Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Klarp Glornharm]

Gotengo - The real hero arrives
Ben was actually pretty impressed with what he came across. When Sal had called it her treehouse, he'd been sure that this would be some small treehouse that would get overcrowded if more than two or three people went in. If anyone tried to stop him, he'd tell them that "Sal sent me" and go through whatever long explanation they required. Which hopefully wouldn't be too long, since he was in a hurry.

So when he arrived to the two people in the same place, one doing data entry on the others notebook, he was pretty sure that he'd come to the right place. But he had been completely wrong about what Mia looked like. "Hey, Mia? Sal sent me. Ah... Hi." How did you introduce yourself to the tech wiz person for a group of crazy people challenging the noble houses and their dangerous dark horse hunters? "I like your shirt?"  

[Marsuru]

'Good! He's gonna need life support by the time we're through,' Zack grinned, spotting the pokémon center through gaps in the buildings as they broke out of the alleyway. The Chabots darted around Fatass, who dissolved into light and snapped back into his ball. They were catching up, soaring over the buildings instead of between them. Zack expected another volley of needles, but something else happened.

The Chabots slowed, drifting downwards for a second before gravity took full hold. They veered into downwards arcs, crashed against brick with small, fiery explosions. Zack glanced at Salieri, then back at the robots as their broken husks smashed on the streets below. He couldn't take his eyes off them as the group flew toward the center, wondering what just happened.

Coumarine City - Pokémon Center

Sparks flew, glass flew. Bonding drove his chair into his equipment, grunting with the effort. He trashed his screens, his computers and machines. Everything that broadcast or received a signal he reduced to scrap, twisted metal, circuits. Its debris littered his floor and he dropped his chair with a clatter, signalling the end to violence.

Bonding took a deep breath and smoothed his hair. He stepped out of his private room, locked the door, then pushed the key into the soil of a nearby plant pot. He had this. The trainers didn't know who had targeted them. He just needed to blend in with the crowd and walk away. He stopped at the water fountain, straightened his tie, his jacket, smoothed his mustache, and walked into the lobby, dissolving into the moving mass of people.  

[Jump Einatz]

Coumarine Pokémon Center

"The signal is gone!" Salieri shouted while Banksy slowed to a stop, making a smooth landing in front of the Pokémon Center. She knew this was going to happen, but she didn't know what they would do from this point on. Sal returned her brother's Torkoal and looked at the building, ready to rush in and find whoever was doing this to them.

Easier said than done. They had no idea what this guy looked like, only that he was a man from his voice on the phone. Sal wracked her brain for a way to sniff out the culprit, nearing the point of being willing to punch every man within the building.

Without much to go on, she released her most observant Pokémon, Durendal. "Dune, we're looking for the guy that did this to us. He's a man, somewhere in this Pokémon Center." She paused, trying to think up details. "His voice was flamboyant but creepy, like a celebrity ***** or something. He uses words like dandy and naughty. I don't know. Oh, he's a tech guy, so watch for someone with fingers like Mia."

Durendal nodded, looking back and forth with Inner Focus. "We can't let any men leave the Pokémon Center, or he could slip out," she said to Zack. "What do we do about that?"  

[Marsuru]

Bonding saw the trainers land. There was a side exit near the cafeteria. If he could just traverse the lobby and make it across the food court without being seen. The boor spoke.

'Get Serene out, maybe she can find him,' Zack said, eyeing everyone who passed as a suspect. He paused. 'The Kirlia. Get the Kirlia out.'

If Sal complied, Serene would appear at the entrance to the center, blink, and Bonding's heart would try to escape through his mouth. A psychic! He would up his pace, his stylish pink suit flashing through the drab colours of the crowd. He would glance back to the entrance, trying to look inconspicuous by running his hand over his hair. He would see Zack staring back at him, squinting.

'Hold on,' the trainer would say, glancing at Salieri. 'That guy's supposed to be in jail. You don't think...?'

And in answer, Bonding would turn tail, shove his way through the crowd, and sprint across the cafeteria.

If Sal didn't comply, things would go pretty smoothly for Bonding until he was right at the side exit, steps away from freedom.  

