OOC: Starting the next day.

AGATHA
Thrifty Megamart, Akala
Affected RPers: N/A

As if driven by some dark energy, Agatha had little sleep during the night, but still seemed animated and showed no signs of wearing down as she had watched and brooded over the Netherclysm spell slowly progressing. The disfigured witch Igor had soon joined her, grinning at the sight. All the while, the dark vortex continued to grow as it hovered above the table, having doubled in size.

“What are you so happy about?” Agatha asked him with a scowl.

“It’s all going to plan, isn’t it…” Igor smiled at her. “By tomorrow night, nothing will stop us. Soon…”

“Not soon enough!” Agatha shouted back at him. “When it has completed, only then should you be smiling.”

“Heh heh, worried it won’t finish?” Igor asked her, finding it somewhat amusing. “They know nothing about it. You would do well to learn patience.”

“Don’t lecture me…” Agatha snarled at him as a warning. “I’m not about to let my guard down for them to discover some weakness in our plan. They’ve brought regional champions here with that very intention and they’ve gathered many elite trainers to interrupt our work here. And on top of all that, we’ve already confirmed there are Shadowcraft practitioners on this island that are working against us rather than with us.”

Igor nodded, though he still felt Agatha had all the reason to be optimistic at the current advantage they had in the situation. In less than 48 hours, the power they would have would allow them to become unstoppable. And all they needed to do was defend the Megamart long enough for that to happen.

“There’s a flaw somewhere…” Agatha told him. “I feel it. I want watchers in the shadows, because the attack upon Heahea wasn’t enough. We need something more.”

Igor had recalled that Nicodemus and Aaron had some plan, but he didn’t know all the details.

…

Off in the makeshift apothecary, which had been cleaned of Boris’s remains with the corpse of his Morpeko removed, Aaron had met with Nicodemus. Reluctantly, Nicodemus had gathered the reagents needed for Endkath, a spell even he had his doubts about. However, Aaron looked upon the assembly of components like a child anticipating opening Christmas presents.

“I see you haven’t given this any second thoughts,” Nicodemus told the young witch as he looked upon his dark keenness.

“Never,” Aaron grinned. “Once it happens…”

“I want you to uphold your part of the bargain as well,” Nicodemus reminded him. “Hunt down that damn Latios and Latias. I don’t care if you kill them, but we need the blood of both of them to amplify the Netherclysm’s speed. So make sure there is enough of their corpses left for us to be able to harvest it.”

Aaron just chuckled, looking back to Nicodemus with confidence.

“Should be simple once I have Endkath,” he smirked.

“Keep in mind you’ll likely need to murder Jon Drake, his followers, and I anticipate you’ll need to kill Willow as well,” Nicodemus advised him. “You would do well to ensure you know your enemies before you engage them.”

“Willow?” Aaron asked curiously, knowing she was one of their own. “You don’t think she’d allow us to have Latias’s blood?”

“No,” Nicodemus replied in a cold tone of voice. “In fact I already have my suspicions she has already acted against us. Boris was killed with a flesh disintegration spell that was not the work of Latias, although she had a part in the act in slaughtering my apprentice’s Morpeko. Meanwhile, Willow wasn’t in her chambers last night and she’s nowhere to be found now.”

“Does Agatha know?” Aaron asked curiously.

“Not yet, but she doesn’t know about us using Endkath either,” Nicodemus told him. “That’s why I need you to make good use of this. The only thing I need is the bodies of Latios and Latias intact so that I can draw their blood. Who you kill and what you destroy is completely up to your own discretion, but I recommend not showing them any mercy.”

To Aaron, it was like getting an invitation to the best party ever, and all he had to do was just fulfill one simple request. It even allowed him to be creative…

“Now then, enough waiting…” Nicodemus continued, preparing the components. “Let us begin…”


Willow Scalera
Eon Villa, Akala
Affected RPers: @Desolate Divine (Jon/Latios)

After spending an almost restless night at the Pokémon Center, Willow had gotten up with the dawn, using the little available light to make her way toward the Eon Villa that she had been at just last night. Though she was invisible, Latias was still nearby, keeping watch for any witches or ghost Pokémon that might be lying in ambush. With her help, she was able to keep out of sight of several of the sentries that were around.

In the meantime, Willow couldn’t help but look at the skies, never allowing the sun to show itself as the dark gray and murky violet clouds blotted it out of the sky. As a result, every day started gloomy and barely provided sunlight. But before long, she had arrived at the Eon Villa, still remembering what Brianna told her. She had some doubts, but she was prepared with a Plan B in mind in case she needed to escape.

All the while, she had nothing on her that suggested to anyone she was a witch, but she knew once she came face to face with Jon, she’d have to reveal the truth. She knew it could cost her everything, but she was hoping she could get past his doubts with some honesty, with Latias by her side to reach out to her brother that was also Jon’s entrusted Pokémon partner, and reminding herself that she needed allies now at this critical time. But if it didn’t work, she couldn’t blame herself for not trying.

