Laughter drifted up from a short distance away. Pure unadulterated laughter.

"I truly believed that coming to this little gathering wasn't going to be worth my time, but if that is all I get to witness here, it warranted the detour." Tantalus walked slowly into view, followed by a Mawile sticking close to his heel. The tension in the air was thick, and it wouldn't take much to ignite the fuse. Two outcomes lay before him. Trying to calm the situation down would ensure that people had the wrong impression of him to start with, exactly as always planned. On the other hand...

Deliberately inciting a fight is likely very possible. Avatar battles are always big, and this shouldn't be any different. How many people would get hurt? How badly would the Avatars be injured? Bad enough that they might need me? Thoughts whirling through his mind, Tantalus flashed a grin.

Heads or tails? He fired the question to Apate - telepathically - who lurked, slightly agitated behind him.

Tails. The Mawile replied, eyeing him with a small sigh.

Damn. Tails was peaceful, but I suppose it's for the best. We'll do this your way, for now. The Mawile's stance relaxed, ever so slightly. Tantalus replied with a shrug, and stepped forward towards the group. Head held high, he stretched his hand out in an open invitation. "Tantalus Swain, Avatar of Xerneas, Healer, Traveler and purveyor of various wonders. A pleasure to meet so many of my kind in one place."

Mayor Mayer visibly grew increasingly uncomfortable with all this arguing. Even Justine seemed to become displeased, or perhaps simply annoyed. Finally, the mayor stepped closer to the middle of all the avatars, Justine standing sternly by his side.

"May I have your attention," Mayor Mayer announced, his firm diplomatic tone appearing. "I understand that tensions can arise when strangers meet in a high-energy situation like this festival. Perhaps some of you have natural enemies related to your representative Pokemon, as well. I am not saying you cannot have disagreements. I simply wish to thank you for resolving them without violence thus far, and ask you to continue doing the same. If this requires separating into different tables, we can arrange that."

"We don't want to leave anyone out," Justine added in her clear voice. "But we will not tolerate threats or other behavior that will ruin the dinner for those who just want a peaceful evening. You can either express your concerns in a civilized manner or you can leave."

The two people of influence exchanged a grim glance. They weren't sure if their speeches would have any effect on the apparently volatile crowd, but it was the best they could do.

Meanwhile, Porygon-Z happily and vigorously shook Tantalus's offered hand. At least this person didn't seem angry at it at the moment.

Things had started going wrong. Very wrong. Wells had acted poorly and had been rightfully scolded by Seras, and the new Avatar had apparently had enough of the others' shenanigans. The event was supposed to be for all the Avatars to unite, but they all had their own ideals, and not a one was willing to bend or forgive! Seeing the tension, Kaze didn't know who to pursue to fix things with first. He wanted to keep everyone on peaceful terms with one another, but that goal seemed to be turning acutely south at a breakneck pace.

Then, another man stepped into the scene, and either he was the best cosplayer in the world, or he truly was the Avatar of Xerneas as he claimed. Immediately, Porygon-Z rushed to shake his outstretched hand, apparently no longer concerned with proving people's validity as Avatars. Either that or it was extremely fond of handshakes. Kaze couldn't tell which.

After the Mayor and the CEO of Porytech had said what might calm the situation, Kaze decided to approach the girl who had been sprayed with a fire extinguisher. The other new Avatar seemed to be receiving enough of a welcome from Porygon at the moment. Jingle, having released from Kaze's arm, now bounced along behind him as he approached her. Noticing her Pokémon seemed to be uneasy, Kaze knelt down to try to calm them. Withdrawing the Soothe Bell from his pocket, he rang it once to perhaps let them relax.

"You don't have to be upset," Kaze said to the seemingly unnerved Pokémon. He rolled the Soothe Bell to them so they might be able to play with it. "Jingle, go on ahead and try to have some fun with them," he directed the Bell Pokémon. Then he turned his attention to the girl. "Are you really an Avatar?" he asked, curious. "I'm Kaze, Suicune's chosen Avatar," he explained with a smile, reaching out a hand as a gesture of kindness. "Who are you?" Though he noticed it was quite a bit warmer up close to her, Kaze didn't let it deter him. While a few of the others may have given the wrong first impression, Kaze wanted her to see that maybe not all of them were bad.

At first, everyone’s words went unheard by Rebeca. She too consumed by the turmoil within her own thoughts, her eyes locked on Maya. In another first for the day, the little Kabuto had actually ran from her. Not that Rebeca could blame her, it was obvious that her temperature had risen too far to be comfortable for anyone to remain in extended contact with. Still, the last time that Maya had tried to flee from her was back when they first met. Since then she had been careful to make sure that Maya was away from her before she heated up.

As she watched the Chingling (who was even smaller than Maya, which would likely be a first for her) attempted to engage with the Shellfish Pokemon, Rebeca turned Mihkail’s words over and over in her head. The truth was, she didn’t trust herself to stop. When she dipped into herself, let that heat emerge, it felt good. She didn’t feel any fear, hate, nothing. Emotion was pushed to the edges of her thoughts, thrust aside by pure warmth. And she liked it, she really did.

If she couldn’t trust herself, how in all the hells could anyone else?

Her eyes shifted to Mihkail, who had remained entirely focused her, lightly growling as he waited for her answer. What did he know about her that she didn’t? What had she ever done to deserve such faith?

Finally her shoulders dropped, and her entire body sagged slightly in defeat. It seemed that something, either her obstinate brother or some other force working in concert, was determined to have her involved with this pack of flamboyant weirdos. If she backed out now, there would probably be something else that would pull her back in. Dropping to one knee, she held out her hand, causing Maya to chitter in delight and scramble to rub her smooth shell against Rebeca’s palm. She glanced at Mihkail with a cross between a grimace and a dry smirk. If this goes tits up because of me, it’s your fault.

The Spike Pokemon went quiet and settled down, magnanimous in his victory. Deal. Now be polite and tell the man your name.

She glanced to Kaze as she picked up Maya in her arms, careful not to hold her too close to her body. “Rebeca. Just Rebeca.” She then turned towards Vuduin and jerked her chin in his direction. "You mentioned something about dinner? Been a while since I ate, s'long as these two can come with."

Towards Tantalus, she gave no indication she had even noticed him. Anyone who acted that smug didn't deserve the recognition.

Okay well that had done absolutely nothing. He'd been nearly completely ignored in favor of talking to the kid avatar. Apparently his people skills were less than that of a twelve year old. Well honestly it wasn't that surprising, if still mildly irritating. It seemed he could leave the case of the now less angry women, Rebeca, to the kid. "Yes dinner is being provided for us courtesy of the mayor and Justine." Vuduin explained gesturing at the resturant. Then he turned around and examined the new arrival, "Told you." he muttered to Shade, even though he had done no such thing, as he evaluated the newcomer. He gave off the business man impression. Vuduin had never particularly liked business men but it would be rude of him to apply this judgement.

So he simply said, "Well I at least am getting rather hungry thinking about our dinner so I'm going to go inside." Vuduin then proceeded to do just that, making his way to the table that Porygon seemed to have decorated to indicate it was theirs. That or someone had spilled a cart of party decorations on it, it was rather difficult to tell the difference. Regardless Vuduin sat down and patiently waited for the others to do the same and more importantly, for his menu to arrive. He was looking forward to this. Shade sat on his head like a hat, staring at people randomly before sticking his tongue out at them. Which looked rather silly given he was sitting on top of Vuduin.

Germaine was not liking this. Not one bit.
He, personally was looking forward too tonight because of the food, and food always tasted better in the correct atmosphere; this was not right at all. Germaine did not want a re-visitation to earlier whereupon the atmosphere was so thick that one could cut through it with a hot knife, hell a spoon could have done it.

He knew fine well that the second he spoke people would grow wary of the fact that he may make an attempt to murder Wells shortly after a verbal beating; which wasn't far from the truth, the only thing stopping him was that he would not be able to have his dinner later.
Food had saved Well's life, and by Arceus he was going to enjoy it.

As anticipated a silence fell upon the group as he spoke - "Well's. You're being childish, as Seras correctly stated; your need to rise up to anything and turn it into a provocation has already put you in bad stead with most of us here, and from what we all learnt earlier today; be it the hard way, is that this event is to celebrate who and what we are, despite what we've done in the past as a Pokémon, its the future that must now take precedence in our minds, for me, this is a particular challenge, but I'm making that attempt to let the past go.
Do the same, stop your pettiness and enjoy what has been set up for you... no; us."

The part Germaine left out in his head is that if this man turned the offer down, and they met again in the future with the context being more suitable, Germaine would get his chance at this man and teach him a lesson in civility; to appreciate the life he owns, or lose it for being ungrateful of the chance he has...
Germaines face dawned a solemn look for a fraction of a second when he realised that he had just contradicted himself, he shoved this thought aside for now however, dinner would be served momentarily and he was very hungry.

From all this however, one thing Germaine hadn't anticipated was the sudden outburst from Seras; oddly enough she looked like she was going to tear into him, he didn't want that though.
Germaine had the first place in a steadily increasing line.

"Seras, why don't we get our seats? No doubt those that wish to enjoy a meal rather than cause a further disturbance to this day will join us as well."

"Heh, look at me, the renegade playing the act of reason; admittedly my ulterior motive is food, but still, a new step for me."

“He’s not apologising.”

“But he’s leaving.”

“But he hasn’t apologised yet!”

