Chapter Eighteen:
Broken Doors

Disclaimer: I do not own the series Pokémon. Like, at all. It and all its respectable characters are © to Game Freak and Satoshi Tajiri. However, all writing contents and semi-plots here are © to me; unless it is stated otherwise. All shows/ books/ video games/ songs that are mentioned in this chapter are all © to their respective owners, I do not own them.

Notes: Quite a bit goes on in this chapter and it definitely exceeded my projected lengths, but I'm rather fond of a lot that is established. Thank you to everyone who has put a notice on this story to watch it! I can't believe how many people it's been seen by; I just hope to hear from y'all soon!

Current Team: Keno the Marshtomp, Sela the Poochyena, Ambrose the Ralts, Faye the Taillow, Breela the Shroomish, Luna the Skitty

Badges Won: Stone Badge


"The broken doors are open—come and enter and be home. My darling girl, be careful now, and don't go out alone."
—"Don't Go Out Alone" Simone Kimberly; exerpt of "Parasite" by Mira Grant


"What in the hell happened to your face?"

Braced, and yet not entirely prepared for the conversation, Shay kept from wincing at the harsh voice barking at her from the screen. Norman's usually cool demeanor was broken, laced through with disbelief, his jaw clicked open with an aghast light faintly striking his gaze as he stared, words momentarily at a halt after his initial remark.

Shay expelled a long breath she had been holding ever since she began the call and managed a feeble, if snarky, smile to alight her features.

"I thought I'd jump into the ring and throw a few punches during my gym battle alongside my team. If you think I look bad, you should see the other guys."

Norma didn't laugh, because of course he didn't. He continued to stare her down with that steely gaze of his, jaw tight and lined with tension. It was as though he was holding back any form of dissenting commentary and was instead reduced to waiting for Shay to come out with a more honest answer. She caved, her smile dipping away awkwardly, unnerved by the gaze he pinned her down with through the screen.

"Team Aqua," she relented after the tension drew on for longer than she was comfortable with. Norman promptly let loose a series of expletives, half of which were lost as he shielded his face behind his broad hand and mumbled them into the palm of it. Shay jumped, startled, when he slammed a fist down on his desk and the sharp report rang through the audio like a crack of thunder.

"I swear, Steven had better be getting a damn handle on these people. This is getting out of control. We've had reports of thefts popping up all across the region from these people, and now they're assaulting people in broad daylight!" Norman, upon remembering he was on a video call, returned his attentions back to Shay. "This is getting too dangerous for you. You're coming back to Littleroot."

Shay snapped on principle as much as she did on instinct. "The hell I am, I'm just getting started! Norman, I'm fine. It looks worse than it actually is. I'm fine."

"You're not 'fine'," Norman argued back as he pointed at the screen, indicating to the screen, and more than likely, her face. "Half of your face is stitched up and the other half is a bruised pulp. How did it even happen?"

She hesitated, and this time she did wince. She shot a glance at Keno sitting beside her in the booth, and he gave her a little nod of encouragement. She sighed, turning back to the screen, and she told him. She related the incident in Petalburg Woods, the scientist she helped, her gym battle with Roxanne after a few weeks of training with her team, and the subsequent thievery—from the same Team Aqua member, no less—and everything afterwards.

Norman listened quietly, to his credit, and barely spoke. The only time he did interject was to ask for Shay to clarify one thing or another, but otherwise, he remained silent and attentive. Shay wrapped everything up with the incident she and Mister Briney encountered on their way to Dewford. After that, she lapsed into silence, waiting for Norman to speak up.

The rest of the Dewford Pokémon Center was relatively quiet around her, and beyond the video conference rooms. There was the pitter-patter of shoes and paws alike trekking around the front lobby, accompanied by the low murmur of voices, the occasional PA announcement, and the very dim sound of a television broadcasting the news playing. Phones rang on occasion. Doors slid open with hushed pneumatic hisses. The chatter seemed larger than normal, but it had taken Shay a long while to realize it was because she was hearing pokémon talking as much as she was hearing human beings speaking. The noise of it all had doubled since she arrived in Hoenn. Sometimes, it felt overwhelming with just how much noise there was.

Sometimes, it was a relief getting away from everyone except her team. Her head didn't hurt quite as much when it was just them.

When Norman finally chose to address her, his words were measured, calm. Practiced, even.

"I understand if you feel that you need to continue, but you have to understand that this is becoming dangerous, even for you! There has to be some other way for you to—"

"—to what, Norman? You want me to come back, and-and-and—what, exactly? Sit around, watching television all day, waiting and hoping for things to get better on their own? I'm not a ten-year-old child, I'm a grown-ass woman and I don't appreciate how you're trying to punt me into the corner like it's time-out!"

"You wouldn't be sitting around, doing nothing, you'd have a job working for Birch. Honestly, I wouldn't let you sit around alone like that, and you would have your team with you."

Heated anger began to bloom inside her, white-hot and boiling, feeding her temper. Panic was also beginning to settle in, and she could see all her plans crumbling before they could even be realized. Getting home suddenly felt about as impossible as trying to make it to the moon without a rocket or space suit to utilize. It was a volatile and destructive combination, panic and anger, when they were paired off together.

"No. No, you are not taking me out, not when I just started! I won the Stone Badge, and I'm already in Dewford Town, and we're getting ready to train for the Knuckle Badge." Desperation scrabbled at her insides, and it hurt trying to breathe, to push past the tightening in her throat and vice-like grip crushing her chest. It almost burned with every effort, and she was reduced to taking in deep, long and slow sips of breath to keep herself from hyperventilating. Keno shuffled beside her, quietly asking if she was all right, a hand gently clasping her arm in concern. The small notion of support helped bolster and calm her all at once.

"Norman—please. If you think Steven is going to do anything in the immediate and foreseeable future to set things right, that he has a plan to send me and anyone else like me back home, then…I'll come back, without a fuss. But if you know he doesn't, if you know he's too busy or concerned with other things to be bothered in doing what needs to be done to get everyone back where they belong—and that means going to Sinnoh to help fix what's been going on over there—then I'm staying where I am, because I don't plan on sitting around. I don't plan on twiddling my thumbs, waiting for someone else to get off their ass to do something if I'm already out here, trying to work towards that."

Norman seemed to consider this and didn't offer anything in return for nearly a whole minute. She could see he was working through all that she had said, and perhaps was trying to think of some way to talk her down, to convince her to come back on her own. His expression slowly, yet surely, seemed to collapse in on itself and he gave a reluctant nod.

"Fine. All right. Here's the deal. You avoid any activity that even suggests Team Aqua is in the area. You hightail it out of there—and I don't care what you were where you came from, or how trained you were. If you want to make it home in one piece, I suggest you avoid these bastards."Norman's gaze sought hers out and when their eyes locked, Shay froze in place, unable to look away, let alone move. Norman studied her face, as if committing to memory the injuries she'd sustained."If you cross paths with them again, that's it. You're coming back here, whether you like it or not. We still don't know what they're planning, and it would be in everyone's best interests if the proper authorities handled things."

It was a tentative truce, and one Shay wasn't willing to jeopardize. Numbly, she nodded in quiet agreement, her victory not quite having sunk in just yet. Norman sighed, his nostrils flaring as he did, and a ghost of a smile flickered across his face. Brief, but noticeable.

"And, I suppose, if Mister Stone of Devon Corporation wants his equipment to reach its intended recipient, it'd be better if he went with his original courier instead of having to scramble for another. He pays his employees quite handsomely, I hear."

