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Nine had been waiting for the moment. As Cresselia had told them a task would be given to them, he had been on edge waiting for it to happen. And then the day hit when they were told. When they were summoned by the legends Nine didn't hesitate to answer. And so he was pulled in - the familiar sweeping sensation that had happened when Jirachi had teleported them to Juyu. Only this time, instead of ending up in a city, Nine had suddenly ended up some place he wasn't quite expecting. On board a ship. In the air. Surrounded by more people than he could count. As their attention was called to the helm, Nine saw the man known as Captain, with two familiar faces on either side of him. There was a strange sense of relief knowing that Fiona was here, that she was both safe and that he wasn't going to have to fight her, as well as some awe at Azriel's presence. All the same, the situation was dire. And the plan was simple. Nine knew that he would have to square off against the godslayers again, and was glad that they were taking offensive to them. He had met a lot, and there were some he was hoping not to see again, as well as those he knew he still had something to settle with. And then there was the matter of who their leader could be. Who had the power to think they would be able to fell Arceus, as well as keep every one of the godslayers in a state of fear. Yet still, this was not the time for those questions. This was his time to catch up, the last time he would be able to. And so he went to go find the people who were on board here. Though, looking to Lok, Nine patted the boy on the back and said, "looks like someone's safe and sound after all. Go get her tiger." With a smirk on his face, Nine left to go find the first of the people he wished to catch up with. Seeing the sheriff of Juyu herself standing amidst the group, Nine walked over to her with a friendly smile on his face. "Well, well, well. Seeing a sheriff outside her town is quite the rare sight. Hasn't been all that long, but it feels like forever since we last met. So, how was life as a chaser?" "It was frustrating. These foes were far more elusive than I thought. It seems they have finally been pushed to the edge, if this is any indication." Scratching the back of his head, Nine said, "I see. Wouldn't know. I never went searching out for them, but they always seemed to be right where I was. Which was right where a legend was." With a small joking tone he said, "well, maybe they were just too afraid to face you." Heather didn't seem to react much to the compliment. "I tracked one down but they ran before I could finish them off." Looking to Nine she followed with, "we're not going to let them escape this time." Nodding, the Houndoom said, "absolutely. I let two go, hoping they'd figure something else out but...well." Sticking out his hand to shake, he'll say, "let's bring them to justice to Sheriff." She grips Nine's hand in a nearly bone-crunching handshake, and nods. "Yes." She hesitates. "Is Kayla with you?" Nine winced in pain briefly as the girl gripped his hand, slowly returning his expression back to normal to answer her question. "Oh, yeah. She was a great help too with our journeys. But, I'm sure she's waiting for you to be alone to say something." Looking nowhere specific, and with a cheery voice, Nine said, "isn't that right Deputy?" Pulling his hand back and giving a salute to the woman he said, "see you on the battlefield Heather." Walking away, Nine saw out of the corner of his eye the deputy of Juyu appear next to her Sheriff. Smiling, and with a small chuckle, Nine looked around only to see a very surprising familiar face to him. Jovially, he walked over to Trevor the Flygon, saying, "now you. It's been way too long!" Patting Trevor on the shoulder, he followed, "and here I thought you were a scholar, not a fighter." Looking towards the unfamiliar man who just finished speaking with his friend, the chaser asked, "new friend?" As soon as Nine spoke he muttered, "oh no another one." However, realizing who it was, the Flygon let out a sigh and then shrugged. "I didn't want to be here but..." He shrugged again. "And no, not...not really, just. Someone who was in Trailsau recently." "I see. Everything still fine at the homestead?" He gives Nine a strange look. "Is it ever?" Nine let out a laugh saying, "well, you got me there. But honestly. The world outside it. Between the godslayers and legends, the usual brawl seems pretty mundane in comparison." "I wouldn't know." He said, scratching at the back of his head. "I guess it's going fine, then." "Glad to hear. Sorry I couldn't send more letters about what I saw, but time was precious and money was tight. But, when this is all over and we get back home, I got some stories to share with you." Thinking more on it, the man had a mischievous