"No no no!"

Oscar kept running, the twisting land-bridge stretching on endlessly. His panic only intensified as an unfamiliar chill penetrated his suit and prickled the back of his neck. Oscar's eyes bugged, and his legs began moving into overdrive as he desperately tried to run faster.

"No no no no no!"

No matter how hard he ran, Oscar could not evade the chill. Yet even with his supposed pursuer being so close, Oscar would continue to push forward. He would not look back, he would not look what haunted him in the face. He would not dare! His terror would not let him!

As the chase persisted, unseen voices would once again taunt him from every angle.

"Murderer..."

"Shut up!"

"Heartless..."

"SHUT UP!"

The voices would not cease, no matter how much Oscar pleaded. With no end in sight, tears began to stream down Oscar's crimson cheeks.

"TEMP I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!"

Tempest Quinn

Sentience? Was it sentience that determined its decision or simply its programming? Prime was created to destroy all forms of Shadow pokemon, Oscar trying to turn it into one was surely a defilement of its original purpose.

It was no use, Oscar could jump through mental hoops all day and it would not change the facts. Oscar betrayed Prime's trust, and that was why it left. Perhaps if he did not encourage its individuality, it would have simply followed orders and Oscar would not be in this position. Then again, cultivating Prime's sense of self is what originally endeared the creature to him. All things considered, he would not have had it any other way.

Oscar continued to aggressively salvage the fallen Genesect, pausing only when Howard mentioned his own troubles. Oscar turned his head, raising an eyebrow as if he had only now realized that Howard looked any different. "Oh yeah, um--" Oscar gave him a once over, trying his best to hide his--'fascination' with Howard's new body.

"How's that whole thing going?"

howard slayte

Howard had an innate charm that Oscar found endearing. Even when he said things that made Oscar want to pile drive him through the hospital bed, the man could not help but be likable. Oscar smiled, knocking the edge of the bed with his knuckle. "I'm glad you're alright. Get well soon, work will be a drag without you."

Oscar gave one last wave before exiting Howard's room, letting out a deep breath as he decompressed from the social activity. He informed the nurses that Howard was awake and probably needed medication before departing for home. On the way, Oscar rolled several candidates for synchronization in his mind. Boris, Grievous, Mustakrakish, Lancer, all of them were powerful soldiers that have served Oscar well. He cared for them deeply, but was their bond strong enough?

As Oscar arrived at his apartment and sat at his desk, he continued his considerations. Yet no one seemed capable, at least without a great deal of effort. Maybe he should just forego a Sygna Suit entirely. He has made it just fine without one after all, which fix what was not broken? No, it had to be done. The benefits were to numerous to ignore, a better quality of life would make it all worth it. But who would be his partner pokemon?

As Oscar stressed over what to do, the black dewpider Clavis would crawl out to comfort his master. Clavis had been Oscar's loyal pet since his days in Alola, the last living of the three original pokemon Oscar had brought with him to Hoenn. As the spider crawled upon Oscar's shoulder, he would chuckle and lightly rub the creature's bubble helmet. Clavis was not much of a fighter, so Oscar has had to leave the tyke at home. But as he stared into the spider's smiling face, he could not help but consider a daring idea.

"Clavis, how would you like to get back in the field?"

howard slayte

Temp's words cut out, and as Oscar looked his way he would find nothing but air. Oscar turned around, as if expecting Temp to have suddenly fallen behind at some point during their walk. When failed to locate him then, Oscar began swinging around frantically. Temp was nowhere to be found, and Oscar could not help but begin to panic.

"Temp?" Oscar whimpered, desperately hoping that just saying his name would summon his companion. A lack of results sharpened Oscar's tone, "TEMP!?" Still nothing, and it suddenly dawned on Oscar how horrible his situation was. He was alone--in the land of the dead. Oscar reluctantly peered downward at his EMP reader, his hands beginning to shake as he saw the meters spiking wildly.

"Oh fuck..."

He ran. He did not know where he was going, but he could not think of anything else. He ran and ran, unknowingly further into the bowels of The Border.

Tempest Quinn

"Yeah..."

Oscar trailed off, trying not to think about how he had been unable to locate Prime. He had to remain in the moment, though every time he tried to focus on the task at hand he would get frightened and return back to Prime. It was a cruel cycle that eventually drove Oscar to frantically latch on to anything else.

"So uhhhh what are you hoping to find today any---"

"Murderer."

Something whispered in Oscar's ear, causing him to yelp and swing around to look for its source. Yet there was nothing, he and Temp were the only beings walking this strange land. Oscar's eyes darted about as he slowly turned back toward Temp.

