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 Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2015 6:58 pm
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2015 7:26 pm
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Ambrette Town - Hero's Journey
What was it like? Benedict wasn't sure exactly how to answer that. He knew what it had actually been like, both early on and later on. He was also pretty sure that he wouldn't be the only interviewed person. People wouldn't want the truth, though. Not the whole of it. How scary it had been, even when his pokemon had still been fighting. What it felt like when the lines broke...
The real feelings probably weren't what they wanted him to say, but he couldn't lie either.
"Different." He said after a moment. "Like we were all part of a bigger machine." The way some people had organized some trainers and their pokemon made that true enough. "Hectic. Everything felt kind of like it... sped up. Like there was more time passing than there really was." At least, for him that was true enough. It had seemed like there was no time, every single minute had felt like it was crammed with activity, enough to last an hour.
"It wasn't easy. I guess it wasn't supposed to be easy. Maybe someone might tell you it was scary, but there was so much happening that it didn't really feel like that." It had felt like it was happening to someone else. He had been scared, terrified really, but it was like someone else's fear. Benedict decided to keep that part to himself though.
"It's not really easy to explain beyond that." He didn't want to talk about the rest. "I think 'hectic' is probably the best word if you want it summed up in one."
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2015 7:39 pm
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Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2015 8:53 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 12:53 pm
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((EDIT: Just updated Sal's profile with stuff pertaining to this post, sweet artwork thanks to Marsuru, and a new theme song))
Cyllage City – Pokémon Center
“When you become a big TV star, will you remember the little people?” Mia asked Salieri with a flat tone and a tiny smirk from her end of the PC conversation in Gotengo. Sal didn’t see anybody else in the background, and assumed Mia had cleared any kids present at the treehouse away for some privacy.
“Stop it,” Sal groaned. The bruises on her chest and forehead ached with a dull yet fiery pain. “My brain can’t handle humor right now.”
“Okay.” The tiny smirk faded and Mia sipped on a beer. “Take the floor.”
Salieri explained as best as she could what happened at Route 9. How Ambrette Town was mostly destroyed when she got there, how she and her Pokémon joined the fray to save what they could. Then she explained her wounds.
“We were shot at. Mia, it was the same Sniper that stole Xavier and Prou from my brother.”
Mia squinted, tilting her head to the side with no snappy comeback. It was the closest she could get to expressing surprise. “How do you--what do you mean ‘We’ “?
“Me and Veil. He shot her right out of my hand. She…” Sal paused, and took a deep breath to avoid choking on the words. “She got trampled by the stampede. If we weren’t rescued, she could’ve died.”
Horror was an expression Mia was a little better at. She wasn’t all robot. Eyes wide with a hand over her mouth, Mia asked in a hushed tone, “Oh my god, is she okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, she’s fine. Her injuries are fine. But Faust--The Sniper, he’s a perfectionist. He won’t stop hunting me if she’s around.” Salieri looked at Veillantif’s Pokéball in her hand. “I have to send Veil home to you.”
“…how do you know he won’t still hunt you anyway?”
“He will. I know he will, it’s not just that. Veil…she wants to go home.”
Mia let that implication sink in. It was clear she realized what it meant: Veillantif was traumatized. Salieri guilt grew heavier on her shoulders as she watched her best friend work it out. “I’ll set up the Deposit,” Mia told her, avoiding Sal’s eyes as she hit some buttons. “So say your goodbyes.”
“No need.” Salieri clenched her teeth. “She doesn’t want to talk to me.”
Veillantif’s Pokéball was put on the tray. Sal saw the tiny image of her Horsea through the Pokéball’s opaque lens. Inside the ball, Veil was crying. Sal bit her tongue, forcing herself not to sob.
In a flash of light, Veillantif was gone.
Salieri also sent home the Cubone and Machop she had caught on Route 9 to join the Woobat and Helioptile. If The Sniper came after her Pokémon again, she couldn’t risk having untrained, lower leveled fighters around just to lose them. “How do you know all this stuff about The Sniper anyway?” Mia asked. Both his them were eager to move on from talking about Veil.
