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 Posted: Wed Oct 14, 2009 1:53 pm
Paul was forced to dive to avoid the motorcycle, and the appearance of the airborne targets only added to his chagrin. Terrian wanted his services, didn't he? Paul would have to make his stance clear at this point. "Zoidberg, air distortion shield! Oddjob, prepare to join him for a psychic flamethrower. Terrian!" Paul roared in addition. "If you think I'm going to help you, you'd better cut this s**t out. There are other bidders for my services, and I will gladly change sides if you can't make me useful." Hopefully that threat would hit home. Paul could very well take Beati's offer... and Beati could and probably would protect him. If the children needed to be gathered, Paul was the one to do it.
Zoidberg and Oddjob both understood what Paul was requesting. Reaching out into the ether, Zoidberg shifted the patterns of the winds, first intensifying them and then directing them. Once he felt he had some material to work with, he twisted the wind into a small barrier, just large enough to repel the pollen and slightly shift the needles - slow them, perhaps, or merely redirect them just enough to make them useless. Trying to keep from running himself down, Zoidberg watched his efficiency with care, ensuring that he was wasting no energy in the action he was taking.
Next came the counterattack Paul had requested, and it was even simpler. Oddjob again prepared a flamethrower attack, but one more mild this time; he would only be doing half the work. As the fire was generated by his glowing tail, Zoidberg snatched at the superheated air and then fired it as though a dart at an opponent. They repeated this process quickly and as often as necessary to rid themselves of the airborne pest. Next was the graveler, who would not be such an easy opponent. He was still at a distance, so Zoidberg prepared to bombard him with ether when he drew closer - go around the hard skin and strike at his insides.
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Posted: Sun Oct 18, 2009 8:18 am
((Whoa! Would you look at that - a post!))
Paul's attacks worked almost flawlessly on the ill-prepared pokémon. The bug-types dropped... well, they dropped like flies, hissing and squealing as their exoskeletons smoldered. The flying-types were not quite so easy to dispense with. As flying-types, they had a bit of experience with wind, and, using their own, lesser ether, quickly amplified that contained within Zoidberg's sphere to create a spinning whirlwind of flame. While Oddjob was not affected, the alakazam felt his ether shields blasted by the heat of the flame before the stupidity of the flying-types' counterattack became apparent and they all dropped, charred, to the ground, the tornado dissipating.
When Paul looked back, he saw with some surprise that Terrian seemed to have fallen asleep. While the putrid smell of burnt flesh fled from the place, Paul cautiously approached the unconscious man. Abruptly, Terrian's eyes flashed open, and Zoidberg could feel the psychic pull as, like a puppet, the doctor was hoisted from the ground by some invisible force and set back on his feet. He shook himself, threw a hard stare at McCulloch and said, "Fatigue is too costly an option in this game, Paul." He looked at the scattered corpses, and seemed vaguely surprised by what he saw. "Clearly. Anyway." He seemed frighteningly serious as he adjusted his hat. "I can't save these kids on my own. It's not in the rules. "That's why you have to go save them. I'll see if there's any way I can... figure out where they are... Damn it, what a waste," he chided himself, looking again at the bodies.
He snapped his fingers, and his image flickered in and out a few times. Concerned, Terrian stared at those fingers, and then a wry smirk worked its way across his features. "Damn, this is tiring." He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and vanished.
---
It was not going to be as easy a task as it had first seemed to get the kids out of Glenville, and Gerard was perhaps the first one to notice this. After realizing that his larvitar was not quite something "palm-able," he managed to get Justice to climb into the sidecar of the motorcycle he had chosen. A few attempts to balance the bike properly, and he was off, driving as quickly as possible towards the western exit of the city.
His journey was suddenly stopped again when a wild stantler threw itself in front of the motorcycle, sending Gerard flying and Justice tumbling... a little. The stantler was injured badly enough to be of no consequence, but in little time, a trio of meowths had wandered on the scene. The prized coins on their foreheads were battered, but all three were very clearly in fighting condition. They began circling him, trying to get to his back. They yowled and hissed tauntingly, and then one to his left pounced, claws and fangs ready to latch onto his thigh. From other directions, the other two were quick to follow.
Juno did not have quite the same difficulty. Rather, as she exited the southern city limits, she saw in the distance a looming shape, surrounded by a few smaller ones. The larger one appeared to be attached to the smaller ones by ropes; it became clear after a time that the brontosaurus shape was, in reality, a meganium of a pale, yellowish color, its flower a bright, angry red. Suddenly, the creature let loose a tremendous bellow. It became apparent just how large this member of the species was when Juno made out the shapes that were trying to restrain it, or perhaps direct it - they were human. This made the pokémon a monstrous twenty feet tall, and it had begun galloping awkwardly towards Juno. The difficulty here, was that in their current directions, she was headed for a head-on collision with it. More than that, she could vaguely hear a screamed "Halt!" from one of the humans - all of whom were now pointing rifles at her. She had about four seconds to make a decision.
There was a small pop behind her.
---
The multitude before Elian cried out as they heard her voice, and murmurings of "We are unworthy!" effervesced from the kneeling crowd.
"She will lead us to the Mew!"
"She will lead us to God!"
"She will lead us to Salvation!"
