Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Marsuru]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

'Yeah.'  

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

"Merde. It's Skarada after all...Okay, so that guy is a pirate. I don't know what he's doing in Kalos, but he's caught up in this too, his traps were all over Route 10. It'll be easier to find Ska than Ratio. Maybe we can get some answers out of him-"

Sal stopped herself. Zack once told her he was trying to unravel the noble conspiracy to keep Helena safe. She didn't think Ratio had anything to do with the Darkhorse Hunters until he mentioned knowing Moze. Ratio was much closer to her goals than she originally thought. "If we're going to look into this, really dive, you can't just jump into a fight with someone like Ratio anymore. I mean, you thought you'd have it under control, and look at us." Her injuries were more internalized than Zack's but she still had bruises to sport. She gestured to him. "Look at you. If Flair, or the nobles, or Ratio know we're on their tracks, they'll cover up everything. Slipping up means losing our leads. Or our heads."

She didn't say this to him in the condescending voice she usually used to talk to Zack. Sal spoke earnestly. Mia was right, they would need each other if they were going to get anywhere. They were up against something too monolithic to take on alone. "So let's play this smart, okay? No more Leeroy Jenkins crap. We do it right."  

[Marsuru]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

'Yeah, yeah,' Zack said as he dropped his backpack to the floor. He had no idea who or what a Leeroy Jenkins was but he sincerely doubted that would matter. 'Don't forget though, a ton of s**t has already happened. They know who we are, and they know Ratio let us live. They probably have someone listening to this entire conversation. I know I would. Probably the only reason we're not in some cell somewhere is because they're hoping we'll lead them right to Ratio.'

Zack's frown weakened. He pinched his brow and sighed.

'Look, for now the smartest thing to do is keep training. We weren't prepared to fight someone like Ratio, but now he's not so much of a mystery. We can prepare and we can plan, and when the time comes we'll be ready. You up for that? Or would you rather go chasing after nobles now while crying about how dangerous it all is?'  

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

Salieri shrugged. "Higher ups already knew who I was. The nobles sent a Sniper after me yesterday. Not that it was a big deal." She said this as a point of pride. "I've been training for years, I'm not stopping anytime soon. Training, planning, serving that dish best served cold. It's kind of my thing and it's been working. Just worry about yourself. At least no one will send a Darkhorse Hunter after you, cause, you know. No badges."

She smirked at her backhanded compliment, but that smirk faded as she thought up a nagging question. Sal looked away. "Zack, did he say anything to you? Not like fight banter, like...anything else?"  

[Marsuru]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

If that team was the result of Salieri training and planning for years, she was more screwed than she could possibly realise. Zack just shook his head while she did the boast routine, stopping when she asked her question.

'No, nothing important. Just s**t about how he's not done killing nobles and won't let us stand in his way. The usual,' Zack lied. He could care less about the rest of it, but if the room really was bugged, he wasn't mentioning what Ratio said about Helena. They could have that talk in an open field somewhere. 'Are we done now? I'd like to get back to my tedium.'  

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

Salieri wasn't sure what Ratio said about Moze was a product of mind reading or real knowledge. He didn't say anything to Zack, so Sal assumed it was the latter to be safe. She wanted to tell him, just to get it off her chest, but she didn't expect to find any comfort in that talk. Instead she gave him an almost obligatory eye roll. "Yeah, whatever." Sal made for the door. "I'll call up Mia, tell her what I can. And then I have to go do this guy. Thing! Do this thing. It's a guy thing. You wouldn't get it."

Convincing herself she played that off smoothly, Salieri stepped out into the hall and poked her head back in. "Just so you know, someone from the Court came to question me and your name came up and I think Juliet Nostrad is going to put you through questioning before you leave the hospital. She's kind of horrible. Enjoy the tedium."

And Salieri left to go do her thing.  

[Marsuru]

Cyllage City Hospital - ICU

Zack sighed again when Salieri left. He was about done with being interviewed; first Elizabeth, then Salieri, and now Juliet Nostrad? He supposed Helena would show up at some point to get emotional about her idiot brother. Just what he needed. He picked up his backpack and withdrew his notebook, then laid it out on a spare bit of bed and grabbed a pen.

