Another frigid breeze barreled down the street and whipped at Panne's long fur. She shuddered, swore beneath her breath, and turned her back to the wind. Her hand went up to protect the tiny flame that burned at the end of a curl of willow bark. The Delphox leaned against the railing of the stairway, taking another long drag through the smoldering wood and holding it in her lungs. It was a little less efficient to smoke the stuff rather than just chew it, but god did she need that warmth more than anything. The headache could wait.

It wasn't long before the kindling was reduced to ashes. Disappointed, Panne flicked the spent bark into a pile of plowed snow at the edge of the plaza. She glanced up the steps towards the extravagant building that they led to. 'The Grand Archive', as it was called. Judging from the intricate detailing on the outside of the walls, someone with some actual creativity must've designed it, unlike the aggressively geometric capitol building. As the last sigh of smoke left her snout, she straddled her staff and shot forward with a jolt, her bag bouncing against her back.

The entrance was made of glass rather than that dreary brickwork aesthetic everything seemed to have around here. The Delphox dismounted and pressed through the door into an atmosphere of warmth and dusty smells. More of that labyrinthine detailing could be seen in the supports beyond the front desk. Floral spirals and ivy fractals-designs that lead the eye through a million details like they were lines on a page. Finally, some actual fucking culture.

Panne limped her way deeper into the archives. Well, they called it that, but really it was just an overblown library at the end of the day. Hardwood flooring coincided with carpeted aisles where the shelves must've reached twice her height. A scholar or two would flit by in a hurry, seemingly to steal a table and quill for themselves. Like the palace earlier, the building was arranged in a circular fashion around a central area blessed by a source of heat. This time, an iron furnace and not an open flame. Not quite as flashy, but all the flair that was carefully crafted into the architecture made up for it.

The librarians dashed about with limbs full of files and carts loaded with books. A Claydol sat between a series of desks, levitating unsorted binders and scrolls from a pile, briefly scanning multiples at a time with their row of eyes, then placed them in their respective bins. Not far from there, she saw a huge desk with a magnifying glass mechanism extending off its side, for use of larger pokemon who needed to read especially tiny literature. They had one of those back at home, too. They were expensive as all hell to build. A quarter of their library's budget went into the lenses of that thing.

Panne saw a busy Nidorino shuffle past with three legs to the ground and one full of documents. She attempted to catch their attention.

"That where they shove all the garbage fiction?" She jabbed an elbow towards the furnace.

They suppressed a tiny smile. "Anything I can help you with today, ma'am?"

"Yeah. Where could I find records of geological surveys from around here? Preferably the most current ones, but I probably need them all anyway."

"Umm. On the north end, at the far back near the scroll case." They pointed their nose across the archive. Upon glancing back, their eyes twitched down to her lame leg. "Oh! Did you need any extra help today, ma'am? I could fetch whatever you need for you."

The Delphox's ears twisted back. She tossed herself onto her staff and let herself recline on the thin beam as it lifted her into the air. "Eh? Do I look crippled to you, kid? I've climbed entire mountains like this. It was actually easier to do that after I lost it, you know."

Naturally, the Nidorino was quick to excuse themselves from the awkward situation and ran off. Panne shot a smirk at their leaving and went on her way. Dismounted, of course, since that headache really was starting to come on. A little hobbling never hurt anyone.

Now that she was looking, this place did seem even more organized than the library back home. Official files and reports were separated into several rows of cabinets, sorted by year, sectioned down to the very week. That being said, finding specks of scientific topics in the sea of old news and political shit turned out to be an arduous task. This was an archive, after all, so it made sense that they kept all this garbage around. It even had a wall of scrolls at the beginning from when paper was more difficult to produce. After a couple minutes of searching, she came across the section where studies were kept-a quarter of the library away from where the Nidorino sent her.

Now what was the end of the world supposed to look like? Seismic patterns? Radical weather? Shortening seasons? Ah hell, she probably needed them all. The fact that there wasn't actually a value attached to Alexander's big reward probably meant she could get away with much more than this was worth. Might as well go all-out with what's here.

Turns out there wasn't much to choose from, anyway. The Delphox gathered up what data she could and stowed it beneath her arm. Clearly there weren't too many pokemon interested in keeping these kinds of records. Newly fearful that she might have to go out and do field tests herself, Panne made her way over to a choice table just across from the furnace, slapping down both the documents and her bag.

"Panne. There you are," a familiarly gruff voice spoke out. Oh, this had to happen RIGHT when she was about to sit down, huh? Suppressing a groan, she pulled herself back out of her seat and faced Reinhardt. "Alexander told me you had recently left. I was hoping to catch you before you got too deep in your work."

