TEEN: Land of the Roses [abandoned]

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 1: The Dream

We are the thinkers and inventors. We strive. We dream. We aspire always towards something greater than ourselves. In the end, we achieve.​

~ Giordano da Venii (May 1507)​

- - - - -​

May 12th, a day like any other in the land of the roses, the Kingdom of Lanark. Cloudy, rainy, fog-obscured and windswept; cold and miserable, with a slight touch of lingering gloom. A rolling blanket of iron grey storm clouds covered a large portion of the country that day, and a sharp wind blew through the moss-choked stone valleys of the Northcountry, bringing with it the lingering bitterness of a winter that refused to go away.

Despite the dreary weather, life carried on as usual. The echo of a train horn blared across the peaceful, untouched countryside. High up in the stony foothills of northeast Lanark, the source of the horn blast slowly made its way across the narrow cliff side, carefully navigating the winding rails, hand-cut stone tunnels and rusted-yet-sturdy bridges ahead of it.

Aboard the train sat a young woman, completely disconnected from the world around her. Her attention was sunk in her smart phone; between the high octane thrash metal that blared through her headphones and the game of Tetris that she was wrapped up in, the outside world was little more than an afterthought to her. In desperation, she tried to keep up with the pace of the colored tetrads that plummeted down her screen, but it eventually proved to be too much and the game ended.

"Ugh, come on..." the young woman grumbled to herself. "Again... I almost made it to level 30..."

She was tempted to start another game, but instead she shut off her music and decided to gaze out the window at the passing countryside. Having grown up among the Heartland's flat meadows and spending the past four years of her life in a sprawling city of skyscrapers, she rarely had an opportunity to see such sights. In the foggy, rain swept distance, the snowcapped Dornoch Mountains loomed above the landscape like eternal sentries. The valley below was bathed in a rich, verdant green as the foliage finally began its yearly spring-time return.

"The view would be perfect," she thought, "if it weren't for this damned rain..."

The peaceful atmosphere was spoiled by her phone unexpectedly buzzing to life with a loud shriek. The screen lit up: 'Incoming call from Dad'. She adjusted her posture and relaxed in her seat as she answered the call. The screen faded to black, then displayed a video of a man seated in an office chair in a dimly lit room.

The man's face lit up with excitement as he saw his daughter appear on the screen in front of him. "'eeeeey! There's my girl!"

"Hi..." she quietly responded.

"Just thought I'd call and check in on you. I'm sorry, I don't do that as much as I should."

"It's okay," she answered. "You could say the same about anyone. I'm used to it."

"So. Today's the big day, huh?"

She nodded in silence.

"How's the train ride? Smooth? Been awhile since I've been on the Silverline."

"A few minutes behind schedule, but the trains always are," she replied. "I think I should be arriving in Loch Alstan pretty soon."

"Just in time for the big interview!"

She inhaled sharply and held it in. "Yep..."

His joyous demeanor was dented by her brevity and tone. "Oh? You're not nervous, are you?"

"Nervous is putting it mildly... The last four years of my life have led to this. No, the last sixteen. They're going to be judged, and hard. Something from my past is going to slip through the cracks and sink this opportunity for me, I just know it."

He dismissed her concerns with a shake of his head. "Nobody is perfect. You're too hard on yourself."

She sighed. "Maybe. It's hard not to be..."

"The past few months have been difficult for you, I get that. But don't let them define who you are, or how today turns out. Things aren't going to turn around otherwise."

"I know, I know..."

He smiled, then leaned in closer to his webcam as he interlocked his fingers on his desk. She knew this body language well, and could almost predict what he was about to say, word for word: "Remember, Dr. Reiland invited you to visit her research center instead of outright dismissing you. That alone says something. You really think she'd drag you across the entire country just to spit in your face and tell you that you're not good enough?"

She shook her head. "I'd be furious. This train ticket was not cheap."

"I don't know Dr. Reiland personally, but I do know that she is a well respected and professional woman. She wouldn't do that to you." he said. "There's no need to be nervous. I was when I graduated from the police academy. Felt like the whole world was about to come crashing down on me, but you know what? It didn't."

"Don't kid yourself. It did."

He paused for a moment and relaxed his posture as he leaned back in his chair. "Okay. It did. But things worked out for the best."

"I think my circumstances are a bit different than yours were, anyways."

"You'd be surprised. All I'm trying to say is, you're a very capable young woman, and--"

"Ugh, stop it!" she protested with a smile. "Don't compliment me, you'll make me throw up!"

"You are, though! Ten golden roses says that she hires you today."

She jolted forward a bit as the train slammed on its brakes, signifying that it was approaching its destination. The speaker system on the train carriage blared with a catchy jingle before the conductor began to speak.

"Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen, thank you for riding with Silverline today! In a few short minutes, we'll be arriving at Alstan Central Station. At this time, we ask that you retrieve any personal--"

"The train's arriving... I'm going to make sure I have everything in order, okay?" she said.

"Sure thing! Call me if you have any trouble!"

"I will."

"Keep your chin up, eh? You've got this."

"I hope so..."

"Love ya, sweetie!"

The screen faded to black and the young woman slipped her phone into her thigh-high stocking. While she did so, she made sure that she had everything she brought with her for her stay in the town of Loch Alstan: her identification, the last of her meager savings, a backpack bulging with unhealthy snacks, a spare change of clothes and the paperwork related to her upcoming job interview.

It dawned on her that her dream was finally within reach. After a life of preparation and grueling work, especially over the past four years, she finally had her shot at a career that had captivated her since she was a young girl: a researcher of all things biology. What she felt wasn't excitement or joy at finally reaching this point, but doubt and fear; her destination, the Reiland Institute, was one of the most prestigious research centers in the world, and certainly the most prestigious in the country. She'd always been told that the barrier for entry was astronomically high, and she had more than her fair share of problems and shortcomings that could sink her aspirations in an instant. Even the fact that she had been given a chance at all did little to calm her fears.

As the train came to a complete stop and the doors opened, she took a deep breath and stepped out onto the rain-soaked platform. The biting cold winds instantly snatched her away from her thoughts and she huddled her arms in close to keep warm. She approached a map of Loch Alstan that was posted on the terminal wall and began to study it. Much to her dismay, the map was loaded with so much detail and information that she couldn't find her destination anywhere, even after staring at it for nearly five minutes.

"T-This is off to a good start..." she lamented, shivering uncontrollably.

She retreated to the warmth of the terminal building and tried to find another map of the town, but she had no luck. She cautiously approached numerous strangers about where to go, but they weren't helpful. Rather than pester more travellers, she approached the ticket booth for help.

"Good day, welcome to the Silverline! Buying a ticket?" the salesman asked.

She shook her head. "No. I just got here, you see, and I have no idea where I'm going. Would you happen to know where the Reiland Institute is?"

"The Reiland Institute? Yeah, I know where that is, it's up on the northwestern side of town, about a mile from the loch. When you step outside, you'll see an array of windmills in the distance. Just keep walking towards them, you'll find what you're looking for."

"Thank you."

"Enjoy your visit! Try to stay warm out there!"

- - - - -​

It was a damp and chilling walk through Loch Alstan. She had little opportunity to escape the relentless winds and the drizzling rain, and she cursed the fact that the town lacked the public transportation networks she took for granted back home. Rather than defeat her, however, the weather only motivated her to carry on as quickly as she could through the brick streets. As she followed the map on her phone, she was grateful to see one of the windmills the station worker had told her about, looming out of the thick fog. At last, she had arrived.

The Reiland Institute was a lot less glamorous looking than she had led herself to believe. In clear contrast with both her expectations and the rest of the town's Edwardian architecture, the limestone structure was rudimentary in design; large, sharply defined and separated into six floors. There were absolutely no unique features about it other than the fact that it was simply boring: no artistic columns, no fantastic grotesques perched upon the roof, no impressive window arches.

"Looks like a mental asylum..." she mused as she stopped in front of the main entrance. She took in a deep breath to reassure herself that her job interview would go over well, then stepped inside.

The lobby was far more interesting than the exterior was. The first thing that caught her attention was the large fountain in the center of the room, which featured sculptures of four seahorse-like creatures, which she subconsciously identified as Kingdras, sending jets of water into the air. As she wandered up to it for a closer look, she noticed that large portions of the fountain's floor were littered with bronze coins. Accompanying the entrancing flow of the water was the alluring sound of smooth jazz that played throughout the lobby. Both served to calm her nerves a bit, and she timidly approached the service desk.

"Hello!" the receptionist brightly smiled. "Welcome to the Reiland Institute! How may I help you today?" His manner of speaking was almost robotic, as if he had said the phrase thousands of times before.

"I'm, uhh... I'm here for a job interview with Dr. Reiland," she answered.

"Name, please?"

"Andrea Dennison."

"I'll need some form of identification, too."

Andrea dropped her purse onto the counter and dug through it. She retrieved a student ID card from the University of Aughrim and handed it to the receptionist.

The receptionist grabbed the card and studied it. "Hmm. This card expired over the winter holidays..."

Andrea's heart dropped. It was the only form of identification that she had. "I, uhh, dropped out of university a few months ago... the admissions board was supposed to give me a new one before that, but I guess that got cancelled."

"Mmm," he said with a nod. He looked up from the card and studied Andrea's features closely, comparing it to the photo on the card; nearly every detail except for the length of her hair and her weight were a perfect match. "Well... You do look like you who you say you are. A moment, please." He started to furiously hammer away at his keyboard with blazing speed. "You're quite lucky, you know. I don't remember the last time Dr. Reiland had a face to face meeting with someone who doesn't work here, or isn't an investor."

She let out an awkward laugh. "As if I needed to feel any more nervous..."

The receptionist continued to tap away. After a moment, he continued, "Here you are! Andrea Dennison, meeting scheduled for May 12th, 3:45 PM. You're actually early!" He picked up a phone beside him and input a few numbers. "Dr. Reiland's guest is here a little early. Want to come meet her?"

Andrea took a seat in one of the chairs that were scattered throughout the lobby. She sighed. "That's one hurdle down, I guess... but I didn't even think about it. What else didn't I plan for that'll get in my way?"

After a few minutes of waiting, a door deeper into the facility opened, and a man with a strikingly bright red mop of wavy hair entered the lobby. He looked around; his eyes met Andrea's and he approached, then extended his hand forward as a sign of good will. "Andrea Dennison, right?"

She shook his hand. "Yes."

"Good lord, lady, you're soaked!"

She looked down at her damp clothes. "Yeah... When I checked the weather this morning, it called for sunshine... But that was back in Aughrim." She paused, realizing how stupid she must have sounded. "Come on, Andrea, don't say stuff like that. They're going to think you're too stupid to be here."

The man chuckled. "Well, it's nice and warm in here, at least. Welcome to the Reiland Institute! My name is Patrick Adelaide, I'm one of Dr. Reiland's senior staff members, and I'm in charge of biology research."

"Pleasure to meet you," she said.

He rolled up his sleeve and revealed a large device strapped to his wrist. "Hmm. Your interview's not for another half hour... Would you like to visit the cafeteria and warm up a bit? You look a little cold, and I can hear it from here: wind's howling out there."

"Uhh..."

"It'll also be a good way to showcase the kind of atmosphere we have here."

"As long as I'm not late for the interview..."

He smiled. "I won't let that happen. C'mon, I'll show you where it is."

He led her back through the door and into a hallway that seemed to stretch into eternity on both sides. A large artistic map on the wall indicated the general layout of the building: West Wing South was host to the medical and biochemistry labs, while West Wing North was dedicated to radiology, genetic research and the hatchery. On the opposite side of the building, East Wing South focused on general biology and environmental research, and East Wing North was a hub for applied physics and chemistry.

"The cafeteria is this way, up a couple floors," he said, leading her past the map of the facility. She followed in silence as they continued down a hallway towards the stairwell. As they reached the top of the first set of stairs, he broke the silence, "You don't talk much, do you?"

"It can be difficult sometimes."

He started up the second set of stairs. "That's fine, at least you do. Well... How about some small talk? Help open you up before your interview."

She shrugged. "I guess."

"I'll start by saying that's an interesting outfit you've got there."

She looked down at her clothing and concern began to wash over her. Her attire was simple, yet kept to a strikingly dark theme; a black minidress with long, lacy sleeves, paired with black and grey striped stockings, all rounded off with thick, shin high leather boots. Strange by the average person's standards, but by no means outlandish. The fact that some of his first words were about her clothing put her on the defensive. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing much. Just... most people don't dress like it's rave night when they have a job interview."

"T-this is the best I had!" she stammered. "I'm fresh out of university and jobless, I can barely afford the clothes I'm wearing, let alone something--"

"Hey, relax!" he said with a friendly chuckle. "I didn't mean anything bad by it, just trying to offer some advice. Personally, I actually like the way you look!"

"Oh, umm. Thank you. Sorry."

"At ease. Ya got this far. No need to be so worried."

He pushed open another door and the two found themselves atop a balcony, out in the cold again. A rain soaked walkway stretched between the main building of the Reiland Institute and its central annex, where the faculty offices and cafeteria were. Despite the gloomy weather, several institute staff members were loitering nearby, casually chatting about their ongoing work.

"Well, at least the rain stopped," Patrick said, taking in a deep breath of the fresh, humid air. He felt a few drops impact his shoulders and arms. "...mostly."

"I thought he wanted to warm me up..." she thought.

He pushed open the double doors at the other end of the walkway and the two entered one of the largest rooms in the Reiland Institute, the employee lounge. The entire room was brightly lit by a massive array of windows that flanked the northwestern and northeastern sides of the room, windows that offered a glimpse of the murky lake which the town of Loch Alstan was named after. Unfortunately, the foggy and rainy weather obscured an otherwise lovely view that day.

"Here we are, my favorite place!"

The room was split into two halves: the first half was the proper lounge area, itself split in half by a balcony which separated it into two floors. The area they were in was filled with comfy-looking couches and chairs that circled around tables and television sets. Bookshelves were stuffed to capacity with all sorts of scientific publications and reference manuals. A solitary snooker table, host to a game that was currently in progress, sat in the middle of the room. An old fashioned jukebox, which Patrick took the time to point out that he had found, restored and donated to the institute, stood in a corner, playing some less-than-current pop music.

The other half was the cafeteria. About a dozen tables, all filled to capacity by chatting researchers, engineers and medical professionals, stood before an impressive array of on-site restaurants. Andrea was already familiar with all of them: Mountain Rain Brewing Co, a coffee company specializing in exotic brews; Jackpot's Potato Shack, which boasted over a hundred menu options for the lifeblood of the kingdom's heartland, the russet potato; Shinikara Noodle, a noodle bar that brought far east cuisine to the kingdom; Gyroskope, with its focus on the various specialties from around the Central Sea and lastly the Crimson Crawdaunt, one of the continent's largest and most popular sea food chains.

"Oh boy, you have a Crimson Crawdaunt here?" Andrea asked. "I applied to be a waitress at one of them in Aughrim last month... Got turned down, despite already having waitress experience..."

"That's rough... But according to your application, that would have been a terrible waste of your achievements," Patrick said. "But yes, we do have one. And a lot of other options, as you can see, even international stuff! Dr. Reiland really spoils us." He rolled up his sleeve and revealed the strange device on his wrist again as he gazed at it. "Interview's in 23 minutes... You mind? I'm gonna grab some coffee."

She pulled out a chair at the table beside her and sat down. "I'll be right here."

"Right. I won't be gone long!"

She drummed her finger tips against the table as she patiently awaited Patrick's return, taking the time to study the researchers situated about the lounge. The atmosphere was warm and genial, with people of all ethnicities mingling together over coffee or a late lunch to discuss what they were working on, or share a laugh about stories of their personal lives. It reminded her of her days at university, days she sorely missed. She wanted to be a part of this atmosphere, but creeping doubt in herself told her not to get her hopes up.

Behind her, a voice emerged from the dull roar of the lounge, "Cute outfit!"

"Hunh?" she said, perking up. She turned around and spotted a blonde haired young woman in her mid 20s stood at the other side of the table, looking at her.

"Your outfit, I like it. It's very... bold!"

"Oh, thank you."

The woman placed a mug of tea onto the table and sat down across the table from her. "I can tell, just by the way you're sitting -- it's your posture that's giving it away -- you're nervous about something."

She paused for a moment, straightened her back, then followed with a silent nod.

"What's up? Having trouble with one of your projects?"

"No, actually... I'm here for an interview."

The woman's face lit up like a christmas tree with excitement. "Ooooh! So you're the girl I've been hearing about!"

She raised her eyebrow. "You know about me?"

"Word spreads pretty quickly about people like you... A majority of the folks who apply here don't even get a call back, let alone get invited for an interview, and nearly a thousand people apply a year. The fact that you're actually here is a good sign for you." The woman offered her hand out. "Name's Emily, by the way. Emily Winehaus."

She shook Emily's hand. "Andrea Dennison."

"So, which department are you hoping to land a job with?"

"Either biology or environmental research. Those are the two I have the most experience with."

"Biology, huh? I've always been curious about what happens over on that side of the institute... I'm in medical myself, and they keep me pretty busy, so I hardly ever get to visit."

"Medical? Are you a doctor?"

"Almost! Just a couple more months of hands on work here at the institute with Dr. Venger, and then my final exam with the Loch Alstan Medical Academy and I will be, though!" Emily answered, holding her head high.

"Good luck."

While the two were locked in conversation, Patrick returned with two steaming cups of coffee in his hands. He nodded respectfully towards Emily as he sat down. "Hey, look who it is! And you're not drenched in blood this time!"

"Careful, it might be yours next time," Emily joked.

He pointed his finger rapidly between the two. "Have you two been introduced to each other?"

"Sure have!"

"Good." He offered one of his coffee cups to Andrea. "Here, brought something for ya."

She eyed the coffee cautiously as it sat in front of her. "I, uhh, don't really do coffee."

"Aww, and I went through the trouble to get it for ya," He gently shook the cup, filling the area with the aroma of freshly brewed yet slightly burnt coffee. After she hesitated some more, he added, "C'mon, it'll help warm you up after walking through that ice cold rain."

Andrea looked up towards Emily imploringly, as if to ask for help.

"Looks like it's yours, new kid. It's after noon, I can't do it. The caffeine will keep me up all night." Emily stated, shaking her head. "I need to be getting back, anyways. Busy, busy!"

"Good seeing you again," Patrick said.

"Yeah! We'll have to catch up soon." Emily bowed graciously. "Good luck, Andrea."

"Thank you."

As Emily walked away, she turned her head to call out, "You treat her better than the last one, you hear, Pat?"

She turned to him with a look of confusion on her face. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Don't worry about it, Emily and I go way back. We're always bustin' each other's balls." he said.

"Huh." She raised the cup of coffee to her mouth, and just a bitter sip was enough to send a shiver radiating throughout her entire body, something that he found amusing. "So, where is Dr. Reiland's office?"

"Pretty much right above us on the sixth floor."

"Would it hurt any to show up for my interview a little early?"

He swiveled his coffee cup around a bit as he thought about it. "Well, she does have a busy schedule today and likely wouldn't notice... But I don't think it would hurt. Why, feeling a little claustrophobic with all of these strangers around?"

"A bit. And I just want to get this over with."

- - - - -​

Updates and edits for both chapters 1 and 2:

Spoiler

• Change: Extensive rewriting, grammar and spelling fixes.
• Change: Significantly altered the structure of chapters 1 and 2, pushing the interview with Dr. Reiland back to the second chapter and bringing some scenes from the second chapter into the first.
• Added: Touched up on description of the town of Loch Alstan, as well as the Reiland Institute now that I actually have a firm idea of what it is and looks like.
• Added: Overall, Andrea is far more nervous and quiet in this version of the chapter.
• Change: Previously, Andrea stated that she worked at a Crimson Crawdaunt. This is no longer the case, to adjust to ongoing developments of her background details. This specific detail will probably show up later in season 2.
• Removed: Ongoing security measures at the Reiland Institute have been lessened and the security staff fired. No need for security if nothing bad ever happens, right? Mostly I just don't want people thinking I'm going to put a Team Rocket arc in this story.
• Removed: The scene where Andrea is assigned her locker didn't serve much purpose and was repurposed anyways.
• Added: Quotes from within the universe before the chapters. Hopefully one will appear before each going forward.
• Words and lines: +2385 words, +56 lines across both chapters

 

[Misfit Angel]

Feedback responses:

Spoiler

Yes, I'm seeing the agency in this version of Andrea right away. Lord knows we've been over that several times, so I'm guessing this Andrea is going to be more driven in key ways. The job interview does seem to go a bit too well, overall. It kind of comes across as a little bit canned - most of the interviewers I've ever been in front of have tended to keep poker faces or respond with blandly positive comments that don't really give away anything.

I can chalk this one up to my inexperience. I've only been interviewed once, and in that one they practically begged me to take the offer. I tried to go with what felt natural to someone with anxiety issues, rather than copy the interviews I've seen on TV. I feel I would probably show my hand in such a high stakes interview, personally.

But in any case, if there's one thing I'd change, it's the clothing thing; either with Andrea dressing uncharacteristically professionally (Because of the high stakes), or making a youthful mistake and getting marked down for not doing so. We've got this build up telling us how getting an interview with Dr. Reiland is a rare coin, so it comes across as odd that not being professional shouldn't be a problem.

If only you could have seen me spend a week trying to figure out how to describe goth clothing. I don't think it can actually be done. What I intended with her outfit was that it wasn't super professional or fancy, but by no means does she look like a homeless vampire. Also, this may be a consequence of how I cut off one of Andrea's lines:

"Most people don't dress like they're going to a midnight rave when they have a job interview."

"This is the best I had. I'm fresh out of univ--"

"Relaaaaax, it's not me you have to impress," He let out a polite chuckle.

In the original draft I had written, Andrea explained how deeply in debt she was because of her time at university, and that she could barely afford the clothing on her back. When I read it back a few times, it felt a little too rambly and out of place. The chapter started to feel a little long, so that was one of the things I cut. Perhaps I can throw that back in, or add it to a conversation in a later chapter. *shrug*

Though on the subject of getting marked down, that was my intention with how often Patrick and Dr. Reiland brought it up, though she was obviously going to get the job regardless. Evidently I didn't hammer it home hard enough; a lesson to be learned.

A few of these concerns may be alleviated in the next chapter. Or maybe made worse. Time to see!

Land of the Roses
Chapter 2: The Doctor

Science is what I do when I don't know what I'm doing.​

~ Tina Ansen, Pokémon Professor of the Storm Island region​

- - - - -​

Dr. Rebecca Reiland II, Ph.D.

It was an intimidating name, and Andrea felt a sense of dread every time she would glance up to see it etched into the plaque on the door beside her. Dr. Reiland was one of the most accomplished independent researchers on the continent, with nearly a dozen research breakthroughs tied to her name, or at least to her institute. Her own research during her time at university paled in comparison to that of the doctor, and found its basis in the work of others. Because of that, she questioned whether she was worthy of sharing a workspace with such a legend.

Patrick was seated across the lobby from her, sipping his coffee as he read from a magazine. Every now and then, he'd glance up at her. "You okay? Your hand is trembling."

She made a conscious effort to stop her twitching. "This is a big deal for me. It's been my dream since I was a little girl, working at a place like this... I'm just nervous, you know?"

"I'm sure you realize just how much of a privilege it is to work here, so I don't blame you."

"Yes," she said with a nod. "Maybe I do have what it takes, but... if I don't get this job, next week is six months straight of unemployment."

"Damn, that long? I used to be in that position myself and I can tell you that there's always light at the end of that tunnel."

"I hope so."

"Just relax. That's all you can do at this point."

Five minutes passed by and the door handle to Dr. Reiland's office turned slowly. The two were greeted by a woman in her mid 40s; her wavy hair was grey and neatly tied back into a ponytail, revealing her freckled, warm and motherly face. She carried a cane in her right hand and her walking was heavy, even labored. The woman immediately recognized Andrea and welcomed her. "Ah! Ms. Dennison, we meet at last." She swapped her cane to her left hand and extended her right hand outward.

Andrea shook her hand. "It's an honor to meet you, doctor."

"Oh ho ho, I'm just another person, like you," Dr. Reiland replied. "I apologize for it taking so long to reach out to you about your application. It's been so busy here lately!"

"That's okay, ma'am, I understand."

Dr. Reiland took a moment to critically analyze her rebellious appearance. The faint look of worry drifted across her face. "You look... different than I expected."

Andrea looked down at her clothing and started to worry again. "I-I assure you--"

"But, as they say, you shouldn't judge a book by its cover. I've learned that many times in the past." Dr. Reiland motioned into her office. "Please, come. You as well, Patrick."

The office was a cozy mess. Almost every available square centimeter had been filled; nearly a thousand books about dozens of subjects rested on the bookcases and shelves. Honors, awards and newspaper articles gobbled up what little space remained on the walls. An unorganized bulletin board, covered in old papers dating back as far as ten years, hung behind the ornate oaken desk that served as the centerpiece of the room. The desk itself was covered in a wide array of loose papers, handheld equipment, framed photographs and a dozen bottles of medicine.

"Do not mind the mess," Dr. Reiland recommended as she walked over to her desk. "It does become difficult to tidy up around here sometimes."

"I have offered to help, Rebecca," Patrick commented.

"I can take care of it myself, I just need a little free time," she said as she sat at her desk. "Please, have a seat."

Andrea and Patrick did just that, pulling up a pair of chairs on the opposite side.

Dr. Reiland dug through the mountain of papers that rested on her desk, categorizing them neatly and quickly as she did so. "Now... I had your application on this desk this morning, Ms. Dennison... Let's see... Ah, yes! Here it is!" she said. "Before we begin, I would like to thank you for coming on such short notice. I understand that the train ride from Aughrim is a long and exhaustive one."

"Nearly seven hours, ma'am," she answered.

"The fact that you made the journey at all shows your dedication. I don't think many people would travel across an entire country for something they didn't have a guarantee on."

"Dedication? I'm not sure about that. Desperation, maybe. I had to try." she thought. "I've always believed that you should show up to an invitation."

Dr. Reiland lifted a pair of reading glasses to her eyes. "Very well, let's begin."

Butterflies lifted off and flocked in her stomach.

"I've looked over your application many times, Ms. Dennison, and it's quite impressive for someone your age: a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Aughrim; a published thesis on the effects of pollution on marine and shore wildlife; two years of course credit in mechanical engineering; a 3.7 grade point average across four years; top marks in high school; star pitcher of the league-winning Goldwheat Girls softball team, and two years as a part time waitress at... The Lair? I'm afraid I'm unfamiliar with that establishment."

Patrick raised his eyebrow and smirked. He knew, but he kept quiet.

"All of these accomplishments and you're not even 21 years old yet. I don't receive many applications from people of your caliber. Or even your age!"

"All good words so far..." she thought.

"But. Personal accomplishments are not the only metric by which one is measured. Drive, personality and the ability to work with others are all equally as important."

"She's got a degree, doctor," Patrick chimed in. "And you've said it yourself: she's made the journey out here. She definitely has drive."

Dr. Reiland smiled. "Perhaps she can answer that herself, if you'd give her the opportunity. So, Ms. Dennison, tell me! Why did you apply to my research center?"

She thought about and crafted her words carefully. "I've learned a lot during my studies. I can and will always have room to learn more, but I feel like I needed a change of pace for awhile. I was thinking of putting my knowledge to practical use, perhaps solve some problems instead of just read about them? The Reiland Institute would give me the opportunity to do so, while I work with others towards that common goal."

"Fantastic answer, Ms. Dennison," Dr. Reiland said. "Next, I want to ask about, well, you! Your accomplishments are indeed impressive, but someone's personality often says more about a person than what they know. I'd like to get to know you a little bit better before we consider if you're right for the Reiland Institute." Dr. Reiland leaned over her desk and studied Andrea more closely. "I know that I said that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but... your appearance worries me, admittedly. I don't know of many people as old as you are who dress the way you do. And those that do, well... They typically aren't the most respectable people."

She tried to remain calm. "You won't get an argument out of me about that. But... it's just a fashion style I like, nothing more. I have no difficulty being a bright, friendly and professional person. In fact, I like to think that's what I always am."

Patrick nodded. "From the time I've spent with her already, she's friendly. A little quiet, but certainly friendly."

Dr. Reiland flipped the page on her application. "How about volunteer and charity work? I noticed a distinct lack of it in your application."

The tone with which Dr. Reiland spoke made her nervous. "Umm... I didn't really have the time. Between the demanding hours of my studies, my job as a waitress and what little social life I could manage, I could never find an opportunity to make a real impact."

Dr. Reiland frowned. "Hmm..."

"I understand that it's not much, so I didn't put it down on my application... but I did provide a bit of support when I could for my room mate's own volunteer efforts these past couple of months. If he needed items sorted or help creating fliers for events, I would help him with that. I can't quantify that in a meaningful way, though."

Dr. Reiland nodded. "That's better than nothing."

"Surely you remember your own time at university, doctor," Patrick added. "Did you find yourself with much free time?"

"And whose side are you on, hers or mine?" Dr. Reiland smiled. "I probably did find more free time than her generation does, but that's an unfortunate fact of modern life. That's something I can't hold against you in all fairness, Ms. Dennison. Pursuing a degree is time consuming work and offers little room for anything else."

She breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing the words. For a moment, she thought her future was ready to slip through her fingers, over a lack of volunteer work of all things.

Another question came forward. "Teamwork makes the dream work, as they say, and that is especially true here at the Reiland Institute. How well do you deal with the people around you, Ms. Dennison?"

"As Mr. Adelaide already mentioned, I can be a quiet person. 'A quiet, shy girl' is probably how I would define myself. But, I am capable of working with people. If someone needs help, I'm happy to lend a hand. If I need help, I can accept it graciously." She paused for a moment to collect her thoughts. "For small projects, I find that I work best alone in most circumstances. It's much easier for me to focus. But... Part of progress is learning to work with others to achieve something greater than ourselves."

Dr. Reiland leaned back in her chair and locked eyes with Patrick, then nodded. "A scholarly and impressive answer. Honest, I get the feeling, as well."

"Agreed," Patrick added. "So what do you think, Rebecca? I can't find much wrong with her."

Dr. Reiland nodded. "I think you have the potential to reach new heights in a place like this, Ms. Dennison. You could be a very valuable asset to us. Please, stand with me." She grabbed her cane and pushed herself to her feet.

Andrea's heart felt like it stopped cold as she lifted herself out of the chair, then kicked into overdrive as she watched Dr. Reiland's hand extend across the desk. "Is... is this..."

"Welcome aboard, Ms. Dennison. I look forward to working with you."

She nearly fainted upon hearing the words, but grounded herself back in reality as she reached out for Dr. Reiland's hand. She nearly yanked the doctor's arm off in her enthusiasm as they shook hands. "Thank you! Thank you, thank you for this opportunity! I swear on my life, you won't regret it!"

Dr. Reiland smiled. "It's always gratifying to see the look on a new employee's face, and today is certainly no exception! When can you begin, Ms. Dennison?"

"Umm! Tomorrow, I suppose!" The thought hadn't even registered in Andrea's mind that she had no connection to the area; no friends, no family, not even a place to live. She didn't stop to think about the circumstances that had brought her to this moment, and how utterly unprepared she truly was for a successful outcome. All she could think of was getting started. "What'll be my first project?" she asked.

Dr. Reiland placed her hand to her chin in thought. "That's a very good question. Patrick here is the one in charge of the biology wing, I'm sure he can find you something."

"I've got some ideas... There's a specific one, too, that'll give me a chance to see your work ethic. It'll also give me some time to look for a long term position for you to fill." Patrick answered. "Is that all, doctor?"

Dr. Reiland nodded. "For now, yes."

"Very well! Follow me, Andrea, I'll give you a little tour of where you'll be spending most of your time, then fill you in on your first project."

- - - - -​

"Heh, look at that," Patrick commented. "Your hand is still trembling. But I bet it's from happiness this time, eh?"

She chuckled nervously, then reached upward and occupied her hand with her purse strap. "Nope, still nervous... Getting the job was one thing... now I've gotta be good at it."

"I think you'll do fine, honestly," he answered. "It's true, we don't know your work ethic first hand, but... well, Dr. Reiland had a lot of positive things to say when we were looking over your resume last week. It's safe to say that she's thrilled to find out the things she was saying turned out to be true."

"Did she have any reservations at all? Negatives?"

"She was a little cautious about you being so young, but she also wanted to give you a chance because of that... I did, too. For as young as you are, to have gotten this far... You must have quite the powerhouse in that ol' noggin of yours, and I wanted a chance to work with that."

"I'm not so sure about that sometimes..." she mused to herself. She didn't want to openly accept the compliment, but she also didn't want to tear herself down in front of him. In truth, she wasn't sure what she wanted or should say in front of him, so she elected for stoic silence.

He studied her reaction to his compliment, but found nothing to read on her face. He moved along. "In any case, you'll like it here. We have a very laid back atmosphere. Everyone's friendly for the most part... Though with so many people working here, clashes do happen from time to time."

"How many people are here?"

"463, and that includes you."

His words felt warm to her and put her at ease a bit. She returned her own smile. "Wow... So many bright minds..."

He led her back down the second floor hallway of the institute's biology wing; as they passed by each room, he took a moment to inform her of what kind of work was done within. Room 232-A was dedicated to the research of shallow, salt marsh environments. Across the hall in room 231, researchers focused on rocky tide pool environments, and even further down, room 227 focused on simulating the environment found in a lowland freshwater swamp. Overwhelming heat drifted off of the door and windows to room 213, which was dedicated to the research of desert flora.

As they passed by each room, Andrea glanced in through the windows. Each room was manned by anywhere from two to eight men and women, most of them chatting away jovially as they continued their observations and record keeping. She saw first hand what Patrick meant by saying that people were friendly, and it filled her with hope that she'd one day be seamlessly integrated in that atmosphere.

"We could spend the rest of the day going up and down this hallway, so I'll just sum it up: this is the environmental research center of our general biology wing. Based on your qualifications, this will probably be where you spend a majority of your time."

She nodded. "This isn't all you focus on, right?"

"Correct." He pointed down the hallway ahead of him. "Down by the stairs that way, and around the bend, is West Wing South, where our staff works on our medical research. Biochemistry is also down that way. Up in the West Wing North, we have our radiology department, genetic research center, our hatchery for our--" He paused for a moment to study Andrea, finding her lost in wonder as she looked through a window into another room. "I'm boring you, aren't I?"

"Hunh?" she asked as she broke her attention away from the room. "No, no! Not at all! This place is fascinating! I'm still listening! West Wing South is medical, West Wing North is radiology and genetics."

He nodded happily. "Good! I thought I'd lost ya, the last few times I've given this tour, our new hire looked like they were dying of the plague. But not you, I like that... There's no other way to cut it, this is a boring place, even if both of us find it fascinating."

They continued down the hall towards the west wing, passing by more rooms along the way: an arboretum for the study of small jungle plantlife; a dimly lit room for cultivating cave moss; there was even a room with a pressure chamber in it, designed for studying the potential of life in the vacuum of space. Andrea had heard about the environmental research that took place at the Reiland Institute, but she never dreamed that it would be as diverse as it was, and she had only been on one floor of the biology department so far!

As the walked along, he commented, "You know, I'm surprised that Dr. Reiland didn't ask about it... maybe she forgot to, but... Are you experienced with training Pokémon at all?"

"Training?" She shook her head. "No. Handling, kinda... but not training."

"Oooh?" he asked, clearly surprised.

"Is that a bad thing?"

"Maybe it's not. Many among our staff, myself included, are hobbyist trainers in our spare time. It makes our jobs as researchers, especially in this department, so much easier. When we're working with subjects that trust us and understand our goals, they're less likely to fight the process."

Worry crept over her. She recalled the struggles of being taken seriously by her professors and fellow students during her time at university, based simply on the fact that she didn't train Pokémon in her spare time or work with them all that much outside of when her studies required it. "Will the same thing happen here?" she thought. "That won't be a requirement, will it?" she asked.

"No. If you're not into it, you're not into it, it's that simple. It's not for everyone." he answered. "Speaking of requirements, there's some stuff that we need to take care of before you get started. Follow me."

- - - - -​

The two stopped in front of room 151-A, a room hidden behind a metallic door and locked behind a digital keypad. "First, we're going to need to get you sorted with your standard issue equipment." Patrick said as he typed in the keycode for the door. "I want you to stay out here for a bit... It's gotten kinda messy in here in the past few days, I don't want you getting hurt by a falling box."

"That's fine with me." Andrea peaked into the room and could see that it was filled to capacity with overburdened metal shelving, stacked cardboard boxes, damaged plastic bins and scratched glass containers. She watched as he squeezed his way through the tightly packed corridor towards the back of the room; loud banging, the sound of boxes falling and a few angry obscenities were shouted in Olde Glastonian before he returned with a small wooden box on his hand.

"We really need another storage room... or to de-clutter, I'm not sure which." he said as he rubbed a bruise at the top of his forehead. "Maybe when we finish your first assignment, I'll go through this room and sort it all out again... People need to learn that we have a system in here!"

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Don't worry about it. My daily traumatic brain injury, a day doesn't feel right without one," he joked. He opened the small container and grabbed a small pink device from within. Measuring approximately 11.5 centimeters by 5 centimeters, the device featured a large touch screen, a wide array of input/output cable connections, a headphone jack and a wrist strap. He handed the device over. "This is your lifeline here at the Reiland Institute, standard issue to each member of our research staff."

She grabbed the device and studied it closely. Turning it on greeted her with a pleasant sound and a welcome message, which quickly faded to an app selection screen that featured a long list of programs. From just a quick look, she spotted a few that were familiar to her, including the likes of a GPS, e-mail, weather forecasts and a digital radio. She found herself overwhelmed by the capabilities of the rest of the apps and asked, "So, uhh... What is it?"

Patrick raised his eyebrow. "Haven't seen one of these before? What the bloody hell are they doin' over there at the University of Aughrim?" he scoffed. "Well... It's a researcher kit, manufactured by the Catrianna Corporation of Storm Island. Most people in our profession call 'em R-Kits for short."

"Oh! An R-Kit! I've heard about these, but I've never seen one before... I think Professor Burke at the university has one? I didn't have any classes with him, though, so I never got to see it." she mused as she wrapped it around her left wrist.

"I guess I shouldn't be too surprised that you're not very familiar with them, they are kinda new technology. Dr. Reiland and the founder of CC go way back, so she was able to get us the biggest batch of them. We're supposed to be testing them for bugs and stuff, but we haven't found any problems with 'em yet."

She chuckled. "This really is a good day. A new job and a new toy."

"Heh, yep." He reached into his pocket and grabbed a red and white spherical object, then offered it to her. "Here's your first test. If you can properly scan this Pokéball, you pass."

"And if I can't?"

"Then you're in for a few rough first days as you learn how to use it. These things are extremely handy and we'll probably be using them on your first assignment."

She grabbed the Pokéball and started to tap away at the apps on the screen of her R-Kit until she found one named Accu-Scan; it seemed like the logical first step to take. However, the next step was a complete mystery to her, as she was greeted with several dozen options, configurations and methods for scanning just about anything imaginable: air quality, magnetic interference, physical properties, light intensity and even color data. She took her sweet time to sift through the useless junk until she found the options she thought would be most useful to her.

With a press of the 'SCAN' button, a holographic blue beam of light shot out of the R-Kit and began to scan the Pokéball back and forth. After a few short seconds, a drab sounding, robotic voice came from the R-Kit.

"Name: Fang. Species: Flareon. Pokéball variety: Silph Co. Standard. Registered trainer: Patrick Adelaide, ID LA-24522. Gender: Male. Height: 0.78m. Weight: --"

"Not bad. Some of our recent hires couldn't figure that thing out." He held his hand out, expecting his Flareon to be returned. "I don't see why, R-Kits aren't all that difficult to use."

She handed the Pokéball back and began to explore the other applications available. "I can see why people might be flustered, there's a lot of stuff on here."

"Yeah, but just like the apps on a phone, most of it is garbage. CC is marketing them towards scientists and engineers, why does it have an entire app dedicated to coordination strategies?"

"Maybe they're looking to expand their market soon?" she asked. "You did say that these are in the testing phase."

"Perhaps." He started to dig through his black leather messenger bag. "Whatever the case, we should probably get you sorted for your first assignment." He grabbed a green folder stuffed with papers and handed it over to her. "Why don't you give that a look over? I've got some more supplies I should grab while I'm here."

She pulled the cover sheet out of the folder and began to read from it. It detailed a situation that was happening in the neighboring agrarian community of Nettlefield: over the past few weeks, nearly thirty Miltanks owned by the Gates Dairy Farm had died of unknown causes, including the blue ribbon prize winner, Bessica. An investigation by the owner of the farm and his ranch hands have turned up nothing that might be causing the deaths, and there's fear of a deadly outbreak that's sweeping through the herd and threatening other farms. With little to go on, they've turned to the Reiland Institute for help.

As she formulated a few early ideas, Patrick returned with a box of supplies in his hands. "You said something about wanting to solve problems. How's that one sound?"

"Sounds a little out of my league, if I'm honest, but I'm ready to try," she answered. "I've even got a few ideas already."

"Oh yeah?"

"Maybe the cattle feed is tainted with something... Or a new virus is sweeping through the area? The report mentioned that one of the Miltanks was a prize winner at the National Fair, right? She could have picked something nasty up. We'll need to take a closer look, of course."

"Aye, we will." He gently raised the box in his hands. "Supplies for the road. I was going to head over there by myself to see if I could figure it out, but you're coming along now, too. I think it'd be a good first project for you: not too demanding, not too frazzling, and it'll introduce you to the field work we usually take on."

Her eyes glinted at the thought. "Sure! It'd be nice to get back to my rural roots for a change, I've been stuck in the big city for too long."

"Oh yeah? I think you'll like Nettlefield then, corn fields as far as the eye can see... Well, not at this time of year, of course, but you know what I mean." He pulled the door on the supply room shut and locked it. "I was going to make the trip over there today, but since you're starting tomorrow --"

"How long do you think it should take to get there?" she asked.

"Before sunset most likely. It's not that far away."

"Let's get started, then!"

He tilted his head, confused by her enthusiasm. "Haven't you had a long day already? Don't you want to get settled for the night?"

She looked down at the floor and sheepishly said, "Well... apart from picking out a motel, I don't exactly have a roof over my head tonight..."

Patrick stared at her blankly for a second. "You're kidding, right?"

She shook her head. "Hey! I thought I'd be on my way back to Aughrim by now! I didn't think I'd get this job, if I'm honest..."

"You don't have a lot of faith in yourself, do you?"

Once more, she shook her head.

"We're going to change that. If you want to get started, let's get started."

- - - - -​

Updates and edits for both chapters 1 and 2:

Spoiler

• Change: Extensive rewriting, grammar and spelling fixes.
• Change: Significantly altered the structure of chapters 1 and 2, pushing the interview with Dr. Reiland back to the second chapter and bringing some scenes from the second chapter into the first.
• Added: Touched up on description of the town of Loch Alstan, as well as the Reiland Institute now that I actually have a firm idea of what it is and looks like.
• Added: Overall, Andrea is far more nervous and quiet in this version of the chapter.
• Change: Previously, Andrea stated that she worked at a Crimson Crawdaunt. This is no longer the case, to adjust to ongoing developments of her background details. This specific detail will probably show up later in season 2.
• Removed: Ongoing security measures at the Reiland Institute have been lessened and the security staff fired. No need for security if nothing bad ever happens, right? Mostly I just don't want people thinking I'm going to put a Team Rocket arc in this story.
• Removed: The scene where Andrea is assigned her locker didn't serve much purpose and was repurposed anyways.
• Added: Quotes from within the universe before the chapters. Hopefully one will appear before each going forward.
• Words and lines: +2385 words, +56 lines across both chapters

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 3: Remember, A Rose Has Thorns

There isn't a land in the world more beautiful than ours, child. But every rose has its thorns, and this one grows pricklier by the day...​

~ Stephanie Greybell III, Queen of Lanark (July 31st, 1920)​

- - - - -​

Barely half an hour had passed since they left the warmth of the research center, and the cold had already begun to get the better of Andrea. She refused to give up, though; she had been raised to give everything she had when it came to first impressions, and quitting so soon into her first real task would have reflected poorly on her work ethic. However, her burning desire to prove herself was only in her mind and did nothing to warm her. She shivered uncontrollably as she huddled her arms together in an attempt to keep her spirits up, but it did very little against the biting wind and the icy cold rain.

"Perhaps you should have brought a jacket?" Patrick asked. "Those clothes you're wearing look pretty thin. I mean, I can see your skin through those mesh sleeves of yours."

"It's May!" she shouted as she continued to rub her arms to combat the cold. "It's not supposed to be this cold!"

"Usually is, at least in our neck of the woods," he shrugged. "Cold mountain air always comes over the loch this time of the year."

She looked to her R-Kit and turned the screen on. A quick weather report awaited her on the main menu: 10°C, heavy clouds and a 90% chance of light precipitation. "This is ridiculous... It was sunny and 21°C when I left Aughrim this morning..."

Though he felt bad about it, he couldn't help but chuckle at her misfortune. "Speaking of Aughrim, I'm curious... How often have you left that city? You ever get a chance to travel the roads?" he asked.

"No... My only real experience with the wilderness was when I visited a couple beaches up in the northern reaches of Glastonfell for my studies."

"Really," he stated, clearly surprised. "Didn't you say you lived in a rural area before you attended university?"

She nodded. "I did, I grew up in Goldwheat."

"And you never tried to explore the countryside?"

"Of course not, it's dangerous out here! I listened to my parents when they told me not to, and I'm glad I did! One of the village boys was put in a wheelchair by a feral Pokémon... his doctor said that he was lucky to survive."

"Oh... God damn..." he blustered. "Well, I was going to warn you about the dangers of travelling the countryside, but it sounds like you already know about them."

She nodded quietly.

"Don't let it scare you, though. Since this is your first real trip into Lanark's countryside, you're in for a hell of a show, and this is one of the best areas for it! Untouched wilderness as far as the eye can see."

"Untouched? I find that difficult to believe. In fact, I'm pretty sure I saw some fenced off footpaths going over the hills while I was on the train."

He conceded to her point with a nod. "Okay, mostly untouched, at least up here in the Northcountry. The Ministry of Wildlife doesn't open much of the land up here for agricultural development, as much as it might help feed our poor... But that's a debate for another day! Most of this area hasn't been heavily developed since the mid-20th century."

As they rounded the bend in the road ahead of them, the skyline of Loch Alstan disappeared behind the trees: they had officially entered the wilds of Lanark. Despite the advancements of society and the rapid development of the country's urban centers over the past two centuries, the wilderness did indeed look as if it were untouched by human hands for hundreds of years; aside from the winding cobblestone road that snaked its way through the foothills, nature was at its most pristine, unhindered state. To the north were the Dornoch Mountains, still capped with winter's snow; to the south lay the Ivory Steppe, its usual bed of flowers absent in the presence of the cold weather.

