‘Kahaha!’ Jelena laughed as she was launched into the next room by herself. Her arm flew back and into its socket again as Helga jumped into a different room, Jelena following the movements by turning her head towards where she supposed Helga would be right now. ‘Don’t call me a copycat unless you lose all your limbs and replace them with metal as well! But then you’d be the copycat, wouldn’t you!?’ she called, summoning her metal shards back towards her, with the exception for the one stuck into Helga’s cheek. That one she could have further fun with. Jelena grinned at the nasty things she could do.
‘Teh-heh, of course I want to fight!’ Jelena called, tracking the metal and reshaping the damage to her arm that Helga had done. ‘I just need to litter my battlefield with my metal and the-HYA-!?’
The floor under Jelena was suddenly removed by Su’s blasted around where she stood to make her piece of floor fall down into the room where Su and the monster-girl was standing. She made a quick, desperate grab for the ledge, except her destructive fingers instead tore through the ledge she was trying to grab ahold of and she instead fell down in a spin. ‘TSK…!’ She made a noise as she instead shielded herself with her other hand, shaping the metal into a shield as Su started shooting her. The first few blows came before Jelena had properly shielded herself, but things pointed to Jelena having decent Vitality to harden through those for long enough to just be launched into the wall again. Though, Helga was in the other room up above, a bit far away to finish the job.
However, that’s when two swords of ice cut along the wall around Jelena, and the section of wall along with the metal girl was sent stumbling along the floor of the adjacent room, momentarily safe unless Su gave immediate pursuit.
‘You’re outnumbered. Let’s pull back,’ Victoria’s voice could be heard.
‘Outnumbered!? You’re here, and Mayra’s over there, isn’t she!?’ Jelena complained loudly.
‘Thing is, I’m not me, I already left,’ Victoria responded.
‘Oh, hell,’ Jelena cursed, then her head stuck through the door to look at Su and the monster girl. ‘Hey, Mayra, give me a hand, here!’
‘Mmmm…’ the monster-girl lifted a finger to her lips and considered, before grinning widely. ‘Nope!’
‘Whathe- WHY!?’ Jelena demanded.
‘You froze me and kept me out of the fun! Su helped me put out my own fire, and I wanna follow her for a bit, see what she does~!’ Mayra responded, smiling, putting her hands behind her back over her tail and tilted her body in an overly girly way.
‘GEH!’ Jelena jumped back from the hole in the wall, and then a heated but whispered conversation took place behind the wall.
‘FINE! HAVE FUN!’ Jelena called in a voice that sounded like she wished her to be impaled on a spear for all eternity. There was then the sound of the two of them breaking out a window and escaping for now. Of course, pursuit’s still possible if Su feels so inclined. Mayra gave a girly little wave for them to leave, before offering Su her hand.
‘Mayra McCullough. Pleased to meet you~!’ Mayra grinned so widely and happily as she offered. Well, that’s something that happened. What now?
Then there was that Katelyn unleashed lightning outside, and Mayra probably looked in the direction despite there being a wall in the way, being like ‘Oooh, who’s that?’
Shion duplicates and Katelyn might become aware of Jelena and a Victoria escaping the building, possibly looking up and then having a silent chatter amongst themselves before attempting to fall back out of sight. Meanwhile, there were more Victorias hiding out here and there in roofs, alleys and inside the building the fight had taken place in, just in case, watching, but none of those were interfering in whatever Shion and Katelyn were doing right now.
‘Maw…?’ Mawile looked up to Eryn as she handed over that stick of honey, accepting it with somewhat eager little hands before starting to lick at the honey on the stick, her eyes wide with the eagerness to taste that sweetness. Then… Eryn proposed that.
Mawile paused and stood straight, staring at Eryn, honey-stick lowered. It was a stare that differed from earlier, an analytical stare of someone in full control of her emotions and considering her options from a serious angle. After all, she knew she was on the lower rung of the Pokémon world right now, and growing strong had its attractive options. More like, having been released into this park of unappealing young trainers, it was pretty infuriating. Like an insult to her intelligence, that she wasn’t worth more than a brief event for the trainers at this school. Of course, it was her own fault for being captured in the wild to begin with, but that didn’t make it any less infuriating.
She knew that she’d likely leave here in a Pokéball one way or another, but here was the option to give herself up for the promise of becoming strong enough to get her treats. It was slightly insulting. Then again, this trainer didn’t look like she had much else to offer at this moment, and Mawile herself HAD been attracted here by the sweet smell of honey, so it wasn’t too unreasonable, she supposed. She slightly blamed herself for being attracted to the honey, lured like some common animal. The reason she hadn’t approached the honey to claim her share was honestly because she hadn’t wanted to be found by any students, but this girl was no student. Perhaps… perhaps that was…
Mawile considered this fairly important decision concerning her life for a few more moments…
… Oh, well! This trainer looked like she’d pamper her, so she figured she could do worse!
‘Mawile!’ She jumped straight back into her cute persona and skipped to Eryn.
Eryn obtained Mawile!
Gender: ♀ Type: Steel/Fairy Personality: (Up to player. However, note that she’s the Deceiver Pokémon. It’s in her very nature to be secretly one way but pretend to be the cutest thing.) Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other: (Up to player.) Level: 5 Moves: Taunt, Growl, Fairy Wind, Astonish, Fake Tears Ability: Hyper Cutter. Attack cannot be lowered. Also becomes more proficient with Cut. Held Item: Occa Berry (once eaten, reduces effect of next fire-type attack which strikes)
New Pokémon caught! Eryn earned 2000 P!
Would you like to give a nickname to Mawile?
Now, then. What would Eryn do now?
1. Pokémon School Park. There’s a small park of grass in here. What kind of Pokémon might be in it? 2. Talk. Plenty of students and teachers. This is a wellspring of knowledge, someone must know something. 3. Challenge. Work your way up the leaderboard! Specify the level of opponent. 4. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result. 5. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you. 6. Study. You want to know something? Feel free to learn about it here! 6.1. Pokémon Habitats. Learn where you might find a specific kind of Pokémon! 6.2. Isson Geography. Learn more about the different places in Isson! 6.3. Names to Remember. Learn about Gym Leaders, Elite Four, or the like! 6.4. Local Legends. Learn about different tales from around Isson! 6.5. Pokémon Breeding. That’s also a subject. 6.6. Battling Basics. You likely know them already. 6.7. Specify. Tell what you want to learn and we’ll see if we have a course!
Connected areas: Pureplain City. All around, of course.
I am amused that you mentioned seeking that particular Pokémon. Did you know? It has been mentioned in the IC that Tropius appears in this forest at a previous time, but the have not been properly encountered before, heh. In any case. Here.
Nope, he didn't bother with Grass Whistle this time. Sorry about that. Ritz didn't quite have the agility to dodge, so it became a matter of outlasting the firepower... which worked relatively well, but that's just way too much power, heh.
I'll remind that I prefer Joshua to not interfere too heavily with what's going on down here. I was okay with it when it was Angelique, because the kids can't handle her, but here the place is scaled for Dawkin and Amelia, hah.
I apologize for the short post, but it mostly amounted to "that works", heh. Now I need your input for how you intend to use the stick of honey you acquired.
'Oh. Alright, if you say so,' Vivia said, acknowledging with Skylar said and then heading out with him. She listened to the rest he had to say but didn’t really have anything else to say, so moving on. As they wandered the forest, it sounded like there were some soft tunes in the distance, sounding like some kind of melody? They walked on, and then they walked into a decently large Pokémon, extending its long neck to eat fruits from the nearby trees.
So, funny that was specifically what he was looking for. Because… there are Tropius in this forest, walking about from tree to tree, seeking fruits and not minding Skylar and Vivia at all.
Pokédex Entry #357 – Tropius, the Fruit Pokémon. This Pokémon continuously seeks out and eats fruit, growing more nourishing fruit itself the more it eats. It flies by flapping its giant leaves, somehow. It’s normally found in jungles, but Isson doesn’t have jungles, so instead they inhabit the rainy Northern Silent Forest and its Southern counterpart occasionally.
… Except, they’re somewhat of the hulking giants of Silent Forest. Being in their presence, Skylar feels that he’s a bit out of his own league, and if he wants to catch one he’s going to have to return when he’s somewhat stronger. If he got too close, he’d get a threatening stare… and maybe be offered a fruit, the large Pokémon lowering its neck to offer the fruits growing on its neck to them, but that’s about it. Currently, their levels range from 20 to 30. There MAY be younger Tropius around, they aren’t born on level 20… but to find those, he might have to change his strategy.
So… This little pocket in the forest seems to be a Tropius napping ground, with numerous Tropius lying collapsed and snoring. … Or not, seeing how multiple others were fleeing the scene, as if in a panic. If one were to ask why exactly they were running… then one’s eyes (assuming they were functioning well enough) would be drawn towards the stump before the groove, where a pink ball of a Pokémon stood, turning to stare at the new people that had entered the scene.
Pokédex Entry #39 – Jigglypuff, the Balloon Pokémon. Looking into its eyes causes it to sing a lullaby which, due to its unique vocal cords, are able to find the exact frequency at which the opponent cannot help but fall asleep. This is its defensive mechanism, and will sing to the point it cannot breathe against an enemy that won’t fall asleep.
