”she’s one a few scientists with the drk triad that seem to be studying our world. her research is on interdream zone. she’s been around since it first started to leak during the star soiree at mossdeep space center, and she’s been a nuisance to us since.”[break][break]

”when we went first mine the tera crystal on meteno 99943, she tried to stop us. she didn’t want the crystal in our world. after we briefly managed to apprehend her for interrogation, she said we’d ‘doomed’ ourselves to a ‘worse fate’.”[break][break]

it was a warning that was easy enough for her to believe after all that had happened since the crystal’s arrival.[break][break]

“i’m sure you must be familiar with macro cosmos’s rondez-view of luv app?” surely it was on abcon’s radar. developers seemed to have collected virtually unknowable information on many of hoenn’s top figures. an anomaly in the digital space, that even featured a couple of the drk triad too. ”holo’s route seemed to warn us about the influx of endless ideas and paradoxes to our world, and said that it would be one of several threats that would result in the end of all universes.”[break][break]

and she believed it, though it was none of rocket’s concern, was it? not until they were all dead, at least.[break][break]

she sat back and brought her own tea to her lips, reiterating before taking a sip, ”our work is very important.”[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]ameena abadi

some time ago, she’d stalked the night with hypno in search of particularly valuable dreams. one such dream had belonged to gym leader Josh Devlin – though his zeraora had made it rather difficult to get away with.[break][break]

now that the machine was complete, it was time to dive in and see just how much the dream had truly been worth.[break][break]

a porygon prepared their journey, pulling dream data from a small but growing collection. lulu stared with tired eyes at a small hologram over a glowing keypad.[break][break]

”you’re familiar with josh devlin?”[break][break]

on the other side of the doorway, penrose levitated, thoroughly disappointed about being left outside. where was the giant robot?[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]howard slayte [break]

”i was thinking the same about the crystal. i think it’s how we managed to escape under route 119. i thought it might be too difficult to get everyone on the same page here, but that was before i’d seen azelf.” and before the wellspring mask had promised her an escape.[break][break]

”it gives us something specific to focus on — but our willpower is fading in my ward from the toxin. people will be even more difficult to reason with on the other side.”[break][break]

perhaps they could try right there, in the dream world.[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]Amor Rose

halfway through the week in the never-rot’s prison, she found herself before the unconscious azelf in dream megalopolis.[break][break]

there were other familiar faces around. she noted that among them was one of rocket’s head scientists — the one she hadn’t run into yet.[break][break]

”rose!” she approached with brisk steps. they only had so much time in this world.[break][break]

”it’s the willpower pokemon. we have to wake it up!”[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]Amor Rose

in dream-shred’s embrace, as he attempted to comfort her over her unconscious dog, her shoulders went rigid. she was not much of a hugger — except for a rare few lately, and only those close to her heart.[break][break]

but Shred Zeppelin did not know her, really. like miss flynt in his own dream, his idea of her was just that. ’wise, powerful, and beautiful’ were high expectations.[break][break]

how dare he love her so? how could he?[break][break]

the clang of breakfast startled her awake. she jumped again when she noticed real-shred sitting next to her on the floor. how long had he been there?[break][break]

”did you have the dream too?” she asked over miserably-eaten mochi, before watching in horror as he was summoned along with others by their ruthless warden.[break][break]

her eyes homed in on the rock he was expected to lift. it was all a sick joke. still, she hadn’t the power to resist the toxic chain that choked out laughter at his attempt.[break][break]

”i wasn’t laughing at you,” she’d assure him later. or at least, she hadn’t meant to. ”it was this damn chain, i think...” though over time she would find she resented it less and less, in those earlier moments, she was able to speculate.[break][break]

”that dog pokemon looked surprised to see whatever that boulder was.”[break][break]

days went on, or felt like they did. though she’d evaded beatings in the first round of the pit, she was not so lucky the next time, nor was she spared from the humiliation of the laughing hour after so many wounds.[break][break]

let me burn, she’d told shred. and burn she did.[break][break]

eventually, their suffering waned for a trip to the chamber of desires, where she too was forced to peer into the wellspring mask:[break][break]

SPOILER: Click to show

in this vision, the dream machine has been destroyed, for it is a bastardization of the realm its inventor sought to emulate. an insult to gods, and the natural order of the multiverse.[break][break]

the wounds of the leaking interdream zone are healed, the border between reality and imagination made whole again. it preserves the integrity of both realms, and what doors might have been mistakenly opened to and from universe 820 through the mist are shut again.[break][break]

the tera crystal has been returned to space, blown up into dust.[break][break]

hoenn is far behind her – but a souvenir has been taken: the eternal floette does not rest, powering her ship through deep space with an endless supply of infinity energy.[break][break]

her houndoom sits beside her, and a noibat on the dash, feet swaying contentedly as the stars go by. a map it holds onto shows many planets already visited.[break][break]

they travel the outskirts of the cosmos, in search of the edge of the universe and what might lie beyond it – but it is not the destination she sees. it is the journey, and the means to embark upon it.

