Chapter Text
Silver sighed, pulled out her Pokegear and dialed the first contact on her list.
Ring, ring, ri-
“Hello..?”
The face of her second favorite junior popped up on the slightly frizzy screen. Her Pokegear may be old, but it was still more reliable and much more untraceable than any modern tech her junior was no doubt using to pick up the line.
Calem squinted up at her, the background dark and his hair much messier than usual. Hm…it was 10am in Johto so it must be 3am in Kalos. Which means he was no doubt in the middle of a Serena mandated eight hours of sleep in between photoshoots and his rigorous training regimen. Silver was definitely going to get a reaming for this later, but she had more pressing matters at hand.
“I need your help reviving an idiot.”
Immediately he reminded her why he was one of her very few favorites as all traces of sleep disappeared from his features at those words.
“Reason?”
“They got handsy, Crobat got bitey. Honestly after their pathetic kidnapping attempt I was going to just leave them to their fate but then I saw this.”
She pointed the camera downward and nudged his jackets aside to show the extremely familiar, extremely irritating R emblem branded across his breast.
Calem's reply was clipped, “I'll be there in five.”
“Mm,” Silver looked at the man twitching on the ground, foam starting to leak out of his slack jawed mouth, “Make it three.”
“Understood,” was all Silver got before Calem cut the call.
Silver sighed and clicked out of her contacts into her blocked numbers list. A certain old man had a lot of explaining to do within the next three minutes or he was next.
It took till they turned the block for someone to point out the Donphan in the room.
“They're still following us…” Touko whispered, voice bordering hysterical at this point.
Senior Eitan subtly checked over his shoulder as their junior fidgeted with one of her bag charms. Five years after the whole Plasma ordeal and being brought into their fold and she still wasn’t used to all the attention they gain whenever they go to the mainland. Honestly he was starting to get irritated too with how often this occurs, really, every other schmuck with a somewhat decent pokémon thinks they can pull a fast one on the richest family in the world. It doesn't matter if Hikari was one of the best trainers in the world or if they’ve made an example out of a hundred of the same losers…theres always someone willing to test their luck for a quick buck.
Hikari, long since used to these creeps, takes Touko by the hand and gives a reassuring squeeze. He and Eitan fell a step behind them, just in case they got any ideas and all of their partners were already walking alongside and in front of them keeping a watchful eye.
Pichu was sparking with irritation since their senior released them to watch over his shoulder, and Emboar's flames flared with a bit more heat than usual as flanked his anxious trainer's side. He didn't mind, Infernape is the same way still whenever they catch sight of any of these creeps. His partner was walking in front with Empy looking ever the diligent knight as always. They were long since used to these antics so took charge rather swiftly once they caught sight of the first shadowy figure on their tail.
“It's going to be fine, Touko, seriously!” Hikari whispered to their junior, “The Berlitz security corp is the best in the world…and we'll protect you too, right Emboar?”
Emboar puffed out a thick smog and beat his hoof against his chest in agreement. Touko nodded but they could all see how little that really reassured her. He decided to jump in before her mind could run away from her any more than it already was.
“Listen, your uncle and are coming to meet us halfway already- these guys, all they see is three civvies and a paycheck walking down the street and think we're easy pickins but I bet the second they see the phantom boss of Unova they'll cut their turn tail and flee faster than a caterpie faced with a swooping pidgey!”
Her expression twitches at the barest hints of a smile at that nickname, which had him biting back a smirk. The old man hated that one and they both knew it, but it carried a certain amount of infamy that even the Archipelago underworld feared. Even so, she wasn't convinced, he opened his mouth to try again but was quickly cut off by their senior.
“-And even if they don't,” Eitan cut in, his easygoing voice most definitely not matching the dangerous grin on his face, “They definitely will when they realize exactly who they've pissed off messing with my cute little juniors.”
He patted his pocket, more specifically the very special twenty six pokeballs they all knew he had stored there. If Kouki was here, he'd definitely argue that was more than overkill and Niko was of half a mind to do it in his steed but then he saw the rising tension in his junior's shoulders melt and he thought better of it.
Maybe he should have more upstanding morals as a private eye but Hikari catches his eye, jerks her head ever so slightly towards and alleyway where a man in a nondescript suit and sunglasses was hiding with a Purrugly on his shoulder, and he can't really find it in him to care anymore. The Berlitz's men will take care of it for them and if they don't then well…their stalkers had it coming anyway.
“So, you're from an alternate dimension.”
The three bound goons frantically nodded in confirmation.
“And you're here because an alternative me ordered you to be here.”
Another round of enthusiastic head nods.
