Almost two months it's been since I've updated this, or anything for that matter. This is the first chapter I've made since a head injury, so my style may seem a little different. That and the fact the new editor is... well rubbish frankly, this chapter may have really dodgy errors. I don't think it'll cut off anything, but I'm hoping it won't.
I've finally got around to several things I've wanted to get in this story for ages.
1) Anti-Dracoshipping. (Oh how I've waited for this moment! I hate it sooooo much.)
2) Eonshipping Triangle
3) A cross-over with 'A Kiss of Fire.' (eight years after where it is currently, at chapter two.)
4) Hint's about Lazlo's condition.
5) The illusive Cloning machine Demonstration. (I've redesigned the machine, but you won't really be able to tell until I get a drawing on imageshack.)
Now absolutely no one is going to bother reading because I just summarised the entire plot. Whoops.
Lateral Ganon
Warning: This chapter, I think, pushes the borders of the T rating.
Disclaimer: You knew those eight chapters ago.
# # # Chapter Specific Notes # # #
Italics are Teal's Telepathy.
When Lazlo mentions the town has been vegetised, basically, everyone's looking the other way when the actions happening, and they don't notice anything. Think of zombies that have had their fill of brains, and are just lumbering around aimlessly. Look at a busy high-street, and you've got the idea.
Reader's who cross reference my stories, you might recognise Teal.
Chapter 9: Off the Scopes
"What are you doing?" Ganon asked as he watched the Riolu dashing around his room excitedly after his father had left. The pup stopped running and looked at him.
"It's my first mission outside! I've never been given a task out-of-house before other than fetching things."
"Great…" Ganon murmured, walking over to the door and opening it, "And aren't we going somewhere, or do you just want to burn a circle in my carpet with your feet?"
Laura looked up as two figures entered the reception hall where she was waiting. As soon as Moxis remembered who he was taking for the trip, he blanched. Ganon noticed, and nudged him with his foot.
"What's your problem?" Ganon asked.
"Nothing. Just first mission nerves." Moxis lied back. Ganon shook his head and looked back at the Typhlosion. It blinked at him, and he knew he would have to make the first move.
"Are you ready for your tour madam?" He said courteously. Moxis glared at him angrily.
"You just upstaged me!" He whispered, "I was supposed to say that!"
Ganon smirked down at the Riolu, and pushed him forwards towards the Typhlosion slightly. He smiled nervously at her, and backed up again.
"On second thoughts, you handle the talking."
"You're not nervous about talking to girls are you Moxis?" Melissa said in a sickly sweet voice from behind the counter. Laura looked between Melissa and Moxis apprehensively. Moxis made a face at Melissa.
"I'm not a Lucario. I have no interest in girls other than as friends." He replied tersely. Melissa smiled kindly at him, and the sight made Ganon want to retch. Because he didn't like Melissa, he decided he actually would retch. Melissa glared at him evilly.
Back in the underground chambers, a Meditite was watching a screen in its typical trance. The whole room was a massive bank of monitors, each one with a Meditite closely following and manipulating the information on screen. The first one noticed a large anomaly in a satellite feed. He zoomed in on the patch and looked at the long wavy silhouette present against the green backdrop. He typed in a further command, and a red light flashed over his booth, alongside a computerised voice, since he'd lost his own.
"Bogey."
Within a matter of seconds, a further thirty more calls of bogey had been activated as other Meditites found the anomoly. An Aipom on an elevated platform at one end grabbed a handle on the wall with its tail, and started pulling it. One turn, two turns, three turns… a high pitched wail began to sound through all three miles of the building. Air Raid.
Everyone in the reception jumped as a rolling klaxon suddenly started blaring, accompanied by a spinning orange light overhead. Melissa immediately started hammering away at the counter until a control panel came up. She read the feed the Meditites had put on every screen, and swore violently. Lazlo teleported next to her, and gave her a reproachful slap.
"My son's learnt enough swear-words off you." He chided. Melissa scowled back at him.
"Well if you haven't noticed, it's justified. We've got a bogey on radar."
"I'm not deaf!" Lazlo bellowed at her before remotely cutting off the alarm in the room, "But I need to ask this. Has Teal been through here?"
Melissa paused. It was only a few hours ago.
"Shit." She muttered under her breath, "She got posted outside to keep an eye on your little tour group."
"ETA?" Lazlo asked.
"Four minutes. It'll take Teal ten minutes to get anywhere safe though from her position and that would be if she knew. We can't get a signal from her comms." Melissa read out from the monitor. Lazlo face-palmed.
"Of all the damn timing… Boy!" He called over to Ganon.
"What?" Ganon asked. Moxis gasped as he saw his father pull off the gun holster at his belt, and throw it to Ganon. The Eon fumbled the catch, and almost dropped it. Laura winced.
