Guzma finds the station door unlocked, just as Nanu said that it would be, but upon entering inside, he doesn't see the older cop. Was he in the bathroom? Guzma took a look, and upon finding no one but a few Meowth sleeping in the sink, Guzma went back to the front of the station, drowing.

"Where the hell is he?" Guzma muttered under his breath. He hadn't gotten there before Nanu and his cat, had he?

A tug at his pants alerted Guzma and he glanced down to find MaryAnn with a tiny paw hooked into his pants by equally dainty claws.

"Hey." Guzma said, trying to keep his voice pitched low. He didn't want to frighten the little feline any more than he had before. "Sorry…." Guzma continued, a little stiffly. "My old man…he gets to me sometimes….and I…" Guzma trailed off, shoulders hunching a little before he banished thoughts of his father. He didn't want to think about him any longer.

MaryAnn started up at Guzma for a time, quiet, before it let go and shakily stood up on its hindlegs, bracing itself against Guzma's leg. Then, when it felt balanced, MaryAnn reached up to Guzma with both front paws. The small feline let out a quiet mew, as if asking to be picked up.

Guzma carefully reached over and carefully picked the small shiny Meowth up, forgetting how dainty it was in his larger hands. Guzma brought MaryAnn level with his eyes. "I fogot how small you are."

MaryAnn squeezed its eyes shut, a little purr starting up and shaking its small frame.

"You know where Nanu is?" Guzma questioned, feeling torn over how easily MaryAnn seemed to forgive his actions, when he really should have had better control over himself.

MaryAnn's purr petered out as the feline got teary-eyed.

"Shit. He hasn't done anything stupid, has he?" Guzma looked around, wondering if he would find Nanu in he kitchen near those bottles and-

MaryAnn patted Guzma's hand with a paw and pointed toward the door.

"Outside?" Guzma asked, and when he saw the paw point again, the tall punk went over to the door and opened it. Guzma drew up his jacket's hood, and zipped it up, slipping MaryAnn into the dry interipr to keep herout of the rain.

The shiny Meowth thrummed with pleasure at the warmth as it wiggled around and poked its head up.

Guzma exited the station and closed the door, before he began to follow MaryAnn pointing out of the jacket. The shiny Meowth led Guzma to the side of the station. MaryAnn let out a quiet meow when Guzma reached the back, and saw a makeshift awning, to keep the rain off the ground.

Beneath that awning Nanu was seated, his back against the wall of the building.

Guzma frowned at the sight of Nanu smoking, the older cop staring off into the distance, as if not noticing the punk's presence.

"Don't remember you ever smokin' before, cop." Guzma commented as he drew closer.

There was no response.

Guzma stood in front of Nanu, and saw that there a mat beneath him, so at least the older man wasn't siting in the wet grass. Guzma blinked some rain out of his eyes and ducked beneath the makeshift awning to get out of the rain. Guzma pulled MaryAnn out of his jacket and set the small Meowth on the mat, before turning his attention back to Nanu.

"Thought you were gonna be in the station?"

More silence as Nanu continued to smoke.

Guzma doesn't like how quiet the other man was, so he gently, as much as he could be, kicked Nanu's legs out of being drawn up.

Nanu reluctantly flattened them out after another nudge, releasing a slow sigh.

Guzma promptly straddled Nanu, and that seemed to break the older cop out of his stupor, even if he still said nothing. Guzma didn't say anything either, merely reaching up to steal the cigarette out of Nanu's mouth. Guzma took a drag, let it out, and gave Nanu a challenging look.

Nanu merely produced another.

Both men smoked in silence, before Guzma stubbed the one he had out. Guzma did the same to Nanu's, drawing forth another, more agitated sigh. Guzma ignored this as he gripped the back of the cop's head as Guzma leaned over to kiss him. The punk was pleasd when Nanu's arms slowly wrapped around his back, holding Guzma loosely. Another sigh, this time less forceful, allowed Guzma the oppostunity to deepen the kiss. The punk broke it off soon after, and since Guzma couldn't think of anything better to say, he opted to update Nanu about the run in with his father.

"I went back and talked with my old man." Guzma muttered. "M'sorry for what he said earlier."

"It really doesn't make me feel better about what is going on between us when you say things like that." Nanu said, gaining some life to him as he gave Guzma a stern look. "Referring to your father as such and then saying the same of me..."

"Fine then." Guzma got off of Nanu and sat down next to him, urging the relunctant man to sit on his lap. Just like Guzma wanted earlier that morning. "Sorry for my dadbein' rude like that." Guzma hugged Nanu to him, again pleased when Nanu's head rested aganst his shoulder, the cops legs off the side of Guzma's lap. "You're my old man."

Nanu let out a groan.

"Kinda hard to change the nickname at this point." Guzma let out a laugh. "Other than 'cop', ya know."

