[WAR] Role Play: Terminus

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Yarvick "The Raticate" Xelsez
Team Aqua
Slateport Aquatics Museum, Slateport, Hoenn
Affected RPers: Theoretical

Yarvick got greeted with a blast of cool air as he walked through those automatic sliding doors. He was greeted with at least two people in line, though they passed through quickly. Yarvick could see almost a quarter of the museum itself from where he stood alone. This place was tiny for all of its many exhibits on saltwater and freshwater science. It was a no-brainer why this place was so small. If it wasn't for that meteorite and a 5-dollar fee to get in, this place would have become a parking lot before Yarvick was born.

"Hello, welcome to the Slateport Aquatic and Naval Museum!" The attendant said, cheerily, turning away from a computer she was working at. Her smile faded a little upon seeing Yarvick, though. He looked like a homeless man. She was completely oblivious to the Porygon-Z slipping from Yarvick's shirt, under her desk, and into her computer.

"Hello to you to, madam." Yarvick answered, handing her the 5 dollars-a little torn and a little dirty, just like how he looked.

"Thank you." She said, the smile completely gone as she took the money. She didn't voice it, but it was clear she wasn't happy with taking the money from a 'homeless man.' Oh, how little did she know. She went back to her computer, not knowing that, through it, Atlas had already gotten into the security system. Or was about to. It didn't matter when, so much that he did. Once inside, Atlas would make sure that everything that was recorded since his entry would be deleted, and anything after that unrecorded by default-in other words, the cameras were now useless, and they wouldn't realize it until after Yarvick had left.

Yarvick immediately walked up to the second floor-he glanced at everyone else in the room and found almost nothing of importance whatsoever. The guards were likely clustered upstairs, where the important naval artifacts and the meteorite were-and there was no point wasting time.

"Good day, Mr. Haputenal and Mr. Ralles," Said someone from upstairs. Yarvick wouldn't have cared at all if the voice didn't follow up: "I need to take in some of the exhibit items for daily inspection, so could you make sure no one enters the exhibit in the meantime? I'll return them as soon as possible because of our crowd today."

Yarvick had cleared one row of steps to the second floor when he saw the scene: among the crowd (and boy was there ever a crowd today) was a curator with a cart, a man that was about Yarvick's height and stature, not too far from the Meteorite. He could only see his back and right side, and certainly didn't see him speak, but Yarvick could tell that he was the speaker going off of appearance. Nobody was yappy in a museum, after all. Yarvick focused in on him and the two guards nearby-Navymen guards today, it seemed.

"Morning, Mr. Rosehall. It all looks good. We should expect you back within the hour?" The guard commented, checking the cart, as Yarvick did his best impersonation of a man interested in an old steering wheel from a ship from the age of sails. He kept a sharp eye on the curator's back, though.

"Yes, it shouldn't take too long," Mr. Rosehall replied. Rosehall then went to collect the Meteorite and several other miscellaneous artifacts. Yarvick could see a complication coming in any job-just not exactly what. He’s dealt with this situation before, though, so that helped…Something bugged Yarvick about how he looked, though. He couldn’t pin on what.

Yarvick followed at a considerable distance from the curator, keeping out of line of sight without hunching over or anything. The high density of exhibits was a blessing in this regard, and the shuffling of feet and the many bodies would keep him mostly under the radar if he was seen. The meteor was his target, and if he had to cause a ruckus to get at it, well, that was the other half of the mission accomplished immediately.

[Neo Emolga]

Noah "Neo" Ashfield
HAN Entourage, Route 134, Hoenn
Affected RPers: @bronislav84

Good times.

I was having some fun with this McBride sap. In the meantime, I was playing some Metallica to give the bridge of the Entourage a warmer, cozier feeling. "For Whom the Bells Toll" was a personal favorite of mine.

"We found your bomb, you thug," McBride whined again. "Already disarmed. We're sending in the Paladin with the HSF Blue-92, and they will be boarding you shortly. Enjoy your last moments of life, you withering maggot."

Nice guy. He said it with so much arrogance. So confident he had this in the bag. And I was really laughing, especially when he mentioned HSF Blue-92. In another realm he didn't know about, Blue-92 meant you were screwed over by Team Aqua. Looks like we'd be coming home with two ships instead of just one. And that's how professionals do it. As for disarming the bomb, I had my doubts about that.

"Really?" I asked him. "Well, let's see how good of a job you did."

I pressed the detonator for the HAN Enforcer. I snickered when I heard an explosion and there was the sudden background noise of panic in the radio. Seems like McBride's bluff didn't work out so well against him. I couldn't see the damage to the Enforcer, but I figured by now, that ship was taking on more water than they could hope to handle. It was like flushing it down the toilet, crap and all.

"D-Damn it!" McBride shouted. "I'll make you pay out your ass for that!"

"Aww, you said you disarmed it!" I laughed. "I really thought you were telling the truth! Or maybe your peeps aren't as good as you thought they were! Oh gee, I hope I didn't blow up any of them in the process!"

