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Upon hearing the designations, none of it made much sense to Sol. Or Cera or Amaranth, for that matter. The most that did was what was probably meant "Ho-oh" to Phyco and the rest with him. And ultra persistence... Sol wasn't really sure what that meant either. But if it was dealing with realities and space-time, he could make a slightly educated guess.

Cera wouldn't get any ease from Soliera's smile, it reminded her too much of the rare times Aden's mother found him being a little too rambly as a kid and didn't know how else to respond. She doubted they were ever going to buy her declaration anyway, but it was a welcome surprise to see a few others come forth in solidarity. She'd pick up on a couple being marked as a "Faller," yet another term that'd go over her and the others' heads. Aware of Monique's unusual circumstances, she'd glance at her before taking a sigh, still trying to keep herself grounded from the aftershocks of her earlier panic. "...pretty sure she didn't have much of a choice if it just happened? If that's what you mean by Faller."

Amaranth didn't need to know why Phyco mentioned Ultra Beast intrusions. Plural. While there was a big gap in memory after seeing that weird origami-looking thing, she remembered that much alongside the Buzzwole that was with Sol now. She looked over at him after Zossie's shout, almost wondering if that was on purpose. If they had designations for the few they stated, they probably had them for everyone and no doubt they were aware of what intruded if they were mentioning them... right?

The Ultra Beast remark didn't register for Sol, though, not after the time travel remark that immediately followed. Something he had slightly more intimate knowledge about than most. He and Cera looked at each other, thinking back to the final fight against Ein. The weapon that should have vaporized him and so many others, if it hadn't been for the timely rescue from Aden. A lot of deaths that, by what they implied, were supposed to happen then and there. A death even he couldn't have resurrected from. And that was only the instance he was aware of; they're saying there were more. What the hell was Aden doing out there? When he finally heard the comment on distortions, he finally was left with a question for them. "Distortions? Like what, exactly?"

During all of this, Cera looked down again, finding herself drifting closer and closer to Sol's side. 300 years, over events that she wasn't sure was caused by any fault of theirs. And the few that might be, like the recent save back in Viridian Gym, their hand was probably forced. It was that or die, and it sounded like they were being told they were supposed to die like good little boys, girls, and everything inbetween. Her hands balled into tiny fists the longer she thought about it, though it almost felt like a mercy compared to what SWIPE would do if they caught them now. "Erm. What's UB-05?" She asked, a question she couldn't stop herself from asking despite assuredly better options.

Crystal would cross her arms as she listened to Phyco and the others, resisting the urge to eyeroll at Zossie. At least the others were there to help keep her in line.

Speaking of others, Soliera’s gaze lingering on Freth concerned her. There was that whole situation with Polaris and Freth that they had going on, and seeing the older woman linger on the Galarian Articuno hybrid worried her a bit there as well. However, there was nothing to be done about that immediately. If they acted, she’d try something, but for now, there were more pressing issues at hand. Especially when Phyco mentioned that both her and Darts would have their abilities hampered. Her hand almost immediately went to her neck, remembering those damned inhibitor collars from when SWIPE first apprehended them. She didn’t want anything like that again, at least not yet. They needed to be at full strength, considering the sheer size of what they were going up against.

“I… have some thoughts. First, allow me to correct you on a few things about Monique,” Crystal would begin, celestial eyebrows furrowing. “Monique found her way here to start without my help. She was a natural Faller, not artificially pulled from her reality. She just wanted my help in retrieving her sisters who had Fallen to different other realities. Granted, even if I had pulled them from their home reality for whatever reason, I still would not allow you to sign their death warrants. But I just want the story to be correct. Also, Cera, UB-05 is the one you transformed into with only the sight of their arm back in Galar. Guzzlord, the Glutton,” she added, looking briefly to the resident Mew.

