Welcome to Gaia! ::

Aile would cross her arms when Mr. Stone entered, face going serious once more. An eyebrow would be raised as Joseph walked to one of his chairs and sat down, announcing just why this witchhunt had started. Sub and Sol as founding members of Cipher? With S-22? This… this didn’t feel like it made any sense. She had learned a little bit about Orre’s history with Cipher and Snagem during her forced stay, and she would have thought she’d have learned about them terrorizing the region if they were. Unless this was like some weird shadow council type thing… But even then, it seemed like S-22 for the longest time was just Ein’s puppet. How would he have been a founding member of Cipher, unless it would have been before the experiments? That in of itself was weird, but there was more? Ooooh, she wanted to see the rest so badly. “Is there at least a timeline that we can look at,” Aile would ask, tilting her head. “I won’t lie, I want to know what other falsehoods they have. Because while Sub can be a b*****d, that doesn’t sound like the Sub we’ve known otherwise. Nor Sol, I wouldn’t even call him a b*****d.” The woman shook her head, brushing her crimson hair out of her face afterwards.

Her attention was then drawn to the device in Stone’s hands, eyes widening as he explained it. Her friends were going to get out of those collars, thank Arceus! She, too, would wait with baited breath as the elderly man attempted to remove Blizz’s collar, with a resounding success. The joy that came with that would be somewhat short lived, however, as Blizz himself would bring up a reminder of what would properly happen once everyone had their collars removed. That was a very good point, and one that would wind up needing to be discussed-

Over drinks. With an unnervingly familiar face. How? Aile would tilt her head in bewilderment as she accepted her coffee once he started in with them, taking looks at the others who were in Mossdeep. She hadn’t witnessed it herself, being caught up in the fight with Zera and Regice, but she knew it had happened. How was he here now? Did Isaac know? He was on the shuttle as well. …Also, where was that man? She knew he had taken a job here, but wouldn’t he have been interested in meeting them here? Ugh. What the hell was going on?


Crystal’s ears would pick up the sound of an unfamiliar male voice, perking her up out of her spiraling thoughts. Her mood would only worsen with guilt as the hybrid heard what Sub was being accused of, the cat woman trying to shrink further and further down into a smaller ball. None of that sounded like Sub. Why would he fight so hard to stop Ein’s machinations, stop the Shadow Virus, everything, if he wasn’t completely against him? This didn’t add up, Ein had even taunted Sub quite a bit if she could remember right. Which wasn’t a guarantee now, but she was fairly confident in that, at least. Light, memory holes were fun.

Crystal’s ears would perk up, though, when Stone mentioned that they made a skeleton key for the collars. That should have brought some amount of joy, but instead, she was rather apathetic. Where were they going to go without the collars? What leads were they going to follow up on? How soon were they going to be able to leave without SWIPE getting the heads up on them and ambushing them once more? The collar falling off Blizz was indeed great news, but this was only one part of the problem. Her eyes would then glance to Darts for a moment, thinking back to the berating he had just given her. The way he was talking, was he ready to pay her back for Kitakami? Burn her, she wouldn’t be surprised. And she knew exactly how that fight would go, too. He had more training up on her, and he certainly hadn’t been sitting on his laurels during the past year. It was clearly evident to the woman that she would wind up having her hide handed to her if they properly fought, one more thing she was forced to admit. And that was also if his little Pokemon there wasn’t also going to get involved, like it had seemed to want to do. Her eyes fell back to the ground as she sighed quietly to herself, resigning herself to the fact that people probably weren’t terribly happy with her at the moment and she was quite possibly going to get her face punched in at minimum. At least once all was said and done. It’s not like a mere apology was going to clear the air, especially with Darts.

Then the drinks came in. Crystal was never there for the Shadow Virus outbreak, so she didn’t recognize most of the Devon workers, nor did she know the finer details of what happened. However, something was apparently wrong by the look on other people’s faces, when she glanced up again hearing Darts’ wavering voice. A bit of a confused look would appear on her face, unsure of what to make of it. Was there something else going on?

Odd snorted at Sub's explanation, a hateful laugh full of equal parts anger and mirth. "That was it?!" He barked out, throwing his head back as his emotions swelled. "Those of us who dealt with him directly know Ein had some kind of mental control over him and he ran like a startled Skitty the moment that control was broken." He remarked as he got his laughter under control. "I get you'd wonder what happened to him after it was all over but if he was doing anything that mattered, you'd think it would have been all over the news and yet we've heard nothing of him since. I'm pretty sure he would have been fine to just leave alone." Crystal's rant would go into full steam about that point and he would go quiet at that point, letting her get it out.

