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Post by maestro on Jul 21, 2015 19:52:05 GMT
As soon as the two leaders began to pull out fire arms, they both could feel a hand on their heads...and then suddenly everything went black for them. Both bodies slumped to the ground, still breathing, as the hands of the TGT leader left the position of having cracked both heads against each other. "Maybe you both should lay down and think about drawing firearms out in this establishment, especially against someone who is unarmed. We might be gangs, but we have some merit of honor dammit" he said, his voice booming.
He then turned his attention back to TJ, the aggravation in his face now vanished as quickly as it was incited. "Listen here, kid, I don't condone a lot of what these jack wads do, but they are my comrades that the TGT have promised to protect, from outside sources or themselves..." he paused as he looked down at the unconscious gang leaders "..even if they asked for it, I won't just stand by as those the TGT promised to protect are attacked, because that's just the kid of guy I am. I have to admit, though, that you got spunk, and I can respect that. Alright kid, you got my attention...don't waste it" he said as he fell backwards into his chair and kicked his legs up onto the table in a relaxed pose and arms crossed across his chest.
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Post by Ink on Jul 21, 2015 20:35:51 GMT
When the man sat back don TJ grabbed a chair, spun it around and sat i it, facing off with the scariest guy he had ever encountered. The man was large and in charge and he gave off the aura of a beast that could destroy you in a wink. It was like facing down a dragon without an army to back you up. One could only imagine what he might be like on the battle field with a pokemon by his side.
TJ swallowed his fear down and steeled himself. "You promised them protection but their ways go against the way of the Tribe. I did my research. You guys are tough, but you protect slums, not destroy them. your guys work undercover to restore hope to the people that have none. That is the way of the tribe. You fight oppression so that you can ride free. That is why I want your help in this. Its not even going to cost you anything. All you have to do is sit back and keep out of the way."
TJ grinned wildly. "The deal is, I'm going to destroy the three warehouses that the Syndicate runs here in JNPRsprings. Once I've driven their presence out of the area and I've wiped up the stragglers of the twin chains, I want the TGT to come in and take over. I know that sounds backwards but as I said, you guys are different. What I get from this is my family is safe under the protection of the tribe. What you stand to gain from this is the foothold in Bitterspring that you've never been able to get. What do you say to that?"
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Post by maestro on Jul 22, 2015 2:14:57 GMT
The man sat and listened to TJ's proposition, never once showing any kind of emotion, or even interest. He let TJ get his plan out, making sure that his counterparts wouldn't randomly wake up and attack the kid. As soon as he finished, the leader just nodded and retorted "Hmm, sounds almost too good to be true. Yes, I've been wanting to get the Syndicate out of here and claim the streets as TGT territory, but we have been at a stalemate. But here you are, some young upbeat street punk, saying he can do what the TGT could not?" he taunted, nearly laughing at the thought. "I like you kid, you've got gusto. Plus, you've done me a favor and reported the actions of these....maggots....that apparently they have slipped under my radar, so I seem to be in the position of owing you a favor" he said, standing up and stretching his big hand out towards TJ. "I will hold off all TGT activity for three weeks. That is one week per warehouse. If you get rid of them, then we have a deal...if you die, well, then consider the deal null and void. Once the Syndicate is out, consider JNPRsprings under TGT protection" he offered.
Before TJ could even shake his hand, he looked as if he remembered something suddenly "Oh, right, before anything, would you happen to know of a little oriental girl who owns an Abra and carries a sword? She came in here looking for her brother and three Tyrogues, and you seem to fit the bill. She left here to the streets when I told her to beat it because I had no idea who you were....no idea where she is at, though. Could be anywhere...and its past curfew for you guys, ain't it? Might be Syndicate thugs around. Just sayin'" he advised.
