InnocentSerenity

Well, guess now’s as good a time as any to learn about the world like the other performers said. Not my fault I liked staying near home where I knew everyone. “Well, I don’t suppose there’s a tour you’re offering soon?" Luka put on one of his more genuine smiles as he spoke. "My name's Luka. It's my first time here, as you can tell." Luka looked over his shoulders, seeing the girl in twintails right behind him. The boy backed up, standing next to Hoshiko, as opposed to in front of her, pointing an opened hand towards her. “Might be my friend’s first time here, as well. I'm sure she wouldn't be opposed to coming with.” Luka's eyes glanced in Hoshiko's direction. I doubt you have anything better to do, anyway.

“Oh, you’re right, he’s not here.” Kai turned her head around in all directions, the boy that was with them being nowhere in sight. "I feel like we had something else with us, but I can't for the life of me remember what it was." Shrugging her shoulders, Kai hoped she'd remember what it was later. “Okay, I’ll follow behind.” Kai turned around to the hill path. “If anyone’s down there, mind waiting for us for a bit? We’ll be back real soon.” Spinning around towards the other side of the path, Kai followed behind Shelly.

“Well, he must’ve been a great tactician.” Luka nodded his head, a small smile on his face. As much as he’d wouldn’t want to say it out loud, he was admittedly impressed by Sergius’ planning. “I imagine in times like this, people would’ve appreciated a man like him serving their country.” Would certainly make our jobs easier. Luka noticed the symbol on the woman’s robes. A flaming sword similar to the one on the statue. “I don’t suppose you’re a fan of his?” Luka's remark was only half-serious as he pointed to her robes. “Or maybe you really like swords. You and my mother would get along well.” Maybe someone could teach me them, too.

Finally grabbing a handle, Karik pulled the item out. In his hands he found a staff, raising it up his face with a smile. “Hey, this looks pretty… Pretty cool...” Looking at the staff seemed to have made the boy a bit drowsy, the magic somehow having an effect on him. His legs eventually gave out, causing him to fall onto the ground. “Can someone be a good matie and go call the convoy man for me? Aye don't think Aye can hold this, and Aye'm pretty tired.” Karik closed his eyes, letting out a yawn as he iie down on the rather peaceful ground.

Karik had to hold down his bandannas as Cadence quickly shot past him. The pirate noticed the girl's lack of a coat. “Blimey, what kind of rocks are in that coat?” Luckily, Cadence still made a mistake. Karik still saw the key still on the ground, moved only slightly by the wind blew from the girl’s speed. Leaning over, Karik swiped the key off the ground, not slowing himself as he went. Finally reaching the chest quite a bit of time after Cadence, Karik had to catch his breath. “Ain’t Aye glad we don't have to sprint that much in battle.” Karik’s face sported a grin as he looked back up at his opponent. “I still win, though.” Karik waved the key in his hand, knowing he still beat the girl in a race, even if only by technicality. “Now, let’s see what’s inside!” Walking to the front of the chest, Karik put the key into the slot, unlocking the chest. More excited than he should be, Karik pulled the cover up slowly, eventually pushing it up before reaching his hand into the chest before checking to see what was inside.

Hearing their Leader’s words, Karik let out a sigh of relief. “We got through this, finally. That’s good then.” Checking his pockets, Karik found the key he took from one of the Pirates earlier. Looking far enough, Karik saw a treasure chest on the ground. It must’ve been some of the cargo. Before he could step away and make his way to the chest, Cadence had already appeared. "You still have that key you found earlier, right?" “Ye want the key, huh?” Karik’s eyes darted towards the chest. He never did get to do something like this before. Was it a smart idea? Probably not. Was he a fast runner? Maybe. Faster than Cadence? Now was as good a time as any to figure it out. “Try and get it first, then!” Putting all his strength behind his throw, Karik tossed the key in the direction of the chest, proceeding to dash past Cadence towards the chest, hoping to grab the key before Cadence can catch him.

A cough could be heard from Luka, the smokey air bothering him as he followed his allies. “Must be some hardy folk, if they can live with all this smoke.” Or complete dunces. Luka raised up his scarf, covering his mouth to hopefully help. Luka turned his head, listening to Saffron’s words. You really expect me to pick a fight with someone without a weapon? Then again, I probably would. “I won’t get into any trouble, Saffron. No worries.” Finding nothing for himself to do with the others, Luka walked towards the city’s fountain, his eyes staring at the blade in the hand of the statue. “I wonder what it’s made of.” Luka spoke aloud, not knowing if any of his allies had decided to follow him. Luka sat himself down beside the fountain, the sword taking his attention.

Just as oblivious to the thieft as Shelly, Kai nodded her head in agreement. “Yeah, I bet there’s something cool over there.” Immediately after answering, the girl already ran through the path, not caring for the pace of the girl she was with. As she ran up, she continually turned her head around, hoping to see something in the wilderness around them. “I hope there’s some Pokémon nearby. I wanna see the amazing creatures in this Nexus!”

