Team Mission 4 - Finale: Vacation's Where I Want to Z

[Reno Vantas]

Reno would pause for a moment to stare at Zera as she spoke about the malasada, staring at the thing before locking eyes with the Koffing hybrid and taking a massive bite of the pastry. Waiting until the two hybrids moved to exit the store, Reno would grab the box of malasadas before he turned to Kukui. "Y'know, if this doesn't pan out, we can always hunt down those other malasadas." Reno told the man, quietly moving to open the door.

The box of malasadas would quickly begin to lighten as an irritated and glowering hybrid began to grab out of the box for sustenance. Leslie didn't trust either of these Cipher women as far as she could throw them and she felt better plotting for a sudden but inevitable betrayal than holding a belief that they would part on good terms.

---

With Darts, Beau would shrug to the hybrid and say, "I ate worse from better. Can't be too bad." The conversation would have continued were it not for the sound of crashing and screaming that graced their ears. Watching as Clara slammed into the stone wall of a nearby building, Beau extended a hand to her before dragging her along. Might as well have someone else eat food with them.  

[Isaac Hawking]

"And how do we know that skunk-breath over there won't get bored and gas someone else," Isaac countered while glaring at Zera all the while. He still hadn't forgiven the Ciphers for nearly killing him with toxic fumes back in Kalos. More now than even when facing Aile, he found that he was glad that he still had possession of the Master Ball containing Regirock. Just in case.  

[Atlantis_Darts]

Blizzard120

A truce? With these guys? Seriously? It won't last. And I don't like knowing that Ein has guys over here. Blast it, I wish I could have taken Kess out of the picture permanently back at Mossdeep. Freakin' hell, Freth and I HAD her. Blast it. Worse still, did I hear that right? Ein knows well enough about what we have been doing!? Are they in league with Lysander by chance? All the more reason to shaft these two and be done with it. God, why are we even humoring this!?

Reno Vantas

Reno would pause for a moment to stare at Zera as she spoke about the malasada, staring at the thing before locking eyes with the Koffing hybrid and taking a massive bite of the pastry. Waiting until the two hybrids moved to exit the store, Reno would grab the box of malasadas before he turned to Kukui. "Y'know, if this doesn't pan out, we can always hunt down those other malasadas." Reno told the man, quietly moving to open the door.

The box of malasadas would quickly begin to lighten as an irritated and glowering hybrid began to grab out of the box for sustenance. Leslie didn't trust either of these Cipher women as far as she could throw them and she felt better plotting for a sudden but inevitable betrayal than holding a belief that they would part on good terms.

Darksol88

Begrudgingly, Cera had to admit that she had a point and took one of the malasadas herself. "...fine, we'll honor this truce for now. We won't fire the first shot if you don't," she said, before finally looking to Kukui. "Anyway, I guess if we're doing this, lead the way? Detecting the cells isn't a problem, but you know this region a lot better than any of us."

Espeon_Commander

Crystal would nod and hold out her hand. "A truce. For now. Though, if anything happens that's not at least neutral for this place, it's gone. And we will keep to this truce," she emphasised, looking over to Leslie, who she could sense was itching for a fight even before turning, "unless something happens. I do hope that this will be understood. We don't need to wreck this place with a fight. I saw the aftermath after Mossdeep and a few of the other towns in Hoenn." She then turned to Kukui, ears beginning to spring back up. "So, this cell is in the city, then? I'm ready to go when people are, then.

"At least it looks like one of you has got the sense to not dunk this town in blood unnecessarily..." Kess huffs, rolling her eyes a bit at the glares she was getting from the rest of the group. "Just because Ein has some vendetta with you doesn't mean we all are out to murder you on first sight. We have our own stuff going on. Not to mention taking you out without his help would make him terribly unhappy..."

Isaac Hawking

"And how do we know that skunk-breath over there won't get bored and gas someone else," Isaac countered while glaring at Zera all the while. He still hadn't forgiven the Ciphers for nearly killing him with toxic fumes back in Kalos. More now than even when facing Aile, he found that he was glad that he still had possession of the Master Ball containing Regirock. Just in case.

The Zapdos hybrid moves up to put herself chest-to-chest with Isaac upon hearing his comments, her needle-tipped wingspan flapping out into full display behind her black, and as Blizz knew, weighted jumpsuit. The full foot of height she had on Isaac made the hybrid turn her deadly beak downwards to consider him. "Let's put it this way." She says, her voice not a threat but a deadly promise. "You don't. But at least this way you'll have chance to see it coming, instead of it happening in your sleep, or when you're not looking. And that is the best you are going to get." She turns, nabbing a malasada with one yellow hand as she walks out the door.