‘... Puff?’ At the start, Jigglypuff was looking at Skylar, who… wasn’t triggering her instinct to sing when their eyes met? Jigglypuff was confused. However… then it met the eyes of either Seabreeze or Vivia, the latter who blinked a bit in surprise towards it. Satisfied, Jigglypuff smiled under its giant eyes, and then opened its mouth.
Jigglypuff was intending to sing for them. It’s pretty common knowledge what a Jigglypuff’s song does.
Skylar / Seabreeze’s action?
If he needs outside input for any reason, we can assume Vivia called 'It’s gonna sing!' before starting her own actions, which she will have, but Skylar’s first.
‘Cheap tricks?’ Archie giggled, no other word for what he was doing, before he smiled widely with hands behind his back and tilted his head while play-pouting. ‘Hey, that’s rude! Those “tricks” are my bread and butter~!’
Ritz came out, and Archie smiled widely. ‘Tihi. Still red. Not fire, but still red. So, so red…’ … and that was all Archie said, while Sunfloorall had started charging a Solar Beam in its own, preparing to fire as Ritz flew up into the sky.
While Solar Beam didn’t need a turn to charge because of the harsh sunlight, it still took long enough that Ritz had the advantage in speed. That said, Safeguard didn’t help when the sunflower went all-out assault. Due to the distance Ritz managed to precisely maneuver out of the way as another massive beam shot into the sky past him, yet the mere proximity to the powerful rays damaged him a notable amount despite the double resistance. Then, he got Reflect up just in time, because he wasn’t as lucky with the dodges the second time. The Solar Beam hit right into the shield protecting him, and all his Special Defense would have been pointless before firepower of that magnitude. However, Reflect protected him, the beam dispersing to his left and right as he resisted the beam.
When the beam finally dispersed, was still in the game, though damaged heavily.
‘Yeah, shoot another beam. You don’t have a lot to go, so we’ll have to take out as many as we can while you still got it,’ Archie said, still smiling, and Sunfloorall responded.
‘Floooooooor~!’
While Ritz was doing his best to dodge, and having reflect and double-resistance at his side, two more Solar Beams STILL did too much damage, even though it was merely by proximity, causing Ritz to faint. The tactics employed had ensured that it took four Solar Beams rather than two, but in the end Ritz wasn’t fast enough to quite dodge the beams. Still, Sunfloorall looked like it was about to faint, now.
‘Niiiice~ So, you got one or two Solarge Beams to go. Think you can take another Pokémon?’ Archie asked his gasping sunflower.
‘S-sunflora!!’
Sunfloorall called out, eager to serve but almost drained.
Litwick went and Astonished the Golett within his own Fire Spin, taking some fire damage which was absorbed by Flash Fire and powered up Litwick’s own flame. Golett, meanwhile, took too much damage and fell into a heap and fainted.
Sooo, ability update. Seems Bronzor here went with Heatproof, meaning it actually didn’t take particularly much damage from Fire Spin. This, however, meant it does not have Levitate, and was as such promptly Mud Shot by Wooper, taking super-effective damage and quivering back. Meanwhile, while Atlas does not know Mud Shot, he can Mud Slap aplenty in the direction of Honedge, who was hit and got some mud on the eyes on its guard and had its accuracy decreased… not that it mattered, No Guard ensured it hit its next Fury Cutter anyway.
The combination of Wooper’s Mud Shot, Shuppet’s Knock Off and Drifloon’s Astonish was enough to faint Bronzor. However, thanks to its impressive defense was still just barely around after two Astonishes and a Mud Slap, partly due to the low-power nature of the moves. In annoyance, it sliced back a Fury Cutter against Phantump, who due to Grass-type took a decent amount of damage from the one-step powered up cutting move… but now Honedge’s going to be taken out by any move that any Pokémon performs, so for all intents and purposes, this particular skirmish is over. It’s just a highly damaged Honedge left.
Without any further ado,
Litwick grew to Level 11! Shuppet grew to Level 11! Phantump grew to Level 11! Pumpkaboo grew to Level 11! Pumpkaboo learned Worry Seed! Drifloon grew to Level 11!
Wooper grew to Level 11!
Meanwhile.
The Golett carrying the girl flinched to a stop as Absol overtook it and growled. As Absol doesn’t actually learn the move Growl, Golett’s attack-stat was unaffected.
An ultimatum was given, release the girl or suffer a fate worse than death (slight dramatisation). Golett held the girl, slightly quivering as its loyalty was tested. It considered for many long seconds, during which it honestly considered abandoning the cause…
… but no!
It could not abandon the emperor! The emperor that for so long and bravely supported them, that hatched this plan and promised prosperity to them all, that urged them on this quest for him! Their loyalty was absolute!
‘Golett!’ With this in mind, Golett steeled itself, a tear of yellow oil or something leaking from its shiny eyes, as it took one step-
aaaaaaaaaand was cut down by a Night Slash, falling down into a heap after the absurdly powerful slash.
The girl fell onto the floor or perhaps Absol or Joshua caught her, and was quick to get up on her feet and dust herself off. She then turned towards her saviors.
‘It would seem I have been saved,’ she said, before bowing to them. ‘Thank you, but I ask that you leave this place at once. The spirits are uneasy, and only someone who can commune with them will be able to unearth the cause. As such, I should proceed alone. I’d like to ask you to go look after my father in the meantime. He was being pursued by a group of Pokémon. That is all. Have a good day,’ she said, before turning around and intending on heading deeper into the tombs on her own.
In any case. They’re standing in a bit of a crossroad of sand. The rest of the Goletts headed into the architecture ahead, further into the tombs. Right from the entrance was the direction the man had dashed, pursued by a small army of enemies. Left was another tomb-like cavern, who knows where that led, and finally there was always back, following the stairs back out.
‘Dwebble!’ the Dwebble sounded annoyed as something was taking its honey-covered stick, and turned to face the slimy thief… only to end up face-to-face with (comparatively) big fire lizard. It then made a quick call that this particular bit of honey probably wasn’t worth it, and instead turned to mess with its mates to get some more honey from them. Dei was free to return to Eryn safely.
What exactly did she wish to do with said stick of honey?
Sheila had ensured there was a path into the HQ that currently didn’t contain any Rockers grunts for this moment. It was the time to introduce people, and hope things went well. Herself, she was in full Creep costume, black coat and a black tattered cape which she’d discard if she’d actually be in battle but it looked cool whenever she wasn’t. Blindfold and mask on, hair coloured brown by use of her power, hood currently down. It was easier like that. First, she had escorted Jacob into her office. Now, she came through for the second time, having retrieved Chad. It was time for them both to meet again, now. She didn’t know how much they actually knew of one another… but here it was.
Sheila opened the door and walked aside, turning to look at each of them as she let the encounter happen without any interference on her part. She’d told them both the one they’d meet would be another ally of hers, but left everything else exceedingly vague, just in case they wanted to keep their identities hidden… but chances were they’d know.
Jacob stood there, looking on casually at the other. An ally. The only one to accept the offer, if he had to guess. What a shame. She deserved more than just…. Well, him and another.
He'd come simple. He didn't want anything impressive for a costume, it just wasn't his thing. Instead he was in a black hoodie, hood up and a pretty standard black Domino mask on underneath framed by his untidy hair. Old black cargo pants, torn in a few places, over well worn shoes. He could pass on the streets as any random person. He nodded at the other, raising his voice a little. ”The name's Pester.”
Comparing himself to the other guy here, Chad couldn’t help but wonder if he’d asked too much of Sheila. He’d suggested for himself something akin to a firefighter’s outfit, complete with mask and head cover, not expecting her to actually go out of her way to grab one for him. Since then, he’d customised the mask with a tinted layer, letting him see out whilst blocking his face from observation and muffling his voice. He felt like he’d appreciate that notion, honestly. Given his ability, if he accidentally killed someone, he’d want to make sure his real identity wasn’t compromised.
One benefit of his power: he didn’t really feel heat the same way. Sure, it was hot under his outfit, but it wasn’t affecting him the way one might anticipate, which was certainly a plus. Helped him keep his cool around... this guy. He had a feeling he recognised the hair, but he didn’t bring anything up for now, just in case he was wrong.
Instead, he introduced himself dispassionately. ‘I go by Salem. Pleasure to meet you.’
Jacob licked his lips and swallowed before continuing, having looked the guy over. ”It should be…. Interesting…. Working together.”
Sheila looked at them both at the same time, using her power. Hm, well. Seemed like they’d do fine, but they were slightly strapped for time. ‘Alright, good. I’d take more time with this introduction, but Visage is on her way. Visage is on the Rockers and an ally of us, but she’s not like me. She’s a proper villain,’ Sheila said with her voice-changer on, making it more creepy and hoarse yet still decidedly female. ‘I don’t entirely trust her, but we’ll be working together. I trust you two to be my allies… if something were to happen. In any case. She has the ability to take my form. She can change people’s perception of her, just like I can. She’s going to help lead the Rockers while taking my form, to make “Creep” a mightier and more everpresent entity. … But that’s also why, at any point I enter your field of vision…’
She blinked at them. A small white light, blinking in the center of her dark form at the two of them, a separate light for each. Each light was directed only at their eyes and at nothing else, giving a small blinking-star like appearance at a harmless level of light.
