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They tumbled down entangled together, both men vying earnestly for the upper hand as they tussled in the dirt. BARNABY FINCH expected retaliation, of course, so was ready to deflect the thrown elbow by raising his forearm in defense. [break][break]

The blow stung, but it wasn't enough to unseat him from where he was, straddled atop Greyson Connors.[break][break]

"Hmm, you think I'm pretty, do you?" [break][break]

Just from their brief interaction, BARNABY FINCH had to admit that Greyson wasn't half bad himself. The man was all roiling muscle, taut and firm between the admin's legs.[break][break]

"Unfortunately," Barnaby hummed delightedly, attempting to use one hand to pin Greyson's right arm down and the other to sock him repeatedly in the face. [break][break]

"Flattery won't get you out of this."[break][break]

BLACEPHALON wasn't faring as well as its master. Confusion caused the lights on its circular head to blink in rapid, haphazard patterns. It tried to muster another attack, but simply ended up hitting itself in its disorientation.

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TOTAL: 205 MP[break]
+ 100 MP for shore mission[break]
+ 50 MP for participation in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 25 MP for using an ultra beast in your thread[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission

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BARNABY FINCH should have known better.[break][break]

In the split second before teeth met flesh, a memory flashed into focus within his mind. Elisabeth Fiorelli, naked, with a searing red ring of marks cut into the meat of her shoulder. He remembered the odd vision he'd had that night, too, in which freya morningstar featured as a prominent face.[break][break]

Putting two and two together came too late. [break][break]

Barnaby didn't have time to pull away. Councilwoman as she was, there was no stately demeanor about freya morningstar now — she was feral, as draconic as the beasts that served her. Pain and blood erupted as soon as she chomped down.[break][break]

"FUCK!" The admin roared, his other hand reflexively releasing its hold on Lucien to then wallop the area around Freya's head and face.[break][break]

"You cunt!" There was particular venom in the way he spit out the last word. Emphasis on last, because without a grip on his CHARIZARD holding him in place, Barnaby's leg strength was not enough to keep his seat while also struggling with the weight of another person biting and holding like a rabid SNUBBULL.[break][break]

A sudden jerk sent them both tumbling into a freefall.

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[break]

TOTAL: 210 MP[break]
+ 100 MP for sea mission[break]
+ 50 MP for participation in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP use mega evolution[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission

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Speculation preceded discovery, and although BARNABY FINCH wasn't a man of science himself, he respected the discipline enough to offer his thoughts to Alba Evovae — especially if it could eventually lead to a boon for ROCKET. [break][break]

At the mention of Terastal Energy amplifying effects, the admin's mind immediately conjured up images of the three Legendary Galarian birds materializing from that strange, violet tome... and he wondered, What else don't we know about these Tera crystals?[break][break]

"It's as plausible an explanation as any." Barnaby replied, though his focus was on the battle ahead of them.[break][break]

"I suppose we won't know until we get down there," Here he gave a sharp whistle, which his CHARIZARD would know to mean DRAGON BREATH. Sickly purple energy erupted from its gullet, easily landing on the ROARING MOON as it preoccupied itself with the WHIMSICOTT.[break][break]

"So we'd best hurry."

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[break]

TOTAL: 210 MP[break]
+ 100 MP for supply mission[break]
+ 50 MP for participation in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP for incorporating paradox pokemon[break]
+ 10 MP use mega evolution in your thread[break]
+ 10 MP for incorporating race's obstacles[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission

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[break]
[break]



The nightmares wane as you grow.[break][break]

Time passes and heals old wounds. The shy boy that you once were evolves into a surprisingly gregarious man — different, especially, when compared to your brother.[break][break]

Agustin did everything within his power to fulfil your aspirations. Worked overtime at multiple jobs, put his love life on the backburner, invested as much time and energy and resources as he could. All for you and your success. [break][break]

To make your parents proud. And, of course, because he loves you.[break][break]

The newspapers you used to read with him as a kid inspired your chosen profession. Eventually, you moved on from the comics and ventured into other sections... some more interesting than others. Sports didn't really catch your eye, nor did finance/business, but the entertainment section kept you up to date on all the latest gossip.[break][break]

However, writing columns for The Daily Yamper wasn't exactly the extent of your ambitions. [break][break]

You wanted more from life. To live it to the fullest, since you knew from personal experience how short-lived it could be. Travel, politics, divisive topics, fiery discourse — those were the things that made you feel alive. And you wanted to share your passion with the world...[break][break]

...as a broadcast journalist.[break][break]

Your big break came with a promotion and relocation.[break][break]

To Hoenn.






