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

[VeloJello]

Mazer Pratten the Greninja
Prankster Platoon (De Facto Leader)
Connive, City Center
Affected RPers: None.

((In which Mazer definitely doesn't foreshadow anything, nope, not at all))

Last night had certainly been interesting, Mazer reflected as he sat in front of the set of pilfered Jumbotrons in the middle of Connive, where the qualifiers for the Dread Metal Derby and Bloot Pit Arena were starting to play. He’d considered joining in the Blood Pit Arena, but Sheena and Bella had successfully talked him out of it… and honestly, he was a little grateful. He would still be needed whenever the Devil’s Tide event took place; that would be the his big show. And frankly, the groups they’d sent out were good enough that Mazer wasn’t too concerned. The Screaming Talon and crew were shoo-ins for the Dread Metal, and the other two cars were in fine form, as were the squadrons that had been sent in for the Blood Pit.

Sheena settled down next to Mazer and Bella with a huff, munching from a pouch of acorns. “You worried, Mazer?”

The Greninja shook his head. “No, darling,” he said, poking his tongue out a bit to lap from the bowl of spiced mealworms that were forming his breakfast, “not for this. Some of the ‘mons we sent are gonna die, and that sucks, but they knew that they probably wouldn’t leave alive.” He shrugged, then laid down on his belly and slurped up a couple more mealworms. “Either way, they’re gonna make some interesting fireworks.”

Sheena passed a few acorns to Bella, who chewed them up with a crunch. “I more meant about the people we met last night,” she said. “Does it affect anything?”

Leaves, crunchy and dry from the arid climate of Connive, rustled as Bella turned to glance at Mazer. “Who did you two meet?” she asked. “I haven’t heard anything about this.”

Mazer shrugged, “Some people.”

“Some weirdos,” Sheena said. “Couple of them are gonna be fighting today, I think. Didn’t that Gliscor say he was going to be in the Blood Pit Arena?”

“And the Bisharp,” Mazer said. When he saw Bella staring at him, as though still patiently waiting for an explanation, he sighed. “Okay, love, here’s what happened. Remember how Sheena and I went out to Rhondul to visit Miss Janine and pick up the last of the boat parts?” When Bella nodded, Mazer continued, “Well, there we were, meeting up with Joss to pick up the last of the supplies for the boat,” he said, “since those thundercharge batteries were so scarce. He still had some, but this Metagross and Swampert showed up with some Gliscor and Bisharp escorting them. They were trying to buy, but you know Joss - that Octillery has never believed in ‘first come first serve’; just ‘most money first serve’. The Bisharp got them to back up pretty much immediately, which was weird? They must not have brought a lot of cash to haggle with,” said Mazer, shrugging. “But they were acting kinda creepy. They were clearly together, but I couldn’t tell what faction they were with. If any. The Bisharp and I think the Gliscor were supposed to be in the Blood Pit, but I haven’t seen any of those guys on either of the screens. Either way, they didn’t seem too offended when we out-moneyed them and they didn’t try to murder us, so we’ve got bigger concerns for the moment.” He pointed back to the blaring TVs. “Like keeping our beautiful fingers on the ragged pulse of this festival.”

Sheena frowned as a teleport scar rippled across the screen and a pair of familiar Pokemon wandered out - an Umbreon and a Luxray. The Chesnaught tapped Mazer’s shoulders and pointed at the screen, “Um, Mazer…”

Mazer was so startled that he nearly spit out his mealworms. “Is that Laura!” he yelped. “What is that girl doing; she’s gonna get herself killed!”

Bella snorted. “She’s probably doing what I was doing. I wouldn’t be surprised if she wasn’t there just to rant at Taiya atop a pile of bodies. Have a little faith in your compatriots, Marcellus.”

It was several years’ worth of a deep and abiding friendship, as well as the knowledge that it would get him a faceful of Sheena’s fist, that kept Mazer from trying to strangle Bella for using her real name. Instead, he just muttered, “I hope you’re right,” and lapped up a few more mealworms. There wasn’t much that put him on edge, but the prospect of losing the Prankster Platoon’s de-facto spokesmon didn’t sit well with him.

[Death's Spook]

((OoC: A minor note: Anthony's part takes place the previous night))

Anthony Carpenter-Weaver (Mimikyu)
Steel Scavengers
Unknown Location (yesterday evening)

After Magenta left the grave, Anthony seems to speak at nothing, “So I assume that you two have made up your minds.”

A Pelipper seems to emerge from the cover of darkness, an orb of shadow over his head, “Yes. The death of Nenge has forced our hand.”

Anthony looks downcast, “I wish it was different, my friend. That being said, I must confess a lack of surprise. Without knowledge of Taiya’s advantage, it is difficult to find a way to circumvent it.”

“We think he may have discovered what it was, albeit too late to help,” to Anthony’s mild surprise, the black orb above is the one who spoke.

Anthony gives his friend a look, “A question, Phillip. Why is this--”

The black orb cuts him off, “I am here because I am Phillip’s superior, Anthony Carpenter-Weaver. I am a Master of Shadows.” A pause, “And also because I intend to help with your little errand.”

Anthony takes a second, then laughs, “You would think that my experiences would have led me not to judge a Pokemon by their species.”

The orb gives a pause and is about to speak again when Phillip speaks, “Yes, boss. He knows what you are. It’s a little trick of his. He probably knew about where we were significantly before we revealed ourselves.”

Anthony inclines his head modestly, “I did not wish to startle my friend Magenta. She can be paranoid and occasionally overly violent.”

Phillip gives a sharp laugh, “That’s what happens when you grow up around pieces of work as nasty as the Onyx Circle. Or my brother, I suppose.”

Anthony chides, “You should remember your brother for how he was, not for what he became, Phillip.”

The Pelipper’s wing makes a slashing motion at a nearby tree, scoring it. “I remind you that you killed him, Anthony.”

The Mimikyu nods sadly, “He was my friend, Phillip. I took no pleasure in it. He was a good person, before.”

Phillip sighs, “Yeah, but when even I start thinking someone’s too far gone…”

Anthony starts to reach out to put a shadowy hand on Phillip, but thinks better of it, “That does not mean we cannot honor the good that was once in him.”

The clearing is silent for a moment, then Phillip speaks, “You know, I was gonna talk to you sooner, but then that Pyroar tried to kill you. You killed her before I could help, so I got curious to see what you would do. My brother conclusively demonstrated that even the best of us can go bad,” he laughs bitterly. “But you buried her. Personally. Just like you did with my brother. So yeah, I’m gonna help you.”

The shadowy orb speaks, “He will help for your sake, as will I for the sake of Nenge. Your Grand Lady will have our assistance in the ring tomorrow. Do you have a plan?”

Anthony’s voice is sad, but there is a satisfaction that comes with confidence in his intelligence. “Yes. Or rather, the Knights all together came up with this plan.”

The Pelipper’s expression is wry, “Before we start talking details about insane plans, here.” Phillip tosses Anthony a gem before continuing, “I burgled Thomas Clerk’s house after your Knight chewed up him in the arena. Thought this was a Ghost Blaze Jewel, but it didn’t work for me, and I’ve used them before. Then I saw there was an inscription and got super confused.”

Anthony looks carefully at the royally purple gem, reading the fine golden print aloud, “‘Guardian of the borders, should you find yourself close to crossing the threshold, destroy this.’ I think I know what this does, actually. May I keep it?”

The Pelipper shrugs, “It’s why I gave it to you in the first place. I remember you said something about borders being important to ghost types, so I thought of you when I remembered it. ‘Snot like it’s gonna do me any good.”

“Very well. Shall we discuss ‘insane plans’, Phillip and…”

“Please, call me Gramme,” speaks the orb of shadows.


The Grand Lady (Tsareena)
Steel Scavengers
Outside The Blood Pit Arena, Lytala City

When the Lady first told Anthony that she intended to put her metaphorical hat in the ring for the blood pit arena, his first condition, after ranting out a slew of every variation of “no” the Grand Lady ever heard (and some she hadn’t), was that any strategy she wanted to use had to cut down on visibility. It seemed like a slightly odd request until the Lady realized that Anthony had absolutely every reason to believe that the Black Lotus would have multiple snipers who would have loved to take the credit for killing the second most powerful of the Seven Knights.

On reflection, that had been the inspiration for her little plan for the ring.

There was absolutely no way The Black Lotus was going to fight fair. None whatsoever. So therefore, the Lady was not going to break the rules.

She was going to discard the entire premise of rules in the first place.

Of course, to be able to do that, she needed a team of people to stand beside her. Given that everyone agreed that giving the Black Lotus the chance to take out all of the Seven Knights in one shot was a terrible idea, she was led to the team now standing before her.