"I can't go after a bogey now. Kenai made the order exceptionally explicit. Just keep that on ice setting and you'll be fine. Just remember not to shoot Teal though."
"Dad, why can't I do this? I can at least aim straight. No offence." Moxis added hastily as he saw Ganon's look of indignation. Lazlo shook his head.
"So you're saying that you would fight hand to hand with it?" Lazlo asked sarcastically. Moxis looked at his feet. Melissa tapped the desk to get their attention again.
"Two minutes." She said.
"Shit. RUN!"
"But I don't know-" He started, but the Lucario grabbed him and dragged him out the door. He pointed down the main street ahead of them.
"Straight to the end, left at the junction. Follow that for a bit, then right to the forest. If you forget you'll be late, but if you're late, you'll be able to see what you're aiming for. We've mentally vegetised the humans for security, so they might get in the way." Lazlo finished before dashing back inside. Ganon looked down the street, and started running.
Lazlo grabbed his son by the nape of his neck as he saw him try to sneak past to follow Ganon.
"Your mission still stands. Keep an eye on this Typhlosion." Lazlo said, pointing at the panicking Laura. Moxis groaned and started tapping her side to get her attention. She looked down at him, but the panic was still evident.
"Calm down miss. Nothing can hurt you in here." He said, grasping her paw gently. She gulped noisily, and Moxis led her back into the lounge that Kenai had taken her to yesterday. Several other Pokemon staying in the centre had been clustered into the room, and she could tell immediately it was because of an emergency. Two more Lucarios were trying to maintain order, and so far were doing a reasonable job. Moxis led her over to another couch.
"And now we just sit and wait." He said, reaching over for a comic on the table of newspapers.
Geraint leapt up as the alarm blared though his room. He looked around in shock, and his vision immediately fell on a silver Latios amulet resting on the bedside cabinet.
As Ganon reached the second junction, he ran straight through it instead of right. He continued down to the end of the road, and swore as he discovered it was a dead end. He spun around to face the way he had come, and immediately wished he'd never spoke to those Swellows.
A giant green snake could be seen corkscrewing through the cloud layer, aimed directly to the north of where he was stood. Prongs could be seen jutting from behind its face, and there were rings of fins along its body. Its red mouth was gaping open, and it was roaring a guttural roar. Ganon recognised this Pokemon from pictures used by the tutors in the Nursery, and it had haunted his worst nightmares for months afterwards.
#-#-#-#-#
"The Rayquaza is a fearsome brute which bows to no-one, and does as it pleases." The tutor said to a mostly awestruck class, "It is fiercely territorial, and has an innate sense of when something intrudes into that territory, namely, the sky. This sense includes the portals that are used to send you youngsters into the Prime Material Realm, so within a fortnight of arrival, you are likely to be found by the Rayquaza."
"Wouldn't it be better to lower the height at which the portal opens so he wouldn't find us?" Ganon asked the teacher warily. The tutor glared at him.
"It would be more convenient for runts like you yes. But that's the whole point of them opening in the Rayquaza's territory, to weed out weak specimens like you." The tutor replied. Ganon shrank in his seat as more Eons pelted bits of paper at him.
"You can leave now Ganon because the next piece of information will be totally irrelevant to you." The tutor said, turning back to a sheet of slate at the front of the room.
"Why." Ganon asked.
"Because I can guarantee you will never have a mate." He snickered. Ganon bristled.
"You're wrong." He said. The other youngsters gasped, namely as this was the bravest thing he'd ever done. Lying to a teacher. The tutor sniggered at him, and threw him out of the room with a psychic blast.
"And now for the more realistic of you…"
#-#-#-#-#
Ganon looked back up at the sky to see the snake career down and crash down near the trees next to the village. He ran back along the road and took the right road towards the forest, and winced as he could just hear faint screaming and roaring from ahead. He turned the last corner and screamed himself when he saw what was happening.
The Rayquaza had pinned a thirteen year old girl with waist length red hair to the ground and was slashing at her torso. It was screeching something at her.
"CHANGE BACK! CHANGE BACK! CHANGE BACK DAMMIT!"
The girl was screaming hysterically as the Rayquaza kept slashing at her with its talons. Without knowing what he was doing, Ganon took aim directly at the creatures head, and fired six shots. All six missed by a wide margin, but the mildly cold schokwave they left behind drew its attention. The Rayquaza turned to look at him, and he quailed as the beady yellow eyes bored straight through him. The lizard roared at him, and lashed at him with its tail, knocking him onto his back.
"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, YOU PUNY HUMAN!" It roared, trying to grab Ganon's neck with a claw. He rolled aside, and the Rayquaza glared at him as he managed to pick himself up.
