It - this isn't the part she was eager to explain, of all of it. The futility of the experiment because of its flawed initiation. "I am unaware of the memory beyond the fact it took place in your home," she said earnestly, trying not to think about how little he trusted her. "The transcript of the dream - of everyone's - was corrupted. The intervention was.. divine. Tapu Lele." At the very least, maybe there was solace to take in being a god that fucked up the data. [break][break]

Before he can ask if the data is in someone else's hands, she clarifies. "It did not take the data but it did disrupt the data transfer with its presence." His worry is centered around knowing about it. She picks up on the vulnerability of it, the intimacy of having your mind split open for someone's voyeurism. It's not something she's been subjected to, only subjected others to, but normally it's been so clinical and personally-removed that it's never been a problem. [break][break]

Now? Her guilt might compromise the terrain anyways, despite her training in compartmentalizing during Musharna's z-move to prevent her mind's own interference. [break][break]

But that's not what he needs to hear, and it's only a possibility, so she doesn't voice it. "You still love your husband, right? You are still loyal to Rocket? You are still bonded to your patron?" She can't soothe him on the basis of her skill or her character, as both are compromised. "Nothing fundamental about you has changed. You are you. The memory must be small. But it will be returned. I have used the terrain to revisit the dreams of others before and help them unpack it."[break][break]

Is it wise to share that she's already done it for someone in the study? It would verify efficacy, but would he ask who it was? She would be in hot water if she said Matias, wouldn't she? Or would it be an asset to have gotten into a Leaguer's head. There's no playbook for this conversation. She feels his judgement and the looming presence of Lugia, an omnipresent threat.

TAGS – Cillian Quinn [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

The ship forms before her eyes. Lulu's got a great confidence and creativity in manipulating the realm. Ameena's transfixed with observing and, admittedly, almost shy about conjuring. She's made too many mistakes lately. She fears making one in front of her most valued ally. [break][break]

The edge of the realm being a permanent ending is a painful thought. It only makes her want to see it more. Tentatively, she generates a hand-held lantern in her hand. "Deeper pathways," she echoes. "Like a different layer?" She hadn't considered the realm having depth if that's the sense Lulu intends. She imagined it built wide, not tall. Like wild plains, maybe. But she always imagined the dream realm's natural entry point for dreamers to suit her house metaphor with the hallways and infinite doors. [break][break]

"How well can we track our position for coordinates? I have never tried it." She'd spent little time in the naturally-occurring mist in Hoenn. She focused on Musharna and psychic pokemon. This... felt deliciously out of her depths - but within the grasp of her fingertips, simultaneously. "Or is this more of a, tie a very long rope around all the explorers type of deal?" The imagery amuses her, but if it worked then she'd do it in a heartbeat.

TAGS – Lulu Flint [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

She's not sure where this additional anxiety comes from in her chest, separate from the animal instinct of survival. As he speaks, she tries to untangle it, tries to decipher it, but the truth is... she feels, ironically, a betrayal. That her good work and character thus far have been completely ignored in the face of this one mistake - and a drastic one, it is, she knows - and it becomes so obvious that the benefit of Rocket is counterbalanced with one significant flaw. [break][break]

She came to Rocket for the lack of ethical red tape surrounding research, but as much as she benefitted from the absence of morality of her colleagues, it meant she was in that same boat, that anyone could accuse her of such lowly acts because she, too, had a fucked sense of ethics. [break][break]

Her voice is shaky and raw. "I would never act against you." She has no evidence. For all their successes together, couldn't it all be an act of convenience? He has no reason to believe her. "And I can fix it." She doesn't bother promising. [break][break]

Her word is useless. Action and outcomes are all that matter, now. "Tempest already agreed to do it." She didn't throw his name around lightly. She hoped Tempest's judgement would persuade him to go along with it, to let her fix this. "It only requires Musharna and her mist. A specific variety that comes from z-crystals. It - you can stay awake for it. It creates a half-waking, half-sleeping state for everyone in the vicinity." Does he care about the details? She hates the way he looks at her. Such a stark contrast to the mad glee of a successful experiment on her Unown, one of hurt that she caused.

TAGS – Cillian Quinn [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

Ameena compartmentalizes and steps out of her herself, putting each sliver of personality and experience - the veteran, the researcher, the criminal, the dreamer - aside in order to observe with the most neutral mind. To do anything else is to significantly raise the risk of tainting what plays out. [break][break]

The dream unfolds, then continues to unfold, revealing a detail that alters the reality only to unfold further, like a very complicated piece of origami. The child looks similar to Maki, but Ameena holds back from drawing any inference to avoid any confirmation bias. This data is valuable to her, and she will have to scribble it down quickly when Maki leaves. Being as objective and factual as possible is key. [break][break]

Maki's fury, however, is captivating. [break][break]

Admittedly, she wants to see more of it. But the dream fades, the mist reflecting nothing for a few precious moments before Musharna draws it to a close. Ameena lets the silence sit with them like an old friend, giving Maki space to reflect or settle back into full waking. [break][break]

"Is that more complete than what you experienced in the Penitentiary?" She hopes it can be laid to rest; a distracted colleague was an ineffective one. Ameena's gaze flickers between her Gardevoir, the Malamar, and Maki.

