Doesn't look half bad.

Not bad meaning his hair. With one day left until departure, Nera had insisted(more demanded really) that Riven get a haircut, because apparently Kalosians didn't take kindly to unruly looking people, given their fashion craze. They gave passes to trainers and shot them full of disapproving looks at the same time, but nothing beyond that. Non trainers though? Utter blasphemy. If you looked like a bum, they wouldn't even look you over twice, much less notice you exist.

That wasn't the only issue. Riven's skunk streak also made him too noticeable, so Nera suggested he paint his hair completely black again so as to avoid suspicion of who he was. Although, she was visibly distraught when Riven insisted that they give him a brown contact to hide his mismatched eyes too.

But it's such a beautiful color! Why don't you get another blue contact instead? She whined, reminding him that she acted more like a kid than a mercenary leader.

No. I want brown. If you're going to ruin my life—which you've done masterfully, by the way, you might as well give me things I need to help me be less conspicuous. You don't want all of Kalos coming after you because of me, do you? Because I will bring you down with me.

After five minutes of bickering and shouting, Nera conceded. He still didn't see why she put up such a fuss. It was practical. Medium length black hair, brown eyes, and tall? That was the description of every young male trainer everywhere. Sure, they could recognize his face, but he very much doubted that. According to Cormac, Styx didn't just stop with blowing half the police building to shit. Oh no. He went into the records room and had a Magnezone manipulate electromagnetic fields, then discharge them.

Less discharge, more blast them into space.

Simply marvelous idea in that although it did erase most of the records they had on Riven from his capture, it also had the unfortunate side effect of creating a god damn EMP blast that knocked out power to half the bloody city.

The officials were just a tad bit displeased. Relatively minor, seeing as how they had news stations broadcasting a bloodthirsty manhunt for the mysterious group Edge of Dawn, and their alleged terrorist attack on the LaRoussian infrastructure for apprehending the infamous Gray. Wallace even appeared in a news interview, eyes bloodshot and with far too many bags under his eyes, not even bothering to make up a story, preferring instead to say, "we're looking into it," before stalking off and presumably screaming into the nearest pillow.

Tad bit indeed.

When the broadcast finished, Cormac turned to Riven, eyebrows raised in surprise. "Man, just how big a pile of bullshit did you feed them?"

"Probably about as large as Mt. Chimney's summit," he replied, sniffing the air. "I can still smell it too. Nice and steamy."

"Edge of Dawn? They are so off it's not even funny..."

"You two done watching Styx's reign of idiocy in there? We have a flight to catch. We should get there sometime… tomorrow? Around midnight to early morning, I think," Isole said, stepping into the room with a few bags and a suitcase. She settled her eyes on the large sword on Riven's back, face flat. "Are you really going to prance around Lumiose with a huge piece of metal on your back? Guy with a mean face and a weapon? Everyone and their mom will notice you walking around. Weapons like swords and guns are hard to come by you know. They stand out. A lot."

Riven sucked his teeth. "That's why I have a case to conceal it. I learned from Petalburg that if you walk around with two blades at your hips, people will think that you might be a little dangerous. But if you put them in a long enough case, no one bats an eyelash. Makes you wonder what other people have concealed in places."

"You'd need a pretty long case for that sword though."

He shrugged.

"Doesn't matter, as long as they don't know what's inside they won't bother to question it." Might be a pain to draw it in a pinch though. "I didn't choose this sword either, the asshole did. It has more power than the one handed blades, but it's a lot heavier. So if you have concealment problems, take that up with him, get me another sword, or give me my pokemon back. I prefer two and three at the same time, having something sharp and swingable makes me feel cozy inside."

Isole glared at him icily before turning around. "Just hurry up. You too, Cormac. Get your team, we're heading out."

When Riven went outside with them to where the plane was, he noticed they weren't anywhere he recognized. They were in the outskirts of a city some distance away, one he'd never been to, but the sea stretched for miles, so it was a presumably an island of sorts. Isole then informed him that it was Mossdeep. Kind of made sense, really. Nera had a safe house underground for her people there, just in case. According to Cormac, she had spent years building them around the several regions while on jobs, if anyone of them found themselves in a pinch.

So the seventh gym is here. Riven looked in the direction of the city, unable to see the iconic building, even though he knew it was here. Too bad I'm not a trainer anymore. Haona would have had a field day battling here…Psychic gym and all.

"Yo, you coming?" Cormac called from the plane. "We're taking off in two minutes. Step it up."

Riven nodded hesitantly and boarded the plane, staring through the window at the shrinking city as they ascended, every moment passing reminding him of his short-lived trainer career. He sat down in his seat near the tail-end of the plane, taking off his sword and setting it down, having felt like lead on his back. Unsheathing the blade, he held it in his hands, tracing a finger along the edge.

Just like old times, I guess… I should be glad. But I don't feel any different, even though I should be. Isn't this what I wanted? He put it away, taking a glimpse at a sleeping Isole's trainer belt. Or do I want to get back to my team? But what are they to me now that I'm not a trainer? Are they weapons, or friends? Hmmmm, not thinking straight. Too tired.

