Tearing the Heavens

by Cepel

A young soldier from a once great family is thrust into the future and ends up in an unfamiliar and bizarre world, where his presence can cause complications both ancient and modern. He inadvertently becomes a trainer through mere misunderstanding and sets off in a journey to discover his own self and where he stands in a world that isn't his own.

73. Bonds of Passion, Bonds of Steel

Riven felt happy. More alive in a way. Like he'd found something again. It was puzzling, to be honest. But nice.

The warmth of Gale's hand somehow seemed to radiate heat like a sun, though he guessed it was a result of how he was feeling.

There was also a sort of peace to it, a gentle calm like a cool breeze in the summer. Given what Gale's name was, that seemed to be an ironic way of describing it, but… that's what it reminded him of.

A few years back he'd never imagined he'd feel like this. And now here he was, going on a date with a girl. A girl who'd put up with his abrasiveness and all for years, still able to smile and laugh as he showed her around some of the street vendors along Nimbasa's main entertainment district. To think that she'd been involved in a night raid with casualties and all the horrors that came with it… Gale was stronger than he was by a longshot. She hardly seemed fazed. The first time he experienced it he was in a tent hearing the screams for days until his combat teacher dragged him out and beat sense into him.

His lips moved without realizing it.

"Hey, what are you smiling about into space like that?" Gale asked, taking a bite out of some Servine shaped pastries. "Looked like you were in a daze or something. Are you alright?"

"Huh? No, I'm fine. It's just- It's your birthday tomorrow, you got involved in a shootout, and you're here stuffing your face with Servine doughnuts like a starving Pachirisu. Not sure if it's just mental fortitude or you're some kind of sociopath. Those are bad for you, by the way."

She made a face and shoved several of them in her mouth until her cheeks bulged. Upon finishing chewing, she breathed, "the operative diet sucks! It's all vegetables, tasteless meat and Magikarp. It's even worse than a trainer's diet!"

"You mean the diet where you don't eat food most of the time? Air isn't very nutritious, or filling…"

Gale couldn't quite protest that. Being starved and dirty was unfortunately a trainer's common. Guess she couldn't complain. Even if the food was tasteless and dry most of the time. Jerky was still awful, though.

"Also, I'm not a sociopath. I just hide it well, see?" She gave him a goofy, toothy smile. It made him laugh. Her smile waned, lips settling into a thin line. "I'm still thinking about it, honestly. But I don't want to, not now. I just want to get distracted for a bit so, let's go!"

She grabbed him by the hand and tugged.

Turning a corner down Harison street, they came into view of the Ferris Wheel and the horde of people and pokemon that surrounded the place. Street vendors selling ridiculously fried foods, ice cream and other treats and goodies littered the Ferris Wheel's surrounding area, giving the air an enticing smell as smoke rose into the air in the cold.

Large numbers of people didn't put off tourists much, but Riven couldn't lie that he was feeling a little uncomfortable. The crowd apparently made Gale uneasy too, a side effect of her training, probably, and pulled him toward the manmade canal that surrounded the district. Boardwalks connected the outer parts of the city to the main entertainment district, serving as a beautiful touch to incentivize tourists to come to the center of the city and spend money. And spend it they did.

The canal was no pier or river, but water pokemon used it to soak up while their trainers watched them, interacting with the local pokemon that made their homes in the canal.

A small breeze kicked up as they leaned over a railing, causing Gale to shiver, to which she responded by gluing herself closer to Riven. He didn't mind it at all, but it was strange that she was cold when it was fairly tame temperature wise.

Nimbasa wasn't cold like the rest of Unova was, being in close proximity to the desert and still further south than where most of the snows were, although the city did experience snows regularly. Just not enough to bury cars or anything.

Gale was only wearing a dress, though. Although, being very, very fair… some other women weren't wearing as much—if at all from the woman walking down the street with a tank top and very short shorts was any indication. Still, they weren't predisposed to environmental hazards and practically grew up in the region, so that was hardly surprising. Gale's typing, on the other hand, made her susceptible to cold, which made Riven wonder how she'd fare if she ever took a trip to Icirrus City.

Probably not well.

Maybe this would be a good time to give her his jacket. Sad, mostly because he didn't bring one. Blast.

When in doubt, improvise.

He positioned himself behind her, looming over her like a human jacket instead.

"I can have Aine hug you if I'm not warm enough," he offered as she peered up at him, grey eyes curious. She smiled excitedly, settling in closer like a Weedle.

"No, I think this is good. Blazikens attract a lot of attention here in Unova. Just ask Vizi, it never ends…" Gale reached up with an arm to touch the top of his head, smiling widely. "It's a good thing you're tall. You can block the wind for me too!"

"That was the idea, but can't you do that already?" He pointed out, making a vague gesture and a howling whistle with his mouth. "Wind chill is worse than ambient cold. Well, sometimes."

"Well, uh, yeah I can block the wind… but it's the thought that counts, right? Feels safer too, though not as warm as it could be."

That suggestive waggle of the eyebrows was a fair hint.

"Next time, bring a sweater too." He sucked his teeth in mock annoyance and wrapped his arms around her, which weren't exactly that warm either, but the heat transferred quickly. Gale beamed, blatantly giddy about it.

"See, I'm warmer already! I hate the cold. It seems like it goes right through me, and Unova is stupidly cold. Why can't I have been like Vizi? She doesn't get bothered by it at all, and she's part flying too." A finger rested on her lip as she thought, "Hmmm… Can people be dual types?"

That… actually was a good point. So far all the Origins he'd known about were singular types, and he had heard of mixed children when female Remnant prisoners were taken by the Rosans, and other cases farther back, when his father and the Altean army weren't ashes yet. Whether mixed just meant mixed physical characteristics and appearances or typings and abilities, he wasn't exactly sure. Most mixed children were killed off once discovered or abandoned and left to die on the street to avoid the shame. In some places having the child of an Altean was tantamount to a capital offense.

Rosan laws were incredibly draconian, from what the other Remnants told him. Then again they might have been more than a little biased with the mutual hatred since they also said that Rosans burned people on the spot and held human sacrifices daily. They also committed acts of war that in modern times would be considered war crimes. So there might have been some truth to it.

"No clue," Riven said instead, mulling that over. It only seemed to make his head hurt, and trying to find the answer to that was probably impossible regardless.

"Guess we'll find out some day. Or not." Gale sighed in disappointment, thinking of warm feathers and oddly enough, breathing fire. "You know, Black City gets colder than it does here—you're lucky Nimbasa has nicer weather. And good pastries, too. Right, gym leader?"

"Shhh, they might hear you." Riven hushed, snatching them away from her while she was distracted and popped one into his mouth. "Hmmm, you're right though, they are good."

"I thought you said they were bad for you?"

"When have I ever followed my own advice? Besides, I got you here, didn't I?"

"Oh, shut up," she snorted. "It's not like you smooth talked me into it because of your dashingly nonexistent charm. And give those back, I didn't buy them for you, I bought them for me." He didn't. "Not going to hand them over, huh? Okay. You know, guys usually pay for things on dates."

She thrust her hand out but Riven put it down like a Skitty pawing at a string.

"Guys usually pay for things on dates because they ask the girl out. Oh, don't give me that look. Just because I haven't dated anyone doesn't mean I can't see. Lumiose is the love destination of the world—French is romantic, apparently. And I distinctly remember you asked me on a date, not the other way around. Therefore your point is moot."

Gale scoffed, practically waiting to wipe that smug grin off his face. Think you won, do you? We'll see. "Oh? Well… You gave me the idea on the phone, remember? So technically you did. I know you just love abusing technicalities, so riddle me this." She pointed a finger. "By cause and effect, you asking me to get an assigned psychic to teleport me here, thereby breaking the law, just to come see you which led to me gathering up my insecurities and asking you out because if not we'd dance in a huge circle of sexual tension that drove me absolutely crazy until this point." Gale drew a deep breath. "Which means that you're the one that asked first. Indirectly. Therefore, your point is moot."

In another universe, Riven might have tried to understand what she just said. He gave her back the pastries instead. He immediately regretted it as she plastered a despicable grin of triumph on her face that he oh so desperately wanted to wipe off.

"This doesn't mean you win," Riven added stubbornly, turning to the water to avoid her Haunter-like smile, which seemed to grow even wider the more she tried to purposely get into his line of sight. She giggled, setting against him to watch the gentle current of the canal after she managed to elicit a smirk from that normally unhappy face.

A few minutes passed in relative peace when a Magikarp jumped out of the water, flailing and splashing in a desperate, frenzied bid to get away from a passing trainer's Sharpedo. The shark's fin protruded from the water ominously, but rather than kill it, the Sharpedo swam in circles just to mess with the poor fish. By the time the Magikarp had realized the Sharpedo was intentionally screwing with it, it'd already flailed itself to exhaustion.

It's a good thing Gyarados weren't in the canal. UFOs took care of that real quick whenever a Magikarp somehow achieved the feat(which was about once since the canal had been built, and only once).

"Grimsley's an Origin, you know," Riven commented rather plainly, as if talking about the weather—right in the middle of Gale's laughter.

"And here we go…" she muttered sourly as her own amusement withered and died in a fire, along with her calm and possibly her patience. Yeah… definitely on purpose. "How? What happened this time?"

Riven shrugged.

"How? How else? Curiosity, obviously. Apparently what the smugglers were smuggling weren't pokemon or pokeballs… or anything sensible to most people. Though I guess jewels would make sense… To the normal eye or authorities they'd look like ordinary illegal contraband and could probably pass through customs undetected. But we recognized them instantly… except for our Elite Four tag along. 'Ooooooh, shiny!' Do trainers have self control? Like, even a shred of it?"

Funny, coming from me.

That just made him grimace as Gale groaned rather loudly. Grimsley was like a damn Murkrow. Couldn't keep his grubby hands off it once that glint went off in his eyes. Then it was over.

"I know, right… Well, they were synthetic Origin spheres. At least forty of them. A blue one like the one I found in Dewford was sitting in the center—only charged one out of them all. Grimsley went and tapped it. Thought it was a sapphire maybe. Guess what happened."

