Birth by Sleep
Scenario 5

---

It felt like it was finally all over. The world was at peace to some extent, but all Elaine had left was Lockon's Pokeball and a single item. As she chose it from the menu, the lone prompt popped up. For a moment, she had pondered. It was like this was an Easter Egg by some game developer, but she was certain that was not the answer here.

"I wonder. Will all of this end with this?"

Her hand rose up to the prompt as she took a sigh.

What would she change about herself? There was only one thing.

After all, it was the thing she had desired to change about herself since that incident. No matter how many hiccups existed in her, that never changed.

"I would become stronger."

She then chuckled.

"Maybe I'm being a bit too honest with something like this, but still...I guess I don't want to lie here."

And so, the world returned to white. And as Elaine's consciousness began to fade, she sunk back.

...

And then...

Birth by Sleep
Scenario 4

---

"Come on, guys. Calm down."

It was strange. After running through so much despair and being told to wreak so much havoc and destruction, being here almost felt unnatural. Elaine was not sure what would happen when she opened up the journal but perhaps this was the reward she had been seeking for so long. A simple, commonplace type of life that anyone could take for granted.

As she looked along, she saw herself maybe only a few years before the incident chasing after a pair of Pokemon-a white Vulpix and the Growlithe that was chasing after it.

It was rambunctious, boisterous, and yet it felt so homely.

"Chief, they've been running around for a half hour already. It's getting tiring."

"He's your Growlithe, ace. I'm sure you can handle it."

The young Elaine simply pouted as the older Elaine watched from the sidelines. It was a simple, mundane day where she had nothing to do. No cases to be solved. No progress to be made. Just an average lazy day sitting around at the police chief's office and bothering him that had turned into a playdate between the two quadrupedal Pokemon.

"Wait, isn't this the time I--"

As soon as she finished, she heard a thud as the Vulpix had taken an about face and charged directly into Elaine's stomach.

"Geh!"

"Yeah, it was." She couldn't help but let out a wry smile as she saw her past self fall back to the ground with the Vulpix on her. Shortly after, the Growlithe followed suit.

Despite the chaos, it was all mundane and all familiar.

A soothing rest amongst a turbulent world. One she wished she could go back to many times over.

Birth By Sleep
Scenario 3

---

She was back once again. The Snubbull had said that the item she had retrieved after the last boss fight was a key. In that case, there was only one place she could use it. After going back down the stairs, she found what was the office of the CEO who she had worked to bring to justice. As she did, she made her way to the computer.

She did not even need to do anything as the world distorted as she made her way to the main computer. It started with a moment of noise before it scattered and consumed the world around her leaving behind...

"This really is tasteless."

It was a warehouse. At the core of it all, the space left behind was a mere warehouse--an enclosed space that she was all too familiar with. Just as familiar as she was with the multiple corpses strewn about.

It was strange. Though this was a familiar location to her, she couldn't help but feel something was off. It was like the desert she had been in an expedition through or the deep sea she had once fought in.

"I just...have to destroy this place, right?"

Elaine took deep breaths as she walked around the place until she found a specific location on the wall. Pressing her hand against it, she found herself once again falling forward onto her face before revealing a hidden set of electrical wires and bombs.

"Ow...of course this would be here, too." Standing up, she rubbed at her head before looking back at the shadow Pokemon behind her. "Ready, Lockon. It's time to purge it all. As a nightmare would."

---

In mere moments, the world around them was engulfed in flame.

And then, what was left behind was...

He was a stern appearing fellow and he definitely had an aura that one would not hesitate to call unwelcoming, but she had seen far more dour people in her life. Hell, she had been one of them at one point.

"Well, kicking off may be a bit tongue-in-cheek in this case." Elaine chuckled, trying to stifle off the awkwardness of her attempt to start a conversation. But, those moments allowed a moment to get a good look at the man's face and as she did, something had clicked.

Ah. When she was a child, she was hardly ignorant of the world around her. Though her life was merely contained to one region at that time, she knew of the world outside and of others in a similar world as her. And this man had made far more stretches of fame than she ever did, so how could she not know him?

But the bigger surprise was that he was able to identify her. Though she hadn't changed much since her disappearance from Sinnoh, it had been long enough time that all of that should have been buried.