Once she was done, Lykas spoke up again. "I get it. There was no reason to involve the rest of us if he's not an active threat but Crystal makes a good point. You keep acting like you can't trust most of us and this time, that's punishing all of us." He stated, surprisingly calm for the moment. "But I get your point as well. Keep as many of us as possible in the dark about it so when and if everything blows up, we can truthfully say we have no information.” He remarked, scratching his head. “Problem with that thought process is being shown right now. Interpol doesn’t care what we don’t know and knowing less is actually hurting us all here.” He pointed out, going quiet a moment after that as he considered everything.

“We’re going to sit down one day after this is all over and you’re going to explain to me how and why you stole Hoopa’s ring back then, by the way.” Odd noted after Lykas said his piece, the pair joining everyone in the elevator at Agent Mully’s behest. As they reached the executive suite and the doors opened, Odd barked out another laugh. “I should have known…” He stated, providing no context as Lykas prodded. The hybrid would find out what he was talking about a few moments later as Tristen spun around in the executive chair to greet them with a cheerful smile and a friendly quip.

“We all should have seen this coming.” Lykas remarked as he threw his head back and fought th laughter trying to escape. “Sub would make sure our teenage savior has his emergency escape plan just in case…” He laughed at the idea. Poor Tristen must be getting tired of saving all their hides by now.

As everyone else joined in greeting Tristen after his long absence, Odd wandered toward the back wall. “You’re not in the wrong for feeling lied to and used.” He announced to Crystal in a calm and quiet voice as he leaned against the wall beside her. “But Sub has always put more thought into his decisions than most of us realize. You’ve got to put more faith in his choices than this and understand that we’re not all mindless Wooloo following him for no good reason.” He reminded her. “Somewhere inside you, you know that.”

As he spoke to Crystal, he listened to Mr. Stone explain what he had called them here for, his eyes going wide at first before quickly narrowing in anger. How in the world SWIPE could possibly have such evidence on them all was far beyond him when every member of Snagem either knew full-well that none of them would have ever supported Ein and his madness or hadn’t been part of the team when Ein was around. When Mr. Stone mentioned a “skeleton key” to their collars, h withheld a gasp, barely. That was the best news he’d heard in days but it came with its own risks. He watched as two souls drew near one another, Mr. Stone and Blizzard, it looked like, and heard the deafeningly quiet beep as the key worked it’s scientific magic, releasing Blizzard from the captivity of the collar.

“So… They’ve got evidence of things all of us know for a fact aren’t true either about ourselves or others within the group and yet they still felt it necessary to interrogate us… If their evidence is so damning, I’d like to see it, myself.” He admitted quietly. He’d like to be able to see in general, of course, but this evidence was a bit more important than a sunset or the stars. Before he had a chance to speak further, however, their drinks arrived. As the man who delivered said drinks began to pass them around, Odd was nearly deafened by a particular hybrid shouting in shock.

“How are you here?!” Lykas demanded, loudly, glaring at Bulder. “I swear you died on that rocket…” He muttered to himself a moment later, trying not to freak anyone out. He remembered Bulder’s death clearly. He’d been fatally wounded by S-22 and was bleeding out so Lykas had “aided” him along the path, mercy killing the man with his own tentacles so he wouldn’t simply suffer for however long it took. As other Snagems retrieved their drinks, had their collars removed, asked more questions and more, Lykas could only stare, trying to wrap his mind around what was happening right now. By the time Lykas would be freed, he and Odd would be two of the last.

“Is something wrong?” Odd asked, walking over to Lykas. He could sense the distburbance in the hybrid’s soul and it perturbed him, greatly.

“Bulder… He’s a dead man.” Lykas replied quietly. “I killed him, myself… “ He reminded the Channeler. “I know he’s supposed to be dead.”

"Ahahaha... ha...?" Bulder laughs awkwardly, like he had expected this to be a joke but then he sees all of the concerned and troubled faces all staring at them and it tapers off. "What... you guys are pulling my leg right?" He asks, continuing to hand out drinks to anyone who will still take them from an alleged dead man. After a couple of seconds, he frowns as he realizes they're serious. "Hey, that's not cool guys... you're scaring Mully."

