...What? Where…? Pokemon Center rooms weren't usually this color, were they? Which one had she gone to? She didn't make it to Rustboro, did she? No, it… Fallarbor? Maybe leaving in such a rush the first time she was there was why she didn't remember-
Wait, no, the Skarmory. She hadn't made it to the Center in Fallarbor either, had she? But then where…
She could dimly make out her reflection in… Wait, was that a…? Those were her vitals on a screen, right? So she was in a hospital? But why?
Only after about two minutes of staring blankly did she finally process that her reflection sported bandages rather than her signature hat.
She finally started shifting her position to get a better look a- "..Sera?"
"Oh? Good morning," Sera said, surprisingly unenthusiastically for someone waiting at a hospital bedside.
"What happened?"
"I'll explain later," Sera told her. "Just go back to sleep."
...Okay? Morgan waited another minute, then asked, "How long have I slept already, though?"
"...Hm?"
"I said…" Wait. These were certainly the words Morgan intended, but she was pretty sure it came out a lot more garbled than she meant? She tried repeating herself more slowly, and still definitely caught a few involuntary slips and stutters.
"Oh hey. You're really awake now." She began punching something into her Nav as she answered, "Uh… About five or six hours, I think. Or.. maybe closer to seven? I only know what time I got here, not exactly when it…"
"Wha'd'you mean really awake?" Morgan attempted to ask.
It took Sera a moment to piece together what she meant, but then she gave a single syllable of a sad laugh. "You uh… 'woke up' a few times asking what happened and passing out before I could finish telling you. Then 30 minutes later you'd wake up and ask again. That probably happened four or five times."
"Oh. ...But what did…?"
Sera sighed. "The… official story is that a Pokemon move accidentally flew out of control and caused a rafter beam to fall on you and Norman." Norman…? … Oh. Right. "Cerberus has a… different version…"
"I think… I remember now…"
"Mm…" Forcing a weak smile, Sera said, "Well, then you'll be happy to know that in getting you away, Cerberus tail slammed him and left him with a few cracked ribs."
Morgan couldn't seem to smile in turn, but that did please her to know. "And what is uh… my damage?" Sera prompted her with a 'your?' to make her repeat, "Damage."
"Oh. The worst of it is a cracked skull and a contusion on your left frontal lobe. You're probably gonna have a pair of nasty scars around the hairline there, along with a bunch of cuts and scrapes from your um… wilderness excursion that might end up scarring… Lots of bruises, and I think a broken toe or something? I don't remember if they said broke or fractured but it was one of the small ones at least."
"Fun," droned Morgan. "Guess they aren't my first scars."
Just then, the door burst open, and a frantic Genevieve entered the room. "Is she still awake? Oh, sweetie, how are you feeling?"
"Uh…?" Her first instinct was to say 'like shit' but she might be a little more numb than bad actually? What did they have her on?
"Cerberus will want to see her, I'm sure," Genevieve told Sera, who nodded and reached in her pocket to release the Sceptile. Cerebus looked ready to cry when he saw Morgan, laying his head on the blankets near her feet and clutching them with both hands as he sat in the floor.
"...You uh. Said he… saved me?" Morgan asked, and Sera nodded. "... Good boy."
Genevieve took Sera's Nav then, and did something Morgan didn't catch- probably a code?- until it powered down. Only now did she realize her own Nav was nowhere to be seen, just now, either. So they just… had Sera's going until she woke up, she guessed? Oh uh… kay. "This is all my fault…" mumbled Genevieve, earning a confused look from both the young trainers.
Sera was particularly perplexed. "...Viva, hon." Was that a nickname? Were they always on such friendly terms? "I'm kind of a self-blame gymnastics champ over here and even I'm struggling to see what kind of hoops you're jumping-"
"I'm the one who wanted to be a sponsor. Norman never really did and I talked him into it."
"...Oh." Sera shrugged. "Okay yeah I see where you're coming from then." … Morgan wanted to say something about how she probably wasn't helping, but what were words? Just following their conversation was kind of straining without getting involved.
"I… We can't have kids, since I'm a- Well… He's wanted to adopt for a while, and I don't… really…" She sighed. "Of course now I'm sort of glad we didn't… B-but I convinced him. I said sponsoring a competitor would be fun, said we could get all the parental pride of seeing a kid succeed under our guidance without all the..." She shuddered and made an odd gesture to just suggest 'kids'. "I convinced him it would be great for publicity if you did well, too… I knew he was only going along with it to appease me, but I never thought…"
Wait… "You… believe, uh… us? I guess?"
