Character: Zen Verity
Species: Floatzel
Age: 16
Nickname: Lord Verity
Year of character creation: 2014
Story: The brutal prince of Verity. He's known for having a short temper, courtesy of the Veritan blessing. He has a cordial air about him, but will often flip the switch to different tones, when comfortable. His motives are unknown.
She saw people do it on TV, sometimes.
Furret Abigail laid back on her bed after a few hours of paperwork. She got a gift from Aaron, something he saw at random, a miniature racket with a ball attached to it by a string. She hit it up and down over her head a billion times. It bored her, but, just… She didn't feel like stopping.
An alarm went off in her room. She flinched. The plastic ball slapped her on her forehead.
She darted around looking for an answer. Questions piled up as she noticed her phone's lit screen next to her paw. She snatched it up and read. The alarm turned off when she clicked it.
Bank robbery? People actually did that?
The address read that it was in Central Valor; in range of her glider. She could get there soon. Maybe that's why the alarm blared so loud…
She rose up; time to earn her keep. She grabbed her cape, put on her tiara, hit the big red button in the corner of the room, and flung herself out the window, into the dark night sky.
With practice, she learned to tune out the howl of wind, the way it wormed under her fur, the image of a forty-something story drop below, and the fact that she could smash into a building if she turned wrong. Mazes of lights on the sides of the skyscrapers let her avoid them with ease. The tip of her tail numbed from the cold, even on summer nights like this.
Up here, she didn't have much direction, usually. She hadn't been in Central Valor for very long. That's why she planned her routes in advance, on most occasions. She didn't need to, not this time.
For large emergencies, she followed the trail of blazing lights on the streets: Nightlight carriages with blue and red sirens. They came from across the city and conglomerated into a march, pointing to her target.
At least, usually. Tonight, she didn't see any. Thank goodness it didn't matter.
The Bank of Valor stuck out like a sore thumb. Marble decorated the front, while inches of concrete and steel covered every other side. It stood alone, separated out from other buildings by a lush, green lawn. In a way, they were lucky it happened at night. There were no workers, or hostages. She could rush in. The building only had a front exit. Even if they blew out a wall, which would take a lot, they'd be surrounded by Nightlights on all sides.
Smelled like a trap.
Abigail dropped off her glider and hit the ground. She landed on a stone walkway, in front of the main entrance. The lawn lacked flattened grass, or any sign that someone walked on it. Her glider drifted off and landed, like a fallen leaf. She cautiously stepped forward.
The doors were made of a thick metal, designed to slow down the process of breaking them down. One of them hung open, with no outward signs of damage. They got in with some kind of skill, fast. They must've known they wouldn't make it out in time before they arrived. If they wanted money, there were easier targets. Instead, they chose this one, out of everywhere else.
She learned to be patient; especially given the dark, cold killbox that this bank could be.
Abigail walked back from the entrance and sat down on the walkway, in front of the door. She curled her tail around herself and waited. It didn't make sense for her to go in.
A glint caught her eye.
Something shot out of the door. Abigail leaned and grabbed it.
Shouldn't have done that.
Her paw stuck to the surface of a metal ball, attached to a thin wire. It yanked back.
Abigail flew off her feet. She ripped the weird Grappler off her paws too late. Her momentum carried her through the open door.
Darkness closed in on all sides. She landed on her paws and feet and swished her tail. A larger pokemon stepped in front of the door and closed it. Abigail couldn't see far past her paw in front of her own face.
The back of her neck tingled.
She rolled to the side. A sharp leaf whizzed past her ear. She belched out a short stream of fire, a weak Flamethrower, over her head to see, even for just a moment.
She counted five pokemon; a Druddigon, Nidoqueen, Leavanny, Murkrow, Manectric. They crept closer as the red light faded along their faces. All of them sized up her stance.
Abigail whipped her tail along the floor. Her fur stood straight out.
Manectric charged first. Abigail shifted left, then whipped around to the right. He sidestepped into a fist to the jaw.
He didn't budge. He snapped at her paw with electric teeth. She pulled back.
Murkrow's talons gripped the fur on her head. She wrapped her tail around his neck. Manetric slashed with his right claw. She struck Manectric in the chest before he finished the motion. She darted under and grabbed his back leg.
She threw him over her shoulder at Leavanny. It forced her to pull back her blades and block.
Something stiff slapped her back, gently, along her cape.
Of course. She forgot she had a few wands on her. When did she put them in there again? Was it yesterday or three days ago?
Nidoqueen raised an arm to slam on top of Abigail's head. Abigail grabbed the Murkrow from her tail and slammed him into Nidoqueen's fist. Murkrow flew out of her grip. Nidoqueen swung her left for a low uppercut to the gut. Abigail crossed her arms.
She took the hit. Her arms stung, but held up. She reached behind her and randomly pulled out a wand; the Dragon Dance Wand. She twirled it over her head. Indigo flames curved out from both ends. It lit up her surroundings.
Druddigon ran away, out the front of the building. No helping it. Leavanny jumped up. Nidoqueen fired a ball of sludge from her mouth. It soared under Leavanny, straight for Furret Abigail.
Abigail jumped over all of it. She slammed her paw on Leavanny's forehead and gripped with her claws. She flung her down at Nidoqueen.
Abigail landed and pulled back her wand to swing. It resisted. She glanced back.