His partner does have a very strained look on her face, clearly not enjoying the turn this conversation has taken. The very idea of losing Bulder tore a hole in her chest, and she hated the thought of the emotions she would have to deal with if she lost him. It was all there, etched in the frown of her lipstick.

Ogerpon is also concerned for the well-being of her master, in a similar fashion to Monique. She had never sensed hesitation like this from her trainer and she tugs on his jacket lightly. "Poooon?" A whine of concern emerges as she looks up at him. What's wrong, Just Darts? Who is this man?

As Mully chews her bottom lip, trying not to look any of them in the face, the gambler makes a hasty decision. "No, no..." He says, finally breaking the silence again. "It's good to see you again, Agent Bulder. It's just been... a long time, and a long couple of weeks. Do you have another lemonade in that cart of yours? Ogerpon here looks a little bit thirsty."

Bulder's quiet for another couple of seconds, contemplating something deep before he smiles again, reverting back to the same attitude he had before. "I always bring a couple extra refreshments. Never know when trouble's going to show up thirsty." He chuckles, handing over a bottle to Darts who cracks it with a flick of his wrist and hands it to his Pokemon. Ogerpon hadn't been particularly thirsty, but after she gets one sip of the sweet liquid she didn't care much, tilting it upwards to suck the drink down. "Isn't that what I always say honey?" Bulder laughs again, watching the Masked Pokemon enjoy its drink.

Mully jumps as though shaken from a trance, sheepishly laughing for a moment and then nods. "That's right dear, you always do..." She admits, moving past the dark cloud that had fallen over the conversation.



In the meantime on the other half of the office, Mister Stone was unlocking the collars of Leslie and Beau, both of them beeping and falling to the ground successfully disarmed. "Cozmo's little gadget works wonders... as usual..." The old man harrumphs, in the fashion of someone who's impressed despite trying their best not to be. Hearing the inquiries of Tsuki and Brian, he gives it a bit of thought. "Well..." He says finally, unlocking Cera's collar next as she seemed to be closest to him followed by Sol. He continues mid-conversation, unlocking collars and freeing Snagems throughout the room as they come up or he passes them by, making sure to give each and every one of them their freedom back in turn. "I think that I could maybe give you a look at something - my man on the inside wasn't able to just sneak off with ALL of their files. A lot of what he sent me was designed to be deleted after a certain period of time, for traceability sake. But, I do have a couple of things that he sent me, for posterity and proof. This first big one might have what you are looking for..." Stumping his way over to the desk, he opens his laptop that was sitting near the middle of it, tapping away at it two-finger style for a little bit entering his password. "Here you go, see for yourself." The man proffers, spinning the screen around so Tsuki, Brian, and any other interested parties could see it.

The dossier on the machine was long, but the basic summary of what it contained was a written report, corroborated by what looked to be message strings, audio files, and other methods of communication between Sub, Sol, Ein, and others, several of the Snagems that would have been around during that timeframe... and some that maybe wouldn't have depending on who you asked. The heart of the report was talking about Team Snagem and Team Cipher corroborating in bringing down the Zhelat Comet in order to try and bring Deoxys to Earth. If successful, the one marked as Ein claimed, they could use a strand of its DNA in order to create a weapon of unspeakable terror that could spread easily from Pokemon to Pokemon like a virus, infecting the whole of the world and closing all of their hearts systematically.

Ein also seemed happy, giddy even, that he had someone who had worked on the original Mewtwo project in his back pocket. 'You don't find someone of your caliber just anywhere. Once this first project is done, I look forward to whatever else we can synthesize. You and I are going to remake this world in our image... They'll call us evil, but really we're just shades of grey, am I right?'

There was also a photo of Ein, Sub, S-22 who in this picture was a Sharpedo hybrid without his visor and without any of the mechanical enhancements, and Sol all chatting together and sharing a laugh. The madman's face seemed normal in the picture, for a demon in human skin he had a fairly happy smile. All of them seemed to be celebrating something, drinks in hand. There were some prototype Snag Machines lying in their midst, evidence of what they were toasting to.

There was more and more of this type of evidence in the document, all in the same vein. Reports alleging that Sub had been responsible for XD002, also known as Shadow Mewtwo, by working alongside Ein, that there was a breakdown in philosophy between the two parties and that everything that happened in the World War, on top of Realgam Fortress, and afterwards, was part of a cohesive effort attempting to take control of things.