smirk on his face as he knew something that would definitely excite the scholar. "Like, one about a legend you probably didn't even know of." Trevor's eyes suddenly lit up with interest as he leaned in. "What do you mean? Where have you been?" "All over. But, Alpha and Omega, you know that place. Turns out, it's not supposed to look all gray. And it was actually the work of someone who worked alongside Dialga and Palkia." Trevor leaned in even closer, shaking a bit as he tried to contain himself. "I need you to tell me everything." Then he paused and looked around, realizing how many people were around, and backed away with his eyes on the deck. Nine let out a laugh again saying, "hahaha! Yep. Everything's still fine. Don't worry Trevor. When this is all done, I'll tell you about it. About this whole journey I've been on. So make sure you come back to listen." Nine will put out his hand to shake with the Flygon. He let out a sigh. "Yeah I guess I have to deal with this first." Though he didn't seem all too concerned about his chances and gave a brief shake. With that done with, Nine made his way across the ship, to notice one more person aboard. Someone who had a much more imposing presence then everyone else, most others giving him a wide berth as a result. Looking at the man, Nine said, "yep, the aura around you people is definitely different then normal folk. Hey there, Kushiel." He turned and gazes down at Nine ominously. "Greetings, chaser. Have you business with me?" "Ah, well, not really. Just..." The chaser had gotten flustered around the man, though not out of fear of the man. "I just thought I'd catch you up to speed. I've met a bunch of legends, and godslayers and made it back alive and in one piece. All the legends are safe too, well except for...you probably heard about Jirachi. But, well, I figured I'd just let you know that I met him. The third disciple." He frowns. "And what did you think of the evil one?" Nine furrows his brow as he thinks. "He was certainly strong. Oppressively so. But well...he was twisted. He and his legend were unnatural, and beyond reason. I don't think I could ever understand someone like that." As he thinks a bit more on it, remembering one of the first things he heard from Raphael, he suddenly got annoyed as he said, "oh yeah. He was also a cheater!" "Remember this. The strong do not care if their foe fights unfairly. For their strength will prevail." He then grows silent and just when Nine thinks he's not going to speak again, "There are only two who could hope to understand that one's mind." "Two?" "Myself, and the Disciple of Arceus." Nine looked over to Azriel, thinking for a moment, before saying. "I see. Well, you all must've been through a lot back in the day." Though he had known all three of the disciples, and though they had seemed to know each other, Nine didn't know much of anything about them. Though they were different, and though they may have even been at odds, he couldn't help but wonder about the lives they used to lead. All the same, Nine had more to ask of the disciple. With less seriousness in his voice then before, the chaser said, "but, well, I guess this brings me to my other question. And probably the main reason I wanted to talk to you..." "Speak." he rumbled. "Ah, well. When I first met you, I was awed by your strength. By your experience and the title you bore. And you found me lacking in resolve. And maybe as a chaser too. So...I know compared to you, or Azriel or even the other one I don't measure up but...well..." Nine scratched his head, clearly embarrassed by what he is about to ask. "How about now? Do you think I'm someone worthy enough of becoming a Disciple?" He stares down at Nine for a few moments. "I would find you still lacking." Then a pause. "However, most do not share my philosophy. To many you would be considered...adequate." Nine stared at the man, breathless for a moment before having a wide smile on his face, eyes shining. Giving a small bow he said, "thank you sir." Standing back up, a clear spring in his step, he'll say, "then until then. I'll go down there and fight with everything I have. I'll make it back out. And when it's all over, I'll become a Disciple that you can respect. Until then," unsurprisingly Nine brought out his hand to shake. "It'll be an honor fighting alongside you, Kushiel." He looked at Nine's hand before tapping it with his own. "Our enemies will know fear." Clenching his hand back into a fist, with clearly renewed vigor, Nine began to walk elsewhere onto the ship.

I started working remotely from home today, and a Twitter post caught my eye: I want to know what sort of setup you guys are working with. This is my current setup. It is subject to change the more I get isolated from reality and need to construct my own space to operate outside of my mind. But I like and have liked how it looks.

