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they stare. "wait--!"[break][break]

oh, hell. nikola starts mentally running through all the excuses they can make if they come back from this trip sans one howard slayte. is there any way they could convince the other admins this wasn't their fault? i mean, it IS howard... they'd probably believe me if i said it was his fault. that thought does little to comfort them, because if howard does kick the bucket here, they'll have two legendaries without a trainer to hold them back. after that... well. they'll spend the rest of their existence as a stain or a pile of ashes on the ground.[break][break]

they look over the edge, trying to catch sight of him, wherever he landed. in their pocket they nervously play with their pokeballs, wondering if they should be prepared to try and fetch him... but canem is their fastest pokemon, the only one with even the slightest possibility of outrunning the strike of a regi, something that ultimately means nothing when they consider the fact that she's strictly a land mammal. she can jump pretty far, but in mid-air she's completely exposed.[break][break]

in short: all their chances of escape rest on howard now, which is something nobody has ever said happily or with confidence.

[attr="class","bottom"]the ghost that i am behaves like a human.[break]
howard slayte [break]
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nikola rubs canem's ears. "alright, flu-- c-canem," they correct themself, biting their tongue, "take us up there, alright? get us in front of... y'know, the... giant rock monster." it sinks in that what they're about to do is a little bit crazy, but there's no turning back now. not unless they want to dump howard off the saddle and make a break for it, at least. it's a tempting thought.[break][break]

they take in a deep, deep breath and then sigh, steeling themself. "better hold onto your hat, cowboy!" they call to howard as they take up the reins, holding them with a death grip. "giddy-up!"[break][break]

one moment they're standing still. the next, canem's pace is swiftly picking up. their surroundings become a blur, as she pushes herself to her limit, the (extreme) speed causing the wind to whip against her fur. she follows the incline, paws pounding against the rocky ground. she leaps into the air, finding purchase against one of the crystal formations, back legs springing forward so her two riders find themselves flying up to the next level. she skids, turns, and does it again, taking a wild leap up to where she finally stops, jerking nikola forward. if they weren't clutching their knees tightly against the saddle, they might have gone flying.[break][break]

they've arrived. the whole matter took less than a minute. nikola tries to reorient themself. "you still alive back there?"

[attr="class","bottom"]the ghost that i am behaves like a human.[break]
howard slayte [break]
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"GUH--" they jolt out of their thoughts, abruptly interrupted by a text-to-speech program. they weren't expecting anyone else to be here this late at night. sure, a lot of rocket scientists are just as obsessive as they are, but that means they stay in their corner and nikola stays in theirs.[break][break]

they adjust their glasses. "...yes, it is, and yes, i am." they look at fenelle suspiciously, pink eyes narrowed. "why...?" people don't often come looking for them unless it's research related. but this... stranger doesn't seem like another researcher. they could be wrong, of course, but they usually recognize their own kind when they see them.[break][break]

but before fenelle can answer... the door slams shut without warning behind dem. nikola freezes.[break][break]

"please tell me you know what did that."

[attr="class","bottom"]the ghost that i am behaves like a human.[break]
Fenelle Miller[break]

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every time they think things can't get any crazier, they do. at this point it's just par for the course. so when howard releases regice into the already pretty-full-up area zero, their only response is to blink for a second and then groan. i'm glad i wore a damn jacket. "great, now we'll die of hypothermia instead," nikola grumbles. one titan is bad enough, but two?[break][break]

as if in response to their doubts, a piece of cliffside crumbles and falls dangerously close to the two humans standing at the bottom of the pit. more of the valley is starting to give way thanks to regirock's earlier attacks. nikola comes back into focus. "we should move to higher ground. we're like sitting golducks here." things are about to get even wilder, and personally they don't want to be frozen in a block of ice that's only re-discovered decades later.[break][break]

they offer a hand to howard, inviting him onto their arcanine. "do you think if we get you face-to-face with regirock, it might actually listen to you somewhat?" or would that just be inviting further disaster into their expedition?

[attr="class","bottom"]the ghost that i am behaves like a human.[break]
howard slayte [break]
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nikola's eyes widen behind the thick rim of their glasses. their first move should have been to run, everything else be damned, but they... for some blasted reason, before they can even think of what they're doing, they're recalling their shiinotic into its ball. only then do they break out into a panicked scramble, muttering "shitshitshitshit" under their breath as they move away from the trajectory of the dynamax cannon. they can feel it hot on their tail, and their life flashes before their eyes. damn, was it all really that bad?[break][break]

they dive, making one last desperate move to reach safety, and the beam finally passes over them. breathing hard, they regroup fast, adrenaline pumping in their veins. they call out their arcanine and climb into her saddle, before pointing at howard across the way. "THERE! MOVE THERE!" they command her. they figure the safest place to be right now is by howard's side.[break][break]

the canine is quick, darting across the terrain, using crystal formations as leverage to jump off of, and it's not long before the two of them are back by howard. "that doesn't look controlled to me!" nikola points out. "if we don't stop it, this whole place is gonna come down on top of us!" which, yes, would result in their untimely demises. "please tell me you can just recall it and that'll be that."

[attr="class","bottom"]the ghost that i am behaves like a human.[break]
howard slayte [break]
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the energy in the area changes. this is the second legendary nikola has seen in action now, and their arrival certainly always seem to be... dramatic. the very earth beneath their feet shakes as regirock erupts from it, sending nikola stumbling back, barely able to keep from falling. holy... their eyes lift up, up, and up all the way to the titan's face, barely visible from down below. they suddenly feel very small.[break][break]

"DAMMIT, SLAYTE!" they yell over the uproar caused by regirock's mere presence. for a moment, they forget he's their superior, their fear taking precedent. "ARE YOU SURE YOU CAN CONTROL THIS THING?"[break][break]

if they die here, they're going to be so pissed. backpedaling furiously as the walking wake they downed finds its footing and stands back up, they try to put as much distance between themself and the approaching battle as possible. their shiinotic follows them, staying between its trainer and the legendary, as if its presence can somehow protect them. nikola has to give fungus points for loyalty, at least.

[attr="class","bottom"]the ghost that i am behaves like a human.[break]
howard slayte [break]
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