Yo, @S34N1C, do you want Kai to come and follow, or you wanna handle all that on your own?

Karik nearly jumped back in surprise when he saw the cloaked man come out of the building. “Well, that’s something from that shop, Aye guess.” after shrugging his shoulders, Karik reached for the Iron Blade he had on him. “Here, this be no use to me, or many of our maties.” Karik handed the blade over to the convoy man, putting away the key he had on him. “And Aye don’t suppose there be anything inside there?” Surrender the Iron Blade to the convoy man

Karik continued walking east, heading towards the building nearby. “Everyone else has got this handled. Might as well make myself useful in a different way.” Upon heading east, Karik found a small key on the ground. “Blimey, they must’ve dropped this earlier.” As much as he wanted to pick this up, his bag was a bit too full as it was. "Alright, how do I do this?” Sadly, the pirate never exactly learned how to whistle. Trying to mimic how he saw others whistle didn't work, and Karik simply ended up blowing air in front of him. "C'mon, Aye can do this!" A loud, exaggerated sound of someone saying "Shh" repeatedly could be heard by everyone. "Ah, forget it. Convoy man! Whatever your name is! Can Aye get some help here?" Hoping the convoy owner would catch up well, Karik continued moving towards the building, checking to see if anyone was inside. Send the Iron Blade to the Convoy, then move to O13 and knock on the door

Kai looked over her shoulder, seeing Shelly moving her head around. “Ya seem a bit high-strung, don’tcha?” Kai spoke to the other girl as she was walking. “Just lookin’ over your shoulder all the time.” The girl gave a toothy smile as she pointed out her actions. “But hey, if you see something, don’t feel too shy to say. Though, is shyness is much of a problem for ya?" Kai stretched her arms out, putting her hands behind her head. “Hey, I never did get your name. My name’s Karla, but people always call me Kai. What about you? Got any goofy nicknames I can call ya?”

“An entirely new Nexus? That sounds amazing! We get to be the first ones to explore it, then?” Kai shook her arms around in front of her, excited to start what would technically be her first mission as an Aether Cadets. “A whole other world, uncharted. All for us to explore!” Kai fidgeted around with her own A-Comm, looking for something to help her chart her own map. “Can we go now? I wanna see what’s around here!” Not bothering to get an answer from anyone, Kai already started walking. Kai turned herself around as she spoke, walking backwards towards a direction. “C’mon, waiting around is gonna get you nowhere. Let’s go!” Turning herself back around, Kai continued onward, waiting for the others to follow behind.

Luka woke up from his rather peaceful sleep with an annoyed expression on his face. He’d have appreciated sleeping in while everyone else handled whatever danger was happening that caused a tree to fall, but today just wasn’t going to be that day. The dancer groaned as he sat himself up, reaching for his clothes folded beside him on the ground. The boy looked to the other side of the tent, finding the pink-haired girl getting up just like him. “I hope you realize it’s a bit too hot for your scarf.” Facing away from the girl, he slid his bed shirt off over his head, putting on his outdoor clothes from where he was seated. “I need this thing to help with dancing, so what’s gonna be your excuse?” Luka had a sarcastic smile on his face as he spoke. He didn’t exactly have enough patience in the morning to at least act a bit nicer. “What’s up with you, anyway?” The dancer unfolded his scarf, looking over his shoulder at the girl. “Me groaning is a bit normal when no one’s around." Sometimes at you, too. "You, on the other hand, are usually a bit more chipper.”

“Nice one, Rayne!” Karik ran towards the east, taking position where the Thief had been. “Now it’s my turn, matie!” Taking out his Hatchet, Karik took aim. The sight of a seafaring pirate only made his throwing arm move faster. Move to P10 and attack Pirate with Boomerang Hatchet

Kai had walked closer to the other girl, hoping to get a listen to her A-Comm as they spoke. “Hi, Ray! I’m perfectly fine.” Kai spoke with a smile. “My body hasn’t been torn into shreds from being transported from some kind of virtual space to wherever the heck we are now, so probably.” Kai patted her torso, checking to make sure everything was exactly where it had been before. Finding nothing wrong, Kai looked at the girl holding the A-Comm. “Seems like you’re okay too, right?” Not bothering to stop to let Shelly answer the question, she continued. “We’re in some kind of forest with crystal-y trees. They’re really amazing and beautiful. Maybe I should take pictures and send them to Mama.” Kai continued on, talking about random information that the others probably didn't care about.

Kai covered her eyes as the dust began to cover her vision. As she reopened them, she saw what had replaced the battlefield she had just been in. A clearing inside of what looked to be a forest of unnaturally colored trees. Looking to her sides, she saw two other students with her. A pretty girl that was still shorter than her, despite the two being the same age, and a boy that looked rather imposing with his suit on. “What’s with those trees?” Kai muttered to herself as she walked towards one of the trees, curious to see if the trees had really been as unnaturally colored as she had assumed. Outstretching her hand, she wanted to know what kind of texture the strange trees had.

