A/N: Buckle up.
Wind whipped through our hair as Flygon sped over the Spikemuth buildings, riding the air currents instinctively. It had occurred to me far too late that I had never ridden a dragon before, and as I gripped the smooth scales on the back of his neck, I desperately hoped that Flygon would not get too fancy with his flying. He did jerk from time to time as he weaved through the taller buildings, but otherwise, the flight was fairly smooth. After a minute or so, the buildings fell by the wayside, and we were zipping past the countryside with incredible speed. It was nearly impossible to keep my eyes open from the wind, but I did my best, watching trees zoom past us. We had to have been going faster than any old Corviknight Taxi. I leaned back and gave a whoop; I couldn't help it. It was exhilarating.
"Well, I'm glad—you're—having fun, then" Marnie heaved from behind me. She clutched me around the waist as if her life depended on it. Bravely, I took my left hand from Flygon's neck and placed it on top of her white knuckles. She immediately grabbed on and buried her face into my neck. I made a mental note to maybe not take Marnie flying any time soon.
From the direction of Spikemuth, there was a titanic crash, and a strong gust of wind blew in from the right. Flygon sensed it immediately and twisted his body so that he took a long loop. Marnie and I both screamed, and for a brief second, I could sense some panic in the dragon, but I brought my head as close to his as I could and yelled out to him. "Just get us to Hammerlocke safely!"
Hurry! I heard Zacian bellowing in my head.
"Impatient as always!" I roared back.
"Who are you talking to—WHOA!" Marnie yelled as another gust of wind, this time from the left, sent Flygon flying in the other direction. Clearly getting chopped up in the wind was doing him no good, so instead, he went into a dive, pulling up about fifty feet from the ground. Here the wind was mercifully less, blocked by trees and hills from most angles. I watched as the trees sped by, somehow even faster now that we were closer, and even though I knew Flygon wouldn't steer us wrong, I still wrapped my hand a little tighter around his neck, and Marnie did the same with my waist.
Another burst of thunder caught my attention, and I looked up to the sky. Hammerlocke loomed ever closer; we had covered almost half the distance to the city in minutes, where on foot we would have taken hours. Towering above the city was that ever-present jewel atop the power plant, flashing arrhythmically, as a heart beating out of time. Now that we were closer, I could see figures circling around it, at least two or three. I couldn't make out any details, as we were still too far away.
"Come on, Flygon, just a little faster!" I urged. Flygon understood and flapped his wings harder, kicking into high gear. We came along the footpath that most trainers would use on their challenge route, and I saw that it was mostly empty. There were a couple tents here and there off the side of the road, nestled into small copses of trees. Occasionally a scared face would be looking through a tent door. I wondered what they thought, seeing Flygon racing past them into the storm. The road began to wind as it climbed back into the mountain range that Hammerlocke sat upon; Flygon expertly weaved through trees and rock, barely slowing his pace. As he flew, I felt my heart lightening – I was starting to see why Raihan loved his dragon types so much. Flygon and I would be going on a lot more flights from here on out, hopefully under less harrowing circumstances.
With one final turn, the hills gave way to a familiar looking obsidian-black wall. We were back on the land outside Hammerlocke; in fact, I could see where the trail split and headed north to Circhester, the route Hop and I had taken out of the city only just over a week ago. Without skipping a beat, Flygon shifted his body and shot back upwards into the sky. Marnie screamed in fear and surprise, I screamed in excitement. Soon, we were a hundred fifty feet up in the air again, well over the wall and first row of buildings. Flygon arced forward a bit, and just as we were about to cross the wall, I looked up to see that one of the figures that had been circling around the power plant had broken off and was speeding toward us, a dark orange beast.
"Flygon, watch out!" I cried. "Dodge and use Dragon Breath if it keeps attacking!"
