his hair is up in a loose tie, but that doesn't stop the humidity from dewing the back of his neck. his sportwear is breathable on account of it not being standard-issued rocket wear. he can be light on his feet when he needs to be, but he's by no means a hardened explorer or hand-to-hand combatant. 

that's what his pokemon are for. 

"i'd agree, but what lay beyond the rifts are technically far away from hoenn, no? this is here. an entire ecosystem, right under our noses."

was it here the entire time? 

ianthe has taken immediately to the escort, which he wasn't prepared for, as ianthe doesn't take to anyone. crown has fallen right into step behind her sister, as she is want to do, and nikkari gives her a look-over when he can, while they walk.

he's seen her around the casino before, but that's not how he knows her name. or her profession. or her history. Yumi Hasegawa had left him breadcrumbs and he'd picked up the rest of the pieces with his network, so he's more than prepared when she dips her head. 

"nikkari hect," he replies mildly, "and she mentioned her roommate, yes. apologies for not making a proper introduction before. i get a bit absorbed with my work."

Mei Liu

☉

such is the way of the world, this stranger has become more hindrance than help. he'd rather not put his neck on the line, but one of the fluttermane's eyes has already turned to him, yellow iris a brilliant shade against its burgundy sclera. 

crown huffs and like an elastic band, she crumples at the same moment the paradox pokemon fades into invisibility. ianthe nudges her sister back to standing while nikkari looks out towards the obstagoon and its trainer. 

"ianthe," he says, snapping her back to attention.

the obstagoon stands its ground, despite the leering reappearance of the paradox. nikkari scoops crown into his arms and jogs to the side, ianthe striding beside him and looking for an opening. 

"back it under those crystals! we might be able to bury it. ianthe, ready a shot."

tavish rose

☉

as soon as she points them out, he wonders how he could have missed it before. the doors themselves are a work of art, lovingly crafted with thousands and thousands of gold-plated gears. bits and pieces of them are silver and as he stoops down to inspect, fingers running along the nuances in the metalwork, he feels scratches. 

the empty socket is a depress in the door and, following yumi's gaze, he toes around the mess on the floor. ianthe paws once at a piece near his heel and he picks it up, blinking in surprise as he beholds a small klink.

it's cold to the touch, which doesn't surprise him, but the fact it doesn't open its eyes makes him feel as though nothing is in the creature, so to speak. and when he fits it into the door, he almost expects it to wake. 

instead, there's a satisfying kerchunk and the mechanism whirls, depresses and the door unconfigures itself. past the threshold is what appears to be a study and behind a half-rotted curtain, another portal home. 

Yumi Hasegawa

02 use the klink line in some way.

☉

before climbing down into the chasms, as he is want to do, nikkari studied. the paradox pokemon, by all rights, are incredibly ferocious creatures. strong and aggressive. he imagines most of them don't appreciate intrepid plunderers invading their home and messing about the place. 

at first, he thinks he must have mistaken a tamed fluttermane for a wild one, by the man's reaction, but when it goes down for another swipe, his brows raise. 

the obstagoon's fist sails clear through the incorporeal body. it's too close to the man and his pokemon for nikkari to get a clear shot in so he spreads a hand out to crown. 

"hold it," he says and she fluffs up her tail, cocks her head, and a ripple pulses out from the paradox pokemon. those searching ghostly ribbons halt in their tracks; that malicious smile stops stretching and twitches. the rest of its body spasms as though fighting to move. 

"back away!" he calls. "she won't be able to hold it for long."

tavish rose

☉

they always lived comfortably, the hect family. no scrimping for spare change to feed themselves. no needing to worry about where they may sleep for the night. some of the people who worked under, and even around him, weren't so lucky. 

but he could never fathom what it might be like to live so lavishly. he has a penthouse in lilycove and yet as he dances with her, he thinks about her dynasty. what she wants to build and later leave behind. every graceful flourish, every press and nudge to guide her way across the floor, is a falsity in which he plays a part in that vision. 

grasping at a future he's only just begun to speculate, but want after all the same.

when their dance is interrupted, he lingers there, breaths lightly quickened from the exertion. and then he releases her; that music-box dream shatters in an instant and he turns his attention to the next captivation. 

ianthe and crown work together to take out the rest of them and when the deed is done, he examines the wreckage. 

"they're all...mechanized pokemon," he says, fascinated. 

Yumi Hasegawa

🗺️ NIKKARI HECT's interest in other worlds, his battle prowess, or his relationship with YUMI HASEGAWA must be explored in some way.

