REDEEMING

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1X TM/TR (0 PD) to teach Kingdra Waterfall

TOTAL

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0 PD

• player/ooc name: hollow
• character tags: oscar clayton
• dropped characters' tags (if applicable): n/a
• ic posts for characters: One
• are characters in directories?: Y
• any notes/comments: Sorry for not being around. I love this site, and I can't wait to ramp up my activity again. Gotta take care of myself first though, depression is a hard thing to wrestle with but I just gotta keep at it.

Weariness caught up to Oscar quicker thank expected. Perhaps he had gotten a little 'gung-ho' with his work catch up, or maybe he just did not feel like being sociable. He was surrounded by people he adored, yet the only thing he could think to do was sleep. He retired quietly, silently retreating to his bunk. As he lay down to rest, sleep would find him easily.

Oscar dreamed of the void. He found himself laying in shallow water, staring up at an endless abyss. There was nothing, just a cold and all encompassing darkness. It was peaceful, not too different from just having his eyes closed. Yet he could still see himself, proven as he lazily lifted his arms to examine them. They were oddly accurate, down to the placement of his veins. Perhaps he was lucid dreaming.

He settled back in, continuing to stare upward. If he had wanted to, he could have probably gotten up and searched around for something more interesting. Yet he remained still, willingly trapped within the cool water. The solitude, the quiet--it was intoxicating. It would be a shame to ruin such bleak tranquility.

CY0nVnQ6

tl;dr
--Oscar's dreamscape is a quiet void.
--Oscar is too enraptured by his peaceful solitude to explore the void further.

Oscar was late to the party. He had data to log, seemingly endless numbers that could determine the difference between a successful mission and a failure. Well maybe it was not that important, but it needed to be done and Oscar wanted to get it out of the way so he could faff about for the rest of the trip. Tragically he could not get it all done in one go, and burn out would convince him to join the others in the commons in search of entertainment.

The scientist observed the poker game taking place, and would saunter up behind Cillian Quinn. He took a casual look at Cil's cards, raising an eyebrow before wandering off to grab a refreshment. "What is this, Uno?" He commented cheekily as he procured a beer. On his return trip to the table, Oscar would peek over howard slayte's shoulder to look at his cards.

He said nothing as he took a long sip of his bitter beverage. To be honest, he did not quite understand poker. It was not his thing. But if he pretended to know about the game, perhaps his leering would incite unintended shenanigans. Oscar rounded over to @shred to peek at his cards, making a "Hmmmm." sound as he passed by.

He provided subtle yet nevertheless fake reactions for everyone, patiently waiting for whatever came next.

tl;dr
--Oscar doesn't get poker.

Oscar watched as others examined the statue, gradually losing interest in the whole affair. He glanced over at the man from his table (Alba Evovae), chuckling softly as the lithe figure tried to casually push over one of the other statues. Oscar approached, "I think you'll need to try a little harder than that." Another patron tries the same thing with greater force, possibly succeeding where This Stranger failed. "See? Like that."

Ghosts appeared to clean up the debris, looking around with uneasy gazes. Oscar watched them work, studying their nervous expressions. They looked as if they would be scolded at any moment, was it an act? The ghosts were in control, though perhaps an even greater force oversaw them. They left in a hurry, and Oscar's mind would blank as he wondered what he was supposed to do next. Everyone around him seemed flighty and desperate to leave, perhaps one of them would indeed find a way out. In the mean time, he can just relax.

Scratch that, the house would allow no respite to their torment. A great host of haunting laughter rang across the mansion, a deafening racket that sent shivers across Oscar's body. For a moment he was reminded of his phobia, but instead of being filled with fear he would be charged with rage. "Shut up!" He shouted, as if trying to silence a bad comedian. "You aren't funny, shut the fuck up!" They refused, their laughter would not end until they wished it to.

