The Sleuth Escapes! (complete)

[Jane Crocker]

She sighed happily. She had decided to pay Cerulean Cape one last visit before she left. Lil Seb was running around, splashing in the water and playing with its friends. Sure he had been her partner for years, but he was still really good friends with the Azurill around the area.

Standing up, Jane tugged on her skirt and whistled. Her Azurill turned and bounced up to her happily. She picked him up and they both said goodbye to the other pokemon before starting their way back.

"Are you excited?" She asked him, imagining the people they'd meet, and the adventures to be had. She wouldn't admit that she was a little scared too. She was going to be on her own until she met up with Roxy, or even John, and even though she'd made the trip to Saffron before, it was with her dad and it was only a short trip.

She finally saw her house and she slipped inside, hoping her dad was still asleep. It was early enough for him to start rushing her with cake. As she tried to climb the stairs, she heard a soft 'ding' from the kitchen.

"Shit." She stumbled up the stairs, but it was too late. Her dad had appeared with cake in tow. She quickly glanced around, Lil Seb jumping onto her shoulders. No escape.

"Daughter, I made you a going away--"

"Dad, you made like seven yesterday! I appreciate it but even I have a limit!"

"Jane, dont be silly, eat the cake."

"Dad, I wont eat the cake."

"Jane."

"Dad."

"Young lady you will eat this cake and that is final."

"What?! But daaaaaaaaaad!!" She was struggling out of her chair. Somehow he had managed to bring her to the kitchen. The large cake was placed in front of her, ready to be consumed. Sighing, she slowly bit into it, Lil Seb a bit wary before taking a bite himself.

Its not that she hated her fathers cooking. She just...knew he was trying to keep her home. She knew he trusted her judgement, and that she'd be ok with Lil' Seb', but he was her dad, so he had to worry.

She finally finished the cake and stood.

"Thanks dad." She walked over to him and gave him a hug. "I'll call often. I'll send you letters. I'll keep in touch."

He returned the affection.

"I know. I'm so so so proud of you Jane." She kissed his cheek and headed to her room. She finished packing and then headed out, waving to her dad.

The day was bright and there was hardly any cloud in the sky. She smiled and started down the road.

Let the Sleuth's adventure begin!

[Gamzee Makara]

((*casually joins in because other threads are inactive*))

Gamzee: Accomplish something!

What? Preposterous! Scandalous! Impossibl- oh wait, you're serious? Well. Uh. Far be it from me to tell you how to live.

Indeed, despite how ridiculous it may have sounded, Gamzee actually was up and in gear, ready to go out there and do something important, dammit! For probably the first time since leaving Lavender he actually wasn't lost. Though, one might call him a tad unorthodox. For one thing, he was looking for a gym, which had to be either the stupidest or most optimistic thing he'd done all day. After all, this was Cerulean. The second gym. He hadn't even attempted the first one. Which implied that he was heavily out of his league, which he probably was.

He'd managed to train Buddy Rich exactly none aside from the one TM move he'd taught it pre-journey. He'd yet to even catch another pokemon. Yet somehow the fact that he was almost undoubtably about to be smoked did not occur to him at all. Not that he not that he minded either way, of course. Win, lose, it was going to be fun either way. Just gotta go with the flow, keep trying, believe and shit. If he lost once, he'd win eventually, right?

But first thing was first. Before challenging a gym, one must first find the gym. Gamzee had managed to find just about everything but. He'd been in Cerulean for the better part of the day, and it seemed that anyone with a problem instantly made the top of his priority list. The bike store he'd walked into to ask for directions? He'd wound up sitting out there for an hour honking his horns and handing out fliers. The shop he'd visited to get rid of the ludicrous amount of potions he kept hoarding (Mirthful Messiahs only knew where they were coming from. As many litter the ground, you'd think a peddler had a hole in his pocket)? He'd been stuck there for 30 minutes, helping the shopkeeper stock higher shelves and carry heavy boxes. Then he'd wound up distracted by the nugget bridge. Despite refusing the offer to do The six-battle streak thing they had going, he'd struck up a conversation, shared a pie, slammed a faygo, and left some poor foreign man giggling and sky-high but in a significantly more mirthful mood in his wake.

Which brought him to his current state of affairs: standing at the city-end of the bridge and wondering where to go next. There were options. There was that cave over to his right, but then, he didn't have a pokemon capable of Surf, so he figured some mysteries just ain't all meant for him to be knowing. There was that area down near the southern side of town, but he figured that led out, and it didn't seem likely for a gym to be out of town.

