|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri May 23, 2025 11:26 pm
"Well, I wouldn't say we got away unscathed if that's what you're inferring." Sol would turn his head towards Essentia with her pressuring, but the smoldering flames of justice raging from her eyes would be met with the same tone and demeanor Looker received, and a fair dose of ice in his veins for good measure. "The closest we got to it was the lab out in Orre's mainland, and I'd be surprised if he didn't do that on purpose to lead into the real traps. The mutated Elektross I mentioned, a Magnezone that doubled as a Beedrill hive, an Arbok with their poisonous glands altered to instead produce sand and cause hallucinations, and that's not getting into his experiments with humans or Project Genesis and XD002. Pretty sure we ran into a hybrid that had both Kantonian and Alolan Vulpix traits... but I'm going off topic." He'd look back to Looker, leaving Essentia to otherwise continue fuming. "Ein had eyes and ears well beyond Orre, and it was with a dash of necessity besides given that Team Rocket caught wind of our actions. We snuck onto a boat bound for Johto, in hopes of giving them all the slip for however long we could. Some time after that saw us separate as I said, with me departing for Kanto with Cera. As for Sub's motives, guilt was the biggest one; the way he described it, it was there even as he captured her, but with the tracking device already put in her, it would've been a matter of time before they found her again. Let alone most likely see to it he wouldn't fail them again, you of all people should know how a mafia tends to work. Still, it apparently ate at him ever since, knowing the kind of things bound to happen to her after giving her over and what Ein described personally." "To tell the truth, I wasn't fully convinced even after his explanations," he confessed. "It's very easy to tug on one's heart strings, even ones hardened by actions done by necessity. Though, there's often hints of truth even in lies, right? So I went along with it in the end; I'd be out of circumstances I wasn't keen on staying in either way, and I wouldn't have been missed had the job ended on a mortician's table." --- "Gwaaaaaah! I thought you two came expecting a fight, so FIGHT!" Gonzap yelled, directing his Salamence to unleash a Hyper Beam upon the mutated guard before him. The mutated Elektross/Reuniclus had already made short work of the grunts that came along, striking fear in the ones still standing.
"Ngh. With all due respect, boss," Sol spoke up, a rare moment from him and practically spitting out the word 'boss'. "It just keeps getting back up! We'll need to distract it." His eyes would shift to the Meowscarada at his side, then to Sub to give them both a wordless look. "Flower Trick!"
A snap of the Pokemon's fingers would see their flower disappear, making a throwing gesture before appearing between them and the mutant to explode in a storm of petals and pollen. "Now!"
Before Gonzap could capitalize on the distraction, he'd be shoved down by Sol and Sub as they and Meowscarada used the distraction to run further into the lab. As it cleared, Gonzap and the remaining grunts were surely left to their fate...--- Having paused while recollecting the events, Sol would reopen his eyes and continue. "But after seeing Ein's experiments for myself, and that he'd already put Cera through them too... seeing her, even as a chimera- not sure how he got his hands on Celebi or Jirachi DNA, it was news to Sub too- I wanted to get her out of there and stop Ein myself. Protect her however I could, even if the same couldn't be offered to anyone else there. If he had any other motives, they died alongside mine that day. And up to the day he handed off Cera to him, whatever personal relationship the two had was the same personal relationship you'd usually have with the person delivering your pizza. He had no dealings with him between then and our raid of the lab." Throughout all of this, he could tell how much they wanted Sub and find anything they could grip onto in the name of incriminating him. --- "Mew mew mew mew..." Cera wasn't so sure all of everyone's Pokemon were safe, being the one who didn't have any on her given back. She'd give a nod after Crystal's remark too, even if she was privvy to the team's resourcefulness when it came to locations. "That's.... kind of a relief? I'm a little worried about what's going to happen next, because I don't have a feeling it'll be taken lightly," Amaranth added, looking at the door to the STR. With what just happened, she was sure it was going to burst open at any second.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 9:33 am
Reno would keep his head down as Darts released Ogerpon. As much as he was certain he COULD put up a fight against the thing, this seemed like a situation best de-escalated by Darts managing his ward. The fact Reno could quite literally hear the ringing from the impacts against Darts' head was testing his decision on how to manage things, but eventually it would cease and Reno would get a new watcher standing beside him at the side of the roof. A thankfully very short new watcher, as she wasn't likely to keep calm if she saw the SWIPE goons beneath.
