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Tsuki kept quiet through all the travel and talk. When Olivia said something about saving the world, he immediately froze. Seems that the fortune teller was right, I am leading an interesting life, he thought and then followed Lexi towards the food. "Wonder if they got some miso soup," he said, more to himself then others.

The rain had broken up pretty quickly, and eventually Maddy had come metaphorically limping into sight, not really injured but not in peak condition either. Paul stepped out into the road as they came; Maddy pulled up alongside them, they held a short conversation, and Paul then climbed back into the truck, informed Alyssa she could try to hitch a ride with one of the other vehicles if she cared to, double-checked on the casualty in the passenger seat, then got his truck moving with the rest of the party convoying behind.

The rest of the journey was similarly uneventful, a fact which Paul was grateful for. He had no shortage of ammunition, so he could keep trucking, but his pokémon had taken just about all they were going to take. The two pulled up a little after Ramsdens', rolling to a stop at the gatekeepers. Paul nearly rolled his window down before he remembered it wasn't actually there. Dammit. Duck tape looked ugly and was terrible glass. He'd have to actually have it replaced.

Rufus arched an eyebrow. "Many of her works"? "Found them quite impressive"? The boy was arrogant as all hell, but if he could back it up, maybe he and Rufus would need to talk in more detail about the kid's future prospects. It felt like both he and Ulysses were pushing for answers before they really even had enough information to ask the questions. Well, Rufus was nothing if not efficient.

"Alright. Ulysses, in the hydroponics reservoir underneath Glenville, there is a pair of oak trees secluded from the rest of the agricultural area. I will make sure that you and Mr. Dirk Tavish, the other scientist joining us, are both given permission to go down there. We had known Mom planted these before she died, but she didn't give us coordinates until now; apparently, something about them will give us the next clue to finding and taming the mew. Hopefully, Tavish will arrive in short enough order that the two of you can explore together; I think she intended it to remain inaccessible to any but those well-versed in pokémon lore, such as yourselves. We would go, but Bea never did anything half-assed, and while we're smart enough to do it, we really don't have the power backing us up that you do and shouldn't take a stupid risk that for you and Dirk, I doubt is even a risk at all.

"Stetson and Sequoyah. Our mother created a group of pokémon before she died, or disappeared, or whatever it was she did that meant she cut contact with the universe. These pokémon have what is known as a 'latent third-type,' something that occurs extremely rarely in nature, in which a pokémon is mutated such that it has a very minor, but extant specialty with a third type of ether beyond whatever it started with. She has left them to you young ones. The reason she chose you children specifically is beyond us, at the moment; presumably because your sensitivity to ether, much like in the old histories and the way we still end up with trainers today, was greater than other children she tested. Again, how she tested you, we don't know." Behind him and to the side, Skye had gone distant, his gaze staring through the floor as he held his hands clasped between his legs. "Skye will lead you to them, and we'll send in the other young adults as they come in. Two already arrived and should be down there in the exercise facilities. He should be able to answer anything else you need to ask. Skye?" He turned to his brother, who was still zoned out. "Skye!" he barked, making the younger Oak jump.

"Yes? Yes! Sure. I'll take 'em down. Come on, guys," he said, grinning brightly in a friendly fashion and gesturing them along with him as he swept out of the room, ecstatic to be away from a grave situation.

Rufus removed his glasses and ran a hand through his hair once, sighing out with relief to have a few people gone. "I cannot tell you how glad I am to have you here, Ulysses. Skye is brilliant, but... I don't need to tell you what he's like. Combine that with running into Alex and dealing with Jacob, I am about out of my mind. So thank you for coming." He gave a moment to collect himself and sit up a little bit straighter, breathing evenly. "I know, though, that you want to know as much as anyone else does; you knew Beatrice well, and had at least an idea of Alex. Can I ask what he did? His involvement in this so far is completely baffling to me."

Once the two of them had exchanged information, he informed Ulysses where Dirk was, where the nearest entrance to the underground reservoir lay, and where to find the closest pokécenter (actually attached to the university itself), then bade him a grateful farewell and disappeared back into his office.

