[PXFIRE] [RP] PXFIRE Roleplay - A Game of Storms

[LKWayvern]

Laura Bette Kaye the Umbreon
Prankster Platoon
Connive, City Square
Affected RPers: none

After Clairia had left the room, Laura had made it out into the hall, her eyes and rings flaring up silver as she activated the telepathy that her Blaze Jewel granted her.

‘Aria are you there?’

She hummed and swished her tail as she waited for a response.

‘I thought you informed me that the Platoon would no longer be dealing with me,’ Aria’s irritated hiss replied.

‘You are. Just wanted to make sure you remembered,’ Laura responded.

‘Well, you made it very clear,’ Aria sighed. ‘I see you survived. Is Xavier in one piece?’

‘Permanently blinded. But beyond that, just a couple broken ribs.’

There was an awkward silence in the telepathic link.

‘You understand that it’s not that I particularly wanted to leave you to die,’ Aria said, deliberately and slowly. ‘But I refuse to leave my two daughters as orphans. Bethani and Lisette are good girls. They do not deserve growing up in the streets, threatened by predators and gangs.’

Laura leaned against the wall. ‘You knew what you were getting into when you walked into that arena.’

‘I did it because I required money, and you had promised that Xavier was the greatest fighter you knew, and you had crazy ideas that no other team would expect. But you turned out to be a cocky teenager with no experience fighting,’ Aria sighed. ‘Thanks to your overconfidence, and your agitated screaming about murdering the Grand Lady, the Shadow Mask found us and killed Kirrun. Did you know he was supporting a younger sibling through bodyguard jobs? You didn’t even call his family or his client. I needed to do that.’

‘...Only one of our members died… Better than Shadow Mask and Thundercrash Gang managed,’ Laura tried reasoning.

‘Any death is a tragedy,’ Aria said. ‘This whole arcdamn country has forgotten that, and someday they will all face the Judgement of Arc and the Renegade for it. I don’t care what you do-- but try not to make stupid decisions, or consequences will hit you closer to home than you expect.’

Laura sighed, cutting off the link, and wandering off into the hallways.

Clairia had said she would try to get some friends to help, but Laura still felt she should get together a few other Pokemon, preferrably Pranksters.

Soon enough, Laura found exactly who she was looking for.

Vic the blaziken was known to be a major risk-taker and supernaturally lucky gambler, fabled to have bankrupted at least four casinos they had played in. Their personality was just as flamboyant and eccentric as their fashion sense. And their fashion sense was extremely flamboyant and strange. They wore a tye-dyed suit, and had dyed their feathered crest as well, somehow managing to straddle a strange line between class and craze.

“Laura! Congrats on getting out alive, you hirra!” Vic greeted her. “We thought you’d torchic out’n run! Even I didn’t think you’d take out those Shades!”

Laura chuckled. “Yeah! It was-- Tell your little gambling ring it was easy! I could’ve gotten a Black Onyx kako if Aria and Kirrun hadn’t gone down.” She hadn't been quite that confident after talking to Aria, but she didn't want Vic to know that.

“So, a little birdy told me you wanted ta try runnin’ with the Screamers too, you wanted ta get a little cash bettin’ on yourself, too?” Vic asked.

“Well, not quite. That birdy was right, but I was actually wondering if you’d like to run with me too?” Laura asked.

Vic raised an eyebrow. “Really? That’d be new… I never been in the games before…” A wicked grin split their face. “Count me in, girl!”

Laura grinned back. “That’s great! You know anyone else interested?”

“Yeah, actually-- buddy of mine, flygon named Ziz. B’fore raids we both bet on how many Lotus bums we can get,” Vic said. “We can do the same thing here!”

Laura nodded. “Come with us tomorrow, Xavier’s sister’s getting some friends who might want to join the race, and become Pranksters if they survive.”

“Sound like my kinda guys!” Vic said, giving Laura a thumbs up. “Welp, I gotta go find Ziz. Where’re we meeting up tomorrow?”

“City square,” Laura said. “See ya there.”

[Morzone]

Julia
Steel Scavengers
Dread Metal Derby -Lytala SLums
Affected RP'ers: @Neo Emolga, @Velocity

The screeching of metal. The thunderous crashes of an enormous monster truck slamming over the Iron giant. Gunfire. Splintering wood. Splashing gasoline. Buildings collapsing. Through the chaos a yell was heard: "Find them and kill them, you freak! It's your damn job!" A roar. Light, heat. Sparks. The fire was coming at her... then suddenly the fire was everywhere. And the Hulking body of the Black Lotus monster truck Peace Slayer Exploded into a thousand pieces.

Julia sat, stunned, in the cockpit of the Iron Giant, which had been carried a short distance past the now burning wreck of a vehicle due to momentum. Ringing from the explosion pressed itself upon her as she held her pounding head steady. Gotta pull myself together... This hell ain't over yet. Julia reminded herself, lifting her head to take note of her situation.

The fire was everywhere. Twisted remains from the monster truck sat in a pile where it had exploded, but shrapnel, both large and small, littered the ground. Run over that too much and your tires would be shredded. Apart from the crackling of the flames there wasn't any sign of movement from the Peace slayer, which was partially good. The two Lotus members had likely perished, or were incapacitated and were going to perish in the flames. But the real problem came from the fire. It as bad enough there has a huge flaming wreck in the middle of the road, but the gasoline explosion had thrown flames all over the adjacent buildings as well. And If Julia knew one thing about shabby, poorly built buildings like the ones here in the slums, it was that they were VERY flammable. That fire was going to spread Fast, and the last thing she needed was to try to have to survive insanely weaponized vehicles while trying to navigate a burning, smokey inferno. It didn't help that she was an ice type, nor that her blaze jewel was steel. So much for covering your weaknesses.

From the other side of the burning wreck, distantly down the street, Julia could still hear gunshots and explosions. Probably that APV battling some other vehicle. She hoped who ever it was would take it out, though if they did that would generally mean the attackers were even more dangerous. Her own vehicle was still functional and for the most past fine, but along the side closest to the explosion -the left side- were A multitude of burn marks that Julia suspected had dealt a fair amount of damage to its ability to protect her. She'd need to check the guns on that side as well -the shotgun and the flamethrower- to make sure hey could still move properly. The part of her plow she'd hit the monster truck with had crumpled somewhat, and wasn't going to be nearly as effective as the other side of the plow.

The suddenly the zombie Squad's The Reckoning Came speeding out of a side alley, ramming the burning wreck aside into another building, which went up in flame almost immediately. And then, just to top off the now rapidly expanding flames, the Junk yard hulk turned and started making its way over toward her.

"God arceus ****ing damn you **** sucking low life bastard sons of Giratina's Sh***iest mother ****ing *****es, go die in the damned fire of Hell!" Julia growled, ending up screaming as her frustration made itself known in yet another string of curses. She was annoyed that they had deliberately spread the fire, but what really angered her was that they thought they could take down her masterfully crafted Tank-car in that Horrible disgusting piece of scrap with wheels. In a flash her foot was back on the gas and the Iron Giant Shuddered as it added the smell of burning rubber to the smell of burning everything. Her metal monster roared down the short distance between herself and the zombie squad's junk heap. Gunfire rained down on her shields, but she ignored them, They weren't strong enough. Not nearly. One hand was already on a trigger, launching a trio of large dollops of tar right onto The Reckoning's windshields.

Now blinded, the Zombie Squad's car veered left and right, Seemingly trying to catch a reliable angle to see out of between the gaps in the tar. Julia swerved to the right, getting around the side of the scrap car with little trouble. Yanking the steel as far as she could around to the side, turning in preparation to accelerate and flip the car on its side with the remainder of her plow. The Zonbie squad wasn't going to go quietly however. They gave up on the guns and small hatch opened, sending out a small, roundish object.

Grenade! Julia realized -too late- it exploded along the right side of her vehicle, which rocked violently from the force. The Reckoning took the chance to speed up, trying to get away from Julia. Probably a smart move, considering they were blinded and didn't know what her other guns did. But they were underestimating her. As soon as the Iron Giant settled from the explosion, the weavile revved the engine once again, chasing down the scrap heap of a vehicle. She fired a few rounds of bullet fire, Bullet holes appeared, but judging by the lack of reaction otherwise she guessed it was too thick for the bullets to have proper effect. Back to Plan A then. Pushing the gas down Julia closed the distance until- Crash! She slammed into the back of the reckoning, her somewhat smashed plow doing its job and throwing the scrap car's weight to one side. With a slight turn and a nudge, it came crashing down on its side, skid marks flying up as it's metal sides scraped against the pavement. More machine gun fire, this time into the Scrap car's thinner underside. She considered going for the tank and blowing it up again, but it seemed unnecessary as she heard the agonizing screams emanate from inside The Reckoning's Hull. As a safety measure she followed up by shoving the scrap hulk into the blazing buildings, coving its hull in tar in case any survivors wanted to try to crawl their way out.

