Lake Lucid, 54 Days Before The Fall

It hadn't taken long for Virgil to realize that it had been far too long since he had slept through the night. He couldn't even remember the last time he had actually felt rested. The night before had been the first night in a while that he had gone to sleep entirely uninterrupted, without memories and without dreams. It had been a slow burn to get to this point and even after the split, there had been distorted fragments of Marus's memories in his dreams. The imagery of Genesect rending into flesh had taken the longest to fizzle into a haze, right under Mira's unnatural puppeteering.

But those dreams weren't his problem anymore: his problems were different. She laid with him for the entire night. Juliet had nestled close to him, her back a warm hearth into his chest and her hand interlaced delicately into his, the one she had brought to her lips in the most meek manor he had ever seen her do. As if that hadn't been enough, his breath had fallen quickly into a dance with hers. It was all so…different.

She told him then that she was a problem and he hadn't believed her. Maybe Juliet had read the situation more accurately than he gave her credit for but he was also certain that this wasn't the particular grade of problem Juliet had meant. Argo had woken him up twice that night and apparently according to Juliet, he didn't care to be touched by anyone other than her and he wasn't an exception.

Argo had even lashed out at him but Juliet had caught him mid-stride by his winged ears and that had made Virgil flinch even more. It wasn't until he saw Argo run slack in at her touch that Virgil relaxed. The apprehension quickly gave way to a foreign and interesting ripple of something that he knew but couldn't quite name. When Juliet had hummed a low and vulnerable harmony and sang Argo into calm, the ripple turned in on itself and into a compulsion to bring her heat as close to him as he could get. They had slipped back into bed together, Argo wound intricately around Juliet like a shroud; Virgil didn't attempt to bring her back in.

She had gotten up before him too and he had managed to catch the tail end of her routine of getting ready before she headed out, her antics with Angel and Argo both. He had actually woken up not too long after her but stayed down. She had jotted down a note for him and left promptly after that save for a slight halt by her door, her gaze lingering over him far longer than normal; the night before had been playing in her head too. He had shifted in an attempt to get a better look at her, twisting blankets to hide himself and see her. When he had mustered up the will to take a peek, she had snatched his attention immediately; she had seen through him from the beginning. She had given him a small smile and chuckle.

"You can leave whenever you want," was all she had said before she had closed the door behind her. He had picked out a residual listlessness and exhaustion when she had said that, maybe even a little shame. He had laid there and stared where she had been for a moment before sitting up, and after that, he continued. Juliet had left the feeling of fingertips fluttering across his skin with just her presence alone like when they first met. But, it was different. The fluttering across his skin was different from the searing heat from when they had met in the alley. Different from tightened veins and the whirlwind of adrenaline that had come from her flirting, and it was certainly a world apart from the impulse to win when she had stared into him for the first time in a back alley brawl. Those eyes of hers played a thrum of something that for once wasn't fury but again was something he could only loosely define. That, Virgil figured, was the problem. Could he even remember feeling something other than smarmy rage or a hollow nothing? This uncertainty was new ground.

Alone in the main lobby of the hotel two days later was also a new experience. Nearly all of the socialites had walked past him without a second thought. A few of them sneered at his presence but left him well alone. Virgil sighed, stretching his back over the sofa to stare at the ceiling. This was day five at Lake Lucid and things were surprisingly normal. He had been certain that Victoria would have shown up to come after Ryuu. Virgil frowned.

He never imagined someone as strong as Victoria could even exist. She nearly overwhelmed Jaret in the valley and knocked Virgil aside without a second thought when he had interfered. If Viola's Grovyle hadn't been there, it would have been far worse. What was even more difficult to fathom was that Victoria alluded to Ryuu being convincingly stronger than her. With that kind of strength, Virgil couldn't help but wonder how Ryuu would have done against his mother in her prime. He slumped into the sofa to look across the way, past the grand staircase and the front desk.

All of the socialites that had snickered as they passed him had ended up there, all scrunched together in the bar area. Marus would have had him do something stupid, reckless but instead Virgil felt something closer to…pity for all of them. Nothing about the site was genuine and Virgil figured that all of their muttering about him had really been something for reassuring themselves.

