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 Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 10:43 am
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When S-22 began to resist Registeel in earnest the Dark One began to retreat backwards with his Pokemon, fearing the worse. The sudden surge of power coming from the monster was not only incredibly in its magnitude but shocking in the fact that he could suddenly feel, and for that matter he knew others could too. Something happened to it, but what? What did Reno do? He knew the Psychic Channeler did something but what exactly he had no way of knowing. For now though he was unable to consider all this any further as his fight or flight sense kicked back in as S-22 completely freed himself from his bondage. For a split second Sub surely thought the battle wasn't over, but just as soon as his adrenaline began to bump again the monster was gone, having rushed off so quick it was as if he teleported away.
Sub did little more than just standing there dumbfounded with his Pokemon at his side, staring at the space S-22 once occupied, unsure of how to feel or react. The mark on his forehead would disappear and the shroud of dark energy would fade as Griswold seeped out of the Dark Channeler, his ghostly form reforming behind the man with an exhausted frown on its face.
Once Ryan had approached him and pointed out that S-22 was indeed gone, long gone in just those few seconds, Sub had snapped back to reality and let out a very heavy sigh. The first part was over. "It's possible." Sub replied to Ryan before looking at his Pokemon and the rest of his teammates. They were all exhausted and completely spent, most of them barely hanging on. Getting to this point took everything they had but despite how close they were it wasn't over yet, and no amount of applause could convince he earned to take a bow.
Ignoring the applauding prisoners Sub's mind turned to the next and most important objective of this mission: find Ein. With his favorite pet gone surely he was unguarded and the time to strike was now. Taking a single step forward the Snagem leader let out a pained grunt and fell backwards onto the ground, landing on his butt. Exhaustion was finally kicking in and despite how willing his mind was to continue his body was far less so. Tamerlane would walk over to him and with the help of the Pangoro the man was back on his feet. He had to move, had to keeping push forward towards Ein. That was why they were here, everything they did led to this point, all the sacrifices. He couldn't let it all be for nothing. Just keep-
"Sub?" A voice range out in the Dark One's mind, the man stopping dead in his tracks, his eyes darting around looking for the source of the voice. "It's Aden." Aden? It couldn't be. Aden had been gone for years, why is he speaking to him now? And how? Where is he? "Sorry I was late, needed a few seconds to, um, prepare something. It's gonna take a while to explain, but for now, maybe take a look down below?" Below? Was that where he was? He didn't find the remains of their comrades, did he? He certainly hoped not, a boy should never see his father in such a state. With a mentally and physically pained grunt the man made his way to the edge of the arena where a chunk of the bleachers were destroyed in the fighting (fortunately no prisoners were seated there) and would peer over the edge, looking beyond the Protect dome which separate them from the outside world. He couldn't believe what he saw.
Standing around Aden, among the numerous vaporized remains of the Shadow Pokemon horde, were the very teammates they were all sure were gone. They were gone, weren't they? He could clearly see the aftermath of the Ultimate Weapon still, the light having vaporized the Shadow Pokemon knocked out by Tristen and yet his teammates managed to survive it. But how? Nothing could survive that weapon, not even Zygarde Complete could. What did Aden do? What was that with him? It couldn't be. How did he find the flute? Not even Sub himself was ever able to find it, and he was certain he was one of the few people on this planet that had the knowledge of its actual existence outside of legend. Where had Aden been all this time and what had he seen? There was so many questions but honestly, at the moment, Sub didn't care to ask any of them. He was far too happy to see his teammates safe and sound and he knew he had Aden to thank for it.
"Guys! Look! Over here!" He cried out to his teammates as he waved for them to join him on the side of the arena to get a look at what he saw. Before the others could join Sub a flicker of pink sparkles appeared next to the Dark One, spinning around and around until a pink ring of energy formed and on the other side a beautiful forest could be seen. Stepping out of the Fairy Ring first came Aden, followed by the once thought defeated Snagems, one by one. Sub couldn't help but stare in wonder.
-----
Down below in the darkness of Realgam Tower.
Poe stood alongside Veronica as he stared up at the construct of Ebonite. He could feel the energy of the gemstone, it was captivating to a Dark type like him. Wanting nothing more than to take a big bite out of the tasty gemstone Poe walked up to it and opened his mouth wide, pressing his maw against the apparent door and biting down.
"Ow! Steel Gem mixed in that...hehe...no nibble for Poe." Poe said in a dejected tone, disappointed that he couldn't take a bite. Glancing at the keypad and the words above it he looked up at Veronica and just shrugged. "Nope. You know who might though? Sub. Hehe...he seems to know more about this place than anyone. Ask the voice in your thingy to contact him, hehe..." Poe said, implying she speak to GRAY through her SNAG.
"I have a name you know. Either way, I am unable to reach Sub's SNAG. This tower interferes heavily with the network, especially next to this thing. You'll have to go to him yourself. I know, I know. I'm asking a lot of two things that barely exist in the first place." GRAY commented from the woman's SNAG, making his dislike of Ghosts still apparent.
