Chaos Sonic

It seemed that Fen decided to join him and Melissa, and proceeded to answer his question first. Of course, he didn't mind, considering they both were out together at the same location. He'd get the information about it regardless. "Good morning, Trevor and Melissa. Oh yesterday was wonderful. I learned about this new card game called Yugioh that, well, Melissa herself seems fairly well acquainted with. We even had a match against Fiona though, I'm uh, I'm afraid I might've just been weighing her down." “Oh, don’t sell yourself short, Fen. You held your own. I don’t think we would have won without your input. Besides, you beat your half of the Spike Brothers, right? And Trevor, I’m sorry we didn’t invite you. The message was addressed to us. I guess we just didn’t think about it.” Trevor nodded, giving a chuckle, noticing that their resident fish-man finally returned from his mission. Good on him for sure! "Ah, fret not, Melissa. There's always the next time. And I'm quite intrigued...it sounds like a game that people would've played in my own home-world. Wouldn't mind a look into that game at some point." he sipped his coffee once more before turning to Aduain. "And welcome back to you, my fishy friend. It seems like your mission went swimmingly..." The grimoire flipped it's pages. "...tell me you did not just make that joke." The sorcerer was silent, before clearing his throat. "...I realize the context in those words came out...unintentional." he said, drinking more of his coffee. "Nevertheless! So, what's on our agenda for today, on the count that our top-hatted benefactor has not given us any new news or missions."

Neal practically watched his entire thieving career go down the tubes at this point. He was now basically a pawn in this Anti-MIRROR force for the government...this wasn't the kind of roll of the dice he was expecting to deal with. But it was the way things would go, the dice fell where they lay, and he had to deal with it. Besides...it'd all be his for the taking anyway. Best to just play along with these folks for the time being...just until he can profit properly. "Alright team, we've got new members. I want each of you to introduce yourselves one at a time, name and area of expertise, to help our new faces get familiar." "I'm John West, an engineer. Officially, I'm actually a civil engineer - or, was I guess, before joining up here - but to be honest I know more about weapons than infrastructure. If you need something built or fixed, I'm your guy." "Dayna Miller, nousology specialist and the woman who runs our analytics. I'm completely useless in a fight, so unless you need me to look at something, don't bother me. Especially not for poker night." "Definitely don't bring her, she cheats! Doesn't even try to hide it!" "Yes, yes, we're all aware. Sorry for her little outburst. We're May & Fay Schneider. May is our combat expert, and until about a week ago, I've been spying on MIRROR from the inside." "And I'm Abby. Abby Collins. I can do some mechanical fixing up too, but I'm actually here as the team doctor. I can't perform any surgeries, but I can fix you up if you get ripped to shreds out there. Try to avoid that, though." "And that's our team. You've joined just in time to get to see the world, in fact. Now that our job at the centennial is wrapped up, we're being deployed to Novaroma. The Triumvirate's also in on our little operation - they were even kind enough to send the twins our way, in fact - and a few days ago, a letter arrived saying they have some intel we'd be interested in. Hope none of you are prone to seasickness." Well this was certainly a motley crew if Neal ever saw one. They seemed to each have their own niche in terms of a coherent team...though he doubted that theirs would fair any better in the grand scheme of things. "I expect introductions at the level of our seniors by the time I return!" The young man watched the dino man walk off, shaking his head slightly. ...I highly doubt that'll be the case. Not like most of us are going to be exactly friendly towards one another in an instant...unless he thinks we will. Might have to ask what he's on and if he's got more cause I may need some. he smirked at this thought, hearing the others starting to chatter some more. "That dino's got a point. I just realized I don't even know your name. Mine's Sita, so mind filling me in on yours?" "Yeah, you can call me Ta-...er, my name's Tsurumi." "And just like that, we're friends! Officially, I mean. Actually... does anyone here know their way around a fight?" "Kinda," "Hm. What about you three?" "Depends." "I suppose I may as well give an introduction, seeing as we'll be working together...albeit against my will..." Neal trailed off at the end of that sentence before he cleared his throat, giving a smile. "Neal LeBeau, though I suppose...considering you may not know me by that name, I'll say the persona I go by in my line of work: Arsène Beau, gentleman thief extraordinare, at your service." There was some quiet murmuring from behind the table, between the team members seated back there, at the mention of an "Arsène Beau." However, none of them seemed to have any comments on the matter worth sharing with the roster's new additions. Sita, however, did. With a tilt of her head and a raised eyebrow, she asked "Who?" Neal was quiet before rubbing the bridge of his nose slightly. "Surely you jest. Surely you know of Arsène Beau, the gentleman thief that's been stealing quite a bit important things. An example, my previous exploits in Chicago...I stole the entirety of their Chinese Jade exhibit...making a profit by returning them to their rightful homeland. It was in the papers and tabloids." "Sorry, I haven't been in or near Chicago for a while before today. I must have missed that edition." In somewhat of a contrast to Sita's failure to recognize the story, there were at least a couple "Ohhhhhh"s of mild realization from the table. "Let me guess, you got caught red-handed?" Dayna asked from her seat. "From that? Certainly not, my dear." Neal pointed at Dayna, wagging a finger. "I was in and out without much of an issue. Now a chase, yes, but was never caught...until...today." He let out a bit of a sigh, waving his hand dismissively. "I suppose every thief is to be caught eventually." "Most criminals get caught sooner or later. Preferably sooner, no offense." "I feel like there was some venom behind those words there, but you are correct." Neal shrugged. "Regardless, tis a roll of dice I was presented." "And now you're here, working with a top-secret federally-sanctioned team to try and stop a bunch of terrorists. I'm sure a thief's skillset will come in handy sooner or later." "That is the hope, if I'm honest." the young man chuckled, as he glanced in Iroas' direction, hearing him speak. "Oh, I'm probably not going to work with you all." Iroas said as he ate another burger. "More than likely. Nova Roma will have their own Anti-MIRROR strike force and I'll join that." "A wonderful addition to the conversation, my stoic ally." Neal sighed, glancing at the plate of food Iroas had. When he shrugged, he lifted his arm up to him to show...a burger now in his hand, most likely to Iroas' shock, but the young man never moved. "Pity that we won't be working together, but...oh well." He took a hefty bite from the burger, taking a moment to have it process before continuing. "And to answer your question, I'm more of a...non-combatant with my skill set. But, doesn't mean I don't know how to. I just prefer not to."

Ziun was pleased that the others wished to do their own thing after they exited through the portal. He stood there for a moment or two, watching the others walk off...in what seemed to be a slow paced motion. His mind was plagued with the adventure of the five dungeon floors they had gone through...and what did he, himself, have to show for it? No physical wounds due to the magic of the dungeon's exit...but the mental scars of the past five floors continued to plague the young bard. One of the best illusionists this side of the Bard's College of Glamour, taught straight from his mentor Jhaan...and yet...AND YET... "...it's not good enough...I'M not good enough..." those words escaped Ziun's lips as he looked back in the direction of the dungeon. His fists began to clench tightly, trembling greatly. He had nothing but his illusions and his shoddy at best swordsman ship. Ziun grabbed the rapier in it's sheath, his fist clenching around it. He wanted to throw it, he wanted to just stop... He was no good to these three he called his allies, even practically sentencing someone to die. That image still rang true in his mind, to which a tear did fall from his eye. Perhaps his time on the road led him here just to realize...he should return to Cheron and go back to being the son of a blacksmith and nothing more. The bard turned away from the dungeon and made his way back towards the tavern. He needed to drown his sorrows...to numb this pain he felt. Ziun finally himself at the tavern's bar area once more, after what seemed like an eternity with the walk, just by himself. Strangely that was how he found himself here before she... He paused in his thoughts, fighting back another tear, looking in the direction of the bartender, Hector, and motioned for him. "Barkeep, I request whatever you have that's strong...two of them to be precise." he said in a bit of a defeated tone. "Hm. Well I won't say no but be sure you can handle it." He'd then get the drinks. "Only one is for myself, good sir..." Ziun let out a pain ridden sigh. "Nevertheless, I think it should dampen the feeling I have after the previous excursion. Whether I can handle it or not remains to be seen." "Mm." Hector grunts. He's quiet for a bit, going about business, then comes back to Ziun. "You know if that Dungeon is too much you don't have to do it." Ziun looked in Hector's direction and shook his head, before taking a long swig of the drink. "There are stories still to be shared from those halls...songs unsung...who better to go there than myself? To perform those unsung verses..." he sighed, looking at the bar-stool next to him, shaking his head slightly. "I...see. No, sorry, I don't have any idea what you're talking about. Are you sure you're not already drunk?" "No, I fear I'm not...on the count that I can still feel the pain of this previous endeavor." Ziun lamented, waving his hand slightly. "That's rough, buddy." Ziun let out a sigh, placing his head on the bar itself and spoke, albeit a bit muffled. "...to top it off, the team I went with...I feel as though I've let them down. That my illusions and even my swashbuckling, as it were, did nothing to truly contribute against the hordes of the undead we found ourselves in. I fear as I may not be anywhere near the level and prowess as the others." Hector didn't respond for a while, it wasn't even clear if he was listening or not, then with a grunt he said "at least you know there's a problem. Seen a lot of fools charge in thinking they know more than they do and it never ends pretty. All you can do is do better next time." Ziun's head didn't move from the spot he had it, just really taking in what Hector spoke. Maybe he had a point in him actually thinking and knowing there was a problem, lest he be like every other fool that charged into that accursed dungeon. It still really didn't make him feel all that great though... "If there was a way to better aide my fellows...but illusions are my thing..." "If it's not enough then you'll have to find something more." "But what else could I possibly do?" Ziun lifted his head from the bar, drumming his fingers in a small rhythmic fashion. "It's not like I can just conjure something else...up..." He paused for a few moments, before his hand met his face. "...con...jure...oh sweet goddess...that's right! I do have something else I can do!!" "Looks like you already got your answer huh? Sometimes just takes a bit of thinking out loud." Hector nodded to himself. "Apparently so..." Ziun nodded, moving slightly upright and waving his hand a bit...as a small mug appeared onto the bar. After a moment, he grabbed it and started tossing it in the air and catching it. "OHO! I still got it! I suppose it'll be time to retire the rapier and get back to my roots...the very ones I neglected when I took up the blade." "I don't know much about magic but I do know all about retiring weapons." Hector said. He then glanced at the mug. "Try not to fill my place up with all that stuff." "At your behest, barkeep." Ziun gave a revitalized smile, putting the mug on the bar. He then looked at the rapier on his waist, before nodding. "I suppose it's time I leave this behind in favor for my own style." He said, before grabbing the quill from his hat and pulling out his notebook, noticing what the last few things he wrote in it: An ode to a dear friend, one who swore we'd see the end But alas: the time came and went, and while she was the one the goddess sent She was the one the zombies hate, thusly she was ate To the Dread Pirate Robin, for she'll continue to sail untrodden Ziun read this verse and nodded, before turning to the drink and downing it immediately. He wrote a few things, musical notes from the looks of it, but nevertheless he stood up and placed a few coins on the bar before giving Hector a smirk. "I added extra...whether you want to admit it or not, you have given me the best advice I could ask for, sir. And for that, I'm humbly thankful. Now if you'll excuse me, I must sell this in order to finance my next exploration with my compatriots!" he said, tipping his hat slightly. With a reinvigorated goal in mind, Ziun Castir left the tavern, planning to sell his rapier and prepare for the next dive into the dungeon.

