PRESENT DAY

Chapter 2
The Mercenary

With a small parade of Pokémon on her tail, fresh from the day care center, Penny navigated the familiar streets of Mesagoza, seeking out things to do to occupy some time with her 'mons and give Nemona enough space to finish organizing her things from the move that afternoon.

It made Penny's stomach flutter when she thought about the reality of what the two of them were getting into, here. Living together? Of course, they'd shared a bed a number of times before, but doing so every day was such a big step! She'd get to wake up to her girlfriend's amazing butt by the stove with the smell of Paldean breakfast foods frying on the pan... Of course, it'd likely turn to smoke before long – Nemona was not a terribly good cook. But she'd been getting better! At, um. Scrambled eggs, at least? And she could do half-decent hotcakes, as well. Oi, and toast and beans! She could make a mean toast and beans... (not that this Galarian 'delicacy' was, you know... difficult) They both had been taking a little time every week to learn some cooking from Arven during their weekly hangouts, who'd provide them with a sort of 'homework assignment.' Cooking was never something Penny was into, but learning how to do so from Arven gave the activity a certain kind of magic, and then putting that into practice and cooking together, with her girlfriend...? Ugh. Magic times two.

Anyway, this was getting beside the point: Nemona's beautiful, right-out-of-bed self, right there, every morning! There to be smooched and touched and loved and adored... Maybe she'd even let Penny brush her hair?! Ughhhh, so exciting... Penny's stomach was queasy just thinking about it. She had been refusing to accept all this as reality until it literally happened, and now it was. They'd be able to easily binge-watch shows together, dote after their Pokémon like gay moms without the horrendous responsibilities of raising humans, and have all of the impromptu cuddles and snuggles and kisses they wanted. Ugh. It was too much... She had to calm herself down, here...

As if picking up on Penny's elevated heart-rate (remembering what her girlfriend looked like in pajamas with her hair down was the culprit), her Sylveon's tendrils tickled at Penny's shins, lightly tugging at her trousers. The 'mon mewled a bit, tilting her head toward the direction a pair of her siblings had run off toward. The ornately laid cobblestone plaza was prickled by the padding of Pokémon paws, and Penny began to fret as to what japes her pets might get themselves up to...

"Ah, erh, Sylvie, wh- what're...?!" Penny fumbled out, beginning to raise her voice after her mischievous 'mons, only to settle down when they realized who they'd run off toward with so much fervor.

Flarey and Joltey had sprinted for a very familiar figure who Penny hadn't seen in person for weeks, maybe months. They were dressed in a pair of tight black jeans (with horizotnal tears at the thighs) and donned biking boots to match. A belt of pokéballs – all luxury balls, to be precise – was adorned around their waist, with a white and black plaid backpack for other essentials; Penny recognized the brand of backpack as Galarian. An orange and white letter jacket from their Naranja graduation adorned their lean abdomen, with the embroidered letters 'S.K.' looking a bit frayed and worn. They had on finger-less black gloves and what appeared to be a new motorcycle helmet which looked polished and sleek. The helmet was black with a thick, glittering gold stripe running from the forehead to the nape, and a Gimmighoul coin logo on each side, matching the color and shimmering paint finish of the stripe. Said headgear had a visor to cover their eyes, but at the moment that visor was raised to allow them visibility while making a purchase of street vendor food.

As Penny's 'mons approached their feet, the human figure at first raised an irate brow, receiving a Wishiwashi and veggie wrap from the vendor. Setting their impending meal on the cast iron outdoor table beside them, their gaze scanned around, locking target on Penny before long while Penny got within comfortable conversation distance. Their palm-padded hands lifted their helmet off, and they flicked their head to loosen out a sweat-filled braid of black hair that trailed over their right cheek. Shoving helmet hair strands off their forehead and loosening out their shaggy ponytail, they gave Penny a smirk.

"Yer kids better not think I've got food for 'em," they said dryly, but with a twinkle in their eye that tipped Penny off that they were being facetious.

"H-Hey, Scarlet," Penny greeted, watching as their friend's gaze started darting around. "Nah, they know I'll feed 'em when we get home." She knelt down a bit and whisper-scolded, "Guys, c'mon, don't act like nobs..." And her 'mons scurried over to their 'mother's' side again with their siblings. "Sorry about that," Penny assuaged, sorting her braid behind her back with a nervous laugh.

"No big," said Scarlet simply, still appearing a little uneasy as they took off their backpack and leaned it against their seat. They kept eyeing the plaza warily.

"Oh, Nemona's back home," Penny explained, realizing what Scarlet was conscientious about.

"Mm," was all Scarlet had to say, but they breathed easy and sat down at the metal street table, pitching their helmet up on the table beside their food. The shimmering gold paint against the paint was nice, and it all still had a glossy finish. Must've been a brand-new helmet, for sure.

