A/N: Tears of the Kingdom came out today! That's it, that's the chapter summary. Go play that game. Actually, read this chapter, leave favorites and reviews, then go play that game. See you all in the next upload!
11 Hours until Juliana's disappearance
"I was quite clear about my response, was I not? There is not to be any further activity from Uva Academy until it has been determined that there is negligible risk to the students from the Great Crater."
The face on the other side of Director Clavell's television screen contorted in frustration. "Yes, yes, you have no need to repeat yourself, Director. The safety of the students is of course our top priority." The dismissive tone struck one of the few nerves that Clavell still allowed his aging body to get riled up over.
"Then please, enlighten me as to why your official statement contradicted mine! You implied that you would be making use of Academy staff to help police the area until it was safe for civilians! How are we supposed to protect the students when we're unable to gather and shepherd them back to their homes and dorms where they belong? What happened to our priorities?"
Top Champion Geeta tilted her head. "Your concerns do not make sense to me, Clavell. I have requested relief and reinforcements from both the International Police and neighboring Pokémon Leagues. Once they arrive, your staff will only need to aid in familiarizing them with the region. Excavation and evaluation of the area will not take place until tomorrow at the very earliest. Is that not a sufficient amount of time for you to finish gathering all of the students?"
Director Clavell tsked. The academy's teachers were always getting on his case for not having specific emergency back-up plans in place should an event like this happen. Excuse him for presuming that mountains wouldn't suddenly start collapsing. But he wasn't completely unprepared, as Ms. Tyme might have claimed had she been here. The evacuation of Team Star bases and other field classes being held had proceeded smoothly, with nearly every student being accounted for within the first hour of the incident. The rest had at least checked in by now, with a few notable exceptions that Geeta was no doubt insinuating were his personal failing with her question. Being caught with his proverbial pants down in front of Geeta was relatively high on his unpleasant experiences list, but the director remained calm.
The entire academy was relying on their director to be a bastion of leadership in this time of uncertainty. Without his stalwart commands and the confidence to back them up, he could risk students being lost in the confusion. "Allow me to rephrase my concerns then, Geeta. Our instructors are currently bringing home the students from our former Team Star bases and other field activities personally, with the assistance of the… available squad captains. All students who were at the academy have been escorted home or ordered to shelter in place in the dorms. School has been postponed until the threat has been fully evaluated. This was all done on my instruction. Without faculty to keep the peace at the academy, however, I will not be able to maintain this state for long. The students are already restless because of Juliana's-"
"Juliana's what?" Geeta interrupted, folding her arms. "I was under the impression that information on her whereabouts was confidential."
"Whatever impression you find yourself under, we can't pretend that she hasn't missed her projected return date several times over," the director replied dryly. "The children are asking questions, about her and themselves. Many wish to return home and will be unable to if you do not leave me with enough staff to make that happen."
Geeta shook her head. "My decision is final. I personally appointed you and your staff because you were the best in the region, not just in teaching capabilities, but in your respective fields of study. I and the team will need to requisition your talents for this investigation. I should hope an insurrection over this inconvenience to the student's schedules is not what you spent your time developing contingencies for rather than a natural disaster like this."
What Director Clavell chose to do with his free time was no business of Geeta's. He would have clarified this point had a different part of her response not caught his attention. "It's a full investigation now? What happened to the detective that was here this morning?"
Again Geeta's irritation flashed across Clavell's screen before it was replaced by her neutral mask. The Top Champion had done well to conceal her emotions to meet the challenge of the frenetic demands of her roles. And yet she'd be much better off without that mask. Not that she's willing to surround herself with anyone who would tell her that. Present company included. "Had that detective and Larry been doing their jobs correctly, we might not have had a landslide to talk about," Geeta scoffed. "Come now, Clavell. You should know better than to give me pushback on matters like these. Time is of the essence, and you're wasting it here arguing semantics that don't matter. Do I really need to remind you of this?"
The director clenched his fists together behind his back. He knew there was nothing that he could do to change Geeta's edict, but it didn't allow his conscious to stomach the lack of action easily. "If you must take my staff, I would like to request replacements from the League as soon as possible. The children and their families should be our priority."
At this request Geeta smiled, reminding Clavell why it was still tolerable to work under the woman. Unreasonable as she could be, her heart's compass was as true as the man who had raised her. "Of course, Director. Now, on to the matter I contacted you about. You've heard nothing suspicious from any of the students or faculty?"
At this subtle accusation the director's face hardened again, mirroring that of the woman who was his boss in name only. If Geeta wanted to "borrow" his staff and make his life difficult, that was fine. However, he had no intention of tolerating such disrespect aimed at the students. "Of course not. You speak as though there's some cause she intends to rally the students to."
Geeta ignored this rejection, flipping through a folder she'd picked up from her desk. "Juliana has many friends at the Academy. The leader of Team Star. The son of the late professor. Most of the ten strongest trainers excluding herself. Even her instructors all speak highly of her, us included. You are well aware of her involvement in what happened today. How is it then that she drops off of the radar for every single one of these people without any of their help? Dropped phone calls, clandestine meetings at night, surely some sort of trail in their behavior if nothing else could have led to this tragedy being averted. You were monitoring Penny and still saw nothing?"