“Second, and in our mind, more immediately important,” the Solgaleo hybrid continued, bringing her attention back to the Ultra Recon Squad. Her posture would shift slightly, standing up just a little bit straighter. “I would like to request a stay of… restraint, we suppose, if we could. Putting the inhibitors on us currently would not completely end this crisis the reality faces, as we,” motioning to Darts and herself, “are not the only ones capable of manipulating and breaking through time and space currently. I recently witnessed a man calling himself Cruxias wielding an ornate staff bearing the Lustrous Orb on its top first manipulate digital data to appear how he wanted it to appear, then after giving chase, he altered a doorway to lead to an ancient temple instead, closing it before we could continue giving chase. And that’s not including a potential ally of his running through the timeways. Until this immediate crisis is resolved, we would request that Darts and I not be restrained, so that we may be able to assist unfettered and hopefully bring a better resolution to all of this.” One where everyone else survives, she thought to herself, resisting the urge to bite her lower lip. Her hands would fidget in front of her somewhat, though, as her nerves were starting to get to her. This would probably be less restrictive than the collars from SWIPE, but even then, she knew she wouldn’t like the feeling, especially if it was anything like what WHITE did. Light burn her, she did not want to have any sort of restriction on her again, not during all of this.


Aile and Kayvaan would watch as well, remaining silent about all of this Ultra this and Space-Time that. She just got caught up in it, and that was the extent of her knowledge and understanding. However, talking about adding inhibitors to two of the self stronger members of the team did raise some alarm bells for her. The woman would flex and retract the fingers of her left hand, remembering what she had in it. Silently, she'd walk up to Sub as well and place the card from Stone into his hand. "This card isn't the only thing I managed to get from Devon," she said, looking between the leader and co-leader. "Depending on what we can do, it may not be the end of things if they have to have those inhibitors placed on them."

"Blizzard, stand down!" Sol barked the second he saw Blizzard's arm raise, the telltale icy glow telling him everything about what was coming next. His left hand already saw a few embers spark to life, ready to raise it towards the Articuno hybrid if he needed to but otherwise letting Freth handle the situation. "Even if we were in a position to fight, this is not the place and certainly not the time! I'm asking you as a friend and ally first, but that's una orden second. Put down your-" As he'd learn, he wouldn't have to worry about the matter once Tristen came in and subdued Blizzard with Thunder Wave. At once, the embers around his hand fizzled out and he sighed, grateful that it didn't come to further coercion. "...arm... ahem."



"...oh. The thing Monique illusioned into, too..." The Mew shuddered as she thought about what she saw at Realgam Tower. She gave a sheepish look at Phyco and the rest of the squad after the explanation and Blizzard's stunt seemed to be cut short, unsure if them learning about her doing that was the best thing to just blurt out. Not that the team had much to really hide this time. She hadn't yet noticed Sharpedo flopping about on the ground, water pooled underneath as he tried to get her attention to let him actually participate and not do his best Magikarp impression.

"...we really need to get a ball for you," Amaranth added, watching the display. "Don't think Cera has a Snag Machine anymore though."

"I should add there's truths to what Crystal- Sundaria, I guess- is saying," Sol added. "I can't speak to have seen the staff or orb Cruxias apparently had myself, but there was a Houndoom hybrid in his midst. He seemed to flash in and our of existence during the trial, if those are the sort of distortions you're referencing. His prosecutor's badge had an emblem we've recently seen on two others too, one of which is someone we've been trying to find for over a year. They..." He paused, a hand balled into a tense fist for a second before letting it go like he'd just grabbed a Maractus. "...may very well be just as much of a threat themselves, if we are."

"I'd... rather our friends not have to be inhibited either," Amaranth spoke up. "I don't know what's going on, between stuff being hidden, the worst being assumed, and I guess bad faith besides. What happened during the trial...?" Shaking her head after her thought being spoken aloud, she looked towards Phyco. "Something's up, and we'd be more useful towards sorting it out if we're not hamstrung from the start. Is there a better option, a compromise, anything?"

"Yes, with your presence, one self designated as Monique." Dulce began in response to Monique. "You are a Faller, natural or otherwise, and as a Faller you give off particles of Ultra Energy of which Ultra Beasts are drawn to. Ultra Beasts that are lost in Ultra Space will seek out individuals giving off energy that reminds them of home, Fallers, in the hopes that somehow it will lead them back home. The problem is Ultra Beasts also give off Ultra Energy which draws in more beasts and creates a cascading effect of the reality the Faller fell into gets invaded relentlessly by beasts. We also see that other Fallers are more likely to fall into realities that have already been visited by a Faller but we aren't sure on the mechanics behind that. So while Fallers may be innocent in where they land they can bring doom to their new home reality via the Ultra Beasts. The more Fallers and or Ultra Beasts the more trouble that follows." Dulce explained, answering as well those that pointed out it wasn't Monique's fault, or any other Faller.

