Chapter 47: What needs to be done

Penny was sitting on a chair next to the hospital room that Kai was in. The hallway walls were white, and the floors were so clean that you could see your own reflection. There was a headlight above the girl's head that reflected off her glasses. She breathed a sigh.

"Hello-" Penny turned her head and widened her eyes for a moment. It was Atticus, wearing his outfit with his decorated hood on who was walking over to her.

Penny looked up at him. Her heart was beating a thousand times a second.

"H-Hi." Penny said.

"You must be Kai's friend."

Penny knew he wouldn't recognize her, but she couldn't help but still feel nervous.

"I've come to give your friend Kai the badge he's earned." Atticus continued, pulling out his badge out of his pocket, and handing it over to Penny. Penny took it and stared at it.

There it was- in the palm of her hand. The one thing that showed that she was one step closer to ending Team Star. She couldn't shake the feeling of heaviness in her heart as she held it. She looked up at Atticus, who sighed.

"To think that I've been defeated…" Atticus closed his eyes. "I fell to a worthy opponent- but the sting of my loss remains to rip me asunder. I do wonder, if the boss were still with us, what would they say or think..?"

The irony was enough to make anyone laugh- it even made Penny chuckle under her breath. The fact that Atticus was wondering what the 'boss' of Team Star would think… When his boss was the one he had just given his badge to.

The fact that she'd never shown her face to her Team was a blessing and a curse. A blessing- so that she could come to the base undetected, and a curse…because of what she had to see right now. She had come to make sure that Kai did what he had to do and didn't go back on his word. But now, the cost was to watch her team fall apart with her own eyes.

"As long as the remaining bosses hold strong, I believe that Team Star will survive." Atticus said, nodding to himself.

Penny didn't respond. She couldn't respond. Her non-verbal mannerisms were the only thing that the bosses didn't know about her. Her voice was always modified so that even if she did talk, she wouldn't be recognized… but- if she spoke, then Atticus could catch on to who she was. She could change so much about herself digitally… but she couldn't change her personality.

The leader of Team Star had to remain M.I.A.

"Now- I will take my leave. Farewell." Atticus turned and walked away.

Penny breathed another heavy sigh.

"...How do you think he got hurt this time?"

Penny's eyes widened as she heard two voices. She turned her head to see two boys coming her way.

"I've got a bad feeling that Kai decided to fight that Bombirdier..." The shorter boy said. The shorter boy had short snow-white hair. Every time he took a breath, a white fog would come out of his lips as though the room was cold. He had heterochromia, one eye was blue, the other red.

The taller boy… Penny's eyes widened the moment her eyes lied on him. Brown wavy hair, a bang that nearly covered one of his green eyes…

Her heart skipped a beat. Her face felt warm.

"Well, we'll find out in a se-.." the taller boy's eyes met with Penny's, and Penny immediately looked away. "Ah- who's this?" The taller boy raised his eyebrows and put his hands on his hips. Penny couldn't look him in the eye, so she looked at the floor. The floor reflected her reddened face- and it became even more red once she realized this.

"You think Kai made a friend?" The taller boy asked.

"There's no way." The shorter boy said. "How much is Kai paying her?"

Penny chuckled a bit.

"Clearly it's enough for her to be sitting next to his room,"

Penny looked up at the two boys- seeing that this was a perfect time to talk.

"You two… are friends of Kai's?" Penny asked.

"Sadly yes," The shorter boy said.

Penny chuckled again. She'd say the exact same thing if she were close to someone. This shorter boy must like Kai very much.

"Don't mind him," The taller boy said, elbowing the smaller boy. "He's just grumpy that his future boyfriend is unconscious."

The white-haired boy shot a glare. "He's not my future boyfriend..."

"Anyway, my name's Arven," Arven said. "This little guy here's my little brother, Aeon."

Aeon waved.

"Ah- so you're the one that Kai talked about?" Penny asked. "The one that he said I'd get along with?"

"Oh god, what'd he do to you?" Aeon said. "Don't tell me he did something stupid, and-"

"Yup."

"Ohh no..." Aeon groaned.

"Eh, you get used to it," Arven said."

"No. No you don't," Aeon said with a sigh."I'm fairly certain that if I hadn't come to his life Kai would have become a regular at a Pokecenter."

Kai is a regular at this specific Pokecenter, Penny remembered.

"I'm willing to bet my left arm that he probably went after a Titan Bombirdier." Arven said.

"He probably did," Penny said.

"He better not have." Aeon said. "I told him not to. If he did, he's done for."

He definitely did. Penny was tracking Kai's every move ever since she partnered up with him for Operation Starfall. He saw him go after that Bombardier so many times she lost count. But of course, she couldn't mention that.

"Oh- by the way! I-I'm Penny." Penny said.

"Hi Penny!" Arven cried.

