Grace

Waiting outside of a doorway for a few minutes made me impatient. Being forced to wait for over two hours was about to drive me livid. I AM NOT GOOD AT STANDING IN ONE PLACE FOR THIS LONG. It was unusual for the boss to give me an improper time. She never made me wait! Well, not much anyway. Not this much! I could be gaining more ground on Passionless, but instead, I've gotta stand here and do nothing in particular.

I sighed and tapped my paws against the metallic floor impatiently. I would love to just go into her office and wait there, but she wouldn't allow me in there alone if her life depended on it. Strangely enough, that was one of the few things she really pushed, me not being able to go into her office. The only other one allowed in there is Passionless, nobody else under any circumstances. I would imagine that if this rule was broken, someone is gonna die. If Luna wouldn't do it herself, then I can certainly say that she'd get someone else to. I wonder if she'd hold back for anyone on that. Definitely, DEFINITELY not me, but I'm curious.

The giant walls next to me had a small opening in them, the same opening that Luna could use to get into her little space. Not just anyone could use it though, she had some… weird things inside of her leg that activates some kind of special lock that she installed. I've tried, trust me, tried so hard to think of how the hell that works, but I've come up blank time and time again. Not that it really matters, I don't HAVE to understand how anything goes on here, I just have to respect it.

…

….

How much longer will I be here?

"Ugh…" I began to get really antsy the longer I was here. I wanted to move, run around, do something, anything! I brought my eyes to the small indent used to open Luna's office, just staring for a few moments. How do you work?

I lifted one of my forepaws and slowly slipped it into the indented wall. "Does she just… do that? And then it works?" I tilted my head, further wondering how this would ever work. I pulled my paw away and turned around, seriously tempted to just leave and not come back. My attention was drawn away from that thought process, courtesy of the noise of metal scratching against another surface. My head shot to the right, directly towards said noise, just in time to notice the two walls that were just behind me open up, revealing the place where Luna resides ninety percent of the time.

It took my head a second to catch up. Why exactly did that just open? I'm not her, soooooo… Why? Of course, now that the entrance to an area I wasn't supposed to go to was now open, I really wanted to go into it. I knew I wasn't supposed to, and I knew the risks that came with it, but I wanted to try anyway. I REALLY wanted to. I have a very hard time controlling my temptations, and thus, I took a few steps forward.

I wanted to look around, see what Luna had hidden here, but my eyes were drawn to one place on the metallic and very shiny floor. Since my attention span isn't very large, I locked onto the small folder leaking out papers and stood over it. The rest of the office could wait, this really piqued my curiosity. She's always so organized, why is this thing out in the open on the ground like this? Was she in a hurry for something?

"Arceus almighty don't let this be my death sentence…" I said a quick prayer and put my paw on the edge of the folder. It had a dark color, matching that of Luna's fur. I quickly flipped it open. From the inside, the papers spread out a little, a lot of small writing visible to me. Each paper seemed to have nothing more than a lot of words, but bits and pieces were ripped, and blurred out of a few of them. Maybe she's a lot less organized that I thought?

I began flipping through the papers, a lot of it being science mumbo jumbo that I had no clue how to comprehend. Probably some of Firefox's research of whatever she does in her spare time. Still need a better nickname for that b- co-worker.

After a minute or two of paper flipping, my eyes fell on something interesting. In the top left corner, there was a picture of Passionless, with a small summary written next to it.

"Aven: As of now ranked just under myself, never breaking loyalty or stoicity. He and I have been working together longer than anyone else I'm associated with, he's my trusted second in command."

"Notably, he doesn't have any big weaknesses. In a way, his lack of empathy can be considered one if he decides to turn against me one day, but that's very unlikely as long as I have him as close as I do. Strong, fast, loyal, dangerous, unremorseful, brutal, scary, he has enough to stay my second in command as long as necessary. I'd much rather not replace him anytime in the near future, nor would I have any suitable replacement."

Notes? I had no idea Luna kept notes about the members of the Void, I thought she could care less about keeping track of everyone here honestly. It's kinda cool to learn more though! Now I'm even more enticed- hopefully this isn't my last day alive.