"Fast little beggar aren't you." It growled angrily, lunging again. Ganon got a nick on the arm for his trouble, and fired another dozen bolts loosely, one of which hit it in the eye. It growled in pain, and lunged again, catching Ganon in the chest, knocking the breath from him. The lizard smirked evilly as it looked at the winded boy, moving its head closer to inspect the fallen warrior.
"I'm a god! What do you think- Argh! Brain freeze!" The Rayquaza growled as Ganon took several shots at the roof of the lizard's mouth, a target even he couldn't miss. It shut its mouth and started banging its head against the ground trying to shake off the numbness. When it was obviously not going to disappear, it spun around and took off again to find a volcano, its flight confused and twisting from the damage.
Ganon blanched as he saw a trickle of blood running down the hill past him, and looked up to see how much damage the Rayquaza had done to the girl. Judging by the amount of blood, she was probably dead and in dozens of pieces.
In comparison, he wasn't too surprised by the fact that the girl was standing up and facing away from him. What was considerable more surprising was that her right hand was glowing blue and she was running it over the gashes left by the lizard. Under the treatment, the damage faded slightly. It looked very similar to what Ganon had done when he'd fixed his wing at the Segon River Canyon. He took a step towards her.
"Excuse me." He said, "Are you-"
The girl turned her head slightly, looking at him from the back corner of her eye, before immediately running off. Ganon growled.
"Some thanks for saving your life." He muttered before pelting after her. She led him into the forest, immediately turning off the beaten path. She moved with such fluidity in this environment, it was unnatural. Every single branch on the floor seemed intent on tripping him up, but didn't hinder her at all. He soon found at why though as she looked back quickly, and branches from trees on either side pressed together to form a wall blocking the way. Telekinesis. He crashed through the undergrowth, amassing hundreds of scratches and drawing yet more blood from him. He looked up to see the girl jump and continue running, turning away from the densest parts and heading back towards the grassy outcrop. Ganon put on another burst of speed, and almost caught up with her.
"Wait a sec!" He shouted at her. She turned slightly, so she was practically back-pedalling, and he knocked her to the ground as he crashed into her, her on her back and him on top of her.
"Why did you run off?" He asked her. She squirmed and looked into his eyes.
Why are you doing this? She asked him telepathically. He jolted back in shock, and she winced.
"You're a psychic?"
Don't do that! Get off me! She demanded, pain evident in the voice. He got up carefully, and helped her to her feet. He grimaced as he immediately saw what had pained her. The midriff of her top had been burnt off, along with part of the skirt, by the Rayquaza, and the flesh was still red raw despite her attempts to heal it.
"That lizard did that?" Ganon said, looking away modestly.
That beast, yes. She said, pulling the waistband back together and sealing it with the blue light. She looked at Ganon warily, But what does it matter to you? You have one of our lasers, so you must be staff yourself.
"Ganon. At your service." He said, offering her a hand. She looked at him curiously.
So you're the new kid. I was wondering when I'd get to meet you. I'm Teal. She finished, shaking his hand once. Ganon smiled.
"I was right then. You're the one that I got sent out to find." He said. Teal glared at him.
Who sent you?
"Lazlo." He answered. Instant outrage took over her.
Lazlo?! He knows how important I am! Can't he stop fiddling with his damn ordnance for once and save a damsel in distress?!
"Ordnance?"
Ballistics. Projectiles. Weapons. He's always playing with some damn cannon. She fumed, before lowering her head slightly; He's been interfering with my readings again.
"It's happened before?" Teal looked at him sadly, and started walking back to the PokeCentre with him.
Not to the same extent. Usually I get some kind of warning. It's known for just over a year I'm here, and it won't stop until it… gets me.
"Gets you?" He asked her in confusion. She brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes.
You know… It just won't stop until… She gestured at her midriff, placing her other hand on her hip. Ganon averted his eyes again, and she growled at him.
Stop being such a prude! You're worse than Lazlo! She said, punching his arm. He clutched it in shock, but laughed all the same. She glowered at him. Why are you laughing?
"I just find that hard to believe." He said, rubbing the arm. He winced as he suddenly felt warm blood on the hand, "Oh… the damn lizard got me."
Teal looked at the wound the Rayquaza had given him and sighed when she realised it wasn't serious.
You should have fixed that up easily. What made you forget? Pretty little me? She said teasingly. Ganon sniggered.
"Can you give me a second to sort this out?"
Take sixty She said, turning away from him. He moved over into the shade of the first building and transformed back into a Latios, and ran a claw over the wound still present on his shoulder. It melted into a flat layer of skin again, and he did the same for the rest of the little scratches he'd picked up. Once he was satisfied he'd healed everything, he transformed back into his human form. Unbeknown to him, Teal had been watching him all the time from the corner of her eye. She smirked as he walked back.
Very nice bottom. She whispered telepathically; just quietly enough for him to miss the exact meaning.
"What was that?"
Oh nothing… She said innocently, and for some reason, he felt inclined to believe her.