Fazi - Cofagrigus (Zombie Squad) Was Eliminated.
Slugz - Snorlax (Zombie Squad) was Eliminated
Vulk - Skuntank (Zombie squad) was eliminated

Julia took a moment to breath, then started speeding away from the burning hulk. She took a quick stock. The plow was scraped up but still in good shape, but the point blanks grenade had been brutal on her car's armor. Both sides now had weakened spots on them. If more people had explosives like that -which they almost certainly did- Julia wasn't sure how much longer her vehicle was going to withstand the onslaught.

---

Theo Myrsky
Steel Scavengers
Boat on Laiocrack river
Affected Rp'ers: Velocity.

Theo took a step back, slightly relieved, as the Greninja took over the interrogation. Theo had worded his demands carefully to keep from saying Anthony's name, as it only seemed to bring trouble when it was mention. If he was honest with himself he didn't really think it was going to do any good though, and soon enough he was proven right as the infernape spilled the beans on his target. A slight surprise at the greninja's reaction to hearing the name, but then again if Anthony was enemies of the queen, he'd probably gotten on quite a lot of bad sides.

The greninja gave orders out to his men then turned again to Theo to give him a rather grave message. “I imagine,” he said, “that you’re among the Steel Scavengers. I can also imagine that you understand how this complicates things. I don't plan to harm you, darling, but this puts me in a deeply tricky position.”

Theo understood perfectly. He had no doubt the steel scavengers, a group he'd originally joined to help rid their mechanic shop from low life Lotus scum, was involved in much bigger things than he knew. What Mazer meant was that Theo wasn't free. Not yet at any rate. There was a very high possibility that he was now these guys' prisoner. Or perhaps hostage might be a better term. At any rate Theo had a feeling they'd treat him better than the black Lotus freaks. And he still was stupid enough to try anything with that feraligatr around. Especially not on a river.

"Theo." He suddenly spoke, his voice solid, as if answering a question, "My name's Theo myrsky. And yeah, I joined the Steel scavengers several years ago. I need to get back to our safehouse as soon as possible, even if it is clear to me that right now I'm at your mercy to be taken where ever you want." Theo finished his speech, wondering if it had been the best thing to say in the situation. Hopefully he'd at least lean their names, which would be a start.

[Noblejanobii]

Athena Pallas the Decidueye
The Gracidea Order
The Blood Pit Arena
Affected RP'ers: @Death's Spook @Neo Emolga

"Saber, watch out!" The lurantis ducked out of the way as a torracat lunged at her. It appeared the Sentinel Corporation was making its move. Too bad they had no idea what they were getting into. Athena drew her arrow and took aim at Decca when Marsha the Salazzle let loose a flame burst. Athena leaped back but was still singed from the flames. Wincing, Athena drew her arrow again and coated it in water gem dust. Firing it, the arrow struck true in Marsha's left shoulder. The salazzle screeched before firing a venoshock into the air in a last ditch attack. Shiva created a protect barrier over her and Athena, the venom sizzling as it struck the green force field. Athena watched as the salazzle collapsed.

Marsha the Salazzle of the Sentinel Corporation has been eliminated.

Saber's pink blades slashed through the air, attempting to inflict some sort of wound on Decca, but the torracat was too nimble. Decca kept snickering and taunting Saber, prompting her to attack more fiercely but also less accurately out of pure rage. It was too late when Saber realized it was a trap. She suddenly felt a strong jaw wrap around her throat.

"Saber!" Shiva screamed, her voice no longer calm and collected, but desperate and cracking as her demeanor shattered at the sight of her wife being lifted up by Lotec the mawile. Lotec paused at Shiva's scream, eyeing the medicham with a sadistic smile. Saber screamed as his teeth dug further into her neck, her air supply quickly running out as she began to suffocate. Lotec began to laugh at the sight before Shiva kicked his head into the ground. She didn't hesitate in popping his head like a watermelon underneath her impeccable thighs.

Lotec the Mawile of the Sentinel Corps has been eliminated.

Shiva glared at Decca, the torracat quickly retreating to regroup with Julver. Shiva helped Saber stand up. The lurantis was bleeding heavily and had quite a bit of difficulty breathing but she refused to die just yet. Shiva frowned, not wanting to risk Saber's life but also not wanting to leave Athena on her own. Saber began to emit a green glow as she used synthesis. Shiva scanned the area for Athena only to see the decidueye currently confronting Modkus from the Thundercrash gang, and it appeared Athena was losing.

"Mommy?" Athena knew it wasn't real. It couldn't be him. She was just going crazy or maybe it was hydregion mimicry. The two heads on its hands had no brains, which was fairly well known, but it was a little-known fact that they could also be used in the art of deception such as voice mimicry. The thing was though, hydregion could only mimic words they had heard from that particular voice before. Athena grit her beak and kept her arrow pointed at the enemy's heart. Somehow, this man had met Marx. This wasn't the man who kidnapped him, but perhaps they were related.

"Mommy? Why are you pointing that at me?" This was a dirty trick and given the smirk on Modkus's face, he was well aware of that. Athena took a step backward.

"You know," Modkus finally spoke up in his real voice. "Your son is a fantastic boy. It'd be such a shame if you were to lose and something were to happen to him."

"How do you know anything about him?" Athena asked, her black feathers ruffling in anger and irritation.

"I have connections with the empire. Let's just say, the Black Lotus Empire has done a fantastic job is picking out their masters of espionage." Modkus suddenly lashed out. Athena let an arrow fly and it stuck through one of the hydregion's hands. Still, that didn't stop him from biting onto her wing. Athena bore through the pain and summoned a leaf blade, stabbing Modkus through the neck.

"Where is he?"

"Near… Taiyla." Those were his last words.

Modkus the Hydregion of the Thundercrash Gang has been eliminated.

Athena had always suspected the Black Lotus empire had spies everywhere, but never had confirmation prior to this. This was an interesting development, no doubt. But she had no time to dwell on it. There were other matters that Athena needed to attend to right now.

Athena narrowed her eyes at his corpse before attempting to locate Phoebe again. Suddenly, a wave of pain consumed Athena and she fell to the ground. Shiva rushed over with Saber, freaking out over Athena as she smiled at them.

"Nothing to worry about, just late pregnancy cramps. Just let it run its course, that's all we really can do."

[Death's Spook]

Max Clerk (Klinklang)
Steel Scavengers
Sniper's nest above the Blood Pit Arena
Affected RPers: @Noblejanobii @Neo Emolga

Max Clerk is having more than a little bit of fun.

“Are you freaking kidding me?!” Phillip screams, taking cover as bullets continue to fly.

Magenta cackles as she burns a rather unfortunate Parasect to a crisp, taking advantage of the chaos Max Clerk is causing. The Klinklang, meanwhile, is wading into the sniper’s nest unperturbed by the firing guns, their steel body mostly unmarked between their remarkable speed and durability. The gear Pokemon is practically howling with excitement as they engage the unfortunate Alakazam intended to spot for the sniper they’re attacking. Unfortunately, the psychic in question is attempting to rely on superior speed to outmaneuver the steel type, a deadly error since Max Clerk has used Shift Gear. Despite the Klinklang’s bulkiness, they are lethally quick and it does not take long for the Alakazam spotter to get caught in Max Clerk, their gears breaking her bones to powder and turning her powerful brain into so much mush.

However, the sniper quickly reveals herself not to be defenseless. Max Clerk groans as the Blissey shifts from trying to get a good look at the arena to trying to not die at the hands of two Knights. She pulls out a pistol, and only the Magenta’s previous use of Quiver Dance allows the moth to evade the gunshot. Max Clerk tries to exert their own pressure, but as they attempt to strike the Blissey down, they learn quite directly that she is using a higher caliber weapon. Thankfully, the bullet only hits their outer ring, but the gear Pokemon is forced into temporary retreat, wondering how they and Magenta are going to kill the Blissey.

Of course, Max Clerk forgot that this fight was three on one, not two on one, as they realize when a Pelliper emerges from behind the Blissey. Phillip does something, and three long lines of red open up in the Blissey’s head. The Pelliper shoves his wing into the Blissey’s head, and she promptly dies as Phillip rummages around in her brain.

“Now, may we please continue on with our days?” Phillip groans.

Max Clerk tries to give a reassuring look, but from the expression on the Pelliper, it does not come across as intended. They look out to the arena and notice the dust cloud surrounding The Grand Lady.

“Wait. Magenta. You see these corpses? Can you use Hurricane to aim them at specific targets?”

“Somewhat. Why? If you’re, like, trying to kill some people with them, my aim from up here is so gonna be terrible.”

“We’d just need a rough aim for this, Magenta.”

“Um. Max? Like, what are you planning?”

“I concur,” says Phillip. “I don’t understand what you think you’re doing.”

The Klinklang’s demeanor gives off a sense of smugness, “Picture this. You’re The Grand Lady, in a situation with limited visibility and the only thing you know for certain is that a bunch of people are trying to kill you. You hear a loud thump. What’s your response?”

Phillip looks confused, but Magenta’s grin is wide. “I’m soooooo aiming for the Black Lotus contingent.”

“Ok, what’s going on?” Phillip asks, somewhat concerned.

“Watch and learn,” Max Clerk smiles, “Just watch and learn.”

The Grand Lady (Tsareena)
Steel Scavengers
Blood Pit Arena
Affected RPers: @Noblejanobii @Neo Emolga

The Lady begins to realize how screwed she might be if she does not act quickly.

