A/N: The longest chapter and probably most painstaking (It only took me 11 months...) chapter I have ever written at almost 14,000 words, but there was a lot to say for the main character of the chapter, namely that she is unquestionably my favorite submission I got 11 years go for Phoenix and I adore her. the biggest thanks and gush to the now inactive (I assume anyway) DolceBrio. Juliet Grey is fantastic. Constructive criticism is appreciated; a first and real attempt at writing something like this, so if you decide to...thanks. I'm really grateful.
TW: Trauma, PTSD, Overdose, Death
Summary: No matter how much she runs, she will always be who she is.
Lake Lucid, 56 Days Before the Fall
The last time Juliet had ever woken up in someone else's bed had been years ago, and that was when she outright had stolen Connor's bed back at home. He had already started his Pokemon journey way beforehand and there was no way she was going to let a comfy, top-of-the-line mattress go unused. Her throat was a little dry, which meant she had probably cried herself to sleep. Viola and all of her Pokemon (save her Swellow that actually startled her when he shifted in his sleep; definitely an enforcer in a bird's body if she were honest…) were still asleep on the rollaway that she more than likely ordered after Juliet had fallen asleep. But, it wasn't as if Juliet hadn't pulled all nighters before; moving before daybreak was a specialty of hers.
Still, Kaynan hung fresh in her mind. The last thing she had wanted to do was to cause a scene, especially with little Seria being so out of her element with socialites like that. If Runway had ended any other way, then Juliet might not have found herself Viola's room crying over things that she knew she had no control over but couldn't let go. As much as she would rather Viola haven't seen any of that, it had still been pretty nice to get it all out…
Well some of it, but no one really needed to know the full story. Juliet moved deftly around the rollaway, leaving with a dismal smile as she clicked the door shut. She had seen some twilight breaking through the window when she had woken up, which meant she really needed to get back to her room. Angel was going to be more than upset with her when she finally walked through the door. Juliet sighed, hoping that whatever karma she had put out there wasn't going to come back and bite her in Coordination.
The moment her room door clicked shut behind her, Juliet felt Angel's glare moving with her everywhere she went. She had been waiting, just like Juliet knew she would and for all of her pouty purrs and mewls, Angel had made herself super comfortable in the bed meant for her. It had been a while since they had been in a contest and Angel was definitely antsy about it. She always needed her fill of attention, and she was ravenous about it. When Juliet had strolled through the main avenue tugging Virgil along with her, Angel had an absolute field day and even around all of the other socialites, Angel was the one that raked in the most compliments and with The Rampage being over, Angel was beyond excited for Karmic Coordination.
Juliet looked to her kitchen. Between her, Seria and Ryuu, none of them in the group even had to worry about accommodations or anything of the sort and despite coming out to a brand new hotel at the brand new prices that they had set (and for a two week stay at that), it hadn't really made the slightest dent in their funds. And no matter how many times any of them had told either Virgil or Jaret that it was only money and there was more than enough, the two of them always took to feeling guilt and hilariously in her astute opinion, penny pinching, saving what money they could scrounge up. That tended to end with Virgil spending what he had on food ingredients and Jaret inevitably following suit. He often said that he needed to get better at cooking as well. The thought brought a small smile to her lips.
Hm, maybe I could cook something…
She shrugged. Eh. The sky brightened up a little more, past dawn now and despite getting whatever sleep she had in Viola's room and having slept in her clothes, something she had never been fond of, Juliet couldn't help but feel dreary.
Ugh. It was a good thing it was just her. She was always up a little earlier, just to give herself some ample time to feel herself out, but this time…
She could use the extra sleep. She heard Angel huffing in disapproval as she set about her bedtime routine, slipping into a t-shirt and pajamas to sleep in. Angel was ready to start her early conditioning now, like they always did and especially on a contest day, let alone the Karmic Coordination…
But Juliet knew she needed the extra sleep and it was a good thing it was just going to be her for the next few hours.
Unfortunately, those few extra hours, while nice, didn't help that same feeling that was oh so glad to see her again; Juliet was simply tired. Ugh…
Angel came to her then, wrapping against and brushing by her legs before sitting expectantly in front of her. She tossed a look back onto the bed, back to Argo who took up most of the bed before turning back to her with a yawn and a yap; Juliet made a face at that.
"Okay okay," she said giggling. "We'll get ready."
Argo was first and Angel didn't take well to that but in all honesty, what else was Juliet supposed to do? The last time she had left his grooming to an actual groomer, her father had scolded her. It wasn't as if tending to Argo was all that difficult either, but then again when the main idea for his conditioning was coaxing him to shed his skin, then maybe it might have been a little difficult for anyone that wasn't Juliet to really even try. How was she supposed to know Argo would put them in the hospital? And if she could remember right, that had caused a bit of a PR nightmare…
For her parents anyway, and…neither of them really mattered much. Juliet knew that they had the situation under control when it happened. They were Vanessa and Alexandre Grey after all. But even so, that had been a lesson learned on her part and Juliet had resolved herself to the inevitability of the squick that grabbed hold of her when Argo's filth would slip under her nails; Argo would smirk with pride afterwards and drape himself over Juliet like an elegant shroud: Very little had changed.
Angel was a little different. Where Argo expressed his gratitude for her attention through opulence, Angel simply demanded it. She hadn't made it easy either with slippery movements, blatant defiance and at one point, a timid lash of cold toward the end of her grooming; Angel's warning for Juliet to never forget about Coordination again. Juliet rolled her eyes in exasperation, which was made all the more worse when Angel did the same right back at her. It had been a while since they had prepared for any contests but it was just as it was with Argo: very little had changed.
But Juliet was quick to rediscover her rhythm, curating her contest wardrobe and flitting through her plans for the Coordination. Argo and Angel were going to be more than perfect for the Coordination. With Angel having already made an impression and Argo being Argo, Juliet figured that she had been given a massive head-start. She was almost ready and ignoring Angel's very pronounced agitation, Juliet plopped lazily in front of her recliner and leaned back into it. Juliet reached behind her and noted at that last moment that she was reaching for something that wasn't there; she drew in a sharp breath.
Cosette…
It had dawned on Juliet that Violet City had happened a while ago now and that that was the last time she had Cossette with her. If she hadn't been so impulsive, she would still have her. Juliet frowned. Victoria of all people had found her. Was she okay? What on earth were Victoria's methods for training? When, and Juliet couldn't believe she was actually thinking this, would she be able to bump into Victoria again? Cossette was anxious by nature and Gardevoir were innately sensitive to make matters worse, which meant that Cossette was without question, seized by panic.
She shouldn't have been so impulsive. She should have thought the situation through, should have "had more tact under pressure" like her "golden boy" of an older brother. The one that made everything look so easy because it was easy for him. If he had been in her situation, he would have won everyone over: Officer Jenny, Virgil, everyone. Connor would have been perfect. He would have–
Angel plopped on her lap with a nudge and Juliet brought her attention down to her and held Angel's gaze; Angel's expression was blank. Juliet shifted slightly but Angel went with her and Juliet gave in and stayed in place.
"Geez Angel. I got it, okay? I'll pick it up." Angel's expression did not change. Juliet made a face. "I already have a routine going through my head so we're further along than you give me credit for." Juliet followed that with what she thought was a chuckle. Still, there was nothing. In fact, Angel had curled herself up on her lap and she was starting to get a little heavy. Angel kept eye contact and her expression still did not change. Juliet sighed and mustered up her best smile. "Angel, I'm okay."
Angel frowned and twisted away when Juliet had gone to scratch behind her ears and sat herself next to her. For a moment, Juliet chose to ignore her. For all of Angel's insistence on rushing, she had certainly shifted gears. Angel brushed against her thigh with a low purr and a ginger head brush before sitting back next to her.
