Oscar was satisfied. He did not expect Howard to ever switch to Oscar's way of thinking, and as fun as to would be to debate preservation versus progress Oscar did not need that either. A simple compromise was good enough, an open door to a new opportunity. A chance to learn and discover.

Oscar nodded, smiling as he looked Howard in the eye. "Deal. Clean and easy. I'll make sure your suit is repaired by the end of the week. I should have an idea for the playdate by then." Oscar turned back toward Genesect before abruptly snapping his fingers and swinging back toward Howard. "Shit speaking of playdates I wanted to take you somewhere."

Oscar had been so fixated on the tension between him and Howard that he had nearly forgotten about an idea he had for a fun outing. A small way to bond as compatriots over a possible shared interest. "Tell me Howard, what do you know about Charjabug racing?"

howard slayte

Prime was ecstatic. To witness its fellow Genesect claim an identity of its own provided something resembling jubilation, and it would not be shy about it. Prime began to chant the same few beeps over and over, cheering on the one now known as Sam so that all would know of this momentous occasion!

Oscar eventually realized that Prime was saying the same thing over and over, looking back with a perplexed expression. He had a rudimentary understanding of the bizarre 'code' language Prime invented to communicate, only enough to understand simple words or phrases. As he translated Prime's rhythmic beeping in his head, he could not help but think that his cyborg sidekick might be suffering from some sort of software error.

Oscar looked to Lulu, "For some reason Prime seems to be fixated on the name Sam. Anything you might know about that?"

Lulu Flint

Oscar felt--odd about the chains he found within the tower. The dream had been void of their influence, yet here they thrived. It was more repulsive here, more disturbing. As if the chains had concentrated all if its corruption here in order to contain Azelf.

Oscar left feeling hopeless, but that dread would be short lived. Azelf had shared knowledge with certain prisoners, and that knowledge was relayed to everyone within the dream. It was not much to work with--but it was something. All they had to do was clear the way.

It was now or never.

Oscar woke up alongside Navy, and even though they had not communicated within the dream he knew exactly what they had to do. It was a gut instinct, an inate desire to break free from these chains. He helped Navy to their work station, and began working as usual. However, he did not have to tend to his pointless duties for long.

Like the rest of his fellow prisoners, Oscar felt the warmth of control. His longing to escape this place mixed with his longing for what he had seen through the eyes of the mask. He wanted to dominate, not submit.

Suddenly his fellow prisoners would spring into action, wielding their chains as powerful extensions of their desires. Navy was no different, summoning forth some sort of anchoring chain gun. Oscar did as he was told and stayed close to his cellmate, lifting his own chain with refreshing ease.

His body boiled with the intense desire to reclaim his freedom, and he would instinctfully cast out his chain like a long lure. His chain would split into several segments, latching onto guards that Navy's gun otherwise missed. Oscar attempted to force his will upon them, to get them to turn on their allies and attack the warden. Yet the power of their chains outweighed Oscar's will, and they simply struggled against his tethers.

That was when Oscar spotted THEO BECKETT , who had tethers of his own reaching for him. Oscar inched himself around Navy, reaching with a fully extended arm for Theo's chains. He barely managed to grasp one, and welcomed it as it dug into his skin. Theo's chain fueled Oscar further, it was euphoric rush of pure will. A fitting allegory for Oscar's desire: Dominance through Rocket.

Would the boost from Theo be enough to turn the guards against the warden?

zxrFGWfz

Tl;dr
--Oscar stays by Navy, inching close enough to Theo to accept one of his chains to empower his own ability.
Oscar's Ability: Smaller chains latch onto guards and allow Oscar to force his will upon them. In this case, Oscar wants the guards to attack the warden.

Oscar half expected them to spend the next ten minutes prepping for a fight instead of actually starting, but luckily the councilwoman had gotten impatient. Just as Mint's genesect jumped into a Magnet Rise, so too would Prime transform to hover off the ground. The cyborg would swoop down, scooping up a prepared Oscar to transport him above the roaring flames.

Floating just above their previous positions, Oscar would point toward Mint to direct Prime to float toward him. His aim was to scoop up his neon compatriot to lift him above the fire, all Mint had to do was not resist. Oscar would quip as he got near, "Need a lift?" before tucking his arms under Mint's.

