Bfroger6

"More Manaketes..?" Cass whispered so neither of the other would hear him as he looked at the dragonstone replica in wonder. So how many people here were actually Manaketes/hybrids? He'd already met two and he was kinda sure there were lotsa more. How did he never know this? Had he known this earlier...nah he was getting really uncomfortable right now. He couldn't think right. "Ya, well, I was just looking for any instrument really. Idei, do ya got any suggestions..?"

"Oh crap you're right!" Cass ran towards the stands, waving at people who were gathering their supplies. "Wait-wait-wait-wait, I need new instruments!!!"

"Oh, hi Idei, fancy seein' ya here, ha-ha..." Cass laughed as Idei approached. Blast, and just when he was about to strike a conversation with the Manakete, totally. Instead he nodded to the dragon before turning to Idei. "Thanks, we'll be off then." He says and starts heading towards the town center. "So Idei, ever imagine we'd get to see a Manakete out of all things? Not even I've ever seen one. It's a real sight." Following Percival's directions towards the music hall

RADOVAN Apparently, the nearest ice cream shop was inside the HQ at this floor, which made sense cuz you always want to get an ice cream while waiting for your mission flight, amirite? Well anyways, if they wanted to get some ice cream, the group should head inside through the big glass automated door all the medics were using to flood the area along with families of those rescued.

Space Aether HQ - F134990 GINA'S GROUP "You understand that if you decide not to go with your friends, you're gonna be stuck with me waiting for our escort to arrive, right?" Gina asks Sena, while holding Kalva's head and patting him. She doesn't seem to mind Kalva staying with her, despite what she was asking the other boy. "Well anyways, those two Pokemon can stay out so long as you stay at Aether HQ, alright, girl?" She shouts after Zeta and the others, along with Murki and Meggie. She then picks her A-Comm up and starts typing something. "I'm uploading that picture of us, Kalva." She says, expression unchanging. Meanwhile, Sal proceeded to poke and prod at both Sena and Kalva's feet. ICE CREAM GROUP Zeta is surprised at Radovan helping her out of her seat. She hops onto her feet excitedly and runs over to Murki and Meggie. Murki flies over to her shoulder and Zeta smiles. "Ice cream is something cold? What do you do with it?" She asks. Shelly might recall the whole confusion Zeta had over the concept of eating back at #08. She rushes outside with the rest of the group and almost immediately is taken aback by the structure that now stood before her. "W-whoa!" She backs a few steps, bumping into the Drill. Around her, countless other drills are landing, people are rushing, everyone is happy. And the skies were completely different from back at #08. It was almost like they were in the middle of the sky themselves! It was...it was amazing! And it left her speechless! Meggie is almost in the same state of shock, but in a good way. She didn't see anything dirty around here. Murki flies a bit higher to inspect her surroundings. She finds out there's a whole world below them, with thousands and thousands of houses. They were on a platform somewhere high up in the sky where these flying drills were all landing. Was this the HQ house everyone was mentioning? It was really something.

"Ohoho, please accept this drink I made you, in this glass I made you. With this poison I made you."