Trevor did indeed glance to check that message he sent Mauvache, but much to his dismay...it was only read as "Seen"...no response. Part of him did have to wonder if their esteemed hostess was taking their inquiries and issues seriously or not. It was a fleeting thought, however, due to the fact that he happened to hear Bartleby giving the ladies who returned a greeting. He figured he'd ask them how their adventure found them and inform them of his own situation in the morning... After all...after dealing with a "grue", one would be quite exhausted. The next morning brought the same thing like it did every morning here...but Trevor did notice his watch go off, providing an interesting little story: "Fact or Fiction: Are the rumors of giant skeletons seen prowling the graveyards at night real, fake, or something even more sinister....a prank show?". And unfortunately, there was no indication from the esteemed hostess about if they needed to do anything in regards to it. Seemed she had been quiet last day or so anyway...it puzzled the sorcerer, but he shrugged it aside for the time being. For now...he needed a cup of coffee to at least start his day. So down to the kitchen he went...and lo and behold, he found Melissa already there. "Good morrow, Melissa." Trevor gave a slight tip of his hat, walking near the coffee maker and proceeded to finagle himself a cup of coffee...once he had the coffee cup float itself to his hand. "I must apologize for not being able to accompany you on yesterdays endeavors. The issue with the team name did prove to be...slightly annoying. Perhaps next time, we should just send a message in regards to that." The grimoire slowly floated upwards, flipping through pages as it had the following words appear for Melissa to read: "A quite strange character we did encounter...along with the local authorities, who seem to not like any of Mauvache's guardians." "Sad but true...that and..." Trevor took a long sip of his coffee, before pointing to that one room. "That room is a strange one for sure...may I suggest that you never go in without the light on, less you be sought after by a grue. Strange things are afoot with that room specifically...but I digress. How did you and Fen fair yesterday?"

"How our powers work together is limited only to your imagination. And if we're going to be working together, I'd like to see that big brain of yours create something spectacular that we can use to bring down Caesar. I'll be counting on you." Override glanced in Belladonna's direction, knowing she was right to an extent. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly at her attempt to stroke his ego with that brain comment...it already hitting home for him regardless. Nevertheless, while P.I.X.E.L. rendered the blueprints and floor plan of the casino, Override got a silent ping on his HUD. He accessed it, clicking the side of his helmet for a moment...to see that it was a message from his own A.I. Luckily for him, the others were talking among themselves about their powers. Sir, I did some digging into the search you requested earlier. The pendants you happened to see Tinker have on his person. I figure this would be easier for you to keep on file, along with keep up the facade that you happen to be working here. He nodded slightly, waiting for P.I.X.E.L. to continue. Extensive research has found a number of Capes, although it is not very many, of all factions having the marble pendant listed as part of their costumes in some shape or form, according to the wiki at least. While I understand that going by the wiki may not be the best course of action in regards to research, but this is only the face value search. It's better than nothing... Override thought, nodding slightly again. Now the gears were turning in his head. From the sounds of this, it seemed like this was something deeper than the normal heroes and villains thing...deeper than the Fates, Zodiac, Gibbons and even the G3 Organization. ...sounds like I'm picking up some serious secret society vibes here...interesting. We'll put a pin in on this for the time being. Once the map had finally finalized and rendered properly, the group were now looking at the entire floor plan to Caesar's casino. Override didn't speak a word yet, allowing the others to get their thoughts first. After all, getting the takes from the others would've probably been the best option first before acting. “So there’s a bunker underneath this, huh? How do you suppose we get down there?” “Oh, maybe it’s like a movie, we have to break into the vault! Like, actually, that’s underground, right? At least we know where that is. We just gotta go…Oh wow, that’s got a lot of security stuff already," “And it’ll be swarming with Gibbons, I’m sure. I like the vault idea, though. Having both a high-security vault and a panic bunker seems like it’d be overkill, and we’d probably see more evidence of the latter on the map.” "Shouldn't be too much of an issue, far as I'm concerned." Override finally spoke, glancing at AVD and then at Minos. "As you both stated your general powers, Belladonna's included, you three should be no issue to take on the emperor's domain. More specifically, Minos with her earth powers could easily disrupt the place and make the ground unstable, allowing us time to get inside. Just a workshop idea to think about for the time being. The tech side of things, however, you can simply leave that to me. Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses, so it just makes sense that you allow me to deal with my strengths when we cross that bridge." “Unlike the other group, it’s a bit of a hike to Hell’s Inferno, so I’ve arranged a transport. It’s an Edison Mark Three, something you -- should be intimately familiar with, so whenever you’re ready." "Thanks, director...but you already know I'd prefer to fly myself." Override smirked under his helmet, already collapsing the hologram of the map. "P.I.X.E.L., send the full schematics of the casino to the Edison Mark III's pads. That'll give them a moment to look through the map on the way...it'll also give us a full chance to properly talk strategy." He simply walked past his 'team' and gave them a thumbs up. "I'm counting on you all, I hope you realize that. Now, let's do what our 'Vine Queen' suggested and dethrone an emperor."

While he did follow the others as they talked and did their conversing, Gene was truly having an internal struggle with wanting to explain himself to the group...to explain his dreams before his death...to explain who he was within those dreams and that it honestly felt like that it was his true self. And how best to explain that...without sounding like a complete crackpot...but then again, the group had one that was...well...Sabrina. It wasn't the point though. Maybe if he explained it to them, he wouldn't be looked at so weirdly...or maybe he could just remain there and not say anything...which the silence was almost as bad as death itself. Regardless, Gene finally came back to his senses as he heard the others speaking up after getting near the tower...to where an apparent hunting party was...that's what he gathered for the most part anyway...of course, then there was Sabrina. "Fufufu, who am I? Hark, mortals! For you stand before Dracona! She who has obtained the power of dragons, she who is destined to save this des...destitute world! And companions." ...suddenly "just" companions? Gene thought, thinking that Sabrina was sort of selling them short by just calling the rest companions and not teammates or the like. But he figured it'd be fine, he could let it slide this time. Once they were invited to come closer...Gene noticed that these weren't like normal hunters. Or, perhaps a better way of saying was...they weren't like normal hunters the four of them might've been used to. It seemed to be perfectly normal here on Aerstroff. Humanoid in shape, animalistic features, so they had to be similar to the ones from Aersinn, least it was a good assumption anyway. "Who- who are you all?" "they don't look like Drengr. And they can speak like us too." "but I've never heard of a Sabrina in our village. And they don't. they don't got anything on them." "the girl said they're blessed by dragons. Plural. You don't think, they're those Exalted Luca's always going on about." "yeah right, that's just a tale the chiefs pass down. But it's true, I've never heard or seen any of you before. And I hear a lot. Where are all of you from?" "O-Oh, you know Luca?" Gene spoke up, before clearing his throat a bit, rubbing the back of his neck some. "Well...um...I'm Gene, that's M-Marshall, Abby...annnnd Sab-...er...Dracona..." he glanced over at Sabrina, thinking it would be better to just let her keep her introduction going. "We're not...we're not from Aerstroff...we're from...if you can believe it...another world. But we are actually the Exalted, we even fought a bunch of Drengr back with Luca and Rumian. ...though we had a few more back then..." He shook his head a bit, trying his best to not think about the others that left them, but instead, just trying his best to bridge this gap here. "So, who are you all?"

