Chapter 8

Lost and Found

Cassius sat in the lobby waiting for Darren to meet him for breakfast. Anubis and Cerberus were running around outside in the shining sun playing while Patriot kept a watchful eye on them. Flash lay curled up at his feet, purring like a motorcycle as Cassius stroked his head.

Cassius couldn't help but smile at Flash, reminiscing on the days of when he was a little Shinx. Flash looked back up at him and grinned, nudging his thigh for more love. Ferocious on the outside, kindly as a kitten on the inside.

"You know you're nothing but an adorably large Skitty, right?"

Flash's grin got even wider and his fur sparked, giving Cassius a shock. His arm went into a minor spasm, flapping up and smacking him in the face. He gave his blue fur ball a death glare that could peel paint off the wall. Flash gave an awkward smile that showed he was remorseful, so Cassius just let it go.

The sound of footsteps from the stairs caught his attention and he turned to see a down trodden Darren carrying his luggage. His Pokemon were following closely behind, looks of sadness on their face. What's got them so down? Cassius stood as Darren approached. The look that Cassius saw in his eyes was so sad that he had to ask.

"What's wrong?"

Darren looked back up to unleash the full power of his pitiful look. Oh god, this man is gonna be the death of me.

Cassius couldn't make out what it was that Darren said at first. He just gave the pouting man a look that implied he needed to speak up.

"I lost my late father's watch."

It felt like Cassius had been punched in the gut. He could understand how terrible it felt to lose a father. It feels just as bad when you lose one of their prized possessions.

"What did it look like?"

"It has a simple leather band with a golden watch face. I remember that I had it at the bar. Do you think that we could stop by to see if it's there?"

Cassius thought that would delay them even further. Then his memory smacked him in the face full force. I took his watch off last night and forgot to pick it up!

"Hold on. I think I might know where it is."

At that, Cassius ran back up the stairs to his room. He opened the door and quickly surveyed the room. He saw the precious watch left on the table and breathed a sigh of relief.

Goddamn, that was close.

He quickly closed the distance to the table with long strides and snatched up the watch. He rushed out of the room and nearly tripped running down the stairs. He skidded to a stop in front of Darren and held up the watch for Darren to see.

"Here. I just remembered that I took it off of your wrist last night. I nearly forgot to return it to you."

A moment passed before sheer joy took over Darren's face. His smile lit up the whole room like as if the sun were breaking through the clouds in an overcast sky. He took the watch from Cassius and placed it back on his wrist. His face instantly calmed and his Pokemon seemed to brighten up. Cassius couldn't help but feel horrible about nearly losing his watch.

"I'm really sorry about almost losing your dad's watch."

Darren's hair fell in front of his face as he looked back up. His emerald green eyes caught Cassius' gunmetal blues in a minor trance. The happiness he exuded from his smile was amazingly intoxicating.

"That's alright. I have it back now and that's all that matters," he said, brushing his hair back out of his face. Cassius unknowingly returned the smile with one of his own.

Anubis, Cerberus and Patriot came barreling through the front door, ready to leave for breakfast. Their enthusiastic entrance caused them to run right into Cassius and knock him down on his ass.

And there goes the moment.

Darren began to laugh as Cassius' Pokemon began a Lillipup pile with him on the bottom of all the love. After a few minutes of struggling Cassius got himself free. He brushed himself off and gave a once over of Darren's Pokemon.

Rhea, Darren's Snivy that he already met, was keeping close to Darren's leg. It seemed as if she was shy in such a large group. On Darren's other side was a Rotom, bobbing up and down with a jovial look on its face. Behind Darren were a Sigilyph and a Braviary.

He has the makings of a pretty solid team. They seem pretty well-cared for and they're happy with him.

Darren noticed how Cassius looked over his Pokemon and began to splutter out introductions. He gestured to his Rotom and introduced him as Mekhos.

"This little guy was the one who protected me from the last attack. Behind me are Totem, my Sigilpyh, and Kuina, my first Pokemon."

"Kuina was your first?"

Darren nodded in affirmation.

"I've had her since she was a little Rufflet. She's been with me on every trip. I don't know what would happen if I ever lost her."

Cassius looked back at Patriot with a loving expression in his eyes. Cassius felt a bond of complete trust had been forged between the Professor and his Pokemon. A testament to a truly loving relationship between Pokemon and Trainer stood right before his very eyes and he couldn't help but smile again.

"Funnily enough, my first Pokemon was Patriot," he said as Patriot moved closer to his side.

"Really? That's quite a coincidence."

"He was a gift from my father. Patriot is one of my strongest battlers and has been with me since I started training. But we can talk more at breakfast. There's a café just around the corner and they're great with Trainers."

Darren nodded his assent and the brood of Pokemon and Trainers began walking towards the café. Cassius decided that the walk would be best, allowing all the Pokemon to interact. Kuina and Patriot were flying together jovially with each other. It's not often that Patriot gets to see more of his own species in Kalos, let alone a female. Anubis and Mekhos did what all young Pokemon do; they ran around in circles ahead of the group with Cerberus playing babysitter. Cassius was surprised that his lovingly dopey Houndoom was able to play the role of adult well. Rhea was keeping close to Darren's leg, shy and uncomfortable with the large group. Darren would look down every now and then to reassure her that she was fine. Totem floated close and would do his best to calm Rhea down with funny faces, but that would just make it a little worse. Flash stuck close to Cassius' side, his eyes darting around the scene. He was ever watchful. He knew instinctively that they were here to protect Darren from his would-be kidnappers.

Ever vigilant. He's on the prowl for anyone suspicious.