'Hey,' he said to Blissngale, 'I want you to get this done fast. I cannot be trapped in this bed any longer than is necessary, you got that?'

Blissngale stared at him, then shook her head, which had the odd effect of keeping her body apparently in place while her face travelled left and right. Then she continued her healing while Zack began copying passages from the psychic book into his notebook.  

[Jump Einatz]

The Fishbone - Bridge

In this day and age, where technology evolved as quickly as Pokémon, airships came in many forms. The Roll Cloud class support cruisers (modeled after their oceanic counterparts) used by Orrean guerillas during the Kalosian invasion of Orre were meant for scouting, escorting and raiding. Five thrusters –two on port, two on starboard, and one on the rear- kept the ship afloat in the air. They were equipped with an enhanced radar and a vapor generating system that created a cover of clouds. With its rounded hull and white colorings, the Roll Cloud could blend into the sky, allowing the guerillas to ambush grounded Kalosian troops with air drops. They also contained a hidden cannon in the hull that could fire directly downwards.

The Roll Cloud that Ska made his own, currently parked over the ocean, was customized with his Jolly Roger painted on the deck, sporting an eye patch and his beanie. At the front of the deck was a second cannon, able to pivot from precise aiming and connected to the same power source of the first. On the side of the cruiser was her name: “Fishbone”.

The doors to the bridge slid open and in walked Ska with a skip in his step and Keasbey perched on his shoulder. In his hand was his beanie, a makeshift sack for the Mega Stones. “Look who’s bringin’ home the bacon.”

The only other person on the bridge was an Orrean woman in her early thirties, gorgeous to Ska in a rugged way with a wild mane of crimson hair. The real standout thing about her was that she was missing her left arm: the left sleeve of her t-shirt hung limp where the limb used to be. She sat in front of a monitor, playing Minesweeper with a bored expression. The woman leaned back in her seat far enough that her head craned back to see Ska in the doorway, upside down. “The bacon is back early. Short day at work?”
“It was a killer. Look who’s got Team Flare’s stones in a vice.” Ska shook the beanie full of Mega Stones so they clacked together.
“Brawwwk! Killer, it was a killer!” Ska’s Murkrow parroted back. The woman rose an eyebrow.
“Are those what I think they are?”
“You bet, love. I had to move my betrayal up to now. The wrench came back to bite Flare in the a**.”
“Ratio?”
“Ratio.”

Ska dumped the Mega Stones onto the monitor desk and put his beanie back on. Five orbs that sparkled many colors rolled to a stop. The woman leaned close to them, then clicked on the intercom button. “Hawkins to the bridge,” she ordered into the mic. “Hawkins to the bridge.” Finger off the button, she asked Skarada, “How did the team take it?”
“Well they’re mostly dead, so I don’t think they figured out I made off with the goods just yet. We’ve got some time.” Ska sighed. “They were a bunch of fruit loops, but some of them were alright.”
“Oh Skarada. Being a traitor isn’t easy, is it?” The woman pursed her lips together and put a hand on Ska’s cheek. “What’s the insurance policy on a Flare Grunt’s life, again?”
Ska grinned and put his hand on hers. “You speakin’ ill of the dead, Erin?”
“Not at all. I’m just happy you’re home. Here I want you to see something.”

Erin spun in her chair to face Ska. It was getting difficult to move around at five months of pregnancy, but the joy she felt at being a future mother overshadowed the discomfort. She lifted up her shirt , baring her stomach. “You can feel her kicking.”

