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Lumiose Mall

“Ben says he’s not gonna be at the party, he’s gonna be near the party.”

Mia looked over her side of the shoe rack in the clearance section. Lumiose Mall was where people shopped for clothes if they didn’t have the money to afford the city’s fancy boutiques. That, the food court, and the entertainment areas made it a popular hangout spot for teens and tweens. Mia and Sal, who had been going there for years, knew exactly where to look for the best daily deals on clothes.

“Define ‘near’.”
“I dunno, down the street? In the bushes? Who knows. He might still have his room at Anistar.”

Mia emerged around the corner and tossed a shoebox to Sal, who caught it one handed. A tap on her shoulder got her to spin around and look at Ivan, who had formed both blue flippers into textured, rubbery looking blue gloves. They waved the gloves around, trying to model them to Salieri. “Mmm, way closer. Anyway you can get them to look less dorky?”

Ivan spun away to look at a mirror. “I didn’t think he wouldn’t want to come. Seems like the kind of guy who likes a good bet.”
“Yeah, well, now he has to look bougie or he might in trouble with the man.” Sal opened the box and looked at a pair of grey lowtops. Not quite what she was looking for just yet. “Can’t hang out with me in public.”
“Whoa. That sucks.”
“I mean I get it. He wants to take advantage of the sponsorship so he’s gotta play the game.” Sal shrugged. “Still sucks though, yeah.”

She thought about who else she knew that might be there. Sal whipped out her Pokégear to send a text to Zack:

~Party @anistar tn. 9~
~Alanza Taine’s house~
~Front row seats to her destruction~

“Called him this morning and he was still in bed. Wonder what he’s done all day. I’ve got to catch him up.”
“You think he’s heard about the sponsorships?”
“He must’ve, right? I’m assuming.”

Mia plopped down onto the tiny bench next to Salieri, releasing a sigh. “Ouf. Today has been packed dude, I need a nap before all this starts.”
“I might need one myself,” Salieri admitted. “You ever think about if we were still little kids, what we’d be doing right now?”
“I know this isn’t a walk in the park today, but at least it’s interesting. I feel sorry for the kids at Gotengo, to be honest.” Mia cradled her chin in her hand. “For them, it’s a pretty lazy summer.”

Gotengo

Reynard peeked her head out from behind the couch in the treehouse’s main room. No one in sight. It was quiet. Too quiet. Focused, she prowled low to the floor, edging her way to the doorway. If she could just get outside, she’d regain her bearings-

Crunch.

A sudden noise. Like someone stepping on a potato chip. Reynard’s ears stood up, and slowly she looked up at the back of the couch she was slinking behind.

Without warning, Youngster Carter emerged over the top, pointing a paintball gun down at the Vaporeon. “Gotcha.”

The whirring of the gun came alongside the rattling of rounds, dotting the floor orange as Reynard melted and snaked her way to the door, zig zagging to dodge the shots. Carter tipped the couch to the floor, rolling off it and shooting towards the doorway. Rey’s liquid form spun into the air, condensing back to her solid fish dog shape, and she fired a Water Gun at Carter mid flip. The focused squirt beaned him in the middle of his forehead, knocking him to his back.

Rey landed on all fours and ran outside. Her position was compromised. Everyone would be following the sounds of shots now.

In the middle of the courtyard, a cluster of children with paintball guns and super soakers were floating in place, levitating with reversed Gravity around Oberon. The little alien was laughing maniacally, using a floating child as a makeshift platform. The kids were attempting to right themselves in the air, in order to get a clear shot on the Clefairy.

Reynard was ambushed by Anais during her observation, who rolled out from behind the corner of the porch with a headband on and a paintball gun in hand. “AAAAAHHHHH!” screamed the ten year old as she sprayed off shots like a machine gun, moving horizontally to catch Reynard’s mad dash behind the banister.

The Vaporeon narrowly avoided Anais’s assault, only to realize two more kids were hanging from the porch roof with paint-filled balloons. They grinned wickedly. She was trapped. “For glory!”

THWACK! The balloons were smacked up out of their hands by an unseen force, splashing in their faces and causing them to fall from the ceiling onto the porch. Rey tilted her head and saw Lupin drop his camouflage. The Kecleon was now visible on the porch banister, retracting his tongue. [Thanks,] she said.
[Don’t mention it.]

The sound of a splash alerted them to a new presence. A balloon had dropped from the sky, splotching the ground with blue paint. Another one followed, then another, on a line towards the porch. They heard the sound of flapping coming from above them, and footsteps from around the corner. Rey and Lupin began to run. [What is that?]
[Quacklin’ is a turncoat! He sided with the kids!] Lupin explained. Behind them, more kids had rounded the corner of the long porch with their weapons, firing at the fleeing Pokémon.
[So it’s treason then,] Reynard growled. [That son of a b***h.]
[He who dances on wind dances on his foesssss!] they heared Quacklin’ boast from above as he passed the tree, ending his current flyby.

