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Haseo      There's a extremely explicit set of directions broadcasted on Multiverse radios. Specifically, the required server name and words to put into the Chaos Gate to get where is needed. There is also, an extremely brief synopsis of the plan of 'capturing' a mysterious player, with promises of more details to those who weren't there before when they arrive. There isn't a promise of any compensation though, but maybe that comes later.

     Warping to the field reveals a cool, mossy cave. There's the sound of water running somewhere in the distance, and if not for the rather ominous BGM track playing in the background, some might even consider it nice. It's a straight hallway though, and outside of the return gate and two guard-like PCs blocking the path further down, there's not much going on.

     "So as promised, I will briefly go over the plan of operation for those who missed it previously, and to refresh those who had. The current plan is to track down AIDA before our mysterious player so that we can either interrogate or capture them to increase our own capabilities in combating the problem. AIDA, specifically, being a type of glitch that very few people are capable of dealing with, to condense that explanation."

     The voice isn't coming from either of the PCs in the area, more like it's coming from the area itself. Damn GMs showing off.

     "There is however, a minor complication. If we were behind computers, force logging the players in the area would be no problem. As it currently stands however, we have to use a more manual approach. That is to say, we have no way of knowing if there are other players in the area. Though, I am positive that some of you heroic types will place it amongst yourself to see them out."

     The voice doesn't sound specifically concerned about this, though it's not exactly cold either. It's more of a 'matter of fact' manner of speaking.

     "If you have any questions, speak now, otherwise, I'll direct the GMs to let you pass."
Guzma "One question." Guzma asks to the ceiling, as they appear in the cave. He's dressed in his usual outfit, with the Trio behind him, and to his side...

A blonde-haired punk. Gladion.

"What's our pay? You didn't request a bunch of people to come do this for free, right? Who in their right mind would do that?"

Rapp moves to raise her hand, and stops as Guzma glares in her direction, the thug continuing to speak.

"Even quests in Nintendo have rewards, y'know. And they're usually shown up front!"%
Karlan Nobles      Pramanix, dressed in her outdoorsy not-on-formal-business-blue outfit, chuckles lightly at the blunt nature of the questions brought forward by Team Skull and company. "How lively! You could always take pride and accomlishment in your work /and/ get paid." She suggests, a thoughtful noise coming from her a moment later.

    "Gear could be useful, actually... Ah, but I'd have to find somewhere to hide it..." Furrowing her brow, she gets distracted by that for a few moments before turning to... Nobody in particular. Damn GMs and making people talk to empty space. "I'll be counting on the five of you. As for our target... AIDA's here, then? What type of... Thing is it, anyway? As far as what we'll physically be going up against, I mean."

     A beat, and then she rests a hand on the bell at her side. "I'm hoping it's something larger and easier to hit. But if there are other people that wander in, I'm sure we'll be able to escort them out without any problems."
Tomoe Tomoe had been interested in the job and while she has seen a pretty good team of people had taken up the GU on it. Yata has been honest as far as she was concerned about it they needed to capture someone who could deal with the AIDA she knew it was shady but given the options for a world neighbouring her own? She would help out there should be some pay and well further connection could serve the Gate Crasher Union well. She would hit up two additional people on the job, that being Alexis and Sarra.

She gave them the rundown of it and would be at the head as she comes out of a chaos gate and looks around for a moment.

"God it has background music."

She looks to Yata for a moment and listens as he lays down more information.

"So get uninvolved parties to leave got it, I figure if we got to bribe them you can pick up the tab for that later?"

Then comes the comment about a sense of pride and accomplishment. She just starts laughing to the point she can't breathe and Guzma's reply also keeps that going for a bit. She finally catches her breath.

"Ahem I am sorry about that...I brought some extra help, this is Alexis and Princess Sarracenia."

She also looks over to Guzma for a moment.

"It seems gacha games just span the multiverse."
Captain Flint      A cadre of men passes through to a virtual world. They number seven in total. Their clothes are simple, beaten by sun and sea as is their skin. At the front of them there are two, evidently leaders among their fellows. One of them has amber-colored hair and a trimmed goatee flanked by stubble, He has seafoam eyes which seem to subject all that lies before him to an intense, scholarly and almost hostile scrutiny. The other is a man of slightly darker complexion, with black wavy hair that falls about his shoulders. He walks--quite proficiently--with the aid of a crutch and prosthetic leg.

     Captain Flint and John Silver are their names, respectively the captain and the quartermaster of the Walrus. They, and their fellows, have come armed. Each man carries a firearm, and between them there is a wildly anachronistic spread of modern and 18th century weaponry. Flint and SIlver both carry swords. The men behind them carry clubs in the place of more deadly melee weapons, though one glance at the pirates conveys that 'capture' isn't something they're used to doing. Some of the men carry heavy bags full of what appear to be simple construction tools.

