Xavian's Private Quarters

[Flyg0n]

Xavian lead them out of the main lounge, to the rear, and to a set of doors half hidden by decorative plants and the interior design. They almost appeared to be for staff, or the like. He pushed them open, revealing a warmly hallway that branched into other hallways. Bright floral themed wallpaper and gilded lamps covered the walls. Xavian started forward down a hallway lined with doors, almost like the floor of a hotel room. As he started down one of the many hallways, he began to talk, almost like he was giving a tour, although perhaps he simply wanted to distract himself.

"This whole section is actually the staff quarters. There's some upstairs, and some rooms downstairs. There's another entrance as well, from the outside of the building. Each room features different accomodations for anyone with a partner pokemon, not unlike your own rooms. Of course, not all of our staff have pokemon." He reached the end of the hallway, turned left down another, and kept walking.

After a few moments, they drew close to the end of the hall, not far from a door marked 'Exit'. To his right was another door, exactly like the many they had passed. It was almost forgettable, except for being located near the exit door, which seemed to lead back outside, presumably to the rear of the building.

"If you'll wait a moment please." he withdrew a small key from his pocket, a brief sadness flashing through his eyes. "Normally Clink keeps all my keys," he said softly. Putting the thought aside, he unlocked the door and stepped inside, then held the door open. The room itself appeared suprisingly plain. The front entrance seemed to serve as a living room of sorts, with a couch, a small table, and some sitting chairs, arranged partially around a TV. Further back seemed to be a baclony, and set off the side of the living room lay a kitchen. To both the left and right of the living room seemed to be short hallways with closed doors. bedrooms, maybe. Everything appeared clean, yet simple. For all his showniess, it seemed he had no desire to spend it on himself.

On the table in front of the couch, a small basket had been set up with a blanket nestled carefully inside. And on the blanket lay a tiny, silvery figure. A fan had been meticulously placed nearby, steadily blowing cool air on the basket. Xavian slipped his shoes off, then quietly slipped up to the Klefki in the basket, kneeling next to them. "Hello, Clink old friend." Clink didn't stir, looking almost like a regular keyring, for all intents and purposes. "I brought a friend. Someone who may be able to heal you."

Turning to Steven, he waved him over.

A closer look at Clink revealed they appeared genuinely ill. Their eyes remained closed, and their tiny metallic body almost seemed to be tarnished in spots. Despite Xavian's words, they didn't seem to stir, remaining unconscious. "Please... anything you can do would be appreciated," he said, staring pleadingly at Steven.

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven was quiet the whole walk to Xavian's room, and to her credit so was Odile. He didn't know what he'd expected, maybe a separate building, a private villa overlooking the island's most scenic views, some kind of penthouse suite. Something at least as ostentatious as their host's tastes appeared. But instead Xavian's quarters were as common and unassuming as anything.

But all those thoughts vanished when Xavian opened the door to his room. A hush fell over the already quiet group, save for the clanking of Aggron's armor as he had to duck through the doorway.

On the table in front of the couch, a small basket had been set up with a blanket nestled carefully inside. And on the blanket lay a tiny, silvery figure. A fan had been meticulously placed nearby, steadily blowing cool air on the basket. Xavian slipped his shoes off, then quietly slipped up to the Klefki in the basket, kneeling next to them. "Hello, Clink old friend." Clink didn't stir, looking almost like a regular keyring, for all intents and purposes. "I brought a friend. Someone who may be able to heal you."

Turning to Steven, he waved him over.

It was almost scary how quickly Steven's eyes were drawn to the small basket on the table, and before he could slide his own shoes off and join Xavian next to it, he knew what was resting inside. His heart sank at Xavian's greeting, and the way it was answered with silence.

For all of the suspicion flying around, for the unsettling realization that if Clink was indeed suffering from a poison, that meant he must have been at the site of Irene's disappearance for whatever reason, all that was lost as Steven watched Xavian's heart break for his ailing partner.

He and Aggron waited in the entryway to the room, keeping a respectful distance until Xavian gave them the okay to approach. Even with the invitation into his home, it still felt like they were trespassing. Steven stopped next to the table an peered down into the basket, and the tightness in his chest squeezed even tighter.

