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Ambrette Town - "Hero's Journey"

Little did Benedict know that within the hour he'd be getting calls from all over. Companies wanting him to promote their goods. He wasn't set to be sponsored, yet, but he was a face the world could get behind in such tragic times.

The inspiration of the nation. "You are truly an inspiring man, Benedict." Edouard extended his hand for Benedict to shake and introduced himself.

"Can you tell us what it was like, to be in the middle of it all?"

Ambrette Town - Hero's Journey

Edouard nodded along to Benedict's story of bravery. "You're a real hero, you know that?" He slapped Benedict on the shoulder. "We'll let you get out of here. I'm sure you're dying for some rest." He signaled and the camera turned off.

"We'd love you to come to the studio for an interview some time, though." He offered Benedict his card, smiling all the while. "Once you're recovered from all of this."

((EDIT: Just updated Sal's profile with stuff pertaining to this post, sweet artwork thanks to Marsuru, and a new theme song))

Cyllage City – Pokémon Center

“When you become a big TV star, will you remember the little people?” Mia asked Salieri with a flat tone and a tiny smirk from her end of the PC conversation in Gotengo. Sal didn’t see anybody else in the background, and assumed Mia had cleared any kids present at the treehouse away for some privacy.

“Stop it,” Sal groaned. The bruises on her chest and forehead ached with a dull yet fiery pain. “My brain can’t handle humor right now.”
“Okay.” The tiny smirk faded and Mia sipped on a beer. “Take the floor.”

Salieri explained as best as she could what happened at Route 9. How Ambrette Town was mostly destroyed when she got there, how she and her Pokémon joined the fray to save what they could. Then she explained her wounds.

“We were shot at. Mia, it was the same Sniper that stole Xavier and Prou from my brother.”

Mia squinted, tilting her head to the side with no snappy comeback. It was the closest she could get to expressing surprise. “How do you--what do you mean ‘We’ “?
“Me and Veil. He shot her right out of my hand. She…” Sal paused, and took a deep breath to avoid choking on the words. “She got trampled by the stampede. If we weren’t rescued, she could’ve died.”
Horror was an expression Mia was a little better at. She wasn’t all robot. Eyes wide with a hand over her mouth, Mia asked in a hushed tone, “Oh my god, is she okay?”
“Yeah. Yeah, she’s fine. Her injuries are fine. But Faust--The Sniper, he’s a perfectionist. He won’t stop hunting me if she’s around.” Salieri looked at Veillantif’s Pokéball in her hand. “I have to send Veil home to you.”
“…how do you know he won’t still hunt you anyway?”
“He will. I know he will, it’s not just that. Veil…she wants to go home.”

Mia let that implication sink in. It was clear she realized what it meant: Veillantif was traumatized. Salieri guilt grew heavier on her shoulders as she watched her best friend work it out. “I’ll set up the Deposit,” Mia told her, avoiding Sal’s eyes as she hit some buttons. “So say your goodbyes.”
“No need.” Salieri clenched her teeth. “She doesn’t want to talk to me.”

Veillantif’s Pokéball was put on the tray. Sal saw the tiny image of her Horsea through the Pokéball’s opaque lens. Inside the ball, Veil was crying. Sal bit her tongue, forcing herself not to sob.

In a flash of light, Veillantif was gone.

Salieri also sent home the Cubone and Machop she had caught on Route 9 to join the Woobat and Helioptile. If The Sniper came after her Pokémon again, she couldn’t risk having untrained, lower leveled fighters around just to lose them. “How do you know all this stuff about The Sniper anyway?” Mia asked. Both his them were eager to move on from talking about Veil.
“I was saved by this guy.”

A vision of Matheson standing in the log cabin flashed into Sal’s mind. She scratched the back of her head. “He was maybe a little older than us. Pretty weird guy, has Obsessive Impulsive Disorder. I didn’t think that was a thing. But he was an alright guy, and he told me about Faust.”
“A guy, huh?” Mia’s questioning shifted from concerned to playfully curious. “What’s his name?”
“Matheson Leroux. Yeah, he’s a noble guy. I have his number, I think I’m gonna try honey potting him for more info.”
“Flirting with a noble? Who are you and what have you done with Salieri?”

Salieri sighed as Mia gave her a smug grin. She should’ve known this would be the reaction. This was the closest Sal had come to showing interest in a guy for a while, even if it was for practical reasons. “Tell me more.”

