Scene #7686: Power And Industry

Owner	Pose
Captain Hook	Under smoke-clogged sky, about lakes of toxic misery, in the midst of this industrial hellhole, a man in grand finery is leading an expedition. He has on his head a jaunty pirate hat with a black feather set in it. Over his shoulders is a jacket matching his hat, worn like a cape above a ruffled white dress shirt. His pants are black, his hair is blue, and the eyepatch covering one eye is black. One of his hands is a silver hook. At his side is a cutlass, hanging from a lovely leather belt. At his other side is a flintlock with wood polished to a shine. In front of him is a paper map. It has a grand red X on it. In crude, Age-of-Sail art, the surroundings of the Industrial Behemoth are depicted, with skull-and-crossbone warnings over toxic pools and a trail through the perilous mess of rambling, rumbling mechanisms and monstrous machines that churn away without any visible purpose other than the great industry itself. Finally, in front of a huge machine churning smoke into the sky, he rolls up the Map With An X On It and stows it into his breast pocket. "Well, then. As ever, the Map With The X On It wins out, doesn't it? A spectacular thing. 'An engine to suit Po Town's unique aesthetic, fortified and ready to power the system.'" "I've no idea where the engine itself is. I shall leave that to the rest of you as I prepare." "Ah, and I've no doubt the local constabulary will be along soon enough, so it would be best we hurry, mm?"
Kale Hearthward	Words are dangerous. This is the opinion of one Kale Hearthward, who believes that for example someone calling themselves 'thief' should be dealt just on the basis of calling themselves a thief. Or someone calling themselves a pirate, etc. Words speak of intent. Intent matters almost as much as action, and worse, words inspire others to take action. Supporting evidence to words being dangerous: if a pirate were to call out a Reyes on a radio by announcing his actions, he might get a Kale Hearthward showing up instead. The Paladin's arrival is heralded by a strong wind, blowing against the group's path, making forward progress somewhere between difficult and impossible. The source isn't hard to spot - dead ahead, floating in the air above the path the group are taking, arms crossed. "I'm afraid the winds don't favor you!" he calls over the blowing winds. "Better turn back and try again some other day that the winds favor piracy - but you'll likely be waiting a long time for that day to come!" It would appear that this stubborn-looking bird needs to be dealt with.
Cantio	Despite the dreariness of the region, getting out of home to do some actual field work has Cantio in good spirits. Exploring the Industrial Behemoth hasn't really been high on her list of priorities, so it's all pretty new to her. As expected, her clothes make her stick out as someone that doesn't quite belong here, between the bright white shirt dress combo with the purple accents on the edges and the nauseatingly pink stripes of her stockings. She peeks at the map while it's still out, then gets back to sightseeing when it's gone. "To think it could lead us to an area like this, though... Have you ever been here before, Captain?" The tone of her voice suggests she doesn't expect an affirmative, but still wants to get some confirmation on that. "Marvelous... Ah, yes. We should be able to find something as long as we move in the general area of the X. And an engine can't be that hard to find if it's... Well. An engine. It'd be loud and rather obvious." First things first: Actually figuring out where in this giant machine the engine is hiding. As she ties her hair into a ponytail and holds a full-sized toolbox between her teeth somehow, though, she feels that foreboding wind coming from an unfamiliar bird! Man! Birdman! "Um... Hello! Sorry, but we really need this engine. We'll try to make it up to the people here later, though!" She suggests, although she doesn't sound completely convinced that things would actually go that way. "But if you're going to stand against us, then please be prepared for a fight!"
Kale Hearthward	The wind dies down very briefly, just in the vicinity of Hook.
Captain Hook	As Kale makes his grand and showy entrance, slowing the advance with gale-force winds, Hook has the good sense to put his hand on his hat and his hook under his collar before both hat and coat blow away. The blast is fierce and Hook is a normal man; he starts sliding back under the pressure of it. When the wind dies down, he is as good as his word. He doffs his hat and bows politely. When he straightens, he says, "Good form, sir!"
Guzma	Guzma is here. Dressed in his usual clothes and bling. He's on foot, cheerfully walking next to Cantio, while three Charizards fly over head, each a Ride Charizard, carrying the Trio, who are back in action for once. "This is sweet, Will. Thanks for the help." But as Kale appears to screw things up... The winds block Guzma, who's just a guy. The Charizards, though, move to batter through it, it being Not Very Effective (and also them just being fast and strong as hell), and raise up high, moving to clear Kale and get to the engine. Guzma grabs one of his Ultra Balls and pops the button. And then another. One guy? He only needs two Pokemon - Golisopod to tank his hits, and Vikavolt to do damage without being resisted by an obvious Flying-Type. "Let's get dirty, birdman. You try to stop me from helping my town, I'll stop you from having a beak!" The Trio, meanwhile, try to figure out, without the help of that map, exactly where the engine is, using the Charizard's senses.
Reyes	What just HAPPENED? Why is Reyes's blood boiling over the tauntings of some random guy on the radio? The young man's not altogether sure of it himself. But for all of his awkwardness, he is sincere, a man of his word. He said he'll do this and so he shall. And that's why a figure swoops out of the sky. Decked up in bulky-looking, environmentally sealed armor suited for battle or exploration of dangerous places... painted royal blue with golden trim, flexible enough, face and eyes hidden behind a shiny viewplate... the armor is aglow and crackling with arcane energies flowing along what look to be circuits engraved along its surface twisting about in angular, geometrically dazzling patterns. It's held aloft by a pair of glowing angelic wings formed of purest energy attached to its back, projected by thin metal frameworking and clockwork gear-joints. And Reyes is very pleased to have proper environmental sealing as he swoops in for a very visible landing on a nearby rooftop while scanning for The Pirate and his cohorts, the wings dispersing and folding up along the armor's back as soon as they're no longer needed. "This place is GROSS. And people say Techno-Wizard power generation's frivolous...." Thankfully, his sensors pick up the unmistakable surge of supernatural energies nearby and he takes off again, wings unfolding. He glides down into the street, braking his landing by skidding along on one knee until he reaches a stop, rises... the wings once again power down and fold up as the head tilts up, that blank plate turned towards the gathering... and the fact that another Paladin beat him here. Huh, should've guessed. As the armored man rises, the circuitry whines and sizzles with vivid blue powers that almost hurt to stare directly at. The frequency increases up to a storm before stabilizing. A second layer of armor, rendered in glowing wireframe sprouts up around Reyes as he raises a hand, pointing towards Hook. "Alright. You wanna see why I'm not afraid of you?" One might expect there to be some branding of weapons. Some showy flair. A fireball or lightning bolt. There is none of that. Instead, if Captain Hook doesn't pick up on the danger in some way and do something about it, he'll likely find himself just taking a GUT PUNCH from seemingly nothing at all. Even though Reyes is WAY OVER THERE.
