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BGM: In the Morning Sun - (Pokémon Mystery Dungeon - Explorers of Sky) To an outside observer, it appeared as though the Pokémon were engaging in a cheer or pep rally. But their faces did not display passion, but grim determination and fear. And then, at the last, smiles. Jirachi himself looked wistful, tears falling from his closed eyes. And then, everybody felt. Clobber's hopeful joy, Z.'s satisfaction and anticipation, Noibat's innocent excitement, Chester's proud fulfillment, Es's cheerful camaraderie, Marv's nostalgic affection, and Hector's optimistic gaiety. Mixed in among them was a warm sense of belonging. Though nobody knew which emotions came from whom or what brought them about, they experienced them all the same. The feelings washed over everybody in a dizzying wave that seemed to only amplify their own happiness. And soon, despite their current situation, the world did not seem as dark or as overwhelming as before. Each one of them felt as if they were a star illuminating the night sky. Nothing in the world could put out their light. It seemed only right that they began to actually glow, though the light traveled across their bodies and ended at the badges, which then emitted a blinding effulgence that seemed even more so under the cover of night. At that moment, they could feel a pale cloud surrounding them, growing ever closer. And each knew intuitively that if they were to let it touch them, they too might become washed with its color, as the rest of the world had. But as soon as the light reached it, the haze pushed back before dissipating as mist beneath the morning sun. And then the light expanded, resembling an inflating balloon, enveloping a larger and larger area. Until everybody's foreheads beaded with sweat and the euphoria ebbed away. "Stop," Jirachi's voice awoke them as if from a spell. Their bodies and badges no longer gave off light, but the air seemed purer and the night sky brighter somehow. And then they realized why that was. Without knowing it, perhaps distracted by the task before them, night had come and gone. The black of the sky diluted to a pale blue shot through with streaks of orange. At that moment, everybody there was both exhausted and buoyant. Because they all knew they had succeeded. A mysterious energy protected the entire island from the Mist. Even now, they could still feel it like a static crackle on the skin, but only if they concentrated through the badge. A period of silence ensued. There seemed no need to speak, because they had all shared in the same emotions and success. Finally, however, Jirachi broke the lull. "Thank you, everybody." He sniffled, dabbing at his eyes with his arm-sleeves. "I predicted, of course, that we would succeed, being a genius," he chuckled wryly. "But even genius plans fall through, and… well, I guess it doesn't matter, since we succeeded. ♪" BGM: Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon OST - Partner's Theme The mythical beamed radiantly at the group. "I think I've decided what I want to do now. Everyone, I have a request! ♪" He paused, "I understand that I've already asked a lot, but…" The Pokémon ascended into the air. "As you know, we could only restore the island. While that is an amazing accomplishment, it doesn't change the fact that the Endless Mist still covers the rest of the world." His expression turned determined. "I don't think it's any coincidence that, of all things, the wish gave us badges. These badges were initially used by Rescue Teams, then by the Exploration Guild, then Adventure Squads, and then by the Expedition Society." His voice softened at the last two words before it rose again in conviction. "So I think it's only right that we team up as well." Jirachi hovered in the air. "Though the teams, guild, squads, and society are gone, I want to revive the sentiment of cooperation and hope that started them all. I want to make this world a wonderful place for Pokémon to live in again." Stars seemed to shine in his eyes. "And after what we all experienced, I firmly believe that you can grant this dearest wish of mine. So everybody…" He extended an arm toward the group. "Please unite with me to restore this world and establish the Restoration Union!" OOC: Finally, the long-awaited title drop (sort of)! And more music! The plot is finally starting to move forward, and things are happening! What will you do? What will you say? Is this a "but thou must" scenario? Find out next time, on Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Union of Stars! The host does not guarantee the fulfillment of this promise. Side effects of taking the host at their word may include annoyance, disappointment, and outrage. No Pokémon were harmed in the creation of this post. The words above do not necessarily represent the opinion of the host.

70th +10 unit is finished. Started merging up Camilla while waiting for the final few grails to come in thinking between her and Fir, Camilla would be the first to get a Resplendent and I picked wrong. Still, counting the upcoming Resplendent, Fir is only a merge behind Camilla so swapping track isn't to much of an issue.