"Hehe...go get Sub. I'll stake out here. Looks like this is too important to leave unintended. I got a bad feeling from it. Hehe..." The Mega Sableye said to Veronica. And Poe was right, there was something still wrong about all of this.
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 11:22 am
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I didn't question our savior's methods. My mind wasn't exactly suited to a stay in the Fairy Realm, however, brisk, but our wounds were tended to so I couldn't exactly complain. Once I stepped out into the tower, I could immediately tell that something was off. Though some people were in a worse state than others, everybody who had gone on to fight Ein looked worse for wear than last I saw them. Keiko in particular looked like she had it rough, and as I noticed that, I saw her wave me over, which struck me as odd, considering how often she'd tacklehugged me whenever I spent a bit of time away from her. My own worrying helped me shake off that thought and run to her side, but I knew something was wrong when, once I got within arm's reach of her, she only hugged me with one arm. "What happened?" I asked.
"I bit off more than I could chew, basically," Keiko said humbly. turning away from me to check on Ulla. "I let my emotions get the better of me and attacked S-22, that great hulking Sharpedo hybrid, head-on, which was stupid of me. So now, I'm out an arm and am packing a few broken ribs for my trouble."
I closed my eyes and forced my anger down. "But I'm still alive, at least. Not sure how Ulla's feeling, but she's still alive, too," Keiko added.
"Good," I sighed, though I could sense her emotions and knew she wasn't dead. "Watch Ulla for me, I'll put a stop to this." I told her moving to get up only to be stopped by Keiko hugging me harder despite only having one arm to do so. "Don't die," she whispered. I responded by kissing her, then moved to walk away.
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 11:55 am
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Ulla was launched back by S-22 as she returned back to her normal state as Mimikyu used its ghost arm to cover the fall for them. Lucario and Decidueye were able to land on their feet as S-22 was able to flee. Just for good measures, Lucario tried finding his presence with his aura. He couldn't find a thing. He sighed of relief as he turned to his Master who was still on the ground as Keiko went over to her to make sure she was alright.
As the crowd started cheering for the Snagems, Ulla was happy that the slavers were able to get back life and feel some sort of joy. But right now, she still couldn't come to terms that two of the people she cared for so deeply. Has suddenly gone. It felt like such a heavy weight on her. It felt like something was taken away from her without her having any sort of fighting chance. She could only imagine, is this how her brother felt. When they lost their parents? She heard Sub say something but she was too drowned in her own emotions and thoughts to actually listen. That's when she heard a familiar voice as she turned around quickly to see Ter and her brother standing next to him. Her Pokemon were also shocked as she felt the weight be suddenly lifted. Tears ran down her face as she stumbled to get up. Being in that 'trauma' form for the first time exhausted her but she fought the exhaustion to get up and run over to her family.
Leon looked around as he noticed his sister looking beat up and worn out. He sighed of relief as he ran to her and hoisted her up to give her a big hug. The child started to cry in her brother's shoulders. "I'm sorry Ulla. You must've been so scared huh? Don't worry I'm fine." "I-I thought I lost you for good this time...You and Papa...I felt the horde suddenly disappear, and seeing that big of a crater...." "Ssshh....it's okay now. We are all here. Now go to your Papa and Mama. It looks like she is going to need some treatment. I feel like I was buried in a mud bath. But instead of mud, it was glitter and everything nice you could imagine. Then my soul just went through a rehab center, I wanted to go mad." With that remark, Ulla couldn't help but chuckle as she was able to sense some traces of Fairy energy off of them. She could see why Leon felt disgusted. He then let her down as Ulla returned his coat, she then ran over to her parentals as she gave Ter a big hug.
"Please don't do something stupid like getting yourselves killed again..." "Like we had a choice...I'd rather have died than take another trip to the Fairy Realm....no offense." Leon said as he put on his jacket. It was pretty dirty and torn. Like it just went through a dryer filled with dirt and broken glass. Which, he felt relieved. Ulla then let go of her father as she noticed her mother pretty beat up as she looked at Togekiss, not even needing to ask. Both of them knew what her intentions were as Ulla started to use her Channeling move 'Healing Circle' on Keiko.
Leon watched for a bit as he looked at Ter to see if he was ready. "Let's get going. Ulla stay here with Keiko, we'll take care of things from here." He said as he moved to walk away as well. "W-Wait!" Leon turned back at his sister with a blank face. "Y-You can't just, pretend to be dead. Come back to say that you guys aren't actually dead. Then leave us again! Let me come with you and if you guys get in trou-" "You've done enough already Ulla. Stay with Keiko. She will be lonely if you came with us." "I can heal her real quick! That way we can fight Ein as a family! Please....I don't want to loose you guys again...He almost killed you. He needs to pay for that. Just like how you need to avenge our parents..." She said in desperation of wanting to go with them. Leon sighed as he looked over to Ter see if he had any remarks.