"Maybe I should go to sleep before I start thinking about the origins of a pencil," he said to himself.

Shaking his head, he leaned back into the seat, noting instead the strangeness of flying in a plane. There was no wind on his face, no feathers to grab onto, no exhilaration. Just like riding in a car, or a bus- just in the air. Sure didn't feel like flying. After riding with a pokemon, planes just didn't cut it. Substantially less terrifying, maybe, but not nearly as invigorating at the same time.

Drifting to sleep after a few hours, he was shaken by a hand on his shoulder. Peering an eye open, he saw Cormac sitting next to him, a suspiciously warm smile on his face.

"Yo," he waved a hand. "How you doing, Riven?"

Riven's eyes narrowed as he took the mercenary's hand off his shoulder. This didn't feel right."What are you doing here, Cormac? You're seat is up next to Isole, up in front. You should be there, not next to me. What do you want?"

"What makes you think I want something?"

Riven shot him a look.

"I just wanted to talk," Cormac clarified. "That's all."

Talk. Sure. I can see those eyes. You're not fooling anyone. Especially not me. "You mean discuss. Talking is for friends and friendly people. And we're definitely not either of those. Stop pretending, it isn't your style. I don't even know you and I can tell. My paranoia is a mighty powerful sensor for bullshit."

The mercenary's smile fell into a knowing smirk, hmphing under his breath. "No beating around the bush, huh? Good." His face darkened into a glare, with a severity that betrayed the warm behavior he'd just displayed. "I don't like babysitting brats. When I first saw you, I had my doubts. I still do. And when I look at you, I can't help but feel uncomfortable, and believe it or not, unsafe. So let's get this straight. I don't trust you."

Riven returned the gaze, brown meeting light blue. He grinned, expression wry. "Excellent, we can finally understand each other. Now you don't have to worry then, because I don't trust any of you. I may look young, but I'm neither a child, nor an idiot. Don't you ever dare make that mistake."

"Arceus. Psychologist wasn't kidding when he called you batshit paranoid. Hold onto it, it'll save your life," Cormac said, bemused.

"It already has. Never really had much cause to doubt it. But that doesn't answer the question. You. Here. Why?"

"To warn you," the mercenary said bluntly.

"Because you didn't already do that?" Riven sneered. "Warn me about what?"

"Nera? Us? This life you're about to start? I know you didn't have a choice in the matter. That creates… personal issues. Apart from the ones you already have, and trust me those are pretty extensive. I don't have enough fingers to list them all, so I won't bother." He waved a hand. "And while that's something I don't agree with, I need to let you know what you'll be in for," he said. "There might be some things your conscience will disagree with. Things like that break people. Slowly, but surely. And broken people have a tendency to do…stupid things."

"Tsk, if you mean killing someone, then it's fine. It's not something I haven't done before. I'm perfectly fine with that sort of thing," Riven scoffed.

"That's not what I meant," Cormac clarified. "This life gets to you, and sometimes makes you question why. Word of advice, don't make the mistake that any of us are your comrades. That includes me. I'm not from where all of you guys are, I was born in Castelia, so I don't know how fucked up your world really was. But there's one thing I know, and that's that this isn't the army like you're used to, where everyone would take a fire blast for you. We play for keeps, and that means you're going to get your hands dirty and if possible, cut your losses."

"And I already told you, I don't have a problem with that. What I do have a problem with is being treated like a marked Growlithe on a leash. Getting my hands dirty is all I ever seem to do, no matter how hard I try to go straight. I've been trying to reach the ocean while stuck in a puddle of mud that keeps dragging me down every time I try to pull myself out. I can see the water, but I can't ever touch it. It's the entire reason we're having this conversation."

Cormac nodded, standing up. "Fine, I'll take your word for it for now. But let me tell you something. I've been a mercenary for a good thirteen years. I've been in lots of groups, and I've seen them splinter and fragment because of wild cards. Watch yourself, because we'll be watching you. But most of all, be careful of Nera. She's one of the most ruthless people I've ever met, and you don't want to cross her. Fire is in her blood, just like- nevermind. Point is, always question why you do things, don't just follow orders like a soldier. Sometimes, there are orders that aren't meant to be followed. Remember that."

Right. The blackmail and the tracker being shoved down my throat whole-heartedly agree. "I'm confused. Are you helping me, or threatening me?"

"Both," Cormac replied, and walked away. "It's part of the newbie initiation process. See you on the ground."

Riven eyed him as left, replaying his words in his mind. He picked the meanings apart, trying to make sense of them all. I don't trust you, but I'm willing to work with you. That's good. Better than being a friend at least. I don't have to trust him, either. I can stomach that much.

With nothing else to do and slightly at ease now that he knew he didn't have to make friends, he drifted to sleep, waiting to see just how incredible the city of light was. Couldn't be that great after going to LaRousse. He doubted there was anything that could surprise him.

Wrong.

See, Riven's thought process about cities was, when you see a city like LaRousse, you think you've seen them all. Sliding sidewalks, high tech vending machines, and electric train rails over the ocean were pretty impressive, so there was little else that could top that. Sorry, but no. Lumiose took that notion, set it on the ground, grabbed a giant hammer, and mercilessly smashed it to little itty bits. Then threw the pieces at him and whispered, silly, puny human.