‘… I’ll give you this sign that it is me. Nobody around but those I want to see it can see it. Visage won’t know it, and I trust neither of you will tell her. This way you’ll be able to tell, no matter what.’ Sheila nodded, thinking that’d do. ‘Alright. Stand by me, or make ready any way you want. Visage will be here any minute.’ Saying so, Sheila turned to the door Visage would likely appear from, given it was the only way into the office. Just standing straight in the middle of the room, in a way nobody would unless they were obviously waiting for someone.
Jacob nodded once, moving to lean against a wall silently.
Oh, right, Visage. She’d been... mentioned before, with a hint of caution in Sheila’s voice when she did so. At the time, Chad had been a bit put off by how it turned out she could look like Creep at any time she wanted, with no obvious hints that she was indeed a different person. Now, with some time to process the notion, and especially with this new revelation of how to tell who was the real Creep and who was merely an imposter, Chad felt much more at ease about that matter.
‘Understood,’ he agreed, taking his position next to Sheila in preparation for what came next. He’d been practicing his “cool guy” persona for a few days, so that he could mask his persona as well as his physical features from those he definitely didn’t want to know about it. He was a bit of a twat normally, he’d admit that much to himself any day, but the average Rocker didn’t need to know about that. Visage, from what he’d heard about her, didn’t need to know either.
”No mentioning stabbing people, be respectful to Creep, do I need to reiterate anything else?” Visage closed the cab door behind Mire, fixing her mask to her face a bit better. Now she was actually wearing her full costume, as opposed to just manipulating the node like before. Listening for a response, she started leading the way towards the Rocker HQ. Without thinking about it too much, she dismissed the node she had set on the cab driver.
Mire counted her fingers while mumbling to herself as she went over the many points Visage had discussed with her while on the drive. ”Uhhhh-no I don’t think so. Yeah no I think we’re good.” Mire was shaking with excitement as they walked towards what she was assuming to the be Rockers HQ building. She took a deep breath and made sure her knife was sheathed securely. ”Ok yeah one hundred percent ready.”
The lack of Rocker grunts in the HQ kind of surprised Visage, though she tried not to show it. Letting the heavy door close behind them, she stayed ahead of Mire, and headed for Creep’s new office. It wasn’t new new, it was new to Creep, Visage assumed. She opened the door, and went in first, motioning Mire to follow her as she took stock of the new people. She hadn’t met either of them before, it seemed, as no nodes were present except Creep’s.
”Wow we were on similar wavelengths, eh?” Visage joked, flourishing her hand at Mire, before waving it again to reference the two others. ”New allies I presume?”
So quick to find the words. Creep had been intending to speak immediately, yet Visage had construed entire sentences before Creep got out her pre-prepared one. ‘Hm.’ Creep crossed her arms and let out a mildly amused little sound. ‘I did say I’d be looking into inviting some friends, did I not?’ So the pet project was a new ally? Interesting, and slightly worrying. Still, it was promising. Creep turned her face to Mire despite not needing to in order to see her. ‘I am Creep, leader of the Rockers. And these… Gentlemen, if you would,’ she said, intending that the other two can introduce themselves.
‘Salem.’ Yeah, just his Cape name would work. Maybe cross his arms, too? Hell yeah, that definitely looked badass.
”Pester." Jacob's voice was resoundingly unemotional, borderline bored, as he remained where he was.
Maybe a little less impactful than Creep would have liked, but alright, then. ‘Now, who’s this?’
Mire looked at all the new people, you had the boss Creep and her goons Salem and Pester. So this is what she’d gotten herself into. After a brief glance back at Visage Mire looked back at the others and shot out her arms towards the two boys, inviting them to a handshake. ”Pleasure to meet you all. I’m Mire! I look forward to working with you!”
Bracing herself, Visage didn’t expect Mire to do-wow. That was actually perfect. Visage smiled slightly, now watching Salem and Pester’s reaction. Honestly if Mire was just very polite the entire time, it would make it difficult for anyone else here to act out, unless they wanted to lose respect.
Oh-ho. An energetic one, Creep thought. That might actually be a boon to the group. She stayed quiet for now, looking on.
Jacob nodded slightly, looking at the hand offered before pulling himself off the wall and accepting with an easy smile. ”Any ally of Creep is an ally of mine." The words were casual as he looked into Mire's eyes.
”Same!” Mire said with a slightly giddy tone before turning her head towards Salem. Wiggling her fingers as she waited for him to go for the extended hand.
Chad had expected a much less... perky ally in Mire, admittedly. Then again, he hadn’t been expecting any other allies than Visage. Sheila hadn’t mentioned this, but from the sound of things, she hadn’t known about it either. That said, since she was offering her hand, Chad extended his hand to take it.
Just as Chad had almost reached her had Mire quickly retracted in and ran it over her head and rubbed the back of her neck. ”Ooooo too slow.” Mire chuckled a little. ”I’m sorry I jest.” Mire then re-extended her hand back out and gave Chad a firm handshake.
...that stung, a lot. Memories arose of times when he’d been subjected to bullying, so much bullying. And he’d just been about to greet her cordially, too. He was almost tempted to just retract his hand entirely, but for the sake of politeness, kept his hand extended until the shake was over before folding his arms again. Bitch thought she was a jokester, huh? He imagined the idiot wouldn’t be laughing so much if she had her arms torn off. Or maybe her fingers broken one by one, or... hell, he could just start melting her body inch by slow, painful, torturous inch...
Auuuuugh. He hated bullies. Managing to suppress a violent twitch of recoil from his own broken psyche down to a slight shudder, he responded ‘I hope we can get along well,’ nodding politely in Mire and Visage’s direction. He’d certainly make sure Mire didn’t start fucking with him regularly. Somehow, maybe.
Jacob's grip on Mire's hand tightened slightly as a flash of irritation passed over his face. ”I think that was uncalled for." With that he let go with one final squeeze and returned to Sheila's side.
‘Now, now,’ Creep raised her voice a bit directly after Pester’s comment, in a way to signify that the boss was talking. ‘Play nice. Mire, I’d appreciate if you avoided making my members feel slighted. Pester, in the same vein, avoid scaring new members when you inform them they’ve done wrong. We need them to like being Rockers.’ Creep took it onto herself to make a good first impression for the girl. While her face was covered, she made herself smile under the mask as she stepped forward to calmly extend her own hand.
‘Welcome to the Rockers. I look forward to seeing how you’ll do.’
Mire tilted her head at Jacob as he let go of her hand, she didn’t think she was going to like these two. Soft as fucking marshmallows they were. That’s when the boss raised her voice, she also voiced out against her harmless prank though it seemed like she was trying to keep everyone happy over actually being annoyed by it. It was cute how Creep thought Pester could actually be scary, with how thin that kid’s skin was Mire didn’t think he’d be capable of anything that she would consider even remotely frightening.
Mire accepted Creep’s handshake, giving her a surprisingly sturdy handshake for someone of her size. ”I look forward to working with you too. I hope I’ll be able to pull my weight.”
Gentlemen. This is a boy at best, child at worst. Visage didn't even consider shaking their hands, but she still had to tease them somehow. She walked over to Pester, leaning forward, eyes intent on the side of his face, directly below the right side of his domino mask. Having already looked him over, this was literally just for show. If he glanced down at her cleavage he would get quite the show, but he'd also lose in Visage's eyes. ”I like you, Pester. Name makes me think of pestilence. Hopefully it's not in reference to what children do.” She stood straight again, walking over to stand in front of Creep but keeping her distance still. ”Are we gonna show off a little of what they can do? Or is now not the time for that?”
Jacob looked on, unfazed, with a slightly raised eyebrow. He glanced at Creep before speaking. ”It's a reference to what I'll become. What I am." He looked again at Creep for confirmation about displaying abilities, a hint of concern on his face.
Visage was definitely flashing Pester, right? That wasn’t just a trick of his mind, was it? Maybe he was just imagining it. Yeah, that made sense. But honestly, he felt like what Creep had said about playing nice wouldn’t matter, since he was able to play as nice as anybody could want, even if he was wanting to put his fingers through their- no, Chad, no, stop it. The point was, she had accused Pester of pestering, and he’d responded with a statement about who he intended to become. And as for himself, somewhat on the sidelines... well, he hoped he hadn’t fulfilled a prophecy in his own right by naming himself after an infamous incident of mass hysteria.
Creep watched Visage very closely for what she was doing that close to Pester, albeit she was still turned towards Mire. Nothing particular happened and Pester held his own, good. Creep finished her handshaking with Mire and nodded, until Visage then asked asked if they’d show off what they could do. … Hm. Both her new recruits had certain negative drawbacks upon using their powers. One internal, the other highly external. Still…
‘Yes. We need to understand one another’s abilities going forward, for when we fight side by side it is to our advantage to know exactly what to expect of our companions. With that in mind…’ … Creep took a bit of a breath as she prepared to show off her own power first.
She made a show of suddenly being blown into dust in front of the rest, little parts of her scattering into nothing. Though, she was still standing there. ‘I twist perception for those looking in my direction. While my range is short, I can redirect any image I perceive around me in any direction I please, or break it apart as it suits me.’ For those present, she made a little show of an image of themselves as she could see them appearing in her place, looking back at them. ‘… That said, I am no artist. I can only use images I have available, I can’t create new ones from scratch. But I can break them.’ She cracked the images in a lot of pieces, scattering them in the winds, Creep standing there behind, looking towards them.