Genevieve bit her lip and fought back tears. "He's… He's never done anything like this before, but I… I've never seen him take it out anywhere but on the battlefield or on himself, but he doesn't handle stress well, and as much as he loved Vigoroth, I can see-... Well, that and I… do tend to trust the word of Pokemon…"
Morgan flubbed together some combination of trying to ask if Viv believed Sera and asking if she could talk to Pokemon herself. It took a moment, but the woman seemed to catch her overall meaning of at least one side and shook her head. "I didn't have to. The way Cerberus was acting when I got here and the blackout both made it… pretty…"
Sera rolled her eyes. "And of course, the recording is edited now if you watch the playback, so it blacks out before the end of the battle. But Viva and I were both watching when it was live, and… Yeah."
Heh… Was Sera stalking her now or-... Wait… "...W-why are you here?" Morgan asked Sera suddenly.
"Me? You were- well, you are hurt. How could I not-"
"N-no, I mean…" Words.
Sera thought a moment, then answered, "Oh… Yeah, I guess this wing's usually reserved for family, but… Well, technically you don't have any in Hoenn, but even if you did, I'm… not entirely immune to abusing daddy's position for the right-"
Dammit that still wasn't- "I mean… Why… here?" Sera seemed to be drawing a blank, and Morgan managed to spit out something vaguely resembling "Rustboro."
… "Oh… I, um… I mean I was a little worried when the feed blacked out, but when Viva called to tell me you'd been hurt, I sort of… Flash can jump… really far really quickly now, as it turns out… It… wasn't as smooth a ride as Raikou, and he'll be resting all day to recover, but…"
Morgan didn't know if she should be touched or worried by this knowledge, but both were overwhelmed by, "But why…"
"Wha'd'you mean 'why'?" Sera asked, incredulous.
"...The girl cares a lot about you, dear. What more reason does she need?"
"B-but I, it…" Morgan stopped a moment, found the words she wanted, then went over them a few times before slowly saying, "I basically dumped you without even talking about it. ...I. Think? I'm not sure if we were… really, but…?"
Sera just blinked, and for a moment Morgan thought her words came out too garbled again, but Sera then answered, "What's your point? I mean… So did Nik, basically? Do you really think that's all it would take to get me to give up on a friend…?"
… There was too much information in that response to process right now.
Fortunately, it seemed Genevieve could see how badly Morgan was doing, suggesting, "Maybe it's better we let you rest a while, now. Would you like us to leave Cerberus to keep you company?" After a few seconds, Morgan nodded gently. "We'll come check on you in a few hours, dear. Buzz a nurse or have Cerberus come get someone if you need anything."
It was some time the following afternoon, and Morgan was still fluctuating between sore all over and numb depending on how recent her dose was, and still struggling with some syntax and motor skills, but she was already a lot more comprehensible than she'd been upon first waking, which she hoped was a good sign. Currently, Sera was back for another visit.
"They wanna keep you a few more days," she was telling Morgan, though the doctors would certainly relay as much themselves soon enough. "But Viv's getting your room all set up back in Littleroot, and once you're there, she can call in therapists and whatnot as often as you…. Morgan?"
"Hm? Sorry, I'm listening." Sort of. "So… I guess you sort of win our little race by default, huh?"
"... Wha'd'you mean?"
What did she mean, wha'd'you mean? "I? Figured I'd be like, disqualified or something? Or at the very least that you can probably get your last three badges before I'm even up to traveling again." At least Genevieve had eventually brought by the badge that Norman had neglected to actually give her, so Morgan did have her proper five now. She'd dropped out of easier pursuits less than halfway through before, so this didn't seem too bad…
But Sera tilted her head. "Of course not. We started this together, and we're gonna end it neck and neck. I'm just on hiatus until you recover."
"What? Why?" … "Don't answer that." She didn't know whether to be flattered or pissed by that level of- just… Sera. That level of Sera. Ugh, it almost made her nauseous. That or it was a side effect of the medication, which literally listed nausea as its most common side effect. But it was probably Sera.
"I'll take my Nav out now and then to give fans something to tie them over, and give them updates on how you're doing. Nothing big, though. I might hit up some contests. Will probably catch some research Pokemon for dad." She suddenly grinned and laughed lightly. "I can't believe that Skarmory worked the other day, by the way. I mean, I managed to have a friend pull a few strings in the network to up our odds but it still required some pretty careful tim-" Morgan was staring in disbelief. "...Annnd, you didn't check the OT did you." Sera flashed her a smirk. "You should do that."
