Real? That thing was an actual pokemon? "Oh..." Was all Oscar could manage as he stared up at the sky, unsure if he wanted one or never wanted to encounter it again. Lulu's scatterbang broke his trance, causing him to yelp in surprise. "Fuckin', warn me next time! We're in a battle zone!"

Oscar's surprise melted away as Darkrai made itself known, the silly crown on its head from terastallizing doing nothing to hinder its intimidating aura. Oscar sheepishly kicked the ground as he tried not to make eye contact, "I--was just surprised is all. She can throw as many of those as she wants. Don't mind me."

Luckily for them Lulu agreed that it was time to leave. Oscar was set to follow behind her when the researcher suddenly froze. Oscar peered over, trying to grasp what the hold up was, but before he could ask Lulu would crouch down and start playing with rocks. "Ummm..." Oscar was not sure what she possibly could be doing, that is until he stepped forward and saw a hallucination of his own.

He was suddenly looking down a dock, a rather high quality sailboat waiting for him at the end. The boat bobbed softly in the water, reflecting a perfect sunrise in the distance. On the deck of the boat was a familiar young man; white hair, red eyes, pale skin, but a far more muscular figure than Oscar. A kinder face too. The man looked up, giving Oscar a smile that filled him with nostalgia. "Hey bro, you comin' or what?"

Oscar abruptly slapped himself, an almost instinctive maneuver that allowed him to escape the illusion. He was back within the bleakness of the Ultra Deep Sea, which almost seemed welcoming compared to the nightmare he just escaped. Oscar shivered, now fully understanding what was happening to Lulu. Hopefully he vision was not nearly as horrifically wholesome.

He walked over to Lulu's side, leaning down to gently shake her shoulder. "Lulu it's not real. The mist is tricking you."

Lulu Flint

Oscar looked a lot less graceful than the Mad Dog of Rocket, sitting cross legged on top of his xurkitree as it carried a heavy load of supply crates. Its idle slow spin as it floated did nothing to help, but it at the very least allowed Oscar to keep an eye on their surroundings (Magnet Rise). Oscar had not been very talkative since their journey began, he was not really sure what to say. He had never met Dorian until now, and the stories he heard made Oscar hesitant to engage in conversation.

But it was a long flight across the Ultra Deep Sea so he might as well try! After all, maybe Dorian was more affable than what his reputation would lead you to believe. Oscar reached under his mask to scratch his chin, causing his real voice to mix with his digitized one as he asked Dorian a simple question.

"Hey so um--how's it goin' today?"

dorian westcliff

The first line of defense had begun its effort to repel the invaders as Oscar approached the front-line. It was an impressive setup, though with the League mob setting up Protect shields to push behind he wondered how long they could hold them back. A man with an electronic mask approached Oscar, and for a moment he had forgotten that he had helped mint frost with this very disguise.

Oscar reeled back his neck as he recalled, chuckling as he pulled a pokeball off of his belt. "Shit I nearly didn't recognize you. I'm here on break, or I was supposed to be. Got the shit kicked out of me for several hours." Mint asked if he was alright, and Oscar could not decide how to answer him. Eventually he just shrugged, "Eh I'm alright, ask me again once this shit is over."

Oscar pushed up and threw out his chosen ball, unleashing his Shadow Nidoqueen: Desolence. Oscar clapped his hands together, "Send some earth under their shields!" Desolence roared, smashing one of her fists into the ground. Shock waves radiated from her position, crawling across the earth and erupting with magma within the enemy ranks (Earth Power). That should keep them busy for a moment longer.

Oscar was fine with handling some inventory for a while. He had just finished his break, having gotten a solid thirty minutes of sleep before heading back into the Ultra Deep Sea. After all of the horrific events he went through during the first half of this campaign, the head scientist was thankful to do something a bit more passive.

He had two assistants, one being his dear friend priam conrad and the other being his very own Navitas the Xurkitree. Oscar had assigned Navitas to sort through the supplies and put them in the correct crates. The Ultra Beast's many limbs made the job a lot more efficient then if it were just Oscar doing it. Unfortunately it was anything but hands off, as Navitas's alien brain could not differentiate the items and kept putting them in the wrong crates.

