Water Veil Cove

[Negrek]

Mightyena jogged on ahead of Nate, now and again circling back to check on him before sprinting off again, constantly in motion. Nate was only hoping he'd survive at a walking pace, but he was glad

There were stories about legendary pokémon all over the fucking island, so Nate had picked one to go look for more or less at random. It was all probably bullshit, but what the hell. Mightyena was having a good time. And the rich dude did have that little gremlin thing with him, so there was at least one super-rare pokémon knocking around. Taking a shot at that one probably had the greatest chance at success. And probably the greatest risk, too.

He could worry about that later. For now, at least this place was quiet. Lots of ocean, lots of cliffs, not a lot of people. Nate could definitely handle that after the chaos of the past couple days.

Of course, trust Mightyena to find the one person on the entire coast and decide she wanted to go talk to them. Nate groaned inwardly as she went flying down the steep path towards a girl with a ninetales, tail wagging jauntily, ready to make friends. This was always so fucking awkward. So, what, was he supposed to make small talk with the trainer while his pokémon bothered the ninetales? Great fucking times.

Nate lagged behind, looking out at the ocean. Let Mightyena make nice if she wanted. He'd keep an eye out for the spirit that was supposed to hang out in the ocean around here.

---​

The island was wild but with plenty of paths for humans, so Mightyena could run and run and her human could follow without complaining about fighting through bushes or clambering up hills. Humans were so delicate! It was a wonder they got anything done on their own.

Today Nate wanted to go to the beach, which sounded like a good idea to Mightyena. She hadn't gotten to swim at all on the boat, after all.

Now and again Mightyena put her nose to the ground, scenting around for any buggy smells, or smells like metal. No sign of the scizor trainer yet, but they'd barely been searching at all yet. And, just like that, a couple of people came into view on the path up ahead. There was someone she could ask!

Mightyena easily caught up with the trainer and her pokémon, a ninetales with some kind of red rocks on a chain around her neck. "Hello," Mightyena called out to the ninetales. "Have you seen a human with a scizor anywhere around here?"

 

[Sinderella]

With her head so full and with absolutely no desire to keep interrogating, Odette decided it would be in her best interest to go for her jog. She'd initially had no plan to do any form of working out today, but few things cleared her head better than a good run. She couldn't exactly borrow the battle arena for an impromptu dance practice at this hour, so a run was the best bet.

She was glad she'd opted to bring a pair of shorts along, because fuck was it hot. She'd actually stripped herself down to her sports bra and laced her jacket around her waist instead. It was good nobody was around; layering a track jacket on top of a compression sleeve was already an excruciating fashion choice in island weather, and sweating herself out with a run didn't help that one bit. Plus, her shoulder scars needed to breathe too, lest her doctors come for her about it again.

"How are you doing back there, scumbag?"


Odile was strapped unceremoniously to the top of Odette's backpack. Normally she'd have fucking hated being stuck there, but she had no will to fly.


"̵H̴n̵n̶n̵n̸g̸g̸g̵g̸g̶h̴h̴h̸h̶h̷.̴"̵


"Again, I can put you back in the ball if that's better."


Somehow, that sounded worse. The idea of not being able to physically cling to Odette right now made her feel like she might collapse inward on herself.

"̵H̴n̵n̶n̵n̸g̸g̸g̵g̸g̶h̴h̴h̸h̶h̷.̴"̵


Odette just exhaled. She kept it controlled so she didn't lose her momentum. "Sure thing. You got it."


Enora effortlessly kept up with Odette, staying at a speed that allowed her to linger at her side. She'd occasionally sneak glances at Odile, becoming progressively more perplexed with each following look. Seeing her so beside herself was weird. Not unheard of, but really weird.

She had so many questions, but assuming she was only going to get mere grunts in response, she felt it best to just focus on her breathing and pace.


Odette eventually slowed to a stop somewhere down the cove, allowing her head to hang to give herself a break. As she breathed, she allowed herself to look around, taking in the cove's shimmering sand, and the waves that lapped at the shore. It almost looked inviting enough for a swim. Almost.

As her heart rate slowed, her brain traveled back to the events of the morning. All the evidence, all the talking, all the levels of fucked up it was.