"... Why do I get the feeling it's 'Sera'."
"Serafeyna, actually."
"... What?"
"My full name. That's what my Pokemon are registered under. Serafeyna."
"Is that real or is that like, a fairy-tale-sona name or something." It sounded pretty fake. Morgan could just imagine it had some extra dumb 'otherworldly' spelling, too.
Sera frowned. "No, that's my real name. How do you not-? I guess I haven't used it much, hm…"
Morgan just shook her head. "Anyway… I uh… Thank you for the Skarmory, apparently, but for one, how did you even-"
"I'd caught it for research when passing through. I mean. It's metal and flies. But not like a plane, like a bird. That seems deserving of more investigation than it's gotten." She winked. "But one Skarmory is just as good as another for that, and I figured daddy wouldn't notice the difference."
"...Right. But for another, I just… As much as I like and will definitely use it, I'd kind of rather if you didn't fix my messes for me without telling me, it's… I'd just really rather you not."
"Oh." Sera frowned. "S...orry? Or uh, noted, I guess."
"It's fine," sighed Morgan. "Just… Don't let it happen again."
A few weeks later came the first true day of summer, and did it ever feel like it. Morgan had been doing pretty well with her recovery, though her psychiatric specialist did have some concerns about how it may have affected her mood and impulse control. Sera thought he probably just didn't realize how moody Morgan could be before, heh.
But today, Sera was not visiting Morgan. Today she was in Rustboro, hoping to figure out something fun to do away from home. Maybe she should actually just head through Rusturf to the Verdanturf contest hall? That might take a while, though, and she'd prefer to do something sooner than later…
She would have asked her Pokemon for suggestions, but while she did have them on her, she tried not to use them lest she attract the attention of another trainer, and end up in a battle, and wind up accidentally training while Morgan still couldn't.
With no ideas, she ended up people watching in hopes of figuring one out.
She noticed several kids with similar patterns on their shirts. Was that a new trend or were they just all together? Ooh, that dress was super cute and she wanted one. And that was such a cute design on that sw- sweater? How was anyone wearing long sleeves to-
She took in the rest of the figure as he started to pass by. "T-Tabitha?"
He seemed startled a bit to hear his name called, looking around. "Did I hear one of my fans?" His eyes settled on Sera then. "Oh. You're that kid that's always popping up," he all but groaned.
Sera took a somewhat defensive stance. "W-what are you doing here?"
"What?" For a split second, he looked truly incredulous, but then he seemed to get it and rolled his eyes. "Oh, right. Sorry to disappoint, but I just live here, okay?" He shrugged, but then shook his head and added- Sera unsure if he was serious or joking- "Man, I can't believe you're even following me around in my private life now."
"O-...oh." Well then… "S-so… You're not Team Magma today, and I'm not a League Competitor. Is that about the gist of it?"
Somewhere between smug and annoyed, he answered, "Oh, I'm always Team Magma. But close enough, I guess." When she did not respond right away, he asked, "...Why? Do you intend to fight me here and now for things we tried and failed to do, or might eventually do?"
By force of habit, Sera bit her tongue. Taking a thorough, paranoid look around, first, she answered, "N-no… I uh.. I guess not..."
"Mm." He waited. ...And waited? "So do you have something you wanted to say or can I go? Honestly I'd rather not be shadowed all day by an annoying kid."
Sera put on a smug smile then. "Then good news, actually. It's my birthday, meaning I am now not a kid~"
"Hyuh?" He squinted skeptically. "I'm not sure I believe you…"
She grinned sheepishly. "Okay, well… It's technically tomorrow datewise, but I always celebrate on the solstice regardless of what day that falls from year to year."
Shifting to his signature sneer/smirk combo, he asked, "And you decided to celebrate in this hellhole? There's nothing to do here…"
… No, Littleroot had nothing to do. Man it was way too obvious that people had grown up in cities sometimes. "I mean it's no Mauville, but it's easier to get to from-..." How much did he know? Maybe best not to advertise that she and especially Morgan were more vulnerable than usual right now. Tabitha seemed… surprisingly calm, but she had no way of ensuring that either team wouldn't be interested in revenge for Mt. Chimney. Though there was still the matter of…
"Right. Well, have fun with that, kid." Tabitha started to walk past her, but Sera called out-
"Hey, wait a sec!"
He sighed heavily. "What is it now?"
Cautiously closing the gap, she asked, "C-could we, maybe… talk?"