‘So. Currently, all of you seem to see me looking at you. Which way am I actually looking?’ … She had the vision of herself collapse into shadows, leaving herself facing the wall. ‘… The answer is all of them, because I manipulate my own perception so I can see in all directions at once. I don’t need to face anywhere, anymore.’ She breathed out a bit. ‘So, my range is short and have limitations. However, when someone’s within my range…’ So, Mire had been close to her for that handshake, so Creep was going to use her for her own demonstration.
To Mire, Creep remained standing in front of her. To the rest, Sheila briefly left a transparent version of herself standing where she had been as the real her walked in a half-circle around Mire on soft, silent feet. The transparent version of herself vanished quickly, but Mire still saw Creep in front of her, yet none of the rest did. Finally, behind Mire, she spoke. ‘When people are within my range, I control exactly what they see. They’re effectively mine.’ With that, the Creep in front of Mire, to only her, blew into dust as Creep backed away towards the wall behind her. ‘I can choose who I want to see me and who to not. As such, I’ll show myself as transparent if I want you to see me but want to signal that our opponents cannot. At worst, I’m a Stranger with a knife. And that’s what I can do. A Creep creeping up behind you without you ever knowing, and taking control of your reality.’
… Maybe she went overboard there. Maybe. She had thought about that demonstration a lot. … Of course, that wasn’t all she could do, but that was entirely intentional.
‘The rest of you can demonstrate if you wish. I leave that to you,’ Creep said, leaning to the wall now.
Frowning for a moment, Chad looked down at the ground before him. He’d learned by now to filter out the additional sense when he didn’t need to use it, but when he focused on it just a little, the floor and walls around him gladly offered themselves up as subjects to his ability. At a whim, he could probably kill everybody else in the room before they could blink... but, that would be counter-productive. And it’d mean Sheila died, too.
‘You’ll figure it out,’ he uttered to the other three. Coldly, or coolly? Crap, had he been too chilly with his response? He was trying to sound cool, not douchey. If he came off as a douche, they might decide he was worth killing after all... oh, hell, he hoped they wouldn’t do it to him.
Jacob smirked, walking away from everyone a little, showing the first real signs of emotions since the meeting had started.
With a little snap of his fingers, for show of course, a lean reptilian looking creature appeared near him. It immediately took off, running around the group, between people, and going so far as to even pull off a little flip before climbing a wall. And then….
It was gone just as soon as it had appeared. Jacob's face went from joy to…. Nothing. In an almost mechanical voice he spoke up, ”Yeah, so, I use my emotions to make a thing that kinda listens and does whatever you'd expect that emotion to do. Leaves me emotionless for a few hours or so.”
Mire stood in place after she shook Creeps hand, just looking around at people as they said their stuff. And it seemed they had planned to show off their powers so they could better work together and all that spicy stuff, that was cool. Oooh, the big boss was going first, Mire was interested in this one. Mire tilted her head at Creep as the girl appeared to just, fade away but like she was still there talking. Oh boy it was another mind fucker illusion person dam there were like 3 of them standing in the room! Man fighting them would be like fucking a disco.
Then it seemed Creep was focused on messing around with Mire, she could see the image of the boss clearly in front of her but her voice was coming from behind. That was some sneaky shit right there, Mire wasn’t sure how she felt about it. Then it was fireman Sam’s turn, though he just blurted out some ominous crap and didn’t do anything. I mean Mire wasn’t expecting much from the dude anywho. Then came another interesting power, summoning animal companion based on emotion… Hmm what if they could bleed, oh wait could she stab them and then nobody except a projection would die? Shiiiiiit she might like this kid after all. Mire looked around and then pointed to herself? ”Oh is it my turn now? Oh a-ah ok, I think taking a few steps back would be a good move.”
Mire walked as far as she could away from the others, as she wanted to show off the mist a bit without actually making them get fricked the heck up by it. Mire rolled her shoulders and shifted to her breaker form with a quick puff of smoke. Instantly Mire’s Mist started to expand and fill the room, though Mire was taking care that the cloud would not reach the others. ”My power is made up of two main parts, there is the mist that you all see in front of you. If you were to come into contact with it you would start to see things, hear things, feel things, that are not truly there. Well most of them.” Mire’s voice was much different from her normal one, it sounded like an echo except it was clearly coming from one direction instead of all around. The mist stayed in place as Mire made her way closer to the group though she was still currently concealed by her mist, but instead of normal footsteps everyone would hear heavy thudding, like something big was coming.
That is when Mire’s form would peek out of the mist, still partly concealed by it. What stood there was clearly not human, it was a towering beast that’s hunched back was almost scraping against the ceiling. In place of a human head was what looked like a mix between a bear and a shark head, in place of arms the creature had two sets of bladed appendages like massive bladed hooks. The main bulk of the body and rear end of the beast was still hidden in the mist. ”The secondary part of my power lets me edit my form in a multitude of ways, I’m a shape shifter.” With that said Mire descended back into the mist which quickly started to collapse in on itself, eventually disappearing to show Mire standing there. ”Ta da!” Mire did a dramatic bow before walking back towards the group.
First there was Creep’s performance, which informed Visage of her power in ways she hadn’t before known. She took some mental notes, trying to remind herself to write this down at some point in the future. Know thy enemy, and all that jazz. Next was Salem who- Alright, did nothing. Was he going for edge? Regardless, Visage found herself slightly perturbed, though she did her best to remain straight faced.
Next next next, next was Pester. The moment she saw the thing appear she frowned. It moved around the room a bit, and Visage had to hold back an involuntary screech. God she hated creepy things like this. That gave her a mental note to not bring Pester on missions with her unless he was going to be using his power very far away from Visage.
At long last our dear Mire, she showed her true color, which was black smoke. Another self satisfied smile crossed her face, sticking there until Mire reverted. Wonderful. She mouthed, mostly to herself. So far she’d seen a woman who could control her image in a more abstract way, a boy with performance anxiety, a reptile summoner, and the incomparable Mire. Visage was definitely winning.
Oh, and herself. She idly wondered if they had actually been told about her power. It didn’t much matter if they had been, as no one knew the whole story behind her power, still. An interesting thought. Taking to the center of the room, she set nodes on them one by one, only keeping her eyes on theirs long enough to create it. ”Poof” In front of them stood Creep, and they would fully grasp that instantly. There once was Visage, and now there was another Creep. ”Oh I found this out recently.”NotCreep said, and then she was gone. No other form stood in her place. Soft soled and invisible, she carefully crept past Salem. Once behind him, she would wrap her arms around his stomach, pressing herself against his back Her power turned off for all present and she remained motionless. ”Similar to Creep’s but without the shattering. I can just control what I look like.”
Everyone else seemed so proud to show off. Sure, there were benefits to showing what he could do to those who’d benefit from it, but why bother when you could just tell them? Not to mention just showing it, not intentionally making a scene. Even Creep, he realised belatedly, she’d gone and showed off her ability to apparently turn into dust, as well as sneaking around the back of Mire. All perceptual, all based on twisting what they could see freely. It was self-indulgence. And to add to that, Pester showed off his own ability, a Master power that generated a creature from his emotions. Apparently, he only really felt emotion as a result of that? Or at least he couldn’t feel emotion after the fact. Interesting.
Then came Mire. Dear God, Mire. Not only could she... generate some black mist? Transform into it? He couldn’t tell, but it was supposedly hallucinogenic either way. Chad was suddenly very very happy he was wearing the smoke mask, whether or not it helped. In fact, he wasn’t sure her mist wasn’t getting in anyway; the thing, the monster that stepped out of the mist kind of made him wonder if he’d not suddenly snapped. Then again, it was speaking to them all, and the others, so he took a step back from it just in case. Juuust in case.
And shortly after, the mist collapsed, and Mire was back to normal. Yeah, no, that was fine. He never ever wanted to fight her, whether he would win such a fight or not. Though somehow, he wondered whether he could, even with his own ability. However, that just left Visage, who took to the center of the room, then took her time to look in everyone’s direction... why? Apparently, so she could transform into Creep. Right, Sheila had mentioned this already; a fake Creep, but as he glanced back and forth between her and the real Creep, he kept track of that one indicator, that thing which proved who was who, fake, real, fake, real, fa- wait. Where did Visage go?
The sensation of a body pressing up behind him, of arms wrapping around his stomach, had him freezing up abruptly. Was that. Yes, no, that was Visage. Why was she behind him. Why was she pressing herself against him. Okay, no, see, most guys would like that to happen, right? Why wouldn’t he like it too? Well, maybe, the consideration of what Sheila had told him kept him a bit wary anyway. She was a “proper villain”. That meant bad things, or at least he imagined it did. He didn’t know, maybe Sheila was exaggerating a touch.
‘Yeah, okay, cool,’ he uttered, his voice still muffled through his mask. Thankfully. ‘That is definitely a useful ability.’ And like that, he was the odd one out. Hell, maybe he should say what his power was? They’d figure it out soon enough, anyway... but still…
Creep turned her head, as she made in habit of doing as to not look inhuman as she focused around her. Salem… said they’d figure it out. … Hah, yeah, she had been wondering. Okay, while she had something to say, they moved on. Pester showed his power. Honestly, she found the reptile a little cute. Given his smile, she assumed this was joy? Or smugness, that worked too. While there was an inherent worry that it’d for some reason charge her, Creep stayed still until it was gone. Then, it was Mire.
