Ultra Deep Sea, a realm known to cause intense feelings of paranoia with its non-Euclidean geometry and nonsensical physics. For reasons that were not entirely understood, the effects were lessened on Sygna Suit users, but a lingering sensation of wrongness remained. Add to that the fatigue of non-stop battling and Andrea was beginning to see things she wasn’t sure were there.

A monstrous shadow danced across the murky walls of the aquatic cave. Could it be the same nightmarish creature she had witnessed on METENO? No, surely her mind was playing tricks on her. And yet, Chomper’s agitation was a sign that something truly was wrong there.

The young PokéManiac’s attention was drawn to a suspicious concentration of pink mist nearby. She approached with caution, trying not to get noticed, even though her Hydreigon-shaped bodysuit stuck out like a sore thumb.

Lulu Flint, luka chêne //postdormitum battle

☉

”you’re kidding me.”[break][break]

the words were practically no more than a thought to her patron, as they spotted the dragon suit the face. andrea, sygna suited up.[break][break]

”we can’t afford for anything to go wrong.”[break][break]

a profound feeling washed over her. one that told her she was right, and she ought to fight tooth and nail to ensure that things went according to plan.[break][break]

she stepped out of the shadows alone, and while her eyes lingered on the dream mist she knew luka was hiding in, her attention settled on the dragon girl.[break][break]

”andrea.” her eyes bore into her. ”you’ve become a real thorn in my side.”[break][break]

a dark pulse beamed from the shadows towards andrea, as darkrai burst from its hiding place.

[attr="class","ooc"]+10 MP per ic post[break]
THREAD TOTAL: 70 MP[break]
postdormitum: bracketed battle[break]
luka chêne Andrea Vaneau [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-darkrai"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-poipole"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-noivern"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-marshadow"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-houndoom"][break]

She wasn’t being paranoid. There was someone there after all. And that someone was none other than everyone’s favorite grumpy scientist. “Ms. Lulu?! That creepy Pokémon is yours?!” Andrea blurted out in surprise, but the older woman was in no mood for chit-chat, sicking Darkrai on the unsuspecting girl.

Luckily, a pink-haired guardian angel and her Clefable saved her in the nick of time. “I dunno who you are, but thanks!” The dragon-costumed girl nodded in gratitude. It was possible that their paths had crossed more than once already in Hoenn’s troubled history; they just hadn’t been made aware of each other’s presence until now.

“Buzz-Buzz, I choose you!” Andrea decided to assist her newfound savior by sending her Buzzwole into battle. The buff Ultra Beast crouched on its four insectoid legs, its fist touching the ground, before locking eyes with the god of nightmares.

“Why are you doing this, Ms. Lulu? I thought we were friends!” The eccentric trainer shouted, while Buzz-Buzz made a beeline for Darkrai, aiming a Power-Up Punch at the creature’s exposed, blood-red jaw. Meanwhile, Chomper got all Worked Up. He was itching to trade blows with the legendary too.

Lulu Flint, luka chêne //postdormitum battle

☉

darkrai stared back at the ultra beast, eyes as cold and deceptively empty as a dead forest on a winter night. all manner of the dark side of the imagination was hidden here, waiting.[break][break]

and as the punch came, darkrai began to glow and sparkle like smoky amethyst. a psychic-type tera shard glowed at lulu’s hip, having terastallized the legendary. its claw outstretched with a psychic, in hopes to stop the buzzwole in its tracks and knock it aside.[break][break]

”friends?” lulu scoffed with a bark of a laugh. after being shot at on a falling meteor? her eyes shifted between her paired up opponents. amusement was a sheer veil for the irritation that brewed. ”consider it friendly fire, then.”[break][break]

as the battle commenced, the scientist reached for a ball and tossed out a marshadow. both trainer and pokemon quickly sank into the darkness of their dim battle field.[break][break]

only the marshadow reappeared, in Andrea Vaneau ’s hydreigon’s shadow. spectral thief thrashed with the stolen power the dragon had been building for itself.[break][break]

”you’re interrupting something very important, andrea! how typical.” she called from somewhere. ”you should give up, before i kill you.”

[attr="class","ooc"]+10 MP per ic post[break]
+10 MP for terastallization[break]
THREAD TOTAL: 90 MP[break]
postdormitum: bracketed battle[break]
luka chêne Andrea Vaneau [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-darkrai"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-poipole"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-noivern"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-marshadow"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-houndoom"][break]

Buzz-Buzz was flailed around like a ragdoll by Darkrai’s newfound Psychic powers. The Ultra Beast might have even gotten a concussion, if its brain wasn’t the size of a walnut. After taking a brief moment to recuperate, the alien mosquito went back on the offensive, trying to Leech Life out of its opponent using its long proboscis.

It was a Z-Move fiesta between the remaining combatants. After being struck by the Spectral Thief, Chomper retaliated with his own VENGEFUL HYDRA. Nine draconic heads assaulted the ground with great ferocity, playing a little game of whack-a-mole with the elusive, shadow-sinking Marshadow.

By that point, Lulu had made it pretty clear that they were NOT friends. Any hope of reasoning with the Rocket scientist had long flown out the window, but that didn’t stop the pink-haired model from giving one last try, before urging Andrea to make their escape.

“This should slow them down!” The dragon-costumed woman said, tossing a scatterbang in the middle of the chaotic battlefield, the cacophony that ensued hopefully aiding their escape. She would follow Luka, not that she had much choice seeing how her hand was firmly grabbed.

