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she takes the offered handkerchief and blows into it. doubting that he'll want it back at this point, she holds onto it for now. as they cross the floor toward the threshold of the door they're aiming for, maisie's eyes dart around, taking everything in. it is, indeed, just an old warehouse, exactly the sort of place you'd expect goons to be hanging out in. "cliche," she mutters, "onna these days i'd love to encounter some good ol' henchmen whose hideouts are in an amusement park or somethin'."[break][break]

a figure with four legs appears. small and fox-like, maisie realizes she's looking at her zorua, who snuck in by making use of his illusion ability. maisie gives him a little salute and keeps walking. he's trained well enough not to cause any trouble until they need to make use of him.[break][break]

they reach the door. hopefully, there's a prize inside worth the earlier deception. maisie remains mindful of their circumstances and allows nikita to open it first, aware that she needs to keep up the act if they want to make it out of this without a fight.

[attr="class","bottom"]i'll gouge you out with my fangs.[break]
[break]Nikita Sokolov
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"one an' the same!" maisie cheerfully retorts. "i'm not here for one of my cases, though. i jus' like to come an' pay my respects and what-not." she inhales, and lets out a puff of smoke. it's funny how things can change, she reflects. i used to hate the smell of cigarette smoke. she makes sure to aim away from vespa, letting the whirls disappear into the open air.[break][break]

vespa catches a gothorita. a nearby spoink bounces across their paths, takes a look at them, and hurriedly bounces the other way. "this place isn't usually so busy," maisie observes. "ya seem pretty comfy 'round ghost types, too. most people aren't." maisie's never cared much either way, but taking care of dante has opened her eyes somewhat. the dreepy isn't here at the moment, or else he'd probably be curious about everyone and everything. that's really the reason she left him behind; the poor thing is no good at combat, and the pokemon here tend to be a bit aggro lately.

[attr="class","bottom"]i'll gouge you out with my fangs.[break]
[break]Vespa Baskerville
[break]passing on spoink!
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[attr="class","credit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cloud-moon"]

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a unique typhlosion being sighted again... well, if her suspicions were correct and her mark had been killed, it wouldn't be unusual for their pokemon to be seized afterwards. there were too many cases where a missing person's pokemon had popped up again, this time being wielded by their previous trainer's killer. some would rebel, yes, but most would have little choice but to do as their new commander said.[break][break]

"i'll take a look then," she promises. "then i'll get out on the streets. might be a hot minute before ya hear back from me, but you're welcome to swing by the mausoleum any time. drinks're on me for the first visit." she's already looking through the information on her phone, dante peering out curiously. she's made sure her bar is generally pretty secure for league officials, tossing out any rocket rabble that makes themself known. she can't guarantee the allegiance of her customers, even so, but her office is fairly soundproof and has a high tech security system.[break][break]

maisie pockets her phone. "if you happen t'find out anything new, lemme know," she says, as she's walking out the door. "any 'lil bit helps." she winks. "see ya soon, mate." time to get to work.

[attr="class","bottom"]i'll gouge you out with my fangs.[break]
[break]Josh Devlin
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[attr="class","credit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cloud-moon"]

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what happens next occurs rather fast. maisie keeps up with the act, protesting as she's pushed into the warehouse. those protests stop as soon as they're alone in the dimly-lit building, the lights overhead flickering. there's a slight scent of mold in the air, the detective inhaling as she takes in her surroundings. "y'better not ever visit spikemuth then," she comments. "if ya think my accent's bad, you'd never survive there."[break][break]

she glances at the door. "how soundproof d'ya suppose it is?" she asks in a low whisper. "dante should be back anytime with reinforcements-- i got a couple mates with pretty good sniffers, but if i let anyone loose, we'd be screwed if someone came to check on us." this is, she reminds herself, a reconnaissance mission. they want information, and if they have to beat down the goons lurking outside that door, their mission will be compromised. being sneaky is the name of the game, right now.[break][break]

maisie wrinkles her nose and then sneezes. "damn it's dusty in here," she complains under her breath, sniffling.

