A Day at Work – Sapphire:

Pallet Town, Kanto, 11 am…

Sapphire took a deep breath. The air of Pallet Town tasted a bit different than Littleroot. The Hoenn town had hotter climate so the only time she could get the cool fresh air was in the early morning. But despite it being almost noon, Pallet Town's air was still quite cool and refreshing.

She walked down the peaceful streets of Pallet Town, taking in the different scenery. Littleroot Town had a lot more trees surrounding the entire town, which was nice in its own way. But Pallet Town didn't have forests nearby, or any tall buildings, allowing Sapphire to see the horizon in the distance, unobstructed by tall trees.

Now, she was here in Kanto for one reason only. She had to find Red and Blue. … Did they still live in the same place? Sapphire hadn't been in contact with them all that much in recent years, with the last time she saw (or talked to) them having been their wedding ceremony a few years back.

She briefly wondered what she would do if it turned out that Red and Blue had moved to a different place. But then again, based on what she knew about them… Red didn't care about where he lived in particular, while Blue might have a desire to live close to her home prior to the kidnapping. So… if they weren't at their old home, they were probably still very close by, at which point… why even move in the first place.

Fairly confident that her seniors would still be in the same house, Sapphire marched up towards the house from her memories and knocked on the door. She half expected a complete stranger to open the door, but fortunately that wasn't the case.

"Oh, Sapphire!" Blue exclaimed, with a bright happy smile. "This is certainly a surprise! How are you doing?"

"Hi Blue," Sapphire said with a bright smile too. "It's so nice to see you again!"

"Come on in!" Blue said, stepping away from the door. She walked over towards the door that led to the basement and called out. "Red! Sapphire came to visit!"

"Sapphire?" came Red's voice. After a few seconds, he appeared from the basement. "Hey, Sapphire! It's been a while!" He walked over towards her and patted her shoulder. "It's good to see you."

"Thanks, Red," Sapphire said happily. "It's real good to see you again!"

"All right, come on, take a seat," Red said as he went to sit by the dinner table, as Blue went over towards the kitchen.

Sapphire then noticed that both of her seniors' clothes were kind of faded and dusty. Not the kind they would wear on a normal day. "Am I… interrupting something?" she asked as she sat across the table from him.

Red looked down at his shirt and chuckled. "Nah. We're just renovating Blue's bunker down in the basement."

"My workshop, Red," Blue corrected from the kitchen.

"It's practically a bunker now though," Red said. "So… did you come here by yourself?" he asked, looking at the front door. "Or is Ruby still out there?"

"No. I'm here by my lonesome this time," Sapphire answered. "He does know I'm here, but I asked him to stay in Hoenn."

Blue returned from the kitchen, carrying a few plates of snacks. "So, what brings you all the way here, alone and unannounced, Sapphire?"

"I'm here strictly on business… technically," Sapphire replied.

"Business?" Blue asked, sitting down next to Red.

"Yeah. There's something I need to do in Kanto, and… I can't do it alone," Sapphire answered. "I was hoping that you two could help me."

"What do you need?" Red asked.

"First… let me tell you what's been happening in Hoenn," Sapphire began, reaching into her pocket to fish out her identification. "In recent years, I've been helping out the Hoenn police."

Blue let out a low whistle as she looked at the identification and badge. "Wow. By helping out, I see you mean… you're pretty high up there in the Third Division."

"Well… it's temporary," Sapphire said with a chuckle. "Maybe in a couple of more years, I'll go back to helping papa with field research. This was something I just wanted to try at some point and it just kind of happened. … Anyways. A few weeks ago, a 15 year old daughter of a researcher was kidnapped in Slateport City. But unlike what we had initially expected, there were no ransom demands. And as we found out, this daughter was also working for her father, and was studying hydrogeology. And a week ago, yet another daughter of a researcher was kidnapped in Rustboro City, who was studying geography. This girl, however, managed to escape in a freak accident, when a rockslide in Route 115 toppled over the kidnappers' truck while she was being transported, and she managed to escape into the river. She then contacted us and told us that these kidnappers were actually trying to hand her over to some organization that was going to make use of her expertise. We managed to track down the kidnappers, and with that, we were able to trace this mysterious organization to… Viridian City of Kanto. The fact that these aren't simple kidnapping cases and it involves an organization in another region tells me that this is big. And it has to be stopped."

Red slowly nodded. "So you've come here for that?"

Blue tilted her head. "Strange. You're in Hoenn PD, not International Police. You wouldn't have the jurisdiction over here."

