Lilycove City
Axel's chest rose and fell slowly and steadily as Madison once more untangled herself from his grasp, hands clinging to hot skin and heavy breath lingering on the back of her neck. His arm was heavy, and she pushed it away from her gently so as not to wake him. His face looked cold in sleep, like the mask of the great television personality Axel melted away without his consciousness there to remind him to perform. The slope of his nose looked broader without a smile to brighten it. When she looked closer, Madison could see the beginnings of a receding hairline. He would not be a bronzed beauty for long; age would wither him as he made his way deeper into his thirties.
Despite this, there was something that pulled her to the heat of his touch and the warm, silky feeling he injected into his voice when speaking to her like she was the only one that this voice was trusted with. There was a whimsy to their terse back and forth, a playfulness she often forgot was part of her life before, a sincerity to his smile and the way it brought out something different in her day. His recovery was coming to a close - he'd be leaving Lilycove soon, and she wondered uncomfortably what it would be like when he did.
The dark of the room was oppressive and she had to squint hard to find her way around. She wriggled gracelessly out of the bed, stumbling on clothes that had been strewn on the floor, and found her way to a shower to wash away the sweat and smell of him. It was an important day ahead, and she wouldn't let her dalliance with this man keep her from her goals.
When she emerged from the bathroom in a smog of steam and the smell of strawberry conditioner, Axel was sat up in his reading glasses, scrolling on his phone with the lampshade next to him filling the room with a golden glow. She adjusted the towels she'd bundled around herself pointedly, keeping herself covered from his watchful gaze as he put his phone away. His glasses reflected the yellowing glow of the light towards her and she felt scrutinised. Shiftily, she couldn't help but think to compare his gaze to a medical examination, lingering at the moles on her shoulders and freckles at her neck as though she were a vulnerable human wrapped in a paper-thin hospital gown.
Despite how obviously he was awake, she still whispered, as though noise now would impede his ability to get back to sleep in the future. "Axel," she hissed, annoyed. "What are you doing up? It's three in the morning!"
"You showered," Axel pointed out deftly, raising an eyebrow. "Where are you off to in the middle of the night, hm?" His question was playful, even if a yawn and some dark circles gave away how tired he was. Madison sighed, huffing as she squeezed a towel around the ends of her hair.
"I've got a job to do today, out of Lilycove," she explained stiffly. Axel looked up at her, intrigued. "Classified."
"Naturally," Axel drawled, for a moment having the decency to look conflicted. "Don't let me stop you." He nodded his head towards the wardrobe, his eyes following her as she shuffled around the room with her hair still wet and her towels still all that kept her from being bare to him once again. She ground her teeth, found her confidence, and dressed.
Black bodysuit. Cropped red hooded sweatshirt with insignia. Red skorts. Black boots. His eyes traced her form, analysing and absorbing it. The tension in her shoulders, the toning of her stomach, the wiry muscle in her lithe body, the sheen of body lotion on her skin. She paused in front of her mirror, brushing hair that was blonde dry, but a mousy brown when wet, from her face with her fingers before dabbing blush into the apple of her cheeks and mascara over long thick lashes.
"Aren't you a pretty girl," he commented dryly, and she didn't react, using a pencil to fill in sharp, aggressive eyebrows.
"I won't be back in Lilycove until late," she told him coolly. "You should probably sleep in your dingy little cottage tonight." Axel put a hand over his chest as though she'd stabbed him with a knife.
"You wound me," he replied plainly. "What if I get tracked down by some scary Magma operative? Who would keep me safe then?"
"If one of our guys got you trapped I'd promote them," Madison returned simply, not rising to the bait. Axel laughed, his voice thick with a yawn, and he sank lower into the bed.
"How'd you get wrapped up in all this anyway?" He asked, light in tone and seeming genuinely curious. Madison spared him a disbelieving glance.
"You want a big deep heart to heart?" She pouted as she lined her lips in a dusky pink. "Cute." She dismissed him with a derisive snort and toss of wet tendrils of hair, and he smirked.
"Aw, come on Maddie," he taunted, leaning back on his arms which were tucked behind his head. She scoffed at the new nickname. "You can trust me."
"You're an Aqua admin," she retorted lightly. "Top of my list of trustworthy allies." Following her sarcasm, she turned and gave him a swift, informally sharp glare. "And don't call me Maddie."
"For someone in a team named after molten rock," Axel deadpanned, "you're pretty icy." This pleased her, and she grinned as she layered thick coats of sticky gloss over her lower lip. "So I guess the mystery of the Kalos girl wandering her way across to a criminal organisation in Hoenn is going to remain untold?"
"Oh it's much less interesting than you're searching for," Madison dismissed heavily. "I won my Kalos Queen title, came to Hoenn to enter some contests as a follow up, and then I just didn't leave. Had some strong ideals about landmass, heard about Team Magma, decided to sign up."