'You've got to see things my way Sol,' A captured SNAG message from Sub read, written plain as day within Snagem's custom BIOS. 'Ein's plan was never going to work the way he had laid it out. Coercion is not going to convince the people of this world. We need to convince them that we're heroes, fighting for their best interest. They'll lay everything we need right at our feet once we have that done. That's something he never understood.'

There's all of that, and more, but the Snagems were not going to have enough time with a file this big to do more than just glance it over. There wasn't any time for them to download it onto something, and Mister Stone wasn't going to hand a laptop over with valuable company secrets on it to them.

"If anything," The old man comments, unlocking another collar. "This is the tame stuff. The things he sent me - blueprints, schematics, test notes, trial runs... some of the stuff written in those was enough to make my ancient blood run ice cold. No offense, of course." He says, nodding amicably to Blizzard as he keeps on working. "I'm sure you're wondering if it's fake or not, but I'll say this. If it was fake, it wouldn't stand up in a court of law. Somebody, somewhere would say something about it regardless of what the current perception of you is, and SWIPE no doubt checked for authenticity wherever they got these from. So if these are faked... they're the greatest counterfeits that ever existed, whether that's internally by them or by wherever they got them from. And if they're not, well, I'm probably making a big mistake here."



"Ahh, perceptive as always Mister Locke... Sub... yes, when I said this place was insulated from any kind of transmission, I didn't just mean messaging. Those of you who can, reach out your senses, are you able to sense the Zapdos hybrid that accompanied you all here? No? That's because she can't sense all of you all either, collars or not." Mister Stone raps on the glass covering his windows affectionately. "I tell Cozmo he deserves a raise, but the man just doesn't want money. This whole building top to bottom is insulated from all kinds of energy signatures. Not only do they not have any idea you all have the collars off right now, they WON'T until you make your way outside of the building." The old man makes his way back over to his amber desk, seating himself now that Tristen has moved, and steepling his fingers.

"I'm going to let you out the back way, so to speak, to try and give you a fighting chance to get out of here. I would suspect that as soon as we open any kind of a door with all of you Hybrids clustering around it's going to set off their alarms and big time. But, regardless, I think this is your one way out. You'll have to make a break for it and if you all get caught again, I'm not going to be coming to save you all. You'll be on your own." The business magnate proffers his hand to Sub in a handshake, looking him eye to eye and man to man as their vision meets across his massive amber desk. "It's probably going to be my a**, but it's the least I can do for the heroes that I know saved this region, damn all the evidence, and damn what SWIPE says. You all are heroes, through and through."

Lykas finally realized what all the staring and freaked-out looks from those who knew Bulder was doing, recognizing the pain on Mully’s face as he tried to analyze his own memories, violently shaking his head and clearing away the strained look on his own face. “I’m sorry!” He apologized, forcing a smile onto his face. “I guess it was just stress dreams from the last few days. It’s hard to separate the dreams from reality when you’ve barely slept for three days.” He told the agents with their clearly blossoming romance. He wouldn’t be causing either that kind of emotional pain on purpose.

As his collar was finally removed, he felt a rush of freedom he hadn’t felt in days, the sudden return of his incorporeal form making him feel like himself again. “Hey, Odd, i just thought about something… What are the chances SWIPE got their hands on Jack’s lantern?” He asked the Ghost Channeler as he rubbed at his neck.

“None whatsoever. I don’t keep it inside HQ all the time. There’s a makeshift Lost Tower I constructed higher up the mountain than where HQ is built that I keep it sealed in part of the time. It was in there when they raided us.” Odd replied as his own collar was removed. As the Channeler’s collar fell away as well, he rubbed at his own neck, finding his senses returning in full force, yet still unable to see anyone outside the building.

Lykas walked over to Mr. Stone’s desk, taking out his SNAG as he did. It couldn’t communicate right now and there was no time for downloading files. But he could quickly snap as many pictures as possible of all this information. He tried to review as much of it as possible as he went, finding that it did nothing but infuriate him as he went. “I don’t know where they got all this from but the Sub and Sol I know would never have worked with that psychopath by choice.” He stated simply. “Not like this implies.”