The iron bands that had coiled around her lungs seemed to slowly loosen and she could breathe again. She nodded again, shaky and yet cautiously hopeful. Keno seemed to have been doing the same; holding his breath in a similarly collective manner, waiting for the tension to unspool. The hand on her arm squeezed in that quiet, encouraging manner. Shay reached for his broad hand with her other and squeezed it back.

Norman nodded to her. "Go. Train. And please…be careful. I want to see you get home, safe and sound, as much as you want to." A pause. "And…please make sure you call a bit more often, and don't forget you need to contact Professor Birch as well. He keeps nagging me about your reports."

A flicker of an amused smile traced his lips, mirth scattering in his gaze before he quietly bid her goodbye. The screen winked off and went black.

"He…he's letting us stay." Keno said, his voice warily enlightened by the finality of things.

Shay bobbed her head, and carefully pried herself up from the seat on unsteady legs. The argument kept playing in her head, over and over again. Even though she had won—narrowly, by the skin of her teeth—she felt like it had been too close a call. Norman was a goddamn gym leader and the immensity of his position was starting to come to her like a horrible epiphany; he had a lot of sway and power, enough that he could call up a few people for a favour and have them drag her back to Littleroot.

"But we have to stay away from Team Aqua. How are we going to do that if they keep popping up everywhere we end up going to?"

Instantly, the answer came to her, without hesitation, without prompting. "We don't tell him if that happens."

She knew where and when they would pop up, and unfortunately, it would be in many places they would be heading for. It was inevitable and it was idiotic to pretend otherwise.

"Isn't that…lying?" Keno, with all his salamander-like qualities, could be more expressive than any salamander Shay knew about. His lips drew downwards in a visible frown and his brow puckered together in a quizzical fashion as he stared up at his trainer.

"Oh, my sweet summer child…yes. Yes, it is." Shay heaved a longer, heavier breath outwards, and the weight of her answer was settling on her shoulders, even as the tension that riddled her chest cavity finally appeared to be lifting completely and she could breathe in full. "Look…I get Norman wants to make sure I don't get hurt or end up dead. But…that's a risk we have to take, if we want to make it to the top, isn't it?"

Keno took pause, looking torn between wanting to remain honest with Norman, and wanting to remain loyal to Shay. He knew that the man had helped Shay when she had nowhere else to turn to. If it hadn't been for him, Shay would never have come to Professor Birch's lab, and she would have never met him. His kindness borne of a strange situation had been the catalyst that allowed them to come together.

And yet…he still felt as though Norman, good intentions aside, was wrong on this matter. If they gave up now, if they went back to Littleroot with their tails tucked between their legs, that would mean Shay wouldn't get to go home. He would never go beyond Littleroot again. The entire team would be cheated of their chances in going all the way to the top and coming out as champions. In make sure Shay could get home and see her family and old life again.

Reluctantly, he nodded. Shay noticed his hesitance and her expression cracked.

"I…I know that lying isn't always great and Norman…he cares. I get that. But…if we don't do this…it isn't just me that won't get home. There are others out there in the world somewhere, just like me, who have no idea what happened to them, or why, or how. And the Creation Trio in Sinnoh are the only ones who can fix this mess. If the people in Sinnoh can't stop them, then we should be able to help and do that for them."

"And the only way we can do that is if we grow stronger, together." Keno finished glumly, his external gills drooping down low. Shay made a soft noise and before he knew it, she was down on her knees, hugging him tight.

"I know, I know, I know. It's all fucked up. I don't want to lie. I really don't. But we can't give up. We just got started."

Lying wasn't really all that rare in the Marine Corps, especially with the juniors and their immediate Corporals and Sergeants in charge of them. She's seen her fellow NCOs lie their collective asses off as much as they could to protect their juniors and peers from the higher ups and clean up the messes made on their own levels before anyone could catch wind. She's also seen others turn petty as all hell and sell out everyone and practically their own mothers to protect their asses and gather personal gain.

She learned from both ends of the spectrum and promised herself as a junior Marine on the cusp of promotion that she'd never be a sellout to those under her charge, not if she could help it, not if she had the power to help someone better themselves. She was deciding this just as much then as she was now, and realized her position: she was an NCO, and her team were her junior Marines. Norman was the SNCO, who answered to the CO that was Steven Stone. The chain of command was a beast she had to best, and not just through sheer force of will but through smarts as well.

They hung there for a while, suspended in the moment, before Keno slowly pulled away and Shay reluctantly did the same. He offered a half-smile to her.

"We'll try to avoid those Team Aqua jerks, and if we can't…we'll either not tell him or lie about it. And we'll fix things when we win the League Challenge."

"You're a fucking awesome dude, you know that?" Shay's laughter bubbled out, soft and quiet. Keno's smile grew wider.

"I know. I try so hard to maintain the image of awesome, but it's so much work!"

That elicited another round of laughter from his trainer and it felt good to hear her laughing. He didn't like seeing the scrabbling desperation painted on her face, the wild anger that looked ready to fly out when Norman had threatened to bring her back to Littleroot.

Norman was right, on the one hand, about Team Aqua. They were dangerous, and Shay had to be careful. But he also knew Shay was right in that they couldn't just flee at the first sign of trouble and run back home.

Nobody would grow, become stronger, and eventually gain the title of Champion if everyone did that, now would they?


Dewford Town was a quaint little place, and much of everything was within walking distance, not unlike Littleroot Town. It was a bit larger than Littleroot, with its population nearing close to a thousand people, whereas Littleroot was home to a meager several hundred. A majority of the roads were paved or laid down with boardwalks, and there were a sizeable number of people who owned vehicles—but it seemed as though they didn't see much use, and people ended up either walking or biking.

There were only a few large buildings that stood out, with the Pokémon Center being one of them, the Pokémon Mart being another, a few choice businesses, several hotels, and of course, the Dewford Town Gym.

Shortly after Shay had called Norman up, she returned to the front lobby to check on her newly acquired Magikarp. The nurse on duty at the front desk called someone from the back, and a man wearing scrubs came to collect her. His nametape read 'DJ' and nothing more. He was not much taller than her, perhaps only by half a foot. His hair was mousy-brown and slightly mussed, but kempt enough. He smiled, hazel eyes crinkling at the corners as he regarded Shay. All in all, he was moderately handsome, but not outstanding enough that she could pick him out of a crowd if it really mattered.

"Your Magikarp is doing really well. It's a good thing you caught it when you did. Any longer, and it would have been chow for something else out there in the water," DJ remarked as he led her through a pair of doors and into a hallway. It was quiet, the hush of the hospital and urgent care rooms feeling muted by the empty halls. Even their footsteps were oddly quieter than usual, and the air had a chill that drew goosebumps to prickle along Shay's exposed arms. Faintly, the air smelled of disinfectant, bleach, and other materials Shay couldn't bring a name to yet still felt clinical above all else. Keno padded along beside her, craning his head to glance into open, and more often than not, empty rooms. Some were closed, and behind them, muffled voices played out, some of them overlapping with one another.

The nurse turned a corner and when they came to the third door on the left, he led her into a recovery room.

The lights in the ceiling were dimmed, and at the back of the room sat a large fish tank that took up much of the opposing wall and its lights provided enough to see by. The hum of a filter and dribble of water pouring in on itself filled the silence. There were different bits of coral—mushrooms, sea fans, polyps—creating nooks and crannies and bits of seaweed danced upright, while small smudges of algae built up in the far corners of the tank. A few pieces of pale anemone had their tendrils blowing softly with the tank's current. Interestingly enough, there were quite a number of fish she recognized: different species of tangs, damselfish, a goby here and there, several clownfish, butterfly fish, a dottyback or two, and several saltwater shrimps scuttled in and out of the living rock, and along the sandy bottom of the tank. The fish curled around the living rocks or darted in and out of the alcoves and crevices.

