Her gaze flickered between the Iron Bundle and the Slowpoke; it finally yawned, and the move was so potent and Ameena had to suppress one herself. This Slowpoke seemed to have the same level of power as her notable Musharna when it came to putting others to sleep. The outstanding skill of her Musharna had made it a star of her own sleep research. Her mist was the base for many of Ameena's concoctions. [break][break]

Iron Bundle crumpled under its weight, falling heavily onto the logs and shaking those that they stood on. [break][break]

"Excellent. It will not be sedated for long." She and Lucario shared a look. "Can you call this in for pick-up? My radio is defunct after the blizzard."

TAGS – Rose Soleil [break]

NOTES – [break]

"There is a cave somewhere in Sootopolis that belonged to the Draconids." The beach terrain was uncomfortable to traverse, still littered with trash from the events of the battle. There were several skrelp in the sands that looked particularly sickly, but she chose a route that avoided close contact with them. Who knew if they were infected with something or perhaps subject to the toxic chain phenomenon? [break][break]

They came across the mouth of a cave. Whether it was the one she needed or not, she couldn't say. [break][break]

"The Draconid people praised Rayquaza. Their connection to dragons is unmatched. They also, allegedly, held one of the first mega stones." It seemed unlikely that they knew its importance until they used it and transformed Rayquaza. "The way Rayquaza descended upon the world is not unlike that of The Darkest Day, in Galar." She didn't elaborate. It was a blemish in her country's lifespan.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

"It will be possible." She cuts in quick, defensive. Then, after a pause: "If not in this world, then in another. But there are too many universes for impossible to exist." It's the biggest concession she'll ever make in relation to her work. If she cannot enter the dream realm and choose a new reality for herself, another Ameena will be able to. It's a bitter, sick thing... but ultimately, at her core, she's happy for the one who succeeds. [break][break]

She just won't stop trying to make that her own story. [break][break]

"I have no reason to believe my research will push the boundaries of our reality. It is more like... using an escape rope in a cave. It should not impact our reality except to remove someone from it and place them in another reality." The dream realm, she had no reason to believe, took up a physical space or at least a space in the physical plane as they could perceive it. Therefore, she didn't believe it impacted their reality beyond the metaphysical plane - and even then, she theorized it was more like opening a door than tearing a hole in the wall. [break][break]

His question, from anyone else or in the context of any other conversation, would lead her to believe he's questioning her loyalties or her willingness to burn Rocket for her own goals. She's confident that isn't the case here. "Nothing I have or will have in this reality is valuable. I lose all of it when I enter a new reality, so the sacrifice of it is nothing at all." She sighs, an exhale through her nose as her expression turns almost nostalgic. "Lulu Flint is so competent, I think what remains of dream research after such a discovery will be in good hands. I suspect my absence in this world would not hinder it much at all... but what I find might lead to others following suit and escaping." If this reality was on the brink of ending, she could blame no one for taking a life boat.

TAGS – Grigori Sokolov [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

Lucario's pulled into Houndoom's orbit by Melody, but he uses substitute to create a weak iteration of his body to be dragged into the canine - if they collide, it at least won't be as damaging as Lucario's real body striking the Houndoom. Lucario lands on the ground from his substitute, but he's weakened after subbing out. Still, the loyal pokemon charges at Melody directly, angling to punch her throat and hinder the songbird's vocal cords. He will accomplish his goal at any cost, a parallel to his own desperate trainer.[break][break]

Ameena gets what she was really gunning for: the appearance of those time powers. But Ameena doesn't see Celebi. She pulls the trigger, expectant, but the time around her stops, blurs, replays. Nausea hits her like a gut punch, and her head pounds. The visual feedback of the sensation and whatever happens to her body when its forcibly pulled like a puppet on a string sickens her. She pulls the trigger a second time. The bullet pierces the ground. Yuina appears with her seamitar drawn. [break][break]

Ameena has a million questions, but the scientist in her (who obsesses openly over Yuina now that it is clear this woman likely holds the power to accomplish what Ameena has spent her lifetime gunning for) is subdued by the veteran. She can interrogate Yuina later. She pushes through the nausea and charges. She clicks the safety on her hand gun and sacrifices the weapon: she throws it at Yuina. It is not only unexpected but something to mess with her priorities and force her to react to the heavy projectile or the closing-in Ameena who twists her body to minimize herself as a target for the sword, one hand outreached for Yuina's throat.