Reluctantly, she had approached the front doors. When she pressed the doorbell, she knew there was no turning back now, but she knew for her sake, Latias’s sake, and the sake of quite possibly every living being, she could not return to Agatha. She needed to be stopped.

“Hello?” She called out, not sure if there was anyone inside awake at this hour. “Is anyone there!? I need to-!”

But she stopped herself from revealing too much, suddenly checking behind her shoulder to make sure nothing was around her. After all, just yesterday she had come face to face with one of Agatha’s Gengars. While nothing behind her in the tropical bushes and trees seemed to imply a stalker, she knew she couldn’t be too careful.

“I need help!” Willow pleaded, keeping it brief and obscure to prevent suspicion from anyone watching.

Latias had been watching from the skies, hovering by the rooftop while cloaked in her invisibility. While she didn’t detect any phantasmal watchers, there were still many shadows in the darkness, and she knew psychic Pokémon like herself could not mentally gaze into the darkest and most shadowy of places. All it took was one Sableye in an opportune place and it could compromise everything.

[color=red]<Latios, brother, if you can hear me and you’re there… that young trainer by the door is my trainer. Jon may not know her or trust her, but she risked her life to protect me. Numerous times.

There’s things she knows that Jon needs to know as well…>

All the while, Willow was hoping whatever had transpired last night was forgotten, at least for the most part. In the meantime, she only knew a few things about Jon and she had yet to see the master Pokémon trainer face to face. Taking a deep breath, she kept in mind that she needed to be open and not attempt to advise Jon on how to deal with this situation, as she figured he would have his own plans. Willow didn’t know if those plans might involve her, but even if all she did was give him the details as to what Agatha was truly trying to accomplish and what was at stake, it was already a major step in the right direction.


Triad (The Diamond Ladies)
Dimensional Research Center (Underground Base)
Affected RPers: @Chakramaster @Shruikan

“Sleep well?” Cassandra asked.

“Could have used some nice fluffy pajamas,” Jarena shrugged with a silly smile. “I’m sure Jirachi would have happily provided those. This Beautifly costume was totally not meant to be slept in, although wearing it while sleeping gave me a really fascinating dream!”

“I couldn’t even turn over,” Violet replied as she brewed a cup of coffee for herself. “Whose idea was this anyway?”

“I don’t want to wear out Jirachi to any degree if we don’t need to,” Cassandra shrugged. “But yeah, I thought these would have been okay to sleep in, but not quite. The wings are… well, like you said. They don’t work out in bed.”

“Next time go as Whimsicott, Cinccino, and Dubwool?” Jarena asked with a curious smile.

Violet just shot Jarena “that look” of suspicion before turning back to Cassandra. Right about now, she was looking for any reason to change into something else, although they didn’t have much of a wardrobe to work with.

In the meantime, they had gathered in the kitchen and while Cassandra set the table for breakfast, Jarena started making pancakes and waffles for everyone. While she may have been a Buneary for a handful of years, she hadn’t forgotten how to make great breakfast food. All the while, Violet was jotting down notes and

“Once Jimmy and Luneth wake up and we’ve all had breakfast, we’ll go over the plan,” Violet told the two of them. “We need to get in close to the Megamart, but we can’t risk a full-on assault. For now, get intel on what they’re doing in there. Though I haven’t dismissed the possibility there could be nothing going on over there at all.”

“We’ll go as Pokémon just in case,” Jarena smiled, liking that idea as she finished a few pancakes and added them to a stack. “Changing back to human may be tricky with no nuggets nearby, but maybe Jirachi can help us with that, though we’d need some new clothes, too. Teleporting a few of those should be easy enough. Once we’ve made it back, of course.”

“Remember, we’re scouting for now,” Violet agreed, reminding Jarena not to get too carried away. “Jon’s crew and the League will want to know what’s going on there if we find something. We survey the area, probe inside if we can do it safely without being detected, identify key targets, and head back. Don’t get tempted to raise hell.”

“I knooowww…” Jarena rolled her eyes, feeling she could manage that easily. “Though we should take a few of our Pokémon with us. You know, many hands make light work, right?”

“We have something Jon and the others don’t have,” Cassandra agreed. “Four years of experience knowing how to behave and blend in with other Pokémon, but with the capability of understanding human technology in addition to knowing how to deal with Shadowcraft. Just whatever you do, don’t send in your Pokémon alone. You should still lead them because they don’t know a hex sigil booby trap like you would. But they can at least watch your back while you work.”

For now, Cassandra figured Jimmy and Luneth might have their own ideas on what they could do for this scouting mission. She had a feeling Jimmy might not be too keen on working with Jon, but she still felt everyone would benefit from having the intel on Agatha’s operations. It would allow them to come up with a plan of attack and make sure they strike in the right places where Agatha’s operation had a weakness.

But they would definitely need to make it clear they would need to be careful. Very, very careful…