Odd wanted to offer his own input but being unable to see the evidence collected made it a challenge to refute it. Mr.Stone answering the question of total blackout from SWIPE did give him a reason to speak up again, however. “The fact that even I can’t see them out there is impressive.” He admitted. “But Mr. Stone… Whatever is going on here. Thank you for putting some kind of faith in us.” The young man offered up.

Lykas shook his head as he approached Odd. “I’d also like to extend my thanks but… Put my collar back on… Some of us have kids back at HQ. Running is going to put them in danger. Someone needs to stay and keep them safe.” He told the others. “And as wrong as it feels to be cooperative with them, I’ll do it.” He offered. “We have to think of the families we have now and not just ourselves.”

“Lykas! We’ll be able to get them out now. We have Mykel helping Indie watch the girls for now and those two will make sure they aren’t hurt.” Odd assured him. Lyks gave the Channeler a sad look. “After what happened to Clare, are you willing to take that chance?” He asked.

“Clare ws stupid and tried to escape after we were warned not to! You can’t be comparing children to them?!” Odd snapped back.

“I can and I am. Because children don’t tend to do as they’re told very well. They’re young, impulsive and easily scared by the unknown. Libelle and Serena are babies but what about Yuna? She’s a good kid but she’s still a kid. What happens when we don’t come back and SWIPE tells her her parents ran away?” He asked. “She’ll get scared and panicked and she may act out. These guys clearly aren’t equipped to deal with that situation and the thought of what they might do to the kids terrifies me.”

“Then…”

“I’m willing to sacrifice my freedom to ensure their safety. I’m willing to do that because I trust the rest of you to come rescue us as soon as you figure out a plan. Besides, maybe I can convince Looker to let me turn the kids over to family or friends who can care for them for us? Unless someone else has any better ideas?” He asked the group as a whole, picking up he collar that had fallen off his leg after it had been unlocked.

“If not… I’m putting this back on and I need someone to knock me out. Make it look like I refused to cooperate and we fought with each other so they’ll buy the idea of me resisting this plan.”

“Lykas, this isn’t funny.” Odd told the hybrid, glaring at him. “We’ve been offered a chance to escape from this captivity with all our abilities intact, Sub managed to get GRAY away from them so all our Pokemon are safe. We can go go the kids.”

“It’s not supposed to be funny!”’ Lykas shouted. “I refuse to abandon my daughter to her fate like I was abandoned! The rest of you can take the chance and run if you want. I choose to stay and face whatever comes at me without leaving her behind.” He went to place the collar back on his leg, where it had been before being removed.

Before the hybrid could do so, he’d find the blade of Odd’s Artifact in its way. “Somebody help me talk him out of this!” He called to the others. Lykas sighed, dropped his SNAG, full of the pictures he’d taken of Mr. Stone’s evidence on the desk and took a step back. “Are we going to have to fight for real? Haven’t we seen enough of that from others lately?” He asked, preparing himself to fight back if he had to.

The color from Tsuki’s face drained when Mr. Stone began to show a fraction of the proof that was levied against Team Snagem. All the way from the Zhelat Comet to the World War there were audio files, video files, pictures, and text logs that read just like how he knew the others to type. He stepped back, one hand reaching down to a Poke Ball at his belt, stunned from what had to be disbelief. But that was proof and what look of shock he had quickly turned sour. “Is that why you didn’t kill him or turn him over, because you’re waiting for him to change his mind?” He asked, voice genuinely shaking. Tsuki hadn’t been there for most of the events brought into light, and those he had been there for had been when he was a little kid. The evidence was damning.

Tsuki looked around at Sub but found himself unable to speak to him. He thought back to their talk, just after getting back from Paldea. Most of the Snagems didn’t know about his family, but Mr. Victor Vahn Locke knew exactly what had happened to them. That conversation they had felt suddenly more twisted, if the evidence presented was to be believed. No wonder he didn’t even offer any condolences, if it was true, he helped.

“Sol, tell me that’s not what happened. Because I remember Cipher being involved with the Comet.” Tsuki asked the hybrid while still continuing to stare down the person who was potentially behind Orre. Out of the remaining Admins or higher ups on the Snagem Totem Pole, he was probably the only one that the teenager knew he could trust. But even then, he didn’t know. He was scared and angry and cornered and had stood up for them when he had been interrogated. Tsuki had his Poke Ball unlatched and death gripped in his hand now, unsure himself on exactly what he was going to do. But roll over and just go along with what the adults were saying? No.

