Overlord- Stroke of Luck
Character: Jayden
Species: Ambipom
Age: ?
Nickname: Riot
Year of character creation: 2014
Story: A Leonidas from Verity with a strong hate for the Nightlight Association. A latent gene from the Veritan blessing causes his body to heat up drastically and burn through energy at a faster rate than any other kind of combatant in the world. He works with the Rioters and Jessie Frisk to revive Regigigas.
Even massive cities like Central Valor had quiet places. Furret Abigail found one on the outskirts of a busy, open park she'd been meaning to visit for a while now. Some major events always got in the way. Nothing less than her day off brought her here.
Razor-thin clouds drew wobbly stripes in the sky. Summer sunlight battered Abigail's forehead. Her paw tickled from the prickly stem of a sunflower she bought. For whatever reason, her dad loved them. Maybe she'd find a bit of love for them left in her too, if she tried.
Abigail flinched; her phone rang in her cape pocket. She reached, saw Aaron's name and handsome picture, and answered.
"Hello?" Abigail asked, staring up at the clear midday sky.
"Hey, Abigail? Sorry to call now while you're out… uh, you know."
"What's up?"
"Yellow Clan ran into some trouble today when they went to help some Nightlights with a disturbance. I don't mean to alarm you, but the last time Aden asked me for help, we found him lying face-down in a ditch unconscious after a rock slide. Something's up."
Abigail sighed. "Does it really have to be me today?"
"I'm sorry."
"I just… I wanted a break today."
"I'll help you wrap it up quick. Sent you directions. I'll be there with Gawain."
"Alright. See you there."
Abigail brought up the map and one-by-one turned off each marker: the flower shop she already visited, the farmer's market, where some of her father's crafts used to be sold, and a handful of cafes her father took her to whenever they visited the big city. She changed course for a random small street two blocks away. Whatever interrupted her father's birthday had better be cousins with the apocalypse.
Two blocks of uninterrupted birdsongs and rustling leaves stopped in front of a miniature warzone, complete with metal barricades, projectiles of every kind, busted up storefronts and apartments, and Nightlights wiped out in ditches blown out of the sidewalk.
Abigail approached low to the ground and wordlessly joined a Riolu with a white cape behind cover. Other Nightlights fired attacks in and out of cover, but Abigail couldn't see who they were firing at.
The Riolu turned to Abigail and gasped. Her eyes lit up.
"Hey Abigail!" Riolu squeaked. "You look beautiful today! Remember me? I helped you out with the casino and you got me a job?"
Abigail took a moment. "Uh, yah. Erica? What's going on here?"
"We heard you were out today so I was being a discount Lodestar type of deal." Erica pointed to the Compass Rose on her back. "You know, helping settle quarrels and stuff. And then there was this thing that happened where I was chasing shady people and, uh… Sorry, I'm doing my best."
"It's fine."
"Okay, cool!" Erica giggled. "So, uh, quick question."
"Yah?"
"Are you free for, like, a friendly date later, and, uh, what are the percent chances that Metronome combos Lock-On into Fissure? Uh, roughly."
"Uh… Like. point one percent or something?" Abigail guessed.
"Oh, wow, really?" Erica peeked over the barricade and lowered back down. "You sure? It feels a lot higher than that. Pretty sure there's three…" she peeked again. "Nope, there's four. That happened four times."
"Zap Cannon from above!" a voice yelled.
A bright yellow orb blended against the sun. A Dewott bolted out from behind cover. He glanced up and spread his arms out as the shadow stayed over him. He shimmied to the left and right, but it stayed over him. As the sound of it grew close, he turned and dove away.
Abigail's eyes slammed shut. Dewott's screams drowned in a miniature thunderstorm. When the clouds dissipated, a trail of smoke rose from his back as he laid face-down in a crater.
"As usual, I just don't miss."
Past the barricades, a Clefable wearing a blissful smirk sauntered out of an alleyway. "Even when I'm not looking," he said. He stood in the center of the street and smacked his lips.
The rest of the Nightlights didn't try to shoot back. In the lull in the battle, Abigail heard footsteps from behind.
Quilava Gawain and Zoroark Aaron showed up. Abigail waved them over. It got a little crowded, but they all fit behind the barricade.
"What's going on?" Aaron asked quietly. He peeked over the barricade, "Why did so many people get hit by Fissure?"
"I know what's going on."
From behind a separate barricade close behind them, a Vulpix poked his head out from the side.
"Quinton?" Erica gawked. "When did you get here?"
"Not too long ago," Quinton said. "Listen, that guy's name is Rudy. He's known as the luckiest person who ever lived. He's banned from every major and minor casino across the globe, has beaten the Yugioh world champion by drawing all pieces of Exodia in his starting cards three times in a row, and has drawn the winning numbers for million dollar lotteries a total of fifteen times. And now I guess he thinks working with Jessie Frisk might work out for him."
"Work out how?" Aaron asked.
"I have no idea. Things usually go right for him. But odds are if we leave him to his own devices, he'll probably trip on one of those Eyes before he goes to sleep tonight."
"I'm sorry," Gawain retorted, "but I can't take this seriously."
"Don't be rash…" Quinton murmured. "Gawa- Er, your majesty? Lord Acuity? Hey!"
