(-0-)August 10 2022, 8:20pm(-0-)

Voices could be heard outside her room. The slow footsteps of high-heels slowly approached. She had to tie these bedsheets together. Just a few things were left to pack, some flashlights, gloves, and a bottle of booze. She had to slowly open the window, her best friend climbed out said window creeping ever so slightly down the red brick house. "Peter… this is a bad idea…"

Peter chewed out his bottom lip. "Well, we can't stay here Wendy!"

Wendy fumbled with the bag. "I'm uncomfortable with the plan Peter…"

"Plan!? What plan? This is survival!" The footsteps approaching the door only got louder as each second passed by. The clinking of the doorknob echoed throughout the room. "That's her! We've been compromised! I'm a ghost!" Peter ducked underneath the ledge of the window in a slim chance to hide. Only the tippy top of his blonde hair could be seen.

"Peter no! You can't leave me like this! You can't do this to me, man!"

The door slowly opened "Wendy, what are you doing?"

Wendy's sister Sarah had walked into the room to see quite the scene. Her little sister Wendy held a gym bag filled with flashlights, gloves, and a bottle of whiskey. While Peter was nearly dangling off the balcony with what looked to be a makeshift rope made out of bedsheets.

Wendy let out a sigh dropping the bag on the floor "Uh… I'm escaping…"

"Escaping from your own birthday party?"

"Sis, I love you and I seriously appreciate you doing this for me, but if this is my birthday party how come you've only invited your co-workers and friends?"

"Wendy, three years… Please It's been three years since Rowan University. I've invited real members of society, real guys that are interested in you. I believe I've let you try and figure it out for yourself long enough. Just go out there, I know you can get your life started again." Sarah turned to Peter who was still dangling off of the balcony. "Peter… please just go home or something… hell just enjoy the drinks at the party please."

Peter crawled back into Wendy's room. "Alright, Sarah you got it." He was out of breath climbing back into the room. He laid there on the hard wooden floor looking directly up into Wendy's bright brown eyes. "Once I catch my breath I'll probably go home."

Wendy laughed fixing her short red hair. "I'll go downstairs and interact with some people to make my sister happy, but if you want to stay in my room for now you can, and maybe after the party we can just chill and play some video games?"

Peter smiled "Video games with my best friend! Of course, I'm down!"

Wendy looked at the Pikachu sleeping on her bed letting out a sigh before getting up and leaving her room. The hallway leading to the stairs was a bit of a mess due to the party. The party itself reminded Wendy of Rowan University, the blasting music, the decoration, and the copious amount of beer. She made her way to the stair where her sister's boyfriend was standing. Before Wendy could walk past him he tapped her shoulder. "Ah Wendy, hold on! Look, your sister is just looking out for you. Keep your chin up and remember you're free to live here for as long as you need to. I care about you and your sister very much, and bro I know you'll do awesome out there."

"Thanks, Devon."

Wendy stepped out of the house to where the full party was being held. She lived in a cluster of townhomes all pointed towards a central fountain. Normally the place was very clean but on this night there were paper cups and plates scattered on the ground. Lights connected the balconies together and there was a nice buzz in the air. A few of Sarah's co-workers said happy birthday to Wendy. Wendy didn't really know anyone since they were all doctors and nurses, and few of them shared the same interests as her. She soon found herself surrounded by a few guys that were probably the same age as her, maybe slightly older, but by their mannerisms and their conversation they were definitely doctors at Westside Medical like Sarah.

"So Wendy, I heard you went to Rowan University, that's quite the accomplishment! I actually went there myself. I think I graduated in 2018."

"I… mean yeah I went for a year…"

"Oh wow, what's with the outfit? Are you doing this as a costume?"

"Haha yeah… I actually work as a barista for the Roserade Garden."

"Oh, I used to know this great girl in Rowan University. She was the star of the track team, took software engineering as her major, what was her name again?"

"Are you talking about Shauna Larkin? We kinda used to be friends…"

"Oh, that's her Shauna Larkin! Do you know where she is now?"

"Uhm… I believe she's an accountant."

(-0-)Shauna Larkin, August 10 2022, 8:40pm(-0-)

Her vision was blurry and her body was growing colder with each second. Her throbbing head was non stop and the exhaustion had her breathing heavy as hell. The searing pain in her stomach forced her to stop. "I should've just stayed an accountant." She thought to herself. "I'm already bleeding out… I have to send it away…"

She looked behind her and saw the shadowy figure approaching her. She pointed her gun at him, but her vision was too blurry to get a clean shot. She fired grazing his cheek. She knew her time was almost up. Mustering up the strength she had she made a mad dash for the door.

"Shauna you're running out of time! You know my orders! There's no point in running!"

Shauna clenched onto her stomach taking the stairs up to the roof. A trail of blood followed as she struggled to stay awake. She reached into her pocket to feel the hard drive she stole.

Pulling out her phone she made one last call. "Orion I'm not going to make it… You have the full file right?… There's no time! Send it to the address I don't have much time left…"

Shauna had made it up to the roof of the building she was in. Her vision was fading to black and she could feel her body growing cold. Looking down at her stomach her white button-up shirt was now soaked in her own blood. Looking behind her she got a final good look at the shadowy figure.

Shauna looked into his striking golden eyes. "I had a good run didn't I."