Or he could wander aimlessly. That was cool too. On that note, Gamzee just so happened to spot a young lady headed out of her house and looking like she had something ahead of her (after all, who didn't?), which gave him an idea. Maybe, assuming she didn't need his help with anything, he could ask for directions. She obviously lived here, so what could go wrong, right? Buddy Rich, who'd seemed oddly calm as of late (maybe just tired of attempting to keep Gamzee in line) seemed to agree as much as a Shuppet could, and followed close in tow behind him as he approached the cyan-clad human. Maybe a bit quieter than necessary, but Gamzee just moved that way sometimes. He wasn't even sure if she'd noticed him before tapping on her shoulder and offering a wave and a grin. "Hey there, miss," he began, slow lilting tones sounding nothing but cordial, "Where you all headed for?"

[Jane Crocker]

Lil' Seb' had heard someone approaching before Jane did, and as such turned to the person walking up to them. Jane was curious as to his actions, but then felt the hand on her shoulder. She looked up at the taller troll and blinked before taking a step back. She hadn't seen him before, so she was a little wary, but slowly she relaxed at hearing his tone of voice.

"Um... He-hello. I'm headed down to Saffron and meeting up with a few friends--" She saw his Shuppet and her eyes widened.

"Oh my gosh he's so cute!" She held out her hand to the ghost, completely happy. She hadn't seen many ghost types in this area. They mostly hung out in Lavender Town, and her dad wasn't too fond of going over there either.

"What's his name?" She asked him, forgetting her earlier wariness and gushing with squeals over the Shuppet. Lil' Seb' made a face and cuddled up into Jane's cheek. Looks like someone was jealous.

[Gamzee Makara]

Buddy Rich: Be ecstatic

Oh, of course he is. Serious nature or not, it's rare to find a pokemon that doesn't love attention. Buddy Rich was no exception, and was gladly eating that shit up like candy. "Why, this would be my motherfuckin' best of pokebros right here, Buddy Rich," he heard the Great Painted Idiot say, but Buddy Rich paid him no mind. He had a poor, unassuming young lady's affections to sway. The shuppet cooed, floating towards Jane and nuzzling her hand affectionately. The look he was giving Lil' Seb was clearly a statement of 'u mad', though the humans and trolls in the area would probably read it as 'oh don't mind me, i'm just going to float here and be adorable,' because being adorable was a practiced art for the little grudge-eater.

Gamzee: Fail to notice your malicious friend playing you two like chumps

Can do! Gamzee failed to notice the playing his shuppet was doing in favour of conversation. Having never seen anyone so entraced by his pokemon before (he'd become accustomed to odd looks and wariness from the denizens of his hometown, who knew how shuppets worked), Gamzee couldn't help but be a tad enthusiastic. "Whoa, looks like you made a new motherfuckin' friend, sis," he grinned just a bit wider, somehow managing to make those creepy sharks teeth look nonthreatening. No one could ever explain how he did that, but then, no one had ever tried.

He thought for a moment, processing her answer in a slow yet not quite awkward pace before coming to a good conclusion. Saffron wasn't that far off, but Gamzee had heard his share of things on it, and he figured it wouldn't be all right to be letting this chica be making the journey by herself.

Gamzee: Stop helping! You have better things to do!
Gamzee realises he has a mission to do, but he feels that helping out a new friend is a better plan.

Gamzee: Stop that!
Gamzee chose to ignore the voice and continued on anyway. He glanced to the side, towards the path to Saffron. "That so? You ain't been all hearing about that weird business going on there?" he started off. "Well, at least you got some bros down there, but maybe you'd be all wanting someone to watch your back on the way? A guide, if you know what I'm motherfuckin' sayin'?" he finished his proposition with a slight honk at the end. A bit out of place, but it emphasised his question rather nicely. Gamzee didn't appear to notice. He also didn't appear to notice that he'd completely forgotten about his pending gym challenge. Figures.

((had to. Couldn't remember if saffron was off limits like the game or not. If not, i'll just say gamzee's got bad/old info))

[Jane Crocker]

Jane: Be excited and fail to notice the animosity in the air
Of course! She smiled and pet the Shuppet before reaching into her bag and pulling out a sitrus berry. She split it and offered one half to the Ghost and the other to her mouse. The normal type bit the berry and nuzzled her cheek affectionately, almost as if saying 'she's mine, back the hell up.' She paid them no notice as she thought about his proposition for a moment.

Lil' Seb': Be smug about it.
Well yeah he was going to be smug. The Cake Wielder was his trainer, and he spent way too long getting into her good graces after his latest slip up to have her affection for Ghosts ruin everything. He tried everything he could, even be more affectionate than usual and eating his half of the berry cutely. If she noticed, she didn't say anything about it.