“I was saved by this guy.”
A vision of Matheson standing in the log cabin flashed into Sal’s mind. She scratched the back of her head. “He was maybe a little older than us. Pretty weird guy, has Obsessive Impulsive Disorder. I didn’t think that was a thing. But he was an alright guy, and he told me about Faust.”
“A guy, huh?” Mia’s questioning shifted from concerned to playfully curious. “What’s his name?”
“Matheson Leroux. Yeah, he’s a noble guy. I have his number, I think I’m gonna try honey potting him for more info.”
“Flirting with a noble? Who are you and what have you done with Salieri?”
Salieri sighed as Mia gave her a smug grin. She should’ve known this would be the reaction. This was the closest Sal had come to showing interest in a guy for a while, even if it was for practical reasons. “Tell me more.”
So Sal explained how Math took them to the mountains with his Magic Door Key, a science which interested Mia greatly. How Math healed up Veil and herself, how he cooked for everybody, and why he was after Salieri in the first place. Which reminded Sal to explain how she got from the Battle Chateau to Route 9.
“I plugged Ivan into the Chateau’s PC like you told me, made three searches and then I got a message about Shooting Stars or some nonsense. Now it won’t turn on. The Pokédex is being really bizarre.”
Sal held up her blank Pokédex so Mia could see it. Mia’s eyes narrowed as she looked over her handiwork. This error in her programming was unprecedented. “What…”
“Long story short, I left, but the cops picked me up since they thought I was a noble volunteering to help, and they brought me to Route 9 to stop the stampede. And that’s when The Sniper-”
“Sal, what did you search?” Mia interrupted.
“What?”
“The search on their PCs, what’d you search?” There was a hint of urgency in Mia’s voice. It stood out amongst her monotone. Sal knew she meant business.
“I searched Jullien Nostrad, Mozart Soledad and Nicolette Nostrad. Jullien’s info was basic, Moze had nothing, and Nicolette’s broke Ivan. The Pokédex said it was rebooting.” Sal tilted her head, puzzled. “They’re searches we’ve made on public PCs with no problem before. Why?”
Mia took a step back and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. Sal knew this meant Mia was thinking hard on a rationale for this technological error. “Ivan doesn’t reboot. That’s impossible.”
“I’m telling you, it was rebooting-“
“There is no reboot coding on that Pokédex. He’s not supposed to fall back on that in case of emergencies. Ivan has a virus.”
Salieri paused, trying to make sense of this news while Mia typed away at her PC’s keyboard. “You’re in Cyllage City, right? I’m going to have Quacklin’ fly you a disc tomorrow. You have to apply it to Ivan right away. If Ivan is infected, then whoever set up the virus was prepared for Ivan specifically. They knew you were coming. If you searched Nicolette last, it might have been her.“”
Once again, a girl Salieri had never even seen before was responsible for impeding her progress. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. The fire in her heart had been an ember for the last couple of hours, calmed by the sobriety of almost losing Veillantif. Now it was heating up again. “Nicolette, huh?” she growled.
Mia met Sal’s eyes. “The Chateau was a bad call, Sal. If you make another one too fast, Faust might get you. Don’t do anything stupid until Quacklin’ gets you the disc, okay?”
“Fine.”
“I mean it.”
“I said fine.”
“Alright. I gotta make some calls to get this together. I’ll talk to you later, Sal…I’m sorry about Veil.”
"So am I."
*************************************
Wandering through a building full of refugees was a surreal experience. All the noise washed over Salieri as she walked to the exit, yet now and again she’d catch a bit of conversation from the side. She just passed a family quietly huddled together in a group hug, and before that she passed a scientist lamenting to his wife that his life’s work had been buried in the rubble.
Right before the door, a young mother holding a sleeping toddler blocked her path. Half of the mother’s face was covered in fresh scrapes, matching the ones on her daughter’s face. “Excuse me?”
Salieri stopped in her tracks. She knew she was staring at the child, but she couldn’t help it. “I-I was there when you got to Ambrette Town. I was running to the Pokémon Center when I dropped my baby.” The mother clutched her daughter. “She would’ve been...god, she would’ve been dead if your Torkoal didn’t make that fire wall.”