"Sorry I was given my orders, it's nothing personal, but that hard drive you stole upset some very powerful people."

"Things change… but you're too late. I sent it to a place you and your men will never find it."

The Angel pointed his gun at Shauna one last time. "Nothing is impossible for the Unova Security Agency."

Shauna smiled "Azrael, not when you're working with Orion it's not."

"We'll see about that. I have a reputation for finishing any mission in ten days." He aimed his gun and finished her off. That single gunshot wasn't heard by a single person that night, but the weight of it felt heavy in his hands. He reached for a Pokeball on his belt.

"Braviary come on out! Send the signal that the mission is done." Azrael leaned down next to Shauna's dead body. He looked at her phone and the only thing on it was a notification that said 'upload complete'. Casey crushed the phone in his hands while returning Braviary back to its Pokeball. He pulled out his phone, "General, we have a problem."

(-0-)Wendy, August 10 2022, 9:00pm(-0-)

"So how is someone like you still single? What's your Cubone, like what are you hiding? Did you have any past relationships?"

"Well, where do I start? There was me, Shauna and Daniel. It was the three of us in software engineering. The three of us were basically the best of friends, I mean I even told Shauna how much I was crushing on Daniel. I mean Daniel and I dated for a bit as well. I miss the cute little love letters he would leave in my notebook, but I guess that all changed when I saw them making out on our way home from the beach. Guess Daniel saw Shauna as way more exciting than me. Then…" Wendy looked up from her twiddling thumbs to see that every single guy she was talking to had completely disappeared. She let out a sigh in frustration and turned around bumping into Devon.

"Woah there Wendy, let your future brother-in-law give you some advice. Guys don't want to hear about a past relationship you had. they might ask but It's depressing as hell, but keep your chin up you're incredibly charming. I know you'll find the right one."

"I don't know Devon… It's still hard for someone like me to get over someone like Daniel."

Devon looked around at the mess that the party had left behind. "Don't worry about cleaning up. Your sister and I will handle everything. You just get a good night's rest for now."

Wendy scratched the back of her head. She was tired and exhausted, heading into her room she admired all the nerdy posters she had of various bands, video game characters, and subtle references to the matrix. More importantly, Peter was on her bed already set up playing some games on her tv. Wendy joined in for probably the only fun she was going to have that night. After playing till midnight Peter stretched and turned his head towards Wendy's computer to see a strange notification blinking on the monitor. "Wow, talk about a blast from the past dude. Shauna remembered your birthday."

"What?"

"What do you mean 'what'? You know Shauna Larkin from Rowan University."

"Yeah yeah I know. How could I forget the girl who framed me for cheating, the girl who got me kicked out of school, and the girl who stole my boyfriend." Wendy walked towards her computer stretching on the way. She opened up the message and was hit with a wave of nostalgia.

'The terrible Tyrogue raises his sword' - Shauna Larkin

"So what is it?" Peter inquired.

"I didn't expect that… It's actually Zork, a really old text-based video game that Shauna, Daniel, and I all coded back in Rowan using an old raspberry pie that we bought at a garage sale from a student who failed."

Peter chuckled in a sarcastic tone. "Wow, you guys are really cool."

"Yeah if only I could remember what was in my hero's satchel."

Peter looked at Wendy as if she was crazy. "It's for the weapons I would use to defeat the terrible Tyrogue."

"Riiight… you know what, you're still really cool."

"And you're going home."

"It's that time now?"

"Yeah… see you tomorrow."

"Peddle safe buddy!"

Wendy waited for Peter to leave her room, she giggled that no matter what Peter always chose to leave using the window instead of her door. She looked back at her computer to see Shauna's message just sitting there. Wendy would be lying if she said she wasn't curious to see what Shauna had to say after all these years. Especially since Shauna was the one who took her boyfriend at Rowan and also framed her for cheating on exams. She typed in the following message. "Attack Tyrogue With Nasty Knife. "

'Access Granted - Uploading The Intersect'

Wendy found herself on the hard wooden floor of her room. Her head was throbbing almost as if she had a terrible hangover. She slowly turned her head to see it was 7:43 am. The faint sound of the radio from downstairs could be heard. Wendy knew she needed a cold shower to shake off this pounding headache, although she was slightly confused as to why she had a hangover she only had a few drinks the night before. As she heard the faint sound of the radio there was a message of how retired champion Lance from Kanto was visiting Unova today. However, as soon as she heard that message it was as if someone had planted memories in her head as if she knew that Lance wasn't visiting today but had already landed in Unova 3 days ago.

"Huh… why do I know that?" Wendy shook it off and got ready by putting on her uniform for work which was a simple white button-up shirt and some black pants. She did put on a brown watch since it matched her eyes.

Wendy soon found herself at work, she was just standing there with her elbow on the countertop. The store itself was a small little shack hidden deep within Castelia City. The shop had nice and clean wooden floors with vines and flowers which lined the walls. The sunlight shining through the windows gave the whole place a relaxing atmosphere. Her Pikachu was the store's in-house pet of sorts. It would laze around greeting customers that walked through the door. Off to the side of the store were a few tables and couches where you could sit down to enjoy a cup of coffee or read a book since The Roserade Garden was a flower shop mixed with a small cafe.

It was a pretty standard day, it was usually slow since there weren't many people buying flowers this time of year. Most of the customers that came in during the end of summer were students grabbing some of their specialty coffee or having some mocktails from the juice bar.