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 12:05 pm
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Blizzard120 I walked off, making my way over towards Darts to check up on his condition. Probably worse than I am at this point, despite my wing reminding me that it really needed some attention right now and my insides feeling like they're wanting to tear me apart due to one too many Ancientpower attacks over the course of this entire mission.
To say Darts' condition was poor would be accurate. His last couple of spurts of Outrage sickness finally wearing thanks to the sharp blow from S-22 knocking him back to reality... more or less. Slowly wedging himself into a sitting position against the bottom of one of the empty bleachers, he looks up as the Articuno hybrid approaches him, gritting his teeth against the pain as he feels the circumference and depth of the sharp stone still embedded in his hip from the earlier melee. Black ichor-like blood was still weeping from his various wounds across his body and his jacket, and he grins at Blizz, a flash of white below his crest before he sucks in air with a coughing grumble, breathing in and then spitting a small spray of black blood to the side before resuming his earlier smile.
"Easy every time." He says sardonically to the ice-type as he approaches. Darts knew that rock was going to have to come out of his hip in a second here but for now it was nice to just sit for a moment and let it all sink in. Maybe nice was the wrong word considering what they had lost.
"Listen, Blizz..." Darts starts to say as they look across the tower at the various other Snagems licking their own wounds or helping to free the various prisoners from their manacles. "I don't know how to say this but..."
The Giratina hybrid found himself cut off mid sentence as in a flash of swirling pink lights, Aden, Celebi, and the rest of the team returned miraculously from what the gambler had assumed was certain death. No, from what he had sensed was certain death. "Ah, nevermind..." Darts says, looking around at the various people celebrating the returns of their lost loved ones. He nods over behind Blizz, towards two very specific approaching individuals. "It looks like you got company."
Never one to intrude on a happy moment, Darts turns away politely, his face still rapturous though maybe that was half delusion, happy for the people who had their friends and families back. On the inside there was more than a little jealousy. He had no one to miss, nor precious few to miss him had he died here in his efforts today. |
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 12:20 pm
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Despite his desire for his own end to come in that moment of weakness as he assaulted S-22, Kaya found himself too weak to ask again for the beast to deliver on it's obligation to Ein's programming. Cast aside with ease as the amalgam of steel and flesh fought their strongest attempts to bind it, he slammed into the wall on the far side of the arena. Fortunately, his emotion-fueled Magic Room seemed to have done what he hoped. It disabled something inside the beast and that let the others achieve something against it. He didn't get to see what, knocked momentarily from consciousness fro. The collision with the arena wall.
Awakening again only a few moments after S-22's escape, he found himself learning of the monstrosity's absence from Ryan's words to Sub, barely heard from his position. Tomoe, high up over the stadium floor, at last came back to her master's side, unbidden at this point, and released Makoto from her ball. The Leavanny assisted Kaya to his feet but she struggled to support his weight. The exhausted knight errant stood on wobbling legs, energy nearly fully spent. There was only one thing left, he felt, that he could do at this point. Walking over rather slowly to where Darts was, he would make an offer he had once done before. "Hit me." He offered weakly. The amount of Dragon energy that must be tearing the Giratina hybrid apart from within needed to be dispelled before he stood any chance of getting any better. At least against him, the draconic flames would hurt less than the punches. The least he could do right now was to be the Dragon's punching bag until he came back to his senses.
Whether Darts took him up on the offer or not, he would sense a sudden snap nearby amid it all. Life, suddenly renewed that had been cut down what felt like only a few short seconds before. Looking back to Darts with tears in his eyes, he'd make a comment on the hybrid's emotions. "Believe it or not, I kinda get bored not getting punched by you these days, you know?" It might not sound like much but he was trying to point out that Darts had lost less than most of them because those closest to him were here at his side the whole time.
"Did you guys miss us?" Lykas quipped as he emerged from the Fairy Ring, his exhaustion long-since erased by the stay in the other world.
"Try to be sympathetic, you jerk. I'm pretty sure we were all dead, from their perspective." Odd shot back, smacking the hybrid in the back of the head as he shook his own in disbelief for a moment.
"I still don't know what happened but I'm not going to look a gift Zebstrika in the mouth." Wren stated simply as he looked around. All that time in the Fairy Realm had definitely helped him to recover, much like the others.
"It's time we put an end to this." Lykas stated, ignoring the tears running down Kaya's face. The other hybrid could smother him with his joy later. Best friends don't take faked deaths lightly, after all.
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 12:31 pm
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"We don't want you getting hurt or worse either," I spoke up, hearing Ulla's desperation at wanting to be with us when we finished this business with Ein. "But somebody has to put Ein to rights, and since our wounds had mended during our say in the Fairy Realm, we're in better shape. I can't promise we won't die - Ein's already proven that we're not as invincible as we thought, but we're not exactly trying to die, you know? Besides, if we don't stop him now, he'll just go on hurting more people."