They reached the end of the porch. Rey looked behind her and saw that Lupin had stopped, slowly becoming invisible again. [What are you doing?]
[I’ll hold them off! Go!]
[But-]
[GO!!]

Reynard hesitated, then shook her head and reluctantly ran off. She didn’t look back as she heard the screams of children, the unmistakable whine of a Kecleon, and someone say that his tongue was gross.

She sprinted, feet pounding on dirt as she ran behind the treehouse proper. On the back end, she saw kids formed in a semi circle around Durendal. The Pawniard’s knees were curled to his chest and his head hung low while the kids reluctantly continued to half heartedly Taunt him.

“Your armor isn’t even shiny.”
“You’re super short.”
“Uh, way to not evolve yet?”
“This feels so wrong…”
“You’d need a sharpening stone to cut butter!”
“That one’s not bad, actually…”

Reynard rolled her eyes as she bolted past them. Durendal was no help at all. Did he not see this was war? [Useless.]

She slowed down when she nearly completed her lap around the tree. If Lupin was still in the game, the kids would be focused on him. She could sneak behind them and-

PEW PEW! Two rounds nearly clipped her from above. Reynard looked up and saw snipers posted through the windows of the shacks along the upper branches of the massive tree. They were everywhere. She could hear the wind whistle and looked up to see Quacklin’ coming back around. The Farfetch’d held paint balloons between his talons. She was surrounded.

A rumble from behind her snapped her to attention, and Biz Marquis emerged from a hole in the ground, Digging his way to the surface. With Veillantif in hand, held like a gun the way his trainer had done before, he aimed upwards and fired an Octazooka at Quacklin’.

The inky shot was a direct hit, nailing the duck and causing him to drop his payload early on the ground below. He spiraled into a tailspin, crashing into the leafy branches of the tree. [Kept you waiting, huh?] said Biz, standing up fully.
[Hmph. Took you long enough.]

Reynard crept backwards, and Biz put his back to hers. They reassessed the situation. The snipers were still up high. Rey could see Lupin, covered in pink and red blots, stumble and fall off the porch. The squadron that took him down was marching to their position.

[Hey.] Biz pumped Veillantif like a shotgun. [Whatever happens, I just want you to know-]
[Save it,] Reynard harshly snapped. [We’re gonna get out of here, unpainted. Too much is at stake.] Her skin partially turned to water, bubbling with heat as the kids drew closer, weapons raised. [WE WILL WIN THE CANDY!]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two hours later, Salieri and Mia were walking back into the dilapidated housing complex that secretly held Gotengo, shopping bags in hand.

"You can't give them all of that," Mia told Sal, gesturing to a shopping bag filled with only candy.
"I told 'em I'd get 'em candy, I'm gonna do it up." Sal smiled. "They put up with my antics all the time, the kids deserve it."
"Love the Team Mom thing, but they are gonna have a sugar rush and I don't want that inside, I just cleaned the place yesterday."
"So we'll fire up the grill, do BBQ for dinner, and keep them outside. I'm sure they won't mind-"

Sal and Mia entered the courtyard, and stopped dead in their tracks. In front of them were several children laying on the ground, covered in splotches of paint and holding up white flags. Their bodies were strewn across the courtyard and the porch. They could even see some limbs hanging out of windows.

Biz Marquis, Oberon, Veillantif, and Reynard were sitting on the porch steps, panting with exhaustion and using Biz's huge frame as support. When they saw their trainer, they weakly but proudly gave her a nod of approval.

Four kids were huddled around Durendal, crying alongside him and hugging him while apologizing. The only other noises in the courtyard were the groans of many injured kids. Some of them were in tears over cuts and scrapes. The casualties of war.

Salieri felt a tug on her pants leg. Lupin, covered in paintballs, winced up at her. [Do I still get...consolation...candy...] He gasped, then plopped to the ground.

Quacklin' fell from the branches of Gotengo, landing on the roof and covered in black ink.

"Oh my god," Mia whispered. "It's a massacre." Salieri dropped her bags, clenched her fists, and spun around. "Where are you going?"
"You be Team Mom! Now I have to go get ******** band-aids!" Salieri fumed, releasing a string of curses and walking away. Mia watched her leave, then picked up one of the shopping bags.
"...so who wants candy?"