Ska’s eyes twinkled with wonder, as if the greatest treasure the pirate could ask for was right in front of him. He shooed Keasbey off of his shoulder, and the Murkrow perched himself at the bridge’s window. Slowly, he rose his hand to her stomach. Sure enough, he felt a flutter. “Oh my god.”
“I know.”
“Y’know, I saw him. Ratio, I mean, and he had the whole angel of death thing going for him. Coulda been trite but that mongrel had an intimidation to him. I’ll admit that much.” Ska removed his hand from Erin’s stomach. ”But we’re gonna be parents. That scares me more than he ever could.”
“You’re just tryin’ to be cute, ain’tcha?”
“Hand to Arceus, I’m serious, love. You’re not terrified?”
Erin brought Ska’s head closer to her and kissed him on the forehead. “If you’re scared you’ll fail, you’ll try every trick in the book to succeed. That’s the kind of man you are. The kind of father you’re gonna be. I’m not worried in the slightest.”
“Good. Then you’ll keep me in line when we bring up Erin Junior.”
“Still not keen on that name, love.”

A Sableye phased through the closed doors of the bridge. “Hawkins!” Erin cooed, petting the Sableye’s head. Hawkins shivered with delight. “Look what daddy’s brought home. Tell us which stone is yours, mate.”

Hawkins climbed onto the monitor desk and fiddled with the five Mega Stones. As he did, a grave look came across Skarada’s face. “What is it, love?” Erin asked.
“It isn’t there. There were supposed to be six. The Sablenite isn’t there.”

Erin’s Sableye looked up from the pile and shook his head for confirmation. Ska grit his teeth and stood up, clutching at his head. “No, no, damn it!” He kicked the wall of the bridge. “********! ********! All for NOTHING!”

Ska’s lover was unflinching through his tantrum. “…it could still be on Route 10, yeah?”
“I don’t know. Ratio may have picked it up…actually, he was fightin’ two trainers too far up themselves to give me a second thought. And guess who one of them was?”

Erin leaned forward in her seat, curious. “Y’know I don’t play the guessing game.”
“Salieri Soledad.”
Erin’s pleasant demeanor shifted to stone cold. “Did you kill her?”
“No I didn’t kill her.”
“You said you’d-“
“Timing was off. It was get in and get out or get lost.” Ska paced back and forth, shaking his head. “He was toyin’ with ‘em, playing cat and mouse. They might still be alive.”
“So any of them could have the Sablenite?”

Ska whistled for Keasbey, and the Murkrow flew back onto his shoulder. “Well we’ve got three leads now, don’t we? Flare's gonna figure out I'm a turncoat in due time. We've got to move into the final phase.”  

[Jump Einatz]

Lumiose City - Lysandre Café

The cafés in Lumiose City came in two basic flavors: commercial and bohemian. Lysandre Café straddled the line between the two. It was a small dark corner with warm lighting that didn't scream to bustling commuters, yet the fashion obsessed Team Flare often hung in and around the joint. Right now around sunset, there were only a few patrons left.

Flare Scientist Celosia sat at a table with her phone in hand, rapidly attending to social media with one hand and smoothing down her purple hair with the other. "This is, like, such a downer. If they ask me to go into the field for the next mission, I will literally shoot myself."

"At least Bryony isn't dead." Flare Scientist Mable scoffed from across the table, fidgeting with a cappuccino. "Her implant still sends vital signs...wherever she is. Mmm, maybe I shouldn't be so optimistic."
"What, you think she's better off dead?"
"If Ratio has her, then..." Mable took a flask from her pocket and poured whiskey into her cappuccino. Celosia regarded her with disgust as Mable sipped.
"Yuck. You're pregaming before, like, eleven? That's such anti-social behavior."
"This drink's for Aliana. She'd want me to do this...then again, she wouldn't want me sipping whiskey out of a mug, now would she?" Mable shook her head. "I'm growing lax."
"Oh!" Celosia showed Mable her phone. "Holocaster News is interviewing a Flare rep. They're saying Ratio caused a gas leak on Route 10 and Team Flare showed up to fight him off! Style points for us, right? Ka-ching!"

Mable looked at the news feed, then handed back the phone. "It's a start. But we're still down two scientists, two admins and six Mega Stones. I'm beginning to think Skarada has betrayed us. He's yet to check in."
"Oh stop being such a grump. You'll get wrinkles early the more you frown."
A vein bulged on Mable's forehead, but she remained calm otherwise. "At least my hairstyle is still in season."
Celosia went from chipper to furious. She banged on the table. "Your MOTHER is still in season!"

