in hoenn, they'd been caught off guard; guards slipped just for a moment which allowed the moto dragons an opportunity for vengeance. they had overcome it then but what about the next time? and the time after that?[break][break]

no more.[break][break]

while she sips coffee by the window, he spends a moment getting dressed. his tie, draped loosely over his shoulders, is fitted into a knot, pulled up to his collar. he exhales, already dreading what's to come.[break][break]

at her words, he looks over, peering out the window as he approaches.[break][break]

"have you ever been?"

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-naganadel"]

her eyes didn’t leave the structure. while it was still huge, and dwarfed the abandoned lighthouse she had renovated, it was still smaller than she remembered.[break][break]

”once, when i was a child.” with a family whom she realized he might’ve known much more about than she had shared with him—which had been practically nothing. [break][break]

did theo know about the abuse she had seen, or the neglect she had experienced? what stories had her brother shared with him during their time together, if any?[break][break]

she didn’t ask.[break][break]

”i was fascinated by the fresnel lens.” her own lighthouse had been gutted, but had not contained any such lenses to begin with, anyways. ”they’re very complex prisms. the glass is cut in a special way that absorbs less of the light when it refracts, so it’s sent especially far across the ocean.”[break][break]

”when i was little, i thought it was a giant crystal.”

[attr="class","ooc"]THEO BECKETT[break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-darkrai"]

theo leans his arm against the frame of the window, supporting his weight as he leans forward to properly peer out at the lighthouse. it's a considerable distance away but the crystal-like lens is hard to miss.[break][break]

"it sure looks like a giant crystal."[break][break]

his knowledge on lighthouses is limited at best.[break][break]

"we can visit after, if you want."[break][break]

after, said so casually that it almost shadows over what's to come. what needs to come, they'd decided.[break][break]

pushing off the window frame, he sighs, then glances down at lulu.[break][break]

"how's the coffee?"

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-naganadel"]

go and visit? sight-seeing, after what they were about to do?[break][break]

”no, that’s alright. there are plenty of lighthouses in hoenn.”[break][break]
she watched him stare out the window, briefly. had she not been quite so distracted by the task soon to be at hand, her gaze might’ve lingered to appreciate the way the morning light beamed back at him. [break][break]
his question about the coffee made her quickly come to terms that she was only forcing small talk. she rose from the table with a sigh.[break][break]
“it’s fine. it’s coffee.”[break][break]
she took it with her as she then paced across the room. her eyes lingered on an abstract painting as she anxiously bit onto the paper edge of the cup, though she was more composed-looking as she turned back towards him again. [break][break]
“it’s almost time.”[break][break]
downing the rest of the cup, she tossed it into a tiny lined trash can and went to a case on the kitchen counter. opening it, she began removing capsules and clipping them onto her belt.[break][break]
“let’s get it over with.”

[attr="class","ooc"]THEO BECKETT [break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-darkrai"]

theo lingers by the window as she paces across the room. it makes sense for her or for anyone to be anxious. to be planning mass murder is one thing but to actually follow through? lives taken, lives lost, all of them weigh heavy on his soul.[break][break]

this should be no different.[break][break]

with a sigh, he reaches for his coat, shrugs it on, then nods.[break][break]

"let's go."

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-naganadel"]

she shrugged on her coat and a pair of shades, from behind which her eyes looked one last time at the distant lighthouse out the window. she would never be back. she pulled the room key off the counter and led the way out the door.[break][break]

the walk down the carpeted hallway was quiet, down to the first floor. her step was practically falling out of the elevator the moment it opened, wasting no time. she set the key on the front desk smoothly as she passed by, and headed out the doors, past the driveway with freshly trimmed hedges to stand in the blinding light of a hulbury morning.[break][break]

she tossed a ball skyward as she turned back towards theo. her noctowl burst from it in a flurry of feathers and wide red eyes, rising into the air behind her. her alakazam were unfamiliar with galar, so they would be traveling the small rest of the way by air. [break][break]

taking her first attentive pause since they’d left the room, her eyes hung on theo in a cherishing gaze. had she been the slightest bit more sentimental, she might’ve gone for a last kiss before their gruesome mission. not goodbye, but good luck.[break][break]

instead, she remained all business.[break][break]

”do you have a bird?”

[attr="class","ooc"]THEO BECKETT [break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-noctowl"]

while it would have been nice to be sentimental even if only for a brief, fleeting moment, theo understands there is a time and a place for it.[break][break]

it will have to come later.[break][break]

"a few."[break][break]

his own pokeball is tossed into the air only to crack open to reveal his swanna. its feathers riffle against the warm winds of hulbury as it settles onto the pavement before them, understanding its duty.[break][break]

"it's not the stealthiest thing, but it'll do."

