Poppin' Arms ~ Dorm Lounge

[Fusion]

"Owen, you're alright," Vix sighed, lowering down to Owen's side. "Something wa--"

"Some GHOST mugged you, I saw it! You coughed up something and it took it and ran!" Puddle exclaimed. "I-I think it was a part of his soul!"

Vix slapped her bag and groaned. "Can you please stop cutting me off?" she sucked her teeth. "But, that pretty much sums it up. There were some shadowy claws and ghastly sounds... I'm willing to bet it was some ghost-type." Vix's eyes squinted and she put her arms on... whatever you would call her hips. "You didn't happen to cross any ghosts, right? They're probably the most spiteful Pokemon out there."

"Why would Owen be the instigator to a MUGGING? I knew I had the brains, but I guess that also includes the common sense!" Puddle huffed. "We have to find it and get his soul back!"

Vix sighed and shook her head. "We don't even know what it took, Puddle. Relax." She looked back to Owen. "Do you have any idea what anyone would want to take from... inside of you?"

 

[Namohysip]

"Someone took my soul again?" Owen mumbled, grumbling. "Wait, but I'm still talking, so I don't think he took that from me... I feel pretty whole." Owen felt his chest, then his gut, then crossed his arms, forming a golden sphere. "Protect's still normal. Are you sure they didn't put it back?"

Wishkeeper emerged from Owen's shoulders next, looking whole, though groggy. But as he scanned the area, he pointed to a shadowy corner of the hall, and Owen complied by raising his hand, engulfing it in flames. The makeshift torch, brighter than his tail, revealed... a Mimikyu, hissing at the light.

"Leg?"

"Khhh..."

 

[Fusion]

"Leg?" Vix sighed, relieved. "It's just her, thank Arceus."

Puddle bubbles suspiciously. "She's still a thief, I wouldn't let your guard down."

"It's fine, she's a friend of ours," Vix said, rolling her eyes. She looked once more to Owen. "I'll have to ask how getting your soul stolen feels, but are you feeling alright? You can walk? Nothing wrong?"

"More importantly-" Puddle's shapeless form poked out of Vix's bag, staring at Leg without eyes. "What'd you try and steal from Owen? Preferably tell us from other there. Away from me."

 

[Namohysip]

"Khhh... fixing..."

"Fixing?" Owen said, frowning. "What do you mean? I feel like I was hit by all four of a Machamp's fists."

"Fixing... power. Make... better." Leg revealed a few of her tendrils, each one poised like a mechanic's tools.

"With my aura?" Owen asked. "you were... doing that to my aura?"

"Khhh..." Leg withdrew her tendrils.

"Is everything all right here?" someone called. A new flame entered the room, this time green--S'more. "These are quiet hours, you know," the Marshadow added.

 

[Fusion]

Vix jumped slightly, turning towards S'more. She was expecting someone to show up with all of Puddle's yelling, but she was hoping not to wake S'more at this hour. This whole mess probably wouldn't sit well with him, she thought. "Oh, sorry sir. Everything's fine, there was a misunderstanding. I apologize for my familiar's unneeded loudness."

"It was a tactical shout, to distract Leg while she stole from Owen," Puddle huffed.

"Yes, screaming like a girl is definitely tactical," Vix chuckled and rolled her eyes. She dropped her bag on the ground, spilling ethereal goop on the floor. "Clean up your mess please."

"Hey, as long as I'm not anywhere near the soul thief, I'm perfectly fine," Puddle popped, spreading across the floor to grab the items it threw.

"And as for Leg..." Vix floated a bit closer to Leg. "Why did you try and work on Owen so late tonight? Today? ...At midnight."

 

[Namohysip]

"Khhh..."

"Leg's a little... eccentric, but I've no reason to doubt her good intentions," S'more said. "What were you doing so late at night? Fixing what?"

"Fixing... power..."