Peter first took notice of a particular guy who walked through the door. As the clientele of his caliber usually don't walk through their doors. He was a tall guy almost as tall as Peter. He had jet black hair and shining blue eyes. He wore a nice dress shirt and a black blazer, adorned on his wrist was an expensive watch. Peter tapped Wendy's shoulder. "Wendy, look at that guy. What's someone like him doing in our little shop?"

Wendy groaned. "Peter, as much as I'd love to talk about customers like we normally do, I have this splitting headache right now." However as soon as Wendy took one look at him her heart skipped a beat, he was just that handsome. His looks could easily make him a movie star or model. She gulped as he began to walk towards her.

"Hey." His voice was deep and soothing, almost seductive and Wendy hadn't seen anyone this good-looking since Daniel.

"Hi!" She squeaked, she covered her mouth coughing to clear her throat. "How… can… I… help… uh… your name…"

"It's Justin. This might sound strange but I was asking for directions to the nearest tech store to help out with my phone cause it stopped taking calls. This old lady told me to come here, she said that there was someone who could help, but as I can see this looks to be some sort of cafe…"

"Oh that must have been Nona, she's a regular here, normally the store only sells flowers, baked goods, and drinks. However, whenever she has trouble with technology she comes here and I fix it for her, I guess I'm willing to make an exception." Justin smiled, handing the phone over to Wendy. "Oh a Silph-co seven, they don't sell these anymore, but if it's not taking calls right now it's probably because of this." Using a screwdriver Wendy popped open the back of the phone. "There's this little screw here that gets loose overtime all you have to do is screw it back in and your phone is good as new!"

"Wow, you are good." Justin left the store placing a few dollars on the countertop.

Peter nudged over to collect the money but immediately noticed the piece of paper with a phone number on it. "Wendy! This guy gave you his number! Nice!"

(-0-)August 11th 2022, 5:20pm(-0-)

Wendy was just completely exhausted after standing for around eight hours at work. At least her headache had finally calmed down and no weird episodes of flashing memories popped into her head during that time. She was tired but her best friend who was right behind her had to talk about this new brand of soda and its peculiar flavour.

"Wendy, it's so weird how this Oran Berry Soda makes you want to drink more and more of it. Like no matter how much of it I drink I just can't stop! Like what are they putting in this stuff?"

"Peter you have to stop drinking that stuff, drinking a full pack a day can't be healthy for you. Plus for some reason, it tastes a little salty don't you think?"

"Yeah but that's what's so good about it. It's like a sports drink if a sports drink was soda!"

"Also why are you following me home right now. You know that I already have this headache, granted it has faded but I am exhausted."

"Dude trust me you're going to want me around I got some great headache remedies. Also, when are you going to give that guy a call?"

"Are you crazy Peter!? That guy was obviously some kind of model or at least some upper-class sort of guy. There is no way someone like him would be interested in a nerdy awkward barista girl from the Roserade Garden."

"Well, I think you should give him a call, he could be the one." The two of them had reached Wendy's place but something odd had immediately caught Peter's eye. "Wendy, did we accidentally leave your front door slightly open before we headed to work?"

"Uh… no I don't think so... plus Sarah and Devon shouldn't be back for at least another six hours, they're working night shifts at the hospital today."

Wendy approached the door shouting out Sarah and Devon's names with no response. She slowly opened the door which made a slight creaking sound. She turned on the lights, the house seemed to be fine. Peter followed in behind, closing the door behind him.

"Peter I know I'm being paranoid but could you take a look around the house with me just to make sure nothing is missing."

"Yeah of course."

The two of them walked around the house for several minutes checking things like Devon and Sarah's room making sure all their expensive belongings hadn't been taken. In fact, the house looked perfectly fine. For now, it seemed as if someone had broken in but didn't steal a single thing. Well, at least that was the case until the two of them checked Wendy's room. To Wendy's complete and utter heartbreak her PC had been stolen, she fell to her knees all the extra shifts she picked up to afford the parts and the long waits in line just to get certain parts all gone.

"Uh… Wendy, you sit tight, I'll call the cops. You just try and relax."

(-0-)Azrael August 11 2022, 5:40pm(-0-)

Azrael sat in a cold well lit room. The room itself was in a secret location for security reasons. A small humming or buzz could be heard about the room, and it was quite dusty. In the middle of the room was a small wooden table with a laptop. He walked over to the laptop slowly opening it to reveal a video call from his superior.

"General, good to see you."

"Agent Casey, you were supposed to bring in Agent Larkin for questioning, not kill her. Do you have any idea of the mess we're left to clean up now? Tensions between the International Police and Unova Security Agency were already at a tipping point, it's like you're trying to start an underground war."

"With all due respect Ma'am, Agent Larkin went rogue and killed twenty of my men stealing that hard drive you're holding. I took action on the field and acted appropriately to my circumstances. If it's not an intrusion what the hell was on that hard drive that was worth killing a fourth of my men."

"Alright, you deserve that at least. You see after nine-eleven the president of the Unova region was looking for the culprit. He went to the I.P, the U.S.A., and the F.B.I. for answers but none of us could comply. Tensions were quite high already between the I.P and the U.S.A. so we were told to play nice, told to share information, and we stored all of our secrets into this computer called the Intersect which encoded our secrets in thousands of images that only a genius or someone with a key could decode."

