Shadows of Orre (2nd Ed.)

[Wordy]

Olivia Stamper
Pyrite Outskirts

Olivia immediately started brushing off her clothes as Jigglypuff descended to ground level. Whilst the pink Pokémon looked around nervously and started giggling at her footprints in the sand, Olivia was neatly removing all non-existent creases and brushing away the imaginary dirt that may have soiled her clothing. The aerial trip was clean, quick and easy- but she was still concerned that something may have occurred to make her look less presentable. Luckily, she looked as classy as always.

With a flick of the wrist, Lull was returned to her Pokéball, her blue eyes wide in almost imperceptible protest. Pyrite Town wasn't safe for Pokémon to be wandering around in- all the fault of the band of thugs, Team Snagem.

Whilst Cipher hid behind PR and publicised 'good deeds' (like donating money to front charities and giving out free Pokémon) Team Snagem were a throng of scum-sucking lowlifes who barely quantified above pond-life in the universal reckoning system. Completely untrustworthy and immoral, Olivia wouldn't be too bothered about where Musharna aimed her attacks if she were ever to encounter them in battle.

They apparently used some special methods to steal Pokémon, and were unscrupulous about what they took. All townies were potential Snagem plants, ready to run off with some poor sod's dear friends in the dead of night. Their members were almost as bad as Cipher- at least the drunkards didn't masquerade as a good public minded corporation. The sickening, simpering, demeaning attitude Cipher had towards citizens was appalling.

She snorted as she contemplated saying that as her acceptance speech for the Pyrite Colosseum trophy, but decided against it quickly. That would be foolish, dumb and definitely lead to her untimely death in some grisly manner. The fact that she wasn't even twenty wouldn't cross their minds- all insurgence would be crushed. And then Raven and Mystery, strong battlers, would have their hearts locked forever and redistributed along with Musharna.

A small transmission from Mystery- a conveyance of hurt from Lull. Yes, well, replied Olivia irritably, if they transform Lull then what'll they use her for? Evil airships? She snorted with contempt before checking herself. That would be what Cipher would say. Lull is too defensive and supporting. Cipher don't want that. All they want is brutality. Who could imagine you being brutal and confrontational? Nobody would want that, because you wouldn't be cute any more.

Lull cheered up inside the Pokéball, and Olivia actually allowed herself a rare smile. Maybe she could find a use for Lull in her strategies, but that would require extra training time. There was always the Pyrite Colosseum challenge- but she remembered seeing something on that social network about how it was closing erratically due to electrical faults.

She entered the town through one of the deserted alleyways. She had chosen this one precisely due to how quiet it was- she couldn't afford to get into any arguments right now, and the other alleyway went through Duel Square- and she would have to endure some interviews from her former comrades that she wasn't ready for right now. They would all ask questions about the Under during the battles. That was all they seemed to do in Duel Square. Actually kind of monotonous, especially due to the fact that with no wild Pokémon to catch the opposing teams never varied.

She noticed a girl in a grey scarf near the vending machines with a Sandslash, and after a few moments thought she decided to go over and talk to her. In the Under, nobody really made any scintillating conversation- they were all rather droll and predictable. If there ever was anybody to talk to, they tended to leave her out because she was a stranger.

She saluted the girl with a small wave as she strolled up to her, and with nothing else to say she found her mind wandering to her previous thoughts, "You do realise it's not safe to have your Sandslash wandering town like this, right? It's quite the target, especially considering how it is an evolved form. Plenty of immoral people would happily steal it if they could."

A frown. Mystery was interjecting. Uh, Olivia? I'm sensing the same negative energy from this girl as I get from Musharna. I think she may be in possession of a Shadow.

Olivia's cool gaze hardened into a glare. "But then again, I'm sure you're competent enough to handle yourself. After all, the winner of a Colosseum challenge has to be tough, right?"

 

[Ysavvryl]

Pyrite, Fatina’s shop

About ten minutes after he’d come in, Miror B. came back out of the fortune telling room. He held his hand up. “I already said, that’s the offer and it’s not up for argument. Don’t make me send my Ludicolo to remind you tomorrow, all right? See you then.” The lanky man snapped his fingers to the Ludicolo as he walked out of the store, causing it to crank the music back up as they went back out on the streets. The ruckus moved off north to Duel Square.

Rui glanced about, but the other customers had moved away and Tony was part of the Grid, so he was okay. “What was that about?” she asked Fatina, who was coming over.

“He’s trying to bully an old woman,” she replied. “Not always the wisest thing to do. Things are going to become a bit tricky.” Once she was at the counter, she rested an arm at it, glanced at the eavesdropper, then looked back to Rui. “He had one, you know. But not like the others.”

“Not like the others?” she asked, puzzled. She was talking about Shadows, right?

“It isn’t good. We’ll have to talk later.” Fatina paused rubbing her chin. “What’s the weather report say about tonight? Clear?”

“I think so,” Rui said, turning back to the computer and hitting a link to a local weather page.

The old fortune teller shook her head. “It’s going to be stormy, I think. Dangerously so.”

The Under, television station

She was a gorgeous woman, if with a strange fashion sense as demonstrated with the large crescent moon accessory hanging on her shoulders. Many in The Under said that it added to Venus’ mystique, while a few said it made her look alien-ish (which was still rather attractive). Still others said that it was her sultry and sweetly feminine voice that was more alluring about her.

All too many people were only looking at the surface, though.

“And this evening, it’s going to be cool and dark,” she said, a playful smile on her face. “But of course, we live in a giant crevice, so that should be no surprise, right?” She laughed. “And before the show ends today, I’d like to remind everyone to report suspicious activities to the local Cipher security forces. We’re looking to keep you safe and happy down here.

“And that’s all for my evening broadcast. Tune in tomorrow morning for news about The Under and me, your lovely Venus. Have a good night, folks; love ya.” Then she winked and blew a kiss at the camera, right before they shut off the live transmission.

From somewhere off in the distance, someone shouted, “I LOVE YOU, VENUS!”

She giggled in reply. “Ah, so nice to have an adoring fan base. Did you like it, dear?”

