HOENNWEEN: INTRO CHALLENGE LOG

[these_balls]

Who: Hoennween Plot Participants!
Where: Tohjo Falls!
When: Wednesday, October 29th
Summary: You've just received a call from a mysterious voice asking you to come help save the world. This is Day One of The Rest Of Your Life™ — the introductory skirmish that will determine your field position for tomorrow and the advantages you'll have going in to the fight against Archie and Maxie.
Rating: PG-13 in general; please mark threads that go higher accordingly!
Log:



YOU ARE HERE. YOU'RE FIGHTING THESE GUYS AND ALSO POSSIBLY THESE GUYS. THEY'RE NOT HAPPY TO SEE YOU.

ETA: AND THIS IS YOUR BACKGROUND MUSIC!
KEY:

• GRAY areas in the north are a range of mountains that form a natural barrier around part of the Tohjo plain where the Elite Four's resort is located. It is both difficult and dangerous to get up into the mountains proper, but this seems to be the direction from which most of the Team Magma Grunts are entering the area.

• GREEN areas in the southeast and southwest are densely-packed forested areas interspersed by lakes and rivers that seem to be feeding into the main waterway into the area. It is both difficult and dangerous to venture into the woodlands proper, but this seems to be the direction from which most of the Team Aqua Grunts are entering the area.

• The BLUE area in the south is the massive lake that feeds the eponymous falls that give Tohjo its name. You will also find Team Aqua Grunts here taking great care to hold control of the lake, if you're interested in engaging in a water battle.

• PINK diamonds in the east and west are the sites of massive formations of Mysterious Plot Crystals™ jutting up from beneath the surface; the Grunts on both teams appear somewhat wary of these growths, so they will be keeping a reasonable distance from them while still doing their best to protect them.

• The BROWN rectangle dead-center in the map is...the Elite Four's resort. Not exactly what you might call a fortunate place to be located, but it's easy to see why this might be considered prime real estate for both teams. You're likely to find members of both Team Aqua and Team Magma hanging around here, so be cautious!

A FEW OTHER SETTING NOTES:

• As per Arceus's summon, there will be Gen VI Pokemon joining the battle on their own! You may NPC these Pokemon, within reasonable limits; you may not capture them in Pokeballs, and they are still wild so they will not take commands from characters the way a captured Pokemon would from its trainer. However, they do recognize that the portaled-in humans are fighting on roughly the same side as they are, so they won't attack player characters and might occasionally come to their aid if need be — you're free to NPC them as you like for purposes such as this.

• The aforementioned Gen VI Pokemon can be any Pokemon that swarmed during September, plus any of their evolved forms. They've had several weeks in the wild to get buff and settle in; now you can see what they've got to show for it!

• You may NPC the Team Aqua and Team Magma Grunts as you see fit; either one can be found anywhere on the map, though Team Magma will be more highly-concentrated in the northern areas of the map, and Team Aqua will be keeping more to the south.

• There is no restriction on how many Aqua and Magma Grunts you may fight.

• You may fight members of both teams on this log if you so choose; you are not required to pick just one or the other to focus on for this particular log.

• You may forego Pokemon battling entirely and simply beat up the Grunts with physical violence yourself. If you KO a Grunt, they will white out and be warped to the nearest Pokemon Center back down in the regions proper, where they will be arrested by an officer of the Kangaskhan Police.

• FOR CHARACTERS INTENDING TO USE HONEDGES LIKE WEAPONS: due to the high volume of questions we have received on this topic (it's a popular inquiry!), we want to clarify for this Pokemon in particular —

If you choose to use a Honedge as though it were a traditional sword, the most that the Honedges will allow might be slapping the grunts with the flat side of the blade. They are still opposed to attacking/killing humans, opponents or not, and if you try to stab an opponent with them, you're going to get a really obstinate ghost sword going incorporeal and ineffectively going through them. There's also the fact that you're grabbing them by the head and swinging them around — they won't like that very much.

PLEASE NOTE: if you intend to use a Honedge in this manner anyway, we may ask that you experience light IC consequences for it later in the plot! We're not barring you from getting your sword skills on with your Honedges; we're simply pointing out that there may be natural outcomes that follow from those choices.

• UPDATE: if you would like to interrogate the grunts, check here for information you can learn from them!