When all finally went silent, the room would grow dark. Oscar flinched as a light abruptly appeared nearby, a glowing orb that the ghost pokemon seemed to romp around in a synchronized dance. The orb was--alluring; a technicolor beauty that was enticing to the eyes. Yet there was a twinge of familiarity within the back of Oscar's foggy mind. He remembered a battle in Sootopolis, and a clown that rocked the city. That clown appeared several times in his head, a nightmare of carnage and destruction.

pop

Pop

POP

He could still hear the screams. Feel the burns upon his flesh. It was unforgettable.

He finally spoke up, his tone dreamily casual yet firm. "That's a bomb!"

tl;dr
--Oscar playfully teases Alba Evovae for his attempt to break a statue.
--Oscar is not having a good time with the laughter.
--Oscar recognizes the orb thanks to past trauma, and announces that he thinks it's a bomb.
Riddle Guess: Bomb

This was Oscar's second trip into space, which made the anticipation of the loss slightly more palatable. That did not make the launch itself any easier, the G-forces were just as horrible as the first time. Oscar had no idea how howard slayte was able to scream, and further more he envied it. Oscar's own lips were pushed back too far to form anything resembling a syllable. Poor bastard could not even laugh if he wanted to.

Yet the trial did not last forever. The ship leveled out, and after the gravity was engaged Oscar would casually pull himself out of his seat. He felt as though he needed to unload all of his organs at once, but he would put every ounce of his remaining energy into trying to hide his discomfort.

As his fellow travelers mingled, Oscar was more focused on getting some work done during these early hours of the journey. The adventure would become a lot more enjoyable once he had all of his data sorted.

Oscar approached their host, Lulu Flint. "Fearless leader, do we have designated work spaces or should I just park in a corner."

Tl;dr
--Oscar is here, trying not to upchuck.
--Oscar wants to get his data readings done so he can enjoy his space vacation mission.

His companions chose a table, and Oscar would shakily take a seat as he kept an eye out for lingering ghouls. Everyone seemed to be having a good time but him, with his dower easiness being a bleak beacon amongst the festivity. This was most obvious to Oscar, who gradually began to feel silly as he looked down upon his bare plate. Surely his fears were all in his head, if he did not at least try to have fun then he would no doubt regret it in the morning.

Oscar slowly added food to his plate, but could do nothing but stare at his meal with contempt. He took a deep breath, preparing to eat a torchic wing with the same level of anxiety as someone that was about to jump out of a plane. Before he could take a bit though, something shifted in the atmosphere. Bloody words began to appear on the walls, and people around him began to get flustered. Their ghost hosts looked on, enjoying the show from afar. As Oscar leered at the specter spectators, he would growl as he slammed the wing back onto his plate.

"I knew it! These fuckin' ghosts are playing us! We gotta--we gotta."

Oscar trailed off as his mind became blanketed by fog. Suddenly he was not quite sure why he was so mad, or even what he was doing. He looked back and forth between the people sitting next to him, unable to recall who they were. "I uhhh--I swear I was saying something. Sorry." Oscar dreamily stood up as the woman sitting next to him ran off in a hurry. Try as he might he could not remember who she was, but he did feel as though he should not let her wander off alone--just as he felt that he should not leave the nearby male by himself.

He whistled toward him, "Hey keep up, the plot's moving this way." Oscar casually followed the girl, completely forgetting what had made him so previously fearful.

With his phobia cleansed, Oscar got to actually appreciate the gothic architecture of the mansion. It was a remarkable house, somehow still beautiful despite its age. As Oscar took in the devilish ambience, it was a miracle how he managed to keep up with the girl. Eventually his trance was broken as the girl tugged on his sleeve, forcing him to turn his attention toward the newly opened rooms. He wandered with the girl, sorting through pages upon pages of research that made little sense to him. "This all seems like nonsense. Or at least not very important." Hunts, tormenting pokemon, who cared about any of that when they were trapped in a aesthetically pleasing old mansion!

A crash and a scream captured Oscar's attention next, and he would eagerly run off to see what exciting development had taken place within the Main Hall. What he found were three statues, or more accurately two statues and one shattered mess. Oscar ignored the intact statues in favor of the shattered one, bending down to get a closer look. He sifted through the debris, believing the shattered material to be some sort of crystal.

