Pokémon: Aftermath #3a - In the Thin Ice [IC]

[Commander]

{Flux and Drake}

Drake was a bit surprised seeing the woman completely unharmed, but he didn't question it at all. "Unless you happen to know where the others went, what other options do we have other than to head into Snowpoint. Seeing how well you handled yourself, I'm sure you have a pretty good idea how to get in without being stormed by acolytes. As much fun as the violence sounds, I'd rather save my energy for the conclaves."

[Felicity]

Adam was expecting to be sold out almost instantly, but the surprise of the Acolytes actions didn't shock him enough for him to not take advantage of the situation. He nodded, rolling with the fabrication. "It's fine, you caught us just before we set off to complete our mission. I have to go join up with my colleagues now to get back on track, goodbye." With that brief end to any conversation, Adam made his way to the exit, making sure to pace himself so as to not look to eager to escape. His heart was pounding though and he half wanted to run out of there. Once he got out, he sent Lockhart flying to search for the others as he made his way in the direction he thought they had gone.

[Jory]

Jory immediately scrambled to his feet, rising to take a combat stance near Carissa. As he looked out of the alleyway he couldn't really see anyone. Puzzled, he turned to Carissa. "What did you see out there?" he asked quietly. "Should I call out Shredder?"

[M_Cowher]

{Regice Chamber}

"So there is yet hope for the world..." Thoron said softly in awe of the ice pokemon, and in fact that Dawn's gaze had seemed to have overlooked a legendary pokemon. Thoron followed with the group behind the Regice, and was astonished by it's sudden disappearance. Thoron hesitated and tried to look through the newly opening door trying to see what lie beyond.

Edited December 19, 2014 by M_Cowher

[Flux]

{Flux, Drake, and Fria}

Flux smiled as Fria appeared on the treeline.

"You know, that was quite rude of you, disappearing on me like that," he said with a grin. "Nevertheless, I am glad to see you unharmed. Lead the way, snow guide."

He didn't show it, but he had been worried about her. Even with her experience, the odds were against her, but once again, she had surprised him. She really was something.

[DarkLight]

"Ah, w-wait! Don't go, Regice!" Miki called after the disappearing legendary in vain. She wanted to know more about this icy Pokemon before she has to face another terror of Dawn's (and possibly her death). With a disappointed pout, she turned to address Jon's warning. "Aww, come on, don't be like that. By the looks of it, Regice didn't seem to want to harm us even if it was under Dawn's control. He was even nice enough to lead us into Snowpoint City! That shows something right?"

Raito shivered as the Regice departed the group. Although his fur does insulate him to the cold better than a human's skin, Regice's natural ability to freeze everything around him is a lot to take even for a Pokemon. Once the air is a bit warmer, however, he shook himself to gather his bearings and walked through the door without any fear. He was used to scouting by now after all those years in hiding. He took in a deep breath of the cold air, relieved to be out in the open once again.

[Azeria]

It seemed this journey was 1 encounter with Large pokemon after another,shown by the Regice that had just left them inside Snowpoint City somewhere."Ok so,what were we supposed to do when we reached this place"Micheal asked looking around the cold temple area.

[Notus]

((Note: That's it, everyone is already in Snowpoint!))

Northern Group

Raito and the others would probably not believe in their good luck: They were now in the northern district of Snowpoint with a clear path to the center of the city. Not only that, the whole place looked deserted, with just a few buildings having their lights on. On the other hand, the sky already had started to clear up, hinting that they would soon lose the cover of darkness.

Jon nodded to Miki's comment, but his face showed he was still not buying that completely. It was strange that Dawn let Regice slip away like this. It should be with Candice, that was the most logical assumption... But as Miki pointed out, it let them into the city when it could have taken at least some of them down in the ruins. Assuming it was with Candice indeed, what exactly would she gain from letting them in? The answer didn't come to him, but all his instincts were telling the boy it was a trap. "Ok, but we shouldn't let our guard down. We have no time to waste, so we should split up and take the Gym and the Conclave at the same time." He said out loud so everyone would hear him. He wasn't about to let him and Kyte get caught just to wait for the others to catch up.

***

Flux, Fria & Drake

"Ooh sweety, did you get too worried? I promise I won't pull any of those again." Fria teased the professor while happily spinning around like a ballet dancer. No one would tell the situation they were in by looking at the guide's behavior. Then she looked back towards Drake. "Oh hey, I don't think I ever got your name mister. Anyway, you're right, let's just get in already and wait for the others."

