The two boarded the elevator and were afforded some amount of privacy as Josh mentioned about the three Rocket leaders whose involvement would result in them aborting as soon as possible. She did wonder if it was because the danger they presented to the mission, or if they would be able to recognize Josh based on his activity as a Ranger or doing anti Rocket things. Regardless of what the reason was, the message was clear. "Hopefully they have better things to do than to stay inside of the mines here..." she said, looking back to the elevator doors as they neared their stop. They took only a few steps outside until they'd stumble across many other Rocket grunts currently remaining busy mining veins and pushing metal carts around full of the precious terra crystals.

"I wasn't expecting the mines to be this huge." Vanilla said, peering all around the mineshafts as they traveled down each one while blending in. "Do you think we should split up and each seek out our own objectives in here? It might be a bit risky to be seen together a lot if we're going to play it safe."

Josh Devlin

"Got it!" Vanilla nodded at Josh's order, following the order given as she'd hang back and try and get her uniform set up. This was a lot harder than it looked given the slight size difference, but by the time Josh had finished and returned to her, Vanilla was keeping her head down and out of trouble. But then another shadow came as she'd recall Dream and toss out Kicker in a hurry. "Pyro Ball, aim for that guy!" she whispered as the Cinderace came out and quickly kicked an orb sized ball of flames directly at the other grunt to investigate. One it was done, she quickly went over with her Pokemon and would drag him away out of sight.

Now back with Josh, Vanilla perked up at the promise that Josh had made. Maybe it was just a flimsy one, the kind one made to put them at ease, but it reassured her things would turn out fine. "Thanks, Josh. The coast should be clear now. I think this is our only chance." Their journey down the tunnel brought them to several clusters of crystals in the process of being observed. The two continued on as they came to two Rocket guards in front of a gate. As they approached, the door opened to show a red haired man in a captain's uniform. The sight of which made Vanilla immediately tense up. He looked at the two with eyes of discontent. "You two." his voice boomed, sending fear through the girl's heart. "What are you two doing? I thought I ordered all you grunts to get back to work! We're short handed as is. Be lucky I have better things to do than punish you lot out of my division. Now go." He pushed pass the two, bumping shoulders with Josh on his way out.

Once inside of the gate, Vanilla looked at the gym leader. "Who was that guy? And what did he mean "not his division?" Are there like multiple bosses around here?"

Josh Devlin

"How much stamina does Josh even have?" Vanilla asked herself, huffing to herself at Cauli would let out a shrill cry, as if to warn her that she was losing her energy rapidly. It was the first real time her mega evolution had lasted long enough to run out at this point. She looked at the bracelet and frowned, starting to worry about whether or not she would finish the race in time. "Damn it. Alright, just try and hold out as long as you can, Cauli." The pack was heading towards the second obstacle of the race rapidly, that very same corkscrew as before. She had been troubled by it before, but this time, Vanilla would at least try and hope for the best. The crobat was first to enter, followed by Josh and then her, all the way down and ready to speed up as much as she could.
Josh Devlin

The previous tera crystal infused Kommo-o hadn't been too bad of a challenge, although its scales had seriously hurt her Iron THorns. She was confused how pulpy the Paradox Pokemon was, considering its appearance was almost robotic. But there was a first time for everything. She wasn't risking him getting hurt here, and would summon him back inside of his Pokeball. El Sunderland , meanwhile, would seize the opportunity and snatch the Pokemon for themselves! She shot them a glance, although was far too busy boiling alive to really be to upset!

The reunion of the people lost within the depths of the mountain was a safe bet for Vanilla, we had now only felt relief upon seeing Michael Navidson looking his usual self. She, however, couldn't say much of the same. While the people inside no doubt had gotten accustom to the significant increase in temperature and heat, those up here had not. It only was worse for her, as her coughing had only worsened the higher they climbed. She felt awful, like being stuck inside of an oven with no off button or way to get out. Upon meeting up with the group, she was coughing heavily again, her coat no longer filtering the smoke here. In a weak wave, she'd offer Navy a wave, but only after having to cough nonstop. The girl looked worse for wear, now feeling the effects of the heat and temperature rise affect her performance.