~

☆ THE NUMBER TO MEET OR BEAT IS 50 PARTICIPANTS ☆.

REMEMBER: IF YOUR CHARACTER DOES NOT POST TO THE INTRO CHALLENGE LOG AT LEAST ONCE
(AS A TOP-LEVEL COMMENT OR IN RESPONSE TO SOMEONE ELSE'S TOP-LEVEL COMMENT)
BEFORE 9:00 PM EST on OCTOBER 28, THEY WILL NOT COUNT TOWARD THE 50-PARTICIPANT GOAL!

~

QUICK LINKS

EVENT LINKS MASTERPOST | THE INTRO CHALLENGE INFOPOST | QUESTIONS FOR MODS | INTRO CHALLENGE PARTICIPATION CHECK-IN THREAD

Comments

[angerpoints]

[If there's anything Yusuke hates, it's being bored.

He'd been able to stave it off pretty well when he'd been travelling with Shaun; having a young kid to look out for, while not enough to completely take his mind off of how slow and dull this world is, had - at the very least - given him a good, concrete reason not to let it get him down. But after returning to Goldenrod and falling back into the routine he'd had going before he'd left to join up with Shaun (and before he'd fallen into one of those weird memory comas), he soon found himself plagued by a restlessness he couldn't shake - the same sort of restlessness he'd sought to satiate when he'd left the living world to settle the score with Raizen.

It should come as no surprise, then, that when he suddenly heard that crusty old bastard telling him to come and fight ("You wouldn't back down from a challenge, would you, boy?") and spun around to find himself peering into something that definitely looked like a portal, he didn't waste any time jumping into it. Didn't even spare a second to think about it. In that moment, he was prepared to take Raizen out for good. But when he came out on the other end of the portal seconds later...

... well. Needless to say, it didn't take him very long at all to figure out that the forest he found himself standing in wasn't of Demon World. The trees weren't creepy enough, the air was too fresh, and the sky overheard was way too blue. More than that, there was some human guy in a weird outfit standing around - a human guy who, upon seeing him, immediately sent out a puppy and told him to get lost or else.

No Raizen. No demons at all. Just some freak who literally had more bark than he had bite.

Great.

Yusuke would be lying if he said he wasn't pissed off about being duped at first. He'd been so ready - so ready to fight Raizen that when he realized the son of a bitch wasn't around, it was almost like being doused in ice water. Then he realized that he had bigger fish to fry. Something strange was going down, he could tell, and whatever it was, it was related to the guy threatening him - and to the voice that had called him to this place.

In spite of himself, he found himself grinning. Well, he thought, cracking his knuckles. Far be it for him to get an invitation to a party and let it go to waste. At least he won't be bored.]

[SCENARIO A]

[Generally speaking, Yusuke isn't a fan of beating up guys weaker than him. That said, he's even less of a fan of not knowing stuff, so after siccing Puu on the grunt's Poochyena and having what was quite possibly the shortest Pokemon battle he's ever had in his life, he immediately strides up to the grunt, seizes him by the front of his shirt, and slams him up against the nearest wall, snarling right into his face.]

Listen, pal. You got two choices: you either tell me what the hell's goin' on here, or you get your ass kicked!

[Puu trills out an affirmative, his beady eyes narrowed. Feel free to approach them, if you'd like - just be warned that Puu will likely notice you before Yusuke does, and will therefore round on you rather menacingly. DON'T YOU FUCK WITH HIS TRAINER, WHOEVER YOU ARE. He will destroy your shit.]

[SCENARIO B]

[Speaking of people getting their shit destroyed, by this point, Yusuke has spent the better part of two hours traipsing around the area beating the everliving hell out of any and all grunts he's stumbled across. The good news is that he's got a pretty good idea of what's happening now; the bad news is... well, some of the Team Magma grunts have caught wind of the fact that there's a greasy-haired one-man wrecking machine on the loose, and have thus rallied together to cut him off before he can make his merry way towards the mountains.

To call it an unfair match would be an understatement. There are about ten of them against just one of him, and they all seem pretty angry. Yusuke, for his part, doesn't seem worried. In fact, he's grinning when he turns to address his Altaria, his eyes bright and fierce.]

Wow. I didn't realize we had fans. Feels good to be popular, huh, Puu?

[He laughs. Puu looks a little dubious. They might just be mooks, but the sheer number of them is a little...

