Welcome to Gaia! ::

((Sorry razz Plot stuff's gonna be happening there later, so yeah pirate ))

((Buried under sand, and the guy guarding it is at least as strong as Gorm but with a shorter fuse.

You should be heading to Nimbasa, which is the next city. If memory serves, there's a small landmass separating the city and the desert you're in, which you could either cross (like a mountain) or go around (which would take longer)))

((Wellllll here's a post. Not my best, I gotta get back into the RPing groove. I'll have a post concerning Reid's crew later.))

Salieri’s senses didn’t return all at once when she woke up. Instead they came back slowly, and the first thing she felt was a painful headache, instantly recognizable as a hangover. Through clenched teeth, she sat up and found that she was in a small bed in a hotel room.

While clutching the side of her head, she looked over to her side. Next to her bed was another, and Jump was sprawled out shirtless on top of it. He was still wearing his nice pants from the night before. Curiously, Salieri looked down to find that she was still in her dress.

Now that her senses were coming back to her, pain was the next thing she felt. Salieri grunted while reaching up to her eye. Definitely bruised. “What happened last night?” she grumbled to herself.

The Battle Girl struggled to get out of bed, but after standing up she found moving around was much easier. I remember taking shots at the bar…after that thing with N… Sal covered her eyes while opening the blinds on the window, knowing full well that the rays of sunshine would irritate her if she was exposed to them so soon.

Jump found me after Ghetsis had his speech, and then we started walking home… The memories were coming back to Sal as she got to the bathroom and started to shower. He told me he couldn’t find any hard evidence on Team Plasma. I told him that party was a waste of my time…

Sal got out of the shower, changing back into her typical Battle Girl outfit. When she looked into the mirror, she wasn’t surprised to see a large black eye staring back at her. Now I remember. We got into a fight…

~The Night Before~

Salieri complained about the banquet while stumbling down the sidewalk besides Jump. She lamented having to go in the first place, since it was just Jump’s attempt at repaying a debt he owed her brother, but most of her complaints were centered on “stupid clueless N”. Blinded by her bitterness, she didn’t notice Jump getting more and more irritated until he snapped.

“Can you just SHUT UP?” He facepalmed, shaking his head before stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Jeez, there was no way it could have been that bad. I’m trying to broaden your horizons, here!”

“I told you already, I don’t want your help!” Salieri retorted. The red faced girl pointed a finger accusingly at Jump. “I did what you told me to do, I came to this stupid thing and nothing good happened. Just tell me why I passed out and ended up in the hospital. Tell me what’s wrong with me!”

“And I already told you, there’s nothing wrong!” Jump turned away and folded his arms. “Damnit Moze,” he grumbled to himself, “you’ve got yourself one huge brat of a sister. Last time I try to imitate the Make-a-Wish foundation-“

He stopped himself, and his lips turned down in regret. “I didn’t mean that. My bad-“

To his surprise, Salieri didn’t look too offended. She simply scoffed. “You know what? Forget about it. You don’t know him, not like I do.” Her eyes darted away. “It’s not as bad as you think it is. Moze is the strongest. He’s getting better as we speak, going to doctors and people who can help him…”

Sal trailed off when she glanced over at Jump. He was giving her a look of morbid pity. Not at all what she had expected. It got to her. “What?”
“Is that what he’s been telling you?”

They stopped walking, pausing in silence. Salieri’s eyes narrowed at the Agent, who was beginning to regret saying anything at all. “…well, what did he tell you?“
“No, it’s…it’s nothing.” Jump kept walking, scratching the side of his head. “Nevermind.”

Salieri reached out and grabbed his arm.
“Tell me.” Jump didn’t respond or look back at her. She bit her bottom lip. “Tell me what he told you.”

His chest heaved with a deep sigh as he turned around and looked down at the Battle Girl. “Your brother isn’t looking for help anymore.”

Those words didn’t click correctly. There was more to it than that, Salieri was sure of it. “Does that mean he knows what’s wrong with him?”
Jump looked away. “No. He doesn’t.”
“So you’re saying…”

Salieri let go of Jump’s arm and looked down at the ground. He’s doing nothing? She furrowed her brow and clenched her fist, looking back up again. “You’re not ******** funny.”

Jump almost laughed, albeit a confused, bitter laugh. “I’m not trying to be.”
“What’s that even supposed to mean?!” she yelled, stomping her foot. “You’re trying to tell me my brother isn’t even trying anymore? That’s a ******** joke!”