The eye opened, the world coming into sharp focus for the first time. Unfamiliar, grey and blue and brown and white. Then, it picked up a sound. "Hey, Hiroko, are you ready? Can we roll?" The world came into sharp focus, revealing the face of a young woman with short, black hair and a black hat. A pin on it said "PRESS". "Yeah, just make sure you can see the crowd in the background", she replied. "Alright. Roll... now!" The woman gripped her microphone and put on a smile, before starting to recite to the camera: "Good morning Neo Domino, Hiroko Kirigami here with Neo Domino News Network. Today we're covering the massive protest march organized by Satisfaction in occasion of the ending of the qualifiers for the Fortune Cup, and as you can see behind us, the crowd that has gathered all along the Daedalus Bridge is absolutely immense. We don't have any specific numbers, but that is, regardless, an impressive show of support for these protests." She paused to let the crew focus on the crowd. It stretched from one end to the other of the Daedalus Bridge, and even longer behind. "Satisfaction has officially declared that their intention is to reach the Unity Stage, and occupy the entirety of Unity Square, to take advantage of media attention surrounding the last qualifiers of the Fortune Cup. Their demands remain the same: shutdown of the Momentum Grid, and requalification of the abandoned and decaying building of the city center. This morning, at almost the same time, both Satisfaction and Anthem have diffused to the press communications from their leaders, Kyoji Kurama and Vivian Craft. According to mr. Kurama, Satisfaction intends this protest to be fully peaceful, and that they will comply with the police's warning not to enter the stadium itself for safety reasons. Both leaders have expressed their intention to prevent clashes between the police and the movements, although, miss Craft has noted, she can't ask her supporters not to defend themselves if "someone" decided to commit some undue aggression... seems pretty self-absolutory to me, folks, but you know me already..." She smiled cheekily to the camera before continuing her diatribe. That's when... the connection suddenly cut. And the world was darkness once again. Names: "Kyoji Kurama" and "Vivian Craft" recorded. Attempting reconnection. Connection failed. Restarting connection. Connection failed. Restarting connection... Connection succesful. Live feed available. Connecting... The world came into focus once again. This time, it was the inside of a large stadium. The tribunes were absolutely crowded with spectators, and two people were racing on the track: one riding a three-wheeler with a bubble around its seating, and the second wearing a showy red and yellow costume with a couple of bizarre epaulettes. The stats displayed on the right of the video showed two names: Roxy and Blue, with their Life Points represented underneath, 1200 and 2000 respectively. Audio feed not found. Correcting. The audio suddenly cut back in, displaying the thunderous cheers and applause of those inside, as well as the crowd outside's protests. A voice from the loudspeakers suddenly cut in: "Oooouch, folks! This Battle Phase really didn't turn out how the wild rider of Center expected, did it? It seems the duel is almost decided. Unless Blazing Roxy pulls an ace from her sleeve, loss is guaranteed for her next turn!" The camera centered on one of the two riders, the dirty blonde riding the hoverboard, who despite her seemingly disadvantageous situation, was wearing a cocky grin. “You ain’t seen nothin’ yet, audience! Don’t blink or you’ll miss this one! I activate Battery Charger!” The hologram of the card materialized in the air, draining 500 of her remaining 1200 Life Points, represented by a massive spark going from Roxy to the device. Unfazed, she bent her knees to assume an aerodynamic position, speeding towards her opponent. “I’m calling back from the grave Batteryman 9 Volt, and I use its effect right away to add to my hand Batteryman Capacitor, and I immediately use its effect!” She discarded the card she had just added to her hand, and the duel disk produced three more. With a smirk, she grabbed them and showed their backs to her opponent. “Pick your poison, buddy”, she told him with a smirk. “The third one!”, came the reply from the duelist on the bubble bike, and Roxy smirked when he said that. “Thanks. I needed that one” She slapped the card on her Duel Disk and cheekily proclaimed: “I Summon Batteryman Resistance! And you know what comes next… I tune Batteryman 9 Volt with Batteryman Resistance!” A green ring of light formed in the sky above her, and 9 Volt disappeared in it, becoming a line of four twinkling lights. “The secret trick that leads to victory! Come down, Batteryman Memory Cell!” A giant chip with eyes, looking like a sort of electronic spider, appeared floating high above the track. The holographic display showed that it had 0 attack AND defense ratings. The rider in the bubble bike looked on it, worried about what its effect might be… “Now, dear audience… take a good look. I use the effect of the Batteryman Resistance I used to Synchro Summon Memory Cell. When I Synchro Summon a Thunder-type monster with it, it brings back one of the non-Tuners I used in face-down defense position. And I’ll need