I knelt down to Ulla's level before saying anything else. "I appreciate you wanting to heal Keiko, but it's not something that will happen quickly. She's seriously hurt. You could be here for a while before her bones mend. That said, you can heal her faster than Doc Owl or any doctor could," I told her. I wasn't sure if I was telling the truth about that or not, though. "If you can do me a favor and fix her arm and whatever other injuries she has, I promise to come back as soon as Ein is no longer able to hurt anyone else, alright?"
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 1:05 pm
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I made it down and knelt down, listening to him. It was a service I could do for Darts; he's been through a hell of a lot of crap himself these past couple of hours. He was fine...relatively speaking. I wouldn't have to blast him with an Ice Beam if he still tried to blindly thrash about due to Outrage despite his condition. Minor victories, I suppose. That moment of silence between us, as everyone tried to assess the injuries and get the captives from their chains, Darts really didn't need to speak. He and I knew...we lost more than we gained. He knew the pain I was in, as I knew his pain. But then as Darts spoke up once more, Sub interrupted in a call of complete shock.
I was confused at first, but my instincts tripped suddenly once more. Familiar presences. At least I thought. 'I had company', Darts would tell me. I turned my head back and stood back straight up, albeit slowly. I couldn't believe it. It was every holiday miracle and then some that came true at once at this very second and it was standing there only twenty feet away. I was frozen, trying to comprehend what I was actually seeing. Freth was there and next to her...a Manetric hybrid. Was that...Tristen? My feet started to move on their own. I had to go to them. I moved forward, stumbling a bit between my shock, excitement, relief, and the pains of battle until finally I scooped them both up into my arms, burying my face right in Freth's shoulder. I couldn't hold back tears any longer. It was a group hug that I didn't want to end.
"I think he missed us." Freth said.
"You have...honestly no idea..." I said, voice trembling. "I thought..."
"I know, Blizzard." Freth said. I finally pulled away for a second, to look at her once more. "You look like hell." Freth said.
"Yea, yea I do..." I said. "Speaking of looks though...look at you." I said, turning towards Tristen, reaching over, grabbing a handful of yellow fur that stuck straight up from the boy's head. "What is all of this?"
"I evolved, Blizz." Tristen finally spoke with a bit of a laugh. He had somewhat of a deeper voice than he did. Only slightly. He gained a couple of inches too in height, not counting the anime hair, obviously. He had a bit of a build on him, too. Not sure if that was from the evolution as well. He kept his vest but not his shirt. Probably was too tight on him at this point. The vest, though it wasn't reaching past his waist anymore, and his pants looked a bit too tight on him. No longer did he have the green fur with yellow accents about, he instead donned blue, with yellow fur around his hands and forearms and calves on his legs, the latter being spiked out a bit. He did still have some growing to do since he's still only roughly 13 by now, as I could figure, but holy crap, this was a massive change. It was like if I was staring at a different person. "A lot happened while Freth and I was...gone? I really don't understand it too much."
"You can tell me all about it once we get out of here...as soon as get everyone together and find Ein, anyways."
"You all haven't gotten Ein yet?" Freth asked.
"No...we just have repulsed S-22 for the time being, by the skin of our teeth, anyways." I told her.
"Is that Darts!?" Tristen then asked. Compelled more by the need to help, Tristen made his way over to the Giratina hybrid to help him in any way he could. One thing that Darts probably didn't count on, while he didn't think he had anyone that'd miss him. He had at least someone looking up to him in his time around Snagem.
As Tristen made his way off, I looked back towards Freth. "I feel like suddenly I missed an eternity the more I look at him." I said.
"We all could only guess. Biggest idea we were tossing around when we were recovering was perhaps GRAY's hand in this. GRAY tasked Tristen to get the Zapdos Heart and unleash hell on the mass Shadow Horde. It was a desperate move, but one that needed to be done because we were running short on strength ourselves and the Horde seemingly wasn't going to let up. We'd probably exhaust ourselves before we managed to make any headway and well, we wouldn't be here to tell you this. Tristen used the Zapdos heart to full effect and wasted nearly everything, but in doing so nearly fried out his entire biological electrical system and he was pretty much in a coma for...well, to us it was at least two or three days after we got swept away to whatever that place was." she started to explain. "Come after that, Tristen started writhing in pain then it actually happened. His change came in a process that happened in the span of roughly a couple of hours after that and he finally got back to the world of the living, sort of speak." she explained. "The Zapdos heart may have been the catalyst to Tristen's change, probably forcing his body to adapt far sooner than it would have been 'scheduled' for someone like Tristen normally. Don't know how this is going to affect him later, though."
"At this point, I don't care, as long as both of you are alive. I...cannot overstate..." Once more I held Freth close and hugged her tight.
"Hey, hey...look, we'll have more time once we take care of Ein. You can still do that, right?"
"...you bet I can." Fully motivated once again, it was time to put a swan song to Ein.