Looking at Prism tower at the current moment reinforced that feeling. As for Lumiose, it was…

"Sizable," Riven gawked, mouth agape and staring stupidly up at the giant tower, its multitude of lights drowning out the darkness of night. He was in awe at the sheer size of Lumiose, feeling just like when he'd seen Petalburg for the first time. If anything, it made the city of flowers look tiny in comparison. He approximated that he could fit like fifty Petalburgs into the damn place, and it was only a sector of it. Probably exaggerations, but damn.

From the air it looked impressive enough, and boy did it earn its name as the city of light, there were so much lights that Riven was able to see it before they even got close to the place. And that was flying several thousand feet above it. On the ground was something entirely different.

The streets were busy with people and restaurants and businesses were bustling despite it being the very early hours of the morning. Nothing like Hoenn, where you were lucky to see a single person passing through at this time, usually being an exhausted trainer on their way to the pokemon center.

And here I thought I'd seen everything.

Isole giggled a bit. "Understatement, much? It rivals Castelia as one of the biggest cities in of all the regions, what do you mean big?"

"Think it's the awestruck kicking in. Look at him, he's turning in circles like an idiot tourist," Cormac cackled, pointing a finger.

"But he is kind of a tourist, isn't he?"

"Hmmmm, you're right. Guess idiot tourist is accurate," Cormac mused. "Figures. Not too many cities like this in quiet ol' Hoenn. But we should probably head to our place, get acquainted. 'Sides, people are looking, and you know how these people take to tourists. Ain't Unova, but we should go. I'm exhausted anyways."

"Oh?" The group of people staring at them in a nearby café were rectified immediately by an icy glare from Isole. "Yeah, this place isn't nearly as xenophobic as Unova, but they sure do care a lot more about appearances. That's Kalos for you."

They headed south, peering into shops and cafes.

Riven read the sign overhead."Vernal Avenue. Why is everyone sitting outside eating?" He asked, bewildered. "And what the hell are they doing to those poor pokemon? You call that fashionable? They look terrible." He pointed to the people who were coming out of a shop with what looked like ridiculously groomed white dog pokemon. Like an Absol, just fluffier and probably less pushy.

Isole nodded."That store's Friseur Furfrou. People take their Furfrous there to get groomed. Furfrou is like the Kalos equivalent of Poochyena, if you will. Yes, peoples' styles for Furfrou grooming are ridiculous, but you don't want to tell them that. The shops where you see people eating outside are called cafés, they're very popular here, but not in other places like Hoenn. Although it's is gaining popularity in Mauville, I heard. Kalos is weird like that, and Lumiose is chock full of the things."

"Even this late they're that busy?" Riven raised a brow at a passing Furfrou.

"Open twenty four hours, they're that popular. You see that store over there?" Cormac pointed over to the one called the Stone Emporium. "That store sells rare evolution stones for a hefty price. Don't even try to haggle with the guys in there, they will rob you blind. Trust me when I say to avoid that one like a plague. But what's even more ridiculous is that store right over there."

"Boutique Couture?"

"Your French is terrible… You butchered the name, but yeah, that one. One pair of pants costs more than a fire stone."

Riven turned around slowly, incredulous. "Seriously?"

"Oh, he's not kidding," Isole said. "And what's more, they don't allow you in unless you look stylish enough. That's why Nera went through all that trouble of making you and us look halfway decent. Mostly you though. So don't ruin your clothes too soon, or it's going to burn a hole in your wallet looking for new ones. Hoenn's clothing prices have nothing on this."

"Duly noted," Riven gulped, hoping he didn't get mauled by anything any time soon- which was sad really, considering he was more worried about having to pay for expensive clothes than getting his face ripped off by a vicious pokemon.

Priorities were a funny thing.

"So where are we staying?" He asked, figuring he could explore this behemoth of a city later, after he taped his jaw to his face thoroughly and learned not to stare at weird shit. There was a lot of weird shit though.

"Over there," Isole answered cheerfully, gesturing to a large and very wealthy looking apartment complex a short distance away from the boutique. "When you get there though, take off your shoes and leave them at the door. Kai likes his floors clean. Riven, don't give me that look. Just don't. He was raised in a traditional Kanto household. It's his place, so be courteous."

She knocked.

"Is he a merc too?" Riven asked. "If so, then I have absolutely nothing to be courteous about. You're all assholes anyway."

"No, he's not. He's a friend of mine, not Nera's. In fact, they never really liked each other much. He didn't agree with her ways, so he didn't join her, but he's good friends with me and Mac, so don't be a dick to him. He just said it would be okay if we stayed there, as long as there's no trouble. Nera's house here is outside of Lumiose, so staying there would be inconvenient for the task at hand. Being so close to the emporium has its perks too."

The knob on the door turned, opening a second later.

The man who answered had long brown hair tied up in a ponytail, and was wearing some kind of robe, with a sash along the waist. The inside of the room behind him looked far different than the usual rooms Riven had seen. The floors were polished clean, and the doors appeared to slide open, rather than push open. There was a light smell of incense and a warm orange glow from lanterns hung on the walls. Is this what homes in Kanto looked like?