"Damn… and I let it get away. What do you want me to do now?"

"I was just about to get to that, you see when Agent Larkin sent off the Intersect we were able to trace it to a location. It's a residential area on the outskirts of Castelia City. We want you to find whoever has our secrets and bring them in alive. I want to know who the hell they are and what their connection to Shauna is."

"You got it, General."

(-0-)Wendy August 12 2022, 10:00am(-0-)

Wendy was at the Pokemart to buy some new locks for her room and window. After her whole PC got stolen maybe it was time she invested in better security. As she was walking the isles her eyes came into view of someone that seemed to trigger memories which had been implanted in her brain. He was tall and well built, having silver hair that oddly had smears of red running through it. He had golden eyes and was quite good-looking for an older gentleman. However, when she saw the scar on his neck the memories which had been planted in her head came rushing to the surface.

A lump formed in Wendy's throat, her legs completely froze in place. She had to get out of there whoever that person was. He was a really bad person, no she knew he was a bad person. She knew his name, his code name, his age, his blood-soaked career, and even who he worked for. Why did she know this, why did she know everything about this person whom she never met before or would even want to meet. She had to tell someone in the store to get him out of there.

Wendy slowly turned around, she could feel her heartbeat throbbing behind her ears. She walked as fast as she could away from this man. Looking for a store manager, or some kind of employee. When she found one she ran up to him with a fear-stricken appearance.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! Look there's a really bad man in the store like really bad like extremely bad! You have to get him out of here, call the police. He's wearing a black suit with a coffee stain on the cuffs. He has silver hair and gold eyes, you can't miss him!"

The store clerk pointed at the checkout. "Do you mean him?"

Wendy turned around to see Azrael laughing and joking with the lady up at the front. She took a deep breath and walked out of the store. "I'm losing my goddamn mind."

Justin, who was in his car watching from afar, was talking to someone on the phone. "No, we already searched her whole PC, the team inspected it and destroyed it."

"Alright then Agent Walker, we'll send you a chopper we need you in the air in two hours. Pack your things you're off this case."

"But sir! What if she has an external hard drive? Just because we didn't find anything on her PC doesn't mean she has it."

"I'm sorry Justin but our hands are tied. Shauna was International Police and what she did seriously hurt the thin trust that we have with the Unova Security Agency. What's done is done and you're off the case. The U.S.A. is sending in the Angel."

Justin scoffed at the idea. "So you're kicking me off because of Casey, unbelievable."

"He's a killer Justin, a cold-blooded one at that. You couldn't have known, and you couldn't have stopped her either."

"But I can fix this Sir! This girl doesn't seem to be a spy. She's a civilian, she has friends, a regular job, and family. If we let Casey do what he does there will be a shit storm across the agencies. Give me twelve hours! I'll have her safe and ready for questioning."

"Justin, if you do this you'll be on your own. You won't have the support of the International Police. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I have to know why Shauna died getting those secrets to her."

"Very well, please be careful I can't lose another top agent like Shauna."

(-0-)Wendy August 12 2022, 3:00pm(-0-)

The Roserade Garden was slightly busy today. For some reason, the store was packed and Wendy was basically swamped in orders. She was making everyone's drinks as fast as she could and Peter was trying desperately to calm the customers down.

"Everyone please calm down, we're just a small-time cafe, so if we all get into a nice orderly line we will get your drinks ready." Peter ran over to Wendy to help her out with the orders. This was one of the few things he was good at, he was well mannered and great at fast-paced days.

Wendy could actually breathe a sigh of relief when the rush hour had finished up. Looking behind her the customers seemed to be happy. She looked at Peter who was wiping sweat off of his brow, he was clearly exhausted like her. The busy day did help put Wendy's mind at ease though as she didn't have much room to think about Azrael or her stolen PC.

"So are you gonna give me the keys to your new lock so I can get in through the Peter door?"

"I… actually didn't buy the locks. I kinda ran into some trouble at the Pokemart."

"But what if it was a ninja who stole your computer. What if there's like some kind of vendetta against you and you come home to a villain who will strangle you with a pair of nunchucks."

"Ok… I don't think that's going to happen, but thanks for the horrifying situation, making me slightly more paranoid than I have been these past few days."

The front door to the store opened up and it was Justin. Wendy froze in place once more as his looks were just so dashing. Peter also took notice, taking time to leave the counter and go to the backroom to watch from afar. Justin made his way up to Wendy giving her a nice smile.

"Hi! Uh… phone troubles again?"

"Uhm yeah actually… I don't think my phone can take calls, cause I never got one from you."

Wendy could feel her cheeks rising in temperature. She looked around the store in a panic trying to not make eye contact with Justin. She twiddled her thumbs laughing nervously. "Oh well, you know…"

"You see I'm kind of new to the area, I just moved here actually and I was wondering if you'd show me around? Are you free by any chance?"

Peter came bursting out of the back room. "YES! She's very free, like a completely open schedule! She has nothing going on in her life right now!"

Wendy annoyingly stared at Peter. She looked back at Justin. "I guess I'm free today."

"Great, I'll pick you up at five."

As soon as Wendy's work was finished she raced home. Peter tagged along because he wanted to see a certain couple's reaction to the news. Wendy on the other hand was a complete and utter nervous mess. Sure she had gone on dates in the past, I mean she even had a boyfriend at one point, but going out on a date with someone that looked as good as Justin was a new step for her.