The last part was whimpered out as the mother quietly burst into tears. With her free hand she clutched Sal’s arm. The bandanna girl was stunned. “I’ll always remember what you did for her. Thank you, thank you.”
Sal didn’t know how to respond. She wouldn’t have even been on Route 9 if it wasn’t for what happened with the Chateau. Being a hero wasn’t part of the plan. Suddenly she felt a new, tangential responsibility, like what she felt when she saw a Gotengo kid down on their luck in Lumiose City. “It’s okay,” she stammered, flustered with how she was being revered. “It’s okay.”
The mother nodded and walked away. Salieri watched her go before leaving the Pokémon Center.
Cyllage City was very much alive with the influx of people from down the coast. Having entered the city through a Magic Door, this was the first time Salieri had a chance to take it in. To the east was the mountain range, with roads and bike paths dotted up the cliffs for safer travel. The wide open ocean was to the west, sparkling waves jutting from the body of water like fleeting spears. What seemed like a normally serene settlement held a somber tone from all the carnage in the south.
Salieri held up a hand to look down the long beach. In the distance she could see smoke curling up from Ambrette Town. Matheson told her that he had thrown The Sniper off her trail with the Magic Doors, but it was possible that The Sniper had followed Banksy to Cyllage City. If she had been killed in the stampede, it would have seemed like an accident. If she was shot here, it would seem like a murder. He wouldn’t shoot me down in plain sight, would he? No, he’s a professional. He wouldn’t be so boldso reckless.
The tops of the mountain range were the best spots to have a vantage point, and from atop a cliff is where The Sniper had fired at her before. Salieri kept her eyes on the high ground as she slowly walked through town, trying to stay in the busy streets. How do I even know he’s still watching me? Maybe he’s not.
Sal stopped walking. Maybe that’s what he wants me to think.
There weren’t many safe options to take. She could call up Matheson and ask for his help, but Sal wasn’t entirely sold on him yet. A noble wouldn’t gain her complete trust so easily, even one as good natured as Math. She could wait inside a building until she was sure he didn’t have her trail. But how would she even know? What if The Sniper came for her before she could act?
A bead of sweat rolled down Sal’s forehead, and suddenly the anxiety of the situation became clear to her. There was no way she could guarantee her safety from this hunter. If I have to run, what do I do? Will Banksy be enough to get us to a safe spot? What happens now?
She found herself reaching for her Pokégear. There was another option she could try. It was her original plan. Sal would hunt down the nobles that dismantled her brother’s spirit, one by one. Once The Sniper started up his hunt again, she would act. All she needed was a way to close the distance if she found out his position. And there was one person she knew with “absolute speed”.
Salieri sent a text to Helena. It took some time to locate the Redgrave’s number, since Helena hadn’t entered her real name into Sal’s contact list.
Sal to Lady Redgrave Sal: Hey, have a minute? Sal: Need to talk to you. Serious business
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 6:07 pm
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Ambrette Town - Long walk
Benedict found himself slowly realizing that the town was, pretty much, just rubble. He'd noticed that a lot of the buildings had been taken down, but it wasn't until he came to a stop in front of a Nurse's desk that he realized the town was really, truly, done. It took a moment for him to realize that the desk was a mark that the pokemon center had been there, and when he did the youth felt the exhaustion like a weight.
The center was down. His pokemon needed him to get somewhere where they'd feel better. A few other trainers were there, some that may have been in some fight, and some that seemed like they were like him, showing up because it felt like the only place to have gone.
"Cyllage then." The gambler said to himself. He wanted to slow down, to stop. He wanted to sit down and rest, maybe give up for a while and wait for someone to come help, but so many people had already come to help earlier, during the stampede, that he wasn't sure there was anyone left. As much as he wanted to just sit next to the desk, Benedict moved on.
Towards home. Towards Cyllage.
((I'll continue this when I figure out which pokemon I want from route eight.))