Jane: Be Quizzical
On it! She tilted her head curiously at the taller troll and blinked a few times.

"Thank you for the offer... But aren't you here on your own business? I don't think I've seen you around Cerulean City. I think I'd know a Shuppet was around here." She was curious, but she held his proposition, if in case he was only passing through and was planning on heading down south to the other cities.

[Gamzee Makara]

Gamzee: You heard the lady, get back to work!

As much as he'd like to, this is easier said than done. He took a moment to think about Jane's question, good hard concentration all up on his face like paint. Finally, he turns to his ghostly companion, still purring happily over the sitrus berry he'd been given, and inquired his input. "Hey, Buddy Rich, what was we all up here for?"

You have got to be shitting me. Mission already forgotten. So much for accomplishing anything. The shuppet was less easygoing in his approach, however.

Buddy Rich: Be outraged

He can't, because he doesn't actually know that move, but he could certainly be pissed. The little ghost type made an indignated squeak, wishing for all the world that he had arms with which to smack his trainer with. Instead he made unhappy pouting faces and squeaks, shooting tiny shadow balls at Gamzee's head, which bounced off to little effect like so many rubber balls. Buddy Rich then turned to Jane, whining with a face as if to say 'Look what I have to deal with!'. In response, the Great Painted Idiot held his hands out in front of him like an 'I surrender' stance, honking involuntarily at every ball that hit him. "Hey, now, there ain't no motherfuckin' reason to be-HONK- getting all angry-like. We're on a motherfuckin' adventure-HONK-ain't we? So everything ain't all gotta be going as-HONK- planned," One had to feel sorry for the Cake Wielder for being subjected to this.

THIS IS STUPID.

[Jane Crocker]

Jane: Try and stop the fight?

She didn't need to be told twice. She placed a hand on the Shuppet's head and moved it to the side, where the next few balls bounced harmlessly onto the ground. She pet the ghost's head and moved him so that he was being held aloft over her head.

"Now now, I'm sure there's some way we can settle this that won't end in a spat!" She brought him and her arms down, looking at his trainer. "While I do agree that not everything will go as planned, if there are plans to be followed through with, one should definitely follow through. Although, something tells me that this happens often enough that it's become almost second nature." She looked down at the pokemon in her arms and tilted her head to the side.

"Of course, if you'd care to join me, maybe something along the way would jog your memory? And if not, Seb and I would certainly enjoy the company! Right Seb?" She turned to her mouse, seeing its angry face. "Oh stop being so dramatic. I like them, and I like you. We don't need your jealousy ruining the trip now!"

Lil' Seb: Begrudgingly accept your trainers choice

Not like there was much else to do now, was there? She seemed determined to at least hand them the invitation to the next town over. She may be a tough cookie, but sometimes she seemed a little too naive for her own good.

Making another face, he looked over at her and then nuzzled her cheek. 'Fine. But I am NOT going to be his friend.' He admitted defeat, keeping an eye on the Shuppet in his trainer's arms.

[Gamzee Makara]

Gamzee: Companion get!

Gamzee can't help but be rather pleased with the situation. Though he's the tiniest bit disheartened that he'd forgotten what he'd come there for (Jane was right, this did happen a lot, but it didn't make it any less bothersome, he managed to ensure that it wasn't really bothering him too much, for the sheer fact of the matter that he hadn't set out with any goal in particular anyway. Sure, he'd intended to explore, maybe get into a contest or two, fight a gym leader or two. But he didn't have any concrete goals.

So of course it was a good prospect to have someone to travel with, at least for the time being. It gave him a destination and if his suspicions were correct, he doubted if she would be letting him forget it. There was always the chance that something would distract him and he would wander off, but Gamzee hadn't thought about that.

"I guess we got ourselves a motherfuckin' arrangement, then," he confirmed, offering a cordial if not somewhat scary grin. Miracles abound, he realised something somewhat important. He'd introduced his pokemon, but not himself.

Gamzee: Introduce yourself!

Yeah, yeah, he was getting to it.

"Guess we oughta be knowing each other a bit better. Name's Gamzee. Yours?"

[Jane Crocker]

Jane blinked as he made that face, a tiny bit scared. The juggalo looked scary like that, she would willingly admit that and would not be trying to get on his bad side anytime soon. Trying to return the smile, she realize she couldn't for the time being.

At his introduction, she managed to relax enough that she at least returned a small smile.

"Jane. Jane Crocker." She extended her arms and offered Buddy Rich back. It was, after all, his pokemon.

"I suppose we're going to Saffron together then!" She offered her hand for a handshake, grinning.