Oscar's soft expression quickly hardened, his eyes seamlessly morphing from a neutral gaze into a heated leer. "Mistake..." He repeated quietly, his shoulders tensing as he tried to control his impulses. He let out a shaky breath, trying not to lose his temper on Howard for his--ignorance. Oscar grinned his teeth as his mouth forced itself into a smile. "Mistake..." He repeated, struggling not to say anything further that he my regret.

He let out another breath, harsher than the last but more effective at keeping him calm. Finally he felt like he could keep control over his words, though his tone still sounded rife with restrained frustration. "I'm not so naive as to believe that Genesect is capable of love, or any feelings for that matter. Its ability to remember what its like though, despite any memory that it was alive at all being wiped from its mind, is invaluable to the field of artificial intelligence."

Oscar jerked his head to the side, his eyes twitching as he struggled to maintain his composure. "You have within your possession, what very well could be the first artificial intelligence--created by what might as well be neanderthals--and you don't want to teach it? To study it and watch it learn? To explore the extent of its ability to grow beyond its nature as a glorified husk? That's--that's--"

Idiotic? Insane? Maddening? Oscar held his tongue and let out a smooth sigh. His heart rate began to normalize as his calm demeanor gradually returned. His face softened as he finished his thought. "Disappointing." He let the word hang before continuing the conversation, "I understand that you do not find such pursuits to be valuable. That's alright, I don't blame you. But at the very least Regice needs to be trained to behave how you want it to behave. Once again, I offer my expertise to that effort should you need it."

Oscar sat himself back down, grabbing his goggles and carefully strapping them back to his head. "Or you could do nothing and let this happen all over again. Whatever makes you feel the most comfortable."

howard slayte

From the showers to his cell, Oscar had blankly stared. His mind was awash with thoughts, yet looking at his broken expression might convince you otherwise. His inner musings were a storm of clashing negativity. 'You're not enough. You're nothing without the chain. Nobody trusts you. Nobody should trust you. You should kill Navy, redeem yourself. You're a worm in the dirt. Kill Navy. Nothing you do will ever matter. KILL NAVY.'

He only broke out of his daze when he realized that mochi had been delivered to their cell. Oscar suddenly brightened up, grabbing two of the peachy globs and feverishly consuming them. The mochi was the key to everything, it had to be. Why else would his chain react to it as the cold morsels passed through his throat. The more mochi he ate, the closer he would get to the future he desired.

Yet he had to share his serving with his cellmate, and as Oscar realized this he would stare at the feeble Navy with placid eyes. It was like watching a helpless creature try to survive on its own, a fawn without a mother. It would be so easy to wrong his--Oscar shook his head, he had no reason to think of such things.

Yet he could not help but resent Navy, defending him made Oscar look weak. Not just to the warden, but to his fellow Rockets as well. He had to redeem himself somehow--make his blunder worthwhile. But how?

Eventually, Oscar forced out a question. "How are you feeling?"

Michael Navidson

Poor Oscar was too embarrassed to look Mint in the eyes as he approached to help him. Like a prideful child he would just pout and look away, hoping that it would all resolve itself on its own. "I'm fine I just fell on my--"

Oscar tensed up as Mint touched the back of his head, asking him if he could still see straight. He had not hit his head at all, but the gentle pressure of Mint's hand was too comforting to reject. Oscar made the mistake of locking eyes with Mint, briefly getting lost in his emerald gaze. Oscar's agitation slowly melted away, replaced with the annoyance of being charmed by a pretty face.

He tried to play it off. "Yeah I'm fine. I see fine. I feel fine. I'm fine." Oscar carefully pushed himself to his feet, wobbling slightly as his boots struggled to readjust to the ice. "I've got bruised in worse places, I'll just sit on ice when I get home."

Oscar teetered forward before finally settling into a confident stride. The ice smoothed out the further in they went, almost as if it were turning into stone. Their surroundings began to crystalize, the cave surfaces being smothered by frost. It would be pretty if Oscar were not focused on looking for the bird. Oscar shuttered as the chill became more biting. "H-how much further sh-should we go i-i-in, do you think?"