Geraint leapt down the staircases two steps at a time, skidding across the reception floor as he reached it. He looked around at the orange lights whirring in place of the sconces, before looking around. He immediately caught sight of Laura, and tried dashing over. Moxis looked up, and nodded at one of the Lucarios sitting in with the crowd, and it stood up, stopping him at the door. Another one came up from behind almost immediately and sprayed something on his neck, causing him to fall unconscious immediately. The two Lucarios caught the Typhlosion, and teleported him back into his room, laying him back on the bed. Totally unnoticed. The first Lucario teleported back to the waiting room, and knelt down next to Moxis.
"Now we're even." He said to him. Moxis smiled back.
"Just tell me if you need something taping again."
So what has the rest of the troupe taught you so far? She asked him as they left the last outcrop of buildings before the PokeCentre. Ganon paused for a second to think. Nothing much came up.
"I know how to pull a trigger, and not to mess with Lazlo." He answered. Teal laughed.
I knew that the Lazlo phrase was coming. I knew that within seconds of meeting him. Of course, in those few seconds he'd already broken my arm… Ganon looked at her in surprise.
"He broke your arm?!"
I broke his nose. She answered matter of factly.
"Ahh. Before or after the arm?" He asked. Teal smirked at him.
Before of course!
"Really?"
No. She answered, weaving her fingers through his. He blushed awkwardly, and tried to pull away, but their fingers were too intertwined. Teal beamed at him.
So you tackle a Rayquaza without a second thought, but you're scared half to death of pretty little me. Now why is- Oh stop that! She said, pulling Ganon's hand firmly down as he tried shaking it. Again he tried to pull away, but she just grabbed his other hand.
"Look… you don't understand." He started, "I've already got a girlfriend."
Teal looked at him sceptically, but still kept a hold on his hands.
Well whatever, she'll be long gone now. Probably still in the nursery.
"Excuse me?" He asked, surprised.
Latias hatchings are mostly in July. We aren't expecting another portal until June, so it stands to reason she's still up there. He frowned at her.
"You know a lot more than you're letting on."
I work with genii. I'm bound to pick something up. She replied, calmly. Ganon fidgeted with their hands again.
"Well why are still holding my hands if you know I feel awkward about it?"
Well I like you. Just not the way you think I do. Friends can hold hands, especially if they're different genders, then it's totally acceptable.
"But things will esc- esc- escalate!" He stuttered, now blushing madly. She laughed at him.
Big word coming from you. Trust me. Things won't escalate because of me choosing it to, because I won't. And if you're in love with your girl as much as you say you are, then you won't either.
"But…but… but…" He brought her hands up again, "Why?"
Okay. Think of it this way. We're both field agents with unique abilities. Chances are, at some point we'll be sent on a mission together. If we can make this look natural, we can do our jobs better without attracting suspicion.
Ganon thought about it for a minute. When she put it that way, it seemed to be reasonable. But on the other hand… there was Laura. He looked back at Teal, and noticed her gazing pleadingly at him. He just couldn't resist that look.
"Do we have to?" He asked her. She looked at him happily.
Well we don't have to, but it makes a job a lot easier. So would you rather cruise through the system, or be found out at a crucial moment and risk death before you find your girl?
He didn't give any verbal response, but she felt his hands relax in hers. She smiled back up at him, and let go of his hands. He wrung them as soon as she let go.
"Thank you." He said.
Any time. She winked saucily at him, and walked into the PokeCentre. He looked away from the building, and mouthed one word.
"Wow."
He heard the doors of the centre hiss open again, and Teal ran out again quickly to him.
And just to finish up…She said, and kissed him quickly on the cheek. He immediately stumbled over backwards in shock, and looked at her looming over him. She laughed gently, and the sound was strangely fluty. Whoops. I guess you weren't ready for that. She giggled and dashed back inside. This time, what Ganon said was audible.
"Double Wow."
Teal looked over at the waiting room still full of people and Pokemon kept in check by the Lucario guards. She moved over to Melissa by the desk, and tapped it to get her attention.
Why is the alarm still going? The bogey left ages ago. She said. The Glaceon looked scandalised.
"No-one downstairs told us the bogey was off radar."
Well I saw it leave. It'll be somewhere over Sinnoh by now judging by the speed it was going at. She giggled softly, Ganon shot it in the mouth.
"Teal… are you developing a crush on Ganon." She asked. Teal rocked her head.
Well not a crush-crush. He's just sweet.
"Oh… for a second there I thought we had you straightened out."
Well I'll admit he's got a cute butt, but I've already got a girlfriend.
Melissa sighed exasperatedly, and Teal wandered through to the backrooms, taking an elevator into the underground. Within seconds, she'd reached her level, and started walking down the corridor, shaking her hips enticingly. The longer term residents didn't even bat an eyelid, but several of the newer recruits, including a younger Machop that had never seen her before, stopped and stared. The supervising Machoke grabbed him by the shoulder and whispered something in his ear, and the Machop immediately started banging its head against the wall in disgust.
