Chapter 2: Shaping Up to Be Fun

(Gav Harrison)

"There was a robbery along Route 22," Gav started, running a hand through his short hair. "It doesn't seem related, though."

"I agree. More likely a few rowdy bikers," said the girl beside him. She pushed her long red hair away from her face and held it at the back of her head while groping around the table for her clip. Her sister located it and handed it to her, receiving a grateful smile for her efforts.

Victoria and he had been poring over their new police reports for the last hour or so, carefully calculating each possibility and gauging the likelihood of Team Rocket's involvement. So far they'd been drawing blanks, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The less information they found, the less danger they ultimately put themselves in, and he had to admit they'd been doing infiltration work a ton recently. They more than deserved a break, but Gav knew he, and Victoria, too, wouldn't sleep right if they hadn't fairly and evenly judged every single incident and deemed them all unworthy of attention.

"Honestly, the Warren thing seems to be the best bet."

"I agree," Gav said, pulling forward a printout. "It's also the most unusual." It sported a photo of a man with long, mangy black hair grinning with a tattooed arm slung around a very short, uncomfortable looking businessman. The headline read: Vincent Warren of Vermillion Gym endorses Silph Pokémon performance enhancers.

"Vincent Warren, leader of the Vermillion City Gym, is the first to publicly endorse Silph's controversial new Pokémon performance enhancer. Dan Adler, the head of Silph's product safety department, assures the public that the enhancers are 100% natural and pose no health risk to Pokémon.

"'Of course, these would be absolutely illegal in tournaments and Gym battles,' Adler states. 'The purpose of this product is mainly to give Pokémon a boost when a trainer desperately needs a fully functioning team… like, if they are stranded outdoors and can't make it back to civilization any other way.'

"'That's why they make a little thing called Potions,' Rick Baldevia countered. Baldevia is an active member of Saffron's branch of the Pokémon Liberation Front. 'This is a thinly disguised steroid and I sincerely hope the public won't stand for it. I don't know what Warren is thinking, getting behind something like this.'"

Gav put down the article. "Yet another sign pointing towards Silph," he said, making a note in the corner of the printout with the date and the word SILPH underlined.

"Put 'er in the pile," Victoria said, shoving one of their many accordion files towards him.

"Dang, guys, does the stack ever end?"

The new voice belonged to Gav's thirteen-year-old sister, Kaylee. She must have moseyed into the room earlier, but he hadn't heard her entrance. She was sipping a small carton of orange juice held languidly in one hand and rubbing the back of her shoulder with the other. Judging by the amount of sweat gathered around her brow and dampening her red t-shirt, she'd just gotten through with a training session.

"Hey, Kay. And yes, the pile has to end somewhere… we're just not sure if it'll be during this century or the next." Gav lifted his head up for the first time in hours and felt a vertebrae pop. A mix of pain and pleasure washed over him and he groaned as blood flow returned to his brain. Soon thereafter he dropped his head back down onto his folded arms.

Kaylee moved to hover over his head and he could feel her hands working into his hair, twirling the jet-black strands around her fingers. "Did I tell you how happy I am that you let me cut your hair?"

"Only about four times today. You're slacking off."

"Well, I'm happy. You don't look so girly anymore!" she asserted, sliding down into a chair beside him.

"Oh, thanks," he said, laughing and rolling his eyes. "And you didn't tell me I looked girly before because…?"

Kaylee grinned. "Hey, you're my brother. That would be like you telling me I'm annoying—oh, wait. You do!" she said, slugging him playfully in the arm after pretending to think on it. Gav half-laughed and half-winced—play punches from Kaylee were no laughing matter, as his once gangly sister had become almost solid, lean muscle over the past few months. She'd always been active, but her training sessions as of late had truly toned her gangly form to the height of physical performance. Now she could probably run the eight-minute mile no problem, and Gav had a sneaking feeling she'd be able to bench-press him if he asked her to.