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 6:35 pm
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Route 9 - Trail's End
As if Ambrette Town wasn't guilt trip enough. Zack hung awkwardly from Dexio as Helena carried on. At the start, he'd been a tight bundle of tension, but that slowly left him until in the end he relaxed, wearing a tired smile. She was okay. Hazard and Serene were back. The nightmare really was over. The battles in Glittering Cave suddenly felt like somebody else's life, like he'd just been an observer. He desperately needed rest.
'Take it easy, little sister,' Zack said, hoping his tone of voice was enough to hide the strain of speaking. He pulled away from Dexio and stood precariously, recalling his pokémon. 'We'll talk more later.'
'Absolutely,' Dexio said, 'Later's fine.'
'But not too much later,' Sina added, 'Or you'll probably forget most of it. So maybe in a few minutes. Oh, I'm Sina, by the way. This's Dexio. We're professor Sycamore's research assistants.'
'Yes, and that's the reason we're here. The only reason. Strange happenings warrant investigation.'
Zack felt an acute headache come on when Dexio and Sina began whittering, and had to consciously avoid grinding his teeth.
'Helena,' he said, betraying a growl. 'Get Loki and get us out of here.'
'Ah yes, to the lab,' Dexio cut in. 'We're in Lumiose City, southern edge of South Boulevard. Lovely place.'
'And the professor's got a bunch of medical equipment, so he'd even be able to fix your brother. Pokémon center's got to be crowded right now.'
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 6:45 pm
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Posted: Sat Jan 17, 2015 7:50 pm
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Route 8 - Long Walk
It was easier to keep walking when he stopped thinking about the fact that he was walking. Route eight wasn't something new to Benedict, he'd lived in Cyllage all his life, and his father had used the pokemon of the route to train the rapidashes. Knowing how to fight was important to knowing how to run, he'd claimed. Benedict still wasn't sure about that. It seemed like a good way to injure them and make them less powerful of runners.
Still, looking at the route from a trainer's perspective was different. He remembered looking at it as a nice change of pace, a chance to see something different. It was a place to see pokemon, things he might want to pick before heading out. If he hadn't won Dragonite, Benedict actually would probably have started with a pokemon from here.
Now he looked at it differently. It was dangerous, with wild pokemon that might attack you if you weren't paying attention. It was beautiful, if you came at the right time of day, but regardless there was a view. It made him feel at ease, while still managing to poke at his nerves whenever he looked at the tall grass.
And then there was a sound, continuous. Like voices, pokemon voices. If he didn't know any better, Benedict would likely have called it an argument, but what kind of wild pokemon argued?
Curiosity dragged the trainer towards the sound, and he peaked in some of the tall grass. Inside, he saw two pokemon arguing. Instinctively, he took out his pokedex.
"Mienfoo. In fights, they dominate with onslaughts of flowing, continuous attacks. With their sharp claws, they cut enemies. Fighti-
"Inkay. It flashes the light-emitting spots on its body, which drains its opponent's will to fight. It takes the opportunity to scuttle away and hide. Psychi-"
The pokedex snapped shut when the trainer realized that both of them had turned towards him, breaking off whatever they'd been saying. The two glared at one-another one last time before fixing their anger on him.
"Hi."
[I told you someone would hear us if you didn't stop yelling.] The Fighting type grumbled.
[Shut up.] The dual-typed pokemon replied.
[Do we beat him up?]
[Of course.]
Perhaps luckily, Benedict was in the middle of releasing Ryhorn. Inkay had started forward with a tackle, expecting to meet with human squishiness, but instead found herself crashing into a rock wall.
A moment later, that wall moved while she was still dazed, and stomped down to smash her into the ground. Mienfoo, who had been waiting, rushed towards the rock type with a pound, and the blow would land on Rhyhorn's head.
"Ram him!" Benedict called to the Rhyhorn, who would proceed to horn attack his opponent. The Inkay would begin pulling away from the fight slowly, to get out of range of those stomping feet, But the Mienfoo would find her next pound being redirected by a Horn Attack.
