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So, Cass truly is not known for having the brightest of ideas, probably, despite how smart she might be else. However, it also seems rather plausible, perhaps, if there's something going on with her Skuntank that might involve The Wilds ... and after doing one expedition with her cousin where she almost died, she felt qualified for another one.

... yeap.

The Ultra Deep Sea is more of a cavern than a sea, at least more than Cass has expected. Baron's gentle nature simply looks around with fascination, but no recognition. And it's really starting to get unsettling here, too. It's by luck that that's the moment where suddenly, something lights up - and Cass just prays that it's not actually a bad person.

From the shore around, Cass approaches and is relieved to see a familiar face, actually. "Oh, hi! Hi there!" she calls, but tries to also do it quietly - who knows what might linger here ... "Hi, Nina, right? I'm Cass- we met before with the Voltorbs and Electrodes."

She smiles faintly, but oh gods. Maybe this place isn't actually ideal for smalltalk? She could swear that she could hear something like a heartbeat here. And as unsettling it is, there's some part of her that almost feels drawn to it with fascination. It reminds her of the ship where they've been kidnapped on, with its flesh tubes ... ... her eyes wander slightly, and there.

It's in the distance still, but dimly lit by the beautifully shining Milotic. "That's an Illumina one, right?" Cass whispers, forcing her eyes to look away from the massive organ-like structure some distance away.

nina larson
12 involve the realm's heartbeat-like sound and/or the discovery of large organ-like structures.

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Cass looks very embarrassed at the call-out, definitely every inch the kid who's been caught with one hand in the cookie jar. Except that this time, it would be way more lethal. "I don't try to, necessarily, but ... ..." She doesn't really have a comeback when faced with the facts. She gladly also distracts from her presence with the Milotic's, a shining light in the otherwise eeriely lit cavern system.

"It is a rather good name," Cass - and sometimes Cassie - grins, looking at the illumina pattern with fascination and curiosity - and once more, utterly charmed by one of Nina's pokémon. Unfortunately, the distraction doesn't last long enough to actually ignore the fact that she's here when she really shouldn't be.

"Oh, no- no," she quickly reassures - it's definitely been the reason for her first trip into The Wilds, however, curiosity for all things Megalopolan ignored. "I ... my Skuntank has a really weird case of amnesia, and I wondered if ... he might've ended up here at some point. Reading up on the Ultra Deep Sea, it felt like there could be a hint because anything else ... didn't really make sense." She takes one of her pokéballs and calls the poison type out.

He looks at the others amicably, maybe also a bit too amicably - there's no personality as he settles next to Cass, mirroring her concerned look.

She pauses for a moment, before turning to Nina. "And, uh, do you have anything particular to do here?" The question feels awkward as she's asking - but well, she's curious, as she really didn't expect to meet up again and definitely not under these circumstances.

nina larson

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Cass' face flushes slightly at Nina's slight skepticism regarding her honest (dishonest) attempts at keeping away from trouble. There's some genuity, but most of the time, you really just wanted to see what's out there and sometimes challenge god itself. Bad ideas that sound brilliant in a young, oblivious mind.

But gladly, Nina doesn't want to elaborate this point further, earning a few points in Cass' book and a faint smile as the discussion shifts for their reasons of being here. "He truly seems to be ..." she smiles lopsidedly at Baron, the Skuntank, and ruffles his hair. His expression once more mirrors Cass, a fascinating and unsettling circumstance alike. "I ... fished him out of the water, too. Wondered recently if I should've called him Jace."

At Nina's question, Cass frowns slightly, thinking back ... "I think maybe I saw something moving a bit back ... but I can't remember if it's been a humanoid figure or perhaps an Ultra Beast ... it was really quick, and." Well.

As much as she usually wants to burn her eyeballs with the horrifying of the world, in this moment, she'd thought better not to look too close. "Do you want to go see and check? I think I should find the way ..."

nina larson
13 "don't look deeper than you absolutely have to".