Kukui shrugs and gestures for the rest of them to follow him out the door as he goes right along after her.

Espeon_Commander

Demon Wing was waiting outside for Crystal, only standing outside because of his experience with most places in Kanto and Johto. Most people didn't like a large creature that had the ability to breathe fire, as well as part of said creature's body being permanently on fire, walking around in their building. So, by now, his routine was that if he didn't get recalled, he would simply wait outside for Crystal. Which allowed him to see Zera as she walked out. While he didn't shift his stance, his tail would move away from Zera, making sure not to burn her. He did feel a bit uneasy around her, but he figured he could deal with her if something happened.

Zera scoots over next to the big lizard. Not threateningly, in fact she seems a bit ginger. "Easy big guy." She says, soothingly. Despite the proximity, she can tell the Pokemon is just as wary of her as she is of him. "Just need a light..." She waves a cigarette over his tail, not nearing close enough to dip into the life fire itself but close enough to spark the tobacco. She inhales as the cherry in the tip of the cancer stick flares to light and and she takes a couple deep puffs before exhaling, blowing a smoke ring that floats off into the alolan sky. "Thanks. Out of this whole group I think you I like best. Big, tough, deadly." She makes a face, sticking her tongue out at the no smoking sign posted, ashing a couple of times deliberately on top of it before joining up next to Kess as she heads out of the building.

The Alolan sun would be starting to go down over the horizon, causing the verdant paradise to shimmer and sparkle in the radiance of the sunset. "They say Alola has got the best sunsets..." Kukui sighs. Hau had mentioned something about a lot of extra malasada when the shop closes and needing to help them clear out. The man was going to get diabetes. Between the glorious sunset, the azure waves, the warm feel of the breeze on their backs and the smell of smoke in the air, one could truly call this paradise. Though it didn't really smell like cigarette smoke. More like the wood of a campfire or a smoke pit. "Ahhh... On days like this it's enough to make you forget about the troubles of the outside world, am I right guys? These Zygarde cells sure do pose a pickle though... We haven't had them in these parts before and it makes my keen scientific mind question why now...?" He looks around the group, his eyes concealed behind the glare of his sunglasses. "Any ideas?" he asks, beginning to lead the group northwards, towards the middle of town.

Reno Vantas

Beau would glance between Darts and the...intriguing food hawker that appeared to have cornered them for the moment. "I...would guess so. The others aren't here yet and there's nothing major going on in town so why not?" Beau told Darts and their new friend, waiting to see what exactly the man was going to pull out for food.

Extremelictor

looking up the two would see Clara on a Clawitzer, Blasting over top the crew, screaming at the top of her lungs. And as fast as she came the gal in her green tankini stopped suddenly by the gentile help of a stone wall... "Owwww"

Darts nods at the gal as she falls into their little kebab crew. The fishmonger parks his cart at the edge of a rickety abandoned building with a faded, peeling Tentacruel glaring down at them from the top of it. He pushes open a part of his cart and hauls out an enormous tank filled with some kind of liquid, the three can hear it sloshing as he easily hauls it over his shoulder and begins stomping down a set of stars that head to a rickety wooden door. He pushes a rusty key into the lock and swings it open, hinges moving with an ominous 'creeeeak' before heading inside, leaving the portcullis open behind him.  

[Darksol88]

"Well, excuse me for not floating up and down for joy at the idea of working with a team that finds us all obsolete and made enemies of us for it," Cera remarked, huffing and turning her back towards Kess. "Besides, knowing Ein, the only thing he'd be upset about is that he didn't get to finish us off."

Amaranth instead decided to just make the best of the situation and went outside alongside Kukui. "I wish we knew," she replied with a shake of her head. "We've been trying to figure out what has Zygarde so active lately ourselves. We managed to have it around us for a while, but then it took off around Kalos and eventually got away. This region does seem a lot more scenic, though..."

Cera would eventually rejoin, just in time to hear Kukui asking if they had any ideas and Amaranth's answer. "No ideas here. We really know as much as you do. And a little bit extra thanks to a party everyone else went to. And crashed. I wasn't in there, but I heard things got really chaotic in there."  