"Hey..." Vanilla said to Navy in greeting finally, wiping the sweat from her forehead. By the time the party had began to travel to the summit, her throat was killing her. The peppy voice was now raspy and almost hoarse at this point. But even feeling the full effects of the heat, Vanilla continued on. She recalled Electrolyte back into its Pokeball and had opted to bring out Kinesis instead, the Kadabra slowly trailing behind her while she'd continue along towards the peak.

It's a rather uneventful climb, thanks to Michael Navidson 's Greninja slowly leading them around patrols. She remains quiet, not talkative as she used to be. Maybe a grunt or two every now and again. The teen lets out the occasional cough every now and again, although she looked down after a while as small specks of red on the jacket pocket caught her eye, just faintly visible. As to not worry anybody, Vanilla folded it over itself and hid it from the others.

Once they're at the top, it's almost over. But a massive Charizard surfaces from the pool of lava before them. It's the largest since...well, ever probably. Vanilla watched it with a mixture of awe and terror. How were they even supposed to battle against something that big?! To add insult to injury, more of the normal sized ones swooping down towards them as they struck in a flurry of attacks. "I'll try and-" A brief coughing fit commenced, several in a row before she was able to speak again, though with a pained attempt. "I'll work on defense. You guys pick them off."

Kinesis would raise its spoon, summoning a large wall of light before the party as it used REFLECT to try and mitagate some of the damage that was coming towards them from the normal sized Charizards.

---

oUH5_obr

TL;DR:
↳ Rejoins the group and begins to climb to the summit
↳ IRON THORNS is recalled, KADABRA is called out
↳ Her coughing and heat illnesses is worsening as they arrive, now growing hoarse and coughing up bits of blood
↳ Takes the defensive approach to the attack as her KADABRA uses REFLECT to protect the group from

Vanilla clung onto the woman's arm for dear life, not letting go as the shadows flickered around them to no end. She desperately wished for them to finally leave, panicking hardcore. It was only by the deputy's might that the two of them were finally left alone by whatever the hell had just tried to swim by and rummage around with them. Vanilla opened her eyes some and looked around, surprised to one again see nothing around them as they continued to descend into the open waters below. Chills ran across her body as Vanilla slowly let go of her partner. "I-Is it gone?" she asked, going back to the light that the Nhilego had remained busy guiding them towards.

As the two continued to swim along, vague colors and outlines would begin to grow more visible. She almost had to stop and focus on what they were, swaying back and forth as the water seemed to remain so still. Lights flashed in an unorganized pattern while they looked about. One such thing was drawing ever so closer until it was directly within their view. Once close, the lights would then suddenly dim themselves in response to them growing near, before vanishing entirely. There wasn't anything like it back home by far. Then it dawned on Vanilla! They were plants. The fronds clearly visible when they moved by. How far down they went was yet to be discovered, but judging on their current depth, it was pretty damn far.

"What do you think it is?" Vanilla asked.

Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki

18. experience bioluminescent plants or pokemon suddenly douse their lights in response to a threat.

Well, it looks like the Ursaluna had accepted their little offering. Vanilla watched intently while hoping that they wouldn't be played by this Pokemon and end up like the others dragged down into the swampy depths. She sighed and looked to Thomas Benoit as everyone could begin to descend into the murky waters. Like any person here, the teen followed suit and once again, sunk her head underneath the surface.

She'd need a rose bath after this...

Vanilla popped into the area with everyone else, spotting the ink haired idol nearby, DESIREE BLOOMS. She run over with Thomas, waving her hands. "Desiree!" While she did let some semblance of relief wash over her, there were still others not accounted for. Still, it was nice to know that at least some of them were safe. The girl smirked at Desiree and allowed Thomas to have a moment with his girls hugging him. A part of her missed Proxii, who no doubt would be teasing the guy. She wondered if her RotomDex slash emotional support Pokemon would ever get angry at her for leaving him behind on dangerous missions like these.

"That Ursaluna is pretty cool." Vanilla said, turning to look at it in admiration. No wonder people always loved Teddyursa, if its final evolution looked so cool. She continued doing her thing and would remain quiet, just trying to process everything that was happening, including the...best not to think about it. She shook her head as Thomas went about listing off a game plan for everyone. But more importantly, Vanilla wondered just how far the Megaopoleons would go. Were they as extreme as Rocket would go? One would only hope not.