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Things are different now.[break][break]

Your parents' absence reverberates to all corners of your new, emptier life. At first, there's a near-constant feeling of... something. Your nine year old mind has difficulty putting words to these emotions. [break][break]

Sometimes there's an ache so sharp it feels like your heart might rip itself from your ribcage, if only to escape the pain for a fleeting moment. Sometimes it feels like there's hard lump in your gut, weighing you down and dragging everything with it. And sometimes you feel nothing at all, as if your insides have been hollowed out.[break][break]

It's worse at night.[break][break]

Before, when you had a nightmare, you'd clamber into your parents' bed and settle between them.[break][break]

But now? Now you live in a "new" apartment, with sticky linoleum tiles, carpet that pricks at the soles of your feet, wallpaper yellowed at the edges... and no bedroom sanctum to flee to when fear strikes in the night. [break][break]

"Gus?" You call out from the end of the hallway as you walk toward the living area, dragging a TYRUNT plushie by the tail behind you.[break][break]

You eventually make it to the kitchen table, which is dimly lit by an overhead light and currently stacked high with various textbooks and papers. Agustin sits amidst the pile, but shifts around when he hears you coming.[break][break]

"Ah—" You look up into your brother's tired face, seeing dark bags under his eyes. Lines that weren't there before. But a small smile, too.[break][break]

"Hey, bud. Can't sleep?" You shake your head, feeling suddenly shy.[break][break]

Agustin pauses for a moment, then looks around the room, first at the TV, then the refrigerator, before his attention finally lands on a newspaper at the end of the table.[break][break]

"I've got just the thing. C'mere." He takes the newspaper and flips through the pages until he finds what he's looking for: the comic section.[break][break]

"I used to read these all time. Check it out." [break][break]

Though you're getting a bit big for it, your brother hoists you into his lap so that the two of you can read together. [break][break]

The cartoons on the page immediately catch your attention for their mirth and easy, jovial humor. You find yourself smiling for the first time in what feels like forever.[break][break]

The nightmares feel a little farther away.




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Killing Neffatari Nzingha would be one less ranger to worry about in future, inevitable struggles like this one. It didn't seem like such a loss to him.[break][break]

BARNABY FINCH humored the idea as he observed the woman writhing in pain beneath him. The way her pupils dilated and sweat beaded along her dirt-smudged brow spoke of a swallowed, tangible fear. Of him. And what he could do to her.[break][break]

Luckily, some of the nonsense she squawked was of use.[break][break]

"A door?" That was news to him. "Tell me more—"[break][break]

Before Barnaby could continue, the cavern around them shuddered violently, cutting him off. Not too far away, the sound of crumbling rock echoed out, warning them of a possible cave in. [break][break]

Letting out an annoyed exhale of air, the ROCKET admin sprung up and off of Nenet. He wasn't about to get trapped under a pile of stone and earth. Neffatari Nzingha wasn't worth the risk.[break][break]

He didn't bother helping her to her feet. In fact, it was probably more advantageous for her to be trapped here... but she'd be allowed to live, for the time being. The crumb of information she'd given was enough to spare her life.[break][break]

She'd just have to be the one to save it now.[break][break]

"Here." Barnaby instructed his HOUNDOOM, who stood over the HATTERENE's unconscious body.[break][break]

The two soon faded into the mist as quickly as they'd come.

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TOTAL: 470 MP[break]
+ 100 MP for shore mission[break]
+ 50 MP for participation in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP use mega evolution in your thread[break]
+ 10 MP for incorporating faction race obstacles[break]
+ 250 MP for "tying" an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission[break]
+ 10 MP per IC post in an RT battle/mission

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[break]
[break]



"No. Absolutely not. You're not taking him away from me."[break][break]

A young man's voice carries through the door your back is pressed against. He sounds stern but uncontrolled - there's desperation there, a rising anger. Tumultuous, misplaced. [break][break]

They mean well, after all. But AGUSTIN L'OISEAU can only see the black and white right now. [break][break]

"I can manage on my own. Just, stop—"[break][break]

There's murmuring in response, but it's unintelligible. All you can hear is your brother's words, somehow clear despite the barrier between you.[break][break]

"Drop out of school, get a job — I don't give a damn what I need to do! I'll make it work. I have to. You can't—"[break][break]

His voice cracks. He's staving off sobs. Trying to be strong. But it's all so much. He's only twenty.[break][break]

And you're only nine years old.[break][break]

"You're not taking Barnaby..."[break][break]

You hear your name and your chest aches in response. It rouses you from your numbness. [break][break]

"...we only have each other now."[break][break]

Your golden hair falls in your face as you bring your knees to your chest. You wipe a stale trail of tears from your face, careful not to stain the small suit that you're wearing.[break][break]

Agustin had gotten it for you to wear at the wake. He wouldn't want it ruined.



