Topic: Aloha AOHA! ALPHA OMEGA HOENN ADVENTURE!

[Sapphire Knight]

"I imagine that this lab reminded him of wherever he was experimented on..." Riley said, sighing. "We don't do experiments on pokemon here that are cruel. However... I've heard some unpleasant rumors about the university... But, at the moment, that's all they are."

[Quickman]

Illana looked to Goh and Gai, her voice low. "Weren't we supposed to head to the University, anyway?"

Zubat shook his head slowly. "If what 'appened t' Scizor 'appened at th' uni, 'en it might be 'appenin' t' 'at spastic 'ypno we're supposed t' look fer.  An' what if Team Fauna is behind it?  We may be walkin' inta a trap..."

"We don't know that for certain, Zubat," Illana's voice dropped even lower so as to only converse with the Pokemon. "It's still worth checking out.  If we're to defeat them, we need to get in there and bring them down from the inside, you know?  So long's we play along, we should be good."

"I hope yer right, lass..."

Scizor buried his face into Illana's chest. "Skee-zor no like the crib..."

Sam shrugged and rummaged through the bar fridge, and grabbed a can of Oran Juice, a can of Pecha Tea, and a can of Gracidea Tea. Closing the fridge door, Sam made his way back to the pair, and noticed Jake trying to get Prof. Hypno into a lounge chair.

Sam - "You do know he'll have difficulty in getting out of that chair right?"

Jake - "But it's so comfy!!"

Prof. Hypno sank into the lounge chair and found his left side practically devoured by it.  He definitely was not getting out of this without assistance, but it was comfortable and a far cry from the stool in the lab, or his simple bed in his quarters.  He leaned back and sank further into the cushioning.  His head back, he closed his eyes and let out a long, contented breath.  After his day, after his week, he needed a break like this.

One of the scientists, Jake, sounded very similar to Mulberry, while Sam had a similar facial structure and age.

A lump formed in his throat and tears stung his eyes as he was reminded once again that his trainer and friend was dead.

He sucked in a long wavering breath through his nose and let it out with a stutter as he fought the urge to cry.  His stomach, as forgotten as it had been these last few weeks, decided to distract him with a loud growl and a sharp cramp.

Lifting his head, Prof. Hypno looked to Jake and Sam. "Do you ha-ave... an-y-thing to... eat here?  I... hav-en't ea-ten... in two... days."

[Dr. Wily II]

Jake looked at Prof. Hypno's expression before the rather audible growl.

Jake - "Hey Sam... Did you see anything back there?"

Sam - "... Fine, I'll check."

Sam left for the bar counter again, as Jake found a stool, and sat down beside Prof. Hypno.

Jake - "Hey Prof... Anything the matter?"

Gai looked down.

"The University huh... Don't tell me Team Fauna has a foothold there besides that recruitment counter? How deep into society are they?"

[Sapphire Knight]

"Look, I know we agreed to investigate there, but we should probably deal with Lillycove." Goh said in a hushed voice. "We know they have a base there, so we should find that first, then double-back to investigate the university. I have a faster way to travel, but we need to hit the pokemon center after we talk with Steven."

[Still waiting on Steven, for the record. >.>]

[Quickman]

"'E sure is takin' 'is sweet time!" Zubat grouched impatiently before Illana shushed him.

"I thought that was the plan to begin with," Illana was confused, as she thought they meant Lilycove the entire time.

Jake looked at Prof. Hypno's expression before the rather audible growl.

Jake - "Hey Sam... Did you see anything back there?"

Sam - "... Fine, I'll check."

Sam left for the bar counter again, as Jake found a stool, and sat down beside Prof. Hypno.

Jake - "Hey Prof... Anything the matter?"

Prof. Hypno finally made eye contact. "Long day.  I've... be-en wor-king too... hard.  Found out... that my... trai-ner... died..."

That last word was choked out and he had to stop for a moment to collect himself.

"I've be-en... wor-king too hard.  Just... want to... go out... side.  Ha-ven't se-en the... sun in... weeks."

Maybe these two could help get him outside for at least a few minutes.  Certainly the Malamar wouldn't bother them.

[Dr. Wily II]

"... I'm so sorry."

Jake placed his hand on Prof. Hypno's shoulder, trying to comfort him. Jake felt that he should help the Prof out, and perhaps, getting him outside is a start. But should he tell Sam...

Just as Jake was pondering, Sam returned from the bar counter, and brought back some PB and Js. He noticed Jake talking to Prof. Hypno, who seemed to be feeling a bit uncomfortable from his expression.

Sam - "... What did you do to the Professor."

Jake - "Nothing! I was just talking to Prof!"