"Wendy you'll be fine! Did you see the way he was looking at you, he's way more interested in you than you are nervous towards him. I can tell I'm a guy too, you know."

"I- I don't know Peter, a guy like him with a girl like me. I'm just scared I'm going to say something stupid in front of him. Guys that look like him only come once in a blue moon, ah I'm so nervous."

The two of them arrived at the house. Walking in Wendy saw Sarah and Devon sitting on the couch just casually cuddling out in the open. "Sarah, Devon don't freak out…"

The two of them turned. "Sis, is everything alright you look super sweaty? Also, you're home earlier than usual."

"Yeah bro everything good?" Devon said.

Peter couldn't hold it in any longer, "Wendy, has a date!"

Sarah got up from the couch and ran over to her sister giving her a big hug. "AHHHHHH I knew you had it in you. So who is this person? Oh my gosh, when is he picking you up? We have to get you ready! It is a guy right?"

"Yeah, it's a guy Sis. He's an extremely attractive guy too… and he's picking me up in an hour…"

"Devon closet now! Start picking clothes out of my closet and we'll get Wendy ready for this date! Peter, I need your help with makeup and perfume, my room stat! Wendy take a shower and we'll all get you ready!"

Devon got a few of Sarah's older clothes since Wendy was slightly shorter than her sister. He ended up picking out a nice white shirt, black leggings, and flats, along with a jean jacket that Wendy actually owned. Sarah did Wendy's hair and makeup, while Peter had a careful eye making sure Sarah didn't go overboard with it. Sarah also let Wendy borrow a brown leather purse just to finish off the look.

"Guys, can I have some one-on-one with my little sister?" Devon and Peter left the room. Wendy was pretty nervous but having her best friend and her family help her get ready did give her a bit of confidence. Sarah held onto her little sister's hands. "Your hands are all clammy, you don't need to be so nervous. You are beautiful, charming and you have so much potential."

"Thanks, Sis."

Wendy walked out of the room to be greeted by Devon. "Remember this, he might ask if you had a past relationship. It's fine to talk a bit about it but don't let it drag on. Daniel and Shauna are all in the past now. Just enjoy your date." Wendy let out a deep sigh but thanked Devon for his advice.

Peter was watching the front window and noticed an expensive car pull into visitor parking. "I think he's here." Peter walked over to Wendy handing her two cans of Oran Berry Soda. "Here put these in your purse if things go bad which I know they won't but if they do feel free to drink these to make yourself feel better."

Wendy laughed happily, taking the soda cans and putting them in her purse. She gave Peter a big hug. "Thank you, Peter."

(-0-)Wendy & Justin August 12, 5:45pm(-0-)

Wendy and Justin were sitting down at a really nice restaurant, well a really nice restaurant compared to what she was used to. The lighting was very romantic and the seats were extremely comfortable. The hardwood floors shinned at the red carpet in the dining room was basically spotless.

"You know I've never been to a restaurant this fancy before. My average meal consists of Subway or delivery pizza. Rotoms is kinda out of my league."

Justin smiled, letting a soft laugh. "You know this place is kinda out of my league as well… I was trying to impress you, but it turns out I alienated you instead."

"No no no this is fine! It's really nice, but I mean you also got that really nice car we drove in so I mean this place doesn't seem that far out of your league."

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

The two of them enjoyed a meal together while having some friendly conversation. "So you live with your sister and her boyfriend Captain Awesome? Like you actually call him Captain Awesome?"

"Wait till you meet him. His name is actually Devon but everyone calls him Captain Awesome because everything he does is awesome from skydiving, rock climbing, open-heart surgery, and flossing."

Justin had the biggest grin. "That's funny!"

Wendy nervously twiddled her thumbs. "Well, I'm a funny gal…"

"Clearly… which is good cause I am not funny."

"Is that your big secret? Cause I've been here trying to figure you out what's wrong with you…"

"Oh, plenty believe me."

"And I was leaning towards either he's a cannibal or he's really not that funny and I was pulling for cannibal cause I've never met one before."

"Uh… not a cannibal, but I did just come out of a long relationship. So I may come with baggage."

"Well, I could be your very own baggage handler… Uh… so the girl, the ex, the girl, the ex is the reason you moved here from…"

"Uh, Nimbasa… After I realized that all of my friends were her friends and that everything about Nimbasa reminded me of Sh… Shauntel… I needed a change. A big one. So what about you? What skeletons are you hiding? Any secrets? Any guys?"

"Uh… Yeah… Well back in college, there was someone…" Wendy then thought back to the advice that Devon gave her. "Actually that's all over now and his restraining orders are very specific."

The two of them shared a soft giggle together. Justin gave Wendy a sweet smile. "I like you, Wendy."

Wendy and Justin had left the restaurant and now they were on a walk through the park. The hum of cars could be heard in the background and the chirping sounds of sleeping pokemon gave the whole park a relaxing vibe. The stars were so clear that it was almost blinding.

"So what's your favourite band?"

Justin just looked at Wendy as he honestly couldn't give an answer. He was sort of stumped; he never really listened to music. As his occupation never really gave him enough free time to just go and explore that part of his interests.

