Pokemon Umbral Charlotte's Sidequest, Act I

[Astral Harmony]

Armored Bishoujo: "The battle hasn't really started yet and you've got time to chat it out amongst yourselves or with the enemy. Also, this could help Menarker formulate a plan of attack with y'all."

Ray had separated briefly from the group to use his Inquiry Visor, and returned. "Called up Irene. We can leave it to her to pick up Lola, Harliette and Sam along with the rest of our injured and extract 'em back to HQ. Pierce can deal with Sam then. They should be here in a few minutes tops. Until then, grab a smoke or take a leak, whatever will help ease the tension."

It didn't take long at all for the Rig to catch up. Irene and Jenny popped out. "We'll get 'em out of here," Irene said as she opened the back doors. "C'mon, resupply and get back out there."
Ray gestured towards the Rig. "You heard the lady, grab yer peelz and get mobile."

Fortunately, Ray was not run over by a double decker bus for his blatant violation of Meme Code Article II, Section IV, Subsection C, Paragraph II.

"I hope Charlotte's not too pissed at us," Chizuru mused. "She's probably been waiting all this time."
"Only one way to find out," Ray said with a quick check of his weapons before taking point.

Meanwhile, at their destination...

"Are you mad?"

"Is that even a question?" A surprisingly quick response for such a dazed individual.

Sometimes Charlotte found her mind drifting away from the subtle domination, but when her captor spoke up, it snapped her right back into reality. Charlotte probably wasn't so much mad as she was exhausted. How could she be mad? She got to kill two of the biggest names on her bucket list.

"Look, I was completely broke and starving when I hooked up with those demon girls and I desperately needed money. If it's any consolation, I'll share some with you if we both manage to survive this somehow."

This woman was kind of strange. Her hair was a vivid orange and her eyes...well, 'eye' was a pale green. The other eye was covered by some kind of white wrappings...as well as most of the rest of her body. What was she pretending to be, some kind of mummy? She wasn't a Pokebrid of any kind, but her powers were clearly supernatural. Some of the wrappings had been transformed into a strange kind of drill, a drill that the woman was holding near Charlotte's neck.

Charlotte didn't have much to do while it was just the two of them, so she could only take stock of her situation. When she made it to the bottom of the Gauntlet's outer ring, she found that Moera was leading the entire enemy operation, helping out Team Rocket and the fledgling Harbingers of Ascension. And to add some tasty icing to the already flavorful cake, two other people that Charlotte wanted very dead were present as well. There was her ex-boyfriend Clive, clad in Harbinger robes with the features of a Mew Pokebrid, and Ursula, her mother, adorned with the cheap and gaudy raiments of a Team Rocket executive. Everything was almost a blur of action after that.

Clive and Ursula were both dead now, sprawled on the ground a few meters in front of Charlotte and her captor, their bodies bloody and their faces splashed with terror. But what about her own situation? They had removed her Inquiry Visor, but she knew the status of her Pokemon. They had been defeated in battle against Moera's ambush, but not killed. All she would need to do is find some items or, heaven forbid, maybe there was a Pokemon Center somewhere out here.

It was then that Moera reappeared, apparently having been out scouting this whole time. "Moeni's done with them," Moera said as she placed Charlotte's confiscated shotgun in Ursula's cold, dead hands. "I imagine they'll be here in several minutes after they've licked their wounds. Saw a lot of unfamiliar faces in that crowd. PATCA must be doing really well for itself. Or maybe they'll just take anyone in."
"Oh, they do."

Moera had changed much since the last time Charlotte kicked her ass back in Millenium House, and Moera had been kind enough to tell her why. After that third resounding defeat, Moera's body just couldn't hold up. The regeneration wasn't restoring her body like it should and her unparalleled psychic powers were ripping her body apart from the inside out. So her mother Moeni simply fashioned a new one for her and swapped her brain from the old body to the new one. She looked quite normal, except for the strange armor and the features that identified her as a Meloetta Pokebrid in Aria form. Charlotte would describe her as being about fourteen years old this time, with short pink hair and a rather large, frilly hairbow around the back. Apparently she was still in the 'pretty little princess' stage of her youth. Charlotte had seen other people with that armor before during the ambush, and figured it was the fashion of combat units from the Black Cradle. "You're probably wondering why I haven't tortured you to death," Moera told her prisoner.
"By this point I think we're all pretty sure of my immortality and immunity to Karma," Charlotte retorted.

"Honestly, I'm not stupid enough to forgive or forget the building grudge we have for each other. But, believe it or not, I have respect for you, Miss Beaufort."
"I don't," Charlotte interrupted her.
Moera seemed to ignore her. "I see the anger in your eyes, the rage in your heart, and the relentlessness in your attacks. If I didn't know any better, I'd say I was looking right into a mirror. And while I might very well take great pleasure in your slow, painful demise, I take no solace in robbing you of the revenge that you so voraciously crave. However, you did sort of bring our little operation to an epic fail back there. Killing the head Harbinger fanatic and the chief Team Rocket executive of Honmyr? It was our intention to ally ourselves with them for the sake of using them to distract PATCA from what us in Black Cradle and Adonova were doing, but with those two bodies, we've lost those advantages. Not that I particularly care. I rather enjoyed seeing how horrifically gruesome you were when you exacted your own brand of justice upon them. Tell me; just how many simultaneous orgasms did you experience when you tore them apart?"

"Pretty sure Clive never gave me an orgasm even when he was alive," Charlotte responded dryly. "I highly doubt you or mummy girl will be able to give me that sort of satisfaction either. I wonder what those two thought would happen? Maybe thoughts of revenge or a chance of clearing a bad apple off the family tree? I wonder what you think will happen Moera. You always come back to life right? Well next time you're up or down in the afterlife, ask 'em for me."
Moera frowned, then looked at the mummy girl. "Astarte, you told me your parents killed you, right? What did you feel?"
"Honestly, I didn't really think anything," the mummy girl replied. "I was sort of pissed that I could no longer just go back to shaking my ass at night clubs, but that was all. Anyways, Moera? Maybe you shouldn't be pissing her off."

"I'd be killing you even if I wasn't mad," Charlotte said, the lack of edge in her voice making her threat even more disturbing.
"Relax, Astarte, she's not going to be able to do much without her gun and her Pokemon," Moera sighed, then turned around. Charlotte could see them, too. PATCA was here.
"I pretty much entirely see myself as unstoppable. That's just a roadblock."
"You're not unstoppable yet," Moera replied softly. "But once we're done with your rescue party, we'll see about getting you there. Astarte, don't let her escape your grasp. You fail me and I'm killing you both."
"Meep," Astarte said.