A closer look at Clink revealed they appeared genuinely ill. Their eyes remained closed, and their tiny metallic body almost seemed to be tarnished in spots. Despite Xavian's words, they didn't seem to stir, remaining unconscious. "Please... anything you can do would be appreciated," he said, staring pleadingly at Steven.

He didn't say as much, but Steven had never seen anything quite like this. Perhaps the closest thing would be if a steel type were severely neglected, left to the elements with no way to properly care for themselves for an extended period of time. But he knew that wasn't the case, and even if he hadn't seen Clink during the festival, polished and well cared for, it was evident just from Xavian himself. The man spared no expense (save for perhaps his own room); there was no doubt he wouldn't do anything and everything to make his pokemon happy and healthy.

Which was why a momentary bout of panic swept over Steven as he stared down at the sick pokemon. Shaymin had given them the gracidea flower and said that it might be enough. But she never told them what to do with it. Did it need to be made into some kind of medicine? An ointment? Something Clink had to ingest? How would they know how to make something like that? Was the flower itself simply enough? And if it didn't work? What then?

Aggron must have sensed his trainer's hesitation, because he shuffled close and leaned down next to Steven, uncupping his claws to reveal the gracidea, looking just as pristine as the moment Shaymin grew it before their eyes. Steven met Aggron's gaze briefly with his own before lifting the flower from his partner's grasp and kneeling down at the basket across from Xavian.

He could feel their host's desperate stare on him, and he chanced a quick glance to meet the man's eyes. Steven had to swallow the lump in his throat before he could speak. "It's in Shaymin's hands now," he said, voice barely more than a whisper.

He held the gracidea with both hands and gently lowered it into the basket until it rested against the small gem in Clink's forehead. Quickly, but carefully, Steven withdrew his hands and inhaled a short breath, his eyes never leaving the small, pink flower.

@Flyg0n

 

[Sinderella]

Odile had walked with a small skip in her step, as per usual, carefully holding the cactus in her clawed hands as they made their way down the corridor. She carefully looked around, taking note of her surroundings and relaying it back to Odette wordlessly.

S̵o̸ ̶y̶e̷a̴h̴,̸ ̴l̸o̷o̸k̵s̸ ̵l̶i̷k̷e̵ ̷h̶e̸ ̴l̷i̷v̴e̵s̸ ̶i̸n̷ ̸l̸i̸k̴e̶,̶ ̴t̴h̴e̵ ̶e̸m̸p̵l̷o̶y̸e̶e̴ ̸q̸u̶a̵r̸t̸e̶r̷s̵ ̵a̶t̵ ̴t̵h̷e̶ ̵b̴a̶c̶k̷ ̵o̸f̶ ̸t̴h̸e̵ ̶l̴o̵u̷n̷g̷e̸?̶

Upon making it to Xavian’s room, it wasn’t exactly what she expected. Clovis was pretty sparse in his decorating too, even as a fellow billionaire, but this place somehow even seemed more quaint than the apartment he’d had in Kalos. Billionaires must just not like to decorate that much. Good thing she brought the cactus. She got ready to turn heel and find a place to to set the thing down, when she noticed the basket. And the little rusted Klefki within it.

“̸O̷h̵,̵ ̵d̵a̷m̶n̸…̶”̸

Good gods. That didn’t look good. That didn’t look good at all. On a normal day, or millennia, she probably wouldn’t have bat an eye at this. But for some reason, she felt a smaller bowling ball roll into her stomach. No more fuzzies.