Rather than being fresh from the bath like last night, the king of Paradise was all decked out in his formal attire. A large satin sash hung from the two spines of his shell and trailed like a cape, embroidered with the blue and green of his kingdom. Similarly, flowing bands of the same material and style hung from his wrists like the sleeves of a Mienshao. A silver diadem of sapphires and emeralds was fit snugly onto the top of his head. In contrast with it all, there was a plain looking scarf around his neck-probably from his queen, she imagined.

Though it was like trying to spot a flying type next to the sun, there was also a Grumpig trailing shortly behind him.

Panne levitated her staff up to her chest and leaned her chin and arms onto it. "Oh boy. Alexander said that, huh? Did he also tell you to keep an eye on me to make sure I wasn't getting into any trouble?"

"Well..." The Chesnaught shrugged. "I won't be dishonest with you. Yes. I do have some business in the archives today, but he did ask that of me."

"Psh! Wasn't he the one that was bitching about trust? What, does he think I'm not gonna do the job I'm getting paid for? Or is there something he doesn't want me to see. Is that it?"

"Nothing like that! He's just a tad, ah, controlling. Especially when he's under pressure. You'll have to forgive him, he's always hated the prospect of having to rely on others." Reinhardt shook his head. "But I really do have something I need to check up on. That and, well, I thought of someone that might be interested to hear you're in town."

The Chesnaught stepped aside, allowing full view of the Grumpig. They wore an expensive-looking shawl and a pair of round spectacles. Sheepishly walking forward, they gawked at the Delphox for a brief moment, then went in for an awkwardly one-sided handshake.

"The rumor was true, then! You're Panne of the Expedition Society! Oh, I've read much of your work on the geography of the other continents! I've always found your research on the expansion of mystery dungeon forests incredibly enlightening! Had I a more lenient position here in the city, I'd have gone to study at Nexus years ago!"

She couldn't help but smile. "A fan of ours, huh? And here I thought my reputation might go unnoticed in this town."

"Oh certainly not! I happen to be the Master of Books for the kingdom. This place is my headquarters, in a sense, so I try to keep it as tidy as possible. When there's not mountains of work to do, anyway. Please, feel free to use it at your leisure for any information you might need!"

Panne tilted her head. "Another master? What's with this master thing, anyway? That what you call your chancellors around here?"

"It's...somewhat similar to the council of Lively City, yes!" Grumpig's eyes beamed at the mere opportunity to explain something to her. "Paradise is a kingdom, of course, but beneath King Reinhardt there are four pokemon who act as extensions of his power so that he might focus himself in a more reasonable manner. There is a Master of Law, of War, of Trade, and of Books, and they handle their responsibilities with nearly as much power as the ruler of the kingdom himself. Though I'd say that being Master of Books might be an auxiliary power at best, perhaps. Important on a grand scale, certainly! But maybe not so...pressingly important in our current climate."

"Come now, Master Grumpig. Your work is the one that most secures our future!" Reinhardt bowed his head, the gemstones in his crown sparkling rather obnoxiously. "The history of this city is preserved in your hands, after all. And that's not to forget the schools you've built for the scholars of tomorrow. Invisible as your hand may be, it is possibly the most vital one guiding our growing society towards prosperity."

The Grumpig's cheeks went rosy. "Ah, well- That's not to say- You don't have to-"

Panne huffed. "This is nice and all but I've got your snakey friend's mission to get back to. He was very urgent about how I shouldn't waste any time." She let her staff gently place her back into the chair and released her mental grip to let it clatter to the carpet.

With a nod, the Chesnaught turned away, and with him flowed the streams of delicate fabric that adorned him. "Right so. I'll let you get back to that."

"Y-you can use any resource I have available! I'll help in any way I can!" Master Grumpig stuttered out, adjusting his glasses over and over again. "All you need to do is ask, professor! It's truly an honor that you would use my archive for your work!"

As soon as there were no more distractions, Panne settled in and started to sift through the records, starting with regular weather reports and working her way down from there. Naturally, there was a lot of redundancy to push out of the way so that she could get to the real numbers. It wasn't the most thorough investigation on her end, mostly because she was just hunting down the notes that mattered and collecting them in a separate book. Such was the life of an explorer with nowhere to explore.

Minutes came and went. Folders flipped from one side of the table to the other. Neat rows of data filled a page in the journal, then went on to consume another. Her immediate impression of the situation was that the crust of the earth wasn't cracking beneath their feet at this very moment. Her long-term ones were that there were too many pokemon living in one space, and that it was probably unsustainable with the way things were currently progressing. It seemed to her that a lot of almost ethereal aspects of nature were being affected by the presence and growth of the city. The verdict was not hers to decide, however. That wasn't really the field she invested herself into.

