Main Hall - Cotton Down Lounge

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Wes stopped short and, after taking a minute to process, returned the nod. “Hi. You, uh…doing any better?” He at least looked a lot better than Wes had last seen him. Not that that was saying a whole lot.

Neo raised his head from where he’d tucked his snout under Wes’ coat and chirped cheerfully at the pair, all signs of illness gone.

"Oh, uh, I am yes," said Steven, taken aback at the question. He certainly hadn't been expecting it from someone who had been less than thrilled with him when they first met. Then again, he had been quite a mess that day, and the way the Espeon greeted him both then and now... Perhaps he was dwelling too much on the worst from their initial encounter. "Thank you for asking," he added, the strain fading from his smile.

Someone with not one, but two Eevee forms that evolved via the bond with their trainer couldn't be all gruff and abrasion...

The Aggron’s defensive stance was not lost on Wes. He shifted Neo to one arm and held up a hand. “Easy, I’m not—not going to accuse you, or whatever.” He cleared his throat and averted his gaze to…anywhere that wasn’t Steven’s apprehensive face. “Sorry about that, by the way. That wasn’t…I wasn’t…yeah. Sorry.”

'Accuse me?' Steven mouthed to himself before realizing and raising his own hands in apology. "No, no that's not--" He searched for better words but all he could manage was a slight grimace and a sheepish scratch at his cheek. "I'm sorry, it seems we're getting quite good at starting off on the wrong foot whenever we meet."


Steven mustered a genuine smile and held out a hand toward Wes. There had been... a lot that went wrong that day. Wes (and Odette for that matter) had seen him at his worst. It was time to make amends. "Let's try this again, shall we? Properly this time. My name is Steven, and this is my partner, Aggron, who I've told you a bit about already."

Novo, silent as the shadows, moved from behind Wes and stood in front of his trainer before looking up unflinchingly at Aggron. He adapted a firm stance—not aggressive, but resolute, and the wordless message was clear: do not come closer.

The only thing that moved when Novo appeared in front of Wes were Aggron's eyes. They slid down from the bubbly psychic in the man's arms to take in the small dark type that stood boldly at his feet. What an interesting greeting... Neither seemed like they wanted to fight or take his gracidea, so Aggron relaxed, but remained wary, at least until Steven smiled and held out his hand to the other trainer.


"Huh, well, sorry about that I guess," said Aggron. "It seemed like they knew each other already and..."


Aggron trailed off. They did. It was just... when Aggron wasn't around. "Oh," he said sheepishly. "I guess you know Steven already, too."


"Uh, nice to finally meet you, then. Sorry for the rocky start." He chuckled at his own joke. "I'm Aggron."

 

[HelloYellow17]

"Let's try this again, shall we? Properly this time. My name is Steven, and this is my partner, Aggron, who I've told you a bit about already."

Wes allowed himself to relax a little. Apparently he wasn’t the only one who was bad at greeting others properly, and…somehow, that was actually a bit comforting. He moved to put Neo down so he could properly have his hands free, but the Espeon responded by digging his claws into Wes’ shoulder and wailing. Directly into his ear, no less.

“Ow, damn, okay…” Wes huffed and settled for shaking Steven’s hand with his only free one, managing a small smile. “Wes. The Umbreon is Novo, and this overgrown infant here—” he threw Neo an exasperated glance— “is Neo. He’s usually not this clingy, but I think all of…everything…is starting to get to him. Not that I can blame him, especially after yesterday…”

He trailed off, then winced. Dammit, this was supposed to be a pleasant interaction, and here he was souring the mood. Again. But, well, it wasn’t like it could be helped much. Hard to have a lighthearted chit-chat when you’re all being held hostage on an island with a malicious abductor on the loose.

"Uh, nice to finally meet you, then. Sorry for the rocky start." He chuckled at his own joke. "I'm Aggron."

Novo blinked, then slowly settled into a more relaxed position. He sat and replied with a soft chirp. “I am called Novo. It is a pleasure to meet you.” He looked the large Pokémon up and down. “You look very strong.” He did not try to hide his awe; it was not often he encountered a Pokémon that radiated such sheer power, and he respected Aggron for it.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

“Ow, damn, okay…” Wes huffed and settled for shaking Steven’s hand with his only free one, managing a small smile. “Wes. The Umbreon is Novo, and this overgrown infant here—” he threw Neo an exasperated glance— “is Neo. He’s usually not this clingy, but I think all of…everything…is starting to get to him. Not that I can blame him, especially after yesterday…”

Despite himself, Steven laughed at Neo's antics, and Wes's apparent dismay. "I don't think I can blame him," he said. "Things have been... tense as of late. I'm glad we had the chance to clear the air after... Well... As you so succinctly said, 'everything'."


"At least there's some good news for today. Clink is feeling much better from some help from Shaymin. He seems to be on the road to recovery from his poisoning."

It felt good to share something optimistic for once. Hopefully Wes shared the same opinion. In the face of so much despair, it was the little victories that mattered.

Novo blinked, then slowly settled into a more relaxed position. He sat and replied with a soft chirp. “I am called Novo. It is a pleasure to meet you.” He looked the large Pokémon up and down. “You look very strong.” He did not try to hide his awe; it was not often he encountered a Pokémon that radiated such sheer power, and he respected Aggron for it.

"Hey, thanks," said Aggron. "You don't seem too shabby yourself. Stood right in front of me without an ounce of fear. Your teammate seems scared of the floor though. Is that normal for him?"

As he uttered the word, another petal let go from the gracidea and slipped to the ground.


"Oh shi-- Wait I can't say that in front of company. Uh, I'm sorry little shadow, it was good to meet you, but I have to go. Something important. I gotta get this guy to some soil."

He didn't elaborate any further, but Aggron's panicked ministrations with the flower in his hands caught Steven's attention, and he gave Wes an apologetic look.


"Ah, I'm sorry to cut this short but we we're in a bit of a hurry. And when Aggron is in a hurry, there's not much that can slow him down."

Aggron had already started toward the door, and Steven turned to follow him.

"It was good to properly be acquainted with you," he said. "I'm sure we'll be seeing you around the island again."

 

[HelloYellow17]

"At least there's some good news for today. Clink is feeling much better from some help from Shaymin. He seems to be on the road to recovery from his poisoning."

It felt good to share something optimistic for once. Hopefully Wes shared the same opinion. In the face of so much despair, it was the little victories that mattered.

Wes was glad that Steven at least found Neo amusing. He sure knew how to be bratty sometimes, but he also knew how to make others laugh, and in a place like this…well, that had to count for something.

He raised an eyebrow at Steven’s news. “Clink, huh? That’s that little mon that looks like a keyring?” Weird looking Pokémon, to be honest, but Wes supposed he’d seen weirder on this island. “That’s one of the host’s mon, right? We’re sure we can trust that little guy?”

Not to mention…what the hell was a Shaymin? Some other Pokémon, no doubt. Steven hadn’t batted an eye when dropping the name, so he must have assumed it was common knowledge—hell, it probably was common knowledge for anyone not from Orre.

Wes decided he could find out later. He’d already made an idiot out of himself in front of Steven during their previous encounter, and he wasn’t keen to make a fool of himself again.

"Hey, thanks," said Aggron. "You don't seem too shabby yourself. Stood right in front of me without an ounce of fear. Your teammate seems scared of the floor though. Is that normal for him?"

Novo snorted. “He is called Neo and he is my brother. He is not scared of the floor. He is not scared of many things, but he is anxious in this place.” He looked down at the ground. “I am, too. We are worried. Nowhere feels safe, not our dens, nor anywhere under daylight.”

"It was good to properly be acquainted with you," he said. "I'm sure we'll be seeing you around the island again."

Wes blinked in surprise when Aggron began fretting over the little flower. Why was it so important? Was it a delicacy of some sort? …Did Aggron even eat flowers? Oh, whatever. It wasn’t like he had any right to be taken aback, not after Neo had had a crisis after eating a single cream puff.

He returned Steven’s smile. Wes didn’t care much for anyone associated with the League, but…this guy didn’t seem all that bad. Wes never would have guessed he was a Champion if Steven hadn’t said something the day they met. Though having a massive, hulking Aggron by his side certainly made him look the part.

“We should get going, too. Don’t like to be out too late, anyways.” He rubbed the back of his head. “You, uh, take care. It was nice to get off on the right foot this time. Just be careful, all right? I know you got lucky last time, but…whoever is doing this, they really mean business. Nearly killed that other Champion yesterday…Wallace, I think? Didn’t know him, but he was on the boat with us, and was apparently a Champion too, so…just…don’t let your guard down.”

Dammit, he was rambling. Why was he rambling? He barely knew the guy, and yet…he didn’t want any harm to come to him. After all, he’d barely started to get to know Mitch, only for him to get snatched right afterwards. It was a miracle they’d brought him back, but…miracles weren’t reliable. There was no guarantee that anyone else would get a second chance like Mitch did.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to leave on such a gloomy note.” He gave an apologetic smile. “Take care and we’ll see you around.”

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

He raised an eyebrow at Steven’s news. “Clink, huh? That’s that little mon that looks like a keyring?” Weird looking Pokémon, to be honest, but Wes supposed he’d seen weirder on this island. “That’s one of the host’s mon, right? We’re sure we can trust that little guy?”

"Trust?" Steven repeated. "Truthfully I don't know, but he was very ill. I saw him this morning, and... There's no doubt he was suffering. Trustworthy or not, we couldn't leave him like that. For his sake, and Mr. Montorzi's."

Novo snorted. “He is called Neo and he is my brother. He is not scared of the floor. He is not scared of many things, but he is anxious in this place.” He looked down at the ground. “I am, too. We are worried. Nowhere feels safe, not our dens, nor anywhere under daylight.”

"Brother, huh? Well I'm glad he's not scared of the floor. Seems awfully inconvenient if you're not a flying type."

Even as he was trying to leave, Aggron paused. He couldn't help but feel the same worry as Novo. "Yeah, this place..." He glanced down at the dying flower in his claws. "People keep getting hurt. The island, too. We need to find this bad guy and stop them, before it's too late."

Aggron shook his head and pushed the door open with one claw, but got no further. The sheer disbelief in his trainer's voice froze him in his tracks.

I know you got lucky last time, but…whoever is doing this, they really mean business. Nearly killed that other Champion yesterday…Wallace, I think?

"What?!"

Wes's words slammed into Steven like a freight train. Anything else he'd been rambling faded to background noise. Any hope from Clink's miraculous recovery was dashed, shattered against the ground in a million tiny pieces.

"What did you just say?" Steven's voice was a dangerous whisper.

He knew what Wes had said, but he had to ask anyway. For his own sanity. Wallace. He said Wallace. He said Wallace was nearly killed? Not taken, killed? Surely he hadn't heard right. Surely he hadn't--

"No one said anything about... Xavian didn't mention... It was just Hayes. Hayes and Windi. Maybe you heard Wallace by mistake." His eyes darted around the room, frantic.

Steven knew it wasn't a mistake. Wes said 'Champion'. This Wallace, he was Champion in his reality. He swallowed thickly as his pulse pounded in his ears.

"Where... Where is he? Wallace? Is he...?" The look in his eyes as he met Wes's was desperate.