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Cass blinks at the suggestion, "Are there- still Megalopolans here?" She honestly has little idea of anything, but the idea ... she feels conflicted. She kinda wants to talk. She also kinda doesn't want to talk. Would they know of the Primatic Penitentiary? Do they remember the attempts to save lives even as they disregarded them? She shakes her head. "I didn't see the head clearly, so it could've been really anything ..." But there's hope, and isn't that everything they'll ever have?

And there goes the question that she never quite knows how to reply to. "I'm ... it's a bit complicated," she replies, "but I'm not not-scared. But! I'd love to tag along, yes, being alone is. Not good here," she quickly adds, then takes a deep breath to stop that stammering. "I saw the figure over there ... It moved in this direction, so it's probably ..."

Cass starts leading the way with careful steps as to not accidentally trigger anything. "I hope your friend is okay," she also adds - she can't imagine what it must feel like. The idea alone of getting seperated in this realm makes shivers run down her spine. They follow the direction a bit where she saw the figure and ... ...

"... that's Megalopolan, isn't it?" A vessel. A vessel that she feels like she has seen before, but differently. It's like her past keeps haunting her, further and further down. Or maybe it's just the poison where she she wonders if it's still in her veins.

nina larson
04 explore the unnerving wreckage of a megalopolan vessel, named The Quaestor Lucis.

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There's not much that Cass can think of as reply, so the short walk is accompanied by silence as they, indeed, approach a Megalopolan vessel. "It does look pretty abandoned, yeah," she agrees, looking at the vessel with some fascination, even if she can also only imagine the horror. Part of her really wants to ask Nina if they could go inside, but the memory of being trapped in such a vessel holds strong, too.

And well.

Moving shadows.

"There's something!" she shouts out as quietly as she can, as the realisation of where they are sinks in again. A realm that seems to be living, walking on earth that breathes. And a swarm of Nihilego coming from around, inside the ship - "We gotta-!" But they're behind, too. One Nihilego's tendrils touches Cass' cheek almost tenderly. She slaps it away immediately, leaving another trace of poison on her hand.

Oh shit.

nina larson
01 become poisoned by nihilego toxin temporarily.

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The air suddenly grows slightly hazy, seemingly tinged purple, as Cassandra tries her damnest to focus on anything. The Nihilego that's approached her is fended off by a- Azelf- she wonders, perplexed, for a moment as she regards the blue Phione, before shaking off that particular haziness. Good, it's not here ... "Thank you-" she manages to say fairly normally through shallow breaths as she feels her pokéballs wiggle by her side. In a flash of red, her Comfey Martin appeared by her side, spreading a soothing Aromatherapy to keep the poison at bay.

"Thank you, dear ..."

He also activates a few more pokéballs - Trubbish, who's been recalled before and now attacks with Sludge Bomb, as well as a less than amused Tadbulb that looks with a frowned expression at his surroundings, before throwing an Eerie Impulse at a nearby Nihilego. However, fending off the Nihilego from Cass means redirecting attention towards Nina as well-

"Nina!" Cass shouts, startled as she feels her consciousness slightly, vaguely returning to herself. "I'm- I'm fine!" she lies, clearly visible in the way her breaths are laboured as she gestures towards her pokémon. Baron from before has started mimicking Jon and Boggy, also going for an attack. The chaos outside has also caught Misuk's attention in the ball, who comes out of it and immediately uses Silver Wind - colouring Cass' vision with a grey haze to overwrite the purple.

"How are you-?"

nina larson

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Cass lets out a quiet breath as the last Nihilego falls, and nods with relief. "You've all done great," she tells her surroundings, including her own pokémon as well as Nina's and Nina herself. She looks at the older woman with admiration, though the glossiness of her eyes probably also has something uncanny about it. Something isn't quite right as Cass blinks multiple times.

"I think ... can we rest up here ... for a moment? I think the area is ... safe for now ..." Martin continues spreading his Aromatherapy which is a huge help, but still. She takes a deep breath and actually looks at the purple scarring on her skin, on her hands and arms. At least ... at least the light doesn't make it too obvious, but she wonders if it got worse ...

"But ... I hope your friend's not here anymore." And she sits down as she leans against Baron's, calming down her breath as she recovers from the poisoning.

nina larson