“But he’s going to leave!”

“I’m fully aware of that.”

Seras quietly seethed for a moment, squeezing Charity’s arm forcefully while her frustration and reason reached an amicable agreement. She could excuse a simple misunderstanding over his behaviour, or even simple ignorance on Wells’ behalf, but she’d watched gears turning behind his eyes while she spoke. He’d stubbornly refused to apologise for provoking the two most volatile individuals he could lay his hands on - even without the willful crassness behind his words, the sheer disregard he displayed for the people around him was inexcusable. Nobody else has been interested in fighting, so why compromise everyone else’s life for your own amusement? The fact that she’d had to threaten him before he’d finally conceded only made things worse, after being denied a peaceful introduction to her fellow avatars when registering and once again tonight. She didn’t want to be dragged into conflict, much less be pushed into a combat-ready frame of mind

At the same time, he’d eventually backed down. Everyone else had reached an entirely peaceful arrangement with each other - she’d have to thank Vuduin and Kaze later, when the opportunity arose - and their hosts would ensure that he conducted himself properly from hereon out. Whether he chose to leave or stay, Wells was no longer her problem. She could relax for the rest of the evening, cast Wells from her mind and trust that Theobald and Justine would clean up any mess that he made. She didn’t have to spend her peaceful meal on high-alert.

With a combination of relief and reluctance, Seras allowed her frustration to fade. We will settle this later, Wells. But tonight is more important than you are.

As she released the pressure on Charity’s arm, she heard Charity mentally grumbling under her breath. “I assume that you’re feeling better now?”

“A little bit,” she admitted. “If I enjoyed dealing with arguments like these, I wouldn’t have left home.”

Charity offered a reassuring squeeze in return.

Feeling far more composed, Seras turned towards their hosts. “Thank you for stepping in, mayor,” she apologised. “Please forgive my hostility; Wells has endangered the public earlier through similar recklessness and I’m afraid that I responded disproportionately due to those events.” Although her choice of words was more diplomatic than she’d prefer, she sincerely regretted the fact that arguments had occurred in the first place - that was a strong enough reason to apologise. None of their hosts had wanted to be involved in an argument either.

Without glancing back at Wells, Seras offered a grateful smile towards Germaine. At least one of us remained composed. “I agree entirely - we missed the opportunity to really talk earlier, and I’d love to learn more about the other avatars over dinner as well.”

As they walked through the restaurant doors, Charity’s voice whispered inside her head.

“I’d still be careful around Germaine, you realise.”

“You’re being far too paranoid - he handled the situation better than I did.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Charity cautioned. “You wanted Wells to back down. You might have overstepped by making a threat, but you wanted things to end peacefully rather than end in a fight. I can’t even tell what Germaine wanted, and I’m not entirely certain whether he can either.”

With that sobering thought in the back of her mind, she glanced around the inside of the restaurant. The room was large and impressive, decorated with all of the trappings of an upper-class establishment. They really spared no expenses, didn’t they? As Germaine settled next to Vuduin and Seras and Charity pulled up adjacent seats besides Germaine, they were shortly joined by another figure - the haughty avatar of Xerneas from before. Although his demeanor was somewhat too superior for her liking, Tantalus had introduced himself politely and peacefully - she could respect someone who was courteous.

Reaching across the mostly-empty table, Seras offered her hand to accept the shake that Tantalus had previously offered. “Seras Bancroft, travelling artisan and avatar of Diancie. I’ve heard mention of an avatar from Sinnoh with healing powers - it’s a pleasure to see that you made the journey.”

Tantalus stood, stunned, as the little Porygon-Z rapidly shook his hand. To say this was a surprise would be an understatement. He found himself fading from the haze when his arm began to develop an ache.

“Your enthusiasm is astounding, although I’d appreciate if you could tone it down slightly.” A small smile crept across his lips, as he spoke, and he patted the Porygon on the head, avoiding the spike. “It is, however, nice to meet you too. You have better manners than some Avatars, here.” As he finished his sentence, the Porygon released him, much to Tantalus’s relief.

What a friendly little thing. Apate’s voice commented, floating around in his head. Tantalus replied with a scoff.

The tension in the air had subsided, if only slightly, due to the valourous attempts of what he could only assume was the Mayor, the woman who was with him, and a child with an extreme fondness for bells. That was the Avatar of Suicune? Interesting…

As the last of the fire within the girl was extinguished, she knelt down to comfort her small pokemon, and introduced herself. “Rebeca. Just Rebeca. You mentioned something about dinner? Been a while since I ate, s'long as these two can come with."

Another voice drifted up from the crowd. "Yes dinner is being provided for us courtesy of the mayor and Justine. Well I at least am getting rather hungry thinking about our dinner so I'm going to go inside." It’s origin was a man dressed in rustic looking black outfit, ragged at the edges. It gave him an uneasy feeling, stirring memories he’d rather forget.

Wait, dinner? Looking up at the fancy establishment before him, Tantalus considered the thought. Not needing to eat often was a real benefit, however food in this region was proving to be utterly delicious, and he was getting hungry from walking through the city.The street food vendors dotted around the city had resulted in a pleasant smell spreading over several areas he had passed through today.

He turned his head towards his Mawile, a token gesture, given their ability to communicate telepathically. Apate. What do you say about joining these Avatars for a meal? A few have piqued my intrigue, and I’d like to gather some more information. A proposition that was not entirely untrue, if marred by an underlying need to sate his appetite for more than conversation.

You are hungry aren’t you? A note of sarcastic humour creeping into her voice, even telepathically, which always annoyed him. I thought you wanted to stir up trouble, when we arrived.

I still do, but that can wait. Everyone is going to be here for a while yet. Besides, you did win the coin toss. Smirking to himself, Tantalus began to walk towards the Ritzy Raichu, with Apate in tow.

The place was impressively large, and decorated with ornamental features ranging from eye-catching to tacky, but with any luck the food and company would make up for the shortfalls present. Looking around, it became clear which table the Avatars were gathering around. The man from before was already present, along with another sporting a suit and white hair. Next to him was a the girl that Tantalus had seen speaking, rather forcefully at that, to one of the other Avatars earlier. It was an impressive tirade she had conducted, winning the dominance battle between the two. That said, she was doing it to protect the people nearby, and if the man truly had kicked off, Tantalus could have used it to his advantage. Nevertheless, sitting nearby might prove interesting enough. Beside her sat a Gardevoir, presumably hers, so Tantalus took the chair beside the Pokemon. As he sat down, Apate jumped onto his lap, and draped her jaws over to the left, away from the Gardevoir sitting beside him.

As he got comfortable, the girl reached an outstretched hand over in his direction. “Seras Bancroft, travelling artisan and avatar of Diancie. I’ve heard mention of an avatar from Sinnoh with healing powers - it’s a pleasure to see that you made the journey.” Tantalus blinked. She’d heard of him. Ego overflowing, he swallowed a laugh, instead opting for a sincere smile as he shook her hand.

“Ahh, the Avatar of the Crown Jewel of Kalos, it is a honour to meet you. Coming here wasn’t actually my idea, this little one dragged me here by force.” As he finished, he inclined his head forward to Apate, who was still sitting calmly. “Now that I am here, however, I think i’ll stick around for the time being. The entertainment is delightful.” With that, Tantalus relaxed, waiting to see who would arrive next.

It didn't take long before Wells reached Ali Baba's Genuine Italian Pizza. It was the place he first visited in his apprenticeship. And it was also where he met Helioptile. He managed to apprentice for a very old master electrician, who was retiring due to health problems. Wells would take over his business, together with the Helioptile who was his partner for most of his life. It was a place with memories that made good food taste even better. So he really didn't mind eating there, especially after beeing greeted by the restaurant's owner. The moment he walked in, he could see the people behind the counter walk into the kitchen, presumably starting to work on the regular order. He sat down in a couch by a corner, smiling as the memories flooded back and the smell of many pizzas being made filled his nostrils. He also smiled, as he enjoyed thinking about how Velas reacted to his next unorthodox action. He never expected people to be so easily provoked, but the way they seemed to suddenly care about him was immensely satisfying. Wells often felt pathetic, but he never stopped being amused by simply getting the attention of others, whether it was good or bad. As he asked what the future would bring, his order arrived on the table. As he bit into the first slice, his smile widened. He relished the thought of eating alone. And he enjoyed the nostalgia brought by someplace familiar. For a moment, he was saddened by the thought of being an avatar... but he realized where it could take him if he grabbed the chance, and smiled again.

Rebeca swallowed hard as she followed the others into the restaurant. The surroundings were far more elaborate than anything she was used to. Normally she found herself camped out in the open air, here everything was dolled up, dressed up and neatly put into place. Even amongst the other people she felt out of place. Where they were dressed to the nines in fancy looking suits and dresses (though Kaze did look rather funny in a suit that was clearly too small for him), all she had on was an old grey t-shirt, pair of shorts and hiking boots that were practically falling apart.

Out of everyone there, the pink girl stood out and apart from them. Seras, she said her name was. It was obvious that she had put a great deal of time into her appearance for the night, which might have explained her short patience with the Wells guy. The elaborate braid hanging down her back probably would have taken hours to make, given its length.

Awkwardly tucking her own hair behind her ears, Rebeca tried to remember the last time she had actually washed it, not just dunked in a river or stepped under a waterfall. Probably too long ago, she decided as she sat down across from Seras.

Mihkail hunkered down behind her chair, closing his eyes again. If it’s any consolation, you don’t smell too bad.

