Colton watched the robot walk away, shrugging his shoulders at Cassidy's question. "I...I don't know...I've never seen anything like it," he answered, but he had a feeling that whatever it was knew him. The way it had bowed its head made it seem like it acknowledged him as a higher up of sorts.

He wasn't sure if that was any better than it just attacking them...

Almost as if in answer, a door at the end of the hall exploded, with another robotic creature appearing from the smoke. Colton fell backwards in surprise, scrambling away as he stared in a mixture of awe and fear at the mechanical Volcarona. A perfect fusion of Pokemon and machine. It was exactly the kind of thing he theorized about, only held back by the ethics of doing so.

"No way..." he muttered to himself as he got back to his feet, pulling Arti's Pokeball from his waist, but hesitating on whether or not to release the Rotom.

paxton concordas
OOC: Interdream (1/2)
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 120 MP

Colton's teeth knocked together painfully as the Rocket hit his lower jaw with a palm strike. His head jerked backwards, but his grip didn't falter. Even as Mint's nails broke the skin on his wrist, Colton's grip only tightened. Adrenaline surged through his body as he continued pushing his multitool in, bringing his knee up into Mint's stomach before stomping down on one of his feet.

The researcher had almost entirely tuned out the Pokémon battle going on behind him. He ignored the pained shrieks of the Gligar as it began to succumb to the Iron Moth's attacks, while the Iron Moth floated forward. Its digital eyes gazed down at the other Pokémon as it writhed on the ground. There was no sympathy, no remorse, no concern. The threat had been handled.

And now, it would be eliminated.

Its body began to glow again, the air beginning to warp as the temperature began to rise. Its wings moved around to create almost a funnel directed right at the Gligar before the Iron Moth released an OVERHEAT, the Fiery Dances it had performed before enhancing the attack to an overwhelming barrage of heat that would cook anything in its path.

mint frost
OOC: Caves 2/2
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 130 MP

• player/ooc name: MrCamm
• character tags: Colton Boothroyd
• dropped characters' tags (if applicable):
• ic posts for characters: Colton
• are characters in directories?: Y
• any notes/comments: We out here on our sigma grindsets

Colton struggled to free himself from the other man's grip, watching the bulky mask reel itself back. A headbutt, one that would hurt him far more than it would hurt the other trainer. Instinctively, he threw his hand in the way, absorbing the impact into his palm enough to keep the headbutt from knocking him flat.

The back of his hand still slammed against the bridge of his nose and he felt his glasses snap against his skin, the shattered frame falling to either side. Those were going to be a pain to replace, given his prescription required such specific lenses, but on the upside, his blurry vision was smudging the annoyingly smug expressions dancing across Mint's lit up helmet. Even in the worst situations, there was always a silver lining.

Colton's fingers gripped down on the helmet, his free hand digging in his pocket for the multitool he always carried on him. He flipped out a flat head screwdriver, then brought it around towards the back of the helmet where he assumed the majority of the wiring ran, attempting to sever the electronics and short the helmet out. "Can it with the quips, already!"

The Iron Moth made a series of beeping sounds as it assessed its enemy's status, its digital eyes tracking the Gligar as it zips its way forward. A metallic clang rings out as the Feint Attack lands, making the Iron Moth fall back slightly before rising up. Something akin to glee light up its digital face before flames wreathed its wings and it performed a second FIERY DANCE, letting the flames wash over the Gligar as the glowing liquid increased in its intensity.

mint frost
OOC: Caves 2/2
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 120 MP

Colton covered his ears as the air filled with the flesh creatures' horrible, shrieking voices. It was like a thousand knives diving right into his mind and he thought his eardrums would burst. But, through the maddening din, he heard the shriek of another creature. The Greninja, that had snuck away from him during his Iron Moth's attack and had snatched Tsubaki away from the monsters' embrace, was was beckoning him to follow. A way out? He could only hope.

"MM! Let's go!" Colton shouted as he ran out from beneath his Pokemon, his feet threatening to slip on the blood-slick, flesh covered floor. He broke through the creatures surrounding him, the Iron Moth hot on his heels as he followed behind the Greninja towards the exit. Only, there is no exit. The door is locked and sealed tight, unable to be opened. Even Tsubaki's Noivern, after shoving him out of the way, couldn't break through despite its might.

The meaty organ that had been hanging above there heads began to thump to life and Colton could hear the sound of blood rushing through the walls, like the veins of some great beast. The ship was alive, yet it was not fully flesh and blood. He looked to the panel next to the door, a weakness that could be exploited. But time was growing short. He could hear the squelching steps of the flesh monsters as they danced their way ever closer.

