Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Klarp Glornharm]

Shalour City

Ben shook his head slowly. "I thought that's why people backed up hard drives, but I guess it makes sense." He looked over at her as she took a drink of the flask. Well, she was having a rough day too, it seemed.

"Don't get me wrong, I'd love to get the hand fixed, and probably more, but I don't exactly feel like a hero. Tonight, anyway. And if I'm going to do anything with it, tonight or tomorrow's the time." When the flask was offered, he accepted it gladly. "I don't feel ready to face the cameras. So, y'know, they're probably right around the corner or something."

He took a quick swig of the flask, not taking too much, and would offer it back. "Well, one of these days I'll have to get your number so you're not just around for the horrifying ending part. You and Sal might not get along, but you seem like a decent person, and I seem to be constantly getting myself into trouble." He laughed, mostly out of discomfort.

"Still, thanks for showing up this time. I think I probably would have died on that airship if you hadn't."  

[Marsuru]

Tower of Mastery

Breath caught in Zack's chest. Ska was dead. He knew already, he was the one who left Ska behind. But now the act was final. Zack closed his eyes, and pinched his brow.

'After our fight,' Zack started, recalling Ska spiked with chunks of metal. He searched for the right words, found them hard as he grappled with borrowed grief. 'The whole ship started to go down. I couldn't save him, Sal.'

His arm ached, whole again but less. 'I'm glad you guys made it out. What a ******** mess.'  

[Jump Einatz]

Shalour City

Juliet looked over her shoulder. From a distance, she could spy lines of people being led back into Shalour like cattle. The news van she could see from here was en route to the shoreline. They wanted to get the big picture story first, it seemed. Ben would get his wish after all.

"A noble is meant to protect their people. It's quite literally my job." Juliet pocketed the flask. "But you're welcome." She wasn't sure how to respond to being asked for her number. That didn't usually happen, and she couldn't help but read into subtext that may have not been there. At another time, she may have even blushed.

So she said nothing about it instead and stood up. "I need to check in on the crime scene before too much is moved. Do you need a lift anywhere before I go?" Juliet dangled the Magic Door Key that had brought them there in the first place. "One way through any door with a keyhole you can think of. I'd suggest somewhere close to a hospital."

Tower of Mastery

"It's not your fault," Sal told Zack with a short shake of her head. It was difficult to imagine Ska actually dying here. The idea was so pointless and sad to her that she could hardly believe it. Maybe he escaped somehow. He was always shifty like that.

Salieri wasn't given much time to reflect on her denial, as two soldiers walked up to them, one man and one woman. The footsoldiers in the Kalosian Army were dressed in beige military fatigues, with brimmed dome shaped helmets. Each helmet came with a visor that served two purposes: giving them an information read out from home base, and to hide their eyes from those who would read them. The second purpose served to make them faceless, intimidating. Indeed, Sal could hardly make out any details about either of them.

"ID's?" the male soldier asked with curt authority. Sal hated complying with authority, but nevertheless held up her Pokédex for him to inspect. He looked at it, frowned, and handed it back. Then he waited on the Redgraves.  

[Marsuru]

Tower of Mastery

After growing accustomed to Kalos's unique sense of flair, Zack found the soldiers' uniforms were striking only in that they were beige. Maybe the region was starting to rub off on him. They were polite enough, but Zack was still on edge from the assault; his hand instinctively twitched for a pokéball at their tone. Luckily, his belt was empty, and Serene grabbed his arm before he could make any more poor decisions. The Kirlia stared at the two soldiers, probing their thoughts but coming up empty. Zack frowned. Some kind of psychic blockers?

'Hold on, I might have left it on the airship that just blew up,' he said, dropping his backpack to the floor and reaching through the gaping hole in its side while keeping a careful eye on the two soldiers. 'Here.'

Zack presented his Trainer ID. The picture was a couple years old, and showed him right after he left the academy, long haired, grinning, and flipping off the camera. So the Kalosian military were already taking over. Gurkinn feared that Lord Nostrad would use any excuse to seize the vault of Mega Stones for his own use, and those fears were apparently realised. They broke their backs stopping one act of piracy and enabled another.

'Can you see that okay, Domehead?'  

[Jump Einatz]

Tower of Mastery

The female soldier stifled a giggle. The male soldier gave her a sideways glance that involved actually turning his head towards her since his eyes were hidden. "What?" she said, no even bothering to hide a tiny grin. "It's funny."