Everyone sat safely in the Nexus Drill. The safety belts comprised of energetically charged soft yet indestructible tapes kept everyone safe. Zeta, Murki and Meggie all took deep breaths in anticipation of what was to come. As the Drill took off slowly, Zeta shivered and jumped up in her seat. When it accelerated, she held the belt tightly and, as it shook upon exiting the Nexus, she let out a scream. But it was gone as soon as it came and she looked at Shelly thankfully, with a tear glistening in her eye. ------------------------------------------------------ ------------------ Void: Anti-Space ------------------ Music: Margin of Emptiness The Nexus Drill had no windows so there was no way to see the Anti-Space they travelled through. The tension, as always, was almost palpable. The fear of the great unknown, everpresent. There was also the uncertainty of it all. From what you've been taught at the Academy, there is no space in Anti-Space, meaning that relations between Nexuses couldn't be logically explained. There was always variability on their relative positioning to one another, but they remained largely situated properly to one another, never moving. This was where the term Nexus Grid came into play. The theory suggested that Nexuses formed a Grid with other Nexuses in an attempt to form a cohesive spatial continuum. This tendency could not be explained even in this day and age, the same went for Anti-Space too. It was beyond reason. An eternal mystery. And its origin was shrouded even more. Nobody could explain it. As everyone rested, Zeta closed her eyes as well. Murki and Meggie calmed down as well, overtaken by the same sensation of helplessness in the void. Yet the helplessness was also endearing. Innocent. Like swimming in #03's calm seas. Gina has been registered as a friend +1 ☆ [additional effects have been unlocked] 0: Attacker Lv1 - raises one Pokemon's ATK or SP.ATK by 1 stage once per battle 1: Assist - Gina can now support you in battle using Sal as a support NPC ... As you rest, time passes by and, without anyone noticing you've arrived, you're suddenly shaken awake by the very same turbulence you've experienced at the start of your journey. -we hope you have had a nice flight- A mechanical woman's voice echoes. -please continue your service to Space Aether Foundation, your whole world, safely- ------------------------------------------------------ ------------------ Nexus #00: Aether City ------------------ Music: Urban Skies The hatch opens as you land and bright sunlight shines into the vessel. Zeta's eyes glisten, but she waits for you to unbuckle her before running off inside. There is a whole new world in front of her now. Gina exists the cockpit, with Sal on her head. She nods at you all and proceeds to unbuckle Kalva. "I hope you've rested a bit. I know you've been through a lot today." She says to him before turning towards the others. Several Aether Employees run into the Drill with Medical-Comms in tow. "I've alerted the rescue services of our arrival. They will be taking care of the two unconcious Employees. Meanwhile, you and I will be accompanied by a third party arriving shortly at the landing site. Until then, you can stretch or whatever. Show the girl around. It's currently 1600 hours, the sun won't be setting anytime soon." She commands you before walking out into the sun. If you wish, you can follow her. The unconcious Employees have been taken outside already. Outside you'll find the glass layer of #00, fashioned to not look like a goddamn empty sky but rather a cementey surface. Around you, countless other Nexus Drills are landing and the sun is shining. The rescue missions seem to be going well. Thank the Lone Star.

"1500! I'll need to trick Idei five more times to make up for that...but fine." Cass pulls enough Vespers from his pouch to satisfy the woman before taking the lyric for himself. He rolled it up nice and tidy and placed it away safely. Buy Ninis' Grace for 1,500 Vespers Somewhat less satisfied with the price he had to pay, Cass moved away from the merchant, but not before throwing another glance at the Manakete. He then remembered he was actually looking for instruments and ran back up to her. "Are there any shops that do sell instruments around here..?" He asked.

"That's a-" Cass exclaimed as the woman pulled the lyric out. He recignized it right away. It was one of those really quality ones. Ninis' Grace. Songs of dragons that used it in their dances have been passed through centuries. And he wanted it. "How much?" He quickly asks, wasting no time to reach for his pouch and get the needed money.

"Lyrics, eh." Cass couldn't hide his disappointment. For some great merchant, this lady sure kept her stock...pretty unstocked. "Okay, lemme check them, at the very least. Maybe there's some useful magic in some of them." ...also husband? Who marries a Manakete??? More importantly...HOW??? People barely knew they existed.

Cass was feeling great after getting drunk again on the ship. He was basically sparkling in the early noon sun. Wyverns were everywhere and whatnot, but the real deal was an actual... "A Manakete?" He couldn't help but stop in surprise a bit. He'd not actually seen one, like, ever, not even in his travels. And he'd always wanted to. However, what he didn't want was to get weird with the dragon right away. This was a special person and he'd have to strategically approach them over time. He frowned determinedly and then grinned at the merchant lady. "Any instruments for a poor ol' street performer?"

"You might wanna first not get yourself killed by falling off a barrel." Cass shrugged at Emilee who was enjoying herself on the floor. He smirked at her. "The quiet ones are the worst. They always hide something." Popping the cap of the bottle and taking a chug, he continued. "Nothing bad in getting a bit drunk. Like today you pretty much kept at it at that bar. It was crazy how much you could drink. Phew. And this is some fine wine, really. Oh. I opened it? Oh well." "Let's just enjoy the voyage."