And while The Lady is not a particularly religious type, she’s spent at least an hour praying to Celebi to give her the strength not to kill her team members.

“Okay!” Gloria the Goodra cheers out, almost euphoric as she snaps her hand and sways her hip, “We’re all set, Lady! Today’s gonna be super fun!”

Please, please, Celebi. I’m begging you. BEGGING. Do you know how many of my enemies would kill to hear me BEGGING?

Aloud, The Grand Lady’s voice is regal as ever as she chides, “Gloria, we are not supposed to be having fun. We have a plan.”

Durkon, a Clefable whose only refuge from peace is drink, drawls, “Yes, but we can have a plan and have fun, too.” The Lady glares at him for encouraging Gloria.

“Not fun, to be honest,” grumbles Michigo, “I am in the unfortunate position of babysitting all of you.”

The Grand Lady almost lets out an audible groan, but reminds herself that these were the people she chose on the basis of loyalty and competence both, training them all to her exacting standards both alone and as a team. So instead of focusing her efforts on killing them all, she decides to ensure everyone’s best possible chance in the ring. Going through her mental checklist, she ensures ample supplies of critical supplies like Oran Berries, Reviver Seeds, guns, Mental Herbs, knives, Heal Seeds, Power Herbs, all in ample amounts. She checks the chamber on her .50 caliber Mandibuzz and picks up a sword and shield when Isana the Azumarill, holding her own sword, gives her a sardonic look and says, “You’re going to get your sword damaged like that.”

The Lady rolls her eyes as she refuses to address the topic, instead asking, “Ioseph, you remember your primary function, correct?”

The Beheeyem nods, “Teleport out everyone if it’s reasonably practical. We’ve been over this before, Lady.”

Kaytoo the Toxapex finishes a brief prayer and gives the Lady a questioning look, “So uh. Why are we doing this at all? It’s not like we have any intention of fighting fair at all so it’s not for glory. Winning is clearly only a secondary objective if you’re having Ioseph on standby to teleport anyone he thinks needs it. What plan do you have?”

The Lady gives Kaytoo an inscrutable look, “We are going to accomplish multiple objectives by doing this, Kaytoo. Some of them you can figure out, others I am not going to inform you of. Suffice to say, I chose all of you for a reason. Do you remember the plan?”

Iolande the Gastrodon speaks up, her pink body quivering in anticipation, “Of course she remembers the plan, honorable Lady. We all do. We’re just worried about whether or not the plan is going to work.” A silent Manectric whom The Lady personally recruited to the Scavengers nods in agreement.

The Grand Lady’s voice is frank, “Of course it is not. It is not meant to, as such. It’s meant to be construct off of which we can improvise when things go wrong.”

Kaytoo groans, “Which is kinda hard if you won’t tell us any of the objectives of the plan.”

The Lady gives the heavily armored Toxapex a look, “Yes, which is why I’m prioritizing everyone surviving over everything else. Are we all ready?”

“Of course we are, Lady! We just need to get gone!!!!”

The Lady reminds herself once more that this is in fact the best team she could have for this, other than The Knights, and that in the heat of battle, she personally ensured that everyone could collaborate.

She just needs to avoid being driven insane beforehand.

Max Clerk (Klinklang)
Steel Scavengers
Unknown Safe House, Lytala City

“This plan is, like, insane.” Magenta complains.

Max Clerk usually does not agree very well with the Volcarona’s opinions, but this is one time that their opinion coincides with Magenta’s almost perfectly.

“You did help create the plan, you two,” chides Anthony gently.

Arlington speaks up, “We can help create a plan we think is totally crazy, boss. How do you wanna play this?”

“I will be traveling with you and Anthony, Arlington,” murmurs Gramme.

Max Clerk moves to join the group with Gramme, only for Anthony to raise a shadowy hand, “No. Max, I need you to travel with Magenta and Phillip.”

The Klinklang is positively shocked, “Um. Anthony. I am not sure that you get this, but while the Onyx Circle wants you dead, they’re really likely to want Magenta and I alive if they can do it. Pairing us together is not a good way to avoid attention, especially if we end up having to be less than polite.” Max Clerk cannot entirely hide the note of anticipation at the end of the last sentence.

“Avoid confrontation if it’s reasonably practical, Max. But I am sending you with Magenta because I would be shocked if peace is reasonably practical all the way through. Haq is on standby to teleport into the arena if need be and extract everyone that they can, should The Lady’s Beheeyem fail. Oort is already concealed in the audience in case they need to help lay down suppressive fire to protect everyone allied with The Lady in the arena.”

Max Clerk makes a noise, then calmly shifts their gears around into a more efficient configuration. “Alright. Magenta, Phillip, let’s go.”

((Further OoC: If you must blink, you'll want to do it later. Trust me.))

[Neo Emolga]

@Noblejanobii @The Nonexistent Tazz @Soups @Death's Spook @Morzone @Velocity @LKWayvern @Steel Lunpara @Chakramaster

This is your last chance to enter your character into an event before they actually happen!

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

Queen Taiya the Lilligant
Black Lotus Ruling Authority
Lytala City, Black Lotus Central Palace Outside Courtyard

It was a known fact Taiya didn't usually watch the brutality of the games in person. There were many who believed she was above watching the carnage and the bloodshed, but she was only interested in the games for another reason, and that was finding out how she could leverage them.

She preferred to relax outside by the large central fountain by the multiple flowerbeds rich with yellow, red, and magenta-colored blossoms. However, the air was only slightly cleaner around this area of the city than the surrounding areas. While the Pokémon could try to beautify the palace as much as possible, there was no stopping the air pollution. And there were still loud noises blasting off in the distance that were the result of the heavy industry and at times, explosions just from violence.

While she had been biding her time with a cold drink of crystal clear water, which was practically worth gold in Lytala, she had been approached by Ruleg, a Bisharp dressed in refined attire and holding a briefcase. The sword blade Pokémon had a very stoic and cold demeanor surrounding him as he sat in a vacant ornamental chair besides the table. He hadn't even greeted Taiya as he sat down and simply went straight to business.

"Ah, you're here already," Taiya smirked. "I was expecting you to be late to tell the truth."

"I'm never late," Ruleg commented, opening up the briefcase and taking out several agreement papers. "In the interest of time, my clients have replied to your proposition. So far, they agree on the initial terms, but there is another component they want to bring to the negotiating table, however."

"Oh what now?" Taiya sighed, rolling her eyes at what the Blacklocke could possibly want.

"They want in on whatever the 'Ante' deal is," Ruleg told the Lilligant.

Taiya couldn't help but laugh. After a brief chortle, she shook her head and sat back. She wasn't expecting a stern and serious Bisharp like Ruleg to ever even mention it, so it did surprise her for just a brief moment.

"Funny, Ruleg, you're not the kind of Pokémon I would expect to take stock in rumors," Taiya giggled, looking at Ruleg like he was a fool. "Enlighten me. Why would you and Blacklocke be interested in this 'Ante?' What exactly do you think it even is?"

"I'm not at liberty to give details on that," Ruleg replied with a stoic expression.

"Well, I have bad news," Taiya chortled. "I'm not at liberty to give details on it either. Now with that out of the way, let's sign on the initial terms and be done with it. I could have sworn you told me you were not someone who liked to waste time."

"No," Ruleg stated. "The deal is null and void without full information on this agreement condition. The board of directors specifically stated they wanted full clearance and access to any resources and assets relating to 'Ante' or the deal is rescinded."

Taiya had to blink twice in surprise. But never once did she wear a scowl. Instead, she simply laughed, almost gawking, but still wearing a nonchalant during the entire negotiation. Whatever shocked expressed she wore was simply feigned acting.

"Oh my," Taiya laughed. "Ruleg, I have to admire you. It takes titanium balls to do what you just did. Now, many other Pokémon might strike you dead for that kind of noncompliance. They might even call you a tramp, or a Kako, or a bastard, but I admire defiance in a gentleman."

"If you decline, then there will be no further discussion on behalf of myself or Blacklocke Arms," Ruleg replied, preparing to put his agreement papers away. "I have other clients I need to speak to."

"Shame, and I was enjoying so much of our time together," Taiya sighed with a smile. "Well then, go along now. Surely I mustn't let you keep your other clients waiting. Oh, I know how important they are to you. So important. Please, please, don't keep them waiting for little ol' me. Oh please, that would be just so utterly rude and uncouth."

Ruleg simply placed the papers back into his briefcase and stood up. He looked down on Taiya, narrowed his eyes, and then proceeded to walk away. As he proceeded to make his way out of the courtyard, Taiya simply sighed and smiled.

Because you aren't even worth it!

---

Rexor Rondel the Zoroark
Black Lotus - Onyx Circle
Jalopy Juice Gas Station, Route 18

"Wrong answer."