Geeta had run over any sense of subtlety in the conversation with a truck and left it to die on the street. Its replacement was a brash accusation that the director denied by pushing his glasses up his face and snorting in a manner that befitted the Clavell of decades ago much better than the Clavell now. "Now see here, Chairwoman Geeta. It is my responsibility to protect these students and help them grow, not endorse their delinquent activity. While I appreciate your devotion to bringing Juliana home, I must insist that you spend your time going about it in a more productive way than harassing me and my students. There is only so much of our suspicion they will tolerate before we create our own problems. I suspect you are aware of that based on your initial response to Juliana's disappearance and I would encourage you to retain that tact with your next words."
The top champion went silent, looking away from the screen to something Clavell couldn't see on the woman's desk. Clavell rarely employed any sort of abrasiveness in his conversations with the woman, leaving both sides a bit lost as they scrambled to find their footing in this uncharted conversation territory. When Geeta looked back at the screen, there was a glint of mischief in her eyes that made little sense to Clavell. "Mm, perhaps you have a point, old friend. I apologize, today has been a bit much for me. Please, just remember this little chat of ours when I come to the Academy personally to speak with the students tomorrow and assuage their concerns. Have things ready for my arrival by sunrise. Goodbye for now." Without waiting for a goodbye back, Geeta ended the call.
As soon as he was sure that the call disconnected, Director Clavell heaved a sigh and leaned forward to rest his hands on his desk. His great act of defiance had amounted to amusement from Geeta. He doubted she'd do anything rash, but giving him another event to prepare for was the antithesis of empathy. Rapping his fingers on his desk, Clavell looked up. "What do you think, sir? Am I doing right by her?" The ceiling refused to answer, prompting the asker to shake his head. "It would seem I'm losing credibility in all directions. You should be better than this, Clavell. For the students, if for no other reason. They need-"
The director's self-talk was interrupted by a notification going off on his Rotom Phone. Miriam the school nurse was asking him to escort some of the children that had finished recovering from being scared or other various minor injuries as a result of the tremor to their Mesagoza homes. Ordinarily, the director would have delegated this task to another teacher, but he was in a particular mood to be anywhere but where he currently was at the moment. He'd spent far too much time over the last three days or so catastrophizing over what his wayward students were doing and why they hadn't had the faith in the Academy necessary to come to him for help. Pushing thoughts of Juliana and the source of the tremor out of his mind, the director made his way to the school's infirmary. Miriam was startled to see Clavell in person, but she didn't object to allowing him to take the small group of students out with him. Mesagoza was under curfew thanks to the quake, and having someone with Clavell's battle skill and authority leading people around would help to reduce confusion.
The students, some of whom Clavell recognized, were unnaturally quiet as they followed the evening sun down the steps leading to the main plaza of Mesagoza, doing the exact opposite impression of the insurrection seekers that Clavell had implied. Usually the students would pepper him with questions about battling or school or his personal life that he would barely be able to keep up with. Today, their solemn march matched the eerie feeling of silence that hung over the entire city. It was to be expected given the curfew, but Clavell still felt motivated to get his task done as soon as possible. Seeing various League personnel wandering around trying to ensure the curfew was enforced bothered him even more. Paldea didn't have a full-blown police force due to its size, instead relying on local town watches and the League for larger problems. It was times like this that Clavell wished he was of an age to commit the years it would take to fix such large problems. The students were wary enough after the tremor and the League's response to Juliana's unofficial disappearance without being reminded that something was wrong at every turn.
As he returned the last student to a grateful mother and father, Clavell smiled in satisfaction knowing that every student in the city had now been accounted for. This feeling of fulfillment welling up inside of him was the point of his job. He wasn't some action hero or political leader using his people as pawns. He instead fostered young minds through direct interaction and providing them with a safe place to grow as people. The scent of approaching rain hit his nostrils as he turned back toward the academy. If the League wanted to stick their noses in Uva Academy's business, they'd have to do it on his terms. Having the director of both programs be the same woman was just an unfortunate complication he'd have to resolve later. Had Clavell been around when this union was made, he would have fought tooth and nail to prevent it, but years had allowed the two organizations to grow too deeply ingrained together. Pulling them apart now would… probably not look too dissimilar from what the mountain surrounding the Great Crater looked like right now. Director Clavell chuckled to himself at the thought as he reached the excessively long stairway leading back to the academy. At least he still had his endearing sense of humor to get him through spending the evening at work.
"Whatcha giggling about, Clive?" A voice echoed from right behind the director as he placed his foot on the first step.
Startled, Clavell whirled around, only to see nothing. "Over here," The order came from the direction of the stairs this time.
Turning back, the director didn't see anyone on the stairs, not even any League staff. Before he could go searching in his pocket for his headache medication, the voice decided that he needed some motivation. "Gooooo aroooound." Despite being a ghostly wail, Clavell still felt like he was being mocked somehow.
The director straightened out his violet suit as he abandoned his trip upwards for the moment. There was a large sitting area under the stairs that students and citizens alike enjoyed gathering at all hours of the day. It was also the last place that Clavell had expected to hear from the target of Geeta's ire. As he crossed around the stairs and under them, he was met with the surreal sight of Juliana sitting at one of the tables, waving him over like he was her lunch date. "There he is! Did my ghost friend help you find the way okay?"