Meanwhile, in the streets, Umi was wandering around with Saito on her shoulder, snoozing as usual. "I can't believe the nerve of that man, Saito. He just pushed out us...and he called me little girl. Doesn't he know how much of an insult that is? Oh well, I guess we will have to just find TJ some other way" she said, mostly just venting at herself. Umi's pace halted when she felt the presence of a group of people following her. This caused her to turn around briskly to face whoever was there, to meet the gaze of a dozen Syndicate thugs, all with their own weapons of clubs, chains, guns, etc. "Hey, isn't it passed your curfew, little girl? Ain't mom and dad gonna be upset?" "Hey boss, maybe we can do her dear sweet parents a favor. We should 'escort' her home. We can take good care of her" said another one in a sinister tone. Another thug began to approach Umi and Saito "Yeah, I say we take good care of her. Each one of us can have our turn making sure that no one will ever touch her...again" he said as he approached with his arms extended to grab Umi.
Quickly thinking, Umi ducked underneath the thug and drew her sword swiftly, but did not fully unsheathe it. Instead, she battered the hilt into the solar plexus of the thug, causing him to hack up some blood and fall backwards with the wind knocked out of him. This seemed to anger the rest of his pose as Umi stared blankly at them, "I was just returning home...I am not in need of your assistance. Please, I do not wish to harm any more than I already have. Turn around....this is your first and only warning" she stated. The thugs, however, decided not to take her up on her offer and suddenly all stormed after her as a mass group.
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Post by Ink on Jul 22, 2015 14:16:24 GMT
When the leader of the TGT mention the girl with the abra and a sword he knew he must be talking about his sister. At the mention of a curfew he just brushed the concern aside. "If you think I'm spunky and at all talented, my sister's the real monster. Last duel we had, I only won because I was willing to bend the rules of combat. If she were to just really let go... let herself get a bit angry... take out her frustrations a little... well then... I'd even run from that and I'm usually brave to the point of stupid."
He stood up to make his way out of the pub, stopping at the door to holler over his shoulder. "You know those rare psychic trainers that can hook their minds up with their pokemon and gain like...unnatural power from the bond... she's one of those." And then he was gone.
He and the triplets made their way out into the night, tracking Umi slowly. He wasn't worried about her. He was sure he'd stumble upon her, or anyone stupid enough to attack her at night, sooner or later.
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Post by maestro on Jul 22, 2015 15:01:07 GMT
As TJ left, the TGT leader just scoffed and gave a small chuckle at the boy's words. "A spunky trainer that can command three Pokemon at the same time, with a sister who actually gives him the shivers? Things are about to get interesting in these parts" he said to himself as he looked down at the other two minor leaders still on the floor. "Alright, numbskulls, time to wake up. You've got some explaining to do" he said as he reached down to administer his discipline.
Meanwhile, in the streets, as TJ walked down the streets, a figure began to appear in the distance. It looked...terrified...and had many cuts and lacerations in his clothing and appendages. "You! Help! The Syndicate is being attacked! She's a demon...guns couldn't even..." he yelled out to TJ, pleading. Behind him, another figure appeared, silhouetted by the darkness that swept the streets, only being outlined by the moonlight from behind it. TJ, however, would know exactly who this is and what was about to happen. The man had made the mistake to look back to see if his pursuer was still behind him. Suddenly, he fell to the ground in a slump as a sword was brought across his torso and slashed his chest. The cut was not deep, but was precisely cut to make sure he felt it, but not kill him.
Suddenly, an Abra teleported itself over to where TJ and the triplets were standing, letting out a low hum as he began to loose focus and fell forward to fall asleep again. Umi stood over the now unconscious thug, her eyes squinted and her face looking as if she could kill at any moment. She spoke down, not really expecting a response, but spoke for the sake of speaking "This was your warning...never threaten me nor my family again. Next time, I will not spare any of you" she said, coldly. She wiped her katana clean of the blood that was on it as she looked up and saw TJ and the triplets, and her expression immediately changed from a killer, to a sister. "TJ? I found you!" she said, her now usual self as he tone shifted up a few pitches from her attack tone, as if forgetting about what just happened.
