PRISMATIC PENITENTIARY

Imprisoned Investigator--Despairing Detainee

It almost felt like time stopped as she received an embrace from behind. The winds had calmed to stillness. The lights dancing in the sky felt as if they froze in place. The sounds from the dream world around them filtered into mere nothingness.

Despite all of the bodies flying and all of the hard labor, this was probably the first time since she had been captured in this prison that she had felt the simple comfort of contact with another person.

“If anything, it’s no coincidence that this one is at the core of something that allows us to replenish our minds and willpower, as cold and distant it might seem.”

"Or perhaps the being sealed away is meant to do the opposite to us."

If their Pokemon, or at least dream versions of their Pokemon, were here, then it stood to reason that what lay before them was the real Azelf...or at least its dream self.

"The chains manipulate our will and have taken away the Megalopolans'. I wonder..."

Was the act of sealing away Azelf crucial to how the Toxic Chains worked?

“I know you don’t trust yourself completely these days. But you can believe in me. And I know you won’t break. Because you are here. Because this place exists. Because I am here for you. As are the others here close to your heart. And I am not just saying that. I have faith in you.”

"Heh..."

She stood there in silence.

She replayed those words in her head again.

Without another delay, she pivoted while in Violet's arms and wrapped her arms around in an embrace.

"Thanks, Violet."

Elaine should have known that. Almost everything Violet had said, Elaine should have known from the start. So, she didn't cry. She had no need for tears.

After all, she remembered why she had to become strong.

It was painful, angonizing, and draining. But she would not let those threads snap.

She was someone who could fight for something smaller. Those few lives she could hold in her hands.

But for now, she'd let the warmth from the one she held right now linger. Just for a little longer.

---

"So, let's get a little investigation done." The embers had been lit. The detective may have been toyed with in reality, but the dream was a different story.

She had full freedom here. She had none of the pain from reality here.

With nothing restricting her, Elaine could investigate to her heart's content.

"So, you." To one of the Megalopolans roaming nearby, she spoke up and interrupted them. She had no notebook to write everything on, but she had the next best storage--her brain. She pointed up to the central tower behind them. "So what's Azelf doing here? Was it always here?"

She would interrogate everyone she could. She would investigate the tower as well. Perhaps, there was something noticably different to it compared to the day cares their Pokmeon were kept.

And thus, the week of investigation would come to pass.

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TL;DR:

• Weakling Ward
• Main Action (Rolls on Last Post): Dreaming/Investigating Azelf within the Dream
• Spends the week in the dream interrogating anyone she can about Azelf and investigating the Central Tower
• Thinks through a few theories
• Reciprocates Violet's embrace

Tags: Violet Fairbanks

she isn't able to get any particularly useful information out of the dream. as the days wear on, she starts to show signs of wear and tear on her psyche, though her usual stubbornness is maintained as carefully as possible. she does her work as well as possible given her injuries, and makes minimal contact with the other prisoners. thanks to the masks on their faces, she can't really tell who is who, or if there's anyone she recognizes here, so she doesn't trust anyone and would rather keep to herself.

on her first trip to the chamber of desires, she sees... darkness. it's a void, as if peering into her soul itself. as she wanders through it, she can hear the sound of a music box on the other end, playing a familiar song. she follows the sound, wandering blindly. something cold starts to fall around her. she realizes it's snowing, collecting on her hair and eyelashes as she blinks the flakes away.

what is it you desire?

she comes upon a wall, smooth, curving upwards towards a rounded ceiling. the snow has stopped falling. as she looks up, she realizes she can see a massive face, covered in shadows. a hand reaches for her cage, picking it up and shaking it, along with maki inside it. the snow starts to fall again, as maki is tossed around haphazardly. outside, she can hear someone call for her, but the voice that answers is that of a young girl. it's her own voice, she realizes, as she falls limply to the ground inside the snowglobe.

she reaches out for the giant shadowy figure. she thinks she can almost touch her, that little girl who doesn't yet understand how the world works. if she imagines it, she can feel her fingers graze her cheek, caress her face... but a hole opens up underneath her, and maki awakens back to the cold reality.

she is especially quiet after that, ignoring anyone's attempts to chat.

iOLgykh0

The answer Josh got from the Megalopolans bothered him every night after work. Beneath the jail... was there a giant breeding project? Possibly involving their Pokémon? Perhaps that was why Resheph was in such poor condition. Was she even still alive? It even pushed out worries about his missing RAINBOW FEATHER. After all, even if the Megalopolans had it in their possession, they likely did not know the Sign. The only other person that came to Josh's mind who knew the Sign was dead (or believed to be dead).