"Bet you don't get vistas like these over in Aughrim!" he proudly said.

"I could get used to this..." she said as she studied the graceful shape of the mountains.

Eventually, the road before them ended at a sea of tall grass that fluttered in the cold wind. "Now comes the most annoying part of travelling on foot, as far as the Northcountry is concerned at least." he said as he looked up and down the wall of grass in front of him. His search for a way around the grass was met with failure, which prompted him to dive right in. "Huh... the trail seems to have faded..." he quietly murmured to himself. His voice loudened with his next words, "Hey! I hope that clothing of yours isn't too delicate! This grass can be a little sharp sometimes."

Andrea studied the grass with a grimace on her face. The grass reached up to her chest and was so thick that she couldn't see the ground underneath it. "You're kidding, right? The roads up in Glastonfell were never this bad."

"If you think this is bad, you should see the road on the other side of Nettlefield. I don't think you can even call that a road."

She muttered quietly to herself as she took her first steps into the grass. "I hope there aren't any of those big bugs in here... I hate bugs!"

It wasn't as bad as she first imagined. While she could feel the grass snagging against the delicate fabric of her stockings, it wasn't as sharp as Patrick warned. Even more, the grass wasn't as wet or as cold as she expected, despite the gloomy weather. Most importantly, there wasn't a single giant bug in sight, but that meant little considering she couldn't see through the thick blanket of tangled grass around her; they could be hiding, ready to leap out at her. But before they knew it, they had emerged on the other side of the grass.

"That was surprisingly uneventful," he commented.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?" she demanded.

"You of all people should know that tall grass like this is the best spot for feral Pokémon as they either await their prey, or hide from their predators."

"I do know that!" she protested. "I also know that it's pretty damned cold out here. Combined with the rain, not many Pokémon will be out in the open if they can help it. They're smarter than us."

"Fair..." he admitted. "You can never be too careful, though."

"I understand. I mean, it's hard not to be worried when you hear all the stories..."

"You don't need to worry though, I'll keep us safe. You have my word." he assured her. "I may not be the most capable trainer in the world, but I've got a powerful Pokémon at my command. He can usually handle himself."

"Usually?"

"Against the feral stuff? Yes. But I don't think I'd stand a chance against a dedicated trainer."

"Think we'll run into one of those?"

He looked to the sky in thought, then shrugged. "Probably not. But if we do, I can always just tell 'em to sod off. Trainer's code is to leave people alone if they've only got one Pokémon by their side, and most people stick to that."

"Yeah, most..." she thought. "That's what has me worried..."

- - - - -​

A couple of hours had passed and the terrain around them shifted. They no longer found themselves in the sparsely wooded aspen meadows that bordered the city; the road they followed had taken them up into the stoney hills, until they eventually reached a grassy plateau flanked by moderately tall cliffs. From their vantage point, they could just about see the tiny village of Nettlefield in the distance, but the weather made it difficult to know for certain.

Conversation between the two of them had been relatively light, something that Patrick felt disheartened by. His attempts at prodding her for info about her social life while at university failed, so he talked about his own; he wanted to bridge the gap between himself and her, so his first anecdote was about his own rebel phase.

"You?" Andrea questioned. "No..!"

"You better believe it, I was a wild kid when I was your age," Patrick answered with a smile. "Long hair, leather jackets, a love of black metal and more time spent at raving than studying."

She laughed at the thought. "I'd have never known! You look so... so boring!"

He chuckled. "Yeah..."

"You still listen to any of that stuff? Go raving?"

He shook his head. "I listen sometimes, but I'm pretty much past that phase of my life these days. I'm not 'cool enough' anymore and I get cranky if I'm out past my bed time."

"Aww, that's a shame... Would have been nice to find someone who knows about all the good spots in town, maybe even a rave buddy."

"You didn't get to meet him today, but one of our guys down in the geology department--"

Their conversation ended abruptly with a high pitched, bellowing sound that carried across the countryside. It didn't take long for either of the two to pinpoint the source of the noise: atop a rocky outcropping sat a stubby, black and grey elephant-like creature. Most of its body was a uniform, scaly grey, but a thick, black set of armored plates ran from the tip of its extensive trunk, across its back and ended with its short tail. Deadly looking curved tusks jutted from its mouth and a clear look of agitation shined in its eyes.

Patrick held his arm out to slow Andrea down. "A Donphan..." he said. "Careful."

"Uh oh... Those things are nasty..."

"Move slowly and maintain eye contact. Let it know that we know that it's there." he warned. "They're creatures of opportunity, they only strike when they know they have the upper hand."

"Yep, that's usually the case... but that doesn't always work, though. We might be in its territory, we need to have a plan--"

In that instance, maintaining eye contact didn't work. The Donphan pounded its padded foot into the ground and bellowed loudly, a universally understood signal that it was enraged and ready to attack. The attack was swift; it hopped into the air and curled up, protecting itself with its dense armor plating, then began to roll down the hill towards them.

"Look out!" Patrick shouted as he pulled Andrea out of harm's way.

The two tumbled to the ground as they narrowly avoided being steam rolled, while the Donphan roared past and slammed into a massive oak tree just off of the path. The trunk of the tree shattered from the force of the impact, sending the rest of it toppling with a booming thud.

Patrick responded quickly by helping Andrea to her feet. "Find somewhere to hide!" he shouted as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out his trusted Pokéball and tossed it into the air.

The Pokéball exploded with a burst of hissing flames and a slender, orange canine-like creature appeared in its place. Luxuriously bushy white fur formed a mane around the creature's neck and rested atop his head, with more covering his long tail. The Flareon dropped to the ground and readied himself for battle as he locked onto the Donphan.

"Fang, we need to overwhelm that thing quickly, before someone gets hurt!" Patrick ordered.

Fang immediately leapt to action and rushed over towards the fallen tree. He cautiously searched the area in an attempt to find the Donphan, but found it difficult to see through the fallen leaves and branches. His continued search yielded nothing; no movement, no sound, nothing out of place. It was almost as if the Donphan had simply vanished.

Patrick slowly approached the downed tree, but remembered to keep his distance. "Find anything?"

Fang let out a deep growl as he paced around the tree.

"Maybe we should take the opportunity to leave?" Andrea suggested as she peered out from behind a large boulder.

Before they could react, the shrill cry of the Donphan echoed out again and the tree rustled with activity. It rolled out of the leaves and straight for Fang, hoping to catch him off guard. Fang, quick on his feet, managed to dodge the attack. He took in a deep breath and tracked the Donphan's movements, then let out a stream of flickering flames in its direction. The flames bounced off of and had little effect on the Donphan, who continued to roll about, tucked away in its protective armored shell.

"Keep it up, Fang!" Patrick ordered.

Fang continued his relentless gout of fire breath, but it seemed pointless. All he did was tire himself out while the Donphan shrugged off each attack. Instead, the Donphan was only getting started, with the speed and accuracy of its rolling attacks increasing with each miss. Even worse, the Donphan was becoming more and more unpredictable, bouncing between aiming for Fang and Patrick at random.

Patrick narrowly scrambled out of the way of the Donphan as it rolled straight at him, then picked himself up off of the ground. "Bloody hell..." he muttered. "Umm..."

Andrea had been analyzing Patrick's strategy from afar and could plainly see that it wasn't working. "You need to find a way to get through that armor!" she called out.

"And how in the bloody hell are we going to do that?! The bugger just keeps rolling!"

She took a moment to study her surroundings as she formulated a plan. She wanted to find a way to stop the Donphan from rolling around within the protective embrace of its armored plates, and figured a good way to do so would be to knock it off of its feet somehow. The tree that it had knocked over at the beginning of the fight gave her an idea; if it were to smash into something hard enough, perhaps enough time could be bought to seize the upper hand. The fallen boulder that she took cover behind seemed like it would do the trick. She left her hiding spot and rushed over towards Patrick to tell him her plan.

"What are you doing out here?! You're gonna get hurt."

She pointed to the boulder. "Listen to me. See that boulder? If that Donphan smashes into it, it'll probably come out of its shell and your Flareon can actually do something useful."

He was skeptical of the plan. "You sure about that?"

"Yes! Do it!"

"You heard her, Fang!" Patrick called out. "In front of that rock, now!"

Fang followed the order without a second thought and positioned himself in front of the boulder. He kept a close eye on the rampaging Donphan, ready to move at a moment's notice. Exactly as planned, the Donphan began to circle around and aim for him, and with a swift leap to the side, he lured the Donphan right into the trap. A large crack formed down the center of the boulder as the Donphan smashed directly into it. Andrea's plan proved effective; the Donphan uncurled and wobbled about, dazed by the impact.

"Hell yeah! Light 'em up, Fang!" Patrick ordered.

Fang let loose a stream of white hot fire in the Donphan's direction and was absolutely relentless with his attack. As the flames burned into the exposed underside of the Donphan, its hostile nature shifted towards terror, and it spared no energy in an attempt to escape. Fang pursued mercilessly, maintaining both his laser-like focus and his burning breath of flames on the escaping Donphan.

"Stop, that's enough!" He raised his hand and the fire subsided, then took a moment to catch his breath as the Donphan scurried up the rocky hills. "That... that could have gone really, really badly. Those things are vicious when they're pissed!"

"Yeah... I'm just glad it's gone." Andrea said as she searched her surroundings for more trouble. "We need to keep moving, all that noise probably attracted more of them."

Patrick nodded. "Yeah, come on." He motioned forward and called out, "Fang, lead the way. Keep us safe, ya hear?"

It was a much more cautious journey for the two after that. Chatter was kept to a minimum. Every small movement in the roadside bushes or in the trees was heavily scrutinized. They kept within an arm's reach of Fang, who led the two forward quickly. Neither of them hoped for it, but both Patrick and Andrea were ready for the Donphan to return, only this time with friends; it was behavior that both of them had learned about during their studies, behavior that most trainers were unaware of. As the landscape changed from rocky hills to open field, however, the possibility of that began to diminish, and the aura of worry dissipated as they continued on towards Nettlefield.

"Not bad back there, by the way," Patrick commented.

"Hunh?" Andrea asked.

"That strategy of yours... I didn't even think of something like that."

"Oh! Uhh..." she laughed nervously. "Why, was that good?"

He couldn't tell if she was downplaying the praise or truly clueless. "Hell yeah, that was incredible! I know you aren't a trainer, but you ever spectate any of the top tier competitive stuff? You know, like the Rose League finals or anything like that?"

She shook her head. "I'd catch a match every now and then when there was nothing else on TV, but I never paid much attention to it. It was just background noise to me while I worked on my projects."

"Ah, a shame. You seem like you'd be good at it. Looks like you already know a thing or two."

She stopped in her tracks and their eyes met. "If your intent is to get me to embrace the idea of becoming a trainer, you can stop right now."

"Oh, no! Nothin' meant by it, lassie!" he reassured her. "Just... I find it a little strange. You got into biology as your major and yet you have no experience with handling Pokémon?"

"I do have some experience, just very little," she answered. "I have a hard time respecting competitive training as a career... An old friend ruined it for me, and after that, I just relied on lab partners and study buddies to look after the Pokémon we researched."

"Oh? Is it story time?"

She sighed. "Maybe some other time. It's not a nice story, and I'm not ready to get into it right now." Her attention was grabbed by the loud, shrieking call that came from a large bird that circled above them like a vulture. "Let's keep moving, shall we?"

- - - - -​

The sun had set by the time that Andrea and Patrick had reached the outskirts of Nettlefield. As they pressed onward, darkness threatened to envelope them before they even reached the center of the village. They knew they wouldn't be able to get started on the task at hand, so the subject of lodging came up between them; much to Andrea's relief, Patrick informed her that they already had a room reserved for them at The Roost, Nettlefield's only motel. Even better, she wouldn't have to pay a cent, as Dr. Reiland's staff had already covered the cost beforehand.

"Standard procedure for all official field business, you'll be happy to hear," he explained.

Her joy quickly faded when they arrived at The Roost. The place had certainly seen better days. Half of the neon sign that announced its presence to the world was broken off and missing, with the remaining half barely functional. The once pristine white paint that adorned the sides of the building was cracked and peeling off. The windows were filthy and looked as if they hadn't been washed in nearly a year, and thick weeds sprouted from the foundation of the building. At the very least, the staff who managed the motel were friendly and accommodating as they pointed them to their room.

As they entered, the first thing that hit them was the overpowering stench of mildew that wafted towards the door. Andrea covered her nose with her hand. "Eww, gross!" she shouted. "It smells like a gym locker in here!"

Patrick was unphased by it. "Yeah, it's... it's definitely pretty bad... But I've been in worse." he said as he ventured further into the room. "You'll get used to it before the night's over."

She studied the wall beside her and noticed the dark splotches that were spreading up the water-damaged wall. "I don't think so."

"Trust me, you will," he said as he dropped his backpack onto a table. "I'd hate to say it, but we could be here awhile. We could get lucky and figure out the problem within a few hours, but it's more likely that we'll be stuck here for a few days while we work out what's happening at that farm."

"There's mold growing on the walls!" she protested.

"Yeah, I can see it! If you want to camp outside, be my guest, but at least it's warm in here." he said. He realized his words meant very little as he watched her timidly inspect the room, so he tried to reassure her. "This is part of the job, Andrea. You're not at your university anymore. When you're out in the field doing real work, there is no sterilized lab, no properly maintained dorm room to return to at night. This is the real world, and unfortunately it's not all that great sometimes, so you have to make do with what you've got."

She sighed as she tried to put the sorry state of the room out of her mind. "I guess... I still have a lot to learn, don't I..."

"You do. They don't teach you street smarts in those lecture halls." He wandered over to the couch in the corner of the room and gave it a swift kick. The cushions lurched upward and then outward, exposing a lumpy mattress that sprawled across the floor. He shook his head as he laughed. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, you've got the bed tonight! This'll do for me."

"Good. I was wondering how that was going to work... I wouldn't feel comfortable sharing a bed with my new boss."

He chuckled at the thought.

"That's not something you should laugh about! I still don't see why we couldn't get separate rooms..." she commented as she sat down on the bed. Much to her surprise, it was nice and soft, perhaps the only appealing thing about the room.

He crashed onto the couch and tried to get comfortable. "Dr. Reiland runs a tight ship, and one of the corners she has to cut in order to keep all of our projects funded is stuff like this."

"That's not the most reassuring thing to hear..." she muttered. "But I guess I won't be on the road much..."

"Hopefully not. It's true, the Reiland Institute does a lot of contract work, and a lot of that is out in the field... but most of our employees spend a majority of their time at the lab."

"Most?" she asked.

"That's why I said that you should get used to it. You never know when you'll be out of town." he said. "Well, I'm hoping to get an early start tomorrow, so I'm gonna get some shut eye. You'd be wise to do the same."

- - - - -​

Updates and edits:

Spoiler

• Added and improved: Description of the wilderness outside of Loch Alstan.
• Change: Altered some of the dialogue between Andrea and Patrick in an attempt to improve their early chemistry.
• Change: Andrea displays her knowledge as a student of biology when her and Patrick are first confronted by the Donphan. Similarly, her knowledge shows more clearly during and after the confrontation.
• Added: Put in a small and vague seed about Andrea's past and why she's refused the call to being a trainer so far.
• Words and lines: +922 words, +20 lines

 

[Misfit Angel]

Author's note: I feel compelled to issue a warning about this chapter, due to how uncomfortable it made me to write it. If you're squeamish about the idea of characters performing a post mortem analysis of a deceased Pokémon, feel free to gloss over the middle section of the chapter. You'll know when you find it. You can ctrl+f for "Where have I seen this before..." to skip it entirely and return to the chapter as normal.

Land of the Roses
Chapter 4: A Grim Task

Here's the one thing you'll never hear at a university: the sciences are downright dirty sometimes.​

~ Professor John Warwick Jr. (September 4th, 1951)​

- - - - -​

"Cuckawwwww! Cuckawwwww!"

The crowing of a Taillow rooster, a sound that Andrea hadn't heard in nearly five years. For the first sixteen years of her life, it signaled the start of a new day, and just like the old days, it served that same purpose once more. Despite the terrible condition of the room, she felt well rested as she rolled out of bed. She wandered over to the window and peaked through the tattered blinds; the golden glow of the rising sun bathed the area with welcoming warmth, and not a cloud was visible in the sky.

Patrick, on the other hand, looked as if he hadn't slept a wink the entire night. His bright red hair was an utter mess and dark bags rested under his eyes. He placed his hand on his forehead in a failed attempt at relieving his suffering, and a barrage of obscenities flowed through his mind like a river. "This bloody god damn room. There should be laws against this." he thought.

Andrea looked down at him as he rubbed his head and groaned repeatedly. "You look terrible..."

"Nothing's new, then. I always look terrible." he said in attempt to inject some humor into his suffering. He groaned heavily as he sat up. "How'd you sleep?"

"Well enough, I think."

"No, how?" he asked. He remembered the speech he gave the previous night about making do with what he had, then decided to drop the subject. He stumbled to his feet and tried to put on a stoic face. "Nevermind. Ready to get started?"

She crossed her arms as she gave him a glaring look. "Are you?"

"I'll just be a little tired, that's all," he said.

She began to dig through her backpack and retrieved her spare change of clothes. "If you don't mind, I'd like to have a shower first."

"Suit yourself," he said with a shrug. "I'm gonna go for a little walk and get some fresh air... this room is making me dizzy."

- - - - -​

Breakfast passed by quickly and uneventfully. Both ordered the same thing: cinnamon-seasoned toast drenched in butter alongside a generous helping of sugary apple chutney, further complimented with scrambled eggs and two strips of bacon. Andrea ate like a queen; her usual meals over the past four years, be they breakfast, lunch or dinner, were rarely anything other than the blandest and most tasteless ramen imaginable. Such was the fate of a university student, she always told herself, and that she should be happy she had even that.

"Jeeze, slow down there!" Patrick mused. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say this is the first time you've ever eaten in your life."

She giggled, then noticed that his plate was still mostly full. "What about yourself? You don't seem to be enjoying it as much as I am."

"Still dizzy. If we're staying the night again, I'm definitely going to do what I can to get us a better room."

"So, you're done, I take it?"

He pushed his plate across the table towards her. "Want it?"

She shook her head. "Oh! No! I just wanted to get started."

With breakfast out of the way, the two started their day with the short walk across the village towards the Gates Dairy Farm. The dairy farm was larger than either had expected; both knew that it was one of the largest in the country, but they were surprised to see how just expansive it was. An impressive array of pipes, wires, machinery and storage tanks, a small factory in its own right, were the hallmark at the center of the property. Ranch hands were already hard at work on the property, inspecting the machinery, maintaining the land and interacting with the livestock.

As they approached, they passed by the Miltank pasture. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at a quick glance; the 250-member herd grazed peacefully on the muddy grass, blissfully unaware of the fate that potentially awaited them.

"Look at 'em all..." Patrick commented.

One of the Miltanks approached the fence as they passed by and mooed loudly to grab their attention. The creature was covered from head to toe in filthy and gnarled pink fur, with dozens of black spots, speckles and stripes adorning its massive, rotund body. Two blunted horns sat atop its black head, and its deep blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight as it awaited their attention.

Andrea couldn't contain herself as she passed by. "Awww! Aren't you just adorable!?" she squealed as she offered her hand out. "Look at how pretty you are!" She quickly devolved into gibberish as she patted and rubbed the overjoyed Miltank all over.

Patrick looked as if he was dying of the plague as he watched the two. It was such a strange sight to him to see a girl clad in black clothes and heavy makeup interact so lovingly and energetically with the Miltank in front of her. "Dr. Reiland was right... you shouldn't judge a book by its cover..."

She turned around and stared a hole into him. "What was that?"

"Nothing, nevermind," he said.

As she rubbed the cheeks of the Miltank, she curiously started, "So... This is probably a bad time to bring it up, but I've been thinking..."

"About what?"

"Did we... maybe... forget something? We barely brought any equipment with us! How exactly are we meant to figure out what's going on here?"

"Hey, don't worry. We've got gloves, we've got surgical masks and we've got sample collection kits... But the most important thing we need is right here." He rolled up the sleeve of his jacket and revealed his R-Kit. "I don't expect us to be able to fix the problem, we're mostly here to gather information and forward it to the owner of the ranch, and if need be, the Ministry of Wildlife."

She inspected her own R-Kit closely. "So, the R-Kit will tell us everything we need?"

"It won't give us a guaranteed answer," he said, pointing to his head. "That's up here."

The sound of iron hooves racing across the gravel pathway crept up behind them. As they turned around, a large, white equine creature was blazing towards them with blurring speed, leaving a trail of glowing orange sparks in its wake. A thick mane of gorgeous, fiery red hair ran down its neck, across its back and down its tail. Atop the creature was a rugged looking man, adorned from top to bottom with tattered and patched denim clothing. His look was complimented by a bright white felt cowboy hat.

"Woah there, girl, settle down!" he said as he pulled on the Ponyta's reins. The creature came to an abrupt stop and circled around the two as the man studied them with a critical and sharp glare. "Any reason you folks are on my property? You did see the signs, right?"

"Your property?" Patrick asked with a raised eyebrow. "Mr. Gates, I presume?"

"That'd be me," he said with a polite nod and an offer of his hand. A thick, rural drawl hung over his words, yet there was the unmistakable charm of a country gentleman surrounding him. "Pleasure to make your acquaintance. Now, care to answer my question?"

Patrick shook his hand and immediately felt the crushing grip of a vice. "I'm Patrick Adelaide," he said before he motioned towards Andrea. "And this is my assistant, Andrea Dennison."

"Hi," she quietly chirped as she shook his hand. She too was put off by the rancher's strong grip and retracted her hand defensively, tending to it with the soft caress of her other hand.

"We're scientists from the Reiland Institute and we're here to investigate the problem with your Miltank herd."

"Oh, good! You got here earlier than I expected!" Mr. Gates said with excitement. His demeanor shifted rapidly, marked with a sigh. "Poor girls... I just don't know what's been going on with them."

Patrick nodded. "That's what we're here for, but I have to warn you: it could take some time for us to figure out what's going on, but we will. In the meantime, you might lose a few more..."

Mr. Gates nodded at the warning. "That's life, ain't it? I'd be lying if I said I didn't expect to lose at least a dozen more. Whatever it is, it's just burning through them."

"We've got a few early ideas... My assistant here is thinking it might be a problem with the cattle feed."

"The feed, you say?" Mr. Gates scratched his chin in thought, then shook his head. "I don't know 'bout that. Problem's only come up in the past couple weeks, and we've had that feed since the harvest last year."

"It wouldn't hurt to look, would it?" Andrea quietly asked.

"I 'spose not. I'll take you to the main storage silo. Stuff could'a gone bad over the winter..." He dismounted from his steed and patted her on the side. "You head back to the stable now, ya hear? I'm going to show our guests around." The Ponyta neighed loudly and began to trot away as Mr. Gates led Andrea and Patrick deeper into the farm.

"What do you use to feed them?" Patrick asked.

"Oh, you know, all sorts of stuff. Wheat chaff, grass clippings, soy beans, corn... I see 'em pickin' at the nettles on the stone walls on the edge of the pasture all the time, too."

"Nettles? How long has that been going on?"

"Since I was your age, son."

"Huh. I doubt they're the problem, then."

Mr. Gates shrugged. "I'm not convinced it's a problem with their diet. If it were, I'd have probably lost over half of the herd by now."

- - - - -​

It was a quick journey to the grain silo that sat at the heart of the Miltank pasture. Along the way, Patrick and Andrea questioned Mr. Gates about the day to day happenings on the farm. He hadn't seen anything out of the ordinary in the weeks leading up to the first Miltank's death two weeks ago, or anything since. When asked about the other Pokémon kept on the farm, Mr. Gates informed them that the problem had only been plaguing the Miltank herd; the Mareep flock was as healthy as could be, the Swannas were perfectly content and the Ponytas at the stables were in similar condition. They didn't have any answers yet, but they were starting to narrow down their early theories.

Mr. Gates unlocked the maintenance hatch on the silo and swung it open. The musky smell of damp, old wheat billowed out into the field; the stench drove the Miltank herd into an excited frenzy, but the group was protected by a ring of barbed iron fencing. "I don't know what you're gonna look for, but have at it." he said.

Patrick patted Andrea's shoulder. "I'm gonna let you handle this one, Andrea."

Anxiety bubbled to the surface as she looked at him with puppy eyes. "M-me? All alone?"

"Consider this your first major test, I want to see if you can figure this out. If you start feeling like you're in over your head, let me know. I'll give you a hand."

"You're making a mistake. I already feel like I'm in over my head, but... I'll try." she said. She slipped her latex gloves on, then grabbed two big handfuls of cattle feed and dropped them onto a workbench beside the silo. "Let's see..." she muttered to herself as she brought up the Accu-Scan app on her R-Kit. She clicked through the various options until she found a physical data scan and began the process. Just as it had done before, a holographic beam shot out of the top of the R-Kit and began to scan the grain in a rapid and orderly fashion.

"Working..." the R-Kit said in a robotic voice.

"That's a fancy gadget you got there..." Mr. Gates gawked. "What is that, one of those fancy holo-whatsits from those science fiction movies?"

"That's the easy way to explain it," Patrick laughed.

"Compound mixture detected, broad analysis. Displaying detected components: 67% wheat, 17% corn, 10% grass, 6% soy protein. Detailed breakdowns of these components can be found below. Analytical information can be found even further below." An impressive array of information about the cattle feed appeared on the screen, though a majority of it felt useless to the problem at hand. She scrolled through the mountains of data looking for anything that, to her, looked out of the ordinary. Eventually she came to something that seemed useful:

MICROBES PRESENT: Large quantities detected.
MICROBE WARNINGS: None. Levels are ordinary.
FUNGI PRESENT: Trace amounts detected.
FUNGI WARNINGS: Inconclusive. Thorough lab analysis required.
TOXINS PRESENT: N/A
TOXIN WARNINGS: N/A
CHEMICALS PRESENT: Somatotropin
CHEMICAL WARNINGS: Unusual somatotropin levels detected. Thorough lab analysis recommended.

"Somatotropin?" she asked. "That sounds familiar, but I can't quite remember..."

"Growth hormone. Ya know, put a little extra milk in the udder. There's a lot of them..." Mr. Gates paused and his eyes narrowed. "...hippie types... they say it's bad for the cows, but it's perfectly harmless, far as I know. Hasn't hurt 'em a bit in the thirty years I've been doing this."

She continued to scroll through the data, but nothing stood out. "Maybe I was wrong... Any ideas, Patrick?"

"It happens," Patrick answered before turning to Mr. Gates. "Can we take a look at one of the recently deceased Miltanks, Mr. Gates? We might find something useful."

"Sure can! We've had most of them hauled away, but we had another pass overnight... Come along, she's in the barn. I'll take you to her."

Andrea pulled Patrick aside and objected quietly. "You're not serious, are you?"

"You did ask for ideas, right?"

She shook her head, then sighed. "I was hoping you had something else in mind..."

"Don't blame ya if you're a little squeamish 'bout it, missy. It's not a pretty sight. But if it's any consolation, you'll have the freshest one to work with."

- - - - -​

"Here she is, the most recent one," a rancher announced as he led Mr. Gates, Andrea and Patrick through the barn. They stopped at one of the holding pens; inside, a deceased Miltank was slumped over a pile of hay. Despite Mr. Gates' assurances of it having recently passed, a horde of buzzing insects were already at work, and the stench of decay hung heavily in the air.

"Don't worry, girl, you won't have died for nothin'. These people will figure out what happened to you and protect your sisters." Mr. Gates said as he knelt down beside the deceased Miltank.

"She looked healthy last night..." the ranch hand started. "Then when I came in this morning? She was gone."

Patrick shook his head as he looked at the deceased Miltank, then strapped a surgical mask around his mouth and nose. "Hopefully she didn't suffer much. Let's get started."

Mr. Gates tipped his hat. "You need a hand with anything, you give me a shout. Me and 'arry've got some Mareep to check in on, so I'll be over there for awhile if you need to find me."

"Thank you, Mr. Gates," he said with a polite nod. He knelt down beside the Miltank, slipped his gloves on, and began to give it a closer inspection. After a minute, he looked up towards Andrea, who had kept a sizeable distance. "I'm going to need a hand with this."

"I... I don't know about this..." she started. "This is..."

"It's gross, I know," he answered back. "I can think of ten thousand things I'd rather be doing right now, but... look, you going to help or not?"

She sighed, took a deep breath, blocked her nasal passages, then timidly approached the Miltank. Her preparation was almost useless, as the smell still forced its way through her mask and into her nostrils. She dropped to her knees, slowly rolled up her sleeves and readjusted her gloves, trying to put off what she was about to do for as long as possible. "W-what should I... I never..." she sheepishly bleated.

"I guess this is more medical than biology, huh..." he said. Truth be told, he didn't know what to do either. "Let's just give 'er the once over, see if anything looks suspicious." He pointed towards the Miltank's head. "Try to lift her head up."

She thought carefully about how to proceed with his request. Worried about irking an increasingly impatient Patrick, she bit her lip and dug her left arm between the Miltank's head and the hay that it was resting on. The creature's head was massive and surprisingly heavy, forcing her to lift with her right arm as well. She tried her hardest to ignore everything around her and gazed up towards the rafters of the barn. Patrick slid his finger into the Miltank's mouth and lifted its upper lip. A blast of noxious air escaped the creature's mouth and was nearly enough to make her sick.

"Nothing seems out of the ordinary here..." he commented as he inspected the creature's mouth. 32 well-worn molars, divided into sets of eight, rested within healthy looking gums. "Alright, you can put her down now."

She weezed heavily in an attempt to catch her breath as she let the creature's head go.

He let out a chuckle. "You know, this is the side of science they don't tell you about in school."

"I really wish they did," she said. "If I knew that I'd be doing this one day, I'd have focused on that softball career instead."

He peeled back the Miltank's flap-like ear and began to study it for any potential irregularities. "Softball, huh?" he asked. "Never was a big fan of it... such a boring, slow game. Were you any good at it?"

She shrugged. "It got me a scholarship, at least. They took it away after the first year, though... I never did join the team. I focused on my degree instead."

"If we ignore what we're doing right now, I think you made the right choice. Softball isn't that big in this country... Besides, a career like this could be lifelong. People who get into sports are lost when they have to retire, and they do it early."

The small talk helped to ease Andrea's nerves. She still found the work she was doing to be utterly detestable, but she also found it easier to cut through her apprehension. "Find anything?"

He shook his head as he dropped the ear. "Nothing."

"What next?" she asked, in the hopes that they were done.

He grabbed a large tuft of the Miltank's fur and began to dig his fingers through it. "We're going to have to start digging deeper."

"Gross... Let's just get this over with, then..." she mumbled as she did the same.

"That's the spirit!"

Minute after agonizing minute passed by as they dug through the Miltank's pink fur. Each tug of the fur released more and more of the horrid smell, and all for nothing; they weren't even sure of what they were looking for, but whatever it was, they weren't finding it. Patrick mused at the idea of returning to Loch Alstan and dragging the medical assistant they had met at the research center along for the job, but only as a last resort if they couldn't find anything themselves.

Just as they were about ready to give up, Andrea found a particularly unsightly white blister hidden beneath the Miltank's matted fur. A thick, syrupy substance that was lavender in color oozed from it. "Ewww... what the hell is this?"

Patrick perked up. "What is what?"

She pointed out the blister. "This thing..."

Patrick inspected the blister, but he was uncertain of what exactly it could be. "Let's look for more of these. I think you might have found what we're looking for."

It didn't take long before the two found similar blisters all across the Miltank's lower body, hidden from sight just below its fur. They all looked identical to the first.

"Now to figure out what the hell these things are..." he said. He reached into his messenger bag and retrieved a set of cotton swabs, gently collected some of the lavender liquid and deposited the swabs into a sealable plastic bag. "I'll run these by medical when we get back."

The blisters looked vaguely familiar to her. "Where have I seen this before..." she murmured. "I remember... reading about something... second year's ecology unit..."

"What is it?"

She raised her R-Kit and began to flip through the apps. "During my second year of university, we focused a lot on the delicate balance of ecosystems across the world. I remember reading about something... uhh... Damn it! I can't remember its name!" she shouted. "It was some sort of fungal infection brought on by contact with toxic spores, I remember that much."

He shrugged, unsure of what she was talking about.

"This thing is able to categorize Pokémon species by subtype, right?" she asked as tapped away at her R-Kit.

"It can," he said with a smile. "Sounds like you're onto something."

"I'm probably completely wrong, but maybe if I see a name I recognize..." she mumbled. A lengthy list of thousands of Pokémon appeared on the screen, far too many for her to sort through in an efficient manner. She filtered the list selectively based on what she remembered: a fungal Pokémon that thrived in a forest habitat. To her relief, the new list was only twenty-three entries long. She began to whisper to herself as she scrolled through the list. "No... Foongus... I remember you, but you're not it... no... not Mayandus, either... is that... no... Ah! I think this is what I'm remembering! Blastcap!"

"Never heard of it."

"Blastcap, the Toxplosion Pokémon!" the R-Kit's voice began to drone. "Blastcap is a colony Pokémon composed of many parts. Unlike other colony Pokémon such as Dugtrio or Exeggcute which operate in hivemind-like groups, all of the thought processes and decision making happen in the largest mushroom, while the rest focus on nutrient gathering, defense and expansion. When a Blastcap reaches the end of its adult life, each mushroom in the colony erupts with a cloud of spores that spread through the area and settle on dead or dying trees. These spores then spread their roots and new colonies form."

"It's a prime example of why a species shouldn't be introduced to a new environment," she said. She began to read from the information that her R-Kit displayed about the creature:

Blastcap is a species that is native to the jungles of the Mangada region's Andalla Basin, though it has a worldwide range today. In many areas, it is seen as an aggressive invasive species, due to a lack of natural predators and its reproductive methods. While there is no solid consensus as to how Blastcap was introduced to other areas, many ecologists point towards the sharp rise in international trade that the Mangada region initiated following its liberation during the Great War as a likely cause, a sentiment backed up by numerous historians.

. . .

The first reports of Blastcaps within Lanark were made in 1957, when several colonies were discovered in the forests north of Steelport. By 1963, the Blastcap infestation had reached peak levels as it made its way north into the heartland. In the following year, several thousand acres of farmland were overrun by Blastcap colonies, being the main contributing factor to the Goldwheat Famine, which claimed the lives of about 20,000 people and Pokémon. Blastcap's presence was officially declared a national emergency, and an extensive campaign spearheaded by the newly founded Ministry of Wildlife aimed to contain the Blastcap population. On January 1st, 1967, the Ministry declared its campaign a success, with the last reported sighting of a Blastcap in the autumn of 1966.​

"And what does any of that have to do with this Miltank?" he asked.

She continued to read from the R-Kit:

While interactions between Blastcaps and other species of Pokémon are poorly documented, recent evidence suggests that the spores it releases during its reproductive cycle are highly toxic to certain other species that are not found within its native range. in 1992, researchers in Kalos linked Blastcap spores to an outbreak at a Pokémon daycare facility that killed eight and left dozens crippled and chronically ill. The outbreak, termed 'White Pox' due to the appearance of numerous white pustules on the afflicted, was limited to Stantlers, Swinubs, Linoones, Zangooses, Tauri and the lone Slakoth at the facility, none of which share a natural range with Blastcaps.

However, other Pokémon at the facility that shared historic ranges with the Blastcap, as well as the human staff and visitors, were completely unaffected. Theories about evolutionary acquired defenses to the toxic effects of the spores have been put forward by various researchers and ecologists, but there is no concrete evidence to back these theories at this time.​

"But that doesn't make sense," he suggested. "Why would something like that be happening when Blastcap hasn't been seen in this country in decades?"

"Do you have any idea how difficult it is to completely eradicate an invasive species?" she asked. "The Ministry may have said their program was a success, but there's no way to be certain that they completely wiped it out, especially in a country this large."

"Yeah, good point... especially since the Ministry is doing everything it can to maintain the untouched charm of nature outside of the cities and farmland. Who knows what the hell is festering out there..."

"Exactly." She adjusted the settings on her R-Kit and began to scan one of the blisters with it. "Perhaps I can prove my theory..."

"If you're right about this, we have a bigger problem than a few dead cows."

It took a moment for the R-Kit to complete its analysis. "Significant concentrations of fungal growth of unknown origin detected. A more detailed lab analysis will be required to determine a source." it droned.

"Is there any way we can figure this out without going back to the lab?" she asked. "Can this thing scan more effectively?"

"Unfortunately not, there's limits to this technology," he said. He rubbed his neck as he thought about what to do next. "What kind of environment does this Blastcap thing live in? Maybe we can look for it before we think about heading back to Loch Alstan."

"It says here that they're found in temperate forests, swamps and rainforests for the most part."

"A swamp, huh? That basically describes this entire area. Want to check it out?"

She shook her head. "I don't think I'm dressed for a hike through a swamp."

"If you want to stay here and hang out with the dead cow, that's cool."

"No!" she protested. "A swamp sounds fine when you put it that way..."

- - - - -​

Author's commentary: This chapter... ho boy, it was a struggle to write. Not a difficult struggle, but an uncomfortable struggle. Never did I think I'd write about a post mortem, and never did I think that the mental images associated with it would be so horrifying and so physical, despite the fact that it's just words on a screen. Hats off to coroners and autopsy technicians, I could never do such work. Here's to the next chapter being a little less gruesome.

And they say that writers don't suffer for their art like painters and sculptors do...

Updates and edits:

Spoiler

• Added: a few lines of dialogue here and there.
• Change: Italicized the R-Kit's dialogue to help differentiate it from the human characters.
• Change: Grammar touch ups.
• Change: In the interests of safety, Andrea and Patrick have decided to wear masks and gloves for their work on the Miltank.
• Words and lines: +657 words, +17 lines

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 5: An Invasive Threat

With these new policies in place, the remote wilderness will finally be allowed to return to its roots, free of the destructive industrial interference of the past century. Only then can we enjoy the greatest gift that the goddess has bestowed upon us: our beautiful and untouched land.​

~ Lord Brandon Waterford, 37th Head of the Ministry of Wildlife​

- - - - -​

"Are you sure we won't get lost?" Andrea asked.

Patrick wanted to reassure her, but he honestly couldn't be certain. The pair had been trudging through the murky swamp north of Nettlefield for nearly an hour. They initially followed a well-marked trail into the reed-choked thicket, but that had ended long ago. They were in the center of uncharted wilderness, surrounded on all sides by cloudy water, muddy islands and densely packed rows of tall, featureless trees. Between the low hanging branches, the tangled grasses, the snagging brambles and the frigid, knee deep water, fighting through the marsh was a constant and carefully fought battle.

"What exactly do these Blastcap things look like, again?" Patrick asked.

She revisited the Blastcap article and studied the photographs that accompanied it. "There's two parts of it. The central colony is a dense cluster of red, orange or yellow mushrooms, speckled with white dots... and then there's the outlying parts of the colony, which looks similar to lichen. That part is rusty brown or orange, with white slimy tendrils weaving in and out of it." she answered. "I haven't seen any of that, have you?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. It feels like this whole damned swamp is completely devoid of life."

"At least I've been hearing a few birds. Keep in mind, it's still a little cold out here."

"Ehh... maybe. I just don't like it being this silent. I've seen enough horror movies to--"

"Don't even!" she chastised aggressively. "I am not spending all day looking over my shoulder! Let's just focus on what we came here for."

"My apologies," he said.

As they continued along, Andrea began to realize just how little of a plan they had, and it made her very uncomfortable. "Do you know what we're going to do if we find this Blastcap that's been causing all this trouble?"

"Not a clue."

She stopped in her tracks and was ready to scream. "Are you kidding me?!" she roared. "You lectured me about the dangers of entering the wilderness unprepared, and now you're saying you don't have a plan?"

"We're prepared. We've got snacks, water, first aid supplies, a Pokémon to protect us, and eight hours of sunlight." he said in an effort to ease her nerves. "Besides, it's a mushroom we're dealing with. How bad could it be?"

"It would be a good idea to--" she rapidly shot off before she stopped herself. "Sorry. I can get a little impatient sometimes. I've dealt with a lot of idiots in the past--"

"Are you saying I'm an idiot, then?"

"No! No, it's nothing like that. I just... I'm a little worried. Swamps scare the hell out of me, so much can go wrong in them if you're not careful."

He wrapped his arm around her and brought her in closer for a light hug. "Well, we're just gonna have to be careful, then! Don't worry, I've got your back. Nothing is going to happen to you while I'm by your side. You can count on that."

She forced his way out of his grip. She had a hard time believing him, but decided to accept his words regardless.

"We're just here to find the source of the problem, and if we can, deal with it as well. If we can't, we'll find someone who can. Does that sound like a plan?"

"I guess..."

"Good! Let's carry on!"

- - - - -​

After another half an hour of marching through the mud and the muck, the two found something that was very out of place within a swamp: thick, orange sludge had coagulated on top of the water, with more oozing down from the trees like spider webs. Andrea wandered over to one of the trees to get a closer look; the faint sound of hissing and intermittent bubbling came from the branches. In the distance, a branch crumbled and fell to the water below, landing with an audible splat as it collided with the sludge. She instinctively backed away from the tree and put as much distance as she could between it and her. It wasn't just that single tree that was covered in goo, either; a large chunk of the surrounding swampland was bathed in various shades of orange and brown.

"This looks... bad..." Patrick gawked.

"I think that's the understatement of the century..." she added as she raised her R-Kit. Scans of the sludge that rested atop the water indicated that it had a relatively neutral pH balance of 6.7, something that she found odd; the goo was eating away at the tree as if it were some sort of powerful acid, yet it wasn't. "What in the world is this stuff?"

"I'm going to take some back to the lab, get a closer look at it." Patrick reached into his backpack and grabbed a sterile glass bottle covered in measurement scales. He knelt down and cautiously scooped some of the goo into it, being careful not to contaminate it with his fingers. With his sample collected, he scrawled a few notes on the bottle: time, location and approximate volume collected. "Before we do that, let's try to find where this stuff is coming from. That Blastcap can't be far."

"Are... are you sure we're prepared for this?" she asked. "This seems a little out of our league. No, very out of our league."

"We'll be fine. Come along."

More time passed. They intended to circle the affected swampland, but they quickly realized the scope of what they were dealing with. In the half hour that they had been walking in nearly a straight line, there weren't any signs of the environment around them changing for the better. The two bickered for a moment about what to do; Andrea continued urging for caution and wanted to return to town to formulate a proper plan for what to do, while Patrick insisted that they scout the environment out and study it closely to help them better plan the best course of action.

"I don't feel comfortable with this," she said, standing her ground. "We should head back to town before one of us gets hurt. I can't see either us spending a couple hours dragging the other back to town."

"Aren't you just the least bit curious about this place? We need to study it closer... We'll know what we're up against, and what we can do to fix it."

"Look at this place, it's dying! We can't fix this!" She started to plot a course back to the Nettlefield with her R-Kit.

Having reached an impasse, Patrick decided to take matters into his own hands and took a few brave steps into the sludgy water. The filthy water soaked into his boots and was oddly warm to the touch, unlike the rest of the cold bog. He motioned for Andrea to follow, but she hesitated.

"Don't do this to me," she pleaded.

"Don't do what?"

"You're giving me a no-win scenario here. If I follow you into there, there's a good chance that I could get myself seriously injured. Maybe even killed."

"I think you're blowing it of proportion. We're just here to scout. The second we run into any trouble we can't handle, we're out."

"We have no idea what the fuck is out there!" she shouted. "We could be breathing in toxic spores right now for all we know!"

"Didn't the R-Kit analysis explain that there was no risk of that?" he asked.

Her blood boiled at his stubbornness. "Look, you might be confident that you can handle anything, but I'm not. And my other choice is to just leave you to wander off alone. If you get hurt, I'm getting fired, no doubt about that. Don't. Do this."

"Relax... Help me with this and I'll put in a good word for you. Dr. Reiland trusts me to take care of myself, and she trusts me to take care of you." he said as he took another few steps into the marsh.

"This guy is fucking insane..." she thought. "I'll never make it back to town alone, either... Fuck's sake..."

"C'mon, it's not that bad. In fact, it's warm and lovely!" he joked.

"If I get hurt..." she grumbled. She took her first step into the water and her boot was immediately flooded by the warm, slimy water. "Ugh... this is so gross..." she started. "You owe me new boots after this. And some new stockings, too. In fact, a new dress, too, and this thing wasn't cheap... These will never come clean..."

He bellowed with laughter. "Everything's gross to you, isn't it? Bugs, dead cows, murky water. Which has been the worst so far?"

"Definitely the cow..."

He took a moment to let his surroundings sink in. "I don't get it... How can a Pokémon be this destructive? It doesn't seem possible. It doesn't seem natural."

"I couldn't say... But this is why I want to turn around." she said.

Silence.

She knew she wasn't going to convince him, so she tried to make the best of a bad situation. She grabbed her phone and began to snap pictures of the swamp with it. From the decaying trees to the bubbling orange sludge, she began to reconsider her initial theory about what had been plaguing the Miltank herd. "I might be wrong about this, you know. I'm pretty sure we found what we're looking for, but this seems like something far worse than a simple mushroom infestation."

"Speaking of, we haven't even seen any of the bloody things yet!" he commented.

They continued their trek through the swampland, but very little changed as they ventured deeper in. The overwhelming shades of bright orange began to give both of them headaches, and the rank air did little to alleviate their suffering. Frustration began to set in as they slogged onward through the muck, all for naught; no mushrooms or lichen were found, their feet were growing sore, and a cold afternoon wind had begun to blow between the trees.

Patrick rolled up the sleeve of his jacket and began to tap on the screen of his R-Kit. He set a short alarm with it. "Fifteen more minutes, and then we turn around. That sound fine?" He didn't get an answer. "Andrea?"

She was about twenty paces away from him, pressed up against one of the smoothbark trees. Her attention was fixed on some motion in the water ahead of her.

"Find something?" he asked as he approached.

"Do you see that log over there?" She pointed towards a fallen log that was submerged in the water in a clearing beside them. The log was rolling gently in place.

"What about it?"

"Wait for it..." she said as she watched the log. As the log spun some more, a glob of moss-covered material clung to the side of it. Upon closer examination, the moss appeared to be choking a cluster of mushrooms. At last, they had found what they were looking for!

"Well bugger me! It looks like we found it!" he said with a laugh. "Let's get a closer look at it."

She placed her arm out to stop him. "Hold on..." She raised her R-Kit and pressed a button on it to initiate another scan, but the scanning beam couldn't find its target.

