(ELITE) The MAHOGANY Team

Max hadn't been looking at anything in particular; her social awkwardness making it hard for her to look people in the face, so she missed Fenix's bored expression entirely. Misty, however, did and saw the Sylveon laughing at his trainer's predicament, and she figured that the other woman hadn't expected Max to be so... Max. The pony wasn't sure how else to phrase it; the young woman was full of sarcasm and word twists, but she was also prone to overthinking wording and specifics. Misty had once asked Melody about it, and the answer she had gotten was that Max always did that to avoid "Monkey Paw" situations. It had taken even more explaining to understand what that meant, but in the end, she understood that the questions and nitpicking of words came from wanting to avoid someone taking advantage of her.

The cat smiled at them, as if enjoying the banter between human and Pokemon, and then said, "Well, now that you've answered, it's your turn, Girlie. Ask someone a question." Aw shit... Thankfully, the Persian and Fenix were still in good moods, apparently, but Max feared that it was going to sour soon. As soon as the  command was out, her mind blanked. She had no idea what or even who to ask, and she felt that directing a question to Misty would be cheating. "Uh..." she fumbled for a minute before fate decided to intervene. Ariana and Archer returned with yet another woman in tow, and tossed her into the room.

Max and Misty both blatantly stared at the new lady on the off chance that they recognized her, but neither of them could place her. The white coat, however, gave a strong indication of being a doctor. Max looked her over, and couldn't help but wonder if she could get some pointers from her. She had had some training, but she hadn't gotten the full training of a doctor. She shoved that thought out of her mind, however, for she knew nothing about this person yet. It was entirely possible this was a person that she wouldn't like being near, and though this situation would force them into close quarters, she wouldn't bother putting her full effort into being friendly if it wasn't worth it. Though knowledge that she could use later might be worth it... I don't even know if she even is a doctor yet. Cool it.

The blonde woman snarked, "Seems like you guys are putting together quite the harem." Though the comment was actually up her alley of humor and made her move her hands to her face to hide a smile, she couldn't help but stare at Archer afterwards. Please don't answer 'yes' to that seriously. Hopefully it really was just coincedence that all of the hostages had been women, and not anything else. Fenix didn't seem like she was mourning a missing loved one, but she didn't know for sure. I don't think they'd lie about the ruins crawl though... Come on, if they were that kind of people, they'd probably be way more up front about it. Especially Miss Crazy Redhead.

Her first thing was to question the Vileplume in the corner, "Any trouble, Bella?"

Max's heart sunk at the loud declaration, "The shit-eating cat cost Mr. Archer a favor." She was right about her earlier assumption; the lady was in charge. She thanked the powers that be that Misty wasn't looking at her face right now and was focused on the conversation at hand. Her eyes immediately went to the Persian. Even though the Vileplume had said that the Persian had cost the favor, Max just knew that the cat was going to tell Archer that it was her fault. She didn't know what this favor entailed, but whatever it was, it must have been something bad. The cat wasn't even looking towards her and Misty, and entirely focused on Archer. She missed any nonverbal response he had, but she couldn't even make herself look at him for long. Oh god, I fucked up. He's gonna be mad at me, and I can't do anything to protect myself. The Vileplume apparently delighted in whatever discomfort she caused, and finally continued, "But other than that, we've been playing games."

Ariana cooed, either unaware or uncaring of the mood of most of the room, "And what game is that? I love games." Something about the way she said that made Max feel vaguely uncomfortable, but she couldn't explain why it did beyond the fact that Ariana in general made her uncomfortable. She chewed on the thought for a second before she finally put words to it; it was almost the same feeling she had around creepy guys. Especially that one guy... The one that seemed like he wouldn't take no for any answer.... oh dear god, was this a female version of him? She would have to be very careful if this was true. She put her arm back around Misty, and pulled the Ponyta close to her.

With a fearlessness that Max couldn't help but envy a little, Fenix boldly questioned, "Well we were playing 'Would You Rather,' ever heard of it?" The Sylveon seemed to get nervous at his trainer's boldness, and went over to nudge her leg some. However, Fenix ignored this as she continued, "I'm sure we could tag you in if you want to play. So, do you wanna play a game?" Max just blinked at the last question, and she wasn't sure if she was safe laughing or not. She compromised and brought her left hand up to her face and covered the dumb smile that would probably be unappreciated. It reminded her of a movie she had watched only once, but that line was iconic. Misty felt her human move and gave her a questioning look, but all Max did was wave it away in a motion she understood to mean, "I'll explain later." Like hell Max was going to interrupt, however, for she really didn't want to get between these two warring personalities.

"What a sweet, pretty name," Ariana coos, making Daisy's skin crawl. The woman hasn't gone near her, yet she can feel her boundaries and personal space being trampled underfoot like discarded garbage. Her instincts are screaming 'flee,' but she knows irrationally listening to such primal fear will only get her killed faster. Daisy keeps her movements calm and steady as the other Rocket nudges her forward; it won't be long before she finds out what happens next. They end up back where Ariana is, waiting with both Daisy's bag and her wild-looking Houndoom. "Well, let's get going, Doctor Daisy." The building she is led to is not too far off, and Daisy realizes there is sweat beading on her arms underneath her layers of clothing. It's a miracle she hasn't started shaking yet. God, she really is stuck in this mess, isn't she...? Blue...Mom...all of the Pokemon relying on me, I'll make it through this. I swear to all of you, I will. Her own death brings nothing but an empty void to mind but the fates of the ones she loves is something even Daisy cannot shrug off that easily.

Suddenly, Daisy is grabbed by her arm and roughly shoved inside the building, her bag thrown aside towards a Nidoqueen with none of the careful respect she always gave to her supplies, not to mention the Pokeballs. Inwardly cursing the redhead's name, Daisy found herself quickly adjusting to the new surroundings, and the unfamiliar people. There are two other people other than the Rocket duo, both girls; one stands out like the afternoon sun, with her waves of fiery hair. She doesn't look particularly bothered over her situation. The second girl didn't stand out as much, with her dark brown hair and simple blue hoodie, but something about her clicks with Daisy. Not recognition, no-perhaps it is the fact that, unlike the first hostage, this woman doesn't come off as oddly relaxed about this awful situation. They're in the same boat, and that tugs at Daisy's heart.
"Seems like you guys are putting together quite the harem." Hopefully the yellow-haired woman's remark is only a joke, though Daisy suspects that if it wasn't, she'd already know. Ariana came off as a little too honest back at that house.

"Any trouble, Bella?" Ariana asks a Vileplume, obviously one of her own Pokemon; at least Daisy is familiar with Kanto species. This one, however, is...unsettling, to say the least. Seeing its naturally sinister, shadowed appearance mixed with a childlike delight makes her want to back away, as if she were getting away from a cluster of poison ivy.
"The shit-eating cat cost Mr. Archer a favor." A favor? ...So that meant Ariana really is the one in charge here, rather than a mixed rule. But it begs the question-what is truly going on here? If Ariana is holding power over Archer, then that meant something must be going on between them, something that didn't bring cooperation and shared interests. She watches the Rocket duo closing, searching for some hint to the power play and the nature of the threat behind 'Bella's' words. Maybe, in time, Daisy can use the cracks in this dynamic for her-and if possible, the other hostages too-escape. "A favor." It's definitely something big, something big enough for that Vileplume to drag up in front of everyone. But what? Ariana is the one with the power here, definitely, and if Archer is being used by her... It is too much information to take in, and too little solid facts. She can't make assumptions about how these two work, not now; it could be more dangerous than she expects. For all Daisy knows, everything she's thinking is completely, utterly wrong.

"But other than that, we've been playing games."
And what game is that? I love games." Of course you would. Daisy says nothing, not trusting herself enough to be able to interrupt these two without saying something stupid. And besides, she knows nothing about these "games", or what they might really entail. For now, silence is her best friend, and the only thing keeping her heartbeat steady. Being in the same room as Ariana and one of her sickly-'sweet' Pokemon is bad enough, but her thoughts won't stop returning to her family, and her trapped Pokemon.
"Well we were playing 'Would You Rather,' ever heard of it? I'm sure we could tag you in if you want to play. So, do you wanna play a game?" Daisy watches as the more talkative of the two other hostages is approached by a Sylveon, the fairy trying to get the woman's attention and failing. This girl is brave, far more than Daisy herself...or is she merely reckless? Either way, she seems to be the only one who can actually talk to Ariana without evaluating her every word. That takes courage. Perhaps reckless courage is exactly what they need.

"I really don't think that's a good idea..."

"That is probably not a good idea."

"It's totally a good idea; do it."

"Well I'm already doing it, so!"

A foot slammed into a locked door with a thunk and a cry of pain followed.

"Heh..."

"Oh shut up Kitty." The redhead huffed as she hopped back from the door and plunked herself down on the dusty floorboards to examine her foot. Her shorter, thinner companion hid a smile beneath a hand as he glanced over at their Pokemon, the Bronzong floating beside him sighing in his weird, metallic, machine voice.

"He did inform you that it was not going to work. Do you require assistance?"

"Nah. It's just bruised. Also you can stuff it too, know-it-all." She pulls her sock and sneaker back on, ignoring the huff the robot makes.

"Maybe you just need t'hit it harder?"

"H-how about we not do that. Hellena, maybe you can get it open?"

The Purugly stretched and shot the human a fanged grin. "Well, since ya asked so nicely..."

As the cat worked on Shadow Clawing her way in, the Bronzong nudged his human. "Julian, I do not like this area. We have agreed we do not like this area and why. May we please leave now?"

"Saturn," he corrected, his voice soft as he rubs one of the robot's arms. "And soon. Mars wanted a quick look around this last house and then we'll leave."

"You worry too much, Milk Dud. There's a whole town; whoever was here is probably hours ahead of us and besides that, who knows what else they might've missed!"

"It is a town known for its ninjas," Saturn reminds the steel type, "and whoever looted the town might also not have gone through every single home. There could be more hidden doors..."

"But the dust is clearly disturbed in a way that suggests others have come through here only recently, and the footprints suggest humans and two pokemon, canine in nature; they may very well all be healthy and hostile and my name, Ms. May, is Milky Way."

"Oh wow I'm so sorry; my mistake. How could I call you Milk Dud? You're way too salty to be something that sweet- Saturn help!"  She squeaked and hid behind the much less imposing Saturn as Milky Way floated around Saturn towards her.

"Okay okay." He held up his hands placatingly. "Calm down, Milky Way. S'only a joke."

" 'Only a joke' indeed," he huffed. A tremendous crash informed them that Hellena had smashed through the door.

Eagerly, they crowded at the door to peer inside, but within seconds the smiles on their faces drooped.

"It's empty are you kidding me."  She stomped her foot in disgust and promptly winced again.

Ow.

---

"What a waste of time," Mars growled as she pulled the door shut behind them, easing a hand to rub her temples.

"Well it was your idea."

"Fuck off, Kitten," she snorted as they start to walk, though the words lacked any real bite.

"Fuck off, Kitten," Saturn repeated back at her in a dramatic, high pitched voice. She punched his arm, not bothering to conceal a grin.