“Who is evil? And for some fucking reason a Kanto supremacist…?”
A third wave of nods, desperation practically oozing out of them as they eyed the very annoyed, very trigger happy legendary bird currently looming over them. Blue already let them know exactly who they were dealing with as a mere Thunder Shock that knocked all three out, he initially tied them up with some loose extension cords but the move had them paralyzed for the better part of the last hour. Even now they were only recently lucid enough to be interrogated properly and still twitching with nerve damage, and definitely not strong enough to try anything. If he was feeling nice and generous they could have used Thunder Wave…but he really was out of fucks to give.
Anyone who'd be caught dead wearing that R boldly plastered across their chest was already a dead man walking as far as he was concerned. He didn't care if it was for some reason shimmering with every color of the god damn rainbow instead of being that obnoxious fiery red, he'd know that symbol anywhere and honestly, a little bit of maiming and permanent nerve damage was nothing in comparison to what the girls would do if they found these losers skulking around their bonded with a goddamn Master Ball. The audacity alone was enough to cement them as actual Rockets instead of copy cats in his eyes, only those fuckers would dare do something so suicidal.
“Hmm…well if your commander is anything like me he wouldn't give up with just a warning, so why don't we all go together to your supposed meeting spot and send a message?”
Blue snapped his finger, instantly being snatched up by his bonded legend, and the three grunts yanked up by the length of the extension cord. Whatever little bits of sympathy he may have had for them was quickly evaporated by their ear splitting shrieks of terror at suddenly finding themselves dangling hundreds of feet in the air at the mercy of the legendary they just tried, and spectacularly failed to, capture alongside its trainer who they pissed off with the attempt. He rubbed his head, already feeling a massive headache forming from this whole ordeal.
Blue leaned over to glower down at them, “And in case it wasn't clear, if this whole thing turns out to be a farce then you might as well not bother praying because there's no god in these lands who could save you from me.
Whatever reply they might have had was lost as Blue pulled his head back and pulled out his goggles. Once they were secure he nudged his bonded forward and scowled as they zapped across Kanto towards Viridian.
“This is stupid.”
“Uh huh.”
“We don't even go here, this is. This is so stupid.”
“Mmm.”
“This is literally not our problem! We have our own terrorists to worry about thank you very much- why the hell would these bastards strike here?!”
“Couldn't tell ya love, now would you mind helping me with these knots?” Sean says, currently trying to secure said terrorists to a tree.
“Oh, a yea, gimmie,” Terra quickly takes over, untying then retying the last five minutes of handiwork in a matter of seconds.
He didn't even sigh, just accepted his amazing wife for all her survivalist glory…
He glanced over at the bruised and beaten bodies currently being squeezed as tightly as humanly possible to the massive birch tree outside their current base of operations and then cast a side long glance towards their equally beat up pokémon currently tied to another tree in time out for even trying such a stupid plan in the first place.
…and her endless bloodlust. That too. Really, who the hell doesn't know by now the absolute death wish it was to try and attack Terra when she was training. They were quite literally asking for it, international terrorists or not.
When the break timer rings, N and Hugh go from a flurry of kicks, jabs, and swings to jumping back away from each other within a matter of seconds. Both men were finally catching their breathes after their hour long sparing session - though to call the utter ferocity they came at each other sparing would be like calling the battle against Kyurem cold, technically true but honestly a massive fucking understatement. Not that was his complaining, any excuse to see his boyfriend panting and slick with sweat was a welcomed occasion.
“Gross, you are both so so gross,” Touya said while making a face at them.
“I quite literally have done nothing,” Whitney pointed out from beside him.
Blake nodded in with an eyeroll, “We are just sitting here dude.”
His boyfriend ran his fingers through his slightly damp locks, which he really would quite like to card his fingers through himself at that moment. N throws Hugh a water bottle then unscrews his own and pours it over his head which causes Whitney's breath to hitch. Hugh pops open his own bottle and suddenly all of Blake's attention is stolen as he takes a nice, long drink which causes his Addams apple to bob so nicely-
“I genuinely cannot stand either of you two,” Touya says with complete and utter disgust, “I do not need to be your twin to read either of your minds right now. And let me make one thing clear…I'm judging. Hard.”
“You suck,” he says, eyes still fixated on Hugh.
“You're just jealous your girlfriend is in Sinnoh,” Whitney says, not missing a beat, “Literally sucks to suck.”
“You know what-”
Whatever their lonely loser brother was going to say was lost as an explosion rings out and the door to the dojo blasts off with a bunch of Rockets flooding in with scowls on their faces and pokémon at their heels snarling at them…that were all soon diving out of the way as three Shadow Balls courtesy of the Triad and their own partners in the rafters.