"Ah, yes. Pleasure to make your acquaintance too, Detective Sokolov." Caught off guard for a moment, Elaine took the seat that she had been offered. "Though, how did you recognize me? This is the first time we've ever met, I think."

---

Outfit
Tags: Nikita Sokolov

Suffice to say Elaine had understood that festive casual and formal were pretty far apart from each other and what the invite had said was clearly 'festive casual.' That was why Elaine had went through the effort of getting her hands on the red, fuzzy outfit she had come in with. Sure, it was a relatively short dress and sure it left her legs partially bare and vulnerable to the elements of wintery chill, but it fit the bill. Not to mention, being a native Sinnohan meant that she had a bit more of a penchant for the cold.

"I really don't get it. Did someone mess up? Did I mess up?"

After entering the venue, she noticed a surprising number of people in relatively formal dress. She couldn't help but frown for a moment. She almost felt like she had gone crazy, but breathed it off.

There was no way she was in the wrong. She had the basic ability to read after all.

But being late to the party was going to be a problem. The others had already begun to mingle, meaning it was too late to start with a lot of people. She could bother her boss from the expeditions, but he seemed otherwise invested. So, she meandered a bit until she found someone.

A man in a suit feeding his hound a drink...an odd scene, but hardly the weirdest thing she had seen. But, he was someone on his lonesome, even if she could not see his face.

With arms behind her back, she walked up to the man. "The party really is kicking off quite a bit, huh?"

---

Outfit
-Elaine approaches Nikita Sokolov

ULTRA DESERT: EMSD

3rd Expedition

"Broke character or not, it's pretty ominous." Elaine sighed as she ran her fingers across the papyrus once again. "Though given who these likely are, maybe they mean an actual clock. Who knows? Maybe we'll find a clock in front of a set of blast doors. Or something of the sort."

But as she took a step back and patted any dust and sand back off her, she looked off towards the side, towards the direction they were heading down.

She was hardly the type who could say she felt an aura of menace or could feel an ominous presence. In reality, it was patently obvious that what was in front of them would be a feral beast much like the ones who's corpses were laying strewn across the path they were treading.

"Yeah. Let's get going."

Elaine followed behind their brave leader as they pressed ever onward.

---

Tags: John Sullivan , maverick noah ryder

character tag: Elaine Highland[break]
story: A Monster In The Woods[break]

Elaine Highland

Highland Detective Office

1401 Salac Lane, Suite 213

Lilycove City, Hoenn

FATHER WINTER THE 2ND
NORTH POLE H0H 0H0
HOENN

SPOILER: Click to show

Dear Father Winter the 2nd,
To be honest, I've not sent any letters like this before so it's a bit of a new experience for me. Suffice to say, I haven't done this in a while, so I'm not sure how to go about this but I'll try at least. I wonder. Are you sworn to some level of confidentiality. I do hope so as I feel like these questions feel like a bit of a window into my soul.

What do I want for Wintertide? At the end of the day, what I really want is for the fruits of my efforts to stop being in vain. In other words, I want to be stronger. Though, if that's a bit much or too conceptual that it can't be done (and it probably is), there's this nice software called SplitTracers which I'd love an activation key for. It would be a bit Paradoxical for a detective to be committing piracy, after all.

What do I want to change in the past? If I had a chance to hop with a Celebi and do it all over again, I would want to go and correct the actions I took 5 years ago. Maybe then, I wouldn't have been so short sighted to miss something that killed so many people. It's frustrating to think about.

What do I want to change about the present? Weakness. Particularly mine. I've been plenty weak and it's led to me being ineffectual at best in many critical junctures. Like that weird shrine with the shield dog or on top of the meteorite. The thought of that tears me up like a feral Lycanroc. But it's not like it's on anyone but me to fix that, wouldn't you say?

What do I want to change about the future? The instability. I want everything to finally stabilize and harmonize. I often wonder if my past self was right about the idea that it takes absolute power to. Beyond even something like Dialga, for example. It's a thought. But I think at the end of the day, I just want all that insanity to be over. Though, it looks like things will take a lot of time.

Hope these wishes reach you this Wintertide and hope it's at least a calm one.

Yours truly,
Detective Highland

---

Birth By Sleep
Scenario 2

---

"Ah, I'm back here again."