Sapphire groaned. "Yeah. I know. I'm technically not allowed to do this. But… I never said that this was going to be official. As far as those pencil-pushers are concerned, I'm here on vacation to visit my seniors, and we just happened to stumble upon this organization, and the Kanto police just happened to arrive there too. And if they still have a problem with that, then screw them, and I'll go back to being a researcher earlier than expected."

"Why are you going through such effort, though?" Red asked.

"The fact that these guys targeted the daughters of researchers hit you a bit too close to home, huh?" Blue suggested.

"Yeah. That's the biggest reason," Sapphire said with a nod. "And I also know too many girls among the Dex Holders who work for researchers too. Crystal, Platinum, Moon, Schilly… Double for Platinum since she's the daughter of a researcher as well. So I just feel that this is something that I have to stop."

Red slowly nodded. "Okay. We'll help you."

Sapphire clasped her hands together, beaming in joy. "Really? Thank you so much!"

"I'll do what I can from here, too," Blue said.

"You're not coming with us?" Sapphire asked. "I was thinking that your experience with reconnaissance and whatnot would be invaluable…"

"Maybe. But… I'm not going to leave home without a babysitter, you know," Blue said. "And of the few sitters I trust, the best one isn't anywhere near this region."

Red chuckled. "And our little Violet won't like it if anyone other than Auntie Platinum shows up as the babysitter."

Sapphire nodded as she looked at the matching rings on her seniors' fingers. "Ah. … Right. That's quite important…" She took a glance at the living room and found it empty. "Where is she, anyways?"

"She's upstairs, playing in her room," Blue answered. "We got her a dollhouse and she's been going nuts with it."

"Aww, that's cute," Sapphire said with a giggle.

"As in, she's playing with the house itself and not its occupants," Red said. "She's watching how the doors open and close, and she's been poking and prodding at the hinges and switches. She seems to like to tinker with things, just like her mother."

"… Oh."

"And we got her some books too, and she's read half of them. She's not touching the other half though. I think she's saving them so that Platinum can read them to her later." Red chuckled and shook his head a bit. "I guess I should give her a call to see if she can come over some time soon. … Though I don't think we should be calling the heiress of the Berlitz Mansion over for babysitting."

"So Sapphire, what exactly is the plan here?" Blue asked. "You're not going to search every building in Viridian City, are you?"

"We traced the kidnap order to an office of one Saikan Real Estate company, which is likely a front."

"Hmm. That company originates from Johto," Blue said. "If it really is a front, this journey will take you to Johto too. I'll do some investigation and see what I can find. In the meantime… maybe you can help Red in renovating the workshop?"

…

Several hours later, Red and Sapphire finished renovating the bunker for today. Since the renovation project was a multi-day one, Red and Blue weren't looking to finish it quickly, but were taking their time doing so.

Blue researched about the company while Red and Sapphire worked away, occasionally heading upstairs to check up on her daughter, making lunch, among other tasks.

"Okay, I got some information for you," she said, approaching Red and Sapphire in the living room. "The Saikan Real Estate company branch in Viridian City is being shut down. The company as a whole is doing fine financially, so there isn't really a reason to shut down the branch. The order came in yesterday, so I'd imagine by now, they would've finished in packing up, and only a handful of personnel are remaining to oversee the final stages. It's quite suspicious that a supposed legitimate company is clearing out this abruptly."

"Definitely worth investigating," Red said. "If there are a few guys left around, we can take them and get information out of them."

"Great. Let's get going then," Sapphire said as she rose to her feet.

"Hold on, let's prepare first," Red said. "You have to take these kinds of jobs seriously, you know. You can't just barge in and hope for the best."

"Yeah. Come back downstairs, and let's get you all fitted up," Blue said as she headed back towards the basement.

As Sapphire found out, there was a hidden storage room in the basement, where Blue stored all sorts of tech goodies and equipment. There were a variety of devices that seemed to be very handy for research purposes. Some appeared to be quite useful in everyday life. But some… looked like enhanced versions of stuff that Sapphire would confiscate from those that she arrested.

"You know, just from the looks of things… you look like you're about to go into arms dealings," Sapphire said as she looked around the armory. "… That looks like a wall mine!"

Blue looked around the storage room. "It kind of does, doesn't it?" She picked up the small mine. "This uses a wall mine casing, but it's not actually a mine. It uses the proximity sensor and if anyone comes within its detection range, it sends a signal to the hidden high powered camera to capture whoever set it off, or it can send a signal to me letting me know someone's at the door. This one in particular is here in reserve. You already walked past two of these on your way to the door. So… I was alerted to you before you knocked on the door."

"… Right."

Red picked up a variety of devices that Blue pointed out, and then walked over towards a toolbox to take out some tools too.

"Here, Sapphire, put this on," Blue said, handing her a small earplug. "With this, we'll be able to communicate, and so I'll be able to give you up-to-date information that you'll need out there."