He frowned with one corner of his mouth and looked over Zack's idea. Everything Sal knew about the body language of cops and the like told her this guy was looking for an excuse to put Zack in cuffs, solely for that slight, because that was unfortunately what trigger happy law enforcement was wont to do.

The soldier kept a cooler head, however. He nodded gruffly at Zack, then held out a hand for Helena's ID.  

[Avalite]

Helena was very careful when she reached into her bag, digging a hand into it while keeping an eye on the soldier. This way it wouldn't open up enough to let anyone see the loot she'd taken from the pirates - including some of Ska's cards.

The teen was weary after the day she had, not including the injuries she'd sustained on the airship, which were prevalent across her body. The bite wound from the bat - which had stopped bleeding but one could see it in the red stains of blood that surrounded the puncture wounds in her clothes, sticking the material to her skin. The blood on her face from hitting her head complete with a coagulating scab on the side of her head. Then various cuts and bruises all over.

"Satisfied?"  

[Jump Einatz]

Tower Of Mastery

The guard's frown during his scan of Helena's ID meant no, he was not satisfied. "Do any of you know an Ellie Jones?"
Sal shook her head. "Why?"
"We found a half dead pirate and dead Pokémon in the vault room. Can't talk much, but he says he was confronted by an Ellie Jones. And now there are Mega Stones unaccounted for." He took out a notepad and jotted something down. "He’ll be talking with our sketch artist soon-“
"If he makes it through the night," the female soldier noted, casually bringing up the grim notion to the male’s chagrin.
"So if you know anything about her, now's the time to tell us."

Salieri thought of who this new mystery player might be. It was quite possible there was another faction in play that wanted the Mega Stones. Maybe Ellie Jones was someone from Team Flare?

One more soldier approached, clasping the male soldier's shoulder. “After we secure this scene, we have to vacate,” he said in hushed tones. Sal still picked up what he was saying.
“What?” The first soldier turned his back to the teens. “Why?” Still, Sal could hear them.
“Our jurisdiction is being challenged.”

He pulled his compatriot aside, leaving behind the female soldier until they were simply gone, joining a crowd of anxious squadmates talking this over. Salieri would later find out that Absolon’s squad was being recalled. Because Orrean pirates attacking Kalosian soil was deemed an international incident, Interpol would be taking over the case and any assets involved.

This would lead to a trio of Interpol agents arriving in Kalos over the First Caesura, and to the first run in Salieri would have with the most powerful law enforcement agency on the planet. A story left for another time.

“Over already?” The female soldier’s posture drooped, like a child who couldn’t hide their disappointment. “This outfit won’t be useful for long, sooooo…”

She put one hand to her face and pinched her nose. Her obscured face, and her visor, peeled off from her head like it had been plastic cling wrap all along. As her face and visor left her head it shifted to a light pink color, which dissipated into a mist that Sal found familiar. One second later, and she knew why.

Behind that fake face had been the face of the Witch Salieri had saved from drowning the day before. Her sclera were still the same shade of pink as the mist, a strange contrast to her amber color eyes. Standing next to the Unovan siblings, it became more apparent how much she and Salieri shared physical features: eye color and shape, a dark tan skintone, soft cheekbones, a button nose.

“Great work kids. Gold stars everybody gets gold stars,” the Witch said with subdued cheer as she put her back to all the soldiers, facing Sal Zack and Helena. She gave them a perky smile and a golf clap. More pink mist puffed off her palms and disappeared like chalk dust with each touch. “We didn’t think you’d make it but you did, so that’s nice.”

Abruptly, she looked with annoyance to a space over her shoulder for a few seconds, shook her head, then regarded the teens again. “Anyway, you must be so tired. Sooooo tired. I think I know what you need.”

The Witch held out her hand, balled it in a fist, and opened her hand. She was now holding out three cookies for them to take.

Salieri tensed up, and her hand instinctively hovered to over a Pokéball on her belt. This woman was clearly out of her mind in some regard, but that’s not what got her nervous. Something about this lady, and whatever this mist was, was dangerous. It wasn’t her honed survival instinct telling her this. It was her street smarts. Some people gave off a troubling vibe, and this woman had it in spades. It was the same type of passive menace Ratio had given off on Route 10.

“What’re you doing here, lady?” Sal softly growled. “…are you Ellie Jones?”

The woman’s eyes widened. She looked to Helena, then back to Sal, then smiled. “Noooo. Pachi.” She made a fourth cookie in her other hand, and started to eat it. With each bite, a curl of pink mist trailed off her lips. “Pachi is the name they gave me."