As she entered her bedroom, she laid back on her bed, and recalled her lucky escape with the Rayquaza. The beasts pain when Ganon shot it… the chase… him on top of her. She giggled.
I suppose I wouldn't mind too much if things did escalate. She thought to herself. Ganon should have counted himself lucky. He was the only male she would ever have any kind of interest in.
Moxis looked up at Ganon as he hobbled into the centre. He immediately jumped up and ran over to him, closely followed by Laura. Ganon fell into one of the chairs in the reception, apparently unable to stand for much longer.
"What the hell happened to you? Did the Rayquaza break a leg or something?" He said. Laura gasped.
"The Rayquaza?! There was the Rayquaza here?!"
Moxis looked at her quizzically.
"You know about the Rayquaza?"
"It's evil. It attacks girls mercilessly. I was warned about it when I was younger."
"Only Latias are pursued by the Rayquaza." Moxis said, looked at her carefully, "You wouldn't be warned about it unless-"
"I'm pink and white. I look like a Latias." She said quickly. "And I'm a similar size to a fully grown one. I doubt its eyesight is good enough to tell the difference."
"No, it didn't do any damage." Ganon said. Moxis snorted.
"Then it must be blind."
"Oi!" Ganon interjected. Laura sniggered.
"Then why are you so shaky." Moxis asked. Ganon blushed.
"Well… nah… you won't believe it."
"Try me."
"Well… Teal… kissed me." Ganon said. Laura looked scandalized, and Moxis snorted.
"I don't believe you."
"I told you you wouldn't."
"No. Really. Teal wouldn't kiss a boy. She prefers girls." Moxis said. Ganon and Laura both stared at him.
"Oh gods… Laura would kill me." Ganon said. Laura stared at him, but Moxis interrupted.
"Because someone kissed you? She'd only have reason to kill you if YOU kissed TEAL!" Moxis argued. Ganon scratched his nose in embarrassment.
"Yeah… I guess so." He said, Laura put her paws on her hips and huffed again.
"Where did she kiss you?" She demanded.
"On the cheek." Ganon answered. Moxis nodded.
"That's likely. She wouldn't be comfortable kissing you on the lips." He said. Laura looked slightly more relieved. They all stood, or in Ganon's case sat, there for a few minutes. The orange alarm light above them faded out, and Moxis whistled.
"About time that stopped. Sometimes I think the techies do that just to annoy us."
"Hmmm… anyway. The tour?" Ganon said, standing up and offering the Typhlosion an arm. She blushed.
"Is the Rayquaza definitely gone?" She asked. Ganon smiled.
"Definitely." He answered. Moxis growled.
"Hey. Who's leading who here? Remember what dad said."
"Have it your way then. Lead on then, oh great Dragon Tamer." He said. Moxis frowned, and Laura laughed at him.
"No need to get so sarcastic about it." The Riolu groaned, leading them out of the building.
Lazlo slammed his fist on the desk, cracking it down the middle. Several of the other dignitaries present recoiled.
"Which idiot sent out Teal when we must have known there was a Rayquaza coming?!"
"Calm down Lazlo." Kenai said, spinning around slowly to face them in his swivel chair at the end of the table. Lazlo frowned.
"You look like a typical clichéd evil boss when you do that." He answered. Kenai raised one bushy eyebrow at him.
"Well… do I look like your evil cliché boss if I do this?" He placed his feet on the floor underneath his chair, and kicked. The chair began spinning around in a flurry, and Kenai could be heard yelling something from the middle.
"WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
Everyone at the table face faulted. As the chair began to slow down, he put his hands on the table to stop himself.
"Now how do I look?" He said to Lazlo. The Lucario made twitching movements at his nose. Kenai sighed and turned his moustache so it was no longer vertical, "Now to business."
"Why did we send out Teal?!" Lazlo demanded again. Kenai sighed.
"She at least looks human so she is ideal for work in populated areas. I thought we all knew that."
"Yes we know that, but we must also have noticed the bloody great Lizard on the radars!" He retorted to a general murmur of agreement from the assembled party. Kenai sighed.
"I was hoping it would never come to this, but I need to tell you that as the crystal reaches it's maximum capacity, it drastically narrows our radar scopes. Teal is very aware of this fact, and was the one who pointed this out to me." He said. The group immediately broke out into uproar.
"What if bombers came?"
"You're compromising our security!"
"I've got a family on the surface!"
Kenai raised a hand, and silence immediately ensued. Lazlo raised a hand as well, and Kenai nodded to let him speak.
"Do you know why it narrows our scopes?" He asked. Kenai reclined in the chair, lacing his fingers behind his head.