[Isaac Hawking]

"Calamities, huh? Well, I can guess the source of at least one such event," Isaac remarked with a poignant glare at Kess and Zera. Shacking his head after a moment, he continued, "Sudden but inevitable betrayals aside, there are too many variables for us to accurately predict its next course of action. It has already displayed two very distinctive behavioral patterns, and that was before it changed into its most recent form." With a sigh, Isaac turned to the assembled Snagems, "We are probably going to have to see for ourselves what the amassed cells are doing before forming a plan of action."  

[Atlantis_Darts]

Darksol88

"Well, excuse me for not floating up and down for joy at the idea of working with a team that finds us all obsolete and made enemies of us for it," Cera remarked, huffing and turning her back towards Kess. "Besides, knowing Ein, the only thing he'd be upset about is that he didn't get to finish us off."

Amaranth instead decided to just make the best of the situation and went outside alongside Kukui. "I wish we knew," she replied with a shake of her head. "We've been trying to figure out what has Zygarde so active lately ourselves. We managed to have it around us for a while, but then it took off around Kalos and eventually got away. This region does seem a lot more scenic, though..."

Cera would eventually rejoin, just in time to hear Kukui asking if they had any ideas and Amaranth's answer. "No ideas here. We really know as much as you do. And a little bit extra thanks to a party everyone else went to. And crashed. I wasn't in there, but I heard things got really chaotic in there."

Blizzard120

I watched the bunch walk out, but I would be sure I was the last one to leave. It would go without saying that I was not thrilled at all by this development and now with them entwined on our current affairs and no one is protesting this. Like at all. Am I the ONLY one who sees the problem in this?

When we got out, Tristen and I heard Kukui and then the two of us shook our heads. "Not the slightest. Not unless they were already here in the first place and they are reacting to the other parts to itself. That's just a guess." I said to the professor. "It would kind of go with my thought of there being more than one cluster and the reason why the group of them that we were dealing with in Kalos bailed out all of a sudden. As far as I am told anyways."

"But what if they weren't already here and they're the same bunch?" Tristen asked.

"Probably looking for something then? I don't know. I give up trying to figure out a Pokemon like that." I said.

Espeon_Commander

Crystal would shrug as her hand was ignored, floating herself a malasada before exiting the building herself. She munched on it and bobbed her head back and forth, eventually nodding. “Hm. One could get used to these. Maybe not every single day, but…” She followed Kukui out and looked over at Demon Wing, who looked a bit pleased with himself after Zera’s compliment. “Mm?” She looked to the direction Zera was walking, then back to her Charizard. “She complimented you, didn’t she?” Demon Wing would emit a few growls explaining the situation. “Ah. Well, be that as it may, just be wary still. All of those things are quite true, but she’s no slouch herself.” The hybrid rubbed the lizard’s snout as she shook her head. “We just need to be careful. Let’s go, Demon Wing.” Demon Wing nodded and followed his trainer, joining back up with the group. Crystal ears perked upwards at Kukui’s question, and she chimed in, her lore hunger actually paying off for a change.

“Oh, I might be able to give a potential idea with that. From everything I’ve read, Zygarde’s supposed to be a guardian, showing up when some sort of potential calamity hits, or is about to happen, to try and stop or prevent it. All the times I’ve read about this happening took place in Kalos, but who’s to say that the Zygarde cells can’t head elsewhere? I mean, they took off from HQ and returned to Kalos markedly fast. Who’s to say that they don’t have some sort of precognitive sense that allows them to know where calamities might happen? Not THAT much study on Zygarde’s taken place.” She shrugged and pulled out a book from her messenger bag, flipping through it. “And you can shut up about my reading tendencies. The knowledge was actually relevant here,” she muttered quietly to seemingly no one in the group in particular, ears bending backwards again.

"We have guardians of our own here on these islands..." Kukui says, his nose twitching a little as they walk up the pavement. "Island spirits called the Tapu, they seem to have the same sort of precognitive ability when it comes to major disasters... Now I don't know a lot about Zygarde but if it is a guardian spirit as you claim, the reason it might be collecting these cells is it sensing some kind of apocalyptic disaster in the future that necessitates it... That's just a theory, mind."

"Speaking of major disasters..." Kess says, speaking up as her own nostrils flared a little bit at the base of her beak. "That smoke smell is getting stronger... something tells me it's not a campfire..." The group rounds the corner into a scene of some kind of small amount of panicked chaos. Plumes of smoke emerge from a downed building, the source of the smoky smell evident immediately as flames begin licking out of the lower windows of the building. From the looks of things the local fire department had things under control, a squad of Wishiwashi massing together into a enormous School Form at the base of the building, the mouth of the massive fish opening and closing as they begin to get ready to extinguish the blaze.