It struck her, hard and sudden, with just how much it reminded her of the salt water fish tank her parents had in their house. She had grown up with it, and her stepfather had even once reared a number of small sharks and eels when she had been so much younger and smaller. She had even found photographic evidence of how much her stepdad seemed to emulate Steve Irwin growing up, in that he had gone swimming in one of his old shark tanks. She also had a picture of him with a caught baby rattlesnake he had apparently jumped out of a moving car to snatch up—both to move it out the dog park he caught it in to reduce chances of an accident with someone, as well as for the photo opportunity. She still had that picture somewhere on her phone, and the message her mother had sent her of it.

Keno gently nudged her and drew her from her thoughts before she could delve too deeply into them and motioned to the movement of something larger in the tank. Her eyes were drawn to the iridescent scales and the flexing, muscular body that they were attached to very quickly as it came into view. The Magikarp slid around the coral and anemone, gliding around the tank slowly, and it was almost reminiscent of, strangely enough, a koi fish. A very large koi fish and larger than any she's personally seen before, but a koi fish regardless. The Magikarp wasn't squashed up and bulky like in the game art, but it did have some girth to it. It was certainly larger than any of the fish in the tank to the point that it was almost comical. The dorsal fin flexed, rising and falling accordingly, the pectoral fins adjusting it, and its caudal fin propelled it right along.

The Magikarp certainly didn't seem to belong in a tank this small, no matter if it could fit or not. It needed to be in a larger one, with fish of equal size to it. She was almost sure of that.

Then there was the matter of its colour. The orange of the Magikarp's scales weren't blatantly eye-searing, even under the lighting of the tank. The scales flashed and shimmered, marigold in flashes of the light at the right angle and the blaze of fire in others, with splashes of flecked honey-gold here and there.

Curiosity borne of an artist made her yearn for the brightness of the sun and how it would reflect off those lustrous scales. Shay could see, however, discolouration tracing a trail across its scales in an uneven and jagged, line across its body. The scales even seemed to bow inwards and give way to the scarring that would later heal in full to the damage it had once suffered. Whatever the personnel had done to help, it was enough to accelerate the healing process.

"Your Magikarp is kind of on the small side, so we didn't use some of the larger tanks. We usually have to reserve the thousand-gallon tanks for Magikarp, but yours fits fine in the five hundred one."

The news surprised her. If this Magikarp was considered small, she wondered how large the ones of its fellow schoolmates had been before they had suffered such an untimely demise. The Magikarp gave pause near the barrier of the tank's glass, its large eyes staring out at the world beyond it and at the two human beings who were watching it. DJ turned to Shay, relief stark and plain across his face as he said, "It really pulled through; I'm just glad it didn't suffer any more damage."

"Me too. I'm just sorry that the whole school had to suffer. Mister Briney and I…we were there in the aftermath, and then a bunch of Sharpedo came while we were working to preserve some of the…evidence." Shay shuddered. DJ frowned and shuffled on the spot for a moment as he cleared his throat.

"I'm…I'm sorry to hear that. I've heard about the uptick in unregulated fishing that's been seeking out rarer species of oceanic wildlife lately. Every time they end up with a population of the more common species, they don't just release them, they chum them up and dump the mess behind. I think it's an effort to draw out the others, and it's been throwing off the way the ecosystems are supposed to be working. Overfishing, attempts at elimination of whole species, destruction of coral reefs, pollution, waste dumps…"

He shook on the spot, as though trying to suppress anger that was simmering from within, before giving a shake of the head. He expelled a hot breath through flared nostrils.

"Sorry, it's just…things like this have become more commonplace in the last several years, there seems to be a lack of interest from the main media and society in general here in Hoenn and honestly, it's no wonder a group like Team Aqua rose up in protest of things."

The name left a sour taste and a hard lump in Shay's mouth and throat as she glanced at DJ.

"You can't be serious. I've had run-ins with those jackweeds. They tried to beat the shit out of two separate employees of Devon Corporation barely three weeks apart from one another. They tried stealing the work those people had on them, and then on top of it, tried to steal and then kill Mister Briney's Wingull!"

"Wait, what? They tried to steal Peeko? No way. That…no, that can't be true. You…you must be mistaken." DJ frowned at her, doubt creeping over his countenance.

Shay scowled and pointed at her face. "This is what happened when I went after Peeko. I know what I saw, and it was one of those jackasses, dressed up like a Hot Topic pirate reject. If you don't believe me, ask Mister Briney the next time he comes into the Pokémon Center."

DJ looked on, ever doubtful, and seemed to be debating on whether or not he wished to take the conversation further. Instead, he shook his head once more, and motioned to the Magikarp watching them.

"I know we said that you could pick up your Magikarp now, but we wish to keep it here for at least another half day for observation, to make sure the reparations we did take well for a long-term period of time. It should be good to go by the end of the day, but…" DJ trailed off and gave a meaningful glance at the full belt of pokéballs on Shay's hip. "It does look like you already have a full house. Unless you want to box one of your current members in place of the Magikarp."

Reservation crept into his voice as he glanced at the large fish pokémon swimming around the tank.

"I think, at a later date, I'll definitely have him tag along," Shay replied carefully, averting her gaze to the tank as well. A wry smile played at her lips. "And his name will be Nux from now on, so please make sure his charts are updated."

"Nux? What kind of a name…you know what, it's not any of my business. I've heard weirder. Nux it is."


Paperwork was something that rarely, if ever, came up in the games. And yet, paperwork was something Shay had come to face since her indoctrination into this world; oodles of it. DJ led her back to the front, and the front desk nurse brought up series of forms—release of pokémon to owner after a period of observation; agreement to relinquish any form of retaliation and future liabilities of the facility if her pokémon suffered an untimely death on the premises in spite of attempts to save its limb or life; and several others that Shay skimmed through or barely read at all. It all seemed to blur together after a certain point.

She finished the pile off on the clipboard and brought it back to the front desk. The nurse on duty smiled at her as she took the papers.

"Thanks, Miss Kenway. You should be able to pick up Nux later on this evening. Is there anything else that you need?"

"Um…yeah. I was charged by Mister Stone, over at Devon Corporation, to deliver something to his son, Steven Stone. It seemed really important that I get it to him, and he said that Dewford Town was his last known location. Is Steven Stone staying here at the Center, by any chance?"

The nurse stared at her, wide-eyed and caught off guard by the inquiry.

"Oh, Champion Steven's in Dewford? I hadn't realized! I can check that, just give me a sec…"

The woman turned to the computer screen sitting on her desk, eyes darting across as she tapped in a few key commands. She mumbled to herself quietly, clicking the mouse a few times and scrolling through, before a bemused look crossed her features. Turning back to Shay, she shook her head. "I'm sorry, but I don't see him in the system. He must be staying in one of the local hotels out in town. There's only a few, but I can give you directions to each of them, if you'd like."

Shay thanked the woman and accepted her help. Almost ten minutes later, Shay was clutching a small piece of paper ripped from the desk pad with hastily scrawled addresses written upon it. Keno strolled along at her side. Before she even started down the street after leaving the cool comfort of the Center, Shay released the rest of the team. Keno quickly picked up Breela as she came to huddle beside him, and Faye took up residence on Shay's shoulder. The little Taillow glanced at the paper clenched in her trainer's hand and gently rubbed Shay's cheek with her beak.