Eventually he stood up and nodded, "Yep, this sure is a pile of broken shit."

tl;dr
--Oscar forgets who he is, who his companions are, and why he was afraid.
--Oscar tries to follow Aurelie Lefevre and encourages Alba Evovae to follow along.
--Oscar examines the broken statue.
--Riddle answer: Crystal

Oscar was unsatisfied with Howard's answer to his inquiry. Of course it mattered to him, Oscar had been trying to get into the Distortion World for years. Why now? What did he do to finally break through? His memory was too fuzzy, the last thing he remembered was going home--so no experiment could have taken place. His curiosity threatened to smother him, but he decided to keep his thoughts to himself. Oscar would surely forget the circumstances of his arrival once their expedition began in earnest.

As Howard offered Oscar the lead, the pale gallivanter chuckled. "My mind tells me you just need a body shield for any distortion shenanigans, but my heart sees this as a show of affection and it thanks you." Oscar gladly took point, forging their path forward with the zeal of a true explorer. Oscar struggled to keep himself from stopping every few feet, finding a constant stream of new details to gush over but forcing himself onward for the sake of time. After all, this was not like Ultra Space. Life was not meant to exist here, so who knows how long they had before the realm would begin consuming their vitality.

Oscar hopped across a small gap to a new platform, heedless of the endless abyss that sat far below them. This boasted a waterfall, which Oscar could not help but approach. He removed one of his gloves, and eagerly ran his pale hand through the rushing water. It felt--wrong--or more accurately, incorrect. As if the source of this cascade had never felt water before. Oscar cackled with sincere delight as he pulled out his hand, watching the droplets left upon his flesh as they erratically fell down his wrist.

"This place is amazing! It isn't like Ultra Space, it tries to replicate the logic of our world without understanding how it works. Absolutely astounding!"

A shadow passed overhead, or more so Oscar could have sworn one did. Yet as he looked up he only saw the same shades of purple that melted from the heavens: a farce of their sky. Oscar shrugged and equipped his glove once more. "We should keep moving. Which direction feels 'right' to you?"

howard slayte

As Temp recoiled from Oscar's slap, the beast's faculties seemed to return. Good thing too, it would be a horrific tragedy if Oscar had to resort to killing a brainwashed Temp. Not to mention embarrassing for Mister Quinn.

Oscar responded to Temp's surprise with a sigh of relief. "You did the thing. How you described I looked--that was you just now." By now Oscar was also noticing how impossible their odds were, with every defeated Marshadow being replaced as quickly as they faded. There was no doubt in Oscar's mind: the Border had an unlimited supply of these foot-soldiers to throw at them.

Oscar peered frantically at his reader, letting out a pained groan as he saw how close they were to being done. "We've easily got another minutes before this thing can gather enough worthwhile data, how are we going to survive until then?" Oscar looked up, a shiver running down his spine as he could swear the sky was getting darker. "And how the fuck do we get out of here when we do!?"

Tempest Quinn

Oscar was able to 'read the room', so to speak, and dial down his excitement. He had dreamed of being able to explore the Distortion World, and now happenstance would finally provide him with the opportunity to do so. Yet there was much to be done and many questions to answer. What brought them here, and for what purpose? Howard said his Regirock had been pulled back into this distorted prison, why? There was just so much to consider that it made Oscar's head spin.

Oscar's struggle to land on a singular subject was fairly obvious, his face twisting into a multitude of expressions as he curated every mystery that ran through his mind. Eventually he would put out his hands, as if commanding his mind to cease its chatter. Oscar took a deep breath, "Let's take this one step at a time."

Oscar pressed one of his thumbs into his chin and began thinking out loud. "There's no way to know what brought us here and why, at least not yet. We should locate Regirock, perhaps whatever its doing here will provide us with a clue on what's going on." Oscar peered over at the lounging admin, "I can't help but wonder though, why am I here? You make sense, you're Regirock's master. Where do I come in?"

