They meet in a grotto under the sea. This base, carved into a beautiful cavern with watery light filtering down, has held strong. Navy built it three months ago with the help of Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki and Colton Boothroyd. It has been a beacon of light for souls lost in this dark sea. Rangers and officers of the League alike have restocked here. Agents of Rocket, too, have probably found this place.[break][break]
Navy chooses not to dwell on that.[break][break]
Sprawled out on the table before Penny is a map. It shows the Ultra Deep Sea in remarkable detail. Since she appointed him the officer in charge of the investigation, this duly-appointed peace officer has taken to his duty like a bloodhound to a scent. There’s a path charted from here to the far reaches of the place, where an organ rests.[break][break]
He doesn’t like this. He doesn’t like this at all. There’s two of them. Two, when there should be an army. Two, including one of the most valuable women in Hoenn. A woman after his own heart. Someone who sees a corrupt system and tries to change it for the better.[break][break]
She’s far more valuable than him, a mere warrior. She is also one of the very few blind spots in his memories concerning Galar. He remembers she has something special, but he cannot remember what. That in and of itself causes him some concern, but now is not the time to question it.[break][break]
“Alright, Penny.” He speaks with familiarity born from twenty years of good service. “Don’t mean to patronize you, but here’s the situation: League needs us to extract ore from one of Eternatus’s organs. We’ve both got sygna suits, so we can weather the radiation together. Name of the game is to dig safely. One digs, one sets up defenses. Ultra Beasts’ll come in.”[break][break]
There’s respect in his voice, the respect due a commanding officer.[break][break]
“I suggest I defend you while we mine. Afterwards, we have to get out of there, and quick. Between radiation from Eternatus and the Nihilego nest, it’s a death trap if we stay too long.” Despite all that, he offers her a cavalier smile. “Easy, huh?”

[break][break]

+ PENELOPE LIVY

Since Galar, a deep fog had captured her mind. In it, fragments of memories take shape, some falsified by her innermost desires, and some as real as the sky above. Most around her knew the basic extent of this condition - many others couldn't piece together their experience within galar, so her case was far from unknown - but little knew the fog's truest reach. Even fewer knew of its origins.
[Break][break]
"Got it, got it."
[Break][break]
Hand pressed against her cheek, the councilwoman gave a few thoughtful nods, all the while her gaze rolled across the map. Ultra-deep sea was a hellscape. Brimming with cut edges and pools of darkness, had it not been for the unusual level of trust she placed in @navy, she might've excused herself from such a mission altogether.
[Break][break]
"Just make sure we get out of here alive," she winked, her lips reaching up to her right ear, "I rather die someplace nicer than this."
[Break][break]
Her fingers pinch against the tight fabric warped around her skin. It still amazed her how much a thin piece of cloth can do.
[Break][break]
Slouching forward, her hand hooked around a brown leather strap. She slung the extraction tools up and over her shoulders.
[Break][break]
"Lead the way."
[Break][break]
The pathway to the sought-after minerals wasn't a long one, but it was far from one born from convenience. Shadows splintered off from every corner of their vision and jagged rocks poked their sides. But Penelope had seen worse. Far worse.

[Break][break]
"So," her voice came as a soft whisper. Just loud enough to share a secret between two warriors. "It's been a while since we've spoken. How're holding up?"
[Break][break]
Since galar. Since everything.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] @navy[break]


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

How close he comes to tearing his heart open and spilling all the bloody pain open for her. How he longs to speak about the children that never were, a future that will never be. He longs to wake up with Melody Miro by his side. He wants to strap on his riding clothes, walk up to the castle, confide in this woman, and be off on some mission. Life made sense in those days.[break][break]
Back in the dreaded real world, everything is confusing. Murky at best. Heading unclear, like a navigator would say.[break][break]
But he smiles. Puts on a mask of masculine bravado. Undersells his feelings.[break][break]
“Been alright. Busy. Busy with this place. Busy runnin’ the gym.” He accentuates the words with a soft chuckle. “I’ll say what I said to Silph, sorry if recruitment is down after I opened my doors. My gym’s pretty…yeah.”[break][break]
It’s there in the tapes he sends to the council. Starry eyed children that don’t understand the stakes enter. They’re subjugated to a taste of what it’s like to fight for Hoenn. They’re overwhelmed on all sides. Beaten. Forced into a corner. Asked if this is a fight they really want.[break][break]
Many say no. Navy thanks Arceus for small miracles.[break][break]
“How ‘bout you, Your Majesty?” Old habits die hard.

[break][break]

+ PENELOPE LIVY

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Bounded together by a white ribbon, a streak of fiery red bounced behind her, enunciating every step with the flip of her ponytail. Her question had been just another piece of the porcelain mask. A distraction to force Teddie to look inward, rather than outward. Because, just like him, life had been drained of its colors. Greens were muddled by brown splotches, blues have lost its intrinsic vibrance; the only color that maintained its core was red.
[break][break]

"Your Majesty?" She tilted her and casted a sidelong glance his way. The title carried a foreign weight to her head and her robbed memories hissed at its implications. "Haven't heard that one before."
[break][break]

"But busy as you may be, I hope you're granting yourself some moments of rest, too. Can't have you burning out on us, Navidson."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Michael Navidson[break]


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

There’s something so sad to him about her words. He doesn’t know whether to mourn her loss of that distant dream or envy its absence. The final words his daughter would ever say to him still haunts him.[break][break]
As they march deeper into the abyss, he forces himself to smile. They’ll be here soon. Step by step, he shows her that the faith she placed in him is not misplaced. Having spent far too much time in the guts of the great skeletal dragon, he knows this place like the back of his hand.[break][break]
“Tell you what, I’ll rest if you do the same.” The smile brightens into something genuine. They have that in common, he thinks: a pair of workaholics. When she was nothing but a journalist making waves, he admired her for that from a distance. Someone has to tell the people about the real wars. It’s a thankless, tiresome, endless duty.[break][break]
“Can’t have you burning out on us, Councilwoman.” His tone is familiar – too familiar for the relationship they’ve built in Hoenn. As his Geiger counter picks up its first tick, his tone turns serious.[break][break]
“We’re almost there. In my experience, this usually ends in us getting swarmed. Someone’s gonna have to soak in radiation from the core while they mine. I recommend one of us does that and mines while the other defends.” He doesn’t volunteer for either position. Both are a burden all their own. Let Penny decide for herself which poison she prefers.



[break][break]

+ PENELOPE LIVY

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Oh how birds of a feather flock together.
[Break][break]
Absence to the memories the gym leader held, all Penelope knew was to smile at the painfully humorous joke of two workaholics trying to will themselves to stop.
[Break][break]
"Touché," she shook her head, a light smile still left on her lips, "Maybe after this we can grab lunch. I'm sure that one sandwich shop near the shore will still be open."
[Break][break]

Thoughts of food were immediately overtaken by the reality of their situation. To both options, the councilwoman inwardly shuddered. Neither held any benefits over the other. Still.
[Break][break]
"I'll defend, you mine."
[Break][break]
She'd rather battle the danger of the visible than the invisible.
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Michael Navidson [break]


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