"Good idea. Carry the Employees out of here. And you help them." Gina orders the rest of the Employees to help. They seem relieved now that they found out that their comrades aren't dead. Gina then shakes her head at Emmanuel's notion. "We're not staying here. We've had orders to deliver everyone safely back to #00 and I don't intend to take any more chances with these Pokemon." She takes her Aether Ball and summons Sal in order to fight. Lumi watches. Music: This is what we've trained for... [Lumi is waiting...] "You're mine now-!" [Gina throws an Aether Ball at Lumi!] ... ... ... ping [Congratulations, Lumi has been caught!] -combat resolved- Gina picks the Aether Ball up from the ground. Lumi has seemingly given himself in. That couldn't be a good sign. She frowns as she looks down at the ball, and Sal does too. "I don't like this." She mutters before turning towards everyone. "We're proceeding as planned. When we get back to HQ we're having this guy here taken under surveillance. Miss, I hope you can vouch for your other Pokemon, because if you can't, Sal and I'll have to deal with them properly." She turns to Zeta as she says this last part. The young girl is intimidated by the woman's mien, but nods. "A-alright. But Murki and Meggie will definitely behave!" The two Pokemon nod. "That's what you said for this Sableye as well. Regardless, we'll be off now. Kalva, I see that everything's good with the machinery and the unconcious Employees have been taken care of. We'll be flying as soon as we all buckle up. I'll take the helm." She finishes, sending Kalva and everyone else out of the cockpit and also places Lumi's Aether Ball into her A-Comm. Sal sits in her lap. "They seem to have only messed with the storage...Sableye are innocent but problematic Pokemon. I should've seen this coming." [Everyone gets 1 post to buckle up in their seats and as soon as everyone's posted the Nexus Drill will be taking off. You aren't allowed to post more than once.]

Lumi follows Emmanuel with his gleaming eyes as he moves over to the Employees to check on their pulse. Surprisingly, he finds that their hearts still beat. Both of them are fine, at least physically.

"Of course, Kalva." Gina smiles at the boy, speaking in sign language rather than voice because screw everyone who isn't Kalva. She pat his head as she walked over to the interface and raised her A-Comm to it. A soft *blip* resounded before the lock was released. The inside was unlike the rest of the drill-not Aether-white, but rather a series of monitors that exuded a bluish hue into an usually dimly lit room. Two Employees sat at the controls. However, it was immediately clear that something was amiss...and Gina could smell it. Music: Sequence//WRONG Gesturing for the rest of the crew to stay put, Gina slowly walked inside, moving inch by inch towards the closer Employee. A sense of tension runs down your spine as she reaches out to touch their shoulder... And their body falls limply to the side of the chair. "What the-" Even Gina backs away at this, eyes wide before they start darting around the room, scanning it for any sign of the Sableye. What this was must've been what the legends say of Sableye stealing people's souls and you were too late to stop it from happening while you investigated other hiding spots. Suddenly, the monitors begin flickering rapidly and Gina darts out of the room, Aether Ball already in her hand. Zeta and Kai walk in at this time with Lumi, who cackles before melting into a shadow and slipping out of Zeta's hands. "L-lumi, what're you-" Zeta tries to grab him but he's already slipped past both her, Murki and Meggie and even Gina, into the cockpit. The two Sableye join together, holding each others claws and cackling, completely ignoring the crew and everyone. By now, the other Employees have gathered around as well, gasping at what they saw. As this had happened, they didn't have much time to respond to Radovan and neither did Zeta have time to respond to Shelly. However, in a completely unexpected turn of events, the other Sableye nods at Lumi before vanishing into the shadows, using them to move outside the vessel. There's no way for you to catch it. However, the Sableye's motives remain a mystery to you. [Lumi] What are you going to do about Lumi? He doesn't seem to act hostile towards you at the moment. In fact, he's looking over at Zeta, who's holding her hands at her chest, Murki and Meggie standing between her and Lumi, with that innocent smile on his face again.

"You mean like, Eedei? Hah!" Cass scoffed at the remark. It was funny, though, of course. Very very funny. "I don't think he talks to his horse, I'm sure he does that." He nodded, placing one foot on the barrel and resting his elbow against his knee. However, as he was saying that, Emilee had already gone over the topic and said it all herself. "You should hear 'im sing though. When he does that you can really hear what he's really saving his voice for."

"..." "Sure, whatever you say." Cass pulled a barrel nearby and sat next to Emilee, nonschalantly pushing the emptied out bottle aside and into a pile of crates where it tonked anticlimactically. "Why don't ya give one of da Guards a nickname that starts on 'E'? Then you could pretend that they're an 'E' guard as you said. I can start if ya want...hmmmm...no this is hard." He furrowed his brow, one hand on his chin, rolling a strand of his mighty chin-beard around a finger. Nah he couldn't think straight, cuz dayum was she making him wanna pop that bottle he was carrying, like pronto.

