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BARNABY FINCH waited until he was well into the wilds of the Safari Zone before he released his TYPE: NULL.[break][break]

They were here to continue their prior training. Before, the amalgamation of flesh and metal had proved itself to be unruly, unhindered, unreliable in the face of any true battles.[break][break]

It needed to be trained, more so than almost any other Pokémon Barnaby had ever owned.[break][break]

But it would fall in line, as all the rest did.

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The scent of earthy wine was replaced by the salt of the sea.[break][break]

Barnaby's vision blurred for a moment, leaving Elisa's crumpled face to dim from sight, only for it to resurface as that of a monster. Scaled, dead-eyed, familiar...[break][break]

He remembers it as a misty shape on the set of his talk show. Knows it to be TAPU FINI, a deity once connected so intimately with FERNANDO SILPH.[break][break]

Recognizes the white-haired woman, too. freya morningstar. [break][break]

Within seconds BARNABY FINCH snapped back to reality. He removed his hand from Elisa's cheek and replaced it on his temple, shaking his head lightly to try and rid of the unsettling disorientation he was suddenly feeling.[break][break]

What did it mean? He had little time to process the vision. Elisabeth Fiorelli continued to crumble before his very eyes, trembling and weeping more than he'd ever seen her do. [break][break]

"..." It was a rare occasion when BARNABY FINCH was left speechless.[break][break]

But there was no solving this problem for her. No amount of consoling would take these overwhelming feelings away. There was no making her harsh reality any more tolerable. She was held by forces out of Barnaby's reach.[break][break]

What she wanted was taken from her more than a decade ago. Her autonomy had been stripped away over and over again throughout the years, leaving her barren and raw. Open in a vulnerable, wounded way... an easy target for the opportunistic to take advantage.[break][break]

But who would have thought two would come for her?[break][break]

It was more than her mortal psyche could bear.[break][break]

With a deep sigh, Barnaby plucked his wine glass from the floor and drained it in one long chug. Then, for good measure, he took a deep swig from the bottle as well. [break][break]

"Here, come with me." Pushing himself up off the floor, he leaned down and pulled Elisabeth Fiorelli into his arms. Holding her as he did, the filth and grime layered into her clothes was more obvious now. The scent of the sea marked her as its own.[break][break]

She needed to be freed from that, at least. One of the few tethers that Barnaby could relieve. [break][break]

A short walk up the stairs and through his bedroom led them to the master bathroom, where he let her carefully slide from his arms until her feet hit the tiled floor.[break][break]

Barnaby remained behind her, intimately close, to steady her if need be.[break][break]

"When you don't feel human," He began, his voice soft, as he gently swept her still-damp hair away from the back of her neck. "You come to me."[break][break]

Careful fingers pulled down the zipper of her dress, letting the garment fall to her ankles. Now on stark display, it was obvious that beneath the fabric she'd hidden bruises and cuts from him. They marred her beautifully pale skin, the most egregious of which lay deep in the tissue where shoulder met neck.[break][break]

Imprints of canines, incisors, molars. Perfectly aligned in a halo of festering red.[break][break]

"When the pain is too much," Lips brushed against the hairline of her neck, kissing softly downward until they reached the bite mark. He kissed that, too, and murmured into the angry flesh, "You come to me."[break][break]

He pulled away, only to take her hand and have her follow to the bathtub. Spouts twisted, warm water sputtered out, calming oils drizzled into the tub.[break][break]

"When you feel empty inside," Barnaby continued, guiding her into the bath with the same hand he'd used to lead her there. [break][break]

"Come to me, mon fleur."[break][break]

Releasing his hand from hers, he'd sit on the edge of the tub and use it to cup her cheek instead, looking deep into carmine eyes made redder by her tears.[break][break]

"And I will do my best to ease the burden."

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[break]






Harboring UNOWN was indeed a risk that ROCKET took, though Barnaby personally thought they toed the line between safety and necessity in that regard.[break][break]

He left this unspoken as the scene changed around them, eventually revealing a familiar alleyway with a familiar man at its end.[break][break]

BARNABY FINCH expected this interaction to be as mundane as the rest, and was thus surprised to see mint frost fervently snapping picture after picture of Father Winter.[break][break]

The simulation appeared unfazed. He continued to flip his coin, waiting on their decision.[break][break]

"Surely we have enough photographic documentation already...?" Barnaby asked after about the tenth pic.[break][break]

He noted the Beast's hesitance to put down his phone and attack, wondering why exactly that was. Interesting.[break][break]

"After you." Barnaby replied, refraining from releasing his own Pokémon. The ABOMASNOW took up almost the entire alley space, leaving little room for others to join the attack.[break][break]

Once the DRK Triad member was cut down he'd ask in a mild, conversational tone, "Do you have a thing for Father Winter, Mint?"

