[attr="class","lam"]

[attr="class","nikita"]Nikita’s eyes flicked briefly to the Intelleon above them. He offered a single nod. With notable reluctance, the chameleon allowed her hand to drop. Instead, she allowed her yellow eyes to pierce the gym leader. No sound emerged as Anne tore her eyes from him and his bird. Now, that same gaze dropped to the landscape below them. Let him handle the surfer boy. She thought to herself as her twitchy fingers sought out a threat.

The cigarette did not seem to calm him. In truth, Nikita believed they had long passed the point where nicotine did anything at all. His other, harder indulgences barely quelled them these days. Then again, that was because this issue was a psychological one—a deep-seated urge for revenge. One only exacerbated by that dream. A long draft served as the detective’s initial greeting. “You are correct, Mister Logan.” He inclined his head slightly.

“A briefing, hm? How astute.” Telling children of risks as if they were on a luxury airline and not literally marching into a warzone. He preferred to read up on and research things in his own time. At least he would not be drowned in calls for false patriotism and all that other nonsense. Once upon a time, the detective might have taken pleasure in the deduction session to follow. Some small part of him enjoyed the look of shock and awe that followed. Now, however, he seemed almost bored. Like a senior dancing bear tired of the ball.

“Your hair and clothing indicate that you are an easygoing man. Something further amplified by the state of your hair and clothes.” The ashes were reaching his fingertips now as he allowed his gaze to sweep out toward the chasm awaiting them. “I can tell some things by your posture and hands as well, but those are unimportant.” To be fair, most things in life were decisively so. “The fact that you are at this battlefield tells me you are likely here out of a feeling of moral obligation—” A dangerous, nasty pull he tried his best to ignore.

A pile of ashes dropped to the ground at his feet, whisked away by the breeze. “Which indicates you will not mind heroics.” When Nikita turned to look at the other man, the Intelleon was noticeably absent. The detective checked his gun, ensuring it was both loaded and primed. “Let us be on our way.”

BJJKOVi3

[attr="class","samjerpoke"]

[attr="class","nikitatag"] lam logan

[attr="class","lam"]

[attr="class","nikita"]“I see.” The detective responds simply. He never quite understood the appeal of gym leaders. Nor did he ever quite understand their place in government. It would be like picking your president based on who excelled in soccer. “I am certain your constituents appreciate your…involvement.” How strange to put such a high-ranking man on the line when there were dozens of idealistic young people willing to do the same.

The compliment received a sigh. Of course, he’d hit the nail on the head. These surface observations were the definition of elementary. It was like complimenting a surgeon on knowing where the heart was. The laughter did not help. For some reason, the noise itself grated on his nerves, no matter who it came from. Perhaps it was simply a manifestation of envy.

At the talk of the limelight, Nikita finished his cigarette. Smoke followed his exhale as he dropped it to the ground. The loafer ground it out, a scorch mark showing this was a common habit. “Please feel free.” The more noise his partners made, the easier it was for Nikita to get actual work done.

A salt and pepper brow rose at the ‘order’. You assume I need your permission. After a rebellious pause, he moved down the path beneath them. His chuckle is dark, more like a memory of laughter than the real thing. “She is getting in a better position.” As he pushed through a narrow tunnel, the detective took a steadying breath. When they emerged on the other side, they faced a cloud of cotton candy gas. “I would suggest we try to collapse the source.” Something in the cloud cackled.

Just out of sight, a metallic creature clinked.

Their shadows danced ominously as they reached the barrier. Nikita slipped a gas mask over his face. He offered one to Lam. Somewhere above them, a sniper bullet of water punched into the cloud. "There she is." He saluted the darkness above them. “Be careful.”

tBWyUPiV

[attr="class","samjerpoke"]

[attr="class","nikitatag"] lam logan

[attr="class","lam"]

[attr="class","nikita"]Their tax dollars at work. The detective thought as he stared into Lam’s calm eyes. The last statement earned a chuckle. This region was coming apart at its seams. Places like this were just the stuffing spilling out. “Six months ago, I would have said raze Rocket to the ground.” He shook his head. “Now, I am not so sure.” Rocket was not who summoned Kyurem back from the wastes. To even think it was giving malcontent anarchists too much credit.

