Pokémon Legends: Court of Kings

[Jump Einatz]

Lumiose Press

Printouts of Hotel Richissime's most recent guest ledgers swamped Alexa's desk. The smoke from her cigarette hung in the air, highlighted by the morning light from the open window. Figuring out who to question about last night's mishap was going to be a pain. Many of these people had checked out, or were keen on ignoring her phone calls.

"Come in," Alexa said when she heard Ben knocking. She was in no mood for another prank story. It was a good thing Benedict decided to show up in person, because berating him for wasting her time would be much more satisfying when she could see his face.

But that was her cynicism getting to her. Hopefully he actually had something for her. Esme had never been able to give her substantial story material but she had never steered Alexa wrong either.  

[Marsuru]

North Boulevard - Hotel Richissime

Pidgey took to the sky in droves, fleeing the roar that echoed through the city streets. Passersby looked for birds and planes, but what they found instead dwarfed them all; the great serpant, Elizabeth Leroux's Gyarados, slithered between buildings overhead. It coiled around the hotel, reached the street, then vanished in a haze of red light that whipped into its master's pokéball. Elizabeth dropped the remaining distance and stood up tall as the onlookers kept their distance. Likely they would, even without her mode of transport. Affixed along the arms of her white blouse were curved armour pieces emblazened with the House Leroux coat of arms. At her hip she wore a steel rapier modelled after a Bisharp, simple compared to the one she had shown Juliet. A Court noble, and a ranking one at that.

While the story at large was that the Hotel had succumbed to an innocuous but unexpected gas leak, the continued police presence spoke of something different. Still, they were relatively few in number, and saluted as she passed, which she returned with the barest of nods. To interact with the commoners was to walk a tightrope. On one side there was complete indifference, which would ultimately lead to their respect but dislike. On the other, to be too welcoming and friendly meant they would forget their place. And the commoners were the foundation where the noble houses were built.

'You there,' she said to a boy in blue, 'has Lady Juliet arrived?'  

[Jump Einatz]

Hotel Richissime

"She's already casing the scene, Lady Leroux," the officer responded, keeping a professional distance. The sooner this conversation was over, the less likely it was the the noble would notice he had accidentally put his shirt on backwards that morning.

The officer escorted Elizabeth to the elevator and then to the penthouse on the top floor. He held open the security tape so she could pass through.

Juliet took a pair of glasses out from her front shirt pocket, prodding at the cottonball she had picked up earlier with extreme focus. "Elizabeth, glad you could make it," she said without looking up. "I'd like a second opinion."  

[Marsuru]

'Juliet,' said Elizabeth as she approached. She tapped the hilt of her rapier as she examined the ball of cotton. There didn't seem to be anything very special about it. 'Hmm. A little unrefined, perhaps, but it looks like ordinary cotton. What happened here?'  

[Jump Einatz]

Juliet turned to the officer in charge. "Give us the room. Your people can take the elevator and the lobby."

No one enjoyed being told what to do at their job by someone they didn't work with, but he had no choice except to obligate the noble's request. He gathered his men and they filed out, leaving Juliet, Elizabeth and Kallikrates alone amongst the overturned couches and tables, shattered glass and goo coated walls.

"I'm sure you've heard the story on the news. The truth is, Horton Balibar checked into this penthouse last night and now he's gone."

She grabbed one of the plastic baggies left behind by the CSI's and slid the cottonball inside. "Everyone in the lobby was put to sleep. No one but hotel security, Horton's private guards and one other witness saw that it was Ratio was raided the hotel in order to get to Horton."

Kallikrates held another cottonball in another plastic baggie between her teeth. She passed it to Juliet, who held it up to the first sample. It was hard to tell, but they had seeds of similar shape in the center. Perhaps the same shape? "Ratio beat down six guards in the lobby, no casualties. Five more were taken out from the elevator ride to the kidnapping, but those five were taken by surprise. They didn't see what happened."

Juliet took off her glasses and ran a hand through her hair. This was unlike the other reported Ratio encounters. Far more of a spectacle, and so soon after what happened on Route 10. She opened the door to the balcony in order to get a breeze of fresh air. "I recognize the slime on the walls. It came from a Goodra. These cottonballs were all over the halls, lobby and suite. I think it's safe to assume they came from a Pokémon, perhaps the one who put the lobby to sleep. Elizabeth, we need to use everything in these crime scenes to profile Ratio."

She held up three fingers. "Matheson told me he saw Ratio use an Arcanine and an Aegislash. That makes three with the Goodra. We're probably looking at a Grass type as well. If he has two more party members, perhaps there are clues to their identities."  

[Marsuru]

Elizabeth frowned. 'No casualties? Why bother leaving alive witnesses?'

Route 10 proved that Ratio had no problem with mass murder. Hell, being an assassin suggested as much. Horton Balibar was his objective. He'd do anything to achieve that objective.

