrogen, being attached to Brie, gets a pass-

Two against one is… not ideal. I think I'm going to have to count living to fight another day as a win here.

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Aug 14th 2023 at 12:48:35 PM

The GM House

-Some time later, with baby Phosphora put to bed for a nap and Dune off to work, the playlist has changed to something a bit different.-

Got the chrome in my bloodstream,

Got a hardwired metal soul

-Deziree looks up. She still has some testing to do on this last leg to make sure it's properly debugged, but considering she's just migrating the firmware over from the first leg, it shouldn't be a problem.-

I'm cravin' serious action,

Not that smack-drab drunken roll

-She looks over, sensing something amiss. Code Talker is no longer motioning along with Mobius. His eyes are glued on something else.-

-Please god let it not be the hospital monitor.-

-Her eyes follow his to (goddammit) the hospital monitor.-

Chips are buzzin', implants hot

-Heart rate is elevating.-

Ridin' hard, my slots are shot

-Blood pressure is dropping.-

Metal burning 'neath my skin,

Deziree: We're out of time.

I'm chippin' in, I'm chippin' in

-Code Talker, Mobius, and Deziree grab their respective project and bolt for the door.-

Sinnoh Skies

-Whitt laughs as the water that sprays over him freezes, forming a thin layer of ice-

Whitt: Look at you. All you can do is struggle helplessly against the power the School gave us. If this is all the J-Team has, I don’t know why any of us were worried.

Nitrogen: Stop underestimating them, Whitt!

-Nitrogen extricates herself from her own death grip on Brie, kicking her forward off of Foam's back toward Whitt, carried further by a sudden burst of wind. She lets herself fall the opposite way, and Beck catches her on her back in the same motion as an upward claw slash, cloaked in draconic fury.-

Nitrogen: You can call it an easy job after you finish it!

Foam: <Whoa! Need to remember to look up more.>

-Brie is thrown from Foam's back, recalling him as she plummets-

Brie: In fairness, uh, Whitt, was it? You are cheating just a little.

-she sends out-

Skyfire: <Oh. Her again?>

Brie: Her! And a friend! Hi, friend.

Nitrogen: -snarl- Whitt and I are not friends.

-Brie veers down towards Whitt's team-

-she taps Skyfire's back without giving a command, and Skyfire responds by exploding-

-Heat Wave is enough to wipe the smile off Whitt’s face-

Whitt: I really don’t like heat.

-He grabs another pokéball, this one being covered in a thin layer of ice-

Whitt: Runerigus. Sheer Cold.

-The ice on the pokéball cracks and shatters as he sends out the genetically modified Delta Pokémon he received from Gabriel and Victor. It appears mostly similar to a normal Runerigus, though it is larger than the average and the pieces of rock that it holds are covered in thick ice to the point of the markings on them being illegible. As soon as it is released, it releases its Sheer Cold attack in the direction of Skyfire-

Brie: Come on, man, Sheer Cold? That's…well, it's like using Sheer Cold.

-she pulls Skyfire into a loop-de-loop, slipping around the attack-

They may give you guys some incredible psychic powers, but they sure don't teach you to battle.

-despite her bravado (and the freezing cold), she's breathing hard, and there's sweat frozen to her head-

Brie: Skyfire, creo que ser la hora de hacer salida. So, if you're not friends, what exactly are you doing here? Just being an awkward weak link? I mean, I get the Ice-type thing, but that doesn't really work in the Delta Stream.

-Skyfire charges Whitt, loosing a Fire Blast at the Runerigus to try and clear a path. Runerigus uses Protect to defend itself. Beck and Nitrogen follow, speeding past and just above Skyfire's path.-

Nitrogen: It's not about matchups, Brie. He's here to make sure you're outnumbered. And it's working.

-She grins, gripping the point of the raw Mega Stone embedded in Beck's back.-

Nitrogen: You don't sound scared, but I can taste it.

-A small piece of the Mega Stone cracks in her hand. Only a small piece, but as she throws it down, the energy of Beck's maintained transformation grows unstable within it, causing it to explode into needle-thin splinters and shrapnel toward Skyfire.-

-Beck, too, becomes unstable, and roars in animalistic rage and pain. Nitrogen braces herself against Beck as her movement becomes more erratic.-

Nitrogen: It's necessary, Beck. Bear with it.

Brie: The fuck?

Phenac City, Hospital

-Dr. Mesquite is a statue as she watches the procedure from the gallery.-

-Her phone buzzes. She flips it open and holds it to her ear.-

Dr. Mesquite: Yeah?

Dune: [It's me. I heard.]

Dr. Mesquite: They've got her on the table now.

