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"the drk triad seem to be striking anyone and anything now. signs of desperation, maybe."[break][break]

in a world so grand, so unfathomable, project sapphire attempts to grasp the ungraspable. scrutinize the inscrutable. the commissioner supports it to protect the flotsam: those so unfairly cast by the storms of legends, thrust into ill-starred crossroads with the circumstances of others.[break][break]

but at times, her heart hurts for the anointed. those who have had their agency stripped away from them by fate, by duty, by fear.[break][break]

"anything interesting you've gleamed? anything of concern? questions? curiosities?" she asks. "i do think sometimes that those who have been able to survive their bonds before separation, angelo, skyler, laurence... are secretly the luckiest of them all."

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Curiously, Dahlia does not unsheathe her claws nor does she bare her fangs. Instead a finger heavy with thought taps against her lips and catalogues each anecdote.[break][break]

"if you want to have a long career in government, you'll have to rethink your entire framework." The Commissioner says. "winning? this is not a game, and if it was, the board changes effortlessly and without warning. one day it is checkers. the next, it is go. instead, we are in the duty of responding with solutions."[break][break]

She shakes her head, and the smile she has is a pitying one.[break][break]

"my answer is one pulled from our collective. the thing is, from that meeting we understood that there was more than just one pressing matter. to place them rigidly into a hierarchy would block us from improvisation and adaptability in a chaotic world like ours."[break][break]

She pauses.[break][break]

"three years ago, sootopolis was won by rocket thanks to an invisible war of ideology." The Commissioner says. "now, we've seized back control and have swayed the traditionalists back to our side with freya's installation. what plan would you have concocted instead?"

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The Commissioner recalls her conversation with ollie morales at the beginning of the dragon year. How jarring is it to be met with a memory of dango and celebration at the war table.[break][break]

"the amnesty program is a pivotal mechanism that plays multifaceted roles beyond its core purpose. intel. documentation. reconciliation. yes, there will always be a modicum of risk involved, but the opportunity for change must always be granted."[break][break]

She looks toward Isaac Merlo, Remiel Calcifet. Their inclusion at the table reflects the everchanging palette of the region. She wonders who will come sit with them next.[break][break]

"nevertheless, we have limited resources indeed. we can tighten the vetting process during this era of danger and account for the possibility of new kantonian defectors."[break][break]

The name of the previous commissioner causes her lip to sour and curl. However, she resets herself with a breath.[break][break]

"securing monroe could prove to be a pivotal objective, but i fear that his involvement will cast further doubt on the league. this is something we must continuously combat and with freya's involvement in sootopolis, we can more effectively, change the tides of the rocket sympathizers there and around the region."[break][break]

"our top champion divulged her avatarship to me. her blessing was recent, and the full extent of her abilities was yet unknown. ivanov is an extreme case, having hid his involvement with tornadus for," she shakes her head, "an exorbitant amount of time with no real good reason. i can take the blame for keeping melody's avatarship a secret. so much attention has been drawn to her as of late due to her new position, pokemon home and the island concert."[break][break]

"we do not know exact numbers, but it is clear that the whole kanto military is not here." The Commissioner ignores the request for a break. There is no respite in war. "but we should expect more to come in the coming months."[break][break]

She remembers PENELOPE LIVY's conversation. Of the League surviving over winning.[break][break]

"we can and will bring the fight to rocket... and we must grapple with the possibility that yes, this might include operations near or on kanto soil. if a suitable candidate for another elite four member arises, then inform us. until then, we will make do."

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The meeting pauses briefly: Navy arrives by mist. Isaac Merlo, though late, is given a cordial welcome. After all, it is his first summons.[break][break]

"admittedly, kanto's incursion came as a surprise. we had been monitoring the region ever since reports of unrest." [break][break]

The Commissioner looks to Eva Morales: she who had been invited to survey Rocket's rule of Kanto just over a year ago. As Isaac Merlo had stated, the coast is in danger. Island settlements too, remain at risk. Dewford stands on thin ice—and who knows when Rocket will break the "treaty" now that Kanto is here.[break][break]

"full transparency will be required yes, but we need to ascertain the facts first." She shakes her head before tucking a blonde curl back behind her ear. "monroe's departure was swift and now, i can't help but believe this has all been a setup of some malicious nature from the start."[break][break]

She taps her laptop's trackpad. Above, the forlorn image shifts to that of the Hoenn region.[break][break]

"taking advantage of hoenn's hodgepodge of phenomena will be crucial against this frankensteined rocket. perhaps we make a move to reseize secret bases, audit those that have been documented, and create a stronger presence underground."