"Ladies, please!" the barista called over from behind the counter, washing glasses. "Cool it."
Celosia calmed herself and sat down. Mable sighed. "He's right, lets remain composed. Is Xerosic joining us or not?"
"I know, right? I'm trying to watch True Blood."  

[Spinne Biss]

[Between Route 14 And 16 - Before The Team Flare Operation]

"Ha, I cannot understand such a thing," Absolon said. "As a soldier, my Pokemon are all trained to kill, not to fight. You learn to land your slashes wherever they may go, mine go for the throat."

"And that's why I would never challenge a soldier," Grant said.

The words echoed in her head, over and over again, as clear as day. The two of them were fighting in a fundamentally different way, one that Helena had realized they needed in order to survive.

Still, Scizor wasn't a soldier. Even with every correct move he made, the two of them weren't making any real progress to an exit. At some point they stopped going in a straight line, and had veered off.

The massive forestry of trees gave away, but it wasn't to a different route, or a safe location. A powerful blow knocked Ecarlate sideways, and Helena went tumbling with him. The two rolled over to a cliffs edge, it's artificial rim rigid and cracked.

For one second Helena lost sight of the battle that had raged since her arrival in the dark area between the routes, and instead she was staring out at a field of pumpjacks, pulling oil from the Earth, which was barren. The crator where it all took place was clearly artificial, and nothing grew in its vicinity.

Helena pulled herself away from the scene just in time to catch sight of an Escavalier jabbing his joust-arm right for her face.  

[Marsuru]

Between Route 14 and 16 - Before the Team Flare Operation

Humans were rarely brave enough to travel off-route. The pokémon who lived in the dense woodland were wilder, more monstrous, than their in-route counterparts. But an Escavalier was an Escavalier wherever you went, and they did not mix well with fire.

'Flamethrower' washed over the steel type before its lance could skewer Helena's face, and rendered the animal to ash. Its blackened armour collapsed as its body crumbled into charcoal, and Flamethrower's stinging heat faded into air. Ferox landed her paw protectively before Helena's feet and Roared, dragging her head slowly to catch each remaining off-route pokémon in turn.

They would flee only for a short time, but Alexander was satisfied. His heavy footfalls crunched loudly as he walked up to the cliff edge and extended his hand towards the fallen trainer. He was old yet strong, with long white hair tied in a loose ponytail. Alexander had a kind of military look about him; from his gait and posture to the sharp look in his eyes when he scouted the trees before giving Helena his full attention.

'Can you stand? This area isn't safe for rookies.'  

[Jump Einatz]

Cyllage City Hospital

The Mia on the PC screen rubbed her chin sagely, the lobby of Hotel Richissime serving as her background. “I don’t know what to say to this, Sal. Sounds like one hell of a date…how does that man know Moze?”
“I don’t know,” Sal shrugged. She leaned closer to the PC, in case someone else using one of the public PC’s in the hospital hallway overhead her. Mia assured Sal that she always did some techno wizardry during their calls, and if anyone was listening in on their conversation, she would know. But Salieri still felt jumpy just talking about what happened on Route 10.

