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Posted by: knil1 Jul 15 2010, 11:09 PM

~~~

Jened walked out of the Sanctuary, a bit iffy on his new mission. He looked at the red envelope and slowly untied the black satin string, trying not to disturb the jeweled embroidery and intricate design on the paper. The Growlithe trotting beside Jened tried to jump and catch the ribbon in her mouth, failing miserably, multiple times.

You have been formally invited!
Occasion: Help Morte St. Saëns celebrate her 14th birthday and rise to Elite rank
Location: 706 Macabre Lane
When: Saturday, August 21st at 8:30 PM
Formal dress or Magma outfit required

Jened looked at his fingers. The mission required playing the violin in order to get in. It had been a while since he had picked up his violin, and forever since he played a real orchestral piece of music in front of an audience. Ardaine quit jumping after she ran into another person while trying to bite the ribbon. She continued to trot by his side.
It had also been a while since he had been in the rich district, let alone perform there.

Before Jened touched the doorknob to his uncle’s apartment, the door swung open and Gerrard handed his nephew a brand new suit.
“Bought it just for you!”
Jened took the suit and looked at his uncle quizzically. How had he already known of the mission, and did he ever have a mission of his own? “Will you be driving me?”
“What, am I your chauffeur now? No, I hired some person to drive you there in a limo.”
“Wouldn’t that attract a bit too much attention?”
“Nonsense, Limos don’t attract attention. However, the bright red one with a Groudon’s design on it will.”

Jened shook his head and walked up to his room, and left Ardaine to play with her adoptive Uncle as he changed.
He pulled on the black pants that, surprisingly, were hemmed to just the right length. Something that was unusual for his uncle to get correct. The black shirt was buttoned up and Jened proceeded to mess with the light green tie. After a while, the outfit was made perfectly symmetrical, and all that was left was the Magma-red blazer. He folded it over his arm and walked downstairs.

When he closed his bedroom door, he heard his uncle yelling and grunting as though he was having trouble with something. When Jened’s foot hit the bottom step, Ardaine ran towards him and his uncle sighed.
“I couldn’t get it just right, but it looks nice enough.” Ardaine was standing behind her trainer growling at the man who was trying to kill her. “I figured it would be safe to have Ardaine with you. And I wanted her to look nice as well.”

A black ribbon was tied around her neck and she proceeded to try to gnaw it off. Jened pushed her head to the side, finding that it actually looked nice on her.

A horn blared outside.
“Oh, that must be your ride.” Gerrard grabbed his nephew and tossed him outside, landing on his rear. Jened had to then focus on the large lead case flying towards him, courtesy of his uncle. “I also bought something else for you. I bet you’ll like it.
Also, you don’t have a magma badge, so be careful. Good luck!”

Ardaine ran around Jened barking, trying to keep the ribbon from flying in her face. Jened stood up and brushed himself off, trying to wipe as much dirt off of his new suit as possible. He grabbed the case and turned to find that his uncle wasn’t lying. He saw a twenty foot limo, bright red, Groudon markings, parked right in front of him. The driver jumped out and opened the passenger door.

Jened climbed inside and called his Growlithe in the car. With the passengers in their seats, the driver ran back to the steering wheel and headed off for 706 Macabre Lane. The Rebel took the moment to put on his blazer and black gloves then tell his pokemon the plan. While he had the idea that she didn’t know what he was saying, he felt it a good idea to make the effort.

“Ardaine, this ball will be riddled with Magma Agents.” Upon saying Magma, Ardaine began to growl. Jened chuckled, as that was a new reaction that he had no part of. Since he felt he caught her attention, he continued quickly.
“A meeting will be going on during the party, where high ranking Magma officers will be discussing information that could be used to benefit us. So be on your good behavior, and keep an eye open.”
Ardaine nodded and eyed her trainer as he began to open the lead case thrown at him.

The locks were unlatched and Jened lifted the top to find an ebony violin, resting inside. Jened grinned, excitedly, strumming all of the strings. The A string chimed a lovely Bb and Jened cringed. He lifted the violin and began turning the pegs. When the Rebel began fine-tuning the strings, Ardaine found a letter and pawed at it. Jened grabbed it and opened it to find 1,000 poke, the invitation, and a letter from his uncle.

“Can’t have my nephew going to a rich people’s party empty-handed. You’d look silly.”

~~~

After getting re-acquainted with the tiny string instrument, the limo came to a stop. People began eying the vehicle with interest as to who would arrive in such a flamboyant way. Jened sighed as the door opened and hundreds of curious gazes were directed to him. Ardaine hopped out of the door and sat down, enjoying the attention she got. Jened, on the other hand, cautiously stepped out of the vehicle, straightening his suit, trying to ignore all of the unwanted attention.

The chauffeur handed Jened a card, ran back to the driver’s seat, and sped off.
The Rebel looked around. Seeing that he was going into the lion’s den was a little unnerving, but he had to do what needed to be done. He eyed the massive building as he walked down the landscaped pathway. He handed the invitation to a burly man standing at the door. While the bouncer looked over Jened’s outfit, Jened looked in the house.

People were dressed in huge ballroom dresses and Chardonnay was being handed out to basically anybody who asked for it. A huge Chandelier hung over the huge salon, and a grand staircase led up to the second floor.

Once the man said proceed, Ardaine ran into the building and her trainer entered, looking for where to set up.

Posted by: The Mad Hatter Jul 16 2010, 12:20 AM

His eye was visibly twitching. It was so… so… flowy. It was horrendously itchy. The stockings were as well. With a grimace on his face, Benjamin Venefsukja, on his second mission, scratched his stocking-covered, pale-white legs fervently inside a sleek black limo. It didn’t help that he probably looked like an idiot, losing his cool in front of Beat Braunstein. This was his assignment, and he was to do it.

The dress reached almost to his ankles. It was a light purple. Though, the bottom trim was Magma red, as well as the fur around his neck. His gloves were the same colour; they were long, yet he had them underneath the dress’s sleeves. The most uncomfortable aspect of the entire outfit was the large, red bow tied around his waist. The bow was actually tied behind him, but the ribbon ran around his front. It was extremely – almost awkwardly, but not quite – large. Not to mention that it was tied tight, but he didn’t know two cents about how to tie bows, so he couldn’t loosen it. His red hair was tied up elegantly too; there was another ribbon holding up the bun, though this time, it was purple. The bow was also considerably smaller. The necklace he always wore, the crystal one in the shape of a tear drop, was no slightly more visible.

Benjamin huffed, pulling the invitation, seal broken, out from within the Magma red clutch-purse that matched his outfit. The mission was simple enough: Infiltrate the ball that Magma Morte St. Saëns was holding for his daughter and gather information about Magma. The Aqua figured he could handle it well. Of course he could handle it well. Just the same, maybe he’d get a promotion after this mission… That would be quite nice.

There was supposed to be a meeting held there that most, if not all, Magma higher-ups would be present at. He had no idea what they were discussing; he only knew that he had to get in.

Terrence Braunstein, nicknamed Beat by some people, had been assigned as his partner. After all, a quite “beautiful girl” going to a party full of rich, possibly perverted people would seem a little odd – not to forget that Benjamin would probably lose his cool at some point and punch a guy for hitting on him for the bajillionth time.

Beat seemed capable enough. Benjamin pursed his lips and looked him over once more, crossing his arms, careful not to crease the dress too much (it was very expensive, you see). They had been on the last mission together. That mission was pretty much a failure. Ben would make sure that this one would not turn out like that infiltration. It was so miserable.

He had been told that there was also another undercover Aqua there. He had no idea what he (or she) looked like. He was not given details. Only the number one. They would have to look for the other member.

The limo came to a complete halt, not too many eyes on it since a red one had just pulled out in front of them, causing all the attention. The driver, completely unaware that Benjamin was a male (the fur covered up his rather flat chest), quickly got out and opened the door for him. Ben crawled out, as gracefully as he could, which actually was rather graceful except for the fact that he showed a bit of himself underneath the dress. He shot a strained, forced smile at the driver, clutch held tightly in both of his gloved hands, and waited for Beat to come out.

Benjamin Venefsukja did not like this dress. Not that he liked any dress. But, he felt so free. And not in a good way.

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jul 16 2010, 02:35 AM

Kanoa sighed, slightly irritated, as he attempted again and again to get his hair into working order. As usual, it was completely and utterly unmanageable, so he let it settle back into its usual mop. He sat down in the arm chair in front of the mirror and stared at himself. He wasn't wearing much at the moment, having just gotten out of the shower and finished his shave. He'd thrown on some jeans, because he had windows, and clipped his dog-tags back around his neck.

What to do with his hair, what to do with his hair. His recruiter had invited him along to the ball, to see what the Magma social life was like, and for true, it didn't sound too bad. He'd attended many a formal ball with his parents back in Hearthome, so he was really quite desensitized to all the glitz and glamour of it. The problem was, he didn't care for it himself, usually opting to go loiter like a delinquent at an arcade or in front of a convenience market.

However, he wanted to make a decent sort of impression. This was not because he wanted to rise in the ranks by any means. At the moment, his only goal was to get some experience as a pokemon battler. He had heard that there would be a little 'battle area', where he'd be able to test his mettle against some full fledged trainers. He was sure he'd lose, but at least he'd learn from it.

Yet, this train of thought merely detoured around the main dilemma: His hair. His eternally messy (but super awesome), mop of brown, wavy hair.

After just another moment of staring at himself in the mirror blankly, he felt a quote box with an exclamation point a light bulb turn on over his head.

"Hat." He grinned broadly, hopping out of the chair and almost skipping to his closet. After a moment, he procured a very chic looking black fedora with a blue and white feather. It fit just slightly loosely on his head, but when he tucked his hair up into it, it was a nice fit. He then set about designing an outfit for himself to wear.

White button up shirt, black tie (pokeball insignia towards the bottom of it, so it was hidden by his vest), black pinstripe vest, black slacks. Suspenders? Check. Shiny black dress shoes? Check. He made sure to put on a nice pair of blue armbands, to match his feather (as well as give his shirtsleeves a little bit of shape). The colour was not quite right, but close enough. He didn't really want to wear a suit coat, but he figured it'd be best to at least wear it there, then hang it up.

He seemed pretty pleased with his very basic, but still very dapper outfit. Then he realized, he had no room for his pokeballs! Kanoa quickly grabbed his trainer belt and set it at a jaunty angle from his right hip down to the middle of his left thigh. Assymetry was always so cool. Now he had his pokeballs in reach, though in plain sight once he took off his jacket, and he was looking very sharp. He filled his pockets with his necessities: wallet, keys, address and invite, cigarettes and lighter.

"All done." he chimed to no one in particular, smiling brightly as he began out the door.

He did stop for a moment, however, to go and grab his pokegear. It was a little bulkier than his other items, and he didn't want to make his pants look too lumpy, so he clipped it to the front of his slanted belt, kind of like a cell phone.

"All Right. All Set."

* * *

Kanoa arrived in a fairly timely fashion. Having no means of conveyance, he'd resorted to calling a cab. He also didn't particularly feel like walking around in such a fancy outfit. After paying the cabbie and approaching the place, he really didn't feel all that impressed at the sight of it. Kanoa had figured that he'd have to stand up straight and walk with good posture, but no one seemed to be paying any attention to him, so he fell back into his usual slouch. He flat out didn't really like it. It was the same lavish nonsense that his parents dragged him out to all the time. He checked in his suit coat, opting to go around without it (but naturally kept the fedora to hide his messy hair). Then he set about trying to figure out what to do. If memory served, the formula was always the same: Steal some booze, find some kids his age, smoke cigarettes and have a few drinks. Half the fun was taken away as he approached a bar station, wherein the man simply asked him what he wanted.

"Gewurztraminer, please." Kanoa seemed a little disappointed. This was not because he was a kleptomaniac by any means...it was just he'd rather have taken the bottle and swigged straight from it.

"1997 Sinnoh?" the bartender asked, holding up a bottle.

"Not a good year." he shook his head, having remembering that from hearing his father go on and on about wine years. "Do you have a 2001 Johto?"

"We do. Sir has good taste." The bartender seemed genuinely pleased, uncorking the bottle and pouring Kanoa a decent sized helping of the sweet, white wine.

"Mr. Kaipo!" A man a few inches taller than Kanoa, dressed likewise up to the nines in a Red Team Magma suit with a white scarf-ish thing around his neck, strolled up, patting him on the shoulder. The man's blonde hair was slicked back, and he wore something like an Errol Flynn mustache. It was a rather dashing look; the man did look somewhat like an aviator in his get up.

"Oh, hello sir!" Kanoa gulped visibly: He didn't remember his recruiter's name.

"Please, we're at a social function, for now call me Lennox." the man smiled "How do you like it so far?"

"So far so good, Mr. Lennox." Kanoa sipped his wine as nonchalantly as possible. "Good wine selection." he wasn't keen on making this sort of chit chat, he really just wanted to head out back and smoke a cigarette.

"Blue feather and armbands?" Lennox looked positively surprised "Those are Team Aqua colours." Kanoa looked up at him, concerned.

"Oh, I didn't think about that part." he shrugged after a half-second of thought. "I thought it was a nice touch to my attire."

"Fair." Lennox shrugged in return "Just know that from now on, unless you're on a mission in Aqua territory, stick with Red."

"Yes, Sir, Lennox, Sir" Kanoa saluted playfully, returning to his slouch as he turned to walk away.

He moved himself over towards a window, towards the edge of the party. He know anyone at the party, other than Lennox, and there seemed to be so few other people his age about. Then he noted the limousines pulling up. Fancy as they might've been, it was their passengers that seemed that much more interesting. A girl who looked very uncomfortable followed by a hottie with dreadlocks, and a violin player. They seemed like a pretty interesting lot. For a moment, he heard the opening bars to the 1st movement of Camille Saint-Saens' Violin Concerto #3. Normally he liked more...rock and hip hop music, but he wasn't adverse to classical music, especially since his mother was always playing it when he was home from school on holidays. Saint-Saens was far from his favourite composer of the lot, but he did enjoy the third Violin Concerto and the Danse Macabre, probably because they were in Minor keys, but also because they were pretty dramatic sounding. He figured when the time came, he'd request the whole Concerto from the violinist.

Posted by: Eremol Jul 16 2010, 07:14 AM

“A formal ball?” groaned Julian, as he glanced over the invitation. It was pink and lacy-edged, and written in red ink was the request that he be present for so-and-so’s fourteenth birthday. Julian was over twice the girl’s age, and found the idea of attending a mere child’s birthday party quite unsavory.

“Correct, sir. Morte St. Saëns comes from a very prominent family, and she herself is already climbing the ranks of Team Magma. Madam Viera, your grandmother, was originally scheduled to attend, considering her social status, but since her passing…” the elderly man paused, and the corners of his mouth twitched. “Think of the affair as a head-start into Magma. Perhaps you may make a few important connections there, Master Dreggs.”

Julian grumbled. He had repeatedly told Mr. Danielson to call him simply by his first name, but though the old butler had ears as sharp as a Growlithe, he seemed to hear nothing Julian said. He handed the invitation back to Danielson before returning to his breakfast.

“Besides,” he said with a mouthful of scrambled eggs, “It says ‘formal dress or Magma outfit required’. My uniform hasn’t even arrived from headquarters, and I don’t own any suits.”

“Ah, not to worry, sir,” Danielson said, smiling. “I’ve already sent someone out to purchase a tuxedo for you. It will be here before the event tonight, so there’s no need to worry.”

Julian sighed and dismissed the butler. He had still not gotten used to his grandmother’s extravagant lifestyle. Had it really only been two weeks ago that he had left Mauville City and come to Noverus for a visit with his grandmother? Already he was enlisted in this project of ‘Team Magma’ to reform the city’s crime and corruption. His first mission hadn’t even arrived, and yet he was wasting all this time going to event after frivolous event. Julian wished he were back working for Professor Cedar in Mauville, taking expeditions into the harsh Hoenn desert and studying the magnificent biodiversity there. But now he was stuck here under Grandma Viera’s wishes, at least until the situation in Noverus was stabilized.

He took a sip of his coffee and looked down the empty dining room table and out the three large windows at the other end of the room, which overlooked the estate. His estate, now, he reminded himself. A pair of Pachirisu scampered through the branches of an oak tree outside, and Julian watched them awhile until they had scurried out of sight. Julian wished he could join them in their fun. Inside the empty mansion, he felt alone and trapped.

The suit arrived at six o’clock, which gave him about an hour to try it on before the ball. He tucked a white shirt into the pants, which were gray and stiff. Overtop he wore a matching gray suit jacket with the Magma logo stitched into the left side. The shoes that came were black and very shiny, and were tight on Julian’s feet. He looked himself over in his bedroom mirror. He didn’t look too bad, save for his hair, which he decided to not even attempt trying to comb; the task would take the whole night. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and smoothed over his clothes before slipping his Pokéballs into the jacket pocket, then went over to the window. The wealthy district, of which his grandmother’s mansion was situated in the center, was dimly lit now except for a bustling of lights and noises from a house a block away. He assumed that would be the venue for the event.

Julian sulked down the staircase into the foyer, where Danielson waited with the invitation.

“Don’t look so glum, Master Dreggs, it’s only one night.” The butler handed Julian the pink card. “Now remember, make your presence known to everyone. You have to make a good impression on the Magma crowd, so greet everyone you see and have as many conversations as possible. I promise you will learn a lot.” Danielson smiled.

“I’ll be back in a few hours, Danielson,” said Julian as he started out the door.

“But, sir, you aren’t taking the limo?”

“No, I don’t think so. It’s not too far a walk.”

“But there are thieves and rebels out at night!” cried Danielson, his face wrinkling with concern. “Please, Master Dreggs, just-”

But Julian was already out the door, calling a goodbye to the old fusspot from halfway down the drive.

The night air was cool, and he could hear Kricketune in distant trees. The sounds of music wafted from down the block, and Julian simply followed the noise. When he was within sight of the place, he considered just taking a sharp left and going for a long nighttime stroll through the wealthy district, but Danielson’s warning of criminals made him a little queasy on the inside. He walked with his hands in his pockets, but figured it might be considered bad form and straightened up.

About a dozen limousines were parked outside the residence, and men and women in elaborate outfits left their cars and streamed into the mansion. Julian stood gawking at the whole affair, and almost laughed in incredulity. The house was slightly bigger than his grandmother’s mansion, and the lawn was perfectly manicured. He walked through gleaming silver gates into the driveway, which was lit by short lanterns placed along the sides of the walkway. Two large fountains bordered the entrance into the house, and all assortments of Water-type Pokémon were frolicking in the waters. He thought he heard violin music playing from inside.

A young man waited at the door to accept Julian’s ticket and welcome him, and a maid just inside offered to take his coat, which he remained wearing. The foyer was adorned with photographs of a young teenage girl in red uniforms, and Julian figured this must be Morte St. Saëns.
The entrance hall led to the ballroom. The floor was made of well-shined tiles, and the ceiling was taller than an Onix. Over to the right played an orchestra, and a bar to Julian’s left boasted all sorts of different colored drinks. Waiters skirted through the crowds carrying trays of hors d'œuvres and drinks in one hand. A throng of men and women were dancing and twirling to a slow, militant song. Julian receded against the wall, overwhelmed by all of the smells and sounds. He plucked a crab cake from a tray and sidled over to the bar.

“What’ll you have tonight, sir?” asked the bartender as Julian ambled up to the counter.

“Just a water, please,” he replied, much to the disappointment of the server. When he was given what he ordered, he turned and faced the crowd, keeping an eye out for anyone he might have a chance at talking to. So much for Danielson’s plan of making his presence known.

Posted by: Stasis Key Jul 16 2010, 10:37 AM

He was normally a calm person, but this? This was pushing it.

After the complete and utter failure of their last mission, Ben and Beat had been subject to a long, very explosive rant from a commanding officer - Beat had managed to tune most of it out after a few minutes, but it seemed like it was a major blow to Ben's pride. So, Beat had requested another mission as a second chance, which later turned out to be a mistake. He still shuddered when he though of the officer's grin as he pulled out those invitations.

'...You were invited to a what?'

Beat sighed and rubbed his forehead. 'A ball, mum. Formal.' He knew telling his family was mistake number two - especially after Melody had squealed something about dress-up and ran off - but what else was he supposed to do? He didn't own a suit. Or anything more formal than a pair of flip-flops. 'For, uh. You know the second guy I worked for? His daughter's turning fourteen.' The key here was not to lie - Melissa Braunstein could sniff out an untruth from a mile away. His best best was to simply omit parts of the story and pray she didn't pry.

'This is short notice, Terrence. Very short notice.' his mother said, handing the dripping wet drying pan to Lorraine. The Machamp swiftly dried it and put it back in the cabinet. 'Well, I don't think your father has any clothes that will fit you, and buying and hemming a new tux would take too long - not to mention, cost a lot of money. You know how the economy is, beat.' Handing the last dish to Lorraine, she turned around, tapping her fingers against the edge of the sink. 'You'll just have to-'

'Found it!'

The two looked up at the staircase where Melody stood triumphantly, holding a box almost as big as she was. Beat could only see her little pigtail sticking out from the corner of the box, smothering a laugh as he trumped up the stairs to help. Once he'd rescued the box from his little sister's hands, he noticed the smile on her face - it was almost identical to the one his officer had given him earlier.

'Oh, crap.'



Two hours later, Beat was standing in front of the mirror in Melody's room, sighing as the girl ran through the list again. The suit was annoying; the last time he'd worn a button-down was when he was Mellie's age and the pants kept catching on his wristbands. Verdani was in the corner of the room, trying to tear off the giant purple ribbon attached to the back of her head. Melody sent her a glare eerily reminiscent of her mother, and the Poochyena stopped at once. Satisified, she turned back to the list.

'An' no red wine, 'cause you'll spill it all over and it don't come out-'

'Doesn't, Mellie.'

'-An' if you dance with a girl, you gotta condiment her.'

Smiling, Beat turned and lifted his sister up, ruffling her black hair. 'It's compliment, not condiment. And I don't think I'll be dancing with any girls tonight. Sorry, kiddo.' Setting Melody back down, he gave her a quick peck on the forehead before leaving the room...only to be nearly bowled over.

'You forgot the tie!' Pouting, Melody held up a thin strip of cloth the same colour as Verdani's bow. In the corner of his eye, he saw the Bite Pokemon slink out of Mellie's room, one of her eyes twitching.With a sigh, Beat took the tie and wrapped the fabric under his collar.

'Can I go now? I'm gonna be late.'



The suit wasn't too bad; it was just a plain white shirt under a grey vest, with matching pants. As soon as Beat got into the limo - making sure Verdani's tail didn't get caught in the door - he untied the tie, letting the ends hang down. Grumbling a little, he pulled a purple hair tie out of his pocket, pulling his dreadlocks into a loose, high ponytail, tapping his foot against the floor. The shoes were the worst part of the whole thing - how did Melody expect him to move in those?

The only comfort Beat really had was that Ben was going to have to dress up too, and if he knew anything about him, it would probably be some over-the-top, frilly affair.

It turned out to be very over-the-top and very frilly.

Beat focused on looking out the window the entire, ride, half-afraid he'd burst into laughter if he looked at Ben - Well, Lilja for this mission - too much. Verdani had no such qualms, forgetting all about her own bow as she snickered at Ben's the whole ride. It was more than just a relief when the limo stopped outside the mansion.

