Disclaimer: Standard rules apply: I do not own any part of the Pokemon Franchise on any level and this story is written purely for the mutual enjoyment of the fan community.
A/N: My thanks go out to Rave the Rich and blupheonix5, who were among the first to review the story. Rave also served as the beta-reader for the first three chapters, so he gets another shout-out for being just plain awesome that way. Cause if it weren't for him and his support as an established Pokemon writer, I doubt this project would have gotten the shot in the arm that it did.
This chapter also marks the first time where the main anime characters will have their surnames for this story used, some will seem familiar. This is intentional, but should not make the story any less enjoyable.
Chapter 3
He's sprinting across open ground, the pain in his lungs and the burning of his muscles not registering whatsoever in his adrenalin-flooded brain. Bullets are missing him by mere centimeters as he dives into cover, returning fire as he goes.
He can finally see her. Being dragged away by the boss and his henchmen, kicking and hissing the whole way, trying valiantly to slow their progress and buy him time to catch up to them.
That's it Lena, keep fighting. I'm comin' as fast as I can.
Their eyes meet briefly and they convey a myriad of emotions as Selena momentarily stops struggling with her captors. Words are not needed between them at this point.
I love you Leo.
I love you too Selena. Just a little longer, I promise.
Don't keep a girl waiting Stroud.
(A blinding flash of white light)
They are inside a building, surrounded by several bloody corpses, almost all of them missing limbs. Her sword is grasped firmly in his right hand, slick with blood with a captured pistol occupying his left, trained on the boss.
There are only five of them left now, including the boss. That won't be for much longer though, as Leo knows that reinforcements are only minutes away. It's now or never.
"Let her go, and I walk out of here with her. Nobody else dies. Nothing else gets destroyed." He is tense, but calm.
"You were warned to back off boy. I refuse to let a wet-nosed BRAT tell me how to run my business. I expand wherever, whenever, however I see fit. If I let you go, all this random destruction simply starts all over again. In a few minutes, you'll be dead and I'll be able to get back to work without having to worry about all the setbacks you've caused," the boss explains, his sneer bordering on maniacal.
A massive explosion rocks the very foundations of the building, setting everyone in the room off-kilter, except for Leo.
Thanks Drake.
In the few seconds it takes for the henchmen to regain their balance, Leo takes advantage of their lapse of attention and leaps towards the closest one, his blade now bright red and slicing through the man's flesh like a hot knife through butter and gutting him like a fish. He gets off two rapid shots at the two henchmen furthest from him, both of them headshots, dropping them almost instantly. The final henchman drops his gun and strips the pistol from Leo's left hand, keeping a very tight grip on his sword arm.
Their scuffle ends a few moments later with Leo knocking the man out cold with a powerful blow to his solar plexus. Time seems to slow to a crawl as Leo drops his sword, turns in the direction of the boss, making another leap towards the first henchman's fallen weapon, grabbing it off the floor as he rolls into a kneeling position with the submachine gun trained on the boss, who was still using Selena as a human shield.
Tunnel vision.
A fading scream.
Two shots go off.
"LEON!!"
Leo bolts upright in his bunk, gasping loudly, looking around frantically. His left hand twitches, as if expecting to be holding something.
It takes a full ten seconds for him to orient himself. His breathing evens out and his brain finally catches up with his body. He pushes the covers off and turns to the side, putting his feet on the cold floor, and leans forward placing his head in his hands.
"It's been a long time since I had THAT dream," Leo thinks to himself.
Even now, years after the fact, that night still haunted him. He could barely stand to think about it most days because it brought back that deep ache in his soul, that ever-present reminder of his failure to keep his promise to her.
"'ey man, ya alright?"
Leo's head jerked to the side, spotting Murphy, and instantly began forcing himself to calm down. It would do no good to worry his bunkmates next door with his multitude of mental issues.
"Yeah Murph, just a bad dream," Leo replied, rubbing his eyes lest the tears start to form.
Murphy McManus was a good man, both him and his brother Conner. They were Scotch-Irish-born fraternal twins who had been together practically since they day they were born. Murph was an engineer working with the maintenance crews while his brother Conner was a Chief Cook alongside Leo in the St. Ives kitchens. He'd met Murph during his first week 'hazing' experience in the engine room and they'd become well acquainted in their short tenure together. Both of the brothers spoke with pronounced Irish accents, but thankfully, this didn't affect their communication skills unless someone was simply hard of hearing.
The third night he'd stayed on the ship, he'd inadvertently walked into the shared bathroom to find Murph brushing his teeth, much to their mutual shock. A few minutes later, Murph was ecstatic that his new friend was right next door and he'd quickly put a good word in with Conner once Leo told him how he'd ended up in the engine room, which Leo thought was perhaps one of the reasons why Stravinski had pulled him back into the kitchen so quickly.
Nevertheless, Leo was appreciative to have company such as theirs. When he'd endured his first week onboard, Conner and Murph had brought out a stash of high-end whiskey and toasted to a safe voyage, the reason for which Conner explained after they'd all taken a shot.
"Me an' Murph, we been on ships nearly all our lives. Whenever we come onto a new boat, we christen it like any good Irishman would, so that we all get back to shore safe'n sound," he'd said, grinning.
"Yeah Leo, a little bit'a luck never hurt nothin'," Murph echoed, tossing back a second shot with his brother.
Leo had always noticed that almost all mariners had their own superstitions about going out to sea, so he wisely just kept his thoughts to himself and let the two brothers tell their stories.
Now, he was beginning to wish that Murph would take a hint and leave him alone.
"You wanna talk about it? Seems like it spooked ya a bit," Murph noted.
"Not really. I just need to be alone for a while," Leo replied.
"Alright man, let us know if you need anythin'."
Leo merely nodded, turning his head so that Murph could see his good eye. Murph nodded back before disappearing through the shared bathroom back to his own bunk.