There was a short silence as Guzma held Nanu against him, not entirely sure if he should say anything or not.

"Are Scizor and Golisopod all right?" Nanu asked suddenly.

"Oh. They should both be able to recover all right, though Scizor…might take some more time with its wings so damaged. Both will need to rest, so no battles for them any time soon." Guzma answered. It was much easier to talk about his Pokémon than himself. "Golisopod is lucky that it wasn't one of its larger limbs that was chopped off. The four smaller ones hopefully won't affect it as much. It lucked out havin' an armored outer shell. The back plates will probably scar but that protected it from getting too deep of cuts." Guzma held Nanu closer, voice going quiet. "Sorry, about Persian."

"I thought I would….open up the door of the station and find it waiting for me inside." Nanu said, his tone halting as he sagged against Guzma. "I knew Persian wouldn't be there, but opening the station door to not see it was…"

Guzma rested his chin on Nanu's head. The punk hesitated before he loosely grasped one of Nanu's hands to give it a squeeze. Guzma wasn't exactly he greatest with empathy or sympathy, but he did know that it would have been devastating to lose Golisopod or Scizor. Guzma gripped Nanu's hand more tighty when he felt his shirt beneath his jacket start to damp.

Nanu was….crying?

Of course he was.

Persian had, from the sound of it, been with him for a very long time.

MaryAnn joined the two, carefully propping itself on its hind legs to rest against Nanu.

Nanu used his free hand to carefully loop around the shiny Meowth to help it remain upright as he brought the feline close for a hug.

Guzma didn't know how long they stayed outside like that, but soon enough, Nanu broke the somber air.

"We ought to head indoors, before we catch a cold."

Guzma waiter for the older man to slide of his lap, before silently bringing him up to his feet. Guzma led Nanu around to the front of the station, MaryAnn snuggled to Nanu's chest, purring happily. At the front of the station, both men came to an abrupt halt at the sight of an Alolan Persian sitting a short distance from the door. Guzma grasped Nanu tightly when the cop swayed, the cop's face anguished because he obviously knew that it wasn't his Persian. Guzma bristled at the Pokemon that now stretched up and onto its feet.

MaryAnn let out an excited noise and struggled out of Nanu's arms to run over to the Persian.

The Alolan Persian leaned over so that it could rub cheeks with the shiny Meowth.

"Perhaps it is one of MaryAnn's siblings?" Nanu ventured, when he caught sight of Guzma's visible confusion.

MaryAnn and the Persian growled and mewed back and forth, before Persian vanished into the rain and then returned with a crying bundle of fur, dark purple and cream, held gently in its mouth.

"The hell is that?" Guzma asked, as Nanu slowly stepped forward to accept the sodden scrap of fur.

"I'm not familiar with this Pokemon." Nanu said, as he looked the skinny little creature over, its green eyes watching him warily. Nanu rearranged the Pokemon so that the small feline was held against his chest and began to gently pet it.

The baby Pokemon eleicited a tiny purr.

Nanu smiled sadly down at it.

Guzma waited for MaryAnn to wave goodbye to the Perisan before he leaned over and picked it up.

Nanu stood there in the rain as he stared down at the little Pokémon, and made no complaints over Guzma leading him toward the front door of the police station. Nanu entered inside with Guzma, and silently closed the door, shutting out the rain.

Guzma absently pet MaryAnn between the ears as he watched Nanu walk over the couch.

Nanu, still soaked, sat on a couch with a towel from a nearby chair, to dry the small Pokémon before himself.

Guzma hated the sadness but knew that it would be useless and quite stupid of him to tell Nanu to snap out of it.

No one could just 'get over' a Pokemon dying. It would take time.

Guzma slouched onto the couch next to Nanu and leaned against him, resting an arm on the back of the couch.

Nanu hesitated before he leaned into Guzma's side, as MaryAnn curled up on Guzma's lap and let out a yawn. Nanu made no protest when Guzma moved his arm to rest over Nanu's shoulders and brought him in closer.

Guzma nuzzled his nose against the side of Nanu's neck. The punk closed his eyes, feeling Nanu's right hand come to rest over a knee. Guzma moved his left hand over Nanu's, and felt the sensation of Nanu turning his hand over to grasp his.

This was awkward.

Guzna wasn't the best at comforting someone. He also hadn't expected to fall asleep like that but he did.

-x-x-x-

Nanu woke up still half in Guzma's embrace, the small baby Pokemon the wild Perisan had given him curled up in a tight ball on his lap. Nanu carefully moved out of Guzma's embrace, and took the baby Pokémon over to his computer, and did some research to find out what it was.

Accoring to his findings, it was a Purrloin, a pre-evolution of Leipard.

Nanu scowled.