"He's the least likely to be found out as a spy in the Nest, being that he doesn't interact with any Ravens unless necessary for business. He won't have relations with anyone, and as such, he won't be found out until we blow our cover on our own terms. Once that time comes, Aven is enough on his own to take care of his part of the plan. He'll be taking out the two strongest we know of there, the froslass and bisharp. By himself, due to our scouting, I have faith he'll take them both out. Once he's done there, the Nest will be pushed around like a leaf in a hurricane. They're nothing without their leaders."

Sooooo, Aven is gonna try and show me up by taking down all the heavy hitters? Passing him is gonna take more work than I thought… But I can do it!

"We didn't have any luck locating the parcel with our last endeavor, and perhaps we won't going forward. I notified Aven that, if he comes in contact with the initial target, he can kill. As long as we aren't getting anything from the target, there's no point in preserving their life. If we can't get them during the raid, then we can always order our inside eyes to take them out."

Wow... She's got a whole plan for Aven laid out, doesn't she? There wasn't much more on the sheet other than more of Aven's general strengths, which is apparently everything in the book. I tapped my paw on the ground, a thinking expression spreading across my features. Passing Passionless… I've gotta work extra hard.

I flipped through the papers some more, coming across a lot of names I didn't recognize at all. I didn't pay them much mind, especially since there seemed to be nothing special about them. What's the point of taking notes on all of these mons? They don't seem to have a point at all. Maybe just… organizational purposes? ARE YOU ORGANZIED OR NOT BOSS?

"What do we have here?" My eyes found something that made me smirk. A file on the Assassin, noted by his picture. Heh heh heh… You never want me to learn anything about you, but you can't stop meeee! Luna can though.

"No name on record: A mercenary that we initially hired almost two decades ago. Once he refused to cooperate with us, which happened after we sent him out to kill a small family who had ties to the Nest, we needed to seize his skills another way. It took about two years for us to get through to his head, but once we did, he's been under my control since. I thought I'd face some resistance, but none at all after initially grasping him in. Now we have full control over him. We've made him into a valuable weapon for us to use, one of our strongest."

"He doesn't have many weaknesses, but breaking my full control over him was a risk, and there's always a chance something will trigger him back to disobeying us. Letting him have his personality back may end up being a detriment to us, but we can shut him down if that were to come through. He has an easier time acting out his missions with his original personality intact, so that's how I'll leave him for now. Any complications, and I'll resume making him into a shell which I can directly control."

"Hmm…" Very interesting things were written down here, I had no clue the assassin was one of those… things Luna makes. I had no clue she could willingly make someone change from having their original personality and totally deleting it, that's… kinda cool and creepy at the same time. I like it.

"He won't have a role in our fast approaching assault, but we can always call on him to retrieve our inside eyes or even take out some stragglers that make it out of our attack. He's not necessary, but he can help us regardless once that time comes."

"Why is everyone getting a piece of this other than me? How rude… And understandable."

I glanced down the rest of the summary and pushed the paper aside, satisfied with the new information I gained. Under the Assassin's paper was a very interesting one. The picture was taken out, ripped out to be more precise. The area where the name would usually be was affected by this, and thus I had no clue who this one was about. I wonder if I can figure it out by reading it… Let's try!

"One of the few to actually get away from us, and should be treated with caution, despite their looks. They could be dangerous, they could be harmless, we don't know and we need to express caution. It's frustrating that one of our test subjects for new chemicals had to get away, and now they're roaming around. We at least have a nail on their location, and can get them back, or kill them if necessary."

I have absolutely no idea who this is.

Most of the paper shared the same state as the top, ripped up and some of it unintelligible. There were a few other papers like this though, and I suppose one more wasn't too odd. There was a little more to read though, near the very bottom.

"We still have their sister here with us to help reel her in, although it's very possible that it won't help. Neither of them know of their relation to one another, making it likely that it won't matter. There's always a chance that they'll subconsciously recognize one another though. We can have that in the back of our minds."

OOooOOoooOo~ Now this is good! I really want to know who this is about now!

