I'm sorry it's taken me this long to get Chapter 10 up, but my personal and work schedules have been fairly packed the last few months. And unfortunately, I didn't have much time for writing stories. Nonetheless, I managed to get it done, and I hope you like it.
Author's Note: This Chapter is a little shorter than previous chapters, and the action has died down a little.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters, just the story and any OC's.
CHAPTER TEN
LaRousse City Harbor is in shambles.
Thankfully, by the time we arrived on the scene, Agent Krow (who is the sole conscious and unharmed survivor) had already cordoned off the entire area. This prevented a small crowd of worried citizens from contaminating the scene. From there, Agent Krow contacted HQ and called for back up; to which Burgh responded and informed him of our impending arrival.
Upon arrival, my first priority was to check on the condition of Agent Martin and his team. Until that moment, a deep sense of dread and despair had been gnawing at my heart, which didn't ease up until Agent Sweets (the Secondary Head Medic for the Court) declared them alive – and in need of serious medical attention.
My plan didn't work as well as I'd hoped.
And my agents paid the price for it.
The entire wooden dock that Agent Martin and the other agents were originally standing on is completely gone now. It was utterly destroyed by the bomb's explosion, despite its restrictions. The only reminder that it was ever there are the various splinters and chunks of wood strewn around the harbor.
The Pokémon's Protect cocoon contained the bomb blast; however, I made a miscalculation and underestimated the force of the resulting pressure wave from the water being displaced by the bomb's expanding explosion inside the cocoon. This wave was destructive enough to completely shatter the dock and blow my agents pokémon clear out of the water. Not to mention, Agent Martin and the others were thrown backwards and hit with wood shrapnel.
Agent Krow was spared the effects of the blast because he stayed in the transport van, and witnessed everything from a safe distance. According to him, Agent Martin must've heard the initial gurgle and tried to warn the others to run for it, but they weren't fast enough; and somewhere in the process, Agent Martin dropped his communicator, cutting it off from HQ.
Agent Hawk and Agent Winter are still conscious, but have sustained a significant number of serious injuries, including possible broken bones. The on-site medic team is currently checking them out for further injuries. Agent Hawk is bleeding from a survivable cut to his temple, which will most likely become a permanent scar. And Agent Winter is lying down with an ice pack to her head, while a medic tends to her scratched up legs.
Agent Suki and Agent Castle are unconscious with multiple shrapnel injuries and possible broken bones, but are predicted to regain consciousness soon. Agent Castle has signs of a broken arm, while Agent Suki has signs of a severely twisted ankle. They're already on their way to the medic bay at HQ.
Unfortunately, the outcome for Agent Martin isn't as 'good' as the others.
Earlier, I helped the Medic team load Agent Martin into an ambulance van, and then I watched them rush him off to the emergency unit. Since he was closest to the end of the dock when the bomb went off he received the worst of the injuries, which rendered him unconscious. And according to Agent Sweets, Martin is at risk of falling into a coma, which will be devastating news for Agent Martin's family.
An unfortunate side-affect of being a Court Agent is that almost 95% of my agents are un-married or not in a serious romantic relationship, and they don't have families of their own.
But Agent Martin is one of the few agents that does have a family of his own, and for the sake of his wife and 5-year-old son, I pray he survives this. Court protocol says that I have to call her and inform her of his condition. I can't keep this kind of news form her, not for long. And the last thing I want to do is tell her that his condition is worse than it already is. So Martin, you've got to fight and pull through for the sake of your family.
"This is place is a wreck."
The sudden intrusion to my thoughts shakes me. I look down to my left, and Misty is standing next to me with a fierce and angry expression on her face. Her uniform is smudged with dirt and ash.
On our way to the harbor, I assigned Dawn to the recovery team – they're tasked with the job of collecting any remaining parts of the bomb that survived the blast and transport them to HQ for analysis. As for Misty, I assigned her the task of helping the surviving agent's pokémon; since her specialty is water-type pokémon, I asked her to share her knowledge with the on-sight pokémon nurses. Meanwhile, I busied myself with assisting the medic teams with the injured, and then moved on to overseeing all the other teams with containment and clean up.
I've already contacted the media and asked them to lead with the story of a blown underwater gas pipe and injured maintenance workers. The sooner we push this story, the better. We can't allow the city to learn of the real reason for tonight's commotion, which seems unreasonable, but I think the city is better off not knowing the truth of this incident. The explosion wasn't visible, but it was heard, and it was loud. There's already dozens of news vans parked behind the yellow tape.
