The loft was far nicer than anything else in the tower, and far nicer than anything else they had seen in Horizon City this far. Pannen, Elijah, Leah, and Ishmael were still in that room, looking at Sesha the absol.
"You're Eno's sister?" Pannen asked to confirm.
"Yes," Sesha said. "And you are the children of the pokemon who took down Armin?"
"We sure are!" Pannen said.
"I see. Locke the luxio, Tamin the cinccino, Brinn the dewott, Scarlet the mienshao, Herald the espeon, and Sebastien the meowstic. Those are the names of your parents, am I correct?"
"Yes," Pannen said, mildly surprised. "You know all of them?"
"I am acutely familiar with that story, yes," Sesha said. "I never forgot about the fall of Armin, I can tell you every moment of that night as it happened."
"That makes sense, it was a very big night," Leah said.
"More than that, it's etched in my own memory. I literally cannot forget about that day, from the funeral and everything after." Sesha said.
"I'm sorry about that," Pannen said.
"Did you know about us?" Ishmael asked.
"Vaguely. I knew they had children, but I never checked what all of their names were. That would require me to actually visit the town and ask around, and I simply didn't have the time for that."
"That's okay," Pannen said.
"So I must ask, why have you come here? And why you four specifically?"
Pannen felt it was getting tedious to explain her purpose so often, but she felt she was getting close to what she needed. "I have a sister named 'Aika' who ran away, and we're trying to find her and get her back."
For the first time, Sesha's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Aika is her half-sister, not her full sister," Leah interjected. "Her biological father is Hunter the zoroark, and the reason Aika left is that she wants to find Hunter. Since we've lost Aika's trail, we figured we could find Aika by finding Hunter ourselves. Given that he is the 'human-slayer', it only made sense for him to have some affiliation with your organization."
Sesha adjusted how she sat down. Her face was impossible for them to read. "I'm very sorry to hear that," she said.
"Thank you," Pannen said.
"No, it's more than that," Sesha said. "I don't just say that as some generic empathetic epithet or to say that I can visualize it. I say that because I've been there before, I say that because I still am there. I have a lost sister too. When Eno left to join the guild, I thought she would still be coming back one day. But I… was wrong. One day, I got the news that he was murdered, I got the news that I would never get to see her again."
"I'm very sorry," Pannen said.
"It never leaves me. Eno is dead. But for you, you have the luxury of possibly finding her again. Her fate isn't certain," Sesha said.
"I'm certain she's still alive!" Pannen said.
"I certainly hope she is," Sesha said. "So, I take it you're the leader of this group?"
"I am," Pannen said. "We've gone all this way together, and we've become as thick as thieves through all our struggles."
"Eh, more or less," Leah said.
"We're not thieves," Ishmael said.
Elijah remained quiet.
"You four are nothing short of heroes for going on this endeavor, that much is clear," she complimented. "Let no one tell you otherwise."
"Thank you very much," Pannen nodded her head.
Sesha took another moment to look at the four of them silently. "Pannen, would it be okay if you and I spoke separately? I feel we have a lot in common, I would like to have a moment just with you."
Pannen took a quick glance at Elijah, Ishmael, and Leah, then turned back to Sesha. She didn't want to leave them, but she still wanted to get closer to Sesha and felt this would be a good way to. "Sure, just make sure they're safe."
"You are in the safest place in the world right now, you have nothing to fear," Sesha said. "Give me one moment, I'll just send a few messages across the building."
The absol got up and walked to a neighboring room, closing the room behind her.
Pannen, Elijah, Ishmael, and Leah were left alone in the loft for a moment, but they simply waited for Sesha return instead of initiating a conversation between them. It wasn't long before Sesha came back into the room. Not long after that, she went to the door they had entered by and opened it up. Three more pokemon entered the room: a furfrou, a machop and a gallade.
"As I said, I'd like to speak with Pannen. These three can speak with you other three, is that alright?"
Each of the pokemon welcomed into the room were in uniforms and gave a smile.
"Not what I anticipated, but sure," Leah said.
"I'm fine with this," Ishmael said.
"I'm not… so sure," Elijah expressed.
"Eli, it's fine. We'll reunite soon enough," Pannen told Elijah.
Pannen got up and approached Sesha again. "Alright, we can talk now. Just don't make it too too long," she said to her.
"You have nothing to worry about," the absol reassured.
Pannen was brought to another room which connected to the loft. There were sofas to sit on, a table which had a pitcher of ice water and a plate of snacks, and a very wide window that gave a look to the city below them. Pannen couldn't help but gaze out of the glass, she'd never seen the world from so high up before.