It looks so… mystical?

"Ah. Isole, Cormac, it has been a while," Kai said, voice surprisingly calm, like a gentle wind. He leaned in for a hug and a handshake, chatting idly about appearances and the usual. When he finally noticed Riven, he halted for a brief moment, looking him over. "Who's this?"

"He's the new guy I told you about," Isole said, looking over his shoulder. "He's going to handle the ranger requests and other minor details, you don't have to worry about him too much. He keeps to himself mostly."

"I'm quite capable of speaking for myself, thanks," Riven cut in, slightly irritated. He extended a hand. "Riven. I'm the new guy, nice to make your acquaintance."

Kai took his hand, smiling warmly. Giving a slight bow, he gestured them in with a hand. "Pleasure to meet you, Riven. I hope you have a good stay, do be careful with the floors though, they are freshly polished. Your room is the one nearest to the balcony, Isole informed me you like the outside, and prefer quick access in case anything… occurs."

Riven nodded, adjusting the strap on his bag and heading over without a single complaint.

"Well, I'm beat," Cormac yawned loudly, following suit and going directly to his room as well, feeling too tired to continue."Night, Kai," he said, raising a hand.

"Good night, Cormac. And Riven too!" Kai responded. His cheer fell, mouth becoming a thin line. "Why is it… black?" He murmured.

"What is?" Isole wondered.

"That boy's ki," he said, feeling a shiver crawl down his spine. "It's pitch black."

"I'm assuming that's not normal?" Isole guessed. Black usually meant bad things. It's not like she could see the stuff anyway.

"No. Not normal for many at least. Others… perhaps, but for humans it's seldom seen." He put a hand on his chin. "And the streaks of red in it… not well. Is that boy troubled?"

"HAH. Troubled doesn't begin to describe him," Isole remarked sharply, letting out a sardonic chuckle. "He has more problems than a Gyarados on a bad day. That's not factoring in his desert dry sense of humor. It's dry and dark. He's like a swirling ball of negativity."She made a motion with her hands, forming a ball.

"I noticed. Is that boy here on his own accord?"

Isole hesitated, avoiding his gaze. She wanted to lie, but Kai knew her too well for that. "Um…no."

"Isole, you know you-"

"I know, I know." She sighed heavily, glancing up into his eyes before resting them elsewhere. "He's like me, Kai. But different. He's one of the ones Nera talked to us about. A Cerul."

Kai winced.This is... worse than I believed.

"What kind of contract did Nera put on him? I know how she is, and you have to tell her that forcibly keeping him here against his will work terribly. It will only get worse… she knows the risks! She told them to us herself!"

"He has information about something of great importance. An artifact of sorts. The one she was directed to, remember? This is the only way."

"And you think by doing whatever she thinks she's doing will get him to cooperate? He is not a regular human that can be goaded and threatened into submission! His condition is going to get worse if that dreadful energy is anything to go by. What did she do?" He shot back, raising his voice. "He could be a danger to everyone here. Those of black ki are not typically harmless, and breaking one is a task that borders on the impossible."

"Everything is under control Kai," Isole assured. "If he decides to cooperate, Nera will let him go. And if he gets worse, she'll take care of it." She promised.

"Is that what she told you?" He shook his head. "Why do you believe in her so much, Isole? She is a ruthless person who will stop at nothing to achieve her goals. Such is the fire in her. But he… he won't give in the more you pressure him, it's not in their nature to do it. They're strongest when driven into a corner- let him go. This is reckless, and reckless is not what you are."

He has a point, Isole sighed. I don't like keeping him here either, and neither does Cormac. "You know I can't do that just yet, even if I wanted to. This is more important than we know, we have to go through with this! It's so much bigger than we are. If it wasn't, I would have broken the tracker on his leg and sent him into hiding myself. It's not that easy though, sometimes we have to do things we aren't comfortable with. I'm sorry if that disturbs you, Kai. If you don't want us here, that's fine. We'll leave."

"No, no it's fine," Kai said, hesitant and visibly troubled. "I very much do not like it, but I can live with it. However, in return, you must give him free access to the entirety of the city. Lumiose is a beautiful place, let him enjoy at least that. It may stabilize him, however little."

Isole smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I was planning to anyway. Don't worry about that. Besides, how else is he going to find his way around this maze of a city if I don't let him explore? You know, he did used to be a trainer."

"I do not see any pokeballs with him."

Isole shrugged."Yeah, he kind of… sent them off with someone. Due to circumstances and such. Nera doesn't want him to get them back, might try something. She offered to let him borrow some, but he refused."

"And why would he not? A trainer is proud, and he is no less different. You should know, considering you're the queen of stubborn yourself," he joked lightly. "Just like the blasted ice on the roads during the winter."

"Normally, that would sound like an insult. But that was a compliment, wasn't it?" Isole grinned. "Want something, do you?"

"I only wish to reminisce. It has been a few years since I last saw you, so I would like to hear what adventures you've had without me. A trainer does not become a mercenary because it is a boring life, I presume?"