Oscar was correcting such a mistake as Priam approached, "Hey hey no! That's the fifth time you put a potion in the pokeball crate, c'mon you know what shapes are!" Priam's greeting drew Oscar's attention, just in time for Navitas to place several jars of ointment in the weapons box. Oscar's face lit up, it was always a good day when Priam was around. To his question Oscar tilted his head and frowned, "Nope but I've had them thrown at me a few times today. What's up bud, how's the war effort been?"

Oscar nodded confidently, overjoyed by Kaname's investment. "I think you're on the right track, but the resistors are gonna be so small that I think we will be fine with just magnemites. However, you have reminded me of something very important." Oscar rubbed his chin, staring intently at the liquefied steel type. "I don't have any molds to make resistors with."

Oscar paused for a long time, looking as though he had short circuited or ceased functioning. He abruptly clapped his hands together, "Fuck it! I'll wing it. How hard can it be?" Oscar ran over to a nearby workbench and grabbed a slab of graphite. Using an etching tool, he began to freehand some resistor shaped molds. Small little compartments that can hopefully make enough to at least finish the pokemon center machine.

They were not perfect, in fact one might say that they were a little shabby. But Oscar just shrugged and gave Kaname a smile, "I think it's gonna give them a lot of character!" Oscar ran back to the forge and grabbed a pair of giant tongs. He carefully removed the bowl, now filled with orange molten metal, and turned toward Kaname.

"Okay steady the molds and don't flinch."

Kaname Fujihara

Oscar's eyes flared as the stranger grabbed him by the sleeve and pulled him behind a rock. This fucker was lucky that Oscar weighed less than a balloon, otherwise he would be in for a trouncing! As Oscar was pulled to his knees, he angrily leered at the assertive man.

"The fuck are you--" Oscar was cut off as the man held a finger to his lips, the universal request to shut the fuck up. Oscar furrowed his brows, still angry but willing to see what was going down. He carefully peeked over the rock formation, curious about what the man saw that Oscar did not.

At first all he saw was Porygon z, obliviously absorbing as much Interdream Data as possible. Or perhaps it was aware and just did not care about the incoming danger. Said danger finally showed itself, and what Oscar saw made him tense up with terror. It was a squad of police officers, fully decked out in riot gear and carefully searching the area. Their leader was the only one without his helmet, showing clear as day what Oscar was up against. A ghost of his past, Captain John Yahrnam--the very same bastard that shut down Oscar's smuggling operations in Alola.

He had followed him all the way out here? How did he know Oscar had fled to Hoenn? How did he know that Oscar was at Mt. Chimney? Actually--the more questions Oscar asked the more he began to understand what was really happening. The tipping point was when he realized that Captain Yahrnam had died last year; he remembered because Oscar had flow out to Alola to dance on his grave. That was a good trip. But if Yahrnam was dead, who was this guy?

Oscar began to suspect that the Interdream mist was doing what it does best, preying upon Oscar's memories and fears to create some sort of illusion. Lulu had warned him about this nonsense and he fell for it anyway, he felt so very foolish. Yet there was only one way to be sure, if he confronted the illusions and nothing happens then surely they would disappear. Without speaking of his plan, Oscar began moving away from the safety of the rock...

Mage Maddox

That was a close call. Oscar was inches away from death multiple times within the past hour alone, but at last he had crossed over into the Rocket camp outside of the Ultra Sea Portal. You know which once, yeah that one. The one You know. Battered and bruised, Oscar was looking forward to a little rest before heading back into the fight, but unfortunately fate had other ideas.

The camp was in a frenzy, grunts were running about trying to make anything they could into a weapon. Oscar tilted his head as he removed his skull mask, scowling as he tried to read the situation. He could not decipher the panic though, so he grabbed a random grunt by the shoulder and yanked them toward him. "Where's the fire?"

The grunt gulped, his eyes wide with mounting fear. "Not a fire, we're under attack! A big League mob is on their way!" Oscar furrowed his brows, "It's just an expression--whatever go do your thing." He let go of the grunt, who quickly ran off to do something surely important. Oscar cracked his neck, sighing heavily as he donned his mask once more. He would not be getting any rest until this was resolved, so he might as well resolve it himself. Without further delay, he would set off toward the front of the camp.

mint frost

War was hell, this was nothing new. Oscar had seen his fair share of battle campaigns, and yet this one in the Ultra Sea managed to top them all in terms of hardship. He had been put through the ringer in a very small amount of time, prompting the otherwise optimistic scientist to take on a more jaded demeanor. Yet even with all he had faced, Oscar knew he could not slow down. Not until this fight was over.