"That's bullshit," Axel accused jovially. "Come on, you're far too interesting to be so boring."
Madison put the cap back on her lip gloss and sighed, smacking her lips together to distribute the substance between two lips.
"You really want the gory details?" She asked, a little off-kilter with his insistence. With round, blue eyes, Axel nodded, almost too keen.
"I got your back," he assured her in a tauntingly warm voice. Madison hesitated but then nodded.
"While I was competing in contests, my family came out from Kalos to visit me," she said bluntly, not relishing the story. "Papa loved ghost-type Pokemon. He would always call them his jolis esprits , and then laugh at how it rhymed." Her words echoed clumsily between them, as though uncomfortable being spoken out loud and sunk through the air like anchors that hit the floor with a dull thud. Madison didn't look at him, staring at her own reflection in the mirror. She took a wide-tooth comb from her shelf and began to detangle the knots in her wet hair, tugging a little on her roots. Axel wanted patiently for her to continue, aware in himself he could tell her to stop, but too curious to offer that grace.
"Where is he now?" He prompted gently. Madison pursed her lips, pulling her own hair hard as she brushed it.
"I took them both to Mount Pyre," she explained quietly, "and there was a tremor, some stupid trainers nearby battling used earthquake." Swallowing for a moment, Madison's eyes never left her own reflection in the mirror, staring herself down as though issuing herself a challenge. Fascinated, Axel stared. "They fell from the peak and drowned in the ocean. They never went back to Kalos, their bodies were never recovered. So I stayed here with them." Madison twisted her hair behind her head and began to twist it into a plait to keep it from getting into her face. "I stayed, and I spent weeks sitting in Mount Pyre and falling apart. Then, I met Ninetales there. Then, I realised how much the waters around Mount Pyre unsettled me." Her voice didn't waver. "And then I realised how much water stole from me. So I decided I would steal something back."
Axel didn't say anything, a little numb as he watched the back of her head. He hadn't expected that.
"That's how I got mixed up in this." Her voice was hard, unfeeling, cold. She turned to him with a calculated frown, not weakened by her story but fuelled by it. Stiff and uncomfortable, Axel shifted under the weight of her stare.
"How many times have you told that story before?" Axel asked her quietly.
"Once," she replied coolly. "To Courtney." The weight of her admission weighed on him, and immediately guilt flooded him like a river overflowing from a storm.
"Thank you." The tension was obvious in his tone. "I appreciate you sharing that with me."
Madison tucked her plait into the back of her sweatshirt and pulled the hood over her head, the classic horns of her magma suit framing her silhouette. "It's not a secret," she told him harshly. "It's just not spoken about."
"Right," Axel replied unsurely. "Even still." Silence hovered between them awkwardly, like the air had grown thicker and denser with her admissions. "Were you close to them? Your parents?"
"Of course." Madison let her eyes soften for the first time in his presence. "They were my best friends. I remember the day I became Kalos Queen, my dad was the loudest cheer in the crowd." Her jaw tightened, and then she looked away. "But they're gone. I needed to make a new best friend. So now I have Courtney, and I've betrayed her." Her eyes flashed, hardened, and then lowered. "With you."
Axel's humanity flared up, and he had the decency to avert his eyes.
"I ended up in all this," he told her lightly, desperate to distract, "by total accident." Smiling wryly, he looked up at her and caught her eye. Subtly, her lip twitched as though holding in a laugh.
"Of course you did," Madison drawled, spinning on her heel back towards the mirror to check herself over. Axel grinned at her back, knowing she was still listening.
"I grew up in Slateport, and spent every Saturday in the museums with my nose pressed up against the displays about marine travel and aquatic Pokemon," he narrated whimsically, quietly laced with the undertone of repaying an odd debt. "My mother is a marine biologist and my father works at the museum as a curator. They work together to educate the world about the wonders of water type Pokemon and the environment they live in."
Madison's movements as she continued to prepare for her mission were noticeably stiff.
"I got my PhD, and my post doctoral studies took me to research the endangered species of the shallower parts of the ocean and potential outcomes." He shrugged, lazy and uncommitted. "Aqua got hold of my paper, offered me a solution. Then, they put me to work on a documentary series." Quiet, but unsure, Madison offered him an unsure glance over her shoulder.
"That's it?" She queried, a little perturbed. "No trauma, no grief, no anything?"
"Nope," Axel popped the 'p' as he spoke, sinking lower into the bed. "My life is kinda easy. Follow my Mom's research, film water types, and help raise awareness of the environmental dangers currently facing the ocean? All while helping to solve those issues alongside Archie?" He grinned, content and victorious. "I'm living the dream."