But Mr. Stone did find an inconsistency. Tsuki just needed one for himself.

The Hexagon Brothers had been there, trying to pull the Zhelat Comet out of orbit. Tsuki remembered going there trying to stop it, but what if they had all gone there to redirect it instead of stop it? Was that just an internal struggle because the brothers didn’t know that Snagem was a front?

Mully’s reaction wasn’t lost on me, but I wasn’t going to be vocal right at this second. Freth looked as if she was ready to say something herself, and I would just shake my head, especially now when the other Snagems were backing off questioning the proverbial massive Copperajah in the room. Part of me did wonder though if she knew something we all did not. For that matter, if anyone in Devon Co. actually knew of it. Unfortunately, to be rescued by Mr. Stone only to start questioning him about one of their most loyal and dedicated workers was probably not going to end well. Right at the moment, they were going to let us go. Leave it at that.

Freth, Tristen, and I would start trying to parse through what Mr. Stone managed to obtain from his anonymous source as to what incriminating evidence SWIPE had on the likes of Snagem. As we started to look about it, trying to take it all in, listening to whatever audio files or video files they had or the documentation, we tried to find anything that would clue us into this being completely false. Dates, context, anything. But with no time frame or anything of that sort, it was effectively impossible. And depending on when exactly this happened, it would have left the question of when Sub or Sol ever had the time to try this. Before the formation of the team? Even before when Miles banded us together to fight the Rangers for their utter BS? And even then, that even if Sub or Sol were evil masterminds as tall of order as Ein was, we heavily doubted that the likes of any of them, rather Ein, Sub, or Sol would have left so blatant of a trail to pick up. That would be effectively careless on anyone’s part. For that matter, it didn’t make any level of sense as to why go through this overelaborate scheme, put so many resources into the development of the team, never mind execution of the missions, just to only look the part of the hero. And that didn’t even get into the fact that if they were found out at any point in all of this, they would effectively cease to exist off the map considering some of us would have done them in long before this. Hell, I would have been the first one in line to do that one. One with any level of sense would have thought to put this into consideration. I had too much riding in trying to make it back home in one piece only for me to say ‘screw it’ in such a fashion. But apparently, SWIPE was convinced that at the very least Freth and I were all in on this as well, if we understood the context well enough.

In the midst of trying to listen to the audio and video files and looking at the few documents he had, the three of us perked up, hearing the argument between Lykas and Odd. Even with the collars off, there were still arguments to be had. I had to admit, however, its been some time since we’ve been in such a precarious position. Actually, I take that back…this is the worst we’ve perhaps been in, even worse than when Ein sprung the virus in Hoenn. Yea, getting caught up in the Shadow pandemic wasn’t great, but at least we remained with cohesion within the team, and in spite of a bunch of initial losses, it was nothing that couldn’t be recovered from. Now? No one can really agree with what to do anymore on top of trust issues between members or even to make a decision as to how to proceed forward. I wasn’t sure if Lykas was really in the right, but for that matter, I wasn’t all too sure Odd was either. While it was all well and good to say ‘hey we can rescue them now’, that’s still a good few that we have to take a Skeleton key to disarm. Because it wasn’t just those kids. That I knew of, Larrimore was still over there, same with Beau. Even Doc for that matter. The latter of which is particularly egregious since while we would need his skills worse than ever since if we would get injured either fighting whoever caused all of this for us or even SWIPE for that matter, where would he work from? And with what supplies? He’s not some deity of any sort. He can only do so much. Listening to these arguments only made me realize that this was probably the point in this ‘evidence’. It was to break us up. It was to take every last Snagem out of the picture, no longer a threat to them. And worse, whoever truly was responsible made sure that they were thorough. To even make potential allies question us some, to Mr. Stone’s admission. And for those to answer us if even that wasn’t enough, ergo the likes of SWIPE and the collars. We had to figure out who that was. Because none of us would get that peace anymore as long this was still hanging over our heads.

I then perked up, hearing Mr. Stone explain to Sub about the issue I brought up only a moment ago. Now that he thought about it, I should have been sensing Kess fairly easily, but I haven’t been. Well, that was a cold comfort at the very least. Though I can only imagine that it was making Kess antsy suddenly if she couldn’t track the likes of us the way she wanted to. The moment we set foot out of here was when all bets were off. There was a lot to investigate, and probably many fights to be had to get there. I then had a thought, however, looking down at the collars that were getting piled onto the table. Several actually. “…how good are those transmitters on the collars? Can aluminum foil block it?” I asked one of the Devon faculty in the room.

