she wondered what nikkari meant by that. how much attention did he pay, really? curiosity lingered in her eyes as they trailed back, but his gaze was on his cards. it was a little frustrating, actually.[break][break]

rinc’s hand was now trying to kneed away the sting he’d inflicted. however, as he dared further, brazen as ever, she threw his arm away, got up and grabbed her tequila to walk off—but not before whispering something sharp near his ear. it hit him hard, apparently, the way his face crumpled.[break][break]

”hey!” he called after her as she left for the bar. ”you drunk already?!”[break][break]

receiving no response, he then muttered, ”bitch.” and slouched in his chair again, attention falling back to the game. he took his second stack of cards, and that smugness from before returned. this would be easy now.[break][break]

he put down the king of hearts.

[attr="class","ooc"]nikkari hect [break]

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

”ah. not sure you’ll find them here.” vikavolt and wimpod, that is.[break][break]

it made her nervous when people walked backwards. her eyes briefly dropped to the ground near the grunt’s steps and then back up again. if she fell, it would be her own fault.[break][break]

the further sylvia got into answering her question, the more twisted and chaotic it became. she could even see some of her old self in it. it was mildly amusing, but it was also a bit tiring to hear.[break][break]

another bug popped up then, before she could give any meaningful response. lulu was almost surprised at sylvia’s luck.[break][break]

”hm. a rabsca. one of the paldean pokemon from the rifts.”[break][break]

and then, to answer sylvia’s question quite simply, ”science.”

[attr="class","ooc"]dw - psychic/ghost[break]
Sylvia Cousteau [break]
skipping[break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-gengar"]

”good afternoon, mr. harcourt.”[break][break]

the voice was not lulu’s, but one that had a sort of artificial quality to it. canyon, lulu’s ai that now ran many of the processes in her private lab, such as security and answering the door.[break][break]

a camera adjusted, getting a closer look at the man before detracting away again.[break][break]

”please, come in.”[break][break]

the door slid open, and then the next question, ”tequila?”[break][break]

”no, canyon. no tequila.” another door slid open further down the hall, and lulu approached. her typical heels had been switched out for a well-worn pair of boots.[break][break]

the ai persisted, ”but he owns a bar. statistically speaking, he’s likely an alcoholic too—“ ”no. thank you, canyon.”[break][break]

”well, i apologize.”[break][break]

as the voice faded dejectedly, lulu offered a small smile to zev. she looked a bit more at ease than usual, despite the persistent weariness in her eyes that perhaps never went away.[break][break]

”sorry about that. hope you made it in alright. i know it’s a bit obscure.” a hand ushered him deeper into the lab. ”shall we?”

[attr="class","ooc"]Zev Harcourt [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]

they parted ways and, similar to the fruitlessness of oscar’s exploring, lulu uncovered nothing more than the same kinds of moon rock and meteorites. samples were taken, but nothing she predicted would be particularly remarkable.[break][break]

when they regrouped, she nodded, ”agreed on the vehicles.” as fun as this was, there was quite a bit of lunar surface to cover.[break][break]

as oscar gawked at the looming climb out of the crater, lulu reached for a couple of pokeballs. two minior appeared, and lulu reached up to wrap her arms around one. she looked to oscar to follow suit.[break][break]

she’d be raised upward off the surface, still talking all the while. porygon2 followed them up the creater.[break][break]

”could be debris from other meteoroids. if it is from meteno 99943, perhaps something may have impacted it on its way toward us.”

