Frontier Town Grand Station Construction Site

[Hap]

Ridley nodded along as his companions talked. He glanced back at the building behind him when Jaak indicated it, noting the pair of murkrow perched there.

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Odette pass something to Wes and, perennially nosy, took a few steps closer and peered at the note. He already knew about the trafficking from the gala, but - Terminal Two? Experiments? That was new and horrifying information, and he made a mental note to ask Odette for more details about it later.

"It definitely sounds like we should take a look at Blaguarro," he suggested. "Maybe when we get back to the Haus we can see about getting a group together for a trip."

 

[HelloYellow17]

"Hey," she whispered to him under the cover of the other conversations happening.

Holy hell. Wes hadn’t been prepared in the least for Odette to suddenly whisper in his ear, but at least he managed to not jump this time. He shot her a look that probably looked more accusatory than he meant to, but his expression changed to positively baffled when she handed him a note.

Found out Ignutso is trafficking 'mon here. Shipping them out to and around Blaguarro. There's a mysterious establishment called "Terminal Two" and some talk of "experiments" around it, too. Certain that and these "Witching Beasts" might be related. Give note back when done, thanks -O

What.

The icy horror that took hold of Wes’s chest gradually melted into sweltering anger as the words sank in. Just when he thought the damn mayor couldn’t possibly sink any lower…gods, what he wouldn’t give for another opportunity to punch that prick’s lights out.

Wes passed the note back to Odette with a grateful nod. He hadn’t expected such an unprompted gesture from her, but he greatly appreciated being filled in. Perhaps she was more of a team player than he had initially assumed.

He noticed Ridley take a peek at the note and Wes didn’t bother to try to hide it from him—he should be filled in, too, anyway. Then when Ridley said exactly what Wes was thinking, he nodded in agreement.

“Whatever’s going on over there, it warrants being looked into, I think,” he said.

 

[Inkedust]

"Well, I gotta tell these guys what's up with the rail," Jaak explained, pointing at Garganacl only to realised that they'd already walked away. "And that includes the whole line. Kind of a one-two punch with the Blaguarro thing, you know? As for who did it... Dunno. Even the boss has no clue, I'm just telling you what he told me. Might've just been a reckless conductor for all I know."

At Kimiko's question, he tapped his chin with a claw. "All sorts of stuff from what I recall. Fair few construction supplies, food from the town, and other random trinkets like clothes or notebooks. Really started to pick up 'round a couple of months ago. Now for those rumours..."

Jaak started to babble on about several rumours but each and every one seemed menial and entirely disconnected from the happenings in Blaguarro. The only real threat being that of boredom.

 

[Shadow Serenity]

At Kimiko's question, he tapped his chin with a claw. "All sorts of stuff from what I recall. Fair few construction supplies, food from the town, and other random trinkets like clothes or notebooks. Really started to pick up 'round a couple of months ago. Now for those rumours..."

As Jaak started listing off items and filling them in on rumors, Kimiko bowed her head slightly, lost in thought as she absorbed the information.

If she were looking for links between the caravans and stolen items, then the food and clothing made a degree of sense. If 'mon were being experimented on, they'd need to be fed to be kept alive, presumably, and replacement clothing was a reasonable assumption, too. As would notebooks... it didn't seem like anywhere in this region was technologically advanced enough for any kind of computer system. (Do porygon exist here? she wondered tangentially.) They'd need a lot of space to record... whatever they were doing.

The construction supplies were a little harder to pin down - her first thought was those large metal beams, but that was ridiculous. Jaak probably meant like, hammers and nails, tools like that. Smaller things.

Also, the lab would need to explain the need for all the additional food and supplies for all the incoming 'mon, assuming this was all above board. So the need to steal them implied that it wasn't.

Of course, this was all assuming these two events were actually related in the first place.

Well, at least the rest of the rumors didn't sound like anything to be genuinely concerned about.

As others started voicing their opinions on an investigation of Blaguarro, Kimiko nodded along. "A smaller group might be better," she cautioned. "Between the residents in Blaguarro being on edge over these beasts lurking about - who some of our group have already been mistaken for, apparently - and the mayor in Frontier getting his ass kicked, we probably want to stay incognito, if you get my meaning. The more strangers wandering around asking questions, the more likely they are to draw the eyes of the very people we're looking for."

 

[HelloYellow17]

“Surely not too small, though,” Wes countered to the reptilian mon. Who was she, anyway? “I mean, you saw how many of us were needed to fend off Sir Ignorant. If we don’t have a strong enough group, we’ll be playing right into whoever’s hands.” Or paws, he supposed. Hooves. Whatever.