The Infirmary. He had to go to the Infirmary. If someone was hurt-- if Wallace was hurt, they'd take him there, right? Wes said almost killed, right? Oh gods. This couldn't be happening.

"Excuse me," he blurted out, shoving his way past Wes and even Aggron, leaving his stunned partner no choice but to follow.

 

[HelloYellow17]

"Brother, huh? Well I'm glad he's not scared of the floor. Seems awfully inconvenient if you're not a flying type."

Novo trilled out a laugh. “I am very glad he is not a flying type! He is already too much trouble. I think Wes would agree.”

A steely glint entered his eyes at Aggron’s next statement. “We will find the bad guy. And when we do, I will make them wish they had stayed away.” A growl rose in his throat as he lashed his tail. “And if they harm my family, I will shred them like prey.”

He must have been more on edge than he realized, because the other trainer’s cry startled him so badly he jumped and hissed, rings flaring. He snapped his head around to see the human in acute distress and raised his hackles. What was going on?

---

"What?!"

Wes froze, dread seeping into his chest. Of all the reactions he’d thought Steven would give, it sure as hell wasn’t this.

“I—are you—?”

"No one said anything about... Xavian didn't mention... It was just Hayes. Hayes and Windi. Maybe you heard Wallace by mistake." His eyes darted around the room, frantic.

“I’m not—look, maybe I did, I don’t know, I don’t really know the guy, I only heard about it from—”

"Where... Where is he? Wallace? Is he...?" The look in his eyes as he met Wes's was desperate.

Oh. Oh, shit. “You…you know him?” Wes took a shaky step back. He barely noticed Neo wriggle from his arms and jump to the floor to approach Steven with a shrill, worried mew.

“I—oh, gods.” He ran a shaky hand through his hair. “Look, I’m sorry, I—I didn’t know—I mean, thought you’d know by now—the text and all—”

He swallowed and tried to steady his voice. “Last—last I heard, he’s in the infirmary. I think. But I don’t know if—I mean, it’s getting late—”

"Excuse me," he blurted out, shoving his way past Wes and even Aggron, leaving his stunned partner no choice but to follow.

Steven didn’t seem to hear him at all. Before Wes knew it, the other trainer had pushed past him and left the lounge the way he came in. Aggron paused, looking between Wes and his trainer in bewilderment, before lumbering after Steven with a speed that defied his size.

“…Shit,” Wes said weakly. He raised a hand to his forehead and hissed through clenched teeth. “Gods, I—dammit. Dammit!”

Why had he said anything? Why? It wasn’t like the news couldn’t have waited until morning. Now Steven had thrown himself back out there, right before nightfall, and was probably going to get himself killed trying to find his friend because Wes couldn’t keep his gods-damned mouth shut—

He stepped in the direction Steven had vanished, mind racing, blood roaring in his ears—until a flurry of black and yellow stopped him in his tracks.

“Brrrrr!” Novo stared him down with that burning crimson gaze, fur bristling and ears angled back. Wes didn’t need to speak Pokémon to get the message: Novo was not about to let him set foot back outside.

“N-Novo, I—this is my fault, okay? If something happens to—”

“BRI!” Novo’s bark reverberated off the lounge walls. He arched his back, the overhead lights glinting off his now bared fangs.

“Spiii…” A soft pressure against Wes’ leg made him jump. Neo keened and looked up at him with desperate, pleading eyes. “Spi, espi.”

Wes looked between the two of them. “What…you…” he staggered backwards and found himself collapsing into the nearest chair. He buried his head in his hands and managed a weak, shaky laugh. “What the hell. Aren’t you usually the ones dragging me into messes in the first place?”

Novo quietly padded over and nosed at Wes’ elbow with a soft, barely audible trill. He placed a paw on his trainer’s knee and stared until Wes lowered his hands and met his eyes.

“…Yeah. I know. I get it,” he murmured. He gently rubbed Novo’s ear, wishing the tremors in his hands would go away. “I wouldn’t let you guys run out on your own, either.”

He closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. “Let’s just…go to the room. Maybe…maybe someone can get a hold of him and make sure he’s alright.” He shook his head. “Idiot.”

He wasn’t sure whether that last comment was directed at Steven or himself. Oh, what the hell, might as well be both.

The three of them went to their room in somber silence, and Wes hoped to Arceus that, come morning, Steven and his Pokémon would still be okay.

<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>

 

[Sinderella]

It was a wonder Odette hadn't bothered to spend more time in here before. Books a plenty, calm lighting, sparse social interaction, and most of all, plenty of corners to duck into to live out an exhausted emotional episode.

She'd already gone through a box of tissues. An entire box of fucking tissues. The garbage pail next to her was overflowing with them, and she still could not stop.

Back to the wall, knees to her chest, and her white knuckled grip around the last clean Kleenex she had, she slammed the back of her head against the wall a few more times. Maybe that round would knock some sense back into her. As anticipated, it did not. Marshadow wasn't kidding when he said this is something that would linger.

"Stop it," she sniffled to herself between slams. When it started to hurt, she just lowered her head in defeat and blew her running nose. "You're so pathetic. Nobody's going to want to commit crime with you if you're acting like this."

Yeah, the self deprecation thing was bad, she'd heard it far too many times. If she hadn't begged Enora and Odile to go into their balls for a little bit so she could be alone, Enora would have certainly chewed her out. But it usually sobered her up from spells like this quickly, and she desperately needed that. She'd texted Wes to meet in the lounge around this time, so he'd surely be here any minute. Possibly with Nate. And their Pokemon partners. None of them needed to fucking see her like this, because then they'd ask her what was wrong, and she'd have to explain what had happened with Marshadow, and why she was so distraught, and--

Nope. No. She'd gotten plenty deep on this trip, but there was no room to go that fucking deep. She already got the pity look from telling Steven she was a kidnapping survivor, but having to tell other people that she'd survived something like that?

Pity look on steroids. She didn't need it right now.

She blew her nose again as her eyes fluttered. Gods, not to mention she was barely staying awake on top of this sob show. A mess, that's what she was. How was she going to keep up with Wes and Nate and their 'mon friends if she could barely make it too steps with out stumbling and having a breakdown?

A nap. A nap would probably do some good. Just like she told herself when she left the arena.

As the thought occurred to her, her phone buzzed. With whatever energy she had left, she fished the device from her pocket and opened the message. Texts from the recon squad. Good, they were on schedule, and it seemed like none of them got into any trouble. At least that was a positive.

In a moment of curiosity, Odette was able to pull herself out of her mental hole in order to crawl out from behind the bookshelf she'd hidden behind to stare at the inconspicuous door at the back of the lounge. Lonesome crying aside, this was a fantastic place to keep an eye out. Once the distraction went under way, surely Xavian and maybe Clink and Orzo would come barreling out through that door, giving her and her group time to go in and get to looking. Until then, they could stay here and quietly watch.

Until until then, this would be where she lived out this episode. She crawled back to her spot and sighed shakily to herself, giving up on the soiled Kleenex and simply using her sleeve to wipe her drenched face.

A nap. A nap would probably do some good.

She was out of sight and out of mind here. The couch that had been pulled over to this corner had its back to the front door, so anybody coming in, or leaving the employee area would have to physically walk over and peer over said couch to find her if she fell asleep on it. And if the culprit got ballsy, Odile's ball was unlocked. Enora could leave it at any time, as always.

A nap.

She tiredly pulled herself onto the leather sofa, not even bothering with any of the pillows propped against it. As soon as her head hit the cushion, she was out like an overheated light.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

To say Steven was heated when he shoved his way through the lounge doors would be an understatement. And it had nothing to do with the encounter he and Blue had just had in the caverns with a lava Mythical.

"What was she thinking?" he hissed to himself as he scanned the lounge for the target of his ire. Aggron, to his credit, stayed quiet in the wake of his trainer's simmering anger.

When Blue casually mentioned, "oh yeah some people were going to break in to Xavian's quarters today to look for clues or something," like he was discussing nothing more than the weather, Steven's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

He swallowed the curse that threatened to sneak out and gave Blue the most obvious forced smile on the planet before excusing himself.

Odile.

Because of course she would be the one to so blatantly disrespect their host's wishes for privacy and discretion. Not to mention it came in the wake of his partner surviving a horrific poisoning incident.

Her name burned hot on his tongue. After their scene in the marsh, when all this began, when he had lashed out at her when Reena was taken, he thought she'd changed. It seemed like she had. He learned about her and Odette's past, and she seemed genuinely remorseful.

Oh how quickly that evaporated.

He grit his teeth as his scan of the lounge turned up empty. Either he was early, or too late, and there was no way to be sure of either without causing a scene. And that was the last thing he wanted to do with their host or any of the staff likely right around the corner.

So resigned to simply wait and hope that no one had done anything entirely unintelligent, he moved toward the nearby seating area to sit down, no less angry than when he stormed in. But when he stepped around the couches and saw Odette sleeping, curled up in a tight little ball, he froze. There was no sign of Odile or her Sylveon, Enora, anywhere.

Was he too late? Did Odile already go off on her own? He hated to wake Odette, gods knew they all needed the rest, but there were more pressing matters at stake.


No apology, no warning, he cleared his throat and asked loud enough for Odette to hear him, "Where's Odile?"

 

[Sinderella]

No apology, no warning, he cleared his throat and asked loud enough for Odette to hear him, "Where's Odile?"

Odette hated being such a light sleeper. She hated it. The weight of slumber left her almost as quickly as it came, just at the mere sound of her partner's name. She didn't feel any less sleepy, but perhaps that sadness had gone away. All she felt in the moment was the increasing urge to punch whoever had the fucking audacity to--


Nope, the tears were still rolling. Marshadow had said within the fucking hour, and this was feeling more like five.

Instead of sitting up, she turned her head and let loose a drawn out sob into the couch cushion.

"Damn it all, really?" she croaked, her voice muffled by the leather. "I just dozed off."

Sniffling, she pushed herself up to sit, dragging her hands aggressively down over her face to rid herself of the additional waterworks. Wrinkles be damned; she needed to stop being a baby.

Upon looking over her shoulder, she saw it was Steven. She supposed it was better him than Nate or Wes, but that didn't stop the onset embarrassment. She supposed no good deed ever went unpunished--she saw him at his low, so now the favor needed to be returned. Just perfect.

"Y'know," she sniffled, "I have an immense amount of respect for you, but that was fucking mean. Can't you see that I'm kind of going through it right now?" Her face twisted with the force of another round of sobs, and she buried her face in her hands to ward them off. "Goooooddddddsss, this is fucking unbearable," she blubbered.

With a short breath, she got a brief hold of herself, dragging her hands back down her face in the process. With a few sniffles, she cleared her sinuses enough to speak clearly. She turned back toward him, forcing as neutral of an expression as she could muster.

"What do you need with Odile? She's--"

Even though her brain was full of images of that thing and every bad thing after it, she could still say she was smart enough to put two and two together. Steven, looking for Odile. Even though Odette was peering at him through tearful eyes and foggy glasses, it was plain as day that the Hoenn champ was livid. And Odile had said something about not letting Steven know she had disclosed the location of the room, because Xavian had asked them not to.