So Sal explained how Math took them to the mountains with his Magic Door Key, a science which interested Mia greatly. How Math healed up Veil and herself, how he cooked for everybody, and why he was after Salieri in the first place. Which reminded Sal to explain how she got from the Battle Chateau to Route 9.

“I plugged Ivan into the Chateau’s PC like you told me, made three searches and then I got a message about Shooting Stars or some nonsense. Now it won’t turn on. The Pokédex is being really bizarre.”

Sal held up her blank Pokédex so Mia could see it. Mia’s eyes narrowed as she looked over her handiwork. This error in her programming was unprecedented. “What…”
“Long story short, I left, but the cops picked me up since they thought I was a noble volunteering to help, and they brought me to Route 9 to stop the stampede. And that’s when The Sniper-”
“Sal, what did you search?” Mia interrupted.
“What?”
“The search on their PCs, what’d you search?” There was a hint of urgency in Mia’s voice. It stood out amongst her monotone. Sal knew she meant business.
“I searched Jullien Nostrad, Mozart Soledad and Nicolette Nostrad. Jullien’s info was basic, Moze had nothing, and Nicolette’s broke Ivan. The Pokédex said it was rebooting.” Sal tilted her head, puzzled. “They’re searches we’ve made on public PCs with no problem before. Why?”

Mia took a step back and closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. Sal knew this meant Mia was thinking hard on a rationale for this technological error. “Ivan doesn’t reboot. That’s impossible.”
“I’m telling you, it was rebooting-“
“There is no reboot coding on that Pokédex. He’s not supposed to fall back on that in case of emergencies. Ivan has a virus.”

Salieri paused, trying to make sense of this news while Mia typed away at her PC’s keyboard. “You’re in Cyllage City, right? I’m going to have Quacklin’ fly you a disc tomorrow. You have to apply it to Ivan right away. If Ivan is infected, then whoever set up the virus was prepared for Ivan specifically. They knew you were coming. If you searched Nicolette last, it might have been her.“”

Once again, a girl Salieri had never even seen before was responsible for impeding her progress. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. The fire in her heart had been an ember for the last couple of hours, calmed by the sobriety of almost losing Veillantif. Now it was heating up again. “Nicolette, huh?” she growled.

Mia met Sal’s eyes. “The Chateau was a bad call, Sal. If you make another one too fast, Faust might get you. Don’t do anything stupid until Quacklin’ gets you the disc, okay?”
“Fine.”
“I mean it.”
“I said fine.”
“Alright. I gotta make some calls to get this together. I’ll talk to you later, Sal…I’m sorry about Veil.”
"So am I."

*************************************

Wandering through a building full of refugees was a surreal experience. All the noise washed over Salieri as she walked to the exit, yet now and again she’d catch a bit of conversation from the side. She just passed a family quietly huddled together in a group hug, and before that she passed a scientist lamenting to his wife that his life’s work had been buried in the rubble.

Right before the door, a young mother holding a sleeping toddler blocked her path. Half of the mother’s face was covered in fresh scrapes, matching the ones on her daughter’s face. “Excuse me?”

Salieri stopped in her tracks. She knew she was staring at the child, but she couldn’t help it. “I-I was there when you got to Ambrette Town. I was running to the Pokémon Center when I dropped my baby.” The mother clutched her daughter. “She would’ve been...god, she would’ve been dead if your Torkoal didn’t make that fire wall.”

The last part was whimpered out as the mother quietly burst into tears. With her free hand she clutched Sal’s arm. The bandanna girl was stunned. “I’ll always remember what you did for her. Thank you, thank you.”

Sal didn’t know how to respond. She wouldn’t have even been on Route 9 if it wasn’t for what happened with the Chateau. Being a hero wasn’t part of the plan. Suddenly she felt a new, tangential responsibility, like what she felt when she saw a Gotengo kid down on their luck in Lumiose City. “It’s okay,” she stammered, flustered with how she was being revered. “It’s okay.”

The mother nodded and walked away. Salieri watched her go before leaving the Pokémon Center.

Cyllage City was very much alive with the influx of people from down the coast. Having entered the city through a Magic Door, this was the first time Salieri had a chance to take it in. To the east was the mountain range, with roads and bike paths dotted up the cliffs for safer travel. The wide open ocean was to the west, sparkling waves jutting from the body of water like fleeting spears. What seemed like a normally serene settlement held a somber tone from all the carnage in the south.

Salieri held up a hand to look down the long beach. In the distance she could see smoke curling up from Ambrette Town. Matheson told her that he had thrown The Sniper off her trail with the Magic Doors, but it was possible that The Sniper had followed Banksy to Cyllage City. If she had been killed in the stampede, it would have seemed like an accident. If she was shot here, it would seem like a murder. He wouldn’t shoot me down in plain sight, would he? No, he’s a professional. He wouldn’t be so boldso reckless.