Oscar felt a shiver down his spine, as well as the abstract feeling of being watched. Yet as he slowly turned to examine their surroundings, he would find nothing but distorted landscapes hanging in the void. "What a peculiar place."

howard slayte

Oscar remembered the Ultra Deep Sea, nodding solemnly at its mention. "The battle against the League there--it was not a time I look back upon fondly." Oscar pressed a finger into his chin, trying his best to listen to Naomi's lecture without freaking out about the very sudden and new-to-him revelation that the Ultra Deep Sea was Eternatus itself. Why did nobody tell him this stuff, this was huge news! Literally.

His gloved finger dug further into his chin, an active effort to silence his screaming thoughts and focus on the task at hand. Once Naomi finished, Oscar would nod sagely and look back toward the power spot. "So--Tera Crystals are the key to controlling Dynenergy. Intriguing." Oscar had long sought a way to contain Dynenergy for his own use, with nothing being able to come close to restricting its power. If he could build a chamber out of Tera Crystals--would he be able to ensnare Dynenergy within its walls?

Oscar looked back toward Naomi. "Terribly sorry for this request, but would you be willing to demonstrate the Dynamax phenomenon? A visual of the process would be very helpful..." Oscar's eyes were coy, a smile draping across his face as he kept his thoughts thus far to himself.

Naomi Sato

Oscar's eyes drifted toward the familiar red blur of the Eternal Floette, smiling as he heard Alba's soothing reprimands. Oscar twirled around to face his compatriot, extending a hand toward the hobbling scientist. Oscar was taken aback by his appearance, not because his limp but rather because he was far prettier than Oscar expected. It was distracting, but nothing Oscar could not work past.

Oscar smiled warmly, "You must be Alba! I am thrilled to finally put a name to a face, I've heard so much about you." Oscar folded his arms, notably not correcting Alba on labeling Oscar as a 'doctor'. Oscar did not have a doctorate, but hearing 'Dr. Clayton' filled him with such glee that he could not bear to fix the misconstrued title.

"I'm so pleased you agreed to meet with me, I have a project that you would be perfect for!" Oscar gestured toward his poke-pod, a small glass dome surrounded by countless cables and wires. "Behold the poke-pod, a portable Infinity Energy extractor. With it I plan on restoring power to this Petalburg suburb, a noble effort I should think."

Oscar leaned forward, "But first I want to check in on you. How was the journey over, comfortable I hope?"

Alba Evovae

Oscar dragged his pencil across several written notes, scratching them out as he shook his head. "No no..." He mumbled as he turned his journal to a new page. "That won't work, the wiring would be too messy." He had been planning out his next project, walking at a snail's pace down the laboratory halls toward his own workspace. By now he had revised and scratched through several pages worth of notes, unsatisfied with any of his initial ideas.

"A machine of this size will need way more organization--but then where are all these wires going to go?"

Oscar's musings would be paused by a commotion behind him. Someone apologized for nearly bumping into him, and Oscar would huff before slowly turning around. "It's no trouble, I was walking too--" Oscar's eyes widened as he looked upon the unmistakable face of his nemesis, his blood running cold as he dropped his pencil and journal. "Slow..."

Oscar stood there for several moments, his hands shaking as he tried to process what he was looking at. What was he doing here? Was he invading the sub? A suicide mission on behalf of the League? Oscar would be more than happy to hurry him along...

Wait--no there was something else. THEO BECKETT had sent a memo to certain the Rocket higher ups and certain personnel: he had managed to brainwash Kingsman into a Rocket asset. At the time Oscar had blown that off as a prank, there was simply no way he could be so lucky. Then again, Theo is not the pranking type. That should have been his first clue that Theo may have been telling the truth...

Oscar loudly gulped down saliva as he stared blankly toward the man he hated most. Razz was no longer an enemy though, he was an ally that Oscar needed to treat as any other comrade. Could he look past his hatred?

Oscar attempted to smile, his lips slowly curling into a mix between a scowl and a frown. "Ah--hello there. You must be--the one Theo mentioned." Oscar looked down, realizing he had dropped his pen and journal. "Opps--" The scientist said in the same tone one might use for a eulogy. "Looks like we're both clumsy." Oscar slowly bent down to pick up his materials, keeping his eyes locked on Razz all the while.