Dozens of my Court agents and their partner pokémon swarm the harbor in an effort to contain and cleanup the chaos – all of my agents are dressed in emergency worker uniforms (this incident needs to look like it's being handle by the city, after all, the Butterfly Court is a secret agency).
"I know. But right now, all we can do is contain it and recover." I say, and look away from Misty's grim expression to glare at what remains of the harbor. "We have a number of injured agents and their pokémon that need tending to. We also have to keep the truth of this from the media and the public. Not to mention Scorpio's still on the loose. Once we're done here, we need to re-focus and double our efforts on his capture. Last time, it took us a year to catch him. We cannot take that long this time, not after this."
I hear Misty growl like an agitated Mightyena that's just been stuck with a pin, and the following venom in her words could melt metal, "I've never wanted to hurt someone so much in my life. And it goes against everything you ever taught me. But when I get my hands on him, Scorpio will pay dearly for all of this with his life. I don't care if I'm breaking the rules. From the very first time we caught him, I knew he didn't deserve a fair trial because there was no doubt in my mind that he was guilty of his crimes. But now I know for certain that a fair trial is pointless for a man like him. He cannot go free."
Misty's upset and beyond angry, her rage could boil water. And against my better judgment, I can't help but agree with her, which worries me. As Leader of the Butterfly Court, I must remain calm, focused and rational for the sake of everyone. Because if I can remain focused, then I can help my agents remain focused.
Part of my duty as a leader is to set an example for my agents, and work with the Hoenn Region's justice system. I'm the one person within the Court who cannot loose it and ignore the rules, no matter what. Because if I do, then I may become just as bad as the people we are assigned to capture. And that may reflect onto my agents. But as I clutch Agent Martin's broken communicator in my fist, I think about his family and the possibility of his son growing up without a father… I can't help the boiling rage building up inside of me.
I've never had the unpleasant experience of one of my agents dying during a mission… But if Agent Martin does fall into a coma, or worse, then I may just have to break the Butterfly Courts number one rule myself:
Always secure the target for legal trial by the Hoenn Justice System; and under no circumstances is any agent, regardless of position and rank, allowed to take justice into his or her own hands and execute the target.
I place my hand on Misty's shoulder and give it a reassuring squeeze, "Don't worry. I'll make sure Scorpio pays for everything. He's not getting away this time."
From the corner of my eyes, I see Misty look at me with burning approval in her eyes. Yet there is also a touch of surprise behind those fierce viridians.
Without another word, I walk away with a lot on my mind.
Rare POV – Guess who {Hint: You aren't going to like this person.}
Hahahaha… HAHAHAHAHA!
The swirling red and blue lights dance across my vision as I stare down at the harbor with adrenaline coursing through my veins. I arrived on the scene just in time to watch those amusing Court agents lower my beautiful creation into the water.
Everyone is so preoccupied with the bomb that it was smooth as silk for me to slip past the Courts security.
After all, this is one event I just couldn't miss.
Everything is happening just as I predicted.
With someone like Aaron Beaumontt calling the shots, I knew they'd find a way to disarm my bomb, just as I wanted them to. With this, I have more time to spend on perfecting my true plan. No to mention, I got to witness a spectacular display of power and I still have an intact city to play with.
The force and power of the Electrode Time Bomb, even with just one of the power packs, was absolutely magnificent!
If only it had been given the chance to detonate properly. I would've loved to witness the blinding and raging inferno of the bomb's all-consuming hunger devour this city. The very thought has me salivating… But then things would've been over far too soon, and I still want to have some fun.
*Bzzz…*
The voice of one of my loyal grunts buzzes in my ear from my communicator.
"Magister, we have news on the agents from the dock."
A grin spreads across my face, "How many dead?"
"Unfortunately, they're all still alive. But there is one at risk of slipping into a coma."
Shame… I was hoping for at least one of them to be dead. But a coma is just as good. It's like they're living in limbo, stuck between life and death… leaving those who care about them to suffer in the unknown certainty of their future. Will they wake or will they remain stuck forever in the abyss?
"What of Fallon and the others?"
"They've been capture and are presumably being held at the Court's HQ for interrogation."
Fool… so easily falling prey to the Court. He was far too confident in his abilities… Oh well, he was useful while he lasted… Not that he did much… He won't be needed from here on…
"Shall we proceed to Phase 2?"
"Not yet. There's something I need to take care of first."
"Yes, Magister."
I shut off my communicator and cast one last glance at the scene down below before turning and walking away.
You have survived tonight Butterfly Court, but only because I wanted it that way. What comes next will be far worse.