Flare Headquarters – Conference Room

When Jump stepped foot into the conference room, the conversation he had heard from down the hall came to a screeching halt. All scientist and administrator eyes were on him, his Lucario, and the drunk bear slung over his shoulder. At the far end of the oval table, Flare Scientist Xerosic was staring at him from behind red tinted goggles. Jump stared back.

The two of them hadn’t had much time to interact, which had been fine by them. Xerosic didn’t like Jump’s perceived lack or culture or intelligence. Jump didn’t like Xerosic’s hair and how he opted to only wear one glove consistently.

“Admin Einatz. So kind of you to join us.”

Jump glanced off to the side at the large underground pool built into the stone. It was pristine, and deep enough to comfortably hold a Gyarados with a few other marine Pokémon. Lounging in a seat with a hand resting on the Gyarados was the boss: Elisio Pesto Lysandre.

Lysandre Labs had quickly become a household name in the past couple of years, even overseas where Jump hailed from. When he found out the philanthropist CEO of a multi-trillion tech company was actually the leader of an underground fashion movement, he had been shocked. When he found out that said fashion movement involved secret bases and clandestine operations, he was confused. And now, in the third meeting this week, he was just bored.

“Please.” Lysandre gestured to an empty seat at the table, at the end next to the Head Admin. “If you will.”

Jump shuffled over to the end of the table. Lysandre’s Head Admin was a woman Jump described as “witchy”. It hadn’t been easy speaking with Pachi, since the Lorekeeper wasn’t sociable and often spoke cryptically. She twirled a stray strand of hair with a finger, and her pink hazy eyes were glazed over with boredom. At least that makes two of us.

He took a quick headcount of who was present. With Bryony missing, and Mable deceased, Aliana and Celosia were the only lead scientists other than Xerosic remaining. Goldberg was almost out of recovery, and the other admins were not present, which left Jump and Pachi as the only admins in the meeting. Numbers had grown scarce. It didn’t fill Jump with confidence.

Xerosic coughed. “As I was saying…”

He tapped at a blue node near the center of the table. From it sprang a blue hologram, displaying a detailed map of Kalos. Xerosic held up his gloved hand and grabbed at a corner of the hologram, spinning and manipulating it until he had zoomed in on the Badlands.

“The Power Plant is mostly automated. There is a small contingency of workers-“
“How many?” Lysandre interrupted.
“We don’t have exact numbers, but about 10. They’re present for maintenance in case of emergencies. Most of the time, they do nothing. Aside from their Pokémon, there is no security to speak of.” Xerosic adjusted his goggles, and the glare caused Jump to squint. He could’ve sworn the scientist just did it to mess with him.
“How long do we need to siphon enough energy?”
“If we want to complete the charge in one go, we’d need to hold the position for about three hours.” Xerosic tapped his chin. “But that’s a conservative estimate, sir.We can send forces through here...”

Blah, blah, blah. Jump tuned it out as Xerosic explained the strategic intricacies of their operation. More talking. This much talking was boring, unless it was on TV or about him. Why did science people talk so much?

Lysandre stood up. His presence was both regal and demanding, which Jump had gotten used to and could even respect. One by one, he descended the stairs until he was close to the table. With one hand on the back of Pachi’s chair, he leaned forward at the hologram. “…Einatz and Pachi, I’d like for you to accompany Celosia to the Power Plant tomorrow. Preserve the beauty of this operation as quietly as possible.”

Pachi turned back and planted a kiss on Lysandre’s wrist. “Sure you got it, boss,” Jump yawned.
“If any of those children interfere again, I’d like for you to find a permanent solution to the problem.”
“Uh…what?”
“Don’t make me explain myself,” Lysandre said softly, sternly. “The beauty of the implication is that it’s crystal clear.”
Jump looked to Hexum, who was trying to communicate something to him with a glance. Jump couldn’t interpret the expression, so he simply said, “Whatever you need, boss.”
“Continue, Xerosic.”

Xerosic manipulated the hologram again, this time showing off the image of what Jump assumed was a homeless man. He had long scraggly hair, capped with a beanie, and holes in his clothes. He looked massively tall as well, bigger than that Goldberg guy. “Recon teams have spotted the target in Kalos over the caesura. He’s been trekking by foot through the country. Based on his current route, he may be in the Badlands by tomorrow.”

Pachi perked up. Pink mist seeped lightly from the side of her mouth, curling up then disappearing. “That’s my job?”
“That’s your job,” Xerosic confirmed with a sigh.
She clapped to herself. “Can I get an autograph? The signatures are sweeter when they’re posthumous. They even smell different.”
“You-“ Xerosic stopped himself short, clearly holding back some exasperation. “You can ask him for an autograph, sure. Just make sure you get the key. That’s the only part that matters.”