"Silence!" the leader commanded. They listened. He turned his scarred face back to Elian, though he still looked at her shoes. "We will gladly accompany you to our home. Prepare the transport!" he shouted to the peons. Immediately, a squadron of more than a dozen assorted psychic pokémon were released from pokéballs. Not one of them was an espeon. "Oracle, if you will." He gestured towards the creatures, who had formed a circle, apparently for Elian and Aislin to enter. "They will transport you through a series of way stations, to confuse our opponents, the Reconstructors. We offer our most sincere apologies if you experience any dizziness from the transfer. But before you go, is there... Oracle!"
The man ran forward and threw Elian out of the way, taking for himself the wild thrash of an onyx tail. The creature was soon bombarded with a hail of ineffective bullets while water- and grass-types were released to defeat it. Looking towards the city, Elian could see a small collection of large, wild pokémon that had turned back from the assault and was bearing down on the group of a few score who were stopped.
She could suddenly feel a presence hovering over her fallen form, and heard Terrian's voice. "This is your last chance to turn back. I realize I coerced you into this." His face was hidden by the shadow of his hat against the sun. He seemed to be fighting just to continue kneeling; his voice was severely fatigued. "I can get you out of here without even thinking about it - you know that." Those sworn to protect Elian, mostly unaware of Terrian, swarmed around her to release pokémon and counter the new attackers. "That, or go with them, and learn how to end their threat." He nodded to the psychic pokémon, stoically holding their ground.
---
Reverend Beati nodded understandingly at Lexi's words. She was right: there was no reason to trust him, from her point of view, and equally no reason to trust any of the others. But he was determined to get his point of view out there. He told her as much, and then moved on to explaining the ether beacon. "The purpose is to awaken the mew. I do not know Terrian's design; only that he grew very unstable once he was cast from the scientific circles, and that he is very possibly insane. Whatever the case, based on what I have found in scientific archives and from my discourse with those knowledgeable in the field, it seems very probable that disrupting the brain waves of the mew so rapidly would likely begin a new catastrophe much like the original Calamity, but one that would likely exterminate all human beings - indeed, all conscious life on Earth.
"Please consider my words carefully, Miss Hale. I am trying to lead you on the path to light; the path from which Dr. Terrian has unfortunately strayed, and brought many with him. For now, I have matters to which I must attend. My apologies for interrupting you so discourteously." The old reverend bowed politely, and as a noctowl passed once more overhead, dropped into his shadow and was gone. Once more, the path lay open for Lexi.
((Just a small reminder: anyone who wants a capture opportunity, just somehow indicate that to me, whether by PM or in-text clues/red coloring, and as long as the timing and species you want are appropriate, I can work that in.))
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Posted: Tue Oct 20, 2009 10:28 pm
((Yaaay! Siber's back!))
Juno had finally gotten out of the town. She had a hard time not looking back on her home. If I look, then I'd just run back there. Besides, looking back is bad luck. She'd learned from her father that if you looked back while heading out on a journey, it was likely that you'd be parting ways for good. And he had a point, didn't he? After all, she'd foolishly looked back to see her dad when she ran out of Riverdale with her mother. That had been the last time she ever saw him.
Now that she was looking at the road ahead of her, she felt a glimmer of hope. She hadn't gotten into any trouble. Maybe this won't be so hard after...all... Unfortunately, her good luck was waning. It hadn't been long till she hit a roadblock, and this was an unbelievable roadblock. She couldn't believe her eyes. In front of her was a meganium. A really really big meganium. And oh look, people with guns pointed at her. Not good!
She immediately braked and skidded right in front of the group of people. Four seconds didn't seem long enough to come to a complete stop at the speed she was going. Oh yay, I didn't hit them! Now she hoped that they wouldn't shoot her. After all, she was a kid with a bike - they could always be rid of her and take Evie and her motorcycle. However, they didn't shoot, so Juno supposed it was a good thing. "Um, hello there," Juno half grinned. "I don't suppose you guys would mind letting me go around you and the meganium, would you?" Evie's head was still popped out of Juno's jacket - the two of them on the bike must have made for a funny sight.
The meganium was no longer restrained, which made Juno a little uneasy. Something that huge wasn't something she really wanted to take on. In the rare case, running was the better part of valour, and this would have been one of those cases, she imagined.
She started up her bike again when she realized the meganium was charging straight at her; worried over the gigantic pokemon, she barely noticed the pop right behind her. Forget this, I need to get out of here! She could easily speed past the slow moving meganium with her motorcycle.
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 12:41 am
Elian had prided herself on her fair bit of acting, a long, deep breath exhaling through her nose as her clouded vision witnessed the multitude before her, the mumerings of praise and worship reaching her ears. It was a rather odd feeling, being so important to so many people, all at once. Elian never even realized what it was she did to be important to them, what exactly her talents with Aislin meant to the people who so desperately sought answers, just as much as the next human. Were the Exterminant really so wrong in their ideals? Sure, their plot to destroy humanity felt misguided, but they saw something in Elian that translated into an answer, an answer to a question that humans time and time again had asked themselves, researched, and even worshipped. What exactly was the human relationship with Pokemon? Were they children of Gods? Fallen angels? Animals? Souls?
"Friend..." A voice interjected, Elian glancing down to the Espeon who leaned lightly against her leg, obviously rather exhausted.
"We, are, friend."