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 1:43 pm
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Requiem of Whyspers Awakening again only a few moments after S-22's escape, he found himself learning of the monstrosity's absence from Ryan's words to Sub, barely heard from his position. Tomoe, high up over the stadium floor, at last came back to her master's side, unbidden at this point, and released Makoto from her ball. The Leavanny assisted Kaya to his feet but she struggled to support his weight. The exhausted knight errant stood on wobbling legs, energy nearly fully spent. There was only one thing left, he felt, that he could do at this point. Walking over rather slowly to where Darts was, he would make an offer he had once done before. "Hit me." He offered weakly. The amount of Dragon energy that must be tearing the Giratina hybrid apart from within needed to be dispelled before he stood any chance of getting any better. At least against him, the draconic flames would hurt less than the punches. The least he could do right now was to be the Dragon's punching bag until he came back to his senses. Whether Darts took him up on the offer or not, he would sense a sudden snap nearby amid it all. Life, suddenly renewed that had been cut down what felt like only a few short seconds before. Looking back to Darts with tears in his eyes, he'd make a comment on the hybrid's emotions. "Believe it or not, I kinda get bored not getting punched by you these days, you know?" It might not sound like much but he was trying to point out that Darts had lost less than most of them because those closest to him were here at his side the whole time. Blizzard120 "Is that Darts!?" Tristen then asked. Compelled more by the need to help, Tristen made his way over to the Giratina hybrid to help him in any way he could. One thing that Darts probably didn't count on, while he didn't think he had anyone that'd miss him. He had at least someone looking up to him in his time around Snagem.
Darts looks first at Kaya with tears streaming down his face and then Tristen approaching with a worried look on his newly-evolved visage. And he realized something. That maybe he did have a home here, more than he gave it credit for.
Of course Dartboard-san, you have people that love and respect you. Otherwise why would you fight so hard to protect them? ....you idiot. Even the imaginary voice of what Teacher was going to scold him with when he saw him next sounded happy that he was still alive, so the gambler took that as a good sign. He pulls Kaya and Tristen close, first for a goofy hug (and to try and distract from the distinct moisture around the edges of the eyeholes of his crest and then to help him to his feet, needing a bit of assistance with the hunk of jagged stone still embedded in his hip.
"I can barely make a fist, let alone hit you you giant walking swiss army knife." He quips to Kaya as they hopefully lead him along towards the rest of the group. "And as for you," He shoots to Tristen underneath his other arm. "Something tells me Blizzard's going to need to have the Unfezant and the Beedrill talk with you soon. Wait until the girls see you, did you get taller?" |
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 5:03 pm
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Sub stood there and watched his teammates and their joyous reunion with one another. He was happy for them, he really was, and he was certainly happy to see them all safe and sound. Looking back at the still conjured Fairy Ring he thought of the one who conjured it. He would have to thank Succulles later, and also ask to hear his story since his disappearance into the Tree of Life. For that matter he had a lot of stories to get out of Aiden as well, finding a Celebi, a flute, and convincing Succulles to aid them were all monumental tasks and yet somehow the boy, now young man, did it all. He couldn't be more proud.
The Snagem leader couldn't allow himself to bask in the joy and happiness however, this still wasn't over. He couldn't rest until his ultimate mission was complete. Ein, always Ein, always on his mind. Now he had a chance to remove the parasite from his brain for good, he could hug his beloved Snagems later, they were alive but also was Ein.
Recalling his Pokemon as he approached the hole in the ground he gazed upon his teammates but still the mad scientist was on his mind. This was it, this was the end of it all one way or another. Their final move, and also Ein's. All that was left to do was to see who moved first.
"Hey! Hehe! We found something down here!" Poe proclaimed as he popped his head out of the hole, looking up at his trainer who had just arrived at the edge of it. "Looks like a big vault made of Ebonite, hehe. Has a keypad and everything." The Sableye went on.
"Ein." Was the first thing Sub as he listened to his Pokemon. That was where he was, it had to be. It was just his style to hole himself up nearby, waiting. Looking back at his teammates he called out to them, he hated to interrupt their joy but they still had a job to do. "We're moving guys, Veronica and Poe found something beneath." With that said he climbed down into the dark hole below.
It wasn't a long way down or a long walk before he made it to massive wall of Ebonite. Glancing at the keypad next to it and the flashing words his stomach dropped. Ein was waiting for him, he expected him, and even worse Sub knew the password. How he knew all this, especially the password its self he wasn't sure, he just did. Reaching out to the keypad he punched in one letter at a time before taking a step back and stretching his arm out to push the enter key, steeling himself for the worse.
'Checkmate', the screen now read, the password he had typed in.
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 5:25 pm
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Tristen helped Darts up, and funny enough, Tristen could tell the difference. Even having to share the weight with Kaya, Tristen would have had to struggle a bit trying to help hold Darts up, but now, this wasn't too bad. He listened to Darts, and though one couldn't tell it under his blue fur, his reaction probably could give away that he may have been blushing. "Uh..." It wasn't the whole birds and beedrill bit. Truthfully, that was already long since been and done with. It was just the whole notion of getting girls. He honestly didn't think about that. Same ol' naive Tristen, it seemed.