Quilava Gawain walked from behind the barricade. Abigail peeked over to study what happened. Lesser opponents tended to confuse skill and luck. This Clefable could be fighting in a way none of them could understand.
A jet of water slammed into Gawain's side. The cap of a fire hydrant rolled around on its edge to an eventual stop. Clefable Rudy flinched in place. Gawain washed away between two small stores on the opposite side of the street. Abigail's head tilted on its own towards Aaron.
"You guys can, uh, stay back for now?" Abigail said.
Aaron smacked his lips. "Al-righty."
Abigail stood up and traced Gawain's path. Rudy noticed and stood up straight. His eyes glimmered despite a fake smile.
"I'm surprised the Nightlights bring down their hammer this quickly!" Rudy raised his voice to cover the closing distance. "And here I thought it wasn't my lucky day!"
"Where's my mother?" Abigail asked at a quieter volume.
Rudy placed his hands on his hips. "What, am I not good enough for ya?"
"No. You're not."
Abigail glanced at the fire hydrant as she passed. It continued to gush out water, and through the stream, she noticed a small crater on its side. It looked like Psychic, not the insane luck they made it out to be. She wondered how often he pretended to use Metronome while using moves he already knew like Mimic or Copycat. Some of the species currently downed in the craters could use Fissure and Lock-On.
"Fifteen lottery tickets, huh?" Abigail snorted. "How'd you manage that?"
"Listen," he said, "having money is a mindset. You see, I opened my heart to money and it comes to me."
Abigail's face twisted. "You're gross."
"Sounds to me like you're just jealous that I stack paper to the ceiling and ride on twenty-four inch chrome."
A red cereal box of Lucky Chant Charms floated through the air into Rudy's hand. He opened the top and poured a short waterfall of cereal down his gullet. Abigail squinted; she saw nothing but marshmallows. He really bothered to do that.
Abigail walked forward. Rudy dropped the cereal box and stomped forward to meet her. Good. This would wrap up quick.
Rudy raised his arm. Abigail watched it for any last minute trick.
"Okay bye."
Rudy's hand flashed cruel white. Abigail closed her eyes. Her paw flew wayward.
When her eyes readjusted, Abigail saw Rudy sprinting down the street. She clawed down the sides of her own head and sighed. More chasing, even on her day off. Her paws hit the ground.
Rudy ran through the barricades and back in the direction Abigail came from without even turning back. Unlucky. If he did, Abigail would have caught him before he vaulted the last barricade. Riolu Erica and Vulpix Quinton jumped to catch his leg and missed.
Rudy built up enough confidence to turn back and smile as he ran. "So long, Lodestar! Have a nice-"
An orange mass dropped down on Rudy's back. Abigail stopped. The shadow of a glider passed over Abigail on its path to the ground.
Floatzel Zen stepped off of Rudy's back and wiped his paws against each other. He smirked to himself, rolled his shoulders, and cast his gaze over the battlefield. His jaw fell.
"Uh, whoa?" Zen breathed. "Why'd so many people get hit by Fissure?"
Tension trickled out of Abigail's body. She rose to her feet and watched the Nightlights pile around Rudy. From here, business settled itself. She'd stick around until a carriage took Rudy away this time. That Flash tricked her. It'd been years since something like that actually worked.
Abigail hovered around. Quilava Gawain returned with his flames on, probably to dry himself off. Zoroark Aaron managed to stop the fire hydrant from wasting any more water. Zen folded his arms and watched Rudy until the rest of the Nightlights properly bound him with metal cuffs. Aaron took time to saunter up to Abigail's side and waited for her to glance at him.
"Sorry bout this, Abigail," Aaron said. "We had some noobies responding, and they didn't make the most thought out decisions."
"It's fine." Abigail peeked past him at Gawain. "What are you all doing here?"
Aaron smiled. "We're all just here to help out a little."
Gawain slipped and fell on his back. He stood up soaked again. Even with his stoic face, Abigail could sense the irritation.
"Also," Aaron said, "you, uh, look beat. Well, I mean, you always look great. It's just that you sometimes look less great than usual and now is one of those times. Is that okay wording?"
Abigail took out her phone and checked her face. Fur stuck out at ends. Her eyes only opened halfway. She was falling apart and didn't know a solution to pull it back together. At least she could afford therapy if she wanted it this year, but eh.
"Yah." Abigail squeezed the bridge of her nose. "Sorry. I'll head back."
"No," Aaron said. "It's fine. Is there anything we can do for you today? Maybe hang out or something?"
Abigail didn't know if she wanted company today. Maybe?
A black cloud of smoke exploded from Zen's direction. Abigail raced towards it with Aaron behind her. What could Rudy have possibly done in a situation like this?
Shouts and scrapes from Nightlights threw Abigail off Rudy's trail. She closed her eyes and honed in on each noise. None of them sounded quite right. It didn't add up. None of the would-be clues pointed her in the right direction.
The smoke cleared; Rudy didn't show. That same Dewott from before got hit by Fissure.
Floatzel Zen paced around in a violent circle. He snapped an imaginary bone in his claws and took another look around. A Makuhita, Aggron, Rampardos, and Sudowoodo seemed as lost as Abigail.
"What happened?" Abigail asked.
"Teleport," Zen said. He pushed his lips together and nodded. "He used Metronome and teleported."
"Oh." The realization sunk into everyone else's eyes.