Stiffening her posture, Odette crossed her arms over her chest, her gaze becoming more stern. "Before you start, let me just say that I was the one who told everyone where--"


Before Odette could finish her sentence, the ball hooked to her waistband popped open with a swirl of maroon smoke and a foreboding click. Odile manifested out of that smoke just next to Steven, standing with her shoulders deflated, and her expression lacking. She didn't look angry, nor did she look sad. But the tears that rolled down her cheeks said otherwise.

"̸C̷a̴n̴ ̴I̴ ̶h̴e̷l̸p̶ ̶y̷o̴u̸?̵"̴ she asked in a flat, yet stuffy voice.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Instead of sitting up, she turned her head and let loose a drawn out sob into the couch cushion.

"Damn it all, really?" she croaked, her voice muffled by the leather. "I just dozed off."

The sound Odette made when she curled into the couch cushion was halfway between a groan and, was that a sob? Whatever it was, it was clear she was unhappy with being woken up, but Steven only scowled down at her. It's not like he was happy about having his word, his promise, to their host be reduced to absolutely nothing because of some selfish, inconsiderate, creepy doppleganger of a pokemon who apparently got off on making others look like fools--

Wait.

Odette's back was to him when she finally sat up, but he could see the quaking of her shoulders, the waver in her voice. Was she.... crying?

As she turned to look at him over her shoulder and he saw the remnants of her tear streaked cheeks, the foggy mess of her glasses, his anger instantly faded to background noise. Odette was crying, and that meant something must have gone very, very wrong.

"Y'know," she sniffled, "I have an immense amount of respect for you, but that was fucking mean. Can't you see that I'm kind of going through it right now?" Her face twisted with the force of another round of sobs, and she buried her face in her hands to ward them off. "Goooooddddddsss, this is fucking unbearable," she blubbered.

"Going through it?" he echoed, the rest of his anger quickly turning to alarm. "Odette, what happened?"

Still no sign of Odile, and he couldn't help but spin to look toward the door where Xavian's quarters were. What had transpired since last night? Did Odile do something reckless? His anger rushed back anew, not for Odette, but at himself, for even trusting Odile to keep quiet in the first place.

Odette was trying to explain something between sobs, and he did feel bad for coming to her like this, since she wasn't the one to blame, but this wasn't easy, it was never going to be easy. Odile had ensured they all had betrayed the trust of the one person on the island who could send them home.


"Odette, I'm sorry, but Odile, she--"

Before Odette could finish her sentence, the ball hooked to her waistband popped open with a swirl of maroon smoke and a foreboding click. Odile manifested out of that smoke just next to Steven, standing with her shoulders deflated, and her expression lacking. She didn't look angry, nor did she look sad. But the tears that rolled down her cheeks said otherwise.

"̸C̷a̴n̴ ̴I̴ ̶h̴e̷l̸p̶ ̶y̷o̴u̸?̵"̴ she asked in a flat, yet stuffy voice.

A mixture of emotions overcame Steven as Odile appeared in a cloud of smoke. Relief, thank the gods she was here and okay and not in that room right now. Worry, because the expression on her face was no better than the one on Odette's; it felt so foreign, and Odette's words echoed again in his mind. Just what had happened to these two? Doppleganger or not, the tears were Odile's and Odile's alone. But then the sight of her, the memory of her standing just behind him at Clink's bedside, happily planning to break their promise to Xavian before they'd even made it, his anger came rushing back.


"If you can enlighten me as to why, pray tell, you've decided to broadcast the location of our host's room to the entire island when he explicitly asked us not to, then yes, you can help me."

 

[Sinderella]

"If you can enlighten me as to why, pray tell, you've decided to broadcast the location of our host's room to the entire island when he explicitly asked us not to, then yes, you can help me."

Odette stood up defiantly. "I just said that I was the one who told everyone," she sniffled.


Odile held up her hand, silencing Odette. She kept it up for a while, her droopy-eyed gaze not wavering off of Steven. It was only when she slowly lowered her hand did she finally aim her watery eyes down at Steven's shoes.

"̵S̴i̸m̸p̸l̴e̴ ̸q̸u̷e̴s̴t̶i̶o̴n̴,̶"̴ ̴she began. "̶H̸a̶v̸e̶ ̷y̶o̸u̷ ̸e̴v̴e̸r̸ ̸g̵o̴n̶e̶ ̸r̷e̶a̷l̵l̴y̷ ̸f̶a̷r̴ ̵o̷u̵t̷ ̴o̵f̷ ̴y̶o̷u̵r̶ ̵w̷a̷y̷ ̵t̵o̵ ̸p̵r̴o̴t̷e̶c̷t̶ ̷s̷o̸m̵e̴t̶h̵i̵n̷g̴?̷"̷

She wasn't expecting a response, but she surely gave Steven enough time to give her one with how long she let those words hang. Nonetheless, she raised her head to look back at him. "̶W̷e̷ ̷w̵e̷n̸t̴ ̷t̴o̶ ̵s̴e̶e̴ ̷M̵a̶r̸s̸h̷a̶d̴o̷w̴ ̵a̵ ̸l̵i̸t̸t̸l̷e̷ ̸b̶i̷t̶ ̷a̶g̴o̴.̴ ̵Y̷'̸k̸n̴o̴w̷ ̷h̸e̸'̷s̷ ̶n̶o̷t̵ ̵l̷i̵k̸e̸ ̶t̶h̸e̷ ̴o̵t̸h̵e̴r̵ ̶m̵y̶t̶h̶i̸c̸a̴l̷s̷ ̵h̶e̴r̷e̸,̵ ̷w̴h̸o̵ ̶f̵e̷e̵d̶ ̵o̵f̶f̸ ̵t̶h̸a̷t̶ ̸b̷o̴n̵d̵ ̷e̶n̸e̸r̸g̷y̴.̴ ̴N̷o̷,̴ ̴t̸h̸a̵t̴ ̷l̷i̶t̴t̵l̴e̴ ̶g̸u̸y̴ ̶t̴h̸r̵i̷v̶e̶s̶ ̴o̸f̶f̵ ̸s̵o̶m̶e̴t̸h̵i̵n̷g̴ ̵a̴ ̸l̴o̷t̷ ̴d̷a̶r̷k̴e̴r̵.̷ ̶S̸o̴u̸l̶s̸ ̷w̴h̷o̵ ̴h̶a̵v̶e̴ ̵b̶e̶e̵n̴ ̴t̷o̶u̴c̴h̸e̸d̷ ̶b̵y̸ ̸d̷e̴a̸t̴h̸,̸ ̴a̵s̴ ̷h̵e̴ ̶p̷u̷t̶ ̴i̸t̷.̵"̵

She sniffled and hastily wiped her cheek. "̶I̶'̴m̸ ̶s̷u̶r̴e̷ ̴i̷t̸'̸s̶ ̸a̶ ̴g̶i̶v̶e̵n̶ ̶t̷h̶a̴t̴ ̶I̴'̸d̶ ̵h̷a̸v̴e̷ ̸a̶ ̶b̶l̷o̸o̷d̴y̶ ̸a̶u̷r̸a̸,̸ ̶b̵u̷t̷ ̷M̵a̷r̸s̶h̶a̶d̷o̵w̴ ̷w̷a̷s̸ ̷d̵r̴a̵w̶n̸ ̷t̶o̶ ̵a̴n̸ ̶i̶n̵s̴t̷a̶n̵c̷e̸ ̴t̶h̶a̷t̵ ̵I̸ ̵s̴h̵a̷r̷e̸d̷ ̷w̶i̸t̶h̴ ̸O̵d̴e̵t̸t̶e̵.̸ ̴W̸h̴e̵r̷e̸ ̷I̶ ̸k̸i̴l̷l̸e̶d̶ ̵f̴o̵r̵ ̸h̸e̸r̷.̵ ̷D̴o̵ ̵y̸o̸u̴ ̵k̷n̵o̸w̶ ̷w̴h̸a̶t̷ ̶t̶h̷a̷t̶ ̴w̵a̴s̵?̴"̴


"Odile, don't--"


Suddenly, the tears were falling a lot faster, and she pointed at Odette before taking a single slow step up to Steven. "̵H̸e̷r̴ ̴r̶a̴p̷i̵s̶t̶.̷ ̶N̷o̴t̶ ̵o̵n̸l̵y̶ ̴d̴i̷d̷ ̷I̷ ̶e̸n̶d̷u̷r̷e̷ ̸t̴h̴e̵ ̷b̸r̴u̵n̸t̷ ̵e̶n̸d̵ ̴o̷f̶ ̶t̸h̴e̴ ̸a̶t̵t̶a̵c̴k̵,̴ ̴I̷ ̶f̸u̷c̴k̸i̵n̷g̶ ̸k̷i̷l̸l̸e̷d̸ ̷h̴i̷m̷.̸ ̶F̵o̷r̸ ̸h̴e̸r̶.̷ ̷T̷o̴ ̵s̵a̵v̷e̷ ̷h̶e̴r̶ ̵l̸i̴f̶e̵.̷ ̶T̶o̸ ̴p̸r̷o̵t̸e̴c̷t̷ ̴h̵e̸r̴.̵ ̸A̴r̸e̷ ̸y̸o̸u̵ ̶f̷o̶l̴l̷o̸w̷i̷n̴g̴ ̸m̷e̸?̷"̷

Inhaling a shaky breath, she sunk her hand back to her side. "̸I̶'̸m̶ ̵o̸l̸d̷.̶ ̵I̷'̷v̴e̷ ̷d̶o̶n̵e̴ ̵a̷ ̷l̵o̸t̷ ̸o̴f̷ ̵b̶a̵d̶ ̷t̷h̷i̵n̸g̴s̵.̸ ̴N̸o̴t̷ ̸a̸ ̶l̸o̶t̵ ̴o̶f̶ ̴t̴h̸i̵n̸g̴s̸ ̵b̸o̶t̵h̸e̷r̴ ̴m̵e̸.̷ ̵B̸u̴t̶ ̷t̷h̶a̴t̵-̷-̵"̷ ̷she brought a hand up to cover her mouth, taking a beat to breathe through whatever cries started to build up at the back of her throat,"̵th̸a̵t̷ ̵w̸a̷s̴ ̶u̸n̶f̶o̴r̵g̵i̷v̸e̶a̸b̷l̴e̴.̸ ̶T̴h̶a̴t̴ ̴h̸u̸r̷t̵ ̵m̴e̴ ̸i̷n̵ ̷m̸o̴r̴e̴ ̴w̷a̵y̶s̷ ̴t̷h̷a̷t̵ ̶o̶n̵e̴.̶ A̷n̸d̴ ̸I̴ ̷d̵o̸n̴'̵t̵ ̶g̷e̷t̷ ̷h̶u̷r̴t̶.̶ ̵I̷ ̴b̸a̶r̶e̴l̸y̴ ̵e̸v̸e̵n̷ ̶k̴n̵o̶w̴ ̴w̶h̸a̵t̸ ̸e̵m̶o̶t̴i̷o̵n̴s̶ ̷a̴r̵e̴.̶" That seemed to be very hard for her to say, but she managed to get it out without much of an extra quiver in her voice.