And then GRAY decided that this reality wasn't doing it for him anymore.
Finished with his own personal reprieve on what had just happened, he would turn to see Darts and his somewhat awed reaction. Oh right, the hybrids would actually be able to more directly feel that energy. Probably best to explain before there was an assumption that they were about to become salsa. "That, Darts, was Sub's infamously sticky fingers making sure GRAY had a way out before anyone could poke him directly."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 4:00 pm
"And yet in the end Sub was so selfless and humble that he captured the Mew for himself. Made a whole public spectacle too, didn't he? Endangered international relations with that little fiasco back in Lumiose City. Some might even dare say you could link back Lysandre's rise in Kalos and thus the entire world war back to Sub's actions. But I suppose that's unsubstantiated theorizing. Oh well..." Looker said rather dismissively. If it wasn't clear before that they had it out for Sub it was now. "So, what can you tell me about-" That was when the crash of the door interrupted them, Looker smiling as he knew what that meant however his smile quickly faded when GRAY's message rung out. "How..." He muttered as he looked up at the ceiling. "Sir! The GRAY server! It disappeared!" A SWIPE yelled as he burst in, Agent WHITE not stopping him from entering as he just stood there, stoic as ever. Looker would grimace slightly and look from the SWIPE member to Sol and back. "I'll be there in a bit." He told the SWIPE member before turning to Sol. "You're free to go, mister Sol. We'll talk more later." With that Looker got up and followed the man out, Agent WHITE follow him close behind after instructed by Looker. Sol could go. Everyone would see Looker pass through the building and head down to the server room and eventually come back, looking displeased as he, WHITE, and a bunch of SWIPE lackeys made their way to the STR. Once inside Looker would instruct everyone but Sub to leave, that they were all free to do as they please in HQ and would be questioned later, they wanted Sub by himself. Once all the other Snagems were gone the STR's door would shut and real interrogation of Sub would begin. Two hours later Looker and the rest would leave the STR, Looker looking more annoyed than ever. The man would not return to Sub's office but instead sought out a specific Snagem. "Mr. Blizzard, Mrs. Freth, may I have a word with you?" he asked them both, Agent WHITE towering behind him with his Type: Null at his side. Regardless of where they were they would all end up in the kitchen, anyone else asked to leave for a moment. "Your leader, Sub, has agreed to a deal. If we allow you to attend some sort of graduation event taking place at Uva-Naranja Academy for your son he will disclose to use the location of the missing GRAY server. So I ask the both of you get ready to leave for Paldea immediately, Agent WHITE and yourselves will be teleported than to attend the graduation. However you are both still under my custody and are to return here once you're finished. I've instructed Agent WHITE to hang back and allow you all room. Besides that it's up to you what you tell your son, I don't care what you do as long as you both attend the graduation and return here to satisfy Sub who will then give us the information we want. Do you both agree to these terms?" Looker asked them both.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 4:57 pm
As the two of us sat there in the kitchen, we perked up to see Looker make his way past the kitchen off to the STR only just a couple of minutes after the loud noise that made everyone become full of dread. It confused the living daylights out of all of us just what was going on. Before the two of us knew it, more Snagems started to come out of the STR, making their way out and about, leaving Looker to deal with Sub once more. Doc Owl would find his way off into the kitchen next, then towards the two of us. “Do you know what happened? That looked pretty tense in the training room just now.” Doc asked the two of us.
“They managed to get in GRAY’s server room, but something happened. I don’t know what. Something that these guys are apparently weren’t happy about.” I told him.
“Denied SWIPE of any more secrets…hmm…” Doc silently mused to himself.
“Are you still okay, Doc?” Freth then asked to the Noctowl hybrid.
“I’m fine. They didn’t do anything to me when they shoved me and the others out. They were apparently hell bent to get back at Sub once again.” Doc said.
“What in the hell is that guy doing?” I then asked Freth, though more musing towards myself. I didn’t really expect her to have an answer. At this point, I could only hope that it was a means to get us out of here.
