Open Tides Under Siege

[Mai]

So, she wanted to know what happened. I could tell her, she considered. Or, I could recruit her then tell her. Or, I could see what she's on about and then react accordingly. "Oh, that's quite interesting. Could you perhaps point me in the direction of said noble, or is it important you tell them yourself? I was in the meeting, myself... honestly, if you could give me a name that would be helpful. Anyone could come in and say that, you see. I'm sure you understand."

Looking at the turtle critically, she tried to decide whether she was safe or not. Shall I trust you? Or maybe just slide away from the talk of information? "I'm certain I can help you. I'd just prefer to know exactly who I'm assisting, you see." No need to help Angel, that's certain. "There's no need to approach someone else--if you don't have a good enough reason then you simply won't know. Whoever you're a messenger for can simply talk to myself; I'm sure to know them if they're important." Will she try to fool me, or will the name that comes out of her mouth be a known one?

 

[Exo-Raikou]

Takida's eyes narrowed, but other than that, her expression barely changed at all. Well, she'd gotten the questions that she was expecting; now it was time for the counter-movement. "If I tell you the name of the noble that sent me, how do I know that you're not going to use that information to try and eliminate that noble, or one of the allied nobles that are above this one? Everyone knows at this point that the nobles are growing paranoid about what's about to happen to them - about a week ago, I received an assignment request from a noble that was so paranoid about being followed that I had to work my way through six different messengers just so I could learn what the specific assignment was." That was in fact true, and it wasn't exactly Takida's fondest memory, "the eyes and ears of the nobles are everywhere, Beauty, so you'll forgive me if I refrain from disclosing the name of my employer."

With any luck, that would encourage the Gorebyss to tell Takida what she needed to know. Of course, the Carracosta's next move would depend on the meeting, but she had a feeling that either way, she would go with the side of nobility that took the most damage during the meeting. After all, it would serve no purpose if one of the factions was destroyed by the conflict. To take down the kingdom, every last faction had to be on equal footing every step of the way. That would make things so much more simple.

 

[Comatoad]

The shattered furniture and other belongings of the Gorebyss fell against the growing pile of trash and sent splinters slowly gliding through the air water. A leg of a chair gave way due to the contact of Beauty's abandoned trash causing a theatrical sequence of further collisions of garbage stored in the pile till it fell over.

The glistening scales of Alabasters tail fell victim to the pile as many years of trash fell onto it. The contact sent chills up to the back of his neck having never been challenged on his own territory for quite some time. His head rose with aggravation and fury already filling his crimson eyes.

He writhed out of his slumber and swiftly made his way to the source of his irritation. The pile had grown tremendously without his recollection of it having been there in the first place and this struck at his pride. How dare those Pokemon dump their waste and debris on his kingdom!

Alabaster's fangs clicked before a roar erupted from his throat. They would pay!

"Err... ruuugh...arghhhh!!!!!"

The Gyarados thrashed at the trash and swam through it towards the city of light he had never dared to enter... not till now.

The speed at which his snake like body carried him brought him to the scene rather quickly allowing his roaring voice to echo as he drew near.

 

[Spatz]

~Phish


Mere houses away from home, Phish stopped, certain that he had heard something. Phish stilled himself and raised his head, listening attentively for that out of place sound. Suddenly it came again, louder, and closer. Another time, now Phish could make out what it was. It was roaring, the angry roars of some forgotten being. And it was drawing closer to the city. Turning 'heel', Phish made a mad dash, returning to the palace. He knew thy whatever this was it was not good, and that his daughter would have to wait for the safety of the city.

Phish's headlong swim, one of the few tines he did, as he save the use of his tail swimming for dire situations, took him quickly back to the palace. There he saw Lord Claudio. "Hopefully the Lord heard that, because if he didn't that means it's closer to my home than the palace. Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap!" Phish thought to himself as he continued to make his way to the lord.

 

[Storm Earth and Fire]

"Well, alright.", Claudio told both the commander and his late uncle's nurse, "Fare thee well, Commander Phish. Reiki, if you'll just follow me to the office, we can discuss whatever issue you've got in there."