It seemed like he was going to have to tell a certain someone to keep his Pokémon under closer watch. Purrloin weren't native to Alola, and were, in fact, from Unova. A region that Grimsely certainly was from, in addition to having a Leipard. But that talk was going to have to wait until another day. Preferably once everything with the Ultra Beasts had been resolved.

A few Purrloin being born into the region shouldn't upset any balances, but perhaps he could have the Mewoth lazing around the station go out and look.

Nanu pet the small Purrloin, smiling down at how it had stretched out of the curled up ball it had been.

The previous events suddenly hit him hard.

Nanu took a deep breath and let it out, before he rested his elbows on the table and pressed the heels of his palms against his closed eyes. He could't help but feel as if he had been cut as deeply as Persian had been.

Purrloin tried to comfort Nanu, teaching up with a paw. It managed to succeed in partially drawing his attention, and purred as it was pet again.

Nanu went still when Guzma was suddenly there next him, and leaning over the side of the chair to give him a brief kiss. One of Guzma's hands picked the Purrloin up and moved it onto the desk, so that he could straddle Nanu's lap, the fingers of the punk's other hand into short gray hair.

There was no talking as the kiss began to grow into something more.

Nanu realized that Guzma was probably trying to distract him in the only way he could think of, apart from trying to pick a fight with him. Nanu humored Guzma for awhile, before he decided he had to bring things to a halt. Nanu pressed a hand to Guzma's chest and lightly shoved, bringing the kiss to an end as Guzma reluctantly pulled back. Nanu was much too distracted by past events that he couldn't fully allow himself be in the moment.

"As much as I think a distraction would work...I don't think I can get my head into doing anything…strenuous, for the time being." Nanu managed to say.

"You could just say yer not in the mood." Guzma said, but he did stop and slid off of Nanu's lap. "But just so ya know...can't avoid yer boy here for too long."

Nanu managed the barest hint of a smile at that.

"I was…uh…thinkin' I should go check on my Pokemon…" Guzma mumbled.

"I'm not planning on going anywhere unless something comes up." Nanu said with a shake of his head, when he saw that Guzma was reluctant to leave him alone. Nanu tilted his head back to allow for another kiss when he saw the punk lean over.

"I'll be back…" Guzma said, getting to his feet before awkwardly hovering near the couch, as if thinking he should ay more, before he grumbled something unintelligible and left the station.

Nanu cracked a smile at the sight, before he scooped Purrlin up off the table and took it over to a counter in the kitchen, where many Meowth were waiting for their breakfast. Nanu glanced around the window.

Lunch?

How long had he slept?

Nanu notes that several of the Meowth were staring wide-eyed at the Purrlon, which tried to shrink against Nnau out of sight.

"You lot be nice to this one. It probably hasn't met an many Alolan Meowth before." Nanu warned his cats, before he set Purrloin on the counter. As Nanu got the food, he saw a few of the Mewoth pointing and seemingly complimenting the Purrloin on its fur and the shape of its tail, which made the Purrloin shift around in embarrassment.

Nanu set the food out in bowls, and a fleeting smile crossed his lips over the way two Meowth helped Purrloin break the food into smaller pieces, which made it easer for Purrloin's smaller jaw to eat.

A few Meowth kept their distance behind furniture or corners of a wall, a little suspicious of the newcomer.

Nanu wasn't sure how long he sat there watching his Pokemon eat, but he did jolt in surprise when the station door slammed open. Had he had his gun, he would have drawn it. Nanu turned around, heart racing just a little more than he would have liked, his guard going up over the intrusion.

Looker stood just inside the door, Dulse coming inside behind him and closing the door in a much politer manner. The gray eyed man was speaking rapidly, clearly flustered, agitated and-

Nanu sat up a little straighter from the chair he had slouched on, and inspected Looker closely. The man looked as if…as if he had seen a ghist.

And not just a ghost type Pokémon.

Nanu knew that he was off his game because of the loss of his Pokemon, but he managed to pull himself together and took control of the situation.

"Looker. Slowly, so that I can understand you."

"Dulse…" Looker took a deep breath, and then another, "He had managed to capture two Bacephelon. UB Blast. We had been speaking, of other UBs, when we came upon the beasts." Looker trailed off, looking unnerved.

It must have been bad, whatever he'd seen. Not much could faze the man.

"He was frozen in place after the capture of the beasts." Dulse picked up the thread of the conversation in an even cadence. "I do not know what he saw, but it must have been enough to lower his guard."

Looker said nothing as he lowered himself onto the couch, where he was immediately swarmed by Meowth. The man's hair was askew, which the Meowth had fun batting at, as Looker continued to look visibly spooked.

"I am gong to return the Bacephelon to their homes, and then I will return. There are only a few beasts left, from our calculations." Dulse gave a jerky motion with his hands that meant to be 'Alola' before he took his leave.