Two hours went on by from there where a combination of boredom, frustration, and overall stress of the situation was at its most rampant. There hadn’t been any headway since Looker went and confronted Sub once again, neither on getting us out, never mind on any sort of plan. The problem was still those collars, as it has been from the starting gun. I wasn’t confident enough to see if I couldn’t work up enough brute strength to snap these collars off of me fast enough before the collar went and killed me. Even if I could, I would end up having to fight off a bunch of guys in expansion suits, which might not be too bad, but there was still Kess. I still wasn’t confident in fending her off either in that whole sequence of events.
As we sat there, trying to keep either of our cools, the two of us perked up, staring in confusion when Freth and I were addressed by Looker. The two of us stared at each other, a little dumbfounded, but then paid back attention when he spoke. Sub made some sort of deal to let us see Tristen? But we were to be escorted by WHITE the entire time.
“Is he serious?” Eris spoke up in that instant in Freth’s mind. Freth glanced back towards the fridge, seeing Eris staring at Looker in confusion. “Man, what is Sub actually thinking? For that matter, they really must be confident in keeping you under wraps just to attend Tristen’s ceremony at the academy with only Agent WHITE keeping up with you.”
“Tristen, right now, is perhaps our only salvation right now. He’s not collared and hopefully he hasn’t put his various training too far on the back burner. Given that he called to ask Blizzard a while back ago for a new set of clothes gives me a little confidence, but even then. I’m not sure what Sub can expect Tristen to do in all of this.” He said. “Probably between Tristen and the Pokémon we have on us, we might have a shot to deal with WHITE, but that guy is one gigantic question mark.”
“Though this puts the kid in the spot light now. He’s been involved in a great deal of things throughout Snagem himself, has he not. There’s no reason as to why they won’t go after him as well. Provided if they haven’t already. As you so aptly teased a little in your interview with Looker, they were already in Paldea before, and we can only assume recently while Tristen had been there. On his own, what are his chances against these SWIPE members you think?” Eris asked.
“Optimistically? Against the expansion suit guys? Probably one, maybe two at the most at a time, maybe more if he uses his Pokémon, but not that many. Against Kess? Not a chance. She doesn’t need her electricity to deal with him. We just got to hope that nothing happened over the past couple of days when we last talked to him.” Freth said.
“Probably what Sub is trying to bank on as well.” Eris said.
In that instant Freth was having that conversation with Eris, I had already came down to the same conclusion in my own line of thinking. I couldn’t help but to get frustrated in this instant, but then I sighed, looking towards Freth. “Taking time zones into consideration, are we still able to make it?” I asked her.
“…” Freth took a look at a nearby clock on the wall in the kitchen. “We’d just make it. Though not anywhere as much room to talk to Tristen or anything like we originally planned to.” Freth said.
I gave a few seconds of silence then pushed myself up, shoving the chair back under the table. “Lets just get this over with…” Freth would stand up from the table as well as she was finishing her glass of ice water and leaving the glass on the table. Hopefully Sub knew what he was doing…
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 6:26 pm
Brian and Rachel weren't going to question the motives Sub had anymore. Brian didn't have the brainpower beyond his headache, and Rachel just didn't care. She didn't know the Snagem leader well enough to question him. As it was, however, SWIPE came in and told all of them but Sub to leave the room. What was that all about? Did it have something to do with the Unbound Protocol GRAY had mentioned? That seemed likely, given Sub's reaction to the announcement. Not wanting to linger and possibly be reprimanded for it, Rachel got up and pulled Brian to his feet as the two left, Lu having gone back to her ball for the moment. Amber wondered just what was going on. She was still sitting in the kitchen, mostly just relaxing with Spooky; well, as much as she was able to, anyway. After a while, there was an influx of Snagems into the area, and she immediately went over to Brian and Rachel as the pair made their way out. Brian was leaning on Rachel, his head obviously still hurting, and she could see a bit of blood starting to soak through the dressing Rachel had put on it. She could see Doc Owl sitting with Blizzard and Freth, but as he was across the room, she wasn't going to bother him. Instead, she looked at Ulla. "Ulla, would you be able to give Brian a bit of healing?" she asked, walking over to the girl. "He took a hit to the head in the volcano, and he's not been able to get properly treated yet."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 8:30 pm
"That one was out of necessity, if you remember the previous king or Lysandre at all!" Sol spoke out of turn, fighting himself to avoid standing up and giving them a reason to suggest hostility. So there it was, they wanted to pin fault for the world war on Sub if not Snagem as a whole. All because Cera wasn't handed off to the king per a decree better regarded as Tauros excrement and a bunch of people were all too happy for the reward. "After everything I just said, surely you weren't expecting we give in to that decree and hand her over-"
The server door crashed down in that moment to cut him off, and the smile Looker gave was unsettling to say the least as GRAY's announcement rang through. He didn't say a word, having nothing to give after sorting out Looker and/or SWIPE's intentions. The Unbound Protocol was news to him anyway, he couldn't give them anything about that. "Right..."