O̷k̶a̶y̸,̴ ̸s̸o̸ ̷I̴ ̸s̴e̶e̷ ̶C̸l̴i̶n̵k̷.̸ ̸H̶e̶ ̷l̵o̴o̷k̷s̶ ̴b̵a̴d̶.̷ ̷V̵e̶r̵y̷ ̸b̴a̵d̷.̸ ̸M̷a̴y̶b̴e̶ ̶d̷o̶n̶’̵t̶ ̷c̵o̶m̶e̴ ̴r̴i̷g̷h̸t̷ ̸n̸o̴w̸,̷ ̵b̷e̶c̵a̸u̴s̵e̵ ̵I̶ ̵d̴o̴n̴’̸t̴ ̷s̵e̴e̶ ̶O̴r̶z̶o̷.̵ ̶Y̷e̴a̵h̸.̶ ̵C̴o̵m̸i̴n̴g̶ ̶r̸i̷g̶h̶t̵ ̸n̵o̶w̸ ̷w̴o̵u̸l̶d̶ ̴b̶e̶ ̴b̶a̸d̷.̸ ̶

She remained rooted in her spot as Steven and Aggron stepped forth with the flower. For once in her life, she was actually rooting for something like that to work. Seeing a steel type like that at the hands of poison that it didn’t ask for was…bothersome.

Her grip on the cactus tightened ever so slightly.

 

[Flyg0n]

Xavian clenched the edge of the table, his knuckles turning white, as Steven placed the flower ever so gently on Clink's body. A pleasant scent seemed to drift from the flower and there was the slightest sensation like a fresh spring breeze, even with the windows closed. And then the flower began to glow, faintly, almost undetectable at first.

It began to glow brighter, though only slightly. And then it began to take on a sickly purple hue, like a poison spreading across the flower itself. Alarm flashed through Xavian's eyes for a moment, before he relaxed a few moments later - as the flower began took on the poison, Clink's body began to change, some of the tarnished, damaged metal turning shiny and bright again. The flower seemed to be drawing out the poison itself, neutralizing it.

And then, finally, the process seemed complete. The flower seemed to be wilted and sickly, though alive still. Perhaps it could still grow be saved, with some love and care... And as for Clink...

Xavian's face lit up at the sight of his pokemon. Though unconscious still, Clink looked unquestionably healthier and better than they had before. Their metallic body had its sheen back, and instead of their feverish sleep from before, they seemed peaceful now, resting deeply.

When Xavian looked up at Steven, his eyes were damp. He took Steven's hand tightly in his own. "Thank you," he said, his voice a choked whisper. "Thank you."

 

[Panoramic_Vacuum]

Steven watched with wide eyes as the soft light around Clink faded and the gracidea flower curled in on itself, bright pink replaced with murky purples and browns. His heart was hammering in his chest, like he'd just sprinted across the island. It worked. It actually worked.

He was startled by Xavian grabbing his hand, and as the man stammered an emotional thank you, Steven wasn't sure whose hands were shaking more.


"I... This..." Gods, he wasn't much better off than Xavian right now. "This was Shaymin's doing, not mine," he finally managed, still stunned at what they'd just witnessed. "Please, save your thanks for her."

From the corner of his eye, he saw Aggron reach into the basket and scoop the wilted gracidea into his palm. As he pulled back, one of the petals let go and tumbled to the floor, eliciting a panicked snort from his partner.

Steven's gaze flicked back to where Clink was still sleeping. It was subtle, but he could see that the tension had vanished from the Klefki's features, no longer battling against a poison that never should have afflicted him in the first place. Slowly, Steven rose from where he'd been kneeling, using Aggron's sturdy frame as support.


"We should be going," he said quietly, taking a few respectful steps back from the table where Clink's basket sat. "To afford your partner time to rest."

He almost added 'And you, too,' but he figured the last thing Xavian needed right now was a patronizing remark. Not after everything the man had just been through.

Steven donned his shoes and held the door so Aggron could duck out while cradling his precious cargo in both claws. He turned to give their host one last glance. His smile was tight, but genuine.


"I'm glad Clink is going to be alright."

He was already headed back down the hall when he realized he never once thought to ask about Orzo.

 

[Sinderella]

"̸O̶o̵o̶o̵o̷o̸ ̴s̴h̵i̷n̷y̸ ̸s̸h̶i̵n̴y̶!̷"̷ she gasped as she watched the display of healing. Flowers sucking up poison? What a crazy concept. But, now the key ring 'mon was looking a lot better!

