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Satisfaction came as the Ursaluna grumbled in the wake of her dragon breath. Ceci watched him stagger back, teeth still bared in what looked alike a spectral grin of accomplishment. Her posture remained tense and vigilant, but there was no matching the sudden onslaught as Higumei conjured whatever strength remained in his bulkier body. The dragapult didn’t shy away from the forward push, and a rumbling growl crept up from her throat. But it quickly morphed into a shriek of pain as she crumpled under the force of a bloodmoon.[break][break]
Blasted backward, Cecilia slammed into a nearby tree. Unable to maintain transparency, she connected with solid force and dropped—unconscious.[break][break]
Fern’s eyes darted away from their target for a fleeting moment, just long enough to see their beloved companion go down. A frustrated sound eeked out through their gritted teeth, but this wasn’t the time to falter out of compassion, even if she was one of the few exceptions to their steadily growing cruelty.[break][break]
In a beam of light, the dragapult was sucked back into her ball in a ray of light, but they didn’t have the time to send out another opponent for the massive ursaluna. Instead, they watched from the ground as Yuina Higashi faced them and refused to cave to their prodding. Boldness in truth. In the face of her defiance, they laughed again.[break][break]
“What cause does a charlatan have for truth? There is just a much power in deception, darling.” Slowly, they managed to push themself up as she spasmed from the pain they unleashed upon her. Their ankle stung—no doubt sprained from the fall. But Fern dimmed the sensation as they fixated on amplifying hers. “You only need that little bit of doubt it plants, before it spreads like a poison.” Ruining everything. Paranoia. Potent stuff, really. [break][break]
She screamed, and they opened their mouth to speak again, to taunt her more.[break][break]
And then everything went sideways.[break][break]
A confused frown flickered across their expression as her fingers flickered with…something. They weren’t sure what. But it felt wrong. “What’re you—“ Reality broke apart at seams around her. Ugly tears wrenched open to reveal the amorphous glow of timespace. And then their limbs locked, and there was a split second of panic as Fern registered the inability to move as the distortion domed over them.[break][break]
Control came in a sharp gasp of breath, inhaling as their concentration snapped and their hold on her dropped away. They stumbled backward, gawking as they took in the space they were trapped within. It was not unlike what they’d experienced in Lesser Megalopolis with Zev Harcourt as Necrozma ripped open pockets for them to inspect.[break][break]
But this felt wild, uncontainable. Unstable.[break][break]
Even as she tried to regain her bearings, Fern watched her warily. The tables turning as their confidence in controlling the situation began to wane in favor of apprehension. What she could do was perhaps more unpredictable than themself. “Is this what you meant, then?” Their voice was guarded, but a glimmer of curiosity rose up. They could pocket this information. Insatiable as they were, Fern could possibly use this later.[break][break]
There was always an opportunity to use tools when present with them.[break][break]
The burst of the distortion separated Tapu Koko from its adversary. It made to chase the other, but it flitted away and disappeared. Electricity bristled off of it as it descended to pass through—only for its temper to flare when it was unable to traverse the barrier to return to Fern.[break][break]
With patron and supplicant separated, its still-charged prongs battered at the exterior. Demanding to be let in.

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