Oscar was heading back to the portal. His outfit was torn up and the mask hiding his identity was degrading more and more with every trial. He had to suit up, get some rest, and head back in to continue his role in the fight. Oscar could not have been more eager to reach Rocket's camp on the other side of the portal, and while he believed nothing would be able to slow him down he would soon come upon something that would do just that.

It was a dead ranger, just laying there on the path. It was not clear how they died, but there was a lot of blood on their uniform. It was an initially shocking discovery, but Oscar got over it within seconds. Bodies are not exactly uncommon in the middle of a battlefield. As he stepped forward to move past the corpse though, a noise would catch his attention. There was a voice coming from their head--small and barely coherent. Oscar leaned down, and quickly realized that the voice was coming from the ranger's earpiece.

Oscar could not resist, he really tried to but it was like fighting against a roaring current. He quickly took the earpiece out of the ranger and held it up to his own ears. He could now hear the voice very clearly, "Hello? Is anyone on this frequency? We need help!" Oscar smiled, adjusting the earpiece as he continued his journey forward. Pressing into the earpiece, he would hold back a chuckle as he spoke.

"Hey I hear you loud and clear, what's your situation?"

Raziel Beckett

Oscar's eyes shot open, the harsh air of the Ultra Deep Sea burning his throat as he began hyperventilating. He pushed himself into a sitting position, panic setting in as he struggled to remember how he got here. It was only when he stopped looking for answers that he would be able to slowly calm himself. Oscar breathed deeply, ignoring his sore throat in favor of slowing his heart rate. Now that he was stabilizing, perhaps he could actually think on what had happened.

The last thing he remembered was aiding Lulu Flint in gathering Interdream data. Something went wrong; he recalled a blinding light--and then he woke up. Where was Lulu? She was nowhere to be found, causing Oscar to become nervous once more. That feeling of weariness turned into dread once he realized that his mask was off. How long had his face been exposed?

Luckily he would locate it nearby, just out of reach from where he sat. It was a good excuse to get him to his feet so he could retrieve it. His steps were wobbly and standing gave him a head rush, but he did not seem otherwise impaired. He picked up the mask and held it in his hand, deciding not to worry if anyone had seen him or not. For now he needed to focus on finding Lulu.

He staggered forward, following a small incline to a clearing surrounded by Tera Crystals. Someone stood in its center, and after his eyes adjusted Oscar would smile as he recognized the highlighted hair of an ally. "Rowan!" He called out, speed walking toward his comrade. "Thank fuck, I can't find Lulu anywhere. Have you seen her?"

Rowan Wrynn

Good, the attack missed. Plus they got the duo's attention, which maybe was not so great because the both of them came out swinging. An artificial sun was summoned, momentarily dazing Oscar as the unexpected heat nearly boiled him within his suit. If that were not bad enough, Remiel had summoned an Earthquake to decimate the very cliff Oscar and Naomi were standing upon. A rude greeting to be certain.

Oscar leapt from the cliff, his digitized voice ringing out a command to Genesect. "Catch me catch me catch me!" Genesect leapt as well, transforming into its compact Hover Form to catch Oscar in mid-air (Magnet Rise). Oscar slammed onto Genesect's back, quickly pulling himself up so that he could strike a menacing pose before he was noticed by the enemy. As Genesect slowly hovered downward, Oscar would catch a glimpse of Nomi tumbling down the collapsing cliff side. Normally this would make him nervous, but come on this was Nomi. She would be fiiiiine.

Oscar emerged dramatically from the dust cloud created by the cliff's destruction, hovering in clear view of the League duo. From here he would fold his arms, a digitized laugh echoing across the cave. "Well well, if it isn't Remiel the traitor. I bet you pissed yourself with glee when you got this chance to fuck over your former friends huh? Well let's see how you do against me; I, Agent Skull, challenge you!"