Whatever was happening, it seemed to be all connected and was now causing quite the domino effect. Wes couldn’t help but feel the tiniest tinge of sheepish guilt at Jaak’s mention of stolen clothes. His group might have played a tiny role there…but the thievery had been happening for a while, even before their arrival, so surely they weren’t responsible for the panic. Stealing clothes on their way out of town probably hadn’t helped, though. Oops.

 

[Shadow Serenity]

“Surely not too small, though,” Wes countered to the reptilian mon. Who was she, anyway? “I mean, you saw how many of us were needed to fend off Sir Ignorant. If we don’t have a strong enough group, we’ll be playing right into whoever’s hands.” Or paws, he supposed. Hooves. Whatever.

"We'd only be going in to get intel, not to bust up the entire operation," Kimiko replied. Was that really what he was expecting? To just go in there and blow the place up or something? All they knew for certain was that the caravans were headed in that direction, not what was inside.

"The entire point would be to learn what's going on, while avoiding a confrontation. Because you're right, that wouldn't end well for any of us. A small group should be fine for that. Three or four 'mon total. Or like... six if you wanna split up and do a buddy system or something, I dunno... but now I'm just rambling."

 

[Sinderella]

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Odette pass something to Wes and, perennially nosy, took a few steps closer and peered at the note. He already knew about the trafficking from the gala, but - Terminal Two? Experiments? That was new and horrifying information, and he made a mental note to ask Odette for more details about it later.

Wes passed the note back to Odette with a grateful nod.

Odette returned Wes’s nod as she crumpled it up in her fist. Ridley taking a peek wasn’t lost on her, and she turned to give him a look that said “I’ll explain when I get the chance.”

"Between the residents in Blaguarro being on edge over these beasts lurking about - who some of our group have already been mistaken for, apparently - and the mayor in Frontier getting his ass kicked, we probably want to stay incognito, if you get my meaning. The more strangers wandering around asking questions, the more likely they are to draw the eyes of the very people we're looking for."

The snivy had been there, too, so she knew about the extra information. While she did agree with the sentiment of keeping low, there were ways to do it without compromising their firepower like that.

“Surely not too small, though,” Wes countered to the reptilian mon. Who was she, anyway? “I mean, you saw how many of us were needed to fend off Sir Ignorant. If we don’t have a strong enough group, we’ll be playing right into whoever’s hands.”

Blueball pretty much took the words out of her mouth, so she let him finish before chiming in.

“He’s right. So far we only have distant rumors and alleged reports and up-in-the-air hypotheticals. Call me paranoid, but something about this sounds scary. Even more scary than what was going on with the Fuckface,” she said. The two were connected, but again, not broadcasting that. “We can go in numbers so as long as we’re smart. But it would depend on who’s planning to go, and what the plan is.”

Thumbing her chin, she aimed her gaze at the ground. “I suggest…we go in shifts. Or groups. Our stealthiest members go in first, gather what they can, then perhaps those of us who are a little better at the physical bullying shit come up the rear as needed. That way we don’t have twenty of us stampeding in there, but we’re not showing up as a fucking skeleton crew against what is potentially very, very bad news.”

 

[UnknownUser55]

"Green's correct about keeping the group small, if we were to investigate Blaguarro." Eco agreed, tensing a little.

For some reason she couldn't discern, the more the Grubbin had thought about it, the more that she started to worry about the secrets behind these 'Witching Beasts'. If she had to guess, it was probably some sort of intuition she could not ward from her mind.

"Though, like what Doll said," she turned to Ridley. "This is probably worth saving for a more formal discussion."

 

[Hap]

"I'd think a small scouting party would work best to start," Ridley said. "We need more information before anything else; sending a larger group in expectation of a fight won't actually achieve anything if we don't know what's going on. We all started out pretty divided over what to do about Sonora and the Mayor, after all, and I doubt that would have happened if we'd had more information going into that."

 

[RJr3:2]

"Personally, I'd be more for waiting and being more informed before we act," Aige said from the side. "Not that I think anyone will change their mind, I just like being careful!"

"At least tell everyone before you go doing things," she added lightly.

 

[Butterfree]

Dave looked back and forth between the others as everyone apparently decided to just freely blab about plans to infiltrate the place right in front of fucking Jaak. Were they serious? Yeah, someone had to go investigate if this could be connected to the Pokémon trafficking thing - though really it probably shouldn't be them, who were still very much made of tissue paper - but Jaak could be connected to it too for all they knew, for fuck's sake.

Well, obviously trying to shut them up would just draw more attention to it. He wasn't sure how much he liked the sound of the whole derailment thing either, but at least that might not be super connected.

He listened warily to the planning as he nodded along to Jaak's inanity. Maybe he just wouldn't even fucking hear it.

