it was uncanny, a bizarre liminal space not meant to be witnessed from the front-end of the human experience. it felt like trespassing on the very climactic lines of god's story. like contaminating holy ground with the dirty rubber soles of the decidedly damned. was it a bad idea? probably.[break][break]

they’d find themselves in the mist. red leaves of a jubokko tree burned bright in the distance, a pop of life in the sepia. there was an inscrutable beckoning about it, despite the relative mundanity of its knotted silhouette. why was it always a tree?[break][break]

while they progressed in that direction, it might become obvious they were being watched. spirits gradually collected on either side of them, close enough to notice, but far enough that perhaps the rocket quartet might still possess some false sense of security.[break][break]

”if any of you start to feel off, speak up. first reports of this place claim it can have strange effects on the mind.” like last time, her gaze briefly cast over her shoulder at Elisabeth Fiorelli the recently poisoned, before falling ahead again.

[attr="class","ooc"]Elisabeth Fiorelli Naomi Sato Zev Harcourt [break]

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

”oh, another blood tree. fantastic.” she recalled rocket's time inside the tree of life. of violent skinless clones, blood sacrifices, and the nausea that had come with growing ten eyeballs.[break][break]

but what kind of scientist would she be if she did not investigate?[break][break]

despite all instinctual warning, she pressed forward with them. ”take caution. if it’s anything like the tree of life, then it’s extremely dangerous.” the specific risk of turning into pokemon, however, she kept to herself. they’d either dutifully read the reports, or they’d learn today to keep up with them.[break][break]

she noticed the ghosts, now definitely closing in. there was a sense of familiarity to some of them, that became increasingly uncomfortable. then, she recognized a face that made her blood run cold.[break][break]

”i’ll be in the shadows.” she said abruptly, looking rattled in a way that was highly unlike her. ”one of them wants to kill me.” the head scientist had a certain ruthlessness to her that was not unknown about. she had killed, and tortured. whatever she feared, it could perhaps be sure it was with good reason.[break][break]

shadows pulled the avatar down into them, and she was gone. nearby in the darkness, her eyes were peeled for rinc, who had disappeared again as well. she did, however, catch a glimpse of something else that rather shockingly looked right at her. it, too, was gone just as quickly.

[attr="class","ooc"]Elisabeth Fiorelli Naomi Sato Zev Harcourt [break][break]

prompt 🗺️ LULU FLINT must use her ability to use shadows in some way; in the process, she will encounter the briefest glimpse of a marshadow. [break][break]

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

the disappearing marshadow caught her off-guard, leaving the perfect moment for rinc to sneak up on her. when he appeared there, she felt her legs go weak, unprepared despite all efforts to steel herself against this possibility.[break][break]
”i loved you,” she began, shaking.[break][break]
”i never meant for it to happen the way it did. it haunts me, all the time. it never stops.” her voice cracked, fluttered, failed her. ”i was only trying to protect you. i—“[break][break]
”shh...” a thumb brushed her cheek, even more startling. his gaze like a burned sun despite his lifelessness. for a moment, she felt a warmth, years lost, until it seared with the way his unforgiving fingers wrapped around her throat. ”you deserve this.”[break][break]
choking, a final breath was wasted painfully, ”rinc, please—“[break][break]
a tear fell between the straining tendons of his throttling wrist. as her head went light, she thought of the life she’d made. the success, the discoveries, and finally, THEO BECKETT . the semblance of happiness that she had tentatively begun to reach for. how she’d longed to simply take it, to finally be free from all her shame and cynicism.[break][break]
perhaps in another universe.[break][break]
her hand was finally placed over rinc’s with a resigning gentleness as she faded. it was better this way. it was retribution. it was fair.[break][break]
suddenly, however, large black claws wrapped around the entirety of rinc’s spirit, a pale-eyed angel dragging him back into unseen darkness like something out of a horror movie. lulu was left shocked, fallen to her knees, wide-eyed and wet-faced as she stared into the void.[break][break]
lulu![break][break]
Naomi Sato ’s voice cut through the haze of life returning to her body. looking over, she blinked away remaining stars to witness the utter chaos unfolding.
an answer to the call, a pokéball was hurled, releasing a particularly dark-coated houndoom. in nomi’s shadow,  lulu rose with darkrai. the mythical’s protect domed around them, followed by the scientist’s hasty command, ”shadow break!”[break][break]
purple and pink rippled and swirled, distortion-like. powerful shadow energy burst from it, knocking spirits back into the mist, a shattering force against the gengar and the possessed beast Zev Harcourt . it was cold and blistering against the flames of moltres.[break][break]
she looked for Elisabeth Fiorelli , hoping the admin had been far enough to not have been terribly impacted by the attack.

[attr="class","ooc"]

Elisabeth Fiorelli Naomi Sato Zev Harcourt [break][break]

prompt 06 engage in battle with a malevolent spirits.[break]

once she’d gotten her bearings from the new vantage point over Naomi Sato ’s shoulder, lulu caught sight of Elisabeth Fiorelli running through dissipating shadows. everything around seemed to home in on her, suggesting a decoy tactic. suicide? mist gotten to her head?[break][break]
or did she have some wild plan?[break][break]
”fuck.”[break][break]
as in the case of dr. caden maher , there was a reason lulu had not suggested knocking elisabeth off for liability reasons after the last incident. the admin had value to her in the labs. this was angering. should have sent the beast. expendable.[break][break]
also protective was darkrai, sworn to rocket after its liberation. it followed with a dutiful quickness, a shadow ready to whisk elisabeth away from harm. its claw rose from the ground beside her, as though offering a hand to take at the right moment.[break][break]
if she chose to take its offer, it would fly her back to the others. if not, it would stay to fight.[break][break]
”harcourt!” lulu snapped, unsympathetic to the plight of the spiritually possessed. ”are you done?!”[break][break]
her finger pointed towards the mess mostly unattended to by their muscle escort, save for his gengar in hot pursuit of elisabeth, yet luckily missing attacks. her houndoom joined them in the chase, similarly missing its attack on the admin, a dark pulse beaming over her head towards the moltres.

[attr="class","ooc"]

Elisabeth Fiorelli Naomi Sato Zev Harcourt [break][break]

prompt 06 engage in battle with a malevolent spirits.[break]
prompt 14 engage in battle with the vengeful and vestigial spirit of moltres or victini.