Chapter Twenty-One:
Girl in the War

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: Happy Christmas, my lovely readers! And welcome to my new followers and readers! Thank you so much for taking the time to read and enjoy this story. I really, really appreciate it, and every email notification I receive for every new reader gives me an incredibly fuzzy warm feeling inside me.

On another note, I hope that all of you, wherever you are and however you celebrate the year's end, that you have a wonderful holiday season. Whatever you may celebrate, I wish you the merriest of holidays and a wonderful new year's! I'm so grateful for everyone being here and for reading my story, and I hope that you guys say hello in the reviews sometime soon. If you ever have a chance, my lovelies, please feel free to say hello in the comments!

In the meantime, accept this chapter as an early holiday gift!

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

Badges Won: Stone Badge, Knuckle Badge


Paul said to Peter
"You gotta rock yourself a little harder;
Pretend the dove from above is a dragon and your feet are on fire,"
And I got a girl in the war, Paul the only thing I know to do
Is turn up the music and pray that she makes it through.

Because the keys to the kingdom got locked inside the kingdom
And the angels fly around in there, but we can't see them.
And I gotta girl in the war, Paul I know that they can hear me yell
If they can't find a way to help, they can go to Hell.
If they can't find a way to help her, they can go to Hell.
—"Girl in the War" by Josh Ritter


The city of Slateport was steeped in the briny scent of the sea. It brought back old memories long since faded of spending days at the beach when Shay had been much younger with both friends and family alike. Dewford had offered much the same nostalgia, although Shay hadn't had much of a moment or two of spare time to even consider a day at the beach.

We still have a job to do, Shay reminded herself. She was on the clock, and it was a constant that she couldn't afford to forget or put off. The subtle threat of having a powerful business after her was not something she wanted to have hanging over her head for much longer.

That was why she was out and about now, heading east toward the docks through winding streets with the sun beating down pleasantly against her shoulders. Faye flew up overhead, providing helpful navigation as they went. Breela shivered in Shay's arms, enjoying a little sunning herself, and a soft, pleasant scent wafted up every so often from the Shroomish.

Compared to the parts and paperwork in Shay's sling-pack, however, the Shroomish felt considerably light.

The part's weight itself wasn't the issue. It was the burden of everything that entailed to it.

If Captain Stern got this part, then the refitting of his submarine would be complete. Team Aqua would eventually steal it and cause a whole lot more problems. Problems that could potentially destroy this world, but that's how it went with Legendary and Mystical pokémon being disturbed by meddling humans, wasn't it? They had the potential powers to destroy parts of the world…or the whole entirety of it.

She felt the itch-shiver-scratch before the voice came skittering through, piercing the veil of her tempestuous thoughts.

'You're overthinking things again.' Shay found her eyes drawn to the Kirlia on instinct, but he didn't turn his head or offer a smile. His gait was growing better, now that he was more accustomed to his longer limbs. He kept his head sternly forward, although his ears lifted or lowered slightly every so often, as though adjusting to compensate to the noises around him.

What do you suggest I do then? Not worry?

'Yes. If things to come are as you've briefly laid out to us, then they'll come.'

What if I can change things, though? What if we can prevent all the bad shit to come?

'Do you think anyone would listen to you if you tried?'

That made Shay's stomach flip over itself. Breela twitched in her arms, and Shay mumbled an apology, realizing her arms had been squeezing the Shroomish. Gently, she massaged the small Shroomish in her arms with her fingers and shot a glance at Ambrose again.

'Would changing things be wise?'

Me being here has already changed things. I shouldn't be here in the first—

'Whatever misgivings you have regarding Norman's late daughter isn't your fault. You keep holding on to that guilt, like you're the one who brought down the plane that ended her life.'

That sent a sudden lance of agony shooting through Shay's chest and she came to an abrupt stop, lungs refusing to pump air in or out, her throat constricting as the words ping-ponged around in her head. An ironclad vice slowly crushed out whatever air she had left in her, and she forgot how to breath. Sound bled away until nothing but a sharp, persistent ringing and the pounding tempo of her heartbeat overshadowed everything else.

She could just see Keno stopping a few steps ahead of her, turning to ask her something, with Luna and Sela flanking him. Ambrose was just barely in her peripheral, his head tilted up toward her. Keno's mouth moved, but whatever he asked, it was muted, distant. Shay struggled to slip a breath in or out, almost as though the oxygen was stripped bare of this part of the world.