"Make yourself comfortable, I'm sure it was a hard journey to reach here," Sesha said.
"It sure was," Pannen said. "We ran into danger a few times, but we got through. It's all for Aika."
"I find your determination extremely admirable," Sesha said.
"Thank you."
Pannen continued to look out of the window as Sesha was behind, across the room from her. She'd never been that high up before, and she'd never seen that many buildings before. Minccino were small pokemon, but up there, even a massive dragonite would look like a tiny dot. The fine details of the city couldn't be made out from such a high place, it felt more advanced than Pannen thought was possible.
"You can take your time. You've certainly earned it, and I have this view to share."
The minccino remained at the window, gazing out at innumerable buildings which just kept stretching out and out. She couldn't even begin to count how many she could see, and she knew there were countless smaller buildings being obscured by the larger ones. It was difficult for her to wrap her mind around it.
Sesha stepped up to Pannen, standing beside her and gazing out of the same window.
"It's beautiful, in a strange way. A city completely ashamed of its past and trying its best to ditch what it once was," the absol said. "No tradition, no past. Perfect for forging the future."
"I'm surprised you chose this city of all places to have this foundation," Pannen said. "I mean it used to be owned by House Breach, and those were the people who worked with Armin."
"It wasn't my first idea either," Sesha said. "First, I just sought to have this foundation localized to my absol colony. But I realized it was far too important to be confined to such a remote area. I then planned to get a headquarters in Port Rosiose, as I thought being at the ocean would help allow us to be global."
"Why did you end up here?"
"Pure logistics at first, I could get more support here than anywhere else, and the real estate was far too good to pass up. It worked out wonderfully once I realized how desperate this city was for a new future."
"I'm… glad you can provide that," Pannen said, not fully understanding what Sesha was saying.
"Why thank you," Sesha said. "Now, I have to turn the subject back to you. I must say, I'm very surprised to learn that Hunter has a daughter."
"It was news for us as well, but it's just-..." Pannen shook her head around as she searched for the right words to say. She turned away from the window and walked towards the center of the room. "I don't like it when she's called my 'half-sister'. Aika is my sister, we grew up side-by-side. It doesn't matter who her biological father is, we were both raised by Locke and we never doubted it when we were growing up. It's just… I don't understand why she left. I don't want wealth, I just want Aika back home."
"I understand. I found that comment from Leah to be rather uncalled for as well," Sesha said.
"Yeah…" Pannen said.
"What kind of person is Aika like?" Sesha asked.
"She was a very active person. Is- is a very active person," Pannen said. "She did often pull some pranks on others that could be considered mean spirited, but… I don't think it was bullying, just some rough playing. She made all of our lives so much more fun in that town. She was different, but I liked our differences."
"I see…" Sesha responded.
"I'm not going to let her go away forever, I will get her back. I'll do anything to make my family whole again," Pannen spoke with conviction absolute.
"I understand," Sesha said.
"Thank you," Pannen responded. "So… how about your sister? What was Eno like?"
The absol's response was not immediate. She looked to the floor, then out of the room's window, then back to the floor. The expression on her face remained hard to read, but her mouth remained closed.
"...I'm sorry, I didn't mean to strike in any sore spots," she said.
"Eno was a curious person," Sesha finally said. "I was her sister for her whole life, but I never could quite figure out what was going around in her mind. She just kept asking questions that no one else had asked, so no one quite had an answer to them either.
I wouldn't trade our childhood away for anyone else. The inside of that absol colony might have had gray walls every which way, but she was always there to make everything more interesting.
Before leaving the guild, her claim to fame was when she managed to solve a criminal case to figure out who stole a valuable medal.
But it wasn't much later that she decided to leave the colony to become a member at that guild, and…"
Sesha's voice trailed off again, choking with remorse. Pannen remained quiet.
"The single greatest regret of my life was not trying to do more to dissuade her. I made some effort to talk her out of it, but it was weak and half-hearted. I thought I just needed to let her be free and make her own decisions, because I thought she would be returning home after leaving. I was wrong.
When I reminisce, I wish I could think more about the good days- the brightest days of our childhood. But all too often, I just relive those conversations in my head, trying to think how I could have spoken differently to convince her to stay. Every single day, those conversations repeat in my head, but it's all pointless."
"I am so sorry," Pannen said.
"It's just… that's the reason why this was created: to ensure no one else faces the same tragedy that Eno was forced to suffer. We're here to take a stand against all humans, and we act right away instead of waiting for more to die."
"Considering what you and Eno have gone through, I completely understand," Pannen said.