"I̸ ̶w̴a̴s̷ ̸w̶i̸l̶l̷i̵n̸g̴ ̵t̷o̴ ̴r̵e̸l̵i̸v̷e̶ ̸t̵h̵a̵t̶ ̷f̶u̸c̷k̵i̸n̴g̷ ̴a̴t̷r̸o̵c̶i̷t̵y̷ ̵t̶o̵ ̵h̷e̵l̴p̵ ̸M̴a̸r̸s̸h̶a̸d̵o̴w̷.̶ ̶B̸e̸c̴a̸u̸s̷e̸ ̵h̵e̵l̷p̷i̶n̷g̶ ̸M̴a̷r̷s̸h̷a̷d̶o̴w̷ ̶m̴e̵a̸n̷t̴ ̷h̴e̶l̸p̶i̷n̶g̴ ̸u̸s̸.̴ ̴A̶n̵d̴ ̶h̵e̸l̴p̸i̵n̴g̷ ̸u̵s̷ ̴m̴e̵a̶n̸s̶ ̴w̵e̵ ̸g̴e̸t̷ ̸t̶h̴e̶ ̷f̴u̵c̸k̶ ̵o̷f̶f̶ ̷t̵h̷i̴s̷ ̶i̸s̶l̴a̴n̴d̶ ̸s̸o̵o̸n̴e̷r̵,̵ ̶a̸n̷d̶ ̷b̷a̷c̸k̴ ̸t̶o̶ ̸s̶a̴f̸e̸t̷y̸ ̴s̸o̸o̸n̵e̷r̵.̵ ̵H̵e̶r̶ ̶s̶a̵f̷e̵t̴y̷.̵ ̴S̷o̵o̵n̶e̷r̵.̷"̸

It was a long beat before she spoke again."̵S̴o̵ ̵i̷f̷ ̵I̶'̶m̷ ̶w̶i̷l̶l̶i̵n̷g̵ ̴t̸o̶ ̸t̸a̸k̶e̵ ̴o̷n̶ ̴s̴o̵m̵e̸t̶h̴i̴n̶g̷ ̷s̷o̵ ̵a̷t̷r̵o̴c̸i̶o̶u̴s̸,̷"̷ she said as evenly as she could, taking another step toward him. ̷"̴I̸f̶ ̴I̶'̵m̵ ̴w̸i̷l̷l̶i̵n̵g̴ ̶t̵o̶ ̷p̶u̵t̵ ̶m̵y̷s̵e̴l̵f̸ ̵t̷h̷r̸o̷u̶g̸h̴ ̴t̴h̷e̵ ̴p̵a̸i̵n̴ ̸o̷f̴ ̶r̸e̵l̷i̷v̵i̸n̴g̷ ̴i̸t̴.̸.̸.̶"̸ she said, their chests now separated by a mere centimeter of space.

She spoke with a level of seriousness one might expect from a legendary of her caliber. Nothing threatening, nothing scary. Just raw, pointed urgency.

"̵Wh̶a̴t̵ ̸t̸h̷e̶ ̸f̷u̵c̴k̸ ̵m̸a̸k̵e̷s̷ ̵y̷o̸u̶ ̵t̴h̶i̶n̶k̷ ̵I̸'̷m̴ ̴a̷b̴o̸v̶e̷ ̸b̷r̶e̵a̷c̸h̸i̵n̴g̷ ̸a̶ ̴s̷t̶r̶a̵n̷g̷e̷r̸s̵ ̶t̵r̷u̴s̵t̷,̷ ̴e̴v̸e̸n̸ ̴f̶o̷r̵ ̵a̸ ̵m̵o̷m̴e̸n̶t̵,̴ ̵f̵o̸r̶ ̵t̸h̷e̵ ̴s̵a̴k̸e̴ ̸o̸f̶ ̷f̶i̷n̴d̴i̵n̷g̴ ̵i̸n̶f̵o̵r̷m̴a̴t̴i̵o̵n̴ ̸t̷h̵a̶t̸ ̷w̶i̴l̸l̸ ̴t̶a̵k̴e̴ ̶u̸s̷ ̸i̷n̵ ̴t̸h̵e̵ ̶d̶i̷r̵e̸c̸t̵i̸o̴n̸ ̴o̸f̵ ̸m̵y̸ ̷v̴e̷s̴s̸e̸l̶'̷s̵ ̸s̶a̴f̵e̶t̶y̸?̴ O̸r̶ ̷e̸v̷e̴n̴ ̸y̶o̴u̴r̵s̵?̴ ̷O̶r̸ ̶t̵h̴e̵ ̵o̴t̵h̵e̴r̷ ̸f̴r̵i̷e̵n̶d̴s̸ ̷s̶h̶e̸'̶s̴ ̴m̷a̴d̸e̵?̴ "̸̷

Her eyes mowed into Steven's. Her breathing was hard, but still managed to be even. She wasn't trying to intimidate him, for once. She just needed to get a damn point across.

"̵I̵ ̷h̶a̸v̷e̶ ̸n̴o̸t̸h̵i̷n̸g̶ ̶a̷g̶a̶i̴n̴s̵t̴ ̸X̶a̷v̷i̵a̸n̷,̶"̵ ̸ she insisted, shaking her head. ̴"̵E̷v̶e̶r̵y̸t̴h̷i̸n̶g̷ ̷I̷ ̷s̵a̸i̷d̷ ̷t̴o̵ ̴h̵i̵m̴ ̴w̶a̴s̶ ̴t̷r̸u̵e̴.̶ ̸I̶ ̸h̷a̶v̶e̶ ̸n̸o̶t̵h̶i̴n̴g̵ ̸a̸g̸a̵i̴n̷s̸t̷ ̵y̸o̴u̵ ̶e̵i̶t̷h̸e̵r̴.̴ ̶I̴f̶ ̷h̵e̴ ̸f̵o̵u̵n̷d̶ ̶o̶u̸t̸ ̵e̵v̸e̵r̷y̵o̴n̶e̸ ̷k̴n̵e̵w̴,̴ ̴I̶ ̷w̸a̸s̸ ̵g̴o̴n̸n̷a̵ ̵t̶a̴k̶e̵ ̵t̸h̸e̴ ̸f̷u̷l̵l̷ ̵b̴l̵a̵m̷e̷.̶ ̶Y̸o̸u̸'̶r̶e̸ ̴a̶ ̴m̴o̴r̶t̶a̴l̶ ̵w̶i̴t̵h̷ ̸m̶o̷r̷a̶l̴s̶,̵ ̷a̷n̶d̸ ̶I̶'̶l̶l̵ ̸r̷e̶s̸p̵e̵c̴t̶ ̴t̸h̴a̵t̶ ̶b̵e̴c̴a̶u̷s̶e̷ ̷I̴ ̷l̶i̵k̸e̶ ̵y̴o̸u̷.̷"̸ She leaned backward ever so slightly to hold her arms out to her sides. "̷I̴t̶ ̴w̷o̶u̴l̴d̸ ̶b̸e̵ ̵e̴a̸s̴y̷ ̷f̵o̶r̴ ̶m̶e̵ ̴t̶o̶ ̶t̷a̵k̸e̶ ̴t̶h̶e̷ ̶b̶l̶a̶m̶e̵,̴ ̷a̵n̷y̸w̸a̴y̴.̵ ̷I̸ ̸w̵a̷s̵ ̵t̴h̵e̵ ̵d̸e̶m̶o̴n̵ ̴t̶h̴e̶r̷e̷,̵ ̵a̵n̷d̵ ̶n̵o̸b̸o̴d̵y̷ ̵t̵r̵u̸s̸t̵s̷ ̸t̴h̴e̷ ̵d̶e̶m̶o̸n̷.̶ ̵'̸G̸o̵d̴s̴ ̶w̶h̷y̵ ̷t̶h̵e̷ ̶f̸u̷c̸k̶ ̵d̵i̵d̸n̴'̸t̶ ̶I̸ ̸k̵n̵o̵w̷ ̶b̵e̷t̵t̴e̴r̴ ̴t̷h̸a̴n̴ ̷t̷o̷ ̶t̴r̷u̸s̵t̵ ̸t̶h̵e̷ ̸n̵o̸ ̸g̸o̴o̷d̷ ̷d̶e̴m̶o̷n̸?̷'̵" she heightened her voice to something more mocking as she said those words, but with a roll of her eyes and a sniffle, she returned to normal.

"I̷'̸m̶ ̷s̵u̷r̸e̴ ̸t̶h̷a̸t̴'̵s̷ ̶e̶x̸a̸c̴t̴l̸y̴ ̷w̷h̵a̷t̸ ̶y̶o̴u̶ ̸w̷e̵r̴e̸ ̶t̷h̷i̸n̶k̵i̴n̸g̶ ̵o̸n̸ ̶y̵o̵u̶r̸ ̷w̸a̷l̶k̵ ̶o̸v̸e̶r̸ ̷h̶e̴r̷e̵,̴ ̸w̶a̶s̶n̷'̶t̴ ̶i̶t̷?̵"

After a while, she shook her head again. "̶I̴t̴'̸s̵ ̴p̶a̷r̷ ̸f̸o̶r̷ ̵t̵h̶e̴ ̷c̸o̶u̷r̷s̷e̷,̸ ̴a̵n̵d̵ ̷I̸ ̸t̶h̴i̷n̴k̵ ̷n̷o̷t̴h̷i̸n̴g̵ ̶o̷f̵ ̶i̵t̸.̵ ̸I̶f̵ ̶I̴ ̷w̵e̵r̵e̴ ̵i̸n̴ ̴a̵ ̷b̴e̸t̴t̷e̶r̶ ̶s̷t̷a̴t̶e̷ ̷o̸f̸ ̴m̴i̴n̵d̶ ̶I̸'̶d̸ ̴e̸v̴e̴n̶ ̸f̴i̵n̷d̴ ̷i̵t̷ ̶f̸u̶n̴n̵y̵.̵ ̸B̵u̷t̷ ̵t̷h̵e̴r̸e̷'̶s̶ ̸n̶o̵t̷h̵i̸n̶g̶ ̸f̸u̴n̵n̸y̶ ̶a̴b̶o̸u̵t̷ ̸h̷o̴w̷ ̵b̶a̶d̷l̴y̴ ̵I̶ ̷n̶e̵e̷d̷ ̶t̶o̶ ̵d̵r̵i̴l̶l̸ ̴t̵h̸i̶s̶ ̶i̴n̷t̷o̶ ̶y̵o̵u̴r̷ ̶f̴u̵c̴k̸i̶n̸g̴ ̴h̷e̵a̸d̶.̵"

