Apparently, she did such a good job the first go around, they demanded a second run. Lex’s protest against returning so soon fell on deaf ears. After the bloody mess @eclis left, she was certain the security would be three-fold. Lex embraced a good challenge, but as she had said many times before, she wasn’t stupid. But Rocket could be. So here she was, accompanied by Lulu Flint, with some contraption on her head and the woman’s whisper in her ear. She doubted the new Avatar needed Lex’s help. With the ability to literally become a shadow she was now far stealthier than Lex could dream of, and Lex was damn stealthy. It’s what made her good and what she did.

“What do you mean they don’t have it,” she hissed back into the mask. It was a rhetorical question; she obviously knew the answer to it. Someone else had taken their target. Were they being robbed while they were trying to rob robbers? It felt like some sort of weird inception.

Oddities aside, there was another problem. Company. “We’ll take care of it,”

From atop a rocky perch just outside the cave’s entrance, Lex turned her amber eyes towards its mouth. The last thing she needed was anyone else interfering with their operation. People were such a nuisance. Lex’s right hand rose and moved towards the cave with a flick of her wrist. Crimson eyes of a Gengar blinked knowingly at the silent command. This was all routine.

Smoke sank into the rock, his shadow sliding over it in silence until he disappeared into the cave. His instructions were to intercept the nuisance and incapacitate it. The ghost rose from the earth, his palms pressed forward as he bombarded his victim with HYPNOSIS. The unexpected onslaught weighed heavy on the man. He crumpled beneath the powerful suggestion to sleep, falling to his knees then limp onto the cave’s floor. Smoke’s long tongue ran over his phantom lips. His eye grew hungry in anticipation. The Gengar leapt on his prey while his fingers grew like tendrils, worming their way into the sleeping target’s consciousness where he would gorge on his dreams (DREAM EATER), leaving him with nothing but nightmares and a vague recollection of why he was in a cave in the first place.

Pressed against the dark, starry sky was the silhouette of a Braviary. His KEEN EYES always watched his master. Her hands moved in a particular motion, a command to scour the area. The silent hunter dipped down lower in altitude, eyes fixating on the shadows. Was that movement there? The raptor locked on to shadows near the entrance of the cave.

notes: skyler dross & Lulu Flint
Let the fun begin

tl;dr: Lex’s Gengar takes out the thief running towards her and Skyler with Hypnosis followed by Dream Eater. Aubie the Braviary is using his Keen Eyes to search for others that may have taken what is theirs. He spots movement near the cave’s entrance.

One of the very first things Captain Dross had learned while working as a treasure hunter was that you shouldn't let yourself become trapped. That no matter how frightening the sharp edge of a blade could be, it would never come close to the slow, agonizing suffocation of a dwindling air supply. It was hard-won knowledge that the captain swore her life by, and which had often steered her in the path of survival.

That said, Skyler was also an expert at heedlessly throwing herself into danger with nary a thought to her own safety - the rush of poising herself before the precipice and daring gravity to take her too alluring for the captain to step back.

So when voices rose up from within the cave in a mix of surprise, dismay and anger, it sent her heart into a gallop. Fear kicked aside to make way for a giddy sort of anticipation as one of the voices grew closer to the entrance. Skyler stuck to the shadows of nearby rock formations while gingerly stepping back. A commanding tilt of her chin was enough for the small Kecleon to melt into shadows in a SHADOW SNEAK, package in hand, reappearing a few seconds later on her shoulder.

Unlike the two Rocket operatives, Skyler had no manner of technology on her, the battered cellphone in her pocket so old it barely fit the criteria. Still, her eyes had grown used to the way moonlight kissed the surrounding landscape - and although details were impossible to discern, the Gengar's sudden attack wasn't. Unfortunately for the superstitious sailor.

A cold sweat ran down Skyler's back as she watched the man fall to the ground, knocked unconscious. It was soon followed by a twist of her stomach when a weave of dark tendrils reached into the man's head and- began to feast. For a moment the captain found herself standing perfectly still, caught in the horrifying image of a Gengar gorging on someone's dreams. 

Honestly, fuck ghosts.

The thought was enough to break the strange spell Captain Dross had been under. A foul curse nearly made its way past her lips, halting only when sharp teeth bit down on her tongue. Skyler ignored the metallic taste in her mouth in favor of taking a couple of steps back. Then a couple more, silently stepping away from the horrifying scene.

Her next thought was of a more practical manner: she wasn't the only one after the meteorite fragments.

She needed to get away now. 

Unaware of the Braviary keeping watch up in the sky, Captain Dross effortlessly climbed up a nearby rock formation, searching for the shortest route back to the sea - and to her boat. Her escape route.