The driver nearly tripped over himself getting the door for Ben, giving him the goo-goo eyes as the slim man stepped out. Rolling his eyes, Beat bent over to get out - why did they make limos so short? - his Poochyena following after him, flicking the end of her tail into the driver's face as she passed.

The grounds were impressive, but the mansion was the coup de grace. It was huge. And full of Magma agents. From what the officer had said earlier, there would be another Aqua here; how they were supposed to find them in this mess was beyond Beat. With a shrug, he watched as the limo drove off along with any hope of backing out. Squeezing his eyes shut, he reluctantly placed a hand on Ben's waist, gritting his teeth into a semblance of a smile. A gaggle of young men who had been leering appreciatively at the 'girl' frowned and moved off in huff.

'Let's get this over with,' Terrence muttered.

Posted by: Tysm Jul 16 2010, 12:54 PM

Khezu curiously looked at the pink invitation. He wondered how Aqua managed to get hold of such information and why, out of every possible higher-ranks, they picked him to infiltrate the ball. Khezu's mission was simple. They had strong beliefs that something would happen there and so he had to pose as an employee serving drinks and appetizers. While he was trying to figure out what he would even do at the ball someone knocked on his dormroom door.

"Moga, what the hell are you still doing here?! You're a waiter, not a guest so dress up and get moving!" an higher-rank was shouting from outside, reminding Khezu of his position. He got up from the bed and started to look for the outfit. He could have swear that he left it on top of the chair.

"Hey, Double S, have you seen my... wait... crap." Khezu opened the bathroom door to find a pile of brown and white clothes on the floor with one of the pieces moving around. From it emerged an Aipom wearing a brown gatsby and wrapped around in a small red bow.

"Seriously, Slinger? I have to wear that tonight for my mission... Speaking of which... You need something classy too." a large grin covered Khezu's face, the kind that strikes fear in everyone's mind when they realize what you're actually thinking.


´``´´``´´``´´``´


"Oh come on, it's not that bad!" he commented on the Aipom's new yellow scarf, who was trying to take it off, while he finished tightening his bow. Khezu was wearing a simple white shirt and pants with a brown vest. Covering his messy long dark brown was an also brown gatsby with little to no details other than a simple white line and on his neck was a red bow that was actually the hiding spot for a small microphone.

"Aipom?" the small monkey was holding another Pokeball. Tank's Pokeball, to be exact, Khezu's - rather large - Rhyhorn with a look on his face that clearly said "If I wear this then he must too". Khezu laughed at the Aipom's reaction before replying saying that if he had to use Tank during the mission then it would surely be for battling.

"I guess we're all set! Time to go meet our 'boss'."


´``´´``´´``´´``´


Khezu stood there speechless. The mansion was huge and, being an employee, he got to see it before it was full with people. Magnificent was short to describe what he was seeing and he hadn't even left the main gates. He eventually had to move or he would fail the mission right there if he didn't. Slinger Shot was on his shoulder and his amazement was also obvious, admiring the mansion even when they met the owner.

"You're late, young man." warned the owner of the mansion, Mr. St. Saëns. Khezu already had something in mind. Lying about stuff was kind of his specialty, including making an answer on the spot.

"I'm sorry, sir. I merely wanted to look good for such event. Please excuse me. I'll start working immediately." he swiftly evaded the truth in all questions that followed. When they reached to the end of the questionnaire Mr Saëns gave him the general instructions of the place, including the kitchen, bathroom and, obviously, the ballroom. As Khezu left to look for the kitchen to get his order of business clear the owner asked him one more question.

"Excuse me, young lad, but may I know your name?"

"My name...?" he froze for a second. If he gave out his real name he may as well say he's an Aqua and that he's there to spy on the party, so he made one up. "Lockhart, sir. Charles Lockhart, at your service."

"Very well, Mr. Lockhart. Please carry on. The party begins in a few hours. Be ready to serve the incoming guests." before Khezu left the base he was also told that two more Aquas would be at the party disguised as guests. Nothing more was told to him other than that, however, one of the Aquas that gave him the information burst into laugher after mentioning the other undercover agents.

Posted by: knil1 Jul 16 2010, 10:42 PM

Jened found a stage and meandered his way across the crowd of people. Ardaine had managed to run off and get lost, but it was fine, seeing as how she was a trained agent too, and was busy looking for secret passageways.

He floated past the people, his expression stoic, but for some reason, a glimmer of satisfaction was shining through. He was well aware of how well he actually played, but to play for such an audience, Jened was excited and for some reason, honored. He stepped onto the stage and looked at the four others that would be playing with him.

A second violinist, maybe in his twenties, looked at the teen and groaned.
"Good god. This brat is supposedly better than me? Really?"
A middle aged woman holding a cello smiled upon Jened's arrival. "Oh, come on. It's nice to see that the youth of today has some culture. Give him a break John. Besides, you've been playing this entire time, until he got here." She glared back at the other man.
The violist shrunk back in her seat. She obviously didn't want to be there, and in fact, seemed younger than Jened. It was probably due to her quiet attitude that she wasn't noticed and 'today's youth' wasn't mentioned earlier.
A bass stood behind the cellist, which was strange because basses don't have the ability to stand on their endpins. An older man appeared from behind it and scowled. But the man didn't stop scowling after he was finished looking at the new arrival. He had a vibe that said stay away from me, or I will use this bass as a bat.

There were some people sitting behind the string players, mostly holding flutes, symbals, and the like. But for some reason, most of the focus was on the strings.

Jened took his seat and opened the case. John glared at Jened the entire time Jened was getting set up.
He lifted a panel in the case to reveal his two other pokemon and the sheet music that was to be observed and performed that night.

He set the folder on the stand and out of nowhere, a man jumped on the stage.
"Welcome to Morte St. Saëns' fourteenth birthday party! I'm glad you could make it!" The man prattled on while Jened redirected his attention to the music. He hadn't played the first piece in a few years, and he didn't want to get the reputation of 'failure violinist'. Especially with John obviously trying to show him up.

"... and be sure to check out our battle area! Without further ado, I introduce Morte St. Saëns!" The man and crowd began clapping and a spotlight was redirected to the staircase. A girl stepped down a few steps and proceeded to just stand and smile, trying not to disrupt the flow of attention into her ego. She started her way down, holding her dress in her hands to keep her light green heels from tearing a hole in her dress. The neckline was a black ribbon that bobbed up and down with every step. Her dress was primarily Magma red, with edges of the dress being a combination of black with light green accents. She ran her fingers through her red, curly hair to show more of her tan face.
She was clearly as spoiled as Jened assumed her to be.

She stopped on the third step and began an announcement. Again, Jened neglected to pay any attention and continued to study his music. Towards what Jened assumed to be the end of her speech, he looked up.
"... Thank you once again for accepting me into your wonderful group! May Magma live long!" This caused an uproar in claps and cheers, and then she looked over to the stage with the quintet. "I believe the orchestra will be providing us with some lovely music tonight, Dança da Morte, in honor if me. Pair up and dance! For it is the beginning of a long and amazing night!" As she climbed down the three final steps, people clapped again, and upon her finding a dance partner, people began to pair up and await music.

Jened lifted up the ebony violin and turned the E-string peg slightly toward him. He set his bow on the E and A strings and jerked it and provided the first two notes that would be heard during http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YyknBTm_YyM. (0:20)

~~~

The Eb made the introduction eerie, and Jened had a hard time trying to keep from tuning it. The bow slid gracefully over the strings as his long fingers hit every note exactly. The nervous vibrato proved to be a good touch and Jened was proud of himself for doing such. Before he knew it, the bow was sliding between D, G, and B, (0:53) implementing a very unnoticeable crescendo, leading up to the chorus.

He took the chance to look around the room at an easy part of the piece. People waltzed gracefully; no one seemed to have trouble with the dance. Then, John played G, B, G, Ab. The chorus had begun and Jened looked back at his music (1:13). He broke into the music as loudly as possible and played the chorus with John and in the corner of his eye, watched as people twirled about.

They spun with a grace that Jened hadn’t seen before. Dresses wavered as they caught the air. The men proceeded to lift their partners and lace and ruffles fluttered as they came back down. Jened imagined the story of Dança da Morte. He imagined the skeletons courting the wealthy populace to their graves.



The piece slowed down and the women began to twirl (1:29). Their partners caught them and the pairs walked toward each other in a circle, then backed away, and continued to twirl again.



Dança da Morte fluctuated many times between different styles. Some people soon lost interest, and left the center of the room. Even though people stopped dancing, there was a considerable amount of people continuing the waltz.

The piece slowed again, and Jened was left to play on his own (4:45). It was quiet, somewhat clandestine sounding. His fingers were forced to slide up and down the neck of the violin, and wiggle to produce a full sound on the tiny instrument. Flat notes rang out from his instrument, but as beautiful and correct as they may have sounded, it bothered the player.

Soon the group joined in and the first violinist picked up speed. When the G, B, G, Ab chimed, the group was at its fullest extent of volume and sound production (5:25). The chorus rang out and the dancers were dancing much more majestically than earlier. Intricate dance steps were performed. Dresses and suit tails flew around the room in uniform fashion.

The piece had slowed once again, and Jened was playing on his own (6:35). He wavered as he drew the bow along the strings, inserting as much emotion into the piece as he could.

But hist! All of a sudden, they leave the dance,
They push forward, they fly; the cock has crowed.
Oh what a beautiful night for the poor world!
Long live death and equality!

And with the G-note provided by John, the music stopped.

~~~

Jened stood up and bowed. The rest of the group did the same, and once agian, claps filled the room.

A small red dot appeared behind the crowd of people. Ardaine sat on a table and waited to get her trainers' attention. Jened had more music that needed to be played, but it was time for him to enjoy more of the ball and it's many activities anyways. Besides, John would be happy to take over for him.

Posted by: The Mad Hatter Jul 17 2010, 12:25 AM

Benjamin tensed, smile flickering to a grimace before returning back to a smile. It was less forced this time, and what forcefulness was left in it was pretty much unnoticeable. He nodded, albeit a bit stiffly. “Yes. Let’s.” The Aqua didn’t want to get any closer than he had to. At least it was Beat, and not someone he hadn’t known at all. He hated being touched – actually, it was more of a fear. A minor one that didn’t drastically affect his life like it used to.

With a sigh, however, he took a step closer to the other man, lacing his fingers with the hand around his waist. If he was going to do this, the Icelandic man would go damned well over the top. He closed his eyes briefly before beginning to walk forward, slow enough so that Beat could keep up – but fast enough so they could get within the damned place.

They were inside, and as the red limousine pulled away as did theirs, the music had begun to play. The interior of the place was simply stunning. The music had been completely taken over by such a grand place. He would kill – maybe even literally – to get to live here. He wasn’t so sure that Baba would approve of that though.

The music came back with a vengeance. It hit Benjamin, who was still walking, like getting smacked in the head. It was beautiful. The main violinist was hammering away gracefully at what seemed to be the solo of the piece. He vaguely recognised the dark tune, but couldn’t quite put his finger on it—

He yelped and quite visibly jumped in the air as a smug man brushed past him. Ben removed his hand from Beat’s and rubbed his bottom – no matter how hot the pervert thought it was, it had hurt. It had also been rather rude. Ben realised that this would be a horribly long and dreadful night. He was looking forward to it even less then he was before. He pursed his lips, and the music ended. He blinked.

Morte Saint-Saëns stood on the third step. She had already made her grand entrance, apparently, and they had missed it. He hadn’t been thrilled to watch her come down the steps, and was glad he didn’t have to. He didn’t like children at all, especially spoiled brats. He guessed that she was spoiled rotten because she was holding a ball for her fourteenth birthday.

He muttered, “ Vinsamlegast látið þetta vera yfir fljótt,” before pulling Beat’s hand away from his waist, taking it, and moving to the dance floor.

And, conveniently, that was when the music stopped. The dancers had stopped and a strong note finished off the song. He gave a short stamp of the foot, further heightening his girlish appearance, and huffed. The musicians stood up and bowed, starting with the first violinist. Ben watched with slight annoyance as the first violinist got down and began walking away. He had been enjoying the piece, but quickly got over it when the musician was out of sight.

Benjamin had watched him walk away. His eyes caught onto something the violinist passed. It was a booth. Or rather, a collection of booths. There were various Pokémon on the booths. And aforementioned Pokémon looked quite sad and melancholic and just overall in poor condition. He furrowed his brow and, letting go of Beat’s hand, disappeared through the crowd to go see what all this was about. There was a collection of sorts going on at different booths, all manned by one man and a few of his servants. There were a few of the Vulpix, a few Gulpins, a lot of Houndour, and, at the last booth, a lone Pokémon. Sadly, Benjamin did not recognise this one, but it was pink and looked like blue icing was stacked atop his head. The Aqua walked over.

“Like it, miss?” said the presumable owner in a husky, yet somewhat promiscuous, voice.

Benjamin’s head snapped up. “... What is it?” First time speaking as a girl, Benjamin’s already effeminate voice only had to be brought up a few more pitches.

“It’s a Mime Jr. Don’t want it anymore. Was really actually no good.” The man’s eyes sparkled. “I have a much better Pokémon now that’s not as useless as this is—”

Benjamin cut him off with very stern Icelandic, something along the lines of the owner being a complete asshole. He put his hands on his hips and leaned forward slightly. He continued to talk in Icelandic, as that was his comfort language. He shook his head and leaned back up. The words he had just said can’t be repeated into English.

The pink Pokémon, the Mime Jr. as it was called, looked kind of scared. It also looked a bit tired, probably from being cooped up inside a pokéball until this moment for days or weeks.

For probably the first time ever since Baba died, Benjamin felt a bit of sympathy. He dug through his clutch and pulled out several bills, shoving them rudely into the owner’s hands. He then picked up the Pokémon and walked off, nose held up high.

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jul 17 2010, 12:44 AM

Leaning against the window, Kanoa found himself a pretty nice viewpoint for watching the magnificent dance unfold. The opening of the piece was certainly jarring; he recalled his father calling it a tri-tone. The piece sounded nice and haunting, full of dynamic tempo changes, and constantly shifting orchestration. He watched the dancers with great interest, mostly in wonderment at how they'd all managed to learn such intricate choreography. He partially hoped that he'd have to learn some ballroom dancing at some point, though to be fair, he would've preferred to learn how to Tango rather than waltz.

He applauded as the music faded, briefly catching a glimpe of the Guest of Honour, of the night, Ms. Morte Saint-Saens. Eying the solo violinist for a second, he took a moment to study to see how comfortable the guy was. Clearly, he wasn't that comfortable in such a social to-do, so Kanoa figured there was hope for striking up a conversation with him. Maybe when he got off stage. Such a moment arose, but the violinist disappeared into the crowds quite quickly. It was disappointing.

He hadn't seen the girl and the dreadlocked guy from the limo yet in the party, but he hoped he'd get to meet them. They, at least, seemed much closer to his age, and definitely didn't walk with the social graces many of the guests did. Therefore, they were also on his list of people to meet up with at some point. If he ran into them, he'd be sure to introduce himself. Thus far, Noverus had been quite a lonely place. He lived alone in a flat in the suburbs, and hadn't quite taken to meeting any friends yet. (He couldn't rightly call Lennox a friend, by any means.)

Having finished his wine (in a much faster time than he'd intended), Kanoa made his way back to the bar, fancying himself a glass of red. "Uh, let's see...have any Montepulciano? Kanto has a few good ones."

"I don't." The bartender shook his head "May I offer you a Kanto Syrah?"

"Yeah, should be fine. '01 if you've got one." Kanoa received the wine, nodding to the bartender. He turned his back to the bar, resting against it in a most casual fashion, then noticed Julian standing next to him. Sandy brown hair, bushy eyebrows, wearing some sort of a tux and sporting glassses, the man was clearly older than him by at least a decade or so. Figuring 'why not?', he decided to try one of his favourite icebreakers.

"Excuse me" he tapped the man on the shoulder "how much does a polar bear weigh?"

Posted by: Eremol Jul 17 2010, 06:45 AM

Julian was still huddled in the safety of the bar when the birthday girl made her entrance. She was pretty and petite, but wore a confident smile that displayed how comfortable she was in this intimidating crowd. He himself felt not nearly as well-adjusted. The guests started waltzing anew when the music began again. Their bodies twirled and lifted slowly and rhythmically, and Julian started getting lost in the preciseness of it all.

The music was also starting to give Julian a headache. Not to say that it wasn’t beautiful, because it was, but as he was most accustomed to being outdoors in relative quiet and peace, the thunderous booms and trills made Julian wish even more that he were back home, or at least in a quieter place.

His sulky mood was broken when someone tapped him on the shoulder, and a voice from beside asked, “How much does a polar bear weigh?”

Julian turned to face the voice’s owner. He wore a black fedora and a suit, and was markedly younger than himself. Julian was puzzled at the man’s question.

“I’m sorry, but did you say ‘polar bear’?” Julian asked, before noticing two Pokéballs clipped to the man’s belt, which was slung over his waist unevenly. The man (or rather, teenager, Julian noticed) seemed to be waiting for some sort of response.

“Well… I suppose…” Julian muttered distractedly. If the man had Pokéballs, then surely he was a trainer like himself. He hadn’t realized it before, but quite a lot of these people must be trainers as well. Julian wondered how his Pokémon compared to others, since he had never really battled anyone on his travels. Suddenly, he remembered the man next to him again.

“I’m sorry, but I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Julian said, grinning.

Posted by: Stasis Key Jul 17 2010, 10:05 AM

Verdani padded alongside the two, shooting hate-filled glares at Benjamin every two seconds. Why did he get to hold Beat's hand? The man was Verdani's best friend, not this girly-guy's date. The Poochyena snootily turned up her nose, taking care to walk over Benjamin's feet when she could, the bow on her head bouncing behind her. Beat gave her an odd look, faintly aware of haunting music coming from the stage.

'Ver, stop it or you'll blow our cov-'

'My, what a charming little Poochy!'

Beat blinked and looked up. A plump woman swathed in a tent's worth of red fabric and pink bows stood before him, a Skitty perched precariously on what he assumed was he head. Hell, he didn't even know if it was a lady. He felt Ben's hand slip from his, but he was too busy staring and trying to hide said stare.

'Uh, thanks. Thank you,' Beat quickly corrected.

'Oh, but why must your little darling walk on the ground so? It would ruin her pretty fur!' Verdani growled, her tail puffing out. Beat couldn't tell whether or not the lady was joking or being sincere, and decided to just go with the flow.

'Well, little Ver...Verity Danielle-' Verdani gave a squeak of disgust at this; couldn't he have thought of something better? '-she doesn't like being held. And she doesn't seem to fond of my, uh, girlfriend, so I-'

'Oh, that pretty young dear is your lady?' The woman cooed. The more he looked, the more Beat was sure that the Skitty was actually some weird growth on the woman's head. Maybe a hat. 'My, my, you must be quite the charmer, then! By the by, I didn't catch your name.'

'Oh, uh.' Beat blanked for a second, relived when he felt Ben's hand slip back into his and begin dragging him off. Trying not to stumble, he turned with a sigh. 'Thanks, thought I was never gonna get away from that. I think I'll be having nightmares about - where are we going?' The music was still playing, and he realised that Ben was taking him to the dance floor. Paling, Beat didn't know what to do - if he tried to pull away, people would get suspicious; dancing was not high on his list of 'things can actually do right', despite Melody's 'lessons'. Ben muttered something in Icelandic, and than the music stopped.

Beat let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. And then Ben walked away again.

'We're not gonna get anything done, are we,' the tall man said sullenly. Verdani gave him a haughty 'told-you-so' look - she was probably still sore from being called Verity Danielle - and padded off in the direction Ben had went. With her nose sticking up like that, the bow actually fit her personality. Beat resisted a snicker and followed her, weaving through the other ball-goers.

Ben was walking back to him, holding a weird, sad-looking pink and blue thing. 'Kinda cute,' he said, catching the booth-owner's eye. He had stopped to count his money and was looking at Beat with murder in his eyes. Now that he had noticed that, Beat realised how many men were glaring at him and making flirty gestures at Ben.

'O-kay then, we're getting some air.' Without waiting for Ben to reply, he grabbed the smaller boy's hand, located a large set of French glass doors, and went outside.

The garden was large, spectacular, and probably contained zero Magma secrets. Small decorative trees, shaped like Camerupts, littered the green, gazebos interspersed between them. Most of the gazebos were occupied by young couples, and everything was lit from below with a strange, pulsing glow. Volbeat and Illumise? No, they fly higher than that. Frowning, Beat tugged Ben to a vacant gazebo, finally letting go of his hand. Verdani shuffled in after them, dropping to the ground and licking her paws.

'Okay, game plan,' Beat muttered, looking at Ben and his Pokemon. 'There's gotta be a secret passage in there somewhere. Any ideas on how to find it?'

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jul 17 2010, 10:43 AM

((OOC: Fixed the name, sorry Eremol. I's retarded))

"Enough to break the ice." Kanoa didn't give any time for the punchline to sink in as he extended his hand, "Kanoa Kaipo, new Magma recruit, pleased to meet you.

Once Julian had introduced himself, Kanoa launched into a flurry of questions, mostly about Julian and what he did before he came to Noverus, what he was doing with Team Magma, and what Team Magma even was. Kanoa, himself, had just signed up for a faction at random, not knowing anything about any of their ideologies or politics. He had hoped that at least this older looking man knew a thing or two about Magma, since he'd probably been with Magma for awhile, and was briefly disappointed to learn that the man was a fellow recruit. He went into brief detail of his own life, mentioning that his life had been fairly mundane up until his arrival in Noverus. He also mentioned that he'd just gotten into Pokemon, and was enjoying himself immensely with them.

"In fact" he smiled "there's a little battle area here in the mansion, of all places. I figure there're probably lots of trainers here tonight, but probably very few of the beginner level, like myself. What about you, are you a pokemon expert of some kind? If you're not overwhelmingly powerful, I'd like very much to have a friendly battle with you in the battle area. That sound fun?"

Posted by: Tysm Jul 17 2010, 02:03 PM

As strange as it may seem Khezu as actually enjoying the mission. Sure, being an employee and a spy at the same time isn't easy but everything else made it worth it. He was basically in a formal party listening to good music while serving the guests along with some pretty generous tips. Well, at least for him they were generous and it wasn't every day you got paid by Aqua and Magma. It was a pretty amazing mission, in short, and Khezu did not regret on accepting it.

"We should have done this earlier, Double S!" he cheered to the Aipom who was helping him gather empty cups and dishes. He took his empty tray and headed to the kitchen for a refill. The kitchen had a small window like hole for the cooks to pass on the food to the waiters. Small tables from each side held the plates and trays with food so that the cooks could return to their ovens to prepare more food for the guests. Khezu placed his empty tray on one of the tables and picked one with much more food. From the crowd came his Aipom holding a few empty dishes with his tail and placed them on the table.

"Someone stop that dog!"

From the sea of people rushed a pure black dog with an orange snout. Covering its back and ankles were bones, along with a small skull on the head. Following the dog like Pokemon was an obviously wealthy man who was starting to show signs of old age such as graying hair and the fact that he could keep up with the pup's speed. The small dog took protection behind Khezu - who was now trying to keep his balance so that the floor didn't end up getting covered by food - and started to growl at the old man.