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-swanna"]

lulu’s face pinched a little. a swanna was not what she’d expected. she loathed water fowl, as they were incompetent and unreasonably feisty; alas, she trusted theo. he could likely train a pet rock to fly him over the moon. [break][break]

”it’s fine. we’ll land down the street,” she decided, before boarding her giant noctowl, which was also not very stealthy, really. ”we’re stealing a car when we get there, anyways.”[break][break]

soon, they were airborne. soaring, flying... all the way to hazy motostoke a city over. they’d drop into one of the cracked and forgotten alleyways. [break][break]

”just down the road is one of their businesses,” she explained, as she slid off her feathered mount. ”there’ll be a vehicle there that’ll give us clearance to get close to their headquarters.”

[attr="class","ooc"]THEO BECKETT [break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-noctowl"]

theo's love for water-types extends beyond just aquatic animals, as apparent by the swanna before them. its grace seems to compliment its trainer well; a reflection of the person he is becoming, perhaps.[break][break]

soon, they land in motostoke, and the scent of steam and smoke hits him even before they hit ground. it reminds him of cinnabar a little.[break][break]

"thank you," he mutters to his swanna before recalling it. pokemon may still be tools but he's learned to appreciate them more.[break][break]

at her words, he nods.[break][break]

"i assume we're sneaking in to steal their vehicle?"

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-swanna"]

theo did look majestic on the graceful swanna, lulu had just expected something else for some reason. a corviknight, maybe. [break][break]

in contrast to him, she was thankless to her noctowl; however, it didn’t look terribly offended. instead of returning it to its ball, she dismissed it to return to the air again, high overhead to watch them below.[break][break]

”yes,” lulu nodded at theo’s question. if we’re careful enough, we should just be able to just take it and leave.”[break][break]

and with that, they’d go around the corner, and head down the street. a couple of blocks, and there would be a pawn shop. lulu’s eyes homed in on a beat-up sedan. from the rearview mirror hung a gold dragon’s head, glinting in the sunlight through the window.[break][break]

”there’s one.”[break][break]

she glanced to the shop’s front door a moment before beginning to walk towards the parking lot, confirming, ”we’re taking it.”

[attr="class","ooc"]THEO BECKETT [break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-noctowl"]

being able to simply swoop in and steal the vehicle is nice. it lets them conserve their energy for the far bigger fight to come.[break][break]

he's quick to peer through the quarter glass, confirming that the vehicle is unlocked. the suckers likely left it that way for ease of use.[break][break]

opening the car door, he slides into the driver seat, thinking for a moment before deciding to look where the keys almost always are: pinched above the visor. the keys fall to his lap, accompanied by a pair of fuzzy die.[break][break]

the engine rumbles to life, and off they go.[break][break]

"this is a horrible car."

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-swanna"]

there would definitely be a fight, but this way, they would (hopefully) have the benefit of surprise.[break][break]

lulu had seen the security camera off the side of the building. they’d strode past it anyways. it’d be unlocked. that there’d be keys in it, because no one in galar would even think to steal a car with that dragon hanging from the mirror. no one except for the two of them.[break][break]

it sputtered and roared to life in a bad way. [break][break]

”yeah,” she agreed. ”but it’s the only way we’ll get far enough in to before they realize.” [break][break]

her eyes passed over the abundance of cigarette butts spilling out of the cassette deck, the burns in vinyl, the hole in the floorboard. she had forgotten the beginnings of her life in the dragons. it hadn’t been very glamorous, but, for some reason she couldn’t remember, she’d found it thrilling at the time. [break][break]

they pulled out with no trouble—however, they’d only made it a few blocks before another car turned a corner, following. one block, two blocks, three blocks…[break][break]

lulu watched it a moment, squinting, before she realized. [break][break]

”that car behind us was at the pawn shop.”[break][break]

they were headed to the outskirts, towards the mine. once they got out of the city, it would perhaps be easier to deal with.

[attr="class","ooc"]THEO BECKETT [break][break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-darkrai"]

the reflection in the rear-view mirror tells him they're being followed by an equally shitty car. are the moto dragons broke? is that it? he sighs, nodding as her words shortly after confirm it.[break][break]

he speeds up just a little, or at least as much as this car allows him to.[break][break]

"what's our approach?"[break][break]

because this is primarily her op. he's here to support and to ensure its success.

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-swanna"]