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Juno remained calm and happy while waiting for the creature in front of her to talk. "What's your na--" Out of freakin' NOWHERE, a tall aggressive guy with a rifle came and landed close to her. She whimpered and started crawling backwards to get away from the new person. This one seemed more likely to attack her than the first person. Oh. It's creepy stalker dude. Dang it!

Evie stood between Juno and Paul. She did not like how the male human was scaring her friend. True, the man had helped them out earlier on, but his motives were still unclear. Until Juno felt safe around this man, Evie would not let her guard down. Without realizing that she was responsible for it, the air around the fox-like pokemon became slightly cool. If Paul noticed, it was chalked up to the fact that Evie was able to become a dark type, and most dark types had some amount of freezing the air around them.

Juno listened to Paul with a little fear. "Right. Somehow. You don't have to follow me, you know." Okay. Maybe it would be better to choose her words carefully around a man with a gun. "Thank you for helping me before, but I'm sure there are other people that you could be helping out now." Okay. That should sound fine. "And I DID give you a chance to explain. But you were taking too long. Meaning you were going to lie to me, weren't you?" Omitting the truth was still the same as lying in Juno's mind. But he could have killed me when I was running off... This man was too confusing; and there was no real way of knowing whether he'd be willing to tell the truth now or not.

Jeremiah nodded in acknowledgment as he started his motorcycle up. Traveling was what he did ever since all of this started. Normally, he would just ride without a destination, but today was different, he had something specific to go. Unfortunately, the old man couldn't remember exactly where that was.

"We're heading to Glenville." Jeremiah confirmed, seeing as they were on the road to Glenville.

Not only was he going somewhere specific, but he was with other people. I guess that's a plus...

He revved his motorcycle, eager to get riding.

Juno gaped at the sheer number of pokemon and insects surrounding them. She turned to Paul, "This is your fault." Dang it! Now what are we going to do? She watched as the creature (man?) headed towards the opposite side. He seemed to be staring at her and was holding out another rose. Does he...want me to follow him? Though she should have been more suspicious, she never felt that the thing wanted to hurt her. "Please, sir," she asked Paul, "don't hurt the man. If you really are here to help me, then don't shoot him." The flower bearing creature may have been the reason that the critters were now surrounding them, but Juno had a feeling these things were aimed at Paul. Rather than worry about him, I think we're in more danger from the insects down here.

Now really, she wondered if she did something to make God angry with her. She was a good kid, wasn't she? No. THIS isn't God's doing. THIS crappy situation is because of creepy stalker dude. If they survived this, Juno was kicking him in the shins for this. And then run away again.

Meanwhile, Evie had gone off to the side to search for Juno's bag. She knew that Juno had good aim with the stick thing and bag of glass. Evie could only do so much to protect her human, so she wanted to be sure that Juno could at least protect herself from the far away creatures. After sniffing around for the bag, Evie found the stick thing and bag. She chomped on them and brought them over to Juno. Apparently this was the right thing to do because Juno smiled and scratched Evie behind the ears.

"Thanks for the slingshot, Evie," Juno said in relief. After getting the bag of marbles tied at the waist, she looked over at Paul. "Any bright ideas on how to get to the other side?" The original purple flower was still held in Juno's free hand; once they had a plan, Juno was probably going to hold in her mouth (I will never live this down if any of my brothers find out about this) like a spanish romantic boy. This rose is important to him. I'm not going to leave this behind.

Abe carefully didn't think about his projects. There would be no way of convincing the psychic that the mews were in no way Gods, or that ether had no real spiritual significance. Actually, Elian was the only reason he was still alive. Even if he succeeded in convincing them that she wasn't a "divine link", all that it would accomplish is him stepping into his own coffin. This woman was far from a messiah, but...as long as they thought her of as one, he would be safe.
The Oracle specifically chose to save me. Do you really think flogging me would go with her wishes?
Abe glanced back at Elian. But this time...this time, it was different. What had this girl done to make these people believe that she was a messiah?...
The Journey didn't really affect him...even if they succeeded in a mass suicide, nothing suggested that this girl would bring about the end of an era. If these people wanted to kill themselves for thinking they'd ascend to a higher level of humanity than they were at right now, Abe thought they should go right ahead. Less people to contend with for resources.
But this girl...she wasn't like that. She wouldn't have gone out of her way to save him if she believed what these people believed. She wasn't some manipulative empress driving a bunch of lunatics deeper into madness. Otherwise, he would have escaped her sight completely. One more number wiped out for a greater good.
She valued life.
Then why was she here? Was she kidnapped, and is just playing their game to survive? Like he is? Probably, but that still didn't explain why it was HER that was kidnapped.
Something was missing. Something was always missing, but this one was apparent. If this was just about her survival, then...
Lies would be detected. So Abe directed his thoughts back to the kadabra and went with the truth. The Oracle has chosen me. For something. I don't know what, you don't know what, but I have been chosen to be spared. I think that gives me the right to know more about our savior.