"... Sorry, is that not what we're currently-"
"A-about… Magma," she murmured.
Tabitha looked her over skeptically, until Sera started getting worried, but finally he shrugged. "Yeah, all right. Follow me, I know a place."
The walk was mostly silent, Tabitha offering very brief responses or deflections if he acknowledged her attempts to make conversation at all. But she would have gotten less talkative as they went anyway, seeing as how she was being led into a very run-down, very questionable-looking part of town.
He… probably wouldn't lead her out somewhere just to mug her, would he? Or… worse… N-no, that didn't seem like Team Magma's style. They were… pragmatic, certainly, but seemed more organized than that. ...Hopefully?
All the same she found herself reaching for a PokeBall, juuuuust in-
"I wouldn't do that," Tabitha warned her flatly.
"W-what?"
"Fancy Pokemon like yours are only going to attract attention, and the point is to lie low."
"O-oh…" She thought it over then, and asked, "What about my Nuzleaf?"
He stopped and looked back a few seconds as he thought it over, then shrugged. "I guess, yeah, if you feel like you need it. They're common enough."
She sighed in relief, then released Pelt as they continued walking. It made her feel safer to have the extra escort, but the fact that Tabitha didn't seem to mind made her feel a little less wary of his intentions, as well. ...Unless of course he just thought a Grass-type would be easily dealt she was probably way overthinking this wasn't she, she should probably stop now.
At last, they came to a small restaurant. The decor inside was very simple, but warm, feeling more 'rustic' than 'cheap' to Sera. She couldn't tell if the dim lighting was intentional or not, but it seemed to work, and the booths were all partitioned by semi-opaque curtains. As they took a seat in one, Sera observed, "This is actually kind of nice." Within seconds of sitting, Pelt got back up and wandered off, but Sera was sure he'd be fine.
"You haven't even tried the food," commented Tabitha. "It's amazing what you can find when you stop giving in to preconceptions."
Hmm… She supposed it was true that she'd never have wandered out this far, let alone chosen to try this place, on her own. Or… was that meant to have some double meaning about the public image of Team Magma? She wasn't sure if that was intentional or not.
Pelt returned then with a booster seat, happily climbing up in it and kicking his feet idly as he sat at the table with them.
A waitress came to offer them menus and take their drink orders, Pelt pointing his out on the menu. "Well aren't you a cutie," she said to Pelt, who beamed at the compliment. Turning back to the trainers, she asked, "Will this be separate or together?"
Sera hadn't given that any thought, but Tabitha promptly answered, "Together is fine." The waitress nodded, then left them to look over their order. Once she was gone, Sera couldn't hide her coy grin. "...What?"
"My, my. An atmosphere like this and offering to pay? If you were interested all along, all you had to do was ask~" she teased.
He leered and droned, "..Don't read into it. I literally just wanted an excuse to blow some of Devon's money."
She blinked. "Wait, what? Are you still working for them after-?"
He smirked. "Of course not, but their security is a joke. At least for someone like me. It might be months before they notice the discrepancies, and it'll be far longer before they figure out how to lock me out completely."
Even Sera didn't know if her laugh was more sincere or uncomfortable. "I… see." She should… maybe report that? Maybe? But she could admit, Devon had started seeming… questionable, lately… Not enough that she'd fight them herself, but maybe holding her tongue wouldn't be so bad. She could understand why they'd cover for Norman, but it still made her blood boil to think about. Poor Morgan…
"That," Tabitha went on, "and it seemed less likely we'd be seen by anyone who may recognize us both here." Between the semi-privacy of the booths, the neighborhood, and the low number of customers at the moment, Sera had to agree. "Even if one of us had to go and be a celebrity," he muttered.
"S-...sorry," she laughed sheepishly. On the bright side, fans were used to seeing her with a signature look, and her hair either down or in a ponytail. Her vaguely gothic-inspired dress and pigtails today might be enough to… at least keep people from instantly knowing her at a glance, at any rate. … They also might not be helping with the whole 'I am not a kid' claim but whatever. Plenty of adults wore pigtails, probably.
He returned his attention to his menu, then, and a minute or two later asked, "You know what you're ordering?" Sera and Pelt both nodded. "..You have two options, so I hope so," he said to Pelt. Pelt crossed his arms and stuck out his tongue at that before sulking. "So then…" Tabitha pushed his menu aside and leaned on the table, face and voice both becoming more serious. "What do you want to know about our Team?"