"Hah. No. No it is not." She paused, then hugged him. "I missed you, Kai. You and your weird ki meditation talks. I take it you're not a trainer anymore too?"

"I am not officially in the Kalos circuit, although I do battle selectively when in need of some funds. Living here gets quite expensive you know. Training is great fun, but some day even we have to settle down."

"Kai, you're only thirty seven. Quit talking like an old man."

"Old? This is not old. This is wisdom."

"Sounding like a fortune cookie does not make you wise."

"Lies. I do not sound like a fortune cookie."

"Yes you do."

"Do not."

"Do too."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes!"

"Fine, I sound like a fortune cookie. Arguing with you is bad for my health." Kai smiled slyly. "Shall we reminisce instead then, iceberg? How about a game of chess? You never once beat me, and I don't think you ever will." He turned around with a smug smirk, kimono flowing behind him. "You're not too tired for some leisure, right? I would battle you if it wasn't early in the morning when everyone is asleep."

"I slept on the plane, so I'm good- but even if I was tired, I'd still floor you in any kind of battle, not just pokemon. Bring it, monk boy, you're king is mine."

"Quil, lava plume!" Will ordered as his Quilava deftly dodged an incoming thunderbolt from Lucia's Electivire. Firmly planting its feet into the ground, the fire type's back flared into flames, blasting fire back at Murphy with a deafening roar. Molten rock shot out of the ground, threatening to engulf him and block escape.

"Protect," Lucia responded coolly. Keeping a level head during battles was always key, even if it was pretty difficult for her at the moment. Murphy's tails curved outward and back in, forming a pulsing electric shield, effortlessly blocking the attack and leaving the electric pokemon unscathed. "Retaliate with thunder punch, leave no breathing room for another lava plume. Pressure him!"

Murphy nodded, charging both hands with electricity. He rushed forward, electrified fists seeking to hit the smaller fire type, each swing coming close and closer. Quil dodged back and forth, weaving and sliding under the larger pokemon's legs, too busy dodging to bother with attacking. Will tried to weaken Murphy, commanding Quil to wither it down with a flamethrower to the leg. The electivire foresaw this, however, and used its tails to propel itself into the air and bring down a massive fist of electricity. The resulting radial blast knocked the Quilava off its feet and sent it rolling a few feet away.

"Quil! Watch out, he's going to-"

Too late. Murphy had already closed in, wrapping his two tails around Quil's body and letting loose a torrent of electricity, letting him go after a couple thousand volts. Quil hit the ground smoking, out cold.

Will frowned. "Lost again. I don't have to pay you, do I?"

Lucia shook her head, returning Murphy in a flash of red light. "No, it was a friendly match. Don't look so upset though! Quil is getting faster, he faced the Murphy Onslaught Supreme and still managed to live. That's pretty impressive."

"But I lost to my sister," Will whined. "Do you realize how embarrassing that is? I can lose some serious rep for that."

"You can't lose what you don't have," Lucia joked. Will gave her a dirty look, whispering curses. "I was kidding, shake that face off. You look just like Riv-" She cut herself off, ruining the mood. "Ummm, Will? You're not concerned about him? Riven, I mean. He is your friend."

"Nah," Will shrugged. "This is Riven we're talking about. This guy drank his own piss. And I don't know about you, but if someone's willing to drink their own piss that's brown and stinky to survive, I'm sure they could handle hiding from police or something."

"Didn't you drink your own too?"

Will shivered, remembering how awful it was. "Yeah, and that's why I'm a badass too. How many trainers can say they got stranded in the Mauville desert for days after a sandstorm, floods, creepy Cacturne, freezing temperatures, and hot as fuck sun and still survive? Let me tell you, not a lot. And plus-"

He shot a lick of fire out of his fingers, whispering,"I'm going to be the freaking firelord."

Lucia nudged him with her elbow and ruffled his messy hair with her other hand. "Going to go on a quest for a legend to regain your lost honor, are we?"

"Damn right."

"Calm down, Prince Will. Jokes aside, you still planning on going through with the gym circuit? You can do quite a lot with five badges." Lucia asked, heading over to a little cooler and pulling out a soda pop for them both. She handed him one, opening the lid with a hiss of fizz. "We were near Mossdeep at the time. You could have challenged Tate and Liza there."

"Yeah, I guess," Will said, taking a sip. "I kind of want to go in order though, and flying is cheating. If I'm going to challenge a gym, I want to get there myself, not on Marcus' back. Not fun that way, just like infinite health hacks in games. SOOOOO boring."

"I had a feeling you'd say that. That's definitely the stubborn trainer in you talking."

"Weren't you like that too?" Will pointed out. "I remember mom ranting off about how you insisted that you were going to train in the forests for a few months and live like a crazy cavewoman. She said it would ruin your beauty and I don't know what the hell else. It was top quality entertainment though, I wish I could have recorded it, pure gold."

"Yeah, well on that trip I managed to get poisoned by a Beedrill and nearly died. I crawled into Fortree looking like a mess and poured enough sweat on the bench in the hospital waiting room to drown a small town," Lucia recalled, laughing nervously at her younger, more reckless self. "Then I threw up in the bathroom several times while the poison was getting flushed out of my system. Wasn't too bad compared to some periods I've gotten though. Finding ways to stop the blood in the wild is hard."