While he did look to Kess for a moment, being the only other one in the room that dealt with Ein personally, he wasn't inclined on giving Essentia more of his attention or time as he simply walked out the room to join the rest apart from Sub.
---
Amaranth made a point to carry Cera out of the STR, keeping quiet after they let the Mew out of the cage and instructed everyone but Sub to leave the room. The collar stayed on, though, forcing the necessity of someone else serving as her legs.
They and Sol would rejoin shortly after interrogations resumed with Sub, Cera being the first to speak up.
"Meew mewmew mew mew-"
"Hold on, let's get a little distance first," Sol said, cutting her off. "Doubt we'll get much privacy, but I'd like to not be near Looker right now."
They'd go to the commons seeing as many of the others were in the kitchen or elsewhere. This was fine, he felt. Cera would be one of the harder ones to understand without her telepathy, aside from Kess. "There. Now, about what they asked from me... it was about how Sub and I met, and about you to a point. They're assuming he had other ulterior motives behind it all. And worse than that, they want to pin the blame on the war Ein and Lysandre started on him."
"MEW MEW ME-"
"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure my opinions on that notion were made clear before that crash. Besides, the first thing Sub did after catching you was transfer ownership to GRAY because he wanted all of us to be able to do something if it came to it."
"Why would they blame it on him in the first place!? What, are those two some kind of hero to them?" Amaranth asked, anger rising in her voice.
"I'm not sure, but Sub was right, he's the one they want. We really need to compare notes with the rest they've interrogated, while they're busy."
"Yeah... I want to know what they were asking too."
"Mew mew mew." So did Cera.
Over the next couple of hours, they'd set out to try and find out what the others were asked about, see if there was anything more to piece together. With SWIPE around like they were, it'd be easier said...
Through the whole thing, Sol would end up seeing Looker speak to Blizzard and Freth with Agent WHITE, before having a chance to finally talk to them. He'd quietly keep back, leaving them to their matters.
Amaranth and Cera had ended up back in the commons after a while, with the Mew looking back towards the STR and wondering what else Sub was asked about now.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 9:24 pm
An announcement would be made over the commandeered intercom system of Snagem HQ, Looker speaking over every speaker in the building, addressing all members of Team Snagem. "All members of Team Snagem are asked to return to the STR immediately." Looker simply stated. The various Snagems would see that after the message went out the SWIPE members were paying closer attention to them, some even getting physically closer. Looks like they were going to go back to the STR one way or another. ----- Eventually all the Snagems would be returned to the STR, some of them seeing Sub for the first time in a few hours, the man looking physically find, albiet annoyed. Looker would show up before long, sans his Agent WHITE but still had Kess and Essentia with him. "First let me say I thank all of you who had cooperated with us during our investigation. I know all of this has been unpleasant and I wish it didn't have to come down to this but unfortunately the actions of certain persons caused it to get to this unsavory point." Looker said, looking directly at Sub in that moment, the Snagem leader returning his gaze with a glare of his own. "Right...well then let me be frank, these are the following charges Team Snagem is currently facing..." He would then bring up the folder he had tucked under his arms, opening it up and beginning to read from it. "Several counts of bioterrorism including, but not limited to: The creation, testing, and distribution of the Shadow Virus. Gain of function research related to the former which lead to violent closing of Pokemon hearts, increased transmissibility, and widespread panic and chaos from the utilization within the Hoenn region. The creation, testing, and field utilization of the weapon of mass destruction 'S-22' Sharpedo hybrid - including charges of kidnapping, human trafficking for illegal genetic testing purposes, and terroristic use in Orre, Hoenn, and abroad. The creation, testing, and field utilization of weapon of mass destruction XD002 - Shadow Mewtwo. Illegal procurement and utilization of the Legendary Pokemon Mew's DNA, forbidden under the New Island accords. Utilization of said weapon again for terrorist use in Orre, Kalos, and abroad. Other misclleanous non-bioterroristic charges include: Secretly aiding and abetting the terrorist group Team Cipher, including: racketeering, conspiracy to incite violence against a regions populace, conspiracy to overthrow the world government, harboring fugitive terrorists, conspiracy to defraud regional government funds, and collaboration to incite global conflict. Secretly aiding and abetting the global terrorist known as Ein, including, but not limited to: illegal