With a deafening blast from the XND-50 shotgun, the Slurpuff's head was blasted at point blank range and was instantly gored into a pasty gruel of blood, brains, and skull fragments before being sprayed and splattered upon the tarmac. Only a second later, the headless now more red than white and pink corpse of the Slurpuff leaned over and collapsed before a pool of blood soon gathered around the deceased meringue Pokémon.

"Pissing Murhe, Rexor, was that worth it?" A Jolteon sighed, rolling her eyes as she looked to the imposing Zoroark standing and looking down at the fallen Slurpuff.

"No, Shana," Rexor muttered, putting the XND-50 away. "But as long as I'm not paying for the ammunition, it doesn't concern me."

Shana simply sighed and soon enough they were joined by a worn and scarred Heatmor as he stepped out of the liquid container truck that had been parked just outside by the old gasoline pumps. As the three gathered, a hot wind blew through the rickety gas station than was slowly succumbing to the elements. There was no one else for miles and it was clear the amount of clientele the gas station had was very little.

"This plan isn't going to work if you just keep killing every Pokémon we try to get answers from," the Heatmor narrowed his eyes at Rexor the Zoroark. "A trail of dead bodies creates suspicion."

"Venot, if you're worried about that, then take one of these spit-pissing vehicles back to Lytala and go watch those stupid games," Rexor snarled at the Heatmor. "This is how I work. If you don't like it, then piss off."

"I'm just saying-"

In only seconds, Venot suddenly was staring down the barrel of the XND-50 as Rexor pulled it out of his holster. With a firm grip, the dark fox Pokémon had his claw ready to squeeze the trigger.

"I don't want to hear you say anything," Rexor snarled as his eyes glared into the Heatmor's. "You comply or you die. Do you understand?"

"Fine," Vonot disdainfully replied.

A second roar fired from the XND-50 and just like the Slurpuff, the Heatmor was soon rendered headless as the head of the anteater Pokémon was blasted to pieces across the cracked tarmac. The headless corpse of the Heatmor fell over backward and soon enough, a second pool of blood formed around the decapitated body.

Shana's eyes were suddenly wide open and in shock about what just happened, but she remained silent.

"Think twice before you get in my way," Rexor warned the Jolteon as he headed back to the truck, "I prefer working alone."

Shana simply nodded and as Rexor got into the driver's seat of the liquid container truck, Shana quickly got into the passenger side and shut the door behind her with her front paw. Soon after, the truck took off and left the derelict gas station behind.

Already the blood was starting to dry as the hot wind blew across the now quiet arid landscape...

[Noblejanobii]

Athena Pallas the Decidueye
The Gracidea Order
Entering the Blood Pit Arena

Being a mother in a competition dealing with the complete opposite side of the spectrum of what mothers were known for was a bit of an interesting situation for Athena. She often received odd looks from other competitors that she had routinely ignored and dismissed the hateful comments that came her way. None of that really mattered to Athena or her situation right now. All that mattered was she needed to survive and locate Marx. He was her number one priority.

Athena looked at the psychic types that passed her to enter the arena before her. Given their uniforms, they were obviously press, not competitors. They would start broadcasting soon it appeared. Athena could imagine the stroke Brunswick was having right now out of fear, anticipation, and all other sorts of negative emotions. Following her arrival to the Gracidea Order's headquarters, Athena had received word from one of her fellows that Brunswick had demanded he have time off work until the Tempest Festival was over. The poor man was worried sick over his wife, and Athena found it very endearing. She made a mental note to remind Brunswick of how much she appreciated his worrying and caring nature when they next saw each other. But now was not the time for such thoughts. Athena was entering an area where it was kill or be killed, and even the slightest distractions could cost not just her life, but also that which she carried with her.

Athena took a deep breath, one of several attempts to calm her nerves. Most would resort to alcohol by now but, as much as it may help, Athena was not supposed to be drinking it anyway. She was still a bit frustrated that she had slipped up the night before anyway. Instead, Athena opted to check over her armor and weaponry again.

Athena was wearing a thin layer of black leather armor over her feathers, as well as her abdomen and chest. While it was obvious on her central body, Athena was counting on her notoriously black feathers camouflaging the armor for a certain amount of time. Clipped around her waist were four canisters of gem dust. In less time than the blink of an eye, Athena could launch an arrow bearing fire, lightning, ice, or poison depending on which gem remains she dusted the arrow with. She also had two long daggers strapped to her thighs. Athena really wanted to refrain from using those. She really did. Athena was much more skilled with an arrow than a dagger, but she had seen how these matches had gone in previous times. You could never be too prepared.

"Are you ready, Athena?" Athena felt a soft leaf touch her shoulder and looked over at the serperior beside her. If there was one thing Athena could do, it was count her blessings. At least in this fight she has a brave man standing beside her. Perceval was a long time family friend, a brave soldier, and loyal to an absolute fault. In another place, in another time, Athena could see herself falling in love with this man. But instead, they stood as close friends.

Perceval was a retired Tempest Festival combatant as well. He suffered from it, that was for sure. Almost a decade ago, the serperior had sworn off participating in the festivals after having been forced to watch the love of his life burn alive in the Deathwish Endurance after there was "a mechanical malfunction". Anyone with two braincells and a basic knowledge of history could figure out that this was an assassination, not a malfunction. After all, she had been one of the only remaining members of the ruling family prior to the kako that sat on the throne now. Why would she have ever been allowed to live? Perceval often claimed he could still hear her screaming his name at night. Thus, to cope with his crimes and guilt, he joined the police force and acted as a partner for Brunswick on many different missions. However, shortly after Athena and Brunswick were married, the PTSD was too much, and Perceval retired from the police force. And yet, once he had received word of Marx's kidnapping, Perceval had ordered, not asked, but ordered, he be sent to fight alongside Athena. No one had the heart or the guts to tell the man no.

"Yes," Athena replied, "I believe I am, Perceval." Perceval nodded his head and removed his tail from Athena's shoulder. Slithering forward, he paused then looked back at Athena.

"For Marx," he said, then continued forward into the arena. Athena hesitated at that. Were these to be words of encouragement or a battle cry that would instill fear into the hearts of others? Because Athena saw it as neither. Or perhaps both. She was not quite sure with herself on that one. But once again, this was not the time nor place to discuss this with Perceval. She had enemies to crush and a son to locate. With that in mind, Athena took another long breath, then stepped into the arena and waited for the announcement of the event’s start to begin.

[Morzone]

(Aaaah I was with family all day and couldn't finish my post!)

Julia
Steel Scavengers
Westfel, En route to Lytala City Slums, the Slums.
Affected RP'ers: Any one in the Lytala Slums

The day was clear. Which was good. Though Julia could easily imagine the clear blue sky wouldn't mean much in the gritty slums of the capital. Those sorts of places were always filled with the worst grime... ugh.

She went back to her breakfast. Her usual, a bowl of dried Belue berries. The plant had proved surprisingly durable when she'd planted a bush behind her workshop. Just kept on living despite all the smog from the factories. Probably didn't taste as good as fresh stuff, the food those gracidea order people grew was probably much tastier than this crop. Still, it filled the stomach and her special technique for drying them made the batch last a good while.

"JULIA" A slightly squeaky, but very loud voice blasted out next to the weavile, causing her to curse and nearly drop her food.

"Don't shout you damned weasel! I'll poke your eye out with my spoon next time. What do you want, Raul?" She replied to the furret, highly annoyed.

"We should get going if we want to get to the Slums in time. I don't need you slowing me down today!" Raul replied, looking rather self-important. The little squirt....

"Whatever, weasel. I've seen that trash heap you ride. I'm surprised you even made it here alive." Julia replied, but stood up anyway. Even she was itching to get a move on. It was an odd experience, nervousness wasn't natural for her to feel. Still, when you're about to walk -or ride- straight into a death festival being a little nervous shouldn't be that rare. She just hoped her stomach would calm down by the time she got to the slums...

"Come on then." Julia said, standing up from the table and heading for the exit. Theo was standing there, waiting for her. Kind of surprising, Julia hadn't expected to see him away from his plane. If she was honest Julia had hoped she'd be able to leave before having see him. She knew he might be putting on a brave face, but Julia could see through each shadow in his face to see his real worries. All there was to do was to try and reach past the blockade and brush the worries away like always.

"Julia-" Theo began, but Julia wasn't going to let him get started.

"I'll be back later, kid. See you this evening."

Theo frowned, "I'm not a kid-"

Laughing, Julia pulled the quilava into a one armed hug. "I'll be back Theo, don't you worry. Even if my monster breaks down, I'll be sure to get away alive." She whispered into his ear, giving him one last squeeze before letting him go.