-She takes a deep breath while Dune measure his words carefully.-

Dune: [Deziree's on her way. I told the PCPD that there was an urgent package heading your way and they won't bother her.]

-Oh dear. Just how fast are the hovercars she makes?-

Dr. Mesquite: Thanks again for this, Derek.

Dune: [Hey, c'mon now. Even if she weren't family I'd still have recommended it to her.]

Dr. Mesquite: Heh, right.

Dune: [... How's she doing?]

Dr. Mesquite: She's been fighting. The nerve damage from the wreck's been feeding her nothing but phantom pain for the last two days, but she's been fighting.

Dune: [Takes a certain kind of person to want to fight through that.]

Dr. Mesquite: Heh. Yeah. She gets it from her mother.

Dune: [... You know, I never did ask, even if I should have...]

Dr. Mesquite: Her mother was always the rebel. Hung out with rocker boys, graffiti, that sort of thing...

Dune: [Ah. Right...]

-Dr. Mesquite could hear the connections forming in Dune's mind. The story of the rebel burning themselves out in a blaze of glory was common in Orre, at least before the Cypher Incident.-

Dune: [Just got a ping from my contact. Dezi's already heading inside.]

-Down in the operating room, there's a commotion as the lead surgeon starts shouting for the techs to make room.-

Dr. Mesquite: Thanks again, Dune.

Dune: [Not a problem. Let me know how it goes.]

-The call ends as a woman, head full of strawberry blonde hair bundled up in a hair cap, a Metagross, at a glossy shine after being sterilized, and a Slowking who looks very in-his-element, come inside with a cart covered in metallic limbs and organs.-

-The lead surgeon asks where to start. The Slowking's eyes glow as a strange series of twisted pipes floats off the cart. The surgeon looks at it, confused, before realizing that the recognizes all of the connections coming off of it. That's the ureter, that's the renal artery, that's the renal vein...-

-His shock quickly passes as his training kicks in again. He shouts for extra hands and asks the strawberry-haired woman for some help setting things up. She nods, and the longest day in the lives of many people's present began.-

Sinnoh Skies

Brie: Well, this has stopped being entertaining fast. Where is Ever's left arm when you need it?

-Skyfire speeds up a bit, bearing up under the Ancient Power— Delta Stream has really not worked out so hot for you, has it, Nitrogen?-

Brie: What is wrong with you? You can't think this is a good idea.

-Skyfire aileron rolls, stirring up the air and condensing it into sharp barriers-

-to cover her as she tries to maneuver out from under the opponents-

-the Air Slashes slice at Beck's wing as she dives forward, snarling in fury. Normally, an injury like that would make it harder to fly, but Nitrogen keeps her focus, adjusting the wind around them directly to keep them aloft.-

-it does nothing to stifle the pain, though, and only serves to enrage Beck more.-

Nitrogen: Focus. She's your prey.

-and Beck grabs onto Skyfire, clawing wildly at her.-

-The air shifts, and both Charizards' momentum is stifled – as are the flames on their tails.-

Nitrogen: Whitt, you have your target. If we're caught in the mix, we can adapt.

-It's also much harder to breathe. Nitrogen's voice carries perfectly easily despite it.-

-Brie scrambles out of the way of Beck's claws, while Skyfire does her best to fight back-

-Brie gasps for air-

Need a moment. Just a moment.

-Whitt takes a deep breath in, and then out. Just his outward breath causes crystals of ice to form on his lips as the moisture there freezes suddenly.-

Whitt: Okay.

-He raises his hand above his head and calls a command to Runerigus. Runerigus follows the command and uses Icicle Spear, placing it in his hand. Horus begins to rise, climbing above the other combatants.-

Whitt: Bigger.

-The icicle spear in his hands doubles in size as the ice from the blizzard is drawn into it and frozen in place by Whitt’s power.-

Whitt: Bigger.

-The rest of the storm vanishes, adding to the size of this now enormous lance.-

Whitt: Bigger.

-Moisture from the air and ground rises and collects on the outside of the lance. A nearby stream is drawn in, wrapping around the outside and freezing into a giant point. The lance is now more than ten metres long, and pointed directly down towards the fray.-

(-Nitrogen glances at Whitt impatiently. The stifled circulation begins to take its toll on Beck, her assault on Skyfire slowing down.-)

Whitt: Now, take this attack, and fear the power of Whitt, The Frozen Emperor!

Brie: ...Qué diablo?

-He throws the giant lance downwards towards Brie, propelling it with Ullr’s Aurora Beam and Khione’s Ice Beam.-

-Unfortunately, Nitrogen is too busy giving Whitt an utterly dumbfounded look to keep focusing on the air. For just that moment, the wind picks up again, breath is easier to draw, and the intensity returns to both Charizards' tail flames.-

Brie: Smokescreen! Calamity, Swift!