The things I've done in the past were merely a small taste of my power… My plan is far from over… Not only will I take the Five Families, but I will also rip off your wings and watch you burn…
Prepare to fall… for the Hoenn Region will be mine…
{Did you guess who?}
"Did she really?" Ash looks ready to burst out laughing, and is doing a horrible job of holding it in.
"Yes. She did. But don't mention it to her. Misty will kill me if she finds out I told you." I wink playfully at him, which finally causes the dam to burst and fill the room with the sound of Ash's boyish laughter.
After Dawn, Misty, Aaron and the other agent's left to handle the harbor situation, I escorted the guys back into the Round Table room; and Drew took over Blaziken's job of helping me walk around, so I returned Blaziken to his Pokéball.
Drew is sitting next to me (on my right), while Ash and Paul are sitting across from us. And for the last 40 minutes or so, the four of us have been sharing fun and interesting stories from our youth to help pass the time, and keep our minds off what's going on outside.
I just finished recounting the time when Misty accidentally ran into a tree after being startled by a Wurmple that crossed her path. She made such a fuss that Dawn and I couldn't help but laugh at it, especially when her ruckus caused a bunch of other Wurmple to fall out of the tree and onto her. We'd never heard Misty scream that loud before (this took place when the girls and I were 10-years-old).
"Then why tell us?" asks Paul, who (surprisingly) has been fairly talkative.
Paul shared his story of how he met Ash and Drew. And during his story, Paul comfortably admitted that if it weren't for Drew and Ash, he would still be a colossal iceberg who only focused on training powerful Pokémon with little care for forming emotional connections – which is saying something, because right now Paul is a human ice-cube, and I shudder to think of what it would've been like to deal with a human iceberg.
Paul also admitted that he use to view Pokémon Contests as a useless waste of time, and Trainers who participated in contests were weak, as were their pokemon. But after he met Drew and battled him (Paul lost, much to my amazement), his opinion of Pokémon Contests changed. He now has respect for contests, and agrees that they do have some merit.
I shrug, and flash him a cheeky smile. "Because it's a fun story and it would be a shame to keep it to myself."
"Thanks for not keeping it to yourself." Ash stops laughing, and shoots me a thankful smile while wiping happy tears form his eyes. "I had no idea Misty was so freaked out by Bug-types."
Ash shared stories of his adventures with Drew and Paul. He's been friends with Drew and Paul for a long time, almost as long as my friendship with Dawn and Misty. Ash first met Drew in Hoenn and Paul in Sinnoh. Drew and Ash travelled together as a team throughout Hoenn, with Ash competing in the Pokémon League Challenge and Drew competing in Pokémon Contests. Paul joined them shortly after competing against Ash in the Sinnoh League Challenge. From there, the three of them travelled as a team throughout Johto, Kanto and Unova.
Apparently, before becoming best friends, Ash and Paul were serious rivals. Ash disliked the way Paul treated pokémon and tried to teach him how to be nicer, while Paul thought Ash was pathetic and annoying with little skill as a Trainer. As for Drew, he and Ash got along quite well from the start, despite the countless times Drew jokingly taunted Ash about his (lack of) skills as a trainer.
"Not all Bug-types. Just certain ones." I explain.
"Such as?" asks Drew.
Drew's stories surprised and intrigued me most of all.
When he first started out on his Pokémon Journey he was very prone to nervousness – I voiced my surprise because I'm use to Drew being charming and confident, with little to no doubts in his abilities. He brushed off my shock, and told me how he lost his first contest because of his nervousness. After that loss, he vowed to become stronger. And thanks to the support of his Pokémon and Ash's encouragement, Drew became a much better Coordinator. He's now friends some of the biggest names in the Pokémon Coordinator World.
"Let's see… the entire Weedle evolution line, Spinarak and Ariados, Caterpie, Wurmple, Sewaddle, Paras and Parasect, Nincada and both its evolutions, the entire Venipede evolution line, Karrablast, Skorupi, Yanma and Yanmega, Durant, Larvesta, and Pinsir." I count each one off with my fingers, repeatedly.
"Is that all?" asks Drew, a smirk playing at his lips.
The entire time we've been talking, Drew hasn't let go of my hand. Not once. It's a little strange and will probably take some time for me to get use to. Yet at the same time it's exceedingly comforting to have Drew next to me, it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside – especially now that we've shared our mutual feelings for one another. Hopefully this means that Drew will ease up on the teasing and give me space to do my work uninhibited.
I squeeze his hand and nod my head, "Yep."
"You got anymore fun stories?" Ash looks at me expectantly.