“…there’s no context, except Moze is gone and Ratio is a killer.” Salieri’s voice cracked. “Mia, I can’t help thinking-“
“No.” Mia shook her head. “Don’t go there. Wherever he is, he still…is. You can’t start thinking that way.”
Sal nodded. “You’re right, I know.” She took a deep breath and pinched her brow.
“Merde. Someone needs to tell your brother about this.”
That earned an eye roll from Sal. “Yeah, I’ll just call him up real quick, that always works."
Mia looked caught off guard, but not by Salieri’s response. Since Mia had never worked a day in her life, Sal chalked her statement up to being frazzled by a temp job. “I didn’t mean…you know what I mean.”
“It’s cool.”
“By the way, I told you so.”
“About what?”
“About Zack. He saved your a**.”
“Mmm…” Salieri rocked her head side to side like a scale, mentally weighing in on the subject. “Yeah he did, but then I saved his a** like ten minutes later, so. We’re even.”
“So it was a solid team up then?” Mia rose an eyebrow. “Because the way you say it-”
“Fine, fine. You were right. He’s good when I’m in a bind, are you happy? He’s still a jerk! He won’t stop calling me One Shot!” Sal whined.
“What is this, middle school? Get over it. You call him names too.”
“I do not.” Salieri had recently started calling Zack ‘No Shot’, which didn’t really make any sense and was the best thing she could come up with at the time. Sal had never been good with comebacks. She switched moods to switch topics. “Enough about him, I need to tell you about the other guy in my life.”

And Salieri told her about the teleporting date and finally getting to make out with Matheson in the hospital. She left out the part about Matheson having a fiancé, or that she met said fiancé, or that said fiancé was the daughter of the man who excommunicated her father from nobility and that she met him too. Juliet was an ambiguous wrench in whatever relationship she could have with Math. Salieri didn’t want to think about how she just entered a love triangle. And she didn’t want to think about how awful Jullien Nostrad was. She just wanted to enjoy what she had, while she had it.

The tale went on and on. Mia “Aw’d” at the cute parts of the story, and snickered at what she considered schmaltzy even though Salieri thought it was all cute. “I was cute as a button, b***h,” Sal made the sign of the horns with both hands. “Killin’ it. Ouf, he was too. In a dorky way. God, he’s such a dork, you know what he told me? He was in his school’s acapella group! I tried to get him to sing…I bet he has a nice voice-“

Mia hadn’t seen Salieri so bowled over with whimsical joy for a long time. It was if she was the old Salieri, talking about a book that was so good it made her cry (“If you tell anyone I cried you’re done for, Mia!”), or beaming after she perfected a new kind of flip, or skipping after her first kiss with the mystery boy. It made Mia crack a smile herself. “Wow. A romance for the ages. Seriously, good for you. You deserve a shot with someone nice.”
Salieri rubbed the back of her head, unable to stop grinning. “Thanks. We’ll see how this goes. I’m gonna see him when we hang up actually.”
“Don’t let me keep you waiting.”
“Not at all. We both need a minute to ourselves first, I think…I don’t know, does he think that? He might not, he might be waiting for me right now-“
“Take as much time as you need. Deep breaths.” Mia took one herself as an example. “Just keep doing what you’re doing. Killin’ it.”
“Mia I ******** love you.”
“Right back at ya, kid.”
“Why are you so good at this stuff?”
“I think about it more than you do.”
“Yet I’m the one running into dudes. You’re twice the catch I am and you’re in Lumiose City, sometimes I can’t believe you don’t have a boyfriend.”

Mia closed her eyes and pinched her brow. She let out a laugh, short by normal standards but awkwardly long for Mia standards. “It’s a tragedy. Lumiose is a sea of losers. I’ll just live vicariously through you and Matheson.”
Salieri noticed the oddity in Mia’s behavior, but thought nothing of it. “You know I met this guy, Benedict. He might be you type. Dark hair, smooth talking bishonen-“
“Merde.” Mia looked at something offscreen. “I gotta get back to work. Talk to you later bye-”

The call ended. She wasn’t on a break? Sal shrugged and walked away. She’s so on the road to getting fired.  

[Jump Einatz]

Route 10 – Crime Scene

The real police blockades were still active at both entryways of Route 10, only now their purpose was to protect from the truth rather than an immediate threat. The official story given to the press was that there was a gas leak, a shaky cover that few believed considering it was the middle of a field. Since the police didn’t allow news crews close to the site, there was very little footage of the event and it was captured on phone cameras from bystanders. Specifically, Zack flying in on Antiq, Rhea flying out with Matheson and Goldberg, and Salieri flying out on Banksy with Zack.