Penny became red upon hearing the boy she found cute say her name. "So what're you doing with Kai?" Arven asked.

"Again- whatever he's paying you isn't enough to pay the bills for the brain damage he'll give you." Aeon said. "Trust me. I know."

Penny chuckled a bit at Aeon's comment.

"The brain damage he gave me wasn't too much this time around," Penny commented. "I should be safe."

"How in the world can your brain still function after whatever he did?" Aeon asked.

"By pure force of will. I can be really adamant...sometimes. It's kind of like a superpower."

"I need you to teach me everything you know. I'm going to be around that boy for a long, long time."

"Huh." Arven said, looking at Penny and back at Aeon. "Kai was right. You two do get along."

"It's just nice to meet a person who seems logical," Aeon said. "Unlike you, Arven."

Arven narrowed his eyes and shot a glare at Aeon. "Hey!" He cried. "I can be pretty logical! Besides, I don't need to be a nerd to get along with you."

"So, you're saying we're nerds?" Penny said, chuckling a little bit.

"Yeah!" Arven said. "Buncha nerds."

"He's just angry because he can't think," Aeon muttered.

"A lot of trash talk coming from the kid who has to pry himself away from Kai when he sees him. You say all of that stuff about Kai like he's the plague and the worst thing ever, but in reality, you like him."

"Like's a strong word!" Aeon said. "'Tolerate' is more appropriate."

"He says that, but he's almost kissed the boy twice." Arven said, covering one side of his mouth with one hand and looking at Penny.

Aeon elbowed Arven, who chuckled.

"Really?" Penny said, raising her eyebrows. "Wow. So when Kai said, 'Future boyfriend', he really meant it..?"

"No!" Aeon shouted. "I'm not his boyfriend ye- I MEAN-" Aeon put his hands on his mouth. Arven started hollering with laughter. Penny even started to chuckle a little. "STOP LAUGHING!" Aeon roared, becoming slightly red-faced.

Nurse Joy opened the door beside Penny, letting Kai out. Kai and Nurse Joy saw Arven on the floor laughing, Aeon glaring at him, and Penny laughing as well. Both nurse and patient smiled.

"I'm baaack!" Kai cried.

"Look who it is..!" Arven said, breathing a sigh of relief from laughing so hard and wiping away a tear as he stood up.

"And then there's THIS guy.." Aeon said, putting his hands on his hips and glaring. He marched up to Kai. "So how'd you get unconscious this time? Did you fight that Bombirdier?"

"Nah, I thought about how cute you'd look in a tuxedo and my heart stopped. And so naturally, I went unconscious." Kai said with a wink. Aeon continued to glare.

"Adorable. Now give me the actual reason." Aeon said.

"Well if you must know.."

"You didn't fight that Bombirdier did you?"

"Well, yeah, but that wasn't the reason why I came thi-"

"WHAT?!" Aeon cried.

"Hey- hey- hey!" Kai raised his hands in a surrender motion and shook them as Aeon glared and pressed a finger against Kai's chest.

"I told you specifically to not fight that Bombirdier! Do I have to put a GPS on you or something!?"

"I mean- I beat it and caught it, so-"

Aeon pulled away and looked at Kai with absolute astonishment.

"You-...You beat it...and caught it."

"Yeah!"

Aeon put his hands on his face and sighed deeply.

"Hey- it's a good thing! It means we can go to the cave- get that thing Arven wanted for his sandwich?"

"That's right." Arven said.

"...I don't know whether to be proud that you beat it, or angry that didn't listen to me..." Aeon grumbled, still not pulling his hands away from his face.

Kai grinned. "Why not be enamored because of how cool your future boyfriend I-"

"I'm literally ten seconds away from sending you to Arceus- do not push your luck."

"Oh hush, you liiike me."

"Ten. Nine. Eight-"

Kai ran around Aeon and wrapped his arms around the android boy from behind. Aeon pulled his own hands off his face, revealing his pouty, blushing face.

"Ugh. Fine. You'll live for now." Aeon said.

"Yay!"

Kai rubbed his cheek against Aeon's, and Aeon sighed in defeat.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Aeon's kryptonite." Penny chimed.

"Hey!" Aeon cried.

"I'm telling you, my brother can hide it all he wants, he's completely head-over-heels. He didn't even deny the 'future boyfriend' bit."

"Arven, I swear, I'm going to hit you," Aeon threatened.

"Good luck trying to do that with Kai wrapped around you like a cape."

Kai giggled.

"So-... Lemme explain myself." Kai let go of Aeon, and for a split second, Aeon looked slightly sad that Kai let go, but quickly hid his dissapointment with a poker face. "The real reason why I'm in the hopsital is because I just got done fighting against that team star boss guy, Atticus." Kai looked around. "Where is he, anyway? "I gotta get a picture with him."