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The Commissioner acknowledges the compliments—and acknowledges them as small talk. A primer for business. The thinnest hors d'oeuvre before a bitter cocktail.[break][break]

"Things are complicated, that's right." She says. "Can you elaborate, Penelope? Act sooner for what?"[break][break]

Vagueness invites vagueness. Dahlia waits to see what she defines as she fights a frown desperate to form by the witnessing of Penelope's stitches.

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"penelope, is that you?"[break][break]

one of the heavy doors swings, but it is not the commissioner that greets her. rather, it is the quizzical face of her mr. rime. cold vapors waft from the cane it uses to keep the door open for the lady of fire and jade.[break][break]

"come in." she leaves her desk, the edges of her coat dancing by her feet. "something on your mind?"

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the office doors close as the commissioner ushers paxton in. she offers the usual: a bright greeting, a friendly smile. yet the kindness is abbreviated. cut short by the aftermath of sootopolis and petalburg.[break][break]

"lovely news. heaven knows when another incident like kyogre's will occur. the project's research will prove to be pivotal as always." she wavers slightly before continuing. "you'll be pleased to know that there will be no budget cuts to sapphire in spite of current financial pressures."

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her lungs are paralyzed by the wraiths of her past. fear directs the memory, but it is the sudden onset of remorse that deepens the panic. [break][break]

each phantom pluck against her body feels like it leaves burning scar tissue. raised skin, knotted and ridged: a molten, bubbling gasp of mt. chimney.[break][break]

the glove seizes her. pulls her out of illusion and immediately, the cold sets in. unswept sweat settles like ice on her skin as she sucks in air.[break][break]

"yujin!?" [break][break]

she turns, hoping to see her companion. she slumps onto her should she be there. and as she gasps for reality's firmament, dahlia's skin shrivels as pale as the ghosts she has seen. [break][break]

"i saw him! silas... the whole wood. in flames!"

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dahlia laughs. the sound of "retirement" is so foreign, so nonsensical that it croons off-key or too low or high, failing to beat against the inner drum.[break][break]

"call me morbid, but i imagine my retirement will come when i'm finally six feet under."[break][break]

she dismisses the dark humor with a flap of her hand.[break][break]

"anyhoo, there's no worry. this time together is a break from all things after all." [break][break]

she sees a stall ahead. small wooden dolls carved into families. children. a future she may never have. her bayleef comes close, its verdant neck a comfort against the winter cold.[break][break]

"let's peruse those, shall we?"

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"i have full faith that we do in fact, possess the power to recapture sootopolis with or without kyogre. however, kyogre's approach grants us unique advantages." [break][break]

the commissioner's hands become portent paddles. they gesture as if they are treading wartime tides. lithe as her hands are, they lift the heavy waters, such currents laden with salt and omen.[break][break]

"our offensive can now serve with double purpose. not only is it a siege of sootopolis, but it is an aqua initiative operation. to control and protect kyogre. we are not the aggressors here. kyogre is."

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"i have my worries." [break][break]

dahlia bites into another dango, hand hovering over her lips out of habitual courtesy. [break][break]

"but i trust my security. i trust in paxton concordas."[break][break]

she continues their stroll all the while balancing a half-bitten dango ball on its skewer.[break][break]

"such worries have to fade into the background, don't you think?" she sighs. "but i don't wish to see you fading away by your own volition. you are just as important. if you say otherwise, i'll fire you!"

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silas is dead. silas continues to be dead. but when yujin's face is filled with fires of the past's most tragic phantom, the commissioner's imagination resurrects him.[break][break]

she takes a step back. her shoe graces yielding earth where a wooden plank is supposed to be and forces a stumble.[break][break]

"what did you do with yujin?" the commissioner croaks. a hand grabs a pokeball. "get... get away from me!"[break][break]

as the world plunges into catacumbal hell, dahlia runs.