All four Ultra Recon Squad members would jump, startled as spoke up, showing more emotion than they had before, the emotion of fear. They would all ease up as Tristen stepped in and Thunder Waved his father, Phyco looking down at the 'Cold One' and huffing. "BLZD-NS-2004-59, the infamous Blizzard, aka the Cold One." He said without looking at Blizzard, nor did he perform one of his scans. This was information he had committed to memory. "It's fortunate this Blizzard hasn't destroyed his home reality, a welcome sight. Though with a temper like that I expect it won't be long before he follows in the footsteps of his variants. All the more reason to isolate this world I suppose." Phyco said, the disdain in his voice evident.

"Commander." Soleira spoke up. "That reminds me. Didn't agent Polaris retire to this reality? I haven't checked the data logs but I believe she intended to eliminate her home reality's Cold One before finally settling down. And yet...here he is." She said looking at Blizzard for a second before turning her sight back to Freth. "...aren't you suppose to be the Ice variant like your lover? I may need to brush up on the archives when I get back..." She would then have another thought in that moment. "Agent Trevor will be disappointed in hearing Polaris failed, sadden perhaps."

"Allow!?" Zossie shouted, now her turn to raise the volume. "That's always been your problem, Sundaria! You don't get to decide who lives and dies! Always interfering with the natural state of the Ultraverse like you're some kind of goddess! If a world dies then its people die with it, that's how it works! Why does anyone get to decide which lucky few live while the rest of the innocent die!? What makes Monique so special? Huh!?" She snapped at Crystal only for Dulce to once again put his hand on to hold her back and calm her down, Zossie just muttering under her breath instead.

"We are well aware of the individual you speak of and the relic this Cruxias possesses but it is of no real concern to us. His magic tricks will not breach the quarantine." Phyco began as he turned his attention back to the top of the 'others' that are destroying this reality. "We prefer to let the natives handle their own issues. Same goes for that insane Faller known as Dark. Your lot already eliminated one Faller, did you not? Why can't you do the same for another?" Phyco questioned. "Now if you wish to know the Recon Squad's true concern is with it is the Faller known as Cyrus. If you wish to save your reality it is he you should be focused on and perhaps even work with. His sway over the Temporal One may aid in repeating this fractured reality." He'd then turned to Soleira and say something in their native language, Soleira nodding before tapping on her gauntlet a few times and materializing a briefcase. The woman would hold out the briefcase and undo the latches so it parts open.

"We actually prepared a collar specifically designed for and tuned to your specifications, Sundaria." Phyco said as he reached for the briefcase, taking out an object that looked like a regular red collar with a gold bell on the end, like a cat collar. "You will wear this around your neck. And Darts..." He said, holding up the cat collar in one hand and taking out a watch-like item with his own hand, holding it up. "...will wear this on his wrist. Wearing these will be part of an agreement that I believe we can come to, so that you may keep some of your abilities for the fight ahead. That way we both get what we want to some degree. You see, I'm willing to show leniency because I doubt our ability to completely suppress Sundaria's abilities in the first place."

"Phyco! Don't tell them that!" Zossie shouted, shocked that her commander would admit their inability to follow through.

"Silence, Zossie, it's better this way, better that we're honest." Phyco responded to her before going back to his explanation. "Now then, the collar will suppress most of your ability to create Ultra Wormholes, Sundaria, but if you wanted to you could likely overload the thing with enough effort and do as you please. That's where your friend, the reality ripper, comes in." He said, looking at Darts. "His watch will not suppress him in the least. All it will do will be what your collar does as well and that is it will monitor both of you and this reality. It will keep track of the variables that determine a reality's instability and inevitable collapse as well as the energies you are both putting out that can tip the balance of this reality between stability and chaos. And you collar Sundaria will make a ringing sound when it detects spikes in the instability index. More frequent rings mean you're closer to ruin. Zossie wanted that feature for yours."

