Chapter 27

Maddie hurried from her first floor apartment, a bag tossed over her arm and her coat unbuttoned. She thought she'd heard her alarm... she must've hit snooze because she was incredibly late.

Rushing through an ally, she hit the sidewalk, her shoes wet from slush. With her mind set on the scolding she would likely get, she was startled when a voice called out to her.

"Maddie."

She shrieked, slipping and nailing her tailbone on the ground before smacking her head.

The sky spun, turning into a blur of grey clouds and tufts of falling snow. When her vision evened, she noticed Riker standing over her.

"Do yourself a favor." He said while helping her up. "Don't join the winter Olympics."

"Sorry..." Maddie was already panicking due to her tardiness. Now that her boss was here, and likely wondering why she wasn't in the lab, her nerves and fear were amplified more.

He's totally hating me right now.

I'm gonna lose my job.

"You alright?" Riker said when he noticed his subordinate gasping for breath.

"Just...winded." Maddie knew the real reason behind her shortness of breath, but wasn't willing to let him know. She was struggling to talk her panic down and the world was starting to go white from her inability to take a full breath. All the while, she was slightly angry at herself. She had been doing so well since arriving in Birtan, and now she was having problems all over again.

"Look at me." Riker took her by the shoulders. When she refused and kept her eyes clamped shut, he shook her lightly. "Look at me."

She obeyed.

"You need to breath."

"I am..."

"No you're not. Listen to me, breath in."

Maddie took a sharp inhale.

"Breath out."

She exhaled.

This persisted for a minute or so before the blue left her cheeks. When she had a better grip on her mind and her thoughts stopped racing, a guilt and embarrassment took it's place. "Sorry..."

"Why are you always apologizing?"

She swallowed. "I thought you were mad..."

Riker's brows rose. "You'd know it I was angry."

"I'm s-" Maddie caught herself and swore under her breath. "I don't know when people are...father always told me it was in my head." He also told her a lot of other things. Her father's constant scorn and ire made living with him unbearable.

Riker thought for a second. "If my memory serves, he's Gino from the Sinnoh branch."

"We moved to Rustboro when I was a child. But, Yes."

"He's a dick."

Maddie snorted in an attempt to hold back a laugh. "He had his moments." Her smile fell quickly. "Whenever I'd panic, he'd yell and tell me how my sister wasn't that way." She pursed her lips. "Macie passed when I was little, and I never could live up to her standard...I could've worked with dad in Sinnoh, but I broke my neck to get on the boat the moment this position opened."

Riker answered with a nod, retrieving the pen tucked into his shirt pocket. He reached out and grabbed her hand, scribbling a number onto her palm. "When you get some where where you can, write this down and give him a call."

"Who is it?"

"A psychiatrist."

Maddie's eyes expanded. "Oh, I don't need-"

"You're standing here, covered in snow and your top concern is whether I'm mad at you."

She glanced at the number, her pulse still raging. "I don't want to seem weak-"

Riker interrupted her again, his nonchalant demeanor flipping into a stern, commanding one. "Laziness is weakness. Idiocy is weakness. Your brain not working right due to no fault of your own isn't something you can help."

Shaking the snow from her sleeves, Maddie threw her bag over her shoulder. She swallowed, still feeling a wave of humiliation. "Th-thank you..." She chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "...You handled my meltdown well."

Her boss pulled a Pokeball from inside his coat. "Personal experience." He handed it to her. "Here, I was heading over to give this to you."

After the morning she had, Maddie wasn't expecting any good news. (In fact, she was still expecting a sound scolding when she reached the Lab). "You mean I get a-"

"Don't shit yourself, just take it."

Holding her new Pokemon in a trembling grip, her excitement pushed her fear and anxiety away. "Th-thank you." Neil mentioned she'd get one eventually, but she didn't expect it to happen THIS soon. "I better get back to the Lab. Thank you again."

Riker stopped her before she could run off. "Wait, why aren't you there already?"

"Uh..." Maddie lied without thinking. "I was going on a coffee run."

"You don't have any coffee."

"I changed my mind. Bye!" She bolted then, ignorant to the fact that running is what caused her to fall in the first place. "Guys guess what?!" She ran into the Lab, not even bothering to kick the snow off her shoes. "Guess what I have!"

Tess, Neil and Breccia were in the middle of a conversation when their assistant came storming in, covered in snow.

"An excuse for being late?" Breccia retorted.

"Yes, but no, look." Maddie held out her Pokeball. "I got a Pokemon! Riker gave it to me on my way over here!"

"It's about time." Tess said. "So, what is it? I'm betting five on a Grimer."

"I'm betting ten on a Koffing." Neil even went as far as to reach for his wallet.

"Well I'm betting." Breccia interjected, looking ragged with dark circles under her eyes and her knotted hair pulled into an unmanageable ponytail. "That all three of you are gonna get a swift kick in the rear if we don't get back on task." With a hand on her hip, her next jab was directed to Maddie. "And why are you late, we have important things to get to and very little time to get them done."

"I-" Maddie bit her lip, remembering Riker's comment towards her constant need to apologize. "I figured you'd be happy for me..." A silence fell over the lab as Maddie hung her coat and sulk to the utility closet.

"Geez Breccia." Tess said. "What crawled up your snatch and died? We've been working non-stop for weeks. You make it sound like we've been standing around with a thumb up our ass."

Breccia sighed, rubbing her face in an attempt to perk herself up. "You're right." She took her hair down, giving it a fluff to try and improve her appearance. "I was up all night with Nibs. That and with the stress of finding a solution, I snapped. I'm sorry." She beckoned Maddie to her when she came out of the closet. "I'm sorry. I'm not mad at you. Just be sure to set a more reliable alarm next time, okay?" Her assistant nodded. "Good, now lets see that Pokemon. Tess and Neil have a betting pool."

Excited, Maddie released her new companion for the others to see.

"Hey, it's Ol' Buzz." Neil said when the Pokemon that popped up happened to be Caleb's Electrode. "I wondered what happened to it."

Maddie approached her new friend cautiously. "Hi there..." She crouched down to its level. "It's nice to meet you Buzz."

The Electrode greeted her hospitality with skepticism, looking around.

"I think it's looking for Caleb..." Tess whispered.

"Poor thing." Breccia whispered back.

When Buzz couldn't find the person it was looking for, it settled its sights on its new trainer. A scowl became prevalent.

"Maddie." Neil said. "I'd back away if I were you. When their kind get that look, it usually lends to explosive results."

"What do you mean?" Before Maddie could finish, her Pokemon began to glow.

"Everyone get down!" Breccia managed to grab her assistant. She and the others ducked out of the way just in time. The Electrode blew its top, destroying several tables in the process.

And, as was the prerogative of any Pokemon that stepped foot in the Lab, it blew another hole in the wall. "Of course." Breccia rubbed her temples. "Tess..."

"I'll get the ply wood."