"Warm greetings, you foolish fucks," Moera bowed politely when she believe she was in earshot of Ray and the others. "Tell me, was my mother a good host? She can't make tea worth a crap. And do not ask her to make you a grilled cheese. You will involuntarily learn Sludge Bomb."

And then, Moera snapped her fingers.

BGM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B54jN0PaUfQ

Suddenly, large plumes of smoke rapidly built up from Charlotte's flanks as Moera was very quickly reinforced. Charlotte didn't recognize any of them, since she hadn't seen them before. They were...a colorful cast, to be sure. A woman now stood with Moera who had a physically honed body with what looked like two cannons strapped to her powerful arms. Two platinum-blonde ninja, one an incredibly handsome male and the other a ridiculously curvaceous female, both armed with Pokemon. A young brunette girl armed with some kind of edged hoop and adorned in black armor that seemed to breathe and move on its own, with a raven-haired...man...woman? It was a really cute boy and one couldn't be sure as to whether it was really a him or a her. But he definitely wasn't human. A woman whose left arm was a Blastoise's water cannon and whose right arm was that of a Conkeldurr, toting a concrete column. And last but not least, some kind of slightly translucent platinum ooze with strange lights flowing along its mass. Charlotte could make out one or two weapons held inside of its body. Katana and whatnot.

There were also what one would consider to be rank and file infantry courtesy of Black Cradle, two heavily armed and armored mutants and two men clad in that same silvery armor Moera wore. And to top it all off, Moera closed her eyes and raised her open hands, which slowly and jerkily brought the slaughtered duo of Clive and Ursula staggering to their bloody feet. Clive's psychic powers activated while Ursula cocked Charlotte's stolen shotgun.

"Well, there's Madame Ursaring," When he wasn't being kind to women, Lucian also had a knack for pointing out the obvious. "She looks okay, but her Pokemon have all been downed."
"And correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that young girl in the black armor is Professor Ricewood's daughter, Myrie," Pendulum pointed out. "The Inquiry Visor says so, anyways."

Moera teleported back behind the rest of the force, taking up the role of Destroyer. Everybody else, including Myrie, were steadfast in the vanguard. "I see you've got quite a few new members in your entourage," Moera said, looking at Donovan and Hyacinth. "Allow me to introduce myself, the only way I know how."

Another powerful psychic surge and then Donovan and Hyacinth were seeing body doubles of themselves on the side of the enemy. Psyshades. Again. The two ninja armed themselves and deployed their Pokemon. Myrie, who had been disturbingly quiet this whole time, gave a brief nod. The androgynous person standing next to her advanced and was then devoured by his/her own shadow, becoming a creature that Pierce recognized immediately. The body and head of a panther with the feet of a large bird, wings of a giant bat, great stag antlers protruding from the head, and the tail of a serpent. The creature from Millenium House that he saw...it was a servant of Myrie?

Enemy Formations

- Vanguard: [Cradle Trooper A] [Myrie] [Rulag] [Asura Echo A (L-Type)] [Drapion] [Sasuke] [Dustox] [PsyDonovan] [ZombClive] [Mifuyu] [Shibito] [ZombUrsula] [PsyHyacinth] [Staraptor] [Shinobu] [Yanmega] [Asura Echo B (L-Type)] [Astarte/Charlotte] [Sixty-Nine] [Cradle Trooper B]
- Rearguard: [Cradle Sniper A] [Moera] [Cradle Sniper B]

"This isn't good," Takano said. "Not only is that a lot of enemies, but the Visors are pinpointing two sniper units out there."
"Yep, that would be my doing."
"Your voice is unfamiliar, speaker," Ray said. "Identify yourself."

"Callsign Opticka on station, sir," a cool female voice chimed in over the Visors. "In the interest of meeting new folks, let me tell you about myself. I'm a Scout Specialist. Us scouts use powerful scanning equipment, similar to your Inquiry Visors, but on a much larger scale, to assist you indirectly in combat. If it wasn't for me, you wouldn't've known about those two enemy snipers. I can use my equipment to discover things like hidden enemies and send the relevant data wirelessly to your own Visors."
"That's helpful. What else can you do?"
"Don't you worry, sir. I'll show you all my talents as this battle gets underway."
"We're counting on you, then. Well, do we have any words to trade before we start trading blows?"

Inquiry Data Loading...

- Cradle Trooper ~ Human-attribute frontline infantry. Relatively unremarkable when compared to the other units. Opticka's scans of them reveal that their weapons are geared for hostile specimen control, employing Electric, Fire, Poison, Psychic and Steel damage on top of some debilitating attacks like nets, tranquilizers and tasers. Their armor is made for protection in hostile environments, offering protection from fire, ice, normal, poison, and steel attacks and preventing fire, ice and poison related status effects.

- Cradle Sniper ~ Human-attribute infantry equipped for long-range sniping. Opticka's scans revealed that they are very similarly equipped to the troopers. She recommends utilizing Fog of War and allied snipers in order to deal with them before their killshots can reduce your numbers too quickly.

- Asura Echo ~ Despite their hideously mutated forms, the Asura Echo mutates still have the Human attribute, making them weak to fire and poison. They brandish large firearms like heavy machineguns and brutal melee implements that can inflict devastating damage and severe status effects and debuffs, all while having large amounts of health to weather multiple concentrated assaults. They are also quite large, and attacks aimed at two enemies can hit them twice since they occupy two slots apiece.

- Myrie Ricewood ~ Daughter of Bretton Collings and Jeanette Ricewood, Myrie has indeed become a Shadow Pokebrid, making her a Shadow type. Opticka's information provides that the power of the shadow type allows one to reduce rage generation, prevent it entirely, or drain it. The shadow type of attacks are usually super effective. Her weapon is the unique Snake Hoop, a weapon created by Hiroshiho blacksmith Toshio Igarashi, who occasionally creates such ridiculous and complex weapons like the Snake Hoop and Pizza's Sawstaff. The Snake Hoop's katana-edged segments can separate like a snakesword, to lash out and slice up targets at a distance. Why Myrie has it is anyone's guess.

- Rulag ~ A Shadow type, though Opticka doesn't think it's actually a Pokemon or that it belongs to Myrie. Most likely, it will fight a lot like Myrie, affecting your abilities to generate and use Rage. Caution is advised.

