Blanche stared at a bowl of ice cream, taunting him as it sat, cold, delicious, and covered in syrup, on the lab table. It glistened beneath the buzzing overhead light, only existing to tease him. His arms were on either side of it, covered in plaster, tense and unmoving.
"Aren't you gonna eat that?" Rosa asked, sitting down next to him with a much, much larger bowl.
"...I can't pick up the spoon with these casts."
Indeed, to prevent further injury, they encompassed a large part of his wrists as well, forcing his palms to stay open.
He tried to pick up the plastic utensil for the fifteenth time, pinching it weakly between the side of his thumb and index finger. His muscles twitched, making his already shaky grip shakier and the spoon fell out of his grasp once again.
Maybe fracturing both sets of radius and ulna bones wasn't his best idea.
Not that it had been intentional, of course. He didn't actually know until, during debriefing, his arms started throbbing and his body refused to let him raise his arms high enough to demorph.
That was a bit embarrassing, given that everyone else in FLARE was geared up to celebrate and essentially waiting on him.
He clenched his fists, winced at the pressure just above his wrists, and relaxed it.
With something of a constipated look, he said, "I think my arms are broken."
A bit of a mood killer, that was. And because having him whine during their downtime would be annoying (Such faith, Shauna), they had Audino and Ariel by proxy take him down to the medical wing.
"We've gotta stop meeting like this," he said to the blonde as they walked down the labyrinthian halls only familiar to him.
"Excuse me?"
"Y'know, I'm in critical condition, you decide to help me out, just another Tuesday."
"I wouldn't say that happens very often," she responded with a laugh. "Twice is a coincidence."
"Give me another year, it'll be three times," he joked.
Ariel opened her mouth as if to speak, but said nothing, only shaking her head.
"I hope that I won't be necessary," she said. "I might not be there to help."
Another twinge in his arms brought his mood even lower, keeping the following silence awkward.
She would be thinking about going on a journey. That made sense. She didn't have anything to tie her to the city, even if he did. They were great friends, sure, but that wouldn't mean they stayed together forever.
It was a sobering thought.
Blanche tried to ignore it, kicking in the door to the medical wing with his foot, maneuvering it around the handle to click it open before he pushed it lightly.
The graveyard shift Nurse Joy, or the one that had the least amount of cousins in the business, was thankfully still there, and she quickly ran a diagnosis.
They'd long-since become accustomed to his lack of aura at FLARE, meaning that the procedure for scanning was familiar to the medical staff. They'd always at least give him a check-up after each operation when he was feeling lingering pain from jumping on a car battery or nausea from joining the literally-a-mile high club. What worked on him was much slower acting than what most people used as the more fantastical plants and chemicals didn't work properly on him. Luckily, FLARE was well stocked and well prepared for oddities like that.
As he'd vaguely guessed, he had fractures in both of his lower forearms. Had the adrenaline worn off earlier, it would have been obvious to him that trying to break through probably-diamonds with a sword would strain his body. Unfortunately, it had worked so well that the two thoughts simply didn't connect or occur.
Six to eight weeks was a long time to be out of action, but his brain was already thinking of ways around it. Rocket boots that let him kick things really hard were appearing in his mind.
"What color for your cast?" the nurse asked after cleaning and wrapping the first arm with a layer of protective cloth.
White would get dirty way too easily, he thought, and picking red would have been a bit morbid, even for him. "Do you have any patterns?"
If Shauna was there, she surely would have asked something like, "What are you, seven years old?"
Add a decade or so and the answer was a definitive maybe.
Alas, she wasn't there, so without interruption the nurse stood up to peruse a cabinet filled with all kinds of wraps.
"Well, there's some with Pokéballs on it, some with camouflage, then there's pink and red with white diamonds..."
"That last one," he said automatically. It would be funny, he thought. Not "let's point and laugh" funny, but "huh, that's interesting," funny. Tying together both of his identities, in a way.
The nurse quickly finished wrapping his arms, and soon enough he looked like he was wearing his morph suit, but only below his elbows.
He stood up and held his arms out to Ariel, posing like a boxer and waving them around. "Eh? Eh?"
She laughed. Not in an "ah, Blanche, you're so stupid" sort of way, she seemed to actually think the new wraps were cool. Or cute. Did girls think things were cool? Blanche didn't know. Maybe that kind of laugh wasn't so inaccurate, on second thought.
Already, his arms felt a bit better, but that was probably more an effect of the pain reliever than anything else.