All the Interpol Agent could do was shrug. The cat was out of the bag now. Moze definitely didn’t want Salieri to know about his plans –or lack thereof- and now Jump knew why. “Salieri, calm down. You gotta be more clear headed than this.”

That was the comment that made Salieri fly off the handle. She lunged forward with a swift jab to Jump’s face. “Don’t TELL ME to calm down!”

The Agent lifted up a hand and intercepted the blow in his palm, inches away from his face. This only served to anger Salieri further, and she continued to send a barrage of sloppy punches at Jump. Whatever skill he had witnessed her display on the dock in the afternoon was gone, replaced with untrained emotion controlling her actions. It was almost easier to deal with than blocking Wayne’s punches in the park, save for the fact that he felt awful about it.

I think I get it now, Moze. What you wanted me to do for her…

“Who the ******** do you think you are!?” she wailed in between failed blows. “You don’t know him! You don’t know ME! You’re just ruining everything!”

The flailing of her arms began to get weaker. Jump stopped blocking them and simply let her fists pound into his chest. They did not hurt him, but he hoped it would make her feel better.

It didn’t. The ineffectiveness just made her more upset. Sal wanted to break something. Anything. She was confused and upset and felt alone. Why did this day keep piling these trials upon her? I can’t keep up with this anymore.

Jump could see her eyes welling up with tears. “Lets just talk about this, Sal.”

She shook her head and coughed, tears now streaming freely down her face. Reinvigorated, she started punching him again. “NO! I don’t want to talk with you! You’re just some stupid adult who doesn’t know how to grow up! A wannabe hero that only makes things worse!”

Something flashed behind Jump’s eyes. His expression hardened up, and it was evident that he was trying not to let his own emotions get involved in her problems. “This isn’t about me-“

“Of course not, you idiot! This is MY problem!” Salieri took a step back, breathing heavily while letting her arms hang loose at her sides. “Look at you, big hotshot police officer that can’t even pull his own investigation together. What do you know about solving problems?”

She growled, and pulled back her fist. “That feeling you get when you know you’re losing something important…you’ve never had that before have you? Of course not, with that big stupid smile on your face all the time you must feel like you’re on top of the world. You’re nothing like me, you don’t struggle!”

Salieri stepped forward and rocketed her fist at Jump. “You don’t know what it’s like! YOU NEVER HAVE!-“

Her feet lifted off of the ground with the rest of her body as she began to fly backwards. The force of Jump’s backhand across her face lifted her up and flung her down the street. As her brain rattled around in her skull and Jump became more distant, the last thing she heard was Jump screaming her name.

~Back To The Present~

Salieri peeked out of the bathroom one more time to look at Jump’s sleeping body, and then back to the mirror. Her hair was down, but when Salieri tried to put it back into it’s usual high ponytail, she found that she was having trouble. Her fingers kept shaking.

The Battle Girl tried taking deep breaths, but they did little to calm her. “I’m a mess…”

She left her hair down as she crept back into the main room, standing next to Jump’s bed for a minute. Soon, he began to stir and roll onto his back, yawning and stretching himself awake. Eventually he noticed her standing above him, and the first thing he took note of was her black eye.

He scratched the back of his head and looked away. Eye contact with Sal was something he couldn’t bring himself to now. “I’m really sorry. About your eye, I mean. I…shouldn’t have gotten that angry.”

Sal rubbed her face. “It’s not so bad,” she lied. An awkward silence hung in the air, before Salieri said “I’m sorry too. I said a lot of things-“

“Whatevs,” Jump muttered as he got out of bed. “It’s cool.” He wandered across the room to the window, looking down at Castelia below.

Now that he was standing up, Salieri took note of his chest. She had missed it before, but now she was noticing his chest was covered with many small, faded line shaped scars. The tiny scars had been deep cuts at one point, judging by the remnants. Probably shrapnel.

“He doesn’t like it when you build him up so much, you know.”

Salieri was taken out of her thoughts back to reality. “What?”

“Your bro? He knows you think the world of him, but that’s a lot to live up to. It’s stressful, trying to be a hero all the time.” Jump sighed. “But I guess you know something about expectations, don’t you?”

The thought never occurred to Salieri. She knew Moze tried to avoid being the center of attention even though he often was, but she never knew that he felt he had to live up to it. Now, Sal was beginning to wonder how much she really knew about her brother. Or how little. “Oh.”

Another silence, this one being contemplative instead of awkward. “I have an older brother myself. He’s an ace trainer, the best of the best. But he doesn’t want anything to do with me. No matter how good I am at what I do, I’m still not good enough. And for a while, that really bugged me.”