"I'm sorry... young lad... but... could you give me... the pup back..." the man was obviously tired from the chase around the mansion. He took a deep breath and continued what he had to say "I've been trying to sell her... But as you can see she's quite a troublesome..." he finished with heavy breaths.

"Oh, so she's for sale?" Khezu placed the tray on the table again and crouched to take a better look at the dog. The pup seemed to like the teenager straight away as it allowed him to pet her and, mainly, scratch behind her hear. "May I know her price? I would also appreciate if the gentleman told me her species and, if she has one, her name."

"Oh, surely, young man. She's an Houndour and comes from the finest line of guard Houndooms. She lacks a name, however, and I would say she's around 1,500 Poké." the man said while he composed himself after the unwanted exercise, getting his hair back to normal and cleaning the sweat from his face with a piece of fabric that looked extremely expensive. Khezu reached for his vest pocket where he kept his tips money. He paid the man and was handled the Houndour's Pokeball.

"Now we have to get a name for you... How does Lucille sound?" Khezu asked the Houndour while petting her. She followed with a simple "Hound!" as a reply to the boy's question. "Well, I have to get back to work. I hope you don't mind returning to you ball for a while." he returned the puppy to the ball and picked his tray again, this time heading to the crowd of hungry guests.

"I just hope there really is something going on here."

Posted by: knil1 Jul 18 2010, 12:44 AM

Jened laid the violin in the case and opened the compartment to put away his sheet music. He looked around and took out his other two Pokémon when no one would notice.

John was busy tuning for the next piece, scowling at the fact he still had to play as second best. When he noticed Jened packing up, he was surprised.
“What are you doing? The next piece should have been started by now.” He held up his violin and sat impatiently.
Jened looked up at him and grinned. “I’m afraid I was only requested to play one song. Any other songs I was to play, I would be paid extra.” He clasped the locks and stood up. “I figured you would like to play the solo part anyway.”

He grinned and stood up. He kicked the second violin chair back and jumped into the first violin seat. “Feel free to take your time around the ball, you’re position is safely covered.” He set up his music excitedly and looked around at his audience.

“I will be backing though, don’t worry about that.” John waved his hands in the air and Jened looked over at the shy violist. He chuckled, “I saw you while we played, and you did great. I have no doubt you’ll be able to cover bass and treble clef at the appropriate times.” Jened, for some odd reason, had grown attached to his orchestra members. The girl looked up for the first time that night and smiled.

The cellist blurted out, “Well look at that! I was hoping you’d smile some point tonight, Harriet! Oh, and… I don’t believe I got your name… Any who I’ll look after your instrument while you’re gone. I saw John there eyeing your instrument.” She laughed and watched the new first violinist.

John shot a hateful stare at her and returned to his music, playing his original, brown violin.
“Well, be sure to return. It was fun playing with you. I’m not surprised that you were chosen for such a nice position. Have fun.”
Jened nodded and looked at the scowling bassist. Probably growing even more deaf with each passing moment. As he jumped off the stage he looked over the wind section and turned back around as one proceeded to empty her spit valve out on the floor.
Winds were pretty, but they had a tendency of losing manners when it comes to their spit.

~~~
Jened squeezed through the crowd and eventually reached his Growlithe. Ardaine barked in delight when her trainer appeared and proceeded to show him a way to the room. She directed a path through the center of the salon and started climbing the steps. She sat down and yipped, proudly.

Jened smiled and nodded his head. “I don’t believe that would be the kind of entrance I’m looking for.” A few people looked towards him, wondering what he was doing in a random spot during the party.
He walked off and Ardaine looked upset. “Try again, but try more schlau.”

He did feel a little bad, but Ardaine had gotten over it once a group of girls had noticed the poor pup and went to comfort it. She played cute as they adored her rolling on her back and her large bow covering most of her upper body.

~~~

Jened walked off to enjoy more of the party. It had been a while since he had attended one, and felt like it would be worthwhile to socialize as his Pokémon searched for a way to the meeting, which he was certain she wasn’t doing, as there was still a crowd of girls near the stairs.

Jened decide to try out the bar and on the way in, he noticed a couple of booth where Pokémon could be bought.

As he made his way to get a drink, he noticed a couple heading outside the building. Jened enjoyed people watching, and he noticed the woman getting eyed over and compliments were being thrown to her left and right. He looked out the doors and looked back to the bar. In his head, he was hysterical. His mind was laughing hard at what he had just seen.

Jened wasn’t great at seeing through disguises, but he wasn’t bad at it either. He just hoped the guy in dreads knew what he was getting into.
When Jened got to the bar, he looked at the list of drinks. Sodas were great, but while he was there he looked at the wine list. Beer was an option, but not only did it taste bitter and all around terrible, he could only see rednecks drinking it. He decided to try to develop his taste for wine and asked for a Zinfandel. When the man started asking for years and regions, Jened looked over to him and asked how much of a wine connoisseur the man thought was. He was only sixteen.

He looked over his shoulder and saw a boy who seemed a little older than him. He wore a white button up and a black tie, with a black fedora. He ordered wine and Jened listened to them talk as though they were wine professionals. It seems as though wine was a topic that he could afford a little time studying. Jened’s drink order came, and he proceeded to taste the wine. It was good, but the taste of alcohol still proved bitter. He took his juice (thinking of how immature he must have looked) and walked over to the booths, taking note of the cheesy joke that the boy told another person he found at the bar.

~~~

As he approached the booths, Jened heard trainers marketing their Pokémon. Some trainers seemed to be in it for profit and at least made an effort to try and seem sympathetic about trading their Pokémon for money.

There was some yelling at one of the booths, and Jened was surprised to find that there wasn’t an argument between the seller and buyer, but that there wasn’t anyone near the booth. Vendors had moved away from the trainer, yelling at the Pokémon sitting on the table before him.
The Vulpix had hidden its head under its paws, trying to block out the verbal abuse. Jened decided to see what the big deal was and walked closer. With the attention of a potential buyer, the man perked up and welcomed the interested person.
“Well, hello! How are you tonight?” The man seemed dangerously psychotic and felt sorry for the poor Pokémon, who was now taking its head out from under its paws, revealing teary eyes.
“I’m fine. If you don’t mind me asking, what is the problem?”
“Oh, you heard that? Sorry.” Surrounding people eavesdropping looked at the man incredulously. His voice e carried over most of the room. “It’s nothing really, this Vulpix, well. You see, it’s a pain. She’s not very strong and essentially useless. So I thought…” Jened listened as the man poured out his hardships of dealing with the most difficult Pokémon, and how much farther his head would go up his a-
Jened’s thoughts were interrupted when the Pokémon let out a “pix”, probably trying to gain attention from the trainer in hopes of help.

The vendor became silent, and a moment later his expression changed immediately and he proceeded to yell at the Pokémon.

Jened began yelling at the vendor, who was already yelling, so proceeded to yell back at Jened and soon they were both just yelling. The huge bouncer from the door interrupted them, and gave them a warning. He eyed over the man and walked back to his station.
“I’m so sorry. I’m Craig.” The man straightened out his suit and held out his hand.
“Jened ignored the kind gesture and looked at the fox Pokémon. “How much is it?”
Craig looked absolutely shocked. “What? You actually want to buy her? It’s deformed! Just look at its feet.” Jened looked at its paws and noticed they were a dark golden color. They reflected the light and he found them absolutely magnificent. “I’m surprised you’d want to buy such a th-“

“I thought you came here to sell it. So sell it to me.” Jened’s darkness factor had risen, having listening to the man’s whining.

Craig leaned back and smiled, trying not to upset his customer more than he already was. “Ok. It’s 1,500 Poké. You know what, since I like you, 1,000. No, 900. That's 600 Poké off!” Jened lifted the little Pokémon and held it close to him. Jened laid the money on the table and walked off. “Hey! Won’t you at least tell me what you’ll name her?” Jened kept walking.

~~~

He felt a little bad for Craig, but he didn’t tolerate Pokémon abuse. He found a nook off the main area, surrounded by window. He set the Vulpix on the bench and watched her watch him. She wasn’t crying anymore, but she seemed real curious as to what had happened to her previous owner.

Jened luckily brought along a spare Pokéball just in case a situation like that had arisen. He set it in front of her and she pawed at it. Jened could tell she was deep in thought, wondering what would happen if she took on a new trainer. Jened pulled out a Pokémon treat that Ardaine liked and she quickly ate it. She returned her attention to the Pokéball and proceeded to capture herself. Jened smiled, happy that he had caught another Pokémon.

Luckily enough, Ardaine returned and noticed the new Pokéball. Jened pressed the button and looked at the new Vulpix. She was definitely bred for beauty. She sat straight and puffed out her chest, making herself look as charming as possible. Ardaine soon figured it out that she had a new playmate and ensued to tackle her. The Vulpix was surprised, but soon caught on to the game of Tackle-tag joyfully.

As Jened watched them play, he struggled to think up a good name for her.

Posted by: Eremol Jul 18 2010, 06:43 AM

A friendly battle? Julian was a little taken aback by the teenager’s challenge. He had only ever battled wild Pokémon, and only then when absolutely necessary. But a Pokémon battle for sport? He wasn’t sure he could do it. Then again, the prospect was better than skulking in the shadows of the ballroom for another three hours while the orchestra continued screaming at him.

Julian reached into his pocket and felt around for his Pokéballs. His newest Pokémon had been caught eight months ago, when it had been causing trouble in Mauville. The pesky Gligar had taken to gliding across the city and dropping Sludge Bombs on civilians. A veritable man-hunt had followed to trap the Flyscorpio, and it seemed as though everyone had a personal grudge against it. But, of course, it was Julian who discovered it, munching a Pecha Berry on his windowsill.

Then there was his Skorupi, whom he had caught in the Hoenn desert just north of Mauville, and his Baltoy, Julian’s first Pokémon. None of his Pokémon had much battling experience, serving mostly to aid him in his travels by moving heavy boulders or digging him out of a sandpit. He worried he might let down his Pokémon.

Nevertheless, the only way to obtain battling experience was to battle, and a friendly match would help him prepare for an actual battle (which he expected might arise often, as long as he was in Team Magma). Julian smiled and set his glass of water down on the counter.

“A battle? I guess I accept, then.” Julian paused for a moment. “By the way, did I ever get your name?”

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jul 18 2010, 10:14 PM

((OOC: This is a joint post between Eremol and myself, so as to keep things moving along.))

Kanoa seemed a little hurt that Julian had not remembered his name, especially since he'd had such a fantastic lead in with his polar bear joke. "Kanoa, Kanoa Kaipo" he repeated, trying his best not to sound stiff about it. "You're..." then he felt like a hypocrite... "Julio Cesar?"

Julian smirked. "It's Julian Dreggs," he replied, getting to his feet. "Well, shall we begin?" Julian gestured to the far corner of the room, where several trainers stood and compared Pokemon.

"Of course, of course" Kanoa waved offhandedly, leading the two across the ballroom to the vacant little arena. It seemed like a standard field: rectangular with two rectangle boxes for the trainers to stand in. However, instead of the typically pokeball shaped center, there was a fountain in its stead, leading to a small obstacle on the field. Kanoa took his position on the field. He drew out a pokeball, waiting for Julian to do the same.

Julian could feel his hand quiver, in excitement and nervousness. A few trainers turned their heads as the pair each took their place at opposite ends of the arena. He quickly ran through his Pokemon, then nodded in decision. Julian reached into his jacket pocket and withdrew a Pokeball. "I'm ready."

"Alright, I'm pretty new to this, so let's keep it simple, right?" Kanoa grinned, waving across the field "I've only got two pokemon, so how 'bout we just have a simple old one on one?" Before Julian could answer, really, Kanoa tossed out his pokeball, revealing his pokemon partner Skorupii. The little scorpion pokemon clacked his claws together, raising his tail high into the air in what seemed to be an attack stance.

At the same moment, Julian released his own choice, and with a red flash and a pop came Julian's spinning Baltoy, hovering just a foot in the air and twirling in place. Baltoy had been Julian's first Pokemon, and had always come through in a pinch. He only hoped it could defeat the intimidating foe that scuttled on the other side of the field.

"Alright, Baltoy," Julian called to his Pokemon, "hit it with Rapid Spin!"

Kanoa had no idea what the pokemon in front of him was, much less what a rapid spin was, so he figured he'd charge in at full force. The pokemon Baltoy came spinning towards Skorupii, who took a few hits from the spinning pokemon. What Kanoa didn't have in pokemon know-how, he made up for with instinct.

"Skorupii, Bite!" His pokemon leapt up, despite his light pummeling, attempting to latch onto the pokemon with his little fangs and claws. Kanoa had no idea that Baltoy was of the psychic type, so he had no idea Bite would be effective, he just figured it was a powerful move of Skorupii's. As the Baltoy began to move back towards its side of the field, Skorupii leapt up, scuttling quickly through the fountain waters over to his opponent.

Kanoa's Skorupi chomped down onto the arm of Julian's Baltoy, and the Clay Doll Pokemon struggled to fling his opponent off. Julian's heart sank when he realized his Pokemon was in pain, so he shouted out, "Baltoy, use Harden!" Julian's Pokemon glimmered for a moment, and its skin seemed to become visibly tougher. Kanoa's Skorupi couldn't get a grip, and Baltoy managed to get loose. By now, a small crowd of trainers was beginning to gather, and Julian could feel himself getting more and more excited.

The 'Baltoy' had used harden, effectively loosening itself of Skorupii, as well as upping its defenses. Kanoa inferred the upping the defenses part from the fact that the move was called Harden. Not quite sure what else to do, he figured he'd try lowering the pokemon's defenses back down again.
"Skorupii, Leer!"

The scorpion pokemon's eyes glowed and eerie red, sending an intimidating image over to the Baltoy. Kanoa grinned widely, he seemed to currently have the upper hand, and the crowd around him seemed to agree with him. While he wanted to wave to them in appreciation, he decided instead to keep focus on the battle; surely this would be a good way to make an impression. Either way, he'd go grab another drink with this new guy, Julian.

Julian had to make a move, fast. He stammered as Kanoa's Skorupi eyed Baltoy up, indecisive about his next move. Which other techniques could Baltoy use? He wracked his brain, then called out: "Baltoy, use Mud-Slap!"

But something was wrong. Baltoy wasn't moving. In fact, he seemed paralyzed with fear. Drat, Julian thought, that must be Skorupi's Leer attack. Baltoy was completely frozen in place, and vulnerable to whatever Skorupi's next move was!

Kanoa's heart leapt for joy when he saw the Baltoy frozen. This match would surely be his in a few more turns. "Skorupii, Poison Sting!" The Pokemon cheered as he lanced forward, his tail glowing a dangerous, radiant purple as it lanced forward. The tail struck the Baltoy...but the effect seemed utterly minimal. The force had shoved the opponent back a bit, but there seemed to be minimal damage done overall. Kanoa sighed: Baltoy was probably a ground type, meaning the poison attack wouldn't be so effective. He'd have to go back to Bite in the next round, as that had seemed to work wonders.

Julian cringed as Baltoy took several purple stingers head-on, but sighed with relief as Baltoy seemed alright. "Okay, Baltoy, use Confusion on it!" Julian's Baltoy concentrated for a moment, then fired off an ethereal beam of blue energy, which veered towards his opponent. Julian hoped the attack would be effective.

Skorupii reeled back in pain as the beam struck him. The horrible screech he released upon impact with the confusion attack caused Kanoa (and several of the crowd) to reel back in pain. Oh, so Baltoy's a psychic type too? Psychic and Ground. Scary. He saw that his Skorupii was still conscious, though it seemed that he wouldn't last that much longer. He was gonna have to pray for a critical hit here, because Skorupii definitely couldn't take another Confusion attack. Kanoa silently prayed for a powerful strike, because of Skorupii's Sniper Ability, which would power the move up by a factor of three. "Skorupii! Bite!"

Julian felt a tug of nerves; he knew the battle was about to end. He decided to stick with Confusion, and shouted out the attack. Baltoy fired off another energy beam, and it careened through the air - but Skorupi was too fast! It scuttled to the right to avoid the attack, which hit the fountain in the center of the field and dissipated. The scorpion leapt at Julian's Baltoy and clamped down. It turned out to be too much. Baltoy tried to struggle, but its energy was nearly gone. It collapsed to the ground.

Kanoa looked utterly shocked. Skorupii stood next to the fallen Baltoy, panting, but hefting his claws in the air victoriously. Kanoa knelt down, holding out his hand and the little scorpion pokemon scuttled over happily, crawling up his arm and onto his shoulder. "Hey, that was fun, Julian." Kanoa gave a casual thumbs up. "How 'bout you get me a drink since I won?"

Julian felt like he should have been sad, but it was, after all, a good battle. He walked over to his fallen companion and helped it up. "Excellent job, Baltoy," he said, and the Pokemon seemed to smile. Julian turned to Kanoa and smiled. "Sounds like a plan," he said, and returned his Baltoy into its Pokeball. The trainers around them clapped, then resumed chatting amongst themselves as Julian and Kanoa walked back to the bar.

Posted by: The Mad Hatter Jul 18 2010, 10:59 PM

“A-Air?” Benjamin blinked, and he stumbled along in the two inch high heels after Beat. He held tightly onto the other man’s hand so he wouldn’t fall. His façade was completely broken now, and it probably would remain that way for the entire rest of the night.

He looked around the garden, slightly chilly, night air nipping at his nose. He was so used to Hoenn’s hot weather that the cool air gave him a bit of a shock. He quickly recovered his senses and resumed glancing around, observing everything. The Camerupt- and Magcargo-shaped bushes were expertly cut. He idly wondered how long they had taken to get just right.

Then he noticed all the couples. He also realised how amazingly romantic it looked out here. The soft glow of things gave off a false feeling of security and privacy. Benjamin no longer staggered as Beat slowed down. He made a note to do up his house in Snowpoint like this once Magma was eliminated. But only after Magma was eliminated, he told himself.

The gazebos were skilfully and delicately built. Most of them held various couples in multiple stages of make out sessions – from the beginning where they just talked to where they were practically eating each other’s faces off. Truth be told, Ben was a little bit jealous of them. He wanted someone to love, but that day probably wouldn’t come anytime soon. He didn’t necessarily have a reputation for being liked.

With his face showing naïveté, the cold-hearted Benjamin Venefsukja was now at his most vulnerable point.

As they reached the gazebo, Ben sat down on one of the benches, across the way that Beat still stood. He held the small pink Pokémon in his arms. He inspected the Pokémon, who looked up at him quizzically. He murmured under his breath, “Ég skal hringja í hann... Afrit. Já? Já.”

“Afrit” took to this name quickly, smiling. He snuggled up against his trainer, who – in return – returned the hug, smiling genuinely. Ben looked back up when Beat spoke, the Mime Jr. copying him.

“... A game plan? Já, I agree.” He was being nice for once, ready to follow orders with barely any protest. “Though... The boss mentioned another... member.” He didn’t want to specifically say “Aqua”, as that might alert the Magmas in the area. “We should work on finding them first.

“Do we have any special signals?” he asked. By “we”, he meant “Aqua”. “You know... A universal one that Magmas don’t know about so we can find the other one?” He gave a soft smile. “It’ll be easier if we have another one on our side. Nei?”

He patted the seat next to him. “And sit,” he commanded, a somewhat stern tone to his voice. He crossed his legs beneath the dress. “People will think it’s odd if we’re not close.”

Benjamin turned a bit when he heard the sound of clapping. “... Ah? What’s going on?” A small frown appeared on his face, making him truly look like a girl. “If they’re doing something important, then we should probably go in to check.” He nodded; Afrit did so as well.

Posted by: Stasis Key Jul 18 2010, 11:28 PM

'I don't know anything about special signals,' Beat said, absentmindedly tapping the gazebo floor with his foot. Verdani looked like she had dozed off; when she wasn't charging headfirst into something - dragging Beat behind her, more often than not - she was usually asleep. Beat turned and stared out into the garden. A light, cool breeze blew by, bringing with it faint notes of a song and a nice, almost spicy spell. Verdani gave a little sigh and rolled over.

'Hey, don't get too comfortable,' he warned her, glancing over his shoulder. 'And as for the other gu- what.' Ben was patting the spot next to him, a very firm look on his face. It reminded him, somewhat unpleasantly, of what his mother looked like right before she gave a lecture. Sighing, Beat turned back around and sat down next to Ben, making sure there was enough room between them to provide some personal space. One of Verdani's yellow-red eyes opened, a low growl stirring in her throat. Why did Beat have to sit next to the weird guy in the dress? Didn't he smell that stuff the guy was wearing? It was gross!

Beat laughed and leaned back on the railing, gazing across the garden into the manor's picture windows. 'Your bow's gonna get ruffled, Ver.' With a roll of the eyes the Poochyena turned away from the two men, puffing her tail out. Still smiling, Beat turned to Ben.

'Sounds like it's over, whatever it was. No use in going back inside so soon. It's too stufy in there.' Sticking out his tongue, the dreadlocked man made a face and brought his voice down to a low whisper. 'Why do rich people need to show off so much? And why is Magma making such a big deal out of this whole thing? I mean, I'm guessing someone up the line is smart enough to realise that this would be the perfect opportunity for spies.' Somewhere in the darkness, a lone Kricketot began to sing, its warbling voice rising in the night air. After a moment, a whole chorus jumped in - Beat suspected that Morte had a whole swarm of Kricketot and Kricketune playing for his daughter. The music was almost as beautiful as the song the band had played earlier; Beat watched idly as the glowing lights began to flash in time with the music.

'Wish Mellie was here.' he said softly, earning a perked ear from Verdani. 'She'd love this.' Beat could almost see his sister's face, smiling up at him. That was why he was here, right now, sitting in a gazebo at a stuffy party with a guy in a dress. If Magma went down, so much would change - his father could get a new job instead of being pushed back for not having Team Magma Benefits. Melissa could open that self-defense club she'd always talked about, and Melody...Melody would no longer have to wear the grey-and-red uniform required in schools. She talked a lot about becoming a Pokemon Trainer; maybe someday soon she'd be able to leave Noverus and go on her own journey. Beat's eyes closed.

'Hey, Ben. Why'd you join up?' The question came out of the blue, startling Beat himself. He hadn't meant to speak out loud. 'Uh, I mean. If you want to tell me.'

Posted by: The Mad Hatter Jul 19 2010, 12:02 AM

“Hmm… If no signals, then what could we use?” Ben leaned back, Afrit doing the same thing. He could get used to this… this mimicking thing the Pokémon was doing. It would be nice to have someone following you and having your back. He enjoyed the feeling. It was like Baba all over again.

He watched Verdani, Beat’s Poochyena who clearly did not like Ben, roll around and sleep. She growled seemingly at him – Ben really didn’t know why – and rolled away from them, facing outward, and puffed her tail. Ben let out a short laugh, turning to Beat when he sat down.

“Ah, já, I suppose. Clapping is usually the end, unless it’s just a segment,” he stated quietly. He didn’t want to talk very loudly; he was determined not to interrupt the Kricketune family’s beautiful song. He was entranced by the lights now flashing in time with the beat of the music.