She furrowed her brow upon remembering the text she'd sent Laura. She hadn't gotten a response, which wasn't a big deal. However, she hadn't seen her anywhere all morning.

A very minute sense of dread creeped up her spine and threatened to give way into her stomach as she pulled out her phone. Would it even be worth it to text her again? Chances are she didn't even get the first message. Or maybe she did and she just didn't want to respond? Or maybe she did and wanted to respond and couldn't because she's also gone missing? Also, wasn't double texting somebody you just met bad?

"I hate communication," she grumbled as she unlocked her phone and pulled up their messaging thread.

Hey, hope this isn't creepy. Just making sure you didn't go missing too. Shit's fucking weird out here. Lmk.​

Straight, to the point, and no red tape. Blunt was sometimes best; she learned that from Clovis. She had to have heard that scream and at least had an inkling of an idea that something was wrong. Which meant this was okay. A friend looking out for a friend, right? She guessed they were friends, or at least acquaintances that decided to keep each other in the know. That was pretty friendly. And for all she knew, they weren't even going through.

She sent the message before she would allow it to give her a headache. [[ @unrepentantAuthor]]

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion's last trip to the cove wasn't exactly relaxing, but the spot itself was lovely. Even if doing something helpful to the search would be better, he was feeling too tired and burned out to bother.

So, he opted from something nicer. The cove had a soul-healing effect, or perhaps that was just from watching Hazel enjoying the water. He watched from the shade of a tree on the shoreline, sipping away at an iced tea he'd brought in hopes the caffeine would do him some good.

Unpleasant questions still itched at the back of his mind, but for the most part, he was at ease.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Gladion lead the group from the Cafe towards the cove, feeling like perhaps this had become a larger affair than was really necessary.

Maybe he should've been more discreet, but it was too late for that now. Which, in turn, meant there was some pressure on him to turn up actual results. He just had to cross his fingers and hope for a Manaphy encounter. And to hope that the Manaphy in question actually had something useful to offer, which really was an even bigger if in his mind than than the sighting itself.

"So..." Gladion scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "This is the spot, I guess..."

Hazel waved a talon at the ocean. [Hello! Are you here?]

 

[Flyg0n]

At dawn the so called "peace" of the previous day was shattered by the sounds of a scuffle...!

It was enough to draw many running, despite the early hour. But it seemed anyone who came may have been too late...

---

The next time Nate woke, Mightyena was there, and when he fell over trying to climb out of the bed, a nurse appeared--a human nurse who explained all the bullshit that had been going on recently. At least as much as she understood it. As much as anybody could.

After that, Nate was left alone with Mightyena and his thoughts and a hell of a lot of painkillers, which made it a bit hard to figure. But he didn't need to be at is quickest to recognize the truth: "We gotta get outta here."

Mightyena raised her head, then rose all the way from where she'd been keeping vigil by the door. She came up alongside the bed, where Nate could work clumsy fingers through the fur atop her head. 'I know you don't like it," he said. "The girl and all. But things are just way too fucking crazy around here. I mean, somebody got fucking shot." Yes, it had been the guy trying to murder people, but Nate had no inclination to stick around and find out just how many murder attempts it took for them to finally lock Knife Guy up.

Mightyena made a low, unhappy noise, and Nate went back to stroking her fur. "It's too dangerous," he said. "This shit is way over our heads. What we gotta do is get outta here, and..." And? When a multidimensional friendship festival went to hell, with a side of mythical pokémon, who did you call? "The first thing is to get out of here," Nate said firmly. "After that, we'll... figure it out.

Mightyena made another sad noise, but she didn't object, not until Nate actually started climbing out of the bed. "Oh, come on, I've bounced from enough hospitals before. Ain't a bit deal," Nate said with a laugh that turned into a cough.

He almost made it to the door--almost--without stumbling, and then Mightyena had to catch him so he could catch the wall. His whole left side was on fire, but Nate staggered forward again, and they were moving. Out of here. That was all that mattered.

