She first met Faolan when she and Cillian had walked city streets and discussed Rocket politics. She remembered watching the Lucario get charmed by some pokemon and get swapped out for Dhelmise, who was immune to those charms. It was a fond memory. Cillian had been more approachable than his reputation led anyone to believe. Learning his relation to Lulu had only caused her to appreciate him more. It made her betrayal so much more devastating.[break][break]

She took a deep breath. Her own emotions could negatively impact the treatment, so she had to compartmentalize just as she had for all the others. [break][break]

"Less than ten minutes," she offered. If their minds settled into it, it could take about five. She wouldn't pitch such an optimistic number, though, not when Cillian was clearly so resistant. [break][break]

She looked to Musharna, whose mist began to spread lowly across the floor, a dreamy terrain filling the environment. "Think of nothing. Just be present, beside each other." She took several steps backwards from them to give extra space. "Acclimate to the present of the mist. Your mind will follow." Partial sleepiness began to claim her, making her eyelids heavy.

TAGS – Cillian Quinn Tempest Quinn [break]

NOTES – musharna's dream mist spreads throughout the area and creates a DREAMY TERRAIN. those caught in this terrain and stuck between sleep and wakefulness, and that that they dream of manifests in semi-visible hallucinations in the mist for all to see.[break][break]

She huffed, indignant, but she knew he was only prodding her for a reaction. She followed his direction, stepping backwards as he herded her to her chair. "It is hardly exhibition without a viewer," she insisted, hands cupping his face for another kiss. The thrill of it was electric, not just the allegiances they both felt hanging above them but the more immediate danger of being found out. It was so juvenile, and Ameena had spent next to no time in her life experiencing adolescence as it was intended to be experienced. [break][break]

Hell if she wasn't making up for it now, though. [break][break]

For his teasing, she rewarded him with a bite before pulling away from him and letting herself be sat in her chair. "And give me more credit. I will still be well put together."

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

The large lab sprawls around them, which only makes her more nervous. Somehow, a confined space would make her feel safer, like her panic only has so many places to go - but here, she has plenty of rope to hang herself with. [break][break]

At least Temp isn't on the brink of killing her. [break][break]

She doesn't know how much Cillian's shared about the reason they're gathered, so she introduces it anyways. "This is like we talked about previously, Temp. The semi-waking, semi-sleeping state that Musharna can induce will project the unconscious mind's work - that that the subconscious produces - while you remain conscious. You may feel sluggish, but you will be totally aware." She releases Musharna from her pokeball. "This requires you to clear your mind."[break][break]

She didn't look at Cillian, but rather Temp, who would be far more receiving to this as a whole. "You can sit or stand, though I recommend the former. This should not take long at all; in fact, I expect the proximity of you two to more quickly find this dream than the other study participants as they visited this dreamy terrain solo. Together, your minds already have an innate link because of the study, further strengthened by the bond you already have." Though, she wouldn't ask if they had developed the symptoms from the bond, like dreaming of the other more frequently or developing some degree of obsession for the other. [break][break]

She took a breath. "If you are ready, I can have Musharna generate the dreamy terrain."

TAGS – Cillian Quinn Tempest Quinn [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

She blinked at the instruction. Perhaps it was the exhaustion or how off-rhythm she was with him around, but she did lock it at his insistence. [break][break]

"What is-" and she was pulled into his arms and kissed. Her worries melted away as she pressed against him, unwilling to let him go. That was the problem about him, that she wanted him so much that the second she had even a crumb of him, she needed everything. There was no way to do things by halves when it came to him. [break][break]

This hadn't been the longest break between seeing each other, not by a long shot, but this felt like long overdue relief, like rain after a dry spell. She trailed kisses down his jaw, working her way to his ear to say, "No one is watching." Stay.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

If time warps were the missing factor, was it because of the energy they put out/created or was it because of there was some innate need to manipulate time in order to manipulate the space of their reality? Could it be that pulling things from dreams meant pulling the requisite materials from some point in time? [break][break]

This went from theoretical to real far too quickly - but their ability to answer their questions relied in getting a reliable source for time warps. [break][break]

"I have encountered the girl with Celebi before," Ameena admitted, "but I do not know anything about her beyond her possession of a Hisuian Arcanine." The girl had gotten away, too. "She'll be prepared to fight if she has a god on her side."

TAGS – Lulu Flint [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

Nomi's analytical gaze sent a jolt of excitement up Ameena's spine. She loved working with scientists, and Rocket had all of the best ones. Seeing her examine the field that the Unown generated left her holding her breath. [break][break]

The cause was a little more complicated. "I have never grown a passho, but I cannot rule out that it has interacted with one. It is possible this pokemon held the capacity for this z-move before it became a shadow pokemon." She was unsure how to tell, in any case. She had found this Unown, so it's open origin left a lot of questions and unknowable factors. "I have never taken it to Lesser Megalopolis nor around Necrozma's avatar... but anything is possible."[break][break]

Was there an additional way to earn these abilities? Z-moves had been of no interest to her at all until she saw Unown wield this one. "Does it seem like a normal z-move? Nothing seems to be imbued with shadow."