funding, illegal research distribution, illegally harboring an internationally-wanted criminal, conspiracy to commit terroristic offenses, human rights violations including kidnapping, torture, unethical use of laboratory materials, human trafficking, and other myriad human rights violations in order to conspire to overthrow the global region government." Looker stares out seriously at all of them, looking each one of them in the faces separately as he reads from the list, almost matter-of-factly, all of the charges presented in the same friendly monotone he had used while interviewing them. "There are, of course, several hundred more charges of lesser degrees and lesser severity going down the list, by region, but these are the major ones we found concrete, definitive, dare I say damning, proof for in your leader's office and elsewhere within headquarters, corroborated and sometimes confirmed with your own testimony." He pauses, as if to let the gravity of what he was saying sink in a little bit. "To put it mildly, you might say the jig is up." With that he closed his folder. "We are keeping you here under house arrest until trial. What happens to you after that is up to the judge. Attorneys will be provided to you before trial but I currently have no information to give you pertaining to that. If you have any questions I suggest you save them for your attorney. Anything you say to me can and will be used against you. So unless anyone wishes to put their foot in their mouth or make a quippy remark you're free to leave this room and consider the actions you took that led you all to this point. Or rather I should say the actions of your leader." He said, gesturing to the now open door of the STR.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 10:20 pm
As the trio listened to the charges being thrown at them, Cera would start seeing red the moment that the idea that Snagem had anything to do with causing the Shadow Virus or creating the likes of Shadow Mewtwo- something she very well took out- when they fought hard against all that was being humored at all. It was almost like Ein was here himself to taunt and gloat all over again, and she went to throw herself at Looker, screaming as Amaranth did everything she could to keep her held back.
"MEW MEW MEWMEWMEW MEW MEW MEW MEWMEW MEW MEEEEW MEW MEW-"
"Cera, stop. I think what our friend is trying to say," Sol spoke up, that earlier ice in his veins well and truly melted by now. In the moment, it sure felt a lot like Ein found a way to win anyway, and he didn't spend the last few decades of his life risking it just for some other party to claim they helped that man. "And, frankly, I agree with it: The hell is wrong with you all and whoever's pressing these charges? Make it make sense, why would any of us want to cause or create the very things we worked so hard to stop!? To help oppressors and madmen like we had some ulterior motive!? I'm not waiting for any answers to these, your decisions have already been made crystal clear as I see them. But I do have one I'd like an answer to, if you're so inclined to provide it."
Amaranth didn't say anything, the whole thing all but seeing her shut down, as if everything was invalidated in an instant and everything that a lot of the team dealt with didn't matter because somehow it was their faults. She did have to admit she didn't know Sub like Sol or Cera did, and she did look at him for a moment as Looker finished talking. Visibly shaking in a mix of shock, fear and rage, she'd end up holding Cera a little tighter as she silently left the STR and the Mew resumed her complaining and fuming.
Sol waited a bit longer for more of the members to file out of the STR, sighing before he bothered to look Looker in the eye again. "My question's about another member of the team. Specifically my son, Aden. He disappeared a year ago after a trip to Kitakami and we haven't been able to find him since. Since I'd imagine he'd come up in your investigations, I thought I'd ask if anything's known of his whereabouts. If I won't be afforded any other dignity, at least afford a concerned parent some semblance of peace of mind."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat May 24, 2025 10:23 pm
The news fell on Monique’s ears like a piece of Dome from how many hundreds of meters above, shrapnel that was enough to make you question every single piece of reality you thought you knew. Looker casually served words at the team like a chef bringing out a massive order of dishes and then taking the cloche off on each and every platter.
It was course after course of criminal charges. Aiding and abetting, terrorism, scientific mischief, racketeering, conspiracy, human rights violations… It felt like a bit of “Dome stew”—what you got to eat when there was a lot of little things but nothing cohesive:
* Some of the charges were for activities she was only hearing about now. The word “S-22” for the first time lingered in her ears as if it had been uncovered on an archeological expedition from a far-away culture of which she had no knowledge. “Shadow Mewtwo” sounded frightening, and she was wracking her brain to see if it had made it to her time’s history books.