“Wait…you…want to take a few collars with you?” Freth asked. “Why?”

“Well, for one, insurance policy.” I said to her.

“To use on Kess.” Tristen suggest.

“Among others. Who knows on that front, but yes, her being one such.” I said.

“Okaaaay, makes sense…why else?” Freth asked.

“Past couple of days reminded me of Miles, actually.” I told her. “Remember when he got sealed off in a similar fashion?”

“Yea, but that was with an artifact of some kind, not something ebonite based.” She said.

“He still came out a lot more powerful for it. Not physically, mind, since that wasn’t his thing. He used his energy for all sorts of things. From assault power to defenses.” I told her. “I was left to wonder if I can get to the point where even if I somehow end up with another one of these on me, I could just overpower it.”

“Blizzard, Miles had the skills to actually manipulate his pressure like that. He never taught you anything of that sort.”

“Yea, because Miles was the whole free-range teaching sort and would have rather us just learn the hard way as opposed to teaching us. Never mind that he and I ended up having more than one debate on him specializing in one thing as opposed to my means of having more than one thing you could call upon.” I said.

“Yea, I remember that. And you were stubborn. Bear in mind who still came out better off.” Freth said. That got a deadpan look out of me. “Look, it wasn’t like you were necessarily wrong, but at the same time, you were arguing with someone who had decades more experience in the matter than you did. And in spite of your trying to prove otherwise, it didn’t pan out. And frankly? If the two of you had at it again, even now with you being worlds better than you were back then? I still say you probably would still lose out.”

“What’s sad…is that you’re probably not wrong…” I sighed out. “All the more reason to try to figure it out.” I said. “Nothing that I am going to work on right away though…we got more pressing matters, though.”

Brian wasn't sure what the answer would be to his question until Mr. Stone logged into his laptop and turned it around with a data file on it. He scanned through what was there, not really finding anything on himself, but finding a lot on Sol, Sub, and others. What the hell was going on? Who had this kind of influence, to be able to sway a group like SWIPE to their side without alerting Snagem. Surely someone would have come to Sub or one of the others to actually ask if they'd done half the shite they'd done. Then again, perhaps there was someone out there that was looking to shut Snagem down permanently. Given what he was seeing, it seemed that was the ultimate goal.

Amber watched as her teammates lined up to get their collars removed, and while she did want to get it off, she could see Lykas' perspective. "I agree with Lykas," she said, gaining Brian's attention. "I'll keep mine on. I don't have kids, but I won't risk my Pokemon in case SWIPE decides we're too dangerous. Spooky, Bubbles, and the others mean far too much for me to disobey at this point, and I will not put them in danger just because someone thinks we won't get caught again if we run. Besides, I still have a Shadow Pokemon on me. What will happen to Sander if we run? I very much doubt that SWIPE will be understanding toward those of us that have Shadows."

Brian could see the sense in Amber's words, and he looked at Rachel to see her shaking her head. "I don't care what SWIPE thinks," the younger woman said. "I'm going to fight this as much and as long as I can. Anyone from SWIPE that tries to come after me will find out why it's a bad idea to #$&% with someone who has literally nothing to lose." Brian turned to Amber, knowing that nothing he could say would change her mind. He gave a sigh, then looked at the others. "I'm with Amber," he said. "Don't get me wrong, I don't like this any more than the rest of ye do, but I have family outside of Snagem. I don't believe for a moment that SWIPE would hesitate to go after them if I try to run. I will not put them in danger just to save my own skin."

Sol cleared his throat after a moment too, quickly reading the room and making a note to keep the topic in the back pocket with the others. "Sorry, it's just a surprise to see you is all. In fact, thinking on it, I'm not sure we properly met despite my hearing of you." He'd offer a hand to shake Bulder's, deciding it best to go alongside Darts' to shove the topic aside and move on for his and Mully's sakes. "Name's Sol, and apologies for getting off on the wrong foot."