It was always a bit depressing to realize that your kid sister could kick your ass.

Victoria spoke up for the first time since Kaylee had made her presence known in the kitchen. "I think I need a break. I just forgot how to spell the word 'banana.'"

Gav snorted, then paused. "Wait—there's the word 'banana' in one of the stories?"

Victoria hid a smile. "Someone tried to make off with a bag of expensive fake fruit crafted out of emeralds, rubies and topaz."

Gav couldn't help but laugh at that one, and Kaylee just gave Victoria an incredulous expression. "Why in the world would somebody take gemstones and turn them into fruit?"

They were still pondering that when the front door opened. Gav figured it was Jason or Orion, since he could never hear Zahlia or Edith moving around the house. However, when a loud, "ouch!" in a female voice rang through the house, Gav stood up. He'd know that sound anywhere, as the owner of the voice always hit herself on the shoe rack when coming in. "Gina?" he called, frowning. "What are you doing back so soon? Did you forget something?"

It sounded like there was an ongoing struggle between Gina and the shoe rack. "I… brought someone to see you guys—dammit, hold on—" The very familiar sound of the shoe rack finally tipping over and spilling its contents all over the floor came to Gav's ears. A few moments later a very flustered Gina appeared at the kitchen door.

"… Anyway, this is A—"

Gina cut herself off then as she noticed she had entered the kitchen alone. After a double-take she went back outside and returned a moment later with a perturbed boy. He didn't look necessarily ill, but he did look as if he hadn't slept in quite a while. Gav, who was a notorious insomniac, recognized the symptoms.

"This is Amaris," Gina continued now that she actually had her guest with her. "He's… well, got some information… and wants to get some information, too." Gina suddenly looked as if she wasn't sure how to word anything, but Gav's interest had perked up.

"You're that guy we ran into in Viridian, what… last fall?" he asked Amaris.

"About eight months ago," Victoria affirmed. Gav glanced at her briefly, frowning. Had they really been holed up in Edith's cottage for that long?

"I think I recall some of you, yes," Amaris said blandly.

There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence, and Gav glanced up at Gina. "Mind if we—"

"Yeah, I figured we should," she said, moving off to go with Gav into a different room. "I'll, uh, be right back," she said to Amaris, who was giving her a look that was an interesting blend of betrayal and mutiny. "Two minutes," she insisted, before Gav and she closed the kitchen door behind them.

He turned to her at once and let out a breath. "Okay, I figure you have good reason to trust this guy and all, but what's going on?"

"I'm sure he'll recap all of this with you later, but the cliff notes version is that his uncle was probably murdered." Gav's eyebrows shot up and Gina looked instantly uncomfortable. "The circumstances surrounding this whole thing are… well, suspicious to say the least. I figured we might learn more about what's going on from him, and in turn maybe he can find some answers too."

Gav hesitated for a moment, mulling this information over in his head. He vaguely wondered how Victoria and Amaris were holding up in the other room. Neither of them seemed like the friendly type, and he hoped they were being civil. He also hoped Kaylee wasn't overwhelming the guy with questions.

"Sorry that this is so abrupt," Gina said. "I realized I should call on the way here but my Dex is acting up."

"I'll take a look at it," Gav said at once, his standard techno-geek response. "Well, if this is the guy you've known since childhood, I'd like to try to help him. It's just, not a good idea to get too many people involved in all of this," he explained. "Hope you understand."

Gina averted her eyes and nodded, seeming embarrassed. "Sorry," she said again. "If it helps I don't really know anyone else and I promise this is the last stray I'll bring home."

Gav smiled and nodded. "Alright. Let's go see what we can do."

Amaris regarded him in an incredibly skeptical way as Gina and Gav made their way back into the kitchen, and for a moment Gav was sharply reminded of the first time he had met Victoria. Gina shot Amaris a look as if she were telepathically transmitting him images of his own bloody dismembering, and he stared right back for a moment before clearing his throat and smoothing his expression from brooding to businesslike.