"What's this?"

"Directions to a few places in town," Shay replied. Ambrose crossed his arms, head cocking to the side.

"I'm guessing it has to do with Steven Stone, the Champion?"

"What? The Champion?" Luna said before rolling into a back-curving stretch, a yawn escaping her maw. "Why are we bothering with him now? None of us would stand a chance against him, would we?"

Shay shook her head and motioned for them to start moving. Sela settled on Shay's other side, while Luna trotted in and out of place between the others. Ambrose shuffled along on Keno's other side.

"Is it because of that meeting you had with that man at Devon a few days ago?" Breela queried. Keno glanced down at the Shroomish in his arms.

"It is," Shay confirmed with a nod. "He's the company head and president of Devon Corporation, and he's paying a rather pretty penny for us to deliver a letter to Steven."

She suspected where she might have to go, and the familiar itch-shiver-scratch of Ambrose slide across the back of her mind; amused and fleeting, before he retreated. A chill swept down from the back of her skull to the base of her spine. "The nurse was kind enough to point us in the direction of a few potential hotels that might be hosting him, but—"

"—but she warned you that they might protect him and his privacy, because they wouldn't want to be responsible for sending nutjobs after the Champion with intentions of harm." Ambrose smoothly interjected, much to the surprise and chagrin of the others. Sela a snotty sort of snarl as she regarded the little Ralts, eyes gleaming.

"Stop reading minds, would you?"

"The day I stop being able to read others' minds is the day I will be able to read yours, Sela." Ambrose said cheekily, a flash of fangs poking out as he grinned in Sela's direction. "Until that day, I think I'll keep skimming along."

"Ambrose, you really shouldn't. People and pokémon tend to like their privacy." Keno chided with a disapproving glance.

"And you think I want to hear the thoughts and feelings of everyone around me, practically unfiltered as they crash against my mind, day in and day out? I think not, but I can't help but feel and hear them all the same. It's how my kind work, Keno. Just like your kind tend to exude a thin film of mucus to keep yourself from drying out completely, or Faye's kind take to the skies with their wings."

Shay sighed quietly as the argument played through, eventually tuning it out while they continued their trek across Dewford to the first closest hotel. The concierge at the front desk greeted them warmly enough as she entered the lobby, although he did eye the entirety of Shay's team out with mild distaste. As soon as Shay began in on why she was there, his warm façade faded rather quickly and he became a brick wall, essentially. His words became terse and monosyllabic before he stiffly dismissed her.

She left, appearing dejected, before turning to Ambrose expectantly. The Ralts drew himself up. "Steven Stone is not here. The concierge hasn't housed him here before, and it drives him insane, but I'm sure he'll be calling around to see where it is he is currently holed up at within the hour."

Shay quietly thanked him, then took a pen from her sling-pack, and crossed off the hotel they had just checked from the list. Three more to go.

It took them a good hour and a half to trace a path through the whole of Dewford to the remaining places on the list. The second place reacted in much the same manner as the first had—false warmth exuded upon her arrival, only to quickly turn frigid and barren of help the moment Steven's name left her lips. The third place held some notion of hope, as they had almost taken Steven's reservation almost a week ago, if only they hadn't been completely booked.

"But that last place on the list, I think they might have him boarded up with them," the woman at the desk had said with a chipper smile.

Ambrose confirmed all of their truthfulness as he had with the first hotel. When they arrived at the fourth place, however, the personnel were cagey, questioning, not forthcoming. They even dragged out the manager to help in deal with Shay's inquiries, which in turn, drew more personnel buzzing about like curious flies.

"Explain to me again why you need to see Champion Steven Stone again," the manager behind the counter drawled, drawing out Steven's title and his name out, as though Shay were being particularly thick and was perhaps confused as to whom she was really looking for and wished for clarification. A Zangoose prowled back and forth behind the counter, occasionally popping up and muttering a few choice words that expressed how it sorely wished for Shay to start something so that they could finish it. A few other personnel clustered around or beside the manager, empty of any pokémon partners with them, but they too were waiting eagerly on Shay with jackal-like glee, eyes glittering dangerously in the ambient lighting.

Shay wasn't about to let them win and she drew herself up in the face of their scrutiny.

Confidence. That's all she needed to show them, just twenty seconds of insane courage. That's all she really needed.

"I was charged by Augustus Stone personally to find his son, Steven Stone, and deliver something to him," Shay answered, very slowly and very carefully, so that she couldn't be misunderstood, even by the willful. The manager watching her—balding, portly, a bit doughy-faced with a rather smarmy smile twitching its way across his features as he stood in his pressed suit behind the counter—mulled over her words, carefully so.

"Mister Stone is, indeed, staying with us. But I'm afraid I can't have any ragamuffin who comes in here to paw and gawk in an unseemly manner at Champion Stone. If you have the goods with you that need to be delivered, please leave it with us, and we'll ensure that it is given to him when he returns."

Shay narrowed her eyes as the manager extended a hand out to her, palm up and expectant, as he waited. She adjusted the strap of her sling-pack, standing straighter on the spot. She felt her thoughts scrambling for a moment, and she entertained the idea of just caving and calling it a day. She shook off her exhaustion, knowing she needed to see this through.

"I'm sorry, but Augustus Stone made it very clear that I had to deliver the goods to his son in person, not to hand it off to some uppity hotel manager with a power-tripping complex to do it when it fits his schedule and convenience."

The manager's face grew ruddy at her remark and the Zangoose hissed menacingly in Shay's direction. She stood her ground and waved her team members down with a flick of her fingers at her side. Reluctantly, they settled down, but the air itself seemed to still be drawn taut and electrified. A tight smile crossed the man's face once more.

"Then I believe we are at an impasse, miss. I'm sorry to say that I will not reveal my client's information or current whereabouts. And I can't have you loitering about my lobby or out in front of my hotel, either. I'm afraid if you try, I'll call the police and have you forcibly removed, not to mention I'll press charges against you with everything I can, alongside a restraining order."

The manager's smile widened, but there was no warmth in it at all while triumph and glee glittering in his dark eyes. He stared down at Shay from across the barrier of the desk counter between them. She wanted to smash her fist into those teeth of his, make him swallow them up, one by one. He had the power as well as the information and he was enjoying flaunting that fact over her head.

"I suppose we are at an impasse," Shay remarked with mock-disappointment, a hand rising to cup the side of her cheek. This was more than troublesome, and it was incredibly agitating that she was being treated like a street urchin. Her only crime was not looking good enough for a swanky establishment like this. The lobby alone looked as though the owners had spared no expense at all. It made her curious as to what the rooms looked like. "And I'm sure Augustus will be rather disappointed that, instead of being a generously helpful and good Samaritan, I'll have to return to Rustboro with a report of how uncooperative and rather inflexible you were in my endeavors to be a good little courier. I'm sure that you'll be hearing from him within the day, so please, by all means—feel free to bar me from the hotel." She turned on her heel, her team slowly doing the same, as she waved over her shoulder, before stopping in her tracks, wagging her index finger and pointing it at her x-transceiver. "Or, I can call him, since I have his personal number on speed dial. I don't expect you to have a job by the end of the day, never mind the next hour or so."

She made a show of browsing through the menu of her contacts in the x-transceiver, humming cheerfully to herself as she started walking once more, a little skip in her step as she neared the hotel's exit. Faye craned her head and neck to look over her shoulder at the manager, who now looked almost as pale as his Zangoose's creamy-white fur. The other personnel appeared almost as distraught, just as the hotel sliding doors quickly glided open and then shut behind Shay after she strolled right through them.