Meanwhile Freth and I made our way down to eventually catch back up with Sub before any chaos happened. Before us a large vault door and many people who would want to have...words, for a lack of a better saying, with who we believed was behind it. "......."
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 7:03 pm
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 7:11 pm
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SubonicXP Sub stood there and watched his teammates and their joyous reunion with one another. He was happy for them, he really was, and he was certainly happy to see them all safe and sound. Looking back at the still conjured Fairy Ring he thought of the one who conjured it. He would have to thank Succulles later, and also ask to hear his story since his disappearance into the Tree of Life. For that matter he had a lot of stories to get out of Aiden as well, finding a Celebi, a flute, and convincing Succulles to aid them were all monumental tasks and yet somehow the boy, now young man, did it all. He couldn't be more proud. The Snagem leader couldn't allow himself to bask in the joy and happiness however, this still wasn't over. He couldn't rest until his ultimate mission was complete. Ein, always Ein, always on his mind. Now he had a chance to remove the parasite from his brain for good, he could hug his beloved Snagems later, they were alive but also was Ein. Recalling his Pokemon as he approached the hole in the ground he gazed upon his teammates but still the mad scientist was on his mind. This was it, this was the end of it all one way or another. Their final move, and also Ein's. All that was left to do was to see who moved first. "Hey! Hehe! We found something down here!" Poe proclaimed as he popped his head out of the hole, looking up at his trainer who had just arrived at the edge of it. "Looks like a big vault made of Ebonite, hehe. Has a keypad and everything." The Sableye went on. "Ein." Was the first thing Sub as he listened to his Pokemon. That was where he was, it had to be. It was just his style to hole himself up nearby, waiting. Looking back at his teammates he called out to them, he hated to interrupt their joy but they still had a job to do. "We're moving guys, Veronica and Poe found something beneath." With that said he climbed down into the dark hole below. It wasn't a long way down or a long walk before he made it to massive wall of Ebonite. Glancing at the keypad next to it and the flashing words his stomach dropped. Ein was waiting for him, he expected him, and even worse Sub knew the password. How he knew all this, especially the password its self he wasn't sure, he just did. Reaching out to the keypad he punched in one letter at a time before taking a step back and stretching his arm out to push the enter key, steeling himself for the worse. 'Checkmate', the screen now read, the password he had typed in.
Once the password was entered correctly, the screen would flash with a green confirmation checkmark before flickering black and turning off. There was a rumble from within the vault followed by several pneumatic hisses as row after row of triple reinforced locks slide back from their positions on the massive portcullis. A single line of light runs down the middle of the massive Ebonite slab serving as the outside of the vault. Both of the sides swing inward with a hiss as the air inside rushes out to mingle with the warmer air out. And the first thing to come rushing at the group as soon as the doors yawned wide before them...
Was the smell.
A rancid combination of human urine, rotten food, body odor and the kind of dead stale air that was the hallmark of sealed bomb shelters or tombs assail the Snagems all at once as soon as the air moves past them. Inside was a medium-sized room with the lights all turned out. Bank after bank of computer servers were lined up against the left side wall, humming in a productive sort of way as they went about their business. The furthest among them had a projector perched atop it aimed at the left side of the far wall and was displaying an evil-looking but familiar face smiling down on them like they were his new vivisection kits that he couldn't wait to play with. Ein. He was here grinning over this ghastly chamber... but he doesn't move. Upon closer inspection, as the Snagems approach, it was a freeze frame of an image saved in a video editing program and put through the projector for inspection and transmission. Anyone with a keen eye would realize that this was the face that had been tormenting them on S-22's video screen or the various times they had been 'fortunate' enough to receive a transmission directly from Ein himself.
The other half of the room is covered in trash. Empty MRE (Meal, Ready-to-Eat) containers, various cans of beans and other produce goods molding in their steel containers, empty disposable plastic bowls full of ramen gone bad by several months of sitting in a pile of garbage. Mixed in amongst the garbage was various manila folders - close inspection would reveal these to have project notes with labels like 'XD002' and 'Mossdeep Rocketeer Program' indeed it was a veritable laundry list of their adventures since their first encounter with Lysandre five years ago mixed in on files talking about horrible theoretical weapons and member profiles on the rest of Team Cipher proper - S-22, Kess, Dull, Miror B., and Zera alongside psychological analyses and data gathered on all of the Snagems themselves. None of this information was in any kind of clear order and it was sharing a workspace among heaps of old trash, some broken bottles and jugs containing a yellow liquid of... dubious origin and even more dubious stench.
Off in the far corner is a single desk in the shape of an L, placed to have both sides running parallel to the far and right side wall. This desk too is covered in trash and more piss jugs, but also several computer towers and a massive bank of monitors - at least thirteen or fourteen, that were responsible for almost all of the light in this dank, dark pit of a room not thrown by the projector screen to the left. There was an enormous four dimensional chess set on the desk side nearest the projector screen, with all of the other boards ripped off and smashed to pieces, leaving black and white pawns and rooks and other pieces scattered all over the ground, adding to the mess. Left standing on the remaining chess board was a single white king surrounded by a bevy of dark black pawns, in clear checkmate from every angle.