She took the deepest breath she could muster. It didn't really help much, because a sob caressed her voice as she spoke. "I̵ ̴a̵m̸ ̶n̷o̴t̶ ̶a̸b̷o̶v̵e̶ ̶d̴o̶i̶n̸g̴ ̴a̴n̷y̶t̴h̸i̴n̶g̶-̴-̶a̴n̵d̵ ̷I̶ ̵m̸e̴a̵n̷ ̵a̷n̸y̸t̸h̴i̷n̵g̸-̴-̶t̵o̸ ̶p̵r̵o̴t̶e̸c̷t̴ ̸m̵y̸ ̸v̷e̸s̸s̶e̷l̶.̶ ̵B̶e̸c̵a̴u̴s̵e̵ ̶w̵h̵e̵n̶ ̶y̸o̵u̷ ̸l̸o̶v̷e̸ ̶s̶o̷m̸e̵t̶h̸i̵n̶g̶ ̶a̵s̴ ̷m̴u̸c̶h̸ ̷a̶s̶ ̵I̸ ̴f̷u̵c̷k̵i̸n̵g̴ ̴l̶o̵v̶e̷ ̴h̵e̷r̷,̸ ̴i̸t̶ ̴d̸o̷e̶s̴n̸'̶t̴ ̷m̶a̸t̴t̵e̸r̵," she cringed as her voice cracked, ̴"at̶ ̵a̶l̵l̷.̸

Jabbing her finger into his shoulder, she leaned close enough to him to assure their noses barely grazed one another. "Y̸o̷u̴ ̷c̸a̸n̵ ̸b̸e̸ ̵m̸a̶d̸,̴ ̸X̵a̴v̸i̸a̵n̸ ̴c̷a̴n̷ ̵b̷e̶ ̵m̴a̴d̴,̸ ̴I̴ ̸c̵a̷n̴ ̶c̸o̶n̴t̵i̴n̵u̶e̸ ̷b̵e̷i̷n̴g̵ ̶t̸h̶e̵ ̸s̴c̶a̸r̵y̸ ̷u̴n̸t̷r̴u̴s̵t̴w̸o̴r̷t̷h̴y̴ ̵'̸m̶o̶n̷ ̴o̴n̵ ̵t̸h̸e̴ ̵i̴s̴l̷a̶n̵d̷. ̶Bu̴t̷ ̷j̷u̵d̶g̷i̸n̷g̴ ̶b̷y̵ ̵w̷h̵a̷t̸ ̷o̸u̷r̸ ̴r̴e̵c̵o̶n̸ ̶t̸e̸a̸m̴ ̴j̶u̸s̵t̸ ̸f̸o̶u̵n̴d̷,̵ ̸t̵h̶e̵r̴e̶ ̷i̶s̸ ̷s̷o̷m̵e̸t̵h̸i̸n̷g̷ ̶g̸o̷i̷n̶g̴ ̴o̶n̷ ̵i̶n̵ ̶t̴h̷a̸t̶ ̴f̵u̴c̴k̶i̶n̷g̶ ̴r̵o̶o̸m̸,̸ ̴a̴n̷d̸ ̵t̵h̴e̶ ̵a̶n̸s̴w̴e̷r̴ ̷t̵o̶ ̶o̷u̷r̸ ̵p̶r̴o̸b̷l̵e̵m̴s̷ ̵i̷s̴ ̷i̶n̴ ̴t̷h̶e̸r̶e̸.̴ ̸S̸o̵ ̸d̵o̶ ̵I̸ ̵r̵e̶g̷r̴e̴t̶ ̴d̷o̸i̶n̸g̶ ̵w̶h̸a̸t̵ ̵I̸ ̵d̵i̷d̸?̴ ̶N̸o̵.̶ ̵I̴ ̸d̶o̶n̴'̶t̴.̸ ̶A̸n̵d̵ ̷I̴'̶d̷ ̶a̵p̵p̵r̸e̸c̵i̴a̸t̶e̴ ̵i̷t̶ ̸i̷f̷ ̴y̸o̶u̷ ̵d̵i̶d̵n̴'̴t̶ ̶c̵o̵m̸e̴ ̴h̶e̵r̸e̵ ̵t̶o̶ ̴c̸h̸a̶s̷t̷i̷s̷e̸ ̷m̸e̶ ̶f̵o̶r̷ ̷i̶t̵,̷ ̷b̷e̷c̵a̷u̶s̵e̵ ̸u̷n̸l̶i̶k̴e̷ ̶o̴u̵r̸ ̷e̸x̴c̶h̶a̵n̸g̷e̸ ̵i̶n̴ ̴t̸h̶e̷ ̸m̷a̸r̵s̴h̸,̵ ̴I̷ ̴a̶m̶ ̶n̷o̷t̸ ̴f̶u̶c̶k̶i̴n̸g̶ ̷s̸o̶r̷r̶y̴ ̶f̸o̷r̷ ̵t̸h̴i̶s̸ o̶n̸e̶.̶"̴

She exhaled her last shaky breath before relenting on their closeness and retreating backwards. She sloppily wiped more tears off her face before crossing her arms.

"̴N̸o̶w̸ ̵I̷'̷m̸ ̷g̸o̴i̶n̴g̶ ̸t̴o̴ ̵g̴i̷v̶e̷ ̷y̶o̸u̷ ̵a̸ ̷s̸e̷c̴o̵n̵d̴ ̸t̷o̴ ̵t̸h̸i̵n̴k̶ ̸r̷e̷a̸l̵l̶y̶ ̵l̷o̶n̸g̵ ̸a̸n̷d̵ ̴r̵e̴a̶l̶l̴y̴ ̵h̴a̵r̶d̴ ̴a̴b̸o̸u̷t̴ ̴w̶h̷a̷t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̴'̴r̵e̶ ̶g̷o̴i̵n̴g̸ ̶t̸o̸ ̴s̴a̷y̵ ̴n̵e̸x̵t̸.̶ ̸I̶f̸ ̷y̴o̶u̴'̷r̸e̸ ̵s̷t̶i̸l̵l̷ ̴u̵p̵s̶e̸t̸ ̴w̶i̸t̸h̴ ̶m̵e̶,̸ ̶f̸i̵n̶e̸.̵ ̸B̸u̶t̴ ̸a̸t̴ ̶l̴e̴a̷s̸t̷ ̵b̶i̸t̸e̸ ̵o̸n̵ ̶i̵t̶ ̷u̷n̵t̷i̶l̶ ̶I̷'̶m̷ ̷n̶o̵t̷ ̴f̵u̸c̶k̸i̸n̸g̷ ̷c̵r̶y̵i̷n̶g̴ ̸a̵n̴y̷m̸o̶r̴e̴.̸ ̵A̴r̴e̷ ̷w̸e̷ ̷c̵l̷e̶a̵r̵,̵ ̴S̵t̷e̸v̷e̴n̷?̴"̸

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"̵S̴i̸m̸p̸l̴e̴ ̸q̸u̷e̴s̴t̶i̶o̴n̴,̶"̴ ̴she began. "̶H̸a̶v̸e̶ ̷y̶o̸u̷ ̸e̴v̴e̸r̸ ̸g̵o̴n̶e̶ ̸r̷e̶a̷l̵l̴y̷ ̸f̶a̷r̴ ̵o̷u̵t̷ ̴o̵f̷ ̴y̶o̷u̵r̶ ̵w̷a̷y̷ ̵t̵o̵ ̸p̵r̴o̴t̷e̶c̷t̶ ̷s̷o̸m̵e̴t̶h̵i̵n̷g̴?̷"̷

For a moment, Steven was caught off guard by the meekness of Odile's question. Of course he had. He would give everything to protect the ones he loved. His partners, his family, his friends. The very region he had sworn to serve. (And somewhere in the back of his mind, he had an odd feeling that at some point, maybe he had once before...) He opened his mouth to answer, but no sound came out. The words felt meaningless against the weight of Odile's query. She said it was simple, and yet it most certainly wasn't. He'd asked her why she broke a promise to one man. It felt like she was about to explain how she had broken the world for something much, much more.

She sniffled and hastily wiped her cheek. "̶I̶'̴m̸ ̶s̷u̶r̴e̷ ̴i̷t̸'̸s̶ ̸a̶ ̴g̶i̶v̶e̵n̶ ̶t̷h̶a̴t̴ ̶I̴'̸d̶ ̵h̷a̸v̴e̷ ̸a̶ ̶b̶l̷o̸o̷d̴y̶ ̸a̶u̷r̸a̸,̸ ̶b̵u̷t̷ ̷M̵a̷r̸s̶h̶a̶d̷o̵w̴ ̷w̷a̷s̸ ̷d̵r̴a̵w̶n̸ ̷t̶o̶ ̵a̴n̸ ̶i̶n̵s̴t̷a̶n̵c̷e̸ ̴t̶h̶a̷t̵ ̵I̸ ̵s̴h̵a̷r̷e̸d̷ ̷w̶i̸t̶h̴ ̸O̵d̴e̵t̸t̶e̵.̸ ̴W̸h̴e̵r̷e̸ ̷I̶ ̸k̸i̴l̷l̸e̶d̶ ̵f̴o̵r̵ ̸h̸e̸r̷.̵ ̷D̴o̵ ̵y̸o̸u̴ ̵k̷n̵o̸w̶ ̷w̴h̸a̶t̷ ̶t̶h̷a̷t̶ ̴w̵a̴s̵?̴"

Suddenly, the tears were falling a lot faster, and she pointed at Odette before taking a single slow step up to Steven. "̵H̸e̷r̴ ̴r̶a̴p̷i̵s̶t̶.̷ ̶N̷o̴t̶ ̵o̵n̸l̵y̶ ̴d̴i̷d̷ ̷I̷ ̶e̸n̶d̷u̷r̷e̷ ̸t̴h̴e̵ ̷b̸r̴u̵n̸t̷ ̵e̶n̸d̵ ̴o̷f̶ ̶t̸h̴e̴ ̸a̶t̵t̶a̵c̴k̵,̴ ̴I̷ ̶f̸u̷c̴k̸i̵n̷g̶ ̸k̷i̷l̸l̸e̷d̸ ̷h̴i̷m̷.̸ ̶F̵o̷r̸ ̸h̴e̸r̶.̷ ̷T̷o̴ ̵s̵a̵v̷e̷ ̷h̶e̴r̶ ̵l̸i̴f̶e̵.̷ ̶T̶o̸ ̴p̸r̷o̵t̸e̴c̷t̷ ̴h̵e̸r̴.̵ ̸A̴r̸e̷ ̸y̸o̸u̵ ̶f̷o̶l̴l̷o̸w̷i̷n̴g̴ ̸m̷e̸?̷"̷

Steven felt the color drain from his face, and he stared wide-eyed, first at Odette, then at Odile. Never. Never in a million years would he have guessed they had endured such things. Here he was with his pampered life and insignificant problems, and the duo before him had fought and clawed their way through real, tangible horrors and come out the other side. It felt like he'd been punched in the stomach. He couldn't even muster a nod to answer Odile, because to acknowledge it felt like making it tangible, no longer something to be buried in the back of their minds, never to be unearthed again.

It was a long beat before she spoke again."̵S̴o̵ ̵i̷f̷ ̵I̶'̶m̷ ̶w̶i̷l̶l̶i̵n̷g̵ ̴t̸o̶ ̸t̸a̸k̶e̵ ̴o̷n̶ ̴s̴o̵m̵e̸t̶h̴i̴n̶g̷ ̷s̷o̵ ̵a̷t̷r̵o̴c̸i̶o̶u̴s̸,̷"̷ she said as evenly as she could, taking another step toward him. ̷"̴I̸f̶ ̴I̶'̵m̵ ̴w̸i̷l̷l̶i̵n̵g̴ ̶t̵o̶ ̷p̶u̵t̵ ̶m̵y̷s̵e̴l̵f̸ ̵t̷h̷r̸o̷u̶g̸h̴ ̴t̴h̷e̵ ̴p̵a̸i̵n̴ ̸o̷f̴ ̶r̸e̵l̷i̷v̵i̸n̴g̷ ̴i̸t̴.̸.̸.̶"̸ she said, their chests now separated by a mere centimeter of space.