"I have reason to believe that there was foul play involved in the recent death of my uncle," he began professionally, and Gav would have probably choked to death if he had been attempting to eat or drink anything at the moment. This guy had just said those words as if announcing the results of a statistical reading. "Gina seems to be under the impression that the criminal group Team Rocket is still around, and suggested I speak to you about the possibility of their involvement." The last part was dripping with sarcasm, and Gav sighed.

"Team Rocket is certainly far from disbanded," he said, shaking his head and taking a breath to gather his thoughts. Thankfully, Victoria jumped in for him as he contemplated the best thing to do in this situation.

"So, what happened, exactly? And how long ago was his death?"

Gav glanced over at her with a small smile. Good old Victoria. Over the time they'd spent together they'd grown much closer; they could practically read each other's minds and very rarely disagreed on anything work-related.

Amaris didn't look happy with this line of questioning. Shooting Gina an indecipherable glance, he began again slowly. "A month ago. That's when I got the call from the police saying that someone had broken into his lab—"

"Lab?" Kaylee interjected from beside Gav, and Amaris stopped speaking and gave her a slow, mutinous stare. Gav made a mental note: new guy does not like being interrupted.

"My uncle is—was—the head Professor at the Oak Pokémon Research Center in Pallet Town." The slip-up didn't appear to cause Amaris any emotional duress—he'd merely breezed over the mistake the way one would correct a typo. Gav was a bit put off.

"Wow," Kaylee said. "Impressive. So you're from Pallet too, then?"

"Yes," Amaris said. His expression was one of intense annoyance, and Gav glanced briefly at Kaylee, hoping this wouldn't escalate into something unpleasant. "Can I continue my retelling?"

"Of course," Gav interjected before Kaylee could retaliate. "Go on, we're listening."

"So, why do you think the Rockets would have been after your uncle?"

The four of them (Gina, Amaris, Victoria and Gav) were gathered around the living room coffee table, each with a mug of their respective beverage in their hands. Kaylee, who loved all food at molten temperature had brewed up the batch of coffee and tea, and Gav estimated it would be about five more years before the substance had cooled sufficiently.

Amaris was tracing his fingers around the edge of his cup, clearly deep in thought. He still didn't seem comfortable, but Gav was more than understanding. The boy had lost his uncle just a month ago and was now in an undoubtedly awkward Q & A session. It was a bit too similar to the police interrogations he and Kaylee had gone through.

"I'm not entirely sure," he said at last, sounding almost abashed that he couldn't conjure up a viable reason for his uncle's murder. "I helped him with some of his research when I was a kid… not much, just computer data entry and sorting through his papers and things like that… but I don't recall anything that would lead Team Rocket to him. Then again," he lifted his weary gaze to focus on a spot over Gav's right shoulder, "I haven't worked with him in years."

Gav frowned, running a tan hand through his hair and sighing. "Is there any way we could take a trip to your uncle's lab? Maybe there are some clues in there." He knew it sounded very forward, but he wasn't willing to vacillate where the Rockets were concerned.

"No good," Amaris said, shaking his head. "Not yet, anyway. They broke into his lab, as I said before… they left nothing intact. Not even his research books; everything's been ransacked."

Gina leaned back in her chair, looking stricken and somewhat pale. Gav wasn't sure, but he had a suspicion that Gina had known and liked the professor very much. It was hard not to in a town as small as Pallet, he reasoned. It was also staggering how much valuable information the world had lost when Professor Drake's life's work had been destroyed. Some of it must have been backed up elsewhere, but he was certain a lot of it had been kept solely in-house. He caught Amaris stealing a glance at the Gina with a grim expression on his face before returning his attention to his still-steaming mug.

Victoria appeared to switch tactics. "So, how long have you and Gina known each other?"