Before Elian managed to gather a smile for her friend, the loud order of silence erupted from the man in front of her, whom Elian had almost completely forgot as she had become lost in her thoughts. Looking to the leader kindly, her eyes had a hard time focusing, even the light casting from the sun becoming more of an irritation, rather than a neutral lighting source.
"The transport?" Elian thought as she heard the numbers of psychic pokemon release from their masters, the warm, gentle feel of the buzzing and collecting ether lightly brushing at Elian and Aislin's mind. Once the feeling became normal, Elian once more tried to focus on the leader, who then gestured towards the circle formed. The leader explained the process, and Elian only let her eyes rest on the blurry scene in front of her, as if that circle of Pokemon meant more than just her beginning with the Exterminant.
It could very well be the end of her life.
At the sudden cry of "Oracle" shouted from the leader, Elian snapped her gaze to him, flinching at the sudden movement, only to be thrown aside as the thundering -WOOSH- from the Onyx's tail crashed only inches away from her. The poor man had saved her... These people were protecting her! Just as Terrian had spoken, her life meant more to them than their own!
It was terrible!
Elian had a hard time collecting herself as the ringing cry of bullets screamed overhead, grunting and roaring echoing from the Pokemon who charged forward to lead themselves into battle. The entire scene was chaos! In the panic, Aislin had been small enough to remain effectively out of the way, and was now licking at Elian's face to get her to stand up!
"We, must, go!"
Elian groaned as her vision started to spin, her head feeling as if it were trying to lift from her body. Everything seemed to be slowed, methodical, even in chaos, there was order, the air filled with a heavier weight than before.
"Terrian?" Elian lightly whispered as she adjusted herself to look up at him, squinting as the burning sun cast the mysterious man in a dark silhouette. Raising a hand to shield her eyes, she attempted to get a look at him, but she could do nothing of the sort.
Her last chance to turn back. Yes, Elian felt she knew that even before Terrian had announced it. Turning her head, she glanced back at the throngs of people, raised and ready to defend her with their lives they so carelessly tossed aside for a woman they didn't even know. Frightened, angered, Elian growled to herself, her hands clenching at the dirt as the weight of her role started to reveal itself. She didn't want to be their savior! She didn't want to be killed or sacrificed over! These people... Weren't they human once? Did they not have parents to raise them? Children to feed? A life to hold dear?
What drove them to cling to her like their last and final hope? With a deep, calming breath, Elian managed to stop flinching from the chaos, her eyes narrowing not only to shield her vision from the sun, but to glare up at the man who now gave her an offer of retreat.
"Even if this isn't about saving the human race... These people need answers, closure, something tangible they can rest on. I cannot allow myself to be the target of death and bloodshed!" Finally, Elian found her bearings to stand, her fists still clenched now hanging at her side, her eyes still narrowed at Terrian as Aislin meowed loudly.
"We will end this."
"We will end this."
Elian's expression suddenly softened, and Elian gave Terrian perhaps the last smile he would ever see. Who knew? Even if she were an oracle, her own future had been in question since the day she was born, and little visions of the future wouldn't tie her to some destiny.
Elian was born, free. Born with the ability to make her own decisions and paths, and she refused to let that ability fade, not when she needed it most. It was obvious, these misguided, frightened, and confused people, needed someone to tell them it would be okay, that humanity is not to be feared, but embraced, that whatever hidden power they sought to harness would be dangerous and would only end in disaster. The prospect of leading thousands of people towards a Pokemon untouched by science and research, was ridiculous, something had to be set right!
Turning, Elian resolved to say goodbye in silence. Goodbye to everyone and goodbye to the life she thought she had in front of her. Even if she never saw any of her friends again, those people she had only had the pleasure of meeting once or twice, Elian knew that if this group of wayward and confused people threatened them, then Elian needed to stop it, especially if she was the only one who could. How many more Edwards and Sigmunds and Beatrice's and especially, Andrejs were out there right now, possibly in danger because one woman might be afraid to do something that felt strange, frightening, and confusing.
With Aislin running alongside her, the pair made their way to the center of the circle. Elian never turned back, never gave a final glance, it was too late for that, and much too late to feel regret.
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Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2009 1:42 am
Lexi listened attentively as the older man explained, though by the end she was still confused. She opened her mouth to ask more questions, but unfortunately his tone said question time was over, and the reverend soon left as quickly as he had appeared, although he didn’t ‘poof’ away like Terrian had earlier. She leaned forward until her helmet rested on the bike in front of her. “and there he goes…ugh” A skeptical smile crossed her face as she sat back up with a huff and stretched her legs “well that was odd.”
The simple words were a thin mask over her wild thoughts. She was definitely getting a better idea of why she had become important to the world, but it had seemed like the Howards thought she was doing a good thing. It seemed he and his sources were of the belief that waking the mew up would be a really bad idea…though the reverend seemed to like going back to Terrian being nuts a lot… the interaction between the two had been awfully casual for being between two people, at least one of which really doesn’t like the other…and where was the reverend hearing all this? He never did say where all this information had come from. Part of her mind had simply gotten stuck on going over the summary of events again and again: Two random guys appear, have a play fight to decide who gets to talk. Winner calls other guy crazy, along with several well known people, says the crazies are trying to destroy the world, and then disappears.