My tail swayed a little bit, excited to try and figure out a mystery such as this one. Nobody popped into my head immediately, but it must be someone I've heard about from someone before, I just have to think about it! Maybe I can find their sibling and ask them! I paused for a split second, thinking about all of the Void members I know. I wonder what it feels like to have a sibling.

There was one paper left at the bottom of the folder, I had just about sifted through all of them. And of course the one at the very bottom, the last one I find? It's me.

Oh boy, what does thy boss have to say about yours truly?

"Grace: One of our younger members, which doesn't discount her lethality. One of the most interesting subjects we've ever raised, with an explosive personality, something we don't look for often. With her hard work, she's climbed through the ranks, and is on the cusp on gaining even more ground as each day passes. Proud isn't a word I use, but I'm certainly impressed."

I impressed the boss? Really? She sure doesn't show it…

"I don't have many concerns about this one, but the ones I do have are severe. The possibility of her turning around and going against us is always there, even if not likely. Someone with as much potent potential as her on the other side is a serious danger. The strength of a great beast hides within her, and we need to keep that on our side."

A great beast, huh? Don't flatter me too much boss. You'll boost my ego more than you shoulddddddd.

"She seems to have a very bad relationship with certain members of the Void, but it hasn't caused any complications. She's also one of the few to talk to the Assassin without being terrified, which is a rarity that we can't pass up. She's an extremely powerful asset to us as is, we just need to be extra careful around her."

Awww, what's wrong boss? Am I that scary? I giggled to myself, entertained.

"Every close associate to Grace has been informed of her condition, and trained on how to handle every situation with her, as well as not trigger any upsets in her behaviour or mindset. Nothing shaky has happened since we made Grace into what she is, but that doesn't mean nothing ever will."

I froze on the spot as I read. Wait. Wait waitwaitwaitwait… What?

One of the most interesting things about me in the Void is that I haven't been tampered with. I was born this way, and I've always been like this, as long as I can remember. I thought that was a portion of what made me a decently reliable asset to the Void, that I'm doing this of my own free will, that it's what I, as Grace, want to devote myself to. So… what does she mean by 'made Grace into what she is?'

"Grace has had hiccups in the past so far, which can be signs that we didn't do a good enough job. There are falters in her actions, and as long as those falters exist, it's possible there's more clutter in her brain that may cause complications. I, alongside everyone else, hopes that all the work we've put in to utilize Grace pays off, and doesn't backfire."

I sat in mental silence for a bit.

"What… what the hell? What is this?" I shook my head and shoved the paper away. "I'm overthinking this, definitely overthinking this. Without a doubt, I'm overthinking. I'm overthinking. I'm overthinking. I'm overthinking."

I paced around in circles, unable to settle down. I ended up biting down on my lip out of stressful thoughts, tapping my paws all over the ground in a slight panic.

"Well it's clear Luna isn't coming here anytime soon, so I'm going to go train more. Off I go!"

I ran out of Luna's office, sprinting as fast as I can to my training area. My heart rate was increasing more than I liked though.

Just stop thinking… Please…

Crescent

Being on lookout was always so boring. Boring, but necessary nonetheless. It was a long, long road back though, so doing it one trip wasn't really practical. Shine already had enough physical stress on his body to do this much traveling, and Arceus knows we both have enough mental stress. Ark definitely had some explaining to do, a lot at that. I was sick of being left in the dark about where all of these resources are going in the first place. Maybe I should take more of the spoils to myself, until he informs us of what he's doing with them.

I took in my surroundings, making sure that we wouldn't be snuck up on. We found our way to another mountainous area, a lot of empty space with big hills, rocks, and annoying dust. Decently easy to travel through since the weather hasn't gotten worse yet, until you hit one of the mountains that is. Then it just sucks.

I leaned against the side of one of many large rocks, keeping my eyes closed and my ears alert. Nobody was sneaking up on us anytime soon. Shine was resting a few feet in front of me, curled up and hopefully asleep. The teleport thing he pulled before all this traveling took a lot out of him, and it really showed. I was originally going to give him more weights on the way back from this trip, but I couldn't get myself to be that brutal. I usually am, but I decided an exception could be made for the exhausted espeon.