Juno ignored the urge to rebut Paul's sarcastic statements. She did frown at his later comments. "Maybe it wouldn't be so irritated if you were a little nicer." She watched the bugs surrounding them. It was strange - they weren't attacking. They were just waiting. It unnerved Juno, but she didn't say anything about it.

"Do you have a flash light?" she asked. "Because these are cave creatures. Meaning that they'll hate bright light." She took a cautious step forward. The bugs didn't move. "If you keep the light on me, they're likely not going to attack." She took another tiny step. Slight movement from the bugs, but no sudden attack yet. "And by the way," she added, "The truth is always better than a lie. I don't care how crazy it sounds or how much it hurts - I like knowing the truth." With a deep breath, she put the rose in her mouth and pulled out a marble; she was prepped to let it fly should something attack her. She was scared, but she kept her small steps forward. Please let this turn out okay?

Gerard, his bike still being on and idling, reacted quickly. He knew his Pokemon facts. Phoenix would be able to quickly distract the bug, being a bird, though Gerard wasn't sure how effective it would be against one so large.

He started by doing two things: the first, to hold the brake and open the throttle, and the second being to throw his left hand down to his hip, swiping his fingers across the releases for his Pokeballs. Justice and Guts sprang forth, saw the pinsir, and immediately moved off, circling around in a pincer movement.

That accomplished, Gerard pulled the handlebar of his motorcycle over to one side, released the brake, and immediately fishtailed his huge, rotating back tire into the pinsir, Phoenix having cleared out by now. Finishing the doughnut and closing the throttle again, Gerard whistled to Guts, who blasted the downed pinsir with ether-enfused water and kept it on the ground as Gerard calmly dismounted his bike, drew his pistol, and advanced close enough to fire two shots into the pinsir's head.

Moving back as Justice and Guts moved in to make sure the pinsir was well and truly killed, Gerard signaled to Lexi to check on Thatcher. If that was OK with her, of course.

At Paul's words, the "childish thing" howled angrily. It had listened to all he said, but the repeated accusations of lesser intelligence failed to elicit any sort of goodwill. Immediately, dozens of the varying creatures ran, leapt, and flew at him and Zoidberg. Meanwhile, they parted for Juno's querying steps, quickly moving between her and Paul. The odd humanoid continued beckoning her forward, holding lamp and rose aloft. It urged her on with sounds that were lost in the deafening roar of flapping wings and skittering legs. Zoidberg's attempts to communicate had been met with a weak, but firm resistance - more of a "No, thank you," than a stolid blockage of any kind.

---

The pinsir went down quickly and easily to the double-teaming from Phoenix and Gerard's well-planned actions. Distracted by the spearow, its charge was reckless enough that the motorcycle sent it crashing to the ground, and then flew off its hard body to land in the grasses to fall, out of sight. The animal released a sort of roaring shriek and fell, spilling thick ichor from its wounds. It twitched for an uncommonly long time, but eventually went still. Mostly, anyway - one leg occasionally contracted, but that was all.

As Lexi moved forward, the lack of a smell continued, except for that released from the bug. A crackling sound was all the warning she got before a blast of electricity ripped through the grasses a few yards ahead of her and sent Phoenix tumbling to the ground. The latent third-type kept the bird from being hurt too badly, luckily. The distinctive battle cry of an electabuzz shredded the too-still air; it wasn't far away.

Jokerman-EXE +2 AP: ramp everything

---

"I don't think flogging you would go against her wishes. That is the more important concept. And 'our' savior? You can pray to be saved, perhaps, but it is only the believers who will move forward on the Journey. You, likely, will simply die when Mew awakens. It will destroy life as it is known, and bring about a new universe; a new being.

"As for the Oracle choosing you? She does not yet know her full importance. Or perhaps she felt some pity for you. Knowledge is elusive. I think she is kind enough to wish the best on every person; her idea of 'best' includes life."

As the two conversed, the interrogator from before walked along the hallway towards David. This was Richard Allbrite, lead questioner for the Exterminant. His leathery, weathered features were creased almost to the point of hiding his shining, granite eyes. He was not an especially tall man, but the confidence and authority with which he carried himself made him tower above most people in the complex. He always had that twinkle in his eyes, even when his smile bespoke the fury, fear, and frustration it did now. It was a strange smile, that seemed burned into his face; one that said things had ceased to be interesting on their own and now, it was all a game for him.