"You're not going to get a good scan from that distance. We're going to have to get closer."

As they carefully approached the cluster of mushrooms that rested on the log, eyes resting atop the largest cap opened! They kept their distance, as they were unsure of how the creature would react. At the very least, it would have difficulty reaching them if it tried to defend itself. The water around them rippled with movement before the sunken log began to slowly rise out of the murky water. A vaguely humanoid looking figure began to take shape as the creature stood taller and taller; moss covered wood formed the core of its body, with root-like tendrils making up its arms and legs. Small red and orange mushrooms rapidly bloomed across almost every inch of the wooden figure.

She jumped in fright and hid behind Patrick as the creature rose from the water. "What the fuck is that thing?!"

"A big problem," he said as he shielded Andrea.

She began to scan the creature with her R-Kit. She wasn't sure what it was; the large mushroom at the top certainly looked like the various pictures of a Blastcap that she'd seen earlier in the day, but a wooden body and the ability to actually move about weren't mentioned anywhere in the article about it. "Since when are those things mobile?"

"Unknown species detected. Caution is advised while in its presence." the R-Kit said in a robotic voice.

"Unknown species?" Patrick asked. "This thing isn't a Blastcap?"

The ground shook and the water churned as the swamp creature lumbered forward with uneven and wobbly steps. As it continued forward, green light began to glow within the twisted tendrils at the end of its extended arm, and a giant root-like spike shot upward out of the water just a few feet in front of them.

"Stay back!" He pushed Andrea back as he reached into his pocket and grabbed his Flareon's Pokéball. With a forceful toss into the air, the ball exploded into a cloud of flickering flames and Fang appeared. Fang dropped into the knee-high water with an audible splash. "It's cleanup time, Fang! Focus your fire on the largest mushroom at the top!"

Fang found it difficult to carry out the order due to the water around him. Despite it only being knee-high for Andrea and Patrick, it reached up to his mane and he had difficulty keeping his head above the water. Tried as he might, he could do little more than flounder hopelessly. The creature simply ignored Fang and continued to lumber towards Andrea and Patrick.

"This isn't going to work..." he said. He turned to Andrea and pointed out one of the largest trees that jutted from the water. "Take cover behind that tree. Fang! We need to lure this thing to some high ground."

The two went in different directions; Andrea rushed towards the tree and put it between herself and the creature, while Patrick slogged through the water in an attempt to rendezvous with his Flareon. The creature slowly followed him, once again raising its arm towards the sky. It teetered backwards, then threw the full weight of its massive body forward, nearly stumbling in the process. A long and flexible vine shot out of the creature's arm and wrapped around Patrick's waist, and he didn't get much further before the vine had reached its limit. With a forceful tug, the creature knocked him off of his feet.

Andrea watched in horror as her partner was dragged through the muddy water. She thought as quickly as she could of a possible way to to intervene and looked around her, but all she could find were a few waterlogged pieces of wood. She grabbed the chunks of wood and began to throw them in the direction of the creature in an attempt to distract it. Most of them fell short, but the ones that struck the beast only bounced off to no effect.

"I don't think that's going to work!" he shouted as the creature slowly reeled him in. In a last ditch effort, he grabbed ahold of the vine and sank his teeth into it. He snarled as he tried his best to shred it, but it did very little against the hardened surface of the vine. "Could really use a hand right about now, Fang!"

Andrea refused to sit by and watch what was unfolding. With Fang hopelessly outmatched by the environment, she reasoned that it fell to her to save the day, somehow. She took a moment to calm her nerves and steady her thoughts, then charged towards Patrick's position. She dashed through the water as fast as she could, almost appearing to run on top of it at times.

"What are you doing, get outta here! Save yourself!" he gestured wildly as he fought against the vine some more.

"I'm not leaving without you!" she shouted as she put her hands to work. The vine was wrapped around Patrick's waist numerous times, but no knot held it in place. She struggled against the crushing grip of the vine, and little by little, she made progress in unwrapping it from around him. Second by second passed as the creature drew closer, until she eventually freed him from its grasp. Arm in arm, the two scrambled for safety. "We can't take this thing on! We need to leave!"

He growled as he eyed the creature, still pursuing them. He reached for his Pokéball and gripped it tightly. "I've got one last idea..."

"No! No more ideas, we're leaving!" she said as she nearly yanked his arm off and stumbled into the water.

He spotted Fang desperately struggling against the water and aimed his Pokéball carefully. A red beam of light shot out of the center button and ended on Fang's head. Fang's motion stopped on a dime and his body began to fade with a red glow, then deform into an amorphous blob of energy as he was recalled back into the Pokéball. With his Flareon safely returned, he waited a few precious seconds, then dropped the Pokéball to the ground. The ball exploded and released Fang once more; this time, Fang was in his element and on dry land.

Fang rushed towards the edge of the water and zeroed in on the central mushroom that rested atop the wooden creature. Flames began to flicker across his fur as he readied himself for an attack by taking in a deep breath.

"Give it all you've got!" he ordered.

The surrounding area heated up rapidly to sweltering temperatures as a torrent of blazing fire erupted from Fang's mouth. Andrea's vision faded to white as a wide arc of burning flames swept across the swamp and before long, the hissing sound of boiling water began to overwhelm her sense of hearing. The attack was over in a few short seconds, and their senses had returned a short time after that. All that remained of the creature was a charred lump of wood that bobbed on the surface of the steaming water. The trees in the surrounding area had been blackened by the attack, but none appeared to have caught fire. Fang had fallen over and struggled to return to his feet, completely exhausted from the powerful attack.

Patrick tumbled to the muddy ground as he caught his breath. "Bloody hell... that... was too close." He looked towards Andrea and motioned for her to approach. She knelt down and tried to look him over for any injuries, but he wouldn't allow it. Instead, he grappled her with a forceful hug. "You've got a lot of guts, you know that? Thanks for not leaving me... You okay?"

"How do people deal with this shit?" she asked.

"It's wild, isn't it?" he asked as he flopped over. "This is an exception to the rule... I've been doing this for nine long years, and this is the first time I've ever run into real trouble like that."

Her attention drifted to Fang, who was wheezing loudly, heavily and rapidly. She crawled over to him and gave him a quick inspection, but she couldn't find any obvious cuts or scrapes on him. "Is he going to be okay?"

Patrick pulled himself up to his feet and grabbed his Pokéball. "He'll be fine, we just need to get him to a PokéCenter." As he recalled his Flareon, he asked, "What do you think? Did we take care of the problem?"

"I hope so, but I really doubt it."

He wandered up to the charred remains of the creature that had attacked them and knelt down for a closer look. As he ran his finger across the scorched wood, he noticed that a large chunk of it had been turned to ash. "Well, this one certainly won't be a problem. There's not much left."

"Pardon me for asking a stupid question, but..."

"There are no stupid questions."

"Did you really have to... you know... kill it? I mean... yeah, i-it was attacking--" she stumbled. "It was still a living, intelligent creature. It didn't deserve that."

He stood up and kicked at the water. "Of course it didn't. But it's a fuzzy line, sometimes, and you have to be willing to cross it if the situation demands it." he said. "You saw what that thing was capable of, and what it's been doing to those poor Miltanks. If we left it here, there's no telling what damage it could have caused."

She sighed and shook her head, then took a few steps out into the still-warm water. "What do we do now? It looks like half of this swamp is infected, and there's gotta be more of those things out there."

"I'm going to listen to your advice. We'll let someone more qualified handle this. We did what we could, but this is beyond our capabilities." He patted her on the back, then began the journey back to Nettlefield. "Come on, let's go home. Dr. Reiland will be interested to hear about what we found."

She shook her arms and hair around, sending large gobs of orange goo everywhere. "I need another shower before I go anywhere."

"Heh. Good idea."

- - - - -​

Updates and edits:

Spoiler

• Changes: Minor alterations to description and dialogue throughout the chapter.
• Change: Patrick is now more scientifically minded and has improved his sample collection habits.
• Added: Added an argument between Patrick and Andrea about whether to go deeper into the swamp, and the consequences of doing so.
• Added: The first break to help indicate the passage of time.
• Words and lines: +389 words, +12 lines

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Interlude: A Job Well Done

Always keep an eye on those who don't believe in themselves; Encourage them, for they are our greatest minds.​

~ Rose League Champion Robin Spencer (December 7th, 1992)​

- - - - -​

It was a bright and early morning in Loch Alstan, and a busy one, too. Nearly a hundred staff members were gathered in the employee lounge of the Reiland Institute, chatting away as they readied themselves for another day of work and study. Andrea was present as well, seated alone at one of the tables; to the left of her was a half empty mug of mint tea, and to the right was an empty plate, speckled with biscuit crumbs. In front of her was the local newspaper, the Daily Loch, opened to the housing section. Row upon row of houses, apartments and other rental properties were on display, with giant red X's crossed through most of the cheaper offers.

"How am I going to afford any of this and pay off my student debts..." she muttered to herself. As she continued to search for living arrangements, a coffee cup appeared an the end of the table. She looked up to see who had placed it there.

Patrick yawned heavily. "Morn'." he said. "Sleep well?"

She shook her head. "I don't think I'll ever get used to motels... I need to find a proper place to live, and quick."

He laughed. "I still can't believe you came here without a plan."

"Yeah, yeah, very funny..." she said as she crossed out another housing candidate. "This is depressing."

"You'll find something. Check the south side of town, lots of cheap stuff down there. Lots of riff-raff down there, too, but at least you'll have a roof over your head."

"That's where I've been looking..." Two more giant red X's appeared on the page. As she looked back at it, nearly the entire page was awash with red ink, and it was enough to frustrate her deeply. "I need a break from this..." she grumbled with a sigh. "So what am I doing today? Will I be put on another project, or do we still have unfinished business regarding what we found in Nettlefield?"

He scratched his neck as he thought it over. "Not sure yet... I've got some administrative paperwork that I need to fill out before I can get started on what we found."

"Need any help?"

"Uhh... Thanks, but no thanks. It's a one man job. You know, calls to make, papers to write." He downed another gulp of his coffee.

"I don't mind doing that."

He smiled. "Don't worry about it. I'll find you something more interesting than sitting in my office for the next few days. Anyways, I'm about to visit Dr. Reiland and discuss our findings. You should come with! I'm sure she'll want to hear about your first day."

- - - - -​

Dr. Reiland was seated in her office, valiantly struggling with a small orange bottle of medication. With every failed attempt, she shook her frail-looking hand and breathed in and out to dull the pain of her crippling arthritis. "The nerve of these pharma companies..." she growled. Another attempt was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Yes? Who is it?"

A muffled voice came from the other side of the door. "Good morning, doctor! It's Patrick!"

"Ah, just a moment," she called out. She dropped the bottle of medication onto the table, then reached for her cane. With a brief countdown, she wobbled to her feet and approached the door, then entered a passcode into the door that locked her away from the outside world. She opened the door and greeted her guests with a warm smile. "Ah! If it isn't Patrick! And Ms. Dennison!" she said as she returned to her desk. She motioned for the two to have a seat. "You've returned sooner than I expected."

"We're already done," Patrick answered.

"Done? Already?" she asked. There was a distinct tone of disbelief behind her words.

"Yes ma'am! You can thank our newest hire for that." He patted Andrea on the shoulder rather roughly, if not enthusiastically.

Dr. Reiland glanced at her with a quick and studious look before returning her attention to Patrick. "I'm interested to hear what you mean by that... and what you've found, of course."

"We're pretty certain that we locked down the cause of the illness that's swept across the Miltank herd at the dairy farm. We've ruled out that it's a problem with the feed, it's not a contagious illness, nor is it a hereditary illness."

"Then what is it? And how is it spreading?"

Patrick looked towards Andrea in an effort to encourage her to speak up.

She was nervous, but took his cue. "Are you familiar with a Pokémon by the name of Blastcap?"

"Blastcap... Blastcap..." Dr. Reiland muttered to herself as she searched the depths of her memory. "I believe I've heard of it, but the details are quite foggy..."

"It's an invasive fungal species that reproduces with clouds of spores. These spores are very toxic to Pokémon that don't share its native range." she explained. "Blastcap was an ecological nightmare in the 1960s, but they were also contained and eradicated... however it looks like some might have slipped through the cracks. We found a big infestation a couple miles north of Nettlefield."

"How big?"

"A picture is worth a thousand words, and we've got dozens of pictures... show her, Andrea." Patrick said.

Andrea retrieved her phone from her purse, navigated to the photos she took the previous day, then handed it to Dr. Reiland.

"I'd say we walked at least an hour and we didn't even find the end of it! It must have been spreading out there for years." he added.

Dr. Reiland's eyes widened quite rapidly as she flipped through the pictures. "Oh... oh dear, that's... that's quite something..." she said. "This is... problematic, to say the least."

Patrick nodded. "It is. I'm going to get in touch with the Ministry of Wildlife to see what they can do about it. They've dealt with this problem before, surely they can deal with it again."

Dr. Reiland handed the phone back. "How many of these Blastcaps did you find?"

Andrea and Patrick glanced at each other in silence for a brief moment before she answered. "None, actually."

Dr. Reiland tilted her head to the side. "None? I'm afraid I don't follow."

"The swamp was pretty quiet. This infestation... it must have killed everything in its path. We heard birds, but that's it. No insects, no woodland creatures, nothing." Patrick answered.

"We did find something out there, though, but the R-Kit couldn't properly identify it." Her voice began to crack as she continued; she wasn't confident in the words she was about to say. "It said that it was an unknown species?"

Dr. Reiland lit up. "Unknown species, you say?" she asked.

"I'm wondering if it's the evolved form of Blastcap... the only problem is, Blastcap doesn't have one."

"Did you capture it, by chance? This could be big!"

Once again, the two glanced at each other until Patrick spoke up. "Unfortunately I had to, umm... destroy it..." he said in a sheepish manner. "It posed a considerable threat not just to us, but to the village as well. Very violent little bugger. Well, big bugger. Much taller than me."

Dr. Reiland leaned back in her chair, deep in contemplation. "Ah... I see..."

"The damn thing nearly killed me, and we didn't even provoke it. I wasn't going to just leave it out there."

"We may have lost a rare chance to document a new species... I may need to start contracting professional trainers to assist in matters such as these, perhaps it would have ended a bit less tragically."

"Trust me, doctor, I didn't want to, but I had to. I owe Andrea my life... That thing snared me with a vine and started to reel me in like a fish, her quick thinking was the only thing that saw me untangled. She's got quite a pair on her, I'll give her that!"

"I'll assume you mean I'm brave," Andrea said. Regret instantly gripped her. "Idiot... keep your jokes to yourself..."

"Hmm..." Dr. Reiland hummed with a knowing smile and a bemused chuckle. "You may want to make a note of that in your report to the Ministry. We don't want anyone getting injured or killed while they investigate and deal with this problem."

"Yes ma'am."

"Also, I want a detailed report of just what this creature was. There will be some gaps that we'll have to fill in later, but this could be groundbreaking. It's not often that we get to announce a new species of Pokémon!"

He nodded. "I was going to going to write that up later today. I have some physical samples I brought back to analyze, I'll send those down to the medical and chemistry labs when I'm done here. I'll include their findings in the report."

"Is there anything else noteworthy about the creature you've found, or the problem with the Miltank herd?"

"We told the owner of the dairy farm what's going on... I don't know if there's anything he can do about it, though. His best bet is grabbing a bucket of water and scrubbing his entire barn down, and I hope he does that."

"It may be too late for that..."

"Probably..." He shook his head. "Anything you want to add, Andrea?"

"I think you summed it up pretty well," Andrea answered.

"Very well, get started on this as soon as you can, Patrick. I look forward to reading your report and getting in touch with Ministry officials."

He leaned over towards Andrea and spoke softly. "Mind emailing those pictures to me? I don't think the Ministry will take this seriously without some sort of evidence. Pretty unbelievable circumstances, if you were to ask me."

"Sure thing."

"Send them over to [email protected], I'll get the report taken care of later today."

As Andrea began to tap away at her phone, Dr. Reiland asked, "Would you mind stepping outside for a moment, Ms. Dennison? I need a moment alone with Patrick."

"Oh shit..." she thought. She knew that Dr. Reiland was about to ask about her job performance, and it worried her. She knew that she did a decent job, but would that be enough? Would Patrick bring up his concerns regarding her stubborn unwillingness to blindly follow him or take his orders? These thoughts and more swirled in her mind, but she covered them with a smile. "Of course!"

"Don't go too far, however! I'd like to speak with you as well when we're done!"

She stepped outside and closed the door behind her. She wanted to respect the privacy of her superiors, but she also couldn't resist trying to eavesdrop on their conversation. She felt it was her right to know how Patrick viewed her performance; after all, how would she improve if she didn't know there was a problem? She pressed her ear to the door and listened carefully.

"--you rate Ms. Dennison's performance?" Dr. Reiland's voice asked.

"I think she did very well! Nine out of ten, easily." Patrick replied. "A bit hesitant to do some of the things that needed to be done, but when she got around to doing it, she did a good job."

"Aaagh..." she grumbled.

"Hesitant?" Dr. Reiland asked.

"It's probably nothing. It was pretty grim for her first job. A post mortem on a dead Miltank, then we practically swam through a pool of slime... Were I in her shoes, I'd have probably hesitated as well."

"Understandable."

"But, outside of that, she was wonderful. I let her do most of the analysis, to see if she was up to the task. She already seems well acquainted with the R-Kit and knows how to use it effectively."

"She's a quick learner, then?"

"Yep. And her intuition saved us a lot of time. It didn't take her long to figure out what we were looking at. It just... sorta clicked in her head that maybe we should look at the Blastcap as a potential cause of the problem. She learned a lot during her studies, and I'd wager that a lot of it stuck with her even if she's forgotten the finer details. Something like that could be invaluable."

She smiled at the praise as she continuned to listen.

"So you would say that hiring her was a good decision?"

"It's still early, but I think we might have struck gold."

The positive remarks were a load off of Andrea's shoulders. She knew that she did well in Nettlefield, but the haunting specter of doubt lingered above her regardless. She stepped away from the door for a little celebratory dance of happiness and, breaking away from the traditions of years past, she began to feel confidence in what she was doing. Her dancing stopped as the door handle began to jiggle.

"Your turn!" Patrick said. "It was nice working with you on this project, Andrea. I think you'll do fine here."

"Thank you!" she said.

"I'll catch you later! Dr. Reiland wants to see you now."

Andrea entered the office and cautiously returned to her seat. She began to think about what the doctor might want; once again, doubt began to flood over her, so she put it all out of mind and masked her thoughts with a warm and patient smile.

Without a word, Dr. Reiland began her struggle with her bottle of medication again. It took a few awkward moments of silence before she offered it across the desk. "Would you be a dear, please?"

Andrea grabbed the bottle, opened it with relative ease, then handed it back to Dr. Reiland.

"Damned arthritis medication. What sense does it make to put it in such an impossible to open bottle?" she said as she poured two round pills onto a small tray. Afterward, she grabbed five other bottles of medicine and placed them at the edge of her desk. "While I have you here, perhaps you could open those as well."

Andrea happily obliged and began to work on the first bottle. Curiosity about the large amount of medicine that Dr. Reiland appeared to use on a daily basis started to get the better of her. The question begged to be asked; what was it for? However, she insisted on being respectful. "I'll assume you didn't ask me to stick around just to open your medication."

"You would be correct," she replied before she swallowed the two pills. "Patrick's review of your work yesterday was... glowing! And I must say, I'm impressed... if what he says is true."

The caveat that Dr. Reiland added at the end worried her greatly. "Excuse me?"

She leaned back in her chair and studied Andrea's reaction. She smiled. "What I'm about to say, I speak in confidence, and it does not leave this room. Understand?"

"Loud and clear."

"Please don't take this the wrong way, Ms. Dennison... Patrick is one of my most trusted and valued staff members, but he has a nasty habit of embellishing the truth a bit when it comes to our female employees. It's usually harmless, but it can be quite alarming at times, and I fear that this is one of them."

"I... Umm..."

"As I was going over some finances this morning, I noticed that the second room my secretary rented at the motel in Nettlefield was cancelled. He didn't act inappropriately with you, did he?"

The question seemed out of left field to her. "What? No! He was a perfect gentleman!"

"Is that the honest truth? If you feel pressured to cover for his actions, I want you to know that there will be no consequences for being honest."

"Yes," she answered, matter-of-factly.

"Good! He has not gotten into trouble with our HR department, but sometimes I worry... As I'm sure you've noticed, he as a very friendly personality and some of our employees are a little uncomfortable with it."

"So... I should keep an eye on him?"

"Yes. Establish your boundaries with him, as well. I want you to feel comfortable here."

"I think I might have felt more comfortable not knowing that, but... thank you."

She readjusted her posture and accepted the opened bottle from Andrea, then handed over another. She could tell that Andrea felt nervous about the subject and decided to ease up. "I apologize if it felt like I was accusing you of something, that wasn't my intention. But, let's move onto another subject: your next task. I had a job lined up for one of my other new employees, but his work ethic has been shaky at best. He's a smart one, but he's also lazy and tends to cut corners if he thinks that no one is watching. This might not be something that we can cut corners on."

Andrea placed another opened bottle onto the desk and got to work on yet another. "What do you have in mind?"

"Are you familiar with the village of Doranshire?" she asked.

Andrea tried to think. She knew that it was the closest village to the town where she grew up, but that alone summed up her knowledge about it. "I know of it, but don't ask me any trivia about it."

"It's been in the news a lot recently. Over the past couple of weeks, there have been some strange incidents reported... flickering lights in the woods, odd and 'unexplainable' sounds late at night, that kind of stuff. It's been causing quite a stir with the locals, and the village council is starting to demand answers."

"Bumps in the night?"

"Among other things. I know this isn't your area of expertise, being a student of biology and all... but I need someone reliable. Someone who can find answers. From what Patrick has told me about you, you fit that description well."

"You want me to go chase a ghost?"

She downed the pills, then handed another bottle to Andrea. "Heh. It does sound a bit outlandish, doesn't it?" she asked. "But we are women of science. We know there are no such things as ghosts, not in the traditional folklore sense, at least. There is always a logical and physical explanation for everything, a few bumps in the night should be no different."

Andrea objected to the idea. "If I'm honest, doctor, this sounds like a waste of time."

"It may very well be. But it is our duty as scientists to uncover the truth and to help those in need where we can. There may be something more serious at play here than just a few ghost stories."

Andrea thought for a moment about how silly it all sounded, but she realized that she wasn't in a position to argue the matter. The more she thought about it, the more she realized that complaining about the work she was receiving, on her second day no less, would almost certainly be career suicide. She gave in with a sigh, but tried to conceal her hesiatation. "If you think that this is worth the time, and that I'm the right person for this job, then I'll do it."

"Good to hear! I can understand if you're hesitant to take on this kind of work, but it warms my heart to see you accept it."

"Doranshire's a long way away, though..." Andrea noted.

"It is!" Dr. Reiland began to type away at her keyboard. "It's much too far to walk, so you'll be taking the train! Unfortunately, there isn't a direct line to Doranshire, so there will still be some light footwork for you."

"Where's the nearest station?"

"Aughrim."

"I wouldn't exactly call Aughrim to Doranshire 'light' footwork..." she said. She began to think about what would be involved with reaching the village of Doranshire from Aughrim; a couple of days of travelling the roads, at least, and that would be if nothing happened on the way. "Hold on. Patrick's going to be analyzing the samples we brought back from Nettlefield. You don't expect me to do this alone, do you? Things got pretty ugly on the road, I was lucky that he was there to protect me!"

"There is no need to worry, you won't be doing this one alone. I have an associate who is also interested in the happenings in Doranshire, and he'll be sending one of his contractors to investigate as well." She turned the screen on her computer around to let Andrea see; the photo of a young woman with long, chestnut brown hair and strikingly blue eyes was on the screen. The woman's face was grim and emotionless, almost as if the photo was a police mug shot. "The lady in question is a master Pokémon trainer. There will be no trouble on the road, I assure you. You'll be meeting her in Aughrim."

"What's her name?"

"Tamara Dahl. Are you familiar with her, by chance?"

Andrea shook her head.

"She's a two time champion of the Kalosian League, champion of the Asperia League, master of the Silver Conference, and has earned 44 gym badges and 12 coordination ribbons from across the world."

The woman's achievements were impressive, even to someone as ignorant about Pokémon training as Andrea. "You weren't kidding when you said a master trainer..."

Dr. Reiland let out a bemused chuckle.

"So... what will we be looking for in Doranshire, exactly?"

She downed the last of her pills and gathered up the bottles in a neat and orderly manner. "That's up to you and Ms. Dahl, there could be any number of causes. However, I would suggest getting a closer look at the local reservoir."

"Think something's in the water?"

"It's possible. If the water is contaminated, lives could be at stake and an evacuation would be logical. Of course, it could be something else entirely! Use your brain, you'll figure it out." she said with a smile.

Andrea shook her head as she thought over what was asked of her. "Will that be all?"

"Yes. Stay safe out there!"

- - - - -​

Updates and edits:

Spoiler

• Changes: Minor alterations to description and dialogue throughout the chapter.
• Change: Andrea is no longer in the room while Patrick and Dr. Reiland discuss her performance in Nettlefield. That was a terrible decision on my part.
• Change: Similarly, I've altered Dr. Reiland's warning to Andrea about Patrick's behavior somewhat, to be more precise about how he behaves and generally less dismissive to the problem of sexual harassment in the workplace.
• Words and lines: +603 words, +24 lines

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 6: The Rails

You ever sit back and think "Boy, my life would be so much different if I just changed one little thing about my day."? I do all the time, that's why my wife is filing for divorce!​

~ Robbie Sinclair, Lionsport Comedy Convention King 2013​

- - - - -​

The sound of a train horn echoed across the skyline of the town as a Silverline railcar began its departure from Alstan Central Station. Inside, Andrea was fighting to maintain her balance as the carriages jolted to life and began to move; she had just barely made it onto the train before it departed, and she was the only passenger still on her feet. As she stumbled her way to the back of the carriage, she noticed that there were very few passengers aboard; an elderly couple, a man in a snappy suit and a man about her age in a salmon pink polo shirt and brown cargo shorts. Of the 48 seats available, only four were taken. Thoughts began to swirl in her mind.

"Will they actually notice... the guy already checked my ticket..." she mumbled to herself as she debated whether or not to try stealing a seat on the first class carriage. She realized that it wasn't, but she tried to justify the fact that it was owed to her after previous bad experiences while riding the train. She cautiously looked around to see if any railroad employees were watching, then threw her backpack onto the soft, luxurious seat when the coast was clear. "What's the worst they can do? Throw me into economy where I belong?"

The comm system resonated with a pleasant tone and a gravelly voice followed soon after. "Welcome aboard, this is the conductor speaking! This train is currently departing from Loch Alstan and will arrive in Redfern Crossing in approximately two hours. Passengers who are crossing the border into Glastonfell or are en route to Silvergarden or Goldwheat Meadows will be switching trains upon arrival. Passengers en route to Silverstream, Aughrim and Tradewind will remain on this train for the remainder of their journey. If there are any questions, you may speak with me on carriage #2. Thank you for riding with Silverline today, and have a pleasant journey!"

She had a look through the window as the train began to pick up speed. The view today was much nicer than it was when she had first arrived in Loch Alstan; not a cloud was in sight, allowing the sun to pour down onto the fertile valley around her. The majestic Dornoch Mountains to the north that separated Lanark from Glastonfell continued their eternal watch of the forests and fields around them. She knew that they were just mountains made of stone at the end of the day, but she felt a deep appreciation for the historical significance they carried. The beauty of nature that they represented, beauty she rarely had an opportunity to revel in, also came to mind.

It didn't take long before her view was interrupted by a sweet sounding voice behind her. "Would you care for some tea, miss?"

She looked up to see one of the railway employees standing beside her with a tea cart in tow. She tried to mask her nervousness with a smile, further drowning it with politeness. "What kind do you have?"

"We only have Old Stone."

"Old Stone sounds lovely. Thank you!" She watched as the hostess poured the freshly brewed tea into a porcelain mug, blissfully unaware that she was seated in the wrong section.

"Would you like some sugar, milk or cream with that?"

"No thanks."

The hostess nodded, balanced the mug on a saucer and handed it to Andrea. "Enjoy! Let me know if there's anything else I can do for you."

"That's it for now, thank you," she said. A smile crept across her face as the hostess moved onto the next passenger. "I might actually get away with this..."

It was a long ride ahead of her, so she decided to do a little investigation into what was being reported in Doranshire. With her R-Kit at the ready, she began to sift through the headlines of Lanark's regional newspapers, looking for any articles about the village. Dozens of articles from the past month popped up, including topics such as a charity bake sale, the death of a movie actress who was born in the area, a house fire that left two families homeless and the results of a local referendum. Just as Dr. Reiland had noted, dozens more that covered strange sightings within and around the village were available as well.

One article detailed the 'crazed ravings' of an elderly woman who swore that demons were trying to enter her house, but when police arrived to investigate, no substantial evidence to prove the woman's story was found. Another article focused on reports made by several people of a ghostly apparition that walked up and down Mill Street, but key differences in witness testimonies led investigators to believe it was most likely a poorly coordinated hoax. Another article mentioned that the walls of the first grade classroom at the local elementary school oozed with blood, but this was later attributed to water leaking from rusty pipes.

Other articles discussed strange noises heard throughout the village late at night, floating orbs of light that zigzagged through the nearby forest and small dolls made of woven reeds and burlap being discovered about town, mutilated beyond recognition. One common theme that bonded all of these articles was that they were all dismissed as harmless pranks that were leading to mass hysteria, with calls for the public to remain calm becoming increasingly common in recent days.

The more she read the articles, the more she began to feel like she was in over her head; she had spent the past four years studying to become a biologist, not an expert in the paranormal. "What would I know about any of this?" she wondered. "I really hope that lady I'm meeting knows what to do..."

Even though she had been told that she wasn't going to tackle this task alone, she was nervous. To think that Tamara Dahl, one of the world's most respected and skilled competitive trainers, would be working alongside her filled her with near-crippling anxiety. She repeatedly told herself that she wasn't worthy enough to be in the presence of such a legend, and the feeling that just about any lowborne thing she did would annoy Ms. Dahl lingered over her like a thick fog. "Hopefully she'll be patient..." she thought to herself. "But something tells me she won't. Not with how successful she is. I'm just a punk ass kid who earned a degree a couple years early."

Curious, she began to look up information about her upcoming partner. Dr. Reiland had been looking to save time when listing out Ms. Dahl's accomplishments earlier in the day, as they were more extensive than she imagined. Not only had she earned the position of champion of two leagues and dominated most of the tournaments she participated in, she also participated in nearly a dozen Grand Festivals, winning the top position in three of them. Even more, she was instrumental in helping to dismantle an international Pokémon trafficking ring run by the feared criminal syndicate, Team Rocket. She'd made accomplishments in the world of politics as well, bringing to light some particularly shady government corruption in her homeland that eventually led to the downfall of the sitting president.

Something that caught Andrea's attention more than anything else was that she was widely regarded as one of the world's most knowledgeable experts in paranormal Pokémon. In her fourteen year career as a competitive trainer, the paranormal was what she lived and breathed; she put together an unstoppable team and developed unparalleled strategies that had been the subject of intense debate and study. If a woman of her caliber was interested in investigating the happenings in Doranshire, she thought, perhaps there was more going on in Doranshire than just a few mean pranks. The thought worried her.

She checked the time on her R-Kit. Only 25 minutes had passed since the train had departed from Alstan Central Station, and nearly seven hours remained on her journey to Aughrim, so she decided to pass the time with a little sleep. It didn't take long for her to find a comfortable position and drift off.

- - - - -​

Nearly six hours had passed since Andrea drifted off to sleep. She slept peacefully and deeply, more than making up for the terribly restless and agonizing night she went through at the motel. That peace was soon interrupted by a piercing squeal as the train's breaks locked in preparation for an upcoming swerve through the foothills of Crown County. She jolted forward in a panic, almost convinced that the train had just derailed, but a look through the window soothed the worst of her fears.

"Ugh... These seats looked comfortable..." she mumbled to herself as she stretched, then tried to find a comfortable spot again. Another jolt as the train rounded the first bend snapped her back into the realm of consciousness.

She looked around and much to her joy, her tea was still upright and waiting on the table in front of her. Much to her disappointment, however, it was lukewarm and unbearably bitter. Still, she was thirsty and she wasn't about to complain; as she took another sip, she noticed a feline creature walking down the center aisle in her direction.

The creature was small in height, reaching up to her knees at most, and was covered with a thick, glossy coat of black and brown fur which extended downwards towards the ground. Dainty little feet poked out from beneath its fur and carried it forward with an elegant stride. Even fluffier fur sprouted from its long tail, bobbing and waving with every movement it made.

She recognized the creature immediately: a Skitty. However, the specific breed of it eluded her, so she raised her R-Kit to scan it, hoping that it would have the answer.

"Skitty, the kitten Pokémon!" it droned. "Skitty is among the first Pokémon to be domesticated by humans in ancient times, often serving as garden protectors or as caretaker assistants of the sick and elderly. Now, they are a popular choice as house pets due to their aggressively cuddly and loyal behavior, and are a good choice for novice Pokémon trainers, due to the ease of raising one once trust is established."

"Well... that doesn't tell me what I wanted to know..." she grumbled. She began to scroll through the extra information that appeared on the screen; perhaps the information would be there, she thought.

The Skitty approached, then stopped in its tracks before it invited itself up onto the table in front of her. It was instantly drawn to the strong, bitter scent wafting from the tea mug and rushed over to investigate.

"Oh! Hello!" she said. She cautiously extended her hand towards the Skitty and began to pet its luxuriously soft fur. "Aren't you pretty?" The Skitty began to purr softly as it rubbed all over her hand. "And friendly!" She reached for her purse and began to dig through it for her phone, intent on taking a picture. Before she could, however, the Skitty had bolted and started running down the aisle again.

A young woman soon followed after. "Telandra, sweetie! Come back!"

Andrea watched the scene unfold with amusement. The young woman chased after the Skitty as it employed impressive gymnastics to escape her grasp time and time again. Slow approaches, quick grabs, diversion tactics, none of them worked. There was a hint of mischief on the Skitty's face as it avoided the woman, and while Andrea couldn't be certain, she thought she saw a smile briefly shine on the woman's face. One final attempt to grab the Skitty was met with failure and sent it returning in Andrea's direction. She figured it would be a waste of time, but positioned herself in the path of the approaching Skitty, and with some quick timing, was able to snatch it before it could get any further.

As the young woman approached, she offered the black and brown Skitty outward. "I believe this is your cat."

"Thank you," the woman said as she grabbed ahold of the Skitty and began to rock it back and forth in her arms. "She can be quite the handful sometimes. She wandered off while my attention was buried in my work."

"She seemed pretty anxious to get away from you," she couldn't help but note.

"She entered my care only recently. Obedience can be a bit of an issue at times... But she's generally well behaved! My apologies for bothering you."

"No need to apologize..." she said as she extended her hand outward towards the Skitty. "May I?"

The woman nodded.

She ran her fingers through the Skitty's soft, cloud-like fur again. "She's very beautiful."

"Thank you! I put a lot of effort into making sure that she is."

"Oh yeah? What breed is she? I've never seen a Skitty that looks like this before."

The woman invited herself to the seat across from Andrea and placed the Skitty onto the table between them. "Kalosian Forest. She's a pure breed."

"Huh... I wish I could say I was familiar with Skitty breeds, but I'm not," she pondered as she glanced over the Skitty's features. "What's her name?"

"Her name is Telandra."

"Telandra?" Gears turned in her head as she thought about it. It was definitely familiar to her, but she couldn't come up with a face to associate with the name. "Where do I know that name..."

The woman bowed her head with respect. "She's named after our late queen, may she rest in peace."

"Ooooh! Okay, no wonder I couldn't figure it out. One of those stupid royal assholes..."

The woman's eyes widened a bit. "Oh dear, that's a very strong opinion."

"I'm sorry, I just can't respect those people. They expect us to fund their lavish lives and what do we get in return? Nothing." She looked up and read the expression on her guest's face and found it to be a negative one. "Okay, I get it, I've got a minority opinion that few people agree with, yourself included it seems. It's not a big deal. But I do think it's a bit of a silly name for a cat, no offense."

"But it's not!" the woman protested. "It describes her perfectly! Look at how regal she looks!" She raised a finger towards the sky and continued, "Telandra, show me some pride!"

The Skitty closed her eyes, and with a twirl, she straightened her posture and raised her head upward. Her eyes opened a small amount, and that look of haughty mischief returned to her face. She approached Andrea and began to strut about in a bid for attention. Andrea gave the Skitty what she wanted and in return, she melted into a loud, purring puddle of happiness in front of her.

As the young woman watched over her Skitty, she studied Andrea closely. "I must say, that clothing you're wearing--"

The joy of the situation quickly faded and a vague shroud of anger began to bubble within Andrea upon hearing the woman's commentary. "Ugh, again? Why does everyone hate the way I dress?!" she asked as she shook her hands rapidly with frustration. "Why? It's not like I'm some sort of stereotype! I'm not always--"

The only response the woman across the table could offer was a look of confusion.

"Look, lady, nothing personal, but... Just don't go there, okay? I get a lot of mean comments about how I look, it gets annoying real quick these days."

The woman let out a polite giggle. "Oh! No! I didn't intend to be mean!"

She sighed. "Sorry. I can get a little... Let's just move along."

"Now hold on, I'm curious! That's a Misfit Angel dress you're wearing, correct?"

She looked down at her black dress, then back at the woman and raised her eyebrow. "Yes... Why?"

"My childhood friend happens to be the creator of the Misfit Angel clothing line. I helped to design that dress last year!"

Her face lit up. "Really? You know Nicole Spencer? What's she like?!" Excitement began to wash over her and she continued without allowing the woman to respond. "Shit! That's so cool! She's such an inspiration! I haven't met her, so this will probably sound weird or creepy or something, but... she really helped me to break out of my shell a few years ago! Oh, I am such a big fan of her work!"

"I can tell!" the woman said with a giggle. "It seems that we have something in common, then. She's been a pillar of strength for myself as well."

"Oh? How so?"

"She's... Uhh... Hmm..." the woman stumbled. "I suppose that's a bit of a personal story. I'm not comfortable talking about it. I shouldn't have brought it up. All that really needs to be said is that she's been very supportive during some of the toughest times I've faced, and I can't thank her enough for it."

"Fair enough, I won't pry."

"On the other hand, she can be a bit problematic... She's very selfish at times and quick to anger. But her heart is in the right place most of the time." she added. "I hope I haven't shattered any illusions for you."

She shrugged at the commentary. "Not at all. She sounds just like me. That only makes her better in my eyes!"

The woman smiled, then offered her hand across the table. "I don't believe I caught your name. Mine is Kimberly. Kimberly Fairbrooke."

She nodded and shook Kimberly's hand. "Andrea."

"No surname? I prefer to be polite when speaking with people I don't know well."

"My first name is good enough. I won't be offended."

Another smile. "Very well, Ms. Andrea. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

"Likewise, and I don't say that often."

"So, where are you headed, friend?"

"I'm off to the city of Aughrim."

Enthusiasm swept over Kimberly. "Oh! That's my destination as well! What brings you there?"

She grabbed her tea and took another sip from it, taking a brief moment to shudder in horror at the taste. "Work. I have some business to attend to in a little village called Doranshire and Aughrim is the closest stop on the rail network. What about you?"

"I'm getting started as a coordinator... I'll be participating in my first national competition."

"Coordinator?"

"You haven't heard of it?"

She shook her head in silence.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised... not many people take it seriously as a career. Hmm... How do I explain it..." Kimberly began to mutter to herself as she thought it over until she eventually spoke up again, "Are you perhaps familiar with 19th century circus shows?"

"Considering it's the 21st century, no."

Kimberly laughed. "Right, that was a silly question... It's a sort of stage performance that coordinators such as I engage in with our Pokémon. We compete against others in a variety of different styles, but the most popular one, and the style that I hope to get into, involves flashiness, showmanship, and stunning visuals."

The concept seemed vaguely familiar to her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. She'd halfheartedly watched many Pokémon competitions over the years, but couldn't remember if any of them were coordination contests. "I don't think I've ever seen that kind of stuff before..."

"It's not as popular as competitive battling, that may be why. It's starting to gather a following, but... Personally, I blame the fact that its seen as a woman's sport for its lack of popularity."

She shrugged. "So... it's a light show, huh? Sounds interesting enough."

"It's much more than that! There's music, there's dance and there's dozens of other odd talents that coordinators bring to the stage. I don't know if you have the time, but if you do, perhaps you'd be interested in coming to see it? I'm sure you'd love it if you tried it, and you'll get to see what it's all about." Kimberly placed her purse on the table and began to dig through its contents. "I have a pair of VIP tickets available, but nobody to give them do. Would you be interested?"

She sheepishly looked at the time on her R-Kit. She was already certain that she couldn't take the time to see the performance, but asked anyway. "What time?"

Kimberly pulled her hand out of her purse and dropped a ticket onto the table. "The show starts at 8 PM."

"Oh... I don't think I'll be able to make it. I'm meeting a business associate when I arrive in Aughrim, and she'll probably want to hit the road as soon as possible."

"Ah, that's a shame, but I understand. Still, I'd like you to have it. If you do stay in the city tonight, your evening entertainment is sorted!"

She grabbed the ticket and gave it a quick look. "Sure, why not? I'll see if I can convince my partner to stay in the city overnight... I'm sure she'll be just as sore from her flight as I am from this train ride."

Kimberly grabbed another ticket from her purse. "Here, one for your partner, too. That might make it easier to convince her."

She couldn't help but let out a laugh. "Man, you really want people to come tonight, don't you?"

Kimberly nodded. "It wouldn't hurt to have a couple of fans cheering me on, would it?" She looked down at her watch and saw that the time had just ticked over to 5:30 PM. "Oh! Time certainly flies, we should be arriving in Aughrim soon!"

"Assuming the train is on schedule, which it never is..."

Kimberly laughed. "Indeed. It was a pleasure to meet you, Andrea, but I should make a few last minute preparations for my routine tonight!" Kimberly tapped on the table to wake up her napping Skitty, then extended her arms outward. The Skitty jumped up into her arms and perched on her shoulder like a parrot. "That means you, Telandra! I have to make sure your fur is absolutely perfect!"

Telandra meowed with joy.

"I hope to see you tonight! But if I don't, best of luck with your business in Doranshire, and stay safe on the road!" With that, Kimberly stood up and wandered back to her original seat.

Andrea placed the two tickets down onto the table and began to read from them:

Witness the performance of a lifetime, the biannual event that has taken Aughrim by storm for twelve straight years! This ticket admits one visitor to the Majesty of Aughrim coordination contest, scheduled for the 14th of May and held at the Cèilidh Gailearaidh on West Armory Street. Prepare to have your breath taken away as eight coordinators compete against each other for glory and the chance to be crowned the Lad or Lass of Aughrim!

- - - - -​

Spoiler

• Changes: Minor alterations to description and dialogue throughout the chapter.
• Change: Minor alteration to strengthen Andrea's role as a biologist: she accurately identifies Telandra as a Skitty rather than second guessing herself.
• Detail: Switched the name of Telandra's breed from Asperian Forest to Kalosian Forest to help make things slightly more relatable for readers. She is still a Norwegian Forest cat.
• Words and lines: +661 words, +18 lines

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 7: Station Search

Camden Station? Worst rail stop I've ever been to! But it also served as inspiration for my newest zombie flick: Sea of the Dead.​

~ Rayne Billingsley​

- - - - -​

A soft jingle came over the train's intercom system.

"Thank you for riding with Silverline today! We have just arrived in Aughrim, two minutes ahead of schedule! The time now is 6:03 PM, and the weather outside is a cool and refreshing 16°C. If you are--"

Andrea filtered out the announcement; her attention was buried in yet another game of Tetris. She worked at a feverish pace to move the colored blocks around the screen in a desperate attempt to continue, but the pace was starting to overwhelm her. Red, yellow, green, blue, purple and white tiles piled up too fast for her to deal with, but a lucky string of well-timed and well-placed tetrads cleared a majority of the board, bringing her back from the brink of failure.

Level 29!!! flashed on the screen as her score past the 290 line mark.

"Yes... Yes!" she aggressively cheered to herself as she continued to focus on the falling blocks. "I just might do this!"

Despite her joy, she continued on with unparalleled concentration. The colors flashed before her eyes as she moved each incoming tetrad into position, or at least attempted to. Red... red... green... blue... Row complete! Red... purple... Row complete! Yellow... yellow... yellow...

"Come on, give me something else..." her thoughts begged.

A white line appeared on the screen next, a very welcome sight to her. She positioned it perfectly and cleared four rows at once, giving her some much needed breathing room. The piling up of mismatched tiles resumed; red... purple... blue... purple... Row complete! Yellow... red...

"Excuse me, Ms. Andrea?" a voice called from beside her.

Her concentration was shattered and she looked up. "Huh?" The game continued without her; while she was lucky to clear another row without moving any of the tetrads on her own, they quickly piled up and reached the top of the board afterward. "Oh! Kimberly! Sorry, I was, uhh, a little..." she bleated as her attention returned to her phone. She was heartbroken to see the words 'GAME OVER' taunting her from the screen. "Oh... great..."

"A little distracted?" Kimberly said with a giggle. "The train has been stopped for a few minutes now and most of the passengers have gotten off. Aughrim was your destination, correct?"

She placed her phone into her left stocking, something that earned a strange look from Kimberly. She did it for her own sake, as past experience told her that the upcoming walk through the train station had the potential to be dangerous; if any thieves tried to swipe her purse, at least they wouldn't get the most important thing she carried with her as well. It hadn't happened to her, but she had seen it, and she was determined to make sure it didn't happen.

A look around the train showed it to be mostly empty. "Oh! Yes, it is. I probably would have completely missed my stop if it weren't for you, thanks." She gathered up her belongings, slung them over her shoulders, stood up and let out a long and relaxing stretch. As she looked around, she noticed that Kimberly's Skitty was missing. "Where's your Skitty?"

Kimberly reached down towards the ribbon that dangled from her waist and grabbed a pink Pokéball that was hooked to it. The strange Pokéball was adorned with fuzzy, faux-fur ears, and the central button resembled a feline's nose; while she wasn't very familiar with designer Pokéballs, this one was completely new to Andrea.

"She's safely back in her Pokéball. I anticipate the arrival platform to be quite crowded and I don't want to separate myself from her."

"Good call, but I'd put those Pokéballs of yours somewhere more secure if I were you. Someone could yank them right off of that ribbon... Especially that purple one, that's a Master Ball, right?"