TAGS – Naomi Sato [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

Ameena smiled, but she didn't grace the question with an answer. She liked that Cherry was thinking about fairness or perhaps about the criteria for succeeding, but she preferred to show rather than tell. [break][break]

Gardevoir mega evolved. [break][break]

Then, she teleported behind the Archeops -- protect only works in one direction, after all -- and strikes Archeops with an alluring voice to push the bird away. Graciously, Gardevoir doesn't try to topple Cherry over, not yet, and instead spews mystical fire at the Togekiss. Having two pokemon is great for versatility, but strategy is still a requisite for survival.

TAGS – kasper thaler [break]

NOTES – dauntless shield[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

She hadn't imagined it until now, the possibility that she could pull things from dreams and bring them to her world rather than being the part that transmutes between realities. Could she bring Mum to this one, rather than sacrificing everything here to enter that strange world? A true speechlessness washes over Ameena, and so does emotion, but she blinks it away as efficiently as she can manage. [break][break]

The ship is real. The artifact from the dream - that of their reaction - is real. [break][break]

It eventually fades - and she should've been monitoring the time, she should've been measuring it to become effective data - but she can't find the effort to be angry at herself when she's just witnessed a true miracle. In awe, she agrees:[break][break]

"This changes everything."

TAGS – Lulu Flint [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

Her face warms at his question. She didn't want him to cling to that information, but she'd shared it and consequently, it was his to handle how he chose. She couldn't figure out why she kept handing him ammunition, kept revealing vulnerable spots in her psyche and personal security that were easily abusable. [break][break]

But he continued to never abuse it. To never take what she gave him and use it against her. [break][break]

"You were hurt badly," she explains, not looking him in the eye. "I had to know what the damage was. Gardevoir's distance on the heal pulse was... less than ideal." The equation was complicated, determining how much she could afford to risk in terms of public association with him for the payoff of his safety.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

She's not so comforted by Zev's experience. By every relevant criterion, he is not like the rest of them. Still, she isn't going to be the sole naysayer, so she marches forth. Necrozma's presence is the opposite of a comfort, and his beacon only reminds her that they cannot go backwards. They have committed. [break][break]

Nenet pulls out Celesteela and Ameena follows with her Xurkitree. "If the Tapu are protective, then a drastic change to the environment they oversee might pull it out." She looks at Xurkitree meaningfully, and the ultra beast summons an electric terrain to surround the area. Ameena stays close to Nenet and her Clefable, though Gardevoir is equally capable of teleporting at the first sign of the trouble. Gardevoir's behavior has been increasingly fight-eager, and she's not so confident the psychic will choose to flee when a fight is possible. [break][break]

In all, she's really putting more trust forth than is wise. "I cannot remove the dust clouds effectively," she admits, "but that might be the next best step."

TAGS – Zev Harcourt Neffatari Nzingha fern delaney [break]

NOTES – ELECTRIC TERRAIN is active.[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

His disapproval was clear to see. She understood it. "I can tolerate being alone in a hospital, Montgomery." She was military. She got paid to walk through hell and she did it whenever she was told to. Simple as that. But.[break][break]

But it was nice to see him there when she woke. It was nice to not have to be alone even though she could tolerate. She'd isolated herself from everyone so she wouldn't get distracted in her singular goal of entering an alternate reality through the dream realm. She'd made no meaningful connections, only that that she networked through Rocket. She had lived alone outside of the barracks her entire adult life. She could tolerate it. [break][break]

But she didn't have to. And having a bond worth keeping meant making sacrifices that she had always been unwilling to make. Now, it was easier. Now, it was complicated. "It was not right," she agreed. "I was unfair." Would she be able to resist if the shoe was on the other foot? No, she'd proven otherwise. "I stopped by your hospital room after Sootopolis. I... I am a hypocrite. I snapped at you because I was scared, and that was wrong."

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

This time, she intentionally entered a time-space distortion. Six visits and this was the first intentional one. [break][break]

There was no Avalugg to loom over her. It was pleasant, now that something wasn't trying to gobble her up. Glaceon stayed close to her side anyways, ever loyal. The storm raged above, but the pokemon that populated the stormy area were keeping to themselves. There wasn't a lot of aggression like she'd observed last time. The odd-looking voltorbs garnered her attention. She had one of her own, but it was still so bizarre to see them charged with grass energy. [break][break]

Unnerving, even.

TAGS – [break]

NOTES – GLACEON LEARNS FREEZY FROST ; GACHA TYPHLOSION FORM CHANGES H!TYPHLOSION[break][break]

For all she'd expected from him, an apology was at the bottom of the list. Visibly, it stuns her. [break][break]

She couldn't bring herself to sit, so she stood in front of him, holding her arms. There's no script or training or research to help her navigate this conversation. She's never been so vulnerable, and yet, after his apology, she finds her answer stumbling out of her mouth before she can catch it. "I was scared."[break][break]

What the hell was she doing? [break][break]

"I thought I ruined it. My inability to fight that thing back had cost us everything. When you called the ambulance, I knew there was no way to avoid eyes on us. When you were there in the hospital, I thought that sealed our fate. The story was compromised." We were done, she didn't say. I thought this was buried. [break][break]

Of course, then she'd gone and self-sabotaged further by telling him off.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]