Roleplay:Poacher's Intrigue

Plot
Mobius is home to an immense variety of fauna, many of whom have supernatural properties, such as Elemental manipulation. However, in the wild, there is no such thing as complete safety, and many of these creatures fall prey to an unnatural threat; poachers.

Hunting is not an uncommon practice on Mobius; meat and pelts are valuable, especially to those who live outside of cities and towns. But poachers take things an illegal step further and typically target vulnerable species, killing them either for sport or for monetary gain. They may even capture live specimens and sell them for money. Quite a few species on Mobius have become endangered or close to it thanks to the works of poachers.

Things are not all grim, however; there are many conservationists who have tirelessly fought back against poachers, and have managed to thwart some of their efforts. Unfortunately, there may be a rise in more powerful groups of poachers...

Rules

 * 1) Stick to the plot. Do not alter it to revolve around your character, do not change it drastically, etc.
 * 2) No Godmodding. You should all know what this means; no auto-hitting, no random attacks, no constant avoidance of damage, no metagaming, etc.
 * 3) No Trolling.
 * 4) No picking random fights with others.
 * 5) Do not just randomly jump into a scene. Either ask, or build up your arrival accordingly (I.E "Suddenly, such and such and such" or "Meanwhile, somewhere else blah blah blah")
 * 6) No hogging all the glory.
 * 7) No controlling other users' characters without their permission.
 * 8) Put effort in your posts. I mean it; none of this "Person: Shadow Ball! *uses Shadow Ball*" crap.
 * Acceptable method: (Person: Shadow Ball! *charges up a concentrated ball of shadow energy, and then fires it at Person 2*)
 * Preferred method: ("Shadow Ball!" Person yelled. Cupping his hands in front of him, he began charging up a concentrated ball of pure shadows. After a few seconds he threw the ball at Person 2.)

Current Participants
''Moderators are the peacekeepers of the RP (their names are in green). Listen to them if they tell you that you broke a rule, and don't throw a hissy pissy fit if they give out constructive criticism on how you RP. Only people that I (Ryushusupercat) absolutely trust get to be moderators.''
 * green - RP Owner/Moderator
 * Strikes: 0


 * green - Moderator
 * Strikes: 0


 * Gothic
 * Strikes: 0


 * Spyken
 * Strikes: 0


 * SuperSilverXtreme14
 * Strikes: 0

Banned Users
None so far. Let's keep it that way.

Protagonists
''Those with generally heroic motives, most notably being opposed to poaching and the destruction of the environment. Characters in bolded italics are side characters, not likely to impact the plot significantly.''
 * T.S.E.P - Played by Ryu and anyone else who owns a character that is a member of this group. A small, nonprofit organization that focuses on environmental concerns.
 * Rowan the Squirrel - Played by Ryu. A zoologist who is staunchly against poaching.
 * Conner the Squirrel - Played by Ryu.
 * Ice Clan of Kyanos - Played by Ryu and and anyone else who owns a character that is a member of this group.
 * Nature Clan of Mokuhana - Played by Ryu and and anyone else who owns a character that is a member of this group.
 * Calvin and Micah - These two boys love animals, so naturally they wouldn't want them to get hurt. Played by Ryu.
 * G.U.N - played by anyone who has a character that is a member of this group.
 * Lt. Rufaro Machán - She primarily operates within the Efrikan division of G.U.N. Played by Ryu.
 * Arid the Shrew - A compassionate shrew who will do anything in his power to protect the environment and the creatures living in it. Especially from those who seek to use them for their own gain. Played by SuperSilverXtreme14.
 * Natalie the Chameleon - A traveling botanist, Natalie searches for new and exotic plants to write about in her plant journal. If the environment is in any danger, she won't hesitate to save it, and the creatures living in it. Played by SuperSilverXtreme14.