Manectric had clamped down on the wand with his jaw. She swung the wand over her head. With a flourish, the flames forced him to let go. He went airborne. She spun her tail and slammed it in his gut. He flew across the way right into the Nidoqueen and Leavanny, right as they got their footing. They slammed into the long front counter.
"Geez, guys," Abigail huffed. "I know fight first and ask questions later is the way to go, but come on..."
None of them moved an inch. Abigail settled for that. She had to check further in.
He'd run behind the front counter where a line of bank tellers stood during the day. The lights seemed to stay on, lucky for her. She ran forward and vaulted over the counter.
Metal cabinets, binders, and the occasional loose paper crowded the hallways. She slowed down to a crawl. She glanced left and right through doorways, only to find small, empty offices, cold, in the dark. And she thought restaurants were bad…
Something hit the back of her neck. Her paw rushed to it too late. She plucked it out and studied it; a thin, metal dart.
Abigail flicked the dart from her paw.
Okay." She tossed it to the floor. "Who's the funny guy?"
"That, uh, really should have worked," a low voice said, muffled by a closed door behind her.
"That only worked on me before 'cause' I was asleep. What? You think I'm dozing off in the middle of this Friday Nights at Freddy's crap? Who are you?"
"The name's William."
The name rung a bell.
"You're one of Jayden's friends, right? One of the Rioters? Why are you robbing a bank?"
"There's an Eye here, in one of the vaults. We're one-to-one with you Nightlights on those. After this, there oughta be three left. That makes this a tie-breaker."
The door on her right, a few paces forward, pulled open.
A Golduck stepped out, carefully. Abigail honed in, He wasn't carrying anything, and he didn't take a fighting stance. He stood there, hunched.
"Why are you going this far?" she asked.
"Jayden's practically blood at this point," Golduck said. "And I won't let the Nightlights lay a hand on that Legendary species. I have to fight this losing battle eventually."
Golduck balled up his hands. He bounced on the tips of his feet. They didn't have a lot of room in this hallway. Neither of them would be able to dodge well, if at all. He must've picked it on purpose, for this and the dart.
She dipped under a right hook and edged back. His fist dented the metal wall. He pulled his arm back and inched closer. Abigail watched for a flicker in his eyes. She backed up a few more steps, let him approach. He jabbed, but pulled back before he made contact. Abigail didn't react.
They stared down for a moment. Abigail waited for him to throw out another big swing. He seemed hesitant to, outside of his opening act. She had to coax him.
She stomped her right foot forward. He flinched, then swung. Abigail guarded with her left and uppercut him in the gut. She spun and swung her tail.
Golduck flew. His back slammed against the front counter. He slunk down.
It didn't feel great. She didn't use all her force, but she knew he'd be down for the count. She turned around and pushed on.
Other than movies, Abigail had no idea what a bank vault would look like. She dipped down through a few more hallways on the hunt for it. She passed by the occasional closet and office, and listened out for noises inside.
In the end, the vault looked exactly how she expected: a giant, metal circle thingy that jut out of the wall with a bunch of doo-dads. When she looked, it was closed. She hadn't arrived fast enough for there to be no one. Either they waited for her, or already got inside. They wouldn't close the vault behind them, so they couldn't be inside now.
"Too slow!"
Abigail staggered to the side.
A lightning bolt blazed past her. The edge of her fur lit up like fire. Her paws hit the wall.
In the middle of the fury, she saw a Jolteon. She slammed into the opposing wall and zipped out of sight in a blur. She left a black spider web of scorch marks. Furret Abigail rushed after her.
"Sarah! Wait!" she called.
Her voice probably didn't even reach. Abigail never could beat her in a race. This would be a problem. She huffed and puffed. She chased behind fresh scorch marks and the occasional yellow spark. She revved up and sprinted down the last hallway, back to the front counters.
Her feet slowed down. She continued her push forward anyway.
Jolteon Sarah stopped for Golduck. Abigail could make it.
Meloetta Yen and Marshadow John walked out from either side.
Abigail scurried to a stop. She rechecked her surroundings. Walls surrounded her on either side. She could only move back or forward. A metal cabinet on the side offered her one resource to use.
"Go," Meloetta Yen said.
Jolteon Sarah nodded. She hoisted Golduck onto her back and hopped over the counter.
Abigail couldn't do anything about it. Meloetta and Marshadow stepped forward and blocked her path. Jolteon ran off behind them.
Marshadow reached up and flicked a switch. The lights shut off. It went pitch black.
"Oh," Abigail mumbled. "Well shit."
Meloetta ran in. Marshadow vanished.
Abigail grabbed a cabinet, lifted up, and chucked it. Yen rolled forward under it.
John grabbed her right paw from behind, before she could reach for a wand. She didn't expect it. Yen punched her in the gut.
Her bones rattled. She wrestled her paw free from John and lashed her tail. It swiped through the air.
Yen shoulder-bashed her. Abigail crossed her arms to stand her ground. She lost her footing.
John grabbed her feet and yanked before the impact. She fell back. She rolled away from Yen's foot as it stomped.
Fire spread across her back. She gasped and shrieked. Her tail numbed, and her feet tingled. She couldn't reach where the impact hit, or stand. Yen stomped down on her back.
"Stay out of it."
Yen twisted her foot. A sick nausea passed through her stomach. Yen lifted off.
