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Post by Moriya on Sept 16, 2020 3:01:32 GMT
As he flickers in and out of consciousness, Silas feels the pulses and watches with resignation. With any luck, this debris should protect him. If not, well. He's done what he could. Meanwhile, Chlori does her best to prevent the blast by igniting the space around the volatile Pokemon. Her aim wasn't good, but it's hard to dodge the full effects of super-heating an area. That done, she also takes cover behind the debris. Chlori uses Heat Wave on the Hooparing! AC 3: 4 DB 12: 62 Special Fire, Smite
Chlori moves to B4
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Post by ThRevanchist on Sept 16, 2020 3:34:57 GMT
Just at the precipice of victory, what should happen but... This. Why were the strongest Pokemon the most temperamental? Never mind that Alakazam had explained exactly why. Thoron watched Eschaton go critical, and decided that was plenty for him. With just a little urgency, he grabbed Blake and carried him away. Metio could still stand - somehow - so Thoron ordered them to make sure Silas was covered, too. Thoron and Blake will move to M2 or thereabouts (Overland 6)
Pokemon can do that, right? If so, Metio will move Silas to B3.
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Oct 25, 2023 14:56:46 GMT
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Post by Bowyer on Sept 16, 2020 3:37:19 GMT
There wasn't much Blake could do. Whatever was about to happen was beyond him. Whatever it was, it sure would be exciting. Even Radiant's bold face wavered as the energy bubbled up. Her form quakes as a river's worth of water torrents towards the gremlin. Yet the warping reality seems to absorb some of it's impact. It isn't until after the aquatic assault that she realizes that Blake wasn't able to move away from the ensuing blast unescorted. With little recourse, she does her best to shield his prone form from whatever might come. Radiant uses Hydro Cannon Smite AC 4 vs 2 98 Water Special Damage Shift somewhere between Blake and Eschaton or in nearby cover if Thoron manages to drag him to safety.
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 16, 2020 3:54:59 GMT
The tumult of energy seems to just... absorb all the attacks, having no effect. And not long after the combatants take cover... it explodes, blanketing the area in a ghastly purple light, the hairs of all involved raising as the radiance scours the field. A ripple seems to emanate in a sphere out from the center, felt more in the spirit than anything else... and then it's over. Silence falls. Thoron is able to rouse Blake and Silas... and together they're just able to bask in their accomplishment. They stopped Eschaton. Encounter over! Congrats! It's not long before Cain and the other team of Technicians come winging over, on various steeds. "There you are," he says, sounding relieved. "Alive and... well, maybe not well. But alive. I... was worried. We weren't able to raise you on your bracer. It wasn't until the fighting started that we got any idea of where you'd gone. What... what happened here?"
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Post by Bowyer on Sept 20, 2020 5:07:03 GMT
What had happened here? Something that seemed so straightforward and so complicated. "I think we saved the city and quite possibly the world at large. A group of Pokemon was trying to merge our world with the Other. Esch... the imp that was disrupting the Gates was to act as some sort of conduit. Given it's size you'd think it impossible, but it seemed well capable of doing so. Just it's presence was altering the ground and pulling in Pokemon from...well from somewhere. You know, I think Councillors may have to adjust there calculations on the stability of the fabric of reality. To say we faced some powerful Pokemon might be an understatement." It felt like he was leaving something relevant out but Blake's head was still ringing from the blow Eschaton had given him. The secret of what the Pokemon had said wouldn't be revealed by him. At least not yet.
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Post by ThRevanchist on Sept 27, 2020 17:08:39 GMT
While Thoron gave his best doctor impression, he tried to avoid thinking about any psychic fallout from Eschaton's final stand. Apparently it worked; even Cain agreed that they were all alive.
"Pulling them from everywhere, more like. Sabotaging the Othergates was the least of that Pokémon's abilities." Thoron said. "After the local Pokémon were absorbed... For a moment, a river ran through here. Stranded on both ends. Even if we remained in range - which seems unlikely - many Pokémon have ways around a bracer."
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Post by Moriya on Sept 29, 2020 2:51:18 GMT
Silas takes a seat on some of the debris shortly after being woken up. He may be conscious, but that's a far cry from fresh. Even though they've won, it's hard to muster up a feeling of victory. Pokemon will still suffer, someone needs to retake the Outside, and the city has more than its share of 'ordinary' problems.