"Oh, thank you."

"Red, you take one too. And make sure you take my Starmie as well."

"Don't worry, I got it."

"All right then. Good luck, you two. And be careful!"

…

Viridian City, 5 pm…

…

Red and Sapphire found the Saikan Real Estate office, located in the West Kanto Building. The office was in the 3rd floor, so the two opted to take the stairs. As per instruction, Red sent out Blue's Starmie before entering the building, so that the Starmie could turn itself invisible and float up, allowing the three small cameras its trainer had attached to get a good view of the area and provide the needed coverage.

Red stopped at a section of the stairs that wasn't covered by the security cameras and began to put on his disguise for this job. Blue's Ditto served as most of the disguise, so all Red needed to do was put on whatever was needed on his head and face to conceal himself completely.

Sapphire wasn't exactly a fan of wearing a mask, but as per recommendation, she took the time to wear something over her face to conceal her identity. … But she wasn't going as far as putting on a full body disguise…

She tilted her head as her senior finished with the red and fluffy disguise. "… Red, I have to ask… why the Santa costume?"

Santa finished checking over his outfit. "Well, in recent jobs, I went as a snowman, a mummy, a tree, a scarecrow, a mascot, and a clown. I don't think I've used this one in a few years." He adjusted the voice modulator so that he even sounded the part. "And in these kinds of jobs, being anonymous and unidentifiable is very important."

"… Right…" She shook her head as she saw her senior hefting a candy cane crowbar. "… I don't think I want to know what exactly these jobs entailed…"

"What, are you going to arrest me or something?"

"Heh. I don't have the jurisdiction here, remember?" She chuckled a bit as she looked at his outfit. "Besides… I don't think I can arrest Santa without there being some serious repercussions. And I think there are complications with arresting fictional characters, you know?" She looked at his coat's bulging pocket and frowned as she recalled what exactly her senior had taken from the armory. "… Why did you bring a whole toolbox of stuff? Like… where would we possibly use a pair of pliers?"

"You just never know what you'll need in the field," Santa replied. He took out a small remote like device from his pocket. "Okay. This would jam the security cameras here for a few seconds, giving us enough time to slip by and get to the office."

"You're all clear right now," came Blue's voice from his earpiece. "No one's in the hallways. So get going."

Santa pressed a button on the remote and quickly charged up the remaining stairs and out through the door. Sapphire followed suit and the two reached the Saikan office before the cameras were restored.

Sapphire sniffed at the air and focused on her hearing while Santa stuck a small flexible camera into the gap on the bottom of the door.

"There's no one right behind the door," Sapphire whispered.

"There are five guys visible in the room," Santa whispered. "They seem to be taking a break. The office is empty save for a few boxes. So get ready, we're going in."

He jammed the candy cane crowbar into the door near the lock and broke his way in. The office was quite small, with only a handful of now-empty desks, a lounge, and a small kitchen area. The lounge was occupied by five men, none of which appeared like the types to be working at an office desk. These guys appeared more like… foot soldiers in an organized crime syndicate. There was a sixth guy at the kitchen area, standing by a kettle of boiling water. Given the stack of cup noodles near the sink, it appeared that the guys in the lounge were waiting for the water to finish boiling so that they could have a quick dinner.

"Hey! What the f*ck?!" one of the goons yelled as he jumped to his feet.

"You fellas have been very naughty, ordering the kidnapping of girls in other regions," Santa said in a jolly tone. "And so if you want to get off the naughty list, you're going to tell us where the victims are, and what exactly you've been planning."

"Waste them!" another goon yelled out.

"… It was worth a shot," Santa said to Sapphire, before he charged at the goon in the kitchen and slamming the candy cane crowbar into his head.

The remaining five grunts charged at the two, dividing themselves up to deal with the invaders. One charged straight at Sapphire, greatly underestimating her, only to get punched in the face with enough force to send him flying into the opposing wall. Now the remaining goons divided themselves equally, with two charging at Sapphire and the other two charging at Santa.

Santa walked over to the stove in the kitchen and picked up the steaming kettle. He swung the thing at the face of one of the goons charging at him, knocking him down to the ground. He then put a foot on his chest to keep him down, and proceeded to pour the boiling water from the kettle onto his face.

Sapphire heard the horrible scream and looked over. She grimaced as she saw the goon flailing desperately while the boiling water was poured onto his face, and wondered if that was really necessary.

She sensed someone charging at her and quickly swiveled around to meet him. The goon that was charging at her swung an uppercut. Sapphire tracked the oncoming fist and slammed her elbow into it, hearing and feeling the fingers breaking from the impact. She then hit him with an uppercut of her own, sending him sprawling on the floor. She glanced over at her senior to see how he was faring and saw him slamming a goon face-first repeatedly into the heated stove, and decided to look away.