Creep acknowledged and moved over without a word for her demonstration. First there was the smoke. A Breaker, it appeared. The effects of the mist were certainly worrying. Then… that form appeared. Seemed they had no shortage of monsters. It was an impressive power, indeed. It gave them some much needed physical presence, given two Strangers and a Master so far. Yeah, not a power she wanted to fight, certainly.
Then… Visage. It disturbed Creep somewhat that she could now replicate invisibility. She dearly hoped Salem could handle being hugged, because at least that was a friendly move. However, that explanation… Like her own, Visage was hiding something. Creep knew it. Later, in a more private spot, she’d tell both Jacob and Chad that Visage is hiding some part of her power. She has some form of Thinker sub-power, possibly more that she isn’t telling, which helps her keep others in order. Be on your guard. Still, from here, it did seem like Visage had the power-advantage, if something were to happen. … Let’s throw a wrench in that, shall we?
‘Thank you. Pester, nice, we’ll need to test out your power in live environments soon so we can know what to expect of it in action. Should be fun. Mire, that’s a cool power. It’ll stand out well when we move out. Visage, where did you find her? I’d like to look into the same alley to see if we can find any more.’ Creep gave the mildest of a chuckle, willing herself to be amused. Then… she turned her head to the one who hadn’t shown off his power.
‘Salem. I understand your choice. Indeed, showing off your power here would be rather unwise. Still, if an emergency would happen, say, in five minutes, then our allies need to know what to expect of you. We may need to skip the demonstration and use old-fashioned words to describe what you can do,’ she said, looking to her friend.
...and there, see, Sheila was basically confirming what he’d just been thinking. Fine, he needed to say roughly what he could do, but he didn’t need to explain it in full, right? He was pretty sure the others hadn’t explained their own abilities fully to everyone else, after all.
‘Well. Long story short, I can melt rock,’ he explained, shrugging out of Visage’s grip as best he could, ‘and turn it into lava. It’s got quite a good range, and whilst I can’t turn people’s bones into lava, I can turn the ground under their feet into lava. It’s pretty dangerous. I’m, uh, coming up with ways to make it a bit less completely lethal.’ Understating himself, there - but hopefully, that could work to his advantage if any of these guys turned on him. He hoped he actual personality didn’t come through too strongly.
‘… And it’s basically instant,’ Creep added the info she felt Salem left out that was needed. ‘It’s a bit hard to adapt, and basically destroys the city wherever it’s used, but with it he can have every cape in Denver shaking in their boots.’ … So, Creep didn’t feel he sold his power enough, and as such did it for him. It wasn’t exactly a power he could hide the factors about anyway. Initial impact was more important, she figured.
Mire didn’t know that Visage had the ability to turn invisible! That’s some proper sneaky shit! Mire was happy to see some more of what Visage could do, though she was less than happy when Visage appeared behind Salem and hugged him! What did that crybaby do to deserve that! She couldn’t let something like this get to her, or at least not let it show so Mire just stood there quietly and watched Salem as he decided to grace them with details about his power. Mire tilted her head at Salem looking him up and down, so this little dipper baby was actually very dangerous. Though while Mire knew for a fact that there were some capes out there who would eat this kid for lunch she didn’t want to point it out, risk hurting the kiddo’s feelings again.
Relinquishing her grip, she very slowly circled around the outside of the room, keeping notable distance between herself and Creep. A smile dawned at the compliment from Creep, though it was soon replaced by a frown when Salem stated his power. That was strong. Christ, that was very strong. Quickly, Visage hid the frown. She rounded the same end of the room as Mire, and reached out her fingers to draw their tips against the shorter girl’s lower back. She kept her eyes moving, trying to read everyone present. The social alertness Visage exemplified helped her notice Mire’s jealousy earlier, when she was touching Salem.
”Having Salem around is gonna be- It’s gonna imply escalation. For the same reason we don’t carry guns, having a nuclear bomb as part of the squad is gonna make the authorities very wary of us. How do you wanna go about implementing him in a way that won’t have the PRT calling in favors from other cities the second they see him use his power?”
While she said this, Visage notably didn’t look at Salem or Pester, instead keeping her eyes solely on Creep.
Creep’s vision being what it was, she did not miss that frown on Visage. It amused her a tad. Though, then she turned around and voiced a reasonable worry. Creep nodded before starting to answer.
‘He’ll play nice. As any other cape in the world with a lethal power, he has the advantage of not having had a choice. He didn’t pick his power, unlike how it’s a choice to carry a gun. As long as they know he sticks to the rules, we’ll have a powerful, frightening asset without necessarily facing the consequences. That goes for all of us, really. We stick to the rules to ensure we don’t become a priority target. We paint the Rockers as cool villains to make more grunts want to join us, and paint us as people who just want to have fun being bad to the Protectorate so they don’t think we’re worth the risk to take out as long as there are bigger fish to fry.
… As for how to use his powers, heh. Lots of weapons our enemies might be carrying will be susceptible. Vehicles, too. Walls could be melted to give us an entrance into places, assuming we have time to wait for the magma to cool. Notably Salem himself isn’t hurt by his own power. Sprinkling some magma over the battlefield is a good way of controlling it, as well, if we ensure some idiot can’t kill themselves somehow. Honestly, we could mount some cool rescue missions or robberies with this. If you can think of other uses of it, then we welcome it.’ So Creep said. She didn’t consider it as big a problem as Visage seemed to address it as.
Yeah, thank you, Sheila. He had said as much as he wanted to say, he didn’t need people to keep going for him, and he could come up with plenty of ways to hurt them if they- nonono don’t do that. Just. Think about how to respond to it, Chad.
Understandably, he was put off about the situation, but it looked and sounded like Visage was far more put off by his power than how it was explained beyond what he’d wanted. Which meant she was scared of him. Hah. Yes. She’d better be scared, scared was fine by him. If she weren’t, she’d start going for him, and then he’d have to push a knife under her skin and start peeling it away from her body... ah, no, he shouldn’t do that. Obviously, she hadn’t done anything yet, so it’s not like he had to have those thoughts about her...
...but just in case she did. She was an actual villain, after all. And it’d be good to keep scaring her, in that case.
‘As Creep has stated,’ Salem explained dispassionately, ‘My power seems to be very distinctly single-use in the first instance, but it has many applications beyond mere lethality. Even if I am forced to maim or injure others, hurling a pocket of dirt at somebody and turning it into a superheated cloud could be a very useful deterrent. Or landmines... no, there’s a better name for them than that,’ he realised, thinking for a moment. ‘I want to say punji traps, or some other similar Vietcong trap - your foot falls into an empty space, and either gets impaled on spikes or smashed to ruin. It’s the same concept, but with lava instead.’
Creep suppressed a shudder, feeling somewhat unsettled. Those were some horrific mental images. She kept quiet, though, head still turned towards Visage.
Mire was looking between Creep and Salem when she felt Visage’s fingers touch her back, she stayed professional holding back a shiver. As usual Visage had something useful and important to say regarding Lava lad’s power and how it could cause problems, though admittedly Mire didn’t share this concern. Creep’s answer was a pretty good one, though playing by the rules was lame as hell, not like Mire was going to do it anyway. But the bit about having fun or at least pretending to have fun while opposing the protectorate did seem like it could actually be interesting.
Then Salem started speaking of how he could apply his power in creative ways. Bringing up Vietcong traps but with lava, wait a second. Creep called it magma but Salem was calling it lava, which one was it!? Mire was frowning under her mask, she really wanted to ask which is was but she was pretty sure it was just these plebeians being idiots that didn’t know what they were talking about. ”So if we do find ourselves in a conflict, what happens if our opponents aren’t the rule following kind? Do we eliminate them?” Mire’s head would tilt ever so slightly and she’d look up at Creep.
It appears everyone was on different pages. Creep did not have her ducks quite in a row, much less these ducklings. First Creep claimed he’d use his power in a way that helped to reduce the chance he’d be a target. That was all well and good, but then Salem pointed out ways he could use his power that would certainly make himself a target. All the while Visage enjoyed Mire’s reaction, changing her expression to the slightest of sly smiles. At Mire’s question she grinned, moving closer to the young girl so that her hand was resting on the small of her back, she thought on how to answer.
”It honestly depends. If they’re breaking the rules and there are witnesses, we could certainly move to more extreme measures. Avoid that as best you can, but when it’s us or them, I don’t think Creep will fault you for choosing us. I certainly won’t. If there are no witnesses then it’ll be completely case by case. I trust you all to choose the option appropriate for the situation.” Visage said, pausing a beat before turning to Creep again. ”Do you object to my take on the matter?”
‘No objections,’ Creep said, before continuing. The matter of criminals that’d use lethal means… those were the kinds she wanted off the streets. ‘My official position on the matter is the following. If you encounter such foes, I prefer you escape alive over risking your life for a minor victory. If you do have to fight, I’d like you to keep in mind that if you somehow manage to take them out without resorting to their means, it would improve our reputation. However, don’t risk your life for stupid things like that. The moment they use such means against us, they abandoned their right to mercy. Butcher them.’ That was about that. Now for… another little thing.