Over at a bench on the side, there was a young woman with long lavender hair. Although she was also a Cipher agent, she didn’t wear the usual underling uniform. That didn’t include the set of fake Delcatty ears on her head, for one thing. “Must be fun,” she said with a smile. “But the camera life isn’t for me.”

A woman who was wearing a black and purple uniform came up to them. “Lady Venus? We’ve had a report come in from town that requires immediate attention.”

Bother; she’d been hoping to work on grooming her Pokemon. A couple of them were going to be on the show tomorrow, according to her plans. “Yes, what is it?”

She passed over some pictures taken from a security camera. “We’ve had a couple of reports of a boy who clearly speaks with Pokemon. He even caught a fully evolved one without a fight, but gave it away. Here, this is him.”

“Oh really?” Ein had warned her about people who had unusual powers, but he was also interested in them. “Who’s the girl with him?”

“We’re not sure.”

“Hmm.” If she went, Venus thought, she’d be a bit too obvious. She couldn’t be going into the main part of town just after some boy, and while she liked the admiration of her fans, that would slow her down. So she passed it over to the lavender-haired woman. “Would you like to go fetch the boy, Amanda? Capture him and bring him back alive; if there’s any objections, just say it’s my orders.”

She grinned in response and looked at the pictures. “Oh sure, I like doing things better than just sitting around, nyaa.” She studied the pair in the pictures, then nodded. “How long ago were these taken?”

“Less than an hour ago,” the peon answered. “And we confirmed with the tipster that this was him.”

Amanda got up, looking thoughtful. “All right. Alive then?” She laughed lightly and headed out for the UFO port.

The Under, Secc’s house

“I’ll be right there,” a boy’s voice answered. After a moment, a brown haired boy with glasses came into the hall, smiling. “Hi; just call me Secc around here.” He looked past Lea to see Musica there with his hand on his forehead, looking unwell. “Oh, you’d better come in,” Secc said, concerned. “It’s probably safer and I could get you some apple juice and aspirin. It’s just me right now.”

With that, he led them in to a living room. it was tidy, although in a beat up way like most everything else in The Under. A few metal lockets stood in place of closets, a pair of green plastic sofas were with some folding chairs, and the TV was scratched along the sides. Despite that condition, the television was working remarkably well.

“Do you want something to snack on?” Secc asked as he went to the adjoining kitchen after the drinks and medicine.

OoC: Adding Secc and Nett's NPC profiles to Discussion thread, Rui and Wes later if need be. Amanda won't be immediately after Musica and Lea, as she has to track them down.

 

[Tokyo Oranges]

Shay Evans

Shay looked up at the girl walking towards her. Judging by the direction she was coming from She was the one descending from the sky on what she guessed was probably a Jigglypuff. She waved as the girl waved at her, she was about to say hi, but the other girl started speaking about Razor being out of her ball. True, It was uncommon, and usually not a good idea for one to have their pokemon outside it's ball in Pyrite, unless of course you were battling. But She was confident in the Pangolin's ability to defend herself.

"Razor can take care of herself." Shay said smiling.

"Sla Slash." Razor added, waving a long clawed paw nonchalantly.

She suddenly then said something that made the blood drain from shay's face, the glare she received didn't help.

"I-I'm pretty good I guess, but how do you know about that?" She said. She didn't know why, but she had a feeling the girl was not referring to her victory in the under, but Nidorina. She was terrible at lying and doubted if it would do any good anyway. Her hand slid into her pocket and closed around Nidorina's wildly shaking pokeball.

Razor made a slight hissing noise at her in response to her trainer's change in mood, her scales bristled, trying to make herself look threatening.

 

[Fossil Man]

"Yeah, thanks Rui! I really needed this thing...it's kinda hard to not have a computer but when you're all out in the desert electronics aren't the best thing to bring." He chuckled as he eagerly put the scrap of paper inside his coat pocket.

A few minutes transpired, Ted was busy just looking around, somewhat hovering nearby the Ludicolo. It wasn't because it belonged to the fluffy haired villain, it was mostly to keep an eye on Franky, who was nearby just listening to the soft sound of the Mamba music. He couldn't help but give a loud chuckle. A slam caught his attention, and then the fluffy afro that was nearly as big as the man himself. Miror B was mentioning something, but he didn't hear most of it as he was pulling the Poliwhirl away before something transpired.

The music blared and the sound echoed across the distance until it finally fell silent. Ted then poked his head out of the shelves and looked across towards the front where an elderly woman was busy speaking to the younger lass that he spoke to not to long ago. "She's busy, come on guys, let's get going." He mentioned as he opened up Scraggy's pokeball and the grim-looking lizard, which was STILL in the iron grip of Ted's hand, disappeared in a shot of light.

"Oops, forgot to let go of him..." he mentioned softly as he searched for his Breloom, which was easily slouching near the entrance, sleeping.

 

[Wordy]

Olivia Stamper
Pyrite Outskirts

"I-I'm pretty good I guess, but how do you know about that?" stammered the girl, as she self-consciously moved her hands to her pockets as if to steady something, and turned very pale. Meanwhile, the Sandslash had been riled up and started hissing, expanding her scales and glaring.

Olivia laughed, her eyes hungry. She knew she was on to something- Mystery's abilities were never deceived. In a mocking tone of voice, she continued the assault, "Well, a trainer with such a specially talented Pokémon must have won a Colosseum challenge at some point, if you catch my drift. Also, I think I recognise you from a display screen at the Under Colosseum. You were a winner, weren't you?"

She leaned in, smirking, "You have a Shadow Pokémon. And I'm guessing you can't control it yet. No harm in that, I can't control mine that great either. They're really quite disobedient, and yet I wonder... are you really qualified to handle them?" Her eyes seemed to have deepened from mere hunger to sheer devouring.

"I think I'm on the money, here, right? Don't even try denying it." After a moment's glaring, Olivia's gaze returned to the Sandslash. "And tell your little Sandslash to back down, it seriously looks like it's going to swipe me. Or do we have to teach it a lesson in obedience?"

Olivia smiled, but it was a cold, dishonest smile.

"By the way, my name is Olivia. Olivia Stamper."

