[A/N]: Hey there everyone! I hope you all had fun while I was on break! Personally I had a lot of fun (I spent most of my break watching Steven universe; which is amazing by the way, and practising my drawing skills). Either way though, I'm back now, and on time for another release. Don't worry either, I will continue my weekly schedule as normal from this point, until such a time as I need another break (not very likely to happen any time soon).

So with that in mind, I'll just say that it's great to be back and I have yet another chapter for you all. Also yes, this chapter title hints at many things, including what occurs in this chapter and beyond. That said, I'd also like to state that I love feed back on this story! I know it's gotten quite big now, but if any of my readers like or dislike an aspect, or just have general mechanical advice for writing (such as grammar and the like) please do let me know! Criticism lets me improve, and extension, this whole fic improves for everyone who reads it, so don't be shy!

Anywho, as always, chapter dev notes are at the bottom, along with shoutouts/guest review replies. Cheers for sticking around everyone and I hope you enjoy the next instalment in this story! - [A/N]

"So, going to speak up? I mean, we have all day, might as well indulge in a nice chat don't you think?"

Spoot

"Go drown in lava you bitch!" I growled after spitting at the supposed champion.

Even looking down on me though, she was still a cow. Champion of whores was more fitting than the 'champion of Sinnoh'. Cynthia or whatever her name was wouldn't get an answer out of me. Giving me a glare for spitting at her wouldn't make me anymore inclined to speak with her either, what did she even expect anyway? Red carpet and a fucking welcoming committee?

"If you think I'm going to tell you shit, you can think again. I don't have anything to say to you." I said, taking care that my reply was coated with as much bitterness as possible.

Her annoyed gaze intensified, her mouth tugging into a barely visible scowl.

"Oh you'll talk alright. Believe me, I've been patient with you so far, I even gave you a night's rest before I bothered to interrogate you. If I have to do things the hard way, I will." She spoke, menace just barely seeping in.

Did she think mock-restraint and the 'I went easy on you' routine would work on me, an accomplished magma admin?

"Are you stupid, deaf or both?" I asked, smirking just a tiny bit.

She was just a usual member of law enforcement, champion or not. Unlike us, she had to deal with laws and regulations. There wasn't a thing she could do while being constrained like that, looks alone don't kill, so she wouldn't get a word out of me like this.

"Excuse me?"

"Well either you didn't hear me, or you didn't understand what I said earlier. I'm not fucking talking, I don't care how intimidating you think you are, you're just a-"

A sharp pain shot through my gut; I felt winded, my stomach pulsating with a pointed ache. She'd kicked me, with her heels on.

"Agh! F-Fuck you!"

I spat again while clutching at my stomach in vain, my instinctive movements cut short by the bindings on my hands and arms. With them being tied behind my back I was left to writhe in pain on the ground.

"Listen. Interrogation isn't usually my job, but, I'm not going to ask you to co-operate again. If you don't speak up, my other heel will end up becoming a close aquintance with your face. I'll have you know those things are expensive and I'd rather not break them on your nose, but if I have to I will."

She was serious.

I had to get out of here. This woman wasn't the run of the mill law enforcement loser, she didn't have a problem abusing her prisoner if it got her what she wanted. If her speech earlier on in our battle was to be believed and she was in fact the Contessa of Interpol, then she could even get away with it. A fact that she was clearly aware of apparently. I wasn't safe at all, Cynthia meant business. In between the pain I felt a small pang of respect, this was a woman who knew how to act. Like hell I'd admit that too her though, after all, a cow with attitude is still just livestock. That said, I'd be in world trouble if I had to stay here for too long.

I have to get out of here.

There was no way for me to leave like this though. Even if my bonds were cut, I'd still be at the mercy of her and her Pokemon. Running without help would get me no where fast. If I wanted to escape, I needed to call for help.

Yet, while bound, even that was impossible. If I could reach the black horn on my magma jacket's hood, I'd be able to squeeze it and activate the emergency beacon inside. That would alert everyone at our base nearby and they'd be able to save me. As it was though, that was impossible, unless...

"Fine." I whispered.

I'd have to give up some of my pride and talk for this, but I'd at least give her information on our rival organisation, that'd be easier than spilling the beans on our operation. If anything, that would buy me a ticket out of here and put a cog in our enemies plans all in one.

"What?"

Looking at it this way, it might have actually been to my favour in getting caught. Silver linings aside though, that would only occur if I could actually talk my way through it; I'd have to bite down on my... informal language for now.

