route_1065 | Operation: Express Car; [train plot log]

Entry tags:

Operation: Express Car; [train plot log]

Who: Everyone who wants to participate!
Where: Goldenrod City, the Magnet Train, Saffron City.
When: November 23rd, 11AM-5PM
Summary: Heist on the Magnet Train!
Rating: Might go up to PG-13, possibly R if exceptional violence of swearing occurs.
Log:

They've spent the last few days preparing. He wasn't sure at first, how this was going to turn out, but the Team is confident. They are confident and now he, Archer, is also confident. He has no reason to expect failure; he tells himself, even if they fail, this will cement them back in the public eye. A threat again. It makes his collar hot to think.

He reviews the plans again, Petrel's notes and schematics, engineering details. Phase 2 will be the most delicate, but he's confident in the abilities of the recruits. The aliens, the outsiders, are strange, but useful. They have skills no other Grunt would possess. Archer recognizes he has been given a tool, and only a fool would fail to use it.

At 9:30AM on November 23rd, Archer sends a message through the Rocket Network. It is short, and simple, and jubilant.

Operation: Express Car START

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It's a nice day out, considering. Cold, yes, but the kind of cold that buries itself deep in the lungs and blows the mind into crisp clarity. Cheeks are red, movements brisk to retain heat, and around Goldenrod's white-dusted Magnet Train station, the energy is thick enough to taste. People in their thick winter coats press together, some alone, some with families and friends, most with their trusted pokémon. The larger creatures are returned to their balls, tragically fated to miss the voyage, while smaller breeds are held in their trainers' arms or scurrying around their ankles.

The station attendants are supervising while customers pass through, touching the microchipped Rail Pass to the card readers and moving in slow, sluggish trails through the gates. There is no shoving; the atmosphere seems too cheery for it, excitement manifesting in the form of loud, vigorous conversation. The train itself is gloriously slick, smooth and polished as a new bullet or a freshly-minted coin, humming with power. We ask our passengers to please mind their electric-types, reminds the stationmaster over the PA, as we seek to avoid any trouble or inconvenience during the ride.

Once you've passed the gate, find a seat and stow away your luggage. Relax, unwind; it's a long six hours ahead.

[[ ooc: ~~I kindly ask that players please DO NOT POST until all the subthreads have been made. Thank you!~~

GO FOR IT! Remeber to tag yourselves in!

NOTE: YOU CAN NPC ROCKETS IF YOU CAN'T NAB A PC ROCKET FOR PLOTTY FUNTIEMS. ]]

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[He's not above giving the Grunt a solid kick in the stomach before finally turning back to Rise, Arsène still wrapped around his face and squeaking his displeasure at the Stun Spore in the air. But then his hand comes up, his fingers curl into the mass of purple over his mouth, and the Ditto recedes once again, resuming its place as a (now rather disgruntled) watch on his wrist.]

I could ask you the same thing. Did he hurt you?

[ she glances ruefully at her arm, trying to move it ever so slightly before she winces and ceases that movement. ]

Yeah...

Let me see.

[Between having a doctor for a father and Akaya as a teammate, Yagyuu is no stranger to injuries. And while he's not by any means a professional at this sort of thing, it's also not difficult to tell that something is seriously wrong.

Of course, this is a crisis situation and they're still smack in the middle of it, so it isn't really the time or place for an intricate examination and diagnosis. Instead, he opts to just assume the worst, and hope to be proved wrong later.]

There's no bone protruding, that's lucky. But you'd best not try to move it; it's likely broken.

[ Rise might not be accustomed to injury this severe, but she's been hurt enough to know to hold still when he examines her arm. Her breathing's changed to short, shallow breaths, but she manages a grim smile. ]

G-great... now it's a good day.

Only now? Really, it's as though you're not enjoying the festivities.

[He frowns, still looking at her arm. There's not much to be done for her at this point, not when they're effectively stranded on the train like this, but she'll risk hurting herself worse if they don't do something about that limb.]

Keep breathing as steadily as you can, and tell me if you start having chills. We need to immobilize your arm, first and foremost, and ice it to keep the swelling down. Keep talking to me; do you have a Pokemon with an Ice attack?

[ right, steady. She's quiet for a moment, focusing on regulating her breathing, and then nods towards the Furret now chittering worriedly beside her. ] You're looking at her.

All right. [He glances around, makes a face, and then yanks the scarf from his neck, spreading it flat on the ground near Kanzeon.] You can owe me a new scarf later. Fill that with ice; I'd rather not subject Arsène to any more punishment than strictly necessary.

[As he says this, he's pulling at his watch once again, guiding the Ditto off his arm and back into its usual grape jelly form, tugging until he's stretched to about the length of Rise's arm.]

This will sting. Do you need something to bite down on?

[ with a sympathetic glance at the Ditto, she then turns to Kanzeon with an expectant look. And maybe it's just that they've been together for over a year, but the Furret knows what's expected, icing a patch on the floor and then scrambling to dig it up into chunks to load onto the scarf. ]

No, it's okay. [ maybe it's bravado, but there's a quiet firmness to the answer, because after everything, Rise can handle 'stings'. ] I'll be fine.

[He gives her a serious look, but nods slightly as he starts to drape the purple mass over her arm.]

This is one time when hiding the pain you're in will do you more harm than good. Tough it out as best you can, but don't make less of it than it is.