Kimberly reached down and grabbed the purple, gem-studded Pokéball that hung next to her pink Feline Ball. "It is!"

"Yeah, you're going to get yourself killed flashing that thing around here. This station can be a little dangerous, much more so during the evening rush hour."

"Dangerous, you say?" Kimberly asked. Without waiting for an answer, however, she followed the advice; she detached both of the Pokéballs from her ribbon and placed them into her purse.

"No, no, I wouldn't put them in your purse, either," she warned. "Too easy for someone to grab a hold of that and run off with it."

Kimberly retrieved the Pokéballs from her purse, but struggled to find a place to put them. "Umm... I don't have pockets, friend."

She pointed to the very ribbon that they dangled from in the first place. "How tight is that thing around you? Could you put them inside your dress without worrying about them falling out?"

Kimberly returned them to her purse once again. "I'll take my chances. I appreciate your advice, however."

The two began to walk to the door together. "It hasn't happened to me, but I'm in this station often enough to have seen it. Lots of thieves and scammers around here. They'll rob you blind before you even hit the floor. Hell, they might even strip that fancy dress of yours off of you and disappear into the crowd before you realize what happened."

"Oh! Oh dear..." Kimberly answered with a wavering voice. "Perhaps it would be wise if we stuck together?"

She shrugged. "I was about to suggest it, but I don't know if you've got the time to hang out around me. It could take me awhile to find this lady I'm supposed to meet... This is the biggest and busiest train station in the country and I don't even know where the hell I'm supposed to be meeting her."

"I have some time to spare."

"Suit yourself, then!"

As they stepped onto the arrivals platform, they two were immediately assaulted by the roaring ruckus of the evening crowd. A sea of densely packed, impatient people covered large sections of the platform, making it difficult not just to exit the train, but to move deeper into the station as well. Despite the fact that she barely knew her, Andrea could tell that this was the first time that Kimberly had visited Camden Station, and she felt it was her civic duty to guide her new acquaintance safely through the station; she wrapped her arm around Kimberly's shoulder and pulled her in close, then led the way as they fought through the endless horde of busy travellers.

"This is intolerable!" Kimberly protested as she was jostled left and right by the crowd. With every bump, she checked to make sure that nothing had been pickpocketed. "How are you so calm right now!?"

"It helps that this is actually kind of tame compared to the last rush hour I experienced," she replied. "You don't travel much, do you?"

"On the contrary, I travel a lot... But I usually fly on a private jet if it makes sense to."

It took a moment for the comment to register in her mind. "...private jet?"

"Yes. My father, he..." Kimberly started, then held her tongue. She eyed the people around her with suspicion before leaning in and continuing with a lowered, intimate voice. "My father is a wealthy businessman. I usually have access to his private jet, since he doesn't use it much anymore."

"Oh... that's interesting... That does explain the Master Ball and that fancy silversilk dress of hers..." she thought to herself. "Why not just fly into the city then? Beats sitting on a train for... however long you were on it."

"There was no airport where I spent the last few months of my life. Besides! I wouldn't give up a chance to see the countryside now that it's in bloom. The shades of green in the Northcountry are lovely this time of the year..."

"Can't argue with that."

It took some time, effort and many half-hearted apologies, but they finally managed to make their way to the main hall of Camden Station. The crowds were thinner than they were on the platform, but only slightly so. Andrea quickly realized the difficulties of finding her business partner among the masses; she knew vaguely what Tamara looked like, but there were thousands of faces to scan and study, with hundreds entering and leaving the main hall every minute. She lamented the fact that there wasn't a more solid plan when it came to meeting Tamara. 'Just go, you'll find her! Have fun!' seemed like a terrible waste of time, but it was the only plan that she had.

Kimberly suggested they reach a higher vantage point and they ventured to the second story promenade. While it helped her to investigate the crowds more quickly, the finer details of the people they were looking at were now lost on both of them. Kimberly dropped her backpack to the floor and began to dig through it; she retrieved a small pair of binoculars and offered them to Andrea.

"Oh, yeah! I won't look like a terrorist at all with these!" she joked before raising the binoculars to her eyes. Every now and then, she'd lower them to focus on another group of people, then raise them again for a closer inspection. She was making very little progress in finding Tamara in the crowds and it was starting to frustrate her. A few more minutes of searching were fruitless. "I sure am glad to know what I'm looking for! " she began to rant; the sarcasm in her voice was clearly obvious. "Why do I always get stuck with--"

"Who are you looking for, exactly?" Kimberly asked.

"Some girl named Tamara Dahl."

"Oh! I've heard of her! The world famous Pokémon trainer, correct?" Kimberly wondered.

She nodded.

"You're going to be working alongside her?"

She lowered the binoculars one last time and handed them back, then pulled her phone out of her purse. She started to dial Dr. Reiland's phone number. "That was the plan..."

"That's quite an honor! You're lucky, Ms. Andrea!"

She stifled a laugh as she sent the call. "Something tells me I'm not so lucky... I'm just a punk kid, there's no way she's going to have the patience to deal with me."

The phone rang five times before it was finally answered. "Hello?"

"Yes, Dr. Reiland? It's Andrea, your new employee!"

"Ah, yes! Ms. Dennison!" Dr. Reiland jollily answered. "You should be in Aughrim by now, correct?"

She nodded. "Indeed I am."

"Good! How was the train ride?"

She peered over at Kimberly, who was still examining the crowds below them. "It went well, but I slept through most of it."

"Heh, sleeping on the job, huh?" Dr. Reiland asked, then let out a long sigh. "To do that again... I envy you! Have you met with your partner yet?"

She hesitated for a moment. "Uhh... I haven't. That's what I called about. I've been looking for over half an hour now, but I can't find here anywhere."

"Oh, is that so?" Dr. Reiland asked, intrigued. "Ms. Dahl's employer tells me she is usually very punctual... Have you tried the main lobby, under the grand clock?"

"That was the first place I looked." She took another casual glance in the direction of the large clock tower that stood in the center of the lobby. "She wasn't there, and I don't see her now."

"Huh... That's where I was told she would be..."

The fact that Dr. Reiland apparently knew where Tamara was supposed to be waiting made it difficult for Andrea to contain her frustration, but she tried her hardest to be respectful about it. "It would have been nice to know that! It feels like I came here without a plan."

There was a momentary pause before Dr. Reiland spoke again. "...Did I not tell you about that? My sincerest apologies, Ms. Dennison. This medication I use can... affect my memory sometimes."

"Don't worry about it, I can't be mad about that... Whatever the case, I can't find her. I don't know where she could be hiding, I've looked almost everywhere."

"Almost everywhere?"

"There's no way I'm going into the men's restroom to look for her, because I know I'm not going to find her there."

Dr. Reiland let out a hearty laugh, but that joy quickly gave way towards a more somber tone. "That's... worrying. Again, I've been told that she's always punctual... Can you give me a moment?" There was a long pause in the conversation, and the sounds of her struggling to lift something in the background came over the line. A few moments later, she continued, "I want you to call this number, it's Ms. Dahl's personal line. 12-1-105-6734. Please, don't share that number with anyone. She has gone to great lengths to keep it hidden from the public."

"12... 1..." she mumbled quietly as she took note of the number in her short term memory. "Got it."

"While you get on with that, I'll get in touch with his employer. It may be as simple as a flight delay, he may know. My part will take some time, though... You caught me on my way home. If you find her before I call you again, let me know!"

"Thank you, doctor. Will do."

"Keep searching. You'll hear from me soon." The phone clicked, then went silent.

She let out a sigh, then began to dial the number that Dr. Reiland had given her.

"Any answers?" Kimberly asked.

She shook her head. "Just crossed wires... My boss is a little bit forgetful, so she never told me where to meet this lady... but even then, we walked by and she wasn't there. So I'm calling this lady's personal number to see if I can get through to her." She clicked the send call button and puttered around in a circle. "You don't have to stay around, you can go and get ready for your competition thing."

"Hmm, I should prob--"

She put her finger up to quiet Kimberly down when the phone stopped ringing. An automated voicemail message began to play: "Greetings, you've reached Tamara! I can't answer the phone right now, so leave me a message and a number. I'll get back to you." A loud beep followed shortly after.

She grumbled angrily and began to mutter obscenities under her breath before she finally composed her message. "Uhh, hello! This is Andrea Dennison, Dr. Reiland's assistant. I'm supposed to accompany you to Doranshire to investigate some of the strange happenings that are going on there. I'm here at Camden Station but I can't find you anywhere. There's way too many people here! Get in touch with me so we can figure out where we're meeting. My number is 07-1-210-7240. See ya soon!" She ended the call and sighed loudly.

"I don't like the sound of that sigh, friend. Is everything okay?"

She shook her head and spoke in a melancholy tone, "It's fine..."

"It does not sound fine."

She leaned up against the railing and slid down to the ground. "It's... it's just been stressful, you know? This new job I mean. It's only been a few days so far, but... First that Miltank, then the swamp, all this travel, and now--" She caught herself muttering almost incoherently when she saw the strange look on Kimberly's face. "Maybe she just can't hear her phone, this is a pretty loud place... or maybe she's in a call with someone else, she must be a very busy person. And speaking of busy... how about you? I interrupted you, do you need to leave?"

Kimberly offered her hand out to Andrea and smiled. "I can stay a little longer. I shouldn't leave you alone here, this place looks quite dangerous to the solitary traveller."

She laughed and accepted Kimberly's hand, then pulled herself back to her feet. "You don't have to stay, but if you want to, two sets of eyes are better than one. Let's keep looking."

In spite of the nagging thoughts that it would be pointless, Andrea planned on sweeping the station once again in a more thorough manner; rather than just amble by, half-distracted as they had done previously, she wanted to pay attention to the details around her as close as possible. Part of it was her interest in browsing the shops present in Camden Station, something she'd never taken the opportunity to do, and the other part was that she just wanted to kill some time before Dr. Reiland contacted her. She could think of little else to do.

Their search led them across the main lobby and nearly every person they came across was meticulously studied, at least as much as time allowed. No luck, and they moved onto the relaxation lounge next. The dim lighting in the lounge was anything but helpful when it came to searching for Tamara.

"I can barely see anything..." Kimberly remarked.

"Hold on," Andrea said, her attention fixed on a brunette that was seated at a bar in an establishment known as The Conductor's Cabin. "I think I see her! Right there, in The Conductor's Cabin."

"I don't think--" Kimberly started, but Andrea had already wandered off.

She cut across the promenade, taking care not to bump into anyone, as she approached the entrance to The Conductor's Cabin Bar & Grill. A few steps later, she arrived at the bar, next to the person she had been looking at. She cautiously reached out and tapped them on the shoulder. "Excuse me, miss?"

"Wot," the figure said in a burly, masculine voice as it turned around. "Need somethin'?"

A look of shock came across her face; she had mistaken a man with long hair for Tamara! "Oh! Uhh, my mistake, sir. You're not who I'm looking for."

"Mmm. That so..." The man eyed her up and down. "Just so happens I'm lookin' for a pretty lady to spend the evening with. You'll do, how 'bout I buy you a drink?"

Her face turned bright red, and she politely shook her head despite the situation calling for anything but a polite response. "Uhh, uh-uh. Good bye!" She rushed out of the bar and back into Kimberly's presence, nearly knocking a distracted traveller over in the process. "Well... That was awkward."

Kimberly politely covered her mouth as she laughed. "I can tell! The look on your face when that man turned around... I tried to warn you!"

"Did you see the look on my face when he propositioned me? It took a lot of effort not to slap him."

"Oh dear, did he really? I'm glad you didn't."

"Yeah, that would have been a bad idea... let's keep looking around. I want to put as much distance between myself and that creep as I can..."

The next section of the station they searched was the economic heart that attracted more visitors than any other: the commerce center. There were lots of alluring distractions scattered about; another bar, the Gilded Kilt, had various sporting games on TV. The scent of freshly prepared Shinikari-styled seafood wafted from a restaurant just next to it. A public Dance Dance Arcade! match between two seasoned veterans was taking place just outside of Fynnster's Arcade. A jewelry kiosk filled to the brim with silver, gold and precious gems glinted in the overhead lighting.

They all fought for the girls' attention, and eventually the distraction proved successful. They quickly found themselves browsing the merchandise around them, rather than the people. The first distraction was the loud rave music that came from the Dance Dance Arcade! display, and Andrea found herself drawn in like a moth to a flame. The two blended in with the crowd of cheering spectators that had gathered to watch the heated competition that was taking place.

"Yeah! Ya got 'em, Lao, ya got 'em!" one of the spectators shouted as the match progressed.

The screen was crammed to capacity with flashing arrows that passed by at lightning speed, each corresponding to a specific dance move. Both competitors were able to keep up with the ludicrous pace and remained evenly matched for several minutes, but eventually one of them missed a step, a mistake that threw off his entire rhythm. The crowd erupted with boisterous booing and cheering as the young man stormed off in defeat before the song had even finished.

"Would you be interested in giving it a go?" Andrea asked as the crowd started to jostle back and forth and two new competitors emerged.

Kimberly raised her eyebrow. "Me? Sorry, I'm not the type."

"Doesn't matter. I'm well out of practice, and out of shape, too. You could probably take me."

Her words of encouragement earned a giggle from Kimberly. "I wouldn't want to ruin my high heels before my big night."

"So take 'em off, silly!"

"I'll pass. We have something more important to focus on, remember."

She smiled and playfully said, "Coward!" As the two contestants argued over what the next song should be and what difficulty they would compete at, she felt a deep rumbling against her leg. She pulled her phone out of her stocking, looked at the screen and felt her heart drop.

'Incoming call from Dr. Rebecca Reiland'

She stepped away from the hollering crowd and answered. "Hello?"

"Hello, Ms. Dennison, it's Dr. Reiland again. Have you heard from Ms. Dahl yet?"

"I haven't. I called her phone and left a voice mail, but she hasn't gotten back to me. I kept looking for her, too, but I haven't found her. I don't think she's here."

"I see... I was just in touch with her employer, Dr. Belmonte. He hasn't heard from her, either. The airline company that she booked her flight into Aughrim with said that she boarded the plane before it took off, so we do know that she's in the country. However, when we reached out to the hotel that she had rented, she hasn't checked in."

"Where the hell could she be, then?"

"I couldn't say... and I'm starting to grow a little worried. According to Dr. Belmonte, who has worked with Ms. Dahl numerous times in the past, this is unlike her."

"You don't think..." she started.

Her mind quickly drifted to the recent news reports that she watched on TV, complete with scary capital letters and sensationalist, even if they were fact based, claims: 'VIOLENT CRIME ON THE RISE', 'HUMAN TRAFFICKING RING OPERATING IN LANARK?' and 'VULNERABLE: CRIME AGAINST YOUNG WOMEN SKYROCKETS'. Growing up, she always thought of Lanark as a safe country, and it truthfully was; disappearances were a rarity during her youth, and violent kidnappings and murders even rarer, but that was evidently no longer the case. A recent article she read stated that in April alone, there were nearly 400 reported cases of missing persons, ten times the yearly average.

On top of that, she'd read stories over the years about famous Pokémon champions such as Tamara, and how dangerous their lives had become as a consequence of their achievements. The story of Brendan Odamaki, champion of the Hoenn League, came to mind; after years of harassment from his loyal 'fans', including a nearly fatal encounter with a female stalker, he eventually disappeared from his public life altogether and went into hiding. Such stories were common among accomplished competitive trainers, especially league champions, and perhaps that was Tamara's typical experience while out in public. The fact that something tragic could have happened was an easy leap of logic for her to make.

"Is it possible that she ran into trouble somewhere in the city?" she asked.

"As much as I don't want to... I'm starting to think that."

She sighed and shook her head. "So what should I do?"

"I'm not sure there's much you can do at the moment. Find a hotel and check into it, I'll let Mavis down in Accounting know to cover the costs for you."

"Oh! You don't need to worry about that. I still have my apartment here in the city, I can just hang out with my room mate for the time being."

"Ah, do you? That's very handy, that'll save the institute some money. In any case, it's much too dangerous for you to be travelling the roads at night, especially alone."

"Yeah, this city can get pretty rough at night..."

"In the meantime, I'll keep in touch with Dr. Belmonte and sort out a missing person report."

"Understood."

"Look after yourself, Ms. Dennison."

"I'll try." She hung up, placed her phone back into her stocking and then fell against the wall beside her, letting out a long groan in the process. "Son of a bitch..."

"More bad news, I'll assume," Kimberly said.

"Yeah. I can't get in touch with her, my boss can't get in touch with her, her boss can't get in touch with her... so we're giving up for the night and reporting her missing. I'm cursed, one bad thing after the other..."

"Oh no..."

"What else can we do?"

A moment of silence overtook the two as they thought over the situation. They both wanted to speculate wildly to themselves about how it could have happened; Andrea's imagination ran wild with dozens of possibilities ranging from Tamara being kidnapped by traffickers to having a violent confrontation with the gangsters that typically loitered in the streets around the airport. Kimberly knew it wasn't her place to speculate, so she refrained from it too much. The worry that Tamara had been targeted stuck in her mind, however, and she was concerned that perhaps Andrea may be in danger as well.

"Hey," Andrea started in an effort to break the silence. "Thanks for sticking around and making sure I'm okay. You're a good person."

Kimberly joyously accepted the compliment. "I try to be!" She looked down at her watch and the joy quickly faded from her face. "Oh! I suppose I really should be going now. These coordination contests take some time to prepare for..."

"I shouldn't keep you any longer, run along now."

"I do want to stay, to make sure you're okay, but... I know this may sound insensitive, regarding the current situation, but will you be attending the show? It'll be a nice distraction from your troubles. You'll also be in a public place, safe from danger."

She shrugged. "I'll think about it."

"Very well. Will you be alright here by yourself?" Kimberly asked.

She made a dismissive gesture as she nodded. "I'm leaving, no sense staying here. I'm going to head home and figure out what to do next. Good luck with your contest."

"Good. Stay safe, and good luck to you as well, friend. It was nice meeting you, Ms. Dennison!"

- - - - -​

Spoiler

• Changes: Minor alterations to description and dialogue throughout the chapter.
• Change: Kimberly now sticks by Andrea's side until the end of the chapter, despite being on a tight schedule herself. This is intended to better display her selfless nature, even when it comes to strangers.
• Change: Andrea now remembers that she still lives in the city and plans to return home instead of rent a hotel.
• Added: Various small scenes to help fill out the chapter; this was the shortest chapter by far before the edits took place
• Words and lines: +1738 words, +51 lines

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 8: a 'Cèilidh Gailearaidh
Written with minor assistance from @Caitlin;

They all rose at once with thunderous applause; the legend had done it again.​

~ Sir Percival Jackson, The Great Writers of Our Era​

- - - - -​

"She has to be fine... There's no way someone like her could just... just become a victim. A statistic." Andrea told herself quietly. "Surely a master Pokémon trainer like her could defend herself from anyone who'd want to hurt her." Thoughts about her business partner's whereabouts and situation were beginning to flood through her mind; as much as she tried to tell herself otherwise, she couldn't help but feel that something sinister had happened. "What if she was targeted? Could I be--"

Her thoughts were interrupted as she was knocked to the cold granite floor below her. A large man towered over her with a look of bitter anger on his face. He was dressed quite sharply, sporting a brown tweet suit that had been the unfortunate victim of a careless coffee spill. "Hey, what the fuck, lady!? Watch where you're walkin'!" he roared as he wiped at the stain with his hand.

"I-I-I'm sorry, I was... I was just--"

"Ya know what, don't even fuckin' say it!" he shouted. Before offering to help her up or even allow her to explain herself, he stomped off in anger. "...ruin my god damn day, dumb bitch..."

It was just as well that he left without hearing her out; he clearly wouldn't be interested in any excuses she offered.

She picked herself up off of the floor and looked around. Nobody had stopped to offer to help her, or even taken just a moment to see what had happened. That brief encounter, the careless people around her, the situation regarding Tamara, it was all starting to bottle up and bubble relentlessly in her mind. "I need to get out of here before I run into anyone else..."

With one last look at the lobby of Camden Station, she put it all behind her and stepped outside into the chilly evening air. The breeze made her shiver, yet at the same time, it was comforting. It was a familiar feeling; the breeze of Aughrim, the city that she had called home for the past four and a half years of her life.

As she navigated the walkways towards the city, the gentle tones of a tenor saxophone began to fill the crisp air around her. She'd heard this same enchanting sound nearly every time she visited the train station, and just as it had many times before, it lured her in. A man with a bowler hat and a fancy waxed mustache stood in the center of a crowd of spectators, playing his own rendition of a popular tune from the 1980s. The case in which he carried his saxophone was drowning under a pile of bronze and silver coins, with more being added by passersby.

The music calmed her nerves as the saxophonist moved onto the next song. She generally wasn't a fan of upbeat ballad music and in fact usually abhorred it, but she felt at ease in its presence. The soothing notes of the music began to melt her anxiety away, and thoughts about Tamara's wellbeing started to slip into the back of her mind. After awhile, she even found herself following the crowd as they sung the song's lyrics:

♫ ...I'll take that chance.
I don't know when that will happen,
Maybe today, but longer, I imagine. ♫

♫ Where ever you are,
I don't care what you do.
Just come to me, I'm waiting for you.
Whatever it takes.
Every day my heart breaks,
Still here, waiting for you. ♫

♫ Waiting... Waiting here, for you... ♫

Eventually, the music came to a conclusion and the saxophonist thanked the crowd for stopping to listen. As he packed up his belongings and the crowd began to disperse, she lingered in silent contemplation; she realized that the lyrics didn't apply to her current troubles, but they brought about feelings of hope and serenity nevertheless. She quickly dug through her purse and scooped out a handful of coins. After sorting through them for a pair of silver roses and depositing the leftovers back into her purse, she approached the man and offered them to him.

The man studied her for a brief second, then accepted the coins in a gracious manner. "Thank you, ma'am. That's one of the most generous tips I've gotten all week."

"No, thank you," she insisted. "Your music always helps clear my mind as I walk by this spot... it definitely has tonight."

"That's just how I do," he answered with a nod before taking his leave.

"You have a good night!" she called out.

She kicked at a crack in the concrete walkway as she thought about what to do. Returning to her apartment for the night seemed like a good idea, but at the same time, it didn't; Kimberly's suggestion about attending the coordination contest came to mind, as did her comment about how she'd be safer in a public place. It begged the question: if Tamara had indeed been targeted by someone, was she possibly in danger as well? If that were the case, returning home would certainly be a bad idea. An even worse thought entered her mind: her room mate, Webster. Not only did she have herself to worry about, but him as well.

"Great..." she mumbled as she reached down towards her stocking. With her phone in hand, she typed out a message to him:

Fr: Andrea Dennison, 7:07 PM

'hey webster, you home?'​

Fr: Webster, 7:08 PM

'I am. 'sup?'​

Fr: Andrea Dennison, 7:08 PM

'hi! everything okay over there?'​

Fr: Webster, 7:08 PM

'Bit lonely here without you, but yeah. Why?'​

Fr: Andrea Dennison, 7:09 PM

'aww, ya miss me? how cute!'
'well good news is that im back in aughrim for an assignment. ill be staying the night'​

Fr: Webster, 7:08 PM

'That's good!'​

Fr: Andrea Dennison, 7:09 PM

'bad news, a problem came up and my partner has gone missing'​

Fr: Webster, 7:09 PM

'Oh.'
'Shit.'
'That's not good.'​

Fr: Andrea Dennison, 7:09 PM

'yeah im a little bit worried and wanted to make sure everything was alright'
'i dont know if im in danger too but i dont want you to get hurt'​

Fr: Webster, 7:10 PM

'Oh god, what trouble have you gotten yourself into this time? jk jk'​

Fr: Andrea Dennison, 7:10 PM

'im probably over thinking it but it might be a good idea for you to find something out of the apartment to do just in case'
'some girl i met on the train gave me some tickets to see her coordination contest. you interested?'​

Fr: Webster, 7:10 PM

'Coordination? Nah. I don't like that stuff.'​

Fr: Andrea Dennison, 7:10 PM

'at least find something to do then i dont want you staying home alone tonight'​

Fr: Webster, 7:10 PM

'Like you said, it's probably nothing. But thanks for the heads up. Guess I'll go visit some friends.'
'Get in touch with me when you're done, we'll go back home together.'​

Fr: Andrea Dennison, 7:11 PM

'sounds good see ya later'​

She was disappointed that Webster wasn't interested in attending the coordination contest, but she figured he would say no, as Pokémon in general barely interested him. At the very least, her mind was at ease that he took her request to leave the apartment seriously, especially considering the fact that he rarely ever left the comfort of his bedroom.

With the evening still young, she thought about how to spend it. She couldn't return home, so she had to find something to do with her time. She mused about joining Webster and his friends, but she rarely saw eye to eye with any of them. Her own list of friends was depressingly small, and aside from Webster, not a single one of them lived in the city. While she could think of a few other night time activities that she'd rather do, she did feel a nagging pull towards attending the contest anyways, even if she'd do it alone. She buried her hand back into her purse in search of the VIP tickets she was given. With one in hand, she began to read from it:

Witness the performance of a lifetime, the biannual event that has taken Aughrim by storm for twelve straight years! This ticket admits one visitor to the Majesty of Aughrim coordination contest, scheduled for the 14th of May and held at the Cèilidh Gailearaidh on West Armory Street. Prepare to have your breath taken away as eight coordinators compete against each other for glory and the chance to be crowned the Lad or Lass of Aughrim!

"West Armory, huh? At least it's not too far away..."

- - - - -​

It was a quick and uneventful walk towards the city's Olde Town district. Despite spending several years of her life living in the city of Aughrim, Andrea had never taken the opportunity to visit the area; she felt overwhelmed as she attempted to navigate the winding alleyways that made up the core of the city, a fact made worse by the insufficient lighting that the antique street lamps provided. Ever concerned for her safety, every person she came into close contact with was watched like a hawk, and anyone who looked even the slightest bit suspicious, angry or drunk was given a wide berth.

To avoid the thoughts about Tamara clouding her mind again, she tried to imagine the coordination contest that she was about to attend. She knew very little about them, and Kimberly's earlier description did little to paint any particular images in her imagination.

It involves flashiness, showmanship and stunning visuals! It's a lot of fun!

What did that even mean? She wondered what to expect. Fire juggling? Ice carving? Acrobatics? Horticultural displays? Feats of strength and endurance? Time would tell.

At last, she had arrived at the Cèilidh Gailearaidh, a large and imposing stone building that could grab the attention of even a blind man. Four brick spires towered into the sky, each tipped with crenellations and decorated with grisly-looking gargoyles from ages past. Enormous stained glass windows that depicted important events in Lanark's history lined the roughly chiseled walls. She'd never seen it in person before, and now she was kicking herself for never taking the time to.

Her heart dropped as she approached the entrance of the building, and she quickly began to reconsider how she would spend the rest of her night. "You've gotta be kidding me..."

A seemingly endless sea of people were gathered in front of the main entrance. At first, it looked like there was little order to the crowd, but closer inspection revealed a long, orderly queue that was penned in with red velvet ropes. She tried to count the number of people who were waiting, only to lose track somewhere around 65.

"Am I really about to wait in the cold..." she asked herself. Luckily, she noticed that the line of guests was clustered along the right side of the main entrance, while a much, much smaller line was stood outside of the left side. A large banner fluttered in the wind, emblazoned with the words 'VIP TICKET HOLDERS ENTER HERE', a warm welcome.

"Hello! Welcome to the Cèilidh Gailearaidh!" an attendant said as she approached. "Please have your VIP ticket ready!"

With the ticket already in hand, she handed it over.

The attendant grabbed the ticket and held it up to a scanner. "Let's see... Yep, this is right! Welcome to the show!" He grabbed a small pamphlet and a lanyard that was decorated with silver roses and handed them to her. "Here is your VIP access pass and a schedule for tonight's show. Enjoy!"

She slipped the lanyard around her neck and entered the building. She was quickly beckoned over by a sharply dressed young man who carried himself in a stately and dignified manner. He offered to escort her to the VIP section, an offer she accepted. As they walked through the lobby together, they passed by the concert hall; the seating area was nearly filled to capacity already in preparation for the upcoming show, and there simply weren't enough seats left for the people waiting outside. If it had been overbooked, she reasoned, then the night would at least be memorable even if she didn't enjoy the show.

The young man who was escorting her was awkwardly silent and rebuffed every effort she made at speaking with him, so she studied her surroundings instead. The marbled halls were home to numerous paintings and works of art, from renaissance masterpieces to modern trash. Displays of renaissance and medieval arms and armor decorated the empty spaces between the paintings. Important documents and books from the city's history were housed in glass containers. A lot of history called that hallway home, history that she was interested in learning about, but now wasn't the time.

Eventually, the two stopped at an unmarked doorway and the attendant knocked on the door.

"Yes?" a voice called from the other side.

"Someone has arrived, do you want me to send them in?" he replied in a deep voice.

"Oh!" the voice said. A short pause followed. "Yes, send them in!"

The man opened the door and motioned for Andrea to enter. She stepped inside and immediately recognized it as a green room, much to her surprise. "Uhh, I'm not here to compete, sir, I'm--"

Kimberly was standing behind the door, browsing a selection of dresses that hung from a wheeled rack. "Ms. Dennison! You came!"

"I did. I figured that if something bad happened to Tamara, whoever did it might be looking for me, too... You were right with what you said earlier, it's probably best to blend in with the crowd, especially where nobody would expect to find me. I can't think of a better place than here."

"Indeed."

"Of course, I don't know why that guy brought me here of all places, but here I am." The confusion in her voice was obvious; she expected to be taken to the seating area, not the private room of one of the contestants.

Kimberly quietly nodded to herself as she pulled a simple-looking sun dress from the rack, then brought it over to the vanity table. "That is one of the perks of being a VIP ticket holder, friend. You get to visit the contestant who gave it to you before and after the show!"

"Huh. Well, I tried inviting my room mate to attend the contest as well, but it looks like he wasn't interested."

"I trust that you warned him that you might be expecting trouble, correct?"

"Yeah, that's why I invited him. I was hoping he'd come, but he just doesn't like coordination I guess. He's hanging out with some other friends instead, at least."

"Ah! That's a shame, but I'm more than happy that at least you decided to come." Kimberly turned her attention to her makeup next. As she started to apply her eyeshadow, she asked, "I take it you haven't heard anything about your business partner, correct?"

"Nope... Unless she really is just running late, or is busy with something, I don't think I will tonight." she answered. "Oh, on that note, if I do hear from her, I'm gonna bounce on this competition of yours to go meet with her. I hope you understand."

Kimberly nodded. "Mmm. I'd be disappointed, but I'd also understand." A few minutes passed by in relative silence as she brushed away at her eyelids and daintily applied the crimson tones she was working with. "Ugh! I'm so bad at this!"

"Bad at what?"

"Makeup application! I never learned how to do it properly by myself..."

Andrea approached from behind to get a better look in the mirror. "I think you did okay." Her compliment was met by silent skepticism, almost as if Kimberly was waiting to be told otherwise. "...okay, I guess it's a little sloppy near the corner of your right eye. It shouldn't be hard to fix."

Kimberly took another close look at herself in the mirror, but she could see more than just a sloppy application. She reached for a white cloth that was stained with nearly a dozen black smudges and began to rub away at her makeup. "Sloppy won't do... Not tonight... This may be a strange question, but... Could you perhaps help me with this?"

"Help?"

Kimberly offered the makeup brush to her. "Don't take this as an insult, as I don't mean it that way. You seem like you're much better at this makeup business than I am."

"Well... she's not wrong..." she thought to herself, taking a moment to ponder the situation. "That won't break any competition rules, with it?"

"No. As I was arriving, I noticed that several of the other contestants had their own assistants. It's a common practice in these competitions."

She sheepishly accepted the brush and wondered where to begin. She considered herself a veteran of eyeshadow application and had spent years perfecting her own look, but all of that knowledge and confidence went out the window now that she was working on someone else. "I'm going to screw this up, and then it'll be on me..." she thought to herself. "I'll try something subdued. I really only know how to do the princess of darkness look, but I doubt you want that. I don't think it'd fit the look you're going for."

"And what look would that be?"

She took a step back and studied Kimberly's appearance more closely. She was wearing a simple shamrock green and minty white pinstripe sun dress, embroidered with a dozen roses down the right side. Her outfit was anything but complex and gave off an 'I'm fun, yet classy' vibe. Her chestnut brown hair, on the other hand, was a complex mess of braids, twists and pastel green ribbons, yet it carried a sense of sophistication with it. She didn't know what to make of it. "You know, I'm not sure. I was never into fashion much."

"At least you understand the basics of color coordination."

She got to work on Kimberly's eyeshadow; she wasn't sure which color to choose, so she decided on a neutral brown. "Color coordination? What color coordination? All I do is black! There's no need to mix and match colors when you're a goth!"

The two shared a laugh.

"Heh, you've got a good point," Kimberly said with a smile. "I do have the colors down... but the rest of my outfit has me worried. Like you, I don't know what to make of it, which has me slightly worried... I got a sneak peak at one of the other contestants as I approached my room, she was in the most gorgeous red dress I had ever seen! What I'm wearing simply can not compete."

Andrea was confused. "What you're wearing and how you look can't be all that important, can it? Aren't these shows all about the Pokémon and the tricks they do?"

Kimberly tried her best to remain still as she laughed. "Oh, bless your heart! You really do know so little about this sport... You'll soon see what it's all about!" A few minutes passed by in which she sat in silence, waiting for Andrea to respond, but she never did. The silence bugged her, so she asked, "What will you do if you don't meet your business partner?"

Andrea took a step back and studied her work; she found it satisfactory enough, but wasn't sure if it matched the look that Kimberly sported. "I honestly don't know. I'll probably have to head back to Loch Alstan... I can't travel the roads alone, it's way too dangerous."

"Indeed, travelling the roads is not for the timid."

"You can say that again, I learned that the hard way before I came here... Even ignoring the issue of travel, this job I'm working on relied on her expertise, not mine. I'm screwed without her."

Their conversation was interrupted by a knock at the door. The door swiveled open ever so slightly and attendant's voice said, "Five minutes until the show begins, Ms. Fairbrooke."

"Thank you!" Kimberly called out. She stood up and made some last minute adjustments to her hair in the mirror. She noticed that her hand was shaking lightly and tried her best to calm herself. "Oh dear... Nervousness is setting in... This is my first big competition."

"Heh. Just have a little faith, you'll do fine." Andrea said.

With a few deep breaths and a few repetitions of "Confidence is key..." she nodded. "Even if I don't do well tonight, I'll have learned some valuable lessons for next time."

"If you don't mind, I'll get out of your hair. I have to find my seat, still..."

"By all means. Thank you for stopping by, friend!" Before Andrea could get far, she approached the door and called out into the hallway, "Oh! One last thing! I'll be returning to this room after my performances. Would you care to join me?"

Andrea stopped in her tracks and paused for a brief moment. "Sure, why not? See you soon."

- - - - -​

Spoiler

• Changes: Minor alterations to description and dialogue throughout the chapter.
• Change: The song that Andrea sings along to has been shortened to just a few verses instead of the whole thing. She joined halfway through, why sit through the whole lyrics? If anyone's curious, it's a poetry piece I wrote years ago, adapted from Richard Marx' Right Here Waiting.
• Added: To piggyback on changes introduced in the previous chapter, Andrea's room mate, Webster, is introduced with a lengthy text message conversation between the two. Webster will be a minor character who appears in the story from time to time.
• Words and lines: +1076 words, +34 lines

 

[Misfit Angel]

Author's note: This one's a bit fillery, I guess. Little did I know that allowing eight characters to briefly introduce themselves before a coordination contest would turn into one of the lengthiest chapters yet. I feel it was worth it, though, as all but one of these characters will be seen again.

Land of the Roses
Chapter 9: The Eight

The rise of coordination as a respectable spectator sport can be attributed to this new generation: all the energy of the trainers of old, and a level of creativity that rivals the masters of the renaissance. The future looks bright.​

~ The Daily Crown, April 1st​

- - - - -​

The stage went dark. A live orchestra began to play a rendition of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3. As the dulcet tones of the music filled the auditorium hall, a young woman in a crisp white suit began to approach the center of the stage, still cloaked in darkness. When she reached the center, spotlights turned on and focused on her position. The orchestra carried on with its music, but began to soften in preparation for her speech.

"Thank you all for coming tonight, and welcome to the 25th Majesty of Aughrim coordination contest, hosted here at the Cèilidh Gailearaidh! My name is Emma Welton and I'll be your host for the evening, as well as a member of tonight's judging panel." She made a motion towards a table that sat in front of the crowd, beckoning the two who were already seated to come on stage. "Please, give my colleagues a warm welcome!"

The crowd cheered as a regally-dressed elderly woman and an equally sharply dressed young man climbed the steps to the stage.

The man bowed before the crowd. "Saluti! It is an honor to be here in Lanark." he said in a thick, nearly unintelligible accent. "I am Leonardo Bertucci, connoisseur of fine arts, fine wines and fine women!" His laughter encouraged the crowd to do the same. "I have been judging these contests for nearly ten years now, and every one of them is a treat filled with new experiences. This is a fantastic opportunity, not just for me, but for you as well! Tonight, we will be captivated by some fresh talent and witness the birth of many promising careers!"

The crowd could barely understand him, but cheered anyways.

The elderly woman stepped forward and waved to the crowd with a warm smile. "Hello! Big crowd tonight! We barely had a dozen guests when I used to participate in these events, all those years ago..." she said. "I suppose you're wondering who I am! My name is Rosemary White, and I've been a coordinator for nearly fifty years now... Even won myself a few Ribbon Cups in my day. 22 of them, in fact!"

The crowd erupted with delight.

She let out a bemused chuckle and motioned for the crowd to be quiet. "Thank you, thank you. You humble me! As one of the early pioneers of coordination, I am very passionate about this sport, and it warms my heart to see that are you as well. But! The thing that warms my heart the most are our eight contestants that will be performing tonight. To see the traditions of old carried on by our newest generation is all I could ever ask for!"

"Well said, Mrs. White! Now, with us out of the way, let's welcome the true stars of the night, our contestants!"

A roaring cacophony echoed through the concert hall as the crowd eagerly awaited the beginning of the show.

"Our first contestant is from the city of Steelport, Simone Reed!" A young woman with fiery red hair and a matching red ballgown approached from the left side of the stage. As she did so, Emma continued, "Mrs. Reed has a distinguished eight year career as a Royal Navy subcommander. She's served as a coast guard reserve for the first four years of her career, which was followed by two tours of duty as an ordnance officer aboard HMS Purity during its lengthy patrol of the Ranaa Gulf. Let's give a hand for this brave woman!"

"Thank you," Simone said in a reserved manner.

"Let me start by thanking you for your service. I understand that you've just recently finished the long road to recovery after sustaining a battlefield injury, correct?"

"Yes... This last year has been pretty tough. Hospital visits, extensive physical therapy, countless restless nights spent contemplating both my luck and my mortality..."

"I can only begin to imagine how terrifying it must have been to serve in an active combat zone."

"Terrifying is putting it lightly... I'll never forget that night. The hull of our cruiser was breached by an explosion and we were forced into a hostile port for emergency repairs under heavy fire. It's not easy to pick up a rifle and protect your fellow engineers when you've been promised a relaxed patrol assignment..." She took a moment to study the crowd before her, then took a deep breath. "But the men and women in this room remind me of why I went out there in the first place. Gods, it's good to be home, and I'm happy that chapter of my life is finally finished.

"What a humble hero! Let's hear it for her!"

The crowd roared. A group in the rear of the auditorium, clad in the Lanark Royal Navy's dress uniform, were among the loudest supporters.

As Simone stepped off towards the back of the stage, Emma continued with her introductions. "Our next contestant also has a military past. From the frosty steppes of Kanetsk, please welcome Senna Kros... Kr... Krostovj? Yes, Krostovj!" She looked down towards a card she held in her hand. "She is a retired colonel from the Peoples' Liberation Army of the Great Republic of Kanetsk, 32nd division of the General Infantry. I hope I've said all of that correctly."

A spotlight focused on the right side of the stage and the crowd began to cheer, but nobody emerged from behind the curtains. Emma quickly studied the card in her hands once again, then made a beckoning gesture towards the side of the stage. After a few brief moments of confusion, a woman in a striking black jacket and matching knee-length skirt approached the center of the stage. Her outfit was easily identified by just about anyone as the formal uniform of the Kanetsk General Infantry. Long, crimped blonde hair flowed out from under the peaked hat that sat atop her head. There was a rigid efficiency in her movement and her posture was stiff as a board.

"There she is!" Emma said.

Senna offered the crowd a sharp salute. "Sorry. Understanding of your language is... uhh..." she said, stopping for a moment to think. "Is not very well."

"Are you enjoying this country so far?" Emma asked.

"Da," she said with a nod. "Lanark very hospitable. Very generous. Much nicer than motherland. Much warmer, too."

"I'm glad to hear it!" Emma said. "Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?"

"I am accomplished trainer of Pokémon. I have earned eight... badges, is word? And I have competed in Kanetsk League challenge and earned championship. There not much left to learn, so I have move onto new branch of Pokémon ownership. Like in League challenge, I will bring glory to Kanetsk!"

"Well! This should be interesting to see! Thank you!" She made a motioning gesture towards the back of the stage. "That was Senna Krostovj, everyone!"

The crowd was energetic, but there was a distinct and noticeable difference from the reaction that Simone recieved; there was little audible cheering, though most clapped.

"Onto our next contestant! He has come to us all the way from Kalos! Unlike the rest of the competitors here, this is not his first official coordination contest in this skill bracket; he has competed across his home country and earned two ribbons during his travels. Please, give a warm Lanark welcome to Jean-Luc De la Rivière!"

A man in a sharp-looking burgundy tuxedo emerged from behind the curtains on the left side of the stage. There was a jolly spring in his step as he waved towards the cheering crowd. He stopped in the center of the stage and doffed his towering burgundy top hat. "Bonjour!" he said in his native tongue, tinged with a heavy Kalosian accent. "Thank you for the warm welcome to your country! I look forward to achieving many great things with your support!"

"This isn't your first contest, as I've noted, yet you're still here in the beginner's circle. That was your choice, and you are allowed to make it, but... I'm curious... Why? Why not move onto the next tier?"

"I do not feel that I'm ready for the next step of the journey," he said. "I'm sure you're familiar with the corruption scandals that plague the Kalosian Coordinator's Guild. Many top coordinators of the beginner's circle were disqualified following the investigations, and since I was one of the few not linked to the scandal, I was given the ribbons as an honorary gesture. I didn't earn them, and that's a terrible way to start my career. I am here to prove my worth and earn them fairly."

"That's understandable. Let's just hope that your prior experience offers a fair competition for the rest of the contestants!" she said.

"Let us hope. I'm not here to crush dreams unfairly." After a courteous bow, Jean-Luc joined Simone and Senna at the back of the stage.

"Jean-Luc De la Rivière!" she announced as he left the stage.

There was a notable lack of enthusiasm from the crowd at the Kalosian's presence, though most of it could be attributed to the intense rivalry between Kalos and Lanark throughout history. Still, he had his avid followers who cheered him on.

"Next on the list is a wealthy heiress right here from our home country of Lanark! Her father is a world class chef and the owner of the Gilded Rose, one of the country's most highly rated restaurants! Her mother coordinates the relief efforts and charity work of the Valenzi Foundation, with their most recent work focusing on those displaced by the devastating Cold Harbor earthquake in Glastonfell this past December. Please, give a round of applause for our next contestant, Kimberly Fairbrooke!"

Kimberly emerged from the right side of the stage. As she approached the center of the stage, she blew a kiss towards the crowd, causing an upsurge in cheering.

"I've heard your name before, Kimberly, but I don't know anything about you," Emma commented. "Your parents are very famous, and rightfully so, but you've slipped under the radar somehow. Tell us a little bit about yourself!"

"I'm not sure what there is to say, really. I'm just a privileged young woman looking to make her mark on the world. I haven't figured out what that mark may be... Coordination is my next attempt to find my purpose in life."

"Why not follow in your parents' footsteps?"

"First, I'm a terrible cook. My specialty is a pile of ashes, seasoned with disappointment."

The crowd livened up with laughter.

"Second... while charity work with my mother is certainly rewarding, it's not for me. She spends a lot of time in some of the worst places in the world. If the circumstances aren't heartbreaking, they're terrifying and fraught with danger. I can't do it. However, if I do succeed at this as a career, any proceeds I earn will go to my mother's organization."

"Understandable, and you'll still be doing good work if you succeed. Thank you for coming tonight!" With a wave of her arm, she dismissed Kimberly towards the back of the stage with the other competitors. "Let's give her a hand, folks!"

As she joined the other contestants at the back of the stage, Kimberly paid attention to the crowd's reaction to her; it was more than she expected, yet she worried about the lack of enthusiasm shown for her.

"Now, our next contestant left a lot of information on her application blank, so she's just as much a mystery to us as she will be to you folks in the audience. Please, welcome Chrysanthemum!"

The spotlights focused on the left curtains and a young woman with a black trenchcoat, black boots, black visor sunglasses and icy blue hair walked on stage. Glowing neon lines that matched her hair color ran along the contours of her clothing and boots. Unlike the other contestants, her interaction with the crowd was minimal, which may have been responsible for the mixed reaction she received.

"Can you tell us a little bit about yourself, Chrysanthemum? We're all a little in the dark here, and I'm sure the audience would like to get to know you." Emma commented.

Chrysanthemum stood in the center of the stage like a statue, completely silent. She didn't even turn to acknowledge Emma's presence.

"I guess the silent treatment is part of some sort of gimmick?"

After another brief moment of silence and further murmuring from the crowd, she broke character and turned her head towards Emma. She lifted her black visor to show off a pair of amber eyes. "Yes." Her voice was distorted heavily by the device strapped around her neck and sounded almost robotic. Just as quickly as she broke character, she returned to her statuesque pose quickly afterward.

"Gotcha! It's not often we have... 'characters' such as yours show up at these events, but it's still lovely to have you!"

With a smirk and a shrug, Chrysanthemum took her place at the back of the stage with the other contestants. The spectators were mostly silent, murmuring quietly amongst themselves as they tried to figure out what they had just seen.

"Next up, we have Chelsea Griffith!" She looked down at the card in her hand and paused for a moment. "She's a... uhh... a professional dancer, and... umm... and she's a common sight around one of Aughrim's most popular night clubs! Let's hear it for Chelsea!"

There was a mixed reaction from the crowd as a scantily clad, poorly dressed young woman walked out onto the stage from the right side. Most seemed perplexed by her presence and her abnormally casual appearance, a sharp contrast to the other contestants who wore suits, dresses or formal uniforms. Still she had a rather vocal following within the crowd; they were few in number, but they chanted her name loudly, made obscene gestures and professed their love for her.