That, or maybe their desperate attempts to impress one of the men there dressed decently save for a gaudy out-of-date cape had really taken over their minds. The women were particularly aggressive about his attention. Virgil had caught quite a few lazy attempts at subtle hand brushes that the man had seen coming and spurned them with the kind of grace Juliet had. There was a rumble next to his ear and he nearly jumped out of his seat.

"Someone's jumpy." Virgil turned to his side. Her eyes were different from Juliet's. Juliet's were sharp but open and carried tempered light. This woman's eyes were sharp too but were also a special kind serrated and toothy that left his blood hammering in his ears as she leaned in to close the distance between them. He felt a finger trace the face of his knee.

Too close.

She licked her lips. "No reason to be scared, y'know," she purred. "It's not like anyone is really paying attention here." Her eyes flicked over to the bar then back to him with a hungry smirk. "Not when everyone is so taken with the scenery." She was impossibly close his chest thrumming at a second trace, this time a little higher taking his voice and nearly his heart with it. He attempted to turn away to catch some kind of thought and turned directly into a hand she had waiting for him, fingertips gingerly leveling his eyes with hers; they bristled as her tongue ran over her lips. "Have you ever been bitten before," came a low purr. "If not, you should give it a try." Her voice was hushed in his ear now and Virgil felt his mind leave. "I think you might like it…"

"He's taken." Virgil fell back into his body. That was Jaret and he snapped to attention. He went to make distance but the woman had already picked herself up, swinging her legs over the back of the sofa so she sat on it as she turned her attention to him.

"Figures," she said with a sigh. "He didn't really give me much to work with." Virgil watched as her eyes took in Jaret from the bottom up and the subtle leer of disinterest that registered across her face. "From the looks of it, you might not give me much to work with, either."

"You don't really seem like the type who likes to put in any kind of work, if we're going to go the insulting route." She pouted.

"Oh, lighten up. It's a party, damn it." Jaret shrugged.

"You're not wrong, but…" He passed a glance over the way, inevitably back to the bar lounge, and to the man in the cape especially. "If you're going to try and seduce someone, don't you think someone with some caliber might be a good idea?" Virgil rose indignantly.

"Hey, just wait a sec-"

"Hm," she interrupted. She had changed, Virgil noticed and the edge in her eyes had morphed into strain in her voice: she was annoyed. "What can I say? I have a type that William over there doesn't fit." Virgil saw Jaret tense up at the name. "But, thanks. I appreciate you crashing my fun." She gave a harsh roll of her eyes and made her way from the foyer. Virgil slumped into the sofa.

"That was intense…"

"Yeah no kidding," added Jaret. "I hope Juliet didn't see any of that though." Virgil rolled his eyes. "Hey, don't start that." Jaret laughed. "You're even doing her little eye roll now."

"In my defense, it can get the disbelief across if you ask me. Why wouldn't I pick it up?"

"I really wish you guys would stop with the back and forth. If you guys aren't going to do anything, then you really shouldn't waste each other's time. " He glanced down the way where the woman had left. "Besides, people like whoever that woman was will show up. Didn't you see how they had Seria and Juliet swamped?"

"You were at the party?" Jaret shrugged.

"For a bit. I saw you and Juliet go out and dance, but I think that it was a little too loud for Viola and me." Something pulled at the edges of Virgil's lips.

"What did you guys get into?" Jaret shrugged again and laughed.

"Nothing you need to worry about." Virgil narrowed his eyes and Jaret let out a harried breath. "If it's really that important, she asked me about you."

"Me?" Jaret paused.

"And Juliet. But all that came off of a small sparring session."

"Viola had a sparring session?"

"Yeah and she's way better than we think." A pause. " She was really concerned about Manectric. She's just about all healed up but she did take a hit at the Burned Tower." Virgil twinged at the memory.

"Viola did go head-to-head with Marus on her own…"

"And right after Violet City too." Virgil was silent. He could feel Jaret watching him closely. He was comfortably heavy again. "Hey," Jaret interjected. "You did your best to help when everything happened. You know that, right?"

"Yeah. But–"

"But nothing. You didn't just leave everything like it was." Virgil shifted but said nothing. "Hey," Virgil looked up and Jaret gave him a soft smile. "Since you're that worried about it, how about we get you back up to speed a little?" Virgil broke into a wide smile.