The tops of the mountain range were the best spots to have a vantage point, and from atop a cliff is where The Sniper had fired at her before. Salieri kept her eyes on the high ground as she slowly walked through town, trying to stay in the busy streets. How do I even know he’s still watching me? Maybe he’s not.

Sal stopped walking. Maybe that’s what he wants me to think.

There weren’t many safe options to take. She could call up Matheson and ask for his help, but Sal wasn’t entirely sold on him yet. A noble wouldn’t gain her complete trust so easily, even one as good natured as Math. She could wait inside a building until she was sure he didn’t have her trail. But how would she even know? What if The Sniper came for her before she could act?

A bead of sweat rolled down Sal’s forehead, and suddenly the anxiety of the situation became clear to her. There was no way she could guarantee her safety from this hunter. If I have to run, what do I do? Will Banksy be enough to get us to a safe spot? What happens now?

She found herself reaching for her Pokégear. There was another option she could try. It was her original plan. Sal would hunt down the nobles that dismantled her brother’s spirit, one by one. Once The Sniper started up his hunt again, she would act. All she needed was a way to close the distance if she found out his position. And there was one person she knew with “absolute speed”.

Salieri sent a text to Helena. It took some time to locate the Redgrave’s number, since Helena hadn’t entered her real name into Sal’s contact list.

Route 9 - Trail's End

As if Ambrette Town wasn't guilt trip enough. Zack hung awkwardly from Dexio as Helena carried on. At the start, he'd been a tight bundle of tension, but that slowly left him until in the end he relaxed, wearing a tired smile. She was okay. Hazard and Serene were back. The nightmare really was over. The battles in Glittering Cave suddenly felt like somebody else's life, like he'd just been an observer. He desperately needed rest.

'Take it easy, little sister,' Zack said, hoping his tone of voice was enough to hide the strain of speaking. He pulled away from Dexio and stood precariously, recalling his pokémon. 'We'll talk more later.'

'Absolutely,' Dexio said, 'Later's fine.'
'But not too much later,' Sina added, 'Or you'll probably forget most of it. So maybe in a few minutes. Oh, I'm Sina, by the way. This's Dexio. We're professor Sycamore's research assistants.'
'Yes, and that's the reason we're here. The only reason. Strange happenings warrant investigation.'

Zack felt an acute headache come on when Dexio and Sina began whittering, and had to consciously avoid grinding his teeth.

'Helena,' he said, betraying a growl. 'Get Loki and get us out of here.'
'Ah yes, to the lab,' Dexio cut in. 'We're in Lumiose City, southern edge of South Boulevard. Lovely place.'
'And the professor's got a bunch of medical equipment, so he'd even be able to fix your brother. Pokémon center's got to be crowded right now.'

Route 8 - Long Walk

It was easier to keep walking when he stopped thinking about the fact that he was walking. Route eight wasn't something new to Benedict, he'd lived in Cyllage all his life, and his father had used the pokemon of the route to train the rapidashes. Knowing how to fight was important to knowing how to run, he'd claimed. Benedict still wasn't sure about that. It seemed like a good way to injure them and make them less powerful of runners.

Still, looking at the route from a trainer's perspective was different. He remembered looking at it as a nice change of pace, a chance to see something different. It was a place to see pokemon, things he might want to pick before heading out. If he hadn't won Dragonite, Benedict actually would probably have started with a pokemon from here.

Now he looked at it differently. It was dangerous, with wild pokemon that might attack you if you weren't paying attention. It was beautiful, if you came at the right time of day, but regardless there was a view. It made him feel at ease, while still managing to poke at his nerves whenever he looked at the tall grass.

And then there was a sound, continuous. Like voices, pokemon voices. If he didn't know any better, Benedict would likely have called it an argument, but what kind of wild pokemon argued?

Curiosity dragged the trainer towards the sound, and he peaked in some of the tall grass. Inside, he saw two pokemon arguing. Instinctively, he took out his pokedex.

"Mienfoo. In fights, they dominate with onslaughts of flowing, continuous attacks. With their sharp claws, they cut enemies. Fighti-

"Inkay. It flashes the light-emitting spots on its body, which drains its opponent's will to fight. It takes the opportunity to scuttle away and hide. Psychi-"

The pokedex snapped shut when the trainer realized that both of them had turned towards him, breaking off whatever they'd been saying. The two glared at one-another one last time before fixing their anger on him.