"She'd be too wiped out to fight you even if she wanted to," Penny continued to ease, opting to take the seat on the other side of Scarlet's table.

"Somehow, I'm sure she'd find a way," Scarlet mused, their tone carrying at once a soft nostalgia and wariness.

Scarlet picked up their food, but stopped in place before beginning to eat.

Their eyes flicking to one side, they asked Penny, "How's... she holdin' up?"

Penny's own eyes widened at the hint of concern from her friend – as much as Letty ever showed concern.

"W-... You could... ask her yourself, heh, if-..."
Penny's remark screeched to a halt when Scarlet's pointed gaze shot back to her with impatience.

"I mean," Penny course corrected, "she's... good. Mostly? A-At least, I think she is...?"

'Bollocks, Penny, not exactly instilling confidence, here, are we...?'

"Moving day, yeah?" Scarlet recollected, having seen the group chat thread update but left it on 'read.' "Gotta be tiring..."

"Yeah," Penny sighed, letting her excitement slip out a bit as one of her hands latched onto her cheek. "B-But we're... both pretty chuffed, honestly."

"Good," said Scarlet simply. They finally took a bite into their fishy wrap.

An awkward silence fell between them, and Penny wasn't sure if that was, like... uneasy vibes regarding Nemona? Still? Or just... usual Scarlet awkwardness...?

"How's, um, oop-?!" Penny's Umbreon hopped into her lap suddenly. Shaking off a laugh while she pet him, Penny asked, "How's things? With you?"

"Mmm-mm," Scarlet hummed uncertainly, their left shoulder bobbing up and down in a vague shrug as they ate, elbows squarely on the table. "Busy," they clarified after swallowing. A beat. They took another bite.

"Yeah, hoough, same," said Penny hastily, trying to get a read on things. "You know, since you're in town for the first time in ages, we should try and get the gang together, you think? Maybe have a-"

"Can't today," Scarlet cut Penny off, with that usual bluntness Penny had grown accustomed to.

Penny must've looked a little wounded by the shutdown, as Scarlet's eyelids fluttered with regret ever-so-slightly, their glance sliding to the side before coming back.

"M-Maybe after this job," Scarlet amended. Another brief pause. "Tomorrow." Another bite of food.

"Job?" Penny mumbled. Umbri's ears twitched as she stroked him, scanning the many sounds of the plaza in the distance, that animalistic instinct to not relax 100%. "That what brings you into town?"

"What brings me to Paldea," corrected Scarlet. They opened their mouth to start on the second half of their wrap, but decided to explain more first. "Past two months have been a freelance bouncer gig for Roxie, she was on tour in Sinnoh. Was gonna enter some contests now that the new season has started, but. Well..." They did their single-shouldered shrug and stuffed food into one cheek. They spoke through their food: "Gah cawd im ere..."

Penny was intrigued. She wasn't aware of any job call sent to Scarlet, which was... kind of odd, given her position at the League. Leading up to her graduation, Penny had kept on doing work for the League's online and LAN systems and the like, but by the time junior year hit (so around the time Penny and Nemona had started dating) Geeta had let her off the hook – with the offer to continue the work and get paid, now that she was legally old enough for such a job. Rika had welcomed the aide and had been keen on making sure Clavell supplied Penny with anything needed, including access to the equipment installed in his office from when Professor Sada had used to work there. After organizing to have the desks shuffled around and some dividers set in place, a cubicle-ish space had been born, and served as Penny's office space. Once Penny was a dedicated and official 'Software Engineer' for the Paldean League, she'd been assigned all sorts of tasks by Elite Rika. If Penny knew any better – and she figured she did – Rika had seemed to take advantage of the new employee to dump off some of their more tedious tasks. But a job was a job, and Penny liked getting paid for a change. Plus, it was easy for her, at least back at that point.

Another couple years later, and Penny had been promoted to 'Chief Information Security Officer.' The easier way to put it was that she was completely in charge of the Paldean League's computer systems, cyber security, networking, the works. That afforded her access to certain under-the-table benefits she'd been abusing, but only ever off the clock, and in no way that was illegal. She knew better than to play with that fire again, especially after having been granted so much trust by La Primera. Penny still couldn't wrap her head around why Geeta had become so trusting of her, despite everything. She couldn't help but assume that her girlfriend had put in a good word – knowing Nemona, many good words, repeatedly. Which, if true – and she was 98% certain it was – just went to show that as much as Nemona didn't care to admit it, networking, connections, and privilege played as much a part in getting somewhere, if not more, than actually being fit for the task.

But Penny was sure as Palkia's pauldrons not going to complain about any of it.

