Plumeria begins to have second thoughts where it comes to her and Team Skull's involvement in the schemes of the Aether Foundation.
So I decided, after spending way more time on this than I meant to, it can only be presented as a short story with chapters.
It begins at the point where Plumeria's group kidnaps Lillie from the Aether House, and go on through post-game. This is my answer to the many headcanon requests I've gotten on tumblr for how Plumeria and the rest of Team Skull reacted to everything that happened to Guzma, including his decision to disband the team. Enjoy!
Chapter 1.
As the boat sped towards the artificial island, Plumeria felt a chill run up her spine. The nighttime air seemed colder than usual, but that wasn't the only thing… A peculiar feeling had been nagging her, eating away at the back of her mind ever since they'd set off towards the Aether Paradise. No. On second thought it had been going on much longer than that. She couldn't quite grasp it, but something felt off; a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Maybe she was hungry. Or maybe she was beginning to realize what a mistake this was.
For the fourth time since leaving Ula'ula she glanced back at the girl who sat on the starboard bench, clinging to her bag. Two grunts sat on either side of her, keeping watch just in case she tried to make a break for it. Not that she'd have anywhere to go, short of jumping into sharpedo-infested waters, that is. Although Plumeria supposed she could try taking over the boat. Overpowering those two and the captain would be easy enough, even without pokémon of her own to battle with. Getting past her on the other hand…
No. The Team Skull admin dismissed the idea with a shake of her head. She wouldn't do that. She was a good kid. Not at all the brat Guzma had warned them about. Her decision to come along quietly had been hers, and hers alone… So then why did she feel as though they were kidnapping her?
Plumeria shivered again, briskly rubbing her arms up and down before reaching for a jacket from the storage box. Better make that two, she thought, tossing one over her shoulders as she turned to approach the girl. With a wave of her hand she shooed the grunts away and sat down beside her.
"Here," she said.
At first the young girl looked utterly bewildered by the offer. She hesitated, unconsciously tightening her grip on the strap of her bag before she turned away. "I'm fine, thank you."
Plumeria shrugged and cast the jacket aside. At least no one could say she hadn't offered. "Listen," she began, "I just wanted to say, no hard feelings, ok? You said you're here because you wanted to protect the people you care about? Well…" she drifted off as her attention shifted towards the two grunts, who were now leaning over the opposite side of the boat for a closer look at something that had caught their attention in the water.
Finneon. Hundreds of them, as well as lumineon, were schooling close to the surface, traveling in the same direction as the boat along their natural migration route. Their neon fins and lateral lines glowed in the moonlight, creating the illusion of underwater stars, and while they certainly were beautiful, the two idiots staring at them were sure to go flying overboard the next time the boat hit a wake.
"Yo! I hope you two know this boat's not stopping if either of you falls in!" Plumeria called out.
Both boys shot upright and whirled around to face her with mutual looks of betrayal. "Sis, you wouldn't really leave us behind, would you? W-we're miles away from any islands, y'know? We'd be done for."
"Then I suggest you sit your butts down and stay put." she said, crossing her arms and staring them down with a deadpan expression.
Although the grunts trusted her, they also knew better than to take their chances. It wouldn't be the first time she sat back and allowed them to make a mistake in hopes that they might learn something from it. Without another word they lowered their heads and sunk back on the bench opposite from her and the young girl.
Plumeria sighed and uncrossed her arms, leaning back into the seat with her hands behind her head as she traced back to her previous thought. "Anyway, you're not the only one who's got someone they wanna protect."
Awkward silence stretched on between them for a bit until at last Lillie spoke, though her meek voice was scarcely audible over the sound of wind and the boat crashing through the waves. "If you really want to protect them, why don't you stop this?"
"Stop this?" Plumeria scoffed, though she wasn't really amused so much as taken aback. "Didn't you say you'd come along quietly? I'm pretty sure you said that."