Madison absorbed this, a little incredulous, but then turned to him with her revised, calculated frown.
"You need to leave," she told him tersely. He nodded, already pulling back the covers. "I don't think I can leave you here without me."
"No, I get it," he assured her, standing openly and not bothering to cover himself. "I'm the enemy."
They locked eyes and refused to bow down to one another.
"No you aren't," Madison decided. "But I don't know what other word I can pick out that describes you." Smug, pleased, smiling, Axel moved across to her and kissed the top of her head. She let him.
"I'll get dressed," he told her deftly. "Let me know when you're back?"
She nodded, becoming soft.
Rustboro City
"Man," Ash looked back towards the building behind them, forlorn. "This is messed up. Where is he?"
Ash, Dawn, and Gary had immediately come to Rustboro Hospital upon arriving back in the city. They had hoped to find Max here; he had not responded to any of their messages or calls so far, but they'd pinned that on his current emotional state and had thought that seeing him in person would be a better way of communicating. However, the hospital had promptly informed them that Caroline's records had been altered to request no further visitors who were not blood relatives, and even if they were allowed, that visiting hours were finished for the day.
"Let's just hope he's still hanging with Roxanne," Gary placated, looking a little stressed himself as they navigated the stony beige streets of Rustboro. Dawn nodded, determined but visibly worried as she ducked around one of the many iron lamp posts that would fill the streets with a gold glow once the sunset.
"I just wish he'd answer his phone," she said quietly, tapping at her PokeEtch to check her messages one more time. There was no notification, no alert, no response from either of the Maple siblings. "No news."
"Figures," Ash sighed, stretching his arms behind his head as they walked. From his shoulder, Pikachu's ears drooped limply, looking bereft. "We'll track him down, though, right?" He flashed Dawn an encouraging smile, trying to build some enthusiasm from somewhere. "No need to worry?"
Dawn softened and smiled. "No need to worry," she confirmed. Gary looked between them both with a benign exasperation.
"Right," Gary stepped ahead with a brisk pace, his trusty yellow PokeNav at hand, "the gym should be just up ahead."
"Well, I coulda told you that," Ash told him bluntly. "I have been here before, ya know." Pikachu twitched an ear, his sadness momentarily squashed at the idea of Ash ever remembering where something was.
"Sure," Gary dismissed, not rising to low hanging fruit. "Just round this corner…"
"Oh my goodness!" Dawn held both arms out, stopping the boys in their tracks. Both Ash and Gary looked to her, a little baffled as her eyes began to light up. "Look over there!" She pointed towards the main building they approached, the imposing building that was Roxanne's Pokemon Gym and Trainer School. Dawn's eyes glowed.
Stood in the doorway, chatting with Roxanne companionably, was none other than Steven Stone himself. Gary swallowed a little, not epistemologically ready to meet yet another Hoenn Champion, and Ash stood up a little straighter, all concern for Max momentarily dropped in the excitement of seeing Steven himself.
"Steven!" Ash hollered, sprinting around Dawn's arm, and headed right into the conversation he intended to interrupt. The silver haired man turned to him in surprise but smiled in recognition; his mouth moved as though to apologise to the slightly affronted looking Roxanne.
"Ash, wasn't it?" Steven greeted kindly, offering a hand for Ash to shake. Ash took it, and Pikachu scurried down his arm to tap his tail across their hands as though blessing their reunion. "It's been a while."
"Man, I've not seen you since everything that went down with Team Flare," Ash recalled broadly, his grin unwavering. "How've you been?"
"Busy," Steven's smile was coy and almost playful, "but well. It's good to see you, and of course," he reached across to pat Pikachu's head kindly, "you as well, Pikachu."
Gary and Dawn caught up, breathless to maintain Ash's speed, and Steven looked to them with a curious but kind nod. Roxanne stepped forward, speaking before they had the chance to introduce themselves.
"If you're here to find Max, I've already told Steven," she told them sadly, her arms folding across her chest. "He's not staying with me anymore."
"What?" Dawn's expression fell, suddenly heartsore. Roxanne nodded.
"He felt more comfortable staying in the Pokemon Center so he could be close to his family's Pokemon," she explained stiffly, "and he spends basically every waking hour in the hospital anyway. I've tried to go see him to talk to him, but," her jaw tightened, "he changed the permissions for visiting Caroline so that no one could see her but him and his sister."
Worried, Dawn looked back towards Ash with a trembling lip, visibly panicked. Steven watched the interaction curiously and offered the trio a welcoming grin.
"What were your names?" He asked politely, looking between Dawn and Gary pointedly.
"I'm Gary Oak, a researcher from Pallet Town in Kanto," Gary introduced himself firmly. Steven glanced at him up and down, his eyes twinkling in recognition of the name but choosing not to comment on it. "And this is Dawn, a coordinator from Twinleaf in Sinnoh."