The horn would catch the lower arm, and the Rhyhorn would shift to the side to throw the momentum off. As fast as the pound was, it would still manage to be a glancing blow, but Mienfoo's stance would be thrown off. "Again!"
Horn attack would be used again, and this time the wild pokemon would be caught by it directly. The sharp horn would strike the fighting type, and she would stumble back. Before the rhyhorn could manage to strike with another charge, psywave would strike him.
Inkay was satisfied when the rhyhorn turned her way, and began flashing those lights to try and make the opponent lose his willpower... And then a pokeball would strike her.
Before the fighting type could take advantage of the distraction, a pokeball would hit her as well, and Benedict would watch both with bated breath.
When neither of them popped back out, he let loose a sigh.
"Thanks for the help. What should I call you now?" He asked, looking at the Rhyhorn.
[My name is-]
"Jerath. I think that fits." Benedict decided. The rhyhorn would give a disapproving stare, which the trainer seemed to not notice. "Glad you like it."
The youth grinned at the rock-type, and thought for a moment about returning it... But then, what better way to keep more pokemon from attacking than by having pokemon that looked a little scary out? Besides, maybe he could convince the rock-type to carry him?
Though Jerath did look... uncomfortable. He should get a saddle before thinking of that.
"You're not going to try to impale me, right?" He asked as they continued on. The fight had given him some energy back, or at least made him forget how little he had.
Now there was nothing between him and home. Cyllage.
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Posted: Tue Jan 20, 2015 7:09 pm
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Lumiose City - Sycamore Pokémon Lab
Southern Boulevard lit up. Even in the day's sunshine, nearby cars and rows of trees cast long, black shadows in the face of the light. After a second it was over, and Zack, Helena, Dexio, Sina and Loki stood in a tight group before the steps of Professor Sycamore's lab. Zack looked up and down the street, which felt deserted, odd for this time of day. He supposed most people would be hooked on the events in Ambrette Town, too glued to their TVs and phones to be wandering the street. Either way it was fortunate.
'And here we are,' Dexio said with pride. He took the first step, patting one of the large stone pokéball sculptures that topped a post at the foot of the stairs. 'Now, I suggest we all hurry inside because teleporting into the street is technically illegal.'
Dexio hurried up the steps and started fumbling with his keys, which tinkled lightly as they slid into the lock. Zack glanced around the group, shrugged, and followed after Dexio, stooping a little as he climbed the steps, wishing there was a handrail. Dexio held the door open and stepped aside, letting everyone else in before closing the door and locking it again. Inside, the lab smelled like a museum. Not the clinical, sterile kind, but one filled with all sorts of old, musty artefacts. Sunlight spilled through wooden window frames, fit with thin single panes of glass that all seemed to be scratched or marked in one way or another. The dark wood floors were cloaked with red carpets, and the walls were a deep blue, decorated with medical charts, and diagrams. Zack spotted some awards on a mantelpiece in one of the side rooms; framed certificates and gold trophies. There was what appeared to be a dining room, and a long corridor that went the full depth of the building. Zack could easily imagine somebody living here.
'Alright, team! Let's not keep the professor waiting!' Dexio said as he ascended the central staircase. It was clad in the same red carpet as the rest of the ground floor, twice as wide as most other staircases, with thick wooden banister posts.
'Does he even know we're coming?' Sina asked, climbing up after Dexio, who paused.
'Um, well. I'm sure it won't be a problem.' He turned back to Zack and Helena before carrying on upstairs. 'The professor loves people almost as much as he loves pokémon. Which would be a lot. He's a nice guy.'
Zack felt less and less certain about coming here. He recalled his mental image of Sycamore as a dusty old coot. Definitely not the type of guy who'd take kindly to strangers arriving unannounced. He'd probably be best off having his pokémon seen to then crashing on a bench somewhere until he felt well enough to move. The pokémon centers ought to be less chaotic by then, and he could probably catch a room at one. Then again, Dexio said that thousands of pokémon had appeared in defence of Ambrette Town, and from the looks of things, they'd lost. Every center in Kalos must be in a state of emergency. Looked like he'd be sleeping rough for a while.