Sela chuffed, amused.

"He looked ready to empty his stomach of everything he's eaten in the past day."

"Just the day?" Luna remarked smartly, her yellow eyes narrowing to amused slits. She trotted after Shay as she trod along at a leisurely pace, Luna's long, lanky legs keeping pace easily. "I'd say the whole week and then some."

Shay chuckled. Faye jerked on her shoulder, head craning back toward the hotel's entrance.

"Someone's following us," she reported, and she swiveled around completely to better watch the hotel. Moments later, one of the desk personnel came trotting out, and upon seeing Shay, rushed after.

"Excuse me, miss? Miss, wait!"

Shay halted, waiting for the thin sprig of a woman to catch up. She swept back her sandy-blonde hair and straightened herself up as she brought herself up to Shay. Her team pressed in close, waiting for what she had to say as well. Faye did much the same from her perch on Shay's shoulder, head tilting one way and then the other, watching the woman intently as a bird could.

"Please—we can't afford to have Mister Stone coming down on our heads because our boss is being a snobby ass. It would ruin us," she said, apologetic and pleading all at once. "Champion Steven doesn't stay all that often in his room, but I do know where he usually is when he comes to Dewford Town."

Attentively, Shay turned to face the woman more fully, waiting. The woman continued, giving directions to where Shay would need to go.

"And…you won't mention this to Mister Stone, right?"

Shay studied the woman before her, with her earnest smile painted on her face, mocha-dark eyes washing over Shay's face as she waited. Shay sighed and nodded.

"I'll be sure to omit this after I report the goods delivered to Mister Stone's son, sure."

Relief was starkly palpable as it washed over the other woman's face. She seemed to practically sag in on herself, but it was fleeting, before she straightened and slowly wandered back to the hotel with a soft thanks. Shay watched, then quickly called upon the map in her x-transceiver, plotting out a course. It'd take about an hour or so to reach their intended location, so long as they weren't delayed or distracted.

"You knew where we needed to go already, didn't you?"

There was faint amusement in Ambrose's voice as he addressed Shay without tilting his head toward her.

"I had a sneaking suspicion," Shay replied carefully, motioning with a slight nod of her head for them all to get going. "But I still wanted to check in town instead of hoofing it without solid confirmation."

"So, Granite Cave it is, then," Sela replied coolly, her lips peeling back into a wolfish grin. "And we're to assume we'll be dealing with some training in the interim?"

"Well, Brawly is a fighting-type expert. You won't stand a chance in any battles right now, Sela. You too, Luna," Shay said, offering an apologetic smile to both. Luna lifted her nose into the air, but her ears pressed against her head in annoyance. "So, I think our best bet is to strengthen Faye and Ambrose up, so that we have a chance at winning the Knuckle Badge. However, that doesn't mean you guys will be slacking."

She offered a grin to the rest of the team and gave a wave northward. "Now let's follow that trail! That trail that we blaze!"


The trail that they blazed was littered with other trainers lounging about on the beaches of Dewford Town. Residents and visitors alike sunbathed, splashed, or surfed their way along the waters. Several fishermen were also out and about, their tacklebox and bait alike close at hand as they sat by the shore and waited for a nibble on their lines.

Many overlooked Shay as she traversed her way along the beachhead, while others stopped to challenge her and her team. She readily accepted, switching them out accordingly so that they could all gain experience and grow evenly.

Northward, they pressed, taking one break in between to catch a breather, to heal up, and nibble on their own snacks. After that, it was a straight shot to Granite Cave. The mouth of it was like a yawning maw, deep and dark and opening wide to swallow up any foolish enough to wander too close.

A sign was imbedded in the sand, worn by weather and time, but still readable to any willing to spare it a glance: Granite Cave.

Shay dithered just out of reach of the entrance, listening in and hearing…nothing. It was oddly silent within. A nudge at her side drew her attention and she looked down to see Ambrose with his paw on her leg, claws gently digging into the fabric of her pants. The monolithic immensity of the mountain that hoisted itself skyward attached to the mouth beckoning her closer. The silhouette of the rock jutting upwards seemed endless, ongoing, as though it was going to spread onwards like the spine of a great beast. Silence lay within, hushed and sudden, holding its breath, patiently waiting to claim another soul within its stone belly.

"It's safe, for the most part. The Zubat should be asleep or at the very least drowsing, so we shouldn't be bothered too much. Just so long as we don't cause too much of a disturbance, that is."

"And what about the Makuhita?" Shay remarked pointedly, arching a brow at the Ralts, but she kept her gaze locked on the cave, expectant for something to lurch out toward them.

Ambrose's toothy smile faded. "So long as we don't cross them wrong, we should be fine." He tilted his head more fully up at her. "And there should be little to worry about, as long as Faye and I aren't put out of capacity."

That reassurance helped with that last push forward. Faye snuggled close against Shay's neck, and Breela was practically glued to Shay's boots. It took a few unsuccessful steps for her to finally reach down and pick up the small girl, cradling her close.

"Sela, light the way, please."

"With pleasure," the Poochyena replied, flashing her fangs before they blazed bright and hot. Embers dribbled past her lips and flared, rising, falling, and fizzled out on the ground. Sela took the lead, and Luna brought up the rear. Keno remained at Shay's side as they stepped into the cool interior of the cave. True to Ambrose's word, the cave ceiling was littered with Zubat. They chittered quietly, high-pitched and hushed as they wriggled and dangled above them.

"Try not to make too much noise. It'll disturb them and draw them out to you," Ambrose stated softly. They moved on, deeper into the depths of the cave. There were small openings in the roof of the cave, and shafts of sunlight pierced the darkness, giving them some manner of natural light to see by. Sela, however, kept the way lit as they ventured into the darker parts.

The path was rather linear, much like the Rusturf Tunnel had been. The path had its curves, but otherwise, it was straightforward. It was more or less clear of major obstructions, and it almost felt as though the walls had been carved out over dozens of generations rather than forming naturally.

Eventually, the path seemed to finally divert; one sloped sharply upward and seemed to require more specialized equipment to advance onward, while the other continued, this with a gentler decline, before settling evenly about thirty or so feet down. It looked as though steps had been carved into the stone and dirt, offering an easier descent. Ambrose gave a nod in the declining steps' direction.

"There. I can sense someone just beyond."

Shay bobbed her head but stopped short when she remembered that Ambrose couldn't see her. It was yet another hallmark moment that filled a checkbox she's been keeping track of since day one. Steven lay ahead of them, staring at an ancient cave drawing spanning the wall of the cavern. Apprehension clenched tightly in her gut, and her hands grew slick and sweaty, no matter how much she tried to rub them on her pants to dry them.

"Thanks," she said, quickly but still with a grateful air. The little Ralts offered her another of his trademark toothy grins, although he said nothing else. They fell upon the steps, their footsteps scraping softly against the stone flooring.

The acoustics of the chittering Zubat soon began to fade the deeper they pressed and the closer they came to their intended destination.

Soft light danced in the air ahead of them, and the tunnel widened out to a broad cavern. It was largely empty, although a few stalactites dangled precariously from the roof and stalagmites speared upwards, as if to try and pierce the veil of the ceiling and reach for the clear blue sky beyond. A large hole hung clearly above them, perhaps forty or fifty feet, casting a sharp shaft of golden light to spill into the gloom. It almost seemed as though the stone ceiling had grown too rotten and weak to hold its weight there and simply gave in.

It was, for the time being, free of any Zubat dangling about, but they all continued to respectfully keep quiet for the time being. Sela sharply clacked her teeth together and the flames she had kept going washed away as if they had never existed in the first place.