Just keeps getting better.  Every day, just a bit more progress. That wasn't the first time he shot one of her own jabs right back at her and was, actually, the fourth time in the past two days. Even if it was with the grace of a fifth grader, that was something to be glad about. He recognized she didn't mean any harm and took it in stride and threw it back. It's a far cry from the fearful look and flinch she knew she would have gotten a month or so ago.

Now if we can keep it that way, fantastic. And hopefully progress further, too. He took to walking by her side--more progress; she remembers when he used to walk behind her--and she sneaked a peak at his face. Still too pale, still too drawn, and those shadows under his eyes still looked bad. But, she noted, he bothered to attempt to do something with his hair this morning. It looked... slightly more in place than last time. Too bad there's little either of them could do about the dirt smudged in both their hair; maybe she could encourage him to shower, otherwise.

Eugh, we both need that. It wouldn't even matter if any of these houses had a generator in case of power outages that was left behind when they fled. Water was an entirely different system. That no longer worked. Because why would it.

They stopped a moment so that Mars could draw out her map, unaware that they were within scent range of the Pokemon involved in the nearby fiasco.

And they did not notice Hellena's fur rising as the scents of those other people hit her until it was too late.

Of course Fenix would answer. Archer quirked a brow as she spoke, unsure of whether her bravado was courageous or simple stupidity. At least Ariana was still apparently amused by it. "Well we were playing 'Would You Rather,' ever heard of it? I'm sure we could tag you in if you want to play. So, do you wanna play a game?"

Ariana giggled, much like the Vileplume just had, causing Archer's upper lip to curl slightly in sheer disgust. How he hated that sound. He didn't notice how both of his pokemon shared his subtle expression, each eyeing Ariana as if she were a grotesque, repulsive cess pool. Which she was, but that was neither here nor there.  "I'd be pleased as tits to pl--"

However, she was interrupted by Garmr, who barked and ran off again, and both Rocket admins stared in wide-eyed disbelief as Sin followed. "What the ever-lasting fuck?!" she cried, and for once, Archer couldn't help but agree. "What, is there a Hostage Convention I didn't know we were fucking hosting?! Goddamn!" She tossed another pokeball as she ran, ordering the newly materialized Arbok, "Queen will fill you in!"

Archer cursed at her recklessness once again; he'd have to leave behind another pokemon as well. Though he would much rather keep his Meinshao on his person, they needed more to guard the tiny hut which was very quickly becoming filled. "Talk to Justice," was his order as he ran off after Ariana, leaving the newly released pokemon to sit and, despite the mutual hatred for each other, stare in confusion. Still, they went to their respective teammates, though the fighter hopped on Justice and perched himself on his back, using the bull as a mount as the Arbok slithered to the named Nidoqueen.

Tyranny perked at the sight of her comrade, happy to at least have more company than with the brick wall the Meinshao was sitting on. "Hey there, cutie~!" she called, rising to her paws as Justice snorted his dissatisfaction from being used as a couch. "So we have hostages."

The Meinshao grinned. "So we do." He wiggled his fingers in a little wave at the gathered women, his free paw supporting his chin as he settled on his stomach on Justice's back. "...Any reason why they're all ladies?"

The Persian shrugged. "Coincidence?"

"Weird coincidence," the fighter mused. His eyes ran over the room until he spotted Bella smirking in the corner and his own friendly grin fell. He turned as his seat was nearly taken from him as Justice was almost pushed aside by the Arbok, who was trying to squeeze her way into the house. "Excuse you, Fatass," he growled, putting a foot on her head to push her back out.

"Excuse yourself, Lunchable, and get your mammoth out of the way so I can get in."

"He's a bull, you uncultured swine, and you could at least have asked him to move before getting yourself stuck." He succeeded in pushing her hooded head to the ground, earning a squeak of anger and surprise from the snake. "Just because you don't have arms or legs doesn't meat you can't have fucking manners too."

She retrieved her head from beneath his foot and coiled behind Justice, her head already aiming at the mount's passenger. "You don't ask a door if you can open it-- you just shove your way through."

"I'm so proud, you actually had a comeback! Gold star for you!" he sneered back, but the Nidoqueen quickly came into view and moved faster than any of them expected. She shoved the snake back, pulled Justice by the tails out of the doorway by a few feet, and shoved the Meinshao off his perch, her gaze steely and stern. Though Justice had let out a sharp cry of pain when his tails had been viciously pulled, no one said a word as the Nidoqueen glared at them each in turn, hostages and all.

"Shut up." The words were soft, but they didn't need to be loud or obnoxious to carry the threats that came with them. She moved aside and glared down at the now more than submissive snake, who silently slithered into the door, immediately going to Bella's side. The Vileplume was surprisingly quiet and both Poison types shared a mutual sharp gaze with the other as the Nidoqueen disappeared from the doorway to go back to her post. Justice returned to his own spot and the Meinshao collected himself from the dirty floor, Tyranny moving to his side to rub it with her own.

"Right," he said as he dusted himself off, not addressing the Nidoqueen's actions. "So guard duty." He looked at each of the humans and unfamiliar pokemon in turn, then made his way to lean on the corner nearest Justice. "Fun." He gestured to Tyranny before crossing his arms. "Don't mind me-- you can go back to whatever you were doing."

"Well, we were playing 'Would You Rather' but we keep getting interrupted." She frowned and looked back to the Vileplume and Arbok, the latter now coiled around the former. The plant gave a little wave and smile, accompanied with a cheerful rude gesture. The Arbok, unable to do most of those things, simply grinned as she watched. Tyranny's tail lashed a bit as she turned her attention back to the new hostage. Seemed like a capable lady. Lab coat meant doctor or scientist, though the Persian wasn't entirely sure why either would be in this shit hole. Still, she had a game to run.

"Ok, so last I remember it's... your turn," she directed to the hoodied prisoner. She moved and sat back in the middle of the room, watching the hostage and her pony expectantly. "Let's try and get another round in before we get someone else to crash in."

---

Ariana and Archer followed the driven dogs to another house, the two Houndoom suddenly rounding a corner and snarling at whoever was inside. Both Ariana and Archer entered, their guns pulled and ready, both surprised to see not one new person, but two. The redhead gave out a long, aggravated groan, rolling her eyes and glowering down at the two new prisoners. "Return the pokemon and drop your fucking weapons-- I swear to God, you're all just popping out of the fucking ground now--" As she was about to threaten she'd shoot if they didn't comply, her eyes took in the details of one of the strangers.

A woman with deep crimson hair nearly matching her own, cut similarly as well. She was dirty and lean from travel, but... Ariana couldn't help but picture the baby she'd left on the Hospital doorsteps early in her life. That baby... that little baby girl would be about that age...

Archer stayed in position, his gun on the male -was this the only other human male in the region? It certainly fucking felt like it- but couldn't help but notice the sudden shift in Ariana. Typically those shifts were unpredictable and dangerous, but this was... different? "Don't move," he ordered softly once they had complied with returning their pokemon.

"You, Girlie..." Ariana began thoughtfully, even Garmr pausing in his mad snarling to sniff in the young woman's general direction. "...What's your name? How old are you?"

The standoff didn't last long; both Houndoom bolted out of the door with their masters on their heels. The pair left two more Pokemon to guard them, and Max watched the ensuing squabble like a hawk. If they started fighting, she needed to make sure she nor Misty would be in the crossfire. Most of the conversation was lost to her, for all it told her was that there was tension between Ariana's Pokemon and Archer's Pokemon, which she already knew. Though she did catch the early banter between the Persian and Mienshao, and that relieved her even more. Just on the off chance the humans had lied, the Pokemon confirmed that the fact that the hostages had all been female was an accident. Misty shrunk closer to her human as tempers rose, and though the Nidqueen had scared her, she was grateful that the Poison type had ended the potential fight. Though it was odd to note that the Nidoqueen had had a lingering glare on the Vileplume; Misty stored that information for later to tell Max when they had a quiet moment.

After a little more conversation with the Mienshao, the Persian finally took center stage again and directed her attention towards Max, "Ok, so last I remember it's... your turn," Fuck, she remembered it was my turn. The cat was looking at her expectantly and said, "Let's try and get another round in before we get someone else to crash in."

Max nodded in agreement, and this time just left her arm on Misty instead of moving it. If something else happened, she was going to just put her arm there again, so there was no point in removing it. Her eyes danced across the rooms to the potential people she could ask, and she started biting her lip. Misty would be the easiest to ask, but that would be cheating and would likely irritate the other players. The new lady was an instant no; her anxiety flaring again at the thought of speaking to a new person. She wasn't sure which guards other than the Persian were in on this game, and at this point she was too scared to ask. As for the Persian, while she seemed a little friendlier than the rest, something about asking the guard a potentially personal question seemed off. The Sylveon was another one she wasn't sure about whether he was playing or not, and through process of elimination, that left her with the Sylveon's trainer, Fenix.

She opened her mouth to speak before she realized that she still didn't have a question. Fuck. As if some higher power had taken pity on the pathetic show, she got an idea and decided a little fib to explain how long it took her to come up with this couldn't hurt. "Uh... I had a thought, but I lost it when we got interrupted. So I'm going to steal a question from the last time I played this," she explained; she still wasn't really looking at anyone particularly, though she eventually made herself look at Fenix. "So... Um.. Fenix? I think he, " she indicated the Sylveon, "called you?" Trying to make herself look the other woman in the face, she continued, "Would you rather have a Pokemon battle against someone who was terrible to their Pokemon and win by a landslide, or have a Pokemon battle against someone who was good to their Pokemon and lose in a close match?"

((OOC: I spoke with Sil and Phoe, and just for this turn, Phoe and I are switching places. Next round will be normal.))

New girl sure didn't talk much, did she? Oh well, probably enough drama in the group as it was without some kind of cat fight breaking out. Thankfully her jibe seemed to go unnoticed by Ariana as the red head became disgustingly happy at the idea of joining their little game. Good. She had just the question she wanted to ask her perky captor. "I'd be pleased as tits to pl--" Shit. "What the ever-lasting fuck?!" Huh, for a moment Fenix thought she had spoken aloud but it was Ariana yelling. Creepy. "What, is there a Hostage Convention I didn't know we were fucking hosting?! Goddamn!"

She rushed out the door once more but this time left another Pokemon to keep an eye on them, a rather sinister looking Arbok, which considering their growing numbers it wasn't a terrible idea. Unfortunately for Ariana, Fenix couldn't help but be delighted at the fact she so casually threw out all of her cards onto the table. It seemed she was playing gin while the rest of them were playing poker. "Queen will fill you in!" Fenix arched an eyebrow at the name but made no comment, instead focusing on the new one Archer left out as he ran.

"Ooh, a Mienshao~" Fenix practically purred, the blonde holding an affinity for fighting types despite her predisposition to fire. The Persian greeted him fondly and the fighter replied by giving the group of women a flirtatious wave, to which Fenix just smiled and winked in reply. She liked this guy. Flynn noticed the exchange and scoffed quietly, shaking his head and began to walk away from his crazy companion when there was a rather sudden tension in the air. The Mienshao and the new Arbok were getting into a rapid argument and even Fenix began to stiffen, wondering if there would be a fight breaking out as the two kept at it.

"Shut up."