"I'll talk... Undo the binds on my arms and hands, then I'll tell you everything."

It was risky to open up with such a demand, even more so for my sudden change in demeanour, but it had to be done for the sake of getting out of here. Not gambling on the pay-off meant losing anyway.

"You think that I'm actually going to untie your binds? You aren't in any position to be asking for anything here, I make the rules. You are my prisoner." Cynthia stated deadpan.

Though it was a cold response, her gaze did soften, she was considering it.

"Look, you and I both know that I can't do anything to get away from you, even with my hands free. You still have Lucario's psychic to stop me despite the bindings. My arms are sore and my hands aren't doing much better chafing against the rope, cut it loose and I promise I'll talk."

I was calm, but I gave a look of obvious rage. Though I needed to co-operate, that didn't mean I couldn't be mad at this bitch for what she did to me.

"That may be true, but why the sudden change of heart?" She asked, looking more in favour of the idea now.

"Well that's simple, maybe it's because I don't want to get kicked in the fucking face with stiletto heels!"

I may have shouted that a bit loudly, but that was more than likely due to it being the first truthful thing out of my mouth the moment I tried to strike this deal. I really didn't want to take a kick to the face. It was injustice really, the world deserved my beautiful visage, at least as relief from this cow's ugly mug, there was no way I could let her take one of my eyes out with those heels of her's.

Still, after a brief period of silence, she nodded.

"Fine. But if you make any attempt to escape, the next kick is to the face. Are we clear?" She said with a serious face.

"Clear as day." I responded through gritted teeth.

Cynthia took that response for face value, and undid the bonds around my hands and arms, taking care not to get caught out by any sudden movement I could make in defence.

She's good.

But I didn't have the time, nor the desire to admire her handiwork. The minute she pulled away from me, I did a mock movement to pull my hood down, making sure to squeeze the black horn at the top while doing so. Effectively, this masked the movement, and I felt the tactile push of the button against my finger. The beacon was active now, all I had to do was wait.

"Ahhh, much better."

It could take anywhere between ten and thirty minutes for a team to arrive, even with my admin status, I'd have to distract her until then. I'd start by giving enemy information and stalling; the less I gave about our organisation, the better.

"Start talking."

Well she wasn't wasting any fucking time.

"Fine. I'll begin by giving you some gossip on aqua." I answered, trying to seem compliant.

"What? Why would you do that? I need to hear about your operations first, don't think you can worm your way out o-"

"Look. I know you're searching for aqua as well, and I know you want information on us. But I also know I have no way of getting away from you, so if I'm going down, at least give me the satisfaction of taking someone with me." I told her a tad defiantly.

Again she pondered, trying to uncover any ruse that she suspected was going on. She obviously didn't think hard on it though, because all I got in response was a nod. Not that I was surprised really, the simple fact of the matter was that I was far too smart, and she was far too stupid. That's all there was to it.

"Well then, let's here it." Cynthia spoke, breaking the small period of silence between us.

Fucking Arceus this bitch was pushy, if I still had Yougan out I'd fry her to a crisp for this mistreatme-

"Now." She spoke again, this time more commanding.

Arceus dammit.

I couldn't catch a break here, time wasting just was not going to happen.

"Ok, ok. I'll start with the little we know about them. We've been looking into them ever since they spilt off from our previous group. They've managed to keep our spies on their toes and they always seem to be a step ahead..."

"So you don't actually have information on them then?" She began, her expression becoming menacing again.

"No! We do, but only the old information we had on them before they went underground; before they abandoned their new hideout." I answered, trying to keep her calm enough to not kick me again.

"They abandoned it? But our information suggest they are still there!" Cynthia asked, quite genuinely surprised.

"Oh yeah? And how old is your information exactly? Because our's is barely a week old."

I said that half expecting her to correct me, but the look on her face suggested that she didn't know this at all. Which in turn suggested that all the information she actually had on both our groups was aged. I managed to stun her into silence; a pensive, almost angry looking silence.

Perfect.

I could use this against her, I could get away with giving her information on aqua all day if she wasn't up to speed.

"Well, since you've apparently been kept out of the loop, I suppose I should start with where we know they are headed..."

I deliberately hung on that sentence, all I had to do was rope her in, tantalize her with information just out of reach. By keeping her in suspense, I bought more time without actually doing anything. This plan was genius, and in the next twenty minutes or so, Cynthia would find out why. But for now, I had to play the act through gritted teeth.

