Celestic Town

A certain Elegant Gothic Lolita is wandering the halls of her gym, going over some notes. "Let's see... Oh, the League is voting on a new TM, I should probably go to that..."

Celestic Town

Caroline: Sweetheart, you're here early! Hang on, let me put up my notes, and I'll be ready for your lesson.

Celestice Town

-Phosphora giggles as she hops over to a bench and sits down. A certain Clefable wuh-thoomps onto be bench nearby.-

Selene: <Sorry - she was just so excited, I couldn't tell her no!>

Phosphora: Mommy and Daddy have been really busy, and the twins have been getting lessons from Sifu Champloo, so it's been reeeeally quiet on the airship!

Petalburg

-A certain man who's aged rather well, dressed in two silver/gold gauntlets with spheres of blue in them, and an old tattered navy blue heavy coat, as well as a red tuxedo is sitting on the terrace of a large restored manor, overlooking one of the lakes of the town-

-He's drinking tea with his Gardevoir-

Jacob: "Ah, nice to have a day off, once in a while."

Regina: <Quite. I do oh so miss Seth though... and you've let quite a bit more challengers through recently. Slipping up? Or just talent?>

Jacob: "Meh. I pushed them, they pushed back. I could see the spirit in their eyes and I could feel the passion that got them to me. At that point they've already proven themselves."

Regina: <So you let them win?>

Jacob: "There is a fine line between testing and fighting. I like to think I walk that line every day."

Regina: <Quite.>

<...>

<Do you miss it? The adventuring?>

Jacob: "Sometimes. But I like my life now. I still keep in contact with the others. It's nice."

-Sighs and sips his tea- "Though I wish I could do more. All in all it's not a bad way to live."

PEFE HQ

-Is in the middle of paperwork-

...35 years old, and the papers never cease.

Muddy: <Considering the kind of stuff we did when we were younger, we're lucky to have made it to adventurer "old age.">

True that my friend, true that. So when are we doing another trip to PMD-B with Fool and the kids?

Muddy: -Shrugs- <How should I know, you're the one who plans things. It's about another seventy or so years until the Enclave show up in Angela, right?>

-After several futile attempts at making an appeal for [a future bipedal psychic type] and a Gardevoir, Ren face palms.-

Ren: Rrgh. That's it! I'm calling Jacob.

-As Ren is about to hit "Dial", a girl with dirty blonde hair sticks her head in the office-

Aria: Dad! I'm heading to Aunt Caroline's for lessons!

Ren: -standing while looking at his watch- Yeah it is that time.

-Ren walks over to his daughter.-

Ren: Got everything Aria?

-Aria nods as a Ralts sticks her head out from behind Aria's leg.-

Ren: -to the Ralts and his Daughter- You and Meg take care of each other and have a good time.

Aria and Meg: Okay!>

-with a blip, the two appear...

Celestic Town

...here.-

-Aria opens the door to Caroline's Gym and she and Meg enter-

Aria: Aunt Caroline?

Lilycove

-Ren dials Jacobs number-

Petalburg

-Jacob may receive a call-

Celestic Town

Caroline smiles at the trio. "Ah, my three most favorite girls are all here~ Good, we can go ahead and get started. Ellen, sweetheart, can you be a dear and go get your mother? She said she wanted to watch this lesson~"

Petalburg

Jacob: "... What I'm more surprised is that we haven't had some new fanatic zealot like group surface. Well I'm glad. I haven't had to make use of any of my toys. And-"

-One of his wrists starts beeping- "Incoming call, hold on..."

-He taps the circle on the back of one of his gauntlets and waves it, and a transparent blue screen appears-

"Hello this is Jacob. Since this is my personal number I'm going to assume this is you Ren?"

Celestic Ballroom Gym

Aria: -waving to her friends- Hi, I had trouble finding my dancing shoes.

Liliycove

Ren: Yes it is Jacob. I need your advice for an appeal I'm designing. It involves a [future bipedal psychic type] and a Gardevoir. Got any pointers?

The City Behind the Walls, Brewer's District, Outside the Gilded Lily

~Thwomp~

Noone was around to see the last guard fall asleep. Noone was there when the small metal barb, glowing with some chemical compound flew out of the darkness and into his thigh. The guard had stumbled a few times on the way to his booth, his last thoughts before sleep took his mind were ones of confusion and whether or not someone had poisoned his drink.

But noone had, because there was noone around, no matter how many guards there were in front of the large wooden doors just a few moments ago...

And then, there was someone. A man in a terrifying mask and the clothes of a ratcatcher.

"Area clear..."

He took a moment to carefully prop the sleeping guard inside his watchpost, away from the rain-slicked cobblestones. The man in the ragged garb sat in the guardpost and thought, glancing up at the lights of the building before him. Who was he doing this for, for Emily? No, there was no Emily, no matter how many advances he had attempted, there was never an Emily. For the Resistance? Hah, the Resistance would betray him the second the Regent was out of the way. For the Empress? Perhaps, but with her heart in his hands he could still feel happy of her presence. Maybe it was just because he had to, to act out his solemn part in this twisted play? Only he and the Outsider knew.

-Looks up-

Boring as always.

-And picks up Cyril-

And no, no they don't. Of course we are kiddo, just need to figure out where.

-Blip-

Xatu: -With a Natu atop his head- <Are we needed?>

Not quite yet. Where's the other two?

Celestic Ballroom Gym

Phosphora: My brothers haven't tried hiding my shoes recently. Sifu Champloo's been keeping them busy.

Selene: <The airship's been relatively quiet, now that those two are getting Aura lessons.>