Lulu Flint, luka chêne //postdormitum battle

☉

the leech life and moonblast would be avoidable enough with darkrai's well-timed protect; but the z-moves were unexpected. as lulu's pokemon wrangled with sylveon’s ribbons, the scientist’s brow raised at luka. ”look at you.”[break][break]

her attention snapped briefly towards the six new heads on andrea’s hydreigon, making nine ugly faces total. as her marshadow was occupied with its struggle, taking hits despite its efforts, she kept talking anyways, mostly unaffected, just louder.[break][break]

”pointless?”” she called from the dark, over the sound of the battle. ”there’s a war going on around us that my brother is waging, and i’m not fighting in it because i’ve been looking for you, luka! because you’re special.”[break][break]

she appeared, briefly, in shade cast by several stones. a pokeball was in her hand, and she stared through the mist at silhouettes, much closer now than before. ”and you’ll never outrun me.”[break][break]

the pokeball was tossed, releasing a houndoom with an all-black coat, evident of its mysterious gene. it bared its teeth, rushing with a shadow break at the hydreigon, though the scatterbang was enough to elicit a yelp and kept it at bay for the moment.[break][break]

yet again, lulu disappeared, and where she rose from next was the girls’ own shadows. a sucker punch flew for andrea’s face. the avatar’s other arm then slipped up to go around luka’s neck, to put her in a hold and pull her away.[break][break]

a poison barb would be the next thing in her hand, poised to stab into luka’s abdomen.[break][break]

in her ear, she quickly whispered, ”i won’t hurt you unless i have to.” and then louder, ”don’t make me do it, andrea. this is an extremely dangerous poison. you’ll be responsible for it, and you don’t want that.”

[attr="class","ooc"]postdormitum: bracketed battle[break]
luka chêne Andrea Vaneau [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-darkrai"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-poipole"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-noivern"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-marshadow"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-houndoom"][break]

Lulu had a brother? That was new information. Andrea pictured a male Lulu with a mustache. It just didn’t look right. More importantly, the Rocket scientist had beef with Luka in particular for poorly explained reasons. “What do you mean you’re not fighting?! Then what do you call this?!” The dragon-obsessed girl retorted, gesturing around them.

Chomper was trying to reach Darkrai and Marshadow, but the Shadow Houndoom kept him occupied. Having just exhausted his Z-Move, the now three-headed dragon went for an Outrage against the infernal guard dog.

Andrea was about to issue an order to her Buzzwole, when she was suddenly punched in the face. When she recovered from the shock, Lulu was already holding Luka at the equivalent of gunpoint, thus turning their two-on-one into a stalemate.

“Let her go!” The young PokéManiac demanded, although there was nothing she could do. Her insectoid Ultra Beast looked around in confusion, waiting for an order that never came. “Why do you always do that? Why do you keep threatening innocent people’s lives?” The girl vented in her desperation, gritting her teeth.

Lulu Flint, luka chêne //postdormitum battle

☉

”i call it necessary for our survival! this woman has a connection to cresselia. do you see what’s happening around us? dreams don’t belong here, andrea! i am doing what needs to be done!” as darkrai’s avatar. as a counterweight. as a scientist.[break][break]

double moonblasts aimed for darkrai, and this time, it was unable to evade them fully. one hit just right, knocking it away for a moment, and leaving the rest more vulnerable.[break][break]

the houndoom, which had previously battled with the likes of the elite four, was already weakened as it tried to fend off andrea’s hydreigon. struck by the dragon’s outrage, lulu’s dog was tossed aside, fainted—but leaving the perfect opening for the marshadow to return with a vengeful copycat, fighting back just as fiercely.[break][break]

there was something that briefly washed over her face at the sight of her dog on the ground, but lulu’s grip remained on luka.[break][break]

”i’m not outnumbered. don’t be silly—”[break][break]

as a hand reached for another pokeball, she was stopped by the rushing sylveon. her eyes went wide, and with a yelp of pain, the poison barb was promptly dropped from her hand, for she’d no real intention of actually using it.[break][break]

darkrai’s icy gaze snapped in its avatar’s direction, and held no punches. a dark void sent spheres of pitch black all around, sleeping whatever it could and inflicting a powerful hex on those that fell to slumber.[break][break]

lulu addressed andrea, her voice a bit ragged with pain, ”there is no such thing as innocence. when our minds turn inside out, and human inhibitions crumble, you will perhaps come to see that clearly, before you disappear into nothing.”[break][break]

it was then that the universe decided to have impeccable timing. right where lulu was standing, perhaps out of nothing but pure coincidence, a glowing tear through reality ripped open, blinding her, and suddenly… she was gone. somewhere else.[break][break]

no darkrai. no marshadow. no shade the houndoom. lulu was somewhere on a floating rock basking beneath the heavenly glow of some mystery still unsolved. on it with her was a familiar face that had no mouth, and no eyes either. a cocktail glass was silently offered from between the figure’s fingers.[break][break]

”to the end.”[break][break]

the crackle of thunder and fireworks were not enough to drown out her scream.[break][break]

over comms, her voice would come in sharp and severe, ”this is lulu flint. luka chêne has become a target. if you see her, take her unharmed. she is crucial to our research on the interdream zone and must not escape.”[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]postdormitum: bracketed battle[break]
luka chêne Andrea Vaneau [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-darkrai"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-poipole"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-noivern"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-marshadow"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon-z"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-houndoom"][break]