She spoke with a level of seriousness one might expect from a legendary of her caliber. Nothing threatening, nothing scary. Just raw, pointed urgency.

"̵Wh̶a̴t̵ ̸t̸h̷e̶ ̸f̷u̵c̴k̸ ̵m̸a̸k̵e̷s̷ ̵y̷o̸u̶ ̵t̴h̶i̶n̶k̷ ̵I̸'̷m̴ ̴a̷b̴o̸v̶e̷ ̸b̷r̶e̵a̷c̸h̸i̵n̴g̷ ̸a̶ ̴s̷t̶r̶a̵n̷g̷e̷r̸s̵ ̶t̵r̷u̴s̵t̷,̷ ̴e̴v̸e̸n̸ ̴f̶o̷r̵ ̵a̸ ̵m̵o̷m̴e̸n̶t̵,̴ ̵f̵o̸r̶ ̵t̸h̷e̵ ̴s̵a̴k̸e̴ ̸o̸f̶ ̷f̶i̷n̴d̴i̵n̷g̴ ̵i̸n̶f̵o̵r̷m̴a̴t̴i̵o̵n̴ ̸t̷h̵a̶t̸ ̷w̶i̴l̸l̸ ̴t̶a̵k̴e̴ ̶u̸s̷ ̸i̷n̵ ̴t̸h̵e̵ ̶d̶i̷r̵e̸c̸t̵i̸o̴n̸ ̴o̸f̵ ̸m̵y̸ ̷v̴e̷s̴s̸e̸l̶'̷s̵ ̸s̶a̴f̵e̶t̶y̸?̴ O̸r̶ ̷e̸v̷e̴n̴ ̸y̶o̴u̴r̵s̵?̴ ̷O̶r̸ ̶t̵h̴e̵ ̵o̴t̵h̵e̴r̷ ̸f̴r̵i̷e̵n̶d̴s̸ ̷s̶h̶e̸'̶s̴ ̴m̷a̴d̸e̵?̴ "̸̷

Steven was frozen in place, Odile so close he was sure she could hear his heart hammering in his chest. He couldn't move away even if he'd wanted to. Rooted to the spot by the absolute truth in her words.

How could he have been so shortsighted? He was doing what he thought was best, keeping Xavian and Clink's confidence so that they may help them with safe passage home and away from this festival gone wrong. And Odile was doing the exact same thing, but from an entirely different perspective. A perspective he would never hope to understand. A perspective brought on by eons of experience, eons of seeing the worst in people.

They were working toward the same goal, and he'd been too much of a fool to see it.

"̵I̵ ̷h̶a̸v̷e̶ ̸n̴o̸t̸h̵i̷n̸g̶ ̶a̷g̶a̶i̴n̴s̵t̴ ̸X̶a̷v̷i̵a̸n̷,̶"̵ ̸ she insisted, shaking her head. ̴"̵E̷v̶e̶r̵y̸t̴h̷i̸n̶g̷ ̷I̷ ̷s̵a̸i̷d̷ ̷t̴o̵ ̴h̵i̵m̴ ̴w̶a̴s̶ ̴t̷r̸u̵e̴.̶ ̸I̶ ̸h̷a̶v̶e̶ ̸n̸o̶t̵h̶i̴n̴g̵ ̸a̸g̸a̵i̴n̷s̸t̷ ̵y̸o̴u̵ ̶e̵i̶t̷h̸e̵r̴.̴ ̶I̴f̶ ̷h̵e̴ ̸f̵o̵u̵n̷d̶ ̶o̶u̸t̸ ̵e̵v̸e̵r̷y̵o̴n̶e̸ ̷k̴n̵e̵w̴,̴ ̴I̶ ̷w̸a̸s̸ ̵g̴o̴n̸n̷a̵ ̵t̶a̴k̶e̵ ̵t̸h̸e̴ ̸f̷u̷l̵l̷ ̵b̴l̵a̵m̷e̷.̶ ̶Y̸o̸u̸'̶r̶e̸ ̴a̶ ̴m̴o̴r̶t̶a̴l̶ ̵w̶i̴t̵h̷ ̸m̶o̷r̷a̶l̴s̶,̵ ̷a̷n̶d̸ ̶I̶'̶l̶l̵ ̸r̷e̶s̸p̵e̵c̴t̶ ̴t̸h̴a̵t̶ ̶b̵e̴c̴a̶u̷s̶e̷ ̷I̴ ̷l̶i̵k̸e̶ ̵y̴o̸u̷.̷"̸ She relented on their closeness, leaning backward ever so slightly to hold her arms out to her sides. "̷I̴t̶ ̴w̷o̶u̴l̴d̸ ̶b̸e̵ ̵e̴a̸s̴y̷ ̷f̵o̶r̴ ̶m̶e̵ ̴t̶o̶ ̶t̷a̵k̸e̶ ̴t̶h̶e̷ ̶b̶l̶a̶m̶e̵,̴ ̷a̵n̷y̸w̸a̴y̴.̵ ̷I̸ ̸w̵a̷s̵ ̵t̴h̵e̵ ̵d̸e̶m̶o̴n̵ ̴t̶h̴e̶r̷e̷,̵ ̵a̵n̷d̵ ̶n̵o̸b̸o̴d̵y̷ ̵t̵r̵u̸s̸t̵s̷ ̸t̴h̴e̷ ̵d̶e̶m̶o̸n̷.̶ ̵'̸G̸o̵d̴s̴ ̶w̶h̷y̵ ̷t̶h̵e̷ ̶f̸u̷c̸k̶ ̵d̵i̵d̸n̴'̸t̶ ̶I̸ ̸k̵n̵o̵w̷ ̶b̵e̷t̵t̴e̴r̴ ̴t̷h̸a̴n̴ ̷t̷o̷ ̶t̴r̷u̸s̵t̵ ̸t̶h̵e̷ ̸n̵o̸ ̸g̸o̴o̷d̷ ̷d̶e̴m̶o̷n̸?̷'̵" she heightened her voice to something more mocking as she said those words, but with a roll of her eyes and a sniffle, she returned to normal.

"I̷'̸m̶ ̷s̵u̷r̸e̴ ̸t̶h̷a̸t̴'̵s̷ ̶e̶x̸a̸c̴t̴l̸y̴ ̷w̷h̵a̷t̸ ̶y̶o̴u̶ ̸w̷e̵r̴e̸ ̶t̷h̷i̸n̶k̵i̴n̸g̶ ̵o̸n̸ ̶y̵o̵u̶r̸ ̷w̸a̷l̶k̵ ̶o̸v̸e̶r̸ ̷h̶e̴r̷e̵,̴ ̸w̶a̶s̶n̷'̶t̴ ̶i̶t̷?̵"

In any other situation he might have laughed. There was nothing about him that deserved respect. Morals? What were morals in the face of an opponent who had none? Dead, probably. Vanished. Useless. And then what would respect buy him? Not a whole lot.

The guilt grabbed him by the throat and squeezed. He was disgusted twice over: once because of how easily she'd recited the words, and second because he'd thought them himself. He really was a fool. A hasty, narrowminded fool.

She took the deepest breath she could muster. It didn't really help much, because a sob caressed her voice as she spoke. "I̵ ̴a̵m̸ ̶n̷o̴t̶ ̶a̸b̷o̶v̵e̶ ̶d̴o̶i̶n̸g̴ ̴a̴n̷y̶t̴h̸i̴n̶g̶-̴-̶a̴n̵d̵ ̷I̶ ̵m̸e̴a̵n̷ ̵a̷n̸y̸t̸h̴i̷n̵g̸-̴-̶t̵o̸ ̶p̵r̵o̴t̶e̸c̷t̴ ̸m̵y̸ ̸v̷e̸s̸s̶e̷l̶.̶ ̵B̶e̸c̵a̴u̴s̵e̵ ̶w̵h̵e̵n̶ ̶y̸o̵u̷ ̸l̸o̶v̷e̸ ̶s̶o̷m̸e̵t̶h̸i̵n̶g̶ ̶a̵s̴ ̷m̴u̸c̶h̸ ̷a̶s̶ ̵I̸ ̴f̷u̵c̷k̵i̸n̵g̴ ̴l̶o̵v̶e̷ ̴h̵e̷r̷,̸ ̴i̸t̶ ̴d̸o̷e̶s̴n̸'̶t̴ ̷m̶a̸t̴t̵e̸r̵," she cringed as her voice cracked, ̴"at̶ ̵a̶l̵l̷.̸

Jabbing her finger into his shoulder, she leaned close enough to him to assure their noses barely grazed one another. "Y̸o̷u̴ ̷c̸a̸n̵ ̸b̸e̸ ̵m̸a̶d̸,̴ ̸X̵a̴v̸i̸a̵n̸ ̴c̷a̴n̷ ̵b̷e̶ ̵m̴a̴d̴,̸ ̴I̴ ̸c̵a̷n̴ ̶c̸o̶n̴t̵i̴n̵u̶e̸ ̷b̵e̷i̷n̴g̵ ̶t̸h̶e̵ ̸s̴c̶a̸r̵y̸ ̷u̴n̸t̷r̴u̴s̵t̴w̸o̴r̷t̷h̴y̴ ̵'̸m̶o̶n̷ ̴o̴n̵ ̵t̸h̸e̴ ̵i̴s̴l̷a̶n̵d̷. ̶Bu̴t̷ ̷j̷u̵d̶g̷i̸n̷g̴ ̶b̷y̵ ̵w̷h̵a̷t̸ ̷o̸u̷r̸ ̴r̴e̵c̵o̶n̸ ̶t̸e̸a̸m̴ ̴j̶u̸s̵t̸ ̸f̸o̶u̵n̴d̷,̵ ̸t̵h̶e̵r̴e̶ ̷i̶s̸ ̷s̷o̷m̵e̸t̵h̸i̸n̷g̷ ̶g̸o̷i̷n̶g̴ ̴o̶n̷ ̵i̶n̵ ̶t̴h̷a̸t̶ ̴f̵u̴c̴k̶i̶n̷g̶ ̴r̵o̶o̸m̸,̸ ̴a̴n̷d̸ ̵t̵h̴e̶ ̵a̶n̸s̴w̴e̷r̴ ̷t̵o̶ ̶o̷u̷r̸ ̵p̶r̴o̸b̷l̵e̵m̴s̷ ̵i̷s̴ ̷i̶n̴ ̴t̷h̶e̸r̶e̸.̴ ̸S̸o̵ ̸d̵o̶ ̵I̸ ̵r̵e̶g̷r̴e̴t̶ ̴d̷o̸i̶n̸g̶ ̵w̶h̸a̸t̵ ̵I̸ ̵d̵i̷d̸?̴ ̶N̸o̵.̶ ̵I̴ ̸d̶o̶n̴'̶t̴.̸ ̶A̸n̵d̵ ̷I̴'̶d̷ ̶a̵p̵p̵r̸e̸c̵i̴a̸t̶e̴ ̵i̷t̶ ̸i̷f̷ ̴y̸o̶u̷ ̵d̵i̶d̵n̴'̴t̶ ̶c̵o̵m̸e̴ ̴h̶e̵r̸e̵ ̵t̶o̶ ̴c̸h̸a̶s̷t̷i̷s̷e̸ ̷m̸e̶ ̶f̵o̶r̷ ̷i̶t̵,̷ ̷b̷e̷c̵a̷u̶s̵e̵ ̸u̷n̸l̶i̶k̴e̷ ̶o̴u̵r̸ ̷e̸x̴c̶h̶a̵n̸g̷e̸ ̵i̶n̴ ̴t̸h̶e̷ ̸m̷a̸r̵s̴h̸,̵ ̴I̷ ̴a̶m̶ ̶n̷o̷t̸ ̴f̶u̶c̶k̶i̴n̸g̶ ̷s̸o̶r̷r̶y̴ ̶f̸o̷r̷ ̵t̸h̴i̶s̸ o̶n̸e̶.̶"̴

As Odile spoke, Steven suddenly felt so small, so insignificant. What was he in the face of a Legendary who had lived a thousand lifetimes? Just a single human with only the power of his word, and even here, in the face of an ancient evil more powerful than even his strongest partner, his word was worth nothing.