It was nearly dawn, he thought, once they'd emerged into the island's night. Shit. At the pace he was going, they wouldn't... But they'd try. Try to make it back to the cove, the one legendary they knew for sure was here. And see where that took them. Then back to the village, find the person with the teleporter, get the fuck out of here. Nate couldn't feel himself put one foot in front of the other, but he could smell the crisp morning air and here the weird rustles and cries from the underbrush as the island started to wake.

Mightyena stuck close by his side, supporting him the whole way. Now and again she put her nose down, checking their path, gently directing Nate towards the cove. Just a sniff here or there, enough to keep them on track.

Until she smelled something familiar.

Mightyena's head snapped up, deep-throated growl rumbling out of her. Nate stiffened, then had to steady himself against her. "What? What is--?"

A great white burst of light seared away the predawn dark, and Nate yelled, falling to his knees, his vision a mess of blazing afterimages. "Mightyena!"

He could hear her growling, paws hammering the earth. He couldn't see for shit, nothing but shifting light and shadow and dancing floaters. Something settled heavy over him, and he was... tired. So tired. He'd been so tired before, and now...

Had to stay awake. "Mightyena," he croaked. He heard the fizz of some kind of energy attack, more growling. Had to stay awake. Had to.

Everything had gone black. Eyes closed. Nate struggled, made an immense effort. Opened them again to darkness and nonsense patterns. He reached for Mightyena's pokéball. Had to stay awake. Had to.... how was he so tired?

His fingers brushed the smooth plastic of the pokéball. Awake... awake

And this time when he closed his eyes, the darkness was complete. There was the faint sense of motion, of going away... and then nothing.
(Big thank you to Negrek for the flavor! )

---

And in the midst of that, the islands population now lowered by 2, a single terrible cry. A strangled noise of perhaps shock and despair...? Not from the man and his Mightyena, but another figure, standing some yards away. A nervous gangly one accompanied by a familiar golden rock pokemon... Hayes looking distressed, rubbing frantically at his eyes.

 

[MintyMimix]

One of the constables went missing, the host's Pokémon were poisoned, and another pair was taken from them. Moreover, as Steven's nightly excursion proved, they were equally as probable of targets as any other. Time was not on their side, and they couldn't afford to waste a single moment of it lollygagging.

Which why is when Hazel had asked Violet if they could meet with Manaphy again, all she was met with a judgmental brow raise. They had already tried swapping before and it failed, what further insight could they provide? If anything, they were better off looking for that Jirachi or Celebi to see if they could use their powers to provide a better perspective, or stopping the ordeal altogether.

Her glare was met with beady, cat-like teary eyes as Hazel clasped her claws together, pleading. They challenged one another for what felt like a full minute before Hazel let out a soft cry, much like a kitten asking for attention. Violet's eyes moved away in defeat. Placing her fingers on her forehead and letting out a sigh, the trainer asked, "Okay, what did you want to talk to Manaphy about then?"

[Another swap. I... want to talk to the other Hazel again, face-to-face. I have some burning questions about what happened last time.]

Violet felt compelled to object on principle, but paused as she opened her mouth. Her eyes squinted as she thought about her own experience — that strange sense of déjà vu and those memories that she gained that contradicted everything she knew to be what she had experienced since her departure from her time period. The second "life" that she somehow had yet did not have... one that only came about when she had swapped with Hazel.

Clicking her tongue, Violet nodded her head and agreed. "Alright... let us embark, then. But please do not dawdle; ask what you must, and then we shall investigate immediately after, agreed?"

Hazel nodded her head excitedly before putting her mouth in an "o" shape and nodding a bit more calmly. She moved to her phone as she texted Gladion. They had planned for it two days ago, but then there was that whole meetup, wasn't there? She needed to make sure he was still on board with the idea.

The pair walked over to the cove as Violet cleared her throat. "Oh, Prince of the Sea..." she began, placing a fist in front of her chest as she went down on one knee in honor, "We beseech thee: we seek thine wisdom and thine strength." Her voice projected throughout despite being at a lower pitch than usual. Her tone held a well-rehearsed reverence — one that she had gained more than enough practice for when giving praise to the King of Bountiful Harvests in her time period. "May we offer our own insight and gratitude as recompense for this request, so that thou may grace us with thine presence, oh mythical one?"

@Flyg0n