After a few more minutes of walking they arrived at Celia's Café, a place that was famous in Coumarine City for the care that it gives to traveling Trainers. The building was large inside with tables scattered around. The patio was even larger with a view of the whole city. There were a few trainers sitting inside with their Pokemon bingeing on the delicious food. However, the patio was completely unoccupied.

"Let's head over to the patio. It's larger and unoccupied, so we'll have some privacy to discuss our route," Cassius said.

Darren nodded in assent and the whole lot of them moved around to the back. Not even a second passed before Cassius heard someone call out to him.

"Little Cas, is that you?!"

Cassius turned to the source of the noise to see his second mother, Celia. She had a smile that made anyone's bad day go away. Her curly blond locks bounced around with each step she took as her apron flowed with the wind, her blue dress beneath doing the same. Cassius couldn't help but hug her then and there. The embrace was comforting.

"How've you been? You here visiting your grandpa?"

"I'm fine, Celia. Work's been keeping me busy and it's actually the reason why I'm here."

Celia suddenly looked worried.

"Does it have anything to do with what happened to Ramos?"

Cassius' heart stuttered at the sound of his grandfather's name. He had a sudden reminder of what happened just a few days ago.

"No. I'm tasked with something different. The police here are taking point on that particular case. But don't worry, gramps is okay and so is his Gogoat."

Celia became relieved immediately when she heard the news.

"That's good. Well, what can I get ya?"

"I think we might need some menus first," Cassius said.

"Sure."

Celia led the group to a table and gave Darren and Cassius menus. She flashed them a quick smile and said that she would be back in a little bit to take their orders. Cassius called his Pokemon one by one to have them look at the menu and pick what they wanted, with Darren following suit. After making sure he knew what each of his companions craved he skimmed over the menu himself. It only took him a moment before he found his favorite eggs benedict with croissants. It wasn't too long before Celia returned to take their orders.

"Y'all ready ta order?"

"Yup. Anubis wants a bowl of Pecha and Nanab berries with a side of cream. Patriot wants the filet mignon because he's decided to burn a hole in my pocket. Flash wants a large order of Deerling bacon and Cerberus wants a plate of Grumpig chops. Oh, and I would like to have the eggs benedict with croissants and a cup of coffee. Cream and sugar please."

Celia nodded and turned to Darren.

"And for you, hun?"

"Kuina wants a ribeye steak, rare. Totem would love to have a bowl of your freshest berries. Rhea wants the cereal with chocolate milk instead of regular. Oh, and do you have a spare car battery for Mekhos?" Celia gave a quick nod. "Thank goodness. He gets that whenever he can. Oh, and I would like the pancakes with scrambled eggs."

Celia gave another quick nod, finished writing down what the party wante and left to put in the large group order. Cassius turned to Darren after Celia was out of earshot.

"So where is our first destination on this expedition?"

"Our first stop is going to be the Tower of Mastery in Shalour City. Mega Evolution was first discovered in that area of Kalos, so it would seem that would be the best place to get the most information."

"Great. Then after that? I would like to know your full route so that I can plan accordingly."

Darren just looked at Cassius and shrugged.

"I really haven't planned that far ahead. I'm more of a fly at the seat of my pants type."

Cassius' jaw dropped. His shock at the lack of Darren's forethought, especially in his current situation, hit him like a ton of bricks.

"What?!"

Darren just shrugged nonchalantly once more. His stone-faced expression did nothing but further baffle Cassius.

"There really aren't that many sources of information on Mega Evolution outside of the Tower of Mastery. Once I gather enough information there, I'll be able to get a better idea of possible research locations."

This guy is supposed to be one of the brightest minds of our generation and he has no plan? Again, this guy is gonna be the death of me!

Cassius' only response to this was to shake his head in disagreement.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know how safe you'll be without a defined route. If I know where we are heading, then I could set up proper protective measures along our route."

"But then we could also be targeted. If everyone who is meant to protect me knows my route, then it's possible that my pursuers would know as well. To minimize that particular risk, I even don't plan any further than the first step in my travels."

Again, Cassius' jaw dropped to the floor. The logic behind his argument was valid, even though it went against all of Cassius' personal beliefs about safety.

"Alright, I give. This is your expedition, after all. I don't like this, though."

Darren nodded in understanding. It was then that two young looking waitresses and a young waiter, who was struggling to carry a car battery alone, in plain clothes brought out all of their food. Kuina and Patriot began tearing apart their steaks; Flash and Cerberus tore into their bacon and chops. Totem began to eat away at his berries and Mekhos started to drain his battery. Anubis played with his berries by tossing them into the air and catching them in his mouth, while Rhea calmly ate her cereal away from the other Pokemon. Cassius looked back at his team to see if they were enjoying their meal. Once his curiosity was satisfied he decided to dig in.

The food was delicious, as he knew it would be. Celia owned one of the greatest cafes in all of Kalos. Reviews often hailed her cooking as some of the best and most affordable dishes around. Celia was very supportive of traveling Trainers, too. She ran a hostel above her restaurant in the off-chance that the rooms at the Pokemon Center were all full. If a Trainer needed to make some extra cash she would let them work for a couple of days doing odd jobs. She loved to help Trainers on their journeys, which was how Cassius had met her.

Cassius had just arrived in Coumarine City with very little money left, just enough to get any supplies that he would need and a single meal for his Pokemon, but not for himself. He ran across Celia's Café and went inside. Celia greeted him warmly, but when she took a second look she knew he was in a bind financially. She offered him a free room in her hostel and free meals if he worked at the café for a few days. She even promised to pay him a decent working pay. Those days were hard, but he got enough money in that week to cover his expenses for a while and a good friend.

As Cassius was reminiscing on the "good-ole days", Darren's gold watch flashed a glare in his eyes. Then curiosity got the better of him.

"What was your father like, Darren?"

Darren coughed on his mouthful of pancakes.