Riven held his hands out and made a whoosh with his mouth, signaling a tidal wave with his arms. "Soaked head to toe and got practically washed out of the building. Blasphemy."

"Did he drown?" Gale asked with a wince, knowing how her transformation had been.

"Yeah, flailed like our Magikarp friend down there in some sort of weird orb of water. Well, from what I could see while I was being dragged down by the damn flood anyway. Not sure what's worse… Drowning, getting burned alive, or getting torn apart by winds?"

He started counting with his fingers as he thought, flinching increasingly with each. Gale frowned.

"Mine was painful—to say the least," Gale said, shivering. She remembered the cuts that stung like white hot flames, tearing through flesh, sinews, and bone as winds reshaped her body, one blast of razor-like air at a time. "I don't think getting burned alive would be any better. Burns are some of the most painful wounds you can get. Can't imagine what Will felt."

"Yeah," Riven nodded dismally.

Turning into an Origin the manmade way was rough. You had to die. Literally. A body reborn anew, destroyed and reformed by the very element you became. In comparison, being born like this wasn't so bad—which was mostly painless and no horrible, painful death via element gone wrong. Of course the only downside was that if you didn't know you had abilities before, you'd be a regular person with slightly above average strength and reflexes until you stumbled upon it by accident. Like flipping a switch and discovering that all of a sudden you were superhuman this whole time but someone tied weights to your legs.

The manmade way was like getting a permanent adrenaline shot into your system that never went out, but without the temporary and convenient ignorance to pain. They picked up on their abilities lightning quick, as Gale and Will had demonstrated. Meanwhile, he sort of had to… discover it, play with it like a child.

Though there was an element of ease being a natural born, once the ball got rolling it went down quickly, and it was likely that naturals were more in tune with their element given the time frame they were Origins, as opposed to recently converted ones. Less chance of killing themselves to be sure. Intuitively they were more precise and in control of themselves and their reflexes. Learning to get used to the speed and movement that quick attack provided could disorient someone who needed to develop the reflexes that it required to use effectively.

The only exception to that was his unfortunate ass, but he was essentially sabotaged from the start and held him back on his pokemon powers homework. The first time he'd tried to practice quick attack to boost his speed?

Said hello to a wall with his face. Reflexes were important when going much faster than the body was used to going, especially when stopping wasn't easy.

Got better quickly though. Pain was a good teacher, and years of fighting experience against defter opponents helped tremendously. For normal people who at best have had maybe one or two blood pumping fights their entire life? Much harder. Had Gale learned how to use quick attack? He knew Will did and also knew that the amount of accidents that stupid boy must have had were too many to count. The first time he tried practicing rock tomb, he'd trashed his bike. Knowing that kid's track record, it wasn't out of the question he made a few dents in street posts or destroyed a few stores.

He wondered how it'd feel getting turned into a dark Origin. Would it cause insanity? Or something else? Decay maybe? Or steel? How would that even work? Bone turning into metal had to be painful. And what about grass? Roots growing outward from the bones? Ripping through flesh and bone?

Riven shuddered the thought away. Not like there was any real need to know. Roots just shouldn't grow out of there and leaving it to the imagination would be a grave mistake. It's not like the spheres could do anything for him anyway apart from giving him visions and recordings of the past.

"Wait," Gale said, holding up her hands. She ignored whatever it was that made Riven's face scrunch up. "If Grimsley's an Origin… and he's an Elite Four… Oh… shit."

"Accurate assessment," Riven mused. "Alder is definitely going to find out…Not the worst thing ever, though—it's the fact that they had so many of the things that is the more pressing issue. The Champion will probably throw a fit and chug a bottle of hard liquor for a day or two while in utter disbelief, so that gives us some time," Riven concluded with some rough estimations. He shrugged tiredly, "Alder's the least of my worries. Singularity's learned to produce them, Gale. If that isn't sending chills down your spine then I don't know what will. We don't know what their goals are and I don't have to tell you how strong an army of Origins would be, or even a group of thugs with an Origin's abilities. A Sayre with that kind of power? Or a megalomaniac like Cypher."

They both shivered at the thought. Bloody wouldn't do it justice. Massacre would be more fitting.

"They wouldn't even need guns. I mean, shit, birds can't even touch you in the sky, Gale. Bullets already bounced off that steel girl, and Will… he could destroy buildings easily if he wanted to. He's a walking wildfire and high explosive. I beat a guy twice my size to a pulp and healed several stab wounds overnight when I went Nightmare mode on accident in Petalburg. And that was just the increased physical strength. More are coming out of the woodworks, and us, all of us, are dangerous beyond belief. For some reason, the way we use our abilities is different from how pokemon use them. I can't really explain it but it seems ours are more refined, in some way. Or maybe we're more creative? I don't know."

She nodded slowly, kicking up a small stream of air that brushed past her fingers and curled around Riven's head, ruffling stray strands of hair. "If Alder finds out… and he questions Yates, he'll have no choice but to spill the beans. He's going to find out about us. About you. I've never met him before, so I can't tell you if he'd approve, or what he's like. Didn't seem happy about what Elesa did from what I heard some operatives saying, I can tell you that."

Riven snorted, "hah, if Alder wants to come and-"

"Listen to him," Gale interrupted quickly, face blank. He gave her a baleful glare but she soldiered on, undaunted by the glare.

"The ops are getting to you," he said, voice holding back scorn.

"Listen. To. Him," she repeated sternly. "Before you go on and try and introduce his face to your coffee table, think about the position you're in. You're a gym leader, Riven!" She lowered her voice as heads turned, dropping into whispers. She waved with a forced smile before turning her attention back to him. "I've heard things about your gym already, Riv. They weren't exactly… well, they were exactly what I expected…But they weren't good is what I'm trying to say."

He rolled his eyes, "not you too, as if Allen won't shut up about it."

She stabbed a finger into his chest, glaring with hard eyes.

"Allen tries, give him some credit because you can be an ass and he's way too much of a nice guy to be a UFO-almost like a mother Combusken actually… Anyway, look, I know you. And I know how rock headed you can be. As stubborn as a Geodude nearly always. You don't give up, you have a serious problem with spiting people because you can, and you hardly quit no matter how strong the tide. That made you an excellent mercenary."

Riven almost smiled before Gale promptly added, "but it also makes you a terrible gym leader."

He blinked.

"I-what?"

"I've seen how you push your pokemon—and it works well with them because they're used to your crazy. Trainers aren't. And you're supposed to be teaching them how to be better people, since their parents obviously can't. But if you beat them down into the ground without a chance to fight back, how will they learn? They're kids. If you can't dial back that attitude you have, you might make things worse instead of improving them. I don't think Elesa would like that. She trusted you. Trusts you."

Riven felt inclined to disagree, but that only meant he was about to do exactly what Gale was talking about. He growled lowly to himself and swallowed his pride.

"Just listen to what he has to say, Riv. He might give some good advice. If you're not going to listen to me- and that's totally fine since I'm not a gym leader- at least give him a chance. Maybe then trainers will start looking forward to Nimbasa instead of trying to go around it."

His eyes went wide. "They do that?"

"They're starting to since you took up Elesa's mantle." He looked bewildered. She just shook her head. "Just hear him out. Maybe he can give you some sagely advice… or just a scolding, I'm not too sure. Trainers shouldn't avoid gyms. Please?"

Grey eyes met uncertain blue and brown, pleading silently. Riven gave in a few moments later, sighing a yes in response. She gave him a small smile, leaning up to give him a light kiss on the lips. He returned it, a frown returning on his face.

"What's wrong?" Gale asked, noting the somber expression. "Alder's not that scary. Or was it the kiss?"

"No, definitely not that-it's something I just remembered that's equally daunting. Did you hear that they're going to lift the regional lockdown? And they're bringing in dignitaries again. From every region, not just Sinnoh—and they're going to assign them to different cities across Unova, primarily in gym cities."

Gale's worry turned to dread. UFOs were about to get a lot more stressed."That can't be a good idea."

Aside from being easy targets, there was no telling what a bunch of foreigners coming in would do to the general population. As if they didn't already dislike foreigners in the first place—so much in fact, that many landlords and employers outright refused to give immigrants a chance to rent a place or find employment. That wasn't counting the blatant xenophobia they often faced just walking out into the street. Gale saw the looks Will got from people. The UFO uniform certainly kept their lips tight, however.

"Exactly," Riven agreed, rubbing his forehead, "but who I'm getting sent is causing me a minor breakdown. Yates gave me a visit before the raid and briefed me on it. The universe definitely hates me."

"Who's getting sent to Nimbasa?"

Just thinking about the names made him want to peel his face off and replace it with another, any other face. Steven's would be nice, everyone liked him and his nice suits. Taking a deep breath, he answered, "Morty of Ecruteak, Sela Schaffer of Snowpoint, Flannery of Lavaridge, and Viola of Santalune. Fuck me."

Gale's mouth formed an O as she tried to assess the situation in her mind and inwardly flinched.

"Viola? That gym leader you worked with in Kalos? Doesn't she recognize you? The other you, the scary, dual sword wielding authority spitting you." She clapped her hands together. "She's going to freak when she sees you're a gym leader. And if they saw that video in other regions already... rest in pieces, Rivy."

Riven dragged a palm down his face as he nodded. "I'm going to have to get to her as soon as she arrives and explain to her what's happening—in private. Drag her to a coffee shop and quietly yell at her or something. Otherwise it can go very badly. She's not a loudmouth, at least, but you never know with people. Her sister is a damn reporter. I didn't talk to her that much, given my occupation then. Surprises can let things slip."

He noticed Gale's frown quickly turning around and raised an eyebrow.

"But Flannery's coming here," Gale muttered to herself, excitement spreading. "She's coming here! Riven, Flannery's coming! Yeeeees!"

She shook him and nearly did a dance in place, barely able to contain her excitement.

"Yeah, she is. Excited?"

"Of course! There's so much we can talk about! And she'll want to see how Vizi is doing. I have to get transferred to Nimbasa! Why doesn't Black City have a gym, and would it kill them to make the city a bit brighter?"