The words were soft, but audible, and left no room for defiance. This Nidoqueen was not like the rest of Ariana's pokemon and in just those two words the fight immediately stopped. Fenix and Flynn looked at each other and both silently agreed that she was the one who needed to be watched out for. If she could control the rest of Ariana's erratic group then she was strong enough to take them out, that made her the primary threat if things went south. Flynn pulled himself back up to Fenix's leg and wrapped one ribbon around her calf, sending out his calming aura to soothe both her and himself from the escalating tension.

"Right. So guard duty." The new fighting type was the first to break the silence in the room, leaning against a corner like a promo for a 90s boy band. "Don't mind me-- you can go back to whatever you were doing." Fenix smiled as Tyranny was once again her favorite little helper. "Well, we were playing 'Would You Rather' but we keep getting interrupted." The blonde crossed her arms and resumed her position on the wall she had before the new girl was thrown into the ring. "Damn straight we do." There was a little silent battle between the Persian and the other two poison types on the other side of the room but eventually Tyranny came back to her sultry self and addressed the kid next to Fenix. "Ok, so last I remember it's... your turn. Let's try and get another round in before we get someone else to crash in."

The girl floundered for a minute, looking nervous when she was reminded it was still her go, and Flynn felt a little sorry for her. "Uh... I had a thought, but I lost it when we got interrupted. So I'm going to steal a question from the last time I played this." She seemed like she wasn't used to being around such aggressive personalities, and was probably more than a little shy. He released his hold on Fenix's leg and stepped around her, instead putting himself between the two human females and sitting down. He gave the blue hooded girl a small smile before beginning to radiate his calming aura again, she looked like she needed it.

"So... Um.. Fenix? I think he called you?" The Gym Leader chuckled and nodded, letting the girl finish her very long thought. "Would you rather have a Pokemon battle against someone who was terrible to their Pokemon and win by a landslide, or have a Pokemon battle against someone who was good to their Pokemon and lose in a close match?" Man this kid liked to wax philosophic. Oh well, at least it was an easy question. "Looks like I am getting all the attention today," she joked casually, uncrossing her arms and stretching before returning to the position with her answer ready.

"Given the fact my entire life revolves around this question, my answer is this: I'd rather fight a trainer who loves their Pokemon and lose to them. I can trounce some idiot who mistreats their Pokemon easily, but in the end it will be their Pokemon who suffer for the loss not him. He'll take all his anger out on them when I'm not around to beat his ass for doing it. But to lose to a trainer who gives the proper care and dedication to his team? That's worth one of my Badges for sure." Flynn smiled proudly at her answer, once again reminded about the heart that lay beneath the sarcasm of his friend and the reason he was following her.

Things have barely settled into some semblance of calm when the two Houndooms are set off again, their baying and subsequent chase is-unexpected? Coincidence, or plain horrible luck? Daisy could believe in three hostages, but to think there are even more unlucky people in this town, of all places...
The two Rockets immediately take off in pursuit of their hounds and the newest arrivals, whoever they are, leaving behind two new Pokemon. Daisy keeps her mouth shut as an argument erupts between the Mienshao and the Arbok, wanting nothing to do with the rivalries of the Rocket's Pokemon. The only thing that matters is that this has all but proved the animosity between the two admins, unless their Pokemon inexplicably hated each other with a passion. This is far more than simply a clash between differing personalities; the sheer disgust each Pokemon had for the other meant there's pre-existing bad blood. But all of it is quickly put to an end by the Nidoqueen, no doubt the "Queen" Ariana had mentioned, the dual type pulling the Pokemon away from each other as if they are merely objects to be tossed around. Nobody says a word of dissent or protest as Queen stares down each person in the room, Daisy included. She feels incredibly small, as if the room has shrunk to half its size, with the Nidoqueen taking up most of that space. This Pokemon could end her life in a heartbeat and not bat an eye over it. "Shut up."

It is a clear enough warning.

After the ensuing, sharpened silence between hostages and Pokemon alike, things resumed as if absolutely nothing had happened. The Persian begins to speak directly to the one in the blue hoodie. "Ok, so last I remember it's... your turn. Let's try and get another round in before we get someone else to crash in." From the looks of the girl, the last thing she wants to do is be a part of their game, but she apparently isn't going to be backing out of it. Daisy gives a half smile at the girl, hoping it would come off as encouraging rather than patronizing. Though she's been around plenty of shy people and introverts before, Daisy still struggles to figure out the nuances of each person. Was this girl merely afraid, or did she actually not want to be around anyone regardless? In such a situation, the differences might as well be meaningless. "Uh... I had a thought, but I lost it when we got interrupted. So I'm going to steal a question from the last time I played this."

The long-haired woman ends up being the one asked; Daisy thanks the stars above that they aren't asking her anything, because she's certainly not ready to answer a bunch of potentially personal questions. "So... Um.. Fenix? I think he called you?" That name's almost too fitting.
"Would you rather have a Pokemon battle against someone who was terrible to their Pokemon and win by a landslide, or have a Pokemon battle against someone who was good to their Pokemon and lose in a close match?" It's a surprisingly good question, and Daisy waits with still posture for the golden-haired woman's response. She looks like the battler type, competitive and hot-headed like so many trainers Daisy has seen in her lifetime. Hopefully that translates to treating her Pokemon well, though if she didn't, it is doubtful that she would reveal it after being asked the question. A lot of abusers knew exactly what they were doing and how to hide it from others, after all. Now that I think about it, the question sounds like something Red would ask. He loved his Pokemon dearly.
"Given the fact my entire life revolves around this question, my answer is this: I'd rather fight a trainer who loves their Pokemon and lose to them. I can trounce some idiot who mistreats their Pokemon easily, but in the end it will be their Pokemon who suffer for the loss not him. He'll take all his anger out on them when I'm not around to beat his ass for doing it. But to lose to a trainer who gives the proper care and dedication to his team? That's worth one of my Badges for sure." Daisy frowns, not because of the content of the answer, but because of how much it reminds her of Blue. He, him, his. In the old days, she'd helped a variety of Pokemon that had been abused by their trainers, and a good chunk of those abusers were women. Her own brother had once been as cruel as any of the people that she'd known to hurt their Pokemon, but he had gotten better. He'd learned, and improved, and treated his partners with the love and respect they deserved. Why, then, does Daisy feel so obligated to defend him, even when this woman was not speaking of Blue himself, and had provided an answer she didn't actually disagree with? Maybe-maybe what I fear is that he regressed. That this world drove him back to...those old ways.

She turns her head away from the other hostages, unwilling to let the emotions tumbling inside her head be seen upon her expression. There is no denying the possibility of her brother slipping back into his old nature, no matter how much Daisy wants to believe otherwise. This question dragged it all back up, back into her mind where she would be forced to dwell upon it. It certainly didn't help that the woman had mentioned giving away Badges, which meant she was a Gym Leader. Daisy can't remember the Leaders of even her own region well, but regardless of where she's from, that meant this unknown woman could possibly know her brother, and by extension, her. That wasn't even taking into account their grandfather's fame. Yes, it really would be best to keep her last name under wraps.

They're on them before either has any time to react; the woman groans and rolls her eyes as if somehow Mars and Saturn are inconveniencing them.  "Return the pokemon and drop your fucking weapons-- I swear to God, you're all just popping out of the fucking ground now--"

The guns are what Mars notices first, snarling in anger and giving a jerk of a nod to Saturn as she recalls her cat.  Saturn follows suit with Milky Way, a tremor in his hand.  Mars drops her rifle and Saturn drops his own (useless) rifle, the redhead's hands balling into fists as she looks up to give her a piece of her mind--

"Don't move."

Mars barely hears him.  Her mouth parts slightly, staring at the woman in front of them-- her face, that hair.  What...?

"You, Girlie..." Her voice is slow, careful, as if she's thinking over her words before speaking.  Her hound pauses to sniff in their direction.  Saturn is standing closely enough to her that she can feel him shudder, and his own hands curl into fists as well, though they're shaking.  "...What's your name? How old are you?"

"Marian May," Mars answers, watching Ariana the way a wild cat watches a wild dog.  "Called Mars.  I'm twenty seven- it's been four years right?"  She glances at Saturn.  He gives her the barest of nods, doing his best to keep his glare aimed at Ariana and not the ground.  "Yeah, twenty seven."  Damn, seriously?  Four years?

As much as four years of this fucking sucks, she'd rather take another four compared to what's about to happen, she's sure.

... Mom...?

Did she really, truly, finally find Mama only for Mama to be taking her hostage.  Really

"What do you want?" Saturn asks, his voice low but steady, and his gaze maintaining eye contact.  He even keeps his glare up.  Honestly if there was room for further feeling, she'd be very proud right now, but there are more pressing manners.

Like maybe-Mama pointing a fucking gun at them.

Tyranny watched, pleased, as the hoodied girl spoke. It was nice, seeing everyone getting along and working together. "Uh... I had a thought, but I lost it when we got interrupted. So I'm going to steal a question from the last time I played this." DILF wrapped some of his ribbons around her, apparently trying to quell her anxiety. The Persian doubted whether or not it would actually work -since she hadn't had much interaction with the Fairy type in general- but she made no move in stopping the interaction.

"So... Um.. Fenix? I think he called you?" Blondie chuckled at the timid inquisition. "Would you rather have a Pokemon battle against someone who was terrible to their Pokemon and win by a landslide, or have a Pokemon battle against someone who was good to their Pokemon and lose in a close match?"

"Looks like I am getting all the attention today," she mused before answering. "Given the fact my entire life revolves around this question, my answer is this: I'd rather fight a trainer who loves their Pokemon and lose to them. I can trounce some idiot who mistreats their Pokemon easily, but in the end it will be their Pokemon who suffer for the loss not him. He'll take all his anger out on them when I'm not around to beat his ass for doing it. But to lose to a trainer who gives the proper care and dedication to his team? That's worth one of my Badges for sure."

The answer gave Tyranny a small smile; for all the horrible things she and her trainer had accomplished together, it was still nice to know that there were people out there that valued decency over power. Her own human had only done the things he'd done for Giovanni, not because he enjoyed or sought it. Crime was fun, sure. There was no denying that. But they always did it for a specific purpose. Never to just... do it for the shiggles. Maybe other members of Rocket had, but her human and her teammates weren't like that. And it was always reassuring to know that there weren't more Arianas in the world.

She remained quiet as the game continued in her human's absence, content to wait.

---

"Marian May," the girl answered, Ariana's face a strange, static expression. Archer didn't like the turn the conversation was taking; he couldn't predict Ariana's next move, words or actions. He didn't like not being able to predict her. She was just too dangerous otherwise. "Called Mars. I'm twenty seven- it's been four years right?" She glanced to her compatriot, who only affirmed the girl's question with a small nod of his head, his focus entirely on Ariana. As it should have been. "Yeah, twenty seven."

There was a pause that stretched between them, each player rigid in their stance as Ariana processed the new information. She hadn't named the girl when she'd left her, abandoned her, but... Her face, her hair-- she looked exactly like Ariana when she had been that age. It was too much of a coincidence to just ignore but the probability of her long-lost daughter was too much to simply believe off-hand. She had to know more. "What do you want?"

Ariana's head snapped to the blue-haired kid, her gun nearly following suit as Garmr barked out his displeasure toward the other male. "I'd rethink asking questions if I were you, kid." She nodded to Archer and grumbled, "Search him," before going back to the girl. "All right... Mars... Were you... adopted? Do you... do you know who your... birth mother is...?" Archer, in the meantime, said nothing as he quickly frisked the skinny male, unsure of how this meeting was going to go.