 

[Tokyo Oranges]

Shay Evans
Outskirts of Pyrite

The tone of Olivia's voice pissed Shay off. So she couldn't control Nidorina, that girl couldn't control her shadow pokemon either, whatever it was. But her whole attitude about it just made her seem that she was above her, even though they were in similar situations, pokemon-wise.

"I'm not going to deny it." She said simply, a hard edge to her voice. "Maybe I'm not qualified by your standards. But I'm just trying to do the best that I can and that's all that matters."

She put a hand on Razor's head, behind the spike in her crown to calm her down, She knew that the pangolin wouldn't attack, she was just trying to intimidate the other girl. At her trainer's touch, she relaxed a little, though she still glared at Olivia.

"Shay Evans." she added after Olivia gave her own name, though there was something in her smile that made her dislike the other trainer even more.

 

[Aura Wolfe]

Ccircuit wasn't really anything like Lea had imagined, but then again, she'd never tried to picture him anyway. He was very young, even more than Shadow, with glasses that gave him a knowing sort of air. He was pale, something rare for someone living in Orre, and had short brown hair, and hazel eyes.

He has has a lot of scars doesn't he? Solo commented.

Lea simply nodded, not willing to give Solo away. She often liked to keep her Pokemon hidden, so that nobody knew she was a threat until it was too late... a shiver of pain ran through her body as she felt Gible stir. She prayed feveratly that he stayed asleep. The last thing she wanted was for Solo to be pushed to the brink trying to heal her of her pain.

“Hi; just call me Secc around here.” Ccircuit - Secc, Lea quickly corrected herself. “Oh, you’d better come in,” Secc said, looking past her. She glanced backwards, and saw that Shadow wasn't looking very well. She frowned, her suspisions whirlling through her mind. “It’s probably safer and I could get you some apple juice and aspirin. It’s just me right now.”

They followed Secc inside to a living room, that seemed clean enough for someone living in the Under, but it still had that 'Under' look about it; everything seemed old and on their last legs. The TV was on, and it was working rather well. Lea raised her eyes, impressed. She looked at the glowing screen for just long enough to catch a glimspe of a dolled up girl blowing a kiss to the camera, before a commercial came on. Mercury's disgust was almost overwhelming; Solo was probably showing her everything that happened; he knew she hated to be left out.

Venus... Lea's eyes narrowed. The horrible Cipher woman.

“Do you want something to snack on?” Secc asked them as he moved into an adjoining kitchen.

Lea shook her head. "I... I'm alright... thank you..." She would rather not drink something that was being offered to her. That comes from being rather paranoid, and in fear of your life. Then she remembered that Secc didn't know her name. "I'm... Leanne... or Lea if you prefer by the way..." She offered shyly.

Hey Lea... Solo said in her head. She leant down and pretended to be looking for something in her bag, missing whatever Shadow said. That Pikachu, his name was Chiron. He said that... He said that he could understand Pokemon-

"Well we already knew that." She breathed.

Yeah, but he also said that everything he'd said about himself so far is a lie. That the only thing true about him so far is his love for Pokemon, and that he was hiding great pain, and that the mention of family will make him cry. He said that he wouldn't trust someone who lied so much, and to pass it on to you.

"I'd already suspected as much, but it is good - yet worrying - to hear it being comfirmed by another. What did you tell him?

That you weren't stupid enough to trust anyone, whether they lie or not.

Lea nodded, satisfied, then rose. Secc was coming back into the room, and she glanced towards 'Shadow'. Chiron had been right: she could see the pain on his face now. For once, she wished she could feel human aura's too, as that would have given her much more insight into his thoughts. But she couldn't and then she'd have to live her life in exile constantly. Which would suck really.

Her thoughts turned to the package Secc had asked her to bring. She was a curious sort of person sometimes, and she could feel Mercury's curiousity rolling off her, and she could picture the way her eyes would bore like a drill into the thing that she wanted to know.

"Okay Mercury, okay..."' She murmered, before raising her voice. "Er... Secc? Ummm... exactly what is in that package anyway? It must be something... important... right? I mean, if it's a .... Pokedoll o-or something, then you'd just wait... right? And you... wouldn't have asked someone on the grid... to ahh fetch it for you?"

Mercury's aura became one of instant approval, and Lea hid a smile.

 

[Slipomatic]

OOC: I apologize for short post, but I ran out of ideas to really say anything and too much inner thinking would just clog up.

Xito Epheral
Outskirt Stand

Xito grumbled under his breath and bit back a nasty reply of any pokemon technically born and raised in Orre is considered a native pokemon and that studying even trainer pokemon still benefited research. He should have planned out ahead and caught a bird pokemon that could have used fly. Well, it was too late for him to get a flying pokemon now so if he wanted to be in Agate forest anytime soon, he would have to take the offer of her flying him there on her pidgeot. One thought did run in his mind that made him suspicious of the offer, was there any catch to the offer or was it just an act of kindness.

He sighed in defeat and said, “I’ll take your offer on riding your pidgeot to Agate Village, but don’t expect me to talk much.” He checked his backpack to make sure nothing was loose or sticking out before walking close to the pidgeot who didn’t seem that happy that he was going to take him also.

 

[Sophie S.]

Outskirt Stand

"That's great!" Sophie chirped in reply as he neared Rustle and herself, suppressing a snicker when her Pokemon kept on looking at Xito with animosity and soothed him with some petting to his feathers. "You have much negative energy if Rustle is acting like this, but don't worry about it. Also, it don't mind if you don't talk much, since I like my rides peaceful and without noise," she replied back, a small smirk being hidden by her cloak. She knew that he was trying to avoid any conversation with her throughout the journey, but she liked using a little reverse psychology.

As soon as Xito climbed onto her Pidgeot, she signaled to Rustle that everything was ready for their departure. With a nod of his head, he readied his wings, stretching them out as much as he could, and then lifted off with a good start, using the air currents to his advantage and his determination to get to Agate Village as soon as possible.

OOC: Is it okay if they left in this post?

 

[lxdarknessxl]

Shadow

Shadow, sighing facepalmed, (it's like slapping your forehead) and began to shake his head, still not raising his head. He smirked, but tears began to drip from his face. "What am I doing? This is just reminding me of home... I can't just let the guilt of abandoning 'them' eat away at me, yet I can't risk 'them' finding me!"