     Flint allows Guzma to ask the question about pay. It's a question his men would no doubt ask in private otherwise. "An excellent question," he says with a courteous nod. "I might also ask if you've any qualms about our methods of removing these players... if indeed they are present. If we are called to use force, I'll caution that restraint is not something which comes naturally to my men." John Silver passes Flint a knowing glance.

     "He's asking what will happen if we play too rough," says Silver.
Alexis Hey pride and accomplishment can be important... But expecting those to be payment on their own is like asking an artist to work for exposure. So sure, a sense of achievement is great, but Alexis is going to take whatever monetary or other form of payment that comes with it. And even she is snickering a little at Guzma's comments about avoiding a scam. Can't be too careful these days. She reachs over to give Tomoe a pat on the back to help her get over the weezing post-laughter fit.

Then hooks her fingers together and stretchs her arms out. "So this is the trouble you're getting us into this time huh?" Though she's got a hunch she got called in as much to help keep the third friend out of trouble as much as to help deal with the matter at hand. "Hunting a glitch sounds like something different."

Idly she clicks open her Pokedex and flicks through a few options, considering. Glances up in lieu of the source of the voice being present. "Any known patterns to this thing to help deal with it, or are we on our own for this snark hunt?"
Yuuki Kuran Yuuki, who had been quite directly questioning of Yata, his 'Project GU', and AIDA's connction with the player killer Tri-Edge in a bout of fierce lucidity last time, arrives at the crossing field in a dreamlike distance.

She doesn't *really* look at things, listen to instructions, or the like. She just sort of expects to be let in past the guards by the GMs to go about doing things for no pay. Rude!

MEANWHILE
At Yata's cush GM Pad:

Yuuki alights on the closest seat near Yata, crossing her legs and clasping her hands in her lap. "Yata, I'm surprised. Aren't you going to be there yourself?"
Sarracenia      Sarracenia hadn't been to this gaming zone thing since their beach trip. She follows her friends into the area, using her hammer's haft as a sort of walking stick. She probably wouldn't have come to capture someone without Tomoe's urging. But, it did sound like a good distraction from her usual rather boring daily life, so the princess had come along.

     She does have some questions though. "So...are the players protecting this glitch called AIDA? Or is there some other reason we must force-log them?" she asks to the air since that is where the briefing is coming from. As Guzma and Tomoe talk about gatcha games, Sarracenia raises an eyebrow. "...gatcha games? What are those?" she asks.

     She also notices they are in a cave. Not her typical choice of vacation spots, but at least it isn't a very dark and dank and dirty cave. Only normal levels of those things. Which is to say that instead of whining already about it Sarracenia is only frowning lightly and trying not to step in any moss or puddles or mud. Which is slowing her progress quite a bit as she carefully picks her routes and lets out a huff anytime she is unable to avoid one of those obstacles.
Zero Kiryu Zero Kiryu is only present once, because he can't split his presence wholesale. Fortunately, he can split it /partially/. A twist of vine serving as an ornament on each iteration of Yuuki Kuran gives him a presence that he wouldn't otherwise have. At the moment though, the man himself is only adjacent to the Yuuki Kuran who is visiting directly with Yata.

He constructs a chair out of plant matter to seat himself next to Yuuki, reclining comfortably and resting his cheek against his fist. He comments, "There is no purpose in being a man behind the curtain, if you never step behind the curtain at all."
Haseo      "Patterns indicate that AIDA is drawn to areas full of players, specifically those with feelings of aggression. This generally means they relegate themselves to places like this. We can't confirm the type yet, we're having a few technical difficulties. It wouldn't surprise me if AIDA is catching on to our spying. Anyway, as for the players, anything outside of death is permissible, so long as they're not willing to cooperate. I believe it goes without saying that roughing up someone who is willing to listen is generally regarded in poor taste."

     The guards, without any clear verbal prompting, seem to step away from the exit, though Yuuki can clearly see he just sent them an okay via DMs.

     "Though I head the operations, I don't hold the power to combat AIDA on my own. And I am much too valuable, in both the traditional and non-traditional sense. While I'm sure Pi could lead on her own, she's awakened to her powers and is much better served on the front lines. You are intimately familiar with Haseo and at least semi aware of Kuhn to know they are neither leadership material. Trust me when I say that if I had any way to safely walk the frontline, I wouldn't be standing here nearly as much."

     Yata doesn't seem that thrown off that Yuuki is suddenly there. When asking for the Multiverse at large for help, one should always expect oddballs. That said, he's quietly impressed. Impressed enough to be slightly truthful and marginally less smarmy.

     As the group pushes past the first room, they're greeted to a slightly more open area. One where'd you'd probably find monsters, but it's seemingly been cleared out. Save for what appears to be a player character running towards the exit before stopping to talk.