A Greedent and Darumaka rolled themselves up from the floor. Where the Clefable used to be, a Porygon floated up and shook his head around.
"What about his restraints?" Abigail asked.
Zen glanced her way. The side of his face pinched. He gently pushed the Porygon out of the way and picked up a pair of metal cuffs. He rotated them around in front of his eyes.
"Defective," Zen said. He threw them at the ground and looked around. The Nightlights still able to move stared at him. "Well guys?" Zen asked. "Stop staring and fan out!"
Great, now Abigail didn't even feel like moping. Gawain walked through the dispersing crowd, picked up the cuffs, and brought them to Abigail and Aaron.
"Let's head back to the N.A.," Gawain said, facing Aaron. "There's things I want to check about this."
"Got it." Aaron leaned his gaze away from Abigail only to get stuck on the ground.
"I'll come too," Abigail said.
Aaron exhaled and turned away.
The graveyard hid itself between streets within three miles of the Nightlight Tower. Abigail didn't bother calling a carriage when she left. She had borrowed a quick little illusion from Aaron to avoid getting swarmed on the way out and took her time walking. They chose to use the same strategy walking back. Aaron covered them all through the plaza with ease and dropped it along with his shoulders.
Quilava Gawain knew what he wanted to check, Abigail admitted. She lent him her phone during a long, stop-and-go elevator ride. She tried to peer over his shoulder to see, but he was too short. Her eyes settled on the elevator doors and the stream of people in and out.
Zoroark Aaron dangled a brown, sparkly stick in front of her face. "Churro?" Aaron asked.
Furret Abigail glanced at it. "We have more important things to do than churros right now."
Abigail walked out the elevator with her phone and a churro in her paws: squishy, supple, and perfect to grind her teeth into. That relieved a bit of stress. A light on the ceiling flickered out as she passed. Odd. Those tended to be fixed in minutes. After the initial hall, the rest of the lights stayed off. It made the rest of the hallways look like black holes to fall into.
"Which floor is this?" Abigail asked.
"Records," Gawain said. "Things don't add up. We'll have to check surveillance."
"What're you talking about?" Floatzel Zen asked.
"You said his restraints had a defect when you showed them to us. All Nightlights equipment is tested thoroughly. The odds of this being a mistake are too low."
"Please don't. I'm so done with odds today."
"Thanks to how things are run, it should only take a few hours. And Aaron brought snacks."
"He always has snacks," Abigail said.
"For some people, at least."
Abigail counted up how many snacks Aaron gave her in the past three days and looked back at him. A cracker snapped between his perfect teeth.
"So just busy work," Zen said. "You don't have to join us for this on your day off, Abigail."
"I was just going to mope around all day. I think I prefer this."
"Well, we all have our things. But if you're sure."
Abigail peered through glass slits on closed doors as she walked past. Most of them were dark, save for stuttery screen lights. The temperature dropped a few degrees, probably for the server room they passed. The lights from that room showed off a light layer of dust on the walls. She wouldn't want to be here by herself at night, if only for how dirty it looked. She crossed her arms.
"It's a little unkempt down here," Abigail said quietly. "What's this floor all used for?"
"Lots of paper records from the old days," Aaron said. "The server room we passed. Surveillance from all over, managed regularly. Legends say the IT guys love the darkness cause it reminds them of college."
"It's just to save power," Zen said. "Not many people come here that often. There are switches on the walls and stuff. There's surveillance."
Zen pointed to a door behind Gawain, who stopped and checked the sign to confirm for himself. He shouldered the door open and flipped a switch on the right wall. Based on how he knew where it'd be, he must've come down here before.
The room didn't look so special; computers like pale, cardboard boxes sat alone on trailed out the backs of the to the closest outlets. Corny computer posters from what could be two decades ago covered the cold, concrete wall, molded to look like brick. Zen, Gawain, and Aaron split off to different tables. Abigail followed Aaron on instinct, then tapped the tips of her toes against the floor when she realized. At least they didn't seem to notice.
"What kind of cameras are we looking for?" Aaron asked.
"The testing floor," Gawain said, as if it was obvious. "All kinds of equipment are numbered. Search for footage where they're working with a similar number bracket. They typically have to read it out loud somewhere in the testing process. From there, the equipment's handed out to specific agents on another floor. Trace who had that pair of restraints."
"What number were they?" Aaron asked.
"Five-thousand three-hundred and two. If the footage doesn't have any restraints with numbers that are close, or… However. You know what I mean. If it's not in that range, skip it. They test them twenty at a time."
Abigail took a bite out of her second churro and realized she took another one without thinking. Maybe this was how she finally got overweight. Her dad always warned her about the corn syrup. A small ache passed through her chest. She barely even remembered Aaron handing it to her.
"You want to use another computer or chill for a while?" Aaron asked.
"I'll use that one," Abigail said, pointing to the closest one. "Helping might make it go faster, right?"
"Yah. Go ahead."
Abigail imagined surveillance footage would be more fun. She could do spy things back in time. Unfortunately, most of that time didn't prove interesting. Months and months of footage stacked up in front of her on a white screen that burned to look at after a while. Half of the time she skipped to a random spot, it was night, and nothing was happening. During the day, the numbers varied so much with little-to-no pattern, the chances looked slim. After manufacturing, the Nightlights turned an organized lineup into a free for all. The day after they tested the last of the first one-hundred, they skipped to the three-thousands.