Once Thoron finishes, Silas adds his own thoughts. "A river, a lava pit, and old city... I'm not sure we were 'here' for most of it. We fought the Psychic types leading this mess first; I think this was their endgame."
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Post by DataNinja on Sept 29, 2020 3:04:26 GMT
"I... I see," Cain says, after a few minutes of silence and contemplation, as well as occasional glances at his bracer when it beeps urgently. "In all my years, I've never really encountered something like this. But... the data correlates, apparently. I'm getting preliminary reports that there were severe energy fluctuations everywhere. At least where emergency power was."
"And there's..." he shakes his head. "This can't be right. I'll have to get this correlated. The readings can't be right. But... if these are right, then the dimensional fabric is... completely sealed. Unless we start wantonly poking more holes, that... that could mean no more incursions. At least around here." He seems to be in awe. "Given what you describe as having happened, what you think its intent was... it may very well be possible."
"So, uh, hey," Akashi's voice pipes up from the bracer. "...we're all cool with the whole 'jamming' thing, right. I, uh, figured Eschaton was going to just mop the floor there, and you guys are actually pretty interesting, so I'd rather not have more of you guys die. ...and you know what? It really doesn't hurt just sitting in here. I've enjoyed my time. So... no hard feelings, right?"
"...explain, please, somebody," Cain says, flatly.
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Post by Bowyer on Oct 1, 2020 3:58:40 GMT
It took considerable effort for Blake to not face palm. How could he have forgotten the tiny bit of loose end of treason that was Akashi? Probably all the recent blood loss. He laboriously starts to get his footing as he begins the tale. "Oh that? Well you see, we might have left a tiny bit out when we were detailing our last mission. After we had defeated Nephelim, a large group of Pokemon walked up. And instead of immediately trying to murder us like the last two they decided to have a little chat. They were mostly Psychic types and introduced themselves to be of a group that was trying to get Pokemon out of the Under and the city at large."
"They tried to convince us that yourself and the Council had less than noble intentions. That the squalor that many live in was not a necessity for rule but to maintain control." He gestures for effect. "And told us secrets of the world before all of this. The information was slanted of course from what the Council revealed to us but was mostly truthful all the same."
"They intended for us to take part in a plot to breach a way to the surface, using the information as a way to gain our trust. And it did to some measure," he shrugs, "As much as it could when you had just got done fighting for your life and another fight couldn't be on the table. So in the end we agreed to allow the Pokemon, Akashi, ride along in the bracer. Our Porygon however....uhhh...got erased in the transfer somehow. The intent was to gain access to the computer network, hopefully finding some way out of the city."
"Unfortunately, it turns out that their designs on the city were less than benign. You may have guessed but they were behind the Pokemon that was disrupting the gates. They will no longer be a problem, as we defeated them as they tried to buy time for their Eschaton, their focus of power."
"As for why we left it out...well, everything happened so quickly afterwards. And the bracer does have a self destruct mechanism. A believable lie surely. "Although the fact that we all still aren't dead shows that they have at least shown some restraint."
Deception:lxcXS|HE5d65d6
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Post by ThRevanchist on Oct 3, 2020 5:43:30 GMT
Akashi's intrusion explained a few things. It also left them with much to explain. Once Blake had said his piece, Thoron added, "We were quite restrained, yes. We ought to discuss those security features with the Council."
"When we first met the ringleaders, they displayed a notable disregard for their own kind. They went so far as to execute one of their own to prove their intentions. After sabotaging our communications, leaving the rogue Nephilim for dead, and arriving in force." Thoron said, "They seemed to treat the loss of Akashi, too, as a given. When we met for the last time, that is."
He paused, then looked at the bracer, "Do you mean being in the bracer, or here, as a residual effect from Eschaton?"
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Post by DataNinja on Oct 3, 2020 5:54:04 GMT
"It did have a self-destruct mechanism," Akashi corrects. "I had to delete all the triggers there hastily when it was going to go off and kill all of us. I couldn't even set it off if I wanted to."
"And in the bracer. Being amidst the wires, feeling the data going through... it's soothing. I'd like to not come out. Or be captured, thanks. That sounds very much unfun. Although I might not care afterwards. That's a scary thought."