Wendy on the other hand was shocked that this incredible guy didn't listen to any music. "Oh my gosh… there's no way you don't listen to any music. Like common Roxie Rock Stars, The Obstagoons, Rush? Any of those?"

"God, I'm not funny, and I don't listen to music. This must be your worst date ever right?"

"No no no, god no… I've had much worse dates uh… much worse experiences with guys in eleventh grade actually-"

"Eleventh grade? You have to go back that far, come on!"

"I don't date that much!"

Azrael was just outside of Rotoms. He had gathered some of his men for this operation and was about to debrief his team on the plan. "Alright men, it's time we finish up this whole Intersect Fiasco. It has been nine days, I'm tired and I'm in desperate need of a shower. Your mark is Wendy Bianco, the U.S.A. director wants her with a pulse. Until we find out who she's working with and she knows, she lives. As for the International Police agent with her, you can kill him."

Wendy had taken Justin to a bar where a band was playing. It was loud, there were lights everywhere, and the band filled the air with nothing but crazy good vibes. Smoke covered the floor from pokemon using smog behind the stage, and the crowd just had this energy that was intoxicating even for Justin.

The two of them could barely hear each other over the band but Justin did manage to say a few things. "THEY'RE GOOD!" He looked at Wendy who seemed to have this spark to her, and just for a few moments, Justin forgot that he was on a mission to get her to safety. He was actually enjoying this date. "WENDY! Let's dance!"

Justin grabbed onto Wendy's hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. "Wait wait wait! I'm not really a d-dancer!" Wendy was thrust onto the dance where Justin was spinning her around and physically flirting with her. She had to take a deep breath and she couldn't believe what was happening right now. This guy really did seem to be into her and she was just so ready to throw away any form of common sense and just dance away the night with him.

Justin loved her bright smile and as the song was coming to an end he saw a glimpse of silver hair in the crowd. He knew he was in trouble. He grabbed onto Wendy's hand. "We gotta go!" Justin led Wendy out of the bar, he found a nearby car.

Wendy had the biggest blush on her face. "Wow! That was incredible! Where are we heading now?"

Justin grunted pulling out his watch, he held it up to the car's lock to where the watch began to automatically pick at the car's door. Once the door popped open he yelled out. "Wendy, get in the car now!"

"Huh, why? there's still so much of the town to explore."

A black jeep from around the street corner came skidding onto the street. Turning the heads of everyone on the street. "Get in the car now there's no time!"

"J-Justin, w-who are those guys!?"

"Just get in the car!"

Wendy opened up the door and sat in the passenger's seat. Justin looked up and the jeep was heading right towards them. He needed to get out of there fast. He put the car into reverse and sped out of where it was parked. Wendy's heart dropped, she looked behind her and cars were swerving out of the way just to dodge them. Horns were being honked and Wendy's hands were getting extremely clammy. "Justin! You're not even looking where you're going!" The jeep got closer and closer, it barely grazed the front bumper, but the slight slow down in Justin's driving caused the Jeep to slam into the front of the car. Wendy let out a slight whimper of fear, "Ooooh my god, I'm going to die." All she could do was close her eyes and hope to wake up from this nightmare.

"Wendy! Tell me when to turn!"

Wendy opened her eyes taking a deep breath looking behind her seat. "Uh… uh… left in five seconds!"

"Which left? Yours or mine?"

"Uh… wait…"

"Too late!" Justin did a full left turn sending the car down a flight of stairs. The car bumped and shook making a horrifying screech as the metal scraped along the concrete stairs. Wendy was clutching onto the leather of her seat with all of her grip so much so that her knuckles had gone completely white. She looked at Justin who had a face of determination and anger. When the car eventually came to a stop it was a complete wreck, and it was clear they wouldn't be able to drive in it anymore.

"Listen to me Wendy, those men will hurt you. They're from the Unova Security Agency and they're after you."

Wendy was completely out of breath from what she had just experienced. Thoughts were racing through her mind. "Me… why me… I'm nobody… I-I'm the barista for the Roserade Garden. Maybe one day I'll be the assistant manager and I don't even know if I want that job."

Wendy turned her head to see that same jeep. It was now headed towards both her and Justin at full speed without signs of stopping. It slammed right into the front end of their car sending it spinning, leaving Wendy dazed. Both doors were wide open and Justin's was hanging on by a thread.

Justin got out of the car motioning for Wendy to come out as well. Wendy held onto Justin's hand as he pulled her out of the car. "Come on, we gotta move!"

There was a loud screeching sound and the jeep was now headed towards them once again. Justin had to think fast, he had to get Wendy out of there. The only way he could find out why Shauna sent those secrets to her was to keep her alive. With all of his might, he pushed her out of the way of the jeep, but to his surprise, the jeep swerved clear of Wendy as if whoever was driving it was taking special care not to hurt her.

All Wendy saw was a black jeep speeding towards her date. "Justin, look out!" Wendy couldn't look, she closed her eyes in fear turning away. The sound of a Pokeball opening up echoed through the air. What followed was the sound of screeching metal and the sound of three men in pain. Wendy looked back towards Justin, there was a thick cloud of grey smoke but at least he seemed to be fine. Standing in front of Justin was a pokemon she had only ever seen on TV. It was a Garchomp, but this one had extremely big battle scars and was missing one arm. Behind Justin, the jeep that had been following them was split in two. On the ground were two men unconscious and the same gentlemen from the Pokemart she saw earlier that day.