Thinking about what we had been through since we left the camp for this task was just confusing. We met a sketchy guy, he helped us accomplish our mission, we got knocked out from some crystal element or something, and now we're here, running from getting attacked from the same terrifying haxorus. I get that he has no way of knowing where we are or how to get to us himself, but I still couldn't help but worry. Paranoia was nasty to me sometimes.

The sound of light walking crossed my ears, and my eyes shot open. I turned around, facing the large rock Shine and I used for cover. They're coming from there. Why couldn't this just be a simple resting place without interruption?

I glanced over at Shine, who was still asleep from what I could tell. No point in waking him up if he can't defend himself… I'll just drive away whoever's here on my own.

With a quick breath, I latched onto the rock I was leaning against my ribbons, hopping on top of it and looking down in the direction of the previous noise. I was greeted with bright red eyes, looking directly at me, as if they knew I was going to hop up here instead of approaching them on the ground. I was immediately uneasy at this, but I mentally calmed myself, staring down at the umbreon, standing by no cover other than the rock I stood on.

"Who are you?" I asked immediately, hoping that I wasn't about to be lunged towards. The umbreon before me smiled, their ears perked up gleefully. I was still on guard, despite the strangely kind-looking approach.

"I'm not here to do any harm, don't you worry miss." She laughed quietly and bowed her head. "My name is Luna, what would yours be."

This is weird…

"Crescent." I answered truthfully. Whatever this pokemon's intentions were, it her weirdly bubbly tone didn't seem natural. It was too animated for my liking. "Why did you approach me?"

"No need to be so hostile, Crescent dear." Luna loomed up at me, tilting her head and keeping her overly warm smile. "It's my understanding that you two have been searching for and collecting gems, and I want to have some of my questions answered, if that's alright with you." What in the world..?

So she not only knew I wasn't alone here without laying her eyes on Shine behind this rock once, but she also knows who we are? The former can be explained by her maybe following us, but the latter is… concerning.

"How do you know that?" I questioned. "And wait, if you did, then why ask my name?" Cool it Crescent…

"Now now, that doesn't matter much does it?" She giggled lightly.

"It does, answer the questions please." I replied. "If you don't, then I won't answer any of yours either."

"No need to be so stressed, Crescent." Luna spoke in such a gentle tone, it was off-putting. "I have ties with your boss dear, I know who you two are and why you're out here. I didn't however, know either of your names. I wasn't blessed with that information." She answered calmly.

"What kind of ties do you have to Ark? And how do you two relate to one another?" I continued.

"What's with all of your sudden questions now?" She asked me, a teasing tone in her voice. "I was under the impression that you were against constant questions."

"Correction: I'm against being constantly questioned off of meeting someone. I'll ask any questions I deem necessary." I felt my leg shake a slight bit. Why am I so… nervous? She's creepy, but isn't that all?

"Your boss works for me in a way. That's how I know him." Our boss' boss? "And he notified me about you in particular, unless you have another sylveon in that camp of yours?" Why was I mentioned..?

"I… I see." I gulped. "Any reason in particular I'm your subject of interest today?"

"Well, I've heard a bit about you. Namely that you tend to be a bit more defiant than most. Your boss likes to be really vague with the types of resources your lot find, and I'd like to ask you if you've come across an emerald colored gem, very small in size in any of your endeavors?" That's very… specific.

"Why would you want to kn-"

"Because that gem may be very useful to me for many reasons dear." Luna interrupted. "I only need one, but it's very possible that resource is nearly completely drained from our living space. I'm not a hunter for this kind of mineral though. You'd be a great source of information."

"Right…" A few moments of silence passed between us. "Before I answer this, can I ask what you use these things for? I can't really answer your question without knowing that for sure." Hopefully I won't be fueling a terrorist attack here…

"Just a few experiments, nothing more than that. You won't be harmed in giving me this information, I can promise you this." Luna bowed her head slowly, holding her smile.

I don't like this...