He shrugged. “Maybe Magma really are stupid. I would definitely believe it. They only advance through the ranks because of their money. The more you have, the higher up you get.” He sighed, shaking his head; Afrit looked sad as he mimicked in Ben’s lap. “I am pretty sure that there are Rebels here too; not just us.”

He listened silently again to the tune, along with Beat’s voice as he spoke. “… Mellie? Is she your girlfriend?” he asked ignorantly, naïveté on his face again.

It was there for a total of five seconds, before Beat asked that question.

Benjamin tensed up, unknowingly holding Afrit tighter as well. He shut his eyes to keep full on rage coming and he fought to just strangle some random guy in the next gazebo over. His past was a touchy subject, and not many people knew about it. The only ones that knew were probably the Aqua member that had come to his house. The one that tried to save her…

The Mime Jr. struggled slightly in the grip, and Ben released him. The Pokémon plopped down next to Ver and watched curiously, a pink hand resting on his shoulder.

Ben’s voice was cold; looking down into his lap, he spoke. “… My caretaker was killed by the Magma bastards,” he explained very, very softly. “I… I spiraled after her death for a few years. Tried to kill myself.” Flashbacks of knives and stairs ran through his head. The first attempt had been throwing himself down a flight of stairs; he hit his head and upper left arm and tore the flesh open. A few years later, he had shoved a knife through his thigh and almost bled to death. Both scars were there. That was the deciding factor; he moved to Noverus shortly thereafter.

His body had become motionless. He sat there, hands clenched into fists in his lap. His blue eyes were dull and vacant.

For a few minutes, he sat there. He then stood up quite suddenly, yelled, and punched the other side of the gazebo – one of the support beams. The way he turned as he did so put his easily-visible ribs on display.

Not being very strong, however, Ben reeled back. He sat down once more, now more messily. Despite the people all staring at their secret place, he didn’t notice. He stared at his bruising knuckles, crossed his legs, and then looked back at Beat sadly.

Posted by: knil1 Jul 19 2010, 12:47 AM

“Aglaia.” Jened looked over his new Pokémon, and she eyed him curiously.
“You’re new name is Aglaia.” Jened was proud to have found such a genuine name. “Aglaia was a goddess in Greek mythology. She was the goddess of glory, splendor, and magnificence.”
The Vulpix sat up straight and responded with a, “Vulpix,” seeming quite content with her name. The Growlithe looked at her trainer in shock. ‘What kind of name is Ardaine? It certainly doesn’t include any of those qualities? Where did it come from anyways?’

Jened could sense his Growlithes disappointment, and shrugged it off. Ardaine couldn’t hold a grudge for more than ten seconds. But from what Jened knew about Vulpix and their evolved forms, they could definitely hold one. He sighed with content with his vast knowledge of Greek mythology and the perfect name he came up for his new Pokémon.

The rebel decided it was time to continue his mission. He remembered that Ardaine was supposed to be looking for a secret passage, and by the expression on Ardaines face, she remembered it as well.

Jened stood up and Ardaine stood right next to him. Aglaia looked at them, confused as to what they were doing. She pawed her way next to her trainer and he started walking. Jened figured he would get a better idea of where the meeting was by checking which lights were on on the second story. He walked through the glass doors and saw the couple from earlier sitting next to each other under a gazebo. He grinned and continued to look at the outer wall of the building.

Ardaine had already lost interest, so she ran off. And with the new Vulpix being more comfortable with Ardaine, she ran off too. Jened didn’t mind much, he just hoped Aglaia’s golden feet didn’t get too dirty.