Sesha gave a small nod. "Humans are vile creatures," she said. "Now, you should understand our position fully. What the P.P.F.F. does isn't just moral, it's necessary. Humans are slaughtering us true pokemon all over the world in cold blood. And call me crazy, but I- for one- think that an innocent life is more valuable than any amount of money."
For one moment, Pannen hesitated. Her eyes changed expression and she adjusted how she sat. "Wait a second," she said. "True pokemon are killed by other true pokemon all the time, most of the criminals the guild stopped were other true pokemon as well. We even saw some other evil true pokemon on our journey here. How are humans different?"
Sesha shook her head in disappointment. "Pannen, have you ever heard of the concept of 'whataboutism'?"
"No? What is that?"
"It's a logical fallacy so often made. Where when one person points out an evil in the world, another person says 'what about those other people who did the same thing?', or even saying 'what about the times you've done the same?' It's a logical fallacy because the original evil being referred to still exists regardless of whether or not evil exists elsewhere. Just because 'B' is evil doesn't mean that 'A' is no longer evil. Or in this case, just because there are murderous true pokemon out there doesn't suddenly mean that humans are no longer killing innocent true pokemon. They're completely unrelated things. That is whataboutism. "
"I see…" Pannen pondered over what the absol just said. Her mind- still young- couldn't come up with an effective counter-argument. "I'm sorry," she ultimately said.
"It's okay. It's a mistake many earnest people make," Sesha said.
Elijah was in a different room, sitting with the furfrou. This room had cushions to sit on, a table with dry foods and ice water, but it didn't have any windows to see the outside. Elijah took one of the water cups and sipped on it.
"You've sure come a very long way, you've earned this rest," the furfrou said.
"Thank you," Elijah replied.
"You traveled through the wilderness, even through mystery dungeons, to my understanding?"
"We did," he said.
"Impressive. What gave you the determination to set off and get through it all?" the furfrou asked.
"Well…" Elijah's voice trailed off. "To be perfectly honest, I just came along because Pannen wanted me to come along."
"Oh," the furfrou said. "You are loyal to her, aren't you?"
"Well yeah, she is my sister."
"That is very good. What do you think of your siblings?"
"Pannen is a good person; I look up to her. She's adventurous like our parents are."
"What about Aika?"
"She's a little mean, but I still want her back," Elijah said.
"Makes sense," the furfrou said. "You aren't the only person who is loyal to their siblings. Really, this whole organization exists because of that. You are like Sesha in a lot of ways. Loyalty is a strong virtue."
"I know," Elijah said before taking another sip from his water cup.
"Eno didn't need to die. Her death at the hands of a human was completely and utterly pointless."
"I know the story, I've heard it multiple times."
The furfrou nodded. "That's why this organization is so important. Your goal, Pannen's goal, Sesha's goal, deep down it's all the same. Your struggle is personal and important, that shouldn't be put-down. But for Sesha, it's an issue much larger than you and I. She strives to make sure more true pokemon aren't senselessly murdered by humans like Eno was. We're here to take a stand against all humans, and we act right away instead of waiting for more to die."
Elijah lifted his head, and his eyes squinted. "All humans? Armin was a bad person, don't get me wrong. But there are bad true pokemon too. It's wrong to judge people before meeting them."
"Woah, calm down. When we say 'stand against all humans', we don't really mean 'stand against all humans'. What we actually mean is that we want humans to be held to the same levels of accountability that true pokemon are held to."
"Well… okay," Elijah said, but his voice was clearly unsure.
"It's wrong to constantly be assuming the worst possible interpretation for everything. 'P.P.F.F.' stands for 'Pokemon Persistence and Freedom Foundation,' nothing else."
Ishmael the mienfoo gleefully ate, shoveling the surgery treats which laid in front of him into his mouth. Crumbs were scattered on the floor and around the fur of his smiling mouth, and they only accumulated. He was so enticed by the confectionaries that he paid little mind to the machop sitting across from him.
"Don't be eating too much, I'm not sure how much I can really give you," the machop awkwardly said.
Ishmael spent a moment swallowing. "Oh, okay," he said. Some food remnants still remained in his mouth and distorted his speech.
"You're certainly got quite the appetite, must be from all the adventuring you've done," the machop complimented.
The mienfoo swallowed again to further clear his mouth. "Oh yeah!"
"I'm glad we can be accommodating, then," the machop said. "So, I assume you've heard about the gist of what the P.P.F.F. is all about?"
"More or less," Ishmael said.
"You're familiar with everything about Eno and Armin?"
"Oh yeah!" Ishmael said. "My parents actually fought with Armin directly!"
"So I've heard."