They'd gotten back to the lab soon enough, just in time for Professor Sycamore to return with Ms. Grace (likely a VIP compared to the other citizens in FLARE, by Blanche's guess). Less importantly, he also got ice cream, drinks, and party hats.
The other technicians had long since left headquarters after the initial emergency alert, leaving only their group plus Ms. Grace, Ariel, Trevor, and Tierno. Any parties topside were likely much, much crazier, but Blanche was happy to have a reprieve on this occasion.
It was certainly a party. Ms. Grace was recounting some sort of Rhyhorn race to Ariel of all people, while Trevor spoke with Michael about something-something-battlegrounds while Tierno stood nearby with an easy-going smile. Clemont was fiddling with a clearly broken Gear in the corner while Shauna was asking him something about its electrical input while Bonnie, his sister, was trying to keep up with the conversation. Serena and Aveline were talking about the fight itself and discussing the order of events for a proper write-up.
That brings us to Blanche still staring at a blob of ice cream while it began slowly melting, with Rosa also staring, though with much more disbelief in her expression.
"You could ask someone else for help, you know," she said, just before shoveling what was essentially an entire scoop into her mouth.
"I'd rather die," he said, his gaze remaining unbroken. "I'm not asking someone to feed me."
"You're not a Psychic-type, it's not going to float into your mouth."
"Have a straw?"
She grabbed the box of straws and stuck one of them through his hair, thankfully unused, but it stuck inside due to the white mop's volume.
Blanche had a thought. "I could… make a soda float."
Rosa slapped the back of his head. Lightly. "Don't drink caffeine with medication. It's water for you, buster."
"Damn it," he sighed.
His ice cream continued melting.
Trevor walked over, holding a bowl that was stacked even higher than Rosa's with strawberry ice cream and toppings, if such a thing was possible.
"Aren't you going to eat that, Blanche?"
He raised his arms slightly, then tapped them back down on the table.
"Ah."
"My thoughts exactly," Blanche said, giving up and picking his bowl up with the grooves in his casts. He had a poor grip, but if he really wanted to, he could probably drink it when it was liquid.
"Perhaps you could ask someone for help," Trevor said, somehow balancing multiple scoops on a single spoon and apparently unhinging his jaw to eat it all.
"Still no. That'd be embarrassing."
Blanche picked up his spoon for the sixteenth time, and for the sixteenth time it fell back onto the table.
"Damn it."
"Language," Trevor said evenly.
"Yeah, what he said!" Rosa added.
Blanche's ice cream continued melting. A small chocolate puddle was collecting at the base of his bowl.
Aveline walked over, taking off her half-moon glasses and polishing them with her lab coat. "My apologies for interrupting, but, um, Dahlia, how exactly did you get Rayquaza to take you to space? I was under the impression that the Hoenn Champion was its Trainer?"
"Oh, that's simple! See, when Blanche left, we were just sort of spreading out around the city, but then I saw Rayquaza crash so I went there. I guess Serena saw it too and was close because she got there around the same time I did. It was trying to fly back over and up, I think, but I had Tencent call it over using his super cool dragon aura. She was fine, but her Trainer wasn't doing too hot. And because we're super awesome and Tencent helped Rayquaza recover, he gave Serena his space suit and wished us luck."
Aveline's glasses had been sliding down her nose throughout the short monologue, but she pushed them back up quickly.
"I… see. And where is Rayquaza now?"
"She flew off after dropping us off next to Prism Tower. That was right before Blanche and Serena-"
"Yeah, Rayquaza flew off," Blanche said, a bit louder. "That's about it. I don't get it either."
"That is… very well, then. And you describe Rayquaza as a she?"
"Well, most Legendary Pokémon don't really have the whole gender thing going on, but I think it fits," Rosa said simply. "Rayquaza was fine with it."
Aveline took off her glasses and polished them again, nodding before walking off to the computer, where Michael had returned to his residence.
Blanche's ice cream was now a sad mess of soaked blobs of chocolate and caramel syrup.
He still couldn't pick up his damn spoon.
Shauna walked over, with a contrastingly modest serving of ice cream left in her bowl.
She opened her mouth, and he immediately snapped, "I'm not asking for help, it's just ice cream."
Then he realized how awkward he was supposed to be around one of his friends when they, well, uh…
"Well, if you're having trouble, I can- Well, it doesn't mean anything, but if you need me to, I'll feed-"
Blanche sank into his seat and let out a depressed cackle, planting his face into his hands.
"Ow."
A touch too secure around his wrists, those casts were.