Leo finally glanced at his wristwatch, noting that it was almost five in the morning. Shaking his head, he knew from experience that he wouldn't be sleeping again tonight. Leo pulled on a light pair of pants and a workout shirt, intent on spending some time in the ship's gym which was open 24/7 to crewmembers. Double checking his pockets to make sure he had his ID and room key, he left his bunk as silently as possible to avoid waking Murph and Conner again.
He arrived at the gym in record time, swiped his ID through the card reader, and started his workout. Sprints, weights, and training katas for his multiple martial arts were really all he had time for since he had to be on-duty in a few hours. It took him nearly an hour to work up a good sweat, doing his best to focus on pushing his body to its limit and clearing his mind of that agonizing dream. After a full ninety minutes, he felt calm enough to begin interpreting what might be the cause of his dream suddenly resurfacing after being absent for nearly five years.
He ducked into one of the aerobics rooms that offered an outside view of the ocean and settled into a meditative stance, trying to remember what had triggered the dream last time.
Typically, interpreting dreams was one of Kurt's many specialties, but Kurt and all the others on his team were at Yuki's ranch in the Kanto region for some well-earned R&R of their own. He couldn't do this over the phone, so he'd just have to tough it out this time and connect all the dots himself.
He pulled up a mental calendar of that month five years ago when he'd last had the nightmare. The only job he could recall taking that month had been a low-profile surveillance job. He'd been using his private-eye persona with all applicable identity papers and had even taken some extra precautions to avoid tipping off his target that they were being tailed. All told, it should have been a simple mission, but it had fish-tailed out of control when he'd finally gotten the evidence he needed to satisfy the job's contract.
He'd made a clean getaway, or so he thought. He'd put a fair bit of distance between himself and the target before stopping for the night at a low-end motel to get some rest before returning to fulfill the contract. He'd set up the nightwatch as usual with Treebeard taking the first watch, but after such a long mission with little or no time for sleep, Treebeard had nodded off as had everyone else on the team.
Now that he thought about it, the nightmare had, in fact, saved his life. He'd awoken that night much the same way he'd done a few hours ago. The only difference was that he'd woken up to see headlights outside his room and hear footsteps approaching the door. He'd jarred the rest of his team awake and they had escaped after a frenzied battle in the motel's parking lot.
Still no closer to a reasonable conclusion, Leo noticed the first rays of sunlight peering over the horizon in the east, illuminating Olivine City in early morning hues of red and gold. He smiled slightly, glad for the fact that some things would never change.
"What does it mean?" Leo thought aloud.
"Does it even mean anything..." Leo trailed off, his lone eye settling on the floor. He remained there until his watch alarm went off, signaling that he was supposed to be waking up right about now. After turning the alarm off, Leo drew in a deep breath, held it a moment, and then let it out slowly, allowing the tension to leave his body as he exhaled.
Standing up, Leo noted that today was the day that the St. Ives would begin boarding VIPs and First Class passengers in preparation for its departure tomorrow afternoon and remembered that he'd be meeting the people he was going to be feeding during this trip later today. In a way, he was glad for the distraction since he didn't really want to dwell on the nightmare's presence in the back of his mind. Idly, he stared at his own reflection in one of the window panes.
"On your feet Ranger..." he mumbled to himself as he left the aerobics room and headed back to his bunk. No doubt Conner and Murph would be up soon, and he really didn't want to have to wait on them since they took nearly fifteen minutes apiece in the shower.
Upon returning to his room, he finds that Murph has already left for his shift in the engine room and Conner is just now getting out of the shower. Even through the steam, Conner sees Leo and grins.
"So lad, are ya ready for the beziest day of yur life?" The sheer enthusiasm Conner radiates at the challenge of cooking for so many people is contagious and Leo feels his spirits lift just from being in the same room as Conner.
"Ready as I'm gonna get kilt-boy!" He replies, his own grin widening.
"If'n I didn't know better laddie, I'd say you was winkin' at me!"
"Sorry bub, I don't swing that way," Leo replied, removing his muscle shirt and pants before grabbing a towel.
Conner's smile has yet to fade as he swaggers out of the bathroom, making Leo rightfully suspicious. Conner and Murph tend to smile like that when they've pranked someone, which leads Leo to a slightly bleak conclusion.
"You two used all the hot water, didn't you?" Leo asks, somewhat let down.
Conner's only response is to close the door to his bunk, grinning ear to ear as he fights to contain the laughter bubbling up in his throat.
Haruka had to admit, when she woke up this morning, she had NOT been expecting THIS.
Idly, she pinched herself for what must have been the tenth time since they had climbed into the stretch "Hummer-sine" as Harley had dubbed it. Looking around, she once again took in the sight of the top ten Johto Festival contestants all stretched out in the cavernous Hummer-sine.
Shu had actually been the one to break the initial silence that had settled over the entire group when all ten of them had climbed in after their luggage had been loaded, for which everyone was mildly grateful. The addition of this first-class ride over to dock where the St. Ives was moored had been sprung on them only this morning, as she and her three companions had all met downstairs to walk over to the ship for boarding.
Needless to say, Haruka was pleasantly surprised at the sudden change and had settled into one of the rear-most seats after claiming an ice-cold Sprite from the fully stocked fridge. Everyone was making idle chit-chat about the Finals and what a show that the Top 4 had put on, pulling out all the stops all the way up to the nerve-racking finale between Saori and Haruka.
The ride hadn't lasted but maybe fifteen minutes, but another shock was awaiting them when they arrived at the St. Ives' dock.
A massive horde of Coordinating fans, all cheering loudly and waving signs through the air as some eagerly held out blank notepads and pens, hoping for a handshake, an autograph, or maybe even a picture. Though somewhat intimidated, Haruka followed Saori's lead and put on a bright smile, walking slowly towards the gangplank leading onto the St. Ives. Apparently, they were going to be some of the very first passengers to set foot on the ship.
Although time seemed to have slowed to a crawl, Haruka began to enjoy the bonding between her and the gathered fans. She even found herself blushing slightly when she came across the first batch of people who were specifically shouting her name, immediately stopping to sign autographs and pose for a total of three pictures. A quick glance to either side of her proved that each of the top ten winners was doing something similar and that there was no rush for them to board the ship, so Haruka took her time and found out she had quite a following since she'd entered the Wallace Cup, she'd just never had the chance to meet any of her more loyal fans.
