Team Nova - Episode 13: Rebirth

One Week Later.....

"So, what are you saying....?"

Austin asked Jacquelyn, whom had finally been able to locate Diancie. Jacquelyn had shared her story with them, and Fennel had immediately begun searching. It wasn't until now, a da after returning from their recent missions from Mewtwo, that they had been able to pick up anything.

But, somehow, Jacquelyn's link to Diancie was allowing her to pick up a faint signal. She immediately began tracing it, for it could vanish quickly.


After a few minutes of Austin watching her punch some stuff into a computer, she stood straight and faced him.

"I'm saying, That I have found Diancie's location. "

"That's great!" Austin's face lit up. She had a way of making him smile without him realizing it. "So let's go!"

Jacquelyn shook her head. "We can't just charge in on this one. We'll need backup, or, at the least equipment. Her location is extremely well guarded, and this won't be easy."

Austin slowed his adrenaline rush. He calmed down, something she helped him do. "Okay, where is she?"

Jacquelyn replied after about a minute or two."The Most Secure Nova Base of All. The Heart and Head of The Nova Operation. Goldenrod City."

The curtain opens. The short break was over. Anna's break. Austin had not moved from the table, stretched far to his limit.

Anna finished sipping her water and Performed a welcoming gesture,arms wide as the audience roared to life. "We're back! Now to Finish Austin's questions!"

Austin groaned. He did not enjoy this. He guessed he deserved it for being so selfish all the time though.



"Keep/Kiss/Kill: Lacey, Marley, Fennel"

"..Didn't I already answer this?"

"No. Now answer. Unless you want-"

"Keep Fennel,Kiss Marley, Kill Lacey!" Austin shouted this fast? He couldn't take anymore. Even if this was his punishment, let it be enough.

"Don't you think calling out "Cosmic Blade" every time is impractical?"

"Faster....than....pushing buttons..."


"Watch out! A Stantler in heat is right behind you!"

".....what?"



"What do you think about Riley, Cheryl, Marley, Mira, and Eusine right now?"

"Um...Riley and Cheryl make a cute couple...,Mira is Fun and wild, and Eusine is... a cool magician. Hope they're okay."

Anna's face grew with a devilsih smile."..And Marley?"

"I Really Hope she's okay...." Austin said. He would blush, but the restraints were pulling on him so much, and they were so tight, they cut off blood flow.


" Paper or plastic?"

"Paper,gotta stay environmentally friendly."

"And our final Question for you, how many fingers is Anna holding up right now?"

Anna frowned. They forgot to edit the question to first person. Oh,well.

Austin pulled his head up trying to see Anna's fingers. She had....
"...Three?"

Anna shook her head."The thumb is not a finger. It is the Thumb."

Anna went to psuh the Valve further. It would barely budge. It was tightly constraining the boy now. She then called for the mankeys to do it. They slowly started to get it tighter when Anna heard it.

"CUT THE CAMERAS! NOW!"

Anna ran for the curtain and they came closed just in time, as the boy's speedo ripped in half. The boy almost did too. Th audience tried getting onstage, behind the curtains. Anna called all the mankeys and security. All of them passing the still constrained boy.

The crowd cheers as the curtains open once more. Anna is center stage doing her now signature open arms gesture. Behind her are Lacey and Jacquelyn in their swimsuits tied to each other on a whipping post. The crowd whoops and whistles ready for this. Anna would milk rating out of this Mailbag yet!


"So, ladies, Similar to Your mutual boyfriend's Segment, each time I ask you a question, and your answer isn't satisfactory, I will use this on both of you." Anna says to them, pulling a whip out of nowhere. A leather whip.

"You better satisfy her." Lacey says to Jacquelyn doggedly.

"So we were asked the same questions?" Jacquelyn asks, ignoring Lacey.

Anna chuckles uncontrollably, "Heavens no,hon. You weren't asked anything. Except bra size. Since you're new and your author likes liking off his characters, we decided to use you too. Plus, rivalries are good for ratings. So we're asking both of you her questions." Anna answers. ?