The Interpol Agent put his hands into his pockets. “I kept trying to live up to his expectations, but then I realized I never would. Other people’s expectations are overrated. What you expect from yourself is the only thing that matters.” He tilted his head to the side. “Is it really that important to you that you get your gym back? Or are you trying to prove something?”

Salieri gulped. Her throat felt dry. “I don’t want-“ she started to say, but her voice felt strangely weak. Jump folded his arms in anticipation. The words were stuck in her throat, and she didn’t really want to say them. But it was now or never. “I don’t want them to think I’m weak. Weak is worthless.”

Jump’s eyes softened and he stood up straight, shaking his head. “Moze told me all about your family. They love you, Sal. It doesn’t matter to any of them what you do as long as you’re happy. I know it must feel like there’s a shadow you’re living under, but it isn’t real. The only one holding you back now is yourself.”

She didn’t say anything, so Jump continued. “I don’t know why Moze isn’t looking for a cure anymore. I wouldn’t do the same. But that’s up to him. He’s out living his life the way he wants to. It’s not fair to him if you don’t do the same.”

Salieri looked down at her hands. Her fingers were still shaky. Her feet were firmly planted, because she felt that any step she took now would be a decisive one.

Standing on top of some sort of precipice, Sal knew that Jump’s words rang true. It was what Moze had been telling her for a while now, but it was something she just couldn’t hear from him. Things were different now, but Salieri didn’t know how they would change. Her journey had been driven so far by the desire to prove something, but the truth was that she didn’t have anything to prove to anybody but herself.

What do I do now?

Jump smirked a little. “You don’t have to cry about it.”

Crying? Salieri lifted a hand up to her face, and sure enough there were some tears. She spun away. “I’m not crying!” she stammered. “The shampoo in this hotel is garbage! My hands keep shaking, I think I’m having an allergic reaction or something…:”

Jump chuckled to himself. “Is that why your hair is like…that?”

Salieri took a quick look back at the mirror. Her loose hair flowed down to her midback, wavy and luscious but messy all the same. She sniffled and wiped the stray tears away from her face before turning back to Jump with a confrontational look. “I’m going au naturale. So what?”

His smirk didn’t fade. It only grew larger. “That braid you had last night was pretty dope. You looked like some sort of Dragon Lady. Why don’t you do that? I’ll even help.”

The way he made the remark didn’t feel insulting. Dragon Lady? Salieri smiled softly. She liked the term. “You can braid hair?”

“One of the many tools of the trade,” he informed her while cracking his knuckles and pulling up a chair in front of the bed. “You must be able to adapt to any hairstyle if you’re going to make it in the business world.”

Salieri rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help smiling still at his jokes. She sat down on the chair. “That’s really prissy of you.”
“Shuddup, or I’ll turn this into pigtails.”
“You do that and I’ll tell everyone who styled my hair.”
“Hmmm, touché. Alright, this doesn’t leave the room.”
“Deal.” Salieri could feel his hands grab her hair and begin to shape it. “…can we say that, uh, none of this leaves the room? Like, everything from last night til-”
“Sure.”
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it…and start using conditioner, these split ends will be the death of you.”

“Word. Check it out.”

Salieri looked up at the mirror. Her hair was now styled into a long braid, save for some bangs on her forehead that were longer on the sides. It was a much more refined look than her normal hairstyle. Comparitively, she felt that this looked more…mature.

She reached up to feel it. The braiding was solid. Salieri felt she could imitate the technique. “Awesome.”

“Right?” Jump stood up and headed to the shower. “I was voted Nicest Hair in Coordinator Weekly’s Annual Issue ten years ago, yanno. Some things never change…”

Sal nodded, not wanting to burst Jump’s bubble. She had never heard of the magazine before. The Interpol Agent closed the bathroom door behind him, leaving her alone in the room.

On her night table sat hr beltbag, with every pokeball accounted for. She had almost forgotten she was to challenge Burgh today, even though two of her pokemon wanted little to do with her and a third was batshit crazy. So much had happened in the past day that it was hard to keep all of her thoughts in check. The normally focused Salieri Del Forrest was unorganized.

She grabbed her journal and read the past few entries, the ones that took place since she started her journey. It was strange for her to read her own writing, but as she did she tried to detach herself from authorship and look at it was an outsider.

What Jump had told her before about living in a shadow created by her imagination was becoming more apparent. Her eyes scanned the pages, and she came to agree with the Agent. It was a weird feeling, to become more aware about something so obvious.