Riven watched her groan and lament, slowly smiling as she got more and more worked up about it. He'd forgotten that over those three years, the gym leader had become one of Gale's best friends and one of the primary reasons why Gale hadn't given up, and why she'd decided to pursue the trainer's path. The only problem with that was he had a lot of explaining to do, and Flannery would probably chew him out for what he did to Gale. Understandably so. Disappearing for three years and making a girl and his own team wait that long was a giant dick move. He wondered if Flannery was still fond of midriffs with Unova's cold weather, even in the warmer climate of Nimbasa.

"I don't think Flannery would recognize me," Riven said in the middle of one of Gale's groans, probably wishing that a little too strongly to convince himself it was true. "Hopefully… If you get involved, she'll probably slap me until she can't anymore. I'd let her do it too, for making you wait so long, Gale. She might be pissed that you became a UFO because of me too. Maybe you probably shouldn't tell her that…? Just a, uh, slight suggestion."

He laughed nervously as Gale dropped the melodrama and smirked. "I'll make sure she scolds you thoroughly then. One hundred lashes!"

Riven hoped she was joking, though Flannery would probably find out sooner or later and rip him a new sphincter. He scratched his chin, sighing deeply.

"Hope it isn't a mistake. Them coming here. As soon as the lockdown lifts I'm going to call Steven, see what he found about the experiment files we found. The other regions probably think Unova is in full meltdown at this point." Riven waved a hand. "I'm assuming anyway since they're sending two champions over. Lance and the Sinnohan Champion are coming, some Zachary kid. A little too young if you ask me, and hot headed from last visit's results. I don't think any of Sinnoh's new gym leaders are going to be any better."

Gale blinked. "Now that you mention it, I haven't heard too much of Sela Schaffer. How do you think she'll be like? I know how Flannery is, and I've heard Morty is a pretty understanding guy, and you seem to know Viola. Did you two do anything in Kalos?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, digging into his side with an elbow. Riven scowled and removed her elbow from his ribs. "No, though she does have a tendency not to wear bras. And really likes tank tops. Made it hard to focus sometimes when it got cold, if you catch my meaning."

"Oh, so you like tank tops and no bra, huh?" Gale punched him as he chuckled jokingly, holding his hands out in surrender.

"Heh. Regardless, I hope Sela's not annoying, or we could have issues. That's the last thing I want, all things considered. Especially because retaliation for the raid hasn't begun yet. I'm still afraid for my gym trainers. Don't need reckless behavior screwing things up. I've heard those Sinnoh leaders are quick to draw pokeballs. Don't blame them but one stupid mistake can end up becoming a landslide. Things right now are… delicate."

The poachers were still licking their wounds, but soon enough they'd gather their strength and start hitting the authorities back, going after gym leaders and more trainers in an effort to send a message and rebuild. One didn't just mess with a structured and highly organized crime syndicate and expect no response. To them, it meant war.

One thing was to do it as one man, a nobody who no one knew or expected. Like that, you were the boogeyman, the ghost, the killer. No one to come after, no one to hurt. As a gym leader? They knew where you lived, where you worked, and more importantly, what people to hurt to get to you—people who were your responsibility to protect, or people you loved. And they'd save you last to make sure you suffered beforehand.

Luckily, his gym trainers already had UFO escorts following them. That didn't make him feel any safer, but it was a start. One thing battles and wars taught a person was that even the most disciplined and well-trained of soldiers could be ambushed. Operatives, Remnants, Elite Four, even champions. The best anyone could hope for was to be as prepared as possible.

Shaking his head, Riven flicked a lock of Gale's hair, breaking her out of her pensive frown. She looked up at him, blinking. "Sorry, I got caught up talking about things again. I know you want to keep your mind off of it all for a moment and there I go bringing it back up."

"No, it's okay. Lately all I've been thinking about is more of the same, I guess when you get involved in these things, everything else seems so… small. It's easy to obsess over. Some days I just want to head into the simulation room and see what crazy wind tricks I can come up with."

She seemed to get an idea as a sly grin slid onto her face.

"Speaking of which, know what would take my mind off of it?"

Riven had a feeling there was going to be more to what she was about to say than he realized. And he wouldn't like it. "…What?"

"It's a pleasant surprise," she replied with a wicked grin, to which Riven felt like immediately cutting tail and running as far as he could. The gym leader shook his head furiously, and actually tried to run, but she held onto him like glue, voice growing disgustingly sweet. Like a poisoned pot of honey he really wanted no part of. "I got an idea I'm trying to work on, and I need a test sub- I mean volunteer."

"I strangely don't feel like a volunteer here." He took a breath and avoided flinching when Gale refused to drop the look of mad scientist. "You know, I really don't want to ask but what exactly is your idea?"

A finger pointed into the cloud filled sky and Riven's face went blue, like he'd just eaten raw Elektross seasoned with a pitcher of salt.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun! This isn't your first flight anymore. I'll have Emile save you if anything happens. The patrols on the routes only go up a few thousand feet and without a parachute they won't notice anything."

The words "without a parachute" made Riven's knees weak. Her wicked grin didn't help that feeling, either. That's it, this girl was insane.

Why were women around him blithering lunatics? He almost started to make more sense than them.

His intestines agreed with him as he was hurling toward the earth in a spiral when Emile decided he'd do a barrel roll to get Riven off rather than let him jump. The wind blocked out the long string of curse words that had been released from Riven's mouth, along with his frantic yelling as the sky was at his feet and the wide expanse of land the roof. That was rapidly getting closer. After managing to stop spiraling midair, he fumbled for goggles to stop the air from blowdrying his eyes off.

When he accepted his fate, prayed to any god real or imagined, and looked around, he noticed Gale floating pleasantly alongside him, laughing like she was having an absolute ball, dress and all. The rushing wind couldn't touch her. It was like she was swimming in the air, reveling in it almost—twisting and turning in space as she accelerated and decelerated with movements that were nigh impossible to replicate himself.

The poor guy was mortified, flailing his arms to get her attention. Emile dived alongside them, completely and utterly smug. Riven flipped him the finger. It didn't do anything to ease the terror.

Nearing the ground, Gale lifted a hand and waves of air pushed back at his body, counteracting the force of gravity with hundreds of seemingly gentle but strong pushes, consolidating to uphold him in the air and slow his descent. What would be a minute of falling slowed to five as he hit the floor no harder than he would have with a parachute. Once fear passed, he checked to see if he was still alive and sighed in relief when all of him was in one place.

Checking one's surroundings when praising life was probably a good idea as a general rule of thumb. Riven had ignored it once, and had a dragon nearly incinerate him. He did so again.

"Watch out!" Gale yelled as she fell from the sky and crashed into him, sending both of them sprawling to the ground with a loud thud. Riven groaned from underneath her as he felt the air get ripped from his lungs as a result of the impact, feeling like a bag of sand had hit him—no, not bag of sand, more like a bag of lead.

Gale struggled to right herself, sweating profusely from focusing so hard. Slowing Riven down and trying to decrease her own speed dramatically like that was hard. Hard in a way that required her to do a thousand things at once to get it right. She had to account for them all—wind speeds, how much wind she had to control as well as how much air to displace, while moving more and more of it at a faster pace to account for gravitational acceleration. At the height they fell at, she had to work harder to move larger volumes of air to counteract gravity and grind her target and her to a floating pace rather than a straight drop. It was easy at first, but closer to the ground it was like pulling teeth.

One mistake she'd made, and it'd have resulted in broken legs had she not crashed into Riven. Lucky for her, not so much for him. Of course she wouldn't tell him that, as if he wasn't terrified of her orbital drop sessions in the first place. He'd probably have some nasty bruises afterwards, but he healed quickly so it was okay, he'd been through worse and lived. That was a horrible thing to say, even if there was a degree of truth to it. The point was that she'd done it. Not perfect by any means, but it was a start.

She rejoiced tiredly, banging on Riven's chest excitedly. He grunted breathlessly and moved her hand away from his aching ribcage. "I did it!" She gave him a sweaty hug, to which he groaned once more, out of pain and in discomfort from having a sweaty human rub sweat on him.

"Uh- did what? Apart… from scare… the piss out of me again? And possibly bruise my... ribs?"

"Drop zone landing!"

"What?"

"Just a little name I gave it. I figured what if operatives could deploy from really high up into places to catch the enemy by complete surprise? Like drop pods, you know? Studies show people hardly ever look up, and it's hard to react to something that just fell from the sky at terminal velocity. But without parachutes or pokemon to make it obvious, you know? Birds can't really push against the speed of a fall fast enough or they'll break their bodies trying. Emile told me it's stupid to even try, so I thought that maybe I could make it work since I don't have wings and move air around with my brain or something, I don't know. So far two people is my limit, with the second person falling just a little harder, hehe."

"Great… How can a hundred fifty pound girl hit like a boulder?" Riven grumbled. Though he was reasonably impressed after the pain faded slightly. Ribs still hurt, though. "That, on the other hand… could be surprisingly useful, actually. Wind being mostly invisible helps too. But… if you don't mind, go sweat on a log or something. You're sweating like you just ran around a canyon three times and it's getting on me-no, don't rub it on me. Stop."

"But you're like a pillow. An uncomfortable, hard and bony pillow."

She was starting to dose off on him.

"Hey, don't fall asleep now. Stop. Sweating. On. Me. OFF."

Once he got her off and let her recover her strength in the grass, he examined the route she chose—the western route of Nimbasa, route 5. Mostly a busy road chock full of performers and passing trainers seeking to get into the city. Off the main roads it was like any other route, and lacked the desert sand of the southern route, or the more settled eastern route. He pointed towards the Driftveil Drawbridge in the distance.

"Think there's a river somewhere in the route that converges with the ocean, so you can go there to wash up. Should be in an area hidden away from the main route so you won't have to bathe in front of fifty people. There's quite a bit of performers, but I don't think you want to give onlookers that kind of show, though I'm sure most of the men wouldn't mind."