"Well…" I smile, thinking of all the fun times the girls and I had during our Pokémon journey.
"Be careful Mariposa, you can get into a lot of trouble from telling such tales." An amused masculine and calm voice interrupts our conversation.
We all turn our focus towards the door – none of us heard it open – as Burgh waltzes in with a smile on his face and natural born swagger in his step. He looks exhausted, but is doing an excellent job of masking it with his natural suave confidence.
"What's the update?" I ask, eager to hear the news.
"Aaron just reported in, and there's good and bad news." Burgh leans against the back of the head chair. "Which one do you want to hear first?"
I take a deep and calming breath, "Bad news first."
Burgh's smile fades and changes into a scowl. "Aaron made a miscalculation with his plan, and Agent Martin is at risk of falling into a coma."
The room freezes… Silence takes over the space…
Coma…
Oh god… that's horrible.
Being in a coma is… is just as bad as dying, in fact, sometimes it's worse.
I don't mean to sound morbid, but at least with death there's a level of certainty. Once you're dead, you're dead, and that's it. But with a coma it's difficult to predict the outcome. A coma can last from several days to several weeks, or worse, several years. And the patient will either, gradually come out of the coma, become a human vegetable or die.
A mixture of anger and dread bubbles up inside me… if Agent Martin dies, then I'll make sure Scorpio follows him to the grave, so that Agent Martin can kick his ass in the afterlife as revenge.
I take a deep breath through my nose in an attempt to calm myself, "And the other agents?"
"Agent Krow is fine. Luckily, he was spared injury. Agent Winter and Hawk are injured, but conscious. Both Agent Suki and Castle are unconscious, but they're all cleared to recover soon."
I relax and exhale slowly, trying to contain my emotions; I feel Drew rub his thumb in slow, lazy circles over the back of my hand, and that helps me a lot. Because it's times like this… that makes me question whether being an Agent is worth it. Having to deal with this… this kind of anxiety… the queasy feeling of dread tearing up my gut. It's been two years since I last felt this.
"Good News?" I ask with hope in my breath.
Burgh clears his throat and a flicker of a tiny smile plays at his lips, "We got a Scorpio sighting from our private satellite."
Burgh picks up a remote, presses some buttons, and brings up a birds-eye-view image of a building overlooking the LaRousse City harbor. The image is HD quality and we can all clearly see a crouched figure on the edge of the building. They're wearing a long dark trench coat with the collar popped and a black fedora on their head.
"We can't see his face. How do you know its Scorpio?" I ask, leering at the image, trying to determine that this shadowed figure is indeed Scorpio. But the popped collar and black fedora obscure their face.
Burgh presses more buttons and a new image pops up. This one is of the figure standing up with the wind blowing on their coat, and their popped collar has shifted enough to give us a glimpse of their face. Enough for me to make out a clear profile of the person, and from this angle the figure definitely looks like Scorpio… Light skin… Sharp features… Oil colored eyes… Hints of dark chocolate hair… Self-satisfied and sadistic smirk…
"We ran facial recognition on the part of the face we can see and we got a 83% match to Scorpio. Do you agree?" I feel Burgh staring into the side of my face as I continue to leer at the image.
"I know this man's face better than anyone." I stand up, tugging on Drew's hand. He helps me move closer to the screen so I can analyze and glare at the image.
The first time we got Scorpio's case, I nearly exhausted myself spending countless weeks and months analyzing every single piece of information we received about him. I spent hours pouring over every image we took, analyzing days of security video footage, reading and re-reading dozens of witness statements, and ensuring that I would never forget his face. Scorpio put us through hell, and continued to do so even after we'd caught him. His wicked laugh echoed through my nightmares, robbing me of sleep. His eyes were black holes threatening to pull me into the abyss and keep me trapped in the dark realm of the dream world forever. If not for Misty and Dawn, I would probably still be having those nightmares.
Those nightmares led to my retirement.
"It's Scorpio." I confirm. "Without a doubt."
"I'll relay the information to the Aaron and the others. In the meantime, I have orders to send you and the boys home."
I turn to look at Burgh, "What about Misty and Dawn? Brendan and Kenny?"
"Misty and Dawn are on their way back, and will rejoin you at Drew's place as soon as they can. As for Brendan and Kenny, they went ahead and will already be at the house when you arrive. I have Agent Harrison waiting for you in the garage, to drive the four of you home."
"What about our parents?" Paul asks. "And the other families?"
"Your parents, along with the heads of the other families, have been updated on the situation and are currently being escorted home by other agents. Security around their homes and offices are being increased."