"Where? What are they planning?"

Hook, line and sinker.

"We aren't entirely sure what their plan is."

I began with a lie, Aqua's plan was similar to ours, but I couldn't let her know that.

"But, I do know of their next destination. Of course, with them being so secretive, I wouldn't have a clue where they'd end up next, so if you plan to catch them you should probably hurry with it. You still have almost week before they commence their next operation." I finished, a smirk forming slowly on my face.

"What operation? Stop trying to speak cryptically, or I'll tie you up again. Answer me directly: Where are they going to commence this operation?"

Straightforward and to the point, she wasn't letting me get away with much.

I sighed. There wasn't anything for it, stalling was barely working, I'd have to give at least some information to look genuine. In that sense, she was less stupid than I originally thought; still as dull as charcoal though.

"Slateport." I told her, almost whispering.

"Excuse me?" She answered, raising her eyebrows and her voice.

"They are going to commence their next operation in Slateport in just under a week's time. We still aren't sure what they are looking for there, but that's where a vast majority of their team will be."

She looked at me sideways, as if asking me the questions 'how' and 'why'. But she'd have to voice those, I wasn't going to just hand her information so easily, I had time to kill after all.

"Do you know their command structure? Is there anything you can tell me about how they operate?" Cynthia asked, curious for this information now.

It was another direct question too, but if I kept leading her down a winding trail with these, she wouldn't have much information on magma at all. At best, my rescue party would capture her, at worst she'd learn nothing about us. Either way, I was confident my plan was working.

"Yes. But it could take a while to explain..." I told her.

"That's fine, we have all day to talk."

It took every ounce of willpower I had ever possessed to not crack up with laughter at her for that.

You have no idea how wrong you are... Cynthia.

The morning began like all other mornings on this island. Wally came bounding into the kitchen as I had my morning coffee, apparently he was craving toast this time around, as opposed to the left over soufflé or hot chocolate of previous days. That said, I was glad for his energy today, because he wasn't the only one prepared for the day ahead.

I informed him after our training last night of my plan for the day. Initially Wally was shocked to find I intended to take on the gym leader so soon, but he quickly got on board with the idea. Though he was subtle and reserved, it was still easy to tell when he was excited to do something. Perhaps too easy; I'd noticed that I was paying too much attention to Wally lately for reasons I couldn't put a name too. I cared too much, and I knew that.

It was perplexing and also quite aggravating. After all, it'd be nice to at least have a name for whatever the feeling was, yet the only name I could think of would be...

No.

It couldn't be that. Wally was a boy, there was no way in hell that was what I happened to be feeling... Was it?

I shook my head.

Clearly I was just having an off day or two. It was a silly idea for me to even consider, who in their right mind would think tha-

"You ready for today's challenge Ruby?" Came a small but audible question from my left.

Just like that, my heart jumped up a fraction in my chest.

Even hearing him speak sets me off.

I couldn't show him this, I wouldn't let Wally see me acting weird around him. Things were bad enough as it was, I didn't need the journey to become awkward before it even properly began.

"Yes Wally, I'm ready. I'll meet you in the lobby ok?" I spoke, trying to understand what was going on in my head.

He merely nodded at me and walked off, still very much excited for the battle he was in for today. I was too, if I was being fair, I just had other things on my mind. Lately said things were growing more prominent. Yet despite that, I still didn't understand any of it and it was affecting my mood negatively as a result.

I downed my coffee as quickly as I could; there'd be plenty of time for me to worry about it later. Victory came first, and Brawly wasn't going to beat me a second time. One way or another, Dewford's badge would be mine. After that, it was onto Slateport, and I'd move a step closer to the league. Yes indeed, even with everything I had to consider lately, the reality was quite simple.

It was only a matter of time.

"Arceus fucking dammit..." I whispered disdainfully into the chilled morning air.

A full day had passed since my sojourn into the depths of the Aqua hideout. An entire twenty-four-and-something hours since the simple, yet bleak and aggravating discovery that said base was abandoned. In my anger-tipped zeal, I combed the complex top to bottom for hours, even after deducing it's forlorn condition devoid of activity, both human and Pokemon alike. I didn't allow for rest at all, in fact I'd stayed up into the early hours of the morning yesterday doing a thorough search of the place. All so I could find something; a scrap, or even just a shred of evidence that would hint at the location of my target.

No such luck.

Like everything else lately, the search had been fruitless. Nothing more than a merry-go-round of frustration; another trophy of failure added to the pile.