"We're all friends with May and Max," Ash explained in a rough voice, while Pikachu nodded along keenly. Steven's eyes brightened, and he nodded as though remembering something.
"I spoke to Wallace," he remembered brightly. "He said he'd seen a group of talented trainers doing what they could to address our recent issues with Magma and Aqua. Am I right in thinking that he was referring to the three of you?"
"That's us," Dawn replied sheepishly, still clearly worried for Max. "We were on our way to Petalburg to start clearing debris and rebuilding the gym, but we wanted to stop in on Max along the way."
Roxanne's head lifted at Dawn's words.
"You'll have our help!" Roxanne declared, enthusiastic. "My school has a lot of students, but beyond that, we also have a lot of rock-type specialist trainers who come here to train. Their Pokemon will be well suited to helping to move the rubble and flatten the land ready for rebuilding."
"That's amazing!" Dawn clasped her hands around Roxanne's keenly, expressing her gratitude. "This is so generous of you Roxanne, thank you so much!"
"An attack on one of us is an attack on us all," Roxanne assured her brightly. "This damage will not be permanent."
"Hear hear," Steven agreed, smiling broadly. "Of course, when the time comes for rebuilding, I'll have workers from my father's company come and help manage construction. Wallace forewarned me to have them on call." Ash grinned broadly, thrilled with the team that was being assembled. Gary gripped his friend's shoulder, sharing in the momentary buzz of progress.
"That's awesome," Gary said sincerely. "Thank you, Champion Steven."
"Just Steven," the champion dismissed. "If you'd like, you can come with me to Devon Corp headquarters now; we can arrange for a schedule for the workers to arrive."
"We'll handle the debris if you handle the building," Roxanne reminded him quickly, a wicked smile playing at her lips. Steven nodded, laughingly.
"You got it. I'll give you time to get the land clear," he agreed warmly. With that, he gestured to the left, away from the gym, and led the trio on towards his father's company.
Lilycove City
A dull hush had broken out over the technological hub of the Magma lair. Courtney sat in her element, surrounded by computer screens, her headset wired into the mainframe as she downloaded the surroundings that Madison patched through from her communicative device. Grunts she vaguely trusted sat either side of her, scrolling through the blueprints of the Devon Corp's main building and constantly recalculating and recalculating the cleanest route from their entry point to the main laboratory center in the basement of the building.
Courtney whispered instructions into the microphone, her blue light glasses reflecting the glare of screens so that they refracted around the room. Madison's breath huffed through speakers in the room, occasionally muttering landmarks to communicate locations.
"Stairwell to basement floor 2," Madison's voice crackled . "Heading down."
"Look out to your left," Courtney instructed back. "The second door should lead you to the storage unit they mentioned in the database. There'll be a vault there with the materials we need."
"On it, " Madison breathed back, causing a fuzz of feedback. There was a sound of fidgeting, of Madison moving the microphone away from her mouth as she relayed instructions to the team of grunts she had following her. She was due to stand guard at the door herself and send the grunts in to find the vault, locate the goods, and she would act as their protector from any devon workers or security guards who came looking. So far, they had been undetected, but it was down to Magma's most proficient battler and performer to deter any unwelcome surprises.
It took minutes for the extraction team to locate their materials thanks to the prior learning through Courtney's data hacks and Madison's fierce training of the grunts. The communications team listened with bated breath as the materials were loaded into a plain cloth backpack and strapped to Madison's back, and they were set to navigate out of the building.
"You won't get out through your entrance point," Courtney reminded them stiffly. The grunts around her were already grinning, preparing to celebrate. "Go right to the top floor, and use your evacuation kit."
"I know, Mom," Madison hissed through the mic, exasperated. A door opened behind Courtney, pulling her attention for a split second, and Maxie walked into the room to stare up at the observation screens. They had hacked into the security cameras running in the corporation and together, Maxie and Courtney watched as Madison and her team of grunts sprinted up a stairwell, pink-cheeked and out of breath but ready to flee.
"It's a tall building," Maxie commented quietly. "Will they get out before being located?"
"Yes," Courtney said unwaveringly. "Even if not, Madison won't lose the goods."
"Right." Maxie nodded, uncertain, but looking between Courtney and the pixels on the screen. His two highest ranking admins, for so long in disgrace, working in perfect tandem. "I owe you thanks," he said firmly, placing a hand on Courtney's shoulder as he stood behind her. "Both of you. Without you, we would have made so little progress." His eyes flashed, momentarily hungry. "Now, we're at the edge of something like we've only dreamed."
"The orb," Courtney agreed, "and the gear to meet with Primal Groudon." They looked back to the screen, eyes full of thirst. Madison rounded another corner, before swinging an arm out to slam her grunts into a wall and placing her palm across one of their mouths, aggressively signaling silence. They were one floor away from the roof.