No better way than to travel by ship. Of course, there were always drawbacks, like the damn cold his clothes couldn't really ward off and stuff, but generally, sailing was a pleasant experience. And even better after playing that song with Idei and Darius. He wondered whether Darius got what he was saying. Didn't seem that way, but one could always hope. Oh, and there was one other thing that was bound to make this trip worth it-the wine. That old guy they protected gave them a heckuvalot of that sweet sweet drink that they could basically bathe in it. Or sail on it. Or whatever with it! Although somehow, he wasn't in the mood for it right now. Nor for much else. He got inside, swiped one wine bottle out of the crate, carefully stashing it into some cloth he tied up into a general shape of a pouch, and casually walked over to the group, picking out a particular priestess from it to approach. "Yo, Emilee."

"Hmmm?" Gina looks at Taylor, raising her head from her A-Comm. Her brow furrows for a moment but then her eyes widen. "You're right, we can't let that happen." She scoots over to the toilet and reaches out towards its interface with her A-Comm. A ping is heard as the toilet unlocks and, before anyone can react, she sets it to 'eject' and flushes it. Meanwhile, outside... A circular hatch open in the back-end of the Drill and, from there, a Sableye is shot out. It shakes its wet ears and gnarls before skittering off into the forest. Gina stands proud before the toilet, glad that she could save Kalva the trouble. She nods with a stern look on her face. "Problem solved." She says, walking out of the restroom cabin. However, from what you gathered...there seemed to be 2 Sableye lurking about aside from Lumi. You only found 1. [Where is the other?] Shelly found nothing while docking her A-Comm

"Yeap, now. I'll just play with my other hand." Cass grins at Idei, holding his guitar in his right hand this time. Not that he'd had to done this in a while, but so long as Idei went slow, he could do it. He glanced over at Darius as he noticed Idei was getting ready. "I bet my spirits help me out 'cause they like to hear some nice music. Why don't you try something, eh? Just letting them listen to the rhythm should be enough. After all, songs can hold some mighty mysterious magic, don't forget that." With that, Cass takes a deep breath and gets ready to follow Idei's tune... At first, Idei's beat escapes him. No matter how slow, he needs some time to get used to this reversed situation playing with his left hand. He grins as a speck of sweat glistens on his forehead and he looks up and glances around in embarrassment over the few dissonant notes he'd produced. However, Idei's calmness reassures him too and slowly he catches up. He could remember this song, from way back. He couldn't at the start, but as he listened, it came back. Back from when they were all still together, of course. Idei's singing complements the tune perfectly and soon, Cass is playing like he'd never played with any hand other than his left. The rhythmic guitar melds with the beat of the drums and weavingly intertwines with the vocals. It was perfect, peaceful. He could only hope now that Darius would follow what he told him.

Lumi shrugs and jumps into Zeta's arms. She looks at Kai. "Oh, so he's not getting a ball? Okie then~ You're funny, Kai, you made us all excited over nothing, haha!" She happily exclaims before marching towards the Nexus Drill. She seemed to have loosened up a bit. Murki and Meggie nod to Kai, with Meggie pointing at Murki and Murki proudly bowing in response to Kai's request, as if saying that she could definitely handle the goon if need be. --------------------------------------------------------------- NEXUS DRILL **NPCs at the scene: 3 nameless Space Aether Employees, Gina** [Search the Nexus Drill - 3. Search the toilet...] As the automated door opens as Taylor's holds his A-Comm to the lock, he is greeted by a normal toilet sitting in the middle of a really small square section of the Drill. The toilet is opened, though and as Taylor peers inside, he notices a rather out-of-place looking dark blotch sitting quietly in the shadows of the drainage. It appears to have not noticed him as of yet...perhaps he could handle it without any assistance? Because Taylor knows that the toilet on the Nexus Drill is designed so that it shoots its contents out into the nothingness of Anti-Space where it merely disappears forever. So if he were to flush the toilet now...the dark blotch would be shot out of the Drill rather unpleasantly. Of course, to do that, he'd need to authorize himself using a high-ranking officer's A-Comm to the toilet's lever in order to disengage the automatic lock active while the vessel is grounded, which prevents the toilet's contents from just being spilled all over some populated Nexus for obvious reasons. Gina is still waiting, of course, and if Taylor wanted to, he could ask her to lend him some help...