Thank you, I feel so much more comfortable now, was the dry response. She just hoped they didn’t mind her looking like she had just crawled out of a dumpster.

The mayor and Justine followed their guests inside the restaurant. Mayor Mayer plopped into the seat next to Rebeca and across from Germaine, smiling broadly at both. He seemed particularly happy to be seated next to Groudon, a local favorite. Justine took a seat at the end, an empty seat to her left and Tantalus across. She sat up straight and silently observed the others at the table. No Porygon-Z. Justine had sentenced it to spending dinner in its pokeball for its antics with the fire extinguisher, with a chance of parole for good behavior.

Moments later, a young woman in a pristine white shirt and black skirt arrived at the table and passed out some menus. The menus featured golden lace-like patterns along the edges, and about one-third of the items on it were virtually unpronounceable to those not accustomed to a life of luxury.

"Good evening," the server began. "My name is Yolanda, and I'll be honored to serve you at the Ritzy Raichu tonight. Can I start you off with something to drink?"

Mayor Mayer requested a glass of cabernet sauvignon... to start. Justine was content with a glass of water.

In the excitement of the festival, next to no one noticed a small man in black weave through the crowds, ducking, dodging and hiding whenever anyone coincidentally looked his way. The figure following was far less shy. The large green mantis pokemon stalked through the crowds, growling at no one in particular and keeping its arm blades close in case anyone wanted a fight. No one ever did, but he could always hope.

Alain looked around at one point, watching the festival unfold in front of him. Everyone seemed so...happy. How did they make all this stuff? Did they work together? If so, it was pretty impressive. Its a shame that it couldn't last forever...

Exo on the other hand, couldn't care less. He never really liked being out in the day, especially around people. Alain kept away from people because he was nervous, Exo kept away from them because he just hated most people. Alain was an exception, and of course, he wasn't completely human anyway...

Exo growled at another person, and Alain turned around. He was about to chastise his friend, but his tongue caught in his throat, so instead, he just gave him a hard look. Exo got the idea, and lowered his head. If he could speak, he would probably be muttering under his breath in some way.

Alain had been walking for a very long time, and his legs were starting to ache. Looking around, he noticed a cafe on the corner. Strolling over to it, he slowly went in and sat at a table. Exo perched next to him. Alain reached into his bag, and pulled out a small tub. He opened it, and pulled out a berry, which he placed on the table. Exo poked it with his claw, lifting it into his mouth. Alain took other other berry in the tub, and drained it with his powers, before crushing the husk into dust with his fist.

"Can i help you, sir?"

Alain squeaked as a waitress walked up to him, asking him a question. He nearly fell off his chair. Exo, ever the helpful scyther, growled at the waitress, lifting his claws slightly. The waitress was just as shocked as Alain was, taking several steps back and nearly falling over a table. Several people at the cafe looked up and stared, some wondering if they could intervene.

"I...I...Im sorry!" said Alain quickly. "Hes a little jumpy at times, he wouldn't hurt any..."

But the waitress had gone. Alain looked at Exo again, his face completely neutral. Exo looked a little sheepish, but showed no inclination to apologise. Picking up his bag, he hurried outside, their gazes on him feeling like daggers in his flesh.

He ran about a block away, before finally stopping, and staring back at Exo.
"Why did you do that? She didn't mean any harm...You could tell that she didnt mean any harm..." His voice trailed off. He didnt know what to say. He never knew what to say at times like this. Did anything he said to Exo actually sink in? Maybe it would have stopped him being such a jerk...

Exo pointed to Alain's bag, then to the festival.

Alain looked down, then at Exo again. "You think i...oh. I suppose that's not a bad idea." Walking over to a less crowded part of the street, he found a corner to set up his easel. He didn't have many paints, he could very rarely afford them. Usually Exo "found" his art equipment for him. He never really wanted to know how he "found" them.

SO he began. He decided to just paint the crowd at the festival, and eventually, he got so into it that he didn't notice time go by. He was vaguely aware of Exo wandering around, hopping on top of building and poking him from time to time, but he didn't react to any of it.

It could have been several hours, or just a few minutes, but finally, he stood back from his work. It was certainly one of his better ones, he always worked better when he was alone and no one was...

He looked up, and saw a group of people, all surrounding him, watching him paint. How long had they been there? They were watching him! Oh arceus, why were they doing that?! What did they want? Had he done something wrong?

One of the crowd walked up to him, and looked at his painting. Exo growled at her, but she evidently didn't hear or care. "its pretty good." she said. Alain tried to shrink into his seat, but couldn't go any further.

"Its really good, actually." she said. "Do you have your paintings in a gallery?" she looked at him. Exo was close to brandishing his claws, but he caught Alain's eye and he settled down slightly.

"Er..." he whispered. "N...no, actually. I'm not good enough to get in one of those..."

"Why don't you try?" She asked. "Is it because you are an avatar?" She then said simply, causing Alain to fall off his chair and nearly break his nose against the hard floor. Exo raised his blades, causing the entire crowd to take a step back. Alain flailed his arms around to signal Exo to cut it out, and the scyther slowly lowered his blades, sulking in his corner.

"Er...yeah, i'm the avatar of..." he stopped there. Telling people he was the avatar of the embodiment of destruction never went well.

"If you are an avatar..." she said, "I've heard there's a dinner for them at the Ritzy Raichu restaurant, just across town. They haven't shut up about it since they were announced." Alain shot up to his feet, packing away his paints and easel. "Er...thanks." he whispered, trying to sound as cheerful as possible. "I...er...have to go now. Bye."

Running past the crowd, with Exo following him, he thought. A dinner for avatars? He had never met another avatar before. In all honesty, he had sometimes wondered if they even existed, and he was the only one. A chance to meet one...and actually eat normal food. With his mouth. Instead of just draining it with his powers.

"Wait, how DO i eat with my mouth...never mind, ill just copy how exo eats."
He then turned around, and wondered where he was supposed to go to find this ritzy raichu.

___

After much wandering around, hunting for signs, and Exo "finding" a map, Alain finally found the restaurant. There was a porygon-Z in front of the door, and Alain slowly walked up to it.

"Er...um...hi!" he said cheerfully, waving slightly. "I'm here for the...avatar dinner. Because im...you know, an avatar. The Yveltal one. Please may i go in?"

Porygon-Z was, in fact, hovering by the front door. As to how it managed to pull that off while everyone else thought it was in time-out in its pokeball... the world may never know.

The Pokemon hovered all around Alain, intensely scanning it. After what must have seemed like half an hour, the Pokemon nodded slightly and turned to face him directly.

"This dinner is for avatars only," Porygon-Z intoned in its robotic voice. "Please prove your power by attacking me with a move." The Pokemon looked around for a second and then floated toward the street, finding a spot where it wasn't particularly close to anything highly breakable and/or flammable.

Alain stared at the porygon for a moment. Was he serious? He didnt want to hurt him...but what if he did? That would be unacceptable. He was glad Exo wasnt making this choice, he would have blown the porygon into next week.

Good thing he knew at least one non lethal move. Concentrating, he created a second copy next to him, completely indistinguishable from the original.

"That was my double team." they both said at the same time. "Please may we go in now?"

Porygon-Z emitted some beeping sounds as it analyzed the move.

"Avatar detected," it droned.

The next instant, upbeat techno music blasted from the communication device attached to Porygon-Z's shoulder. Alternating Psybeams and Signal Beams shot from the Pokemon's cheerful eyes, playing off the nearby windows in a psychedelic pattern. The Pokemon held its own private party for about thirty seconds, not knowing or caring what anyone else around might think. Then, just as suddenly, Porygon-Z stopped and resumed its professional stance.

"Enjoy your meal."

Kaze wasn't convinced by Rebeca's response that all tension would have left the air for the night. As Rebeca turned away from him and went into the restaurant, Kaze took a moment to attempt straightening his outfit, tucking his shirt back into his slacks, making his bowtie a little less lopsided, and finger combing his hair a few seconds. As a result, he was one of the last to enter the Ritzy Raichu. As he entered, he noticed Porygon-Z--who had been brought back to its Pokéball by Justine--discreetly escape, somehow entirely on its own, and slip to the door, acting as a guard.

No sooner had Porygon gotten to the door, a man approached, claiming to be an Avatar, though seeming to be rather unsure of himself. Kaze didn't stick around long to see the end result, as the man's Scyther was intimidating, and Kaze thought for a second that it had glared directly at him. Rushing to one of the last few empty seats, luckily beside Seras, Kaze reclined just as a waitress began passing out menus.

Rebeca glanced at the waitress when she spoke up, then back to the menu in front of her. She was hesitant to even touch the thing, it looked so fancy. "Uh, I'll just have some water as well." She gingerly flipped over one of the pages, wondering just what some of the stuff there even was.

Seras leafed through the menu, projecting a composed demeanor while cautiously skimming for a recognisable name. Although a few names stirred faint memories from her childhood, she'd never bothered to learn any of the orders that her mother recited - most of the beverage menu was a jumbled mess of syllables. After several exhasperated moments, she eventually stumbled on a name which she recognised; the first wine that she'd ever enjoyed after years of 'expanding her palate.'

