Verse and the Sand Five's Story

The field continued to expand until it had Bic and Cu both inside and reached out for Luna, until the Lapras gave a small shunt of her flippers back towards the water. "Oh no you don't," she said with a playful glare, "I'm no good on land and I have had enough excitement for one day!"

"Fine," Zee answered as he retracted the field, preparing to fly away but giving people a moment to brace themselves, then they would be off, launching back into the city. Luna waved a flipper goodbye to the four.

Emergency services had arrived to clear up the rubble and make sure everyone was okay. Traffic was at a stand still in the nearby areas and camera crews were set up to catch it all, probably the most dramatic thing to happen in the city for some time. It wasn't every day that a company was bombed. People were painting it in all different lights, but Alexander had chased off both police and news with threats of legal action, and since he looked the victim everyone left him alone.

He sat on the curb, elbows on his knees and staring between his feet. Why had this year gone so wrong for him? At what point had the universe decided to enact horrible karma and strike him down. He exhaled a tired sigh, only for a blue glow to catch his attention. It was the arrival of Zee, Adam, Verse, Bic and Cu all at once in a sphere that dissipated so they could land. There was silence for a long time until Adam broke it.

"Ozzy?" he said as he saw the man off to the side, then raised his hand up to wave him over, "Get over here. We might need you!" If he was sleeping, he would even wake the man. This was to do with all of them.

Ozzy had just been dozing. His eyes closed but ears open. He was trying to get as much energy as possible. His eyes snapped open when he felt the pressure in his head signifying psychic powers being used. Zee, along with a peculiar group and the monster Charmeleon. He had worse things to worry about at the moment though. As the boss, or former boss, he wasn't sure yet. Calls him over he stands with a grunt. Stretching out the muscles that had stiffened while he was sitting moving languidly to stand with the odd group.

Bic wanted nothing more than to set these humans on fire and eat the charred meat. But, here he glances at Zee who he knew was above him in terms of power, would not let him do that. So he settles for growling at them when they got to close. Well, not the one that smelled of fish. He was a friend of Luna's, somehow, and as such he would tolerate him. Standing at weary attention he waits for someone to do something, to give him a target.

Cu was having the time of his life. It had been ages since he'd been on an adventure. And the sight of the wrecked building set his blood to pumping. Bouncing on the balls of his feet he eagerly stands next to Zee waiting on the party to start.

"I suppose some introductions are in order," Zee stated, "I am Zee. This is Cu Mara, Ozzy, Alexander Maycross, Verse and."
"The charmeleon is Bic, the kids Adam."
"Right, Adam and Bic."
Alexander's eyes flicked up again. "I suppose you want answers."
"That would be appreciated, yes."

The man sighed and looked about, making sure they were the only ones near before he began. "We wanted to make it easy to capture pokemon, to find the ones most vulnerable to subservience and gather them en masse. Cage traps were simply not as effective as we would have liked, and individually capturing pokemon was unrealistic and laughable. So we made a 'virus' so to speak. A pokemon would be given the virus and sent out into a region to gather pokemon of the same type in a nearby area. A Ralts was our first testing subject and things seemed to be going well. Except it went much too well. She lured in Lugia."

He licked his lips and added. "So that was unexpected."

"The Ralts was confined in the basement of a weather lab. Lugia was confined to a pokeball in a block of cement in a steel coffin and buried. Then a giant Feraligator attacked. It's possible it was enraged by the recent presence of Lugia, or perhaps just a violent, old creature. It tore apart the lab and the Ralts got free, along with the virus HM. It was merciful that the Ralts was captured, but by some misfortune I believe its currently in the hands of a vulnerable teenage girl." His eyes flicked up to Ozzy almost questioningly. "A detail I had overlooked because I was dealing with others." His eyes shifted to the side, glaring accusingly at Bic. "But the fault is entirely mine."

Ozzy laughed at the absurdity of it all. Holding his face in his hands he couldn't help it. As his shoulder rocked with helpless laughter he looked at Maycross. Grace, she had some sort of infected Ralts that let her control Lugia. He laughed harder. Thinking back to all of the other pokemon she had obtained. All brainwashed. All controlled. He thinks of her, and the strange swings of mood. She probably is too. That sobers him in an instant. His face becoming a grim line.