TAGS – Yuina Higashi Lulu Flint Melody Miro [break]

NOTES – [break]
50 MP showcase your own character's strength(s) meaningfully.[break]
50 MP have your character reflect on why they're fighting/reflect on their loyalties.[break]
50 MP have your character make a regrettable decision or make a sacrifice.[break]
50 MP have your character's Pokemon symbolize or represent in some way, the condition of your character.[break]
50 MP pace your narrative accordingly by featuring a "back and forth" in terms of advantage and raising the stakes until the climax.[break]
(650)[break]

Howard's comment about a good memory could have been a veiled threat. The politics of their dynamic fell lower on the priority list than the witnessing of another successful waking dream. Each experience brought her closer to her ultimate goal. Lucky for the two in the room, Ameena's mind was an oddity - dreaming every night, but unable to daydream and unlikely to influence the mist given her self-dosing of the mist. It didn't activate the parts of her brain that needed to be protected, like memories of Montgomery James. [break][break]

She arched a brow at lugnut, but she held her tongue. Howard wouldn't appreciate negativity thrown June's way even though her indignance was embarrassing. Earthquakes? How miniscule. But Ameena released her focus from the people in the room and turned her gaze to the mist. She slumped forward from where she sat, the half-sleeping state making her eyelids heavy.[break][break]

The laboratory became like a hospital room as the visage projected clearly. Flickering between the three of them stood Howard and June; occasionally, their figures seemed to superimpose over either of them as they rested now - a habit of the mind trying to make sense of the vestibular sense information flooding it. [break][break]

Ameena turned to Howard as June asked questions. Only he could answer them - but something told her that the mist would fill in her blanks.

TAGS – howard slayte june sleigh [break]

NOTES – [break]

A sliver of amusement made its way through the ball of concern that sat in her stomach. Oddly enough, this felt like a higher pressure affair than the successful waking-mist experiment she'd done with Cillian Quinn and Tempest Quinn , which involved deadlier persons than those she had in the room now. Howard, she felt, would be most amenable to working towards her own goals involving the dream realm given his sympathies towards dreams as a concept. That, and she never got the impression anything was beneath him. [break][break]

Not that she'd share such a thought with him. [break][break]

"No need for further z-crystals," she clarified. "It's a fairly standard basement. We're not far underground." June's nervousness might be a problem. A phobia would gnaw at the waking unawareness of the subconscious, which the biological unconscious mind could cling to. She had little interest in explaining how stimuli became localized when unconscious given the lesser and slower neurological functions - and if the neurons there fired while under the mist, that phobia would be demonstrated in the mist and potentially exacerbated. [break][break]

"Just relax," she said instead. "This building is beyond earthquake safe to protect my assets, if that is something that concerns you." She gestured again to the lounging furniture. "Try not to think while the mist fills the room. This will help the mist rely on only the specifically stimulated parts of the brain... which should be the memory of your shared dream given the proximity."[break][break]

Then, the mist spread.

TAGS – howard slayte june sleigh [break]

NOTES – [break]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]

She was not superstitious. She was, however, well aware that local myths, ghost stories, and old wives' tales all held some sliver of truth. They were all easily discarded, except she knew that valuable information could be stored at the heart of such stories. She had found interesting developments in ancient cultural tablet engravings, though none had solved her problems with the dream realm. Yet. [break][break]

Her latest phone call with Montgomery might have thrown him for the loop with all her questions about his knowledge of Draconid mythos. Finally, she had revealed that she heard enough about the ruins in Sootopolis that she felt compelled to visit. [break][break]

Unown floated by her side. She figured with its perception abilities, the three of them would be capable of finding out if Draconid rites were really being performed by spirits - and if the rituals had any relevance at all to the dream world.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – [break][break]

He reminded her of Gwendolyn Conway, a young Ranger and science-aligned mentee that fought ferociously and with principle. The redhead had inspired Ameena to reach out more to those outside of Rocket. She wouldn't be so amenable to Montgomery without the earlier success with Gwen that made it all possible to imagine a world with League allies -- ones she fully intended to convert, but still. [break][break]

His pokemon struck with a fake out late into the battle, but it still threw Slowbro off his rhythm. He launched a psychic at the glowing Skarmory, which was good, because Ameena was stunned at the sight of it.[break][break]

She'd killed his original Skarmory. "And who is this?" What was the story? She had nothing but questions. She figured it would be beneficial to back off the civilian angle, something that seemed like a raw wound for him. It suggested... well, that he might be more open to the vigilante concept than she had thought he would be at this stage. She wanted to celebrate such a success, but she didn't believe in celebrating too early. The light of the Skarmory reflected the brightness that Montgomery offered her life, some recurring image to remind her that she wanted the light he offered her in a dark, unforgiving world.

TAGS – Montgomery James [break]

NOTES – 50 MP include a motif or recurring symbol of some kind in your thread.[break]
50 MP pace your narrative accordingly by featuring a "back and forth" in terms of advantage and raising the stakes until the climax.[break]
50 MP have your character become inspired or consoled by another writer's character (tag them).[break][IDK mp must calc prev post still][break]

Straight to business. Ameena liked that. [break][break]

"My Unown is working on it." The blue, shadow-speckled specimen led them away. "What, exactly, it sees, I cannot say. But I trust its instincts or senses to find its brethren." They were anomalous pokemon. Outliers. Their behaviors were unlike anything ever seen before. God's alphabet, allegedly. She wondered how accurate that could be. [break][break]

"Have you gotten your hands on one yourself? They are controversial; many are untrusting of them and their watchful eyes."

TAGS – Violet Fairbanks [break]

NOTES – bond bridge - unown[break][break]