Director Clavell glanced around. As far as he could tell, Juliana was alone. She was wearing her school uniform, likely to help her blend in. The various stains and cuts on the uniform did a poor job of keeping the image intact, however. Even without that, Juliana should have been able to recognize how dangerous it was for her to be here by all the League goons patrolling around. In an instant Director Clavell took the raging emotions within him and focused on the one that seemed like it would be the most productive. "Juliana? My word, where have you been young lady? I've been worried sick about you! Do you know what the League has been telling me? Please tell me you're here to set the record straight with them. You're here to tell the truth, right?" The man surged forward with speed his limbs weren't prepared to provide and rested his hands on the girl's shoulders.
As he did so, he felt murderous intent behind him. There wasn't time to reach his pokémon or even turn around. Instead, Clavell focused all of his attention on Juliana, attempting to convey everything he couldn't say to Geeta with concern for her in his eyes. Juliana had been just as started by the overprotective father approach as Clavell, but she came to her senses in time to wave off whoever was behind Clavell. "Eri, it's fine! Just go patrol for League guys or something, I've got this. Don't hurt anyone!"
The murderous intent remained, but Clavell failed to die. After he was sure that sudden movement was acceptable, Clavell released his student and turned to face the former student. Eri's face was almost unrecognizable without her makeup, but Clavell had no trouble identifying her even without Juliana's help. "Good evening, Eri. Are you well?" Clavell asked like it was completely normal for her to appear. "You wouldn't happen to know the location of your former compatriots, would you?"
Eri spat on the ground and turned away in response. "If it were up to me, you wouldn't be on your feet right now, geezer," the former student responded with venom before stalking off.
"Don't mind her, she's still bitter. I'll get Penny to talk to her sometime," Juliana reassured as they watched Eri walk away. "Anyways, sit, sit! We got some catching up to do."
As he took a seat, Clavell interlocked his fingers and placed his elbows on the table between the pair. He would have like to interrogate Eri a bit longer to learn more about what his missing students were doing, but keeping his bones where they belonged took priority. "Before we begin, I must insist that you tell me the truth, Juliana. Are you responsible for everything?"
Juliana tilted her head at this question as Clavell's façade of seriousness was tested. "What, like everything that ever happened? I don't think so. I mean, maybe, in a cosmic sort of way? Oh, you mean since I left the academy, right. Um, I guess, in a sense? I don't really know what Geeta and the League told you, but they're probably right. I definitely caused that damage to the mountain."
Clavell's heart sank. Any hope he had of convincing Juliana to do the right thing in this situation was fading away. He was already concerned when he saw Eri, but now the student had all but confirmed his worst fears. "Juliana, child, please listen to me. Do you have any idea exactly how what you've done is going to affect the region as a whole? This is going to become an international incident soon. If the world finds out you're responsible, then-"
"They're not going to find out anything. I'm going to tell them," Juliana interrupted. "But in order to do that, I'm going to need your help, Clive."
It was Clavell's turn to be surprised. His thoughts short circuited, leaving him focused on the least important part of Juliana's statement. "My name isn't Clive," Clavell grumbled.
Juliana still hadn't let go of the radical idea that Director Clavell was just a persona and Clive was who the director actually existed as, despite Clive just being a student disguise Director Clavell used to interact with his students on an informal level. Not spreading that notion around the entire academy had cost him several semesters of easy classes for the honor student. "Alright, whatever you say Clive. But more importantly, I came here because things are going to get much worse before they get better. I want the academy to be prepared to minimize potential damages."
"Damages?" Clavell echoed. "I should hope you're not talking about the lives of our students like calculatable statistics." The most annoying part of that analogy was that it made Juliana sound like Geeta, making Clavell briefly reconsider the success that had come from his life choices.
Juliana instantly shook her head to the director's relief. "What? No, of course not! Who thinks like that? Do you think like that? That's messed up, Clive. Here I thought you were the kinda guy who had his life together."
"Enough!" Clavell cut in, foregoing decorum to retrieve a headache pill from his pocket. "I don't think like that, which is why I must request that you be clearer in your wording. I cannot even begin to agree to help you if I don't understand your motivation. You're fortunate I haven't called the League already."
Juliana's playful expression softened into a more neutral, professional look. "That's understandable, I guess. I shouldn't just force things on people, note to self and Nemona. Let me be clear." She cleared her throat and rested her hands on the table. "The region is suffering bad. Geeta was the only person I know who knew about it and could do something after we lost Professor Turo, and she's done nothing. While I was down there in Area Zero, I discovered the truth and nearly got killed over it. Do you understand? If Geeta had her way, I'd be dead right now. Dead. Blegh. Kaput."
Director Clavell absorbed this information quietly. He was more surprised by the fact that he wasn't surprised than he was by Juliana's claim. The student wasn't much of a liar, something he'd had plenty of chances to learn while he was traipsing around the region with her to bring Team Star under control. There were in fact few students he trusted more than Juliana when things were looking dire. Having things look dire because of her actions was another story entirely. "Even if that were true, it doesn't justify what you've chosen to do about it," Clavell argued. "The right thing to do would have been to confront her about it directly."
"You don't think that's how I ended up in this situation? No, she's forcing my hand. I have to do something for this region if she's not going to. It's not the region I come from, but it's more of a home to me than anything else. My friends and family are here. I can't just sit back and let it be choked to death right under our noses while Geeta lets it happen."