Actually, I hoped I did.

I heard him shout crap like "get in there" and "light up that bastard." Boy, sounded like he was having fun in that posh little commander's hut.

In the meantime, the smaller ships, the Paladin and the Legionnaire were gaining. The folks on the Legionnaire probably had no idea what was really going on. Still, it was adding to the fun.

"You're alone now, maggot," McBride taunted me. "In five minutes, your whole party is going to come crashing down."

"Last chance..." I teased him, toying with the detonator for the Legionnaire. Don't make me blow up another one of your toys. I'm sure Hoenn's taxpayers won't be too crazy about how you handled this one, Chumpy."

But, he was willing to run the risk. The Legionnaire was shifting their position and already there were chumps on the bow, ready to board. They were within seconds of making the jump, but...

I then pressed the button. With a quick kaboom, some of those saps were thrown right overboard from the tremor of the blast. Already, the ship was beginning to teeter and sink faster and faster. I could hear the alarms going off in the distance.

"Blue-92... stand down," McBride stated with unnerved anger. "I'm not risking any more men today."

But we just kept on sailing. And sailing.

"Blue-92...?" He asked, wondering why they weren't listening to him. "Come in Paladin, why aren't you responding!? Hello!? What the hell's going on!?"

All he could do now was just watch as we sailed off to the horizon. I decided to kick back and start cleaning out the captain's liquor cabinet. I even poured a bowl of beer for Smoky the Skuntank to enjoy shortly before clinking beer bottles with Snuff the Dragonite. With the ship's transponder now sitting in a remote control boat heading toward Orre, they'll blame Orre for the crime and would never know what really happened.

As I sat back, leaning in the captain's chair, I did have to admit, this Captain Thompson sap sure had a good taste in beer.

---

Janine "Angel" Price
AMS Deathwing, Mirage Island, Hoenn
Affected RPers: @Lord Celebi

At long last, the masterpiece of PokéTarts was now on store shelves and no one suspected a thing about it!

From what I had overheard from the factory lines, PokéTarts had a tendency to attract Pokémon that hadn't even tasted it yet! Something about the colors or the smell, I think. But one little bite and they'd be hooked. Trainers would have to find ways to manage their pack of spoiled brats and hit the poor house, or suffer the painful effects of withdrawal! Either way, we'd be making major bucks. If those nuts on the top were afraid this wouldn't be worth the return on investment, heck, they were about to bite their tongues on this one!

In the meantime, they put the finishing touches on the Liquidator and now had it fully installed on the Deathwing. So shiny! I watched from the deck as they had it installed. Seeing them install my brainchild... that leaves you with a really nice, warm, and fuzzy feeling inside!

In the meantime, Shadowfall Tanks were undergoing mass production. Team Aqua was definitely preparing to conquer the world, but first, it was better to watch our enemies swat each other for a while. And then we'd scoop up the winner of the losers and flush those guys out of the picture! But in any case, the Shadowfall tanks were way better than anything Orre and Hoenn were using. Plus, rumor had it some of our friends were out stealing ships.

And that was when Craig Lando showed up, probably asking for a report. This old dude was the Captain of Internal Affairs. At least he knocked, but yeah, he'd be asking for the report, and he never liked the fact I doodled all over my notes.

"Janine, we need the update on your research," Lando told me. "You know the drill, need to make sure we're a well-oiled machine."

"Yep, got it right here!" I handed over the notebook to him. "Heh, heh, don't mind the doodles."

He started flipping through it, and I could tell he was not the kind of guy that thought doodles of a winking Buneary, a dancing Chatot, and a Furret cuddling a heart were the kinds of things that belonged alongside on research notes. But hey, he never said that wasn't allowed!

"What the... PokéTarts?" He asked me, looking all googly-eyed at that. "'Made to be a hyper-addictive candy that...' Janine, what the hell is this stuff you're having those guys make!?"

"Why, only the next big sensation!" I laughed, spinning around in a circle. "In a nutshell, Pokémon get hooked on it, constantly want more, trainers drain their wallets on it, and suffer if they don't!"

He read through it more, but decided to save that for later.

"What's up with MEND, by the way?" He asked me. "You've been working with Tiantus and Kaede on that one, right?"

"Yup," I nodded, pointing to the notebook that had those details also. "You'll find the stuff starting on page 67. Look for the musical Pachirisu playing the guitar!"

"We're wondering about the progress of MEND, mostly," Lando replied, probably curious about it for now. "What are the specifics of this project? Everything up until now has been pretty vague"

"Like I said, all in the notes," I smiled. "It's been kinda slow, but getting there. Read up on it though, I'm pretty sure you'll find it interesting. But hey, make sure you give that back when you're done Xeroxing it or whatever you're doing!"

Ha ha, I wondered if he really would make Xerox copies of those. Would be even funnier if he was intending to distribute them!