"Keep them back. I'll work as fast as I can," Colton said, both to Hattori and MM, his hand reaching down to his waist and pressing the release on Arti's Pokéball. The Rotom popped out, taking a moment to take in its surroundings before its trainer forcefully turned its attention to the panel as he popped it open. The wires looked to be made of muscle and flesh, almost appearing like veins, but their coloring matched like they would in the real world, indicating there was still some mechanical components to this leviathan

He got down on his knees, blood soaking into his pants and lab coat as he sliced open the first wire with a multitool, receiving a spray of the stuff right into his face. The coppery taste of blood filled his mouth, his free hand pushing his glasses to the top of his head. "You're not going to like it, but I need you to possess this thing and move the wires I need to splice together to get this door open," he instructed. With some hesitation, Arti left its beloved washing machine and disappeared into the wire, its travel noted by the wires wiggling as it zipped through them.

Colton's hands flew around the panel, cutting wires and splicing them back together as fast as he could as Arti indicated what he needed to work with. It would certainly take some time to finally get it worked out entirely. How Megolopolans built and wired their electronics was entirely alien, but it was slowly becoming clearer as he and Arti desperately worked to open the door.

Navy Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki

Colton's one good shoulder lifted in a chuckle as she downplayed his compliment. "You stopped beating up on me to gush over my Rotom. And then didn't start beating up on me again after I dropped my guard<" he said. "Maybe it's naive, but that doesn't really strike me as 'cold, ruthless killer,' you know?"

Colton decided to not ask about her reasons for staying with Rocket. It was likely a pointless effort to try and pry it out of her, unless he really tried to play up the "lost, hurt puppy" vibe he was assuming she picked up from him. He looked down at his shoulder again, nodding at her advice. "Will do. I'll do my best to go looking for fights where someone knocks it back into place while beating my face in."

Petalburg. The Swan. It certainly wasn't a lot of identifying information, but Colton found himself mentally noting all the same. "I'll do my best not to. Maybe we can meet under better circumstances next time," he said. "I'd hate to be enemies with someone who likes Rotom as much as I do."

ana fell
OOC: Battle
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 210 MP

The Iron Moth took the blow right to its head, its "eyes" turning to comedic X's as it slammed into the wall. It fell tot he ground, its wings clattering loosely as the light inside sputtered and blinked. It took a moment, but the mechanical Volcarona recovered, its digital face returning to normal and its body floating up off the ground again.

Its wings swirled around as the glow of its bodied intensified, its "eyes" flashing. Despite its expressionless visage, there was a palpable malice around it. Toxic liquid began to seep out of vents on its body, the flow steadily speeding up before its wings began to rapidly rotate, sending the SLUDGE WAVE towards the Gligar.

Colton was not handling physical assault as well as the Iron Moth, however. He felt the wind leave his lungs, leaving him gasping for air as he tried to crawl away. But, that wouldn't work. Escape had failed. That left only one response left for his fight or flight to fall back on.

Colton's fingers wrapped around a rock on the ground, his teeth gritted as a sudden fire lit in his chest. "Sure thing...I got it for you right here..." he said, quickly turning and chucking the stone right at Mint before scrambling back to his feet and diving shoulder first into a tackle, aiming to slam the other man against the wall of the cave with as much force as he could manage.

mint frost
OOC: Caves 2/2
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 110 MP

Colton couldn't help but laugh at the suggestion, despite the situation they were in. He gave a tug on the horn to show it as indeed growing out of his head. "Guess we're two of a kind here, huh?" he said. "Here's hoping that it disappears whenever we get out of here."

"Pleasure to meet you," Colton answered, before turning back towards the hallways. He found himself peeking into each window, only finding empty rooms with tables and scientific equipment. He glanced at Cassidy when he asked his question, only shrugging his shoulders in response.

"No. Other than these rooms now showing up, you're the only thing I-" A metallic clanking cut Colton off. He turned his head in the direction of the sound, a turn in the hallway suddenly appearing. He took a step back as he turned fully towards the source of the sound, flinching as the metallic clanking grew louder and louder, its origin soon making itself known.

A metallic purple creature rounded the corner, large red eyes turning to regard both Colton and Cassidy. The creature studied them for a moment, looking between the two before settling on Colton and taking a few clanking steps towards him.

Colton was frozen, unable to move as the creature came within arms reach. They stared at each other for a moment before it bowed its head, then turned and walked down the hallway, disappearing into the endless white...

paxton concordas
OOC: Interdream (1/2)
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 110 MP

Colton's fingers worked deftly as he carefully reassembled each part of the transmitter, each piece coming back together like a puzzle. As he began screwing the panels back together, he nodded at her question. "My door is always open. If you ever have any projects you need done, don't hesitate to drop by," he answered, giving a little salute with his screwdriver.

