For Nellchan0013. The focus of this chapter is actually on Thorton, despite the title. Palmer just happens to share the spotlight as an unfortunate bystander.
Coming up next is a request from ShadowDragonAmor... and will feature two characters you may not be expecting. :D
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.
What should have been a normal morning for Palmer quickly went downhill as soon as he stepped into his room on the top floor of the Battle Tower. Or, to be more precise, as soon as he stepped into the rope loop laying innocently in the center of his carpeted floor.
"Wha—" The blond man was suddenly hoisted into the air by his ankle. "Damn it, what the hell is this?"
"Hey, Palmer," someone spoke up behind him.
The Tower Tycoon briefly ceased his struggling, turning his body to face the owner of the voice with some difficulty. Awkwardly craning his neck, he could make out the upside-down form of Thorton standing in the far corner of his room with a water balloon in his hand. "I swear, Thorton, when I get down from here I'm going to murder you, you son of a—"
"Palmer," the Factory Head interrupted smoothly, "think fast." He hurled the balloon straight into the older Brain's face. Ohshit.
As it turned out, Palmer realized two seconds later, the water balloon didn't contain water at all. It was full of honey.
"If you don't let me down, Shorton," the blond panted, wiping the sticky syrup off his face with one green sleeve, "I will personally kill you... And then I'll kill you again, just for good measure."
The teen clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "It gets better," he stated, pulling out a pillowcase from Arceus-knows-where. The boy turned it upside-down and a cascade of feathers rained down over the swearing, sticky Tower Tycoon. Throwing aside the empty pillowcase and holding up a digital camera, Thorton said, "Say cheese."
"Screw y—"
Click. Click. Click.
The Factory Head glanced down at the screen of his camera in deep satisfaction. "These photos should serve as some good blackmail, no?"
Palmer gritted his teeth. "I really hate you sometimes."
"Quit complaining, you should be grateful it's only honey. I was going to use hot tar, but Argenta advised against it. Maybe I'll just leave you outside the Fight Area for that family of Ursaring to find you... I've heard that sweet honey can be used to attract Pokémon in great numbers."
"For the love of Giratina's hellish domain, what's your problem?" The blond man's face was flushed, either from anger or from the fact that hanging there by his ankle was no doubt making all of his blood rush to his head. Maybe even both. "Before condemning me to death, how 'bout telling me what I've done, hmm?"
"Well, that's simple." The boy crossed his arms accusingly. "You stole my analysis machine!"
"What? I did not! Besides, have you even considered that we have four other equally insane coworkers here in the Frontier? Any of them could have taken it, you don't have to immediately single me out!"
The Factory Head paused, actually seeming to consider the other male's words. "Well, I'm not saying I believe you, but... if I let you down from there, will you help me find it?"
"How about if you let me down from here, I promise I won't kick your scrawny white butt?"
"Hmm, well, I suppose that works, too." Thorton crossed the room and undid the knot around the Tower Tycoon's ankle, causing the older Frontier Brain to fall to the ground in a crumpled, feathery, cursing heap. "Shall we investigate the Hall first?"
"Whatever, I really don't care." Palmer spat out a mouthful of feathers. "How long did it take you to set up that trap, anyway?"
"...About two hours."
"You really need better hobbies."
"Shut up."
Argenta opened her door with a smile. "Good morning, Thorton," she hummed cheerfully. "Oh, and Palmer too—do you know that your head is covered in feathers?"
The Tower Tycoon pulled a forced grin. "Really? I hadn't noticed," he managed through gritted teeth. The Hall Matron didn't seem to notice the blond man's annoyance and turned back to Thorton with a quizzical look. "So, I take it your analysis machine wasn't in the Tower?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
The teen shook his head. "Palmer says he didn't take it, and... well, I actually think he's telling the truth. Shocking, huh?" he said, pointedly ignoring the fuming blond in the background. "Don't be offended by me asking this, Argenta, but you didn't happen to take it, did you?"
The magenta-haired woman took on an injured expression. "Of course not!" she cried. Thorton looked at the female Brain for a long moment, then turned abruptly on his heel and began walking towards the Battle Castle. "Well, that's that, then," he said simply. Palmer stood there in shock.
"W-wait! How come you believed Argenta right away and not me?" he growled, clenching his gloved fists dangerously. "You didn't even subject her to the torture that I had to go through!"
"That's because she's a little more trustworthy than you are." The blond man sputtered at his younger coworker's words, while Argenta giggled and closed the door with a playful little wave.
Palmer let out a groan, basking in a cloud of self-pity that was quickly cut off when Thorton called back impatiently, "Hurry up! Why do you have to be such a Slowpoke all the time?" The blond quickened his pace into a jog until he was at the other Brain's side. "I'm regretting that I agreed not to kick your ass," the man stated with a scowl.
"Well, I'm regretting that the only person I have helping me find my analysis machine is a moron." The boy rapped his knuckles sharply against the entrance to the Battle Castle.
Darach opened the door a scant two inches and warily peeked out. "Y-yes, what is it?" he stammered.
