What a beautiful song they all sing. Each voice is a promise, a hum, a beckon forward for the curious. It reminds Hitoshi of the stories told about this place in his youth. Whoresons would tell each other about other boys their age who went missing, who wandered into the Unown, never to be seen again. There is allure to the call. Something w o n d e r f u l waits for them.[break]
"Nah, Blue." Hitoshi pats the taller man on the shoulder. At the edge of his voice is a growl. They're beasts of the same cloth, two dogs cast about into this strange world. Creatures meant to die for the benefit of those above them. Amber eyes gaze into the darkness. They remember years spent in Galar. Regression may have sapped his honed skill, but they did not dull his mind.[break]
Within him is focus, a desire to return to Yumi. Boundless love for her that will not let him die.[break]
He knows that if he goes down this path, he breaks a promise to her.[break]
"I'm not gonna die here just so the people watchin' us can get some good data."

"Exactly. Come on, let's get the hell outta here!" Hitoshi helps him at first, one creature in the pack helping another as they limp along. A limp turns into a walk, into a run, into a lope. Daylight is just ahead. Sweet, precious daylight. With it come promises of freedom, of hope, of tomorrow. This place is like being trapped in a nightmare. It's beyond dogs like them, but by necessity they will be forced through this time and time and time again, so long as they stay here.[break]
A quiet voice whispers as the floor crumbles beneath them: there is no escape. The more there is, the less you see. In this darkness, now devoid of light as they fall, they see so very, very little.[break]
One eye opens. Then another. Soon thousands of eyes turn upon them. For a moment, they are beheld. Something sees them. The moment passes, time shifts, the next sand in the hourglass falls.[break]
They are somewhere else.

"No kiddin'." Hitoshi whistles, mood shifting as soon as they're out. This place seems familiar to him. For once, he knows what the correct thing to do is, a feeling he relishes. Putting his hands in his pockets, kicking his feet, he looks toward the tree. [break]
"Reminds me of that one guy, Roseman Bunyan. That weird deer he has." Having watered this tree once already in a conventional way, Hitoshi releases his Kartana. It floats about him, chuckling and babbling.[break]
Fixed into the middle of his katana's grip is a tera orb, right under his megastone. Channeling infinity energy through the orb, he slots in a water shard. His Kartana is doused in water. It flows off of him like rain. Using his tera blast, he sprays a flood of water that no Kartana should be able to shoot.[break]
"...huh. Didn't think that would work. These tera crystals are crazy."

"Comparin' deers has gotta be the weirdest euphemism I've heard in a while." Hitoshi laughs, missing the way the thugs working for Yumi's family used to talk to each other. He gets a taste of it whenever the grunts all gather, and it brings back one of the few good points about the old days.[break]
"Glad ya like it. There's so much weird shit around here. Mega stones, these terror crystals. I 'member my first operation workin' with you guys. Everyone was throwin' so much crap at each other it was unfair."[break][break]
Kusanagi is now rising high into the air, putting on a dazzling dance for the benefit of the gathered illumina Pokemon. Several of them cheer. Some subtly push them out of the glade. It seems the simulation doesn't like it when they linger.[break][break]
"Got any tips for keepin' up with the big shots?"