The rest of the city was partying through the night, their entire group going unbothered as people celebrated with their Pokémon in the streets, waving sparklers and popping poppers. Someone had gotten the clearance for fireworks, apparently, as the dark night sky was continually blown up by charges of spectacular lights and sounds.
It was really something else. Blanche felt a little selfish for it, but a small part of him said, yes, I helped protect this, I wasn't a burden.
It was really a long day, he realized as he stumbled through the front door. His arms were heavy, his knees were weak, he's got- what, what?
And it wasn't really that far from the door to the couch, he realized, collapsing onto it before he could even think about getting to the stairs.
And in the blink of an eye, it was morning.
Is this parallelism, you ask? Perish the thought. That would be ridiculous.
His mind was refreshed enough for him to run through the last twenty-four hours, to his quickly mounting horror.
I really killed a Deoxys. That's kind of screwed up. Shit, I killed something, didn't I? It's usually a Psychic-type too, so it was probably sapient. Why am I not dead after that? Oh, that son of a bitch, MissingNo. Shit. I have a glitch-demon dogging my steps to make sure I'm on the right path, whatever that is. Cryptic bastard. I bet it can read my thoughts too. MissingNo, eat shit. And what happened after that…
Blanche swung his arm over a snoozing Chespin and his head, disguising it as him just tossing and turning in his sleep with a groan.
Shit. Shit. Shit. That's going to be trouble. Serena's… Serena. And Shauna just decided to do that. I wish I understood girls.
…Why do I get the feeling that if I did, they would still be exceptions? Rosa makes more sense than those two.
Serena probably didn't mean it. Yeah, Standard Hero Reward. That happens in a ton of stories. Are media metaphors just a common thread with Espers? But she said something about Calem, too… Oh, shit, she doesn't think I'm Calem anymore. That's good. Awesome. But that other thing about caring about me anyway… She meant as a friend. Yeah, that's what that meant. Don't catch feelings, dumbass. A girl kissing you doesn't mean she likes you. I mean, except sometimes, but that's not happening to me anytime soon. Totally platonic way to show affection. I mean, Kalosians are Kalosian, right? They're all supposed to be like that.
Shauna's still weird. I mean, the girl hates my guts but turns around and does that? I mean, I don't hate her or anything, that'd be a waste of energy, but I don't expect that. Serena was gone though, so it was probably the next best thing in her mind. No, wait, that would have to be Rosa. They're kind of similar, though, it would probably be weird. I mean, I wouldn't. She's like my little sister. Not that I would know what having one is like, but I think it's close enough. Shauna probably just thinks the same way. It was the stress, had to be. No other logical reason for it.
As one can well see, Blanche's system of logic is not all-powerful. Where people are concerned, it tends to have failings involving his inability to think of himself objectively. If he were asked, he would reply, "What? I can totally look at myself objectively," and then say that he's "not even human" in the same breath.
The point is that one can be logical based on available information, yet be so very wrong.
Trevor had been walking past him, but stopped as Blanche shuffled in his faux-sleep.
"I can turn the lights off if you're still trying to sleep," he offered.
"As if you could reach the switch," Blanche muttered darkly, before swinging himself up with a groan as his arms strained against the rough casts. "No, I'm up, I'm up. What a night, yeah?"
Trevor nodded resolutely. "Most people seem to be glad the world is still in one piece."
"That seems like something most people would do, you're right," Blanche said as he stood up.
"Ah, don't get up." Trevor said quickly. Even with Blanche half-crouched next to him, he was still shorter. The orange-haired boy fidgeted with his Holo Caster's case. "You're probably going to need to take a seat after this."
Blanche's stomach filled with even more dread, if such a thing was possible. "What happened? Another Anomaly while I was out? Meteor debris blowing up the countryside?" The pit in his stomach deepened further in an odd direction. "Is FLARE getting canceled for not stopping Deoxys fast enough?"
Trevor's eyes twitched in a direction implying he would roll his eyes, but didn't. "No, not quite. But is that what you're calling that thing?"
"Seemed to fit. Gibberish word, it's an alien, you get it," Blanche explained slowly, trying to hide how quickly he was thinking to clear up the slip. "They've always got cool names in the movies."
"That's reasonable, I suppose," Trevor agreed. "Well, you see… you remember the situation online with FLARE Rangers and…"
"Oh, son of a-"
An awkward Wednesday at home of pointedly not explaining things to Ariel, avoiding Serena to make it clear he understood her meaning, as well as avoiding Shauna to not incur her wrath for a similar purpose later, they returned to school.
Blanche's social life, to say the least, got very, very weird.