Jacquelyn is slighlty confused,but satisfied.

Lacey asks the next question."Why do we both get whipped? Why not just her? "

Anna chuckles again."Because, hon, you've become the b**** attitude character of this. And everyone loves to see the one they hate get whipped."Lacey doesn't appreciate that and turns away from Anna,slightly hurt. But who cares about her, let's get to the questions.

"What's your favorite pokemon?"

"Beautifly", Lacey answers.

Jacquelyn takes a moment to think, before answering," Carbink. Her answer reflects her beauty on the outside, and deadly intnetuons on the inside."Jacquelyn says, firing a shot to make Anna happy. The crowd laughed and cheered. Anna would let it go. Lacey wouldn't.

"What's the most embarassing thing you could reveal about Austin right now?"

"Besides his existence? His size. Fennel made us shower together. "Lacey answers.

" Oh,we remember. We also have on film evidence of you promising each other to not look. "Anna says.

Lacey blushes madly. " Um..."

Jacquelyn cuts Lacey off with,"Austin is scared. Of himself. Of hurting people. Of the consequences of the war on others. And, he blames himself. There isn't anyone else to blame, but he should stop trying to push himslef down. He should make his insecurities and problems into motivation and strength. "

Anna contemplates. Heartfelt, but not ratings worthy.

"Sorry my dears." Anna says, unrolling her whip. She makes sure to stretch her body out as she pulls the whip back and slaps it across their bodies. The girls cry out in pain. Stinging burning pain.

"Do you normally wear lace?"

The girls take a moments to recover.
"....yes...." Lacey admits. She did. Mostly because of her name.

Jacquelyn realizes what the question is and her cheeks turn from snow white to magikarp red. "...I would rather not say...."

Normally, Anna would whip them. But the reaction from the crowd to her embarrasment saves them.


"How lacey are your unmentionables? ("Lacey unmentionables" is a term for panties, just FYI.)"

"Very. Okay? We get it! My name is Lacey and I wear LACE! HET OVER IT!" Lacey flips. This wasn't the first time her name gave people ideas.

Jacquelyn is still blushing madly and only turns redder when saying,"I.... Enjoy lace..... "She says it very bluntly. Embarrassingly, but bluntly.

Some of the crowd immediately start writing Fanfcition and drawing photos.


"What's your favourite type of Pokemon?"


"Electric", Lacey says. Giving the audience more ideas.

Jacquelyn pales up quickly. "Psychic. I find their abilities very interesting from both a normal and scientific standpoint."

Anna Pulls back the whip and it reddens Both girl's skin as they groan. A whip mark has already developed on both their bellies.

"We'll be back after this commercial break!", Anna says facing the Camera and winking.

A chilling winter breeze wafts through the sickbay, carrying a stinging dryness and the familiar scent of flowers in full bloom. Though still unconscious, Grant's cracked nose twinges at the sensation and he lets out a sudden sneeze. His eyes drift open, bringing little more than a sharp pain into his head as the light blurs his vision. He groans as he tries to muster his strength, hearing the doctors begin to murmer amongst themselves.

"He's waking up already...?"

"We can't let him move too much, administer more sedatives stat..."

...Not... happening...

Grant stubbornly forces himself up, feeling a sharp pain in his arm as he does so.

"He's losing blood! Get the IV back in there, NOW!"

All at once numb to the world again, Grant fades away awhile...

---

Blinking until he can see the faded white ceiling, and each motion of the fan buzzing above him, Grant turns his head and glances at the doctors huddled over a screen next to his bed.

He opens his mouth and almost coughs, only to find that the pain in doing so prevented him from going forward with it. He experiments with moving his jaw, and with a raspy voice asks "Am I free to move...?"

The doctors turn around, one seems exasperated and the other just a little shocked.

"The IV is out, for now. Still, it would be ill advised." One replies.

The other pipes in. "Somebody back there was really interested in messing with your head, even we're not sure what's up with this..."