The lighting from the ceiling was more than enough to see by, and it seemed to be softening all the harsh edges and lines of the cavernous room. The environment was still and hushed, as though time had frozen in the capsule of the space around them. Shay and her team paused on the threshold, drinking in the enormity of it all as it stretched all around them until Shay's eyes landed on the far side opposite them.

It was just like in the game, but this was…real. Corporeal. It was no longer game graphics that defined what was spread before her and her team. Deep down, she chastised herself for once more pressing comparisons to the forefront of her head, because not everything has gone accordingly. Not to mention, this was no longer a game.

She pushed it all away as a chill swept along the curve of her spine and twined around her limbs, a flash of gooseflesh pimple across her skin as this all settled into place, and she brought her attention to bear upon the main attraction of the room.

A great mural, faded with time yet still wholly visible to the eye, stretched across the far wall. In all honesty, whenever Shay came across this scene in the games, she had always rushed through things and could barely recall what the mural looked like; vague depictions of either Kyogre or Groudon, for sure, but beyond that, well...

But now she was forced to look, to take it in, to commit to memory the sight of the ancient drawing.

Swirling lines representing great waves heaved upwards, as the primal form of Kyogre breached them. Blots of dark paint swerved overhead, as dashes of lines slanted downwards—representations of storm clouds and rain and lightning. There were other sigils marking up the mural—ones that Shay couldn't make heads or tails of—but for some reason, it almost felt…incomplete. As though there was a missing half to the entire thing. As much space as there was for Kyogre and the display of its awesome powers, there was still plenty left over, as if the painter had left the canvas open for something new, yet they never got around to it.

It seemed hardly a leap of logic to assume that it had been meant for Groudon, and yet…why hadn't it been finished? She recalled, however vaguely, that in the Omega Ruby game, there had been a similar mural, but its dedication was reserved for Groudon instead, with an omission of Kyogre entirely.

Groudon and Kyogre were two halves of one whole; forever at war with one another, and yet they couldn't be without the other. The earth and the sea couldn't be alone. It was, simply put, impossible.

Keno drew himself beside Shay, a hand reaching to grip her elbow. Breela shivered quietly in Shay's arms, and carefully, she set Breela down. The Shroomish stayed close, as she was wont to do.

"We're not alone," Ambrose said aloud in a low voice, drawing her from her thoughts. Shay blinked, drawing her attention away from the ancient painting. She had been so occupied by mural that she had overlooked the individual apart from her team that had occupied the cavern before she came along.

The figure stood at the foot of the cave art, pacing along the edges, pointing to one part, then crossing to the other side. Soft, almost indiscernible, mutterings could be heard emanating from the figure, their attention completely drawn to their studious task. Even at a distance, Shay recognized who it was—whether it was silvery hair that had an almost pale blue sheen to it, or the sharp cut of their outfit. It was Steven Stone, all right, the current Champion of Hoenn.

The arrival of this realization brought back another round of hard knots tying tighter in her belly, and the anxiety returned tenfold.

Faye fluffed herself up and lightly scraped the tip of her beak against Shay's cheek. She winced at the unexpected contact.

"We've found him. Let's deliver his letter and get out of here, shall we?"

"Please," added Breela in a whisper. "I don't like the feel of this place."

Shay frowned, opened her mouth to reply, thought better of it, and closed it. Instead, she bowed her head in understanding and started forward. The drumming rush of blood flow roared loud as a waterfall crashing around her ears, timed along with her breathing and heartbeat. She rubbed her sweaty palms on her pants as she moved forward, keeping her steps purposeful and quiet. The others moved as she did, carefully keeping to their positions.

Shay's boot struck a rock and it went clattering across the stone floor. The sound was cacophonous at best, explosive at worst, as it bounced all around them.

The figure turned, and indeed it was Steven Stone. As if she really needed the confirmation. Shay recognized him—not just from the games, but also from several interviews he had done for various television networks over the past couple of years. She had spent a number of hours watching television in Norman's house that multiple programs had made their rounds.

Interviews were just a number of them.

Steven focused his gaze on Shay, more than halfway across and yet there was still a deep expanse of space left between them. Shay, in turn, winced again. Even if her throat was rough as sandpaper, she somehow managed to find her voice. "Sorry about that. I meant to say something when I got closer."

Luna cackled behind Shay, and Sela chuffed, her eyes glittering with mirth. Keno shook his head and motioned for the others to quiet down. Shay cleared her throat in the interim, addressing Steven once again.

"I'm here to make a delivery to you," she said, pausing for effect before adding with a wry smile and arched brow, "you are Steven Stone, correct?"

Steven turned on his heel to face her in full, his countenance carefully shrouded in neutrality.

"That depends. From whom am I receiving a delivery, and how did you find me?" His voice was low, almost melodic and practiced, but there was a steel edge to it that promised swift retribution if her intentions were anything but truthful. The hard knots in her belly twisted like serpents and slithered lower.

"It's from your father. He wanted a letter delivered to you and personally asked me to do so, gave me a point of direction to start with. I found you through the hotel you're staying at."

The Champion allowed a faint frown to mar his features as he considered the information. "I see."

"Look, if it makes you feel any better, they did keep your personal information safe…not that I was looking for anything beyond your location. And then right after, they threatened to throw me out, have me arrested, and a restraining order placed on me for good measure as soon as I mentioned your name. I had no choice but to…get creative by alluding to their refusal to help to your father. They chose the lesser of two evils."

"Clearly," Steven remarked, his eyes widening just a fraction as he regarded Shay more fully, as if he were seeing her for the first time. She couldn't tell if he was displeased or impressed; his face remained carefully neutral on the matter. It caused her some amount of discomfort, being stared at so intently, and she wished her face wasn't so swollen, so bruised. At least she could see out of her other eye now; for that she was thankful.

Shay erred on the side of caution and decided to not gloat on the matter. They held one another's gazes, until Steven seemed to come to his senses and made a motion to her. "Do you happen to have this mysterious letter from my father with you, or am I to assume you came all this way just to tell me about it?"

There seemed to be a challenge in his tone. One that continued to suggest that if she were lying, she wouldn't have time to be sorry for the matter of tricking him if she wasn't being truthful on her end. It sent an even icier chill to settle at the base of her spine, sending intermittent shivers up and down the length of her body at the slight edge in Steven's voice.

"Letter," Faye said softly in Shay's ear, rubbing her beak on the woman's cheek, even as Breela pressed against the back of her ankle and calf, sending her trembling up Shay's leg. The woman had to fight the sudden urge to giggle and squirm at both sensations. Instead Shay focused on swinging her sling-pack around to her front. She dug around inside it until she felt the edges of the envelope brush against her fingers and they grasped it carefully, taking it out. Steven came forward, bridging the gap between them quite rapidly and—

Good lord, he's enormous. Tall as a goddamned Ent. Jesus H. Christ!

Steven simply towered over her, and it nearly overwhelmed her. Then Shay remembered she had worked with tall bean poles often enough that it shouldn't be as big a shock to her. It's merely been a while. People came in all shapes and sizes and Steven…

Steven simply stumbled on the side of tall and lithe in build.

She shook it all away like a cold feeling—and then that familiar itch-shiver-scratch skittered across the back of her head, trailing warmth in its wake.

'Easy. You're fine. Confidence. And twenty seconds of insane courage,' Ambrose's voice—warm as molasses, sweet as sugar—whispered, so close to her ear and yet so very distant all at the same time. The reminder helped solidify her resolve. Steel slowly steepled its way up her spine, replacing the serpentine ice ball and she stood a little taller as she held the letter out to Steven.