He could almost count the exact amount of distance in feet that people gave him on the street. It was ironic, in a way, considering people were staring more than he had thought they had when he still wore bandages. He was on his own, having left not long after he'd served everyone Ariel's birthday pancakes breakfast.
It was a shock, almost funny is a cosmic way, to see his boss on the news telling a reporter that in no uncertain terms, harassing or badgering FLARE personnel, no matter how public their status, would result in heavy reprimands from the League. The Pokémon League was still a major body in the region, FLARE just happened to be in that odd zone where they operated out of the capital and essentially owned it while also being a worldwide force. They were much more spread out, but the League still had ultimate jurisdiction.
And so, while people didn't approach and there wasn't a news crew in sight, Blanche could swear he heard the shutter sound of a camera app a few times on his way to school.
At least my hair doesn't look stupid today, he thought. Now that would be something to worry about.
Despite Blanche's numerous hobbies, including but not limited to the obvious, he was still a teenage boy with normal teenage boy concerns, such as existential crises, a demon thing giving him superpowers for about five minutes, and trying to figure out what exactly happened to all of those people that disappeared when the Heavens Shattered.
Too heavy for someone his age? Probably. Long-term, definitely not good for his mental health, but to be fair, he hadn't been planning in the long-term since, well, Tuesday.
He also had hormones, making the whole situation that much more complicated.
So much more, he thought, can't there be a little or just enough of anything around here?
Ahem.
So, Blanche went up a ton of staircases for just about the eightieth to last time, went to his classroom, and thankfully found no one. Everyone was so crazy in general that he was banking on his classmates not acting like cardboard cutouts and pointing like he was something special the entire day. They were people, after all. And people, as he very well knew, always acted logically.
It was calm for a precious few minutes, before that calm was interrupted by Gin slamming the door open. LaRusso and Lenore flanked him, seeming to be trying to hold him back. He pushed past them and nearly ran towards Blanche.
Blanche didn't dislike Gin. They were friends even if Gin did some really stupid things and did hurt one of his other friends. He still wasn't sure exactly what he felt about that, so he hadn't a clue how to interpret the other boy's action. His hand reached into his bag like a rocket, grasping for his morpher before he quickly jumped out of his seat.
Gin threw himself to Blanche's feet, arms at ninety degree angles as he bowed his head to the ground. The clink of sunglasses tapping the ground almost overwhelmed the sudden thud.
"I'm sorry. Please forgive me," Gin said. His voice was subdued and his limbs were steady as he lay prostrated. His jacket was torn up on its back, jagged cuts lacing the leather.
LaRusso and Lenore caught up to him, standing behind Gin but neither knowing what to do. They were both stuck between picking him up and letting him say his piece.
Blanche's arm dropped from his upper chest to his side. He didn't think Gin would attack him at full force while knowing that he didn't have aura, but he didn't plan on leaving that up to chance. It was a muscle twitch, the memory familiar to his arm, even as his hands held nothing.
His morpher was still broken, after all.
"For…" Blanche questioned, caught off-guard. He could fight even if he knew he would lose, but he wasn't used to people bowing before him. Well, except for the one other time, but that was probably different.
"I used my powers to hurt an innocent person. All this time, I've been telling myself that I would only do good with them, that I wouldn't end up like most of the other Espers." Gin's hands clawed against the ground, trying to tighten into fists. He bowed his head lower and shivered. "I'm sorry for who I've been. I've always tried to only fight people that try to fight me. I snapped when I saw that… guy wandering around like he had nothing better to do. No. No!" Gin cracked his head against the floor. "I won't make excuses. I've done something wrong, I know. I'll never use my powers again. I can't trust myself to be able to stop myself from doing something like that. I know I don't deserve forgiveness, but please, let me move forward!"
Blanche stared in confusion for a moment, taking a step back. Why was Gin apologizing to him? It wasn't like he'd hurt him or anything. He'd hurt Clemont, and that was… bad, certainly, no buts about it. Sure, giving up his powers would be the responsible thing to do and FLARE probably had a warrant out for him if Clemont said anything.
But he couldn't exactly give up his powers, could he? He could choose not to fight or defend himself, and he could ignore what he could do. He could stop trying to fight for justice and just give up.
There was something Gin had said a long time ago, something that had stuck itself in the back of his mind.
FLARE doesn't do anything for the little people, or something along those lines. The people in the dark, the dull violence that occurs in every city, FLARE did nothing about, but Gin did. He'd… fought for something. He believed in something. Offering to give it up because of a mistake?
Blanche didn't know how to respond, or even if he was the person that ought to respond. He was just some guy, living in a Pokémon world like everyone else.