---

Skye led the two boys downstairs while trying to make pleasant conversation with them and answer what was left of their questions. He asked about the journey over, thanked them for coming so quickly, asked briefly about Terrian and what he had been like (this with some glimmer of admiration), and tried to give them a general picture of what Glenville had been like over the last six years. It was as prosperous as it could possibly be, providing enough food for themselves, for storage, and even for export to some of the other communities that had survived. They had had intermittent contact with other countries through email, and the situation was as bleak everywhere else, or worse - the surviving areas in Europe were plagued with radiation fallout to a degree that the wind, psychic, grass, and poison types simply could not handle the way they had banded together in the early aftermath of the Cataclysm.

The walk had taken a while, as they had had to take two separate elevator shafts separated by half a kilometer of passageways across old tile floors and past concrete walls, underneath unconcealed heating and water pipes; this was clearly the oldest area of the building. Finally, though, that second elevator opened up into a sort of narthex perpendicular to a narrow hallway lined with door after door. The hallway branched on both sides after a dozen yards. Skye led them right, then left, through two doors that required his passkey, and through a final pair of double-doors into a tremendous atrium.

The room was roughly six stories high and sectioned by glass supported by a network of concrete pillars interlaced with heavy plastic support beams. "This was originally a natural cavern dug by onix; part of the network that we use for the hydroponics reservoir, actually," Skye explained as they entered. "We use mostly plastic because it doesn't have an ether signature and most of it has trouble absorbing one. The concrete was necessary in the original construction so it could support all the labs above us." Indeed, the walls were also concrete, and close enough inspection would reveal a complex and incredibly sturdy system that allowed the various entrances and exits of many sizes that speckled them. A complex series of different bird cages and interconnecting tunnels hung in one quarter of the ceiling, presumably a maze when in use. Similar apparatus were on the floor, along with treadmills of varying sizes and weightlifting equipment.

In one quarter stood Alexis and Tsuki, both having heard similar lectures once they had finished their lunch (speaking of which, there were refrigerators stocked with simple food and drink along with a microwave in a side room Skye pointed out). The doctor introduced them all, then pulled two pokéballs from his pocket, inspected small numbers on them to be sure they were right, and handed one to Stetson and the other to Sequoyah.

"Inside these are your pokémon. It's nearly impossible to tell what the third type is until it manifests, and that may take a few days. Anyway. Enjoy! Use the facilities as you will to train; the doors lining the back wall are all to animal cages, and Alexis has the passkey to open them if you don't want to train against one another; most of the common types are in there, and the age, species, weight, and gender are marked. The intercom is there if you need any of us; you should be perfectly safe, here. I have to go be ready to meet the rest, so I'll see you later!"

He swept out of the room after showing them how to use the intercom and left the children to their devices.

---

About an hour prior, Lexi and Tsuki had been speaking with Ms. Brown, along with the rest of their party. They had exchanged details of the short journey, and she, in turn, had educated them about the state of Glenville in much the same way Skye had the other two children and Rufus eventually did Ulysses. She was very open in describing the city, though she smoothed over any details of the hydroponics reservoir in what was easy to determine was well-placed paranoia. She found Tsuki's unique upbringing fascinating and was very interested in Lexi's awareness of the state of the world, especially her interest in technology. She was impressed that the girl knew so much and was so active, at her age, in learning more. "I think the Oaks will take a liking to you, Ms. Hale."

She also made certain to get to know Dirk and spent the rest of the time they had exchanging memories with him of times before the young'ns had been born, including Mikhail as well, while they all ate. Eventually, though, Rufus had come knocking and, along with Skye, given them similar answers as they had to the other group and led the two young'ns down to the labs, where they were given their pokémon, as well. Dirk was advised it might be better if he wander the city a bit and get his pokémon healed if they needed it while he waited for Ulysses.

Mikhail was also given the chance to get his pokémon healed and upon reaching his normal post with the Protectors, was accosted by Jacob Thatcher himself, who was trailing Jeremiah Hosborne in his wake. "Mikhail! Good to see ya, man; good shootin'?" After exchanging pleasantries and making sure he and Jeremiah knew eachother, Jacob explained the situation, as he had heard from Jeremiah and the rest of the flighted units he had sent out. There was apparently a pack of pokémon, animals, and men - hundreds of them - moving violently towards Glenville. They were not yet charging, but they were close enough and showed steady enough movement that the city was in danger. It was hard to tell whether they were driven, and a few motorcycles driven by apparently-lucid people had been seen - even though it wasn't conclusive, there was a chance that this group was in fact being herded. It was only hoped that the small communities of West Virginia had not decided to use such a brutal method to take advantage of Glenville.