"What about my mom?" Ash speaks up, anxiety and concern dancing in his eyes. "She could be in danger too."
Burgh smiles, and his eyes briefly flicker towards Drew. "Actually, Mr and Mrs. Hammond were kind enough to invite your mother to stay with them until this is all over, and she accepted. The security teams protecting the Hammond's have orders to also look out for your mother."
Ash looks to Drew and silently nods his thanks; Drew shakes his head as a means of saying it was his family's honor to protect Ash's mother. I smile at the friendly exchange, before returning my attention to Burgh.
"Is that all?"
A kind fatherly smile graces Burgh's lips, "Agent Francis recommends that you are to stay home and rest in order to get better. Focus on healing and coming up with a strategy to catch Scorpio. Let Misty and Dawn handle the field and protection work on their own for a while."
"I understand."
Burgh straightens up and smiles at my acceptance of my orders. "Good. Sven, Leaf and Gary are still in the middle of interrogating Fallon and all his captured associates. We'll pass on all the information we receive about Scorpio and his plans onto you. Aaron has made it the agency's top priority to capture Scorpio. And you know Scorpio better than any of us, so we're counting on first-rate strategy from you."
"Scorpio is going to fry this time." I growl.
"We'll make sure of it. Now go home." Burgh gives a curt bow and leaves the room.
I look to the guys with a burning determination in my eyes, "Let's go guys."
Drew nods and silently helps me towards the door. Ash rushes around the table to offer assistance too, but I wave him off gently. And from the corner of my eye, I see Drew give Ash a look, telling him that he can handle this. Ash flashes us a cheeky grin and backs up.
I lean up and whisper into Drew's ear, "Thanks."
When I draw back, Drew flashes me a smirk and helps me walk out – with Paul and Ash walking behind us.
"I still cannot believe you did that." May frowns at me, but I can see a tiny hint of laughter and approval in her eyes.
"He deserved it, and you know it." I defend myself.
May and I are in her bedroom, sitting on her bed – well, she's sitting and I'm lying down with my head on her lap as she soothingly plays with my hair. We got home a few minutes ago, and after everything that's happened tonight, I hardly have the energy to leave May's bed and go to my room. And since she's not telling me to leave yet, I think I'll stay here for a little while longer. Not to mention, May's lap is really soft.
After Burgh dismissed us, May led us towards the agency garage where Agent Harrison was waiting to drive us home. I've met Agent Harrison before, when he first started showing up to chauffeur the girls around while Paul, Ash and I were under house arrest (and we're to remain under house arrest until we're told otherwise). And after all I've learned and witnessed tonight, I wasn't surprised by Harrison's status as an agent at all.
However, on our way down to the garage we ran into Gary as he was hauling away a slick and pissed off looking guy in handcuffs.
Now, just by looking at this mystery guy I could tell he was bad news. And my suspicions were confirmed when I felt May tense up in my arms. The mere sight of this guy had her scowling and shaking. I hugged May closer to my body.
At the sight of us the mystery guy stopped scowling and broke out into a wide grin. His lecherous eyes travelled up and down May's body, lingering on her bandages and exposed skin. I had the sudden urge to punch him, but I kept my cool and restrained myself.
"Hey babe, did you miss me?" he winked at May, earning a scorching glare from her.
I got the urge to punch this guy, again. He was clearly making May angry and uncomfortable. So I tried steering May away and urged her to take us to the garage. And it was working until the mystery bastard spoke again, which caused May's grip on my arm to tighten.
"I'm sorry that we didn't get to finish our little date." he chuckled in a dark and teasing fashion.
"Keep moving, Fallon." Gary shoved the mystery bastard to make him keep walking, but the mystery bastard resisted and just kept staring at May, his hungry eyes once again lingering on her bandages.
That's when it clicked for me. This mystery bastard was Sebastian Fallon – the asshole that tortured May and gave her all those cuts and bruises. Once I realized this, I finally acted on my earlier urges and lashed out at the bastard with a surprise right hook to his face (in the process, I let go of May's hand and caused her to stumble, luckily Ash caught her and helped her to lean against the wall). The sick bastard staggered from the suddenness and force of my punch – he would have fallen over if Gary weren't holding on to his arm at the time. Once the shock and pain settled in, Fallon tried to lash out at me in retaliation, but Gary prevented him from hitting me back. I wanted to go for a second strike, but Ash and Paul grabbed my arms and held me back.
"He's not worth it." May wrapped her arms around my waist from behind, and whispered soothingly in my ear, "Don't let him see you angry. He enjoys it."