Upstairs felt more like a lab. The décor was identical in the most part, but was somehow less homely. The strong smell of oldness vanished, and was replaced by something more neutral, like it had been scrubbed down and made clean. Zack noticed more cabinets and flat counters, which were apparently all it took to bring an old-style manor into the modern age. Though the sound of television voices and the giant capsule-shaped machine with a huge hole in the centre could have helped. Zack stared at it, not sure of its purpose. There was a screen, but it was blank right now. The hole had a tray with a section missing in the middle, which looked like somewhere you'd place a pokéball. A storage unit of some kind?
'That's the Wonder Trader,' Sina said, making Zack start. 'Place a ball in there, hit a switch, and it'll get traded with a random trade station anywhere in the world.'
'Wow,' Zack said, 'What's the point of that?'
Sina shrugged. 'Beats me. Now come on, Slowpoke.'
Zack hadn't realised that he'd stopped when he'd stared, or that he was holding up the group. His face went a little hot as he caught up, and they continued down the corridor into a wide open room. It was lined with desks, decorated with more of the medical charts that Zack had seen downstairs, except these ones looked like they were in more use than the others, which were primarily for show. With his feet crossed on his desk, Professor Sycamore was leaning back on his chair, fingers laced behind his head while he watched the news on a small television in the corner. As Zack expected, the news showed nothing but the wake of disaster at Ambrette. Unlike what Zack expected, Professor Sycamore wasn't a dreary old man after all, instead he looked like he'd leapt out of the pages of some men's fashion magazine. Par for the course in Kalos, he supposed. The professor dressed in smart casual, with the kind of collar that either belonged in the 70s or the distant future. His handsome face was locked in concentration, his eyelids drooped while he considered the news, deep in thought. As soon as Sycamore realised he had guests, he swung his legs from the table and muted the television in a single, swift motion.
'Oh, hey guys,' he said, a little flustered. 'Have you ever heard of knocking? I could be doing anything in here.' He paused at the sight of Helena, a minor. Then he scratched his temple, eyes wide.
'So while we take the potential grossness of that into consideration,' Sina said, lifting her hand, presenting the Redgrave siblings, 'Professor Sycamore, meet Zack and Helena. Zack got beat up pretty bad on Route 9, and we said he could rest up here for a while. Helena's... not hurt so bad. I think.'
'Zack does have a rather excellent Aerodactyl that I'm sure he'd let us study in return for our care,' Dexio said, giving Zack a thumbs up. The trainer sighed.
'Dexio, Sina,' Sycamore said, holding up his hands. 'I appreciate your altruism, but if trainers need medical help, they're meant to visit the pokémon center. My lab's not a rest stop for wayward strays. No offense. And besides, I've already learned all there is to know about Aerodactyl.'
'But professor, this one's three times the size,' Dexio frowned, 'At least.'
'Okay, I'm sold. Jack, there's a guest room in the top floor. The bedding ought to be clean. Dexio, call Esme and have her meet us here. This mess on Route 9 will probably cause all kinds of people to show up wanting our help, and she's the least friendly person I know. We'll have her answer the door.'
'On it,' Dexio gave a quick salute, and ran off to find the landline. In the meantime, Sycamore strode towards Zack and Helena, pinching his chin.
'Hmm. You don't appear to be broken,' he said, looking Zack up and down. 'But I'm sure x-rays will have all the answers we seek. So tell me, how opposed are you to getting blasted by invisible rays?'
'Uhh,' Zack said. He glanced at Helena, looking for answers. Sina slipped her fingers between his.
'Zack's just tired, professor,' she said brightly, 'I'm sure if anything was broken, he'd know about it. I'll just show him to his room, and I'll be right back down. Though hopefully not too soon.'
Sina dragged Zack off towards the staircase, leaving the lab empty of everyone except Professor Sycamore, Helena, and presumably Loki. The professor itched his stubble, and started towards his chair. He slumped back into it, momentarily betraying the depth of his tiredness. Then he looked Helena in the eye.