What Mint was probably not expecting was what Oscar would say next. "Alright I'm gonna throw you." Before Mint could object, Oscar would use Prime's momentum to chuck Mint toward Remiel.

Remiel Calcifet, freya morningstar, mint frost
tl;dr
--Genesect used Magnet Rise.
--With Genesect's help, Oscar tries to raise Mint above the fire.
--Oscar tosses Mint at Remiel.

• player/ooc name: Hollow
• character tags: oscar clayton , August Colgan , Ambrose Hendrix
• dropped characters' tags (if applicable): N/A
• ic posts for characters: Oscar Ambrose August is exempt
• are characters in directories?: Y
• any notes/comments: So this is wild, but I just realized that I am coming up on my 4th year anniversary. 4 years writing on Hoenn! That's wild to me, especially since in the past I'd usually lose interest in a site after a few months. I guess I am just in love with the community and setting. Thanks for a great 4 years pals o/

The morning brought Oscar to his breaking point. After a frantic breakfast of Mochi, Navy was called upon by their warden. Oscar tried to help him over, but the warden had other plans. The great bird flung pheromones into Oscar's face, forcing a feeling of reverence to constrict his brain. He dropped Navy instantly, with the knowledge that it would please their glorious master leaving a warm feeling in Oscar's stomach.

That warm feeling faded as Navy was forced to play a fool in front of the entire ward. Oscar felt remorse for contributing to the man's suffering, even if it was against his will. Yet he could not express it, the collars would not allow such negativity during the 'laughing hour'. Oscar was forced to laugh, like a virus would force him to cough. His eyes rolled to the back of his head as he struggled against the words and chortles that wretched from his lips. He had no control here, and he doubt he would have any control again. Except for in...

Oscar's days were numb, following the routine forced upon him so that he may sleep peacefully. He had initially written off the dream, yet its consistency became the one thing that kept Oscar from shutting down completely. At least here he had control over his thoughts and desires. There was nothing he could really do here, but just being able to think for himself was worth the day's struggles.

Oscar mostly hung out with priam conrad , who seemed concerned about that mark on his arm. Oscar had always thought it was a tattoo or something, he did not know that it had actual significance. They would visit the Ultra Tower often, looking up to try and catch a glimpse of Azelf. When he had first seen it during their first night, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him. Yet multiple prisoners had claimed the same vision from within the dream, including Priam.

"There has to be a way inside." Oscar said to Priam during one night's excursion. "Maybe we can have tea with it or something." Oscar still was not convinced that this dream was real, but having something to work toward would give dreaming further purpose. He would need purpose if he was to survive.

D0OnD3K3

tl;dr
--All this despair causes Oscar to go into auto pilot.
--In the dream, Oscar hangs out with Priam.
--Oscar searches for a way to get inside of the Ultra Tower.

Oscar heard Howard out, refusing to break eye contact the entire time. Not due to any sense of common courtesy, but rather due to a fixation with Howard's eye. It was just--so fiery. A bright spark like a blazing star, a clear measure of Howard's passion. Oscar admired it, and yet at the same time found it exhausting.

It was the passion of a man that was set in his ideals, cemented in his world view so tightly that the world would need to quake to change his mind. It was the very same passion that gripped Oscar's heart when it came to progress, a classic immovable object meeting an unstoppable force. As Howard winded down, Oscar could not help but reflect on their similarities and laugh.

He leaned back, high spirits replacing his momentary bitterness. "I'm not mocking you or anything, it's just funny how similar we are. Yet, we're complete fucking opposites. We're a couple of locked magnemites, you and I." The thought of it made Oscar laugh again, because it was just too amusing! Such was the splendor of life, that he would find such an attachment to someone so infuriatingly different than himself.

Oscar managed to regain his composure and relayed a proper response. "I respect you Howard. Fuck, I'd even dare to say I like ya. In that spirit, I won't push you too hard on your convictions. Today." He gave Howard a sneer, as he expected to have his own world view pushed as well. After all, was that not the thrill of keeping around someone so fiercely different?