When he realised that he wasn't wispering, but talking normally, he wiped his tears, and got up. Bowing, he smiled, and began to speak. "I apologise... I wanted to be friends with you two, but it seems it's impossible to make friends when you can't tell the truth about your life... and besides, I'm late for my next job. Can't live as a runaway without getting money."

Humming a tune, he began to head out, when he realised something. Quickly, he looked around, until he found the pikachu he was looking for. "Chiron! Chiron! Which way's the town square?"

The Pikachu blinked in surprise, but then pointed at a direction. "Why?"

"My next job. I have a gig there." Shadow laughed, as he jestured to his guitar case. In both surprise and confusion, Chiron rushed into the house, while Shadow rushed to the town square. Right away, Chiron rushed to Solo's bag, which seemed to be basically his house.

"Oy, so-called 'Shadow' is going to be performing at the town square. Last time I checked, musicians gave their full names before concerts... if you are as curious about his true identity as me, then you could come. Maybe his last name will shed some light. Just thought you should know." Chiron said, before rushing after Shadow. By what Chiron's sister told him, Shadow always got lost... Without the Pikachu, Shadow would never get there on time, and they both knew that. Suddenly, a Shadow Gallade landed in front of the house.

"Dang, where is that runt? He needs to get back there fast, so we can get to fighting!" growled Kira, looking around. He was unaware that the house behind him wasn't empty, but he didn't care, as long as he could find Musica/Shadow ASAP.

 

[Ysavvryl]

The Under, Secc’s house

Desert_Wanderer introduced herself as Leanne, but declined a drink. Although, she looked worn enough by a hard life that she probably could have used it. Secc went ahead and got his own drink, as he’d been working on a project for several hours, then came back into the room and glanced over his two guests. He was keen to show a trust in his network, but still, in Orre it was hard to be too cautious.

Shadow had his hand over his face and shook his head while speaking strangely, so whatever was bothering him was really getting to him. Secc was going to ask why (he didn’t like seeing anybody suffer) when the other boy got up and bowed. "I apologize... I wanted to be friends with you two, but it seems it's impossible to make friends when you can't tell the truth about your life... and besides, I'm late for my next job. Can't live as a runaway without getting money." Then he left the house, without even accepting the aspirin.

Looking after him, Secc called, “Be careful!” If he went out in The Under like that, he would likely draw trouble to himself. Many people down here wouldn’t care and would see him as an easy target. “Though I’d rather see you in a safe place like this,” he said quietly.

Lea was checking on her bag, so Secc picked up the package and checked over it. The owner of the machine shop was rough on the edges and he preferred a store security of ‘glare menacingly’ (which surprisingly worked more often than not), so he hoped they didn’t have much trouble. Still, better to check. No signs of tampering, the address label was correct.

“Errr, Secc?” He looked up on hearing Lea speaking to him. She seemed nervous, kind of like his sister Marcia could be at times, so he listened patiently. “Ummm... exactly what is in that package anyway? It must be something... important... right? I mean, if it's a .... Pokedoll o-or something, then you'd just wait... right? And you... wouldn't have asked someone on the grid... to ahh fetch it for you?"

He smiled (although a Pikachu ran into his house randomly, then ran back out). “Yeah, who’d ask for a rush delivery of a Pokedoll?” Hoping his joke helped, he pulled out a pocketknife to open it. “It’s some parts for a project I’m working on.” He bit his lip, thinking, then went on. “Venus has really tight control over this area. We can still access the internet, well, the sites that Cipher approves of and local networks. I don’t think she’s gone far enough to bug private residences, but with the way her television show overrides every other TV signal coming in, I feel that she not only could do that, but also impose an information blackout of The Under. That would obstruct actions of those of us who live down here, like me. And there’s reasons for why I can’t just leave.

“At the same time, the Cipher censors and internal network are incredibly strong. I’ve been trying to hack into it to get information; no luck so far.” He waved a hand. “This may all seem like many different problems, but I think there could be a complete solution to them. I’m building an upgrade to my computer and the satellite dish here which should help. As it would look suspicious to order the upgrade directly, I’ve had to buy and ship it in different portions. This should be the last of it, so thanks a lot for getting it to me. I want the system in place as soon as possible.”

Then he recalled: a Pikachu had run in and out randomly.

Rolling his eyes, he got up. “Excuse me, I just realized that my sister probably messed with the security settings again.” He went over to a panel in the wall and slid it down, resetting the home’s security so that Pokemon not of his family couldn’t come in without their Pokeball too. That would lock the door from opening to random Pokemon without Trainers. “Are you sure you don’t want anything, Lea? My mom’s used to my friends being over. Or if you’re really not hungry, I can possibly help you with something else.”

Pyrite, police station

Wes picked up his Umbreon and set her on the floor. “I’ll let the Grid members know tonight, unless you decide to break it to them first,” he said to Sherles and Nett. “If the Coliseum’s going to be quiet, I’d like to check it out.”

Still feeling a bit nervous about having a Shadow Pokemon, Nett said, “It’s going to be locked as usual.”

The young man shrugged, then whistled. His Espeon came back into the lobby immediately, then the three of them left. Not even a goodbye from him, it seemed.

“How does he know all this?” Nett asked Sherles, getting up himself.

“I know it might frustrate you, but I’m not able to say,” the sheriff replied. “I trust him, though; he’s better as our ally.”

Outdoors

The sun was a bright golden spot on the horizon, reflecting off the desert sands in such a way that an orange haze was just visible. For much of Orre, the skies were clear with a waning crescent moon becoming noticeable. It seemed like it would be a good night for star-gazing. That is, if anyone around were confidant or distant enough to look to the skies.

That changed rapidly. Over Pyrite, a puff of a cloud appeared; no one took notice. But then it swirled and grew, building width and bulk at an unnatural pace. Before long, a spiral of clouds had formed, its center point directly over the Coliseum. With the sun’s rays hitting it at a low angle, the curiously dense moisture of the clouds began to reflect red, turning the sky scarlet. No one could miss it by the time it hung over the entire town.

Within the power of this spontaneous mass of clouds, there was something foreboding…


OoC to Sohie S. and Slipomatic: You two are doing fine as far as I'm concerned. But once you're in the air, you do have the best view of the coming storm.

