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"Did it really seem that way? That was all Melmetal, then."[break][break]

The DYNAMAX BAND on Barnaby's wrist jingled faintly as he tucked a wayward strand of hair behind his ear.[break][break]

"Well, it wasn't too bad. But once you've used a slew of other gimmicks like Mega Evolution and the like, what's one more?"[break][break]

BARNABY FINCH had achieved his goal with this in mind — to practice and test the limitations of DYNAMAXING under the simple guise of a tournament participant. He'd be better prepared, now, whenever the ability was needed in the future.[break][break]

"Anyway, I've got another match scheduled soon, so I'll head out first! Good to see you again, Councilman. Good luck with the rest of your battles."






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Tying up loose ends was the second step.[break][break]

And Caleb Harcourt was one of the biggest. [break][break]

Many of the points in Barnaby and Caleb's relationship remained the same in this timeline. Their coincidental encounter in the Ultra Deep Sea, the bounty on Caleb's head courtesy of his brother Zev Harcourt, their twenty years together in Galar...[break][break]

Even the ranger's ROCKET imprisonment and subsequent escape with the help of Isaac Merlo. So many of the same moments, repeated, yet their story would end with a much different conclusion. Universe 820's Barnaby L'oiseau made sure of that.[break][break]

Barnaby never forgot his original purpose for Caleb Harcourt, after all. He was a ROCKET traitor. A nuisance and a threat to one of ROCKET's most valuable assets in Zev Harcourt. The ranger had far outlived his expiration date by the time Underboss Bee found him again.[break][break]

In his final moments in this timeline, Caleb lamented the love between King Harcourt and his Spectral Rider. Tried in vain to appeal to what they once shared. Surely Barnaby felt something for him. Enough to not end his life at the very least.[break][break]

Instead, Barnaby leveled his knife to Caleb's chest and offered a few parting words:[break][break]

"It was all just a dream. Well..."[break][break]

"A nightmare, really."[break][break]

"And now it's over."[break][break]

The blade plunged through the scar tissue above Caleb's heart.

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Navigating the breakdown of his civilian identity was a new experience for Universe 820's Barnaby L'oiseau.[break][break]

It had always been at the back of his mind, of course. The potential downfall, the vacuum that formed in the aftermath, the looming finality of never going back. But now — with endless branching possibilities to explore in this timeline — he was ready to move on.[break][break]

BARNABY FINCH was a mask discarded. It was time to don another one.[break][break]


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Consolidation of power was the first step.[break][break]

"I'm sure you've heard whisperings of Underboss Decker's impending departure."[break][break]

declan walsh loomed behind a broad oaken desk, one leg hitched over the other as he observed Barnaby from the leisure of his wingback chair. The man's shadow perched high across the office wall behind him, unnaturally dark and just slightly off-kilter.[break][break]

"Perhaps. But I fail to see how Decker stepping down concerns you, Bee, especially considering your recent breach in security."[break][break]

"A valid concern. However, I believe that there's an opportunity to be had here..."[break][break]

He knew in their timeline that his Elisabeth Fiorelli took up Killian Decker's vacancy. Here, however, there would be no tender third kiss shared between him and Elisa. No admission of affection or succumbing of feelings. Instead, Barnaby chose to ascend in her stead.[break][break]

And he explained as much to declan walsh. Emphasized that now that he lacked a public face that required careful tending, his skills could be further utilized toward ROCKET's benefit.[break][break]

Their conversation planted the seed. [break][break]

"...I'll be in touch, Admin Bee. You're dismissed."[break][break]

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The fallout of their encounter was swift and thorough. [break][break]

With both Remiel Calcifet and PENELOPE LIVY at the forefront of his ousting, Barnaby knew there'd be little time to waste. Penny wasn't known for her subtlety, after all — ROCKET traitors even less so.[break][break]

But this moment, in this timeline, was before she'd felt the ENVIOUS pull of CHI-YU. There was no patron or inhuman powers to protect her within the dark corridor of GIDEON GRAVES's museum. So although their exchange was a heated one, in the end, Councilwoman Livy acquiesced. [break][break]