The root of the problem was clear, though.
"Don't bow to me. I'm not some king or god-emperor, don't be ridiculous. I'm not an overseer of right and wrong or a hero of justice. Most of all, I'm not the person you should be apologizing to." Blanche kneeled on one bended knee and weakly pinched Gin's sunglasses off of the floor. "His name is Clemont. He works at FLARE. You can beg him for forgiveness, but I'm not the guy you should be talking to. After school or whenever you can, just head to FLARE and apologize, if they'll patch you through to him."
Gin looked up, his face tight and his eyes swelled shut. "Really?"
"What am I, some paragon? Don't be an idiot. You're not stupid, Gin. You made a mistake, and I'll have to side with the other guy, but we're still friends. No what's or who's about it." Blanche offered the sunglasses with an awkward grip.
Gin took them, pushing himself up into a sitting position. He looked away from his floor and up at Blanche again. "Do I deserve that?"
"I said don't be stupid. Of course you deserve it."
"...Thanks, man."
He stood up with a nod. "No problem. I'd offer you an arm, but," Blanche gestured vaguely with his casts. "Y'know."
Gin stood up too, an odd look in his eyes. "Yeah. Thank you, for, uh, everything in general, I guess."
Blanche gave him a dismissal wave and sat down. "It's all good. Class is starting soon. Can't have our resident badass all teary-eyed can we?"
Gin wiped his face with his sleeve. "I'm not crying. I'm just… sweating a lot. From my eyes."
"It's November."
"Details, man, so not… Well, I guess they are pretty important. Thanks."
Blanche traced his temple with his forefinger, avoided scratching himself with his cast, and sighed. "Stop thanking me. I'm really no one special."
"Blanche, why is there a gang outside the Jaune Plaza entrance to FLARE demanding to see me?"
Blanche blinked at the holographic image. He had stopped in the middle of the street as he got the incoming call. The holographic Clemont adjusted his nearly opaque holographic glasses.
"God damn it, Gin," he breathed after a moment. "Right, I know their leader. They just want to talk."
"Funny. They're saying the same thing. You can understand why I'm somewhat concerned."
"No, really. The guy wants to apologize for laying you out, giving you the old one-two, hitting you with the sickest of dance moves, if you understand what I'm saying."
"Yes, I think I do," Clemont sighed. "Are you sure? They seem rather thuggish."
"Looks can be deceiving, you know."
"One of them did beat me up."
"Ah… I'm sorry for him, but I hope you'll listen to what he has to say."
"I would appreciate it if you came to mediate, just in case. Rosa is here trying to convince Michael to come to your other friend's birthday party, but, well…"
"Rosa isn't exactly the best at diplomacy," he agreed. "Right, I'll head over there soon."
"That would-" Bzzt.
"What is-" Bzzt. Clemont looked away from the receiver before it fizzled. The fierce sound of Michael's typing continued even as the hologram broke down.
"What do you mean, LADY is being-" Bzzt. Dial tone.
Blanche shook his Holo Caster, a pit of worry opening in his stomach. FLARE designed Holo Casters; they practically had a monopoly even with the competition of cross-transceivers and Pokétchs. They didn't break down like that ever.
He turned on his heel and ran back towards Jaune Plaza, cursing under his breath.
Somewhere to his left, a lamp post exploded in a shower of sparks, with the wires nearby lighting up with blue electricity.
He threw himself further forward, easily avoiding the sparks, but then the blue electricity traced along another wire before they snapped off, before exploding another lamp.
"The hell? Did a transformer break down?" He swore as he picked up the pace. Another lamp exploded behind him, making passerby cry out and shield themselves. As long as they weren't stupid, they would be fine. One was happenstance, twice was a coincidence, but three times?
Another lamp exploded as he passed by, and it seemed as if the trail of electricity was following him.
That was certainly an Anomaly. But with no ability to morph, he had no other option than to keep running and get a clue.
Jauna Plaza was in disarray, though more confused than intense. Jumbotrons were turned to dead channels and the spotlights on billboards dimmed and shut down.
He jumped down the handrail that lead into the below-ground FLARE lobby, sliding along it as the escalators crawled to a stop.
A gaggle of thugs in leather jackets and pompadours crowded the entire lobby, standing in organized rows that made them seem more like a respectable mafia than a bunch of rowdy teens. FLARE grunts were maneuvering between them, trying to get actual work done.
"Excuse me, pardon me, damn it, Gin," Blanche repeated like a mantra, pushing through Gin's grunts and trying to get past. He didn't have the time to fumble around in his bag for his identification card, so he kicked off of the turnstile and hopped over, just barely maintaining his balance. He heard some shouts from the receptionists and grunts, but he could explain later.