Even with the ringing, the words in her head kept coming through, unperturbed and perfect in clarity.

It is, though, isn't it? Me being here is enough. I'm not special—

'Whoever said you had to be special to be in a certain place at a certain time? Stories and fairytales, but does it really have to be someone special to step up and do something? What matters is someone standing up to oppose what is clearly wrong, or at least, standing up to help what they believe what's right, whether they're small or large and if they have the strength to or not.'

Shay closed her eyes, squeezing tight, bracing her arms to keep from doing the same, an icy shudder bolting down the length of her back.

Do you believe I'm doing something right? Or am I doing everything wrong by following what's essentially a story in my world about this whole place?

When she peeked her eyes open, Ambrose was grinning toothily at her.

'What do you think is right or wrong? Isn't that the whole point of writing the story yourself?'

Shay twitched, and renewed life surged into her. Swiveling toward Ambrose, anger and irritation swelled in her chest, along with a fresh sea-scented breath of fresh air.

"What the hell am I supposed to do, then?! Just sit around, twiddling my thumbs, wondering 'what can I do?'"

Keno jumped a half-step back, while Luna scattered away, the ridge of fur along her spine bristling. A few people along the sidewalks stopped to stare, while several others barely gave her glance and only increased their stride to hurry away.

Shay greedily sucked in another breath, expelling it in a hurried, heavy fashion as she glowered at Ambrose.

"I don't know what you want from me! I don't know what to do and I'm just…" Shay swallowed, the lump in her throat slowly making a return. "I'm just so fucking tired of trying to figure shit out on my own."

"Um…" Breela said quietly in Shay's arms, giving a tremble every so often. "I…I think I'm missing something, but…you're not alone, Shay. Whatever might be bothering you, you know that we're here, right?"

Keno hesitated, shooting furtive looks between Ambrose and his trainer, but he gave a nod to Shay after a few moments of deliberating.

"Breela's right. We work as a team, or we don't get anywhere at all. That's the whole point in being together, isn't it?"

Shay closed her eyes, jaw clenched so tightly, it hurt and she winced when her teeth ached in protest.

"I'm sorry. I'm just…trying to figure things out."

"With only Ambrose and not with all of us. Again," Sela pointed out with a snort, her maraschino-red eyes bright and suspicious as she regarded the Kirlia.

The woman winced, but knew the accusation was fair enough, even if she didn't want to completely admit it. It was hard hiding things from a psychic-type and Shay hadn't the foggiest just how difficult it truly was. Only assumptions and vague readings from other stories.

That alone wasn't really touching upon her concerns, it was the least of them, to be honest. Shay released one of her arms holding Breela to reach up and pinch the bridge of her nose, eyes squeezing shut again.

"I'm sorry," she said more quietly. "I'm sorry, you guys. I don't mean to…shut you out, it's not intentional. I just have a lot of things on my mind. So much more than the whole 'working together' side of things, or delivering this part or…"

Shay expelled a breath she'd been holding and shook her head. "It's everything."

Keno remained quiet for the longest time before he piped up again. "It's about you going home too, isn't it?"

The question hung baldly between them all, steeping the tension into the thick of things. Shay found she had no other words and instead inclined her head at him. It was half the answer. Keno seemed to sense this, and his mouth pulled down a bit more.

"It's also about…everything we're doing and what's been going on."

She nibbled on her lip and nodded. Whatever well of confidence and recklessness she usually drew from was bone dry now, leaving her mute and incapable of answering any further. Stubborn and awkward silence was a specialty of hers. When she had no answers, she just shut up and hoped that the silence alone would be answer enough to get people to stop pestering her. The only usual responses she could ever really muster revolved around apologies and not knowing everything and apologizing again for that too. They came bubbling up, threatening to spill out past her lips now. Shay swallowed them back, not allowing them to tempt the tip of her tongue with their honeyed sweetness, a comforting fallback excuse to land on.

Keno shot another glance toward Ambrose before scooting closer toward Shay, gently touching her elbow. Sela prowled in close behind him and settled between him and Ambrose. "You don't have to have all the answers all at once. I know I don't, and neither does Ambrose."