She leans back, exposing to Grant his own X-Ray results. A fairly ordinary teenaged boy's brain is displayed, but highlighted in purple were various obviously decayed sections which didn't seem to belong.

"Y'see, we were working on the assumption that all they did was inject you with Gracidea serum, but if we look at these extraneous bits here and analyse them, we actually find a pattern similar to what's found in ghost Pokémon..."

"Yeah, that's fine." Grant replies, eliciting a sharp gaze from the doctors. "...I mean, there's been a really annoying ghost in there for a while. I know."

"Th-th-th-th..." The doctor stammers. "...THIS KID IS HAUNTED!?"

"M-Mewtwo! W-we have to go get Mewtwo!"

The two doctors begin falling over themselves to vacate the premises, scrambling out the doors and leaving a bemused Grant to his own devices.

"Heh, don't look too upset, kid." A patient missing a leg a few beds over turns and grins at him. "Those dweebs are scared of anything more threatening than a Happiny. Still, they've seen stranger. Give 'em time and it'll be no thing."

Grant stays silent for a minute, and then sits up. "So what happened?" He asks, clutching his head. "This is Orre... were the prisoners freed?"

The soldier nods. "Three not present and accounted for, I heard. But the situation is still unraveling."

"Three..." Grant repeats, moving his legs over the side of the bed and wiggling his toes a bit to prepare himself. He notices a curtained bed off in the corner, a pot of flowers gently swaying on the end table.

"Hey, are you sure you're good to stand? The doctors say you're lucky to be more cogent than a Parasect."

Ignoring the soldier, Grant gets up on his feet and stumbles his first few steps before correcting himself and walking over to the concealed bed.

"Who's in here?" He asks.

"Nobody, anymore." The soldier replies. "He was admitted from a private room over the last week... but just the other day, they carried him out in a body bag."

Grant lingers on the scene before him, while the soldier carries on, drawing back the curtain and gazing inside.

"Must've been important to Professor Birch, too, because he kept leaving gifts after the stranger's death. Team Nova really did a number on the guy. Shaved head, needle injections the same as yours, busted kneecaps, no tongue. Completely emaciated."

A small case lay on the bed, a note resting on top. Grant takes the note, and begins reading.



Grant sets the note on the bed, carefully opening the case that had been beneath it. Meticulously placed side by side, the box contained two gemstones. One ruby, and one sapphire. He closes the box and turns around, sliding the curtain shut behind him and looking wearily at the monopedal veteran.

"Did you... see a girl here earlier? Small build... brown hair... She's a commander."

The man shakes his head. "Can't say I have."

Fighting against a sudden onset of drowsiness, Grant briskly walks towards the exit of the room, his head beginning to throb painfully.

"Hey, wait!" The patient cries. "You're not allowed to leave yet! H-hey!" Perhaps on instinct, he leaps out of his own bed, expecting against all reason that his missing limb would bring him safely to the ground. He falls out and reaches desperately for the would be fugitive. "Dammit..."

Hobbling through the portal, Grant waivers from side to side, pressing against the uncontrollable wobble in his legs to move forward.

"Meri...di..."

As he falls to the ground, two men stop in front of him and take him by each arm.

---

"Fashionably late, but it looks like everyone is confirmed to have been retrieved, at least." Birch comments, lifting Grant up to shoulder height with Sycamore's help.

"Yes, and Neal is within regard of surveillance at least." The other professor replies. "That leaves only Hugh..."

"Last spotted heading for the breeding wing." Birch concludes. "I have a bad feeling..."

---

"...And that's why I don't have the Magma Suit."

Benga and Mewtwo stand, in relative terms, miles above sea level, gazing down on the empty base below and Lilycove city just beyond.

So you say... the tools we need to stand against Celena are within her own grasp?

"That's the low fat and skimmy, yeah." Benga sighs. "...I'm thirsty."

"I see... Benga, I wish you to clear your mind of all activity a moment."

"WAY ahead of ya'!"