Gale gave him a pointed glance before she tossed a pokeball into the air, releasing Vizi in a burst of light. She made a light screech as she stretched her wings, stopping to shoot an ember at Riven, who flicked it away. Gale caressed Vizi's beak. "Hey, girl. Think you can spot a nearby stream for me? One that's secluded please. I'm sweaty from having to save dumb-dumb here and need to clean myself off. I'll get you some puffs later, okay? Spicy like you like them."

Vizi peered at Riven with a shitty bird grin and nodded in Gale's direction. Making fun of the idiot and getting treats was a fair trade. Riven was surprised Gale didn't so much as flinch from having Vizi's talons dig into her arm.

The gym leader nudged her. "'Saved' me, huh? You launched me in the first place because your idea of a romantic date is nuts."

"I'm on a date with you, of all people. If I said we should watch a movie or eat at a restaurant you'd be disappointed and give that little look you give. See, that one."

She pointed at the long frown on his face and laughed.

"I'd have taken a movie over a drop from the fucking sky ten thousand feet up."

"Sure you would."

Gale giggled as Vizi returned with a cry, gesturing with her beak in the direction of the stream. When they arrived, they both combed the area to see if anyone was around save for a few odd pokemon here and there who stayed safely behind the foliage. Wild pokemon were considerably less bold further into the wild, and generally left trainers alone entirely. Streams and rivers were often a good place to go pokemon hunting, since everything needed to drink water once in a while and only the bravest or foolish of pokemon dared be in a trainer's presence. The same couldn't be said for fellow trainers. One look from across the river was enough to warrant a showdown, no matter how strong.

No trainers around at least.

"Do your thing," Riven said, waving a finger and turning on a heel to watch his section of the forest. Vizi flew to the opposite end of the riverbank, keeping watch while she eyed a group of Ducklett further down the river. He stood in place, counting two minutes in his head. That had been their standard time for entering a stream or river to bathe, mostly so no accidents would happen and the other person wouldn't be exposed.

Only, Gale wasn't there when he turned back around. Vizi was, though. The Fletchinder was sitting unnaturally smug in a tree branch, staring directly at him, and Gale wasn't in the water. The sight was odd, mainly because Gale's pokemon obsessed over her so protectively it was hard to tell who was protecting who. He couldn't hear anything from the sounds of the river and other pokemon in the area, so he'd assumed Gale would be there when he turned around. Didn't explain why the stupid firebird was just sitting there, like everything was fine with her trainer missing.

He was about to bring out Haona when arms wrapped around his waist, feeling a body press up against his back. He seized up, relaxing as he recognized the hands and fingers, and all their scars and calluses. A hug, not a hold. Gentle, caring.

Maybe she's playing around again.

Then he saw the dress and underwear near the riverbank and he was suddenly feeling very uncomfortable with turning around. The soft pressure on his upper back made the hairs on the back of his neck stand sharper than a Sandslash's spines. He could feel her breathe, and with every rise and fall, the softness became more and more pleasant on his body.

Realization knocked, spurring some rather inappropriate thoughts as he gave the bra on the ground a quick glance and swallowed. Those are her... On my back. Oh my god. They're like Yanine's. Shit, did I really just compare her to Yanine? And I'm babbling. What am I supposed to do? Be respectful?

She shuffled slightly, and he could feel the softness shift with the movement.

"Gale…" he called out, trying to stay calm and reasonable. His lower parts definitely weren't in agreement with his brain. "Um, you're… kind of-"

Her embrace tightened slightly. Her hands shook, evidently cold from being exposed to the cold air and lightly wet from the water.

"Naked?" She finished, grinning into his back. "Yeah, and I'm freezing. I should have thought this out better. Think I'm doing this for warmth now. Wow, I suck. No, Amy's advice sucks."

"Is that what she told you to try and be… sensual? That's…" Riven began to laugh. She'd failed fairly miserably, but it was endearing, and he'd be lying if he said it wouldn't have worked. He desperately wanted to turn around and- No. That was the other him getting ideas, which were getting progressively stronger the more he focused on the fact that Gale's bare chest was pressed up on his back. With clenched teeth, logic won out. He needed to be calm.

"Want me to close my eyes? Clearly this approach needs work."

Fingers twitched as Gale thought it over for a moment. An idea popped into her mind, hoping this could salvage the situation. She tiptoed to reach his height, whispering into his left ear with the most sultry voice she could, "then let me try a new one."

She came back out from behind him and kissed him fiercely, pulling away to stand in front of him, a look of unabashed lust covering her features. He wanted to avert his gaze, but he couldn't. The contours and shape of her frame mesmerized him as the image burned into his brain, all woman and no longer the girl he'd known when they first met. Everything about her seemed perfect under the grey Unovan skies, with her pale skin contrasting against the backdrop of trees and brush.

The animalistic urge that simmered beneath surged forth, unrelenting and intoxicating as he wanted nothing more than to lay her on the grass and make her his.

Mine. She's mine, something growled within.

But that was just a silly notion brought upon by masculinity and a false sense of worth. For all intents and purposes, he was hers. She'd planned this from the very beginning no doubt, not that it bothered him. From what his eyes were seeing and how his lower regions were feeling, this was more like a gift from a benevolent god than a harmful ploy. Yanine had been much older than him and he'd been too young back then, and relationships between subordinates and commanding officers were incredibly looked down upon. Not like she had much choice in the scraps of an army anyway, he probably had won her attention by default.

If she'd gotten pregnant, she wouldn't have lasted. Not at their pace being chased around the world by an army of fire breathing soldiers. The child wouldn't either, given those conditions. He wasn't ready, and it was never practical from the start. But here? Here he had no excuse except for his own fears and hesitance.

If he screwed this up, he might cause Gale more harm than he could make up for. She'd given him another chance, he didn't want to throw it away. This was her confession, done through actions rather than words, and he was inclined to accept wholeheartedly.

Her hands reached for the hem of his shirt, lifting it to try and pull it over his head. Ingrained behavior came rushing back, blocking out the lust momentarily. He held her hands back for a moment, firmly, meeting her gaze.

"Gale… are you sure? About this? With me?" He asked with uncharacteristic apprehension. "I- the scars, they're not- they're not good to look at."

She was silent as her left hand entwined with his own, guided it, running it down slowly from her abdomen to just above her pelvis, leading his fingers to feel the rough, scarred tissue from Loberia's strike. He traced it with his fingertips, remembering how the wound had looked, how much she'd bled, and how he watched her lay unresponsive for days, not knowing whether she'd wake up. He didn't regret saving her life, because she saved his in more ways than one.

Another finger brushed against the scar. It stood out among the soft skin around it; jagged, irregular, and out of place.

She pulled his face up to look at her.

Her eyes were grey like storms, full of passion and strength, but also gentle like the wind. And in his, dark, ocean blue looked lighter, less empty, reflecting the same passion he saw in hers, but also something else. In his mismatched eyes, there was life.

"I have scars too," she whispered back tenderly, lifting his shirt to reveal the dozens of scars that covered Riven's body—some jagged and others smooth, wrought from edged steel or misshapen chitin and claws. Fingers examined them—each telling a painful story or harrowing experience—until her hand came to the injury he'd sustained at the Dragon Festival, where she'd chosen to stay, where their paths had become entwined, as opposed to simply crossing. "And I don't care."

Slim hands then reached for his pants, tugging at the belt until it came loose. Riven breathing tightened as she came in close, brushing her lips against his neck with feather light touches, leaving him burning as she undressed him.

When Gale looked into his eyes once more, she could see the desire, the need, the want of the beast inside. An ancient darkness, but one that answered to darker emotions, and with those came passion and lust. Inside her, something had stirred also, forcing her to abandon any aspect of shame as she set out to claim what she wanted, what she waited years for. Storms bowed to no one, the winds were held by nothing, and nature took what it wanted, when it wanted.

Nothing short of a legendary's power could stop a storm, and inside her a hurricane had emerged, twisting her emotions into a feral frenzy of lust and desire.

Becoming an Origin hadn't just changed her, it had also awoken something inside, something humans lacked. Something they'd forgotten or otherwise trained themselves to forget. A connection had been restored to something older and far more untamed than any civil code or law could possibly touch. It resonated within, a seeping swirl of darkness within the man before her, old and powerful, pure destruction but also a harsh necessity. Within her, a force of nature so wild that man could only hope to harness, not control.

They were human, but they were also creatures born of the elements. Like all pokemon were. And their desire for one another was overwhelming.

From where Vizi was perched, it didn't take a psychic's mind to figure out what her trainer was doing. Vizi smirked, stretching fire-warmed feathers and powerful wings as she saw the two humans revel in each other, leaving them to their own devices as she sought a meal.

That Patrat watching with fascinated bulging eyes on the other side of the stream would do nicely. For some reason, however, she felt like there was more than just pokemon watching them.

---

Unbelievable.

A word to describe quite accurately just what Alder had come to hear in the past four days. Being a champion, he had experience with the bizarre, outlandish, and gruesome. That wasn't a question.

But this? This was a whole different monster, and one that gave him a skull-splitting headache. In all his years, it had reduced him to a babbling idiot that had to go through a very rough night out. Marshal had to carry him out of the bar and back to his home, where he emptied the contents of his stomach into the nearby toilet.

Yates had warned him beforehand. He hadn't gotten this trashed since his early days and by god he didn't miss it. How did the younguns like doing this every weekend?

Back to the matter at hand, though.

The newly appointed gym leader, Nathan, who'd completely skipped evaluation purely based off Elesa's highly renowned words, was actually a notorious mercenary. Who, just a few weeks prior, had been shown all over Unova making human fillets out of the fake Plasmas. Yes, having such a gym leader would no doubt incite more rioting in Nimbasa, as if the operatives weren't already dealing with outcries against the use of Amnesia on citizens, as well as public and explosive raids on private property.

Granted, the situation was severely out of hand and Elesa's life had been endangered. But just knowing this man was teaching the next generation of trainers made Alder want to drink himself into another stupor and spontaneously go on vacation. For a few years maybe.