Juliet didn't have time for this, not now and especially not after yesterday. She jumped to her feet. She had picked out her contest outfit and was all set. It would be nice to get some fresh air before everything started to pick up.
"Ok, Angel. Ready when you are!" The coquettish smirk and wink that followed after usually would have spurred Angel on. On top of that, Juliet should have felt lighter like she normally did afterward. Instead she got neither, and Angel strode up to her tentatively and with the same frown no less.
They could not do this right now. With another sigh, Juliet unlocked her door and looked over her room one last time. It was messier than usual but at the very least no one would see it. It wouldn't have mattered if someone else were to come into her room: everyone's eyes were usually on her anyway. There was a mewl from Angel and Juliet ignored it, drawing from nothing like she always had and flashed another smirk down at Angel.
"Come on. They're gonna' love us."
The two of them made their way to the foyer, moving down the grand staircase awash in a low hum of copper. Juliet made note of the opulent, exaggerated marble interior and ritzy lobby furniture leading up to the front desk. The team that had designed the hotel had really wanted to make an impression, which was more than likely a publicity stunt from whoever had funded the cleaning of the lake. Juliet had to admit, they had done a good job with the project though. She couldn't recall the last time she had actually seen crystal clear water. All in all though, it was disgustingly posh.
It hadn't surprised her either, when she caught wind of Ryuu and the iconic shuttering of his camera.
"You never take a break, do you?" There was a chuckle and another click. He had turned to her with a grin.
"No, I suppose not." A flash burst across her vision. She froze in an attempt to catch her bearings. "She hadn't heard Ryuu's camera but was certain that was the case. "Uh, sorry. I guess I forgot to turn that off…"
"You're just taking photos with the flash on? How many other people have you blinded?" He cocked a brow and then looked away with a slight turn of the lips, probably to keep himself from laughing. And here I thought he was all doom and gloom…
"Probably more than I'm proud of…"
"Figures."
"...Is what I would have said if I hadn't done this before." He turned back to her. "I'm really testing different settings and methods. I'm setting up for a new project while we're here. Have you ever really even tried to understand photography?"
"I'm usually the photograph," she retorted with distaste.
"Right. You are a coordinator after all, I suppose." He frowned. "All that aside though," Juliet caught his eyes moving about her face every which way and they settled squarely above her eyes, over her forehead. "You seem a little bothered." Angel gave a yap then but he ignored her. His grin was gone and his eyes were sharp.
"I just…didn't have as much time as I would like to fix up my hair. I'm actually on a tight prep schedule for Coordination tonight. I'll get back to it before the event actually starts.
"And that includes not looking the very best you could?"
"Are you saying I look bad?"
"No, but judging how you had boys from the Rampage behaving…recklessly for lack of a better word, this isn't your best, even if you're already put together." Juliet scoffed.
"I sure hope you try harder than that with Seria."
"It's strictly platonic."
"I'd believe that if I were Jaret, maybe." That earned her an especially dry chuckle. "You mean to tell me you don't think that little thing she does with her cheeks isn't to die for?"
"You're quite the instigator, aren't you?" There was a smarmy upturn of her lips..
"Years of practice." She sat down in one of the lobby chairs. "But really, it's super obvious she likes you. And I mean, really likes you."
"I know." Juliet raised a brow.
"Then why don't you do anything?" He sighed.
"Because…I'm not here for that."
"Oh really? You started following us. If that's true then why are you here?" Ryuu frowned.
"I met Seria here. If anything, you followed me."
"You asked us to show up after you met Seria here. How am I not supposed to put the pieces together?" Juliet giggled. "Besides, you two are so cute!"
No reaction; Juliet sighed, miffed. "Hey, I was just teasing, okay? You had me fooled from earlier so I thought you'd be able to take a joke. You're always so down." Ryuu went quiet, just as Juliet figured he would and his sociability had taken a hit with the Home of Hearts as well, not that he seemed like he had that in spades to begin with. Her face scrunched at the thought. Maybe she was being a little harsh, and she normally had much more tact than this but with heavy eyes and lead sitting all throughout her body, she supposed she shouldn't have been surprised; she turned to apologize and the words that she thought she had tucked under her sleeve so very neatly lodged in her throat.
Ryuu always looked stern, was always frowning if not neutral, and was always far away. It would have made more sense to Juliet if his eyes perpetually twisted with color like she had caught on occasion. At the very least, he could use his "mastery" as an excuse. He was always looking ahead or figuratively, over his shoulder and that made sense with a loose cannon like Victoria hounding him in every which way.
But here…
Ryuu was entirely present here and close; she fell back a step and his gaze sharpened. He was looking for something Juliet was certain was not her and yet his eyes, lupine and far seeing, followed hers wherever they went and she did everything she could to avoid looking into them; she was always drawn back to them. Something rippled through his face and he was suddenly far too tall and imposing. Stale air burrowed into her chest and the stagnant words from earlier shifted into an annoying and familiar dry patch at the back of her throat. He was standing before her with all of his strength.
Like a champion.
Like her brother.
"What," she snarled. His hand snapped around her wrist. "Hey–!" The weight in her chest slackened and formed into something more welcome and familiar: fury. For a short moment, Juliet had wondered how the two of them had gotten here, and what had gotten into Ryuu. Just when she felt he was coming around, just when maybe he didn't seem so bad, he stooped to…this. Her other hand came around to hit him.
And made full contact with Virgil instead, bouncing from his shoulder.
"Hey," He was frowning. "What's going on?" Juliet blinked, dazed. She yanked her hand loose.
"Nothing." Juliet's eyes remained on Ryuu. "I was actually just going. I have to get ready for the Coordination and was just leaving." Heat settled just above her ears. She pulled again from nothing and turned to Virgil with a saccharine curve of her lips and a wink; Virgil cocked a brow. "A girl's gotta have her fun, after all." And Juliet sped out the lobby.
Juliet sighed, eyes taking in the main avenue as she passed through. Angel swirled at her ankles, sometimes with a mewl but most of the time with a pressing low murmur. She even ignored most of the compliments she had inevitably garnered and Juliet, like she always did, talked them all into a spell before she would send them on their way. It was a part of the plan: To let any new face that didn't know her get that chance but even so…
She was so tired.
She paused at the fork at the end of the path. The left would eventually circle her back to the "Lakeside Ritz" as Virgil called it, and the left would take her…somewhere that she didn't have the time to think about. What she needed to do was get rid of the incessant weight at her back and on her shoulders. But she had already started her day and had seen so many faces. There was no way she could stop now. She took a deep breath and gathered herself. It was time to go back. Juliet took only a few steps onto the left path before Angel gave an irritable yowl and sprinted off down the opposite path.
You've got to be kidding…! Juliet called after her but quickly took to sprinting after her. Angel had never been the type to just listen and for all of her rushing this morning, she was sure making a point of being a brat. Juliet followed Angel through towering pines, rough foliage, and a slight incline. Evergreen scents wafted up her nose as she kept forward and held down a sneeze that nearly sent her tumbling. Even so, it was…pleasant and the way she had righted herself sent electricity from her chest and through her limbs. Once she came to a small opening toward the top of the hill she found Angel waiting expectantly with a soft grin, fire turned from Juliet's hands and feet directly to her cheeks.
She smiled and for one instant, Juliet was anything but tired.
"All of this running to take me to an overlook?" Angel tossed her head proudly to assert that yes, that had been her exact plan. Juliet laughed.
"Oh, come on. You know we don't have time. Remember this morning?" Angel blinked blankly, then turned away toward the lake view pleased. "You were the one rushing me!" Angel snickered. Juliet huffed. "And, I even gave you the benefit of the doubt! I thought that you might have sniffed out one of the judges or something." Angel shifted. It was subtle but Juliet knew her Glaceon well. Really well…
"Angel," she began. "You brought me out here on purpose didn't you?" Angel shifted again, this time with a little more squirm. "You didn't…"
"She, uh, kind of did…" Juliet turned and instantly made out the sinewy shape of a very familiar Virgil. "I thought you were going to prep for the show tonight."