"C'mon lady, you don't gotta say it like that. Introduce me properly!" Chelsea demanded.

She was caught off guard by Chelsea's brusque mannerisms and retreated to the card in her hand for safety. "Oh, uh..." She adjusted her posture, put a smile on her face, took a deep breath and motioned towards the angry young woman. "This is Chelsea Griffith, but she's more commonly known by her stage name, Twinkle. She's the star dancer at the... oh lord... Tit for Tat Gentleman's Club. She usually works between the hours..." she paused, then stood her ground. "Look, I'm not going to advertise for a stripper. Not on national television."

"Whatever, ya stuck up bitch," Chelsea chided before taking her place at the back of the stage. All along the way, raucous hooting and hollering continued from the front row of the crowd.

"I love you, Chelsea!" one of them loudly shouted.

Emma clasped her hands together, happy for the encounter to be over. "Right! Moving on! Next, we have an actress joining us tonight! Many may know her for her breakout performance as Ophelia in the Grapewood Theatre rendition of the classical play, Hamlet! This is the first coordination contest of her budding career as a cultural superstar, so let's give a round of applause for Samantha Ashwoode!"

Another young woman entered from stage left to a storm of applause and raucous cheering. Her outfit was easily the most opulent among the other contestants; a white silk dress flowed elegantly around her and the ornate gold detailing on it caught the light perfectly. Around her wrists were glittering golden bangles, decorated with rubies and ornate celtic knots. A crown of bright white orchids rested atop her long, braided red hair.

"I recognize that outfit," Emma said. "That's Ophelia's wardrobe from the play, isn't it?"

Samantha nodded. "Almost. It's a replica some friends and I put together in our spare time. It's not quite perfect, but it's close enough."

"I wouldn't have known otherwise! Well! Tell us a little about yourself!"

"I've wanted to be an actress all my life... I grew up in a little town just outside of Aughrim, my parents owned a tavern there. I was usually entertaining the guests with my stupid stories or my singing... my mom told me I had a real talent for it, so she put me through the Lanark Center of the Arts' rising star program. Fast forward a couple years and I'm headlining one of the most popular plays in all of theatrical arts."

"Are you looking to expand your horizons here?"

She shook her head. "Nah, this is just a hobby. I don't know if I'll take it seriously. My real place is on the stage at the Grapewood Theatre." Without a prompt, she joined the other six contestants at the back of the stage. The crowd was restless as they cheered her on loudly and almost endlessly.

"And with that, we come to our last contestant. War in his homeland has brought him and thousands of his countrymen to our shores as refugees. He came to this land seeking peace, prosperity, and the chance to rebuild what once was. I present to you the founder of the Durandas Relief Fund, Hoster Burnett!"

A man in a simple outfit of blue jeans and a tucked in white button shirt approached the stage from the right. He waved to the cheering crowd and bowed gracefully when he reached the center.

"So tell us a little bit about yourself, Mr. Burnett."

"Thank you. My name is Hoster Burnett, and as you've just heard, I run the Durandas Relief Fund. We are dedicated to retaking and rebuilding my homeland, to ensure that war is a quaint footnote in history and not our eternal future. My group has unfortunately struggled to gain recognition or support from the international community... Like my fellow contestant, Ms. Fairbrooke, any proceeds I earn from these competitions will go directly towards helping my people to reclaim our homeland and rebuild what once was. That is all I want from this venture, fame and glory are unimportant. Thank you for your time, and thank you, people of Lanark, for showing me that there is still some good left in this world."

"You'll be glad to know, Mr. Burnett, that this competition is being televised across the country. Perhaps someone watching out there will be moved by your story and agree to help?"

"I would be most grateful."

"At last, all of our contestants have been introduced and allowed an opportunity to speak about themselves, so now let's move onto the action!" Emma announced.

The crowd went wild.

Leonardo stepped forward and began to lay out the rules. "This competition will be divided into two brackets of four competitors each and it will follow single-elimination rules. Each contestant has agreed to a static team of three that they're working with. If a contestant calls on a Pokémon that is not on this team, they will be immediately disqualified."

Rosemary continued the explanation. "Scoring will be on a scale of one to ten and based on execution, 'wow factor' and originality. Each of a contestant's three Pokémon will show off their best moves. They may do this on their own, with the assistance of their coordinator or with the assistance of props. After each performance, we will give our scores before the opponent's turn begins."

Emma nodded, then added her own caveat, "There will be some minor alterations to the rules, since not all of our contestants have three Pokémon to work with. Those below the limit of three must still perform three times to qualify for the next round."

"Yes, that is correct,"

"Now, let's move onto the brackets. In our first bracket, we'll have Ms. Krostovj paired up against Ms. Fairbrooke, and Ms. Griffith paired up against Mr. Burnett. Our second bracket will see Mrs. Reed pitted against Mr. De la Rivière, followed up by Chrysanthemum and Ms. Ashwoode. We'll be right back with the first match after this quick commercial break!"

- - - - -​

Updates and edits:

Spoiler

• Changed: Various grammar and spelling fixes.
  
• Changed: Updated the character backgrounds of Simone Reed, Senna Krostovj, Hoster Burnett and Samantha Ashwoode to make them more impressive as people. The other four contestants remain fairly unimpressive.
  
• Changed: When I originally wrote this chapter, I forgot to mention that Chrysanthemum's voice is masked with an auto-tuning device to conceal her identity. Added that.
  
• Added: Each contestant was given an exit reaction from the crowd to help define their characters a little bit further as well as lightly touch on some worldbuilding.
  
• Words and lines: +314 words, +11 lines
  

 

[Misfit Angel]

Author's note: All commentary by the judges is written in italics. The intended effect is that they are commenting to a television audience and the reader is a viewer at home, and anything they say can not be heard by the contestants. If it's too difficult or jarring to read, let me know.

Land of the Roses
Chapter 10: Wintersong

After the Great War, the war was split into two: East and West. The rate at which our cultures separated down their own paths is unparalleled anywhere in history, but I remain hopeful that the world will one day be whole once more.​

~ Charles Boucher, President of the Third Kalosian Republic[/i]​

- - - - -​

"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the 25th Majesty of Aughrim coordination contest! Our contestants have been introduced and the rules explained, so let's dive straight into the action! Our first match up is between Senna Krostovj and Kimberly Fairbrooke. The match is set to begin, so let's see what happens!"

The lights faded, leaving only two spotlights. One focused on Kimberly who stood at the left side of the stage, while the other focused on Senna, stood on the right side like a chiseled statue. The two began to approach each other; as they did so, the orchestra started a short piece to build the suspense of the upcoming face off.

"Udachi," Senna said in her native tongue, Kanestka. "It means good luck. I will not regret."

The statement confused Kimberly. "I think you mean relent?"

The cogs in Senna's brain went to work as she reviewed her shaky understanding of Glastonian vocabulary. She nodded in agreement. "Mmm."

"Good luck to you as well, friend," Kimberly said with a curtsy. "The stage is yours, your performance is first."

"Da."

As Kimberly walked away, Senna reached into the chest pocket of her uniform. She pulled out a small black, cube-shaped object that was covered in pulsating red lights and lines, then dropped it to the floor. With a loud click, the tiny object flared open and scattered into a dozen tiny pieces, and a pale red light began to shine above them. The vague shape of a crystalline creature appeared, glinting with a shower of static-like glittering red sparks.

"A fantastic and... positively strange entrance! I've never seen something like that." Emma commented.

"A common sight in her homeland, Emma," Rosemary added. "It's a relic from the Cold War, not many people in Kanetsk use Pokéballs. Instead, they favor the Capture Cluster. Quite an interesting little piece of technology they've developed, and a reminder of our past."

As the red static faded, the Pokémon inside began to take shape. The creature's body resembled the vague shape of a flower, but it was composed entirely of shimmering ice shards. A rounded crown of white and blue chunks of ice gently floated above a central pillar of green-tinged crystal shards. A thin fog swirled around the base of the creature, and as it moved around, the shards that made up its 'stem' rumbled about like stones caught up in the current of a raging river.

"For her first Pokémon, Senna has chosen the mysterious creature known as Snowbelle, which is also a common sight in her homeland. Let's see what she does with it."

Senna pointed to the center of the stage and her Snowbelle tumbled in that direction; as it did so, she issued a lengthy command in her native language. Several of the ice shards that made up the creature's body split away and swirled through the air until they eventually came to rest a few feet above the stage, neatly lined up in a row.

"Nachat," she ordered.

A bitterly cold wind blew through the auditorium as the largest shard began to vibrate aggressively. With that vibration came a deep, resonating tone that carried throughout the auditorium as if it were playing through the loudspeakers. The next largest shard vibrated next when the previous one stopped; the process continued from left to right until the smallest shard let out a high pitched squeal. After a few seconds of silence, Senna made some somatic gestures reminiscent of an orchestra conductor and the shards began to vibrate together in a manner that resembled chiptune music.

"Ooh! This is interesting! But what is the song, I wonder?" Leonardo asked.

"I could be wrong, but is that the Iron March of the Union I hear?" Emma suggested.

"I believe so," Rosemary added. "If it is, it's quite sloppy."

Snowflakes formed in the frigid air as the music continued. Senna started a march across the stage with a rigid gait, and when she reached the edge of the stage, she stamped her foot down hard and offered a salute to the crowd. As she did so, the Iron March hit a crescendo and the snowflakes fluttering through the air whipped about in a flurry. She began her march back across the stage, and once again the music grew louder and the wind grew colder when she stopped to offer another salute.

"A very patriotic performance! You don't see much like this these days!" Rosemary said.

The crowd was hardly amused and remained silent for much of the performance.

"I don't think the crowd is buying it, Rosemary," Emma commented. "Not surprising, considering the current geopolitical climate. Not many people have a high opinion of Kanetsk these days."

"A shame, really. I think it's well executed for what it is." Leonardo added.

As the music ended, silence filled the auditorium. The crowd was a sea of murmurs until one brave soul stood up and started clapping. However, Senna and her Snowbelle had already stepped off of the stage by the time the crowd's reaction took its upswing.

The judges held up score cards to grade the performance. Emma gave the display a score of six, Leonardo rated it an eight and Rosemary offered a neutral score of five.

"And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen, our first performance of the night! Senna and her Snowbelle wowed us with a bizarre yet enchanting musical rendition of her homeland's national anthem! Let's watch and see how her opponent, Kimberly, counters that display."

A spotlight fell on Kimberly as she took a deep breath to ready herself for her first ever professional coordination performance. She reached down towards the red ribbon that dangled from her waistline and grabbed a gem-studded purple Pokéball, then held it aloft.

"Is that a Master Ball I see!? I have her marked down here as only a hobbyist..." Emma gawked.

She tossed the Master Ball into the air and it exploded with a radial burst of giant bubbles. A large blue turtle-like creature appeared above the stage and crashed down with an audible thud. Gleaming chrome cannons jutted from the top of the creature's shell, just above its broad and muscled shoulders.

"And it's a Blastoise! I think this is the first time I've seen one of them compete in a coordination contest, and I've been covering these events for years!" Emma commented.

"Yes, it's not a popular choice," Rosemary added. "I remember seeing just two in all of the years I spent as a coordinator myself. I must admit, I don't see why Blastoise is not a more common sight, it's a very versatile species."

"Perhaps it is the imposing and powerful appearance it commands. In a competition based around appeal and style, a Blastoise is an odd choice in my opinion." Leonardo offered. "In any event, let's see what tricks it has hidden away in that shell."

Kimberly timidly approached her Blastoise and rested her hand on his shell. "Juliano, I'm in the mood for bubbles. Are you?"

Juliano dropped to one knee and the cannons sprouting from within his shell began to calibrate themselves to a new position. A thin, glossy film formed at the end of the left cannon; before long, a large bubble had formed and drifted out of it. The bubble gently tugged upwards until it broke free from his cannon and floated into the sky; as it did so, it slowly started to take on the shape of a fish. Afterwards, another bubble formed on the right cannon; when it lifted off, it morphed into the shape of a bird in flight.

"Interesting approach with the Blastoise... I've never seen something like this before." Rosemary said.

More shapes began to form. A star. A Pokéball. An apple. A heart. Some more complicated shapes took shape next, including the likes of a ring, an open clam shell, a rounded pyramid and a sailboat. The crowd was eating it up!

"One more bubble, just like we practiced," Kimberly said.

She stood in the center of the stage as Juliano exerted himself to form the largest bubble of the batch with both of his cannons at the same time. The bubble was round in shape and lacked any special features, prompting the crowd to wonder what was so special about it. The bubble gently floated above Kimberly, then began a soft descent over her. She tried her hardest to stand completely motionless like a statue as the bubble dipped over her head; her hair shined with moisture and her dress became somewhat damp as the bubble slowly made its way downward until it reached her feet. She ended the performance by spreading her arms out wide before the orb shattered into a refreshing mist.

"Incredible!" Emma lauded. "Not only did she come up with a routine that I haven't seen before, she compounded it with an old favorite! I've never seen a successful attempt at the bubble wrap trick before in the novice league!" She raised a card with the number eight on it.

"Indeed, quite impressive!" Rosemary said while adding her own score of seven.

Leonardo offered no commentary, but offered yet another score of seven.

"With the first two performances out of the way, our contestants move onto their second Pokémon! Senna is up next, let's watch."

With her characteristic rigid gait, Senna stepped forward with another of her Capture Clusters in hand. The cluster was dropped to the floor and like before, it popped into a shower of pieces and gave off an eerie red light above it. This time, the outline of another turtle-like creature appeared; the bluish-green creature sported a jet black shell that was covered in algae, barnacles, numerous battle scars and pockmarks. It slowly pulled itself towards the center of the stage with its leathery flippers.

"Is that... a Tirtouga? Now this is unexpected!" Rosemary commented.

"I thought they were extinct..." Emma added.

"As far as I know, they're supposed to be. This should be interesting."

"Pretty girl take plan routine..." Senna said with a tone of annoyance in her voice. "No matter, Rakushka. We improvise." She took a step back and issued another lengthy command in her native language.

Rakushka the Tirtouga perked up and pushed himself as high as his front flippers could take him, then spat streams of water high into the air. Before the water landed on the floor, he took aim at each and shot a concentrated beam of bone chilling air at each; a few missed, but those that made contact froze the water instantly. The chunks of ice rained down onto the stage and smashed on impact, each dispersing with a puff of bitter fog.

Emma started the analysis. "This is shaping up to be an icy performance!"

"I don't like it, it's getting a little cold in here," Rosemary added as she huddled behind the judge's table.

The crowd reacted favorably to the display, although the energy dispersed rapidly as Senna offered yet another of her country's traditional salutes.

"Ouch. She isn't playing off of the crowd very well, is she?" Leonardo commented. He raised a card with the number seven on it. "What did you think, ladies?"

Rosemary offered a scathing score of four. "She said she wanted to improvise that one, and you could tell she did just that. It was nothing special, and her Tirtouga's accuracy was sub par."

"I..." Emma started before holding her tongue. She raised a card with a score of five on it. "I don't think it was that bad for something improvised on the fly. But I think we can all agree that we'd have much rather preferred she stuck to her original plan, regardless of the other contestant's performance."

With the stage clear, Kimberly approached the center once again. In her hand was her Skitty's custom-made fuzzy Feline Ball, which she gently tossed down to the floor. The ball exploded with a bright flash of white light and a shower of cartoonish rainbow stars. Telandra appeared on the stage and studied her surroundings, but her attention was immediately captured by the braided tuft of fur at the end of her tail.

She turned around to get a closer look, but was surprised to see her own tail elude her. Intent on capturing her elusive tail, she bounced around in circles in a playful manner, chasing and chasing endlessly; she dove, she tackled, she rolled and she lashed out with her claws, but her efforts were ultimately fruitless. Her adorable display drew out an overwhelmingly positive reaction from the crowd and judges alike.

"Look at that adorable Skitty! And look at how... purrfect it looks! This contestant has clearly put in a lot of effort towards grooming her Skitty's luxuriously soft fur!"

Kimberly courteously covered her mouth as she giggled, then made a motion towards the crowd. "Please, settle! This isn't her performance!" She knelt down and called out to Telandra.

On the verge of finally capturing her elusive tail, Telandra dropped her chase as soon as she heard her name. She trotted over to Kimberly, then aggressively head butted against her master's ankle.

"This is your first performance, Telandra, so it's important that we do well. Let's do our ring routine, just as we practiced. Remember: have confidence in yourself."

Telandra returned to the center of the stage, then paced around in small, tight circles. Her tail twitched and glowed with a frosty white light and the air around her cooled rapidly. A thick haze surrounded the Skitty and started to coalesce into individual shards of ice. The shards hung in the air like fluffy dandelion seeds, and with a deep growl, they took the shape of a ring.

"More ice? There's a definite theme here tonight, folks!"

Kimberly nodded. "Very good, Telandra. Now, time for some tricks! Start off simple."

Telandra shuffled off to the right side of the stage and turned around. With a running start, she jumped high into the air and tumbled through the center of the ring. She landed gracefully on her feet and twirled in place before turning around to line up another jump. With a deft leap into the air, she somersaulted through the hoop. Another jump was followed by a back flip, while yet another involved a barrel roll.

"And now for the finale! You can do it, Telandra!"

Electrical sparks flashed through her fur as Telandra took one last running start. She jumped with all of her might, and when she reached the center of the ring, she discharged a massive bolt of electricity outward. A concussive blast blew throughout the auditorium and the ice crystals that once made up the hoop lay shattered on the floor.

"Classic, but impressive! It takes a lot of guts to perform something so simple in a contest like this, but it also takes a lot of skill to pull it off so flawlessly!" Emma said. She gave the performance a score of nine!

Rosemary held up a card with an eight on it. "That one brings me back to my youth, when these kinds of tricks were the standard. I wouldn't say it was flawless, but it was certainly very well done."

"It was well done, admittedly, but it was just an old circus trick," Leonardo added, with his own score of five. "Let's see what Senna has in store for us for her final performance of the match."

Senna stepped forward one last time with another Capture Cluster in her hands. With a drop to the floor and a resonant metallic humming sound, the outline of a large aquatic creature that resembled a plesiosaur appeared on the stage. The creature's scaly skin was mostly black, but it also featured a white underside that ran from the tip of its lower jaw down towards its belly, and more white spots around its eyes. On its back sat a wickedly sharp spiked shell, encrusted in a thick sheet of ice.

"If I'm not mistaken, that's a Lapras..." Emma theorized. "But I've never seen one like that before."

"This majestic sea creature is out of its depth..." Rosemary added. "Oh! Pardon the pun! How will it perform on dry land? Let's watch."

Senna placed her arm on the Lapras' neck as it listened closely to her softly-spoken command. With an understanding between the two, the Lapras flopped her way towards the center of the stage at a snail's pace. When she finally reached the center, she closed her eyes and opened her mouth. A gently flashing pink light formed in the back of her throat and slowly grew in brightness. She let out a calming hum as the light surged out of her mouth in a wide arc.

It was a slow process, but the light took on a physical presence in the shape of the aurora borealis, gently wafting from side to side in a ribbon-like manner as it pulsed through numerous colors of the rainbow. Glittering stars of all colors formed within the ribbon of light, following the ebb and flow of the movement at times and being absorbed back inside at other times. The crowd watched with amazement.

"So colorful..."

With the light show over, Senna approached her Lapras and took a bow before the cheering crowd. She instinctively raised her hand for a salute, but stopped herself halfway. Instead, she rolled the sleeve of her uniform jacket up to reveal an odd device on her wrist that shared a similar color scheme to her Capture Clusters, then placed one of them into a slot found on it. With a press of a button on the device, a red beam of energy shot out towards the Lapras and it disappeared with a puff of digital smoke.

"How do we feel about this one, ladies?" Leonardo asked, scoring the performance with a nine.

Emma held up a card with an eight on it. "Very pretty. I was thinking of giving this performance a seven, but she stuck to a consistent arctic theme, so I'll throw in a bonus point."

"I could list a number of problems with that performance, from the time it took to the mismatch of colors. Green does not flow well into pink, I'm afraid." Despite the problems she had with it, Rosemary scored it with a six.

With Senna off of the stage, Kimberly patted her Blastoise on the back and they both walked to the center of the stage. She calmly reminded herself that this was the final performance of the first round and her last chance to earn a decisive victory. She was nervous about what her and Juliano were about to do, however.

"And here is Kimberly's final performance of the match, accompanied yet again by her Blastoise. She's one of the two contestants tonight who does not have three Pokémon of her own, so let's see if she can pull anything interesting out of her sleeve."

"She's not wearing sleeves, Rosemary," Leonardo commented.

"It's a figure of speech, Mr. Bertucci."

"This is it, Juliano. Let's win this. How about we show them your impressive strength?"

Juliano nodded as she motioned for him to lower his arms. He cupped his stubby, clawed hands together and allowed her to step into them. With her footing secure, he effortlessly lifted her into the air above his head.

"Hmm. A typical start..."

"Now for a flip!" she called out.

Expecting to see Kimberly do the flip herself, everyone in the auditorium was surprised to see something different; with a hefty toss, Kimberly went soaring into the air and Juliano himself performed an expertly crafted back flip. With an earthshaking thud, he landed on his feet perfectly and held his arms outward. He looked up for a brief moment to find his master and caught her before she fell to the floor. He let her down and joined her in extending their arms outward as the crowd began to cheer.

"Did I just see that?" Emma asked. "Blastoise is one of the least dexterous Pokémon around, I never imagined I'd see one flawlessly perform a back flip like that! You can tell that a lot of time was spent practicing this simple routine." She gave the performance a score of eight.

"I'm really appreciating this down to earth style of hers," Rosemary said. "Sometimes simplicity is all that is needed in situations like these, especially if they're jazzed up as we saw with Juliano's back flip." She ended her analysis with a score of nine!

Leonardo, on the other hand, wasn't as impressed. "Simple is a good way to describe it, yes. I'm afraid that simple doesn't work these days, Rosemary. We haven't been in the 1900s for a very long time." he said. He half-heartedly raised a card with the number four on it.

"To each their own," Rosemary responded. "Well, with their performances complete, let's join the contestants on the stage, shall we?"

The three judges, the two contestants and their Pokémon all converged at the center of the stage, taking the time to wait for the sluggish Tirtouga to flop over to them.

Emma stepped forward. "There you have it, folks, the first match up of the night! Let's hear it for our two contestants, Kimberly Fairbrooke and Senna Krostovj!"

The crowd began cheering, with large sections of the audience offering a standing ovation to the two competitors.

"Those who are joining us on our televised broadcast already know the scores we've been giving out, but let's recap for those of us here at the Cèilidh Gailearaidh. Can we have the screen display the scores, please?" A massive screen at the back of the stage turned on and showed the portraits of both Kimberly and Senna on opposite sides. "We'll start with the scores in the order of the performances."

Rosemary stepped forward and began with the scoring. "Ms. Krostovj, for your Snowbelle's performance, your scores were 6, 8 and 5. All together, they average out to 6.3." She turned to Kimberly next. "And you, Ms. Fairbrooke, earned an average of 7.3 for your Blastoise's first performance, with scores of 7, 7 and 8."

Kimberly simply nodded at the numbers, while Senna crossed her arms and shifted her weight back onto her left leg, as if the judgement had annoyed her.

Leonardo offered some analysis next. "For the second part of this round, Senna, your Tirtouga scored 5, 4 and 7, which averages to 5.3"

Senna looked off to the side in anger, but she held her tongue.

"And you, Kimberly, your Skitty's scores were 9, 8 and 5, an average of 7.3."

A smile appeared on her face, but she tried to subdue it as much as she could for fear of being rude to her competitor. Instead, she simply nodded once again. "Understood."

Emma stepped up for the last of the scores. "Your final score, Senna, following your Lapras' performance, was a 6.3, the average of 7, 7 and 8. You really shined with that final performance." She motioned towards Kimberly. "Kimberly, your Blastoise earned a score of 7.6, averaging individual scores of 8, 6 and 9."

Rosemary offered some final commentary. "We determine the winner by averaging the scores of the three rounds together. When all is said and done, Senna's average was a 6.3. A solid performance, but it was dragged down by the improvised display your Tirtouga gave us."

"Perhaps Rakushka and I should have stuck to plan," Senna responded. She had already done the math in her head and knew what was coming next.

"Kimberly's final score was 7.4, which means she is the winner of this round! Congratulations, Kimberly, you're moving on!"

Kimberly tried to contain her excitement as best as she could, adhering to the tenets of sportsmanship. "Thank you! Thank you... I... I don't know what to say!"

"You don't need to say anything, if you don't want to."

She turned to Senna and offered to shake her hand. "It was fun competing against you! I was worried for a bit that I might lose, you're really good at this!"

Senna shook her hand, as well as her head. "Not good enough. But this is learning process. I will be ready next time. I wish you best of luck."

"That's it for our first match! Up next, we have Hoster Burnett and Chelsea Griffith competing against each other, so stay tuned! We'll be right back after a word from our sponsors!"

- - - - -​

Kimberly was seated in her wardrobe room, watching the beginning of the next match up of the night: Hoster vs. Chelsea. She clutched a sleeping and purring Telandra in her arms in an effort to keep herself calm; she was visibly shaking, both from the excitement of moving onto the next round and the nervousness of knowing she'd have to step out onto the stage again. "We did well, Tela..." she said. "I can only hope that the next round goes as smoothly."

There was a knock at the door.

"The door is unlocked! Enter!" she called out.

The door swung open and Andrea stepped in. She extended her arms out in excitement. "Hey! Congratulations for making it to the second round!"

"Thank you, friend!" she said. "Thank you for stopping by again... I was worried you might have left..."

"Hell no, I was there cheering you on. I wasn't sure at first, but this has really caught my attention. I figured I'd stick around and see what else people do with this stuff, you know?"

"I'm grateful. This would be a boring hour and a half without someone to chat with."

Andrea pulled up a chair next to her and sat down. As she began to pet the resting Telandra, she asked, "Hour and a half?"

"The second round doesn't begin until after 10 PM," she started.

Her attention was quickly grabbed by what appeared on the TV screen; Chelsea was just beginning her performance, accompanied by a Machoke seated on a chair in the center of the stage. As the camera focused on the Machoke, Chelsea entered from the left side of the screen and began to sensually rub her Machoke's shoulders. Within seconds, she was grinding up against him and rubbing all over his lap. Before long, the broadcast cut towards a view of the judges, and all three of them had looks of horror on their faces. A few seconds later, the screen went blank and 'WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK!' appeared on the screen.

She quivered at the sight. "By the gods, what is that lady doing?! Is this contest a joke to her?!"

Kimberly's horror was contrasted with Andrea's amusement. "Ha! That's one way to advertise what you do for a living!"

"That's not funny! Coordinators have been struggling for decades to achieve mainstream recognition, and she may have just undone so much of the progress our predecessors made..."

"I'm sorry, I really shouldn't laugh, but I can't help it. That was... unreal."

Kimberly tutted and turned her attention to a notebook on the vanity beside her.

"What do you want me to do, change my sense of humor?" she asked. As soon as the last word escaped her lips, she realized she shouldn't have escalated it. "Ugh, sorry. And I mean it. This is obviously important to you, otherwise you wouldn't be doing it. I'll try to be more respectful."

Silence. She couldn't tell if Kimberly was angry or simply concentrating on her notes.

"Hey, you're going a good job with it! You realize that, right?"

Kimberly looked up from her notebook. "Really?"

"Well... I think, at least. I don't know anything about these contests but the crowd loved you!"

"What do you think? Are you enjoying it?"

"Yeah, I am! I was skeptical, but I'm glad I came tonight... it's been a nice escape from what's been going on."

She motioned towards the TV, which was still displaying an intermission. "Hopefully we can continue to enjoy the show... when it returns."

- - - - -​

Author's note: Translations (Kanetska/Russian):

• Udachi: "good luck"
• Da: "yes"
• Nachat: "begin"
• Rakushka (Tirtouga's nickname): "shell"
• Rassvet (Lapras' nickname): "dawn"
  
  
  Spoiler: edits

  • Changes: Various grammar and spelling fixes.
  • Change: Altered the coloration of Snowbelle's "petals" to fit the wintry theme.
  • Change: Lightly altered a judge's reaction to and Kimberly's score for her first performance. The final score has been adjusted as well.
  • Change: Cleaned up and differentiated some of the judges' commentary from each other.
  • Change: Andrea's being a bit rude again...
  • Added: Translation listing at the bottom.
  • Words and lines: +419 words, +15 lines

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 11: A Charitable Duel

The key to being a good coordinator isn't self confidence or innate skill. It's practice.​

~ Lady Dawn Berlitz[/i]​

- - - - -​

"Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to the 25th Majesty of Aughrim coordination contest! If you are just joining us, we've moved onto the second round of competitions! The first round was certainly something, full of breath taking performances... in one way or another!" Emma announced.

"Yes, I'm still trying to scrub my mind of the filth that I saw during the match between Mr. Burnett and Ms. Griffith." Rosemary commented.

"Yes, for those of you joining us via our televised broadcast, Chelsea broke the rules of the contest and was disqualified for her appalling display. We apologize to those who were subjected to that!" Emma explained.

"Indeed. As a result, Mr. Burnett has been pushed into the second round. Joining him in the second round is Kimberly Fairbrooke, his upcoming opponent. On the other end of the bracket, we have Samantha Ashwoode and Jean-Luc De la Rivière, both of whom have passed into the second round with decisive victories." Rosemary said.

Emma nodded. "Quite a stunning performance out of Jean-Luc, right? I'd argue that he was the star of each of his performances, more so than his Pokémon! I've never seen the human body bend and move like that!"

"Not surprising, considering his history as a circus performer. While Mr. De la Rivière broke from coordinator tradition by being the main attraction of his routine tonight, he hasn't broken any rules. Let's see if his strategy continues to pay off here in the second round."

"I quite liked Samantha's performance myself," Leonardo said. "While the rest of our contestants seemed more comfortable sticking to distinct themes, Samantha was much more varied in her approach. I'll be looking forward to seeing more from her tonight."

"Agreed! It's shaping up to be a great night here at the Cèilidh Gailearaidh! The next match between Kimberly Fairbrooke and Hoster Burnett is set to begin, let's watch."

The two competitors were stood in the center of the stage. After a quick wave from the both of them to the cheering crowd, Kimberly offered her hand towards Hoster for a friendly shake. "Good luck, Mr. Burnett."

Rather than shake her hand, he grabbed it and raised it, planting a kiss on the back of it.

The surprising gesture caught her off guard and her cheeks glowed red with nervousness. "Oh my! Such a gentleman!"

He smiled. "Best of luck to you as well, Kimberly."

The two parted ways; Kimberly returned to the left side of the stage while Hoster adjourned to the right. The crowd started to cheer once more as a spotlight focused on Kimberly.

"Oh! Am I up first this time?" she thought. With her prized Master Ball in hand, she took a few steps out onto the stage and daintily tossed it forward. A shower of sparkling bubbles preceded the appearance of Juliano the Blastoise, who dropped down onto the stage next to her.

"Here's Kimberly's Blastoise once again, let's see what she does with him."

She rested her hand on his shell and spoke softly, "The crowd loved our acrobatics routine, should we give them more?"

After a second of thought, Juliano nodded.

"Very well!" she said with joy. "Butter the crowd up with our fourth routine, I'll join you momentarily."

Juliano dropped to all fours and readied himself for a running start. With an impressive burst of speed, he blitzed across the stage, leapt into the air and followed with an impressive array of acrobatic feats; he tumbled to the ground with a somersault, smoothly transitioned into a cartwheel, then proceeded with a springing front flip which he landed with a light stumble.

"Holy... That's quite an entrance! I had no idea that a Blastoise was capable of such moves!"

With Juliano waiting on the other end of the stage, Kimberly took a deep breath; what she was about to try to do had never been practiced in the flowing fabrics of a shin-length dress before. A tug of the ribbon at her waistline loosened the bottom of her dress and allowed it to flow more freely and loosely, and with her own running start, she performed her own acrobatics. A cartwheel was first, followed by a 720 aerial twirl and finished with springing back flip. She landed in the extended arms of her Blastoise to the cheers of the crowd.

"Good execution, but... It's more of the same. I do hope that Ms. Fairbrooke realizes that coordination is more about variety than being a one trick pony." Rosemary commented. A card with the number five on it was held above her head.

"Agreed, what a waste of my time," Leonardo added, scoring the performance with a lowly two.

Emma gave the performance a six. "Easy there, Leo. Remember, this is only the beginner's league. Our contestants might not be the most comfortable with a wide array of routines yet."

"Surely she has more than three tricks up her sleeve. Most beginners are past that stage before they even participate in their first sanctioned contest." he noted.

As Kimberly and Juliano returned to their side of the stage, she caught a glimpse of the judges' scores in the corner of her eye. "That... that's a worrying score..." she softly said.

"Since his previous partner was disqualified for a breach of the rules, up next is Hoster's first performance of the night! He's the true wildcard to watch, nobody here knows what to expect... and he has had time to alter his strategy to better counter Ms. Fairbrooke's performances."

"For this demonstration, Hoster has requested the use of props, and here you can see the stage crew setting them up."

A team of men and women in black clothing descended on the stage. Split into teams of two, the twelve member crew carried with them bales of hay decorated with archery targets. When the six targets were in place across various points of the stage, they returned backstage and appeared with even more targets. By the time they were finished, a total of eighteen targets sat on the floor or hung from cables above the stage.

Hoster readjusted his belt as he approached from his side of the stage. He pulled a standard red and white Pokéball from his pocket, tossed it toward the center and watched as it exploded with a cloud of windswept sand that came to rest over the irritated front row. A short tan and brown creature no taller than his hips appeared. Large black eyes bugged out of its tiny head and dozens upon dozens of long, pointed quills jutted out of its back. Two wickedly curved talons hung from the end of each of its arms, while equally long but broader and flatter claws sprouted from the end of its feet.

"A Sandslash? They're not a common sight in coordination... but with archery targets on the stage, I can tell you that we're in for a show, ladies and gentlemen!"

"Show them your battle capabilities, Sandslash!" Hoster ordered. "Spike Cannon!"

It was a simple command, but one that the Sandslash carried out with ruthless efficiency. With a twirl, he let loose a barrage of eighteen spiked quills; a loud roar ripped through the auditorium and echoed around as the needles cut through the air at the speed of sound. Before anyone could process what had happened, each of the quills were already resting in the center of a target with unerring accuracy. The crowd roared with delight!

"Mother of--"

Before the judge could finish their commentary, the Sandslash spun around rapidly once again and unleashed another salvo of quills. Just as before, the hall roared as the needles split the air like a hot knife through butter. A second later, the sound of shattered quills dropping to the floor followed; every single one of the previously shot quills were split down the center by the new arrivals. The crowd began to cheer again!

The cheering was drowned out for a brief moment with one final volley; it may have been the noise of the crowd, the fact that he was getting dizzy or some other factor, but the Sandslash's accuracy was not as flawless. Only fifteen of the quills hit a target this time, and of those fifteen, just six were a bulls eye.

"Oof! I'm still trying to catch my breath from the shockwaves! That's some incredibly accurate shooting! And the speed... It's downright terrifying! I would not want to get on Hoster's bad side..." Emma commented. She gave the performance a high mark of eight.

"Indeed, very, very impressive. Worryingly impressive." Leonardo added. He raised the night's first score of ten above his head.

"I don't think this country has seen accuracy like that since the last of the longbow units were disbanded from the Royal Lanark Guard nearly a century and a half ago," Rosemary added with a score of nine.

As the stage crew began to haul the pierced targets away, Kimberly and Juliano discussed their next routine. "We should figure something else out... I'm not sure that another bubble display will wow the judges. Would you agree?"

Juliano nodded.

"What to do, then..." she wondered. "There are a few other things we've been working on... would you feel comfortable with the Frost Shell display?"

He shook his head.

"Hmm, yes, that is a bit complicated... We can't do the rock breaking routine, as we haven't arranged for it ahead of time..." She groaned with worry as she struggled to come up with a display they'd both be confident in. "How about some simple mimicry?"

Juliano's head tilted to the side as his eyes wandered in thought. He nodded, but there was no confidence in his heart.

"Great! Let's do this, then!"

As the two approached the center of the stage together, Emma commented, "Looks like Kimberly is calling on her Blastoise again. I wonder what's in store for us this time?"

"If we get more bubbles, I'm going--"

"Quiet, Leo, they're about to begin!"

The two stood in the center of the stage and faced each other. She raised her left hand, a gesture that he mirrored without delay. She lowered her hand and stomped her right leg, which he echoed flawlessly. A clap was met with a clap, twirls were met with twirls and arms outstretched were met with arms outstretched, the two performing within an instant of each other.

"Ah, mimicry! This is a very tough routine to master, and it's off to a good start." Rosemary commented.

The two turned away from each other. Once again, she raised her left hand, a motion met without delay or variance. However, while she raised her left hand next, he responded by waving his hands side to side. Another mismatched move followed; Kimberly stomped with her right leg, while Juliano stomped with his left. The timing between their gestures was slowly growing.

"Oh dear, this is falling apart..."

The two twirled in unison. She followed up with a second twirl, but he jumped and clapped instead.

"Juliano!" she whispered loudly. "I think we should cut this short, we're not doing this right. In three seconds, let's turn to the crowd and finish, just like we practiced."

After their three seconds were up, they both turned to the crowd and blew a kiss. There was a mixed reaction from the crowd, with only small pockets of it clapping while the rest sat in silence or spoke softly amongst themselves.

The silent stares from the crowd felt like a punch in the gut to her. "Oh no... If the crowd didn't like it..."

"That was... it was okay, but more work definitely needs to be done to smooth out their interactions and their timing, especially once they turn away from each other." Rosemary said. She gave the performance a score of six. "However, you can tell that these two have very strong chemistry with each other if you look at how they started that performance."

"I don't know if it's ignorance on my part on how difficult mimicry can be, but I must admit, I expected better execution," Emma said. She held a card with the number five on it above her head.

Leonardo held a score of three up. "At least she was original this time, even if it was poorly done."

With the stage clear, Hoster started his journey to the center with another Pokéball in his hands. With a toss, the Pokéball exploded with a bright flash of light, and once again, a swirling cloud of sand accompanied the appearance of a long, serpentine beast. The creature's body was tan in color and stretched to a length of nearly seven feet. The underbelly of the snake was bright white in color and was segmented by thin brown stripes every few inches. Near its head was a diamond-shaped hood, inside of which were tribal markings that resembled a skull.

"That's a beautiful Arbok, I've never seen one like it before." Rosemary commented.

With a simple gesture of his arm, Hoster's Arbok started its display. The tip of its rattling tail emitted a soft, icy white glow as a thick haze of obscuring fog formed around it. The crowd began to wonder whether anything would happen at all as the Arbok disappeared within the cloud, stood completely still in statuesque silence.

Then, a bright orange light and the hissing of flames flashed through the fog. Shortly after, the buzzing of high electricity filled the auditorium as a bright yellow light followed. A bright white light was next, and the front row of the crowd was overcome by a blast of frigid wind. The cloud quickly faded and the Arbok reappeared in the same statue-like pose.

"Ooof! Chilly!" Emma commented. She gave the performance a score of seven.

"Excellent," was the only thing Leonardo said, giving a similar score of seven.

Rosemary nodded and held up a card with the number eight on it. "Hoster is very comfortable with mixing his moves up into unique displays. He's doing very well tonight."

The Arbok bowed its hooded head before slithering off towards Hoster's side, leaving the stage clear for Kimberly's final performance of the round.

Behind the curtains, Kimberly knelt down beside Telandra. "This doesn't look good, Tela... But it's possible we can still win if we perform strongly and our opponent drops the ball. We can't give up yet."

"Murrrr?" Telandra purred.

"The illusion technique that aunt Nicole taught you about, back when you were just a kitten... It's been a few weeks since we practiced it, but do you think you can do that?"

Telandra forcefully nodded, then took her position in the center of the stage; a soft wind blew around her as she sat down and closed her eyes. Her silky fur was pushed to and fro by the wind as a pallid white glow began to form around her.

Emma leaned forward on the judging table. "Now what do we have here..."

The light eventually became bright enough to completely shroud her from view and after a few seconds, two bright white blurs of light shot outward. The light of these blurs quickly faded into nothingness, and before long, the light around Telandra faded as well. Instead of standing tall, she had collapsed to the floor, struggling to catch her breath.

Kimberly gasped in fright. "Telandra!" she called out as she rushed out onto the stage. She scooped the Skitty up into her arms and rocked her back and forth in a gentle manner. "Telandra? Are you okay?"

Telandra meowed weakly.

"I-I... This was a bad idea... You..." She stood back up and looked at the crowd for a brief moment before silently walking off towards her side of the stage.

"That's not good..." Emma commented. "Perhaps what they were going to do was simply too much for the little Skitty to handle."

"Unfortunately, it looks as if this performance was over before it began. According to the rules, Ms. Fairbrooke receives no points. Considering the scores from her Blastoise's other performances, this round has easily been decided."

"That doesn't mean we're going to deprive you of Hoster's final performance, though! Let's watch."

A Pokéball soared onto the stage from behind the curtains and popped open with a burst of flames when it hit the floor. A small and fuzzy bat-like creature with bright orange fur flew out of the flames, leaving behind a trail of ethereal embers with each flap of its relatively large wings. Thin, floppy ears, much like those of a rabbit's, bounced around at every change in direction it made.

"Hmm... never seen that one before. Hoster's registration lists this as a Vampyre. Must be native to his homeland."

"Vampyre, write us a message to show our appreciation for those who've come to see us tonight."

The Vampyre swooped to the left side of the stage, then zoomed across towards the right with an incredible burst of speed. A long, flickering trail of flames lingered in its wake. It circled around for another pass, leaving a much shorter line behind, and with a twirl, it added a vertical line of flames just below it.

"T..." Emma started. "H... A... N... Thank... Thank what? I like where this is going!" The first few letters the Vampyre had written faded by the time it started on the next one. "Y... O... U... And an exclamation point to round it off! Isn't that adorable?"

"It is!" Rosemary added, with a score of nine. "I've seen this trick many times before over the years, and contestants usually use it to taunt their opponents. I'm glad that Mr. Burnett has taken the high road on this one."

"Fantastic display!" Leonardo added. He held up a card with the number nine on it as well. "The thing that impresses me the most is how long the letters lingered in the air. I've tried this myself many times and I could never quite master it... Not to say that Hoster has, of course."

"Agreed," Emma responded, giving the performance a score of eight. "That's it, the last performance of this match up! Let's get up on stage with our contestants and break down the final scores."

The three judges left the comfort of their table and approached the center of the stage. Hoster walked forward, flanked on both sides by his Sandslash and his Arbok, while his Vampyre was perched on his shoulder like a parrot. Kimberly was slower in her approach, taking care not to jostle the exhausted Skitty in her arms.

"And there it is, ladies and gentleman, the conclusion of the match between Kimberly Fairbrooke and Hoster Burnett!" Emma announced. She walked up to Kimberly and said, "Before I lay out the scores, I want to check in on Kimberly's Skitty. She took quite a tumble at the end there! How is she?"

Kimberly looked down at Telandra with a loving smile on her face. "I shouldn't have pushed her to try that... The trick she tried to perform always took so much out of her when we practiced it, and that was after a long night's rest. To throw in another demanding routine before that..." she said as she shook her head. "By the goddess, she just needs some rest."

Emma gently rubbed Telandra's head. "Get well soon, you cutie!" She joined the other two judges once again and motioned towards the screen at the back. "Now, onto the scores!"

The screen at the back of the stage turned on; on the left hand side was Kimberly's portrait, followed by Hoster's on the right. Scores for the first pairing were already displayed, and between the two, there was already a clearly defined winner.

Emma began to break down the numbers that appeared on the screen. "The first match was quite rough on you Kimberly, even if your performance was superbly executed. You were scored a 6, a 2 and a 5, which averages out to a 4.3." She turned to Hoster and explained his scores next. "For you, Hoster, 8, 9 and the night's first 10, which averages to 9. You and your Sandslash have certainly earned it, well done!"

Hoster nodded with a smile on his face.

Rosemary stepped up next as the scores for the second match were displayed. "The second match was between Ms. Fairbrooke's Blastoise and Mr. Burnett's Arbok. Once again, Ms. Fairbrooke struggled to earn high marks and achieved scores of 6, 3 and 5, averaging to 4.6. Meanwhile, Mr. Burnett's Arbok gave us a strong performance and earned 7, 7 and 8, for a combined average of 7.3."

The final numbers appeared on the screen; Kimberly felt a weight crash through her body like a falling anvil as she saw the large zero on the screen. Even if the score were justified, she started to feel a little bit dizzy about it.

"Lastly, the final match," Leonardo started. "With the failure to put on a third performance, Kimberly was given zeroes across the board, and because of it, her final score averaged out to just 2.9, a record low in the Majesty of Aughrim's twelve year history. I'm not sure she had any business being here tonight."

Kimberly's throat began to close up as the words cut through her deeply. "How dare he?!" she thought. She began to quiver, and before her emotions could get the better of her, she stormed off of the stage towards the left curtains.

Juliano took a single menacing step in Leonardo's direction and leaned forward. Through squinted eyes and with a snarl, he glared a hole into Leonardo for a brief moment before rushing off to comfort his master.

"Leo! What's the matter with you!? It must feel bad enough, you don't have to ridicule her!"

"It is negative reinforcement. If she intends to take this sport seriously as well as be taken seriously, she must improve. A lot." he stated. "Hoster, on the other hand, had strong scores in the final match. His Vampyre performed admirably and earned scores of 9, 8 and 9. His final score for the entire round is 8.3, and he moves on with a decisive victory! Let's hear it for him!"

As the crowd cheered, Hoster watched Kimberly push her way through the stage crew and leave the auditorium in a hurry. He shook his head and waited for the crowd to die down a bit before saying, "I don't think that was called for, Mr. Bertucci. Not only have you made my own victory feel hollow, you may have just crushed that girl's dreams. You are a terrible human being and a disgrace to the lovely tradition of coordination." He too walked off the stage, leaving the three judges alone.

Emma tried her best to maintain the cheerful attitude she'd presented all night. "Uhh... Right! We're going to take a... a quick commercial break... After that, we have the anticipated match between Jean-Luc De la Rivière and Samantha Ashwoode. See you on the other side!"

- - - - -​

Andrea took a deep breath and held it in for a few seconds before letting it go. "Welp... here goes..." she said as she knocked on the door. There was no response. "Are you in there, Kim?"

After a few more seconds of silence, a sad sounding voice came from within. "Come in."

She opened the door and stepped into the room. The first thing she noticed was the pastel green dress that Kimberly had worn was carelessly tossed to the floor and she was back in the clothing she wore earlier in the day. The TV that usually showed a live feed of the contest had been turned off. "I'm not very good with empathy, but... ummm..." she started.