Claudio then turned around and swam down a corridor and through a doorway on the left side. He took his seat behind the desk and began to think about what the nurse could possibly want to discuss.

Actually, now I have to wonder if she would know anything about how the last king would've wanted the succession to happen., he thought.

 

[Mai]

She avoided the question once more. Mirroring Takida's eye motions with her own annoyed glare, Beauty considered whether just telling the yellow carracosta would be worth it. She's alternatively colored and could be affiliated with Angel, and she has given me little to no concrete information... yet I could make her my own with patience. Would I want a person such as her, though? I bet she would change sides a moment's notice, and I doubt it is a client she is planning to serve with her words. If I had to hazard a guess she is probably out for the death of me; if only because it would improve the life of her. I doubt she would be a good employee. Her decision was made; she would not trust the turtle. And therefore she couldn't think of a reason to coat her words in political kindness. She would not choose Rafael anyway, if she knew. Spite was a common and simple thing, one of the many things everyone had in some doses. This aquatic was full of it.

"I see you're a sly one, Carracosta." This was neither a compliment nor an insult, just a statement of fact on her part. "Whether you are serving a noble or not- and I have a feeling you are only out for yourself- I have no reason to trust your claim. You have provided me with no information on your part, and what happened there was a confidential discussion. If neither you nor your clientele were of high enough ranking to go to the gathering then it is in no way appropriate to give you the details of said meeting privately. I have no reason to hide; because it seems you take pride in your anonymity I shall prove it to you myself. As I told you before, I am Beauty; daughter of the king and assistant to Rafael in his venture to gain the throne. I am the youngest, however not by too far of an age difference. I have no reason to eliminate anyone, and even if I did I would not do such an act." Rising up slightly and displaying pridefully her gained height over the older creature, she continued her speech with an air of degration. "Would you truly think that I would risk being discovered? I have nothing to hide, Carracosta; it seems that you never even gave me your name. Therefore I do not think you are ready or trustworthy enough to hear of the meeting. Goodbye." Swimming away calmly, she heard a large roar come from the city that she was about to depart. Well, what is this?

A large, clearly angry serpent-like pokemon was rampaging throughout the city. A gyarados, obviously. Both distressed and annoyed, she decided to act calm and encourage that quality in others. What's caused this? She wondered. Hopefully I can blame this act on Angel; at the very least it better not come back to me.

Approaching the terror with a polite expression, she put forth her statement forcefully and evenly. "You cannot cause such disruption in the city. I do not know what you are upset about, but we may easily discuss this privately. Of course, I am assuming this is because of an issue with the government? Either way, you must cease this act immediately."

 

[Comatoad]

Alabaster was thrashing against the buildings and sending violent shock waves (Dragon Rage) towards any and all in his path. He was ready to demolish the palace when a smaller serpent like creature stood in his tracks. The Gyarados came to an abrupt stop and lashed his tail about furiously at the ground.

"No talking!" he snapped, his large mouth looming over her. "Don't you talk to me about that government nonsense, you petite worm!"

In the depths of his spirit he wanted to slay Beauty however, at this moment he felt somewhat merciful. He couldn't be sure if it was because of the frail stature of the creature speaking or... it's sex. Be it he were on his turf in the dispute with the Gorebyss he wouldn't have given her a moment to swish her tail, but on foreign grounds he knew not of the rules. His clan only ever warned against tangling duties with them, not who was bait and who was royal.

Alabaster hissed as he felt his blood boil, the thinking he had somehow managed to do was getting him more crabby with every passing second.

 

[Spatz]

~Phish

Phish skid a turn, Clacking his right claw loudly, summoning numerous palace guards and soldiers to his side as he turned towards the now visible threat, an angered Gyarados. Phish's haste allowed him to arrive at Beauty's side in almost no time. She was addressing the Gyarados, who seemed somewhat flustered on top of his current anger.