Lillie murmured uncomfortably, and began kneading at the cloth of the bag. Ok, so perhaps she could have worded that better, or built up to it so that it wouldn't have seemed like such a random thing to say.
"I'm not asking you to let me go," she said. "I said I was done running away, and I meant it."
"Ok… So then, care to explain what you meant by 'stop it'?"
She began to trace the outline of the pokéball pattern on her bag, avoiding eye-contact with the older girl. "I meant you should stop working with my mother. What do you have to gain from it, anyway?"
Plumeria sighed again, and raised a hand to massage the space between her eyes and the bridge of her nose, as though she were nursing the early stages of a headache. "I guess I shouldn't expect a kid to understand," she said. "The money we get from doing business with your mom puts food on the table, and a roof over our heads. Without it we…" she hesitated for a second before she continued. "My point is, we need this."
"No, I understand," Lillie said. "But it sounds like you don't understand what kind of person my mother is."
"That may be true..."
"I'm serious. If you really care about them you should stop this before it's too late."
Plumeria eyed her quizzically. "What, you really think something bad's gonna happen?"
"I don't think. I know," Lillie stated, at last making eye contact with her. "Do you even realize what you're involved in, or are you just following orders without question? Is a paycheck really worth putting them at risk?"
Plumeria narrowed her eyes, pinning her with a serious look. The combination of black eyeliner and gold irises, which caught the moonlight in such a way that they appeared to glow, was unnerving to Lillie, but she tried her best not to show it, even as the older girl rose to her feet and faced her with a threatening stance.
"Ok, first off," she held up one finger, punctuating each statement as she went along, "don't go saying you understand something when you obviously don't. Second, you want us to cut ties with Aether? Well, I got news for you, girlie. You're talking to the wrong person. See, I don't make the rules. I just enforce 'em. You want us to change how we operate, then you better have a word with my boss. I'm warning you though—G doesn't take kindly to people telling him what to do. Third! What do you care what happens to us anyway, huh? It's none of your damn business! You worry about yours, and I'll worry about mine."
All eyes were on Plumeria by the time she'd finished her tangent. Even the grunts, including the boat's captain had turned around to stare at her in disbelief. While it was normal for the aforementioned boss to go off on someone and hover over them as he was speaking, such intimidation tactics were rarely—if ever used by the team's 'big sis'.
Between the two of them, Plumeria had always been more docile, rarely raising her voice, or giving in to frustration. Despite owning the term 'resting bitch face' she was anything but, earning her the trust and adoration of her subordinates, which she affectionately referred to as her dumb little brothers and sisters. However, if there was one thing that could get her riled, it was someone threatening her family. Whether the kid had meant to insinuate that she didn't care about her sibs or not, needless to say her poor choice of words had left a bad impression on the Team Skull admin.
Nonetheless, Lillie stared back at her with conviction, even as her lip began to quiver. "What's wrong with caring about other people?" she asked earnestly. "I care because I don't want to see anyone get hurt, whether I consider them my friends or not. You're still people, and you don't deserve this any more than Nebby does."
At first Plumeria could only stare back, mouth partially agape, but after a moment, she straightened up, turning her back to her with a loud huff. "Stupid girl," she cursed through gritted teeth, though at that point she wasn't sure if she was referring to Lillie, or to herself for denying her own misgivings about the situation.
She looked out at the group of lights which had appeared on the horizon, drawing nearer with each passing second. Soon they would reach their destination. The president would no doubt be waiting to greet them at the docks, and Guzma as well.
Guzma…
He'd told her to find the girl, and get the pokémon, and 'be on your guard 'cause this kid's a tricky one.' Granted while Plumeria had assumed the job would be easier than he'd made it sound, she had not expected the president's daughter—infamous for stealing a rare pokémon from her mother and using its power to escape unscathed, or so the rumors said—would turn out to actually be a sweet child who goes out of her way to worry about complete strangers. Not just strangers, in fact, but criminals who had accosted her and attempted to steal back the pokémon she was hell bent on protecting. If Plumeria had ever felt like a bad person before, this took the cake.