"Don't worry, I'll be back with this," He told me, preparing to leave. "You'll have it sometime this afternoon."

I shrugged and decided to get back to work. Now... what to make after the anarchy of PokéTarts, I had to wonder...

[TheoreticalSelkie]

Clarisse Thompson
Oceanic Museum, Slateport City, Hoenn
Affected RPers: Tazz

Clarisse drummed her fingers on the cart as she headed towards the plain side doors leading to the archives and the curator's offices. There was a slight weight upon her shoulder as she felt that something wasn't right about this whole thing... she called it intuition at least. Was there someone watching? Clarisse studied the crowd out of the corners of her eyes. The crowd swarmed between the exhibits like bees, escaping the heat. Their only saving grace was that they didn't give her a second glance and that they parted easily for her and the cart. She shrugged and kept walking.

As she approached the doors, Clarisse tapped out a louder rhythm for Loki, hiding in her shadow. On guard, keep a lookout. Her other Pokemon were either in their Pokeballs or lying in wait in the back of the building for her getaway. Smiling to herself, Clarisse unlocked the door and wheeled the cart through. The door was left unlocked; as far as she knew, no one was going to go through the door with all its "ENTRANCE FORBIDDEN" stickers splattered all over it except maybe for some adventurous kids. She was a bit short on time too -- the quicker she left, the more time she had to get away. From there, it was a simple matter of leaving the cart in the curator's office, putting the keys back, and moving everything into one box.

There was nothing out of the ordinary in the curator's office. Well, except for the actual curator sprawled out behind his desk, out cold. Those weren't on the security cameras because there weren't any in the office. Hence, why no one actually went to check out what the commotion was. Patting the man on his head, Clarisse stood up and took off her disguise, revealing yet another disguise underneath. This was what the cameras in the hallway would pick up when she walked out there: a blonde-haired man in a blue shirt and tie carrying a box.

"Jannis is back, yeah!" She laughed, taking out a replica of the meteorite. If anything, they could cover up the fact that the meteorite was stolen with that. She spent so much effort and time making that, so they should at least use it, right? Giggling, Clarisse picked up the box with all the stolen goods in it and kicked the office door, making a loud slam. The noise echoed throughout the hallway and out into the museum proper, bringing with it the sound of running guards.

"Well, time to go!"

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Yarvick "The Raticate" Xelsez
Team Aqua
Slateport Aquatics Museum, Slateport, Hoenn
Affected RPers: The Selkmeister General, TheoreticalSelkie.

Yarvick kept shadowing poor Mr. Rosehall until he hit the backrooms. The sucker would have no idea what hit him. Yarvick waited a few seconds, then followed in after him, making dead sure to close the door quietly behind him.

The backrooms were not populated with guards, only cameras. Yarvick hadn't seen all of the museum, and it may have been that the guards were almost all in the exhibits. Their most valuable pieces were the ones on display, the rest was mostly junk or cheap aquatic exhibits. The only other living thing here seemed to be the curator. Yarvick made sure not to get in any place where he could turn his head and see him-follow from a distance, dead silent and out of any place where the curator could just turn his head to see him.

...And, good thing he did, for he saw something else. Something in the Curator's shadow...Something unnatural about it.

Normally, a regular joe would just not notice it at all, or if he did, he would accredit it to a trick of the light. But Yarvick knew better. Training with his own Gengar and seeing it in action spoiled the surprise for him. The Curator was either being shadowed by a Gengar, or Rosehall had one of his own watching his back. Fortunately, it followed too closely to not see what the Curator couldn't by turning his head, so Yarvick just kept doing what he was normally.

Eventually, the Curator reached his destination, entering his office, his Pokemon in tow. Nobody was in sight, only a camera.

Yarvick, as quietly as he could, sent out his own Pokemon, or at least half of them. Hyperion was a definite choice, right off the bat-his Psionics would allow him to quickly grab the Meteorite right from the box, then teleport away. Iapetus would be critical to his success as well, as Iapetus was privy to his own kin's tactics and could easily recognize-and attack-the hidden Gengar, distracting it from the rest of the crew. Lastly, Rhea, who Yarvick compared to a female Bruce Lee, flying in with insanely fast and hard hits to basically everywhere. She'd be the muscle here-fast and furious, the one to physically attack the Curator and make sure he's not going to yelp. Yarvick considered bursting with her after she had knocked out the Curator to cause MORE trouble. A thief going after the meteorite was one thing, a thief that had a burst heart would make paranoia spread like wildfire, attract attention to Orre, and all of that lovely stuff the Aqua higher-ups wanted done here.

"OK, guys, a Curator has got the meteorite, and he's dusting it off in there. He's got a Gengar guarding it, but this shouldn't change much. Iapetus, go after your counterpart. Hyperion, take the meteor and teleport away back to the bench. Rhea, you and I will take the Curator head-on and KO him." Yarvick said, clutching his baton. He hadn't actually taken firearms for this particular job, though he wished he did. That would have helped make a good scene.