"Oh god, too much information. I don't need to know about your… girly problems!" Will shrieked, edging away.

"You check girls out and tease Riven incessantly about how endowed they are, yet you can't handle us talking about the grosser details? Last time you and Riven had a pretty lengthy conversation about what kinds of defecation are easier on the butt. You think Gale and I weren't grossed out? You're the sicko here."

"That's different!"

"Sure it is."

"We're guys, we have no sense of shame!"

Sad part is he admits it too, Lucia giggled.

"Teasing Riven is fun too, he gets so flustered. Shoulda seen him with Flannery. I've never had more fun in my life," Will cackled evilly, bringing his fingers together like a villain. "Now all I need is to lead Riven into the restroom while Gale's changing, then lock them in."

"You're evil, you know that?" The siblings began to laugh, only stopping after a fluffy brown tangle of fur yelped up at them.

"Yip!" Seren cried, standing on his hind legs and raising his paws up at Lucia. She picked him up, holding him in her arms against her chest. He seemed to have taken a liking to her recently, now that Gale wasn't there to hold him anymore. He probably thought a girl's chest made for a nice pillow, and settled for the nearest substitute.

"Will, what do you think you want him to evolve into?" She asked, scratching under the fox's chin. "You could evolve him into an eon that could give you better type coverage, that's what most battlers do. Coordinators pick the prettiest. Usually Glaceon and Vaporeon win that one. Which one suits you?"

Will looked up at the sky, pondering the thought. He hadn't really put much thinking into what he wanted Seren to evolve into, or what was best suited on the team. He had a fire type, a dual grass and dark, and a part dragon and ground type. Maybe a Vaporeon would be useful…

"No, fuck that noise!" Will exclaimed, deciding instantly what he was going to do. "I'm going with the awesome. Who cares if the evolution isn't practical, it's awesome!"

"And what evolution is this, exactly?" Lucia asked, cocking her head. Seren cocked his head as well, continuing his strange habit of mimicry. Maybe he should evolve into a Mr. Mime.

"Either a Jolteon, or an Umbreon. Mostly a Jolteon though, since he can go fast and still be useful in battles. What do you say, Seren? Do you want to go fast?"

The brown fox yipped happily, voicing its approval while snuggling further against Lucia's chest. She smiled. "I think he'd be happy with anything you decided on, really. He's a very happy pokemon. So cute too. Although, I don't think I'd be able to hold him once he evolves. Any person who does is going to get a face full of electric spines."

"I should paint him blue," Will realized. "Then he could be just like-"

"NO," Lucia nearly shouted. "Do not paint him blue so you can call him Sonic and sing the theme song while you're battling. Stop coming up with crazy ideas. That's almost as bad as having Quil give you fire control lessons."

"Why? Quil is a fire type, he can help me control my firebend- errr, I mean my fire power thing." Will twirled his fingers, dancing small flames in between them.

"Will," Lucia said flatly.

"Yeah?"

"Quil can't even control himself. If you let him go out in the wild on his own, I'd guarantee you most of Hoenn's forest land would be burning already. Oh god, if it's this bad, I can't imagine when he evolves…" Lucia broke into a cold sweat, imagining a city go up in flames while a Typhlosion laughed maniacally in the background. Yeah... no.

"He can't help it," Will pouted. "It's his nature. He likes it when things are on fire. Fire's pretty."

"And I'm sure you paying for property damage is pretty too? Jeez, Will. With the trainer protests going on and Hoenn's history with Team Magma, fires caused by pokemon are going to make the rest of us look even worse than we already do. And that's without the stigma from Sinnoh's mess."

"Yeah… guess you're right. No blue Jolteon..."

They stayed quiet for a few minutes, drinking their soda pops in silence, listening to the hush of the waves and the cries of the Wingull. It was a perfect day, and the view at the base of the lighthouse was fantastic when coupled with the cool ocean breeze. Will had forgotten how gentle Slateport was, with the craziness of the past few months. He turned to his sister, less than happy.

"Are you going back to Unova? To get the rest of your badges too?" He asked, trying his best to sound nonchalant. "You still need two more, right?"

"Why, you going to miss me?" Lucia grinned. "Aw, my brother does love me. Don't worry, I'll miss you too."

"No! I was just asking!" He crossed his arms. "Hmph. Go to Unova, I don't care anymore."

Lucia pulled him into a hug, careful not drop a sleeping Seren. "I'm serious though, I'll miss you. I do get really homesick, you know. Unova is so different from Hoenn… I like the tranquility here. Over there it's so different, and the people are so rowdy and vibrant. I remember when I fought Elesa, she nearly recruited me to model for her on the spot after I beat her. In front of a huge crowd too. I flushed so much I thought the blood rushing to my face would cause it to burst!"

"Wait. Does that you mean you turned her down? Why? You could have been famous!" Will sputtered. "She's Elesa! Do you realize how many guys have fantasies about her?"