Perhaps there was more to Jump than she had thought originally. He wasn’t just some goofy, law enforcement pretty boy. And those scars…
Sal spent a few minutes starting to write a new entry before Jump came out of the shower. He whistled a chipper tune while drying off his hair. With the towel on his head, Sal couldn’t get a good look at what his hair looked like without the ponytail.

“Can I ask you a question?”
“You kinda just did,” Jump answered as he removed the towel from his head. Somehow, he had managed to put the ponytail style back together instantaneously. Fastest man on the earth indeed. He smiled back at Sal while buttoning up his shirt. “Shoot.”
“Those scars…”

The question trailed off. No more needed to be said. Jump stopped buttoning and looked down at his chest for a few seconds.

“You lived in Kanto before moving to Unova, right?”
Sometimes Salieri forgot that Moze told Jump so much about their family. “I did, in Saffron City.”
“Yeah, I lived in Pallet Town. It’s a nice little place near the sea. Pretty quiet. It was me, my older bro, my little sis and my parents. Mom and Dad were Interpol Agents, but they retired after my bro was born to raise us.”

He started to fasten the buttons. “They still were contacted by Interpol as consultants though, so sometimes they’d go on business trips to Viridian City. It’s not that far from Pallet, like a half an hour walk. My brother and I used to race there to see who was faster…”

Jump’s fingers stopped. Salieri couldn’t see his expression when he looked down at his shirt, but he seemed lost in thought. She leaned forward in her seat on the bed. “Don’t stop now, come on.”

“One day, when I was eight and my parents were on one of those trips, one of my neighbors came to my house and told me some guys were looking for my parents. Real sketchy people. They called themselves Team Rocket.”

The shirt was buttoned now, so he started to put on his tie. “Me and my bro, we ran as fast as we could to Viridian City. I don’t think I had ever run so fast before. We knew what coffee shop they liked, so we decided to head there to tell them. It just didn’t seem right. I was scared.”

Now Jump turned away, facing the door. Salieri furrowed her brow. She didn’t like where this story was going, but she had to hear the rest.

“We were just outside the coffee shop when the bomb went off. I could see my parents through the window when the glass exploded. If my bro didn’t tackle me out of the way, the shrapnel would’ve cut up more than my chest.”
“Oh my god.” Salieri stood up and took a step forward, but stopped herself. She wasn’t very good at giving others sympathy. “I’m so sorry, Jump.”

His shoulders shrugged. “Yeah, well, you were kinda not alive at the time so it’s not really your fault.” A short laugh escaped him. Sal didn’t have to see his face to know it wasn’t genuine.

“I went back a week later and counted how many steps away from the door I was when the explosion happened. Six steps. Just six steps away from getting inside and telling them…I tripped a couple of times on the run there, too. I had to spend a minute tying my shoes before I left the house, and when we ran through a muddy path my foot got caught for a few seconds. That’s almost two extra minutes. Two minutes I didn’t have because I was too slow.”

Too slow. Sal remembered what he had said the day before…

“I ran us here.” He jabbed his thumb at his chest. “You’re looking at the fastest man on the planet.” The words took on a different meaning now.

“It’s not like you could have done anything about it,” Salieri told him. It almost sounded callous, but Sal didn’t excel at making soft statements. “You just told me not to live in a shadow. Is this the shadow you live under?”

“Nah. It’s cool that you’re taking what I told you to heart, but I don’t have a shadow to live under. It’s a promise. That will never happen again. If anyone ever needs my help, I’ll never be late. I can save them with minutes to spare now.” He turned around, straightening his tie and giving Salieri a huge, disarming grin. “This is my Aura ability, Speed. Nobody’s faster than me.”

Aura? Salieri wasn’t well versed in the subject, only knowing the basic overview that her father taught her. It’s a force all living things manifest that even flows through space and time. Kind of like…well, The Force. Some people could even manipulate to do things considered superhuman or bizarre.

“Wait…Aura…is that what happened to-“
“Yes! Finally, you’re starting to get it! BINGO-“

Jump was shut up by a pillow thrown at his face. “You couldn’t have told me that sooner!?” Salieri roared, jumping up onto the bed and throwing another pillow at Jump. “I thought I was sick, damnit!”

“I’m your bud, not your spiritual guide! That’s something you had to figure out yourself!” Jump picked up the pillows and threw them on the bed. “And don’t mess up the room, we gotta get out of here, like, nowish.”
“Why the hurry?”
“Cause I’m not signed in.”
“…what?”