His intention was to burst in there and do the damage, but, in a stroke of unknown luck, the 'curator,' now a blonde-haired man in a blue shirt, busted out of the door with a box in his hands. He wasn't a curator, he was a thief in disguise!

Five to two, counting Atlas in the cameras. This was unfair, and Yarvick liked it.

Yarvick whipped out the baton and attempted to nail him in the face almost as soon as he saw him; Rhea took a third of a second to follow suit with a Mach Punch; Iapetus almost immediately found the Gengar and shot a Shadow Ball at it; and Hyperion used Telekinesis on the box itself, attempting to grab the meteor. Atlas hadn't revealed himself at all yet, though he'd likely aim for the incoming guards unless Yarvick told him otherwise, and Yarvick used gestures to commune with Atlas through the cameras.

[Neo Emolga]

OOC: Nail 'em, Tazz!

Noah "Neo" Ashfield
HAN Entourage ASF Fairy Dragon, Mirage Island, Hoenn
Affected RPers: @bronislav84

McBride was an idiot. A loser, a moron, an arrogant chump, a schmuck, or whatever. He sucked but his ship was sure nice. And since it was my ship now, time to give it a new name, because a name like Entourage sounded worse than a rolling ball of snot.

I decided to call it the ASF Fairy Dragon, because nothing would make me laugh more than to see all the chumps getting blasted apart by a heavy battleship called something like that! I'd even get someone to paint a mellow-looking dragon with butterfly wings on the side by the name, just because it would be that much more hilarious.

Once we made it back to Mirage Island, I figured I'd get started with that whole process.

"You... that's the ship you managed to steal!?" Kip Marston asked in shock. "Holy crap, that thing could take out a whole navy!"

The dude was the Captain of Marines, so of course he was going to see it in action. Considering the size of this hulking thing, yeah, it was impressive. A whole lot of guns, heavily armored, and was a total beast of war with the latest and greatest Hoenn technology, save for the transponder. My idea of a good time. It seemed to look pretty nice next to the Deathwing.

"Yep," I told him. "I call it the ASF Fairy Dragon. The Entourage sounds like turd in the mouth."

"The ASF... wait, why would you give it a name like that?" He asked me, looking funky at that idea.

"You kidding?" I asked him with a smile. "Hey, we're already calling the air force the All Clown Squadron of Fun. I like humiliating my enemies as much as Raidon does, so yeah, we're calling that the ASF Fairy Dragon, because it makes it that much more fun and hilarious."

"Eh, well, suit yourself, you stole it," He shrugged.

I sure didn't wait long before I had the Entourage name wiped off and had the Fairy Dragon name put instead. I was also getting that funny rainbow butterfly-winged dragon painted on it as well. He did a pretty good job, and he gave it a special touch I didn't even ask for. Said fairy dragon was now holding a minigun in his claws and winking at the viewer. Gotta love this crew.

[bronislav84]

Karai "Kar" Horoshi
HAN Paladin, heading to Mirage Island, Slateport City, Hoenn
Affected RPers: @Neo Emolga maybe. I swear, you didn't wait for me

So I'd given up my emotions. That never meant I couldn't have any fun, and right now I was enjoying overhearing the conversation between McBride and the other person I was by now sure was another Aqua.

"We found your bomb, you thug," There was a pause. "Already disarmed. We're sending in the Paladin with the HSF Blue-92, and they will be boarding you shortly. Enjoy your last moments of life, you withering maggot."

"Really?" I could hear the other voice. "Well, let's see how good of a job you did." I could then hear and see as the Enforcer exploded. Well, one out of three ain't bad. Okay, it really is bad. Well, at least he disarmed the bomb on one ship, the one I was stealing. How did he even find the one and not to think to check the same place on the others? He told us on the way that the bomb had been on the side of the ship. Ok you dummy, so why didn't you check the other hulls before sending out the other ships? Loser.

"D-Damn it!" McBride shouted. "I'll make you pay out your behind for that!"

"Aww, you said you disarmed it!" Laughed the other guy as he said it. "I really thought you were telling the truth! Or maybe your peeps aren't as good as you thought they were! Oh gee, I hope I didn't blow up any of them in the process!" I was sure he was kidding.

He was barking orders at the others, and not enjoying he lost a ship. Probably was going to lose another soon if the explosion was any indication.

Our cruiser and the other cruiser had gained considerable distance on the bigger ship, but I was sure he still had no idea. We had so much wool over his eyes it was just sad. How did he ever make it up the ranks?

"You're alone now, maggot," I could hear McBride taunting into the radio. "In five minutes, your whole party is going to come crashing down." He actually thought he had this. Really?

"Last chance..." There was a pause then he spoke again. "Don't make me blow up another one of your toys. I'm sure Hoenn's taxpayers won't be too crazy about how you handled this one, Chumpy."

I kept the charade on a bit longer and our two cruisers started to pincer in the Entorage. McBride was probably watching on some GPS map or something.

