She focuses so much on sound that she forgets her primary objective: don't let go. [break][break]

That reality doesn't reach her until she feels the hard grip from the phantom storm knock her off her feet for a moment. She stumbles, then staggers, correcting herself until she can return to running. By then, a more animal panic has set in. She is rendered prey against the powerful unknown, the predator with ambiguous shape and strength and weakness. [break][break]

Instead of tugging her back, a force pushes her forward. [break][break]

It's so unexpected that she cries out, stumbles to the ground. For a moment, she blacks out. Her eyes blink open, consciousness trickling back, just in time to hear the roar.

TAGS – Tempest Quinn [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

Maki's concern simultaneously flatters and insults her; she knows how to handle herself and her team, but she's also pleased to see any interest in her wellbeing from those she hasn't directly served. Rocket was interesting like that - all about networking and opportunity, but often, there was plenty of honor, and empathy, among thieves. [break][break]

"Gardevoir is dangerous," she explains lightly. She owes no explanation, but she feels no animosity towards Maki. That, and she hates bad first impressions. "I need to study the damage infinity energy has done to her before I can take care of her. Fainted pokemon help no one, but she... I have to wait." The details were interesting, but she had to be careful in expressing a lack of control over herself and her pokemon. [break][break]

She leans forward, focusing on her guest. "About the imprisonment? Tell me more." She had more questions than answers, unfortunately.

TAGS – MAKI YUKIMURA [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

The wails reach a fever pitch. She feels more than hears Temp's command, senses the moment's precarious balance stretch and break. She follows him closely, forcing herself to keep her full attention on him. It's hard to ignore everything going on, but the rage and ruckus soon dull into a roar - one that drags at her skin, but one that she can render into background noise. [break][break]

She tries to imagine the sounds of Temp's footfalls over the roar, tries to recall the sound of both of their heaving breaths to give herself a different soundtrack to listen to as they flee. She can't focus on other senses over the overwhelming reality they're trapped in, but she's doing her damnedest to convince her mind there's plenty to cling to. [break][break]

She stumbles, corrects herself barely, and chases him still. This is worse than the abyssal horror of the deep sea by an inch. At least she knew everything there was hallucinatory; here, the threat was real. If the ghosts took over her mind, what would they do with her? Kill her? Was that too easy? [break][break]

TAGS – Tempest Quinn [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

Sootopolis is a graveyard, a memorial to something half-alive, and the somber mood rests like a veil over the city. [break][break]

Sapphire eyes meet hers. She extends an arm, and the child holds on tight so Ameena can pull her up through the collapsed roof of what must have been a house. Streaks of dirt cover the child except the tracks where tears clearly ran. Ameena hands her over to Lucario, who holds the child in a bridal carry and hops off the roof to deliver her to the medical professionals below. At least one of them is a Leaguer, but they are outnumbered by Rocket and civilian support staffs in each tent setup throughout the city. [break][break]

Hanya the Aegislash glows beneath her, hovering over shattered floors in the house. Hanya indicates that that is the last survivor in the home and rises. The Aegislash has been a beacon around the neighborhood as Ameena went house to house to find what was left of the people who lived just above the initial flood zone. "Good work," Ameena praises, exhaustion sapping her bones. [break][break]

She has more important things to do, more things to research; she cares little for these people, but this is not a post-war moment - it is a defining battle in the propaganda war. [break][break]

She's unaware her scout above, Unown, has conflicting allegiances between itself and the man of shadow.

TAGS – Cillian Quinn [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

His explanation has her holding him tight. [break][break]

Maybe this isn't a good date spot at all. [break][break]

"Do not let go," she echoes, "got it." She holds tight to her Lucario with her other hand, weighing his potential to help above his potential to make things worse if he succumbs to the ghosts, too. [break][break]

She hears screams, and the sound of war, and the wet clap of blood on dusty, barren ground. She sees visages of violence in the ghostly fog. Her own heart pounds with an anger that is not quite her own, but still she holds onto Tempest. She manages her breath and pinpoints her mind on their shared contact: he is all that is real in this fog. She anchors her mind to him, to his footsteps, to what she can hear of his breath. [break][break]

She feels wispy fingers drag against her skin as if to pull her down to the gates of hell, but she does not let her footsteps falter. If they wanted her to join them in the land of the dead, they'd better come in greater numbers. She stares at the back of his head and imagines a small forcefield around them that the dead cannot penetrate. They are guided by purpose and safe from the wails of a phantasmic mob.