... yeah. IT SURE WOULD BE NICE TO HAVE BACK-UP, IS ALL HE'S THINKING. Is there anyone nearby, though? ...]

[SCENARIO C]

[Yusuke isn't the only one raring for a fight! His Pancham is out and about as well, doing what he can to help beat the bad guys. Unfortunately, he seems a little confused as to who the bad guys actually are...

... which is why, if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, you might find yourself on the receiving end of a VICIOUS KICK TO THE SHIN courtesy of a small bear, who shakes his little fists and bellows something in Pancham-ese that manages to sound rude even in spite of being totally unintelligible. Luckily, Yusuke is close enough that he sees the attack and reacts accordingly, storming over and shouting:]

HEY. Dumbass, I said fight the red and blue guys only!

[OH. The Pancham looks at Yusuke in surprise, then looks back up at his victim and grins sheepishly. His bad, bro.]

B because why not

[solas_ion]

[From nearby, as a matter of fact, came a Houndoom's unearthly howl and flash of fire.]

[...and Lancer in a Hawaiian shirt and leather pants, swinging a fishing pole like it was a spear. The strangest thing about that was the makeshift weapon seemed to be working. But then again, anything tended to work as a weapon if you bashed someone about the head and midsection with it enough.]

Hey, kid--don't tell me you're in over your head, huh?

[angerpoints]

[Well, hey there, Lancer! That sure is a fishing pole you've got there, isn't it. Yusuke is admittedly a little taken aback by the sight of it, but he doesn't stay that way for long - soon he's grinning again, looking as impressed as he does amused. Hey, if it works, it works!]

Hell no, old man. I was just givin' these guys a moment to say their prayers!

[Now that provokes a reaction. The grunts were momentarily thrown off by the sudden intrusion, but the instant they hear that remark, they snarl and bark orders at their Pokemon. Yusuke likewise leaps into action, charging forward in a veritable blur of movement to deliver a crushing blow to the nose of the grunt standing closest to him. Her Numel doesn't seem to like that; upon hearing its trainer cry out and turning around just in time to see her stumble back with both hands clamped over her face, it growls and begins gathering flames in its mouth, clearly preparing to light Yusuke's ass on fire.

It doesn't get that far. As soon as Puu realizes what's about to happen, he swoops in and uses the entire bulk of his weight to knock the Numel right off its feet and send it sailing across the way. While he's at it, he smacks a grunt in the face with one of his wings. Turns out those things are a lot more solid than they look.]

[solas_ion]

[Lancer gave a sharp whistle, directing his Houndoom to throw a few nasty Sucker Punches at the nearest Pokemon while Lancer took it upon himself to handle their trainers with his not-quite-a-weapon and the occasional crushing kick to the ribs.]

Yeah, yeah, sure you were! And I wouldn't be callin' my backup old, if I were you!

[Gods have mercy on these poor grunts.]

[angerpoints]

[Gods have mercy on these poor grunts indeed, because by the looks of things so far, neither Yusuke nor Lancer will! Just ask the guy Yusuke kicked in the head just now. There's a wild glint in his eye as he then lands a particularly brutal punch to the windpipe of another grunt - it's been far too long since he last had a satisfying brawl, and by god, is he enjoying it.]

Heh! Yeah, well, I guess you are pretty spry for someone your age!

[HE SAYS, LIKE HE DOESN'T KNOW FIRSTHAND HOW SPRY LANCER IS. Who says that the middle of a fight isn't a good time to engage in some friendly shit-talking? One of the grunts lets out a piercing shriek as Puu aims an Ice Beam at him and his Zubat - it doesn't actually hit him, but by the way he's high-tailing it towards the mountains and leaving his poor frozen bat behind, it came close enough. LATER, DUDE.]

B because kicking and punching is what she does here

[goestoextremes]

[Korra has also been beating and kicking + kicking and beating the everliving hell out of any of the grunts as soon as she got here. She does have a Growlithe with her, but she's not letting the puppy do any of the fighting - she can handle this, sorry firepuppy. Besides the puppy is new, Korra doesn't want her to get hurt so Naga is staying away from it all.

So your back up today, Yusuke, is one enraged Avatar girl. Yup, she sure looks like she's blinded by rage furious and trying to get them out of her way. Then again that's how she's been since she got here because you don't mess with family relationships to get a girl into this place.