After navigating through the labyrinth of sterile tunnels beneath the city, Blanche came to the airlock that sealed the FLARE Pokémon Lab away from the rest of the facility. The lights flickered overhead, the sound of glass popping and crackling inside the transparent panels.
He bumped against the button, only for it to give a small, sad click instead of opening the door. The mechanisms whirred for a split second, opening the door an inch before slamming back down.
Blanche was about to pound his fist on the door in frustration, before thinking better of it and kicking it instead.
It then shuddered and slid open. He stared at it for a second, not sure if it would crush him while he was halfway through. It remained open, and he quickly went inside.
The door then slammed down behind him, crackled with blue electricity.
"Shit."
He kicked on the door in front of him as well, but it refused to budge.
Well, until someone put eight holes in the bottom of the door, put their fingers through those holes and lifted the door.
"Afternoon, Rosa," he said hurriedly, ducking under the metal edge as she lifted it above her head. Her hands were glowing with green aura, taking on a scaly sheen.
"Hey, Leader!" She let the door slam down behind down with a heavy clang. "What's up?"
"Oh, you know, lamps exploding, everyone's confused again, Ariel's birthday is probably ruined, just an average Tue- No, today's Thursday." He looked out across the usual four in FLARE. The two Professors waved at him, standing a good five feet of Michael while he yelled at his computer.
"For Celebi's sake, work! Damn computer!" Michael slapped his hands against the edges of the computer.
A sticky note appeared on the glitchy monitor and began listing the definitions for a variety of profanities.
"I hate Rotom, so, so much," Michael growled.
Clemont rushed across the room as the BURST cannon broke down into white light, disappeared, then reappeared at the opposite end of the room and dropped with an ear-splitting clang.
"What the hell is going on in here?" Blanche asked.
"An Anomalous herd of Rotom and Porygon have broken into FLARE's systems," Professor Sycamore said, a smile continuously and practically bisecting his face. Perhaps he hadn't worked off the high of surviving the end of the world. "They've gotten into every function the LADY has, including the teleportation uplinks. They're essentially running amok in Lumiose-3, and we can't do much to stop them."
"We just saved the world, can't we have a break?" If he didn't know for a fact that Rotom were Ghost-type, he would have felt the urge to find and throttle them.
"Time and tide wait for no man, Blanche," the Professor said, entirely too nonchalant in their current predicament.
"Perhaps they should add Anomalies to that, I mean, the list," Aveline said.
"It would certainly appear so."
"Yeah, yeah, that's great- Listen, how do we stop them?" Blanche asked, watching Michael kick his desk.
"We… can't. The Rotom are connected to every function, including the generators. The Porygon control the breaker boxes at the moment. I've talked to technicians over the radio, and all three generator systems are too dangerous to get near."
"Ah. So, we're screwed."
"No, no, not quite. They've been unable to access anything that's cut off from the main power grid, thankfully, but they've created a symbiotic relationship with the power system, acting in place of electricity most times to follow the whims of the Porygon, whatever they are."
"So, what, they've taken over FLARE?"
"Well… yes," Augustine admitted.
"Shit."
"Language," the Professor added.
"Could we starve them of power, somehow? That would flush them out, wouldn't it?"
"Hypothetically. But we'd have to create something that needs enough power to force the breakers to switch. And with everything except the most basic functions locked off-"
Michael kicked his computer again as it opened under FLARE's public account, started typing gibberish and hitting send.
"We aren't in much of a position to fight back. It's a problem that is difficult to punch."
Somewhere behind him, Rosa groaned dramatically. Her attitude had to be an act. No one was that obsessed with fighting, not even Gin, and he was a damn gang leader. Well, if he was around.
The computer then typed exactly what the Professor had just said and sent it. In mere seconds, it was already getting likes. Was FLARE really that big, or did people just have nothing better to do? Eh, maybe just indicative of the state of social media in general.
Michael grabbed the monitor again and yanked his hands away as if burned. "Ah, damn it. They're overheating the system on purpose. They'll probably get it as hot as it can get before jumping ship and finding something else to break.
Breaking the computer, that could work, but LADY was a lot bigger than just the computer in the room with them. It would need an actual firestorm to overheat the whole system and get it to shut down.
Or maybe… maybe a flame war would work.
"Wait, wait. It's listening to us, isn't it?"
His exact words were typed out, quotation marks and all, before they were sent.