 

[Sophie S.]

In the sky, flying over Orre and heading to Agate Village

The wind felt great against Sophie's sun-kissed skin and her hair, laughing slightly as the air tickles her nose. She always loved this part of her travels, not having to recur to the public transportation that made her feel restricted and cramped. Maybe after travelling by air she had developed a slight case of claustrophobia. Nonetheless, the sky made her feel free, and the trill of approval coming from Rustle just made her smile even more.

Her smile wavered a little though when she saw the looming swirling cloud hovering above Pyrite City, her smile diminishing slowly as the cloud grew bigger and looked more menacing as they passed by it on their way to Agate. "What is-" she whispered in awe and looked down, her eyes narrowed as the cloud was directly over the Coliseum. It was suddenly damp and the cloud's color changed into a scarlet shade,and her sense of foreboding was kicking in. "What do you think is happening Xito?" she asked unexpectedly as Rustle slowed down so that they could take a better look at the new phenomenon.

 

[Aura Wolfe]

Lea glanced over at Shadow, who had started to mutter something, clutching his head. "I apologize...” He said, the pain evident in his voice. “I wanted to be friends with you two, but it seems it's impossible to make friends when you can't tell the truth about your life... and besides, I'm late for my next job. Can't live as a runaway without getting money." And then he turned and left, Secc calling out after him to be careful.

She frowned. She was pretty sure now that he was an aura seer, although one rather with not so much power. Or maybe he did. She didn’t really know. But why would he go out in such a state? That made no sense at all...

“Yeah, who’d ask for a rush delivery of a Pokedoll?” Secc joked to her, answering Lea’s nervous question. “It’s some parts for a project I’m working on. Venus has really tight control over this area. We can still access the internet, well, the sites that Cipher approves of and local networks. I don’t think she’s gone far enough to bug private residences, but with the way her television show overrides every other TV signal coming in, I feel that she not only could do that, but also impose an information blackout of The Under. That would obstruct actions of those of us who live down here, like me. And there’s reasons for why I can’t just leave.

“At the same time, the Cipher censors and internal network are incredibly strong. I’ve been trying to hack into it to get information; no luck so far.” He waved a hand. “This may all seem like many different problems, but I think there could be a complete solution to them. I’m building an upgrade to my computer and the satellite dish here which should help. As it would look suspicious to order the upgrade directly, I’ve had to buy and ship it in different portions. This should be the last of it, so thanks a lot for getting it to me. I want the system in place as soon as possible.”

Lea decided that it would be polite to pretend she’s understood all that. She wasn’t very good with machines. She’d an okay understanding when she was younger, but in the time she’d lived on her own, the technology had changed so quickly she’d never been able to keep up.

“Umm... Yeah, that makes sense.” She lied, feeling slightly more comfortable with him, probably because of his sense of humour.

Secc then went and changed some security settings, saying that his sister had probably changed them for some reason. Lea took the moment to talk to Solo. She’d seen the Pikachu, and she’d recognised it’s aura.

“That was Chiron." Solo said. He’d stopped using Pain Split, seeing as Shadow had left. "He told me where Shadow was going, saying that we might find out what his real name is from his performance.”

“I doubt it.” Lea reasoned. “If he didn’t tell a Grid member his real name, I doubt that he would tell a random crowd that could very easily include people loyal to Cipher. But then, he was so open about his power. He worries me a bit.”

Secc came in, and the two of them had to stop talking. “Are you sure you don’t want anything, Lea? My mom’s used to my friends being over. Or if you’re really not hungry, I can possibly help you with something else.”

She shook her head, rejecting the offer of food or water. She was fine. And as for his other offer...

“I was... thinking I might go find ah Shadow.” Her voice was pretty steady for talking to someone she hardly knew. It shocked her; that joke and his patience had worked more than she’d thought. “He really doesn’t seem... okay. And... I have an idea of um why. H-he can talk to Pokemon you know. I.. I think he’s an aura seer...”

Solo seemed to decide that this revelation meant he could come out now. He hovered in the air by Lea’s shoulder and spoke to her.

“Chiron said that he... Oh wait, should I include Secc too?”

“Yeah, include him.”

“Okay.” Solo began again, and while he didn’t sound any different, she was sure that Secc could hear him too. “That Pikachu’s name was Chiron, and he came in and told me where Shadow was going. He’s going to give a musical performance, which – according to Chiron anyway – means he’s going to give out his real name. Lea and I agree though; he probably won’t. If he wants to keep something hidden, he probably will just never mention it. I can lead you to where he is if you want; I know where it is.”

“So... are you coming Secc?” She paused for a moment, remembering something. “Oh, wait... you’re not allowed to... umm... go very far from here... right? If you can’t come... I’ll just try and bring Shadow back here... okay?”

Regardless of whether Secc decided to come along, Lea headed outside again, Solo floating by her shoulder. She looked up at the sky and frowned. There was something... wrong about it, and there seemed to be a hint of electricity in the sky, like there would be before a storm.

“I swear that wasn’t there when we went inside...” She murmured to herself, before a shiver wracked her body. Inside his Pokeball, Gible stirred.

 

[lxdarknessxl]

(the songs Musica sings in this post are Into the Night by Nickelback and Hanging by a Moment by Lifehouse. I do not own any of these songs, and I give copyright to their true owners. Please note that Musica's vocie is different than the actual singers. Thank you.)



Kira

"Hm?" said Kira telepathically when he saw Lea. He raised his guard, ready to attack and devistate Lea and whoever was working with her, until he noticed her emotions. Yea, evolved from Kirlia, the Emotion Pokemon. He can do that, even as a Shadow. "Oh, you must be the one that my brother 'Shadow' was going to meet... by the looks of it, he must have already left for the concert. Come with me if you wish to see Shadow's performance."