All of the windows seemed to be covered with wood. Jened thought that was clever, but still noticed a sliver of light coming from the room farthest to his left. He was looking at the Eastern side of the building, so buy using space relation, he had found his destination. How to eavesdrop on the meeting was a whole other question that would need to be figured out somehow.

~~~

His two Pokémon returned from behind some bushes. Aglaia looked at her trainer, as though she had understood what was going on. Ardaine merely sat proudly, waiting for an order.

Jened sent his two Pokémon off to find a secret passage. He was tired of sending off Ardaine, but maybe the new recruit would keep her on track. Jened returned inside and looked at what he could see of the second story. He turned and looked in the general direction of where the room was. Even if there were any secret tunnels, accessing one of them, unseen, would be tremendously difficult.

The Rebel continued to people watch. A Magma member stood in a corner talking to an older man. Some children had accumulated outside, playing hide-and seek in the dark. Morte was busy chatting it up with everybody over near the bar. It seemed a typical party, from what Jened knew of them, and nothing was out of the ordinary. He returned his gaze to the two men to find that the older man was gone, and the Magma agent was standing awkwardly in the corner.

Ardaine and Aglaia returned and jumped around him. Ardaine calmed down and stared at the corner her owner was taking note of just a moment before.

“I think we’ve found ourselves an entryway.” Jened grinned and rubbed Ardaine’s head.

Posted by: Eremol Jul 19 2010, 07:12 AM

Julian and Kanoa walked back across the ballroom, chatting about Pokémon battling and praising each other’s abilities. Although he positively hated being around others, he was beginning to open up a little. The Skorupi perched on Kanoa’s shoulder chirped at Julian in curiosity. As they made their way back to the bar for some drinks, the orchestra began playing a http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhstAEaWBl4, which Julian rather took a liking to (it would be days that he would be humming the tune).

The bartender greeted them, and Julian ordered another water for himself, but Kanoa interjected and chose something for the both of them. They listened to the orchestra in silence for a minute, watching the couples dance in perfect synchronicity. The wealthy society continued to surprise Julian; it was as if they had all been taught these dances since grade school.

“I enjoy the money that comes with the wealthy district,” laughed Julian, “but I wish I had inherited some of their social graces.”

The song faded as a man in a red-and-black Magma uniform strode towards the bar. Instead of stopping and getting a drink, the uniformed man stopped in front of Julian.

“Sorry for the interruption, sir,” said the man, “but you see, we need a little assistance to make sure the ball is secure. One of our guards came down with illness, and we were short-staffed to begin with…” The Magma member fiddled awkwardly. “Well, we were wondering if you would like to, er, assist with guarding the second floor. I’m awfully sorry if this spoils your evening, sir, but…”

Julian was puzzled. Why him, out of all the Magma officers here? He was a nobody, a newcomer to Noverus, at that. He inspected the Magma member’s face. He had a small goatee and beady eyes. The man avoided eye contact.

“It’s just that… You are Julian Dreggs, then, aren’t you?” asked the man. Julian nodded, and the Magma breathed a sigh.

“Yes, good then. It’s just that your grandmother was such a prominent member, and we were all terribly sorry to hear that she… Well, we just thought you might want some experience before your first real mission, so… But if you don’t want to…”

Julian rolled it around in his mind. He wasn’t disliking the party all that much anymore, but getting in a little mission experience didn’t sound like such a bad idea. It wasn’t as if Team Aqua or the Rebels could even get past the front gate. Julian finished his wine (Kanoa had ordered him a glass of some drink Julian could not pronounce) and stood.

“Oh, good, sir. I promise it won’t even seem like work. Just stand at the top of those stairs leading to the second floor,” the Magma motioned, “and you’ll still be able to see the whole event. Oh, and your, uh,” he looked past Julian at Kanoa, “…friend can come too, if he wants. Free goody points with the higher-ups.”

Julian waited for Kanoa’s answer.

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jul 19 2010, 08:49 AM

"Really, drinking water at a fancy shindig. I'll have another glass of that Kanto Syrah. My friend here will have a glass of that lovely Gewurztraminer you have back there. The 2001 Johto, right?" Kanoa smiled, he wasn't quite sure what all the years and regions correlated to, but he'd memorized the wines that his father had said were good, down to the regions and years. He found he enjoyed bandying about the wine knowledge when he could.

When the Magma approached, asking if Julian wanted to work, Kanoa heartily disagreed with the idea of working during a party. However, the Magma, despite looking at Kanoa with a bit of disdain, made a fair point. Free goody points with higher-ups? Seemed like a fair deal.

"Sure, I'll come for a little bit." Kanoa shrugged, finally recalling Skorupi to his pokeball. As they started to walk up towards the stairs, Kanoa hopskipped back to the bar, reaching over and swiftly grabbing a bottle of some wine before catching back up to Julian.

Posted by: Eremol Jul 19 2010, 09:22 AM

When the pair had reached the top of the long staircase leading to the upper floor, the Magma member gave them a quick rundown of the situation.

“While we’d like to think our security is ironclad, we suspect there may be an attempt to infiltrate the ball and cause a ruckus.” The man pointed down a long hallway that ran along the second floor. “You see the third room on the right, there? Some of Magma’s most esteemed officers are in there right now discussing very important issues. It’s your task to make sure nobody comes up here, not even to use the bathroom! Only let through officers with a Level 3 access card. Is that clear?”

Julian nodded, and took his place beside the right banister, while Kanoa took the left. The Magma member grunted and padded off down the stairs to (Julian assumed) another guard post.

The man had been right; he could see the whole party from the top of the stairs. His gaze floated from the bar, where a small crowd was gathered around Morte St. Saëns as she exchanged pleasantries with the guests, to the battle area, where two trainers were battling with two Pokémon each. It was fairly interesting just watching everyone from above, and made Julian feel important. Although he didn’t really see himself as a “guard-type” person (after all, what could he possibly do even if there was an incident), but if it was one step closer to helping Noverus get free from the clutches of thieves and revolutionaries like Team Aqua and the Rebels, then he was alright with it.

Julian stifled a yawn; he could sense it was getting late, and he was used to going to sleep at around 10pm. He wished he had brought along his PokéNav to the ball, so he sidled up to Kamaitachi and asked him if he knew the time.

Posted by: Stasis Key Jul 19 2010, 11:15 AM

'Girlfriend?' Beat echoed, a smile twitching on his lips. He couldn't help it; he let out a short laugh. 'No, no - she's my little sister. Melody. Just turned six two months ago. She takes a lot after our mum, so dad gave her a Magikarp for her birthday so there'd be a better chance of the house being there when he got home.' He laughed again and looked over at Benjamin, expecting at the least a small smile.

Ben's eyes were shut tight, Afrit wriggling in his grip. '…Ben? Ben, what-' Beat watched as the smaller man released Afrit, the small pink-and-blue Pokemon landing next to Verity. The Poochyena had stood up, looking from Ben to Beat to Afrit wildly. It was clear from her expression - and the way her ears stood - that she was confused and ready to attack if necessary. Beat quickly got off the bench and rubbed her head, calming the Pokemon down somewhat.

From the floor Beat listened to Ben's story, eyes growing hard at what Magma had done. Here they were, throwing a huge party for a young girl who had probably done her fair share of theft and lies, casually laughing off the lives they had ruined; throwing around money and Pokemon with equal disinterest. The two men sat there quietly for a few minutes, the Kricketune chorus beginning to wind down in the distance. The flashing lights began to glow steadily again, moving slowly around the grounds amidst the light clapping of the other gazebo-goers.

And then Ben punched the beam.

'Whoa!' Beat stood, nearly braining himself on one of the wooden supports that held the roof up. Verdani gave a nervous bark and nearly lunged at Ben, held back just in time. The two watched, stupefied, as Ben slowly walked back to his seat, sat down, and looked up at Beat with a look that reminded him of a kicked Growlithe. The man looked down at Verdani - who was still very confused - and set her down before sitting next to Ben, scooting closer then they'd been before. Beat realised that the clapping had stopped and glanced out of the corner of his eye; there were quite a few questioning stares aimed their way. Awkwardly, Beat placed his arm around Benjamin's shoulder, earning himself a frustrated growl from Verdani. The Poochyena stalked out of the gazebo, plopping herself down in front of the steps. Who cared if she ruined that stupid bow, anyway?

'We'll get them,' Beat said softly. 'First, we need to find the other guy. They might know where the meeting's going to be.' There was the sound of crunching grass nearby and Beat dropped his voice even lower. 'Do you want to go back inside, or-'

'Get your arm away from that precious flower!' A well-dressed man stood in the entrance of the gazebo, pointing at Beat rather dramatically. What the? Why didn't Verdani warn us? Peering around the man, Beat saw the Pokemon in question giving him a smirk. Rolling his eyes, Beat leaned back - now was not the time for Ver to act like a cheated girlfriend. It wasn't like he was actually dating Ben or anything.

Unfortunately, the man didn't know that either. 'I saw that little display a minute ago - what were you doing to her? Obviously, she doesn't deserve to be with a brute like you.' The man flipped his hair out of his face, putting on a grin that revealed over-whitened teeth. 'I mean, your hair is absolutely disgusting, and you're not even wearing red. My lady,' at this, the man bowed to Ben, shooting a glare at Afrit. 'Why don't you leave this uncouth example of rudeness and come with me? I can show you how a ball is supposed to go.'

Posted by: The Mad Hatter Jul 19 2010, 02:21 PM

Afrit jumped when Ben had punched the wall, failing to mimic his owner's actions due to the suddeness of it. He stared at Ben.

Ben leaned into Beat once when the latter wrapped his arm around him. Sure, this was the first friend he's ever made. Actually, Ben didn't trust himself enough to be fully sure that Beat was a friend. If Beat was just pretending to do so for the sake of the mission, Benjamin would probably break out the knives. What was odd about Ben was that he didn't stab anyone, only himself.

He nodded slightly. “... Inside... Would be nice. Let's find the other guy and get this over with...” His voice sounded pained. It was almost as if his voice was treading lightly on glass, it sounded so soft. He looked up at, probably earning a few more growls from the Poochyena who loathed him. 

When the newcomer appeared and began saying how Beat was a brute, there was newfound rage replacing the earnest quietness and melancholy within Ben. The man bowed and said for Ben to come with him.

Ben removed himself from next to Beat, stood, and gaped for a few short moments. He fixed the bow behind his back before the man stood back up. 

“I am Ernest Billington the Third, proudly. You are too beautiful a lady. You do not have to be courted by this monster—”

And that set him off. It was 'Lilja’s' turn to point dramatically, but this time at Ernest. He began yelling, “I'll have you know, Mr. Billington, that Terrence,” he remembered to use the codename even in his fit of rage, “is a plentiful man who is much, much better than the likes of you!”

He continued on, taking a step forward. The also somewhat enraged Afrit did the same, perfectly mimicking his trainer. “So if you would please learn some damn manners and not insult someone to impress a girl, I would be damn happy! The kind like you is what sickens me! Terrence is very kind and caring, even for people he doesn't even know!” He stopped, panting from the one long breath he used to yell. 

Billington the Third blinked. Ben fell back and, to make a point, sat in Beat's lap, wrapping his arms around the other's neck. Lithe and under a hundred pounds, he was light as a feather. 

Ernest began laughing. “Okay then! I challenge this Terrence to a battle then—”

“Challenge him and you challenge me!” demanded Benjamin. He huffed. 

The newcomer nodded. “Alright! Two on two!” And with that, he went to stand in one of the outside arenas' squares.

Ben stood, picked up Afrit, grabbed Beat's hand, and tugged him to the other side. 

This arena was lovely. With several sculptures of bushes inside, it gave plenty of room for sneak attacks. It looked almost dashing due to the glows around it. It seemed like there was a fountain or two nearby that provided the glows. 

“Two on two. A single pokémon for you, and two for me!” Ernest yelled across to them. With that, he sent out a Flareon and a Skitty.

Ben took this time to fumble around in his clutch for his pokéballs. Pulling out one, he sent out his Gastly. Draugur chimed, an eerie smirk appearing on its ghostly face. 

Posted by: Stasis Key Jul 19 2010, 11:28 PM

'Uh.' Beat blinked, not knowing what to say. Even Verdani looked stumped - in the few short hours they'd known Ben, he hadn't seemed like the type to get so emotional over someone he barely knew. Ben wasn't the easiest guy to be around, but hey, he was shaping up to be a great guy.

And then he sat in Beat's lap, draping his thin arms around his neck.

Verdani let out a frustrated howl and stormed off, her tail puffing out so much that she seemed less like a Poochyena and more like a small, moving ball of fur with a ridiculous purple bow. With a huff she dropped down a few metres away from the gazebo, pointedly not looking behind her.

Beat was having a slightly different reaction. He was used to light, girlish things suddenly appearing in his lap - Melody had this annoying habit of using Beat as a chair whenever he was watching TV - but this light, girlish thing smelled good. And it was pretty. And happened to be a guy. And that stupid bow in his hair was poking Beat's eye. Hey, that rhymed.

The look on Ernest's face was priceless. Beat had to stifle a laugh, the beads in his hair clicking together as his shoulders shook. “Okay then! I challenge this Terrence to a battle then—”

“Challenge him and you challenge me!”

“Alright! Two on two!”

And then Beat's hand was in Benjamin's for the umpteenth time that night, dragging him off the the battlefield.

Watching Mr Desperate call out his Pokemon with mild interest, Beat debated on what to do. Verdani obviously wasn't going to help him - she'd given him a nasty look on the way over; who's side are you on, huh? - but he wasn't sure how Stahl would fare with a Fire-type. He did know that if they lost, a whole lot more than Ernest's taste in women would be at stake, and Beat did not feel like getting a first-hand tour of Groudon's Thumb without the rest of Aqua behind him.

'Well, here goes,' he muttered. Reaching into his back pocket, he pulled out a Pokeball and pressed the release, the small iron Pokemon appearing in a flash. Stahl surveyed the field for a moment before lowering his head, ready to charge at Beat's command.

Posted by: The Mad Hatter Jul 20 2010, 11:58 AM

Ben huffed, standing next to Beat, though slightly in front of him still. “Alright. We need to win this. I don’t feel like getting felt up again by this… this… öfuguggi!” he quite pointedly yelled. 

Draugur was staring down at the small, silver Pokémon curiously. He chimed a few calls of his name, telling Stahl that he would handle the Flareon since he couldn’t hit the Skitty.

Benjamin turned to Beat again, game face on. He seemed to say what Draugur had just said, but to Beat instead; “Draugur,” he pointed to said Pokémon, “can’t hit the cat thing. So I’ll have him take out the Flareon.” Afrit was standing next to him, looking also up at Beat, posing the same way as Ben – complete with the same facial expression.

Ernest’s Flareon was ready to strike, the Skitty a little bit more laid-back and careless.

Stahl listened to Draugur and then nodded, shifting his weight from side to side as he waited impatiently for something to happen. he last time he'd been called out was to hit a beam; he wanted some real action. Beat rolled his eyes; why did he get stuck with the impulsive group?

'Alright, Stahl. Do your thing.' The Iron Armour Pokemon ducked his head and charged, making a beeline for the Skitty. With a shrug, the Skitty moved two feet to the left - right behind one of those decorative trees. Still small enough to turn on a dime, Stahl corrected his path and slammed into the tree, nearly knocking it over with the force of his Headbutt.

'Snuffles!' Ernest called out, waving to his Skitty. 'Snuffles, use attract on that beastly thing!'

The Skitty pranced out from behind the tree, a cute little smirk on his face. Beat mentally facepalmed. 'Stahl, just close your eyes or something.' The Aron's light blue eyes snapped shut, but the Skitty was not going to give up. It began to prance around Stahl in a circle, humming softly and preening itself.

'Oh, for the love of Arceus,' Beat muttered.

Draugur watched as the Skitty — Snuffles; what a horrible name — tried to get Stahl attracted to it. Because he hadn't been looking, he was almost blasted away by a more powerful than normal Ember. Moving just in time, the Gastly grinned. 

“Ooh, Fluffykins! Keep up the good work!” cheered the quite ecstatic man on the other side.

Ben paused. “Draugur, use Hypnosis.”

The Gas Pokémon did as he was told, sending out deceiving waves toward the Flareon. Said eeveelution fell asleep, staggering a bit before falling over. Ernest huffed. 

Benjamin just grinned. “Now use Curse.” It was the first time Draugur would use the move within a real battle, instead of training. A purple aura surrounded Draugur, an illusion of a giant nail was conjured up, and it was shoved into the aura — essentially into Draugur. The purple disappeared and the Gastly looked a bit more tired.

For all purposes Stahl was blinded, and the sounds of the battle around him were starting to make him upset. He wanted to fight too, not just sit there and play hide-and-seek with a stupid Skitty. With a growl the Aron snapped his eyes open and charged, toppling one of the trees over; dirt and bits of grass flew into the air.

'My suit!' Ernest yelled, flapping his hands dramatically. 'Oh, my suit! I just had this cleaned!'

'Cry me a river,' Beat muttered. 'Stahl, find that Skitty and knock it out so I don't have to listen to this guy, okay?' A glance at Draugur and the Flareon showed that at least on Ben's side, the battle was going well. Even if the Gastly looked a little under-the-weather.

Stahl shook his head, backing out from the ruins of the tree. He could hear the Skitty behind him and swirled around, his body shining more than usual - he was quickly encased with a thin shell, Hardening his body. With a loud cry he slammed into the Skitty, sending it tumbling backwards. 

It took a few seconds for the Skitty to get to its feet, and by that time Stahl had darted over to the nearby fountain. One Headbutt and the base was cracked - water began to drip out, pooling on the ground. Taking care not to get himself wet, Stahl faced the fountain, raised his back legs, and kicked the mud at the charging Skitty.

The Mud-Slap hit it right in the face. Ernest began yelling about grooming expenses, but Stahl and Beat weren't listening. 'Alright, now take it out!' The Aron got ready for the final rush, bellowing a fierce cry that interrupted a nearby couple's makeout-session and startled a group of Hoothoot out of a tree.

The Skitty fell over, unconscious, almost as soon as Stahl hit it. Ernest wailed and called back his Skitty, looking slightly disgusted at the muddy, tree-lined mess that was the battlefield.

Ben smiled a bit as the Skitty was taken down. He said to Beat, “Good job.”

Turning back to his final Pokémon, Ernest huffed. The Flareon woke up, slowly but surely. Standing up and wobbling a bit, it waited commands from its trainer. 

Ben was already one step ahead. “Use Lick on its pretty little fur.”

Afflicted by the Curse, the Flareon winced. Draugur gave off a call of its name before rushing in, tongue forming and solidifying. The sticky purple thing stuck to the red fur, sliding up and causing the cursed Pokémon to freeze. 

Ernest cried out, “That's almost as bad as the mud!”

Paralyzed, Fluffykins wasn't much use. Draugur used Lick twice more. That aired with the Curse doing damage already, the Flareon soon fell back and fainted. Swearing, Ernest recalled it. 

Exhausted, Draugur floated back to Ben. He wasn't used to inflicting damage to himself to use a move, and the gas he was made out of started to evaporate. Smiling nicely, Ben recalled the Pokémon, thanking it in Icelandic. 

Ben turned back to Beat. “Let's get out of here before someone else challenges us. He nodded, Afrit too, and he took Beat's hand. “Inside is better.”

Posted by: knil1 Jul 20 2010, 03:33 PM

Jened decided to wait outside until an opportune moment would be available for investigation of the supposed secret passage. He remembered it being cool outside, and the sound of the wild Pokémon would prove soothing.

He walked outside to find that the couple he had taken notice of so many times before was taking on a man. Jened figured it would be a better watch than nothing, so he found a bench and sat down. The Pokémon attacks were executed beautifully, and he found it to be a lovely battle.

Aglaia and Ardaine had run off again, playing in the yard. Their trainer looked over at them to make sure they weren’t causing trouble. He wasn’t surprised to find a great number of Pokémon, wild and tamed, had taken part of Ardaines activities. She was definitely the most social Pokémon he knew.

As Jened watched the battle, he noticed something he found a little odd. He could sense a deep hatred from the (wo)man, focused on his/her opponent. He put observations together and came up with a safe conclusion. This wasn’t just a cross dresser, he/she was opposing Magma. Whether she was with Aqua, The Rebellion, or a very opinionated civilian, he couldn’t tell. But it wouldn’t be a bad idea to keep his eye on the pair.

A girl, seemingly the same age as Jened, sat on the bench next to him.
“Hello.” She batted her eyes and scooted closer to him. “I saw you from across the yard, and you looked lonely.”
Jened looked at her, as emotionless as the sun was bright, and said, “I know you didn’t come over here to flirt. What do you want?”
The girl looked shocked, then she smiled and sat back in her seat. “Ah, you’re much more perceptive than I thought you’d be.” She unfolded her fan and covered her mouth. As she began to speak, she began to wave it back and forth, making it seem like she was merely trying to cool off. “I’ve been watching you. I know what you’re doing here. I’m here for the same reason.” Jened watched the battle as it was ending. “Something has come up and I have to leave. I’m merely here to tell you not to mess up.”
Jened looked back over at her and glared. “Do you expect me too?”
She chuckled, enjoying the spite her new acquaintance had developed for her. “Why, no. I just wanted to wish you luck. I’m counting on you.” She stood up and lifted her dress. “I bid you adieu.” She lifted her dress and walked back inside.

'It seems as though I’m not alone. But if other Rebels are here, I wonder how many Aqua people are here….'

The golden-pawed Vulpix ran back to her trainer and Ardaine arrived soon after. A couple of bouncers had broken up the play-time, as it was causing too much of a ruckus.

Jened returned his attention to the battle and watched as the Flareon fell. The battle was over, and now it was time to eavesdrop. At least until he could get the chance to sneak into the secret passage.

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jul 20 2010, 10:26 PM

Kanoa flipped out his pokenav, eying it for a moment before responding "Eh, sorry Big Chief it's only about 9:30, we've been here for a whole five minutes." he shrugged. He fidgeted a bit, obviously bored at the assignment. "Is this what hanging with Magma's gonna be like? Because if so, I'm out." Kanao stretched, leaning against the wall. "Unless, of course, someone tries to sneak up here and a fantastic battle ensues. Wouldn't that be fun?" The lad took a big swig from the bottle of wine he'd pilfered, pulling a bit of a face. "Yuck." He didn't much care for Pinot Grigios; they were a bit too light and dry for his tastes, without giving much flavour in compensation. He handed the bottle over to Julian, wondering if the guy would take a swig too.

"I kinda wanna go see what they're doing in that room over there. Discussing important stuff at a party, psh, just seems like a crap place to do it. They should've just stayed in Groudon's Thumb." Kanoa muttered as he tried to balance on one foot, holding out his arms for balance.

After awhile, it appeared Lennox, Kanoa's recruiter had spotted him and made his way up the stairs. Kanoa filled him in, and Lennox seemed quite pleased with the fact that Kanoa had accepted a mission before even technically being initiated into Magma. Kanao shrugged in response to that, saying something along the lines of: "Yep, you know me. Assertive." He was joking, of course, but Lennox seemed quite taken with the answer.

"Good good, you should find yourself most comfortable within our ranks." With that, the man named Lennox walked off, Kanoa muttering "Fart-tard" in his wake.

"BORING." He lamented, placing his hands behind his head "Hey Big Chief" he looked over to Julian "tell me a story or something. Why'd you end up joining Magma?"

Posted by: Eremol Jul 21 2010, 07:49 AM

When Kanoa offered him the wine bottle, Julian sheepishly snatched it away, if only because it was clear that Kanoa had had far too much to drink that night. Julian examined the label on the side of the bottle, and it was yet another foreign name that he probably couldn’t pronounce (pin-ott gri-gee-os? he guessed, taking a stab). As he was trying to decipher the name of the drink, an older man dressed in a Magma-red suit strode up the stairs. He and Kanoa exchanged greetings and began chatting, and Julian managed to pick up that the man’s name was Lennox. Lennox seemed to take no notice of him, until he turned to leave with a curt nod to Julian.

"Hey Big Chief," warbled Kanoa (Julian guessed it was an alcohol-induced nickname), "tell me a story or something. Why'd you end up joining Magma?"

Julian was a little taken aback by the question. It wasn’t a particularly sore subject, but it was a little too fresh in his mind.

“It was my grandmother,” he began, setting the bottle on the floor beside him. “She asked me to visit her from Mauville City, where I used to be a research assistant… I think I mentioned that before at the bar. Anyway, she said she had important news, so I made the long journey up north to Noverus. When I got here, she told me about the city, and Team Magma, and how they were attempting to heal Noverus. It sounded fine enough, but I wasn’t sure where she was going with it.” Julian paused for a moment.

“Turns out she wanted me to follow in her footsteps… because she was going to die soon. I mean, it’s not as if we were ever close, and she was almost eighty years old anyway, but it was still a surprise. Anyway, I agreed that I would stay and help the city’s reconstruction for a while, but two days later… I ended up inheriting her entire estate after she passed. I went from living in a Mauville townhouse to living in a mansion! But that also meant that I felt obligated to stay in the city and help. It was… I mean, what kind of person would…? She just left me in this mess… I don’t even want to…”

Julian was getting emotional. No, not in front of all these people like this, he thought. He defiantly bent down and grabbed the wine bottle again. Turns out pin-ott gri-gee-os tasted pretty damn good.

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jul 22 2010, 02:44 AM

"Oh man, I'm sorry Big Chief." Kanoa had taken to sitting on the ground, blinking owlishly up at Julian as he told the story. He had come up with Big Chief, because he enjoyed giving people odd nicknames (He'd called his last roommate "Captain" for no other reason other than the guy's last name was "Morgan") Mind you, Kanoa wasn't drunk yet. Two glasses of wine and a swig? He felt only slightly buzzed and still had most of his functions about him. (Trust Kanoa's player: He's a bartender).

"Condolences on your Grandmother" Kanoa nodded somberly. "At least she lived almost until 80. That's a long time, you know." he stated all this in a rather matter-of-fact manner. "Kudos on the mansion though. Sweet digs?"

He sighed for a moment as Julian took another swig, holding out his hand as if asking for the bottle back. "In all honesty though, she's dead. Why does it matter if you follow in her footsteps or not? It's cool that you're honouring her wishes and all, but what about your wishes? Sounds like you were pretty happy being a research assisstant on track to being a researcher. And here you are, at a stuffy party, playing guard dog, Big Chief, looks to me like you don't enjoy it at all either."

Kanoa shook his head "I'm not trying to discourage you or anything; it's just my opinion, you know?"

Posted by: Eremol Jul 22 2010, 10:15 AM

Julian looked down at the floor, finally quieting down.

“It’s more… complicated than that. She left me her entire mansion – her whole fortune – so that I could live here and work as a Magma. Leaving this place so soon after she died would feel… dishonest. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy my old life, but this is my new one, for the time being. And hey, at least I’m training my Pokémon.” Julian smiled.

He handed the bottle back to Kanoa, almost half-empty. He thought it had been okay at first, but the stuff left a bitter taste in his mouth, reminding him why he didn’t drink in the first place. And in his haste, Julian had dripped the wine down the corners of his mouth and chin. He considered wiping his face on the sleeve of his jacket, but – nah, he would probably ruin the suit.

“I’m gonna find a restroom or something to wash up,” said Julian, turning his back on the party and walking towards the long second-floor hallway. “I’ll be right back. If anyone asks, can you cover for me?”

Julian didn’t wait for an answer. Glad to be moving away from the ballroom (and away from the questions about his grandmother), he set off down the corridor. The noises of the party eventually quieted to a murmur, and he tried to remember if the Magma officer who had assigned him to the stairs had mentioned a bathroom. He did remember that the third room on the right side was where some sort of meeting was being held, and he thought he could hear muffled voices from within, but he decided it was best to just avoid that room. He didn’t want any trouble.

He checked the first room on the left side, poking his head past the door, only to find a stash of brooms, mops, and cleaning products. The second room on the right was locked. The third door on the left, right across from the meeting room, was unlocked, and so Julian peeked in. The room was completely dark, so he reached his arm in and carefully groped the wall for a light switch. He found one, and an overhead fluorescent light flicked on. The room was small, not much bigger than the aforementioned broom closet, and the walls were almost totally hidden by wooden shelves. Stacked neatly side by side on the ledges were dozens of cardboard boxes, each with labels on their fronts. Seeing that it was clearly not a bathroom, Julian turned to leave, but one of the labels caught his eye.

His own recruitment had been this month, August. Julian was not into prying by nature, but tonight he was feeling particularly rebellious (or perhaps it was the pin-ott gri-gee-os). Thinking he would just take a peek out of interest’s sake, he slipped into the room and made his way over to the box in question. His could start to feel his heartbeat in his chest, and he knew that if he were caught that he would probably face serious punishment (or at least be kicked out of Magma). He slowly lifted the lid off and set it on the floor beside him. He blinked.

Inside the box were fifty or so file folders, each bearing a name in alphabetical order. Secret files on Magma members? Why would the birthday-girl’s father have files on recruits? Julian scanned for his name, and just caught a glimpse of [Dreggs, Julian] when he heard footsteps just outside the door.

Posted by: Stasis Key Jul 22 2010, 10:25 AM

'Alright,' Beat said, recalling Stahl. The Aron didn't seem too happy about missing the party - then again, having a mud-covered iron turtle running around probably wouldn't fly with the rich folks. Giving one last look at the battlefield, Beat began to walk back to the manor with Ben, noting that he was a lot less grumpy about holding his hand now. 'So, what next? Where do you think they'd keep a secre- oh.'

Beat suddenly did an about-face, nearly breaking Ben's wrist and sending the beads in his hair clattering together like a rainstick. 'I forget Ver,' he said, letting go of Ben's hand - the Poochyena was probably not too happy about that and given her current mood, it could spell disaster. Especially if she tried to reveal Ben's secret - Beat doubted she'd do something that stupid, but he really didn't want to take any chances. Stepping over the sad remains of a Macargo-shaped tree, he spotted a grey furball with that obnoxious bow next to the cracked fountain, staring worriedly at the water dripping out. The ground around the fountain was a sodden mess, the grass looking like treetops peeking out of a flooded lake. Gingerly stepping on the driest patches of ground he could find, Beat made his way to Verdani and looked inside the fountain.

There was about an inch of water left, the pump in the centre making odd spluttering noises. A pale, sickly Pokemon sat in the water, the two large yellow...antennae?...on its back drooping sadly. The Pokemon looked up at him with odd, plus-marked eyes and uttered a weak 'Chou,' the yellow things giving off a feeble light.

Beat didn't realise he'd been staring until he felt Verdani nudge his leg. She was giving him a strange look, eyes wide with her black paws pushing against the fountain. 'I know,' Beat muttered, scratching the top of her head. 'If someone with this much money can't take care of his own Pokemon, he doesn't deserve them.' Reaching into the fountain, he gently touched the thing's body, completely unprepared for the current that rushed through him. The yellow things flashed again and the Pokemon gave another weak cry, trying to back away from Beat.

'Well, that's not gonna work,' Beat muttered, rubbing his hand. 'Ver, can you help?' The Poochyena growled, insulted. 'Listen, Ver. I'm not asking you to hurt it. In fact, if we don't get it out soon, it's likely gonna hurt itself.' He looked at the Pokemon again, noticing now how thin it looked - it reminded him more than a little of Benjamin in that regard. He doesn't even feed them?! He thought of all the other flashing lights in the garden - were they all as exhausted as this one?

Verdani sighed and backed away from the fountain, getting enough room before leaping onto the edge. She whined an apology at the Pokemon, exhaled, and tackled it as gently as she could.

The pale blue Pokemon wobbled a little before finally collapsing, the light in its antennae quickly fading. Beat shuffled around in his belt pocket, grabbing a Pokeball and bringing it out, hitting the release to expand it. He tapped the Pokemon's body, hoping it would work - and it did. It disappeared in a small flash, a low rumble from the belt pocket coming right after. Putting the now-occupied Pokeball back, he grabbed the source of the rumble - his Pokedex. He'd gotten it shortly after he'd left the city to see the rest of Hoenn; it had once been his grandfather's. He and his wife lived in Dewford, where they had raised Beat's mother - she hadn't seen her parents since she'd gotten married, a very long time ago. Beat's knuckles were white from clenching the Pokedex - what was Magma's deal? Keeping some families apart, murdering others...

That's why we're here. he thought.

The Pokedex chimed again and Beat flipped it open, the image on the screen showing a robust, dark blue Pokemon - nothing like the sick pale thing currently residing in Beat's pocket.

'Chinchou, the Angler Pokemon. Commonly found on the ocean floor, their only means of communication with others is the light in their antennae. Both positive and negative charges flow through these antennae and Chinchou can deliver a nasty shock if provoked.'

'Alright.' Putting the 'Dex back in his pocket, Beat whistled to Verdani and quickly crossed the mini-lake and battlefield, returning to Benjamin and Afrit. Slipping his hand back in Ben's Beat pulled them towards the French doors - the sooner they got to the buffet, the better.

Posted by: The Mad Hatter Jul 22 2010, 02:02 PM

Ben tensed a bit, letting out a small, “Ow!” In mid-step, he almost fell back before Beat let go. “Wha—Oh. Go get her.”

While Beat was gone, Ben looked around the garden again. The fountain from the Aron's charge was broken and pitifully spitting up choked water. The bushes were turned over and beyond the point of resurrection. The lights were faded and most were out. The Kricketot and Co. had stopped playing indefinitely, except for a few trying to revive the soft music. Ben crossed his arms. The only things left intact were the various gazebos. Even the majority of the couples sucking face had gotten up. 

He looked idly at his hand, the knuckles now a dark blue. He flexed said hand and winced visibly. The bruise, still fresh, was extremely tender, and it would probably need ice. It was all puffy compared to the other one. He frowned as Beat came back. He made sure the other man took his good hand, before being dragged off.

“Oh, you're eager now. Verdani hungry?” he asked, looking down at the pup. 

They strolled through the French doors, heading toward the large buffet. It seemed odd that they would have a buffet rather than a sit down, ordering dinner. Or was he just not classy enough? He wasn't invited to many of these shindigs. He wasn't used to it.

The buffet table was laden with food of all shapes and sizes, from weird types of fish sliced so finely you could barely tell it was fish to hunky, breaded pieces of some kind of chicken-like thing. Ben tried not to think of any of it, or smell the scents. He didn't like eating and he wouldn't; he was so used to not eating, that the smell of freshly cooked meat and other food items made him sick to his stomach. He set Afrit on the table, who looked up at him curiously. Ben gave him a wary smile and told him to eat. The Mime Jr. paused but nodded, confused as to why his trainer wasn't eating. He turned to the food and began placing the things he wanted on his plate. A little of this, a little of that. 

Ben picked up the plate and his pokémon and made his way over to an open table in the corner. With Afrit in his lap comfortably, the mime ate.

The Aqua looked around the dining area. It was a fairly large space and many of the people had already left to go do the other attractions Morte had to offer. Only a few were here now. He easily had a view of the winding staircase and part of the ballroom. What's important that he saw was two men standing at the top of the stairs. One was dressed with Aqua colours — if that was the other Aqua member, he was stupid; he dropped low on Ben's perfection scale — and the other dressed as he was supposed to dress on such occasions. 

Afrit continued eating as Ben watched as the men drank from the mouth of a wine bottle. They were talking about something, and the one in Aqua colours was looking a little buzzed. When the wine bottle was handed to him, the other boy began walking away, and disappeared quickly from sight. 

Ben turned as his companion sat down. “I'm going to go... I guess the term is ‘flirt’? with that guy up there. He's slightly drunk and I can probably get past him. The meeting's on the second floor, right? There has to be a secret passage up there too.” Afrit had finished, and Ben stood up, holding him. He set Afrit on the floor and recalled him. Sending out his Murkrow, Kráka, he nodded. “Fly up and past that guy.”

Kráka did as he was told, letting out a small caw and soaring upwards. He flew right over Kanoa's head and gone.

With that, Ben began heading up the stairs. At the top, he grinned devilishly. “... Hello there.” He glanced down at the sitting man. “My bird flew away. Darn thing.” He fanned himself with a gloved hand, the perfect damsel in distress. “I'll go get him before he causes a ruckus.”

Without awaiting an answer, he slid past him and into the depths of the hall.

Posted by: Eremol Jul 22 2010, 02:30 PM

A flutter, a caw, pattering footsteps. Had Julian been caught sneaking through the house? Or was there an elite squad of Rebels waiting outside, ready to assassinate any Magma they came across? He was panicking. Perhaps he could hide in this file room and hope no one noticed the door ajar? No, then he would be trapped. What about the file with his name on it? Was it even worth looking at? Besides, it was probably just basic contact info, or a profile on him and his history. Nothing to worry about, right?

Julian snatched at his file folder and drew out a page from the packet of papers within. He stashed the paper inside his jacket and replaced the lid on the box hastily. Julian went to the door, listening for any movement in the hall. He slowly pushed open the door…

…to reveal a young woman, fitted in a purple dress and red gloves, creeping down the corridor. The wooshing of wingbeats alerted him to a black Flying Pokemon soaring down the hall.

“Um…” Julian stammered, stepping into the hallway. “You, uh, aren’t supposed to be up here.” He sighed inwardly with relief. Certainly not an assassin. Simply a woman lost in this giant mansion. Hell, he himself couldn’t even find his way around the place. He smiled at her, as if it might lighten the situation.

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jul 22 2010, 02:40 PM

Growing increasingly bored as Julian trundled off to find a restroom, Kanoa leaned against the banister, looking really quite disinterested in everything. It was better than mingling, but he really wanted to sneak around back and smoke a cigarette or something. However, his interested was piqued at the promise of something exciting: Kanoa watched as Kraka flew past his head in a flutter. "Guess the birdie's got a level 3 access card." he shrugged. however, the girl from the limo approached up the stairs. He noted idly that the dreadlocks guy wasn't with her. Shame.

"Hello there." He smiled, and followed after the girl. He wasn't supposed to let anyone past, sure, but the girl's bird had gotten away. At the very least, Kanoa would keep her from entering any rooms unannounced, and as far as he knew, birds couldn't work doorknobs.

"Oh hey, Big Chief." Kanoa waved cheerfully as Julian re-emerged. "This girl's bird flew off down the hallway. Wanna chase it back this way while I keep an eye on her?"

Posted by: Eremol Jul 22 2010, 03:10 PM

"This girl's bird flew off down the hallway,” piped up Kanoa from the top of the stairs. “Wanna chase it back this way while I keep an eye on her?”

Julian wondered how a Pokémon and its trainer had both gotten past Kanoa, but there was no time for accusations. “Um, sure,” he replied, walking backwards facing the woman and Kanoa. “I’ll be right back, then.”

He took off at a light run down the hall, making sure to be as quiet as possible as he passed the meeting room, as he didn’t want them knowing that there were people running around the forbidden second floor. He kept an eye out for the woman’s bird Pokémon, which he thought looked a little like a Murkrow.

The hallway continued straight, and Julian counted five or six doors on each side before the corridor branched off into two separate halls, each going different directions. Julian looked both ways, but had absolutely no idea where the Pokémon had gone. Suddenly, he spotted a black feather on the carpeted floor of the left branch. He carried on that way.

All the while, he thought of the crumbled page in his jacket pocket. He had the urge to stop this wild-goose chase around the mansion and just read the paper, but he knew he had to find the woman’s Pokémon before it caused some real trouble.

Posted by: Stasis Key Jul 22 2010, 03:32 PM

Beat was more than a little concerned about the fish in his pocket, not noticing the hand switch - or, really, anything other than getting the Chinchou some food. The situation reminded him of the time when Melody's Magikarp, Mr Fish, has somehow gotten out of his aquarium and spent nearly an hour on the floor, gasping for breath, until Beat walked by and saw him. The next few minutes had been a rush of getting the flopping thing back in the tank, making sure he had enough food, and apologising profusely (it wasn't going to evolve that minute, but Beat wanted it to remember his kindness when it was a bloodthirsty sea monster all the same).

Finally making it to the buffet, Beat let go of Ben's hand and searched the table. Since Chinchou were from the bottom of the sea, he guessed seafood would be the best food of choice. He quickly grabbed a plate and tossed an array of sliced, broiled, fried, and raw fish onto it, topping it off with some weird little shrimp-like things. He got quite a few stares from the other people at the buffet.

'Alright,' he said, balancing the plate on one hand. 'Do you want something, Ver?' The Poochyena nodded and padded up to the table, looking expectantly upwards - she couldn't see the chicken, but she could smell it. Putting it on a separate plate, Beat and Verdani walked over to the table Ben had sat down at.

'...You're not gonna eat anything?' he asked his companion, giving him the raised eyebrow. Afrit was going at the food like there was no tomorrow, but his owner seemed distant, looking pointedly away from the food. Frowning, Beat made a mental note to ask Ben about it later. But right now...

With the plates safely on the table, Beat lifted Verdani up and set her onto the tablecloth, thankful that she had at least wiped her paws before coming inside - he still earned titters from a nearby table, full of middle-aged women and their cat Pokemon. 'Oh, come on,' he muttered. 'It's not any different than a Glameow.' He then pulled out the Chinchou's Pokeball, releasing the Angler Pokemon on the table. Under the lights it seemed even more pale, seeming to shrink in on itself. Beat gently pushed the plate of fish towards it, Verdani watching closely.

'I'm going to go... I guess the term is ‘flirt’? with that guy up there.' Beat looked up, his dreads swinging art the motion. 'Hey, uh, don't you want me to come wi...' Rolling his eyes, the tall man leaned back in his chair and watched as Ben's Murkrow flew up to the second floor, trainer following suit. He hoped the Chinchou was a fast eater - he did not want to leave Ben alone with a bunch of Magma officers while in drag.

The Chinchou stared at the food, a tightness forming in its stomach. It looked and smelled good, but he didn't feel like eating - or doing anything else, really. Growing softly, Verdani padded across the the table to him, picking up a piece of shrimp in her jaws and holding it out. The Chinchou, after a moment of hesitation, took the shrimp and put it in its mouth.

'Well, you've got that covered.' Beat stood, pushing back his chair and beginning to walk away. 'If you need me, I'll be, uh...looking for the bathroom.' The Poochyena nodded and continued to try and feed the Chinchou, taking little bites herself.

Walking as casually up the stairs as he could, Beat paused to look down into the main room. It was almost dizzying from this height - and there was still a lot of space above him before the ceiling started. A small swarm of Volbeat and Illumise clung to the chandelier, no doubt part of the grand finale. From his vantage point he could see Verdani and the Chinchou; the little fish seemed to be eating now and Beat sighed with relief.

The top of the stairs was deserted, but he could hear voices and the flapping of wings in the hall. He double-checked his belt pocket - he didn't want to pull out Stahl in such a cramped space, but if they were found out he'd have no choice. The key was not to get discovered.

Posted by: Tysm Jul 22 2010, 05:53 PM

The party was at it's best. Battles both inside and outside, fast-paced music, guests having interesting conversations and much more. All this and Khezu had to be stuck serving drinks. He hoped to find the other Aqua agents soon so that he got to do something other than walking around with a tray on his hand, empty or not. He was enjoying the party and the mission but not being able to enjoy it to its fullest annoyed him. Whenever he managed to get a break he would sit down and relax while he could but this time he took out Lucille's Pokeball. He wasn't sure why, though. Maybe he just wanted to look at his most recent catch? Or maybe he just had nothing better to do? Whatever it was it ended up in Lucille breaking out of the ball. Khezu seemed confused as he didn't press the button while the pup ran circles around him. Soon after she ran off to the crowd, leaving a trail of confused people behind.

"What... What just happened here...!" Khezu soon realized that he had to chase the pup down or else it would surely cause trouble. He left the tray on a nearby table and ordered Double S to follow him as he went through the same path as the Houndour. The Aipom was equally confused but he knew that when Khezu gave him an order then he must follow it. The dog was clearly heading up the stairs to the second floor. Khezu didn't know much about what was exactly going on in that party but he sure knew that something important was happening on the second floor and, in order to keep his disguise until he found the others, he had to stop Lucille no matter what.

"Slinger, try to jump on her and stop the damn pup." he ordered to the Aipom following right behind him. Hearing this the small monkey took a sprint and managed to take a grip on the Houndour's stubby tail with the hand on his own tail. Moments after he dragged his way onto the pup's back while it started climbing up the stairs. Khezu soon caught up and held the dog in place, making Slinger fall off the Houndour and face-plant straight into one of the steps. Khezu soon returned the dog to her Pokeball and picked up the Aipom before realizing where he was. The chase around the mansion trying to get the pup ended up near an almost drunk guy and a girl in a red, long dress.

"Oh.. Uh.. I'm sorry for the inconvenience my Houndour may have caused.. I- Oh, wow, the view is beautiful from here." he noted that he could see the whole party from here. Guests dancing gracefully near the stage, people picking up food at the buffet (and this reminded Khezu that he hadn't eat since he got there) and a lonely table with a Poochyena who seemed to be feeding a... Chinchou? Khezu quickly continued his apologies, which he forgot the moment he took a glimpse at the view.

"Anyway, can I get you something?"

Posted by: knil1 Jul 22 2010, 06:17 PM

casually followed the couple into the dining area. He wasn’t particularly hungry, but Ardaine eyed the grand display as though she had been fasting for a year or two. Aglaia also eyed the buffet, but she did it ladylike, sitting properly and examining each section from the distance.

Jened wasn’t that hungry and figured he could make something like that at home anyways. Not to mention, he had no doubt in his mind that some of it might have been frozen before it was cooked.
He didn’t typically let Ardaine serve herself, but under the circumstances, he let her prove herself. Keeping a low profile was important to him.

Ardaine bolted to the buffet, Aglaia trotting behind her. Once they reach the beginning of it, Aglaia held a tray in her mouth as Ardaine walked down the line and picked plates up and set them on the tray. When Aglaia wanted a dish, she would sit casually and motion her paw towards the food. Ardaine would quickly run over to it and add it to their platter.
By the time they were finished, Ardaine had piled so much food, that they both had to carry the tray in their mouths.
It was an orderly, not to mention cute, way of getting things done, but Ardaine knew how to push herself.

As the Pokémon were returning, Jened looked for the Magma agents standing guard. There were two on the stairs, one in front of the supposed secret passage, the two bouncers at the front door, and the handful strewn about in the mix of party-goers.

The two fire-type Pokémon sat at their trainers’ feet, completely forgetting that they had to get the food on the table. Jened bent over and lifted them up, along with their tray, and marveled that they had actually taken so much.
“I hope you guys realize we still have business to do. You might not get to finish your meals.”

When the Rebel looked back up, he noticed one of the men on the stairs was missing. He also noticed that the girl he was spying on had went upstairs to retrieve her Murkrow.
‘How clever…’

Soon enough, the other man on the steps had left his post to follow the woman. Jened found this to be an extremely opportune moment.

He looked down at his Pokémon to give orders.
For a moment, Jened was completely motionless as he watched his new Vulpix toy with a fork between her paws. The fork proved difficult to use and she gave up on it. Without the distraction, Jened returned to giving his Pokémon orders.

“Ardaine, go up the staircase on the right. Somewhere over there should be the meeting room. Ardaine looked down at her food and whimpered. She hesitantly turned and jumped off the table. The Vulpix started behind her, but her trainer held her behind. “We’ll be doing something else Aglaia, don’t worry.” Jened looked around again and noticed the dreadlock guy was heading for the staircase as well.

The man at the secret passage had noticed the recent flow of people upstairs and decided to follow them to see what they were doing. Jened floated through the sea of people and interrupted the man. The couple and two Magmas might not be on his side, but Ardaine was up there as well.
“Excuse me sir.” The Rebel agent tried to sound as serious as possible. “I overheard some people talking about being members of another faction. I hate to be a tattle-tale, but that group of kids over there.” He pointed to a group of kids dressed in Magma uniforms. The man redirected his route to the kids.

Jened felt bad about doing that, but he didn’t care all that much.