Ambrose sighed flippantly, crossing his arms over his narrow chest, but he did consent a small nod. "He is right. I don't have the answers. None of us do. But most of all, you certainly don't need to, and worrying about it constantly…it's not helping. You worry about what someone who isn't here would do, and how you think things should go, if you should change things or keep to a rigid, narrow line on the ground set before you."

The Kirlia tilted his head down, as though he was gazing at the cracks in the sidewalk.

"I was playing devil's advocate and it wasn't fair to push you like that, especially when you do have much to worry about. But, perhaps a word of advice, if you'll take it?"

Even when Shay knew he couldn't see it, she nodded all the same, knowing he sensed her consent. Ambrose offered a somber smile in response.

"Don't worry about what May would have done. What do you want to do? Do that instead. If things change…perhaps it was meant to be that way in the end. If they don't, then that's the way they were likely to be instead. You won't know unless you shed yourself of the constant wondering and worrying. And don't rush things. Take the time you know we all need, including yourself."

Shay mulled over what Ambrose said, casting her eyes over her team. Faye had come to join the entourage, perching on a railing beside manicured trees following the length of sidewalk they were on. Keno offered her another encouraging grin, and it coaxed one from Shay as she sighed, shoulders drooping and for once, they felt lighter than they've been for weeks.

"I'm sorry, everyone. I know I've been kind of…difficult lately. I'll try to lighten up."

Keno patted her arm, and another spritz of pleasant smells wafted from Breela coiled in her arms. Luna cleared her throat, yellow eyes half-lidded and gleaming.

"I'm sorry, but are we going to get going? As touching as this all was, we still have a job to complete, don't we?"

Shay cleared her throat. "Yeah. Yeah, we do. Thanks, Faye."

Faye regarded her trainer for a brief second or two before she took off, winging it up into the air once more, narrow wings spread as she glided easily ahead of them. Sela fell into step beside Shay.

"As much as I hate admitting it, the psychic is right. You let things fester, it'll come out eventually, and not in the way you want them to." Her claws clicked along the concrete as they pressed onward, and as they turned a corner, the sight of the docks and warehouses loomed ahead of them. "And you do know you can talk to us about things. Even if it's to vent, you should do it. Bottling things up won't help any of us."

Shay bit back another automatic response she wanted to snap out, as prickly as it was defensive; "I know."

Instead she gave another mute nod, appreciative of the offer from the Poochyena.

They're not my Marines. This isn't a rank hierarchy, she had to remind herself. They're my team, and I can't always shield them from things.

Even if that meant doing things a different way than what she had grown used to for almost a decade, then so be it.

It was hard being an old dog learning new tricks, but she was determined, if not stubborn, to do so.


"The warehouses were a bust, the shipyard was a bust. Last stop, the Slateport Oceanic Museum."

The museum itself was located in a central hub of activity along the northwestern end of the city's boardwalk, where a number of restaurants, tourist shops, and street vendors hawking their wares or ocean wildlife tours sprawled out.

It's kind of like San Francisco at the Fisherman's Wharf, Shay thought with a nostalgic smile touching her lips as she watched a crowd gather around some dancers showing off their skills. Not far from them were a number of stalls with handcrafted jewelry and charms, attracting a number of people to them as well. And in between them all were the pokémon. More than Shay could count or identify. Or maybe it's like Venice Beach. Maybe both.

The building that she and her team were headed toward held her attention the most, however. They weaved their way through the boardwalk crowds, heralding closer to the building as they pressed onward. As they approached, the front doors burst open, and a pair of women came hurrying out. They quickly laced their hands together and pressed in close to one another, as though finding comfort in the other's presence and touch. One of them cast a look over her shoulder, grimacing, before turning back to her partner.

"—really annoying, isn't it?"

"Ugh, don't get me started," her partner replied with a shake of her head. "Those guys just swarmed in; I didn't even notice until all I could see were stripes wherever we turned! Is there some kind of convention in town, or something—"

Shay exchanged a look with her team, then glanced back at the couple as they hurried away into crowds lining the boardwalks, their conversation drifting away quicker than their feet could carry them.

"That does not bode well, does it now?" Sela remarked flatly, ears pressing tightly to her head.