"That Ralts is a Gardevoir now. And Lugia, well, it's with the girl too. Unknown whether she's under Gardevoir's control. But it's likely." Turning to Adam he tries to smile reassuringly. "I'm sorry I couldn't stop all if this."

Bic ignored all of the human talk, except when Lugia was mentioned. That sounded familiar. But he wasn't sure why. It set his teeth on edge though, that probably meant he wouldn't like it. Feeling someones eyes on him he glances up to see the Maycross human glaring at him. Bic grins. Showing the human all of his teeth. It was a look that promised pain and a slow death.

Cu didn't know what half of anything being said meant. But he assumed it had to do with their enemies. So he did his best to pay attention.

Alexander, not one to be intimidated, bared his teeth back at Bic, though it wasn't nearly as threatening from teeth that weren't sharp.
"We need to find her," Zee announced, only for Maycross to butt in.
"No, we need to find her," he corrected with a gesture to those around him, "You need to stay here. You're our best line of defense against Lugia. You may be the only one powerful enough to stop it. You are also the only one who can track her movements and communicate that with us. We split up, look for her where she might be, and return here in twenty minutes. If we haven't found her by then, we go through the portal. I have no doubt in my mind that Ruula will be her next target."
"And if we fight her? What then?" Adam added.
"Then you fight her. Try to lure her Gardevoir out so Zee can track it and the rest of us will get to you as soon as possible."

Adam nodded. "I'll take Bic and Verse and we'll go check her old apartment and the warehouse you busted up."
"And I'll go to the League, warn them of a lunatic carrying bombs," Alexander said as he rose to his feet, "Does anyone know what she looks like and what she was wearing today?"

Bic snorts at the human. Slightly taken aback. That was certainly a first. He cocks his head to the side examining him for a second before shrugging, giving him a look that clearly said: You are not worth my time. Before turning and laying down. Waiting for the others. Only perking up at the mentions of fighting and when Adam said they were going.

Ozzy sighed at Maycross's question. Stepping slightly forward he crosses his arms and speak in a tired voice. "She was in a white sundress," He comments lightly. Pausing, "At least she was while we were on the plane, and when we were fighting in the air after she threw us out of it." That said he starts to walk away, waving over his shoulder. "I'll check out some of my leads, be back in twenty." And then he's gone. Headed to his house where they'd been staying together.

Cu leaned back against the wall near Zee. He was content to wait until they knew where she was. He wasn't big on searching. That decided he turns to Zee. "I'll stay with you my friend. At least until we know where she is."

The psychic came hurtling behind Windy as one joined conscious. "Too late," spoke Grace as her eyes stared distantly into the clouds as psychic energy began to build around the pair, and then fired. There was a violent flash of blue from all sounds, like a torrent of water slamming against an invisible glass bubble surrounding Ozzy. It blasted for several moments before it finally relented as Zee came hurtling into view, and behind him was an entire array of allies. Three humans, Alexander Maycross, Adam Delcaroix and Cu Mara, along with two pokemon, Bic and Verse.

Zee slowly floated towards the airborne group, passing Ozzy and letting the transparent barrier around the man fall. "I am sick and tired of your meddling. Surrender, and I will not kill you," was all he offered. The pokemon seemed taken aback, forming a solid rank together, except for the Gardevoir who was once more recalled in a red beam. It left Zee's eye twitching in irritation. "Cowardice."

Ozzy had clenched his eyes tightly shut as the energy had come for them. Hugging Grace to his chest to shield her if need be, there was nothing else he could do. Offering a silent apology to Windy as he does. He hadn't meant for them to die like this. Moments pass. When he realizes he's alive his eyes snap open to new hope. Zee found them. He laughs. Never happier in his life to see a being that could literally kill him with a blink of its eyes. Nodding thanks at the pokemon as it passes, he allows himself a sigh of relief and a groan of irritation as the Gardevoir is recalled. Looking down into Grace's eyes he smiles softly.

"Grace, it's over now. Just let it go. Zee is..." Trailing off he looks back at the pokemon, "Zee is something beyond comprehension, I doubt there are many pokemon outside of legendaries who could even scratch him. No matter how powered up. Please, just let it go."

On the ground Bic growls in irritation as he watches the group in the air, scratching his claws against the solid surface he blows puffs of smoke out in irritation. "I should be up there." It had been a long time since he'd lamented his lack of evolutionary capability, but it was anything he could really fix.