Regardless, Jacob wanted a team of veterans to go in and, if possible, snipe the hell out of the humans. "If they were on our side, they'd've taken advantage of the umpteen chances they've had to turn aside from the city, and if they're crazy and no one noticed, no one'll notice 'em dead. If you wanna talk to 'em, give it a go, but you have my permission to kill 'em. Now, I've heard that some interesting folks'll be joining us soon from the other cities, bringing more kids like Lexi and Tsuki that you got, Mikhail. The Oaks are crazy, but they know a thing 'r two about teamwork, and I b'lieve they want the people involved in transportin' the kids to know eachother. Jeremiah, I'd like you to stick with Mikhail in this hodgepodge so he at least has the familiar insanity, haha! Sound good? I'll let you know when the others show up, and you can fill 'em in on what I want out of 'em once they've gotten all rested up and recovered."

He stuck around for questions, but was quickly off to fulfill his administrative duties.

---

Over the course of the day, the rest were greeted similarly. Thatcher made a point of meeting Paul and making his acquaintance along with Ramsden's, having heard about both of them from Brighton, when each came in. He did take each of them aside and inform them of the Commander's untimely death after introducing himself.

To Paul: "No one knows who did it. No suspects, no anything, although apparently there's someone lookin' for you, Paul; a sketchy sort of fellow on a motorcycle. Guy who told me said 'e looked 'too clean,' whatever that means. Keep an eye out." Benji was taken to the hospital under a guard once his tattoo was seen.

To Ramsden: "F*ck, man, what happened?! Medic!" he bellowed, summoning a pair of them with a gurney as though by magic. He then accompanied them, casually chatting with Ramsden to keep his mind off the horrendous pain he must have been in despite any painkillers Ian may have had, and eventually, once the man was still very slightly drugged, had at least had his knee put back in the right orientation, and was relatively calm, evenly informed him of Brighton's death.

Beyond those duties, Jacob of course conveyed joking condolences to the two young'ns that they'd had to travel with such a militaristic cadre and let them know about the group of other kids their age now at the labs, once food had been had. Alyssa creeped him out, to be perfectly frank, but he had already angered Rufus enough and was not about to make it worse by telling him he might have a psychopath on his hands. Ian was informed of the mission Jacob had planned and informed they would find some other way to transport the goods, unless he felt like rushing a run there and back (flying at night alone had hardly been considered safe pre-Cataclysm; once it struck, it had become considered almost suicidal).

---

Maddy was given directions to the nearest chop shop, where the mechanics oohed and ahed over the Eltpatch, although some of them just shook their heads at the daft-looking vehicle and went back to work. She was given the materials to repair it, and one mechanic in particular, a sandy-haired young woman with a thick build stood by her after introducing herself as May. She hovered by Maddy constantly (assuming the woman had taken the offer of materials and tools to fix the machine) and tried to help, her brown eyes intensely curious of every detail while she asked any question that could possibly be of interest, and many that were of none, also giving Maddy the vague details of her life, including how much family she had, how long she'd been in Glenville, and what she was good at (cousins, nephews, nieces, uncles, and aunts; fifteen years; custom choppers).

---

((Elsewhere, the DM's had a really good way to end this post all conclusively and such. But then it was four-thirty in the morning and that went out of both their heads, especially since one conked out because she actually has a real sense of a sleep schedule. Stay tuned for narration! Thanks for dealing with two and a half weeks of silence!))

In the town Alyssa's alertness peeked up to high levels, her eyes became shifty, her movement became those of a cat who is ready to slip away on a moment's notice. But she was tired, the trip, while not the longest she had been on and certainly not the toughest, had worn her out emotionally and for the moment that took form physically.

She barely paid attention to the man who greeted her and left Paul's truck towards the indicated areas without so much as a goodbye to him. Not that he should expect one, and not that she was expecting one in return. It was the proper mercenary attitude.

Alyssa was busy marking escape routes when she was greeted by a girl whose words weren't processed by Alyssa (who made no change in facial expression towards her joke having not processed it yet) until she introduced herself as Juno Galladeigh. She turned her eyes (unreadable) to Juno and responded. "My name is Alyssa." her accent permeated all her words.

Then she processed the rest of what Juno said (her eyes becoming thoughtful as she did this) and answered her dig.