- Sasuke ~ An elite ninja of Hiroshiho origin and the older twin brother of Shinobu. A war orphan, he and his sister were picked up by Adonova and became a deadly and loyal shinobi who serves Bezelain's orders to the letter. Opticka believes he is a Human/Poison unit and all of his Pokemon are Poison types. It is likely that not only does he have extremely powerful Pokemon Co-Ops of the poisonous variety, but also a deadly UnionTech with his sister. The toxins contained in his weapons can add deathclocks and even deathlocks that will prevent the revival of fallen units. His defenses protect him from Bug, Ghost, Grass, Poison, and Water damage, and he is at least immune to various poisons and instant death and deathclocks.

- Shinobu ~ An elite ninja of Hiroshiho origin and the younger twin sister of Sasuke. A war orphan, she and her brother were picked up by Adonova and she became a deadly and loyal kunoichi who serves Bezelain's orders to the letter. Opticka believes she is a Human/Flying unit and all of her Pokemon are Flying types. It is likely that not only does she have extremely powerful Pokemon Co-Ops of the flying variety, but also a deadly UnionTech with her brother. The accuracy and precision of her strikes can inflict grievous criticals and sharply reduce vital statistics, going so far to place seals that prevent one from making a full recovery. Her defenses protect her from Electric, Fighting, Flying, and Steel damage and prevent paralysis and bleeding.

- Shibito ~ A former Sparta Arena champion who eventually lost her title to Irene Crosswald's mother. After that resounding defeat, she vanished off the face of the earth, though it was believed she was going out on a pilgrimage in order to find herself and strengthen up for a rematch. Now she seems to have become an unwilling member of the Prideguard's secret Project Arsenal and has been loaned to Moera, who is using her psychic powers to dominate and boost Shibito's potential. Shibito is a Human type who fights using dual arm-mounted recoiless cannons that can blast opponents with electric, fire, ice, poison, and steel shells that can hit one target or multiple targets for more spread out damage. Her armor suggests a resistance to fighting, fire, poison, and steel damage as well as protection from burns, toxins and bleeding.

- Mifuyu ~ Opticka's deeper scans reveal that Mifuyu is some kind of 'omnimorph', able to alter her entire body or merely parts of it to assume the skills, abilities and movesets of virtually every non-legendary Pokemon in existence. By mimicking only parts of them, Mifuyu can gain the advantage of STAB without having any specific weaknesses, and is considered a Human/Astral combination. She apparently has specific resistances to status effects or debuffs.

- Sixty-Nine ~ Get the innuendo jokes out of your system now because the rest of Sixty-Nine isn't particularly funny. It appears to be an amorphous mass of liquid circuitry, and brandishes a full armory inside its body. It can slice, shoot and kill with lethal efficiency and deceptive speed that sets it apart from every other warrior ever encountered. It's difficult to determine just how best to attack it, but Opticka thinks that it's possible to hack into it, reducing its combat potential or locking down some of its moves. Being a non-living construct, it is more or less immune to nearly all normal status effects.

- Astarte ~ Astarte is unique in that she seems to be a genuine undead being as opposed to the two zombies that are products of Moera's psychic influence. Opticka suggests that you attack her with Bug, Fire, Flying and Grass damage, but doesn't recommend Ghost, Poison, Psychic, Ruin, or Shadow attacks. However, you should hold off on engaging her for now. Attacking her might put Charlotte in danger, and Astarte shows no desire to attack you herself.

- Moera ~ Opticka has observed the three legendary Psychic types of Meloetta, Cresselia and Victini are meshed with the DNA of her new body. It is likely that her Destroyer-based attacks will involve mighty psychic payloads of destruction topped with nasty status effects like sleep, confusion, berserk, apathy, and disobedience.

- Psyshade Donovan / Psyshade Hyacinth ~ Psychically generated opponents who are believed to be like Donovan and Hyacinth in every way except for type weaknesses. These Psyshades, despite their attacks, will always have the Psychic type of weaknesses.

- Zombie Clive / Zombie Ursula ~ Not actual zombies, per se, these two have been reanimated by Moera's limitless psychic powers. Clive is the ex-boyfriend of Charlotte and a Mew Pokebrid in Harbinger robes. Ursula is Charlotte's mother and a Team Rocket officer, using Charlotte's poison shotgun that Charlotte herself took from Harliette. While Clive can be fought like a Mew Pokebrid, Ursula possesses the weaknesses of a Human attribute unit.

-------------------------------
The Ultimate Rivalry

"I've found her," Chizuru said with a low voice. She seemed to be shivering, though it was more out of excitement than out of fear. "I've finally found my rival!"

Before anyone could say anything, Chizuru directed one of her tonfas towards the enemy, but specifically towards Shinobu. "I've finally found you! My perfect match! My ultimate rival!"

"Oh god, not again," Shizuka sighed.
"So she forms rivalries with powerful kunoichi?" Catherine asked.
"Nope," Shizuka said, feeling a headache coming on. "It's a rivalry between two powerful kunoichi...with unbelieveable bustlines."

Shinobu looked at Chizuru in confusion, then at her own breasts, and shrugged. "You know, it's not like I wanted these breasts. I'm not really looking for a boyfriend, they ache in the shower, I can't hug my pillow tightly to myself like I want to and-..."

Her face suddenly turned red. "Damn it, look what you made me say! I'm going to put you down!"
"Bring it on, my ultimate rival!" Chizuru shouted in defiance.
"You have our sympathies regarding your nutty sister, shinobi-san," Shizuka offered her condolences.
Sasuke nodded quietly.
"Not much for talking, are you?"
Shinobu chuckled. "Oh, don't worry about my brother. He's not good at conversing with girls. Especially pretty ones."
"So that's why he's so quiet and withdrawn," Moera murmured.

-------------------------------------------------
The Power of Sixty-Nine

"Okay, I'll bite," Rio said. "Just what the hell is that...slime thing?"
"Oh, that thing?" Moera indicated the platinum ooze. "That is Professor Moeni's sixty-nineth major successful experiment, but she's really bad at naming things so she just calls it Sixty-Nine."
"Sixty-Nine, huh? I wonder just how powerful Sixty-Nine really is?"
Moera shrugged. "I have no clue, this is its first field test. But if Sixty-Nine turns out to be as awesome as mom told me it was, we might see if mass-production is possible."

Mika looked thoughtful. "Then what happens? Will you try to unleash the terror of Sixty-Nine throughout the entire Pokemon World?"
"I suppose that's always possible, given my mom," Moera coughed. "If it's possible, all people and all Pokemon in the entire world will know the power of Sixty-Nine."
"Mizuno-sama, this could be really bad," Rio told Shizuka. "If Sixty-Nine is really as powerful as that, then we should take it on together."