Staren	Alongside the Concord is a machine that looks very much in place here. A grey metal walker, 11 or 12 feet high, made of moderately sharp angles and long rectangular, trapezoidal, or triangular bits. Almost industrial in appearance, but not quite -- brighter, cleaner, lighter in construction, almost like this is the shiny, expensive version of some future's idea of a forklift. Something about the way it moves OOZES the mood of a combustion engine -- the whole thing shaking from the vibration as if somewhere within are cylinders driven by many explosions per second, a slight delay and ramp-up in movement as if gears somewhere need to rev up. And yet... There aren't actually any exhaust pipes spewing smoke. Reyes's sensors can detect both electric and magic batteries. With signatures ALMOST like he'd expect from home, but each influenced, tweaked with ideas from other worlds. And controlling this machine, visible under a hemispherical bubble cockpit, is... Staren. She's completing the look with goggles and a gray jumpsuit, no, jumpskirt given the bottom half of the garment, attempting to give the impression, at least, of someone not unlike the workers here, rather than a high-class criminal or industrialist taking things out of greed. She's new at this fashion thing, okay. To Kale, she says (her voice amplified by speakers), "That you're more concerned about who is a criminal, than why, is exactly why you'll never run out of criminals to face. Then she turns to Reyes, and pushes the goggles up over her forehead for a moment. She looks... sadder. Pitying. "It really is wearing, to be afraid all the time. Find friends. Find people who care about you and that you can trust. You're right -- Hook is scary if he's not on your side, just as Lilian is. You need to feel someone's got your back, or you'll be driven to do something you regret. Also: It's been a year and you're still using the same non-powered armor? Batteries aren't an issue when you aren't on a long deployment. Then again, perhaps there's no point; A Gladius, a Thunder Hound, a Prophet, even a Samson or something bulkier, does it mean anything when you have strength-enhancing magic and Armor of Ithan?" She taps her chin. "Oh right, you said you like the lighter-weight stuff. Why haven't you picked up a Coyote or a Sabre or something? Can the Paladins not afford to spot you three quarters of a million credits? Maybe you could build something yourself?" She slaps the inside of the cockpit bubble for emphasis.
Kale Hearthward	"Mmm. Prepare for a fight. Possibly the most milquetoast of pirating challenges I've heard yet," says Kale, crossing his arms as he remains hovering in place. "I'm expecting something more along the lines of 'prepare to be boarded, have your tongues cut out, etcetera'. And walking the plank without a glider." He glances over at Guzma. "Yeah, like that. That's better. And then over at Staren: "If you've got a good reason for being a criminal, then apply for government aid to solve your problems - not that you look like you need it." "Gentlemen - and I apologize for how hard I am straining to make that word fit - I have fought pirates before. I have killed pirates before. Sky pirates, mind you, not sea pirates or..." He looks over the quartet (plus pokemon, mecha, etc). "... Land pirates? Are you land pirates? I had been expecting a ship of some sort at least. I have to say..." He draws his right-hand sword. "You are, possibly, the sorriest excuse for pirates I've ever heard of." And then, going from stillness to full speed nearly instantly, he's airdashing forward and downward, moving past each of the Concord party with his sword swinging across each in turn, while the winds continue to beat at them, giving him a continuous battlefied advantage. "If it's any consolation, you're still worth putting down, though!" he calls, post-attack. --- Meanwhile, the group of Goonzmas make their way across the blighted industrialscape. The map said that what they were looking for was... around here? "Hey!" calls a voice - an overseer in overalls. "You lot - are you the new temps?" "Your shift was supposed to start fifteen minutes ago - come on!" She tries to wave them over to a small transport ship. "I'll give you a lift to the site!"
Captain Hook	William doesn't even have to look. That's the worst part of it. The shot comes swinging in, amidst the howling wind, amidst the smog and the smoke and the roaring, amidst all the nonsense roaring around him, and he doesn't even have to look. The cutlass is drawn as he's bowing. He quite literally hooks the weapon by the handleguard in the midst of the bow. As he rises and Reyes fires, the cutlass whirls out of his belt, catching the bolt from nowhere in mid-air. It bounces off to the side, smashing into one of the toxic pools in a spray of awful green comic-book poison. Hook himself goes sliding backwards, spinning one to put his hat back on his head and swap the cutlass to his good hand. He waves the hook hand slightly. That did, after all, hurt - he dislikes having to block things with the hook. It's no good on his wrist. It is, after all, dug in. He much prefers using the hook in other ways. He flicks the flintlock into the hook hand. It spins once as he turns and starts walking. "Would you all pardon me? I seem to have some business to handle. Shan't be but a minute." His walk is slow, purposeful. He's still got the coat over his shoulders like a cape, and it billows dramatically in Kale's provided wind. He spins the cutlass in his actual hand like it's a pistol in an old-timey Western. "I'm afraid, sir, that if you want to do anything meaningful, you shall have to come down and fight like a man." Hook raises the flintlock with his hook. He jerks the hook back in mid-motion to pull the trigger. The effect is fascinating- -there's nothing magic about it, but his aim is absolutely impeccable, pointed directly for Reyes's skull without a moment's hesitation. As the flintlock spins backwards in his hook hand he catches a bit of powder and a round of shot in the barrel, clicks the hammer back with his hip, and fires a second shot for Reyes's chest. "Come along, then. You are, after all, the one who challenged me to a duel." There's a flicker of red in his blue eye. "And it is ever such bad form to shoot from so far away when you intend to duel."
Guzma	The sword tries to swing at Guzma. Golisopod moves to intercept, diamond-hard carapace moving to deflect, though it still hurts the bug with a grunting noise. "Vikavolt, Golisopod. Tactic A." Both Pokemon just glance at each other, puzzled. The flying electric jaw beetle and the giant blue sea bug finally realize which one that is, and then move. Golisopod charges Kale, trying to grab him and lower his mobility, while Vikavolt starts charging with electricity, before, one Golisopod can force Kale into position via harassment, firing a Zap Cannon directly where he steps. It's quite shocking, really. MEANWHILE: Tupp, Rapp, and Zipp land their Charizards. They're supposed to be stealing an engine. Maybe this will help them out? Tupp, the leader, takes control. "Yo, that's, uh, us! The temps. Sorry, a crazy bird was stopping traffic, boss." That's technically true. "Give us a lift, please, yo!" They put their Charizards back in the rental balls, and move to follow along once they get transport. They are not prepared for Menial Labor, which they will no doubt get dragged into as they try to steal the engine parts.
Cantio	"Milquetoast?! I was trying to be polite..." Cantio slumps briefly, but finds her determination coming back to her fairly quickly. Gripping the handle to her toolbox firmly, she holds it out in front of her as it rearranges itself, breaking into multiple pieces before reforming as a rather large sword made of both solid and translucent purple-ish... Something. It looks kind of plasticky, but it thrums faintly as though there's something the whole thing. Hearing Kale's criticisms, she eventually leans towards Guzma. "Bringing the bus might not have been a bad idea, actually..." She whispers, then looks up as she notices the strange armor covering Staren and Reyes. She watches them for a while as well, refraining from reaching into her pockets to pull out a drone cube. She needs to focus. Cantio clears her throat, then looks back up at Kale. "And we're here to get what we need to create a better home for people that the government has already abandoned. If they had helped in the first place, we wouldn't need to do this in the first place." Cantio might be skipping a few steps there, but her tone is clear: She's not going to be leaving without the fight Kale provides. She brings up her sword in front of her as he swoops in, shifting her foot slightly to give her a firmer stance to not get stabbed right through the chest in the process. Kale's speed proves to be far greater than Cantio's stance can withstand, however, and she takes a few nasty slashes to the arms and sides in his passes. The winds make it a fair bit worse to deal with, too, as she has to take a moment to regain her footing. Still, she keeps holding the sword parallel to her shoulders, the point tipped forward at Kale as though she's about to stab him in the face. The visible problem: He's still way over there, and she's still way down there. That doesn't change the way she stands, however, nor how she just thrusts her sword forward once in a very obvious stabbing motion. What's not so predictably useless, however, is how the sword's blade promptly bursts off of the handle. The blade splits into multiple smaller pieces, each one flying around towards Kale at multiple angles and pelting him with all manner of burning lasers that let off rather stereotypical laser noises, but purposely at the wrong times to try and throw off attempts to actually predict when and where they're coming from.