It was strange. Even though this was all clearly all part of a dream, it all held some level of continuity. Each of the dreams she had seen before had told a story of an alternate past that could have been. So, it was only natural for her to realize that this was merely the continuation of that.

disgraced witch of futile truths-Elaine Highland
zoom lens/scope lens/wide lens

She looked at each of the three cards in her hands and sighed. Was this meant to be a joke? The items listed on her cards were all lenses? Was it a reference to a magnifying glass or was it a tongue in cheek joke towards the fact that she had not initially observed...

Elaine frowned and sighed. Nevertheless, she had to move forward.

"So, I have to form a party, then..."

---

"Almost there, huh..." As she looked up at the door she stood before, a lone warning popped up.

You are about to enter the final floor. Are you ready to proceed?

It was strange. The dungeon that she had walked into was simple--a lone building that stood in Jubilife City, one of the many skyscrapers that towered into the sky and one that held its significance as the source of a major scar in her past. Beyond it...was something. She honestly had no idea, but it was clear that she would find out.

The answer was pretty obvious. She looked back to the two avatars she had brought along, one labeled the blackwing bastard and the other labeled the self-taught redneck'd quack. Each of them were people she had met in real life at one point or another. Be it in a mission for the league or within another strange dreamlike reality.

"Well, it's not like you guys are going to say anything important."

She had come to realize it long ago. The people that were with her were no more than a mock-up of the people she had met before. Nevertheless, she just had to use what she could. At the very least, she could say that she did not have to worry about the pain of losing what were clearly not real people.

"Let's go, then."

Though the door would lead to stairs under normal circumstances, walking through it led into a bright white space for a short moment before it led to the rooftop of the building. The world outside was eerie as it stayed still. It was as if the skybox had been left incomplete, leaving behind nothing more than a sunset and motionless clouds.

"So that's what it's going for..."

Elaine frowned as she saw the dynamaxed form of a Pokemon she knew all too well--her Metagross.

"Fine, then. Let's cut to the chase and finish this. Lockon." Beside her was the belligerent yet powerful Inteleon. Behind her were the two memebers of her party she had pulled along into this. Holding up one of the cards in her hands, she cried out. "NOW!"

A chill formed between the lizard and the metallic beast, signaling the rest to get all hands on deck.

And then...

---

The world was truly strange. It was the final sucker punch that had led it all to come to an end. And after that final sucker punch, the titan that stood before her merely shattered into pieces that soon faded away into the ether.

For all the trouble it had put them through, there was not much remaining from the fight. Even the scars from the attacks that did hit the surrounding had all faded. All that was left was a sparkling item that gently floated down to Elaine's hand--a single USB drive.

As she looked at the item, she frowned. "Someone really is just messing with me."

It was an all-access pass and encryption key that they had only found after the whole incident was over--something that would have changed the course of the event in real life if she had it in advance. Something that would have prevented.

"No. Stop. Now's not the time for that."

She had long come to the conclusion that her avatar was useless on its own. After all, she barely survived an encounter with Lockon despite being unable to do squat against him. Now here she was, climbing through and deconstucting what should have been a happy dream. But it looked like there was not much left to do at this point.

"I guess it's time to just leave it at that. For now."

Birth By Sleep
Scenario 1

---

It was strange. It was not like before. For once, she hadn't felt like her life was in danger, yet. Elaine took a moment to place her hand onto her chest, or at least what she thought was her chest, and take a deep breath. She may not have needed it, but it was enough for her to calm down and let her mind take a step back.

In this case, it really did seem to be just a game. Just a strange flight of fancy.

And yet, it was hardly like she could take this lightly. She was without any Pokemon to help. And as the world seemed to almost distort, the problem remained that all she had to stand against the glitching reality/game before her was the dream ball that had been so generously gifted to her (and the others) by the Snubbull with a crown.

For the time being, she needed to escape to some measure of safety before she thought up a plan. As her route took her out of the castle that was now distorting, she had come to realize that there was no real escape from the effects. The world was tearing and 'enemies' were slipping through those holes in the fabric.

And yet, the world afforded not even a single moment for her rest.