The Focus Blast that kicked up the dust in front of The Grand Lady clearly gave the Lotus the idea. The smoke marking the former spot of the nameless Manectric lingers in air, and combined with the rain it makes for a situation with poor visibility. In conjunction with The Black Lotus contingent vanishing, it becomes clear that her enemies are going for a more guerilla based attack.

“No, we need to diversify our strategy,” said Phoebe. Reflexively, The Grand Lady throws a knife in the direction she roughly guesses the voice to be. It does not quite her intended target, but it does land a hit on one of her target’s allies. The Luxray reacts like every other person reacts in response to sudden, unexpected pain: he swears.

“Motherf--!”

Of course, the louder voice does allow The Grand Lady to pinpoint his location more precisely. She uses her superior speed to change her position so that she doesn’t give away where she is with her knives, but three blades sink into the Luxray, and based on the gurgling sound, one lodged itself in his throat.

Unloc the Luxray (Black Lotus) has been eliminated

The Lady keeps moving, but grins to herself, Your tactics rely on stealth. THAT will teach you to run your mouth when your tactics rely on stealth. If only briefly.

The Lady bumps up against someone, and she nearly kills them before realizing it’s Gloria, who has Iolande in tow. The Goodra gives her a questioning look (bless her heart, she knows to keep her mouth shut), clearly asking for orders.

The Lady grabs her by the arm and throws her out of the dust cloud as hard as she can. A second later, the Tsareena does the same thing with Iolande.

The Lady has a flutter of fear that Haq is not watching or does not understand what she means by the gesture. The fear, however, shows itself to be unfounded as a Claydol teleports in, “catches” the thrown Pokemon with telekinesis, and then teleports out again.

Gloria the Goodra (Steel Scavengers) has left the battlefield.
Iolande the Gastrodon (Steel Scavengers) has left the battlefield

The Lady is stalking the arena, looking for her enemies. She debates the merits of revealing the trick of her thrown sword, but decides against it: it won’t work well in the context of guerilla tactics. Overall, she keeps herself moving, quickly: she does not want her enemies to pin her down.

She almost accidentally stumbles on the Gracidea Order from behind when their Decidueye says, "Nothing to worry about, just late pregnancy cramps. Just let it run its course, that's all we really can do."

Wait. What.

The Lady is a terrible person, even by her own estimations. She’s cruel and vicious and almost entirely without morals. But only almost. So it does not completely shock her when she realizes that she is not eager to strike down a pregnant woman, no matter how opportune a target. She’d do it, if forced, but when The Lady has no intention of winning this contest, why not put her reputation to use, particularly when she had a missive for this kind of situation?

She grabs a knife from her hair along with the paper she had written up for this kind of occasion. She skewers the folded paper with the knife, and after a second of thought, uses the copious blood around her to write the word Pregnant??? on the outside of the paper. She knows that, unfolded, the paper reads:
Congratulations! I, The Grand Lady, think you’re the team most likely to prevail in this madness! Help me kill The Black Lotus contingent without attacking me or my allies, and I will cede this contest to you. Thus my word is given.

--The Grand Lady

The Lady is quite glad that the sanctity of her word was known almost as much as her propensity for violence. She throws the knife with the message so that is lands on the ground where the Order might see it. There is likely to be at least someone amongst the tree huggers who would know that she means what she wrote. But she does not stick around to find out: she has to keep moving, refusing to let her enemies pinpoint a location or a trajectory, changing position, direction, speed, all on a dime.

Suddenly, she hears a thump, and she equally suddenly throws three knives with all the force she can bring to bear in roughly that direction. The first and last ones whiff, but the second results in a Passimian groaning in pain. She throws two more knives at the groan, sending one more opponent to the grave.

Shandal the Passimian has been eliminated.

The Lady decides to indulge in some theatrics, aimed not at the leader of the Black Lotus, but at the Charizard’s ally, “Vurden, dear,” as the Tsareena moves, “Your sister bids you hello.” As the Lady continues to move, she notices the corpse of a burned Parasect, and realizes what made the thumping noise, “And she gives such lovely presents.”

The Lady continues to refuse to stay still or predictable in her path. It would not do to get caught by her own gloating, especially since that make her little punishment of The Black Lotus seem hypocritical.

Anthony Carpenter-Weaver (Mimikyu)
Steel Scavengers (Leader)
The Blood Pit Arena Stands (hidden)
Affected RPers: @The Nonexistent Tazz

Anthony gives a good natured at the Lilligant’s comment as he emerges from the shadows, “Honestly, what is with you people? I am married.” The Mimikyu gives the Lilligant a once over, a joke in his tone, “Also, you are much too young, regardless.”

Arlington comes in from behind the Lilligant, loud enough to avoid looking like he’s sneaking up on her, “That being said, some of us are single and ready to mingle, if you’re up for it. And also don’t literally have a stick up--”

“Arlington,” Anthony scolds gently, but he can’t completely keep the fondness out of his voice, “We are here for business, not pleasure.” The Disguise Pokemon turns his false head to the Lilligant assassin, “As I do not doubt you’re aware, I am Anthony Carpenter-Weaver, leader of the Seven Knights. Now, you are a member of the Gracidea Order, and would normally be opposed to us. In fact, I remember your voice from the fiasco in Petrox: the Lady is furious at you, even though she does not know who you are. Fortunately for you, this isn’t about that. I am going to arrange for your teammate, Athena Pallas, to not only leave alive from the arena, but emerge victorious. The only thing I ask in turn is that I hire you to spy for me.” A second passes, “Not on the Order, to be clear. I do not ask for you to give me information on them, or betray them in any way. I merely want to facilitate an exchange of intelligence on The Lotus, because no matter the differences between your group and mine, I believe I speak for both of us when I say Queen Taiya and her companions need to be stopped.”

Anthony is under no delusions. He knows, for fact, that this Lilligant will probably try to use this to backstab him as thoroughly as possible, at least eventually. But trying to do so now would be suicide: Anthony was almost as infamous as the queen for his inability to be assassinated. Further, the way for his new business partner to use this little alliance to her greatest advantage, in Anthony’s estimation, would be to try to string him along for useful tidbits on the Lotus, and only then betray him. This would also have the advantage of allowing Anthony to figure out what the Order wants him to do, and hopefully to exploit that to his advantage. He also holds out some hope that his reputation as a hero will make her underestimate him, but he doubts it: this Lilligant almost undoubtedly knew that underestimating opponents usually resulted in the deaths of the idiots who tried it.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

'Nora' the Lilligant
The Gracedia Order
Lytala city, the Blood Pit Arena Stands
Affected RPers: @Death's Spook
THIS IS STUPID

“Honestly, what is with you people? I am married.” The Mimikyu gives the Lilligant a once over, a joke in his tone, as he emerged. “Also, you are much too young, regardless.” Nora kept his eyes on him-she kept the fact that she had somehow managed to mistake him for a common Mimikyu (as if Mimikyu were common to begin with) well in the back of her head. Sometimes, the coincidence is a coincidence... Though she did keep the other Mimikyu on the back of her mind.

"Hey, hey, I'm twenty-nine and just fine, still in my prime," Nora said, half-ignoring the joke.

“That being said, some of us are single and ready to mingle, if you’re up for it. And also don’t literally have a stick up--”

"Arlington," the Mimikyu interrupts, not without a dollop of amusement, “We are here for business, not pleasure.”

"Eh, why you gotta be so boooring?" Nora asked, mildly bemused. These people knew what they were doing, though, in the fact that it was all a reasonably lighthearted exchange. The fact was that while Nora would be at a disadvantage in a sudden fight, everyone here knew that spycraft was not exclusively the act of killing your rivals. It was more the leverage. Nora kept her eyes peeled for anything odd, just, anything odd at all, a brief skim of the area left, right, behind, down and up, before turning back to the Knightly Mimikyu, just in time for his words.

"As I do not doubt you’re aware, I am Anthony Carpenter-Weaver, leader of the Seven Knights. Now, you are a member of the Gracidea Order, and would normally be opposed to us. In fact, I remember your voice from the fiasco in Petrox: the Lady is furious at you, even though she does not know who you are."

"...Well, rut." Nora cursed. Then, as an afterthought, "Well, take solace in the fact that you didn't have to deal with the-"

"Fortunately for you, this isn’t about that."

"...Oh." Nora said.

"I am going to arrange for your teammate, Athena Pallas, to not only leave alive from the arena, but emerge victorious. The only thing I ask in turn is that I hire you to spy for me.”

"What?" Nora asked, incredulous. Her head darted to-and-fro again, ensuring no unwanted intrusion. This would be one of the best days for even the lowliest Black Lotus goon if they caught this conversation. Or one of the worst.

“Not on the Order, to be clear. I do not ask for you to give me information on them, or betray them in any way. I merely want to facilitate an exchange of intelligence on The Lotus, because no matter the differences between your group and mine, I believe I speak for both of us when I say Queen Taiya and her companions need to be stopped.”