Reyes	It's rather hard to debate life choices and engineering decisions when under fire. Reyes heard Staren's words, but his attention's much more focused on Hook's handling of his sneaky opener. How... how did he do that? Reyes is shaken. "Gh... I was right. Logic-transcending skills...!" Does his opponent possess a danger sense? Freakish combat instincts? Or is he simply that experienced and paranoid that he tried that and lucked out...? The Techno-Wizard gives visible pause as he ponders those possibilities and that's enough time for Hook to open fire. The first bullet strikes hard against the Armor of Ithan. Instead of penetrating as a bullet's meant to do, its energy is absorbed and distributed through the shield. The result is that Reyes is knocked a half-step backwards by the sheer force involved, and then sent tumbling over by the second shot, a glowing hole punched into a portion of the magical armor layering. The young man takes a tumble but rolls with it, springing back up to his feet. His motions are nowhere near as coordinated as the stylish pirate captain, but as he rises again to his feet he raies an arm and opens his grasp. A compartment on his armor's leg flips open briefly and a metallic cylinder covered in yet more runes and circuitry flies up into his hand. It's clearly some sort of... energy weapon, maybe? Its top features three rotating gears around the emitter, and they spin, re-aligning a set of three gemstones into place. One that's blue, one that's white, and one that's black... And with a freakish wintry howl, white energy erupts from the emitter out to sword-length. The surrounding air freezes instantly into what seems like a stormy blade of ice. The chilly aura extends quite a distance around him, making it difficult to breathe. Anyone alive who's too close might in fact feel like being TOO close is ripping away their very lifeforce... "You asked for it, Captain." Reyes ducks down, his wings flaring out to full extend and brilliantly erupting with might. He shoots forth like a rocket, aiming to thrust that blade into Hook's gut - just slightly off to the side, in an effort to avoid anything too vital.
Staren	Reyes goes right for the attack! Staren comments, "Ha! Yeah, I tried that already back in Neverland and it didn't work on him. At least you're just out some PPE instead of some TW cannons, huh? Dang, though I didn't see your mouth or hands move, or... ah. Built into the arm?" And then she double-takes at Hook, staring with mouth agape: You reloaded a black powder weapon that fast?! 'Nothing superhuman about me' my foot..." Drones fly in from the way the Concord came, to watch the fight. Her ear turns to Kale as he speaks, followed by her face. She tilts her head to one side at the comment about not looking like she needs aid. Furrowing her brow, she is at least not COMPLETELY without guilt for what they're doing here. "It's for friends. Without them, I'd be... well." She glances at Reyes, then back to Kale. "Where's the aid for the people working here then? Forced to breathe this poison day in and out..." She smirks slightly, confidence regained as she finds an angle. "Consider this free renovations and removal of toxic waste at no cost. If the Commonwealth cares so much, then they can replace what we take with something that isn't so harmful to air quality. Bet they won't, though!" Kale takes the offensive, apparently knowing just where to attack a machine like this -- Staren twists it out of the way and fires thrusters to avoid taking the full force of blows, but Kale knows just where to hit to give it some mobility problems anyway! "Rrrgh!" Staren grunts in frustration as motors strain to move. Reyes shows off a cool sword! "Ooh... what is /that/? At least you don't settle for a regular old flaming sword, huh?" Some of the drones focus on Reyes, scanning and gathering data. Staren can't spare that much focus from Kale, though: "I guess before we can remove the engine, we have to remove you first, huh? Alright. Reach in, grab it, remove it! Same procedure." A hydraulic(?), gripping claw on the mech's right arm spins, and then swings forward... but it's dangerous even before it makes contact, thanks to a shocking arc of electricity!
Captain Hook	Reyes comes swinging in. The freakish howl is a winter storm that saps vitality and drinks away energy. The wings spread wide and send Reyes speeding faster than a human possibly could. The air turns as chilly as a London winter. William's breath is mist in the black and awful air as smog crystallizes around him. But. A man flying at Captain Hook with a sword? How very nostalgic for what was both a lifetime and a week ago. Hook drops the flintlock. He slides sideways, just sideways enough for Reyes's blade to miss his body entirely. The hook comes down on Reyes's wrist before he can swing back inwards, pushing the blade away at the cost of the metal freezing along his hand. The black, inky, frozen smoke up his wrist chills his hand to the bone. Awful. An awful, frustrating pain. It's a parry of the most unusual sort. His foot swings down to knock the flintlock back up into his hip holster as he turns with Reyes like a bullfighter, allowing the other man to jet past. No more need for that. The man's chosen to fight him man to man, and Hook will, indeed, respect it. But the gleam in his eye is certainly not that of a wacky fun-time pretendy pirate. The look in his eye is... Uncomfortable, to say the least. He walks like a predator. Like a dangerous beast of the sea given legs. There is a palpable aura of menace, not of some sort of magic power, not of some sort of special energy, not psychic pressure, not anything so gauche, so simple, so...imposing. The aura of menace is that of a man who, faced with the choice between a normal life, a quiet life, and a life of raiding and plundering, chose the latter of his own free will. So when Reyes next comes around for a strike he finds Hook's hook coming up to the collar of his flying machine, to grab the man and simply redirect him without any force on Hook's part straight into the polluted ground.
Kale Hearthward	GOONZMAS: "Crazy birds - what was it this time, an ixal, a chozo, a rito, an alkari, an arakkoa - there's too many different crazy birds out here," the overalled overseer says to herself. The transport lifts up and gets into motion. "So - what's your work assignment? Where are you from? What do you think of the new safety regulations? Where did you-" The Goonzmas face a gauntlet of questions they may not be prepared to answer, trapped in the confines of the transport shuttle! EVERYONE ELSE: Kale gets shocked as he turns around for a second pass - the elemental rules don't quite apply (he's actually poison weak) but it is indeed an electrifying experience. "You-" He can't get a word in edgewise, as next come a squadron of flying laser swords. Kale quickly breathes into the hilt of his weapon, and tries swinging it around to block the lasers - the sword leaves copies of itself floating in the air as its swung about, providing some cover, but not enough. And then Staren comes in with the claw, grabbing Kale from a blind spot! "SQUAWK!" "You're not getting me or the engine!" he calls, and makes a hand motion - the wind changes direction abruptly, sending the sword copies raining down at the concord group!