Kira began to head for the place the concert was going to take place, whether Lea was coming or not.


~~~~Later, by the time Kira got to the place~~~~


Shadow

Shadow rushed to the stage, where the side band was already getting ready. "Sorry I'm late!"

After greeting the side band, Shadow quickly got onto behind the stage, ready to perform, and took a deep breath. This was when he heard the announcer's voice. "Give it up, for a newcomer in Orre... Shadow!"

Shadow quickly rushed onto the stage, and grabbed the microphone as the music began playing. Smiling, he began to play his guitar along with the music, and finally began to sing.

Spoiler: This is the song he is singing, but higher and softer than the actual singer's voice.

"Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell,
It was love from above, that could save me from hell, She had fire in her soul it was easy to see,
how the devil himself could be pulled out of me, There were drums in the air as she started to dance,
Every soul in the room keeping time with there hands,
And we sang…

(Chorus)
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And the voices rang like the angels sing,
And singing…
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And we danced on into the night,
Ay oh ay oh,
Ay oh ay oh,
And we danced on into the night,

Like a piece to the puzzle that falls into place,
You could tell how we felt from the look on our faces,
we was spinning in circles with the moon in our eyes,
No room left to move in between you and I,
We forgot where we were and we lost track of time,
And we sang to the wind as we danced through the night,
And we sang…

(Chorus)
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And the voices rang like the angels sing,
And singing…
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And we danced on into the night,
Ay oh ay oh,
Ay oh ay oh,

And we danced on into the night,
Ay oh ay oh,
Ay oh ay oh,
And we danced on into the night,

(solo)

Like a gift from the heavens, it was easy to tell,
It was love from above, that could save me from hell, She had fire in her soul it was easy to see,
how the devil himself could be pulled out of me, There were drums in the air as she started to dance,
Every soul in the room keeping time with there hands,
And we sang…

(Chorus)
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And the voices rang like the angels sing,
And singing…
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
And we danced on into the night,
Ay oh ay oh,
Ay oh ay oh,
And we danced on into the night,
(And the voices rang like the angels sing),
Ay oh ay oh,
Ay oh ay oh,
And we danced on into the night,
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
(Ay oh ay oh),
Ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
(Ay oh ay oh),
Singing ay oh ay oh ay oh ay,
(Ay oh ay oh),
And we danced on into the nïght…"

When he finished, the crowd began to cheer, chanting his "name", which soon changed to "encore". Smiling, he took the microphone near his mouth to speak again. "Thank you for your kind words... this time, I'll be playing one of my favorite songs... Hanging by a Moment."

Once again taking a silent but deep breath, he began to play his guitar, as a different, soft song began to play.

Spoiler: song he is singing now

Desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
Chasing after you
I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you

Forgetting all I'm lacking
Completely incomplete
I'll take your invitation
You take all of me now...

I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with you

There's nothing else to lose
There's nothing else to find
There's nothing in the world
That can change my mind
There is nothing else
There is nothing else
There is nothing else

Desperate for changing
Starving for truth
I'm closer to where I started
Chasing after you....

I'm falling even more in love with you
Letting go of all I've held onto
I'm standing here until you make me move
I'm hanging by a moment here with you
I'm living for the only thing I know
I'm running and not quite sure where to go
And I don't know what I'm diving into
Just hanging by a moment here with you

Just hanging by a moment (here with you)
Hanging by a moment (here with you)
Hanging by a moment here with you

When the song stopped, once again the crowd cheered, but one voice stood out over all, due to Raki's psychic energy... however, due to this energy, all aura-seers could listen to it, as well as pokemon. Raki cheekered for Shadow, as he smiled. "GO, MUSICA! That's my brother up there!"

 

[Slipomatic]

OOC: Yeah, sort of got behind in posting due to school and applying for next semesters. But I'm all good now and ready to go..... sorta.

Xito Epheral
Hitching a ride on a Pidgeot towards Agate Village

Xito promised to himself that he would never, ever, accept a person’s offer to ride on a flying pokemon to a location. He felt extremely uncomfortable sitting right behind a woman with very little room to give personal space. He was sure that his face was bright red from close contact with her, not that she knew he was blushing thankfully. He tried to distract himself from his predicament by looking at the scenery both on the ground and in the sky. He did see a few stars coming out and the moon rising ever so slowly as they flew towards Agate Village, according to what his map of the region said.

The moon, showing off its pale, white, light reminded him of a legendary pokemon that was said to bring good luck to those that saw it in their dreams back when he was in the orphanage and was taken, along with others to a festival. Cresselia, that’s the name, he mused to himself. However, the stars were starting to be covered up by a mass of clouds, and since the sun was still out, the clouds looked red like blood. If his absol was out, he’d probably be snarling and dragging him to somewhere safe if the mass of clouds were of any forewarning of disaster. He could only hope that Sophie would know how to either speed up the travel speed or know how to find a secure shelter in the middle of nowhere in the desert. He definitely didn’t look forward towards a stormy night camped in the desert. He would rather be stuck in the outskirt stand building. He started to silently pray to Rayquaza for safe skies and protection, although he had doubts that he would show up and disperse this weird weather.

 

[Ysavvryl]

The Under, main square

A fair sized crowd had gathered to watch the show; the major entertainment around here was Pokemon battles, so a mini-concert was a nice distraction. Especially a free one. Although quite a number of crowd members were just there to take advantage of the situation and lift some goods off others.

Near the stage area, a young woman with lavender hair watched the boy perform his first song. She flicked her hair back. “Ffft, you make it so easy to find you. I thought I’d get a good hunt.” She watched for a bit, then smiled. “Well, so you want to be a star, huh? That should make this fun.”

She walked along the edge of the crowd and the buildings until she found the stage manager, standing with a pair of thugs that had been hired to do security. He was a seedy looking man with slicked back hair. Probably out to take advantage of the kid. Too bad for the manager, though.

One of the thugs spotted her coming near. “Stay back,” he said. The other thug was snickering at her outfit: Delcatty ears headband, a plush purple tail, a purple scarf, creamy tan clothes, and paw print tennis shoes.