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[break]





"Even migraines transfer into this simulated space? How unfortunate." The admin remarked, sympathetic to Cillian Quinn's plight, as he investigated the workshop around them.[break][break]

"Hm. You're right." He confirmed, brows scrunching in thought. Why would things be different from one iteration to the next? [break][break]

Leaving that question for later, soon all attention was on the newly-fixed device.[break][break]

BARNABY FINCH wasn't sure what he expected.[break][break]

Just as it'd done several times before, Maldacena's voice played back through the PokéGear, warning them of watching eyes. No deviance from any other iterations.[break][break]

There was always the potential, though, if Naomi Sato's experiences were any indication. She'd been personally targeted by Nisa Holo herself here, after all.[break][break]

"Do you think Maldacena was warning Nomi specifically? Or was it just a blanket statement?" He asked the underboss, even as the workshop began to pixelate out of existence.

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The way declan walsh swooped in to save Grigori Sokolov barely registered in BARNABY FINCH's scope of attention, so inconsequential was the guard's wellbeing. Instead, every nerve and muscle were hyper-focused on processing the dizzying battle happening all around.[break][break]

A spray of ICE SHARDs hurdled down from above and Barnaby was just able to dodge the bulk of them, but one still ultimately found purchase on his upper arm and sliced through the fabric there. Blood trickled to the stone floor below, but there was no time to assess the severity of the injury. Adrenaline numbed the pain, anyway, allowing the admin to react to CHIEN-PAO.[break][break]

With the TERA CRYSTALS embedded in the walls of the cave now revealed, he noticed Amor Rose utilizing this source of power. That, coupled with the TRICK ROOM set up by Kaname Fujihara, prompted Barnaby to return his NINETALES and release his SHADOW STEELIX, whose crystalline physique immediately began to glow a shimmering silver before even larger crystals jutted out from its body. The Pokémon was clever enough to take advantage of its surroundings to heighten its natural Steel-type power without instruction from its master.[break][break]

Before it could lunge at CHIEN-PAO, however, a flash of multi-colored light momentarily blinded both the STEELIX and BARNABY FINCH. When sight was restored seconds later, abominations had sprung from seemingly nothing, lined between the hellcat and its attackers.[break][break]

One was bold enough to scurry after Barnaby, looking akin to Elisabeth Fiorelli — if she'd been a siren summoned from the monstrous waters of the Odyssey itself. But this was no work of fiction; these manifestations were real, tangible beings. Luckily this one was decimated before it could do Barnaby any harm. To this, he gave Elisa an appreciative look, but nothing more.[break][break]

He had his own demon to contend with.[break][break]

Putrid filth oozed out from the earth, coalescing into a grotesque, vaguely humanoid shape. The sight and smell was reminiscent of the vile sludge they'd suffered with for twenty years in a nightmare Galar, though this was only a vague feeling of HATRED now. [break][break]

Dangling shackles from each wrist clattered against stone as it clawed its way forward, mouth agape and moaning ominously. Now closer, a revolving set of faces could be seen — morphed in the muck — that BARNABY FINCH knew all too well. [break][break]

Baptiste. Agustin. Camille. Among others. It was a family affair.[break][break]

Resentment bubbled up and into his throat, barely contained thanks to THEO BECKETT's AROMATHERAPY. Suddenly, the creature's left arm shot forward toward Barnaby, elongating rapidly ahead of it.[break][break]

With its newfound speed, Quartz acted to block the manifestation's attack by slamming its tail down between it and Barnaby just in time, pinning the sludgy limb beneath a hulk of crystal and steel. In the same movement, its jaw unhinged to release a FLASH CANNON toward CHIEN-PAO, increased in power due to the STEELIX's TERASTALLIZED state and its SHEER FORCE ability.