Reyes	Reyes... really hasn't improved that much since the snowy crisis in New York. Despite all these fantastic, high quality gadgets that he clearly knows how to use SAFELY, it would be a stretch to say that he knows how to use them with real SKILL. And that attack was just too straightforward, wasn't it? He feels the mistake when he's nearly upon the pirate, seeing the shift in weight... but it's too late to stop.. "khhhh...!" With his opponent dodging, Reyes wills his wings to work and alter his momentum but there's just not enough time. Unable to either stop his charge or properly dodge, he GACKS at being so deftly wrenched around and sent careening into the ground. He hits with a mighty impact that disperses the Armor of Ithan. The wireframe simply shatters and the brilliance of the power flowing through Reyes's armor goes down a few notches. He bounces and rolls and scrapes along, winded and disoriented, but clambers to his feet with a few groans. "Still... not scared." He wheezes out defiantly through the suit's speakers. With a click-whirr the gears of his TW-Saber spin again, the blade of ice dispersing. The next set of lenses are a Zircon, Opal, and Diamond. This time when the blade emerges, it's a faint blue aura that swirls and rages, torn this way and that by a colorless blur. Is this a weapon? If so, what shape is it? How long is it...? Reyes charges in, but this time using his own leg-power. "And I don't NEED to be!" He makes a few swift and mighty swings. They're hardly elegant. Measured, certainly, but a polished swordsman he is not. But the weapon HOWLS as it's swung, like a windstorm, and simply backing up is not sufficient - because the arc the weapon draws through the air takes on a life of its own and continues howlong along, the blade of negative air pressure causing calamity as the actual atmosphere closes in to replace itself. Yes, it really is a blade of wind. It has some 'substance' and can be parried though, if one can discern its shape.
Guzma	Oh no. The trio is doomed. How do they answer these questions? Zipp's the answer, the large round fellow with gray hair and the brain of the group. "Oh, no clue - wouldn't dare assume. We're from out in the Summer region, originally." He begins answering those questions the only way one can. Blaming the IT tech. "See, our information got lost through bureaucratic heck, so we were told to touch base with you on what we're doing. Someone sent the wrong email to the wrong person and their answer to us was 'well, you'll figure it out'. Get us temps fired in week one, is what I'm thinking is happening." He seems entirely serious - he has a strong poker face. Tupp and Rapp look at each other and nod. MEANWHILE: The swords come flying, Golisopod moving to shield Guzma from getting skewered. It is stabbed all over, as it roars. Guzma is frustrated. So, he grabs another Pokeball, and pitches it straight towards Kale! Or behind him, more specifically. Scizor suddenly appears behind him, and pulls back a metal mantis claw. It then proceeds to impact that claw straight into his back! As Golisopod tanks, Vikavolt fires an electric web, trying to even more lower Kale's mobility.
Cantio	Swords rain down from the skies, and Cantio's own sword is still split apart when that happens, With little else to defend herself with, she tries deflecting the whole lot of the blades coming her way! It does not go very well at all. If nothing else, at least the swords cut through cleanly, giving her at least some small chance of closing up the wounds instead of having to deal with the considerably more awful alternative of having to actually pull them out. "What a formidable... Whatever that is. Breath Weapon, was it?" Recalling the pieces of her sword to her, Cantio flips her weapon to an underhand grip before erupting into a pillar of light. After a brief (and skippable) transformation sequence, she emerges with far pinker hair and a brighter tint in her eyes while her outfit becomes more like a leotard with several floating chunks of technological... Something floating around her. "Let's test the strength of our weapons, then!" Flying after Kale this time, she accelerates rapidly before trying to contend with him in the air, slashing upwards on her ascent to try and get his attention on her. Immediately afterwards, she twists the blade to turn the bottom of the hilt towards him, revealing what appears to be a speaker. Said speaker starts blasting sheer noise at him, apparently designed to bludgeon his ears and body alike with sonic blasts!
Kale Hearthward	GOONZMAS: "Ugh, the bureaucracy." Blaming IT universally works. The trio get brought to another part of the region, and the shuttle lands. There's a space the size of a football field in front of them, and at the far end... is a shed, which has all indications of containing something engine-like. Between them and it are a bunch of pieces of junk, just floating in the air, for no readily apparent reason. The junk's not dense enough to block their passage, it's just floating there. "Well, if you're not sure of your work assignment, we can just put you on wrangling duty. Good luck, and if you get stuck someone will be by to get you out. Probably." Then the shuttle takes off before they can ask questions, leaving the trio alone.
Captain Hook	"Ah, my stupid, stupid lad." Reyes comes charging in with a blade of wind. It's invisible, impossible to see, impossible to perceive. How long is it? It doesn't matter. It could be as long as Reyes likes. As far as Hook's concerned, it is. So when he ducks, and lunges into the strike, and his hook comes up to block the strike, it's as close to the hilt as he can manage. He gets right up in Reyes's face as the wind blade grinds against his flesh. His eye is wide and bright as the blood splatters on his white dress shirt. "Aren't you an engineer?" Hook asks as the hook swings about to latch around Reyes's wrists again. "Have you forgotten the words of the Greek?" "Give me a long enough lever, and I shall move the earth." "It's about leverage, lad! Read your Archimedes!" His foot swings down to grab Reyes's. To swing him off balance. To swing him down onto the ground. But that's not the real threat. The real threat is Hook cutting his hook for Reyes's emitter, to rip out the gems. His eye is full of merciless, all-consuming greed.
Staren	Staren ooos at the sword copying, "That's a neat trick!" and then gives a triumphant "HA!" when she grabs Kale. This is soon followed by a YIPE! as a sword lodges itself in the cockpit canopy, inches away from her. The mech gets all scraped up from the hail of swords, some lodge in it, and something vital is hit as all motors power down for a moment, letting Kale go. The mech slumps. "Ohhh no you don't!" Staren takes a hand off the control sticks and splays her fingers across a control panel, as if touching it matters more than where exactly she touches it. The mech moves again, differently. Instead of the combustion engine's shakiness and gear-shifting, now each movement seems... seperate. Not smoothly coordinated. Move THEN attack, or attacking in a way that throws off the balance. A display of some sort appears in front of Staren, projected just inside the canopy in electric blue. The only thing anyone can make out from a distance is an ominously-decreasing meter of some sort. This fight can't go on too much longer, if empty meter means no more fuel. If Kale didn't back away, Staren does now, the mech walking backwards as it raises its other arm, which is clutching a large gun of some sort, with some gems and bits of wire and jade on it. Reyes can recognize it as a Northern Gun 200-series railgun sized for power armor or large D-Bee use, modded with something like Techno-Wizardry. "Alllright, no more mister nice guy! No more holding back...!" Staren repeats Reyes's initial trick, but with bigger telekinetic blasts firing several times per second. At the same time, the canopy opens just enough for her to aim a rifle out of it, trying to snipe Kale with laser pulses and grenades while he's dodging the force blasts!