Kimberly sighed and turned to face her. Several dark streaks of what was once her delicately applied eyeshadow ran down her cheeks. "You don't have to say anything..."

"I don't?" she asked.

"It's obvious, isn't it?" Kimberly said as she turned around again; she began to gather up her makeup supplies. "I'm terrible at this! I... I thought... that perhaps..." she struggled to say. "That perhaps I had found something I could be good at... But I was wrong."

"Hold on, don't say that so quickly," she replied. "You did well, the crowd loved you."

"But... the judges..."

"Okay. You got a few low scores, so what? This is--"

"A few? You heard that man, I smashed the record! I'll be remembered for years as a joke! I was hoping to start a career tonight, but now I can never show my face at another contest again... This is so typical of everything I bloody try to do!" she shouted.

She kept quiet; partly because she wasn't sure of how to respond, but mostly because she was shocked by Kimberly's quick shift towards anger.

"...Sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you..."

She shook her head. "I'm used to people yelling at me, it's fine."

"It's just... I've been struggling to find something to do with my life. I've bounced from hobby to hobby, trying to make a name for myself with each one, only to come up short... Pokémon Coordination was my next passion, a dream that I'd been looking forward to starting for nearly a year... but that man..."

She approached, rested her hand on Kimberly's shoulder and turned her around, then looked her deep in the eyes. "Hey. Fuck that guy, you hear? He doesn't matter. I don't think his head could be buried any further up his own ass. You heard how he's been treating the other contestants tonight, and how he's been comparing them to himself. He didn't just single you out." she reminded her. "I'll be surprised if he's ever invited back to be a judge after how he's been acting tonight."

Kimberly tried to respond, but it didn't happen. Her emotions were too shaky and her focus was spent on fighting her tears.

"If it means anything at all, anything, I think you did a good job, and that's the honest truth. I enjoyed your performances, regardless of whether they worked or not."

Kimberly offered a weak smile, then returned to her makeup kit. "I appreciate it, friend, but your comforting words don't change the fact: I thought I was ready, but I clearly wasn't."

"Maybe that's true, I don't know. But don't you think you also show a bit of promise?" she asked. "That Kanetska girl, what was her name... Senna! You mopped the floor with her!"

Kimberly latched her makeup kit box closed and looked up. "I don't believe that's accurate, but... what are you trying to say?"

"When she was introducing herself at the start of the show, what did she say? She said that she's a league champion in her homeland."

Kimberly nodded.

"That would mean that she has a lot of experience as a competitive Pokémon trainer, right?"

Another nod.

"I don't know a lot about being a Pokémon trainer, a coordinator, or how much any of that stuff overlaps. But you still beat an accomplished league champion! That has to mean something."

With another sigh, Kimberly returned her makeup kit to her backpack. All she had the strength to say in response was a half-hearted "Perhaps."

"You've stumbled once. Don't let this be the only time."

"I'm sorry, friend, I really wish I were in better spirits... Perhaps I'd be more enthused by what you're saying, but..." Kimberly groaned as she packed up the rest of her belongings. "Did you want to watch the rest of the contest?"

"I don't know..." she said as she rolled up her sleeve to check the time on her R-Kit. 10:50 PM. "Without anyone to root for anymore, it does seem a little pointless... But if you want to watch it, I'll stay by your side."

Kimberly shook her head. "I don't have the heart to continue... I just want to go to bed."

"Going to bed sounds like a good idea, actually," she started with a chuckle. "I need to start going to bed at a responsible time, now that I've got this new job... No more staying up until 5:00 AM for me!"

Kimberly exhaled sharply as a smile appeared on her face. "I don't know why, but that tickled me. Thank you."

"Any time," she said as she offered her hand for a shake. "It was nice meeting you! Best of luck in the future, eh? This dream is yours. You got this."

Kimberly hesitated for a moment as she stared at Andrea's outstretched hand, then quickly leaned forward and grappled her into a hug. Andrea was repulsed by the sudden display of physical affection, but was too surprised to try to pry her way out of the girl's tight grip.

"Mmm. You're a good person..." Kimberly said. "Thank you for stopping by, and best of luck to you, too. I hope you get to meet your business partner tomorrow."

"Same... Good night!"

- - - - -​

Spoiler: edits

• Changes: Various grammar and spelling fixes.
• Change: Altered Kimberly's acrobatics routine to be more defined and less "she did everything".
• Change: Modified the description around the Sandslash's archery routine to be much more impressive and worthy of the original scores it received. Every score for this matchup remains the same as it was previously.
• Change: Boosted the emotional dialogue in the final scene a bit. It felt pretty flat beforehand.
• Words and lines: +662 words, +10 lines

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Interlude 2: Moving On

Success often comes at a price, and that only makes it sweeter. To stumble is to learn, to fail is to appreciate the journey.​

~ Stephanie Greybell III, Queen of Lanark (September 2nd, 1939)[/i]​

- - - - -​

The clock beside Andrea's bed flipped to 7:30 and the radio automatically turned on; the soothing tones of smooth jazz filled the room. The room was a dark dungeon, lit only by a long string of dim lavender fairy lights that hung from the ceiling in an intricate pentagram pattern. Golden sunlight bled into the room at the window, filtered through the heavy black curtains.

"Nnnnnnggghhh~" Andrea let out a long and contented groan as she stretched. She opened her eyes, pulled the covers off of her and sat up. It took her a few moments to wake up, moments she spent enjoying the music, yawning and stretching some more. "Nice to be home again..." she murmured to herself, still partially asleep. "Probably won't last long, though..."

The light bleeding in through the curtains prompted her to leave the comfortable warmth of her bed. She unraveled them to a wonderful view of the city that she called home for the past five years, the shining jewel of Lanark, Aughrim. The majesty was spoiled a bit; a single puffy cloud acted as a blemish upon an otherwise picture perfect, clear blue sky. In the distance, an airplane drifted just a few hundred feet above the ocean, making its final adjustments as it approached the airport on the northern edge of the city.

The smell of the morning air rushed in as she slid the thick glass door open. A cautious step was made out onto the balcony that hung outside her seventh floor apartment, still aware that she was dazed and groggy and could tragically lose her balance at a moment's notice. The petals of her pet rose bush, snuggly wrapped around the railing, gently danced in the cool breeze. The comfy chair beside the door called out to her. It all combined to form a relaxing atmosphere and it put her at ease.

That relaxing atmosphere only lasted a few moments; energetic shouting, loud enough to overpower both the music in her room and the altitudinous winds, erupted from the living room behind her. Curious, she wandered back inside to have a look.

"C'mon, c'mon, we've got this. Center lane, form up!" the voice shouted. "Did you see if that Mewtwo managed to snag the Berserker Gene?"

She leaned up against the door frame to the living room and watched a slightly overweight young man with silky, long hair sitting before a computer screen. Colors danced across the screen as the man's avatar wandered about aimlessly in a darkened field, partially obscured by jungle trees. He barked commands to his team through his headset, visibly shaking and jittering with excitement as his avatar sparred with another player. The other player exploded into a gory pile of meat, prompting an excited cheer of joy.

"Right, Salamence is down. What's the status on that Mewtwo, did he get the Berserker Gene or not?"

Out of the darkness and well off his screen, a bright beam of light blazed in the direction of his avatar. The screen shook as his health bar plummeted from full to empty in an instant. He ripped his headset off and angrily threw it onto the desk.

"Unbelievable!" he roared. He continued to speak loudly so that his team mates could still hear him through his distant headset, "Mewtwo's Hyper Beam is on cooldown, chase him down and fuck him up!" The surviving members of his team flew across the screen in the direction the beam came from, only to be systematically slaughtered one by one by the opposing team. "That's fucking bullshit! Broken hero!"

"Isn't it a little early for Defense of the Legends, Webster?" she asked.

The man turned around to look at her. "Oh, uhh... I didn't wake you up, did I?" he said as a lengthy respawn timer popped up on the screen behind him. "I guess I got kinda loud."

"No, I was already up. I was curious of what all the noise was, should have figured you were playing that dumb game again."

Webster laughed. "I do need to find something better to do with my free time... I'll never go pro with these jokers I team with."

"Maybe you could go outside for once? I don't feel safe walking in the park alone, and we both need to start exercising..." she said, stretching again. "That business in Nettlefield opened my eyes, I'm in pretty bad shape. I could barely walk when I got back to town."

Webster put his headset back on. "So what's the deal with that new job of yours? You gonna move out?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do... I obviously can't catch a train to and from Loch Alstan every day, but I couldn't hope to afford any apartments over there by myself..."

"You boggle my god damn mind sometimes, Andrea. You never have a plan, it seems."

She sighed.

"Kay, guys, I've respawned. Let's group up and make sure that Mewtwo doesn't get us again." With that, Webster tuned her out again, much to her annoyance.

She knew not to interrupt him too much during his personal time, so she decided to start her day rather than try to grab his attention again. She sauntered into the kitchen and found herself in front of the stove. She turned one of the burners on, grabbed a pan that hung from a rack above, then placed it on top. She turned the TV in the corner of the room on for a bit of background noise, then reached into the fridge for a carton of eggs.

In the corner of her eye, she noticed what was on the television and her drone-like routine was interrupted; the TV had been tuned to a twenty four hour news broadcast and the main headline emblazoned across the bottom of the screen grabbed her attention: 'ACCOMPLISHED POKÉMON CHAMPION MISSING: FOUL PLAY SUSPECTED'. She grabbed the remote again and turned the volume up.

"...many details yet, but local police have not ruled out the possibility of foul play," a reporter said.

"Have they given any details as to why this may be treated as a kidnapping?" the news anchor asked.

"The police have told me that several of Ms. Dahl's personal effects were discovered abandoned at a convenience store just a few blocks from the Colwyn International Airport, including the likes of her purse, her identification, her collection of Pokéballs and a large amount of silver and bronze roses. The fact that nothing appears to be missing is leading investigators to believe this was a kidnapping rather than a robbery gone bad."

Andrea leaned back onto the counter beside the stove in shock. She'd mused about the possibility the previous night, but she also realized that it was unlikely and was just her mind wandering too much. She had even completely discounted it when she returned home and found that everything was in order, compared to her initial worry that someone had been targeting both of them. The fact that it was actually happening began to weigh down on her. "Oh... shit..."

"And what about the rumors going around that Team Rocket may be involved in her disappearance?" the anchor asked. "Our viewers may remember that, last year, her heroic actions put an end to one of the largest trafficking rings in history, a ring that was spearheaded by Team Rocket. Is it possible that this is a form of payback?"

"There's no evidence of that so far. The fact that her Pokémon were left behind, Pokémon that she used to dismantle that trafficking ring, has led the police commissioner to surmise that they may not even be involved, but it's still too early to have any hard facts."

"Team Rocket?" she asked. "I hope not... I fucking hope not..."

Thoughts rushed like a river through her mind. Though Team Rocket was a likely suspect, they weren't the only enemy that Tamara had made over the years. Rivals, the former champion of the Asperia League, numerous criminal organizations, even politicians in her homeland, all had suffered defeats at her hand... but if she was indeed confronted by one of them, why would they wait until now to harm her?

She felt bad for even thinking it, but she vocalized it anyways, "At least they got to her before she met me, I guess..."

The more she thought about it, the more she reasoned that it'd be wise to get in touch with Dr. Reiland. She turned the stove off and placed the eggs back in the refrigerator, then returned to her bedroom and pulled her phone out of her purse. There was a single unread text message waiting for her.

Fr: Rebecca Reiland, 6:26 AM

'Good morning! Police commissioner got back to me about Ms. Dahl, doesn't look good. Said more details are coming soon. Message me back when you get the chance.'​

She began to type out her response:

Fr: Andrea Dennison, 7:39 AM

'yeah just saw the news'
'terrible!'
'what should i do?'​

She sent the message, then crashed down onto her bed. She sighed as she buried her face in her hands and rubbed the stress away. "God damn it. I was actually looking forward to starting this assignment... now I can't do it..."

Several moments passed by in relative silence as her mind wandered. She was snapped back into reality when her phone started to ring. She grabbed her phone again and checked the caller ID: 'Incoming call from Kimberly Fairbrooke'.

Concern for both Tamara's wellbeing and the future of her assignment were replaced with confusion. "Wait... what? How the hell did she get my number? I'm unlisted..." The thought of ignoring the call crossed her mind, but she felt it would be unfair to do so. She needed something to distract her from the swirling torrent of thoughts about Tamara, and she knew that Kimberly likely needed a friend's reassurance after her disastrous performance at the Majesty of Aughrim the other night, even if she didn't consider herself a friend yet. She answered. "Hello?"

"Good morning, Andrea!" Kimberly's voice responded.

"Yeah..." she answered back. "I'm going to come right out and ask, how'd you get my number?"

There was a long paused before Kimberly's sheepish voice spoke. "Umm! Well... This might sound a little odd, but... When you called your business partner last night, you gave her your phone number. I... kind of memorized it. It took me a few tries to get it right."

"That's not creepy at all!"

A faint and nervous laugh came from Kimberly's end. "How are you?"

She hesitated to answer, mostly because she didn't know how to answer. "Uhh... I'm okay, I guess. How about you? You were down and out when I left last night, are you feeling any better?"

"A little. I took quite a tumble last night, it'll take some time before I'm on my feet again."

"You were really sure of yourself, weren't you?"

"Like you wouldn't believe..." she said, starting to trail off. "I'm curious... are you still in Aughrim, by any chance?"

"I am."

"Would you be interested in joining me for breakfast? I'm leaving the city today, this might be our last opportunity to see each other. I completely understand if not, though."

"Uhh... I don't -- Hmm..." she bumbled. Something about the way that Kimberly asked her questions felt awkward and even insincere, and she was tempted to shoot down the suggestion right away. Yet at the same time, the tone with which she spoke told a different story: it sounded like a plea for the comforting presence of a friend. She wasn't sure if she was in the right frame of mind to be a shoulder to cry on, but she figured that her morning was free. "Sure, why not? Beats burning my finger on my stove again. Did you have anywhere specific in mind?"

"Oh! I half expected you to say no! Umm... I'm not in Aughrim as often as you are, perhaps you have a recommendation?"

"Anywhere but The Lair is fine by me. Got some bad blood there with one of the other waitresses." she started with a laugh.

"The Lair?" Kimberly asked. "I'm unfamiliar with that establishment."

"Uhh... It's kinda like a rave club, with a shitty gothic themed restaurant attached. The girls are gorgeous but the food is terrible, I can't recommend it."

"Oh! Sounds... interesting... But if you're recommending against it, perhaps somewhere else would be best."

"How about noodles? Rice? We could visit the Golden Lantern."

There was an audible gasp from Kimberly's side of the line. "That name sounds magical! We have to go there!"

She laughed at the enthusiasm. "You sure? Shinikari cuisine is notorious for being extra spicy..."

"I can handle a little spice," Kimberly answered defensively. "Where can I find this place?"

"You got a map of the city? It's on the northern end of Zhuan Street, just on the edge of the Little Shinikara district. You'll know you're in the right place when you can't read the signs anymore."

"Zhuan... Little Shinikara... Understood! I'll see you there!"

"Hold on, hold on! Do you mind if I bring a friend? I was about to make him breakfast before you called... he doesn't take care of himself as well as he should, so I'd rather he not go hungry for the morning."

"Umm..." Kimberly said with a hint of hesitation in her voice. "I don't mind! The more the merrier!"

"Alright! See ya soon." She hung up, slipped her phone into her stocking, grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. "Memorized my number, huh... Good memory on her." She returned to the living room, then hammered her fist against the door frame to grab Webster's attention again. "Hey, Webster."

He lowered his headset and looked up at her. "Yeah?"

"I just got invited out to breakfast by a friend. You wanna come?"

"Since when do you have friends?"

She smiled. "Very funny."

"Well, where we going?"

"The Golden Lantern."

He physically wretched at the thought. "Blech. I don't do Shinikari."

She crossed her arms and furrowed her brow at him. "Okay, I can accept that. But I'm starting to feel like you just don't want to hang out with me anymore..."

"That's not true," he answered, while still focused on his game.

"When's the last time we actually went out and did something together, then? It must have been a month ago, at least!"

He broke his attention away from his game as his character exploded into a shower of blood and guts. "We agreed to just be friends, remember?"

"Yeah! And friends go out and do things with each other!" she shouted.

"Andrea, easy, you're losing your cool again. There's no need to get that worked up about it."

She stared a hole into him, then loosened up with an angry sigh. "Sorry. I just... don't get to do things with people anymore. I've been trying to change that..."

"I wasn't interested in your friend's contest last night and I'm not one for Shinikari food, it's that simple. I'll grant you, I haven't been the best friend lately, and I'm sorry. Next chance we get, we're definitely hanging out. Deal?"

"I'll hold you to that."

He smiled. "You go enjoy yourself, now."

"Thanks. I'll try."

- - - - -​

"Welcome to the Golden Lantern!" A young lady of Shinikari descent stated just as sharply as she was dressed. "Table for one?"

Andrea approached the hostess, taking in the sights of the delicately crafted lobby around her. "I'm meeting someone, actually. Is someone named Kimberly here?"

The hostess looked at the registry on the podium in front of her. "We have a Kimberly Fairbrooke and a Kimberly Kensington. Which are you looking for?"

"Fair...brooke? Yes." she cautiously said, genuinely unsure if she remembered the name correctly.

After grabbing a menu from beneath her workspace, the hostess beckoned for Andrea to follow with a courteous nod. "Very well. Follow me."

At a table in the more affluent section of the restaurant, Kimberly sat in patient silence as she waited. In front of her was a notebook, covered from top to bottom in words, doodles and quick thoughts. From her vantage point, Andrea couldn't decipher the exact meaning of the ink on the page, but the drawings painted the picture of a coordinator hard at work, designing a new routine. At least Kimberly still seemed dedicated to her craft.

What caught Andrea's attention the most, however, was how stunning Kimberly looked compared to the previous night. While she herself had just rolled out of bed and walked to the restaurant with her hastily applied winged eyeshadow, Kimberly was the opposite; her hair was neatly combed in some places and tightly braided in others, her eyelashes were well manicured, her eyeshadow was broad and masterfully applied and her lips were covered in a thin layer of coral red gloss. She looked as if she had just returned from a professional makeup artist.

Kimberly broke her attention away from her notebook and looked up, the warmest and friendliest of smiles gracing her face. "Andrea!" she said with excitement. "Where is your friend?"

"He wasn't interested in coming. He doesn't socialize much, or like noodles."

"Ah. Well." she said, closing her notebook. "It's so good to see you. It means so much that you came!"

Andrea pulled out the chair across the table. "Does it? Or are you just being polite?" she asked.

"I do mean it, friend. And I must admit, I'm happy that your friend didn't come... I guess that sounded a bit rude, I apologize."

The hostess interrupted the greetings as she pulled out a small notepad. "Are you two ready to order, or do you need a moment?"

"I'd like to browse the menu some more, thank you," she said.

"Me too," Andrea added.

"Very well, can I start you off with some drinks?"

"Starfruit juice," Andrea answered.

"And a mug of..." Kimberly started, quickly browsing the list of available drinks. "Oh! Pink lotus tea, please," Kimberly added.

"Pink lotus tea and starfruit..." the hostess said as she wrote down the requests. "I'll be right back with them."

Silence overtook the two as they browsed the menu. A frequent customer of the Golden Lantern, Andrea was already certain of what she wanted, and her attention quickly drifted away from the menu. Before long, she found herself 'browsing' Kimberly's oddly polished appearance instead. Curiosity got the better of her and she cautiously approached the subject. "Couldn't help but notice, but... I thought you said you were bad at this makeup business."

"Hmm?"

"You look incredible! It's barely 8 AM and you look like you've had a professional working on you for hours."

Kimberly looked up for a brief moment, offered a smile, then returned to the menu. "Oh! Thank you... Maybe I am better at it than I thought. When I'm nervous, I lose faith in myself, I suppose. Last night was... well, it was a nerve wracking disaster even before I made a mockery of myself."

"Why doll yourself up so much?" she curiously asked. "You got a date planned with someone later today before you leave?"

Kimberly giggled. "I wish. The truth is, I do it to hide my imperfections, of which there are many. I didn't do myself any favors last night by going out on stage looking as badly as I did."

"Hold on, as badly as you did? That's my work you're talking about!"

"I didn't mean it like that. My dress. My hair. The work I did before you arrived, I meant."

"Ah," she awkwardly offered. She disagreed and wanted to vocalize it, but realized that an argument probably wasn't in either of their best interests. Instead, she internalized her thoughts about what Kimberly had just said. "So she's one of those types, huh? She's already better looking than most of us put together, yet it's still not enough for her..."

More silence, silence that she wasn't comfortable with. Much to her relief, however, the hostess returned with a tall glass of thick golden liquid in one hand and a mug of candy pink tea in the other. She placed them on the table, then pulled her notepad out again. "Are you ready to order yet?"

She nodded. "I'll have a bowl of lo mein noodles with a side of pao cai."

"Excellent choice," the hostess said, turning to Kimberly next. "What would you like?"

Kimberly politely folded her hands on the table and said, "I would like the veggie dumplings over white rice with some jamanga curry on the side, please."

"I'll be right back with your orders, ladies!" the hostess said before grabbing the menus and returning to the kitchen.

Kimberly opened her notebook again and began to write down some more thoughts about potential coordination routines. "So... I'm a little hesitant to ask this, since you agreed to breakfast... Would it be safe to assume that you haven't heard from your business partner yet?"

She shook her head and buried her gaze in her glass of juice. After a brief moment of silence, all she could say was, "I haven't."

Kimberly was concerned about the melancholy tone with which she spoke. "Is there trouble?"

"I'm hoping it's nothing, but... They found her belongings abandoned in a convenience store on the north end of the city, just outside of the airport. Money, Pokéballs, ID... It's like she just disappeared into thin air."

"Oh dear! Do the police have any clues as to where she may have gone, or if anyone was responsible?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. They said it looks like another kidnapping, but they don't have any idea of who did it."

"That's terrible! I hope she's safe."

"Yeah... Hard to believe, isn't it? You'd think a three-time league champion would command some powerful Pokémon, right? And she couldn't defend herself? That's a scary thought."

"Maybe they caught her unawares? She might not have had the opportunity to call on a protector."

"Surely she put up a struggle, then? Wouldn't the store employees have noticed something? Something's definitely fishy."

Kimberly shrugged. "I suppose the only thing you can do is wait until more details are released."

"Well, in any event, she's missing, and I'm stuck here waiting to hear from my boss about what to do. Hooray..." She took a big gulp from her juice and was ready to move onto a lighter subject. "So what's in store for you, now? Are you still going to try this coordination stuff?"

Kimberly looked through her notes and sighed. "I'm not sure. I still have to think it over. I do want to remain dedicated, but after last night..."

"Hey, we all stumble, right?"

"We do. There's a novice training program being hosted in Rustlode Bluffs next week that I've already signed up for. If I don't do well at that, perhaps it's time to find something else to do with my life... yet again." she said, then let out a light chuckle. "Heh... Never thought I'd be back there..."

Andrea tilted her head inquisitively. "You got some history with that city?"

"Not much, no. I've visited once before, but it's not the city that I'll be back to. It's the beginner league, I mean. I took part in one just before I joined my mother for her work in Glastonfell and I decisively crushed my competition, but..."

Andrea waited for an answer, but never got one. "But?"

"I'm well loved in my hometown, where that competition was hosted. I still can't put to bed the nagging feeling that perhaps I did not fairly earn that victory, and last night brought those fears back to the surface again."

"Don't even think of it that way, otherwise you'll never be satisfied with how you do."

"That's a good point. That contest was six months ago... Perhaps I've just... gotten rusty in that time?"

Andrea snickered.

She was mystified. "What? Did I say something funny?"

"You've gotten rusty, so you're visiting Rustlode Bluffs?"

"Oh!" she said before they both burst into a fit of laughter. "Oh dear... that was dreadful!"

"Sorry, continue."

"Umm... yes, that's my plan, to visit Rustlode Bluffs. I'm not sure that there is anything else to say on the matter."

"I've always wanted to visit Rustlode myself, to be honest. The place used to be a big mining town over the past few centuries, won Lanark quite a long list of wars and conflicts with its material production... but most of their mines are tapped by now. They give tours of the old smelteries and processing plants as a way to bring in some money, that's something I've been wanting to look at."

"Really? You don't strike me as the type of person to be interested in things like that."

"I'm a bit of a gear head in my free time. I love old technology, I even studied it for a bit when I was at university."

"Neat! Perhaps you could tag along for my visit, then?"

It was a tempting offer, but she had responsibilities to see to. "Nah, I can't. I need to stay here until I hear from my boss. The most likely outcome is that she'll probably pull me back to Loch Alstan if Tamara isn't found soon." She sighed heavily at the thought. "Not looking forward to that train ride again..."

"That's a fair point. It's a long walk to Rustlode and you could be called back at any moment..."

Despite the circumstances, curiosity about the possibility of visiting still swirled in her mind. She turned her R-Kit on and looked for a map. "Where is Rustlode, anyways? I know it's on the southern coast, but I can never keep the towns and villages down there straight."

"It's south of Sonetta Mountain, if I recall?" Kimberly answered.

After finding the location of Rustlode Bluffs on the map, she asked it to plot a course for her. To her surprise, the map plotted a route directly through Doranshire, her and Tamara's intended destination.

"Oh! That's a coincidence."

"What is?" Kimberly asked.

"Says here that you'll be passing through Doranshire? That's where I was headed."

Kimberly paused for a moment to think. "I hadn't planned on it. I was going to follow the coast and pass through Tradewind. Why, is Doranshire a quicker route?"

"According to this it is. Saves a day and a half worth of walking."

"A shame that you'll be waiting here, we could have gone together!"

"Yeah..." Andrea felt a deep rumble against her leg and grabbed her phone from her stocking. "Oh well. Maybe I'll get to visit Rustlode some other time." A look at her phone's screen showed that the incoming call was from Dr. Reiland. "Oh! Speaking of, it's my boss. You mind if I take this?"

"By all means," Kimberly answered, burying her attention back into her notebook.

Andrea accepted the call and placed the phone to her ear. "Morning, doctor."

"Good morning, Ms. Dennison," Dr. Reiland's voice replied.

"I take it you're calling about Tamara? Have you heard anything new from the police commissioner yet?"

"No, not yet. It's only been a few hours." Dr. Reiland said. A long pause followed. "Here's what I want you to do. Until we know what's going on, I want you to stay in Aughrim for the next few days. It's quite obvious that something's not right, but I fear its worse than anyone realizes at the moment. The circumstances of her disappearance are... they're just too bizarre. Don't worry about finding a place to stay, I'll get your hotels sorted out."

"I do still live here in Aughrim, don't forget! I've got an apartment I could stay at."

"Oh! Right, yes. That makes things easier then."

"And after that?"

"If she hasn't been found, I'll get you back to Loch Alstan for another assignment."

She realized she would have to do it eventually, but the idea of spending another day on a train so soon haunted her. As a new hire, she was cautious about suggesting it, but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. "Is there any possible way I could... ya know, get started on this job on my own?"

"What are you suggesting?"

She looked up at Kimberly. "What I mean is... what if I found someone else to take me to Doranshire? I don't mind laying the ground work for Tamara, or god forbid, someone else."

"I appreciate your enthusiasm, dear, but I'd rather you didn't. With rumors of paranormal activity amongst the villagers, I'd like someone who has experience with that to be there. You weren't intended to be the expert in this matter, Ms. Dahl was. You were to assist her."

A voice of caution in the back of her mind urged her to drop it, but she refused. "You said it yourself, doctor, this isn't something that can wait for too long. Lives could be at stake here if there's actually something wrong in that town."

"I suppose that is true..."

"And even if I don't know a thing about that stuff, what if it is something as simple as a gas leak or something in the water, like you suggested? Problem solved, with or without Tamara. Lives saved."

"But if it isn't that, you've wasted your time, then."

"I'd rather be wasting my time there than here," she replied. "I'm not going to lie, while Aughrim is a nice place, I'm kinda sick of this city. But if you want me to stay here for a bit, I will."

There was another long pause and the sound of papers being shuffled in the background. "You might have a point, actually. There's definitely something wrong in that village... it might be something that you could handle yourself. You did well enough in Nettlefield, perhaps you can surprise me again."

"Thank you for trusting me."

"Now, before you get ahead of yourself, I'll only give you the green light if you can find someone trustworthy. And I need you to clear them with me before you go anywhere."

"Actually, I have someone here who's heading towards Rustlode Bluffs, and she's already expressed her interest in having me tag along for the journey. If we travel together, she could bring me to Doranshire on her way there." She lowered her phone for a second. "You're up for it, right?"

Kimberly nodded, her attention still stuck to her notebook. "Absolutely! It'll be a boring walk otherwise..."

"Yeah, she's definitely interested. Hell, it was her idea."

"Tell me a little bit about her, then," Dr. Reiland said.

She paused at the realization that she didn't know much about Kimberly other than she was an aspiring coordinator who'd just recently returned from a trip abroad. Trustworthiness hadn't even crossed her mind. Yet Kimberly felt like she incapable of harming anything, not even a fly; she was too charming, too friendly and even came off as a bit naive about how the world worked. "Hmm..." she started. "Well, she's right here. Maybe she can tell you better than I can. Want to talk to her?"

"Very well. Put her on the line."

She handed the phone across the table. "Here, my boss wants to talk with you. Her name is Dr. Reiland."

Kimberly nodded and grabbed the phone. "Hello, Dr. Reiland."

"Who am I speaking with?" Dr. Reiland asked.

"Kimberly Fairbrooke."

There was a short pause in the conversation. "That name is familiar..."

"My parents, Richard and Annabelle, are well known. That might be where the familiarity comes from."

"Ah, yes! Annabelle Fairbrooke! That's where I recognized the name... I did some relief work with her charity organization a few years ago. I forget what for, exactly... Heh, I'm afraid my memory isn't what it used to be. Anyways! My employee said she's interested in travelling with you. Would you be okay with that?"

"I am. It sounds like it could be fun!"

Dr. Reiland let out a chuckle. "I don't know about fun. Ms. Dennison will be doing a lot of sample gathering and in-depth analysis of her findings... She could be staying in Doranshire for quite some time, a week at least, probably longer. Are you okay with staying for that long?"

Kimberly paused to think. "That might be cutting it a little close with the schedule I'd like to keep... I have prior obligations I need to attend to in Rustlode Bluffs."

"I suppose you don't have to stay with her for the entire time... The biggest problem is that she doesn't have any Pokémon of her own. I don't want her travelling the roads alone. But if you can get her to Doranshire safely and perhaps assist her with her analysis of the nearby reservoir, you can be on your way well in advance. I'll send another one of my employees to pick her up when she's finished."

"Whatever happens in the end, I'd be happy to help!"

"Do you have much experience with travelling yourself?"

"I do! I spent a little over a year with a friend of mine while she pursued a career as a competitive Pokémon trainer."

"And are you familiar with the area?"

"Yes ma'am! My friend and I passed through Doranshire at the tail end of our time together. I think I remember the town well enough to show her around."

"I'll assume you have your own Pokémon, otherwise my employee wouldn't have suggested you. What are they? Their capabilities? Can you promise her safety?"

Kimberly nodded. "I can. I have a Blastoise who is exceptional at personal defense. A Skitty as well, but she's not a very proficient fighter yet. But my Blastoise should be able to take care of whatever problems we may run into."

"Ah, Blastoise. A good, solid defender." Dr. Reiland said. "Well then, you sound like a good candidate for getting Ms. Dennison started. Unfortunately, I might struggle to pay you for your time... Finances are usually tight around research centers such as these, as I'm sure you'll understand. But I'll--"

She made a negative hand gesture as she shook her head. "Don't worry about payment, Dr. Reiland! I would be doing this because I want to, not for the money."

"Are you sure?"

She nodded. "Positive, ma'am."

"Very well, then. Thank you. Could I speak with Ms. Dennison again?"

She handed the phone back to Andrea.

"So what do you think, doctor?" Andrea asked.

"She's very polite, and from the sound of it, very experienced with both travel and the areas you'll be visiting."

"Are we good to go, then?"

There was another short pause. "Do you trust her? This may just be a bit of paranoia, considering the circumstances regarding Ms. Dahl's disappearance, but... She seems a little too good to be true. I worry about the fact that she doesn't want to be paid."

"From what I understand, she's a wealthy heiress..." Andrea looked up at Kimberly and received a warm, friendly smile from her. "Yes. I do trust her."

"I'll take your word for it, then. You two can get started whenever you're ready. But do keep in mind: if Ms. Dahl does resurface, she'll be taking the reigns from you, understood?"

"Understood, and thank you, doctor. You'll be proud of my work, I promise!"

"We'll see. Talk to you soon."

"Good bye!" She ended the call and put her phone back into her stocking. She tried to contain her excitement. "Yes! This is going to be great, I'll show her what I'm capable of!"

"I'm glad you're excited to be travelling with me!" Kimberly said with a smile on her face.

"Well, safety in numbers, too. It's a bad idea to travel alone, which it sounds like you were about to do. Especially considering the nationwide murder rate skyrocketing in recent months."

Kimberly's eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

"We've had a sharp increase in violent crime since the year began, a large majority of it targeted at young women like us. Murders, kidnappings, rape, robbery, you name it."

"Oh... Umm..." Kimberly mumbled, her voice wavering.

She tilted her head slightly. "You... don't watch the evening news much, do you?"

Kimberly shook her head. "I make it a point not to. It's so depressing! It's a constant cycle of fear mongering, hatred and rabble rousing designed to pit us against each other! Besides, I haven't had much of an opportunity to, I've been busy working alongside my mother in Glastonfell."

"Oh right, you've been out of the country..." she started. "Maybe I shouldn't have said it like that. It's not as bad as I made it sound, just... something to keep in mind. Besides, if we stick together, statistics are on our side."

"Hmm... I will keep that in mind when I set off for Rustlode Bluffs, yes. But until that point, we're stuck together, and we'll look out for each other."

"Of course!"

- - - - -​

Spoiler: edits

October 17, 2017

• Significantly altered the opening of the chapter. Before this edit, she stayed in a hotel, but that doesn't make much sense since she lived in the city for the past four years.
• This has allowed me to introduce an upcoming minor character, Andrea's enigmatic and nerdy room mate known only as Webster, much earlier (and much more naturally).
• Major alteration: Before, Kimberly stated that she received her Squirtle/Blastoise from Dr. Reiland's lab a year previous. That has been removed as it didn't make sense for an already wealthy woman to receive a gift intended for less fortunate people.
• Some minor alterations to the breakfast conversation.
• Grammar/spelling fixes

June 17, 2017

• Changes: Various grammar and spelling fixes.
• Changes: Touched up some dialogue and description here and there.
• Change: Italicized the news broadcast to standardize how I've been doing it in later chapters.
• Added: Included a small argument between Andrea and her room mate to better personify her social problems.
• Fix: Tidied up the linebreaks around the text messages.
• Fix: Somehow one of Dr. Reiland's lines got split into two and I've only just noticed it. Fixed!
• Words and lines: +659 words, +14 lines

Other minor adjustmenets

• Restored a missing line that somehow vanished during the June 17th rewrite.
• Altered a couple minor details to reflect some changes made to Andrea's past, as well as Kimberly's past.

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 12: Sacred Garden

Far in the distance, cloaked in the blue haze of the distant sky, stood perhaps Lanark's most well known and recognizable natural landmark: the Oak of Ages. The massive tree, thought to tower over 600 meters in height, was a curiosity to the people of Lanark; while most oak trees throughout the country stand tall for just under two hundred years, the Oak of Ages has been known to exist for at least a thousand years. It may be even older, in fact, as cave paintings dated to 6000 BC detail the tree, and it may yet be even more ancient. Whatever the case, it is a remarkable sight to behold and an easy landmark to spot from just about anywhere in the West Country.

"Are you familiar with that tree in the distance, Andrea?" Kimberly asked.

"I am. It's the Oak of Ages, the tallest tree in the world. When I was studying at the university, I could see it from my bedroom window on a really clear day."

"Oooh! You were quite lucky!" Kimberly said with excitement. "Have you ever visited it?"

She shook her head. "No, I never got the opportunity to. Always busy with my studies and my work... Have you?"

"I have! About nine months ago, in fact. It's so... breathtaking! To imagine something so large, so ancient... You'll be happy to know that we'll be passing by it on our way to Doranshire!"

"Will we? I should see if we can get up close and have a look at it. Maybe I can find something for Dr. Reiland to take a look at back at the lab."

"That may be difficult... There's a conservation group which owns the land it sits on, and I don't believe that they allow visitors to approach it. When I last visited, my friend Nicole and I were passing through the area on our way to Aughrim and we were denied entrance. In fact, I remember them treating her very poorly, as if she'd done something to offend them. She'd never visited before!"

"Really?"

"I know, isn't that strange?" Kimberly wondered. "Perhaps things have changed in the past year. When we get there, we'll have to see if they'll allow us to visit."

"Yeah, you bet."

Andrea took the time to study her surroundings a bit more. Apart from the previous few days, it was the first time she had left the metal and concrete confines of Aughrim in over a year. It was much nicer than the muddy and rocky wilderness outside of Loch Alstan; rows of oak and fir trees stood tall, guarding the land behind them from the crisp ocean breeze that blew in off of the bay. Flowers of varying shades of red, pink, white and lavender sprouted from the land around them, and the heady aroma of honey was carried on the wind around them.

"The countryside sure is beautiful, isn't it? Hard to believe I've never been out here..."

"Never?" Kimberly asked.

"Never. If I wasn't too busy, I was too scared. I'm sure you've heard the stories."

"I have, but I don't believe them to be true. I've travelled these roads a lot, and I have not run into trouble as much as the media likes to claim."

"Hmm," she mumbled. All throughout her childhood and into her teen years, she'd heard horror stories of people being mauled, paralyzed or killed by feral Pokémon, at least once a month, sometimes more. For those stories to be so quickly dismissed seemed silly, yet Kimberly did have quite a bit of first hand experience that shouldn't be dismissed either. She wasn't sure what to believe. "So, you travel a lot, do you? Where exactly have you been?"

"All over! I spent a few years in Kalos, as a child... My junior year of high school was spent abroad in Romatti as part of a student exchange program, as well. And then there was the time I vacationed in Kanto for a few weeks..."

Andrea's eyes began to widen as she listed off more locations: an ill-fated meeting with the representative of a charity organization in Kensacola, a brief visit to the country of Cordona with her father and her attendance of a wedding in the Isles of Alola, to name a few.

"...and most recently," she continued, "I spent a few months in the northern reaches of Glastonfell. It gets quite cold up there during the winter, dreadfully cold! I don't know how they do it, especially when they're wearing those tartan kilts!"

"I... kinda meant specifically here, in Lanark," Andrea laughed.

"Oh! I've been to most places. The only place I don't recall ever visiting is a little town called Goldwheat Meadows. I wanted to, but Nicole saw no need to, so we went around it."

Andrea chuckled. "That's where I grew up. You didn't miss much."

She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow at her friend's words. "Really? You don't have a very strong accent for someone who grew up in Goldwheat."

"Blame my parents, they never had much of an accent either. Those two are practically the only people I ever spoke with as I was growing up."

She paused for a moment before she cautiously edged around the self-disparaging remark. "I'm sure there's something interesting about Goldwheat that would be worth visiting for!"

"There are only two things that Goldwheat is famous for: the famine that killed over 20,000 people and that fucking asshole who made it worse by refusing to help the poor. I don't remember his name and I don't care to."

"That's an awfully dour outlook on the town you grew up in!"

"It's also true. If you ever do visit, you'll see what I mean. The town never recovered... Entire suburbs were abandoned after the famine and most of it's a ghost town... Wonder why my parents chose to settle down in that shit hole..."

Her interest in the town that Andrea grew up in was piqued and she wanted to know more, but she found her friend's language crude and distasteful. She could sense annoyance in Andrea's voice about the town, so she shifted subjects. "If I may ask... do you always swear this much?"

"Huh?"

"You've been swearing an awful lot since we've met. More than I'm used to. Is that normal, or are you annoyed about something, or..?"

"What's the matter, does it bug you? I can try to tone it down, if you want."

"Thank you."

"Personal objections about it?" Andrea curiously asked.

"In a way. When I was on the road with Nicole, she swore like a sailor. Worse than you, even! I tried to get used to it, but it was always so excessive... Day in, day out... Every sentence, an F here, an S there... I found that I started to pick up on that filthy habit myself, and it's unbecoming of a young lady such as myself."

Andrea let out a subdued laugh. "So she's one of them 'holier than thou' types... This should be an interesting few days..." she thought.

"Is there something funny about that?"

"No, no! Just... I'll give it a rest." Andrea answered. "So, you said you've been on this road before. Anything here I should know about? Landmarks, rest stops, any of that?"

She took a look at her surroundings. "I can't recall if we've passed it already, but there's a hidden garden somewhere around here that I've been itching to visit."

"Hidden garden?" Andrea checked the time on her R-Kit. "How long would this visit take? I don't remember much from my days in the Scouts... I'd probably freeze to death by morning, so I'd like to get to the next town by nightfall."

"Not long. An hour, perhaps?"

"Mmm, that might be cutting it a little close, but... Let me know when we get close to this place."

"I shall."

- - - - -​

Kimberly emerged from a thick row of shrubs and looked behind her. She let out a smile and motioned towards herself. "Come along now! It should be just through this thicket."

Andrea struggled against the snagging branches of the shrubs until she eventually stumbled through them. "What should be? You're not giving me an awful lot of information."

Kimberly scouted ahead through the thick grass, waist high grass. "It's a surprise! I'm sure you'll like it."

Her patience was beginning to thin. They had spent the last twenty minutes venturing into unmarked wilderness, and for what? A garden? She wondered what kind of garden would even be out this far. "You're testing my patience. Shouldn't we be following some sort of trail?"

Kimberly pointed towards a tree beside them; several feet up was a green square hastily painted onto its bark. "We are following a trail, but it's one that requires a keen eye."

She shook her head in disbelief as she continued to follow Kimberly through the thick forest. "Can you at least tell me where we're going?"

There was a brief moment of silence before Kimberly answered. "Have you ever heard of the Peace Gardens?"

"I haven't."

"How do I word this and make it understandable..." Kimberly muttered to herself. "They're places that hold special meaning to certain people. Visiting these gardens allows us to get in touch with our inner selves."

A light bulb flashed in her head. "Oh! You're one of those religious types, aren't you?"

"I am."

"Interesting... Strange, but interesting."

"Strange?"

"I haven't really met many religious people. These days, most people don't bother with such antiquated thoughts."

"I would argue that they're not antiquated ideals, and in fact, they are just as relevant as they ever have been."

"I don't know about--"

Kimberly stopped in her tracks and turned around with a stern look on her face. "I can appreciate if faith is not your cup of tea, but please, don't start belittling my beliefs if you know nothing about them. I will not tolerate that."

She was surprised by the sharp criticism. "Fair enough."

Before long, they had arrived at a small nook in the wilderness that seemed to be perfectly manicured by human hands, yet looked completely natural at the same time. Thick, moss covered willow trees shielded much of the area from direct sunlight. Water cascaded over a nearby cliff, providing an ample supply of fresh water to the largest feature of the area, the pristine, lily-covered pond. A small stone pillar stood in front of the pond.

Andrea was immediately drawn to the stone pedestal and studied it closely. It appeared to be covered from top to bottom in mysterious glyphs that she had never seen before:

"What does this say?" she asked.

Kimberly joined her at the pedestal and briefly studied the writing on it. "I couldn't tell you. It's not a language I'm familiar with."

"Huh..." she wondered as she studied the writing some more. She could see an obvious pattern in the glyphs, but the meaning was totally lost on her. She pulled her phone out and began to take pictures of the pillar from all sides. "Surely someone back at the lab might have an idea of what this is..."

As she did so, Kimberly wandered a few steps closer to the shore of the pond and dropped her backpack to the ground. She grabbed a small, square blanket from within and spread it on the ground in front of the pond.

"What are you doing?" Andrea asked.

Kimberly sat down on the blanket, crossed her legs and rested her hands in her lap. "I thought I'd take the time to reflect a bit."

There was a clear look of confusion on Andrea's face. "Reflect?"

"Meditation."

"Meditation..." She let out an annoyed chuckle. "Gee, thanks for telling me that this was the reason we came here."

"Would you care to join me?"

She shook her head. "No. I don't meditate. Besides, do we really have time for this?"

"Of course we do! This doesn't take long."

"Couldn't you have meditated this morning? Before we met for breakfast? Or maybe when we got to the next town?"

Kimberly kept her eyes closed as she responded. "Doing so would have been a misuse of my time. I intended on visiting this place with or without you."

"That doesn't answer my question."

Kimberly opened her eyes. "Meditation is important to me. It helps me to find happiness and clarity of purpose, my inner peace. Doing so in a hotel room would not have been as effective as doing it here, surrounded by the beauty of nature." She closed her eyes again and resumed her meditation.

"Not as effective?"

"I'll be happy to explain later, but please, allow me to begin. We'll be on our way quicker if you do."

She wanted to interrupt Kimberly's meditation with some further confrontational questioning, but realized there was little advantage in doing so; she was relying on this woman to get to Doranshire, and angering her could potentially jeopardize that plan. Instead, she stomped off to another section of the garden. "Hmmph... Stuffy religious types. It's always about them, isn't it..." she muttered to herself. She turned around to look at Kimberly one more time, then wandered further into the garden.

"She should have told me she was going to waste my time," she muttered to herself. "I might have been okay with it. But no, she had to keep it to herself until I couldn't say no."

Regardless of her feelings at the moment, she couldn't help but appreciate the peaceful atmosphere of the garden around her. The birds singing their songs in harmony, the sound of rushing water cascading over smooth rocks, the gentle breeze caressing the leaves, it all combined to sooth her spirit. Perhaps Kimberly was right, and that there was something to this place, but she didn't want to admit it. She wanted to continue to be angry over the bait and switch tactic her friend employed.

The calming atmosphere distracted her from her chief concern: staying safe in the wilderness. She found herself drawn further and further away from Kimberly, further from security. Before she knew it, she has passed many alluring landmarks, each leaving her wanting more; a ring of bright purple mushrooms nestled around a fallen log, a massive tree stump nearly five feet in diameter, a narrow gorge with a babbling brook at the bottom of it. She crossed over the gorge with the aid of a log that spanned the length of it and continued further into the unknown.

The noise of fluttering wings grabbed her attention and snapped her back into reality. Just above her was the largest bird she had ever seen, definitely larger than herself. Draped in golden feathers, the bird hovered gently towards the ground and landed in front of her. Its head turned a perfect 180 degrees, allowing its deep amber eyes to study her inquisitively. Horns similar in shape to a trident jutted from the creature's head.