Abigail groaned as she heard their footsteps move away. She couldn't move. A wall of pain stopped her from moving her paws. She shivered on the cold, metal floor.
A couple minutes rolled by. Abigail called out a few times, but it didn't help. Nothing responded, except the vibration of her voice on the floor.
"Damn… The hell…?"
Furret Abigail couldn't swivel her head to see, but she recognized the gravelly voice; Yellow Clan.
Dewott Adam and Swampert Seb dipped under each arm and helped her up. Her face contorted. She stifled down groans and sighs.
"Bro," Seb asked, "where were the Nightlights?"
"I don't know," Adam said, "I've just been focusing on getting here.'
"What happened?" Abigail huffed. "Where are they?"
"They left," Adam said. "Literally, I got here and there was no one else. I don't know what's going on."
"We were all the way out at Vermillion Street. We should not be the first ones to get here."
Abigail stumbled and fell. She caught her face from hitting the floor with her stiff paws.
"You good?" Adam asked.
Adam pushed her cape to the side.
"...Shieeeeeeet."
"I'll go get medics," Seb said. "Stay here."
Seb ran off back towards the front of the building.
"D-does it look bad?" Abigail asked. Sweat dampened her face.
"Aaaaaaah, naaaaaaaaah," Adam said. "Nah, you'll be fine. Just a giant… gnarly bruise. You feel okay?"
"N-no…"
She threw up.
Clouds trailed along across open blue skies, over a yellowed grassland. It seemed like a perfect postcard photo could be found in any direction.
"If you focus your strikes to a tight point, they'll be much more brutal."
Sentret Abigail watched his form. Marshadow John showed her the motion again and again. He twisted and pushed his whole body's force into a single point on his hand. She followed along.
"You have to be careful," John said. "It's very dangerous to use this. You should only use it in very serious battles. If you hit the wrong point the wrong way, it can cause serious damage. Stay responsible. Use it when it's important that you win, no matter what."
The night passed in a haze. She laid on cold metal, warm mattresses, and everything in between, in and out of being spatially aware. When the dust cleared, she ended up back in her bed, under warm blankets. Pale, white curtains drew over her bed, and gave her some privacy, as if she didn't have it already. She reached her paws up and stretched. Dull pain shot up her back through her arm. She jolted it back down.
Something smelled funny; like salty sea air, and familiar.
"Aaron…?" she murmured.
"Hey."
His voice wafted into her ears from the other side of the room. She'd roll on her back to get a look at him, but the dull sting warned her not to.
"I thought you were on a trip?" she asked.
Zoroark Aaron walked over to her side. His shadow appeared through the curtain wall. He pulled it aside. His small smile offered some relief.
"Heard you got hurt," he said, "and came right back. Zen and Gawain should be back from their trip to Kyota in a few minutes."
She smiled and sighed. "I really botched it, didn't I?"
"Not even. In fact, you were the only one who didn't botch it."
She sat up, slightly. "What do you mean?"
"It took the Nightlights a whole twenty minutes to get there. Some emergency responders weren't doing their jobs. There's a whole case going on about it now."
"Twenty minutes to respond to the Bank of Valor getting robbed?" she asked.
"Exactly. Only you and Yellow Clan responded, and they were a decent ways away."
"I made a mistake."
Aaron sat on the edge of her bed. "What was it?"
"I didn't realize how serious they were, until… I just, messed up."
Aaron kept his face still. "Listen, not trusting the Nightlights with those artifact things is one thing. I mean, lots of people wouldn't. That's fair. If it were just about that, this could be settled over a conversation. But to not trust you? And for them to stab you in the back like they have been? This shouldn't even be happening."
Her thoughts exactly.
"You can make your own choice on whether or not to pull your punches," he said. "Either way, I wish I stayed. Screwed up leaving before they got back."
Abigail smiled. "I don't need a babysitter or anything like that."
"An ounce of backup woulda been nice, though. How're you feeling?"
"A little dizzy."
"Yah, probably just the light painkillers. You should be back up to full speed in about a day or two."
That's a while. Then again, it made sense, given how hard he hit her…
Abigail's gaze fell to her blankets.
A small buzz came from the other side of the room. It sounded like the TV.
"What're you watching?" Abigail asked.
"Council meeting," said Aaron. "Here. Let me help you there."
Abigail pushed her paws down to lift herself a little. Aaron reached behind her head and finagled pillows so she could sit up. She stared somewhere at his neck to avoid eye contact. He smiled.
Once she sat up, Aaron pulled open the curtains at the bottom of her bed and turned up the volume.
Victini Anne paced back and forth on screen, in front of a row of taller species. Somehow, she seemed like the biggest one there.
Anne pinched her fingers. "One of you let the Overlord, our flagship, fight an entire mob on her own. She got hurt in front of the entire city. Do you have any idea the sheer amount of crime she stops on a daily basis? She's caught three stalkers out on her coffee trips alone, and then ate a small gang war for breakfast." She stomped on the metal floor. The bang lingered in the air. "You guys are supposed to be emergency responders. So who the fuck wasn't at their post!?"
"Isn't she supposed to be… formal?" Abigail asked.
"Only high-ranking Nightlights can watch," said Aaron. "But also, it's Anne."
"So, how does the emergency response system work?"