Ahead, walking out of the CEO's office, was the champion of Hoenn and three companions. Maxie's face fell.
"No," he hissed, pushing past Courtney to get to the microphone. "Admin Madison, do you read?"
Madison's eyes flashed towards the camera, making eye contact with them through the screen. She nodded briskly.
"I don't care what you lose," he told her, his tone dripping in scorn. "Lose the grunts. Lose a limb. Lose your dignity. Just don't lose those materials."
Courtney stared at the screen, watching as the colour drained from Madison's pink kalosian cheeks before she nodded, blonde hair that had fallen from a plait now sticking to her forehead with sweat. She pulled the magma sweatshirt from over her head, shoved it into the arms of the grunts next to her, and prepared for her performance.
[] Rustboro City []
"Your dad is super nice," Dawn commented politely, characteristically talkative. Steven closed the office door behind them, smiling fondly.
"He's a good man," he agreed, his voice laced with warmth. "You're headed to Petalburg next, yes?" They began to make their way along the corridor, the carpet underfoot rich and red and the walls a creamy, decadent cream. Picture frames laced in gold adorned the walls and showcased various historical achievements made by the company. Side tables were placed purposefully underneath each, individually carrying plaques that detailed the company's strengths, highs, accomplishments. Steven's eyes glazed over them, his posture tall.
"That's right," Gary agreed, slightly proud in his tone as his idea took shape into their goal. "It'll take a couple of days to get through the woods but as soon as we're there we'll start clearing the debris."
"Days?" Steven frowned. "I can drive you down, that'll be easier. It's only a few hours in the car." Ash brightened as Steven spoke. "I'll take you tonight if that's functional for you all."
"That would be amazing!" Ash cheered, his voice bright. "We can get right into clearing the rubble first thing in the morning! Let's really get started!" Pikachu cheered from atop his head, thrilled to get going. Dawn grinned, nodding, but then faltered.
"We still haven't seen Max," Dawn reminded him sadly, her tone dropping. Ash's face fell.
"Maybe," Gary reminded them gently, putting a hand to Dawn's back to keep her moving forwards, "he doesn't want to be seen right now." The trio became quiet for a moment. "Think about it. When you lost your dad, were you really feeling up to company right away?"
"No," Dawn agreed, somber.
"No," Ash agreed, quiet.
"Right." Gary pulled a face, never having been old enough to know what it was he had lost. "So let's give him space."
A girl stood at the end of the corridor, looking mournful at their words. She had blonde hair, strangled in a plait that had frayed and fallen apart over a long day, and dark eyes that sought them out desperately. There was no bag on her back. She was wearing red shorts and a black undershirt, and she was the picture of sorrow.
"Hello," Steven greeted, watching her stiffly. "How did you find your way up here? You're supposed to have clearance to be here." The girl stammered, her mouth clearly dry, but she pointed behind her.
"I came through here," she said quietly. "I'm so sorry to intrude, but I just... I have to speak with Mr Stone!" Ash looked at her curiously, his head slowly tilting to the side. Pikachu's ear twitched uncomfortably.
"I recognise you," he said slowly. The girl blinked and then blushed.
"Oh," she fumbled. "My name is Evelyn, I'm from Kalos. I used to reign as Kalos Queen, many years ago." Ash paused at this and thought of his time in the region far from where they were, thinking.
"Huh," he paused, and then nodded. "I might have seen you on some billboard or something then, I guess." Dawn's eyes flew to this girl, bedraggled and exhausted, and she arched a well-plucked eyebrow curiously.
"I'm Dawn," she introduced herself. "A coordinator. I'm sure you know the similarities between contests and performances well, and as a fellow artist I can see that anyone from our field who can end up in such a state," she turned to Steven, her heart open, "is in clear need. We should hear what she has to say."
Evelyn blinked, looking unsure as to whether she was offended or not.
"What do you need from my father?" Steven asked cautiously, an unsure but calculative look entering his eyes as he stared at her. Evelyn bit her lip and stepped forwards.
"M-My Pokemon were stolen by Team Magma," she explained hastily. "They said that they were well suited to thriving in areas of high temperature, something about…" she trailed off, as though thinking. Steven's face morphed from suspicion to intrigue, information about these criminal organisations always vital to his interests, and he came closer. "Something about volcanic rock and magma? I read that Mr Stone is an expert in this and I just… I just…" her eyes were round and fat with tears. "I wondered if he'd know anything to help me get them back."
"Oh man," Ash was immediately sympathetic. Pikachu lept from his shoulder and scurried through the space down the corridor to meet the girl, sniffing at her feet curiously. His tail was lowered, a judgment not yet given. "That's horrible. Evelyn, I'm so sorry."