‘Salem. That trap you mentioned…’ Creep suppressed another shudder. ‘Leaving our enemies with stumps for feet is also somewhat iffy to the rules. We’ll work on it.’ Okay. That’ll do. Time to address the rest.
‘Alright. I have intentions to introduce you all to the rest of the Rockers as soon as possible, as my lieutenants and fellow capes. Having you three join our number will give the Rockers a serious boost of reputation, and make our claim in Denver all that much more authentic. However, I ask you to not seem above the rest of the Rockers. Join their number, be nice, be a companion to them. If you could be upbeat and cool to our grunts, so that they do not view us capes as a lording entity above their common gang, that’d be a boon to us.’ She was aware some might have an easier time with that than others. Still.
‘We’ll organize what crimes we’ll commit to gain status at a later time. For now, we need to establish our presence, both in the Rockers and in Denver as a whole. As part of the truce collaborating to uproot the Community, we have an excellent opportunity to do just that. Just… don’t get caught. Patriarch turns those he touches to his allies, after all. We have a cooperation organized with the Broker, I’ll be reporting to him so we can collaborate with the other gangs of Denver to destroy the Community, while we attempt to grow as well as we can. That’s step one. Step two…’ Creep gave a little scoff. ‘The current goal is a monopoly on the delinquents of Denver and to be as big and rich as we can while rooting out the rest of the villains. Beyond that? Well. We’ll see how it goes. We’ll have a discussion on the different capes of Denver and discuss how we’ll try to counter each of them.’
‘Does anyone have any immediate thoughts they’d like to voice?’ Creep asked, looking at each of them with her power.
Appeared that nobody had anything more that they wished to add, so then it was time to get going. Creep nodded to them.
‘Alright. Time to introduce you all to the men, then.’ Despite herself, she looked over the number of capes in the room, and felt a touch of pride at the team they had gathered, that she was leading. It also felt like she was feeling just a tad excited? Frightened for what might happen, yet all the same, excited. How curious. She let that touch of amusement take her over enough to give a brief little chuckle, which thanks to her voice-changer sounded pretty dark.
‘Oh, right.’ Viridia blinked but then acknowledged Titania’s mention of healing, walking forward to let herself be healed. ‘Th-thank you,’ she said, with considerable hesitance.
‘It was our pleasure!’ Osmund announced proudly to Isolde’s thanks. ‘Keeping this country’s population safe is what Knights like me are for!’ he called, and then there was Aldo’s call and that. Aldo hurried to get past Isolde and Kergin, and then prepared to make a shadowy blow to anyone who came to attack Isolde from the other side.
And then the Fighter that was intending to bash into Isolde and Kergin suddenly got stopped by another wyvern diving down and bruising the Fighter into the ground before throwing him off into the wall of a house. This caused the two Soldiers that were on the way to stagger back and question their own attack-plan, no worries about them for a bit. One of the seemingly enemies then jumped onto the wyvern and then shouted to what the Manakete just had said straight across the rest of the people present. Looks like this guy was an ally as well?
Servus joined the party?!
At the very least Osmund and Viridia blinked in surprise to Kara’s appearance, but today seemed to be a wellspring of weirdness for today. They did overhear that Titania had the Fire Emblem. Osmund raised an eyebrow, looking at Titania, while Viridia’s narrowed in shock for a slight while. The thing that Jehanna had invaded Grado for was… so close to her…
Then was Marwood’s call, who asked them for help, then gave his commands, and then finally reassured that he had, in fact, been asking them for help. Osmund’s expression steeled, and a smile crossed his lips.
‘You are asking me if I wish to help protect your band? Hoho…’ He clutched his lance, stood proud, and stood straight. ‘I am Knight Osmund of Grado! If I can serve my duty by being your shield, then let me serve! There may be a use for me suiting up in this armour yet!’ So he said, proud and ready.
The girl Soldier, however, was more hesitant, protective in her body-language.
‘But I’m-’ she started, but she was interrupted by a large metal hand landing with a heavy hit on her shoulder, startling her.
‘She’s an honorary Grado militia! I assure you of her reliability!’ Osmund said, smiling widely. She turned and looked at him with a shocked stare, but then looked over Titania, and to Marwood… and she made her decision.
‘… Right!’ Not like she had anywhere else to go, did she? She looked rather awkward about this, but she now had a degree of resolution. ‘I’m Viridia! I won’t disappoint you!’
Osmund and Viridia joined the party!
Name: Osmund Appearance: Apparent Age: Adult man. Gender: Male Nation: Grado Class: Knight Weapon Mastery: Lance: E Level: 2 Background: Osmund is an example of how most of the Grado army looks like when Jehanna mercenaries kept stealing all the experience from the actual troops of Grado. Osmund was a proud knight of Grado, willing and desiring to protect his nation. It was never his true calling, so when he returned home he worked part-time on a farm and full-time on his bakery while also serving as a backup knight of Grado for when the need should arise. Thing is, last time Grado needed his services was years ago, and the muscle memory has long since dwindled and disappeared and the basic training rendered a forgotten memory from a long time ago. However, now that Grado is threatened for real, Osmund put on the old armor and he looks as intimidating as ever… Equipment and Items: Iron Lance, Vulnerary, Antitoxin Personality: Osmund is serious, but not in the kind of way that makes you take him serious. His passive glare and giant size makes any regular person feel intimidated, and he carries himself like the ultimate veteran that nobody could conceivably match. He’s also really loud and proud, and not afraid to shout out challenges or declare (in a dramatic fashion that belongs in fiction) how he’s going to defend those around him and how his enemy could never defeat him and how he’ll fight alongside his allies. This all shields the dufos he really is. Osmund is unbearably clumsy, unskilled and has probably felled the most of his kill-count by falling onto his opponent. Yet he continues trying, willing to try to get over his lack of abilities, for what it is worth. Ability Assessment: His lack of skill is testimony for how long it was since Osmund truly trained or actually fought against anything. His ditzy style looks absolutely dreadful, no hint of a combat skill as far as the eye can see, no speed or capability to wield that lance he’s hefting. … However. Osmund is large, very large, and so is the armor he’s wearing. His intimidating aura emanates like he’s an invincible warrior, his body and his armor so tough that for most enemies he probably is invincible. Also, the strength in those arms are the real thing, should he hit even once with a nicely timed thrust of his lance, whatever he hits is going to suffer a blow of considerable power. The strength in those arms is the real deal, even if he needs to practice actually hitting anything with it.
+Strength --Skill -Speed ++Defence
Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other: Osmund is probably the best chef you’ve ever met. If you let him cook for you, regardless of what ingredients you give him, he’ll most likely be able to provide something that makes you starve for more. Also, when it comes to being a farmer or predicting the weather or handling animals or cleaning a house, Osmund is a know it all. Which is really annoying sometimes due to how extremely incompetent he is with a lance. Still, there should be a multitude of ways to use him, and he will miss less and less as he grows in skill. There seems to be a secret to why his armour is so sturdy. He’d tell you, but every time he tries he’s interrupted by something. R-button Summarization: A Grado Knight from the countryside. Inexperienced warrior with intimidating visage.
Name: Viridia Appearance: Apparent Age: Late teenager. Gender: Female Nation: Jehanna Class: Soldier Weapon Mastery: Lance: D Level: 3 Background: A soldier of Jehanna eager to attempt to please her family. Because Grado needs so much help so often, it is practically staple to send young warriors to Grado in order to train them, and Viridia being the daughter of a famous hero, she was sent there first to prove her worth. Having spent a couple of years here defending people from monsters with fellow Jehannan soldiers, Viridia took quite the liking to the people of Grado. Which is of course why she now has so much trouble with the orders to subdue the nation. Guilds left and right take this as an offer to attack villages at random, laying waste to the Grado Empire, making Viridia feel more and more conflicted… and then this situation in the town of Grado Keep where she met Osmund and the rest. From here on out, her life would take a new direction. Equipment and Items: Iron Lance Personality: Straight-faced and serious, yet naïve and righteous. With the weight of being the daughter of a famous mercenary constantly hanging over her head, her father’s overblown stories of might and heroism echoing through her mind Viridia does everything she can to try to match up to this legacy she holds. Because of this, she feels she has to act like a hero at any time she can, to protect citizens from those who are in the wrong and such, regardless of her chance of success when doing so. She can be stubborn, even act foolish even when she’s intelligent enough to know that she is acting foolishly, but it is all to fit the individual whom she has formed as her ideal within her mind, and she does not want to stop striving for that ideal…! Ability Assessment: Skilled, steady and noticeably strong, she is the soldier that soldiers should be. Her palate of abilities, from her defense to her skill to her strength, is well balanced and leaves no particular gaps as she does exactly as she’s trained to do in a fight. … Which leads to her greatest weakness. Viridia learned everything by the book, she has no natural skill to speak of. She is inexperienced, and the entity of her style is borrowed. This means that her style of combat is the archetypical fighting style of soldiers which even amateurs might find noticeably predictable. This may change as she gains experience, but as it is she’s a really, really predictable fighter.