Germaines eyes glazed over slightly in what could only be recognised as euphoria- he had not heard of any of the things on the menu, nor seen any of them either, typically when ordering drinks Germaine stuck with things he knew, which was either berry juice or water, even some of the fizzy soft drinks the humans had made.
It was at this moment in his indecision that a satisfied Kirlia appeared by his side after a little *pop* that signified her teleporting back from home; although Germaine was unaware of this until she tugged his trouser leg with discontent.
"Ah, welcome back Kirlia, here." Germaine passed the menu to his friend and asked her to select their drinks - she had more knowledge of this than himself.
She decided to give Germaine his first taste of alcohol for tonight (in the hope that it would soothe his ragged nerves), she passed the menu back after picking two of their drinks
Kirlia went for what - Germaine deduced to be a form of berry smoothie; made from Ganlon berries no less, hardly a common one to throw into a drink.
And he... he had been picked something named "Voltorb distilled beer." There was a little asterisk by the side of the name that had a percentile and stated alcoholic.

"Ah." Germaine thought to himself, "The fabled alcohol that makes humans go... awry... I suppose at least it may be something I can add to 'the list'."

Humorous grin from Seras - "If you're planning to go awry, then I'd recommend waiting until after the meal. Drink enough to get a feel for the taste, but drink slowly and see how it affects you."

Turning to Rebecca, noticing that she seems uncomfortable - "You shouldn't feel obliged to drink, but would you like to try some wine as well? It's usually quite relaxing."

Germaine told the waitress his order, which was answered with a smile and a polite thank you - it was then that Seras made her quip at the alcohol remark he made.
"I have no plans to go arwy tonight, don't worry, but I doubt this alcohol will affect me anyway, I am not just some typical human - neither are we all." Germaine stated with a slight air of superiority around it.

Jerking in surprise, Rebeca shook her head. "Um, no, I'm good. Can't anyways, I'm just 16." The briefest hint of a smile crossed her face when she remembered her 13th birthday. She glanced down to her lap, where Maya had happily settled atop her thighs.

Seras reciprocates the smile, watching Rebecca's face soften

First time that she's seen Rebecca unwind - even marginally - since the fire extinguisher incident, and it suited her well

"Where did you manage to find a Kabuto, anyway?"

Rebeca glanced up at the question, then back down at Maya. For a moment, a very dark and angry expression formed on her face, then she took a slow breath and tried to relax. "Mihkail and I were hiking along Kanto's southern coast when we found her, few months back." She bit her lip, fingers clenching slightly into a temporary fist. "Needed some help, so we helped her." Her fingers trailed across the smooth shell, and she smiled fondly again. "Been together since."

Quietly wary about the dark expression passing over Rebecca's face - asks Gardevoir whether she should push the issue

Mental shake of the head from Charity - better to let things lie rather than dig up bad memories

"Charity's been with me for years" - smiles fondly

"My family felt that raising a Pokemon would help me grow into a 'responsible adult'," - slight note of bitter sarcasm

Mental dialogue - 'Not that they phrased it like that. 'Mature young man' may have been involved somewhere.'

"She's always been my better half, though - she's probably spent more time looking after me than the reverse."

Having fun with Charity and Kirlia; sends a mental projection - "On my mark, clap your hands."

Charity holds a straight face, while Kirlia immediately starts grinning - without warning, they all clap their hands at once

Vuduin looked at the menu with pleasure, so many choices! And better yet he didn't have to pay for any of them! What to start off with though. He noted the other's were ordering wines of various varities. Vuduin felt disinclined to do the same, he'd never had any alocholic beverage before and starting at a fancy meal was probably an idea in poor taste. "Some lemonade will be fine for me." Vuduin politly told the waiter before refocusing on the conversation at hand. He was surprised when Rebeca mentioned she was only 17, she seemed much older than that. Perhaps he simply wasn't very good at judging ages. Vuduin had been listening silently when Shade bonked him again. Conversation hm? Where to begin? His knee jerked against the table in surprise when a burst of random clapping happened, making a rather loud and embarassing BANG, luckily no ones drinks had arrived yet. "Erm, terribly sorry about that, but perhaps a little warning would be in order next time?"

Kaze found himself giggling at Vuduin's massive surprise. Kaze personally had been a little shocked at the outburst, but he had noticed gears turning in Seras' expression, and figured she'd be up to some mischief. Though the fact that two other Pokémon had been in on the joke with no words intrigued him. "Lemonade for me, too," Kaze requested before inviting Jingle to perch in his lap. The little bell obliged, immediately waving to other Pokémon from its new position and appearing to enjoy itself.

Rebeca smirked. "Heh, sounds a little familiar. The grouchy jerk behind me s'been tagging along for a while now." She glanced over her shoulder. where she met Mihkail's amused gaze. "His constant snarking is kinda irritating, but I still wouldn't ditch him."

I love you too.

She glanced at Vuduin, giving him a funny look, then shrugged. "How about you and Smoky there? How'd you hook up?"

Seras offering a sorry-not-sorry grin, while Charity looks more genuinely apologetic

Kirlia giggles - Seras playfully threatens to tell everyone that it was Kirlia's idea - playful tone and obviously teasing in good humour

“Sorry - I didn’t mean to startle anyone. I haven’t had the chance to communicate with many Pokemon other than Charity before.”

Vuduin offered a good natured sigh before replying to Rebeca, smiling a little at the memory. "I meet Shade some time ago while I was still normal. He was hiding inside my watering can on a paticulry windy day, he can't keep his form very well when its like that you see. I gave him a candy because I felt bad for him and he's hung out with me ever since."

The corner of Rebeca's mouth quirked, then she frowned as she returned her attention to Seras's comment. “How’s that work, anyway? Talking to them. I mean, I can talk to Mihkail just fine, but I’ve never heard a peep from Maya.”

Germane decided to chip in on Rebaccas point.
"That's the same with me and Kirlia, her form of communication with me is limited to tugging my clothing and kicking my ankles and shins, she even used her psychic abilities once to drop a series of books on my head to wake me up..."
Germaine offered a withering look to his faithful companion.

Kirlia pouted across the table towards Seras. "It's not my fault if he never pays attention," she sulked.

Seras chuckling slightly in response. I miss having a little one around.
"I've never had trouble communicating with other Fairy types, although I don't normally communicate with Pokemon that I don't know very well. It seemed like it would come across as intrusive. If I can speak with Kirlia after meeting her today, then it can't require huge amounts of familiarity."

'No offense meant, darling."

Turning to Rebecca - "Would Mikhael be happy to talk? I haven't tried communicating with Rock types before, but it seems to be the simplest explanation."

Mihkail hummed deep in his throat. I may not be in one of those flimsy chairs of yours, Princess, but I am not hard of hearing. Ask, and you shall receive.

Rebeca rolled her eyes at his amused tone.

Seras smiled back. "My apology, dear prince, but I didn't want to intrude without welcome. I'm glad to know we can speak freely."

Rebeca couldn't help herself; the idea of Mihkail being a prince was too much. She broke out in a giggling fit, her head dropping to the table with a heavy thunk.

Behind her, Mihkail's humming deepened. If you think me a prince, then flattery will get you everywhere. Please forgive my sister's poor manners, the number of weeks that she has spent in human company over the past few seasons could be counted on one of your hands.

Seras to Mihkail --> It hasn't been a problem at all, but if it helps, consider her preemptively forgiven for any future slips. Things have leaned the other way for me - too many years buried in formality rather than speaking freely.

Seras to Maya (soft, gentle tone) --> Hey there, little guy. Can you hear me as well?

Perhaps a look of surprise from Kaze or small interjection somewhere around here. He doesn't yet know about the telepathic communication yet.

Maya abruptly stiffened, causing Rebeca to sit up and look down at her in concern. For a moment, the Shellfish Pokemon remained still, then chittered curiously and crawled a little up Rebeca's stomach, using the tiny black eyes on her shell to survey the table. Rebeca's eyes narrowed slightly, then she turned her gaze on Seras. "What'd you say to her?"

Mihkail's humming stopped. Easy, Rebeca.

Seras held up her hands placatingly.

More concerned about the mood of the other avatars than Rebecca's reaction, with Mihkail's words fresh in her mind.

Doesn't want someone like Germaine to overreact without reason

"I only asked whether she could hear me as well - I didn't mean to scare her."

Charity resting her hand on Seras' knee under the table, quietly shifting herself closer to Seras.

Mommy's grouchy sometimes. Maya butted the edge of her shell into Rebeca's ribs, churring contentedly.

Rebeca blinked, then relaxed back into her chair a little. "Oh. Sorry. Maya's pretty young, so I just... yeah..." Stupid, stupid. A light flush bloomed on her cheeks, and she wondered where the drinks were.

Kaze - "I-I think I just heard that Kabuto speak!" (???)

Vuduin spoke up at this point having arrived at a theory based on some speculation and diverting attention from the embarrased Rebeca, "If I may hazard a guess, it seems to me as though Avatars can 'speak' to those most similar to them. I saw a pokedex entry on Daince once detailing her as a Fairy-Rock type. So far she has only been able to communicate with pokemon of those types, since I believe Kirlia is a fairy, and Mihkail and Maya are both rock. Unless anyone has spoken to other types this guess seems reasonable to me." Ah finally thier drinks were slowly being served, Vuduin was feeling the slightest bit parched at this point so it was a welcome reprieve.

"Would . . . would that mean that Kabuto--or Maya--is part Water-Type?" Kaze asked, massively curious.

Rebeca tilted her head as she thought about Vuduin's comment. "Guess that makes me..." she glanced around the table, "...shit outta luck." Looks like I'm stuck with you for conversation.

