Meaning begins to fade away. Petty things like truth and ideals melt like ice beneath the hot sun. What's real? What's not? It's so hard to tell, isn't it? She can't even believe in simple things, like the black or the white. Its all just empty shapes, phantoms dancing shades of gray.

A silhouette stands above her. What is it? Predator? Prey? Something else entirely? Maybe, no, maybe. She can imagine herself being devoured by some beast or murderer or l̷o̷v̴e̷r̷, and she can imagine some third scenario, but the second? No. There is no hunter within her. No rough edges or unwelcome hardness. This is a rose without thorns, as pleasant as can be. Perhaps that's why Arceus makes her suffer so much.

Is this a test?

No. To be tested implies one would be worthy of judging in the first place. And she's anything but.

This can only be taken at face value. Delirious, she considers the unspoken offer in front of her: If she doesn't take it, she will die. Nothing more. If she does... Well, she doesn't know. But it can't be worse than death. It can't be worse than suffering. It can't be worse than what she's gone through before.

Summoning what little strength remains within her, she reaches for the outstretched arm.

---

nikkari hect
6xTOwrNh

Well, this has went surprisingly well! After all of this blind wandering, it was good to be with someone who knew the lay of the land. N-not that the others didn't know, mind! But a ranger? A ranger didn't just know, they knew. With Leilani leading the way, finding these dogs would be a piece of cake!

At least, that was the hope. For all she knew, they could've long since left, or the rumours could've been false, or... Well, she was trying not to worry about that right now!

"I'm from Johto, originally." She explained as she walked, keeping her eyes peeled for any pits of quicksand or sudden drops as she did so. "Ecrutreak City, to be specific. Just moved to Hoenn recently! Wanted a fresh start..."

She trailed off. Oops. Veering a little too personal, there. Better course correct real quick.

"So, um, have you been here long? The chasm, I mean."

---

Leilani Kalawai'a
SI5SJ|Q3

She's too late.

By the time Mitsuru had arrived to Route 119, the battle is already over. Latios and Latias are long gone. In that sense, the entire trip was a waste. But that was just a pessimistic view of things! Looking at it optimistically... Um... At least running over here helped her get her cardio in? Okay, there's no glass half-full way of looking at this. The glass isn't even half-empty, either. The glass is just empty.

Ugh... If only that bridge hadn't collapsed! She lost so much time taking that big diversion to get across the river... And now she ended up coming all this way and getting soaked by the rain for nothing! This sucked. This SUCKED. Uggggggggh...

Still, there was no point crying over spilt milk. So, breathing a dejected sigh, the mystic turned back the way she came, and began the long trip back to Slateport.

---

Tropical rains referenced, pogging out with 3 mochi.

"Bwuh?"

At first, Mitsuru was confused. Then, as a spray of snow blasted out from right above her, she was even more confused. Finally, she turned her head upwards, and all of her questions were answered.

"EEP!"

Much like the poor Vaporeon, Mitsuru froze. Except instead of extreme cold, she was frozen by extreme panic. What? Huh? When? Why? Why her? Heck? Heck. HECK!

The mystic wasn't sure what she was supposed to do, but in the end, she didn't get a chance to do anything. Instead, Marina threw her ice cube of a Vaporeon straight at the robot, hitting it head-on. That was good! Except for the fact that its tail ended up nailing her right in the nose. That was bad.

"ACK!" THUNK. And then, unconsciousness.

And so, for the second time in the last few minutes, she fell. This time, however, instead of a nice soft Stunfisk breaking her fall, she landed on hard, rigid metal. Needless to say, CRUNCH.

The battle was over. The two of them laid there, one defeated by head trauma, the other defeated by head trauma related clumsiness. In the end, only Marina remained standing.

If only there were an insurance package that could've prevented this. Alas.

---

marina blanc
HwCPaj4_

She made a mistake.

She wanted to meet them. She wanted to see them. It had been so long. All she wanted was one chance. To see their faces. To know they were alright. To know she didn't have to worry about them anymore. She knew that was selfish. She knew she had no right. She knew she lost the privilege. But was it really so wrong?

The warmth beneath her skin drains out, and in comes a creeping chill. The cold is intolerable, and yet, so familiar to her. Is it snowing? It feels like it's snowing. She hopes it's snowing. Like it was back then.

Back then... She wished she could go back then. More than anything else in the world. But she can't go back. Not anymore.

She tried for so long, and it wasn't good enough. Then, she tried even harder, and it wasn't good enough. Even now, as she tries her hardest, it just isn't good enough. What about tomorrow? Can she push herself any more? Does she have anything left to give? Will she ever have enough? Maybe this is for the best. It's too hard to keep trying. It's time to just accept the consequences of the past thirty-five years.