[break]

through the steam of the shower that burned her skin after, she stared distantly, quieted by the vision of her ever-changing desires. she would not only escape that prison, but rocket too, and the world itself.[break][break]

however, by halfway through the week, it began to feel like somehow, it was not escape that would get her there. she was right where she ought to be. the never-rot would aid her in her wishes.[break][break]

until she slept, when the chain on her mind was loosened, and like others, she was free for a time.[break][break]

she explored, with a greater sense of purpose and determination, towards the center of the city. on her way, she would run into Cillian Quinn as he searched for rockets. the sentiment was mutual. they would all get through it together.[break][break]

perhaps only together.[break][break]

she discovered the azelf suspended in the strange liquid, and first met with Amor Rose, to find he shared her theory on the tera crystals as a way out — but they’d all need to wish it in unison.[break][break]

going to communicate the idea to others, she found priam conrad first, lingering near the azelf too.[break][break]

”priam?” it had been a while. ”that mark… you’re connected to azelf…?”[break][break]

she wondered if priam was an avatar perhaps, but there was no time to interrogate him.[break][break]

”you know—never mind. we need to sway the tera crystal in our favor. head scientist rose agrees that if we all wish for an escape from the prison and for azelf to awaken, we may be able to change things on the other side!” her words were hurried, and she was leaving as quickly as she’d headed over. ”wish for it, priam! wish hard, and wake it up!”[break][break]

as their time in dream megalopolis waned, she urgently shared the theory with others she could find. she even called it out at Greyson Connors from across a street, before disappearing down an alleyway.[break][break]

it was there that she bumped into someone else she’d been looking for: dream Shred Zeppelin. she had to tell him, before they awoke under the toxin’s spell again.[break][break]

”there you are. listen, we’re running out of time. there’s an azelf over there.” she pointed towards the central skyscraper. ”we need to wake it up…”[break][break]

as with priam, and greyson, she’d share the theory: that they all needed to work together, and set aside their differences — at least, for a painful but small amount of time.[break][break]

Ayza|ON9[break]
[break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

tldr:[break]

SPOILER: Click to show

∙ asks shred about dream, points out okidogi looked surprised by boulder[break]
∙ chamber of desires vision: dream machine is destroyed, interdream zone closed, and tera crystal blown up into dust. travels deep space in ship powered by eternal floette, visiting planets and searching for the edge of the universe.[break]
∙ finds people in the dream and shares theory that they all need to unitedly wish for the awakening of azelf and their freedom to change the tera crystal’s effects in their favor (main action) – related thread with Amor Rose here: awakening[break]
∙ wasted two salacs lol[break]

[break]

theo had been one of a handful of rocket’s upper brass to seek out the effects of darkrai’s mist – something that had surprised her then, but not now. this was more than a device for training, and more than a fucked up invention for intel.[break][break]

walking between the lines of the present, of memory and imagination, it felt like she’d become some strange kind of psychologist. maybe it was more marcus kotov ’s speed, or even ameena abadi ’s.[break][break]

she faced him in a cold room. the machine sat at its center, with two gurneys prepared off to the side.[break][break]

”we have a couple of options. i can go with you into the dream, or you can go alone. you should be lucid enough to find what you’re looking for, but having someone with you can help keep you on track if your mind starts to wander.”[break][break]

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

perhaps it was the connection she felt to darkrai and to dreams, but regardless of cresselia’s attack, she felt wrong and stuck in her agreeance to try and drag it back to earth. maybe it was minutely better if someone else handled the heavy fire.[break][break]

but on their way down the hall, she listened, and another idea began to take root – one that she couldn’t share with any of them. a strategy, delicate as it might be, and dangerous too.[break][break]

”you know… you’re right, actually. i will be that driving force, then. thank you.” as much as she hated that deoxys, it would be absolutely necessary to gain its trust. she would need to think of an olive branch.[break][break]

she smiled as she opened the door for him. ”just let me know when you have the time for it.”[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]Amor Rose

the roar was deafening, even beneath the water. heavier than sound above, it brought waves in waves that rattled their bones. bruxsire was sent off like a leaf in the wind, or perhaps a sad piece of kelp, fading into the blue.[break][break]

squinting through the salt in her eyes, lulu grabbed onto theo, the storm of panic in her heart giving way to hope. zarude was also relieved, desperately wrapping arms around the heroic underboss’s shoulders.[break][break]

then, in deceptively calmer water, all three would witness the terrifying stare of kyogre's massive eye. her hope sank.[break][break]

but just as the god prepared to swallow them like captain dross and many tatsugiri, a hurricane sent them speeding towards safety. lulu let go, carving through the water, while zarude held on tighter, riding atop theo like a jetski to the surface.[break][break]

the shadow of kyogre disappeared into the depths. lulu broke the surface, taking a huge gasp of air, and how good it was to see the sky again.[break][break]