"̸T̸h̸a̷t̶ ̵w̶a̴s̷ ̵s̸i̷c̵k̷.̷ ̸O̷h̴,̶ ̷w̷a̸i̴t̸,̷ ̷t̴o̶o̸ ̶s̵o̵o̴n̷.̵ ̷T̴h̵a̸t̶ ̶w̵a̸s̸ ̵n̶e̵a̷t̵.̵"̵


She blinked rapidly as Steven and Aggron said their goodbyes before retreating toward the door, and she was briefly struck with a sense of panic. Wait, what? No Orzo? Where the fuck was Orzo? And with Odette back in her ear telling her to find him she wasn't sure what to do. But, there wasn't much to do with Xavian here fawning over Clink...

It'd have to wait. She knew where this place was. She was one of only three who did now. She could come back when Xavian wasn't here.

Before leaving, she tiptoed over to the bedside table and placed the cactus upon it. "̸T̸e̸l̵l̵ ̷t̴h̴e̷m̸ ̵t̷h̴a̵t̵'̷s̵ ̸f̴r̷o̷m̷ ̶m̶e̴ ̴w̴h̶e̶n̸ ̸t̵h̸e̴y̵ ̷w̶a̸k̵e̶ ̸u̷p̷,̷"̸ she whispered. "̸Y̴o̷u̷ ̷s̴h̸o̶u̶l̶d̶ ̷g̴e̵t̸ ̷s̴o̶m̸e̷ ̵s̸l̸e̶e̴p̶ ̷t̵o̵o̷.̸ ̶O̸r̴ ̸m̷a̵y̸b̷e̴ ̴n̴o̷t̴,̶ ̴'̴c̴a̵u̸s̷e̶ ̷o̷f̷ ̶t̵h̷e̴ ̵c̷o̷f̷f̴e̵e̸.̸ ̴U̴h̶.̴.̴.̶w̷a̵t̸e̶r̸.̷ ̵D̸r̶i̵n̵k̸ ̴w̴a̵t̴e̶r̶!̷"̴

With that, she ran out of the room on the tips of her toes.

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><>​

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Hazel was eager to get started with the team's plan. Finally, they were doing something about everything that was going on here!

Gladion would've been more eager about someone else doing something. He wanted to make sure Hazel got home safely, more than anything else. She'd just gotten her new lease on life. She was more willing to risk that than he was, but he couldn't in good consciousness tell her not to help.

Instead, he positioned himself in the public area of the lounge on the floor below, doing his best to scroll through his phone and act bored, despite how nervous he actually was. He wanted to be in psychic range of Hazel, just in case. Even if she'd be a ghost type for a bit at the beginning.

Hazel made her way upstairs, looking for the door to the private quarters that she'd had described for her, then turning away instead of entering to look for a nearby maintenance closet or another similar room. She found a locked door with a label she couldn't actually read, but it was all one word so it wasn't someone's name, and she couldn't sense any minds inside in Pa'u style. She turned on her Sensu style and pressed her head against, and then around the door in a direction she didn't really have a name for. Seeing nothing of interest inside, she went the rest of the way around the door.

Flicking back to Pa'u, she sent a message to Gladion in his head. "I found a room. It's mostly just full of dark."

She shut her eyes to focus, not that there was much visual distraction in the room in the first place, and concentrated on the room with her inner eye, looking for anyone inside it, but not reaching out to them because it would be ruining the point if they were knowing she was there. It was like hide and go seek. Except they were doing the hiding and seeking at the same time so maybe it wasn't actually like that.

 

[Flyg0n]

Hazel had indeed found herself an old storage room, mostly unused - a few assorted odds and ends like lightbulbs and cleaning supplies. A perfect spot for recon.

The sensation that returned was that of two minds - a human one, and a pokemon one. Likely Xavian, and judging by the distinct sensation of the other mind, it belonged to Clink. Further probing of room seemed to turn up empty. If Orzo were present somewhere, he wasn't visible to the psychic eye, or he simply wasn't in the room....

