[RP] Spiritwater – Tides of Witchcraft

[Neo Emolga]

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

After getting instructions from Jimmy on how to use the teleportation feature and that the underground base had what they needed in terms of utilities, Cassandra decided to give it a try. For now, the urgent care center reconstruction would have to wait, but for the time being, it was almost better for them to resolve the issue of Agatha and her witches before trying to take on restoring everyone back to normal. As Cassandra knew, afflicting people with curses was much faster and easier than curing them, especially if the incident needed a Nox Purge. On top of that, they were drastically outnumbered, and it meant there was no way they could keep up with the demand.

Clutching the star piece in hand, Cassandra focused her attention on teleporting to the base, though she didn’t know exactly where it was or what it looked like. And then as Jimmy warned, she was suddenly whisked away in a brief flash of light and found herself in a waiting room sort of setup that was similar to a doctor’s office, but left with the feeling like she had been flung furiously into a dream and it left her feeling dizzy, just shortly after Jarena and Violet had been carried over to the base as well.

“I think I might be sick…” Jarena replied, feeling really dizzy. “Oof, that’s a trip…”

“Yeah, it has that riding a roller-coaster with your eyes closed sort of feeling…” Cassandra nodded, although the disorientation was already fading.

Cassandra had looked around, not sure where she was or just how far underground they were, but it at least felt safe and secluded with its large metal doors. Like it was the one place where despite Agatha and all her powers, she would be extremely unlikely to ever find this hidden, secluded place. And on top of that, she had a feeling she may never know it existed in the first place even once all was said and done.

<Hey, you’re finally here! Hang on just a little sec, I’ll get the door.>

Shortly after, the two large metal doors behind the three of them had unlocked with a clicking sound, and then both of them opened. Curious and amazed, the three Ladies entered into the large circular room filled with rows of computer screens and consoles, although the room was empty for the moment, save for Jirachi who was securely kept behind a glass barrier.

“Hey, long time no see!” Cassandra greeted Jirachi as she stepped into the room. “Hope you’ve been keeping out of trouble!”

“Kinda!” Jirachi laughed. “Sorta? Nah, I’ve been good, I promise! Also, nice costumes! They’re cute! Yeah, we’ve been using this as our home away from home. You can too, if you’d like!”

“Might have to take you up on that offer,” Violet replied with a nod as she crossed her arms. “Agatha’s groupies attacked Heahea and that Giratina messed up the urgent care center. The on-call room was where we were staying.”

“Ugh, yeah, I saw all of that…” Jirachi sighed, slouching a bit as he recalled the incident. “But we can rebuild it! We have the technology! Ha ha, I’ve been wanting to say that for a while now!”

Cassandra couldn’t help but chuckle a bit, but she nodded, thankful that it wouldn’t have to be rebuilt the traditional way. However, it was all in a matter of the timing, now.

“That would be great, but we might need to take a raincheck on that,” Cassandra replied. “At least until it’s safe and we can ensure it won’t be attacked like that again. As Jimmy told us already, we’re going to do our best to ensure no one finds out you’re here. So our plans are to keep the wishes mild, only requesting what we really need and to make sure it doesn’t involve anything too outlandish.”

“Of course!” Jirachi smiled cheerfully. “And I know just the thing!”

“I’m listening…” Jarena replied with a very curious smile.

Cassandra was curious as well, and from the way she saw things, Jirachi was harmless and simply a jovial ally that could still be relied upon even if his methods weren’t serious or quite as traditional. While the spirited and optimistic wishmaker Pokémon may not quite be Jon’s style and method of doing things, she was confident it wouldn’t be a problem. She did recall that Jon was very, very reluctant to even try becoming a Pokémon, and what she understood was Jon was not the kind of person to take chancy risks or let anything ride on a gamble, seeing pessimism as more of a precaution. She took him for something that was very meticulous about very set strategies, planning, and only improvising where needed.

“Make your wishes look like spells!” Jirachi laughed. “Those witches will be so confused and they’ll think you know magic they’ve never heard of! Just mentally picture what you’d like and say a few funny words of gibberish and stuff! Oh, and spell ‘Lucky’ on the palm of your hand to make it look like spellcasting! I’ll take that as my cue!”

“Pfftt!!” Jarena laughed, giggling at the impish nature of Jirachi’s wish-making strategy. “That’s too funny. And no reagent cost either.”

“Nope!” Jirachi winked. “It’s going to drive them craaaaazy! Now, while I’ve gotten better at granting wishes, it still kinda makes me a little sleepy and big wishes knock me out like taking Benadryl pills. But I’ll let you know if I’m hitting my limit.”

It was giving Cassandra some ideas. With Jirachi’s help, she felt that element of unpredictability was invaluable and would give them precisely what they needed to disrupt Agatha’s plans. She wasn’t sure if it would make Agatha delve into her books again to see what she was missing, but anything that delayed her or caused confusion among her and her followers would make it difficult for her to respond accordingly. That lack understanding and being able to improvise would be the edge they needed, especially to make up for Agatha having far more power in terms of the number of witches they had on their side.