Astarte, who had been observing quietly all this time, was now quite weirded out. "Charlotte, are you absolutely certain these people came here to rescue you, or are they perhaps escaped asylum patients?"

[Menarker]

Creating placeholder post in case anyone wants to post before AB posts again on Friday.

[Astral Harmony]

Strategerization Phase

1.) Primary Objective: Reduce Moera's PP to 30%.

"Priority for this battle is rescuing Madame Ursaring," Ray pointed out. "Pacifying the enemy will be necessary only for the sake of reducing incoming damage and giving her a window to free herself. Opticka, what can you tell us about her condition? Our visors read that her status is Domination and that her Pokemon are at zero HP."

"That's it, sir," Opticka said with finality. "As for where the Domination is coming from, it is being reapplied to her body again and again from the direction of Moera."
"She's in the far back of the formation. It may be impossible to free Beaufort by defeating Moera."
"If I may, sir, I've noticed a stark decrease in her psychic power when she reanimated the corpses and manifested those Psyshades. Allow me."

Moera's PP: 80%

"I recommend that you fight this battle as normal. Successful pacification of forces should coerce Moera into utilizing more of her psychic powers, which in turn will weaken the grip she has over Madame Ursaring. Specifically, you should defeat anything she personally deploys onto the battlefield."
"Got it, thanks. We'll keep that in mind. It's likely that she will also reanimate any other dead we create, like the snipers, troopers and Asuras. Judging from the numbers, I guess it costs 5% of her PP each time she reanimates a casualty or constructs a Psyshade. We'll just focus on the weaker foes, then. The Asuras can probably be ignored. Their health and endurance is probably too high to make them helpful in reducing Moera's PP."

2.) Point of Interest: Use Wispiance to heal heavily damaged and defeated units and remove negative status effects and debuffs.

"Ah, here we go," Pendulum said. "I'm detecting a Fiend Pokemon. It's a Wispiance. Not a dangerous Fiend Pokemon, and actually we can use it to help us out a bit."

Pendulum directed the parties' attention to a swarm of strange, glowing lights. "By using a contact move on Wispiance, it will restore your HP, cure all status effects which includes death, and remove any negative debuffs. I've actually been saved a few times by the presense of these things. It's a Strategem Shift called Stimulate."

Catherine observed the Wispiance, and then frowned. "That's nice and all, but won't the enemy notice we're using it to heal and start using it themselves?"
"If necessary, we can also 'Disrupt' it. That's another Wispiance-based Strategem Shift. You do it by attacking Wispiance with a long ranged attack. It will reconstitute itself and there's no telling how long it will remained disturbed, though. Additionally, it cannot heal everything that touches it. I imagine none of Moera's little terrors can use it. We can probably also count Sixty-Nine out of the picture as well."
"How long can we use it?" Catherine asked. "I mean, does it run out of healing power or whatever?"
"Right, the Wispiance does only have a finite amount of power. Let's see..."

Wispiance's PP: 15000%

"If I remember correctly, it takes 10% per HP healed, 100% per point of debuff removed, and 500% for whatever status it removes, which can include being defeated. I think 15000% should allow us to abuse the hell out of it. It's a rather high level Wispiance. No wonder it managed to escape from Fallen Eden."
"But if we want to use it, we'll have to use our AP to attack it, right?"
"True, it's not an absolutely free source of power, and you'll need your AP to use it. I recommend only using it if our Medic is overwhelmed from the enemy's damage. Pokemon Trainers can spend their own AP to heal up their Pokemon, but if the person is a defeated Slayer, one of us can use our AP to drag the person there. If we're lucky, the enemy doesn't know about how Wispiance functions, but let's not abuse it too much or they'll figure it out."
"Point made," Ray said. "I'm sure anyone would get suspicious if they saw their enemies constantly jumping from their spot in the formation to go play with the pwetty wittle wights."

3.) Opticka's Briefest of Briefs: Use it so you know how to attack all enemies at all times!

"Once again, here's the enemy formations that we're looking at right now..."

- Vanguard: [Cradle Trooper A] [Myrie] [Rulag] [Asura Echo A (L-Type)] [Drapion] [Sasuke] [Dustox] [PsyDonovan] [ZombClive] [Mifuyu] [Shibito] [ZombUrsula] [PsyHyacinth] [Staraptor] [Shinobu] [Yanmega] [Asura Echo B (L-Type)] [Astarte/Charlotte] [Sixty-Nine] [Cradle Trooper B]
- Rearguard: [Cradle Sniper A] [Moera (80% PP)] [Cradle Sniper B]
- Healing Formation: [Wispiance (15000% PP)]

"And a quick summary of how to best fight each individual unit..."

- Cradle Trooper (Human)
Threat Level: Low
Features: Unremarkable
Attack Types: Electric, Fire, Poison, Psychic, Steel
Status Attacks: Lockdown, Sleep & Paralysis
Strong Vs: Bug, Fire, Flying, Ghost, Ice, Normal, Poison, Steel
Status Resists: Burn, Plasmaburn, Enflamed, Oiled, Freeze, Frostbite, Deep Freeze, Soaked, Poison, Bad Poison
Weak Vs: Dragon, Psychic

- Cradle Sniper (Human)
Threat Level: Medium
Features: Sniper
Attack Types: Electric, Fire, Poison, Psychic, Steel
Status Attacks: Lockdown, Sleep & Paralysis
Strong Vs: Bug, Fire, Flying, Ghost, Ice, Normal, Poison, Steel
Status Resists: Burn, Plasmaburn, Enflamed, Oiled, Freeze, Frostbite, Deep Freeze, Soaked, Poison, Bad Poison
Weak Vs: Dragon, Psychic

- Asura Echo (Human)
Threat Level: Medium
Features: L-Type units, high damaging potential, very high HP and defense, very low speed and special defense.
Attack Types: Dark, Fighting, Normal, Rock, Steel
Status Attacks: Bleed, Confusion, Eject, Paralysis, Phys Debuffs
Strong Vs: Bug, Flying, Normal, Ghost, Weather
Status Resists: Apathy, Bleed, Distress, Domination, Exhaustion, Fear, Flinch, Infatuation, Love, Flinch, Paralysis, Phys Debuffs
Weak Vs: Dragon, Fire, Poison, Psychic