Abigail had to sift through months of this crap.
"Looks like they did the first thousand in February." Gawain's voice cut through the silence and clicking.
"Nah," Zen sighed. His paw dug into his jaw as he rested his head on it. "Got some of those in May."
"I'm sure we could find someone whose job it is to organize this crap and fire them," Aaron said.
"And then we'd have to go through more records to find them, if they're not already fired or left by themselves.."
Aaron tossed a pack of fruit gummies at Abigail. She caught it looking at its shadow over her screen.
Some of the numbers closed in on the target all of a sudden in early June, only a week or two ago. She listened carefully for it, decided she missed, and stopped before she would click away. A random conversation between a Bidoof and Houndoom as they worked side-by-side on a table caught her attention.
"You heard they brought down the hammer on that one carriage thief cause it belonged to some rich mug?" Houndoom asked.
"The hammer?" Bidoof asked. He pushed a hammer towards Houndoom's side of the table.
"No, you dolt. The Lodestar."
"What did– Oh. Yah, I heard about that."
That was the second time anyone ever called Abigail "the hammer." She wondered how common that nickname was. Both times were Nightlights.
"We're not the only ones getting tired of this go-around," Houndoom said. "Makes you wonder how much combat data they really need."
Bidoof scoffed. "Who knows. Maybe they'll try and use the Lodestar for an angel's version two. But I think he needs so much data cause he's afraid of all this playing around with Legendary species' when it's his own skin on the line for once."
"Hey, watch your mouth."
"Oh, uh, sorry. I'm not good at talking and working."
"Clearly."
The screen turned black. Abigail recoiled back and looked around the computer. A thin trail of smoke rose up from the back. She stood up.
"I think my computer broke?" Abigail said. "It's uh, smoking?"
Aaron pushed off of his table and stood up. "Well that's not allowed inside." He walked over, picked it up, and turned it around.
"Honestly," he said. "I think this thing is older than me. Try another one. They should be switching to a new system this year anyways."
"Alright."
For whatever reason, Zen's eyes turned as dark as a gas leak in the ocean. Aaron's gaze phased through Abigails' face. Abigail watched their expressions return to normal as she sat down at another computer.
A few minutes later, freedom.
"Got it," Aaron said. "How long were we in here?" He peered at the bottom corner of his screen and checked the clock. "Only an hour and a half?" He pushed back and reclined on his cushion. "Pack it up guys. I'm goated."
Gawain came over and took it from there. They gathered around and waited for the results of his electronic chase. At the end, the restraints ended up in the hands… or, uh, block-like appendages of a Porygon.
"That Porygon was there today," Zen said. "I saw him."
"Porygons can use Lock-On," Gawain said. "Rudy could have copied that from him before the fight started and waited for the chance to get a surprise."
"Maybe Rudy didn't teleport at all," Abigail said. "His species can use Ally Switch. He was right where Rudy was when the smoke thinned out."
"Let's take him in. We can use his phone to message Rudy and set a trap. Aaron will reel him in, and Abigail, if you don't mind."
Abigail frowned. "Not at all."
"I'm going to need a bit to download this footage as evidence for later. You all move in and arrest this Porygon."
"I'll take care of the arrest," Aaron said. "He'll be on guard if either of you show up. Scout out nearby areas that seem like they make sense to set up a meeting with Rudy, in case we don't have any prior knowledge to go off of."
"Alright," Zen said. "I'll go get Abigail something to eat before we're all set for this. Been a long one."
"Yah, sure. Just stay in the building."
"Yup."
Abigail didn't know whether to invite Zen to her room or wait for him to invite her to his. Eating in the plaza never worked out.
"I'll order up for my room," Zen said. "Meet us there after."
"Got it," Aaron said.
Abigail ate a healthy enough sandwich and borrowed Zen's TV while he searched for good meeting spots. He read aloud all the ones he found for a second opinion, which weren't much. A few of the alleys were downright awful choices as bait. Abigail knew she could catch Rudy without that Porygon helping; she said so a number of times to coax him towards more open areas.
Zen kept his distance ever since Abigail leaned a bit towards Aaron. Abigail couldn't tell if Zen knew about her preference yet, but he hadn't said anything out of the ordinary. Even now, Abigail sensed an invisible wall between them.
"How about a graveyard?" Zen asked.
A shock rolled up Abigail's spine. She turned her head back and peeked over the back of her cushion. Zen's feet hung off the side of his bed. "Graveyard?" she answered too quickly. "You mean like, the large one, or…"
"Only see the one. It'd make sense. It's an open area, so no one can sneak up on them. It's quiet. No one will question why they'd be there or listen in on their conversation. I think Rudy would feel safe coming to meet there."
"Yah, that sounds about right. Keep checking so we know all our options."
"Sure."
Abigail nestled back into place and sighed. She hoped another option would work better, most likely in vain. At best, Aaron would figure out the Porygon and Rudy had another normal meeting spot and they'd use that instead. She didn't want anything bad to happen there of all places.
Aaron and Gawain arrived at Zen's door together. Aaron waved a phone in the air which gathered them around Abigail's cushion. They struggled to make it work, given Porygon operated it by telekinesis. They all took turns until Zen happened to hold the highest success rate.
"Find any good spots?" Aaron asked.