With the plan met, Vanilla had wondered what her next move should be. Maybe Elise Calcifet was nearby and needed help? The Galarian was royalty after all, and they were pretty close. But DESIREE BLOOMS invited her and some others to their planned route as Vanilla frowned. The Hatterene's Healing Mists had worked wonders though. Vanilla was still affected by what she had been through, but somehow with the mists, it seemed a bit more trivial. She smiled to herself at the comfort and gave her answer.

"I'd love to." Vanilla said, nodding at the singer and superstar. They had a little group going now! "Thomas would drag me along anyway, even if I didn't want to go." She had avoided that other phrase that came to mind. The teen hurried by DESIREE BLOOMS and Thomas Benoit, hoping that the other two people would join them as they went into the darker paths.

---

| |

TL;DR:
↳ Feeds the Ursaluna snacks and follows Thomas Benoit into the depths
↳ Pops out and rushes over to make sure DESIREE BLOOMS is okay
↳ Enjoys the Hatterene's HEALING MISTS while feeling her mental state slowly begin to heal
↳ Surprised by DESIREE BLOOMS's offer and accepts, tagging along with her and Thomas Benoit

Vanilla was still frozen in fear at the sights around her, the world muted as she'd be unable to think straight at what was happening to her. The ringing in her ears didn't stop, the only other sound accompanying this was the sound of her own heartbeat. She'd stammer out something, crawling away as to her horror, the bodies would begin to move again. They uprooted themselves from the swamp and swarmed around the area, grabbing people around her as Vanilla would panic. What could she do?! They were taking everyone! She looked around flustered before just taking a deep breath and ducking under the swamp water. It was a bit disgusting, but anything to keep the things from grabbing her. Bodies passed, yelling and screams were heard as she tried to shut it all out. Legs walked by her, some tripped over her, but Vanilla refused to move. It was only when the chaos had ended did she rise from the hiding place.

After coughing out some swamp water, the teenager looked around. A good chunk of people were gone, with Megalopolans being attacked in the process. She looked about in confusion before a familiar face would clear the white noise in her mind. "Th-Thomas..." she said weakly. The girl wasn't exactly in the best mind space right now, but he was a totally big help on helping her stablize herself. She sighed, though looked calmer at his presence. "Thanks. You were right about your theory." she said, trying to wipe the swamp gunk from her hair. But the poor girl wasn't getting much done and decided to focus her efforts elsewhere.

Their bear, interestingly, had run off instead of staying to fight. Almost like it was afraid and just drawn here in the first place. Vanilla looked back to her mentor with an expectant glance. "What's the plan?" Fortunately, he already had one. But taking out honey as an offering wasn't what she had expected. Still, it was better than nothing. Wanting to help out, Vanilla took out some PokeSnax that she had cooked for her party that were in a plastic bag, saved from the nasty swampy taste in her mouth. She stood still and offered it alongside Thomas.

---

| |

TL;DR:
#Area1Pride
↳ Freaks out, hides under the water from the bodies
↳ Is saved from the bodies snatched up, meets with Thomas
↳ Offers the Ursaluna snacks alongside his offer of honey


C|wa|dc7

Kazimir returned the bad news as the teenager would huff to herself in frustration. She wasn't expecting him to know about check-ins, much less know who he even was. But it was still aggravating to receive another dead end in her search. "Gotcha. Thanks…" she muttered underneath her breath. He showed some signs of at least some understanding but Vanilla wouldn't pester him any further. Desiree commented about their guesses as to what could be the cause of this sort of aggression, even as to where the missing campers were. She was hopeful and it was infectious, Vanilla smiling a bit more. No wonder she was such a popular musician, every word she spoke was laced with about nine different kinds of confidence.

More people wandered in from the fog filled rain as the area was getting cramped with other people. Not that Vanilla minded any, the more people, the quicker they could solve this mystery after all! Desiree made quick work of the fog with her Hatterene's little dazzling gleam while Vanilla continued searching around with the others. The unraveling events would result in an mp3 player in being found playing her music on repeat alongside the torn off ear that Vanilla's stomach began to unsettle itself. She had a bad feeling come over her in regards to what happened. But she could let the others see, not like this! The girl swallowed her fears as best she could and continued silently along, doing her best to remain helpful. All seemed to be going alright, some people getting stuck in the swamp terrain, but doing alright.