- Myrie (Shadow)
Threat Level: High
Features: Able to drain Rage, disrupt Rage generation, and prevent use of Rage. Can enter Reverse Mode which greatly boosts her critical hit rate but costs health per turn.
Attack Types: Dark, Flying, Ghost, Poison, Shadow, Steel
Status Attacks: Apathy, Disobedience, Enshroud, Uninfluenced
Strong Vs: Ghost, Ruin, Shadow
Status Resists: Apathy, Deathclock, Deathlock, Fear, Flinch, Infatuation, Love, Instant Death, Madness
Weak Vs: Dragon, Electric, Normal

- Rulag (Shadow)
Threat Level: High
Features: Able to drain Rage, disrupt Rage generation, and prevent use of Rage. Can enter Reverse Mode which greatly boosts its critical hit rate but costs health per turn.
Attack Types: Shadow
Status Attacks: Apathy, Disobedience, Enshroud, Uninfluenced
Strong Vs: Ghost, Ruin, Shadow
Status Resists: Apathy, Confusion, Deathclock, Deathlock, Domination, Fear, Flinch, Infatuation, Love, Instant Death, Madness, Sleep
Weak Vs: Dragon, Electric, Normal

- Sasuke (Human/Poison)
Threat Level: High
Features: Has Pokemon, Strong Poison-based SignTechs, very high speed, accuracy, evasion, and criticals. Capable of inflicting severe criticals.
Attack Types: Bug, Dark, Ghost, Grass, Poison, Steel, Water
Status Attacks: Poison, Bad Poison, Ninja Poison, Deathclock, Deathlock, Instant Death
Strong Vs: Bug, Fighting, Ghost, Grass, Poison, Water
Status Resists: Apathy, Bad Poison, Confusion, Deathclock, Deathlock, Distress, Exhaustion, Fear, Flinch, Infatuation, Instant Death, Love, Poison, Sleep
Weak Vs: Dragon, Fire, Ground, Psychic (x2)

- Shinobu (Human/Flying)
Threat Level: High
Features: Has Pokemon, Strong Flying-based SignTechs, very high speed, accuracy, evasion, and criticals. Capable of inflicting severe criticals.
Attack Types: Dragon, Fire, Grass, Ground, Ice, Steel, Water
Status Attacks: Bleed, Fear, Flinch, Recovery Seals, Statistic Seals
Strong Vs: Bug, Electric, Fighting, Flying, Ghost, Grass, Ground (Immune), Normal
Status Resists: Apathy, Bleed, Distress, Exhaustion, Fear, Flinch, Fog of War, Gravity, Infatuation, Paralysis, Turn Order, Weather
Weak Vs: Dragon, Fire, Ice, Poison, Psychic, Rock

- Shibito (Human/Steel)
Threat Level: High
Features: Stats increase as her condition worsens, powerful AoE attacks, under Domination status that renders her immune to mental status effects.
Attack Types: Electric, Fire, Ice, Poison, Steel
Status Attacks: Poison, Bad Poison, Burn, Plasmaburn, Enflamed, Oiled, Freeze, Deep Freeze, Frostbite, Paralyze
Strong Vs: Bug (Immune), Dark, Fire, Flying (Immune), Ghost (Immune), Grass, Ice, Normal, Poison (Immune), Rock, Steel (Immune)
Status Resists: Burn, Plasmaburn, Enflamed, Poison, Bad Poison, Bleed
Weak Vs: Dragon, Fighting, Ground, Psychic

- Mifuyu (Human/Astral)
Threat Level: Medium
Features: No specific strengths or weaknesses but extremely versatile, allowing her to almost always deal super or ultra effective damage, but her overall damage potential is still expected to be manageable.
Attack Types: All except Astral, Ruin and Shadow
Status Attacks: Depends on move used
Strong Vs: None
Status Resists: All status effects and debuffs
Weak Vs: None

- Sixty-Nine (Mechanical/Astral)
Threat Level: Uncertain
Features: Composed of liquid circuitry and difficult to determine just how dangerous it can be. Hacking can reduce statistics and disable attacks. Very difficult to damage.
Attack Types: Astral, Dark, Electric, Fire, Ice, Poison, Steel
Status Attacks: None
Strong Vs: Physical attacks and criticals
Status Resists: All except hacking
Weak Vs: None

- Astarte (Undead/Ground)
Threat Level: None
Features: Attacks targeting her could hit Charlotte. Engaging her in battle is not advised until Charlotte is freed. She will not be attacking you.
Attack Types: Bug, Fighting, Ghost, Ground, Poison, Rock, Shadow, Steel
Status Attacks: Poison, Bad Poison, Bleed, Recovery Seals, Statistic Seals
Strong Vs: Electric (Immune), Ghost, Poison (Immune), Psychic (Immune), Rock, Ruin, Shadow
Status Resists: All poison, All death, Paralysis, All mental status effects
Weak Vs: Bug, Fire, Flying, Grass (x2), Ice, Water

- Moera (Psychic/????)
Threat Level: Extreme
Features: Has Meloetta, Cresselia and Victini forms. Destroyer specialist with devastating psychic-based AoEs. Expect widespread debilitating status effects. She reanimates corpses to fight you.
Attack Types: Varies, usually Psychic
Status Attacks: Apathy, Berserk, Confusion, Disobedience, Sleep
Strong Vs: Depends on Pokebrid form
Status Resists: All mental effects
Weak Vs: Depends on Pokebrid form.

- Psyshade (Psychic)
Threat Level: Low to Medium.
Features: Can fight like the individual they mimick. They resist physical damage due to being semi-incorporeal
Attack Types: Varies
Status Attacks: Varies
Strong Vs: Fighting, Psychic, Phys damage.
Status Resists: All status effects, debuffs, environmental effects
Weak Vs: Bug, Dark, Ghost

- Zombies (Psychic or Human)
Threat Level: Low to Medium
Features: Reanimated bodies of Cliva and Ursula. Clive is a Psychic Mew Pokemon while Ursula is a mere Human attribute.
Attack Types (Clive): All except Astral, Ruin, Shadow
Attack Types (Ursula): Dark, Fighting, Poison, Rock, Steel
Status Attacks: Varies
Strong Vs (Clive): Fighting, Psychic
Strong Vs (Ursula): Bug, Ghost, Flying, Normal
Status Resists: All status effects and debuffs
Weak Vs (Clive): Bug, Dark, Ghost
Weak Vs (Ursula): Dragon, Fire, Poison, Psychic

4.) Ordering Opticka: she'll reveal enemy statistics, attacks, abilities and SignTechs by using her AP. You can also scan for possible Strategem Shifts.

Opticka's AP: 12/24

"You can spend my AP to reveal things about the enemies in front of us that you don't know yet," Opticka told the Watchmen. "For 4 AP a pop, I can reveal all of an enemy's statistics or all of their attacks, or their abilities, or their Signature Techniques! Oh, and if you spend 6 AP, I can scan for possible Strategem Shift opportunities. It might help you manage the incoming damage."