She leaned forward onto her elbows and looked at where Phoenix had been sitting and preening on the right handlebar. The pokemon had obviously found the conversation less than intriguing. “So what do you think? Is the hat-dude crazy or is it this guy who’s nuts?” The bird didn’t look up and Lexi scratched at the pokemon’s back feathers. “Eh…I guess it doesn’t really matter…” She stopped as a thought hit her. “Oh now there’s a pleasant thought… it doesn’t even have to be one or the other, they could both be off the deep end!...” The girl chuckled, but it was uneasy. “…I am so toast…You didn’t know Dr. Oak well by any chance, did you?” This got her a squawk and a snap, though she couldn’t be sure if it was an answer, or just the bird’s annoyance at the questions or scratching. Shaking her head, she sat up again. “So now that it has been made clear exactly how lost we are, want to go see if you can find anyone else who looks just as lost?” She pointed at the sky for the second half of the question, which was enough for Phoenix to get the idea, and the bird flapped its wings a few times, taking off down the road.
Nothing was fitting together all that well, and she was glad she didn’t have to decide anything for a while. For now, she had someone to find, but when she got back to the Howards she was definitely asking about Terrian and Beati…this had to be older than just a few days…She frowned, shifted her hands on the handlebar and followed her pokemon down the road, albeit a little more carefully than before. While Terrian and Beati hadn’t meant her any harm, either of them could pop out of nowhere again, and their popping was definitely dangerous, not to mention the encounter had reminded her that this was no joy ride…there could be other things out there that wanted to more than just talk.
[[Yahoo!!! Missed you lots Siber!]]
[[I don't know what I want yet, but I could use a pokeball for when I do decide...
Also on the topic of pokeballs, when an injured pokemon is returned to its ball, does it go into stasis, or do its injuries continue having an effect? i.e. if a pokemon has severe injuries and gets put back in its ball, should we be sprinting to the nearest hospital and crossing our fingers that the pokemon is still alive when we get there? ]]
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 7:03 am
Gerard quickly spun and slammed an open palm into the first meowth's head as it came, aiming to send it flying away.
In the meantime, Justice intercepted the second, bringing it to the ground with a clawed grab and spin that culminated in slashing at its face.
The third meowth, however, was open to attack, and did just so. His claws landed a slash down Gerard's leg that caused him to grunt in pain as he grabbed the Pokemon by the head and threw it away.
Gerard called Justice back to his side. The meowth that had been attacked by Gerard's larvitar was badly scratched up, but it limped over to its companions. There were simply too many.
Gerard began to back away slowly, keeping a wary eye on them. From the woods behind him, Gerard heard the sound of moving water. At the least, it would serve to give him a new terrain layout that might permit better tactical decisions. Still, the main reason was that water was the source of life, and odds were good that he might find a pokemon there that he could hopefully catch and use to fight these wild meowths. Maybe in inverted order.
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 11:21 am
Terrian watched Elian with an unreadable expression as she ran into the circle of pokémon with her espeon and vanished. Uncaring of the battle around him, he sat down, hat still low over his eyes. "Good luck," he whispered. He flickered a few times, shouted in rage, and vanished.
Elian, meanwhile, found that neither she nor Aislin had a tremendous amount of time to register the various landscapes they saw as she was transported a grand total of ten times from place to place, smaller numbers of the pokémon that had initiated the transport following each time. It seemed that as their individual powers increased, they were permitted to stay longer with her, until only a starmie and a pair of kadabra were still with her. She had passed through caverns underground, plains, been dropped from several stories above the ground, found herself submerged in water, and every now and then found herself on an open, deserted plain. Finally, though, while one of the kadabras offered itself as support in case she had gotten dizzy, the other beckoned her towards the blasted remains of an old mansion.
All of the pokémon seemed to be... decorated, in some way. They wore protective armor; it was something that had been going on for as long as humankind had known pokémon, and it was proof that the Exterminant was well-equipped. Rather than just the customary fauld-like plating of the species, both were wearing bullet-proof vests, while the starmie had a battered, metal shield protecting its back, attached by caps on five of its legs.
There was no telling where she was. The sun was behind her as she followed her escort to the burnt-out shell of a home. It had to have been at least three stories tall at one point; shattered glass and masonry surrounded the front entrance now, but while in glory, there had been columns, tremendous windows, flowerpots the size of Elian's bedroom, and statues of creatures and humans whose features were now indistinct from what had been done to them.
The kadabra closed its eyes, and a short psychic pulse later, part of the tremendous, white oak doorframe faded away to reveal a keypad.
"1...2...3...1...8...5...3...2...1"
They all stepped back, and a part of the earth slid away to reveal a long, dimly-lit passageway underneath the house, with alternately earthen and bricked-in walls. In her mind, Aislin faintly heard a deep, sonorous voice: "Oracle. Is there any way that we can assist you before our master returns? We are among his most trusted, and have been instructed to serve you in any way that we can." The one that had spoke, with a green symbol on its forehead, bowed and gestured towards the stairs.
---
Those facing Juno held steady as she came near and stopped. As her momentum pushed her and Evie forward, the eevee's tiny bark of discomfort reminded Juno of the pokéball that had been left in the jacket. There were more important things to think about, though - the people facing her seemed hesitant to fire. Something was holding them back from shooting her. One finally stepped forward. She had an ugly scar across most of her face and bright red hair with a white streak originating from part of the scar. "You! Fight the meganium, and we won't have to... what the hell?" she barked, reaiming her rifle when the popping sound happened.