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Post by Ink on Jul 22, 2015 15:21:56 GMT
TJ just shook his head head as his sister matched her step to his and they continued walking. Barry picked up Saito and let the poor napping creature ride on his head for now. TJ didn't look over at his sister but sneered slightly. "You are too easy on them... you should have killed them, for their sake and our own. after what they've done for the syndicate.... " The air chilled a little as he voiced on of the major differences in their ideologies. Umi sought to redeem people and give them chances. TJ was not so forgiving.
Moving on to the subject at hand he looked at his watch. "The TGT is giving us three weeks of free reign to get this done. However what I didn't tell him is that I will be doing this all tonight in one fell swoop. I had planned on using the triplets to pull it off alone but your help will promise more smooth success. This is how." He pulled out two capture balls marked with red x's.
"Inside of these balls are electrodes that have been tortured to the point of using self destruct. I stole them from the syndicate and I need them unleashed in the east and south Warehouse. At the central warehouse I will wait and make sure the building is locked down until the four of you return. At that point tonight we will take out the final warehouse. Umi... you might not want to participate in that one...."
He gave a capture ball to bruce and one to barry. "Bruce will go with Umi and Barry and clark will take the other one. No need to fight just toss in the ball to open it." he then opened up his map on his pokegear. he pointed out the location of each warehouse to the group. "Any questions?" The triplets shook their heads but then looked to Umi."
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Post by maestro on Jul 22, 2015 16:57:45 GMT
It was hard for Umi to hear TJ speak with such cold intentions towards the Syndicate thugs. Albeit, Umi was not above killing if she had to, but it was always a last resort for her. They spent a big of their walk exchanging their ideologies and disagreeing, until finally TJ broke the debate with the plan. It was a bold plan, one that Umi had not expected from her younger brother. As he pulled the capture balls out and explained his plan, she looked shocked at what her brother was plotting. "But...the people inside..." she said softly, not caring if her brother could hear or not.
Above all else, Umi valued human life and never wanted to see someone else lose their's. It was a naive way of thinking, even though she had taken lives before that people had forfeit after she gave them a chance to redeem themselves. She was all for second chances, not so much thirds. She felt conflicted, thinking of the many people in the Syndicate who might not actually share these beliefs, but had gone so far down the rabbit hole that they had no choice but to obey. Her expression gave away her internal conflict, her hand extended to grab one of the capture balls, then retracting, then reaching out again.
This is war...or is going to be she thought as she took the plunge. She lunged out and grabbed one of the capture balls from her brothers hand, her eyes closed so she could not watch herself do it. Almost in disbelief, she opened her eyes and looked down to see that her decision had been made. She looked up to TJ and nodded in acceptance, she promised him she would help him and their ancestors would not forgive her if she backed away from that now.
However, something confused her, and she needed to have an answer to it. "That last warehouse....TJ...if I'm going to help you with this, I'm going to help you all the way. If you are taking on that last warehouse, my sword is yours. Whatever challenge awaits us there, I will meet it along your side" she pledged.
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Post by Ink on Jul 22, 2015 18:02:50 GMT
The night went on without a hitch. TJ had thought his sister would have given him more trouble or backed out but she buckled in and took the ride. He didn't like the idea himself, it seemed too harsh, but when nothing was being done no matter what path you took, sometimes you had to take the harsh actions to get back to the normal life.
He waited outside the final warehouse, watching workers come and go. He had, as of about an hour ago, spotted a particularly well known car pull up and a few men get out of it. This was good, as if it came down to a confrontation he wanted it to be man to man, not so impersonal as with the bombs.
He had heard the explosions of both of the other warehouses, which is likely why the old man had rushed here. It would do them no good.
Out of the shadows he took note that Barry and Clark had made it back to him. they dropped to a squat beside him and chattered lightly. Now all they needed to do was wait for Umi and Bruce.
