A/N: Chapter 3! Thanks to A Half-Empty Glass and Frozen Seagull for their reviews, you guys make this all worth it! I really hope you guys like this chapter, even if it is a bit of a filler. I find fillers are necessary for a story to make sense and this was fun to write so, no complaints from me! Keep reviewing and I will keep the updates coming! Sorry for the weird end of this chapter, blame my sister for making me practically do her essay for her while I finished this!

Chapter 3: Teaching Mission

Riley's POV

"Excellent," Cyrus smirked. "Now I want you to hatch it."

"How are we supposed to do that?" I asked incredulously without thinking. Cyrus gave me a hard look, shooting daggers from his eyes, as Saturn bit his lip. "Sorry, sir," I apologized quickly, realizing my mistake. It was just angering that even after we had collected the egg, we got no thanks. We were expected to do more. Hatching an egg was too much of a menial task for our leader. It was patronizing.

"Watch how you speak to me, girl," Cyrus replied in warning tones. He turned back to Saturn. "Just find a way. When the egg hatches, contact me."

"Yea, Cyrus, sir," Saturn answered, his face unreadable. And then without warning the screen went black; Cyrus had terminated the call. Saturn turned to me and gave me a withering look. I grinned at him, trying to lower the tension, but he just shook his head sadly. "Go get some sleep," He ordered. My grin faded and I gave a short nod before walking out of the office. I knew I had disappointed him, and I felt really bad. Why couldn't I just keep my big mouth shut? I looked back once before I shut the door. Saturn was still seated at his desk, studying the egg. It was coal black, splattered with red and gold swirls. It sure looked like it could belong to a Giratina. I sighed and left, walking slowly through the halls back to my room.

"Char?" Chimchar asked from my shoulder. I sighed and pulled my pokemon into my arms, holding it close.

"I'm sure everything will be fine," I assured it. When I reached my room Chimchar hopped onto the floor and clambered onto my bed, curling up on top of my pillow. I laughed and went to take a shower. The hot water ran through my long hair and down my back, and it helped to clear my mind a bit. I just needed to try harder not to let things get to me, and to follow orders to the exact. That just wasn't something I was good at. I realized with a groan that I had left my pokeballs on their belt in Saturn's office. I knew he would take care of them, but I didn't need him to see me as irresponsible on top of everything else. I sighed, knowing it was too late to change that now. Besides, I was sure Saturn would understand. We were best friends after all.

Saturn's POV

I sat at my desk for a long time, running my fingers over the smooth shell of the egg, thinking about Riley. Something had to be done. She just didn't seem to have any sense of authority! I blamed myself, I had always let her get away with so much. But she was my best friend, and she had been by my side through everything. We had been friends for eight years now. I wasn't sure how she was able to escape punishment by Cyrus for her outbursts and lack of respect for the rules of the team, but I seriously hoped that it would continue. I didn't want her to get hurt. While she may have seemed tough and fearless on the outside, I knew that she was still just a teenage girl. It was my job as her best friend to protect her, so I vowed that tomorrow I would teach her a lesson or two.

I woke in the morning to my alarm buzzing. I groaned and reached over to turn it off before climbing out of bed and pulling on my clothes. In my office I spotted Riley's pokebelt laying on the desk and a chuckle erupted from me. Why was I not surprised that she had left it behind? I figured that after talking to the boss and my obvious disappointment, she had had other things on her mind. Still, that didn't mean I couldn't have some fun with her about it. After all, aren't best friends supposed to tease each other? I glanced at the egg on my desk and sighed. I really had no idea how to hatch it. I hoped that possibly one of the grunts had a bit of knowledge. Riley was waiting outside my door when I left the office, and I was momentarily dazed by her appearance. She was dressed in a short black skirt, fish nets, and a purple tank top. I drank in her curves, her face, her hair, her essence, until I realized I was staring. To cover up the fact that I had been checking out my best friend, I pulled a stern face. "Why aren't you in uniform?" I scolded.

"Should I be?" She frowned, taking in my own well polished uniform. "We don't have a mission today, do we?"

"We have training," I replied. "So go get changed into your uniform."

"But-" She began.

"Go," I cut her off. "If you want your pokebelt back, you have to earn it." I told her, smirking.