"I can't imagine what it must be like having your Pokemon taken from you," Dawn mourned, empathy leaking from her like trickling water through a dam. "I'm so, so sorry."
"What can we do to help?" Gary stepped in, ever practical. "Where were you when Magma took them? How long ago was it? Maybe we should take a diversion from Petalburg and track them down."
Evelyn's eyes glittered with hope, and her sorrow turned into a shining beam.
"I… was on my way out of Lilycove, I was watching some contests there and I…" She hiccuped on her sobs. "It means the world that you would want to help me!" She dropped to her knees, let her head fall into her hands, and openly wept.
Steven walked towards her, and Evelyn looked up at him with mournful but worshipping eyes that dribbled tears as he stood over her. Pikachu's cheeks crackled, sensing someone around the corner. Steven looked to Pikachu, as though this confirmed his thoughts, and made his judgment quickly and efficiently. Pressing the tip of his foot to her chest, he gently knocked her backward. Surprised, her arms shot out to support herself as she lost balance and landed on her backside.
"Hello," he greeted again, his eyes hard. "You were at the Petalburg fire, weren't you?"
Her face didn't change, waiting for more information before making a decision. Pikachu arched his back, ready to strike, electricity fuzzing in the air around his cheeks.
"I saw you on the news report," he clarified, his eyes flicking down to the red skirt. "You're a Team Magma operative."
For a beat, there was a thick silence. Then, Madison tapped three fingers on the floor, and her team appeared behind her and lifted her from the ground. One of them passed her her hooded sweatshirt, and she pulled it on wordlessly, letting it wipe the tears from her eyes as she went.
"What's your name?" Steven prompted, his voice oddly lighthearted. Madison smiled.
"The best kinds of lies," she told him sweetly, "are sprinkled with truths." She took out a pokeball and kissed it. "Ready?"
The Hoenn Champion took out his own. "Ready."
Pewter City
Drew returned to Soledad's family home quietly, cautious as he closed the front door behind him and delicate as he removed his shoes so as to make as little noise as possible. Down the hall, through to the kitchen, he boiled the kettle and began to prepare two generous portions of hot tea, and then spent the time it took to seep and stew listening carefully for signs of life around the house. Soledad's parents would both be at work, and Soledad's sister would be at the local library working on her studies, as per their usual routine. Even still, he was cautious. He did not want to disturb or distract, or make himself too welcome in their home.
Tea prepared, he made his way upstairs and carried the two cups carefully so as to be sure not to spill. With hands full, he did not bother to knock as he backed into Soledad's bedroom door, expecting to find her there reading as she had told him she would be.
"Hey," he greeted, turning around to face her. Soledad sat on her bed, cross legged, with wide, shocked eyes. Brock sat at her desk, the chair from it twisted so to face Soledad, with an equally stunned expression. "Bye." He began to back out quickly.
"Wait!" Soledad scrambled to her feet, rushing towards him and scooping a cup of tea from his hands. "Wait, please wait. Listen before you disappear."
"It's good to see you, Drew," Brock greeted kindly, looking still a little too guilty and shifty for his taste. "I'm glad to bump into you."
"Is it bumping into one another if you are in the house I am staying in?" Drew asked, genuinely unsure. Brock shrugged, and Soledad laughed awkwardly.
"Brock and I stay in touch, and he isn't in Pewter often," Soledad explained hurriedly. "I haven't seen him in, oh man," she turned to him with momentarily confused eyes. "How long has it been?"
"Too long," Brock replied soberly. Drew hesitated. If Brock was sincere enough to not be flirting overtly, then there must have been a decent explanation for his sudden appearance. Soledad offered him the crook of her arm and led Drew to sit next to her on the bed, smiling at him reassuringly.
"So what brought you here today then?" He prompted, blowing on his own tea and refusing to be polite by offering it to Brock. Unfazed, Brock smiled at him with authentically kind intent.
"I got a text from Ash this morning," Brock explained lightly. "It seems he's traveling with some old friends of ours, Gary and Dawn, and he got a little nostalgic and sent a little message to me." Drew didn't see what in this he was supposed to care about. "I've been following the news, and I put two and two together that he's been hanging out in Hoenn to keep an eye on May. Soledad told me that you were here when we last spoke, and I wondered if you knew more about what was going on." Brock's expression was stony and hard, unwavering. "She's not answered any of the messages I sent after Norman died, and I figured she was grieving and needed time. But…" Brock's lips thinned. "Ash is in Hoenn and he's not with her. I'm getting worried."
Soledad let out a long, hollow breath. Drew didn't say anything.
"I don't know the full story," Soledad said quietly. "Drew doesn't like to talk about what happened while he was in Hoenn. But I think May is somewhere we aren't likely to fi…"
"Do you know a guy called Paul?" Drew interrupted her bluntly. Brock paused, surprised. Then, he nodded.