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Post by maestro on Jul 22, 2015 18:16:25 GMT
As they raced to their target warehouse, Umi could not help but feel a load of guilt for the actions she was about to take. She wanted a better life, but at this extreme? Her personal feelings aside, she already agreed to help TJ and she was not about to break her promise to her brother. Her family would have a better life, all families in JNPRsprings would have a better life.
As they came to the warehouse, there were guards out that seemed to be lax and not on full alert. They seemed content in their surroundings, as if they had rarely been opposed. This would make it easy for her to slip in, especially with Saito. She hid behind some boxes in the warehouse yard, whispering to the two Pokemon with her. "Alright...Saito, I need you to teleport into there, drop this, and then teleport out as quickly as possible. Bruce, you will stay here with me and provide back up if Saito needs it" she planned.
Suddenly, a voice came from behind her "Hey, who are you?!" said a thug who had overheard the chattering. In a panic, Umi turned around quickly and drew her sword in her one-hit finishing move, her god speed batojutsu draw. Without knowing what hit him, the guard crumpled to the ground in an instant, blood splattering over Umi as she watched in horror as she just realized she had killed the man. She began to shiver as she realized that she had not even given the man a chance to defend, or even a chance to fight. The realization took over, and there was no turning back for her now. One casualty now, the rest would just be tallies. "Saito...now" she said, her tone dropping to her serious, battle tone.
Saito snapped awake as he grabbed the capture ball and was instantly teleported away and into the warehouse. He appeared in the middle of the warehouse for all to see him, much to the Syndicate's confusion. He lazily dropped the capture ball onto the floor and the Electrode popped out and nearly immediately exploded, Saito only escaping using his teleportation again. He appeared again on Umi's shoulder, who was now watching the warehouse erupt in flames and the Syndicate thubs and workers running in a panic and screaming in pain. With no sympathy in her eyes, a cold stare was given to the warehouse before she turned her back "Let's go. Fate will decide if they live or die" she stated as they took off to rendezvous with TJ.
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Post by Ink on Jul 22, 2015 18:50:38 GMT
Bruce ran ahead of Umi, whom he really had only been looking out for mildly. The girl had not needed him, but TJ wanted her safe. Bruce just wanted some cookies. When he reached his brothers they all three turned to TJ, who waited only until his sister was in view before he gave the kill command.
Barry and bruce took off out of the shadows, slamming into the two guards at the door, and ramming them into the door. Clark, rushing in straight used all his mass to slammed his feet into both guards, and sent them and the door blasting off its hinges. TJ followed from behind. He expected what he found inside. As thye dust settled he could see the warehouse filled with syndicate members and their Pokemon, mostly rattatas and raticates because they were easy to breed and train in mass. Up above them stood a man with dark black hair in a suite. He looked important and gave off and air of importance, but to TJ he was anything but.
Yelling into the dust the man screamed in rage. "Whats the meaning of this! Who dares attack the syndicate?" TJ spat on the floor and glared up at the man, waiting for the dust to settle, but speaking harshly. "You should know that eventually, all tyrants fall. When bad men thrive, eventually someone comes to bring them to justice. No one is invincible. Lucy you, you made your own instrument of destruction..."
As the dust settled and the man could make out the three pokemon with his son he blanched a little. "Tobias... you... you could have been so much more... I had hopes for you... Kill him... and if that worthless bitch of a sister of his is anywhere around, do what you will and then kill her too... I swear if her mother hadn't been such a good little submissive slut I would have left them all in the rotting hole I found them."
And the brawl started.
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Post by maestro on Jul 22, 2015 19:21:01 GMT
Umi saw TJ initiate everything before she could even make it to him. It was time, but Umi had hesitated for a moment. All of this, it felt...wrong to her. She felt like she was betraying everything that she held as a virtue, but this was necessary, right? Umi had since lost that bloodied cold stare of her's from the warehouse and adopted her usual soft expression as she made her way after TJ and the triplets into the other warehouse.
