They’d been walking for forever now. Even June grew tired of the activity, as the scenes rarely changed: weird creatures in the distance, a bunch of rocks and sand and black cables, and a few abandoned buildings in the distance. The constant grey skies, which threatened to electrocute them at any moment, hung above as the only thing that changed.

Annalise would throw a fit if she dared to venture too far, though, so she was stuck firmly behind the head ranger as they walked to… who knew at this point. Her backpack straps dug into her shoulders, yet another constant that only drove her more mad. She spared a tenth glance at her watch, only to see that they’d been in here for twenty minutes. “Ughhhhhhhhh.”

There were a lot more rules this time around. ‘Don’t run off on your own’, ‘if you see Regieleki, run to safety and try to leave at your earliest convenience’, ‘don’t use your Pokémon as scapegoats, even if they’re fine with it’, ‘do NOT touch the black cables’. It felt more like a to-don’t list, specifically for herself. Annoying.

“Listen, I know we need to find a base, or something, but… are you SURE we can’t just fly around? Matchstick is pretty fast, and there’s–” no assholes who threatened her Pokémon named howard slayte to come out of nowhere and cause problems. “-no big Regieleki’s to kill us.”

A good thing, since they walked out in the relative open. To their immediate left was a cliffside, and to the right was the open expanse of desert that held nothing but walking black cables and a few weird buildings. June could’ve sworn they changed spots every time she looked back.

There was a light at the end of this tunnel, though. Just ahead was a massive, decrepit Power Plant built into the cliffside. Staring up at the massive structure, scarred with black scorch marks all across her sides, made her feel tiny by comparison. Insignificant. "Is that what you even had in mind?"

---

annalise henderson

“Fine, fine…” June relented underneath the terrifying gaze that was a mad Annalise Henderson. Didn’t mean she had to be happy with it, and she crossed her arms in silent protest. She didn’t break her pout even when the streak of pure energy struck the building they approached. Likely drawn to it by the potential of the top of the building.

And as they approached the thing that resembled a front entrance, June quickly ran ahead to be the first one there. “Here, let me get the door for you, my la–”

She pulled on it, but it didn’t budge an inch. June put all her weight into it and grunted, but it stayed close. This only lasted a few seconds before she finally relented and shook her arms. “Fuck. Did someone weld this bitch shut or what?”

She looked to its sides to see a control panel– likely for the door itself. Her backpack fell to the ground, and she dug through it. It was much lighter this time, with only some snacks, water, and… A toolbox. It was big, bulky, and a million things rattled inside as she threw it on the ground and pulled stuff from it.

“No way in hell this building doesn’t have some juice in it. Probably have a thing to attract the lighting on top, and got their power from the storms. That’s what I’d do anyway. Lot cheaper.”

It didn’t take long for her to crack open the front panel and shove her gloved hands deep into the guts of circuitry and wires. “So… you do anything fun since our last time here? Do any planning, strategizing?”

---

annalise henderson

“Probably a blown fuse, or faulty wire. Usually how it goes,” June said over her shoulder. This setup wasn’t the most complicated in the world, but it left something to be desired. An instruction manual, for starters. Oh well. Not even the people who built this thing felt the need for complexity.

“Damn, I’m sorry to– WOAH,” she abandoned her spot next to the door as the strike cut cleanly through the thick metal. It’s honestly amazing how it didn’t fold in on itself, but instead opened against its will. Her eyes traced the now expansive black abyss inside, and then to the destructive Ceruledge, and then finally to Annalise.

“I-I take that it didn’t go so well then… uh, I just worked on my end. Nothing too crazy, haha,” she said. Note to self: do not fuck with Annalise today. “But, y’know if you want to talk about it. I’m here. Yea.”

If she was anything like herself, though, then talking about it was the last thing she wanted to do. So, June quickly put her stuff away and replaced it with a flashlight. It clicked on as June took the first steps inside the building. The beam cut through the darkness like the ethereal blade through the steel.

Only to reveal… little of interest. It did indeed look like a power plant. Just with a lot more thick, black cables that clung to the walls like vines. And the ground. And most of the equipment. They had to grow like plants, based just on how fucking many there were.

She stepped inside and began to explore the facility. There were multiple stories above them, barely visible behind the mass of debris. At least there wasn't anything immediately dangerous inside. Maybe this place was free from the creatures that roamed the desert. "Y'know, if it's any consolation, I had a guy friend-- ex-guy friend, end our relationship recently too. Real fucking asshole. N-not that it's the exact same, but... sharing stuff helps. That's what my friend says anyway."

Grigori always knew what to say when it mattered. If only he were here: he'd probably be a big help to know what to look out for in a place like this. And he could help Annalise, too. 

---

annalise henderson

“Do you mean, like… we fucked, or something? Cause we didn’t. It was just a friendship,” June said as she approached the ranger. “And don’t be sorry. Not like you had anything to do with it.”

Even before the guy outed himself as the biggest dick of the century, the prospect was never up for consideration. He was way too nerdy about fossils and liked to poke his nose into things that weren’t any of his business. Looks-wise, that was a dead end right from the start. Decent friendship, though.