There was one chair at this desk, a rickety old brown office staple covered in fake leather with a rip in the headrest. And seated in that chair was none other than... Ein himself. Dressed in a tattered and stained labcoat with a set of old striped pajama pants with a hole in the knee, and sporting a hairdo that was quite clearly running towards bald, nearing the form of a skullet minus the singular long wisp of grey hair hanging down in front of his face his appearance neared comical in juxtaposition to expectations. Except for the eyes. Two bright pinpoint specks of malice, unmistakable and indistinguishable from those laughing down at them from the screen to his left sparkle out at them with venomous hatred behind the spectacles perched atop his nose.
He reaches out one liver spotted hand, shakily groping for something in the filthy sty on his desk next to his computer before he pulls out an oxygen tank, lifting the breathing mask to his mouth and adjusting a couple of switches before they hear the sharp intake of breath as he re-regulates his breathing with a dose of the stuff before he sets the tank and mask aside. "So." He says finally after a moment of silence, staring them down unblinkingly one by one, his voice as firm and lustrous as his hands were shaky and his hair thinning. "It looks like our game has come to an end." |
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 7:38 pm
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"I'm not sure, and I don't think I should dig too deep into how I know the mind of a monster so well." Sub said in reply to Veronica, taking another few steps back as soon as the vault hissed, expecting the doors to open outward but instead they did the opposite. Before they even moved a full inch the smell hit Sub, the man quickly snatching his undershirt up and over his nose to at least try and block out the foul stench, but it was no good, such a stink had a habit of burning its self into your brain. Eyes watering from the offensive order he walked through the open doorway.
With shirt still pulled up he slowly entered, followed by Poe still in his Mega form. While he glanced around at the wide array of garbage and tossed about items he didn't dare touch a single one. When he came upon the monitor projecting Ein's frozen face he did jump, startled just a bit by the sudden mug before realizing that it was just an image and not the real thing. No, that was further ahead and in a shape he never imagined.
His eyes first darting towards the chaotic chessboard, the Snagem leader fixed his gaze upon the white piece. That board was all too familiar, the board of which him and Ein 'played their game', or rather the board Ein used to keep track of said game. He didn't need to turn to face the man seated at the desk, he already knew who was there when he had seen the chessboard. Still staring at it he spoke to the voice that called out to them.
"Looks like it has." Sub responded, finally turning to face the source of the voice, only to stare at him in shock and disgust. It was Ein, no doubt about it. The Ein, the one and only. His gut told him that much, this was no clone or body double this time. However that wasn't the reason for his shock, no. He figured they would find Ein, the real Ein, this time. What he didn't expect was the condition he found himself in. Much like himself every time he saw Ein he was in peak condition, skin smooth and without blemish, not a hair out of place. While he had an explanation for his own youthful appearance he always figured Ein kept his own with his experiments and whatnot. So while Ein was a good bit older than himself when he first encountered him over three decades ago it never dawned on him that the mad scientist would age to this degree, or rather allow himself to.
For three decades he chased after an objectively handsome demon who commanded complete control of every minute thing around him, absolute perfection and nothing less. So to find the Cipher villain in such a sorry state among such a disgusting and chaotic mess was an utter shock to the Snagem leader. This was not the Ein he knew, or rather the Ein he was made to believe existed.
It took what felt like an eternity for Sub to speak as he just stared at Ein, the two archenemies locking eyes. It was the eyes that convinced Sub this was the real deal, you couldn't fake or mimic the amount of seething hate in those eyes. He never doubted that man could kill him right where he stood, perhaps with some booby trap, but that wasn't Ein. No, and that's why his hate was boiling over in this moment. He was defeated at his own game, bested while following his own 'rules', if there ever were any. And worse of all? He was exposed. The facade had been lifted and his image of power and perfection was dispelled. Now sitting before him was a frail old man with nothing left to show for his life's work than a plethora of dead bodies and a stench that makes your nose hairs curl.
"I suppose this is where I say checkmate." Sub finally forced himself to speak. He wasn't sure what else to say.
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 7:40 pm
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The moment the doors open, the smell hit us both like a ton of bricks. My eyes watered again, and it wasn't from being overcome with emotions again. "Oh...my God..." Freth retched out.
"I think its a good thing that Tristen didn't come down here with us. He'd suffer worse than any of us." I said to her.
"What in the hell is that!?" Freth asked. The group would walk in and see not the hall mark of a sterile lab, precise instruments, charts and graphs of indecipherable description, or anything of the like of a scientist, let alone one off his rocker. This place...was a wreck. Like someone beat us in here. But...no. Wait. Things didn't add up. The MRE's, the...excrement...for lack of a better term collectively stored up for...God knows how long. Too long, regardless. The various tossed-about collective work of a mad man. This was a man left to stew in his own madness which only got worse from one subsequent defeat after another. The loss of his allies, his projects, and now...the war altogether. What made it so pretty bad...my pity well for this abhorrent man had long since run dry.