-Skyfire's tail flickers, swells, and the air darkens rapidly.-

Nitrogen: Gah, fuck–!

Calamity: <Hey! All this darkness is making it awfully hard to look at me, you know!>

-and is filled with stars, as Calamity opens fire on everyone-

-a lance of ice can't be diverted all that much by a Minior's Swift attack, but the Delta Stream reduces its power, and Skyfire uses the impact as an excuse to plummet-

Brie: Let's go!

-wresting free of Beck and pulling away. Beck spirals a bit, dazed by the sudden return of breathable air and the onslaught of stars, staggering in the air as she regains her bearings and Nitrogen clears the Smokescreen away.-

Beck: <Gck…>

Nitrogen: Hey! Get back here! We're not done with you yet!

Sinnoh Skies

-Beck starts to fly after Brie and team, but veers off course enough to convince both her and Nitrogen to call off their pursuit.-

Nitrogen: Focus, Beck. Breathe.

-meanwhile, Whitt’s lance has struck the ground and exploded into a huge column of ice that covers a huge chunk of the landscape. From his high position atop Horus, Whitt sees what looks like people, potentially law enforcement, approaching the area. He flies down to Nitrogen.-

Whitt: Are we giving chase? Whatever we’re doing, we need to do it fast.

Brie: ...Stupid titles aside, I think I don't want to fight this guy again. Skyfire, Dragon Dance. We need to get out of here.

-Skyfire's tail flame grows and turns blue, more little flames popping into existence on her claws and wings, as she speeds up. Beck drifts through the air in their direction, but the chase is no longer on.-

Nitrogen: …No. We had our chance, and lost it.

-Beck glances back at Whitt, breathing labored.-

Beck: <...We lost it, because of YOU!>

-And suddenly whips around and charges at him. Her teeth are about an inch away from his throat when Nitrogen recalls her, jumping off and staying aloft on an air current. Whitt doesn’t flinch.-

Nitrogen: Let's discuss this somewhere we won't be watched by civilians, why don't we?

Whitt: Sure. Though I would remind your pokémon that only one of us here is a Templar. Do not threaten me like that again.

Nitrogen: Chill out, I stopped her. Let's go.

-She sends out Grieve and lands on his back, and they fly off.-

Edited by BittersweetNSour on Aug 14th 2023 at 2:00:07 PM

Mitchell: *splutters out water* Dragons, I'm soaked!

Oliver: <You're welcome, Professor.>

Just then, Mitchell notices the opening in the origami Palika's defences.

Mitchell: Aha! Now's our chance, Oliver! Open fire! Er, with your rocks, I mean.

Oliver: <Indeed I do. Beware my Ancient Power, velluminous fiend!>

At Oliver's command, an array of stones fly upwards at the origami Palkia.

Quack Parade: <Well, that's a secret for now. Buuuut might let you in on it eventually.~>

And Tale takes this opportunity to come up from under, Diving up from under Vellumental Palkia.

Edited by CorvusAtrox on Aug 14th 2023 at 2:32:02 PM

Megan: So after Ceal's done soaking up those energy attacks, it'll either be Ludicolo or Gyarados—you might be fast enough that the former's not a problem for you, Pollen. We might be able to snag a speed boost with Skill Swap...

Pollen: <I'd need to get close.>

Megan: His Ludicolo likes fighting close-up.

Pastoria Gym, past

Megan: ...more evenly matched than I thought.

Crasher Wake: -laughs-

-Megan's face scrunches into something between a grimace and a grin-

Crasher Wake: Kingdra!

Megan: -toss- Vee.

-Crasher Wake—and the Trainers that know Megan—lean in-

-but what emerges doesn't look fight-ready-

So, who next...

-it's a levitating spheroid surrounded by rings, concentrating rain in its center-

Quick. Water/Dragon, long-range...

Megan: -hands spread- Vestment: Fleur.

-the shape begins weaving its Aqua Ring into something like a cocoon-

Crasher Wake: -rubbing his chin- Ah, the armoring technique from before...but much more refined! Customized to a single team member?

Megan: -smile- I'm proud of my Pokémon for becoming this skilled.

Crasher Wake: Have they become quick, too? -Megan blinks-

Crasher Wake: -smirk- Hurricane.

-the Kingdra spits-

-Megan 'curses' and calls a Baton Pass—too late, it blasts Vee to pieces-

Megan: Hey!

Crasher Wake: -booming- What kind of opponent would I be, letting you set up unopposed?!

Megan: -pout- Polite?

Crasher Wake: -wagging a finger- Uninvested!

