When he stepped off from the last warp pad, Saturn could hear Cyrus just around the corner.
He said a sentence, and then repeated a set of words over a few times. A variation or two was tested out before he paused to note down the order that he liked best.
It was a method he'd been using since the days where his speeches were relegated to a street corner. They had shared a cheap and very small apartment back then, and Saturn had heard every bit of the budding rhetoric as he washed up after dinner.
If he closed his eyes, he could almost be back there. His hands had been deep in the soapy water as he waited expectantly to see how every pause would turn out. One of them would inevitably be where Cyrus would decide that he was set. Where Saturn would feel arms wrap around him, and-
He snapped his eyes back open, and the apartment was gone as it had been for years. He was alone in the foyer to Cyrus's private (and solitary) chambers, and he had to keep going. He needed to for so many reasons but…
He wasn't ready for this. He very well might never be. And if he gave himself more time to waver, a million excuses for why he should just stay the path would manifest themselves.
What finally steeled his nerves was that nothing was worse than cold rice in the morning. Saturn readjusted the food trays and paperwork in his arms, and then went around the corner as if he hadn't paused at all.
"Good morning, Master Cyrus," he said as brightly as would be allowed.
Cyrus had never liked to stop work for something as trivial as caring for his basic needs, and often needed to be pestered into it. But that morning he was quick to get back to his desk, if only to pointedly shut one of the notebooks before he cleared the rest of the space for the trays.
Saturn noted it, but said nothing as he set up the meal and took the opposite chair. "The speech is coming along well."
"The substance is fine." Cyrus moved his notes a bit more to the side before he took up his chopsticks. "The rhythm will need to be ironed out."
"You still have a few hours to the rally," he said. "I'm sure you'll have it set by then."
"I will." He debated his breakfast for a moment, and as he settled in the fish said, "Give me the report."
"The pokemon are being checked over while they're fed, and the grunts are being briefed. Everyone has their assignments, and transportation is set to distribute them to their positions once the rally is finished. Mars and Jupiter are getting themselves ready, and both report their teams are prepared."
Cyrus ate slowly and deliberately as he nodded along. Each bite was analyzed, almost savored, as if this wasn't the same breakfast they'd shared for years.
Saturn glanced at his own paperwork, tucked neatly up against Cyrus's notebooks, before he continued on.
"The lake Pokemon are recovering well from the extraction and red chains are complete, according to Charon. It's being loaded onto the helicopter taking your team."
"Good," he said with a touch more enthusiasm than he'd shown in a while.
"So that just leaves me," Saturn finished, a touch pointedly. "And my team is cleared to fight and-"
"Are you trying to tell me you're coming with us?"
His fingers gripped his chopsticks a bit tighter. "Considering my position...I know that the ride will be a bit tight, but it's entirely doable."
"It's not an issue of space."
Cyrus drank his soup contemplatively, or at least in a way that was very much trying to look like it. Saturn didn't believe him. But he just had to sit because there would be nothing gained from trying to rush Cyrus.
He placed his empty bowl back on the tray. "Where I really need you is here at headquarters."
Saturn sat up with a start which Cyrus seemed to enjoy.
"Here?" He asked, a touch strangled. "With all due respect, there has been an increase in resistance lately. My teams strength at Spear Pillar could be critical to our success."
Cyrus waved him off. "You don't need to bother. My, our, victory is a foregone conclusion no matter what anyone does. Even the child you lot keep losing to."
He winced and said, "She is exceptionally strong for her age, to be fair."
"So I've heard." He took some rice. "When she comes, hold her up but let her do as she likes."
"You're giving her the run of the base?" He asked incredulously.
"Can you stop her this time?"
It was his turn to hide behind his soup.
"I have more than enough strength and manpower to let me do what I have to do," Cyrus said dismissively. "What I won't have, if you come along, is someone I can trust will keep headquarters running properly."
"I can think of a few people-"
"I can't."