Some fifteen minutes later, she had just finished up signing an autograph for a doe-eyed young girl when she was tapped on the shoulder by none other than Harley, gently pointing towards the ship. Haruka glanced around to find that she was the last of the Festival winners alongside Harley to begin heading towards that gangplank leading up to the main deck of the St. Ives. After thanking all her fans for supporting her, she and Harley made their way onto the ship, waving back to the crowd as they climbed up the ramp. It was only when the roaring of the crowd had sufficiently died down that Haruka could begin to hear herself think again.
"Whew! I never expected that!" she explained, breathless to the less flustered Harley, a slight blush still on her cheeks.
"It is a little intense the first time, isn't it?" Harley remarked, grinning sheepishly himself.
"I hope I didn't hold everyone up, I didn't mean to lose track of time."
"Don't fret, Saori was the one who sent me after you. Apparently, we're now on our way to meet with the Captain who's going to give us a personal tour of the ship while the crew takes care of our luggage."
"Wow, talk about First Class. I could get used to this."
"Amen to that," Harley replied as a crewman ushered them into a small meeting room where various Pokemon League and Coordinating officials were milling around. At a glance, Haruka would say there were only about fifty to sixty people in the room, which made her feel like part of some elite, mega-exclusive club. There were even light snacks and refreshments at the back of the room.
Within a few minutes of Haruka and Harley's entering the room, an older man moved towards the podium at the front of the conference room and tapped the microphone, asking for quiet. As the assembled group settled down, Haruka and Harley found Saori and Shu standing off to the side of the snack bar and rejoined them as they all began looking for seats. Minutes later, everyone was seated and the aged gentleman spoke.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, allow me to be the first to officially welcome you aboard the S.S. St. Ives. I am Captain Daniel Whitcomb and I will be your host for the rest of the morning and part of this afternoon. Gathered here are some of the most prominent and up-and-coming faces of Coordinating and Pokemon Training in the world today. You will be the very first to be given a grand tour of all public areas on this ship. I assure you that our investors have spared no expense and that you are, without a doubt, the Guests of Honor on the finest ship in the world. Now, without further adieu, let's begin by familiarizing you all with the basic layout of the ship and what you, as our Guests of Honor, are privileged to whilst on our fine vessel," the Captain pronounced. At the Captain's signal, several crewmen began passing out information packets to each of the VIPs to allow them to follow along with Whitcomb's presentation.
"So things are going smoothly?" a soft female voice questioned over a young man's cell phone.
"Like clockwork, just like I said it would. You delivered all the equipment with plenty of time to spare, so there were no complications," the young man answered in an even tone.
"You've already finished onloading?" she asked.
"Yes, an opportunity came up last night that gave me a chance to bring the entire load aboard with minimal risk. Everything was secured according to the instructions."
"Hmm ... seems I might have underestimated you Willy; excellent work. I'll be sure to give you a little something extra next time I see you," she replied.
"I'll be sure to let you know if there's anything specific you might be able to help me out with, until then, expect me when you see me," the young man said, his mind already beginning to churn with possibilities.
"Well said young man, be see'in ya," she said right before the line disconnected.
The young man shook his head slightly. Double-speak was never his preferred manner of communicating, but even he had to admit that if anyone was listening in on that phone call, they wouldn't have much to go on since his cover story was airtight. He didn't like his codename either; 'Willy' just didn't sit well on his tongue, but he couldn't deny that such an innocuous name made people more likely to ignore him. Not to mention that he wasn't dumb enough to use his real name in an operation as big as this one, otherwise they'd be hunting him till' doomsday.
So he would simply grit his teeth and bear with it, especially since there were far worse names than Wesley Sergeivich.
Some hours later...
"And that concludes our tour ladies and gentlemen. Now, if you'll please follow my first officer, we'll introduce you to the next part of your VIP package for the maiden voyage." Captain Whitcomb explained as First Officer Powell motioned for the nearest person to stay close to him.
The fairly large group backtracked towards B Deck, where most of the entertainment and dining facilities were located on the ship. There was much conversation between those in the group, wondering exactly what this latest feature of their trip really was.
"My money's on a private dining room," Shu thought aloud, his hands in his pockets as he strode along between Saori and Haruka.
"That would be nice, since I have a feeling the main dining rooms are going to get pretty loud when they get filled to capacity," Saori added, remembering that those rooms had a seating capacity of several hundred each. They resembled large restaurants and the rooms' acoustics did a good job of cutting down ambient noise levels, but Saori had long preferred eating meals with a few close friends in more private settings than what most restaurants typically afforded their patrons.
"I think it's a little insane how they're picking up the tab for almost everything. Here we are, the Top 4 of the Johto Grand Festival, with prize money coming out our ears and they aren't letting us SPEND any of it," Haruka said, feeling slightly put out.
Her comment drew chuckles from all three of her companions, who knew all about Haruka's penchant for 'Victory Shopping Sprees'. Despite only being the runner-up, nobody objected to her most recent Spree since she had only lost the Final by a handful of points against pretty big odds.
Another few minutes passed in amicable silence for the four Coordinators even as others around them continued to speak in muted voices as First Officer Powell approached a set of double doors and signaled the man stationed on one side to open it for their guests while he moved to the opposite side and did the same with the remaining door.
The sight that greeted them threw Haruka into an immediate moon-eyed state herself, with her three companions fighting not to drool at the three long tables against the walls of the room ahead them and on either side, piled high with food that nearly hurt to look at and smell on an empty stomach. Six servers busied themselves around the room, setting places at tables and putting the finishing touches on the buffet lines.