"Shit!" she shouted as she stumbled backwards. After putting a sizable distance between herself and the massive bird, she quickly picked herself up off of her feet and got ready to run.

The bird did little but stare at her.

She cautiously raised her R-Kit and began to scan the creature before her. "Please don't attack me while I'm distracted..."

"Noctowl, the Great Owl Pokémon!" the R-Kit began to drone as she kept her attention locked on the bird. "Among all of the birds of the Pokémon kingdom, Noctowl is generally regarded as one of the most intelligent. It appears to have complex problem solving thought processes typically unseen in most other species, displaying the ability to open doors, disassemble basic mechanical devices and navigate mazes with little backtracking."

The Noctowl extended its wings and flapped them before returning to its regal pose. Andrea instinctively took a step back, but lowered her guard a bit once it showed no intent to attack her.

"Noctowl is culturally important in Lanark," the R-Kit continued. "From ancient times to renaissance times, it was regarded as the guardian spirit of intelligence. Partially translated ancient texts spoke of it being a key of some sort, while more modern accounts described it as a moral and spiritual guide for royalty and those of noble blood."

"I don't understand what any of that means..." she muttered as she kept her eyes on the Noctowl. "You're not going to hurt me, are you?"

Once again, the owl was silent. All it did was stare.

"Maybe I should get back to Kimberly..." she thought. She took a few cautionary steps backwards before turning around, still keeping her vision locked on the Noctowl. In the brief second she took to watch her footing, the Noctowl had disappeared in complete silence. "Ooookay, I don't like where this is going."

Her journey back to the pond was the same as before: quiet and lonely. Over the log, above the gorge, around the tree stump, beside the mushroom circle. As she passed along, she looked up towards the sky and there it was; the Noctowl had followed her in absolute silence. Perched in a tree, it continued to stare at her.

"Go away..." she whispered to herself.

At last, she had made it back to the pond. Kimberly appeared to have completed her meditation and was in the process of folding up her blanket.

"Ooof... Am I glad to see you!" she called out.

"Really? You seemed quite annoyed when we last spoke... I should apol--"

Andrea bulldozed the apology with a warning. "There's a giant bird out there and I'm pretty sure it's stalking me! We should get out of here."

Kimberly reached down for the Master Ball that dangled from the belt of her dress and looked through the tree tops around her. "Giant bird?"

"A Noctowl, I don't know if you're familiar with that one."

Kimberly's cautious demeanor melted. "Ah! Yes, I am! I've seen a few during my travels. They're fairly peaceful creatures."

"I don't know... I don't feel safe around here, that thing was freakishly huge... Can we leave now?"

"Yes. Let's be on our way."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 13: Obstacles

It was another early May morning. The sun was rising in the eastern sky, casting a bright, golden light on the countryside around the village known as Oak of Ages. The village itself, however, was still bathed in darkness; the massive 600 meter tall tree that the village was named for completely eclipsed the area for nearly a quarter of the day, with only small speckles of light poking through the densely packed branches. It was a strange sight to see a bright blue sky, yet be shrouded deep in shadow.

Behind a little brick house and at the edge of a rocky cliff that overlooked the ocean, Kimberly sat in silence. Her legs were crossed, her hands were rested in her lap and her eyes were closed as she listened to the gentle noise of the foamy ocean waves. She was deeply lost in her meditation. Her mind was an empty slate, her heart rate was lowered and her breathing slow, even and deep. Very little could break her from her trance, not even her hair blowing across her face.

"...need..."

Kimberly opened her eyes and looked around. The area around her was completely empty; no people, no Pokémon, even the wind had died down. "Hello?" she called out.

No response.

She looked down towards her phone and saw that she had spent the past hour overlooking the sea. "Maybe that's enough meditation for one day..."

- - - - -​

Inside of a small motel room that could only be described as cozy, Andrea was seated on the bed with her phone in her hands. Her eyes were affixed to the phone as she silently read from a digital novel. Eventually, signs of life appeared on her face: a smile, followed by a laugh. She shook her head lightly. "Don't, Trip... Getting involved is gonna bite you in the ass." she whispered as she continued to read. "She warned you several times about interfering..."

There was a knock at the door.

She grumbled and turned her phone off, then tossed it aside. "Better not be that noisy asshole from last night..." she muttered as she wandered to the door. She stopped beside the door and called out, "Who is it?"

"It's Kimberly!"

She began to undo the intricate system of chains and locks that protected the room from the outside world, then opened the door. "Morn'." she said.

Kimberly bowed her head silently, then stepped inside of the small room and looked around. Coming from a wealthy family, the room was barely a room to her; it was dimly lit by a single light bulb and the stale air within was choked with the aroma of heavy cigarette use. "You slept in this? It smells like a run down bar in here!" she asked.

"Unfortunately, I have to live on a budget. Besides, I've slept in worse." she said as she returned to the bed to gather up her belongings. "How about you? What was yours like?"

"It was a lovely bed and breakfast run by an adorable elderly couple!"

"Bet it was expensive..." she quietly muttered under her breath.

"When you and I arrive in Doranshire, I'll pay for your room and board. No one should have to suffer circumstances such as..." she trailed off as she inspected the room one more time. "...such as these."

She stopped what she was doing and looked up at Kimberly. "You sure about that?"

"Of course!" Kimberly said with an enthusiastic nod. "A drop in the bucket for me, no need to worry."

"I'll try to be a cheap date for ya, then." she joked.

Kimberly giggled. "So... are you ready to get started?"

She swung her backpack around her arms and grabbed her purse. "Are you? Don't have to meditate or anything like that?"

"That is already taken care of. You seemed quite annoyed with it the previous day, so I figured I would get it out of the way rather than make you wait yet again."

"Is that an every day thing? The meditation?"

"Most days, yes."

"Hmm. I suppose it isn't my place to judge." she said. "Yeah, I'm ready to go."

- - - - -​

The Oak of Ages

Despite records of the giant oak stretching from the neolithic era all the way to today, the Oak of Ages remains a complete mystery to the average men and women of the modern age. How old is it? What species is it? Why is it so large? All of these questions and more have been put forward by scholars, scientists and even kids like you, but the answers still elude us.

Andrea looked towards Kimberly with a raised eyebrow. "Kids like us?"

"You must remember that this town was a large destination for tourism until a few years ago. Children from across the country would often take field trips to see the Oak."

"Why'd that stop?"

Kimberly shrugged. "Another item on our list of things to ponder. Perhaps the rumors that the tree is dying are true? They may be trying to keep people away to hide that fact."

"Maybe we can find out."

The two continued reading from the plaque in front of them:

A Place of Peace

Despite the mysteries of its origin and continued presence, thousands of years of records have shown us that the Oak of Ages has been a cultural icon since antiquity. Archaeological evidence from across Lanark indicates that the ancient tribes often fought bloody and violent wars against each other, but there is no evidence of fighting in the lands surrounding the tree. Rather, some of the earliest written records indicate that the tree was a sanctuary, often visited by rival warrior kings to discuss terms of peace. In fact, it was here that the ancient tribes eventually banded together to form the first alliances that would later lead to the founding of the Kingdom of Lanark.

Throughout Lanark's troubled and messy history, the Oak of Ages has been a constant beacon of peace. Many violent conflicts throughout history were resolved in the shadow of the Oak. Notable declarations of peace that were signed at this location include:

• Solas an Lae, signed somewhere between 897 and 901, formally ended a civil war fought between rival clans for dominance of the heartland. It is here that the Greybell Clan established their millennia-long dynasty that remains in power to this day.
• Pax Rosa, signed in 1472, ended the third and final attempted conquest of Lanark by the Romatti Empire.
• The Eiffel Accords, signed in 1591, ended the seven year war fought between Lanark and Kalos, resulting in the acquisition of all Kalosian overseas colonies.
• Treaty of the Clans, signed in 1683, granted independence to Storm Island, a former colony of the crown, after three costly years of naval confrontations.
• Highlands Independence Agreement, signed on the 1st of August 1933, formally granted independence to the Kingdom of Glastonfell after two decades of negotiations. The decision to grant independence during the Great War was quite controversial and resulted in a physical confrontation between three lords, the only recorded instance of violence at the Oak of Ages since records began.
• The Great Accord, signed on the 2nd of September, 1945, ended the 25 year conflict known as the Great War. Dignitaries from nearly sixty nations came together to bring an end to the deadliest conflict in human history.
• Colonial Release Act, signed into law on the 1st of July, 1977, formally granted independence to all overseas territory owned and protected by the crown.

"Hmm. A lot of history took place here. I never knew." Andrea commented.

"Really? What did they teach you in school?"

She began to fidget. "Well... I'm sure they taught us about history, but I barely paid attention to any of it." She motioned towards a shaded pathway that led towards the great oak. "Let's see if we can get up close. Something tells me we won't be able to, though."

Kimberly took the lead as they wandered down the path. "I fear you're correct. I have noticed that this town is rather lifeless."

"Exactly. If people could visit the tree, this place wouldn't be such a ghost town, would it?"

What little light that bled through the branches of the Oak of Ages quickly disappeared as they navigated the winding trails that led to it. Before long, they were shrouded in complete darkness with nothing to guide them; there were several lamps along the pathway, but they no longer worked.

"Didn't expect it to be this dark..." Andrea commented as she reached into her purse.

"We're not going to get lost, are we?" Kimberly asked.

With her phone in her hand, she enabled the spotlight on it and pointed it at the ground. "I think we'll be okay." She felt Kimberly latch onto her arm like a magnet, giving her a slight shock. "What is it? Is everything okay?" she asked as she shined the light around.

"I just don't want to get lost, that's all."

"Right. Let's go."

The path towards the Oak of Ages involved several uphill hairpin turns with little to protect them from tumbling down to the bottom. They wondered why the terrain was so treacherous for such a famous landmark until they eventually realized why: the 'path' they had taken led directly to a chain link fence topped with wicked barbed wires at the top.

"Stop where you are!" a masculine voice called out from the other side of the fence. A bright, blinding light soon followed and it slowly started to approach the two. "Turn to face the light." the voice ordered.

The two looked at each other for a brief moment before turning towards the fence.

The light lowered, revealing a man dressed in dark green camouflaged clothing. "Huh..." he said as he studied the two closely. "Sorry, ladies, you'll have to move along. No visitors are allowed near the Oak."

"Still?" Kimberly asked.

"Until further notice. Move along."

Kimberly nodded. "Sorry to trouble you, sir."

Before Kimberly could drag her away, Andrea stood up to the man. "And why the hell can't we visit? The public was never given a reason." she questioned. "You do realize how important this tree is to the people of this country, right? Why isn't anyone allowed to see it?"

The man raised his head to the sky. "Look up. You can see this tree, as you so carelessly call it, whenever you want. That doesn't mean you're allowed to come any closer. Move along."

She remained steadfast in her desire to approach the tree. "I'm a researcher with the Reiland Institute. I'm just trying to get a few samples to look at, that's all."

The man gazed at her with a critical eye. "You? A researcher? You look more like a witch! I can not allow you to come any closer. Move. Along!"

"What is that supposed to mean?! Are you--"

Kimberly gently tugged on Andrea's arm and pulled her away from the fence. "Andrea, friend... there's no use in arguing with him. Take a moment to relax, please." She returned to the fence and spoke softly. "I apologize on her behalf. It's been a stressful few days for her."

"That's not my concern. My concern is the Oak and its protection."

"And that's good! The Oak needs to be protected from those who would do it harm." She motioned back towards Andrea. "But look at her. Does she really look like someone who could harm it?"

"She does."

The man's unexpected answer caught her off guard. "Umm... well. I assure you, she is a kind and caring individual. Perhaps I could speak to whoever is in charge here?"

The guard glared at her for a moment, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a small radio communicator. "Malek, would you mind coming to the southern checkpoint? We have some very stubborn guests."

"Is there trouble? I'll be there in a minute." the radio buzzed.

The guard returned the radio to his pocket and stared at Andrea, then pointed towards the left. "A couple hundred meters that way is a checkpoint. Follow me."

Kimberly walked back towards Andrea and tugged on her arm again. "Did you hear that? The one in charge will meet with us if we follow that man."

Andrea had been silently fuming and wasn't interested in any of the words her friend was saying. "What is with people? Why does everyone hate the way I look?"

"It's not just you. Nicole was treated poorly when I travelled with her, as well."

"Let me guess, she dressed like me?"

"You are wearing her fashion line."

"Ha. Right..."

The two followed the guard closely as he lit the way with his lantern. They tried to ask him a few questions related to the tree, but he either deflected them or ignored them. They both got the feeling that he didn't know much and that he was just a grunt of some sort, hired to provide security for something he knew nothing about. Regardless, his enthusiasm for protecting the Oak was extremely apparent; he kept a very close eye on them, especially Andrea, while he escorted them. Eventually, they reached a gap in the fence that was surrounded by a heavily fortified checkpoint.

One of the men at the checkpoint stepped forward. "Are these our guests?"

"They are, Malek," the guard answered.

Malek walked a circle around them as he looked at them with a critical eye. "Why have you come?"

Andrea was hesitant to answer, but eventually did. "I wanted to collect some samples of the tree for my boss to have a look at. I work with Dr. Reiland, are you familiar with her?"

"I'll ask again. Why are you here?"

Kimberly explained further, "We heard that the Oak may be dying. Perhaps there is something that Dr. Reiland could do to help?"

Malek looked down at the ground. "A very persistent rumor put forth by the scum of society..." He appeared to be quite pensive, deeply thinking about the situation presented before him. After a few moments, he pulled out a large touch screen device, tapped on it a few times, then nodded towards Andrea. "State your name."

"Andrea Dennison. I'm with the Reiland Institute."

"To answer your earlier question, yes. I am familiar with Dr. Reiland." Malek commented as he continued to enter information into his tablet. After a few moments of silence, he said, "Here you are. Andrea Dennison, a recently hired analyst with the Reiland Institute. Twenty years old, 5'3" tall, 147 lbs..." he paused as he looked deep into her eyes and nodded. "Blue eyes. Naturally brown hair, but often dyed blonde. You were born in the city of Azure Ridge on Storm Island to Marvin Dennison and Meredith Kalinzki--"

"Okay, okay, I get it! You somehow have a creepy amount of information about me."

"It's intended to be thorough, not creepy," Malek replied as he continued to study both her and the information on his tablet. "Security is very important here at the Oak."

She tried to sneak a peak at the tablet in Malek's hand, but he wouldn't allow it. "How are you able to access the Reiland Institute's staff list? As far as I know, that's not public information."

He paused for a moment to look at her, then focused on his search again. "I wouldn't worry about that if I were you." Several minutes passed by as he tapped away at the screen, read from the information on it or eyed her with scrutiny. Every now and then, he would trade glances with the guard. Eventually, he broke the silence and spoke once again: "Now, there are a host of other reasons for why I can't let you or your friend here come any closer, but I'll go with one you understand: You've only been at your job for four days and you weren't even sent to investigate the Oak. Honesty may have helped your case, but you didn't have one from the start."

"Excuse me?"

"Andrea Dennison, new hire," he said, reading from the tablet. "Currently assigned to task #727: Sightings in Doranshire. While she did well on her first assignment, her partner raised some concerns in private and suggested she be assigned to the Doranshire investigation as another test of her acumen."

"How..." she muttered. "I am being honest, I'm here to study the tree!"

"Don't lie to me. You, along with your friend, are not welcome to visit. Move along."

She was becoming visibly shaky with frustration to the point that Kimberly tried to pull her away yet again, but she held her ground. Eventually, though, she decided that it was best to leave rather than further escalate things.

As Andrea and Kimberly disappeared into the darkness, the guard crossed his arms. "I knew she didn't look trustworthy. Perhaps she should have tried being less obvious."

Malek shook his head. "I don't think she's one of them... She may dress a little suspiciously, but..."

"How can you be so certain?"

"Nothing in the information I looked up on her mentioned anything about it," he answered. "Still, I won't allow a liar near the Oak. Too much is at stake."

- - - - -​

"Why are you so upset? Neither of us expected to get in." Kimberly asked.

Andrea wrestled out of her friend's vice-like grip now that they were shrouded in warm sunlight. "A lot of reasons... Did you hear what that guy said when he was reading information about me?" she asked. "He said 'her partner raised some concerns in private'. Patrick and I are going to have a very spirited discussion when I next see him."

"What kind of concerns could he have possibly raised?"

"I don't know. Maybe I was a little too hesitant to touch a dead Pokémon? Or I was ready to give up when we were searching a nearby swamp for clues?" She shook her head as she pondered the possibilities, then sighed. "Guess it's time to get started on what I'm supposed to be doing. Do you need to do anything before we leave?"

"I'm set," Kimberly said.

"To Doranshire, then."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 14: The Spritewood

The two took one last look at the Oak of Ages, the towering and mysterious guardian of the Westcountry. They lamented that they weren't able to get a closer look at it, but both realized that it was time to move on; for Andrea, there were pressing matters to attend to in Doranshire, while Kimberly was interested in keeping her scheduled appointments in the town of Rustlode Bluffs.

Ahead of them was an ornately carved bridge that almost seemed suspiciously out of place. In the middle of nowhere, nearly an hour's walk from the village behind them, sat the most beautifully crafted bridge that Andrea had ever seen; the support pillars were delicately engraved with intricate celtic knot designs while the planks that made up the walkway appeared to be fashioned out of twisted roots.

"Never thought I'd say it, but I want to hear the story behind this bridge," Andrea commented.

"I'm not sure there is one," Kimberly replied. "If there is, I've never heard it."

Across the river was a peculiar looking forest; despite it being mid-Spring, the leaves of the trees were a golden auburn, splashed with hues of pink, purple and red. The bark of the trees was white and silver in color, notched with black spots, stripes and scars. Every now and then, a glowing light would flash somewhere among the tree trunks, then fade quickly. On the other side of the bridge was a sign:

Now entering the Spritewood

Yonder this point lie the Spritewood,
Home to the spirits of good!
Bring peace and harmony with you,
Or fortune will bid you adieu!

The sign certainly caught Andrea's attention. "Nevermind the bridge, I want to hear the story behind this forest!"

"I don't know how much of it is true, but when I was a young girl, I'd often read stories about this forest. Legend tells of the fairies..." Kimberly began.

"What, like Clefairy and Jigglypuff?"

"No, actually! Little magical people with wings supposedly lived in this area long ago, but they're gone now."

Andrea rolled her eyes at the suggestion. "Don't tell me you actually believe that sh... that stuff."

"It is difficult to believe, I must admit... I've been to this forest many times and I've yet to actually see a fairy, but why would such stories be made up?"

"To scare the nearby children, probably."

"But fairies aren't scary!" Kimberly stated matter-of-factly.

"Fairies also aren't real," she retorted.

Kimberly tried to explain the 'facts' about fairies, but Andrea wasn't interested, instead reaching into her purse to grab her phone. Realizing that she wasn't being paid any attention, Kimberly gave up. "Stick to your stuffy science, then..." she muttered quietly.

She ignored the snide comment and noticed that she had an unread message awaiting her:

Fr: Patrick Adelaide, 9:07 AM

'Just had a look at the photos you sent me. Interesting! Don't recognize those pictograms at all. I've forwarded your findings to someone who might know more. You're very proactive, keep up the good work!'
​

On the one hand, she was happy to see a bit of praise coming her way, but on the other, she was annoyed with him based on what the guard at the Oak had said about her. She tried to word her response in a non-combative way:

Fr: Andrea Dennison, 1:12 PM

'good to hear! btw we need to talk when i get back.'
​

A few minutes later, a reply came back:

Fr: Patrick Adelaide, 1:16 PM

'Oh? About what?'
​

Fr: Andrea Dennison, 1:17 PM

'i think you know'
​

Fr: Patrick Adelaide, 1:17 PM

'I don't think I do. If you're suggesting what I think you're suggesting it might be wise to remain professional for the time being.'
​

She grumbled as she read the last message and put her phone away. She couldn't tell if he was joking, deflecting or just plain ignorant of what she might be talking about, but she wasn't going to fall into what she assumed was a trap of some sort. It only made her more and more angry as she thought about it. She played each possible outcome through her head over and over again, becoming more and more wound up as she did so.

Kimberly could see her friend coming to a boil and was curious why. "What's the matter, friend?"

She snapped back into reality. "Huh? Oh, just my co-worker. I told him I want to talk in person and now he thinks I'm coming onto him."

"You're not, are you?"

"No!" she protested loudly, prompting a giggle from Kimberly. "Can we not talk about this?"

"We could talk about fairies again," Kimberly jokingly suggested, but it only resulted in a frustrated groan. "Do you happen to have a Pokédex? Something in this forest may interest you. It certainly interests me."

"If it's fairies--"

"It's not fairies, I assure you!"

Andrea raised her hand to head level and showed off her R-Kit. "This thing is similar to a Pokédex, actually, but it's much better. Dr. Reiland said that this thing is likely to replace those old things in the near future."

Kimberly marvelled at the R-Kit. "That? All this time, I thought it was a fancy watch."

"That's what I usually use it as..."

"Can you do a search for a Pokémon by the name of Eevee?"

She nodded. She tapped on the screen of her R-Kit, but it wasn't responding. Instead, the screen was a garbled mess of static and junk information that made practically no sense. "Uhh... I don't think I can. This thing is on the fritz." she said as she continued to try to navigate through its options. Even a customary violent shaking did little to solve her problem.

"How reliable," Kimberly commented.

"It usually is! Maybe I need to reset it somehow..." she said as she unstrapped it from her wrist. She began to examine it all over, looking for some sort of reset or power button, but couldn't find one.

"In any case, do you happen to know that this is one of Eevee's few natural habitats? When I was last here with Nicole, I had the fortune of finding one! I tried to capture it, but I... was less than successful."

Frustrated with the apparent lack of a reset button on her R-Kit, Andrea strapped it back onto her wrist. "Maybe we'll find one and you can have another shot at it."

Excitement welled within Kimberly. "Yes! That's my hope! However, they're quite elusive creatures... we may not be lucky enough to find one."

"That is a good point..." she sighed. "I remember when I was studying the concepts behind conservation efforts, Eevee came up as an example of something that's considered 'threatened' in the wild, but thriving in captivity."

"In captivity, yes. It has crossed my mind to just buy one... But they're quite expensive, even for me."

"How expensive, exactly?"

Kimberly dug through the depths of her memory to come up with a number. "It's been about nine months since I last checked, but I recall the price being somewhere around 740 golden roses."

She blinked at the thought. "S-seven hundred... Is that a serious number?"

Kimberly nodded.

"That sums up my student loan debt and then some, and I was told I wasn't going to pay that off for at least 30 years... How can people justify spending that much money on a Pokémon?!"

"Even I agree..."

"I guess that's why you hope to just catch one."

Kimberly nodded. "My only worry is finding one..."

She paused to think about the situation. "Perhaps when we get to Doranshire, you can come back and look for one? I probably won't need you by my side once I'm in town."

"Me? Alone?" Kimberly asked, then shook her head. "That won't work. I... It just wouldn't work."

Kimberly's vagueness perplexed her, but she didn't want to push the subject; the tone with which she spoke and her choice of words told Andrea that she was embarrassed about something, possibly a fear of being alone. "There might be someone in town who can help you. I'd do it myself, but... I've got work to do, unfortunately."

"If we don't find one by the time we reach town, there is always another time. I'm still young!"

Before long, they found themselves shrouded entirely in the forest, far from the coastline that they had followed since they left Aughrim. Sunlight bled through the golden and pastel-colored canopy, bathing the area in a warm glow, but a deceptive one; a crisp, chilling wind blew through the forest which caught the two off guard. Both had dressed lightly on the expectation that it would be warm. They both wondered why, as the morning weather forecast had called for temperatures to linger around 21°C. Andrea instinctively looked to her R-Kit for an explanation, only to be disappointed when she remembered that it wasn't working.

The two began to brainstorm some reasons for the sudden change in temperature. Kimberly jokingly suggested it was the work of the fairies that supposedly lived in the forest, bringing the area to a temperature of their liking. Andrea would have none of it and listed several reasonable explanations: Perhaps a certain species of Pokémon that is closely associated with the cold had been through the area recently. Maybe chilly air from the eastern mountains was being pushed downward and out to sea, blasting them with a frigid chill. Or, the most likely situation, the weatherman was simply wrong with his forecast. The two debated so energetically that they almost started to shout at each other and decided that it was best to remain quiet for awhile.

All along their journey, they kept their eyes peeled for an Eevee, but they found other things of interest instead. The flickering orbs of light that they had seen before they entered the forest were becoming a common sight. Andrea gingerly approached one to get a closer look at it. It didn't react to her presence in any way and instead continued to gently circle around one of the trees. Once again, disappointment filled Andrea as she raised her R-Kit to scan the anomaly, only to find that it still wasn't working. To stop herself from trying again, she unstrapped it from her wrist and placed it in her purse.

"You've been here before. Any idea what it is?"

Kimberly shook her head. "I haven't the foggiest idea. I've heard from an elderly woman in Doranshire that these are the spirits of the town's ancestors, but I'm not sure I'm ready to believe that."

"So it's not one of your fairies?"

"I understand if you don't appreciate the majesty of the unknown," Kimberly said with frustration. "But you don't have to be so difficult about it."

Andrea could tell that her new friend was growing impatient with her. "I didn't mean anything by it, I'm sorry." She looked back up at the orb of light as it gently danced around the tree above her; after a few moments, the orb flashed with a bright light and evaporated into nothingness, leaving nothing but a faint shower of blue sparkles. "Maybe we can come back out here sometime. When my R-Kit is fixed, I'm definitely getting a closer look at these things, because I want to know what they are."

"Are you thinking it may be related to your work in Doranshire?"

She shrugged. "Who's to say? Dr. Reiland told me about people seeing lights in the forest. I see lights in the forest right now."

"Sounds like you've found your first lead!"

"Whatever the case, we should focus on getting to town. I'll feel much better knowing I have someplace safe to work from."

- - - - -​

Right foot. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot.

That had been the march for nearly six uninterrupted hours, and yet the two were still deep within the Spritewood with no sign that they might be close to reaching the town of Doranshire. Exhaustion was beginning to take root within Andrea's sore legs and she pleaded for a bit of rest. She found a nice, large rock to take a break on and breathed a sigh of relief when she got some much needed time off her feet.

Kimberly pointed out the low-hanging sun that hid among the trees behind them. "Your fancy watch... It's capable of navigation, correct?"

She shook her head and unzipped her purse. As she dug through it, she said, "I just checked a few minutes ago. Still not working." With her phone in hand, she tried to see if that would work at all. Much to her surprise and joy, it did. "I've got a map on my phone, at least."

"Can it tell us how far away we are from Doranshire? We're going to run out of sunlight before we reach the village."

Andrea turned around and located the sun amongst the trees. "Shit..." she muttered softly. "Give me a second." She opened the map on her phone and plotted a course from their current location to their destination. After a few seconds of the app analyzing the most efficient trails to take, her heart dropped. They had only made it about half way.

"How far?" Kimberly asked.

"Uhh... Ten hours?" she sheepishly said, with a tone of panic in her voice. "This isn't good... I don't know the first thing about wilderness survival besides the basics."

"I did figure that, based on how lightly you've been travelling..." Kimberly commented.

"Why didn't you tell me this was going to take more than a day?!" she shouted.

"I did try to, but you--"

"What are we going to do?!" she asked. "I can't start a fire, or-or-or create a shelter! I don't know how to--" A faint Pokémon call echoed through the forest, causing her to spin around rapidly. "What was that?!"

Kimberly approached gingerly and grabbed ahold of her to calm her down. "Try to relax. I know enough to get us through the night, but I'll need your help."

Her eyes met with Kimberly's and she began to feel at ease. She never imagined that such a posh, spoiled and possibly sheltered girl could know anything about surviving in the wilderness, but the more she thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed. She often talked about her travels with her friend; while it was likely that her friend did all of the hard work, surely she must have learned a thing or two from watching. She took a deep breath and nodded.

"Thank you. Let's start by finding a place to set up camp. Quickly now, we don't have much time."

The two started their search by wandering off of the established trail. Kimberly explained the perfect spot to look for: flat, near a shady tree, and if possible, in an area without a lot of underbrush. It didn't take them long to find such a spot and the two made some initial preparations for their campsite by flattening the grass around them and setting up a small circle of stones.

Next came the problem of the campfire. Unfortunately for them, it was unseasonably chilly in the area, but on the bright side, it hadn't rained in recent days. Kimberly told Andrea to look for a few pieces of dry, fallen wood, ranging in size from small to large. "Don't stray too far, we don't know what's out there. I want to be able to see you at all times."

While her friend made some further adjustments to the campsite, Andrea started her search. There were lots of broken branches littered across the forest floor, and the possible reason for there being so many both intrigued and haunted her. It was most likely a wind storm that had knocked these branches to the floor, but the possibility of a large species of Pokémon being in the area crossed her mind. As she continued her gathering, she tried to put the thoughts out of mind, as they would only serve to distract her. After a circular sweep around the campsite, she returned with what she could find.

"That should do," Kimberly said. "Do you know how to actually start a fire?"

"Please tell me you do..."

With a smile, Kimberly nodded and reached down towards the ribbon that dangled from her hips. She grabbed Telandra's decorative Feline Ball and dropped it to the floor. With a bright flash of light, Telandra appeared in a puff of cartoon-like stars.

Andrea was confused. "How is a Skitty going to get a fire started for us?"

Kimberly knelt down beside Telandra and pointed at the pile of sticks. "We need fire, Telandra. Can you help us?" She stood back up and placed her arm in front of Andrea, guiding her backwards a few steps.

Telandra arched her back and growled. Sparks started to dance all throughout her bristling fur and with a bright flash of light, a bolt of lightning arced between her and the pile of sticks. Smoke billowed from the sticks and a glowing, orange ember flickered at the bottom.

Andrea shook her head in disbelief and blinked a few times. "That's... rather fortunate for us, I suppose..." she started. "But you're going to have to tell me one of these days how Telandra can do something like that."

Kimberly dropped her backpack to the ground and took a seat beside the growing fire. Telandra instantly claimed her lap and curled up on it. "What do you mean?"

Andrea took a seat near the fire as well. "When I was working on my degree, we covered the capabilities of different Pokémon in very deep detail. Skitty is an example of a Pokémon that doesn't... It can't..." She began to stumble with her words as she tried to explain it. "Take Charmander for example. Everyone knows that it breathes fire. What is Skitty known for? Clawing and biting people. What I want to know is... how is yours able to control forces such as ice and lightning?"

Kimberly tried to think of an explanation, but couldn't. "You're the one with a scientific background. If anyone should know, it should be you."

"Unfortunately, it's beyond me," she said. "I've heard of Pokémon displaying remarkable abilities that they shouldn't have, but there has never been any actual scientific research on the subject."

"No research? Why not?"

"There hasn't been an opportunity. In the past hundred years, there were only two or three recorded instances of this that I've read about, and none of them could be verified. Your Skitty is the first--"

Kimberly raised her finger to stop her friend. "If you're suggesting you'd like to take my Telandra back to your lab and experiment on her, you can forget it. I swore to protect her, just as she protects me."

"No! That's not what I was suggesting! That would only take a few days to do, most likely, but I don't want to take her from you." she explained. "It's just... maybe I'll keep my mouth shut, it seems I've been making you angry all day."

"I know you don't mean anything bad by it all, but perhaps we can save this discussion for later," Kimberly said with a yawn. "I am growing a wee bit tired and it would be wise to get an early start tomorrow. I think it's time for bed."

She nodded. "Good idea."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 15: Darkest Night

The crackling sound of a dying campfire was all that could be heard in the silence of the darkened forest. Flickering flames swept up towards the sky and sparks showered down to the ground with every pop of the wood. The light had attracted the attention of just about every insect in the entire forest, Andrea had thought, who swatted away at the growing cloud of gnats and flies. She lamented the fact that she hadn't brought a can of bug spray with her. Moreover, she chastised herself for being wholly unprepared for a night in the wild.

She refused to be distracted, however; she was nearing the end of another chapter of her digital novel. As she 'turned' the page on her phone, a tear began to form in the corner of her eye. She shook her head as she continued to read, finally coming to the conclusion. "You should have never gotten in the way, Trip... And now she's gone."

With the chapter of her novel complete, Andrea stretched, yawned and checked the time: 11:23 PM. She crawled over to her backpack and purse, taking care not to make too much noise, and put her phone away. She grabbed the backpack and brought it back to where she was and placed it down with the intention of using it as a pillow. Unfortunately, it was very uncomfortable and she had difficulty falling asleep.

Several minutes passed by in relative silence until a faint sound came from somewhere in the forest: the slow and repetitive sound of old, crunchy leaves and snapping branches. A deep guttural moaning soon followed. Andrea opened her eyes and cautiously looked around, but she couldn't see anything through the darkness. She figured that it was just exhaustion playing tricks on her mind and she closed her eyes once more.

SNAP! It happened again. As before, deep moaning accompanied the sound of the branch snapping.

This time, Andrea sat up to look around, but it did little to help the fact that the forest was too dark to see anything. "H-hello?" she sheepishly called out.

No response. Just a dark, empty and silent forest, nothing more.

She reached for her purse and opened it, then grabbed her R-Kit from within. She turned the screen on in the hopes that it might have fixed itself by now, but unfortunately it was just as broken as ever, if not more so. Rather than a static and garbled mess of pixels, the screen rapidly flashed with all sorts of seemingly random and obviously incorrect information.

"Rrrrrruuuuuuuuuuuuurrrrgggghhhlhh"

She was thoroughly freaked out by now and crawled over to Kimberly's side of the camp as fast as she could. She grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. "Kim? Kim, wake up!"

Kimberly stirred in her sleep and opened her eyes. "Huh? Nicole?" she asked. She tilted her head to the side and thought for a second. "Wait, you're not Nicole... What is it?"

"There's something out in the forest and I don't know what it is!" she said as she looked around like a paranoid schizophrenic.

Kimberly sat up. "What are you talking about?" The tone of her voice suggested annoyance, as if she didn't believe whatever crazy thing her friend was talking about.

"Listen carefully!"

Several moments passed in silence, but eventually, another branch snapped and echoed against the trees.

"What the hell is that?"

Kimberly dismissed her thoughts readily, based on nearly a year of practical prior experience. "It's probably just some wildlife, go back to bed." She laid back down and found a comfortable position once again. "It won't approach the fire, you have nothing to worry about."

Andrea crawled back to her side of the camp and began to dig through her purse for her phone. "...nothing to worry about..." she muttered quietly. "...gonna get us killed..." As she did so, another deep, rumbling groan rang out from the darkness.

This time, Kimberly heard it and she immediately sat up. "That's... that's not the wildlife." she coldly said. She reached down for the Master Ball that dangled from her hip and gripped it tightly.

"Then what is it?"

Kimberly shook her head. "I don't know, but I don't like it." She tossed the Master Ball to the other end of the camp, causing it to explode with a burst of bubbles that glistened in the firelight. Juliano appeared and sat next to the fire.

As terrifying as the unknown sound was, it captivated Andrea's curiosity. She wanted to know what the sound was, what was making it, and whether it may be a threat or not. After all, it was possible that they were worried about nothing. "Think we should check it out?"

"Absolutely not," Kimberly adamantly said. "We should stay by the fire. It's safer here and we can see what we're doing."

"That's probably a good idea..." she concluded. "Are you certain you don't know what it is?"

"Yes. I've never heard a sound like that in my life."

"Great..." She shook her head as she thought of what to do. She thought that Dr. Reiland might have some valuable advice, but plans to call her were immediately dashed since it was quite late at night. She defaulted to Patrick as her next choice. As she dialed his number, more branches snapped in the distance, followed by another deep and drone-like groan. Her pace quickened and she waited impatiently for an answer.

The phone rang five times before he finally answered. "Hello?"

"Hey, Patrick?" she asked.

"That's me. Who is this?"

"It's Andrea, your new employee."

"Oh! Right, yeah. Still getting used to your voice." he said. "Why are you calling this late? Does this have something to do with... well..."

"Now is not the time!" she snapped. "I need some help."

"Sure, what can I do for you?"

"I'm camped out in the middle of a forest called the Spritewood... I need some information about it." she said.

"You do remember that you can find information pretty easily with your R-Kit, right?" he asked. "I'm sure whatever you need can be found with it."

"It's not working! The screen is just static and none of the buttons are doing anything!" Another branch snapped in the distance, this time much louder than before. A gurgling moan followed soon after. "Just help me, please. I need to know if there have been any strange sightings in the forest."

"Huh... yeah, give me a minute," he said. There was a long pause in the conversation. "Strange how? I need to know what to look for, first."

She watched as Juliano approached the edge of the camp, inching closer to where the sounds had been originating from. "There's something out there and it doesn't sound friendly. It's making the creepiest moaning noises and it sounds like it's getting closer. This girl I'm with is convinced it's not the local wildlife."

"Let's see... strange sightings... Spritewood..." Another long pause. "I'm not finding anything, other than the presence of orbs of light often seen during the day. You seen any of those? Might be worth looking at! As far as wildlife is concerned, it's mostly birds... You know, Pidgeys, Hoot-Hoots, Taillows. Mammals include Stantlers, Eevees, Sentrets, Cubones, even a feral Ponyta has been seen in the area every now and then. There's not much else out there."

"And none of those make moaning sounds like what I'm hearing..." she mumbled.

"That girl you're with, she's a Pokémon trainer, right?"

"She is."

"What's she got with her?"

"A Blastoise."

"Pffft! You'll be fine, then! Call me when you get to town and I'll walk you through the steps involved in resetting your R-Kit."

"Can't we do it now?" she asked. Another chilling moan echoed through the forest. "I'd really like to know what I'm up against."

"I'd like to help, but it's a lengthy process and you don't have the tools on hand," he said. He could almost sense that his words did little to comfort her, so he added, "If you happen to find whatever is making your mystery noise, document it the old fashioned way. You're perfectly capable of doing that."

She sighed.

"Anything else I can help with?"

"No, that's all."

"Stay safe out there. Get in touch soon." The phone clicked and the call ended.

She lowered her phone into her lap. "Well! He was no help." She stood up and gingerly approached the edge of the camp, then strained to see through the darkness around her, but the lack of ambient light made it impossible to see anything. She debated it for a moment before throwing caution to the wind. "Hello?" she called out. "If anyone is out there, please say something!"

The gurgling moan returned, this time ending with a gravelly howl.

"What are you doing?!" Kimberly whispered loudly.

"If this is some sort of a prank, ha ha! Very funny! You got us!" she shouted.

For a few seconds, the forest was silent, silence that was broken with a very loud clicking noise. Before she knew it, Andrea's left leg had buckled under her, sending her tumbling to the forest floor. Sharp pain shot through her lower body in radiating waves, centered around her inner thigh. Her painful shout prompted quick action from Kimberly, who rushed over to help her back onto her feet.

"The fuck was that?!" she grumbled.

Another loud click echoed through the forest and the sound of a fast moving projectile whizzed past their heads.

She instinctively pointed out a large tree just a few feet away. "Quick, behind that tree! Go!"

The two took cover behind the tree and hunkered down. Kimberly made some hand gestures towards Juliano and he charged towards the tree as fast as he could. He stood firm next to the tree, turning his hardened shell towards the source of the clicking noise. Meanwhile, Andrea struggled against the darkness to see just what had happened. She ran her hand up her leg and felt a deep cut halfway up her thigh. When she pulled her hand back, she found that it was covered in blood.

"Fffffff...fudge!" she struggled to squeeze out as she inspected her wound. "What do we do?!"

Kimberly took a brief moment to formulate a plan. "We have to stand our ground against whatever is out there. You're in no condition to go anywhere."

She compressed her wound as best as she could, shaking from the pain. "You sure you and your Blastoise can--"

"Hush with those thoughts, friend," Kimberly said. She noticed Andrea's heavy shaking and grabbed her by the shoulder. "Come now! Deep, steady breathing! That'll help with the pain."

Kimberly stood up and gingerly approached her Blastoise. Their eyes met and they both nodded at each other. He matched her movements almost perfectly, keeping her shielded from any potential attack as she made her way towards her backpack on the other end of the camp. She reached down and dug through the largest section of the backpack until she found what she was looking for: a box of first aid supplies. She was certain it wouldn't be enough to fix her friend up, but it would have to do.

As the two made their way back towards Andrea, the clicking noise returned, this time in a burst of three. The sound of three projectiles bouncing off of Juliano's shell were very crisp and clear against the relative silence of the forest. He turned around and growled in the general direction that the projectiles came from, still making sure to shield his master from further attack.

"Stay focused, Juliano, don't leave our side!" she ordered as she knelt down and opened the first aid kit.

He obeyed the order and took his position next to the tree, turning his shell back towards the source of the projectiles.

She returned her attention to Andrea and rolled up the hem of her dress to get a closer look at the wound. Whatever had hit her sailed straight through and left a precise, almost surgical cut about half an inch deep into her skin. "Get ready, I'm about to apply some disinfectant." she said as she poured a bottle of clear liquid onto a small piece of cloth.

As soon as the cloth made contact with her skin, Andrea jumped in pain. She tried as hard as she could to contain it, but a stream of vulgar obscenities and insults directed at Kimberly escaped from her mouth. Despite the outburst, she was grateful for the assistance. A thick layering of gauze was wrapped around her leg several times; a sloppy job, but Kimberly was far from an expert in first aid.

She shook her head. "I did the best that I could, friend. We need to get you to a real doctor tomorrow."

Andrea wasn't interested in the platitudes; instead, a peculiar sound held her attention, the sound of nearby footfalls. "You hear that?" she asked as she struggled her way over towards Juliano's side. What she saw sent chills down her spine. "Uhhh! What is THAT?!"

A humanoid figure, roughly four feet tall, lumbered out of the shadows, dimly lit by the light of the campfire. The fragile-looking figure appeared to be constructed entirely out of old, mismatched bones. Where its arms should have been were two wickedly curved blades, fashioned out of sharpened bits of bone, all held together by a twisting network of glowing purple tendrils. Bits of dead flesh hung from the joints in the creature's frame, and the stench of decay that lingered in its wake was ferocious and overpowering.

Kimberly shrieked in horror as her eyes met the gruesome creature's figure and toppled over like a tree in the wind, fainting before she even hit the forest floor.

The creature's jaw opened and it let out a shrill screeching sound, then leapt through the air with surprising agility. Juliano responded with his own uncharacteristic speed, placing himself between the bone creature and its target, his incapacitated master. The aberration landed on his back and raised its scythe-like arms, then let loose a barrage of quick and wild strikes. Luckily, the creature attempted to strike at his hardened shell and did very little besides leave a few cosmetic scratches behind.

Andrea crawled over towards Kimberly and tried to lift her up. "C'mon, c'mon, c'moooon, we have to go!" Andrea pleaded as she struggled. However, the pain from her leg wound made it much too agonizing and difficult to drag her friend away.

Juliano tried as hard as he could to reach the creature, but his stubby arms wouldn't reach above his head. Instead, he went with the next best plan: he turned his back to the tree and rushed backwards as fast as he could. The creature smashed apart from the impact and shattered pieces of bone rained down over a wide area. The faint purple light that glimmered on the tendrils that held the creature together flashed brightly before fading altogether. With the threat taken care of, he hurried to his master's side to check on her.

"It's okay, I think she just fainted. I can't find any injuries." Andrea said, trying to comfort the Blastoise. She looked back at the tree, still splattered with a bit of decaying flesh that had a bone chunk embedded in it. "What the hell was that thing? I've never seen anything like it, never heard of anything like it!"

Juliano could do little more than shrug. He, too, had never experienced anything similar.

"Think there's more of those things out there?"

Again, all he did was shrug. He reached under Kimberly's back and legs and picked her up, then brought her back towards the campsite.

Andrea followed, stumbling on her injured leg. She found another tree to rest against and let out a deep breath as she fell to the ground. Thoughts began to race through her mind: What was that creature? Where did it come from? In all her years of studying biology, nothing like it was ever touched upon by any of her professors, her books or her independent reading. The closest thing that came to mind was a peculiar and little-known species by the name of Duskull, but that clearly wasn't a Duskull. She began to make early conclusions and mental notes based on what little she had seen of the creature when she remembered what Patrick had said:

Document it the old fashioned way. You're perfectly capable of doing that.

She struggled her way to her feet and cautiously approached the splattered remains, still dangling from the tree. There was little information to be taken from the mess that Juliano left behind; to her, it was just a piece of decaying flesh with a jagged shard of broken bone wedged in it. Still, the peculiar tendrils that once glowed with a purple light stuck out. As little as she wanted to, she took a picture of the horrifying sight. She had a little exploration around the camp, identifying several more bone fragments that came from the creature. They all had lingering remnants of the tendril system still attached to them, further evidence of this creature's unbelievable existence.

Eventually, the pain from walking around grew to be too much and she returned to her spot beside the fire. Kimberly was still unconscious, Juliano maintaining a patient vigil over her. She rested her head on her backpack and closed her eyes, ready to finally get to sleep. She did what she could to empty her mind of her thoughts; between the exhaustion and the excitement, they had started to make very little logical sense, and she knew it was a waste of time to think about it any further.

It took some time, but she finally fell asleep.

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 16: Fact and Fiction
With special thanks to Beth Pavell for giving me a few ideas

Thmp. Thmp. Thmp.

Juliano's slow, rhythmic heartbeat was all that Kimberly could hear as she rested her head against his chest. The sound had been constant for nearly six hours. Such a repetitive sound would drive most people mad, but it was the only thing keeping her sane. It distracted her from her thoughts, from the horrible sights and sounds of the previous night. Every time she closed her eyes, even briefly, she saw it: the eldritch, unexplainable creature, shambling out of the darkness and fixing its piercing, hollow eyes on her.

Thmp. Thmp. Thmp.

She had been trying for hours to find a way to calm herself down. Her usual method of dealing with traumatic events was to meditate, but her mind was too foggy and too fatigued. She tried to steady her erratic breathing, but it was much too difficult with what she had seen. The only thing that brought her peace were the dancing flames in the dying campfire and Juliano's steady heartbeat.

Thmp. Thmp. Thmp.

There was movement from the other side of the camp: Andrea silently stirred in her sleep. With a stretch, a yawn and a groan, she struggled to push herself up off of the ground. She shielded her eyes from the light of the rising sun as she looked around. The first thing she did was rummage through her purse for her phone and check the time: 7:17 AM.

"Morning," Kimberly said.

Andrea looked across the camp. "How are you feeling? You don't look so great."

She lifted her head off of Juliano's chest. "You just answered your own question." she quietly said.

Andrea nodded. "How'd you sleep?"