Oh no. Now that she was put on the spot it was harder to voice. Should she come right out and ask about the meteorite? Did Tabitha know Maxie had given it to her? Would it be unwise to tell him if he didn't? Instead, she opted for, "...First, I guess… Why did you agree to talk to me?"
He took a moment to consider his answer. "Because as much as I struggle to see why, Leader Maxie seems to think highly of you." R-really? Sera sort of knew that already but to hear it put in those words still- well she hoped she wasn't blushing. "And because even I must admit that your interest seemed… more… genuine than I'd have expected. If there is an opportunity to be had here, I would be a fool to let it slip past."
"I see…"
"So-" He cut off as the waitress returned to take their orders, then leered at Pelt as the Nuzleaf defiantly ordered from the human menu rather than accepting generic Pokemon Food, but he didn't say anything otherwise. When the waitress had gone again, Tabitha continued. "So let me ask, then. Why was it that when encountering an Admin like myself, your first thought was not to run or fight or call for help, but to talk?"
"B-because…" Sera averted her gaze, twiddling her thumbs. "Because I don't like a lot of the things you've done, but I don't want to believe you're bad people… Because… even though you guys left my now-Swampert with some pretty bad scars, and even though you- you personally hurt my now-Blaziken…" She bit her lip. Now that she was listing all this, she was starting to have second thoughts… "And Maxie… destroyed my favorite cloak that I'd had for… almost six years… And I've… seen you sacrifice some Koffing… … Do you guys revive those?"
She didn't imagine they'd be able to, given they likely weren't parading into Pokemon Centers often, so she was surprised when Tabitha shrugged, "Yeah, of course."
Oh. Well… "See? That's… better than it looked. I want to think there's more like that."
She hoped he wasn't as bored as he looked… "Why though?"
"Because… I'm not fond of all your methods, but I like what you're trying to do? There is so much water, and overcrowding is such a problem in the habitable areas we have, and…"
"Kid," he cut her off. "I know the draw of the Team in general. What doesn't make sense is how someone in your position- someone so… indoctrinated by League lies, someone who has personally fought both with Pokemon and fists with Leader Maxie- seems so convinced on seeing the best in us."
Ah… How could she put that? "I guess..." She considered the events of the past month-and-a-half. "Everyone I've met seems so… decent." At his sudden offended look, she tried not to laugh and corrected, "No, I mean like… Being a decent person. You don't strike me as bloodthirsty criminals. In the museum, I got the impression that you guys were willing to kidnap Captain Stern, but would have left peacefully if he cooperated. There weren't an overt threats, and I… think I might have caused the only property damage, actually…" She cringed and smiled sheeplishly.
"The grunt I met that day- I wish I'd caught his name…- he was so helpful and patient and willing to look out for me. And Maxie himself took the time to talk to me about Magma's goals even though he could see right through my accidental 'disguise'. And before I even started hearing about you as a team I met this other Grunt who-... Okay, I almost forgot she actually robbed me but only a little, and- well there was a lot to like about her other than that." Sera still hadn't met anyone else who shared their gift…
Tabitha half-stifled his jeering laugh. "Only a little robbery, huh?"
"I mean.. She took some food and stuff but I wasn't hurting for it or anything. B-but yeah! That's… Kind of my point, actually. I don't get the feeling you guys want to hurt anyone. You needed a meteorite but you're not the ones who kidnapped Professor Cozmo. You're not the ones who set fire to the cable car stations on Mt. Chimney." Something about that seemed to amuse him, but she went on.
"Even… Even when Maxie was… probably actually trying to kill me, it… didn't feel like he wanted to hurt me… Does… that make any sense at all?" That wasn't to say he didn't, but that didn't feel like the… focus? Though he had been lashing out, she didn't get the feeling that he... got any satisfaction from it? She guessed? It just… felt different...
Tabitha shrugged. "If you say so. So what, then? You think we're all secretly a bunch of nice people who need the Manic Pixie Dream Girl to come show us the error of our ways and make our lives all better?"
Sera stared a moment. "... Tabitha do you trope."
His eyes went wide, and Sera manage to keep herself from laughing, but Pelt did not, snickering quietly. "You say that like being a scientist and a revolutionary second-in-command means I can't have hobbies."
"Hey, it's fine. Tropes Are Not Bad, even if they do Ruin Your Vocabulary."
He slowly facepalmed, rubbing his temples. "You can stop now."
"Aww, don't tell me a little embarrassment is all it takes to Break The Haughty. What happe-"
"I said shut your mouth," he snapped.