"Milady, I must insist you allow me to handle the situation, there us no reason to potentially put yourself in harms way." Phish said to Beauty in a militaristic tone. "I will handle our, visitor as politely as I can." Phish motioned to two Poliwhirl soldiers to escort her back.

 

[Vipera Magnifica]

Reiki took a seat across from the lapras. Her gem then began to glow, and she released a wave of psychic energy that seemed to fill the room. Her gem then returned to normal and the purplish glow dissipated. “I was just checking to see if we are alone. What I am about to tell you is to be a secret between you and I. They are already after me, and I wouldn’t want to put your life at risk as well.”

“As you may have speculated, this concerns the succession crisis. But it is solely bad news.” Reiki paused and scanned the room once more. “The late king, my patient (and my beloved, she thought to herself), had his fair share of enemies. But what I recently discovered is that he was… poisoned.” Reiki’s gem was flickering nervously as it had done at the chemist’s lab. “He was poisoned gradually over time… with mercury.”

“Most people did not know that his majesty had back problems. He took painkillers daily to numb the pain. But… pain wasn’t the only thing the drug was killing. The mercury poisoning led to all kinds of health problems, physically and mentally. In the end, the drug had taken away his sanity.”

“Now, I don’t know if the poisoner was an enemy of the state, or… worse” Reiki didn’t want to suggest that maybe one of the king’s sons may have poisoned him, but from the look in Claudio’s eyes, she knew that he understood the implication. “But at any rate, we need to find out who did it. It may lead us to an answer to the question of succession.” Reiki was watching the lapras closely. “You will help me, won’t you?”

 

[Mad MOAI]

Tur continued his search along the seafloor, walking on his pectoral fins and feeling for anything that might be a strange rock or shiny piece of metal. The sand was soft beneath his tough scales, and the seagrass tickled his underside. But he didn't laugh; his narrowed eyes were concentrated more closely on the grit beneath his fins. Nothing so far. But that was all right. Taking a half-swim, half-walk was always nice. He especially liked how the seemingly boring shade of blue surrounding everything in the distance was never the same twice.

As he continued, he only noticed that he was heading in the direction of the palace when he saw the shape looming above him probably a quarter of a kilometer away. It wasn't that far; he could half-swim, half-walk there if he wanted. He might want to take a look, even if relationships were tight and everyone on the inside was probably in a bad mood. As long as he didn't get too deeply involved in anything political, he was fine.

Tur continued toward the palace when he heard conversation from somewhere ahead of him. He supported himself on the water rather than his pectoral fins and gained some altitude to get a better look. A rather heated conversation appeared to be taking place between a large turtle-like Pokemon known as Carracosta and the royal Gorebyss known as Beauty. Just as the Relicanth noticed this, though, Beauty swam off to check on the noise that was coming from behind Tur, which he had also just noticed. All of these years on his scales must be catching up with him if he was getting this slow-witted.

Tur glanced at the strangely colored Carracosta. She looked a bit grumpy, if anything, and at first Tur considered leaving her alone. But somehow she didn't look like the type to kill without warning. The ancient fish hadn't heard anything of the conversation, but at this point it didn't really matter.

"Something wrong?" he asked the Carracosta as he approached, slowly as not to alarm her even more. Maybe it had just been a squabble between the two. Even so, this Carracosta didn't appear to be related to the pulchritudinous Beauty. It might just be a troublemaker, but even so he wanted to speak with the turtle.

 

[Exo-Raikou]

Takida smiled grimly at the Relicanth's words. Here she had a second chance to gain entry to the castle, and she wasn't about to go and throw it away - not by any stretch of the imagination. Of course, in this case she had to take a chance, and a big one. If it worked, she'd be in the perfect position. If it failed... she was going to end up in a world of hurt.