And as expected, the Legionnaire blew. And how. Amanda and Anna actually high fived each other then.

"Blue-92... stand down," McBride stated with anger that could be felt even over the radio. "I'm not risking any more men today."

I dropped the charade, speaking in my deadpan and emotionless voice. "You've risked all your men already. The rest abandoned ship. Thank you for falling for it."

"Blue-92...?" He asked, confused. We were listening, but smiling at each other. "Come in Paladin, why aren't you responding as expected!? Hello!? What the hell's going on!? Hathaway?!"

"Hathaway never existed." I could hear him growling mad on the other end. "Orre thanks you for your contribution." More growling as I motioned to Dan to disconnect us from the mainland. Scar then ripped out the ship transponder and it was a simple matter for us to set it up on an automated lifeboat heading to Orre. Job well done, if I do say so myself. I then used the device I was given to guide us to the nigh impossible to get to Mirage Island, and we parked the Paladin cruiser near the bigger ship and the flagship. Looked like it was already being redone, if what I was seeing out the window could be believed. This guy didn't waste any time. Couldn't quite make out who I'd ripped the ship off with from the bridge since they had their back turned, so we made our way down to where they were.

We appeared in a puff of smoke behind the men and I spoke, deadpan and emotionless. I couldn't quite remember if they'd told me it bothered them. "Ah, of course. Mister Marston and Mister Ashfield." The five of us pulled off the HSF uniforms and put them away in the large duffel bag Scar carried, having our usual clothes underneath. We also pulled off the rubber masks we'd been wearing, so if anybody had pics or vids said surveillance was completely useless in identifying us. People with those faces didn't actually exist. "You may do whatever you want with the Paladin and it's Burst Hearts, sirs. I suggest name it Deathknight if you could. My team's already helped themselves to some Burst Hearts. Unless we're needed here, we're tracking a lead." I nodded to Dan, who had folded his laptop into a tablet by now. We started getting ready to leave.

[TheoreticalSelkie]

((RIP Clarisse))

Clarisse Thompson
Slateport "About to Get Socked" City, Hoenn
Affected RPers: Tazz

What the- holy crap people. Clarisse was sent flying by the Mach Punch, crashing into the desk. The baton hit her hard in her right arm. To her credit, she was still holding tightly on the box. She cursed the fact that she didn't tape the box closed, though it was a bit late now. Her free hand instantly went for the two Pokeballs in her pocket and out went a giant burst of water followed by a blur of red, headed straight for the door, splitting the attackers. Loki narrowly dodged the other Gengar's Shadow Ball, flitting from shadow to shadow. Seeing the glow around Clarisse's box, he darted forward and attacked the Alakazam with a Shadow Punch.

Arm sore, everything sore, Clarisse scrambled up and jumped onto her Arcanine. "Cu, we're getting out of here. Se, Hydro Pump the hallway. Everyone, afterrrrrrr me!" She ordered, fleeing towards the back doors.

The few guards that were in the archives swarmed into the hallway. Easy work for an escaping thief. Behind her, she heard the churning of water as it rushed down the hall out into the museum proper. The force of the water should be enough to keep them, whoever the dude with the baton and his motley crew were, from chasing after her. As for the guards... they didn't know what hit them as the Arcanine shoved them aside.

Hard right, a good slam at the back door annnnnd nothing. What unfortunate luck today! Someone locked the damned door during the time she was out skipping about as Mr. Rosehall. Damn their common sense! And it held up to the power of Cu's slams. Clarisse swore and hopped off her Pokemon. No lockpicks today -- she didn't think she needed it, and shooting the lock off never ever worked.

"Why now of all the times..." Clarisse grumbled, rubbing Cu's head.

[Grassy_Aggron]

(Fiiiiiiiiiiinally. And no I don't expect to post such large...well, posts constantly. This is just my entry :P)

Grassy_Aggron
Claressa Nissa
Goldenrod City Hospital in Goldenrod City
Affected RPers: None, unless you are in said hospital.
The first entry is always the longest in paperwork.


“Paging Doctor Nissa on line three. Paging Doctor Nissa on line three.”

A deep, exasperated sigh was ushered forth from the dry, yet not cracked, lips of the doctor whose name had just been called. Her thin form was currently fixed to a seat, hunched over a desk while filling out paperwork as quickly as humanly possible, yet with a dedication that limited mistakes. It was a dedication that she was renowned for, having made her popular among patients yet somewhat feared by her peers. She knew it was from her hot headed, stubborn personality, yet the very latter made her also believe that they should get over it and tend to the task at hand. Granted, she knew why they didn’t want to do that recently, and she rightly couldn’t blame them for it. Despite that knowledge, she still called them cowards for it if they walked out, and honestly, they deserved it.