Mewtwo nods, clearing his throat as Benga rests his arms behind his head and begins bobbing it left and right with a complacent grin painted across his face. Mewtwo grasps his head, and lets out a grating hiss which must have been akin to screaming...

"FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-"

A surge of psychic energy erupts in all directions around them, unsettling the ocean below and causing a massive surge of water to engulf much of the magma base, as well as Lilycove's long since evacuated beach. Benga seems unfazed by this display of sheer might and turmoil, opting to try humming over the cacophony.

"You seem bummed." He remarks when it's over. "Say something?"

"It was a... 'not-for-Benga' word. Now let us make haste... everything in the known universe should be onto our position by now."

As Joshua left, Molly released her hold on Eusine, allowing him to gasp for air with a loud "FWAAAAAAAAAH! HA! HA! HA!"

She just looked at him miserably.

"Just one more day..." she muttered, as she picked up a strip of cloth and gagged Eusine in a more conventional way. He didn't seem to resist. He was tired out by now.

His head hit the pillow, eyes drooping. Silence hadn't been common but now it flooded the space within the curtains...

...

...a failure and a coward

*hrk*

And the worst husband ever.

*HRK*

Head jolts up. Fists swinging (oh hey, he wasn't bound). Eyes open, bugging out, left right left right...Molly was watching him.

She sighed. But sympathetically.

The curtains opened. It was Riley. He asked something.

"Hi there." Molly said.

"Mmmph mmph mph." Eusine said.

Molly walked over to Eusine. "He's ok," she said untying the gag, "but he's gonna say something rude if you let him."

The gag came off.

"Dude, where's your harem?"

Gag went back on.

They.Geared.Up.

Austin Readied his drive and His Pokemon. This would be a very dangerous mission. Having been to Goldenrod once before gave him no advantage. He constantly protested against Jacquelyn going and putting herslef in harm's way. She never listened. One of her arguements was he wouldn't be able to keep a cool head without her. She was right. He was barely able to with her.

Jacquelyn loaded up on a rifle,A machine gun,Dual Magnums, And her proto-drive. Fennel offered them Dream Mist Smokes, but they doubted they would be of much use. Lacey steered clear of them. She disliked Austin and found him to be the scum of the universe. Right next to Maurice. Jacquelyn,Lacey didn't like for being okay with him.


They questioned asking other Mewtwo members for help. They decided they'd do it without them,not wanting to risk more lives than necessary.

They Teleported to the closest place they could. They'd have to walk to Goldenrod.

"Hah! Classic Eusine!" said Riley in response to the man. Then he turned to Molly. "Eh. Your call, really. I say you're free to stretch your legs, get a drink, whatever, unless you really want to stick around as the peanut gallery that badly."

He turned back to Eusine. "Anyway, are you sure you're trying to get your act together? I know a fifteen-year old who took Gracidea meds better than you are taking it right now. Granted, he was apparently haunted, but..."

"I'll...be going then. For a bit." Molly said, nodding her head before ducking out of the curtains. She figured she shouldn't stray too far though, so she took a look around before finding a place to sit where she could keep an eye on Eusine's cot. She walked over to sit down while while plugging earbuds into phone.

Blue was right. Modern technology is amazing.

Meanwhile on the bed, Eusine blew a raspberry.

"Haunted? Ha! How haunted can you be at 15?"

He sat up, cross-legged and resting his elbows on his knees. He was drilling two fingers into the side of his head.

"If it wasn't for this thing," he tapped his temple, "I'd be acting very well right now. But nooooo~ I've met the face of reality and trust me, it gives horrible head. But...*snrk* butt three more days and I'm out of here. That's what she keeps telling me."

Eusine just stared and blinked.

"Whaaaaaat? I already decided I'm stalking Yancy until Wednesday! Now what am I supposed to do? Rejoin the good fight? Pffft. I got no place to go anymore. But I'm sure you know all that, sir."

He looked around, then said in a lowered voice, "Sweet gig though, man. How'd you make Mewtwo send the pretty ones your way?"