[Quickman]

"It's... no-thing.  Some-thing... un-re-la-ted."

Prof. Hypno rubbed his nose and scratched at his ear.  His skin was dry and itchy, and he could tell that it was flaking as he scratched.  He had been inside for far too long and the dry recirculated lab air was wreaking havoc. 

His stomach growled again, and he took a drink of his juice in an attempt to settle it. 

He looked to Jake and Sam. "Do... you know of... Mis-ter P's... Mal-a-mar?"

The squid Pokemon's presence was rather prominent, so he didn't think that it was classified.  He was never told otherwise.  Why would he even be privy to classified information in the first place?  His job was R&D, he designed medical equipment.  Compared to some of the talk of the other scientists, he was rather low on the rank ladder.

[Dr. Wily II]

Jake's eye opened wide at the mention of Malamar.

"How did you know of Malamar!? It's an urban legend that senior staff always talked about!!"

Sam rolled his eyes at Jake. "Here we go again..."

Jake stood up, and mimicked holding an opened book in one hand, and gesturing with the other, like some prophet.

"Ye shan't talk about ye Malamar, for ye be a creature so vile... So repulsive... Ye hides in the shadows... If ye ever seen Malamar, pray that ye mind is sound... Ye soul is complete... Ye body is intact... For if not... Malamar shall take them for himself!!"

Sam walked up to Jake, and gave him a Wake-Up Slap.

"What my sometimes delusional buddy here is trying to say... Yea, we do know of Malamar. But there are some rumours about it that seemingly spread from ex-staff. There was no evidence of such dealings, so the rumours became urban legends here. What Jake said was one such thing."

[Quickman]

Prof. Hypno raised an eyebrow and scratched at a patch of dry skin.

"Ear-li-er... it was try-ing to... ke-ep me from go-ing... out-side.  I ha-ave the day off... and I wa-ant to... go out-side."

[Dr. Wily II]

Jake rubbed at his now swollen cheek.

"Oww... That seemed like a trivial thing to do... Perhaps the weather wasn't good, and it was trying to help?"

Sam just kept quiet as he pass the PB and Js to Jake and Prof. Hypno.

[Quickman]

"The wea-ther was fine."

Prof. Hypno took the PB&J and chewed off a bite, finishing his mouthful before he started talking again, as he wanted to avoid choking.

"It tri-ed to... hyp-no-tize me.  Of course... it failed.  In-som-ni-a and... all tha-at."

[Dr. Wily II]

Jake's eyes sparkled at the PB&J and ate it rather messily. Sam stared as he slowly nibbled on his.

Jake - "Now that's really trivial, don't you agree Sam?"

Sam - "Well, it seems so, but like I said, besides the ex-staff, no one else has ever seen, or interacted with the Malamar. No one knows if it's even Mr. P's.

Jake - "Still! Look at poor Prof! All he wants is to go outside!"

Sam - "And let me guess. You want to help."

Jake - "Spot on brotha!"

[Sakura Leic]

After a while Steven came out and addressed the group.

"I am terribly sorry for keeping you all waiting, I am Steven Stone current President of the Devon Corporation." Steven bowed "Now what is it you wish to speak with me about."

[Quickman]

Illana glanced up from conferring with her Pokemon. "Oh!  Uh... we were supposed to speak to you about getting our PokeNavs upgraded?  The phone service around here is terrible, you know?"

Scizor kept looking around Riley's lab.  He didn't like how it looked and he didn't like how it smelled.  While Riley didn't make any threatening moves toward him, he was still wary and kept a close watch on the man.  He didn't even notice Steven's arrival, as all of his focus was on Riley.

[Dr. Wily II]

Gai turned to see a silver-haired pretty boy... A beautiful specimen indeed. The way his rings sparkle... Ahem.

"Yea, we were told to inform you that it's Z's request."

[Sakura Leic]

When Steven heard Z's name a look of recognition crossed his face.

"Oh....so she sent you here." Steven stated "Alright I'll get you guys some PokeNav Pluses right away."

[Quickman]

Illana watched Steven walk away, her gaze lingering on the seat of his pants.  She smirked a bit.  Zubat merely let out a groan. "I dinnae need eyes t'know yer lookin' at 'is arse..."

Illana immediately turned as red as her Scizor.

Jake's eyes sparkled at the PB&J and ate it rather messily. Sam stared as he slowly nibbled on his.

Jake - "Now that's really trivial, don't you agree Sam?"

Sam - "Well, it seems so, but like I said, besides the ex-staff, no one else has ever seen, or interacted with the Malamar. No one knows if it's even Mr. P's.

Jake - "Still! Look at poor Prof! All he wants is to go outside!"

Sam - "And let me guess. You want to help."