 

[HelloYellow17]

Wes shifted and glanced at Jaak. Maybe it was best if they planned this somewhere a little more private…

“We can work out the details later, I’m sure,” he said a little hurriedly. “But we’ve probably taken up too much of Jaak’s time. Would hate to slow you down and all.”

 

[Inkedust]

Unfortunately for Dave, Jaak did seem to hear about their schemes as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"Well, who am I to question the work of heroes?" Jaak began. "If you lot ever need to get to Blaguarro for whatever reason, I can always give you lot a ride," Jaak said, gesturing to the station. "After I finish sortin' out a few things here. In the meantime though, I'm always happy to have a chat about you've been up to," he added with a grin.

 

[MintyMimix]

"Thank you kindly pardner," Ghaspius replied with the nod of his head. "We'll be sure to pay ya back in full with some fun stories, then." He winked as he turned to the others.

"I ain't sure what's got all y'all spooked and on edge 'bout this place, but don't let me stop ya from goin'. I'm curious 'bout those beasts myself, but I think I ought to at least let the others at the Haus know that the railway's a bit off-track for awhile." He tilted his head from side-to-side. "That won't be much of a problem, right?"

 

[Sinderella]

Odette also stole a glance at Jaak. Right. If she was looking to keep the details of Blaguarro under wraps, then maybe scheming in front of the locals also wasn’t smart. Clearly she’d gotten a tad too trusting.

Clearing her throat, she sniffled and rolled her shoulders. “I also only had two hours of sleep and downed three steel-type tranq-ing cocktails so I’m the village asshole today,” she said drily.

“Anyway. Sorry to run you down, sir.”

 

[Shadow Serenity]

Our stealthiest members go in first, gather what they can, then perhaps those of us who are a little better at the physical bullying shit come up the rear as needed.

Kimiko had been about to ask "Why does everyone think we're going to get jumped if we explore Blaguarro?", but then she noticed that Dave had gotten a look on his face for a moment, and that was all it took for everyone else to start shifting uncomfortably. There was something else to this, something more than a TV drama-style 'you look into this too much and bad things happen to you'. That's why they were planning, and why she figured small groups were safer! The hell was she missing here? There had to be something.

It wasn't lost on her that the only one who seemed to be just as curious was the bloody ghost-type.

Regardless, it seemed their time for discussion was over. Kimiko turned to Jaak. "Apologies for interrupting your work," she said with a small bow. She then retreated to the shaded spot she'd vacated earlier, though now she'd ended up with further questions rather than answers. So much for sorting her thoughts...

 

[Inkedust]

"Ah, it ain't a problem," Jaak assured. He nodded towards Ghaspius. "Don't see any reason not to. Anyway, you lot have a good one I'll be hanging around one of the local saloons during my off hours. Hopefully the stuff here's better than what you can find in Blaguarro," he added with a mutter.

He turned to face the direction where Garganacl had left. "Be seeing you!" he yelled before dashing off, likely to make yet another mess and ruckus of the town.

<><><>​

 

[Ambyssin]

Another work day had come and gone. The fatigue was still present, but not nearly as bad as before. Nova was making strides... bizarrely fast. Much as the null wanted to chalk it up to his unique circumstances, simple manual labor alone shouldn't have account for this. And yet, he pulled a Double Hit out of nowhere, using it to knock pegs into place with way less effort than usually needed.

More mysteries to pile on, Nova thought as he exited the construction site. Headache — Nova was still workshopping names for the mysterious voice. Things like Wireless and Fiber Optic were bound to fly over the heads of half the team, so they were already out. — did say something about a stronger connection through mystery dungeons. Did he dare risk venturing into one? Maybe Mhynt would join me. She's practically ex-military, too...

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Nova?"

The silver Meowth had developed quite a talent for approaching folks unseen. Not quite the same as Mhynt's Teleporting habit, but it may have had a similar effect on some 'mon.

"Sorry to bother you," said Laura. "Um. I'll be frank – I've been meaning to ask about your species – I just recently talked to Gladion about it, and now I'm kinda fixating a little. I'm not, uh, doing this for the paper or anything. Just as a team member. So... Are you finishing a shift, or about to start one?"

 

[Ambyssin]

If Nova was startled, he didn't show it. But he sure as hell missed the aura sensing RKS-Psychic provided him. At least he'd have sensed a "blind spot" approaching. Damn helmet and its lack of peripheral vision.

"You must not watch many shows or movies," Nova mused. "If you did, you'd already know every time a journo says some variation of 'off the record,' they're lying through their teeth."

That would've made for an awkward silence if Nova didn't immediately continue, "That's a joke, FYI. Galarians are supposed to like their humor as dry as their crisps." He glanced at his chitinous forelegs. "At least, they do where I'm from..."

Nova shuffled forward. Away from the railyard to signal he was leaving, not arriving.