'How thorough were the background checks on those guards?' Elizabeth asked. 'Were any of them struggling financially? Were any pressing issues suddenly resolved after the attack?'

Elizabeth Leroux was hardly a trained detective. She did, however, own a television.  

[Jump Einatz]

"You're suggesting foul play." Juliet closed her eyes and paced slowly, holding her hands behind her back. "I've not caught up on the backgrounds of the guards, but Horton's business practices are controversial. There are unsavory rumors...I'm sure he has many enemies. Oh-"

Juliet tapped her Holocaster on and brought up a news feed. Blue holograms of news articles spun slowly above her wrist. She grabbed the one she wanted and it became still. It was a headliner about how Horton Balibar's widespread housing renovations in Lumiose City's east side were being postponed for unknown reasons. "His housing project is going to raise taxes beyond what most of the commoners living there can pay." She cleared her throat and whispered, "Between you and I, I was never fond of Horton. His avarice always seemed so...obvious to me. Anyway, his disappearance hasn't resolved that, but...this doesn't add up. It's as if Ratio has shifted his modus operandi."  

[Marsuru]

'Hm, I wouldn't say he's shifted too much, apart from the survivors.' Elizabeth looked around the room, at the trashed finery, and the quiet dread lingering on the air. Nobility brought to ruin. 'My father was quite,' she struggled for the word, 'selfish. I've heard the rumours about Horton, and let's just say there were similar surrounding my father. Perhaps at the end of it all, we'll find that Ratio was simply a concerned citizen.'

She laughed a single, mirthless note, and ran her hand through her hair.

'Ah, I remember speaking to Zack Redgrave, one of the trainers who fought Ratio on Route 10. He thinks Ratio might be using a Ditto. So that's a potential five,' Elizabeth folded her arms. 'Zack claims he doesn't want to help, but pressure and time can fell mountains, and I don't mind exerting a little pressure.

If I see what I can squeeze out of Zack, you could look into Salieri Soledad, another survivor. Your father questioned her already, but I somehow doubt he found everything. Or we could switch, if you prefer. They're valuable sources of information, and I'd hate to waste them.'

Elizabeth nodded to the wrecked lobby. 'Finding out what we can from this is all well and good, but it'll amount to nothing if we don't know how to defeat him in battle. And this will end in battle.'  

[Jump Einatz]

"A Ditto," Juliet repeated. An ultimate disguise tool. It could be anyone, or anything. That made tracking down Ratio all the more difficult. "The more we know about him, the closer we'll be to figuring out his weaknesses, his flaws. I'm a historian, Elizabeth. Everything repeats. If we figure out the past, we can redirect the future."

She almost laughed when Elizabeth doubted her father's interrogation. Oh, I'm sure he found everything and more, is what she wanted to say. Alas, it was a jest she could not share with Elizabeth, or anyone else. The humor in that situation was offset by the mention of Salieri, causing Juliet to clench her teeth. She quickly recovered.

"I had the misfortune of meeting Salieri Soledad alongside my father. I won't be getting anything out of her. Perhaps we should switch. You say Zack Redgrave doesn't want to help? I can be very convincing."

She gathered together the evidence baggies so she could hand them to the police on the way out. "Let's have the police do the profiling of Horton's security force. You and I should find Miriam Aviad, the only witness to the lobby incident. She was questioned last night but I have a feeling we can get more out of her."  

[Marsuru]

Judging by Juliet's reaction, Elizabeth had a lot to look forward to with making Salieri's acquaintance. She smiled. 'As you wish, Lady Nostrad.'  

[Klarp Glornharm]

Lumiose Press

Ben frowned as he stepped inside Alexa's office. She didn't seem to be in a good mood, and his instinct to blurt out everything he knew about the story he was trying to get her to follow, and others she probably shouldn't, was immediately quelled. It was a terrible instinct, and he had no idea how it got there, but it was best ignored.

"Thank you." He said at last, schooling his face. "For meeting me, I mean. Normally I do flashy formalities and all, don't think you want those." She didn't seem like the type.

"I'm looking for someone to help me investigate the oil fields between Routes fourteen and sixteen." He watched her carefully, looking for signs of recognition. If she had heard of this place, or even a rumor, he wanted to know if that meant he had an advantage in getting her help. Some people would push you into the back seat or completely out of the way if you didn't have one.

"I have an idea who owns it, but what I think isn't what's important. It's finding out if it's true, and proving what I find. I don't have much experience in this area, though, so I thought maybe you might be able to help."  

[Jump Einatz]

Lumiose Press

Alexa didn't even look up from her desk until Benedict said 'oil fields'. She put down her papers and took her cigarette out of her mouth. Her ear was always to the ground, and there had been rumors that one of Jullien Nostrad's companies had hidden illegal oil fields deep in an off route forest. "Oil fields, huh?"