"We have a team ready to take emergency calls. They sound the alarm as necessary, to the appropriate responders."
"My alarm went off just fine…"
"It did?" he asked.
Abigail stared at him. "Yah? Why?"
"We looked over the records and didn't see anything go off."
Every time she thought too hard, her head swam.
"So, what does that mean?" she asked.
Aaron picked up his phone from somewhere. "It means someone sent you alone on purpose, so we might have a James Bond wannabe somewhere. Either that, or someone could've hacked into the system," he glanced down, "and changed it so that it only went to you when more were supposed to get it."
She sighed. "What'd I ever do?"
Aaron smiled. "Don't worry about it. You're doing fine."
"Okay," Anne said. 'Bring up the graph."
Abigail's attention went back to the TV.
Council member Braviary Vivian, in charge of crime, walked into the scene. He rolled in white board with a jagged, red line that focused near the bottom.
"These are crime rates for the past two days," Vivian announced. He raised a wing to the edge of the board. "And this is last night, when news broke that the Lodestar had been injured."
Vivian unfolded a second piece of the whiteboard. The red line rose straight up.
Then, he unfolded a third piece of the whiteboard, vertically…
Then a fourth.
And a fifth.
"Hot damn," Aaron breathed. "This is the kinda chart I'd expect if the apocalypse was announced."
Abigail stared, dumbfounded
She was one girl. Was this real?
"Most criminals in Central Valor are constantly mortified of the Lodestar flying out of the tower," Vivian said, "which has brought the rates down low over the past spring. Frankly, it's really ridiculous."
"What will they do?" she asked.
"Other than an investigation, probably more patrol carriages," said Aaron. "They're also looking into the bank account to try and piece together how they found out about it. Maybe look for a connection there."
Abigail rubbed above her right eye. She sighed and reclined back.
"Anything I can do for you?" he asked. "Want something to eat?"
She groaned. "Yah…"
"Pizza?"
"I want something different…"
"Like what?"
"I dunnooooo."
"Is this going to be an hour long conversation like last time?"
"I dunno."
A knock came to the door. Abigail's ears stood up straight.
Floatzel Zen and Quilava Gawain's faces popped into view. They both walked in, hunched over and eyes on the ground, as if they carried something heavy on their shoulders..
"Hey," Aaron said. He turned around and walked in so they could. "So, you guys are finally back. How was the trip?"
"Not much good," Zen huffed. "Ame-no-nuhoko turned up missing before we even got there. And they said they wouldn't give it to us anyway, since two Sacred Treasures against each other in a city would be a disaster."
"Well, we knew that part. Could've hoped for a more open area." He glanced back. "So, what? Not even a gift basket?"
Zen stopped. He looked Aaron right in the eye. "No."
"So, it wouldn't be worth me giving it a shot then?"
Zen looked at Gawain. They both shook their heads.
"Not worth it. I'm sure something will work itself out," Zen said. "Besides, it's not really up to us." He leaned to the right, looked at Abigail, and smiled. "How's our friendly neighborhood Lodestar?"
Aaron smiled and shook his head. "She wants to eat something 'different' and doesn't know what."
"Just start with flavor, then texture," Gawain said. "Just narrow it down."
Flavor…
"Something sweet," she said. "Maybe bread?"
Aaron snapped his claws and pointed at her. "Funnel cake."
She smiled. "Perfect."
"Which one of us do you want to go get it?"
Abigail curled her lower lip and made a pouty face. "Which one of you wants to go get it for me?"
They all glared at each other.
They all ran out, and gave Furret Abigail some of her own time. The moment they stepped out, she could let herself cry it out. She wondered why Marshadow John went that far, out of all of them. What did they know that she didn't? Why wouldn't they tell her?
She fell asleep somewhere in the midst of it, and woke up by herself, not nearly as emotional. Could be the painkillers…
At the base of her bed, three funnel cakes, on white paper plates, stared her in the face. They were all topped with powdered sugar, but two of them had more. Strawberries and whipped cream gleamed on one, while whipped cream, cinnamon sugar, and chocolate syrup piled on the third.
She chose the third.
Each of the plates had a piece of paper over them. She crawled out of her covers. Each of them had a signature.
Aaron's flawless cursive rested over the one she picked. Zen's jagged letters rested over the one with strawberries and whipped cream, while Gawain's plain Jane handwriting sat over the plain one. On the side, her phone rested. She picked it up and read her messages. She didn't have any Nightlight work, unlike usual.
"Taking a trip to Verity Castle. Will be back later tonight" - Zen
"helping Anne with some stuff. feel free to come around." - Gawain
"training and stuff" - Aaron
"If you need anything, call me" - Aaron
"Hey Abigail. I heard the news from the princes. I just want you to know that you can call me if you need to talk. You're strong. I know you'll be fit as a fiddle soon in no time. You've come back home plenty of times with pretty bad wounds, but you never cried from any of them before. I know you're hurting. I'm here, if you need me." - Helen
Abigail swallowed and swiped away.
"Hey. Are you okay?" - Esmeralda
"Please text me when you can. I'm worried." - Esmeralda
She probably didn't know as much.
"Hi. I'm okay." - Abigail
Abigail hovered over the message for a while before she sent it. When she did, she ate.
It fit her craving just right; fried goodness, sugar, chocolate, and cinnamon. She texted Aaron a picture of the plate, bare. He gloated about it in a group chat minutes later.