Sera shrunk back. "Yes sir…"
Tabitha gave her a strange look. "Hyeh? ...What are you doing? You have to know I'm not going to buy that 'following orders' routine at this point."
Sera cringed. "Oh… I-... N-no, that's… habit, sorry."
"... Mm." A small silence fell, and their food thankfully came during it, providing a welcome distraction. As Tabitha began to eat, he looked over to Pelt, who was having a fruit salad. "... Wait. Does that thing even need to eat? Don't they photosynthesize?"
Sera laughed softly. "I mean… He can eat…" Pelt flashed Tabitha a smug grin.
He squinted. "Watch it, or I'll pay for ours and make you work for yours."
That did seem to startle Pelt, getting Sera to laugh harder. As he gave her a concerned look, she assured him, "Don't worry, I'd pay for you, sweetie."
Pelt sighed in relief, and Tabitha rolled his eyes. "No, I guess I've got it. Man, you're such an annoying kid, though."
"I'm eighteen," Sera reminded him, muttering a very small 'tomorrow' under her breath. "A full-fledged adult." Only then did it finally occur to her to look him over and question: "..Wait. How old are you, anyway?" He certainly looked younger than the likes of Maxie and Archie.
"... Twenty-six," he answered. Sera raised a brow. "... Almost."
Sera grinned, and asked, "So right at the paradoxical crossroads between a baby and a grumpy old man?"
Tabitha glared and began to snap, "Sh-" But he bit his tongue, instead saying more calmly, if still with a hint of warning, "Please don't."
Sera noticed the shift, but had no idea what to make of that. ".. O-okay. I was just teasing, but sorry, I guess..."
"Whatever." He went back to quietly eating for a minute or two, so Sera did the same (oh hey, this was pretty good), until he asked, "So what do you think you're trying to accomplish, anyway?"
"I… I don't know, honestly." Of course she couldn't just join. That would be… crazy… "... Is it true that you know where Groudon is?"
"I'm not at liberty to discuss Magma's sensitive information or current plans. Nice try."
Sera briefly pouted, but then had an idea. "...Okay, so. Wwwhat about past plans? Could you tell me what you guys were trying on Mt. Chimney?"
He took a moment to consider it. "I guess it's pretty irrelevant now. The short version is we were trying to infuse that meteorite with both Infinity Energy and geothermal energy to create something close to a Mega Stone."
"...Would that sort of Mega Stone be linked to a certain legendary Pokemon that may or may not have been found, and/or be involved in waking a certain Pokemon up?" He said nothing, but smiled and tapped his nose. "But then… Why didn't you need it anymore?"
"Ah-ah. That's getting into current. But suffice it to say we got a lead on a more reliable method than experimenting with meteorites." After a moment, he leered and added, "Of course thanks to someone, it would have taken months of work to get back to those experiments anyway. Seriously, who do you think has to rebuild that sort of thing?" Sera… couldn't say for certain, but she thought she might detect a hint of jest in his voice.
In turn, she teased, "I'll keep that in mind next time."
His face fell flat. "... I'd really rather there not be a next time." When that prompted her to laugh, his eyes widened a moment before rolling in a sort of 'you got me' expression.
"But… No I'd… I can't promise I won't step in if things get too… shady. But as long as no one's getting hurt, and I can do so without… I guess 'sacrificing my position' sounds bad but…"
He raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You're talking to someone who worked as a mole for years."
"Eheh, right, well. Something like that. But yeah, if I can maintain all of… that, moral code and all… Then I really would… like to help? If you'd have me… I'm sure I have access to some sort of resources that might be useful?"
He sat back, and sized her up. "Hyun… Don't think we won't be on-guard, after the stunts you've pulled. But I suppose that I, Tabitha, am willing to grant you one last chance on behalf of the team. I suggest you do not waste it."
Sera's whole face lit. "Thank you, really!" Of course, this did present the question of how exactly she could uh…. Ooh, wait! Hesitantly, she asked, "Do.. you happen to know the secret of adventure, of romance?"
"Hyuh?" Flatly, he answered, "Is it awesome, for real? The best place ever to chill?"
Sera did her best not to laugh. "...Gods, Aarune has to come up with a better code phrase."
Tabitha shrugged. "But with such an idiotic phrase, there is approximately zero chance of anyone ever saying it on accident."
And now came the laughter. "Fair enough. But so…" She pulled out her regular phone. "Could um…" She flashed a cheesy, sheepish grin. "Could I get your number…?"