And for a while, she does. Ribbons tie themselves around her soul. The river is calling. It's time to cross.

And then, she hears a voice calling. The same voice, but different. She trusts it. She believes it. She doesn't know why. She has no reason to, but she does.

And so, she calls out into the dark.

"Help..."

---

nikkari hect
CLYbnluC

"A Paradox Pokemon?"

Mitsuru blinked. Huh! Now that she mentioned it, that certainly seemed plausible! Maybe one of them caused that big flash? She looked around, peering to the left and to the right, glancing over her shoulders, and even leaning over to take a peek at the fish in the water. Yet no matter where she looked, she couldn't see any sign of a dinosaur nor a robot...

...Ow. Why did her neck feel so stiff? And her head was so heavy, too. She really hoped she didn't break anything when she fell...

"No, I don't think so." Mitsuru shook her head, though given how little it moved, it barely seemed like it. "At least, I don't see any around here. I think if they did do it, we would've noticed them by now, right?"

Unbeknownst to Mitsuru and very beknownst to Marina, there WAS a Paradox Pokemon among them. In fact, it was far closer than the mystic seemed to think. Perched atop of Mitsuru's head, little feet precariously balanced on her head, was none other than an Iron Bundle.

---

marina blanc
niaw8BCm

Through great struggle (On Mitsuru's part) and great effort (On Preston's part), she began to ascend. A centimetre became an inch became a foot became a meter became more and more and more. Then, finally, like a humble Magikarp cresting a grand waterfall, Mitsuru flung herself out of the quicksand and back onto dry land.

For a moment, she just laid there, slumped over on the ground panting and puffing like an overweight Poochyena on a five minute walk. Despite doing almost none of the heavy lifting, she was completely exhausted. Her body felt like it had just finished deadlifting a three-hundred kilogram weight. More than anything else right now, she wanted to go home, eat some leftover fast food, take a hot bath, and sleep for the next twelve hours.

But she couldn't. Not while she still had something she had to see through. So, after taking the time to recover, she pulled herself back up to her feet, dusted herself off, and turned to face Preston.

"Thank you, Mr Fugu!" Mitsuru bowed. Alas, words were all she had in way of thanks right now. Not before she did what she needed to do. Until then, anything better would have to wait for another day and another time. "I'll figure out how to pay you back for this one day, I promise!"

With that, Mitsuru quickly straightened up and scurried away, taking care to give the quicksand a wide berth. She'd certainly learned her lesson from this one. She'd be way more cautious from here on out. No more silly trips and stupid falls for her! Probably! Maybe! She hoped...!

---

Preston Fugu
7rLNyhE0

She ran.

She ran and she ran and she ran.

She ran until her chest was tight and her lungs empty. She ran until her feet were sore and her legs shaky. She ran until her rhythm of her heartbeat was a cacophony devoid of rhyme and rhythm. And yet, despite that, she couldn't get away. She pushed herself as hard as she could and gave all she had to give, and it still wasn't enough.

She didn't even know what she was running from. Maybe she never did. But she knew it was right behind her. She knew it was going to catch her. And she knew it was going to hurt her.

Mitsuru Kagami is no warrior. She's not a soldier, nor a ranger. She's not built for this. Her body is already at its limits. All that's keeping her going is adrenaline and instinct, but with a will closer to water than iron, even those things leave her, too.

Until finally, she can take no more. She stumbles, she trips, and then, she falls. She hits the ground like a freshly slain corpse, waiting for the last of its life to leave it. She can't even move anymore. Her body won't even let her scream. All she can do is lay there, gasping for breath, and pray that it won't be as bad as she knows it is.

---

nikkari hect
FMV9tC3Y

"I'm fine! I'm fine..."

She wasn't, but she also wasn't eight years old, so she couldn't complain about her ouches and owies anymore without sounding extremely silly.

With a groan, Mitsuru peeled herself off the ground (and the poor unsuspecting Stunfisk that had broke her fall). Then, with an even louder, more unathletic groan, she grabbed onto the ledge and dragged herself back up to the main level of the cave. It was, frankly, an embarrassing display. On one hand, she was lucky that only Marina was around to see it. On the other hand, oh heck, Marina was around to see it.

Still, she rubbed her eyes, cleared her throat, and did her best to ignore the obvious blush spreading across her face.

"It's nothing serious, just a few scrapes and bruises. Some jerk flashed the entire cave, and I got so disoriented, I lost my balance. Ugh, seriously, the nerve of some people? Can you believe it? But, Ah! Enough about me, are you okay? You didn't get caught up in any of that, did you?"