Nora rubbed her chin thoughtfully for a moment, after yet another moment of darting her eyes-she takes twice as long with the ceiling this time, thinking a hanging dust bunny is something less passive. Then she turns back, rubbing her face, pretending to be in slightly deeper thought than she was. In truth, there was an obvious way this exchange would end, in a yes. It was unusual and Nora knew there was more to this-most likely Anthony trying to scoop information on the Gracedia Order through her actions to him-which meant how she treated him would affect his next moves.

Scratching each others backs and trying to stab each other in the back the whole while. Typical. Willing to cede the first match to their agent was sufficient, disregarding how she now heard the announcer note the passing of all the Steel Scavengers (via teleport) save the Grand Lady herself.

Cocky pricks.

"...Hmph. So you're thinking it's a bit-hrm, a bit unlikely, too?" Nora asked. 'Unlikely' was the closest she could get to 'loaded to the teeth in the Black Lotus'es favor.' And no doubt he was aware enough to know that the landmine(s) that killed Axiom (and those two Steel Scavvies) weren't landmines. "Sending messages to everyone at large with your, hrm, uh, uncanny actions?" Nora asked, remembering Durkon being killed by the Grand Lady-a teammate to the outside observer. The Announcer sure went to town on that particular comment, even himself somewhat baffled but always mocking. Uncanny to kill your own teammates because they were spies on your own death games, indeed. "So I then suppose you're not so much here to fight as you are to just steal the show?" Nora asked, knowing that no-one would, in context, be dragging one of their biggest targets right into the ring and leave the others so closeby if they were so assured that the games were pointless. This meant they had either a way to murder Taiya (and preferably the smart way, unlike the failed 'tongue of death'), or take the entire reason that everyone was here to begin with-the Master Blaze Jewel-right out of their hands. Or just felt that the mass slaughter of their own units was a sufficient way to kick Taiya in the balls.

Nora sighed. Competition.

...She thought back to the Rotom.

...Maybe? ...No. No, Nora. That thought in your head is indeed absolutely insane. Anthony was well known to be 'heroic,' and live up to his name of a Knight. Chivalric code and all. But... No, no! No, it must be insane even for him...

...

"...Those 'rebel' groups are just so busy bickering over themselves with unimportant derivatives that they can't even oust the kako."

Nora didn't like politik. It was maddening to deal with. It was why she still craved her former independence, even though the GO had its benefits. Touchy relationship cr*p was even worse when you were dealing with it head-on, especially since Nora was more a piece than a player of the great game of spycraft. And no doubt did that stupid Rotom think so too. No doubt did others. Perhaps there were even more? And perhaps the quietest signs of the alternative, perhaps that would be... Motivating?

Nora had acted on gut instinct before. She was less likely to call it stupid as her gut instinct happened to be the gut instinct that 9 times out of 10 saved her life on the streets, but she knew it was stupid all the same, gambling on him being that much of a knight, something that even Nora knew better than. But it was worth a shot.

"A few minutes ago I was talking with someone-they mentioned how we're too busy bickering with each other over stupid scat. To be frank, I'd probably be on your side if I hadn't gone to Petrox..."

Nora did another quick turn of the head around the area. The back of the stands were clear-and they were really clear. Nora's tone didn't quite enter whisper territory but it was quieter now.

"We both know the games are a sham, and we both can't have, erm, uh, my more 'traditional' counterpart get away with... With the White Dragon," Nora said, shaking her head. Stupid spy-speak. It never seemed to come naturally. The White Dragon. Reshiram. The Master Blaze Jewel. "I'd agree to help with you, but quite frankly information trade isn't gonna cut it. The games are a sham. Your plan is something out of a Prankster's guidebook, strutting your stuff right into Taiya's face... But that would be pointless if the White Dragon's everything they're hyping it up to be. And nothing, no-one, no plan, no nothing, is perfect."

Nora really didn't want to say this, but something else compelled her. It was stupid. Nora's face crunched up, the puffs of her cigarette became more agitated, the need for a cold one floated into her mind, and she reflexively kept checking the area, paranoid of an intrusion by even the lowliest Black Lotus grunt. No, nothing still, that was good. Good enough. No misplaced stripes of red anywhere or the like. Her tongue rested near to her Blaze Jewel even though it was just mentally activated in a flash-it would certainly help escaping the ghost-type, though! And she may really need to just kill him right now, too, in case his language didn't quite add up. But that wasn't her problem, inside.

Her plan-It was so stupid it transcended stupidity altogether. This wasn't stupidity anymore, no sir, it was something else. This wasn't your average-every day stupidity, no sir, but this was common for gut instinct to progress a step up. But this was special-it was even beyond the more respected threshold of advanced stupidity, the kind of stupidity that lead to you becoming an internet meme or the target of scorn for one's thoughtlessness, the kind that gets Onyx Circle killed by Taiya herself, no, no, no, well beyond even that. This absolute boldness was descending right into madness. She was casually informing the leader of the Steel Scavengers of the plan of the Gracedia Order-hoping that her teammates do not in fact find out about this relationship for actions that they would have responded to by pulling the pin of a grenade-and forcibly giving the Steel Scavengers unprecedented levels of leverage both on her and the actions of her own plan, all to hope that if nothing else it wouldn't be them coming out with the Master Blaze Jewel-or perhaps better, that they could be said to be Gracedia Order at the end of this. and yet, one niggling fact was drawing her to this madness.

The Steel Scavengers were outcasts. Traitors to the Black Lotus, almost exclusively. It was personal to them, far beyond either the Prankster Platoon or the Gracedia Order. The Gracedia Order seemed to at least have a vision of Liao's future that was somewhat less bleak than the one shown right now-the Steel Scavengers were motivated by revenge. Would the Steel Scavengers care if they lost the power struggle between the three, if it meant that they'd get to watch the Black Lotus so bitterly fail?

"... I think it may have become mildly obvious what my proposition is," Nora asked. "It is, beyond question, one of the stupidest things I have thought of without being on anything other than like eight kinds of drugs. Probably even exceeding that as I don't have the excuse of eight kinds of drugs."

"You came together to topple the Black Lotus, fair. WE agree on this. What after that? You say you're on top of the totem pole of the Knights-I suppose you'll have some kind of vision. Wouldn't it be better if we could just, you know, forget about the times we did some very uncouth dirty dancing on each other's backsides?"

Nora was struggling. Oh, the price of conscious stupidity! She'd be having a very long time with Swift after this. But no turning back now.

"... I'm suggesting a step up. That we will-quietly, to ourselves, beneath the surface-agree that things like Petrox never ****ing happened to begin with, march together and hope that at least one of us comes out on top, without looking it. Yes, yes, let us not fool each other. I would like my side to come out on top, and you would like yours. I enjoy Jadeblossom's fresh air, you enjoy... Uh, I don't actually know what you enjoy of the Steel Scavengers because I'm not a flipping psychic, go figure. I'm saying this because you'd think it'd be all in your propaganda to say that we're gonna be better than the things you're gonna try to topple, what kind of thing you'd do after you're done-my question is, would you care if you didn't get to rule Liao if it meant that you got to see the goal you're working towards pan out? The big ol' 'Rut you, Kako' that you've been dying to say more directly, I mean. As far as I can tell you want a better Liao and to give the Kako some rude gestures. After getting rid of the kako... then what? Would you be comfortable backing us-all the way-even if it just meant you wouldn't win the stupid power struggle?"

Nora paused briefly, to catch her breath. She was speaking fast now-faster-she puffed a cloud of smoke to the side. She was shaking, mildly. This was stupid. Everything in her head told her this was stupid.

"...Those 'rebel' groups are just so busy bickering over themselves with unimportant derivatives that they can't even oust the kako."

Everything in her stomach-her heart was too self-centered for that-it told her that this was going to work. And that was valuable advice.

"... The only reason I'm asking this is because I find the power struggle between the scrappers-the growers-the nutters-all of it-rutting ret*rded with this newsflash in play. I can't say I'm an altruist. I care for myself. I want this plan to work because if it didn't work I'd rutting die, and that's basically it. And I'm referring to pretty much all of them at this point. Including the plan to basically tell you exactly what the **** we were going to do and expect you to help us do it as the exchange. Because it's the ****ing dumbest thing I've thought of, period."

"We're going to steal it. The whole shebang. Everyone with a brain knows this is loaded-but it's not the Black Lotus that have it, you know. It's Blacklocke. If it could be stolen, no threat of the Black Lotus winning something that may make them near-invincible... Possibly even the very thing we'd need to beat them into submission, if it's really all its cracked up to be."

Nora winced. It was downright supernatural the chill on her spine from stating that obvious fact. This was it. She was either losing her mind or a genius beyond her own understanding.

"... Let's face facts. I can't seriously take you up on your offer, because I know for a fact that it's a shitty bet to even expect it to work to begin with, even with what's going on. Sudden traps and all that jazz. No-one'll win if they can't, they'll be petty like that. I'm betting I'm gonna rutting die in there tomorrow and that'll be the end of the plan as I know it, and that's with me trying to think of how I should go about this as if I didn't have a team to back me up-because I'm so terrified of the prospect of losing. We know the rules are a laugh. There are no rules and we know it, and I know that you have something else going on here as we speak-you wouldn't put this many eggs in one basket if you didn't think you had this place locked down as tight as a choke-hold."

