I'm never gonna hear the end of this.

As the Rhyhorn padded along the rocky terrain, I couldn't help but cringe at what I was doing. All my life I wanted to stay out of Rhyhorn racing and riding in general. Mainly because Clifford did such a good job in making sure I didn't enjoy it. My mother would be doing back flips if she saw me, and probably even start up her spiel to have me compete. This was a nightmare.

And yet, I could live with that thanks to my companion. Tightening my grip on Rhyhorn's reins, I looked behind me and smiled at the wonder on Celeste's face. She and Sasha looked around in awe, taking in the majestic sight below us. The forest sprawled out as far as the eye could see, with various pokemon moving around the trees. From various forms of Vivillon flew over the trees while a flock of Fletchling and Fletchinder descended into them, likely only making a brief stop on their migration. I could see Stantler, Deerling and Sawsbuck in their Spring forms grazing at the base of the trees while a few other pokemon darted around them so far I couldn't see very well.

"It's so, wonderful." Celeste said, her voice upbeat and light. I smiled and nodded, turning to the Rhyhorn to stroke it gratefully. Celeste shifted slightly on Rhyhorn's back, and I reached an arm back in case I had to steady her, but it was unneeded as the end of the rocky pathway came within sight, and I saw someone standing at the edge.

"That your friend?" I asked Celeste. She snapped to attention and looked ahead, grinning from ear to ear as she began to wave.

"Yep! HAAAAAAY!" She called in a near Valley Girl accent. I snorted in amusement as we approached the Team Flare grunt, the man and his Houndour seeming bewildered as Rhyhorn stomped next to them. Safely off the rocky path, I dismounted from Rhyhorn, reaching out to help Celeste down when the Team Flare grunt beat me to it, reaching up to grab her hand. I glared at him darkly as he helped Celeste down, and I turned my attention to Rhyhorn instead. Not wanting to interact more than I needed to with Team Flare, I opted to start stroking Rhyhorn's face while Celeste dealt with her "friend", though I watched them carefully out of the corner of my eye.

"I, I can't believe you came back. I was thinking maybe it was time for us to leave, since my coworkers came running out, but wow. Did you get anything?" He asked, his voice amazed. Celeste chuckled as she pulled her purse forward, digging around.

"Yep yep! I couldn't decide which you wanted more, so I got you both fossils. Here you go!" Celeste said, holding out the Old Amber and the Plume Fossil. The Team Flare grunt looked like he wanted to cry as he shakily reached out to the rocks, as though he were afraid Celeste would pull them away. He gently grabbed the two fossils and grinned at them, looking up at Celeste. I think he just now realized I was here, because his face fell slightly and he seemed to be somewhat scared. Good, I wanted him to be afraid, and reassured him that he had every reason to be with a fierce glare.

"Uh, your friend over there will let me have these, right?" He asked worriedly. Celeste giggled as she turned back, winking at me. I snorted and patted Rhyhorn, turning around to face them and leaning against Rhyhorn while I crossed my arms.

"Yeah she's just cranky. So, can I have that thing you took from the fossil lab now?" Celeste asked. The Team Flare grunt gulped a little bit, but relaxed when Celeste put herself between me and him. He sighed shakily as he set the fossils down by his Houndour, shifting until the canister slid off his back. He held it out to Celeste, and she grabbed it gratefully, slipping the straps onto her back.

"I, I can't thank you enough. You saved my membership." He said as he bent down to grab the fossils.

"So Team Flare, huh? What do you mean we saved your membership? What's your goal?" I asked. The Team Flare grunt shifted uneasily as Houndour padded up beside him.

"Well, Team Flare is really expensive to be in. You have to pay five million poke just to join, and then there are monthly dues. I got in because my uncle is one of their big wigs, but I have to pay my dues myself. So a lot of us go out and look for valuable things to trade to stay." He explained.

"But why? What does Team Flare have to offer you that you want to stay?" Celeste asked. He sighed as he held the fossils against his chest, almost hugging them.

"Well, friends for one thing. I'm kind of the Stunky in my family of Glameow. My uncle got me in Team Flare because he figured even a loser like me could make friends there. I do have a couple of friends there too. As far as what Team Flare itself is, I'm not too sure. I'm not in a unit yet, and they don't like talking much." He said. I winced a little at his words.

'Now where have you seen this before?' The voice asked me. I sighed and rolled my eyes, standing up straighter from Rhyhorn and slowly walking up to Celeste.

"Well, I guess you got two more now, because it sucks being in a group that doesn't like you. My name is Aldith." I said. Celeste smiled at me and leaned into me slightly, a nudge of gratitude, as she reached out to the grunt.

"And I'm Celeste! I'll give you my Holo Caster code so you can chat with me anytime you want!" She said. The man smiled warmly at us as he shifted the fossils to one hand while he grabbed Celeste's with the other, leaning down to kiss the back of it. Celeste froze for a moment, but I cleared my throat and nodded reassuringly at her.

"My name is Mark. My Houndour is Cole. Thanks again, guys." He said. He started to reach out to me, presumably to kiss my hand as well, but a quick glare convinced him it was a bad idea. Cole barked happily as he bounded over to us and bowed, returning to his trainers side as they departed. I watched him carefully until he disappeared into the gate, then I turned to Rhyhorn.

