Going in alone does not scare him. He'd put himself in the line of danger so many other times, taken on an unknown threat all by himself. The battlefield takes on many different forms, but certain things still ring true.

Intelligence was king.

And Paxton had years of experience acquiring it. When he puts on his gear its like his old skin but with a new coat of paint. He breathes life into his equipment, and it, in turn, will keep him alive. Streenstrup writhes in the turbulent waters and Paxton finished his preparations. Him, and a few others would infiltrate the enemy ship, take it out from the inside, and get out without getting caught. Or, as close as he can to that. He adjusts the oxygen mask before stepping into the water and gripping onto his Octillery. The shadow octopus takes off under the water, already knowing exactly where she was headed.

She hits the side of the Rocket ship and began her trek upwards, doing he rvest to blend in while dragging her trainer along. As she did, Paxton ditched the travel gear to lighten his partner's load. She peaks over the side and then crawls over, dumping Paxton to the side.

He takes cover, gathering his bearings and beginning to figure out which way to head. Surely, there's some sort of security hub. That first. It'd make movement throughout the boat easier. “Cassidy here. Made contact with the target.” He'd report again in 15 when, hopefully, he'd made more progress. Streenstrup takes her cue, climbing with her suckers around him and pushing forward to find and disable cameras as Paxton made his way deeper into enemy territory. His pulse felt normal, and he felt tense. Kill if necessary, but don't make a mess.

Stay cool, stay in control. Stealth was of the utmost importance right now. Much like how he was relying on the League chosen to take care of the shore, he had to open the way for the League. If he didn't, what would it all be for?

No. This is what he was good at. He would take care of it. He'd be a ghost. He'd done it countless times before. No matter how many times CALLISTA MOON begged him not to. This would be no different.

---

50 MP have your character reflect on why they're fighting/reflect on their loyalties.

- sneaks onto boat with streenstrup the shadow octillery
- going back to the basics, just him, some knives, and enemy turf
- no sniper we're scouting only

Had the situation at hand not been so dire, the sea's rocking could have lulled her to sleep. Even with the calamity within considerable proximity of Sootopolis, Calliope seemed awfully calm among the many grunts currently running back and forth upon the ship, prepping everything for the designated signal to be given.

She was in a mind of her own.

One rudely interupted when a poor sod bumped into her, moments away from yelling at her to move out of his way. Until he didn't, leveled by a glare that spoke more than Calliope had done so far. A silent dare. "Try me."

The grunt didn't try, mumbled something underneath his breath and moved passed her without giving her another look. Calliope knew what it meant. As 'Calliope' she was a mere shadow, a push-over they could say to whatever they wanted; but as 'Mercury', they could not. 'Mercury' didn't dabble like that. Mercury, almost always spiked with or high on some poisonous concoction, was not someone to trifle with. Something about a short fuse, steel fists, and deadly consequences.

As she turned, the contraption sitting snugly against her neck pulsed softly, shooting another dose of toxins into her bloodstream. Her pupils constricted further, mere black dots in seas of icy blues, while a smile eased upon her face. Now she'd figured out the right dose for her to not lose herself, Calliope had been indulging more often, constantly wearing the small toxic device when she wasn't in civillian attire.

Something she should thank jayden cross for. She did not like the man one bit because of his blood ties, but he'd shown her kindness in her arguably direst moment yet, and the impact it had left had been staggering. So much so that she had been willing to lay down a decade worth of grudges against him once she realised he too had been a victim to Dmitri's madness.

It was why she was here now, on a ship in the middle of the oceean, on a probable suicide mission. Actually wanting to prove herself to jayden cross, and Cillian Quinn. For them, she would bring glory to Rocket. Or try to, at least.

"Mercury here, leaving the bridge to make another round in sector C." Mercury called onto the ship's private channel, letting the rest of the crew know she was leaving. Damo stirred in the shadows, dark vines leaving the nest she'd made in the corner to join her trainer. The shadow Serperior seemed keen on getting some exercise.

"Take a round above deck first, Damo. Join me when you're done."