"...Ahh..." S'more nodded. "I remember, now. Maple told me about this. Now, as I understand it, Leg has a... special talent for delving into the spirit to... let's say, optimize what they are capable of. The process is apparently horrific and excruciating, but the results speak for themselves."

"I have been a little stronger lately, but I thought that was just the bodies..."

"Leg, have you been doing this to Team Spectrum in general?"

She fidgeted, but did not answer.

 

[Fusion]

"For something horrific and excruciating, Owen seems pretty alright," Vix tittered. That didn't mean she'd want to try it out for herself, but she couldn't deny the usefulness of it. Actually, Vix was quite interested in Leg's power. Minus the horrific pain part.

"I hadn't realized eccentricity meant stealing in the middle of the night, but fine," Puddle raised two waves like shoulders, returning to its usual resting place with an array of seeds, berries, and pens in its body.

Vix picked up her bag, then paused. Come to think of it, she did feel a strange shift in strength when she was a Litwick. She just suddenly managed to use more than two attacks at a time without falling into a puddle of Vix. Her flame flickered curiously as she looked to Leg. "Have... have you done this before, Leg?"

 

[Namohysip]

The Mimikyu looked away. "Khh..."

"I imagine so," S'more said. "I suspect Leg searched for the most agreeable participants first, perhaps Owen was among them... And from there, branched out in an effort to help the team. Though, you certainly could have asked first, Leg."

She looked down.

"I had dreams about getting poked and prodded and stabbed more often than usual," Owen added, nodding. "I guess that explains why..."

 

[Fusion]

Vix's face softened a bit, seeing Leg look down like that. It might be the Pikachu-like costume, or how harmless Leg came off as at second glance, but there was a sort of adorable air to Leg. Vix floated closer to Leg, setting Puddle and her bag on a table.

"Then I guess I and a lot of us have you to thank for how well we've been doing, Leg. I could barely do anything until I assume worked on me," Vix smiled, sitting on the ground close to Leg. "Thanks for being gentle, at least. If it makes you feel better, I don't personally mind what you did."

"Theft is a criminal offense, regardless of whether or not good comes from it, or how adorable the culprit is!" Puddle bubbled. "Cuteness will not shorten her sentence!"

"Keep that attitude up and I'll leave you at Leg's place for the weekend," Vix warned.

"FIEND!!!"

 

[Namohysip]

"I don't really know if it's stealing," Owen said, frowning. "I mean, when you think about it, it's more like... kidnapping and... using test subjects without going through the proper procedures, or something? I mean, I've been experimented on before and stuff, so I guess you picked the right person to test with, but--"

"You... are saying many things that one shouldn't normally shrug off," S'more commented.

Owen shrugged.

"Regardless, Leg, perhaps we can make something more productive out of this." The Marshadow stepped between her and Owen. "Why don't we announce to the others in the morning about your... services? That way we can see if anybody else is interested in your enhancements. And you won't have to... drag people from their bedrooms to do it."

 

[Fusion]

"I don't really know if it's stealing,"

"Uh, excuuuuse me? Which one of us claims know crimes?" Puddle slooshed, some drips of it . "Yeah, me. Check yourself, scales."

Vix wondered what the fuck was wrong with Puddle. Maybe Leg could do something to like... fix it.

"You... are saying many things that one shouldn't normally shrug off," S'more commented.

"I mean... I don't see why not," Vix shrugged. The thrill of having proper shoulders to shrug had returned, and she accidentally kept them up to further enjoy them. "But I do agree on asking people first from now on, Leg. I wouldn't mind offering being a subject every now and then, your power is definitely something I wanna learn more about."

"You're insane."

"No, I'm a lantern."

 

[Namohysip]

"Well, that settles things, then," S'more said, clapping his hands together once. "Owen, why don't you return to bed for now? Same for you, Vix. Be sure to spread the word in the morning. Leg? Why don't you return home to Truffle?"