the little guy for the next trick.” The crowd roared when they realized what was coming next, recognizing one of Roxy’s oldest comeback tricks. “I know you’re a smart guy, Blue, so no doubt you noticed I haven’t used my Normal Summon yet. Well, I will now! I Summon Batteryman Manual, and use its effect immediately to change the position of my face-down 9-Volt!” Chants of “Shock him! Shock him!” resounded from the bleachers as a batteryman looking like a small dynamo appeared on the field, and turned its crank to make 9-Volt reappear. “Manual can negate 9-Volt’s effect to use it himself, even if it wasn’t just summoned, and then negate that of your Phantom Beast Dracossack. And I use that effect immediately to add Batteryman Fuel Cell to my hand, and summon it immediately thanks to its effect, because I still have Memory Cell on my field!” The combo was now in place, and Roxy had one last step to commit. “And now… I use Memory Cell’s effect. I tribute it, to add to my hand… SHORT CIRCUIT!” She dramatically drew the card and showed it to the public, making it erupt in a roar, then 9-Volt flew in front of her, placing itself on the track at an angle to act as a ramp. “You know what comes next! Hiyah!” She immediately turned to take the makeshift “ramp” created by her holographic monster, and flew high in the air before slamming Short Circuit on her disk. Fuel Cell shot a rain of small electric orbs, letting her bounce off of them, charging her with energy with every bounce, while her opponent tried to sway his bike to make it harder for her to aim. With a wild shout of “SHOOOORT CIRCUIT!”, she dived towards her opponent, sparks flying all over around her, until a giant explosion wiped out his entire field. “And now…”, Roxy proclaimed, emerging from the smoke, headed towards her opponent, “Fuel Cell! Finish him!”. The battle was over in a flash, when the lightning orbs in the sky above Blue rained down on his bike, forcing him to stop. "Aaaaaand it's over!”, the announcer proclaimed. “The match is over, with an astonishing comeback from the crowd's favourite, Blazing Roxy! And with this, the final match of today's Fortune Cup Qualifications has finally come to a close, and I must say, nobody expected it to end like this!" Sure I wish that idiot would shut up, Roxy muttered to herself as her board also came to a still. He's stealing my moment. "Remember, folks! After this match, all that's left for our winner is the Fortune Cup! From here, all of her road will be uphill, but I'm sure she's not scared of the challenge!" "That's right, folks!", interjected Roxy. "This whole cup's been rad, but I'm going back to the higher leagues. I've been there already, and this time I'll conquer them, ya'll see!" The announcer continued: "As you see, our winner is very sure of herself, people! In fact, I've heard sponsor offers have already started pouring in. They say that even Kaiba Corporation has offered-", but was cut off when Roxy interrupted his speculations: "I was still talking, shithead. So! As I said, I'm going to conquer the Fortune Cup. It ain't gonna be easy, I know. Everyone else at the Cup has went through the same qualifications I did. Some of the best duelists of this country will be runnin' for the title. But y'all know this has never stopped Blazin' Roxy. I won't be stopped this time. Not by the best duelists of this country, not even by the Anthem b****. Keep your eyes open, Neo Domino! Blazin' Roxy will conquer this city!" Her crude jab at Vivian was met with a mix of jeers and cheers, but it was enough. No more relevant information could be acquired, so the eye turned off once again. This time, it opened in a large, white room, where a small crowd was watching the screen placed directly under the eye’s point of view. Identification needed. Audio feed included. There were about twenty people in the room, all of them in Turbo Dueling gear, watching the screen intently. The participants of the previous qualifiers. All of them turned towards the door when another blond-haired woman made her entrance, but she wasn’t Roxy - facial recognition parameters were different, and she was wearing... armor. Shining armor lined with golden reliefs, and with a massive fleur-de-lis emblazoned in the center of the chestplate. The woman opened her mouth to talk, but before she could, another voice came from outside the eye’s viewing range. “Thank you for your patience, competitors. As the qualifiers are already over, I would normally announce who of you ended up in which bracket, and close the qualifiers officially. But today there is a special announcement I must make. See, one of the competitors has retreated from the race, and their place has been reassigned. The lady who has just graced her with her presence is madame Lydia Maupin, representative of the dueling circuit of Paris. She had initially intended to be only an observer in our Cup, but she has graciously accepted to fill in for the disappeared ms. Kotodara. Normally, we wouldn’t accept such an arrangement, but madame Maupin has already proven her valor by holding onto the championship in the European circuit for various years in a row already, so we gladly accepted her presence among you. I hope there will be no problems here”. The woman politely bowed in front of the incredulous room… and the speaker walked out.