It seemed random, but Gav knew Victoria was testing Amaris' trustworthiness. As of now they only had Gina's word to go on, and were a little hesitant about divulging information to just anyone. Gina and Amaris exchanged a glance, and finally Gina answered.

"Since birth, pretty much," she said. "We've both lived in Pallet all our lives."

That seemed to placate Victoria a bit, and Gav took over. "Well, Amaris, before we continue I'd like you to know you are free to stay here while we look into this situation. It might actually be best if you do."

He caught the smile that came to Gina's face as well as the closed-off, uncomfortable look that flitted across Amaris'. The two exchanged another look, and Amaris said to Gav, "I'm not sure I feel comfortable with that."

"It'll be way easier than us always having to call you," Gina tried to reason. "Plus this location is pretty secure."

Amaris didn't respond. Dropping the subject again, Gav said, "did you eat today? It's going on four."

"No," Gina said, nibbling her lip. "I'm starving."

"No thank you," Amaris said. Gina shot him a glance. Amaris looked back at her and frowned. "I'd rather not waste time. If I've said everything that you need to know, I'd like to hear how you'll help me."

There was another awkward little pause. Gav exchanged a look with Victoria, then jerked his head very slightly towards the kitchen over her shoulder.

Victoria raised an eyebrow at him, but got up and cleared her throat. "Gina, let's start cooking and let Gav and Amaris talk this out."

Gina seemed very hesitant. She exchanged a look of her own with Amaris, and he shrugged at her before looking away. Gina nodded to Victoria, and the two headed off. Soon it was just Gav and Amaris in the living room.

Gav sighed, knowing how this conversation would have to go, and regretting it. "Believe me, I understand. I've been in a situation very similar to yours."

"Oh?" Amaris asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms.

"Yes. Almost identical, in fact." That was all he was willing to divulge at that moment. "My sister and I, as well as our friends have been gathering information about scenarios like this for years now." He drummed his fingers across the wood of the table, staring at the pattern in the grain. "Before we go any further, I really can't stress enough how much secrecy matters to us. It would not be good at all if news of our work got out. Can we trust you to keep quiet?"

"Of course," Amaris responded at once. "I'd be in just as much... danger, as you, I imagine, if word about this conversation leaked." The way he said the word "danger" made Gav think he was not quite taking this seriously yet. That was alright, so long as he would keep his mouth shut.

Gav nodded slowly. "As for what we can do to help you… I can't promise you that we can deliver you immediate results, but I can promise that we're doing a hell of a lot more than the police right now. If you want information, we're the people to come to."

"Information… have you ever been able to bring anyone to justice?" Amaris asked, his expression now flat and unreadable.

Gav didn't like the way this line of questioning was going, and surprisingly enough found himself growing defensive. He was normally very slow to anger, but this was a sensitive topic and he took a moment to organize his thoughts. Everyone else in the house was smart enough to not bring up the painfully slow pace of Gav's project. In fact, no one in the house really cared that it was slow-paced. They all understood that doing something was better than doing nothing, even if they weren't going to shake the planet just yet. However, they also knew that every day that went by with no justice served was another day of silent stress for Gav. "No," he responded truthfully, after a moment. "We plan to turn over our evidence to trustworthy people in power once we have something absolutely irrefutable."

"So, for now, you are gathering information, storing it, and not doing anything to actually stop the crimes."

Gav raised an eyebrow. He wasn't a fan of repeating himself, and Amaris already knew the answer to this question.

"I see." Amaris got up. "Thank you for your time. I'll see myself out."

"You..." Gav started uncertainly, not knowing how he was going to finish that thought. Amaris was already checking to make sure he had all of his personal items and even now was slinging his pack onto his back. Gav got up as well, not sure if he should follow or get Gina. He settled for heading into the kitchen where the three girls were stuffing some sort of red concoction into fat round noodles. Gav sighed, alerting them to his presence, and each one looked up at him questioningly.