+Jack-Of-All-Trades -Predictable
Quirks/Talents/Aspirations/Other: Having been born and raised in a desert nation, Viridia is absolutely taken with flowers. Green things, snowy mountains, living things. When confronted by nature’s beauty, she becomes dazed, blushing beautifully and has been known to stumble and become weak in her legs from merely smelling a wonderful flower. Things of beauty was limited to humans and architecture in Jehanna, so these wonders work wonders on Viridia, even now that she’s experienced them for a while. Viridia is also known for doing a rather excessive amount of strength-training and challenging those she considers stronger than herself in order to grow in strength to be able to one day match her father. Also, like… the Fire Emblem is RIGHT THERE! What if Sion’s right? This could be her golden opportunity… But no! These people saved her, and Jehanna’s terrible! She can’t betray them! But, oooh… … … So, she will never actually betray you all (unless PCs encourage her), but these thoughts keep her up at night occasionally. R-button Summarization: Daughter of a Jehannan hero. Serious, righteous and dependable.
‘Right. I’ll remind we need to get out of here,’ Aldo said with a bit of a frown. It got a bunch more crowded all of a sudden.
So. The scenery is relatively the same as last post, but a bunch more units to play with. Conversation and commands are free to give, actions cost more.
Notable Individuals;
South Blue Wyvern Rider Isolde - Clumsy, but reliable Wyvern knight. Weapon Mastery: Axe: D Level: 5 Equipment and Items: Halberd, Tactician’s Stone
Blue Cavalier Marwood - The prince of Renais with a good heart and a rebellious streak, cares deeply for others. Weapon Mastery: Sword: C, Lance: D Level: 4 Equipment and Items: Reginleif, Steel Sword, Tactician’s Stone, 5,000G
Blue Cleric Titania - A tough healer from Rausten, she forges her own path to help as many people as she can. Weapon Mastery: Staff: D Level: 5 Equipment and Items: Heal, Mend, Tactician’s Stone, Fire Emblem
Blue Shaman Aldo - A shaman researcher and advisor on things magic in service of Grado. Magically gifted and incurably serious. Weapon Mastery: Dark: E Level: 2 Equipment and Items: Flux, Vulnerary, Guiding Ring, Tactician’s Stone x4.
Blue Manakete Kara - Mature and worldly Manakete with a strong wanderlust and an even stronger appetite. Weapon Mastery: Stone: D Level: 6 Equipment and Items: Dragonstone, Vulnerary (2 uses)
North Blue Wyvern Rider Servus - Abandoned his home as a rogue mercenary. Adores his rare wyvern, Amboli. Weapon Mastery: Axe: D Level: 6 Equipment and Items: Halberd, Vulnerary, Pure Water
Blue Knight Osmund – A Grado Knight from the countryside. Inexperienced warrior with intimidating visage. Weapon Mastery: Lance: E Level: 2 Equipment and Items: Iron Lance, Vulnerary, Antitoxin
Blue Soldier Viridia - Daughter of a Jehannan hero. Serious, righteous and dependable. Weapon Mastery: Lance: D Level: 3 Equipment and Items: Iron Lance
Thief (not on map) Hevel - A young man on an aimless journey. A timid but humane thief that often monologues with himself. Weapon Mastery: Sword: D Level: 2 Equipment and Items: Iron Sword, Lockpick
Red Knight Boss Zane - Former knight of Grado, now a commander of Jehanna. Craves battle and greater challenges. Weapon Mastery: Lance: C Level: 12 Equipment and Items: Iron Lance
Red Warrior on throne Nurit - Second-in-Command of Rhodri’s Wheel Guild. A hearty girl with a vicious battle-lust who feels at home at sea. Weapon Mastery: Axe: ???, Bow: ??? Level: ??? Equipment and Items: Killer Axe, Steel Bow, Hero Crest
Red Wyvern Knight next to throne Nadir - Second-in-Command of Eira’s Storm Guild. A charming man who dutifully takes care of all Eira can’t handle. Weapon Mastery: Axe: ???, Lance: ??? Level: ??? Equipment and Items: Spear, Elysian Whip
Current Injuries: Kergin got a grazing blow from the Fighter he tackled, though nothing serious.
Enemy Base Level: 2 Enemy Base Weapon Mastery: E Enemy Equipment Quality: Iron Notable Deviations: Fighter at the bottom wields the STORMBELLOWS!Functionally an Iron Axe.
…
‘They’re all gathering among those houses over there.’
‘… Leaving the gate unguarded. Great. Let’s wait just a bit longer, and then we bolt.’
Zeal stayed asleep as Sunfloorall blasted its whole Solar Beam at him, scoring a direct hit. Zeal had already been somewhat damaged by Lilligiant’s Mega Drains, and then he had been touched by slight Solar Beam residue earlier, and this was powerful enough in a direct hit to be way too powerful. Zeal took the whole hit, the Focus Band didn’t help either, and he fainted on the spot. While asleep.
‘Are you having trouble yet?’ Archie asked, smiling so widely and tilting his head a bit while looking at her. Sunfloorall also smiled so widely at her… though the yellow flower was looking somewhat pale. Some of the petals were looking just a bit wilted. Doing those powerful blast was draining it, due to its ability.
Oaken did not reply to her first statement, merely raised a single eyebrow and gave her a sideways glance. However, he stopped when Eryn mentioned the parts about a truly great trainer turning the unremarkable. That, he took seriously. He turned to look at her, eyes unflinching.
'You are right. A great trainer can turn any Pokémon into a champion…' Though, then he glanced over to the Mawile. '… But I see no reason to give myself a handicap. A journey raising Pokémon like that will be needlessly tough, and in the end the battles at the Pokémon League will demand the most powerful and efficient Pokémon in order to reliably perform. I will pick the Pokémon that give me the best chance of victory. It’s as simple as that.'
He then simply looked as she approached the Mawile, after declaring she’d use precisely that one to defeat him. '… Good luck with that, then.' He didn’t sound like he understood the point of that. He turned and took a number of steps away.
Meanwhile, Mawile noticed Eryn’s approach, looking up at her with a bit of hesitation. It looked at with a bit of a frown, and wasn’t really convinced by her words. She’d have to work a little bit more than just that.
'… Mawiles bite,' Oaken gave a final little supposed word of advice, before turning to walk. There were still the Pokémon cats, quadrupeds and crustaceans taking part in the honey that had been spread about on leaves and sticks that Oaken had used to lure them all here.
For a brief moment, when the blizzards hit, one of the Goletts imagined an alternate scenario. There, an awesome monster of ice and darkness stood before them, like a dark god who had taken notice of them. “You dare wander outside your tomb?” it would ask. “This is our world! Go back whence you came!” And so, the other Goletts all cowered… but this one stood form. “No!”, it replied. “This world is ours, as much as it is yours! Fellow Goletts! We must stand firm in the face of this injustice, and collect plenty of humans for our master! For our beloved emperor!” And so, the Goletts cried out in passion and huddled together, holding their heat in place before the blizzard. “You dare defy me?” the dark god asked. “Then, you shall face the consequences!”
The terrific blizzard intensified, hitting the group of Goletts with a freezing gale that would surely be their end… but they stood firm. As one, the group of Goletts gathered their individual strengths, and advanced at the dark god before them. “How can this be!?” the god shouted. “You are but mere Goletts! You have no right to survive my storm!” Yet, they surely stood, their little gemstone eyes glinting with determination. “We fight for our own freedom, and for our beloved emperor! You shall not stop us!” And with that, they broke ranks, as a group they charged and struck the menacing god. Their opponent roared out in pain, striking back with massively powerful blows, but the determination of the little Goletts won out, and finally the massive beast collapsed before their assault.
“The god is slain! The world has been conquered for our emperor! We are free!” And so, the Goletts rejoiced and celebrated, free to kidnap as many humans as they liked, and their beloved emperor gave a particularly handsome reward to that one Golett who had led the charge, who was more than proud and happy to accept it. Soon enough, he was a mighty Golurk, standing at its master’s side forever proud and revered as the world was conquered…
Now, of course, that didn’t happen. What happened was that the desert momentarily turned into a snowstorm and the Goletts were left as frozen ice-sculptures. When later the desert turned back into desert and the ice thawed they’d collapse where they were because ice had damaged them enough to faint them multiple times over.
Amelia unleashed her team of Pokémon, and the room suddenly grew plenty crowded with ghosts. Then Dawkin added to the fray, and it became quite the ambush.
The Golett wielding a Bronzor and Honedge had been about to put the other girl to sleep, but instead spun to face the noise and promptly ended up in a spinning little inferno of Fire Spin blown Litwick. It staggered back, and the two steel-types it was carrying also felt the damage and promptly abandoned the one carrying them, the remaining Golett then taking Wooper’s Water Gun for more damage and fire spinning about it… Though, it wasn’t quite out yet.
The one carrying Amelia was momentarily confused by the sudden noise, but was then hit by Knock Off, causing the ghost to stagger and Amelia to be Knock-Offed, because she was totally an item and as such promptly fell to the floor, which fortunately wasn’t that far due to Golett’s short height. That particular Golett proceeded to be Astonished three times and Metal Clawed once, which was completely enough, and the Golett fell fainted onto its side.
Counter attack time. Litwick found himself targeted by all three of the armed Golett trio. Honedge flew forth and attempted a Fury Cutter! … Which was hilariously ineffective given Bug-type against Ghost/Fire. The same could not be said for when Bronzor shot a Confusion or when the Fire Spun Golett charged forth for an Astonish of his own, dealing a not-inconsequential amount of damage on Litwick. Still, he had plenty of fight in him to go.