"You better." Theo muttered, his expression downcast.

"Oh come on, are you doubting the one and only Julia MCgeegles?" She demanded with a smile. A small smile made its way onto Theo's face as well. The two had spent many evenings together making up random and hilarious names to replace Julia's missing last one.

With an annoyed look from Raul, Julia took her leave of Theo and headed out to the parking garage. The entire Steel Scavengers group had stayed the night in a hidden safe house on the edges of Westfel, complete with Hanger and garage. It was pretty impressive. Apparently it had been set up by a family of drilbur and excadrill a while back. She'd have to track them down to improve her workshop once this hell was over. Maybe she'd install a pool... The two of them climbed into their respective vehicles and set out. Each's ride had been specially built up for today's destruction derby, though with entirely different ideologies.

Raul's ride wasn't actually a car, it was a motorcycle. The whole thing was covered in some kind of special armor the Raul claimed could withstand everything. Even the wheels were covered on the sides. The upper part, where he would sit as the driver, was encased in a bubble like casing of Bullet proof glass. The only weapons on the whole thing were two light machine guns sticking out the front of the motorcycle's armor. At least it used special piercing bullets. According to Raul, the motorcycle's maneuverability would be perfect for a relatively cramped space like the slums. The furret had apparently been some kind of stunt driver before joining the SS. It would give him an edge over the big, bulky monstrosities everyone else would driving. All he had to do was pop tires and they'd be sitting ducks. From that simpleton's perspective, it was a perfect plan.

Julia had opted for one of those "bulky monstrosities." With Wheels roughly as large as she was, covered in spikes to shred the wheels of opponents, it was only the start. The "car" looked like a cross between a tank and a train. The front sported a plow-like Structure perfect for pushing wrecks aside. The cockpit sat slightly elevated, it gave her a full 360 view. Thankfully the Knights had supplied her with bullet proof glass in the week leading up to the festival. But what Julia really liked were the guns. Four of them, two per side of the car. Sitting on the upper part of the car's main body, they all had a good spread thanks to a simple rotating mechanism. But what was really special about the guns was that each had a special function. One was a light machine gun like Raul's. Another was closer to a shotgun that fired off shrapnel filled casings, good for close range. The third was actually a flamethrower, because who doesn't love a bit of flame? The last was a a special cannon that let out a torrent of a sticky tar-like substance. It worked well both at messing with wheels and flipping cars as well as covering windshields. Needless to say she was very proud of her little "monster."

The ride into Lytala City slums was pretty short. The Lady and her group of knights had headed out earlier than She and Raul had. The previous night they'd talked about their plans to keep the Lady alive in the bloodpits, it had been a very "Beat them at their own cheating" kind of talk and Julia had actually found it kind of funny. There was some safe house on the fringes of the capital itself The Lady was working out of, though Julia and Theo hadn't bee told of its exact where-abouts in case the black Lotus made a move to interrogate the pair of them. Which as the Lady and Anthony had been quite happy to remind them on several occasions, was highly possible.

Soon enough the two drivers arrived at the slums, making their presence known to the other contenders with a nice loud and challenging horn blast. Raul just Gave Julia's monster a disdainful look and drove off to a different street to start from. Julia wondered if he was going to survive. Then she wondered if she was going to survive. The weavile touched two of the pockets in her tool belt. One with her lucky wrench, the other with her Steel type blaze jewel. It would be her secret weapon in this. No one expected a steel weavile. If her car was disabled, the jewel and her tools were all she had to protect herself with.

It was going to be a tough match.

---

Theo Myrsky
Steel Scavengers
Safehouse, Westfel
Affected RP'ers: N/A

Theo wasn't entire satisfied with Julia's promises to come back alive. Of course he knew she had some tricks up her sleeve but this was the black lotus they were dealing with. Those bastards were sick murderers with sick powers.

"She better come back. I still need to make her spill the beans about what she was talking about in secret with that Mimikyu." He grumbled to himself, his outward appearance satisfied with the excuse to bring Julia home safely. Of course he was just fearful for her, but he wasn't about to admit that to anyone. Annoyed, Theo tightened a few bolts on his plane's wing. The hanger was a spacious place and excellent for finding solitude. Even if you weren't alone, the place was big enough you were likely far enough apart from any other person you might as well be all on your lonesome.

This was of course exactly to Theo's liking. There were still several other steel scavenger members who'd stayed back in the westfel base along with Him and Julia. But Theo always avoided contact with them whenever possible. Some voice in the back of his head warned him not to get friendly with any of them. People who got close to him often ended up hurt... Theo shook away the thoughts before his memories started coming. Glaring at the wrench in his hand he went back to tuning his plane. He felt much safer with his plane. No matter how destroyed it got he could always fix it.

As he worked a small prickle went down the back of his fur, which spared and flamed slightly. The quilava glanced around at the apparent empty hanger. Even if his liked solitude something about the hanger's silence was eerily off.

As if someone was watching him.

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

'Nora' the Lilligant
The Gracedia Order
Lytala city, the Anticassamar Hotel and Casino.
Affected RPers: N/A
Recommended Listening: Anarchy Road, by Carpenter Brut.

The nine-hour ride from Jadeblossom to Lytala was mercifully free of pain. As competitors (and nothing else!), the presence of an armored ACP was only standard, a sign of wanting to (seriously) compete in the Dread Metal Destruction Derby-and ironically enough, a cover for the real vehicle the team would use for that very event. It would certainly be unusual all the same, but it would not be attractive for the doubtless-legions of spies, scouts and snipers that had no doubt coated the city like a blanket.

Lytala City's outskirts, the Lotus Den Slums, were exactly as Nora remembered them to be-wretched. High-rises of glass and steel dominating the skyline as they rode through the slums (as in, the area of slums designated as safe from the carnage of the Dread Metal Destruction Derby), neon lights at every angle, a polluted, slightly gray sky, the subtle scent of trash, the filthy brown water puddles here and there. And this was the party of the city that was spared the indignity of being wrecked by the Derby event. The whole place that wasn't a glaring, glowing sign was a depressing gray, and Nora, too familiar with it, could see wretched Pokemon covered in rags desperately digging through various dumpsters, or arguing with what Nora suspected to be drug dealers, or getting in fights.

Nora used to call this place home as some filthly little hobo girl. The familiarity and nostalgia wasn't pleasant to begin with. No-one liked being homeless, and Nora had the luck to come down upon the more respectable type of hobos, but it was further tainted by the simple idea that there could be better. Nora was a success story, in a way. But far more of the Pokemon around here were there because they weren't. And disregarding that, Nora had a newfound appreciation for how clean environments can change things-and had lost her tolerance for the air here.

Boraz was, as Nora learned, a very strong believer in the Gracedia Order's ideology. His body was still, eerily so, but not before a single complaint about the poor air quality. Nora could see through a bit-he hated it here. The other six, too, were even less capable of taking it than Nora. Anshan had to wince as he took a breath for the first few minutes. Yvonne swore at a truck driver that got in front of her for the air-a truck driver more than likely to be also heading for the same place. Faraday's smile was strained. Talian began breathing out of his mouth. Ichabold didn't have a nose to begin with and he still got that bit more agitated. Baragan was the only one who didn't really shift his position... Because he brought a face mask.

It didn't get much better as they managed to clear the rather depressing threshold from the slums to the actual concrete jungle known as Lytala City proper. Crowded, smoky, smoggy, and yet despite this terribly proud, the Black Lotus banners were draped all over what Nora knew to be the main streets, as well as advertisements for the 50th Tempest Festival, each one more in-your-face than the last. The pedestrians were more likely to wear the clothes of high standing, but it was perhaps more filthy here-the alleways more cramped-the air worse-the tension, the feeling that something horrible was about to happen, worse. Black Lotus bodyguards surrounded Pokemon of high standing. The usual preacher to Arceus was screaming the usual denouncements of the Tempest Festival and was being ignored almost entirely, except by the hopelessly idealistic. If it wasn't for the Tempest Festival, it was still about the festival-advertisements for Blacklocke, the casinos, the special 'tempest deals' going about, or the offers to join the Black Lotus. More subtle but perhaps worse were the advertisements for Insurance, Health Care plans, phone numbers for graveyards and coffinmakers, that sort of thing. A tension filled amongst the eight as it all passed them by. Some horrific sense of mortality was in the air. The only reason these games went on was because they were 'voluntary,' and also because other Pokemon weren't a part of it. Nora had seen a few 'veteran' competitors before. They looked about as bad as soldiers, and Nora knew of stories where they gave everything up, not because they were suddenly generous, but because they were inevitably driven mad by it. Nora's thoughts drifted to them. Was she going to become one of those hollowed-eyed, despair-consumed veterans?