"Your friend doesn't seem to want our help. He's taking off."

"Frick." Gina said, turning to run off. She paused halfway there, though, ran her hands under the faucet, and ran out of the kitchen while patting them dry on her sauce-stained jeans. Gav and Victoria exchanged a look, and Kaylee sighed.

"Well, this is shaping up to be fun."

Gav headed out into the living room again, unsurprised to see that Gina had left the front door wide open. He walked over to shut it, but not before peering outside. He could see Gina and Amaris in the distance, talking. She was making exaggerated hand motions and he was standing stark still, his arms crossed.

Victoria made a sound from somewhere over his shoulder. "Didn't go well, I take it."

"He wants the people responsible for his uncle's death hogtied and brought to him at once. I don't think he's in the right frame of mind to realize that this will be a waiting game."

"I can see that," Victoria allowed. "Wonder how he would feel if he knew that you and Kaylee have been waiting for justice for years."

"Probably would just discourage him even more at this point." Gav shrugged. "We'll see if Gina can talk him down. It's his choice, really. I just hope he finds what he's looking for."

"And keeps his mouth shut," she said at once.

"Yes, I touched on how important that was."

"Did he seem to understand?"

"If his word is worth anything, he won't talk."

"Hmm."

They shared silence as they watched Amaris and Gina walk off towards a bench near the Pokémon pen and take a seat. They were mostly out of eyeshot now. Gav could only see part of Gina's brown hair and a patch of her violet shirt.

Victoria remained for just a moment longer, but didn't linger. "I'd better make sure Kaylee isn't burning down the house."

Gav smiled and watched her go, then decided to put away the stacks of paper that had been accumulating throughout Edith's house. He knew that their gracious, but very obsessive-compulsive hostess had a big problem with dust and was struggling to turn a blind eye to Gav and Victoria's growing piles of paperwork.

At that moment the door flew open and Jason trotted in, barely remembering to wipe his sneakers on the welcome mat. "Hey, Gav. Anyone wanna tell me why that guy's out there?" He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder towards the Pokémon pen.

"He's here for help," Gav said simply. "Gina brought him in."

"She brought him here?" Jason asked, frowning and blinking a few times. "Well… okay then, good to know armageddon is around the corner. I've got a few things I want to do before I die."

Gav snorted, shaking his head and smiling. "So, they have a history, I take it?"

"Well, yeah," Jason said, taking off his sneakers. "They pretty much hate each other. I'm a little confused as to why she made the 'move along' gesture at me when I tried to go over to them. I figured he was giving her a hard time or something."

"They're having a pretty serious talk, I'd imagine," Gav said. "He wants our help with something, but we're sort of working out the kinks."

"With what?" Jason asked, getting up and frowning.

Gav hesitated. "I'm not sure if I should—"

"Ah, okay. No pressure." Jason lifted his hands in the air and nodded. "If he decides to actually ask for help 'formally' though, I'll wanna know."

"Sure, yeah," Gav said. He and the others had made an official "no secrecy" pact long ago. Keeping things to themselves out of embarrassment or lack of trust was utterly counterproductive now. Gav was already pretty sure that Amaris would not enjoy this pact, if he decided to work with them about his uncle's case, but he would have to get used to it.

A few minutes later, Gina and Amaris re-entered the living room. Jason gave Gina a look with raised eyebrows, and she gave him a stiff, somewhat mechanical smile. Jason moved over to Amaris, and Gav noticed that he was standing up straight and trying to make his shoulders seem broader than they were.

"Hey," Jason said to him, putting a hand out in an attempt at a greeting.

"I'd like to talk with you some more," Amaris said to Gav, completely looking past Jason. Jason bristled slightly at this, and Gina moved off towards him to do damage control. She did shoot a venomous stare at the back of Amaris' head, though.

Gav got up. "Sure," he said. Something told him this would be a very, very long process. He made a mental note to request coffee soon. "We can talk over here."