"A graveyard and the park," Zen answered.
"Well, probably don't want many other people around. Park's active this time of year. You reading through the texts, Zen?"
"Yah. We're in luck. Looks like Rudy was asking to meet just half an hour ago. Should probably tell him something quick."
"Tell him the graveyard then. Ask when he can meet."
"Got it."
Abigail blamed the situation; none of them knew where her father was buried. She had to dig deep in her own records to find it when she first came to the city. A fight would threaten a lot of damage. This arrest had to be clean; she had to make sure of it. Collateral wasn't an option.
The few clouds from before cleared. Furret Abigail poked her nose past the edge of a nearby rooftop. Disguised as a Porygon, Aaron floated about the hills of the graveyard below. They all pitched in copying the Porygon's accent, but Abigail guessed that Rudy would see through it within a minute of talking. At least the disguise would pull him close.
Floatzel Zen and Quilava Gawain peeked over the rooftop's edge on either side of Abigail. Abigail grabbed their shoulders and pulled them down when she noticed a flash of pink. Clefable Rudy wound between gravestones on his way to Aaron. They asked Abigail to call for more Nightlight agents, but she didn't want more people firing more attacks here. From here, the job fell to her.
Abigail hopped over the edge and landed on the street next to the graveyard. A passing carriage forced her to wait before crossing. She ran across the sidewalk, hopped over a short, stone wall, and crept low with her tail curled in. Aaron's fake voice swept around in the heated summer's wind.
"Bro, that was… close," Aaron said. "We need to shift gears if they're gonna bring the Lodestar down on us like that."
"No shit Sherlock," Rudy belched out. "I thought she wasn't going to be active today?"
"She wasn't supposed to be, I swear! I dunno why she showed up."
"Well, even if she weren't, I would've been screwed if that dumbass didn't use Fissure. Or if you weren't so on point saving my ass."
"Hey, don't sweat it. But what are we supposed to do now?"
Rudy looked around them. Abigail curled up in a ball and hid behind a nearby gravestone. "Be patient, Rudy said. "Look, there's still the museum thing happening in two weeks. And we still have to see who's winning between the runts and the spades."
"Eugh. I must've been in that building for too long," Aaron said. "Do we know if they have Eyes yet?"
"I was trying to find out still. You're good at recon, but you really need to stay connected better."
"To be honest, I kinda screwed up the recon recently."
"What'd you do?"
Abigail wound her tail around Rudy's eyes. When she grabbed his legs, he tilted and fell over. Aaron's illusion whisked away.
So did Rudy. The image that Abigail grabbed blipped out of existence. She righted herself and faced him again. Rudy stood four paces away with his arms raised. Despite the shock on his face, he reacted fast. Using Double Team to talk to what he actually believed to be friends took her by surprise.
"We know what you and the Porygon did earlier," Abigail said. "And we're taking you in."
"Abigail," Rudy said, out of breath. "You don't know what…"
Rudy's face twisted. Abigail glanced behind her. Aaron looked the same as always, but something spooked Rudy then. In the moments that followed, Zen and Gawain surrounded him. Rudy took turns looking at each of them, breathed deep, and raised up steady fists.
"My guy, one on four?" Aaron asked.
"I'm used to worse odds," Rudy said. "I guess this has to happen eventually."
"If it's the same result in the end, we're fine with it," Gawain said. "Seriously. This isn't necessary."
Zen tilted his chin up. "I respect it. I mean, with all that fear… You're not half-bad. But we're not letting these Eyes come together. You're out of luck. We've got a handle on all your tricks from before."
"Except the Lucky Chant Charms," Aaron added. "Which is going to be my first interrogation question, by the way."
Zen curled his lower lip and nodded his agreement.
Abigail found herself in a staredown with Rudy. At this point, she only wanted to understand what was going through his head. What good would come from Valor awakening its own resident terror? She needed to know what was on the tip of his tongue more than anything.
Rudy wouldn't give. He dropped his head and let the princes restrain him. Abigail watched. She'd been missing that satisfaction from when she brought down muggers or violent criminals lately. Fighting didn't fulfill her as much. Her eyes wandered back to her father's gravestone, around the edge of the graveyard. Two sunflowers rested on each other where she only left one.
On any other night, after spending time with Aaron, wrapping up chores, and watching TV, Furret Abigail would sleep it off. Tonight, she couldn't rest until at least one question had been answered. She tossed aside her bedsheets, slipped out of her pajamas, put on her cape, equipped a few wands, and took her phone with her out into the hall. The light triggered an instant headache.
Abigail trudged through an ocean of deep silence on her way to the elevator. Without anyone in the elevator when it arrived, it almost seemed haunted. Good. Abigail entered for the floor number above her target in case anyone else stepped in the elevator.
No one else took it. When Abigail reached the floor, the elevator doors opened to another maze of hallways that appeared roughly the same. When the doors closed again, she hit the button for the records floor.
The lights were still off. Abigail stepped off the elevator and merged with the darkness. She wanted to check the surveillance footage again, by herself this time. The way Zen looked when she came across that earlier footage never sat right. She doubted she'd learn anything more from that footage given how the conversation ended, but she could see what Zen had been up to after arresting Rudy. Footage from that Porygon's arrest might also be in.
