The First Wave Prelude

Mossdeep City B7

The world gave no quarter. It cared not for the innocent nor the weak. Nor did it care for the strong. The role of the masses and for life itself was to simply act as grist for the grindstone it was. Elaine was hardly a fatalist, but the rate at which the situation had descended into chaos gave her that depressing impression.

"You're...an ally,...aren't you...?"

She had found herself behind a building that collapsed when she had heard that. Given that she was right next to the Space Center and even had a walkway into the main building that it was probably a separate annex for research. She had been working to evacuate as many civilians as she could to higher ground and safer locations. But as she had been moving about through the evacuation efforts, she had come across someone suspicious moving about and entering the annex. She had seen him through the windows in the entranceway.

Having gone towards it in an attempt to investigate, she narrowly avoided it. Before she could reach it, she heard a loud crash and a thud before the building imploded. The side that she was on collapsed inward, causing wall to slip off rebar and windows to deform and shatter. Lights in the bridge and surrounding halls flickered as some of them failed light up ever again.

Realizing that man could still be there, Elaine took the moment to hide herself from him, but none of that mattered as she saw him walk out of the rubble in a different direction, dusting himself off.

So, she was shocked to hear the voice of anyone coming from that building. The fact that the man had walked away meant he was probably sure that he eliminated everything of note, but perhaps he had been a bit too overconfident.

"I am."

"Heh..." He was in a state where he had to force out words, yet he could still find himself forcing out some form of laughter. "Please...come...in here..."

She didn't respond any further. She simply placed on some thick gloves as she climbed through the opening in the deformed window frame. As she did, she could see exactly why the man had deciced to leave this place be.

Everything had broken down. It was as if up had turned to down. Computers had been torn apart. Loose wires hung from the ceiling. Shelves had been crushed and books and sample jars that had once found a home on them had been rent to pieces. At the very center of it all was the source of the voice.

A man lay suspended in the air supine. The only things keeping him supported were broken pieces of rebar and piping that had stabbed into his abdomen, legs, and chest. The fact that he could talk, let alone laugh in this situation was a miracle of the human body.

"Y--"

But, before Elaine could speak any further, he put his finger up to his mouth. Even though his visage was upside down, she could see plain as day that he was telling her to be quiet. In that moment, a wave of calm crashed over her panic. She nodded. She had no words that could even be said at this stage.

"You weren't...the first choice, Miss Highland...haaaaaagh...but you'll do."

She could only assume that the man in the blood-stained lab coat had gotten some list on League personnel if he knew her by name. But that didn't matter either. She watched as he extended his other hand to her, spreading his fingers wide open to reveal what was in his palm.

"Inside this...is encrypted research and intel...please, get it out of here and...to someone you trust."

Elaine could feel her face contort as she heard what was his attempt at a final request.

"Don't look...at me like that...I don't want to die, but...it's already too late...so don't look at me...as someone you couldn't save...but as someone who's will...you've inherited...for better...or for...worse."

That was it. In that moment, his body went limp. The arm he had spent the last dregs of his energy to extend to her dropped. She lunged to the object that now fell from his hands--a small microSD.

The man had expended the last bits of his effort for something so small and fragile. If she put in just a little force, she could crush it right there. It was almost comical that she had been entrusted with such a fragile hope.

"Dammit...you can't just go putting a curse on someone like that."

Inheriting his will? She was sure he knew exactly what kind of onus he had given Elaine when he said those words. And yet, the man had trusted him with those words.

She couldn't just let that effort amount to nothing. That was the nature of the curse that had been placed upon her.

Fine then. I'll do it.

After placing the SD card within an inner pocket, she looked around the area. If she was going to be discreet about this, then she needed to avoid using the same entryway or even going towards the Space Center proper. She found herself picking up a few more small items and placing them into separate pockets before finding what she was looking for.

In that case, among the crumbling walls, there was one opening. It was not the best one for her, but she would make do with what she had. Crawling through that space, she entered a brief flash of darkness before exiting into an onslaught of rain.

It was getting worse, but there was no time for her left to linger. Taking the first opportunity she could, she ran off to the side and slid partway down a nearby hill.

At this rate, she would soon find herself near an iconic white rock. The Space Center's symbol for safe return. While it was normally meant for the center to pray for astronauts, she couldn't help but wish the same for everyone involved.

After all, every single one of her League allies right there and then was venturing into the unfamiliar astronomical territory that was a warzone.

---

TL;DR/MP Count:

• MP Total: 10 (IC Postx1)
  
• Prompt:  ELAINE HIGHLAND has safe-kept some intel/research (in physical and/or digital form) and has escaped the mossdeep space center discreetly.

Tags: nabi park , elijah gardner

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The First Wave Prelude

Mossdeep City B7

It was as she was running down that she had first heard it. She had barely made it out of the annex and made it a few feet down the slope when she had finally heard something coming through her earpiece.