One young man in a white chef's outfit was moving at a quick pace into and out of the kitchen attached to the room, which everyone idly heard First Officer Powell identify as the VIP Dining Room. Harley had to reach out and grab the collar of Haruka's shirt when she started moving forward, almost in a trance. The Captain and First Officer were themselves nearly overwhelmed by the heady aromas permeating the air as they composed themselves enough to begin getting everyone seated.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, if you'll have a seat anywhere you like, we'll get lunch underway," Al said as he watched a purple-haired young man in a green outfit almost have to drag a young lady to a table. He grinned a little, as his youngest daughter was almost the same way when it came to food.
"I must say that young Stenbuck doesn't disaapoint. I can't remember being this hungry in a LONG time," Captain Whitcomb quietly remarked.
"You had doubts?" Powell asked.
"A few, but it's like that with any new crewmember you bring onboard. Although with a spread like this, I feel a little silly for doubting him now."
"I'm sure he's used to it Captain," Al replied as he and Whitcomb took a seat nearest to the door leading into the kitchen.
No sooner had they been seated when Leo gently tapped a water glass with a fork, bringing all attention squarely on him. Almost everyone in the room quickly noticed that the young cook's left eye seemed permanently closed.
"Greetings and salutations everyone. I imagine that many of you are famished after your long tour, so I'll make this part as short as humanly possible. Plates are located at each buffet table, please use a clean plate for each visit, and the servers will be glad to take your used plates off your table for you, so please leave them there when you're finished. There are a wide variety of dishes I've prepared and they're all clearly labeled so you can have a pretty good idea of what's in them. If you have questions, feel free to ask, otherwise, we'll get to the rest in due time. Enjoy everyone!" The young cook announced, gesturing towards the buffet tables.
Harley, Shu, and Saori were wide-eyed when it seemed that Haruka just vanished into thin air before their eyes, seemingly materializing on the opposite side of the room without damaging anything whatsoever, not unlike an Abra using Teleport.
"I'm surprised she didn't leave a pair of fire trails..." Shu thought to himself, reasonably certain that he just heard Haruka's stomach growl from halfway across the room.
The trio that had been left in Haruka's dust went their separate ways, eventually discovering that each of the three long tables had a distinct theme to the food arranged upon it. One table featured dishes from the Western world, the next one featured largely European cuisine, with the final table holding a veritable schmorgisborg of East Asian dishes.
Harley favored the Western table, bringing back a half-pound hamburger stuffed with Feta cheese, Cuban Malta-glazed pork ribs, broccoli and cheese casserole, and finally something called 'Cherry Yum-Yum' for dessert.
Saori found herself drawn to the European table, sampling roast duck, cucumber salad, Shrimp Alfredo, pan-seared Carp with roasted peppers, marinated Cornish hen, pan-seared garlic red potato wedges, and sweet cabbage strudel for dessert.
Shu stuck mostly to the East Asian table, following Haruka's lead. Shu came back with Five-Spice Yellow River Carp, winter melon, Kinka ham soup, Chicken and Red Date stew, Sweet-As-Honey Venison, and Stir-Fried Triple-Winter, which was described as 'a savory mix of autumnal vegetables'.
What surprised this trio of Coordinators was that Haruka, after rapidly inhaling one plate of food to take the edge off her hunger, had gone back for seconds, then thirds, and finally gone for a plate of dessert. Saori was torn between a look of envy versus disgust, as she'd seen Haruka eat like this a few times before and the young girl had barely gained a pound. If nothing else, she figured Haruka had a metabolism that would make most horses jealous.
"Twenty bucks says she doesn't make it through plate number five," Shu whispered in Harley's ear.
"You're on," Harley replied, idly pulling a twenty from his pocket, as did Shu.
Halfway through her plate of dessert, Haruka slowed down quite a bit and sighed contentedly before she idly placed her napkin over her mouth, effectively stifling a long, soft, very unladylike burp. Her face suddenly brightened, finishing her plate of dessert and going back for her fifth plate from all three of the tables.
Another fifteen minutes later, Haruka had finished her fifth plate and washed it all down with a few glasses of tea. Shu grumbled, eyebrow twitching, and forked over his twenty to Harley.
"Gotta LOVE a girl with hollow legs..." Harley noted quietly. Shu's eyebrow kept twitching as he pondered where else Haruka could POSSIBLY be putting all that food.
Across the room, Captain Whitcomb and First Officer Powell were equally as stumped and flabbergasted as their guests. Even after being careful to eat lightly, they still hadn't gotten to sample every one of Leo's culinary creations for the first meal ever served to passengers on the St. Ives.
"How did you EVER get this all done?" Daniel Whitcomb asked the young cook, who had only just sat down at their small table with his own glass of tea for a breather.
"Most of the prep work was done yesterday Captain. I showed up here around 7:30 this morning and you guys didn't get here till almost 1:00pm, so I had plenty of time to get everything cooked and ready. I just know how to multitask and handle pressure. Cooking, at least for me, isn't as hard as people make it out to be, especially given that I've made most of this stuff before, so I was just following a recipe in my head for the most part," Leo explained.
"Well, I'm impressed Mr. Stenbuck. Whoever it was that recommended you to the company wasn't exaggerating whatsoever. A very pleasant surprise indeed," Al noted.
"Please, call me Leo. The last thing I need in my life is more formality."
"Well then, whenever I'm off duty or in here at mealtime, feel free to call me Al," the First Officer replied, shaking Leo's hand firmly.
"I'm afraid being the Captain doesn't allow me the same privilege as my First Officer. But if you ever need anything, feel free to let me know and I'll see what I can do," Captain Whitcomb offered, also shaking Leo's hand.
"Nothing at the moment gentlemen, but thanks anyway," Leo replied, glancing around the room with his one good eye.
"Well, looks like it's time to play 'Meet-and-Greet'," Leo noted as he saw nearly everyone in the room finishing up the last of their meal, getting up and tapping an empty water glass with a fork yet again to get everyone's attention. He had it almost immediately.
"My compliments to the Chef!" A random man shouted enthusiastically, raising his glass for a toast.
A heartbeat later, every last person in the room followed suit without hesitation.
"HERE! HERE!" The others shouted, in near perfect unison. Captain Whitcomb and Al Powell were among them.
Leo scratched the back of his head, somewhat nervous at the reception he was getting. He didn't typically like so much attention.
"Where HAVE my manners gone? Allow me to introduce myself; my name is Leo Stenbuck and I've been signed on as the VIP chef for the maiden voyage of the St. Ives. As the name entails, I will be cooking for VIPs and VIPs ONLY during this trip. This gives us some freedoms that the other passengers won't have the privilege of during the voyage. To begin with, the VIP Dining Room will be open from seven in the morning until eleven in the evening and you are free to come in and dine at any point during those hours," Leo began.
"I gladly take requests for foods and cuisines NOT found on the ship's standard menu, but if you do make requests, please understand that it will take longer to prepare your orders. I would ask that you give me at least an hour's notice for snack foods and two hours for an entire meal. If you are unable, unwilling, or just plain too cozy in your rooms, we will happily deliver meals and snacks to your cabin," Leo continued, grinning.
"Now I open the floor to any questions you all might have about your options here in the VIP Dining Room. Ask away and I'll do my best to answer."
It only took a few moments for Haruka to raise her hand along with a few others.
"Young lady, in the bandana," Leo prompted.
"Is there anything you can't or won't cook?" Haruka asked curiously.
"Our kitchen is fully stocked, so the sky is the limit on ingredients I can use. As for something I simply won't cook, I'll try anything once but so far I haven't met a dish that I would simply refuse to cook ever again. Next question please; you, near the front," Leo pointed to a balding man in his mid-40's.
"Pricing?" He asked simply.
"Everyone in this room eats on-the-house for the entire ten-day voyage. The only thing you pay for is alcoholic beverages and stuff from the many bars onboard. Just give your room key to the servers or bartenders and that will tell them that your meals are on-the-house. We'll also take care of keeping track of whatever you owe at the bars."
Every single face in the room lit up like a Christmas tree.
Shu, Harley, and Saori were smiling broadly.
Haruka looked like she was in rapture.
"Wait a tick," Shu thought, the first to realize something. He raised his hand, looking puzzled.
"In the back, Marimo boy," Leo called out.
Shu balked a little at the nickname as his companions snorted in repressed laughter. Shu didn't know whether to feel offended or not, as he'd never been compared to a ball of algae before. He had to admit though, this guy had to be pretty well-read to pull off such a witty comment so fluidly.
"Where do we get our room keys?" Shu asked in an even tone.
"So glad you asked; if you'll direct your attention to the table at the back with all the envelopes currently sitting on it," Leo directed.
All present turned to see a table nestled in a back corner away from the buffet lines with several dozen sealed envelopes arranged neatly on its surface. One of the ship's associates was seated behind the table with a clipboard in hand.
"Each envelope is labeled with a person's first and last name. Please have a picture ID ready for the associate and feel free to pick them up on your way out. With that said, are there any further questions?" Leo asked.
When no other hands were raised, Leo nodded, if only to himself.
"In that case, thank you all for joining us for lunch and hopefully, we'll see you at dinner tonight. I've included my own personal phone extension on a business card in the envelope with your room key, so feel free to call me or stop by, whichever is more convenient for you. The Captain tells me your luggage should already be waiting for you in your cabins, as well as another brochure detailing all of the activities that are available onboard. Enjoy yourselves!" Leo finished as he turned away and started helping the servers clean up from lunch.
The crowd began to break apart and started moving towards the back table to get their room keys, with Shu in the lead, followed closely by Harley, with Haruka and Saori trailing behind.
"Please state your name and have your picture ID ready." The associate reminded everyone gathering in a semi-organized line.
Shu stepped forward, his ID at the ready. "Ichikawa, Shu."
"Thank you, Mr. Ichikawa. Enjoy your stay on the St. Ives," the associate replied, handing the young man his envelope.
"Jameson, Harley."
"Enjoy your stay with us Mr. Jameson," the associate smiled slightly.
"Shinguji, Saori."
The associate blushed slightly, nearly stuttering. "E-Enjoy your stay, Ms. Shinguji."
"Ichijo, Haruka."
This time, the associate grinned genuinely as he handed Haruka her envelope. "You did a great job at the Grand Festival Ms. Ichijo, I look forward to seeing you perform again next year."
It was Haruka's turn to blush slightly as she accepted the envelope, thanking the associate for his support as she left the VIP Dining Room. She found her three companions waiting for her as she opened her envelope and looked at her room number.
"A-Deck, Suite 10," she answered the unasked question.
"About what we figured, we're all pretty much right next door to each other. Shu and I are across the hall from you and Saori," Harley explained.
"That's certainly convenient," Haruka replied, nodding.
"Okay, come on. I wanna see what a Suite looks like on a ship this big, it's been buggin' me for the past few days," Shu said as he headed towards the staircase that would lead them up to A-Deck.
Emma had to admit, this was easily beginning to degenerate into a game of 'Hurry-Up-And-Wait'.
She and her team were relaxed, savoring the calm before the storm. Well, almost all of them. Johnny was a little antsy, perhaps a little too eager to burn off some of his energy. Other than simple fidgeting, which could be easily explained away if anyone asked, her team was as ready as they were going to get. All that was left was to wait for the St. Ives to start accepting passengers.
Slowly her gaze shifted between each member of her team, as she remembered how each of them had come to be here today.
Johnny Briars was the powerhouse of her team, and his tastes reflected that. He'd been interested in fighting-type pokemon since he or anyone else could remember and having a hulking six-foot six-inch tall bodybuilder's frame only further encouraged him down such a path. He'd been scouted by the organization soon after he'd been expelled from the Pokemon Leagues for several years for 'unsportsmanlike conduct', which really translated into him beating downed opponents and laughing while doing it. He might have been one of the team's unstable elements, but his instability had saved them a couple of times when he'd just gone berserk and clobbered the enemy into a thin red paste, feeling neither hunger, thirst, or even pain. The only thing that stopped Johnny Briars from completing his mission was death itself.