The Serperior hissed in acceptance and slithered off, while Mercury hid her face deeper within the shadows of her hood and made her way towards the staircase leading to the lower levels.



Tldr;
- Outfit || paxton concordas
- Reminiscing on the bridge
- Poison intake teetering on problematic
- Allows her Serperior to patrol the upper levels while she moves down below deck



+ 50 MP have your character reflect on why they're fighting/reflect on their loyalties.
+ Post-count (10 MP): 1

Most of the ship's deck remains as it has been; uneventful, empty, and slick with the torrential downpour courtesy of the oceanic titan somewhere beyond the horizon. It does little for the Shadow Serperior, who only announces her presence to the few guards in rotation through sharp hisses. A warning to them to steer clear of her as she passes them by.

It's only when she makes her way back that the grass viper starts feeling irked the closer she gets to the lower deck's entryway. As if something has encrouched on her territory and she just cannot seem to find it. Unbeknowst to the proximity of the fellow shadow mon hiding nearby, the shadow Serperior rears her head in an attempt to catch its scent; but up here the rain has done away with it, keeping the intruders' obscured.

Crimson eyes flick back and forth, a low, dangerous hiss escaping the viper as it slows, searching intently for that she cannot see, but can feel.

Below deck, a similar irritation for that which cannot be found takes hold of Calliope as she pats herself down. "You can't be fucking serious-" Her keycard had gone, disappeared in thin air. Which meant she was stuck. It was thick enough to hear if it had been dropped below deck, which meant she must have either forgotten it at the helm, or dropped it outside.

"Mercury to Alpha, do you read?"

"Alpha to Mercury, affirmative."

A silence falls as she hesitates, trying her best to keep her temper at bay.

"Mercury?"

The voice questions, and Mercury bites her lip in agitation, knowing she has to admit to a most simple, yet crucial mistake. Mayhaps one of the reasons she'd never been cut out for S.P.E.C.T.R.A. Initiative and its recent Gauntlet trial. Disadvised to apply for it.

"Dropped my keycard somewhere. Haven't found anything near you by any chance?"

Mercury turns on her heel, away from the door leading further down and back through the long corridor. The comms crackle back to life after a few seconds.

"Negative. You're certain it's not near you?"

"Positive. Contact security to block access with card until I find it again."

"Roger that."

"And Alpha?"

"Mercury?"

"Override subsector C2. Nobody goes in without my explicit permission, am I clear?"

"Crystal."

Her footsteps echo heavily upon the steel staircase as she stomps back up, hoping she truly just dropped her keycard somewhere.



Tldr;
- Outfit || paxton concordas
- Damo has taken note of the shadow Octilary's shadow aura and is on high alert
- Hasn't found it yet, but is near enough to be an open target for the SOAK attack
- Calliope notices her keycard is missing
- Tells NPC to contact Security to negate her card
- Has subsector C2 (lower decks) overriden manually from the helm; cannot currently be opened with any keycards




+ Post-count (10 MP): 2
+ 50 MP have your character reflect on why they're fighting/reflect on their loyalties.
+ 50 MP have your character recall a past thread or event that they have participated in or not (link the thread).

"Got it, I'll check it out-" the 'right away' died on her tongue when Alpha added he had lost visual in that section. Which was odd, seeing as Alpha would never have had any visual from the Helm. The pause in her step is only brief, followed by a mouthful of cursing as the potential situation dawns on her.

They've already been infiltrated.

Another surge of poison pulses through her veins as the peculiar device comes to life against her neck. She inhales deeply, letting the toxins do their job as the make their way through her system anew, replenishing the toxins already absorbed by her body. Mercury feels how the adrenaline starts urging her on to continue, and in a mix of bravado decides not to call her suspicions in.

She could be wrong, and scorned for calling all hands to deck.

But... does she truly need help?

Sure, the disappearance and odd wording were too much of a coincidence to let go. But having those nay-sayers follow her? She didn't need all Rockets to aid her. She was perfectly capable of containing some spineless intruder stalking through her ship. Though she had to admit, if they'd gotten that deep and were in fact the reason she no longer held her keycard, that meant they must've gotten in far too close proximity to her... she had never noticed anyone near her. Not even now.