Flygon effortlessly careened to the left, leaning into a barrel roll that Marnie and I barely held on for before stopping and facing his challenger. I waited for the sound of dragon breath, but it never came. Instead, Flygon stayed where he was, beating his wings at a relaxed pace, enough to keep us all still in the air. I peeked my head around his neck and was welcomed with the familiar face of Leon, on the back of his dutiful Charizard.
"Raihan, the hell are you doing?" Leon roared. "I thought I told you to—wait, Gloria?! Bloody hell!"
I laughed nervously and gave a wave. "Hey, Leon. Alright?" Marnie piked her head out cautiously as well.
Leon gave out an exasperated laugh. "I can't believe it. Of course you've got a Flygon now, too. You challengers are really somethin' else this year! I don't suppose Victor is far behind, is he?"
Below us, there was a commotion, and the three of us looked down to see Arcanine bursting into the clearing, barking up a storm. Victor and Hop both rode valiantly on his back, and when Arcanine came to a stop directly below us, the three of them gave an energetic howl. Leon glanced at Hop and Victor, then at me, and then opened his mouth to speak.
"I know what you're going to say," I shouted, cutting him off, "and I'm telling you that it is not going to happen. We're here to help, and we're going to, so you might as well not fight it."
Leon blinked, shut his mouth, and then laughed again. "Right, fair enough. Damn, well, let's fly down, before—"
Another terrible thunderclap shook the city, accompanied with a powerful gust of wind the blasted Charizard and Flygon from the sky. Charizard and Flygon righted themselves quickly, but in the upheaval, I felt Marnie's arm slip from my waist.
"Marnie!" I cried, reaching back to grab her. Our fingertips touched, but she was already too far gone. She plummeted to the ground, staring at me and screaming.
"No!" I shouted. "Flygon, let's— "
"Catch her!" Leon ordered, and just as Flygon moved to fly after Marnie, a blueish-black streak shot past us, faster than either of us could have clocked, and suddenly Marnie had disappeared entirely. Suddenly, the blueish black figure emerged next to Arcanine, carrying Marnie in its hands and safely dropping her the final two feet to the ground. She landed shakily on her feet, leaning on Arcanine's flank.
Flygon and Charizard quickly swooped down after, and I hopped off Flygon's shoulder and rushed to her. She grabbed onto me and held tight.
"Never take me flyin' again," she said shakily, before leaning over to the side and vomiting. I brought her down and held her as she retched, holding her hair and rubbing her leather clad back. After a couple seconds, she stopped heaving and weakly leaned up against me. Victor hopped off Arcanine and pulled a water bottle from his pack. He handed it to her, and she nodded, screwing off the cap and taking a long swig.
"It's, er, hardly for everyone, and now's not perfect conditions to start out, I must say," Leon said, scratching the back of his neck. "Glad you're okay, though, thanks a mill for that, Dragapult." I glanced up to see that Leon had clapped his hand around the blueish-black dragon next to us. It hovered with an uncanny aura, and its tail simply seemed to disappear into a mist underneath it, as if it wasn't even fully there.
"Th-thanks," I added. Marnie nodded, still gulping water from the water bottle.
"That's why I didn't want to get you lot involved," Leon sighed. "It's right dangerous, and I couldn't have the four of you getting killed—"
"I came here to help!" I interjected.
Leon held his hands up to stop me. "I know, I know, Gloria. I'm not askin' you to stop. If this storm gets any worse, Arceus knows we'll need much more than just the four of you to help us out. We don't have all the gym leaders here tonight and I have a really bad feeling about this storm. Much worse than the others. Just be careful, right? This isn't going to be a walk in the park."
"I'm fine," Marnie said, slowly standing up and handing the water bottle back to Victor. "Jus' keep me on the ground for this one." She rested her hand shakily on my shoulder and we all looked back to Leon, who gave a great sigh.
"You got a plan, Lee?" Hop asked, wearing his best brave face.
Leon looked at his brother warmly. "Hop, I don't think I got a chance to congratulate me on the new badge."