Well the joke was on him. Champions could rest when they were dead. Rather dark, given recent events, as he was no doubt sure the Sayres would love to oblige that thought. He thought of Cynthia and how the stress of Sinnoh had driven her to self-imposed exile and frowned. There still wasn't a sighting of her since. He wondered if she was still alive. Or in a far-off region, searching for herself again.

All the more troubling, however, was that people were pokemon now.

He definitely noticed how the water fountains in the pokemon league courtyard became geysers as Grimsley passed by, face pasty like he'd been dunked in a pool of bleach. Passing it off as a coincidence, Alder became more convinced his mind wasn't on some form of hallucinogenic mushrooms and was actually Grimsley's doing when the man had tried to use the toilet and plumbing three floors down had spontaneously exploded, along with several faucets and water coolers. Then he found the man staring into a pool of water in the middle of the night with a gaze best described as entranced.

Either Grimsley, the poor bastard, had gambled with the wrong person and gotten a vindictive ghost attached to him, or something had happened to him after the raid. He recalled the man had looked like he'd spent a night in a Tauros manure pit once he'd returned that night. At once, he went straight to Yates, the man in charge of the operative posting in Nimbasa.

Yates hardly seemed surprised, and before Alder could get himself comfortable in the operative's office, he'd begun to talk. "Grimsley's a pokemon", were his first words, expertly placed while Alder was trying to satiate his thirst with a glass of-ironically-water. The man was a good operative, a bit loose morally but with a strong adherence to the law. Which was why his behavior worried him so much. Then there was his advice. He recited it in his head, a large frown spreading on his face. Utterly absurd.

Go see Nathan Ethne in Nimbasa. But don't talk to him. Attack him with a psychic pokemon. Then you will have your proof. Be warned, he may try to kill you. Be careful.

It was such nonsense that it made perfect sense. Like a bad conspiracy that turned out horribly right.

Alder sighed deeply. Champion used to mean an honorary title of being the best in the region. Now it was being the most damned or stupid enough to accept the job. Latter, most likely. The white hairs in his flowing red mane were damning proof. Soon he'd be entirely white.

Grimsley stood beside him in the lobby, wearing a less formal suit in the event of a scuffle. He was still so rattled by his condition that seeing a cup of water sent him scurrying in horror. The Nurse Joy that tried to offer him some water looked completely lost. This resulted in a very dehydrated and almost vampiric looking Grimsley. Now the children were scared. Shauntal even saw him in the dark and screamed, which resulted in Marshal blowing a hole through the wall with his foot and nearly breaking Grimsley in half.

Alder sighed again.

At least Grimsley's Bisharp was at the ready in case something happened, since its trainer was indisposed and couldn't manage more than a shiver whenever someone said the word "water". The Bisharp was probably the best defense in case Nathan, or Prime to be exact, used his Doublade to try and decapitate them before they could react. Something about a person using a pokemon as a literal weapon churned Alder's insides, and he remembered what kind of place this man had come from.

Caitlin's Reuniclus tapped Alder's shoulder, asking if they were ready. Obviously, they couldn't stroll into the gym and expect a highly dangerous mercenary to let them in, much less attack him randomly. And so they needed to get there and give him the least amount of time to react while also making sure no one was battling him. What they were about to do could very well kill pokemon and trainer quite easily.

If Yates was wrong about this… they'd be missing a gym leader, and the resulting mess would be extremely gruesome to clean up. If they did kill Prime, they were probably doing Unova a service regardless. But he was a champion and Grimsley was a member of the Elite Four—they weren't executioners, although they could be.

Both men breathed in deeply, eyeing the clock until closing time at Nimbasa came, knowing that they only had a few minutes to act before the gym leader closed the gym and left the battling platform. They'd heard that the Nimbasan gym closed and opened on the dot. At least you could admire the guy's punctuality.

Side by side, the Reuniclus closed its eyes, a flash of light enveloping the three as they were teleported onto the battling platform, where they saw the gym leader sweeping up some dust and getting ready to leave for the day, whistling an innocuous tune. Out of the corner of his eye, Alder made out the rest of Prime's team sitting idly in the rafters. Upon further inspection, they were asleep.

So much for security. Good timing at least.

"Huh?"

The gym leader barely managed to turn around when Alder raised a hand and whispered, "Psychic, full power. Go."

Caitlin's Reuniclus obeyed instantly, drawing up a psychokinetic forcefield of pink energy before unleashing it at the man. The attack tore through the ground, disintegrating metal and concrete like paper as the wave advanced, destroying anything in its path as the ground screeched. Stray bits of rubble from previous battles were erased instantly, and the air around the blast wave distorted violently, causing air to rush back into the void caused by the psychic, kicking up fierce winds.

The leader's eye only widened before the psychic onslaught.

Alder and Grimsley flinched as the psychic blast reached its target, oddly bunching up for moment, as if pushing back against something, only to lose form and explode outward, blanketing the entire gym in dust and debris from the sheer force of the explosion. For a moment, Alder wondered if Yates had deceived him into murdering Nathan Ethne.

As the two men cautiously stepped forward, they could hardly react as metal rang in the air, slicing through the dust cloud in a clean cut as one sword cleaved the air while its crimson twin gleamed in the dull light of the gym, advancing toward them like a spear, intent on taking at least one of them. The sword stopped mere inches away from Alder's neck as a protective barrier of energy stopped the blade in its tracks. Energy crackled and sizzled as metal sparked against the protect, causing cracks to spread along the barrier the more pressure the ghostly blade applied. The Bisharp's right hand darkened black as it channeled a night slash through its blade, a wave of black energy forcing the ghostly metal to return to its owner's rightful hand.

That was when the two elites noticed the amount of damage the gym leader's outfit had sustained, as well as the giant crater that remained to his right. The glove, sleeve and part of the torso had been seemingly vaporized off, while healthy and scarred skin remained relatively untouched, as if the psychic had done nothing at all. His fingernails weren't even chipped. They gaped, realizing just what the man before them had done.

He hadn't used a pokemon to negate it, thereby catching only the dying breaths of the psychic attack. No, he'd done far worse. Nathan Ethne had caught the psychic in his palm and smashed it into the ground.

The very same psychic with which Caitlin had defeated countless trainers and regretfully killed other pokemon, a psychic that could level buildings and destroy metal and concrete like they were nothing. And yet, here stood a human who'd dared catch that power and render it useless. It only managed to destroy his clothing. And most of the battle platform. There was no denying it now.

This man wasn't just a man, he was a monster. Or was it just because psychic attacks quite literally had no effect on dark types?

Nathan sank lower to the floor, settling into a fighting stance, face pulling into a grimace that didn't quite belong on someone who was almost murdered. In fact, he looked mildly annoyed that his clothes had been torn to pieces.

Grimsley's Bisharp attempted to advance, pulling back when a stream of flames burst forth from the railings, spreading fire across the damaged battle platform. The Gallade beside the Blaziken bristled, green blades sharp and ready to battle, its crimson eyes focused. They'd woken up.

Well of course they woke up after that. Who wouldn't?

Then Alder began to laugh, boisterous and far from hostile. Now that he had his proof, defusing the situation was the highest priority, if it was possible.

"Well, well, well, I certainly wasn't expecting-"

Nathan moved.

In the blink of an eye, white light surrounded the gym leader, snaking up his legs and arms as he shifted out of place, crossing the distance between them in one jump. Grimsley's Bisharp only barely managed to deflect the stab aimed for Alder's heart, catching a flaming flurry of fiery punches as the Blaziken rocketed into the arena. Caitlin's Reuniclus attempted to stop the fire type but was distracted when a green sickle sliced at it, the green blade belonging to a snarling female Absol. Electricity arced as a dazzling gleam was interrupted by a small, but foolishly brave Blitzle.

Once more the Bisharp attempted to protect Alder and Grimsley, fending off fire infused strikes and humming metal with calculated uses of protect and night slash. Its experience showed as it blocked and parried, turning glancing blows into counterattacks. Head to head with one of Nathan's pokemon, Blaziken included, it'd be more than a match. But being assaulted on three sides hardly went well for anyone.

Nathan closed in from below with both hands on a blade while his Blaziken took the right side, steel and fire preoccupying metallic hands that sought desperately to keep away from the flames. Behind the dark type, a third assailant in the form of the Doublade's second sword swung, screeching as shadow wreathed steel met steel.

The Bisharp stumbled, staring directly into a growing ball of dark energy emerging from the mouth of a fourth attacker, the Absol. Red light engulfed its being as it was sucked into a pokeball before the dark pulse exploded and punched a hole through the platform, knocking both Champion and Elite Four off their feet. Caitlin's Reuniclus was blown away, covered in dark energy as it tried to escape the blast radius but failed.

When the dust cleared, Caitlin's psychic was gravely injured, and Grimsley's pokemon had been forced to retreat. Alder felt cold steel on his neck and held his ground against the glare of a sufficiently tired mercenary.

"You really shouldn't have done that," the gym leader growled, pressing the metal closer to Alder's neck. The ring of pokeballs around his neck had been severed, the giant necklace cut cleanly down the middle. To his side, Grimsley was held down by a clawed foot on his chest, wriggling uselessly against the Blaziken's powerful legs.

Alder exchanged glances with Nathan, then Grimsley, then Nathan. He raised his hands, nodding slowly.

"Um… I surrender?"

Nathan frowned. Alder's brows furrowed as he felt the sharp edge of the Doublade's sword leave his neck. Slowly, both blades sank into the leader's shadow and with a flick of the finger, his Blaziken lifted her foot to let Grimsley breathe again.

"I don't have time for this…" he grumbled.

The two men dusted themselves off and stood, bewildered that a notoriously dangerous mercenary had given them a look that made them feel worse than the lowliest of Weedles. Said mercenary was currently seated in his plain looking chair at the other end of the platform, scowling.

"You didn't kill me," Alder began, laughing nervously to himself. He tried picking the fallen pokeballs up, but the way Nathan's Gallade extended a blade from its forearm told him that wasn't a wise idea. Terrible really. Grimsley shot him a pointed glare, which scared him. Mostly because he did look like a bloody vampire.

