Operation: Gigas Freedom Event Start

[bravenewmods]

True to their word the Seekers lead the teams discretely through the winding streets of Gigas and into service entrances, gaining them admittance into the heart of Gigas’s political compound. Bringing them stealthily along the catwalks, the Union infiltrators were brought to the inner sanctum, close to the captive Gigases and their mission.

Sharp-looking soldiers in fatigues holding machine guns patrolled diligently, although their demeanor was not especially tense. It seemed no immediate operations were taking place at this time as no engineers were present. And in their enormous cages, the Gigases slept. Waiting.

Comments

Dragonite, Luxray, Glaceon, Scizor, Solrock

[toxicrevenger]

Pamela was glad to be able to help while still staying out of the fighting. Although she was willing to do whatever was necessary, her last experience with fighting a god had been more than enough of a deterrent for stepping directly in the path of danger.

She'd brought packages of seeds with her - something that would have been odd if not for her Enlightened abilities. She could make plants instantly grow, even to sizes that would be impossible to achieve under normal circumstances. In case they did have to fight for some reason, mother nature would be on their side. Otherwise, she had seeds for fruit bearing plants in her arsenal. Perhaps the Gigases might be less hostile if they were presented with food as a peace offering.

"We'll simply have to give it our best effort. That's all anyone can do. Maybe the gods will come to help us again."

Leeeet's put this in the right spot this time

[bnw_sheepy_npcs]

Riolu would be in good company, as it would seem that the other Seeker wished to keep his distance. His arms crossed over his chest, the towering man looked down at the fighting-type, giving her a reassuring grunt.

Maeve, in her best impression of a prickly petaya berry, bristled a bit at Sophia's comment. "That's not the point," She started, her jaw stiffening.

"Maeve-dono is angry because her brother tricked her. She is not very good at communicating how she feels when she is angry or frightened."

The booming voice coming from beside Riolu, Maeve shot a betrayed look toward the tall man. His expression remained unchanged, his eyebrows raising a bit questioningly.

Clicking her tongue a bit, the shorter Seeker turned sharply, snapping her head to the side and avoiding everyone's gaze. "He cheated. We were supposed to draw straws to see who was gonna go out there, and he cheated."

Her eyes narrowed protectively as she muttered to herself; "It should be me out there, not him. If anything happens to him, I'll..."

"Anyway," She continued, bringing her attention back to the group. "Let's keep an eye out. It'll probably be quiet for a little bit. We're not really sure what we're gonna find, but hopefully the Gigases aren't in too bad of shape. Hopefully it'll just be an easy in-and-out. If you see anything out of the ordinary, report it to that group. They need that info pronto. I'll do my best too."

[senpaidol]

Rise's been on enough of these things that she redoubles her attention on the monitors as soon as Maeve says anything about it being an easy in-and-out.

She does add, however: "I feel like I should be out there too, but this is where I can help the most people..."

Kingdra, Cyndaquil, Florges, Luxray, Dragonite

[allergictoloveletters]

Ami had been studying various maps and making plan upon plan. It was like chess. She was trying to anticipate various battle tactics they might take, routes they might use and the routes that Union members could take. Rei and many of her friends were down there, she wasn't about to let anything happen to them. And if she needed to have Socrates take her to fly them out, the Dragonite was waiting, patiently as a guard. Aurora her Luxray was at her side, able to provide all sorts of energy in case of sudden generator troubles... or to cause generator troubles.

She glanced up at Maeve, prickly as she was, and did not voice her distaste on how they were being treated in the matter. Ami herself hid her nervousness under a cool facade. Anyone who came near her who wasn't a fire type or resistant to cold would find it uncomfortable to stand close, emitting natural chill as she was.

"If anything should happen to him, we will take the necessary course to save all of them," she offered politely. "We all have someone we love staked in this in some fashion, and our success affects the city."

She tilted her head as she looked at the maps.

"Here," she pointed to a spot on the map. "It's a whole bunch of warehouses not far from where the gods are being held, it's possible, if perhaps obvious, to use as a safe spot if necessary. And since we have several flying dragon types, evacuation by airlift is also a very viable option."

[arachnocide]

"In my experience, warehouse districts tend to be mazes, so it would be a good way to shake off pursuit." Kurapika added, the chains wrapped around his arms lightly clink as he joins Ami in examining the laid out maps, scanning it until he has it memorized before going back to the monitor. Pairo clung close, making soft sounds, feeling inadequate in the company of others - and the blond soon reaches to pet the ghost pokemon's head reassuringly.

"Don't worry, just stay focused."

[soulofmagus]

Sophia looks unbothered by Maeve's bristling, glancing over with a steady gaze. 'Tricked', was it? It must be nice indeed to have family who would care enough to do such things. Not that she'll be saying that out loud. (Ouka however growls low and quietly in her throat, disapproving of such a tone being used towards her Person. When the red haired man clarifies why, she stops, but she's still not pleased.)

A grass-type, normally she'd try to avoid a chill, but the cool air near Ami cancels out the Gigan heat, hence why Sophia steps a little closer to the other blue haired woman under the premise of glancing down at the maps. Gebo hops up onto the table next to her, the Leafeon nyeoning faintly as her paws pat different warehouses.