Lulu Flint Alexandra Briarwood
mission

The Gengar swelled, completely consumed in the DREAM EATER. The rush of energy was intoxicating and always his favorite part of the job. His phantom tendrils sifted through the man’s subconscious, picking and choosing what to consume and what to leave behind. He had the power to leave him with nothing but nightmares to slowly spiral hi into insanity. But that wasn’t Lex’s wish. His objective was only to disorient and incapacitate. His large mouth pulled into a dissatisfied grin as his self-control won and he withdrew his tendrils from the human, basking in the new energy that pulsed through his spirit.

Completed with his task, he sank back into the earth, his shadows racing across the darkness and back outside to Lex.

Meanwhile, the Braviary locked in on movement amongst the stones. With wings spread wide he coasted on a steady sea breeze. The figure of a woman and her pokemon was illuminated by the soft moonlight. Was this the prey Lex sought?

A TAILWIND stirred behind the eagle and propelled him forward. His wings fled softly to his side as he tilted down towards the Earth. Gravity sucked him into a free fall as a modified SKY ATTACK. His descent was silent, his soft plumage buffeting the otherwise rush of his fall. His eye locked on to Skyler and the Kecleon. At the last minute his wings unfurled, and talons stretched toward the woman’s arms. He wasn’t aiming to harm her, Lex wouldn’t approve of that. His only intention was to grab her by the arms and lift her off the rock to deliver at the feet of his trainer.

"It looks like Aubie found someone,” she spoke into the headpiece. A button on the side of the mask flipped to infrared vision. Below the predator’s dive she could make out the heat signature of a person and pokemon. Perhaps this was their mystery thief.

notes: skyler dross & Lulu Flint

tl;dr: Lex’s Braviary attempts to grab Skyler and deliver her to Lex

In hindsight, climbing up a rock formation - knowing that there was a strong possibility that she'd be pursued - hadn't perhaps been the smartest of decisions. It didn't matter that she crouched into a ball when sharp eyes in the sky were already following her movements with unerring accuracy. Unfortunately for Captain Dross, she was still woefully unaware of this fact when the bird dived in on silent wings.

The unfurling of wide, feathered wings was the first warning, snapping into existence behind Skyler and sending a gust of wind to mess with her blonde curls. The second was an alarmed squeak from the Kecleon on her shoulder, calling her attention to the shadow blotting out the moonlight behind her.

Of course, by then it was too late to do anything. With a jolt that almost pulled her shoulders out of their sockets, Captain Dross was swept into the air in the grasp of a determined Braviary. "What the- fuck!" The struggle was immediate, muscled arms straining against the sharp talons that held her in place. "Let go of me you... fucking overgrown chicken nugget!" Legs kicked out under her, while teeth flashed savagely, sinking into the bird's talons. 

Almost as effective as punching a ghost. Which she'd done once or twice.

Mr Smee, on the other hand, while holding onto his trainer for dear life as the ground grew distant beneath them, hadn't been caught in the Braviary's grasp. There was only a second of hesitation as he glanced at his trainer, climbing down carefully to reach her belt - as he'd been trained to do. Skyler shut up immediately, tasting adrenaline like addictive ambrosia on her tongue, rushing through her veins and tingling in the tips of her fingers. Silver eyes watched eagerly as Mr Smee released another one of her pokemon into the air.

Before the flash of pokeball-red energy could fully materialize the pokemon, Mr Smee's mouth opened wide, releasing a powerful wave of mysterious energy at the bird, the SYNCHRONOISE ominously silent as it spread in an arc of destruction. 

A second after, the ragged wings of a Noivern blocked the Braviary's progress, glaring yellow eyes immediately falling upon the trainer in its grasp, screeching out a SUPERSONIC.

Lulu Flint Alexandra Briarwood
mission

Lex switched the infrared vision off the goggles and watch anxiously as Aubie lifted the woman into the air. In anticipation of his arrival, Lex leapt off her perch, deft feet dancing their way down the rocks until she landed on solid ground in front of the cave’s entrance. When she peered back up to the skies, a flash of light brought a frown to her lips. A shadow rushed to her side.

The Braviary’s powerful wings only needed a beat or two to lift the woman in the talons. The safety of the ground disappeared beneath her feet as the raptor angle towards the mouth of the cave where his master was waiting. His Keen Eye didn’t miss the Kecleon that clung to her. He could feel the weight of it shifting as it reached for pokeballs and readied an attack of its own.

It didn’t matter. His objective was clear: deliver the target. His training was strict, under no circumstances should he deviate from his objective. That was the way, that’s how things got done. If one was to abandon their task, the operation would fall apart.