Isaac Hawking

"Calamities, huh? Well, I can guess the source of at least one such event," Isaac remarked with a poignant glare at Kess and Zera. Shacking his head after a moment, he continued, "Sudden but inevitable betrayals aside, there are too many variables for us to accurately predict its next course of action. It has already displayed two very distinctive behavioral patterns, and that was before it changed into its most recent form." With a sigh, Isaac turned to the assembled Snagems, "We are probably going to have to see for ourselves what the amassed cells are doing before forming a plan of action."

"Not it this time... " Zera comments, taking another long drag off her cigarette, ashing it a few more times as she looks around the square. Several stalls serving some kind of food have been demolished as though something large and heavy were drug through the middle of them, splinters of wood and condiments coat the ground in a three hundred and sixty degree radius around each stand. There is an enormous crater nearby in what was an otherwise nondescript patch of dirt, and Kukui makes his way over to this, squatting down to peer into it.

"Well..." He grunts, adjusting his sunglasses. "This was where the cell was... looks like it made like an overpriced midcarder and headed for another territory with better pay..." He stands up, turning back to the group. "I know where another cell had shown up, but we better hurry if we're going to go look at it... considering."

There was a group of people still milling around, some local law enforcement as well as some locals. Maybe if they questioned one of them they would get some-

"Grandma!" A child's shriek breaks through the well-placed narrative instruction as a small girl with a set of pigtails wrapped through some kind of seashell screams into the open air near the apartment building.

"Hey, kid, you can't go in there!" A firefighter moves to block the way, barring her from entrance. "The whole place could come down, that fire's eating at the supports!"

"But but... grandma couldn't get out... the fire..." The kid sobs, clutching at his shirt. Sure enough, some eagle-eyed observers might be able to spot an old woman on about the fourth or fifth floor of the apartment building struggling to open a window. Surely she wasn't thinking of jumping? There's a unholy groan as the support beams within the derelict structure begin shifting. That thing was coming down and soon.

Zera flicks her cigarette on the ground and snuffs it out pointedly, snubbing it with the toe of her boot.  

[Reno Vantas]

Reno stared up into the sunset for the moment as he began to admire the island and its strange bit of majesty as they did so. The place seemed to natural to him, especially compared to the large cities of Johto and the somewhat unnerving steel walls of Snagem Base. What really sealed it for Reno was that smell of smoke in the air, it seemed so soothing and homely to him. Wonder why that was? Oh wait, prof was asking questions. Better answer. "Well, this place is pretty natural and it guards nature. Might have made sense to keep cells here just to act as sensors."

Leslie growled at the idea before looking up at the pair for a moment. "Or we go with the more realistic version of why cells are on an island arc like this. Thank volcanoes and geology for requiring me to learn this to channel better, but assuming we exist on moving plates on top of magma, then this whole island could have once been part of Kalos before being torn away with the cells on it. Then they only wake up after Zac does his weird a** dance that called to the rest of jello mold morons."

Reno would move to continue talking with Kukui and Leslie about the theories around Zygarde and everything when the smoke smell that made him feel at home drew to an obnoxious element. Turning towards the source, he found there was now a building on fire and a massive crater in the middle of the street. Of course this made him feel at home. And look, someone to save from the fire too. Well, there were a few choices on how to advance here. Unfortunately, the easy way of using Kaiden was out. Damn Alakazam ate all their malasadas and was out somewhere trying to rearrange the ocean to be a better color or something.

Fine, time to be a leader.

"Cera, support the building with telekinesis while I do similar to give the rest time to operate. The rest of you, move quick to either contain the fire or get the woman out." A quick telekinetic pull on the little girl who was trying to break the firefighter line to get her closer to them would occur before Leslie turned towards Kess and Zera. "That means YOU TOO! Get to work!" The small hybrid bellowed before releasing her Onix and motioning for Grunt to erupt Rock Tombs at the base of the building to aid efforts to halt the collapse for the moment.

------

Beau would glance around the area as a strange smell crossed his nose, a strange mix of the sea breeze, salt, and smoke. It was a very eclectic mix of things, but he was a little distracted by the strange dungeon that this eerie old man was leading them to. This was where people went to get murdered, not fed. Unless they were about to BE fed the murdered people. Shaking his head from this paranoid line of thought, the hybrid would continue to drag Clara along as they moved towards the strange food place.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Odd ended up following Hau to the Malasada shop, only to turn around and fetch Lykas, dragging him back through the city with the hybrid's eyes cast literally everywhere and drool dripping from his mouth in a near endless stream. "They're just.....so......Delicious-looking." Lykas managed to squeak out after a moment.