"So for example Darts here can use his ability to rip into the Distortion World as much as he pleases however each time will cause this reality to destabilize more and more until it reaches the point of no return and your reality is doomed. Who knows how many Shadow Forces or whatever else from Darts it will take, but it will happen with enough. However, our data tells us one thing for certain. If you, Sundaria, were to overload this collar and create a wormhole it would be more than enough wear and tear on this reality to tip it into ruin. Not even our tech could save your reality at that point. You'll both be the keepers and wardens of this reality, responsible for its survival or its fall. But only one of you will be punished if worse comes to worse..." He said, staring at Sundaria.

"You!" Zossie shouted, pointing at Sundaria, only for Dulce to again get in the way and push her hand down.

"Since you ask us for leniency we are going to hold Sundaria primarily responsible for the safety of this reality. If it reaches critical instability the collar will activate and spirit her away to Ultra Megalopolis where she will serve out at minimum twenty ultra cycles of light harvesting for the Megalopolis. This is the only thing we will agree to. The alternative is we apprehend both Sundaria and Darts here and now and bring them back to Ultra Megalopolis for perpetual confinement. Either way Nocturne may be happy to see you. But the choice is yours." Phyco declared, giving his ultimatum.

All the questions and confusion aside, he had questions for these "reality police". "So, you are saying that this Cyrus in our time line is a faller? Also, if you know realities so well, would you know who made me a hybrid in the one here? I don't understand why we are in trouble for something we may or may not have done. Also, more importantly, if our universe is quarantined, what does that mean for the common person?" Deo would ask with a look of concern and investigative means. His eyes narrowed and he had a classic pose (Columbo) about him, minus the cigar in the mouth. After he would ask this, he would pick up the soap that was shoved in and hand it back to his psyduck before turning around and asking "Just one more thing, what am I like in other multiverses? Wondered from time to time."

The hybrid’s ears would flatten against her head as Zossie berated her, teeth grinding. Sure, she was tired, and wanted to just decompress, but Zossie’s words just continued to get under her skin. “Zossie,” she growled, her hands balled into fists as her arms went down to her sides, trying to hold her temper the best she could. “What makes Monique so special? She arrived on her own, and became a trusted teammate before we did that favor for her! I meant her sisters in this case,” she roared back, taking one paw forward. “We’ll keep fighting for people to survive, though, like people fought for us! Sure, we may not have the same body we started with, but it’s a miracle we’re even here at all! So why shouldn’t we attempt to pay it forward, help and fight for people who otherwise wouldn’t get it? Light knows we weren’t always successful, but we tried!”



The hybrid would bring her gaze over to Phyco as he spoke up, doing her best to reign herself in. Light, Zossie’s words really did get under her skin. A goddess?! She was nothing like that! Still had the mind of a human, only with much more power than nearly any mortal should be able to obtain. Her hands would still remain in fists as the commander of the group spoke, letting out a small huff at the indifference of the man’s tone. Connect with the man that wanted to kill them all, with the God of Time on his side? He was acting as if that would be a simple matter.

Then came the appearance of that feline collar. Something that looked like it should belong to a mere pet Meowth, but it was apparently made specifically for her. She’d glance at the watch device, to Darts, then narrow her eyes at Phyco as he continued explaining further. Sunsteel Strike was to be locked down for her. Made sense from what she picked up on earlier. But… Darts was only going to be monitored? Seriously?! At this point, she was just a glorified monitor, with the addition of being humiliated on top of it. Darts got to effectively pretend that nothing was wrong, while she got a blatant sign that she was being punished, plus the added layer of being the only one to survive should they all fail in saving this reality, punished further in Ultra Megalopolis. At this point, she wasn’t sure which would be worse, fighting for her reality and failing, dealing with the punishment for that, or just being apprehended on the spot and confined.