Mihkail hummed again. Such a pity that you'll have to use that voice of yours.

Seras offers a consoling smile. "For what it's worth, most trainers aren't able to communicate with their Pokemon and I've still seen plenty of mutual love between Pokemon and humans.

Thinking about the little girl and her Poochyena from before - whistful smile

"We're all quite lucky in many ways - it's hard to begrudge the limits of a power that so few people have."

"Power isn't always for the better." Vuduin muttered before taking a drink of his lemonade. The slightly dramatic moment was entirely ruined by the horrid, horrid flavor of the drink. Vuduin began coughing harshly to remove the taste from his mouth. It tasted like someone had given him sea water with lemonade flavoring in it! After several seconds Vuduin finished coughing and put the drink back down looking at it warily. Was this some sort of fancy resturant thing? Something he didn't know about? It wouldn't surprise him, he'd never been somewhere like this before. Still it made for his second embarrasment. "Sorry, it was a little more... tart then I expected." Vuduin explained weakly. He still should've sucked up and dealt with it instead of making a fool out of himself. Shade on the other hand seemed intrigued by the drink and stuck in his tounge in it, quickly retracted it, and moved his face around thoughtfully. After a couple seconds he took another drink, at least it looked like someone liked it. Of course Shade was partly posion type so...

Shrugging, Rebeca grinned a little at Vuduin's coughing fit. Maybe these people weren't so bad. "I don't call that lucky." She glanced at the glass of water that had been set down before her, and decided she was fine for now. Her thoughts roamed back, and her expression fell slightly. Lucky doesn't always mean good luck

Germaine spent the time of a seemingly odd serious and spots of silence that was; apparatnly a telepathic conversation, he figured that Kirlia could talk telepathically merely becuase she was a Psychic type and therefore never questioend it, with the exception as to why she never talked to him directly.
That, now, was answered and Kirlia wasn't dense afterall, Germaine spoke to Vuduin in order to work this all out - seeing as he is a Ghost type, and so is his floating companion.
"Vuduin, perhaps I could talk to... Shade was it? We are both the same type, and if what Seras is true..."
Cutting hismelf off and saying to Seras defensivly "Not that I doubt you of course!"
"Then it should prove rather enlightening, to both of us."

Germaine recieved his drink, and the one he ordered for Kirlia - whom began beaming at the sight of the extravegant blueish pulp that had a little umbrella sticking out of it, something that should keep her occupied for some time - and his own, it was in a tall glass that was measured in a pint; as the side of the glass stated so, and along with it a avatar of a Voltorb giving off a cheesy grin with an explosion behind it - with the brand written beneath it.
The beverage itself was bright gold and carbonated and upon taking a sip it had quite an acquired taste to it, it wans't overly fizzy to the point where you would have gas and burp, but was rather smooth.
The taste itself had a slight metallic tang to it, despite that it wasn't overpowering nor was it distasteful; Germaine would add it the "like" part of his journal.
He took a further sip and awaited Vuduin's reply.

Vuduin shrugged, "Its alright with me. Shade feel free to, uh, converse with Germaine." Akward wording, Shade generally told Vuduin to do things not the other way around. Vuduin was often intrested in what Shade was thinking and had wished that part of being an avatar had been being able to commincate with him. Shade for his part had finished off the lemonade and was now looking at Germaine with intrerest. After a few seconds of awkward staring Shade stuck his tounge out then procceded to look for other unattended drinks.

Kirlia giggling to herself, with Seras laughing mirthfully at the pair of them

"I'm not sure whether he actually is," she noted dryly.

Spend too much time around serious people - this festival has been a wonderful breath of fresh air.

Turns her attention back to Rebeccas as the laughter dies down, then catches Rebecca's expression and starts feeling guilty for not being attentive enough towards Rebecca, while uncertain about how to approach the situation with someone more withdrawn

Mental question towards Mihkail --> Is there anything I can do for your sister?

Waiter arrives at that moment - takes a small sip of wine to loosen her tongue, while Charity warily eyes the sparkling water (fizzing like acid)

"If nothing else, this whole avatar affair has brought us closer to all of our Pokemon. I know that circumstances were kind towards me - I'd never even dream of returning to my life before Diancie." Shadow passing across her face, expression growing sober.

Charity projecting --> And you don't need to, either. Grasps Charity's hand under the table and squeezes.

Seras quietly leans into Charity for a moment, then firmly sets her wine glass down.

"When life gets harder, there's all the more reason to savour the silver linings."

Mihkail closed his eyes and rested his head on the floor. That particular story is best left to her, Princess. It is one she does not like to tell.

Flipping over another page of the menu, Rebeca suddenly paused. Hey. What was the name of that berry that lady had us try? The really good one with all the warts on it?

The Spike Pokemon lazily opened one eye. The one that you particularly liked?

Yeah.

Hmm. Spelon, I think it was.

Thought so. A grin slowly drifted across Rebeca's face. Leaning back in her chair, she stretched her arms out and rotated her wrists, making a pair of slightly audible cracks. "Speaking of silver linings, I know what I'm having to eat."

About the time Rebeca mischieviously announced she had decided on what she'd be eating, Kaze found something in the menu he thought he'd be interested in. Kalos toast. He'd always enjoyed it, and hoped dearly they'd serve it in the evenings just the same as in the morning. Topped with what appeared to him to be various berry jams and a Slurpuff's Whipped Dream, Kaze thought it looked absolutely amazing. So much so that his mouth began watering just looking at the picture.

Mayor Mayer fidgeted with his silverware, nearly red-faced in the noble fight to let the avatars guide the conversation. This was just like waiting for his turn to speak at a conference, except the topics were even more thrilling than public education and city ordinances! Occupying his mouth with the consumption of alcohol did seem to help for nearly half a glass, but the brave soldier could only fight for so long.

"This is AMAZING!" the portly man enthused like a grenade going off. He grinned at each of the avatars in turn. "Communicating with Pokemon has been a dream of humans for centuries! I can only imagine how tight your bonds must be. Heck, all of you could make a good living just telling us what they're saying, BAHAHA!"

The mayor's euphoria calmed down slightly.

"Too bad I would have to meet Arceus himself to know what my Cinccino's saying, if Ms. Bancroft's theory is correct. Boy, wouldn't that be something!"

Vuduin turned his head slightly, technically he was the one who'd brought up the idea but he wasn't terriably offended by it. Mildy surprised.

Germaines face soured slightly at the mention of Arceus' name

On the other end of the table, Justine seemed neither impressed nor surprised by the mayor's behavior. She decided not to bring up the fact that, thanks to her own tireless work in technology, her own Porygon-Z could do the job supposedly only Arceus could do. The CEO silently and intently watched each avatar as they spoke, almost as if she was trying to peer through their skin.

"I am curious about something," the petite woman finally spoke. "I have been conducting much research on Pokemon types and moves lately. How do your moves... work? Can you use TMs and HMs? Is it possible for you to use moves like Iron Tail or Wing Attack, which involve appendages unavailabe to humans?"

Around this time, the waitress returned.

"How are you doing so far?" the young woman inquired politely. "Is anyone ready to order?"

Seras smiles condolingly towards the mayor

"From what it seems, you'd need about a dozen of us to understand most Pokemon. I can't speak for the others, but crafting sculptures has been more than enough to get by on."

Towards Justine: "From what I can tell, my moves work the same as they would for Charity - the only difference between us and Pokemon is that we weren't born with these abilities. Learning to control them is much like riding a bicycle. I've been able to learn Dazzling Gleam from a TM, but you'll forgive me for not demonstrating - it's not really appropriate for indoors."

Rebeca waives the waitress over and whispers in her ear. As she listens, the waitress's face visibly pales, then she swallows. "Um, I will see if we have any."

As she leaves, Rebeca relaxes in her chair, bearing a satisfied smile that bordered on wicked. Mihkail glanced up at her, then quietly rumbled. I see you are already trying to turn this night into a disaster.

Remember, it's your fault. I wanted to leave.

Listening to Justine and Seras's conversation, Rebeca shrugs. "I dunno. I just kind of do stuff and it happens." She pulls off her right glove, revealing the omega marking on the back of her hand. After a moment, streams of white light flow out of her skin, capping each finger in a glowing, inch long claw. Curling her fingers, the light shifts and reforms, sheathing her entire fist in light. "Took me a while to figure this one out though." She shook her hand, and the light dissipated. "If I don't concentrate on it a little, though, it goes away. Otherwise, it just kinda happens."

Kaze seemed intrigued by the claw Rebeca had made. "I've managed to create a breeze a few times. It helps me go faster most of the time, but otherwise it's good for cooling off hot days like today."

Tantalus sat silently for the duration of the conversation around him, save for ordering a glass of Bordeaux earlier when the waitress had come around which still sat untouched before him. Of course, he was avoiding attention deliberately, absorbing the conversation and making mental notes about the interesting pieces floating around. Rebeca's dark glare upon being asked about finding Maya, talks about how moves worked as an Avatar, and the telepathic fairy clapping band.

Thank Arceus you didn't join in, Apate. Tantalus noted sourly. All this power and potential, wasted on trivial nonsense. Picking up his glass, he took a small sip of wine. As he did, however, he began to screw his face up. It was definitely Bordeaux, but something was off. It tasted cheap. Somehow, with they Mayor's declaration that it would be simple for Avatars to make money as mere interpreters, this was an expected outcome. Regardless, he always had a backup. Smiling, he opened his satchel, hanging over the back of the chair, and pulled out a bottle of Pinot Noir, accompanied by 5 glasses.