'I' wouldn't be harmed. I'm willing to bet a lot of others would if I coughed this information up. This was way too sketchy. I couldn't quite explain why, but this umbreon… she was downright terrifying. She hadn't even done anything besides talk in a bubbly voice and ask a few questions, but every last part of my brain was screaming at me, telling me she's dangerous. Trusting my instincts seemed like the safer move, but what if I refuse and she just kills us? Or tries to force the information out of me?

"I… um…" I tripped over my words. Leaving things in silence for too long could be dangerous, but the situation was already sketchy as is. "I've done a lot of hunting for minerals. Nothing I've found directly matches your description, but I suppose I can keep an eye out?" To be honest, I didn't even try to think of a gem that matched what she wanted. I didn't want to stay close to her, I was too unnerved.

"That so? What a shame that is." Luna let out a small sigh and pouted. "I've been looking everywhere for one, and it seems as if your boss is failing me."

"Is that why we're ordered to find all of these minerals? For… experiments? Ones that you perform?" I asked, tilting my head.

"I don't directly take place in them, but I provide resources and utilize what we find in each given experiment." Luna looked up to the sky, a dreamy expression on her face. "You'd be surprised what you can do with a few combinations of chemicals hun."

"I think… I'd rather stay in the dark." I shivered. "So you're… what do you do? What kind of utilization comes from weird… chemicals and elements?" The only ones I can think of arent very pleasant.

"That's a story for another day." Luna looked back at me. "You dislike working the way you do, don't you?"

"Excuse me?" I replied, a little confused. Where did that come from?

"It's written all over your face dear. Whenever you talk mention minerals or your job, I can see how you feel about it. It's not good, quite the opposite." Okay… Weird. "I can provide much more for you actually, rewarding you for doing jobs, giving you more freedom on when you work, and even give you a cozy place to stay if you so desire."

"That… sounds nice, but I'm not sure if that's the right thing to do at this very moment." That's so blatant, she's trying to reel me in for something. I think anyway...

"I have plenty of openings, perhaps you can both come and work directly for me instead? As long as you keep an open mind, I can assure that your lives will be better with me." She continued, taking a step forward.

"Don't we already kinda work for you though..?" I asked, taking a step back as she moved closer. "You're the boss of my boss, so in a way, this is already settled, isn't it?"

"That's not false. I can do a lot more for you if you're close by though, a lot more dear." Luna kindly smiled my way. Realistically, it might be better for Shine and I to be in a different group. I could certainly toughen him up a lot easier with more resources than a bunch of weights. Not to mention a possible proper source of food and water, it almost sounds… inviting. Have I ever really cared where these resources are going? I just sort of… get them and deliver them. Does it matter what they're being used for if we're doing this just to do it?

"What would… What would we be doing if we worked under you directly?" I entertained the idea, averting my eyes from her. I didn't like being persuaded.

"It depends where your strengths lay. It could be as simple as paperwork if you have the diligence for it. For just a little bit of labor, you'll have a much better place to stay, and more freedom to do what you want." She took another step closer, and I couldn't find it in myself to step back again.

"I understand the offer." I replied, giving some serious consideration to the idea. I'm sure it would be nice to be out of this job, and have something else to occupy us. Plus it would give me more of an ability to help Shine get out of his slump and improve himself if we had a bit more freedom…

"That's great dear! Now, what do you say? You won't regret coming to us and doing your part if you so choose!" Luna said in an excited tone. I was much less disturbed by her sudden appearance, and slightly less intimidated. Is this attitude just her… normal one? She's just an odd pokemon perhaps..? I took a deep breath.

"I think I'll-"

Something crashed into one of my legs, causing me to trip onto the rock I had been standing on. I fell down the side of it, but before I hit the ground, my vision blacked out for a split second. I swear I didn't close my eyes, and yet, everything just went black for a moment or two. Once color returned to my vision, my surroundings weren't the same. I hit the ground with an impromptu thud, right in front of a small body of water. Behind the water was more open land, and beyond that, another mountain. I picked my head up off of the ground and turned it to the quiet sound of pained groans, right beside me. He… Why?

"I-I'm relieved that worked…" Shine said, releasing a huge exhale.