"Oh thank goodness. Can I come vist?" - Esmeralda
"*visit" - Esmeralda
"Sure." - Abigail
Her paw stiffened up with every message. She added Esmaralda to her visitor list, so she wouldn't be turned away at the lobby. With that, she could knock on her door at any time. Abigail went over twenty options for things to say.
She crawled back under the covers, slept a little longer, and lost track of time.
Something pounded in her head.
"Hello?"
"Come in…" she muttered too quietly. She raised her voice. "Come in!"
Abigail fumbled with her phone and unlocked the door. She closed and rubbed her eyes. They watered from the bright screen.
Lilligant Esmeralda crept into the room. She looked around in every direction. She'd never been in there before, or probably any Nightlight room for that matter.
"H-hello?" she called.
"Hi," Abigail said. She wanted to flourish a paw in the air, but it'd hurt.
Esmeralda noticed her and walked faster. She stopped at the side of her bed. She seemed more distraught than Abigail realized.
"Oh, geez," she said. "I only ever saw the video. Are you okay?"
The livestream from her tiara, right.
"I'm fine," Abigail said. "I'll just be sore for a bit."
"I don't want to intrude," she said. "I'm just glad to see you conscious and everything. You okay?"
"Yah, I'm fine." Abigail tucked herself further under the blanket.
"That's good." She turned towards the bottom of her bed. "I see those princes are still at it."
"Uh, yah. You can have one, if you want."
"Ah," she waved. "They'd be ticked if I ate a crumb of anything meant for you. You wanna grab some dinner?"
Dinner?
Abigail looked through the curtains. The sun leaned far west. She didn't have any sense of time. She must not have eaten much since last night. It'd be a good idea.
"Uh, yah, sure," she said. "Where?"
"I know a burger joint. It's nice and quiet and out of the way. Us celebs are good at finding places like that."
"That, uh, sounds nice."
"Alright!" Esmeralda tapped her hand on the mattress. She stood up and walked away.
Abigail rolled out of her covers. She placed her feet on the floor, rolled her shoulders a touch, and hobbled to a small dresser, a new addition. She pulled and pushed drawers until she found a nice, snug brown robe to wear.
She couldn't put it on. Her attempts to get her right arm in the other sleeve were met with a sharp slice of pain in her back.
Esmeralda stepped behind her. Abigail froze solid. She pulled the robe across her back and helped her get her arm in the sleeve. She wrapped her arms around her torso and tied two fluffy, cloth strings.
Abigail caught a whiff like freshly plucked lilies. She linked her paws together.
"I'll call us a carriage," Esmeralda said.
"Y-yah," she croaked.
Esmeralda hadn't been underselling it.
Their carriage looked inconspicuous. The walls were all plain and wooden. Even the cushions inside were gray. The roads they traveled on thinned out to the point where she didn't know if it would fit. On the way, Furret Abigail saw all sorts of little nooks and crannies, sheltered away from all of the action. It didn't seem possible to find peace and quiet in Central Valor, but they did.
Abigail stared up at the red neon sign for a diner while Lilligant Esmeralda tipped the driver. The entire street hid under the shadow of two skyscrapers. She rubbed her arms. Cold air leaked through her robe.
Esmeralda walked in first. Dim lights shaped like upside-down lamps hung everywhere. Wooden tables lined up against the windows and walls; only some single digit amount.
She walked around like she owned the place. Abigail sat down at her table. She skipped around between plates, bowls, and the menu; anything to stop herself from being enraptured by her eyes.
"So," Esmeralda said, "what's it really like out in the country?"
"It's hard, but simpler," she said. "But, it's nice here, having places like this."
Eye contact. Abigail focused down on the menu. She didn't even read it yet.
"Well, I guess I mean, what was your training like?" she asked.
"It was different with all of my teachers," Abigail said. "With Lauren, we played a lot of games, like chess and stuff. With Sarah, we had a lot of races, and some challenges. I trained with my mom at the end to put it all together. That was the hardest part."
"Did they ever do anything to you like what happened today?"
"No," Abigail quieted.
"Yah, figured… This whole Glass Reshiram thing is pretty serious." Esmeralda's leaf arms curled tight on the table. "Uhm, I guess it might be rude of me to ask, but… Uh, please, don't pull any punches."
Abigail stared right into her eyes.
"I've watched your streams," Esmeralda said. "And, I dunno how, but, I can just tell. I think most people can. And when I see bruised girls like us, it pisses me off. Cause we're pretty strong, and we let it happen anyways. And then we say that it's more complicated than it is."
"I don't want to hurt them after all they've done for me," she said.
"The time that they've helped you is over. With that on your back, there's no debt to be paid, not to enemies."
Abigail shrunk back.
Esmeralda traced her hand along her own face. She leaned on her arm and stared at the window, not that there was anything to stare at.
"There's this whole different vibe to the city today," Esmeralda said. "I overheard some conversations about whether to bunker down, or move. Everyone's scared that something like Reshiram will destroy their homes, or worse. Now that they have two, it's starting to get worse. So, do whatever you need to do."
Abigail didn't have a reply. She tried to think one up. Thanks? On it? Sure?
Would she even be able to?
The waiter, a Corphish, arrived and set down their food.
They ate burgers. The conversation lightened up.