"It's two badges, actually," Hop said, smirking. "Looks like I'm back on track."
Leon laughed. "I knew you'd do it if you took my advice!" He said with a grin, suddenly his older, more chipper self. Hop's smile faltered for just a moment, and he glanced at me quickly before returning his gaze to his older brother. "Listen, we'll have a right do once this is all sorted out, but I have to get back to the sky. It's still early, but I have to stop any Dynamaxing Pokémon before they get out of control. Charizard and Dragapult should do nicely at that."
"What about us?" I asked, folding my arms.
"Well, if your Pokémon are going to be out in this, make sure it's a Pokémon you've got a strong bond with. Pokémon seem to better deal with this when the bond with their trainer is strong. Don't do anything too rash! Your safety is still paramount!" He cried, hopping onto Charizard's back again.
"But what do you need us to do?!" I yelled back at him, but Charizard was already flapping his wings and pulling Leon into the sky.
"We came here to help, so let us help!" Hop added, hopping off Arcanine and running to Charizard, but Charizard was already well out of reach by the time Hop had moved at all.
"Trust your instincts!" Leon said, flying away. "And don't let any wild Pokémon Dynamax if you can!" And with that, Charizard turned and streaked across the sky again, leaving us at the edge of the city walls with no direction.
"So did he want our help or not?" I screamed.
Hop sighed. "He does this all the time. It's just his way of keeping us out of danger, I guess."
"Bollocks to that, we've got to do something!" I roared. To enhance my point, another blast of thunder rang out among the city streets, accompanying a powerful jolt on my wrist. The Dynamax Aura was already starting to spread. I looked to Flygon and Arcanine, both of whom were wincing from the energy now swirling about. "Victor!" I called out and jerked my head towards our Pokémon.
"Right," he said, and quickly recalled Arcanine to his Pokéball as I recalled Flygon. Then he looked at the three of us gravely. "I say we keep our Pokémon in their Pokéballs unless we need them," he instructed. "I have a Dynamax detector that can do some base readings, but if it's too high like it was the last time there was a Dynamax storm here, anything could happen."
"So, what, we just wait around for shit to hit the fan?" Marnie said. "Sounds like we shoulda just stayed in Spikemuth."
"Hop," I asked, turning to him. "Have you heard anything?"
He gulped. "What do you mean?"
"You know who I mean."
He grimaced and looked away. "Nothing since we left Spikemuth. I figured we'd get a bit more to go on before we actually got here."
"You better get used to that," I groaned. "Hold on, I've got an idea."
"Hold on?" He asked.
"I mean literally hold on to me," I instructed. Hop squinted, but firmly grasped my shoulders. He seemed to know where I was going already.
"What are they talkin' about?" Marnie asked Victor.
"Best not to get into it right now," Victor replied.
"If she's not going to come find us, I may as well go lookin' for her," I explained. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, focusing all my energy on Zacian. I reached out in my mind, and slowly I could picture something. Vague shapes began to form in the darkness. Suddenly there was another massive thunderclap, and though my eyes didn't open, suddenly I could see everything with crystal clarity.
The sound of the storm has receded. I am alone, and yet I do not feel alone. I look around. The shapes around me become clear. Hammerlocke has vanished around me, and instead, forms appear like drops of ink in water, appearing in thick black blotches and slowly spreading in color and vibrancy until their shape is fully formed. I look around to find that I am in the Slumbering Weald.
"Hello, Gloria." Zacian's voice echoes through this world I find myself in, bouncing off the inside of my skull.
"I'm playing your game now, Zacian," I say, snapping my head to my right. I see her there, with Zamazenta, who is silently watching. There is a sadness in his eyes as he watches Zacian and me converse.
"I would hardly consider it a game, Gloria," Zacian coos. "It pains me that we can only converse in ways like this for the time being, but I am thankful you found your way to me here, at least."