"I almost killed that man five times." her answer was a dark one, her voice reflected that in its serious tone. Seeing as how Alyssa could use an ally in this place she shifted her tone awkwardly to something resembling humour.
"I do not even think a saint could stand him, and most of them are dead."

There, now they're both lame.

He waved as the younger ones were led away. "Good luck, Schraeder." And then they were gone.

Oak trees... How fitting. Ulysses listened intently, gathering the information with rapt attention. When thanked, he smiled. "You know I would have been here sooner if I could."

His answer when questioned about Terrian was, "I can't even begin to imagine, but the man has clearly gotten himself more thoroughly wrapped up in this than anyone else. Talking to him... it's difficult. He seems to know so much and we so little that anything he says comes out doubly cryptic." Then he remembered something... or at least remembered that he remembered something. "Actually! Terrian presented us with a riddle of sorts... Something about stars..." Ulysses shook his head. "I don't recall it right now, it's just on the tip of my tongue, though. Have Skye ask Schraeder: he might remember."

Then it was time to part ways and Dr. Shonevsky wished Rufus good luck. His first order of business was finding Dirk Tavish, and he proceeded as per the older Oak's instructions.

The ride on the onix had been relatively uneventful (which, in this case, merely suggested that no one died...), and had given him time to cool off a bit from the stress of the battle and the aggravation at his companions. Personally, he would have preferred to be riding behind Juno, but circumstances had dictated otherwise... she seemed pretty insistent at riding behind him anyway. And if it's what she wants, I guess she's right... this IS kinda cool. As the rock serpent rumbled beneath the two of them, he wondered what it would feel like to own such a creature, to be able to travel anywhere and have people move out of your way, to crush anyone or anything that dared stand against you in a fight... no, to literally crush them... he didn't want to sound petty, even to himself, but he did have to admit that if he got a pokemon, it would just have to be big and tough.

Long after the novelty had worn off their travel, the group approached a settlement large enough that it could only be Glenville. "Whew, about time..." As they entered, their group was quickly found by people who were apparently expecting them. It was a string of people Toby didn't know, and while he tried to be nice, the truth was he was exhausted and didn't care much. Juno seemed to know the latest two, a man and a woman, or at least seemed to get along with them, so he decided it would be best to make a good first impression. "Toby Lawson. It's... a pleasure to meet you. Well, OK, to be honest it's a pleasure to meet ANYONE at this point who isn't trying to kidnap us." Dry humor seemed to be par for the course here, so he figured it couldn't hurt to break the ice. Since Juno and New-Guy were catching up, he figured he'd let her relay the trip to him, and fill in anything she missed afterwards.

Paul frowned. He glanced at Toby and gave him a slight nod as he approached but said nothing else. He seemed to be gathering his thoughts. After a long moment, he shook his head. "No good way to put this. Brighton's dead. He was shot in his office. We've got a fairly good guess as to who did it, though." Not that they had told him explicitly, but it was a pretty easy connection. Someone who looked 'too clean.' Showed up looking for Paul. Brighton was dead. That meant a professional. A killer who knew how to keep the dirt and the blood off him. Possibly someone Paul would have to contend with, not someone to just walk over when the time came.

Paul shook his head again. It suddenly occurred to him that if the man was chasing him, the easiest thing to do would be to camp out here in the city on a hill and peg him when he came to the gate. He could probably recruit the local guards, get them to buy him time to line up a shot. He'd have to ask them later. Hell, he thought he'd seen a technical somewhere in town - whoever owned that would most certainly be helpful if he could get the HMG on his side.

Juno didn't even notice Alyssa's smile. All she could hear was the confusing sentence "Brighton's dead" repeating in her head. What?

Her face grew slack as she processed Paul's words. "Oh." She bit the inside of her cheek hard as she took a deep breath. "And tell me," she started off slowly, "how the <********>" Don't yell. Stay calm. "does someone waltz into town and kill our Commander in his own office?" It was taking everything in her not to scream and it could be heard by the strain in her voice.

Her hands were balled into fists. No. I don't believe it. He's not that easy to kill. I can't believe he's that easy to kill. But then why would Paul lie? He had no reason to, and if she were in the right state of mind, she would realize she preferred the harsh truth to some pretty lie. "So who did it?" She had to know. It would force her to think of something other than the fact that another person she cared for was dead. At least I didn't see the body this time. Commander Brighton was a good man...it enraged her to think he was gone.