Summary

"So, uhh...y'know, just to summarize," Ray cleared his throat. "Our objective is to extract Charlotte, not defeat the enemy, although any enemies slain is a plus. We can free Charlotte by reducing Moera's PP to 30% or less, and her PP is reduced whenever she reanimates any corpses we make out of her subordinates. I'll see if we can't get any reinforcements. In the meantime, we have a lot of information on the enemy already, but we can acquire even more by having Opticka scan for us. I have a feeling we won't recieve as much information during Order Phases and Action Phases this time around."

[Dracorion]

"Moeni..." Sam spoke up with a sad look. "Please don't hurt my brother. Just knock him out and let me handle him, will you?" She pleaded with the mad scientist.
"The handsome but stupid one, right?" Moeni said, smug grin plastered on her face. "Given just how many of the enemy there are, you might not be able to do much in the way of 'handling him'. But fine, since the Harbingers did sort of get destroyed in trying to help us out, I guess I can extend a few favors."
"You know, it could be argued that the person who decided it was a good idea to shoot up someone who hates them with unbridled passion with superpowers is the stupidest person here." Pierce replied snidely.

--------------------------------------

"Ah, so that's where my precious little Enmakki has gotten off to," Moeni observed. "You know, I was so close to extracting that move in order to create an iM for myself. I still can't believe Reynold was actually able to capture it. He was pretty damn inept as a scientist in nearly every other regard."
"iM?" Lola tilted her head. "Just what vile schemes are you plotting now, mother?"
"Oh, you'll find out," Moeni taunted. "I'm about to show you exactly what I mean."

"Gee, I'm so sorry to have inconvenienced you." Pierce replied with a deadpan tone, rolling his eyes.

--------------------------------------

"Be careful with the enemies you disable like that," Irene chimed in over the Inquiry Visors, after they took several enemies out of commission by putting them to sleep. "Most enemy units will spread out their AP to their Pokemon 'cause they're all stupid 'n' stuff, so if you prevent them from attacking, you'll refund their AP and only the stronger boss units will be using it all. By keeping their Pokemon in the fight, you could potentially have your enemies waste their AP on letting the inferior attackers use it all up on more ineffectual methods. Just a helpful pointer. By the way, Granger...I think your sister's kinda hot."

Once again, Pierce had to roll his eyes. "Yeah well, I'll make you a deal Irene. You don't hit on my sister and I won't hit on your daughter."

--------------------------------------

"Oh shi-" Pierce began, before Kuudere Green slammed him out of the battlefield and into next week. "Fffffffuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu-!"

"Ow!" With a loud metallic thud, Pierce reached an abrupt stop when he smashed into something hard. Rubbing his head, he looked up and saw he'd flown right into Whitepearl's back.

With a snarl, he rose and bounded back off to his side of the battle, uncaring about the deadly robot whose attention he'd just drawn. "That's it, I'm gonna kill a bitch."

On the way, Pierce was met by Daphne, who was ready to equip him with new armor.

"Okay, you're all set!" Daphne said after reequipping Pierce. "By the way, you don't happen to need my phone number, do you?"
"Daphne," Irene said disapprovingly over her Inquiry Visor. "He's already got enough girlfriends, he doesn't need one more."
"Oh c'mon, I was jus' kidding!" Daphne said. "Careful, guys, I think they might try to use Uproar to awaken all of their sleepers."

"I think Irene just doesn't want me to date anyone she doesn't want to sleep with too." Pierce commented with a smirk, knowing Irene could hear.

--------------------------------------

Pierce only arrived just in time to watch battle end and the sleeping Sam being wrapped in Mollesk's tentacles. There was a look of worry on his face, but fortunately it seemed the tendrils hadn't gone anywhere inappropriate.

As the whole team regrouped, Pierce carried the unconscious Sam in his arms and approached Chizuru and Shizuka, looking ashamed, his head hung low. "I'm... I'm really sorry for ditching you, I just wasn't thinking. I'm sorry."

After some healing, everyone was ready to move on, though Lucian volunteered to guard Sam, which was probably for the best. He could keep her from harming anyone or herself, yet was gentle enough in restraining her to not aggravate any wounds or cause her discomfort. "I don't praise him for this, but he's really nice to girls," Discord said.

Pierce said nothing, but rather reluctantly laid her down for Lucian. "Keep her safe, okay?"

--------------------------------------

Finally, they found Charlotte and the rather overwhelming enemy formation. Two members of Adonova, as well as Moera, Myrie, the cat creature from Millenium House, and several of what Pierce assumed were experimental subjects. All in all, it wasn't likely to be an easy fight.

"I've found her," Chizuru said with a low voice. She seemed to be shivering, though it was more out of excitement than out of fear. "I've finally found my rival!"

Before anyone could say anything, Chizuru directed one of her tonfas towards the enemy, but specifically towards Shinobu. "I've finally found you! My perfect match! My ultimate rival!"

"Oh god, not again," Shizuka sighed.
"So she forms rivalries with powerful kunoichi?" Catherine asked.
"Nope," Shizuka said, feeling a headache coming on. "It's a rivalry between two powerful kunoichi...with unbelieveable bustlines."
"... Really?" Pierce inquired, utterly perplexed.

Shinobu looked at Chizuru in confusion, then at her own breasts, and shrugged. "You know, it's not like I wanted these breasts. I'm not really looking for a boyfriend, they ache in the shower, I can't hug my pillow tightly to myself like I want to and-..."

Her face suddenly turned red. "Damn it, look what you made me say! I'm going to put you down!"
"Bring it on, my ultimate rival!" Chizuru shouted in defiance.
"You have our sympathies regarding your nutty sister, shinobi-san," Shizuka offered her condolences.
Sasuke nodded quietly.
"Not much for talking, are you?"
Shinobu chuckled. "Oh, don't worry about my brother. He's not good at conversing with girls. Especially pretty ones."
"So that's why he's so quiet and withdrawn," Moera murmured.

"... So he basically never speaks? That's harsh." Pierce noted, then turned to Chizuru. "Really though, Chizuru, wanting to beat the crap out of enemies is all well and good, but maybe we should have better reasons for it? Like saving the world, or something crazy like that. It looks like Shinobu has bigger concerns, too."

"If it helps, I love your breasts." He smirked.