Cogs were turning in his head. Blanche fished his Holo Caster out of his pocket and dropped it onto the table before tapping at it. Using a search engine because he had enough of a life to not download the app (He wouldn't use that phrasing near Trevor, of course), he opened and started looking for the hottest trends. New Mecha-Tyranitar movie, no, Cokleon announcing a new coffee flavor, ew, a hashtag detailing a love triangle in Diantha's latest movie with people getting incredibly heated- What could he say that would make come back to FLARE's system?
Wait, love triangles...
A painful cloud descended on him as he typed it out. Rangershipping went in the search bar, and fan accounts showed up in the results.
There goes my self-respect, he thought. And here goes my dignity.
Shauna's going to kill me. Eh, it'll be for a good cause.
On a dime, the most inflammatory statement he could make, not that he meant most of it, was this:
"At amarue underscore official, at geramaranth four life, at gerue underscore gerue, at amarahlia," he sucked in a deep breath, both to finish the statement and to break through his throat swelling up with embarrassment. "You're all wrong. The only canon ships are Geranium x stupid rocks, Amaranth x being a little bitch, Rue x PMS, and Dahlia x hot blood. And no, none of them or you are old enough to date Professor Sycamore, what the hell is wrong with you?"
The computer crawled to a stop, slowly processing and typing out his statement. It appeared in its full glory, the tagging of larger accounts turning blue in the text box and the character limit ticking down to zero before it was finally sent.
Blanche slumped back into a seat, closed his eyes, and sagged. He put his arm to his face, accepting the embarrassment as his own instead of trying to deny it.
"For context…"
A flurry of notifications began flooding into the website's inbox, hopping from one to ten to one-hundred.
His eyes peeked out around his cast, and his expression was one of mischief.
"I said all of that just to piss people off. It might overload the Porygon with brain damage, though."
"FLARE is over party," Trevor said, narrowly looking from his Holo Caster to Blanche, who was watching over a five course meal in preparation on the stove with hyper focus. "Have you heard of that?"
"No clue," Blanche replied, stirring the caramelizing onions and flipping the fish filets.
"From what I can tell, someone hacked FLARE's HootHoot account and started calling out all of the Rangershipping accounts."
"Really?" Blanche asked, his voice flat and uninterested. His hands were wrapped in bandages to protect his casts, ironically enough, but he wouldn't let a little thing like his body not wanting to do anything stop him from making Ariel the absolutely best food he could for her birthday. He would go beyond the possible for his best friend.
"...Is there a reason you're so disinterested?"
"Long day," Blanche said.
His mind was running with timers and ingredient orders, but dealing with the black out that occurred inside FLARE a few hours beforehand was in the back of it. After that had gotten dealt with, he ran into Gin on the way out, who had been waiting patiently to talk to Clemont, and…
Well, it was simpler to say his day got a lot easier when all he had to worry about was food.
"No, I mean… Never mind, you're being oblivious on purpose again," Trevor said.
"Me? Oblivious? When have I ever been oblivious?" He asked, not even sure if he was being sarcastic or not. Sure, he missed some social cues and a few obvious facts about his life, but that was just him being stubborn.
Trevor sighed, moving onto something else. "What did you get for Ariel?" he asked.
"Secret. And if you bought her another maid dress, I would have to castrate you. Like, legally speaking. This show doesn't need more fanservice," he joked, as if he were actually living in one. He wasn't, but it sure seemed like it sometimes, usually when it concerns other people.
"I didn't even buy the first one! I don't care for that kind of fanservice anyway."
Blanche laughed. "You seem like the kind of guy to be into teachers."
"I'm partial towards professors, myself."
"Aveline's also off-limits," he said absent-mindedly. Bro code and all that, if the older Professor could be considered a bro and not a cool bachelor uncle figure type of guy.
"Not what I meant," Trevor said cryptically. "Humina humina, so the saying goes."
"It means no worries… for the rest of your-"
"What?"
"What?"
"...Anyway," Trevor said, not sure where to go with that conversation thread.
Luckily, he didn't have to, as Shauna jumped half-way down the last flight of stairs with a loud stomp. "Blondie! Why am I getting texts from my classmates about being sorry for my loss? What happened?"
"Why are you blaming me?" Blanche asked, an easy-going smile on his face even though it was trying to twitch into a smirk.
"It's always you!"
"Proof?"
"I believe it," she huffed, crossing her arms.
"You're not Rosa. Therefore, not proof."
"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked. "Wait, I get it. You like her, don't you?"
Blanche blinked, before rearing back. "What? Ew. She's like a little sister to me. Wait, no, I get it. You're jealous."