"Er… no, I don't. And I don't think I want to know, thanks. The reason I refused was because I just loved training more. Modeling is nice, and I'm honored that she thought I was good enough for it, but I really love the freedom that comes with training. There's no one that tells you what to do, and it's amazing to see new places. As a trainer, I don't have to worry about anyone judging my appearance either. But most of all, training helps a person grow far more than anything I've ever seen. And that's why I'm proud of you."

Will blinked. "Proud of me?"

Lucia smiled. "Yeah. You're growing up fast. You may not notice it, but I have. You've been through some rough patches, those rough patches are the most critical teachers you'll ever encounter, where you risk everything. Most trainers would quit after something like the desert, or Lavaridge. But not you. You're strong, and you have just as impressive a will as Riven does. Friendships mold the person you're going to be, each one leaving something behind." She pointed at the knife on Will's belt. "And who knows? You might even be champion some day! The charisma's all there."

Will huffed, thinking she was only saying that to be nice. "I doubt it, you'd probably reach champ before me anyway."

"I'm not too sure about that," Lucia admitted. "I don't like being grounded too much, and something else caught my eye this time. I think I know what I'd like to do if the league doesn't work out for me."

"What's that?"

"Be like Steven. Chase myths, legends, things lost to time. They're incredibly interesting," Lucia said, recalling Steven's retelling of what he saw in the memory visualizer. "Just like Riven, the man out of time… I knew something was off about him, I just didn't know what. That sly Skuntank told me the truth too, but the way he said it made it sound just too ridiculous to believe. He's an interesting one, but his story is more interesting still. There's still so much we don't know, and it gets me excited thinking about what we can uncover. You stumbled upon a long lost mystery. Or maybe it was fate?"

"Maybe? I don't know. We have to talk to him again. I just wonder when we're going to see him. Who knows when he'll show up. Better be soon though, that way you can chew him up and down, then question the hell out of him," Will grinned wryly. "But I'm sure Gale would rather do that, she's pretty pissed now that she has to take care of his pokemon too. She was all worried, and now she's mad? I don't get girls, you're all weird. Pokemon make more sense than you."

Lucia shook her head, a faint smile on her face. "I can say the same about boys too. You're guys are always doing reckless things, even when you're not trying to. Testosterone. Let's just see if that recklessness doesn't get Riven anywhere unsavory, I want him alive, not half dead."

"But he's always half dead, or getting himself killed," Will corrected. "When he's not doing something stupid, like challenging dragons or getting caught in things he shouldn't be."

"Hmmm, touché. Where do you think he is right now? You know, considering that a group of terrorists abducted him, or whatever the news is spewing at the moment."

"I don't know, probably in a cave getting his face punched in, getting interrogated by an evil mastermind."

"I think you watch a little too much movies."

"Nah, I guarantee it."

Chirp, chirp.

Bird.

Chirp, chirp,chirp.

Annoying bird.

Chirp, chirp. Chirp, chirp-

"SHUT UP," Riven shouted, chucking a nearby object at the Fletchling that had stopped near the balcony to sing the song of its kind, which no one asked for, thank you very much. "Stupid Kalos bird... Trying to sleep... giving me shit this early in the-" He noticed an amused looking Kai in the doorway, holding a steaming cup of tea. "…Morning."

"Please do not throw random objects out of the window, they may hit something on the way down. That's Vizi, a Fletchling that comes by here often. I leave birdseed out for her. She has a beautiful voice and is extremely friendly," he said calmly, opening the blinds to let some sun in. "Please don't kill her with a solid object. I find her chirps soothing."

"Says you." The light hit Riven and he recoiled. "Hnff. Too bright, it burns…"

"Not a vampire, are you?" Kai asked, still amused. "It's only sunlight."

"I just woke up. Shining sun into my face isn't going to feel good. Sun is bright today too," Riven complained, holding up a hand to shield his face from the dreaded daylight. He looked around the room. "Where is asshole one and two?"

Kai nearly spit out his tea. "You mean Isole and Cormac?"

"She's one, he's two."

"Interesting name choice… aha. They went to go see the clients. They start work early, and they also left you here to explore the city, since it's your first time. I'm going to act as your guide!" Kai announced, cheery.

"Did she put you up to this?" Riven scowled. "It's not exploring when you're supervising me. Exploring implies freedom."

"Oh, sorry," Kai apologized. "I suppose I didn't clarify myself. This is almost entirely a decision of my own. I'm not supervising you at all, I'm just showing you around Lumiose so you have an idea of what can be found where. You're entirely free to go exploring on your own, but Isole was worried that you'd wander into an unruly area of the city and get into problems. You have a knack for that." He raised his hands in surrender. "Her words, not mine. I'm just here to warn you about what places to steer away from."

Riven eyed him carefully."Well, as much as I hate to admit it, and I do, she's entirely right. With my luck I'd probably run into a group of cocky idiots and get trashed by pokemon, since I don't have mine with me. Or run into a police officer and get arrested for breathing."

"You must be terrible misfortunate." Warm brown eyes lit up, excited. "Regardless, this is wonderful! I can show you around after breakfast, I made it simple for you, since I don't know what you like. It's in the living room, so as soon as you're done we can go."