With some luck Abigail counted out the doorways and found the surveillance room again. She picked out a computer angled so she could see the door and got to work. Finding that footage for that day took less than a minute after it booted up. Following would prove tricky when it came to switching cameras, but she had all night and the will to get this done.
Abigail ran the footage back to the elevator at 3:07 p.m.; she saw herself in the elevator with Zoroark Aaron, Floatzel Zen, Quilava Gawain, and Clefable Rudy. Aaron took Abigail to her room after making out for a minute in the hallway, while the other two took Porygon to interrogation. Aaron didn't leave her room till about 9:00 p.m. Her tail swished in her seat and her face warmed. Aaron stayed over a touch late.
Regardless, she only had to track Zen and Gawain. Cameras were organized by a set of numbers, one to mark their floor and another to discriminate between themselves on the same floor. It took a while to watch Zen and Gawain pass Rudy off and leave. She switched to the wrong camera constantly and had to rewind to keep at the same moment until she found the right one. Almost half an hour later, she returned to the elevator camera.
Gawain shifted around on his feet. "You busy?" Gawain asked.
"Yah," Zen huffed out.
Gawain turned to his face. "With what?"
"Dealing with the thing. Why?"
"Just training."
"Just ask Aaron."
Gawain's face turned sour. Abigail blinked; she'd never seen that before.
"He's too busy playing with his new girlfriend," Gawain said.
Zen smirked. "Doesn't matter. It's still fair game."
"I guess…"
The elevator doors opened.
"See you later."
"See you."
Abigail bit the tip of her tail. They were still competing. Zen may have only spared his advances today because of her father's birthday. He still had plans.
Abigail chose to check the camera outside Gawain's room and moved the time along. He hadn't left it, all the way to the present. That settled it for him.
Back in the afternoon, Zen remained active. He visited several floors for progress checks and followed up on the faulty restraints. After that, he returned to the plaza, researched some information, and took the elevator back up to a residential floor. He folded his arms and leaned on the wall outside of a room situated by the window.
During the next twenty minutes, a number of people passed through. None even took notice of Zen in the corner, except one. Abigail had sped up the footage and rewinded when she saw a blaze of movement. She inched closer to her monitor to check.
The same Bidoof she saw in the footage earlier that day walked towards Zen, and presumably, his own room. His eyes lit up. His walking stiffened. Zen waited for him to come close.
"H-hello, Lord Verity," Bidoof said. "To, uh, what do I owe the honor?"
Zen's eyes turned that shade Abigail didn't like again. "I went to records earlier today," Zen said. "With the Lodestar. We were searching for information. And it looks like you were about to give up plenty. So tell me honestly, do you always run your mouth when you're working?"
Bidoof turned breathless. He shrunk back into himself. "L-lord Verity, I would never–"
Abigail's eyes flattened. Her paw shook over the keys. Her stomach jolted upwards. Every limb froze in place. She'd never seen anything like this before; the closest thing might be the thunderstorms from when she was little. A constant rain of thunderbolts shook her to the core. She could feel their raw power from miles away, and the hellfire of singed fur and agony if one of them struck her. The way windows vibrated under their force reminded her no place was safe from random brutality, no matter how small the chances.
By the time Zen finished beating him, half of Bidoof's front teeth were sprinkled on the floor. Zen rolled his head around to an Amaura and Sandshrew watching from the hall.
"You two," Zen said, "clean up." He bent down behind Bidoof and picked his head up off the floor. His stuttered breaths overtook his voice. "And you, forget about becoming a Dragoon. I'll have you scrubbing floors here when you hit triple digits on your birthday cakes." Zen dropped it, stood up, and walked away.
The screen blurred when Abigail backed up from it. The darkness of the room crawled in a circle around her eyes. Her body took to bringing out her phone, connecting it to the computer, and copying the section of footage for herself. Once that finished, she'd upload it to the cloud with a password and delete it from her phone. From there, she didn't know what she'd do.
The door handle clicked. Abigail missed taking a breath and shuddered. Her download finished. She swallowed and cleared her voice.
"G-good evening?" Abigail said.
A Pansage and Marshtomp peered in. Abigail cleared her head and smiled at them.
"Do you need anything?" Abigail asked.
"Oh, uh, no, miss Lodestar," Marshtomp said. "We're just here clearing out old data. Were you looking through anything?"
Abigail waved her paw. "I was just double checking something, but I'm done now." She unplugged her phone and put it in her pocket out of their sight. "I'll get out of your way."
Abigail stood up and wandered out. She set the surveillance footage on her computer to a different day entirely and left it on for them to see. She bit the tip of her tongue to smile at each of them on her way out the door.
Past the doorway, Abigail slowed to a near-stop and kept an ear open. They whispered, but she heard anyway.
"Let Lord Valor know she was down here," Pansage said.
"Got it."
Abigail plucked a deep pink wand from the back of her cape and turned around. She circled back through the doorway and whipped it at the back of their heads.
A white orb smacked Marshtomp in the back of the head. The other slammed into Pansage and sent him rolling across the floor. He slammed into the side of the table and stilled.
Abigail crept closer towards the Marshtomp's back. He remained still and balanced, until his weight leaned forward and he collapsed on his front. It worked; the wand put them solidly asleep.
A light dimmed under the corner of the table. Abigail scrambled and dove at it. She shook the phone around and pressed buttons before it could close.