"Not a very smooth start if you're trying to get a date. You were the one that set this whole thing up, right?"
"Oh, yeah…right. I guess I forgot."
"I feel bad for the girl you have your eye on," she said laughing. He laughed with her too or at least attempted to. Juliet was certain that he could make out her revulsion to it even if she had done her best to hide it. What was worse was that he only watched. His eyes would dart past her or he would turn to look at the overview of the lake but never actually at her.
"I thought I would come check on you."
"Like that?" She tightened her smile. "I never thought you'd come in so timid."
"Yeah…I guess not…" Her brow quivered.
"If that's all you came to do, then I'm fine." She sighed and leaned against one of the pines. "But if you came to check on me, it's a little weird that you'd get Angel in on it. We sort of have an event to go to."
"I know, I know…"
Ugh…
Virgil was timid, far too timid for her taste. Juliet was there when Marus made his first appearance, if someone could call that horrific mix of smoke and wisp an appearance. For a moment, she had been seeing everything from outside of herself and she had been utterly terrified. If anything, Virgil had become less comfortable.
"What's wrong?"
"Huh?" He shifted in her direction.
"What's wrong?" And now he was staring at her. "I showed up right when you and Ryuu kind of…got into it."
"I don't know what his problem was," Juliet spat; Virgil flinched and Juliet kicked herself for her lack of tact. Connor came back to mind and sulfur rushed through her veins; Juliet bit down. "We were having a normal conversation and then he just thought it was a good idea to try and grab me." She rolled her eyes and huffed. "Never thought Ryuu was the playboy type but I knew something was always weird about him."
"Juliet." She spun to face him and respond but rooted herself to the spot instead. He turned in her direction, and he didn't just look at her; he stared: "He grabbed your wrist because you tried to hit him." She blinked.
"I what?" She expected him to shift uncomfortably, to back down. She actually hoped he would. He didn't.
"You tried to hit him and he grabbed it to protect himself. You know…the stuff a normal person would do…"
"I tried to hit him?" Virgil nodded.
"I actually bumped into Angel and she led me back there. I showed up and saw everything happen the way it did…" He was frowning. "So…what's bothering you?" She looked to him confused and could only muster up enough to blink disconcerted once, twice before everything fell into place.
"I guess…he just sort of caught me off guard." Virgil cocked a brow.
"Ryuu? Tall, tan, 'doesn't know the meaning of personal space' Ryuu?" Juliet glared. "We've seen him in his element since we got here. He's taken pictures of everything and Viola was actually the one to point it out. She even made a game plan for helping us not be surprised by him. We were totally prepped for it."
"He forgot to turn his flash off," she snapped. "And besides, he wasn't really the best spoken either. Maybe he should learn how to talk to people before going to take pictures of them!" Virgil shirked away a bit but his eyes never lost hers. Juliet felt herself writhing on the inside.
"You're never this tasteless, Juliet." Another eye roll.
"So now you're the expert on me, then?" Virgil shrugged and a spark of familiarity and comfort tugged at her.
"You did tell me a little bit back at the valley."
"That was a long time ago."
"I know." He had said that a little snootily; another spark. "But enough for me to know that you've never shown everyone 'all the cards' as you put it."
"Then please tell me why I'm so angry. While you're at it, you can even tell me that I'm too impulsive, or short-sighted! Or that being mad at all is 'so not like me.'
"That's… kind of what I've been saying. You're never this tasteless."
"Then who do you think I am, Virgil? You're so stuck on who you saw in the alley that you can't even see how you're not the asshole she met there at the same time!"
"...Did you like him better?" Virgil kept his voice even.
"That was the one I got to know," Juliet snarled, and then she paused. Vanessa and Alexandre would have never allowed an outburst like that. In fact, why had she let an outburst like that even happen? She was Juliet Grey, and Juliet Grey would never fall to something so…Kaynan.
"Did I do something?" Juliet snapped back to attention. Virgil was still there, entirely present and fully focused on her. It was slightly different but Juliet knew that look: Virgil was looking for something, just like Ryuu..
"You're just…different, " she finally managed to get out. "Sorry about all of that. I'm just…a little stressed out I guess. There's Coordination and Angel was rushing and now she's not, it's just…" she sighed. "There's… just a lot."
"Oh." He chuckled a bit under his breath. Was that it, she thought. All he has to say is 'oh'? "That makes sense. And, Coordination sounds and looks…rough." Juliet laughed at that.
"You're talking about all of the 'Ritzies" again, right?" He grinned sheepishly and a third spark of comfort warmed its way to her lips.
"Yeah, you got me. But you don't like them either, y'know."
"Well, of course not," she giggled. They're exhausting! Besides, all they ever do is ask about my brother and my parents." Another sigh. "It's always about status with them here. It's all really boring."
"I'm also pretty sure you're way better than a lot of them. You make it sound like they'd hate to travel."
"Virgil, one of them would not shut up about their 'luxury Altarian coordination'."
"Altarian? As in…They just…steal an Altaria's feathers for clothing?" Juliet shrugged.
"Socialite's are kind of the worst…" He was quiet for a moment; he smirked.
"Then maybe you should get ready to knock some heads around. I think I'd like to see you knock a couple of them down a notch."
"Even if I'm a 'Ritz'?" Virgil waved a hand dismissively.
"You're different aren't you? You hate using your money and you're traveling with not-so-ritzy people and…you're not a fan of whatever the hell they all are. I think you get a pass."
Juliet smiled and Virgil returned the sentiment. This was more like it. The attitude and rough edges…
This was the Virgil Juliet knew. She raised a brow and her hands came to her hips.
"Did you wanna help me warm up?"
"I don't think coordinating is really my thing at all…" Juliet slipped a hand around his wrist as she leaned in with her best smile.
"Come on, it'll be fun! I can show you the basics! Come on!"
And the two of them were speeding back down the hill toward the lake. Angel sat on her haunches as she watched them. When Juliet had called back to her with a particular "you too, Angel!", the Glaceon smirked to herself before tailing after the two of them.
For all of his roughness at the crest of the hill, Virgil was indelibly different. While he moved with more will than what Juliet had seen lately, he was still unmistakably more gentle. The fact that she had also loaned him Angel to help her sharpen up played a part but still…
The way he went about their practice had been nothing like what she had seen him go through with Dewott. If anything, Juliet didn't understand why Dewott put up with Virgil the way he did. And judging from a few side glances and traces of envy Dewott had thrown both her and Angel's way during the whole thing, Dewott knew it too. She had caught Dewott glaring particularly harshly at Virgil after the whole ordeal before he had stormed off for more of his own practice.
Juliet heard Virgil sigh.
"You know," she started. "You were kind of not great to him when this whole thing started."
"Yeah, I know, I know."
"And you're just gonna leave him like that?" He shrugged.
"That's not the goal, but have you seen what he can do with those scalchops?"
"Shouldn't you know how to work your way around those?" He turned to her incredulously.
"Only about as well as you would know how to work your way around Angel playing hooky with her body heat."
"So, you're admitting that I'm right?"
"You're bluffing."
"Glaceons do that, Virgil. Just like how Dewotts have a bunch of different scalchop weapons."
"Since when did you become an encyclopedia?" Juliet smirked.
"Viola is here, you know…"
"Okay, so you got me, again."
"What are we at now? My three to your zero?"
"How long are you gonna' rub that in?"
"I'm gonna get everything I can out of it, if you want me to be honest."
"Figures." They both went quiet and she felt Virgil turn the whole of his focus to her, but she was quicker; she always was.
"Why are you so hard on Dewott?" He paused for a moment, and his eyes went, shockingly, past her. "Seriously," she prodded. "I know you saw what I saw."