[attr="class","ooc"]oscar clayton [break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon2"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-minior"][attr="class","pkspr pkmn-minior"]

”pz-02 has not reached the interdream zone, no—but to be fair, that wasn’t the intention behind the upgrade. it was the pz-01 patch that was meant to finish what porygon-z’s engineers abandoned, which was, as its widely believed, to travel through other dimensions. my goal was to reach ultra space, and i’ve been able to transmit a signal—but nothing further so far.”[break][break]

a pause, as she considered the things that had happened since then.[break][break]

”granted, i haven’t tried in a while. changes to the spatial integrity of our universe could alter the outcome—although i’m not sure the interdream zone works quite like ultra space. similar in its liminal quality, maybe, but different in the nature of its physicality.”[break][break]

but it left her with something big to think about. at the very least, she presumed it would be possible for porygon to exist within the digital space of an artificially created dream zone.[break][break]

”i think the human consciousness may already be data,” she confirmed. ”perhaps everything is, in its truly most basic form. dreams, worlds, ideas…”[break][break]

her curiosity was piqued.[break][break]

”why do you ask?”

[attr="class","ooc"]oscar clayton [break]

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

”think you’re probably right,” she agreed.[break][break]

maybe she would teach him at some point, or maybe they would both be too busy. either way, it felt nice to entertain the thought of revisiting old family activities.[break][break]

as gavin began his misinformation over comms, her mind briefly drifted back to that article, from nearly a year ago. macro cosmos. of course, they ran close to everything in galar. she hadn’t thought much of it before.[break][break]

but now?[break][break]

her brother’s question pulled her back out of her thoughts.[break][break]

”frequency range restrictions are typically hardwired, unfortunately; but i’m seeing more activity in other zones. i’ll target those. they may already be spreading the word for you.”

[attr="class","ooc"]+10 MP per ic post[break]
THREAD TOTAL: 80 MP[break][break]

postdormitum: comms mission[break]
Cillian Quinn [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]

“oscar, whatever dreams are—pathways, beings, strands of time—they’re too unstable for our world. i’d wager they don’t belong in this place either.”[break][break]

in fact, she believed it was crucial for the functioning of the multiverse that dreams remain within their own dimensions—or, of course, within the secure confines a well-built machine.[break][break]

”if the interdream zone is not contained, parallels will collide. contradictions will run rampant until nothing makes any sense anymore. until the chaos grows so thick that eventually it becomes nothing at all…”[break][break]

she paused, before looking at him, and shaking her head.[break][break]

“i’m fine.”[break][break]

with that, she drew out a pokeball, releasing her porygon-z.[break][break]

”take what you can.”[break][break]

its z-move: dreamweaver targeted the mist. wisps of dreams began to flow more from the cracks in rock, shimmering in what looked like pixels as they were absorbed, converted, filed away.

[attr="class","ooc"]+10 MP per ic post[break]
+10 MP using z-move[break]
THREAD TOTAL: 100 MP[break][break]

postdormitum: interdream zone mission[break]
oscar clayton [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]

they turned in unison at steps behind them. while darkrai stared, majestic and cold, lulu looked bewildered. her face scrunched a bit, and she crossed her arms.[break][break]

it was jarring to see the captain there in the rift, because she presumably had no part in the conflict unfolding—unless a) she’d finally become one of dahlia’s dogs or b) the primal energy was getting to her head. more recent interactions suggested the latter.[break][break]

briefly, for effect, lulu looked around them at their ocean-like environment.[break][break]

”really? seems more your flavor.”[break][break]

she paused, then. on second thought, it made a lot of sense seeing skyler there. it wasn’t because of the league, and it wasn’t because of team rocket, surely.[break][break]
if anything, the chaos between them had created the perfect opportunity.[break][break]

”you were looking for me, or a seal stone?”

[attr="class","ooc"]+10 MP per ic post[break]
THREAD TOTAL: 95 MP[break][break]

postdormitum: clash mission[break]
skyler dross [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-darkrai"]

there was a trace of a sobered laugh on the other end. ”yeah, maybe. for now.” but what about the darkest day? macro cosmos had reported that galar at least had been in shambles. arceus couldn’t destroy the universe without destroying it as well.[break][break]

”i wonder if they have aliens yet… i mean, besides necrozma, if that’s even what it was.”[break][break]

she smiled at his sentiment, but it withered in the uncertainty of war and obscurity of shadows and cave rock. there was a quiet moment on the line before she responded, ”this is kid stuff. i’ll show you some time.”[break][break]

another second or two.[break][break]

”okay. you have their ears.”