"I don't know." He said, earning another round of murmurs from the crowd, "But…" the room fell silent again, "But Teal has a plausible theory which is very likely to be true. It is your crystal after all."
"Are you saying this is my fault?" Lazlo asked darkly.
"No, no. Not at all. But since that crystal is directly linked with you, you can affect it."
"So you are blaming me."
"Not intentionally." Kenai said quickly, "But I believe it's related to your levels of stress."
"STRESSED?! HOW CAN YOU CALL ME-" Lazlo stopped as he noticed all of the other Pokemon in the room watching him, nodding appreciatively. He smiled nervously, and Kenai continued.
"I think that when you have these extra duties during the demos, your stress levels rise sufficiently to affect the crystal. Whilst you cope well with the stress, the crystal doesn't. So to try and clean this mess up, we've set up a date for you and Melissa."
Lazlo's eyes bulged to the size of dinner plates, before he started shouting.
"THAT'S GOING TO KILL THE ENTIRE RADAR!" Kenai didn't look impressed.
"Now don't be like that. She'll get upset."
"LOOK! LOOK!" Lazlo shouted, scratching at the spikes jutting out of his hands. The grey began flaking off to reveal the spikes were made actually made of a dark purple crystalline material, which matched the colour of his eyes. Kenai whistled, "I didn't ask for any of this! I had no choice."
"Choice or not, you are what you are. You saved the world, so I'd consider it a worthy price."
Lazlo growled and spun on his heel, marching out of the room. The rest of the room gawped at the space where he was stood. A Scyther looked over at Kenai.
"What was that all about?" She asked. Kenai shook his head.
"Doesn't matter." He said, "Meeting adjourned."
"What is this?" Laura asked, looking at something that looked like three small tennis balls scooped into a glass with something brown drizzled over it. Moxis had another one which he was eating, and Ganon was poking at his own one with a spoon.
"It's called an Ice-cream Sundae." He said. Ganon and Laura both pushed their own sundaes towards the centre of the table.
"I'll pass." They said simultaneously. They looked at each other and smiled awkwardly. Moxis grunted at Ganon.
"Look, you won't have a problem eating ice. If anything, you'll enjoy it more." He said. Ganon looked at the dessert, before picking up a little on his spoon. Moxis watched him as he held it in front of his face, and growled as he made a move to put the spoon down.
"I really don't think-" The rest of the sentence was cut off as the Riolu jammed the spoon in his mouth.
"Don't make me spoon-feed you. I've learnt off my dad how to make it really embarrassing." The Riolu said calmly, still holding the spoon in place. After several moments of struggling, Ganon accidentally swallowed. He winced at first, but when no pain set in he tried taking another spoonful from the sundae. This time, he could actually taste it, and he noticed a pleasant tingling running through the roof of his mouth.
"It's actually really good." He said taking another bite. Laura looked at her own one, and poked it with the spoon, and her stomach rumbled ominously. Moxis glanced over at her.
"When did you last eat?" He asked her. She squirmed as she recalled that it was-
"Two days ago." She said, looking at the sundae forlornly, "But it would be a really bad idea for me to eat this."
"What's the problem? Does it give you gas or something?" He asked. Almost immediately, he was flung forwards, his face buried in his own ice-cream. An albino Quilava was stood behind where the Riolu was sitting; its paws outstretched having apparently just shoved him forwards.
"Don't you know any better than to talk about things like gas in front of a girl?" She said, before turning and walking back to a tall boy with mousey brown hair. He was about fifteen, and handsome in the classic sense of the word, except a slightly bulbous nose. He welcomed the Quilava back, and rubbed her sides affectionately before looking up at their table. He looked at Ganon for a few seconds, before walking over.
"Mind if I join you?" He said, pulling up a chair from the next table. Ganon looked at Moxis who had just managed to wipe the last of his ice-cream off his face with a napkin. He twisted it and started cleaning out his ears, which Ganon took as a yes.
"Sure."
"Thanks. I'm Benjamin by the way." He said, offering Ganon a hand. He shook it.
"Hi."
"I noticed you've got a pink Typhlosion." The boy said. The Quilava poked its head above the table.
"Will I be that ugly when I grow up?" She asked him. Laura hissed at her, and Benjamin laughed.
"We won't grow up." He said, picking her up and putting her on a chair next to him. She rubbed herself against his side gently, whilst Ganon and Laura just stared at him.
"You can understand Pokemon?" Ganon asked. Benjamin nodded.
"Yes. Well, no. Well… I can understand a reasonable amount of what Sophie says because I've learnt enough of her language, but that's about it. I couldn't for instance, understand that Riolu."
"And let's keep it that way." He said. Ganon smirked, whilst Benjamin looked down at Sophie.
"What did he say?" He asked her. Before she could answer, Ganon intervened.