"When Armin was trying to break down our guild with a whole buncha oher pokemon, my mom was the first one to fight with him directly! She kept fighting him all toe-to-toe for a long time, and then my dad showed up to help her! Armin ended up needing to run away from there, it was all super cool!" Ishmael made exaggerated motions with his arms to exemplify what he was saying.
"I'm sure it was!" The machop played along. "This organization is pretty similar though, but it's not just with Armin specifically. We're here to take a stand against all humans, and we act right away instead of waiting for more to die."
"I see," Ishmael said, reaching for another treat on the tray in front of him.
"I'll get you some more snacks. Don't worry, it's on the house," the machop said.
"I must say, you really do have the intelligence of your parents," the gallade said. "The apple really did not fall far from the tree."
"Thank you, I'm flattered," Leah responded. "Though not all of it is genetics, I worked hard in studying to get here as well."
"Indeed," he said. "Normally, I am summoned to speak with the poor or the otherwise downtrodden. Not that I mind, but they aren't often in the high echelons of society. Yet this time, I have to be honored to speak with you. The daughter of the guild who defeated the mighty Armin, sitting right before me."
"Why thank you," Leah smiled earnestly. "And I did have to travel through hillbilly country to arrive here, so you don't need to hold back your words. I fully recognize who you're talking about when you mention the 'downtrodden' you speak with."
"Well- indeed," the gallade seemed somewhat caught off-guard by those words. "It's not often we have such a V.I.P. guest here. Forgive me if I'm starstrucken."
"You are forgiven," Leah's smile persisted.
"Thank you," he said. "Your guild is very important for the world at large, don't think I am putting that down. It's integral to society- and quite frankly- to the world at large. It's just that the guild has many, many different duties that it has to multitask on. The P.P.F.F. is different in that its purpose is much more targeted and focused to a specific blight."
"Right, I have heard about that," Leah said. "On the way here, I was informed about the 'Burning of Prenarch', and how there are much more evil humans beyond just Armin."
"Indeed," the gallade said. "We're here to take a stand against all humans, and we act right away instead of waiting for more to die."
"An understandable mission statement, to be sure," Leah said.
Pannen and Sesha remained together for a while longer. Pannen talked about the circumstances leading up to the journey, Sesha spoke of how the P.P.F.F. was founded, and both shared what their sisters meant for them. With every minute which passed between them, the formality in their tones weakened and their conversations became more personal. They lost track of time chatting with one another.
Eventually, Sesha sat up. "Come with me, there is something that you would like to see," she told Pannen.
Their conversation had already gone in so many different places that Pannen was no longer precisely sure what the absol was referring to. But she still sat up and followed along.
The two of them walked across the loft which laid on the top of the massive structure, back into the main living room and across into another side room. Despite being a living space, Pannen saw the new room they entered was like an office with an entire filing cabinet of many drawers and a desk.
Silently, Sesha walked to the other side of the desk, and spent one moment searching through drawers. "Take a seat, this is something you'll want to see."
"Okay," Pannen said.
The minccino hopped onto a seat on the other side of the desk as Sesha pulled a pack of thin objects out from a drawer. As Pannen got comfortable seated, Sesha placed them down on the desk. They were a series of photographs: each depicting Sesha herself alongside a zoroark. Pannen only needed to gaze upon them for a second before the truth clicked with her. "That's Hunter!"
"Yes," Sesha confirmed. "I can say this with absolute perfect certainty and honesty: I know precisely where Hunter the zoroark is. He is not dead, and I can lead you to him."
"Well help us! It's for my sister," Pannen said.
"But before that, there is just one thing I would like you to give in return," Sesha said.
"What is that?"
"I would like your assistance in the P.P.F.F.," Sesha looked into the minccino's eyes as she spoke. "It doesn't have to be permanent. Just a short, temporary sting is fine enough for me. It can conclude before your parents return. You four are some very high-profile people to come into here, and you've already proven your worth on the journey to reach Horizon City. Your help here would be greatly appreciated, and I believe you will help organization morale exceptionally with your heritage and undeniable heroism."
Sesha sat forward and extended a paw. "Come now. I can provide you shelter that's warm and dry and all the food you need while you help us- just for a little while- to take our stand. Then, Hunter will be yours. What do you say?"
Pannen spent a moment to consider the proposal. The crowded city and massive structure still unnerved her in a way she couldn't easily put to words, but all the time she had spent bonding with Sesha was still fresh in her mind. She felt connected to the absol, and she couldn't forget her indefatigable purpose to find her own sister again. "For Aika, I accept." Pannen said.
"You should probably stop eating all those. At this rate, you'll get a stomach ache," the machop said.