--------------------------------------

"Okay, I'll bite," Rio said. "Just what the hell is that...slime thing?"
"Oh, that thing?" Moera indicated the platinum ooze. "That is Professor Moeni's sixty-nineth major successful experiment, but she's really bad at naming things so she just calls it Sixty-Nine."
"Sixty-Nine, huh? I wonder just how powerful Sixty-Nine really is?"
Moera shrugged. "I have no clue, this is its first field test. But if Sixty-Nine turns out to be as awesome as mom told me it was, we might see if mass-production is possible."

Mika looked thoughtful. "Then what happens? Will you try to unleash the terror of Sixty-Nine throughout the entire Pokemon World?"
"I suppose that's always possible, given my mom," Moera coughed. "If it's possible, all people and all Pokemon in the entire world will know the power of Sixty-Nine."
"Mizuno-sama, this could be really bad," Rio told Shizuka. "If Sixty-Nine is really as powerful as that, then we should take it on together."

"... You have got to be doing that on purpose." Pierce said with a tone of incredulity. "There's just no other way."

--------------------------------------

Pierce decided to pipe up his suggestions for a battle plan.
"Alright, I think we should focus on disrupting Moera's PP, then. The sooner we can get Charlotte free to help us against the enemy, the better. And let's not be afraid to use the Wispiance. I wonder if there's maybe a way to keep the enemy from using it, I mean in the long term?" He wondered.

Then he lowered his voice, speaking into his Inquiry Visor for only everyone on his side to hear. "By the way, that Shibito chick? See the necklace on her? That's Project Arsenal. The necklace turns her into a drone working for them. I thought that was Prideguard tech, but it looks like Black Cradle's got something to do with it. I'm trying to keep them from hearing because, you know, if we know something they don't know we know, regardless of what it is, it's probably prudent to keep it that way."

[Astral Harmony]

Into the Past, Part I

"You know, it could be argued that the person who decided it was a good idea to shoot up someone who hates them with unbridled passion with superpowers is the stupidest person here." Pierce replied snidely.
Moeni shrugged. "It was either that, or spend years waiting for the day you'd all stumble across my place so I could run tests on my daughters in an approved laboratory environment. Science does not come without risks, handsome."

--------------------------------------
Into the Past, Part II

"Gee, I'm so sorry to have inconvenienced you." Pierce replied with a deadpan tone, rolling his eyes.
"Considering it's you who has Enmakki now, I should be the one apologizing for inconveniencing you," Meoni actually seemed concerned. "Seriously, I'm actually kind of surprised that you're not a Madsoldier or something."

-------------------------------------
Into the Past, Part III

Once again, Pierce had to roll his eyes. "Yeah well, I'll make you a deal Irene. You don't hit on my sister and I won't hit on your daughter."

There was a brief pause on the other end of the Inquiry Visor, then Pierce got to hear exactly what he knew he was going to hear. "...So, uhhh...if I do let you hit on my daughter..."

Well, you can't win 'em all. Or maybe this was a resounding victory. Kinda hard to say now.

------------------------------------
Into the Past, Part IV

"I think Irene just doesn't want me to date anyone she doesn't want to sleep with too." Pierce commented with a smirk, knowing Irene could hear.

Pierce couldn't tell quite well, but he was certain he heard a swear on the other side of the visor. Yep, I'm on you like a hawk, woman.

------------------------------------
Into the Past, Part V

Pierce said nothing, but rather reluctantly laid her down for Lucian. "Keep her safe, okay?"

"You can count on me," Lucian said. "You just make sure she has a brother to wake up to."

-----------------------------------
Into the Present, Part I

"... So he basically never speaks? That's harsh." Pierce noted, then turned to Chizuru. "Really though, Chizuru, wanting to beat the crap out of enemies is all well and good, but maybe we should have better reasons for it? Like saving the world, or something crazy like that. It looks like Shinobu has bigger concerns, too."

"If it helps, I love your breasts." He smirked.

Pierce knew what to expect when he said that and got exactly what he wanted. "That's...thank you, Pierce," Chizuru breathed, her red face turned away from him. Awwww yeah.

---------------------------------------
Into the Present, Part II

"... You have got to be doing that on purpose." Pierce said with a tone of incredulity. "There's just no other way."

"Doing what on purpose?" Rio asked innocently. "We're just talking about Sixty-Nine."

Pierce felt a headache coming on, and Moera hadn't even unleashed her first psychic payload.

-------------------------------------
Into the Present, Part III

Then Pierce lowered his voice, speaking into his Inquiry Visor for only everyone on his side to hear. "By the way, that Shibito chick? See the necklace on her? That's Project Arsenal. The necklace turns her into a drone working for them. I thought that was Prideguard tech, but it looks like Black Cradle's got something to do with it. I'm trying to keep them from hearing because, you know, if we know something they don't know we know, regardless of what it is, it's probably prudent to keep it that way."

"My guess is that Burkmont and Moeni are in bed with each other," Irene said quietly after arriving on the battlefield with Impact. "But uhh...not in that way. And to think I used to respect that fat fuck."
"You used to respect Vladier Burkmont?" Catherine said in disbelief. "How the hell did that happen?"
"Well, just think about your own past, Catherine," Irene said. "War changes people. It tears our futures apart, it tears our minds apart. Nobody ever goes through war, particularly two of them and comes out the same. I didn't remain the same, you didn't remain the same, Antonio didn't remain the same and Vlad didn't remain the same. Oh, if only I could show you what Burkmont was like twenty years ago, you'd fucking flip. He was almost as sexy as Pierce."

...Buh-what?!

"I said almost, geez!"

[Dracorion]

Into the Past, Part II

"Considering it's you who has Enmakki now, I should be the one apologizing for inconveniencing you," Meoni actually seemed concerned. "Seriously, I'm actually kind of surprised that you're not a Madsoldier or something."

Pierce raised an eyebrow in surprise, as Moeni seemed to have dropped her smug countenance for once. "Okay, now you have to spill it. Why would you say that?"

--------------------------------------

Into the Past, Part III

There was a brief pause on the other end of the Inquiry Visor, then Pierce got to hear exactly what he knew he was going to hear. "...So, uhhh...if I do let you hit on my daughter..."

Well, you can't win 'em all. Or maybe this was a resounding victory. Kinda hard to say now.

Pierce facepalmed. "Fine, but if Rayleen does agree to go out with me then we have to have a threesome, Irene. Are you prepared for that?" This conversation was probably disturbing to most, but he couldn't help but continue.