Xerosic went on the explain more specifics. Blah, blah, blah. The whole thing was impossible to pay attention to. Jump didn't realize that being an admin meant having to attend to many meetings. Some people even had notebooks! He wanted to play on his phone, since no one had said his name in a while which meant he wasn't listening, but the cell service underground was horrendous. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, Xerosic looked to Lysandre. “So concludes the breakdown.”

Lysandre circled around the table to Xerosic’s position. “Xerosic, your foresight is admirable. Your plans have kept us on schedule. They’re a work of art, really. I can appreciate the beauty in the ingenuity you all display.” He clasped his hands behind his back, standing up tall. “I could not be prouder.”

Xerosic smiled, genuinely pleased. Celosia rolled her eyes, and Jump thought he overhead Mable call him a suck up. “Oh ho ho, your praise is safe with me, Elisio.”
“Ladies and gentlemen,” Lysandre went on, addressing everyone present. “We’re on the precipice of something greater than ourselves. It’s only a matter of time now. Our sacrifices, and our pain, will mean something more. Soon, the whole world will understand our vision for a beautiful, ever lasting world. And we will see it through to the end.”

The scientists and admins nodded in agreement. Jump and Hexum, seeing everyone nod, also nodded. Kiedis burped. “Any questions?” Lysandre asked.

It was a round of silence. Sheepishly, Jump raised his hand. “So like…the Power Plant…is for…?”

The question was met with a chorus of groans, and a couple of curses hurled Jump’s way. “Literally every meeting with you!” Mable screeched.
“Just show up on time! Just once!” Xerosic slapped his hands on the table.
“Wow, okay guys, some people like to actually look good for meetings, ok? It takes time.”
“I FOUND YOU KICKING THE VENDING MACHINE!”

“Admin Einatz.” Lysandre’s voice cut through the argument. He remained unflinching. “As we’ve reviewed –in the past two meetings- the Power Plant’s energy will put us ahead of schedule to activate the weapon.”
“Right. Right.” Jump nodded sagely. “The weapon…and that weapon…is…”

This time, the groans were accompanied by Mable throwing her empty coffee mug across the table at Jump, which bonked Hexum instead. “I suggest you get caught up on your notes about the Ultimate Weapon’s purpose in resetting our scoiety,” Lysandre said curtly, narrowing his eyes at Jump. “By tomorrow. No more questions about this. Understand?”

A simple request. It was the way that Lysandre said it that got Jump to pay attention and take real notice. The boss had that way with words. It was both inspiring and unnerving. “Understood, boss.”

The conference disbanded, and everyone began to shuffle out of the room. Lysandre stayed behind to discuss something with Xerosic as Jump leaned over to whisper to Hexum. “Psst, hey, what’s the Ultimate Weapon?”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back in the lounge, Hexum put down the packet of admin notes he had been reading to Jump. His trainer was looking back at him, mouth agape and eyes wide. “Holy s**t are you serious?”

Hexum nodded. Kiedis, sobering up, growled. He slapped the papers to the floor, and they cascaded like leaves they didn’t dare touch again. Jump rubbed his face. His mouth felt dry. Suddenly, Flare Headquarters seemed very cramped. And like one of the last places he should be.

“Yo we gotta get the <********> out of here.”

Gotengo

Mia looked at her final outfit in the mirror Bass held up for her. Her long orange skirt, matching her cardigan, was adorned with a lilac pattern that draped near the bottom of her cork sandals. She wore long skirts near constantly, so stylistically it wasn’t a big shift. But it was nicer than her usual casual fare. “You ready?”

Salieri was already dressed. She was rocking grey hightops just a shade darker than her muscle tee. Her blue camo capris were baggy near the bottom, until they tapered off just below her knee. Her black puffy vest was complete with a faux furry hood draped on the back. And of course, she wore Moze’s bandanna on her head. The color scheme reminded Mia of what Moze liked to wear. It was kind of sweet.

But Salieri was paying her no mind. She was leaning over the edge of the bed, studying League footage of Alanza intently. Her face, lit up by the blue screen in the waning light of the sunset, was a picture of complete concentration. Mia felt like she was a coach walking into a locker room before a big game. “Sal. It’s time.”

Sal shut the PC off and stood up with a long breath. She eyed Mia up and down, raising an eyebrow. “Damn girl, dressed to impress?”
Mia shrugged, smug. “It is what it is. Dressed to kill?”
“Well I am about to slay something.” Sal’s bravado softened as she regarded her best friend. Mia recognized that concerned look. “You don’t have to come with me, you know.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Mia smirked. “It’s not all about you, queen, this invite is mine.”
“I’m not sure this is gonna be a good scene by the time I’m done,” Sal spoke frankly. “It’s not gonna be a good time.”
Mia put a hand on Sal’s shoulder. “When you and I roll up to a party, it becomes a good time. Don’t worry about me, Sal. Just show ‘em who’s boss.”

