the tera crystal shards had made the deep exploration of hoenn a hot thing to do yet again, and lulu was no different than anyone else, scrounging for a bit of the mysterious treasure. the outdoors were more pleasant to her now, covered in snow like home, and making these trips not so bad. the cave was even colder, however, causing her to pull her jacket tighter around her.[break][break]
an illumina kadabra lit their way, casting tall shadows across the cave wall. they stopped, however, at the sound of a familiar voice. lulu squinted as she tried to place it, and once the silhouette could be seen, she realized. oh.[break][break]
unrecognizable as she was during the meteor mission, a chance mention of the dragongirl’s presence from THEO BECKETT had confirmed it. the green hydreigon had indeed been hers.[break][break]
the kadabra was returned to its pokéball, and lulu all but disappeared, a mere shadow that was soon enough pooled within the dark of rocks nearby her unsuspecting foe.[break][break]
”well, if it isn’t the dragongirl.” she remained hidden, a voice disembodied. ”very daring, what you did on the meteor. bravo.”

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau [break]

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

Andrea didn't feel any colder in there than she did anywhere else around this time of year, but her blood still froze like a POPSICLE as soon as she heard a familiar voice reverberating across the stone walls of the abandoned ruins. It was definitely a voice she had heard before, but she was mortified of confirming her suspicions.

"Who's there?!" The dragon fanatic blurted out, casting her flashlight on hallways that appeared inconspicuously empty. "Violet, is that you?" Deep down she knew it wasn't Violet Fairbanks, even though that would've been the best case scenario. Even her Druddigon with its keen senses couldn't detect where the disembodied voice was coming from.

Lulu Flint //mission

☉

violet. Violet Fairbanks had been one of those on her ship. now, as lulu thought back to those moments on the meteor, she began to piece it together. how many rockets did this girl know? who was she under the hood, so to speak?[break][break]
”no.”[break][break]
silence fell, enough for more questions to fill the space, voiced or otherwise. she only hoped to stir greater discomfort within that void, a witch’s brew of spite.[break][break]
”tell me what you were doing on meteno, and i’ll tell you who i am.”

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau [break]

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

"If you're not her, then who are you? Are you a long-dead spirit haunting these ruins?" Andrea continued her fruitless line of questioning, unaware that her mysterious stalker would sooner toy with her than answer any of her queries.

Would a spirit have known of her involvement in METENO? Andrea felt her heart pounding in her chest, while her hands shook. "I was trying to save Hoenn! To make a difference! At least that's what I thought at the time... How do you know I was there? Where you on the meteorite too?"

While the young PokéManiac persisted with her questions, her Druddigon trudged around the room with a confused look, inspecting every corner and every rock where the invisible assailant could be hiding.

Lulu Flint //mission

☉

”i could be.” and without the right answers, she would never know! that’s how ancient riddles worked.[break][break]
the answer came, and it sounded as honest as could be. yet, distrust brewed in this interrogator like an endless pot of too-strong coffee.[break][break]
for effect, she sank further back into the shadows, darkness curling into a different nearby formation of rocks. people hated creepy ventriloquism.[break][break]
”yes.”[break][break]
at that moment, a stone—not big enough to do any real damage, but not a pebble either—was chucked out of the dark and towards the dragongirl.

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau [break]

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

The disembodied voice proceeded to do a tiny bit of trolling, and a tiny bit of attempted manslaughter, hurling a chunk of rock towards the unsuspecting trainer, which was thankfully caught in the nick of time by her reptilian bodyguard.

Having barely glimpsed the direction that projectile had been thrown from, the crimson-headed gargoyle of a dragon stampeded towards that new rocky formation, slamming his mighty Dragon Tail into it. The ground shook slightly from the thunderous impact.

Still stunned, Andrea tried to piece together the identity of her stalker, the creeping sensation of fear giving her déjà vu. "You're... the shadowy lady! From Rocket!" She gasped as she reached her horrifying epiphany.

Lulu Flint //mission

☉

a smile peeled back across a shadowy face, becoming whole, human, wicked.[break][break]
”ah, daring and clever.”[break][break]
another rock was in her palm, but after a moment of consideration and a glance to the girl's dragon companion, it was tossed over her shoulder.[break][break]
”good job.”[break][break]
she gave a click of her tongue, as though trying to decide what to do next.[break][break]
”you know a bit about team rocket, don’t you?”