"If it were up to me, I'd have beheaded you both and kicked your heads off my platform while screeching like a rabid animal. Unfortunately for me, a kind soul that I've found immense affection for asked me to listen to what you have to say. Originally I just planned to have your forehead smashed into my coffee table, Alder. That was before you entered my gym via teleport and tried to fucking murder me."

His voice was nearly a roar before it dulled again, returning to annoyed muttering at the loss of his clothes. There was a hint of curiosity in his eyes. "I wonder though, you old bastard, in what universe did you think that would be a good idea? And who the hell gave you it in the first place? Do they have shit for brains? Well?"

The older man rubbed at his stubble, the humor not quite lost on him. "I assume you know of a certain Yates?"

And that was the first time he'd heard "shit drizzling Gogoat fucker" in his life. Grimsley snorted loudly. Then Nathan turned to him, grimacing for a different reason.

"Grimsley, you look like shit. It's like you haven't drunk-"

"Don't-"

"-Water in a few days."

Grimsley then went milk white and curled in on himself.

Nathan laughed.

Having three men in what used to be Elesa's changing room, with several pokemon packed inside and a large Galvantula scuttling around on the roof with a Blitzle webbed to its back, proved to be rather awkward.

An unconscious Grimsley slumped over Alder was more awkward still. He refused to move and now he was drooling. Maybe he would just fall on Nathan's sword to spare himself the trouble. And that coffee table in front of him was like a trap if he ever saw one. The gym leader smirked as he realized Alder was eyeing it with mistrust.

"So you're here about what happened to him, not to scold me about my obviously impeccable gym leadership? Oh, and you owe me a new set of clothes. These were custom made. I'm quite upset about that."

"More than me trying to kill you?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm. That shouldn't be a problem then, I'll be sure to get you new ones as an apology." Nathan accepted that with a nod. Alder held up two fingers. "As for what you said before, it's both. But what happened to Grimsley concerns me more immediately than your reputation in the trainer community, Nathan. That, ahem, comes later. And most likely away from that coffee table."

Nathan chuckled darkly.

"Real name's Riven," he said easily. "Normally I wouldn't tell you a thing. Considering you're the Champion, and I was coaxed into listening to you, I don't think I have a choice. Yates already told you most things about me, didn't he? The more pertinent details?"

"A fair bit. He was a bit cryptic on most other things. Did you tell him to do that, by any chance? He appeared rather… unhappy about it. I'd even say resentful."

Riven nodded with a sigh. "I guess telling you to attack me was payback for threatening him should he ever divulge everything." Still going to break his teeth.

"What did you threaten him with?"

"I held a stack of very important paperwork out the window and dared him to try me."

Alder blanched, knowing full well how much time and agony that would cost to get back in order, especially for someone like Yates. That was far worse than getting stabbed, as if signing paperwork wasn't the closest thing to hell he could think of. Riven looked far too pleased with himself.

"He told me you're a… time traveler. Of sorts. It sounded absurd but... can I ask how? If it's even possible."

"You know that theory? What was it… wormholes?" Riven started, "well I fell into one and ended up here."

"That's incredibly vague. But how?" Alder repeated. "Wormholes don't just open up on Earth. Unless you're some kind of astronaut, which I highly doubt. No offense."

Riven pursed his lips as he attempted to explain it in his head in a way that made the most sense. And the more he did the less it seemed to make sense. Ultimately, he decided to go with the universal cop out that somehow worked a hundred percent of the time.

"The legendaries did it."

There was a moment of silence that seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Then Alder nodded sagely. "I see."

"You know, it's amazing how everyone just accepts that as an acceptable answer. They don't even ask for details."

"Don't really need to." Alder chuckled. "When half of Unova gets frozen by one legendary dragon, it's not that hard to believe. Team Plasma got closer to their goal than any other team and managed to control two of the three legendary dragons of Unova, Reshiram and Kyurem."

"Maybe that's why they brought the spheres here," Riven mused. Clearly he hasn't been to Hoenn.

"What's that?"

"Just the entire reason why slick fingers there got turned into an Origin. The guys we raided brought in an Origin sphere and several uncharged spheres with them. Grimsley touched the charged one and ended up like that. That'll teach him not to be a shine obsessed Murkrow."

"Origin?"

"That's the name for us, for people with abilities like pokemon, be it natural or unnatural. I'm a natural," Riven explained, drawing up dark wisps in his hand. "I was born this way because I'm from a different era. Time traveler, special case, whatever. Not many of us around. Synthetics like Grimsley, used to be regular people, but came into contact with one of the Origin Spheres. You remember that discovery in Driftveil a few months back? Where they unearthed some strange artifacts?"

"I heard something about it, but you can't blame a man for not caring too much about things like that. Never was much of an archaeologist. While interesting, it hardly caught my eye. Compared to the other thousand things I have to worry about on a daily basis."

"Champion stuff, I'm assuming. Anyway, I'm not one much either, the only thing I care about is the spheres and the civilization that created them. What they found in Driftveil was linked to it somehow. Regardless, twenty thousand years ago a world wide civilization disappeared out of thin air, and they're the ones that created these spheres. Somehow, they use a legendary's power to charge them, otherwise they're just oversized glass marbles. It seems Unova has a lot of legendaries. Legendaries you don't have to travel to a different dimension or into the heart of a volcano to access. In other words, they're easy access. At least I think that's what they're doing."

Astonishment spread on Alder's face as his eyes widened, being immediately able to see where Riven was going at.

"The Swords of Justice, the forces of nature… The Tao trio. All powerful legendaries…" The champion's mouth fell into a grim line. "The easiest to find would have to be the Swords of Justice… Cobalion is known to reside in Mistralton cave. And no doubt some of the remaining ex-Plasma officers would know the location of the Tao Trio. Are they aiming to capture them?"

"If they wanted to charge their spheres and create more Origins, probably."

"How does this transformation process work?"

"Like an evolutionary stone." Riven grinned darkly, flashing teeth. "Except you die. Why do you think Grimsley is terrified of water?"

"He drowned?" Alder's expression was absolutely horrified, a shiver crawling up his spine.

"One of the scariest ways to go. Not surprised he's afraid, drowning sounds terrifying. When he gets over that, though, he'll be able to control water in ways that most water pokemon can't. Synthetic Origins pick up on things incredibly fast. After they get over how their element killed their original body."

Alder swallowed. "And what about naturals?"

"Depends on how they were raised. Some didn't even know they could do more than the average human. I was like that for a while."

"Yates told me you were… raised in a very harsh environment." Alder felt like he was tiptoeing in a minefield, watching Riven as if he were a coiled Seviper waiting to strike. But the man made no intention of moving, a deep breath escaped him instead.

"Just say it, it's not like it offends me. I grew up in a war, with pokemon and people hunting me. People that could consume entire forests with fire. Raze towns to the ground. Cities too. They never told me I could do this. That would have changed things, for better or worse. Probably worse."

He sighed, slouching.

"I'm not the only one, you know."

The Champion nodded, recounting the report in Castelia of the woman that bullets couldn't touch and the expunged file on the day Elesa's tour was attacked. A man reportedly possessing incredible psychic abilities that could rival an Alakazam's had severely injured a trainer, and the shadow clad monster that-

"Wait," Alder demanded. "The one who stopped him, the psychic. That was you."

Riven confirmed it with a simple hum. "He almost killed someone. Someone I care about quite a lot."

"Was that person the one that convinced you to talk to me?"

"Yes."

"Can I know her name? So I can thank her for having you not chop my head off?"

His smile was wide and welcoming, his tone sincere and playful. Steven's was too. The fact that Alder had accurately assumed it was a female made Riven narrow his eyes at him. He could have read it in the report, and he knew for a fact that Yates had purposely omitted any specific details pertaining to Gale's involvement after he'd inducted her in the UFO.

"No," Riven refused. "She stays hidden. And I don't want her connected to Prime. How did you know it was a woman?"

Alder was a goofy looking man, and a bit of an oddball according to some, but beneath that exterior was years of life experience, both as a trainer and as a champion. Many champions were young, able to battle with the best of them but when it came to dealing with issues that weren't easily solved with brute force, they crumbled. Governing, ruling, or dictating took years of errors and learning, and even then leaders made mistakes. The ones that did last, however, were inquisitive on levels seldom seen on most people.

This old man was one of them. He gave Riven another reassuring smile.

"There's only one person that could make someone like you reserve themselves enough to talk to someone like me, and it wasn't through force. I've seen so many like you, and dare I say I've been there once myself. You love her, and you wouldn't dare see her sad. You'd tear the world down for her."

Riven refused to say anything, his eyes spoke for themselves. Alder gave an understanding smile, respecting the other's silence.

"I won't pry, if you care about this girl then that's your business. Who am I to get in the way of love, hmm? Let's move onto a different subject then, eh?" For once, Riven was glad to. Alder shifted in his chair, shoving Grimsley off his lap. "Pr- Riven, do you know why this is happening in Unova? Why all of a sudden things became like this? Is it because of the Origins? Whoever is doing this, are they knocking all the Beedrill nests as they come along? Sinnoh was contained… and now it's back, as if Nicholas Sayre resurrected from the dead."

"I don't think resurrection is something we're capable of, but I know it has something to do with that."

"Yates told me of a group… Singularity? Do you know their plans?"

Riven shook his head. "No, and I've been trying to figure them out but they're careful. They have Origins from my time with them. They're incredibly dangerous, and so unpredictable it's infuriating. They're more experienced than I am, so going after them directly would probably be a bad idea. Not to mention they have pokemon of their own. I tried in Kalos, and that got me nowhere. Trying something different now."

"Ah. Is that why you're a Gym leader?" Alder pointed out, a bit of mirth in his voice. "Strange career choice to do that. Transitioning has been difficult from what I've heard in the trainer circles."

That was a plainly open question to critique his leadership if Riven had ever heard one. The topic would rear its ugly head eventually, best face it now.

"They're avoiding me," Riven said with a huff. "Why? I'm just trying to prepare them. Instead they run away and claim it 'isn't fair'. Life isn't fair."

"While your words are true, you can't prepare them for life. Not entirely," Alder said sadly, drawing Riven's attention to him. "Defeating them and using underhanded tactics is a little frowned upon, but all that will teach them is how an opponent can fight. It won't teach them to deal with sudden situations. With loss, or pain."