How did this kid know about that? He was Kalosian, a fan of formalities. Alexa thought she recognized him from something recent. Ambrette Town, that was it. He was one of the trainers fulfilling their civic duty. Maybe that's what he was doing now. Getting the word out about something the cops wouldn't talk about. Maybe this was a set up. Esme trusted this kid, but her trust wasn't Alexa's.

She leaned back in her chair, resting her heels up on the desk. "What's your name, kid?"  

[Klarp Glornharm]

"Benedict Montgomery." He replied. She knew. That meant something, at least. "Like I said, oil fields." Where exactly was the question. He knew it was between the routes, but it would take a dash of luck to find it. Unless there was some sort of path of destruction torn through to it. But that didn't seem likely.

"I hear you're supposedly someone who doesn't let a story die just because of the risks, and the people who might be involved." He crossed his arms. If that were true, would she make a good ally for tracking Ratio's movements? Maybe. Only if she proved trustworthy. If she knew about those oil fields and did nothing, that meant he wasn't sure she could be. "Is that true?"  

[Jump Einatz]

"Heh heh. Who said that about me, Esme?" Alexa looked away, grinning joylessly. The accolades to her integrity felt undeserved. She hadn't been able to publish an article pertaining to conspiracies, something she was passionate about, for almost a year. "They say reading is food for the thought, but tabloids? Style magazines? Who wore it best? It's poison. Mindless sensationalism, but it sells. Because it's tangible, in front of your eyes." She pointed to her own eyes with to fingers. "Like it or not, it's alive. I let stories die because without proof that it's real, food for the thought rots like anything else. And lately the proof's gone poof."

Surely this kid knew that she was Viola's sister, making her a noble as well. Alexa's highborn status went under the radar largely because she didn't take advantage of it. Her desire for the truth puts her at odds with the 'privacy' of the bluebloods. The people involved were family, and they knew everything about her. Her family could crush her if they had to, and that was the biggest risk.

"That and yeah, because of the risks. And the people involved. Nobody wants to die, yanno?" Alexa stretched her arms over her head, then snapped her fingers next to the window. "Sazerac, come on in."

Her Vivillon popped up out the open window, having been waiting outside to surprise Benedict with a sneak attack if Alexa had felt endangered or like this was a prank. Sporting a Sandstorm pattern, she had blended into the stone walls of the building's outside. When she came inside, the pattern switched to Modern in the blink of an eye on her way to the coat rack.

Benedict didn't give off an overtly dangerous vibe, but Alexa still wasn't sure if she could trust him. Not just his honesty, but his information. His sources. The murmurs about the oil fields had never mentioned a location before. He was the first.

"You're coming to me because you want me to write about this, right? If you want to turn this into a story, you need to know everything about this and be one hundred percent sure you are on the money." Sazerac grabbed Alexa's notepad out of her coat pocket and tossed it to her trainer. Alexa snatched it out of the air and spun a pen between her fingers. "First, I need to know what you know and how you know it."

Her momentum slowed as she eyed Ben, holding the pen up to her lips. "And I want to know what's in this for you."  

[Klarp Glornharm]

"That's why I said I was looking for someone to help me investigate." Benedict replied. "I don't want to go out there without certainty.." He eyed her uncertainly. By all accounts, she was a noble. There was an inherent risk to trusting one, and making a public move with them. There were a few questions he had for her as well.

"I know that it's between routes fourteen and sixteen from a source." He watched her. That was too vague, but he couldn't risk names. Not until he was sure. She was Sal's contact, not his. "The first it was mentioned, she was angry and throwing that anger at us. And no, you don't get her name until I'm sure you're in. You don't get any of my sources' names until then." Ben forced himself to stay calm. That could screw things up, but if she couldn't respect journalistic integrity, and protecting people from shitstorms, then she wasn't the one he wanted anyway.

"She'd just traveled to it." How had she known that it was a Nostrad holding? "Very recently, actually. Which means there's a window of opportunity to find proof there." A window, from days long to indefinitely. There wasn't certainty that anyone knew she had gone there. "All I know for sure is that I believe her, and I need help knowing what's worthwhile and what's not. Which means legwork, which I'm willing to do most of, or all of if necessary. I just need to know what to look for."

He bit his lip when it came to the most important part. If she knew of him, she probably expected selfish reasons.. "As for what I'm getting out of it, part of it at least is recognition. There aren't many ways to build a reputation as a commoner, not a lasting one anyway. I'll try to win the league, but statistics being what they are, I have maybe one season if I'm really good to become unforgettable. More if I'm not that good."

Now it was his turn for questions. "Jullien Nostrad and your family, are they unofficially allies, or unofficially not?" He smiled then, a knowing smile. "For example, are the risks of you writing a story that hits him hard mitigated by the fact that your family will protect you for damaging his public credibility? Or should I find someone else?"