"A battle?"

"A battle."

"You really don't take a break, do you?"

"Now you sound like Viola," Jaret replied laughing. Virgil saw Jaret's eyes focus behind him then. His smile had dimmed to a grin. "But it isn't just me. All of my Pokemon are really into it too." He was silent now too and he had been so fixated towards the bar that Virgil couldn't help but turn back that way too. The crowd had gotten even bigger, and Virgil could see the bartenders busying their way behind the counter; the servers zipped to and fro with immaculate presentation in their dishes. It suddenly made sense to Virgil.

"I forgot you had told me that Seria had pulled one over on you and Viola at the Watershed," he had said with a small laugh. "I guess having to work off the bill would give me the same reaction too. Didn't you say you didn't really care for it?" Jaret tittered at that.

"I did, I did. But, actually it's funny that you bring up Seria anyway."

"Huh? Really?" Jaret nodded.

"Yeah. Do you see that man with the bottle of wine and tacky cape?"

"Oh, yeah…him?" Jaret nodded again. "I noticed him earlier before that girl, er…showed up."

"That's William Day." Virgil had whipped his head back to Jaret in disbelief.

"Wait, William Day? The Dragon Master William Day?" Another nod, and then Jaret shot him a small grin.

"The one and only. I'm surprised you didn't put two and two together. Only Dragon Tamers would want to play dress up that bad. At least he has normal clothes on under it but still…" Virgil looked back at the man, then back to Jaret, and then another glance back at the man.

"But, how do you know? From what I heard, Dragon Master's never leave Blackthorn. It's always the tamers that go out and travel!" Jaret shushed him.

"Hey, keep your voice down. We don't want him to know we know who he is." Then Jaret had turned his attention completely to Virgil then. A stern frown was etched into his eyes and the corners of his lips.

"Jaret…Are you okay?"

"Come on, Virgil. Johto is your own region and you haven't caught on yet?"

"Huh?"

"William Day is a Dragon Master and outside of Blackthorn on top of that. You said yourself that Dragon Masters don't really leave Blackthorn for much of anything. What do you think could possibly bring someone like William Day out into the open like this?" Realization struck him then.

"...Marus…" Jaret nodded.

"We can't forget that Marus is still running around. I know we haven't heard anything about him or Victoria in almost a week and we've been able to rest for a little bit but still…if a Dragon Master is out in the open, then that has to mean that the Johto League has caught on about him." Jaret paused. "Do you know anything about how the League would handle something like this?"

"My mom did tell me a little about things like this and I think she had said something about the official circuit shutting down to deal with threats." Thought rippled across Jaret's brow and he took a breath.

"William Day is very strong and he can't just be out here for any reason." Another pause. "I…actually had wanted to find him and battle him for myself to really see how strong he is. If I can go toe-to-toe with Cynthia in a league, then I can challenge William Day too…"

Typical Jaret, Virgil mused.

"But," Jaret began. "It wouldn't be smart to blow his cover. If the people here knew he were William the Dragon Master, then that might cause a panic…" He sighed. "And, Seria could possibly get a little upset…"

"Wait, what!?" Virgil had recognized too late that his reaction hadn't been a hushed exhale of surprise but an exclamation. The air went still as the bar's attention landed on the both of them. Virgil didn't even have time to freeze under their eyes; Jaret snatched him by his arm.

"Come on, we'll get more into it over the spar."


It had been the second time Virgil had tried his hand at Jaret and the third time overall Virgil was reminded that he had had the worst luck in the conference last year. Jaret King wasn't just strong, but strong enough for his mother to have actually paid attention to who he was. Jaret's Arcanine never disappointed and had done away with two out of the four Pokemon they had agreed to use. Zuzu had outright refused when he had called on her and Galvantula had forfeit when fire struck a space near her.

That had left only his Lucario to substitute and Virgil had forgotten how much Lucario really preferred battle. He had clashed with Jaret's Arcanine and had forced him back but was overwhelmed by Jaret's own Lucario. At the very least, it hadn't been a shutout and Jaret had congratulated him on that very same thing. For Virgil, it was strange and a loss was still a loss. But then again, progress was nice too. He chuckled despite himself. He was supposed to be brooding right now. He hadn't managed to defeat even a single one of Jaret's Pokemon, the same as last time; why was he laughing at all?