The other four sprang into action immediately, pokeballs and fists flying at the attackers before they can recover from the Triad’s opening while Blake was scrambling to yank out his C-gear to inform their fellow Masters about whatever the fuck was going on.
“It is way too early for this.”
“Wouldn't it be ‘too late’ over there instead?” Green asks from the other end of her call, no doubt trying to lighten her mood but all it did was further sour the already pretty venomous resentment that was festering in her.
“I was asleep,” Serena grits out, “Calem was asleep. It. Is. Too. Early.”
“I-” Green started, then paused, considered her own life, and seemed to decide she still very much values it, “I am very sorry these losers decided to come back after fifteen years. Genuinely I haven't heard of any fringe branches since at least a decade ago and none wearing rainbow of all things.”
“Oh, you're sorry? You're sorry that my fiancé who finally decided to rest after twelve hours of working straight was woken up in the middle of the night by your friend and now I'm getting attacked by the same assholes over half the globe away when I'm meant to be sleeping?”
“...I am so very sorry.”
“They fucking stabbed me Green. Have you ever had your stomach split open? No, you haven't, because you'd be dead, I was dead! I had to come back without any help because my fiancé is across the world while I'm attacked by your terrorists at 3am! Do you know how hard it is to have to revive while half asleep and not have Yveltal kill everything within a kilometer radius of me? Do you?”
“...I'm working on figuring out what's happening as we speak and once I do you'll be the first one I'll tell.”
“You do that.” She said and snapped her phone shut.
The blindfolded grunt tied to the chair in front of her groans again and she kicked them for the interruption. Really, what will it take for her to have a normal weekend? Maybe going out on an actual date with no nefarious plots or strange stalkers messing up her plans. That's all she asks, and yet…
Someone was going to pay for this, dearly, and she didn't care who in the world they thought they were, but they'd be paying with interest.
“Ok so,” she clapped her hands, causing the grunt to jolt to attention, “let's try this again. Who do you work for and why in the world did they think attacking the mother fucking Grand Duchess of Kalos was a good idea? I have five of you bastards in custody and zero patience so waste my time any longer and I'm gonna just cut my losses with you and try with the next guy until someone fesses up and trust me I have all fucking night to figure out what makes you all tick.”
Hau watched as the notifs kept flooding in from their seniors - missed calls, video chat requests, hundreds of texts in every group chat - the Master network may be cobbled together with twenty odd gadgets of various makes and models but it works surprisingly well despite how strangely put together it was. No doubt everyone was pooling their resources together to figure out what was going on and would soon also figure out that neither of them were answering.
Oh sure, they tried, but it became pretty clear after the first few attempts whatever field that was over this place was blocking their ability to message the outside world. Even still…
“You know what? I like our odds here.”
“Do you?” Ailey hissed, both of them ducked out of the sight of some patrolling grunts further down the corridor.
“Yeah!”
Once the coast was clear Raichu pulled him up again and Scizor does the same to her, they zipped throughout the mazelike corridors desperately searching for a needle in a haystack in the massive complex
He continued, “If you think about it-”
“Hau, I really appreciate that endless optimism of yours, truly I do, but if you give me a look at the bright side speech right now, I am going to hurt you.”
Which really would have been more intimidating if not for how frazzled she looked while saying it. Hau wished he could ease those ever fried nerves of hers but this time she did have a point. It's been an hour, and they were still no closer to figuring out where the exits were when they started.
When they decided to check out the sudden iridescent field that popped out of nowhere over Aether, they failed to consider there would be a legendary dwelling there nor that it would be bonded and wholly unhappy with them coming upon its newly claimed territory. Which was their mistake, sure, but it could have been a lot worse!
After getting ambushed they got teleported to separate cells in the frankly ridiculously big and strange complex they were currently trying to escape from and lost their pokémon in the process but! It didn't separate Hau from his own legendary and it didn't take long for him to take advantage of that and slip into a passing grunt's shadow. After that it became pretty easy to get the grunt to show him where Ailey was being kept and have Marshadow help persuade the grunt to get her out and then their pokemon. Honestly they should have asked for a map too but they didn’t have long before the other grunts would notice they were missing so they shoved him into a cell and skedaddled from there.
“Kai and the others are strong,” he reminded her, “They'll figure this out with our seniors outside while we figure this out together here.”
She looked over at him with a grimace, “I hope you're right…I really hope you're right.”
“Of course I am! Just wait, you’ll see.”
He says as much for his sake as for her own…because he really couldn't afford to think about if he wasn't.