She'd brought back-up with her, yet Barnaby still managed to slip out of the party undetected. Every second mattered now if he was to settle what was to become the catalyst for a spiraling narrative.[break][break]

He'd had contingencies in place, of course, just in case his identity was ever compromised. With one tap of a button everything went...[break][break]

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Overnight his Mauville City penthouse was left abandoned. When the authorities inevitably arrived to raid the home they'd find little of substance there to sling at ROCKET and its constituents. The kill switch in all of the electronics had been activated almost as soon as PENELOPE LIVY played her hand, burning servers, corrupting data, and erasing any trace of the BARNABY FINCH who once lived there.[break][break]

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With one last decisive blow their match finally came to an end. It couldn't come sooner for BARNABY FINCH, considering how cantankerous Caleb Harcourt was being.[break][break]

"You should." Barnaby replied, deadpan, after crossing the battlefield to rejoin the ranger. "Many don't have the privilege." [break][break]

Barnaby knew Caleb was mocking him, but refused to even acknowledge it. There was no point. It would only serve to rile him up more.[break][break]

"You need to learn how to control your emotions, Caleb." A soft hand rose to stroke a pale scar at the edge of the other man's jaw.[break][break]

"Your thoughts are plastered all over this pretty little face of yours." The touch was fleeting. Soon enough, Barnaby returned his hand to his side and pivoted to leave.[break][break]

Before he did so, however, he offered over his shoulder, "I'm staying at the Royal Pyroar Hotel for the duration of the tournament. Meet me there this evening, hm?"[break][break]

"Oh, and bring something to drink with you."[break][break]

He'd need to be drunk to deal with whatever petulant fit Caleb was likely to throw.









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It was different than what one might see in a movie or television show. [break][break]

Oddly, at least to him, the portal did not reopen like a door for BARNABY FINCH to walk through. Instead, his consciousness awoke like the flip of a light switch within a familiar space: the National Museum of Natural History, all decked out for the holidays during what he could only assume was the Winter Masquerade of 2022.[break][break]

He was dressed as ostentatiously as he'd been back then, mask and all to fit the theme. The company was similar, too, with Summer Atreides within arms reach. Everything appeared the same, in fact.[break][break]

So what was different? Father Winter had promised him an alternate path to explore.[break][break]

His answer came from a beckoning hand, enticing him to follow from his corner of the room and down a darkened corridor, away from prying eyes. The feminine figure hid her face, as they all did as part of the Masquerade, but there were telling signs of her identity.[break][break]

In fact, he'd know that shock of red hair anywhere.[break][break]

"I always knew you were a rat, Finch. But this is a new low, even for you."[break][break]

PENELOPE LIVY turned to face him, the only light to illuminate her fiery form coming from a half-lit exhibit to her right. The councilwoman's shadow stretched far across the floor, creeping onto the wall as if to watch what came next.[break][break]

Barnaby didn't respond at first and instead took a moment to assess the situation he found himself in. This? This was different.[break][break]

When he looked into Penny's face, her scarlet eyes flashed hotter than he'd ever seen them, even behind her mauve, lace-lined mask. Her tone was severe, her body language guarded yet buzzing with some sort of morbid anticipation.[break][break]

"You won't be able to hide behind your mask for much longer." [break][break]

At that he smiled and removed his face covering, feigning ignorance in a show of amiable concession.[break][break]

"What do you mean, Penny? I'm an open book." He tested the waters, probing for an explanation for her actions.[break][break]

"Ha!" She practically smoldered as she snapped and moved forward towards him, her heels burning into the tile below with each sharp step.[break][break]

"I bet Remiel Calcifet would beg to differ." Venom-lined and angry, Penny's tone continued to heighten as she spilled all the gory details for Barnaby to hear. [break][break]

"Mm, sorry. You'd probably know him better as Admin Fox, right?" There was a perverse lilt of superiority in her voice, now, in the wake of her revelation.[break][break]

"Surely you two are close? You have to be, with how social you are. In that way, you've always reminded me of a doorknob: everyone gets a turn." [break][break]

Another nasty laugh echoed down the hallway before she ended with, "Either way, it seems like the Prince finally woke up and realized just how pathetic you all are."[break][break]

The silence that followed the conclusion of Penny's reveal was deafening. She knew. There was no other explanation.[break][break]

For one of the first times in BARNABY FINCH's life, he felt the rug being swept out from under his feet, taking with it his identity as an HNN journalist and his anonymity as a ROCKET agent.[break][break]

PENELOPE LIVY would not let this lie. He knew that much was true.[break][break]

This? This timeline was certainly different.