The nomad’s words rang through Karik’s mind. Some little kid they found and saved from a group of savage pirates. Despite only knowing each other for a week, Idei had already considered the boy as important to him as his own mount. Karik returned Idei’s minute smile with his own. “You’re important to me, too.” Move to P6 and hold

“Thank you very much!” Snatching the doll out of the boy’s hands, Kai hugged the mechamon close to her chest. “Aw, it’s so adorable!” Acting like she had just found an innocent little Lillipup, Kai pet the mechamon’s head. “I wonder if mama made you. Can’t remember if I’ve seen little ol’ you before.” Kai looked closer at the detached hands of the mechamon. Flicking the space slightly, Kai saw the translucent string shine as it revealed its presence. “Heh, always easy to find.” The discrepancy only served to make the girl hug the doll tighter, knowing this P-AZ wasn't intent on shooting any flaming, freezing, or electrifying orbs in her direction. At least, she hoped this wasn't. Kai looked over to the emerald-haired boy, holding up a piece of paper in front of the panel. She tried not to accidentally burst into laughter. She buried her mouth in her hand, trying not to giggle too loud. As expected, it was a difficult task for the girl.

“Yeah, nicely done!” The girl jumped up and stretched her arm to point to the ceiling. “Now for some actual rest, Starmie. Return!” After recalling the sea star back into its Aether Ball, Kai stretched her arms out, having been standing up for a rather long while. Taking a peek at her A-Comm, she noticed a certain addition made to their inventories. And there it was in the hands of the boy in the strange lab coat. “Hey, can I have that?” Running up to Emmanuel, Kai reached her hands out, waiting for the boy to give her the mechamon. “Please, I wanna hug and pet the adorable thing!” Kai was nearly jumping in place, a large smile on her face as she talked to the boy.

Caught off guard, Karik winced in pain as the knife struck his arm, unable to get his Hatchet in the time. “Aye’m fine, Idei. Just a few scratches.” Karik ran into the crowd nearby, speaking to Idei upon passing him. “Worry more about Kite, though. He’s definitely a closer matey to you than me.” Putting his axe away, the boy found his Hatchet on him. “Aye should have this thing on-hand more often.” Keeping a hand on his Hatchet, Karik took position behind Rayne and Madante. Move to Q6, equip Hatchet and HOLD

“Let’s finish this. I know you can do it!” Hearing Kai’s encouraging words, the Starmie began to spin around just like its master, encouraging it to attack harder. “Hydro Pump!” Starmie’s jewel began to glow a blue color, as a ball of water appearing in front of it, continuously spinning around as Starmie waved its sideways arms beside it. “Take aim. Ready. Fire!” With one last spin with the ball staying in front of its jewel, Starmie outstretched its arms towards P-AZ, the water shooting towards it at a quick speed. Action: ([Attacker Lv1] Special Skill is active); Starmie’s SP.ATK increased to +1! Hydro Pump P-AZ with 300 Special Power

Kai turned her head side-to-side, trying to keep an eye on P-AZ’s rapid movements. She nearly got dizzy from watching before the data Pokémon began to slow down from its ability. Taking a look at her A-Comm, Kai saw the rather scary amount of stat stages the creature was at for its Defensive stats. In a short sigh of relief, she also saw their objective. “This thing can take a few hits.” Looking at her Starmie, she spoke to it as if she had known it much longer than she did. “Why don’t we prepare just in case?” “Starmie, just a little more safety. Reflect!” Just as before, light began to materialize into another layer of barriers around the Pokémon, this time reducing the force behind Physical moves. Action: Set up a Reflect to protect against Physical moves

Kai covered her ears as tight as she could, the loud noise not getting the best of her. Daring to let the screech hurt one of her ears, she reached for the Aether Ball at her side. “Sorry Starmie, no time to rest. We got a battle to do.” Swiping the Aether Ball off her belt, Kai spun around in place, throwing it down after a single revolution. Out came the Starmie once again, spinning around just the same as its owner. “We could use some protection, Light Screen!” Light began to flash around Starmie and Scizor, eventually materializing as a near-invisible barrier to protect them from Special-type Attacks. The barrier began to appear around the Aether Balls of the others, signifying its protection to the Pokémon not out yet. “Let's go, everyone!” Action: Light Screen to reduce damage to all allies from Special Attacks

Looking around at the bandits nearby, Karik caught a glimpse of a few swords nearby. With his allies already dashing towards them, Karik thought it best to find a different use for his presence: Warning random villagers in the area. “Aye’m just gonna...” Karik spoke softly as he stepped towards the house nearby. Knocking on their front door, he raised his voice to make sure whoever was inside could hear his warning. “Hey, anyone in here? There’s bandits outside so make sure to lock your doors!” Move to O4 and knock on some doors.