'Sorry, Helena, it gets a little hectic in here sometimes. Feel free to take a seat. You look like a trainer. Were you involved in the fighting in Ambrette Town?' He ran his hand through his mop of hair, 'Ah, forgive me. You must be tired. There's another room upstairs if you'd like. And we have a kitchen on the ground floor if you're hungry. I hope you like noodles.'
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Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 3:00 pm
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Lumiose City - Sycamore Pokemon Lab
Dexio and Sina were an odd duo. That was Helena's impression of them, and they did nothing to change this during their trip into Professor Sycamore's lab. The odd tour guides didn't take away from the fascination of the lab, which was lucky for Helena.
Charts and diagrams were like short stories, ones Helena could only glance at. A page or several of knowledge that caught her eye as they moved. The credentials, to her, spoke of Professor Sycamore's passions. His interests became her own temporarily as they moved through the lab and Helena soaked up whatever she could.
She pushed herself into it as they moved, motivated to take her mind off the cave and be ready to support her brother through his recovery. The wonder trade machine made her way to try it out and she made a mental note to do it as soon as she had the time and opportunity.
Finally came the man himself; a model playing a professor on a highly rated television drama. Or that's how he looked to Helena. The very first thing he did was make her blush - a combination of his joke and then his gaze. Helena averted her gaze elsewhere and pretended she was interested in the wall. It only embarrassed her more that she was absolutely sure that he would pick up on her staring at a blank section of the wall, even though some part of her said that was illogical.
When she heard her introduction, Helena brought her eyes halfway back to the professor and gave him a half wave. Helena, who was more flustered by the humor matched with the hotness than swooning, managed to drag herself back down to earth as Professor Sycamore began to speak again. It was enough that she didn't miss the chance to whisper "he's just never met you," to Zack when Esme was brought up.
And then Zack was being taken away by Sina, and Dexio was off calling another person that Helena had never met. She was alone with Professor Sycamore. He started to talk and that's when Salieri's text messag came in. Helena read it while she listened to him.
"You know, that's a great question and an even greater suggestion, but this is really important. I will get right back to you, I promise." She pointed toward the door, gave him a second to object, and then went out of it, clicking the call button as she did.
Hopefully Salieri would answer and she wouldn't have to call her a few extra times or pretend to be doing something else to buy more time.
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Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 6:41 pm
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Cyllage City – Audax Street
Seconds after Salieri sent her text, she looked up from her Pokégear and spun around. The sidewalks were mostly barren, which she suspected was a result of people gathering at the Pokémon Center and anywhere with a TV for news coverage. Here, the sloped rooftops of the buildings stood high enough that the tops of the mountain range weren’t visible anymore, and far ahead on Audax Street was a beaten path leading to the beach. The Sniper would have a hard time finding an ideal place to shoot her where she stood.
Nevertheless, Sal’s fight or flight instinct flared. There’s someone watching me.
Her waist felt lighter, slightly unburdened. When her hand swatted to that lighter spot, she knew what was wrong. The item pouch on her belt bag was gone. And Salieri was watching it float away like a leaf on the wind, down the street into an alleyway.
“The hell?!” she growled as she immediately gave chase, reaching for Veillantif’s Pokéball before remembering that Veillantif wasn’t there. It was easy to bury that sad realization under the questions brought on by this new dilemma. This isn’t The Sniper, this is a thief! Psychic, maybe? “GET BACK HERE!”
Sal rounded the corner and saw a new development: her item pouch was slowly disappearing. One end was fading away, and the effect was spreading. Salieri didn’t have the time to work out what was happening. All she knew was that she couldn’t lose sight of the pouch, or all her stuff would be gone. Within her next step, something slapped her in the face. Salieri didn’t see what it was, but it was sticky. And warm. And then she finally saw the big picture for what it was.
“Biz!” she yelled, releasing her Quilladin while clicking her rollerblades open. The ringtone on her Pokégear sounded off, which she ignored. “Sweep the alley!”