Oscar was trying to not appear cold, but his body's trembling betrayed such a notion.

mint frost

Oscar put a hand up to his cheek, lightly tapping his sunken skin as he took in what Howard said. His assumptions were more or less correct, but Oscar understood where Howard was coming from. It was an Honest mistake from a man that does not know any better, how could Oscar fault him for that. Oscar thought back on all of the angry thoughts he had been repressing, and after hearing Howard speak they almost seemed childish. It caused Oscar to chuckle and shake his head, even now he had growing up to do.

"Oh Howard, it's so much more than that." Oscar stood up and tapped on Genesect's lifeless body. "Genesect was designed to be a killing machine. It was only supposed to think about the best way to take out its targets and nothing more. Yet despite our best efforts, it retained the memory of its past emotions. Through that slightest of tethers, I was able to train it to think beyond its programming. It's learned so much, just from spending time with its trainer."

Oscar raised his hand palm-up and pointed at Howard, "Genesect had to be taught though. Regice may be a machine, but it's still a pokemon. It needs to actually learn new behaviors, like trusting trainers other than its own. That I can help you with."

Oscar leaned against the opperating table, crossing his arms before sighing deeply. "As for the power source, we might be up shit creek. For all I know that thing might as well run on magic."

howard slayte

Oscar nodded at Lulu's musing, "I'm picking up parts of it, but it would be nice to understand full sentences. I'll put it on my to-do list, maybe I can make some sort of translator." Oscar brightened up as he remembered an important detail about his traveling companion. "Wait, software is more your department right? Coding and what not? That's how we met, I hired you to hack! Having someone that understands the back end may help with creating a translation."

Oscar paused before chuckling to himself. "I can't believe I nearly forgot that about you."

Prime tilted its head curiously, it found the answer of its kin to be puzzling. Perhaps it was named Genesect because it does not yet have a 'true name'. A lot of pokemon have 'true names', Prime heard them often. For instance: Oscar's Blaziken was not named 'Blaziken', its true name was Grievous.

Genesect raised its claw to its chin before responding to its associate. "ALL POKEMON HAVE TRUE NAMES. WE ARE POKEMON, WE HAVE TRUE NAMES TOO. MINE IS PRIME, AS YOU SAID. WE MUST FIND YOURS."

Oscar peeked behind him, having just heard Prime let out a very long set of melodic beeps. "Wow, never heard Prime say so much before."

Lulu Flint

Oscar held the pokeball containing the unique floette aloft, ready to regale Zev with its origins. "Well you see, Walsh brought it out to demonstrate his original Infinity Energy extractor and---" Oscar found himself drawing a blank, pulling the ball closer as he scrutinized it. "Actually, now that I think about it, I have no idea how it got this way. I'm not sure anyone does except Walsh." Oscar placed a finger on his chin as he wistfully looked beyond the ball. "Perhaps I should pay the boss a visit."

Oscar shook his head, "Uh sorry, I was captured by my curiosity. At any rate, I believe I have absorbed enough of your time. Please go enjoy your fresh energy, and should you require any more..." Oscar turned away, turning his head just to provide Zev with a warm smile. "You know where to find me."

Oscar walked over to the pokepod, examining the monitor on the control panel to go through a summary of this session's energy readings. The information it provided was not anything important, but Oscar wanted to appear busy while Zev found his way out. In reality, Oscar was reveling in not only the success of his hypothesis, but his success in aiding Zev. Having the favor of the devourer would be invaluable for Oscar's future ambitions--as well as his continued survival.

Zev Harcourt

After he had cast his vote for the Dummy Ward, Oscar made the mistake of looking back at the screens. He had hoped that their respective masks would do better to hide their identity, but to his dismay Oscar would pick out multiple prisoners that he recognized. Tempest Quinn, Amor Rose, howard slayte, Eris Halla, people he cared for and did not want to see hurt. Yet the damage was done, and as Oscar heard more voices announcing their decisions Oscar could not help but frantically shake his head.

"No--no I didn't know. I didn't know!" Oscar's distress distracted him, and by the time he noticed the two guards approaching him and Navy it was nearly too late to escape their wrath. But he still could if he could just drop Navy to the ground. That was all he had to do, let go of Navy and step to the side.

There was nowhere to go, being tethered to everyone else ensured that there was very little wiggle room.

Just let go

Oscar shivered, "Hey he's just delusional you don't need to..." Oscar let go of the person in front of him and tried to back away.

Drop him

Oscar realized what was coming and tightened his grip on the ailing man that hung over his back.