They lingered on icebreaker questions, like favorite foods and songs and the like. Esmeralda footed the bill. Afterwards, they waited side by side, outside, in the fresh air. Abigail bounced on the tips of her toes. Sunset swallowed the sky.
"Hey, uh, thanks for today," Abigail said.
"Aw, don't mention it. Oh!"
Abigail grit her teeth and threw her arms around Esmeralda in a hug. She hugged back, very lightly, far underneath her wound.
"You'll be fine, right?" Esmeralda asked. "You know what to do."
"Yah…" she sighed and pushed off. "Yah."
Esmeralda smiled. "You should get some sleep."
She could focus on that much at once. "Yah, I could use that."
Against all odds, Furret Abigail slept like a baby.
Overnight, her wound dulled to near-invisible, and felt better too. Nightlight medicine, which made use of Sitrus berries, helped with that. She reobtained access to her full range of motion. She reached for her phone underneath her pillow and checked for messages. No new ones popped up.
An hour passed by where Abigail drifted between asleep and awake. A vibration under her pillow forced her to check it.
She got a text from Esmeralda.
"Hi Abigail." - Esmeralda
"Bring the Eye currently in Nightlight possession the building marked on your phone. If you don't come alone or try to alarm other Nightlights, I'll know. xoxo" - Esmeralda
Esmeralda didn't even type like that.
Abigail looked at the object of interest: a small red globe with a pale center, on top of a newer dresser in the corner of her room. It had a unique kind of energy that couldn't be replicated for a fake. It might take too long to find Anne.
Her phone beeped. She checked it.
"You have ten minutes." - Esmeralda
Abigail checked the location. It was eight minutes out by glider, she guessed. It looked like an abandoned warehouse, in a quieter part of Central Valor. She had to move now to get there. Whoever it was probably timed it that way. Fine.
Abigail snatched her cape and hit the button to open her window. She took the eye with her, along with a few wands. Whipping wind invaded her room. She jumped and gripped onto her glider.
The building was positioned far behind the tower. Abigail had to curve around the building to reverse direction. She memorized all the turns and buildings to avoid on the way there, no more than five of them. Her glider wouldn't fly forever, though. It lowered closer to the ground as the minutes dragged by. The warehouse definitely sat around the outer edge of her range. If she clipped anything, her glider would lose too much height. It also only offered her one route to take, something that could be predicted.
Smelled like a trap, but she had no choice. Esmeralda was in danger.
Towards the end of her flight, the skyscrapers stood further apart. The hum of carriages on the asphalt road below threatened to swallow her up in a minute or two. Lucky for her, she saw the wide, plain warehouse ceiling. She pulled her arms back and slowed down as she flew over.
A metal screech startled her. It hit right over her head.
Something snagged her foot. As she looked down, it yanked her out of the sky.
She crashed through the roof. Her glider flew out of her paws. Concrete rubble fell down with her. Small pebbles rained down on her back as she hit the floor. The impact disoriented her, and she coughed.
Abigail pushed up.
"Hiiiiiiiii."
Esmeralda's voice; why'd it sound so chipper?
A ray of sunlight passed through the roughly Furret-shaped hole in the ceiling. With a resounding snap, overhead lights turned on. She didn't even see a box inside.
The final sets of lights revealed a stage. Abigail's favorite idol posed on top of it, with a microphone stand in her leafy hand. Lilligant Esmeralda performed her signature twirl.
Abigail shook her head. "Why?" she asked.
"Aw, don't look like that," Esmeralda said. "A concert and a brawl? Don't pretend like this doesn't look fun."
Something fell past Abigail's eyes. She pulled her tiara from her forehead.
Right where the camera lens used to sit, a hole, and cracked metal, stared her in the face. Her recording had been cut off. Esmeralda sniped it. Abigail threw it away to the side.
First her own mother, then her old teachers. Now Esmeralda, too?
"Give me the Eye, Abigail," Esmeralda said. "I promise, no one will ever see it again."
"Just why?" she asked.
"If the Nightlights didn't have some plan in mind, they would have destroyed or hidden it away by now. Don't you question anything?"
"Yah. They said they couldn't destroy it, and wanted to deal with all of those dangerous people trying to steal them first. Are you, like, a conspiracy nut?"
Esmeralda hopped down from the stage. She twirled her microphone. The bottom part detached, which pretty much left her with a rod with a mic on top. Abigail reached for her cape.
She had two pretty violent wands, but it didn't seem right. The pink Screen Wand seemed right for the situation. Without any idea for what kind of fight this would be, defense offered the most positives.
Esmeralda raised her mic over her head and slammed it on the floor. Abigail's bones rattled. For a split second, her ears rang. The floor cracked, all the way up to her feet.
She had to ask.
"What do you have in that thing?"
"Enough bass to bring down the house," Esmeralda said, smiling. "I'm taking that Eye one way, or the other, or the other, or the other."
"No, like, actually, what's in that thing?"
"Eh, I dunno. Some sciencey shit."
"Holy crap I want one," Abigail said.
"The Nightlights already give you tons of toys. This thing is mine."
"I'm taking that mic one way, or the other, or the other, or the other!"
Abigail activated her wand. Just as Aaron paid that Ledbya for, the wand allowed her to switch between either Reflect or Light Screen on either end. She used one of each, unless it would help more to have two of the same. Esmeralda walked forward.