Pain which flowed from the man in waves. Riven could feel it coming off him. Loss of a loved one. Sadness.

"As a gym leader, all you can do is challenge their wits and strength while encouraging them to stay on a good path. To stay strong for the trials ahead. These kids… they didn't grow up in a war like you did. Child soldiers never really have a chance to be children. Those Orran refugees… they're… different. Those that grow up in stabilized regions, they've lived as children and regular teenagers for a long time. Even the main routes are more civilized than the wild, where things lurk in the dark."

"Then what's the use of being a gym leader if you can't stop them from breaking?"

"That's a good question, isn't it? How do you stop them? The answer is you can't. No matter what you try, there will always be a limit to what others can take. No amount of harsh lessons will change that. Some survive and get stronger… and others never forget. Some… lose themselves."

And those must be put down.

The Champion's shoulders slouched as his face fell into a melancholic gaze, staring at the floor in remembrance.

"I never forgot my Volcanrona. I used to be like all the other trainers... pursuing strength at any cost, trying to reach my dreams, blindly chasing strength wherever I could find it. And then it happened. There was an encounter I couldn't expect. It was my fault he died. For a long time I was lost, utterly devastated. I didn't know where to go, what to do, or what my purpose was. I just… lost a part of me I couldn't get back."

A familiar emptiness clouded Alder's eyes, the same emptiness Riven had seen in Samuel, the old, broken fisherman in Dewford. The same emptiness he felt when he remembered his own lost comrades. Nemos. And even his parents. At being unable to recall what they really looked like.

"That's what changes you," Alder continued after a minute, "not words. Gym leaders can only help, we can't force everything into submission as we are. Like love, we can't wave a stick at it, we can only do as much as we can."

"That doesn't help," Riven whispered. "That doesn't help at all."

"I know. Cruel, isn't it? Our world isn't as sweet as you think it is, Origin."

"Heh… if only you saw mine." Riven swallowed, ruffling Haona's fur as she leaned against his leg. "So what should I do then? If what I'm doing now isn't working. And it's not, she told me also. I didn't want to accept it, but she's right. I need help."

"No, a miracle is what you need," a groggy voice rasped as Grimsley lifted himself, eyes bloodshot.

Riven threw a cup of water at him. The liquid stopped midair before falling as Grimsley had another panic attack. Alder's somber mood lifted with a gentle laugh, his red mane flowing with each chuckle.

"Be gentle," he instructed. "Gentle but strong, scolding but forgiving. Take the harshest of lessons you've learned and dull them, give them an expectation of what's to come, not the reality. That, they have to learn for themselves. Being a gym leader takes practice. They have to be selfless in a sphere where being selfish and relying on their own strength was all they ever knew. Losing to type advantages is annoying, yes, but battles are the least of a gym leader's responsibilities. To be a leader requires more than strength. It requires charisma, heart, and above all else, a caring soul. And to be the forth leader… you stand on the edge, the borderline that divides the strong and the weak. Your job is more important than you might realize. I believe you have those qualities, Riven. You just don't believe it yourself."

"I've always been a soldier," he said. "There's a structure there. Here it's harder than that, like trying to deal with a pokemon that won't listen to you. Children are difficult."

"Pokemon are like children, in a way," Alder offered. Haona eyed Riven curiously. He smiled down at her. "Much better behaved and deadly, but sometimes they can be quite a handful. Trainers are still children, them having access to pokemon doesn't change that. No one ever said it would be easy to guide them. Or else I wouldn't have all these white hairs!"

Riven cracked a smile at that.

"Elesa knows you can do it, however. She always did have an uncanny ability to see the potential in others. In modeling or in battle. She was a bit like you, actually."

"Like me?" Somehow, Riven really doubted that.

"Yes. In her early days she'd look down on people, try to teach them lessons through strength and that earned her a reputation for being what the youngsters would call, 'a bitch'. Eventually she learned that wasn't the best approach when her own experience came. Her methods improved and she became a gym leader. She never stopped learning, though. After what happened in Nimbasa, I'd say she realized that she can't protect the city with the protection it needs at this time. Her strength is bringing others together and letting potential bloom. To put it into literary terms…"

He grinned, eyeing an attentive Riven.

"She's Nimbasa's flag-bearer, the war drummer, who rallies others together when they would break. And you," he pointed, "are the sword. But a sword can't stand alone. Even twin swords. Sometimes, you need a shield. Think you can rise to the occasion, gym leader?"

A hand reached into Alder's poncho, producing a stone as dark as shadows. A dusk stone.

Riven took it into his hands, looking up at the man in a new light. Had he planned this?

In the shadows of the room, he noticed an Accelgor that wasn't there a moment ago, staring back at him. Around its neck, a ring of minimized pokeballs hung. Grimsley shifted, revealing no pokeballs of his own despite being completely unconscious. Suddenly, his easy victory became a lesson of its own. Riven chuckled, realizing he'd been strung along the entire time.

"I never had you in the first place, did I, Alder? You let me win."

The Champion smiled widely.

"Are all losses strictly losses? Or can they be victories also, provided you seize the opportunity? War isn't always swords, and arrows, and fangs. It's wits and strategy too. And those, my friend, are everywhere not just on the battlefield or the battle arena."

Riven laughed, long and wry. "Has anyone told you you're smarter than you look?"

"Not really, not when I look like this! Hahah!"

Riven could definitely believe that. His laughter died, replaced by grim concern as another issue daunted on him. Alder concerned himself with trying to force feed Grimsley some water, which the latter vehemently refused to accept.

"Hey, Alder?"

"Yeah?"

"Her name's Gale, by the way. Gale Serna. You'll find her in Yates' files. She's an Origin too, and an op in training for the time being. If Grimsley needs help controlling his abilities, send him to her in Black City. She'll help him. I just want to ask one thing." Worn hands clamped together, almost as if praying. "When this is over…Will you hunt us? Will the League hunt us? We're dangerous, and capable of destruction you've only ever seen in Sinnoh. Leaving us alive might do more harm than good. Someone once told me I was a harbinger of disaster, and I believe him. What will you do if we get out of control? What will you do if I can't be there to protect her? And are you willing to take that risk? To trust people who ruined their own world?"

I wouldn't, Riven thought.

It was a statement, a promise. A test. Alder smiled sadly.

"I'll do what I have to. What we all have to, if it comes down to it. That's all we ever can, right?"

Yeah, he could accept that answer.

---

After Alder and Grimsley had left, Riven found himself strangely appreciative of the champion, despite his goofy appearance. He shifted the dusk stone in his palm, grinning to himself. It was near midnight and most of the residential sector he lived in had gone to sleep, with only a few spare souls here and there still awake.

Stray Purrloins and Lilipups roamed the streets, eyeing him warily as they went through nearby trash cans looking for food. He couldn't help but eye the buildings to see if anyone was watching him. Lately, he couldn't let his guard down in case someone got any ideas. They hadn't messed with him or his gym trainers yet, but there was no doubt it'd start soon.

Thoughts of his bed nearly made him surrender to sleep on his feet, forcing him to think about something else. That something else was Gale. Specifically certain sounds she made when they had committed certain… activities in the forest. It'd been about five days since, and he still couldn't get his mind off of it.

Now every fleeting thought of Gale's smile turned into a thought of her lips, her body, her long gazes as he thrust his-

Glowing red, he calmed himself by imagining himself kicking Yates' face in. Five days and he already missed her touch. She had to return to Black City the morning after, leaving Riven yearning for more. The look in her eyes told him she wanted to as well, and he never even got the chance to take her back to his condo and show her around. A bed would be much more comfortable than the grass, though he didn't mind it all that much when other parts of him were feeling so much better.

He was so absorbed in the memories of that night that when he twisted the key into the lock and opened the door, it took him several seconds to realize there was a girl spread out on his couch, sporting nothing but lacy underwear, eating his food.

Aveena Leewald was in her underwear, on his couch, eating his food, at midnight, in his house. She was watching the news on his television, acting like she owned the place. The air conditioning was on and there was faint music coming from the kitchen. Her clothes were stretched out over the couch behind her and her hair was wrapped in a towel. His bloody towel.

She used my bathroom, he realized in mortification. He could smell his shampoo on her. And his body wash.

Standing in the doorway in utter disbelief, Riven could only gawk as his eyes were drawn to things other than her face.

She looked up at him and waved happily, a spoonful of vanilla yogurt in her mouth.

"Heya gym leader!"

Riven's face went blank as he slowly shut the door, locked it, and turned back around, cursing Tesla to hell and back. He was now convinced every woman he ran into was insane. They were breaking into his house now? So he did what any sensible man would do to a woman in her position.

He lunged at her with a pointy metallic object.

Which didn't work as she leapt off the couch equally as quick, catching the knife with her palm. There was the crunch and snapping of metal as he felt strong hands grip his arm and lift him off the ground.

Huh, he thought as the ceiling rolled across his vision, only to groan in pain once his body hit the floor hard enough to leave cracks in the tiles. Air left his lungs a second time as a weight settled on him. A heavy weight. Aveena was sitting on top of him, and while it was a bit constricting given how much she weighed, the view was fantastic. His flush didn't go unnoticed as she smirked. She clicked her tongue, scolding him.

"Now, now, now cute gym leader. Don't rush at girls like that, it's creepy."

"Says the one who broke into my house at midnight, wearing nothing but underwear," he fired back, trying to move against her to no avail. Arceus, how strong was this girl? And how heavy? Someone of her build and size shouldn't weigh nearly this much.

She laughed, moving her body lower down his so he could breath. Except now breathing wasn't the problem. "You make a solid point, Nathan. Sorry about having to do this, but you did attack me. Even though it wouldn't have done anything anyway." Aveena held up the knife he'd just used. It was crunched and broken, snapped like a Steelix had chewed it.

She didn't deflect the blade, she simply smashed it against her palm. Thinking about it alone made him panic. How durable was her skin? And her bones?