He had gotten better, or at least, had grown a little more into his old skin, even if the gap between the two of them was still obvious. Jaret had also joked that Dewott's actual name was "Ace"; the Pokemon had made due on all of his lunges with his scalchops. Aerial Ace and even a super-effective Razor Shell hadn't been enough to put Jaret's Arcanine down. But Jaret also lived for battling and the way he had been so in tune during the battle with Arcanine and Pidgeot especially left Virgil in disbelief. But then again, Jaret was also Jaret.

Still, the severity in Jaret's voice when he directed his attention to William Day had reminded Virgil of exactly how dangerous things had gotten. Jaret had also reminded him that it really had been a while since any of them had heard anything on Marus.

Was it possible that William Day was actually here looking for Marus himself?

If William did find Marus, would he be able to take on both Marus and Victoria at the same time?

William Day was strong, strong enough to get adherence from one of the strongest people Virgil knew, but how strong was William Day exactly?

The thoughts had sent him on his way throughout the resort to search for Seria. The two of them had never quite gotten along, at least, prior to his separation and the more he thought on it, the more confusing it became. He wasn't exactly sure how Seria would react to him as himself, especially with just the both of them.

Even so, Virgil figured that he had to have been the last person out of everyone to find out that she was the daughter of someone like William Day. Why hadn't she said anything? Did she know anything about Marus that he didn't? The sheer possibilities had left his mind reeling.

He checked the lake first and found more of the socialites instead. The second place he had checked had been therestaurant on the main way but hadn't found her there either. A lot of her time was usually spent with Ryuu or Juliet and as far as he knew, both of them were tending to their own plans. He sighed as he began to make his way back toward the Brightwater but slowed to a halt when he came to the fork in the path. The path down the right would take him to the overlook that he had led Juliet. It was a decent space to go and think if you had the right timing. He took slow breath before bolting down the path.

He had found her there like he had guessed but not expected. He took a inhale to call to her but stopped himself, then scurried over into the brush when he heard another voice.

"...I know you might not see it that way, but it is why I'm here…" Virgil felt his face scrunch in concentration. He was sure that the voice wasn't a voice he had heard before but it sounded familiar all the same.

"These contests are supposed to be my thing! How can he just show up like this?" It had been more of a disappointing wail more than anything. "And, if everyone knows that I'm 'William Day's' daughter, then I'll never hear the end of it."

"Exactly. That's. Why. I'm. Here. I know I like to have my fun, but I won't let William get too out of hand." Virgil felt his chest ignite for a moment.

"Emmi, you're boy-crazy." Virgil cringed at how sharply Seria said that. "And there's a lot of them here. Not to mention all of the other women who want to get into my dad's pants." Virgil heard her sigh dejected and she buried her head into her hands. "Mom is going to be livid."

"At the very least, he really botched the Melodic Musings," the other person finally said.

"That doesn't help, Emmi. You said you saw how everyone had been so enamored with him yourself, didn't you?" The other woman whistled smoothly.

"Yeah. For being so proper, they were really drooling over your dad, that's for sure." And then she sighed. "Too bad my chance was ruined." The simmer in his chest had gone down to his belly, and then a little further. He thought his legs might give out from under him and he leaned against one of the trees for support.

She was the woman from earlier Virgil realized and he didn't think he would have seen her so soon. More than that, it was even more boggling that Seria of all people had a connection with this woman, who in turn had a connection with William Day. There was a drawn grunt from Emmi as she took to stretching. She exhaled and then, peculiarly, sniffed the air once, twice, a few times. Another sigh.

"But it looks like I'll be getting another shot at it, anyway." Virgil froze; Emmi chuckled. "Oh come on, I know you're over there." Virgil remained put. Emmi came on strong earlier and Virgil wasn't even quite sure what it was about him specifically that drew him to her anyway. He didn't want to hang around to find out or deal with her. Seria would have to wait. He drew in the drumming in his chest and steeled his legs under him. He took a single, silent breath and kicked off from the tree.

