[attr="class","diana"]"Relax," he said, as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

Bound to the table, with monitors and wires on her body, Diana breathed in shakily. HYPNOSIS was used. And she dreamed.

---

When she opened her eyes, she was in Galar. There were PIDGEYS and SPEAROWS chirping, pecking the ground for their next meal. It was peaceful.

How was this supposed to be a nightmare? Diana glanced over, spotting THEO BECKETT.

"I don't know if your experiment is working, Mr. Beckett-" As she was completing that sentence, an explosion came ahead, where the castle in Hammerlocke stood.

"Oh gods." She ran.

[attr="class","dianatag"]THEO BECKETT | enter the nightmare

[attr="class","diana"]She hated that he had a point. But she hated looking for whatever was causing this noise even more. At this point, Diana just wanted to take a nice, long bath and go to bed.

Even suffering in awkward silence with Remiel Calcifet was more worth it than hunting a ghost.

Diana followed behind the scientist, trying to see through the darkness. Whatever it was, it certainly had the advantage. "What if it's just the submarine malfunctioning?"

As she said that, there was a loud crashing sound behind her. She turned, gasping.



"Look!"

[attr="class","dianatag"]Amor Rose | ghost in the machine

[attr="class","diana"]Diana reached the depths of the chasm, ensuring that her path was not be tracked or followed. She was to meet with howard slayte to continue work, examining the tera crystals that were still growing down below.

She brought along a surprise for him as well. Whether or not he'd agree to the experiment was the question.

"I'm here," she announced, ducking into the makeshift lab. It had become all too familiar at this point.

Everything seemed to come back to the chasm.

[attr="class","dianatag"]howard slayte | zero to one hundred

[attr="class","diana"]She jolted awake, laying on a hard, flat surface that was all too uncomfortable to a royal back like hers. She groaned, sitting up slowly as if it required effort to. There was a feeling of fullness in her head, leaving it aching and her dizzy. There was something heavy on her face.

Her fingertips brushed across it, expected to touch her features. Instead, there was a mask.

Instinct told her to rip it off, but the chain wrapped around her head and neck only tightened, strangling her and choking her. She gasped, releasing her grip on the mask to cling to air and life itself. Only then did she get a good look at her surroundings.

Rusty, bolted table. An open toilet to be seen by everyone. Prison bars. A dripping sound. Shouts of anger off in the distance by someone she didn't recognize.

"What's going on here?" Diana asked.

Standing, she rushed to the bars, shaking them as if they'd magically open. They refused to budge. Her fleeting thoughts went to Remiel Calcifet.

"Remiel? Are you there?" No answer.

Instead, a voice came from behind her. Diana turned, looking to see a female figure with a mask she was sure she similarly donned. "I can't say I'm used to this..."

[attr="class","dianatag"]ameena abadi & luka chêne | prismatic penitentiary
- UGLY ward
- attempted to rip the mask off
- nearly suffocated
- calls for Remiel Calcifet
- speaks to ameena abadi

[attr="class","diana"]Although the snake was a mere figment of Bryan's power, it was still startling to see a creature slithering toward her before it was cast back into a branch. Diana laughed, almost nervously, before she spoke.

"I don't suppose perhaps I could ask for your protection? I could pay for it."

Eventually.

"I'm kidding. I know how to take care of myself. Though with the stories I've heard of Hoenn, I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities for danger. Your world is very different from my own."

Diana laughed. "Well, I'm from Galar. Hammerlocke, specifically. I wouldn't call myself a bigshot, though, unless you kept up with Galarian news outlets. It's mindless chatter."

[attr="class","dianatag"]bryan delarosa | protect the dyna tree

[attr="class","diana"]Diana couldn't help but laugh. Immortal, he said. There was no way a higher power would grant such lengths to someone, anyone.

There was disbelief on her face.

"I came to Rocket per a request," she answered, though her reply remained rather vague. Diana could pinpoint that bryan delarosa didn't know her connection to Remiel Calcifet. Why should she share that with him.

"Though the nature here in Hoenn is nice."

[attr="class","dianatag"]bryan delarosa | protect the dyna tree

[attr="class","diana"]Of course, she sat, ever the obedient lady.

Once she was sitting, a flurry of hands were strapping monitors and other items she didn't recognize to her body before they forced her to lay down. There was terror in her eyes already as she peered up at Theo.

"How?"

[attr="class","dianatag"]THEO BECKETT | enter the nightmare

[attr="class","diana"]Elise Calcifet caught up to her. It seemed that the royal cousin didn't look much different in the span that they had last seen each other. Perhaps she was a bit older, aging away from that young girl she'd remembered seeing.

Beside her, a POLTEAGEIST floated.

"Miss Calcifet, are you going to walk on eggshells around me this entire meeting?" Diana asked, tapping her fingers in her lap as she masked a face of annoyance. "We've known each other for years. Why are you afraid?"

She knew why the princess was afraid. She still wanted to hear it from her own lips.

Diana tilted away from the conversation, requesting a pot of herbal tea while she perused the menu. "But, yes, my journey here was fairly safe, despite the stormy seas. A bit of sloshing didn't stop me."

[attr="class","dianatag"]Elise Calcifet | putting on a front