sacrifice

For the first time in a month, Juniper finally slept at a relatively early time. With Bianca's help the two managed to finish their lab preparations at the end of the week with time to spare. Before there was not much time to worry about anything not related to the preparations, since the preparations were of the utmost importance to the shipment of starter pokemon. If anything did not adhere to the strict protocol, the pokemon would not be shipped to the Nuvema lab, which would hurt starting trainers in the end. So Juniper and Bianca had spent the week tying loose odds and ends to make sure their current residents were happy and their future residents were safe. It had been a long and tiring process, but they finally finished around eight p.m., praise Reshiram, and so they could claim their rewards of peaceful sleep.

There was never much commotion in Nuvema Town, so Juniper didn't have to worry much about her sleep being disturbed. Tonight the bed was her mistress, and the brunette didn't bother to hide her excitement as she rolled back and forth across the sheets with drool over her mouth and chin. She always wondered how Fennel could sleep so well at night without a care in the world, but now she knew. It was embarrassing yet satisfying, a feeling that could only be shared by the bed, but the dirty secret was worth it.

It was probably around the middle of the night when Juniper felt herself floating between consciousness and slumber. She was sliding along smooth surfaces like an Ekans, vaguely feeling uncomfortable up and and down her body, yet for some reason she didn't want to wake up in the world of the living. There was an ominous cloud weighing in the back of her mind, pleading with her to stay asleep for as long as she could. She didn't mind doing that, but there was an urgency in that voice that made her uneasy. Maybe that built-up stress was killing her at long last. She just hoped Bianca wouldn't freak too much.

"-riiieee!"

BANG! BANG! BANG!

The gunshots were enough to startle Juniper awake. It was likely that she had been dragged earlier from her sore figure, but now she was being carried (with quite a struggle, she admitted), across the pavement to a ratty pickup truck. When she noticed that the shooter was none other than her father, Cedric, she came to the sudden realization that she was getting kidnapped. Someone's wrong buttons were pushed and decided to take advantage of her in just her sports bra and boxers, but she couldn't do much since she was still half-asleep. Damn her exhaustion.

And so in the truck she went. As the truck raced off in the night, Juniper bumped her head twice against the dashboard before she began to wonder about the situation. From what she saw in kidnapping and ransom movies, usually the kidnappers were much more aggressive. They'd tie up their victims or point deadly weapons at their temples, but there was no violence aside from her father's shotgun. She was also sure that kidnappers did not listen to bubbly 80's pop in their raggedy trucks, and that led her to the conclusion that it was very likely that this was not a kidnapping at all. Slowly turning her head, she saw Colress humming along to the tune, and a giant anger vein popped by her head. "YOU!"

"Yes, me. While I don't usually mind trading insults with you, Professor, tonight is definitely not the night to do i-"

"Let me out. Right. Now. Edward."

Colress had the nerve to roll his eyes as he shook his head. This didn't make him stop the car, but he turned down the radio and sighed, looking annoyed. "I can't," he insisted. "It's not like I could've just knocked on the front door and politely ask you to come with me. We both know that you would've slammed the door in my face, and it would've just wasted time. As matters are currently, I barely have time to explain things now. We have to be in a hurry, and besides, the ladies in the back get cranky unless Air Supply is on."

"Ladies?"

Juniper turned her head to find that two ladies in pale dresses were indeed squashed in the backseat, staring back at her with dull, disinterested eyes. She was stunned for a moment before regaining her anger. "Is that Anthea and Concordia? Colress, what the hell is going on?! If you expect me to go along with whatever bullshit scheme you're planning-"

"But you will, Professor, for Ghetsis is back on the prowl, and our dearest Edith is directly in the crossfire."

Turning up the radio just enough so the sisters remained quiet, the man began to explain. After the events involving Kyurem, Ghetsis had cracked more than a Humpty Dumpty, and he was only kept away from prison or a mental ward thanks to his Shadow Triad and Zinzolin. Most of his remaining followers believed that it was only a matter of time before he did himself in, but one year later the Harmonia man was still stronger than anyone had realized, and he craved vengeance from anybody who tried to meddle with his plans. In the past few weeks, he left a pretty obvious trail of blood and bones belonging to several pokemon, but recently he began his quest for human meat.

This was where Fennel came into the picture. According to several sources, Ghetsis was bloodthirsty, and already he had single-handedly caused injuries to a few people. One little boy that had the miserable luck of bumping into the man was currently hospitalized in Nimbasa with a broken leg and three broken ribs. Colress's close trainer friend, Mei, barely escaped Ghetsis's wrath with the help of her Unfezant, but her rival, Hugh, received two large scars on the back from a machete. Last week they were the ones who warned him that he might be next, and so the scientist employed Anthea and Concordia to be his bodyguards, knowing that they were some of the only ones that could face Ghetsis and live. Little did he know, however, he was not the target.

"I was going up the elevator to see Fennel, since it was Movie Night," Colress began to finish, grimacing, "but when I reached the floor, there was Amanita, hysterical, held by one of the neighbors. It had already happened. Luckily Arti was there, too, and he managed to get some intel from a straggling Team Plasma grunt. Ghetsis had taken her as…as live bait, and he's also taken my baby back, the Plasma Frigate." He paused, sighing, and Juniper was taken back by the despondent look in his eyes. "You can hate me all you want, Professor, but I can't do this alone. Edith needs both of us. I'm very willing to take on the stronger members, but I will need some backup. That's where my Charlie's Angels come in. The girls'll probably listen to you better, anyway. And Aurea, when you find Edith…leave. Don't wait for me."

The ominous cloud came back to Juniper's mind. They were close to the docks where the Plasma Frigate was, but she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something odd with Colress's words. "Hey, Colress, you're making this sound like a life or death mission," she joked, raising an eyebrow. "It's not like you're sacrificing yourself, right?"

But there was no merriment in his voice as he answered, winking, "I'm honored that I failed as a rival to you. Make sure we get the job done."

(Original notes: more rambling)

Originally written February 27th, 2014 on tumblr for femslash february. This was the first of a two-parter. Hmmm, I made Colress look pretty cool. He and Juniper never getting along only adds to the scientificshipping aesthetic because they have to share Fennel, rip.