There was truth to Juliana's words, but more importantly there was a passion that came from feeling like you were right and being told you were wrong. It was an open secret that the tera phenomenon was left woefully understood by leading experts once Professor Turo and his team disbanded. Though Clavell had suspected Geeta knew more than she ever let on, to hear such vitriol come from Juliana as she made the claim awakened a memory in the director. Clavell had felt that fire burning within him once, and he'd almost let it consume him and everyone around him before. Now he had a chance to prevent history from repeating itself. "Here's what I don't understand," Clavell admitted, raising a hand for silence. "You claim that Geeta is supposedly just letting this coming calamity happen, that she has no intention of doing anything. What makes you so sure about that? What interest of hers could it possibly serve to allow harm to come to a region she essentially controls?"
"Ah, there's the rub," Juliana cut in, wagging a finger at the teacher. "She doesn't want anyone to know that, and it's another reason she's so ticked off at me. I'm not going to tell you, because then you'll be ticked off at her and unable to hide it too, so I'll just give you a hint for now: There's something in Area Zero, I'm talking like the source of the tera phenomenon, that offers up the chance to seize super unimaginable power. Thing is, the only way to get at it is through a lot of sacrifice. I mean, a whole heaping lot of damage has to be done to this region before it can be obtained. It was a sort of last resort thing from the past, you get me? And there's plenty of other ways to keep the tera phenomenon in check. But Geeta has willfully ignored them, just to obtain a bit more power. How can I remain ignorant after learning that?"
That sounded suspiciously like the Geeta Director Clavell had come to know as well. If this was truly the route they were going down, the director would have to make a choice he was hoping he'd never have to make soon. "Why did you come here?" Director Clavell asked, changing the subject. "Of all places, this is one of the primary spots that they would suspect you of coming."
"Did. Did suspect me of coming. The way I heard it, the League had goons poking around everywhere around here until some crazy event caused almost all of them to scatter to the Great Crater, plus Larry and that detective guy getting distracted looking everywhere but here. That's convenient, isn't it?"
Exasperated, the director pinched the bridge of his nose. "Don't tell me you caused all this trouble just to get into the academy undetected."
The flippant air Juliana had been giving off up to this point was temporarily discarded. "No, of course not. That was just an unintended benefit. I came here because I need your help, like I said. More specifically, I want to make an announcement to everyone tomorrow morning."
"Tomorrow morning? What about?" Director Clavell considered himself to be rather in touch with the tastes of the youth, but Juliana was more akin to a wild animal, following whatever unpredictable impulse tickled her fancy.
"That's not important. You're not saying I can't immediately, which is important. Now listen. Penny probably asked you this same thing earlier today, and that's why I'm here. She's trying to do that whole 'turn yourself in, heroine, it's too dangerous for you to go on' trope, and I couldn't get it through her head that this is something I have to do. So I need you to play my message instead of hers. Oh, and being able to crash in my dorm tonight would be appreciated. That's all, Clive. Do we have a deal?"
For a deal to be struck, there had to be mutual benefit to both parties that offset the potential losses incurred by the proposed partnership. What Juliana was proposing was more of a threat than anything else. The murderous aura left behind by Eri hadn't totally faded, and the director refused to believe that his student had failed to consider what an attack on the region would do to the people who had tasked themselves with running it. Juliana was too clever for that. "While I'm flattered by your faith in me, I do have to ask myself why you believe I would be complicit in your actions, Juliana," the director responded quietly, not wanting to end the conversation with his question.
Juliana tsked and shook her head. "Clive, come on. I know you. You know Geeta. I refuse to believe that in all your years of working for the league you've harbored no doubts about what was going on behind the scenes. A year or so ago Penny got curious and hacked into your records. Don't worry about it, she didn't do anything, and anything I say is hearsay, so no biggie. Anyways, she found out why you left the League behind. I have to assume the only reason you'd come back after all this time is because you feel like there's still some good you can do here, that it's something the future really needs. Am I wrong?"
Director Clavell was at a true loss for words. On a normal day he'd have gone into a rage, an ugly part of his repressed history that he'd endeavored to avoid ever showing to the students. But even as this frustration built within him, he could see that Juliana had made a reasonable point. He was far too old to be out there trying to change the world on the front lines anymore, and he certainly didn't have the skills on the battlefield for it. That had left taking over the academy when his old friend's daughter had requested him to as one of the only viable options. "Top Champion Geeta's father was a great man," Clavell spoke candidly with heavy amounts of control injected into his tone. "And I owe him much. That is why I took this job when his daughter made the request of me." There was another pause as Clavell considered what was appropriate to say given his station. "Perhaps his one blind spot was in his home, but that doesn't mean Geeta is a bad person. I do not believe you when you say she's stooping to the levels you claim she is. Nothing you've said has convinced me that your goals cannot align with hers."
"I wish that were true. Would make my life a lot easier," Juliana sighed. "Well, I tried. If that's how it's gonna be, guess I'll go find a rock to sleep under or something. Nice chatting with you, Clive."
"Wait!" Clavell insisted, getting out of his chair as Juliana made to leave. "I didn't say that I wouldn't help you, merely that I don't agree with you. And if you genuinely want my help, you'll have to provide me something in exchange."
"If it's in my power, I'll at least consider it," Juliana promised, turning back to hear the director out.