[Jump Einatz]

Gotengo

Mia looked up from the PC in time to see Benedict arrive. Unfamiliar youthful faces weren't out of place in Gotengo. Today however, in the wake of Ratio's attack on the hotel, she felt it was out of the ordinary. She didn't know him. Did Salieri?

"My shirt?" Mia looked down. Her shirt was a white crop top tank. Very plain. "No you don't. Security."

Youngsters Carter and Anais poked their heads into the main shack. Veillantif was in Carter's hand, held like a toy pistol. "It's okay, he's cool Mia."
"Yeah. He gave us Tic-Tacs."

Mia waved the kids away and stood from her chair, sizing up Benedict. He seemed ordinary enough. Nothing about him screamed Ratio or Darkhorse Hunter. Then again, they wouldn't be very good at their jobs if they stood out. "Who are you?"

Coumarine Pokémon Center

Salieri did indeed release Zack's Kirilia. When Zack pointed out Mr. Bonding, Salieri rolled her eyes. It couldn't possibly be so obvious. Was Zack just profiling the guy in the pink suit as the effeminate sounding man on the other end of the robots? "Why do you know people in jail? Aren't you just assuming he's that guy because he's wearing pink-"

Then Bonding made a break for it, proving Zack's assumption correct. "Point taken. Dune!"

Her Pawniard was already on the move, jumping onto a crowded table and then onto another to get closer to Bonding. Now within range, crimson electricity rippled down his armor and shot off his arm, becoming a Thunder Wave aimed at the Darkhorse Hunter.  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Gotengo - The Real Hero's Introduction!

Ben grinned and gave the guards a thumbs-up when they vouched for him. The old Tic-Tac approach had always worked when he was trying to join other clubs too. Admittedly, he had been younger then, but still...

"I do like your shirt. My name's Benedict. Sal really did send me... The mission at the oil field maaaay have gotten a bit closer than I'd have liked though." He laughed nervously then.

"So, um... I need help with my xtransceiver. This one. " He held up his spare xtransceiver at that moment.  

[Marsuru]

Gotengo

'Mm. Yeah,' Esme said over the top of her notes, slightly annoyed that she'd been ignored, but also kind of not annoyed since she didn't really want to be involved in the first place but still, 'I saw him on TV when Ambrette Town happened. This guy is a real hero.

'But ah, what is the oil field thing?'

Coumarine Pokémon Center

Bonding saw the sparks over his shoulder, grabbed the ears of someone's nearby Bunnelby, span around and slung it in the path of Dune's Thunder Wave. The pokémon took the shock and hit the ground as a twitching, paralysed lump. Without skipping a beat, Bonding carried on with his sprint for the door. Zack whistled.

'Not bad. Pretty spry for an old, overweight, ugly, old *****. My turn. Serene, Teleport over and blast him. Serene?'

The Kirlia in question took no interest in the chase. Instead she stood still as a statue, her quivering eyes scanning the lobby as everyone turned to see what was going on. Zack sighed.

'God dammit, Serene.'  

[Jump Einatz]

Gotengo

The new paranoia Ratio had instilled in Mia didn't leave her so trustworthy. The name Benedict sounded familiar. Salieri had mentioned him yesterday, as a potential love interest for Mia. She had no idea Mia was already taken when she made the suggestion. Still, he was only telling them half a story. She wasn't going to fix his xtransceiver on Sal's orders alone. Mia wasn't running some kind of repair shop.

"Good question, Esme," Mia said, not taking her eyes off of Benedict as she folded her arms. Her current spliff hung from her lips, leaking smoke up into the air. "You want your watch fixed? Pay up with an explanation."

Coumarine Pokémon Center

Salieri growled and also started sprinting in Bonding's direction, assuming Zack would also be willing to give chase. Now they knew what he looked like. It didn't mean they could let him get away. They were running out of time.

Durendal bowed with guilt at the twitching Bunnelby and then bolted after his target. Not in a hurry to paralyze another innocent victim, he instead doubled his speed with a Rock Polish and rushed past all three of them, blocking Bonding's exit at the door. He'd have to get past the Pawniard to continue.

"Humaaaaaan FLAIL!"

If Zack allowed Salieri to get this far, and if he accepted his turn as the flailee of the duo, Salieri would grab tight onto the bond with both hands and spin Zack through the air like the attack's namesake, slamming Zack's legs into Bonding's side to knock the middle aged creep onto the floor.  