"What happened?" Nanu turned his attention to Looker. "This isn't like you."

"I…it is a hard thing to speak of." Looker said in a subdued tone. "I had avoided the UB attacks as Dulse battled then, where one of the creatures used their own head to creature an explosion." Looker's hands clasped, in an attempt to stop the shaking. "When the smoke cleared, I could have sworn that I saw a familiar silhouette ." Looker took in a deep breath and let it out. "For a moment, Nanu, I could have sworn I saw MaryAnn." Anguish crossed Lookers face before it was replaced with weariness. "When I looked again, no one was there, and Dulse had captured the UBs." Looker stared down at his lap. "It had to be a mistake. A trick of the light and smoke. MaryAn's wounds…they had been great. And there is...there is no way to know what that UB, which we now know was a Guzzlord, did with her back then." Looker unclasped his hands and brought them to thread through his hair. "Did it leave her to die? Did it...eat her? It still haunts me, wondering her fate. Perhaps being in danger led me to imagine her."

"I thought I heard her voice, a year and a half ago. Remember?" Nanu reminded Looker. "I dismissed it as a nightmare…one I have had many times over."

"Perhaps visiting her grave would ease my mind." Looked said eventually. "Despite there being no body, it has been some time since my last visit."

"Maybe a trip both of us can make, after this Ultra Beast business is over with." Nanu said quietly.

A companionable silence passed, with few words exchanged following it. Speculation of what could have been, had they been able to protect MaryAnn. If Looker hadn't hesitated, and Nanu hadn't been injured. Neither man knew what to believe, as the past was the past, and couldnt be changed. And when Looker suggested they go out to gather further information, and parted ways, it still left the questions of the past in the air.

Nanu…he enjoyed the distraction, as the pain of losing Persian continued to come to the forefront of his mind, when he didn't have something else to foucs on. When Nanu returned to his station after hours of gathering intel, he stopped short just inside the door.

There were a few children in the police station, much too young to be trial participants.

The moment the children notice the older cop, a few become teary eyed.

"Mr. Nanu! Acerola didn't come to Aether House last night."

"She still isn't there."

"Acerola said she wouldn't be gone long."

"Not there?" Nanu tensed up before relaxing, telling himself it was coincidence. That there wasn't anything to worry about. too concerned at first. "Did someone request a late trial? An early morning one?"

"No." One young girl shook her head, holding an Alolan Ratata to her chest. "We asked Moon to go check. There aren't any trials being held."

"Oh. Mr. Nanu. This was outside the door when we came here. Another kid, a boy with a Yungoos, held something in both hands. "I picked it up so we could get out of the rain and wait for you."

Nanu accepted the item, but as soon as he got a good look at it, his breath hitched. Nanu's chest becomes tight as he forgot to breathe for a few seconds as he went over the impliations.

He was holding a tooth.

It wouldn't have been anything surprising except for the fact that the tooth was larger than one of his hands. Worse, there were etches into the tooth. Jagged words.

I said you'd pay.

Nanu stood rooted to the spot, his hands shaking as he stared at the roughly cut, near-unreadable handful of words.

The phone rang.

"Stay inside. Don't leave until I have found Acerola." Nanu told the children gathered loosely around him.

The kids pick up on the seriousness, and listen, going off further into the station to play with the Meowth and the shy Purrloin.

Nnau answered the phone.

"You have a tooth?" Looker's voice was grim.

"Yes." Nanu said, casting a look down at it. "You think it's the same tooth from that creature we hunted a decade ago? The Guzzlord?"

"From what I reminder of the creature, yes, it seems likely." Looker's tone grew serious. "Do you think someone is toying with us? Few people know of MaryAnn, even within the International Police."

Before Nanu could respond, an officer entered the station.

"Kahuna Nanu, there has been a sighting of some creature in Resolution Cave on Poni Isalnd. Kahuna Hapu is away and-" The officer looked nervous, and worried. "There have been sightings in the same area of someone that matches Acerola-"

"Nanu." Looker's voice was pleading now. "I heard that. Please, don't don't go alone." The the worry was clear. "Wait for reinforcements to arrive. With these teeth and the warnings on them...it has to be a trap."

"No time." Nanu said shortly.

"Nanu, please, don't-"

Nanu hung the phone, ran over to his desk, and retrieved his gun. He brushed past the officer before he could protest Nanu's actions.

Honchkrow took to the air with its trainer as soon as Nanu let it out of it's Pokéball.

Trap or not, Nanu wasn't going to let anything happen to Acerola, if she was actually in the area with such a dangerous creature. Nanu had already lost one person in the past and a Pokemon recently to those otherworldly creatures.

He wouldn't lose anyone else.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

A/N:

:)