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau [break]

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

Welp, she was going to die. That woman was going to kill her, and there were no police sirens to save her this time. Andrea didn't want to die. Not before getting to celebrate BOXING DAY.

"I really don't know all that much. Like, I don't even know your name!" The young PokéManiac tried to say the right thing in order to not get murdered, though she was truthful about not knowing the Rocket lady's name.

Edges the Druddigon narrowed his eyes, trying to intimidate the shadowy avatar with his Scary Face. His trainer, meanwhile, took a step backwards. "Do we really have to fight?" The dragon-hooded girl hesitantly asked.

Lulu Flint //mission

☉

”oh, right. it’s lulu.”[break][break]

for a curt moment, her face which had fallen into disdain strained into an insincere line of a smile, before dropping again.[break][break]

”you wanted to fight me then. that’s twice i’ve let you cross me. that’s at least once more than most people.”[break][break]

she stared, spiteful, but not looking entirely poised to descend upon her just yet.[break][break]

”but now you’re all alone, in the dark. it can eat you alive, you know.”[break][break]

with a sigh, she offered an out, ”tell me why i shouldn’t kill you.”

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau [break]

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

Finally she had learned the woman's name. That was progress... sorta. "I'm Andrea. Maybe you already knew that, maybe you didn't." The dragon-hooded girl introduced herself in turn, although the situation was otherwise uniquely devoid of pleasantries.

"I only wanted to fight you back then because I thought Team Rocket was the enemy." A view that was challenged by talking to one THEO BECKETT. However, that woman was a different beast entirely than the seemingly cool-headed Rocket underboss. It was like comparing a calm sea to a stormy one.

"The real enemy is the DRK Triad, the Megalopolans, that... thing that tried to freeze the whole region over. Don't you see how pointless it is to be fighting each other?" Andrea nevertheless tried her best to reason with the spiteful scientist. She furrowed her brow resolutely. "But if you still wanna kill me, my Pokémon and I won't go down without a fight!" She firmly stated.

Lulu Flint //mission

☉

andrea, dragongirl. tamato, tamato.[break][break]
”ah.”[break][break]
what are the first two letters of propaganda? THEO BECKETT was good at what he did. amusement bubbled in her briefly, before fading with a bitter aftertaste. it wasn’t rocket’s politics that had gained her loyalty. it was family. blood. regardless, the league wasn’t great, but rocket were brazen terrorists. most people were naïve to fall into their ranks, or even see eye to eye with them.[break][break]
but this girl had crossed her as mentioned, having attempted to sabotage their meteor mission. that was a crime that could not go unpunished. so, she figured, maybe she could just turn her into a dog.[break][break]
”i’d expect nothing less, andrea. and i think i like that about you, actually.”[break][break]
a moment of silence prefaced a topic she hadn’t initially intended to bring up, ”i heard you met mr. beckett. he seems rather fond of you. says you’re a smart girl.”

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau [break]

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

Was that an honest compliment? Andrea felt flattered and threatened at the same time. "T-thanks...?" She muttered, blissfully unaware of what sinister, dog-related plans Lulu had in mind for her.

The mention of THEO BECKETT's name caused her to flinch. She knew he was an important figure of Team Rocket, but had he actually mentioned her name to his associates? Was she on some clandestine Rocket watch list?

"I was there when he got arrested. I wasn't the one that arrested him, it was some Ranger guy!" The trainer of dragons hastily responded. "I also happened to be in Fortree when he got released. That's about it." For her own safety, she didn't bring up their most recent meeting in the Silent Icelands.

Lulu Flint //mission

☉

when had THEO BECKETT gotten arrested? all in a day’s work, she supposed. someone as powerful as he was could simply snap his fingers, and he’d be walking free, no avatar powers needed. as someone who could still vividly recall her own arrest, and time spent in prison, it was an interesting concept for her to think about.[break][break]
out of the occasions that andrea had run into the underboss, it was rather their meeting at the silent icelands that lulu was most aware of—though even that, she knew scarcely few details about. she hadn’t been all too interested, figuring she’d likely never see the girl again.[break][break]
”i see.” a pause. ”and what is it that caused you to change your mind about rocket, then?”

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau [break]

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