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[break]
• outfit check[break]
• ice shard slices upper arm (owie)[break]
• returns NINETALES, releases SHADOW STEELIX[break]
• STEELIX TERASTALLIZES into STEEL TERA TYPE[break]
• ty elisa for not letting the siren eat me[break]
• we got the gg sludge reincarnation x2 [break]
• sludgy tries to attack barnaby but STEELIX pins its arm [break]
• STEELIX uses FLASH CANNON on CHIEN-PAO (w/ SHEER FORCE + TERA)[break]

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A performance indeed. And Callan Young was acting the part perfectly. [break][break]

True to his rockstar fame, his demeanor was more grizzled than the flamboyant host beside him. He was real, salt of the earth. No pomp or circumstance. When explaining his upbringing and interest in music, nothing was really embellished for the audience.[break][break]

It suited him.[break][break]

"To immortalize yourself in some way..." Barnaby mused over the phrase, sounding almost in awe of the idea. "A sentiment that I think many of us can agree with. Everyone wants to make their mark on the world, hm?"[break][break]

And to answer the question he posed, "Myself included, of course! I think we're similar in that way, Callan."[break][break]

Here the camera panned onto BARNABY FINCH's beautifully primed face, zooming in to catch a little mischievous wink before he added, "Plus I've always had a flare for the dramatic."[break][break]

Pivoting to the next avenue of conversation, Barnaby straightened his back and settled deeper into his chair.[break][break]

"Showbusiness isn't your only calling, though. You also juggle duties as one of Hoenn's Elite Four!" A prestigious position within the region.[break][break]

"How do you do it all? Why do you do it all? I can't imagine the kind of schedule you must maintain!"

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She'd chosen this fate.[break][break]

Denied CELEBI. [break][break]

Embraced WO-CHIEN.[break][break]

Invited the devil inside of her.[break][break]

And of course, as demons are want to do, it changed her. Physically, with her dark curls and carmine eyes — a reflection of the evil within. But also mentally, emotionally, to the basest level of her humanity.[break][break]

Elisabeth Fiorelli was broken, now. Even more so than before.[break][break]

"You're right," He agreed, with the same coolness that so aggravated her. "Rocket isn't the same as them."[break][break]

He tried to imagine what otherworldly shackles made by WO-CHIEN and TAPU FINI might feel like. But there was no parallel to compare to; Elisa's Avatarships were uniquely her own.[break][break]

Still, she should know better.[break][break]

With this sort of power came concessions. There was no illusion surrounding that fact. Bailey Cooper and Primal Intoxication came to mind, though there were likely others. [break][break]

Nothing is given for free. There are always ulterior motives and consequences.[break][break]

"Ssshh..." However much he internally judged, outwardly Barnaby soothed, swinging an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer. He'd even place his wine glass on the floor and bring that hand to her cheek, wiping away any remaining wayward droplets.[break][break]

"Speak clearly. What are you trying to control?"

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BARNABY FINCH allowed the Beast before him to speak his piece without interruption. When there was a pause to respond, however, his tone remained collected and composed.[break][break]

No hint of resentment or frustration, as Mint's voice betrayed.[break][break]

"You talk in extremes, as if your only two options were between a verbal or physical assault." His gaze still sharply trained on mint frost, the admin rested an elbow on the arm of his chair and cradled his jaw between thumb and index finger.[break][break]

"Temper yourself. You're too intelligent to let Tempest Quinn goad you into looking like a fool."[break][break]

Thinking this reprimand would sink in was a foolhardy notion, however. Instead of taking his licks, mint frost literally rose to the challenge.[break][break]

And onto Admin Bee's desk.[break][break]

A step too far.[break][break]

"Your doubt is noted." Barnaby allowed a steep silence to fall between the two men. Moments passed in which he observed the Beast and his growing gall, so comfortable on his perch. [break][break]

Then he stood, unhurried by the deliberate skirting around insubordination. His chair rolled backwards, the leather creaking as it did so.[break][break]

Suddenly, a hand flashed across the desk, finding purchase on Mint's jutted chin. Using this momentum, Barnaby yanked the man closer, likely causing him to fumble onto the surface between them.[break][break]

His grip remained tight and unrelenting.[break][break]

"I shouldn't have to chastise you like a child." Here Barnaby's voice lowered to a hiss. Still cool, yet unmistakably menacing. "Yet you insist on acting like one."

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Ah. A Demassieux. Julien Demassieux.[break][break]

The name did, in fact, ring a bell. As did the face.[break][break]

Barnaby was certain his father had connections with the patriarch of the family; ROCKET-related, though he wasn't sure of the specifics.[break][break]

"Barnaby L'oiseau. I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you, but I think we've already been acquainted." Too far to shake hands, the admin instead bowed his head in a show of diplomacy.[break][break]

"Still, it's been quite some time. I hope you've been well, Julien."[break][break]

Without interrupting the flow of her master's conversation, Colombe dove from her perch on a nearby tree and landed a harsh blow to a NUMEL that had wandered too close.

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