The SYNCHRONOISE came as a shock to the eagle. He had never experienced such an forceful onslaught of silent power. It was disorienting. The noise reverberated around him, shaking him to his core. His muscles tensed under the pressure of the attack, seizing momentarily in flight. Gravity pulled them down, an uncontrolled decent while the Braviary struggled to clear his head and regain his bearings.

The combination of the sudden fall and the countering ECHOED VOICE of the Noctowl was enough to spare the Braviary from the effects of Supersonic. That was probably in the best interest of his passengers. Nobody wanted a confused, distraught pilot at the wheel.

As the ground rushed towards them Aubie recovered his wits. Two wings extended and he held strong against the force of gravity. The rushing wind slowed and a final flap of the wings controlled the decent towards the two figures in black. With a few feet remaining, his talons released Skyler to drop safely to the ground.

Lex stood with her arms crossed, peering at the blonde with an icy glare she wouldn’t see behind the mask, “Pin ‘em down,” her voice echoed through the mask, giving the Gengar a simple command.

The ghost rose from the shadows, his features seemed to shift. His face grew into a monster of its own, expanding beyond his ethereal form: A menacing scarlet glare, sharp hungry fangs, and the deep, frothy growl of a well-rehearsed MEAN LOOK in an attempt to prevent Skyler and her Kecleon from fleeing.

notes: skyler dross & Lulu Flint

tl;dr: Aubie falters at the devastating blow of the SYNCHRONOISE, sending them into a short free fall before he regains his bearings and drops Skyler near Lex. Smoke the Gengar uses MEAN LOOK to try to prevent them from fleeing.

Wind shrieked in her ears, drowning out the Braviary's surprise as it was jolted by Mr Smee's Synchronoise, the eagle's flight abruptly stuttering and hurtling all three of them into free fall. Vertigo hit Skyler all at once, the ground rushing up at her at a vertiginous speed. There was little time for thought, fingers frantically clawing at the talons which stubbornly kept their tight grasp on her limbs, taking Skyler with it on its collision course with the sharp rocks below. 

About to freefall along with his trainer, Noivern found his initial trajectory interrupted by the sudden appearance of a Noctowl. Gleaming yellow eyes widened with aggression at the intruder, intent, and leathery wings unfurled in anticipation. Its sharp claws slashed through the night sky - just where the owl had been before glowing wings pulled it out of the frustrated Noivern's reach. 

Against all expectations, Braviary managed to correct its course and deliver the ship captain to the intended destination. The shock of solid ground under her feet and the momentum from the flight had Skyler stumbling, though she managed to right herself in the nick of time. Mr Smee, on the other hand, stumbled away from her in a movement not altogether accidental, his natural CAMOUFLAGE along with a SHADOW SNEAK making it disappear among the shadows.

Along with the prize in his greedy claws.

Leaving Skyler to face the two anonymous figures with a wild, adrenaline-fueled smile tugging at her lips. Her heartbeat pounding in her ears like drums of war. 

It faltered at the nightmarish sight filling the night with malevolent red eyes and a sanguine grin too hungry for her liking. The unknown woman's words were barely heard as Captain Dross's shoulder sagged momentarily, pinned down by the Gengar's ghostly presence. For all intents and purposes, it seemed as if the blonde was completely and utterly trapped.

Moonlight caught the anger that flared bright in moonlit eyes. In her mind it was dreadfully simple. It was either fight or flight - and one of the options had just died a quick death under the ghost's glare.

In a last ditch effort to help his trainer- and giving up the opportunity to dodge the upcoming Sky Attack - Noivern flapped its wide wings in a WHIRLWIND, the funnel of wind reaching out in an attempt to return Gengar and the nearby pokemon to their pokeballs. Or, at the very least, to stop their interference momentarily.

The flash of a blade was the only warning before Skyler recklessly launched herself at the closest masked figure, hand reaching out to pull them to the ground. Should the maneuver be successful, cold metal would then be gently pressed against the soft flesh of a neck, an unspoken threat reflected in narrowed silver eyes.

"Who the fuck are you?"

Lulu Flint Alexandra Briarwood
mission

She knew her? Lex found herself extremely curious as to who exactly this blonde woman was and why Lulu Flint seemed so eager to meet her head on.

Teeth grit together between clenched jaws as the Kecleon seemed to disappear from beside the woman before Smoke could get his MEAN LOOK finished to pin him down. Looks like they would have to go on a little hunt. Fortunately, Lex’s pokemon were deeply intimate with the shadows. Kecleon wouldn’t be able to hide for long, not from Lex.