"... I was speaking with someone else out there. He was so pessimistic about the odds. Saying how that it was all rigged, yadda yadda... And also that the way things are now is barely better. Un-united resistance kicking each other as much as the thing they were jointly conceived of to fight. He looked the type to help out, to readily jump up and join, but the bickering between the three was just that much of a detriment..."

This was stupid. This was stupid. This was stupid. She shouldn't be doing this. It would get her killed, it would make her an outcast to the GO, it would be stupid.

... She was doing this. It wasn't like she could rewind time, after all.

And hey, if things didn't work out, a switch of teams after her disgrace was always a prospect. The Steel Scavengers would be understanding of her position. And she said it herself, didn't she? She wasn't an altruist.

"...This was the stupidest thing I have ever done," Nora said to herself, taking a deep breath of cigarette, refusing to keep her eyes away from Anthony and Arlington. Her tongue rested upon the fake tooth, her eyes peering right into Anthony's eyes-his real eyes. "You understand that I can't really take that back, and that it would be a d*mn rutting shame if I gave you that much for nothing. I can't give you the finest details, not until you agree... But I gave you far more than I would have if I didn't hope you'd agree to this. This, this idea... This mad idea... That we could work together."

Madness.

Or, perhaps, genius.

[Noblejanobii]

Athena Pallas the Decidueye
The Gracidea Order
The Blood Pit Arena
Affected RP'ers: @Death's Spook @Neo Emolga

Athena glanced up as the rain began to drop from the sky. She blinked as it struck her face and sighed. Hooray for low visibility! Because that's what they needed. Someone must have used rain dance, and given who was left, it was probably someone from the stands. Kako. Athena frowned, trying to think of how many more competitors they would have to eliminate to finish this thing. Candidly, Athena just wanted Phoebe's head, but she did have some information from that hydregion. Though what the heck "near Taiyla" meant was beyond her. Still, it was something, she supposed. Athena looked over at her two remaining teammates.

Saber was certainly worse for wear. The Lurantis was in desperate need of medical attention but Athena knew Saber, she wasn't leaving unless Athena was leaving with her. Shiva was of a similar mentality as well. No wonder they had such a healthy marriage. Now all they needed was a little baby girl that was just as sassy and stubborn as they were. Athena leaned against the wall beside her, gasping a little as pain wracked through her. If it wouldn't make her look completely insane on national television, Athena had half a mind to scold the unborn twins. Now was really not the best time for them to decide to throw a temper tantrum.

"Athena." The decidueye turned her head towards Shiva's voice. The magenta pokémon was still holding onto her wife, but in her other hand was a knife with a note on it. Removing the note from the knife, Athena carefully holding it. She raised her left black wing to shield the paper from the rain. Pregnant??? was scrawled on the outside of the note. Athena's eyes lifted to Shiva for a moment before she unfolded the note. Apparently either someone had been close enough to hear Athena's comment about her cramps or they had put two and two together. Either way, Athena was unsure if that was a good thing. She skimmed over the note, realizing it was from the Grand Lady of the Steel Scavengers. Athena felt her beak twist into a snarl. This had been the one that had killed Jackson if Athena recalled correctly.

"What does it say?" Saber asked in a weak and cracking voice. She pushed herself up slightly, leaning on Shiva for some support but also doing her best to stand on her own if she could.

"It's from the Grand Lady of the Steel Scavengers," Athena replied softly, "and she's offering a team up. Gracidea Order gets the win, all we have to do is help take out the Black Lotus members." Athena paused, examining her teammates' expressions for any signs of apprehension or distrust. Neither gave any indication of either emotion. "I normally would be a little suspicious of this kind of note. But with this," Athena showed them the front of the note, "scribbled on the front, something tells me she's being sincere. Even killers can have standards, after all."

"I am not opposed. We will need to keep on guard though, as it could always be a trap. But I would not be against such an alliance. It would allow you a chance at that charizard and practically guarantees us the win," Shiva answered, grinning at the thought. Saber nodded her pink head in agreement. Athena swiveled her head between the two a few times before folding the note and tucking it under one of the straps on her armor. Athena expanded her wings then said,

"Let us be off then." Athena would rather have rested longer but there was no time for that. Those land mines or whatever could go off any second, and she had lingered in one location for long enough. Plus, as much as she disliked wet feathers, the darkness of the pouring skies was too much of an opportunity for Athena to ignore. She took to the skies, flying high enough to gather some aerial view but also low enough that she would not risk a lightning strike. Not only is that a mistake you only make once, but she did not want to make that mistake while carrying either. Athena quickly dove back in the direction that she had last encountered the Black Lotus members. Perhaps the remaining ones were hiding somewhere. As she drew closer, Athena spotted the Grand Lady taking out Shandal. Athena started to draw closer when she heard the beating of wings nearby and saw the Black Lotus volcarona attempting to sneak up on the Grand Lady.

"Careful now!" Athena shouted at the Tsareena, dropping to the ground and firing an arrow at Vurden. It angled wide, missing the volcarona by a wide margin, but even with her decent eyesight in the darkness, this was becoming too much of an eyesight hazard filled terrain for her to effectively fire off shots. Athena drew closer to the Grand Lady and prepared to unsheath her knife. "I accept your offer. Victory is not a requirement for our cooperation. I would settle for taking the charizard's head." Athena heard Shiva shout in the distance before a Kommo-o's head went flying past her. Apparently, the Sentinel Corporation had thought it would be wise to try and double back after they had been given an explicit warning not to. The fools.

Julver the Kommo-o of the Sentinel Corporation has been eliminated.

"I have two allies remaining on the field from my side. One is critically injured but refuses to leave. How many do you have left from the Steel Scavengers?" Athena heard a shuffling nearby and notched an arrow, firing it and missing whatever it was again. Curses. "I have heard of you before, so I hope you are as true to your reputation as they say. You may never have heard of me, but I do not abandon those I ally myself with. I hope you can put that much faith in me."

Brunswick Pallas the Noivern
The Gracidea Order
His home in Jadebloom

Brunswick felt his heart seize up in his chest as Athena suddenly froze up in pain after killing the hydregion. It was the twins again. Brunswick had been worried about this. Prior to sending Athena in, the couple had paid for just about every relaxant they could think of in order to ease her pregnancy for these battles. Especially in a situation like the Blood Pit Arena, they could not risk her suffering like this. That pause in time could cost she and the two kids their lives.

The camera suddenly shifted its focus to the Grand Lady slaughtering the Luxray from the Black Lotus team. Good, good. One less individual that could strike down Athena. Brunswick chuckled a little to himself. He was really starting to get into this, sort of. He folded his red claws together and leaned forward, watching the crown-less Tsareena before realizing he needed to stop rooting for her. She was drawing a little too close to Athena for the noivern's comfort. Way too close.

"Leave her alone!" Brunswick shouted instinctively as he saw the unnoticed assailant drawing a knife. She was going to kill Athena. She was going to kill his two unborn kids. "No! No no no no no!" he screamed, his breathes starting to come short. But then, Brunswick realized his worries were for naught. The Grand Lady attached a note to the knife and then threw it at the ground. She took off before Shiva could even reach down to pick it up. Perhaps the Grand Lady was not as evil as they all spoke?

Brunswick let out a heavy sigh of relief, his heart pounding in his scaly chest. Putting his hand over his heart, Brunswick rested for a moment before taking another drink of his beer. He lifted his head as there was a knock at the door. He stood up and started over to it, wondering who it could be at this time of day with an event such as the Blood Pit Arena going on.

[Morzone]

Julia
Steel Scavengers
Dread Metal Derby - Lytala slums
Affected RP'ers: @Neo Emolga, @Velocity

There was too much fire. WAY too much fire. The burning wreck of the peaceslayer had turned the entire block into a blaze, and it was threatening to spread even further. At least the smoke was going up into the sky rather than hanging around in the streets. It's smell seemed to permeate everything, but thankfully it wasn't messing with Julia's visibility. Just the small blessings in life, not having smokescreen problems in a burning hell inferno of a dread metal destruction derby.

"You'd think this was coalrock city." Julia muttered as she observed yet another building starting to catch fire. That place had coal dust everywhere. It was almost impossible to buy matches and other fire starters because no one wanted to be held responsible for selling to some immature kid who started a wildfire. She, like most starting mechanics and forgers, had needed to steal fire-starters until she'd gained enough respect in the community to be able to buy them. I wonder if anyone from the market is watching this She pondered as she took another turn, still not seeing any new victims. Maybe o'l Talin the toxicroak was, he had a tv in his shop. then again he might have already forgotten this whole festival was going on. Old fart couldn't even remember where he put his helmet half the time.

Now that she thought about it, Julia wondered if Theo was watching her. She was pretty sure the safe house had a TV in it somewhere. Probably on some special hacked network so they wouldn't be traced to the location. Knowing him he'd probably be out of his mind in worry every time Julia had gotten near an enemy vehicle. She could picture the quilava pacing around in circles in front of the TV, talking to himself under his breath, trying to reason away his worries. The image saddened Julia, made her wish she could be there with him to keep him comforted. She certainly was going to need something very durable to be her stress reliever when Theo's event came around.