It all started with a chill--as if the world had lost all heat. There was no way she could let herself stay there. Elaine leapt to the side. As she did, the area she had been standing in frosted over in an instant becoming a part of a long line of tall frost that erupted. She had been a hair's breadth away from death but it was not over.

"That was--!"

She didn't even realize she had not even that moment to declare her assailant as it sped close to her. Embodied in a faint darkness, it charged forward--a tall, humanoid blue that was all too familiar to her.

Lockon!

As the Inetleon charged forward, she realized she could not perform the same feat as before. Its deft Acrobatics would snatch her the moment she moved out of its line of sight.

So, there was only way through this. Elaine dived forward, and as the reptile's hands bore down upon where she had initially stood, she found herself momentarily safe once again, weaving around its legs and tail.

But that was her limit. As she faced the Inteleon down once again, it had already about faced to stare her down. It was in direct range, not in the middle of a motion. She had no moves she could make faster than it.

All she could do was step back and hoped it remained still for long enough to give her an opening. She took one step back as she grabbed the Dream Ball in her inventory. She took another step back...and then, she felt it.

The undeniable pull of gravity as the ground beneath her feet seemed to almost vanish.

Ability: Gravity Key

You will open undiscovered secret passages and trapdoors on direct contact but you will also tumble or fall straight into them at the moment it opens.

And as the world consumed her, the Inteleon took the opportunity to try to launch into another feat of acrobatics for a new attack. But...

You're mine!

This came with a disadvantage, but she would turn into her boon as she thrust the Dream Ball into the path of its oncoming fists. A grand light consumed it as it was compressed and sealed within that ball.

While still falling, the world took a moment to pause. Caught in mid-fall, she was presented with a pair of options...

As she clicked on the option to purify, she read through the prompt.

PURIFY YOUR POKEMON'S HEART

Warning! Doing so will take away power that can help you protect the ones you care about.

Continue?

The girl frowned as she read the middle line. While still suspended, she took a sigh before returning to the prior option. She couldn't pass it up. She could not pass up power. Not this easily.

So, she took no more hesitation as she opted to let the Shadows remain upon Lockon...at least for now.

And then, time passed once more.

"WAIT! WAIT! AAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

ULTRA DESERT: EMSD

3rd Expedition

Elaine had hardly expected their current leader to humor her comment. It was one she had merely expected would fall by the wayside. But he was the one in the front, so him being the one of all people to humor her ridiculous pontification was probably what made more sense.

There was not much she could not comprehend here. After all, this was merely a line of corpses. Different from a crime scene, this was a burial ground--a final resting place for the many, many corpses that stood there. The last steps before their souls were to carry on to whatever underworld they believed in.

But it was strange. After all, this procession of the dead lay beneath that ship for sure. How many of those aboard rested here?

She could ask those questions all she wanted, but unless she opened the many enclosures, she would never find the answers. For seekers of the truth like her, such reality would be disappointing, but there were bigger issues to deal with. It was better to put things off till they had a clearer big picture.

And yet, there was one who clearly felt the reverse was true.

Her eyes widened as the man she called boss pulled open the door to once of them, but what was within...

"They're well preserved..."

The more she looked at what they found, the more she could not believe it. The fact that they were left in sarcophagi meant that these bodies had been laid to rest long ago and yet even the most well embalmed mummy would break down over time, especially in these harsh conditions. So, that begged many questions.

How?

And when?

Her fingers gravitated towards what seemed to be text upon the papyrus. As she ran her fingers, she tried to figure out exactly what they seemed to say. Some of it seemed legible, after all.

---

Tags: John Sullivan , maverick noah ryder

A stream of fleeting, yet dreams. A strange riddle. And at the end of that tortuous road was a strange reality.

Again?

It was hardly the first time Elaine had found herself in a strange place. Hell, it was hardly the first time she had found herself in a ballroom either. And so, it meant she had been caught in something bizarre yet again. Would it be like the world where she had found herself cut to ribbons in both body and soul?

She had yet to have an answer to that. But, none of that mattered anymore. She had to press forward here. Even though the dialogue box before her offered a way back out, she could not let herself choose the easy way out.

She was a detective after all.

So, there was no hesitation needed. She just had to tap the correct button.

[NO]

Like there was ever any other option.

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Ange[break]
Disgraced Witch of Futile Truths[break]
Inteleon[break]

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