"Hey, Darach. I'm looking for my analysis machine. Do either you or Caitlin know where—"
"No, no, of course not. Now, if you will please excuse me..." The Castle Valet went to shut the door but Palmer stuck his foot into the opening. "You're hiding something!" the blond man stated with a maniacal grin. "You did it, didn't you? We should have known, it's so obvious! It's always the butler who commits the crime!" The Tower Tycoon wrenched the door open all the way and the other man stumbled out—wearing a frilly maid's uniform and looking mortified.
Palmer's triumphant smile faded away into an utterly blank look. "Oh," he said intelligently.
Thorton, resolving to wash out his eyes later, decided to try again. "Um... is my... analysis machine... here?"
"N-not to my knowledge, no." The butler's left eye was twitching.
"What about Caitlin?" the Factory Head pressed, and Darach winced when the princess' name was mentioned. Noticing this, the boy added, "Hey, are you alright?"
"Oh, I'm fine. I'm perfectly alright. Just peachy. What ever made you think otherwise? Ahaha..."
"Do you need us to call the suicide hotline again?" Palmer piped up. The Castle Valet gave him a strained smile. "I-I'll be fine, thank you for your concern," he said weakly. "And as f-for Lady Caitlin, she is visiting Miss Dahlia at the moment, so I'm afraid you won't find her here. My deepest apologies... And by the way, Palmer, I do hope you realize you have... feathers all over your body..."
"Thanks for that, Darach. I hope you realize you're wearing a dress!" the Tower Tycoon shot back hotly, but the butler had already closed the door. "Ugh. Well, I guess that leaves just the Battle Arcade. What a surprise."
Thorton heaved a deep sigh. "Indeed."
Caitlin answered the Arcade's door when the Tower Tycoon and Factory Head came knocking, looking not the least bit surprised to see either of them. "Thorton," she greeted in a bored tone. "Dahlia has that machine you're always poring over, if that's what you're looking for. And Palmer—you're trailing feathers everywhere, did you know?"
"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do know," the blond man ground out. "And you should probably head back to the Castle, Caitlin, because Darach looked like he was about ready to kill himself."
The princess looked bewildered. "Wait, was he actually wearing the dress? I was only joking with him about it..."
"Hell of a joke. And I'm not even going to ask how you managed to get your hands on a maid uniform fitted for a man, because that's just plain creepy and I'd like to be able to sleep tonight without having nightmares."
The girl rolled her eyes. "Palmer, you idiot, must you really make everything sound so perverted?" she snapped, blushing slightly. "Look, Dahlia's in the kitchen. It's down the first hallway and through the second door on the right, if you don't remember. And Thorton, don't expect her to give up that stupid gadget of yours too easily. It's not like she's trying to steal it or anything, but she has her mind bent on figuring out how to work it and I can't see her handing it back over until she does. I mean, you know how Dahlia can be, right?" Shrugging, the princess strode past the two male Frontier Brains and hurried back to her own facility. The Factory Head sighed and walked through the door and headed down the hallway Caitlin had indicated, Palmer trailing closely behind.
The Arcade Star glanced up with a wide grin when her two coworkers finally popped into her little kitchen area, which was unsurprisingly crammed full of various sweet foods and candies. "Hiya, Thor!" she chirped happily. "I was wondering when you'd be dropping by. And you're here too, Palm? What happened, did you get into a fight with a giant pillow on the way here or something?" she added, casting a curious eye over the Tower Tycoon.
Thorton spoke up before Palmer could voice an angry response, holding out his hand and narrowing his half-lidded eyes. "My analysis machine, Dahlia," the teen stated exasperatedly. "Give it back. Now."
The black-haired woman furrowed her eyebrows in disappointment. "Oh, not now, Thor," she huffed. "I haven't even figured out how to work it yet! All I've managed to do so far is change the password to 'Mudkip power.'"
"Give it back!"
"Why should I?" The female stuck her tongue out, purposely being difficult. Thorton was beginning to lose his patience. "It's mine, that's why," the teen seethed. "You stole it!"
"I did not steal it, I just borrowed it... without permission."
"Isn't that the same thing?" The boy threw his hands up into the air, clearly frustrated. "Look, how about a trade?" he sighed after a moment. His female coworker blinked, interest piqued.
"What kind of trade?" she asked, blue eyes sparkling and the smile on her face growing wider.
Thorton thought for a few seconds. "How about in exchange for my analysis machine, I'll buy you... a giant chocolate cake?"
"Mmm... Well, that sounds great, Thor, but to tell the truth I could just ask Darach and he would bake me one for free."
"I swear, Dahlia, you have no shame. What about... well, what about this?" The teen reached into his pocket and pulled out his digital camera. "I could let you borrow this for a while," he offered. Dahlia frowned.
"A camera?" she said doubtfully. "I already own a camera, Thor. 'Genta gave me one for my birthday, remember?"
"Well, this camera happens to contain several incriminating photos of our very own Tower Tycoon hanging by his ankle and covered in feathers—"
"Deal," Dahlia interrupted, snapping her fingers and grabbing the proffered camera, handing the Factory Head back his analysis machine in the process. She giggled as she flipped through the photos on the camera's electronic screen. "You look so funny here, Palm!" she squealed. "What do you say I print out these pictures and send them to all our friends in Sinnoh?"
Palmer groaned. He really got no respect around here at all.