     "He- You- You gotta get outta here! This guy came and...M-m-my friends! They're dead! I couldn't rez them! I couldn't! It's not suppose to-"

     They're small woman, clearly a Harvest Cleric given the fact they're holding on to a staff and talking about resurrection. They are also, very clearly, very shaken, given they're struggling to get words out and crying.
Alexis Attracted to aggression. Oh yeah, that is -never- a problem.

Alexis hmms. Might need to subdue or drive people away. What did she bring that has status effects or whatever it would be called he--

Turns out to be a pretty big problem, especially when your planning is getting interrupted by people crying for help almost as soon as you're entering the next area. Room? Are they still called rooms in this sort of thing, when it looks like an open outdoor area?

Nevermind, that sort of thinking is just going to make your head hurt if you dwell on it for too long.

"Did you see what he actually did to them?", she tags onto the string of questions already being postured by the pirates.

Idly she seems to have changed her mind, as she grabs a different pokeball off her strap. Sounds like they might have to go right for the big guns. Or hammers in Sarracenia's case.
Captain Flint      "Entirely," says Flint to the GM.

     "You heard the 'GM,'" says John Silver. You can hear the capital letters there. He doesn't understand this any more than anyone else currently visiting from the Age of Sail, but these things one must take in stride. "Clubs only with the players, and then only if you have to."

     One of the pirates, a strapping straw-haired fellow with his club held fast by a sash, speaks up. "What should we tell them?"

     Flint responds, looking the pirate--named Billy--in the eye. "Tell them that play in this area is postponed, for the time being, and encourage them to continue their activities elsewhere. Invoke an authority if you must. They'll not likely question it--and if they do... encourage them to see reason." There is a brief susurrus of quiet laughter which rises from the pirates. They understand.

     John Silver extends an arm for the small Cleric to stop. "Calm down," he says, looking her in the eye. Despite being surrounded by hardened pirates, he manages to exude calm and helpfulness. "What did he look like, and where is he now?"

     As Silver consoles the Cleric and tries to get more information, Flint begins giving orders. "Mr. Packard, Mr. Turk. Take up a position at the entrance." The pirates nod. "Allow no one but ourselves or her companions through. If our quarry should somehow evade us, contact us by radio--handsomely--and take no action until we return."

     "Aye, sir."
Guzma As they get their info, Guzma grunts and affirms his group to continue. The five of them proceed inwards, towards the first area. There's no monsters. It's strangely cleared out, and...

A woman appears, freaking out. Guzma looks in the direction she came from, and gestures to Gladion. "Let's go." The two of them move to immediately enter the next area, their Pokemon at their belt...they move to pass the overwatch, trying to take first lead.

But the Trio stays behind, for a moment, with Silver. Rapp grabs a cloth from her purse, and hands it to the player so they can wipe their eyes. "Don't worry, yo! We're the Concord, and other weirdos! You get to safety, we'll take care of it and make this place safer." She grins, but her eyes are a little glassy, the bandages on her and the two guys clearly visible (they're still injured from Ansem's attack). She still hasn't adjusted to the risk of death yet, even if she was willing to throw herself in the way of an attack for her boss.
Tomoe Tomoe appciates the clap on the back from Alexis, as it did help pull her out of the laughing spurt that had taken hold of her. R
"Thanks and Catcha games? That's a long story, they are games with a very heavy gambling mechanic built-in." She takes note of Flint and men it's been a while since she's seen them. She makes note of the warning and intel from Yata. She will attempt to fall in front as if they are going to be ambushed she should be the first one if not one of the first to get the enemy's attention.

She sees the Cleric and frowns as bad memories come to her, she tries to shake it off as Rapp moves to help try and console her and other such as John Silver attempt to also get her to calm down. Tomoe thinks as she's been in a similar situation.

"I'm sorry... we will do what we can about this but can't make any promise as my friend Alexis said anything you can tell us would be very helpful. We want to stop the thing that did this..."

Tomoe's tone is very sympathetic sounding as well and it's honestly genuine too she's been there.
Karlan Nobles     With so many unfamiliar faces, Pramanix has her work cut out trying to guess what everyone's good at by sight alone. She seems at ease with today's working crew, if nothing else, and she's left to keeps her eyes peeled for signs of whatever AIDA looks like as they proceed deeper inside.

    Naturally, they're confronted with the news of more dead. Or 'dead'? She can't be quite sure with how the mechanics of life and death work here, so she simply approaches the Harvest Cleric with a calm, reassuring countenance despite all the unknowns floating around in the back of her head. "It will be alright, dear. We'll take care of it."

    That'll do for reassurances for now. As she steps further in, Pramanix is already preparing herself mentally for what she might see, but she can only be so ready without knowing just what the their 'guy' did to the woman's friends. Or others, even.