She caught him with a slap and her fingers flitted from around his nose, slightly outward until he felt her tug him downward to her height. She leveled his eyes with her.

"It's so nice to see you again." Virgil felt his mind unraveling almost immediately again. "You're not glad to see me," she said, pouting. He had to say something, anything but there was nothing. Instead, he heaved in her now imprinted eyes, pale jade and hungry.

Emmi's eyes were so much stronger than Juliet's.

She bit her lower lip and Virgil let himself surrender.

"Emmi, knock it off."

Virgil came back.

Seria…? He had turned to her direction listlessly before everything solidified around him again. Emmi was dangerously close to him. There was an impulse in him that demanded him to taste her lips. He had slumped in her arms completely and Virgil didn't quite understand how his legs had failed him so easily and how Emmi was able to stir something up in him so strongly. Emmi huffed.

"So now you're going to ruin my fun too…?"

"He's with me," Seria retorted. Emmi's entire demeanor shifted then and pulled away and Virgil crumpled into the dirt.

"That's Ryuu?" Seria pinked.

"Him? No way!" Virgil had no strength to protest though he was sure that this was the second time his friends had taken shots at him. "You met Ryuu already! The photographer?"

"Oh. Him. That makes more sense. He looks dangerous." She had said that excitedly. "If you want, I can really show the ropes on how to get you swimming in his head."

"That's okay, Emmi." Then, she stared at Virgil.

"Oh," Emmi began casually. "What did you want me to do with him?" Seria was quiet for a moment.

"He probably came to see me for something. Although, I don't know what." Emmi shrugged.

"Well, if you say so. But if he tries anything, then just let me know and I'll break his face, okay?" Seria let out a small laugh.

"Yeah. I'll let you know." Emmi smiled before turning to Virgil with a wink.

"Hm, you're always so protected and that's no fun. But thanks for what you brought anyway. Ciao."

They watched Emmi until she had disappeared down the path. Seria was sharp.

"You probably heard all of that, didn't you?" Virgil could only manage a nod. "Did she take your breath away?" Virgil turned to her indignantly but nothing made its way out. He placed a hand under his shirt and over his chest, just to be sure he was breathing. "That wasn't a corny joke."

Virgil felt his voice come back to him with his next exhale. His breaths sputtered as he tried to get the words out.

"Too many questions," he panted. "How much stuff…do you know…?" She took the space next him and put a hand out.

"Get up and I can tell you after." He sat up then to look at her, face plain. "What?"

"I just…really have a lot of questions." He clasped his hand in hers and she hoisted him to lead him back to where she and Emmi had been sitting.

"So," she had dulled a bit. "Where are you gonna' aim first?"

"Aim…?" Seria turned to him incredulously.

"Yeah. Aim. You're normally taking your shot by this time anyway."

"But…I just got here."

"I know," was her short reply. She sighed. "Don't mind Emmi. She's…interesting." Virgo cocked a brow.

"You'd call that interesting?"

"We both know what it was," Seria replied dryly. "I'd…rather not talk about that."

"But…what was that? What did she do?" Virgil paused, long enough for all of the other questions to catch him. "And, how come you never told any of us that your dad is William Day? How much do you know about Johto history? Do you know anything I don't about Marus–"

"Virgil!" He stopped. She took a deep breath. "I only know what you know about Marus. I know that he died in Silver Village, but I don't know why he's here. I know that…" She hesitated. "There's…rumors that Marus's body was left to burn to instill fear and peace in humans."

"...That's not a rumor, is it?" Seria turned to him with a clenched jaw and hard stare; she looked back out to the treeline.

"Marus is dead, but I don't know how he's here, and I know the same things that are out there in public record when it comes to Johto."

"Even with Blackthorn?" He saw her tense for a short moment.

"Even Blackthorn."

"But William Day is your dad."

"I know," she snapped. Another deep breath. "My dad knows all of the confidential information," Virgil thought he had heard a quiver in her voice. "My dad is the dragon master. Not me." Silence.

"...Am I the last person to find out about that?"

"About him being my dad?" Virgil nodded. "None of you were supposed to find out."

"Who found out first?"

"Viola and Juliet…"

"How?" She shrugged.

"I don't want to talk about it. But…everyone found out from there…" She sniffled but her voice was clear. "You asked me so many questions I almost forgot that I had one for you."