Then, an instinctual trip. Both Freth and I heard the slight shifting of something close by. The two of us quickly turned and charged an Ice Beam in the direction and took aim, lighting up the room quite a bit with our respective Ice Beams, holding our fire though when we realize there was no threat here, other than perhaps some sort of disease from living in all of this waste. "All of the Shadow Pokemon...all of the body doubles..." I started up.
"All of the plans and manipulations..." Freth spoke up.
"All of it, stemming from a decrepit, sickly, old man with nothing better to do in what remained of his years other than to hold a decades old grudge." I finally finished. "You have got to be screwing with me. This is who, rather directly or indirectly ultimately put those altered Pokemon into frutition? Tails? The Shadow Pokemon? S-22? All from this guy?"
"I am in a loss for words. I cannot believe that we went through such hell over the past few years because of one man with one foot seemingly already in the grave." Freth then said.
"I'm not one who would write off someone even in this condition but even then...not going to lie, expected something a bit more...more..."
"Clean?" Freth asked.
"Yea, sure, we'll go with that." I said.
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Posted: Sat Oct 05, 2019 7:57 pm
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"Huh? What's... there..." Cera had been on the verge of getting things sorted out with the prisoners when Sub shouted out, thinking it could wait until she was done. Nothing could prepare her for what she did see. Aden's appearance was only the start of it, then the others. They were destroyed, right? Her mind had to be playing tricks, maybe she had less of a grip on things than she thought and was that desperate to see everyone again.
"You know, there was one mistake I made in all this," Sol spoke up. "Everyone had a role and I shouldn't have been afraid to ensure you and Aden could fulfill them too. Though, I suppose things have a way of working out, don't they?"
"Yeah, that overgrown Thunder Stone out there did a number on a couple from the looks of it," Aden chimed in, after Tristen explained himself. "Though... you could say I saw a few things. Celebi there gave me a good glimpse of what happened after today, and even in defeat, Ein truly did get the last laugh. It's a long story, but if it wasn't for a whole lot of stuff working out right when they needed to, that crater would still be what was left of everyone down there... oh, and Blizz? You might remember that Celebi."
Sure enough, the Celebi in question would flit over to Blizz for a moment before moving back.
Any further discussions or celebrations would need to wait for now. Ein waited for no man, and for no touching reunion. Sol, Cera, Aden and Amaranth would all join the collective of members as they reached the Ebonite vault and watched as it open. They'd marvel and reel back from the sheer smell of everything- wait, Ein wasn't there!?
Their hearts sank as they saw the monitor with his ever ominous visage. "Wait... was I misinformed about the events after all?" Aden commented, visibly shaken.
Then, it was noticed that the monitor was stuck on the same frame. No movement whatsoever was seen, like whatever program running it had encountered an error and needed to close. And the IT person still hadn't come to hit CTRL+ALT+DEL. Only then did more looking around commence, with disdain written on the faces of all four of them at all the trash, let alone the jars upon jars that needed no inspection to figure out their contents. Finally, they'd see the chair and Ein's almost sorry-looking form seated within.
But only almost. The voice and eyes were unmistakable, and they were all that were needed to know they'd found him.
"Th... that's... a game?" Amaranth asked, shaking as she stared down Ein. After the team's time in Citadark Isle and everything leading up to this, actually seeing him in the flesh was as unsettling as ever. Perhaps more unsettling since there wasn't a computer screen separating them now. "This is a game to you?" Now that she was seeing him, however, words wanted to escape her. She wanted to ask what he was thinking in doing all of this, what he thought in experimenting on the likes of her or Cera, let alone anyone else. But her mouth stayed shut, defying her for the moment.
"Ugh, it's almost worse than the cages he had me and others in for his experiments," Cera remarked, suddenly wishing for a new nose. "I know these sorts of shelters and vaults aren't made for it, but could you have put a toilet or something in!? I'm not even commenting on the trash, this place is a dump. Guess it's fitting for you, though." Despite how calm she sounded, she remembered entirely too much of what he had put her through. "Achieving and enhancing so-called perfection at the cost of everything else- hurk." Fearing she'd vomit anytime now, even her telepathy had to stop for a bit.
"You know, Sub, after all these years? I thought there was a bit more to him," Sol commented, trying to keep his breathing somewhat shallow. "Though I guess looks and brains coming together are just a thing for the movies after all. Still, it all comes down to this... you know, you imagine this happening for the longest time and when it actually happens, your mind still asks what now?" It was a little surreal. Even through the malice and hatred in Ein's eyes, this was never what he expected to see when face-to-face with him.
Aden, oddly enough, kept silent. He didn't know what to say here now, wondering if anything different would happen now compared to what he'd learned. That, and the place reeked so much that he felt opening his mouth would be one of the worst ideas he could have. |
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