Behind her, Juno heard an almost childish giggle. "You people are so hilarious! Does he know how stupid you are?" Juno turned just long enough see Terrian, with a suddenly ferocious roar, flicker a few times and vanish. In his place, there stood Paul McCulloch, his pokémon, and his motorcycle. The meganium altered course to try to keep up with Juno, and seemed to be gaining speed. Paul, meanwhile, once again had multiple very nervous people aiming rifles at him. "Who are you?!" demanded the woman. "Now, we don't want to kill anyone we don't have to! Let the girl fight that thing, and it'll all be over with!" She flicked her gaze briefly to one of her cohorts. "Make sure she doesn't run!" The man gave Paul another look and changed his aim to Juno, ready to shoot out her tires if she didn't turn and fight.
---
Surprisingly, the meowths backed off. Well, actually, they did quite a bit more than back off, the closer Gerard got to the river that emptied from Glenville. In fact, they quite readily ran away from him, mewling pathetically in their bid to flee. Even members of the Pack, it seemed, still knew fear.
Behind Gerard came the sound of dripping water. It wasn't raining, though. As he turned, he felt a heavy weight come in contact with his side and throw him to the ground. A few feet away, he saw the source - climbing up the near bank of the river was a group of five poliwags, one just steadying itself from the way it had body-slammed his back. The normally innocent-looking creatures were twitching agitatedly and looked like they were itching for a fight. These were obviously members of the Pack - they must have somehow gotten past the defenses and found the river, then gotten out of the city that way. And now, they saw something worth killing.
Normally, the Pack was not the best source of pokémon; they were just out for mindless bloodlust and gluttony. However, by an awesome stroke of luck, one seemed to be quite a bit more stable than the others. Maybe... maybe he could catch it with the pokéball he had picked up from his parents' store. They began to slow their movements, working as a group, and both Justice and Gerard began to feel woozy. As soon as Justice stumbled, one launched itself at him, preparing to fire a jet of high-pressure water at the drowsy pokémon.
-3 AP: first-stage capture opportunity w/ increased battle difficulty ((Trust me, this makes sense.))
---
As Lexi went, she saw more than once a scene that had become something of a common sight after the Calamity - small, suburban and urban housing that had simply been abandoned. Every now and then, a skeleton bleached by the sun could be see by one of the homes, but in general, people had escaped, or those that had died had been buried to prevent disease spread.
One of these was located actually around the road to Glenville; something hardly worth calling a town, with some broken-in windows in the store fronts, battered verandas, and twisted street signs. Nothing had been cleaned in quite some time; dust and age just seemed to hang over the place. Luckily, though, it was deserted, and Lexi took the opportunity to, with some trepidation, collect a pokéball that had somehow survived the raids.
While getting it, she saw a rapid movement out of the corner of her eye. Phoenix let out a slow, warning caw as the two of them turned towards it. They couldn't see anything at the moment, but... something still lived here. Seemed like it lived in the post office... was it worth going inside?
---
((All the young-uns now have one (1) regular pokéball, because I forgot to give you them like I meant to. Free of charge.))
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 12:21 pm
Oh, jeez. Now riflemen, no less. Paul felt that he was really more likely to be successful in talking to these people; their weapons were high-grade, expensive equipment - they didn't strike Paul as desperate or on their last legs, which meant they would speak with him. Well, and they didn't want to kill anyone.
"I suppose I have to make my position clear," Paul announced to them. "I am entrusted with this one's well-being. I will see to it that she remains in good health and is capable of accomplishing a few things I need done. That means that I will probably be participating in this particular effort. If you have an objection to any of my goals, I guess we'll have to find some other way to settle." Paul hoped that the G3 would be hefty enough to intimidate them out of hasty action.
This one, then, was probably the first of the children Terrian had directed Paul to. Good. Now, Paul had to figure out what to do. Paul was meant to rescue them or arrest them - stop their progress. That couldn't possibly coincide if the children had some task to accomplish, which seemed likely - both wanted them to do something. Paul would need to become informed on what exactly this one intended to do. He adjusted his glass with one hand while adjusting his rifle with the other; Zoidberg stayed alert but silent, and Oddjob began growling, as was more or less customary. A snap from Zoidberg silenced the charmander, but it was clear he was eager to engage the monstrosity. Theoretically, Oddjob would have some minor advantage, but none of his compatriots seemed eager to engage anything in a fight.
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:15 pm
At first, Lexi had a hard time paying more attention to the road like she had wanted to, her mind still drifting back to her encounter with Reverend Beati. Then she passed the first of many ghost towns. It had quickly become easier to pay attention, though part of her no longer wanted to look. Many of the towns may have been deserted since the Calamity, but a few bore the bullet holes and burn marks of a more recent abandoning. Not for the first time, she cursed her hometown’s attitude toward this type of violence. Defending against a pack, fine, destroying towns, not fine!
When her path took her through yet another town and she didn’t see any skeletons or other overt signs of destruction before she reached the center, she decided to stop and take a break. This was the longest she had ridden in a while and she was getting a little stiff. Phoenix too looked like she needed a break, and as soon as Lexi got off the bike, the bird landed on her shoulder. Not noticing anything else alive to bother them, the girl wandered along the street, at one point finding a pokeball that the raiders had missed by some strange luck. She picked it up, knowing that even if she didn’t end up using it, it would be worth a lot when she got back home…It even seemed to be ready to use too!