Anistar Outskirts – The Villa

On the south end of Anistar City, before it turned into Route 18, was a stretch of extravagant beach houses. Salieri and Mia opted to use the Teleport Zones to save time, so they had walked from the Pokémon Center to find the party. Their search didn’t last long. When the road turned towards the woods, and they heard noise coming from a home that sat cozily between a healthy lining of trees, the girls knew they found the right spot.

As they walked down the dirt driveway, more of the villa came into view. In the orange afterglow of the fading sunset, the whites and blues of the classic Kalosian architecture seemed even brighter. Stained glass windows twinkled on both floors. The building was wider than it was tall, and Salieri could make out a pool in the back on her way up the path. People around their age were already here, chatting with drinks in hand everywhere she looked. They didn’t all look like nobles, or sponsored trainers. A lot of them seemed, for the lack of a nicer term, ordinary. Salieri even recognized a few as trainers she had battled along the routes. She had exchanged contact info with some of them, for future rematches.

Alanza and Matheson were nowhere in sight. The property was expansive. Finding them could take some time. Salieri was earlier than she had intended, but still not in a rush. For her purposes, it was better to get a lay of the land. Besides, Mia mentioned that Alanza apparently had an open bar. She wasn’t going to pass that up.

Despite the ostentatious architecture, the place looked like it hadn’t been used in a while. The walls were dirty, and so were the windows. The lawn was overgrown, with weeds outnumbering flowers. People had taken furniture from inside and brought it outside. It seemed about as decadent as Gotengo.

“She took our shtik,” Mia said, with a low voice, adjusting her glasses. Bass, perched on her shoulder, sneered empathetically. “It’s personal now.”
“Ok, but like…” Salieri pushed her hair back. “I feel saying that is kind of my shtik? With the context?”
“You can’t claim ‘it’s personal’, dude. I’m allowed to have enemies.”
“Fair enough.” Salieri cracked her knuckles, glowering up at the building. “But she’s mine.”
“You can’t claim that either, but she’s all yours.”

The two of them stepped through the open double doors into a large foyer. Two staircases at either side of the room led up to a hallway on the second floor. There were rooms to the left, right, and ahead of them on the first. And everywhere they looked, they saw people. It was a banger. Mia waved at a few girls who seemed to recognize them, and Sal gave them a nod. She wasn’t here to socialize, but everyone else was. Small talk could become an obstacle.

“So, what now?” Mia asked. She still didn’t know Salieri’s plan. No one did. At this point, she had expected Salieri to tell her, per usual, but Sal was playing it close to the chest. It was making her nervous. The techie had been to plenty of parties,. This was her first Darkhorse Hunter challenge.

Her Noibat was with her, but she was no trainer. Banksy’s and Biz Marquis’ Pokéballs rested heavily at the side of her hip. Sal had lent her the two Pokémon to free up space on her team for the night. Mia wasn’t sure if Salieri meant for her to use them or not. She prayed that wasn’t in the cards.

“Now I gotta prep.” Salieri’s eyes darted around the foyer. The stairways had railings that transitioned into a connected banister at the top. A chandelier hung from the ceiling.
“For what?”
“This is her party, Mia. If I’m going to beat her, I’m gonna crush her. I need to build up hype, rile the crowd, make it a big deal.” Sal gestured from one side to another, outlining visually. “I’m trying to send a message. You don’t ******** with the Soledads.”
“If you wanted hype, why didn’t you say so?” Mia looked to her left, where she saw what seemed like a parlor and heard the loudest source of music. “I’ll jack the aux cord. Then we’ll really-“

She looked to her side, but Salieri was gone. She could see the top of Salieri’s blue bandanna disappear into the hallway upstairs. Mia huffed, blowing hair away from her face. "Ditch me. Cool, cool."

It wasn’t clear if Salieri was looking for Alanza, or something else. Mia was tempted to follow her friend, but the urge to explore was too great. This house was huge. The more she could find out about what the vibe was, the more she could try to build hype. Besides, Alanza apparently had an open bar. She wasn’t going to pass that up.So Mia split off, heading towards the parlor on the western end and getting her bearings. The hunt for the aux cord was on.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“I didn’t want you to do this.”

In a huge gazebo that sat between the pool at the back of the villa and the treeline near the beach, Alanza sat on a plush chair with her legs draped over one side. She sipped loudly through her cocktail’s straw. “I didn’t start it, Jules.”