--------------------------------------

Into the Present, Part III

"My guess is that Burkmont and Moeni are in bed with each other," Irene said quietly after arriving on the battlefield with Impact. "But uhh...not in that way. And to think I used to respect that fat fuck."
"You used to respect Vladier Burkmont?" Catherine said in disbelief. "How the hell did that happen?"
"Well, just think about your own past, Catherine," Irene said. "War changes people. It tears our futures apart, it tears our minds apart. Nobody ever goes through war, particularly two of them and comes out the same. I didn't remain the same, you didn't remain the same, Antonio didn't remain the same and Vlad didn't remain the same. Oh, if only I could show you what Burkmont was like twenty years ago, you'd fucking flip. He was almost as sexy as Pierce."

...Buh-what?!

"I said almost, geez!"

Pierce had to bury his face in his hands as the involuntary mental image popped into his mind, horrifying him completely. "Ugh, God. Irene, if it ever looks like I'm turning into a fat slob hellbent on dominating the world and womankind, promise to shoot me in the head."

Shaking his head and removing his hands, Pierce did his best to put that thought aside and keep going. "But, uh, are we really putting it past Moeni to sleep with Burkmont? 'Cause she seems to me like the type of woman who'd do that if it got her people and things to experiment with. Though Burkmont would probably have to sleep with one eye open to make sure he didn't wake up with a pump-action tentacle mecha penis that fires lasers and is powered by Rezonscape madness and the tears of babies."

[Astral Harmony]

Into the Past, Part II

Pierce raised an eyebrow in surprise, as Moeni seemed to have dropped her smug countenance for once. "Okay, now you have to spill it. Why would you say that?"

"Oh c'mon. How long have you even had Enmakki?" Moeni asked in an irritated tone. "Nobody plops Enmakki into their Pokemon arsenal and walks away from that without a few screws loose. Why do you think Faynoc kept Enmakki locked up all nice 'n' tight until he could figure out what the hell to do with it? Spend enough time with that freak and soon you'll be confused about who's supposed to be the master and who's supposed to be the servant. Still, I have to say that I'll be observing you about as much as my daughters when I can. Not a whole lot of people would actually volunteer to have Enmakki in one of their Pokeballs and I'm a little excited to see what long term psychological problems you will undoubtedly suffer for the sake of having Enmakki's powers at your call."

----------------------------------------
Into the Past, Part III

Pierce facepalmed. "Fine, but if Rayleen does agree to go out with me then we have to have a threesome, Irene. Are you prepared for that?" This conversation was probably disturbing to most, but he couldn't help but continue.

There was an even longer pause on the other end of the visor. "I'll...have a talk with her."

Awful lot of landmines around here today.

----------------------------------------
Into the Present, Part III

Pierce had to bury his face in his hands as the involuntary mental image popped into his mind, horrifying him completely. "Ugh, God. Irene, if it ever looks like I'm turning into a fat slob hellbent on dominating the world and womankind, promise to shoot me in the head."

"That would never happen!" Irene said defiantly. "You'll become hellbent on dominating the world and womankind, sure, but there's no way you'll turn into a fat slob. I dunno what I'd do to myself, then."

Shaking his head and removing his hands, Pierce did his best to put that thought aside and keep going. "But, uh, are we really putting it past Moeni to sleep with Burkmont? 'Cause she seems to me like the type of woman who'd do that if it got her people and things to experiment with. Though Burkmont would probably have to sleep with one eye open to make sure he didn't wake up with a pump-action tentacle mecha penis that fires lasers and is powered by Rezonscape madness and the tears of babies."

Irene blew out a breath. "Don't worry about what he just said, folks. His brain doesn't get quite enough oxygen when he's under a certain someone's desk."

[Dracorion]

Into the Past, Part II

"Oh c'mon. How long have you even had Enmakki?" Moeni asked in an irritated tone. "Nobody plops Enmakki into their Pokemon arsenal and walks away from that without a few screws loose. Why do you think Faynoc kept Enmakki locked up all nice 'n' tight until he could figure out what the hell to do with it? Spend enough time with that freak and soon you'll be confused about who's supposed to be the master and who's supposed to be the servant. Still, I have to say that I'll be observing you about as much as my daughters when I can. Not a whole lot of people would actually volunteer to have Enmakki in one of their Pokeballs and I'm a little excited to see what long term psychological problems you will undoubtedly suffer for the sake of having Enmakki's powers at your call."

Pierce just shrugged. Enmakki was noticeably silent about Moeni's accussations.

"Hey, if you can spy on me there's not much I can do to stop you. I just can't promise that what you'll see will be safe for work."

----------------------------------------
Into the Past, Part III

There was an even longer pause on the other end of the visor. "I'll...have a talk with her."

Awful lot of landmines around here today.

"Fine, it's a deal." Pierce said, digging his grave further. He'd just agreed to something terrible but dammit morbid curiosity wouldn't let him stop. Mentally, he was kicking himself.

[Astral Harmony]

Into the Past, Part II

Pierce just shrugged. Enmakki was noticeably silent about Moeni's accusations. "Hey, if you can spy on me there's not much I can do to stop you. I just can't promise that what you'll see will be safe for work."

"It's Enmakki we're talking about, handsome. I think someone would be wrong if it was safe for work."

----------------------------------
Into the Present, Part III

"Fine, it's a deal." Pierce said, digging his grave further. He'd just agreed to something terrible but dammit morbid curiosity wouldn't let him stop. Mentally, he was kicking himself.

"This is a very wrong conversation," Lucian observed. According to him, Sam woke up shortly and Lucian just turned her over to the medics. Apparently he really wanted to save Charlotte. Not every woman wants to be protected like that, Lucian.
"Quiet, you. I don't get enough fun during my day job," Irene sniffed.

Wait, you don't get enough fun butchering assholes so you try to hook up with your boyfriend's sister? Irene seriously needs a vacation, and not the kind induced by a coma from taking a fucking Bastiodon to the face.

[Dracorion]

Into the Past, Part II

"It's Enmakki we're talking about, handsome. I think someone would be wrong if it was safe for work."

Pierce just smirked. "I know you think you've seen it all, but believe me, Enmakki is the least you'd have to worry about."

----------------------------------
Into the Present, Part III

"This is a very wrong conversation," Lucian observed. According to him, Sam woke up shortly and Lucian just turned her over to the medics. Apparently he really wanted to save Charlotte. Not every woman wants to be protected like that, Lucian.
"Quiet, you. I don't get enough fun during my day job," Irene sniffed.

Wait, you don't get enough fun butchering assholes so you try to hook up with your boyfriend's sister? Irene seriously needs a vacation, and not the kind induced by a coma from taking a fucking Bastiodon to the face.

Pierce made a mental note to take Irene on vacation one of these days.