[No problem!] Biz Marquis replied. With a quick salute, he pointed a stubby arm ahead of him. Sharp spikes hard enough to pierce stone grew from his arm bracer and were instantly shot off, firing away at a gatling gun’s pace. The Pin Missile peppered the alley with needles as Biz swiped his arm to the side. Through the attack, Salieri saw some of the spikes stop seemingly in midair, halted by something unseen.
Salieri skated forward when the Pin Missile stopped, rolling down to where the spikes hung in the air at a breakneck pace, and unleashed her spraypaint on that area. The cloud of blue gas dispersed, revealing the partial outline of a small reptilian arm and leg.
“I knew it!” she growled as she spun around, taking out a second Pokéball. “It’s YOU! Dune!” The Pawniard was released, and the outline was now surrounded by her Pokémon on both sides. “Thunder Wave!”
A thin bolt of red electricity charged off of Durendal’s bladed hand and wrapped around the lizard’s body. The Kecleon’s camouflage faltered, allowing everyone present to see him as he really was. The look in his eyes told Salieri it was the same Kecleon that decided to rob the Parfum Palace at the same time she did, part of the reason Dune’s armored chest was now cracked.
An array of spinning, yellow and purple rings fired from the Kecleon’s fingertips in a line headed right to Salieri. The Psybeam never met the girl, fizzling out on contact with Durendal’s body while Sal used her Pawniard’s back as a jumping point. Now over the Kecleon’s head, she brought her heel down and kicked his skull into the asphalt.
The Kecleon floundered on the ground, then rolled away when Salieri tried to grab his curled up tail. Kecleon sprang up from all fours and tried another Psybeam, without Dune in between himself and Salieri to block it. A Vine Whip wrapped around his wrist from behind, and from down the alley Biz yanked to knock the Psybeam off course. The telekinetic power crashed into a dumpster, denting the steel receptacle instead of its intended target.
Salieri went for her grab again, this time successful. Without missing a beat she pulled Kecleon up by his tail, high over her head, and slammed him into the ground behind her. Dazed but not out, Kecleon craned back his head to aim for his next shot.
Which he would have taken, if Salieri had let go of his tail. But she didn’t. She lifted him overhead once more and slammed him down to the ground again. And then again. And then again. And then again...Taken off guard by a human willing to get involved in a battle between Pokémon, the Kecleon helplessly began to feel more than just dazed. “The item pouch!” Sal yelled to her Pokémon over her rhythmic repeated slamming of the reptile. “Grab a Pokéball!”
Both Biz and Dune looked to where Sal had gestured. On the ground was the half invisible item pouch. Green lizard scales flaked around next to it, and with every one that fell off, the invisibility faded. Dune picked up the pouch and Biz Marquis took out an empty Pokéball. “Now throw it!” Salieri commanded as she finally let go of the Kecleon, letting him free fall into the air.
[Here I go!] Heaving his chest, Biz Marquis pitched the ball up at Kecleon. It curved then collided, and as it opened Kecleon was bound to the red capture light. The Pokéball wriggled as it fell to the ground. Salieri held her breath.
DING! The unmistakable sound of a successful capture relieved the tension as Salieri caught the Kecleon’s ball. [Yes!] Biz Marquis hollered as he pumped his fist. [I caught my first Pokémon!] He held up his fist for a fist bump with Dune. Sighing, Dune gave Biz a weak nod and a pat on the back instead.
“Well how about that.” Salieri smirked at the Pokéball she spun on her fingers. “We just caught ourselves a stalker, boys. Good work.”
All she needed to remember her current predicament, the one with Faust The Sniper, was the word ‘stalker’. The celebratory mood fled the scene as Salieri returned her Pokémon, reattached her item pouch, and exited the alleyway. The street she was on was directly in front of a hotel, where groups of people were gathered outside chatting. Back in the crowd, Salieri felt safer. Her Pokégear rang again. Salieri saw the caller ID and realized Helena must have been trying to call her throughout that capture. She picked up.
“Helena,” she said into the phone, a little out of breath from her encounter. “Missed your call, I was busy. You got my message?"
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Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 8:19 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 8:30 pm
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Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2015 8:38 pm
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