Penny sighed.

All of the memories of Team Star, and what she has to do to stop them came flooding right back in to ruin all the fun. Her big smile faded entirely and turned into a frown. Pushing through her newly formed sad emotions, she put her hand into her jacket's pocket, and pulled out Atticus's badge.

"Kai-" Penny approached Kai and handed him his badge from Atticus. Kai took the badge without thinking, then stared at it, realizing what it was.

"Ughh…" Kai groaned. "I forgot to tell him to keep his badge. Those stupid rules suck. Whatever- as long as I don't take the badge of the last Team Star leader, I'll-"

"Kai-" Penny said. "You didn't forget, right?"

"Forget what?"

"The deal. Operation Starfall."

"Huh?" Arven said.

Aeon crossed his arms and furrowed his brow.

Kai sighed.

"Between you and me..." Kai said, sighing and scratching the back of his neck. "I'm thinking about turning down that deal. Team Star seems like they're good. So..."

The friendly atmosphere was cut to ribbons the moment those words left Kai's lips. It suddenly became colder as a tiny silence was held between the four of them.

A shadow loomed over Penny's eyes as she lowered her head.

"I see." Penny said.

"I still am going to challenge them, though. I wanna see what they can do. Besides, I wanna become a member, too."

"A member...?"

Penny clenched her fists. If she hadn't controlled her temper, she may have revealed herself. She had to choose her words carefully- she wasn't acting as Cassiopeia. She was acting as herself. Penny.

"I...think I have to relay that message to Cassiopeia." Penny said.

"Aw, really?" Arven said. "You can't stay?"

She kind of wanted to stay, too. But Operation Starfall was too important to her.

"Sorry." Penny said, walking away. It was hard to ignore that invitation to stay- especially since it was coming from such a…cute boy. But she had to leave.

She started walking away and could hear the boys' voices echoing and becoming quieter as she kept walking.

"Aww, man," Arven said.

"Too bad," Kai said. "Well anyway- why're you guys here?"

"We were actually coming over here to heal my Pokémon after they went through a fight," Arven said, "When we were waiting for Nurse Joy to finish healing them up, I talked about you. And the Nurse Joy recognized your name.

"That's probably because This Nurse joy is same nurse I visited over and over again when I challenged that Titan Bombirdier-"

"You challenged it over and over again instead of training first?!" Aeon cried.

"Okay- okay! Wait wait wait! I can explain!"

"Ten seconds before I send you to Arceus! Ten! Nine! Eight!"

"Wait wait wait...!"

The boys' voices soon became too quiet for Penny to hear. She pulled out her phone. She dialed Clive's number, and then pressed a few buttons to activate her Cassiopea voice modifications.

"Hello?" Penny said after Clive picked up the phone.

"Yes?"

"Penny has just told me that Kai is thinking of canceling his involvement for Operation Starfall."

"...I see. What do you suppose we do?"

"We must put an end to it ourselves. I cannot do it."

"And why's that..?"

Penny sighed.

"...Because I am the leader of Team Star." Penny said. "I cannot put an end to team star myself by disbanding them because of the rules. We do not take orders from anyone- even our higher ups. So if I were to ask them to disband, then .."

"They would not listen."

"Precisely."

"I see… Perhaps we can come to an agreement and put an end to team star ourselves. Allow me to take the place of Kai."

"...I suppose that can work…so long as the person who defeats them is an outsider, the rule that makes them step down still applies."

"Right."

"What worries me is that Kai said he was going to join team star."

"Then that would make him our enemy, no?"

"...Yes…" Penny nodded, dragging her words because she was conflicted. Yes, he would.

"We'll do what needs to be done."

"Yeah. Talk to you soon."

"Goodbye."

Penny turned off the phone. An overwhelming combination of emotions gave her stomach pains. She had to remind herself why she decided to do this in the first place. She had to remember what had happened before- when Team Star was first created. They scared off their bullies- made them resign from class. They made it so that skipping class was the norm...Team Star was supposed to stop the bullies...not potentially become them.

Penny clenched her fists. But as her fists hardened, her resolve did the opposite. It was like some part of her was trying to convince herself that she shouldn't be trying to disband Team Star.

"No. In the end... this has to be done," Penny said. "I know it does." Feeling her resolve return to normal, Penny nodded to herself and kept walking.

"Geeta?"

Geeta's back was turned to the door that her challengers would come through. Instead of a challenger however- it was an elite four member. She had long emerald hair tied into a pony tail, a white colored shirt with a tie and suspenders. She had auburn red eyes and a serious-looking face. She had black pants and long brown boots. Her hands were in her pockets as she approached her boss.