"Yeah, thanks to your very clear and concise instructions," I say dryly. "But as you've said, I don't really have much time right now."
"Yes," Zacian agrees. "The Darkest Day is upon us again. I believed we could stave it off, but it seems that those that wish to bring about the return of the Black Hand are more expedient than I feared."
"Well, I'm in Hammerlocke now, and if there's nothing you can do, what am I even here for?" I ask.
Zacian huffs and walks to me slowly. Her eyes, blue and icy, study me from head to toe. "The Black Hand has not been reborn, but very well could be tonight. Its egg lies in the heart of the city. The heart of Galar."
"Heart of Galar…you mean the power plant?"
"I know not what you call it," Zacian admits. "But the tall tower, where I led you nearly one month ago. The first time you were in the city."
"You led me to the wishing star."
"Wishing star?"
"Yeah, that stone! The wishing star. They're all over Galar, look—" I raise up my wrist to show Zacian my Dynamax Bracelet, but I see that it is no longer on my wrist. It is only then I notice that I am not in my clothes but am instead clothed in a simple white tunic. "Wha—where are—what the hell?" I sputter.
"Gloria, focus," Zacian chides, stepping up and resting her jaw on my hand. "You can regale me of these Wishing Stars when you have returned to this location in the physical plain, with my sword." I look around and see that the swirling ink has stopped moving. We are together at the stone structure in the Slumbering Weald, where we first saw each other.
"With your sword?" I ask.
Zacian shakes her head. "But that can wait. You must stop the rebirth of the Black Hand tonight. Follow the source of the energy that makes the Pokémon grow taller. It will lead you to that tower. There is where they are trying to revive the Black Hand."
"But—but why?" I ask.
"I know not; I do not even know who is responsible," Zacian says. Her eyes turn to Zamazenta, who still watches from his place nearby. "My companion grows weary waiting for his champion, your friend, to find him."
"It's been a bit of a process," I admit. "But I'll, er, see what I can do."
Zacian looked back to me. "You have your charge. Need you any more information?"
"So much more," I say breathlessly.
She nods. "I believe you know more than you think. However, I shall be with you in spirit, if not in body. Make your way to the tower. I will guide you as best as I can."
I nod, and as I do, the swirling ink starts to reverse. Forms melt back the way they were formed, and as darkness overtakes me again, the only forms that stay are Zacian and me. Even Zamazenta fades back into the black.
"Remember," Zacian urges. "The heart of the city. You know who is to blame. You must stop it in time."
All fades to black.
I gasped as I came to, pulling myself upwards from the ground. I felt Hop's arms still clamped around me, and even though he let go as I rose, he kept his arms near as if to catch me.
"Gloria, what the hell did you just do?" Marnie cried. I stood up quickly and spun around to look at her.
"How long was I out?" I asked.
"Half a minute, if that?" Victor asked, rubbing his arms. "Maybe warn your girlfriend before you do some crazy fantasy novel mumbo-jumbo next time? She damn near ripped my arms out tryin' to get to you."
"I'm not sorry, neither," Marnie said defiantly, pulling me into a hug. "Are you okay? What was that? Is this somethin' to do with the storms? Is—"
I silenced her by putting my finger on her lips. "It's fine. I'm fine. I think I figured it out. Wait, you actually clawed my brother to get to me?"
Marnie blushed. "I—so I was worried. Give me a break. You'd think it was weird if I just passed out suddenly," she stuttered defensively.
I laughed and gave her a kiss. "Just good to know you care," I snickered. Suddenly, another thunderclap echoed through the streets, and a blast of pink Dynamax energy started to swirl out into the open area next to the walls where we were.
"This…we can see this now?" Victor asked with a gulp.
"That's new," Hop said uneasily.
"Tha's bad," Marnie added.
"Guess you won't need the Dynamax Detector," I grimaced. "Come on, we gotta get to the power plant."
"Why?" Marnie asked. "That's what's causin' all this? How do you know?"