"Agreed," Faye softly agreed. Breela quivered in Shay's arms as Luna sniffed at the ground before her ears splayed backwards with a hiss.

"The man who tried beating you a few weeks back…I remember his scent on you. And he's here now. It's faint, but I smell it."

Sela got up to join Luna and drove her own nose to the ground. A few sniffs later and a growling snort issued from her maw.

"She's right. I can smell that bastard, clear as day. He is here."

Shay felt a heavy, deep sigh well up in her chest and she arduously expelled it. "Of course, he is."

Keno faltered as he glanced between the looming front doors leading into the museum and back at his trainer's face. Worry lined his face so plainly, it almost hurt to look at him. "We don't have to go in now. We can come back later—"

"No."

The woman shook her head, tension lining every inch of her body as she glowered at the doors, as if daring that asshole Team Aqua member to come out and face her.

"We're going in and we're getting this done. We're doing it on our terms, and not on anyone else's."

From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of fangs peeking out from Ambrose's lips as he grinned.

And we're not following a fucking story anymore.


Christ on a crutch, this place really is swarming with team Aqua goons.

Even before Shay had made it inside to the reception desk to pay for her admittance fee, she could see the place was stuffed to the brim with striped uniforms. Men and women alike donned the clothing, gathered in groups both large and small. What few plainclothes civilians there were clearly felt uncomfortable with the sight of Team Aqua so boldly in public.

'They've heard the rumours of what they've been doing. Some of these people…they've done some rather unsavoury work even before their tenure with the group. Now they're bringing it into the folds so others can do much the same. No wonder they're uneasy.' Ambrose relayed to Shay as they worked their way through the exhibits.

Water and silt samples from various regions, looping videos relaying deep submarine dives that were historic to all of humankind, model displays of ancient pokémon…

Shay's eyes were drawn, admittedly, but her attention waned just as quickly.

What kind of 'unsavoury work' have they done?

Ambrose was quiet for a long while as they dodged a rather burly looking man flexing to his cluster, the stripes along his sleeves bulging. He cackled as Shay skittered out of his way, and the others laughed alongside him. Shay flipped them all the finger but before any of them could move, she was already slipping away like an eel through underwater caverns.

'…it's best if I don't say.'

Ambrose—

'Please…trust me, Shay. It's best we leave it at that.'

It didn't reassure her, and only fueled the imagination. Have they bombed places? Shot at people and pokémon? Outright murdered someone? Worse than any of that or some combination of it all and then some?

It raised Shay's hackles and made her more wary as she worked her way through the cavernous room and around the displays and people huddled around them. It took her a long while to realize none of them had their pokémon out and perhaps that was a saving grace as to why they moved so much quicker through everyone.

Glancing at the pamphlet in hand, Shay spread out the map on the back, squinting at the words scrawled in neat text, and she took a quick scope of where she was. Something big and blue caught her eye and she was caught off guard by the giant, snake-like body of a giant Gyarados suspended by wires from the ceiling. It's viperfish-like face paired with a deep, scowling snarl made it a terrifyingly vicious display of animousity and rage as it coiled along above them.

"Stairs to the upper level are this way," she said, her voice raised just enough for her team to hear her. They followed after her, only to come to an abrupt halt as someone trod all over Shay's foot and in response, she shoved them away. They went sprawling, knocking two other people down with them. A hiss of indignation arose from the original offender, and he quickly clambered up to his feet with a whirl, only to clamp his jaw shut as soon as he turned around.

Shay, in quiet resonance with the man, fell just as silent out of shock.

"You!" She finally managed with a jabbing finger pointed at him, her teeth bared. She saw the fear slowly filtering through as his pupils constricted to pinpricks. The two people he knocked over were already on their feet, flanking him on either side, derisive little smiles painted across their faces.

"Is this the little bitch who beat you up not once, but twice?!" Said the one on the man's right, while the woman on his left guffawed, lips peeling back into a sneer, eyes tracing over Shay's form.

"She doesn't look like much. I think you just chickened out. Either way, you fucking failed the boss and he ain't all that happy with you, Jay-Jay."

The woman reached a hand up to grasp the man's face and cooed at him. He was quick to wriggle loose from their grips and backed away, but kept his eyes locked with Shay.

"I'm not fucking dealing with this shit today. Not today!"