Cera looked around as the general consensus seemed to be to not press the topic, shaking her head after a bit and quieting down. That is, until Amaranth had set her down on Mr. Stone's desk long enough for the key to be used on her collar to get it off, the Mew still bracing herself in case the key decided to falter. When it didn't and suceeded, the general haze over her mind lifted almost immediately, and there'd be a sort of mental static broadcast into most of the others' minds alongside the 'mews' being verbally heard. After a few seconds, it would begin to clear as Cera's voice echoed and her telepathy stabilized. "...ank... us... 'm... glad I can finally talk to you all again! I'm sorry, I never thought anyone like that would come after us in Boyleland..." She'd start to lift herself off the table, only to fall after getting a couple of inches from the ground and deciding to give herself a few seconds to let her energy come back to her. "I really thought it'd be the Rangers. Or Spenser. I feel like I've gone and put you all in danger again."

Sol would give a thankful nod to Mr. Stone as the collar came off him next, rubbing the back of his neck from the sudden relief from its chafing and grateful for the pulsating cool finally ceasing. With it came a rush of warmth, an error finally correcting itself as he skimmed over the dossier. He knew there wasn't much time to study it as much as he'd like, but more and more of it failed to line up for him. He found a fist balling up at one of the audio messages, hearing Ein and that whole shades of grey thing. He'd heard that line before. Ein did not say that, nor was he present.

"...Ein never said that," he remarked. "I would know. 'They might call us evil, but we'll be the shades of grey in the shadows if we must.' Sub came up with that line when we decided to take the Snagem name for ourselves. We knew the world might disagree with us and any morally grey actions, no matter how good the intentions or our cause. That the right thing to do was stop Ein in whatever way we could. That picture, too," he'd continue, looking at that picture. Seeing Ein with a genuinely happy expression flew in the face of what he knew and saw from that man, second only to staring at the Ho-oh hybrid in the same picture. "I never took a picture with that man, much less share a drink with him. Even if I had, I became a hybrid a couple of months after we rescued Cera, not long before we were forced to flee. I wouldn't have been one at the time."



Before he could look at much more, he'd hear Tsuki and turn to see him gripping a Pokeball and glaring at Sub. "It's not. We didn't even know the Zhelat Comet was Deoxys or what it was capable of. And if the Shadow Virus was based on that, I'm not sure Cera's DNA would've allowed such an effective vaccine to exist and allow purification. As for Ein.... he had at least the Kalosian government on his side, and to kill him would be to prove him and his rhetoric right. Changing his mind was never on the table, and I doubt he'd have one left to change now." As he finished his answer, he'd sigh. "I've known Sub for a few decades, and our friendship was very much forged in fire. None of this has lined up with my memories across all those years. So if you or anyone else don't trust words, then give us a chance to prove with actions."



Cera would end up being the one to speak up to Lykas, trying to take in what she could see of the dossier herself. "Lykas, don't. You'll only put those kids in more danger, and the rest of us too. Both here and back at HQ. And besides, a good number of my friends aren't safe, they got confiscated back in Boyleland. I'm not even sure where they are, I couldn't sense anyone as soon as that collar came on. And still can't sense anyone outside, but Mr. Stone's explained why that is. Can... can we please work together for now? Not even Ein could dream of tearing us apart like this is."

"So... what is the plan, then? If they're going to likely notice once the back way's out, we need somewhere to go. And we... don't..." Amaranth said, looking around apprehensively. "Nevermind anyone that isn't here, and some of us had our weapons and artifacts taken too. I know the hybrids and Cera can fight and we have our Pokemon besides, but..."

"I'm not sure. I doubt the old mansion in Ecruteak's any safer, they probably already know of it even with my making it a point to never mention it," Sol replied. "And I'm not sure about the state Eclo Canyon's in. There's... one place that comes to mind, but I'd wager it wouldn't be the best choice if we need to regroup. But first, we need to ensure we can safely go anywhere in the first place and that means being ready to fight for our names. Right now."

"...let me serve as everyone's eyes, then," Cera chimed in. "GRAY might be safe, but the SNAGs don't have a way to connect. I'm not sure I'll be able to sense anyone from SWIPE, though... and I wasn't able to sense the cloaks on those grunts... but GRAY probably can't help us for now."



Sol gave a small nod, before looking near Blizzard. The idea in his head sounded crazy, but... "Actually, Blizzard... would you mind trading the collar that was on me with yours? I'm not sure how yours felt compared to mine, but if we're going to take any of these to attempt using them ourselves... and preferably without having to end lives in the process, done enough of that, one that might very well have the opposite effect could be an effective ace to pocket."