With a mess of documents all around her, Panne finally reached over and flipped open the flap of her bag. A bit of digging brought out the Expedition Gadget that she had been neglecting for the duration of the trip. Just like she promised, it had been about three days since she even touched the damn thing.

She glanced up at the huge clock that hung rather threateningly over the edge of the central pit. It was there to help people who easily lost track of time in-doors, of course, but she got the vibe that it mostly reminded them that time was running out. Or maybe that was just the general mood that this city imprinted onto her. Either way, the hour hand had just traveled past noon. Taking the different positions of the sun into consideration, in Lively City it would be about...

While spacing off in that direction, her eyes caught on the garish figure nearby. The king of Paradise himself had settled down at a nearby table with some old books, sifting from page to page in search of something. The cogs that had already been turning in Panne's head sped up even faster as an interesting thought bubbled to the surface.

"Hey, king! Reinhardt!" Panne called out to him. "You wanna see something funny?"

The Chesnaught tilted his head. She beckoned him over again and held back a smirk. Shrugging out his shoulders, he marked his page and pushed to a stand with a tired grunt.

"What is it, Panne? Is it something about Alex's request?"

She flicked the switch on the back of the Gadget and angled her reflection just off to the side of Reinhardt. A blue glow boiled up from within the orb. "So I'm not actually the person from the Society who deals with this sort of data. I'm gonna have to send what I've gathered over to the Archeops that can-see what he makes of it compared to the rest of our records. But also…"

Right on cue, the Connection Orb began to flash and chime. This was around the time Floatzel would be at his desk, after all. Surely he'd have noticed that Panne's device had come on out the corner of his eye. Then he'd whip around so quick that he'd nearly spill his coffee. And then, when she picked up...

Click. In the spherical distortion of the orb, she saw an image of the console room, and in its center was a very cross-looking water type.

"Panne," Floatzel slowly began. "You knew I'd be looking when you turned that gadget on."

"Mhm."

"...When Ampharos gave Vallion permission to leave, you also knew that he did not mean you. On top of everyone else that's out, now you're not here to fill in any of the gaps. You knew that, too, but you left anyway and dropped it on the rest of us."

She smiled. "Sure did. How was geology?"

Floatzel slammed his arms down on the desk. "I don't know fucking anything about geology, Panne! It was a goddamn disaster and I completely embarrassed myself! And what were those notes?! Sweet merciful lord of the sea and his daughter, I couldn't make head nor fucking tail of them! How was I supposed to use that diagram on the board when all the information was scattered across every other page?!"

"Join the club. Blame Mawile for those, by the way."

"It's been an absolute madhouse around here! I should slam you into janitorial duties for leaving out of the blue like that! Honestly, it's bad enough when the others do it! I need some semblance of consistency out of you guys for once! How do you think we reliable people feel when we have to pick up all the slack?! Why do you think Kadabra's been posting such crazy schedules?! Where even are you, anyway?! Who is that behind you?"

Snickering, the Delphox tilted the gadget so that Reinhardt was finally in full view. "It's the ruler of Paradise, obviously. You should watch your tone. He's a king, you know."

"That isn't- it's not-!" Floatzel's voice started to falter. "That isn't really the king...the king of Paradise standing behind you…"

"And we're in a library, you loon. Keep it down. Some people-including me-are trying to do research. I got a big task from one of the airheads here and I have to give something to Archeops."

The water type had fallen silent. The longer he stared, the farther his eyes seemed to wander. With a grunt, he glanced away and put his finger on the control panel. "Whatever, Panne."

Click. The pale blue emptied of light and reflected the tabletop just beyond it.

At that point, Panne couldn't quite hold it in any longer. The giggles that scraped the top of her throat burst through her smile. She set her head down onto the desk, struggling to keep her chuckling in manageable library levels.

"Did- did you see his face? How it just slowly dawns on him? It never gets old, I swear!"

Though Reinhardt didn't seem quite as amused as she did, he couldn't help but laugh along a little. "He did look a little frazzled, didn't he? Was that the same Floatzel who discovered that city along the ocean floor?"

She wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Atlantia or whatever. He just falls for the same thing every time, though! Once he exploded at me in front of the head of the Kecleon family, and another time it was literally Suicune! He just- he doesn't ever care to look behind me before blowing up! It's hilarious!"

The king smiled his big, doofy smile again. He didn't say anything, but Panne got enough from that grin that she started to shoo him away, saying that there was business to get back to. Wringing a good joke out of their presence doesn't change what happened in the past. They weren't and could never be a friend, no matter how funny it is when Floatzel embarrasses himself in front of important figures.

With that over with, she had a job to do. The gadget laid dormant and probably would for as long as Floatzel was pouting. She twisted a few knobs and went on with her work.