Agent Skull was an old ass moniker that Oscar did not use much any more, but Remiel would surely recognize it. Perhaps then he would know that it was Oscar he would be facing.

Remiel Calcifet Naomi Sato ollie morales

tl;dr
--Oscar escaped the collapsing cliff by jumping onto Genesect, who is using Magnet Rise to hover in mid-air.
--Oscar challenges Remiel directly.

MP COUNT:

10 MP for every IC post

Total: 95

"MuHAHA-hahahaaa!"

Oscar's demented cackle would sail through the air as Lancer aced the obstacle. He knew he could do it, mother fucker was a master-class flyer! The thrill of the race elated Oscar without end, and his searing laughter would follow him as he capped off the first lap! Boosts were now legal, so it was time for Oscar to prove himself as a true contender!

Oscar leaned in, his manic grin becoming somehow wider. "Lancer!" He called over the sound of rushing wind, "Agility!" Lancer took off like a shot, soaring at pace so fast that Oscar's cheeks would begin to ripple from the g-force. It was a grand trick, but it risked plastering the both of them against a wall if Oscar could not keep control.

The mad pilot's test would be coming up quickly, as a mighty Tailwind could easily send the duo off course! Luckily, they had the fat ass of MATIAS SILPH 's dragonite in front of them. If they could stay behind the chunky dragon for long enough, they would make it through this obstacle unscathed!

Speed
Endurance [C]
Reaction [C]

XWTAdWkU

Was there anything else? Oscar tapped his chin, his eyes darting around the room as he tried to think of anything else. He was drawing a blank at first, there was nothing that piqued his curiosity nor filled him with doubt. Felix was a capable leader, SPECTRA would be in good hands under his oversight.

Oscar smacked his knees in the universal gesture of, 'Whelp, this has been fun but the trail's a-callin''. He shook his head as he postured to leave, "Nope, nothing comes to mind. You seem to be on top of things so--" Oscar slacked, something popped in his head. His expression turned tense as he settled back into the chair.

"Eh--now that I think about it, I have one concern. How much of the original SPECTRA records did Remiel leave behind? I am worried that he may have taken--sensitive information on his way out."

Remiel had access to a lot of important intel that could possibly ruin the careers of certain individuals. Oscar would feel more at ease if he could tell how fucked he--I mean, these individuals are in that regard.

Felix Gallagher

Oscar had procrastinated heading into the mist. He was not sure what to expect, but if Lulu's research notes were accurate (which they always were) the Interdream mist was nothing to take lightly. With the possibility of auditory and visual hallucinations created from your own imagination, a trip through the mist could turn dicey very quickly. Luckily Oscar was pretty grounded--he uh just had to do some breathing exercises. That's all!

Lulu's Porygon Z was not nearly as reluctant, in fact it began floating toward the mist cloud without hesitation. Oscar choked on one of his inhalations as he caught the program wandering off. "Yo, stay close! Don't just fuckin' float off!" Oscar had no choice but to run after the eager pokemon, forcing him at last to dive into the mist head-on.

Oscar caught up to the digital imp pretty quickly, as it had started using its z-move: dreamweaver to begin converting the mist into data. Oscar watched as it digitized the dreamy haze, absorbing pink pixels into its body. He raised an eyebrow, having not expected the process to look so--easy. Oscar was content to stand around while the porygon z did its thing, but his attention would soon be taken by a voice behind him.

Oscar whirled around, raising his hands in a protective stance. His eyes landed on a young man with piercing eyes. His gaze was unnerving, and yet they put Oscar at ease. He slowly put his hands down, giving the man a cautious leer. Did he asked what he smelled? Oscar folded his arms, "Do you usually greet people like that? Fuckin' weird opener."

Though not that he mentioned it, Oscar was picking up a familiar aroma. He turned his nose to the air and took a deep breath, nearly gagging as the scent solidified. It was ozone, the smell of scorched air that occurred after Oscar's horrific 'Pokepod' experiments. There was another scent hiding under it. Was that--ah yes, that would be the smell left behind when he disintegrated a pokemon to extract its infinity energy. It was akin to burnt roadkill. Unwilling to share these details, Oscar gave the man an unassuming look and decided to lie.

"I smell fresh charcoal, must be getting a draft from Mt. Chimney."

Mage Maddox