~~~

With the passage unguarded, Jened took the chance to sneak over to it. Aglaia followed and eyed all of the pretty dresses and ribbons as she trotted by. She snuck close to one woman and returned to her trainer with a black satin ribbon around her neck.

Jened looked at her, more puzzled as to how she tied it rather than how she got it, and returned his attention to the wall. It was a typical wall, nothing suspicious about it. There was a nearby chair and side table with an ordinary vase and flowers on it. A bookshelf was nearby, but it was too small to be the typical secret bookshelf. The Rebel rubbed his hands against the wall, trying to find some entryway.

Aglaia started growling as Harriet, the tiny violist from before, appeared behind Jened. “Umm. There’s a keypad under the vase. I think the code is 02534. I can’t really remember…”
Jened was shocked and turned around. “How do you know that?”
“I came here for the same reason you did, and for the same people. I was eying this place, and by using the hidden camera above you, I could get the code.” Jened looked above him, but couldn’t see any sign of a camera, hidden or otherwise. “I was going to go through, but I bet you’ll be better at it. Besides, I have to return to the Orchestra.”

Jened looked behind her and saw John standing and moving around emphatically as he played solo non-stop. “I don’t know if you’re still needed.”
“I must return anyways. I can keep an eye out for you.” The girl spun around and walked back to the stage, trying as hard as possible to keep from getting near people.

Jened saw that the Magma agent was still talking to the kids and he walked over to the vase. He lifted it and punched in the code. The floor below the chair slid back and revealed a staircase going down. He looked around and saw that nobody took notice of it, so he snuck in and the floor returned to its original position.

~~~
‘Ok, up the stairs to the lef- no, to the right…. Right? Right.’ Ardaine grinned to herself as she hopped up the stairs.
‘Looking for a room with old humans… without getting seen by any kind of human…’ The Growlithe began to hop faster up the stairs when she heard jingling behind her. A tall human, not as tall as her human, was coming up the steps behind her.
She rushed up them and found herself in a dark hallway. She ran down the hall and heard voices. More humans were up here.

She noticed the female human her human was eyeing before, standing with another male human. Ardaine continued down the hall, getting past the two as silently and quickly as possible, which she prided herself on. She walked down the hall and heard talk of another Pokémon up there.
‘Ok, first, find room, and then find secret passage. Avoid humans and maybe make friends with Pokémon if you find it…’

Ardaine ran down the hall, taking note of anything she passed. She heard voices coming from one of the rooms and walked over to it.
‘Yes, definitely humans in here.’ Ardaine looked around and found a random object in the darkness. It felt like a very smooth rock and a very good item to point out which room it was. She set the rock next to the door and continued down the hallway.

Soon enough, Ardaine had found another thing that she was looking for. A Murkrow was in the hallway, right in front of her.
‘Hey, aren’t you with the female? Anyways, I think you would like to know that the secret room is back there. I put a rock next to the door so you can find it. I have to find my human now. Bye!’Ardaine chatted and ran, leaving the new Pokémon without a chance to say anything.

The Growlithe grew bored of looking for a secret passage, and decided to turn around. She walked back in the rooms and closets she had already investigated, just hoping to find something she didn’t find earlier.
Then in one room she found something.
A Vulpix with golden paws was gnawing on a latch, and voices were coming up from below her.
“Come on Aglaia, you can get it.” Ardaine’s trainer was speaking to Aglaia through the floor.

The fire pup happily hopped over to them and helped the Vulpix lift the hatch.

Jened looked at his Pokémon, and noticed Ardaine was confused.
“The passage had stairs that went under the house, which led to stairs that went up, which led us here. Now I’m assuming you found the room, seeing as how you’ve had so much time…”
Ardaine nodded and yipped.

Posted by: Eremol Jul 22 2010, 06:48 PM

Careful… Silent as possible…

Julian was crouched behind a colorful vase of flowers, eyeing his target. The woman’s Murkrow had perched for a moment on a wall sconce and was preening its feathers. Very quietly, Julian had removed his suit jacket (after removing the page of his secret file from the pocket and shoving it in his shoe) and was holding it like a net, as if fishing for a Magikarp. He was waiting for the flying-type to turn its head the other way, or perhaps even fall asleep, and then he would snag it.

Suddenly, the padding of footsteps came from out of Julian’s view. The Murkrow was occupied with something that was low on the ground, by the looks of it. Hushed growls and barks came from the newcomer. Another Pokémon, wandering the halls? Julian considered that it might be the host’s Pokémon. He thought it more likely that he and Kanoa had utterly failed at the simple task of guarding the stairs.

After a few tense moments, the other Pokémon walked off. Now was the perfect moment to strike! Julian leapt up from behind the vase, holding his jacket out in front of him, and grabbed at the Murkrow. A brief skirmish resulted, along with several scratches to Julian’s arms – so much for not ruining his suit. The Pokémon flew from his grasp with a sharp caw, then took off down the hallway again. Julian cursed, and sprinted off after it. It was not going to get away from him.

He ran at full speed after the flying-type, making deep wrinkles in the carpets and even knocking over a table lamp. He finally came within arm’s reach of the Pokémon as they turned a corner, and-

-he found himself back in the first hallway! The Murkrow swooped overhead and landed back on its owner’s shoulders. Just then, Julian tripped and face-planted right in front of the woman in the purple dress.

“Ack,” he groaned, getting to his feet. “I, uh, got your bird back.” He grinned sheepishly as the small group regarded him in silent shock.

Posted by: The Mad Hatter Jul 22 2010, 10:48 PM

The fact that a lot of people were ending up near the top of the stairs amused Ben in a cynical way. 

Outside, he was a smiling young woman who needed help. 

On the inside, Benjamin was cursing that the boy wasn't as stupid as he thought. Kráka took a turn down the hall, and Ben stopped. He turned as a door opened and the other man emerged. “... My bird flew away~” he cooed. “I can't seem to get it though. Hm. It'll come back~ I'm sure. He always does.” He batted his eyelashes at the man as he took off after the bird, before turning back to Kanoa.

“My name's Lilja,” he said politely, in his woman voice. He curtsied slightly. “I'll go get my date, Terrence, and we can look for the Murkrow together—Oh! There he is!” Ben moved, bouncing slightly (for a first time girl, he was pretty good), and wrapped his arms affectionately around Beat. Lingering for good effect for several moments, he grabbed Beat's hand, the one on his belt, and pulled him back over to where he originally had been standing. He laced his fingers with Beat's. 

In just a few more minutes, a small black dog appeared, with a purple monkey pokemon holding onto it. He raised an eyebrow down at it when the presumable trainer appeared. A waiter? Yes. He looked out of place. Maybe it was just because his Houndour had run away. But something else. He looked a bit familiar.

When asked if he wanted something, he nodded. “A Screwdriver,” he said, without pausing. He was stressed. “Light on the orange juice, heavy on the vodka—”

He was cut off as claws landed gently on his shoulder. He looked up at Kráka and smiled. “Ah! Thanks very much!” he exclaimed, quickly returning the bird. He'd ask what he'd found later, when they were alone. There was a thud, and Julian was now at his feet. He made no point in going to help him up in the slightest. 

He turned back to the waiter, smiling. “We'll come with you. I'm sure Terrence wants a drink too~” He leaned up and reluctantly pecked his cheek. He unlaced their hands and locked their elbows.

Leading the way down the staircase, he put an arm around the other's shoulders. When at the bottom, they turned to the table where Beat left his pokemon. He turned to make sure they others weren't looking. If they came down and asked, he would say they were clarifying their drink orders.  

He forced the waiter into a chair and smiled almost hauntingly at him. “Why are you here?” he asked sternly. It was worth a try. If he was Aqua or Rebel, then he'd be nervous as hell. Magma civillians would be to clueless and wouldn't act nervous.

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jul 22 2010, 10:59 PM

Everything was awhirl around Kanoa for the moment. The cute guy with the dreads reappeared, but much to Kanoa's chagrin, his new acquaintance "Lilja" wrapped up around him immediately. Shame, really.

"Aren't you two a cute couple." a cheeky grin broke on Kanoa's face. He was completely convinced that Lilja was, in fact, a girl. Oh Kanoa...always so oblivious.

Then a waiter crashed up the stairs with a Houndour and an Aipom...which to Kanoa were simply puppy and monkey. Kanoa thought about ordering another bottle of wine, but then Julian crashed on the ground next to him, with the Murkrow flapping over to Lilja.

"Hey Big Chief, I'm gonna cut you off. No more Pinot Grigio for you." He handed the bottle to Khezu, the waiter "Make sure my buddy doesn't drink anymore. He's a lightweight."

He then bent down to help Julian up, and by the time that as done, the couple had disappeared with the waiter.

"What a fun lot of people." Kanoa smiled, plopping down on the top step, resting his chin in his hands. "Hey Big Chief. I'm gonna go take a cigarette break outside, k?"

The wine buzz was unfortunately a weak one, and was already beginning to fade. Kanoa briefly questioned whether or not that was a sign of an alcoholic, but quickly dismissed it. Without thinking really, he hopped up on the banister railing and slid down to the ground floor. It raised a few Oohs and aahs as he did, and he gave a cheeky sort of bow once his feet touched the ground. He then made his way outside to go smoke. This, unfortunately, left Julian to guard the stairs all by his lonesome.

Posted by: Stasis Key Jul 22 2010, 11:22 PM

'Man, it's like a train wreck,' Beat muttered. The hall was suddenly full of people and Pokemon - how a Houndour and an Aipom got upstairs was anyone's guess, but he was sure that at least one Magma was pissed off.

Unfortunately for Beat's sneaking skills, Ben sighted him fairly easily and...was he bouncing? came over to where he was standing, embracing him before locking their hands together. If this is what marriage feels like, screw everything.

While Ben chatted with the waiter, Beat took his time to carefully examine the hallway. The passage could be anywhere, but even if he did find it, getting to it would be a whole different issue. At times like these, Beat wished he'd picked up a Kecleon. Still focusing on the mission, Beat didn't notice Kráka's return and Ben's remark until too late.

Something cool and not altogether unpleasant touched his cheek, and the first thought that came into his head was, absurdly, Verdani's nose nudging him awake after a long nap. Blinking, he looked down at Ben, who was busy toying with Beat's arm. There was an odd look on his face, as if...

Whoa. Whoa whoa whoa. Back up the what the fudge train; did he just...? Quick, say something!

'Uh,' was Beat's reply.

After being half-dragged down the stairs and across the ballroom in a haze, Beat was more than a little glad to sit down and try to collect his scrambled thoughts. The plates were empty and the Chinchou seemed to be asleep. Beat noted with relief that it was now a darker blue and a bit more round before recalling it. Verdani had curled up on the table, fast asleep. 'Some watch dog you make,' he muttered, absentmindedly fixing her bow. He couldn't help but look at Ben every few seconds - why had that been necessary? Not that it was overly painful or anything, but it was just odd and...

Beat was confusing himself again.

'Why are you here?' Ben hissed. If his intent was to terrify the poor waiter, he was certainly succeeding. Leaning back in his chair, the tall man peered around his partner's slim form, sizing up the waiter. Something was off about him - probably the hat - but Beat got the feeling that not everyone at the party was who they said they were.

A small growl tore his attention away from the two. Verdani was awake now, the fur on her tail bristling; her mouth open in a snarl. Looking up with a frown, Beat saw an important-looking man with a Magma symbol on his lapel making a beeline for the table. Returning all four chair legs to the ground, Beat gently grabbed Ben's arm and pulled him closer, muttering 'look out' in his ear.

'Excuse me.' The man's eyes were cold and the colour of slate and he was nearly as tall as Beat. He was no Lucario, but the dreadlocked man could practically feel the intense radiation from the figure. His grip on Ben's arm tightened a little and Beat forced himself to let go. 'I have received some complains from the other guests, saying that you let a dangerous Pokemon on the table.' His cold eyes darted toward Verdani, who stared back with equal intensity. 'I will have to ask you to put it on the ground. Also, I must ask why you are keeping this waiter from his duties, Mr...'

'Cleer.' The name simply popped into Beat's head, although he didn't know why. 'Terrence Cleer. And this young man is currently listing all the available drinks for me, so if you don't mind-'

'There is a menu above the bar.' The man interrupted, his voice completely monotone.

'Yes, but I- can't see well. Which was why Verity Danielle was on the table.'

'So, your vision impairs you from simply going to the bar?'

'And leave my Lilja all alone?' Beat said, feigning hurt. 'Or worse, take her with me? I wouldn't do that to my precious snowball.' When I get home the first ting I'm going to do is wash my mouth out. I hope there's enough soap.

'Very well then, Mr Cleer.' The man turned around and began to head out onto the dance floor, where a young couple seemed intent on sucking each other's face off. Before he was even halfway there, he stopped and turned around.

'Just note that we will be watching you, Mr Cleer.' And then he was gone.

'That was too close,' Beat said. Verdani gave a growl of acknowledgment, leaping off the table and onto the floor.

Posted by: Eremol Jul 23 2010, 07:37 AM

The top of the stairs, a minute ago so crowded, was now empty save for Julian. The wandering couple, the waiter, and Kanoa had all left, leaving Julian a few minutes of peace and quiet. He felt relieved. That was too close, he thought to himself, taking his post next to the banister. If an officer had come over and discovered that so many people had gotten into the restricted hallway…

But it was over now, thankfully. He could just sit back and enjoy the rest of the party in peace. Suddenly, it struck him – the piece of paper was still in his shoe! He hastily bent down and removed his left shoe… but it was empty. Had he put it in the other shoe? Julian removed his remaining shoe, and groaned. There was no sign of the page from his secret file! It must have fallen out during his chase with that Murkrow. Julian looked back down the hall from where he sat, hoping it hadn’t been dropped too far, but the corridor was empty.

The party was starting to run down a little. He guessed there would only be about an hour more of festivities (the fourteen-year-old birthday girl certainly had her bedtime). Julian wondered if after the party he could go looking for the page. He certainly couldn’t leave now, and let just anyone waltz up the stairs again. Even if Kanoa came back soon, could Julian trust him to guard the stairs (instead of finding a small crowd waiting for him)? Julian decided he would wait for a while, not wanting to push his luck, and definitely not wanting to get caught abandoning his post again.

Posted by: Tysm Jul 25 2010, 11:51 AM

Khezu took a mental note of the request and followed the couple downstairs. From there they led the way to their table - which was the one with the Chinchou and the Poochyena - and the girl insisted on Khezu to take a seat, little did Khezu know it wasn't just to be nice. Almost after Khezu sat down the questionnaire began. She didn't take long to ask him what exactly he was doing there and that left him wordless.

"I... Uh... I'm-" moments later appeared a Magma guard that had his own questions for the group. This would be a good time for Khezu to start cooking something up to answer the question.. if it wasn't for the fact that Slinger Shot went missing that is. By the time Khezu focused on the answer the guard was long gone and pressure was starting to build up. Then it occured him. Why not tell them the truth? The real truth.

"I.. I'm here on a fight. On a fight to try and stop this nemesis between factions. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less." he tried his best to avoid mentioning his actual faction, just giving a vague answer to a vague question. Khezu let out a breath of relief, both for getting that question out of his head and to see Double S returning from the buffet with a dish full of exotic and normal fruits.

Khezu could tell that they we're very convinced but after an answer like that he guessed nobody would. Khezu didn't know what more to do other than hope that they would fall for it or else he would have to get out of there empty-handed and fast since the superiors didn't give him any piece of advice for a situation like this.

That's when he remembered something. His bow-tie had a small microphone incorporated. He remembered being told that he had to hold it to activate the mic and that's what he did. Making it look like he was fixing the tie he activated it and proceeded to continue with the chat.

"I'm sorry, but do you still want the drink or not?"

Posted by: The Mad Hatter Jul 25 2010, 12:10 PM

Ben was, at the very least, certainly startled when he was pulled close. He staggered a bit, falling against Beat; shivering, he looked at him curiously. Look out for what? Verdani was growling, and suddenly Beat had tightened his grip on Ben’s arm.

“Ow ow ow—” Ben shut up when the Magma guard came up. That was the reason that Beat was holding him so tightly. He didn’t wrench away; that would make it suspicious. Why would he be holding her so tightly? they would say. Then they’d figure out that something had made Beat nervous enough to hurt the girl. And they would keep an even closer eye on them.

He tried not to make a face when he was referred to as a ‘precious snowball’. He would have to tell Beat not to ever use that name for him again later.

Just as quickly as it started, it ended. He turned as the other man spoke and the guard went away. To stop the factions from fighting? What a lame answer. If he was Aqua, he should’ve thought of a more elaborate answer. Ben knows he would have. He couldn’t quite figure out exactly which faction he was with though. It was proving a bit more difficult than he imagined.

Ben took a seat in the chair next to Beat, crossing his legs and arms. If Afrit had been out of his pokéball, he would’ve done the same thing – possibly sitting on the edge of the table instead of a chair that was too large for him. Ben was rather taking a liking to Afrit; though he was not one of his original Pokémon and they had just met, he was still pretty neat. Besides, it was really an ego boost when you had someone mimicking you.

He glanced at Beat. He had put away his Chinchou, which Ben just noticed he had, and Verdani had hopped off onto the floor. Verdani wasn’t dangerous. Stubborn, yes. Dangerous, no.

“I’m sorry, but do you still want the drink or not?”

Ben turned back to him. “Ah? Yes I would still like that drink. Just one; heavy on the vodka please. Terrence, my most precious person ever,” he said, shoving sweet onto his voice as a comeback for precious snowball, “do you want a drink?”

Posted by: Stasis Key Jul 25 2010, 10:19 PM

Beat's eye twitched. Evidently, the 'precious snowball' comment hadn't gone over very well - but then again, Beat didn't really have any experience of what you did and did not call your date. As far back as he could remember, he'd never actually been interested in someone.

'Uh, yeah,' Beat said, directing this comment at the poor waiter Ben had been yelling at. 'What kinds of wine do you have? I'd like something light.' He turned to face Benjamin, opened his mouth, and froze. He had just remembered the first time he'd ever had alcohol, and the ensuing chaos. Apparently Beat had an extremely low tolerance and had, after only one drink, spent the rest of the night believing he was a Bagon and tried to fly off the roof, bashing his head into the wall after his father had held him back. Melissa had put him in a choke-hold after that and he'd promised never to drink again. Just thinking about it gave him a headache.

Besides, being drunk could jeopardise the mission.

'Nevermind, that's a bad idea. I'll have a water instead.' Beat said, tapping his foot against the ground. He noticed that some of the younger partygoers were being ushered toward the entrance; the other waiters were beginning to bring out finger-foods to every table, rolling the buffet table away. The lights were beginning to dim and the Volbeat and Illumise Beat had noticed earlier began to glow softly, hovering around the ceiling. Slow, soft music came from the stage, and quite few couples took the dance floor.

Verdani grumbled under the table, glaring dully at Ben's shoes. When was this going to be over? She was going to sleep for a week when they finally got home.

'You can take a nap now, Verdani.' Beat said, leaning back to look under the table. After a moment, he shrugged and reached down, untying the bow from the Poochyena's neck. 'There,' he said, shoving the piece of fabric in his pocket. 'Roll around all you want.'

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jul 27 2010, 12:30 AM

Kanoa stepped out into the garden, stretching languidly for a moment as he made his way over towards the bushes, a bit away from the backdoor entrance. Reaching into his pocket, he procured a pack of Numel Lights and flipped one out. He flicked his lighter idly as he slipped a cigarette into his lips, before placing the lighter back inside the cigarette pack with the rest of his cigarettes.

"These things'll kill me one day" he noted, feeling somewhat obliged to say it, seeing as everyone else often did. He relaxed for a moment, all the excitement of seeing Hottie McBeads, Frowny Lilja and Stumbly Waiterson fading away as he took a few puffs.

"Well" he noted idly as he peeked back towards the inside, seeing the Volbeat/Illumise chandelier disperse into many hovering, glowing lights. "At least I met one person." Big Chief Dreggs was probably waiting for him inside. He took another puff, watching the smoke disperse into the air in front of him. His free hand thumbed the two pokeballs at his belt: Skorupii and Budew. As a Magma agent, he'd been asked to specialize in Fire and Ground pokemon, but he'd decided to specialize in Grass, Poison, Ground and Flying types...other pokemon types he associated with the land. So far, in realizing his dream team, he'd gotten the Bug/Poison type Skorupii, and the Grass/Poison type Budew, which was a great start.

"Mish" he heard a quiet noise, mixed in with the rustling of a bush. He snapped his head over to where the noise emanated from, and watched in surprise as a little orb like pokemon with legs popped out.

Kanoa's jaw dropped. It was love at first sight. The little pokemon waddled about, with its little skirt frilling about as it did. However, in a sight of absolute cuteness, the little waddling pokemon had the most curmudgeonly, grumpy frown on his face.

"What the what?" Kanoa grinned widely as he dropped into a squat, eying the pokemon curiously. The pokemon had a curious glint to it and had nice red spots all over, but Kanoa assumed it was just a trick of the light.

"Do you live in this garden?" Nod. "Do you belong to anyone here?" Shake. Kanoa seemed quite pleased with these little answers. Good thing Pokemon understood english. "What's your name?"

"Mish, Shroomish!"

"Mishroom!" Kanoa cried excitedly. He knew that pokemon names were often amalgamations of normal words, or funny plays on prexisting words. Skorupii, for instance, was a play on Scorpion, and Budew was a portmanteau of Bud and Dew. Mishroom was probably a cute play on "Miss" and "Mushroom" since it looked like a grumpy lady Mushroom. However, the little pokemon adamantly shook its head, looking quite miffed at the mispronunciation.

"Shroomish."

"Oh, Shroomish. I get it, like...Mushroom-ish. You're a mushroom like pokemon." Kanoa nodded eagerly "Shroomish. Grass type?" Another nodded as it chirped its name in reply. Kanoa thought the high pitched, but gruff voice suited the pokemon perfectly.

"Well, Shroomish, I absolutely adore you. You're quite possibly the cutest thing I've ever seen in my life. Care to join me?" The Shroomish tilted its head, appearing curious (albeit still appearing grouchy). "Oh, I've just joined Team Magma, and have no idea what that entails, but I'm new to pokemon, and new to the area. I'm trying to make new acquaintances, both human and pokemon...and of all the people and things I've met so far, you're my favourite!"

The Shroomish seemed pretty enchanted with Kanoa's casual but straightforward attitude. It waddled up to him, hopping up and down in front of him.

"So are you a boy?" The little mushroom pokemon nodded. (Well, nod is a poor descriptor. Shroomish more or less bowed with his entire body.)

"Nifty. Well then, I got a spare pokeball, so let me..."

The little Shroomish shook violently as he backed up. He frilled out his little 'skirt' and looked quite defiant at Kanoa.

"Oh right, I have to battle and catch you." Kanoa slapped the side of his head. "Forgive me, both of the pokemon I have now were gifts, I've never caught a pokemon before." The Shroomish looked a little irritated to have stumbled across a newbie trainer. "Okay, then I accept your challenge, Shroomish" Kanoa's grin widened even further.

"Budew, you're up!" Kanoa eagerly procured the pokeball for Budew, opening it in his hands, rather than throwing it out. A bolt of light arced up and backwards, appearing to strike Kanoa on the top of his head. In a little flash of light, the bud pokemon appeared, standing comfortably atop Kanoa's fedora. The trainer pointed towards the Shroomish

"Alright Buddy, Shroomish here has challenged us. Can you handle it?" The Budew nodded in reply (again, it was more like bowing his whole body). Though Kanoa couldn't see it, he simply assumed that the bow had occured. "Let's go, Tackle it!"

The Budew leapt off of Kanoa's head, flying towards the Shroomish. It was really quite cute as the two pokemon rushed forward on their stubby little legs, colliding like armless sumo wrestlers over and over. Neither of them really had arms, so it was an incredibly amusing sight. Kanoa took another drag of his cigarette as he watched the two repeatedly collide.

Not too long after, they both looked noticably winded. Kanoa figured it was time to change up strategy.

"Budew, Stun Spore." The Bud pokemon shook violently, a cloud of green sparklyness floated up into the air and towards the Shroomish. Evidently, Shroomish knew the cloud, and looked panicked as it washed over him. He shuddered tremendously, revealing to Kanoa had the paralysis had worked. Almost lazily, Kanoa lobbed the ball over at the Shroomish, who was struck and immediately sucked in. After a none-to-brief struggle, the ball pinged, indicating successful capture.

Kanoa picked it up, holding the ball in both hands with an affectionate smile. He had just captured the cutest pokemon ever, and it pleased him to no end. Budew hopped up and down excitedly, glad to have won another battle, and beamed brightly as Kanoa knelt down to scoop him up. He cradled the grass pokemon in his arms as he clipped Shroomish's new home to his belt.

"Whoops, guess we left Big Chief waiting, huh." Kanoa glanced around at the bushes, noting that there were a few berries growing there. "Well that's ridiculously convenient." he muttered to himself, moving over to where they were. One of the berries looked somewhat like a Pomegranate, which Kanoa remembered that Budew liked. "This must be a Pomeg Berry." he smiled, plucking one and placing it in Budew's mouth. Budew beamed happily as it ate, enjoying his reward for a successful battle.

Without further ado, Kanoa released Shroomish and Skorupii from their containers, watching as Skorupii moved over and plucked a Cheri Berry with his claws, placing it to his mouth and chomping away with his little pincer teeth. Shroomish, however, stood there, still shaking from paralysis. Kanoa sighed, placing a hand on his little head as he reached over and plucked one of the Cheri Berries, placing it in Shroomish's mouth. After a little chewing and a swallow, Shroomish's tremors slowly ceased, as if the paralysis had disappeared.

"Oh good, I guessed right." Shroomish even seemed somewhat impartial to the taste, which if Kanoa remembered correctly, was spicy. He smiled as he recalled all the pokemon back to their balls, then clipped them back to his belt. With that, he sauntered back into the home, then up the stairs to where Julian was waiting.

"Hey Big Chief, didjya miss me?"

Posted by: Eremol Jul 27 2010, 06:42 AM

Julian was becoming anxious. The buffet was being rolled away, children were being escorted from the ballroom, and the lights were starting to dim. He could sense the evening was coming to an end soon. The dancers below were engaged in a lively waltz, but Julian had altogether tuned out the music. He was peeking nervously down the hallway, trapped in his indecision: stay or go? His problem was solved promptly.

“Hey, you!” called a voice. It nearly stopped Julian’s heart. They knew! He turned to face the voice, and saw the Magma officer who had first assigned Julian and Kanoa to the stairs. He was approaching from the dance floor.

“Oh, hello again…” Julian murmured, trying to avoid sounding suspicious.

The officer reached him, crinkling his brow. “What are you mumbling? Anyway, we’ve gotten orders that the ball will soon be over. As far as we know, no imposters have been found, so I consider that a job well-done.”

Julian smiled meekly. “That’s good…”

“Yes, and that also means that you and your friend can return to the party. I think I can handle things up here for now.”

Julian sighed with relief. “Oh, that’s great. Now, um, I’ll just be right back…” he said, making for the second floor hallway.

“Wait, where do you think you’re going? You’re still a guest, and no guests are allowed up here. Please return downstairs until the end of the party.” The officer sidestepped Julian and blocked him from the second floor.

Julian cursed silently at himself. He couldn’t reveal to the guard why he needed to go down the hallway, because that would mean revealing he had been there already, or that he had sneaked into the file room and stolen a page. With a scowl, he started down the stairs.

“Hey Big Chief, didjya miss me?” It was Kanoa, returning from his smoke break. He looked puzzled that Julian was no longer at his post.

“Our shift’s over,” Julian said, ignoring the question, “and I can’t go back to the second floor.”

Posted by: Tysm Jul 27 2010, 06:55 PM

After taking a note of the requests Khezu headed for the bar to get the drinks, sadly eying the buffet leaving the scene. He picked up two glasses and started to pour in the drinks, heavy on the vodka, light on the orange juice. Just as requested. Doing the same with the other glass, instead with water, of course, his PokeGear started shaking violently, sign of an incoming call. Trying to pick up his phone with one hand and pouring the water with the other wasn't meant to end well and it didn't. Focusing his attention on the phone made him overfill the glass with the water resulting in one of those "Crap!" moments. Now a bit mad at the person on the other side he finally picked up the call.

"WHAT?" he shouted to the microphone on the Gear, surely leaving whoever was on the other side clearing their ears.

"Moga? Is that a way to speak with your higher-ups?!" Khezu took a step back from the also raging voice from the other side. Obviously he had done a mistake. A big one, in fact. Khezu was now trying to find a more isolated location to freely speak with the Aqua officer in line before continuing the call.

"I'm sorry, sir... I.. Uh.. I spilled my drink, that's it. And with the anger of the moment..." the Aqua officer could have cared less about the explanation. He was there to deliver a message and that is what mattered.

"Ahem, well that's not the reason I called you, Moga. I'd like to inform you that we received the data from your microphone. It seems like you found the other agents, good job. Now that you all meet up you can proceed to gather some more information"

"The other... agents?" Khezu seemed puzzled at what the officer had just told him. Before he could ask him about them the Aqua had already concluded the call and so Khezu was left wandering alone, again.

"Well, I only turned my mic on a while ago... So maybe... Ah, crap, the girl and the guy" he facepalmed as hard as he could for not realizing sooner. He hurried up back to the bar, picked up the drinks - the water glass still full to the top - and hurried up back to the table.

Posted by: knil1 Jul 28 2010, 12:04 AM

Jened casually strolled down the halls. His night-vision was poor, but he knew that there wouldn’t be many people roaming the second floor as he was. He walked down the hall towards the lit area leading to the staircase down the first floor. He got up on his toes and looked around the corner. He noticed some people were returning downstairs; a waiter, the mysterious couple, and two others.

With the coast being clearer than he expected, he returned into the darkness.

Ardaine led them, looking door to door. She let out a muffled noise when she found her rock and walked over to it. Jened could hear voices inside, and from what he could hear, a restroom break was to be carried out in a moment. Jened grabbed the rock and ran back down the hallway. He jumped into a closet and shut himself in, making sure to sit behind a few storage boxes and large coats.

The two fire Pokémon sat in the closet, uninterested of the big rush their trainer made to hide. Luckily, Jened made the right decision and ran in the direction opposite the restrooms. As Jened sat in the closet, he felt the rock, noticing something odd about it. It was an oblong shape at one angle and circle shaped at another, and off of the back of it a bar stood out. He felt the grooves and was confused as to why Ardaine believed a doorknob would be a good marker. He set it in the corner of the closet, where, he believes, it still is.