He'd gone from staring between Odile and Odette to studying the floor of the lounge like it was the most interesting geological sample he'd ever seen. Any animosity he'd felt earlier had fizzled away, no more than a candle in a downpour.

She exhaled her last shaky breath before relenting on their closeness and retreating backwards. She sloppily wiped more tears off her face before crossing her arms.

"̴N̸o̶w̸ ̵I̷'̷m̸ ̷g̸o̴i̶n̴g̶ ̸t̴o̴ ̵g̴i̷v̶e̷ ̷y̶o̸u̷ ̵a̸ ̷s̸e̷c̴o̵n̵d̴ ̸t̷o̴ ̵t̸h̸i̵n̴k̶ ̸r̷e̷a̸l̵l̶y̶ ̵l̷o̶n̸g̵ ̸a̸n̷d̵ ̴r̵e̴a̶l̶l̴y̴ ̵h̴a̵r̶d̴ ̴a̴b̸o̸u̷t̴ ̴w̶h̷a̷t̶ ̶y̶o̶u̴'̴r̵e̶ ̶g̷o̴i̵n̴g̸ ̶t̸o̸ ̴s̴a̷y̵ ̴n̵e̸x̵t̸.̶ ̸I̶f̸ ̷y̴o̶u̴'̷r̸e̸ ̵s̷t̶i̸l̵l̷ ̴u̵p̵s̶e̸t̸ ̴w̶i̸t̸h̴ ̶m̵e̶,̸ ̶f̸i̵n̶e̸.̵ ̸B̸u̶t̴ ̸a̸t̴ ̶l̴e̴a̷s̸t̷ ̵b̶i̸t̸e̸ ̵o̸n̵ ̶i̵t̶ ̷u̷n̵t̷i̶l̶ ̶I̷'̶m̷ ̷n̶o̵t̷ ̴f̵u̸c̶k̸i̸n̸g̷ ̷c̵r̶y̵i̷n̶g̴ ̸a̵n̴y̷m̸o̶r̴e̴.̸ ̵A̴r̴e̷ ̷w̸e̷ ̷c̵l̷e̶a̵r̵,̵ ̴S̵t̷e̸v̷e̴n̷?̴"̸

"We're clear," he finally whispered, lifting his gaze to find the intensity of Odile's stare burning through the pain. But that was all he said. There wasn't much else he had anymore.

He stood there, fidgeting with his rings, unsure what to do next. He'd come to the lounge with one thing on his mind, and now there was nothing of it left. It still felt wrong, breaking in to Xavian's room. But no less wrong than standing idly by and waiting for someone to stop this nightmare. When Odile's sniffles lessened, and Odette had finished wiping her glasses and her face, he finally spoke again.


"Is... there anything I can do?"

He didn't say 'to help,' because he was fairly certain whatever he could offer would be of little actual help. Odette had been one to help him, and how did he repay her? There wasn't much comfort to be had at the hands of someone who'd just accosted them. He didn't say 'I'm sorry,' either, because two little words were hollow in the face of everything they'd just endured.

So he asked, and he waited, and secretly he prayed that somehow, some way, he might be able to atone for everything he'd put Odette and her partners through. He doubted it though; the hole he'd dug for himself was rather deep.

 

[Sinderella]

"We're clear," he finally whispered, lifting his gaze to find the intensity of Odile's stare burning through the pain. But that was all he said. There wasn't much else he had anymore.

"̸G̴o̸o̴d̶.̴ ̵M̷e̵r̸c̶i̷.̷"̵ The quietness of his response told her she was effective in her speech. Good, because every single one of those words hurt to say. Being so sad, so emotional (when it wasn't anger), fucking sucked.

But when it came to Odette, it just couldn't be helped.

"Is... there anything I can do?"

He didn't say 'to help,' because he was fairly certain whatever he could offer would be of little actual help. Odette had been one to help him, and how did he repay her? There wasn't much comfort to be had at the hands of someone who'd just accosted them. He didn't say 'I'm sorry,' either, because two little words were hollow in the face of everything they'd just endured.

So he asked, and he waited, and secretly he prayed that somehow, some way, he might be able to atone for everything he'd put Odette and her partners through. He doubted it though; the hole he'd dug for himself was rather deep.

And now he was offering to help? Well. It seems her words worked really well.

Her eyes roved back over to Odette, who was still standing there dumbfounded.

"̶I̵ ̸s̵a̷y̸ ̷h̶e̶ ̶h̴e̴l̵p̸s̴ ̴u̴s̶ ̴d̷i̷s̸t̵r̸a̴c̸t̴ ̶t̶h̷e̵m̷.̴ ̵T̶h̶o̴u̵g̶h̵t̷s̷?̵"̷


"U-um..."

Sniffling again, she quickly wiped her face, deciding not to further wallow in everything Odile had just dropped on Steven. They needed to get a move on, and maybe Steven's assistance was just what they needed.

"Th-the text I just got from Gladion," she stammered, grabbing for her phone again, "says that Xavian, Clink, and Orzo are still in the room. And we-e obviously need them to not be..."

For good measure, she flashed the text message to Steven for him to read.

"Gen--that Oshawott--is making something in Dragon's Maw, apparently. So we need to get them there just long enough for us to get in and out." She sniffled again, suddenly noticing her tears were coming much more sporadically than before. Was the gloom finally letting up? Thank fucking gods.

"Since...you and Odile are technically the only ones who should know where the place is...maybe you could knock on the door and..." she hesitantly shrugged, "convince them to go over there for a bit?"

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Her eyes roved back over to Odette, who was still standing there dumbfounded.

"̶I̵ ̸s̵a̷y̸ ̷h̶e̶ ̶h̴e̴l̵p̸s̴ ̴u̴s̶ ̴d̷i̷s̸t̵r̸a̴c̸t̴ ̶t̶h̷e̵m̷.̴ ̵T̶h̶o̴u̵g̶h̵t̷s̷?̵"̷

Distract? Steven winced. Of course the thing they'd ask him to do involved deception. Xavian had trusted him, and that could be used to the group's advantage. He'd offered, but it didn't stop the nauseous feeling from creeping over him.

"Th-the text I just got from Gladion," she stammered, grabbing for her phone again, "says that Xavian, Clink, and Orzo are still in the room. And we-e obviously need them to not be..."

For good measure, she flashed the text message to Steven for him to read.

Steven scanned the message, a small grimace forming as he realized they had already sneaked into the room once before he was even aware of what was going on. A few words caught his eye: a defaced painting, some kind of chair in a box, and... Orzo lying to Xavian?

He drew back from the screen with a frown on his face. It was true, he hadn't seen Orzo the day he delivered the gracidea to Clink. If Orzo was lying, and he really hadn't been poisoned, but Clink had...? Unease churned in his gut.

No time to stew on it, though, as Odette was explaining more of the plan (which also didn't help his growing malaise.)

"Gen--that Oshawott--is making something in Dragon's Maw, apparently. So we need to get them there just long enough for us to get in and out." She sniffled again, suddenly noticing her tears were coming much more sporadically than before. Was the gloom finally letting up? Thank fucking gods.

"Since...you and Odile are technically the only ones who should know where the place is...maybe you could knock on the door and..." she hesitantly shrugged, "convince them to go over there for a bit?"

"That's right," Steven said, "When we talked, Gen mentioned he was an aspiring chef."

He smiled thinly at the memory. He was glad for the little former human, but it still was a grim situation for Gen to have his chance to cook.

"So you want me to convince Mr. Montorzi and his partners to head to Dragons' Maw for a meal?"

It sounded ridiculous even as he said it, but one look at the still-disheveled state of Odile and her trainer meant that any chance they had of not alerting Xavian and his pokemon of any foul play rested on the shoulders of someone more... composed.

Steven sighed. If Orzo was lying, and there was something behind one of those closed doors in that room that could be their smoking gun, they had to try, right? His gaze lingered on the doorway that led to the hidden hallway where their host was staying.


"...Alright."

With one last glance at Odette and Odile, he motioned for Aggron to follow him and headed for the door. He just hoped he didn't have to join Xavian at dinner. He wouldn't have the stomach for it after this.

 

[Negrek]

The walk over to the lounge was uneventful, save that the girl with the espeon had decided to come along for the ride. Nate wasn't entirely sure how he felt about that; with a job like this, more people meant more trouble. But whatever. They could probably stick her on lookout duty or something if it seemed like she'd get in the way otherwise.

The meet-up spot turned out to be the kind of library place near the main hall. More public than Nate would have liked, and who the fuck wanted to meet up in a library of all fucking places, but at least it was quiet. Plus there were only like five people still left alive on the island, so unless literal Xavian or one of his pokémon showed up, whatever, most people knew they were doing this anyway, Nate supposed.

At least Odette was where she said she'd be, which meant they could get started. But as they got closer, Nate realized, shit, she was looking pretty rough. She'd maybe been... crying? Nate came to a halt, queasily uncertain. Now what?

She wouldn't have sent the message to Wes if she didn't want them to come over, right? And if she'd wanted to talk about... whatever... she would have said something about it instead of getting the mission underway. So. Nate crossed his arms and became very interested in the books on the shelf slightly above Odette's head. "Looks like everybody's here," he said. "We good to go, or are we waiting on something else?"

Something moved down by his side, and it took Nate a moment to realize--Mightyena! Oh, goddammit. She was headed over to Odette, probably prepared to be all sympathetic and shit. The last thing anybody needed right now. Nate tried to call her back with the force of his glare alone, but she probably didn't even notice. Instead she walked right up to Odette and stopped in front of her, ears and tail up, and gave a questioning whuff.