The awkward moment rolled off Nikita’s back like water off a Swanna. He was not the first person to try and suggest a route forward. “That would be ideal, yes.” The detective murmured with just a hint of exasperation. The fog ahead of them formed armies from nothing but air. It was likely a protection mechanism, one Nikita did not wish to trigger. “I would rather not announce ourselves to all of Hoenn.” He hoped to snuff out the source of the fog before they became overwhelmed.

After a moment of adjustment, Nikita’s voice is clear (if muffled). “She is.” He offers a nod of gratitude to both the man and the unseen sniper. “But that is to be expected.” Beneath the mask, there is almost something approaching a smile. “I am deathly allergic to incompetence.” A witticism not at someone else’s expense? What a rarity. Perhaps Lam’s easygoing attitude was rubbing off on him.

Now, the cotton candy cloud is within arm’s reach. Occasionally, it swipes curiously at the humans like a curious cat. Movement to his right drew the detective’s attention. An amused noise pushed past his lips. The gym leader seemed unnerved by a little disembodied laughter. “I believe that is a Flutter Mane.” Hopefully, his partner was ready for far worse than that. "It sounds like my grandmother."

A hand lifts to guard his eyes from dust as the Ominous Wind whips across the ground. The area in front of them as clear, if only for a moment. There’s a flash of shadow as a strange shape vanishes back into the clouds. As quick as it’s wiped away, the strange fog rolls back in. A tool appears from the detective’s pocket. It was calibrated to read the energy of these places. “It seems to have originated from the north.”

When Nikita turns to look back at Lam, it’s soon apparent that their route inside is gone. “Let’s go.” It wouldn’t take long for them to encounter the source of the laughter. A giggling, gleaming eye Flutter Mane. It bobbed above a strange rock formation. Its primeval eyes narrow to slits as it dares the humans to move first.

What a polite abomination.

yn_S|IOy

[attr="class","samjerpoke"]

[attr="class","nikitatag"] lam logan

[attr="class","lam"]

[attr="class","nikita"]The detective sighed. Between yawning chasms like this, mad titans, and interference from the DRK Triad, there were fewer and fewer hours in the day. His eyes flicked eyes. “You would think infinite realities would give them time to bother someone else.” Briefly, his mind turns to the past Christmas night. His lips press into a thin line as he recalls Father Winter’s feline grin. The way the man played with his tragedies like toys.

Nikita paused to straighten the collar of his shirt. For some reason, it’d gotten into a terrible habit of raising on its own—like a stubborn cowlick. Perhaps the fog was doing something to it. “That is appreciated.” His forays into this place reminded him that many of his compatriots preferred to make a showy entrance. They behaved like Quaquval—always shuffling bright feathers in annoying, useless displays.

He winces at the word ‘sneezies.’ The human language had been so slaughtered in recent years. It surprised him his mother survived. Still, the man at least did not refer to himself in the third person. “So far, I am unencumbered,” Nikita responded with a derisive little sniff. An old, too-skinny hand rose to wipe away an invisible sniffle. This dry comment would be the closest thing Lam would hear to a compliment. Hopefully, he did not take it personally. The detective was rarely impressed with himself either.

“We are not trying to work with it, Mr. Logan.” Nikita’s icy tones are chiding. This troll did not wish to be their friend. It aimed to crush them beneath its power. Nikita lifted the detector for a moment. The power levels were off the chart. “It appears so.” He gestures Winters forward and whistles.

The Flutter Mane tries to apparate away from the arrow’s path. But its cackle ends in a gasp as its shadow remains firmly rooted in place. Taking the opportunity to strike, Winters unleashes a Shadow Ball at the ghost. It responds to these hits with a brandishing of a Mystical Fire. Its second attempt at this is stymied by a shot of water to its face. As its anger grows, the fog around it and the stone begins to solidify.

Nikita frowns. Nothing he had on the field was particularly suited to collapsing the hole beneath it. “Do you have anything more explosive?”

sdUUZgES

[attr="class","samjerpoke"]

[attr="class","nikitatag"] lam logan

[attr="class","lam"]