Nora wasn't used to these kinds of thoughts, but coming back here, now that those games had purpose other than a meaningless slaughterfest made her chest feel heavier than it should.

As the APC turned a corner, Nora finally saw their destination-and it was kind of hard not to. Most would think dingy taverns and pubs or out of the way hidey-holes on the edge of Lytala would be the ideal location to hide in. But why do that when you had the most vile kind of secrets regarding the owner of one of Lytala's most successful casinos and hotels?

The Anticassamar was the biggest casino/hotel combination in Lytala, and one of the few places that took great interest in looking not only clean, but even more flashy than usual. They even had flowers and bushes in the front, an excruciatingly painful rarity in Lytala city (ironic for the capital of the Black Lotus), and the fountain in the front poured fourth some unusually clean water. But those astute sights paled in comparison to the building that these things were perched in front of. Rows of flashing lights, stripes of Neon, pillars of marble, a towering citadel of greed and gluttony-the only place more colorful than this would likely be a carnival, and the only place more indulgent the Queen's Palace. The place had a theme, like most great casinos, which only highlighted the extravagance. This one had a theme of ancient temples from one of Liao's earliest civilizations, with its arched rooftops and massive pillars, which the owner-a notorious Escavalier by the name of Havard Bravanard-had great interest in. No-one would suspect it would be the hideout for the Gracedia Order simply because absolutely no one would think of it being sane. There was simply no way that an establishment this wealthy in the heart of Lytala wouldn't support the Black Lotus out of principal. And they did, and still do officially, to Nora's knowledge.

The only reason that the Gracedia Order could effectively use it as a hideout was the fact that Havard Bravanard also had a very uncouth interest into eating his fellow Pokemon. Havard didn't kill Pokemon for it personally-he was more the opportunistic kind who discreetly purchased dead bodies for consumption via the black market, but it was nevertheless vile. Vile enough that the Black Lotus couldn't publicly support such a Pokemon. It was doubtful the Black Lotus didn't already know, but doubtful they cared either; the real show-stopper was that the Black Lotus didn't know the GIA found out. The GIA was lucky to pick up such useful blackmail against one of the most powerful Pokemon imaginable, and at that one of the most concrete, with enough photos and documents, as well as bloodstained cultery, to seal his fate tighter than a vacuum. The release of that information would ruin Havard's life; people would think he was going downright primal, and of course his involvement with criminal institutions was just not going to work well either, only a slight step above madness. And thus, the GIA finally pressed him for a favor; give the competitors safe harbor in his hotel. Havard could only negotiate that it wasn't free, merely significantly discounted, and that was mostly just to keep apperances up.

The APC parked at the entrance loop, and Nora stepped down with a smile on her face-she hadn't stayed anywhere this nice ever before. She's seen places like the Anticassamar before, of course; she was either breaking into them for theft or murder, not staying in them. An Infernape Bellhop-one free of the kind of looks Nora was trained to worry about-gestured to the door as the other operatives stepped out. "Welcome to the Anticassamar. Please, check in at the front desk-"

The sliding glass doors opened to something Nora didn't expect, nor the rest of the people behind her. It was Havard-a magnificently suited Escavalier, his armor polished and his tuxedo magnificent. His face felt like the face that smiled big and wide on most occasions, the wealthy grandfather you never knew you were related to. Which made the fact it was currently furrowed into a fierce frown a bit shocking. HE pointed out to the street. "Get out! Out! Now! And be thankful I haven't called the police on you!"

A Charizard and a Dragonite, both in security uniforms, were following right behind, both wearing tough rubber gloves and dragging out a rare sight to see-a Rotom. Rotom weren't exactly common Pokemon, mostly due to the fact that, biologically speaking, they're a relatively recent type of Pokemon, and their ways with technology were beforehand completely unheard of. It was fortunate that they couldn't be attuned to every electronic device, but the fact they could be attuned to the devices they can is alarming enough. The first few Rotom were so isolated that Nora had heard they were treated like the legends of old-as pure myth and fabrication. These days, they've managed to upgrade their population enough that, outside of dedicated communities, you'd be hard-pressed to find one.

That this rotom was possessing a slot machine basically told anyone in sight the story of why this one was being thrown out of the Anticassamar. The security guards literally threw the poor Rotom right into the street, smashing up the slot machine in the process. The Rotom de-possessed it, leaving behind the broken thing, and as the guards left to retreat back inside, the Rotom took one good look at the onlookers, let out a sigh of sincere depression, and just started to float off.

Havard sighed, making sure the Rotom floated out of the premises, before turning to look at the guests and the stunned bellhop. "Oh, so sorry. Err, the Rotom somehow managed to feign being one of the slot machines and was giving jackpot payouts to everyone. Noble-sounding, but you understand that I can't just have that happen... In any case, err, sorry about the fuss, welcome to the Anticassamar! Ahaha!" The Escavalier said, smiling the smile everyone knew he had. "I take it you're here for the Tempest Games?"

"That we are, sir," Nora said. That story put an odd idea into her head, but that would mean...

"Sir? Ah, ah, no need to be that formal, ohoho! Please, just call me Mr. Bravanard. I don't want to bore you with the success stories and all that, and I have a few business meetings to attend to, but please, if ever you find any extraordinary trouble, contact our staff and we'll see if we can do anything about it."

Mr. Bravanard, at this note, opted to head right back in as if nothing happened.

"... Text me the room number once we've checked in," Nora said.

"You're gonna go after the Rotom?... You sure you can convince her?" Anshan said.

"Paying out jackpots to whoever plays... At the very least has some illegal background... Ugh. No, I'm not sure, but someone has to."

"You can park, right?" Yvonne asked the Bellhop. The Infernape's calm nod cemented it. "Excellent. I'll go with you, make sure that we don't give off the wrong impressions."

"Fair game," Nora said, looking at the Casino longingly. Nora didn't gamble very often, and of the many things she loved doing, she really loved gambling. But good Arceus it was hard to get the money to really gamble, and this odd idea had totally sized Nora. It wouldn't let go. They'd need every advantage they could get, from every source.

In the fight against a high-tech corporation, what better ally is there than a Rotom?

[Neo Emolga]

And... here we go! Reviews are going to be kind of just short and sweet since everyone's getting one.

This week, I definitely would like to see more RPer interaction going on. I know things only just started and warmed up, but I would definitely say exposition time is done. We definitely need to get the ball rolling now!

Also, expect some surprises this week. Just in case you were feeling lonely... >;3

Velocity
Prankster Platoon

Driving Force Rating: B-
Written Content Rating: B+
RPer Interactions Rating: B
Activity Level Rating: A
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A+

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
13

I like the interaction you had with LKWayvern. It's simple, but it was a good warm up toward deeper interactions later on. Meanwhile, there was some push toward making minor influences on the storyline, but again, I understand it's tricky to have all that much happen this early on. Activity level is very nice. Four posts for the week is a pretty solid number and they were definitely decently sized with plenty of nice flavor. This is nice work you definitely want to keep up and see if you can boost a bit if you can!

---

LKWayvern
Prankster Platoon

Driving Force Rating: B-
Written Content Rating: B
RPer Interactions Rating: B
Activity Level Rating: B
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
11

As I told Velocity, I like how you guys decided to open up with a training session to get some interaction flowing. Even though it was a minor thing, hey, every little bit helps! Activity was pretty good and I'd say the only thing that kind of blocked you from a perfect score for formatting was a few moments of lots of dialogue, but that's not a big deal, really. Everything else was good, but I can hopefully see it jump up higher when the action starts to happen!

---

The Nonexistent Tazz
The Gracidea Order

Driving Force Rating: A
Written Content Rating: A+
RPer Interactions Rating: F
Activity Level Rating: A+
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A+

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
20

The only part where you got hit the hardest was RPer interactions, since I didn't see a single one. And it's bit understandable considering you had some really interesting exposition that you wanted to cover and sometimes it's tricky inviting someone else into it. So unfortunately, I can't give you credit there.

But with a big HOWEVER, everything else was awesome and very exceptional stuff! Nora's introduction and her reflection on the failed assassination, her being pushed against her own will to partake in the festival, the mission briefing, and the VERY vivid description of Nora's experience with the Swift drugs was tasty cake. Holy crap, what a post that was! Though your last post was past 5PM EST, it counts for Week 2, but this is still very awesome stuff and you did a great job with character and exposition build up. Your posts were very interesting to read with great style and flavor and you were definitely highly active throughout the week.

Toss in some interactions and you could potentially be sitting on solid gold here. This week, I'm sure you're bound to have some!