☉

nikkari considers himself, rightfully or wrongfully, a self-made man. despite the warnings, despite the dangers, he's come here on his own to unearth for himself the secrets that this place has been hiding. 

or, at the very least, he's by himself at the moment. he'd procured some help getting down through the chasm and had worked to set up a research station nearby, but with his dues paid, he wandered off on his own. 

and now he has the fortune of stumbling across someone doing much the same. 

crown and ianthe trot at his heels, sitting when he stops, and he thinks of tailing the person for a bit before calling in a drop on him, but then he notices the apparition. 

the feathery wings of this misdreavus' head materialize first, reaching forward to clutch at the unsuspecting traveler, and nikkari hollers, "GET DOWN!"

ianthe, with a yowl, expels an ice beam at the ghastly creature. 

tavish rose

☉

her hand comes up and he feels a visceral instinct to stumble into two different directions. into her with his hands over her, possessive and wanting, taking for the first time after years and years and years of silent, unspoken pining. and away from her with a flinch, with the hard-to-swallow reminder that they are strangers; that they've always been strangers. 

and so he is caught in the middle, paralyzed there, left looking helplessly down at her. 

"i have never lied to you before," he says quietly. the truth. always the truth. "why would i start now?"

Lulu Flint

☉

flesh remembers flesh. the way she used to move around rinc was magnetic and he'd always envied their orbit - until he looked deeper and saw that they were glancing blows, magnets on opposite ends forced together by pride, manipulation, and other heartaches that had forced him down the bottle.

watching her waste away had killed him and he still doesn't know why. was it always love? is that what love is? to want so deeply for a thing you cannot have? to dream about the taking?

he is sorry she is hurt, but he would have rinc hanged again and again and again - and after that moan comes a gasp, a throttling of hands on throat. 

he colors, cursing the mist and all its phantasmal echoes, while alecto laughs and laughs and laughs. 

"i don't know what i want," he says, brows furrowing, "and that is what frustrates me most." his teeth sink into his lower lip. he tugs on the tie around his neck, suddenly feeling strangled, and he says, "what would you want of me, lulu? now that i've finally found you?"

Lulu Flint

☉

the years that have lapsed have not changed him much. he's grown more cautious, as caution comes with age in his line of work. those who don't learn it end up in body bags. 

sharper, too. always able to read people, but what used to intrigue him is now petty drivel. his hunger for intrigue is not so easily sated and he finds himself wanting constantly. 

so how lovely it is that she approaches him like a hunting animal, how remarkable when he feels surprise. a shiver creeps over his skin and he tilts his head, leaning into a warmth that isn't there. 

"i was hoping you'd want to find out," he says softly. 

Lulu Flint

☉

he can think of several dozen reasons for why not, but several hundred more for why yes. so it's with vigor that he turns away from the fantastical sight and goes to follow after yumi. 

ianthe shares the same sentiment as kaori, but coronabeth is more than happy to lope down the grand staircase, softly yipping in time with the music box lullaby. 

"a whole lineage of royalty, it seems," he comments, palms sliding on the stone rail. he walks two steps down the grand staircase and, bemused, holds out a hand for his companion. 

"would you do me the honor of accompanying me to this dance?"

Yumi Hasegawa

☉

he abandons the painting in lieu of the castle's window. stained glass lay on the stone, covered in a thin layer of dust. he peers outside and is, quite honestly, taken aback by what he sees. a world of machinery, like something out of a steampunk novella. 

while the ultra crater had proved intriguing, this is something else entirely. and suddenly he finds himself hungry for all the other rifts there are; all the other possibilities in every other world. 

ianthe and coronabeth stand at attention too, heads cocked similarly to kaori's. 

he hears it too. 

several hundred feet below, shapes move. oh. startlingly quick shapes that lumber with purpose through the portcullis. he clicks his tongue to the two vulpix and looks wryly at yumi. 

"i know we probably ought to go away from the whimsical noise, but eh, what's that saying about curiosity and the cat?" nothing bad, surely. 

Yumi Hasegawa

☉

he's not yet laid eyes on kaori, or other shadow pokemon, for that matter. so interest sparks instantaneously and he hungrily watches the pensive indecision on the creature's face as it deliberates on whether or not to adhere to its mistress. 

soon after her departure comes the sound of screeching metal and then silence. crown and ianthe tilt their heads, but otherwise don't react to the noise, too busy sniffing about their surroundings for anything useful.

"keep an eye out behind us," he instructs the vulpix and they pad in unison as the rockets move on from the prison room. 

metal bits, some of them still sparking, lay scattered about moth-eaten carpets. upon the walls are matching tapestries on tall ceilings adorned in mechanical gold filigree. he crouches to sift through whatever kaori had broken, but he quickly loses interest. 

at the far wall, framed by velvet curtains, is an oil painting.

"fascinating. there are humans here?"

Yumi Hasegawa

26 examine worn down paintings of an "original color magearna" held by what appears to be a small, regal and unidentifiable girl in the mechanical kingdom's castle.

☉

alecto waves sharp fingers from within the confines of nikkari's shadow. nikkari ignores the exchange between the two pokemon entirely, though he does wonder just how many more of hers are hiding within the crystal landscape.

"i've found the most important claim they're not," he fires back. his weight falls to his heels. some primal instinct to take a step back hits him as soon as she advances, but he stays his ground - twinkling eyes, languid smile, every bit enticed by the new mysteries he's yet to discover about her. 

"it's been years. of course you're different, but people don't change at their core. not really. it's the superfluous bits that are stripped away." tumbled stones, faceted diamonds. 

Lulu Flint

☉