~~~

The Rebel twisted the closet's doorknob slowly, doing so while pulling it towards him. A tactic he believed made the click of the doorknob quieter and it prevented the door from randomly swinging open. He saw silhouettes of men return to the meeting room and close the door behind them. The remaining length of the meeting was in question, so Jened advanced as quickly as possible. He held his ear to the door and muffled voices found their way to Jened’s inner ear.
Jened had, at one point, been in a mansion before, and remembered all of the secrets they had to offer. Such as underground stairs and the like. He had an idea and advanced to the neighboring room on the right. He found a closet on the left side of the room and things were looking up for him. He cautiously walked over to the closet and lay on the ground. No light was coming in from the closet, so he deemed it safe to proceed. He pulled the doorknob and clicked the door open.

In his mind, he rejoiced to find that the closet contained what he was looking for. Upon further inspection, a square groove was in the back of the closet, and on the underside of the square, light lit up a small portion of the carpeted floor.
It was a perfect place to spy, aside from the fact that boxes everywhere had the ability to fall with the slightest air movement. Jened backed out of the room and as the closet door closed, he heard a tiny object collide with the wall as his fell.

He took long, quick, quiet strides, which, to his displeasure, made him look a bit mental. He could hear the old doorway crack open as Mr. St. Saëns, (assuming that's who he was. Who else would know of the secret door?) took it upon himself to see what the noise was.

He brushed it off as nothing, but a Magma Agent was sent down the hall to examine each room.

By the time the Agent reached the room to the left of the makeshift conference room, Jened was walking down the stairs, headed for the entrance to the secret underground tunnel in the hidden corner of the ballroom.

~~~

Jened had no idea of how to get out of the passage, or if there was anybody on guard duty at the secret entrance. He returned Aglaia to her Pokéball and took a chance.
Chances weren’t at all improvised. Jened had a way of coming up with scenarios off the top of his head, that would get him out of most situations.

He knocked on the “ceiling” and after a moment, it slid back and he could put his scenario into motion. It was the same man he had talked to earlier, and led to believe that a group of kids weren’t who they said they were.
Jened eyed the man, impassive as the Magma man’s eyes stared at the intruder coldly. “What were you doing down there?”
“I was on guard duty. Agent Braun wished for a few drinks and sent me down. I had to take the passage to avoid the idea of something important upstairs spreading.”Jened stood stoic, and his Growlithe eyed around looking professional. “I have the list of drinks he wanted if you want it.”
“Proceed, when you return, I’ll take it to him.” The man moved aside hesitantly and Jened was greeted by the sound of music and people’s mumbled conversations.

Ardaine dropped the act and jumped around her trainer happily, expecting a treat for doing so well.
“How about as a reward, I take you to a fancy ball and let you serve yourself at a large buffet?” The Growlithe stopped jumping and walked next to her trainer, her head hanging down.

Jened walked over to the bar to order some random drinks. The waiter looked as though he was having trouble with his cell and a drink, so Jened ordered from another waiter.

As the drinks were being prepared, the Rebel took a look around what was left at the party. Many people had left, and the setting of the ball had become darker, probably to encourage people to leave via making them sleepy.

He noted people he had observed earlier, and what they were doing. Once the drink order came, he took the tray over to the corner and handed the man the tray.

“Elite Braun will probably be confused. He’s had a horrible mental illness for a while now and is only a member out of pity. Today is his last day. Just be sure to refer to him as ‘sir’ and if he decides he doesn’t want the drinks, walk away. Maybe the men in the meeting will want them.” As Jened debriefed the Agent, he looked at him, believing most of the story to be fake. “It’s terrible though, Mr. St. Saëns was going to give Elite Braun’s position to whoever was kindest to him. I find it heartless.”
With mention of an Elite position up for grabs, the man was probably already in the hallway, looking for his superior.

Jened took the time to sit down and enjoy the music before he would have to return to his hidden spot once all paranoid beliefs were lost. What he heard might just make himself a better player.

Posted by: Kamaitachi Jul 29 2010, 11:34 AM

Kanoa tilted his head curiously "You're speaking in riddles, buddy. I got the part where our shift's over, but why do you wanna go back to the second floor? It's boring up there." Kanoa noted that Julian seemed pretty distracted "Well, let me know if you wanna sneak up there. We'll figure something out. In the meantime, I'm hungry! Just come get me if you're up for some mischief, k?"

Without waiting for a response, Kanoa strode off. The two battles he'd had today had surely worked up a bit of an appetite, seeing as all he'd had to consume so far were a few glasses' worth of wine. Making somewhat of a beeline for the buffett, he stopped when he noticed Lilja and her friend and immediately changed course, walking casually over to them.

"Hey, Lilja, how's it goin'?" he grinned broadly as he sidled up to their table. "Are you guys enjoying yourselves?"

Posted by: The Mad Hatter Aug 2 2010, 01:07 AM

Benjamin stared at Beat as he changed his mind, barely able to decide what drink he wanted. Sure, being drunk could jeopardize the mission. But he was only having one drink. And one glass of vodka with a bit of orange juice couldn’t hurt him. Could it? It’s not like he drank often. And he was Icelandic! Yeah! He could take it!

He watched as the waiter dashed off, then got bored. Turning his attention to the ceiling as most people were, he was absolutely dazzled. No matter how much he absolutely loathed the Magma operatives running this, the ones calling all the shots in a back room, he knew that they could throw a party. The Volbeat and Illumise danced slowly, almost at a slow and steady waltz. Nothing was too fast. It was if they were playing a silent melody with their bodies. Occasionally the light shifted to various other colours; and in the way they hit the Volbeat’s lights, it was as if it were raining rainbows.

Realising what he had just though, Ben shook his head. That was what a failure would think. He was not one of those sorts. But the lights were astounding. The reds and oranges touched upon his pale face, and with a quick glance at Beat, the blues and greens were falling gently onto Beat’s. It was pretty – Beat was pretty – wait, what? He didn’t think that, and he quickly dismissed the thought of getting rid of first thought.

Now he was confused.

But luckily, his alcohol had come. He took the beverage, stared at the klutz of a waiter for a moment, before sipping through a small straw. He mixed around the ice and contents within the glass before taking another drink. The orange juice was just great enough in quantity that he didn’t need to cough at the sudden intake of vodka as he had done in the past; however, the vodka still triumphed. His throat now felt like it was on fire. There was a pleasant buzz already in the back of his mind; one that was barely noticeable.

Benjamin nearly choked on an ice cube when the Magma operative came over to them. Coughing now, he slapped his chest for a moment in the dim light and cleared his throat.

With a croaky – but still that feminine one – voice, he said, “Excuse me, sir... We would like to be left alone... Sorry about that...”

In all actuality, he wasn't sorry at all.

Posted by: Stasis Key Aug 2 2010, 10:23 AM

Beat winced as he took his water, the liquid sliding down his hand and wrist onto the table. Either the glass had been in a sauna or the waiter was having problems - judging by the look on his face, it was the latter. With a muttered thanks Beat sipped at his drink, bringing it down from overflowing to a little below the rim. Setting the glass down, Beat glanced at Ben to make sure the alcohol didn't go straight to his head.

"Hey, Lilja, how's it goin'?" It was that guy from upstairs again. Beat stifled a laugh and under the table, Verdani rolled her eyes. It was funny watching all those guys hit on Ben - was he really that attractive? - but if the smaller man got any more drunk the harmless comments would turn into a punchfest. Smiling broadly, Beat draped his arm around Ben's thin shoulders.

"Yeah, we'd like to have some alone time. Sorry, man." There was an accompanying growl from Ver, the Poochyena sticking her nose out from under the tablecloth. Still smiling, Beat leaned over and gently bopped Verdani's nose, resulting in a short, confused bark before she pulled her snout back under. Laughing softly, Beat righted himself, arm still around Ben.

"So, what's the new plan?" He said, turning his face to Ben's ear keeping his voice low. To everyone else - especially the clumsy waiter and the dense guard - it wouldn't look too suspicious. "Are we gonna look for that secret passage soon, or do you want to finish your drink first?"

Posted by: Kamaitachi Aug 2 2010, 03:23 PM

Dismissed immediately. Evidently Kanoa's sunny disposition was not appreciated by the two. Crestfallen, he gave a sort of spiteful bow and strolled casually back over to the buffet, shoving his hands into his pockets and assuming his usual slouch. It was odd, he had joined Magma, and had great high hopes of making a multitude of new friends...but so far almost everyone seemed far to stuffy. He regretted the dartboard decision to join Magma...perhaps the Rebellion or Aqua were looser and more free. At the least, though, he'd get some work done and get paid, and that would have to suffice for now.

So far, aside from winning a battle against Big Chief Dreggs and capturing the Shroomish outside, it seemed like a bust of a party. At this point, he really just wanted to dance in the middle of the room with some tall, dark and handsome gentleman, he decided he'd do his best to blend in a little bit.

Snatching up some tasty looking morsel from the buffet, he popped it in his mouth and swallowed it down quickly. To be fair, it was delicious, but at this point, Kanoa rather fancied a milkshake and some french fries; fare obviously not to be found at such a fancy do.

Kanoa looked around, once again noting that he was completely and utterly alone, and aside from Lennox and Julian, no one really seemed to want anything to do with him. With something of a sad sigh, Kanoa plopped himself down on the stairs, forgoing all pretense of high class and just slouched, elbows on his thighs and cheeks in his hands, utterly and completely bored.

After a moment, he reached back and drew out the new pokeball, releasing the Shroomish into the room. The usual flash of light ensued, but he tilted his head in confusion when the shroomish continued to sparkle for a moment after his release.

"Oh my." A woman with a sequined too-tight dress and a gaudy feather boa blinked as Shroomish appeared. "I was unaware that anyone would have any of the Shiny Pokemon present."

Shiny pokemon? Kanoa blinked, Is my new buddy something really special?

"How much?" she asked in an interested tone, leaning in towards him. He smelled her perfume earlier, but the proximity to his face, and the quantity that had been applied was intensely discomforting. Kanoa pulled a face.

"Not for sale." Kanoa scooped Shroomish up in his hands, carrying him like a doll. "He's my friend...I don't sell friends."

"Hmph." The woman sniffed, tilting her head back slightly to look down on Kanoa "Suit yourself, I would've paid a hefty sum to add it to my collection." With that, she walked off in a fairly ungainly fashion, causing Kanoa to snicker at the thought of a walrus in flip flops.

"So, Shiny Shroomish. Nifty." He pat his new buddy on the head, smiling as the little pokemon wiggled affectionately in his grip. "At least I made one new friend tonight."

Posted by: Eremol Aug 3 2010, 07:05 PM

This was insane. What the hell was he thinking? If he got caught…

Julian, in all his years and wisdom, was attempting to scale the back wall of the Saint Saëns mansion. After brushing off Kanoa, he had proceeded to storm out into the gardens, ruminating on that damn piece of paper he had dropped on the second floor. Was it really so important? He could be risking his job by trying to retrieve it – no, he had already risked his job. Now, nearly fifteen feet in the air, he was risking his life.

The gardens were fairly empty now, and he could sense everyone was beginning to filter back into the ballroom for the closing ceremonies. He had hopped a long hedge (snipped to rectangular perfection) and found himself at the back end of the house. Here he was far away from the noises of the party, and could focus on devising a plan to get back to the second floor hallway. There was little light, but he could make out a window about twenty feet up that was slightly ajar – quite careless of the host to leave a window open in the middle of the night. It was almost too easy. Long vines snaked up the wall of the mansion, and Julian found that they were strong enough to support his weight.

No, he had to stop and think for a moment. What was he getting himself into? Then he realized: suppose he left the page from his secret file where it lay – if someone were to find it, they would definitely know that he had been sneaking around! Now it was not so much about reading the page, but retrieving it before it was discovered.

And now he was almost at the window. He was fairly confident he could make it; frequent trips into the Hoenn desert had made him into an excellent climber, and this was nothing compared to hundred-foot cliffs. He could do this. Julian’s hands and jacket sleeves were scratched from sharp brambles, but he continued undeterred. Suddenly, he could feel something small and round drop from his jacket pocket. One of his Pokéballs! As it fell towards the ground, Julian reached out his left arm in a vain attempt to catch it, but doing so caused him to lose his grip! His right hand slipped from the vine it was clutching, and Julian started to fall backwards headfirst. He cried out, wondering how he could survive a fall this high, when suddenly he was frozen in the air. Julian was floating! He craned his neck towards the ground, where, to his surprise, Baltoy stood, eyes aglow with a blue light.

“Baltoy!” he called down to his Pokémon. “How did you…?” It was then that he realized: the fallen Pokéball had miraculously landed on its release button, sending out the Psychic-type. Baltoy must have used its psychic powers to stop Julian’s fall. He could now feel himself being lifted through the air, up to the open window. His hands clamped onto the concrete windowsill, and he could feel Baltoy’s psychic push lessen.

“I can’t thank you enough!” he said to his friend, who spun around in a happy sort of dance. Baltoy gripped its Pokéball with both arms and floated up to greet its master. Julian grinned as Baltoy placed the red-and-white ball on the sill’s edge and pushed the button, returning itself. Julian placed the Pokéball safely in his pocket and hoisted himself up and through the window.

Posted by: Tysm Aug 3 2010, 07:05 PM

The first thing Khezu noticed after returning to the table was the newcomer. The guard that was previously up-stairs had made is way back down and conveniently sat down right on Khezu's chair. He placed the drinks on the table and seriously hoped the guy didn't want anything to drink too since Khezu wasn't in the mood to return back to the bar after what happened. Luckily, the "couple" managed to find a way to make him leave soon enough. Khezu simply took his chair, turned it around and sat facing the table. He observed the guy whispering to the girl but Khezu couldn't exactly ear them.

"Hey, hey, no need to keep secrets here. We're on the same side here." he blinked his eye while trying to keep his voice as low as possible to avoid any suspicions from the guests or guards. "Name's Khezu. Khezu Moga. I got confirmation from the base that you're here for the same reason as me. Either way, you better finish up those drinks soon. We got work to do." he stopped to take a breath and take a bite on an apple brought to him by Double S, swallowing it before he continued.

"It would make things harder if I didn't know your names. Your real names, for that matter." he took another bite before proceeding.

"Oh, right. This here is Slinger Shot. You can call him Slinger, Double S, whatever suits you best." the Aipom cheerfully followed with a "Pom!" before climbing back to Khezu's shoulder.

"Well then, lets get this party started?"

Posted by: The Mad Hatter Aug 16 2010, 01:16 PM

Ben shivered slightly, eyes closing a bit. It wouldn’t look suspicious, yes… but it felt odd. Is this what couples do? Well then…! He would play along with it. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t done anything else that couples do almost exclusively – like kiss him on the cheek and sit in his lap. He was upset somewhat that they hadn’t had the time to dance, however…

He whispered back, mouth close to Beat’s cheek, “Well, I was hoping to finish my vodka first. But it might look better if I took it with us and throw the glass off a balcony or something.”

That guard was gone and he was thankful. He felt uneasy around Magmas, and felt like he was going to strangle every single one of them eventually. He’d do it too, most likely, if given the chance. He mused silently to himself that he should become an interrogator for captured Magmas… Would be a fun job!

Then the waiter had begun talking about sides and all that stuff, and it took Ben several minutes to realise what… exactly he had been talking about. Blinking… he said, “… My name is Benjamin Venfsukja – codename is Lilja. Please refer to me as that when we are undercover,” he said, pursing his lips as he glanced at the Aipom. He wasn’t too fond of monkeys. But he guessed that Double S would come in handy eventually.

Although he was quite comfortable in Beat’s arms (for some odd reason…), Ben stood up, grabbed his clutch, and nodded. “Where to first?” he asked, a frown tugging at his lips.

Posted by: citation needed Aug 16 2010, 06:27 PM

A broad smile crossed Beat's face as he leaned forward, towards Khezu. "Had a feeling we'd find the other guy eventually. Name's Beat, codename Terrence. The little terror trying to bite my shoe off is Verdani." A growl followed suit, along with another tug on his shoe. Shaking the leather deathtrap a little, he 'accidentally' swept a fork off the table, bending over to pick it up.

"Alright, Ver. We're gonna go find that passage soon, so can you go scout ahead for us?" The Poochyena's sour face told Beat plainly that no, she did not want to do this, but he knew she would anyway. Giving the Bite Pokemon an affectionate pat he stood, placing the fork haphazardly next to the plate and stretching briefly. Beat placed his hand on Benjamin's back, careful not to ruffle the fur collar. "I was thinking we'd check upstairs, first...Oh wait, the guards are back. Uh...how 'bout around the outside of the mansion? There's gotta be a secret garage or tunnel or something, in case the Magmas need to scramble. What do you think, Khezu?"

Without waiting for the waiter's reply, Verdani padded out from under the table, shooting a murderous glare at Ben as she passed. She decided that maybe later, after the mission, she'd chew up his dress or hide his shoes or something. The little Bite Pokemon's tail was puffed out almost as much as possible as she passed through an open set of doors into the night - the air had gone from pleasantly cool to chill.

Watching his spiteful Pokemon walk out the doors, Beat rolled his eyes and sighed. "I swear, I don't know what's gotten into her."

Posted by: knil1 Aug 17 2010, 10:46 PM

Jened watched as a group of girls sat and gossiped in near the bar. They would eye over guys sitting at a table and, once enough courage was built up, eventually one of them would branch off and take a chance with a suitor. Morte gossiped with them. They would crowd together and squee as their partner turned back to them, mouth wide open with excitement and forearms projecting from their sides.
The girl would return to her date and as the couple walked to the dance floor, the group, now with one less person, would return to their general routine.

Morte seemed to be the leader. She would look around more than the others, and once she found prey, she chose from her select group of minions to risk their social lives and ask for a dance. She did it rather carefully though. Ms. St. Saëns seemed to have a way with words and convinced her minion that the two were a good match. She would flip her garnet hair over her shoulder and whisper.

Eventually, much to his dislike, Jened found himself to be Morte’s next victim. He looked off and continued to look over what was left of the ball, making sure to keep the flock in his periphery.
From what he could see, there was a power struggle and a bachelorette inevitably walked his direction.
“Excuse me, sir?” The girl’s voice sounded sweet and soft. It seemed as though the person was shy, but Jened could tell that it was an act. Jened recomposed a character and closed his eyes as he turned to his visitor.

Jened sat straight, his legs were crossed, and his hands were folded on top of them; his typical romantic, rich person stereotype. His eyes softened from their usual sharp steel-blue into something more comforting, but they weren’t ready to see Morte St Saëns standing directly in front of him, twirling a black ribbon on her dress in her fingers.

The new character sitting in the velvet chair smiled and spoke, “Hello, Ms. St. Saëns. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Granted, it’s rather late in the ball, but I’m glad I could thank you for inviting me, nonetheless.” He took his right hand and brushed his hair back. Jened held back every sense of self-loathing in his body.

Morte’s expression changed. She quit twirling the ribbon and held her arms stiffly by her sides. Her tan skin surprisingly grew a little redder and it was her turn to speak. “I noticed you sitting by yourself, Mr.…. I don’t believe I know your name, I’m sorry.”

“Emil Fallon. I work at Groudon’s Thumb with your father.”
“Oh, well, Mr. Fallon, would you accompany me to a dance?”
Jened’s heart stopped for a moment. How would he get out of this predicament? Granted, it wasn’t a big deal if he couldn’t dance. He was sure that if this girl fell for the act he was putting on now, she would be even more charmed if she had to teach him how to dance. It was more that he hadn’t thought that far, even though it was obvious.
At balls, people dance.

Jened stood up, holding his hand out to her, taking note of another person he seemingly towered over. “I would love to, but I’m afraid you’ll have to teach me.” Jened was right. The reaction of a victorious girl he saw earlier was seen again, and Morte turned from her group of followers back to him, skin glowing as red as the necklace on her chest.