"I... uh, I see," Cain says, apparently at a loss for words. "Dear god, you three have been engaged in something big. And I'm not sure what. But... it all seems to have maybe worked out in the end. We'll see, I guess. I'll give the signal to reboot the power, anyways. The immediate threat is gone."
He peers at the bracer. "You are a rather articulate little fellow. Quite impressive. And a far sight less snarky than the Porygon previously in there. He could have learned something there." He takes a breath and then sighs. "I should probably get his most recent backup reactivated. The project still needs some work, after all."
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Post by Moriya on Oct 7, 2020 22:28:34 GMT
Silas is glad that Cain has accepted Blake and Thoron's explanation for Akashi's presence. Then Akashi says something that could change everything.
"Wait, Akashi. Does that mean you don't feel the pain while in the bracer?" Silas pauses, then turns to Cain to explain. "The leaders told us that existing in this world is painful for them. The portal Pokémon was trying something big to make it stop."
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Post by DataNinja on Oct 7, 2020 22:42:42 GMT
"...huh," Cain says. "That actually explains a lot. Why they're drawn for the gates - and how, because it feels better for them, presumably. And why they're so aggressive. That probably also explains why our Pokémon aren't like that. The refactoring process... it localizes them more. Reduces their mental and physical capabilities some, certainly, and is a long and arduous thing, but that's how we even have a chance of retaining them before dispersal in the first place. That's why we wouldn't notice. Because we made them more... 'here.'"
"Yeah, the electricity here and traffic and whatever is pretty soothing," Akashi says. "I can concentrate on that instead, let things flow away. The pain's more of a dull hum that I can tune out. Not gone, but way easier to think over."
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Post by Moriya on Oct 8, 2020 0:20:55 GMT
"Hmm, the presense of compatible energy or..." Silas sighs and runs a hand through his hair. This is a problem that requires at least a day of sleep first. Also, he really doesn't want to think about how Akashi's nature as a specially constructed Pokémon might be related.
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Post by DataNinja on Oct 8, 2020 0:24:39 GMT
"It's something that we can investigate," Cain says. "Now that we have a start, at least. After all, as far as we can tell, there are Pokémon still out there. One way or another, it's better if we don't have to kill them. That just tears things back open again, and then we start this whole process over. We've been granted a great reprieve. Now it's up to us to figure out how we use it. Are you all willing to help out?"
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Post by Bowyer on Oct 10, 2020 3:39:24 GMT
"Of course," Blake chirps, "Protecting everyone in the city is what I've been after at least. Helping Pokemon feel more at ease will make it safer for everyone. Who knows, maybe we can convince some of them to join willingly if it will give them a chance at a reprieve." He winces as his gestures strain a wound, "Maybe a day or two of rest for us first though? I'd love to jump back in but I doubt there are many days in Technician history that compare to what we went through today."
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Post by ThRevanchist on Oct 10, 2020 4:39:15 GMT
Thoron nodded, "The surest - if not only - way to protect them is by integrating people and Pokémon, peacefully." There was tremendous work ahead, and his own injuries were slight, but... "A few days to rest... And prepare... Would do nicely. I can hardly imagine our Council signing off on a haphazard plan."
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Post by Moriya on Oct 19, 2020 21:02:59 GMT
"I'm not about to quit. Maybe no 'daring adventures into the unknown' for a while though." As nice as retiring sounds right now, there's more work to do. However, it seems wise to negotiate for a less intense schedule. Active duty has not been good for him, and it might be best to leave things to a team with a better track record on captures.
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Post by DataNinja on Oct 19, 2020 21:57:37 GMT
There are noises of assent from the other technicians with Cain, and so, after he takes it all in, he nods. "Alright, I'm glad. We're going to need all hands on deck. Because I think we've got a lot of work cut out for us ahead. Especially if we can move ahead with things outside."There's a sense of relief as the power suddenly comes back on, the illumination of the emergency lights replaced by the full humming glow that the residents of Arcadia are used to. There are still problems out there, still trouble... but things are finally feeling hopeful. There's been a difference made in the world, and people can breathe a little easier. It may not have been exactly the job they thought they were going to do... but it's been a job well done indeed. The End
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