Lumi pokes Ante back, only his claws are rather sharp, so as to warn the Shinx, while still grinning innocently. "Aether Ball?" Zeta asks in confusion. She looks at the Aether Ball Kai is holding out to her with an inquisitive look, clearly deep in thought. Lumi peeks from behind her and looks as well, putting a hand to his chin. He then pokes Zeta and when she glances down at him, he nods. "Oh, you're ok with that?" She asks, smiling. Lumi nods once again and Zeta holds him up to Kai. "Okie, so how do we put him in?" She asks, while Lumi chuckles at Kai and Ante. --------------------------------------------------------------- NEXUS DRILL **NPCs at the scene: 3 nameless Space Aether Employees, Gina** Emmanuel, Kalva (along with Gina, of course), and everyone else save for Kai, make it inside the Nexus Drill. The insides are what they're used to: a squeaky clean Aether white. There are no windows, of course, as travelling through the Anti-Space was hazardous even in this way. What they knew, however, was that the Nexus Drill functioned on the same principles as a Nexus did, utilizing a Shard in order to form a cohesive spatial integrity that protected it from being reduced to nothingess in the Anti-Space while also allowing it to break through other Nexuses' integrity. There are benches on either side of the vessel with enough space that the whole crew could sit down and comfortably strap themselves up. The Space Aether Employees are strewn around the place making final preparations for takeoff by doing their stuff on the many available computer interfaces that pop out of walls when you need them here. There should be luggage compartments (aka, read as: A-Comm docking points) situated above the benches, offering little extra hiding space. However, it might be worth a shot, since Sableye are Ghost-type Pokemon. Furthermore, there's the cockpit as well in the back area of the Drill but you can see it's sealed. Since there are only 3 Aether Employees you can see, you assume the other 2 are in the cockpit. By asking Gina, you may persuade her to open the cockpit for you with her clearance ID. There's also a toilet on one side of the Drill. The Aether Employees have told you they haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary. Music: Atmosphere - Fading to White "Here we are. Since you wanna do a search of this place, it's my duty to assist you in any way you want, even if this probably is a huge waste of time. Keep in mind that there aren't many places a stray Pokemon could hide in here." [Search the Nexus Drill - choose 1 option as a group] 1.) Search the A-Comm docking point? 2.) Ask Gina to open the cockpit? 3.) Search the toilet..? 4.) Further question the Space Aether Employees? NOTE: You must keep in mind that wasting time could alert the Sableye of your presence and allow them to find a better hiding spot. Therefore, you must choose wisely.

"That's a bummer. But can't help it, I s'ppose, if the spirits want that." Cass knew little about magic, and most of what he knew was purely practical in nature. He'd never literally studied the spirits, only heards songs about them. While they gave a general idea, his lore could hardly compare to the knowledge of one immersed in their secrets. This gave him an idea though. He took his guitar and, albeit he was still stinging from the battle, called Idei over. "Hey Idei, come 'ere!" He yelled at the nomad, gesturing for him to get up and come sit down with them. "Time for some music, whaddayasay?" He grinned as he pushed the drums into Idei's hands and turned to Darius. "You can just listen and well, think? Iunno, if you have an instrument or well, magic, you can do stuff. And Idei, you lead, I'll follow. You know your land's music the best. But do try something slow for the start."

"Uhm...I wasn't in the night watch." Georgey answered the big man, completely missing the point he was referring to. He walked down the rest of the stairs, tripping over a couple of the piles of stuff that have been so rudely arranged around the place for some reason while he wasn't watching and went to the door. "Who's...yawn...there?" He asked.

Gina unwillingly walks back from the Nexus Drill at Kai's request. When in range to see the commotion, she yells: "I don't know and I don't care. You're already picking up some odd anomalous girl you found in this place, so a Sableye or two won't hurt anyone," proceeding to pull out her A-Comm and snapping a couple of selfies of her, Sal and pulling Kalva into one of them as well. "These are going on the Space-Face when we get somewhere with reception." She pats Kalva's head and leads him into the Drill. "Even if it can't fit in his mouth whole, he could always just rip it apart with his friends and eat it in pieces~" Zeta replies to Kai. Lumi seems displeased by Taylor's intrusion although it's hard to tell as his eyes are literally expressionless gems so it's hard to even pinpoint the direction he's looking at. He shakes his head at Taylor, Kai and Frederick, holding his hands together as if begging them not to doubt him. He then hugs Zeta again and she picks him up and cradles him in her arms. "I promise he'll behave~" She says with ignorant bias in her gleaming eyes and happy face as Murki behind her does the beak-wing equivalent of a facepalm. Meggie looks to Taylor for some support, proning him to still conduct the search even if Zeta won't let them put him into an Aether Ball. [If you wish, you can conduct a search of the Nexus Drill's interior with the help of the Space Aether Employees, looking for the Sableye that may have hidden inside...]