~~~

The two approached the center of the salon and ‘Emil’ took Morte’s waist and right hand.
His partner grinned and looked up to him, “Ok, since you’re new to this, I’ll lead.” She took her right foot and sent it forward and Jened took (as smoothly as possible) a step back with his left. They slowly began turning and Jened realized that the typical dances that are shown in movies are actual dances. The basic spins and steps were there, and the Rebel had no problem catching on.

A low ‘D’ note vibrated from a string and a solo was being played by the maternal cellist. Harriet had all but sunk deeper into her chair and the arrogant violinist pouted in his seat.

The mellow sound gave the Volbeat and Illumise a rhythm of which to sway to. Morte kept her head down, trying to avoid eye contact as much as possible. The song picked up and Jened attempted a few tricks, which thankfully turned out correctly.

Song shortly ended and the two returned to the side. Ardaine sat on a nearby table (unaware of the people who were trying to eat in “her” sitting space) looking at her trainer intently.

“Thank you for the dance, Ms. St. Saëns. I greatly appreciated it.”
“I’m glad, Mr. Fallon. I hoped you enjoyed the ball.”
“I did, thank you.” Jened noticed her motion for her pocket and, Jened assumed, her PokeGear. “I’m sorry Ms. St. Saëns, but I have to go now. I have business to tend to back at the Thumb, and I must get going. Thank you for the lovely evening.” Jened brushed her red hair behind her ear and leaned over her to kiss her on the cheek. He turned and walked off soon becoming enveloped in the deteriorating crowd.

Morte sat motionless for a moment, turned back around, and squeed.

~~~

Ardaine hopped off the table, making sure that eating utensils were to hit the ground. She trotted over to her owner to find lead him back upstairs. She had scoped out the house enough; it was about time work had gotten done.

As she walked under tables for the most direct path to Jened, she noticed a familiar Poochyena run by. Ardaine felt this more important than keeping her trainer on task and redirected her course to stalking the new pokemon.

~~~

The rebel found himself approaching the bar. On his way over, he could pick out a conversation that was seemingly important. As Jened tried to hone in on a conversation, Harriett popped up once more. Jened jumped, but not noticeably.
“I’ve noticed them too. I don’t think they work for us. If they do then they must be new.”
”Where did she come from? How would she know this?”
“You didn’t notice me when I was upstairs with you? I guess I’ve been trained well.” Harriett showed her first display of emotion as she smiled to herself. “I’ll keep a lookout for the remainder of the ball. It’s almost over. Afterwards, I’m leaving. I suggest you get back upstairs. I was just up there and the meeting is still going on with full-participation.” Jened gave up on guessing what rank this girl actually was. She was about the same age as Morte, but experience wise, there was clearly a huge gap.

Jened had kept his eyes on everything except Harriett as she talked, but when he looked back down to her, she wasn’t there.
He wasn’t very surprised.

Posted by: Kamaitachi Aug 19 2010, 02:36 AM

Kanoa remained glumly seated, watching the party dwindle down with a bored expression on his face. With nothing to really do and no one else to talk to, he actually found himself feeling really lonely. A somewhat sad look then crossed his face.

"I'll find Big Chief and pester him a little bit more." Kanoa hopped up, trying hard to rally his drooping spirits. Without even really noticing, he trotted behind Verdani, unknowingly stalking the little puppy pokemon outside into the backyard.

After a moment of the coincidental stalking, Kanoa happened to look upwards. It was there he noticed that Julian was basically hanging from a window ledge.

"Oi, Big Chief. What're you doing up there?" It was really an innocent question with innocent intention, but Kanoa shouting up towards a second floor window would more than likely draw attention to Julian.

Posted by: Eremol Aug 19 2010, 09:58 AM

The room in which Julian emerged was dimly lit, illuminated only by a desk lamp in the far corner. The walls were a pinkish-red, and a plush carpet adorned the floor. Lace curtains hung like cobwebs over the windows, and he brushed them aside as silently touched his feet to the floor. An elegant four-poster bed to the left of the window told Julian he had just broken into someone’s bedroom, but he doubted the master of the house was fond of lace curtains. Before he could ponder the issue further, he heard a shout from outside, below the window.

“What are you doing up there?”

Julian froze. Dammit, he’d been caught already! But no, it might just be a curious onlooker who thought he had seen someone at the window. If he remained silent, he might still be able to get away with this.

He eased away from the window and tip-toed towards the door, noting the posters of handsome band members and movie actors hung on the walls. Could this be Morte’s bedroom? Julian made a note to remember the location, since it may be his only way out of the house. He took hold of the doorknob and slowly opened the door, poking his head out of the crack and looking both ways down the hallway. All clear. He crept out into the hall and closed the door quietly behind him. Now it was just a matter of finding his way through this labyrinth to get that blasted piece of paper.

Julian removed a Pokeball from his jacket pocket. “Skorupi, come out,” he whispered, and a red flash released the Scorpion Pokémon onto the carpeted hallway floor. The purplish-blue Bug-type snapped his jaws in greeting, but Julian held a finger up to his lips. “We need to be very quiet, Skorupi. I need you to take a look down this way,” he said, pointing to the left, “while I go this way,” and he pointed the other direction. “If you find a crumpled piece of paper on the ground, I need you to pick it up and bring it to me. Got it?”

Skorupi clacked his claws in response, and began scuttling down the hallway. Julian took a breath, and began walking down the path to the right, hoping this wouldn’t take too long.

---

‘What a strange place,’ mused Skorupi, as he scurried silently down the long rectangular cave. A strange moss was beneath his legs, though it felt a little like fur. The walls were also very strange; they were flat, and an unusual violet color. Skorupi figured it must be the den of a Giant Smeargle, and thought sadly, ‘It’s so very different from the desert.’ He could see no other Pokémon (or people, for that matter), and it was a little lonely. But he knew his master needed him to go undiscovered, so he decided that no company was good company.

All the tunnels were exactly the same, and it was hard keeping track of them. It was a little similar to the desert Combee hives he had ventured into, but he had never known so unusual a structure. His thoughts were interrupted by something on the floor that had caught Skorupi’s eyes. It was roughly ball-shaped and white. Could this be what his master wanted? It was laying off to the side of the tunnel, but before he could examine it close, he heard a melodious sound approaching quickly! He scurried behind a plant (whose trunk was stuck in some strange colored rock or something), hoping he wouldn’t be seen. The sound turned out to be the humming of a young girl, who was skipping down the tunnel in the direction Skorupi had come from. A black ribbon in her air trailed behind her as she carried on. ‘That human is headed towards my master! He might be discovered!’ panicked the desert Pokémon as she passed. ‘I had better follow her in case master needs assistance!’

And with that, Skorupi scooped up the ball in his left claw and quietly scampered after the girl.

Posted by: Tekno Aug 22 2010, 07:08 PM

"...Quite a furball of personality you got there. At least yours didn't try to kill you once... or twice, like a certain Rhyhorn." Khezu's Rhyhorn wasn't the best Pokemon to relay on. The thing was huge, even for the species, and it also had an habit to ignore pretty much every direct orders given to him. He was more an hassle than helpful but what could Khezu do? It was the strongest battler and field clearer of his group.

"Speaking of codenames, you can treat me as Charles here. Charles Lockhart." he gave himself a second introduction before continuing "I'm fine about going outside, there shouldn't be guards on the roof, at least not as much as in here. No offense, but for the sake of my cover I can't be seen leaving with you two, so if you don't mind, I'll go ahead." Khezu reached for Lucille's Pokeball and released the pup under the table.

"Listen, I need a little help here. Run out of here. Get outside and wait for me. Go, girl!" the Houndour did so and in less than a few seconds it had passed through the door and reached the backyard. Khezu got up quickly and shouted to keep the realism going, soon leaving the other agents behind and returned Lucille as he got outside.

"Doing good for your first mission. Lets just hope we don't blow it up. So, Double S, feel like doing some climbing?" the Aipom followed with the ever cheerful "Pom!" before leaping into the amazing porch's roof. Near the walls was a stack of boxes conveniently placed well enough so that Khezu could follow the ape.

"Well, lets just hope they can... catch up with us."

Posted by: Kamaitachi Aug 30 2010, 07:04 PM

"Ohhh...I bet Big Chief is doing a little mischief making" Kanoa mused out loud to no one. Not particularly wanting to spoil his nice clothes by clambering up the wall after his new buddy, he figured he'd take the easy way: The stairs.

Reentering as swiftly as he'd exited (Which is to say, at a fairly leisurely pace), he made his way up the stairs that he'd been guarding.

"Hey, what're you doing up here?" He blinked upwards at the new guard standing there. This man was in full intimidating uniform red, making his fierce green eyes pop out all the more. Kanoa felt slightly intimidated, but fabricated something as quickly as he could.

"Oh, you were my relief so I could go take my smoke break." Kanoa smiled "So I figured I'd offer you the same courtesy." He held out his pack of Numel lights, to which the guard smiled and nodded in thanks.

As the man left, Kanoa signaled to another guard from downstairs. "Oi, fill in for me here, I've some business to attend." The voice, though Kanoa's seemed somewhat authoritative and commanding, enough so that the passing guard shrugged and trudged up the stairs. Not waiting for him to reach the top, let alone catch on to the absurdness of the stunt that had just been pulled on him, Kanoa strolled off down the forbidden hallway.

Posted by: knil1 Sep 13 2010, 10:39 PM

The sole of Jened’s dress shoe grace the floor as he approached the other agents. Magma members proceeded to leave the ball in pairs, groups, and the occasional loner. He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. He read it, fumbled with the words and before meeting his “partners”, slid the note back into his pocket. Harriet was good, but Jened could sense slight-of-hand.

“Lady Lilja and Mr. Terrence.” He intruded in on their conversation. “My name is Emil Fallon.” He decided he liked this name for the mission. He put on his Fallon persona and continued with the two others. By what he observed of the two so far, “Lilja” would not appreciate his offering of kissing her hand, probably as much as he despised doing it. “I have noticed you seem troubled. I know you may not trust me right now, but I can help you, and in turn, you would help me. Think symbiotic relationship. I understand you are working with Mr. Lockhart, but it would prove useful to stick with me until you reunite with him later. Now if you would, fylgio mér.”

Jened turned and faced his destination, surveyed the area and began walking. He congratulated himself for learning only three phrases in Icelandic, and one of them turning out to be useful. Also on how he handled the situation. He left it so that they could come or not and they had no real say in the matter if they wanted to succeed.

Jened dropped his act as soon as he reached the chair in the corner. He looked around and began entering numbers under the vase. Any comments they had, had they any, could be asked more privately.

Posted by: Kamaitachi Oct 2 2010, 01:19 AM

Kanoa took a moment to study the pristine, decorated hallways, but realized, as always, that he was alone. No one else seemed to be wandering around indiscreetly up there, and the meeting was probably drawing to a close. Now everything seemed pointless. He'd come up here looking for Big Chief, and found no one. At the very least, he'd just wind up in trouble; not something he wanted since this was officially before his first job with Team Magma. Who knew, maybe he didn't fit in with this rich lot. Sighing, he turned around and strolled right back the way he came. He took off down the stairs, grabbed his suit coat, and made his way back to the door, stepping outside past the dwindling party.

The only highlights of the night were battling with Julian, and catching his, evidently, Shiny Shroomish. Perhaps it was best to take things in small steps. Stepping outside, he lit a cigarette. Too bad Dreds McHottie had a girlfriend. He had been shot down so quickly in his attempts to make friends that it really was quite sad. In the end, he realized, he came to the party alone, and essentially left alone. Taking a long puff on his cigarette, he couldn't help but wonder what his future in Noverus held for him, seeing as he couldn't even really make a friend on his first foray into this, essentially, whole new world. What was he to do next?

With something of a sad, resigned sigh, he made his way over to the street, where he waited patiently for a cab.

Posted by: knil1 Oct 2 2010, 11:01 PM

Jened lifted the closet floorboard above the tunnel. He remembered turning around just before going down the steps and watching Lilja and Terrence decline his offer. He could tell that Lilja held contempt for him ever since he kissed his/her hand. The two had walked off and Jened continued, assuming they had eventually left the party.

Strangely enough, once Jened opened the closet, a small fire puppy was waiting for him, sprawled out on the rug taking a nap before her trainer had gotten there. She seemed to have given up on the pursuit of the Poochyena and returned to where her trainer would most likely end up. She woke up and snapped to attention just as something ran down the hallway. Jened could merely hear a scuttle, but Ardaine chased it down the hallway. Immediately afterward, a voice could be heard down the hallway. Jened ran to the room to the right of the meeting and quickly snuck into the closet.

Unfortunately, the light in the room flicked on and the Rebel could hear a familiar voice. He peeked through the door crack and saw Morte St. Saëns removing her shining garnet necklace. Jened could also hear the scraping of chairs in the opposite room. The meeting had finished and he didn’t get a bit of information. The door to Morte’s room clicked as she left her room. Jened scrambled out of the closet and crept to the window. It was locked. He ran over to the door and opened it slowly, trying to be cautious of the men leaving the meeting and the girl who lived there. When the hallway seemed clear enough, He slipped out into the hallway and proceeded to walk down the stairs.

“You there! The party is ending, everyone is to leave now.” Jened took step after step, his black glove siding down the banister. He ignored the bouncer, who seemed to be both angry, but polite. He walked over to the orchestra ensemble as they began to leave. He avoided eye contact with Harriett and began to pack up. He grabbed his case and advanced to the front door.

As he walked down the lawn, he took notice of the red limo and turned back to the mansion. A man walked around from the back of the house with a scorpion-like Pokémon. He seemed rather upset under his guise as a guest. The waiter he saw earlier had appeared as well. Jened felt extra weight on his foot and found Ardaine standing on his dress shoes. She sat down and grinned, her tongue half hanging out. She growled at the Scorpion Pokémon as it passed by, but soon returned her attention to her trainer.

Lilja and Terrence were entering a limo, Lilja fidgeting uncomfortably and Terrence seemed unsure of what to do. They seemed rather upset as well.

The rebel waited as the chauffeur opened his door and took his violin. Jened climbed in and began to take off his formalities.

“Any place else, sir?”
Jened gave one last look as his recent mission, another incomplete mission. He responded solemnly, “No. Just home.”
Ardaine laid her head on his lap and passed out.