Privately relieved that he'd saved the conversation for the moment, Director Clavell sat back down. "If you want to send a message and stay the night in peace, I can give you that. In exchange, however, I need three things. One, I need your word that, whatever you choose to do next, nobody is going to be harmed by your actions. Two, I need you to promise me that nobody else at the Academy is involved in this scheme of yours, and if they are, I need to know who they are. This includes Penny and the other members of Team Star you've essentially implicated with your actions tonight. And finally, I would like your student ID."
At the third request, Juliana raised an eyebrow. "You want that? Why? Isn't that just like admitting you came into contact with me?"
Director Clavell shook his head. "Not at all. We keep copies of all student IDs on file in case one is lost. I ask you this because, unfortunate as it is, I cannot condone the behavior of students who so recklessly endanger the lives of others. For that reason, I cannot continue to provide you education at this institution so long as you continue down this path."
Juliana said nothing for a moment. The time passing was long enough that Clavell actually started to believe his threat might be credible before Juliana pulled out her student ID and handed it over to the Director. "I owe a lot to this school, but if I don't do this, then everything will have been for nothing," Juliana reaffirmed. "Maybe that's not the answer you wanted to hear, but my resolve is firm on this."
Clavell allowed his fist to close around the ID. He was reminded of a time years ago when the same ultimatum had been given to him, in different circumstances with similar implications. His answer then had reflected that of the young student standing in front of him now. "I see. In that case, you have my congratulations on graduating from Uva Academy, Juliana Violet. I do hope you'll go out to do great things for the world one day."
Juliana blinked in confusion. "Wait, just like that? What about grades, and classes and stuff? I think my art class was-"
"It's my decision as the director to personally approve or disapprove every student who enters and leaves this academy," Clavell interrupted. "And if you are to go, I'd rather you have the opportunity to do it with your head held high, no matter what comes next. This was overdue anyways, do you not agree?"
Juliana looked down at her school uniform, already struggling to hold itself together from the punishment it had sustained over the past few days. "Mm, perhaps it was. Thank you, Director. Regarding your other two conditions, I haven't nor do I have any intention of hurting anyone."
When the Director narrowed his eyes at the multiple bandages on Juliana's arms and legs, she rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "This was all me, I don't count. Anyways, about the second thing. This is all me too. I can't control what the others do, but this is something I'm choosing to do for myself. Eri chose to follow me. Part of this is removing Penny from the equation. She didn't know what I was going to do, and she thinks she's helping by covering for me when she's not, so she's the only one I'm taking the choice away from, since she tried to do it to me first. The others are free to do as they wish, but I haven't spoken to any of your missing students. So, you tell me: Are you okay with removing their freedom to choose if it means they might make a bad call?"
In getting so in touch with the youth that he could feel his heart beat with the same pulse as his goal, Director Clavell realized that he had allowed himself to become quite easy to read. This must be part of the reason students always flocked to him whenever they needed something unreasonable done around the school. Juliana had cornered him, and both sides were aware of this fact. Whether she knew which students Director Clavell was referring to or not, his hands were tied in the information war. Loathe as he was to trust someone branded as a criminal, the director decided to believe that Juliana's actions and intentions would remain pure so long as she remained on campus. If she didn't, he would deal with her himself, no matter who got in his way. Rising to his feet, Clavell motioned toward the academy. "I am not. It would go against what the treasure hunt, no, the academy stands for. Without proof, they are innocent. You are right, Juliana. I can give you your room for tonight, but I will not protect you should anyone come looking for you."
"That's fine," Juliana waved off. "Thanks a bunch, Clive. It really means a lot."
The earnest smile that Director Clavell was receiving was blinding even without any sunlight reflecting off of it. Perhaps he'd allowed old age to make him soft to these sorts of requests. The fact that he didn't consider that the worst thing in the world was a more disquieting notion anyways. Clavell smiled back. "Of course. Oh, and one more thing. Call me Clive again, and I'll bring you to Geeta myself."
Juliana's easy smile faded away instantly. "Ah, right. You got it, Director, no complaints from me!"
"I'm sick of your complaints by now. It's not good enough to just have progress at this point. Are you trying to tell me that the man has taken my actions as a sign to move slower rather than faster?"
"I've attempted to get a straight answer out of him several times, but all he'll say is that he finally has the right group of people together and the truth is closer than we think. It's really starting to affect the morale of everyone."
A small scoff was heard on the other end of the line. "And you? You feel your morale sinking, Larry?"
"My morale has remained unchanged since I got out of bed this morning, boss. I suppose I could use a coffee, though."
"Larry, then buy a damn coffee. You of all people shouldn't be the one complaining about this."
Most of Larry's conversations with his boss went something like this. Everyone saw him as the guy who simply did whatever his boss said, but the truth was quite the opposite. As Geeta knew, Larry was one of the most difficult people to recruit when it came to dealing with extracurricular work activities. This was because Larry made it his mission to be as busy and proactive with staying busy as possible. As long as his life was full of meaningless activities, Geeta couldn't reasonably justify giving him something to do that would take actual effort. The other gym leaders and elite four would poke fun at him for it. Others on the outside looking in wouldn't understand it, but Larry knew from experience that the best way to get through life was to keep your head down and stay busy. He didn't understand how people like Geeta and kids like Juliana survived with their heads up in the clouds all the time. The air was thin enough without having to fight with everyone up there just to breathe. Larry hid a sigh. He'd already been reprimanded once in front of a civilian today; he didn't need an encore performance. "I have things under control. If something about the situation changes, you'll be the first to know. More importantly, are you sure you don't need me at the mountain site?"