"The glaring?" Juliet nodded; Virgil scoffed.
"He's practicing for wherever he finally makes it to the Samurott stage or whatever. It's really not a big deal."
"I really think it's more than that. Wasn't Dewott your first Pokemon? And you guys butt heads–" she rephrased. "You used to butt heads as much as you did? It doesn't make sense to me; I don't buy it."
"No?"
"No. Almost every trainer I've met goes really well with their very first Pokemon, and the ones that don't either don't become trainers, or part ways." Virgil grunted.
"That's where you're wrong." Juliet frowned.
"Then tell me the right thing, Virgil." His eyes flashed back to her and Juliet made note of the fire and confusion in them and his too tightly wound jaw. For a terse few moments, he had become stone. "I didn't mean to hit a nerve, if that's what happened, it's just that–"
"I'm different, right?" Her breath caught.
"Well…yeah, and it's strange."
"I bet that makes you uncomfortable, huh?" His gaze shifted again; he was peering into her and again, he was looking for something. Juliet forced down the lump in her throat.
"Consistency is key, or that's what I hear, anyway."
"You're talking to a politician's son, so let's agree to disagree." Another frown. "Does that make you uncomfortable?"
"Hang on a minute, I was asking you something first!"
"Answer. The question." Warmth.
"Y-yeah. What about it?"
"You liked me better when I wasn't like this right? I probably looked way more solid and put together for you, right?" Juliet was silent. "Right?" That one had a little sharpness to it.
"You can say that," she retorted. "But I'm used to vermin who think with their hips and not with their actual brain and I play them every. Single. Time." She sneered. "I mean, people outright giving power and then snatching it away would be kind of uncomfortable." Another sneer.
Silence.
"...I figured you'd like Marus better than me."
"Excuse me?" Her chest coiled.
"Do you think that I actually wanted to be that much of an asshole!?"
"You played the part really well if you ask me." He hadn't been expecting that and Juliet snickered as he fumbled for a response but he deflated moments after that; his response was low.
"My entire life was influenced by that boy…or man…or…thing…" A shadow passed through him. "I got into fights, was reckless and really did whatever I could to piss people off because well, we sort of were the same person at one point and all he had ever been was angry…"
"Angry? Marus struck me as more smarmy than anything." Virgil shook his head.
"No, definitely angry. I used to think that it was all me with the angry thoughts and that I really was looking into wanting to hurt people, just because I could. And when I actually met Morty, it got worse."
"I remember." The way Juliet had said that was strained and constricted. "I actually can't believe you're alive to be honest."
"Me neither. I couldn't, and still can't believe what I saw…"
"Before you guys split, how bad was it? What did he say?" Virgil grimaced.
" ' Kill him. Worshiper's will get it the worst'. Or, ' Kill him so I can get out' . What I do know is that the more I fed into what I thought were my own thoughts, the more I heard his voice and the more I was pushed to do them. By the time we actually met in Violet City, do you really think I was myself?" There was a long silence, and Juliet turned her attention out to the lake, where she caught wind of Jaret's Dragonite lounging about.
"No, I guess not…" she paused. "I bet Dewott could probably tell."
"Yeah," Virgil began forlorn. "He really could. I think we genuinely butted heads in the beginning, but traveling and all that really helped us out."
"Like traveling does?"
"Yeah," Virgil said between laughs. "Like traveling does. But things got really bad after the Silver Conference."
"Because of the loss?"
"Yeah."
"Jaret did tell me about how annoying you were in the beginning." A small laugh. "But, losing that badly had–"
"Really messed me up, yeah. So Marus got worse. And I played my part so people didn't get hurt if something did happen..."
"And Dewott didn't like it." Virgil shook his head.
"I've already done so much damage now, so much that Seria actually took him for a moment because she thought I was being a terrible trainer to him. And, I get it but still…"
"Then what do you plan to do about it?" Virgil sighed.
"I don't know. He wears that Tide Incense charm around his neck that Seria gave him and I actually thought about letting her have him…"
"You're joking, right…?" He gave her a look of admission. "Oh, you're serious…"
"Yeah…"
"So you were never hard on him…"
"More like he was hard on me. I can't say that I feel the best about how I've let him down all this time.." Air ran stale in her throat. There was a flicker of recognition in Virgil's face. He had found something, and when the coil in her chest wound tighter, it clicked for Juliet then that Virgil had found what Ryuu had been looking for: he had found her.
"Virgil–"
"Hey," His voice was soft, attentive and somehow…stern. This had been exactly what Virgil had been planning for. "I told you an actual secret this time. Anyone who watched me lose at the Silver Cup could tell I was a little…dirty." Light rushed into Juliet's face.
"You remember that?" Virgil let out a small laugh..
"Well, yeah." And then he laughed. "And, for the record, it's kind of hard to not notice you. So,you don't have to look so surprised." Juliet brought a hand to her face and registered that she was beaming. Her breath went taut; she needed to reel herself in. She went to speak, but Virgil was surprisingly quicker than her. Or rather, Juliet was curious about what he had to say.
"So, if you don't mind," he began. "What's been eating at you?" Juliet's heart sank. Of course he would ask her that.
"I guess that streak of knowing what to say had to come to an end sometime," she remarked with a laugh.
"Oh, come on. You've been pretty secretive besides hints about your brother." Juliet rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, well, he's kind of the worst."
"Anything worth mentioning about him besides him being a champion?" Juliet shrugged.
"Not really."
"Then what about your sister?" Juliet tensed for a moment, then shook her head.
"They're just your run-of-the-mill rich kids…" Her eyes went again out to the lake, this time finding Virgil's Azumarill turning artful flips in the water.
"Let's see Jaret's Dragonite do that."
"She's…actually not that bad." Azumarill had come up again, making herself into a makeshift fountain, then turning again to become a water wheel. She had spun a few times that way before coming to a slow wobble. Juliet giggled. "Wow, but she definitely likes to overdo it."
"Tell me about it. She gets it from Ampharos."
"Being a show-off?" Virgil nodded and Juliet giggled again. "If you had her since last year, then I think she might have picked up a little of that from you."
"That…might explain Lucario being…well, annoyed all throughout the circuit last year. But I've had her way longer than that."
"Really? And you never thought about letting someone take her to a contest?"
"You say that like I wouldn't have thought of that."
"Something tells me that, no, you wouldn't have." He grinned sheepishly.
"You won't let me have anything will you?"
"Nothing you wouldn't have to work for." The air suddenly turned heavy and Virgil went quiet. Juliet bit back a laugh at the terse cough that followed. She tossed a glance his way and smirked as he kept his eyes down at first and then to the lake. "I didn't mean anything like that," she added, laughing. "Get your mind out of the gutter." He turned to her then, a slight smile tugging at the edges of his lips.
"You don't make it easy."
"Nice to know that that part of you was real."
"That I think you're pretty?"
"Just pretty?" Virgil scoffed.
"I'm not gonna bite."
"Aw, so close." Juliet sighed. "But really." She went back to the lake, this time focusing distinctly on Azumarill, who had wadded her way out the water and brought her best effort to impress the nearby Pokemon. Angel had responded a little snobbishly and went to outdo her and that had started a bit of a competition that Juliet was not looking forward to breaking up. "You should let me take her. She's thriving."
"Well, if that's what you want to call it." They both sat in silence as they observed. Virgil gave a small laugh. " But why not. She really does look like she's having a lot of fun showing off. Although, I don't think Tux is too fond of everything."
"Yeah," she replied tightly. "But, he'll get over it…I hope." she shifted. "Hey, since you're going to let me take Azumarill to the Coordination, don't you think she should have a better name?" Virgil cocked a brow.
"I guess? But she responds to Azumarill just fine."