The screen had gone dark, but it didn't return to its lock screen when Abigail reached it. She breathed out and kept her digits on the screen. In the texts, she found what she was looking for: an order to delete old surveillance footage earlier than usual from none other than Zen. He even specified the time stamps he wanted deleted for when he attacked that Bidoof.
Abigail hit Marshtomp and Pansage hard when they hadn't expected it. They probably wouldn't remember some time before they got hit. She had to stay and delete it herself, or Zen might ask them questions they couldn't answer. She wouldn't be responsible for that.
Abigail brought the phone over back to her computer and made strides to delete it. A password blocked her path. These two may have known it, but she didn't. She tried to scroll through the Pansage's saved passwords and try some of them out; she didn't care how ordered the Nightlights were, people used the same passwords for different sites all the time. Another wall cropped up. The phone asked her to verify Pansage's phone lock again before viewing all of the saved passwords, and she couldn't do that, unless…
A card remained on the table. The surveillance room had a camera in it. Abigail scrolled back through the footage of what just happened and focused in on Pansage when he unlocked his phone. It blurred when she zoomed in, but she could guess.
Bingo, it worked on the second try. Abigail scrolled through his passwords and found ten of one and three of the other. She carefully typed in the one with three copies first and mouthed a prayer. A shaky flame escaped her lungs when she sighed.
It worked. Abigail deleted the old surveillance and the footage Zen wanted gone, save for the copy on her phone. Now she had access to a secret no one else knew, and the problem of keeping her emotions in check every waking moment she was around him. She wiped off her lips and rubbed her paws. This wouldn't be the last of these trips.
The Marshtomp and Pansage's snores brought her back to the present. She had to look up their room numbers on her phones and put them back. She didn't reach the clear yet.
Abigail closed her computer out, cleaned up, figured out their room numbers, and wound Marshtomp and Pansage in her tail. With her cape over them, it looked more like a secret, personal package to be delivered. IF anyone asked, it was a surprise cake for a friend. If anyone asked who's birthday it was, she'd say Anne's. If anyone knew Anne's birthday happened in October, she'd deck them with a wand and add them to the cake.
Abigail checked both ways out the doorway and kept her steps quiet in case anyone else came. Marshtomp and Pansage lived on the same floor, but only the elevator could take her there. She had to hope that either no one got on, or they minded their business.
No such luck. The elevator doors opened to a Jangmo-o. His eyes shivered and stared as Abigail stepped on and hit the button for her new target floor. She spared a glance down at Jangm-o and smiled like she would to anyone else.
"H-hi," Jangmo-o said in a crinkly voice.
"Hi," Abigail said. She kept her eyes trained straight.
"Nice to meet you. Uh, miss. Do you need help carrying anything?"
Abigail had been irritated by flirting before but this really did it. "No thank you. It's a surprise for someone."
"Oh, really? Anyone famous?"
Dammit. "It's Anne's birthday present."
"Oh! Okay!" Jagmo-o's head fell. "Huh, that's in October."
Abigail continued her blank smile and grabbed the wand under her cape. It couldn't be helped.
"I wish I was that good at planning ahead. Uh, have a nice one. Hope I get to see you again."
The elevator rolled to a stop. Jangmo-o walked off into a well-lit floor with the same hallways as the rest, this time, decorated with ribbons and paintings. Abigail let go of her smile and sighed. She clicked the button for the elevator doors to close.
"Hold the elevator!" a voice called from around the corner. "One second!"
Abigail stepped off to the side to hide from view and mashed the button. The doors closed on an avalanche of heavy steps.
"Hey wait. Hold the elevator! Asshole!"
The doors closed. Abigail started breathing again when the elevator restarted its ascent. That guy could wait ten minutes. Abigail brought herself back together in time for the elevator's next stop: the last floor she had to get these two through.
After realizing every residential floor worked the same, she found the Pansage's room after two turns. She took out his phone and waved it in front of his electronic lock. With the door closed behind her, she unwound her cape and set the Pansage on his bed. Clothes coated the room's floor, along with a grassy smell. Abigail placed her feet around them, grabbed the Marshtomp, and left.
With her paw on the door handle, Abigail stopped. She used the peep hole first to check the hallway.
A Feraligatr passed. Abigail held her ear to the door and waited until he went inside his own room. That was too close. She wouldn't have an answer she wanted to use for coming out of a random guy's room, or enough cape to cover a species that large.
Abigail checked both sides again and moved to Marshstomp's room. The metal floor helped her pick out footsteps and dip between hallways. Two strays took a moment to get in their rooms before Abigail could reach Marshtomp's.
Abigail closed the door behind her. Relief almost wiped her out. Her back slid against the door. Anytime she stopped to think, a kind of fear took hold and it only offered her the option to keep moving. She tossed the Marshtomp onto his bed, turned, and walked for the door.
"Eugh… Whaaaat?"
Abigail whipped out the wand and blasted him. Marshtomp's head flung back. Abigail kept her staff pointed at him, but it took for real this time. He'd feel that in the morning, but fuck that and fuck tattletales.
This still left the surveillance footage of Abigail coming to this floor in the first place. She had to go back down and delete it. That, and a visit to Rudy's cell, alone.