"Guess I'm in trouble. Right, er...class...class... Ah yes that's right. I wanted to get a handle on what level you are all at. So I'll be handing out a basic test of the types of studies you'll be expected to know. You'll have until the end of class to finish it up and bring them to me." After what Chase could only describe as a strange manner of their teacher bringing a dog with him, it was time for him to show off what he could. Unfortunately it wasn't what he could do behind a mech's controls, but rather just a simple test that was basically just an assessment. It made sense to him, after all, how else would any instructor be able to grasp what areas that their students needed assistance in and what areas they excelled in. This shouldn't be too hard...let's check the damage. Chase thought, taking a gander at the several part test. Math...science...language...modern studies... He looked through all the questions and took note on what he could get done with first. Luckily for him, he was pretty good at math...he had to be with the type of work he was doing with learning about designing mechs. With a twirl of his pencil, Chase began to work on the math section of the test. Some probably might've had some problems, but that's because they probably didn't think in the same vein that he did. All he did was attempt to word each question and apply it to both mech designs and even...well in the case of one question regarding finding the area, he used the method of translating it to him using Aegis Weiss' plasma rifle to hit an enemy mech that was a certain distance away. Once math was out the way, he went down the line: next was modern studies. For an inspiring mechanic and mech designer, Chase spent a lot of time to check in on current events. His thought basically was to stay ahead of the curve with information, which pretty much served him well. Especially with some of the questions regarding current events. And I just read about that one pilot making that Kessel run in 12 seconds...still unbelievable. Either that's a hell of a pilot or one amazing vessel. Chase mused, writing his answers down for a good portion of the modern studies questions. Within a few moments, Chase finished the modern studies and did his best to finish the last two parts. It was a grueling few minutes which felt like an eternity, but the orange-haired young man finished his test. He was positive in what areas he was strong in and did his best in those he wasn't, but at the end of the day, he successfully finished this. With a quick twirl of his pencil, Chase placed it down and then turned in the test with a smile.

Stella slowly picked herself back off up from the ground, wincing as Kelsey had fallen onto the ground as well from the dog's antics. Slowly bringing herself back up to the desk, the girl watched with great intensity as the dog continued to jump around. Preparing herself for whatever attack it might unleash on her next, the girl's attention was then taken as the Vice Principal had walked in. Going wide eyed as the woman kicked the dog, Stella had figured that it was perhaps a good idea to keep her distance from the woman as much as possible. The girl looked at the closed briefcase, still a bit paranoid as the dog's barking could be heard. All the same, she let out a sigh of relief as the class moved on to something more normal. A test! As they were given, the girl focused herself and got to putting down her answers. The first three subjects weren't that much of an issue for her. Math and Science had always been her best subjects back home, and no matter the planet the questions didn't seem to change. Though, there were some questions that were theoretical planet specific, which adhered to different laws that forced her to think more on them for a bit. Language as well, though Stella wasn't the greatest conversationalist certainly knew the ins and outs of how to speak and write. The last two, however, were things she was far less confident on. The girl had next to no experience with military jargon or knowledge, and further more she was only ever really up to date on events surrounding her planet and the reinstatement of paper - of which there were no questions on - and thus she was out of the loop on most events around, well, the universe. She didn't even know when the last time the president of the ASU Sector needed help from people like Falco and the Lylat System to bolster their military. All the same, though she was shaky on some parts, the girl felt fairly confident in her test, seeming to have also finished early amongst most of her peers.

8/10

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