Pachi’s attention flickered to Zack. She nodded at him. “Nice shooting. Are you gonna eat that, or...?”  

[Marsuru]

Tower of Mastery

This was just Kalos all over. One minute you're off a crashed flying pirate ship and talking to a pair of masked, rapid response soldiers, and the next one of them has melted into the crazy lady you met on a balcony. It hadn't even been an hour since Zack saw Pachi last, though it felt much longer. At least a year. Maybe a year and a month or so. He was tired and sore and, the moment she produced the cookie facsimiles, starving.

'Yeah, no thanks,' he said, noting that Pachi's eye colour had gone from pink to something similar to Salieri's gold. No normal people could change their eyes like that. She was either some form of aura user or wore contacts. 'I'm cutting back on foods that have "mystery" in them. I won't even touch secret sauce.'

Zack racked his brain while he spoke, trying to recall all he could about his encounter with this woman. She didn't seem to be a threat, and even helped against Ska, but she also had trippy psychic powers and a transforming gun. And that Chandelure. Those soldiers hadn't gone far, yet they hadn't noticed anything strange about this situation. Some kind of perception powers? He'd have to consult the notebook.

'By the way,' he said, using his special smile. The one where he smiled your way while preparing to punch your jaw off if you tried anything. 'She's the second sniper.'  

[Avalite]

Helena kept quiet when the soldiers mentioned Ellie Jones, she continued to keep quiet even as Pachi appeared. There was plenty to learn from letting the other two talk to the strange woman. It was an impulsive decision, but she decided to keep her identity as Ellie Jones a secret.  

[Jump Einatz]

Tower Of Mastery

The gears moving Sal's train of thought were visible in her expression, shifting from not knowing what Zack was talking about, to slowly remembering and then stepping back while mouthing 'Ohhh!' and not making a sound. She pointed at Pachi. "What. Are. You doing here?"

The watery skin on Reynard's spine began to bubble and boil as she arched back like a cat, hissing like a rising kettle.

Pachi was offended more by the refusal of the cookies than the rebel child's combative stance. She vaporized the cookies from existence when it was clear no one wanted them. "Knocking over a Pirate King." She flicked the air in front of her. "Boop. Like a domino. I always wanted to see a king fall. And you wanted it too. There's a saying..."

She closed her eyes, trying to recall what it was she wanted to say. "No, no. Ssshhh, that's not it." Salieri felt as though Pachi's Chandelure necklace was staring at her.

"The enemy of my enemy!" Pachi spouted with aplomb. "Is my friend. Makes us friends. It's like I saved you from drowning." The last bit was directed at Sal.
"The hell-" Sal felt her voice rise, then stepped forward and lowered her volume so the soldiers wouldn't take notice. "What did you even do? You fought the Skarada pirates?"
"Shot the King and saved your friend. Hit an engine thing, no more backup engine. Put holes through the bottom, capsized the ship. Took some stuff." Pachi tallied a list on her fingers. "Now we're even, Salieri."

Sal was at a loss for words. Exhaustion seeped into every part of her while blood seeped out the injuries. Her mind was already throbbing, working overtime to process the last fifteen minutes of her life. Pachi's eccentricities weren't helping. She needed to keep it simple. 'What do you want?"

"Fiiiiiinally, a real question. But it's not your turn anymore. My turn." Pachi smiled and addressed the group, standing tall with her arms folded. "What do you want?"  

[Marsuru]

The Tower loomed behind them, and in it Zack's cold uncomfortable bedroom. He wanted sleep, a break from the mad shittiness of his life, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. He wouldn't let exhaustion sidetrack him.

'I wanna know who you are and where you came from,' he said. Pachi hadn't harmed any of them yet but he wasn't ready to welcome someone so overtly odd as an ally yet either. 'Why are you involved?'  

[Avalite]

"I'd like to know how many other enemies we have in common," Helena said.

"That and a decent meal."  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Shalour City

"Probably best to go with a hospital that isn't about to be swarmed with anyone injured in this, or any officers looking for people." Ben replied. "Lumiose seems more likely to work out for me than anything else."

He pushed himself to stand up slowly, and decided to drop the phone number thing. "Not all nobles go with that job. You're pretty unique so far as I've seen on my end. You're actually sincere, I think." Most nobles, so far as he'd been able to tell, were protective of them in the sense of them being cattle, useful but expendable. She, meanwhile, had literally jumped into a sinking airship to pull out a couple of pirate criminals who probably didn't know anything.