    Pramanix is already ringing her bell gently as she joins the frontliners, chilly wind swirling around her.
Yuuki Kuran It's some sort of healer baby, before she learned that all dps are scrubs and all tanks are scum! Before that beautiful, barbed metamorphosis into a sadistic dead-eyed experienced healer!

It's adorable! Not that Yuuki really has context for the experience of MMO support mains. Instead, she hovers behind (looming over, really) the Goonsmas and smiling. "Hello, miss. We're working on a way to fix that curse of yours, for the GMs. We're part of the..."

MEANWHILE:
Yuuki gives Yata a weird look, her eyes intense for a moment. She's...

Looking at his screen, actually.

BACK WITH THE CLERIC:
"... GM Support Team. Could you point us in the direction of the glitch that caused this, as well as give us any information you have for us to solve this issue quickly?"

She has her Authority Smile on. It's either very calming ('yay, an authority has arrived to solve the problem') or, because she's looming over three punks like some sort of teenage dracula and giving a big toothy grin to someone in distress, not at all reassuring.

MEANWHILE

"Well... I still think Zero has a point: And if you're not going to arrange to be there in person, at least arrange some better information! If you must lead from afar, then you should make yourself indispensible for success where you are. That's really the minimum of a back-line leader."
Sarracenia      Sarracenia gets the idea a bit better as she listens to those around her, but it isn't until the player runs up to them that she realizes this might be more serious than she thought. "You...couldn't rez them?" Sarracenia asks, confused. "But, I thought this game was basically intact?" she says to the others, then looks to the player. "Tell us where they were, and once you leave the game you should try to contact them outside of it. It is possible they were knocked offline or something." she says, then moves toward the front lines herself.

     She doesn't really wait for the others though. As soon as they have some sort of general direction she runs off toward it. With a green mushroom in hand. Is she hoping she can help those poor players even though their in game healer couldn't?
Zero Kiryu "Do people..."

"... Really still treat this so much like a game?" Zero wonders, in response to what he's hearing from the direction of Yuuki 1. He's not bodily over there, of course, but he can still hear the stammering and the difficulties related to People Not Coming Back To Life. Whether he's surprised by this or not is less-than-evident.

Leaning away from his hand, he fixes Yata with a flat look, "By the way... I know that you want solutions to the problems surrounding these anomalies overall. But what specific resolution are you looking for in particular?" In this case though, Zero isn't expecting an actual honest response. So he just starts skimming Yata's mind immediately, having asked the question specifically to bring the man's thoughts to the surface.
Haseo      YATA'S GM ROOM:
     "Had we better information, it would have been given. Unfortunately, research into AIDA is solely in my hands as leader of GU. As a whole excluding myself, we have one competent member with some sort of big sister complex, a kid who refuses to see the bigger picture other than what's in front of him, and a manchild who desperately wants to fill the hole left by his previous attempts at a love life with as many women as possible. It is surprising I've wrangled this group for this long."

     Yata actually sounds like an exasperated kid. The weight of manning a completely understaffed crew all of which are 'unique' individuals while being given an extremely important task is clearly annoying him. He rebounds quick though.

     "I need more data before I can give accurate information. True, you have all been hired for something completely different, but I am nothing but resourceful with the tools I am given, so I am using this as a chance to solidate my findings as well. You're free to all of it once I am confident in my findings, but my pride as an information broker prevents me from getting things wrong. As for a 'resolution', containment or removal of AIDA and the return of the lost ones are my priority."

     THE CLERIC:
    The Harvest Cleric seems a bit overwhelmed by everyone, but she decides to stay and tough it out. Everyone here seems 'mostly' nice after all.

     "A weird twinblade- My friend. They gave something to my friend and he-he-he... They turned into-"

     There's the sound of something chainsaw-like revving in the distance, which immediately causes the Harvest Cleric to scream and bolt towards the exist.

     A big mountain of a man comes walking in, parts of his avatar swapped with weird, monstrous black bits. Almost like some sort of corruption. One of his clawed hands are holding onto some weird bastard child of a chainsaw and broadsword. It's also probably the source of the noise.

     "Oi. Thought I heard my friend in here. Where'd she go? Gotta show her how strong I've gotten. HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Captain Flint      Packard and Turk step aside, allowing the Cleric to leave. That's what they were ordered to do, after all.

     Flint furrows his brow. He looks as if he's about to issue an order to his men, at the sight of the corrupted avatar--but Silver places a hand upon his shoulder. Flint nods. He looks over his shoulder, and issues a quiet command."Exit the cave. Dig a deep pit immediately outside the entrance and cover it with whatever you can. We'll occupy his attention." This doesn't look like a man that will be persuaded with clubs.