-Megan's mind races-

Pollen was a mistake. Sending her into that unsupported...

-her gaze shutters, flicking between the Baton Pass's pieces, looking for what's still usable-

...they're still fairly whole pieces—thank you, Vee—but which one is

-her arm reaches the end of its arc, and she realizes she never actually stopped the muscle memory of throwing the ball in her hand-

-Pollen soars out, grasps the nearest spark, and instead of a needle-umbrella she gets a thing with prongs-

Pollen: <Pleh—what—?>

-she takes the Ring and wrings her wings dry...and sees the Kingdra-

Pollen: <Wait—>

Kingdra: <Oh, you're a tiny little thing.>

Pollen: <...>

Crasher Wake: Oho? Branching out from the old wet and wild?

-Megan rallies seamlessly-

Megan: -fistpumping- Aha! She's one of my first captures in Alola—

Crasher Wake: -chortling- She's a spirited bug, I'll give her that!

-the spirited bug glowers dourly from her soggy station, having given up on [Touhou]-ing through the rain-

Megan: Heh! Not only that, but she's careful! And attentive! And...very,..

Pollen: -...watches Megan's hand, gesturing her closer to the water-

Crasher Wake: -posing- But can she stand up to the relentless tide?!

Megan: ''Attune!'

Crasher Wake: Hurricane!

-Kingdra inhales-

-Pollen turns her Sight on the mess of bubbles Ceal left behind-

-and dives for the pool-

-the ray of her borrowed power strains for the surface, forcing it concave, racing the oncoming storm...-

-and she's in, the Hurricane roaring overhead, the shock of its wake throwing calm water to tumult-

Pollen: -bug-bubbled, storm-tossed- ~Undodgeable, my ass.~

-she hooks her mind to Megan's by one of its natural telepathy handles-

Megan: Oh thank gods, that worked.

Pollen: ~What!!!~

Crasher Wake: [muffled]

Pollen: ~...what did he—~

Megan: "Whirlpool"!

-coiling jets pierce the surface and stream for her-

Edited by Asterisk395 on Aug 14th 2023 at 2:59:17 PM

Sinnoh — Somewhere?

-Nitrogen and Grieve land once they're certain they've lost any attention they've gained.-

Grieve: <...Well?>

-Nitrogen paces.-

Nitrogen: ...That was a trainwreck.

Vague Sinnoh Location

Horus deposits Whitt close to where Nitrogen and Grieve ended up.

Whitt: I thought you said we'd be able to take one measly J-Teamer. Well, look at us now. A full pair of failures.

Vaguely Sinnoh

-Nitrogen laughs.-

Nitrogen: Hahah. No. No, you've got it wrong.

-She turns to Whitt.-

Nitrogen: I warned you not to underestimate them. That you could call it an easy job after the job was done. But you decided you could take your sweet time. You decided, rather than a swift kill while they were helpless, you needed to compensate for something. You decided she needed to see your big, gigantic ego before she died.

-She snorts.-

Nitrogen: The Frozen Emperor? Really?

Sinnoh Vaguery

Whitt: Well, guess what. It doesn't fucking matter whose fault it was. Because you know what? The School, will not care. This isn't the first time either one of us have failed at this point. You think they'll want to listen to us squabble about why the other one is the worst and it was definitely all their fault, believe me sir!

He throws up his hands and walks away.

Whitt: And you know what, Nitrogen? You're right, I have an ego, but at least I give enough of a shit about myself to actually pick out my own name rather than carrying around the one they threw at me when they printed me out.

Mystery Zone

-Nitrogen scowls.-

Nitrogen: I give enough of a shit about myself to survive. And I intend to keep doing that, Whitt. Whatever it takes. I refuse to be expendable.

Where Even Are We?

Whitt nods.

Whitt: That's good. You want to survive, we all want to survive, but that's base. That's like them. The regular people, not like us. Nitrogen, we're better than them. We were made to be better, and we are. We shouldn't intend to merely survive.

He takes a step closer to Nitrogen.

Whitt: The School created us, but they don't know what they created. They made beings who should rule! Why shouldn't we rule! We are the opposite of expendable!

He takes another step.

Whitt: You aren't expendable. I'm no expendable. So fuck anyone who says different. Fuck the School. We can do our own thing. Take the other School creations who feel as we do. Build something better, something that doesn't throw away its creations like a child having a tantrum. Something that will stand above all of them.

Out Of Bounds

-Nitrogen's scowl fades.-

Nitrogen: Whitt...

-She steps toward him.-

Nitrogen: You think we have a chance to make it out there? We'd be on the run constantly. I've tried it before, years ago. You're willing to take that risk, for something better?