He continued backing away until he had slipped away from sight into the crowd. The woman leaned on her companion, lazily watching. The man snorted as he tore his eyes from the retreating 'Jay-Jay' and looked back at Shay, boredom striking across his countenance.

"You got something to say, squirt?"

"Fuck you, man." Shay retorted, and the two guffawed at her backside as she turned from them as well, retreating toward the aforementioned stairwell.

"Ooh, so feisty! Better watch that mouth, firecracker, or we'll put you out of your misery!"

Their cackles faded as Shay found the stairwell hiding in the corner of the room besides an old sailing ship display model paired alongside a modern yacht display model.

The rest of the team skittered out amongst the forest of moving legs until they gathered beside Shay.

"Is everyone all right?"

A round of nods and agreement fluttered across the team's faces before they mounted, climbing upwards to the second level of the museum.

The crowds weren't as condensed on the second level, but it did take some time navigating.

"The receptionist said he'd be in a back office on the second level…" Shay said quietly under her breath. Keno pressed a broad hand to the side of her arm, sidling up closer to her.

"Do you think we'll have any access to it?"

"He wasn't answering the phone earlier, and she didn't seem inclined to give us a code to get in the back, courier or not."

"I can handle the door," Ambrose said, his voice carrying despite the volume around them. Shay hesitated.

"I don't think breaking and entering was on the list of things to do today…"

"What choice do we have? If Team Aqua is here, it already doesn't bode well. Most of these people don't know much, but some are drawing conclusions well enough on their own. They're here for him. And with them swarming the only way out of this place…"

"He has to come out eventually," Shay concluded, dread filling in the cracks within her.

"I don't think he'll much care if we come to give him some amount of security for a while, or at least until the crowds leave. A good thing the receptionist didn't lie to us like she did the rest of these goons."

"Even if she did, I'm sure you would have picked it out from her mind," Luna yawned, arching her back before slinking out to stretch it. Ambrose offered yet another toothy grin.

"True. I don't much care for lies, and it's better to be absolutely sure than guessing blindly."

"Shall we continue this back-and-forth at a later date? Our trainer has a job to complete, or else a very powerful human will be after her," Faye interjected bluntly with a sharp clack of her beak. That drew the conversation to a ubiquitous end all around at once as they advance through the second level. There were less people milling about, but there were also more rooms dividing them from where they needed to go.

It took some nitpicking throughout the museum, and a part of Shay wished she could just slow down to enjoy the exhibits. But this isn't a pleasure trip, this is a business trip. Work, work, work.

Ambrose tugged on her pants leg in a gentle fashion, but it drew Shay to a sharp stop and she glanced down at him.

"You've passed by the room."

"How do you know?" Shay asked whilst craning her head to look around, brows beetling together in puzzlement.

"There are too many people here and too few in the other parts of this building that aren't…public."

He gave a tilt of his head toward the left, and Shay followed his gesture. A giant glowing aquarium that took up half of the room filled with Horsea and Corsola floating about inside was what greeted her. The woman glanced back down at the Kirlia beside her.

"Behind that aquarium. There should be a door somewhere around here that could lead us to Captain Stern."

Shay hesitated, but upon glancing at the others, she saw they didn't have any better ideas beyond what Ambrose had just offered up. Upon wordless agreement, they began sifting through the crowds once more, finding it easier to slip between bodies than it had been downstairs.

Rounding the aquarium, a few of the pokémon within followed after Shay and her team. Keno waved at a few of them, and they spouted bubbles at him gleefully, while the rocky-looking Corsola wiggled their little appendages. Shay prowled about until she spotted a door further down the wall a little ways away from the aquarium. She gave a nod to the team and they huddled around the doorway, with Shay bringing out the pamphlet and unfolding it to cover her face. Keno pressed in close to her, while Breela wiggled in Shay's arms.

"Ambrose, we're at the door."

"I've got him. Here it is," Sela replied softly, guiding the Kirlia toward the key card reader. Sela turned away while Luna flanked her. Faye's ironclad grip on Shays' shoulder squeezed a bit harder, causing Shay to squeak in protest. The grip loosened.

"Sorry," Faye said, rubbing her beak against the woman's ear.

A soft click drew Shay's attention and she glanced over to see Ambrose grinning, hand on the now-open door. Sela and Luna were already slipping inside.