---

Noblejanobii
The Gracidea Order

Driving Force Rating: B-
Written Content Rating: A
RPer Interactions Rating: F
Activity Level Rating: B-
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A+

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
18

Props for creating "Kako" as a swear word. It has definitely caught on. >;)

Again, the same area Tazz got hit is where you got hit, also. TRUST ME, I can understand it, but I would definitely suggest talking to Tazz to see if you and him could possibly get some interaction. But, if not or it's hard to get a hold of him or anyone else from Gracidea Order to get in on interaction, you could always do some high-level chaos against a Black Lotus Onyx Circle member and pull me into it. With the first rounds of games starting, there's high potential for it.

Everything else was pretty good. The B- ratings are easy fixes, though. A few more posts during the week and causing some chaos on Black Lotus could spin these around toward higher ratings.

Where you really did excel was the interesting content and your spellings, formatting, and all that jazz was very solid stuff.

---

Steel Lunapara
Prankster Platoon

Driving Force Rating: C
Written Content Rating: C+
RPer Interactions Rating: F
Activity Level Rating: D-
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: B

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
5

The low scores are mainly because you only posted once for the entire week and it was a bit of a short post considering what some other people's posts look like.

I'm actually totally fine with short posts, but then they've got to be more frequent if you want to score higher on Activity Level. That kind of goes hand in hand with Driving Force, as not much happened beyond Chance's injury, which in turn hasn't really influenced the storyline. I'd love to see Chance really get more into the story and feel like a real gear in the machine rather than just a cog off to the side.

As for interactions, there are definitely plenty of Platoon members you could work with. See if you can work with them, interact, get some good plot work going, and bump up the activity a bit. You'll definitely be looking at much higher scores then!

---

Death's Spook
Steel Scavengers

Driving Force Rating: B-
Written Content Rating: A-
RPer Interactions Rating: F
Activity Level Rating: B
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
15

You definitely get props for having a very interesting collection of characters to work with. Anthony's interesting take on chivalry is unexpected in a setting like this and from a Mimikyu. But you definitely have a knack for characters that break the mold and tell tropes and clichés to buzz off. Beyond that, your posts have a great style and flavor to them. The Lady's use of chess as an analogy was a nice touch, also.

Generally, everything was pretty good, though as with quite a few other people, interactions were low during Week 1. You kind of missed the boat on interacting with Julia, Morzone's character, which would have netted you a better rating for interactions. Maybe try to see if you can work something out with Morzone for that.

---

Chakramaster
Prankster Platoon

Driving Force Rating: D
Written Content Rating: B
RPer Interactions Rating: F
Activity Level Rating: D-
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: B+

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
4

Okay, please don't take this the wrong way. I'm thrilled you're giving RPing another chance, but this week... you only had one short post. It was interesting and you definitely have me wondering what's going on with Tina and that mania she's trying to keep suppressed, but there was nothing else going on at all for the week, so as a result, there wasn't much on the Driving Force or RPer Interactions either. It doesn't mean what you did was bad, but you've got to do more if you want to score higher.

Unfortunately, to be fair, I can't really award that much here considering there were others that put in a lot more continuous activity and had deeper descriptions. My best advice is follow their example. Look at some of the people who scored high like Tazz and Noblejanobii and try to bring yourself to accomplish that kind of activity.

---

Soups
The Gracidea Order

Driving Force Rating: D-
Written Content Rating: C
RPer Interactions Rating: F
Activity Level Rating: D
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: B+

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
3

Jax has a brief intro, but there just wasn't much beyond it and the reflection on the failed assassination. I'd definitely like to see him get out there and get much more screen time. Right now, he's kind of just another face in the crowd and hasn't really had the chance to do anything noteworthy that sets the stage for him to get involved and become a major player.

Definitely try to see if you can get more posts in with more details, more interactions, and more of an influence on the storyline. I can kind of understand things might be a bit slow in the beginning, but there's going to be opportunities ahead and if you'd like to score higher, jump on those and really make Jax shine as a character.

---

Morzone
Steel Scavengers

Driving Force Rating: B+
Written Content Rating: B+
RPer Interactions Rating: C
Activity Level Rating: B
Formatting, Spelling, and Grammar Rating: A+

TOTAL POINTS AWARDED:
11

I like your attempts to get RPer interaction, but unfortunately there hasn't been too much response on the receiving end. That's not really your fault, though, but for it to really rake points in for both players, it needs to have a response. If that seems tricky, you can always go Onyx Circle hunting and pull me into it. I count for interactions!

All the other content was generally pretty good. I think my only remark about it is it does seem pretty dialogue-heavy, but that's not too big of a deal. I like your characters, their style, and you have a good style of writing. Maybe a bump up in activity would help you score higher, but what you have is definitely good and I'd like to see more of that if you can!

---

TOTALS:


Gracidea Order: 41 points
The Nonexistent Tazz - 20
Noblejanobii - 18
Soups - 3


Prankster Platoon: 33 points
Velocity - 13
LKWayvern - 11
Chakramaster - 4
Steel Lunpara - 5


Steel Scavengers: 26 points
Death's Spook - 15
Morzone - 11

@Noblejanobii @The Nonexistent Tazz @Soups @Death's Spook @Morzone @Velocity @LKWayvern @Steel Lunpara @Chakramaster

[Morzone]

Theo Myrsky
Steel Scavengers
Safehouse, Boat on liadcrack river between Sadinal and Rhondul
Affected RP'ers: N/A

Clink. Clink. Clink.

Theo's screwdriver bounced monotonously off the concrete floor, Theo watching as he tapped it over and over again. He felt restless, terribly, horribly, mind-numbingly restless. He knew why, of course, but that didn't really help him at all. Julia hadn't left that long ago and would likely still be on the road toward the capital. So at least she wasn't fighting yet.

Groaning slightly as he stood up from his sitting position against the hanger's wall, the quilava looked at his plane. Massive, bulky looking with its guns looking like they'd been sunk into the frame in an odd way. Theo shook his head. He couldn't think about Julia or he'd go crazy. He had his own event to think about, even if it was several days away still. The boss and the other knights were counting on them.

He moved to the entrance of the hanger, a large, wide open door facing out into the flattened strip of dirt that was the runway. Standing near the edge of the opening, he stared out at the scenery. Thinking about the boss had reminded him of something Julia had told him not long after the mimikyu had contacted them. Even though he went by Anthony, they shouldn't call him that because the queen had some kind of special grudge against him. A somewhat redundant measure, as Theo only ever called him "boss" anyway. Still, he couldn't help but be curious about why his name held so much negative weight.

"Anthony huh..." He muttered, trying to imagine what the mimikyu could possibly have done to get so far on the wrong side of the queen.

"Yes, anthony." A voiced suddenly whispered into his ear.

Startled, Theo whipped around to find two brown hands with blue fingers reaching inches from his head and neck. The first wrapped around his neck, pinning him against the wall. The other covered his mouth and nose with a wet cloth. Theo struggled, tried to call out, couldn't make a sounds through the cloth. The infernape holding him back slammed him again against the wall, making stars appear in the quilava's vision. A stinging smell filled his nostrils and lungs as he drew breath. The world began to go hazy. He was fading out. In the monkey's grip Theo slumped and the infernape dropped him. Just before it went dark, theo watched as the Infernape tossed a Molotov at his plane. And Theo remembered nothing more.

---------

Shaking. Rocking. A wet, moldy smell. The light was dull as Theo slowly opened his eyes. He could tell immediately that he wasn't where he'd been. Or any place he recognized for that matter. Well, that wasn't entirely true, it was quite clear he was tied hand and foot in some kind of large bag. But thanks to a small tear in the fabric he could see outside, and that's where the recognition ended. It appeared to the be a small, metal transportation boat, the kind that you might see thieves use as a get away boat. The scenery over the edge of the boat was unknown to him.

The quilava struggled and attempted to escape the bag, but Thanks to the rope tying his paws together, and a gag over his mouth, Theo had no way of escaping the situation. And if he guessed right the infernape probably worked for the black lotus. Despairing, Theo slumped down and wondered what would be in store for him, where ever he was going.

(Julia's just waiting for things to start so It's only Theo for now. I got really tired after watching the all star game last night and had trouble keeping a coherent sound to my post so I gave up for the morning. Sorry for the lateness!)

[Neo Emolga]

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

---------


OOC: Strikeout means D.E.A.D. by the way. And yes, totally do not fall too much in love with your NPCs. It's Open Season for all. >:3

If you kill an NPC, mark it in bold the same way I have done. Same goes if you make an attack attempt on another player (and include them in mentions). Easy breezy, just be fair. This post, I'm going pretty mild and I'm just warming up to give you all a chance to respond and strike Black Lotus first, but next post, WATCH OUT!