Kale Hearthward	Kale goes to get himself free from the mecha claw - only to get grabbed by a monster claw, and webbed up. But then, in a literal twist of extreme maneuverability, he breaks free! ... Of the various grabs and webbing, anyway. He's still looking very banged up. "Breath Weapon Gobo!" calls Kale towards Cantio. "Gobo! Like, the theatrical term!" He brings his sword up to block the attack - only for it to be revealed as a sonic blast attack, which he can't block nearly as easily. "SQUAWK!" And then Staren fires ALL GUNS. Kale starts trying to block these with Gobo-clones - which turns out to be a losing battle, and he eventually abandons the blocking to just try jetting clear - also a losing battle. "... Alright then. I will give you this!" calls Kale, once he's clear enough to get some breathing room. "You are not the worst pirates I've ever seen!" "And take that as some small consolation, along with this truth: Those that come thieving shall taste justice! Let the curtain be pulled back!" He reaches into his vest and pulls out a large belt buckle, one that has a curtain and a lever on the front of it. "HENSHIN!" THE TAKE ^ ^ STAGE! by force KAMEN RIDER E N C O R E Instead of a bird, there's a helmeted hero (albeit one with a helmet built to accomodate a beak). "We've dispensed with the rising action - now taste the act one finale! RIDER CLIMAX STRIKE!" He dives at each of them, swinging his sword again - nothing's actually changed in his attack pattern, just that he has a cape and a helmet now. (And maybe that does make a difference.)
Guzma	"What the heck's a Kamen Rider?!" Guzma shouts, as the diving swing comes out. Guzma is hit, but only because Golisopod is sent rolling back onto him, sending them both to the ground. Scizor and Vikavolt are both sent flying down, injured as well. But... "TRIPLE THREAT!" The three all rise, eyes gleaming, as Guzma climbs into a crouch. Golisopod suddenly blasts upwards, water appearing underneath him, to slam into Kale and get him drenched. Scizor starts dancing, swords appearing around it, before leaping upwards into another claw, straight to the back. And Vikavolt... If Kale is drenched, this upcoming supercharged Zap Cannon is certainly going to suck. The Goonzmas see the junk floating. And the shed. They send back out the Charizards, climb on top, and pull out Concord hammerspace tech, containing strong cables and ropes. They're going to just... Try and break open the shed, burn the junk away, and pull the engine away! Unfortunately, it's called wrangling duty, so it can't be remotely that easy.
Kale Hearthward	The charizards go in, with the intent of dismantling and burning the junk- - and then immediately they're stuck inside something. Some sort of... gelatinous substance, in the form of several cubes, which weren't visible until they disturbed them. And then the cubes start creeping across the field towards the charizards' handlers...
Reyes	"Ghakgh!" Reyes' lack of real style is showing here, quite glaringly. These skills suffice against most monsters, but an experienced swordsman from a dream? Clearly, not so much. And Hook defies all of Reyes's best strategies - the aura effects and wide radiant energies are meant to drive people AWAY, KEEP them from getting in close, so that-- So that what happens next doesn't happen. If Reyes wasn't wearing that helmet, Hook might just be able to see his expression. A mixture of flinching horror and disgust. A pained yowl echoes from the young man over the speakers as he's once again slammed into the ground, flailing and unable to protect his weapon. The hook pierces into the metal and the gears, ripping the thing apart. The circuits tear, the lenses scatter, and the power flowing from within the cylinder builds to an UNCONTROLLED, blazing brilliance as its other pieces are scattered. The blade sputters out but-- For a few seconds, he BASE of the TW-Saber's so super-charged with energies that are whining out of control and increasing in pitch that it's VERY evident the thing's going to explode in Hook's face, threatening to take the rest of his ARM, maybe more, if he's unlucky. ... But it doesn't. Instead, it sputters, shoots out a pulse of blue mist, and dims to nothing. And that's when the speakers of Reyes's armor flare to life with an electronic squealing growling noise, mixed with a wail of rage and frustration. But that gets clamped down on soon enough. Reyes speaks, dragging himself up to his feed, with VERY forced composure. "When I said duel, I imagined something more formal... I've been trying, very hard, NOT to inflict any wound on you I can't heal. NOT to maim you or worse kill you." He first gets to one knee, and it's then that the real damage inflicted upon his armor shines through. The circuits on the front are all cracked and sparking down, the energy flowing them dying. The repeated impacts have shattered much of the ceramic plating, comproming the integrity and showing some of Reyes's outfit underneath. "But you get off on this, don't you? Bullying people. Stomping them down and puffing out your chest. You're no thief. It's not the HAVING that drives you, is it? It's the TAKING. I'll NEVER understand people like you." As the faceplate is now too damaged to see properly through, Reyes removes it and casts it aside, revealing his grimacing face with a slightly bloodied forehead. Short, unruly curly black hair and blue eyes, a prominent (if bloodied) forehead and broad chin hidden by a short, lazily-trimmed beard and fuzzy, unstyled moustache. He clearly doesn't care much about appearances. The young man appears unarmed, but he GLARES at Hook. "You're more of a devil than a pirate, with that kinda attitude." Without any real ceremony involved, a small grenade-sized ball that fell out of Reyes's armor rolls just under Hook, and then....a little spike darts up from it, tipped with the tiniest red zircon. Reyes kicks off the ground, vaulting backwards... Then, the lightning comes. A bolt from the blue, with Hook in the epicenter.
Cantio	"Gobo? Oh! Like the... The light thing!" Apparently, Kale's not the only one familiar with theatre here. It did take her a bit to make the connection, though, so there's also the possibility she might be faking it. Backing off as the claws go flying around and the explosions rock the sky, Cantio has to back up to not get caught up in those attacks herself. Preparing her sword in front of her again as Kale announces something dramatically, her eyes widen when he shouts 'HENSHIN!'. "You can do THAT, too?! That's just... Maybe I should try that, too." She murmurs that last part to herself, unfortunately having already transformed before coming to that realization. Her eyes even sparkle briefly when Kale reappears with that beak-fitting helmet, and she looks conflicted when he comes in for the flurry of strikes. Once again, her swordsmanship continues to struggle against Kamen Rider Encore's speed. Even when she manages to deflect a blow, it comes in through the rest of her arm instead of moving safely away from her body. She's bleeding rather visibly by the end of his maneuver, and her floating things don't seem to be able to react quickly enough to stop those attacks. "That form... I need to find that kind of power, too. Nn. But this just keeps happening...!" Cantio sounds frustrated, and her grip on her sword grows tighter as she shifts her stance into an overhead one. "But I can't just keep dragging everyone down... Kamen Rider!" The blade shimmers brighter and brighter as lasers starts bursting upwards, making it look like a massive beam weapon rather than a tech-based claymore. Cantio's floating bits swarm the sword, adding to the length even further until it becomes ludicrously long. "I'm putting everything I got into this... So take it if you can!" She snaps the giant laser blade forward at Kale first, moving quickly as if trying to tap his head first with a surprise strike. She follows that strike by twisting the whole thing sideways, then swinging it horizontally back towards center mass in a smooth follow-up. The third and final slash comes down straight downwards, poised to cleave that giant beam right into Kale and his armor alike! She's not. Her sister is the actual diva.
Guzma	Oh no. Gelatinous cubes. As the Charizards get stuck, the group panics. This wasn't the plan! But then, Zipp, the brilliant one, gets an idea, and releases a Pokemon. "Go, Haunter!" Haunter is released, and as the cubes try to absorb it...it just floats through them, up above. The ghost cackles. "Shadow Ball!" Zipp shouts out, as the purple ghost starts creating an orb of energy. It throws it at the cube, and then again, and then again. And then it moves for other ones. It's trying to clear a path so the trio can start pushing forward and also not have dissolved Charizards!