"You've clearly never actually even thought about doing contests. Azumarill is so bland and boring! You've had to at least think about calling her something else.! Virgil shrugged. "Besides, 'Azumarill' is so much to say! I'll even help you think of something!" She was met with another lazy shrug.
"Um…What about Mari?" Juliet wrinkled her nose at that. "Aw what? I actually thought that one was pretty good!"
"Maybe for a battler, sure. But she's going out in front of people to show them how cute she is, not to beat their heads in."
"Then what are your ideas?"
"You can drop the 'M' on it?" Virgil recoiled.
"Ari? Really?" Her hand went to her hips.
"What, you don't like it?"
"I…can't say I do."
"Why not?"
"It's…kind of childish…"
"Well, she is the baby. Look at her!" Another shrug; Juliet sighed. "Well, at this rate, we're gonna be here all day." Virgil reached into his pocket, flipping open his PokeGear.
"When does your thing start?"
"2 o'clock sharp."
"Sounds like you said that with a little pride," he replied with a snicker. Juliet rolled her eyes. "You got an hour." The shift was immediate.
"An hour!? I've been hanging about for two hours already!?"
"Is that a big deal? You did say this was an exclusive festival for contest winners, right? You don't have to be so punctual do you?"
"For Wallace Cup and Grand Festival participants. Not just winners Virgil. I've told you that. And, a lot of these people are the Ritzies. They'll have a lot to say if you don't show up for Karmic Coordination" She sighed. "Look, just let me take her, okay?"
"Do you really think you can work out a routine for her in one hour?"
"I…think I can pull something together." Virgil chuckled.
"Then…yeah. Go for it." He paused for a moment, focusing down at the lake shore again. "Besides, this will give me a chance to take a look at how you do your art for once. The only time I've really seen you do anything was back in Violet City and you didn't even battle. Well, that and the Viola thing…"
"Yeah…"
"Hey, hey. It was just a misunderstanding and we got it all patched up, didn't we?" He suddenly was on his feet and waving over to Azumarill, who took note with a warm and began to waddle her way over. He cupped his hands together. "If you beat Dewott up here, then I'll make you that Pokeblock you like so much!" Azumarill perked up almost immediately. She dove into the dirt then and began rolling her way toward them. Juliet was also pleasantly taken aback when she also made out Dewott racing his way over toward them too. It took Juliet only a moment to realize that they were both moving fast.
She stepped to the side and only seconds later, Azumarill came barreling into Virgil, who hit the dirt with a solid clunk and a wisp of breath. Azumarill hopped to her feet in pride. Juliet had nearly jumped when she heard Dewott scoff much closer to her than she remembered him being and he appeared from her side. Azumarill huffed with a turn of her nose; Dewott had won that round. Juliet grinned.
"Virgil, I got a name for her." Virgil rolled to sit upright.
"You do?"
"Yeah. I do." Juliet turned to Azumarill with her signature debonair smirk and made note of the spark in the Pokemon's eyes.
"Zuzu, how do you feel about being the cutest Pokemon around?" Before Virgil could turn to her to object, Azumarill made her way over in front of Juliet and with what Juliet figured the Pokemon felt was her best pose. Juliet's grin widened into teeth: a smile. "I'll take that as a yes."
The last hour before Coordination had been surprisingly easy. In fact, Zuzu had taken style just like Juliet figured she would. By contrast, registering and making her way toward the main waiting room was much more challenging, especially when having to dodge and again talk her way free of suitors or if she were particularly unlucky, deal with the socialites that kn ew her family personally. She sank into one of the chairs with a deep sigh as her eyes moved about the room. The contest hall was new and more than likely built synonymous with the new hotel. She had heard of the style referenced before as "new historical" which meant that it was just lazy and blatant posing in her mind. The hotel however, was built with real and classic material and styled Kalosian. Some of the boys had tried to impress her by referring to the hotel's name in original Kalosi and all that really did was annoy her even more, especially when Cossette or anyone else in her family could speak it so much better and with much more taste. Juliet smiled slightly at the thought.
Cossette…
Eve…
Juliet shook the thought away and she finally tuned into the bustle of the main waiting room. She spotted Seria across the way immediately. Zuzu had made it a special task to point Juliet out to her. Seria broke into a bright smile and waved excitedly in her direction.
Perfect timing.
Juliet smiled back and Seria made her way to plop down next to her.
"You…look down." A pause. "...aren't you excited?" Juliet laughed.
"Didn't you see how hard they tried?"
"Oh, you mean the boys…?" Seria snickered. "Yeah, that was pretty bad…"
"I mean, you know what I mean. Remember yesterday?" Seria cringed, then laughed.
"That…was bad. But still, they never tried to make me like them by speaking another language. Did you even know what they were saying? Did you even know what they were talking about?"
"The hotel," she responded with a half-laugh. "Nothing too important. The only thing they really could say was the name of the hotel in old Kalosi. They could have called it Brightwater like everyone else." Juliet laughed. "But, I guess that's the general vibe here." She shrugged. "Do you know which Pokemon you're going to take into the performance round?
"I think I'm going to take Sky."
"Your Swablu?" Seria nodded. "Why not Daniel?"
"He gets a lot of stage time enough as it is. Besides, this is the Karmic Coordination! Using King or Sky is the best chance I have!" Seria was absolutely beaming. Her eyes went to her side. "I never knew you had an Azumarill, though. How come I've never seen her?"
"That's because she's Virgil's." Seria gave her a lipped smile and Juliet prepared herself for what she had already seen from the way Seria had been paying special attention to Zuzu.
"He let you borrow her?"
"Oh, stop it. You know what you wanna' ask." Seria jumped with giddiness.
"How much do you like him?" Her voice was especially hushed. "I saw you guys down by the lake earlier today. And, didn't you guys go check out the PokeCenter when we first got here?"
"Yeah, but…" Seria huffed. "Okay, okay. So…he's not as much of a jerk as he was…"
"And…?" Juliet looked askance.
"He's…okay."
"Okay? You think he's cute, don't you?" Juliet turned to her with first a look of indignation and then, her eyes dropped to her feet with a half smile.
"Well…maybe a little…But he can't know that…" Seria huffed a second time and Juliet glanced up. Seria puffed her cheeks in disapproval.
"Why not? I think it's a good thing he's not so mean any more. He was really kind of the worst!"
"That's unexpected coming from a sun drop like you, y'know…" She looked away again with a murmur. "Besides, I'm just doing the same thing Ryuu is."
"W-wait, what?"
"Oh, nothing…"
"Wait!" Seria nearly leapt at her. "What about Ryuu? What is he doing?" Another pause. "Do you…think he's going to be at the Coordination..?"
Gotcha…
"He's a photographer," Juliet said. "He definitely wouldn't miss this. He really had a ball at Rampage." Seria glowered at nothing.
"Yeah…he really did…" Juliet laughed.
"Trust me, you don't have to worry about any girl here. If I find him a little weird, then can you imagine what everyone else thinks?" That managed a small smile from Seria.
"Yeah, I…I guess you're right." And then a timid half-smile. "But still, I've been trying my best to say something but…I just don't know where to start…" Juliet frowned. After everything was all over, Juliet was going to help little Seria gain more confidence.
In fact, she thought, Why wait?
Seria smiled sweetly then.
"So, I'm just gonna' make him melt tonight on stage!"
The appeal rounds were first but Juliet was not and for a little while, Juliet watched the screen tentatively. It had been some time, roughly a month if she really thought about it, since her last contest back in Violet City. The competition in comparison here had taken her a bit by surprise but she had remembered again that she was here at the Home of Hearts to participate in one of the most coveted and competitive contests in the world.
She had caught the use of some other strange Pokemon she hadn't really seen before but heard of: A tough-looking (if not a little grisly in a wrestler kind of way) cat of fire and a tall, spindly thing of a plant that fashioned itself like a kind of queen. She had really hoped that one would go down quickly.