My first instinct was to yell at Shine for getting us away from what seemed like a great offer, but I knew him by now. He didn't just act on impulse without reasoning, so I couldn't pass my usual harsh judgement quite yet. So why did you just-

"I-I'm sorry if that caught off-guard, but I needed to." He took a breath and shook his head, recovering. "I also know you told me not to do that until I really knew how to be safe with it, but just-" He stopped for a moment. "I had to get us away." Calm down there bud...

"Why the urgency? And wait, weren't you asleep before?" I questioned.

"I woke up to see and hear enough." He replied, standing up and looking off in a random direction, likely where we just came from. "That umbreon is really bad news…" Did he get the same first impression as I did?

"Did you also get creeped out by her?" I wanted clarification to make sure I wasn't just being paranoid upon her initial appearance.

"Well yes, but not for the same reason I assume you did." He said, confusing me. "Remember when I told you about… that weird day at my original home where a bunch of us were taken into some weird airship of some kind?" I nodded as he spoke. "Well… She was there, and not on the side trying to get all of us out. Even worse it seemed as if she was some kind of figure of authority there."

…

Oh my.

Bullet dodged.

"Wait wait, so she's a part of the same organization that tried to kill a bunch of kids and adolescents?" Dear Arceus that was close if this is true…

"Yes she is, and important part of them it seems like…" Shine looked down, pondering for a second. "And she said she's the boss of Ark at some point, didn't she..?"

"She did mention that…" So we're… contributing to that place? Giving them the resources to do… 'experiments?'"

"We have to talk to Ark about this." Shine said firmly. "I can't… If we've been providing to them of all groups, I can't keep doing this. Not a chance." I can understand that…

"Alright. Once we get back, we can bring it up. Hopefully it doesn't… go south from there." I replied, Shine giving a nod back. He had a distressed look on his face, which is of course to be expected. One of his legs was gently shaking, again, understandable. "Shine, you shouldn't-"

"I know, I know." He sighed. "I'll try and… just not think about it."

"Good. I know it's a little… difficult. But better this than-"

"Losing my head and letting my mind slip around dark areas, I know. I'll try my best to ignore it for the time being." He's starting to know me a bit too well…

"I'm glad you can determine that without me telling you." A small smile grew on my face. "You're getting better at keeping track of yourself, that's for sure."

"Am I? Honestly I can't feel it…" He replied, giving me a skeptical look. "I think I'm better off taking your word for it over however I see it though."

"Good idea, no offense, but you're not too great at giving yourself any positive feedback. It's still necessary sometimes, even if I prefer being more harsh." Not that I really need to tell him that.

"None taken. We should keep on walking so we can make it back to Ark soon. We have a conversation that needs to be had." Shine took a breath and began walking in what seemed to be the same direction we were traveling before he teleported us. SO he keeps his sense of direction through it. Good to know.

"You sure you don't need to rest before we keep going?" I asked, jogging to catch up with him.

"I think I'll be okay. For some reason it didn't feel quite as draining this time. Still kinda makes my legs shaky though…" Shine took a breath and kept walking forward, albeit slightly unsteadily.

"Who cares why? That's a definite improvement, I think we can both agree on that." I caught up beside Shine, and we continued walking in the direction we originally set off in. "Maybe your body is quickly adapting to the strain that skill puts on it?"

"Maybe it's just relieved to not have quadruple my weight bringing it to the ground while walking." He sighed.

"Oh please. That's nothing, you just wait until we get back. If we go on a normal schedule, you'll be grateful for what you've been stuck with thus far." I pat Shine on the back with one of my ribbons. And by pat, I mean slapped.

"Yay, I can't wait…" He rolled his eyes and continued ahead, likely trying not to think about the fun times ahead for him.

What in the world can we do if Ark is part of… whoever took Shine and his friends and tried to kill them at points? Will we have to attack him? It's more likely he attacks us, but It's still a concern, we'll have to fight back. I don't know what he's capable of, but if he's associated with a dangerous organization, I'm not too excited to find out.

We best be ready… I'm not holding my breath for a good outcome.

Hello Readers!

Ugh, so much writer's block for this chapter, but I got it done eventually! Lots of interesting things in this one, so hopefully you all enjoy it despite the long pause!

See You Next Chapter!