"Though if you don't at least try to train Regice, you're not gonna get as much utility out of it. At the very least, to understand its limitations. If it's a tool then it's a tool, but what good is a tool if it doesn't perform how you expect it to. So what I suggest..." Oscar rolled his tongue into his cheek, expecting an amusing reaction from his compatriot. "Is a play date. Let's have Genesect and Regice meet up and--exchange notes, if you will. I have a sneaking suspicion that they can find a way to communicate."

howard slayte

Oscar did not look at Navy. Maybe it was scorn, maybe it was shame, but he could not bear looking at the man. He sat himself down at the desk and sighed, "It's--no problem. Not like you asked to be--as you are. Besides, none of us deserve this." Oscar laid his head down onto the desk, chuckling at the thought that crossed his mind. "Actually, maybe some of us do." He chuckled hoarsely, thinking of all the terrible things he had done over the years.

Eh, he still did not think he deserved to be here.

Oscar heaved as he tried to find a comfortable position in this damn chair. "You have the cot of course. Get some sleep." Oscar stared forward, and would continue to stare until his toxic thought loops forced him to sleep.

Navy

Oscar's eyes opened slowly, blinking rapidly as neon lights attempted to blind him. He sat up, arms slack as he took in his new surroundings. The last thing he remembered was--sleeping? Or at least falling asleep. Was this a dream? It must have been, because Oscar was once again well dressed and free of his recently inflicted wounds. And---

Oscar clasped his throat, realizing that the toxic chain was gone. He was excited for a moment, until he remembered that this was a dream and it did not matter. Oscar deflated, slowly standing up as he tried to make sense of what was happening around him. Sense could not be found; he seemed to be within a Megalopolan city. Only instead of the ruined hellscape he had explored with fern delaney, it was the beautiful utopia from its prime.

So yeah, must have been a dream. None of this should look as nice as it does. Oscar suddenly felt detached, unable to consciously attach himself to this delusion. He got up and began to wander, barely registering the friendly faces he passed by. Especially the megalopolans, they might as well had been shades. Oscar probably would have wandered aimlessly until he woke up, doing nothing of value with his time within the dreamscape. Until...

Oscar heard someone calling his name, and out of curiosity he would follow the voice. Eventually he would come upon priam conrad, or at least a shade resembling Priam. Oscar decided to approach, smiling as he slunk up from behind. "Mister Oscar? What am I your fuckin' teacher?" Oscar decided to follow Priam around, stopping where he stopped and listening to his conversations. It almost made this dream enjoyable, just wandering an illusion with his best friend. It was a feeling he missed.

Eventually they were joined by the shade of jayden cross, and the trio would go from place to place seeing what they could see. Oscar pointed out a particularly large tower in the distance once it had came into view, "That big dick looking one is supposed to be a fake sun. But, I think it's off."

tl;dr
--Oscar plays tourist with priam conrad and jayden cross.
--Megalopolan Towers look a little like dicks.

Oscar's soft expression quickly hardened, his eyes seamlessly morphing from a neutral gaze into a heated leer. "Mistake..." He repeated quietly, his shoulders tensing as he tried to control his impulses. He let out a shaky breath, trying not to lose his temper on Howard for his--ignorance. Oscar grinned his teeth as his mouth forced itself into a smile. "Mistake..." He repeated, struggling not to say anything further that he my regret.

He let out another breath, harsher than the last but more effective at keeping him calm. Finally he felt like he could keep control over his words, though his tone still sounded rife with restrained frustration. "I'm not so naive as to believe that Genesect is capable of love, or any feelings for that matter. Its ability to remember what its like though, despite any memory that it was alive at all being wiped from its mind, is invaluable to the field of artificial intelligence."

Oscar jerked his head to the side, his eyes twitching as he struggled to maintain his composure. "You have within your possession, what very well could be the first artificial intelligence--created by what might as well be neanderthals--and you don't want to teach it? To study it and watch it learn? To explore the extent of its ability to grow beyond its nature as a glorified husk? That's--that's--"

Idiotic? Insane? Maddening? Oscar held his tongue and let out a smooth sigh. His heart rate began to normalize as his calm demeanor gradually returned. His face softened as he finished his thought. "Disappointing." He let the word hang before continuing the conversation, "I understand that you do not find such pursuits to be valuable. That's alright, I don't blame you. But at the very least Regice needs to be trained to behave how you want it to behave. Once again, I offer my expertise to that effort should you need it."