"Hi."

[I told you someone would hear us if you didn't stop yelling.] The Fighting type grumbled.
[Shut up.] The dual-typed pokemon replied.
[Do we beat him up?]
[Of course.]

Perhaps luckily, Benedict was in the middle of releasing Ryhorn. Inkay had started forward with a tackle, expecting to meet with human squishiness, but instead found herself crashing into a rock wall.

A moment later, that wall moved while she was still dazed, and stomped down to smash her into the ground. Mienfoo, who had been waiting, rushed towards the rock type with a pound, and the blow would land on Rhyhorn's head.

"Ram him!" Benedict called to the Rhyhorn, who would proceed to horn attack his opponent. The Inkay would begin pulling away from the fight slowly, to get out of range of those stomping feet, But the Mienfoo would find her next pound being redirected by a Horn Attack.

The horn would catch the lower arm, and the Rhyhorn would shift to the side to throw the momentum off. As fast as the pound was, it would still manage to be a glancing blow, but Mienfoo's stance would be thrown off. "Again!"

Horn attack would be used again, and this time the wild pokemon would be caught by it directly. The sharp horn would strike the fighting type, and she would stumble back. Before the rhyhorn could manage to strike with another charge, psywave would strike him.

Inkay was satisfied when the rhyhorn turned her way, and began flashing those lights to try and make the opponent lose his willpower... And then a pokeball would strike her.

Before the fighting type could take advantage of the distraction, a pokeball would hit her as well, and Benedict would watch both with bated breath.

When neither of them popped back out, he let loose a sigh.

"Thanks for the help. What should I call you now?" He asked, looking at the Rhyhorn.

[My name is-]

"Jerath. I think that fits." Benedict decided. The rhyhorn would give a disapproving stare, which the trainer seemed to not notice. "Glad you like it."

The youth grinned at the rock-type, and thought for a moment about returning it... But then, what better way to keep more pokemon from attacking than by having pokemon that looked a little scary out? Besides, maybe he could convince the rock-type to carry him?

Though Jerath did look... uncomfortable. He should get a saddle before thinking of that.

"You're not going to try to impale me, right?" He asked as they continued on. The fight had given him some energy back, or at least made him forget how little he had.

Now there was nothing between him and home. Cyllage.

Lumiose City - Sycamore Pokemon Lab

Dexio and Sina were an odd duo. That was Helena's impression of them, and they did nothing to change this during their trip into Professor Sycamore's lab. The odd tour guides didn't take away from the fascination of the lab, which was lucky for Helena.

Charts and diagrams were like short stories, ones Helena could only glance at. A page or several of knowledge that caught her eye as they moved. The credentials, to her, spoke of Professor Sycamore's passions. His interests became her own temporarily as they moved through the lab and Helena soaked up whatever she could.

She pushed herself into it as they moved, motivated to take her mind off the cave and be ready to support her brother through his recovery. The wonder trade machine made her way to try it out and she made a mental note to do it as soon as she had the time and opportunity.

Finally came the man himself; a model playing a professor on a highly rated television drama. Or that's how he looked to Helena. The very first thing he did was make her blush - a combination of his joke and then his gaze. Helena averted her gaze elsewhere and pretended she was interested in the wall. It only embarrassed her more that she was absolutely sure that he would pick up on her staring at a blank section of the wall, even though some part of her said that was illogical.

When she heard her introduction, Helena brought her eyes halfway back to the professor and gave him a half wave. Helena, who was more flustered by the humor matched with the hotness than swooning, managed to drag herself back down to earth as Professor Sycamore began to speak again. It was enough that she didn't miss the chance to whisper "he's just never met you," to Zack when Esme was brought up.

And then Zack was being taken away by Sina, and Dexio was off calling another person that Helena had never met. She was alone with Professor Sycamore. He started to talk and that's when Salieri's text messag came in. Helena read it while she listened to him.

"You know, that's a great question and an even greater suggestion, but this is really important. I will get right back to you, I promise." She pointed toward the door, gave him a second to object, and then went out of it, clicking the call button as she did.

Hopefully Salieri would answer and she wouldn't have to call her a few extra times or pretend to be doing something else to buy more time.

((Phone post))

Helena let out a deep breathed sigh of relief when Salieri answered. "Finally. What's going on? Is everything okay?"

"Half way across Kalos," Helena said. "We just got in to Lumiose from that cave near Ambrette town. Zack got hurt so we're at Professor Sycamore's. What's going on?"