"He said 'Let's keep it that way'."
Sophie looked up at him in shock, before turning back to Benjamin. She nodded vigorously at him.
"So you… you can understand the Riolu?"
"Err… yes?"
"You idiot!" Moxis shouted at him, "He doesn't need to know!"
"Can you talk to any other Pokemon? Besides the Riolu."
"More importantly, can you understand me?" Sophie asked in earnest. Ganon looked at her in confusion, before glaring at Benjamin.
"You want me to translate something she says right?" He asked her. Benjamin made a mock gesture of defeat.
"Got it in one. She's been acting really weird. She's been trying to say something to me for ages, but I haven't learnt the words she's saying and it'll take far too long for me to stumble on them by guesswork."
"So can you do it?" Sophie asked earnestly. Ganon looked back at her.
"Well I suppose I can't refuse." He reasoned. Moxis glared at him.
"You don't have to do anything." He growled. Laura was looking at the Quilava's face, reading the expression.
Ganon thought about it for a second, before talking again.
"Tell me."
"Oh thank you!" She said, resisting the urge to hug him. She sat up on the chair, looking around to see if anyone or anything else was listening. When she was satisfied, she lowered her head and spoke very quietly.
"Well… the thing is… well this is ridiculous… I mean…"
"Oh no. I know exactly what's coming." Laura said to herself mournfully. She'd tried to do the same thing almost word for word.
#-#-#-#-#
Laura was fidgeting with a tree near the wall where she waited for Ganon. It was only a Bluk tree, but it still had a special significance to her. She laughed to herself as she remembered Ganon coating his face with the black juice.
"Laura?" He suddenly said from the other side of the wall. She jumped and squealed at the sudden arrival, twanging the Bluk branch into the air. The berries came off, and rained down on her, causing her to squeal again.
"What's happening?!" He called through. She panted heavily, and laid down next to the wall.
"The Bluk berries. I was… holding the tree when you called… and they just went… whoosh and… splattered on me."
"Whoops. Sorry." He said. She could tell for some reason that he was scratching the back of his head awkwardly.
"Oh come on… it's not your fault." She cooed.
"Would it have happened otherwise?" He said. She paused.
"No."
"Then it was my fault, and don't you try taking the blame." He said, "You should be more focussed on getting it off. There's still the little river thingy that leads into a pond right? That's good for getting rid of the dye. Don't worry, I'm not looking."
Laura laughed at his comment.
"You can't look anyway."
"Good point, but I'm facing the other way just in case."
"In case of what?" She said brushing water over her face.
"I dunno. But still not taking any chances."
"Aw… you're too sweet sometimes."
After she'd finished washing the dye off, they sat against their relevant sides of the walls, and started talking again. Various lessons they'd attended, which tutor threw them out or tried to blow them up… the usual stuff. After about ten minutes though, in a lull in the conversation, Laura decided that now would be as good a time as any.
"Hey Ganon…" She started, her throat suddenly dry.
"Yeah?"
"Well… the thing is…" She laughed, "Well this is ridiculous… I mean…"
"Is this going anywhere?"
"Well it's like this… you see… I've always wanted to say… just that… sometimes I…"
"What are you stalling for?"
"Look. Sometimes I feel… feelings… that I don't understand."
"That's called confuse ray."
"It's not a confuse ray!"
"Tormented?"
"No!"
"Attracted?"
"N-Yes! It's like attract."
"Ooh." He whispered. Laura blushed.
"Yeah. I think I-"
"Has Larkspur been putting something in your food?"
"No!" Laura shouted at him. Ruining the moment again.
#-#-#-#-#
Laura was brought of her daydream as she heard a familiar phrase.
"What are you stalling for?" Ganon asked the Quilava. Sophie fiddled with her paws again.
"Like I said. It's awkward. I-" Laura grabbed Ganon's arm and tugged him out of the conversation.
"Don't do this. It'll get hideously complicated." She pleaded. Ganon raised an eyebrow.
"How do you know?" He asked her.
"I just know that she loves this trainer, and the only person that can tell him that is herself." She said. Ganon's other eyebrow went up as well.
"You're good." Sophie said, now addressing Laura, "You've been in love before haven't you."
"I still am." She answered, blushing and looking at the sky, "And he's out there somewhere. I'll find him."
Moxis made a retching sound as he pretended throwing up over the side of the table. Sophie shoved him again, and he fell off.
"Don't you have any control over your Pokemon?" Benjamin asked. Ganon shook his head.
"None whatsoever. They're not mine. He works with the centre, and she's a guest."
"Oh! So you must be the new kid at the centre that my mum was on about. I wanted to talk to you."
"This conversation is over." Moxis said, showing surprising strength for such a small Pokemon by hauling Ganon to his feet. They immediately moved away from the table, and Sophie moved back to sit next to Benjamin.