The flicker of emotion crossing Ms. Silent's face piqued her curiosity, the other female turning away from the group in an effort to either conceal or ignore her mind's eye. She had been way too quiet since being dragged in here with the rest of them and it made the fire trainer want to needle at her until she said something, but now was not the time. If Fenix said or did something that could be construed as hostile there would be a fight on their hands and the number of types that outmatched Flynn were against her. So she would wait, for now.

"I realize the rules say it is my turn but I have already gone twice," Fenix mused aloud, gently rapping her fingers against her arm as she eyed the group. "Flynn you haven't said much, maybe you would like to entertain the group for a moment." The Sylveon looked up at her from his position between Fenix and the hooded girl and frowned deeply. "You just would drag me into this, wouldn't you?" The blonde chuckled mischievously and gave the pink fox a wink. "You bet." He sighed heavily and wished for just a moment that he could turn back time and stop her from ever asking him to join in this charade, or better yet stop her from ever coming to this town.

This entire venture had been nothing but trouble and Flynn was about done with it. He wanted to trust Fenix but she had been pushing and pushing against their captors since the first moment they were spotted and he needed to vent a little frustration. "Fine, I'll play," he chided, his monotone voice only accented by the annoyed expression on his face. "But I'm still dragging you back into it. Would you rather shave your head bald and have it never grow back, or dye your hair various shades of green and blue for the rest of your life?" Fenix balked at the question, hand reaching to a lock of hair brushing against her arm and gripping it tightly. She tried to picture her hair the shades of her two most hated colors and the thought made her stomach turn. But then an unwanted flash of herself dressed as her Grandfather appeared in her mind, with that sparkling head and even the sunglasses, and she nearly went faint.

Her horrified expression spoke volumes as she responded and Flynn had to fight back the urge to bust out laughing as she began to beg. "Dear God let me keep my hair, I'll dye it the color of vomit if I have to! Don't make me look like Grandpa!" Flynn allowed himself to snicker at her reaction, pleased he had managed to finally weasel under her skin. Well worth the effort he had to say. "Now someone else can have a turn. I'm finished."

The Sylveon obviously sensed her nervousness as Max spoke and moved to stand between her and Fenix, and and began to radiate a calming aura. She appreciated the sentiment, and she tried to allow the aura to work as the blonde woman spoke. She also gently drew Misty closer so that maybe she could feel the Sylveon's aura and allow her to relax. "Looks like I am getting all the attention today," Fenix teased and stretched her arms out. "Given the fact my entire life revolves around this question, my answer is this: I'd rather fight a trainer who loves their Pokemon and lose to them. I can trounce some idiot who mistreats their Pokemon easily, but in the end it will be their Pokemon who suffer for the loss not him. He'll take all his anger out on them when I'm not around to beat his ass for doing it. But to lose to a trainer who gives the proper care and dedication to his team? That's worth one of my Badges for sure."

Max and Misty both listened intently, and as Fenix revealed her position as a gym leader, recognition dawned on Max's face. She had contemplated taking on Kanto gyms and had done some research into the leaders, and she recognized Fenix for the fire gym leader there. Unfortunately, life had decided to throw her yet another curve ball, and she had made her plans to run to Sinnoh to live. As much as she enjoyed battling, it wasn't worth letting her friends die for it. She felt really bad for not recognizing her right away, but, in her defense, she was a Johto trainer and four years was a long time to hold onto a name and face she never actually met.  Given her track record with faces anyway, it wasn't really a surprise that she'd forget a stranger.

Misty smiled approvingly in response to the answer, but since she was mostly a therapy Pokemon before the Epidemic, the names of famous trainers in regions other than Johto escaped her. She looked up at Max, and, realizing her human recognized the other, she quietly asked, "Ring a bell?"

Max nodded and responded, "Mhm. Kanto fire gym leader."  With this new information, Misty looked at the blonde woman with immense respect. Gym leaders were often figures of authority that the children admired for good reason, and someone who favored her typing was often a good thing in her book. She had also noticed how Fenix had been occasionally trying to encourage her timid trainer, and that at least hinted at a good nature despite the end of the world. It was strange to see Max so nervous, but considering their situation, it wasn't really a surprise. Also... this was the first time Misty had seen Max interacting with her own kind, and some humans could handle Pokemon much better than other humans.

Fenix tapped her fingers as she mused and eyed the group, "I realize the rules say it is my turn but I have already gone twice." Max tensed a little; she prayed that she wasn't put into the spotlight again. Thinking of another question would make this such a pain, and she might not be able to come up with another one so quickly. She hoped that her long winded answer and subsequent question would deter further questions directed towards her. Feeling this, Misty nuzzled Max's leg in an attempt to reduce her anxiety, and it seemed to work as Max relaxed and smiled at her. Then her head snapped up at the first word that Fenix said, "Flynn you haven't said much, maybe you would like to entertain the group for a moment." Misty gave Max a questioning look at her human's reaction, and all she saw was confusion as her human looked at the blonde one. It took Max a second to realize that Fenix had said Flynn, which was apparently the Sylveon's name that she had already forgotten, and not Max's real name, Lynn. She rarely used it anymore, and the only ones who did use her real name were Spidey and Melody. Those two never used it outside of specific circumstances, and never in front of anyone else. And besides, how would this person she never met know who she was; It's not like she ever became famous. Hell, she never even got to fight the Elite Four.

She missed a little bit of the banter between the human and Pokemon, but she checked back in when Flynn said, "Fine, I'll play." She waited for the Sylveon to pick his target, and she couldn't help but smile at the done expression on his face as he directed his question towards Fenix, "But I'm still dragging you back into it. Would you rather shave your head bald and have it never grow back, or dye your hair various shades of green and blue for the rest of your life?" She wondered at the specificness of the question, and then saw the disgust and then horror on the other woman's face. Misty and Max also found amusement in the fact that apparently Max's absolute favorite colors were the ones that Fenix despised, but for the moment decided to keep that information to themselves.

Flynn laughed a little at his trainer's reaction, "Dear God let me keep my hair, I'll dye it the color of vomit if I have to! Don't make me look like Grandpa!" Though Max couldn't place off hand what Fenix's grandfather looked like, she figured it was something that Fenix really didn't want. Then again, she had no desire to look like her grandfather either. Any of them.

After having his fun at his trainer's expense, Flynn said, "Now someone else can have a turn. I'm finished."

Misty could see that Fenix was trying to draw everyone into the game, and since Max was definitely too nervous to actually take the center stage again, Misty decided to take initiative and continue the game. She politely asked the lady Persian, "May I go, then?" When the Persian nodded, Misty looked at her options for whom to ask her hopefuly easy question. Fenix, Flynn, and Max were out for obvious reasons, and though she figured the Persian was in on the game, there was someone who was there, but hadn't joined in yet. In a gentle, coaxing tone, Misty asked the woman in the lab coat, "Miss? Would you rather battle someone or perform in a Contest?"

((Sil gave permission for me to say Tyranny nodded.))

The game continues amidst Daisy's silence. In different times, under different circumstances, she might have spoken more and been far more enthusiastic about the company of other people. Now, however, her thoughts are wrapping themselves around her mind, constricting any focus towards the other voices in the room. She finds herself wondering who the other hostages are, and whether they would be as willing to play along with the Rockets' little game as she had been. Any second now, Daisy is expecting to hear a gunshot ringing through the air, but the only sound she hears is the Sylveon speaking to his trainer. It is a relief, but even so, the dread towards somebody dying at the hands of their captors grows as things continue as "normal." Daisy looks back over at the rest of the little group, desiring nothing more than a temporary distraction from the chaotic prison of her thoughts.

"But I'm still dragging you back into it. Would you rather shave your head bald and have it never grow back, or dye your hair various shades of green and blue for the rest of your life?" That's an...odd question, to put it lightly. The disgust and horror playing across the blonde woman's face says it all; Daisy holds back a laugh at the expression, reflecting on the fact that the cool colours were some of her favourites. Blue is simply relaxing, while a nice shade of green reminds her of new leaves in early spring. She keeps it to herself, but yellow is sometimes too wild of a colour, brash and the in-your-face type. There's nothing better than a pale pink or a light blue, though she suspects a certain somebody would be inclined to disagree with such a sentiment. Daisy finally allows herself to show a small smile as Fenix begins to grovel, practically begging her Sylveon friend to spare her fiery locks from the doom that was a fully-shaved head. "Dear God let me keep my hair, I'll dye it the color of vomit if I have to! Don't make me look like Grandpa!" Yep, Daisy can understand that sentiment; there's no way she'd ever agree to look like her own grandfather, even if it meant dying her own hair some awful vivid shade...like chartreuse. With that fun moment over, the game begins to shift to a different player-the shy girl's Ponyta.

"May I go, then?" Daisy watches with slight interest as the Fire-type looks around from person to person, no doubt weighing her options. She ponders on who the Ponyta would choose out of their group, mentally crossing off Fenix and her Sylveon from the list of possible candidates. However, she is taken aback when the horse addresses her directly, wondering why anyone would take interest in the silent woman who had been previously distant from the game. Then again, perhaps that very silence had brought forth curiosity, and a desire to know more. So long as nobody asks about her family-especially Fenix, considering she likely would have more knowledge than the others-or where she came from, then Daisy would be okay. "Miss? Would you rather battle someone or perform in a Contest?"

"Oh. Well..." Daisy hadn't been prepared to answer a question, but luckily for her, this one isn't difficult at all. She finds a vein of confidence in her answer, thinking back to all of the Contests she had participated in throughout the years, especially the ones where her Pokemon had won best in show. "That's an easy one-perform in a Contest for sure. I used to be quite the coordinator, actually." Her self-assurance only increased with each word, and Daisy decides it would be alright to end her answer with a little bit more than a simple "yes." When it is a topic like this one, Daisy has no issue with enjoying a bit of idle chat. It's certainly preferable to the eventual return of the Rocket duo, and whatever they have planned for their hostages. "Battling was never my style-no offense intended, of course-but my Pokemon loved Contests, and I did too."

Predictably, she doesn't take Saturn's question well.  "I'd rethink asking questions if I were you, kid."

Mars's brows knit together tighter but there's nothing she can do.  Not with those weapons trained on them.  As much as she'd love to spit a "fuck you" at them...

Yeah, bad idea.  Fucking guns.

"Search him," the woman orders her companion, Saturn stiffening next to her at the command.  Saturn, don't do anything stupid...  

Thankfully he complies and doesn't fight as Archer approaches, though he continues to glare at Ariana.  Glaring is just fine.  In fact it's too bad looks can't kill, or she'd be dead twice over.  Hopefully she's not the type to take offense to any kind of display of defiance...

"All right... Mars... Were you... adopted? Do you... do you know who your... birth mother is...?"

Her eyes flick over to Saturn, who is standing still and complying with Archer's directions as he frisks him.  They return to look at her interrogator.  "No and no.  I was never adopted.  My birth mother left me at a fire house when I was a baby, I got sent to a foster home, and I ran away from there when I was a teenager.  I never found her or my father and the police couldn't locate either parent."  She looks her up and down, searching for... for...

For what, exactly?