Cu eyes the group he was with shrewdly, he wasn't sure who among them he could trust. Or if they even trusted each other at all. Didn't really matter either. Stay up all night drinking in the halls of your enemy and kill them the next on the field was a philosophy he had lived by. Regardless he was here for Zee.

Grace's eyes closed as Zee passed, like she was trying to block out the rest of the world. Zee was moving on to tear apart the psychic pokemon that had been abandoned by their ruler, hovering still together like comrades facing a firing squad. Verse let out a sigh of relief and reached out to pat Bic on the back. "You'll get up there someday, buddy," he said, just happy that this whole thing was about to be over. Psychic energy built up before Zee as he closed his eyes and prepared to deliver the final blow when there was a sudden, soft utterance.

"There is... one thing..." Grace said. It was so soft that Ozzy would have been the only one to hear it above the noise of the wind. There was the click of a pokeball opening, and from it emerged the Gardevoir once more, this time atop Grace, its blue eyes staring into Ozzy. "But you never really had a chance to save her."

Flesh met flesh as the pokemon began to sink down, merging into Grace's body, white and green enveloping the girl as light built up white and blinding. Even Zee, who turned in the air to look, had to shield his eyes behind his visor from the brightness enveloped the world. And then it was gone, and everything seemed dark. No longer was Grace in Ozzy's arms. No longer was the Gardevoir on top of her. Instead they were one in the same.

A large billowing dress cast out at all sides from her waist and two red growths extended from her chest. Green hair curled around long fin-like ears of a perfectly pale face and two slender, flowing arms reached out to gently brush Ozzy's cheeks. Not Grace. Not even Gardevoir. But a Mega Gardevoir.

He starts at Grace's voice, confused for a moment, unable to react fast enough to stop what was coming. Ozzy stares on in horror as Grace is... Consumed by the monstrosity before him. He is paralyzed in horror, staring into the monsters eyes right until light envelops their form, blinding all present for a moment with its brilliance. To stunned to move, too horrified to breathe as the, the... thing touches him. He flinches away from it. Banking hard on Windy's back towards the ground he runs. Their was nothing he could do. She was beyond his help... Beyond any ones help.

Bic didn't know how to feel. He'd spent a long time hating the girl only to find out she was the biggest victim of all. Sighing he silently lays a hand on Verse's shoulder. Not saying a word.

Cu wasn't quite sure what was going on but he figured the shit was about to hit the fan. and thus readied his spear.

The Gardevoir hurtled back for her own force as much as Ozzy went in the opposite direction, floating between her three allies and Zee with arms stretched wide. One final ball opened, a flash of light as the Lugia emerged in the air overhead, like the crown of the psychic force, and with it the storm returned once more, clouds thundering and rain beginning to fall. Wordlessly, both great psychic powers prepared their energies and fired, two blasts meeting in the air between the legendary and the mega.

"We can't just sit here..." Adam said, drawing his desert eagle.
"We may be humans, but we're not helpless," Alexander concurred, "Ozzy, I am still your employer and I order you to turn. Gentlemen, draw your weapons and aim for that Gardevoir." As he spoke he elegantly drew his revolver and raise the weapon in the air, but no sooner had he done so than the pokemon began their attack.

Swooping down came the Bronzong, arms outstretched and raising up a Safeguard as the Lugia dived over head, snapping its mouth at Cu as it passed. The Starmie and Claydol were moments behind, drawing in close and dangerous to fight.

Ozzy grunts at Maycross. And turn he does, his mind in turmoil he points Windy's nose back towards the house. Ordering her with all speed towards the unhinged front door. He needed to get his gear. And pick up Sid. Though, to the others it would probably look like he ran away until he came back.

The rain hissed against his scales as it fell. Bic eyed the forces arrayed against them bemusedly. Breath so hot it burned the air in front of his mouth as his excitement builds he roars. Roars for all he's worth. Bellowing a challenge at those that would look down on them, and then he cuts loose with his flames at the one with the metal body. Wanting to see it scream. Wanting to see it writhe.

Cu rolls under the snapping jaws with a grin. He didn't really understand the situation, but he understood things trying to kill him well enough. Coming up quicker than most would think possible he leaps, taking purchase on Lugia's back. "Come on you big tuna, let's dance." laughing like a foll he prepares to stab his spear into its back.