Jump smiled sheepishly. A sweatdrop appeared on his head. “Uh, I’ve been doing this whole ‘on the radar/off the radar’ thing in case anybody’s been tracking me, so last night I just ran up the side of the hotel and vibrated us into an empty room.”
“…you did what??”
“Brilliant, right? I’m pretty sure the hotel staff will be here any second to clean, so we should bounce.”

And then Salieri leaped from the bed onto Jump’s back, pulling his hair and screaming at him for being a moron. Predictably, Jump’s first reaction was to save his hair, resulting in the two flailing around the room for the next two minutes.

"You can do it Squirt!" Luka quickly brought out his PokéPod and set the speaker blaring. Squirt's battle jam starting playing and that was enough to pick the Tirtouga back up and make him determined to win.

Squirt burst out of the smoke, soaring through the air with an Aqua Jet. He rammed into the Sigilyph and then raised some rocks from beneath the sand before launching them at the unprotected Pokémon with Ancient Power. He followed up with another Aqua Jet, crashing into Sigilyph as the Ancient Power subsided before launching into a Crunch attack.

The Sigilyph tried another Air Cutter, but, he was just too weak. He fell to the sandy ground, defeated. Squirt let go and smiled at the Sigilyph. [Good battle dude.]

Sigilyph lifted himself faintly off the ground to look properly at Squirt. [No it wasn't. It was short and I'm just so weak. Why did I have to be the Sigilyph of the family that was gifted with brains and not brawn? It's just typical, you know and what not.]

[Well, maybe we can help you get better with the battling side of things. We're not great yet ourselves, and maybe we never will be. But, even if we are never great at battling we can just have fun and travel together. At least, that's what I've always though. Want to tag along?]

Sigilyph looked at Squirt. He was thinking immensely hard and then looked towards Luka. The boy was young, not pre-pubescent like some of the children he had seen running about through the ages he had spent in the Desert, but, he was of an age where the future was rushing up to meet him. The decisions he made now would be vastly important. Maybe it was time for an old fart like him to join in this young man's quest to find himself. It'd certainly be an interesting change of events and who knew, maybe the adventure might be fun. He tiredly lifted himself up off the sand and nodded at Squirt and Luka. [I'm ready. I shall join you.]

Squirt nodded at Luka and Luka tossed the Pokéball at Sigilyph. The ball tossed and rocked a couple of times before it finally clicked shut. Luka picked up the Pokéball and grinned. "Victory!" He opened the Pokéball and brought out Sigilyph. He healed the Pokémon up so that Sigilyph was bursting with newfound energy. Then it came down to deciding his name.

Sigilyph thought alongside Luka for a moment before fluttering up and down. [I have an idea! I used to have a nickname as a child because of my intellect! Everyone used to call me the Professor. In fact, I think a few of the Pokémon I've met on my laps around the Desert still call me Professor even if I don't impart my knowledge much anymore. Nobody seems to care about history these days. It's rather sad actually.]

Obviously, Luka couldn't understand a word of this. All he could hear was "Sigi, lyph lyph Sigilyph Sigigilyph" and so on. Luka looked to Squirt. "Could you spell out what Sigilyph is trying to tell me?"

Squirt nodded and rolled through the sand to spell out PROFESSOR.

"Professor, eh? So, you're a pretty smart Sigilyph, am I right?"

Sigilyph nodded and span around a little bit.

"Right. I think I've got the perfect name for you buddy. I dub you, Professor Layton."

Sigilyph stopped hovering for a second in confusion before remembering he was still supposed to be flying and getting back up to proper altitude. [Who's this Layton guy?]

Squirt laughed. [He's naming you after a video game character. An incredibly intelligent Professor who loves puzzles and teaches Archaeology at a fictional university.]

[I guess that sort of fits. You know what, a bit of change is always good. Professor Layton it is then.] He span around as he rose higher into the air before bursting off some of the sand from his body.

Luka grinned. "Awesome. So, that's five of six. Only one more to go! Now, to get to Nimbasa and out of this bloody desert!"

Professor Layton flew up into the air and surveyed the area. [I can see a road to the east of here, about an hour or two's walk away.] He came back down to Luka and Squirt and the still pouting Misa who was fuming at being ignored but who wasn't piping up because she was giving them all the silent treatment. He signalled in the direction of the road and started to fly in that direction.