To everyone else, they would see the hybrid begin to tremble, shaking from some combination of emotions. Her arms were still at her side, her hands were still balled into fists, and her ears were still flat against her head. Possibly surprisingly, she was managing to keep her mouth shut in all of this, the only one getting hit by anything being Zossie. And even then, that might have been mild compared to her earlier outbursts. She was furious, though, feeling like she was being unfairly burdened. Yes, somewhere within the logical side of her head, she knew she was already in plenty of hot water with them, and this was probably reasonable enough, if not as lenient as they said. But now having to be the one to keep track of Darts and the reality’s condition as a whole, needing to have the self control to not open up another wormhole if she felt threatened enough, and being the only one to suffer the consequences of failure long term, should this reality end? And there was no guarantee that, even if they did succeed, that she’d lose that collar after those five Ultra cycles, or that she still wouldn’t be apprehended and confined. Light burn her, it felt like she was getting targeted out, while Darts got off practically scot free. As much as she tried to quash the thoughts, bubbles of jealousy were rising up in her, mixing with the frustration of getting locked down, her anger at Zossie, the humiliation of effectively being called a stray cat, and a fear of failure.

Walking forward to Phyco, she would practically snatch that infernal collar out of his hand and stare at it like it was the enemy itself. To her, it very nearly was. She couldn’t hide it under any of her clothes, normal or her current formalwear, and with it being bright red, it was going to be hard to miss on her pale white neck, especially when her ensemble contained no red at all. She hated it. Maybe if it was some sort of different appearance, she could stomach it a little bit more, even if it was still a collar possibly. But this appearance had to be just to humiliate Crystal. “...Phyco. Once this… thing gets put on, what would happen if it was removed,” she’d quietly ask, voice not exactly steady but her gaze keeping to the cat collar. She wanted to know the consequences of removal, like they got with SWIPE’s collars. Because undoubtedly, someone would try to remove it. Whenever she could actually get herself to put it on, past her own pride.

Sol listened quietly to Ducle's explanation of what a Faller exactly was, looking towards his side as he continued. That had to have been how Buzzwole ended up here if a certain joyride didn't do it after all. A lot of any previous briefing was hard for him to wrap his head around; he knew trying to figure out exactly where in Ultra Space they came from would be difficult, Crystal made that pretty clear from the outset. For the first time since that incident, this might be the best shot they ever had of properly returning home. He couldn't bring himself to turn a blind eye to the time since then, though, let alone bring up that he had an Ultra Beast with him. They hadn't even been much of a threat unless he wasn't around and they started getting anxious, and far as anyone knew, there hadn't been any further incidents...

The fear from the squad wasn't lost on any of the three either, with Sol and Amaranth looking at Blizzard after the information just brought out. Cera would instead look at Freth, a brief mental ping hitting her and Eris alike. Nothing further would come from it, words escaping her even mentally, but it left the Mew awfully confused and wanting more context.

"What do you mean, hasn't destroyed this reality?" Amaranth asked, desperate to find some purchase on the many loops she found herself outside of. The fact there was no scan bothered her too, it seemed out of place compared to the other few.

"...what he saw in that reality..." Sol said under his breath. His head would motion towards Crystal and Reno after a second, recalling the joyride they and Aden went on. The details he got on it were limited, and admittedly clouded by fear and concern, but there was one recollected to him that suddenly felt much more important than he'd ever given it credit for. He'd hoped those two would stick around after this fun and exciting meeting and were ready for an equally fun and exciting talk for the whole family. For now, it'd go back to the regularly scheduled focus on Dark with his mention.

"Unfortunately for you lot, Cyrus was pretty intent on killing the lot of us before those two," he remarked, gesturing at Crystal and Darts, "Managed to save all our hides. So I'm not sure working with him's exactly an option. And Dark... I don't recall meeting him before today, even if my memories want to claim otherwise. And if he's at all related to Dull, nearly none of us could so much as touch him."

"I'm not sure we have that many friends left, either," Amaranth spat in response. "The 'natives' seem intent on us being the issue if you care to know." A look of disdain stayed on her the whole time she looked at the collar and watch Crystal and Darts were to wear, along with the explanation that, even with their powers, seemed more than a little unfair to them.

"Well, I hope you have enough of those for the whole class, because we take care of our own here," Cera spoke up, the Mew regaining enough of a spine to move herself in front of the squad again. She'd finally remember to suspend the water around Sharpedo in the air too, letting him look around in a way that wasn't flopping endlessly. "That includes people that can rip apart our reality or can freeze it or Fall in here or whatever."