[attr="class","ooc"]+10 MP per ic post[break]
THREAD TOTAL: 70 MP[break][break]

postdormitum: comms mission[break]
Cillian Quinn [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]

”i did, yes.”[break][break]

and she’d seen it there, on her way to meet Naomi Sato . there was more of it here than that small wisp in the border.[break][break]

”the mist is growing. the tera crystal is somehow causing the interdream zone to leak into our universe.”[break][break]

it was as holo had explained in the emails after the soiree so many months ago. the lid had come off, and this time, perhaps there would be no fitting it back on.[break][break]

”it’s no longer only worlds and dimensions. the very realms of reality and imagination are fusing...”[break][break]

there were no instructions. in fact, she might've even seemed a little distracted. something almost feverish in her eyes, as she watched the mist climb from the crack in the rock. 

[attr="class","ooc"]+10 MP per ic post[break]
+10 MP for mission participation[break]
THREAD TOTAL: 20 MP[break][break]

postdormitum: interdream zone mission[break]
Naomi Sato [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]

her first mission had been a success. leaving her brother to lead his attack, she pushed on further into the rift, until she came to the edges of the mist. there, reality frayed, a fabric on the verge of unraveling.[break][break]

while the developments were alarming, the interdream zone drew her in like a moth to flame. like a vampire to blood.[break][break]

”what you seek is near.”[break][break]

her patron hovered beside her over the shimmering cave floor. though sounds of battle echoed, obscuring rock formations gave them some sense of aloneness, at the edge of encroaching waves of the imagination.[break][break]

there, for a moment, they lowered their guard.[break][break]

"and if i take it, can i stop this from happening?"

[attr="class","ooc"]+50 MP mission participation[break]
+10 MP per ic post[break]
+25 MP use of mythical[break]
THREAD TOTAL: 85 MP[break][break]

postdormitum: clash mission[break]
skyler dross [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-darkrai"]

echoes of battle screamed into hallucinatory whispers of the imagination, confounded even more by the sort of living nature of this particular world. it seemed to breathe, threatening to swallow them whole the longer they stayed there.[break][break]

as always, team rocket defied such danger. that was what set them apart from most. the league could try to chase them down—but they would be too late. arceus would be theirs.[break][break]

lulu spoke into comms, ”oscar, i’m approaching your location.”[break][break]

and it was by shadow that she appeared. she looked disheveled, but determined, wiping blood from a cut on her face. her eyes were set on growing pink clouds. analyzing. concerned.[break][break]

”i’m afraid holo was telling us the truth.” as told in the report from holo’s interrogation, that hoenn had damned itself to a worser fate than before. ”the tera crystal has opened pandora’s box.”

[attr="class","ooc"]+50 mission participation[break]
+10 MP per ic post[break]
+10 MP using avatar power[break]
+10 MP mention of environmental mutation / paranoia[break]
THREAD TOTAL: 80 MP[break][break]

postdormitum: interdream zone mission[break]
oscar clayton [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]

the expansion of the rifts had been discussed prior to all of this. no surprise there. the call she’d received from rocket’s labs while in the middle of her remote work was not what she’d expected, however.[break][break]

though ultimately on her way to join the likes of head scientists oscar clayton  and Naomi Sato  deeper in the mist, she had one thing to do first.[break][break]

”just a sec.” her voice would come in over comms to Cillian Quinn . obscured by rocks, she situated a laptop, and released her porygon-z. it wobbled in the air, before disappearing into the computer. ”filter out our frequencies and target any other clear signals in the area.”[break][break]

it was guided along by quick fingers across a keyboard.[break][break]

”starting to feel like i’m in galar again,” she joked through the mic to her brother.

[attr="class","ooc"]+50 MP participation in mission[break]
+10 MP per ic post[break]
THREAD TOTAL: 60 MP[break][break]

postdormitum: comms mission[break]
Cillian Quinn [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]