"It's been a day. We haven't accepted any new challengers like you said, but-"

"Rika," Geeta spoke suddenly. Rika's eyes widened a bit due to the tone Geeta used. It was firm, like always, but it had a hint of determination in it. "I am going to have a leave of absence. I am going to bring a Champion to replace me until I return."

"What!? Are you serious!?"

"Dead serious," Geeta said. "Do not fret. This is only temporary. I will return… once I and my Pokémon have achieved a power that surpasses my current level of Flow."

"Wait-...Are you trying to say there's a second level of Flow?"

"Maybe."

"No- That can't be possible. You discovered this ability months ago. We don't even know if such a level exists…! Besides- we still have challengers! Who's going to be the champion while you're gone?!"

"I'm going to bring that new Champion over in just a moment," Geeta said.

Geeta turned around, locking eyes with the clearly shocked-looking Rika. The fierce look of determination gave Rika even more of a fright. Geeta kept that look in her eye even as she walked toward her underling and kept walking until she was standing beside her.

"If the second level of Flow doesn't exist…then I will never return," Geeta said. She walked past Rika.

Rika didn't move. She just remained still- but if she had turned around- she would have seen the ravenous azure-colored aura that was emanating from Geeta's body. Her eyes shone with the power of Flow.

Nemona looked up at the bright sky while standing in a grassy field. It was a beautiful shade of blue today- but it looked a little darker in her eyes.

The memory of having to hold back still bothered her. A lot. Even Fuecoco, who walked behind her, noticed her unusual sadness.

She thought about what Geeta had said to her, and was frowning. She shook her head, as though she were trying to snap herself out of a trance. "This isn't like me.." Nemona said. "I've got to cheer up," Nodding to herself and pumping her arms. "I know just the thing that'll do it- I'll challenge all of the gyms again!" Nemona turned to Fuecoco. "You're gonna get super strong, Fuecoc-"

"Nemona."

Geeta's voice made Nemona spin around and gasp.

"L-La...Diabla Azul..?" Nemona said. "What're-"

Geeta went to her hands and knees, then bowed her head on the ground.

"I have come here to apologize sincerely for how I acted after our battle."

Nemona's eyebrows raised. "Hey- you- you don't have to bow down like that. It's not that much of a big deal."

"It is for me. The way I acted was embarrassing- shameful, even. No champion should show such a temper after the results of a battle."

Nemona shook her head. "That doesn't matter. You don't have to bow down like that!"

"I do."

"...Will you stop if I say, 'I forgive you?'"

"Yes."

Nemona crossed her arms and closed her eyes. She nodded to herself. "Then I forgive you!" She said, grinning. "You can get up now. Okay?"

Geeta went back to her feet. "Good. I'm glad." She said. "I have another thing to tell you. I must take a leave of absence. Until then, you must act as the Champion of Paldea."

"What?!" Nemona cried. "I can't-"

"You are the strongest trainer in Paldea. You should be the Top Champion. It's only right. Please don't refuse."

Nemona lowered her head and frowned.

"I can't help but feel like it's my fault that you're resigning."

"Think of it this way." Geeta said. "You're helping me realize...that I've yet to become stronger. That I was too hasty upon learning this new technique, Flow. I need to become even stronger than before. Until I am certain that I will be able to defeat you- I will come and challenge you myself."

Geeta put her hand on Nemona's shoulder. "Don't you want to fight me when I'm even stronger than before?"

"Well, yeah, but.."

"Besides, think of all the trainers that will come your way to fight you. This is something you were made to do."

"But..."

"I can't think of anyone else who can do it. I need you to do this. It's for my sake, too."

"Your sake..?" Nemona raised her head and looked Geeta in the eye, she saw the glint of determination in them.

"In order to become stronger, I need to find out more about myself and my Pokémon. And the only way to do that is to leave my position temporarily. I will return someday. I swear it."

A tear rolled down Nemona's face. She sniffled, and nodded, smiling. "Okay.." She said. "I'm still sad to see you go."

"I already told you," Geeta said, pulling her arm away. "I will return. Thank you for doing this. It means a lot to me."

Nemona wiped away her tear. Geeta offered a hand- and Nemona moved in to hug Geeta. Geeta was surprised at first, stepping back in fright- but then smiled softly, patting the back of the one who hugged her. After a bit, Nemona pulled away.

"I promise I'll keep that champion chair of yours warm until you come back..!" Nemona cried. "I promise!"

Geeta grinned. "Yeah. I know you will."

"Take care of yourself, okay!?"

"I will."

Nemona looked down at Fuecoco. "Fuecoco- change of plans! We're going to go and be the Top Champion until Geeta comes back! Okay?!"

Fuecoco leapt with joy. Nemona went off running, and the little fire dinosaur waddled after her. Geeta smiled and sighed, then looked at the road ahead of her. The wind glided across the young woman's hair and the grass below her feet. Then- she stepped forward- ready to go on her journey.