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Nomi ought to have felt relieved: Elisabeth did not want to look for her Patrons, just as the young scientist had hoped. But it was apprehension that gnawed at her stomach as she gently pushed the other woman into a more stable seated position: as if Elisabeth's plea wasn't true reassurance, but rather, a subconscious delay tactic.[break][break]
"Yes, we can go," Nomi consoled. She waved for Kallistatus, and the shiny Unown-K was at her side in a moment.[break][break]
"I know you've been through a lot, Elisabeth, so you'll have to forgive me for putting you through one last trial. It should only take a few seconds, but it might be jarring. Hold on tight."[break][break]
With that, she willed Kallistatus to take them to the Rocket submarine. She pictured it in her mind, shut her eyes tight, and found the tether - then pulled Elisabeth through the spatial distortion that was teleportation. When she opened her eyes, they were in her office, not far from the couch.[break][break]
Nomi half-expected parker jones to be there, snoring away; a pang of disappointment when she realized right away that it was empty.[break][break]
Later, once Elisabeth had been taken to the infirmary, once Nomi had trudged back to her office, once a report had been written, once Parker had been texted...Nomi collapsed onto the couch only to realize there was something in her pocket - something unexpected. A note, hastily written and secretly stashed - presumably by the Greninja that had entrusted Elisabeth's fate to Nomi.[break][break]
She read it three times before she said to Kallistatus, "It seems our message did not fall on deaf ears."[break][break]
Navy, at least, had listened.
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Elisabeth's face softened, and she melted into Nomi's arms.[break][break]
"Of course I believed in you. You are one of the strongest people I know," Nomi explained, matter-of-fact. And with two Gods backing her? Elisabeth ought to have been unstoppable.[break][break]
So where are those Gods now?[break][break]
Small dark patches formed on utilitarian fabric, proof of Elisabeth's grief - or was it gratitude? - or was it simply overwhelm? Nomi rocked her gently, like a child, hoping to soothe away the hurt of the day's trials. She had never known a mother's touch, or a sister's embrace, but in that moment, it felt natural to hold onto Elisabeth with a familial grace - perhaps because it renewed her hope in jayden cross's recovery, that he too could be healed with the right care and attention.[break][break]
It is not so easy a thing, she - the Unown? - reminded her. Ruination cannot be stopped by love alone.[break][break]
It was logic that tempered her heart, in the end. So, after a few moments, she murmured, "We can look for them, if you want." She paused. "Not Fernando and Freya, I mean. Tapu Fini and Wo-Chien."[break][break]
Kallistatus remained neutral, dutifully vigilant.[break][break]
"The Unown will help."[break][break]
Say no, a small part of her, the part that defied logic even still, pleaded. Say no and I'll take you home and that will be the end of your suffering.[break][break]
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Nomi was tired. So very tired. But she could not afford to rest: the task she'd set into motion during the recent conflict at the mysterious island off Dewford was far from complete - in fact, it was only just beginning.[break][break]
So when Neffatari Nzingha had invited her to coffee, she'd jumped at the opportunity, ignoring her own exhaustion in favor of continuing to collaborate with the astrobiologist. For one, Nomi was fascinated by the knowledge that Nenet was dating Zev Harcourt; she'd been initially shocked, of course, to learn he was even dating - but after some thought, it occurred to her that the independent, pragmatic Nenet would make a good match for Zev, who's blunt, razor-edged personality made him difficult to grow close to.[break][break]
And Nenet didn't seem like the sort of woman who'd mind that, Nomi supposed.[break][break]
Secondly, she'd wanted to meet with Nenet so they could discuss the impending apocalypse weighing on Nomi's mind: Nenet was a capable scientist, her skillset would be critically important if they were going to save Hoenn.[break][break]
Nomi entered the cafe to find the other woman already there. She hastily ordered a coffee - black (she couldn't stomach the sugary monstrosities parker jones liked to order) - then joined Nenet at the table. She opened her mouth to launch into an extended greeting only to realize, quite suddenly, that Nenet was...[break][break]
"Nenet, you're hurt," Nomi blurted out, with genuine concern. "Is everything okay?"
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parker jones was, most disappointingly, NOT where Nomi thought she would be.[break][break]
Nomi huffed, half from the exhaustion of running up the staircase in her heels and half from the frustration at finding herself alone on the upper floor. She glowered up at the Unown hovering above.[break][break]
"Show me where she is!" She demanded.[break][break]
They stared down at her unblinking, so she turned to Kallistatus to continue her plea. Before she could, it swayed back and forth, the symbolic-equivalent of shaking its head.[break][break]
"She told you not to tell me," Nomi realized, pouting. "She's teasing me."[break][break]
Excitement competed with agitation: the thrill of the chase! Nomi turned around and hurried back down the stairs - click, click, click - only to find herself suddenly accosted by a member of the casino staff and handed a...present? Oh, right, she'd brought one too hadn't she? She blinked down at the gift, as if it were some kind of riddle to be solved. Momentarily distracted from her search for Parker, she carried it over to the nearest table - and found herself surrounded by three familiar faces: priam conrad, oscar clayton, and Zev Harcourt.[break][break]
"Hi!" She greeted them fondly, then promptly began to open the gift. It was...a glass jar holding a substance she had never seen before in her life. It was a sickly green color, and the consistency was akin to molasses. She cocked her head curiously, then held it up to the men.[break][break]
"The Green Slude!" She announced, reading the label on the jar. "Have you ever seen anything like this?" She looked at Oscar in particular. "If not, I'll need to run some experiments on it. If it's dangerous, perhaps we can use it as a weapon." She beamed, pleased with that idea.[break][break]
She took out her phone and snapped a picture of the sludge, intending to send it to Parker, but the camera was facing forward - still in selfie mode. Instead of the sludge, she took a somewhat scandalous and perfectly angled picture of her own cleavage.[break][break]
Rather than remedy her mistake, she grinned wickedly, and sent the photo along with the following message:[break][break]

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MADE BY GUNSMILE

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There was a certain curious urgency to the way Yuina asked about the space-time distortions, as if she had more than just a passing academic interest in them. In fact, her expression was so eerily familiar to Nomi, a sudden deja-vu caught hold of her as she listened to the young woman speak. It reminded her of...[break][break]
Herself. The way she had been hungry for any information on her parents, before she'd discovered the truth of their disappearance.[break][break]
Does she have some kind of personal connection to the distortions?[break][break]
Now that would certainly be interesting. And, potentially, a trait that might draw the DRK Triad out of hiding, should they sniff out the anamoly.[break][break]
"There have been sightings, of Palkia and Dialga," Nomi answered truthfully. Littleroot. Mt. Pyre. It seemed like a lifetime ago. "But they are elusive. Nobody has been able to track them down since. While they are not the primary focus of my own research, I have been looking for leads."[break][break]
She smiled, then, but it had a slightly fierce edge. Would this Yuina be willing to take potential risks to find the answers she was seeking?[break][break]
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yuina and Lumei. If it interests you, I could use a research assistant willing to aid me in traversing Hoenn in search of distortions. One of the primary challenges with studying them is their short-lived temporality. I'd also like to find out if they can manifest within the other rifts we've discovered over the past year - such as the Ultra Deep Sea, Ultra Plant, and Lesser Megalopolis, to name a few."[break][break]
She held out her hands as if in offering.[break][break]
"Would you be willing to help me?"
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