Then came the Sableye's Sunny Day to reveal a sight that burned itself into Vanilla's eyes for a while. Bodies, lying in the middle of the swamp face down. Fear ran down the girl's spine as she let out a terrified shriek, scrambling back some ways as she fell into the swamp in paralyzed fear. The missing people, the number of bodies, it looked like everyone was there. She'd breathe heavily as everything around her moved twice as fast. People talking, moving the bodies, but then an Ursaluna would trample through the sludge, knocking the bodies out of the way. Still stricken with fear, Vanilla would sit by, terrified of what was happening. She leaned over to the side and emptied out the contents of her stomach out of disgust. Once it was done, she'd look out into the distance and see some beginning to advance forward on the Ursaluna. Though not entire stable, Vanilla forced herself up and would have to join them as well.

"C-C'mon, Gief!" A pokeball was thrown out as Vanilla's Machamp would burst onto the scene. She waded slowly through the water to catch up to the others advancing towards it. "Grab it and don't let it get away!" The Machamp pushed off of its spot and would bound towards the Ursaluna, with Vanilla following behind it, though having a harder time.

---

| |

TL;DR:
#Area1Pride
↳ Vanilla gets upset that KAZIMIR hasn't heard of her father, pouts and just goes along with the expedition
↳ Follows along everyone else
↳ Screams at discovering the bodies floating in the swamp and is deathly afraid, terrified of what's she's seen
↳ Snaps out of it once Thomas and the others are fighting the Ursaluna
↳She throws out her MACHAMP and then orders it to use SEISMIC TOSS to try and restrain the Ursaluna


cABPk5ge

Vanilla was given her orders and they were clear, keep moving forward. She didn't know if she could turn around even if her heart wasn't beating as fast as a Rapidash. Could Baki tell that she was horrified by what was inside of these depths? Maybe it showed in how quiet Vanilla had gotten, or that she had practically latched onto the other girl by this point. There was no way that she was getting separated and eaten whole like this. Not on her watch!

"Still wi-with you…" They're swimming together with the literal spotlight for everything nasty swimming around them. The voices surrounding them chattering about like hushed murmurs of a schoolroom. There's nothing else that can be considered real down here as far as she can tell. But it's so lifelike. Shapes twist and contort around her while the younger girl neared her breaking point. All it took was a familiar shape, the shape of a thousand bladed teeth of the Dynamax beast that she had watched swipe at her during the delve inside of the tomb. A shadow rushed by and flew in front of her that she'd let out a yelp and then succumb to her fears.

"Ah-I can't do this anymore!" Vanilla freaked, clinging onto the older one as she'd tremble in absolute fear. Her expression was one of true terror, panicking as emotion overwhelmed logic. "Ah-I can't, I just…Make it stop, please make it stop…"

Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki

Vanilla frowned at Kyle's point. It was a pretty good point in the side of cooling down and trying to not start a fight with a Pokemon that would go berserk. She furrowed her brows and put down the pokeball while relinquishing the command of the idea to the avatar himself. She'd be struck by another quick coughing fit before El Sunderland came back near her, their hand raised to take off their rebreather as she'd continue to cover her mouth and watch. It hurt to inhale, and if she did take a deep breath, it was going to take all of the smoke still in her nose out. But the temptation was far too great. "Thanks..." she managed out then slid the rebreather over her face and take a deep hit of that fresh oxygen. It felt chilled and soothing, a reminder of what clean air smelled like.

She looked up to see the now terrastalized Pokemon currently feuding with a stray Salamance from the air. Even after all the attacks made to it, the Kommo-o was raring for a fight with the Pokemon. It rattled the scales on its body once more, the horrible noise pushing the Salamance backward as it wasn't used to the onslaught of noise. "Is it *cough* trying to assert itself?" she asked El, looking up at them for guidance. After the momentary distraction, the others would send out their Pokemon, alongside El Sunderland having to hold their ears from the sudden loud noise coming from the scales. Even while drowned out, Vanilla could still hear the ringing in her ears and winced. Both hands went to hers as well, looking back at the Iron Thorn currently waiting her command.