That was pretty hard to fake, sincerity-wise.  

[Jump Einatz]

Shalour City

Sunset came late in the summer, but was only a couple of hours away. Its passing in the sky briefly cast a shadow on the porch Juliet and Benedict stood on.

Juliet focused on the mental image of a familiar door, across the street from the Lumiose General building. "The nobility has been...lackluster in the past, myself included. I'm simply trying to make up for it."

She stuck the key into the door they came through. Before she turned the knob, she paused, staring ahead at the door's window. Threads and notes regarding what she knew about Benedict connected in her head. "It's no coincidence that I keep finding you at these incidents," she said without looking back at him. "You know something about the darkness lurking in Kalos, don't you?"

Her voice was its usual tone of airy and calm as her other hand rested comfortably on the hilt of the sword sheathed at her side.

Tower Of Mastery

Pachi nodded at Zack and Helena's requests, soaking them in for maybe a few seconds too long. A little annoyed, she groaned. "That's kind of cheating, but ok."

She ushered them to close the conversation circle, further blocking them from the cadre of soldiers fifty feet away who paid them no mind. "I come from a long line of Lorekeepers-"
"From where?" Sal chimed in impatiently.
"Somewhere you may never know."

Pachi put on a voice akin to one used to set the mood for campfire stories. She put her hands together and pulled them apart, unfurling a scroll that hadn't been there before. On the scroll was a stick figure of a tiny Pachi, animated to move slightly alongside a group of adults with similar outfits.

Salieri made a mental note that they also shared her race. It dawned on her that Pachi was the first person she had ever met who looked like her and Moze before. If this crazy woman's tale was to be believed, it could shine a light on where she might have come from, a question that hadn't interested her in nearly a decade.

"We are meant to track human history, and carry on the will of our ancestors. Their spirits live on in their dreams, their dreams live on in me. I keep their lore within my heart. I am many, I am one." Pachi closed and unfurled the scroll again. Now the picture of her younger self was hugging a Musharna as the circle of stick figure adults chanted with their arms raised around her. Pink mist trailed from the Musharna's port into Kid Pachi's eyes, ears and mouth.

"I studied and I learned and I saw the stagnation. Humanity advances and remains still at the same time. It confuses me." An audible tinge of frustration lined that statement. "They do not move past their mistakes. They do not learn."

Once again, she changed the image on the scroll. It depicted stick figures of humans and their Pokémon, being led by medieval rulers to fight a war. The stick figures hacked and tore each other apart in ways that disturbed even Salieri.

Then their outfits and weapons changed, updating to a modern era. But the scene repeated the same way. Only this time, they were no longer stick figures. The art on the scroll had become so detailed that it almost looked like a documentary, found footage of soldiers being vaporized and cut in half and choked by gas. Pachi closed the scroll and it disappeared in a puff just as Sal considered saying she had seen enough.

"Do you like your country?" Pachi asked Salieri. Sal said nothing, and in the silence the look on her face spoke for her. Pachi smiled gently. "I don't either. I'm here for a reset."

The Lorekeeper perked up, breaking the mood she had been setting. "Ok, so, tell me who your enemies are and I'll tell you what we have in common. Aaaaand..." She put her hands together, parted them vertically, and a sandwich floated between her palms. Pachi rose her eyebrows up and down at Helena. "Ta-da."

Sal gave the Redgraves a quick glance, trying to read their reaction. Reynard's was more telling. The Vaporeon's eyes had been narrowed at Pachi the whole time. Animal instinct. She still didn't trust this womanchild, and neither did Salieri. However, Sal's animosity had wavered. "How do we know we can trust you?"

Pachi looked at her like that was the stupidest question anyone had ever asked. "...I'm not you, so how would I know?"  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Ben watched with keen interest as she worked with the door and the key. That was an interesting turn, a key doing all this. She was admitting to fault and trying to grow. But her noble heritage hit his mind again.

When she changed the subject, he felt a slight shift in him to a slight level of discomfort. He had a feeling this was going to be what defined the next time they met. "I know enough about it to know that you wanting to help people is impressive. And enough to know that if you're not trying to kill me for being a semi-decent Pokemon trainer, then you're not like a lot of them." Being a public face could create some buffer from that.

"I'm pretty sure that's not a surprise to you, though. You'll have to be more specific about this darkness."