"My plight is a rather simple one, actually," she said, ever so calmly, "I was asked to come here by..." she took a quick look around to make sure nobody else could hear what she was about to say, and then dropped her voice, "one of Angel's messengers. Apparently, some kind of meeting went down recently, and I was supposed to receive some kind of assignment based on what transpired in the meeting. Ideally, I could have had someone explain that meeting's details, but..." she offhandedly waved a fin in the direction that the Gorebyss had swum, "she seemed very suspicious of my actions. For all I know, she could be anti-Angel, and if I revealed I was working for him... well, the results wouldn't have been pretty. So right now, I'm just thinking of a means to get in." She retained that grim smile, "lucky for me, that Gyarados seems to be distracting 'Beauty' so at least I have that going for me."

 

[NightGhost]

Dawn swam around in the area above Claudio's office.

 

[Mad MOAI]

Tur remained silent as the Carracosta explained the situation. It sounded like some more of the succession nonsense, which at first made him want to swim away. But that would be rude, wouldn't it? He might as well help this turtle out. It sounded like she was in a bit of a grind - trying to receive an assignment from one of the rivals Angel, even though she had no idea how to get in to the Kingdra. Tur thought over this for a moment. He had no idea what the meeting might have been about, but it seemed important. Hopefully it wasn't a huge debate about the succession crisis again, but knowing the current situation, it probably was. And if it was, there was a small chance that the Carracosta's assignment was to hunt someone down, if Angel had gotten riled up during the meeting. (Knowing his temper and cruelty, he probably had.) He couldn't let this crisis resort to violence, but at the same time, he couldn't turn down this Carracosta. Or, an alternative, he could just tell the truth: he had no idea how to get in. Despite how long he had lived, Tur was nobody special, and he'd never been called into the castle for anything. Even if he had entered the palace at one point, it was a long time ago, and he had forgotten how to do it. This Carracosta was probably trying to get in some way under the front door, since it was probably guarded.

"I've never been inside the castle myself," Tur said slowly, but brightly, "at least not that I can remember. Even so I doubt there's only one entrance." He glanced towards the structure. "They have to have some sort of emergency exit somewhere, don't they? Maybe towards the bottom..." He flicked his fins to keep his altitude.

 

[Storm Earth and Fire]

"So that's why he was so mad, was it?", Claudio said, "It doesn't matter who they are, anyone who poisons the king is an enemy of the state. Unfortunately, I wouldn't know enough about the situation here to think of any suspects."

"Alright, I'll help you to the extent that I can, but," Claudio answered cautiously, "they are after you? Who are they?"

 

[Vipera Magnifica]

"Well, I don't know who they are, but they want me dead. When I returned home earlier today, I found my house had been ransacked. They were looking for me." Reiki's gem was restless again, "I know too much now."

Reiki straightened up as she thought of an idea, "It's possible that the octillery that ran the tests for me was an insider to the murder." It makes perfect sense, she thought. He was probably the murderer's chemical supplier. "No one else knew about the test. He would have informed his boss on my snooping around, and he or she came looking for me."

Reiki turned to look at the lapras, "I think we need to pay him a visit."

 

[Mai]

"Don't you talk to me about that government nonsense, you petite worm!"

Beauty almost exploded at that. Her rage only just barely contained, leaving her once again a volatile bomb of suppressed emotions. He must pay now. I am not a worm; I am a gorebyss and that is that. I will do this calmly. And yet, she could not truly think of any calm words. Just ones filled with anger and hate, ones that would spoil her image in the public's eyes. If I cannot handle this properly... I cannot end up like Demon.

It was because of this that she was did not say anything when Commander Phish arrived. Still looking at the gyarados blankly, she allowed herself to be led away without a comment. I suppose if Phish insists... She swam off from the guards immediately after they were suffiently entertained, however. Perhaps I shall go to... my village. It might be calming, doing such mundane tasks. It may clear my head. She was still upset, still empty from the loss of... her dignity at the meeting? Rafael's, perhaps? Did he lose dignity there? Could she still win? The answer was unknown to her, and so was her path once she left the scene.

((... This is a terrible post. I really don't feel like writing right now.))

 

[Spatz]

~Phish

Phish sighs inwardly slightly as Beauty is escorted away. He then turns to the furious interloper, and puts on a militaristically calm expression, addressing the Gyarados with caution.