"Khh..." Leg descended into the ground and slithered out the lounge.

 

[Fusion]

"Alrighty, sorry for waking you, sir," Vix nodded. She grabbed her satchel and slung it over her shoulder. This all turned out rather nice. "C'mon Puddle, we have more not-sleeping to do."

"Finally, the safety of our room. I already miss our friendly mud fish..."

Vix chuckled and sighed, looking back to Owen. "I can walk you back to your room if you want? Just to make sure you don't, like, pass out along the way."

 

[Namohysip]

"I'd... like that, thanks." Owen smiled a little, tail glowing a little brighter. He wondered, idly, if he could spar with Vix sometime...

<><><>​

 

[Ambyssin]

It had been a very strange night. First there were explosions Bahamut chose to ignore. Then, sometime after he'd fallen back asleep in the middle of the residential area, he was getting prodded by what apparently passed as a neighborhood watch and gotten dragged off to talk with a magnezone security official. Apparently, some idiot thought to steal his bag while he was sleeping... but he rolled over in his sleep and crushed the would-be robber. After hours of insisting he really didn't know what had happened, they finally let Bahamut on his way.

So, he couldn't just stay out in the streets anymore. Back to the guild, then. Even if Bahamut's team didn't want him there. There were a lot of things that struck him as off when he arrived. Broken sections of wall and blasted-out work stations. Some custodial signs scattered around. Perhaps someone on his team threw a temper tantrum? Or maybe Brisa and Starr were cat fighting again, but with Blacklight? Whatever, didn't matter.

He slinked off in the lounge's general direction and found it mercifully empty. Bahamut flopped onto a beanbag that was almost the proper size for his hulking frame.

 

[Namohysip]

"There he is..." Cal sighed, looking back. In a few minutes, Owen arrived next, looking partway relieved, and perhaps a little annoyed.

"Getting some rest?" Owen asked, approaching quietly. "I guess I can give you a rundown of what happened, now that... most of it is over."

 

[Ambyssin]

Oh, for pity's sake. Why was he being stalked by the Band of Owens™? "I spent the night talking with the constabulary. I might've crushed a robber in my sleep."

He shifted position slightly. "There was an explosion. I take it the lack of sadness in your disposition suggests no one was killed. Is there anything else I need to know?"

 

[Namohysip]

Owen and Cal dove under a beanbag and, partnered up, hefted it over so they could sit near Bahamut. While carrying it, Owen explained, "A Charizard attacked Destiny Tower. The attacks were strong enough to take out huge chunks in the wall, and a lot of Pokemon were badly injured, but we were able to help them all recover. None of the attacks seemed lethal, but Toffee was hit the worst. She's in the infirmary now.

"There was also someone who was able to make it look like I did it. Stole Shield's Harmony Scarf and put it on me--that's something that can make someone temporarily evolve, I think. And then gave me an injury the same that S'more gave the Charizard. The reason they found out it wasn't me was because my injury didn't have wax residue from something Vix did..." Owen sighed. "So, I'm in the clear, at least. But we think it was the spies who were behind it."

 

[Ambyssin]

"Is that so?" Bahamut's eyes turned yellow. "Mmm. How nice of our allies to jump so quickly to your defense. I hope you thanked them for that." He shook his head. "Regardless, I'm skeptical about such claims. We've been here for months. In that time, most of the physical damage has been done by things not directly working for Giovanni or the Blacklight. Like those giant magikarp sisters, or Shield directing the space noodle to blow up an island. If I were to wager a bet, I'd put it on a third-party."

He laughed bitterly. "But I'm sure the rest of the team would laugh such an idea out of the room."

 

[Namohysip]

"We've actually been considering that," Owen said. "But just as another possibility. We don't really know for sure." He settled onto the beanbag with Cal. "I did thank them, though. I can't imagine what it would have been like if I really was the one behind it, though..." Another sigh. "I think I just need to meditate to really calm down."