Long fingers reached out and plucked the envelope from her small hand and Steven's pale smoky eyes drifted over her face in a brief once-over, before he tucked into the object in his hands. He turned his back on her, expertly tearing the seal neatly apart and promptly began to read the letter, right then and there. Silence swelled like the tides in the air between them, broken only by the soft shuffling from her team. Luna came up behind Shay, pressing her lanky body against her leg, tail curling and body bending like liquid as her purring reverberated into Shay.

Ambrose patted her other leg in a reassuring manner, while Keno leaned a heavy palm against her hip on the same side. Faye was silent, save for her breathing, as she pressed her body against Shay's neck and face.

"We should probably get to training soon," Keno said, keeping his voice sotto voce, while his tiger-orange eyes remained glued on Steven. Shay dipped her head in agreement.

"When he's gone," she replied through gritted teeth and in a voice almost too discernable to hear.

Steven turned back toward her, and the sudden movement made her freeze, startled. Pale eyes alit to her, the letter already folding up to be stored back in its home once more.

"Thank you. I'm sorry I haven't given my gratitude sooner. You certainly went above and beyond the call of duty to ensure this made it to me in a timely manner. I do have to ask though," Steven said, wagging the envelope in hand, a smile curling his lips for the first time. "Why didn't you simply leave it with the concierge at the hotel?"

Shay rolled her eyes and snorted, and it was a loud and ugly sound as it echoed off the cavernous walls around them.

"I doubt they would have kept it safe. The manager came out and was the one who threatened to eject me from the premises as soon as your name left my lips. I had a sneaking suspicion he would have tossed the letter in the garbage the minute I left if I gave it to him. He didn't give the impression of trustworthy, especially when he described me as 'ragamuffin' and looked at me like I was gutter refuse that somehow made it into his lobby."

"Hmm. That is rather troubling news to hear. I might have to have a word with the hotel manager when I return, if that's the case." He gave pause, assessing her once more, as though he were seeing her for the first time. "I thank you for your efforts. I'm truly sorry for the obstacles you had to endure to find me."

Confidence.

Shay crossed her arms, ducking her gaze to glance at Keno and Ambrose at her side instead.

"It was either make sure you got that letter or go back to Rustboro and report to your father that a pesky and rather smarmy hotel manager was blockading my efforts to deliver a simple letter to you in person, as he requested. Like I said before, he chose the lesser of two evils."

"Yes, well…I'm sure my father would have had him out of a job if you came back with a report such as that."

Ah. So, her first initial instincts on the matter had been right, after all. She hadn't just been bluffing for nothing. When Shay lifted her gaze back up to meet Steven's, her stomach dropped away at the frown playing on his lips.

"I'm…sorry, but I don't recall if you ever introduced yourself."

"I'm…" Shay tried to find the right words and failed, before falling back on something simple. With a shake of her head, she replied, "I'm just a friendly neighborhood courier."

"Ah. I suppose that this is where we must part ways, Miss Courier. Thank you again for having this delivered to me."

His smile returned and it was a rather nice one that reached his eyes and lit his face up. It was genuine and kind, above all else. It almost made her believe that he was a friendly and approachable guy whom she could confide in, but deep down in her gut, she knew better. Quietly, she stood aside to allow him to pass. He paused, however, just as he slipped her by, and lifted a hand, fingers curled except for his index finger and he wagged it, as though tapping it at a checklist and wanted to emphasis one point above everything else.

"I'm sorry…I hope that this isn't too forward, but would you mind if I called upon you if I ever need something delivered? You seem to be a rather dependable courier, given how quickly you managed to bring this to me. Tenacious, even."

The good feeling that had building up inside Shay's chest deteriorated completely and was replaced by a gaping hole. She grasped uselessly for something, anything, and found herself drawing a blank. Once more, Ambrose came her rescue, reminding her that all she needed was twenty seconds of insane courage. It helped bolster her in a time when she needed it most.

"This was actually my first gig, and it's a temporary one. I don't think that'd be a good idea."

Steven's pale eyes widened in surprise and appraisal as he smiled, blindsiding her all at once.

"Surprising to hear, but…I feel confident in placing my trust in you." Once more, that dashing smile appeared, drawing her in and coaxing her to turn complacent. Ambrose dug his claws into her calf, and it served as a helpful wake-up call that required no words.

Steven seemed to notice her hesitance and instead waved a dismissive hand. "I'm sorry, this must be a bit much, having the me pressing you like this. Tell you what, we can do a trial period. I can give you my personal number and we can go from there. Would that be all right?"

Shay dithered, casting her gaze toward her team members. Breela simply trembled against her, remaining silent. Keno met her eyes, hesitance playing havoc across his expression. Ambrose kept his silence in all senses. Faye hummed gently in Shay's ear, and instead seemed to find her earrings more entertaining as she gently plucked at them. Sela chuffed, but gave no further inference to a helpful signal, and Luna purred against Shay's leg.

In the end, Shay found herself reluctantly inclining her head and brought her x-transceiver to bear. Steven gave pause, staring at the device in comparison to his and he arched a brow at her.

"You don't use a PokéNav Plus?" Steven queried curiously, glancing between his device and hers. Shay pursed her lips but didn't meet his gaze as she flowed through the commands until she came upon what she was looking for. "That looks to be a…an x-transceiver. Are you from Unova by any chance?"

"Kanto, actually," Shay quickly answered before adding, "but I've taken a shine to the x-transceiver. The video calls are pretty lit."

The Champion didn't answer right away. Instead, he contemplated her answer, face reverted to a neutral mask.

"Yes. I've heard of those features. My father is currently working on a feature for the new PokéNav so that it may do much the same, and without overloading the device or draining its battery life so rapidly. Tell me, how well does your x-transceiver work on a full charge?"

"Are…are you trying to get a scope on things?"

"Perhaps," he answered, sounding rather genuinely honest as he gave a wry smile. "I'm interested in learning people's preferences, likes, complaints."

He watched her expectantly. Shay snorted.

"If you want a survey from me, I think I'd rather fill it out online." Shay's lips pulled into a tight, humourless smile. In return, the humour Steven held on his part faded, perplexity dawning on his features.

"You're not very forthcoming, are you?"

"I like my privacy."

Steven hummed back noncommittally. Shay avoided his gaze when he sought hers out and instead, she turned back to the screen staring up at her, fingers hovering over the commands to add in a new contact. Quietly, Steven seemed to understand, and relayed his information to her, and she did the same in return. A thought hit her after the niceties were exchanged and she stared between the device clutched in Steven's hand and the one strapped to her wrist.

She worried at her lower lip as the idea churned through her thoughts. Could PokéNav devices and her x-transceiver work compatibly? Or was it like Androids and iPhones back home, where they functioned just fine with one another, with varying differences that were more or less personal preference and aesthetics and software?

Shay didn't trust the question to be easy or simple or above all else, quick. Instead, she quietly tucked it back for later research and offered a thin smile to the taller man and cleared her throat.

"If that's all, I think I'll take my leave. I have other errands to run, things to do, a team to train."

She motioned to her team, still huddling close, tense and hyperaware of all that is happening.

Steven's gaze swept over the gathered pokémon, awareness seeming to filter through, and he gave a curt nod.

"I'm sorry to have kept your trainer, everyone. And besides," Steven began, turning to glance back at the mural looming over them. "I can stare at this thing for weeks—and believe me, I have—but I doubt I can glean much more from it, much as I try."