A sign of compassion?

An indication of the other redhead softening?

... For her to out and say what everyone present is wondering?

"I realize the rules say it is my turn but I have already gone twice." Fenix lamented as she looked around the room. Tyranny was pleased that things were running so smoothly; it was nice that people still knew how to be hostages even after the world ended. "Flynn, you haven't said much, maybe you would like to entertain the group for a moment." The Persian's ears perked at the name, eager to hear more from the older Sylveon. Though the Persian -as well as many others- missed Max's reaction to Flynn's name, the Meinshao still leaning against the wall did not. Now, what warranted that kind of reaction? Slanted eyes watched her as the festivities continued.

"Fine, I'll play. But I'm still dragging you back into it. Would you rather shave your head bald and have it never grow back, or dye your hair various shades of green and blue for the rest of your life?" It was an odd question to be sure, but it certainly got an... entertaining... reaction from the blonde woman.

"Dear God let me keep my hair, I'll dye it the color of vomit if I have to! Don't make me look like Grandpa!" There was an air of easiness in the dilapidated shack, almost camaraderie as a few laughs were exchanged. Bella sulked in the corner. almost shriveling from the suffocating happiness, and Justice was, as always, a grim stick in the mud, but for a moment, Tyranny enjoyed the fact that everyone, despite the circumstances, were getting along. It was an odd feeling, but not an unwelcome one.

"Now someone else can have a turn. I'm finished." Eh. For now, sweetie, she promised inwardly. No way that that was they last time he was participating in a game.

There was a small beat of silence before a voice grabbed at Tyranny. "May I go, then?" She turned to see the little pony, and honestly surprised to see her want to get in on the fun, she nodded. Why stop the ball rolling? Accepting the permission, the little horse turned to the newest hostage, the really quiet lady in the lab coat. "Miss? Would you rather battle someone or perform in a Contest?"

"Oh. Well..." The woman looked as if she'd planned on staying out of the game all together, but at least she actually answered. "That's an easy one-- perform in a Contest for sure. I used to be quite the coordinator, actually." The answer was interesting, to say the least. Not a battler, then? She already didn't look the part with the coat. Tyranny wasn't a fan of underestimating her captives, but with so many, it would be quite the relief if there were one she didn't have to actually worry about. "Battling was never my style -no offense intended, of course- but my Pokemon loved Contests, and I did too."

There was another pause of silence before Tyranny spoke. "Fascinating, but you're supposed to keep the game going. Your turn to ask. Unless someone else wants to?" She looked around to the others, eyes sharp for another volunteer.

"I'll play," Bella chirped from the corner, causing Tyranny's mood to instantly sour.

"Anyone else want to ask a question?"

"Shut your mouth, sweetie; you look like a trout." The Vileplume came into the center of the room, surveying the hostages and fellow pokemon with a renewed vigor. A vigor that only spelled trouble for everyone else. The wretched plant looked at them all in turn, eyes falling upon the three human women. Her eyes darted between them as her cruel smile grew and a nub hand went to fiddle with her lower lip.

"All of you humans," she began slowly, "I have a question for you. None of these silly, fun questions. A real one. Would you rather survive in this world with your team, ensured that neither you nor your pokemon would become infected but your choice means no cure is found or personally put down your own team if it meant a cure for the plague?" Her smile grew. "Condemn the world for your own selfish desires and sentence millions of lives to death or kill your closest friends to save millions of strangers?" She placed a hand on what could only have been her hip. "And no cheating-- you can't consult your pokemon. You're the trainer, you make the decision. Imagine someone was holding a gun to your head or something." She giggled at her own joke, though no one else seemed to share her humor.

---

The air was thick as the redhead gave her curt answer. "No and no. I was never adopted. My birth mother left me at a fire house when I was a baby, I got sent to a foster home, and I ran away from there when I was a teenager. I never found her or my father and the police couldn't locate either parent."

Ariana's head lifted a little at the reply, her gun still held steady to the young woman's torso. "...Huh..." was the only reply she could muster. Flashes of that dark, horrible night, limping on bare, bleeding feet through dark alleys in the rain danced in her mind. She had stayed out of the hospital for the birth, terrified of being reported to the police. She had a record already, and hospitals were required to narc on any criminals that stumbled through their doors. The fussing babe at her chest was going to be taken from her either way, and she knew she was too young, too reckless and too stupid to care for herself, much less another human being. She knew it had been the right choice, but... this girl...

Ariana stepped forward as she made a quick frisk of her young reflection, finding nothing but poke balls. Out of habit, she took one, holding it carefully in her hand as she stepped back. Strangely enough, she couldn't find the words to say. "Yeah, I remember that night. Sucked pretty hard; you have a giant head," or "Yep, sounds about right. You're my long-lost daughter-- how ya doin'?" were just terrible. Fortunately, Archer's monotone report saved her.

"He's got nothing but pokemon," he offered, bringing the small amount of poke balls to her attention. She took one, of course, and then turned to them as she turned the balls over in her hands.

"So... This is what's going to happen..." she began slowly, placing the two balls into the bag with the others. "My partner and I have... a little project. Something we need help with. You two, as well as the other three we found, are going to help us. I keep your pokemon to ensure your cooperation, but I assure you, no harm will come to them if you play nice." She glanced to the boy, her eyes narrowing a little. She hadn't even noticed his death glares until then. "You keep glaring at me like that, boy, and I pop those eyes out with a spoon. Are we clear?" Not even waiting for his answer, he looked back to her mirror, her face almost softening.

"As... for you... Mars..." Archer frowned as she seemed nearly... uncertain. That wasn't right. Not at all. "I know we aren't getting off on the best foot here, stealing your pokemon and all, but... I think..." She swallowed a little and shifted her weight, clearly uncomfortable with the situation. "I... gave away... a little girl... a long time ago... She'd be... about your age. Where... was the fire house you were dropped at?"

"May I go, then?"

Both Fenix and Flynn were surprised by the timid pony's request, the blonde smiling fondly at the little fire horse as she looked over the group to select a participant. Flynn relaxed his aura at the much more mellow atmosphere and began to charge another Calm Mind while the others were preoccupied with the new question. "Miss? Would you rather battle someone or perform in a Contest?"

Fenix's smile widened as the wallflower was addressed, hoping herself to glean a little more information out of the white coat. She looked pretty damn familiar and it was really bugging her that she couldn't quite place her finger on where she would know her from. "Oh. Well...That's an easy one-perform in a Contest for sure. I used to be quite the coordinator, actually." Sadly Gym Leader's smile fell a little at the admission, disappointed that she was a coordinator brat rather than a real battler. But, then again, that was probably where she knew her from. On lazy days she would often flip through tv channels and would watch a contest if there was one on. "Battling was never my style-no offense intended, of course-but my Pokemon loved Contests, and I did too."

"Fascinating, but you're supposed to keep the game going. Your turn to ask. Unless someone else wants to?" As Flynn's Calm Mind finished its charge he held his breath, Tyranny's questing gaze looking for more volunteers which he would really rather not be again. He silently begged to not be chosen again when a voice chimed in. "I'll play,"

All the tension was suddenly back in the room, choking the jovial atmosphere back into one of suppression and danger. Flynn's senses went on alert as he backed up, pressing himself closer to Fenix as Tyranny and Belladonna sassed. "Anyone else want to ask a question?"
"Shut your mouth, sweetie; you look like a trout."

"All of you humans," The tall blonde pushed off of the wall at the address, frowning deeply as she wondered what might be in store for them all. "I have a question for you. None of these silly, fun questions. A real one. Would you rather survive in this world with your team, ensured that neither you nor your pokemon would become infected but your choice means no cure is found or personally put down your own team if it meant a cure for the plague? Condemn the world for your own selfish desires and sentence millions of lives to death or kill your closest friends to save millions of strangers?"

She smiled at them all with a sickening grin and put her stub arms on her fat ass in a vain effort to look smug, but really she just looked like a potato to Fenix. "And no cheating-- you can't consult your pokemon. You're the trainer, you make the decision. Imagine someone was holding a gun to your head or something." Shooting a few glances to the others Fenix quickly realized how uncomfortable they would be with such a question and decided to take the first assault, breaking the ice and making it easier on the other two girls. "I wouldn't put them down when some ass-hat higher up told me to, and I wouldn't do it now. The world can burn around me but I won't give up my team. Fuck a cure, the earth needed a good plague anyhow."

Flynn just stared at her in shock, mouth open and eyes wide in horror at her confession. Would she really let the world die just to save a few who were close to her?

Both human and Pokemon gazed at the lady in the lab coat as she floundered for a second."Oh. Well..." Misty felt mildly bad for suddenly dragging someone who hadn't planned on playing into the game, but given their situation, she wouldn't have been surprised if someone else had pulled the lady in. After the lady got over the initial shock, however, she confidently answered, "That's an easy one-perform in a Contest for sure. I used to be quite the coordinator, actually." Max leaned her head to the side in a questioning gesture. She knew enough about contests to participate in one once, but she didn't have a stage presence. Alex, however, was a natural, and even though she had to walk him through the basics, he had the charisma and confidence to earn him a win. Unfortunately, that was only to satisfy a curiosity, and he had no intentions of continuing that path afterwards. Max had tried to convince him that being a trainer wasn't the only way to be with Pokemon, but he was determined to follow in her footsteps. The smile that she had turned sad as she mused over her lost cousin. The lady continued,  "Battling was never my style-no offense intended, of course-but my Pokemon loved Contests, and I did too."

"None taken," she said as she shrugged.

The lady didn't seem keen on actually continuing the game, which lead to a noticeable pause. The Persian attempted to prompt her, "Fascinating, but you're supposed to keep the game going. Your turn to ask. Unless someone else wants to?" At the question, the Persian glanced around at the potential people who could continue the game.

The person who picked up the bait was the last one that any of them wanted to, and Bella's voice somehow maintained the sickeningly sweet tone as she volunteered,"I'll play." The semi relaxed atmosphere was destroyed as tension rose between the cat and plant.

"Anyone else want to ask a question?" the Persian tried to prevent the Vileplume from joining. Neither Max nor Misty really wanted to hear what the Vileplume had to ask; the oversized plant's words in the past had been nothing but mocking and thinly veiled threats, and they knew the question was going to be something uncomfortable.

The Vileplume bulldozed her way in regardless. "Shut your mouth, sweetie; you look like a trout." She took center stage as she gazed at the three human hostages, "All of you humans I have a question for you. None of these silly, fun questions. A real one. Would you rather survive in this world with your team, ensured that neither you nor your pokemon would become infected but your choice means no cure is found or personally put down your own team if it meant a cure for the plague?" Who invited Edgey McEdgelord to the party? It would be the plant's prerogative to sour the somewhat playful mood; she was simply trying to throw her power around. Max frowned as she was reminded of a similar question from one of the multiple times she was dragged into this game. The person who asked the question had hated being  involved more than she did, but at least she didn't actively attempt to kill the good mood that the other players had. "Condemn the world for your own selfish desires and sentence millions of lives to death or kill your closest friends to save millions of strangers?" Of course she had to make the choice "harder," too, as if the three women weren't smart enough to put two and two together. "And no cheating-- you can't consult your pokemon. You're the trainer, you make the decision. Imagine someone was holding a gun to your head or something." She topped the whole thing off with a giggle to her own sad attempt at a joke that no one else found funny.