"Help 'em out, Electrolyte!" she said, the Paradox Pokemon quickly coming to life and making a sprint towards the tera infused Kommo-o like the rest of its compatriots. The Iron Thorn lets out a fierce cry before unleashing a Stone Edge onto the large Pokemon.

---

TL;DR:
↳ Takes a deep breath of air from El's rebreather
↳ Watches the Kommo-o fight against the Salamance
↳ Orders Iron Thorns into the fight and uses STONE EDGE.

Yep, that definitely sounded like Navy. Vanilla grinned wide and began to laugh to herself. She surely didn't seem to have caught on about how they actually met, or the specifics of that. "I can believe it. He's helped me a couple of times too. Maybe I can be a deputy-in-training?~" It was weird joking around with adults. She was immature to be going around talking and acting like somebody older than she was, but it felt weird to talk like this with kids her age. Just another side effect of growing up too fast, she guessed.

They dive further and further into the abyss. Any light source is slowly disappearing behind them and leaving only the cold chill of the void. It made Vanilla uneasy, swimming a little closer with the woman while they descended into the void. The Ultra Sea was never this scary before and it terrified her. Were all those missions before just child's play compared to this? Going down, down, down into the bottom of this place? Hopefully Baki wouldn't be able to catch onto the teen's fear. "I-It sure is dark, huh?" she asked, trying to deflect and make small talk. The Nhilego continued to lead them further.

Some time later, they become tethered together alongside a lecture about staying close. It only proved to scare the girl more, knowing full well what she could have possibly meant by people not coming back as they were. It terrified her to the core. But that brief exposure of her freight was covered up as Vanilla gave a confident nod. "Uh-U-Understood..." she stammered out and would keep up speed with the woman.

Something moved out of the corner of her eye. Vanilla looked to her left as she couldn't make out any shape or anything. But she was certain something was present! "Did you see that?" she asked Baki, her head spinning around to try and find that mysterious shape. When nothing produced itself, she huffed. "Something is here with us. I swear I saw something swimming beside us..."

Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki

"Woohoo!" Vanilla cheered, hanging onto her Altaria as she sped through the pack and caught back up where she had initially been. There wasn't time to waste, however! Vanilla was going to ride this thing for all it was worth. Her hands on her Altaria's mane would forced her to remain down so that the Pokemon could better speed up with the pack. Josh had suffered from a pretty minor mistake from the first lap, as she'd spot him just a bit ahead of her. "Here we go!" She said, aiming to barrel roll through the obstacle as fast as possible to gain a few seconds on top of Josh.

Josh Devlin

"Hm..." Vanilla frowned, hiding behind the same outcropping that Josh was hiding behind while the both of them observed the situation from afar. Their current assignment would require them to sneak into a cavern under disguise, said disguises being first in the line to accomplish. Josh's briefing did fill her with hesitation about killing, especially against Rocket. It was her first real outing in a real world situation like this. If Thomas or Navy knew what she was doing here, they'd freak and yell at her to go back home. But she had come too far now to back out.

"Right. I'll try and find some." Vanilla scurried off towards the area around the cavern for some grunt wearing a uniform her size. It was easier said than done, considering that most of them were adults and very clearly not going to fit in any way. The teenager kept hidden and waited for the perfect chance to jump out at a female grunt. It did take some waiting, but eventually, one would begin to wander by as she'd call out a Munna and take aim. "Now, Dream! Yawn!" The Pokemon would let out a high pitched yawn, firing into the other woman as she'd begin to go drowsy and stumble around. Vanilla caught her and quickly dragged her into a hidden area before then beginning to disrobe her.

When Vanilla reported back to Josh, she was wearing a proper Team Rocket uniform, maybe a size or two too much. Around her waist was a belt and her top meant to exposed some of her stomach thankfully hid all of it. "I'm ready to go whenever you are, Josh." she said in agreement. "I can't help but get nervous though. What if something happens in there and we can't get out? Rocket's not going to just let us go, are they?"

Josh Devlin