Coward

The first strikes were delivered to Navy, causing Oscar to fall to his knees. Yet he hung on for as long as he could, trying not to be pushed to the floor. The blows were too intense, and soon Oscar would topple over with Navy falling to his side. They were both beaten indiscriminately, with every strike feeling heavier than the last. It had been a very long time since Oscar had took such an unbridled beating, and all the while he would be giving himself lashings within his mind.

What were you trying to prove? That you're a good person? Was it worth it?

Oscar's body thrashed under each baneful strike.

You were never meant to do good. The sooner you accept that...

Oscar gurgled as he felt blood filling up within his mouth, his teeth clenching to hold the deluge back.

...the sooner it will stop hurting.

And then it was over. It had only been a minute but the ferocity of the onslaught had made it seem like an eternity. Oscar breathed slowly, wincing under every heave. He wanted to lay there forever, just bleed on the floor and die quietly. That was not an option though, never was. Oscar pushed himself to his feet, struggling against nausea and cramps. He buckled once or twice, but he managed to stand up after an immense effort. Without a word he would grab the hand of the person in front of him once more, followed by the hand of Navy. He no longer had the strength to carry him.

Their bird lord took flight with the daisy chain of ugly prisoners attached. Oscar could not concentrate on the absurdity of such a feat, he was far too dazed. His mind was blank as they arrived, falling to his knees as his legs refused to land gracefully. Everyone's masks popped off a bit, revealing Oscar's cut up face. He looked up, his eyes darting around the room before resting upon the person that stood in front of him. When he realized who they were, he let out a long wheeze. "Priam...?"

His dear friend had been there all along, how could Oscar not have recognized him? He stared at him for a few seconds, until his body remembered how severely beaten it was. The nausea became overwhelming, and Oscar would scramble to the side as far as he could so he could vomit properly. At least it did not get into his mask.

As Oscar recovered, a familiar voice would address the prisoners. Oscar looked upon the crying mask, its beauty would have been enticing if not for the man that stood before it. Wearing a Toxic Chain of his own was none other than General Velmos. Oscar looked to Priam and then back at the general, they had both seen him safely secured within a cell--how did he escape? Plus Oscar had thought that they were on good terms, what was he doing with this evil bird?

Oscar got his answer the longer he listened, Velmos did not sound like himself. Was he brainwashed? Perhaps by the giant chain that was pumping a mysterious fluid into his throat? Seemed a little obvious when he thought about it. But now was not the time to think, the Ugly Ward had a reward to claim. One by one they were dragged to the mask to look at--something. Those who struggled were violently forced to look into it, there was no point in resisting. When it became Oscar's turn, he willingly looked into the mask to get it over with.

What he saw was his greatest desire. Ever Grande was burning, the seat of the League had been demolished. Airships bearing Rocket's insignia flew overhead, dropping bombs onto what little life remained. The view was so clear, yet Oscar was far away. He was standing atop a black tower, watching with crazed glee as the war was finally won. He began to cackle joyfully, reveling in the glorious future that Rocket had promised. A Toxic Chain still hung by his neck, yet it felt weightless. It was a part of him, as easy to maneuver as his own arms. Its importance was ingrained into Oscar's mind, and he found himself unknowingly laughing within the real world as well.

Until he wasn't. Oscar was suddenly staring at a white tile wall as hot water poured over his exposed body. He could not remember how he got there, or how long he had been standing under this shower. He did not mind the temperature, nor that others could probably see his uncovered form. He just stared at the wall, his mind fixated on the future.

rpv_kUTs

tl;dr

--Oscar gets the shit beat out of him, too proud to drop Michael Navidson. He is not happy about it.
--Within the chamber of desires Oscar recognizes priam conrad and then throws up. Those two occurrences are not related.
--Oscar clocks Velmos, and willing looks into the mask. His greatest desire is for Rocket to destroy the League and finally take over Hoenn.
--Oscar liked his vision so much that it's all he can focus on as he showers.
--Ugly Ward.

Oscar looked over at the Genesect's, almost as if their groundbreaking communication was an afterthought. He shrugged casually, "Ah, yeah. Prime talked with Tempest Quinn's genesect too. It seems to like conversing with others of its kind. I don't see the harm in it." If anything, Prime getting the chance to socialize was a good thing. After all, the more connections it made the closer it would be to breaking free from its rigid programming.

Prime becoming an individual was more valuable to the world of science than a mindless killer cyborg ever was.