"No, I'm not!" she said rather quickly.
"Sounds like you are," Blanche replied, leaning on the bar with false bravado. "Something you want to tell me?"
Obviously, there wasn't anything she had to say. That's why it was funny. Teasing someone was funny when it was embarrassing, never when it was hurtful. He wasn't curious on a subconscious level, no way.
Trevor looked between the two, rolled his eyes, and went back to reading on his Holo Caster.
Everyone was back together a half an hour later, eating together at the table. There was fish, there were noodles, there was sauteed vegetables, there was salad, there was everything that Blanche knew how to make and thought Ariel might possibly enjoy.
She certainly seemed to. Everyone did. He'd always thought he was a pretty average cook, only doing so because it was a contribution that he could make, but he'd never bragged about it. Probably. He didn't remember absolutely everything he said. Pokémon food was a bit strange to him, as they all had fairly different diets (he'd learned as much in Biology class). Rhyhorn would eat rocks just as easily as it would eat berries. Just a bit strange.
Now, Blanche was a mature young man. He was a bit ahead mentally but a bit behind physically, and much, much further behind socially, but he could be considered a mature person.
Wearing a bright pink party hat and insisting that everyone else do the same was very much a mature thing to do, no doubt.
Ariel raised her hand when offered a hat. She didn't take it.
Blanche shrank back, a bit surprised. It wasn't that she didn't like her birthday, she'd said as much, she just didn't usually celebrate it.
She mumbled something, bringing their attention closer to her as they couldn't understand.
"Huh?" Blanche asked.
"I can't take it," she said quietly. "Thank you, but… I can't keep continuing on like this."
The color drained a bit from the world around him. A pit of dread settled in his stomach as it had many times before.
"I'm going to leave this city," Ariel said, her head bowed and her hands tightly gripping the cup in her lap.
"Most of us are." Shauna's eyes flicked over to Blanche. Her eyebrows sank slightly, remembering his own plans, but she continued, "We didn't go to Trainer School to sit in Lumiose our entire lives, y'know."
"No, I mean… It's unlikely that you'll see me again." Her voice dropped, trembling slightly. "I've lived with all of you amazing people, and my eyes have been opened to the world at large… but I think that's what makes me so certain in what I want to do. My Lord… has always been my Lord. I think He wanted me to see the world this way, to discover all of the wonderful things outside his church, and to see all of the amazing things in the world He has created. I can never assume I know His intentions, but I will obey as much as I can."
None of the others moved. Shauna's hands were clasped and as close to white-knuckled as they could get. Rosa stared at her shoes. Trevor and Tierno shared a frown. Serena was impassive.
Audino's face was set, full of emotion. It could clearly feel the terse stress in the room. Its bell-shaped antenna continuously twitched.
"I suppose… This has been my journey, in an odd way. I've seen so much of the world. The sand by the sea, the people in the city, the friends that I can make by being myself. I have truly been blessed with this gift. I know now that I must return, even if I may not be accepted." She looked up, her eyes slightly glassy. Her smile was weak, but as always, through thick and thin, it was there. "Blanche… It was Helix that brought me to you, to heal you. I must be thankful for what you've given me, and to my Lord for giving us the opportunity to be friends." She looked back down as they took it all in.
Blanche's hand twitched. It was the only sign of what he was feeling that escaped his control. Even so, his mind was taking everything in. Has she always felt that way? Was he being naïve by hoping they'd be friends together forever? Was it unfair of him to want that consistent future?
"But I can't stay with all of you forever. It's truly a wonderful year that you've all given me, but I have to go home. Even if they will not welcome me, I will try, and try, and try. That's what I've learned from all of you. I will keep trying, even if I am scorned and spat upon. I believe that is my purpose. If there is even a chance that my Lord will allow me to return to his grace, then I will," she said.
Ariel took the hat from Blanche's still hand, pressing its edge to her forehead. "But… let's have a fun night. Please? I'd like to have a memory of you all to treasure while I am in the church's service."
And so they did. No further words were spoken of the subject. Blanche stamped down his emotions, the feelings of loss already sneaking into his heart. They wouldn't help him stay true.
Thursday, November 15th, 2012. A night to remember for as long as they could.
AN:
Back. Life got busy, I made a good call. I'm a bit ahead of the curve now, so back to your regularly scheduled Evangelion-ripoff. Also, I've realized that the chapter set next to release is literally right before Valentine's Day. I probably won't need to write a full special, hint hint. I likely won't need another hiatus, so this story will finish up before the Ides of May.