As the days went on, Josh's leg wound became stable. It did not improve, but it did not worsen. If he wasn't able to get it looked at soon, that wound might become a permanent part of his body: an Achilles' heel that, if agitated severely, could make it impossible for him to continue his illustrious career as it was.

Not hearing annalise henderson 's warning words, he had no way to know of the mental poison within the Chamber of Desires. Gazing through the mask, he saw himself on the front lines of a Mauville warfront, fighting alongside some familiar faces. Suicune and Isaac Merlo , the Liberator. Zacian and Navy , the Warrior. Tornadus and Alexei Ivanov , the Stormbringer. Calyrex and Elise Calcifet , the Eloquent. In one hand, reins that glowed a brilliant white-yellow. In his other, a yellow sword with a blade wrought in the shape of a lightning bolt, sparks dancing and arcing all over its business end.

With a loud cry, he felt himself involuntarily leaning lower than he ever had on Swift, in full color rather than the monochrome Beast within his feather. Z-Energy drawn from Josh's Z-GLOVE enveloped them in the vision, the yellow tiger disappearing into a barely-visible blur as a dust corona surrounded them. Within the corona's wake was a deafening noise identical to the one the Z-Move the Mauville Leader was well-known for. The Raikou didn't stop there. Faster and faster he charged toward the Rocket army. Disappearing into a living lightning bolt, it was only his supernatural reaction time that let him maintain even the most remote semblance of visual acuity. Cleaving through their ranks at the speed of lightning, the Z-MOVE: TACHYON TEMPEST was too fast for the eye to follow. The ultimate priority attack, even the Skylord themselves would not be able to keep up.

The stress would have peeled the Champion's skin apart, going far faster than any ordinary human could withstand. It was a speed only the Cavalier could have survived... and it seemed all too attainable. The RAINBOW FEATHER was simply the first step. But why? Why was this desire in the recesses of the young man's mind? He had settled it with Laurence Anderson , with MATIAS SILPH , and others: becoming the agent of a Patron was not a blessing, but a curse in most cases. Why? Why was his desire for Swift to be a Patron still so deep within him?

The sway of the mask was strong, wiping away part of the resolve he had improved upon during his final moments with kyle lopez . It all seemed so convincing and attainable. Just a month ago, what was once enough, the Top Champion's parting gift, was no longer so. As the days went on, the desire became stronger, the urge to ignore his friends' thorough and well-made concerns rising.

Were Kyle alive to see this. he would almost certainly be disappointed in his Knight of Thunder.

As strong as Michael wished to be, as much as he held out hope that the prisoners would either escape or be rescued, even his unshakeable determination began to falter. What was seven days in this Hell felt much longer. No sun or moon helped to tell the passage of time. So, all Michael could do was etch a line in the cell wall after each time he and the others awoke to do their tasks.

He could handle the manual labor. He could take the Laughing Hour's mental torment. The collective dreaming was like a paradise to the Ranger in its own twisted way. What Michael despised the most was the Cleanup Duty in the bowels of the Gaol.

Michael struggled to remain strong, mentally and physically. Trying to avoid the masked Pokemon that battered all in its wake was no easy feat. So, the Ranger did his best, and even tried to be a human shield for those not so lucky when he had the resolve to do so. If one thing kept him going, it was that image of his submerged Pokemon that remained burned in his mind.

CWfkY6PE

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TLDR:
-Michael has DESPAIRING DISADVANTAGE
-Main Activity: Cleanup duty in the Pit

Punished Pokemon: