Morph Six: Life in Petalburg
"You doing alright?"
He had noticed that, in her anxiousness, she had begun once again to play with her hands, one of her many nervous habits. It was actually funny, considering she was usually the calmer of the two of them. He took one of her hands and held it gently. "It's just a routine checkup, honey," he assured her, before leaning in to peck her cheek. "Just to see how the little guy's coming along."
"Or girl," she pointed out, resting her free hand on her already bulging belly. "I thought we agreed we wouldn't find out until the baby's born."
He nodded. "Of course I remember that. The deal was I could name him if we didn't learn what he was before he comes."
She chuckled. "You really want a boy, don't you?"
"Girls are fine too. But a boy's an excuse for me to play with all my old toys."
"Excuse me? Sir, ma'am?"
They looked up at the nurse, a plump, friendly woman in her forties. "Dr. Heinz will see you now."
"Thank you, Agnes," he replied, and helped his wife to her feet. Agnes, the kind woman that she was, held the door open so that his heavily pregnant wife wouldn't be troubled. "We'll be out in a little while."
"He'll be with you in just a moment," she added with a wink, closing the door behind her. He looked around the office, searching for a place to sit. He spotted a place right next to the examining table and dashed for it, while his wife took her position on the paper-covered table, her legs dangling off the edge. Upon the request from the nurse, his wife had taken off her jacket and worn the shirt she had to put on every time they visited for checkups. Dr. Heinz, a man that both thought had an uncanny resemblance to their friend Dr. Oak, came into the room only minutes later, which was speedy. He held in his hand both a chart and a cup of coffee.
"Well, it's a pleasure to see you both again," he said cheerfully as he set down his java. "It's coming soon, isn't it?"
"Aren't you the doctor?" the father asked, jokingly.
The doctor scoffed. "That's what the stethoscope is for, sir," he said with reverence and dramatically pointed to the medical instrument that dangled from his neck. All three laughed while Dr. Heinz opened the chart. "So, how have you and the baby been doing, ma'am?"
She brushed her auburn hair out of her face. "We've been fine. Lately the baby has taken to kicking whenever we watch television."
"What do you watch?"
At this, her husband's cheeks turned slightly red. "We've been watching the non-stop coverage of a Pokemon Championship being held in Johto. I think he likes the noises of the Pokemon."
The doctor raised his brows. "Well," he murmured, writing it down, "I'm not the least bit surprised, considering who the father is." Her husband merely grinned with pride. "Well, how's about we check on that baby?" She nodded in agreement and laid herself down on the paper sheet of the table. Dr. Heinz wheeled over the ultrasound machine and removed the transducer from its holder. "Ready?"
She took a deep breath. "Yes, Doctor."
"Okay." For some reason, the transducer always felt cold against her bare belly. The doctor flipped on the monitor, where at once a fuzzy image began to take the shape of a developing baby. "Hear that?" Both parents listened to the little one's movements and a very strong thumping noise followed. "That's the baby's heartbeat. So far, there's nothing wrong with the child other than that."
"What's wrong with it?" her husband demanded, rising from his seat.
The doctor paused, then looked at the screen again. "It's not a bad thing, just abnormal. Come over here and look at this." He joined Dr. Heinz by the monitor, where the doctor pointed at the heart rate. "See that? It's much stronger than a normal baby's."
"What does that mean?" asked the mother.
The doctor scratched his head. "Well, it could mean that your child had larger blood vessels for a fetus, or it could just mean that there is more blood than average circulating. It's not a bad thing, just strange."
"Is the baby going to be okay?" she asked.
Dr. Heinz nodded. "Of course. You have a perfectly healthy baby, ma'am." Both parents sighed in relief. "And, with that, I think we'll conclude the ultrasound." Dr Heinz removed the transducer from the wife's stomach and she rubbed her swollen belly protectively. "So," he added, removing his gloves and tossing them into the nearby trash basket, "have you thought of any names for the baby?"
"He gets to name the baby," she answered, pointing to her husband. "Direct questions related to that to him."
He laughed. "I've thought of a few, but I'm still not sure which I should put more emphasis into checking out. I decided that, if it's a girl, we'd name her Sarah, after my late grandmother."
"That's lovely," Dr. Heinz said.
The husband just blushed. "Man, I really wish I knew what our kid's going to be." His wife pulled on his sleeve and he grinned. "It's only so I could know whether to buy a red or pink Pokedex for the little guy or gal."
"Let it be a surprise, darling."
"And if it's a boy?" asked Dr. Heinz as he begun to write on the chart.
"Well, I was thinking maybe…"
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"0?"
The Golden Ranger snapped out of his trance. He wasn't piloting the helicopter anymore, having had the foresight to plot a course on the autopilot long before they arrived in Hoenn. It had been a several hour flight from Orre and he had spoken very little since their departure. 0 broke the silence only to confirm their location with PKM headquarters. "Yeah?" he asked and turned his head over to where his partner sat half-asleep.
"We almost there?" she asked, somewhat dazed.
0 checked their coordinates. They were approaching the vicinity of North Petalburg, only a few miles by the outskirts of the actual Petalburg City itself. "We'll be there in a few minutes," he replied. "I'll activate stealth mode for the chopper while we cross over the city." 0 flipped the switch next to the dashboard and the outer hull of the machine converted from the sleek paint job PKM had given it into a camouflage backdrop that would make it all but impossible for the naked eye of both humans and Pokemon to find it. "Do you have an address for the safe house?" He hadn't been to Petalburg in years and as such was not as certain of the cartography as he once was.
Fortunately, Serena had had the instinct to bring a map of the city "It should be here," she murmured, her finger pointed at an unseen portion of the map. "Turn the chopper north ninety degrees and we should be there in ten minutes." 0 input the coordinate changes into the autopilot and the helicopter made the adjustments. "There should be a space large enough for us to land down there." 0 glanced down and saw the building. It was a moderately tall one, probably some sort of apartment complex. 0 counted ten stories total in its height. Across the street was the gym, but the ranger ignored it. He instead focused on the landing area below them.
"Is the helicopter going to make a lot of noise when we arrive?" he asked and engaged the landing gear. "I have it on stealth mode, but that really only helps with surprise attacks."
She shrugged. "I think that normal people are far more unprepared than the organizations we attack. We should be good."
"Thanks," 0 answered. The autopilot did everything perfectly, and soon 0 felt a jerk in his stomach as the landing gear touched down on the rooftop. "Get your stuff out. I'll convert the helicopter into capsule form and get out one for your luggage too. Move." 0 grabbed his satchel and jumped out of his side of the chopper, but it took Serena a much longer time to get everything out.
0 shut the door, then felt a spasm shoot through his body. He groaned and leaned against the chopper for support. I need more serum. He made a mental note to take some the moment they got into the apartment and pressed his brow against the cool helicopter's surface until he heard Serena shut her door on the other side. "Ready, 3?" he asked.
"You could be helping me here!" he heard her shout from the other side.
He chuckled. "Group it together and I'll see what I can do," he replied, then pressed a small button on the side of the chopper. The entire machine flashed red and then dissolved into a small capsule on the rooftop. "I'm glad they managed to figure out how to do this with Pokemon, but they worked a miracle with these capsules." He grinned, and looked over to Serena, whose face was very red and whose luggage was in a random jumble. "Are they within five feet of each other?"
"Yeah, yeah," she muttered. "I don't have any capsules. Lend me one."
0 nodded and rummaged through his pockets for something of use. He found an empty one and withdrew it. "I'll do it. Stand back," he ordered. Serena obeyed and stepped away for 0 to capture the luggage. The ranger clicked the bottom of the capsule and tossed it into the luggage, where it impacted and captured all of the pieces of luggage in one red burst. The capsule, having performed its function, fell onto the roof, where 0 reclaimed and pocketed it. "Let's get inside, it's cold out here. Contact HQ and let them know we got here okay."
As he wrenched open the door to the inside of the building, he caught snippets of the conversation. "This is PKM Agents 0, Gold, and 3, White. Poke 122 has landed safely and we are heading inside." He heard a confirmation from the other end, then heard something that terrified him. "And, as per our agreement, no double beds, correct?" And then, another confirmation. "Thanks guys. Nighty night!" She clicked off her communicator and smiled at 0's deeply concerned face. "What?" she asked innocently and widened her smile.
"Those guys are completely incompetent," he grumbled. "Tell whoever that was that, whatever else is wrong with me, at least you'll have more room."
She followed him inside. "And why is that?"
"Are we forgetting I don't sleep?" he asked sarcastically.
She grumbled softly to herself. "Stupid serum. Stop taking it."
He shook his head and began descending the stairs towards their apartment. "It's a tough habit to kick, 3, especially when if you take it as long as I have. If I went off it now I'd be in a coma tomorrow."
"Does taking advantage of an unconscious person constitute rape?"
0 ended the conversation then and there. He led his partner down the flights of stairs towards the third floor. "What room number is it?" he asked as they neared the floor.
"Apartment 308," she answered.
He held his hand out behind his back. "Give up the keys. I know you've got them somewhere." A jingle issued and the keys promptly fell into his fingers. "Thanks." He took the one for the main door and stuck it in the keyhole when they reached the modest-looking door. He undid the lock and opened the door for Serena. 0's hair brushed against the tiny door's frame as they walked inside. 0 switched on the light and shut the door behind him.
Like the hallway, the walls were painted a light cream color, probably to make the apartment seem bigger. The main room was made of only about eight or ten tatami, 0 really didn't bother to count. A TV in the corner, and a window which displayed the nearby gym in full view were most of what he noticed, along with a kneeling table with two cushions sat in the center of the room, with a stove, oven and, of course, microwave, standing on the right side of the room atop a silverware cabinet with drawers and a little fridge. She'll never use those. Serena had already opened the sliding doors on the other side, which revealed a small sleeping area and a door connecting to what was most likely a bath. There was only one mat and Serena squealed when she saw it.
"Don't count on it, 3," he cut her off. "I don't sleep, remember?"
She pouted. "Ohh, we'll see about that." She grinned. "So, how about the luggage?" 0 offered her a grin in return.
"Oh, we'll see about that," he replied with a smirk as he dropped his satchel to the floor. "Depends on how you behave tonight."
"That could be taken in so many different ways," she purred at him.
0 groaned and tossed her the capsule containing her luggage. While she dealt with her things, the ranger headed towards the curtains on the other side of the room. With his hand, he parted them to reveal a large window across the wall, which happened to be in perfect viewing of the Petalburg Gym across the street. "We need to get the surveillance equipment over there as soon as we can." He turned to Serena, who was organizing her luggage. "You did remember to do that, right?"
She looked up. "Do what?"
"Bring the equipment."
"Maybe. It depends on how well you behave tonight." She stuck out her tongue.
0 shuddered. "There's really only one I will probably be able to take that," he mumbled under his breath. "Just get some sleep. I'll review the case documents during the night and keep watch."
She stuck her tongue out again, but complied with his order. She closed the bathroom and before long he could hear bathwater running. 0 walked towards the small bag, the only article of her luggage she had brought down with her, and retrieved the file folder that she had left for him. It was at least fifty pages thick. "Well, at least I have plenty to keep me occupied tonight."
"0," said Pi.
0 held his hand up to his ear. "What's up, Pi?" he asked and tucked the folder under his arm.
"Just a tiny reminder, you should probably take the serum soon," it answered. "We don't need another episode like when the old 0 tried to stop you from taking it, remember?" 0 groaned.
"I'll take care of it right now." 0 bent over and picked up his satchel from where he had deposited it and proceeded to rummage through it for his serum and syringe. Once his located one of the vials and a sterile needle, he loaded the serum into the syringe and lifted up his uniform sleeve to expose his pincushion of a right arm. "Heh. If I didn't know any better, Pi, I'd say this was a drug addict's arm."
"You are an addict, 0."
"Yeah, but it doesn't interfere with my work, so it isn't bad for me."
0 dug the needle deep into one of the vessels in his arm. While it stung a bit, 0 was no stranger to pain, so he pushed down on the syringe's trigger to send the serum shooting into his bloodstream. Once the vial had been emptied, 0 removed the needle and set it onto the table. A small amount of blood was trickling out from his skin, so he used his other hand to stop it. A small bit of pressure and a minute later, his skin had started to clot and the blood had stopped. "All done," 0 muttered. "I'll sterilize the needle for another shot later.
"So, Pi," he said as he stood up, "tell me about out target."
"You know about the target, 0."
"I knew the target at one time. Refresh my memory."
Pi sighed, but relayed the information to him in the manner of a person who was explaining to another person something considered very common knowledge. "The target is in her early twenties and is named May Birch. Listed as living in Petalburg, a recent change of address to the Petalburg City Gym has been confirmed, which is owned and operated by the target's brother, Max Birch, the current Petalburg Gym Leader. Has one daughter, name Sarah Birch. The father is unlisted, as alterations to the birth certificate were made by permission of Petalburg City's court system. The target's father is Norman Birch and the mother is Caroline Birch, both listed as living in the Gym.
0 nodded. "Recent accomplishments?" he asked with a slight grin.
"I'm not going to continue. Read the report."
0 chuckled. "Sorry, Pi." He pressed the button for the elevator and, after a few moments, the machine opened. "I love our high tech society," he said sarcastically and hopped on. He opened the folder as the doors closed. "No security forces nearby working with her…no shadowing… Good. The last thing I want is for this to be messed up by Jenny."
"Wouldn't Jenny be an asset?"
"Not in this kind of operation. The Jennys are more suited to active protection, not covert. If there's collateral damage they'd be perfect for the job, because we're only here to protect the target from the assassins. Jenny can't do that because she's too noticeable. Covert means 3 and I can't draw attention to our civilian identities. That's the reason for Ranger uniforms."
"Really?" 0 could almost see Pi's raised eyebrow. "I thought that was for giant fights or something."
"Little of both," the ranger admitted. "The only reason I'm probably here is because of my prior relationship with the target. Remember when we started we had to go to so many places that were far away? It's because of my former celebrity status." He ruffled his mane of hair. "Had to grow this giant mesh and get the 'super tan' just to be let out in cities." He flexed his mouth. "And the Orre-dialect lessons weren't fun."
"I thought it was pretty funny, watching you forced to say the word 'ball' about twenty times before you got the right pronunciation." Pi laughed and 0 grumbled.
As he scanned the basic data for the mission, only a few things caught his full attention. Aside from the locations of the target's living quarters, there was a single number on the sheet, displaying a PKM contact in the vicinity of Petalburg. "I can use this," he muttered and opened the channels for Pi. "Buddy, think you can get me in contact with an Agent 415? Number 555-333-0339?"
"Are you sure you want to at this hour?" it asked. 0 glanced at his morpher, which displayed the time 6:03. He nodded and heard Pi dial. "There you are. Connecting now."
Dial tone filled his ear. "Thanks." The phone rang for about half a minute before the dial cut off and someone who had been in the middle of a very important snooze answered.
"Who… Who is it?" a voice asked groggily. From the sound of it, 415 was a man who deeply enjoyed sleep early in the morning. "I am perfectly happy with my insurance, if that is what you are calling about."
0 tried to keep his snickers to himself and decided to have a little fun at 415's behalf. "Yes. This is Agent 0. How are you? Hard at work?" At the announcement of his rank, 0 heard a violent smash in the background, followed by an even more violent curse, issue in response.
"Is this a secure line?" came the answer, which was followed by a stifled yawn.
PKM communicators were one of the finest pieces of communication technology on the planet, virtually untraceable. "Yep. How've you been? Working hard?"
"Yes," he replied. "Always pounding my nose to the grindstone."
"Well, that's good to hear. Listen, the White Ranger and I are new in town, and we wanted to see some sights with you. Think you can arrange something for tomorrow?"
"Of course," 415 answered. "Where did you have in mind?"
"Can you come by the house?"
A cough issued. "Afraid not," 415 said. "I cannot disclose my whereabouts to you and I cannot come to your safe house without worries that someone else will find out my identity. Can you think of a public place where it would be safer?"
0 thought about it. "How about the mall on the east side of town at about noon?"
"That works. See you at ten," he answered. 0 disconnected the link and Pi returned to his ears.
"Don't be so mean."
0 arched his brow at the mouse Pokemon's kidding voice. "Why do people think I'm a nice person? I keep telling them I'm not…" His voice trailed off and he caught a glimpse of the sun rising. "Do we have to go back downstairs? You know she'll be snoring like a Snorlax in there."
"We face our fears," the Pokemon answered sagely.
"I suppose so," he admitted. "But how about before said facing of fears we grab some chow?"
"Some alcohol for you, and some food for Serena," Pi suggested. "Good idea. I'm sure she'll be hungry when she wakes up."
0 nodded. "I think there's a gas station around here that sells bento. What's our budget?"
"We can afford things to eat, 0."
"Then out into Petalburg we go then, Pi."
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She stands alone on a small hill in southwest Kanto, taking in the breeze of the nearby sea. It smells of salt and water, something she has always found exotic, considering she had lived in the mainland of Hoenn in her early years. It is far vaster than any lakes she has visited.
She wears a lithe sundress, for it is the middle of summer, and too hot for much else. Her hair is tied into two ponytails, and beside her is a small picnic spread she has cooked herself, with some help from her mother-in-law. It isn't much, just some foods and a bottle of wine, but it will be enough for who she is waiting for. She giggles to herself, and feels quite a few years younger than her age, almost like a schoolgirl with a crush. He is late, of course, as he has a bad concept of time. But she has learned to tolerate his tardiness, knowing that he frequently brings a present to make up for them.
As if on cue, ten minutes late, she catches him pedaling up towards her through the grass. His face is red, as if he has hurried the mile it takes to ride from his house to the beach, and he is panting. She notices, rather unusually, that his shoulder is bare. "He must have left Pikachu back at the house," she muses.
He arrives moments later. "Sorry, honey," he apologizes, while he gasps for breath. She forgives him, as she always does, by leaning in for the first kiss of the day…
May Birch disliked early mornings.
It had taken her years to realize that the day did not have to begin at seven in the morning, long after she had stopped traveling around with her friends. Unfortunately, since Sarah had been born, the choice of when she would wake was not often up to her. So on days like this, when Sarah was busy chasing around Max's Pokemon in the training areas, she relished the feel of the warm, fuzzy sheets against her body.
It was several hours past sunrise, at least nine in the morning. Max would already be up, hard at work training with his powerful team of Pokemon. He always got up at six so he could get at least four hours worth of training before the Gym officially opened. She giggled. Her brother had gotten so serious over the past few years that, were it not for his sense of humor and knowledge, she barely recognized him from the little boy who had so often critiqued her about Pokemon.
Slowly, because she was sometimes lazy in the morning, she started to stretch her sleep-filled muscles under the blanket and rubbed her eyes. It was almost a quarter after nine when she actually had enough energy to get off the bed. Yawning, she began to walk in the direction of her mirror. She sat down on the stool and began grooming her massive, tangled clump of auburn hair.
It felt like such a long time, but in actuality only two days had lapsed since the attack at the Contest. She shivered. Jenny had told her that there wouldn't be any police protection, and only promised her that she was being looked after. Maybe it's that ranger that showed up. Or Keean Toby. She would have appreciated either's presence, or just some sort of confirmation that she, Sarah, and their family would be protected. And again her thoughts drifted to the dark warrior. He had been appearing with increasing frequency in her dreams, always holding her. I wish he would leave me alone, she thought bitterly, and finished combing her hair. She grabbed a shirt and some pants, and headed out to the training fields.
Since the training grounds were on the ground floor, she had to descend down two flights of stairs before she entered the massive facility. Since her father Norman had retired, Max had redone much of the Gym. Now, the whole place looked like a combat field in Orre. Max himself was training in the corner with Gallade and Grovyle, instructing them in sparring training. Another of Max's Pokemon, a Mightyena was running around the circular Gym arena, outstripping the Buneary doll it was supposed to be chasing.
Max spotted her as she entered the training room, and signaled to Gallade and Grovyle to continue training alone before approaching her, grabbing a towel off a nearby rack. "Morning big sis," he greeted, bowing his head. "You here for training?" He patted his sweating brow.
She shook her head. "Not yet, kiddo. The Pokemon can still train, but I'm taking it easy for a little bit."
He nodded. "Sure. I think Skitty's running around here somewhere." Then he arched his brow. "And don't call me kiddo. I'm bigger than you are now." To illustrate this point, he looked down at her and glared through his glasses.
"Kiddo, kiddo, kiddo," she chanted with a smile.
Max's lips tightened, then cracked into a smile. "Given recent events, I'll allow this regression into childish antics. Go get something to eat. I think Sarah's demolishing Mother's stores of food as we speak."
May sighed. "Thanks, I'm kind of hungry." She winked at Grovyle and Gallade, who responded with bows. "Don't work too hard, okay?"
Max laughed. "Come on, we've been training for three hours. We've barely started today's work." His Pokemon seemed to agree with him, and shouted fiercely at her, thumping their chests. "Let's go guys!" Promptly, May noticed that she was ignored, for Max was very dedicated to training. The dark warrior influenced him so much… she thought, before she turned to the kitchen on the other side of the dojo. She smiled at Beautifly as it flew above her and opened the doors to the smells of breakfast.
Speaking of the dark warrior… She caught Sarah's eyes first, as she always did. Her daughter instantly brightened up and began to charge, even though she was halfway through with a bowl of cereal at the moment, in the direction of her mother. The bowl went flying to the ground, and May felt two little arms wrap around her.
"Morning, baby girl," she said with a smile. "Why aren't you in school today?"
Sarah laughed. "Mommy, no school today, remember? It got cancelled for a few days because of the thingy."
Caroline chuckled. "The teachers went on strike for a couple of days. They closed it down for the week while they negotiate with the unions."
"Oh, I see."
She picked up Sarah and set her back onto her stool. "Eat up, baby girl. You want to grow up big and strong, right?" Her daughter nodded eagerly, then returned to shoveling down her food. Making a mental note to continue teaching Sarah proper dining etiquette, May wandered into the kitchen to see what was up for breakfast. Caroline had made plenty for the whole family.
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"Twenty bento, and a six pack of Kanto imported."
The teenager behind the counter opened his eyes a little wider at the order. It was far too early for most to be awake, but 0 felt quite refreshed and energized, as he did at any time of the day. But 0 wagged a few bills in the boy's face to divert attention away from his strange order, and soon the cashier was busy totaling up the cost of the dark man's purchases. A satisfying ding issued from the old register, and the boy handed 0 his receipt and change. "Thank you," the ranger said, addressing the portion of the teen's head that he assumed the eyes were located in, before packing away the bento and beer away in two paper bags. "I'll be back."
"You've got a weird getup there, mister," the clerk said before the customer could leave. 0 turned around curiously, and noticed that the boy was pointing at his uniform. "You some kind of cop?"
In his haste to prepare everything, 0 had foolishly forgotten to change into civilian attire before stepping into the real world. He was still wearing the Golden Ranger uniform Serena had made him put on. Without missing a beat, 0 looked up and replied with an air of indifference, "Cosplay," before letting himself out of the store.
Halfway down the street, the earpiece switched on. "Good answer," Pi said.
0 smiled at Pi's approval. "I'm new to the secret identity thing," he muttered. "Being a regular agent was easy, at least you could wear civilian clothes. If we get busted by a gas clerk one day into the operation, we're going to have serious problems later on when the terrorists start taking shots." The Pikachu laughed into the earpiece. "Let's get back to the apartment. Twenty bucks says the Snorlax is still asleep when we get inside."
"I'm not taking that bet."
"You know I'll win," 0 replied with a grin. "Besides, I figure if we make her something nice to eat, and you know how much she loves bento, she might not attack me today. I need her in a good mood before we go to meet Agent 415." He heard a slight cackle in the receiver. "Have some confidence in peaceful resolutions, Pi."
"With Serena as your partner?"
"Good point," the ranger conceded as he neared the apartment.
0 quietly opened the apartment door, as he did not wish to anger his housemate by awakening her without a peace offering. The moment the door swung open, and 0 debated whether it was his hand or the sounds coming from the sleeping area that opened it, 0 got the impression that in his absence a pack of wild Munchlax had managed to get into the room, devour Serena, and settle in for a week-long doze. "Well, let's wake up the sleeping beast," he decided and headed over to the fridge to stuff nineteen bento and the six pack inside, leaving one lunchbox out for the microwave. There are only three things that will wake 3 up: food, sex, and danger. And, as the third was null and he was unwilling to perform the second, 0 stuffed the bento box into the microwave and punched in the five minutes needed to heat it up. Shortly after, a wonderful smell began to issue from inside and a swift kick issued from the other room, smacking into what sounded like the wall. "That'll do it." 0 headed over to the fridge for his morning dose of alcohol.
As he opened the can with a satisfying hiss, a very sleepy Serena poked her head through the sliding door. She sniffed the air hopefully then looked towards the microwave. "Food?" she asked hopefully, and reminded 0 very much of a wild Pokemon.
0 smiled and nodded. "Help yourself," he answered, gesturing towards the microwave as it finished preparing her meal. He took a swig of beer as the White Ranger made a mad dash for the food. "I hope you slept well. We have a meeting today that we can't miss." He sat opposite her on a cushion in front of the table and was forced to watch the carnage that was Serena eating.
"Wi' 'oo?" she inquired between inhaling pieces of vegetables with her chopsticks.
"Our contact in this city, a person carrying the number 415." 0 held up one of the documents on the table, partially for emphasis and also to keep stray food from flicking over it. "His information is listed here. I gave him a call last night and set up a meeting with him this morning."
Serena nodded from her lunch box. "Makes sense," she said, stuffing down another carrot. "What time are we going to go see him?"
0 checked his morpher, which informed him that it was getting around the time he had told 415 to come to the meeting. "Around ten, right after you finish eating. He said he wouldn't come to the safe house so we arranged to meet at the mall. So, if you hurry up, we can leave and still have about twenty minutes to spare."
The other ranger finished her meal with a loud sigh of satisfaction, then stared at 0 with utter confusion. "Uh…0?" she asked.
0 looked up. "Yeah?"
She pointed at him or, more specifically, at the fact that he was still in his uniform. "I know I said I love men in uniform, but you aren't seriously going to go to the meeting in that thing, are you? It sort of stands out in a trendy mall."
"You've got a point there…" He glanced down at the very glaring uniform and decided that maybe just once it would be a good idea to take Serena's advice. "I'll change into some street clothes from my satchel. No peeking."
She groaned. "That takes all the fun out of the idea."
He ignored her, set down his bottle, and grabbed the bag he had previously tossed away. 0 pushed the sliding doors shut and, for additional measure, propped the strewn mat she had slept in as a secondary buffer. He stripped down relatively quickly to his underwear and kept to the shaded side of the room, just in case Serena had been seriously considering peeking on him. He removed a pair of pants and shirt from the bag and dressed hastily. He donned the black pants and golden shirt, slipped his boots back on, and readjusted the chain of his necklace before exiting the room to reclaim his seat.
Serena purred. "Very nice…"
"Whatever." 0 picked his beer back up and drank his alcohol, staring out of the window. "As soon as possible, we need to add surveillance inside the Gym. I'm fairly certain that the target doesn't stay cooped up in her room all day, so we should probably make sure Pi can track her via cameras." Serena, her mouth full, expelled several pieces of rice agreeing with him, several of which landed on his face. His mouth twitched and he wiped the rice off. "What do you think Pi?"
"That should work. I can upload plenty of information into the morpher, so a camera system wouldn't be a problem."
"Then let's go!" Serena announced, having finished her bento and tossed it into a trash can. She grabbed 0 with a virility that he did not expect from a half-conscious woman and threw him out the door, locking it on their way out. "We've got a target to protect!"
"Voice down!" he snapped, as she hauled him out of the apartment building. "Do you not realize we have a cover to maintain?" Fortunately, the street was relatively empty, save for a homeless gentleman who was far too busy soiling himself to notice their conversation. "Let's take the bus."
Serena raised her brows. "Why?"
"Because crazy people take the bus," he explained, marching her to the stop on the corner. "I figure you're safest amongst your own kind." She stuck her tongue out at him, but wisely did not argue the matter. He then received the pleasure of having his foot crushed by her heels. It wasn't until then that he noticed she had somehow changed her clothes, from the very revealing attire she had worn the night before to a business suit with giant glasses and high-heels.
He arched his brows. "How'd you get that get-up?" he asked, not quite able to stop himself from staring at her.
She smirked and held up her white morpher, which looked exactly like his: a digital watch. "Mine's equipped to change clothes to a few different settings I have. Each of us have different settings modified to our morphers. For instance, I think 4 has some kind of holographic distortion thing set up."
"Interesting," he mumbled back, making sure that none of the others waiting for the bus could hear them. "Do you think mine's got anything on it?"
"Not if you haven't specially programmed it. I had to get Bakaguru to make mine." She dangled it in front of him. "Want to see what else I can wear?"
"No," 0 said firmly, as a large bus skidded to a stop in front of him and wheezed open its doors. Thanks to his past living arrangements, 0 knew the bus system around Petalburg like the back of his hand, having had to return to the city numerous times.