"Yeah…?"

"Why are you so mean to me?" Virgil grunted at that. "I mean that. You definitely…mellowed out since Ecruteak but still…you're weird, specifically towards me." Virgil frowned.

"I wouldn't say that."

"I've only seen you in passing and it's been five days."

"You think I'm avoiding you?"

"I wouldn't be bringing it up if I didn't think so."

"Juliet definitely has rubbed off on you."

"Don't change the topic." Virgil chuckled.

"Well, to be honest, I really had no idea how this was going to go." Seria blinked in surprise.

"What do you mean?"

"Me and Juliet kind of had a talk like this too…"

"You did?" He felt the edges of his lips tighten. He nodded.

"I…really have no idea what I'm doing if I'm honest. I know I feel things, but how do I know if they're actually what I want to feel?"

"So..you kind of get it, then."

"There's no way this can be normal."

"It's not," she retorted matter-of-factly. "But…always being under someone's thumb doesn't make it easy to know if you're really doing what you want to do." She huffed. "Blackthorn was like that…"

"But, I thought that they'd be really happy about you. You're–"

"They hate me." Virgil felt his voice shrink. "My dad was born and raised there. My mom, not so much."

"Oh…" Seria tittered, morose in tone.

"Yeah, you can imagine how that went over with them…"

"Them?" Seria gave a wave of her hand.

"Er, don't..worry about it. But still, what I'm saying is that…if you're feeling lost on how you should feel, then that makes two of us." Virgil was frowning now.

"But you're…you…"

"I'm 'William Day's' daughter, 'the Pride of Blackthorn'. I don't even want to be a stupid tamer…" She sniffled again, this time a little deeper. Her voice cracked after that. "I just want to be able to be myself…" His chest tightened. "Tradition always came first there."

"Was it all the pressure from your dad put on you?" Seria scoffed.

"My dad couldn't care less about the traditions. He respects them because he was raised in it and he became the 'pride of Blackthorn' with Lance…" She took a moment to gather herself. "It was...actually my mom."

"Really?" A nod.

"Blackthorn is Blackthorn, and they wanted every chance to get rid of her. She wasn't from Blackthorn, or the area even. I've heard of people being able to take on oaths to be tamers from Mahogany Town, but never from anywhere beyond that." Her voice burned acidic then. "I had to learn everything because of it. The history, the folklore, the Roar…"

"The what?"

"It's tradition: a martial art inspired by dragons. It's their pride and joy." She sniffled a third time and there was a cry of frustration. "All because they thought my mom was going to take my dad from them…" Virgil felt his chest curl even further in; a teary Seria and a mutual understanding hadn't been anything he expected. His voice was small.

"...I actually expected something different…"She turned to him with a glare and Virgil gave a wistful smile into the dirt. "I guess…I always thought you could just be whoever you wanted to. And, even without Marus that had made me…jealous I guess. Being a kid and not really knowing if the thoughts you're having are supposed to be normal or not can take a toll." Seria tucked her legs in with a small smile and huff.

"Yeah," came her muffled agreement. "I guess so."

"I guess at the end of the day, I guess I really just want to say…sorry. And that…I'm glad you got the chance to be yourself for the past few days." She turned slightly to him, enough to let him know that she had heard him. There was muffled huff into her knees; she had done that to try and hide what Virgil was sure was relief.

At least they both felt similar.

"But, I guess I'll head back down. And, since we're actually friends, you can come find me if you need me, ok?" She turned to him entirely now, a warm smile etched into her expression.

"Ok." Virgil went to make his way down. "H-hey, Virgil." He stopped.

"Yeah?"

"Juliet had told me during the Coordination that you started to consider nicknames for your Pokemon, and I think I might have thought of one for Dewott if you wouldn't mind."

"I'm open to suggestions."

"What about…Ace? He's really good with those scalchops and that Aerial Ace of his. He…stopped Icey almost instantly when she went on her rampage yesterday…" He smirked. Of course, he thought. Dewott's training with that move and Razor Shell were endless.

"I think that's perfect."


Virgil sank into his bed and realized how exhausted he really was. Between his sparring match and unraveling more about Seria, he supposed it made sense. There had also been a question hovering at the edge of his mind all day: Where had Juliet gone?