"Sir, I must request that you cease and desist with your destructive actions, as you are creating unneeded and unwanted damage to public and private property, and are putting innocent lives at risk. If you have a problem, please feel free to tell me what it is, but I cannot allow this wanton destruction to continue." Phish was standing directly in front of the Gyarados at this point, with his men behind him, and along the sides of the unwelcome visitor.

 

[Coroxn]

Angel never got a reply. The Buizel just swam away, as if scared by the complexity of the whole thing. No matter, he thought. It was a long shot, anyhow. Suddenly, he heard a bestial roar, and the sound of smashing coming from the city. He swam to his window and flicked the shutter clasps open with his tail, before smacking them open. What he saw made his blood boil. A Gyarados was rampaging and destroying the city. His city. Immediately, Angel shot out the window, body writhing as he propelled himself through the water. Something caught his eye, however;a distinctly yellow Carracosta. Takida, the mercenary, he thought. He altered his course slightly, and as he swam by her, called out "Ah, Takida, I presume? We must talk later, but I have urgent business to attend to first. You understand".

He fired himself towards the commotion, and noticed his sister. He gave her only a nod as he sped past. He found the commander, equipped with his men, standing their ground against the Gyrados. It was several times his size, and Angel couldn't help feel a wave of respect going to them all. He heard the last of his speech:"-have a problem, please feel free to tell me what it is, but I cannot allow this wanton destruction to continue." Phish was making a stand against this creature, and all that Angel could think of doing was what came naturally-to help.

"Indeed!" Angel cried, swimming towards the beast. "Cease these actions immediately, the crown orders it. This is your last chance for a peaceful resolution in the scenario. Any more violence, and we will take the appropriate action. Do you hear me?" Fear brewed inside him, but he kept his face cold. It wasn't as if emotions truly bypassed his scars, anyhow. Only those who knew him well could tell the difference between his smile and his glare. To all others, he appeared a monster, a demon. For all the disadvantages, this was a time where it could be considered fortunate, for he may shock and awe the Gyarados into ceasing this violent travesty against what was soon to be his kingdom. And if it does come to violence, he thought, clenching his tail. I'll show him the advantages of spending all day in the training grounds, instead of the courtroom.

 

[Comatoad]

The continued orders made the Gyrarados flare his nostrils more intensely. The whiskers dangling from his face seemed to be the only part of his body not trembling with rage. The growing crowd made Alabaster anxious and soon a more superior creature advanced on him, threatening to take action.

Angel was noticeably strong and confident despite the masked fear. Alabaster narrowed his eyes and only half listened understanding that they would be upon him given he continued to lashing out on their home. Fair enough...?

Alabaster growled lowly and made a simple whisk of his tail. A Twister had formed in a spiteful gesture to make the men of Phish back off while causing yet another building to dent and crumble. His expression remained an indifferent scowl, never ceasing to move his eyes off of the bold Pokemon before him.

 

[Spatz]

~Phish

Phish noticed Angel had arrived not long after Beauty left, and began taking a stance similar to that of Phish's, willing to resolve this with words, but showing that he wasn't afraid to take action if required. Phish watched as the Gyarados kept himself focused upon the two of them, at least visually, Phish assumed that he might not have been the most talkative, or possibly even brightest fish in the sea. The next action that the Gyarados came as no surprise, he was feeling trapped, and was wanting to make the soldiers back off a bit, but the damage to the building that incurred is what got Phish. In a slow, calm tone Phish once again adressed the leviathan,

"I would greatly appreciate it if you would refrain from doing that..." At thus point Phish was slowly clacking his claws, and the soldiers that could hear had expressions of nervousness upon their faces. They knew that this meant that Phish was growing fed up, and that this was the last chance whoever was making him feel this way had to stop whatever it was they were doing before he retaliated. "Now. If you could please explain as to why you are doing this, that would be greatly appreciated." Each of Phish's words were expressed in a slow unwavering tone, another hint to his current mood.