Neutral
''Those with unclear motives, or characters who may oppose both the protagonists and the antagonists. Characters in bolded italics are side characters, not likely to impact the plot significantly.''
 * Cooper the Squirrel - Played by Ryu. The cowardly younger brother of Roland the Squirrel, Cooper more often than not acts as unwilling bait for the dangerous creatures his brother hunts.
 * Avalaine the Eagle - Despite her allegiance to the Eggman Army, this Soumerca Sub-Boss detests those who would harm the environment or its animals...although it's hard to say that she enjoys working for the Eggman Empire.
 * Orbot and Cubot - Played by VGN34D. Although these two obvious lackeys work for Eggman, they lean towards on the more neutral side because even they refuse to allow the environment and animals to be harmed, but they will need the aid of various Egg robots along the way.
 * The Storm Syndicate - A mysterious mafia-style group stationed somewhere within Eurish. Played by Ryu and anyone who has a character that is a member of this group.
 * Clemente Adesso - The current leader of The Storm Syndicate. Played by Ryu.
 * Finnegan Sarsaparilla - An orphan boy who was adopted by Clemente. Played by Ryu.
 * Eloisa Adesso - Clemente's mother; she happens to own a pet Pilvegern. Played by Ryu.
 * Zeta the Echidna - A echidna-alien "hybrid" through experimentation. She could care less what happens. Played by Gothic.
 * Lightning Bolt - Formerly the athletic entourage of the former Olympic star Bolt, they are now reduced to some kind of "mercenaries" after the former's fall. Played by Spyken.
 * Bolt the Cheetah - A formerly famous Olympic champion, he lost everything after one big scandal. Played by Spyken.
 * Bolt's sister - Bolt's older sister, sticks with him no matter what, even if she by her own words "hates his guts". Played by Spyken and anyone else who wants to use her for comic relief. (Just don't forget asking for it)
 * Raul the Bull - Bolt's best friend and former personal trainer. Nice to everyone and knows quite a lot about the workings of the body, but is lacking in some other daily aspects, which tends to make him look dumb. Played by Spyken and anyone given permission.
 * Flix the Cat - The newest addition to the group, no one really knows where this mysterious shadow-manipulating cat comes from. Originally just kept around for his powers. Played by Spyken.

Antagonists
''Those with selfish motives, most notably being poachers or otherwise actively involved in environmental destruction. Characters in bolded italics are side characters, not likely to impact the plot significantly.''
 * Roland the Squirrel - Played by Ryu. A Moebian who only cares about the thrill of big-game hunting and the money he gets for selling the valuable parts of his kills.
 * The Silver Huntsmen - A powerful, rich and influential mafia-run group that operates all over Mobius. They run an illegal hunting/poaching ring and also sponsor cage fights. Played by Ryu and anyone who has a character that is a member of this group.
 * Alkaline the Destroyer - A mysterious, alien-like being who seeks to use the environment and the creatures dwelling in it for his own evil intentions. Played by SuperSilverXtreme14.

Part 1
It was mid-day in the jungles of the Mystic Ruins. Two Mobian squirrels were making their way through the dense underbrush; the slightly taller, rust-colored member of the pair was holding what looked like a small tracking device.

"Okay, explain why we're out here again? It feels like a sauna...!" the younger squirrel complained. His older companion frowned but didn't turn to him, instead focusing on the device.

"I told you, we're checking up on the Plumed Sylphs that got microchipped," he said, looking upwards now, towards the trees. Normally they were alive with the sounds and sights of the jungle's rich ecosystem, but today things seemed silent, and that unsettled the rust-colored squirrel. He held the device up, brow furrowed.

"...this isn't right...there should be some kind of signal...!"

This particular stretch of the jungle was home to a colony of Plumed Sylphs...at least, it normally was. But there didn't seem to be any sign of the creatures. The resident colony had about half of its members microchipped about a month ago by members of G.U.N's Soumercan Wildlife division, to keep track of them, but he wasn't getting any of the microchipped individuals on the radar.

Where were they?

"This isn't good," he mumbled to himself. The two continued walking forward until the older squirrel's tracker started to beep. Ears perking up, he darted forward, following the radar. His companion groaned and took off after him, wiping sweat off his brow.

The radar led them to a clearing; a small creature was huddled up near the base of a tree, seeming to be crouching over something. The rust-colored squirrel's ears drooped.

"Oh no..."

He walked forward slowly, and the creature immediately flared its considerably large (compared to its body) and feathery wings, hissing. The younger squirrel peered over his companion's shoulder.

"Is that a Sylph...?"

He nodded.

"Yeah. A Plumed Sylph..."