Oscar sat himself back down, grabbing his goggles and carefully strapping them back to his head. "Or you could do nothing and let this happen all over again. Whatever makes you feel the most comfortable."

howard slayte

From the showers to his cell, Oscar had blankly stared. His mind was awash with thoughts, yet looking at his broken expression might convince you otherwise. His inner musings were a storm of clashing negativity. 'You're not enough. You're nothing without the chain. Nobody trusts you. Nobody should trust you. You should kill Navy, redeem yourself. You're a worm in the dirt. Kill Navy. Nothing you do will ever matter. KILL NAVY.'

He only broke out of his daze when he realized that mochi had been delivered to their cell. Oscar suddenly brightened up, grabbing two of the peachy globs and feverishly consuming them. The mochi was the key to everything, it had to be. Why else would his chain react to it as the cold morsels passed through his throat. The more mochi he ate, the closer he would get to the future he desired.

Yet he had to share his serving with his cellmate, and as Oscar realized this he would stare at the feeble Navy with placid eyes. It was like watching a helpless creature try to survive on its own, a fawn without a mother. It would be so easy to wrong his--Oscar shook his head, he had no reason to think of such things.

Yet he could not help but resent Navy, defending him made Oscar look weak. Not just to the warden, but to his fellow Rockets as well. He had to redeem himself somehow--make his blunder worthwhile. But how?

Eventually, Oscar forced out a question. "How are you feeling?"

Navy

Poor Oscar was too embarrassed to look Mint in the eyes as he approached to help him. Like a prideful child he would just pout and look away, hoping that it would all resolve itself on its own. "I'm fine I just fell on my--"

Oscar tensed up as Mint touched the back of his head, asking him if he could still see straight. He had not hit his head at all, but the gentle pressure of Mint's hand was too comforting to reject. Oscar made the mistake of locking eyes with Mint, briefly getting lost in his emerald gaze. Oscar's agitation slowly melted away, replaced with the annoyance of being charmed by a pretty face.

He tried to play it off. "Yeah I'm fine. I see fine. I feel fine. I'm fine." Oscar carefully pushed himself to his feet, wobbling slightly as his boots struggled to readjust to the ice. "I've got bruised in worse places, I'll just sit on ice when I get home."

Oscar teetered forward before finally settling into a confident stride. The ice smoothed out the further in they went, almost as if it were turning into stone. Their surroundings began to crystalize, the cave surfaces being smothered by frost. It would be pretty if Oscar were not focused on looking for the bird. Oscar shuttered as the chill became more biting. "H-how much further sh-should we go i-i-in, do you think?"

Oscar was trying to not appear cold, but his body's trembling betrayed such a notion.

mint frost

Oscar put a hand up to his cheek, lightly tapping his sunken skin as he took in what Howard said. His assumptions were more or less correct, but Oscar understood where Howard was coming from. It was an Honest mistake from a man that does not know any better, how could Oscar fault him for that. Oscar thought back on all of the angry thoughts he had been repressing, and after hearing Howard speak they almost seemed childish. It caused Oscar to chuckle and shake his head, even now he had growing up to do.

"Oh Howard, it's so much more than that." Oscar stood up and tapped on Genesect's lifeless body. "Genesect was designed to be a killing machine. It was only supposed to think about the best way to take out its targets and nothing more. Yet despite our best efforts, it retained the memory of its past emotions. Through that slightest of tethers, I was able to train it to think beyond its programming. It's learned so much, just from spending time with its trainer."

Oscar raised his hand palm-up and pointed at Howard, "Genesect had to be taught though. Regice may be a machine, but it's still a pokemon. It needs to actually learn new behaviors, like trusting trainers other than its own. That I can help you with."

Oscar leaned against the opperating table, crossing his arms before sighing deeply. "As for the power source, we might be up shit creek. For all I know that thing might as well run on magic."

howard slayte