There had been other coordinators too with much more familiar Pokemon and combinations of techniques and their variations would send a pulse of something outside of the gravity she had been carrying. To be honest, a lot of it had shifted away but as she was sitting now, it had begun to trickle back in.
Zuzu tapped her shoulder then. Her ears moved slowly and when Juliet gave her a warm smile, they stiffened and Zuzu cocked a brow at her. Juliet frowned; she was Virgil's Pokemon after all.
I just can't catch a break can I?
"What a performance!" Juliet turned her attention to the screen, catching the tail end of the coordinator in question to take his bow. "Nathan York is never one to disappoint in his contests, and he certainly wouldn't do so here!" Juliet sighed. "So, now, after such a strong performance, l hope whoever is following that knows what they're doing!" the announcer motioned to the stage. "Let's get a look at the board." Colors and numbers flashed and Juliet hoped that she was going next. Once she got the appeals out of the way, she would be able to take it easy for a little bit, and also get a little closer to Zuzu, who she felt might have actually been better off as one of her Pokemon.
The board sounded from the screen.
"There you have it," the announcer began. "Coordinator no.64, Seria Day, is up next!" Juliet sat up in her seat. The two of them were supposed to battle back in Violet City but that never happened. Seria was a fine tuned weapon that chose contests and Juliet couldn't help but wonder if she was any good here too. Juliet laced her fingers together over her lips, and waited.
Seria's lips drew back into a coy grin, and Juliet couldn't help but mirror her. Seria was so soft spoken and well mannered all the time and here, she was going to cut loose. Seria threw a poke-ball toward the center and it clacked against the floor a bit before rolling to a stop. Juliet's eyes darted about the screen to the crowd, and they all waited expectantly.
So, they weren't all dumb.
Seria took a soft inhale and she sang. The ball in the center folded back and opened gently with the flash of light that Juliet had assumed was going to be Sky. Except… It wasn't.
The light ballooned outward in a plume. There was a short moment of stillness, and in the next, flashes of light. Juliet made out her Swablu's outline, realizing at the last moment that Sky had been harmonizing with Seria as she came to form. Sky came into view and she took to the air, trailing through dust from her entrance. The haze had never thinned and Juliet never expected it to. Quite a few in the stands were thrilled, and Seria was only just getting started.
Sky turned arcs and made a few more forays through, but through each pass, the haze thickened. She passed under the plume with an exhale and the air in the stage grew even thicker, almost opaque, but Juliet saw the Pokemon bound as she landed and shot right back into the cloud.
Seria intervened.
"Gleam!" Pastel light burst into sight and like a beacon, drew all of the dust into a spiral with Sky at its center. Sky was building something; the dust crystallized into a wings over hers and even swallowed the Swablu in crystal and Sky, for a brief moment became a deity.
She had become Ho-oh.
She billowed and swooped above the stage, shifting from its pinkish pastels and purples all the way into glacial hues. The haze still followed, washing over the stage and over the astonished stands, some of the residuals dancing behind the phoenix as she sang. She took a final swoop and spiraled up. She pulsed thrice with another gleam, her last one and the entity dissolved into colorful flares, floating and twisting outward in every color that had been embedded into the entity. For the third time, Sky was divine.
She descended gracefully,and Seria was waiting for her. She perched softly and perfectly atop Seria's head and when each of them took their bow to close their act, the contest hall shook with approval. Juliet couldn't hold back a proud smile, so very debonair and so very Grey. Especially when she caught the last frame of Seria grinning as well with all of the power and sheer confidence in her eyes.
More performances passed, and all of them were done well, technically speaking. But Juliet did find quite a few of them to be…bland from a creative standpoint. She chalked it up to Seria's surprisingly strong performance, and the high score of 92 out of 100 really drove that point home. Juliet thought she deserved more, a 96, if she had been one of the judges.
Juliet thought she would have died from boredom before she would get to perform, and when she was finally called, something warm had found its way into her ribs and into her chest.
When she went about on stage, Zuzu performed to a tee, despite only having worked on their routine for only an hour. Zuzu made her way through almost perfectly. She had moved with swagger, confidence and intent, just like how the Coordination liked it. Zuzu was also charmingly bratty and that had actually worked in their favor, and sold the closing of her act that found Juliet and Zuzu sitting on a throne of glimmering ice, finished in the color of pure gold thanks to Zuzu's Light Screen, which also provided a stark and beautiful contrast between the false sunlight Light Screen had also been used to enact.
Juliet had been sure to show everyone there, including herself that she was in fact, still Juliet Grey. That had been a little uncharacteristic of her but there had been something in the grin she had seen on Seria and she had been so completely in her element. It had been unexpected and so…enthralling. Her family might have spiraled downhill, but there had to be something to show for it.
She stood back in the main waiting room for the battle rounds. Jaret had been the first one to approach her and tell her how awesome she had been, but also had been just as shocked about Seria as everyone else. Viola and Virgil had hung back a little before they each had congratulated her too on her score of a 95. Virgil had gone back to being his tepid self from earlier, and she had to break away to keep her own focus.
She looked up to the screen and took in the bracket. She would actually be battling really early on in the third round, although she had hoped her partner would be at least decent for when the time came.
Seria had been paired in the very first round, and paired with that Nathan York from earlier. He had led with a Crobat, apparently a Pokemon that he was known for and Seria had brashly opted for Icy. Juliet figured that after such a strong performance, Seria had wanted to keep up her momentum, and Juliet had expected the worst out of the match, especially with how Coordination was set up. But Icy had restrained herself, more than likely out of a certain kind of arrogance and even obedience. Nathan's Crobat had been something she had never met before and Icy had been testing the waters, playing intricately and fiercely into Crobat's maneuvers. They had won handily and the both of them moved onward to the next round. Juliet's round had gone even smoother, and Angel had made an example of the competition much the same way Seria had.
The sequential rounds that followed suit and despite switching partners as per match, Seria found herself thoroughly carried by either Icy or Star and Juliet found that her opponents had been on the tougher side but managed to clinch solid victories, once by knockout and twice by skillful point deduction. When Juliet made her way to the finals, she was pleasantly surprised and even proud that Seria had come to the battle stage with her. Seria had been her partner in the finals against that same Nathan and some random. Zuzu had gotten along very well with Daniel, and even though they had each been put on the back foot, Daniel had managed to put down both Nathan's Skuntank,and his partner's Golduck, and he had been clever when doing it.. Their win earned them a certified plaque and the commemorative ribbon of the entire event.
It had been an eventful day to say the least and a tad bit surprising. Seria wasn't an impressive Pokemon battler by any means, and perhaps she didn't really need to be. She could see the image of Kaynan being carried away in her mind and she snickered a little at that. The Coordination had been a good one and from insider information that she of course had access to, it had been one of the largest gatherings. She had heard something along the lines of 500 people. For something being so exclusive, the Home of Hearts was certainly gaining traction
She somehow found herself there at an afterparty that had been set on the rooftop of the Brightwater. She had actually wanted to say no at the beginning. The spiral in the pit of her stomach poked at her, traced up her spine and behind her eyes while she and Seria had been accepting the Karma Ribbon. That little ceremony had followed up with both of them floundering to get some space, although Seria was still riding her high and boys from yesterday had begun to gravitate to her. Ryuu had plucked them out savvy, claiming he was a photographer hired by the the PR division of the festival and promptly gave them a space afterward, and almost immediately, others had shown up and Juliet had found herself exactly where she was now.
Virgil took a space next to her just then.
"You look down for someone who just won one of the best competitions around." She sniggered.
"You're not the first person to say that."
"Really?" She nodded.
"You just see it the best." He sighed and leaned against the parapet.
"No offense, but I don't think you've been hiding it all that well." She shrugged.
"No one in the competition noticed."
"Then, just me?"
" 'Us'."