So I calmed down and let Gary drag the bastard away – Fallon's face had already started to bruise. Once they were out of sight, Ash and Paul let go of my arms. May took up my hand and walked us down into the garage.
The drive home was fairly quiet. I expected May to scold me once we got in the car, but she stayed quiet. The only sounds that could be heard were May yawning, Ash snoring, and Paul grumbling about Ash falling asleep on his shoulder and drooling on him – yet Paul made no effort to push Ash off his shoulder. Meanwhile, I kept my arms wrapped securely around May, allowing her to use my chest as a pillow. For most of the ride she was shivering, and I wasn't sure if was because of the cold or running into Fallon.
When we got home, Brendan and Kenny were waiting for us in my parlor. At the sight of May's bandages, Brendan jumped into action and began offering help. But May gently waved him off, thanking him for his concern and assuring him that I had her, and that she was fine.
Half an hour later, Misty and Dawn arrived, both looking a little worn out. So I declared that it was time for bed, and no one had the energy to disagree; it was almost 4 in the morning. I also ordered the girls to take some time off from their regular maid duties, so they could focus on their Court work. Misty and Dawn smiled thankfully before trudging up the stairs to their rooms. May hugged me and asked me to help her to her room, which I would've done, whether she asked me to or not.
"I know he deserved it." May stops stroking my hair and flops backwards onto her bed. "In fact, I know he deserves more than a punch to the face."
I sit up and look down at her serene face. She looks so relaxed, it's hard for me to believe that a few hours ago she was trapped somewhere being torture by a perverted, sick bastard. I lean over her and brush away the stray strands of hair from her face. The touch of my fingers against her forehead causes her to open her eyes and stare at me with affection.
"Then why are you questioning my actions?"
"I'm not questioning your actions, I'm just surprised. That's all." May rolls over with her back facing me. "You're usually so calm and in control. I never imagined that you'd ever lash out physically like that."
"And I never imagined you to be a super secret agent."
May let's out a light laugh, "Fair enough."
I lean back on the palms of my hands and stare at the ceiling of May's bedroom. It's true that I usually keep my emotions and temper in check. And I prefer to get back at my enemies with my brains rather than my fists. That's how my parents raised me to be, to maintain my composure no matter the pressure. But after seeing that bastard and listening to him taunt May, especially after everything the others told me about him and what he does to girls like May. I didn't want to hold back. I wanted to lose my composure. He deserved to be hit. And I'm glad I hit him.
"I'm a little jealous."
I turn my head to look at May, who's still facing away from me, and stare at her in surprise. I lean in close and nudge her to look at me. May peeks at me from over her shoulder, and there's a clear blush on her cheeks. It's actually a little cute.
"Jealous?"
She rolls over to face me, and sits up. Her expression is a mixture of anger, embarrassment and sadness. "I've wanted to punch Fallon for years. I want to hurt him and make him pay for all that he's done. Not just to me, but to Dawn and all those other girls. He deserves to suffer the same kind of pain we all went through."
"Then why haven't you hit him yet?"
May shakes her head, "It's against protocol. And hitting him would give him satisfaction more than pain. Striking him would be like admitting that he won. That he beat me."
I shuffle closer to her and use my shoulder to nudge her shoulder. "He hasn't beaten you and he never will. You're strong, May. Stronger than I ever thought you were."
She stares at me with light in her eyes, "Really?"
I chuckle and wrap my arm around her shoulder, pulling her closer. "Yes. Really. I've always thought of you as strong, even before tonight. And now, I can clearly see that you're much stronger than you seem. The things you've gone through are horrible, and most people would've broken down by now after experiencing such things, yet you're still here. You survived. You didn't give in. So I can definitely say, without a doubt, that you, May, are strong."
May smiles and wraps her arm around my waist. "Thanks Drew."
I lean down and brush my lips against her forehead, earning soft laugh from her. "You're welcome."
"How come you can't say sweet things like that more often?"
I let go of her and I lean back on my palms, with a smirk plastered across my face, "Cause it's much more satisfying to tease you and watch you squirm."
May gasps and half-heartedly punches me in the arm, "I don't squirm."
I lift her chin and lean in close, causing a light pink blush to dust May's cheeks. "Nevertheless, you still react to my teasing, and your reactions are quite amusing. Even when your reaction is to outright ignore me. And sometimes I think your reactions are adorable. Especially when you get mad."
"You… You…" The blush on May's cheeks darkens as she struggles to find the words, but is failing miserably. Instead she pulls her knees close to her chest and hides her face away in her knees.
