a low growl came from behind the door even before amor knocked. when it opened, however, there was only lulu standing there. she was dressed the same as always, except for a pair of old boots in place of heels.[break][break]

”amor.” she looked at him and then the bag in his offering hand, not yet taking it or investigating. she could smell the coffee. ”wonderful.”[break][break]

stepping onto the porch with him, she pulled the door to her home shut behind her. tired eyes squinted out at the sun, gauging the time as she pulled a cigarette from a tin in her pocket. lit it. after a long drag, she noted through the tail of a cloud of smoke, ”nothing in there, really.”[break][break]

then, she was going, stepping off the porch with a wave of her arm, ”all over here. under all this fucking sand.”[break][break]

several paces over a patchy yard, she reached the handle of a bunker. it was hoisted up with both hands, cigarette teetering at the corner of her mouth in the process.[break][break]

if he dared, she would usher him down into a dim concrete hallway with a metal door at the end.[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Amor Rose [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-houndoom"][break]

the underground hall was uncomfortably hot and humid. fortunately, it was only a few paces before they reached the door at the end. a screen glowed to life, showing a face with a handful of pixels forming two vague eyes a mouth. it greeted, ”good afternoon saoirse. who’s your friend?”[break][break][

shit. to her great frustration, the a.i. had insisted on calling her by her real name, eventually returning to the habit after every time she’d corrected it before.[break][break]

”open the door, canyon.”[break][break]

”you’re no fun.”[break][break]

she glared, and shortly after came the metallic sounds of hidden locks releasing. the steel door slid open, and cool air of the lab rushed out at them refreshingly.[break][break]

when they entered, within were a few porygon that drifted here and there; a metagross slept in a corner, near a few machines pushed off to the side; journals and documents stacked high up against the walls in precarious paper towers. it was much like how it had been in her office, as head scientist, only there was more of it, with no lack of space to limit her chaos.[break][break]

a futuristic apparatus sat as a hulking centerpiece for the disorder of the room: the dream machine, gleaming silver under long fluorescent lamps.[break][break]

lulu held her hands out, a tendril of smoke wafting upward from her cigarette as she deadpanned, ”welcome to my lair.”[break][break]

they came to a nearby table, half-cleared, where she gestured for the bag in his hand. ”you can set that there if you like. i’ll definitely take the coffee.”[break][break]

then, she asked, ”are you familiar with the dream machine? it lived at hq for a while, before i left."[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Amor Rose [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon2"][break]

she went over to the table to reach into the bag and take a coffee. her mood brightened as the smell wafted, even if the change was subtle in her expression.[break][break]

“you remember the porygon-z, i imagine? it was collecting your dream and turning it into what i call ‘dream data’, able to be interpreted and stored by that machine. the data seem to show accurate representations of the dreams themselves, and the machine can run them like a program.”[break][break]

she carefully popped the lid on the cup and set it back on the table to cool to perfect room temperature.[break][break]

”however, i’ve yet to be able to simulate them in a way that would be meaningful to us. after experiencing the rks simulator, i’ve been wondering about the capabilities of the seal stone. i think maybe it could be the piece that i’m missing.”[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Amor Rose [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon2"][break]

”i have similar thoughts on the tera crystal. it’s been a part of my studies, as it is very connected to dreams, indeed.” she had taken shards to galar, even.[break][break]

”if you’re familiar with that rondez-view of luv app by macro cosmos that the drk triad were featured in a while ago, nisa holo’s route identified the tera crystal as the reason for ‘the link between instinct and fantasy’, and the creation of the paradox pokemon.” she paused, wondering if he’d reject the source. ”apparently a lot of what was in that was based on truth.”[break][break]

and she imagined it, too, had something to do with the drk triad. another of their games, as Calpurnia Kubrick might put it, or, as she believed herself, another way to study them, to figure out their next move, to ensure their demise.[break][break]

”perhaps i ought to try both,” she concluded. seal stone and tera crystal–like the rks simulator.[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Amor Rose [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon2"][break]

mundane? it was not the word she would use to describe the study of the dreams of others. dreams were fascinating to her.[break][break]

”i don’t think you’re seeing the full potential here. team rocket will be able to experience the dreams of anyone that we’re able to extract the data from. targets, and enemies. their desires, and memories…”

and there was more to it than that, even. however, she concluded, ”it will be portal to vast knowledge.”[break][break]

her glistening eyes tore away from it finally, landing on him again with curiosity.[break][break]

“you said you had theories about macro cosmos. like what?”[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Amor Rose [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon2"][break]

” the real interdream zone is dangerous and unpredictable, as you and i have witnessed together,” she pointed out. ”i believe this will provide us with a safer alternative.”[break][break]

it certainly did seem that the company was a cover for the dark triad. ”i suspect the same of macro cosmos.” [break][break]

his joke about howard slayte and Tempest Quinn was met with a tight smile that did not quite reach her eyes. she wondered when he would be going to investigate. she wondered if they might know how to reach the cloud.[break][break]

as they prepared to get to the business of why he was there really, she reached for her coffee, only to stop short with a look of surprise.[break][break]

”have i seemed as though i don’t enjoy your company?” she looked no friendlier than she ever had before. ”i suppose i don’t often enjoy company in general–but this is work, isn’t it?”[break][break]

she took the coffee, drumming on it lightly with two fingers, tap tap tap, before asking, ”what had your experience with that dream been like? it seemed adamant that it actually existed, given extra power by an event. something to do with jayden cross?” she recalled dream’s explanation, referencing a meeting she had not been present for or privy to the details of.[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Amor Rose [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon2"][break]

her brow quirked as he decided to address the concerns head-on. that he thought she was going to kill him was better than she had imagined, and watching him squirm was almost too fun to assure him otherwise.[break][break]

”not to worry, mr. rose. you’re safe.”[break][break]

when he took a seat, she joined him by leaning against a desk, if only to seem less ready to pounce.[break][break]

the smirk on her face waned as he went on.[break][break]

beast of ruin? it had been unauthorized information – a new obstacle that drove her mad, sour at every realization that it impeded her ability to be at the forefront of their progress.[break][break]

nevertheless, now she knew, and she could provide her two cents for all it was worth.[break][break]

”i think it’s a dangerous time to let the mind run wild in the wrong place.”[break][break]

she thought of darkrai and declan walsh, and recalled their conversation alone; how the boss had tried to impress upon her the dangers of the imagination. how powerful had darkrai become, now that such a bridge to reality only widened from the interdream zone?[break][break]

”the tera crystal is a threat. it’s invasive, we don’t know how powerful it truly is, or how far-reaching its effects are – but we know that it graints destructive power and autonomy to ideas themselves.”[break][break]

nothing that was news to him, but it set up her point.[break][break]

”i assume this ’beast of ruin’ now belongs to the organization?” considering those that had likely been present for its appearance. ”if it can draw out such terrible things from mind then i hope it is carefully monitored and contained. the wrong thought or feeling brought to life could be devastating for all of humanity.”[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"] Amor Rose [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-porygon2"][break]