Staren	Staren is relieved to be back on the offensive, nodding as Kale gives faint praise... and then the true praise, of transforming to finish the fight! Wha... this guy's a kamen rider too?! Staren is actually kinda shocked, she thought they were from an all-human world! She pulls the rifle back in and the canopy closes, frantically commanding the mech to defend itself, but it's no good -- this time, Kale's flurry of attacks overwhelms her. Joints spark and snap, the machine has more trouble moving. The meter drains faster. The claw is sliced clean off! Maybe it's because Staren is a little off her game, being unnerved by watching the psychological warfare Hook is waging against Reyes. Speaking of which, she STILL looks away from Kale, over at him, when the helmet comes off, wincing. No helmet = death! ...Oh right, techno-wizard. He MUST have some backup forcefield or the like, just as she does. He doesn't care about appearances... Again, like her past self. Hmm. It's certainly not helping that she's focusing so much attention on Reyes! She needs to do SOMETHING, but just warping in a ton of explosives might somewhat defeat the point of trying to get something for nothing here! Ah. A slight smile comes to her face as she thinks of a last-ditch idea. "I gotta admit, you're doing a good job... but I'm not out of tricks yet!" Electricity can't get to most of the systems... but that just means more is free to put towards another use! She swings up the TK railgun, firing short, controlled bursts at Kale... and then the next time he dives, she supercharges the hull with so much electricity it starts to heat up! Electricity and magic bleed together, striking out at the area with arcs of violent power...
Captain Hook	William laughs. "You shot me without warning from a building far away. The only reason you closed is because you learned that wouldn't work. And you've the unmitigated temerity to lecture me about formality?" "What did you think? That I would play fair? That I would be a kind, silly Mr. Pirate when you loudly shrieked about how you didn't fear me over the chatter-box, how you weren't afraid of me because I was dangerous but because of my mind?" Reyes tosses the helmet aside. He's glaring. Hook has nothing on his face at all. It's completely calm. Completely free of anything other than that little red glint in his bright blue eye. Reyes rolls the grenade. Hook steps back twice. He doesn't step out of range. He steps just far enough back to kick his flintlock into his hook hand. The grenade goes off. William fires directly into it. The bullet parts the lightning. The heat of it still gets him, searing his coat and going up his arm - the trouble with having a metal hook attached to your skin is that fire and cold are especially unpleasant to deal with - but the lightning simply splits in the wake of the bullet, like he caught it on the metal and sent it into the ground. "Goodness but you are an arrogant chap, aren't you?" Will licks his lips as he starts walking that slow, uncanny walk. He moves slowly, ominously. The feeling of a shark slowly closing in only amplifies as he moves. "What are you painting upon me, to make it easier for you to claim you aren't holding back? What sort of demon do you imagine William Hook to be? A bully? You loudly shouted that you did not fear me because you felt I was just a man. A brute? You struck me from afar without a word of warning as I stood waiting for you to come down to face me." "You threw down the glove, lad. You said, 'I don't fear you, Captain Hook.'" "I am a pirate." "You challenged me to make you fear me. And so I shall do just that."
Captain Hook	Hook drops a treasure chest. It's surprisingly plain - well-cared for, of course, and inlaid with gold, and with a great big lock on the front, but plain nonetheless, the sort of thing that's meant to be buried in the ground somewhere and survive for a long long time. It's the sort of thing that you expect to dig up after you follow an ancient map - the sort of thing a child would look at and feel proud to find, the sort of thing that might show up in a book. It's not ornate. It's not gloriously ivory or silver. Just a humble wooden chest with gold hinges and gold lining. Willim kicks it. The chest pops open. There's gold and jewels hanging out of it, just as one might expect, so many that it's blinding exposed to even the dim light of the industrial behemoth's shrouded sky. Hook kicks it again. Something emerges. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. Tick. It's a crocodile clock. The ticking carries as Hook approaches. The ticking carries over even the industrial noise. People at their workshift freeze as the clock begins to tick. As the crocodile clock starts to tick, tick, tick. And then Hook starts to sing. It's low, it's quiet, but it carries, too, as if carried by the crocodile clock. It's the slow beat of an approaching monster, emerging from the waters, ready to strike. The slow beating drum of a pirate ship just off the bow, letting the village know that the raid is coming. "Tick, tick, tick, goes the crocodile clock," "Counting down the mi-nutes, the sec-onds, the beat," "Under the sky a little boy is preening," "Loudly proclaiming his brave'ry complete." His steps are starting to take a rhythmic beat as he spins the flintlock. "Tick, tick, tick, goes the croco-dile clock," "Beady eyes watching to see where you stop," "Here spins the minute," "Here spins the hour," "Here count the seconds till your bravado drops." He levels the flintlock. "Tick, tick-tick, tick-tick, tick-tock," "Listen to the ticking of the crocodile clock," "Waiting to see what piece of you drops," "Will I take off your hand? Will your fingers go pop?" He hasn't shot yet. His hook's just spinning it, slowly, carefully. He's building the anticipation. The pressure. The fear. In the background the crocodile clock ticks louder, and louder, and louder, and louder, and Hook's singing keeps up with it as it starts to speed up. "Where will you go to hide from the ticking," "The tick-tick-tick-tick of the crocodile clock?" "What's in your heart that you're desperately hiding?" "What do I cut out to hear you plead 'stop'?" "Where are the secrets the crocodile's seeing," "Where is the beating of your tell-tale heart?" "What do you fear? Why are you quaking?" "What makes you tick, like the crocodile clock?" Bang.
Kale Hearthward	Kamen Rider Encore gets drenched. He gets sliced. And then he gets shocked - the electricity flowing all the more freely for the pathways the drenching and the cuts provide. He gets shocked out of the air, falling right into Cantio's sights - and the laser nearly bisects him, the helmeted bird only barely managing to get clear with it slicing him up badly anyway. And then Staren comes in - more electricity, digging into the increasing gaps in Kale's armor - and indeed, gaps in his defenses in general, the Paladin-Hawk finding his endurance flagging more and more as the fight goes on. "All of you -" he says. "Fighting for your comrades. Your friends. Digging deep, bringing forth your strongest attacks..." He clicks his heels together, and his jet-boots roar to life once more, taking him back into the air as he switches the lever on his belt. INTERMISSION "I'm sure you've convinced yourselves you absolutely need this engine you're hoping to acquire here. I'm sure you're intending to do - charitably, let's say 'mostly' good things with it. I'm sure that thought is buoying you further. I'm sure that's making you bring out your best right now." "Meanwhile, I'm not," he says, sheathing his sword in its back holster. "To me, this is just another job - another site to defend from another group of would-be thieves. Or pirates, in your case. I'm not here fighting for my friends or my ideals." "And yet - I've been matching you blow for blow. Consistently. Without needing to dig deep, without needing to build up to some large attack spike where I pull out all of my guns or strike with all of my monsters. I'd invite you to wonder why, but I'd think the answer should be obvious to you by now." "I'm Just That Good." He pulls the lever in the other direction. ACT UP ACT TWO "Final Act Climax - Encore Kick!" He angles down, and drops like a stone - a stone directed at each of the fighters (and pokemon) in turn, a flashy Rider Kick with lots of pyrotechnics going off on each impact!