"It…almost looks as if it's incomplete. Like something else was meant to be on the other side, facing off against Kyogre."

The words came without thought, before Shay could screen them through. Steven turned back toward her with surprise shining through. It gave way to amusement shortly, a smile playing on his lips as he shot another look at the mural.

"I always thought so myself, and it was theorized by many archaeologists as well as anthropologists that specialize in subjects that include ancient art such as this." He swept an arm toward the Kyogre on display in the painting. "I believe that this is supposed to represent Kyogre in its Primal form, a reversion of its physical form which gave it immense and terrifying power; enough to quite literally bury the surrounding lands until nothing but the sea remained in its wake. A force of nature given visceral physical form, no matter what shape it took."

Distance made his eyes grow cloudy and distracted as he lapsed into silence. Shay studied the painting, and another shudder twined its way through her limbs, down her spine, and settled in her core.

Would it be worth breaking the timeline, and to warn Steven here and now of just how far Team Aqua was going to get? How far their machinations would take them, and just how terrifyingly close they would get to destroying the world by unleashing Kyogre upon the world?

If anything, it would circumvent the entire course of events that transpired throughout Alpha Sapphire. She wouldn't need to trudge through the trenches of Team Aqua's bullshit. She wouldn't have to worry about being caught in the mires of their schemes. She'd be free to just work and train with her team, and Steven could do all the heavy lifting and waylay Archie and his band of societal rejects.

That would also mean exposing herself as to who and what she really was: essentially an alien, a stranger to this world, and in addition to all of that, she'd have to reveal what she truly knew of this world and how. How it was nothing more than a global phenomenon of a different sort, a series of games, television shows, an assortment of films, and so much more that she couldn't even remember it all and trying to made her head hurt.

It would complicate things beyond measure—and who was to say that Steven would even believe her? He might just deem her unfit to be a trainer if she began espousing such things, strip her of her team, and take her away from all that was familiar and grounding.

The possibilities made her heartrate skyrocket and she had to force her face into a pleasant expression as he turned back toward her.

"I'm sorry, I've kept you long enough and I believe I've spent enough time here. I'll take my leave and let you go about your errands."

Focus and clarity were sharp in his pale eyes, and it struck Shay then and there that he was trying to glean more without asking or pressing. Suddenly, she was once again a junior Marine under the scrutiny of a high-ranking officer, and they were using not only their rank but authoritative presence to pressure her. Whether it was to confess or to dare her to lie and be caught in it, she couldn't be sure. The drumming in her head grew louder, and the ache of her headache grew right alongside it.

When she simply nodded to him, he seemed to realize she wasn't going to be forthcoming with anything else, and without further preamble, he took his leave. As if they were all one, Shay and her team turned to watch sans Ambrose, and it was only when Ambrose declared that Steven's energy signature was finally, completely gone from Granite Cave that they all seemed to breathe. The air itself lessened its gravity upon them, the pressure released and the stiffness that had held them all captive relinquished its hold.

Shay touched the side of her temple gingerly, eyes squeezed shut tightly, jaw clenched. Pressure had built up all along the back of her head, and along the contours of her neck. Heat built up around the fringes of her eyes, adding to the stress and tension and the sensation of her skull being squeezed. The bruises that cut along her cheeks and jawline throbbed dully, and the skin tightened around the swell of her stitches. Everything, simply put, seemed to relax, only to simultaneously squeeze even tighter.

Keno gently took the canteen hanging from her belt, pressing it into her hand. Without a word, she took it, fingers tightening around it until her knuckles creaked and turned white.

"You should take your medicine if your head is hurting," he simply said. Faye nibbled at her ear when she didn't answer Keno.

"Mm-hmm. Yep. Working on it."

After she took half a pill, Shay turned back to her team, the pounding in her head was still beating away. Ambrose crossed his arms, head tilting as though he were listening for something. In a way, he was.

"Sorry about all that."

"That was…kind of terrifying. I was just waiting for him to send out one of his pokémon." Keno remarked.

"He wouldn't have. He doesn't seem to know who you are," Ambrose cut in. The good news ended there as he continued. "But he's on edge and quite alert to the fact that you're not in Littleroot anymore. It seems Steven wrung the truth out of Norman a few weeks ago."

"Seriously?" Shay groaned, throwing her head back to stare listlessly at the cave ceiling as she muttered flatly, "Great."

"Yes. It was a rather good instinct you followed by not saying anything to him, and playing things close to the vest, Miss Courier."

The woman snorted but couldn't fight the grin from playing across her face. It faded quickly enough as awareness dawned upon her. "And now he might just call me at any time he wants. That's fan-fucking-tastic. So much for staying off the grid."

"He is the Champion," Luna reminded her. "I bet a lot of people have trouble telling him no, especially when his daddy is a powerful and rich human who has a lot of money at his disposal. He's probably grown up in a bubble where 'no' was a rare word in his home, and that kind of influence bled into his expectations of people around him."

"That…is true." Shay conceded, surprised at the observation from the Skitty. Luna preened, her tail flicking and looking about as smug as a cat could get.

"I'm not entirely feral. I've spent enough time skirting around Rustboro's more rural neighborhoods to gather a semblance of human living conditions, thank you very much."

"Sorry if I ever doubted you, Luna," Shay said, grateful that her medicine seemed to be kicking in, slowly but surely. It still had a long while yet to go, but the pounding headache beating at the edges of her thoughts was dimming down and it wasn't quite so chaotic a mess in there. Her focus was coming back together, and she put her hands on her hips, drawing herself up.

"Okay. We've got a couple of hours to kill, and I think we should spend it training. What do you guys say?"

A chorus of agreement was all she needed.


Additional Notes: My stepdad is crazy awesome. He may not be my biological dad, but he is the dad I had growing up, and I love him. And it is incredibly true about both the sharks and the rattlesnake. I have pictures of both. He really is like the Steve Irwin of our house; we have had a number of animals, both conventional and strange, growing up. I'm surprised we haven't gotten a crocodile or a serval in the house yet, but there is still time for that, ha-ha!

Speaking of, there will soon be Steve Irwin Funko Pop figures on the market! You can bet your sweet asses I will have them.

Also, here have some military terminology!

NCO: Non-Commissioned Officer. Basically, Corporals and Sergeants who have limited powers of authority. A number of billets, or job titles, tend to be reserved for these two ranks—most sergeants, to be honest, but Corporals can and have filled out those jobs. Example, A Platoon Sergeant can be filled by either rank, but it also isn't unusual in particularly small units for someone as a Lance Corporal to hold this position as well! They're usually the first line of defense for junior Marines below them against everyone else. Everyone's leadership styles are so different, though—and plenty turn into scumbag leaders who flaunt their power and make everyone beneath them miserable just for the sake of shits and giggles. I've ran into plenty of these types.

SNCO: Staff Non-Commissioned Officer. All the other ranks above Sergeants, starting at Staff Sergeant and going all the way up to Master Gunnery Sergeant and Sergeant Major (these two share the same highest grade as E-9s, but they branch off dependent on their executive or administrative powers, and are unique in their own rights).

CO: Commanding Officer. Just a friendly reminder that this has been stated before in a previous chapter, but they're essentially in charge of a unit, company, battalion, etc. They hold the highest rank in the company they head as the leading officers. They're the ones with shiny collars, basically, and are often accompanied by an XO (Executive Officer) and a First Sergeant.

Lastly, let's welcome the newest catch!

Pokémon: Nux the Magikarp, Level 10
Nature/Characteristic: Sassy and Scatters Things Often
Move Set: Splash