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As the GENGAR faded into the smog, Barnaby fell in line beside Zev Harcourt. [break][break]

He did not look back, either, even as the sounds of battle echoed around them. Where Zev saw a king in his counterpart, BARNABY FINCH saw nothing but a ghost in his own. He refused to humor what the mist thrust into their faces. Specters like that deserved to stay locked in the recesses of his mind.[break][break]

The two ROCKETs continued on, venturing deeper into the belly of the mountain.











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To have any wounds at all was something to be critical of, not impressed by. Rather than verbalizing this opinion, however, BARNABY FINCH simply gave an acknowledging nod.[break][break]

"I'd like you to have a look at my hand, too." He requested with a stiff exhale.[break][break]

Raising his left arm palm-up, Barnaby presented it to marcus kotov, haphazard gauze job and all. Beneath the bloodied bandages the doctor would find an angry bite wound in the flesh between thumb and index finger — made not by a Pokémon, but a councilwoman. [break][break]

freya morningstar was a vicious harpy.[break][break]

"The woman may have been rabid, if this is any indication."[break][break]

To the man's comment, he continued by replying, "Something worthwhile is down there, whether it be knowledge or otherwise." [break][break]

Information was power, after all, and Barnaby could practically feel the answers awaiting them beneath their feet.












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There was no avoiding their lumps this time around. [break][break]

VIKAVOLT's GUILLOTINE was the decisive blow that finally sent the SHADOW STEELIX crumbling to the earth, knocked out. And while FLORGES survived the BLAZE KICK to the broadside of her body, it was a powerful attack that left her keeled over and wincing in pain.[break][break]

He returned both, leaving ARCANINE on the field, before turning to face the traitor in front of him.[break][break]

Things were not looking good. Even worse still when @isaacomerlo demonstrated something that BARNABY FINCH was wholly unprepared for.[break][break]

"He belongs to me." Caleb Harcourt was a gift from Zev Harcourt; a man living on borrowed time. "Your meddling will be the death of you—"[break][break]

Before the admin could finish, something strange occurred. Isaac's body suddenly evaporated into a chilling wind that soon passed through Barnaby himself, sending an uncomfortable, icy sensation all the way from his torso to the tips of his fingers and toes.[break][break]

That was all BARNABY FINCH needed to see. Things were different now; Isaac Merlo was a changed man with new, unknown, but likely dangerous powers. [break][break]

Another Avatar had been born. Great.[break][break]

Staying here any longer was more of a gamble than he was willing to entertain.[break][break]

A sharp whistle called his ARCANINE close, just as Isaac's arms wrapped around Barnaby's waist, propelling him into the dirt with a sickening thud![break][break]

The force of it nearly knocked the wind out of him, but he managed to scramble in a way that left the two men facing one another. Barnaby held Isaac's gaze with cold, furious eyes, before spitting out a sinister,[break][break]

"I'll be watching, Merlo."[break][break]

His last words before the ARCANINE TELEPORTED them away.












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Now that Hoenn's outrageously hot temperatures were beginning to cool, BARNABY FINCH found himself drawn more and more to his small garden. Fall had finally come to the region, turning many of the trees and shrubs within this domain various shades of brown, yellow, and orange.[break][break]

It was beautiful, in its own way. A slow decay that seeded the ground for new life.[break][break]

As intended, however, his berry trees still persisted despite the season. They grew year-round and, as such, attracted hungry, opportunistic creatures. Today it was a SWANNA, perhaps drawn here by food and water alike, as it alighted from a nearby fountain and toward one of Barnaby's larger trees.[break][break]

"Isobel, be a dear and take care of it." Barnaby asked lazily, his cobalt gaze barely leaving the tablet in his hands. There was much work to be done, as always. He couldn't stop for inconsequential things.[break][break]

The AMPHAROS gave a little jovial salute before waddling over near the SWANNA, who hovered dangerously close to a Passho Berry. A decisive THUNDER PUNCH to the gullet was more than enough to fell the bird, securing the safety of Barnaby's berry harvest.

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