"theo!" she coughed. "i thought it ate you!"[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]mission: the lawless sea[break]
THEO BECKETT [break]

the tera crystals she wanted to say – but what about it? what, if it wouldn’t react to their clear desires to break away from their bonds? they all surely wished to be free, but the prison was chaos. screams and rattling bars and a cacophony of emotions.[break][break]

”maybe if we could get everyone on the same page, the same… wavelength, we could sway the effects of the tera crystals to our side. but i don’t even know if that’s how it works, and considering the collection of people they’ve gathered...” it would be damn near impossible.[break][break]

she noticed nomi’s attention drift, wondering what was going through her head. still, she didn’t miss the opportunity to warn her.[break][break]

”nomi, Greyson Connors tried to kill me in the giant chasm. he’s dangerous.” she had gathered that the avatars were as powerless as the rest of them in that prison. the elite four towered over the tiny visionary. ”please be careful. don’t trust him.”[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]Naomi Sato

stubborn as they both were perhaps, in the end, neither of them took the cot. she slept sitting up against the wall, joined by Shred Zeppelin who did the same once she’d drifted off.[break][break]

but as they both fell into that strange, collective dream, they did not wind up in the same place. shred was nowhere around, and though she soon realized the dreamlike qualities of her surroundings through obscuring details, she also realized that she was not alone there.[break][break]

most of that too-short time was spent exploring and theorizing with Naomi Sato , before they’d been separated by a crowd of megalopolans moving through their bustling city. she’d managed to warn her about Greyson Connors .[break][break]

after their separation, lulu continued on through what they presumed to be ultra megalopolis, believing they were in a dream not of their own, but that of the prison guards.[break][break]

and then, she came upon a sight she could have never prepared herself for.[break][break]

”djall!”[break][break]

she ran towards the daycare display, her hands going to the bizarre container as though she could reach through it to simply pull him out – but she was helpless there, banging on it uselessly a few times.[break][break]

For a moment, she forgot it was a dream. and when she remembered, she began to question everything.[break][break]

”please be alright…”[break][break]

her fist curled against the glass, tears beginning to form in her eyes amidst her rage. this was certainly no dream of hers.[break][break]

a sound from behind then startled her enough that she could no longer hold back those tears. they streamed down her cheeks when she turned to see who was there.[break][break]

”shred?” not in the crispy, weakened body she shared a cell with, but as well and lively as she'd seen him at the swamp – even blessed with beauty.[break][break]

striking as it was, it could not distract her from the absolute tragedy she'd stumbled upon. she wiped her face and sniffed, explaining pitifully, ”they have my dog...”[break][break]

and remembering the tubes from the hallway, and the sight of pokemon being smashed, including shred’s meltan, her panic was rising. it all felt too real.[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

tldr:[break]

∙ related threads: markov chain with shred, horn and ivory with nomi (in progress)[break]
∙ lulu runs into nomi first in the dream world but gets separated from her[break]
∙ believes they are in a dream shared by the megalopolan prison guards[break]
∙ is very upset upon seeing her houndoom unconscious[break]
∙ shred and lulu reunite in the dream world at pokemon daycare[break]

“i’m sorry…” she said quietly, as the lunala screeched in pain above them.[break][break]

there was no way to know if it was from their universe. it was too risky to heal it, give it more power and try to gain its trust. they were fighting for their lives.[break][break]

however, perhaps there was a chance of escape if they weakened it just a little more. oleg’s power split offered them a opportunity.[break][break]

marshadow sunk into a dark, ghostly portal and reappeared, inflicting a phantom force midair before being knocked back to the ground again.[break][break]

”saskia, new plan! we’re leaving!”[break][break]

she could report back to team rocket that it had been spotted. they would return for it.[break][break]

”celesteela, get ready. shade, smog!”[break][break]

clouds of toxic black began to fill the air from the dog, and lulu turned to the ranger, covering her face with her sleeve before moving quickly towards her ultra beast preparing for liftoff. however, around them through the clouds, the lights of celesteela lit up.[break][break]

it was as though the entire moon had been awakened and disturbed by the battle, and they watched ominously. fire exploded in the distance, again and again…[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]saskia volosenkova [break]