His tone would have passed as casual to anyone else. But Saturn knew enough to hear the threat creeping around the edges.
"We both have our roles in this." His chopsticks clicked as he sliced more off the filet. "Mine is to handle the world we're building. Yours will be taking care of Galactic. And we're unstoppable together, aren't we?"
The look Cyrus gave him was deeply familiar, and it made Saturn's heart skip a beat.
His mind had just enough wherewithal to dart his eyes to the notebooks, and to disguise that as reaching for his paperwork.
"I appreciate your trust," he said. "But since it's come up, I also wanted to speak to you about that transition."
He turned the stack of papers around, and Cyrus glanced them over as he ate his rice.
"I hope it's not too presumptuous, but I wanted to make everything official," he said. "I know that you won't have much time to worry about this place once you're busy reshaping the world." His mouth twitched up, quickly and supportively. "And there definitely won't be time for beaurocracy."
"You think that something like paperwork will still be a concern in a perfect world?" He asked as he flipped through the contracts.
Saturn couldn't quite tell if Cyrus was amused or annoyed. The two tended to blur these days.
"You trust me because I cover my bases," Saturn pointed out. "That's all this is."
He grabbed the last of the rice. "And you want me to give you control of the bank accounts?"
"Just in case money is still a concern when everyone is complete." He finished his meal delicately. "If it's not, this is just lines on paper."
Cyrus eyed Saturn for what felt like ages, but was greeted with nothing but neutral professionalism. He finally waved to have the empty food tray taken back while he grabbed a pen.
Saturn complied promptly, and collected the signed paperwork while being careful to avoid physical contact. It wouldn't have helped to do something Cyrus had made clear was no longer acceptable from anyone.
"I'll get this all filed," Saturn said as he got up, and offered a bow for good measure.
"Of course. I trust in you more than anyone else here." There was amusement in his voice at some inside joke he had with himself.
"Thank you," Saturn said as he gathered up the trays and made doubly sure to keep the paperwork safe.
Only when he was far enough away from the desk that he couldn't read anything did Cyrus begin to open the notebooks again.
"So, since I won't be there to see…"
Cyrus glanced up at Saturn without turning his head. The amusement was gone.
"Are you finally going to tell me what you're binding up there?" He tilted his head. "What you're going to build?"
"Don't worry, you're going to see." Cyrus took up his pen and made another note. "Everyone is going to see."
Saturn's jaw tightened ever so slightly. "Of course."
He bowed as best he was able and left the room.
The rally was a success, as everyone had known it would be. The grunts were pumped up and their pokemon were itching for a fight. The squads were marched to their respective transports or positions for the final mission.
Saturn headed to the roof for lack of a firm assignment.
Mars, Jupiter, and a few hand-picked grunts boarded the helicopter. Only when they were secured in did Cyrus deign to climb on himself.
He didn't spare a look for Saturn, even though he knew that he was watching.
Saturn, for his part, waited until the helicopter was cleared for takeoff before he turned around. He was already heading back down as the blades began to spin.
His steps were deliberately casual at first, but slowly grew faster until he was in a sprint. Through the halls, the maze of warp pads, and finally to the office.
The helicopter hadn't even left Veilstone airspace before Saturn forced the lock on the desk and pulled out the notebook.
He sat himself in Cyrus's chair and began to read backwards from the notes that morning.
By the time the earpiece crackled to life the familiar looks and embraces, and the apartment itself, were further gone than they'd ever been.
"Commander Saturn, the base is under attack!" The grunt on the other end shouted. "We're not getting any response to calls for reinforcement, and-!"
Saturn closed the notebook and calmly reached up to press the microphone button. "You won't. We're on our own. Don't make it easy, but don't anyone push too hard and get hurt."
He stood up from what was now his chair in his building for his organization.
"I know what they're here for," he said as he tossed the notebook back onto the desk. "And I'm going to take care of things."