She had left him in her bed two yesterday morning and the listlessness was still palpable, at least to him, but the strides she had made, at least in that moment, had been reassuring. It also made sense he supposed that she wanted to be alone. It was a very real possibility that Virgil hadn't quite recovered from Juliet's reveals either. In hindsight, Virgil wondered how he had been able to stay on his feet all day. His room was empty, save Galvy, his Galvantula and the only one of his Pokemon he had named himself since he began naming them, and the newly anointed "Ace".

He had left Zuzu with Juliet since the Coordination, and both Ampharos and Lucario had taken to relaxing on their own time down by the lake along with the Pokemon other trainers. Ace had taken a few practice swipes before leaning up against the wall, gaze transfixed on the medallion he rolled in his paws.

It was the Tide Incense that Seria had given him back in Ecruteak. It had been the first kind gesture Ace had gotten in a while when Virgil thought about it and Virgil sighed; Marus had really forced him over a threshold. There was a knock on his door. He sighed before rolling up back to his feet. It was a little early if Virgil were honest about bed but he wasn't going to let that stop him. As he opened the door, Virgil was surprised to find Viola standing there in the hallway.

"Oh…um…hey?" She grinned.

"Hey." She didn't say anything after that.

"So…what's up…?"

"Nothing much." Silence.

"Well, if…you're not going to say anything then I guess I'll just…get some rest?" She grinned again.

"You really do have an emotional hangover."

"A…what?" She stepped in, clicking the door shut behind her and plopped into the desk chair.

"It's exactly like it sounds. You've been really busy with comforting everyone." That earned her a small laugh.

"Oh, so you're checking on me?"

"Just to reverse the roles from a few days ago, yeah."

"I wouldn't really say that I've been checking on everyone though. Just…" Viola folded her arms with a chuckle.

"Just what?" Virgil didn't have an answer.

"Just…hanging out with my friends…?" They stared at each for a moment, then Viola burst into laughter. "H-hey…!"

"This isn't a quiz or anything," she remarked. "In case you need a reminder, you are a human being." Virgil laughed.

"Well, thanks. I'm glad you're here to let me know." Her eyes flicked past him to his bed.

"Your Galvantula looks comfortable."

"Oh, Galvy?" she beamed.

"You're naming them now?"

"Um, well, I guess? Juliet started with–"

"Zuzu," Viola finished for him with a chuckle. "She's really had an influence on you, huh?" Virgil rolled his eyes. "Like. So," Viola added with another chuckle. And then her eyes went over to Ace. He hadn't faltered in the slightest and passed through his motions with slow control. One scalchop sprayed to life for a moment as he spun for a swipe that had nearly cut into Virgil who waved by it instinctively and unfazed. "You're…awfully calm about that." She paused. "And…surprisingly fast." Virgil shrugged.

"It's nothing I haven't done before."

"What do you mean?"

"I'd…rather not talk about that." Viola turned the chair to face him and scooted toward him with a playful smirk. "Hey! You're making a lot of noise!"

"I'll knock it off if you tell me."

"Okay, okay, but…you're actually a little close anyway." She leaned in with a laugh.

"I'm listening."

"Well, back during the conference last year, Dewott–I mean, Me and Ace would practice together."

"Really? How so?" Virgil hesitated.

"Well, with…dancing…"

"Oh, so that explains the smooth dodging." Virgil gave her a nervous smile.

"I..guess so…"

"Hey, Virgil."

"Yeah?"

"You should remember what I said. You know, from a couple days ago." Virgil looked away.

"About not trying so hard?" He looked back to her and she smiled.

"Exactly that. I'm sure you know this but everyone noticed that you're different." Virgil tensed. "And we like you way better now, and Jaret's especially happy about everything." she added.

"Jaret's proud?" Viola tittered.

"You two are closer than you think, and I can't believe you can't tell." Warmth was blooming in his chest.

"How..proud is he…?"

"Probably the most out of all of us, but…we all are. So, if you need the time to re-discover yourself after the split, don't worry about it. We're not going to judge you." His lips creased back into a wide smile; he was beaming. "We're your friends, got it?"

"I got it."