The remaining Golett carrying the girl, looked back at the small army of opponents that it had no chance against. The girl herself also blinked back at the sudden commotion. … Then the Golett lifted the girl above its head and made a mad dash for the exit straight ahead of them, leading deeper into the tomb, the direction all the other captives had been led. The Bronzor flew to hover in the way of pursuit, however temporarily.
Alice decided she had other things to do elsewhere in Pureplain City, and as such will not be continuing. Now, then.
Vivia was currently in the motion of stopping Rotom from committing arson as the little ghost found it funny to discharge electricity into the grass to cause a bit of fire, but Vivia was swift to stomp out the the result and then gripping Rotom by the head to glare at him, Venonat standing at the ready to Foresight the ghost to allow for Vivia’s grab. Still, otherwise she had Scraggy train against a few birds and mice, then hearing Skylar’s suggestion.
'Oh, yeah, sure. There should be some interesting things in that forest. I never went in there,' she said, sounding decently interested. 'Will you be fine? The ground will get a lot less even, and I imagine roots or little cliffs or such things in the wildlife…' Vivia asked, looking a little worried Skylar before they went on.
So, with the assumption that they did head into Silent Forest, travelling north up past the plains of Route 1. Finally, they stepped past the trees, and entered what may have felt like a new world entirely.
Southern Silent Forest
The awaiting forest that greeted those who entered it was one of utter calm. The Silent Forest is a peaceful place where little in the way of violence or turmoil, giving credence to the name which it is now known by. Pokémon and people at peace with nature often walk among these trees, little noise other than the occasional sound of a Pokémon making their way or playing in the grass. In comparison to the other kinds of forests that one might find in Isson, this is without a doubt the least dangerous and absolutely least exciting one. Still, it is a boon to those of the calm Pureplain City who simply wants somewhere with fresh air to wander every once in a while.
Being off the map, few youngsters walk here, making it somewhat of a place for the somewhat older to make their home in. Still, the forest belongs to another kind of creature entirely. Because no matter where you look, there’s one out of two species of Pokémon all over. Those being innumerable Petilil playing about…
Pokédex Entry #548 – Petilil, the Bulb Pokémon. They prefer to live areas with moist, nutrient-rich soil. They’ve been known to be used by humans to find areas suitable for planting plants. The leaves on their heads come right back when plucked off, and while extremely bitter, they’re known to refresh a tired body.
… And Cottonees floating about.
Pokédex Entry #546 – Cottonee, the Cotton Puff Pokémon. They’re extremely light and mostly go where the wind guide them. They’re known to feel more at ease in a group, so they stick together with others of its kind and resemble clouds floating about. If attacked, they shoot cotton at their attacker to distract them.
That’s about it, though, otherwise it’s just a really calm forest right now. There could be more if Skylar seeks more, though.
What would Skylar do from here?
1. Find Pokémon. Specify if you’re looking for a specific kind of Pokémon in the forest. 2. Train Pokémon. With this command, we can jump ahead in time and skip posting about grinding. 3. Move along. Move along normally, letting any events that may come happen naturally. 4. Hurry along. Intentionally avoid confrontations and try to get safely to the next destination. 5. Specify. If you specify what you want to do, the GM will take it into account and tell the result. 6. Trigger random event. Force the GM to use his imagination to make a scenario for you. 7. Area Specific: Wander. This place… it’s so relaxing. Wouldn’t it be so nice to just… wander away… without thinking about it?
Connected areas: Route 1. To the south. Route 3. If you head north-east for a while. Silent Shrine. Go north, you should be able to find the road there.
'Rrloin?' Purrloin asked, the feline turning its head to Eryn as she spoke to it, complimented it. Still, she didn’t spent a long time near it, so the cat simply curled up with a little 'Purr…' as Eryn left.
Eryn then went through the park that was there, looking for things out of the ordinary… and she found something most assuredly out of the ordinary. On a foldable chair among a couple of trees sat Oaken, one leg folded over the other and playing with a jar he was holding. This in itself wouldn’t be so peculiar, if he wasn’t completely surrounded by numerous meowing Purrloins, a couple of blue and black additional little quadrupeds…
Pokédex Entry #403 – Shinx, the Flash Pokémon. When its muscles extend or contract, it generates electricity. When it senses danger, a Shinx will let the electricity run through it, causing it to glow. If threatened, it uses its muscles to flash a bright light to blind the predator while it flees.
… and a bunch of crustaceans with rocks as their shells.
Pokédex Entry #557 – Dwebble, the Rock Inn Pokémon. It finds a rock of suitable size. It melts a hole in said rock using a liquid secreted from its mouth, then crawls in and lives in it. A rock-less Dwebble is known to be aggressive until a replacement is found, so be careful should the rock break.
When Eryn came close, he started talking without even looking at her.
'Honey. A sweet substance that Pokémon find irresistable, they’re drawn to this scent,' Oaken stated, utterly in control of the situation. 'Seeking after the Pokémon myself is inefficient. Especially here. I imagine a fairy shipped here from its natural habitat is either very used to humans or utterly terrified. The former ones should already all be captured. Hence, I seek the latter kind. The shy ones will avoid anyone who’s actively searching for them. But someone who sits still, who holds something that smells so very good and alluring, who’s seemingly distributing this sweetness amongst nearby Pokémon out of kindness…' Oaken stated, as if read from a strategy guide. Then… he pointed to a tree. '… And there she is.'
Indeed, right there, a being different from the surrounding Pokémon was daring to peek out, partly hiding behind a tree. It was a soft little face, yet from the back of her head extended a large, flower-like entity with strong jaws…
Pokédex Entry #303 – Mawile, the Deceiver Pokémon. Attached to its head is a huge set of jaws formed by horns powerful enough to chew through steel. It’s a dangerous Pokémon which fools those who look at it with a docile and fail appearance, before spinning around and chomping those who’d dare approach it.
Not paying the peeking Pokémon any mind, Oaken closed his jar of honey and folded his foldable chair before putting them both into his bag. Then he turned, intending to leave.
'Weak. A Mawile’s average strength is unremarkable, and she has no evolutions beyond the regular. Extremely few gain the ability to see her upgraded form, and even if I one day obtain that ability I’ll be able to simply find a Mawile of my own in its natural habitat at that point. I wager that particular Mawile is worth more as the temporary companion and pride of whatever student finds her than what worth she’d be to me. I have proven I could obtain her, with a trainer of Kalmia’s as witness. That will suffice. I am done here.' So Oaken said, turning to walk by Eryn on his way out of the school.
The Pokémon that had been around Oaken had all been given a bit of honey on sticks and leaves, and they were following hoping for more.
The shy-seeming Mawile over there had gained no such, and was looking a bit distraught.
The monster girl watched Su intently as she summoned the bubble and started to put out the fires…
‘Oooooooh. That’s cool! Nice! Thanks!’ The monster-girl grinned widely and happily to Su as she finished. The girl looked after her curiously… and then most assuredly started following her. There was something sharp in her eyes, with each step she followed Su with. If Su sped up, then so would she.
‘You’re cool. What’s your name? Are you strong? Do you fight for yourself or for others? Are you off to do good deeds in the name good name of good, now? Will it be fun where you’re going? I think I’ll follow you. Are there still skeletons outside? Teh-heh, it’s gonna be such a banquet. I hope Victoria saved some for me, or I’ll be really cross with her.’ She smiled so widely as she said…
‘Oh, Jelena’s fighting someone ahead,’ she added. Then Su likely heard a sound from the following scene.
‘Keh.’ Jelena tilted her head downwards, a dark shadow from her coat’s hood covering her face above her wide grin. ‘“Copycat”, hah, hahahaha.’ There was something slightly hurt in the voice… when suddenly her right arm completely detached, the metal construct falling out of her coat’s arm and rolling over on the floor. The girl threw her head back as she grinned menacingly, her eyes threatening over the grin. ‘How careless of me! What was I thinking!? Of course I can’t go around with the arms I created for myself with my power, because it might resemble any other Magical Girl! I should go around with just my stumps, lest I might risk offending someone! Right, right!? Or are you gonna tell me you don’t have any limbs, either!?’ The girl turned her body and wiggled her right side towards Helga, the length of the coat’s arm fluttering uselessly. There was no arm in it.
Under the assumption Helga couldn’t COMPLETELY stun and leave her opposition speechless by showing off that Helga’s arms were also fabricated…
‘RIGHT!’ With that word, the metal girl suddenly kicked the arm on the floor, and it was sent flying at high speed at Helga. In the midst of the kick, large parts of the arm shattered as small shards of sharp debris, which flew forward like shrapnel of her kick, while the main arm and its claws headed straight for Helga. With the assumption that Helga would jump to target her, the enemy in the coat then jumped back and pulled all the metal back, intending on striking Helga in the back if she came heading for the metal girl. If Helga had dodged the arm itself and it flew out the window, it’d come flying back when the girl applied her metallic grip and her other arm moved to defend her from whatever her opponent was doing, potentially, and her legs were ready to stretch to shoot her to safety if she was otherwise targeted by magic.
The metal girl had apparently been a bit ticked off.
Xaltwind
Lunamaria Hawke
Kon Kon
Floofenstein
RPM
Renose
Rune_Alchemist
Savo