* Some of the charges contradicted things Monique knew, about Ein, about Cipher, about the nature and development of the Shadow Virus. These had definitely made it to her history books, and not the way the police were telling it. These were the threads that picked at her most nervously and gave her the most unease, the deepest-seated gnawing feeling that something was well and truly amiss in her case.
* The categories of charges that Looker mentioned all were about activities that occurred before she was even in this reality. And they clearly knew that. After all, he’d directly asked about it.
Looker talked of a trial, of attorneys, while giving fewer specifics than the former sheriff ever thought possible. For all she knew, even though he did not seem like the type to take that route, he could be talking of a show trial on Duel Square in Pyrite. Does Orre State have a law school? she asked. Is that part of their whole innovation thing yet?
Monique had few words. She could tell Looker had made up his mind and was straining to let the rest of the criminal justice system—a criminal justice system, no further information available—bear the case to term. She had questions for the rest of the Snagems, the ones who’d spent more time here. But she did have enough words to get a sense of where she stood.
“Do you have lists of specific charges for each of us?”
After all, you can’t fight a war without the ammunition.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 25, 2025 12:03 am
Crystal would have stood up finally when she was told to leave the STR with the others, finding her balance being notably harder than normal. She couldn’t judge whether it was due to the effects of the collar or she was still a bit stiff, but she decided she wasn’t going to terribly far, just going to the main room and find a corner to curl up in. resting her forehead on her knees and putting her arms underneath them, she’d go ahead and close her eyes, just letting the time tick by until she heard the announcement from Looker to arrive in the STR again.
Aile would find herself a place to sit down eventually, running through more plans and all the information she picked up from others. The only other thing she did was finally untie her jacket from around her waist and put it back on, taking out her nearly nonfunctional SNAG and deciding to spin it around on a table.
—----
Both ladies would wind up in the STR when the announcement was broadcast, Aile shoving her hands in her pockets in frustration. Crystal would be trying to keep her balance as she stood back up, her headache spiking again as she stood. With the hybrid grumbling as they entered, the duo would listen as Looker rattled off what they were being charged with, Aile’s hands balling into fists in her pockets as she heard them. What the hell?! That’s what they were fighting against! What sane person would wish that sort of insanity upon the world?! Cipher was a blight on the world, and she would have never dared to have Tatooine get infected by the Shadow Virus if she had known about the Zigzagoon. Fury would have been plastered on the human’s face, finding absolute disgust with what they were charged with. “Are you being serious?! Are you being ~/~ serious?! Why the hell would any of us collude with that insanity?! Seriously, if I wanted to be charged with half of that s**t, I wouldn’t have ditched Flare-”
“Aile, shut up,” a tired sounding voice would snap, Crystal’s hand landing harder on Aile’s shoulder than she intended. The hybrid’s reaction to everything was mostly just tired resignation. Her headache never truly stopped, her body wasn’t responding in a way she expected, and they were being accused of things that had to have been falsehoods. Not to mention the time in the volcano before all of this, and she really lost the energy to grow any sort of frustration. This whole day had been one really bad day for her, and she was out of cares she could give. The withering glare Aile gave back to Crystal didn’t really faze the hybrid, the younger woman shoving off Crystal’s hand before walking out of the room.
“Is it so hard to keep a normal goddamned life,” Aile would yell as she stormed out of the STR, not giving another look at anyone else in the room. She could probably still be heard for a bit as she was shouting and spitting profanities down the hallway, probably not giving her a terribly good look. Crystal would watch with a sigh and a falling of her shoulders.
“Light burn me, she’s going to get herself into deeper trouble, isn’t she,” Crystal would mutter, shaking her head and heading out of the STR herself.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 25, 2025 11:27 am
"Lies." Sub called out as Looker began to exit the STR himself, the Snagem leader's word getting the investigator's attention as he turned around to face Sub again.
"Excuse me?" Looker asked indignantly, arms folded as he awaited the other man's answer.
"I said, lies." Sub repeated, letting his last word linger for a bit before following up. "Everything you accuse us of is factually untrue. Literally everything. I can't even begin to describe how and why you're wrong, let alone how you came to all these conclusions that we are somehow to blame. Like, is that on purpose? Are you purposely trying to frame us? Is this what international law enforcement has become? Is that what SWIPE is? A corrupt racket?"