She rears back to life, turning on her heel as a pokéball drops to the floor. A Noctowl emerges from it, and is promptly instructed to go.

"Section A3, hallway B, now! Tell Damo to hurry."

The Noctowl flies off, leaving Mercury alone as she jumps off the staircase. This is a diversion, surely. One she will not fall for. She knows she has to go back, but something fickle toys with her mind... to play with the intruder.

Another route. Give them a head start. Hunt them down.

And if she's wrong and there is none... well, someone will have to pay for it, one way or another.

- - - - - -

Damo twists in anger as the Soak hits its target, its typing changing to its aquatic counterpart. Its hissing is met by the Octillary's own, and both Shadow pokémon stand on edge as their territory's challenged by the other's presence. Damo wishes to strike, but finds herself being hit point blank by the barrage of Bullet Seeds, only adding to the viper's rage.

It lets out a violent sneer before launching herself at the vent in an attempt to knock thing down, and the Octillary out of them. A Giga Drain errupts from the beast, long tendrils making their way into the vent in search of a victim to leech on. In the distance the Noctowl is getting closer, its eyes flashing brightly with a charged Hypnosis, but cannot seem to lay proper contact with the intruding pokémon.



Tldr;
- Outfit || paxton concordas
- Realises something is off but does not alert anyone else
- Calliope is being a tad bit paranoid
- Releases Noctowl to help Damo
- Is going back to the lower levels through a detour
- Damo is hit by Bullet Seed, follows up with Giga Drain
- Noctowl joins in with Hypnosis but has no clear shot




+ Post-count (10 MP): 3
+ 50 MP have your character reflect on why they're fighting/reflect on their loyalties.
+ 50 MP have your character recall a past thread or event that they have participated in or not (link the thread).

+ 50 MP have your character directly or indirectly spotlight another writer's character's strengths.

Damo could feel her energy returning to her the moment the Giga Drain hit, yet, as welcome as the reinforcements of the Noctowl were, grew even more agitated to have another intrude upon her domain. It snarled, rearing itself, only to be blocked by a forceful Shadow Hold keeping it tied in place. Struggle as it might, the shadows did not bend to her will and only made her watch as her prey made a getaway. A hiss of anger echoed against the metal walls as the Noctowl stayed and hooted at her its given message. The viper's fangs flashed as the Noctowl finally relinquished to give chase to its foe, leaving Damo be.

In the lower sections, Mercury stalks onward silently within the ship's shadows, urged on by an unsatiable need to find that which is hidden. She has no idea what is taking place, burst after burst of poison being injected into her bloodstream. And with each shot she gets a little more loose, a little less morally inclined. Her hunt even becomes a mindless wandering.

Until she comes across a first trace of violence.

It's small, easily missed if she hadn't slowed down to an almost glacial pace, but it's there. A smear of blood on the wall at waist-height, and the faintest trickling of blood silently puddling from underneath a closet door. She does not need to open the door to know what she will find, the metallic scent of blood permeating the air.

Her fingers run across the smear, only to drag traces through it, and she cannot help but smile. A fresh kill. So the culprit should be close. Ice-blue eyes flicker within the darkness of her hood, almost dancing as she continues. Had anyone seen the jump in her step they would've probably questioned her motives as well.

But she knows. The little voice in her head knows; she isn't losing it. The intruder is. No traces to be found aside from the disturbance above, and yet now they start popping up? Subtly so. A small dent. A smear here. Like they have to move fast before they get caught. Whomever it is, they're getting sloppy.

And that is to her advantage.

Is it the poison's influence that's making her brazen, or is it the presence of Cillian Quinn , who's dark miasma now lingers around the ship's hull? For Damo it is the latter, who stills in the Shadow Hold as the miasma creeps on board.

When it nears her she inhales deeply, feeling the shadowy tendrils spurn around her body and seep into her skin. Taut veins pop up across the dark viper's body as it snarls, feeling its new-found power coursing through her veins. This time when she stirs, the Shadow Hold breaks, and the beast roars triumphantly, striking at its surroundings with flashing red eyes before it slithers off after the prey that got away.