Darrell Walters was the team's electronics and close quarters combat specialist. To that end, he was also a prodigious swordsman, but also used any bladed weapon with excellent skill. His nickname on the team was 'DW' for obvious reasons and whereas Johnny was a hot-head, Darrell was as unflappable as stone, at least on missions. He was easy to know off the battlefield, but if he was on the clock, he was laser-focused and solid as granite. Darrell was almost as talented with computers as he was with a blade and how he came to be that way stumped even Emma, since he guarded his thoughts extremely well and that translated into more control over his actions. Regardless, his skills had come in handy numerous times on intelligence missions, which her team regularly got because they were capable of getting in, obtaining their objective, and getting out again with no one the wiser.
Zelas Metallia was the team's resident spook and intelligence expert. If there was something you needed to know, be it gained legally or illegally, then you went to her. There was an air about her that just set every one of her opponents on edge, like she was more shadow and specter than human being. And her deductive reasoning skills were second to very few; a few minutes looking a room over and she could give you at least a general idea of what had happened. If Johnny was unstable, then Zelas was a borderline basketcase; too much paranoia and life lived too long in the shadows of their organization had tempered her into a manipulative recluse who showed no signs of wanting to come back into what little light was left in the world.
Ayane Takagi rounded out the team as its expert on supernatural pokemon lore and high explosives. In pretty much everything else that the team did, Ayane was the Jack-of-all-Trades. She wielded swords, fired guns, and knew enough aerial martial arts and acrobatics to pass for a real live ninja, a joke everyone constantly made to show how much they appreciated her skills on the team. Beyond that, Ayane proved to be the only real 'black hole' amongst them, since even Zelas was hard pressed to uncover information concerning Ayane's training and what kind of missions she had undertook before being transferred onto Emma's squad by The Board.
And that left only herself, Emily Sears. She'd picked up the nickname 'Emma' from her father, who'd trained her and kept her safe as often as he could, mainly due to the fact that he had a list of enemies as long as his arm who would no doubt exploit her father through her if they weren't very careful. Her father had taught her nearly everything he knew and though she didn't like to admit it, she considered herself the most stable person on her team, largely due to her father's own level-headedness and the training that he'd drilled into her very bones. Her leadership abilities were largely what had kept their team together for so many months after those bloody scientists had finally released them from the research facility almost a year ago now.
Her thoughts were suddenly corralled into focus as she noticed that the boarding gates were finally opening, admitting the first of the more common passengers. Emma brushed the errant thoughts from her mind as she mentally prepared herself for the mission ahead. Though they had yet to initiate hostilities, there was still work to be accomplished before the plan could be set in motion.
She took comfort and resolve in a certain fact as she and her team approached the gangplank with their lighter pieces of luggage in tow; they were the first of their kind, serving as the Vanguard of the new Team Galactic on the mission that would certainly be remembered as the beginning of a revolution that would change everything as they knew it.
If only Emma knew how true that observation would turn out to be...
Just across the street and totally unaware of the five Team Galactic members boarding the St. Ives, Reiko Chang steps out of a taxi wearing blue jeans, hiking boots, and a windbreaker. Her appearance is slightly different than when she met Ranger Hinata, but it makes a world of difference. Her hair is now up in a tight bun, her eyes are a pale blue, and stylish eyeglasses with transition lenses give her the air of a harmless librarian rather than a Pokemon Ranger who excels at infiltration.
She pays the taxi driver for the ride and searches her backpack and duffle, rummaging through the topmost pockets for the most important part of this little charade. While HQ had not been specific as to how low-profile she should be while in-transit, she had long ago learned that the best way to stay off the radar was to travel under a false identity. Finding her masterfully forged travel papers, she took one last look at the picture on her photo ID and compared it to what she saw in her makeup compact's mirror as she pretended to fix her eyeliner.
Satisfied that she would indeed pass as the person she was claiming to be, she shouldered her backpack and picked up the duffle, making her way to the boarding platform. After a five-minute wait in line, she places her backpack and duffle on a conveyer belt that she knows leads past an x-ray machine, glad that she won't be needing weapons for this trip.
As she is about to pass through a metal detector she takes care to remove all of her jewelry, including three items in particular that somewhat resemble pokeballs; her necklace, a bracelet, and her belt while a guard checks her ID. After passing through a free-standing version, the security officers wave their metal-detector wands over her limbs and torso and find nothing of suspicion, so they allow her to put her jewelry back on.
"Welcome aboard the St. Ives Ms. Leeds, we hope you enjoy your stay with us." One of them replies mechanically, although his eyes do rake up and down her body with clear approval.
Reiko has to remind herself that her name, for the duration of this voyage at least, is Vanessa Leeds. Her undercover operative training kicks in and she begins reinforcing the name she's going to have to respond to if anyone tries to get her attention.
"Please, call me Vanessa if you should see me again. Only my boss calls me Ms. Leeds anymore," Reiko replies with a smile, acting the part of 'harmless librarian' flawlessly. The guard blushes slightly and waves Vanessa on through with a smile, moving onto the next person approaching the security station.
Back in the Kanto region, somewhere on the outskirts of Pallet Town, on a large ranch belonging to one Professor Yukinari Oikido, the research technicians are preparing to lock down the perimeter and leave for the night. It's been a hard day for many of them, but a few still persevere at their given tasks, wanting to finish them since they are so very close.
Kenji Nojima breathes a sigh of relief as he finally reattaches the access panel to one of the lab's primary servers after digging through its guts for nearly four hours trying to find which component was malfunctioning. Since becoming Professor Oikido's primary assistant, he'd gotten very good with computer hardware and using the lab's mainframe system. It had been one of the greatest challenges of his life to learn how to input commands and read data in mainframe code, but he'd stuck it out and within four months, it had become almost second nature to him.
"Alright Professor! Try recompiling it now!" Kenji shouted, praying that he'd finally found the non-functioning processor board. He waited with baited breath, knowing it would take several seconds for the programming code to initiate the procedure.