Justin returned Garchomp to its Pokeball and ran over to Wendy. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?" Wendy who was a little shaken nodded her head for no. Justin smiled reassuring her. He pulled out his phone quickly dialing a number. "This is Justin, my code is Toga Party. I'm requesting an emergency air evacuation, track location, we're on foot."

Justin took Wendy to the closest tallest building, and the two of them ran up the stairs. "How well do you know Shauna Larkin?"

"How… How do you know Shauna?"

"We work together for the International Police!"

"The what!? The International Police! Shauna is a spy!? Shauna Larkin from Vaniville Town is a spy!?"

"A rogue spy! Did she try to contact you?" Justin yelled.

"I- I.. haven't heard from Shauna in the- no-wait… she sent… she sent me an email…"

Justin looked surprised. "Did you open it!?"

"Y-yeah it was a line from Zork…"

"What?"

"Zork, it's a video game we used to play. It was like a riddle and I solved it and then there were pictures… uh… lots and lots of pictures."

"You saw them?"

Wendy clammed up, the body language and the tone in Justin's voice made her shut up. She felt as if she was in some hot water now.

Justin clenched his fist. "Your computer, did you back it up? Is there an external drive?"

"No… it was sto- a week ago… wait wait wait hold on a second! Was I not supposed to look at those pictures?"

The two of them finally made it up to the roof of the building. But Justin could hear the angel's footsteps not far behind. "Ok, I might have to aim my gun at you so don't freak out!"

Wendy's expression was that of pure fear. She whimpered out a simple, "Why…" She turned her head to see Azrael slowly walking up the stairs and onto the roof. He circled around the two of them letting out a soft laugh.

Azrael looked at Justin. "Let's cut the crap and give her to me now! She belongs to the U.S.A."

Justin pulled out his gun and aimed it right at Wendy. "The International Police gets her first!"

Azrael pointed his gun at Justin in response. Justin looked Azrael dead in the eyes. "You come any closer and I shoot Wendy!"

Wendy looked at both of them, she could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end. Cold sweat was beating down her forehead. She was trying to think of how to get out of this situation. She looked at Justin who had his gun pointed at her. "Justin… I'm freaking out here!"

Azrael smirked, "You shoot her and I shoot you, leave both your bodies here while I go out for a late-night snack. I'm thinking pancakes might do well."

Wendy turned around and tried to run towards the staircase. Justin yelled out, "Wendy, NO!" Wendy stopped in her tracks. She didn't turn back to face Azrael and Justin. However, the building she was staring at triggered some memories. However, the tension in the air was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Wendy turned back around to face Azrael and Justin.

"They're gonna kill him…"

This piqued Azrael's interest. "Kill who?"

"Lance! The Kanto champion! Look… something is wrong with me ok… I don't know what it is but something is very very wrong with me, and I'm remembering things that I shouldn't have."

Justin looked slightly confused. "Uh… ok Wendy, talk to me, like what are you remembering?"

"Uhh look, last week the U.S.A., you guys intercepted some blueprints of a hotel." Wendy pointed to the hotel behind her. "That hotel! And then the International Police, you guys found a file… schematics of a bomb in Ecruteak, the bomb is in that hotel!"

Azrael pointed his gun at Wendy. "She was working with Shauna."

Justin pointed his gun at Azrael. "No, she opened Shauna's email. Wendy those pictures you saw were encoded with secrets, government secrets if you saw them then you know them."

"But there were thousands of them."

Azrael lifted his gun aiming in between Wendy's eyes. "Wait a minute… you're telling me all of our secrets are in her head?"

"Wendy is The Intersect Casey!" Justin turned to Wendy. "Wendy, you have to listen to me… you have to tell us where this bomb is."

Wendy was panicking. "What did you say? What does that mean? What is happening to me!?"

Justin took a deep breath. "You said there was a bomb! Is there time to stop it!?"

"What… what… what! Are you crazy!?"

Azrael took his thumb off of the safety trigger of his gun. "No, we're the good guys. We get paid to keep bombs from exploding."

Wendy slowly backed up. Her voice was shaky, "Look… I can't help you ok! I really wish that I could, but I can't! Call Shauna, she's the person who can save the day…"

"Shauna is dead! She died sending those secrets to you." Justin yelled.

Azrael bit the bottom of his lip aiming his gun up towards the sky firing off one shot. The sound of the gun echoed through the still air. "Yeah and she's going to have a lot of company unless you start talking. So pretty please can we defuse the bomb now?"

(-0-)August 12 2022, 11:30pm(-0-)

Wendy, Justin, and Azrael all ran into the hotel at full sprint. All three of them were sweating, and slightly worried. Once the three of them entered the hotel's lobby Justin grabbed Wendy by the shoulder.

"Casey, wait! We can't take Wendy in there, she's too valuable!"

Azrael nodded, forcing Wendy to sit down on the ground. "Hold it right there Bianco, stay here on the ground. Just tell us where to go, we'll defuse the bomb!"

Wendy looked up at Azrael's stern face. "The easiest way or the…"

"We need the fastest way, Wendy!"

"Fastest got it!" Wendy stood up and ran across the lobby through the fountain in the middle turning the heads of everyone there. Justin tried to call out to Wendy but she wouldn't stop. Azrael soon ran after Wendy and so did Justin. It was now a race against time to see if they were too late or not.