Whereas one only targets on killing its prey, the other sees fit to toy with it.

"Itsy bitsy spider..."

Mercury knows they are near. Not bothering to remain silent she begins her little warning sign to the rhythm of her footsteps. The timbre of her voice clear and searching, meant to alert anyone who heard it to her imminent arrival.

"Crawled up the water spout..."

In the distance Mercury hears the telltale beep of a series of high-security locks opening. A wicked smile creeps upon her lips as she rears her head, continuing onward, her footsteps echoing like a warning to the intruding paxton concordas . He has time left, and her footsteps reveal she does not bother speeding up.

"Down came the rain,"

Her voice echoes out to him. Another boost of poison shoots into her veins, followed by a deep inhalation trembling with pleasure and relief.

"And washed the spider-"

She continues her little rhyme, slow and sing-songy as she finally turns the corner.

"Out."




Tldr;
- Outfit || paxton concordas
- Damo remains stuck in Streenstrup's Shadow Hold, Noctowl gives chase
- Calliope finds traces of Paxton's handiwork, becomes oddly happy about the carnage
- Calliope turns a little more unhinged, sings nursery rhyme to toy with Paxton's mind
- Cillian Quinn proximity empowers Damo, allowing her to break free




+ Post-count (10 MP): 4
+ 50 MP have your character reflect on why they're fighting/reflect on their loyalties.
+ 50 MP have your character recall a past thread or event that they have participated in or not (link the thread).
+ 50 MP have your character directly or indirectly spotlight another writer's character's strengths.
+ 50 MP have your character experience great pride, joy, relief, or have confidence grow.

What she finds when she turns the corner only adds to the glee fluthering crazily within her stomach. Her smile turns nigh-predatory when she finds the hallway empty; the hatches opened and her prey disappeared beyond the large steel door. Sure, they had never supposed to be there, and the risk at having her prey sneak through the most secured part of the ship was in and of itself all but calculated... yet there was one single thing about thus turn of events that gave her the upper hand in this situation.

There was only one way in. One way out. The door she now stood before. Mercury could play it smart and close it again, destroy the aparatus giving it power and have the menace inside dealt with by the Voltorbs inside. He'd have nowhere to go, and if he tried something the chances of the ship exploding with him was a given.

But there was no fun in that. Sensible was good, but that would not satiate the madness in her mind, nor silence the little voice urging her forth. Another pump of toxin erases whatever doubts could have kept her as she passes the threshold, leaving the door wide open behind her.

Darkened veins line her hands and arms, some slithering up her neck around the device. Her gaze looks crazed, pupils smaller than they should be when she arrives at the deepest parts of the ship's hull.

In the darkness her comms spark to life, and a single order is ushered. The voice of her superior, Cillian Quinn one she has learnt to recognise even through the distortion of the comms.

"The Sealeo is vast."

She taps her comms twice, changing channels as she descends further, hearing another voice echo from somewhere below her. Looks like he too found out... well, no matter. Like he would be able to stop them now.

"Change course Alpha, we're lining up with the others."

A moment of silence lingered as she captured paxton concordas 's final words.

"There's... no way..."

"And yet, there is." she replied loudly in turn, leaning over the railing of the suspended walkway. "So you know our dirty little secret now, murderboy. But what good does it do? Did you honestly think you'd be able to stop us here?"

And then she leaps down to another walkway, landing deftly unto the metal pathway. Its echo carries far into the hull, waking more of the Voltorbs and Electrodes from their artificially-enduced slumber. Hundreds of eyes light up within the darkness beyond, peering at the two individuals on the higher platform overlooking the gathering of pokémon.

"A single wrong move and... boom". she laughs when she mimics an explosion with her hands.