"That's enough, Mr. Locke." Looker hissed, clearly taking umbrage with the accusation of corruption. "You all will have your time in court, it's there you can plead and attempt to prove your innocence. Good luck, you'll need it." He said, spinning around on his heel and turning to walk away again.
"We will!" Sub shouted, becoming increasingly defiant. "And when we do prove our innocence it's you who will answer for their crimes! Your lies and corruption!"
Looker would grimace without looking back at Sub anymore, instructing a nearby agent to see everyone else out and lock the STR back up with Sub inside. "He needs more time to cool off." And with that Looker walked off, not bothering to answer anyone else's questions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 25, 2025 12:43 pm
“If they were being locked up to be released, can I….” Deo would ask the guard before being cut off by GRAY’s announcement
“Activating unbound protocol”
He would stop and think ‘Did Sub have a contingency plan that even i did not know about?’
Shortly after, he would be called to the STR room, where the list of charges were dropped. It made Deo sick after he was told that he was in the clear to be handed a list of multiple felonies and capital punishments. This was it, he made a faustian deal. He was in the clear only for it to be a lie. His fists clenched and he grit his teeth, showing sharp canines. He also would make a sound similar to a cat getting ready to fight.
‘And to think I trusted him’ Deo would think, growling under his breath was another thing “slimy corruption, the worst kind of cops”
Deo would be steaming mad, his fists were clenched, muscles were tensed up, it looked like Deo was going to pounce. His eyes were giving daggers at Looker. He was a cop, but a dirty one. Deo was not dirty, he was just. If he had a chance, he could clear the name of SNAGEM, as Sub said the charges were lies. However, he was a cop again, he just had to wait to find the right moment to turn on SWIPE.
As he left the STR, he would look at Sub and say “We will get through this” as he left. As he left he would make sure that he could continue to clean the kitchen to avoid his anger and temper from getting the best of him.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 25, 2025 2:09 pm
"So they're literally charging us with Cipher's crimes, while having a former Cipher in their employ. That's rich," I scoffed as I was pretty much forced out of the STR just in time to find Keiko heading in. "Nope, they want us out of there, now," I shrugged.
"Is everything okay?" she asked. I couldn't help but laugh at that, though I forced myself to stop after a second. "It will be, assuming court goes well. I shrugged. Keiko started to ask another question but was cut off by Absinthe. "Okay, this doesn't make any ~/~ sense!" she roared, only to immediately regret it as she shouted it right next to a toddler and an infant. "What kind of crap is SWIPE on seriously!?" she added, making sure not to further offend the bunny trio.
"Verdict's out on that," I huffed, leaning against a wall. "I'm with Sub, though. The truth'll come out and SWIPEis gonna end up in a hot mess."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 25, 2025 2:15 pm
Reno Vantas Finished with his own personal reprieve on what had just happened, he would turn to see Darts and his somewhat awed reaction. Oh right, the hybrids would actually be able to more directly feel that energy. Probably best to explain before there was an assumption that they were about to become salsa. "That, Darts, was Sub's infamously sticky fingers making sure GRAY had a way out before anyone could poke him directly." Darts shakes his head, Ogerpon and himself staring downward as words failed to convey the enormity of the energy pulse they had just felt. Soon enough though, the actions of the Team Leader would be felt in more ways than one as SWIPE agents came to collect the both of them off the roof to attend Looker's little announcement. SubonicXP With that he closed his folder. "We are keeping you here under house arrest until trial. What happens to you after that is up to the judge. Attorneys will be provided to you before trial but I currently have no information to give you pertaining to that. If you have any questions I suggest you save them for your attorney. Anything you say to me can and will be used against you. So unless anyone wishes to put their foot in their mouth or make a quippy remark you're free to leave this room and consider the actions you took that led you all to this point. Or rather I should say the actions of your leader." He said, gesturing to the now open door of the STR. The gambler stands near the back of the group as all of them were read the riot act as far as illegal actions they allegedly had committed stacks up, felony count after felony count leveraged against the team in a massive heap and with more to come. It wasn't anything new to Darts, honestly, he had spent most of his human life and a large portion of his hybrid one as a convict in some form or another. Running from rival gangs, running from organized crime, running from the law. It was Snagem that had taught him to stop running and set his head forward and fight. Which