Only the microphone seemed dangerous, like the tip of a lance, except it exploded when it hit anything. They paced around each other in a short circle. Abigail wanted Esemeralda to strike first. It didn't happen. She stayed patient. Both of them had all but infinite open space, and Esmeralda, limitless patience.
Abigail decided to poke at her. She flourished her wand. A blue shining disc, Reflect, flew off the bottom end. Esmeralda sidestepped it with a little bunnyhop.
She ran out of patience.
Esmeralda leapt forward and swung. Abigail hopped back. She adjusted as Esmeralda swapped between three different positions to swing from, and blocked a swing from the right with Reflect.
Abigail's arm veered off course after the blow. It left her open. Blocking with a shield at the end of a stick didn't work very well.
Esemeralda faked her out left, and hit from the right again. Abigail's teeth chattered. She slid back a few paces. She clutched her right arm to stop it from vibrating.
The Reflect she threw earlier still stuck out of the floor near Esmeralda. Maybe Abigail misunderstood the weapon. It had more potential at long range; never her favorite, but she didn't want to blow up Esmeralda with the other stuff in her pockets.
Abigail conjured up more discs and pushed them off the staff, slowly. They floated towards Esmeralda. She moved to the side and walked past them.
Abigail pushed out more. Esmeralda charged and shot green, fiery orbs out with flat strikes of her hands. They clashed and shattered them. Abigail switched to Light Screen and tried to form a moving wall again. Esmerlada walked forward and flourished her mic a few times, effortlessly, in one hand.
This wouldn't work out. As amazing as this wand was, she'd have to save it for specific situations. She swapped it out for a pale, white wand: the Invisible Blast Wand.
Her favorite.
Abigail swung. Esmeralda dove and rolled to the side. The floor shook seconds later. Esmeralda glanced back. Flames danced across the floor. A trail of dust fell from the ceiling. The lights above clattered for moments after. Esmeralda focused on her again.
"What the hell was that shit!?" Esmeralda blurted.
"My Invisible Blast Wand," Abigail said, proud.
"Invisible- what the hell?"
"I'll trade you."
She wanted that microphone.
"Pft, forget it," Esmeralda said." My booms are way bigger."
Esmerlada winded it back over her shoulder and slammed it on the floor. A river of rock, dirt, and concrete chunks barreled right for Abigail. She jumped to the side, low to the ground. The dirt and sound hid Esmeralda from sight after. Abigail continued to step back from the dust to give herself more time to react.
Esmeralda flew out of the cloud. Abigail raised her staff up horizontally.
Their weapons clashed. Esmeralda leaned her weight down, while Abigail resisted with her core. The microphone and rounded, spiral tip of the blast wand crossed with each other. Her mic still hummed after that slam, and the tip of Abigail's wand emitted violent heat. Either would hurt.
Abigail pushed her off. Esmeralda stepped backwards to keep her balance. She kept her mic out in front of her. Abigail hesitated.
If it kept up like this, one of them would end up blown up and charred like a well-done steak. Also, she wanted that mic.
Abigail jumped forward and wrapped her tail around the mic two times over. Esmeralda lacked the arm strength to wrest it free.
"Gimme," Abigail said.
"Uh, no! It's mine!"
"I said gimme!"
Abigail put her wand back in her cape's holster for it and yanked with all she had. Esmeralda pulled back. Both of them had plenty of opportunities to hit each other, but it devolved into a tug of war.
"You. Have. Your own toys!" Esmeralda screamed. Abigail tripped over her feet and rebalanced.
"Not fair!" she screamed back. "Yours is cooler!"
Esemralda went airborne for a second, but didn't let go. She flipped over her head and landed.
"So, how'd you rip me through the ceiling with that thing?" Abigail asked in a strained voice. "Does it have a Grappler too?"
"What? You just fell through out of nowhere."
Wait a minute…
Abigail watched Esmeralda aim Energy Ball. She didn't have the skill to snipe her tiara.
She glanced up. Above?
Abigail let go of the mic and jumped back. Esmeralda, still pulling, staggered away.
Something hefty landed in between them. The bang of two feet on the floor silenced them. Sunlight rained down on a gray crown, bejeweled with a red stone, decorated with two horns, and boasted by spikes on its tall tip. A brown leather cape fell down, over his back.
A Slowking?
She didn't recognize him until he lifted his head.
In the dreams of her earliest memories, she may have seen a younger version of the face in front of her. He used to be her mother's partner.
"Chad Longfellow?" Abigail asked.
"Chad Longwhat?" Esmeralda asked.
Slowking Chad held out his hand, as if he expected something. Once she looked in his eyes, she instantly knew what he wanted. He'd only get a fight.
"Uh, nuh," Lilligant Esmeralda said. "You got that Rioters' banner on your back. You're not getting the Eye."
Chad glanced behind him with a raised eyebrow, but no concern. The scene threw Abigail for a loop.
"Wait," she asked. "You mean you're not with him!?"
"Uh, no?"
Abigail never trained for battle royales. All of her experience with it came from Aaron and Fortnite. She usually hid, but here, she had the golden goose.
Her cape whipped around towards him; Psychic. Abigail grabbed it, and tugged against his pull
To her surprise, the red orb didn't fly out. Instead, one of her wands did, her pink Screen Wand. Chad snatched it out of the air. She didn't like that. He probably knew how to use the damn thing.