"I have my sources," I insisted, and broke into a jog, finally stepping back onto the city streets again.
"We're going to need to have a discussion about this when it all blows over," Marnie said, matching my pace to my right.
"I'd also like to be in the loop," Victor said, pulling up on my left.
"I suppose Zacian didn't say anything about me?" Hop said, rushing to join us.
"Look, we'll have a roundtable about the whole thing later, but we really gotta hurry!" I cried, leading the way under the still pulsating light of the tower. My friends nodded and hurried along beside me, and we took a sharp left, deeper into the city as an all-too familiar rumble began to wash over the streets. Sirens began to blare, and police officers on loudspeakers appeared, guiding the few people on the street to safer locations. Police Pokémon accompanied them, stern looking Growlithe, Boltund, and Herdier, and though I could see the strain on them from the spreading Dynamax Energy, I forced myself to look forward. Stopping to pacify any Dynamax Pokémon would be treating the symptoms rather than the cause of it all itself. I clocked Victor watching them nervously, but still he kept running alongside me. Marnie and Hop were focused on the road ahead.
All around us, powerful thunderclaps shook the buildings of Hammerlocke. I could hear the pained cries of Pokemon dynamaxing against their will, and lights of all color and intensity shot into the sky every so often as Pokemon were on the attack. We sped past trainers valiantly battling Pokemon as they started to grow from the excess energy - were the trainers of Hammerlocke better prepared for a storm? What had gone down in the short time I was out of the city? We took another left turn and found ourselves near the train station, still damaged from the Tyranitar attack. There were some gym trainers milling about, some with their Pokémon out. In front of them stood Raihan with his Flygon. Scattered around them were some downed Pokemon - clearly we had just missed a Dynamax bout in the station plaza.
"Keep your Pokémon close and keep a close eye on how they're holding up!" he barked. "If they see a—Oh, brilliant! The cavalry's arrived! Alright, Michael, you're in charge, do what you can to keep the square calm. Don't Dynamax unless you need to!" He gave them a loose salute and rushed over to us, grinning and baring sharp, pearly white teeth. Flygon let out a grunt and took to the sky, dipping down and following behind its master.
"Raihan!" Hop cried.
"Good to see you, little Leon," Raihan exclaimed, falling in line with us. "And the Dixons? With Marnie? Truly, I am blessed today."
"Figured you'd need the extra help after that lousy showing of a gym battle," Marnie sniped.
Raihan growled at her. "Your big bro comin'?"
"No," Marnie replied stiffly.
"Figures," he grunted. "We'd have to be dealing with another Darkest Day before he got off his arse to help out."
"Funny, that," I shouted. "Listen, we gotta get to the power plant. It's the same complex as the gym, right?"
"The power plant?" Raihan asked. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, Gloria, the plan is to make sure the city is safe first, then figure out what's going wrong!"
"Alright, then do that!" I shouted. "I have to go to the power plant!"
"Marnie's rubbing off on you," he sneered, but he kept in step with us, and soon the train station had disappeared behind us.
As we rushed through the city, the thunder began to boom louder and more often. The flashing of the tower grew faster and more erratic, and soon it became so frequent that the entire city remained lit with the eerie red light. Dynamax energy rolled in from seemingly every corner of the city, covering the cobble of the streets with a pink mist. The sounds of Pokemon battling for their lives interspersed with the sound of panicked screaming of human and Pokemon alike. Eventually, we found ourselves at the edge of a large plaza, and at the other end was the base of the tower. Dynamax energy was everywhere, billowing out of every crack in the building and streets and covering the street entirely, like a fog machine at one of Piers' concerts. There was another cantankerous boom, and then silence completely fell over the plaza. There was not a single soul near us, nor a single waft of air outside of the fog clinging to our legs. Flygon groaned wildly behind us, but Raihan quickly whipped out a Pokéball and recalled the dragon, keeping it safe from the overwhelming fumes of the city.