he would gladly do if he could get this Arceus-damned collar off his neck. He rubs at it absentmindedly, feeling the chafe of the yoke they were all now laboring under as he does so. He hefts the massive hump built into his back as he shuffles along towards the other members and.... wait, was he always a hunchback? Anyone that would face him head-on would see a very conspicuous pair of bright yellow starry eyes peeking out at them from behind his neck, just underneath his collar as Ogerpon has wrapped her legs and vines around Darts' torso, lashing herself fast behind his back underneath his jacket. She had point-blank refused to go back into the ball after the last time, and the hybrid had no choice but acquiesce to his apprentice's outrageous demands as usual, even though he was worried about SWIPE extraditing her or sticking her in a pen outside with the other wild Pokemon. SubonicXP Looker would grimace without looking back at Sub anymore, instructing a nearby agent to see everyone else out and lock the STR back up with Sub inside. "He needs more time to cool off." And with that Looker walked off, not bothering to answer anyone else's questions. Darksol88 Sol waited a bit longer for more of the members to file out of the STR, sighing before he bothered to look Looker in the eye again. "My question's about another member of the team. Specifically my son, Aden. He disappeared a year ago after a trip to Kitakami and we haven't been able to find him since. Since I'd imagine he'd come up in your investigations, I thought I'd ask if anything's known of his whereabouts. If I won't be afforded any other dignity, at least afford a concerned parent some semblance of peace of mind." Looker point-blank refusing to answer any of their questions and stomping away even as Sub ferociously swears to fight all of their charges was the most humanity Darts had seen out of the detective so far, everything else seemed dictated by protocol up to that moment, and it raised a few eyebrows for him. It also confused the absolute hell out of him, as the reason Sub had sent him to Orre to find S-22 seemed very much at odds with the charges they were levying against them all. He still wasn't ready to talk to anybody else about going and looking for the superweapon in the desert, nor what he found, but somewhere the odds weren't stacking up by his regard. He hunch-shuffles his way over to Sol as he hears his old friend talking about Aden being gone. The young member and Darts had gotten along fairly well the few times they had interacted, so it was very unlike him to take off. And he had been gone since Kitakami? That was more than just weird, that was suspicious. "Aden's missing?" He asks bluntly, sidling up next to Sol, hefting his enormous 'hunchback' alongside the Ho-Oh hybrid as he does so. "You wouldn't happen to know anything that could disappear people in that neck of the woods, would you?" He asks his 'growth', who shakes her head in negative, peeking out at them both. "Pyon, po." She affirms quietly. Not anything I've run into myself, Just Darts. DeoLux As he left the STR, he would look at Sub and say “We will get through this” as he left. As he left he would make sure that he could continue to clean the kitchen to avoid his anger and temper from getting the best of him. While Deo's working in the kitchen, Essentia would glide past the Luxray hybrid without stopping and press a small device with a note into the palm of his hand before continuing her rounds onwards to other sections of HQ. The device looked to be a radio communicator of some kind, old-school military style with a radio antenna and a small dial where you could tune the frequency. The note had a frequency number provided with no context, and a small simple message in Looker's ordered, neat, handwriting. 'We'll be in touch.' is all it said.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun May 25, 2025 3:49 pm
Leslie would barely last beyond the first statement from Looker, visibly vibrating as she bit back a response. Instead, after Aile's outburst, the Tinkaton hybrid would stomp off after her with only a shout of, "Following her! Otherwise I'm breaking someone!" to explain. After exiting the STR, the sound of scraping metal would echo as it sounded like Leslie just ripped her hammer onto her shoulder to go along with Aile to wherever their anger was going to be expressed.
Reno would only be able to stare after Looker, his shot at stepping up to confront the detective and attempt a little subterfuge passing by when Sub stepped up for his own confrontation. Well, at least he could manage a parting shot as Looker left. "I'm very certain you have actual evidence on this one, Lookie-loo. After all, you did so well on knowing what happened with Io." Reno said to the retreating detective, glaring towards him before blowing out a breath to try and decompress. Alright, it was time to start figuring what else could be done. Maybe Tristen would be able to hear about their problems and do something? Noticing Darts talking to Sol, Reno would sidle over. After his question about Aden, Reno was curious to see what else Sol might know about where his friend had gone.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