The group started to walk away from the clearing and into the city... But it seemed this part of town simply wasn't patroled. They crossed the last piece of woods without anyone bothering them and entered the city with no problem at all. "Regarding the Conclaves, you don't need to worry too much: there's only one in this town actually. Candice was more than enough to prevent any inner fights in the city, and so we never needed too many church members in here. The Mother is a tough battler though, so don't lower your guard. First thing we gotta do is to find everybody and regroup anyway, else you guys will be wiped out against either her or Candice." She had just said that when a Adam appeared, hurriedly crossing the main street. "Oh hey, that's handy. HEY BOOOY! OVER HERE!" She shouted to grab his attention.

[krim]

"Vis and I will go for the gym. Having a two way type advantage is nice, although I'm not sure it matters much at this point...." Nemir said. "Candice..." he thought as he waited for the others responses. "Is there some good left in you after all...? Did you let us in? You were one of the last to break...." Vis made an odd sound in his thoughts...it almost sounded like a laugh. "You think so?...I don't buy it. It has to be a trap....even after letting us get this far into the city. She has something planned." "Yes...yes you're probably right.....it has to be..." He was still unsure though....she had left Mandarb alone. That had to mean something, didn't it?

[M_Cowher]

{Northern group}
​"Now just wait a minute, who is to say that we weren't lead here? I don't like it, its just too simple. Perhaps we should try to find any others that may have made it into the city, and maybe even set up a temporary base of operations. We cant just go running in and hope for the best. 'Am I overreacting at all?' Having contemplated his own sanity on many occasions Thoron was slow to trust anyone or anything, even himself.

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Rusgon shifted into a form similar to Thoron wearing the same clothes, but the vibrant blue shade of Rusgon's eyes didn't change at all.

Edited December 20, 2014 by M_Cowher

[DarkLight]

{Northern Group and Adam}

Miki sighed. She knew, deep down, that Jon's suspicion on the Regice make sense but she doesn't want to admit it. Miki prayed to Mew that the Ice Pokemon was genuinely trying to help them out of his own free will. As the group began discussing about their next course of action, she looked to her Jolteon, who was keeping an eye out for any signs of danger. The place seemed quiet though... A little too quiet, now that Miki thought about it.

"I-I agree with him," Miki said, giving a nod to Thoron. "F-Fria is our guide here, so she might be able to give us a few tips on the conclave and Candice before we actually take them on." She then addressed her partner. "Raito, find the others and report back once you find them."

Her Jolteon gave a soft cry before he sped off into the distance. His footsteps were barely heard since they are now absorbed by the snow below him. As Raito ran around the small city, he stopped once he found a familiar face. Wasn't he the one who tried to pick a fight before? Raito looked around to see if he could find a friendlier person, but there was none. With nobody else to turn to, he ran up towards Adam and barked a greeting.

[Felicity]

Adam nearly jumped up to Lockhart far in the Sky when Raito appeared and barked at him. He immediately shushed the pokemon before It clicked as to who he could have been. He knelt down, looking suspiciously at the Jolteon. "Are you with the others? You're trainer is from the Group, right?" He asked the energetic pokemon. Lockhart roosted on a building, keeping an eye on his master from afar

[DarkLight]

Raito gave another cry and pointed in the direction that Miki and the group is. Then, he twitched his ear towards the direction of Fria's voice. Is this "Adam" the guy he is with now? Raito gave a quizzical look to the teenage boy, expecting him to respond.

[Felicity]

Adam looked up, finally noticing the bellowing women as well. He typically didn't respond to "Boy", probably why he didn't respond. He rushed over to them. "Good, familiar faces. Jory and Carissa are nearby, we separated after entering the city using a hostage to force some Acolytes to help us. was on my way to find them." He reported briskly, not wanting to go into more details.

[Rielly987]

"This is Snowpoint then... It's quiet... Well whats the plan? The quicker we get done the quicker I get to map out these ruins." Pine didn't want to sound snobby but it was coming out that way. Although it would be a small cost to pay if they got thier mission done faster. The ruins down there almost killed him, but he'd be damned if he didn't explore them.

[Chevaleresse]

Sarcus came back around the corner with his hands up. "It's just me, guys. I got split up from everyone else; you're the only ones I could find."