[He's not particularly happy at the thought of having Arsène out of commission, especially with the versatility he provides in such close quarters, but a Ditto cast might arguably be just as good as the real thing on a temporary basis, and this is more important.]

Yes, sir. [ it could almost be flippant, that sort of comment, though the tiredness in her tone dispels most of it. It's obvious enough that she's in more than a little discomfort just by the strain showing on her face, but she remains still. ] There's no point in hiding it, anyway.

Thank you. I'd really rather not have to explain to your friends and Yukimura-kun why I didn't get you help when you went into shock, all because I couldn't recognize the symptoms through your pride.

[He fits the Ditto around her arm, tugging until the ends meet in a cuff, and then gives the order for him to go rigid, the jelly abruptly becoming firm and stiff.]

Speaking of which, how are you feeling now?

[ she winces now, breath escaping in a heavy exhale, before she responds. ]

... Sore. And my arm really hurts. That, and... [ she holds up her uninjured hand, where the fingers are trembling. ] I can't get them to stop shaking.

Wonderful.

[The word is muttered, biting, as he instinctively begins to shrug out of his coat and wrap it around her shoulders.]

Don't stop talking to me. You're going to have to lay low and try to keep yourself as stable as possible until we can get you off this train.

[ just as instinctively, her fingers curl around the collar, tugging it a little closer, though she frowns at him, three-fourths frustrated and one-fourth guilty. ]

But the bomb--

[The look he gives her is two parts incredulous and the rest some inexplicable emotion that will probably never be seen on Yagyuu's face again.]

Don't tell me you're an idol, a tofu expert, and a bomb disposal technician?

[ this? This is a Rise smile, tired and strained, but present. ]

Sorry, Yagyuu-kun, but a girl's gotta keep some secrets to herself.

[ weakness finder, navigator, analyzer, and healer going unsaid. ]

In this case, though, I meant more clearing the path to it.

[His lips tighten slightly, more with abrupt thought than exasperation (though there's a hint of the latter there, too, because really, Kujikawa-san, do you have to be so stubborn for such a good and sensible cause?), and he takes a moment to finger the Pokeballs still in his possession, considering:

Arsène is out of commission for the duration, wrapped securely around Rise's arm; Irene took a beating clearing Fearows away from another car, so she's as good as out, too. Phantom and Vampa are probably too big to be of any real use in the narrow car. And of course there's Lady, noble and steadfast, who would fight until she died if he asked her to--and he's come close to asking it, with some of what he's demanded of her in the chaos.

But then there's the Blitzkraken, his Octillery--and yes, it might be cramped, but it might also be enough.

At the rate he's going, he's going to run his entire team into exhaustion before this trip is through. But on the other hand, if it might mean the difference between victory and defeat, what point is there in holding anything back?]

Is your team competent enough to manage that without you?

[It sounds like an insult, but it's ultimately a practical question; Yagyuu's trained his team to be autonomous when he needs them to be, but that doesn't mean all Pokemon can boast that particular set of training.]

[ practical or not, Rise stiffens-- a motion that might go unnoticed beneath his coat, but with her eyes narrowed, there's a clear message there. Don't underestimate me. All the same, she understands what he's getting at, and if this is a compromise, it's the only one she can afford.

It takes some ginger movements to pull free the proper Pokéballs, but once she does, there's two more Pokeacute;mon joining the compartment: Pepper, and Tira. Himiko's getting tired, and Kanzeon can keep going sustained through pure hatred, but all four cluster in front of their trainer now and look up at her expectantly. ]

It's a straightforward path, guys. Keep moving as fast as you can, but don't fight alone, got it?

[ the Furret mutters at this, until Rise pins her with a warning stare. ]

I want you all back in one piece.

[ there may be some reluctance there, about leaving their trainer behind, but one by nod, they nod their assent and the Flareon rubs against her leg affectionately before crouching down to let the Clefairy climb on. Rise smiles at that and turns to Yagyuu. ]

They'll manage.

[The nice thing about beam attacks, in Yagyuu's opinion, is that they work in beautiful straight lines--just the sort of thing for a train car with an aisle where you're trying hard to minimize the collateral damage. It'll be a tight fit given the octopus's size, but beggars can hardly be choosers, particularly in a crisis situation, so he releases his Octillery from its ball and gives it a solemn look that contrasts sharply with the Pokemon's admittedly rather derpy demeanor.]

Go with them, and follow the Furret's lead. Playtime is over.

[And with that he turns back to Rise, motioning to Lady to stay at his side. He could send her with the others, but five should be enough to clear the way, and he's loath to face this chaos without his most trusted roster member at his side.]

Come on. I'd like to put as much distance between us and any incendiary devices as possible, if you're amenable to getting out of this car.

[ she's not happy to be retreating when her team's risking this much - it reminds her, almost painfully, of her own team, when she hadn't been in the proper condition to support them - but she turns - stumbles and grits her teeth when an explosion from a Koffing further on makes the floor and windows rattle - and nods. ]

Lead the way.

[He bends and scoops up his scarf before making any other moves, knotting it to keep the chunks of ice inside before handing it off to Rise.]

Keep this on your arm, as best you can. Lady, you're first. See if you can't do something about the obstructions.

[And he glances back at Rise as the Espeon obediently darts off, giving her a head start before beginning to move himself.]

[ she murmurs an apology to the Ditto splint as she settles the scarf into place, moving as smoothly as she can after the Espeon. It's better to focus on her stride and the way back instead of her arm. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Operation: Express Car; [train plot log]

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