Imagining she was looking into the eye of a camera, Julia gave a smile and a wave before focusing again on the road. She revved her engine sightly as she went around yet another turn. Only this time, there was someone around it. The sight of the armored Hearse caught Julia off guard. Yanking the wheel sideways she swerved to avoid a collision, resulting in the Iron Giant Fish-tailing into the street and coming to a stop. Her angle could not have been worse. In somewhat of a panic Julia grabbed the Shotgun's joystick and fired as many close range shrapnel rounds as she could while her other hand yanked the car into reverse. Backing up only ran her into a building, but it gave her enough wiggle room to be able to turn around properly. She was at too much of a disadvantage now and needed to get away, or at least turn it into a chase scene where she could clog them up with tar.

As Julia spun the wheel as far as she could and hit the gas, she heard another sound from farther down the street. Risking a backward glance Julia saw, a good distance behind the hearse, Raul! Raul and his armored motorcycle The Hornet, Looking somewhat battered up but still working. The Furret, looking somewhat odd through his bullet proof glass bubble, was speeding toward the hearse, machine guns blazing. In an instant Julia switched tactics. She slammed on the breaks, turning slightly to block as much of the road as possible. Seizing joysticks with both hands Julia fired Tar everywhere: between her and the hearse, around the hearse on both sides, but mainly she worked to cover as many of the hearse's windows and doors to block visibility. The other Joystick sent a steady stream of flamethrower onto the hearse.

The hearse only seemed to have one gunner. They'd have to choose between Raul, speeding toward them from behind, and Julia in front. If they wanted to attack and break out through Julia, they'd have to get through all the hot, sticky tar she'd laid down, as well as Julia's guns, while risking letting Raul get close and do some point-blank shooting damage with his machine guns. If they wanted to focus on Raul, well, Julia hoped his stunt driving skills made him a master dodger.

[Neo Emolga]

DAY 1
Active Events: Blood Pit Arena (Qualifying Round), Dread Metal Destruction Derby (Qualyfing Round)

---------

BLOOD PIT ARENA SCOREBOARD
A.K.A. Who's surviving and who's dead.

BLACK LOTUS EMPIRE

Phoebe - Charizard
Vekker - Ursaring
Grec - Gengar
Vurden - Volcarona
Unloc - Luxray
Janos - Breloom
Shandal - Passimian

STEEL SCAVENGERS

Grand Lady - Tsareena
Gloria - Goodra (Left)
Kaytoo the Toxapex
Iolande - Gastrodon (Left)
Unnamed - Manectric
Ioseph - Beheeyem
Durkon - Clefable

THE GRACIDEA ORDER

Athena - Decidueye
Perceval - Serperior
Axiom - Hakamo-o
Shiva - Medicham
Saber - Lurantis
Jackson - Alolan Ninetales
Masamune - Braviary

THE PRANKSTER PLATOON

Laura - Umbreon (Left)
Xavier - Luxray (Left)
Kirrun - Claydol
Aria - Mismagius (Left)

THUNDERCRASH GANG

Dycee - Alolan Raichu (Left)
Cartaka - Sylveon
Modkus - Hydreigon
Vink - Watchog
Voris - Alakazam
Ryke - Swellow
Soland - Excadrill (Left)

SENTINEL CORPORATON

Vesh - Tyranitar
Lotec - Mawile
Marsha - Salazzle
Decca - Torracat
Swill - Glaceon
Eki - Lampent
Julver - Kommo-o

THE SHADOW MASK

Muno - Swampert
Burrin - Accelgor
Zill - Mimikyu

INDEPENDENTS

Bax - Togedemaru
Goreg - Nidoking
Zengar - Noivern
Jabis - Vikavolt

Phoebe Helsden the Charizard
Black Lotus - Onyx Circle
Blood Pit Arena, Lytala City
Affected RPers: @Death's Spook, @Noblejanobii

Something was wrong. Phoebe saw the battle completely going to hell around here and she was suddenly crippled without a squad. But instead of getting her worried, it got her angry.

Meanwhile, the only one she had left was Vurden. She didn't even think of running away from this one. She rather be a dead warrior than a spineless, pathetic coward. Without a ground squad, Phoebe decided to have Vurden and herself take to the skies in one last glorious airborne assault. She roared, knowing if she wasn't to survive this, she'd at least give her enemies pure hell before she went down.

"Follow my lead and cover my back," Phoebe ordered Vurden. "I don't even care if we don't win or even don't survive. I just want to incinerate whoever I can."

"Understood," Vurden replied with a glint of evil in his eyes.

Once both of them soared into the air, the first unlucky contender they came across was Zengar the Noivern, taking flight as well. To Phoebe, he was nothing. A simple target, a pathetic victim to be snuffed out of existence. She targeted him with the rocket launcher and fired, as if there was nothing more to snuffing out his life than simply flicking a switch. The rocket plowed into him and took his body immediately to the ground, exploding it into pieces and spreading flames around the area.

Zengar the Noivern (Independent) has been eliminated.

Inhale. Kill. Exhale. At this point, Phoebe didn't care if she lived or died, just so as long as she was feared. Her next spotted target was Decca, alone, scared and not sure what to do without her comrades or if she could find a way to escape. To Phoebe, it didn't matter. She could just stand there and die and all would be right with the world. Everything.

Without the ability to fly, Decca was in trouble and had nowhere to hide. She attempted to launch a flamethrower attack at the airborne Charizard, but Phoebe was quick to respond and dodge and then swoop down, ripping into Decca's neck with a ferocious and bloody Dragon Claw attack. The strike was so forceful that it ripped the Torracat's head right from her neck, causing blood to spew everywhere.

Decca the Torracat (Sentinel Corporation) has been eliminated.

"WHO ELSE WANTS TO DIE!?"

There were very few contenders left. Out of the corner of her eye, Phoebe spotted Dycee and was berserk enough to immediately pursue her, but after seeing the battle was a completely lost cause, Dycee had managed to squeeze herself in a gap between the arena and the cage. To her, this battle was over and staying in the arena at this point was suicide. Phoebe fired anyway, but the rocket simply slammed into the cage and only left a blast mark in the wake of Dycee mounting herself on her tail and floating away from the deathtrap.

Dycee the Alolan Raichu (Thundercrash Gang) has left the battlefield.

"YOU COWARDLY KAKO!" Phoebe shouted to the Raichu just before she drifted away out of earshot.

Meanwhile, realizing the situation was beyond hopeless, Soland the Excadrill also burrowed his way through the arena stadium floor while his squadleader had abandoned the situation. While the Thundercrash Gang never liked retreating, this was suicide and there was no coming out of this one alive. Especially with The Grand Lady around.

Soland the Excadrill (Thundercrash Gang) has left the battlefield.

Pursuing Dycee, to Phoebe, was futile. Meaningless. She was nothing more than drifting dust. No, the real prey was still with her. Still waiting to die. No one would leave this arena. Everyone was going to die!

She flew through the air, followed by Vurden who was slightly beginning to question her tactics. Nonetheless, he was about to challenge her decisions. If they were to die, better it be fighting in glory than between each other. There was no escaping out of this one, and even if he could, he wouldn't want to. He knew his was how he wanted to go. A warrior. A gladiator.

A killer.

The Charizard snarled as she spotted the Gracidea Order squad. Dead. All of them had to die. Especially the mother. Phoebe couldn't find Athena, but she was on her guard knowing the Decidueye's usual ambush tactics. She was not about to let that nonsense happen again without Athena suffering for it. If she showed herself again, there wouldn't be anything left of her to bury.

"Strike down that hideous Medicham," Phoebe ordered Vurden. "I want that b*tch dead."

The fire moth nodded, surrounding Shiva with a stinging and forceful hurricane that swept the Medicham off of her feet. She struggled to grab onto anything she could, but the only thing that stopped her was her body slamming against the side of the arena, nearly snapping every bone in her body. Only once the winds died down was the body free... only to plummet two hundred feet to the ground like an overly-beaten ragdoll.

Shiva the Medicham (Gracidea Order) has been eliminated.

All of them. They're all going to die...

---

Sotka Aldaros the Weavile
Black Lotus - Onyx Circle
Concealed Technical Operations Post, Lytala City Underground
Affected RPers: N/A

Sotka watched as the battle had gone to hell. Phoebe wasn't even listening to her anymore and she was off doing her own thing. Meanwhile, Black Lotus wasn't faring well at all. Usually they had these battles swift and easy, and now they were struggling.

"Shut it down," a voice told her in her headset. "They're onto you."

"Yeah right," Sotka snickered. "And who could possibly know where-"

And that's when a sudden bang had struck the door of the operations bunker. Sotka's smile quickly faded. She wasn't about to ask how or why. She just needed to deal with the problem, shoot first, and then ask questions. Suddenly, the metallic door was thrown aside as a battle-hardened Mienshao stood in the doorway, accompanied by a cunning Espeon and a Crobat.

"I KNEW IT!" the Mienshao shouted.

But his confidence was short-lived. Sotka was quick to respond, and in a heartbeat, she had turned to the Mienshao and suddenly opened fire with her X09 Automag machine pistol. The bullets stung like a swarm of angry berserker Beedrill. It gave Sotka enough of an opportunity to quickly strike in and attack with a Night Slash attack, tearing through the Espeon before dashing away through the sewers to escape.

She didn't know who these attackers were, but they had found one of her outposts and she wasn't thrilled about that. However, while the Mienshao tended to the Espeon's wounds, the Crobat tried to pursue her. And while the Crobat was fast, Sotka was simply more spry at navigating the sewers and using the tight tunnel system that the Crobat could not easily fly in. Whoever her attackers were, they wanted her outpost information and her, of course. Well, today, they weren't getting anything at all.

Just as the Crobat thought he had Sotka cornered, he flew into her trap. Suddenly he realized he was flying too fast into what was a dead end with nothing but a brick wall on all three sides, and he could either only crash or stop and try to turn around in time. However, though he went for the later option, it was more than enough time for Sotka to unload the rest of her X09 Automag machine pistol magazine right into the bat's face. An unholy shriek echoed throughout the sewer tunnels as the Crobat was gutted alive by the machine pistol's bullets. The bullet-riddled corpse felt face-down into a puddle of murky water, which quickly turned deep red as the blood mixed in with the sewer water..

"You think they'd learn," Sotka sighed, releasing the expired magazine to load in a fresh one.

---

DREAD METAL DESTRUCTION DERBY SCOREBOARD

BLACK LOTUS EMPIRE

RIPFIRE [Armored Truck]

Jaze - Conkeldurr (Driver)
Jucden - Raticate (Gunner)

PEACESLAYER [Monster Truck]

Vorkot - Scrafty (Driver)
Xed - Arcanine (Gunner)

BLACKOUT [Armored Hearse]

Sevren - Dusknoir (Driver)
Mevvan - Krookodile (Gunner)

PRANKSTER PLATOON

SCREAMING TALON [Lightweight Zippy Vehicle]

Jones - Heliolisk (Driver)
Tony - Incineroar (Main Gunner)
Cheshire - Meowstic (Support Gunner)

STEEL SCAVENGERS

THE IRON GIANT [Armored Tank Car]

Julia - Weavile (Driver/Gunner)

THE HORNET [Armored Motorcycle]

Juan - Furret (Driver/Gunner)

THUNDERCRASH GANG

LIGHTNING STRIDER [Nitro Roadster]

Sorton - Eelektross (Driver)
Latchy - Pachirisu (Gunner)

ELECTRIC WILD [Assault Motorcycle]

Rash - Whimsicott (Driver/Gunner)

SENTINEL CORPORATION

THE BRIGADER [Armored Military APC]

Koya - Cacturne (Driver)
Yandali - Infernape (Main Turret Gunner)
Vunder - Delphox (Support Gunner)
Kolm - Blastoise (Support Gunner)

THE NIGHTMARCH

ENIGMA ZERO [Armored Bulldozer]

Baladax - Beartic (Driver)
Olock - Aggron (Main Gunner)
Jugnul - Tyrantrum (Support Gunner)

ZOMBIE SQUAD

THE RECKONING [Armored Junkyard Hulk]

Fazi - Cofagrigus (Driver)
Slugz - Snorlax (Main Gunner)
Vulk - Skuntank (Support Gunner)

INDEPENDENTS

SLAYER'S RIDE [Armored Buggy]

Khilter - Dragalge (Driver/Gunner)

DESTINY'S END [Speed Motorcycle]

Kikel - Pancham

LOCKDOWN [Armored Pick-up Truck]

Rudy - Rampardos (Driver)
Gile - Sandslash (Gunner)

DEVIL'S HEADHUNTER [Armored Semi Truck]

Durakan - Alolan Marowak (Driver/Gunner)

--------

Jucden Tarblack the Raticate
Black Lotus - Onyx Circle
Aboard the Ripfire, Lotus Den Slums, outside Lytala City
Affected RPers: @Velocity, @Morzone

The slums were an inferno. Entire city blocks were completely in flames, and to Jucden, the carnage was like a child's fascination with fireworks. It was delightful. Magical. The pyromaniac in him was smothered with bliss as he could feel the warmth, heard the cracking, and the magic of watching the flames rage through the shanties and reduce them to nothing but ash.

And there, off to the side, was the Blackout, being smothered with tar as the hearse was disabled for just a short moment. And then, flames. More flames. Everything about the Blackout went up in flames before the hearse exploded and died in a fiery explosion of raging fire and twisted metal pieces. What funny, funny irony.

Sevren the Dusknoir (Black Lotus) has been eliminated.
Mevvan the Krookodile (Black Lotus) has been eliminated.

"Hurr hurr," Jaze chuckled. "Wudja luuk at dat."

"OH SEVREN AND MEVVAN...!" Jucden laughed happily. "I... I NEVER LOVED EITHER OF YOU! HA HA, HA HA, HA-HA-HA!"

At long last, they have everyone left to themselves. Jucden no longer needed to think about the other Black Lotus dimwits stealing his kills. No, they were dead! All dead! Deader than dead! All four of them were cremated like never before and to him, it was comical. He wanted to make a snowman out of their ashes and then run it over! Any maybe build a tiny house out of their bones like they were nothing more than Lincoln Logs.

"Come, come, everyone else is ours for the taking!" Jucden laughed. "Now let's go blow them up to bits already!"

Jaze was more than happy to comply. And he decided to reward Julia. For killing off their real competitions, he felt they would be happy with a new present. Death! There was plenty of death to share with everyone and there was no reason why Julia should be left out. Because she was so helpful, Jaze decided she should get treated first for being such a good girl.

Immediately, the Ripfire rampaged its way through several flaming shanties, and Jucden was giddy and more than ready to go. He tossed aside his grenade launcher. Now. Now was the time for something much more fun! He pulled out a large sentinel rocket launcher with happy stickers and rainbows painted on it. As the Ripfire thundered its way through the streets, Jucden took aim and fired two of the four rockets at the Iron Giant. As the rockets sped through the air, Jucden could happily imagine what a Quilava would look like wearing two nice feather wings and a halo!

"HAVE A NICE FLIGHT!" Jucden laughed.

[Noblejanobii]

Athena Pallas the Decidueye
The Gracidea Order
The Blood Pit Arena
Affected RP'ers: @Death's Spook @Neo Emolga

"Shiva!"

Saber's scream echoed across the Blood Pit Arena as the Lurantis scrambled over to the Medicham's body. Shiva had knocked her wife out of the hurricane's path, but as a result, she had sealed her own fate. Saber was barely able to keep herself up, her own injuries taking a heavy toll. Tears dropped from the pink praying mantis's eyes as she rested her head on Shiva's body. In a final gesture, Shiva moved her hand ever so slightly so that it was resting against one of Saber's claws.

Athena tensed up at the scream. She looked around frantically for Shiva and Saber. She noticed most of the remaining contestants had fled or been killed. The hurricane had helped lift some of the visibility issues for Athena, which was good. Still, Athena could see Saber's distress from across the arena. Shiva was dead, which meant it was time for Saber's sacrificial technique. The two made eye contact from across the arena. Saber's eyes began to glow as she crushed something underneath her claw. It was a mimic orb, a rare item that took the user's own lifeforce in exchange for using a move. A bright light shot up into the air before falling back down onto Athena and the Grand Lady. It wasn't very strong, the move being a copy of the actual thing, but it was a Healing Wish nonetheless, restoring the strength of the two warriors just a bit. Saber's eyes went blank as she released the knock off Healing Wish. She collapsed onto Shiva's body as she passed on to be with her wife.

Saber the Lurantis of the Gracidea Order has been eliminated.

Athena was silent for a moment before mumbling, "Scratch that about two teammates. It's just me now." Turning her attention to the sky, Athena narrowed her eyes at the two opponents. "You want to take out the Volcarona, yes? I can help arrange that. Now that I have a clear shot, I can anchor it to the ground, or at least lower it." Athena drew an arrow and fired a Spirit Shackle at the volcarona, catching it through the wing. The arrow took hold and chained the Black Lotus member to his own shadow, before dragging him to the ground. "He's all yours," Athena said, gesturing in his direction. "If I should die, inform the Braviary that is with me to keep up the search. No need for my husband to lose a wife and three children in one day."

With that, Athena expanded her wings and shot into the air. She began to coat herself in a sickly dark aura, preparing a sucker punch for Phoebe in case the charizard decided to attack her. She intended to get answers, one way or another, and if this lady's head had to roll as a result, then so be it. Athena extended her talons and attempted to slash at Phoebe.

"Where is my son, you kako?" Athena shouted at the charizard. Athena tried to hit Phoebe with another swipe of her claws, attempting to stay close quarters like before for fear of that rocket launcher. "You're obviously an Onyx Circle member! So where is he? Where is Marx?" Athena was not going to leave this woman alone until she was either dead or had an answer of any sort. Murder danced in Athena's eyes as she continually tried to attack Phoebe while also staying far enough back to protect against oncoming attacks. She needed answers. She needed answers now.