Belle didn't like the sound of that "nowhere near the worst thing a Pokémon has done," but she also didn't care enough to ask what Quinn meant. "If you say so," she said instead and turned away. She was tired and ready to go home. But she couldn't do that, so she did the next best thing—return to the Pokémon Center. The way back was quiet except for the occasional wild Pokémon. Remembering her earlier loss, Belle bit her lip and sent out Moo to get some training in. The cow seemed to handle most of the Pokémon just fine, which was good, at least. Nate seemed to take their shared interest in the Hoenn Rangers as a sign that they were friends now. Or that she was open to chatting. With a put-upon sigh, the girl replied in short sentences: "Yes," and "fascinating" and "uh-huh," though her irritation subsided eventually as she was drawn into the conversation despite herself. "You mean Littleroot Crimson," she corrected. "And he's not bad. I preferred Pacifidlog Cobalt, myself. She was the coolest, but she was also hyper-aware of how the world saw her. She felt the most realistic out of all the Rangers." Moo didn't have to rest much compared to the others (having done the least amount of battling) but he still benefited from a rest in the center. When everybody was done, Belle approached the other two, agreeing with Nate as she glanced over Quinn's stomach. "It did. I wouldn't overdo it if I were you." She didn't push the subject, however, instead grunting at Nate's last words. She didn't enjoy training (it sounded too much like work), but she also didn't enjoy losing. Which is why she got good at League and Unite. But if she didn't want to lose in actual battles, she had to train. Sabrina had told her that enough times.

THERE IS POWER IN THE BLOOD There was silence after Override’s big speech, but only for a moment. The Fates couldn’t help but get some snark in. “Oh, the triple-G are the keepers of the peace now, huh?” Clotho said. “What does that make the Peacekeepers then?” “In any case,” Director Sekelsky said, pointedly ignoring the question, “The big question in the center of all that remains: Where is Caesar? A stealth raid isn’t out of the question, but we can’t just send spies out to cover the whole city. We’d spread ourselves too thin. Even just narrowing things down to probable areas would be a start.” “Also, it is important to note that we are at war,” Ophiuchus said. “Perhaps more importantly, Caesar is the one who declared this war. I am not exactly enthusiastic about committing ourselves to nonviolence in the face of that.” He returned Override’s stare, too. “Though perhaps you would say that is just in my villainous nature to want to punch back?” Again, Stanley stepped in. “We’re all on the same side right now,” he said. “Now, ah, Sibyl’s suggestion of drawing people out through an announced challenge does solve another problem that I’ve been meaning to bring up. Namely, the election that is, or was, scheduled for tomorrow.” There were murmurs from some of the crowd. “Sweet Astra,” Atropos muttered under her breath. Stanley ignored them. “Obviously, an S-Class threat takes precedence,” he said. “But it saves everyone a large logistical hassle if we can get this over and done with quickly, and choosing a handful of champions per side does do exactly that. Aeon seems confident, anyway.” “I’m not willing to surrender the city to the whims of The Stanley Principle,” Director Sekelsky said. “…or Stanley’s principles,” Atropos said. “Well, we don’t have to,” Stanley said. “Caesar would still be an existential threat to the city. He would still be an S-Class threat necessitating alliance. He might even be more so if he felt particularly slighted.” “There is no reason to believe that Caesar would honor this arrangement if we are already talking about breaking it,” Ophiuchus said. “It would simply become the first battle of many.” “It’s a better plan than any we’ve made so far,” Director Sekelksy said. “We might as well see if he accepts. If he doesn’t, we can move on to something else.” He turned to one of the people sitting behind him, a middle-aged woman in half-formal attire. “Catty Key, can you go outside the park and see if Caesar will play ball?” “Got it,” she said, and she turned around to leave through one of the stairways. Lachesis stood straight up. “Hey, actually, can I come with? I’ve got an idea that might solve that location problem.” Director Sekelsky glared at her, so she added, “I’m just a Thinker, Vic. What do you think I’m gonna do, brain her to death?” He sighed. “Excalibur, go with them too. Just in case.” A man in a suit of armor stood up and followed both Catty Key and Lachesis, who turned around and stuck her tongue out as she left back up the stairs. One of the Renegades on the opposite end of the table from all this also stood up. “I have an idea, too,” he said. “There’s word on the grapevine that the Moray Clan captured a few Gibbons capes this morning, Hellhound included. Is that correct?” More murmuring from the rest of the renegades. “My understanding is that it was a joint effort, actually,” Victor said. “Right, okay.” It appeared some contributions were greater than others. “So, like, did they have any Legion on them? Because we could use that. I mean, the Park is clouding my mind a little