[attr="class","bottom"]i'll gouge you out with my fangs.[break]
[break]Nikita Sokolov
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the next phantom force does indeed hit, and kyra is left with a parting gift. the curse weighs her down, but does not fully extinguish her. she hangs on by a sliver, and while maisie applauds her for that, there's no point in keeping her on the battlefield. so she calls her back into her ball to rest, and instead sends out lilith.[break][break]

the lycanroc looks downright dastardly as she stares yotsukura's typhlosion down. as maisie's oldest partner, the two are completely in sync, so the canine immediately knows what's up. the shouts are getting closer, and maisie knows damn well what will happen if she's caught. "...i hope whatever it is you're lookin' for is worth sellin' your soul for," she says. ya better be damn sure of that. she sold her own soul long ago, not to rocket but to something even more insidious. karma has a way of evening things out. all the pain and suffering you put into the world eventually comes back, and it will show no mercy.[break][break]

but that's not important. what's important now is making her getaway. "lilith. let's go." the lycanroc jerks into action, taking up a combat stance, howling madly. in response to her cries, a massive monument of stone juts up from the earth underneath the typhlosion's feet. a wall is constructed between yotsu's side and maisie's side of the field, blocking the older woman's view of the detective.[break][break]

when the wall breaks down, maisie and her pokemon are gone. she's already made her escape, disappearing back the way she came.

[attr="class","bottom"]i'll gouge you out with my fangs.[break]
[break]Yotsukura Yotsugami
[break]70mp for posts, 25 mp for completion, 100 mp for "neutral" outcome, 150 mp for rocket v league, 400 mp for prompts = 745 total
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the shadow ball slams into kyra, who reels, flailing. she manages to regain her ground, but maisie is left with a dilemma. another phantom force immediately will likely leave the dragapult exposed again, should it not knock out their opponent. but most of the dragapult's other attacks are normal type attacks, so they won't even do a lick of damage against the other ghost. the possibilities whirl quickly through her mind as she considers her options.[break][break]

well, then... why not ensure the next attack hits? it's a bit of a risk, but not as much as it would be to go immediately for another phantom force. "lock on!" maisie yells. strategy is the name of the game, after all, not brute force... as much as she wishes the latter would be the case, she learned in her previous life that sometimes you need to stop and think for a second.[break][break]

kyra focuses her gaze on the cofagrigus, ready to move if it should attack again. maisie, meanwhile, looks across the field. "if you know what rocket's like, what're you doin' with them?" she challenges yotsukura. "a real refined lady like you... wastin' your time on ugly brutes like me. is that really what ya wanna do with your life?"

[attr="class","bottom"]i'll gouge you out with my fangs.[break]
[break]Yotsukura Yotsugami
[break]50 mp showcase character's strengths, 50mp cast doubt on other
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maisie's encounter isn't quite so gentle. a nearby runerigus, apparently not liking the way her nickit was acting, decides to pay the two of them a visit. it appears in a cloud of haze, looming over the little fox. vixen, to her credit, does not immediately give in despite the size difference. instead she snarls, the attack driving the runerigus back a bit but otherwise not harming it too badly. it responds with a body slam, crushing the nickit beneath its bulk. maisie sighs, and readies a pokeball to return vixen... but the nickit is not yet defeated, and instead slashes away at the runerigus, scoring super effective marks across its body. in pain, the ghost type recoils, and maisie grabs an empty pokeball and throws it.[break][break]

she turns back to vespa. "y'can call me maisie!" she chirps. "i'm a private eye, and i own a dive in lilycove." she raises an eyebrow. "dunno if you're legal to drink, though. are you eighteen or older?" just like someone who owns a bar to all but card someone outside of it. at least maisie follows some laws to the letter.

[attr="class","bottom"]i'll gouge you out with my fangs.[break]
[break]Vespa Baskerville
[break]catching runerigus!
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[attr="class","credit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cloud-moon"]

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yotsukura's coldness only infuriates maisie more, though she struggles to keep a lid on it. she knows that losing her head here will mean worse than a simple loss in this battle. her opponent's cofagrigus steals some of kyra's power for itself, and maisie grits her teeth. here and now, with their attack power even... it's speed more than anything that she needs, and thankfully that's something kyra's got in spades. "phantom force!"[break][break]

the dragapult disappears from view. she knows it's only lurking on the other side, ready to strike. for now, though, there's a hole, an opening where it cannot be struck, and a period of time in which there is nothing to do but wait. "...no," she replies. "i know bloody well nothing can change the past." under her hood, the upper half of her face wreathed in shadow, maisie smiles. "but hittin' things has always made me feel better."[break][break]

kyra reappears. she lashes out at the cofagrigus, slamming into it. the smile on maisie's face doesn't fade, as she shares the moment with her pokemon. if she's out for blood, so is her team. they share a goal, after all, even if that goal is simple; to win, no matter what.

[attr="class","bottom"]i'll gouge you out with my fangs.[break]
[break]Yotsukura Yotsugami
[break]50 mp pokemon symbolize character
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[attr="class","credit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cloud-moon"]