Max was fuming at the supposed choices she had been given. Images of thirteen Pokemon flashed in her mind's eye; the last five had bullet holes in their heads. She never liked the loudness of guns, but after that, she couldn't even endure the thought of holding one. Melody had tried talking to her about the possibility of finding a working gun with ammo, but Max kept putting the conversation off. Grigori had almost endured that fate, and Spidey and Melody only barely escaped it. She had Holly for fuck's sake. She could never hurt that child... No, even if the world depended on it, she could not put her own Pokemon down. The only way she would ever even consider doing it was if they had been infected. However, she wasn't going to admit that to the cruel Vileplume, and besides, that offer sounded bogus anyway. Well, as they always say, there is always a third option.

Meanwhile, Misty found herself unsure about the whole situation; she was completely locked out of this discussion. She looked up with nervous eyes to her human as she tried to figure out what Max's answer would be. The Ponyta knew that her human was incredibly generous and had a bleeding heart, but she had also seen the intensity with which Max protected Holly and sometimes the others. Max also sometimes ignored her emotions to do what made the most sense, and though Misty would not blame Max for deciding to save the world, knowing that she herself would be on the chopping block was frightening. She wasn't sure which answer she wanted to be true...

Fenix, however, had no qualms with immediately answering, and proudly stated, "I wouldn't put them down when some ass-hat higher up told me to, and I wouldn't do it now. The world can burn around me but I won't give up my team. Fuck a cure, the earth needed a good plague anyhow." Misty noticed the near horror on Flynn's face, and wondered if she would be mirroring it soon. Max, while she didn't agree about the world needing a plague, understood Fenix's feelings about flipping off the higher ups telling people to murder their own Pokemon. It's why she tried to run away instead of going to safety, and why she had Grigori... The Aggron's bastard of a trainer had ditched him to his fate so that the trainer could live in safety.... God she hoped Grigori didn't know someone else had his ball...

Realizing someone else needed to answer, Max opened her mouth and froze again; she was decidedly not going to answer the Vileplume's question the way she wanted, but she wasn't sure how she was going to go about it... Well, she could just use the tweak the answer she used last time, and hopefully it wouldn't piss the plant off too much. She casually started,"I dunno man. It sounds like you just gave me a... what was it called..." God she missed the internet for things like this; she'd likely remember it later and feel like an idiot, but that wasn't the important thing. She gave up after a second and shrugged as she continued, "Someone's Fork. Anyway, both of those options could so easily be monkey pawed that I wouldn't bother. Oh, you want to prevent your pokemon from ever being infected? Suddenly, they're dead with their heads smashed in because technically they can't be infected if they're dead like that. Same for the cure, no one can be infected if they died the right way, and if everyone's dead, then they can't be infected anymore. So either way, the world is fucked, but the person making the offer is trying to make you feel guilty as hell before you bite the dust."

The Ponyta wasn't sure whether she was impressed or exasperated with Max dancing around the question again, but, honestly, she should have expected it. Besides, considering the potential implications behind both choices, Misty wasn't sure she wanted to hear Max's real answer anyway. She could understand Fenix's response despite knowing that it meant Fenix would be solely out for her own, and the potential problems that could arise from that. Misty also had no respect for the Vileplume, and while she had forced Max to answer directly earlier for Fenix's question, she was not going to for the despicable plant.

"None taken," the hooded girl responds, and Daisy gives her a small smile. She seems nice, and her Ponyta appears to be rather fond of her trainer, almost always a good sign. Unfortunately, Daisy's reluctance to personally continue the game becomes obvious, and the Persian speaks up about it. "Fascinating, but you're supposed to keep the game going. Your turn to ask. Unless someone else wants to?"
"Ah, my apologies. I-" However, before she can continue, the Vileplume from before begins to interject herself into the game in a falsely-sweet tone. Daisy lets her words trail off; she has a suspicion that interrupting the Grass-type is not something she'd want to do under these circumstances.

"I'll play." The Persian doesn't seem to happy about that, but considering the tension that had been between them when Daisy first arrived, she's not surprised.
"Anyone else want to ask a question?"
"Shut your mouth, sweetie; you look like a trout." With that, the Vileplume approaches them, inspecting them with a sort of excitement that Daisy knew would not be good for any of the hostages. The plant's smile only added to her discomfort; this was a Pokemon capable of cruelty, that is obvious, and right now there's no doubt that the question she's going to ask will not be pleasant.
All of you humans. I have a question for you. None of these silly, fun questions. A real one. Would you rather survive in this world with your team, ensured that neither you nor your pokemon would become infected but your choice means no cure is found or personally put down your own team if it meant a cure for the plague?" The silence seemed to stretch miles, and the Vileplume's apparent, twisted joy at the implications of the question only grew. The entire world, or her best friends-it was eerily similar to those "how would you rather die" questions. Both choices were abhorrent, but Daisy can already imagine a childish voice's response to her wanting to opt out-"No saying 'neither!'" "Condemn the world for your own selfish desires and sentence millions of lives to death or kill your closest friends to save millions of strangers?" As if simply asking the first question wasn't already bad enough, the Grass-type had to go and make an extra stab in the wound behind it.
"And no cheating-- you can't consult your pokemon. You're the trainer, you make the decision. Imagine someone was holding a gun to your head or something."

Daisy has met some despicable people in her lifetime, but this Vileplume-well, she is aptly named. It is an awful question the three women have been given, one nobody with even a shred of decency would ask. The thought of killing Maggie, her oldest friend and loyal companion, or little Snowy...Valjean and Zippy are not even her own Pokemon, and Daisy has always done everything in her power to keep them alive. Would any of them really accept their own deaths at the hands of somebody who is supposed to care for and love them? The alternative is allowing countless other Pokemon and people alike to suffer, to watch their friends and family die in a slowly-rotting world. Living with the burden of knowing she was responsible for endless deaths, endless pain...that wouldn't be any sort of life. But then, neither would living with the guilt of killing her beloved, precious Pokemon. If this is the reaction the Vileplume wanted, one of disgust and shame, then she's succeeded.

"I wouldn't put them down when some ass-hat higher up told me to, and I wouldn't do it now. The world can burn around me but I won't give up my team. Fuck a cure, the earth needed a good plague anyhow." Fenix's response brings a look of horror from her partner Pokemon's face, and Daisy has to resist the temptation to do the same rather than keeping a neutral expression. It was admirable that the woman would stick with her Pokemon, but asserting that the world needed the plague...all of those deaths, all of the loss and suffering of endless amounts of people were deserved? Daisy does not know if Fenix is being completely honest, or simply trying to piss off the Vileplume who had asked the question in the first place.
"I dunno man. It sounds like you just gave me a... what was it called..." The hooded girl is the next to speak, and searches for the name of what she is talking about; while Daisy's first thought was "Hobson's Choice", she has a feeling that isn't the right use of the concept. "Someone's Fork. Anyway, both of those options could so easily be monkey pawed that I wouldn't bother. Oh, you want to prevent your pokemon from ever being infected? Suddenly, they're dead with their heads smashed in because technically they can't be infected if they're dead like that. Same for the cure, no one can be infected if they died the right way, and if everyone's dead, then they can't be infected anymore. So either way, the world is fucked, but the person making the offer is trying to make you feel guilty as hell before you bite the dust." Those...are actually very well-made points, though Daisy is doubtful the Vileplume will take kindly to it. Who's to say that in this scenario, never becoming infected meant not dying in some other fashion? Starvation, dehydration, exposure, common infection, illness, there's so much out there that can kill someone other than the undead. Still, she can only hope that the girl's response would not result in stirring the Vileplume's anger.

"Admittedly, not all of the Pokemon traveling with me are my own, but if they were..." Daisy can only think of Kaszal, and the rest of Blue's Pokemon; what would he think of his sister if he heard what she was about to say? What would the others here think? Daisy cannot worry about such things; she had to stick to what she believed was the truth. Better to be honest than to tiptoe a line where she may or may not be judged.
"...I think I would make the sacrifice, as undeniably awful as it would be. The way I see it, there are countless other people like me, ones who love their Pokemon, and I can't see myself condemning them or their friends to the fate of the plague never ending. Better the world be given a chance to heal, rather than let it slowly die." Though she doesn't stammer over the words, the thought of personally killing-no, murdering-her own Pokemon is still eating at Daisy. Would she truly be capable of such a thing? She wouldn't deserve to live in a recovering world if it meant resorting to such a vile, ugly act; the only thing that Daisy can see herself doing in such a scenario is dedicating herself entirely to helping survivors. That's what she's always pledged to do, right? Help people? As much as Daisy doesn't want to come off as 'morally superior', she cannot help but stay true to her desire to help humanity and Pokemon as a whole.

Mars doesn't move as the woman frisks her, fighting the urge to kick her in the groin or shin as the woman pockets one of her family like a trophy or...

Leverage.

"So... This is what's going to happen..."

Yup, this is going to suck.  Time to see what nightmare they're in for.

"My partner and I have... a little project."

FUN.   Looks like it'll be a long nightmare.  Nobody says "little" in quite that tone of voice unless they mean the exact opposite of "little."

"Something we need help with. You two, as well as the other three we found, are going to help us."

Oh, so it's a group project.  Do we have to do equal amounts of work, teacher?

"I keep your pokemon to ensure your cooperation, but I assure you, no harm will come to them if you play nice."

Calling bullshit.  It's not like they don't have more Pokemon.  If she kills one, she can always steal another from them.  And of course, she could always at the end of this fuckery just decide "eh, what the hey" and kill everyone involved.  That's what masterminds do, right?

... Did Cyrus ever?  No, he had to be above that, right...?

"You keep glaring at me like that, boy, and I pop those eyes out with a spoon. Are we clear?"  

Oh, fantastic, so she is the kind to take offense at glaring.  Saturn's eyes shift away, though his knitted brows don't relax.  Mars can only hope that glaring at the floor doesn't count.

"As... for you... Mars..."  Saturn grimaces at the way she says his sister's name.  Something about it sounds... well, it sounds uncertain, but she already acts like a loose cannon.  If she's not certain now, what happens if she makes her mind up later and decides to kill her?  Hurt her?  Keep her?

"I know we aren't getting off on the best foot here, stealing your pokemon and all..."  

Saturn glances over at Mars's face and "noooooo, really" may as well be written on it in neon.

"But... I think..."  Both of them with wary eyes as she shifts a little.  "I... gave away... a little girl... a long time ago... She'd be... about your age. Where... was the fire house you were dropped at?"

"Kanto," is the mumbled reply.  "Celadon."

(I have no idea what city and just pulled that out of my butt.  I'll correct it if needed.)

Though Bella had only asked that particular question in order to piss everyone off, it seemed that the women surrounding them had far more stable minds than the Vileplume anticipated, giving Tyranny a sense of hope. Archer had long dismissed any sort of possibility for escape, but... maybe these women would be enough to push him toward that line of thinking again? "I wouldn't put them down when some ass-hat higher up told me to, and I wouldn't do it now." Blondie snapped, spitting her opinion out like she probably had when the mentioned "ass-hat" had first challenged her.  "The world can burn around me but I won't give up my team. Fuck a cure, the earth needed a good plague anyhow." Tyranny's mouth curled in a subtle grin. Her loyalty made her easier to manipulate, sure, but she had to give credit where credit was due. At least she was honest. She didn't even seem to mind the almost terrified look her Sylveon DILF was giving her.