 

[Seren]

Excusing herself from Lourine's presence just as Wes and Mitch were leaving was somewhat awkward, but Kimiko knew she needed to be nearby. She wasn't involved with the break-in itself, but she knew she wouldn't be able to just sit in her room and relax or something while this was going on. There wasn't much she could do just by being in the area, either, but it definitely felt better to be close by rather than not. She figured she could play lookout, keeping other trainers (or Xavian himself, should he or either of his partners return early) out of the lounge, or at least distracting them long enough to text a warning to those inside. After all, she'd been in here looking through books once before, so it wasn't like it would be out of place for her to be doing it again (or, pretending to).

The walk over was somewhat awkward and silent. Mitch and Wes had seemed to know each other, but there was a tenseness in the air; understandable, considering what they were about to attempt, but no less awkward. Even Olivia seemed distracted; being near Neo hadn't riled her up the way it usually did, and she had seemed fine talking with Mightyena and Azar... she could probably sense the shift in emotions coming from the three humans. Kimiko wondered just what was going through the minds of her temporary traveling companions, and suddenly wondered if she should have told Mitch why she followed them.

Too late, though, as they entered the lounge and immediately realized something was wrong. There was a brief glimpse of something metal - Aggron? - out of the corner of her eye before her attention was drawn to Odette and Odile. The pair of them looked to be in a state, possibly having recently cried again... wait, Odile? If that was Aggron she'd just missed, Steven was surely close by... did something happen between him and Odette? But then, why was Odile upset? The thought was somewhat alien to her, even as she stood there staring at the proof.

As Olivia followed Mightyena towards the pair, Kimiko wanted to ask what was wrong, but was cut off before she even spoke as Mitch got right to business - that's right. They had a job to do. So instead, tilted her head and gave Odette and Odile a glance that said I'm going to ask about this later, but decided it was better to not let this get in the way of their plan, so long as her friend was still willing and able to go through with it. She held up her phone, after looking around the lounge to make sure no one else was present to overhear, making sure to look Wes in the eye, too, to make sure he knew she was also talking to him. "Keep an eye on the group chat while you're in there. There's not much point in Olivia scanning the area while we're in the middle of town, since there's gonna be aura readings everywhere. So I'm gonna sit here in the lounge and try to keep anyone else away, and I'll try to give you guys a heads up if Xavian comes back or there's another person here and it's not safe to come out or something." She hesitated, looking between Odette and Odile, before asking, "Are... are you two good to go?"

With that, Kimiko looked down to signal Olivia. She had expected the espeon to be talking with Enora, but... the sylveon didn't seem to be around at the moment. Olivia had instead planted herself in front of Odile, any trace of fear buried under an expression of genuine concern and confusion.

 

[HelloYellow17]

Normally, Wes might have attempted to catch up with Mitch and Kimiko as they made their way to the lounge, but his mind was too scattered, his chest too tight, to say much at all. Even Neo and Novo were uncharacteristically quiet, Neo tagging alongside Olivia and Novo keeping close at Wes’ heels. The apprehension between them all was thick enough that Wes reckoned he could have sliced it with his knife.

He’d hoped that the anxiety would ease up at least a little once they entered the lounge, but if anything, his heart only pounded faster. They were doing this. This was happening. Gods, what if this was a mistake, what if they all got themselves killed for nothing—

Wes stopped short when he saw Steven, surprised enough that his spiraling thoughts halted for just a second. What was he doing here? How did he know—? And Odette. She looked like shit. Odile, too.

He looked between the three of them for a moment. What the hell had he just walked in on. He frowned at Odette. “You, uh…you good?”

He got a closer look at her tear-stained face and decided that was an extremely dumb question to ask.

 

[Sinderella]

Nate crossed his arms and became very interested in the books on the shelf slightly above Odette's head. "Looks like everybody's here," he said. "We good to go, or are we waiting on something else?"

So instead, tilted her head and gave Odette and Odile a glance that said I'm going to ask about this later, but decided it was better to not let this get in the way of their plan, so long as her friend was still willing and able to go through with it.

He frowned at Odette. “You, uh…you good?”

Well, fuck. Not only did they all show up at once, Kimiko was even with them. All with varying degrees of concerned to puzzled expressions. This is what she got for presenting herself as somebody who didn't cry, because now everyone and their mothers would notice.

It was perfect timing though, because whatever involuntary tear falling Marshadow's power had been causing let up, as now she was just left with her puffy wet face and foggy glasses. Easy cleaning. She ripped the glasses off her face, wiping them off on her jacket before rubbing her sleeve over her eyes.

"Don't mind me," she said before clearing her throat, trying to get that stuffy dullness out of her voice. She sniffled deeply as she placed her glasses back over her eyes. "Marshadow tore into our psyches a little bit. But he'll be helping us from now on."

She hastily ran her fingers under her eyes. "The short and obvious answer? No. I need a hard drink, a fucking blunt, and a nap. The short and real answer? I'll live, because we have some pressing shit to do."

It felt like the gloom was lifting now. No longer did her chest feel as heavy. Weight still lingered, but it currently didn't feel like it was going to get in the way of what they were about to do, which is what mattered in the long run.

Instead she walked right up to Odette and stopped in front of her, ears and tail up, and gave a questioning whuff.

Still, Mightyena approaching wasn't lost on her. She sent a doubtful look down to her, before a smile curled her lips for the first time in what felt like days, even though it had probably been less than an hour. She gingerly kneeled down and and pat her on the head politely.

"I'm good. I'm a Champ who practically specializes in ghost types, so it's nothing I can't deal with." She sounded assuring, but it was more for herself. Loic, Ange, and Isaur didn't induce images of trauma on her like that. But again, things were already starting to feel better. So it wasn't a full lie.

Olivia had instead planted herself in front of Odile, any trace of fear buried under an expression of genuine concern and confusion.

Odile watched the exchange between her bestie's Mightyena and Odette, and was so engrossed in it that she barely noticed that Olivia had approached. She sent the Espeon a sideways glance, before wiping her nose on her sleeve.

"̵E̶n̸o̴r̴a̶'̶s̷ ̴i̴n̴ ̸h̸e̴r̷ ̴b̴a̶l̸l̴,̸"̷ she said. "̶I̵'̸l̴l̷ ̶g̶e̶t̵ ̸h̷e̵r̸ ̶o̴u̶t̷.̶"̸

But, it looked like Olivia was actually looking to set her attention on her. Weird. Odile could have sworn this thing was scared of her.

With a sigh, she rolled her eyes. "̶I̶'̷m̶ ̷a̵l̸s̸o̴ ̴f̵i̶n̶e̷.̴ ̴M̵a̵r̸s̷h̶a̵d̵o̷w̶ ̷l̶i̴k̵e̷s̴ ̸s̸o̴u̶l̷s̶ ̵t̴o̷u̷c̵h̸e̴d̵ ̵b̵y̶ ̸d̶e̴a̸t̶h̶,̴ ̸a̷n̴d̷ ̸t̴h̷a̷t̶'̴s̷ ̶w̸h̴a̶t̷ ̶i̷t̸ ̶g̶o̶t̶.̸ ̸N̴o̶w̴ ̵i̵t̵'̴s̷ ̶h̸e̴l̵p̴i̶n̵g̷,̶ ̶s̸o̵ ̷w̴e̷'̶r̵e̸ ̸g̸o̶o̴d̵.̷"̷

She snapped her fingers, and Enora's ball, also attached to Odette's waistband, popped open with a light pink flash.


Out manifested Enora, who blinked her eyes in order to get used to the lack of brightness in the lounge. She was quick to notice her partners, as well as those that had formed around her. It looked as if Steven had walked off to do what had been asked of him too. But, at the very least, the other two had stopped crying, and were looking a little better now.

She sat, squaring her shoulders with an air of confidence. No need to keep harping on what was seriously wrong here. Odette wouldn't want that with all of these people around.

"It's good to see you all," she greeted. "Let's get through this in as orderly fashion as we can."


Nodding, both in agreement and thanks toward Enora not immediately launching into coddle mode, looked pointedly in the direction of the inconspicuous door again.

"Odile convinced Steven to go lure Xavian, Clink, and Orzo out of the room. Since they're the only two who should know where it is. For now, we wait back here until they come out, after which we're good to go in," she explained.

She then eyed Kimiko. "Thanks for playing lookout. We shouldn't be in there too long, hopefully. But if you see anything even remotely weird, you let us know. Better safe than sorry."

 

[Negrek]

Well, okay, so apparently everyone else felt like they wanted to get into whatever was going on with Odette. Nate hunched his shoulders and scowled. Wasn't like he didn't care, he was just trying to not make things weird... whatever. And when Odette and Odile went on to explain about the marshadow, that only made things more hair-raising. Souls touched by death? Ghosts tearing up people's minds? That was a hell of a lot to, like, set aside for a little foray into dangerous territory. Nate almost wanted to suggest that the two of them sit this one out, but based on what had gone down on the boat, Nate felt he had some idea how that statement would be received.

Much to Nate's relief, the conversation turned to what the hell was going to happen next. He could deal with that. And the girl with the espeon straight-up volunteered to be a lookout--good. He nodded to her and then turned his attention back to Odette. "Great. Sounds like a plan. And then drinks after, right?"

Mightyena accepted Odette's head-pat with a wag, then licked at the tainer's hand, if she wasn't going to get close enough for Mightyena to reach her face. Then she sat down right where she was, with every apparent intention to stay there.

Nate gave her an exasperated look while he dug around in his pocket. The key Clink had given him was fucking tiny; for a second he was afraid it might have fallen out of a hole and gotten lost somewhere. But finally his fingers closed around it, and he brought it out for the rest of the group to see. As best they could, anyway, even just his fingers covered up most of it. "While we're in there, we want to look for anything it looks like this might open. Clink gave it to me earlier, but it didn't say what it would open." He tucked the key back into his pocket before he dropped the damn thing. "Mightyena says Clink said some interesting shit, too. Like Orzo was going out for a late-night stroll and Clink decided to follow, and that's when they ran into that chick with the Roselia. The roselia's the one that got Clink, but it don't think on purpose. It thinks the roselia meant to hit something else."

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

"Odile convinced Steven to go lure Xavian, Clink, and Orzo out of the room. Since they're the only two who should know where it is. For now, we wait back here until they come out, after which we're good to go in," she explained.

When Steven pushed through the door back into the lounge, it wasn't just Odette that was waiting for him. Mercifully he was walking in front of Xavian at the time, otherwise their host would have seen his exasperated expression at seeing Wes, Mitch, and Kimiko now waiting around with Odette. Just how many people were in on this crazy plan?

He, of course, couldn't voice as much, but as dismayed as he was, the first order of business was to get himself out of this dinner party and away from Xavian as fast as humanly possible.

"Yes, I'm sure the dinner will be wonderful," said Steven, slightly louder than his usual speaking voice. He hoped Odette or Kimiko or hell, even Wes would overhear his conversation with Xavian and realize he'd been roped into more than he bargained for. "Gen has told me all about his culinary skills, so I'm not sure which dish I'm most looking forward to--"

Still at the head of their little group, he shot a pleading look in Odette's direction as he passed by. He had done his part, now if he could just please be done with his involvement in all this... Please don't make him sit through an entire dinner and have to keep up this charade.

The lounge doors were just ahead. If anyone was going to help, they were running out of time to do so...