Then something moved.
“What the?!...” Lexi stood up and turned toward the Post Office as Phoenix let out a slow caw. What was that? Whatever ‘it’ was, the sounds coming from the building were quickly proving that Lexi was no longer alone. Was it possible the town wasn’t as deserted as it looked? There weren’t any other vehicles…so maybe a wild pokemon? Oh great, now I'm curious... Figuring that if it was something out to get her, it already knew she was here and could come out and get her anyway--her bike was looking a lot farther away than it had a minute ago-- she walked up to the doorway, carefully standing outside and peeking her head in to let her eyes adjust. She then asked quietly “Hello?”
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 9:24 pm
Gerard broke away from the view of the poliwags through sheer force of will, after realizing that his wooziness was the result of their hypnotic abilities. He threw himself in front of the water, taking the hit to his left arm and shoulder but protecting his larvitar and breaking its line of sight as well.
The two regrouped as the poliwags attacked. Gerard picked up two stones, about fist-sized, with the intention of using them to bludgeon the encroaching pokemon to death. Justice bristled with teeth, claws, spikes, and shiny armor.
When the poliwags were almost within striking distance, Gerard kicked a cloud of dust into their collective faces, then lept forward and swung the rocks down, aiming between the eyes of two of the poliwags. Justice charged a third, bringing it to the ground and clawing for its eyes.
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Posted: Thu Oct 22, 2009 10:47 pm
Juno felt Evie move around in her jacket, while she stared at the people who seemed to...not want to shoot her? They want me to what?! Okay. She could deal with this. Of course she could fight a 20 foot meganium. No problem. I'll just get out the huge rifle from my backpack and shoot the thing to oblivion. Even sarcasm wasn't making her feel any better about the situation. Juno was trembling; she had no clue what to do. Her hands tightened around the handles as she stared at the beast - she really couldn't do this alone.
However, she was not alone. Paul McCulloch was standing there and explaining that he was there to help. She quickly got off the bike (making sure Evie had gotten on the ground first), and ran to Paul's side. She'd never met this man and knew nothing about him. However, she wasn't about to ignore help when offered. "Thank you, sir," she muttered. Live first, ask questions later. Even though she was extremely grateful for the man who showed up in the nick of time, it did not mean she didn't want to know what the man wanted. Nobody does something for free after all. Evie stood right by Juno's side, being wary of the oncoming pokemon.
While Paul was still dealing with the crazy people, Juno was brainstorming ideas on how to deal with the crazy meganium. I could shoot marbles at it, but it's not likely I'll be able to get a good shot. Maybe if she fed it an apple it would calm down some? Before leaving the orphanage, she'd gotten a few apples for the road. She loved eating apples, but if she had to give up those apples for her life, she'd willingly give them up to the meganium. Don't be stupid, Juno. It's crazy from the Pack, not crazy out of hunger. Still, at least it could serve as a distraction of a sort (a very very desperate distraction). She looked to the side to see the charmander - now THAT was a good advantage to have. Still, what would we do if the meganium uses its vines? Well, there were the guns and her trusty slingshot. Juno could protect the charmander while he used his flames. She really hoped that they'd be able to get out of this mess in one piece. Evie, for her part, knew she couldn't take on the massive beast; however, she could protect Juno from the humans that dared threaten her human.
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Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 12:42 am
To describe what it was like to teleport to ten different places in such a short amount of time would take more than words to properly convey. Almost at the very moment she stepped into the ring of Pokemon, Elian and Aislin were gone, and the rush that ensued was like no other experience. It was like being dropped into a roller coaster unbuckled, being tossed and thrown about every other second, flashes of scenery blurring in her vision which eventually faded into darkness as Aislin couldn't take any more. Even without the visual aid, it still felt like a trip, the air turning warm one second, to be frigid another as it whipped against the pair, their bodies simply floating then falling each turn in the chaos. Would she even live through this? Elian questioned whether or not they would even reach their final destination alive.
At one point, her breath was stolen by water as it rushed to fill her gasping lungs. For a moment, Elian assumed she would drown, as simple as that. For a moment, during what Aislin and Elian assumed to be their final moment, the pair opened their eyes to observe the dark abyss. It was strange; floating, yet sinking into such a cold and dark place whilst the Pokemon around them rushed to continue them on their journey, but just before what Elian assumed to be their final breath, Elian saw something strange, swimming slowly in the distance in front of them.
(-1 AP: Rare Occurance)
Its silver scales shimmered brilliantly in the warm rays of the sun that illuminated what Elian saw as darkness, even Aislin, who also fought for air, stared at the massive and dark figure that floated some distance away. Only small features were even seen, and it all happened so fast, that Elian couldn't exactly comprehend what she had saw, but the figure seemed to give off an aura that would forever be indescribable and powerful. It almost seemed to look at them, and even that simple gesture was enough to make Elian forget for just a moment, that her body needed air.
In another quick rush, however, the scene was gone, and her body suddenly fought to take in the air that now surrounded her. Soaking, and dripping in sea water, Elian coughed violently as she slumped against the Kadabra that held her upright, shaking from the cold, exhaustion, and dizziness that clouded her mind. Aislin also coughed and shivered, shaking her body to try and rid her fur of water, her ears and tail slumped as she shared Elian's feelings of exhaustion and disorientation.