"That way? Ok. Awesome." Luka returned Misa and Squirt with a "Thanks you two. Have a nice rest. We'll be back in civilization soon." And with that he took off on the next step of his journey: Getting out of this bleeding desert. The sooner the better, quite frankly.

kentas break turned into a full on nap. it turns out, aura is unconciously draining on his young body in its early stages.

while hes out, the residents of the cave take notice. a group of eyes peer out at the boy, belonging to druddigan and fraxure. they slowly come out, surrounding the boy, growling and looking hungry.
sasha is the first to notice, and panics, quickly attempting to wake sleeping kenta.
"nn... what is it sasha?... um... uh?... huh?!" the boy sat up and looked around. "um... hi there" yum_puddi <--(kenta to the pokemon)
sasha growled at them, but while hiding behind kenta, between him and the ledge.

((Arrrg, I'm back from the dead, yes. Now that I'm back on my RP grind I wanna finish that Jump & Zack story/update Sal's journal. So much to do, so much time to do it!))

After cleaning up the room in an attempt to make it look uninhabited, Jump and Salieri gathered their things. "You're headed to the gym, right?"

Sal nodded as she stepped out the door and into the hallway. "Yeah, it's about time I give it a shot. We've been training a whole day for it."

The Battle Girl looked down at the pokeballs in her beltbag. Maybe a new day will have smoothed things over between her, Chen Zhen and Salem. "Relax," Jump reassured her while pressing the button for the elevator. "It's only the third gym. Can't be too bad."

"I know." She stood taller, wearing a confident smirk. "By the time I'm done with Burgh, he''ll start painting pictures of me." Before stepping into the elevator, something dawned on the Battle Girl. "My journal! I forgot about it in the room!"

Jump held the door, but Salieri waved off the gesture. "It's cool, go on without me."

The Interpol Agent shrugged. "Suit yourself. Hey, when you're done with all that jazz give me a call. There's something I wanna give you." He tapped his xtransceiver. "I'm in the listings somewhere."

A gift? Handouts made Salieri feel pitied, but gifts were different. She smiled widely at the prospect, wondering what Jump had in store. "Sure thing." He flashed her a peace sign as the doors closed.

Meanwhile, the door to the Plasma Agents' room opened. Jaiden and Yana were the last two out. They walked down the hall in the opposite direction Salieri had only seconds before.

"Sooooo you got stood up, huh Yana?" Jaiden's hands were clasped behind his head casually. The crimson haired youth grinned. "Losing your touch?"
"Hmph." Yana was unaffected, looking as bored as usual.
"You know, I'm not just a little kid. If you ever need to refresh your skills-"
"If you want to know what it's like to have your balls drop, I'd advise you to stop now so you can keep them."

Jaiden chuckled, then paused. He looked over his shoulder down the hallway behind him. "Something wrong?" Yana asked.
"No, nothing." The two continued to walk until they were gone.

Around the corner, Salieri poked her head out, then slunk back against the wall. The teenage girl from Team Plasma she had met in the Pinwheel Forest and the crimson haired waiter from the Italian Restaurant...together in the room next to hers...

Is somebody spying on me?

This trip was supposed to bring them closer together. Elizabeth wanted Zack to finally make up with his father; she was like that, trying to keep the peace, even if their stout refusal to play nice annoyed her to no end. Jacqueline was meant to be keeping Katelyn safe, away from the world's worst elements. Instead she was nearly blown up, surviving by accident.

By a miracle.

Zack stopped by the ambulance. It had been brought in to help anyone wounded by the explosion. Instead it was used to cradle a comatose little girl. Katelyn lay as still as death, Elizabeth sat by her vigilantly. She took one look at Zack, then back to her girl, squeezing her tiny hand.

"I'm sorry," Zack said, standing at the ambulance doors.
"It's okay."
"I'm going to find a way to fix this. I will make it up to you."
"It's not your fault."
"Then look at me!"

Elizabeth turned her head, but her eyes seemed empty. She wasn't there, not really. Nothing Zack had to say would make a difference; he had no answers, no idea if Katelyn would ever wake up again. He looked at her desperately, but neither had anything for the other.

"I'm going to find out who did this. I promise you that."
Elizabeth nodded slowly, then quickly as she turned back to Katelyn. Zack swallowed, starting to walk off:
"Wait," Elizabeth spoke. She was there, in her voice. Zack looked over his shoulder. "You find them, Zack, and you make them pay. You hear me? I want them to suffer."

Zack's nod was firm. He began to walk, snapping his Xtransceiver away from his wrist and sliding into a phone shape. He called Jump.

"We have something we need to discuss."