I'd made no real headway in pinning down either Team Aqua or the brat I was looking for.

I could point to where they had been, maybe even shown how they got there if I tried. Yet neither thread continued; until such a time as more evidence presented itself, I was at a dead end. The best I had managed was the ability to track the brat via challenges; Team Aqua's only lead was also similarly small, the only information of any real worth were some documents in their base referencing a meteorite and an orb. Alongside this was some paperwork involving what appeared to be a nonsensical map of the ocean. In the end, I couldn't make heads or tails of it, so I tucked it away for later.

The whole experience left me irritated and deflated. My anger had petered out, given way to frustration and thus opened the door for general malaise.

I messaged Cynthia and sent my findings, yet she hadn't replied. Strange, given her usual attention to detail and punctuality. Whatever she was doing that had her so busy, it would have been quite important for her to outright ignore work related messages. Her apparent disappearance only soured my mood further. For the first time in a while, I felt directionless.

Alone in Lilycove, and without much to work on, I was left to stew on my own internal monologue. The effect of such an action on my mental state was profound. After getting up at two in the afternoon yesterday, I'd only briefly bothered to care about both of my targets before I gave way to frustration induced apathy.

Or so I thought.

In an effort to ease my mind, I'd checked on the challenge status of Brendan at dinner time the previous day. Truthfully, I'd been so busy with Team Aqua that I'd forgotten about checking it every so often, but eventually the thought crossed my mind. Despite this, I almost lept right out of my gloomy, listless mood the moment I saw it had in fact been updated.

Brendan had challenged Brawly.

It had been late at night that this new information was presented. Though it didn't speak of direct developments, since apparently I had missed the challenge by a day, it did say one thing in particular that made my job easier.

Either that brat was located on Dewford right now, or he was about make for Slateport relatively soon. Which also had the added benefit of him moving closer to Mauville, the place I felt it best to capture him. An immediate hand over to Cassandra would be ideal and would involve less work for me. Or even just an intercept at Slateport, if I got the chance, as that would also work in my favour.

In the beginning I sought to find and capture him immediately, but after having the Team Aqua case jump in front of me, the best possible course of action was to snipe my prey in it's home habitat or at least somewhere close by. Or so it occurred to me as I lay here in my hotel bed, both irate and cold from the morning chill.

"Fucking cold again..." I muttered once more, breaking the silence of the room and my half dreaming state.

The day was already miserable, never mind what I was thinking. Raindrops pattered on my bedroom window, their seemingly dissimilar strikes upon the glass surface giving off a distinct sound, a sound I was slowly becoming more aware to. Combined with the cold air, it only served to sour my currently forming mood.

Lazily, I picked up my Poke-Nav expecting to see the message from Cynthia I'd been waiting for.

Still nothing.

I remarked inwardly with distaste. Cynthia never kept anyone waiting, ever. Either she thought I was beneath her basic regard for human contact, or she was in trouble. If I was being honest, I would more than likely say the former, given that Cynthia never really believed in me to begin with.

Fine.

If Cynthia wasn't going to give me direction on my next move, or even acknowledgement of my lack of information on Aqua, then I'd take it as 'unsaid' time off. I was sick of running after people anyway, and if Cynthia tried to deny me this small comfort of an extra day off, then I could remind her of how she took the whole day (so far) to even reply.

Though that does raise the question of what to do.

I pondered as I got out of bed, pulling my clothes from the night before out of the dresser and donning them again.

"What indeed..." I spoke to no one in particular, my voice barely breaking apart the murmur of the rain outside.

Well, there wasn't a great deal to do in Lilycove, but if I was to take a small day for myself while I waited for Cynthia's next order there was one place I did want to go. It would only be an hour or so worth of flight time too, even with this weather.

Yes, now that I thought about it, that was exactly what was on today's agenda.

Once I finished dressing up, and finalising my plan, I set about putting it all into motion. Leaving it a surprise certainly would have been fun, but right now I just wanted the simplest of things. Nothing more than reassurance, a reminder of what I was working so hard to keep. With that in mind, and my will solidifying, I picked up my PokeNav and pulled up one of my favourited contacts.

I held it to my ear, waiting somewhat patiently for the other person to pick up.

Come on, answer! Please don't be in a gym batt-

"Steven?"

Finally.

"Yes, that would be my name." I remarked with a hint of mirth.

The person on the other end of the line merely chuckled, the sound of which caused a small rise of butterflies in my stomach, the way it always did.