"There were no casualties or injuries that we picked up on so far, not even from pokémon," Geeta responded tersely. "The more people look into it, the more it looks like a man-made occurrence, a controlled demolition if you will. I'm going to have to report about this tomorrow, and unless Juliana comes forward and says she did it herself, it'll look like some unknown force is attacking the region."
"Is that so far from the truth?" Larry interjected. "The smarter ones are going to look at the mess she left behind and start asking questions about why one of the supposed rarest minerals in the region are now suddenly so abundant in the ground."
"Let me handle questions like that. You do your job and report in as soon as the situation changes. Geeta out." Geeta signed off before Looker could even raise his hand to end the call himself.
"Too much trouble," Larry muttered as he turned around to make sure nobody was listening.
The whole day had been too much trouble. When he'd heard about what Juliana had stolen, he'd done his best to stay out of things. He was one of the few people Geeta trusted enough to explain the dire state the region was actually in, so having someone else suddenly become wise to the situation was probably a doomsday scenario for Geeta that Larry wanted no part of. Juliana wasn't a friend, but it had been a while since someone besides the champion had so utterly trounced him in battle. Despite his looks, Larry had a small amount of pride in being one of the region's strongest trainers. It was only because his team was limited for gym battles and even elite four battles that Larry lost so often. A lesser man would have buckled under these constant failures, but not Larry. He keep his head down and continued to plug away at his meaningless work, focusing his specific talents on being as mediocre as possible. He'd considered taking the week off after Juliana's actions, but Geeta would find a way to draw him in anyways. But even this annoying overtime assignment would work out in his favor. Eventually, he'd see his own goal realized, and maybe that would finally be the time when he could stick his head out and see what all the fuss about doing whatever you want was about. Until then, he was Larry the gym leader turned elite four member turned Geeta's desk jockey. That was understandable to him, which made it okay. As he mused over his lot in life to himself, he took in the scene of the camp that his team had set up just outside of the Segin Squad's base. Looker was staring intently at his phone like it was about to run away from him while Nemona and Arven were arguing about something that definitely didn't matter.
The trainer duo had been insufferable since being put together. Larry had never liked Nemona and her bloodthirsty nature when it came to pokémon battles. Unlike Juliana, who cared for her pokémon on a deeper level and battled as a way of getting stronger, Nemona battled just for the thrill associated with the fight whether she learned anything or not. It was because of this that her reign as a champion, or rather the newest champion, had been so short lived and her replacement had been sought after so much more than the original. Nemona was the sort of person who epitomized too much of a good thing, and Arven wasn't the sort of person who could tolerate it. Judging by the bowl in Arven's hand, they were likely having some sort of argument about food, and that meant Larry had something he could say that would end the conversation. Stepping back into the social circle, Larry made his presence known by clearing his throat. "Alright, what's going on?"
Both Arven and Nemona glanced up, startled that Larry was willingly involving himself in something. The gym leader had considered improving his disposition several times as a manner of convincing other people that he could be personable, but the opportunity cost was always too high. It was easier to keep his head down and take care of the tasks set out directly in front of him. "You know what, fine, let Larry settle this. Answer me this, Larry. What's Juliana's favorite pokémon?" Nemona asked.
If Larry hadn't spent years training himself not to do so, he'd have rolled his eyes at this question. He'd misjudged the situation and was paying a fatal price for it. "It's her starter pokémon, obviously. She cares about Coco more than she cares about herself," Arven insisted.
"No, it's the miraidon she's always travelling around with. Obviously that one has a closer bond with her since it's always out of its ball. She even nursed it back to health like a loving mother or something!"
"Is there a relevance to the matter at hand that I'm missing here?" Larry asked, already knowing what the answer was going to be.
"If we use her preferences, it might help us figure out what she's going to do next," Arven explained like this was the most logical train of thought. "But I should have known better than to trust that this genius over here would be able to think about anything other than Juliana's strongest pokémon. Arceus forbid she like a pokémon that isn't her most effective battler, right?"
"What is with you? Why are you always on my case about liking battles?"
"What's with me? You're the one who was always running around and forcing your battle-crazy nature on everyone! You're lucky that Juliana put up with you for so long, because if she hadn't, you'd have scared off every student in the school from even approaching you by now!"
Nemona's hand drifted down to the pokeballs at her belt. "Oi, watch what you say, friend. If you think I'm going to sit here and take that sort of slander from someone who couldn't even be there for his friend when she came to him for help, then you've got another thing coming your way, special delivery."
Arven was also preparing for battle, crouching slightly while clenching and unclenching his fists. "At least she knew to turn to someone reliable."
"Going by utility, wouldn't her most useful pokémon be the rotom in her phone?" Larry asked, doing his best to turn the conversation in any other direction.
"NO!" Both trainers denied at the same time before glaring at each other for coming to an agreement.