"That did it!" Professor Oikido's voice rang out from the lab's upper floor. Kenji was currently in the basement, where the temperature was kept at a frigid 13°Celsius, or 55°Farenheit, in order to cool the computer core, which generated an almost exorbitant amount of waste heat. The Professor had acquired the mainframe setup about a year ago so that he wouldn't have to wait days to crunch numbers for research data on someone else's system. So far, they had experienced very few problems that neither he nor the Professor were capable of correcting.
Kenji breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the processor board he now held in his hands. There was nothing overtly wrong with it that he could see, but he knew from first-hand experience that appearances were often misleading. He made his way back up to the lab's main floor, making sure to close the door to the basement as he left. He approached the mainframe terminal, finding Professor Oikido sitting in one of the chairs, on the verge of drifting off as he watched the status of the program's recompile sequence.
Kenji grinned slightly as he set the defective processor board into an empty box to return it to the manufacturer before he tapped on the Professor's shoulder, jostling him awake. For all of the Professor's determination, his age caught up with him from time to time; a fact he dismissed as often as it happened. Kenji had gladly taken up the role of occasional adult-sitter, knowing that the Professor trusted almost no one else to see him on those rare occasions where age got the better of him. Days like today, where neither of them had had hardly anything to eat since breakfast and they had been up for nearly 20 hours now on nothing but coffee, energy drinks, and a few granola bars.
"You can go get some rest if you want Professor, I'll stay and make sure it finishes recompiling," Kenji offered as Oikido rubbed the sleep from his eyes and grunted a little.
"No Kenji, I've lasted this long. Just brew us another half-pot of coffee if you could please and I should be fine," the Professor requested.
Kenji let out a soft sigh, not really surprised that Oikido was being his usual stubborn self. But even he had to admit that it would only take another 40 minutes tops for the program to recompile and they could play cards in the meantime to stay awake. The only thing he balked at was the fact that this would be their seventh pot of coffee today alone. When he reached the kitchen and opened the cabinet to retrieve the extra-large economy-size container of ground coffee, he spotted something that gave him a terrible, awful, AWESOME idea.
Suddenly feeling much more awake, Kenji grabbed the package before him and set to work, grinning like an idiot.
15 minutes later...
"Here you are Professor," Kenji announced in an even tone as he set Oikido's mug at the far end of the computer terminal's desk in order to avoid damaging the equipment with a potential spill. Kenji then placed a few packs of artificial sweetener and non-dairy creamer beside the mug.
Professor Oikido frowned at the sight of them.
"Let me guess; someone killed the sugar today and we're all out of milk?" Oikido asked, rubbing his temples as if fighting off a migraine.
"You got the sugar right, but the milk's turned rancid. I think one of the techs told me that someone left it out of the fridge earlier today," Kenji explained.
"Well, black is better than none at all..." Oikido thought aloud as he brought the steaming liquid to his lips. Kenji idly took a step away, unnoticed by the Professor.
Suddenly, the Professor's eyes went wide and he spit the coffee from his mouth in an eruption that might have resembled a small volcano's.
"Too ... hot?" Kenji asked, fighting the laughter bubbling up within him.
"DECAF?!" Oikido uttered the word like it was an obsenity, his glare heating up more by the second as Kenji just let out a hearty laugh. Yukinari Oikido's punishment for anyone daring to give him decaffeinated coffee was told to clean out the ponyta and rapidash stalls every day for a month, BY THEMSELVES. As he currently cared for over 50 of them in total, it was one of the most extreme punishments on the ranch, hence why no one even bothered buying Decaf to put into the kitchen. The small bag of Decaf that HAD been in the cabinet was a gift from Satoshi's mother, Hanako Hashimoto, that Kenji had been too kind to turn away. It seemed even that sweet lady knew of Yukinari's unchecked addiction to caffeine.
"YOU ... YOU!!" The Professor was evidently about to blow his top when Kenji stopped laughing and faced the Professor down.
"That's for ruining my date two weeks ago," he replied, his grin smug as it could be.
The Professor froze before another word escaped his mouth and had the decency to look embarrassed. Kenji HAD told him he would get even when the Professor had called him back into work to find a 'lost' disk that had turned out to be in Oikido's own labcoat pocket. The young man had been so incensed that he hadn't even told the Professor his date's name.
"Someone you had better DAMN hope gives me another chance!!" he'd shouted two weeks ago before retreating to his bunk at the lab for the night to remove his dress pants, shirt, and tie. Oikido had been ashamed of his actions that night and let the matter go. Much as he hated to admit it, Kenji was almost as much a fixture of the lab now as he himself was. The place had run smoother in the past few years with him around than ever before, so Oikido took a deep breath, picked up his mug, and sipped again, though still twitching from the lack of caffeine.
"Don't worry Professor, it's only a one time thing," Kenji explained, patting him on the shoulder.
Before the Professor could form a reply, they were interrupted by the ringing of the videophone in Oikido's study across the hall from the mainframe terminal room.
"I wonder who that could be at this hour... and on the private line no less," Oikido thought aloud as he got up, mug in hand, and walked into his study, picking up the handset right before the answering machine was about to click on. He got a very pleasant surprise when none other than his old friend Leo appeared on the other end of the line, dressed in a cook's jacket and apron, looking better than he'd seen him look for the past year.
"Why Leo, what a surprise!"
"Okay Yuki, I'll admit it. You were right this time," Leo replied, grinning slightly.
"Well you certainly look better at first glance. So I take it everything is going well on the ship?"
"Yeah, as far as I can tell; some people like me, some don't, but that's gonna happen wherever I go. I'd actually forgotten how much fun it is to cook for more than ten people. There's been some odd requests, but nothing I can't handle..." Leo explained as he trailed off.
"I know that look, what's on your mind?" Yuki asked, a small frown on his face.
"Yuki, you know I don't like to overreact, especially when it's my intuition I'm listening to, so when I ask you this, I want you to know that I'm not doing this on a whim or because I'm losing it," Leo continued.
"Yuki, I want you open the vault and leave it unlocked ... in case I need the team to assemble quickly. Go ahead and enter the 'Safe' code since the timer's set to run for 12 hours."