TAGS – Tempest Quinn [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

She sighed in sympathy as he sat up and stressed. [break][break]

So, what do we do? That was the million dollar question. [break][break]

"My civilian ID is intact. Your identity is, too. But Rocket knows you are a Leaguer, which means they cannot see me fraternizing with you. Not in any meaningful way." Especially if Rocket knew about their call in Mossdeep. Each act of mercy would count against her, and him, by the eyes of their respective allegiances. [break][break]

Her fix would solve their problems but cost Montgomery is salvation, his morals. "I remember," she admitted. "You were a Rocket before." Can't you do it again? For me? She looked at the scars across his body. "If you were again... I could keep you under my wing. My watch. I would give you moral assignments. You could help people, still. Help them more, with my resources."

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

Her stomach drops as the atmosphere goes from ominous to horrifying. [break][break]

The fog moves like it's alive. A tendril digs into her skin as it passes, as she stands behind Temp and lets him brave the storm of sickly portents. "What the hell is this?" She's never seen anything like it. She's never heard of anything like it. Instantly, she knows this is going to be featured in her coming dreams. [break][break]

Lucario issues a heal pulse that spreads over them and stitches closed her newest cut. "Is this Yveltal?" Was it the Border instead? She had never directed her inquiries, her attention, to this chunk of ultra space. But maybe she shouldn't have been chasing Megalopolans at all; this thin line between life and death was dangerously provocative. She wouldn't have minded a few sleep experiments in this land, though the thought is sour against the acrid fog warning them to LEAVE NOW.

TAGS – Tempest Quinn [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

Trapping a legendary beast would not be an easy task. Her eyes held a twinkle of amusement at the thought. Tempest did not do anything by halves; he was fully committed to this mission of his. "I can manage the sleeping," she stated despite a lack of experience of doing so to legendary pokemon. [break][break]

She always had Musharna with her despite its limited combat capacity. It was the most potent pokemon she had for putting others to sleep, and her recent z-move development made her even more effective. Though, she was unsure how impactful it would be against a deity, given her doubts about their capacity for higher thought. [break][break]

"Well," she mused as they traversed the ominous ultra space, "let no one ever call you boring." If this is where he took colleagues, she imagined he was very thoughtful for dates. Not that it was appropriate to say as such... but it did make her wonder if this was the kind of adventure Montgomery James liked to get up to.

TAGS – Tempest Quinn [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

At least the ghosts weren't throwing things around. She had little interest in poltergeists. [break][break]

The Pelipper was clearly a pokemon of his. She hoped her original Espathra had not crossed over to this land, unhappy. She could not face the guilt of her death, and she had no interest in watching her prior failures be thrown back at her. The very concept made her antsy. [break][break]

"Well, I am glad to have made the short list." She paused, thoughtful. "I suspect since you brought me here, though, that we are not actually trying to catch it?" Surely, there would more of them if they were attempting such a feat.

TAGS – Tempest Quinn [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

Ameena masks up for this endeavor, though she does not intend to permit Shalin to remember much of it. She stands at the edge before the bars of her cage, hidden in the wall, and lets Musharna float into Shalin's line of sight. [break][break]

She wants to push the limits of Musharna's new ability, but she wants to see Shalin's reaction to the unexplained Musharna appearance, first. Assessing the captive's current mental state is valuable data for understanding how it might impact the waking dreamscape she will soon be under. Ameena's got a voice recorder in her hand. Shalin's dreamscape could reveal valuable information which warranted a video camera, but she preferred to keep herself hidden if only to add to any discomfort and horror of her prisoner - for scientific reasons, of course. Who knew how the current psyche could turn the dreamscape to one of nightmares?

TAGS – Shalin Nariya [break]

NOTES – [break][break]