As soon as she made it in, she saw the brawl start, but she heard much more than she saw. She heard her father, the threat of killing TJ and her, the shaming of her mother, the harsh non-caring tone that the man had brought to the table. Umi gripped her katana tightly, now feeling nothing but rage at the man that she called father. So...this is why TJ didn't want me to come here... she thought, her eyes hidden behind her bangs.
As the brawl unfolded, some thugs took notice of her and began to run to her direction "Hey, that's the daughter! Kill her!" one yelled as a group of three bull rushed over to her. Umi lifted her head, that cold stare of her's from the first warehouse returned. This stare, it was almost natural to her, but yet unnatural. It was a stare of death...of cold unfeeling death. Saito teleported off of her shoulder and into a nook that he could stay safely as he began to channel his focus into Umi's mind...surprised himself to feel that her mind was taken over with thoughts of nothing but slaughter.
She gripped the katana by the hilt and released her god-like unsheathing and just as quickly as they noticed her, their bodies dropped to the floor. Her eyes were now squinting as she looked at some more thugs who were approaching her "You may leave or die...your actions are your choice" she warned. The thugs, however, did not back down as they and their Pokemon charged her. Her swordsman aura projected at them, giving them all pause out of fear as she darted forward "Your choice, then" she said as the bodies all fell to the floor in a bloody mess.
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Post by Ink on Jul 22, 2015 19:40:20 GMT
TJ and the triplets fought for what felt like hours. The endless stream of pokemon and hopeless syndicate low lifes was dwindling but had put a strain on the boy and his team. The groaning writhing masses around him were all a bloody mess but the trail of death being left by Umi was disturbing to him. It was not like her to be so ruthless.
He fought to make his way to her, the tiplets forming a protective triangle around him. They too were becoming weary and weaker. They were not used to this extended combat and they were losing strength. He had to get to Umi. And one by one the triplets fell, and even though he had managed to take out the thugs attacking him and the boys more rushed to Umi. He let the boys lay and rest, no one was left to bother them, and he was running Umi.
He was stopped however when his father got in his way and he as lifted up by the throat by his father's only pokemon, a Machoke named Arthur. TJ struggled but could not break free of the pokemon. His father grinning with Delight. "I wanted Arthur and you to be friends originally. I got him for you... but you never did bloom as you should have and I didn't want to waste an investment... sad that you will die at the hands of a pokemon you would have admired so much."
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Post by maestro on Jul 23, 2015 10:55:04 GMT
Umi stood over a pile of bodies, crimson red staining the floor around her. She had a cold stare to her, almost angry in nature. For anyone who knew her, this was not her usual demeanor, or even her usual battle prowess. She always tried to spar whoever her opponent was, even though in the JNPR region death was accepted to happen in bushido duels. But those were not with any malicious feelings or spite...but Umi's slaughter was. She was even blinded to it herself, knowing what she was doing, but not knowing how it was affecting her mentally. Her brain continued to tell her to stop, but she just...couldn't. She was swept up in bloodlust, and for that her sword was crying. Its blade was now dulled due to the amount of bodies it had opened, and the blood dripping down it was almost as if it was weeping for being stained by its owner the way it had been.
When the final thug fell, she slowly turned her gaze over to TJ, who was now in the grip of Arthur and their father. Without any words, her feet bounded off the floor and she lunged forward at Arthur and brought her sword down on his arm that was holding TJ. Two things happened, one before the impact and one during. Before her impact, Umi felt a presence leave her mind...as if abandoning her. The second, was that the intent to cut off Arthur's arm was stopped by the dullness of her katana. Her death gaze still on her face, she looked confused at this...why wasn't it cutting and, where was Saito?