“I did just say that, didn’t I? Tinker brain, I suppose, always getting caught on small details of things. You’re going to have to forgive me in advance, too. I’m sure it will happen again.” Override sort of overlooked this, namely cause it probably was one of those situations where the man's mind worked faster than his mouth. That did happen to the best of them from time to time...he was one of them. Regardless, the Tech Hero watched Tinker speak to Censer, and was surprised to see that she was actually complying with this. Tinker...at this point it seemed like it was more than that...seemed more like a Thinker here...power of persuasion or maybe just good at talking to others. In any case, Censer told Tinker the location of what they were after...least some progress was being made. “Ah, see, that wasn’t so bad. Minos, I will let you retrieve the tissue or whatever Caesar has given Censer here. Override, camera off, turn around, we’ll give them their space.” "Very well..." he tapped at the side of his helmet, cutting the camera feed as he turned away, proceeding to walk with Tinker. Wasn't the first time since this whole thing started he was requested to turn cameras off or shut have his A.I. off for a while. “I do hate being like that, but sometimes you do have to play off a certain reputation. I understand you fought her earlier. That must have helped too.” "The group fought an array of Caesar's team..." Override piped up. "Myself personally, I was engaged in combat with...I believe the records said she was Arcturus. I fired a pulse bolt at Hellhound originally and Censer simply rebuked it in a sense at the beginning." However, right now, Override was trying to figure something out. Tinker's demeanor...just changed. It was somber... Before he could ask anything, Tinker spoke again, pulling out a pendant...a marble wrapped in wire. “I was surprised when you were assigned to supervise me. I didn’t think we were supposed to meet yet. You know, you might have to seek some of us out. But don’t worry. I’m sure it’ll be sooner than you think.” "Wh-..." he was about to speak, only to hear Minos pipe up that she found it and like that...Tinker seemed to be back to his normal self and walked back. There he left Override for a moment or two. "...P.I.X.E.L., I'm going to need you to run a search in the background for me...discreetly as possible if you have to." he spoke quietly. "At once sir. What for?" "....." Override was silent, just staring at Tinker as he walked off. "...pendants...specifically seeing about any with a marble wrapped in wire. I want origins, meanings, significance...whatever you can find. I need to figure out who 'Tinker' is...and what he meant by that." With this spoken to only himself and his A.I., Override returned back towards Tinker and Minos. “Alright, so that’s still on. I assume you agreed upon a time?” “Pending your approval, of course, it would be ninety minutes from the end of the call, so over an hour from now still.” “That’s time, but not a lot of time. I suggest we have the teams -- the ones that have already been formed, anyway -- gather together and familiarize themselves with each other. I know we’re all- well, most of us are professional, anyway, but we can’t afford to step on any toes for these. And the raid groups will have to decide which location they’re raiding. As for everyone else…” “Everyone else is playing defense or support. We’re holding as much territory as we can so Caesar doesn’t sweep us by in the meantime.” Seemed like he was selected for a raid group...being grouped with Minos, Belladonna and a renegade named A.V.D. This seemed like a mismatch of combinations here, but then again, not like he could've easily told them to rework and reassess the situations with power meshing...that would've been too easy for them. “Oh, I’m sure we’ll get along great! I’ve already met some of you, the rest can’t be all bad. Hi! My name’s Minos! My favorite food is scrambled eggs and…” "Sorry to cut you off Minos-- it's a pleasure by the way. What's your skillset and how can I work around or with you? We should strategize before we go barging in. I like to know and understand who I'm working with. You can all answer that as you please. It's best we get introductions out now before we're under fire. I specialize in plant life and use my powers as a means of control. I hope I can be of use to you all." "Plant life...that tracks." Override spoke up. "Read your file from the G3 Database, they were talking about the way you specialize in that style of powers. Unfortunately, nature and technology seem to be at odds with one another...so that does put this group at a slight disadvantage. But we'll cross that bridge when we get there..." He shrugged slightly and simply continued. "Override, I specialize with technology, as expected. I'm good for general analyses, pulling up various information..." A pause came when he was planning to say something else: expert hacker. The young man bit his tongue for the time being, not prepared to open that can of worms right now. "...aside from that, my suit can assist in whatever capacity we need, that along with my onboard assistant...P.I.X.E.L., say hello." "Greetings." "Now, let's get this started." Override said, opening up a holopad. "P.I.X.E.L, tell me you got some blueprints for Battle Labs Robotics." "Just located them. Pulling them up for you now." The A.I. chimed, as the building blueprints began to spark onto the holopad. "Here we are." he nodded, enlarging the image and putting it in front of the four of them. "This is Battle Labs Robotics. As you can see, it's a campus like area with an open courtyard in the middle and the building itself is a three story square. And as you can see here..." he paused, pointing at the bottom area of the building. "...there are three basement levels. Security is most likely going to be tight. However, aside from that, it doesn't account for how many Gibbons could potentially be inside the building." "Oh, is that our decision, then?" Minos said. "We spent all that time with Tinker and you're just ignoring everything he worked on?" He winced slightly within the armor. Of course Minos would mention this... "I'm not ignoring anything. I'm keeping out options open." Override shook his head. "The casino is a different story all together, considering that's basically Caesar's home turf. I can provide the schematics for that too if that'll help." A.V.D. spoke up for the first time. "Shouldn't you just give the floor plan of the place we're not raiding to the other group? Stanley said there wasn't that much time." Override simply gave a nod and immediately shifted the holopad, collapsing it in the process. "P.I.X.E.L, send the floor plans t-..." "They've just been sent off, sir." "...thank you." He said, clearing his throat as he looked at the others. "So the casino..." he said, pulling up another floor plan, though this one seemed surface level and rudimentary. "All I know about it is the waiting room they kept us in...along with the secretary. They were sort of...tight lipped about things here. Hellhound practically escorted us to the office via the elevator and that was it. Least that's the broad strokes of it."

"What in the devil is that?!" Ziun exclaimed noticing the bodak, not being privy to noticing it before. But alas, he couldn't handle that right now...not when he had a surprise attack on his side...or rather...his back. The bard felt the claws digging and slashing at his back, causing him to yell in pain as he tried to gather himself. "T-Tch...that was my favorite coat you imbecile!!" he shouted, gripping his rapier...though he started to feel...numb...it was spreading. It hit him on what this was a moment later: Paralysis. "D-Damnit...it appears I've been more careless than I wanted..." he muttered, gripping his rapier tighter as he just stared the ghoul down. With a quick flick of his wrist, he tried to slash at the ghoul. However, to his dismay, the ghoul seemed to be more limber and agile than a normal zombie or even skeleton. No, this ghoul simply crouched down and hopped backwards as it glared at the bard. It seemed to just study the young man, almost waiting for him to make another move. Ziun wanted to, be he glanced back in Chris' direction...it was a last line of defense situation here. With a slight exhale, he remained in his position, moving slightly in place in an effort to stave off the paralysis. ...got to make sure he gets the door open... he thought, staring the ghoul down yet again. The ghoul made the move first: rushing towards him to attack yet again. Ziun gave his weapon another quick flick, hitting the creature's shoulder...but alas, it was weaker than it should've been. Ziun cursed under his breath at this, watching as the ghoul now grabbed his sides and proceeded to pull him down. "G-Get off!!!" he shouted, attempting to push and kick the ghoul...though it only proved to have him end up on the ground either way. Now the bard found himself grappled with this ghoul. "A-A-Any time now would be most appreciated, Chris!" he called to his ally, hoping he'd be finished soon.