---

marina blanc
WMiNwD2w

So, this Ranger was also looking for the Legendary dogs, huh? Mitsuru supposed that wasn't surprising, all things considered. After all, it wasn't like she had some kind of exclusive intel. The rumours she'd read were simply out there on the internet, free for anyone to read. It made sense that the League would've seen them, too, and it made just as much sense that they'd try and track them down.

Judging by her choice of words, though, it seemed like they hadn't found them yet. Which... Was that good, or bad? She wasn't quite sure. N-not that Mitsuru didn't trust the League, mind! But...

"...Ah."

Darn. Not going to be that easy, huh? Mitsuru breathed a small sigh, before taking a deep breath. And then? A crushing silence descended upon the pair, growing heavier and heavier with every passing second. The mystic simply stood there awkwardly, wondering what to say. Was she supposed to say anything? She'd been run so ragged trying to get around in this treacherous place that her brain was completely frazzled. She struggled to grasp at obvious social cues, trying to figure out what question or quip she needed to vocalise to break the building tension.

Fortunately, she didn't need to, as Leilani got to the introductions first. Right! That was what she'd forgot! Hah, ha ha, hah... She wanted to take a nap so bad...

"I'm Mitsuru. Mitsuru Kagami." She introduced herself in kind, performing a brisk bow of greeting before righting herself once more. "It's very nice to meet you. You have a lovely name! It's Alolan, right?"

---

Leilani Kalawai'a
HZF9jLvV

And then, without so much as a word of warning, she was flashbanged.

"EEP!"

A yelp of pain filled the air as every crystal in the cavern explodes into blinding light. Mitsuru forced her eyes shut as she staggered forth, her body struggling to process the eye-searing pain it just experienced. Ow ow ow ow OW OW OW! What the heck?! Foolishly, she took an uneven step forward, immediately sending her sense of balance out of whack. So, she took another forward, and like the swaying of a pendulum, she was now off-balance in the opposite direction. One step forward, one step back, one step forward, one step back, she staggered back and forth, trying to get a grip, until--

SLIP!

She accidentally tripped over a stray Vaporeon, and proceeded to stumble forward, right over the edge, and down to a lower level.

"EEEEEEEEEP!"

She was lucky, really. Compared to her previous fall, at least this was only five feet instead of a hundred. But then she thought about it for a second, and came to a different conclusion: The fact that she could even make that comparison meant that wasn't even the slightest bit lucky!

Ugh... Well, at least her landing had been soft...

---

marina blanc
RV5jdUJt

"E-ehehehe..."

Crap, he remembered! Mitsuru had really hoped he'd forgot about that whole "throwing up" incident. Then again, if a strange woman came into her business and threw up all over her, then she'd probably remember that, too. In fact, she'd probably never forget... Ugh, this REALLY sucked! Even just thinking about it made her want to curl up into a ball and die. Metaphorically, of course. If she literally curled up into a ball, then she'd actually die. She didn't want that. She was trying to avoid that.

To that end, when Preston tossed a vine down to her, she was ecstatic. Having to pull herself up, though? That brought her back down to Earth, and a little deeper into the quicksand, too. Oh well. she supposed she couldn't be picky, considering the circumstances.

"Thank you! Um, on three? Okay, on three... One, two, THREE!"

And so, she pulled. She pulled with all the strength of an unathletic middle-aged woman. She pulled with all the power of someone who hadn't eaten anything but microwave meals and takeout for several months straight. She pulled with all the might of a woman who hadn't gone to the gym since January 8th, 2024.

But more than anything else, she pulled as though her life depended on it. Because as far as she was concerned? It did.

---

Preston Fugu
Zns0NAab

...Does this feel like a sitcom? Mitsuru's watched more than a few, and nothing like this ever happened in Friends or Full House. Then again, she did recall something similar happening in 2 Broke Girl$...

"Wait, REALLY?"

He's actually approaching it? Even after it fell out of the sky and everything? Nope. No. Nuh-uh. He's GOT to be crazy if he thinks she's getting near that thing! All of a sudden, being behind him doesn't feel so safe anymore, so instead, she watched his approach from the next safest place she could find - Behind a nearby rock. Which, if she knew this guy's name, would've made for a great pun! Alas, she didn't.

As Alexander examined the metal debris, he'd quickly find it wasn't debris at all, but instead, a Paradox Pokemon. The banged-up husk of an Iron Hands didn't answer. Instead, it lay dormant in the hole of its own making, covered in dents and punctures from the force of its impact.

Had it also fallen down from the cliffs up above?

---

ALEXANDER STONE
QN4inMFV