David nodded in greeting as he approached. "d**k,"

"Dave," Richard answered in return. "How are they in there?"

"The engineer is talkative. You will have to excuse me if my responses are intermittent."

"Not surprising." He lowered himself against the wall and sat down next to the kadabra, who had begun twirling his mace. To the casual eye, they were bored as all hell. Each of them knew the cold hand that had gripped the other's chest, though. "David, tell me that construct isn't a pokémon." His rubbed his face with both hands, the old skin stretching and deforming, but the smile eternal.

David glanced surreptitiously at Solomon and the mime, but they militantly failed to react. He tapped his own head with his mace and closed his eyes. "It fit in a pokéball," he said, "and you know what that means about its ether."

"Arguing that computer programs have invoked ether before isn't enough, is it?" It wasn't a question, and David's ensuing silence was enough answer even if it had been. "Surely it's part of the Journey. Somehow." He shook his head with a tired chuckle. "I'm too old to think new things."

"Maybe it's the Devil's work."

"The only Devil this religion has is Terrian and whatever the hell it is that lets him do what he does."

David shifted his weight against the wall and tapped the mace against the wall lazily. "Maybe that's the only Devil we need. I would believe it if someone told me that." It seemed like there was a pause between every argument, as each worked to incorporate this new information into their beliefs. Those pauses were clearly making the other two sentinels uncomfortable, but neither of those conversing paid them any heed.

"A Devil as young as Terrian? And an engineer as his agent? Still- man granting souls to machines? It tears everything apart."

"That's not true. The Bible speaks of evil spirits inhabiting pigs. Why not machines? Richard," he said, finally looking at the man, "you are looking for a reason for us to be wrong. Have you lost faith, or are you merely seeking to reaffirm it?"

Richard's smile broadened as he glanced briefly at the kadabra. "My entire job is to make things airtight. Forgive me if I sounded like a heretic." He cleared his throat with a sigh. "Your reasoning is almost sound. Terrian must be under the influence of the Devil; he himself may be an avatar, but is certainly not the source. The engineer, then, is either possessed or a willing deceiver. That is why he hides his work. And the porygon2 is a weapon of confusion." He stood slowly and rubbed David's head with something approaching affection, but not quite there. "Thanks, Dave. Just needed to reason things out."

David's features stretched into something approaching a smile, but not quite there. "Does it ever bother you that it seems like we are the only ones doing such a thing?"

"The only ones?" Richard grinned. "Now that sounds like heresy. And you know - I can't let you do that, Dave." The two shared a chuckle that was swiftly ruined by the mime's eagerness to join in on the mirth with an obnoxious guffaw. Sighing with bemusement, Richard retreated back the way he had come.

---

(Benji Halloway, veteran extra. Pokémon: Francis the ledian. Skilled medic, in search of family in Glenville; finds them and ensures their safety; sees Talia leaving, wounded, and opts to follow her. 5' 9", 158 lbs., 35 yrs old. Determined, scurrilous, and puts the art of healing before all else.)

Lexi saw the white flash in front of her send Phoenix tumbling to the ground and froze, but the bird pokemon took off again quickly with only a few burnt feathers. Thank goodness she’s part electric type…that could have been really bad…She heard the electabuzz cry come over the grass and gulped, reconsidering her situation. But now what am I going to do? She can take a hit, great, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to be able to do much as far as returning damage against something as large as an electabuzz, and Rex isn’t exactly at full strength… She thought about that for a half a second. …These grasses are so tall…I wish I could…

See.

The thought sent her scrambling back out of the bushes almost faster that the thought of the strong electric type behind her. They had a ground/rock type, a flyer, a fire dog, and a water pokemon. She really didn’t like the plan she was coming up with, but she had all the pieces so it might just work… if she knew where everyone was. As she broke back into the clearing, she looked at Gerard. “My team’s not great against electric types…mind sending Justice in?”Even if the pokemon couldn’t take on the electabuzz one-on-one, her plan would be easier to use with a distraction, and the ground-type wouldn’t be hurt by the electabuzz’s zapping. As she waited for Gerard’s answer, she pulled out her computer. Now would be a really good time to try out that program she had gotten last time she was here. As the device booted up, she thought about the two psychics that she had been imagining were right behind the illusion. They had responded to her thoughts before and could give her a head start while she waited for her computer… Janis, Sixlet…any way you can show me where everyone is?