Santa threw the goon away and let him writhe while he focused his attention to the first guy he whacked with the candy cane crowbar, who had just barely gotten back to his feet. The grunt saw the jolly old man looking at him again and gasped in terror. Santa jabbed him in the gut with his candy cane crowbar, making the grunt double over. He then put his victim in a headlock and pulled out the pair of pliers…

Sapphire kicked the last standing grunt in the calf, making him fall over. She fell with him, with her knee pressing down against his chest, while she pinned both of his arms down as well. Something small hit the floor next to her with a faint clack. Both Sapphire and the goon she was subduing looked over, and saw a bloodied tooth. They looked up and grimaced as Santa clubbed his victim in the face with the bloodied pliers.

"So… you want to talk now?" Sapphire asked, glaring at the goon she was pinning to the floor.

The goon gasped as Santa crouched next to him, and frantically nodded. "Uh… yeah. Talking sounds good."

"All right then, talk," Santa said, holding the pliers close to the man's face. "And don't worry. We'll know when you're lying."

"So, how many people have you kidnapped in the Hoenn region?" Sapphire asked.

"Uh… I don't know for sure, but I know of one success and one failure," the grunt replied.

Sapphire nodded, as she knew that there hadn't been any other kidnapped reports. "Where did you send the one that you successfully kidnapped?"

"We sent her to our headquarters in Blackthorn City. I don't know anything beyond that."

"You're not a part of a human trafficking ring. … Why are you kidnapping people?" Sapphire asked. "You only kidnapped girls, making it seem like for ransom or trafficking, but you're kidnapping researchers. Why? What's your objective?"

"I don't know," the grunt answered. "They don't tell us big stuff like that. We're the bottom of the totem pole. All I know that is that we've been told to prepare for a big war of some sorts."

Sapphire blinked. "A war? … With who?"

"I don't know. I don't even know if we're a part of that war or just spectators. Grunts like us don't know sh*t."

Santa leaned over and pinched the goon's nose with the pliers. "You wouldn't lie to us, now would you?"

"N – No, sir…"

"He's telling the truth," came Blue's voice in his ear. "From what I've been able to dig up, it seems that whoever is using the Saikan Real Estate as a front has been planning to introduce some kind of poison into a water reserve in Sinnoh. That seems to be why they kidnapped a hydrogeology researcher and others close to that field. But by kidnapping them from Hoenn, it would make it seem like whoever's running the show is from Hoenn as well, which may lead to sparking a war between Sinnoh and Hoenn. As for who these guys are, and why they're doing this? I have no idea."

"Hm. All right. Let's round these guys up and hand them over to the Kanto police," Santa said.

"I already contacted them. They'll be arriving there in about 15 minutes," Blue said. "So… get out of there now."

Sapphire punched the goon in the face to knock him unconscious. "… This… is a lot bigger than I thought it would be," she said, sounding quite troubled. "Oh man. Unraveling this is going to take a while. We're going to need to contact the Sinnoh police too and have them investigate, and… it's a clusterf*ck of bureaucracy and paperwork…"

"One step at a time," Santa said, shaking his head. "First, we get the hell out of here. Then we convince the Johto police to raid the Saikan Real Estate headquarters in Blackthorn City and see what they can find. And we'll see from there."

"Yeah. Okay. Let's go."

Sapphire rose to her feet and after casting a quick glance around at all the unconscious and mangled goons, she headed out through the door.

"Well then, it's been a productive day for you, huh, detective?" Santa asked as he walked next to her. "You've singlehandedly stumbled upon a massive plot to incite a war between regions. It's not an average day in the office, is it?"

Sapphire chuckled. "Yeah. It's not every day that you discover a huge plot like this. Just making the report to Hoenn is going to be a gigantic pain in the ass. But… singlehandedly?"

"We want to be anonymous, remember? Unless you want to include in your report that Santa Claus helped you bust into this place…"

"… Right. Well… I guess it's just another day at work for you, huh? I'd imagine you do this kind of thing kind of often?"

Santa chuckled as he began to take off his disguise while walking. "Eh, every now and then, maybe. But I will say, it's not often that I stumble onto something this big."

"Regardless, thank you so much for helping me, Red. You too, Blue. I couldn't have done this without either of you," Sapphire said with a smile.

"You're welcome," came Blue's voice from her earpiece. "Now come on home for dinner."

Red finished changing out of his disguise and stuffed everything in his bag. "Huh. In the end, I never got to use the screwdriver and hammer that I brought."

Sapphire shuddered and shook her head. "… I don't want to know…"