"Alright, we're here," Raihan said.
"Where's all this Dynamax Energy coming from?" Hop asked nervously.
"I told you," I shot back, pointing at the entrance to the power plant.
"Got a leak in the gym?" Marnie accused giving Raihan a sideways glance.
"Listen, we pored over the gym relentlessly, it's not coming from there!" Raihan exclaimed.
"It's coming from the Power Plant," I insisted. "Raihan, how do we get in?"
"I can't just let you in," Raihan chastised. "There's security clearance, and—"
He didn't get to finish scolding me, because there was another explosion that shook the entire plaza. Following the burst from the skies, a terrifying cracking noise came from below us, shifting every stone on the street. The five of us all collapsed onto the ground, and as we clambered back to our feet, bright pinkish white light erupted all around us.
"Marnie—!" I cried, but I could only just make out her form from across one the beam of light. I felt a hand on my shoulder. Hop pulled me over long enough to point upwards. I followed the line of light that had split all the way down the plaza to the power plant, reaching the base of the tower and spiraling upwards to the top like pearlescent thorns. Another cracking noise came, this from high above the top. The Dynamax energy now had the giant jewel atop the tower glowing pure white, and it was now too powerful for it to contain. There was a sickening crack that had nearly split the jewel in two, and Dynamax energy was now spilling out of it in waves, circling around the tower in clouds and billowing down the tower like a waterfall. There was one place completely untouched by the white light: the entrance to the gym.
Gloria. We are with you. You must go.
"She's telling us to go!" I yelled at Hop.
"Yeah," Hop said with a gulp. "I know!" And we slowly started to move toward the tower, picking up our pace with each step. As we picked up speed, the white light began to fade, and soon our companions had found out where we were.
"Gloria! Hop!" Raihan yelled. But before they could say anything, two explosions, one on each side of the plaza, shook the city again. Hop and I stopped running and we turned to see that two Gigantamax Pokémon had arrived. On the left was a Blastoise, poised at its opponent, a mossy green Venusaur. The two squared up, and just as we were about to run back to our friends, a powerful blast of fire fell upon them from the skies as a third Gigantamax Pokémon crashed to the ground in the middle. Charizard spread its fiery wings, square between the two other Gigantamax beasts, and as the three monsters sized each other up, I could see the small shapes of Marnie, Victor, and Raihan rushing to the other end of the plaza to safety.
"You two—how did you—you really have a knack for showing up in the worst place at the worst time!" came a yell from behind us. Hop and I whirled back around to see Leon hop off his Dragapult, eyes wild.
"Out of the way, Leon," I shouted, rushing him and trying to dart around him at the last second, only for him to pull his arm out and stop me easily.
"Where are you going?" he asked.
"The Power Plant!" I replied.
"What? Stay out here! That's where the trouble is!" Leon yelled. There was an incredible blast that I first thought was thunder, but as bits of mortar and brick scattered at our feet, the three of us turned to watch the battle that was ensuing. Venusaur had unleased its vines, thick as trees but infinitely nimbler, and was waving them wildly toward the other two Gigantamax Pokémon. Leon growled, then let go of me, jogging a couple steps and bellowing out orders for his Charizard, who instantly shot a massive column of fire at the Venusaur in attempts to pacify it.
"Now's our chance!" I cried to Hop, and we both turned to get into the building again, but were immediately stopped by Dragapult, who glared at us.
"No, you don't," Leon said, rushing back to us. "You want to help; you can help these streets stay safe by battling these rampaging Pokémon!"
"Leon, Rose is trying to bring about the Darkest Day again somewhere in the Power Plant!" I roared back at him. "If we want to stop this storm, we need to find a way to stop him!"
Leon's eyes bulged in surprise, wide as dinner plates. "You…you know?" he asked weakly.