[Marsuru]

Coumarine Pokémon Center

The open double doors were in sight, the street beyond a million miles away. Bonding's legs buckled as the Pawniard landed in front of him, and he went sliding to his side, landed painfully, scrambled to his feet. He made a break for the kitchens.

An old lady dived out of Zack and Salieri's way as they barged through the crowded lobby and into the less crowded cafeteria. Here they could get a good run up, and intercept Bonding before he could get away.

'Humaaaaaan FLAIL!'

Zack jumped forward to help Salieri with the momentum, swinging feet-first for a powerful Double Kick into Bonding's chest. For a second, he wasn't Zack, he was Salieri swinging Zack, high on adrenaline, on the thrill of the fight. Bonding wasn't about to let him have his fun quite so easily.

The Darkhorse Hunter proved his reflexes once again, pulling a pokéball from his blazer, releasing it with a blinding flash. Zack swung directly into Cofagrigus's black clutches, its spirit arms grabbing his limbs, lifting him into the air high enough to pull Salieri off her feet. In a second, the ghost type would pull bandages from inside its coffin, and turn Zack into a mummy, quick as a flash. And once it was done with Zack, it'd turn its attention to Salieri. Bound, they'd be useless.  

[Jump Einatz]

Coumarine Pokémon Center

"Our ultimate technique failed!" Salieri lamented as she was lifted into the air by default, dangling from Zack's arm a foot off the floor. She was reminded how much she hated Ghosts, because even if this one didn't have Mummy as an ability there was no way she could punch it.

Durendal sprang into action before Cofagrigus could mummify the trainers, giving up his post as door guard as he jumped right over Bonding's head. He tackled Salieri and Zack at their bond to shove them out of the Ghost's grip, releasing the humans to the floor and taking the mummification in the process.

Now Durendal was a Mummy again, covered head to toe in beige bandages save for a slit for his eyes. He tugged at the gauze and sighed. [Again?] The Pawniard got over it fast, facing down Cofagrigus with steely eyes.

"Don't knock it out!" Sal warned while recovering from their awkward fall. "We need it conscious!"

Dune nodded and leaped at Cofagrigus with a Metal Claw, using his superior speed to try and dive between the four gangly arms to get inside the Ghost's guard.  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Gotengo - The Real Hero's Mission

Benedict sighed. He didn't have time for long discussions, but he also didn't have time for her to say no to his requests. "My other one may be being monitored by the police, and if we give them any ammo there's a chance that Alexa and my story would be discredited when she writes it. This is my spare, I need it protected from people monitoring it so I can contact Alexa without worrying about someone attacking us. Sal mentioned you could help."

That was still half a story, it felt like. She didn't seem like the type to want him to leave things out. "She's being affected by a Curse right now, and I have some ideas for how to deal with it. And... she also had a stronger flier than mine, so I can't exactly follow her normally."  

[Marsuru]

Coumarine Pokémon Center

Fast he may be, but Dune's Metal Claw didn't have enough power to threaten Cofagrigus. The ghost type would allow the Pawniard to strike, but in return, it would level a Shadow Ball at point blank range. If Dune abandoned his attack he'd have a chance to evade, but risk the Shadow Ball hitting Zack and Salieri. If he stayed his course, then as his attack sparked against Cofagrigus's body, he'd get blasted by the ball and launched gracelessly into a bunch of tables, losing almost half his health.

The other trainers in the center would scream and run, or scream and stand there watching. They'd heard the news, and were terrified that this could be the start of another attack.

Gotengo

'Yeah but,' Esme glanced at Mia then back to Ben. She knew Alexa from way back, and knew the journalist had been in some pretty hairy situations before. According to Benedict she was up to her neck in it once again. 'What's ths oil field mission? Tell us what you were doing if you want help.'  

[Jump Einatz]

Gotengo

His story was piecemeal. Even Juliet had made her intentions and reasoning perfectly clear when she entered Gotengo earlier. Salieri wasn't always the best judge of character, and right now Mia was only half convinced to help. Leverage was still on her side.

Did he mean Alexa as in the journalist? The one Esme had connections to? Ben seemed to have a story through Alexa, but was keeping it very hush hush. Clearly he had trust issues as well.