Doctors are healers and menders, spreading hope and kindness to the wounded. Without them sickness and decay took root in body and soul, and the entire system begins to collapse. Granted, with the government barely keeping a reign on things and big powerhouse companies failing, the foundation was already crumbling. Pokemarts were beginning to have a hard time stocking their shelves, and Pokemon Centers were starting to feel the pressure of countless victims of war. The hospital, which normally treated people, was now beginning to overflow with Pokemon since they no longer could house all of them. This wasn’t too much of an issue due to the fact that many of the older doctors – herself included – were trained for both people and Pokemon, but the younger staff members were feeling the strain.

Of course, if and when they left, it put even more strain on the remaining members, creating a vicious feedback loop that only continued to make the situation worse. Such was the burden of war, as there were no winners but only survivors…and only if they received adequate health care. They could also just avoid the war entirely, but to be frank; with every region becoming involved it was increasingly unlikely. The world was turned on its edge and it was cutting into every life that existed, all because of some horrid device a man invented. The world had not been ready for it, and now lives were the cost. If she ever got her hands on-

“Paging Doctor Nissa on line three. Paging Doctor Nissa on line three.”

The woman jumped a bit as the persistent voice breached her thoughts, and with a hiss she snatched at the receiver. “This is Doctor Nissa. Lisa, what do you need? I’m filling out medical forms, and you know I don’t like to be disturbed when doing that!” While she was annoyed, it was only because she hadn’t been sleeping well. She was tired and slightly disheveled, and while she kept her uniform as clean as possible it was beginning to show that she was overworking herself. Listening to what Lisa had to say only soured her mood, and with a snort she informed her she would be coming down and shut off the transmission.

Getting up and grabbing her clipboard, she adjusted her glasses and moved out of the room. The hallways were well lit and clean, their familiar bright white hue being a comfort as she walked quickly, passing rooms stuffed to capacity or otherwise nearly full. The bottom layers of the hospital were already filled, and the middle – where she currently was now – was quickly approaching the same fate. The upper floors were mostly vacant for now, but for a hospital of this size – fifty floors with a helicopter pad and large ambulance bay – that was no comfort. It shouldn’t even be halfway full, and the fact that it was…was a shame, really. There was nothing else to say other than it being a large shame.

Brushing past a coworker who scrambled out of the way, she pushed into an empty operating room that was currently being cleaned, being greeted by a gruff, darker skinned doctor – the lead doctor, Dr. Murkiv – as well as two other senior staff closer to her age, who quickly exited upon her arrival. His face was grim and riddled with wrinkles, and she could swear his graying hair was even lighter than before. Clearing his throat, he began to speak, a low calming rumble made raw and strained from overuse.

“Dr. Nissa, I am glad you were able to come as quickly as possible. Most of the other senior staff already know about this, but you were holed up in your room and I wished to give you as much time as possible before delivering this news.” Pausing, he waited for a response, to which she only gave a curt nod. “Lighthouse Clinic in Olivine City has become full and is requesting aid from clinics and hospitals everywhere. They are transferring some of their patients here.”

Claressa blinked a few times as his words registered. “That shouldn’t be much of a problem, but so many people are coming in and fewer are leaving...We can’t keep taking in the wounded. There aren’t any more hospitals in that area that can take them?” He shook his head no. “This isn’t good, you know. Supplies are…stable for the moment, but at any time we could lose them. If this hospital fails, it’ll kill Goldenrod City. It’ll kill a lot of hope, too, for all of Johto.”

“I’m well aware of that, but we can’t turn them away. It is risky to transport them across the sea to Cianwood, so we need to bring them here. Ecruteak. Mahogany, and Violet City are also taking in some of the victims, so it will not be as much of a strain. This is not the only thing I wanted to discuss with you, however…”

She held up her hand, stopping him from speaking. “If you’re going to ask about the Burst Heart research, it’s not going very well. It’s difficult to get a clear feel for what is going on, and I admit it’s really frustrating me. I have some severe concerns about the host and Pokemon staying fused for too long, however, I need to study it longer to be sure. Tony sure is enjoying the power, but I’m making sure to keep his ego grounded.”

“You will write a report on anything you find, correct? Even if it is preliminary, I want a copy of it on my desk. Anything you discover will be invaluable information, and you are very good at what you do.” Dr. Murkiv stopped for a moment, thinking. “Even if you are incredibly stubborn in your ways, it does get the job done most of the time. I trust you will be able to figure out something, at least.”

Snorting, the female was already halfway out the door as he finished. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll find something, and you’ll know about it. Just don’t give it to the military until I’ve confirmed anything or we could have even more casualties in our hospital. Not that you seem to mind,” she tossed over her shoulder with a sly smile as she slipped out, leaving the man alone to shake his head towards her attitude. She didn’t mean it entirely, but he could see where she was coming from and hoped that in time he could disprove her theory about him.