I smirk and try coaxing her out by wrapping my arm around her shoulder, and giving her a reassuring squeeze. "I'm sorry. But I'm only telling you the truth. And let's be honest, did you really expect anything less from me of all people?"
This successfully draws May away from her knees as she glares at me childishly with her dark pink cheeks puffed out and lips in a small pout.
I continue smirking, "Well?"
A few seconds pass, and then May sighs in defeat. "I hate to admit it, but you're right."
I chuckle and smirk, before leaning down to peck her on the lips, surprising her slightly. But rather than pull away, I feel her smile and lean into me. May's lips are soft and pleasingly responsive. We've only kissed three times before: once in my study, and twice in the Medic Bay of Court HQ. And now that we are romantically aware of each other, I plan on adding a few more kisses to the list. I try to take the kiss further but May stops me by placing a hand against my chest, gently pushing me back.
I frown at her actions. "What?"
May smiles softly and strokes my cheek. "As much as I like kissing you. Tonight's been a hectic one, and it's about time we got some sleep. And I need all the sleep I can get, especially if I want to get better."
"Alright." I lean down and kiss her on the forehead, "Get some rest. I'll see you in the morning."
I turn around and move to stand up, but a gentle tug on my shirt holds me back. I look over my shoulder at May, and she's grasping the back of my shirt with a soft pleading puppy look in her sapphire eyes.
"Actually, can you stay? I'd really appreciate it if you did."
I reach out to brush her hair away from her face, "Are you sure?"
May nods her head and lies back down, waiting for me to join her. I follow her lead and carefully lie down next to her. She shuffles over to me, burying her face against my neck. I wrap my arms around her, being weary of her injuries, and gently ease her closer to me. She wraps her arms around me in return and breathes softly onto my neck.
"Good-night Drew."
"Good-night May."
…Zzz… …Zzz… …Zzz…
I can't believe I didn't notice these things before.
I've been holed up in my bedroom since 9am this morning, trying to come up with a strategy to catch Scorpio; it's currently 3 in the afternoon. I'm sitting on the floor of my bedroom, surrounded by a mass of papers and files containing all the information the Court currently has about Scorpio and Team Desolation. I had Aaron send over everything we have on Scorpio shortly after I woke up, and I've been filtering through it all since it arrived.
And after a thorough analysis of the data, some things just aren't adding up for me.
First of all, why would Scorpio partner up with Fallon? What does he gain from such a partnership?
Scorpio is greedy by nature. He's a leader who likes taking control. He doesn't need a partner. If he needed extra hands, then he'd just order his minions (Team Desolation Grunts) to do it. Having Fallon as a partner just doesn't fit with Scorpio's profile. The only benefit I can think of for having Fallon as a partner are his connections in the criminal world. Fallon would be able to help Scorpio amass his followers and reform Team Desolation. Once that's done, there's no need for Fallon anymore. Beyond that, Scorpio would be able to acquire everything else he needs on his own. He has the brains and, now, has minions for it. Yet he allowed Fallon to stay on up until the Gala, and even gave him command over a rather decent sized group of Team Desolation Grunts.
My theory is that Scorpio was only using Fallon as front, while he worked behind the scenes. He knew that our focus would be divided with two high-class criminals on the loose. Since our first concrete sighting was of Fallon, we focused our attention on him first. And I bet Scorpio was counting on that. Add a bomb into the mix and he had us completely distracted. We were all so worried about the bomb and keeping everyone safe, that for a moment we put Scorpio at the back of our minds.
Speaking of the bomb, why did Scorpio use a bomb at all? Why threaten to blow up the city?
Scorpio's desire is to gain control of the Hoenn Region through the wealth and power of the Five Families. So why would he attack their home, LaRousse City, with a bomb and risk killing them in the explosion. He needs the Families alive. Sure he could claim their fortunes by force, but that kind of hold is only temporary. He needs to own it legally if he wants to keep it. Only the Heads of the Families have the legal right to hand over their wealth and power to a third party. However, if anything were to happen to the Heads, then it falls to their Heirs to take charge of things. And it's much easier to manipulate a teenager than an adult, especially if you use their family and loved ones against them.
Just like Fallon, the bomb was probably meant to distract us while Scorpio works on something even more sinister. He probably wanted to test us too. To gauge how resourceful we are; after all it's been two years since we last faced him. He wants to know how much we've improved since then. In any fight or battle, you must know your enemy well if want any chance of winning. And Scorpio wants to succeed no matter the cost.
Then there's the threat he sent, the one warning us about the bomb in the first place. Not everything in the riddle came true. Why?
The final line of Scorpio's riddle: 'Watch for the Eye of Cryogonal, and bow before the Heart of Volcarona.'