"No doubt the Gigans know that too. Some form of distraction might be required, if it comes to that.."

[windyflower]

Fuuka had to admit, she was rather surprised by Maeve's response. Her brother tricked her, did he? Well, it looked somebody was really eager to get into battle if he had to cheat. However, she'll keep that thought to herself. Looking back at Yukiko with a smile, she simply gave a nod before looking back at the map.

"Then we'll just have to prove them with that. Although, a part of me hopes that we don't have to." Because if there were distractions, there was a chance that somebody could get hurt.

[toxicrevenger]

Much like Sophia, Pamela was looking for a balance between the Gigan heat and the chill temperature surrounding Ami. Pine, her Glaceon, however, was right at home and stood as close to Ami as her Pokemon would allow, enjoying the relief her presence was bringing him.

"I can grow plants to massive sizes in an instant," Pamela put in when the topic of distraction came up. "They're both larger and stronger than normal plants...and I can control them."

She held up her packages of seeds for the group to see. "It's an option if it comes to it. Hopefully it won't."

[burningblossoms]

"Believe me," Yukiko chimes in with a grin to Fuuka, "If we need a distraction, I have that covered. I can make a light bright enough to mimic the sun. And I have Snor-Lord."

Anyone that's been around Union in the last year has probably heard of Snor-Lord...

[allergictoloveletters]

Ami glanced towards Sophia and inclined her head, though inwardly she was just amused by how many pokemon and people were gathering around her in the heat. Since her second evolution, she did not feel extreme heat or chill, though she had a habit of emitting the latter.

"If it is as Maeve-san says, then Gigas will not even know we're here, there is no way they could account for it that quickly. But if they do, since I do not want to discount the possibility, it is as Yukiko-san and Pamela have said, distractions are readily available while we can provide arial evacuation. If that plan does not work, we can come up with something else. But I am inclined to go with Yukiko's idea. Flashing a light so bright would temporarily blind the Gigas soldiers, it may help prevent our own from being recognized as well. Or a quick and well timed Confuse Ray could also assist us."

[arachnocide]

"My abilities aren't as flashy, but -" He unfurls a chain, the end of it morphing into a small ball as he held it over the map. "If we lose contact with any time, I can find anyone on with this." He gestures, demonstrating as the chain jerks unnaturally, swaying until it stops over where one of the teams is currently located.

"Snor-Lord...?" He asked, staring at Yukiko as he scratches his cheek in confusion as he not-so-subtly moves to put several people between him and Ivy's Scizor.

[senpaidol]

"Just let me know if he needs dance partners, Yukiko," Rise says with a smile. She makes sure Himiko studies the maps along with the humans, in case it helps with an emergency teleport later.

[soulofmagus]

The coolness radiating from Ami certainly helps ease off the headache brewing behind Sophia's pensive expression, and she sighs very slightly as the others volunteer the parts they can play if push indeed comes to shove. A handful of the spells she knows will likely see much use in the hours to come, but she'd truly prefer that it were otherwise.

"It's such a pity.." Her voice trails off, then she shakes her head, perhaps dismissing whatever else she was going to say.

Then, there's a shink sound from the Doublade watching the screens, a sound of alert to his human charge. "..Did you see something, Ymir?"

[toxicrevenger]

"The light is a good idea, but we would have to make certain it didn't blind our own forces in the process," Pamela put in. "Otherwise, it would be more difficult to evacuate them quickly."

Although she walked a great deal, and Haruka had given her some instruction in how to use a sword, Pamela still didn't regard herself as a warrior, or even an athlete, really. She didn't want to be stuck having to lug around people who were stumbling around blinded if it could be avoided.

She perked up when Sophia mentioned the beginnings of trouble and turned her attention to the screens.

[senpaidol]

"Looks like Registeel and Regice groups have reached the main chambers and engaged the enemy. There are a lot of people around, but it doesn't look like they were expecting an attack...," Rise reports, eyes darting back and forth between the monitors. "Regirock and Regigas groups are still in the corridors. Uh, anyone who knows about electronic security should help them out."

"Santiago's group is uh..." Rise begins, then blinks. "Wait, what the heck is that?"

[windyflower]

As Fuuka looked straight to the monitor, it looked like her fears were coming true. Whatever that was attacking Santiago's group, they were in danger. Looking at her other comrades, it looked like they needed that distraction and fast.

"Quick, I think we might need a distraction!" She mumbled as she looked at her Pokemon. "I'm not sure what it is but we need to do something!"

[allergictoloveletters]

"We have no idea what that thing is," Ami remained calm, never one to allow changes in plans to upset her. "And any distraction that we can't communicate to them would be detrimental to those still with that thing."

"But I do wonder... perhaps we can put the head in a coma with hypothermia. Or we can use the steel against it and have it boiled in its own glass if things become truly bad." Ami was ruthless when she needed to be, when she knew that the death of one could save far more. "But we don't know what that thing is and what it can do or what it's connected to. But if we can send a message to our own about the distraction, then it could work."