Once she had the chance to breathe, Elian looked to the second Kadabra, noticing the brilliant and decorated armor that sat well on the Pokemon. For a creature of the Exterminant, it didn't appear to be crazy, or hostile. It was holding her up, and had just managed to teleport her to whatever location they were now trapped in. Elian thought that perhaps, she had gone over her head, this thought only affirmed once she managed to stand, look to Aislin, then look to the grand sight before her.
Even with the building hollowed and torn, the imagery of what once stood could clearly be deduced. massive statues and flower structures sat cracked and broken, the mansion itself towering over Elian and Aislin's meek existence. It seemed so eerie, so broken and abandoned, but as the Pokemon gestured for her to move forward, she knelt down to pick up her Espeon and followed without question.
"Eerrrow..." Aislin weakly meowed, the Pokemon obviously worn and distressed from the rather rough and unexpected journey to the estate. Elian sympathized easily, and hugged her soaking Pokemon a little tighter as the exhausted Espeon leaned her head against Elian's shoulder, continuing to give her friend what vision she could provide.
Once they had gone far enough, the group stopped as one of the Kadabra let loose a psychic pulse, that Elian and Aislin easily felt pass through them as the door in front of them revealed a keypad. After a quick stroke of numbers, the Pokemon gestured for her to move back as the ground lowered then slid away, revealing what must be the true entrance to the seemingly empty house in front of her.
One of the Kadabra's voice rang in their minds, Aislin's tail twitching from the sensation as Elian turned to look towards the Pokemon.
"If it's not too much... I'm worried for Aislin... We're both rather exhausted, and I worry that she's gone through too much." Elian explained to the Kadabra, Aislin's eyes closing slightly, then opening again as the Pokemon fought to stay awake.
"I will need some assistance down the stairs as well... Please."
With Aislin being as exhausted as she was, Elian's vision was less than satisfactory, the scenery before her fading into darkness with each weary attempt to stay awake that Aislin put forth.
Even if they were simple requests, Elian didn't feel comfortable with asking questions so quickly. She didn't know what the "Master" of the Exterminant expected her to know, so it was safer to keep her mouth shut, especially in front of the psychic Pokemon.
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Posted: Fri Oct 23, 2009 11:21 pm
((Cinders, let us welcome KaosHavok, the newest in our ranks; he will be playing as Abraham Renwald, a veteran whose profile is now posted. Also: AP have been updated. Happy Saturday!))
Bishop Sarah Amlund, the woman who had spoken, eyed Paul suspiciously. She didn't like the man, that was for sure. Jerk was too confident. There was something... detached about him. Something in the way he ignored a dinosaur actively seeking to dismember a teenage girl just didn't sit right with her. But there was no reason not to let him play, too.
She blew the hair out of her face. It was irritating the scar on her forehead, the symbol of her piety. "Fine." Granite eyes said it was far from fine. "Die with her. Foul play, though, and you're a dead man." She eyed the over-eager charmander. Too many things willing to throw their lives away, these days. All the same, she tightened her black-gloved grip on her rifle. Better than risking her own soul by shooting him.
Meanwhile, the meganium tired of letting Juno run circles around it. The flower petals around its throat rippled, releasing toxic pollen through the air around it. One of the riflemen casually released a pidgeotto and said, "Quarantine." The bird landed on his outstretched arm and flapped a few times, its wings producing far more power than their size should have allowed, and cleared the small area in which the quartet had clustered of the yellow dust.
---
Gerard could quickly feel a bruise forming where he had taken the hits, and when he looked later, would see neat, purple lines tracing the path the water had taken. The poliwags, surprisingly fast on their short legs, managed to mostly dodge his attacks; one went down and out and another got clipped. The one Justice had tackled squealed with pain, but blasted the unprotected larvitar with ether-born water; this was the one that had seemed somewhat more sane. Bloodied, in began bobbling back towards the water, while Justice was recovering from the blow and the two uninjured poliwags turned their attention to him.
---
The kadabra who had spoken immediately grasped Elian's hand gently, but firmly in its own and began slowly leading her down the stairs. The other nodded. "We understand, Oracle. The path we use is not easy on those without ether; your fatigue is little compared to that of those without your divine strength. We have already prepared accommodations for both of you; they are some distance away, but with the three of us, your walk will not make you faint."
The further down the passageway the party progressed, the more modern it became. Electric lights illuminated their footsteps, and soiled wood gave way to concrete, and then to tile floors. Doors became more and more frequent, and the lighting was progressively more useful as passageways began branching from and merging with their own, which seemed to turn too many different ways to count. Most of these were empty, but every now and then, a person would be seen. That person, branded with the "X" of the Exterminant or tattooed with the mew-and-earth motif on their forehead or arm, would immediately bow his or her head, murmur, "Oracle," and move out of the party's way. It seemed that the kadabra and starmie were also afforded some level of respect - the floating water-type was escorted down a separate hallway by a machoke and two humans. The machoke removed the metal shield while the humans began conversing with it about the assault on Glenville.
As they walked, Elian had time to reflect on the creature she had seen in the water they passed under. It seemed impossible, but could it have possibly been...? No. No, it couldn't have been. That was a legend. A... a myth, that little kids liked to believe in. But what if...?