Prime felt a tingling in its innards when the other Genesect responded to its greeting. It was the same feeling it felt whenever it would dance, a shocking surge of warmth. Was this joy? Perhaps something similar. At any rate, the Genesect's eager response was a pleasing outcome. The bridge had been built, though now Prime was a bit at a loss on how to cross it.

It decided to use the past conversations its master has had with others as a reference. After rapidly sifting through its stored recordings, Prime decided upon the best possible inquiry to start with. It spoke to its fellow Genesect in the same beeping language as before.

"WHAT IS YOUR CALL SIGN?"

Lulu Flint

Oscar's hand tensed around his torch as Howard spoke. Howard seemed rather casual about the whole affair, did he not realize the consequences of Regice's disobedience? Did he not see how much danger he put himself in? Oscar tried to resist, but he could not help but comment on it.

"Drills can be replaced yeah. It's you that can't be..." Oscar's work slowed to a standstill. He probably should not have said anything, Oscar was never shy about caring for his colleagues but it always felt foolish when he brought it up. He put his tool down and faced Howard fully; if this conversation was to continue he might as well look the man in the eye.

Oscar pulled off his welding goggles, revealing the dark circles that had formed under his eyes. He has not been sleeping, there was no point to rest until Genesect's repairs were finished. Oscar rubbed his eyelids a bit before answering Howard's question.

"I have no idea why. It said something in that language I can't understand and just--stood there. I don't think it's defective, unless." Oscar gave Howard a serious look, as the answer to his next question could legitimize the intrusive thoughts he had been combating since that day. "Has Regice taken orders from others in the past, or did you just assume it would do as it's told?"

howard slayte

As Violet emerged from the office with the statuette, the secretary would blindly fall victim for the wily spy's gambit. After all, it was better to be safe and check for tampering than to be sorry by blocking an official investigation. She nodded feverishly, "Yes that's absolutely fine. I think that was a gift too so it would make a lot of sense. Please let me know what you find." She gave Violet a deep bow, trying to appear as respectful as possible to what she believed was a Rocket Official.

Once again Oscar found himself giggling childishly at the secretary's expense. She would not be fired, but she will for sure need some more training after this blunder. As Violet and Genesect made their way back to the training facility, Oscar would put his cellphone back into his pocket. He adjusted his posture, as if trying to appear as though he had been standing straight this entire time.

As the duo arrived, Oscar would raise his arms in welcome. "That, my dear, was fantastic work. Flawlessly executed, like a true master." When the statuette was presented to him, Oscar would gently grab it and display it reverently to the light of the gymnasium. He would then tilt his hand, causing it to fall and smash into pieces across the floor. Oscar chuckled, "It was my statue. I planted it. Completely hideous, wasn't it?"

Oscar dusted off his hands before placing them onto his hips, "So of course you passed, I mean you could probably teach your own class on espionage if you wanted. How about a celebratory coffee on me?"

Genesect raised its claws in celebration, for it loved watching humans drink coffee. Why was that? I'm not sure. Kinda freaks Oscar out now that he thought about it...

Violet Fairbanks

Oscar did not hear Navy's earlier thanks. He was far too busy polishing as many crystals as he could, continuously sliding more and more into Navy's pile to make it seem like the ill man was doing more than he actually was. Oscar did not know what was possessing him, this effort was likely futile. After all, the wardens may be fully aware of his trick--and once again what did he care if Navy died? Oscar shook his head to dismiss his negative thoughts, he was beyond that point now. All he knew was that Navy got the short end of a really shitty stick, it was unfair and unjust. If this man was to die, he should at least be able to regain his full strength so that he could actually put up a fight. Though, was that even possible here?

Their warden ceased their work with a staggering shriek, and Oscar would finally allow himself to rest. His hands already felt stiff, and he would attempt to massage them as the results of their labors were announced. Apparently Ugly did the best, as they all stayed in line like model prisoners. Oscar grimaced behind his mask, almost ashamed of his own complacency. It was alright, the time to rebel would appear soon enough.

Insubordinate prisoners were punished, and Oscar would recognize a handful of them. The traitors Johanna Joy and Isaac Merlo discernible from their hair alone, and poor Shred Zeppelin could never hide his mangled body. He gained no satisfaction from watching the 'thieves' suffer. As far as he could tell, it was all showboating to keep the prisoners in line.