"Well, forgive me, I may have forgotten it since last time." They began, replying in jest. "Anyway, why did you call me so early darling? Isn't ten in the morning a bit much for your usual sleeping habits?"

A good question. My sleep schedule had been interrupted quite badly from all of my recent obligations, though the only one this person needed to know about was the Aqua related problems. Cassie's missing brat would have to be my secret and my secret alone.

"Usually yes, but not today. I was just calling to let you know that I'm coming to visit today." I said, a smile tugging at the corner of my mouth.

Though initially I was met with silence, my ear drums were assaulted seconds after by the response to that statement.

"Really?! Oh I can't wait; It's been nearly two weeks!"

Apparently they were just as keen for this as I was, though I wasn't surprised in the least.

"I know, I've been really busy lately, s-sorry." I said, faltering just a little, knowing half the reason why I'd taken so long to call.

"It's fine darling, don't worry about it! I'll prepare some food for when you get here! Speaking of which actually ... When do you get here?" They asked quizzically.

"I'll be little over an hour actually, I won't be long."

"Excellent! You'll be in time for lunch at least then! Alright love, I'll let you get a move on."

"Thanks... Oh, and Wallace..." I began, wait for his reply first.

"What Steven?" He asked on cue.

"I love you."

Though the answer was cheesy, and most definitely plain, I still meant every bit of those three words. Wallace was one of the few human beings left that I could confide in. I suppose, in that sense, it was only natural that I ended up with him. Wallace was just so... sincere.

"I love you too, but how about I show you that instead when you get here?" Wallace replied with a hint of amusement.

And playful too. Wallace was equal parts caring and humorous; he always managed to find joy where I couldn't and it did wonders for my mood. No surprise then that my response to his quip was more light-hearted than usual.

"Deal. See you soon Wallace." I spoke hastily, smile now blatantly evident on my lips.

"Quite." He started; I could practically hear the smirk on his face. "See you soon Steven!" He said with cheer.

"Yeah, bye Wallace." I replied, clicking the red button on the screen and ending the call.

I can't wait.

[A/N]: So, how was that reader? It might not seem to eventful from an action standpoint, but a lot of information has been presented, new and old in this chapter. Let's just say I'm building for the Slateport arc, and also the second battle between our two nerds and Brawly. The battle itself will be amazing, and I'll be using it to showcase Wally's potential, as well as the fact that Brendan may have learned a lesson or two since his last attempt.

It might seem quite soon, but that's just how Brendan is. Plus if we are being fair, the only reason he took so long is because he was worried for Wally's safety. If Brendan had his way, the rematch would have occurred the very same day. Which also suggests at his slow progression so far. Something keep in mind when we hit Slateport.

Also, you'll see I have finally introduced Steven's boyfriend! Obviously it's Wallace. With the chapter being what it was, I couldn't show too much to begin with. That said, Wallace is obviously quite important to Steven, important enough that he'd willingly leave his mission for a moment just to spend time with him. Of course, in Steven's defence, Cynthia was (in his eyes) ignoring him, and he has a planned time to catch Brendan now anyway. With this in mind, it's clear to see how he could justify running off for a little while. He's just fed up with being everyone else's run around is all, whatever consequences he gets for this remain to be seen of course, but for the moment he isn't worried about that.

Also in this chapter we get to see more Courtney and Cynthia interaction (because I honestly find it hilarious when they throw insults at each other). Of course, on top of this I show how narcissistic Courtney can be; she is quite the self-centred person when she isn't around her boss (who, so far, is the only person she seems to respect). Courtney is scheming her rescue, but also knows how to be socially manipulative when necessary. In this chapter she demonstrated such skill by managing to activate her beacon with a bargain, unbeknownst to Cynthia, naturally. When she can't get what she want's through smashing or burning things, you can bet Courtney knows how to get people to do what she wants. Though she obviously hates grovelling to Cynthia, as can be clearly seen here, but a girls gotta do, what a girls gotta do to stay ahead of the competition.

Anywho, I'll give my shoutouts!:

As always, the ever awesome Mitsurausu and Luenick for your continued help with this fic and your support. You guys really do help in keeping this thing going, you're praise helps motivate me to make this story better for everyone!

Well, that about wraps up the shout outs, so I'll bow out now. But not before giving a big thank you to all of my readers! I am sorry that I was away for a week, but it really was necessary for my health overall! I am back now though, and I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter. Stay safe and have fun peeps, I'll see you all next week! - [A/N]