“ELAINE HIGHLAND ?” This is MOSSDEEP CON... Yujin speaking."

Grinding to a stop, she pulled out her phone and looked at its screen only to realize that whatever transmission was reaching her was not coming through the proper channels. This was purely impromptu.

"This is Detective Highland speaking." It was a noisy transmission, but she could at least suss out the necessary details. Better to let Yujin know the transmission was recieved.

”That device... zzt...-op Secret. Do not under any circumstances let it fall to Rocket. Do not return to the Space Center, it is compromised. Do not… zzzt… head west. Avatar bat…. -mminent.”

Elaine frowned. It was not because of the noise coming through. She could interpolate the most important parts.

"That's distressing..." She muttered. "Fine, I read you. Keep the kzzt-afe and away from R0--zzt. Do not zzzt-space center. Do not head west, avoid avat-zzzt-le."

To be fair, there were two ways that last transmission could have gone. It was better to close the loop when interpolation wasn't going to give one answer. She had seen far to many mishaps occur due to improper communication.

---

It didn't take too long for Elaine to reach a very familiar sight. Though she was a bit far away from it, she could see the white rock the Space Center held as a symbol of safe return. And it had cracked open.

Fate had a cruel sense of irony. That was something Elaine had known for a long time. But that didn't change the reality before her. If the prayer of safe return was denied, then Elaine had no choice but to carve that path on her own. That was all it meant. To spit upon the face of whatever sadist of a god was looking down upon her at this moment, that was what she had to do.

But she was not alone here. It was inevitable that as she ran down this path that she would come across someone.

"A civilian?" She muttered as she saw pink hair. Perhaps she was helping others evacuate or maybe she was evacuating herself. The reason for her presence here was not what mattered. No, what mattered was the one short set of movements her lips had made.

She had spoken out a name.

In that moment, it felt like fangs were reading to clamp down upon her neck.

Elaine's eyes widened as she snatched a Pokeball and tossed it behind her. Her intuition had saved her in that moment.

"GINGA! BLOCK IT!"

The Metagross popped out of the Pokeball as it brought forth a Light Screen to intercept the incoming litany of vines.

"Tch." Elaine clicked her tongue. "Should've realized that there was a Rocket hound sniffing after me."

But the fact that she had caught him before he could deal any fatal blows was a blessing in disguise. Though the Fates would not listen upon her prayer, she had created a route out. It was enough to make her give off a wry, yet smug grin at her assailant (supposedly named Elijah).

"What's wrong, Fido?" As she grinned, she took out a simple microSD from her inner pocket and waved it around for a couple flicks of her wrist. "Is the intel here that juicy for your band of bloodthirsty killers?"

In the next second, she placed the delicate morsel of a device back into one of her inner pockets. Though, given her position behind Ginga, it would be difficult for her opponent to see. But not necessarily the civilian behind them. Did she just place the object in a different pocket?

---

TL;DR/MP Count:

• MP Total: 20 (IC Post x2)+ 50 (Antagonistic Dialogue)=70
• Metagross uses Light Screen to dampen the incoming Vine Whip

Tags: nabi park, elijah gardner, CC: Yujin Ha

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The First Wave Prelude

Mossdeep City B7

I see...

Elaine could only fathom a guess by the way they had been talking to each other, but they clearly knew each other. The civilian girl, whose name she caught to be Nabi, clearly believed in Elijah's character strongly enough to vouch for him.

Elaine was not one to judge the relationships people had with Rockets. After all, they were seemingly everywhere, dotted among the civilian populace at times.

"Don't worry yourself, Elijah. You've so directly shown me your killing intent." With a grin, Elaine pointed to her neck. "It would be remiss of me to simply run away like this."

As much as she was saying that, running was 100% the best option and Elijah had closed off her route of escape. Her heart was pounding, both from the escape she had been executing and from the fact that she was stuck in a fight for her life. But even beyond that, her objectives had shifted.

The first objective remained the same. Escape with the intel she had and deliver it to someone trusted in the League. The second, however, popped up here. She needed to get Nabi to safety.

Give me a break. I know we're in a warzone but this is ridiculous.

"Listen to Elijah, Ms. Nabi. We're in the middle of a battlefield. Focus on getting yourself to safety." After saying her piece to Nabi, she faced her opponent. Despite being an enemy, he was a lot kinder than he was trying to let on, even if it wasn't to her specifically. Either that or he cared for her more than he was trying to let on.

Either way...

"It really isn't a shame we couldn't just speak over a cup of tea." She sighed before moving her hand down in signal.

"But I'm not going to let you get in my way here."

In that next moment, the Metagross unleashed a wave of Psychic upon the grassy Pokemon before it. She never once dropped her smile. "But turn yourself in quietly and we can prevent any needless bloodshed here. It's like you want to deal with this in her presence, either."