Archeops picked up a little later. Busy with the work she left them all, no doubt. It looked like he was still in the process of flipping the gadget over when he picked up the call. The arched ceiling of an empty lecture hall was the backdrop to an orbful of ruffled plumage.

"Oh. There you are," he said after a few moments. "What's up with you? Disappearing along with Vallion wasn't a very nice thing to do. Though it was a very obvious thing to do, I suppose. I would've been more surprised if you hadn't gone, honestly. Anyways, what's going on?"

She twisted a bit of the fur on her shoulder around her claw. "Well he wasn't the only one that got his hands on a mission up here. There's no defined price tag on it, either, so I'm hoping this picks up the slack for like half a year of revenue, and that you all shut up about us leaving so suddenly. So I got some environmental data from up here and I was hoping you'd be able to take a look at it."

Archeops' expression went from tired to elated in the span of a second. "From Paradise, you say? We haven't updated our books on northern Mist Continent for years! That's actually kind of exciting! Though, uh, what am I supposed to be looking for in the data, again?"

"Well technically I'm getting paid to make sure the world isn't ending? You know how Dark Matter supposedly caused all sorts of anomalies in nature before it actually happened? Yeah, we're looking to see if any of those are going on."

"...Uh. Should I be worried, or..?"

Panne shrugged. "Probably not. That's why I came to ask you, of course. If Paradise wants a detailed analysis on why the planet's crust isn't cracking apart, then they're gonna fuckin' get one. And I mean shit, at least I got work that kinda falls under my jurisdiction, you know?"

"What about Vallion?" Archeops tilted his head. "If you're sifting through research, then what's he doing right now?"

"Ha. I'm pretty sure it'd compromise something if I said it out loud. It's definitely that kinda mission to be sure. I didn't sign anything to keep my mouth shut but I'm not about to risk the bag of coins they're dangling in front of me. Anyways, I should give you these numbers before I get too distracted."

Notes were copied. Information was sent. Acknowledgements were made. After all that time she spent writing this stuff down, it only took Archeops a handful of minutes to pen it down on his end. Once that call ended and the Expedition Gadget flickered out, it was only a matter of time before Alexander would get his definitive, expert answers. Yep. All out of her hands now.

...Well that doesn't feel like nearly enough work, does it? What else is she supposed to do? Go out and take readings herself, blindly searching for further signs of disaster, when everything she needed was probably already inside the notebook she'd closed the cover of? Where else would go to look for an impending apocalypse? Does it even matter?

Slumped back in her chair, the Delphox found that she didn't really care. Her mind wandered back around to the grandiose building she was in. Then to the massive city she found herself in the center of. As her idle thoughts stretched on, she couldn't help but wonder about what her Val was doing out there in those cold streets. The wonder quickly turned to worry. The worry got in the way of everything else after that. She couldn't be involved, obviously, but she had to at least know what was going on.

Master Grumpig wasn't too hard to find. All she had to do was follow the sound of constant humming and there he was, fussing over the order of the books on some random shelf. He was so engrossed in this apparently vital task that he didn't even notice Panne float over-probably because the action of floating over didn't make any noise.

"Hey."

The psychic type sprung so high that they nearly touched the top of the bookcase. "What?! Huh! Oh, you- W- What can I help you with, professor?"

"Weird question," she cautiously began. "You wouldn't happen to have any information on the gangs around these parts anywhere in this library, would you? Or maybe you could just tell me outright."

"Um. You see…" Grumpig began to stutter. "There'd surely be...something you could parse about them from the public records of trials! Perhaps you could draw some conclusions from there!"

"You don't sound particularly sure about that. What's the matter, I thought this place was supposed to be a grand archive? Isn't the pokemon living in Paradise something that should be archived?"

The psychic type scratched at the back of his head, jostling his glasses as his snout curled. "Well it's a touchy subject if you don't mind me saying. There's been quite a bit of unrest these days, and a lot of it coincides with the...movements of certain groups within the public. There is so much debate that I cannot even say how many of those groups are out there, or which ones should be so crassly classified as 'gangs.' And the riot last year certainly didn't help matters..."

"Hmph." Panne angled herself away. "So you don't know anything about them, then."

"Wait! Hold on a moment!" He carelessly set aside the books that were in his hands onto the lip of a nearby shelf. "I can say that there are three, uh. Yes, three major groups within the general public apart from government! And they...Well, I suppose you're partially right. I don't tend to leave this part of the city much. There isn't much I can personally tell you about them."

She started to drift away, already forgetting the conversation to make room for figuring out which kinds of trials she had to slog through to get anywhere.

"But!" Grumpig continued. "I might be able to refer you to somebody whose heart is closer to the streets! A friend of the Order of the Guard, I hear!"

The Delphox's ears swiveled right around. "Really? Well go on, then. I'm listening."