What was she protecting it from, anyways? She knew Lusamine seemed a bit off, but aside from an unhealthy obsession with beauty, and some weird priorities, even by criminal standards, it was hard to imagine she'd allow any real harm come to the pokémon she was so worried about retrieving. Or Team Skull, for that matter.
Then again, she reminded herself, this wasn't the first time she'd had reason to suspect the president was up to something. Even in the early days of their partnership with the Aether Foundation, Plumeria found herself wondering what those high-class prigs wanted with a bunch of misfit good-for-nothings with shoddy educations, and even lower scores as pokémon trainers. Sure, Guzma was strong. He was easily the strongest trainer Plumeria had ever met, short of the island kahunas, and while that was probably what had drawn Lusamine to him in the first place, but as for the rest of them…? Well, perhaps it wasn't their strength she was interested in after all.
What were they doing? She thought back to when she'd asked Guzma that very same question one Sunday morning, not long they'd initially partnered up with the Aether Foundation. It was an article in the Alolan Star that had caught her eye, and she'd wasted no time in bringing it to Guzma's attention, slapping the newspaper down in front of him and narrowly missing the edge of his plate as she pointed to the headline on the lower corner of the page.
"Don't tell me you don't know anything about this," she'd said.
"Aether Foundation to open facility for pokémon hurt by Team Skull…" Guzma read aloud in a disinterested tone. After a brief pause he shrugged and resumed loading large bits of pancake onto his fork before shoveling it into his mouth. "Yeah? So what?"
"So what? Is that not the same eevee we handed over to them last week?" She gestured to the black and white photograph of Lusamine holding an eevee with a gimpy ear; a distinguishable feature which Plumeria had recognized instantly. The twisted cartilage was likely the result of a birth defect rather than an injury, but it looked gruesome enough to grab attention and tug the heartstrings of anyone glancing over the paper as they sipped their morning coffee.
"What's your deal?"
"My 'deal' is that girlfriend of yours is up to something," she said, staring him down from across the table.
Guzma snorted. "Ya know she's like 40-somethin' right?"
"I don't—wait… Seriously?"
He nodded, taking another large bite and then proceeding to talk with his mouth full. "Got two kids, too. I mean, I know some guys're into milf-types, but—"
"Quit trying to change the subject. All I wanna know is what's going on. Why is she having us steal pokémon, and then opening up a sanctuary for the ones we give her? Does that make any sense to you? 'Cause I'm lost."
"Don't know. Don't care," Guzma said flatly. "Why's it even matter? She's payin' us, in't she? Don't ask dumb questions."
Though grudgingly, Plumeria had decided to drop it before the conversation turned into a full-on argument. Regardless of whether she liked what was going on or not, she couldn't deny the money they got from the supposed 'pokémon conservationists' in exchange for the pokémon they stole was useful, if not necessary for keeping the team alive, and it wasn't like they were at risk for anything more than having their name repeatedly dragged through the dirt for publicity sake. No big deal. No one actually liked Team Skull anyway.
But now this girl—the president's daughter, and Gladion's sister—the way she spoke made it sound as though they'd already gotten in way over their heads in matters that could cost them a lot more than some defamation of character.
Although part of her was still skeptical that the girl wasn't just searching for a way out despite her insistence that she wasn't going to run anymore, Plumeria couldn't shake the feeling of uneasiness that had been gripping her all evening and then some. While she would have been content to tell herself she was just overthinking things, had Lillie not said anything, now the feeling was eating her alive, and only growing more pervasive the closer they got to their destination. She wanted—no—she needed answers.
"Let me ask you something," she said, finally breaking the silence between them, which prompted Lillie to look up at her. Without turning around, Plumeria glanced over her shoulder, maintaining eye contact with her as she spoke. "You say something bad is going to happen. Well… what is it?"