"Ladies first," he offered. Keno exchanged a look with his trainer, before pushing her along. Ambrose followed after them, quietly closing the door behind them.

The sight behind the door was a hallway. Short, but well lit. About ten feet ahead, a doorway led to an annexed room to their left. Shay tiptoed forward, Sela taking point, Luna right behind her. Sela sniffed around the corner, peeking her head to peer into the room. A soft glow washed over her black and grey fur, and she squinted her maraschino-bright eyes within.

"It looks like…pipes. Must be the room behind that aquarium."

"Those are filters and stuff for the aquarium," Shay replied as she peeped around the corner to peer into the room.

"My stepdad has an aquarium back at home, for all his tropical fish and shrimp. It's all underneath it, but I think the pumps and filters keep the water flowing so that there's a constant current in the tank. And those lights above the tank are meant to bring out the colour in all the reefs and polyps, and I'm also guessing, the Corsola's colours as well."

Silence fell as Shay quieted fell and found six pairs of eyes locked on her, sans Ambrose actually staring.

"What? I grew up with a pretty big tank at home." She sniffed pointedly. "I picked up on a few things over the last few years, here and there. Doesn't make me an expert, geez."

"Hey! What are you doing back here?"

Shay jumped, nearly dropping Breela. She squealed as Shay fumbled and caught her, quickly cradling the Shroomish close to her chest as she twisted to face the speaker.

A spritely young man in a work uniform emblazoned with the museum's logo stood at the end of the hallway ahead of them where a T-junction sat. He was the first to move and came at a clipped pace, a hand reaching out to grab her.

"Whoa, I'm here on official courier business—"

"Then go to the back bay like everyone else—you're not allowed to be here!"

"I have a package for Captain Stern," Shay pressed as his hand snatched at her arm, squeezing tight and trying to drag her along. Faye screeched and swiveled to peck at the foreign hand on her trainer. The man yelped, and withdrew, shaking his hand limply, glowering at both Shay and at the Taillow. Shay's heart was beating so fast and hard, it hurt.

"Look, I don't care if you have a package for Captain Stern or not, you can't be back here! You're leaving, and if you don't, I'll call security to drag you out of here!"

"I'm not leaving until I deliver this to Captain Stern, and I was charged by President Stone of Devon Corporation to do so. If you want to call him up—" Shay tried, her mind racing as she struggled to think of a way to make it past this jerk. The man did not seem all that impressed, and tried snatching at her again, only to be stonewalled by Keno. He hesitated in the wake of the hulking Marshtomp, eyes bouncing back and forth between Keno and Shay. His hand swept upward to push at his hair as he glared at them all.

"I don't care if the Champion himself told you to come down here. Arceus, I swear you people think you can do whatever you want just because you have a title and some money—"

"Harold? Harold, what's going on? What's all that racket?"

Another jolt of panic raced through Shay as someone else appeared at the end of the T-junction. It was an older gentleman that rounded the corner, donning a rumpled collared shirt, a pair of worn jeans, and work boots. The man himself looked exhausted, if curious, as he stared between his co-worker and the young woman with her team. Shay swallowed, finding it difficult at first to find her voice. Slowly, she straightened herself up, studying the man as she did.

He dressed casually enough, but he was well groomed in both his burgundy-dark beard and hair, which were showing signs of salt-and-pepper staining mixed in. Shay swallowed a few times, struggling to find her voice.

"I…I'm looking for Captain Stern."

The man frowned, shooting another glance at the man he called Harold.

"And what business do you have with him?" He remarked carefully, his words guarded.

Shay found herself hesitating, hand halfway up to reaching for the strap on her sling-pack. Slowly, her fingers clasped around it after another moment's deliberation.

"I have a high-profile package for him. President Stone of the Devon Corporation hired me to deliver it to Captain Stern," Shay answered, pausing briefly before adding pointedly, "discretely."

Harold scoffed and locked eyes with the other man and waved a dismissive hand Shay's way. "Boss, there's no way you believe her, right? Those psychos out there probably dressed up one of their own to put up this frigging delivery ruse—"

"No, it's not Harold. I've spoken to President Stone a few weeks ago. He informed me ahead of time that he'd hired a secret courier and she'd be heading my way soon." The man smiled warmly at her. Harold hesitated before stepping aside, allowing Shay to pass.