Larry adjusted his hair nonchalantly while the others struggled to decide between glaring at each other or Larry. This was why getting involved was a bad idea. If people wanted to wear themselves out by being high-strung about things that didn't matter, that was fine. That also unfortunately meant when it came to deescalating the situation, he inevitably ended up holding the bag. Nevertheless, he'd devote his energy to being prepared when something actually important started happening. As if Larry's interruption had flipped a switch in Arven and Nemona's heads, the argument between them lost the fire it had held merely a moment ago. Though they went right back to arguing, neither was threatening to start a fight anymore. Nemona and Arven's verbal battle continued, but Larry drowned them out by staring at the setting sun. He was running out of time to bring a good report back to his boss. Whatever new horizon he was supposed to be seeing with this assignment wasn't making itself very apparent to him at the moment. The only thing he could see from this makeshift campground that Looker had established for them just outside of the Segin squad's now abandoned base was Looker fiddling with something on his phone. This man was the very reason that Arven and Nemona were being allowed to argue in the first place, so the least he could do is take some responsibility for his actions. For lack of anything else to do but make this desire a reality, Larry approached him. "I don't suppose you're interested in quieting them?" Larry asked.
"It's good that they're fighting. If they're doing that, they can't be running off or starting problems where I can't keep tabs on them," Looker responded flippantly. "Too many variables, too soft of me. More importantly, there's been no change in Geeta's promise, right? We'll have until tomorrow?"
"As far as I know," Larry waved off, still not sure what the detective was presuming that he could accomplish in a mere evening. It wouldn't be long before Nemona at least would be required to return to her dorm for the night.
Looker had insisted that the quartet make their way back to the Segin Squad's base despite it being abandoned due to the mountain splitting. To be frank, Larry didn't hold a remarkably high opinion of the man's skills. He'd blindly followed the trail of Arven exactly as Juliana had probably wanted and allowed her to do irreversible damage to the region and probably its inhabitants. Whatever sort of odd camaraderie Larry had felt with the young trainer had been discarded when he saw the images coming in from first responders. It was a feeling of anger that Larry hadn't allowed himself to feel in a long time, to the point that he allowed his judgement to become clouded, nearly abandoning his mark to go chasing after someone that didn't matter. But Looker had fortunately helped him to remain in control. For that, at least, he was grateful. It also made Larry wonder what could possibly be inspiring such lethargy after the rousing speech Looker had given just a short while earlier. The silence that had followed Larry's response was starting to become uncomfortable, even for him. "Look, can you at least tell me if your intent is to give up? Because Nemona will need to return home soon and-"
"Give up?" Looker interrupted. "What gave you that idea?"
"Then is there a reason that we're here?" Larry pressed. "We're burning precious hours that could have been used to investigate the mountainside, search for clues."
"I confess some surprise that you've taken interest, but there's nothing to be found there," Looker waved off. "And if there is, there's going to be more than enough manpower there when the calvary arrives. We should be much more focused on going for the head of the ekans. It's all we've been afforded time for, and I've a suspicion that it's what your boss is expecting of us."
"So you're suddenly fine with doing exactly what she wants?" Larry couldn't help but question. "I'd rather not have my defining trait be mimicked so easily."
Looker chuckled. "Not quite, but I can appreciate what she's trying to do, at the very least."
This wasn't an answer, and both parties knew this. It was becoming apparent to Larry that he was being imitated, possibly mocked in his mannerisms. Coming from someone that he'd seen so flawlessly pull off a grieving crotchety old man earlier, there were few other feasible explanations. "You're upset with my methodology," Larry surmised.
"It's less that, and more upset with myself for letting things reach that point. If I had been treating Juliana as I do other criminals who act with such a lack of compassion for people and pokémon alike, I might have stood a better chance at finding her sooner. That is not a mistake I will make again."
There was a conviction in Looker's tone that Larry hadn't heard before. All day the man had been what Larry would describe as sleepwalking through his duties, likely outside of his notice. Larry could tell because he did it himself all the time. Now, however, the events around Alfornada seemed to have awoken something in him, though the time to act on this newfound resolve was short enough that Larry questioned whether a new lease on life was particularly useful in the moment. "Alright then, if you're so confident that things can be resolved before tomorrow morning, what brings us here?" He'd need to know for Geeta's sake anyways, but Larry had spent enough time on this problem that a modicum of curiosity had welled up within himself as well, and unlike Looker he could admit when something aberrant was going on within him.
Looker held up two fingers. "Two reasons. One, I wanted a clear signal to ensure that my report went through. Communications have been spotty ever since the tremor, and I suspect the black rocks that were exposed are likely to blame. No, I'm certain of it. Whatever great calamity that is being withheld from us must have something to do with the worsening tera phenomenon, but I digress. Second, I want to make it easier to ensure that we're not being lied to when Juliana decides to reach out to us."
The second reason was so outlandish that Larry had to think about it for a moment before he realized just how abnormal it was. "What makes you think that Juliana is going to reach out to us? She doesn't even know you."
"Not us, them," Looker pointed over to where Nemona was winding up to take a swing at Arven. "Think about it like this. I'm Juliana. I just destroyed one of the natural wonders of the region. There's very few people I can turn to or trust. We already know that she's willing to lean on one of her three closest friends when necessary. It stands to reason that she'll come to one of them again, despite what Arven said. And if she wants to do that, she needs a burner phone which routes all of its communication through one of the largest communications towers in the region. More importantly, I sincerely doubt that this little act of defiance is the endgame for whatever she intends to do. To accomplish more, she'll need help, and I'm betting on her trying to reach out to Arven and Nemona before she realizes that they're with us."