"Thanks for getting us across, and keeping us safe. You can go back to your trainer now we can take it from here." I told it. Rhyhorn nodded and padded back onto the rocky path, leaving me and Celeste to talk about what happened.

"So, do you trust him or what?" Celeste asked as she started for the gate.

"To be honest I'm not sure. Mark himself doesn't look like a threat. He seems kind of slow personally, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't understand where he was coming from. Being lonely sucks, and being lonely while being surrounded by people is even worse because you know you can't trust them." I said, following after her. Celeste hummed and nodded.

"Yeah I kinda got that too. Didn't seem like that much of a bad guy, just a bit misguided. Thanks for being nice." She said with a giggle. I grinned and jogged up to stand next to her.

"Is that a crush I see?" I asked teasingly. Celeste froze up again and breathed in sharply.

"No. Um, I wanna tell you but I'm kinda scared." She said, blushing furiously. I tilted my head and stared at her as Sasha peeped at her questioningly.

"I thought you said you weren't gay. Are you ace?" I asked. Celeste blushed harder and shook her head, walking stiffly past me.

"I'm neither, but uh, let's just say I have a type and Mark isn't it. Say, how did you get in Team Plasma?" She said, changing the subject quickly as she went into the gate. I raised a brow at her as I stared after her. My eyes got wider as I thought about the implication. Given how uncomfortable she was talking about it though, I decided not to pursue it further. She would elaborate and explain when she was ready. With a sigh I ran into the gate and made my way back up to her.

"I was recruited. When Team Plasma first started they masqueraded as an activist group. Ghetsis went around Unova to different cities and towns and told us how we could help him make a difference for pokemon. I heard one of these speeches and figured 'You know what? Let's do this!' and I was accepted without a thought." I explained. I swallowed as I started remembering everything I worked to push back in my mind.

"Did you have to do anything to stay?" Celeste asked. I sighed and shook my head as we made our way through the small city.

"Alive? Don't try to escape. Once you went down the Buneary hole you didn't get out. There was no leaving Team Plasma once you were in. Not until Carina and Reshiram stopped us. Even then though, I had a hard time leaving because I got recruited a second time." I said. Celeste ran ahead of me and stopped in front of me.

"Wait, what? You joined it a second time?!" She asked. I chuckled at her as I kept walking, nudging her in the direction of the fossil lab.

"Relax, remember when Vixen and I told you it split into two groups and I was in the good one? Rood recruited me to help stop Ghetsis and I agreed because I wanted to avenge myself. The good Team Plasma was only marginally better because we were constantly reminded of how we wronged Unova. We weren't really allowed to forgive ourselves for what happened." I said. Celeste looked at the floor and her eyes seemed to water slightly.

"But, you were allowed to leave, right?" She asked. I sighed as we got to the lab and I stopped.

"Not really. I only got to leave after the battle for Unova because Vixen and Colress forced Rood to let me go. As in, he was going to be on the wrong end of Yuyu and Genny's wrath if he tried to guilt me into staying. I don't regret being in the second Team Plasma, but it made me a little one note. I still don't know what to do with myself really." I said, biting my lip. Celeste smiled and walked up to me, pulling me into a hug.

"Well, we'll just have to take it one step at a time. We've got a lot to keep us busy right now. We have to get gym badges, and figure out this mega evolution stuff, take down some bad guys. Right now though, we need to see what is in those fossils! Ready?" She said, pulling on my hand to pull me inside the lab. I chuckled as we weaved through the bustling lobby.

I was slightly overwhelmed by all of the activity. All of the scrambling and excitement of the scientists made me think of Colress when he went into a frenzy after he had an idea for an experiment. There was a lot of different kinds of chatter, from arguments to brainstorms to idle workplace gossip. There was no shortage of pokemon either, as each scientist was accompanied by a pokemon that was either Steel, Electric, or both. One of the doors opened, and the man who had greeted me before and told me about Celeste ran out to us, looking relieved.

"Oh thank goodness! You've returned, and you brought back our battery! I can't thank you enough!" He said as he reached towards Celeste. I blinked at them as she took the straps off her back, handing the canister to the scientist.

"Wait, this thing is just a battery? That's what you were so worried about?" I asked. The man laughed as he held the canister close.

"Well, we call it a battery, but it's so much more than that. This is the key to making fossil pokemon! Come with me." He said, turning and going back through the door. Celeste and I looked at each other briefly before we followed.

It was time to meet our new teammates!


TBC

So I was GONNA have the fossils in this chapter, but it got a lot longer than I anticipated. I was almost at 3k words according to Libre, and while I don't necessarily mind long chapters, I'd rather save that for like, arc climaxes and whatnot.

So, I think I figured out what my issue with LDR is. I think I'm getting too detailed and wordy. Like, I'm noticing there is a lot more filler here than there was in Lola. Like, Vixen had 6 badges by the time we got to our 40th chapter and we're STILL at our first one. I think that's also why my review count is poor, and I am truly, truly sorry. I'll start getting the lead out and focusing on the story again.

So, starting with next chapter where we get the fossils, I'll pick up the pace and get us back on track. Thanks for being patient guys!

See you in 38!