     The pirates hurry outside and begin following Flint's orders, striking the earth with iron construction tools and farm implements. They work quickly, a testament to human brawn and determination. Inside the cave, Silver strikes up conversation to distract him.

     "That's an impressive weapon," he says, circling around the mountainous man so that he must turn his back to Guzma in order to keep eye contact. "I'm told it was a gift?"
Guzma The girl is calmed, but then she runs because a corrupted man with a chainsaw sword arrives. Guzma and Gladion are up-close, but...after a quick conversation, they choose not to attack. "Tupp, Rapp, Zipp! Poison him!" The trio rushes forward from the fleeing girl, past Yuuki, who was freaking them out because she was looming over them.

They toss out Salandit, Zubat, and Garbodor, who start spraying toxic poison at the AIDA, especially if the man turns his back on them, the small lizard, the blind bat, and the walking pile of garbage surprisingly effective at stacking up debuffs.

Guzma and Gladion both call out. "Ariados!" "Lycanroc, show him your crimson glare!"

But, as the large red spider and the bipedal rock wolf are summoned, they don't attack. Instead, Lycanroc smashes into the ground, jutting up big boulders around the area, while Ariados skaddles quickly over, climbing a rock and spewing webs between them, creating a large and tough web net around the battlefield, which Ariados both uses to see and to slow down the enemy. When allies try to cross through the webs, it lifts them with skillful tactile control, while holding in the AIDA.

Hopefully, he doesn't immediately cut through the webs!
Karlan Nobles      Someone wielding two blades with an odd object given to the Harvest Cleric's friend. "That's quite the strange thing to happen, but.. We know who to look for now." Pramanix utters with a light grimace as she hears the chainsaw, starting to ring her bell more rhythmically once she hears that screaming exit.

     "... That's not the one she was talking about." As the corrupted giant approaches, Pramanix steps forward slowly. "Are you alright, sir? Do you need a moment to lie down? A cold drink, perhaps?"

     Although her tone is soft and as pleasant as ever, she's already mentally preparing herself for the worst. She doesn't call the snow and wind down on him right away, waiting instead of him to charge or do something generally hostile first to give him a chance. "Your friend was worried about you... Did you see anyone strange before?"
Tomoe Tomoe listens to the Harvest Cleric as she brings up some more information a strange twin-blade gave something to her friend which caused something terrible to happen. Tomoe soon gets her answer on this one very shortly as the mountain of a man who has been infected with some almost eldrich horror like bits come in talking about how strong he has become.

"You are just dancing to someone else's song and can't even see the strings."

The Cleric has run out, good very good. She should be clear of things now and with that in mind? Tomoe will end up moving in she's got her shield out a weapon which ahs names shifting across it from time to time and her sword Dawnbreaker in hand she approaches the man and looks at him. She's pretty much a mountain of a woman herself she sides in as John Silver talks, Tomoe adapts her plans but it's clear she's angry. Not at John no but at this mountain of a man.

"Are you the one that ganked the rest of your friends?"

Guzma sets up some very useful terrain that should help greatly in tying this man up for more than a little bit. Tomoe has set herself up to be the first thing this big man could easily go after first and it's intentional.
Alexis Alexis raises a brow at the girl. "Turned into wha--" Then the screeching mechanical sound of a chainsaw rips through the air to cut off the conversation. Pun intended.

Fortunately they don't have to go chasing after the people running ahead as the source fomes to them. "--Right. Cursed weapon." Close enough considering the world. "Worry about who later. Looks like we've got a situation ... Sarra, don't run ahead with that thing stomping around!"

Sigh. And to think she use to be the hotheaded, impulsive one. Well okay still the former, the latter not so much these days. Really the only reason she doesn't facepalm at people dashing ahead is because she's already got a pokeball in it. Which she finally throws. "Let's go, Mirage!" In the flash of the ball appears something dragonlike, but with the wings of a dragonfly and protective lenses over the eyes like goggles. Said shiney wings are already buzzing, keeping the Flygon hovering above the ground. More reptilian eyes behind the lenses at the bizarre form with weapon making even more annoying buzzing noises.

Until Alexis snaps a command to keep his attention. "Don't let him go back the way he came. Sand Tomb!" The Flygon snorts some sand out her nostrils, then turns partially to slam her tail into the ground. The tremors caused ripple through the terrain underfoot, causing what's under the fiend's feet to crackle and crumble like sand and start to produce a downward sucking motion. It's not quite quicksand, but the dragging sensation is similar, making it hard to step out of and move quickly.