Chad flung a disc at her and Esmeralda. Abigail jumped and aligned horizontally over it. Esemeralda burst it with her microphone and dashed forward.
She stopped cold. Chad caught her charge on the end of the wand. Abigail rushed while his back was turned.
It didn't matter. She slammed into a psychic disc from the wand's other end, and felt like an idiot. Abigail pushed off and dislodged herself before it shattered against the warehouse wall. Seven more large discs floated her way. It'd cost less energy to smash through them instead of dodging.
Abigail smashed her fist against one. It didn't budge. She gave up and walked around it to conserve her energy. Chad wouldn't be able to strike through them either. His slow maze wouldn't do very much if she stayed patient.
Esmeralda must've realized it, too. She stopped swinging and walked through all of it. Through the blue light, Abigail couldn't get a read on Chad's face. Making too many hard barriers like that would wear him thin.
Her fur stood up.
Three barriers shattered. Abigail pivoted to the side.
The barrier inches in front of her face snapped like paper. Chad's foot zipped past the tip of her nose.
His other foot arced. Abigail ducked under it.
He punched her in the gut. She thought she had a chance to counter. Instead, he never let up. Air forced its way out of her lungs. She raised her paws to protect her face. Chad spun around and kicked. It didn't hurt so bad.
Her back slammed against a Reflect. Abigail whipped her head to the left and dodged to the right. Chad saw through it. He aimed Hydro Pump to the right.
Her fur got soaked in an instant. She tumbled around under the force. When it subsided, she wiped her arm over her eyes.
Chad's annoying attack cut off early. Esmeralda tried to engage him up close. By the time Abigail got a good look, it already ended. He pushed her back. He had changed the durability of his discs to trick her. Some of them didn't have much power at all.
This fight just kept getting more and more complicated, and it made her frustrated. No matter what, she couldn't read him...
Furret Abigail shuddered with a controller in hand. Zoroark Aaron kept his hand on her shoulder.
"S-so what do I do?" she asked.
"See those other players fighting?"
"Y-yah. There's a lot of them."
"Yah," he said, "there's a lot of them, but look at how the tables are turning. See, those three are all going after one guy."
"Why?"
"They all know they don't have his skill or resources, so it's like a temporary alliance to take him down. Nations do the same thing, too. If something grows and upset the balance, all the others will bring them down, split them up, and restore it. That's how it's always been."
"But how do they go about making that deal? They're not even in a voice chat or anything, right?"
"They take small leaps of faith that grow into large ones. Usually, they stop attacking that one player. Sometimes, the player not being attacked gets the hint. Start small, go big. That's what my dad always tells me. When Valor was first founded, it worked just like that, between small villages, until they all conjoined together once and for all."
"So, what do I do?"
"Up to you. But, if I were you, I'd team with that big guy. Those three aren't doing so hot."
Abigail's eyes locked with Esmeralda's. Something clicked. Thanks to Aaron, she knew what.
Abigail rocked from side to side as she stood. She still had too much rust on her to take her mother's old partner on her own, but in the real world, that didn't matter as much as she used to think it would.
Esmeralda and Abigail honed in on him. Chad kept his gaze somewhere in between them, even though they were on opposite sides. He only had half of his defensive strength like this, if even.
Wait a damn minute…
She knew Brick Break. How the hell did she forget?
It wouldn't matter if the barriers were strong or weak, she only needed her fundamentals.
A disc flew horizontally, right for her head. Abigail dipped low and uppercut it. Her fist glowed white. It didn't take much force at all. She shook out her paws and stomped forward.
Chad seemed to notice the change. He spent his time launching more screens at Esmeralda, probably to hold her back while fighting Abigail up close. It wouldn't matter; she'd make sure of it.
When she got close, Chad fired a beam of light from the red jewel on his crown at her feet. She jumped over. He blasted water out of his mouth while she was still in the air. With no floor to hook onto, it pushed her back again.
Emeralda whacked him in the side with her microphone. He didn't have the firepower to hold them both back.
The Reflect Wand hit the floor.
Chad raised his arms to protect himself. Esmeralda swung her microphone with a severe lack of posture, but it'd be enough. Abigail learned her lesson; to keep her feet on the floor and take her time. She walked close to Chad instead of jumping at him.
He dodged back from one of Esmeralda's swings again. Her fist nailed him in the side. Chad crumpled to his knees. On reflex, Abigail caught whatever Esmeralda tossed her way.
Her microphone.
Abigail struck.
Her ears blasted from the bang. Slowking Chad soared up.
In fact, he flew right through the ceiling.
Abigail dropped the microphone. Hot pain shot up her right arm. She gasped as she held it. She breathed in and out, through her mouth.
"You…" Esmeralda gasped for breath, "swung it too hard."
"No shit," she growled. "Ah gah… I… I think my arm's broken…. Holy shit… I think my arm's broken."
"Yah…" Esmeralda nodded and placed her hands on her hips. "Yah, probably. So you ready to-" She pointed at her. It threw her off balance. "T-to uh, give up yet?"
Lilligant Esmeralda face planted on the floor. She stopped moving.
And Furret Abigail would have to drag her ass all the way back to the tower. She stood up and staggered forward. She wrapped her tail around her midsection to carry her.
"Screw you for this…" Abigail whispered.