Before she could react at all, a fist came from under Arthur's arm and slammed into Umi's solar plexus, knocking the wind out of her and tossing her backwards and onto her back. She struggled to get up, her body now weary and tired. She supported herself on her dulled blade, her ribs feeling like they had just snapped. Her breathing became labored as she struggled to her feet and turned back to where the three were to see if TJ had been released.
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Post by Ink on Jul 23, 2015 14:16:05 GMT
The loud snap of the katana blade rang out in the warehouse. TJ was startled by it, and so was Arthur, as the pokemon's grip on the boy lessened. It also may have been due to the fact that TJ had stopped fighting the Machoke to block his sister's strike which, while the blade had snapped, it had cut pretty deep into his arm. TJ let his injured arm to his side and he tried to hold onto Arthur with the other one.
"That was close wasn't it.." TJ coughed out, "I didn't want to see you get hurt buddy... You aren't the bad guy... You were gonna be my friend right?" TJ patted Arthur's arm. "How about we start over. I won't yell and I won't be mad. I just want you and the triplets to be happy and safe. I know my father has probably hurt you. He thinks you are just an animal, a creature to use. He's wrong. So let's be friends?"
For a moment it looked like Arthur was squeezing harder and that TJ might actually lose his head her, but then he was set down and helped stay steady. Their father was aging mad, "You! Beast!. I am your master and I told you to kill him!" Arthur turned around and unleashed a roar that sent the man tumbling back, looking up at his bloodied battered son.
"You deserve to die for what you have done, but enough death has been doled out today... go tell you masters that they need to watch themselves. If I find their kind mistreating people anywhere I go, I will take them out. Now run... Run away and never return...."
With that, TJ's father, a man full of arrogance and pride, ran like a little baby until he was out of site. That's then TJ hit the ground and blacked out.
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Post by maestro on Jul 23, 2015 14:43:36 GMT
Umi finally was able to pull herself up from the ground, using her broken sword as leverage. She witnessed the scene with TJ and Arthur, deciding to stand back and let it unfold. As soon as the Machoke put TJ down, Umi's face changed. Her eyes widened, removing the narrowness of her stare, and her facial muscles relaxed and her gaze returned to her normal self. She saw her father run off as TJ had made a bond with Arthur. It was touching, and at least gratifying to see her father in a moment of weakness. However, her attention snapped back to her broken sword, the one she had always used, and the dead bodies around the area. "Did....did I...?" she inquired, quivering and shaking at the realization of her bloodlust.
Suddenly, Saito teleported out from his hiding hole and appeared in next to Umi, tugging at her hakama. "Thanks...Saito...but....I don't want to talk about it right now..." she dismissed, putting her broken katana in its sheath and walking over to her unconscious brother with her head facing the floor, slowing her pace when she approached Arthur to try to be as non-threatening to him as possible. She looked over to Arthur and to the triplets, kneeling down next to TJ and placing her hand on his chest to check his heart beat. "He's alive...thankfully" she said as she looked up to Arthur, pain in her eyes. "Could you please help me take him back? I don't have the strength at this point to carry him and the triplets" she requested.
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Morning came, following the sibling duo's endeavor, and it brought a peaceful sunrise, a jarring sight given the chaos of the night. Umi had woken up early and instead of wearing her gi, she put on her temple robes and wandered to the temple, leaving Saito to continue to sleep. On her way out, she grabbed her sheathed katana that had broken the night before and made her way to the shrine.
At the shrine, she knelt down in front of the alter she established for their ancestors and lay the sword on the stand that she usually kept it on. She assumed her meditation position by sitting on her knees and began to speak out loud "Ancestors...I beg your forgiveness....I have sullied this blade that has been bestowed upon me to keep your traditions of bushido. I blinded myself with the glory of death, and now..." she looked down at her still blood stained hands and tears began to fall onto them "...I have betrayed my own values, and inside me...I wish to do it again. I...do not know who I am anymore. Please...forgive me...please...help me" she pleaded as she bowed down to the shrine, her voice breaking as she cried over the events from the previous night.
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