"Mr Mayor, interpreting for Pokemon would definitely make a wage, but to reach the upper echelon of society, you really need to think bigger.There are far more lucrative ways to make money as an Avatar, you need only put your mind to it." Holding the sickly-sweet smile, he pressed on. "Besides which, as an Avatar we have powers the likes of which humans can only dream. Cliched, certainly, but think beyond that. The power we have is not important. What we do with that power is where the true value lies, and if the best you can come up with is making money via interpreting..."

Tantalus opened the Pinot Noir, and poured the wine into one of the glasses. "Then you'll always play second fiddle to those with more imagination." Lifting the now filled glass in the Mayor's direction, he stared directly into his eyes, the sharpness of his words contrasting the softness of his demeanour.

"Cheers."

Apate glared at him from his lap, as Tantalus took a sip from the glass. What? Too much? She turned away sharply, annoyed.

"Now, I do have a question for you all, if you'll humour me with an answer. Those of us here each embody a Pokemon, and they have been fused with us. What I want to know is how much influence that Pokemon has over your daily life. Do they have a say in your actions? Do you retain memories from before the merge? I'm most interested in your answer." Tantalus declared, angling his wine glass toward the white-haired man beside Seras. "Germaine, was it?"

Offering a softer smile, he spoke once more."Also, Seras, can I offer you a drink?"

Suddenly, the hum of a booming bass rattled the glasses on the table. Techno music drifted through the walls, and flashes of color lit up the windows. Justine froze for a second, eyes wide. Then she looked down and rubbed her temple in exasperation. The mayor burst out laughing at the whole scene. After about thirty seconds, the hulabaloo stopped just as quickly as it began.

Rebeca blinked, briefly glanced towards the entrance, then levelled a slightly amused look at Justine. "I think your Porygon found a new friend."

Kaze giggled, this definitely not being the first time he'd heard the Porygon's outburst today. "Oh, yeah. I did see Porygon-Z escape on my way in . . . I guess that guy he interrogated turned out to be an Avatar after all."

Geramine simply listened to the exchnages that were occuring, listening intently, and observing as is his common practise, until of course the time came to order.
Something that Germaine had been looking forward to; he had decided to go for a rather small starter, merely to whet his appetitie for the main course that he had set his eyes upon- he ordered a rather complex dish of Krabby Sushi, it also came with some Octillary and Feebas.
As he finished making his order he contemplated what the woman; the CEO of Porytech, had stated, true, Germaine had learned a TM move, he didn't really dwell upon it though, as he didn't really reagrd it of any import, until of course he realised that was indeed human.
It's easy to forget when in Germaines place.
His abilities were natural to him, he knew he had them inatley, his actual bodies abilities as a human though?
Less so.

Germaine found Rebecca; the avatar of Groudon to be rather... odd.
She stumbled across her powers, and by the way of her mannerisms she severly repressed the Pokemon that was inside her, Groudon, was not one for subtly if Giratina remembered anything of that creature it was pure unadultered... well, energy to say at the least, the personifaction of magma and perhaps even rage.
Yet from what Germaine could see this is not the case, she is rather controlled, although he could sense she has her moments when the rage inside her swelled, much like a magma pocket beneath a Volcano that increased its pressure.
Was this healthy?

"Rebecca, does, Groudon speak to you?"

Germaine's question caught Rebeca a little off guard, and she frowned towards him. "Why would you ask something like that?" Behind her, Mihkail raised his head slightly, his interest piqued.

Before Germaine replied he noticed Kirlia stop drinking from her beverage and gaze at him; a somewhat fearful look in her eyes.
He disregarded it and moved on to his second question. "Well. Everyone here is the avatar of their perspective legendary Pokémon correct?"
Germaine nodded towards Tantalus
"As Xerneas asked about the legends within us, it stands to reason that some would have their actions, decisions, reasoning and almost every other aspect of ones life influenced or sometimes even controlled by the legend that has assumed their "control" of us.
In answer to the question posed by Tantalus, Germaine... he no longer exists, when I assumed his body the man that existed - ceased to...
I am literally Giratina, in the flesh."

Tantalus's eyes go wide at the reply.

Germaine looked slightly sorrowful for a moment, as he had realised that he had indeed released a very damaging fact about him.
"So. What about you, what does Groudon say or do to influence you?"

For a long moment, Rebeca was silent as she digested his words. What he was talking about didn't sound right to her at all, at least not as far as she was concerned. Other than the stuff she was capable of, she didn't feel any different; she was still Rebeca. The idea that someone else might be controlling her life? Not something she liked.

Finally she shrugged and sat back in her chair. "Guess I'm the opposite then, cuz I haven't felt any different since..." she paused for a moment, biting her lip, "since this. I get hot when I'm worked up, but I'm still Rebeca."

Mihkail blinked, then nudged her chair slightly with his nose in sympathy.

Germaine took what she said to heart.
And merely retorted with two words "For now..." He then turned away from her and resumed his drink.

Vuduin shared his own view at this point. "I suppose I'm in between you two then. Darkrai is a bit like that little voice in the back of your head that tells you what's right and wrong. Only he tells me different things, not in words, but rather as feelings. As you doubtless know he, I, enjoy 'eating'' dreams, much like others enjoy eating food or drinking water. But dreams are pale shadows to the taste of nightmares. As a result if I stay somewhere for too long poeple start having nightmares so I can feed on them. Its a trait I have little to no control over, which is why I tend to travel a lot. I've expeirmented with staying away from anyone but he gets rather angry at that and things tend to get worse rather than better." Vuduin took a deep breath after his perhaps overly long speech and finished it by simply saying, "And I'll take a steak please, medium rare." Shade had turned his attention from the drinks to the new avatar(Yevtyal m8) and was staring at him.

Looking at each Avatar to reply in turn, Tantalus pondered the information. Most of it was exactly as he thought, but Germaine's answer had thrown him off-kilter. "I see. Thank you all. I must say, Germa-"

He paused, before offering a solemn nod of his head.

"Sorry, Giratina, I mean no disrespect. The whole situation feels strange to me, as I'm on the other end of the scale completely. After fusing with Xerneas, my appearance changed. I got taller and my hair turned blue ,for instance. My personality never altered in any way, however. No memories appeared, either. I am who I was before. Xerneas..." Tantalus swallowed, geniunely nervous. He didn't want to upset Giratina, but at the same time, lying might do that anyway.This is why you stay silent, Tantalus. Thankfully, the information gained is worth this hell. With a deep breath, he finished his sentence. "ceases to exist."

Turning to the waitress, rather hurriedly, he closed the menu and sat it on the table. "I'll have the Island Psyduck with Mustard, please."

Kaze looked around blankly at the other Avatars talking about their Legends and how much "control" they had over themselves. He had no idea what any of it really meant, since he was never really influenced by Suicune the way the others were talking about. Not knowing what to say, Kaze simply leaned back and took a sip of his lemonade. Rather quickly he spit the drink back into his glass. "Why is there salt in the lemonade?!" he exclaimed, disturbing the relative quiet that had fallen over the restaurant. Shaking his head, he tried to focus. Placing his hand over the mouth of the glass, he calmly summoned the purification powers Suicune had given him. Bit by bit, the lemonade turned to pure water, almost crystalline in appearance. "Maybe I can get that taste out of my mouth now," he muttered. Taking a drink of the water, he felt relief wash over him at the unadulterated liquid's taste.

"Is that why you didn't drink any of yours, Vuduin?" Kaze asked the Avatar of Darkrai. "If you want, I can turn it into water for you, too, that way you at least have something to drink that's a little less overwhelming."

Vuduin nodded slightly, "Ah yes, that'd be quite pleasant thank you." He said simply. Vuduin had nearly forgotten the kid could purify things and hadn't even considered asking for help, it seemed almost selfish to ask another avatar to use their power to help himself. Perhaps for those who benefited from their power enjoyed using it. He certainly wouldn't begrudge the kid for it.

Kaze repeated the cleansing process with Vuduin's lemonade the same way he had with his own. When he finished, he was starting to feel the effects of using his energy consecutively, and figured any more should probably wait until he had had something to eat. Passing the was-lemonade-now-water back to Vuduin, Kaze said, "There you go. Should taste a lot better now." He chucked as he spoke. He had been able to help at least two people out today. Not a bad day for him. Now, though, he just wanted food.

Mayor Mayer was so enchanted by the avatar's stories, he almost forgot to order. He decided on a surf and turf. As for Justine, she thinly veiled her embarrassment over Porygon-Z's great escape and ordered a rack of Mareep.

The waitress Yolanda had just written down their orders when Kaze exclaimed about his salty lemonade. She was about to apologize and offer to exchange it, but then she paused, stunned by Kaze's display of power. Yolanda didn't regain her composure until after Vuduin's drink had been purified.

"We're terribly sorry about that, sirs," she said. "There must have been a mix-up in the kitchen. We'll make sure to look into it right away.

"It's okay," Kaze told the waitress. "All's well that ends well, right? Do you still serve your Kalos toast this late?"

Seras shocked but not altogether surprised by Germaine's statement - heard him describing his pain during the earlier scene and understood that he retained all of the experiences that he'd gone through as a Legendary (unlike herself), but had previously considered Germaine to be more of an amalgamation between Giratina and his previous self rather than fully replacing the previous personality

"So what happened to the personality of your host? Do you still have any of his memories, or did you effectively erase the person that you fused with?"