"Yeah," he said slowly. "Ash and Paul faced off a lot when I last traveled with Ash in Sinnoh." Drew paused, pursing his lips.
"How does May know him?" He continued, leaning forward slightly. "Is Paul a kind person?"
Soledad's face cracked as though she might cry at the sentiment.
"I didn't know May knew him," Brock replied honestly, looking utterly lost. "And Paul… I wouldn't say kind is a word I would use to describe him." Drew's face hardened. "I would prefer the word… determined."
"I see." Drew sipped his tea, absorbing this. Brock and Soledad exchanged heavy, unsure looks. Then, Drew shrugged. "May has gone to find Manaphy. She'll have taken off without Max, Ash, Dawn, whoever that other guy was…" Drew flicked his wrist as though dismissing meaningless information, "so they don't get in her way. I reckon Paul went with her, but I don't know that for sure, it's more of a hunch."
Brock put his head in his hands, and let out a long breath.
"But isn't Team Aqua after her?" Soledad prompted, looking heartsore. "Isn't that… stupid and dangerous?"
"Sure it is," Drew agreed, his voice steady. "That's not something that deters her."
Slateport City
The bustle of a busy harbour was never something Reggie enjoyed. The trip from Dewford had taken too long, and delays in travel out from Hoenn were additionally complicated with heightened security, a natural consequence of repeated elevated criminal activity.
His ship to Sunyshore would leave in a matter of hours, and from there he would return to Veilstone to return to Maylene and the Pokemon in their care. From there, he figured, he would wait for Paul to reach out first. There weren't any other options available to him.
Noisily, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Knowing Paul would never call his phone, preferring to arrange video calls, Reggie answered it automatically in the assumption it would be Maylene.
"Hello love," he answered, his voice tired. "My ship leaves for Sunyshore later this afternoon, I already forwarded you the ticket details to your email. Not the league one, the one with all those numbers at the end of your name. I'll dock in the morning though, so I should be home by noon. Are you holding up alright?"
" I'm holding up fine, thank you, " Brandon's reply was crisp. Reggie paled and nearly dropped his phone. " Girlfriend? "
"Shut up," Reggie spat. "What do you want? How do you even have this number?"
" I took it from Paul's notebook when he was here last. " Brandon's voice betrayed how little he cared about this being a breach of privacy, and so Reggie opted to not fight it. " Does he own a phone of his own? "
A tourist bustled past Reggie and it irritated him more than it ordinarily would have. "Why are you calling me? I think I made it perfectly clear that I…"
" We don't need to rehash it ," Brandon replied, a touch of derision ignoring his eldest son's perspective. " I'm offering my assistance in tracking down Paul. "
This, at least, piqued Reggie's interest.
"While I may not know better than you where he could be, I know what research he was following and I have some ideas of temples he might have been looking to visit." Brandon's voice flipped into an analytic, logical place as he pulled out information. "There are a few places he might have investigated, including some locations around Hoenn, Sinnoh, and south of Kanto. I plan to make trips to each of these locations to try and trace him. I am offering you the option of joining me so that we might track him down together."
"Why?" Reggie challenged. Another passerby knocked his shoulder and he scowled. "So that you can keep pruning him to take over research that isn't yours to hand over?" Brandon scoffed on the other end of the phone.
"Do you want my help," Brandon said stiffly, "or not?"
Reggie stood quietly for a moment, instinct telling him all was not right with the world and that wherever Paul was was where Reggie wanted to be. Another pedestrian knocked him, the crowded nature of the harbour making it unavoidable. Reggie conceded.
"Fine." Reggie sighed, defeated. "Pick me up in Slateport, I'm not coming back to Dewford."
"Be on the beach in two hours, " his father instructed crisply. The line went dead, and Reggie contemplated that he had two hours to decide whether or not to simply drown himself instead.
Lilycove City
Gaunt, Courtney nudged her way around Maxie, maintaining respect but regaining her position at the microphone. "Admin Madison," she said, her voice harder and more emotive than Maxie had ever heard it. "Don't fight. Create a diversion, get to the roof, and use your extraction kit."
" Ready?" Madison's voice did not address the room, but Steven. Maxie stared in horror. Pokeballs were tossed, lighting up on the screen ahead of them like a movie none of them wanted to watch. Madison faced off against Steven, with each grunt taking one of the other present trainers. The familiar sight of Ninetales sent Courtney's chest into a tight palpitation; Steven's Metagross blocked the corridor. The trainers alongside sent out a Pikachu, a Piplup and an Umbreon, each looking more experienced than their size might have one believe. The grunts sent out a Mightyena, a Crobat, and a Camerupt. There was not enough space in the corridor to contain them, but Madison looked spurred by their lack of space.
