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Top of the Tower

She might not come back, Sal thought, an idea she didn't voice. It was a thought she pushed away, chalking it up to prior experience.

Salieri was quiet as Zack explained what he had seen. In the end, Skarada died to a mess he made. The way Zack had spoken about it, apologizing for what occurred, made it sound like he had killed the Pirate King himself. He could be a hurtful douche when he wanted to be, but Salieri knew that right behind that veneer was a good person. Good people usually felt bad about these kind of things.

She nodded and looked over her shoulder out to the sea again. The Fishbone's burial by water was finishing before her eyes. She couldn't pull herself away from looking at it. "When he claimed to be the Pirate King, he cursed the world and it cursed him back. Always looking for something while running away. He died the way he lived, on his own terms. Nothing you could have done would change that. A pirate's life is a gamble...and honestly, I can relate. I don't know what I would've done if I was him."

Salieri raised her bottle up, and tipped some wine over the side of the Tower. "Goodbye Captain," she said softly. "I hope you found some peace."

Her eyes unglued themselves from the sinking ship to regard Zack with the same softness. "He didn't die by your hands, Zack. Don't carry that weight. You helped save thousands of people."

Top of the Tower

"We might only be famous for this news cycle, cool your tits," Sal sighed. Swig.

Her cheeks were flushed. Mia had spoken of Salieri's alcohol intolerance to Zack before, and she even scaled it beer by beer with different levels and grading. The conversion wasn't hard from beer to wine. A quarter through the bottle, with her exhaustion and blood loss, Salieri was level 2: Getting Louder.

"I mean maybe more than that, but so? So? I don't care what they think of us. Call it what you want, result's the same. " She leaned more casually against the balcony, her eyes drifting from the sea to the sky. The sun was gone now, and the last of its light had turned the sky a swirling dark pink illuminated by streaks of meteors. It was gorgeous.

Swig. "They hate us, they fear us, they want us, what-ever. Nothing new. And you know what? If we're greedy assholes, at least the things you want are good for everybody. Y'coulda ran, you didn't. From sooo many things. Aaaall of this," she said with a sweeping gesture towards the countryside. "But you stay cause that's what you wanna do. That's not a sin. Your greed is good."

Sal held the bottle up to her face, looking at her warped, tired reflection in its glass. "You gave someone a chance to help their family today because you wanted to. She doesn't care if you wanna s**t on yourself for what you could've done. You're a hero to her."

Not trying to linger on sentimentality with Zack for too long, Sal's cheeks grew redder with embarrassment. She quickly recovered. "Arceus, did you and Ben come from the same pity party? He's ok, by the way. Missing a couple fingertips. You should check in with him. But not now, cause he might yell at youuuu." Swiiiiiig.

Distracting Zack from his guilt was the least she could do, and she wanted to help because she was genuinely thankful she could count on him. It was also to distract herself from missing Prou. Looking back, her mission had been a success. She just hadn't planned on how she'd feel after, not to mention the death she could've done without.

Lumiose City

Once Juliet was out of sight, Ben let himself feel every ounce of fatigue from the day. Out here, away from everything that had happened, he could probably hide from the news cycles. Get himself patched up, train, and go for another badge before anyone found him. And when that next badge was done, if anyone recognized him, he might well be pulled back into the whole mess.

Truth be told, he was pretty much stuck in it all now. Juliet would probably let him go, but her family wouldn't. Not if that story came through. And other nobles, would they let him just compete in peace? Get a bit of fame, have people cheering his name and give him a chance to find his own way in the world outside of his family? No, that didn't seem likely either. "You're really caught up in the worst of it now, Benedict."

Nobody recognized him as he made his way towards the hospital, fingers held to his chest as the cold numbness wore away. He didn't feel like a hero. Strong, ready for anything. Idly, he slid free the xtransceiver that Mia had updated and started typing.

Sal got out okay. I don't know about Zack, but she went to look for him. I might stop by tomorrow to fill you in on all the details I saw.

He figured he'd also ask about the best gym to challenge next. She seemed like the sort that was smarter than him, and if they were going to use the news cycle, doing so by earning a badge so soon after a victory was the best possible move. And technically, the hospital couldn't force him to stay. If he managed things well, he'd probably be bait for the next time these darkhorse hunters attacked.

With a final moment of hesitation, Ben walked into the hospital and his inevitable speech about how he looked like s**t and wouldn't ever be able to afford getting those fingers back. That would be fine, if it was true. But Juliet had been right, if he played things right, that could be one of the benefits of fame.

Top of the Tower

While Salieri went on and on, Zack rested his heavy head against his knuckles and swirled his bottle. It was distressingly empty, with only a glassful remaining at the bottom. 's**t, now that you blurt it out like that, you could be our spy.'