Ohhh, and she doesn't really seem to ... pay attention to the fact that there are 10 of them right in front of her right now. Maybe she's the one who needs that back up after she kicks one of them down. Hi there stranger, did you need help? Here's your help, she'll talk later. First she'll take care of this problem, not that she has any intentions of killing anyone here but getting them to pass out seems to work just fine from what she's seen in 2 hours!]

[angerpoints]

[--oh! 'sup, Random Punchy Girl. Yusuke falters for a second, squinting at her. Isn't that...?

He's pretty sure it is, but right now, he doesn't have the time to think about it. SO FOR NOW, he just jumps on in there, taking advantage of the confusion and alarm caused by Korra's sudden appearance by punching one of the grunts in the face. As the guy falls to the ground in a heap, Yusuke pivots and strikes another grunt in the back of the neck, incapacitating her instantly.

He's about to knock out another one, but then, out of the corner of his eye, he notices a bit of movement directly behind Korra. Looks like one of the grunts is a little scrappier than her employees are - that, or she's simply resorting to physical volence out of sheer panic. Either way, Yusuke doesn't know whether Korra sees her trying to get the jump on her or not, so just in case, he points her out, bellowing:]

Hey, uh - you! Asshole at 6 o'clock!

[SORRY, KORRA. He's forgotten your name. Dude's got a memory like a sieve.]

[goestoextremes]

[FORGETTING NAMES IS OKAY, Yusuke, it's not like Korra remembers names here either! Faces, sure, but names are trickier. Good thing she can always just learn them again.

She's actually supposed to know when someone is about to attack her, but you know, the day for that is not today or at least she's so much in the moment that she doesn't know someone's about to ambush her. She's just glad to bring some confusion to your situation, dude, even if she did it half-accidentally by just happening to see someone against so many.

Korra waits a moment. Just a very tiny moment. Then she ducks the attack with an aerial cartwheel. So if someone thinks that they could surprise her while her hands are on the ground, well they're wrong. Girl likes jumping as if she's part of a circus or gymnastic group or something.

Besides, it's fun to watch the attacker accidentally attacking a fellow grunt now. Korra smirks.]

Thanks! Didn't see that one coming. [She needs to get better at it.] Name's Korra.

[And this guy looks familiar. Kicking door down with him familiar maybe, but she's kind of half focusing on the fight. Not that she minds talking, nope, but thinking is not so much a thing right now.]

[angerpoints]

Yusuke. Nice dodge.

[And it was! He especially liked the part where the two grunts ran into each other. Comedy gold. Anyway, now that he's gotten a good look at Korra's face, he is 99.9% certain that she's the girl who helped him break into Professor Elm's lab the day he showed up here. That said, well... as previously established, now isn't exactly the time for conversation. So he'll shoot the shit with her later, and focus on punching this guy in the throat.

MEANWHILE, a little ways away, Yusuke's Altaria looks on, feeling rather useless. The grunts hadn't had any time to send their Pokemon out before they were ambushed by Korra, so he himself doesn't have anyone to fight. Maybe he'll just keep an eye on Korra's Growlithe until their respective trainers are done destroying people. THAT SEEMS LIKE A GOOD PLAN...]

SURE LET'S DO B a child is exactly the kind of backup you were looking for, right?

[neededlassie]

[When they had gotten back to Goldenrod, sure, Shaun and Yusuke had hung out a lot more often than they had before traveling together - it was hard to go from spending every day with someone to hardly seeing them at all - but they had pretty much gone their separate ways.

Somehow, from what he knows about Yusuke, he isn't surprised to find him in the middle of a kerfuffle. Shaun has his trainer's cap twisted around with the bill facing backward, sat on the shoulders of his BFB (Big Friendly Blastoise), with Susie bouncing swiftly across the terrain, scouting ahead and behind.

When she sees her trainer's friend outmanned, she strikes without stopping for an order from Shaun, swathing herself in a water jet to propel herself faster than the eye can see at the assembled Magma grunts' teams. Squirt breaks into a heavy, ground-shaking jog to catch up to her when he sees her act, shoulder cannons locking into attack position on either side of Shaun's legs.]

Hi, Yusuke!