bit, but when I’m not being suppressed by forces beyond my control, I do Tinker with power alternation stuff. Nothing major; I’m not that good, but it might be possible to reverse the polarity on Legion’s power. Since wherever Legion is, Caesar --” ˈkae̯sar “-- is, we could make a pretty decent guess from there.” A few different people tried to speak up, but Ophiuchus got there first. “Why did you say his name like that?” “Force of habit. I live over there; it’s hard not to. What, do you want to raid my house too?” “I don’t want to give you access to Hellhound, basically on that reasoning alone,” Atropos said. “And I don’t want to give another Tinker access to Vambrace’s tech. Censer, though, if you can find some blood on her or something, sure.” “I’ll even take an escort with me if that bothers you,” the Renegade said. “Though I’ll let G3 choose it if you don’t mind. I’d still trust them more than you to not get in the way of my work.” She shrugged. “Sure. Vic?” “Alright,” Director Sekelsky said. “Override, go with the man.” “Minos can take you to where we are keeping them,” Ophiuchus said, taking his own opportunity. “Did not expect this to be a whole thing, but sure, so long as she stays out of the way, I guess.” He and Minos went back towards the elevators waiting for Override to join them. Stanley took charge of the meeting again. “So this what I’m gathering the plan is now:” he said, “This is a split offensive. We meet a portion of Caesar’s forces at a neutral location. Say, some place in the Arena District, while a portion conduct a raid at wherever location or possible locations these investigations confer on. Neither of these would require the full brunt of our combined power, so I suppose should we start by taking volunteers? Do people have a preference for one stage or the other? Or are there any other objections?” OOC

Hector watched everyone else vanish in a beam of light until only he and Jirachi remained. The Mist was what felt like only inches away from them then. Long, wispy coils stretched out from the bulk of it, and for a split second Hector thought they were forming into something more solid as they got closer. Frayed tendrils became fingers first, then hands, reaching out for the two of them languidly. He blinked and they were just tendrils again. All six of Hector shifted uncomfortably, and without any of his companions around, he was honest with himself. He was scared. He envied the ones to be teleported initially. Hearing about the Mist had been unnerving—Hector had been unsure how they were supposed to help even then—but experiencing it so closely was another thing entirely. How are we supposed to fight against… this? Hector felt an inclination in the back of his mind to form up into a shield wall, but his instinct was cowed by how awestruck he was by what he saw in front of him. The Legends had failed to prevent this. Card games and video games had taught him those legends were supposed to be god-like; forces of nature unto themselves. Yet all of them had failed. All of them except… Hector looked at Jirachi. A tiny blip of a figure against the endless wall of Mist. The final bastion of the once mighty legendaries that had created the world. Hector had thought of him as inspiring so far, occasionally childish, but in that moment he saw him in a new light. The Wish Pokémon seemed lonely. Small. Tired. Hector saw a shining light appear in the corner of his vision. His stomach churned in anticipation of being teleported away. He spared Jirachi one final glance. I can’t imagine how he feels right now. It was rough waking up as a Pokémon, but that probably has nothing on waking up to learn that while you were asleep the world ended and all your friends and family are dead or turned insane by some freaky Mist. The light became blinding. Hector vanished a split second later, still staring sadly at Jirachi. Don’t worry, you aren’t alone now. We’ll help. I promise. ----------- Hector stumbled when his feet found solid ground. They were in some kind of clearing now. He didn’t have to wonder where for long, because Jirachi appeared only a moment after he did. Then he explained what they needed to do to prevent the Mist. Hector was surprised by how easy the request was. His memory of life past his teenage years had been missing since he woke up as a Falinks, but he knew that he had no need of those memories to conjure up a happy moment. NCM had been his escape from a miserable home life. The friends he had made discussing the Pokémon TCG had been his substitute for any real connection with his mother and father. The in-jokes, the late night troll posting, the club shenanigans and all of the theory-crafting in group private messages for local tournaments. He picked one that stuck out to him. The day he told the group PM that he had qualified to go to the 2014 Pokémon TCG World Tournament. It was hosted in Washington, not far from his home state, so he would even be able to afford the trip. They had stayed up until the sun had come up working on his deck for the tournament. Discussing tech choices and the meta. There had been talks of some of them showing up to support him and hang out in person. It was one of his favorite memories. He met Jirachi's eyes, scooped the badge off of his chest, and wished with all his might.