Juliet sat beside her in a garden chair, leaning forward with her fingers steepled. “You punched her in the face.”
Alanza rolled her eyes. “It was synchronous with hers. It was a simultaneous-starting-it moment.”
“You could’ve just left her alone.” Juliet shook her head. “I don’t want to be a part of her life any more than I already am, I thought that was clear.”
“It’s not all about you, queen, what gets me mad gets me mad.” Alanza punctuated her sentence with pats to her chest. “The way she treats you is wack, she’s not good for Math, and she wants a piece of me anyway. I’m ready to deliver.”

Juliet looked around. The two of them were more or less alone in their corner of the gazebo. Pokémon and teens were already jumping into the pool, setting up towels on the grass and turning on the standing lanterns. Salieri wasn’t in sight. Neither was Matheson. Reflexively, she put her hand to her hip, then remembered her saber wasn’t there.

Of course it wasn’t. She felt naked without it, but she wouldn’t embarrass Alanza by wearing it at the party. Instead all she had was a green buttoned blouse and black leggings. Even in her casual clothing, she still managed to wear Nostrad colors.

Kallikrates nudged her uncomfortable trainer, and pointed her nose to Juliet’s drink on the table. It was something with rum in a coconut. Too sweet for her taste, but at this point she’d take anything. Juliet sipped alongside her friend. “Of course you can tell her off, Aly. You didn’t have to challenge her to a game, too. I know how those go for you.”

Alanza finished her coconut and slammed it onto the table. “I don’t think this chick deserves the chances you give her. If you don’t like her, then who cares? I don’t get it.”
Juliet finished her drink in kind. “I need a refill. You?”
Alanza flashed a peace sign. “Make it double, sis.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The old bedroom door in the corner of the top floor creaked open, and Juliet poked her head inside. There were some stray guests wandering all over, yet it was still quiet here. Juliet walked in and closed the door behind her.

Alanza’s old bedroom was in disuse. It was still decorated with posters and pictures of artists and celebrities she had fawned over years ago. White sheets had been thrown over all the big furniture. Juliet slowly wandered to the window, where she ripped a sheet off of a grand piano. A cloud of dust came off with it, and she coughed for a minute.

She opened the piano and her fingers drifted across the keys. As they did, she remembered all the songs played on it before. Juliet went to her memories, recalling summer nights spent here with Alanza. Before the Taine’s home life had become more contentious. And before her own life had become so complicated. Simpler times. She longed for that simplicity.

Juliet sat down on the bench, lifting her hands to play. The twisting of the closet doorknob caused her to snap to attention. Once again, she reached for a sword that was not there.

Out from the door came Matheson, holding a bowl with plastic wrap clinging to the top. Juliet sighed in relief as Matheson nearly yelped. “Whoa, hey. Scared me there.”
“I could say the same thing,” she told him with a tiny smile. Math looked around the room, scanning it with the filter of his own memories.
“Wow.” He whistled low. “Takes me back. We haven’t been here in years.”
“There were distinctly less drunks around the last time we were here.”
Math lifted up a shade to check out the window. He winced. “Yikes, there’s a guy barfing in those bushes.”
Juliet peeked over the piano to see what he saw. She rolled her eyes. “Weak. It’s not even close midnight.”
He nodded to the piano. “You play now?”
“I like to pick up new skills.”

She didn’t look up at him, but she moved over so he could sit on the bench next to her. Her heart skipped a beat when he did. “I only know two songs.”
“Is one of them Heart and Soul?”
“…I mean yeah. It’s basic but-“
“You can play along.”

Their fingers danced along the keys in time with each other, with Juliet taking the lead. “What’s in the bowl?” she asked.
“Potato salad. Thought I should bring something.”
She chuckled. “No one else did.”
“Oh.” Math laughed nervously. “Now I feel like a dork.”
“No. It’s nice.”
“…did you hear about Sal and Al-“
“Yes,” she responded quickly.
“And the-“
“All of it.”
They played in silence. Her fingers were wavering. “What’s your take?”
Juliet’s playing died to nothingness. She looked to him. “What’s yours?”
"I asked you first."
"And I'm asking you now."

He looked at her. Time went by. The door burst open, and in stumbled a skinny guy with a goatee with flushed cheeks. “Oh man, not the bathroom. Uh, s**t, my bad!” he blurted out, leaving as though he thought he walked into something he shouldn’t.

The mood had changed. There was tension in whatever had been unsaid. “…we should probably get back to the party.”
Math stood up, equipped with his potato salad again. “Lead the way.”