[angerpoints]

[WOW, geez, holy shit-- Yusuke steps back as Susie slams into the grunts' Pokemon, lifting his arm to shield his face from the splash of water that follows. He isn't quite sure what the hell's happening at first: one second, the bad guys' monsters are being flattened by a Surprise Flying Whatever, then the next, the ground beneath his feet is trembling, with enough force that, at first, he wonders if the area's being hit with another one of those earthquakes. It isn't until a second or two after that, when he registers the steady THUNK-THUNK-THUNK of Squirt's footsteps and the sound of Shaun's voice, that it all finally clicks, and with a grin, he turns to peer up at Shaun, saying:]

Hey, short stuff! Nice ride!

[Puu trills out a greeting of his own. A few of the grunts round on Shaun, seething. If there is anything Pokemon villains instinctively dislike, it's kids within Pokemon's target age demographic. Especially when those kids meddle in their affairs. >:(]

[neededlassie]

[The great thing about Aqua Jet as a move is that it pretty much unquestioningly goes first.

Doubly so if the opponent didn't actually see it coming.

So being hit by an angry water weasel was if not a OHKO then pretty darn close, for whatever unfortunate pokemon she hit. The water dissipated and she put herself in front of Squirt and Shaun, obviously the faster of the two water-types.]

Thanks!

[Shaun was pretty cheerful for the middle of a battle. Then again, fighting grunts was exactly like the video game! And being the hero was pretty cool.]

Ready to kick some butt?

[angerpoints]

Hell yeah.

[Though something about the way he's cracking his knuckles and smirking implies that his idea of butt-kicking is a little more literal than what Shaun's probably got in mind. That much is confirmed when he adds:]

Watch closely. I'm about to give you a demonstration of some of the moves I've taught you!

[Puu looks exasperated. Yusuke, could you not bust faces in front of a twelve-year-old? Really.]

B

[wing_attack]

[An Ursaring and a Zebstrika barrel through some of the mooks' Pokemon, sending them flying. As for the mooks themselves...]

[Well, one of them is there and then he isn't. His screaming trails off as he's lifted into the air and thrown towards the lake. He'll be fine. Probably.]

[The Braviary lands and his trainer slides off. Oh hey. It's that guy. Tobias grins and waves before turning to the mooks.]

You guys fight with Pokemon. I fight in an actual war. Do you really want to push me?

[angerpoints]

[...

WELL. That happened. Yusuke shades his eyes with his hand as he watches the grunt careen into the distance, and then, once he's no longer able to see him, lowers his hand and regards Tobias with raised eyebrows, saying:]

Damn. Not bad.

[The grunts look like they've seen a ghost. One of them is squirming. Yusuke suspects that one might've peed themselves a little. To their credit, though, none of them turn tail and run - in fact, once they've all had a moment to sort of... recover from seeing an ENORMOUS BEAR LAUNCH ONE OF THEIR COMRADES INTO THE SKY, one of them - presumably the leader, given his position at the front of the crowd - snaps back, telling the two young men to come at them.

Yusuke scoffs.]

Well, you heard the man! Guess we gotta settle this the hard way, huh, uhhh...

[... WHATEVER YOUR NAME IS... he never actually got your name, Tobias.]

[wing_attack]

Tobias. And you're... uh... well you're one of Shaun's friends, at least.

[Uh. Yeah. Anyway. Rachel goes to tackle some more of the Pokemon, and Volts - the Zebstrika - starts zapping the Zubat out of the air.]

Regal, why don't you go introduce a few more of them to the lake?

[Tobias grins and the giant bird shoots forward, aiming for the trainers again.]

I guess this isn't what they're used to... but that makes it easier, don't you think?

[angerpoints]

It's Yusuke.

[ANYWAY. Yusuke is admittedly kind of put-off by the fact that his fight has been taken over by a bunch of monsters, but the looks on the faces of the grunts scrambling to evade Regal's grasp are funny enough that he can't help but grin a little himself as he watches them.]

Heh, yeah. I always say it doesn't pay to be a one-trick pony.

[No he doesn't. Yusuke eyes the spectacle unfolding before them in a considering manner. Then, seeming to reach a decision of some sort, he turns to his Altaria and jerks his chin towards the grunts.]

Hey, Puu. Give What's-It's-Name a hand, wouldja? I wanna see this.

[That is a truly wicked smirk Yusuke's wearing right now. Obedient as ever, Puu nyooms off to assist Regal in hauling grunts off to the lake.