And that lofty position of working directly with the Elite Four and upper echelons of Geeta's organization also had been how Penny had managed to secure her flat in downtown Mesagoza, a hotly contested space in the housing market, even though it was perched right above a shop. Even the pathetically crammed place she lived in – which was more than enough for her personal needs – had been surprisingly difficult to land. Without Rika's help, Penny was sure she'd have been stuck elsewhere. And again, it was precisely those connections, that chain of knowing-someone-who-knew-someone, which had led her there.

But at the end of the day, it was Scarlet here, sitting right in front of Penny, who had been the catalyst for it all.

"You got called in?" Penny inquired, curious about what sort of job the Academy would need Scarlet for on short notice.

"Mmm-hm." Scarlet's cheeks were both puffed with the last morsels of their meal. They dusted their hands on their jeans as they chewed.

"What sort of work?" probed Penny, her curiosity beginning to spin.

Scarlet shrugged, this time with both shoulders. They pulled their RotomPhone out of their jacket pocket and checked it, clutching their helmet against their stout hip. Swallowing, they grunted out, "'Bout to find out. Gotta run." They popped their helmet over their head, slung their backpack over their shoulders, and reached for their right-most Luxury Ball on their hip belt.

Umbri was stirred from his cozy spot in Penny's lap by Scarlet's activity, and Penny noticed that her 'mons were gathering around Scarlet's legs, eager for pets and nuzzles and the like.

"Guys," Penny sheepishly commanded. She offered Scarlet a nervous toothy smile, noting Scarlet impatiently wielding their ball and unsure of what to do about being crowded. "Ugh, sorry, Letty," said Penny, scrambling to collect her 'kids.' Sylvie helped reign everyone in, using her tendrils to nudge her siblings back toward their mom.

"'S cool," Scarlet said. They might've looked annoyed, but their voice sounded almost a bit sad they couldn't stay and hang out with the 'mons. They made the attempt to bend over and give the group some quick head pats, at least. "Seems like they're happy," Letty noted, giving Penny a slight tilt up of their chin.

"I should hope so," Penny balked, scratching at the back of her scalp. She flicked her red and blue braid with the back of her wrist and and smiled with some nostalgia at just how long she'd been caring for this set of goofballs... "The little runts are a handful, but I do my best."

"Yeah. Can see that," Letty said, slightly nodding. Their eyes glazed over a little as they took in the full might of Veevee Adorableness.

Shaking it off, Scarlet dropped their Luxury Ball out into the open space of the plaza. The flash of light it produced expanded immensely, and the familiar form of Koraidon materialized before Penny's eyes, sending a few locals into a brief tizzy. This also flew her Veevees into a giddy frenzy – who even knew the last time they'd gotten to play with Koraidon? Penny lamented it, but she had to retrieve her kids back into their pokéballs, at least for now, just to make sure Scarlet could head out un-intruded.

Koraidon had given the Veevees a pleasant greeting before the gang had been roped in. Before the big red beastie had gone to lick and slobber over Penny with affection, Letty had commanded them, "'Ey-ey! Watch it, Kor..." At this, Koraidon had timidly nuzzled their nose into Penny's chest instead, eliciting her to laugh and run her hands against the big beast's face a little.

"Good to see you, too," Penny said softly. It was wild to to realize she kind of missed the big lug the mor time separated the group.

Scarlet began to walk to Koraidon's side, but Penny's chest tightened.

"H-Hey, one sec!" she called, trotting over. Her canvas sneakers clopped loudly against the weathered cobblestone.

Fists balled at their side, helmet visor down over their eyes, Letty stood still.

"I, erh-..." Penny stopped in front of her friend. She opened up her arms and struggled to smile with her teeth. "Hug? Been a while, and-..."

"Oh. Sure." Scarlet's helmeted head nodded a bit, and they leaned into Penny. The contact was surprisingly warm despite Letty's cold exterior manners. The textures of rough latter jacket, gloves, helmet... it was rough, but Letty's grip made a certain gratitude seep through. The helmet's hard surface almost knocked Penny's glasses off, though. The hug was a little tighter than Penny had expected, and even lasted a second or two longer than she would've preferred, but it was nice all the same. Just that reassurance, in their own way, that Letty still liked Penny, still cared about them in some way, was... just good to have confirmed. They could be pretty harsh, cold, and hard to read... but they for sure had grown a spark inside them that Penny was happy to have played a part in nurturing.

"Call me when your job's done?" Penny eked out as their hug broke.

Scarlet clambered up Koraidon's back, grunting a non-committal, "See if I remember," through their helmet before saddling up. They paused, gripping their 'reigns' on Koraidon as the beast startled some townsfolk with its wide berth. Staring at Penny through a reflective visor, Scarlet's muffled voice plainly said, "Text me if I don't." They twirled a loose finger upward. "We'll, uh... round up the crew." Their hand slapped down against their thigh. "Catch up. Maybe." A small, non-committal shrug.

