Welcome to Gaia! ::

What was offered was set in with Deo, the ability to join the force again. It would set good with him, knowing he was welcomed and he was wanted again. His face gleamed a smile like he had not smiled before. The doubts began though.

His tail wagged and he didn’t begin to really think about it, till he did. The tail stopped,he leaned into himself. Using his handcuffed hands to scratch his furry chin. This would continue for a good two to three minutes. That is when Deo came up with his answer.

“The offer is most satisfying indeed, but if I turn now, I would be on the hit list. I am in too deep, in too far. Unlike what it is said, SNAGEM has become a family for me. Yeah, they are a bunch of criminals, but I see them morally grey. Most of the time we are trying to find, capture, and cure Shadow pokemon.” Deo would lean back in his chair, but stop when he heard an ominous creak. He then would sit up.

“If I did join again, I would stick out like a sore thumb. I could not do half of what I could do as a human. I can not wear these expansion suits that I think rock on. I would be easy to spot by criminals as the big hulk of a Luxray hybrid. I do not think I can even wield a gun with these paws. I must, unfortuneatly, decline the chance as an officer again.”

This did not set well with deo. His ears dropped. His face went from steady to a depressed state. Even so, he carried on. “SNAGEM, despite them having, shall I say, less than clean slate. Might have a chance with redeeming themselves. They indeed have treated me like family, and have indeed treated me kind. Despite some of the more criminally inclined calling me pig and worse for being a cop. I see a chance, however slim. They can turn this around, if given the chance. I have seen some missions which ended up far worse than could ever be imagined. I have been to places I could tell you, but you would say I flipped the lid. I am staying in snagem. As long as a chance can be given for redemption, there is me and where I stand.” After Deo finished, he would then ask kindly, “Could you please uncuff me, it is a tad bit tight”

Unfortunately for Blizz, there was no solace coming from the Giratina hybrid as he looks just as lost as the Articuno hybrid felt. Worse, maybe, because he can feel Ogerpon's anxiety burning a hot coal against where his heart would be as a normal human, in the breast pocket of his jacket. "Blizz, you know me, if there was a chance to get these collars off and come out swinging, I'd already be doing it. S-22 blanco edition or no."

Harleen interrupts their physical conversation mentally, and the gambler thinks about it for a second or two before nodding, letting the Wynaut access his brain with little hesitation. He only had so much time he could sit here before he needed to get outside and let the Masked Pokemon let off some steam.

--




Kess fixes the Luxray hybrid with a serious look, her arms crossed as was her customary pose while leaning against the wall. "Don't be fooled Mister Deo." She says, trying to offer the olive branch while he's still in the room with them. "They may act like your family, and they may act like they work for what's in your best interest. But, keep in mind, once it's expedient to do so they will throw you in the trash and walk away." Her eyes close, pain clear on the Zapdos mercenary's face. "Trust me."

Emma leans back on the desk, a frown crossing her face too. "Kess was a part of Cipher for a long while, she has more insight into them AND Snagem than most of us can ever hope to. I would take her advice. If you were worried about being on the wrong side of the law, you're going to run into more of that, not less, by refusing our offer. So what's it going to be?" The expansion-suit clad officer locked eyes with him, evaluating his response.

Ulla was a bit taken back about Looker's questioning. Orre and when she went back to Kalos? Those were some interesting questions. "What kind of information are they asking for? She said as she noticed a new voice. She turned around to meet Amber's gaze. It has been awhile since she's seen everyone. "Of course Amber! How are you doing?" She said as she looked at her for any injuries. "Are you alright? They didn't harm you in anyway did they? How are your Pokemon?" She asked concerned. Trying to make the most of a terrible time. Ulla's Hisuian Zorura came walking over after helping the Castform. It nuzzled his head against Ulla's leg as she knelt down and picked him up. "Good job Zorura." She said as she hoisted the small fox up on their head. "We should really give you a nickname."

Looker smiled at Deo's response, pleased with his answer. Seeing no further need for this investigation he held an open hand in the air at Agent WHITE, a way of telling him to be at the ready. "Thank you, mister Deo, you made the correct choice. For now you are free to roam the headquarter. You should just continue as you do, act no different. Unfortunately this means we'll have to keep the collar on you. Just keep an ear to the ground and your eyes open with anything and everything your teammates do. We'll debrief you as needed but never seek us out." With that he gave Agent WHITE a thumb's up, the man opening the door to the office at that point, allowing Deo to leave. "Bring me the one named Odd."



Like all those before Agent WHITE and Type: Null would bring Odd before Looker in Sub's office, the man finding himself in the chair across from Looker. When Odd was seated Looker would speak. "Welcome, mister Odd. Let's get right to it. Could you tell me how and why you joined Team Snagem? Maybe a little bit about yourself as well and how it ties into joining Snagem."

Aile tilted her head when she saw the Hisuian Zorua. "That.... huh. Regional Zorua? The ones I've always known were black." Aile looked down soon after, reminded of Arkana now. The Zoroark that had been at her side from before she first joined Snagem, and an amazing ally. And Aile had thrown that away when she lied to her about what had gone on, going so far as to not even tell her that she had turned on Snagem. The one thing Arkana wanted from her was to not lie to her, as Zoroarks were one of the best Pokémon for optical illusions. Things mended somewhat, later, but Aile still couldn't bring herself to find her again after everything. That same shame from betraying Snagem extended to Arkana. She had broken her friend's trust, that was that. "Damn, I miss her," Aile muttered under her breath, sighing. Last she knew, the Zoroark was still in Kalos, grifting her way through life and probably finding it hilarious. Arks had so much fun fleecing the unsuspecting people with her illusions. And with as much as she learned while with Aile before, she doubted there would be any chance she returned to the wild.