Once it had all been assembled, he flipped the power on, Arti zipping its way free from the object and repossessing the washing machine. Colton watched it for a moment, looking for any wayward sparks or weird noises that would indicate he'd done something wrong. "Okay. I think I can give this a seal of approval. Communications should be back up for this area."

PENELOPE LIVY
OOC: Comms 1/2
10 MP (IC Post), 100 (Mission Completion), 200 (Victory)
Total: 450 MP

REDEEMING

welcome to the poké mart!

2X tamato berry
1X rabuta berry
1X grepa berry

(0 PD)

She was ignoring him, enraptured entirely by the fleshy figures that had pulled themselves from the ballroom's walls. Colton took a step back as the figures moved in a hauntingly beautiful manner, dancing gracefully to a song he was unable to hear, their elegant shapes and light movements only cut by the fact they were crafted entirely from flesh.

Colton placed his hand on MM's metal body, trying to find some reassurance in steel and circuits. The Greninja joined him as they watched the creatures close in around Tsubaki, wrapping her up in a soft embrace, bathed in ethereal light as she joins them in their endless dance. He heard her speak softly, still calling out to her non-existent father.

But then, there was a shift in the energy of the room. Colton didn't know how he could tell, but the soft, caring embrace of the creatures shifted to something far, far more hostile as they began to encircle him in their dance.

"Shit, shit, shit..." he stepped back again, his back pressing against his Iron Moth's body as panic began to take over. This couldn't be real, standing in the depths of a hell ship surrounded by the dancing fucking flesh puppets. It had to be a bad dream. He had to wake up. He needed to wake up!

A spark, an idea flashed through his mind. It was time for all of them to wake up.

"Electric Terrain!"

MM's wings glowed as its body began to hum before releasing a static pulse that made Colton's hair stand on end. The ground began to pop and spark, lightly jolting him through his shoes and invigorating his mind and body from fatigue. But that didn't stop him from being surrounded by the creatures.

"Overheat!" MM's wings glowed again as Colton ducked beneath his Pokémon, pulling Hattori in close to avoid the sudden release of heat against the creatures surrounding them.

Navy Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki

It took all Colton could manage to keep from fainting on the spot at the sight of the ship's interior. Under the orange light of MM's wings, the flesh that lined the walls were all to visible. The smell of meat, decay, and blood filled his nostrils and rested at the back his throat, a sickening taste that made him want to throw up. Yet, he continued on, keeping pace with Tsubaki and the Greninja as his mind raced.

What was the point in exploring this place? There simply couldn't be anything truly worth it that destroying the ship was not the better option. There were bodies all over the ground in various states of decay, a visual indicator of just how many had delved deep into its depths and just how long both groups had been at it. With the flesh lining the walls and the flexing, esophagus-like hallway, Colton had the distinct image that the ship was more akin to a living creature and they were walking right towards its stomach, nothing more than food to satiate this great, ever hungry beast.

"We shouldn't be in here...nothing we're looking for is worth it..." Colton said, his voice quivering with very obvious fear, but he kept up with Tsubaki all the same. He crawled through the tunnel, coming out of the other side to see the large ballroom. He looked around, trying to make sense of the space and the large object that hung above the ground when he heard Tsubaki speak, addressing her...father...?

Colton looked over to her, an eyebrow raised before following her gaze downward towards a ghostly spirit of a man, Tsubaki's father, if he had to guess. Ghostly visions of those outside didn't seem entirely out of sorts for the type of things Ultra Space would create to mess with people's heads, but what was actually alarming were the things she was saying to the ghostly apparition. Then, what she said to him.

"What? What are you talking about? He didn't say anything. He's not even real," Colton said. "This ship is just messing with your head! Get it together!"

Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki Navy

Colton looked back over his shoulder, about to decry the person chasing him's admittedly sound logic, only seeing the light of the Iron Moth's glowing wings lighting up the Gligar. He looked back and forth, trying to locate the masked trainer that had been chasing him down, only for the digital face to suddenly light up as he felt the other person's body slam into his own.

Colton felt the wind leave his lungs as he fell back onto the ground, only to be blinded by a bright flash of light a moment later. The sequence certainly didn't make it easy for him to respond to his question. He crawled along the ground, his ears ringing and his vision still recovering as he felt around. His fingers eventually found themselves scrapping a large rock that he crawled behind.

"Sl-sludge wave!" he shouted, coughing as he still tried to suck air back into his lungs.

mint frost
OOC: Caves 2/2
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 100 MP