Tldr;
- Outfit || paxton concordas
- Calliope opts to play with her prey rather than to do the sensible thing
- Hears the signal through comms from Cillian Quinn, gives order to redirect course
- Ready to face off with paxton concordas




+ Post-count (10 MP): 5
+ 50 MP have your character reflect on why they're fighting/reflect on their loyalties.
+ 50 MP have your character recall a past thread or event that they have participated in or not (link the thread).
+ 50 MP have your character directly or indirectly spotlight another writer's character's strengths.
+ 50 MP have your character experience great pride, joy, relief, or have confidence grow.

+ 50 MP have an antagonistic exchange of dialogue between your character and another writer's character or NPC.

Whatever futile efforts Noctowl attempted were eventually met with a merciless, frenzy-framed counter. It had done its best at keeping up with the shadow Octillery, the echoes of Damo’s trashing in the distance faintly resonating behind them. At break-neck speed it twists and turns around corners, only to watch the water-type make keen advantage of its moves to outrun her. A deafening bang as the Octillery slams into a wall and disappears behind the corner; a reckless dive to cut said corner from the Noctowl as it slams its wings closed… only to be met with a glaring Ice Beam from the octopus stuck upon the wall.

There was no way it could dodge this. No way it could react; situation aside, it lacked battle experience to anticipate a potential turn of events like this. All it could do was gasp and struggle as the Ice Beam hit it point-blank, grasping around the owl’s beak and creeping up its face and neck before it closed around its shoulder.

It fell like a block, skidding further from the cheer force of the attack. Breathing now impossible, it struggled to escape the inevitable while the Octillery makes its escape further down the hallway.

What Damo passes later on is ill-noticed as she rushes by. Chunks of discolored ice lay scattered across the floor, specks of crimson seeping through. Whatever remains of the broken Noctowl is quite literally, broken.

- - - -

”It wouldn’t be hard.”

”Ooooh, now I’m scared!” she mocks the agent further, hardly worrying about the situation at hand. The poison held tight ship on her mind, denying fear and caution, and enabling bravado and risks.

Both seem stuck in a stalemate, glaring each other down, wondering about the next move. But the air between them is tense, sparked with intensified emotions and electrical charge. The soft humming of the Voltorbs and Electrodes becomes more pressing; a prelude to their imminent clash.

The Octillery crashing in breaks her focus on paxton concordas , long enough for the man to recall it and call a Florges to the stage. When he taunts her, a vile grin appears on her face as she too reaches for a dagger hidden within her coat.

”Whatever you say, Murderboy. Corpse party it is!” Two tactical knives are pulled from underneath, finding themselves nimble within poisoned hands unable to feel pain.

At the same time a Leaf Blade cuts through the Florges’ Magical Leaf, Damo slamming itself through the iron structure with a relentless fury. The shadow Serperior coils around the Florges the moment it sees an opening and when close enough opens her fanged maw, emptying her Gastro Acid upon its struggling victim.

Mercury gives her shadow beast an approving nod without letting her gaze wander, blocking the League agent’s path. ”Nuh-uh-uh, I don’t think so,” she says, brandishing her bladed towards him. ”Me first!” she sneers in a frenzy, another shot of poison filtering through her veins as she launches herself at paxton concordas , lashing out towards his torso.



Tldr;
- Outfit || paxton concordas
- Noctowl takes an Ice Beam to the face and freezes solid
- Frozen Noctowl is smashed against the wall and shatters into pieces => NOCTOWL DIES!
- Calliope continues to taunt paxton concordas , is surprised by the Octillery
- Damo counters Florges' Magical Leaf with Leaf Blade
- Damo coils around Florges and Gastro Acid's it
- Calliope attempts to lash at paxton concordas 's torso


+ Post-count (10 MP): 6
+ 50 MP have your character reflect on why they're fighting/reflect on their loyalties.
+ 50 MP have your character recall a past thread or event that they have participated in or not (link the thread).
+ 50 MP have your character directly or indirectly spotlight another writer's character's strengths.
+ 50 MP have your character experience great pride, joy, relief, or have confidence grow.

+ 50 MP have an antagonistic exchange of dialogue between your character and another writer's character or NPC. (cont'd.)
+ 100 MP for getting your Pokémon killed. (Noctowl)