Her heart raced, but she could only be thankful that her panic wouldn't be that easy to read. She had some confidence in her poker face, after all.

---

TL;DR/MP Count:

• MP Total: 70 (Prior) + 10 (IC Post x1)+ 50 (highlighting Elijah's consideration)=130
• Metagross uses Psychic on Victribell
• Elaine tells Nabi to escape to safety and urges Elijah to surrender (or at least leave)

Tags: nabi park, elijah gardner

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The First Wave Prelude

Mossdeep City B7

Yeesh, talk about an icy reception.

She had such a poor crowd today. She sighed as she pressed her fingertips upon her forehead for just a moment. As if things couldn't get more complicated, the civilian was joining in. If there was any solace she felt, it was in the fact that Nabi had assisted her even if she was being a bit petulant about it.

"Fine, but don't regret that decision."

Elaine may have been a member of the League, but it was hardly like she had a violent urge to annihilate Rockets unlike some of her colleagues. She was not the old Elaine who cared for grandiose ideas. She could fight for something simpler and smaller. She would fight for something as simple as steering away from needless bloodshed.

Even in the middle of the hellscape that was war.

Though Elijah was not going to retract his position immediately, she could at least help this girl before her sort out the standing between the two of them. Elaine was hardly a mediator and she was the one in the most danger here, being the target of Elijah's intent to kill.

But I'm better than that. Besides, I don't need to really kill here. I just need to escape with the data safely and make sure Ms Nabi escapes safely too.

It was strange. The situation was precarious, but her heart slowed down. It was not racing so hard that she could hear it in her ears anymore.

To help that innocent trust, she would fight.

"GINGA! RISE!" In the next moment, she saw the Tangrowth's vines rustling before slamming the ground to create an earthquake.

Despite his words, he was only targeting Elaine.

She had seen that, so she would make sure that she could use that fact to her advantage. Consideration was such a pure thing, after all.

Perhaps that was why. In that moment, she was smiling.

---

TL;DR/MP Count:

• MP Total: 130 (Prior) + 10 (IC Post x1)+ 50 (Why she's fighting)=190
• Elaine acknowledges Nabi's intent and opts to help her
• Elaine jumps atop Metagross and commands it to use Magnet Rise

Tags: nabi park, elijah gardner

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The First Wave Prelude

Mossdeep City B7

How weak. Elaine was not one to judge a criminal's motives. She had heard many over the years. Some stronger than steel, others absurdly weak. All formed from a core that was the perpetrator's own weakness and despair. But at the end of the day, the decision to hurt others was an act that she could not simply excuse.

He had been hurt and lost something important and so he joined a criminal force and assisted their siege on civilians that had nothing to do with his own despair? It was utterly farcical to hear. How many people had fallen into the abyss since the dawn of humanity and how many ended up climbing out instead of deciding to dig deeper?

Elaine was a weak girl. It was a fact that she had learned time and time again. Be it during the prison ship incident or when she had found herself completely defeated by one of Rocket's underbosses. Be it when she had lost everything that one fateful night.

Fall into the mud. Become mired in it in that one moment. But always climb out and walk forward. That was who she had chosen to be. Those ideals were the curse she had bore and the wish she carried forward. So, she could not accept the man who was standing before her, targeting her life, as he was now.

She had so many pointed words she could say to him. But, that was not her place here. Even as the man before them tried to turn Nabi to her side, she would not speak up. It was not her place to pass judgement on those who had not sinned. She merely could only act upon those who had sinned. That, too, was a curse she bore.

"Mash in, Ginga."

After pulling out a pen with a brilliant round stone from inside her jacket, the quadrupedal metallic beast transformed as a thick vine wrapped around one of its limbs. But it did not attempt to let go.

Two of its four front limbs glowed a brilliant blue as it let the vine pull it further down to terra firma. But it would not let the two of them crash into the ground. Instead, the two would ride the momentum towards the Tangrowth as they charged a Meteor Mash at it.

So many people had been hurt today. She had seen the scientist who had been impaled before delivering his last will to her. She had seen the many civilians who had the lives crushed out of them by flying debris and shrapnel from the sudden battlefront. Images of homes destroyed, nature uprooted, and civilization burning flew through her head.

Though she had not wanted to speak up to Elijah directly, she found herself muttering.

"Was all of that worth the carnage you created here?"

---

TL;DR/MP Count:

• MP Total: 190 (Prior) + 10 (IC Post x1)+10 (Mega Evo)+50 (Reference a prior thread)+50 (Motif: Wishes and Curses) =310 MP
• Elaine Mega Evolves Metagross and attempts to use the momentum from the Power Whip strengthen the Meteor Mash against Tangrowth
  

Tags: nabi park , elijah gardner