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
Kaytoo the Toxapex
Iolande - Gastrodon
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
Xavier - Luxray
Kirrun - Claydol
Aria - Mismagius

THUNDERCRASH GANG

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

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, @LKWayvern
Recommended Listening: Max Payne 3 - Tears

It was time.

Blood Pit Arena was filled to the brim with spectators watching from the elevated protected cage to avoid having massive amounts of spectator causalities. The cage was strong and would absorb most of the mayhem that happened to stray away from the center of the arena. Meanwhile, it gave everyone a decent view of the brutality that was to unfold. With the scoreboard lit up with its massive list of entrants on display on the televisions throughout the stadium, the crowd was extremely feverish and the cameras were rolling with many excited and sadistic spectators just waiting for what promised to be the most savage, deadly, and brutal Blood Pit of all time. All across the world, Pokémon were watching on television, listening to the radio, steaming online, and tuning in however they could to the brutality that was about to unfold.

Never before in the history of Blood Pit were there this many entrants, already making good on promise that the 50th Tempest Festival would be the most brutal and monumental of all time. Because of size of roster, the "Pillager" version had to be put into play to avoid extreme and unclimatic opening death tolls. Stone walls, junk piles, shanties, and many other obstacles and obstructions had been put into place once the officials were informed there would be more than twenty entrants. Meanwhile, additional weapons, combat drugs, and even traps were hidden throughout the wasteland-themed arena pit. The death toll was guaranteed to be higher than ever before.

As per standard, competing teams were gathered beyond massive steel cage doors just behind the walls of the arena that would lead into the arena itself once they were opened with the event's start. In only minutes, they would all be opened at once and it would become a total savage free for all between teams, save for the independents that were allied with no one but themselves alone.

As Phoebe rallied her squad, she was more than ready to kill, kill, and kill until the round was done and she and whoever was left on her squad prevailed. No Black Lotus operative ever had to deal with this level of competition before, but she wasn't intimidated by it. She and her team were deadly and were willing to stop at nothing to ensure Black Lotus would prevail in every possible round.

"Remember your training," Phoebe told her squad, knowing this was more about preparation and not the myth that many called luck, "and we'll all get through this just fine."

Her squad members nodded and grinned, more than ready to give the crowds something to celebrate. The arena sand was thirsty for blood, and Black Lotus had every intention to quench it.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" the announcer voice boomed throughout the stadium. "I'M SURE YOU KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS!"

The stands erupted into a wild ecstasy of cheers, screaming, and feverish whistling. The final countdown was on, and behind all the arena cage doors, weapons were loaded, hearts were racing, and blood was pumping.

"WE PROMISED YOU THE MOST SAVAGE BLOOD PIT ARENA MATCH EVER, AND HERE IT IS!" the announcer shouted with excitement, causing the anticipation to spread like wildfire as the cheers got louder. "WE PROMISED YOU COMBAT. WE PROMISED YOU EXCITEMENT. AND WE PROMISED YOU BLOOD. AND NOW...

LET

THERE

BE

BLOOD!!!

The cage doors fell. The opening siren was wailing. And all hope for ethics and morality in this place of combat and death was snuffed out like a candle instantly crushed in a hydraulic press.

Immediately, Phoebe the Charizard and her team charged into action through the doors and stepped onto the wasteland sand, knowing they had a lot of targets to take down. While Phoebe took flight with her draconic wings and protected her squad from above, her team kept a ground-based tactical defensive position that relied on close teamwork to stay alive and strike down any targets that were sighted.

Already, gunfire was lashing out and the engagements were fierce. A sudden inferno erupted in a building shell a far distance away from the flying fire lizard, and Phoebe had witnessed Decca the Torracat ambushing Bax the Togedemaru from her vantage point. Though Bax had tried to retaliate, he was too late and Decca had no problem smothering the hedgehog Pokémon with a constant Flamethrower assault that incinerated Bax alive.

Bax the Togedemaru (Independent) has been eliminated.

Already, the crowd was growing wild as combat and fatal engagements were taking place in just about every direction. Phoebe aimed her Death Spitter rocket launcher at Decca, but she knew the chances of it hitting the Torracat was unlikely. She had nothing to lose in her attempt, but she took the lack of Decca's name being crossed off that she hadn't been killed after the rocket struck the inside of the building shell.

To the side, she noticed Sentinel Corporation's squad was making their way toward her squad's position. If the two met up, it would be a serious slaughter between both sides and Phoebe didn't want to have half her team dead when there were so many other competitors still alive and fresh to the fight.

"Heads up, incoming from the left at four o' clock, fifty vilmarks distance" Phoebe informed her team via her headset radio. "I'll try to draw their fire and lay down suppressing reprisal, but I need two flankers to strike from the right side. Vekker and Unloc, you're up."

"Heh, copy that, boss," Vekker sneered.

"I'm all over that," Unlock agreed.

Phoebe knew if this worked according to plan, everyone on the Sentinel Corporation team would be wiped out and it would knock off a good chunk of the competition. But it wasn't going to be easy...

---

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
Recommended Listening: The Book of Eli - The Convoy

Jucden had been waiting for this day for ages. No one had granted his wish more than Black Lotus when it came to wanting to blow up as many Pokémon as possible. And today the frenzied Ratticate was like a rich kid on Christmas morning about to be royally spoiled to death.

The slum sector that had been zoned off for Dread Metal was ready, and a larger than normal sector had been prepared due to the larger number of entrants and the heftier vehicles that were entering. Some of the largest, heaviest, and most ruthless vehicles ever prepared were ready to unleash carnage. After they had been put into their starting positions, all that was left was to wait for the opening horn that would be played throughout the slum sector on expendable speakers. Meanwhile, cameras scattered throughout the slums would capture the live carnage and mayhem for everyone watching.

"Let's git ta killin' already!" Jaze complained, slamming his hands on the steering rod in his disgruntled impatience. "I ain't growin' any yunger 'ere!"

"AHHHH HA HA HA, any moment now!" Jucden laughed with glee as he jumped up and down with his grenade launcher. "YES YES YES YES YES!"

"ARE ALL YOU MAGGOTS READY!?" the announcer shouted, his voice carrying throughout the slums. "IF YOU'RE NOT, GET PISSED ON, KAKÓS! BE READY TO FLY OR BE READY TO DIE!!!"

YOUR

DAYS

END

HERE!!!

The starting horn had blared loudly after the announcer's voice had ripped through the streets, and the roars of many raging engines had ravaged the silence of the slums. Almost immediately, the largest and most deadly junkyard hulks and assault vehicles had begun their onslaught and ripped and tore their way through the slums, smashing down shanties and blasting their way through the rickety houses and marketplaces. The arena was larger than before, and the competition this year was mindlessly ferocious.

Jucden's eyes were lit up in feverish, blood-drunken excitement as dark adrenaline raged through his body. Both of them were lit up with an excited mania, just itching to slaughter more than anyone has ever done before in a Dread Metal competition. Everyone else was nothing more than prey in his feverish vehicular madness.

"HURRY!" Jucden shouted, jumping up and down from the back of the Ripfire. "GET IN THERE BEFORE EVERYONE'S DEAD ALREADY!!!"

The Ripfire tore its way through several shanties, throwing wood, metal, and stone pieces in all directions as the raging truck mercilessly plowed its way through the slums. Up ahead, it spotted the Lockdown, and Jucden's eyes lit up with murderous frenzy as he readied his grenade launcher.

"HAVE A NICE DAY!!" Jucden laughed, taking aim and launching a barrage of grenades at the Lockdown.

Gile opened fire in retaliation using the mounted Jozar-X Machine Gun, trying to lay as much punishment on the Ripfire as possible. Jucden quickly took cover in the armored truck, just as one of his launched grenades flew into Rudy's horrified face and instantly turned the whole upper half of his body into bloody paste that was thrown about in all directions. Meanwhile, the entire cabin of the pickup truck was decimated into pieces, leaving Gile the Sandslash completely stranded without a driver or a functioning vehicle.

Rudy the Rampardos (Independent) has been eliminated.

"RUDY!!" Gile shouted at his deceased comrade before gritting his teeth in anger and turning back to Jucden, "I'll murder you, you piss-drinking kakó!"

More gunfire was laid down on the Ripfire, but most of it had only struck off the armor and did minimal damage. Meanwhile, Jucden had the stranded Sandslash in his sights, ready to make him nothing more than a pasty aftermath of yet another brutal Dread Metal competition.

[LKWayvern]

Laura the Umbreon
Prankster Platoon
Blood Pit Arena, Lytala City
Affected RPers:

Laura could feel it. Adrenaline pounding through her veins. Her limbs were trembling. She allowed her mouth to drop open so she could get just a bit more oxygen into her lungs. When she breathed in through her nose, all she could smell was sweat and tension.

Her ears flattened and tail fluffed up as the opening siren screamed its message, the first lightning-strike of a long awaited storm. And this storm was going to refuse to pass quietly.

Her teammates were racing into the arena before she was. Xavier grabbed at her with his tail, sweeping her along so she didn’t get left behind.

“Formation, now!” Xavier hissed, leaping to the front of the group. Aria fell into place behind him, and Kirrun took up position behind the umbreon. Laura tried to do her best to breathe, and calm her nerves, as the group began advancing through the corridors.

A performance. This was all it was. A live performance. All she had to do was put on an excellent show. Perhaps it was a bit bloodier than usual, but she was no stranger to violence.

She could hear Aria enchanting her allies with a Lucky Chant. It was a whisper compared to the blood pumping in Laura’s ears.

She saw the golden light illuminating the corridors ahead as Xavier used the x-ray vision his species was fabled for. He raised up his tail. A signal.

Silence.

Three eyes gazed attentively at the Gleam Eyes Pokemon.

The tail moved again, beckoning Laura forwards. She approached, and Xavier tapped at the Blaze Jewel with a paw, eyes shifting to silver as he used its mysterious power.

‘Thundercrash ahead. A couple bends away.’

Laura nervously glanced down the corridors.

‘Kirrun, Teleport. Cut them off. Aria, Laura, distract them from behind. Then… do as you see fit.’

Without a second to spare, Kirrun was gone. The feline, the vulpine, and the ghost moved swiftly and silently. Laura noticed Aria vanish through a wall.

Laura perked up her ears, she could hear them.

“Kill him!!”

“Don’ hafta tell me twice!”

“Ha, send the sorry solicc back to--”

There was an almighty clamor as Kirrun’s Ancient Power caused boulders to tear themselves up out of the ashen grey walls and floor, hurling themselves at the gang members as if they had a life of their own, just as Laura and Xavier came into view of them.

Laura witnessed a sizable rocks collide with a swellow’s wing with a sickening CRACK, and the bird plummeted to the ground. That brought a flutter of excitement to her heart, but the majority of the gang seemed to escape relatively unscathed, as she saw an excadrill burrow underground at unbelievable speed, an alakazam telekinetically hurl boulders back, a hydreigon merely vaporize the boulders with Focus Blast as though they were nothi--

There! That hydreigon! Perfect target! Blue and yellow illuminated her face as she conjured a wisp of Confuse Ray. Silver swam through her vision as she activated the Blaze Jewel.

‘Aria, that hydreigon!’ she commanded.

The spectre understood.

She materialized from out of the wall, a singly Magical Leaf whizzing from her outstretched tendrils to neatly nick the hydreigon’s main neck and dissipate upon hitting the wall. The hydreigon turned to Aria, rage evident in his eyes. Not even bothering with banter, he spread his wings and lunged towards her… Only to smack into the wall when Laura’s Confuse Ray hit home in the back of his neck.

“WRAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!! HIKA YOU KAKO, you’re not getting away now!” He snarled, slobber spraying out his jaw as he ripped into the wall with a fearsome Dragon Rage. Cracks appeared in a starburst patter around where he struck.

Laura glanced about, frantically looking for her next foe. Kirrun and the alakazam-- Had his name been Boris? Doris? Probably not the latter, but she hadn’t been paying attention-- they were in a telekinetic free-for-all with each other, hurling boulders, firing guns, snatching bullets. It was really a contest of who could keep ahold of which weapons the longest at some points.

Xavier. He was doing fine. Laura smiled. He was poised over the downed swellow, trapped beneath a boulder with a broken wing, fangs out and sparking--

Ryke the Swellow(Thundercrash Gang) has been eliminated.

Muzzle speckled slightly with blood, Xavier pounced onto his next victim. He immediately pounced upon the sylveon.

Laura glanced about, looking for where she could fit in. Aria had left the hydreigon to decimating the wall, and was trading ranged attacks with the Alolan Raichu. She swore, that thing was only here to show off how flamboyant its dodges could be.

Laura looked back to the fight between-- between VORIS(THAT’S his name!) and Kirrun. She tapped into the power of the jewel, Teleporting directly behind Voris, and then blasting a close range Dark Pulse.

He hissed in agony. “You kako--”

“What’s that thing Psychics always say in a fight? You were broadcasting those moves from a mile awaYEEEEEEEEEEAGCK!”

Their screams of pain blended-- Voris’ as Kirrun’s bullet struck his kneecap, and Laura’s as the watchog pounced on her from behind with a super fang, aiming for a chink in her light armor near her neck, ripping a hole through her scarf. She immediately felt that her excitement drained, replaced with wooziness and fear.

“Stop gloatin’, ya damn hellion!” the weasel hissed in her ear.

Laura groaned, trying to roll over. Partially so she could slam the watchog into the ground. Partially because she didn’t want to trust her legs at the moment. “G-geROFF!” Her rings lit up, a blinding flash. It still wasn’t enough.

She reached for the power that her Blaze Jewel would provide her with, once more. Not thinking entirely coherently, she tried Teleporting away.

As the watchog was still holding her so tightly, she couldn’t leave him behind. She reappeared fifteen feet or so from the fighting, and staggered to the wall before suddenly gagging as the watchog yanked at her scarf, choking her.

What to do-- what to do-- what to--

Laura launched herself at the wall, weak, but managing to hit the watchog’s head just right. Just enough to stun.

She convulsed, reared up, unsheathed the knives in her forelegs and ripped through the fabric of the scarf. The split halves fluttered free. With nothing to hold onto the watchog fell backwards.

Laura twisted around, landing on the ground again and opening her mouth, fangs popping out and rotating, twin jets of Toxic rocketing out from them and into the watchog’s eyes. It screamed. It wasn’t enough. She stabbed it with her knives-- in the eye, the mouth, the throat. Shut up. Shut up. Stop SCREAMING.

It stopped.

Vink the Watchog(Thundercrash Gang) is eliminated.

Laura leaned against the wall. What next…? Oh! Oh, yes. Moonlight. Heal herself.

Moonlight didn’t heal her completely. Sped up the clotting. But more importantly, stopped the pain.

She looked back towards the fight. What was happening now?

There was Kirrun’s gun to Voris’ head. Both the alakazam’s kneecaps were bleeding. He was on the ground in pain.

Blam.

Voris the Alakazam(Thundercrash Gang) has been eliminated.

Aria and the Alolan Raichu were still dueling.

The hydreigon was zooming down the corridor in the other way.

And Xavier… he was doing well. The sylveon was on the ground, paralyzed, he was about too--

No!

The excadrill, she’d forgot the excadrill! It rocketed up from the earth, slamming into Xavier with a painful-looking headbutt, launching him off the sylveon. It didn’t look good. There was blood, and it looked like Xavier’s. The excadrill loomed over him.

Laura didn’t remember deciding to move but she was spraying Toxic at the excadrill-- it wasn’t affecting him, why wasn’t it affecting him!?

The sylveon tackled her and she was gasping for breath.

“Pampered joke. Better stay off your feet, dearie, you’re looking a little winded,” the vulpine crooned.

And then it was on her mouth. Invading her mouth. His fangs were burrowed in her lips and she could feel her energy going, she couldn’t, it can’t be like this can’t can’t NO

Toxic. Straight from her fangs into his mouth.

He leaned back, choking on the poison. She hurled him off of her with Psychic, and rolled back onto her legs, and-- and--

She’s swaying the world’s swaying she can’t-- can’t--

Oh no Xavier, that looks bad

Psybeam nails excadrill in the back on its head.

Aria’s all around her, and is holding her up with the mismagius’ tendrils. She’s got me. She’s got me.

Kirrun’s slammed the excadrill against a wall with Psychic. Repeatedly. There’s blood, smeared on the wall, all dripping down.

Blood.

Wasn’t there blood somewhere else too?

“We gotta get Xay to’n ‘mergency room!” Laura said. Her voice sounded sing-song to her.

Kirrun’s Ancientpower again. Dragging boulders out of the wall that hydreigon damaged, dumping them on the excadrill, the fleeing sylveon. Laura can’t see the hydreigon or the alolan raichu. There's a hole in the wall now. They go through there.

They’re running, it’s okay. Aria’s got Laura, and Kirrun’s got Xavier. They did good. She thought they did good. They killed some enemies. And yeah everything’s dizzy and swaying and feels like her head’s so cloudy and there’s much blood on Xavier’s face and chest but he’s alive right?

They’re all alive.

Xavier wasn’t waking up, but he was still breathing. Laura tried using the Blaze Jewel to heal him with Heal Pulse. It was like her Moonlight-- not really real healing, starting the clotting and stopping the pain. Aria had a few berries.

Xavier opened his cloudy green eyes.

“I… I can’t see…” he groaned.