Picture it. Neal LaBeau was still on the back foot against Babette, dodging her grip. He still was trying to find something to snag and snatch to use against the psycho, but alas, it was a small shed and he wasn't having a lot of options to grab anything. Furthermore...he wasn't sure if any of these people laying on the ground were Psy-... His concentration was knocked out...and so was the door to the shed. Surprising both him and Babette, all that appeared were men in suits...and Neal took the opportunity and really hammed it up. All for the cause for him getting out of here quickly. "OH MY GOD! Thank goodness your here! She's trying to kill everyone!!!" "Seems you've been duped, son," one of the suited men said, wasting absolutely no time in unholstering a small firearm with some kind of dart attached, then firing it at Neal's captor. "Ow," Babette said, taken aback by the sudden developments. "...a tranq dart? Really? That's supposed to be... my... shtiiiick......" And then she collapsed. "Steve Carson, DOD, no relation to the doctor," the apparent leader said, as his men began rounding up the paralyzed hostages and their would-be tormentor. "Seeing as you're the only one here who can still stand, we'd like to ask you a few questions, if that's alright. We don't suspect you of having any hand in this - don't worry about that - but we need to see if we can glean any information from witnesses and survivors of this attack. If you'd come with us, please." "Of course sir, happy to help." Neal lied with a smile. ...damnit. There goes my immediate and quick exit. And thus...he was taken in for questioning. JUNE 11TH, 2030, 2:17 P.M. LOCATION: AIR FORCE ZERO, LOBBY 2B "I'm Austin Lewis, the Secretary of Defense. Some of you may be in shock or not realize what happened about fifteen minutes ago, but a group of psychic terrorists belonging to an organization called MIRROR just made an attempt to assassinate President Jack Roosevelt. They failed, thanks to the bounty hunters he hired, but I hear at least one of you civilians also helped in disarming the threat levvied against us. If so, I'd like to personally thank any responsible parties for their contributions." Secretary of Defense? Oh that bode well for Neal. He couldn't believe he was stuck in here like this. And with a motley crew of...whatever...and was that a fucking dinosaur?! "I would very much so like to be speaking with him as well! But first, I will offer any assistance I can! I will be assembled into this 'squad'! You would do well to have a Meteor Kin, especially THE Stalag Mightjaw, in any 'squad' you are to be assembling! The only compensation I would require is the friendship of the United States and it's peoples! I do not suppose this is much to ask, is it?" Ah...he's one of those ones that think the Crisis as a god-send. Fantastic... Neal thought, doing his best to keep his composure. Nevertheless, once the two finished talking, he proceeded to speak. The quicker he finished here, the better. "The young lady that I ended up following to that shed...what was it she said her name was?" Neal asked, rubbing his chin, playing it up some. He then snapped and nodded. "That's right, Babette. Yeah, she said she was trying to help and check to see if anyone had any weapons...naturally, that was a lie...considering the civilians started dropping like flies. Her fingers seemed to be her source of ability...at least from what I could tell." "I'll have our men in the prison block restrain her use of her hands further, in that case," Austin nodded. "Pardon me a moment..." Austin turned his attention back down to his stack of papers, glancing at different lines of text throughout. "We don't know much about the internal structure of MIRROR, and I'm allowed to say even less than that, but I'm not seeing a Babette in our files. She must not be important to the people running the organization, in that case. But we'll see to it that she can't break out, of course." "That's a relief. Least that psycho won't be out on the streets anymore." Neal let out a sigh of relief, just doing his best to keep up the charade. "In any case, that's unfortunately all I know, Mr. Lewis. I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help." He hoped this would be the end of it, that he could waltz out of this room a free thief. After all, they weren't looking for him right now...they were after MIRROR. And as such, he could go undetected. "That's fine. We're not expecting to stumble on some shocking revelation like this, but it pays to be thorough. One of my men can escort you out of the airship whenever you're ready to go home." "Thank you." Neal flashed a smile, grabbing his bag and standing up. He pushed the chair in and was about to walk towards the door and one of Lewis' men...when he heard the sounds of clattering on the floor. He froze in his tracks, hoping that what he heard wasn't what he thought it was. Carefully and slowly, Neal glanced to his right side and his suspicions were unfortunately correct. There on the ground laid the paintings he stole earlier...and worst of all, his thief mask. It seemed that the bag had come open during the encounter with Babette. He looked down at the ground and the items there before looking back towards Austin. "...I'm still good to go, right?" He delivered a weak chuckle and an equally weak smile. ...busted...damnit... "..." Austin looked down at the stolen art that had fallen to the ground, moving away from the desk for the first time in this meeting to assess the goods up close. Each painting received a long, discerning stare, and then Neal received much the same. "You are not. Unless you plan to try breaking out of the single most secure facility in the world, I suggest you sit down." Neal was silent but let out a simple, knowing sigh as he put the bag down near the chair and slid back into it. The jig was up, so he had to just roll with the punches. "...I suppose it didn't hurt to ask regardless." he shrugged, folding his hand in front of him. "I will say...that was the most unfortunate timing." "Since you've been so helpful as to bring these straight to the authorities, which will make it easier to return them to their rightful places," Austin started, picking up the paintings and setting them down in a neat stack on his desk. "I'll offer you a choice. You can join this team we're putting together to follow leads back to and hopefully eliminate MIRROR, or we can help you get familiar with one of the local jails in nearby Chicago for however long the judge says is fair. Just as a word of warning, joining the team will be the more dangerous option, but it's not jail now is it?" "You know, Mr. Lewis..." Neal started, giving a bit of a sly smirk on his face. "Those paintings were technically going to their rightful places...just not back to the Chicago museum is all." He gave a small chuckle, before tapping the desk. "Not the point though. Your offer is appealing to the gambler in me, so allow me to give a bit of a bet for you, considering only one of those options allows me to keep away from the clink. I join your little party...I help you deal with MIRROR...but in return? After all is said and done: I walk away a free man. It's a gamble, sure...but here's the thing that you may not understand...I know what to look for with stuff like this. No one else could come close to realizing Babette's little acting except for me. A man in your position would be crazy to refuse the help and assistance from a thief. And I, myself, would be a fool to just give up and head to prison. So..." he smirked, looking at Austin with a bit of a wicked grin. "...what do you say?" "Bold of you to say you caught on to Babette's act when, as my men tell it, you were also one of her hostages. Your pitch is sketchy, but your terms sound acceptable. If MIRROR is dismantled and you don't get killed along the way, your theft from the museum will be pardoned." "Hostage is such a strong term to use, my good sir." Neal shrugged, seeming a bit insulted by that, but he let it go. "And sketchy is far from my modus operandi, sir. I'm just a simple thief giving it to you straight. Regardless, I believe this will work out in both our favors. I thank you for taking a chance on the dice."

With a skeleton gone, thanks to his and Lana's efforts...Ziun now was staring down a zombie...again. It was the one he previously distracted, to which he slightly cursed under his breath, really hoping this one would end up being distracted a bit more until after they were done. But alas, they weren't...and lo and behold, the zombie now was shambling towards him from the fog...and now a few feet away. The bard simply stayed his blade, waiting for the zombie to make it closer to him...which only took a few seconds...to which he watched the creature rushed at him with arms out in front of him. "Confound it, you undead creature!" Ziun huffed, crouching down and immediately attempted to cut the creature off at the knees. Which worked...sort of. The moment he crouched down, he felt the zombie grab a hold of him as his blade began to cut into the knee. "T-Tch...damnit...will you just die...again?" he pleaded, taking the weapon and proceeding to make a few slashing motions, really cutting into the knees. After a few swings, the knees came off...now it was holding itself up by grabbing Ziun's shoulders...and it was going in for a bite. "O-Oh no you don't!!" he shouted, shoving the rapier upwards, having it stab into the zombie's chin. This made it harder for the creature to make a move on biting, but it was giving the bard a moment to get out of the way...or in this case, stand up. After he finally stood up, he slammed the zombie onto the ground...albeit with some difficulty...and immediately yanked the rapier out. "Accursed wretch..." he said, simply kicking the zombie's head and immediately returning to where the others were. "...so...how's the escape plan coming along?"

It felt like everything he said went over everyone's head, or the fact that it was out of line. Namely hearing the Fates laughing at his stuff...or Sybil being oblivious and not understanding what he said. Regardless, Override didn't care...he said what he needed to say and that was that. Though now... “I’ll even take an escort with me if that bothers you. 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.” "Sure. Vic?” “Alright. Override, go with the man.” “Minos can take you to where we are keeping them,” “Did not expect this to be a whole thing, but sure, so long as she stays out of the way, I guess.” So now he was being an escort for this renegade...should be fun. Override simply nodded and was about to move, but before he did...Aeon spoke to him. "Hey, one thing you should keep in mind. Don't go putting 'heroes' on a pedestal got it? They're not inherently better than any of the other groups just cause they're heroes." Override looked directly at Aeon and simply nodded. "I never said I was. People need someone to look up to...to inspire and aspire to be. That's it." He wasn't too thrilled about having to repeat himself, but this was what he getting at. After all, he wouldn't want people aspiring to be like his former persona...he'd rather them aspire to be like him here and now. Regardless, he kept this in mind as he made his way towards the renegade, Minos...and...Sybil?? "Well that's what you have me for, right? And, uh, whatshisname too." "Override, yes. Here is what I do know, then: Caesar wanted Tinkers from all across the spectrum, right? But that feels contradictory to me. You wouldn't expect a biotech tinker to sus out what someone who deals in clockworks is doing. And yet... So whatever Project Rubicon is, it's bound to be unstable. But maybe that's why he needs more people like us." "Huh, crazy. Well, if you hear anything more be sure to let me or I guess someone else know. You can find my deets on the web easy enough I'm sure. Later." With that, he saw Sybil walking past him back to the main group. Fantastic, now they could get work done. Once he arrived beside the two, he cleared his throat. "Minos..." Override nodded, before glancing at the renegade. "So you got a name for me to call you or should I just call you Tinker for the time being?" "I never chose a cape name," he said. "I never had the need for one. I hope you understand why I can't give my real name right now." "Well, nice to meet you, Tinker," Minos said. "And you too, Override. I've heard a lot about you." "Likewise." he nodded again. "The database entries on you spoke highly of you." He then turned his attention back to 'Tinker'. "And I understand. In any case, we should get this show on the road." "Sure!" Minos said. "Yeah, I carried Censer to over by the monkey bars. Clotho's better at knots than me, though, so she's the one that tied her up from there." Just as she said, they found Censer in the playground, tied to one of the support posts in a sittng position with her arms behind her back. She was still knocked out from that morning. "We don't need to wake her up," Tinker said. "I just need the bit of Legion she has on her, like his hair or a bit of blood in some paper or something." "How would you propose we do that without waking her?" Override asked, crossing his arms. "I'd suggest a full body scan of Censer, but that requires permission as to not be a freak." "I suppose I will be delaying the body scan, sir?" "Indeed. Probably indefinitely for this situation." he commented. "So, Tinker, what do you have I mind?' "Hey, yeah, that's a good point," Minos said. "How were you planning on finding Legion on her if The Fates let you go by yourself?" "I was hoping to just ask her," Tinker said. "Who said we had to keep her asleep? And if she doesn't tell us, I figured I could be a bit more... persuasive about it." "We don't need to wake her, but you want to wake her?" Override asked, glancing over at Minos and shook his head slightly at this. He sighed and turned his attention back towards Tinker. "I suppose we really don't have much of a choice. Just in case though...she goes off the deep end, you move and we'll engage. P.I.X.E.L., that happens...try and backdoor your way into G3, the Fates and Zodiac's communications to inform them of the situation." "I believe they will be quite angry if I insert myself like that." "So what else is new?" Override chuckled. "In any case, Tinker, if you will."