"Saturn!" She exclaimed, her eyes wide. "That is just mean." She pouted. Her Chimchar snarled angrily at me.

"It's my call," I said. "Or have you forgotten who the commander is?" I raised my eyebrows and waited for an answer, but she just stared at me, glaring. Curse her stubbornness. "Go get your uniform on." I ordered firmly.

"Fine." She rolled her eyes. I gave her a look and she sighed. "I mean, yes, sir." She corrected herself. And then off she went to change, and as I watched her go I was glad that after she changed I wouldn't have as much distraction to deal with.

In the mess hall the grunts were already eating, chatting amongst themselves, and obediently in uniform as was required unless otherwise stated. I coughed loudly and the room got silent in a matter of seconds. I loved the ability I had to walk into a noisy room and evoke silence. "Today we are going to do a bit of training. Half of you will be competing in a battle tournament, while the other half will be completing obstacle courses. Then the groups will switch." I explained. The grunts seemed to have mixed emotions about this statement. Of course these courses weren't like those in games shows or those constructed by little kids, these were real, and dangerous. Just as I was about to continue, the door flew open and in rushed Riley, Chimchar as always ever present on her shoulder. Riley really was attached to that thing. She grinned at me and winked at all the grunts.

"I'm here!" She announced, flipping her hair in a way that insinuated she was self absorbed. Of course she wasn't really, and I knew the show was for my benefit. I rolled my eyes, it was just like her to parade the fact to me that since she was my second in command she was above the grunts and therefore allowed to be late.

"Chimchar!" Her fire monkey pokemon cried out, practically mimicking Riley's full-of-herself grin.

"Late, as usual," One of the grunts whispered loudly to her peers.

"Oh, shove off, Kathy," Riley said angrily, façade gone. "In case you haven't noticed, I'm two ranks above you. So if I were you I would be careful." She came to stand beside me and I raised an eyebrow at her. "You're the one that made me go change," She told me. "So technically it isn't my fault that I'm late."

"Enough," I frowned playfully at her. "We have work to do." I proceeded to explain the day's plans to her before splitting my division into two groups, the differently ranked grunts evenly dispersed. Riley would lead one group, while I would lead the other. Of course the scientists and technicians would be running the training course, so Riley would still have to participate. "If you do well," I whispered in her ear before we parted ways. "Then you can have your pokemon back." Just a little extra incentive to get her to perform at her best. Now I was the one grinning as she stalked off to the training area, leaving her disgruntled group to follow her. I hoped that she wouldn't take out her frustration on them. I led my group of grunts to the field on the second floor of the hideout. It was the only thing not located an the ground floor of our Veilstone City base. "The grunt who wins this tournament is excused from guard duty for the next month," I announced. We always had two grunts guarding the hideout so that no one came upon it while we slept. A cheer erupted from the grunts, and I knew they would perform well today. I called off the pair that was to battle first; Nicole and Taylor. Then I walked over to where Richard stood.

"Sir," He bowed.

"What can you tell me about eggs?" I questioned.

"Umm, you can eat them?" Richard answered hesitantly. I mentally face-palmed.

"Pokemon eggs, you imbecile!" I shouted angrily at him.

"Oh," He said sheepishly. "Right."

"How do you hatch them?" I asked with a tired sigh. Sometimes these grunts could be so immersed in idiocy that it took all my efforts to get them to come up for a breath.

"I'm not sure, sir," He bit his lip, knowing this answer would not make me happy.

"You are no help at all, Richard!" I said exasperatedly.

"You could ask a breeder, commander, if it is that important to you." He replied, trying to redeem himself but failing.

"It is!" I exclaimed, then turned around and walked away in what Riley probably would have called a strut. Nicole and Taylor had just finished battling, and by her grin I could tell that she had won. Taylor looked glum. "Off the field," I called to them, but they were too busy arguing to hear me. Well actually Nicole was singing.

"Anything you can do, I can do better," She sang, twirling around in circles.

"I-" Taylor began, but Nicole paid him no attention as she jabbed her fingers in his face.

"Anything you can do I can do too," She continued her song.

"But-" Taylor tried again, but again she cut him off.

"You just got poned, sucka!" She jabbered on, her face directly in front of his.

"OFF THE FIELD!" I yelled louder, and they whirled around to look at me before bowing sheepishly and trudging ashamedly off the field.