"Okay, but do me a favor and tell me something; what prompted this?"
Leo hesitates, but knows that the only way that the Professor will actually do what he asks without question is to tell him the truth.
"You remember that dream I told you about? Five years ago?"
Oikido nodded grimly.
"I had it again last night."
Yuki's eyes shot into his hairline. He'd theorized long ago that maybe the dream was a premonition of impending danger when Kurt wasn't available to fulfill that role himself. If the dream had resurfaced, then perhaps there was danger afoot. However, Yuki knew that flying off half-cocked wouldn't do anyone any good. Although he did take comfort in the fact that if trouble DID rear its head on that ship, then Leo was there and he was trained to respond to situations that involved LOTS of trouble.
"Alright then, I'll do it."
"Thanks Yuki. Let's hope that I'm wrong this time," Leo replied.
"I hope you are my friend, for everyone's sake."
"Be seein' ya Yuki; I'll call you when I get back to Kanto in a few weeks."
"Of course, I'll see you then. Try to come back this time injury-free, would you?"
"No promises, but I'll do my best. Out," Leo said as he hung up the receiver on his end.
Oikido set his own receiver back on its cradle and left his study, headed straight for the Equipment Room before he got distracted by anything else. Producing a key to unlock the dead-bolted door, Yuki proceeded straight to the back left corner of the room. Passing disassembled tranquilizer guns, half-assembled pokeballs, feeding troughs, broken ranch-hand gear, and several worktables, he arrived at a heavyset gun vault that was built directly into the wall.
Idly, he entered a four-digit code to set the vault's mode to "Safe", which didn't require any biometrics to gain access to its contents, but instead triggered a magnetic time-lock that would only open after a preset amount of time, ranging from two hours to several days. Then he entered the 15-digit access code and watched as the steady red light on the keypad go dark and the yellow light start blinking once per second, indicating that the time lock had engaged. Once the 12 hours had passed, the light would turn a steady green and all he would have to do is turn the crank to retract the bolts from the housing and open the heavy door.
Just as he was about to turn and leave, he heard Kenji yell something from the vicinity of the front door. Not understanding a word of it, he backtracked through the Equipment Room, locking the door behind him, and went to see what the commotion was about, as the program they'd left compiling still had about 15 minutes left to complete its task.
Upon arriving at the main entrance to the lab, he got another pleasant surprise. Satoshi's mother had apparently decided to pay them a visit, and from the looks of things, she'd come bearing food.
"I'm sorry Kenji, I didn't hear you the first time, but I guess I don't need to ask what you were saying now, do I?" Oikido remarked with a smile, glad as always to have Hanako's company. Kenji was unable to answer as he was currently wolfing down a club sandwich, so Oikido turned to greet Hanako.
"So what brings you out here so late? It'll be dark before you know it," he said, glancing outside at the fading sunlight.
"Well, I was jogging on the side of the road a few hours ago when one of the young men who work here mentioned that maybe I should check up on you sometime tonight since it seemed the two of you were dead-set on fixing something. Here, I brought you one too," Hanako answered as she reached into a bag and retrieved what looked and smelled like a Reuben sandwich, one of Yuki's favorites.
Oikido was about to decline when his stomach answered for him with a muffled growl that even Kenji heard as he wiped his hands and mouth with a paper towel, having finished his own sandwich.
"Come on Professor, we've got a few minutes before the program finishes, you should eat something," Kenji encouraged.
"Well, since you've already gone to the trouble of coming out here Hanako, I might as well. Thanks very much for your concern," Yuki replied, looking slightly flustered, but happy that he had at least two people in the world still willing to look out for him. He went into the kitchen for a bottle of water to go with his sandwich and listened as Hanako and Kenji picked up where they left off.
"So Satoshi called some time ago you said?"
"Yeah, he called a few weeks ago to check in with the Professor and see how the rest of his pokemon were doing. He asked if anything was happening with you, so I told him you were as well as you could possibly be when I last saw you a few days before he called. Since then, we haven't heard anything, so I think they're between towns right now," Kenji explained.
"It seems whenever he calls the house, I'm in town or otherwise away from the phone. If it's not that, he's already moved to the next town. Sometimes I wish he would call home a little more often, with as much trouble as he's gotten into since he started his journey," Hanako thought aloud.
"I wouldn't worry too much about him. Takeshi's with him and he always looks out for Satoshi when they travel together. Plus they've got some new girl, a Coordinator if I remember correctly, along for the ride as well. He did mention something about seeing some guy on the news, oh what was his name ... Shu, that's it. Told me that this Shu guy had placed third in the Johto Grand Festival and won a trip on some ship called the St. Ives..." Kenji continued on for some minutes after that, but Oikido hardly heard a word after 'St. Ives' and 'Shu'.
He was certain that he'd heard that name not that long ago from Satoshi himself, but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out how Shu was connected in the web of Satoshi's network of friends. The other concern was that this Shu was onboard the same ship as Leo, which might mean trouble in the coming days. He'd have to stay on top of the news for the next two weeks to make sure that nothing bad happened to the St. Ives. Realizing that he'd spaced out, Yuki shook his head as he heard Hanako start speaking again.
"I swear, sometimes I think that boy intentionally tries to worry me to death with some of his adventures..."
Somewhere in the Sinnoh region...
"AAACHHOOOOO!!" Satoshi sneezed loudly, sending birds scattering for at least a mile in every direction, rubbing the bridge of his nose to help ease the slight pain that accompanies such a monstrous sneeze.
Takeshi and Hikari watched Satoshi with wide eyes, wondering if he'd perhaps sneezed up a lung or some other bodily organ.
"You think someone's talking about him?" Takeshi asked Hikari quietly, also wondering if perhaps Satoshi was about to come down with the flu or something like that.
"Daijoubu! Even if they were, they've probably already said everything that needs to be said," the young Coordinator replied.
"AACHOO!" Satoshi sneezed again, but with much less volume than before.
"Of course, I HAVE been wrong before..." Hikari thought aloud, her head tilted slightly to one side.