The party stopped in front of a large door, with a crystal orb at each corner of the gilded frame. "Oracle," the one leading her said, "This is your room. Here you may find rest. Soon, our leader will come to speak with you, and find how we may finally awaken the One. Our names are Solomon and David, and we can be reached telepathically at any time; just call for us. If there is nothing you need, we take our leave of you. For the good of all souls, Oracle." The phrase sounded like a mantra, and this was confirmed when the other repeated it, and they left her in front of the door.
There was a small pad built into the door; clearly a touch-pad for entering and exiting. The door slid to one side and disappeared, and the Oracle was met by a scene of extravagance it seemed no one should dare to afford after the Calamity. Purples and white predominated the scene. Soft, lilac fabric was draped as a canopy over an enormous, silken bed; there were white oak dressers with silver handles, and a similar wardrobe and vanity; and a small, soft pet bed of similar colors was set just next to Elian's bed, on which lay a luxurious, flowing dressing robe. Shining dimly in the well-lit room was an LCD monitor with a video feed of just outside the room. Two heavily-armed guards, dressed in black body armor, were soon there.
The Exterminant had been prepared for her coming.
---
In another area of the Exterminant base, Abraham Renwald had just seen a way to get out of this place. Conscripted two years ago as an engineer and just barely avoiding the branding process, he had designed large sections of the lighting and smaller ones of the security system; most importantly, Renwald had access to the video monitors, and on them, he had just witnessed Elian Joss, the target of these nut-jobs' fanaticism. She seemed disoriented, but that didn't matter. He could easily navigate this hive's hallways by now; he needed to talk to this woman about finding him a way out.
One of the guards chose that very inopportune moment to step in and check on him. At least it wasn't constant surveillance, now - he had garnered some trust by not causing trouble over the past year or so. "Hey, Abe. Anything interest- That's...!" The guard almost dropped his rifle as he swatted away low-hanging hair to get a better look. "That's the Oracle! Tell the people! I have to let the good people know! We must prepare! We must prepare for the Journey! She is come!" He rushed out of the room and into an adjacent one to begin sending the information to the various authorities on base.
The Journey. Abe almost wanted to laugh. A mass suicide. They wanted to use this poor girl to communicate with the mew, eventually wake it up, and send them all careening through the most wide-scale, ultimately powerful use of ether the world had likely ever seen. Sure, maybe ether was the source of the human soul, but how the hell would that work? Human beings barely showed a pulse on ether imaging machines. No. What was going to happen, was these crazies were going to wipe this poor girl's mind clean with hallucinogens, and if that worked, kill the human race.
Now was his opportunity to stop it all. With everyone finalizing purification rituals and making ready to meet the Oracle, it was likely that he could slip through the crowds unnoticed. But there would be guards... well. Cross that bridge when he came to it.
---
As she peered in the darkened doorway, Lexi could see, first and foremost, the typical features of a post office: a profusion of red, white, and blue; boring, utilitarian architecture; and rows upon rows of mailboxes. The mailboxes were to the left, from which could be heard alternating low growls of warning and pathetic whines. Looking down, Lexi saw the distinctive shape of one of the more sinisterly connoted pokémon that inhabited the earth: a houndour. This one not only had the characteristic rib-like protrusions on its back, but its emaciation also showed the ribs in its gaunt chest. It had not found a good meal in some time, and everything about it confirmed this.
However, it was not alone. As Lexi rounded the corner, at antipodes to expectation, she was tackled not by the pokémon, but by a human woman, whose equally-famished appearance had in it the thin strength of desperation as she started trying to choke Lexi, screaming ferociously. There was a thin, X-shaped burn scar on her forehead. "FOR THE GOOD OF ALL SOULS! FOR THE GOOD OF ALL SOULS!"
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 7:13 am
((Wewt! Hope you all enjoy having me ^^;;; ))
Abe stood and walked over to the PC on his desk. From there, he had the privileges to manage most of the security systems in the facility.
Abe tapped the pokemon "figurine" that sat upon his desk lightly on the head. "Hey...we got work to do."
If the officer in the next room finished out his contacts, the place would be swarming with more guards than he could handle. Hacking the system to listen in would be difficult and time-consuming.
Just turning it off, however...
"Brebre?"
"Yeah, Yeah. Same ole' network diagnostics. With a twist." He lowered his voice so that the guard nearby couldn't hear and plugged Porygon2 into the machine. "Turn it off."
Almost immediately as he said it, the lights shut off and the video cameras went blank. The guard in the room let loose a yelp of surprise, but Abe was already out the door.
He had scarce little time before the system timed out and the emergency generator kicked everything back on. Probably seven minutes at most. He had to make the best of it and pray it was enough.
Striding purposefully away from his station, he made his way towards his best hope of escape.
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Posted: Sat Oct 24, 2009 7:36 am
Gerard glanced up to see one poliwag fleeing the scene. Afraid that it might return with additional opponents, Gerard pulled back his arm and threw one of the rocks with all his might, aiming for its back. Desperate, he reflexively grabbed the pokeball at his belt and threw it as well, before realizing that it wasn't actually a weapon. Still, he hoped it would do something.
Justice, in the meantime, had his hands full with the two poliwags. He slammed himself into one of them, sending it sprawling, but the other managed to blast him again with a stream of water. The larvitar couldn't take many more hits.
Imitating its master, Justice kicked dust and dirt into the eyes of its two opponents. The poliwag on the ground was obviously feel this effect more keenly, but at least it got the second poliwag off his back for a few seconds.
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