Michael Phloros
Phoenix Battalion
Castelia City Skies
ARPers: Velocity

<So Michael, why are we meeting an angel renowned for her flying magic abilities above the clouds entirely? Wouldn't that give her a decisive advantage?>

Lenore was ever worried about me. Not because I had displayed myself to be incapable-not at all-but because such was her nature.

To be fair, I was not completely free of unease, myself. Lenore marked the first time that my facade was revealed at a time not my own choosing to a person I preferred to have remained in the dark. I was hoping to gain control of the situation by employing her and thereby giving her something she’ll want while simultaneously getting to keep a closer eye on her.

But Lenore didn’t really have a head for the sort of business I do. She wasn’t stupid-quite the opposite-but her temperament didn’t match the kind needed to do what I do.

So, through telepathy, I assuaged her, <I am hoping to put her at ease for this meeting, Lenore. Controlling her through direct intimidation is the sort of thing that will get me killed. She will not be cowed; however, I’m certain she can bought. If I play my cards right, she will be one of the more important pieces on the board by the end of this.>

Lenore looked a bit uneasy, probably at the thought of treating people like pieces on a chessboard. I could not really blame her: it would have made my stomach turn, before I had to be involved in the sorts of things that I was.

We were quite the group. Under my magical concealment, Lenore levitated both herself and me at a steady pace, until we rose above the clouds. However, while she was levitating two people, I was concealing three.

Tifón circled us as we rose, trying to think, <So if we’re trying to bribe her into joining, why am I here? The last time she saw me, I literally made someone explode. Lenore is understandable, since she was less vicious and helped fight alongside Aria, but I did what I did in cold blood.> Tifón didn’t particularly like that, but we had all gotten used to doing less than savory things over the years.

I sighed, <Call it paranoia, but I prefer to have an undercurrent of “and this is what will happen if you refuse.” Not enough to be something she can explicitly be offended about, but just enough to remind her that I don’t particularly care to be crossed. Call it security.>

Tifón thought for a second, <Some might consider it disturbing that you have the same relationship with intimidating others as four year olds do with their blankets.>

I rolled my eyes, but conceded the point. There wasn’t any particular amount of time for arguing anyway. We had arrived at our destination.

I dropped the veil from around us directly in Aria’s sight, where she could clearly see we were not trying to ambush her. I raised my hands and put them behind my head in an effort to appear to be non threatening. Lenore had done something similar, and Tifón did something analogous by landing on my head.

Out loud, I spoke in kinder tones, ”Hello Aria. Is everything set for your tenure with me?”

Linda the Porygon-Z (Gabriel Phloros)
Phoenix Battalion
Castelia City, Unova
ARPers: Neo Emolga

I floated into the camp of the Phoenix Battalion as though I had no reason to be afraid. Michael instinctively understood the lesson I was using, and accidentally taught it to me: the best way to appear above suspicion was to act like there was no reason anyone could think you suspicious in the first place.

Like almost all the lessons I had learned from all three of the Phloroses, this one worked without a hitch. Everyone assumed that I was just some other person’s Pokemon, beneath notice and therefore beneath suspicion, which vastly expedited the mission I was on.

It certainly didn’t hurt that my target was pretty much impossible to miss. A giant to anyone who didn’t hang around a Granok most of the time, with large white wings and a charisma about him, Axel Silverfield was impossible to miss. As I followed him up the hill, I happened upon a conversation between him and a Chua.

I didn’t have a mouth, but I had learned a small trick to communicate out loud and in English. By using my limited psychic power, I was able to manipulate the air to make sound, thus making a voice I could “speak” with.

So as Axel Silverfield said the words “One way or another...” out loud, I floated up and “said”, "And truly this is an excellent note upon which to continue our conversation. Hello, Axel Silverfield. I am known as Linda. My friend has a proposal for the Phoenix Battalion as a whole, and you in particular. I believe you will find it quite compatible with your current agenda.”