"I'm Captain Stern. I'm sorry for the gruff welcome committee. We've just been on edge as of late." The man introduced himself as he offered his hand to Shay. She shook it on approach.

"I'm guessing it's because of those Team Aqua goons outside in the museum," Shay surmised and Captain Stern gave a rueful chuckle and nodded. He released his grip and motioned for her to follow him.

"Yes, exactly. They've been showing up lately, not in this many numbers, mind…today is a bit…hmmm."

"Over the top and wild?"

"Something to that effect, yes."

Shay huffed out a sigh as he led her through the hallways until they passed through a doorway leading to modest-sized room. Most of it was clear and free, but several work benches, tables, and filing cabinets lined the back wall. Several computer monitors were spread around a computer desk in the corner, while veritable towers of paperwork piled around them all. On one of the workbenches, an old radio was playing music, the volume set at quiet and soft. "They've been causing problems just about everywhere I've gone, so I can understand you being on edge."

"Then you also realize the weight of your job and why President Stone resorted to hiring you as a courier."

"I do," Shay agreed, and she could feel that weight's burden slowly pressing against her shoulders once more. "He was quite insistent on the need for discretion."

Faye shuffled on the woman's shoulders as she carefully set Breela down and twisted her sling-pack around, pulling the zipper down the track to open it up.

Captain Stern sucked in a breath between his teeth as Shay carefully removed the wrapped package and she slowly passed it over to the outstretched, awaiting hands. Harold came slinking into the room, watching on as the parcel transferred in his boss's hands with rapt attention. Shay retrieved all the paperwork as well, and with a tap on Harold's shoulder, he quickly took it as well with a mumble of thanks. Captain Stern was already hurrying to a worktable, hands cradling the parcel as gingerly as he would fragile glass. Harold joined him, laying down the file of paperwork, and they both began consulting over everything all at once in hushed tones.

Shay, in the meantime, zipped her sling-pack up, swiveling it back around. She turned around, looking for Breela, and was mildly surprised to see Keno having picked her up. He shook his head at her, giving a faint wave of the hand.

"I've got her, don't worry."

Breela offered a craggy smile up at her trainer as Shay patted the side of her head.

"Thanks, Keno."

Turning back to the two men, Shay found that their attentions hadn't waned in the least. She cleared her throat, dithering on the spot.

"Um…Captain Stern? Is everything all right?"

"Oh? Oh! Right, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to just brush you aside, Miss…?"

A sudden tugging on her hand drew her attention and she glanced down to see Ambrose at her side.

"Shay…"

The Kirlia seemed distracted, as though he was splitting his attentions between her and something else.

"Hold on, Ambrose." She remarked softly, before turning back to Captain Stern with a tight smile. "You can just…call me Miss Courier."

Might as well stick to the nickname.

'Shay, we should get going.'

Give me a minute to wrap things up.

"Ah. Right. Well, Miss Courier, I am extremely grateful for your prudence regarding this delivery. I truly was afraid that Team Aqua, in all their unusual activities lately, would have targeted us."

'SHAY, TROUBLE'S HERE.'

The woman recoiled at the sudden volume rattling about in her head and she was about to whirl on the Kirlia, before she stopped at the shift of movement from the corner of her eye.

"Oh, Captain Stern! That truly hurts, the way you speak about my beloved little group. You make it sound as though we're nothing more than two-bit thugs, looking to deal out some back-alley turf war on you and your own."

The other two behind her turned at the sound of the voice as well, and Shay heard Harold curse under his breath.

Two Team Aqua grunts came slinking into the room, bearing smug grins upon their faces. It was the same two who had been with the grunt who'd ran away from her earlier. They weren't important or what caught Shay's attention.

No, that was largely reserved for the figure behind them.

A broad figure stepped around the corner and filled the doorway behind the two Team Aqua grunts.

Shay's stomach twisted into knots as recognition washed over her at the sight of the man coming into the room, as the two grunts flanked his sides . Aw, crap.

It was Archie, the leader of Team Aqua.


Extra Notes: As I mentioned at the start of the chapter, I wish all my followers a happy holiday season, no matter what holiday you may celebrate. I truly hope that you have a wonderful season with family and friends, and that you have a wonderful New Year's!