Riven stared at him. He didn't know whether to be wary of this guy or not. Isole said he wasn't a merc, so that automatically gave him some trust points, even if they were small. Not acting like a male reproductive organ helped substantially too. In fact, the guy was pretty friendly. But friendly people scared Riven, truth be told. He could handle assholes, but he was lost when it came to nice people. He decided to forget about it, and take Kai up on his offer. Might as well.

After breakfast, he showed Riven around most of Lumiose, including the different color themed plazas, and most of the Northern and Southern boulevards. He also informed Riven about Lumiose's central location and how it was a useful access point to different sections of the region. It had gates that led to routes 5, 4, 13, 14, and 16—acting like a crossroads of sorts. Pretty straightforward compared to the enormous backtracking Riven had to do in a desert, go to the mountains, circle back around to Mauville, head back up to Fortree, then cross an entire sea. Good god. No wonder people complained about Hoenn.

The tour took a good two hours, and Riven had intently listened to Kai mention various little details about Kalos and the outlook its people had here. Of course, he mentioned that beauty and appearance were very important, but he also answered Riven's question about the war of swords. Interesting topic. Kalos had only recently become a peaceful region, and in the past suffered from many bloody wars and revolutions, which ultimately led to the decline of kingship, but failed to eradicate the presence of the nobility, who fought for status in a place called the Battle Chateau. Or something.

Stopping in a café called Café Kizuna, Kai ordered two drinks for them both. When Riven received his coffee, he took as much sugar and cream as possible and dunked it inside.

"Sweet tooth, eh?" Kai asked, watching the young man dump sugar cube after sugar cube.

"Maybe," Riven said, holding back some embarrassment. Overdid the sugar just a little bit. "I ate really bland food for a long time, so when I got here, I went nuts with sweet things. It's nice having something to look forward to in food."

"You'll like the restaurants then, they serve delicious food," Kai said. "Although you may want to invest in some pokemon, since the waiters and chefs often battle their clients. Strong trainers make lots of money there, while also eating great meals."

Riven peered around the café with a quick glance, then stared down at his sugar spiked coffee. "Going to be a bit hard catching pokemon without pokemon. Swords aren't typically used for leaving things alive."

"But it isn't impossible," Kai assured. "I have plenty of unused pokeballs laying around. Feel free to take them if you like. Kalos has many strong pokemon to choose from, and if you use them in Hoenn, you'll definitely turn heads."

"I don't want to turn heads though. And speaking of Kalosian pokemon, what was it you said Isole wanted me to check out?" Riven asked.

"Ah, yes. She said there are a group of rangers who are asking for help from strong trainers to assist them in umm… quelling an aggressive pokemon." Kai's voice went low, so other nosy café-goers couldn't eavesdrop. "I heard it's killed five people, mostly non trainers, with two being starter trainers."

Riven's eyes widened."Young?"

"Eleven. Brother and sister," Kai said sadly.

Riven winced.

"Unfortunate, that routes are not always the safest they can be. That's why the rangers exist."

"Why haven't they stopped it yet, then?"

"It fled into the woods, and they've been tracking it, but any attempts to trap it or get rid of it have been unsuccessful. It hospitalized two rangers and nearly killed more than several of their pokemon."

"And Isole wants me to help them?" Riven chuckled darkly. "So she is trying to kill me, just not directly. Death by mauling. Fantastic."

"It must be done," Kai said. "Calling a mercenary group is usually a last resort for the rangers, and at that point, the situation has gotten out of hand. They aren't looking to capture it. They-"

"Want it put down for good," Riven finished, sparing a quick look at his case.

"Yes."

"Makes sense. When do they want me to go?"

"They've found its lair and, they're taking a squad of rangers to defeat it in approximately two days time. You'll want to head out of the gate leading to route 4, then head down to Santalune City. Speak to Viola, she's the gym leader there. She should direct you to the rangers in Santalune Forest, I think. Oh, that reminds me, I have to buy you a longcoat after this."

"A longcoat?" Riven repeated.

"And a mask," Kai added.

"Why?"

"Mystery factor. It's all about the impression here. Isole says it's important that you remain a mystery, for reasons I will not wonder nor inquire about. Also, longcoats make for very cool and stylish clothing just about anywhere."He paused. "Viola's a nice girl too, so I don't think she'd turn you in, even if she recognized you, but it is better to be safe. Might I add she's very beautiful too?" Kai winked. "She has dazzling green eyes."

"And I have a stunning ability to woo women, with my infallible enthusiasm" Riven muttered dryly. "Sword, longcoat, and mask is surely going to get me a date, Kai. I'm going to the restroom, I need to take a piss."

"…Right." Kai's smile dropped. He focused his eyesight on Riven as he asked where the bathroom was, the hairs on the back of his neck rising as the black ki circled around the young man, twisting and writhing like shadowed flame.

Negativity and evil... Shadow of blood and pain...

Sorry for the delay, was binge watching shows I had to catch up on. Pardon if this is a slow chapter, but I can't pull things out of my ass, now can I? I'm not Tite Kubo.

Hue. Hue.