She rested her head back on Juliano and searched for his heartbeat. "I didn't. I couldn't."

"Yeah, I didn't sleep very well, either..." Andrea said as she leaned up against a nearby tree.

"How is your leg?" she asked.

Andrea rolled the hem of her dress upward and studied the bandage that was wrapped around her leg. It was now a deep burgundy in color and stiff as a board, but at least it was dry. She stood up and put her weight on the leg; it was nearly enough to send her crashing to the ground in agony, but she held the pain inside. "I'm fine to walk, that's what matters." she strained.

"No, you're clearly not."

"You're right, I'm not... but I'm not staying here, I'm not waiting for a rescue. There could be more of those... things out there."

"Juliano can carry you, if you need."

Andrea ignored the offer and reached into her backpack. She grabbed a small notebook and a pen, then began the agonizing journey across the camp towards the remains of the strange creature from the previous night. With some sunlight, she could get a better look at it, but just the sight of it sent chills down her spine. "What are you..." she whispered to herself as she covered her nose. She knelt down so that she could closely inspect it.

"Do you have any idea of what it is?" Kimberly called out.

She poked at the remains of the creature with her pen, pushing the bones about. "No. Never seen anything like it, or even heard of anything like it." she answered. She took down some basic notes about the creature, or at least what little was left of it: size, body structure and the way it moved the previous night. "My best educated guess?" she started, then paused to think. She shook her head. "Nevermind. I've got nothing."

Kimberly tapped on Juliano's chest and looked up at him. "Come, Juliano, let's get up."

Juliano helped his fragile and shaky master to her feet, taking special care to make sure that she was capable of walking on her own. He knew that she was exhausted not just from the previous night, but from the full day of hiking beforehand. He offered his arms out to carry her, but she shook her head and declined. Instead, all she did was kick some dirt onto the dying embers of the campfire.

"Are you ready to leave?" she called out.

"Not yet, I need to document this thing," she answered as she wrote down some more information.

"Document?"

She began a very rough and poorly done drawing of the creature's 'head'. "My colleagues are going to want to hear about it. They probably won't believe me... hell, I don't believe it, and I saw the damn thing. But if someone back at the lab wants to investigate further, it won't hurt to give them as much information as I can."

"It won't take long, will it? This place is making me feel uneasy..."

"Give me ten more minutes, maybe?" she asked, making a rough estimate based purely on nothing.

"Do hurry, friend..." Kimberly said before putting as much distance as she could between herself and the battered remains of the creature.

Several moments passed by as she tried to draw the creature from memory. It was clear that she wasn't an artist by any stretch of the definition; what appeared in her notebook looked very little like the creature as it truly was. The proportions were wrong, the overall body shape was misaligned, and her skills didn't allow for any finer details. She grew frustrated with what she saw and flipped her notebook closed.

"Now... to find someone who will believe me."

- - - - -​

Fr: Patrick Adelaide, May 17th, 9:06 AM

'Good god, what the hell are these pictures you sent me? Looks like a mangled corpse!'
​

Fr: Andrea Dennison, May 17th, 9:07 AM

'no idea. never heard of or seen anything like it, was hoping you might know'
​

Fr: Patrick Adelaide, May 17th, 9:07 AM

'I couldn't say. I don't recognize that bone structure. Why are you sending me pictures of a long dead Pokémon anyways?'
​

Fr: Andrea Dennison, May 17th, 9:09 AM

'because that thing attacked us last night and i want to know what it is!'
​

Fr: Patrick Adelaide, May 17th, 9:12 AM

'Attacked you? What the fuck are you talking about?'
​

Fr: Patrick Adelaide, May 17th, 9:12 AM

'You're not seriously suggesting the walking dead attacked you, are you?'
​

Fr: Andrea Dennison, May 17th, 9:13 AM

'im having trouble believing it too'
​

Fr: Patrick Adelaide, May 17th, 9:14 AM

'It's probably because you're making it up. There's never been any credible documentation of the dead coming back to life, and there never will be.'
​

Fr: Andrea Dennison, May 17th, 9:15 AM

'so youre saying you dont believe me?'
​

Fr: Patrick Adelaide, May 17th, 9:17 AM

'Look, I get it. You're new, you're nervous, you want to prove yourself by discovering something interesting. That's cool. But... come on, you have to admit, it's a hard thing to believe.'
​

Fr: Patrick Adelaide, May 17th, 9:17 AM

'Until I physically see this thing walking around, I don't buy your story.'
​

She grumbled as she read the message, but she honestly wasn't surprised by his reaction. She had hoped that as a man of science, he would keep an open mind, but he was right: a walking corpse was definitely difficult to believe. However, rather than continue trying to convince him, she turned to someone else:

Fr: Andrea Dennison, May 17th, 9:19 AM

'morning, dr reiland! have you had a chance to look over what I sent you?'
​

A few minutes went by as she patiently awaited a response from her boss. Much to her shock, the shrill tone of her phone ringing pierced through the quiet forest; the caller ID indicated that it was Dr. Reiland.

"Morning," she answered.

"Morning. I hope that it's not a bad time to talk. These arthritic fingers of mine... they don't get along with text messages."

"Oh, no! It's not a problem at all! I'm actually happy to talk... my friend here isn't very sociable this morning."

"Hmm. To answer your earlier question, yes, I did get a look at the photos you sent me. I'm not quite sure what to make of it, so perhaps you could run me through what you found?"

"This is going to sound really hard to believe, but..."

"Ooooh, I love conversations that begin this way!"

The apparent enthusiasm of her boss put her at ease. "Umm, well. I'm not sure that makes it any easier to explain what happened." she started. "Are you aware of any strange circumstances in the Spritewood, by any chance?"

"That's what you're investigating, isn't it? Doranshire is in the heart of the Spritewood." Dr. Reiland answered. "I have heard of strange things over the years, yes. Livestock from local farms going missing, trees suffering from unexplained blights, and of course the recent reports of strange happenings in town. What does this have to do with that... unsightly corpse you sent photos of?"

"First, do you have any idea of what it was?" she asked.

"No. I don't recognize the anatomical structure at all, and the placement of specific bones is certainly... unnatural, to say the least."

"I thought that myself... that's not the bizarre part, though."

"Oh?"

For a brief moment, she was hesitant to explain further, but realized that she had already cornered herself into doing so. "That creature... it attacked us."

"Attacked you?" Dr. Reiland asked. There was a short pause, as if she were studying the photos more closely. "That thing?"

She chuckled nervously. "You don't believe me, do you..."

Dr. Reiland let out a long and thoughtful breath. "Pardon me if I'm a little skeptical... There have been stories over the years..." she started. "Mostly superstitious folk tales from other parts of the world, mind you."

"So... you don't believe me."

"I wouldn't go that far. Do you remember in the early years of your studies, you touched on taxonomy? Specifically the kingdom structure?"

She nodded. "Yes. Bacteria, protista, fungi, plantae and animalia."

"I noticed that you left out spiritae."

"Well, the debate still continues on that one..."

"It does. Did any of your professors discuss it?"

"Professor Burke, and he was very brief about it."

"Not much is known about these mysterious creatures, other than they don't quite fit the description of animals and plants. They're so rare and difficult to study! In fact, a specific species comes to mind, Duskull. We don't know what exactly a Duskull is since one has never been studied closely before. This has led to the theory that it is some sort of... well, a ghost! The reanimated remains of a deceased creature. Now, it's very likely that this theory is erroneous, but there's also the slim chance that it's not."

"That sounds insane, but it also sounds like the creature I encountered last night," she said. "I wish I had an explanation."

"Searching for an explanation is why we do what we do. The world is a large and mysterious place, Ms. Dennison, and there is still very, very much to learn about it. We in the scientific community discover new things every week, sometimes every day. In fact, just last week, you and Patrick may have discovered a previously undocumented species of Pokémon. Of course, we might never know if you did, since you two... nevermind that!"

"Sorry about that. That was mostly Patrick's decision."

"Back to the matter at hand, what do you mean when you say this creature attacked you? How so?"

"Honestly, it was kind of a blur," she explained. "It was over so quick, and I was cowering behind a tree the whole time. Kimberly here didn't see anything, either. All I know is that it has some sort of ranged attack, because it hit me before I could even see it."

There was an audible gasp on the other end of the line. "Hit you? Are you okay?"

"It's nothing," she said as she rubbed her hand over the wound on her leg. "Just a minor cut on my leg. I'll visit a doctor when I get to town."

"If you say so. I would say you're quite fortunate that this thing didn't get in close. Those... 'arms'... They look... Well, I'll assume you're familiar with the Scyther species and its famously sharp bladed arms."

"Yeah..."

"Anything else about how this creature behaved that you can shed some light on?"

She shook her head. "I didn't see much. As I said, I was hiding the entire time."

"If what you say about this creature is true, I don't blame you! I'd have probably run from it, myself... Well, if I was capable of running, that is! What about the noises it made, how it moved? Anything out of the ordinary will be helpful."

"I have some notes that I took down, I'll get them to you as soon as I can. In fact, hold on." She lowered her phone and called out to Kimberly, "Hey, is it okay if we stop for a sec?"

Kimberly turned around. "Is something wrong?"

"No, I just need to get something from my backpack."

Kimberly nodded. "Let her down softly, Juliano."

Despite the assurances to Dr. Reiland that the wound on her leg was 'nothing', the reality was different; Juliano had been carrying her for nearly two hours, as the pain was simply too much to fight through. She received a fresh reminder of that pain as she was let down to the ground, and she took care to mute her groans of agony.

She dropped her backpack to the ground, opened it and grabbed her notebook. She flipped to the page that detailed her encounter with the strange creature and activated the camera feature on her phone. "I can't promise it'll be any good, but I'll send you a photo of my notes for now. Hopefully you can read my awful writing."

Dr. Reiland let out a chuckle.

With the page in focus, she snapped the photo and immediately sent it to the doctor. "There, it should be in your e-mail. Give it a look when you have the time." She put her notebook back into her backpack and picked it up, then motioned upwards towards Juliano. "I'm ready." she whispered. Juliano picked her up effortlessly and the group resumed their travels.

Dr. Reiland was silent for a moment before she finally said, "Mmm! A full page of notes!"

"I wrote down everything I could recall. Some of it might be a bit speculative, I admit..."

"I knew that assigning you to Doranshire would be a good idea," the doctor said. "Your story, while fascinating and unbelievable, intrigues me. I'll see if I can find any other information others may have on it."

"You're serious?" she asked. "I sent these findings to Patrick, too, and he immediately dismissed me as a crackpot."

"I don't blame him. He's very grounded in reality, and stubborn as a mule to boot. Years of experience, experience he doesn't quite have yet, have taught me to be open minded, even with the unbelievable. That's what science is, after all: finding ways to prove or disprove that which we can not believe." Doctor Reiland explained. "Anyways! If there's nothing else, I'll get started on this."

"There is something else, actually. I... have a physical sample, as well."

"A physical sample, you say?"

"I grabbed a bone fragment off of the creature."

"Eww!" the doctor shouted. "I mean, that's good, but... eww!"

Andrea laughed.

"I imagine you don't want to be carrying that thing around for too long. As soon as you reach Doranshire, visit the Pokécenter. I'll take it off your hands and send it to the medical lab for analysis."

"Understood."

"Good luck out there, Ms. Dennison, and be careful. There may actually be something to these wild stories coming out of Doranshire. It would certainly explain my colleague's interest..."

The warning encouraged her to ask, "Are you sure I'm up for it, then?"

"While the absence of Ms. Dahl will certainly hinder you, I believe in you. That's why I assigned you to this task."

While the words were nice to hear, she didn't believe them. She recalled what was said about her the previous day at the Oak of Ages, about how her assignment to Doranshire was just another test of her abilities. To her, it was pointless to test abilities that were already supposedly believed in.

"Anywho, let me know when you reach Doranshire! I'll speak to you later."

"Will do. Talk to you later." she said as she hung up. "Well, at least someone believes this crazy story of ours."

Kimberly let out a long sigh. "That does not make me feel better about it."

"I didn't think it would," she replied. "I'm sorry for putting you through this. I shouldn't have pressured you--"

"You didn't pressure me, I wanted to come along. Besides, it's a good thing that I did. What if Juliano wasn't here to protect you?"

She looked up and studied Juliano as he continued to carry her through the forest. She realized that Kimberly was right; Juliano was the only reason that she was still alive.

"I'd feel much, much worse than I do right now if I found out that you never made it to Doranshire."

"I suppose I should thank you, then."

Kimberly stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath to calm herself. "Perhaps we can discuss this later? I don't feel like talking right now."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Land of the Roses
Chapter 17: A Quiet Village

"Thank the goddess..."

Kimberly, with Juliano and Andrea lagging shortly behind, passed by a sign that welcomed them to the village of Doranshire, population 276. They had finally made it, and just in time; the retreating light from the setting sun had caused the automated lighting along the road to flicker on, a welcoming sight in the growing darkness. Before long, the scant glow of the outdated street lamps had given way to the bright lights of the village's heart, Lord's Square. For the first time in nearly twenty four hours, they felt at peace.

At a glance, Doranshire seemed just like any other small town; brick and mortar buildings, clean streets, chatty locals and the sweet scent of handmade success. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. No strange sights, no strange sounds, nothing to indicate that any of the bizarre reports over the past few weeks were true. If anything, the only strange sight in the town was the injured young woman being carried by a Blastoise.

Brief discussions with the locals revealed two things: Doranshire lacked both a proper hotel and a proper doctor, the two things the girls needed the most at the moment.

Andrea was stumped. "So what do we do know?"

"The last time I was here, a lovely elderly couple ran a bed and breakfast. I wonder if they're still around?" Kimberly suggested.

"Do you remember where they were?"

"I do. Come, Juliano, let's take her there."

- - - - -​

The television in the lounge was tuned to one of the country's many 24 hour news networks, the Crown News Network specifically. The major headline of the night focused on the disappearance of Tamara Dahl, Andrea's intended travel partner; furious debate erupted between a panel of 'experts' as they wildly speculated about what had happened to her, and what her disappearance might mean for the once safe atmosphere the Kingdom of Lanark had been known for. The host had difficulty controlling the discussion and requested a commercial break.

"It's all panel shows, now..." an elderly man said as he shook his head. "What happened to the simple days when a single anchor reported on the news? No opinions, no speculation... just... news."

"What happened to the simple days when you didn't watch this crap?" an equally elderly lady quipped as she focused on a crossword puzzle in front of her.

He chuckled. "That's a very good question." As he raised the remote to turn the TV off, the soothing chime of the doorbell bounced throughout the tiny house. "I'll get it."

The elderly man grabbed a cane from beside his chair and pushed his way to his feet. He slowly made his way from the cozy and cramped lounge, down the narrow hallway and through the heavenly-smelling kitchen to the door. He opened the door and was greeted by the sight of two young women who had just turned around to leave. "Ah!" he called out, hoping to grab their attention again. "Good evening! Is there something I can help you with?"

Kimberly turned around. "Yes, Mr... Holdt, was it?"

His face lit up. "Ah! You know my name!"

"Yes! I visited this town sometime last year and stayed with you. Do you and your wife still operate your bed and breakfast?"

"Till the day I die," he said. He opened the door further and motioned for the two to enter. "Nadine, my dear! We have guests!" He wandered over to the stove and took the top off of the still-warm pot of vegetable stew, then reached for two bowls. "Tell me, what is your name, young one?"

"Kimberly Fairbrooke," she said. She pointed to Andrea. "And this is my friend, Andrea Dennison."

"I have many guests, so unfortunately I don't quite remember you. I'm honored that you remembered little ol' me, however!" He put the two bowls of vegetable stew on the table and offered the girls a seat. "If you're looking for lodgings, you'll have to share a room. My son is currently renovating one of our two guest rooms and it's not quite ready for use."

She turned to Andrea. "Sharing a room, huh? That won't be a problem, will it?"

"I don't see why it would be."

The three took their seats at the table and began to negotiate payment. Mrs. Holdt made a brief appearance, as if to check to see that her husband was actually talking about business, then disappeared into the lounge again when a few coins slid across the table.

"So, what brings you two to town? Just passing through, or do you have business here?"

"I'm passing through, yes," Kimberly answered.

"Work," Andrea added.

Mr. Holdt's left eyebrow shot up and nearly popped off his head. "Oh really? What are you doing, if you don't mind my asking? It's been awhile since an outsider came to town simply to work."

Andrea looked over at Kimberly, then back down at her vegetable stew. "I'm here to investigate some of the strange things that have been reported in town."

"An outside investigator... ah, yes... It's good that you're here. The village council isn't taking what's happening as seriously as they should."

She shrugged. "It seems that you do... What do you know about these reports?"

"There's a lot to talk about. Anything specific you're interested in?"

She reached into her backpack and grabbed a notebook and a pen. She had compiled a list of subjects she'd read about and started from the top. "I read an article about an elderly lady who claimed that a demon was trying to enter her house. Sound familiar?"

"Yes, actually. That would be Mrs. Miggins." he said before making a spiral motion with his fingers at the side of his head. "That lady... she's certified nuts, if you ask me. She's been making claims like that for nearly twenty years, after her husband passed. Most people have learned to tune her out."

She began to jot down some basic notes. "Where does she live? Even if she is crazy, it might be worth my time to talk to her."

"I would not waste your time with her. But if you insist, you'll find her house on Whetstone Lane. You'll know which one it is when you find it. It's choked by vines, the stone walls are crumbling and there's a giant willow tree looming over it."

"Whetstone... Willow tree..." she muttered as she continued her notes. "Got it, thank you."

"You take care around her, you hear? She's been... known to lash out at people, even get physical from time to time. She's a frail, old flower, so you could probably handle her with ease, but..."

She nonchalantly dismissed the warning. "I'll keep that in mind."

"I'm serious, lassie."

She looked over at Kimberly for a brief moment, then returned to the next item on her list. "I also read something about a ghost walking up and down Mill Street?"

"I've heard of it, but I haven't seen it myself," he said. "Supposedly it's the spirit of the old mill owner, people say he's wearing a tuxedo and has a stovepipe hat."

"Anything else?"

He silently shook his head.

She took down some more notes and nodded. "I already know to look at the school..." she muttered. "Oh yeah, how about those lights in the forest west of here? Do you have any idea of what those are?"

"No idea. Whatever they are, they come and go peacefully, and they're rarely seen in town." He leaned back in his chair and looked toward the ceiling, as if he was searching the depths of his memory. "We had a talented young man with a mind for science who lived in this town a few years back, those orbs were his passion. His life, even. He spent days, sometimes weeks camped out in the forest, trying to figure out what they were. Don't think he ever figured it out."

"Had? Is he not here anymore?"

He shook his head. "He packed up and left about three years ago. Said something about heading home and joining his brothers and sisters. Far as I knew, he didn't have any family, but..." he shrugged. "Maybe he did. I didn't know him closely."

"What was his name? I'll see if I can track him down."

"I don't think he's even alive anymore, honestly. When he left, he said he was heading for Verdant Vale. That was just a couple months before... well... you know."

"Oh, I see..." she said as a somber tone enveloped the room. She paused for a moment before continuing, "I'll take his name anyways, just in case. He might not have been there at the time."

"William Selkirk. If he is still alive, you'll have trouble finding him. That boy was from up north. Common family name."

She grumbled quietly as she took note of the name. "Figures."

"Anything else you want to ask about?"

"I also read something about burlap dolls?"

Mr. Holdt dismissed the idea readily. "Oh, that's just the kids. Every year in the spring, Mrs. Pashka, the second grade teacher, has her students make them and decorate the town with them. They're some sort of cultural icon from her homeland."

She nodded. "Doesn't sound all that strange then. But the news article I read mentioned that the dolls are usually mutilated."

"Again, probably the kids. They aren't taught manners these days."

She laughed. "That's definitely true." She was hesitant to ask about it, but pushed herself to. "Have you seen any strange creatures in the forest?"

Mr. Holdt shook his head. "I haven't left the village in nearly a decade. There's nothing for me out in that forest, I'm afraid there's nothing I can say about it."

"Fair enough..."

A knocking sound rang out from behind them; Mr. Holdt's wife was stood in the doorway leading into the lounge. "I don't mean to interrupt, Len, but it's nearly midnight. Don't forget, you have a gathering to attend in the morning!"

He grumbled and shook his fist playfully. "Thank you, dear! She's right, I do need to get to bed. I do hope you got the information you were looking for, Ms. Dennison."

"You've been very helpful, thank you."

"Good. Now, let's show you two to your room!"

All four headed up the stairs. Mrs. Holdt broke away from the group and entered the master bedroom, while Mr. Holdt led the two down the hallway towards the room they'd be staying in for the night. As he opened the door, they got a feeling for just how small the room was; the room was barely wide enough for two people standing shoulder to shoulder, a fact amplified by the furniture that was pushed against the walls. The room was equipped with everything they would need: a table to work from, a vanity, a pair of padded wooden chairs and a window view of the village below.

However, one thing stood out: there didn't appear to be a bed anywhere in the room, let alone two of them. Andrea was dismayed by what she saw, but her worries faded somewhat as Kimberly approached the back wall; with a tug of the curtain that hung from the wall, she revealed a small bed, set in its own cozy little alcove.

"Just as comfortable as I remember it!" Kimberly said with a smile on her face.

"If you two need anything, let me know," Mr. Holdt said. "Good night."

"Rest well, and have fun at your gathering in the morning!" she called out as Mr. Holdt left. She sat down on the bed and took her heeled sandals off, then leaned backwards and let out a long groan of relief. The soft and welcoming allure of the bed, coupled with the fact that she had just completed a fourteen hour hike, nearly put her to sleep right then and there.

Andrea, on the other hand, approached the table and took a seat, groaning in pain as she did so. As much as she tried to hide it, the wound on her leg worried her; it had been a roller coaster of pain ever since she'd gotten it, and at that point it had just crested a large hill. She tried to make the pain go away by rubbing at it briefly, but it didn't work, and she began to accept that the pain would be a constant throughout the night, a constant she'd have to live with. She motioned towards the bed. "You mind handing me one of those pillows?"

Kimberly grabbed the largest pillow, then handed it over. She watched the entire scene unfold as Andrea first struggled to put the pillow between her and the chair, then close her eyes and fidget endlessly as she searched for a comfortable position. "You're not going to sleep like that, are you?"

Andrea opened her eyes and looked up. "I'm going to try."

She patted the spot on the bed next to her. "There is a bed, you know."

Andrea dismissed the notion and closed her eyes again. "You already claimed it, you can have it."

"I don't remember claiming anything, and I don't mind sharing."

"Share? Look at how tiny that thing is!" Andrea answered. "Besides, it'd be a little weird, I guess."

"Weird? Why would it be weird?" she asked with genuine curiosity. "Besides, if anyone needs a bed tonight, it's you. I'm not letting a friend suffer while I benefit. I wouldn't even let a stranger suffer."

Andrea opened her eyes and glared at Kimberly, studying her. She thought it was out of the ordinary for a person she had only just met to be so open and so friendly with a stranger and wondered if she might have some sort of ulterior motive. Dr. Reiland's warning of finding someone trustworthy to travel with whispered in the back of her mind; she studied her body language and her facial expressions, but she couldn't find anything untrustworthy about her, just strange. Nothing sinister, no ulterior motives, just someone who cared perhaps a little too much. "If you insist."

"It's no trouble!"

With great pain, she stood back up and silently sauntered across the room towards the bed. She didn't know why, but the whole situation felt incredibly awkward to her, to the point that she wanted to excuse herself from the room. But at the same time, she was tired and just wanted to get some sleep. She sat down on the bed, paused for a moment to appreciate the cloud-like softness, then began the laborious process of unbuckling the dozen or so belts that strapped her boots to her feet. "No funny business, you hear?"

"Funny business?" Kimberly asked, curious of what her friend meant. A few seconds later, it dawned on her. "Oh! No! Don't worry, it's nothing like that. I just want you to wake up well rested. From the sound of things, you have a big day tomorrow."

With her boots removed, she leaned back onto the bed and rested her head on one of the pillows, then began her search for a comfortable position, preferably one that faced away from her friend. "I don't know if I'll be doing anything tomorrow besides getting this cut looked at, honestly. If I even can. How does a town like this not have a practicing doctor? What happens if people get sick, do they just ride it out or die?"

Kimberly giggled. "No, silly! I'll take you to the Pokécenter in the morning, they'll take care of you."

She turned to look at Kimberly, a look of bemusement on her face. "Pokécenter? Look, I'm not--"

"It's not as odd as it sounds! While it's true that they specialize in caring for Pokémon, the nurses who work at the Pokécenters across the country are also trained to handle human patients as well. If the injuries aren't too severe, that is."

She turned away once again and sighed. "That does make sense... And I guess I have to go there to deliver something to Dr. Reiland, anyways."

There was a long pause before Kimberly asked, "I suppose I see now why you were so interested in documenting that creature this morning."

"Hmm?"

"It never crossed my mind to think of why you were coming to this village, but now I know. I had assumed your business here was something... normal!"

"I probably should have told you, shouldn't I... Sorry."

"On the contrary, I should have asked. I blindly agreed to whatever it was you were doing, that was very careless of me." She waited patiently for a response, but one never came. "If you don't mind, I'd like to help you with your work tomorrow."

"What is with this girl? Why does she insist on being a part of everything I do?" Andrea thought.

"Andrea?"

"Huh? Oh, uh... I dunno. An extra pair of hands would be useful, but... Look, before we get ahead of ourselves, let's get to bed, okay? I'm exhausted, and I'm sure you are, too."

 

[Misfit Angel]

Author's note: From this point forward, chapters will be a bit longer than usual. I wasn't satisfied with their length compared to the chapters I've written for other projects. Hopefully it's not an inconvenience.

Land of the Roses
Chapter 18: Sickbay

Inside the Doranshire Pokécenter sat the only staff member on duty, a young nurse with ornately curled and vibrant, shoulder-length red hair. She was lost in the moment; most of her attention was focused on filing her nails while the radio blasted the most popular song to hit the airwaves in recent weeks, Fire:

♫ Turn the radio up.
Turn the lights down.
Curtains drawn, the game is on!
'Cause she's on fire! (Fire!)
Yeah she's on fire! (Fire!) ♫

♫ Back in action, without distraction!
She gonna-- ♫

The sound of the front door opening ended the fun and prompted her to shut the radio off. She cleared her throat nervously. "Welcome to our Pokécenter! Is there something I can help with?" She watched as Kimberly struggled to help Andrea over towards the desk. The scene was alarming and she instinctively pointed towards the chairs in the waiting area and rushed over. "Oh dear, what happened?!"

"A mishap on the road a couple days ago," Andrea answered, masking her pain as best she could. "I got hit in the leg by something."

"Lemme see," the nurse ordered as she rolled up the hem of Andrea's dress. She peeled back the bandage and got a closer look at the wound. "Oooh... you said this happened two days ago?"

"Yes."

The nurse stood up and rushed over to the front desk, then grabbed a medical kit off of it. "And you're only just now seeking medical attention?" she asked as she brought the medical kit back.

"We didn't get into town until late last night, it was almost midnight. Why? It's not bad, is it?"

The nurse poked and prodded at the wound, causing Andrea to fidget with pain and jump in surprise. "It's not as bad as it could be. Whoever administered first aid did a darn good job."

Kimberly nodded and absorbed the praise. "That would be me, ma'am."

The nurse continued to inspect the wound. "Now, what exactly hit you?"

She decided to be brief. "I don't know, it was too dark to see what was attacking us. I got hit with some sort of projectile and that was it. It took off on us without further incident." She looked up at Kimberly and nodded. "Right?"

"Uhh, yes. Right." Kimberly answered back.

The nurse shook her head and sighed. "Looks like whatever it was went clean through... But I can't tell for certain." She hopped to her feet and once again rushed over to the front desk. After disappearing into a room behind the reception area, she returned with a wheelchair. "I want to get you into the imaging chamber right away so that we can see exactly what's going on."

"I-imaging chamber?" she sheepishly asked as the nurse encouraged her to move to the chair.

"It's not as scary as it sounds, I assure you."

She let out a deep breath of frustration, then took her spot in the wheelchair. "I hope this doesn't take long. I have a busy day ahead of me."

"I hope not, as well, even if it's given me something to do for the first time in weeks," the nurse replied. With Kimberly close behind, the nurse wheeled Andrea towards a back room, all the while pressing her for more details. She grew frustrated at the limited information she was given, but it wasn't the first time that she had little to work with. If anything, it made the work ahead of her more challenging and, by extension, more interesting.

Before opening the door, she turned to Kimberly. "I'll have to ask you to stay here, ma'am. Patient confidentiality. Unless you two are... ya know."

"Oh! No, we're not. Let me know if you need anything."

The wheelchair crashed through the door and into a small room that was stacked from floor to ceiling with all sorts of delicate looking technology. Despite having never heard of one until just a few moments ago, Andrea immediately recognized the imaging chamber as the large monolith of a machine that was built into the back wall. The chamber featured numerous buttons, sliders, switches and knobs, each accompanied by a display monitor. The door split apart and slid open as they approached and a large padded surface extended outwards.

Andrea bit her lip nervously as she inspected the machine's immensely complicated insides. "This isn't going to hurt, is it?"

"You might feel a slight tingle, maybe some pins and needles, but it won't hurt."

"How about my bank account, will it hurt that?"

The nurse chuckled as she helped Andrea out of the chair and onto the padded surface. "You've been living under a rock, haven't you? Most forms of healthcare have been free for several years now."

It was news to Andrea. "Have they? So I could have been visiting a doctor all this time? That might have saved me a lot of trouble last year..."

"Oh dear... lay back," she said as she pushed Andrea gently. She retreated to the other side of the room and offered some general advice. "Try to stay still. The scan shouldn't take longer than five minutes, and it'll help me to determine if whatever hit you is still inside anywhere, as well as any other health risks such as toxins, infections, all that boring medical stuff."

With the press of a button, the padded surface retracted into the cramped interior of the machine and a series of lights blared in Andrea's face. Once more, she grew nervous as various pieces of hardware moved all around her and a dull, low humming sound radiated around her. The tingling sensation that she was warned about grew with intensity over time, but before she knew it, the machine had shut down and the padded surface was wheeled back out.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" the nurse asked. She took a moment to inspect the data that was appearing on the screen. Next to a detailed image of Andrea's leg was a long list of impossibly obtuse medical information that she blazed through quickly. "Good. No foreign objects near the wound... No toxins, no poisons... Bacteria levels are slightly higher than normal, but that's nothing to worry about... You're going to be fine!"

Andrea sat up and tried to make heads or tails of the information that was present on the screen, but most of it was lost on her. "That's good to hear. I was kind of worried, considering how painful it's been."

"I wouldn't say that wound is nothing, it's nearly an inch deep. You're very fortunate, actually. Any deeper and whatever attacked you would have hit a main artery, and if that happened... well, you've have likely..."

Her eyes widened at the nurse's words. "Was I really that close to..?" she wondered.

"But! You're alive. At the very least, it'll be sore for quite awhile once we get you fixed up."

"How long will that take?"

"I don't know. It's been awhile since I've used a needle. Let's get started."

- - - - -​

Andrea gently rubbed at the sutured wound on her leg before quickly retracting her hand. "Oh right, I'm not supposed to touch it..." she thought to herself. She attempted to distract herself with her work; in front of her was a stack of old newspapers, dating back several weeks. She hunted through them for any new information that might be relevant to her work.

Pen met paper as she started a list of people to speak with, numbers to call and locations to visit. With a little help from the map on her phone, she realized just how much work was ahead of her; for every street in the village, at least two reports of strange activities had been made, with a majority of them appearing in the northeastern district.

The silent atmosphere of the room was shattered as Andrea's phone began to ring. She reached over and looked at the name of the incoming call: Eliza McKenna, a longtime friend she had known since childhood. The call came as a surprise, as the two hadn't spoken in months and their last interaction ended on bad terms.

She cautiously accepted the call. "Uhh... hi." she sheepishly answered.

"Oh! You actually answered this time." Eliza said. "I didn't expect this, now I need to think of something to talk about!"

She chuckled. "If you want, I could hang up and ignore you for a few more months."

"But you haven't yet. Does that mean you're starting to feel better?"

She put her pen down and reclined backwards on the bed. "I'm not sure that I ever will. but I had to get back on the horse at some point."

"If you really wanted to get back on the horse, you'd go back to university and earn that doctorate. You've worked too hard to just stop where you did. But... I guess getting a job with one of the most prestigious research centers in the country is the next best thing."

She shrugged at the idea. "I'll go back eventually. I just needed some time away from all that stress... Little did I know I'd be getting even more of it out here in the real world."

"Heh. You still have a lot to learn."

"You're probably right... So what's new with you? It's been awhile since we last spoke."

"Nothing too interesting... just helping your father to put a few bad guys behind bars. We've had a string of burglaries in Goldwheat recently, as I'm sure you've heard. You remember Reggie, that kid we used to hang out with all the time, right? He was the one doing it."

"Reggie, a thief?" she asked, then tilted her head to think. "Can't say I'm surprised. There was always something wrong with that guy."

"Yeah, he didn't have his head screwed on straight. No skills, few friends, no opportunities, it's only natural he'd turn to crime... Anyways, I called to let you know that I've been given a new assignment. I imagine you're familiar with the name Tamara Dahl, right?"

"Why do I have the feeling that you already know the answer to that question?"

"Because I do! When the commissioner was looking the case over, one of the details that came up was that you were going to accompany her to a little village named Doranshire. He wanted to put your dad on the case but he's tied up with something else, so... I guess I got it."

"Oooo...kay? Why is it so important that someone I know handle Tamara's disappearance? I've never met her, I don't know anything about her!"

"Trust me, everyone at county HQ had the same question, myself included. Still, I'm going to give this one a shot... Commissioner Shelby said he's been looking at giving me a promotion, maybe this case is my test."

"Well, good luck then."

"I think I'll need it. I've had a look through the details we already know, I don't even know where to begin other than that convenience store in Aughrim. Hey, speaking of, have you actually left for Doranshire yet?"

"I have, I'm here right now. Her and I were supposed to be investigating something together, I got started on our work without her... Dr. Reiland, my boss, thought that maybe it couldn't wait."

"Cool. My partner and I will be passing through on our way to the city, want to meet up while I'm there?"

"Sure, but... why not just take the train straight to Aughrim?"

"Maybe we'll find something relevant to the case there in Doranshire. I don't want to overlook anything."

"Fair enough. I might be busy but sure, we can meet. Let me know when you get here."

"Will do. It'll be good to see you again."

"Yeah. It's been too long."

"Right, I need to start packing up my stuff for the road. I should have left an hour ago... Talk to you later."

"Mhmm! See ya!" She hung up and placed her phone on the bed beside her, then picked up her pen again. "She's never been one to hold a grudge, at least... I should still apologize when she gets here."

She navigated to the map on her phone once again and started to plot out the route she'd take while following up on her leads. The plan was simple; she wanted to speak with the residents in the northern district about what they've been seeing, then visit the local elementary school to follow up on the 'bleeding walls' that she had read about. Finally, she'd round it off by visiting the local reservoir to check on the water supply. If anything else came up during her stay in the village, she thought, she could stay a bit longer to further investigate.

A knock at the door interrupted her planning, and with a sigh, she put her pen back down. "Come in!" she called out.

The door opened and Kimberly stepped inside. A look of worry instantly overtook her face as she saw Andrea sitting on the bed. "Oh no! How bad is it?"

"All I needed were some stitches. Nothing more."

Kimberly breathed a sigh of relief. "Is that it? I must admit, I was worried when she wanted to rush you off to that... what was it called? Imaging chamber?"

"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was over before I realized it. It definitely reminded me that I'm claustrophobic, though."

"I would probably die in that machine, then. I hate confined spaces!"

She chuckled. "Anyways... You might want to find something to do for the rest of the day."

Kimberly tilted her head to the side in an inquisitive manner. "Oh?"

"The nurse wants me to stay off of my feet for awhile, until tomorrow morning at least. It's going to be a boring day if you stay with me."

"I'm afraid it'll be a boring day regardless. There's not much to do in this village."

"Why not something outside of the village, then? You said it yourself, you wanted to return to the forest and search for an Eevee, so there's an idea."

"That was before we were attacked by that... whatever that thing was. Who knows what else is out there."

"If you don't want to, that's up to you. But do you really want to sit here in a Pokécenter all day?"

"I don't, if I may be honest. Maybe I will have a look through the forest, as long as I don't stray too far." Kimberly lowered her head in thought. "And with Juliano to protect me... I probably would not run into much trouble. And it might be nice to get in touch with nature again."

"Sounds like you've made a decision, then!" she said, returning her attention to the newspaper articles in front of her. She dismissed her friend with a hand wave. "Okay! Have fun!"

"It seems like you're trying to get rid of me!" Kimberly said with a laugh. "I understand, I can be a little overbearing sometimes. I'll give you some time to yourself. See you in a few hours!"

As her friend left, she grabbed her pen and began to further detail her plans. She focused on her visit to the local elementary school specifically. Her chief concern was how to visit without being a distraction towards the students. She also wanted to know who to contact in order to arrange the visit in the first place. She grabbed her phone and began to look up some information about the school, only to be interrupted by the shrieking noise of her ring tone.

"Oh my god!" she shouted, angry about yet another interruption. "Am I ever going to get time to focus on this?!" The caller ID revealed that it was Dr. Reiland calling this time and her rage quickly subsided. She answered, "Hello, doctor!"

"Good morning, Ms. Dennison! How are you today?"

"Could be better, I'm at the Pokécenter with some stitches in my leg."

"Oh? How bad is it?"

"It'll keep me off of my feet until tomorrow, at least. I won't be able to get started today."

"That's fine! Take the time you need to recover." Dr. Reiland answered with a reassuring tone of voice. "Anyways, I have some information for you!"

"Oh yeah? What about?"

"Your mysterious creature. I did some digging, but I haven't come up with much. I shared your findings with Ms. Dahl's employer, a man named Dr. Belmonte. He's one of the world's leading experts on paranormal activity, if not the leading expert. He didn't seem surprised at your findings, but he seemed surprised at that creature's presence here in Lanark."

"So he's familiar with it? Does he know what it is?"

"He doesn't, unfortunately. However, he did tell me that there have been sightings of similar creatures elsewhere. Are you familiar with the legends of the tombwalkers in the ancient pyramids of Kardak?"

"I'm familiar, but I never believed that they were true."

"I don't, either. But the physical description of the supposed tombwalkers does seem to match what you encountered. Four feet tall, humanoid body shape, mismatched bones all held together by burial wrappings..."

"What are you suggesting? That one of the mummies brought back to the Aughrim Archaeological Museum somehow escaped and was wandering through the Spritewood?"

Dr. Reiland let out a hearty laugh. "No, nothing that silly. Just citing some similarities that Dr. Belmonte and I found throughout history. The next record we found dates back to the 14th century. There were sightings of three similar creatures near the Zasagt mountain range over in the Ahnkol Empire, but details were minimal. Apparently all official records of the creature were destroyed during the Great Burning at the end of the fifth dynasty, and all we have to go by is a story passed down through the generations."

"Zasagt? Like, the Temple of Zasagt? I heard something about that, actually. Ming the Merciless was a monk who lived in the area and he was renowned for his cruelty. There were a range of rumors about him; some said he was a cannibal, others said he was a vampire, and others said that he was a practitioner of blood sacrifice. I don't know whether any of them were believable, but his reputation was widespread throughout the empire."

"Ah, a student of history, are we?"

"Uhh... no, not really," she chuckled. "I mostly heard about it while, uhh, researching goth culture."

"Oh. Well, there's always something to learn in the strangest of places! Anyways, that's not the last recorded sighting of such a creature. The only other record Dr. Belmonte and I could find came from his own personal studies."

"So he's seen this creature, then?"

"Not personally, but he's spoken with people who have. Two very reputable people, as Dr. Belmonte described them, explained that they found a creature similar to yours in a forest on Storm Island just a few months ago. They said that the creature wandered aimlessly, but became incredibly violent when it was aware of their presence."

She paused to think. "I think that describes how the one I found acted. I might have accidentally brought attention to myself, and that's when it attacked."

"Hmm. I truly wonder if the creature you found is in any way related to that one, or the reports throughout history. If it is, it's got an impressive range! Three continents and an island surrounded by hundreds of miles of ocean on all sides? There's definitely something unnatural about that."

"It's a walking bone monster, of course it's unnatural!"

"Point taken, but I'm speaking as if it weren't unnatural. There are only a few species of Pokémon -- if this thing is indeed a Pokémon -- that are naturally found worldwide, and they're all birds of some sort. Something like this... I suppose someone could have transported it, yet at the same time, why would it appear in two areas thousands of miles apart?"

"What are you suggesting?"

"I don't know what I'm suggesting, I'll have to dig deeper. I have a feeling that Dr. Belmonte and I are going to be working alongside each other quite a bit in the future. Oh! Speaking of bone, I imagine you'd like that unsightly physical sample you took a few days ago taken off of your hands. Let's do that now."

"It might have to wait, the post office is on the other side of the village and I don't want to--"

"Bah, post office? You're in a Pokécenter, Ms. Dennison! Have a little explore, see if you can find the communications hub. They're usually to the right side of the main entrance."

"I hope the nurse doesn't get mad at me..." she said as she pushed herself off of the bed. She wandered over to her backpack and opened up one of the smaller pockets on it, then retrieved the bone fragment from it. "So... how is this communications hub supposed to help me?"

"You'll see!"

She cautiously approached the doorway and peered out into the main lobby before she realized that caution wasn't needed. The nurse gave her little more than a stern look as she walked across the lobby, but allowed her to do so without comment.

The communications hub was a large room that was lined from wall to wall with a dozen work stations. Each contained a complicated array of delicate computer equipment, a large plasma screen and a table chock full of buttons and slots for connecting things such as phones, cameras and other devices.

She sat down at one of the work stations and asked, "How does this work? Looks awfully complicated."

"There should be a slot in the table marked with a phone icon. Plug yours in and we can get started."

She did as she was told; with the phone plugged in, the screen turned on and it displayed a live video feed of Dr. Reiland in her cramped, cozy office.

With a wave, the doctor said, "Neat, isn't it? I'm surprised you haven't had much experience with the communications hubs in Pokécenters, considering your studies."

"I never had a need to visit a Pokécenter before. I didn't have much contact with Pokémon unless I was doing some sort of group project. And even then, I usually relied on my partners to do that for me."

"Now why is that, I wonder?"

"Long story."

"Fair enough. I guess that means you don't know how to work the digital transporter, then."

"The digital what now?"

Dr. Reiland chuckled. "See those five spherical slots in the table to your right?"

"I do."

"Keep an eye on them," Dr. Reiland said as she wheeled off-screen.

Andrea waited patiently for something to happen. The light at the bottom of one of the slots turned on and a gentle humming noise could be heard. A shower of glittering, blue sparks in the vague shape of a spherical object began to effervesce within the indentation in the table; before long, a red and white Pokéball had materialized in front of her eyes! She was shocked by what she saw, but likened it to something she had read about in her science fiction novels. "Woah, what the hell is this? Replicator technology?"

"More or less, but not quite. I could give you a whole lesson on how this technology works and why it's not quite your 'replicator', but I'm afraid I don't have the time today. Now, take that Pokéball I sent to you and place the bone fragment inside. Hopefully it fits, otherwise this plan isn't going to work."

She grabbed the Pokéball and studied it closely. She assumed that tapping the central button would open it, but it refused. "Uhh... how do I..." she started, embarrassed at the fact that she didn't know how to use a Pokéball.

"Tap the button three times and hold. Most trainers don't need to get to the insides of a Pokéball, so that feature was added to make sure they're not opened accidentally. There's a lot of fragile circuitry on the inside."

With the Pokéball opened, she grabbed the bone fragment and placed it inside. It just barely fit and some force had to be applied to make sure the top was secured properly. "It's in there. Do I put this back in the slot?"

"Yes ma'am."

She put the Pokéball back into the hollow opening and pressed a button beside it. Once again, the Pokéball was covered in a burst of sparkles, this time red in color, before it disappeared from existence.

Dr. Reiland picked the Pokéball up on her end and held it up to the screen. She mirrored the process of opening it, showing that the bone fragment had survived the magical journey. "Here it is! I'll send this down to the medical lab for analysis, see what kind of data we can get on it. Hopefully it provides some sort of clue as to what that creature was."

"I honestly hope it's a new species of Pokémon. Just think of the headlines! 'Junior Scientist Discovers Two New Pokémon In First Week Of Job'!"

Dr. Reiland laughed heartily. "Careful now, don't be so certain of yourself. It's entirely possible that it's somehow related to a known species. Remember, there are close to 7800 documented species across the world, with over 400 here in Lanark alone. That's a very large umbrella to escape from."

"Yeah, it's probably best not to get my head in the clouds so soon... you're more than likely right," she answered back. With the physical sample delivered, she asked, "Is there anything else you need from me at the moment? Anything I need from you?"

"While I have you here..." she said, grabbing another Pokéball off of a desk behind her. With another press of a button on the machine beside her desk, the Pokéball was transferred across the country instantaneously. "Patrick told me that you said your R-Kit is malfunctioning. You'll probably have a tough time out there without it, so I'd like to see about getting it repaired. Mind sending it over?"

"Sure, it isn't doing me any good as it is," she said. She reached into her purse and grabbed it, but before she sent it over, she turned it on to check one last time if it was still going haywire, and indeed it was. "I don't know what happened to it. It was working fine when I was at the Oak of Ages."

"What do you last remember using it for?"

She popped the R-Kit into the Pokéball and sent it back. "The last thing I can remember using it for... uhhh... I think I used it to scan a Noctowl that had approached me on the road."

"Hmm. Curious." She picked the R-Kit up on her end and began to fiddle with the buttons on it. Her eyebrows danced with wonder and confusion as she tried to figure out what was wrong with it. "Wow. I've never seen one bug out this badly before!"

"Do you know what's wrong with it?"

"I'm afraid not, and fixing it is a little out of my league. I'll send it down to Vince in the maintenance department. If anyone can sort it out, it's him."

"When can I expect it back?"

"Tomorrow at the earliest, if there's nothing seriously wrong with it. If there is, it could be awhile before we can get a replacement, and if that's the case... I'm afraid you might have wasted your time going all the way out there." She noticed the downtrodden look on Andrea's face and tried to brighten the mood. "But let's not get ahead of ourselves, yet! It could just be as simple as purging its memory and restoring from a backup. We'll see."

"I hope it's not too bad. Other than talking to people and taking note of what they'll say, I don't know what I'll do without it."

"I'll let you know tomorrow morning. In any event, I'll let you get back to recovering. Be on your feet soon!"

"Thank you, doctor."

- - - - -​

Updates and edits:

Spoiler

• Slight alteration in the conversation between Andrea and the nurse.