What was a simple speech from the President turned into an assassination attempt. Needless to say, Neal wasn't too thrilled about seeing this turn of events occur. A gunman... someone using spectral hands to throw those in the crowd on the stage like they were rocks... thorns and roots appearing from the ground to trip up many in the crowd... oh and the skeletal arms that appeared by the stage trying to murderlize the President there and those around him. Neal wanted to curse himself for deciding to come to this festival just for this to happen. Probably should've just taken my chances with the cops... he thought, before overhearing something nearby. "This way, this way! I know a shortcut out of here, so let's not waste any time and get the escorting over with, okay~?" Oh that sounds reassuring... Neal thought, a sigh escaping his lips. Just his luck with this. He knew he shouldn't have attended this speech, let alone the festivities. Regardless, he followed the crowd that followed the green eyed girl. Though all the while, he was wary...something just wasn't sitting right with him. The woman led her entourage of followers away from the action, as promised, to a small shed, ushering everybody inside before following suit. Once she was indoors, however, the woman locked the door behind her. "Okay~! Now, Miss Babette here has a job to do, and part of that means giving you all a quick check. To make sure nobody's carrying any weapons or anything. Surely you understand, in these circumstances. Just step on up, and with a touch my hand, I'll make sure nobody here is a dirty, no-good President-killer wannabe! Now, you may feel a little woozy afterward, but don't worry about that~!" Neal wasn't buying this...she seemed too eager. Not only that, a small shed? This was hardly a spot for safety, this wasn't even a full on escape. No...this was more like... ...this is a straight up con. She's one of them...isn't she? The young man kept himself just in the crowd, waiting to figure out what the next move from her would be. The first pair of volunteers, however, were clearly buying it. As they stepped up to Babette, she placed four fingers on each of their necks. A few seconds passed, and they collapsed to the floor, albeit still breathing. "A bit woozy, like I said. But, good news! Neither of you are a threat! Next, please~!" "Would you simply like us to just put our valuables in a box for you instead?" Neal spoke up, trying not to be noticed by Babette. He hoped she was dumb enough to simply respond to that outburst. "Only if you think knives and guns are valuable," Babette smiled, taking on the next pair of volunteers. Those that followed her here were few in number, so the crowd was dwindling fast. "After all, I'm a security detail, not some mugger or bank robber." "Funny, cause a security detail...delivering a group of people to a small shed...not even fully evacuating?" Neal continued, knowing eventually he'd be found out as the crowd dwindled down. "Either security is doing something new nowadays here in Illinois, or you just think everyone here is as gullible as they look." At that accusation, Babette raised an eyebrow. "And you, young man, are a lot smarter than the rest of our little gathering." As the last pair of volunteers dropped to the floor, leaving just her and Neal in the room, she took measured, but confident steps forward. Holding up her right hand, with those same four fingers raised, she continued "I do like a guy with a bit of critical thinking skills. Hearing one person asking questions anyone who stopped to think for a second could come up with, making everyone else look like total idiots by comparison, is just hilarious! And yet, you also followed me! So, are you gonna arrest me or something?" "Arrest you? Hardly. I don't think I could honestly be caught wearing that uniform. It would simply clash with my personality and line of work." Neal snickered, moving slightly as he too sized up Babette. "As for the critical thinking...it's more of...common sense. After all, without that...and it would ruin a whole heist, now wouldn't it? But, alas I digress, my dear." He shifted the back on his shoulder slightly, beginning to snicker again. "Truth be told, was simply taking a gamble here when I followed. The moment you led us into a shed, I knew something was up. Though it seems that you...from the looks of it...knocked out all the people here. Quite the Psychic Ability if I do say so myself. Let me guess...hostage scenario? Potential leverage against your primary target of the President? Would be ingenious..." He paused, before holding up a single wallet, flipping it open to show the ID of the first 'volunteer', tossing it at Babette's feet. "IF most of these were actually of a higher class. The payout you'd get from the upper class folk would be much better than these middle to low class people. Basic stuff if I'm honest." "Hostages? Oh, no, nothing so barbaric! I was going to take them back with me is all. To do a bit of this." Babette kneeled down, resting two fingers from her other hand on the leg of one of the incapacitated volunteers. Although they were paralyzed, a look at their expression was all it took to tell that whatever Babette was doing, it was causing them pain. "Well... maybe not a bit of this. More like a lot of it." "Ahhhhh, so rather than hostages...you went for torture." Neal nodded, glancing at the situation at hand. "Seems like this little situation has escalated, but I suppose that's to be expected with terroristic threats, now isn't it?" He adjusted the bag on his shoulder again, before simply looking directly at Babette. "I don't suppose there's a chance you'd let me go, seeing as I'm not a cop or bounty hunter." "Of course not! And the only way out is locked, and you'll have to get past me to reach it anyway. You're just all out of options, aren't you? Now, hold still. This will hurt, but at least you won't scream your head off over it... this time." Babette reached forward with her hand, its four unfurled fingers fully prepared to grab Neal as they had everyone else in the room. He sighed a bit, immediately slinging the bag off his shoulder and slung it at Babette. "I have to say, if that painting in there gets damaged and I don't get my full payout...I'm going to be quite upset." he said, moving away from the assailant, moving to his left. "Then again, at this point, I'm fairly certain the buyer will understand at this point...I'd rather not be tossed into a world of pain like that, if I could help it." Babette caught the bag, almost falling over from it being heavier than she expected, before tossing it aside without much care. "Ohhhh, now you're in for it." With that and that alone as warning, she disregarded her previous, slower approach, lunging to her side in an attempt to catch Neal. Neal at this point, was just in a moment of keep away from Babette. "My dear, while I'm flattered at the desire to want to throw yourself at me..." he said, his eyes scanning around the room to see if there was anything he could snatch. "...I must decline. I'm a gentleman above all else!"

"Yay! It sounds like everyone's ready. ♪ And don't worry. This shouldn't hurt if we all do it right. Just make sure not to move too much. Let's go!" "...that doesn't sound good..." Marv muttered to himself, swallowing hard a bit. "This is the very center of this island. It is from here that we will either make our last stand, or begin our first steps toward saving this world. Please. On my count, lift your badges into the air. When you do, please focus on happy thoughts. On hopeful thoughts. What brings you happiness? What brings you hope? These will provide you with the strength you need to stand against the Endless Mist. And lastly, make a wish! Wish to clear away the Mist! ♪ All right. On my count: One, two, three, wish!" A happy thought? A bunch of hopeful thoughts? Something that brings happiness and hope? Marv had to ponder this for a few moments. What actually made the Froakie...no...what made the former young man happy? Thing was, he couldn't remember much of anything...nothing except for his time on Yanma's and Nincada's Custom Monsters...those forums, his time has Order Shadow. It was a time in his life that...he recalled giving him the most peace and tranquility in life...least as far as he could remember. But the first few years of him being on the YCM forum was a rocky one...not until he found his stride in... ...the Role-playing section... Marv thought, taking a deep introspective look at what really made him happy. His mind recalled his time in the RP Section on YCM starting out...and it was cringey at best. His first few delves into RP were...very...not worth writing home about. It wasn't until the moments that YCM began to adopt an Advanced RP format...which meant it was 100+ words per post. Now that, that was something that actually assisted him with really breaking into his stride. Bits of moments and memories of these began to be brought up to his mind. There were countless RPs he ended up dipping his toes into, many died after a few months...hell, a few weeks if anything! But a few actually ended properly...and two of them were brought up immediately. On NCM, there was an RP known as "Twilight of the Gods", which he joined in with four others...and it ended with only two people. He was excited that it finally ended and things were wrapped up nicely enough, despite that he felt fatigued with that RP...he found joy and ideas coming from different things he remembered. The second...was from YCM...an RP he did that was known as "Generations", which was an Assassin's Creed based one. He had that working and it took forever to finish, due to some things...he was fuzzy on the specific details...but he knew there was a reason. At the very end though, he knew this was the only RP of his that he finished. Funnily enough...this did bring a smile to his face. There was also the moment he was labeled as the "Typecast Shonen Protagonist", just because of his character creation...they all were shonen specific and he always made em, cause he used himself as a basis for most. It brought another smile to his face. It wasn't just that, but quite a few other memories came to his mind, namely the people and friends he met through the RP Section. Marv remembered their usernames almost immediately: DukeMiltank, Civ, Manetric, Setora, the list went on... Hell, there was a moment that Civ and another friend of his made Order Shadow a living meme after his one RP failed and he was planning to revitalize it and remake it. For the longest time...the question was always the same: "WHERE'S GRIMM NIGHT'S, SHADOW??". This little memory caused him to smile from ear to ear and even start to snicker a bit as he thought long and hard on it. He remembered Civ and the others in the RP section really being there for him...namely Civ and another specific one...they were like his inner circle, he remembered that vividly now.. It brought a smile to his face... With these memories in mind...he W I S H E D.