It was also possible to get a brief sensation of the rooms shape - a main area, and two hallways on either side, with other rooms branching off from them. For now at least, there seemed to be little other activity, not even from the staff, who were gone for the time being.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Hazel reached out to the Ninetales whose name was Spirit. “There is Xavier and Clink and that is all I can find. It is filled with emptiness. We will be having difficulty getting anyone visible through but you can still be exploring.”

 

[Dragonfree]

May was downstairs, picking restlessly at her fingernails. Spirit stood by her side, tails still wrapped partway around her as if to make sure she was still there, until she looked up.

"That it?" she asked quietly.

Spirit nodded, bumped her head against her hand, looked around to make sure no one was there, and then vanished.

It was just recon. She'd go in unnoticed and report back. Nothing dangerous.

---

Spirit slipped away into the spiritual plane, watched the world become abstract and distant, and padded invisibly up to where Odile had directed them.

The door was no obstacle. She phased through it, felt a distant tingling as she passed through the wood. This was it, the private quarters of the man who had invited them here, and of Orzo the Hoopa. Was it him? Someone disguised as him? Spirit was the best person to find out.

She looked around cautiously as she entered, immaterial ears perked. Spirit senses were always a little strange, but by focusing she could see the surroundings about as clearly as with her material eyes, hear what she might have heard normally.

[[Spirit used Foresight!]]

 

[Flyg0n]

Clink lay in their bed in the living room, resting, sleeping peacefully. Xavian sat on the couch beside them, eyes glued to a book they were reading, attention utterly focused on it. "The Myths that Define Us: Mythical Pokemon their Roles" read the title.

The living room itself appeared plain. A few simple decorations were hung, painting of various pokemon and such. A quick check shows the hallway to the right is an office, a bathroom and a dusty storage room, while the hallway to the left leads to berooms.

There's at least no sign of Orzo anywhere, and no sense of him on a spirit level either.

All seemed quiet...

 

[Dragonfree]

Spirit looked around. Everything appeared peaceful, Clink sleeping, Xavian reading about myth. Two hallways led the way to other rooms.

She couldn't sense Orzo here at all. Wasn't that strange? If he was missing, shouldn't Clink and Xavian be concerned about him?

She padded her way carefully down the hallway on the right, looking into the rooms.

 

[Flyg0n]

Of the three rooms, only the bathroom itself appeared used. It was a rather nice bathroom, clean and well kept, various fancy looking soaps arranged neatly on shelves. Nothing about it appeared very unusual and there didn't seem to be signs of anything strange.

At first glance, the storage room seemed unused. Dust coated empty shelves and some unused furniture. Even the floors looked a little dusty. Except... at the far back of the room, one spot seemed less dusty. Next to medium sized box was a patch of area with less dust... It was almost unnoticeable at first, but it appeared disturbed, as if the box had been moved...

The office room appeared mostly empty, featuring a desk with a computer, a bookshelf and a reading chair.

 

[Dragonfree]

Spirit's immaterial ears perked. A change in the storage room. Did it mean anything? Surely Xavian could have just moved the box looking for the book he was reading, or the like.

But it was something. For good measure, she crept down the other hallway as well to inspect the bedrooms.

 

[Flyg0n]

Oddly enough, there were no footprints in the dust of the storage room...

Down the other hallway were three rooms. The first seemed to be Clink's personal bedroom. Despite Clink's small size, it was still a pleasantly comfortable bedroom. A (very) small bed had been set up to one side, and much of the rest of the room seemed to be piles of books, books of all kinds, particularly fiction. Mystery, adventure, dramas, a few romances (not many), fantasies, and the like. Posters hung on the wall, seemingly from media of this world. One seemed to depict a group of kids who got the power to shapeshift into pokemon to fight an Ultra beast invasion. Another showed a majestic mega flygon who had face an evil garchomp warlord.

And in between books, lots of pillows and cushions, presumably for laying on. All in all, the room was charming, in a way. A check revealed nothing suspicious.

The next room was Xavian's bedroom. Entering it felt, for a moment, breathtaking. A grand, beautiful painting hung on the wall opposite the door, taking up almost half the wall. It depicted a Kalosian countryside, beautifully detailed with many people and pokemon, all enjoying a splendid sunset. Perhaps the painting was a reminder of his home region...