TAGS – MAKI YUKIMURA [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

She hadn't spent a lot of time with Howard herself except for the egg hunt in headquarters. Logistics had really dropped the ball on the internal transportation, hadn't they? [break][break]

His commentary about the dream world piqued her interest. "How has the dreamworld treated you?" She wanted to know everything about his experience with pokemon in the dream realm. She tended to not dream of pokemon when she slept, and she had too little experience in the interdream mist to know how well pokemon battling logic carried over there. [break][break]

The orthworm erupted from the earth and swallowed their enemies whole. "A little lackluster," she mused. Then, the shadow fell over them. She exaggerated a sigh with good, dark humor. "Spoke too soon." In classic RKS fashion, they faced an untimely fate just in time for the scene to change.

TAGS – jayden cross [break]

NOTES – Next stage.[break][break]

[attr="class","pkmn"]

[attr="class","itemcolicon"]

[attr="class","itemcolname"]pokemon event

[attr="class","lgdcol"]

[attr="class","itemcoltexttit"]IRON TREADS 1-B

[attr="class","itemcoltext"]You ask your troops to hold. You're patient. Observant. Something stirs within the sands, coursing through the golden ocean in search for rhythm and weight.[break][break]

As the opposing combatants descend toward the center of the desert's valley, the sands there twist into a whirlpool. A gigantic ORTHWORM begins to suck the opposing army into its endless gut.[break][break]

However, something is wrong. A strong shadow casts above you and your army. Should you look up, you see what seems to be pages of a book and a book cover closing in on you.

Ah, so he hadn't known. She hates herself a little for jumping the gun, but then, there is some chance this is salvageable because she's not immediately dead. Still, she squirms.[break][break]

It might be the smart thing to talk slowly and savor her remaining time on this stupid rock, but she finds herself almost stumbling over how fast she gets the words out. "The sleep study was in beta. The code was never supposed to run. The parameters needed tweaking, but I needed to know if it could execute pooling participants from census data before I bothered re-weighing the criteria. It-" she stops for a breath. The mechanics of the failure aren't going to be of interest, or at least, they're not as interesting as the meat of the matter.[break][break]

"I never acted against you. Any of you." It's earnest, but she imagines he's met his fair share of liars. Maybe he's placed her among them. "The study pulled from a shared memory. It - whatever the event was, you shared it with Tempest Quinn , which I know does nothing to narrow it down, but. The memory is not gone. It is suppressed. I can pull it out." There's so much more to share, that the data is missing, that there were other Rocket admins there, that she's met with Temp already and he took the news better than anyone else possibly could, that he already okay'd the use of Musharna's z-move to reawaken the memory. [break][break]

The pressure makes her breathing labored, like she's in heavy gravity or a cufant's sitting on her chest. She feels squeezed on all sides. Trapped like a prey pokemon.

TAGS – Cillian Quinn [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

She scowled. [break][break]

"Fighting that damn monster is one thing, but sticking around?" She didn't buy it for a second. He had waited. If this was for an investigation, he could've waited to be alerted to her consciousness. Who knew how long it would've taken for her to wake? Hell, she didn't know how long it did take. [break][break]

This was going too far. "Taking me to the hospital... You are no random person, and I told you no." That part stung. If he always put his responsibilities above what she wanted, what was the point in sticking around? [break][break]

"Now, I have to work around this. My other work is going to have be on hard pause to avoid matching injuries with my identity. And this is all my team's going to talk about for weeks." The latter is the most juvenile of her complaints, but she hated condolence flowers and 'get well soon' cards, and no one in her company would let any other words out of their mouth outside of that. It'd be pulling teeth to get anything done. Benched as everything but a dream researcher... She was going to be beyond restless. [break][break]

"My statement is: I have nothing for you."

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

Her head feels cloudy. Pain medicine doesn't agree with her as well as others, but at least it does numb the pain. She feels a little nauseated. She's not sure if the first knock to her head from the beast is enough to form a concussion, but she definitely isn't feeling too hot. Her vision takes an extra moment to focus on him as he nears her. [break][break]

He's soft and warm and welcoming, but she feels betrayal twist at her heart. "You lied." She turns her face from him petulantly. She'd rather look dismissive than emotional, and she does feel stupidly hurt about the ordeal. [break][break]

Being registered in the hospital is definitely going to require she ease up on her physical Rocket activities in case anyone connects the CEO's injuries with the grunt's. She's not going to be moving well for a while based on the damage to her rib. It's hard to estimate. Her thoughts come thick and slow. "And you should not have stayed." She's glad he did, except it makes everything harder. The charade requires public distance. This only invites questions. Quieter, she huffs. "You are compromising our stories."

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]