"You speak like you already know where she's going to be. Why aren't we actively pursuing her?"
"Because if we're not invited, she wont let us get close," Looker explained in a tone just a hair above condescending. "It's painfully obvious that one of you three is still in contact with her, and now it's just a matter of letting that person go to her."
The accusation caught Larry off guard. Surely Looker was wiser than to presume that he would have anything to do with Juliana at this point. Or he thinks I'm less invested in my job than I actually am. Something about developing a conscious, or something? No, he's not that foolish. And neither am I. When Larry met the man's eyes, that understanding passed through them. Looker was referring to the others. "She should know about Nemona, and Penny is still under surveillance," Larry pointed out.
"If she's got a contact with the school, she knows that Nemona ran off when she heard that Arven was somewhere in Alfornada. She wanted Arven out of the way, but that doesn't mean she wanted him gone. Arven isn't looking at the bigger picture. Penny has already proven that she'll do what's necessary to evade detection when possible, so drawing her in won't make things any easier for us."
Larry shook his head. "I guess I'll believe it when I see it. Is there something we can do besides sitting around in the meantime?"
A semi-friendly nod was Looker's response. "You can tell me why you decided to attack Arven with your pokémon back there. That's usually the sort of thing that only criminals do, you know."
"Or the police," Larry countered emotionlessly. "It may not look like it, but the Paldea League is basically the law in this region. We have police officers, but they can't meet criminals on the terms that those criminals set. You were the one who said that he sicced a horde of salandit on you, are you not?"
Looker should have paused to remember this fact and then congratulated Larry for using the appropriate amount of force to handle the situation, but instead he sighed and shook his head, disappointed. "Just because it's a tool that's sometimes necessary doesn't give anyone the right to wield it whenever they want. Arven clearly wasn't hostile."
"No, I suppose he wasn't."
Larry could tell that Looker wanted, more, much more from him. Perhaps an apology, an admission of guilt. It was possible that he even wanted some sort of consensus, an agreement that would give Looker permission to do what was needed to see their mission through. Maybe the detective was planning to write him up for assault or some other nonsensical charge. That didn't matter. Being quiet and unassuming made it that much easier to sense one's surroundings, and in this case Larry had detected his boss's presence long before Arven had appeared. Had Larry not made the first move, Geeta would have. Worse, Arven might have said something that made Geeta not want to let him go. The last thing Larry needed was to be stuck dragging around a brat that didn't want to follow him, though the end result was generally the same. The things I do for this unappreciative region… Larry rolled his shoulders as he leaned backward. Carrying around a briefcase and getting into fights all day really wore a guy down. It made the man miss all the administrative work that Geeta normally kept him bogged down with.
It was as Larry was wondering what the right next thing to say in this situation was that Arven's phone went off. Immediately Looker dropped what he was doing and rushed over to the boy. Had Arven not been preparing to dodge a swing from Nemona, he would have reacted to the ringing before Looker could get to him. Instead, Arven was in the process of looking at who was trying to message him when Looker snatched the boy's arm. "Hey, cut it out!"
"Answer it!" Looker ordered. "And put it on speaker!"
Startled by the insistence, Arven relented, answering his phone. Immediately an image of who Larry recognized as Juliana appeared on the screen. "Hey Arven, I know this is kind of a weird request, and I'm using a burner phone so you might not recognize the number, but you picked up, so that's good! This is a recording, don't answer. Privacy reasons and all that… You tried to answer anyways, didn't you? Like I said, privacy. So listen, can you come meet me at the academy tonight? There's some things that I need to get off of my chest. It's… no, just come if you can. I'll find you when you get there." A click ended the recording that had been allowed to play without interruption.
A moment or two passed before anyone responded. The next sound came from Nemona's phone, where a similar message was played. Looker nodded to himself as the second message ended. "She took longer to do it, but it's as expected. She's calling in her closest friends."
"Wait, doesn't that mean she's at the academy? We should send our people in and-"
"Absolutely not," Looker interrupted the gym leader. "Not if we want to lose her for good. Remember what I said? This is something only the four of us can do. I'm quite certain that if she sees people she doesn't recognize sniffing around the school, she'll be gone faster than anything. That means we get one chance to talk her out of whatever it is she's planning to do. Now, are we going to do this or not?"
Nemona and Arven exchanged a look and shrugged. "It's what I wanted to do anyways," Arven spoke for both of them for once.
All eyes turned to Larry. The man sighed again, his free hand drifting closer and further away from the pokéballs at his belt. "I'm not a fan of this, but you're right. You'll have to let me set up a perimeter myself though."
Looker nodded. "Of course, but discreetly. I've already contacted the league to put the wheels in motion."
Slightly annoyed that he'd been circumvented, Larry nodded. It occurred to him that there was another reason that Looker specifically said Larry was necessary for this plan. Looker clearly thought that Larry was going to be easier to manage if he stayed within sight, that Geeta's eyes and ears were best kept where they could be manipulated. A small smile found its way to Larry's face as the team prepared to move out. They'd find out who was really manipulating who soon enough, and then Juliana wouldn't be able to destroy his region any further. No matter what anyone thought, he still had enough pride in his home to see that the job was done well.