"Um--you didn't happen to hear that did you?"

Tempest Quinn

As the cyclone approached, Oscar looked to Fern to plan their next course of action. However, even through the murky darkness Oscar could see that the admin was already gone. Oscar swung his head toward Navitas, "Where did he go!?" Navitas shrugged, and Oscar was pretty such that would be the last thing he saw before being ripped apart by an evil twister.

Luckily Fern had not abandoned Oscar, shouting to get his attention nearby. As soon as Oscar recognized the rusty fire escape, he would begin sprinting toward it. Navitas was not far behind, in fact it would overtake its master and jump to the structure first. It then extended its tendrils, wrapping around Oscar and pulling him up to safety.

Oscar flinched as the Thunder smashed into the cyclone. Oscar looked back, spotting the shape of something massive within it before the light of the lightning strike was sucked inside the storm. As Navitas and Oscar climbed the fire escape, Oscar would shout up his findings.

"Fern! Did you see!? There's something inside the cyclone!"

Prompt
05 survive a cyclone of sheer, swirling darkness that siphons all light into them and disables technology that utilizes electricity.

fern delaney

Oscar flinched as Howard yelled, his voice echoing through the makeshift workshop set up for Genesect recycling. The scientist scowled as Howard clamped onto his shoulders, reiterating things he already thought about constantly. Eventually Oscar found the space to rebuttal, shrugging off Howard's hands and spinning away from him on his swivel chair.

"I didn't fuckin' lose it! It--left." Oscar brought himself closer to his workspace, piled high with the corpses of Genesect drones. He grabbed some tools and began examining a robo-cadaver for salvageable parts. Hard conversations went by easier when he had some work to focus on.

"I don't know where it is, that much is true, but it won't be difficult to track down. It has fuckin' racing stripes for fuck sake, just give me some time. After all there's a war to fight, remember?"

Oscar pried open a Genesect carapace, aggressively pulling out parts as if shelling a Krabby. Eventually he'd try to change the subject. "How are you feeling now that the battle's done? You--went through a lot."

Bit of an understatement.

howard slayte

Oscar furrowed his brow as Howard laughed. Then the admin described his feelings as heartbreak and Oscar frowned. He did not find it as humorous, perhaps because he truly believed Prime was learning how to feel--and him along with it. In the end that was irrelevant, Prime would be unable to synchronize with him so Oscar would have to choose another.

Yet the way Howard described his partnership with Shirley made Oscar feel queasy. He had strong relationships with his pokemon, but they were all unmistakably subservient. None of them could be called his 'partner'--except maybe Prime. Oscar sighed heavily, "What a pain. I'm gonna have to bond with a pokemon and build a suit from scratch? Ugh, this is gonna take for fuckin' ever."

Oscar got up, stretching before moving around to the front of Howard's bed. "Well I'll call in the nurse to bring you some pain meds. Is there anything else you need before I go?"

howard slayte

"Heh--right." Oscar tried to stay optimistic, repeating Temp's words in his head over and over. They won't meet anything today. They were just scouting. Yet he could not help but remember when he and Lulu Flint ventured into the original ruins of New Mauville, happening upon Zapdos by complete accident. They were just scouting then too...

As they pressed on, Oscar could not get himself to relax. Without the protection of a Sygna Suit, Oscar fully felt the oppressive atmosphere of the Border. He could not help but feel as though something were watching them, waiting in the mists. Was anything really there, or was it all in Oscar's head?

Oscar kept his eyes on his device while trying to purge his anxiety with small talk. "Um--so like, remember when Prime dressed up like Zapdos and fought Thundurus? That was quirky."

Aw, now Oscar was afraid and sad.

Tempest Quinn

Oscar looked up as Zev responded, his confusion clearly visible through the glass of his ultra space helmet. "What you don't recognize it? You're covered in it buddy." Oscar looked back to the black prism, now unsure what exactly he was looking at. Perhaps it was in his head, there was no way the megalopolans could get their hands on pieces of Necrozma--was there?

The mood shifted as Zev announced that it was time to depart. Oscar heeded his order, running back to the machine and pushing as many of the boxes he could into Navitas's tendrils. Navitas wrapped its wires around the cubes, holding at least three in every limb before waddling off toward Zev. Oscar left the rest behind, looking back only once as he stepped away from the machine.

It was strange; he never noticed it before but through the wide open panels he could not help but recognize the layout of the machine's inner workings. It was very similar to the inside of his Infinity Energy Extractor--but how would that be possible? Oscar was indeed using Megalopolan technology as a reference, but to unknowingly follow their designs so closely--what could that mean?