There was an immense groan of frustration as he realized he was quite useless at the moment, and he really didn't feel like destroying his house when he was this tired. Just his damn luck.

"You're a steel type," he growled, glaring at her. His annoyance blocked out his male instincts, for once. "That's why your hands were so smooth. Not a rock face in the world could scratch your skin after what you just did with my knife. Wait what are you-"

She fumbled at his belt, tapping his nose with a finger. "Lift your hips please."

"Uh, no?"

She frowned and did it for him, pulling the belt off his waist. "Can't have you bringing out your Blaziken now. Or that Gallade of yours. I don't like fighting types much. I really don't like fire types, either. I'm sure you hate fairies as much as I hate fire types, it's just natural. Sorry if it bothers you, but it's entirely necessary. Don't worry! I'm not going to hurt you, defenseless as you are."

"No, just eat my food, sit on me, and sweetly try to threaten me, I'm assuming."

She looked offended. "Threaten you? Of course not! I would never! You don't threaten cute guys. I'm not a psycho."

Uh, what?

Riven blinked. "Then what do you want? You didn't break into my house to eat my supply of vanilla yogurt." He took a sniff of damp hair that came loose. "Or use my shower. Did you at least wash the tub? I don't know where you've been."

"That's rude to say to a lady. And yes, I wasn't born under a rock." He lifted an eyebrow. "Look, it was hot today, and you have such a pretty bathroom. And it's so clean… for a guy." She grinned, getting off of him to sit back down on the couch. She took his pokeballs with her, fastening the belt around her waist instead. It was loose, and looked more like a rope than anything. "I just wanted to talk is all, and I can't be this comfortable in a gym."

Just wanted to talk. Why did this sound familiar? Oh, right.

"I'm sure," Riven responded in monotone, "where is he?"

"Who?"

"Tesla, that blonde haired douchebag. I know he sent you, the hell does he want?"

"He didn't send me, at least not this way. He's not here, he's somewhere else. He wanted me to spy on you but that's boring. So I came here instead! Face to face is so much better. And there's yogurt!"

"Excellent," Riven sighed, feeling absolutely drained now. Aveena, on the other hand, was absolutely ecstatic. He took her yogurt away, at least. "Okay then, Aveena. If that's even your name. What do you want?"

"I wanna know what happened after the raid. Tesla said something interesting happened with your location. He knew the smugglers were transporting something valuable, but he didn't know what it was. What did you find?"

He doesn't know? His employer doesn't trust him either… huh. I wouldn't either, honestly. The guy is a devious looking bastard.

"Not pokemon. We found another sphere. And dozens of uncharged ones."

Aveena's smile slipped. "Oh… what happened to the sphere? Do the UFOs have it?"

Riven began to laugh, drawing a puzzled stare from the steel woman. "No… much worse."

"What do you mean, much worse?"

"Grimsley touched it," Riven said, voice dripping with amusement. "An Elite Four is an Origin now. And the Champion knows. About us, about Singularity, about mostly everything. And not just that, but dignitaries from every region are coming back to Unova, along with two more champions. If Alder passes on that information, all this secrecy is totally fucked. Now you tell me, did Tesla plan for that? Does he even know?"

Aveena grimaced, deciding that she'd rather go get another yogurt. Riven refused to watch the way her hips swayed. He took the retreat as a no.

"Hey, stop eating my food!"

"I eat when I'm stressed! And you're a lot nicer when you're at the gym!"

"People tend to be when you're not taking their food and breaking into their houses!"

She came back, pouting and with yogurt in hand.

"Just for the record, I'm not sorry. Oh and uh… I kind of need a place to stay."

"No you don't. You're a trainer, go to the center," Riven pointed out, seeing through the excuse. "That's a wad of bullshit and you know it."

"But I want to stay here! It's so nice! This neighborhood is so fancy!"

"Impossible. I only have one bed, and I'm not giving it to you out of a stupid idea of being a gentleman. In fact, you shouldn't be here anyway. I've told you all I have anyway."

Aveena frowned, sitting down next to him. She picked at her yogurt, clearly enjoying it to Riven's annoyance. He'd just bought it too.

"I saw it, you know. Couldn't help it. I'm so sorry but I'm not."

"Saw what?" He asked dully, feeling a headache coming on as he rubbed his temples.

"Erm…" This time, she turned a solid shade of crimson. Riven narrowed his eyes, urging her to continue, as if his gaze could pierce through steel. "I saw you and… that girl… do, uh, stuff."

Riven could have died right then and there. No, he was begging for the universe to smite him. "What."

She was still blushing furiously as she conjured up memories and all the things they did. "When Tesla asked me to tail you, I did that for a few days. Then I saw you going out with that girl. She teleported in, I assume. UFO?"

"I'm not going to tell you that. Definitely not telling you a thing, you creepy stalker."

"That's okay, you don't have to. She's pretty. And has a rocking body now that I look at it…" She bit her lip. "Hey, do you mind sharing that?"

Riven's mouth hung open. "Sharing? I hope you're talking about that yogurt."

Aveena smiled wryly. "I think you know exactly what I mean. You're not the only one I like. After seeing you two in the forest, I get hot and bothered just thinking about it. When she first started coming onto you and the way you did that thing where you pinned her against the tree and shoved your co-"

"Good god, Aveena, please stop. I'll let you stay here if you just… not tell Tesla about this. I guess if you wanted to kill me by now you'd have already done it, right?"

She nodded happily. "Of course!"

The context contrasted with her demeanor so much it unsettled him. His face was in his hands. An enemy who liked him, happened to swing for both teams, and he was physically disadvantaged against. Great.

She grinned happily examining him again.

"You know… if you want to try out another girl… I'm available too. Maybe you can have us at the same time."

Riven looked at her blankly. Then he stood up, walked past her into the bedroom, and fell into the mattress. He was way too tired for this. From the living room, he heard her hysterical laughter and cursed into the pillow with enough venom to kill an Abomasnow fifty times over.

Ridiculous.

When he woke up, he found Aveena sprawled out on the bed, her foot digging into his ribs. Then he shoved her off his bed and promptly had Aine kick her out of his house. Was there a locksmith that made anti-Origin locks? Would a metal lock even keep her out? Wait, his was electronic. How the hell did she get in here?

On the table, she left a note in girly handwriting along with a number. Her personal one, probably. The paper was slightly wet. Was that drool or water? What the hell?

Hey, handsome.

I know you're asleep now, so I just wanted to let you know that I ate all the yogurt and treats in your pantry, including the honey buns you were hiding in the back of the fridge. Sorry but not sorry. You have a sweet tooth, don't you? Also sorry about getting you excited last night. I couldn't help myself heeeeeee. Even though you're defenseless, I won't jump you and pull down your pants even though I really would like a guy to do what you did to that girl. I haven't seen something that hot in a long time. I think I'd go absolutely crazy. Oh my god, I'm drooling. Anyway, I can tell you like that girl, so I'm not going to ruin that. I mean, unless you want to share then I'm totally up for that!

He snorted. Like that would ever happen.

Thanks for being a good sport though. My name's Aliac, actually, case you're wonderin'. Maybe you've heard of me! If you ever need me, gimme a call! Oh, and your Absol is beautiful. Haona is such a pretty name. I talked to all your pokemon. I think they like me. Boagrius is adorable. See ya, Riven! Riven… Alteans always had such cool names. So cool. Oh, oh! And tell Gale if she'd like to accept my offer too! She looks delicious. Maybe she tastes sweet too, that's why you spent so much time with your head buried in between her thighs, haha!

Riven crumpled the paper up and gave it to Aine.

"Burn that. Then throw the ashes out. If that woman ever comes back, turn her into slag."

He then shot his Absol a scrutinizing glare that promised ten hours of hit endurance training for conspiring with the enemy. And when had he told her his name? Or Gale's? Riven immediately opened his holo caster. On the homescreen, Aliac had taken a picture of herself, displaying all the empty yogurt containers next to her with a bright smile. The caption read "from Ally, with love".

Riven snarled.

God damn mercenaries.

Faint chatter came from the living room. She'd left the television on. Shuffling over to go turn it off, he stopped as he saw what it was they were reporting.

Regional officials have just informed us that the regional lockdown and communications blackout to other regions will be lifted in the following hours after unprecedented pressure from the Sinnoh, Hoenn, Kanto, Johto, and Kalos regions. Official word has it that foreign dignitaries will be arriving within the next three days from every region listed.

Previously, Sinnohan dignitaries Alice, Vaikuntha, and the Sinnohan Champion Zachary, came to Castelia. Violence arose as they clashed with Plasma protestors, who'd since begun to militarize following the attack in Nimbasa, and the shocking statement of Sabine Fullon, who was found deceased this morning. Although we are not allowed to show photos of her due to the graphic nature of them, she was attacked by a group of trainers while in police custody. Three brave officers and their pokemon were lost in the assault as well. Their funeral will be scheduled later this week.

However, the question remains, will these dignitaries bring clarity to the turmoil Unova has found itself in, or will they incite further chaos? The future remains uncertain. This is Karla Rames, of Unova national news.

Riven turned the television off and watched the rising sun paint the cloud-ridden sky a dull orange. He breathed in deeply, preparing himself for a very long week.

---

Another forever update. So sorry about that. I blame getting distracted by having too much playing For Honor and getting supremely tilted in competitive Overwatch. Also read Dragonrend, which I was absorbed in for a while. And of course work has left me quite tired. They keep taking our people away and its driving me nuts since the workload hasn't lessened.

I'm convinced management has several screws loose.

Also, this is the first time I've attempted something regarding sexytimes. I didn't go into full blown detail because I'm not at all comfortable with the genre and I had to read some lemons and (basically porn) novels to get somewhat of an idea what to do. Even then I don't like the way it turned out but whatever.

I like Alder too, I always pictured him as some kind of genius idiot who looks goofy but is actually really intelligent. Kind of like a pokemon Dumbledore. Plus he has sandals. Sandals are great. Next chapter you're going to see some familiar faces. A lot of familiar faces. And Riven will have quite the handful to deal with.

Will edit later to iron out any mistakes. For now I must retake Jerusalem. DEUS VULT.