Chapter 30

When the bandages finally came off Nibs, Breccia found herself rejoicing.

It had been a hard six weeks. Due to his stubbornness, it took a lot of bargaining just to get him to take his meds. From stuffing the pills inside Pecha berries to grinding them up and mixing them in Moo Moo milk, by the time Nibs was ready to start flying, Breccia was about to drop from exhaustion.

"You see them?" Breccia was up on the hill overlooking Aurora. She pointed to the Pelippers soaring through the air. "That's what you're going to do. Lets try again alright?" It was rather mild. (So much so that most of the snow had turned to mush and she only needed a light sweater).

With Nibs in her hands, she tossed him lightly. He responded by flapping his wings and going a couple of feet before tilting sideways and plopping to the ground. They had been doing laps around the apartment the day before, and he was doing an okay job of staying air born for a couple seconds each time. He was getting better, but Breccia had a feeling it was going to take a while before he was strong enough to support himself.

When she went to retrieve her Pokemon, she saw him crawling about, huffing and frustrated. "Don't be so hard on yourself. You're doing better every day." Despite her reassurance, Nibs was in enough of a rage to throw a tantrum, shooting a blast from his tiny maw at a tree near by. It toppled over, creating a loud, resonating boom when it fell.

Breccia placed her palm to her forehead and sighed. "We really need to work on your anger issues buddy."

Riker was on his way up the hill after seeing the two from the ground below. When he crested the top he saw the product of the Zubat's rage and shook his head. "Any damage comes out of your paycheck."

His underling scoffed. "I'll plant a new one if it'll make you happy." She contemplated putting Nibs in his ball but decided against it. The last thing she wanted was him breaking free and getting pissed at her. "Before you say anything, it's my day off."

"I'm aware." He rubbed his eyes. In doing so, he brought attention to the bruised bags underneath them. "Have you heard from Tess by any chance? I received a message from her team a couple days ago, but have been unable to contact them since."

Breccia shook her head. "Not that I know of." Even though they were on edge about recent events, work still had to be done. Some were sent out to investigate the cave in the Verandi tundra, the same one where Breccia found Nibs. A part of her was happy Riker took her advice. Now that they had an idea on how to control the enemies Pokemon and how to replicate their experiments, it was safe to start looking into absconding more of Nib's kind. "I really wish I had gone instead, but Tess was feeling cramped on the island."

"We needed a lab assistant present, just in case any of our machinery broke down." Riker crossed his arms. " We should've waited until your Lab finished with the project."

Nibs was in the process of snoozing on Breccia's shirt collar, his tiny head pushed into the side of her neck. "If you could pull an extra grand out of your ass and hand it over, we'd appreciate it. Sanchez's lab wired us some cash and supplies, but they're too busy to help further." Maybe what she said was a bit harsh, but aside from today, every day prior had been nothing but constant grinding. She thought building a small device that could emit the frequency needed would be a breeze, but lack of funds said otherwise. "I'm sorry. Its been a hassle. Without Tess, we're short on staff. Maddie's stepped up, thankfully, but still."

Having grown use to Breccia's sniping attitude as of late, Riker shrugged. "If I had another man I could trust in the Lab, I'd send him over. I'd say you should just have Morice in full time with how much he hangs around there."

There was a chilled gust of wind coming in from the sea, a warning that the nice mild weather would soon turn bitter. "So, is there another reason your pestering me?" Instead of coming across angry, Breccia said it with a sarcastic smirk.

"As a matter of fact, yes." Riker paused after hearing a set of footsteps behind him. He turned to look and found Arlia, disheveled from a nap. "Within a couple weeks, there's going to be a Gala held in Travessia, north of here. Executives are usually invited to attend, but I want you to come along as well."

"A what?"

"I suppose a Ball would be a better explanation. It happens every year, and usually the Boss attends, but he won't be this time around."

"It sounds like it's more for big wigs. I don't see why you want me tagging along."

Riker heard this and took a minute to clear his throat. "We're...permitted a plus one." He then said before Breccia could speak: "However, you're the head of my Lab and we suspect-"

"The enemy will attack if they think the Boss is there."