"Gentlemen! You can't fight in here! This is the War Room!!" "P.I.X.E.L., I appreciate that, but this is sort of serious..." he muttered, shaking his head after hearing that inside his helmet. "Certainly sir. I figured I would lighten the tension in the air." P.I.X.E.L. simply said, before going silent. Unfortunately, Override was right in this assumption. This was one of the biggest situations that was going on, bringing everyone together...not like they weren't already considering the whole "end of the world" thing. Nevertheless, right now, the focus was on Caesar and that was the most important thing. Once they figured that out, they'd deal with the ending of the world...at least he hoped anyway. BGM "Well, I’m not advocating a defensive approach either. I don’t think Caesar will come to us. So, my proposal, then, is to work by process of elimination. Raiding the casino still makes sense to deprive Caesar of what resources we can, but we can also stage attacks on other buildings in his territory. Warehouses, potential safehouses, wherever he might be.” "Hold on. Are you suggesting we just attack random buildings in hopes of gaining more information from whoever’s in there?” “It would be by process of elimination, yes. If we cannot find Caesar at his most likely hideaways, we would have to check other areas in his territory. You have an objection to this?” “That could be mitigated. We could have our fliers drop pamphlets, for example, outlining our plan. Anyone who remains in the area is someone we can assume wants to -- or is ordered to -- be there.” Override couldn't believe what he was hearing. Stanley had proposed such an idiotic move, just in an attempt to locate Caesar. But the thing is...the DIRECTOR even agreed. Did he even hear himself? There were ramifications to these actions and everyone knew it. Not just for them specifically…but… "P.I.X.E.L., run some numbers for me...ASAP." he said, thankfully muted to the rest of the crew. "I mean, is it really that complicated? We have a list of everyone in his gang. Two lists even. …maybe more. If Caesar doesn't have any manpower he's not gonna do much. So just take them all out and bring them in, simple as that." And now Aeon was more or less agreeing with this. He let out a sigh, about to say something more, but a newcomer entered the conversation. At a quick search he learned that this was Belladonna…apparently a plant based villain. "And if we split them up with a pincer and get Caesar alone, taking him down will prove that much easier. We capitalize on what we know about Caesar's crew, set a trap, and split them up. Then, we turn Caesar into minced meat." Override took this into consideration. This honestly a better sounding plan than the one Aeon and Stanley suggested. But he continued to listen. "Even putting aside the logistical issues -- and don't say you'll just do it yourself, Aeon -- the public wiki's got enough hearsay and best-guesses on it, there'd be no way to be sure everyone tagged on there really has a Gibbons affiliation. The moment you're wrong about that kind of stuff, the whole operation's a failure. And putting aside all of that as well, it's just the same plan again, but you say you're targeting the people directly instead of their houses, and we already said we're not doing that." "Well, just beating up random people isn't really my style anyway. Random violence is pointless, but I guess it's better than putting out a government notice to use that as an excuse to beat people up and burn down their homes or something… The plan lacks both soul and a way to make people care, right? No one's gonna care if some stuffy suit comes in saying "hey get out or get killed," or something. So, when you need a lot of misanthropes to go where you want there's only one thing to do. An event! You gotta speak to them in a way they know and a party, an exhibition, a show case, a street brawl, a riot anything like that. You're only gonna get people out of their homes if you give them something fun to look at, and when you do, that's when the sanctioned violence happens." That's when Override finally spoke up, granted, giving Sybil time to speak up as well. "Okay, I've held my tongue long enough." he said, already fed up with most of this. "This happens to be the first time I'm going to be agreeing with quite a few villains." He moved his arm and began to pull up a holopad and proceeded to tap on it. "I've held my tongue for the most part…so I'll start going down the list. First!" he directed his attention to Stanley, though the armored hero was just directing it towards him. "If I heard you right…you wish for us to barge into places of business and even homes themselves to get this information. Have you even thought of the ramifications of these actions?" Override immediately pulled up the holopad to a full view, showing some statistics. "If we follow your plan, which both Aeon, the director and yourself have graciously agreed to an extent with…this would paint a picture that most heroes would not want by the public. We're keepers of the PEACE…we protect people not make them terrified of us because we're asking people to vacate a building. The view on ALL heroes from the public would be making us no better than the villains, no offense to any here. We have an image and reputation to uphold." He paused, letting out a sigh. "There are variables you may not be accounting for and in a situation where we're already racing against the clock…we NEED to account for all the details." Override pointed at Belladonna and nodded. "She's the only one who has a concrete plan of action. Being able to utilize our pooled information and knowledge to stop Caesar-..." he pronounced it like the others were at this point. "-...would be the better option. If needed, we can mesh plans together…Sybil suggested a distraction…but here's the idea: no sanctioned violence. We legit distract them with an event and once that's in the process of working, we can utilize both the heroes and villains that deal with stealth. They go in, gather intel, and return to base. Once we gather enough information to know our enemy inside and out, we can devise a plan of attack." Override looked in the direction of Ophiuchus, knowing he was one of the big players of information and knowledge being key. "There's a quote from Sun Tzu's Art of War. 'Know thy self, Know thy enemy. A thousand battles. A thousand victories." he said, standing up, collapsing the holopad. "We need the information and intel in regards to Caesar's forces and what he plans to do. Once we do that, we can act."

"Ahem, I see. I suppose if that is the case I will, uh, just have to strengthen the seals binding my dark power. And, uh, seal it away until we next get a chance to bring down this beast. So yeah I'm gonna go over here now. I-I will just be here, sealing and stuff, if you need me!" Gene blinked a bit, watching Sabrina go off to 'seal the beast', to which now left Marshall and Abby with himself. Maybe she would be alright by herself for the time being? He wasn't 100% sure but he figured she knew what she was doing...at least he hoped she did. “How about you? Have either of you chosen to develop your tools consciously? Or are you simply allowing your spirit to shape your growth? Given how River spoke of change, I doubt there should be any problem with either matter; but I am curious to know what your plans are.” "The only change I was thinking about was an outfit change. Hitting stuff with a giant hammer's more fun than I thought it would be, and it seems to work, so I'll be sticking to that." "Well..." he started, rubbing his arm slightly. "I'm technically good with the sword...it's...familiar to me." Gene paused as he realized that it probably sounded stupid when he said it. "Uh...m-m-maybe I could explain..." He was about to say something, but Abby pointed something out something. The smell in the air: rain. That wouldn't be the best thing for them in the slightest. "But that's a different problem. I was thinking we could try busting into one of those animal burrows for the night. Anyone wanna help me give it a shot?" "I-I'll help as best I can..." Gene volunteered, before clearing his throat. "...maybe I can explain what I was going to a bit ago afterwards..." But did he really want to explain that? To explain the reason all this about this world and weapon felt so natural to him was that he had similar dreams about himself being a sword wielding warrior in a fantasy world. To anyone else, this would sound absolutely bat-shit insane...but maybe he'd be fine in this company he found himself. He at least prayed and hoped he wasn't.

Ziun stared down the skeleton, or at least tried to if it had eyes within it's hollow eye-sockets, but nevertheless the bard stood his ground whilst looking at the undead creature. It was simply lumber and advancing towards him...and from what Ziun could see, it was able to handle a sword rather well. "At least this one seems to have a grasp on their weapon better most of the others that have been here, but alas, I don't think that's a good thing." he lamented, his grip on his rapier growing tighter. Once the skeleton's sword was brought down in an arc, Ziun simply dodge to his left and the skeleton's right in order to avoid the impending chest gash that would be coming his way if he didn't. After moving, he attempted to dispatch of the skeleton's right arm with a swift swing of his blade. The swift swing hit true, cutting into the arm, however...the arm didn't fall off. Upon further inspection...the cut did not slice cleanly through in one swing...this wasn't good. The skeleton shambled a bit, attempting to reach out towards the bard with it's bony hand...going for his eyes...to gouge them out. "If I could implore you to...NOT go for my eyes, I would be eternally grateful!" Ziun shouted, swinging the rapier at the other hand, watching the blade cut through the two bones and immediately severing the hand from it's host. His eyes would live to see another day. Now, if the bard would be able to make it past the other arm with the sword. The skeleton rattled, bringing the sword arm down once more. Another swift dodge occurred and with another flick of his weapon, the skeleton's wrist was severed. "And thus, you've been handily disarmed." However, it wasn't stopping the living bones...as it moved faster, trying to stab Ziun with the cut off portion of it's wrist. The bard simply acted first, delivering a quick blow...but he felt a sharp pain in his side. True to the skeleton's intent, his side was now stabbed with the skeleton's wrist. "...b-blasted..." he grumbled.

JUNE 11TH, 2030 It was a hot afternoon in Chicago...like it had been the last few times he was here. Then again, it was better than the absolute freezing temperatures during the winter months, so he couldn't really complain about things in the long run there. Come to think of it, when was the last time he visited Chicago? That's right! It was his trip to the Field Museum of Natural History...and he cleaned that geology exhibit, the Hall of Jade, clear of the Chinese jade artifacts. It all got sold to an unknown buyer on the black market in China, it was fitting anyway...have those artifacts returning to their homeland. And where was Neal currently at this present moment? Well...for damn sure it wasn't at the anniversary grounds. More like...on the way TO the grounds. LOCATION: HEADING TO THE ANNIVERSARY GROUNDS, JUST OUTSIDE OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS BGM "STOP HIM!!!!" The immediate sounds of police sirens and the sounds of stomping were heard as people watched and noticed a young man with maroon hair and black masquerade mask rushed by, ducking out from an alleyway. It was obvious that he was the cause of this chase. Nevertheless, this young man, with a small tube in his hand kept running. "All this...for just a bunch of paintings??" the young man lamented, ducked into another alley as he immediately grabbed a few hanging cloths on a nearby clothesline. Once he did so, he dove towards a small area and saw a few older ladies. Normally, he probably would've been ratted out right here, but these older ladies seemed to not mind his sudden appearance and even attempt of disguise with the sheets. "Good afternoon ladies, beautiful summer day isn't it?" They simply giggled and shook their heads. One happened to speak first, giving the young man a small smile. "Getting into trouble a bit early today, aren't you Beau?" "Trouble? Oh no ma'am, not at all." Arsène Beau spoke, giving a small smile. These ladies he ended up helping a couple months back during his last trip here, since they got into a bad way with a bunch of ruffians. He had to make sure they were good at least, plus they were simply kind souls. "You know you're only in trouble when you get caught." "THERE HE IS!!! YOU WON'T GET AWAY SO EASY!!!" a voice boomed, causing the young man to turn around and see...the police chief. "...okay scratch that, I'm in trouble." he said, immediately bidding the two ladies adieu before throwing the sheets towards the police chief and rushing off again. Rushing by a nearby sewer drain, eyeing the manhole cover, he smirked. He ran by it, but not before the manhole cover immediately appeared in his hand. Once it did, he watched as a few unfortunate souls ended up falling right down in it as if it were a cartoon. Once that was done, Beau lobbed the manhole cover back in the direction of the chasing parade of cops. He needed to think of something, considering he was running out of options at first...but the look of the festival caught his eye. Finally, something clicked. Of course, it's the anniversary of The Crisis...and that's got almost everyone and anyone there... a smirk appeared on his face, making a beeline for it. Which means I'm going to have to go incognito...let's swing by 'Swindler's Alley' first...that should be the cheap stuff I can handle... Once he got closer to the anniversary grounds, or outside the designated area, Beau dove into a small booth and began to grab a few clothes. Before the vendor could even ask for payment, Beau placed quite a bit of cash in the man's hand and rushed past him. As the cops began to descend, Arsène Beau was already "gone"...and Neal LeBeau was just making his way with a new backpack on his back and a new style. As a few cops ran passed him, unaware of who it was, Neal could only smirk as he victoriously ate a chili dog he bought moments ago...he was in the clear...for now. Now, for the time being...let's enjoy the festivities...once done, I can drop these paintings off and get the money for them. Neal smirked, moving further and further into the crowd.