Orders food - asks the mayor for a recommendation (since she's not familiar with most of the dishes) and goes with his recommendation

The mayor recommends pickled Tepig jowels. When she stares blankly in shock, the mayor laughs half-drunkenly. "Just joking, miss! I recommed the baked Shellder linguine. Honest this time!"

Describing her own experiences - "I'd consider myself closer to Rebecca - I've gone through some fairly large changes, but it hasn't changed how I perceive the world." (filler sip of wine) "Some of my personality traits have been amplified slightly - I'm usually gentler and more relaxed that I used to be - but I've felt so much more comfortable in my own skin since becoming an avatar. The knock-on effects from that have made a huge difference - I'm still the same person, but I'm able to live a completely different line."

Germaine listened to Seras' response with intent, her question was not unsurprising to say at the least, it was not possible to completely erase someone's personality, at least in Giratinas case this was the truth.
"I did retain some of who Germaine was, specifically some of life skills, it was how I made a living in this world; naturally the need of money was complete a foreign concept to me, but it is obviosly a necessity in this world. I doubt I would have survived very long if I didn't have all of the knowledge ingrained in my new being of how to operate in this world."

Germaine looked around and ushered the waiter over; he then proceeded to ask her something quietly as such that no one could hear what he said.
She merely replied to his question with a small nod of the head and then pointed across the room to one of the rear walls.

Turning back to Seras he stated "I can show you all something that Germaine could do, you need but listen."

Germaine stood from his seat and began walking to where the waitress had pointed - before Germaine had entered the establishment he had assumed the place would contain one, as is the common practise for classy restaurants to do so, as most diners in these places did enjoy the soothing eloquence that music brought.
Namely the tunes from a Piano.

On a small elevated stage near one of the rear walls was an onyx black, well polished Grand Piano, its seat was empty and the pedestal that should have held parchment with the unfamiliar language of musical notes was also vacant.
It would be odd playing in the middle of a restaurant, but it was always an odd experience, his fingers and hands performed well practised movements whilst he watched as an alien force moved them; this was one of the aspects of Germaine coming through to the surface, but the consciousness still not showing itself.
Giratina was convinced that Germaine was there; somewhere. But he didn't know how to revive him, and he didn't even know if he wanted to.

Giratina cracked his fingers as was customary for this, and then pressed down on one of the white keys, and as if by magic he knew what keys to press, the timing, the speed and level of pressure... all whilst watching on as if someone had taken control of his.... Germaines hands.

{Germaine plays this piece of music = youtu.be/d2F_wCqO07c}

Vuduin listened to the music, fascinated by it. He'd never really had a chance to hear high-class music like this played before and it was astonishing. Vuduin was entranced by it, staring at the piano in delight. He was distracted enough that his power leaked a little and those immediately around him would start feeling lethargic. "Beautiful." He said quietly to himself.

Rebeca's eyes closed as the sounds flowed over her ears. She couldn't even count how long it had been since she had listened to music. Her arms tightened slightly around Maya, and even after the music had ended, her eyes remained closed, giving the impression that she had fallen asleep.

The music may have been playing, but at least two people in the building were not noticing it. Instead, they were having a furious telepathic arguement as they walked into the resturant .

"For arceus's sake Exo, they were bad news! DIdnt you see those stingers? They were pointed at you!"

"It was clearly a gesture of attraction! You wouldnt know, would you?"

That stung slightly, but Alain made sure not to show it. "I dont care what they body language was, that beedrill was not making a "Come hither" look at you! If anything, it was a look that said "Why the distortion is a Scyther in a forest FILLED WITH ANGRY BEEDRILLS?!?!?"
Exo stopped saying anything for a moment, making Alain realise that he had won. Walking down a corridor together, He just started to notice the piano music. He hadnt heard a piano for a long time, so he wasnt entirely sure what they were supposed to sound like. For the record, it sounded nice at the specific moment.

He turned to Exo, who had just closed a door he was looking through. "You have any ideas where the toilet is?"
Exo nodded slowly. "Riiiiight through this door." He said, poking said door with his blade. Ever the trusting type, Alain thanked him and walked through it...

Only to see a man playing a piano, and...oh. A girl. Time to leav...

The door shut behind him, exo pushing it shut. He turned to the door, then turned back to the two figures, his mind whirring as he realised the situation he was in.

"Have fun." he heard Exo whisper. Before he could yell at him, he turned back to the figures, and took a deep breath. He could do this. How hard could it be...

Seras listening in quiet awe, while Charity stared slack-jawed

"Certainly gives us something to think about, doesn't it?"

Amazed by how peaceful and at ease Germaine seems while playing - catches herself overthinking things, so chooses to sit back and listen quietly as he plays

As Germaine finished the peice of music his hands returned to him, he could move them freely and understand that it was he who moved them; the process fo plaing music was entrancing, that being said it was certainly disorientating; he had also warranted some looks from the other diners, and the odd dissaporiving look from the staff, it didn't bother him though.
He slowly shut down the cover over the piano keys and returned to his seat.

"Ahem. Erm.. yes, that is something that Germaine could do, I'm still working out how myself though, I can't read musical sheets, yet I understand them when I begin to play - its rather odd."
Germiane gave the side of his nose a small scratch and observed Kirlia, who looked like she had watched Germaine confess himself to the world as a man who loves Arceus.
It had just dawned upon him that she had never heard him play the piano before, so the look she had plastered on her face wasn't overly odd.

"What did everyone think?"

Mihkail snorted softly. Kid's got talent.

Rebeca briefly opened one eye, then closed it again. Compared to what?

True. Mihkail shifted about, eyeing the door where a newcomer stood, garbed in strange looking clothes. Looks like the audience grew. Rising to his feet, he approached the new person, eyeing him up and down.

Seras watches Kirlia's expression and thinks about the concerns that Charity has expressed towards Germaine - definitely doesn't seem like someone who would be dangerous unless provoked.

Broadcast towards Kirlia - Do you think you could persuade Germaine to play for the public tomorrow? I'm happy to relay messages for you, but letting other people see that could do Germaine a world of good.
As Germaine finishes, beams and offers a soft round of applause

"That was fantastic, Germaine. Have you considered playing for an audience?"

Watches Mihkail rise and wander towards the door - with some confusion, turned around to see another guest arriving. Completely missed him entering while Germaine was playing - sees his nervous expression, so offers him a kind smile and an easy question to break the ice.

"Good evening," she smiled kindly. "Did you enjoy the performance?"

Vuduin shook himself from his trance, his power snapping back under wraps and the waiters around him woking themselves up as well. "It was delightful, very impressive." Unspoken was the regret that Vuduin had no talent of his own to demonstrate. Kaze had his natural friendly-ness and purifying power. Germaine could play the piano like none other Vuduin had ever heard. Seras was friendly and could create gemstone in whatever shape she pleased. Vuduin felt his own skill set was rather under-whelming at this point

He has some amazing talent. A small voice whispered up from the Mawile, who seemed just as relaxed as himself.

"Giratina, I'm lost for words. You have stirred memories I wasn't aware still existed." With a gesture towards the Pokemon comfortably placed in his lap, he continued. "Apate tells me she enjoyed it too. Seras's question is valid, If you haven't played for an audience before, I believe the world of music is suffering if I may be so bold as to say so." Tantalus smiled, the same genuine smile from before.

Maybe this really was a good idea, coming here.

That thought was dashed almost as quickly as it arose when his eyes fell on the new avatar who had arrived during the performance. The first glaring thing was the horns. All the other Avatars here looked human, but it was clear this new one was different. Of course, those could have been merely made to replicate his embodied Pokemon, as the armour did for Xerneas. Something he'd like to clear up of din-

As Tantalus gave the newcomer a once-over, he felt a crippling wave of emotion wash over him. A cocktail of feelings, disgust, revulsion, hatred, all mixed into one mass. It physically hurt, causing him to hunch over, grabbing his mouth to attempt to prevent himself from throwing up. What in the world had just happened? He had never felt anything nearly as strong as that before. Looking up again, trying regaining his composure, before anyone noticed his outburst. People were doting on Giratina, and rightly so, and with luck it had slipped under the radar. Apate stirred from his lap, looking worried.

Are you alright? You look pale.Tantalus couldn't respond to her, fearing that if he were to talk, the bile he was forcing down would have a chance to escape. The only reason he hadn't been sick, at a guess, was because the last time he ate must have been a good few days ago at least. Swallowing hard, he directed another gaze towards the man, and the emotions stirred once more. Slightly less violently this time, but still very much there. Why? He growled, searching for answers. Something about the man seemed familiar to him, but he was certain they had never met before.

The penny dropped. Tantalus had never felt like this before. He still hadn't. These feelings were not his.

Xerneas.

Tantalus had told Giratina only a short time ago that Xerneas no longer existed. That he had been overwritten by his own consciousness after they had merged as one. Until now, he was sure that was the case. Yet here he was, fighting to subdue feelings that certainly did not belong to him. That man, the new Avatar, was Yvetal's. No doubt about it. The embodiment of death, as Xerneas is life. His opposite in everything.

And his 'better half' was threatening to ruin dinner.

Hunching over, eyes closed, Tantalus repeated a mantra to himself over and over. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. It took several rounds of this, but the nausea began to fade. His gaze fell to the center of the table and focused there. Now feeling back in control, he began to act normally once more, avoiding looking anywhere near the newcomer.