Juliet Nostrad and her Scizor, Parkosa, were permitted to pass the blockade by way of noble heritage. Captain Farnell escorted her through the misty terrain so she could see the truth herself: a terrible slaughter happened here. The closer they got to Route 10’s center, the more she saw coroners bagging bodies, or what remained of them. Despite her proper highborn demeanor, she was just as stone faced as the police working the job.

“Careful,” Farnell told her, holding out an arm to stop Juliet from walking further. An officer ahead of them was sweeping the area with a mine detector. “We’ve been finding strange traces of metal embedded into the ground. They’re some kind of trap that we believe originated from Sinnoh Underground technology.” The cop with the detector gave them the go ahead to keep moving while he and a team began to excavate in order to defuse the traps. When Farnell wasn't looking, Juliet slipped her flask out from her inside coat pocket and took a swig. She offered it to Parkosa, who declined.

“We’re sure this was the work of a Fire type. The burn patterns don’t match standard Electric type attacks.” Farnell nodded to a pile of melted and charred equipment in the central expanse. “We won’t be able to tell what any of that is until it’s back in the precinct. The tracks we found show that this was some kind of ambush.”

Farnell noticed that Juliet wasn’t right next to him anymore. She was squatting down, brushing the dirt off something. “That’s all we really have to go on now. Miss Nostrad, if you happen to know something about this-“
“It’s classified information,” Juliet replied, quickly but as politely as possible. She finished brushing the dirt off a mostly intact skull and held it up, examining the sides. “Sorry, Yorick. You’re gone but not forgotten.”

“Captain!” An officer ran up to Farnell, out of breath. “Two meteors just went off their predicted travel plans. One of them is headed this way, we need to clean up this operation immediately-“
“Settle down,” Farnell said with relaxing authority. “How much time do we have?”
“It’s coming here right now, Captain. Minutes from now. We have no time.”
“It’s fine,” Juliet said. She dropped the skull. “Continue the investigation. Captain, is it a problem if the crime scene gets wet?”

Farnell’s instinct was to trust his officer and command his team to evacuate immediately, but he could not refuse an order from a Court noble. It wouldn’t stop him from trying. “With all due respect, Miss Nostrad, the lives of this team are in my hands and I’m meant to protect you as well. We need to leave.”
“…I’ll ask you again. Is it a problem if the crime scene gets wet?”
Farnell exchanged a worried glance with his officer. “No? That shouldn’t be an issue at this point, but we really must-“

“Parkosa!” Juliet snapped her fingers. Her Scizor stood at attention. “Take care of the meteor. Captain, I need to ask you a few questions.”

The sky started to darken overhead as the meteor came into few, casting a shadow on Route 10 sooner than it had been anticipated. People stopped their work to look up in marvel and panic. A few of them scrambled to go, but stopped when Juliet swiped out a hand and yelled, “Nobody leaves!”

Parkosa cracked her neck with a little smile. [Meteor, huh? Never broke a meteor before.] She waved her arms, mimicking waves with their movements, and from her Rain Dance came a sudden downpour. The meteor, now closer, began to steam in the rain. Parkosa began to flap her wings.

“Even if you destroy it at the ground level, the explosion-“
“We’ll all be dead!” Farnell roared. “Miss Nostrad, your judgement in this matter-“
“Is none of your concern. Trust me. If you leave this site now you’d better pray the meteor hits, because I will consider it an act of treason. Captain, where are the closest security cameras from here?”

Her Scizor’s wings started to flap rapidly, raindrops bouncing off the steel armor. Parkosa crouched down then bounded high into the air. It was clear she wasn’t coming down: through a combination of Light Metal, the precise control of a Technician and years of practice, this Scizor could fly.

“I-I don’t know.” Farnell adjusted his collar, torn between the noblewoman’s threats and fear for his own life. It was rather telling that despite her airy way of speaking, Juliet was as intimidating an authority figure as the meteor was plain intimidating. “The main street of Geosenge Town, maybe?”