The zombie closed in towards Lana, while Ziun watched this unfold. While he at first wanted to swing around and attack the undead being as quickly as he could, he remembered, it'd be improper manners to just continue to cut his fellow party members off in mid-combat like this. He did, however, ready his rapier in hand...just to prepare for a strike. Once the zombie got in range, Lana's axe swung true and hit the undead being right in the chest...and yet, it kept moving forward...with the axe lodged in it's chest. "That's most unsettling..." Ziun said, moving in the direction of Lana and the zombie. "On your left, my dear!" he called out this time, before moving around Lana's left side and immediately slashing at the zombie's arms. With a quick slash, one of the zombie's arms were cut into, and yet the zombie got it's glancing blow right into Lana's shoulder with the other arm. "Damn...was hoping that wouldn't have happened." He immediately moved with his footing and prepared to disassemble the zombie with various swift cuts and slashes. The cuts and slashes found their mark on the zombie, but even still, it prepared a dive towards the bard. Not only that, it was already pulling Lana along with in the motion of the lunge, due to the axe still being lodged in it's chest. "Sir, I'm flattered, but you aren't my type!" Ziun shouted, moving out of the way of the lunging zombie, who eventually pulled itself loose from the axe and started stumbling towards the bard. "I believe I speak for all involved when I say that I believe we're quite tired of you undead beings!" he said, swinging his rapier in a swift manner, watching the zombie's head roll right on off the body. "Truly uncivilized creatures..." he sighed, helping Lana up as he glanced over and saw...unfortunately...another skeleton. "...right..."

Override was lucky he was able to get someone to assist him in locating Spotlight. He remained where he was, until he noticed the hero coming his direction. "Spotlight, sorry to bother you, but I needed just a few moments of your time." "Yes, Sarah said you were looking for me. She told me what this was about, too, in a manner of speaking." "Alright then, saves me the trouble to explain my reasoning for calling you over here." he nodded, having P.I.X.E.L. ready to make a record of everything that was said. "So, why don't you start with the beginning of it for me. Try not to leave any details out." Spotlight took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "I have to warn you, in terms of status within the... circle Cassandra surrounded themselves, I'm still an initiate. You're asking me not to leave any details out, and I'll comply where I can, but do not expect everything you need from me." Override simply nodded, waiting for Spotlight to continue. "I was recruited about a month ago," Spotlight began. "Cassandra approached me asking specifically for my power -- there was an effect they wanted to create. I said yes, of course. I'm a hero, right? A G3 member? If someone asks me for help and I can help, I do it. You know that. Especially if that person is a precog. There was an initiation process -- and I know you said you didn't want me to skimp on the details, but I am going to skimp here, both because I don't think it's important and for the safety of the rest of the circle." He eyed Override's power suit up and down, knowing he was being recorded even if he didn't know where to look. "Understandable. It's one of those, if I needed to know, I'd know it situations." Override gave an understanding nod towards the hero. "That aside, please continue." "Cassadra told me their prophecy just after initiation. 'The world will end on the Thirtieth of April,' or something like that. Obviously, I wanted to tell people immediately, but Cassandra just said, 'You don't' and that was that. Not, 'You better not, because...' with a threat, or 'You won't because I say you won't,' like an order. 'You don't,' they said, and that was that. And I guess I didn't, so they were right about that. "My role was simple. I just had to position myself in a certain spot that night and be ready for when the power got cut. The hardest part was making sure I stayed on Cassandra the whole time, but I managed. After that, well, you can ask any sixer -- or anyone, really -- and they'll tell you what happened next. That's how I got this." He shifted his arm in his sling again. "I see...so that's generally the basics." Override typed on the holopad he brought up, typing up notes. "Generally aligns up with what was already known. But was there any other information you have that could be vital to this? Leaving the initiation process out of it for the time being, was there anything out of the ordinary? Did Cassandra act strangely in the days leading up to this? Or for that matter, did this all seem rehearsed? I assume it wasn't...but I'm assuming and factoring in all variables at this point." Spotlight was silent for a moment, deep in thought. "I think," he said, "Cassandra must have known they were going to die. They left us all these envelopes containing instructions, including when to open them. I didn't get one. Cassandra was just able to tell me. Anything else out of the ordinary, I don't even know what ordinary was in the circle. I especially don't know that Cass is gone." "So you were just the newest recruit and were, in the nicest ways possible, expendable for your role." the tech hero sighed, still typing away. "It's not much, but it's more than what I originally had going on. Now, out of curiosity, was there anything specific you saw on that day? Saw or heard?" "I don't think I was expendable," Spotlight said, frowning. "If I was expendable, I don't think Cassandra would have asked me in the first place. But on the day we all had our assigned roles. I was too focused on mine to notice much else." "Poor choice of words on my part, but I understand." Override gave a final nod, finishing his note-taking and closed the holopad. "Thank you for your assistance, Spotlight. If you happen to remember anything else, drop me a line." "Good luck out there." With that, Override took his leave, immediately walking away from Spotlight. After he did, he muted himself. "P.I.X.E.L., encrypt the recording and the notes taken and we'll deliver them to Ophiucus. It's not much, but it's definitely a start. Hopefully it'll help."

Begin the Investigation! The oddly empty room... Trevor closed the door to this room behind him, though nothing was different about it. He looked around this empty room...no electronics, nor outlets, nor furniture...just a floor, a ceiling, four walls and lights. He stood in the middle, looked around the room, before making a note in the grimoire... Investigation of the Oddly Empty Room: Four walls, lights, a floor and ceiling...no electronics, outlets, not even any furniture. The purpose of this room is still unknown...who were those ghostly apparitions I saw that first day? What were they talking about? What could I possibly do to recreate...? Trevor paused for a moment, snapping his fingers a bit. "Of course, that's a way to potentially recreate the situation." he nodded, looking over at the light-switch by the door. "I believe we can get that if we simply just turn the lights off. What say you, my leatherbound friend?" ...blow me to Bermuda...are you actually attempting this? "Do you happen to have a better option?" Trevor asked, looking down at the grimoire, who simply was flipping through it's pages and immediately closed and locked itself. "I'll take that as a no. The worst that could've happened today has already happened...we should be fine." He made his way to the light-switch and flipped it off immediately. When he turned off the lights everything vanished from sight. Not one bit of light made its way into the room. All around him all he could see was that he could not see. Nothing else felt different, at least at first, but it was still strange to be left in total darkness. Truth be told, he knew this kind of darkness...all too well. This total darkness reminded him of the same type of darkness he experienced that day when he was struck by those Heartless back on his homeworld...the day he tried to access the Cabanomicon's advanced magic. It felt...natural around him...same time it also made his skin crawl to have to relive the memory of that and to have to relive his time in that cold darkness. It did feel natural around him...at least at first. A subtle shift, he felt it immediately. The floor seemed...uneven...at the same time it just felt like it wasn't there at all. Curiouser and curiouser... he thought, wanting to move immediately to see what could be done, but he paused. Words... not heard by ear, but within his mind. It is pitch black. You are likely to be eaten by a grue. A...grue? Trevor didn't exactly like the sound of that. But he figured the first thing was to lighten up the room. He immediately had his index finger with the red gemmed ring spark to life with a Fire Spell. It was going to be used as his light source...and apparently something didn't like it. He heard a sudden howling noise and something running off to the side away from the light. So something else was in here... But the baffling part was that from what Trevor could see now...the floor around him, was like that of a cave. "Hmmm...perhaps that was the grue?" he muttered, noticing the small bit around him now seemed like that of a cave. "Hmmm..." Trevor took a step forward, unsure of what would happen. But the mysteries in life needed some sort of leap of faith to deal with it. He began to walk through the cave, though he could hear the sounds of gurgling...it was quite unsettling to say the least. From the ceiling, however, water dripped down onto Trevor's finger and extinguished the flame. "...wonderful..." he sighed, before immediately having the flame spark back to life. Part of him wished he hadn't... When it sparked to life again, whatever was following him was closer...and had a face full of sharp teeth. As quickly as it was there, it scurried away once the light appeared. "...well then...that was charming." Trevor simply muttered. "I assume you must be this 'grue' I was recently told about." He sighed slightly, attempting to move forward some more. Onward he went...further...further...further still. Until his journey brought him...to a dead end. A literal dead end. Bones lay broken, scattered along the cave's floor. A strong musty smell lingered in the air...it was most foul. "...this is quite the predicament...all this from a single empty room..." he muttered, before feeling a sudden wind blow behind him...and with that, his flame extinguished once more. Without the flame again, Trevor found himself in that total darkness...at the dead end of this cave. Trevor didn't like this feeling...and he knew what awaited for him if he sparked the flame once more. However, he prepared himself this time. A quick casting of Aerora around him and then... "Firaga..." he muttered to himself, watching the flame on his index finger grow to a larger size than it had before. That's when he saw it...nothing but teeth. When the fire lit up the area right in front of his face was the creature's mouth. And then it, as before, ran off with a pained howl back into the darkness. "I believe now it's time I take my leave...I'd rather not be this creature's next meal!" Trevor simply said, running back in the direction he originally came, doing his best to keep his way lit. He ran, and ran, splashing through puddles that he could only hope was water. The entire time he heard just outside the range of the fire a slathering gurgling noise. Just as he reached the other end of the cave, which instead of an opening he saw the door itself, a cascade of dirt and pebbles shook from the wall and douses the flame. Trevor watched as the dirt and pebbles doused the flame, as he put his hand to the door. As he reached the door he heard something behind him. Claws scrapping against the floor. A deranged slobbering noise that got closer and closer. Then the door slid open with a hiss, light filtered into the room, and the noise vanished. The room was now just an unusual empty room again. And Bartleby lay in the hall in front of the doorway, one arm raised up as if it was about to touch the door. "...Bartleby my slow moving companion...I don't think I've been happy to see anything else before." Trevor sighed, closing the door behind him. "A strange mystery that was...but alas, I believe I'll be sending our host a message about it. Perhaps she can tell us what we can do with it." And with that, he locked that door and immediately began to inform Mauvache of the oddly empty room.