"Madison!" Formality left Courtney's voice. "Your odds of beating Steven Stone are so low they are impossible to calculate, please put your pride aside for one second and just…"
Madison's eyes flickered to the camera, dripping with self-awareness and utterly fierce; she made a show of removing her earpiece. Courtney displayed a rare case of raw emotion, slamming a fist against the screen in incredulous fury.
"Evelyn!" She screeched into the microphone. "Please!"
Maxie was silent, but watching, as a small, petite girl from Kalos called the first move. There were no words, only the movement of pixels denoting a movement of lips as she called her move. Ninetales became imbued with red fiery light and launched into the waiting Metagross with an unmistakable flare blitz. It caught the light, the embers flickering against the silken white of Ninetales fur, as beautiful as a showcase performance.
He put a hand to Courtney's back, his eyes narrowed.
"She won't beat him," he commented, aware. His voice had dropped into dispassionate disregard. "We must make preparations for her arrest."
"She knows too much," Courtney pled, "we must extract her to… protect the organisation!"
"No," Maxie shook his head. "We cannot expose any more to Steven Stone. This operation was a failure." His gaze was unwavering and hard, and Courtney dropped to her knees. "You could not have calculated for the outlier of the presence of the Hoenn Champion. It's not your fault that Admin Madison functions as such an unpredictable variable."
Courtney stared at the screen, hope leaking from her like a sponge being wrung out over a dirty sink. "Variable," she repeated, numbly. "She's more than a variable."
Unwilling to hear more, Maxie left her to stare at the slowly unfolding demise of her partner. Quietly, as he left, he dismissed the grunts in her presence and left her to mourn her friend in privacy.
Pewter City
"So what will you do with this," Soledad took in a heavy, pained breath as she spoke, "new information."
"I don't know," Brock admitted, tense. They stood together at her front door, him ready to follow the familiar path back to his childhood home and her ready to head inside and tend to an emotionally hollowed out Drew. "Part of me wants to charter a flight to Hoenn and track her down myself, but I get the feeling that if Ash, Gary, and Dawn haven't kept hold of her, she's not going to be easy to find. Then there's the Max of it all," Brock rubbed his hand over his face, digging his fingers into his eye sockets as though it would help clear his head. "I don't know."
"I didn't realise how bad it was," Soledad admitted in a quiet whisper. Brock looked at her sadly. "I mean, I knew there had been a big… thing, with May's family and the gym burning down. Anyone with a television knows about that. And I knew from little glimmers of what Drew admitted that May had turned him down somewhere in the process, but I mean…" her voice cut out, weak. "She's just… I keep remembering when I met her, and she was just this happy kid trying to take on contests and learning who she was."
"Don't," Brock replied, pained. Soledad's pain morphed into sympathy.
"I'm sorry," she said quietly. "I know you took care of her, back then. I know she's one of your brood."
Brock didn't say anything to that, but looked behind him and up at the sky. His breathing was oddly disjointed.
"I always come back to Pewter to check on Forest and the rest of the kids," Brock said slowly, "and every time I'm back they're a little older, they're more independent, they're moving out or meeting people or finding their own lives. They need me less and less. I guess I figured," he paused, swallowing, "that my other ones, that Ash, Misty, Dawn, May and Max… you know, they were the same. They don't need me to cook for them or teach them how to do laundry or to pick them up when they've fallen down anymore. You let them go, you don't call them as often, you let them make their own way and you cheer them on in the background."
Soledad looked behind her, wondering if Drew was listening in, but was relieved to see he was still sealed away upstairs. "I know what you mean," she said, her voice low and sad.
"I should have been there for them," his voice wobbled, "from the start. I let down May and Max. I'm supposed to protect them, that was the whole point."
Soledad put her hands on his shoulders and took a long, slow breath. Subconsciously, Brock mirrored it and exhaled a heavy, stuttering sigh.
"You haven't let anyone down," Soledad told him softly, her eyes warm and kind. "No way anyone has thought that. I bet," the corners of her eyes wrinkled fondly, "that in the long run, they'll grow even stronger for all this. You'll get to keep seeing them grow and do amazing things. It's not your responsibility to shield them from getting hurt," her words paused as she thought of her conversation with Drew in Viridian Forest, "but maybe to help them put pieces back together afterward, and to be by their sides as they make the choice to make things right."
Brock stood up straighter and nodded.
"You always did give the best advice," he gave her a weak grin, which she mirrored.
"You too," Soledad reminded him, her hand at his shoulder. "It's kind of the trope we fell into, isn't it?"
"It shows that through fate, determinism, all the universe…" he offered her a hand as though to pull her close to him, "that we were meant to be after all…!"
Soledad stepped back, shaking her head and laughing, and closed the door in his face.