But his attention was focused on the form below the defensive Plumed Sylph; it was another Plumed Sylph, but clearly deceased, its wings, antenna and tail having been removed, leaving only bloodied stumps. It's still-living companion was valiantly guarding the body.

"They had to have been mates," he mumbled. A rustling noise came from the Sylph as it rapidly vibrated its wings, as if trying to scare the two squirrels off.

"So is one of them microchipped, then?" the orange-red squirrel asked. The other slowly approached the Plumed Sylph, crouching low to not seem so large to it.

"Yeah...I don't know which one has the chip, though..."

The Sylph hissed and chattered at him again, continuing its threat display even though it would unlikely be able to significantly harm either of the two squirrels, not that they had any intention of harming it. Rowan, however, needed to collect the body to bring back to G.U.N's Soumercan Wildlife Division for study, and he slowly crept towards the Sylph.

"SCREEEE!"

The Sylph lunged at Rowan quick as a whip, and the sudden movement admittedly startled the squirrel, causing him to freeze in place. The Sylph continued to screech at him, still rustling its wings.

"Uhh... maybe we should leave it alone," Conner mumbled. Rowan shook his head.

"I can't, I need to bring the body back to G.U.N," he said, watching the defensive Sylph; despite its size, it was clearly not scared of Rowan, and he knew the critter could give him a nasty bite if it wanted to.

"Problem is... Sylphs mate for life, and they get incredibly attached to their mates..."

"Why not bring the living one back too, then?" Conner suggested. Rowan frowned.

"Not sure if that'd be a good idea, taking it out of its natural habitat," he said, sighing a bit as he sat down, still watching the Sylph. Conner shrugged.

"It'd be kinda mean to take the body and leave the survivor nothing to grieve over, though, wouldn't it? Don't you wildlife guys do animal rehabilitation or something?"

"Well, yes, but that'd have to be discussed with the higher-ups," Rowan said.

Somewhere in a dense forest, a female lynx could be heard shouting. "Ouch!", she said. "That's the third time already! Why are there so much weeds here!?" "Well I don't really know, but I think that the fact that we are in a forest might have something to do with it sis.", her younger brother snarkily replied. "Oh, shut up Bolt", she replied.

The group known as Lightning Bolt was searching the woods as part of a "simple" retrieving mission. A young and rich businesswoman had tasked them to retrieve a young male Solas Koskerafi and any kind of Quetzalcoatl pair, specifying that she wanted them alive and in good health. While the task looked pretty on paper, the group ran into some...difficulties.

"I think your discomfort is tied with your current clothing not covering enough", a grey cat said.

"Well sorry mister monotone, how was I supposed to know we would be attacked by an angry mob of landsharks, that would get my clothes all wet? I had no choice but to wear these clothes (which I ironically wanted to wear while taking a break at a lake...)", the female lynx replied.

"You may be right", Flix replied. "Come on guys, don't tease her that much", said a male bull to them. "Let's just continue, it's easy money!"

"You still believe that Raul?", Bolt replied. "That easy money managed to outrun even me and those damn snakes almost blinded me. Not to mention that we've been walking forever without encountering anything now. Hell, the only ones we were able to get close with were Flix's distant family!"

"I don't remember meeting any relatives", Flix replied at the snarking lynx. But perhaps the group may yet catch a lucky break; in a small clearing up ahead, a Solas Koskerafi was grazing peacefully on some grass, and seemed unaware of the approaching strangers.

"You're maybe right Bolt, maybe we should..." "Wait a minute, look over there! Isn't that one of those deer we're looking for?" the lynx said while interrupting his tall friend. "I knew we would find another one haha! Easy money here I come!", he continued enthusiastically.

"I really am ashamed we share the same blood sometimes", his sister sighed. "I do hope you're not going to charge at him again trying to slash it with that dark claw of yours, or do I need to remind you again we need him in good health?"

"First of all, it's Shadow Claw okay? Second of all sis, no, one time is enough. The last time they got away due to your intervention. And third, I already know how to deal with this; go trump card!", Bolt said while pointing to Flix.