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It was late into the cold winter night when an uninvited guest and his UNOWN-D materialized before BARNABY FINCH.[break][break]

He'd given a false address in his Wintertide letter, but of course the DRK Triad knew more than they let on. Father Winter — or Dionysus — appeared with ease inside the ROCKET admin's bedroom, having eluded the alarm system and the multiple Pokémon that guarded the space within his penthouse. [break][break]

"Maldacena?" Had Barnaby's wish been granted? He looked past where Dionysus stood before an open portal, expectantly waiting for another man to exit. But Maldacena never came.[break][break]

"So you're just the messenger, then?" [break][break]

His voice fell flat. There was near palpable disappoint in the look Barnaby gave Father Winter, but he allowed the man to finish his little speech, though he'd risen from bed in the meantime and begun dressing himself for what sounded like a labyrinthine adventure.[break][break]

From what Barnaby could discern, this was his chance to play around in spacetime and witness firsthand the ramifications of his actions, no matter how fantastical or absurd. This went beyond even the RKS System's capabilities; he had free reign here, courtesy of Maldacena.[break][break]

How could he pass up such a chance?[break][break]

Maldacena had provided revelations before. Could this be another roundabout way to disseminate information, in the same vein their trip into Cyberspace had been?[break][break]

"Alright, alright, I'll go. You've convinced me." Barnaby assented, his intrigued expression tinted blue by the portal's scintillating energy. In truth, he'd needed little convincing to begin with. The prospect of insider knowledge was too tempting a prize.[break][break]

"Come when I call for you, hm?" [break][break]

And with that, BARNABY FINCH entered into another timeline.

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As the smog and airborne debris clear, the outcome of their match is obvious to see. Roland stands triumphant while an exhausted MELMETAL slumps to the cracked earth.[break][break]

While Navy runs to his Pokémon's side in the aftermath of the battle, BARNABY FINCH is more even-keeled as he walks to where MELMETAL has fainted in the middle of the field. The journalist lays a hand on the titan's broad shoulder, assessing for life, which is proven by a pained groan. It lost, but it lived.[break][break]

That was enough.[break][break]

"Congrats. That was quite the spectacle of a battle." Barnaby's decorous smile was the picture of sportsmanship, of grace in defeat, as he returned MELMETAL to its Luxury Ball.[break][break]

"Shall we? Even though I lost?" There was a hopeful lilt to his tone as he asked for confirmation.








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Metal met metal in an explosive display of force. Ice and pure fighting energy cause a reaction that sends shockwaves across the battlefield as a cloud of earthy smoke envelops the two Pokémon.[break][break]

BARNABY FINCH leans forward, now completely engrossed in the match. Was this the deciding blow?[break][break]

Only once the dust settled would they see if MELMETAL remained standing...[break][break]













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In a world without factions Barnaby had stagnated into a shadow of his true self. [break][break]

He'd floundered without true purpose and fell into the arms of Caleb Harcourt, approximating an unsteady happiness that he'd never felt in the real world. Even now he resisted the memories of their twenty years in Galar together. [break][break]

That happiness was not meant for them here.[break][break]

"I'm not interviewing you." Barnaby replied curtly, waving on his MELMETAL to try and block the HYDRO PUMP coming its way. The metal beast raised its arms to defend against the torrent of water, but quickly ducked to the left and threw an ICE PUNCH in retaliation.[break][break]

"I'm tolerating your existence for the sake of this tournament."[break][break]

Their act was a two-way street. If Caleb Harcourt wanted BARNABY FINCH to seem like he cared, he needed to do the same. At least out in public where an audience could judge. [break][break]

Behind closed doors was a different story, which Caleb should have known. Barnaby could already picture the heated discussion they'd have later.[break][break]














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