Jake - "Spot on brotha!"

Prof. Hypno perked up and ate his sandwich.  After washing it down with a few swallows of his drink, he shifted and tried to extricate himself from the lounge chair, with very little success.  All he managed to do was sit up somewhat straighter, and it was clear to him that he was not getting out of this thing without some help.

But, he was going outside!  He was going to go outside and feel the sun on his face!  He hadn't seen it for so long that just being able to breathe something other than the recirculated lab air was going to feel so good.

"The Mal-a-mar mi-ight le-ave... you a-lone.  If it sees... tha-at I'm... with some-one, it shoul-dn't bo-ther... us."

Again, he struggled to get himself out of the chair without success.

"I ne-ed some... help."

[Dr. Wily II]

Jake smiled as he tried to assist Prof. Hypno. However, he slightly underestimated the power of the lounge chair's Magnet Pull.

Jake - "Sam! HELP!!"

Sam facepalmed as he walked over to the lounge chair, and dug deep.

[Quickman]

Even though he had noticeably lost weight, Prof. Hypno was still awkward to lift, as his entire left side was rigid with spastic muscles.  While he was with Mulberry, he was prescribed anti-spasmodics for his tight muscles and anti-convulsants to control his seizures.  However, as far as he knew, Mr. P was not aware of his medication regimen, and Prof. Hypno wasn't quite certain the exact drugs and dosages that he took, as that was handled by Mulberry and the care home staff.  He had been unmedicated for weeks, and his left side was gnarled and stiff from contractures, and were he to go back to physical therapy and begin his medication again, he would certainly need to have his tendons released.

Finally hauled to his feet, he regained his balance and slipped his arms into his crutches.  He looked to Sam and Jake.  "Af-ter we go out-side... Co-uld you show me... a-round your... work sta-tion?  Wha-at do you do here?"

[Dr. Wily II]

Jake was almost grinning like a Cheshire Meowth, when Sam nudged him.

Jake - "Well, what we are doing are classified so..."

Sam - "It's not that we don't trust you, but protocols are to be followed. Sorry."

Jake laughed nervously as the three began to leave the lounge area.

[Sapphire Knight]

"Well, I don't blame her." Goh said in response to what Illana's zubat said, her eyes locked on the company president's posterior.

Dr. Riley, meanwhile, was getting some things ready to show Steven when he got back with the upgrades for the trainers.

[For the record, Riley is his last name.]

[Quickman]

It took a moment, but Illana eventually forced herself to stop ogling Steven's butt.  She chewed on her bottom lip and then turned to Riley. "Scizor talks about a 'crib.'  We think he means a cage, but we're not sure.  He's seen cages, and they don't trigger him, as he had to be put in a kennel at the Center once when they kept him overnight.  Nurse Joy said he handled it fine."

Scizor kept watching Riley closely, still not sure about the man.  He didn't like how Riley smelled. "Smells like the nice men in white..."

Jake was almost grinning like a Cheshire Meowth, when Sam nudged him.

Jake - "Well, what we are doing are classified so..."

Sam - "It's not that we don't trust you, but protocols are to be followed. Sorry."

Jake laughed nervously as the three began to leave the lounge area.

"Un-der-stand-a-ble."

Prof. Hypno nodded as he followed the two to the elevator.  He hoped that the Malamar wasn't still hanging around on the ground floor.

"I've seen o-ther... pro-jects, but... I don't know wha-at... they are.  Some-times, the... staff in R-and-D... le-ave things a-round.  I think tha-at they... think I'm sim-ple... and mi-ight not un-der-stand... them, due to the... way I ta-alk."

He had gotten that treatment before, mostly from Hemlock and occasionally from visiting scientists in Birch's lab.  His staccato thick-tongue slurred speech made him difficult to understand, and many attributed his dysarthia to mental retardation.

[Sapphire Knight]

"Now I'm certain he's been experimented on..." Riley said, sighing a little as he turned to Illana. "When does he mention the 'crib' most often? That might help figure out what it is."

[GRAH! I was working on a post for this rp in the Suppliment thread, but the page reloaded itself when I blinked.  ]

[Quickman]

"He mentions it a lot, but I haven't really figured out a pattern, you know?  He mentioned it when we were in a crowd, and he mentioned it when I asked him if he wanted to go in his Ball for a nap.  He usually says it when he wants to know if he's a good boy," Illana stroked Scizor's head.

Scizor looked up at her and smiled. "Skee-zor's a good boy?"

"Yes, Scizor's a good boy," Illana smiled at him.

[Sapphire Knight]

"Hmm... The 'crib' might be where they experimented on him..." Riley said, more thinking out loud than actually saying something. "Perhaps a room or an examining table with bars around it?"