The next to speak, ironically the second prisoner that her trainer had captured. Were they just going in order of "seniority" or was this merely unconscious coincidence? "I dunno man. It sounds like you just gave me a... what was it called..." Tyranny wasn't entirely sure where the girl was going with her thought. Catch 22? Was that the phrase Ariana used? "Someone's Fork." Nope. The fuck did a fork have to do with anything? "Anyway, both of those options could so easily be monkey pawed that I wouldn't bother. Oh, you want to prevent your pokemon from ever being infected? Suddenly, they're dead with their heads smashed in because technically they can't be infected if they're dead like that. Same for the cure, no one can be infected if they died the right way, and if everyone's dead, then they can't be infected anymore. So either way, the world is fucked, but the person making the offer is trying to make you feel guilty as hell before you bite the dust." She wasn't wrong. Bella had only asked the question to ruffle feathers and not because she was genuinely curious as to who would make that sacrifice. In Tyranny's experience, she only asked questions when she thought the answers would ever prove useful or to be a cunt. And all this meant was that the trainers did care about their pokemon-- which was really likely anyway. Whoop dee doo. It was like proving the sky was fucking blue.

TL;DR-- all of the posturing was fucking pointless.

But then again, hadn't the hooded girl been the one to draw out her answer last time, in an effort to not actually answer it? Tyranny quirked a brow at her. She avoided actually saying something again, a quality that Tyranny did and did not appreciate all at once. Her tail tapped gently against the rotting wood as she thought. That one was far more tricky than she let on.

The Persian's attention was drawn back to the last of the hostages, the lab-coat. It was nice that she was actually speaking now; Tyranny couldn't imagine that the Epidemic had done anything decent for everyone's social skills, but still. "Admittedly, not all of the Pokemon traveling with me are my own, but if they were..." She trailed off a moment as she thought. "...I think I would make the sacrifice, as undeniably awful as it would be. The way I see it, there are countless other people like me, ones who love their Pokemon, and I can't see myself condemning them or their friends to the fate of the plague never ending. Better the world be given a chance to heal, rather than let it slowly die."

Huh. Someone who would actually take the fall for the world. Being pressured into the answer wasn't likely, as Blondie and Hood hadn't made any notion toward martyrdom. Then again, Hood didn't actually say anything and just abstained in a very fancy way. And looking like a goody-two-shoe in front of a bunch of criminal pokemon and two sassy hostages probably didn't lure her into saying she'd off her own team just for showmanship. Maybe she was being honest, too.

Bella seemed to take each of their answers into consideration, that sickening, gross grin on her face the entire time. Surely she wasn't dumb enough to let Hood's answer slide, or she just didn't feel like pursuing it. "I'm a little surprised by your answer," she said, looking to Blondie first. "Though it's always good to see someone so... dedicated to their team. Heartwarming~!" She giggled, a sound that gnawed on Tyranny's eardrums, and turned to Lab Coat. "You're adorable. So selfless, so righteous. I'm sure your pokemon would all think of you as a paladin for justice and peace right as you slaughtered them all." She giggled and twirled again before her eyes landed on Hood. Uh oh.

"But you... You choose to do nothing? Aww. Not picking a side is just as bad as helping the bad guys win, sweetie." She drew closer, her grin widening with sick pleasure. "It's people like you that destroyed the world. You chose to sit back and let us destroy everything." She laughed this time, more of a cackle than anything, and withdrew, looking to everyone's faces. "Oh, is that not public knowledge?" A cruel chuckle accompanied her as she waltzed back to the back of the shack. "Oops. Clumsy me. Continue your game, little kitty."

Tyranny's glare couldn't get any more narrow. Why the fuck had she stirred the pot like that? Fucking... "Right..." she half-snarled, looking over the others a moment. What the hell was she going to do now?

---

"Kanto," is the mumbled reply.  "Celadon."

The words were spat out, but the angry, dangerous tone didn't deter either admin. Instead, Ariana's face grew a little more pale and her eyes a little more wide. For a moment, the air in the room chilled and grew dense; breathing was like trying to inhale water. Archer had no idea what Ariana would do or what the girl's answer meant, but silence typically wasn't a favorable answer out of his partner admin. Suddenly, however, Ariana seemed to make up her mind and the confident grin returned in full.

"Well, then. You and I have a lot to talk about when we get back to the Hideout. Needless to say, however, we need to move. Daylight's wasting and all of that." She motioned for the two newest hostages to move out of the house. "Garm, lead the way. You two, follow him, and keep up the pace. I'd actually like to get somewhere tonight."

Fenix had to bite back a hiss as she heard each other woman's answer, mentally kicking herself for expecting them to understand her intention of making herself the target of Bella's ire to spare them. Judging by the disgusting plant's response she had indeed intrigued the malicious nature of the poison type's personality but the kid, the kid had to go and be way too interesting by talking around the answer again. Stupid, fucking stupid.

If she had just kept her answer simple, taken the high road, the only one getting that nasty smile would be Fenix. She had bipassed over White Coat's answer without a second thought, like she should have, but not the kid's. Shit. Shitshitshitshit. How was she going to detract attention back to herself? Fuck. There was only one way to do it now and that would involve dragging Ariana into the game once she got back. Good thing the bitch liked games.

Flynn could easily sense the anger from his human companion and he wrapped a ribbon around her calf to try and soothe her, worried that her ire would attract the wrong kind of attention. Tyranny, thankfully, was distracted by her hatred of the Vileplume but said creature was intently focused on the captive audience. He needed Fenix to calm down or she would make herself a target...Wait a minute. Was she trying to do that? Is that what all of this was about? A mix of relief and dread filled the Sylveon as he began to piece together her agenda, relief in finally knowing what she was doing and dread in the knowledge that one wrong step would get them killed.

"Why don't we allow one of the other newer additions to try a turn," He called out, tired of nervously waiting for the Persian to restart and wanting to break the tension. "What about you?" His gaze turned to the Mienshao still leaning against the wall near the stubborn bull. "You look like you enjoy talking a lot. You have a turn."

The lady in the labcoat prefaced her answer with and interesting admission, "Admittedly, not all of the Pokemon traveling with me are my own, but if they were..." Max instantly began to empathize with her; they shared a common trait. Spidey was Alex's Pokemon. Even though by this point, she had had the Ariados for twice as long as her cousin had. They had been with each other long enough, however, that Max counted him as one of hers. If she wanted to be technical, the only one that actually was hers was Melody; all the rest had belonged to someone else before the Epidemic. The lady continued, "...I think I would make the sacrifice, as undeniably awful as it would be. The way I see it, there are countless other people like me, ones who love their Pokemon, and I can't see myself condemning them or their friends to the fate of the plague never ending. Better the world be given a chance to heal, rather than let it slowly die." She would actually take the deal, and Max envied the conviction the woman obviously had to be able to say that with confidence. It would be for the greater good, but Max knew she was selfish enough that she wasn't sure what she would actually do with that choice. Of course, that would be assuming the best, and there wasn't a fine print. And Max didn't believe in fine print not existing.

The oh so lovely Vileplume seemed to mull over their answers with her sickening smile before she started speaking. How much you wanna bet she's about to insult everyone's answer? She wasn't disappointed. First, Bella spoke to Fenix with a giggle, "I'm a little surprised by your answer. Though it's always good to see someone so... dedicated to their team. Heartwarming~!" Max had been around too many "Bless your Hearts" said with that same tone to not notice it. Check one. The Vileplume then turned to rub the labcoat ladie's answer in her face and said with a twirl, "You're adorable. So selfless, so righteous. I'm sure your pokemon would all think of you as a paladin for justice and peace right as you slaughtered them all." Check two. So that just left her...

The Vileplume then walked a little closer to Max, and Misty noticeably shrunk against her human's side. Max, however, kept her bored look as she listened to the Vileplume try to flay her verbally. The twisted grin grew wider as Bella spoke, "But you... You choose to do nothing? Aww. Not picking a side is just as bad as helping the bad guys win, sweetie." Check three. Ding ding ding, we have a winner! Max barely contained the urge to roll her eyes; the Vileplume was twisting the argument to her favor, even though her question had nothing to do with bad guys winning or losing. Let's see how much more guilt she tries to force on me in three... two... "It's people like you that destroyed the world. You chose to sit back and let us destroy everything." Awww, you want a gold star for destroying the world? It's only the goal of every Saturday morning cartoon villain. Such a shame you actually have to deal with the consequences like everyone else. Max met the following cackle with an unimpressed look. Frankly, given some of the incidences she heard about in other regions, the fact that one of those stupid teams would actually end the world as they knew it wasn't the biggest surprise. She wasn't sure if she completely believed Bella, however, for the plant seemed like the kind of person to lie about things like that. End result however, Bella used verbal assault. It wasn't very effective... Then the Vileplume ended her little spiel with a faux apology directed towards the Persian, "Oh, is that not public knowledge? Oops. Clumsy me. Continue your game, little kitty." Said Persian looked irritated, and Max completely agreed with the sentiment.

The cat glanced over them again as she almost snarled, "Right..." Bella's little interruption had ruined the flow of the game, and even though Max hadn't really wanted to play, the power play had rubbed her the wrong way. No one liked playing with the edgey people because things got uncomfortable, and some of them went out of their way to make people feel like shit. Bastards. Then she glanced over in Bella's general direction. Bitch. Max kind of liked the Persian, the Tauros was straightforward, and the Mienshao seemed at least a little friendly, but the Vileplume could take a long walk off a short pier. Her thoughts were then interrupted by a quivering body huddled next to hers, and Max felt bad as she realized that Misty had been scared of the Vileplume. She moved her arm off of the pony's back and lifted her hand to Misty's ears to scratch them. Misty flinched for a second, but when she realized it was Max's hand, she leaned her head into the contact.

The silence grew tense until Flynn apparently couldn't take it anymore and suggested, "Why don't we allow one of the other newer additions to try a turn." Max looked on in interest; seeing some of the other Pokemon participate might be fun. Though she doubted the Nidoqueen wanting to participate, and she didn't think she wanted to hear the Arbok speak since the snake was so friendly with Bella. That only left the Mienshao, and Max was correct as the Sylveon turned to the fighting type tucked into the corner, "What about you? You look like you enjoy talking a lot. You have a turn." Human and Pokemon looked over at the Mienshao to give their full attention; it wouldn't go over well to get asked a question and not realize it.