Taine Villa

From within a dancing crowd, Mia shimmied her way from one side of the parlor to the other. More people had rolled in, and despite the growing population, they still weren't packed like a school of Remoraid. Between the spacious house and the wide outdoor property, Alanza had chosen the perfect spot to throw a rager.

She twirled out from the crowd to get a closer eye on the music. K-Rok had turntables and a speaker in the corner of the room, angled outwards so the music reached farther. No wonder they could hear it from down the driveway. Mia knew that any non-noble throwing this party would've had the cops called on them by now.

Her eyes traveled from one side of the setup to the other until she saw Azucena. That was her name, right? Mia had briefly met her at parties over the caesura. She still didn't have a read on the girl, outside of her frequent Chatter posts where she acted as an influencer. It was hard to tell how much of that personality was manufactured or not. Such was the way of social media.

"Yo," Mia spoke, loud enough that she could be heard without screaming as she approached the band manager. "Azucena, right?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Matheson stood with his chest high, keeping himself steady. “Do you really hunt down trainers who aren’t like us?”

Still in her makeshift throne at the gazebo, Alanza picked her fork out of the potato salad and point it to Math. “You can’t waltz in with potato salad and then act tough with me, fam. You’re soft as hell.”
“Answer me, Alanza.”
“No, I don’t hunt them. Y’all are so dramatic.” Alanza leaned back and twirled the fork in the air. “I get told who to challenge. Or the challengers come to me. Either way, end result is the same.”
Math deflated with disappointment. “Why? Why are you supporting someone who tells you to do that?”
“That’s really not your business, Math, so I’mma need you to get way off my back, m’kay?” Alanza shoved the rest of her food into her mouth and stood up, looking past the sponsored Leroux. Still no Salieri. “Where the hell is she, she’s making me look like an a*****e…”
“Cool it, I just ran into Jules when I got here. She’s going to the bar,” Math told her, doing his best to sound authoritative. It was an imitation of the way his father talked down to him.
“Obviously not Jules, Jules is a glamorous Gardevoir goddess, I’m talking about Salieri.”

Alanza walked around her friend and started towards the pool. Matheson followed. “What happened, Aly? You’ve changed. The Aly I know wouldn’t-“
“Wouldn’t what, pop someone who’s messing with my people?” she snapped back, not breaking pace. “I haven’t changed. You just don’t know people as well as you think you do.”
“That’s bullshit, Aly, we go way too far back for that.”

She whipped around, her blonde braid nearly smacking him as she got in his face. “Then why are you seeing that girl, if you know Juliet so well?”
“I’ve had enough of this today! From everybody!” he blasted back, forcefully enough to give Alanza pause. “After I met Sal, Jules was the first person who I told what was up. She’s known every step of the way, she’s said she’s cool with it, why am I suddenly the a*****e?”
“You’re not an a*****e, Math, you’re just an idiot. She says one thing, but she means another.” Alanza held up two hands like scales to make the point. “Clearly she hates it. Read between the lines.”
“No, we talked about this.” Math shook his head. “She just doesn’t like Sal-“
“So she doesn’t want you to date her, dude! How are you not getting this, it’s been in front of you this whole time. Do I have to spell it out for you?”
“What the ******** are you getting at, Alanza?! Why would she care?”

She shoved him, and Matheson fell into the pool. Alanza whirled on her heel and stormed off, fists clenched. She was done. It was time to duel.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Juliet stopped in the foyer on her way to the bar, looking out the open doors at the driveway. The light from the house stopped short of the end of the path, which trailed off into the black of night. Despite being surrounded by people, she felt unseen. Alone. If she left now, maybe all these headaches would go away. It was ultimately her fault there was drama to begin with, after all. Removing herself from the situation could solve it.

But then she'd be abandoning Alanza. And Kallikrates. Matheson. It was her duty to see it through to the end. It didn't mean she had to like it.

Sighing, Juliet turned again, nearly bumping into an unfamiliar familiar girl. "Sorry." She squinted. With her hair and makeup done up, she nearly looked like a different person at a glance. "Helena?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Is that Salieri?”

In a gameroom stocked with boardgames, billiards, foosball, arcade cabinets, and a poker table, Salieri turned at the sound of her name. She did a double take. “Ant?”

Anthony had been an old classmate of Salieri’s in Lumiose, one of the few that weren’t lame. The two old acquaintances shared a quick hug. “It’s been like four years! I’ve seen you on TV!” said the brown skinned lanky teen. “You’re killing the game!”
“Wow, hearing you say that is wild,” she said back, slightly stupefied. “Appreciate it man, you look good! You been good?”
“Yeah! Hey, actually, I’m here with my girlfriend. Vick-yyyy!”