As for Claressa, she quickly headed toward a room that needed to be tended to, stopping for a moment to weigh in on what he had said. Invaluable information. Wouldn’t that make her a target? Maybe…but she was just trying to stop the war. She couldn’t stop now, nor would she, even if it painted a big red Tauroseye on her forehead. Very few knew of her research, and even fewer had hope it would turn anything up. She’d only been researching for a few months as well, so time was against her. There was a dizzying amount of hurdles to be overcome, and for a second she had to lean against the wall as they all once again became apparent to her.

But as always the dizziness passed and she stood tall once more, resolute in her mission and ready to perform her duties as a doctor. Nothing was going to stop her now, and with a simple shuffle of her papers she slipped into the room to help the injured inside. Now was the time to act, and not the time to ponder about what ifs. It wouldn’t help the sick get healthier, the wounded become physically sound, or hope to be rekindled. It would only allow guilt to breed and insanity to swallow the mind, and frankly?

That was just an expletive way to go.

[Neo Emolga]

Noah "Neo" Ashfield
Mirage Island, Hoenn
Affected RPers: @bronislav84, @Lord Celebi

Our partners in crime were in fact Kar and her squad. It was cool, I didn't think we'd be coming home with two ships, but this time around, greed actually paid off. McBride was probably going to attack Orre now, they were going to kick his ass, and we'd flush them both out. But right now, I was sure he was going apeshit over the fact he got two of his ships blown up and the other two stolen.

Now, both ships, the Fairy Dragon and the newly christened Deathknight, were disconnected from Hoenn, had their transponders gutted and sent to Orre, and were totally ours now. In addition to the Deathwing, we were building up a pretty nice armada now. An aircraft carrier armed with a kickass gatling railgun, a heavy battleship, and the latest advancement in naval cruisers. Not to mention Kar and her team managed to secure a nice, big box of Burst Hearts for us to have fun with.

"Kar, that was deliciously badass, thank you for that enjoyable experience," I told her, still chuckling over imagining how irate McBride must be right now. "That jackass never suspected a thing. Anyway, heard you were heading out, but yeah, anytime you'd like to work again, let's do it."

Now, I just needed to plan out the next target. I was sure those ships weren't the only juicy thing Hoenn had to steal. In the meantime, I decided to phone the boss about the successful heist. He was going to like this. A lot.

"Commander, if you look outside for a moment, you'll see two new ships docked besides the Deathwing," I told him on the radio, enjoying that happy moment. "Well, those are our ships now. Oh, and by the way, Hoenn thinks Orre stole 'em."

It did make me wonder how plastered people were going to get tonight over this.

---

Janine "Angel" Price
AMS Deathwing, Mirage Island, Hoenn
Affected RPers: N/A

I had overheard PokéTarts were now being enjoyed by many Hoenn Pokémon owned by trainers. The candy seemed to be rating in quite well, but oh man, they had no, no idea what they were getting into! Sure, it seemed sweet and innocent now, but in the weeks to come, it would be PURE AND UTTER MAYHEM!!! I really had to laugh. I'd be laughing even more if someone turned their overstuffed Eevee into a beanbag chair.

I had just overheard some Aqua peeps managed to steal not one but two Hoenn ships. Man, these guys were crazy, but I liked that about them! I'd do it too, but I was more crazy about making cool stuff.

Shadowfall Tanks were nearly complete. We already had a lot of them produced, but they weren't finished and still needed their electronics systems installed and weaponry configured. And these things had lots of weapons and stuff. It was every combat junkie's dream.

Lando gave me back my research notes, and it seemed like the details on Project MEND were starting to make sense to him. Sure, to anyone who didn't know what it was about, yeah, I could see where it looked like we were smashing the piggy bank for stupid reasons and wasting it on nonsense. But the truth was, with MEND, there was crazy return on investment considering the kinds of costs it would wipe out. No more need for first aid, prosthetics, or anti-infective medications! Before, he was looking at me like I was nuts, and now he was convinced we should have been making MEND even sooner.

"Janine, what you and Tiantus have here..." Lando told me, handing me back my notebook, "...this is... the stuff of genius."

"Aww, thank you!" I told him with a wink and a smile. "I know doctors and nurses would hate us if we ever sold it to the outside. You know, maybe once we have control over the entire world, we can do that."

"Some of our 'investors' were slow to pick up on the prospect of this project," Lando told me. "I don't think your doodles helped with that. I was able to present your research findings in a more... 'professional' manner. I think this will be more likely to get through to them."

"Whatever floats your boat," I smiled, although I still think the notes were more fun to look at with the doodles.

"Anyway, I'll let you get back to work." Lando told me, heading out.

"Cheers!" I told him with a smile.

In the meantime, Kar and her team managed to bring back a bunch of extra Burst Hearts, which I felt like looking into further. Given what we were able to do with MEND already, I wanted to see if there was a way to further screw around with genetics.

A Burst Heart gave the user the ability to merge with a Pokémon and wear them like armor. It was the craziest, weirdest feeling. I tried it with Cream the Cinccino, and it was kind of funky. It allowed me to use crazy Cinccino powers, but it only lasted for a few minutes. Great for a combat situation, but I didn't really see it being used for too much else.