They're suppose to keep him here to possibly lure out a bigger threat, after all.
Sarracenia      Sarracenia's rush in the direction the cleric came from is interrupted by the emergence of that big corrupted avatar. She skids to a stop a short distance from him and blinks a few times. She hears Alexis, then smirks. "As if I am afraid of an obvious small-brained brute" she says as she twirls her hammer. The pokemon launch their poison and Sarra leaps back to avoid getting any of the nasty gunk splashed on her. "Hey! Watch where you are aiming!" she yells at Guzma and Gladion, even though she probably wasn't even close to getting hit. She watches as the web arena is quickly built around them, and as Tomoe approaches the player monster Sarracenia pulls out a blue mushroom. She gives it a squeeze and it disappears in a puff of white smoke which flows over and cloaks her for a moment before clearing quickly. When she emerges her red dress is now icy blue. "I believe your friend was quite impressed! So, I suggest you discard whatever cursed item has done this to you before anything more dire happens!" she says before she starts tossing ice bolts at the behemoth. They bounce along the ground before exploding against whatever they hit, flash freezing small areas. "I believe that is what your friend would want!"
Zero Kiryu After reading Yata's mind, Zero issues a great exasperated exhalation. But it's not directed at the man himself. He shakes his head, and replies in sympathy, "Having to corral a bunch of barely-functional idiots on a daily basis is a pain."

Internally, he laments that this is in fact his overall career path.
Yuuki Kuran YATA'S BIRDHOUSE:
Yata is forwardly compliant with questions when asked, and that visibly earns him points in Yuuki's eyes. Her expression becomes warmer and more pleased as he talks, explaining his experience with leadership of the group. Her expression turns to a radiant grin that lights up both her cheeks. "I think I understand now, Yata. Thank you for explaining." Her smile becomes mischevious just at the end, with a soft exhale. "Still..."

Yuuki pantomimes pushing nonexistant glasses up her nose. "Isn't the role of the calculating elite the vice president's role? Maybe you'd be surprised when you show Haseo a little faith as a leader. I don't think you've got a perfect solution for him, at any rate."

She lets her hand drift back to her lap, giving Zero a fond side-eye. "Zero has some experience with wrangling from the vice-president's seat, too."

"As for your ability as an information broker." Her focus returns to Yata, eyes quarter-lidded. "As a..." She pauses. 'Friend' was the word she wanted to use, but it rung hollow. "... as someone else who truly desires the return of those that have been lost, I'd like you to try and give your impressions as well. Someone as brilliant as you, waiting until all of the information is in? I have to get by in the moment on what my intuition tells me: my feelings, and the impressions of my precious friends."

"I think your brilliance could be found in the moment, Yata. Those split-second decisions, left or right, life or death, could change things for the better."

She claps her hands, in her lap. "But not right now. You are correct that, as things are, you must be here."

THE CLERIC:

"If Flint's men are going to be..." With proximity to the enemy, Yuuki's action-double declines to reveal exactly what her ally is planning on doing. Instead, she has a more simple action. "Flint, Guzma, I'm leaving things to you!"

She jogs off after the Cleric, waving her down. "Miss! Miss, come back!"

Well, it'd probably be better if the Cleric didn't return to the corrupted adventurer. Probably. But, Yuuki at least wishes to see her to safety!
Haseo      YATA'S HOUSE:
    "Pfft. Haseo has been both a boon and a headache. 'Idiot savant' comes to mind, but as for utilizing him, don't worry. As he is now, I am using him as optimally as possible."

     Yata, probably solely for dramatics, removes his spectacles as he begins cleaning them off against the small bit of fabric on his chest.

     "My impressions? I can give at least one. Someone is leading us around, treating us like pieces to be moved and feeding us the information we want to see to get the results they want. Granted, I don't have solid evidence on this person yet. But I have every reason to believe it."

     AIDA MAN:
    "Gank? GANK!? Nah, I was just showing them how strong I've gotten, and they passed out in surprise! I was tired of gettin' carried, so I decided to take matters into my own hands. Now look at me, I'm FREAKIN' INVINCIBLE!"

     The sound, for lack of better words, completely at delusional at the very least, and absolutely unhinged at worst. Possibly even both, they aren't mutually exclusive, after all. He isn't even really acknowledging any questions other than the ones that seemingly strike a chord with him. They probably did it. There's no doubt about that.

     The few people that Flint had sent to go find any straggling players have bore fruit finally, and they're all escorted to safety right before they start digging a giant pit. They're also all very grateful and give money and items as thanks. What use a pirate has for virtual gold and anime weapons is unknown, especially since they can't abuse the RTM economy.

     Webs are used to slow, he's inflicted with poison and partially frozen. The entire area gets terraformed into some combination of floating rocks, sand pits, and ice, and there's some woman standing in his way. but it's ok, he can break these restraints.

     The corrupted man's muscles flex as he just kind of ignores the fact his HP is rapidly dropping, slamming his massive sword down without any sort of care for where's he's aiming.