"What about your Ice-cream?" He called after them. Moxis grunted, and carried on, leaving Sophie to steal Laura's Ice-Cream.
As soon as Moxis re-entered the PokeCentre, his father was there to greet him. He was evidently not in a good mood.
"You. Downstairs. Now. You're late."
"Late for what?" Moxis asked.
"Maybe something as inconspicuous as the demo?" He said, grabbing his wrist.
"But dad, that's not for another six hours!"
"It's Colonel on duty! You have to help with setting up like the rest of us. You're in Biologist B."
"Yoo hoo!" Melissa called to him from behind the counter. Lazlo spun around on his heel.
"Oh for goodness sake! Stop pestering me about it!" He shouted at her, teleporting away immediately with Moxis. Ganon and Laura both sweatdropped.
"What was that about?" She asked him, still looking at where Lazlo was.
"No idea."
"Hey hey hey! Boy!" Melissa shouted at him. He grimaced.
"I have a name you know, you can call me by it at least once." Melissa rolled her eyes.
"Whatever. You were supposed to be on desk duty. I've got work downstairs, but until you get started, I'm rooted to this desk."
Ganon growled, and reluctantly took his place behind the desk. Melissa immediately sprinted away into the backrooms.
"Not even a thank-you." He grumbled, slouching immediately onto the desk. He felt something kick him, and he looked up to see a Gallade had just teleported in.
"Don't slouch kid. You'll lose your fighters stance." Kotor said as he held out a hand, "Moxis says you've still got the laser. Hand it over."
Ganon obliged, untying the holster from his belt, and holding it out for Kotor to take. The Gallade pulled the laser out of its holster, and checked the sights.
"My my… you've got a very finely balanced weapon here. Someone stuck chewing gum in the side of mine, and I have to counter the difference. But this baby... practically an extension of your arm. Man I could take out an entire legion and then some with this baby. But still… Lazlo's locked it remotely. Such a waste."
He then teleported back out of the room, and down into the underground where the rest of the staff were assembled. He walked over to Lazlo, and handed the gun back to him.
"Your gun Colonel." He whispered. Lazlo nodded, and clipped it back onto his belt. Kenai waited until everyone had settled down, before stepping up onto his projects podium.
"Okay people. We've got six hours to prepare. This thing has to go like clockwork, because then at least if we don't get a living specimen, we'll still keep them just by looking professional. So… Biologist team A. Finalise the Primary Serum. Biologist team B, the secondaries. Biologists C, sample extrusion."
"You're not jabbing another needle in me!" Kotor yelled out over the crowd. Some of the assembled party sniggered, but Kenai simply frowned.
"Don't interrupt. There are no more needles for you this experiment Kotor."
"That's a relief."
A large hoard of Pokemon moved out of the crowd towards their designated area.
"Engineering A on the main section and Engineering B on the Engine." Another group composed solely of Machops in oily overalls moved out and split in half, one part towards the machine, and another towards a lift in the corner.
"Porygons, Check for last minute software bugs." Four Porygons phased out of view.
"Local Guards, household security. " About ninety more generic Pokemon left the floor, leaving just twenty behind, the strongest physical specimens that Razor possessed.
"Elite Guards, Specimen suppression."
"Come on!" Kotor called up, "No specimen has been powerful enough to even open its eyes, let alone break out and attack."
"Kotor, you are aware it's you we're cloning." Kenai said. Kotor sweatdropped.
"Oh yeah. Charge up every weapon! It'll be insanely powerful and downright murderous!" He called to the rest of the guards. They all started laughing. Kotor could feel the heat rushing through his face, and he growled menacingly. In a split second, he had whipped out his handgun, and shot three of the guards, an Electabuzz, a Magmar, and a Sneasel, with their relevant setting on the gun. They were all bowled over, and the laughter immediately stopped.
"Now imagine that pumped up as much as this machine promises. And this time, he won't be so merciful." He said, placing the gun back in its holster. The rest of the group were practically tripping over themselves trying to get to work, leaving only three people in the room. Kenai, Kotor, and Lazlo.
"Certainly gets people moving that." Kenai said thoughtfully, "Just try not to shoot your comrades too often."
"I've noticed you're not going anywhere Lazlo." Kotor said. The Lucario nodded, and held up one of his paws. He still hadn't got around to painting over the crystal again, and Kotor blanched at the sight.
"I've got the hardest job. That crystal's as much a part of me as my leg."
"With the exception it's much more responsive. Which is why you are to return to your quarters, and relax with your Aurega." Kenai said, "You must be calm, yet focussed."
"He gets to do Aura Yoga?!" Kotor said incredulously. Lazlo smiled.
"Do you want to take my place keeping that in check?" He asked.
Whatever colour was left in Kotor's face vanished, and he left in as much of a hurry as the rest of the elites.
"Thought not." He finished.