Apate, I need a favour. Keep tabs on that new Avatar. The horned one. Tell me where he sits, and if he directs any conversation towards me. The Mawile stared into his eyes, cocking her head slightly, looking aggitated. Someone you know? Tantalus replied, with a heavy tone. Yvetal, and Xerneas isn't happy. Please. I need your help.

Her eyes went wide at the insinuation. He had never asked for her help before, and Tantalus had chosen his words carefully, talking to her as an equal. She spun her head towards the Avatar of Yvetal. Don't worry. It's my fault you are here. We'll do this together. With that, Tantalus returned his attention back to the conversation at the table.

Alain was still thinking about how he was going to talk to these people, and when he looked up, he saw one the girl standing near him, smiling. She proceeded to ask if he enjoyed the performance.

This then caused Alain's brain to go into overdrive while trying to think of something to say.

"Oh...um...well, i think it was very nice, at least, is that how pianos are supposed to sound? I dont listen to many pianos...I dont live with one....did you lik...no, you liked it, I heard you say it was fantastic..."

He shook his head, and continued.

"I'm sorry, i'm not good at talking to pretty girls...I mean, people! and girls! I'm not good at talking to them! Not that I dont like people or anything, i'm just a bit...I mean, people can be mean...but not you! I don't think you are mean! You seem really nice! You are nice aren't you? You are smiling and stuff!?"

He had gone completely white, which complimented his black clothing quite nicely.

"I mean, um...hi! Im Alain! I'm the embodiment of Yveltal, you know, the embodiment of death and destruction!"

Over his babbling, he could faintly hear Exo roaring with laughter on the other side of the door.

"Erm...but...I don't...er...death and destroy things. Except...plants, to feed. You don't love plants, do you? Um...I like your dress! It makes you look very...aesthetically pleasing."

The longer Rebeca listened to the "Alain" kid talk, the more she had to smile. Finally, she decided to put him out of his misery. "Hey, kid. Don't you know it's rude to talk with your mouth full? I don't think foot tastes THAT good."

Poor darling. (feeling incredibly sorry for Alain) That's probably the most sincere compliment that I've had all night, too - you can't fake that level of flustered.

Talking to Alain calmly and softly, hoping to let him down gently and calm him down before he began hyperventilating

"I'm Seras, dear," she smiled gratefully. "Avatar of Diancie and maker of various sparkly gemstones." (demonstrates her powers - closes her eyes momentarily and conjures several gently-glowing lotus flowers from diamond in midair - then shrugs and smiles) "It's not the most world-shaking of powers, but I get by well with it."

(gestures towards a free chair next to Vuduin, who seems most likely among the avatars to be nice to him)

"Would you like to join us? I assume that you can enjoy a good meal with or without your powers, and most of us seem less troublesome than your friend outside."

Gestures towards the door and forms a large head-sized diamond encasing both of the door handles.

Grins at Alain - "I'll unblock the door once your friend's learned his lesson." Or as soon as the staff take offence, but the resturaunt's reserved for the avatars tonight anyway. I doubt that there's any customers who would mind.
Glances at Mihkail, who was still giving Alain a one-over. Could you ask Rebecca to play nice with him? Discreetly. The poor boy looks as though he's about to keel over.


Dial it back, Rebeca. We've got a fruitcake here.

She at least had the decency to look apologetic.

Alain nodded very slowly at the girl, and made his way to the chair, somehow not falling over in his nervousness.

"th..thank you miss. The diamonds...are very pretty, like...um. Thank you..." he sat down.

"Er...I can do this!" he said, taking a apple in his hand, draining it dry with his powers and dropping the husk to the floor with his shaking hand."

"I mean...I drain life from anything I touch...I mean, I don't do it to everyone, people can touch me without dying, I just have to turn the power off first! Not that I turn it on a lot, I just do it to survive. But I don't drain people! At least, not...no, I don't drain people! It...its bad!" he squeaked, before shrinking into his chair and wondering if anyone would notice if he spent the entire dinner under the table.

Germaine listened to each person's repsonse in turn, and was rather surprised at the positivity he recieved.
Although Rebeca looked as though she was meditiating, she must have found it soothing, or something.
Germaine first have Vuduin a nod of the head and stated his thanks.
Then he turned to Seras who appeaed to have greatly enjoyed the msuic he played, the question she asked the proceeded her complement however, took him off guard.

"Playing for an audience? No, I haven't really thought about such a thing, I mean, the music isn't mine to be perfectly honest, it's Germaine who plays it... and well Germaine no longer exists; I suppose I could however, not sure what people would make of it, especially given my performance earlier today."

As Germaine broke off he realised that another person had entered the restaurant; he looked rather odd, and above all he looked as if had entered a den of Arcanine, that were very hungry - admittidly the hungry part was probably correct, as that food was taking its sweet time.
The next part; when Seras went up to greet him has something that almost made him inhale his beer as he drank it.
The new person made a rather... no, extremely awkward attempt to compliment Seras, the particular phrase that almost had lager filling his lungs was the line "aesthetically pleasing"
Still, credit to him as he sat next to Vuduin; albeit he still looked as if he were in a hostile enviroment.

However, what REALLY got Germaines attention was his ability.
This kid was literally something that could drain the life out of anything, and yet he was one of the meekest things he has ever seen.
That being said, it was probably for the better, someone malicious with that power would certainly be a formidable foe.

Germaine decided to ask him a question to hopefully give the kid a bit of confidence.
"You drain life from all that you touch; well those that you want to drain the lfie from at any rate, that would make you Yvetal, right? Or rather his avatar.
It appears we have the Life and Death pair at the table, although I must say that personality wise, it's not what I was expecting."
Kirlia gave him a souring look over the top of her glass - which was steadily getting emptier.

"I'm Germaine... Sorry I'm Giratina, but this body is Germaine. Call me whatever suits you best."

The Mayor and Justine behaved just about the same as they had done all evening. Mayor Mayer applauded profusely after Germaine's performance, marveled at Alain's destructive powers, and requested a second glass of wine. Ms. Huang continued to watch closely with a clinical expression, seeming to give one or two of the avatars more attention.

Unlike those two, the waitress Yolanda's demeanor seemed to be changing quickly. Even with all her training in professionalism, serving the avatars was beginning to overwhelm the poor server.

"Your food will be ready soon," the waitress explained. "We apologize for the wait; there was a... mix-up in the kitchen." Yolanda noticed the new guest and gave him a strained but courteous smile. "May I take your order, sir?" she asked Alain.

Alain stuttered some more as the man who had just finished playing the piano commented on him and the avatar of life.

"What did he mean by personality wise?"

"Um...thank you. Im Alain. Avatar of...well, I...er...think you know that already." Thankfully, someone asking him about his order. Unthankfully, that someone was another woman.

"...i'll...i'll...have...w-wha--whatever you thin--think is best."

There was a pause.

"T...thank you."

Seras: "The mayor recommends the baked Shellder linguine, and I'm happy to take his word for it."

Regarding Alain curiously. Although Germaine spoke rather forwardly, she agrees with him regarding Germaine's personality - incredibly shy for an avatar of destruction. Or maybe because of it?
"So how does your power work, exactly?" she inquired curiously. "Does it feed you in the same way as eating would, or does it supplement your other powers?"

Vuduin silently watched the newcomer, as did Shade. Quite a strange fellow. One might think that being an avatar would make you less reclusive not more. Unless of course that was what it had done, in which case Alain was worse off than he thought. He would've asked him a thing or two but Seras was already questioning him, apparantly to his terror. Vuduin didn't enjoy talking that much himself but Alain seemed like the very thought of it was equal to death itself, or worse.

After a few more minutes, a couple servers brought out everyone's entrees. Well, most of them. Since Alain ordered later, his food would come a little later. And it seemed there was a slight problem with Rebeca's order. Apparently the chef was suffering from temporary blindness at the moment, and the servers were anxiously trying to figure out how to avoid a similar fate. Of course, the servers didn't tell their guests the true nature of the hold-up. After the whole salt-sugar situation, the whole staff was nervous about getting bad reviews from the avatars.

Though Kaze was immensely hungry by the time the food had come around, he didn't eat at first. Instead, he watched the newest member of the group, Alain, as he seemed to be very uncomfortable around almost everyone. Letting his arm droop, his hand bumped his leg, and a soft ring came from his pocket when it did. His Soothe Bell! Maybe it would help Alain to be less nervous. Kaze stood and walked to Alain's seat, ringing the bell gently to display its calming effect on Jingle.

He reached out to Alain, offering the bell. "I noticed you were nervous," Kaze explained. "Hold on to this for the rest of the dinner. It always helps me out when I'm nervous. Maybe it can help you." Kaze offered a bright smile to the man, hoping he might accept.

Alain was keeping very still, the same way he would if faced with an angry ursaring. Maybe no one would notice him. He didnt know why he hadn't expected a situation like this on the way here. In hindsight, it was obvious that something like this would happen. Other people would be here...

Someone asked him about how his powers worked. He took a deep breath, and answered. It was only polite to...try and answer.

"Um...b...both. It prevents me from needing to eat or drink...and...stuff..."

He took a deep breath, and saw a boy standing next to him, ringing a bell.

"...why?" he thought, before the boy held it out to him, saying that it would calm him down. He took it. He wasnt sure if it was a placebo, but he felt a little better already.

"T-thank you."