"Huh?"
"Everyone we know seems to think that there's something wrong."
"We do spend the most time around you. You don't think it'd be weird if we didn't notice?"
"I…" she trailed for a moment. "...honestly think I would have felt better if that was the case."
"That sounds like you." She turned to him surprised.
"Sounds like me?" He nodded.
"Yeah. You've always dodged everyone's questions about stuff, especially mine and especially anything about your family." Juliet didn't say anything. "I don't know much about contest scoring but you scored really good on your performance. Even higher than Seria…"
"They really liked the throne and ice sheets I guess."
"You looked like royalty." Her smile wisped into the roof tile.
"My parents wouldn't have really expected any less." There was more silence, another shrug, and a painfully forced giggle. "I thought I would remind everyone here of who I am, myself included. I don't want to get rusty."
"...Why don't we go out to actually dance?" She blinked at him.
"Where did that come from?"
"I mean, it's clear you don't want to talk about it or anything I've asked about for that matter." Juliet winced inwardly. She nodded.
"Yeah, thanks. That'll help…"
The crowd loomed larger on the inside of it than the outside. She had made note of Seria on the outside of the crowd before she had followed in after Virgil. She had clipped shoulders with a handful of people, trying her best to keep up with Virgil who had actually changed before her eyes again. She had seen the music move from his ears and into his entire body; he was itching to get out and dance. Juliet never would have taken him for a dancer and thinking about it, she wondered if he was any good at it.
This was her chance to find out, she supposed, and she figured she would have to make the best out of the situation as it was;' it was also more fun than she would admit to firing up Virgil. She would either get a kick out of his sudden awkwardness or she would pleasantly surprise him. It was a win-win. She caught sight of him waiting for her at a spot he had picked out for them, and with as packed as it was, it would have to work.
It was the latter, Juliet discovered and Virgil, while stiff and reserved in his movement, she had been able to pick up very quickly that he was holding back, and that Virgil, unlike most men she had met, could dance. She bit back a smile and kept about the groove. Others on the floor had picked up on the two of them and came in close.
Vultures…
Most of the socialites and experts here were nervous out in front of so many eyes and so held down by them. Juliet had never had a problem with that, and neither had Connor; her body pulsed.
No, she couldn't think about him right now.
What she would think about is how frustrating the other bodies got. At how they closed in on their space, on her space. She buffed a few (way too many) attempts to dance with her, also seeing that a few of the women had gravitated to Virgil, some of them trailing their fingers across his arms or fluttering across his chest as they swept by, the same as hands tracing across a shoulder, over a leg and some few that were bold enough to trail along her side..
Juliet was glaring. They had both come here to dance, and Virgil had invited her out here so she could forget what was on her mind. The air was humid, hot and sweaty. There were too many bodies, too many people. Too many hands. Too much of everything. When bold hands, grit and rough like stone locked around her waist, Juliet hit her ceiling. She had no idea she had even done so until she simply…just did.
"I don't care how, but you will find her and drag her back here! Both of them! Do I make myself clear!?" Nikolai Andaras was the big business man of Sunyshore, of Sinnoh even, and he had made a name for himself through Sunyshore's seal market. He even had his hand in oversea trade. A lot of people regarded Nikolai as a darling of Sunyshore, especially when he had brought so much to the city.
But quite frankly to Juliet, that was horseshit. She had done enough skulking around, enough of that really annoying damsel role she was so good at to get the information she needed, and while Nikolai had made his fortune through business and trade, he had become filthy rich from people like her.
Juliet knew where to find 'Potluck' or 'Ice Spice', whatever the clients wanted to call it. He had come to people like her to make his purchase, and of course turn his profit; that was his main export out to Johto and it was a good thing that contests were so popular out in Johto. It would have been hard to transport otherwise. He was very good at playing his part as a noble philanthropist but it had been easy for Juliet to see through him, especially with the way he told her everything about his plans.
"You're a sharp girl," he had told her. "Young and savvy to boot. You've helped me build this empire I have and I'm sure you'll be there when I make Sunyshore and east Sinnoh my own, and it's going to start with these spices."
Nikolai's first act of conquest had been his funding of a land use project, sinking his teeth into the area by establishing a casino in all but name, and it paid off well. Multiple had gone in rich and left empty handed. The first phase had been going well for them; the poker table becoming one of his most lucrative assets.
Nikolai had always been overbearing but his outbursts and rage grew worse. At one point, he had gotten so livid at someone's luck that he had actually had them dragged from the casino. After that, Nikolai seemed to slip. He became sloppy, dull and for lack of a better word, disgusting. He had always been proud, but he had become outright arrogant. He had begun playing against the regulars on his own, and with reckless abandon and of course always got the last laugh. It had been those two particular moments that had sent her on an octane sprint from the casino after having won his precious Argo that he had wagered to utterly bankrupt a relatively well off (and real philanthropic) man, who as she came to find out later, had been working to expose Nikolai anyway.
Juliet had a massive head start and had managed to get by all of the guards before they knew that she was the problem now. She had made her way outside, running into a familiar face. They gave her a thumbs up.
"Did you get what you needed?"
"Yeah, I got him." She flashed Argo's ball between her fingers. "All it took was a few losses, and half a glass of wine. Andaras is a lightweight." Leah had snickered at that.
"Serves him right." And then she laughed and smiled. "Who says rich girls have to be so stuck up?" Juliet smirked.
"No idea, but come on, I got a place where I know we can lay low."
Everyone knew Juliet at the Nightingale. She had done a string of impromptu karaoke and even had her hand in getting popular acts in Sinnoh to come around. All of the bartenders knew her by name and one in particular, Wylan, knew her by other activities.
She had come in a bit short of breath and they had locked eyes. There was a subtle toss of his head and Juliet knew what to do. She went to move into the stage room.
"Hey," Leah had caught hold of her arm. "Don't you think we've lost them?"
"I don't see any of Andara's people but people know who I am here, Leah."
"If they do, then I think we might be okay. Can't we just take it easy for a moment? I wanna check this place out." Juliet wanted to reject that, to tell her it was too dangerous but…they were also in one of the safest places that Juliet could be in the underground. "I'll start with one of the drinks."
Juliet buckled.
"Alright, just keep an eye out. And just one."
"Okay mom."
After the first ten minutes, Juliet had begun to relax, but tensed at the ready when she heard a commotion outside.
There were two of them, standing like rock and towering at the entrance at the club. Juliet had caught Wylan's quick glance in her direction from the corner of her eye and her response was immediate, ducking low and phasing her way back into the stage area. Her eyes never left Leah.
They both sat at the bar, striking up a conversation with both Wylan and Leah. Juliet's breath was taut but she did her best to move with the wave of sweat and cloying heat. They had ordered drinks and Wylan, doing what he did best: bartend. A handful of minutes went by, and one of them had finished their drink. A tense few more played by and they had gotten up with a shrug and left. It hadn't been too long before the other one had left too. Juliet made her way back over, meeting Wylan with a kittenish flash of her eyes that roped him into a quick back and forth before Juliet had gone to leave the bar with a light "thanks".
Leah stopped her again.
"Okay, just a little longer. We did get Nikolai out of our hair right? Maybe we should go dancing!"
"Leah, that was kind of a close call, and people know me here–"
"Come on, we have Wylan here to talk 'em out the door if you can't do it." She sighed. "They're lucky Kaynan isn't here." Juliet rolled her eyes at that.
"Your brother's a meathead."
"So were they," she replied indignantly. "It would definitely work out for us if you ask me." Juliet sighed.
"Alright, but we're gonna have to leave soon. Just until 1!"
"Deal."
Juliet had been stiff on the dance floor. And it was warm and a little sticky. She would have preferred her bed and Connor's Altarian pillow over this; she really needed to decompress. Juliet had subtly began pulling herself from the crowd. Leah on the other hand had become lost in the haze and she was spectral among the smoke machines and flashing lights. Juliet leaned against the wall to get some rest, her focus honing in on Leah's loose and frankly tired swaying. Her mouth slightly ajar and her coordination off.