"YOU know?!" I screamed in reply. There was a second of silence as we looked at each other, realizing that my wild guess was actually what was going on. "How…how did…" I stuttered, feeling a little lightheaded. Then, the Blastoise let loose a horrifying roar and with its massive heavy cannon shot a powerful volley of water towards Charizard, spraying all of us within range and bringing us back to the real world.
"Gloria," Leon said with his most serious expression. "There are a lot of things that you may not fully understand at play here, but I assure you that—"
"Assure us of what, exactly?" Hop said suddenly. Both of us reeled and turned to look at him. "Lee, you aren't seriously defending him for this, are you? It's the Darkest Day. The single worst thing to happen in the history of Galar, and you're defending him for repeating it?!"
"I'm not defending him, I'm—"
There was another blast of water leveled at Charizard, and from that hit there was a terrifying explosion where the lizard stood. We all watched in horror as Charizard let out a pathetic roar and began to shrink, Dynamax energy seeping out of its body and blowing towards us like a hurricane.
Leon sighed and held up his hands in defeat. "Look, there's a lot we should probably talk about, and I wish I could have told you more, but now's not the time. I need your help with these two Gigantamax Pokémon. Now more than ever." He looked directly at me, pleading.
"Your help's over there," I said, pointing to the other end of the plaza. "I already told you where we need to go." Leon looked back to where I was pointing to see that Raihan, Marnie, and Victor had all called out one of their Pokémon. Marnie's Morpeko was sprinting around Raihan's Goodra, charging it up with little bursts of electricity, while Victor's Butterfree soared overhead, growing larger by the second. I imagine Leon would have looked back to say one final thing, but neither Hop nor I waited long enough to hear him out. I grabbed Hop's arm and pulled him around Dragapult, through the front door of the power plant and into the dark lobby inside.
The doors swung behind us and suddenly the world was almost dead silent. The electricity in the building seemed to have been cut in the storm, and the only light we had were the red emergency lights that dotted the walls every dozen yards or so. This paired with the eerie red glow of the sky gave the entire room an ethereal and sinister aura, and even though the storm was raging outside, from in here it sounded miles away. As the clouds rumbled ominously in the distance, we made our way to an abandoned reception desk at the base of two staircases leading to what would have been a sleek and modern-looking mezzanine when properly lit up.
"So, Zacian and/or Zamazenta, if you could just tell us which floor to go to?" Hop asked nervously, trying and failing to cut the tense air about us with some humor.
"Maybe there's a map, or a keycard, or something here we can use," I said, rushing up to a drawer and pulling it open. I sifted through some office supplies and general files to no avail. Hop assisted, but aside from some visitor keycards, there was nothing that seemed to be of much use. I grabbed a key card and rushed at a door, slapping it against the black card reader. Nothing happened. "Damn, of course the power's out and only way to get around is through the electronic doors. Hop can you find a master key or something? Like, a physical metal key?"
"I can't find anything!" He grumbled, shining the flashlight of his Rotom phone on the desk and throwing papers and office supplies to the floor beside it.
"Of course not; they're not there," came a woman's voice from the mezzanine above. After she spoke, I heard the unmistakable jingle of keys. Hop and I both turned and looked up to see Oleana standing directly above us, a bangle of keys in her right hand. Her eyes were brilliant beacons in the dark room, and "Now, do either of you have an appointment with Chairman Rose?" she asked, gripping the keys tightly. "He's very busy at the moment."
A/N: There is a lot that is about to happen in the next two chapters, but I want to just take a moment and lighten the mood a bit. I didn't even realize it last week, but this fic is now an entire year old! Thank you so much to everyone who's either been here since the beginning, picked up early on, or just started tuning in for this! What started as a neat little writing exercise has quickly snowballed into a very long and complicated project that has been so challenging to write, but also so fulfilling at the same time. And even though we're sort of echoing the Rose Tower raid from the end of the game in this chapter here's still plenty of story to go, too, so stick around and hopefully the rest of it will be just as good!
NEXT WEEK: UP THE TOWER