[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]the familiar voice cuts through whispering mist and for a moment, lucidity returns to the scientist. she brightens at the sight of ollie morales - her own makeshift sunshine on this otherwise dark island. she's always believed the morales family traits consist of emerald eyes and being made from the sun's solar flares. perhaps she's right, in a way... though she'll have to confirm with Eva Morales to be certain.

"hey!"

a quick glance over his body eases whatever worries she still holds. and with a faint inhale of interdream mist, she refocuses on the task at hand.

"ready as i'll ever be."

around them, the leaves on trees rustle through the wind - it's eerie, if she stops to think about it too long. a light flash signals the addition of her porygon z, the odd looking pokemon already in a slight tizzy.

"cut off their communications, please."

the chittering noise that the porygon z lets out is enough for her to be certain: their enemies are about to be sitting ducks now.

ollie morales

participation +50
1 ic post +10
interdream mist +10

[attr="class","icon"]

the interdream mist still unsettles him. it pools in the base of his spine, trickling uncertainty into his bones. but by this point, he has to be used to it.

[break][break] at least, not enough to blink when illeana reyes comes jogging out of the mist, like an angel from pink air.

[break][break] illie's quick to cut off their communications with her pokemon and ollie aims to assist. his blaziken stands behind them on guard, aiming to DETECT the rocket mob as they grow closer. to see if her porygon had worked.

[break][break] in the meantime:

[break][break] "how've you been doing?" he asked, head turning towards her. "must be rough - scientists aren't usually on the frontlines, are they?"

[break][break] then again, neither are rangers. this is an unusual situation all around.

[break][break] a country at war broke no means for peace.

[break]

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]she shrugs as her porygon-z chitters through its efforts to block communications. another second or two passes before it lets out an odd, chiming sound - success.

"can't complain too much just yet."

she flashes a small smile. it's tight at the corners, forced.

"not the first time i've been on the frontlines and, unfortunately, i doubt it'll be the last."

she steps closer to him, ignoring the edges of his bubble of personal space, to get a better look. no visible wounds - good, she muses with a satisfied hum.

"no injuries so far, right?"

her porygon-z beeps once more and the smile she wears slips away.

"seems they're still coming. ready?"

ollie morales

participation +50
2 ic post +20
interdream mist +10

[attr="class","icon"]

ollie is not used to seeing her like this. he's not used to being like this.

[break][break] some people settled in well with the cruelty of war. ollie did not.

[break][break] still — he tried. his own smile pulled at the corners, taut like a string that was about to snap.

[break][break] "wish it was, though, right?" he laughed, a little sharply, only to pause at the intense way that she looked at him. he blinked, suddenly distracted from his own woes.

[break][break] "um?"

[break][break] her concern for him was enough to help the relief bleed across his face. the familiarity of it all.

[breka][break] of friendship.

[break][break] "ah! nah - not... not really." he represses a shudder at the memory of Cillian Quinn and his miasma. "i did meet Cillian Quinn though. nearly died, i think."

[break][break] before he can speak on more, he hears them coming too. the blink of her porygon-z is a dead giveaway.

[break][break] "pep! on the defense!"

[break][break] with a cry, his blaziken dashes forwards and kicks up a cloud of SCORCHING SANDS.

[break]

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]at the mention of Cillian Quinn, she pauses - just enough to still yet not enough to warrant concern.

"really?"

would she have also nearly died - or actually died - if she didn't have information to bleed out?

"how'd you manage to get away?"

did he let ollie go as he had her?

the signaling of her porygon z allows for them to launch into their own offensive. his blaziken is already shifting, already lurching forward into a quick scorching sands. her porygon-z chirps, the sound blending together until it's a high pitched electric squeal, and tri-attack shoots out toward the approaching rockets.

"can you see how many there are?"

ollie morales

participation +50
3 ic post +30
interdream mist +10

[attr="class","icon"]

"penny."

[break][break] there's a softness in his gaze when he speaks of PENELOPE LIVY. despite everything — the complicated feelings he had for, the betrayal, the hurt — he would always feel this way.

[break][break] "she saved my life."

[break][break] 'but not nugget's.'

[break][break] he shook his head, not wanting to be reminded.

[break][break] "it isn't the first time, though. i saw him in the caves last time too. i don't think i'd ever seen a shadow pokemon before them."

[break][break] his brow still furrowed at the memory of it. back then, at the ultra deep sea warfront, Cillian Quinn hadn't given his name. hadn't needed to. he was a monster, after all.

[break][break] speaking of... with the rockets approaching, and the interdream mist providing as a solid cover, it's impossible to see how many rockets there are.

[break][break] "a lot. too many." he grimaces. "you have a secret plan?"

[break][break] one can't be too hopeful, after all.

[break]

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]she hums understanding, then, and offers nothing further... at least, until he unveils a little more and she's clamoring after more information.

"what shadow pokemon did he have?"

she's fishing, comparing his experience to her own as if that'll convince her that she had been luckier than she feels.

whatever else she's looking for isn't found as the sound of rushing footsteps begins to close in. and with it, her concepts becoming full plans.

"kind of."

less of a secret plan and more... a hail mary?

"trap them - see if it holds."

her golurk rumbles acknowledgement and the shadows at their feet begin to stretch, coiling up beneath the cover of the interdream mist. when the approaching rockets get closer, it's too late for them to evade. z-move: never-ending nightmare surges up and traps each rocket within shadowy confines... but will it break?

ollie morales

participation +50
4 ic post +40
interdream mist +10
use z-move +10

[attr="class","icon"]

"uh. man, i - his lugia? tyannitar?" he shakes his head. "it was really chaotic, so it was hard to tell."

[break][break] "but i met him in the ultra deep sea front too -- back then, and he used his tyrannitar last time too."

[break][break] "that storm is terrifying."

[break][break] when the rockets race towards them, they're captured in a storm of NEVERENDING NIGHTMARE. ollie's not far behind. his ranger band glows as his released venusaur MEGA EVOLVES.

[break][break] a storm of SLEEP POWDER falls upon the invaders.

[break]

[attr="class","illeana"]

[attr="class","illeana b"]

[attr="class","illeana i"]"interesting."

perhaps she had been unlucky, then, to come face to face with Cillian Quinn 's lugia instead of another.

"i'll keep an eye out for him on the field, then."

an easy lie, though she knows they will not cross paths again... not until Cillian Quinn makes his way to rustboro's dimensional pocket. there, perhaps, she'll be waiting.

as sleep powder falls upon the invaders, their bodies begin to slump forward. she raises a hand and motions to her golurk. a moment later, never-ending nightmare releases.

"good work."

a small smile rises.

"should we take them into custody now?"

or will they leave them here, asleep?

ollie morales

participation +50
5 ic post +50
interdream mist +10
use z-move +10
secret mission +100
completed mission +100
winning a mission +200
total +520

[attr="class","icon"]

they're a perfect pair. she closes in on them with a terrifying z-move, and ollie chooses the pacifist option. it shouldn't be surprising, considering who he is.

[break][break] as he watches their bodies slump together in a pile on top of one another, he can't help but reminded back to his conversation with Isaac Merlo.

[break][break] "let's take them into custody," he says, turning towards the head scientist. "maybe they can tell us something we don't already know."

[break][break] he smirks.

[break][break] "though, i doubt it. you and sis are the brightest minds of our generation."