[Jory]

Jory sighed in relief and put his hands down, shaking his head. "Sarcus, you need to actually let us know when you're nearby. That way we can make sure not to freak out like we just did, alright buddy?" He then walked into the street and began to look around, noticing it was nearing dawn. "We're going to need to find a place to catch up on some sleep before we take the city. Let's get on that and then make contact with the others."

[Notus]

Main Street Crew ((Fria, Jory, Adam, Carissa, Sarcus, Flux, Commander & Raito))

"Good to know you guys made it here in one piece! I hope nobody got hurt." Fria told Adam with a smile. Then she looked to Raito and recognized the Jolteon from earlier. "Heeey cutie, you are that girl's partner right? Is everyone else here too? That's great, could you please go get them? We should find everyone before dawn, else the citizens will start waking up, the patrols will get back and we will need to wait until next night to strike." Just as she said that, Jory appeared from a side alley. "Wow, lucky! Talk about good timing!" She exclaimed, waving her hand to him.

[Jory]

Jory looked over at the loud voice and sighed in relief as he saw it was Fria. He waved back and looked back at Carissa, waiting for her before moving to the rest of the group.

[DarkLight]

Raito eagerly complied with Fria's request after he ran a lap around them. He sped back to the way he came and jumped onto Miki as soon as he reached her.

"Good news?" Miki asked her hyper Pokemon. The Jolteon then lept out of her arms and pointed towards Fria's direction with his paw. He then walked a little ahead and waited for them to follow. "Got it, Raito. Lead the way." She then turned to address her fellow teammates. "We should follow him. Raito must have found some of our members nearby." Without waiting for their response, she began to follow her Eeveelution.

[SilverJakler]

"You got it, lead the way my spiky friend!" Seth and Giga started following behind Miki and Raito, hoping the Eevelution was on to something. They're luck seemed to be pretty good at the moment, especially since the Regice turned out to be legit. Maybe this luck hype train would never arrive at the station and just keep on chugging... a nice thought but it wouldn't hold up in the end. He knew it. But it was a nice thought.

[M_Cowher]

Thoron and Rusgon proceeded to follow the others rejoining with the others. Thoron made eye contact with Rusgon and felt the need to add​ "I never did get used to you being disguised as a human..." But Rusgon could see on Thoron's expression that he was still uneasy about how easily that they were lead into snowpoint.

[krim]

Nemir followed the others, not really paying attention and still lost in his thoughts.

[Notus]

Everyone

Fria opened a big smile as the whole group started to gather around her, Flux and Drake."Oh hey guys! Great to see you all arrived well, even though you did loose sight of me and sweety Flux here. Ah, no matter, it was my fault too and everyting ended just fine! How was your trip, did you enjoy the view? I know it was dark, but with all that snow falling the forest just gets more beautiful don't you think?"

Jon was rendered speechless for a second. What the... Ok, it was good to see everyone was here and they were at full strenght, but should they really be having this kind of chit-chat in the middle of the main street were anyone could see them? What was that guide thinking? That was when he snapped.

"I think that we should be heading for the Gym and the Conclave instead of stand here talking like everything was all right. What will we do if someone spots us here? It wil be a rain of acolytes, gym trainers... Even Candice herself could appear and get us unawares!"

At that, the snow guide turned her head towards him, unphazed by the boy's outburst. "Oh, you don't need to worry about that dear! You see, if Candice was up to anything against you..." She moved her hands to her head, taking out the thick ski glasses and hat that covered it. For the first time the squad could see their guide's very distinctive black twintails and those light brown eyes that smiled playfully along with her lips. "...she would already have done that. Welcome to my city everyone!"

((suuuurpriiiiise! XD))

[Tacos]

Carissa came from behind the corner and walked out, standing tall and confident next to Jory. Just because the two had fallen for each other, did not mean Carissa was going to take the backseat and play the scared little girl. She stood and watched as Fria revealed her true identity as Candice. Well it's not like it was a shocker, but I definitely couldn't predict it. The fact we all made it here shows that the leaders of Snowpoint weren't careful enough even with knowing the danger of the incoming threat. So it was obvious someone from us was on the inside. Carissa stepped forward and stuck out her hip, showing confidence and a little sass as she crossed her arms. "So, Candice, what made you want to join our side?"