We assumed it referred to the pieces of jewelry that Aaron talked about. The 'Eye of Cryogonal' is the name of a necklace, and the 'Heart of Volcarona' is the name of a jeweled broach. Since the threat made reference to the Gala, we didn't it was odd for pieces of jewelry to be mentioned in the riddle. However, neither Fallon, Roxanne, Angela nor Monica wore any of these pieces of jewelry. And they were the only undercover Grunts at the Gala. At least the only ones we saw.
If this line of the riddle wasn't in reference to those pieces of jewelry, then what is it referring to? Scorpio is a meticulous man; he wouldn't have written that line if it didn't mean something. The 'Eye of Cryogonal' and the 'Heart of Volcarona' must have some other purpose. I need to find out what it is. When I get the chance I'll ask Dawn to do a computer search. Understanding what that line means could give us an advantage against Scorpio. Or we could just be playing into another trap. Nonetheless, we need all the information we can get.
Also, why hasn't Scorpio made any direct advances towards the Five Families?
In the past, Scorpio made numerous attempts to get up close and personal with the Five Families in order to reach his goal. When the opportunity presented itself, he'd often disguise himself as one of his Team Desolation Grunts in order to get in on the action. Through this method, he personally injured and even killed several of the Families' private bodyguards in order to get close to them. During his interrogation, he told us that did it because he got a thrill out of it. Scorpio enjoys the suffering of others and liked toying with the idea of representing the Grim Reaper, the spirit of death.
But it's been several weeks since his break out from prison and the closest he's gotten to them was when he had Fallon, Roxanne, Angela and Monica infiltrate the Gala. But other than that, no other direct contact with the Families has been made. I believe Scorpio is playing it safe this time around, and that has me worried.
And now that Fallon has been caught, and the bomb was diffused, what does Scorpio have planned next?
This is the scariest thought of all. All of this information just reinforces my theory that Scorpio was just trying to distract us until now and has something more sinister planned for the Five Families. And a deep gnawing sensation in my gut tells me that he has the Butterfly Court in his sights now too. After all we managed to take down his organization and arrest him.
*Knock, knock*
"Come in."
Without looking up from Gary's report on Fallon's recent interrogation, I hear my bedroom door open and close, followed by padded footsteps.
"How goes the research?" Misty kneels down next to me.
I put down the report, lean back on my palms and let out a deep sigh. "I've made some unnerving discoveries. And the fact that I didn't notice them earlier makes me feel like an idiot."
"May, the last thing you will ever be is an idiot." Misty jokingly glares at me and bumps my shoulder.
"Thanks, Misty." I stand up and stretch out my stiff muscles, wincing a little from the tiny sting of pain due to my bandaged cuts. "Now I think its time I took a break. I've been cooped up in here for almost six hours. And this research is making my brain tired."
"Good. Cause that's why I'm here." I shoot Misty a questioning look.
"While you've been cooped up in here for most of the day, Ash, Kenny, Brendan and Dawn have been putting together a calm and relaxing movie watching party. Drew's allowed them to rearrange the lounge room and has given them full access to his extensive movie collection. They've also asked Jeremy to prepare a bunch of party snacks and drinks, including his famous tasty mac'n'cheese, sweet strawberry cheesecake, and zesty lemon ice tea. Now all we need is you. So you in?"
I stare at Misty with unblinking eyes. And then I burst out laughing with happiness. I can't help it. With everything that's going on, the others took the time to put together an impromptu movie watching party. But I guess the reason for it is probably because of everything that's going on.
I stop laughing and smile brightly at Misty, "Yeah, I'm in."
"Great. Let's go. Everyone else is already waiting for us in the lounge room." Misty stands up and I follow her to my door.
I stop in my doorway and look back to all the reports and files scattered on my floor. I should tell there others about what I found. But after last night, they deserve some personal down time. I'll tell them about my discoveries later.
"May, are you coming or what?" Misty calls out, noticing my absence from her side.
"I'm on my way." I cast one last glance at the files and then close my door.
And there you have it. What do you think?
What's your theory on Scorpio's grand master plan?
Do you think May will be able to counter it?
And what about Agent Martin, do you think he'll survive or will he fall into a coma?
Please let me know, I'd love to hear your ideas and theories.
Once again, because of my schedule, it's going to take me some time to get the next chapter up, and I thank you for your patience. I will try not to take so long next time.
P.S. As I've mentioned before, this story is soon coming to it's end. But don't worry, I have another amazing story waiting in the wings. (At least I hope it's amazing)
~ LadySilentEagle