Abigail retraced her steps with less pressure. Deleting the footage took about ten minutes. After that, she went back to the elevator, waited for five more minutes, and set her sights on the prison floor. Most inmates were shipped off to other places, but as the situation with her mom involved an ongoing situation, they were all kept in the building. She doubted Rudy would be gone anytime soon.
A familiar Dartrix waved one of his wings at her. Abigail waved back with one paw and grabbed her wand with the other. She swung it straight on. When the white orb hit, Dartrix's head rolled around and gently settled on the desk in front of him. She estimated the power to use just right.
Abigail checked before; the prison cameras weren't stationed around the elevator like the others. They only kept track of specific hallways to give inmates their privacy. She couldn't see Dartrix at his station on the footage. It saved her a trip. She walked forward and pushed against the heavy, black metal gate by herself. She imagined all of the prisoners heard it, and didn't expect it at this time of night. A row of lights turned on as she walked.
The few prisoners that saw her weren't shy about staring. Abigail stared back. Even if the unthinkable happened and they all escaped at once, she held a tighter hold on their necks than any chain. The time came for one of them to cough something up for her.
Abigail wandered until she found Rudy's cell. He'd been locked in a smaller cell with a Porygon roommate. It made sense. They wouldn't fight, at least. Abigail waited for Rudy to stir from his slumber. Porygon woke up from the sound of his gasp. Their bunk beds creaked with every movement. Abigail peered at them through a small opening in silvery bars.
"You're going to tell me about that museum and those other two things you mentioned," Abigail said.
"I already talked as much as I will during interrogation," Rudy said, rubbing the back of his head. He sat up in his meager bed. "So just look at that and stop bothering me."
"I know who you're really afraid of. If you tell me, I'll cut you a deal."
"A deal?" Rudy asked. "Like what, a cookie? An allowance? Bringing Ben and Jeremy's ice cream to the prison floor once a week?"
"I'll keep one of the Eyes to myself, away from the princes."
Porygon tried to flash Rudy a look, but he didn't break away from Abigail's stare. "You think you're smart enough to pull that off?" Rudy asked. "And why would you?"
"I can't do it without information that they don't have. Give it to me."
Rudy leaned back. "Nah. I don't believe you."
Abigail banged her paw on the wall. A small dent coiled around her paw. She leaned forward against the bars with her other paw over her head. Rudy flinched and stared.
"Aw no," Rudy said quietly. "Did you see something?"
"Did you think I'd be dead if I figured anything out?" Abigail asked. Her voice rumbled. "Don't make me fucking come in there."
"The museum!" Rudy swallowed and brought his voice back down to normal. "The museum, okay? It's Valor National Museum. There'll be a heist there two weeks from today. There's an Eye there that the owner is trying to sell on the black market. During the sale, it'll be stormed and the place will be blown to bits."
"Blown to bits?" Abigail's voice calmed.
"Yah. Your mother's going to be there. I'm sure you know what that means."
Sacred Treasure Lobera, in the paws of Abigail's mother, could bring down everything but Valor Castle by itself. The museum offered an opportunity. She had to make plans.
"And what about the other thing?" Abigail asked.
"The Runts and the Spades are rival gangs," Rudy said, "some of the largest in the city. They usually give enough respect to avoid each other's territory, but they might be fighting over an Eye. They Runts are based around Northern Valor. Don't know anything about the Spades. I'm guessing Central."
"I see."
Now, worry entered Rudy's face. "So, you're not going to tell them anything of what I just did, right?"
Abigail frowned. "No. I'm not."
"Good."
"So… Nothing else to tell me?"
"No. But do you think you'll be able to keep this secret with the Veritan blessing around? Or Gawain with all his planning? If they find out you know something, I–"
Abigail breathed out. "I can handle it." She turned and walked away. "But I'll be sure to bring you ice cream tomorrow."
For the first time in a long while, Abigail knew where her mother would be and when. If she did this right, Abigail could have something more than information to herself. That would do nicely.
Abigail closed the gates behind herself and walked around the Dartrix. He hadn't woken from the screeching noise of steel on steel. If she didn't wake him, the only guard for the prison would've been sleeping on the job tonight. It wouldn't look good. The security feed here didn't provide audio, but they would have seen her enter tonight.
"Hello there?" Abigail tapped the Dartrix on his back. A jolt to the back of his head would do it for sure. "Hello?"
Dartrix lifted his head and creased his eyes. "Eh, hello?" His gaze widened. He took stock of his location and who was standing in front of him. "Oh, my. Was I sleeping on the job?" Dartrix asked. "That's no good, that's no good at all. I'm so sorry, I–"
"It's fine," Abigail said, smiling. "I'll call in for someone to take your shift, alright?"
"Thank you, miss Lodestar. Really. Uh, what are you doing here so late at night?"
Abigail's tail swished. Course he'd ask that. "I was coming to check on the inmates, uh… quality of life. Me and Joshua, were uh… He was a good mentor to me."
"I see… I can take you to him to visit if you'd like."
"No, you're right. It's late. He's probably sleeping. I'll come back."
"I see. Uh, thank you. Really…"
"It's no problem at all. Have a good night."
"You too."
Abigail turned away and smiled to herself. That went as well as it could. From now on, she'd never be safe with Zen around. She stopped and stared at the floor longer than she meant to.
Aaron was still trustworthy? Maybe not with information like this, but… Aaron would never do anything like that. Abigail could go on believing that tonight. That idea helped.
It helped a lot.