Cantio	Once Cantio finishes her maneuver, the lasers from her swords die down, and the shield bits return. Rather than coming back to Cantio, however, they keep descending past her as she raises her hand to the side of her head. <Tac-Concord> [4] Cantio says, "... Ah. This is the Kamen Rider's power for real now. Get ready, and... Guzma! Take these!" The floating armor pieces circle around Guzma, acting as an extra buffer to protect and bolster the targets of his choosing. They seem to follow his commands, moving where he directs them and even providing extra power and defensive force to a target of his choosing. And then she brings her sword back up. She knows that Kale's kick is coming in too fast for her to avoid it or the explosions that are sure to follow. The best Cantio can manage is to ensure Guzma (and his Pokemon) stay standing at the very least, and just try to slow down the Kamen Rider as best she can. Is being that good really more important than fighting for her friends? For a purpose? If nothing else, it's stronger than she is right now. Her sword breaks apart into all of its separate pieces from the kick, barely even holding up before she takes that strike head on. The explosions launch Cantio into a nearby wall, and a pillar of light erupts from her again as the transformation fades, leaving her in a heap back in her regular clothes.
Guzma	Kamen Rider Encore makes his roaring opponent speech. He's high above them, and he comes down with an explosive kick. It impacts with each Pokemon, knocking all but Golisopod out. It impacts with Guzma, sending him flying back. It should knock him out. His outfit is torn. His necklace is intact - part of the Item World benefits. He's shirtless, and he's angry. "What kinda climax is that? You think you're Just That Good? I'm your equal, at minimum. Name's Big, Bad, Guzma." Guzma starts running, and leaps onto the wounded Golisopod. It knows what to do. "AND I'M THE DEALER OF DESTRUCTION! GONNA BEAT YOU DOWN, AND BEAT YOU DOWN, UNTIL YOU CAN'T GET BACK UP AGAIN!" Golisopod throws him with all its might. Guzma outstretches his hand. He moves to score it straight into Kale's face. The powered-up necklace gives him superhuman traits. And they're only growing. It's not a real superhuman punch, but with the force from Golisopod, it's enough to hurt - and maybe knock him down. But, Guzma won't survive the blow. He'll be knocked prone no matter what he does. And that's okay. He's not just a monster master. He's ya boy, Guzma.
Kale Hearthward	The gelatinous cubes don't know how to deal with something they can't absorb. The haunter blasts away enough of the cubes that the charizards can be pulled out, and clear a safe(-ish) path forward to the shed. Success! Trivially, they're able to get the shed open - and there's all manner of useful things inside. Including... something that looks very engine-like. Is that the engine that Hook's map was pointing towards? Maybe? It's hard to tell for sure. But it's an engine, at least. Unfortunately, around the same time - a shuttle lands at the other end of the field, disgorging three people in worker's uniforms - a pair of guys and a girl, all of whom look slightly like the Goonzmas. From a distance. Like - they could be stunt doubles. "When we find whoever was trying to muscle in on our gig, we're gonna bash their faces in," says the girl, tapping a lead pipe against her palm, as one does.
Guzma	They find the shed. An engine! Stunt doubles. The Team Skull trio panic, but then Tupp claps his fists together. "Let's stick to the plan! Grab the engine, yo!" They start rapidly tying cables and rope to it, attach them to the strong Charizards, and then fly up. They move to fly straight back the way the shuttle took them - and when they reach the 'stunt doubles' on their own shuttle... Charizard blasts out flame, both to scare them and to melt their lead pipes! "Team Skull rules, yo! Smell ya later!"
Kale Hearthward	Encore finishes the kick. He lands, neatly. "Do you really think so?" he asks, turning around. He turns around... just as Guzma swings at him. Things go into slow motion. If one were to zoom in the camera, they could see Kale's eyes going wide inside the helmet. He sees the hit coming a quarter-moment before it lands, and that's not nearly enough time to do anything about it. The punch connects. The helmet ripples with the shockwave. Kale ripples with the shockwave. He's knocked back on his tailfeathers - the transformation fizzling out and the belt popping off. He's stunned for a second, before reaching up to grasp at his face. "(My beak!)" he says slightly muffled. "You - you cracked my beak, I think - fuck that hurts-" He gets up to his feet and staggers over, before winding back his foot and delivering a kick to the fallen Guzma's side. "You still-winded bastard," he says, glaring down, one hand still on his face to try stabilizing it.
Reyes	None of this encounter has made that much sense... Reyes went into it without a real plan and hardly expected things to go this way. A few blows exchanged, maybe keeping the pirate busy, but... that man's skills are quite outstanding. Absolutely unreal. Even more than he could've anticipated. Who the hell else can deflect lightning with a PISTOL?! Reyes scowls at the situation, feeling increasingly vulnerable and lacking control. He... should get out of here. This isn't gonna go well. He flinches. A twitch of his forehead, a half-step backwards. Still, not panic...even as Hook decides to bring forth his arsenal from seemingly nowhere.. he only edges another couple steps back. That would've been fine... a simple staredown with an ominous ticking. But no, no, the pirate had to start singing and taunting. The young man grinds his teeth and runs rapid scenarios through his head. With a gun pointed at him and his armor down though... there's not a heck of a lot of options. And that singing is absolutely tearing at his focus. "Rrrrrrrghhh...." It might be fear. Or it might be frustration or anger. The grimace Reyes wears is growing. There's really, absolutely, no denying this. Reyes is wildly unnerved by this development. One could certainly call that fear. But he still stands bravely, and at the end... "Here goes nothing..." No time to risk casting a spell and getting shot mid-incantation. Instead, he thrusts both hands forwards, focusing all his will, and attempts to simply GRAB the bullet and yank it off course, brain burning at the strain. And the bullet does change course ever so slightly. It had been aimed at center of mass, but it veers to the side and instead-- instead, catches Reyes right in the shoulder, ripping through exposed flesh and piercing out the other side. It's a NASTY hole, one that surely must have ripped through an artery... The young man staggers back, hissing and growling down at the pain. He's certainly gotten beat up before, but his shielding rarely fails THIS BAD by the time a fight's over. He's not used to pain like this. And yet... somehow? The wound isn't gushing blood like it should be. Why? How? There's no magical spells at play... There just ISN'T a good answer to this situation. No weapon, no spell, no trick he knows could turn this situation around. So, he just grits his teeth... "I think... I've proven... enough... pirate." The one thing he's not going to do, even in this condition, is start yelling and screaming like a child. "Fine, go chase your treasure."