"at least move so she can see you!" "Oh, how careless of me!" Ziun groaned, contemplating that Lana might've been correct in moving forward to bring Estelle back to them, but he didn't think about that...and he figured that was one of the reasons that Lana shoved past him. Perhaps he should've thought clearer, but alas, that was neither here nor there. Now, the question remained: what would Ziun do now? The undead were dealt with for the moment, but right now, he had the feeling that still things lurked in the foggy shadows within this room. I suppose, we need to act. he thought, looking around the area for a moment. It was nothing but fog, and the shadow of the mausoleum. This would get them nowhere if they remained here. The bard eyed near his feet: a couple of severed arms. An idea began to formulate in his mind to which he gripped the arm and gave it a heavy and strong chuck into the fog. He waited...hearing a THUMP nearby. He took this as a good thing, as he grabbed the other severed arm. "I believe I hit something...I'm going to investigate it." he shouted to the others, to keep himself in check. He then proceeded to inch closer in the direction that the thump was heard. After a few steps, he took the severed arm and chucked it again...hearing another THUMP...and now he saw the something he was hitting: another zombie, now looking his direction. ...oh...gods be praised... Ziun thought sarcastically, sighing a bit after seeing yet another zombie. This wasn't what he was going to be dealing with right now, he didn't want to deal with anymore. The bard proceeded to cast an illusion, a mirrored image of himself as he sent it forward towards this zombie and even passed the undead creature. Luckily, it seemed to have worked, as the zombie began to shamble after the illusion, no longer able to see it due to the fog. "It seemed to be another zombie, unfortunately. I wished for either a trap door or a chest, but alas it was not."

Casino Royale

"What do you mean? We get runes, we use runes, that's how it works isn't it?" Gene sighed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "...I-I was more or less talking about potentially strategizing...but I guess you have a point there..." he decided to back-peddle in his initial thoughts. It sorta made it sound like he wasn't helping with that thought process at all. Best to let others say that and not him, perhaps? "...It's a mental game. As long as you hold it in your heart, and envision it in your mind, you should be able to manifest its power-- Provided you've had some time to get your mind in order...I plan to reassess my tools during this rest period as well, for example," He was a bit more relieved to hear from Marshall on this. "Y-Yeah...maybe we could discuss what would benefit the party along with ourselves? ...i-it's just a suggestion..." Nevertheless, his eyes moved over towards the horizons, to where the towers stood...and it stood out like the biggest eyesore there ever could be...it made him uneasy. "I'm not one of those Accursed myself, but if I was, I'd want my lair to be as far away from everything else as possible. To stop some plucky band of prophecized heroes from breaking in, or to have plenty of prep time if I see them coming. ...though now that I've said that, they really would see us coming from a mile away, huh?" "Alas, if only I could summon the wings of the dragon for all of us, and simply fly over the tower, then it wouldn't matter if they could see us or not...Could I...maybe I could...Wind Jump everyone at once..." "G-Good idea...but maybe...we find a different mode of transportation?" Gene spoke up, clearing his throat some. "I-I don't know how everyone feels about flying through the air like that, ya know?" And it was at this point, that there stood a massive elephant...and of course, one person was super excited to see it. And it definitely wasn't Gene... "O-oh no, the draconic power in my arm, it's calling out for battle, I do no know if I can hold it back!" "...Alas, Miss Draconis. But that Monster is far above our current rank; the rest of us would be wiped out in an instant...As for you, to give into your draconic blood now would spell the end of your sanity, as you fell victim to its curse; you'd become a mindless demon, a slave to your ancient blood's needs," Gene frantically nodded, looking at Sabrina and motioned towards Marshall. "M-Maybe we should listen to the train conductor...she's making good points here!" he said, doing his best to back up slightly. "Y-You just saw that it literally...ATE...whatever was walking besides it! I know we're Exalted and whatnot...but something tells me it'd still probably have us for dessert...m-m-maybe we just wait until we actually come across the Accursed?"

A curious sight would behold Trevor when he arrived back at the team's humble abode...Bartleby, the Slakoth, was simply...roaming in a slow path...en route to, it seemed like the kitchen. The young sorcerer shook his head with a sigh, closing the door behind him. "Fret not, Bartleby, I shant interfere with your quest there." he gave a soft smile, simply nodding at the mascot creature as he took his leave from near the door. He found himself basically alone, save for the creature...which was a rare opportunity. Which now...he could do what he had been planning on. "I believe it's time for a stake out and investigation..." He felt his grimoire rising from his side, as it opened itself and flipped through pages. And what, pray tell, are you planning to stake out? "Elementary, my leatherbound friend..." Trevor causally strolled through the place, arriving at a very familiar door to him. "This room in particular. I hope you recall the entry I put down within your pages about this very room?" The oddly empty room? "Correct...I believe that vision I witnessed means something, but never had a chance to properly investigate this room." he nodded. "Today has proved to be the perfect opportunity. With the ladies out, perhaps we can glean something from it. Granted, perhaps this was a one time thing...but perhaps not." he entered the room. "We are going to attempt to search every nook and cranny in this room...to ascertain the source of this vision." And this "darkness" those in the vision spoke of? "When the time comes, we'll get to that...until then, let's begin our investigation."

"Oh f...rick, where'd you hop out of jeezus. Aight then, one cracked coconut coming right up..." Marv chuckled with a slight croak...that would take some getting used to, seeing as he apparently surprised Clobber by just being there. "Sorry, I'll make sure not to sneak up on you like that again...would rather not take a left hook from you." he said in a joking manner. However, he did know the sneaking up on people...er...Pokémon part wouldn't be easy to not do...especially with what Froakies evolved into. Wait...would they even be able to evolve? That was a question he'd ponder later... For now, however, he took his coconut and returned... "I know you've got other questions. Like, how are you going to save the world? What can you do to do to stop the Endless Mist? Well, you weren't the only ones asking these questions. Even I, a genius, wondered the same. When I granted the wish to save the world, there was another wish—my last wish—that if I couldn't save this world myself, that I could have help. I'm sure that's what summoned you all." Marv just sat there, enjoying the coconut he had received along with the cup he received. It was a pretty ornate cup, in a...leafy...nature...kind of way. Regardless, he remained attentive to this conversation that Jirachi began...when his eyes immediately were glued to something that the Wish Granter presented. "And it also brought me these! These are called badges." Standard issue badges from the Mystery Dungeon series, though, it looked different than the other versions he was aware of, but he figured that made sense...this wasn't 100% like the other versions. But he continued to listen. "Back then, the world had many different kinds. Rescue Team Badges, Explorer Badges, Adventure Squad Badges, Expedition Society Badges… But now they're all gone...mostly. There is a special energy in these badges. They were first created by the Pokémon Rescue Organization to combat the natural disasters and rise in mystery dungeons throughout the world. If you set a 'Home Point' for them, then they will bring the bearer and anybody else nearby back to that location. You can also use them on other Pokémon and choose to stay where you are, badge in hand. However, they don't always work, and in those cases you must use an Escape Orb. Pretty mysterious, huh? ♪" "So the Rescue Teams, Explorers, Adventurers and Expedition takers aren't here much...makes sense..." Marv muttered, lulling that over in his mind. But at least the Rescue Organization made these, so that they could get out of danger. "And using them on other Pokémon...yeah that tracks, cause generally those would help in making some enemy Pokémon our allies...i-if I'm remembering correctly..." "But I believe these badges have more to them than that. There must be some other reason they were sent to me along with you all. I believe they can combat the Endless Mist. So, I would like you all to take part in an experiment with me. Please, everybody, take a badge and stand still. I will soon teleport us all to the center of the island." Marv shrugged, noticing the badges being summoned up by Jirachi. "I mean, we may as well..." he said, swiping at least one and attempting to pin it...wait... "Hmmm...maybe it needs to be sewn on? Or maybe...?" he looked at the badge, putting it near and on his chest for a moment...just to feel it sort of adhere to his skin. It made him squirm slightly, feeling the fact it just stuck to him... "...okay not going to lie...even though I'm a Froakie...this doesn't feel all that good..." He shook his head, before clearing his throat. "A-A-Anyway! I-I'm good to go when you guys are..."