And then he showed his true colors.

‘If you tell anyone about me, I’ll snap Matchstick in two’.

She shivered, and she rubbed her hands along her arms. “B-but this isn’t about me! Don’t worry about it, this is about you and your problems. Just thought it’d make you feel better, or something, haha.”

“An-Anyway, what’s this?” June shined her light on the console and poked it alongside Annalise. Even if she knew what it was, it might work in side-tracking the conversation away from herself. Away from the landmine she nearly stepped on. “Main control panel? I can try to get it working.”

She pushed a few of the buttons, but nothing happened. Typical. Once more, she flung her backpack off and pulled the toolbox out. Dust flew from the sea of cables she set it on, and she held the flashlight in her mouth.

“'O, wha ha’end oh ‘our eeeh?” The words came out in a single combined, jumbled mess while she dug out the same tools she had out previously. “Ang hon’ cuhh thith one in haoff.”

For emphasis, she jutted her head at the Ceruledge several times. If they decimated this one, then this entire base might be unsalvageable in terms of power. Not that it was a guarantee if she got the thing to work anyway, but the less she had to potentially do, the better. But having the lights on was more than good enough.

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annalise henderson

June pulled the flashlight from her mouth and pushed away the Ceruledge's blade with the flat of both objects. "What happened on your end, and don't cut this one in half."

"You see how big this place is? It could take a whole day to find the circuit breaker," She returned the flashlight inside her mouth, but quickly pulled it out. A glob of spit flew onto the ground. "Yuck. Burnt plas- oh. Right. Yea."

---

annalise henderson

“Fuck them.”

June stopped working on the panel, hands trapped in place by an unknown force. She gritted her teeth and locked her eyes firmly on the sea of wires. “Everybody wants to move on, but nobody wants to tell people like us how. We’re– you, are better off without ‘em.”

She couldn’t do what Annalise could; detach herself from the emotion and go to some far away place. Acknowledge it as it danced between her fingers, a ball of thorny clay to be molded idly as the world went on. To see it was to feel it and to feel it was agony on her heart. It was either put in the tub to forget it or kept in her hands, with all its pointed edges to bite into her flesh.

But it did mean she understood the feeling more than the ranger could ever know. Or would.

“Look,” June sighed and let her angry expression fade into a hard face, “I can’t help you on the relationship front. Or the kidnapping thing. But the self thing… that’s always gonna be subjective. People change, or whatever. Hell, I’ve changed a lot since–”

A thorn dug into the palm of her hand, and she physically cringed. Ouch. “Since… um. Anyway. You’re still you. Just different. And if people want to give you a good ol’ spit shine, then they’ll make it happen no matter what. If they don’t, then you're better off without them.”

If only Annalise knew the hypocrisy of those words. “Regardless, though–”

She pushed one wire into another, and the room erupted in illumination. Soft, yellow bulbs shot to life, and a couple broke in the distance. None of the machinery hummed their usual song, but now the room shined brightly. Enough to see that it was, in fact, infested with the thick black cables everywhere around. And that there was a staircase on the right side of the room.

“Being a bitch might just mean you’re not willing to put up with bullshit anymore,” she said. “Unless it’s mine, cause I know what I’m doing. Sometimes.”

PROMPT COMPLETE: Resolder the subterranean circuitry to activate, deactivate, power, or depower particular structures, power spots, or pokemon/ultra beasts above.

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annalise henderson

“Hey, I had a plan! It was to figure one out while I waited for it,” June sheepishly defended herself. A piss-poor attempt at it, but… c’mon. No one could’ve guessed they’d run into the thing three minutes into the expedition. Even worse when it was a whole lot bigger than she expected. Just meant she’d need to get creative.

“But thanks,” she said. “And no, I don’t think I did that. But who knows. I’m not an electrician, so I could’ve fucked with some other stuff on accident.”

She pointedly ignored Annalise’s sad puppy-dog face and instead left her tools on the control panel. Her path was obvious, with careful steps over and between whatever cables were between her and the newly opened door. “Might as well check it out. Maybe there’s some secret weapon we can use on the Regieleki.”

That’d be nice, but extremely unlikely. Her light led the way, and she started to ascend the new staircase. Odd; why keep this one behind locked doors? Dust danced across the flashlight’s beam and invaded her lungs. June sneezed violently but kept going upward. It wasn’t a long journey, and soon they were in…

“Annalise. What the fuck is that?”

It was one of those fucking creatures from the open land, the kind that looked really scary and foreign and something best left alone. Instead, it sat in the middle of the room right below the gentle glow of a fluorescent bulb. It looked even more alien up close, like a thing to be torn apart on a mechanic’s bench. It was surrounded by dozens of electronics and the world’s largest supply of ‘general machines she had no idea what they did’.

The rest of the features in here didn't matter. Her entire attention fixated on the alien that would surely be hostile. She slowly backed up, her arms flat against the cool wall. If they didn’t alert it, then maybe they could leave and let this thing sleep.

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annalise henderson