"Well, okay." Ishmael swallowed again. "You're probably right."
"But hey, I have an offer for you," the machop told Ishmael.
"What would that be?"
"If you join the P.P.F.F., then I can guarantee you'll get more food, more shelter to stay at, and even earn some money of your own! It'll be another great adventure, but I promise it won't hurt as much as the one it took to get here. It could be a good bridge until you're old enough to work at that guild your parents work at! What do you say?"
"Hmm…" the mienfoo pondered the proposal. "I guess."
"I was coming in with high expectations, but you're surpassing even those! I am truly impressed," the gallade said.
"Thanks again. I truly do appreciate getting the recognition," Leah replied.
"You've certainly seen a lot, both from your life in that guild's town and on your journey," he said.
"Oh, you would not believe it," Leah said. "Really, he wouldn't believe it. Not when we were literally communicating with the dead," she thought.
"But on that note, there is something I have to offer to you."
"Oh? And what would that be?"
"I do hope this isn't beneath your standards, but could you join the P.P.F.F.? Only for a little while. Your father does have quite the specific legacy of leading the team who brought down Armin, and this would serve as a continuation of that. We will pay and shelter you, of course. All you have to do is give your services, which I can't imagine would be difficult for someone such as yourself."
"An intriguing proposition," Leah said. "I still have my duties at the guild, technically. But that does indeed sound like a means of bolstering my resume and further showing how I'm the best fit for becoming the next guildmaster."
"This isn't right!" Elijah raised his voice. "There are bad humans, yes. But we shouldn't just be judging them like this! How would you feel if someone automatically assumed all true pokemon were bad because of the actions of a few? Don't you think that's the mindset Armin had?"
"You're comparing us to Armin now?!" the furfrou said.
"You're not quite as bad as he was, but I think you are similar in this case."
Tension was palpable in that room. What started as just a calm conversation had devolved into an extended argument that was just getting more and more heated.
They had spent far longer in that room than what was intended. Words kept being exchanged back and forth, falling just short of being insults. Through all the heated discourse on the nature of humans and frequent comments of "what we actually mean is" from the furfrou, they both came to a realization: they wouldn't be able to change the mind of the other.
"...Fine," the furfrou relented. "We're just going in circles. I have no idea why you're being so resistant to something literally called the 'Pokemon Persistence and Freedom Foundation', but we aren't getting anywhere."
Elijah didn't respond, he only gave a glare.
"We've spent way more time than anticipated. Come, let's just get you back to your friends," he said.
"Okay," Elijah's voice still shone of annoyance.
The furfrou opened the door and led Elijah out of the room, and they both left.
The journey back to the loft living room was in bitter silence. Elijah was angry, but more so he was just annoyed. He wanted out of that building already.
Once the walk back was done, the door to the loft was opened again. To his surprise, Elijah saw that Pannen, Ishmael, and Leah were already in the room, and they were with Sesha again.
"Eli!" Pannen enthusiastically said.
"Hey Pannen," Elijah replied, his voice much less enthusiastic.
Pannen jumped off of the furniture she sat on and ran over to her brother. "I've got some good news!"
"What is it?" Elijah asked.
"I'll tell you the same stuff I've told Ishmael and Leah, but Sesha's going to show us where Hunter is!"
"Really?" Elijah said.
"Yeah! All we have to do is help out the P.P.F.F. for a little while and she'll tell us."
"What?"
"It's only going to be for a little while, don't worry. But we will have to join for a bit, yeah," Pannen said.
"They said it's going to be an adventure and they'll give us a lot of stuff!" Ishmael said.
"Either way, it's certainly going to be great for our careers. Not many people get proper work at this young of an age," Leah said.
"Are you… sure this is right?" Elijah asked.
"What do you mean?" Pannen asked.
Elijah's mouth opened, but no words came out. He tried to bring up an argument- just as he had done minutes ago- but found himself unable to. In that room, he was outnumbered by people who disagreed with them. Among them was the leader of a large organization, a guild member, someone he saw as a friend, and his own sister. Who was he to argue with them? His jaw remained slightly open, but he couldn't say a thing to contradict them all, not even let out a breath.
"Are you okay?" Pannen said.
Elijah hesitated for one more second. Then, he nodded his head up and down.
"I promise I will give you everything you desire," Sesha interjected. "Help me, and I will grant your wish of bringing you back to your sister."
"Yeah, Eli. We'll just have to join for a bit and we're in the clear," Pannen told Elijah. "Everything is okay."
"Well…" Once again, Elijah tried to speak up- to say his opinion. But when he was so outnumbered, he found himself unable to. "...Okay."
End of chapter 18.