     Not that he needs to care for where's aiming, there's a huge shock wave of rippling earth that Tomoe being there helps to mitigate just a bit, but it's clearly still a bit of A Problem.
Captain Flint      OUTSIDE THE CAVE

     Bo'sun Billy Bones wipes a bead of sweat from his brow, his sleeves rolled up as he puts his back into another swing of his hoe, breaking up the rocky ground. Some of the men are paid with virtual gold and anime weapons--they stare confusedly at it as their fellows hack and break apart the ground with all their might. "That's the last of the other players," reports the boatswain over the radio to the captain. "You should know some of the men were paid for helping."

     INSIDE

     The voice of one of Flint's men squawks over both his radio, and that of John Silver's. The shockwave from the sword slam knocks both men off their balance, and Flint's radio is crushed by rubble knocked loose from the corrupted player's attack. Stopped short of dashing his head against a rock, Silver is nevertheless pummeled by some of that same rubble, forced to the ground anyway.

     Flint manages to catch himself, throwing out a hand and steadying himself against a wall. "Have them arrange it just past the pit!"

     "They won't," calls Silver as he struggles to his feet.

     Flint snarls a response. "Then tell them /I'll/ reimburse them."

     Silver conveys Flint's command, and the men outside begin to arrange the treasure they were paid with, just past the pit. In other words, they've created a loot pile, serving as bait for a would-be adventurer. But he'll actually need to be in a place where he can see it. To that end, Flint endeavors to piss him off.

     The captain regains his footing, hefts a fist-sized rock, and hurls it with all his might, aiming for the face of the corrupted avatar. He then turns heel and books it for the entrance, doing his best to hurtle over the pitfalls his allies have placed themselves.
Karlan Nobles      Pramanix sighs as the light-handed approach doesn't pan out as expected. "Of course... Hm. If you're truly that insistent on smashing and slashing, then perhaps I'll have to change that." She raises her bell, letting it ring softly and echo through the room as the wind s grow stronger, snow swirling from her to the chainsaw-wielder. The shockwave blasts the initial wave of snow and wind away with that blow's might behind it, and it actually knocks Pramanix off her feet for a moment!

     "... No wonder that lady was so frightened. You'll need to be slowed down, at the very least." Grunting as she picks herself back up, she raises the bell again to start ringing it in earnest. "This snow is my gift from the Holy Mountain. Now stay your blade before it's too late!"

    That's some kind of warning, at least, as the snow starts actually churning around the chainsaw man, focusing on his limbs to slow him down, make them harder to bend, harder to maneuver, harder to swing anything at all. She can't quite see the HP thing, but she can guess that the bigger danger is coming from those beefy arms of his!
Tomoe Tomoe says "She couldn't rez them, big man."

Tomoe notes looking up at them for a moment and she frowns at them for a moment longer.

"They are dead, they are not coming back you killed them."

Tomoe's tone is icy as she stares the Aida man down. Is she certain they are dead? No, but it could keep the Aida Man's attention on her.

"I heard those words before, most of the people who have said that are not."

She also note-making ready for the likely trouble that's to occur as the man moves forward and start getting caught in the CC that Alexis and Guzma teams have set up? Then he starts to get lose and she ends up catching the wave full on she does help mitigate things somewhat for her allies at the cost of getting smashed up by the shock wave. She then springs into action even as the wireframe damage on her body is made very apparent. She'll leap up and then drop trying to strike at the hulking man's sword targeting it over him suspecting it might be the main part of the infection.

"That it?!" She'll kick off and attempt a shield slam for the mountain of a man's face as well.

"Come on show me what you can do big man."
Guzma The sword comes swinging down. Lycanroc and Ariados move to intercept for Guzma and Gladion, while the trio run away, leaping backwards, as their pokemon are struck backwards. Ariados and Lycanroc are injured, hissing and chittering and all the noises they make, as they change plans.

There's a lot of rocks around. As the Trio's mons begin spraying the rocks with toxins to make them dangerous to the touch, Lycanroc creates more stones, this time under the AIDA man. The rocks come to juggle him into the air in concert with the other's attacks...

And then the webs spray down his body, trying to launch him all stuck into a rock and pin him to it! That'll, hopefully, let the others do big damage.
Alexis This guy is deranged and gone, for the most part. The saddest part is that he doesn't even seem to realize what he's really done. Or AIDA is blocking that realization. Either is horrifying in its own way.

As Mirage swings up her tail from slapping the ground Alexis grabs onto it, using it as a boost to hop up onto the Flygon's back.

Not a moment too soon as the corrupted man swings his weapon and sends a shockwave across the area he's been trapped in. Flygon, hoving off the ground rather than standing on it, takes less of a toil from the terrestrial shockwave. But it's still enough force to make her beat her wings extra hard to keep holding her position and keep both of them from being thrown around the arena. Flygon can keep them out of the melee reach of the weapon, but pinning and wittling away isn't going to work like they had hoped.