"You keep this up and you'll be too dehydrated to enjoy one later." Odd pointed out. "Eyes this way." He instructed as he entered the Malada shop at last, turning Lykas to face the man the others were already talking to. Thanks to going back to fetch his boyfriend, He'd missed part of the conversation and so wasn't quite sure what was going on at first. Then he saw Kess and Zera. "What are you doing here?!" He damanded of them, only to be promptly ignored as the two focused on the others in the group who had, apparently, already begun a conversation with them. At that point, at least, he managed to keep up a bit better, though the Confusion had already set in and keeping up was still proving a bit challenging.

When presented with a malasada to try, Lykas snapped one up in a heartbeat. "So....Who are these two again?" He asked, clearly having forgotten about them and their involvement in Hoenn. Not difficult, considering that he'd barely had anything to do with any of the Shadow Virus incident, only stepping in towards to end to help mop up once most of the problem had been resolved. Taking a bite of the malasada, he had to admit, it was pretty good. "I've had better but it's not bad at all." He said, more to himself than anyone else. Hau would likely have words with him over his obvious lack of obsession with these things but that was just one Alolan kid with an appetite for malasada that could rival a Snorlax.

Listening in on what was happening, Lykas eventually conceded. "I dunno what everyone's problem is with you two-" And then the name drop. Ein. "And now I do." He cut himself off, suddenly wary of the pair. "I suppose if you're not going to try and off us immediately, knowing that you're associated with him, I suppose I'll just have to watch you like a Feraligatr watches it's prey." He warned them, deciding to hang back by Blizz and narrowed his eyes, dropping the uneaten portion of his malasada in garbage where they could see. "Don't screw up." He warned.

"Where' Ghostfreak?" Odd questioned. He would never be able to forget Dull and, as long as he lived, he was determined to end that twisted apparition's existence. Someone like Dull was nothing less than a threat to this entire world and he had been the only one capable of harming the hybrid. Even if it destroyed him to do so, he would make sure that creature was taken out with him. And these two could point him towards that prey.

"Who?"

"You'll find out if he's around." Odd assured Lykas, suddenly wondering if he could still hurt Dull. His Channeling powers had shifted and he had lost his ability to steal life energy at some point. Maybe it would return if he kept training?

Regardless of the response, Odd would follow the two hybrids outside, keeping a close watch on them. "Just so you know, I already wanted to hurt you when I saw you two. The only reason I'm not trying already is because our host has been very kind to us so far." He told them. "You're only safe until you try and backstab us. Don't and I'll be polite and do the same. I can't promise that will last longer than this one encounter, however." Obviously his threat was full of bloated Tauros dung considering how easily he'd had his butt stomped by them back in Hoenn but at the moment, he had the advantage of numbers so maybe that would help?

When Kukui asked if there were any ideas regarding why Zygarde's cells might be in Alola or what they were doing here, he could only shrug, never taking his eyes off Ein's goons. "It's supposedly a guardian of the ecosystem. Maybe there's some kind of natural disaster coming and it can sense it? It may be trying to , quite literally, pull itself together in order to stop it? Other than that, I got noth-" The sudden emergence into the square, surrounded by the mess and the sight of the burning building caused him to pause.

"Lykas!" He called out, releasing Cadenza. "Guardian Halo. We need stairs!" He called, his hands beginning to glow bright as he released the Ghost energy channeled through himself towards the building. Small rings of silver light formed a stairway up toward the window with the old woman he could see trying to escape from it, the energy trapped inside them repelling spirits.

Lykas, hearing Odd's call and seeing his reactiong, knew exactly what to do. Darting over to his partner, he jetted up the makeshift energy stairs, his footfalls landing on something akin to solid ground. At the top, he jumped into the burning building, rolled across the floor and stopped, facing the open window. "Let's go, granny!" He exclaimed as he picked up the old woman, using his ponytails to help him keep his balance on the way out the window with her.

Once out of the building again, Lykas carefully descended Odd's stairwell of Guardian Halos, each one dissipating behind him as he stepped off it. By the time he reached the ground again, Odd was sweating profusely and clearly drained. "Took... ...your time ... ... didn't you?" He panted, his left eye closed as he tried to regain his breath.

Lykas sent Granny Alola on her feet on the ground and offered Odd a ponytail to help pull himself to his feet."What can I say? I had fragile cargo." He replied with a small laugh. "You alright?" He'd ask the woman as he turned back to her now.