He called across the room, and a tall Hoennian Cooltrainer walked over. Sal had seen her on TV too. She used a Life Orb Haxorus. Cool stuff. “Hey, this is an old friend, Salieri.”
Vicky tilted her head. “…are you Salieri Soledad?”
“Yeah, nice to meet you,” she said, feeling wary. She’d been on her toes since leaving Gotengo, but Sal had noticed people giving her looks since she’d arrived. Sizing her up when they thought she wasn’t looking.
“You too, so are you gonna challenge Alanza, or?” Vicky asked, impatience apparent under the surface.
Sal looked to Ant, before narrowing her eyes up at Vicky. “How do you know about that?”
Now Vicky seemed confused. “I mean, like, a lot of us are in line.”
“In line? You’re here to challenge Alanza too?”
“Yeah but she won’t take any of us on. She said she’s waiting on you. I can’t believe you don’t know this.”

Now all that attention was starting to make sense. Sal finally figured out why the vibe seemed off. There were plenty of people here for pleasure, but some of these guests were trainers. They were all business, on the prowl just like her. Salieri wondered if any of them were here for rematches. “Have you played her before?”

Vicky was taken aback and Anthony put a supportive hand on her shoulder. Sal must have struck a nerve. “I just want my badges back,” the Cooltrainer stammered, slightly wounded.
Salieri furrowed her brow, getting serious. “How many did you lose?”
“Six.”
“When I clean her out, you can get your badges back, ok?”
Vicky’s eyes widened. “I can’t ask you to-“
“It’s fine, I don’t care. I just wanna beat her.”
Anthony beamed. “That sounds like the Soledad I know.”

Sal stepped closer, and spoke in more hushed tones. “Tell me what happened during your game. Everything you can remember.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Minutes later, Sal was on the move, stalking through halls and rooms like she had before. She had the potential to put more factors under her control. Her mind screamed GO GO GO, instinct urging her to Combeeline to Alanza right away. But with her plan, if she did that, she’d lose. If Sal had her way, the real challenge wouldn’t be playing the game. It’d be keeping her cool.

So Salieri went on to continue her prep. Which meant the next step was finding the bar, and making sure she didn't run into Alanza before she was finished.

Mama Mia? Not the worst thing she'd been called. At least it could be spun into something boss down the road. "Just Mia, but I can work with Mama Mia. Waddup?"

Bass flew off of Mia's shoulder to the top of the speaker. The little Noibat bopped up and down with each rumble, shaking like a bobblehead.

~~~~~~

Juliet stepped out of her own head long enough to see that Helena looked sick. Distraught? The detective in her welled up again. There was alcohol on her breath, but she didn't reek. "Sit down," Juliet commanded, gently pulling Helena to a bench next to a shoe rack off to the side of the room. She'd try to sit Helena down there.

"Do you need water? What's wrong?"

"Huh." Mia looked to where Azucena gestured with a wry smile as she lit her spliff. "Cute. The night's still young."

When Azucena asked, Mia took a deep inhale and said, "Between you and me, there's gonna be some high stakes gaming that will possibly break out into a fight, and I'm supposed to build up hype for my side so she can use said hype to break the morale of the faux counter-culture figure manufactured by the government to sustain the class gap in Kalos that she is going up against in said high stakes gaming."

She paused, then blew the smoke up into the air. "Phew. It'll be lit. You want in? Also I'm looking for the bar."

~~~~~~

Juliet put the palm of her hand to Helena's forehead as she spoke, looking like she was checking her temperature. After a moment, she removed it. Juliet looked off elsewhere briefly, trying to make sense of this new information. Her expression became stern.

"The dinner doesn't matter right now. What is threatening you?" Her hand was moving towards her hip again. "Where can I find it?"

"Tight," said Mia, reaching to dap Azucena up. It was, indeed, tight. She hadn't been sure how she'd go about taking over the music, but her hunch was correct. She wouldn't have to. As much as she liked to be in control, Mia had a feeling Azucena would be down with this plan. The vibe wasn't going to change, it was being redirected.

"All I need you to do is play any of these songs at like, key narrative beats. You'll know 'em when you see 'em." She held up her xtransceiver to scroll through a playlist, showing it off to her new co-conspirator. "I can send you the list. It's like a whole routine thing, it'll look good. Maybe pull some hypewoman lines on the mic when the time comes. That cool?"

~~~~~~~~~

"I've been hurt before. There's not much I cannot handle. You'll find that I'm shockingly resilient," Juliet said, standing up and flexing a practiced kind of demeanor, the kind that nobles used to show their control. Juliet was particularly adept at commanding a regal presence.

"Your sponsorship won't protect you from someone like him, that's true. But perhaps I can help. The man you're talking about is my father's bodyguard."