She didn't want to discard the distraction idea, but she would keep killing the thing outright if she needed.

"Maka-chan is a psychic, can anyone send a message to her?"

[bnw_sheepy_npcs]

And, as she warned, things suddenly began pouring in. Rise was the first to catch something and, looking at the monitor, Maeve swore under her breath. Another deep, somewhat hissed breath in, and her head was back in the game.

"All right, so," Drawing her attention to the group, she spoke quickly. "You've got a direct link to everyone on this operation, you just need to let them know what you see. Let's see here.

"It looks like that," Pointing toward the first monitor, "May have something to do with the overall controls for the perimeter. They should be able to control a lot of the regulatory systems through that, but they'll need a password. If we have to, we can brute force it by linking it with the Warp Band system."

"Monitor two..." She made a face. "Yeesh, those look nasty. Okay, so, bad news, those weapons they're holding look like they have an alarm system built in. Good news, they look pretty fragile. I bet if you break them before they go off, they should be okay. No guarantees."

Gesturing toward the next screen, she curled her other hand under her chin. "Hmm, let me take a look at that a sec." Walking toward the display, she gave it a look over, an actual smile crossing her face. "Oh good, that'll be easy to deal with. Another console. I can't quite tell what it does, but like with the first group, we can probably force out way into their system. Have that group patch their Warp Band through, and we can try to hack into it from our side."

Looking at the next monitor, she shrugged. "Drones. Awesome. Tell 'em to blow them up. I'll try to get a read on the rest of the room when I can."

Drawing her attention to the last monitor, her smile fell, and the red-haired Seeker girl went quiet. Even a psychic type could likely feel the change in the air, a strange but familiar-feeling Pressure hovering around the room. Rufus, who had until this point been on standby, stepped forward, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"That's him." Her voice was low, and dangerously quiet. "That's the Emperor."

[burningblossoms]

Yukiko pointedly tries to ignore the jabberings and chattering, focusing now more on the monitors, but the sudden shift in the room was almost palpable. Unsteadily, the girl sat down and pulled out her warp band, busying herself with something instead of worrying about that. That's more important, even if she's pretty afraid of that feeling.

"I will relay to the group on monitor two. You guys get the word to the rest."

[arachnocide]

"I can take the first one," He volunteered as he grabs his band, glancing over to Maeve uneasily as he reminds himself to stay detached. Pario chirps quizzically behind him, and soon ducks behind him.

[senpaidol]

"I..." Rise looks things over, hesitating just for a moment. "...I'll help the group fighting the Emperor," she says, focusing all her powers of analysis and all her now-surprisingly-extensive battle experience on the armored figure on the screen.

[soulofmagus]

"He looks... Off." She's aware her tone is vague, Sophia squinting a little over Rise's shoulder at the monitor, before wincing hard at the Pressure that filled the room. There was a whine from the Riolu, who immediately edges over to her trainer, side-eyeing the Seekers warily, while the Leafeon's ears flattened back against her head. "..Raine and Waver described him differently. Immobile. Not like..that."

And then she's recoiling from the monitors featuring combat, distaste for violence and killing putting her off entirely. Due to that, she focuses on screen 3 - she has some Engineering skill, after all, and she knew both Kiho and Waver well enough to work with them.

[windyflower]

As Fuuka looked at the last monitor, she knew what she had to do. "I'll help Rise take care of the Emperor too. I'll try to figure out where its weak point is." She said before focusing her energy toward the enemy.

Hopefully the battle won't be as bad as it looked.

[soulofmagus]

Or it could look just as bad as it appears.

No sooner has Sophia established connection with monitor 3's team than everything goes decidedly explosion-shaped, the escalation of events rapidly outpacing any actions that the command center might make.

"Waver!" Her voice might be startlingly loud, even to Sophia, and there's a squeak of alarm from Gebo as the entire screen is rendered little more than snow with the power unleased by the gigas. A hand lifts, clenched and held to her chest, hoping to see something. Anything.

In the distance, there's a BOOM from the city. Ouka and Gebo both twitch ears, perking up. When things finally do begin to clear up, hazy as the image is, it's not hard to make out the lone figure shielding the rest, and there's a small gasp covered by trembling fingers. How is Kiho doing that? Just how powerful ARE the Seekers?

Sophia says none of this, eyes remaining wide, before she makes out shapes moving, and she presses down on her own warp band to transmit a signal. She cannot see the ceiling damage at this angle, doesn't know that the blast may have been reflected back up into the city proper. Right now, there are more immediate priorities.

"Waver? Can you hear me? Is everyone alright?" How ever are they going to get them all out of there safely?

[toxicrevenger]

"I'll relay to the fourth group," said Pamela. "Oh...I forgot to mention it, but can also make plants walk around like foot soldiers. They're nowhere near as intelligent or strong as Pokemon. The sheer oddity of it might distract the Gigas forces a bit, though."

She glanced around briefly at the other monitors. It looked bad. None of them had gone into this expecting it to be easy, and still, she worried. She tried to have faith in their comrades, but she couldn't help but hope that the gods would show up to help them once again.