The chains of those within the Ugly Ward began to meld together, with Oscar's fusing with Navy's rather snugly. It was time for them to claim their 'reward', so Oscar would provide support for his ailing companion so that they may join the others. While supporting Navy with one of his shoulders, Oscar would grab a hold of the first outreaching hand he came across. Unbeknownst to him, this was the hand of his closest friend: priam conrad. So close, yet unaware--such a tragedy.

As the prisoners gathered, the Ugly Ward would be presented with a choice: Which of the other wards deserved to be punished? Before Oscar could even think about it, Navy would announce that the Ugly Ward should be punished. Oscar suddenly felt a lot of cold eyes on him, and sweat began to fall from the top of his forehead. Sure they were looking at Navy, but Oscar was the one propping the guy up.

A voice that Oscar recognized as belonging to Elisabeth Fiorelli reprimanded, and Oscar found himself wishing to defend his chosen charge. After all, if Navy's head was on the chopping block--well it did not spell good things for Oscar. "He's really sick, been hallucinating this whole time. Poor guy hardly knows what's happening." Oscar chuckled nervously as he pulled Navy closer to his head to deliver a whisper.

"Hey I know you didn't ask for my help, but try not to make my efforts pointless by putting a target on your back. We gotta survive to make it to the other side, y'know?" Having heard the vote for the stranger whose hand he grabbed, Oscar nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Dummy sounds good."

tl;dr
--Oscar feels like a chump for being well behaved.
--Oscar helps Michael Navidson get around and unknowingly grabs the hand of best boy Priam.
--Oscar is put off by Navy's noble words and tries to course correct to save both of their asses.
--Oscar votes for the Dummy Ward.

Oscar was surprised by Howard's request, but it was a welcome alternative to a discussion over the recent strange energy between them. Oscar took another glance at the damaged suit, he had not looked into Sygna energy too much but he was confident that he could figure it out. He tended to be a quick learner. Plus he could always call upon Amor if he gets stuck.

Oscar smiled and turned back to Genesect. "I'll take a look, I probably won't need anything but if anything comes up I'll let you know. Should be done by the end of the week." Oscar thought that was that and he would be returned to his solitude shortly thereafter. Once more--Howard subverted expectations. Oscar really needed to adjust those...

Oscar's welding stopped when Howard brought up the drill. He held a breath before sighing deeply. He figured that the failure of their mission had been the source of the ire Oscar was perceiving, and he was hoping to ignore that it happened until things mellowed out. In his head Oscar believed that Howard blamed Oscar for the mission's failure--while Oscar in the weakest reaches of his mind blamed Howard, if only indirectly. He had intended to purge such intrusive thoughts before talking about the incident over drinks or something, but alas nothing really goes according to plan these days.

As he decided on how to respond, Oscar's welding would resume. "Well Howard, a mega-charizard flame blitzed its way into the drill. I probably could have stopped it but Genesect's cannon was damaged and Regice--wasn't interested in helping."

howard slayte

Oscar had been repairing Genesect Prime for what felt like days. It would never cease to amaze him how the cyborg's steel armor could withstand a year's worth of combat but crumple after one Earthquake. That's typing disadvantages for you, Oscar would have to look into a way to remove Genesect's typing entirely. Stupid pokemon and their stupid rules...

He had just finished reattaching Prime's organic sensory nodes and had moved onto welding its replacement limbs into place. Oscar had the disabled robot laying on an operation table, sparks flashing over his welding goggles as he worked on Genesect's arm. Metal music blasted from a nearby wireless speaker, yet the sound of Howard's boots echoing across the floor still reached Oscar's ears.

Oscar reluctantly picked up a nearby remote, pressing a button to disable the speaker. He did not look up from Genesect, figuring that Howard was just dropping something off really quick. They had been on icy foot after their joint mission in Area Zero, so he did not expect a full conversation. Yet Howard would once again subvert his expectations.

We need to talk he said. Oscar let out a quick puff, looking over to clock the admin's damaged Sygna suit before returning to welding. He did not know what to expect from this 'talk' but Oscar knew for sure that he was not in the mood for some sort of confrontation. Though it did not often matter what he was in 'the mood' for these days.

"Well hey let's talk!" He exclaimed cheerfully over the sounds of his sparks. "How are things Howard? What do you have in mind for your vacation?"

howard slayte