Alexis watchs the other attacks trying to pinball the man around, and Tomoe going in with her own ramming blow. Hitting him from the sides, from below with from the other Pokemon. Since they do have the figurative high ground with being airborn, let's get him hit from -all- directions then. "Now! Drop it on him!"

A massive ball of indigo energy is formed, and Flygon sends it hurtling straight down upon the AIDA infected form like it's namesake to catch him between it and the ground level attacks.
Yuuki Kuran YATA'S GARUSU:
Yuuki's smile remains, following the path of Yata's glasses, rather than Yata's eyes, or the sounds from his lips. "Ah. I understand the feeling of being jerked around. Being used. Sometimes it's plesant to do things for other people, too."

"But it's very annoying to feel used." A pause. Her eyes raise, but her words ring ominously. "Why don't you tell us who you think it is, and we'll do an investigation on our own? I'm willing to put faith in your intuition."

THE WORLD R2:
The copy-Yuuki that had run off after the Cleric does not return. She's probably making sure she doesn't get randomly murdered three screens away and added to the mystery via being killed to death.
Zero Kiryu Zero casts a sharp look towards Yata at the phrasing 'I am using him as optimally as possible.' He doesn't comment on it directly, instead looking away-- towards Yuuki, though she can tell that his attention is flitting through his network of vines. His form becomes wavery as he sits on the edge of teleporting towards Yuuki's duplicate-- but in the end, he falls short of actually doing it.

"Haseo is... the sort of person who will be truly reliable, eventually."

Regarding the possible Who behind all of this, he replies, "Their suspicion is that it is an element of the game itself manifesting some sort of antibody entity. Since it is a black box system they don't fully understand or control, that's as plausible as anything. The people who actualized this world..."

He snorts, "Well, we've both met less responsible gods."
Sarracenia      Sarracenia gets hit by the shockwave and sent staggering back. There is also a puff of smoke as she is forced back to her normal appearance and loses her ice powers in the process. "Did you at any time consider hurting the -monsters- to show them your strength? Really, some people are such weaklings. They gain a bit of power and suddenly think it doesn't matter who they hurt!" she exclaims.

     And with that, the princess goes into a spin with her hammer held out at arms length. Like a top she spins her way in behind the crazy, corrupted player and tries to pummel him from behind, hoping to bring him down. Of course if he is as tough as he looks then perhaps the swings from her mighty hammer might break the rock he is being pinned to loose and send him rolling toward the pirate's trap? Either way she would be happy!
Haseo      THE LEGACY OF YATA'S GARUSU:
     "Perhaps he will. I suppose it depends on what he does with his blessing from The World. Though I guess in his case specifically, it's more of a curse, no matter how much it 'loves' you."

     Yata smirks at what he just said. The kind of smirk a teenager makes when they say something profound and deep. On an adult body though, it just comes off as smug. He puts his specs back on, the tinted glass gleaming in the light as he turns to answer Yuuki.

     "Their name is..."

     AIDA MAN:
     The hulking man's sword collides with Tomoe's sword as it's deflected, and he staggers back a bit before getting smacked in the face. That's par for the course, and an acceptable response for a Big Guy like him.

     Then Flint sets a trap, and throws a rock at their head. It bounces off, dealing chip damage but it's enough to get his attention.

     "Hey? You making fun of me? YOU TRYING TO PISS ME OFF! SCREW YOU! SCREW YOU, MAN!"

     If he even saw the loot pile is unknown, but even if he did, he probably didn't care. He's gunning for Flint, enough for him to drop his guard to allow Guzma and Pramanix to trap him with webs and rocks and snow.

     The follow up between the Flygon's massive DRACO METEOR and Sarracenia's very tried and true method of beating the shit out of someone with a massive hammer prove very effective at removing whatever remains of the corrupted Edge Punisher's health.

     That means he's dead. Except he's not dead. There's a massive amount of black dots coming from his beaten body as the map around everyone starts to peel away to reveal some weird endless sea of cyberspace.

     It's stopped though as a blue flame suddenly descends from behind from seemingly nowhere. It's almost instant, a sword appearing through the chest of the man as the dark corruption infecting his body dissipates. It's the same sword that was shown in the clip from the briefing a while back. The blade, just as quickly as it was inserted, is removed, allowing the towering man to fall to the ground corrupted and reveal the identity of the group's real objective.

     A man with white hair and equally white armor... Sort of. They're extremely lithe, their face gaunt, and patches of black cover parts of their body in a patchwork like fashion. There appears to be what look like feathered wings on his back, but the feathers cut off to reveal a weird pinkish skeleton.

    

     Their mouth opens.

     TO BE CONTINUED IN VOLUME 2