Wendy led them down hallway after hallway and down a flight of stairs until they reached a large reception hall filled with white-clothed tables. The room was jam-packed with people and on the stage was Lance giving a speech about courage and protecting what is important to you. Wendy's eyes darted around looking for the bomb, she knew what the schematics were, but she didn't know where it was being held. Until her eyes landed on a small serving tray with a cover in the middle of the room. "Found it!"

The three of them ran over to the middle of the room, opening up the serving tray to reveal a cylindrical metal tube with wires connecting it to the tray. Azrael lifted up the white cloth which covered the table the tray was on and there was the bomb with a timer on it. There were only three minutes left on the clock until it exploded.

"Walker, can you defuse it? This is your specialty!"

Justin took a good look at the bomb examining it. "It's unlike anything I've ever seen before! It's an amalgamation of different bombs, even going by regular safety protocol it'll take too long."

Azrael grunted. "Start evacuating everyone in the vicinity then!"

"There's no time, we only have two minutes left, there's no way we can defuse it!"

Wendy looked at the bomb and sat down next to it. "Guys… I have the schematics of this bomb in my head. Its technology is based on the nuclear power plant in Hoenn. It's designed to stop working when it comes in contact with salt water, do either of you have any pokemon that can use brine?"

"Damn no, I only have a Braviary on me!" Azrael yelled.

"Same here, I only have my Garchomp! Casey, maybe if we start disconnecting the wires it should be able to do something…" Justin yelled.

"Damn it, aren't you supposed to be the bomb expert here!"

Wendy could feel her phone ringing. It was Peter, she quickly turned around to answer it. "Hey Peter, I'm a little busy right now!"

"Busy in a good way? Details man!"

Wendy looked around the room. "Why are you calling?"

"Mmmm you know… I'm laying on your bed, Sarah is with the captain, and I got a case of withdrawal from running out of Oran Berry Soda."

The realization soon hit Wendy she leaned down to the bomb. "Ok, I have an idea."

Azrael grabbed onto Wendy's hands. "Hold it, Bianco, that's not a PlayStation and you're not a spy."

"I understand that! But this bomb is built on the exact same technology used in the Hoenn nuclear power plant. After the stunt that Team Aqua tried to pull a few years back every power plant in Hoenn was designed to completely shut off in the presence of salty water." Wendy reached into her purse grabbing one of the Oran Berry Sodas that Peter had given her. "I think I can do this… please…"

Justin looked at Azrael. "She's our best shot."

Azrael had fear in his eyes. "You're gonna defuse a bomb with a can of soda!? You better be right about this or else when we reach hell together I'm going to choke you out there!"

Wendy closed her eyes and took in a deep breath looking away from the bomb. She cracked open the can of soda and poured it all over the wires and timer. "Mr. Bomb, meet Oran Berry Soda… Stay thirsty my friend…" The ticking of the bomb had stopped, all the lights on it had turned off and the timer had completely paused.

Justin's jaw was wide open and the look of relief on his face was priceless. "You did it, Wendy!"

Wendy was completely elated. Her emotions had shot up to the moon. "Ha… ha… ha… I did it! I really did it! I defused a real bomb!" A wave of realization hit her. "What if I was wrong?…" She took in a deep breath slowly backing away from the bomb.

Azrael patted Wendy on the back. "Don't puke on the C4 Bianco."

(-0-)August 13, 2022 12:00am(-0-)

Justin and Azrael both looked at each other. They both said the same thing at the same time. "She's coming with me."

Azrael tilted his head. "What if this was a fluke?"

"And what if it wasn't? What if she can stop something much bigger."

"Fine, we'll drop her in a psyche tank and let her stare at four rubber walls for a decade. She'll tell us what we want to know."

"Casey, we don't know how this works, and what triggers the memories. She'll crack wide open."

"Not my job Walker. I break things, I don't fix them."

"What about her job? Her friends and what do we do about her sister?"

Wendy walked over to Azrael and Justin. "What about my sister?"

Justin turned to her. "It's nothing we were just talking-"

"No no no hold on a second. You have to leave my family and my friends out of this."

"We'll see," Azrael said.

Wendy took a deep breath. "Look Shauna sent that email to me. I'm the one who's remembering your secrets. Which means you have to listen to me. Both of you, and right now I'm going to go home. You both need me." Wendy walked away from both of them, with a mixture of feelings.

Wendy found herself at a beach shore staring out into the ocean as the sun started to rise. She could hear footsteps behind her and when those footsteps reached her the person who sat next to her was Justin. "How long have you been here?"

"All night… There's nowhere I can run, is there?"

"Not from us no… Talk to me, Wendy."

"Yesterday I was making twelve bucks an hour making coffee for hipsters. Now I have a decade's worth of secrets in my head and I can't figure out why Shauna did this, why she chose me. What are you going to do with me? What happens now?"

Justin smiled in an attempt to reassure Wendy. "For now you go back to your own life and we'll protect you when you work with us."

"And what about my family and my friends."

Justin looked out onto the sunrise. "Tell them nothing to keep them safe. I need you to do one more thing for me."

Wendy turned to Justin. "Yeah?"

Justin held onto Wendy's hand. "Trust me, Wendy."

Author's Note: Just let me know what you thought that's all I could really ask for.