Penny nodded eagerly as emotions welled in her chest of the 'good times,' when the lot of them had all gone to school together. She missed those times, even if on the whole things were way better for her now.

"See ya." Scarlet did an informal salute with two fingers.
"Cheers." Penny offered a timid wave.

And with that, Scarlet and Koraidon were off. The ground shook under Koraidon's pouncing, trembling Penny's glasses slightly off her nose, so she readjusted them, watching the pair ride toward the League Headquarters up the hill past the Academy.

It was so strange, to consider how pivotal Letty had been in Penny's life – in Nemona's and Arven's, too. In the fate of Paldea itself. A Butterfly Effect of a human being, when Penny thought about it... Made all the more intriguing, given the how and why they had come to Paldea to begin with...

And yet... they still had to work a day job, just like anybody else. Their status as Champion had become, not unlike Nemona, quaint and pedestrian over time, in a sense. 'Normal.' Letty didn't seem to like the limelight much, anyway, aside from the financial gains it brought them. In some ways, Penny could sense this trait of avoiding the spotlight had perhaps rubbed off on Nemona, given her wariness when the whole 'Why aren't you a Gym Leader/etc.?' subject came up. Then again, that could just as well have been Penny's own tendencies toward privacy and not wanting to be perceived having become an influence. And really, Arven, too, didn't seem especially keen on fame, either. Maybe the lot of them just liked being accepted as 'normal,' perhaps... Even if all four of them had pretty 'not normal' circumstances which had brought them to where they were.

Regardless, Scarlet was a treasure hunter by occupation, a freelancer and mercenary. That had always been their intent from the day they'd moved to Paldea. Penny had gained some understanding of the complications of Scarlet's life and their choice of trade, but that was a subject she didn't want to dwell on right that moment. With any luck, the lot of them could all be catching up over some of Arven's amazing soup and sammies soon enough.

Speaking of which, Penny was far too tired to cook any kind of meal for dinner...

And she definitely did not have the stomach for Nemona's cooking that evening, either – not that Nemona likely had the energy for it, anyway.

Penny decided to check in with her girlfriend. She fired off a quick text.

-( oi luv )

( You what? )-
Nemona teased back.

- ( u good yet? )

( Think so, yeah! )-

( Come on back. )-

-( will do )
-( gonna grab food 1st )
- ( was thinking seafood pasta, maybe arroz with it? )

( Sounds good! )-

( Make mine hot, PLEASE~~ )-

-( like u? )

( NO, LIKE YOU! )-

-( lol u got it bae )

With color flushing her cheeks, Penny put her RotomPhone away into her hoodie pocket and began to make her way toward Seafood Fresco to score some dinner. As she did so, a nagging curiosity tugged at the back of her brain. The walk alone, with her Veevees tucked away, would make the trip to the store and the journey back less stressful... But it also left her mind unoccupied, and that bred anxiety.

'… One little peak at the progress won't hurt...'

Discreetly, she dug her hand into her denim skirt pocket... and pulled out her other phone.

It was a PoryPhone. She was just checking out the progress update on per project, that was all...

She hesitated. She'd have to switch the phone's mobile signal on briefly – riskier than a local VPN-masked connection. But she was dying to know how the process was coming along...

With quick taps as she paced down the streets of Mesagoza at sunset, Penny turned on her mobile antennae. She opened the app in question. Waited for it to load...

( Connecting... )

She knew that practically no one in town – hell, no one in all of Paldea, probably – would even notice what she was doing. But there was always that off-chance risk that prying eyes might see something suspicious, especially given that the system she was tapping into had external connections world-wide. And Penny was absolutely up to something suspicious. Something selfish. It had been a long time since she'd gotten this deep into something this risky. But in the end, as it had been in the past her sneaky actions would be worth it, as long as she could finish what she'd started before anyone found out what she was doing. She wasn't technically doing anything illegal, after all. Nothing would be where it hadn't already been when her process was done...

( Connected. )

The ten or so seconds she'd waited had felt like an eternity, but the thrill was part of what made it appealing, after all. She quickly checked on her project's progress.

( Checking Project Status: )

( Compiling Data... )
( 93% )

She sighed with relief. It was still going, still doing its thing... At this rate, it'd be done by the time she came into work in the morning, and no one would be the wiser. She'd be able to run a quick field test to confirm everything was functional... and then it'd be off to the races.

Quietly and quickly, Penny closed the app, disconnected her device from mobile, and slipped the Poryphone back into her pocket.

Her heartbeat was racing a little. She smirked to herself with excitement.