Cue Yakety Sax as the grunts are struck with the horrifying realization that they now have two ginormous birds to contend with and begin running around wildly to avoid them.]

C

[styxiedust]

...

[Ow. That really hurt. She almost swings her bat at whatever hit her, but stops when she sees it's just a Pancham.

And she actually understood the Pancham-ese, so she starts chiding the little bear too for being rude. Once done with the usual Big Sister Mode, Botan looks up to Yusuke and gives him a strained smile.]

Well, Yusuke, I didn't expect to run into you like this.

[angerpoints]

Botan!

[WELP. That's kind of awkward, isn't it. Yusuke jogs over and scoops the Pancham off the ground, tucking him under his arm like a football. The Pancham is so busy sulking he doesn't even protest. How dare you scold him, Botan. You are the meanest. B(]

I didn't know you were around. When'd you get here?

[styxiedust]

Mmm--[give her a moment to look at her Jellicent watch]--about two hours, I think. I was called here, rather unusual, I hadn't scheduled being thrown into a fray this morning.

[Her Luxray, in the meanwhile, finished off another grunt + Pokescrub pair and is trotting over to them. There's a moment where Yuri brushes against his trainer's leg that was kicked, looking concerned, then he sits back down and stares up at Yusuke. "Hello, friend of trainer."]

I expected to see you sooner or later, at least.

[angerpoints]

Right...

[Yusuke frowns. He isn't paying enough attention to acknowledge Yuri when he comes and sits down beside Botan, but his Pancham certainly is, and waves at him miserably to prove it.]

I'm guessin' that means you heard a voice too, then.

[He seems a little troubled by this.]

[SCENARIO B because Yusuke's pride obviously needs it]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[Fun fact: Heather didn't come here to fight Grunts.]

[Spotting a very telltale greaser haircut poking out over the top of a circle of them is a pretty big distraction from what she's actually trying to accomplish. Kid's tough and everything, but that's like, ten entire dudes.]

[That's a lot of dudes.]

[Fun fact #2: Heather is totally willing to fight Grunts.]

[A shadow descends over the circle as something from above quite literally BLOCKS OUT THE SUN.]

[And then Ancientpower ripples the earth under the Grunts' feet and at least three of them fall down because when you're busy staring up at the giant white semi-spherical bird descending from the heavens like Jesus you just don't expect that sort of thing.]

[Sunny the Togekiss takes serious issue with grownass adults in stupid uniforms trying to beat up on teenagers.]</sub>

[angerpoints]

[The grunts aren't the only ones staring - both Yusuke and his Altaria are as well, each looking surprised and baffled by the sudden appearance of... well, whatever that is. Seriously, Yusuke isn't even sure what the hell he's looking at; he's never actually seen a Togekiss before, so for a second, he wonders if maybe it's some kind of weird-shaped blimp. God knows there're plenty of those around here.

Of course, that doesn't exactly explain the SURPRISE ROCK EXPLOSION that follows the Whatever's appearance. Yusuke flinches away as the grunts yelp and collapse, his movement so sharp and sudden that he accidentally elbows poor Puu right in the face. To say that he looks taken aback would be an understatement.]

What the hell?!

[WHAT IS HAPPENING]

[foolishwren]

<sub>[SUNNY. SUNNY IS HAPPENING.]

[The Togekiss swoops over the grunts as they scramble to get out of the way, letting out a melodic trill that nonetheless carries a tone of YEAH YOU'D BETTER RUN. ^v^]

[Then there's a clatter of hoofbeats as a Rapidash gallops in from freakin nowhere, kicking up gravel and scrub as she goes.]</sub>

[angerpoints]

[WELL, IF YUSUKE HAD ANY LINGERING DOUBTS ABOUT THE SO-CALLED BLIMP ACTUALLY BEING A BIRD, the way it zooms in overhead and twitters is certainly enough to eliminate them. Yusuke blinks rapidly as he watches the grunts scatter, looking completely and utterly befuddled. He doesn't quite jump out of his skin when the fire horse arrives, but it does startle him, and when he sees who the fire horse is carrying--]

Wh-- Heather?!

[HEY THERE, HEATHER! Long time no see. Don't mind Yusuke while he just kind of stands here and gapes stupidly at you; everything happened so much, and in a really short amount of time, at that.]