underboss beckett. some would argue it was long overdue.[break][break]

he's pulled away from his work by knocks on the door. he glances up before sliding a few papers into a particular manila folder that is kept in his desk for now. it will become relevant shortly. not for this meeting but for another he's going to have.[break][break]

"come in."[break][break]

the sight of the head scientist is enough to relieve the tension he feels. he exhales them out, smiling.[break][break]

"while i appreciate it, you know you never have to knock, lulu. i don't have a djall ready to bite your leg."

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

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

she entered. although it was good to see his smile, it didn’t reflect onto her face. she was serious as ever, here to report on things she felt she could trust with no one else. the question always lingered: how much could she trust him?

”i’ve never been in this office before.” with a pause, she suggested, ”maybe a djall wouldn’t be a bad idea. you never know who might go snooping.”

another moment passed, before she added, ”i’m still sorry about that.” actually, she couldn’t remember if she’d ever apologized for it before.

THEO BECKETT

☉

"well, they'd find very little here."[break][break]

though he's spent over half his life devoted to this criminal organization, he knows that he, like anyone else, is expendable. so he doesn't keep anything of note unattended in the office in their submarine.[break][break]

maybe it's at his fishie store?[break][break]

at her apology, he shakes his head.[break][break]

"the fault was mine. i should've knocked."

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

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

she looked around the office. it contrasted greatly to her ‘organized chaos’. she found her endless stacks of paper cozy, like trees in her own personal forest of ideas and equations.

they contrasted in many ways, for better or worse.

”fair enough.”

and when he claimed fault, she shook her head as well.

”i should have better control of djall. he’s just…” broken. cursed. ”has some issues.” but he was her pet, and that’s ultimately why he was there, not that she’d ever admit it was for something as trivial as comfort.

she moved on to business.

”i’m sure you’ve heard plenty about the cloud, already.” given his position, he would’ve been one of the first, surely.

THEO BECKETT

☉

theo would understand. he finds comfort in his fishie store and all of its occupants. in fact, there's a glass tank set up in this very office with a pyukumuku sitting inside, suctioned to a large rock.[break][break]

"i have."[break][break]

he confirms.[break][break]

"i'm glad you and everyone else made it back safely."

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

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

as secure as theo had made her feel, the darkest day had made her realize that theo could not always be her protection. he still meant something else to her, but for now, she felt thrown off-balance by this discovery.

this danger she had jumped into voluntarily, however the casualness she felt in his sentiment rose a pang her chest. pain still left over, aggravated.

”thanks,” she responded shortly, and after a brief moment, she was moving on.

”i have reason to believe the unown are linked to arceus—and that arceus is preventing the recovery of the dimensional physics of our world.”

THEO BECKETT

☉

it isn't casualness as much as it is detachment; a trait he's yet to shake from his years in kanto. it's one he'll likely never shake but it will become less frequent.[break][break]

"i see."[break][break]

it's a damning revelation; one that carries with it dread.[break][break]

"was this something you discovered in the cloud?"

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

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

”i saw it. i saw the whole world, actually. it was like a globe, and we were in space around it. palkia and dialga were there. and then… arceus. or something—just the hands though. i think the unown are its eyes.”

and they were everywhere on the sub. she paused.

”i saw ultra space, too. we can reach other worlds through it.”

they would. the offer was there in her voice, despite the silence and time she’d left between them. it was there despite the necrozma they both knew to be on the other side.

”it’s not the first time i’ve seen dialga.” had she told him about that before?

THEO BECKETT

☉

no, she hasn't, and he will soon ask but for now, his attention remains on ultra space and the possibilities it now presents them.[break][break]

"so we just need to find a way to get to ultra space and then we can go anywhere we want."[break][break]

to any world. there must be one free of rocket. free of fighting and war. should such a place even exist, would he even want to visit? what would he do?[break][break]

likely fish all day.[break][break]

"when did you first see dialga?"

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

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

the possibilities were great, presumably, and surely, also very bad. but if they found a way to get to ultra space, perhaps they could figure out a way to safely determine which worlds wouldn’t kill them.

”yes,” she answered, with confidence. ”i believe so.”

lulu hadn’t really thought about what she’d do if she could go anywhere. her whole mission had been to achieve what was thought to be the impossible. with all problems potentially solved in one place or another, she would likely move on to another hobby.

what might it be like to have a hobby that didn’t revolve around uncovering the secrets of the multiverse?

she thought back to the first time she’d seen dialga. ”it was in something like a dream, but i was awake. there were a bunch of things that happened, but before i came out of it, i was in its realm. i saw dialga, and all the strands of time with it.”

THEO BECKETT

☉

she might move on to a hobby like fishing. that would certainly make his day. or year.[break][break]

the strands of time. he cannot even imagine a sight like that. it must have felt otherworldly. maybe even holy?[break][break]

"what happened in its realm?"[break][break]

he asks, then follows with another question.[break][break]

"did it speak to you?"

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

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

it was very unlikely that lulu would take up fishing as a regular hobby. her excitement during the fishing competition had been for the competition part, not the fishing part. as for the act itself, she still didn’t see the point.

but maybe she would go with him sometimes anyways, in the future. what kind of fish did other worlds have? what if, in other worlds, they were the fish?

”nothing, really. i was just… flying, i guess? floating? it looked a little like space, but different somehow. then, i found our timeline, i suppose, and it pulled me back it.”

she shook her head.

”not words, no. just a very loud roar.”

THEO BECKETT

☉

theo in fishie forme would look something like a carracosta, maybe, even though carracosta isn't a fishie. or maybe a basculegion with bigger muscles. that would be quite a sight to see.[break][break]

"did you ever have the same dream again?"[break][break]

he thinks out loud.[break][break]

"i wonder if we could find it. dialga. and palkia."

[attr="class","ooc"]Lulu Flint[break]

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