The manager looked to her. “Sorry, we’re not taking any Pokemon cosplayers at the moment,” he said, waving her off.

“I ain’t here for the show, nyaa,” she said, bringing out her Cipher ID card. “The name’s Amanda; I’m working on the orders of Lady Venus, see?”

That caused him to get flustered. “We, we got the proper permits for this kind of show,” he insisted, opening his bag and hurriedly searching for the documents.

Amused by this, she giggled. “Uh-uh, darling. You’re getting lucky this time as I’ll let you keep staging things. But, there is something I need done, mew.” She pointed up to the stage, to where the boy Shadow was singing through his second song. “That guy, Shadow, he’s to be put under arrest immediately. Lady Venus says so. And if you don’t help me get him, well then, she might not be so willing to let you put on more shows.”

He nodded, not wanting to displease the Lady. “Oh yes, of course, once…”

“Immediately,” Amanda demanded, her stern tone sharp like a knife. “While he’s on stage. You go do that at the end of the song.”

“Yes miss,” he said. The manager brought out his cell phone to give orders to his security force. Then, once Shadow was finished with his second song, the manager came onto stage. “Nicely done,” the manager said, speaking into a microphone so he could be heard over the noisy audience. “However, Shadow, you are under arrest by the orders of Lady Venus. You are to leave the stage now in custody of her agent.”

The security agents started gathering at potential exits while the audience, on hearing the boy was wanted by Venus, started booing and hissing.


Pyrite, Coliseum entrance

On seeing the sudden cloud cover, some people decided to head indoors. Miror B. was based in an old office building on the south side of the giant crevice that ran through Pyrite Town, leading straight down into The Under. But he didn’t head for that shelter. Instead, he walked across the swinging wooden bridge across the crevice and headed for the main building on that side of town, the Coliseum.

Pyrite Coliseum almost seemed to be a ruin. It was a geodesic sphere that had its structure intact. However, a great many of the windows and ceiling pieces had fallen out, leaving great big gaps overhead. The lobby, battle, and seating areas were all kept maintained, but no one had the equipment or money to repair the giant holes. Besides, some people thought it gave the building a certain ‘character’.

Miror B. and his Ludicolo stopped at the entrance, which was watched by a single Cipher peon. “Keep up the good work, fellow,” the Admin said cheerily before heading inside.

Back at the bridge, a young man in a blue overcoat started across. He noted the entrance of the man with the giant afro, but only gave a hand signal to his Espeon and Umbreon to take extra caution. Overhead, there was a crackle of electricity and a flash of light within the red clouds.

OoC: Adding Amanda as an NPC to the Discussion thread.

 

[lxdarknessxl]

Shadow

"...Venus? ...VENUS?!" asked Shadow, cocking his head with insanity on his voice... when a Cypher grunt charged at him with a punch. Right away, Shadow grabbed the grunt's arm and chucked him off the stage as he smirked. "Screw that, you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. Raki! Kira!"

With a flash, a Gallade and Gardevoir appeared on the stage, and Shadow smiled, as grunts rushed onto the stage with pokemon. "Let's ROCK!"

Quickly, the three got to work, Shadow fighting the grunts while Kira and Raki handled the pokemon. Luckily, they didn't have much strong pokemon, but as for those who did, Shadow knocked their trainers off the stage, so Kira could easily knock them unconcious with his blades, along with his fearsome moves while they were confused. Raki stood by, shooting Shadow Balls, freezing with Icy Wind, and throwing pokemon off with Psychic. Other moves were used, but not really much. The whole time, Shadow and Kira laughed. The grunts formed a circle, ready for attacks, when Shadow jumped between them and began to play an extremely loud song on his guitar, causing the grunts to cringe and grab their ears. "TEN MINUTE SONG, BABY!!!"

To make it worse, Kira laughed and used Psychic to pin the grunts all down to the ground, with their ears pointing at Shadow. "TELL ME YOU WON'T HAND ME OVER TO MY PARENTS!!!"

"WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" screamed one of the grunts, all of them confused. Shadow was thinking this "Venus" was one of his former maids. (yes, one of them was named Venus) while only the grunts knew who they were talking about.

"YOU IDIOT! THEY'RE TALKING ABOUT CYPHER VENUS!" Kira yelled, and Shadow stopped playing.

"...Oh, then why am I fighting them? This is a waste of time... sorry, everybody, for this... I'll leave the town right away." Shadow moaned, and jumped off the stage. Raki used Psychic on Kira and Shadow, as Kira used Psychic on Raki and Shadow. The three of them began to float away, and Eve licked Shadow's cheek, trying to cheer him up. Nothing good happened today, and they had to leave the town when they just got there. Good thing Shadow got paid before the concert.

 

[Sophie S.]

Sophie Summers
Nearing Agate Village

"As a researcher I have the need to figure this new phenomenon out," Sophie said with a dazed tone in her voice with narrowed eyes directed at the mass of clouds that were now surging with electricity and flashing with ominous light. "But our safety is first right now and Agate is our destination, so hold on tight because we'll be there as fast as you can say 'Arceus,'" the teen said with determination, soothing out the feathers of Rustle's neck, feeling his anxiety. "Please, use Agility and as fast as you can take us to Agate Village," she crooned in a soft manner, knowing that a harsh command would only put her Pidgeot on edge. The bird complied and his body glowed white for a few seconds before picking up speed and made his way towards Agate far below them. "Now, use Agility again and follow it with a series of Quick Attacks!" she exclaimed a little harder but still with a calm tone, gasping as her partner went faster than before.

After using Quick Attack three times, she noticed that they had cut their time drastically and a small smile on her face appeared as they neared the Village. She turned once more to the storm clouds looming over Pyrite, and she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she had gotten when she first saw it. "Rustle, slow down," she ordered, covering her face more as they landed. She knew that there wasn't any Cipher grunts around like in the other places in Orre, but she couldn't risk it. "Let's go to the Pokemon Center so we can wait this...storm out," she said in a wary tone as she got off of Rustle and started heading towards the building with the red roof, hoping that Xito would follow and Rustle gliding right above her. She didn't like taking authority, but this wasn't the time to argue with herself.

The first thing she was going to do after reaching the Pokemon Center was get on Kid's Grid.

 

[Aura Wolfe]

Secc had decided not to come along for one reason or another, which Lea was okay with. She was a bit happier without people anyway, but then she was going searching after somebody else. She stopped where she was, confused for a moment. Why was she doing this anyway? What did she care about Shadow?