Something was wrong. Juliet kicked herself from the wall to go to her. Impulse crept up her spine and she flashed a glance back over to the bar at Wylan. More of Nikolai's guards had shown up and one of them had Wylan by his shirt. They knew they were here.
Shit…!
Juliet hadn't heard Wylan's response but he would never sell her out. She heard one of them yell something and their focus burn in her direction. They had seen her; it was time to go. She grabbed Leah, ignoring the scorching heat around Leah's wrist and worked her way through the crowd toward the side of the stage. There were too many people to go under the stage like she wanted; the side of the stage would have to do. Juliet watched as they sifted through coming closer to her end. Juliet realized quickly that they were going to find them and she had to think of something. Leah had all but collapsed next to her, straining to say something but slurring with a heavy exhale. Juliet flittered her fingers about her veins and recoiled at how entirely frozen she felt.
Potluck!?
Everything clicked. The other two had known all along, tipped off the others and slipped the drug into Leah's drink to keep them from going far. They knew they were here and they weren't going to stop until they found them. Juliet turned to Leah; she had gone quiet and gone under.
No. No. No. No. No. No..! She had heard of them but had never seen a Potluck overdose before. She had heard the high signs were burning veins and "frozen" skin and it was very potent with alcohol but volatile to mixing. She had only ever been the connection, never the seller. How many families had seen this in Johto? How fast had it spread to other regions? How could she have ever had her hand in something this awful? The air was too heavy and her chest was tight, clenched and rigid with gravity spiraling into her. She breathed in air, but never received it.
She had to do something.
She had to do something.
She had. To do. Something.
Juliet pulled Leah into her arms and inhaled sharply. The shivering started immediately. Her face was burning; she was crying.
Help.
Juliet felt their footsteps through the floor.
Help…
They were getting closer.
Somebody…please…
They were going to find them.
Help her…
There was an unmistakable "pop!" at her waist and a hand hook into her clothes and Juliet clenched her eyes shut as a burst of light shifted her from the spot. A softness formed under her and she opened her eyes, and took in the space around her. It was Connor's old room, and that jerk hadn't said anything since he left. Cossette had made his room her sanctuary for some reason and–
She had teleported them there.
Juliet turned hesitantly to her right, where Connor's bed dipped inward.
Leah's skin was pallid, like ice and she didn't move. She didn't breathe but Juliet waited. And waited. And waited. But Leah did not move and she still did not breathe. But Juliet finally moved, placing both of her hands over Leah's one. She ignored the frigid slices into her hands, leaned into the sculpture and screamed.
Why was everything so quiet?
Why was everything so heavy?
Why did her entire body feel fuzzy?
She came face to face with a rug, exquisitely designed, something that her parents probably would have had sprawled out in the foyer. Or maybe they had lost their edge in that department like they had in everything else. Her ears were ringing a little and her throat was sore. Was she on the floor? What was she doing there?
The ringing snapped into place: It was her name, someone was calling her name and it sounded familiar.
It was Virgil.
Her breathing was heavy and she shuddered as roughly as she exhaled.
"...I don't think I"ve ever seen you this anxious before." His hand shifted toward her.
"Don't touch me." He winced and drew back.
"Oh. Ok. Sorry…" They remained silent. Juliet fixated herself on the rug, tracing through the ornate and intricate patterns in the design.
"Where are we," she finally asked. Her voice was hoarse. She must have been crying; she seemed to be doing a lot of that.
"Inside the Brightwater."
"Who's room?"
"Yours." A pause. "Juliet," Virgil said gingerly. "Something happened. And I–"
"Virgil," she snapped. "Not. Now." His hands went up in surrender.
"Okay, Okay…I'll just… leave you alone."
"Don't." Her voice was more even that time around. It felt more like her. "I just don't want to do that…"
"Oh." He took his time and sat down by the door gingerly. "Then, is it okay if I sit here with you?"
"Yeah," came Juliet's small reply. Her eyes had moved from the rug, about the room, designed in a strange combination of Kalosi tradition and modern, over to that boy, to that Virgil she met in the alley. She looked away. "But you're a little far, if you ask me…" Virgil grunted amusedly, but slunk over to her side. "You could have just stood up, " she mumbled.
"Not right now. Not while you're like this." She untucked herself with a slow and deep exhale.
"What do you think 'this' is?"
"Pain." She turned to him with a wistful smile and full eyes. She leaned her forehead onto his shoulder with a small "yeah'. She sniffled.
"There's a lot of it."
"We don't have to talk about it. You said not right now."
"Well, you have been asking about it all day…"
"But you're in pain…"
"I know. And I said that you see it best." Virgil frowned. "I'm Juliet Grey, Virgil. Do you know what that means? It means I'm a problem."
"A problem?"
"A problem. Things fall apart because of me." She sniffled again. "Everyone who knows ask about my brother, and Eve…" His hands reached out to comfort her again, a reflex for him.
"Juliet, you really don't have to tell me." His fingers twirled through her hair softly.
"She's dead."
"Dead?" Juliet choked back a sob and managed a nod.
"Sinnoh isn't as clean as some people like to think. There's an entire empire that knows how to hide itself."
"Ran by Nikolai?" She blinked at him incredulously. "You had been saying 'sorry' to 'Leah' about 'Nikolai'. And…I just sort of figured that much out I guess."
"Yeah…" Her voice trailed. "Nikolai…" Her voice was low. "If I had been there, she would have never died. Those Luxray would have never gotten to her. I wish I could do it over. She should be here. Or, at least have badges of her own. I would give anything for that..." There was a catch in her tone.
"You were at the Lily of The Valley."
"I was held up there. I said I would meet Eve back home before she left but…" Another sigh. "It…doesn't matter…" She pulled away then, finally gathering enough strength to climb to her feet. Her movement was a bit listless but she went to the dresser, pulling out a set of pajamas.
"Don't look," was all she said. Virgil had meant to object but the words had caught in his throat and he turned away.
"...Y-Y'know, you could've gone to the bathroom or something…" And then more tender. "I can leave if you're tired." Juliet sank into the bed, a high quality, but still nothing like Connor's bed. Nothing would ever compare to that.
"But I want you here," she finally replied, blunt and a little distant; Juliet was sure he noticed.
"You…do?"
"Yeah," came another plain response. "Unless you sleep free, I don't think I have anything here for you."
"Y-yeah," he stumbled, "I'll be back."
Virgil came back with a set of sleeping shorts of his own and a T-shirt on his arm. He usually slept back home shirtless, or so he said but brought a shirt out of respect.
"It doesn't really matter," she had said. And it really didn't. "Whatever helps you get comfortable." He had taken that to heart, and after setting his shirt neatly aside and flipping off the main light switch, he stumbled clumsily and blindly into the bed.
He had picked his space and laid on his side with his back to her. He was trying very hard to be what he thought was "proper". Seria's voice flitted through her ears and with a soft smile, Juliet closed the space between them, until their backs touched; he tensed for a bit relax a bit after. There was a tense silence for a moment before Virgil gave a sigh, flipping onto his other side to face her back. Then, there was nothing.
Juliet wasted no time and reached behind her to find his hand, and laid it over her waist. He had been holding back and almost instantly his other hand swooped under her pillow coming to rest just above her chest and he pulled her into his chest; his breath out was earthy.
It was grounding.
"By the way," his voice was low, still tender. "When you said that the stuff about Eve didn't matter…Of course it does, but… you can take your time." Silence followed but Juliet dipped her head just a bit to tenderly peck the face of Virgil's hand.
"Hey Virgil," came her voice softly.
"Yeah?" She smiled.
"Thanks."