The nightmares had kept him awake for far too many weeks.

In a dark turn of events, it had been Martín del Mar who held his screaming body at night now, who whispered in a soft, sweet voice that the terrors weren't real, that he was safe. So, despite his question, the underboss likely already knew Barnaby's current state of mind. If not, the deep bags under his eyes and his despondent stare were clear indicators of a man recovering from trauma.

But that didn't matter now. He was stronger than all the things that threatened to tear him down. BARNABY FINCH had a job to do, and he would do it to the best of his ability.

"Fine." He responded, nodding sharply at his partner before Cillian Quinn pulled forward to talk with Mars more privately.

The admin's focus naturally began to wander to the environment around them. It was completely at odd with the previous realm they'd ventured into before, which was somewhat of a relief for Barnaby. This feeling was short-lived, however, after he noticed something disturbing in the sand.

He motioned to the grunt walking beside him: LORELEI DU'MOT.

"Do you see that?" He questioned, pointing to giant skids to the right of their group. The tracks were... huge. About the width of a two lane road. What was worse... they weren't continuous. There were obvious spots where the tracks abruptly ended, only to resume several feet away.

Martín del Mar Cillian Quinn LORELEI DU'MOT

• 11 stumble upon unnerving pokémon tracks left in the sand

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TLDR: 'we've got this' in lorelei-nese / has her garchomp + ditto out for defense if need be / lowkey taking notes for her next game

"I suppose it's not so irrational now," Barnaby countered back at LORELEI DU'MOT as the sands shifted around their group. In the near distance a rumbling announced the presence of something huge - which was immediately followed by earth and rock sputtering into the sky as a humongous ORTHWORM emerged into view. It was a horrific sight and, yeah, pretty rationally terrifying. "No worries, though. We've seen worse."[break][break]

Barnaby took Mars' offered hand as he stepped up to the spawned platform. It was a tight fit for all four of them, but they managed to squeeze in. Scanning the area from this higher vantage point, Barnaby saw several things:[break][break]

[nospaces]

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• LUGIA being the badass that she was, fighting the giant ORTHWORM tooth and nail
  
• what looked to be the obelisk that Martín del Mar had mentioned earlier
• oh, and another fucking ORTHWORM[break][break]

"Shit," Was all that was said before releasing his SHADOW STEELIX from it's darkened Poké Ball. Huge in it's own right, the forty-foot serpentine Pokémon fell into the sandy landscape with a deafening smack. [break][break]

This was just the sort of environment it thrived in. A predator on the prowl, Quartz snaked his way toward the other ORTHWORM and barreled into its side, piercing the other's flesh against the shadowed crystals that jutted from his body. In unison, STONE EDGE brought a multitude of large, jagged rocks to the surface, momentarily pinning the ORTHWORM in place. This left it wide open to attacks from allied Pokémon.

[break]
Martín del Mar Cillian Quinn LORELEI DU'MOT[break][break]

• 🗺️ GAVIN MERLINO's & BARNABY FINCH's SHADOW POKEMON must be used in a pivotal way

[break][break][break]

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TLDR: + HELPING HAND from UMBREON to LUGIA / + STONE EDGE from GARCHOMP

"Orthworms, no contest." Barnaby replied to LORELEI DU'MOT's question, not noticing or perhaps not caring if it was rhetorical. At least he'd know it'd be a quick death and not some fucking hallucination to be relived over and over again.

Barnaby watched as the two leviathans fell below them. It was impressive to see not only Lorelei's GARCHOMP at work, but also both underboss' superior Pokémon. A rare treat. When the dust finally settled Barnaby recalled his SHADOW STEELIX; he might normally leave it out in case of another attack, but the vibrations from it's movement would more likely cause one than anything else. Instead, the admin released his own BRAVIARY, which appeared beside Martín del Mar's Boreas.

Étienne and Boreas had a contentious truce. The two dominant raptors weren't especially fond of one another - as evidenced by the way Étienne hissed at the other male - but they generally kept things civil for their masters. However, even as they flew side by side, the BRAVIARY's talons continued to flex uneasily.

"I think I see the obelisk!"

Cillian Quinn's call drew Barnaby's attention downward. Just as he'd said, there was an obvious anomaly protruding from the earth. After the group disembarked, he'd run a curious hand across the ground and noticed a lack of distinct give that the sand around them usually had.

"Could be a good place to set up a temporary camp. Shelter from sandstorms and the like," Barnaby suggested as he retrieved another Poké Ball from his pocket. This time a GRAVELER materialized, ready to unearth whatever hid just below the surface.

[break]
Martín del Mar Cillian Quinn LORELEI DU'MOT

• 16 search for suitable locations to set up camp/base (e.g. an oasis)

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TLDR: + SETTING UP CAMP