"By the way," Serena said, as they took seats in the section furthest away from other people, "have we decided on our aliases while working down here?"
"I'm Keean Toby, if that's what you're asking," 0 replied.
She smiled. "Then I'll be Serena Toby."
"No. That would contradict the story I told the target at the tournament. I'm divorced, which shouldn't be hard for me to play. I'm also single, so we're not married." He allowed her to lean into him so they could whisper. "How about brother and sister?"
She shook her head. "With what we get up to, I'm surprised at you." To emphasize this, she decided to press her chest against his arm. "We're not from Arkansa, after all. I don't have the complexion for an Orange Island tan."
He sighed. "Roommates?" Another shake of the head and an increase in the amount of her body she pressed into him. "In a relationship, living together. That's the final offer."
She nodded, and squealed, which he took to mean a yes. "I think I'll call you Kee-chan. Do you mind that, Kee-chan?"
He hated it already and disliked the seductive tone she was using. "Call me whatever you want, 3," he muttered. "Just don't let it distract you from your job."
She increased her hold on his arm and he felt her using the left side of his chest as a pillow. "You're so serious, Kee-chan. What's wrong?"
He groaned. "You say that like you don't know," he replied sarcastically. "I'm…just a little tense with the situation, that's all. Our job here…I like it, but at the same time there's a whole lot going on in my head. You know that."
"Want to talk about it?"
"I thought we were."
"I meant in bed."
Despite her protests, the conversation did not resume after that.
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Sarah Birch loved to draw.
Her Uncle Tracy, who stopped by Petalburg every now and then doing research for Professor Oak had shown her many of his own drawings of people and Pokemon, several of which involved Contest scenes and Nurse Joys. The little girl loved when he came to visit on holidays, when she'd show him some of her best pictures. And Uncle Tracy, with his kind smile, would always take one for himself for safekeeping. At one time, she suspected that he didn't really keep them, but about a year or so ago he had come to Petalburg with a small book full of her pictures especially made for her. The originals, he said, were kept inside his traveling scrapbook.
So, when she got tired of playing with her family or the Pokemon that roamed around the Gym, or when she was home from the Pokemon Trainer's School she attended, she spent a lot of time in her room drawing pictures. Most of the things she drew were funny little doodles from her imagination, like the one that showcased her Uncle Max's crybaby face after losing a Gym battle, which to this date she had never actually seen, or the one that had Uncle Brock surrounded by crowds of women, something she had also never seen before.
Now that she had finished her breakfast and play, she took up her crayons and grabbed a clean sheet of paper to draw a new portrait. Her materials in hand, the little girl sat down in her chair and settled the crayons and paper on her work desk. Before she started, she opened the box of crayons and poured them all out onto the table to decide which she would use, because she was simply weird and organized like that. After a few moments of careful selection, she picked up a crayon that was of a light dark color, and shoved the rest to the side to start drawing. Her hand holding the paper steady, she scribbled a bit of the color onto a corner of the paper to make certain she had chosen the correct one, then began the outline of the portrait figure.
As the outline progressed, it took on the image of what looked like a tall man, mostly because Sarah, though she was loved by her Uncle Tracy, did not quite have his skill. The head was a circle, the body looked like a rectangle with arms attached, and the legs and feet looked like a regular L and an inverted one. The hands looked like paws. She paused briefly, then laughed, pleased with the result. For detail, she gave the man a big nose, mostly because she could never decide on the size of a nose, and bigger noses were funnier than small ones. She drew in some coarse eyebrows that almost connected, and a giant mesh of hair that little a great deal like a mane. The hair covered the majority of the man's upper face, and completely obscured his eyes. With a giggle, she finished the face with a mouth, which was nothing more than a line. It looked like a cross between a smile and a frown.
"There!" she said with satisfaction. "Now for clothes." Sarah put down her grey-black crayon and grabbed a gold one to cover the man's chest with the color. When this was finished, she picked up a pitch-black one and filled everything else in. To complete the picture, she drew a tiny little Pokeball in his left hand with a red crayon. "There we go. That's perfect!"
In fact, she deemed it so perfect that it needed witnesses to its perfection, so the little girl jumped right out of her chair and ran out the door, eager to show the picture to whomever she ran into. She turned and bolted down the stairs, headed for the Gym training fields, where her uncle was sure to be practicing at this hour.