Aside from the painting, the room itself was also quite simplistically furnished. A bed with a nightstand to one side, a desk, and a television. A folding door led to a walk-in closet, with an assortment of fancy attire. No surprise there. The rest of the room seemed to hold nothing of immediate interest.

Then the last room belonged to Orzo then? Peeking through the door showed... nothing. The room was almost totally bare. Just a sleeping mat and a painting leaning on the wall, a sort of abstract mural depicting legendaries from various regions. Apparently Orzo wasn't much of a decorator-

A disturbance. Both Spirit and Hazel would sense something. Like a presence, approaching. On both the spirit and mental plane. The air in the room began to distort slightly, then a golden ring formed midair... A chance to see who would emerge maybe..?

 

[Dragonfree]

Spirit froze where she was. Should she return, let the others know? Or, if she did, would she miss something important?

She crouched low instinctively, backing away into the wall where she could still watch what was happening, ready to bolt off through it if she had to.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Hazel sensed something wrong in space in one of the rooms. She shuddered and the feathers on her neck fluffed.

It wasn’t too late, though, she could still sense the Ninetales. She reached out with her mind. “What is happening? Are you needing support? I can be helping.”

 

[Flyg0n]

A moment later, Orzo emerged from the ring, first poking out his head and glancing around the room, then emerging from the ring smoothly. Compared to earlier, he at least seemed to be in good health, or feeling better.

Once he emerged fully, the ring shrunk behind him and he spun it in the air, then slipped it onto one of his horns. He started to move towards the door, then abruptly froze. His head tilted curiously.

Suddenly, a sensation would sweep over Spirit, a sort of chill, but not an oppressive one. A sort of feeling of dampening or a protective sense. At the same time, the jewel on her necklace that she'd received from Marshadow, seemed to grow cooler, a faint tingle coming from it...

Orzo turned to sweep his gaze across the room, shruged it off. He drifted over to the door, paused, glancing again at the painting, a strange look in his eyes. After a moment, he turned back to the door. Then his demeanor seemed to shift, turning weary. More tired...

He opened the door and headed down the hallway. From outside, Xavian's voice could be heard. "Ah Orzo! How are you feeling?"

His peppy voice was audible from the living room. If he was followed, he looked happy. "Orzo feels a little better! Have been resting in my in my space. Clink feeling better?" he asked, a gentle sympathy in his tone.

After a pause, Clink said "Yes. Still very tired though." The little Klefki lay back down again.

Orzo settled down on the back of couch, peering over Xavian's shoulder to read along with him. The three of them seemed to have settled down for the time being...

 

[Dragonfree]

It wasn’t too late, though, she could still sense the Ninetales. She reached out with her mind. “What is happening? Are you needing support? I can be helping.”

"Wait," Spirit thought, hoping it could reach Hazel. "I will be fine. I only need to see--"

A terrible chill went through Spirit as Orzo froze, like he'd noticed something. And then, a strange dampening cool, emanating from the gem Marshadow had added to her necklace, enveloping her, another legendary Pokémon's blessing here to protect her.

Thank you, Marshadow, she thought, bowing her head as Orzo shrugged and floated out of the room. But only after a lingering look at the painting.

Carefully, Spirit moved to examine the painting leaning on the wall, while keeping an ear out for whether anything further was said outside.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Hazel wasn’t sure what she’d just felt. She’d been cut off from Spirit, but there was no portal and Xavier was still there looking anyway. She didn’t think he was bad, and probably not so dumb he wouldn’t notice an abduction but she was less sure about that part.

Still, she wanted to check on things. Everyone she didn’t want to see her was gathering in the room near her. She waited for them to arrive and settle down before making a plan to navigate around them towards Spirit’s last known location.

She was pretty sure the wall of her closet backed onto the left hall. Slipping back into Sensu, she went around the wall and into the hallway.

Spirit had been in the other hall, so she had to cross over to the other side. Sneaking through another storage area in the left hall, something caught her eye before she got there.

Hazel tried poking one of her eyes into the little box that had been disturbed by someone who didn’t leave footprints. Another ghost, maybe?