"If you think you're being bugged, turn off the xtransceiver," Mia said flatly. "Tracing is harder than movies make it seem. You can't be tapped if you're not on a call."

She took a long hit of her spliff and blew the smoke up into the air. "Either you tell us everything, or you get nothing." Mia had received one too many wacky requests today from Salieri and her ilk. This time she was going to exercise what little authority she had.

Coumarine Pokémon Center

Dune's attack connected and he was flung across the now cleared out cafeteria, toppling a table over. Someone's abandoned pasta slid off the tray and onto his bandaged head. He sighed, and activated Fleché to close the gap and pummel his foe before making a speedy getaway.

Except he didn't, because his abilities were currently all locked into Mummy. [...]

Instead, Durendal kipped up onto his feet and then slammed a foot into the ground. Four rock walls jettisoned up through the tiled floor of the cafeteria, surrounding Cofagrigus on all sides. In a second they'd close in on the coffin, enveloping it in a painful Rock Tomb and lowering its Speed.

"Hey, it's cool, keep standing there!" Salieri yelled at Serene while getting up, dripping with sarcasm. Then she pointed a finger at the still floored Mr. Bonding. "Don't you dare move! Cancel this Curse right now, and you'll still be able to eat solid food after we kick your a**!"  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Gotengo - The Real Hero

Ben looked between them and turned off the x-transceiver, and then his other one. He was anxious, and was now showing it. Not because of these two, but because the longer it took, the harder it would be to convince Alexa. "Julien Nostrad has an oil field out there, Alexa and I were gathering proof of it. Sal told me you were in on it. Or, well, your name to use." He was looking at Esme then. "I figured you'd know more." He didn't really want to get into everything. All the details would take a while to explain and clarify.

But again, it would take longer, and be less safe, without their help. And so he would tell them the story, and answer any questions they'd have about it, every second aware of the time. But he would become more comfortable as well with the two. They were Sal's friends, after all. It meant they were probably trustworthy.

Maybe.

"Manny noticed they didn't save the Stalker when everything exploded. He's gone now, so there's no hope of figuring out a way to reverse it through him. But right now she's out there, being chased by something that can kill her that she can't fight." He was still standing, but he wasn't grinning. Again, he found it wasn't really the time for charm. Maybe later, Mia was actually kind of cute and so was Esme, but right then he had way too much on his mind.

"Will you help?"  

[Marsuru]

Gotengo

Esme pinched her brow, releasing a long sigh. 'Ignoring the fact that you used my name for something I clearly know nothing about,' she de-slouched herself from the beanbag, 'if Alexa needs help, we have to help her. You called this thing a stalker? I am pretty sure we recorded one like that already.'

If Mia was down to help Ben out, she could put her computer to good use and pull up the Stalker's entry. It wouldn't have much, and what was in there sounded more like ghost stories than real reports, but it could give them an extra clue to figure out how to save Alexa. Assuming she was still alive.

Coumarine Pokémon Center

'She won't listen, she has brain damage,' Zack said, keeping his eye more on Bonding than the battle. Last thing they needed was for him to slip away during the commotion. The creepy b*****d had his back to the kitchen counter, trying to worm his way along until he found a gap to slip through. His Cofagrigus could fight on its own, which meant that it was smart. Zack would take dumb muscle over a smart opponent any day, but he was sure Dune had what it took.

Dune stomped down and the Rock Tombs burst out of the ground, surrounding Cofagrigus. Time slowed down. Cofagrigus was the puppet master, the one in control of Zack and Salieri's bond. It was part of their bond, which allowed it to do what it did next. One of its shadow hands shot out of the gap between Dune's Rock Tomb, snaking through the air until it snatched its fingers around Zack and Salieri's held hands.

Light flashed, time returned to normal, and Cofagrigus would be where Zack and Salieri were, while the trainers were trapped in the middle of Dune's Rock Tomb, seconds away from the attack closing in on them, screwed over by an Ally Switch.

If Dune wanted to call off the attack, he'd have to take time to consciously stop the rocks from doing their job. Otherwise the trainers would get battered by hefty slabs of rock, and likely knocked out. If Dune chose to keep them safe, Cofagrigus would reward his heroism with another blast of Shadow Ball, taking him to within an inch of his remaining life.