Masamune Toya the Braviary
Gracidea Order
Outside the Blood Pit Arena

Masamune watched on one of the televisions as Athena went after Phoebe, using what little strength Saber has given her in her sacrifice. There were no loved ones for their belongings to go to, but their memories would still be treasured. The two were an inseparable pair and unforgettable people. Masamune turned away and started to walk down the street with the belongings he had collected still in his beak. He was about to reach an outpost for the Gracidea Order when a suspicious figure caught his eye.

Handing off the belongings to the member of the Order at the door, Masamune decided to pursue. He tailed the Hitmonchan for several blocks before it stopped. A lucario approached with a baby smeargle squirming in its hands. The two exchanged words too low for Masamune to hear before inputting a code in a keypad. A door slid open and the two stepped in, crying voices echoing from inside. Masamune frowned, perplexed by this revelation but unsure what to do about it. He decided to return to the Order for now and relay the information to them for future use.

[Morzone]

Julia
Steel Scavengers
Dread metal derby, Lytala Slums
Affected RP'ers: @Neo Emolga, @Velocity

It was one of those moments where your thoughts just couldn't really keep up with your actions. Before Julia knew it the Hearse in front of her had blown to bits, overheated most likely, considering the sweltering heat coming from the ocean of flames around her. As the boiling wave of air from the exploding car washed past her, Julia heard a cackle and a yell from a distance down the street to her back.

"OH SEVREN AND MEVVAN...! I... I NEVER LOVED EITHER OF YOU! HA HA, HA HA, HA-HA-HA!"

It was the Black Lotus Raticate, apparently laughing maniacally at the deaths of their fellow Lotus members. The sight of his glee was rather chilling, even for an ice type like herself. Doubtless that she would be his next target, Julia did a quick scan of the Raticate, the Armored truck's gunner. Looked like he was holding a Grenade launcher. Her Iron Giant's armor wasn't going to be able to stand too many of those, but those launchers weren't the longest ranged, they'd have to drive closer to hit her, putting them in range of her own guns.

Good, I wonder if I can blow those 'nades up midair with the flamethrower... not gonna be easy to hit small.. targets... Julia's thought's trailed off as she saw the raticate suddenly toss the grenade launcher aside.

"EJECT!" Julia screamed, slamming a button and causing the glass dome covering her cockpit to pop open. Leaping out she jumped to the street below and sprinted for towards the burning hearse. For she know three things: First the black lotus were armed beyond the teeth and if they were throwing aside a grenade launcher, whatever they were picking up would be much worse. Second: Whatever it was was going to be an explosion even bigger than grenades, something her Iron Giant could already barely handle. And third: If she had to choose between sitting in her car to be blown into little meaty chunks or making a mad dash over a burning hearse, the latter was definitely the choice to make.

And so Julia did not see the raticate fire two rockets at her tank, nor did she hear them roaring through the air as she tried to climb over the least burning part of the Hearse. Burning metal seared under her feat, flames licking her sides. Smoke filled her vision and lungs, the fire was agony, twice as bad as normal on her Ice type body. All see could see and hear were the bright, crackling flames and smoke surrounding her as she gritted her teeth and tried to push for the less-on-fire street beyond. And then Rocket made their mark, resulting in a explosion so large the Iron Giant Shattered, the gas tanks fueling the flamethrower adding to the destruction, sending fire, smoke, and burning metal into the sky to rain down every adjacent area.

Julia felt herself, as well as the burning hearse beneath her, blown forward by the force of the explosion. And while The hearse merely Rolled slightly and caught on fire even more, Julia found herself thrown into the air to come crashing down, bouncing and scrapping along the paved and rocky street until her body finally came to a stop. Her mind was blank, her hearing gone, all she could feel was the burning pain all along her back, from her head to her ankles, and the hot, sticky blood falling from the places where her skin had been shredded by the pavement. But her troubles were not yet over, for the burning remains of the Iron Giant were returning to the ground they'd been blasted off, and a rather unfortunately chunk of Metal landed on Julia's left shoulder. She couldn't really feel her bones shatter, at least not as sharply as she should have. Her brain seemed to have become numb from the pain she'd already received from all her burns, skin tearing, and heavy hits from being thrown down the street.

All he could do was lay there, weekly coughing the smoke out of her lungs. If the thought had been able to cross her mind she might have found solace in that there were now two burning wrecks between herself and the Black Lotus Raticate. But as it was all she knew was what was right in front of her blurry vision: more fire. She felt tired, numb, ready to close her eyes for a good, long sleep. And as her lids closed the fire blurred, so suddenly it was as if Theo, his head and back flames blazing, sat before her. He seemed to smile at her, the same kindhearted smile he always seemed to have with him. As if to say it was Ok, that he didn't blame her for dying like this.

But.. that wasn't right. That wasn't the Theo she knew. The Theo she knew wouldn't let her die like this, to let her just give up. And Julia blinked, the apparition vanishing from her eyes to be replaced with the nightmare she was truly in. Theo was surely watching this. She Would Not Die like this, not with him helplessly watching from behind some screen. She still had two legs and one arm, she could still fight. And, filled with a passion burning hotter and brighter than the flames consuming the buildings either side of her, The weavile pushed herself to her feet. And despite her left arm hanging uselessly by her side, she began to walk carefully down the street - away from the burning Hearse and her Obliterated Iron Giant. Raul and his Hornet Had vanished from the street long before, something julia would chew him out abut if they both made it out alive.

Her movements were unbalanced due to her broken arm, and each step sent a jolt of pain through her from her bleeding scrapes and burns, but Julia persisted until she'd reached the end of the street when something new caught her attention. A rumbling Hum of a light engine, followed quickly by the appearance of a lightly armored Buggy, adapted to be able to seat the dragalge driving it. The Dragalge spotted Julia immediately and sped over to her. However he didn't raise any guns or weapons at the weavile, instead driving up close and gloating,

"Hee-YEA! Looky here a broken bodied weavile! What's that? Yee lose your precious tank car? I saw yee earlier blowing them lotus freaks up. Thanks for takin 'em out for me! Waste their big guns of mons like yee." The Dragalge laughed at Julia's pain and misfortune and continued, "Well, I don't wanna keep yee waitin. Not gonna waste my ammo an yee, just a little beet of Poison to push you over that edge. Now don't yee be trying anything!"

The dralgage added his last warning as Julia thrust her working hand into her tool belt, seeming as if to pull out a weapon. The Dragalge gave her no such chance, spitting a sludge bomb at her. A direct hit. And the poison type laughed, laughed and laughed and failed to notice Julia moving toward him until it was too late. Because Julia hadn't pulled out a weapon, she'd touched her Blaze Jewel, changing her type to Steel. Immune to poison the sludge bomb had done nothing to her, and as the dragalge laughed itself hoarse over what he thought was her death she stepped forward and slammed the pokemon across the head with and Iron Claw. The dragalge, compeltely caught off guard, toppled sideways out of his buggy. Grabbing one of the poison type's small hand guns from his seat Julia fired one, two, three rounds into his head and body, each bullet marked with a splash of blood and a sad little convulsion of pain.

Khilter the Dragalge (independent) has been Eliminated

Slowly dragging herself with her good arm Julia pulled herself into the now vacant buggy. She paused to take stock. A few small hand guns, one heavier gun mounted on the top of the buggy, and a few grenades stashed under the seat. Taking note of the measly weapon supply, Julia sat in the dragalge's custom seat -something she was somewhat grateful for, as its odd shape, while uncomfortable in normal sense, lessened the amount of burnt skin she had to sit on. Now she needed to think of a plan. She only had two choices. Escape. Or survive until it was just her and someone else to attempt a 1 on 1 victory. Neither seemed very likely as the fires swelled and the air rippled with heat on all sides.

------

Raul, meanwhile, had taken the fastest route he could away from the sight of the hearse's destruction. He'd been zooming around the streets enough to get a sense for their general layout and as such was soon heading back toward the same street he'd just left, this time chasing down a Yellow behemoth he'd passed on his way to help Julia. Stupid Weavile, he'd known she was going to need his help at some point with that bulky monstrosity.

Taking another turn at breakneck speed -something he was rather good at- the Furret spotted his Target, and more. Down the road was the Extra large bulldozer and its three extra large inhabitants, how those three giant pokemon had all fit in there was a mystery to the furret but that was a mystery for another time. For not i=only had he spotted the Bulldozer but The bulldozer's own target: An Armored Truck belonging to the black Lotus. The Bulldozer seemed to be doing a full on assault, all guns blazing, trying to take down the truck.

Raul, taking advantages where he could, shot forward and, slipping through the small gap between the burning houses and the bulldozer, skidded out into the street behind the armored truck. The Hornet's Twin machine guns began to flash, raining bullets down on any and every tire he could lay eyes on. Staying still wasn't an option and he began to zip around, taking hard turns and swerving, circling the truck and bulldozer as much as he could, aiming his guns at any tires that appeared in front of him. The Bulldozer's side gunner fired several rounds at him only to be stopped by his Bullet-proof bubble. If he could just immobilize both vehicles they'd be forced to shoot each other to bits which would give Raul an opportunity to slip away. All he had to do was keep moving. Keep moving and hope he didn't get blown up...

(Sorry for taking so long to reply, I've been vacationing with relatives and I haven't had as much time as I thought I would have. Here's some easy targets to make up for it :D)