Oscar caught up with Zev, ready to head back home. "I think we should consult a certain someone that may know more about this technology. Could you get us an audience?"

Zev Harcourt

Oscar spent a long time in the same position, staring at the ground as Rocket began their efforts to secure the city. There was nothing within him that would motivate the broken scientist to help. Oscar had become overwhelmed by his despair, bringing him to a nearly comatose state. He felt that he could turn to stone, if he wanted. Just petrify before crumbling into dust. What a fitting end for a sorry piece of shit like him.

He could only wallow within self-pity for so long before becoming bored though, so eventually he would rise and pull out an ultra ball. How long had he sat there? Long enough for his legs to fall asleep at the very least. Oscar grumbled as he opened the ball, once again releasing Robbie Rotten. He mounted his Naganadel, sighing as he tried to decide where he was supposed to go. He did not have it in him to continue working within Petalburg, so he supposed he would try to get back to the Sub.

Oscar kicked off the ground, prompting Robbie to take off. As they neared Petalburg's border, Oscar thought of the one person he wished he could have with him during this time of heartache. Possibly the only human who might understand. Oscar grabbed Robbie's head and tilted it to the left. The beast made a U-turn and headed back into the city. Oscar needed Priam.

It took him a long time, but eventually he would locate his friend working alongside Regirock. Strangely enough, howard slayte was no where to be found. He must have left the golem in Priam's care. Robbie swooped down, abruptly blocking Priam's path. Oscar clapped his hands together to get the man's attention.

"Hey, let's ditch this shithole. One time offer. Hop the fuck on."

priam conrad

Oscar was trying his best not to panic. Every step he took into this hell was like peeling back another layer of his skin, an agonizing march pure fear. Oscar had long planned on visiting The Border, but he had procrastinated due to his own--dour opinions when it came to death. Then Petalburg happened, and Oscar vowed to overcome his greatest fear to better himself--yet it took an invitation from Tempest Quinn to spur him into finally venturing into the land beyond.

It was not what he expected; a strangely beautiful landscape that defied all logic. Yet still Oscar felt afraid, shivering within his Ultra Space suit as every twitching light and shadow made him jump. He was almost grateful when Temp handed him back his EMF reader, which Oscar gladly put all of his focus into.

"Well...this device can read electric magnetic frequencies to help locate super natural activity. Within the land of the dead, it should logically bring us to the strongest signal--which is hopefully our target."

Oscar examined the meter, sighing as he read its incoming data. "We are, unfortunately, going in the right direction."

Oscar accepted Rowan's invitation, stepping forward as he grabbed for Prime's pokeball on his belt. His hand clasped empty air, and Oscar would pause as the events of Petalburg flashed through his memory. He had yet to fill Prime's place on his team. Oscar clicked his tongue, reaching for the next ball over before resuming his march into the ruins.

Oscar tried not to react as he navigated the remains of his dream, but it proved difficult to repress his rage. So much time and money laid to waste, did its newest tenant even realize how much of Oscar remained here? Perhaps that was exactly why it claimed this wreck, to feast upon the aura of despair that now encompassed this land. Oscar spat, pushing deeper into the ruin as he dismissed his lingering resentments. They would be of no use here.

Oscar stopped as they reached the hall that once led into the generator room. There was a great deal of rubble in the way, which made this the perfect time to let out Oscar's warrior of choice. He opened the ball, revealing a discolored Urshifu that went by the name of Abner. The Urshifu cracked his neck before shooting Oscar an expecting glare. No doubt the foolish human wanted him to move some furniture or perform some other trivial chore.

Oscar pointed to the debris. "Clear the way." Abner rolled his eyes but did as he was told, picking up chunks of metal and tossing them aside. As he cleared enough to peer through, Abner would catch something glowing on the other side. He looked up, just in time for a giant claw to smash through the rest of the scrap.

Abner was sent flying back, sprawling out next to his master. Oscar raised his arm, blocking the surge of dust that kicked up as the refuge went in every other direction. When the coast seemed clear, Oscar lowered his arm and came face to face with the new Zapdos. The bird glared at Oscar, bringing itself close enough to peck out one of his eyes if it wanted. Instead, it lifted its beak and tapped Oscar lightly on the head. Before Oscar could process such a bizarre gesture, the Zapdos would turn-tail and sprint deeper into the plant.

Oscar blinked, shaking his head as his face turned ten different shades of red. Was it taunting him? The nerve of this fowl! Oscar growled, running into what remained of the generator room to chase after his prey.

"Come on!" He shouted behind him as he ran. "Before it gets away!" Abner shook off delirium, his own face turning red as he ran in to make that bird pay for his humiliation.

Rowan Wrynn