With a final sigh, Aile would bring her attention back to the others, noting that Amber had joined them this time. “Yeah, no, it’s fine. You’re all good.” Turning her head to Ulla specifically, she’d shrug at the question pointed to her. “I don’t know. I haven’t been back to Kalos in… quite a while, honestly. There was the very brief thing where we got a ride from Coumarine to Porta Marinada, but that was but… Maybe an hour? It’s like a flight layover at most, and I wouldn’t even count it as visiting. So, Paldea has been the closest I’ve been to Kalos recently, that I would consider.” That… That did make her wonder. Was there something going on in Kalos? Her mind began thinking through some of the things that were going on. The Team Star kids had gotten their hands on Cipher tech somehow. There was a Malva sighting in Paldea, something that was a potential mushroom induced hallucination, but now Aile was throwing doubt on that. Sure, the regions were close, but why was she there? She was missing other pieces, but considering Malva’s involvement with Flare and how much Flare worked with Cipher… What information was she missing? Was there information she was missing, even, or was she just coming to conclusions? That question about when she was last in Kalos was making her uncomfortable now. Ooooh, if only that Malva she stabbed wasn’t the Ziton playing with her mind…

“Oh, uh, also, he asked if I had made any contacts for Snagem while in Orre. Considering that had come after my defection back to Flare and subsequent capture, I assumed I had burned nearly every bridge back here. Somehow, I didn’t, but, um, yeah. No, none.” Her head turned back to the hallway where Odd had most recently come down, noting Deo coming out as well. “What’s going on?... Oh, what did the two of you get asked about,” she asked them, turning her head back to them. She shared her details. Now it was time to see what the others had gotten questioned about.

Rome would shake his head at Crystal as she spoke, keeping himself focused as he willed the memories to reassert themselves. He had to correct her, had to make sure it was known clearly. "He...he did not accidentally bring it out in Snowpoint. He brought it out, but later. Snowpoint was it coming back, trying to kill what it saw as the problem and reaching this universe in its crusade." Crystal would be able to see as Rome suddenly forced his memory into focus, his only just formed feet dissolving away. "But I recognized him, knew he was getting out. Saw my chance to finally achieve....something. Can't....I cannot remember..." His legs would begin to fade away as well, but Rome wouldn't notice as he kept trying to force the train of thought forward. "But why am I remembering so clearly now? Why would I come free if that was where I had wanted to go?" Gripping his forehead, Rome would look down towards the space his feet had used to occupy. Blinking as he stared at his slowly dissolving lower half, he would give a small sigh before he spoke again, his legs now fully disappearing and his lower torso slowly going next. "Well, I have my answer. It would appear I am a memory fragment. Certainly explains why all the thinking felt so....draining. Pushed past the bounds of what formed me and started eating away at myself." Looking over to Crystal, he offered a smile as consolation. "Sorry, but it appears I may also be leaving you alone in here."

---

Harleen would take the moment of acknowledgement from Darts and branch the telepathic connection to Reno, while Reno would be doing the same thing with Blizz after he at least gave his middling gesture of consent. 'Alright, so what did you get asked and what's your take on these guys?' Reno sent to the two hybrids, continuing his work at constructing his sandwich after he gave Blizz a small nod upwards to acknowledge the gesture.

Looker frowned as Odd went on his rant, not surprised that the man immediately went on the verbal attack, even if he was easily the most combative one yet. "Mister Odd, let's be as civil as possible here. I understand emotions are high and there is a lot of confusion over what is happening but I assure you in spite of any previous arrangements SWIPE has the full force and authority of the Indigo Alliance behind it. As for miss Kess she has paid her dues and has become an upstanding citizen and stalwart guardian of justice. The same can be said for you if you deign to cooperate with us. So why don't we start over? I'll even give you a different question. Could you, mister Odd, please tell me what happened during the Citadark Isle incident. That is what you saw and experienced that day in Orre."

Hisuian? Ulla didn't realize Snagem could be transported like that. She looked at Zorua as it explains a ton more. Being in a weird timezone and being taken in only to be left behind. No wonder Zorua resents her brother and has trust issues. Atleast, it's starting to warm up. "I honestly didn't even know. I just thought he was a different variant of a shiny Zorua. Amber, if you'd like to patch up Bubbles. I'd happily heal them, with Doc Owl not here. We can use all the help we can get." She said as she stroked Zorua's back. Ulla listened to what they questioned Amber about. It was odd how much information they had on each Snagem. Also wondering how they have this sort of intel.

"They asked how old I am, and when did I join Snagem. They also asked me if I joined on my own volition." She said recalling the full questioning. Running it all back in her mind to see if there were any key things she can pick at. "They also gave me a warning. They warned me to stop walking this path. And to not go down with this sinking ship." She said very coldly. She's still unsure what lead all of them being questioned. "Sub would never put us in any danger that he didn't believe we couldn't handle...he made sure all of us were well prepared for every mission. So I only imagine, the inner turmoil he's going through. To get his team in this amount of danger."

Some people are very good at masking their intent, their emotions, and who they are.

Looker's voice rang in her head. No. Sub could never hide anything from me. He's an open book....right? She thought, as she noticed Deo was finished being questioned. Now, was Odd. How much longer is this going to take...?