Out of nowhere, a raging, howling feeling came to her, so intense and so filled with pain that Lea dropped to her knees and clutched her head, her mouth open in a silent scream. Solo saw this, and instantly the pink light of Pain Split, followed by the golden light of Recover started flicking so quickly they appeared to be one colour. With Solo's work, she was able to compose herself enough to look up into the blood red eyes of the Shadow Gallade. She knew him.

"You're Shadow's Pokemon aren't you?" She asked quietly, having to force the words out.

"Hm?" The Gallade questioned, then quickly fell into an attacking position. Lea froze, her hand wrapping around Mercury's Pokeball. It could easily decide to attack. Then, it relaxed. "Oh, you must be the one that my brother 'Shadow' was going to meet... by the looks of it, he must have already left for the concert. Come with me if you wish to see Shadow's performance."

He said Shadow with sarcasm; so, it really wasn't his name. The Gallade turned and walked off without her. Lea looked at Solo. She knew his endurance was good, but no one could withstand pain forever.

"Can you keep it up?" She asked him.

He paused for a moment, his eyes intense. Yes, I can keep it up. That Gallade will know were Shadow is better than I will. But keep back from him okay?

Nodding, Lea hurried off after the fast moving Shadow Pokemon, careful to keep her distance from him.

***

When Lea arrived, the concert and battles were in full swing. She could hear Shadow's voice ringing over the sounds of trainers calling out to their Pokemon what moves to use.

"I'm closer to where I started." He sung beautifully. "Chasing after you. I'm falling even more in love with you. Letting go of all I've held onto. I'm standing here until you make me move. I'm hanging by a moment here with you..."

Caught up in the music, Lea could only stand and listen as his song continued, and she cheered along with the rest of the crowd when he finished. One voice rang out in her head, telepathically. It was that of a Pokemon.

"GO, MUSICA! That's my brother up there!" The female voice cheered.

Musica...

“Nicely done,” A man had walked out from the side of stage, and Musica beamed. “However, Shadow, you are under arrest by the orders of Lady Venus. You are to leave the stage now in custody of her agent.”

"...Venus? ...VENUS?!" Musica cried out, clearly heard over the crowds jeering and boos. He grabbed a man's punch, then threw him off the stage. Lea randomly wondered if he worked out. That took a lot of strength... Then she shook her head. You thought of the strangest things under pressure. "Screw that, you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. Raki! Kira!"

A Gardivour teleported onto the stage, and the Gallade from before appeared. For a Shadow Pokemon, he sure was obedient. And then he started fighting.

"Idiot!" She exclaimed, pushing her way through the crowd. "Why is he fighting against Venus's forces?" Seeing the man near her look at her strangely, she quickly added, "If Lady Venus wants someone, they should just give themselves in."

"Listen to what he's saying. Solo ordered. From what I can hear, he hasn't registered that this Venus is Cipher's Venus... Oh no wait, he just realised. He's getting out of there now.

And indeed they were. She could see them, three figures floating up into the air. She was very close to the stage now, close enough that she saw one of the security guards release her Golett. A ball of pure shadows appeared in it's hands.

"Light Screen." Lea commanded.

Solo wasted no time, a glow of green appearing around him for a fraction of a second. Just as the Shadow Ball was about to hit Musica, a wall of green light appeared in the path of the ball, and it bounced straight off it, knocking out the security girl.

Having intervened in the battle, Lea quickly fled the square, almost knocking over some cosplayer in her haste. She crept into an alley way, then released Mercury. Upon being released, she let out a caw that sounded like steel being scraped against steel.

"Hush Mercury." She whispered, and the Skarmory glared at her. She leapt easily onto the steel birds back, and silently they took off into the sky. Musica already had a bit of a head start agasint them, so Lea gave a quick order of Tailwind. A few minutes later, she was side by side with him.

Her eyes met his, and bore into him accusingly. "You need to be more careful." She said slowly, calmly, but her words could be like a physical blow. Her shyness was gone; it always did when she told someone off. "You know why they came after you don't you. You're an aura seer. And you walked around town flaunting it. This is ORRE! You can't just flaunt things like that when this whole place is run by a group of people who don't want people like you to live to be able to tell everyone else what they're doing to Pokemon. You need to be more careful. I've learnt this lesson over time. I've seen some of the bodies of aura seers who've made their gift far too obvious; the terror in their eyes are still obvious even hours after death, and their blood stained the ground. You don't want to end up dead, that's what our fight is all about. Right, Musica?"

 

[Wordy]

Olivia Stamper
Pyrite Outskirts

"Well, Shay Evans, it's very nice to meet you. I wish we could stay and chat, but..." Olivia gestured to the sky above them, "It appears that something is going to make talking very difficult. Something very unusual..." The clouds that had gathered above them were definitely strange, being red and spiralling. She paused and frowned, continuing to stare at the sky. She was getting a sense of something artificial and foreboding behind the sudden cloud movement- and it didn't make her feel comfortable. Musharna had woken up and was rocking very definitely back and forth within the Pokéball, spurred into action by the sudden nervousness that was gripping its trainer.

She felt the flash of memory before it actually hit and cringed, clutching her head as Musharna unleashed her worst fears, played out all the scenarios that could happen, all the while innocuously remaining in the Pokéball out of sight. She breathed slowly as her legs threatened to buckle beneath her as the mental onslaught continued- with no way to block it out she resorted to holding her hands over her ears and squeezing them tight. Shay was forgotten- a small person in a small fraction of a mind trapped momentarily in the past.

Then without warning it stopped. Musharna had grown bored and fell asleep again. She had no idea of how long she had been out of it for- all she knew was that she needed to get as much done as she could now before it awoke again and made more problems.

"Is this natural?" she said, although not to Shay.
I wouldn't think so, replied Mystery after a few seconds thought, The sky seems to be almost bleeding. And the crackling electricity isn't helping matters. It's quite scary. Are you... OK?
"I'm fine," she breathed, as she looked over Pyrite Town.

"It appears to be centred over the Colosseum. You know, two people are better than one, no matter who the two people may be," she finally turned to Shay, "I suggest we investigate. No natural storm has that sort of spiral. Too significant."

Her lips flickered momentarily into some sort of mix between a smile and a grimace, "Shall we put our past differences aside and go, then? After all, it would be good to have a partner."

She did not mention that she was a member of the Kids' Grid. She still didn't trust this girl.