In the meantime, the MEND project had required Tiantus to map out the DNA structure of humans to be able to make MEND's restorative properties work. Since he had that whole thing mapped out anyway, I thought hey, why not keep going with it? I kind of wanted to see if there were other ways to further screw around with it. I was curious and sometimes I felt like doing something crazy just to see what happens.

I figured I'd first start with me. I took a blood sample and had Tiantus's software do the readout of my own DNA. All cool stuff. This thing he programmed was really handy. I could use the software and filter down what parts of the DNA code reflected how each part of my physical body was constructed. I figured doing that would help create a kind of map to recognize the genomes and what they affected. The same genetic reconstructor cells that were being used for MEND could be used here to overwrite old DNA with new DNA and make the physical changes accordingly. I noticed that when I tried using Burst with Cream, I used those few short seconds to take a blood sample in that form, and make the check to see what had flipped around.

Really interesting stuff. But I could see where I could make stuff that would be able to create fast nucleotide sequence changes and replications and finding ways to engineer polymorphism for humans. Hard part was, I needed to make sure these mutations would be seamless and quick. That, and make sure there weren't any errors that resulted in nasty stuff like cancer or brain damage. Typically, cells didn't like being messed around with, so we kind of had to have a polite but forceful way of getting them changed.

I figured it would probably mean I would need a little experimental trial and error here. Might be fun box of surprises!

[The Nonexistent Tazz]

Yarvick "The Raticate" Xelsez
Team Aqua
Slateport Aquatics Museum, Slateport, Hoenn
Affected RPers: The Selkmeister General, TheoreticalSelkie.

The blondie responded to his brutal beating (which didn't nail the KO blow) by sending out two other Pokemon. One, a Floatzel, unleashed a Hydro Pump on the group, sending Yarvick spiraling backwards into Rhea and out into the hallway. Rhea jumped up in response to the other Pokemon-an Arcanine who split the party between Yarvick and Rhea on the left side, and Iapetus and Hyperion on the right. The other gengar went after Hyperion with a Shadow Punch, but Iapetus got in between the two, Shadow Ball held in front, with the cruelest of grins. However, Hyperion had given up on Telekinesis after losing line of sight of the thief, and in any case the box was held too tight. He teleported to Yarvick's side instead.

"Cu, we're getting out of here. Se, Hydro Pump the hallway. Everyone, afterrrrrrr me!" shouted the blondie...In a rather feminine voice. Another disguise. Or his voice was REALLY feminine in general.

'Se,' the Floatzel, shot out another Hydro Pump, but this time Yarvick and Rhea were ready for the obvious move, and they hopped over the Floatzel's head. Hyperion just teleported to the side. Iapetus and the other gengar were still duking out their literal shadow war as 'Cu,' the Arcanine, rushed by, to the right-and the back of the museum. Yarvick sent out his fourth Pokemon, Eos.

"Eos, incapacitate that Floatzel, then meet with us! Target's escaping!" Yarvick said.

"Whim,' the Whimsicott replied, smiling, calm, ignorant of the general chaos of a hydro pump in the hall, the rushing of the Arcanine behind her, and all of that. She went as close as she could and launched a Sleep Powder in the Floatzel's face. Making it go to sleep was as good as beating it to a pulp. Of course, Eos was ready for an actual fight, including the all-too-obvious Ice type moves.

The rest of his Pokemon were doing their best to catch up to an Arcanine, which, as one could expect, was barely. Any guard that didn't get done in by the Arcanine's passing were definitely slammed to unonsciousness by either Yarvick's baton, Rhea's Mach Punch, or Hyperion's Psychic attack-in passing, of course. Yarvick's target was the Meteorite, and he would not let it go that easily.

In all honesty, all of his mission-to distract the guards and navy, to cause a general uproar-was done just by this alone. Yarvick would be unsatisfied if his target got away that easily, though, even if it meant the heat was on him rather than whoever his opponent was.

When he finally caught up, it was a sight to see. His/her way was blocked by a locked door, and he/she seemed quite stumped on how to open it. The thief was off of his/her Arcanine...And there was a camera overlooking. Their backs were to him, briefly.

"Yarvick, I'll grab the meteorite in the box with telekinesis, Rhea will distract the Arcanine, you and Atlas should go for the girl herself. And she IS a girl, just disguised," Hyperion telepathically said to Yarvick. It was a game plan AND an answer to a minor question that would have bugged him for a while. Hyperion was the best.

"Sounds like a plan," Yarvick said, smiling a devious smile indeed. "We have to do it now!"

Yarvick hadn't made it obvious he was behind her...

Hyperion used telekinesis again-this time on the meteorite itself, just subtly revealed in the box. As planned, Hyperion would teleport away the instant it was in his hands. Rhea went for a Close Combat on the Arcanine, and Yarvick pointed at the blonde, gesturing for Atlas to use an Ice Beam on her while Yarvick came in for another whack with the baton.