Parkosa spun rhythmically with barrel rolls as she ascended past the pillars, a mid air Swords Dance. She stopped rising just above Route 10, the meteor inbound. She pointed a claw at the meteor, gripping onto her wrist with the other.

“And to the south?”
“The connecting bridge to Route 10.” Farnell gulped. “Miss Nostrad, please-“
“Here’s what I need your team to do.”

Parkosa aimed, and snapped her claw shut with such force that it created a projectile cavitation bubble with the water from the rain. The bubble flew up and exploded against the meteor with immense acoustic pressure, creating a true sonic boom. Parkosa repeated this super fast attack, shooting a barrage of these bubbles to the point where the meteor was slowing down against them, cracking in its front.

“I need security footage from the whole day from the closest cameras.” Juliet nodded to the trap disposal unit, who were frozen in place watching Parkosa duel the meteor. “Send me samples of the defused traps. If I can get samples of the active traps as well, even better. If there is a variety between them I need at least one of each type. When you’re done examining the burned equipment I’d like to see it myself.”

The meteor was slowing but not stopping. Parkosa finished up with her snapping attack and flew up at the meteor, rearing her claw back.

“And tell the press that you captured the arsonist responsible for the ‘gas leak’. Use any patsy you have. Kalosians need to feel like they’re safe. We don’t want any kind of panic coming out of this faux pas.”

The Scizor struck the meteor with a Metal Claw. Her attack burrowed through, and in a flash of red she exited out the meteor’s other side. The space stone shattered into hundreds of pieces, coming down with the last of the rain. The cops below took cover from the debris. Chunks of meteor landed behind Juliet, the only one who didn’t flinch. They activated the Plant Traps behind her, causing vines to sprout and grow upwards in a tree like pattern. Juliet sat back blindly on one of the vines as it grew, taking her upwards like a rising throne. She leaned back in her makeshift seat, crossing her legs.

Parkosa plummeted to the ground, landing beside her trainer. [Well that was new,] she said, scratching her nose and folding her arms. Juliet looked down at the stunned Captain Farnell with a tiny smirk.

“Any questions?”  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Cyllage City Hospital:

The story about a gas leak wasn't just a lie, it was a really really really bad lie. Bad enough that Benedict was able to get the bits of truth he needed from the locals gossiping. There had been two arrivals to the hospital that he knew of, at least two that made any noise. The first was some noble, based on a nurse's gossip with her friend. The second had been more dramatic than that, some guy carried into the hospital by a teenage girl.

More people were talking about that one, and the descriptions, while varied here and there, seemed to have enough consensus on certain points that Benedict was fairly certain he knew who it was.

It didn't really take that much effort to find the person in question talking to a PC screen, and the way she was caught up with describing what had to be a date, it wasn't much surprise she hadn't noticed him. It was a bit of a shock, though, that Salieri was acting like a total girl.

When she turned away from the screen to walk away, it was a bit of a coincidence, as far as Benedict could tell, that she was facing him.

"Sounded like a hell of a date Sal." He said, grinning at her with his arms crossed in front of him. "I know it might be a bit soon, but I wanna talk about Route 10. Because I'm not nearly stupid enough to think they're telling the truth, and you look like you might know something." He was pretty damn sure she knew something, actually.

"So?"  

[Spinne Biss]

Between Route 14 and 16 - Before the Team Flare Operation

The heat of Flamethrower warmed Helena's face, and the force of it threw her hair backwards. The flames reflected off of Écarlate for their brief existence, and Helena gasped, simultaneous to her skipped heart beat, when she saw Ferox. The Arcanine brought memories of the cave rushing back to her, clear as day, and she shook her head, shaking them away, mentally trying to block out the sound of the Roar so close to her face.

Alexander's arrival brought her some relief. He wasn't who Helena had expected upon seeing an Arcanine.

"I can stand," Helena said as she pulled herself up to her feet. Écarlate rose with her, and the two of them stood before Alexander and Ferox, their backs to te cliff overlooking the oil field.

"Thank you," she said, her voice tired yet sincere. "I had no idea, I just thought I'd take a shortcut."