"But that's not my name, why would you call me that?", the cat replied. After a quick explanation from the sighing lynx, Flix disappeared in a shadowy portal, only to partially emerge under the unwitting creature and grab it down by its legs. Due to Flix' powers being darkness based, the Koskerafi was weakened and could not directly struggle against the capture. Bolt and Raul used that short time to quickly grab the creature and try to detain it.

AS soon as its legs were grabbed, the Koskerafi let out a panicked bleat and started to squirm, thrashing as hard as it could against the combined efforts of Flix, Bolt, and Raul. Being so small, however, it really had no chance in a physical sense. Still panicking, it opened its mouth, antlers glowing, and spat a few bolts of Light energy at the Mobians.

Bolt was able to avoid those coming at him and Raul managed to shrug off the one that hit him (meanwhile Bolt's sister was frantically moving left and right to avoid being hit), but soon as the Koskerafi's bolt's hit Flix' portal, it closed with him in it and the Koskerafi's legs came out. Sensing the creature would regain composure, Raul slammed it with both his arms on it's back, putting all of his force into it, causing the poor Koskerafi to drop down.

The terrified creature was trying to stand back up when Raul's arms came slamming down upon its back, causing it to bleat in pain and collapse underneath his pressure; its legs were too trapped for it to kick, and it seemed like most of the fight had been taken out of it. In a nearby tree, some Sylphs had been nervously watching the fight, before Raul's attack caused them to flutter away with panicked chirps.

The sound of the panicked Sylphs fluttering away scared Bolt's sister, who started running away. "Sis! The Tenebrite net!", Bolt shouted to her. Grabbing her backpack, she quickly took the net and gave it to the boys, who both proceeded to put it on the suffering creature. "Sorry for that buddy", Raul sadly said. "Didn't want to harm you more than necessary, but we had no choice."

The Koskerafi just continued to bleat in terror, struggling its hardest to get out of the confines of the Tenebrite-fiber net; the latent Darkness energy in it seemed to sap the creature's strength somewhat, however, keeping it from thrashing too much.

While the creature was still struggling, Flix emerged from a portal. "Look who finally decided to show up", Bolt said to him. "A fine trump card you make!" "Sorry for that, I got lost on the way back", Flix replied. "Well since you're here, can you transport this one into the van?", Raul asked. "No problem", Flix replied as he opened another portal.

By now, the Koskerafi had stopped bleating, well and truly exhausted.

Meanwhile...

The robot lackeys, Orbot and Cubot were joined by the Eggman Army and were tasked in capturing the animals, which was their primary mission. Cubot was fidgeting his thumbs around.

"Hey uhh... Orbot? Remind me again as to why Eggman wanted us to capture these small, furry adorable creatures?"

With Cubot's question comes with Orbot turning himself around to face his dimwitted friend, his expression looking unamused at best, "Perhaps Eggman hasn't given you enough upgrades to your memory banks. We've been sent to capture animals for his usual deeds. I needn't to explain this any further, you square-headed dolt..."

Cubot groaned out, obviously hating the name but still continued to search with Orbot and the others, no less. The faction of the Egg Army that Orbot and Cubot were accompanying just so happened to be Sub-Boss Avalaine's faction of the Soumerca Egg Army... and she was quite displeased.

"I fight beak and nail to get my base set up in this jungle and I don't even get to keep the ecosystem in check," she grumbled. "What does he need wild animals for?? He can build pretty much anything he wants!"

The leopard accompanying her said nothing; she had well gotten used to her boss' tangents of being environmentally conscious. However, something caught her eye.

"Boss, look," she pointed up ahead, to a gap in the trees; this pathway led out into a lovely beach, the sand warmed by the sun. And hanging out on the beach was a pack of Thresher Tiebúron, numbering about fifteen strong; there were several pups in the pack, as well.

"I call first dibs!" Cubot called out before hurriedly heads towards the beach, throwing caution to the wind in the process.

"Cubot, wait--!" Orbot groaned out in frustration and with annoyance. "That square-headed dimwit, I swear...!"

"Cubot you imbecile!!" Avalaine screeched, watching helplessly as he bolted towards the pack of Tiebúron. The sight of Cubot running towards them immediately set the adults on edge, and they promptly formed a wall between the charging Cubot and their pups, snarling.

"He's probably going to die," the leopard commented.