Zack had the last of his drink, and for a second considered just tossing the bottle over the side. Then he remembered people lived down there and thought better of it. All it took was some night-time stroller, wrong place, wrong time, and his budding reputation as Not a p***k would be deader than roller disco. He put his bottle down while he thought on Salieri's question, and exhaled hard.

'I get it. I don't trust her either.' But he trusted around four people so what else was new? Salieri hadn't seen half of the trippy stuff Pachi could do with her powers and neither, Zack thought, had he. Then there was the question of how she could do what she did. 'But at the same time, we're all ******** crazy. You, me, my sister, Deathwish. Our screws need tightening big time.' He pushed off the balcony wall, and enjoyed the floatiness that came with being tipsy. 'I say we give Pachi a shot. And if she messes with us? We'll just ******** her up.'

Chateau Nostrad - Fourteen Years Ago [link to last post]

Prison de la Folie activated. Ira's Pressure had been a constant irritation since Ratio arrived on the chateau grounds. A mild offset, but one that he accepted without much thought. Like the bizarre nature of a dream one would trust as reality. At least, until they woke up. Ferox stood frozen while Lord Nostrad collided with his car and fumbled the door. The next few moments decided everything; whether he succeeded or failed, whether Kalos survived or died. Ratio was most definitely awake and Nostrad died tonight.

The Dusknoir lauched itself hungrily towards the defenceless Arcanine, preparing to melt it in an assault of power. Ratio wouldn't let Ferox down like that. Each of his pokémon was a part of him, nigh literally. Celarsi, his Ditto turned Scizor, understood his intent, and transformed into a copy of Ancile. Unable to shapeshift or project attacks, but no less powerful, the Ditto-Aegislash raised its shield overhead and increased its Iron Defense.

Basilic, Jean's Garchomp, crashed into the shield, blowing up waves of dust and dirt, but failed to touch the assassin who sheltered beneath his pokémon without paying the dragon heed. From out of the cloud, Ratio shot a recall beam, dragging Ferox back into her ball while he grasped Celarsi's blade in hand and broke into a dead sprint. Ira would hit the ground where Ferox once was but reach nothing. Nostrad looked over his shoulder and paled, his deadened arm flagging useless at his side as he ripped the car door open and scrambled into the driver's seat in a state of sheer panic. Ratio was beyond fast; in a few short moments Ratio would catch Lord Nostrad, and run him through with Celarsi before he could even turn the ignition.

Top of the Tower

'I could have gotten them if I wanted to,' said Zack, waving his hand. 'But with all the sniping, and the pirates, eh. Priorities.'

While he wasn't nearly as bad at holding his drink as Salieri, Zack was still firm within the Lightweight bracket. His head swam with wine, his troubles drowning in the depths. They could return in the morning, he didn't much care right now.

'If she shows up again, and it's a big if, I'll ask her.' Zack stretched, his joints cracking as much as his muscles ached. His whole right arm felt torn, like he'd been dangling from a cliff, but he could ignore the pain. He made a move for Salieri's half bottle. If she let him, he'd take it from her grasp and take a swig. Regardless of if she did or didn't let him, he would say, 'Time you started sharing.'

Zack almost choked. He took the bottle away from his mouth and coughed over the side of the balcony. Salieri landed a Critical Hit.

'This "no secrets between us" thing can go gag on a d**k.' Zack wiped his mouth before he passed the bottle back. The effects of the bond were fading, but it seemed they were going to keep the highlights. Fantastic. 'I don'know if I'm gonna get with Esme. I mean...' Zack felt his face heat up, a shot of adrenaline he normally associated with battle. 'She's all hung up on her dead boyfriend. That's kind of an impasse, even if she did like me. I don't want there to be some dead guy in the way. You know?'

Zack clumsily corrected Salieri's gesture, changing the poking finger from her pinky to her middle one. He drank, then hammered the bottle on the balcony between them.

'I get what you're saying,' he said, stifling a burp. If he ever had to define surreal, it would be this conversation with this person. He went silent for a second, selecting his words. 'Look, she's just this beautiful, amazing girl. Too amazing, and messed up, and she needs to heal. And I'm not the guy who can give her that. I can't wait until, if, she's ready. We go through this thing with the Court, do or die, I'll be gone in a couple weeks.'

Zack hadn't noticed the bottle crack until Salieri said something. He had only intended to place the bottle firmly, but now there was wine spilling onto his shoes.

'Sorry. Guess I don't know my own raw, animal strength.' He checked out Salieri's butt while she swayed away, satiating the legions of Zalieri fans, then shook his head. No, that'd be weird. He walked up alongside her and went to get the door. 'Tough s**t, cause next time we're talkin about Matheson.'