Staren	Staren can't help it. As Hook tears apart Reyes's actions, part of her reaches for explanations. As his song fills the air, she's remembering so desperately wishing to be understood and having it all go so wrong. Friends so few and far between. When was the last time anyone but her parents offered Staren comfort? A dimly-remembered silhouette at a party leans down and kisses her forehead. Years later, in an embrace he feels soft fur on his hands and cheek. And then... alone. Fighting so hard. Wanting to be understood. Trying to prove himself, to be wanted, and always falling short. Lashing out, desperate action. Never enough. Everyone else is stronger. Surely allies will turn on someone so useless at any moment. Telling himself it was okay as long as he did his best, but his best was never as good as others' routine. Belief, determination, and ideals mean nothing when someone more cunning than you can say a few words and undercut everything you've worked for. Tons of steel armor and the mightiest weapons mean nothing when someone scarier, someone more determined, someone who just does better than you says "I'm gonna kill you." And a bunch of other words justifying it, that somehow SOUND sensible to everyone else, about how you're wrong and they're right, but that doesn't change the reality that something WRONG will happen if you don't do anything, and if you back down now, you'll never be able to fight again. You give it your all, terrified by visions of people scarier than you could ever be hunting you relentlessly, cutting you down the moment you let down your guard, or sleep... but terrified even more of being worthless. And you still lose A scared and hurt young man... no, she never was, huh? A scared and hurt and confused little girl who only wanted to help, to be useful. Needed to, more than anything. But no matter how much she pretended she was powerful, or tough, it never mattered. Black power armor with a skull motif guns down a young dragon, dealing the death blow seconds before a hole appears in the armor's chest and Mack decloaks. NEVER GOOD ENOUGH The young knight, surrounded by heroes, turns his blade on himself and-- SOMEONE BETTER WOULD HAVE KNOWN WHAT TO SAY What do I cut out to hear you plead 'stop'? Those words are too cruel, too painful to bear. No one deserves that. And yet people like Lilian and Hook will always be able to cut others with them. Subconsciously, she cringes in her seat and tries to make herself small. Finally, her own mistakes landed her near death in a deep dark cave, and then of all people Guzma appeared and "...you're family! Come on! Fight this! We're getting out of here!" Guzma... Guzma! And the Concord, and Persephone, and everyone letting her know it's okay. Showing her that she's wanted. That she CAN be enough. That finally she could relax, after they saved Hook, and... Hook! Guzma! That's right, her allies--! Staren jerks out of her reverie, tears running down her face, and looks around. Her allies, where are-- I'm Just That Good. Steel and circuits, magic and microchips are smashed to pieces, crunched into a sparking, smoking hulk. Staren crawls from the wreckage. Now she has her labcoat on over the jumpskirt. "Yeah... you are." she mutters, defeated.
Captain Hook	'I think I've proven enough, pirate.' Tick. BRRIIIIIING! BRIIIIIING! Hook walks over to Reyes. It is slow, and deliberate, like everything else he's done. He shakes the black crystal tar off the hook from earlier, letting it fall to the ground, so the hook gleams in the dying light. He strides over to Reyes. His foot comes out to kick Reyes in the teeth. It's a sharp, ugly kick from a sharp set of boots, directly for the teeth. He kneels down and grabs the younger man with his hook, dragging him up by the arm to look at Hook's eye. Hook's such a young man. Can't be older than twenty-one. Maybe even younger. Maybe seventeen. But that eye is so much older than his face. It's like looking into a dream. A dream that never ends. A dream that's gone on so long that it's impossible to tell where it even began. "What have you proven, exactly?" His foot stomps down on Reyes's ankle, twisting, grinding in. "What have you proven but your own stupidity?" "You challenged me, lad. You dared to tell me you didn't fear me because I was just one man. You said 'I can handle you.'" The heel on Reyes's ankle twists harder. The hook digs into the armor and starts ripping it off, piece by piece. "You said, 'I'm not afraid of you, Captain Hook, only your mind and your words.'" "And you said, 'fine, we'll fight a duel, then.' Your words, my lad." The hook digs in deeper, peeling off a layer of circuitry. "And I told you that that was fine, didn't I, now." "And what were the first words you said to me?" Hook leans in, his hand on his ear. "Remind me." "Ah...ah yes..." "'Alright. You wanna see why I'm not afraid of you?.'" "What do you expect, lad?" His foot grinds into the ankle even harder. He's trying to break it as he peels off the armor. He's trying to crack Reyes's ankle under his foot. "Do you expect me to take it lying down? Do you expect me to clap my hand against my chest and go, 'good form, lad, good form, let's have fun together next time?'" "You brute. And you fancy yourself a hero when all you can do is sling insults and bravado. When all you can do is dehumanize the man across from you because you can't bring yourself to pull the trigger. Because you arrogantly thought 'I can take him, I can hold back, I don't have to injure him.'" The foot on the ankle swings upwards for Reyes's chin. He moves to slam Reyes against the ground with his own body, grabbing the other man by the hair and leaning in. The hook peels off the last of the armor with an awful, screeching noise, ripping aside the shreds and tossing them on the ground. "Bad form." "Bad." "Form." And then he slams Reyes's head into the ground, fires the pistol into his shoulder, and gestures at Kale. "You take your boy and I'll take my lads and ladies and we all walk away from this, shall we?" Hook spins the flintlock back into his holster, walks over to the chest, and collects it. The crocodile clock is knocked into it gently, and it, too, vanishes as he shuts the box. He doesn't look back.
Cantio	That could have gone much better than Cantio would have liked. Perhaps there's something or several somethings she could have done differently, but it's a little late to change things as they are. Pushing herself up with a unsteady wince, she holds her hand to her sdie to recall the pieces of her sword together. There's only enough power left in them and her to rearrange the pieces back into that toolbox shape, but she still feels something welling up in her when she turns around and sees Kale kicking Guzma when he's down. It's an ugly feeling, and she doesn't do a very good job at hiding it. She could have changed this outcome if she had better weaponry. If she didn't let things like appearances or etiquette get in her way. If she didn't second-guess herself so much. If she wasn't such a coward. If she didn't use all those things as excuses to justify her weakness. "Get... Get away from him... you bastard!" Cantio shouts at Kale as she lurches towards him, swinging that toolbox right at him. It's a slow and utterly predictable move, and she's liable to just fall over at the end of that swing. She doesn't have enough strength to even attempt to fight, and it's clear that she's just running on fumes with that. Fumes and frustration.
Guzma	Golisopod moves, as the group goes down. Right before Hook closes the box, it starts hurtling people and Pokemon into it. The last two are Guzma and Cantio. With each claw, it picks them up by the scruff, and jumps into the box. Team Skull will find their own way home, unless Hook goes to pick them up.
Kale Hearthward	"I'm not the one who came in here, thinking they could just take what they wanted..." says Kale, but his heart's not in the banter. Guzma's last hit really did a number on him. Kale's too distracted by his beak to notice that his quarries have escaped into the box. And by the time he does, they're gone. "..." "Damnit," he says, going to go pick Reyes up and fly them both to safety.
Reyes	Reyes is too stunned from pain and the psionic overstrain to try and keep up with Hook's sudden kick. That cracks a few teeth loose and sends them flying. He reels from it and starts toppling but gets grabbed instead. But something might've felt strange about that kick. It was like kicking a BRICK WALL more than a person... like he's still wearing that armor. But it definitely meant for some pain. Even so, Reyes spits out chunks of broken teeth and blood, and is about to respond.. but only gets driven down, beaten again and again, the wind knocked out of him and his armor trashed, bit by bit. Under it, he's wearing some sort of jumpsuit, clearly not meant for casual wear around town... Beating after beating later, and a second bloodied shoulder, he's on the ground, ankle twisted, head reeling... and... somehow, still conscious. Still intact. "I'm not... afraid of you. Pain... hurts... but isn't... scary." He rasps out. "You think... being tough... being able to hurt people... and take what you want... makes you great, or something?" A blood-spattering cough later, he exclaims, "I said.... I'll never understand how someone like you thinks.... well, seems... you'll never understand how I think, either." He has no real resistance to give for being carried off...