"Exactly." Riker was told about the police cooperation from Kelly. If the lab managed to finish their project before hand, they had an advantage. "Sanchez and the others want this kept privet. If word gets out he won't be attending, it will ruin our plans. Stotler had him relocated to a secret spot as far from the mainland as we can get. We have the police's cooperation. There isn't much else known at the moment, but I figured the two of you would understand."

Breccia rose an eye brow. "The two of us?"

"Oh, right. I invited Morice to tag along as well." Riker watched Arlia trudge over to the bench near by, yawning and sitting. She had been a bit cagey, being on the island too long often ruffled her feathers. He use to take her out to the tundra to stretch her legs, but he hadn't had time as of late. "He'll be a 'guard' to you and I. It's the only way I can get him in. The two of you survived an attack and should be prepared if they march on the gala."

"Are we both your guards?" The Lab Tech chuckled. "Because, if you haven't noticed, I'm not the most intimidating."

"He is." Riker said. "You're the...plus one."

"Ohhhh." Breccia snickered. "I'm your date."

"No, that's not what I-" Her boss caught himself. "From the outside looking in, I know how it looks, but it's all on a technicality."

"Sure."

Having no other reason to stay where they were, they both went down the hill.

Breccia planned on heading back to her place and spending the rest of her day off relaxing.

Then again, her alone time was always wrought with anxiety. She was often thinking about Lab work, and with the new project they had been working on, the lack of funds and resources had been weighing heavily.

Strolling past the first set of apartment buildings, Riker took notice of a copter out front of the Organization Building. "Huh, looks like they're back...You think I would've heard that."

It took all of a couple seconds for both of them to realize something was wrong. Especially when one of the grunts, who was talking with the pilot, waved Riker over.

"What's going on?" He said this and, upon doing so, noticed a great deal of surface damage to the copter.

"They were attacked sir." The grunt said. "I haven't gotten much from them, just that they were ambushed when investigating the cave."

"Where are they now?"

"The survivors are in the infirmary."

Breccia felt a sudden stop to her pulse when she heard the word 'survivors'.

Tess...

She went straight to the Nurses' office, doing so at a brisk jog that eventually turned into a run.

"There were too many of them..." The infirmary was a simple two room set up with the office up front and the actual aid station past the double doors. Of the twenty men sent, only seven grunts remained. "We tried to fight them off...but..." The grunt speaking, a young man not even a week into his position, was trying his hardest to breath and ignore the quivering in his voice. "They blew out the cave, we had no way of getting in when we arrived." He and a few others had minor wounds, while a few were nursing burns. A couple had broken bones with one unable to use both legs. (Breccia figured the ride back to Aurora must've been torturous for him). "We ran for the Helicopter, and they kept attacking. I'm surprised we got it off the ground."

Since the attack prior, the Nurse took up a couple of assistants. They were doing their best to treat the startled, shaken men. "There's not much we can do with this one." One of the assistants said, referring to the man who's legs were shattered. "We have him in splints, but he'll need hospital attention."

Riker looked at what remained of the group. "How were they aware of our mission?"

Another Grunt, one with only a few minor scrapes spoke up. "A couple members of the team. They-"

"Defected?"

"Y-yes sir."

Breccia looked about at the surviving men. Her pity for them was suddenly undermined by her original intention, finding out where her technician was. "Where's Tess? The Tech that went with you?"

"She's with the Nurse." An assistant spoke.

Breccia needed no other bidding and pushed past the crowd in the waiting room. As she neared the double doors, Morice came out.

He'd been on duty when the copter landed and took upon himself to help the men out before Riker arrived. He was, as to be expected, not in the best of moods and stopped Breccia before she could blow past him.

"I need to check on Tess."

Her excuse was waved off when he put a hand to her shoulder and held her back.

"The Nurse is busy with her. Give it time."

"I'm not going to just stand here and ignore-"

Morice's demand was said in such a way that it cut any defense from her. "Not now Breccia." He swallowed, steadying himself and taking a sharp breath in as Riker came up to the two. "I had to carry her in here. She's not in the best frame of mind right now. Hysterics won't help." Having seen Tess curled on the floor of the copter, beaten and shaking, lit a fire in him. She was a mess and he was trying his best to keep a straight face. "They..." He glanced to his boss. "They got to her."