Daisy can tell that the Vileplume is taking a great amount of pleasure in mulling over their answers, her horrible grin never leaving her face. No doubt she is preparing to sink her teeth into each response, no matter what was said. It is the hooded girl that Daisy worries for the most, out of them; what she said had been bold, and certainly out of the box. There's no way to properly gauge how the Grass-type will respond to the girl's refusal to answer the question. However, to Daisy's surprise, Fenix ends up being the first one to be addressed; what is the Vileplume playing at? "I'm a little surprised by your answer. Though it's always good to see someone so...dedicated to their team. Heartwarming~!” It is Daisy's turn to be talked down to next, and a part of her wants to glare at the plant for mocking them, patronizing them as if they are children and not grown adults. It's not in Daisy's nature to scowl, but she can make exceptions for loathsome people. It's not an easy task to continue holding her impassive expression in the face of the Vileplume's taunts. "You're adorable. So selfless, so righteous. I'm sure your Pokemon would all think of you as a paladin for justice and peace right as you slaughtered them all." Do you really think I didn't keep that in mind when I answered? Daisy holds her tongue, however; the Pokemon is intentionally trying to upset her, get a rise out of her, and she will not take the bait. It's unlikely that the Vileplume even really cares about what Daisy had said, other than using it as ammunition against her. She'll have to try a little harder than that. Daisy would rather take every taunt and insult in the world than let this one Pokemon get the better of her.

There is only one other answer that needs responding to, and Daisy braces for whatever it is the Vileplume will say or do. However, against her expectations, it is only yet another sorry attempt at making one of them look worse than they were based upon an exaggerated, harsh question. "But you... You choose to do nothing? Aww. Not picking a side is just as bad as helping the bad guys win, sweetie. It's people like you that destroyed the world. You chose to sit back and let us destroy everything." “Us?” Is she giving credit to Rocket for the suffering of the past four years, saying that they were the ones to bring this hell down upon them? That it is their fault her family is separated, and so many people and Pokemon are dead? She...would not be surprised. Daisy feels an unfamiliar, dull roar building up, as if it had been sitting in the back of her mind, waiting to be released. This feeling is something she has never associated with herself, yet the Vileplume's disgusting words have dragged it out regardless, and Daisy has to remind herself that the plant could very well be lying. No doubt the other “teams”-criminals-of the world were all claiming the same thing, if they even existed anymore. Lying just to get under their skins, manipulate their emotions...not an unusual behavior for someone who is a part of a well-known criminal organization. Don't take anything she says to heart. I'll just be playing straight into her game. It's what she wants me to do. "Oh, is that not public knowledge? Oops. Clumsy me. Continue your game, little kitty."

"Right..." Daisy says nothing, her emotions still tugging her in a hundred different directions. The silence didn't seem to have an end; no doubt most, if not all of them, were at a loss of what to do. She certainly doesn't know how to deal with this herself, and honestly, she'd rather not say anything. Sometimes, a person just has to admit that they don't have a solution, no matter how well they want things to go. It is only the Sylveon who speaks up, though it is not to any of the hostages, but to the Pokemon the Rocket duo had left with them, the Mienshao in particular. "Why don't we allow one of the other newer additions to try a turn. What about you? You look like you enjoy talking a lot. You have a turn." Was the Sylveon simply barking up the wrong tree, or would the other Pokemon take up his offer? Daisy has no idea, and can only wait and see how the Mienshao will respond.

{I apologise for the rushed quality ><}

Saturn watches the woman as her face grows a bit more drawn.  Anxiety swims in his stomach and he swallows, gripping an upper arm to have something to clench his fingers into.  The thick fabric of his sweater does nicely, but even this doesn't expel the butterflies in his stomach.  He wishes he could throw them up.  

But that wouldn't exactly be the picture of courage and... he has to be strong.  Mars is depending on him.  I can't fail anyone again.

The silence stretches on.  The woman doesn't seem very stable.  She could turn violent on a dime.  He swallows and his fingers dig further into the fabric.

What are you going to do...?

And then suddenly she grins as if nothing happened, confidence radiating from her in waves.  She's very pleased about something now, and it's not hard to guess what.  "Well, then. You and I have a lot to talk about when we get back to the Hideout. Needless to say, however, we need to move. Daylight's wasting and all of that."

He lets out a breath.  This is going to be awful, even terrifying, but at least she hadn't decided to gun them down.

She motions for them to follow.  "Garm, lead the way. You two, follow him, and keep up the pace. I'd actually like to get somewhere tonight."

It takes barely two minutes to walk over to where the others are, Mar's eyes flicking around to take them all in.  A strong looking fiery woman.  A young lady in a blue hoodie.  A doctor.  An assortment of Pokemon.  Oh, so they're allowed to have theirs out?  She contemplates pulling out Hellena, if for nothing else but company.  A glance at Saturn tells her he's mulling over the same idea, probably with Galaxy.

They stand there, unsure of what they could say that wouldn't be supremely awkward.

"Why don't we allow one of the other newer additions to try a turn," DILF began, thankfully taking it upon himself to disrupt the silent tension building in the dilapidated shack. Tyranny let out a small huff of relief, letting her shoulders lax a little. That could have gone very badly. Maybe the others just thought Bella was yanking their chains; she'd already proven that she would say anything to stir up trouble. Hopefully, her little "slip" wouldn't affect their chances at... well... finding allies. "What about you?" All eyes turned to her Meinshao compatriot, who didn't seem to realize he was the center of attention for a couple of beats. His brow rose in pleasant surprise as he looked back to the Sylveon with interest. "You look like you enjoy talking a lot. You have a turn."

A small chuckle purred from Treason, but a sound caught his attention as well as Tyranny's. Footsteps-- multiple. That meant they were back again. "You're sweet to notice, but I think our game is actually over now," he mused as he gently pushed himself off the wall, straightening himself for his trainer and the newest additions to their hostage count.

Justice backed out of the doorway, revealing two young adults, one of which looked terrifyingly like her captor, and the Rocket admins themselves. Ariana looked a little more exuberant and... Tyranny frowned. There was something off about her, something... different? A quick look to her trainer gave her little information to glean, of course, as he was typically about as telling as a brick wall. Still, as always, his calmness helped steady the rest of his team.

"So, we're all here again," Ariana chimed triumphantly. "I swear to God, if the dogs hear anything else, I'm going to just let them kill them. This is way too time-consuming." Archer gave a stoic nod-- there were no complaints from him. What started out as almost a solo mission ended up as, well, a clusterfuck, and Archer was more than ready to just actually start the damn thing.

"All right then, everyone, listen up," she began, taking the middle of the room as her Arbok slithered up to her. "Most of you already know, but for the ignorant, we are currently standing in an old Hideout of Team Rocket's. While this was just the facade, the real Hideout is beneath us, and that's exactly where we're going. It'll be dark, cramped, and full of traps that are likely still functional, as most of them are triggered instead of electronically sprung. Archer and I know the way, but I suspect many parts of it have collapsed due to neglect and, you know, the apocalypse." She gave a little chuckle as she surveyed the hostages, shouldering the bag with their stolen pokemon. "I'll be keeping your leverage close to me, and you may use your own pokemon at our descretion. Any that surprise Archer or I and it's a bullet to the fucking head." She gave a small wink. "So don't."

Archer stepped forward, his hands behind his back as he settled into "at ease". "Your fellow hostage Fenix has already discovered some flashlights. There aren't enough for everyone, so if you already have one, we suggest you use it. Ariana will lead, various members of our teams will escort you in the middle, and I will bring up the rear. Be on your guard-- many of the traps that might still be down there involve captured pokemon, like Electrode, who may have become infected over the course of the Hideout's abandonment. I trust I do not have to explain why an Electrode exploding in the middle of a structurally unsound area is a bad thing."

With that, Archer strode forward and began arranging the prisoners in a single-file line. The mini-Ariana first, the doctor, the only other boy, the hooded one, and then Fenix. Ariana seemed pleased enough with the line-up, appreciative that he kept her very-possible-daughter near her and looked over their captives with a keen eye. "For those concerned for your missing pokemon," Ariana purred as she made her way to the not-very-hidden-anymore trap door, "Team Rocket has little need for pokemon they can't control. Especially since, you know, there's no Black Market to sell them on anymore. So really, once Archer and I get what we've come for, we do plan on letting you skitter away, your teams intact."

She pulled hard on the door, revealing the dark and murky stairway down. Her Arbok, Garmr, Bella, Treason and Tyranny immediately rushed down into the depths to scout out the closest hallway without needing their trainer's command. Sin stayed by Archer's side, while Queen and Justice remained at their posts nearby. While the others were checking the place out, Ariana turned to the others. "Any questions?"

Whatever Fate decided she had it out for Fenix made her presence known once again when the tension was cut, not by Flynn's suggestion of distracting themselves with another round of questions but by the warlords returning home. This time with children in tow. Flynn had already stepped back to guard himself against the tall blonde but Fenix herself went from false calm to a visible hatred. Her glare zeroed in on Ariana as she toted herself and her new trophies about the small shop and she felt her fingers twitching with desire to squeeze the air out of her annoying throat.

"So, we're all here again," Her sickeningly happy tone made her desire for violence even more prevalent, clenching her fists tightly to stop the tremors twisting her fingers. "I swear to God, if the dogs hear anything else, I'm going to just let them kill them. This is way too time-consuming." Fenix could feel the blood under her skin boiling, a seething potential eruption hovering just beneath the surface ready to crack loose. "All right then, everyone, listen up."

"Most of you already know, but for the ignorant, we are currently standing in an old Hideout of Team Rocket's. While this was just the facade, the real Hideout is beneath us, and that's exactly where we're going. It'll be dark, cramped, and full of traps that are likely still functional, as most of them are triggered instead of electronically sprung. Archer and I know the way, but I suspect many parts of it have collapsed due to neglect and, you know, the apocalypse."

Pff. As if she didn't already know. Didn't they catch her specifically breaking into this hideout of theirs? Hell she was the one who moved the damn shelves out of the way of the passage. Ariana didn't do shit other than show up when she wasn't wanted. "I'll be keeping your leverage close to me, and you may use your own pokemon at our descretion. Any that surprise Archer or I and it's a bullet to the fucking head." Bonfire... "So don't." If that bitch hurt one hair on that Flareon's head-

"Your fellow hostage Fenix has already discovered some flashlights. There aren't enough for everyone, so if you already have one, we suggest you use it. Ariana will lead, various members of our teams will escort you in the middle, and I will bring up the rear. Be on your guard-- many of the traps that might still be down there involve captured pokemon, like Electrode, who may have become infected over the course of the Hideout's abandonment. I trust I do not have to explain why an Electrode exploding in the middle of a structurally unsound area is a bad thing." At her name both Fenix and Flynn came to attention, her glare softening as it turned to Archer, but not enough to notice without a great deal of training reading body language. Archer was a prick, but he wasn't doing anything Ariana didn't tell him to. That made the ginger bitch the number one target.

She continued to drone on, much to Fenix's displeasure, and she settled for simply trying to mentally set Ariana on fire rather than actually listen to anything else she had to say. Fenix's eyes didn't leave the woman in front of her as soon she was lining them up single file. Flynn twitched nervously at her growing ire and found himself wanting to shy away, but couldn't for fear of attracting attention. They had already gotten in enough trouble thanks to Fenix's games but if she openly challenged Ariana? The type disadvantage alone would get him killed.

As soon as the door opened half of the Gruesome Twosome's Pokemon took off into the dark, leaving Flynn bitterly hoping that at least one of them got hurt for the stupid stunt. He felt a little guilty for thinking it, but if they were out of commission it would make it much easier for him to get Fenix and himself out of this mess. "Any questions?" Fenix's shadowed expression fell away, melting into a near polar opposite as she broke out into a wide grin, eyes sparkling mischievously. "Just one,"

No. No, Fenix please no- "You've got us all lined up here so tell me...Which end is the ass?"

They were all going to die.