“Sounds good, though for now, we just need a place to sleep for the night,” Cassandra told him with a friendly smile.

“Oh, that’s easy!” Jirachi replied with a smirk and a casual shrug. “You’ll find the living area connected to the other room you were in before. Everything you might need is there! I recommend the ice cream sandwiches, they’re delicious!”

“And here we brought salads with us!” Jarena replied with a goofy look on her face. “We look so old school.”

Come tomorrow morning, Cassandra figured the first thing they’d do after waking up was return to the surface. Following that, she was thinking they might try reusing their Pokémon forms. The way she saw it, Agatha and her followers would not do well against a mysterious Eevee with unexplainable powers. But before she thought about it too much, she decided she would talk it out further with Jarena and Violet in the morning.

Once Cassandra, Jarena, and Violet had eaten their salads for dinner and prepared beds for themselves, Cassandra had noticed she had gotten a message from Jon. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but she opened it and began reading, and it looked like he had written quite a lot.

Hey, it’s Jon.

I didn’t get a chance to clear things up, and just wanted to apologize about before. Latios overheard you guys talking on your way to see Jimmy, and made sure I knew about it, if you know what I mean. He takes after me…

Don’t think for a second I don’t trust the three of you, because I don’t trust Jirachi after what happened back then. The difference between what you three did four years ago, and what Jirachi did, is that the three of you have given me more than enough reason to trust you. You followed your end of the deal to the letter when I offered to vouch for you to the League, and I know the reason you never took Alyssa and I up on our offer to help after Wishmaker was so we wouldn’t get caught up as collateral. Cass came to my aid at a moment's notice, with not much intel to go on, and the three of you kept a secret that could have ruined my life had it come to light. Your actions were proof enough that you weren’t the same people you were before Wishmaker.

I haven’t seen Jirachi or Jimmy for four years, and had no reason to think anything was different but Jimmy’s word, and honestly I wanted to believe that things had changed and I could trust them now. But what happened tonight, the fact he didn’t mention Jirachi when I brought up the confidentiality until after we had both shared sensitive information, well, I realized I couldn’t take Jimmy just at his word. I brought up what happened four years ago, because based on what had just happened, I thought relying on Jirachi came with the same risks that it did back on Wishmaker, and believed that people deserved to know that before making that decision. I couldn’t have it on my conscience if I said nothing, and something happened because of it. Really, I want to be able to trust Jimmy and Jirachi, but their actions need to speak that.

This isn’t some long winded way of trying to get you guys to join Eon Squad. The three of you would be a major help, but I know that you three have earned my trust, and understand your talents and where you best fit into this whole mess we have found ourselves in better than I ever could. If working with Jimmy and Jirachi is how you think you can make the biggest difference, or something else entirely, I completely understand and would rather you do that. If there is anything you reasonably need from myself or Eon Squad, say the word, and we will be in touch as well, to get those protection charms sorted before we give Agatha hell.

Watch yourselves out there.
Jon.’

Cassandra nodded, getting a better idea of where Jon was coming from. She knew it might be difficult to remediate things between Jon and Jimmy, but she felt it wasn’t necessary for them to be chummy, just as long as they understood they were on the same side and that’s was really counted.

As it started to get a bit late and Jarena and Violet had fallen asleep after a long and exhausting day, she decided to write a response.

“Hey Jon,

I think what happened tonight was unfortunate. As much as I’d like for us all to have a do-over of what I think was a bad misunderstanding and misinterpretation and handle it the right way, the most we can do is just move on.

We had just connected with Jirachi and you can take my word for it, I truly feel he’s clean and knows what he’s doing and I can vouch for him. Jimmy and his methods probably don’t align well with what you have in mind as the meticulous strategist, but it’s fine, we’re all on the same side here aiming for the same goal. We all saw what Agatha and her cronies are capable of. Rather than taking stabs at our differences from our methods to what we think works best, let’s just target what we’re all here to do. Take her and her damn posse out. No half measures, as you like to say.

Jirachi has some interesting ideas that give us a lot of flexibility, but I get that you haven’t warmed up to that kind of proposition given what it means entrusting Jirachi with. I don’t want to go too into detail as what we have is only part of a plan and it’s too late tonight to revisit it. I’ll admit it’s not flawless and it may end up dead in the water, though I can honestly say I think it’s worth a try and good precautions and preparation were met to ensure any possible consequences can be dealt with. And four years ago, Jirachi also did things for us that no one else could do and they were things he didn’t stand to gain anything from personally. To me, that’s what friends do.

At the same time, I know Eon Squad is in good hands, though earlier there was another incident between Abbee and I concerning Victini. Thankfully we resolved it and I told Victini he needed to let go of me, but what that whole misunderstanding looked like is still fresh in our minds. So my thoughts are it might be too soon for Triad and Eon Squad to have a joint operation, but if you need us, we’ll be there to help however we can. We’re all in this together, that’s what counts.

All the best, Jon.
Cass”

With it getting later and Cassandra’s eyelids feeling heavy, she decided to turn her phone off, put it aside, and close her eyes to sleep. Ever since that Nox Purge spell she had performed for Jarena, her mind and body had been craving this kind of rest…