And certainly not from Lulu it seemed. Skyler was fast and sprang forward with lethal intent. The thief held herself back, she knew Lulu could handle herself. There was a hint of jealousy, but more so fascination as she watched the Galarian tease the Captain before phasing into the shadows. Lex hadn’t forgotten the Head Scientist had found herself gifted with new abilities, thanks to her new companion. If there was anyone else in this region that now surpassed Lex in her mastery of stealth and dark deception, it was Lulu.

Captain Dross found herself without a victim, no doubt dumbfounded by what just happened. Lex used the opportunity to put her own agility to work. A hand reached for the blonde curls that whipped wildly in the gust of the WHIRLWIND. Her other gloved hand shot for the wrist with the knife. Should she find herself successful, a forcefully tug back and painful twist of the wrist would hopefully disarm skyler dross.

It was unfortunate the Noivern sacrificed its safety to send the Gengar unwillingly back to its pokeball. Pity really, considering what chose to replace the ghost.

Instead of a flash of light, a dark mist poured from the creaked open pokeball that still clung to Lex’s waist. The sinister shadow stretched across the moonlit ground, crimson eyes peering up at the Noivern while the ghost’s form shifted. Rising from the ground a new menacing presence coated the area with her eerie, empty aura.

A Shadow Gardevoir manifested from the darkness. Her eyes lifeless, her dress tattered and worn, with fingers like long spindles that stretched forth towards the Noivern with violent intent. Was this a pest she was meant to squash?

A Noctowl fell dangerously form the sky, the SKY ATTACK threatening to strike her prey. Any other Shadow Pokemon may have stolen the strike for their own. Fortunately, she wasn’t like her other brothers and sisters. She wanted to see it bleed, she didn’t care how.

Amethyst energy stretched forward from her hands, threatening to grip the Noivern in an imprisoning PSYCHIC. There was no escaping its fate as the Gardevoir attempted to hold the beast still for the Noctowl to land a critical strike.

notes: skyler dross & Lulu Flint

tl;dr: Gengar is forced to return by the WHIRLWIND and he is replaced with a more sinister ghost, the Shadow Gardevoir. S!Gardevoir uses PSYCHIC to try and hold the Noivern still for the SKY ATTACK to land a critical hit. Lex attempts to use Skyler’s possible confusion to disarm her by pulling her back by the hair and twisting her wrist with the dagger.

“Take a guess, Captain.”

A flash of savage silver gleamed down at Lulu, recognition written across the slight parting of the captain's lips, the tensing of her thighs around the woman's waist. Muscle memory painting the shadow of a foregone carnal picture, caught somewhere between violence and desire. One would think that Skyler's hold on the dagger would weaken. That her gaze would soften and relent.

Instead fingers wrapped themselves around her wrist, and the gleam of a razor-sharp blade was reflected in the satisfied baring of her teeth. "Lu."

It brought back the memories of all of her bad decisions.

Skyler wanted to sink her teeth into them.

Whether the ship captain would make good on that thought or not would remain forever a mystery. The opportunity slipped through her fingers like shadow, stretching across the ground in a grotesque, jagged mockery of the person previously under her. Leaving Skyler to kneel on the ground, a supplicant before the altar of some dark god.

"Fuck." 

But Skyler didn't take to worshipping easily, and the acrid taste that coated her tongue proved enough to wake her from the nightmares rising within, fed by her own superstitious nature. She was no stranger to avatars. But the thought that Lu was one... "Wh-"

A hiss broke through her lips at the grip on her blonde curls, pulling enough to expose the column of her throat to the moonlit night. The dagger fell to the ground, useless, just as silver eyes found the masked perpetrator with sharp intensity. She'd nearly forgotten about the partner.

Captain Dross felt like a lamb before the slaughter. The thought brought a sliver of amusement, held secret within her silvery gaze as it settled on the woman. "You know," the drawl of her words bordered on insolence, curling her lips into the echo of a cheshire grin, "I usually require dinner and a good wine before we get to the hair pulling." 

Her free hand sneaked to her belt, the flash of a materializing pokemon casting strange shadows over the smirk on her mouth. Reflexes honed from months spent bloodying her fists in underground fighting pits had her bringing her arm back to then shove a white-knuckled fist into Lex's solar plexus. Should she be successful, she'd take some steps back into the Malamar now at her back.

"Are you going to turn into shadow too?"

---

In the end, the combination of the Sky Attack and the Psychic proved to be too much for the Noivern. Its screech died out in the cold night, unconsciousness taking over.

It had not been trained as a combatant, and its purpose had been fulfilled. 

Lulu Flint Alexandra Briarwood
mission