The HQ Team (PLOT)

Elm watched the alien bob into the air beside his human, a smile spreading across his features. Oh, a- oh, what were they called? The evolved of Elgyem- Beheeyem! Yes, Beheeyem! Such interesting pokemon!

"Oh um..." Elm brightens further as the other man relaxes a little. Good! He was nervous and Elm was nervous but maybe now they could just... chat.

It was a long time since he'd talked to anyone over something as simple as a book. Was social interaction his strong suit? Not exactly, but boy would it be nice to return to it, awkward as he could be sometimes.

"Oh! I've read this before. It has been a while though... You already picked that one out, though. I'll get a different one."

"You don't have to! I only pulled it out to skim it, to be honest; it's been so long since I read this series and I was so pleased to see that it was here!" He hastily returned the book, noticed out of the corner of his eye that he put it back both upside down and in the wrong order of the series, righted it, and shoved it back in what was still the wrong order. With a nervous laugh he fixed it again, feeling Fiona brush her body against his leg.

Only two minutes in and already he'd made a fool of himself. Well, he supposed there was no harm left in introducing himself. If the other scientist decided to stay long enough to give Elm his name, maybe he still had a chance to salvage the situation. At least Fiona couldn't say he didn't try to make a friend here, today. He cleared his throat, giving Colress a sheepish smile and holding his hand out for him to shake. "I'm P- Professor Elm of Johto, but y- you can call me Emmanuel, if you'd like. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I lost it."

His blood turns to ice.

She did what.

"Oh, you poor thing. Maybe lost was too strong a word."  No, no it isn't; in fact it's probably not strong enough.  "See I completely forgot to come back to my office last night after I was called away and I can't seem to remember where I ended up leaving it."

She taps her chin, a sort of girlish cuteness finishing the process of cloaking her sadism as she proceeds to stab sugar-coated knives into his soul with her dumbass act.

"Maybe someone took it to the Lost and Found counter in storage for me. I'm sooooo sorry."  

"N-no you're not," he mumbles, struggling not to let the wetness in his eyes spill over.

"You never are.  What, does seeing me upset somehow make you feel better about your own" sad life?  You and I both know you did that on purpose."

He turns to leave, self loathing deepening when he realizes his angry, flushed cheeks are wet.  "Gods, I don't have time for you.  I've got better stuff I need to be doing."

Like finding Colress and apologizing before his late morning shift starts.

The other scientist insisted, "You don't have to! I only pulled it out to skim it, to be honest; it's been so long since I read this series and I was so pleased to see that it was here!" Colress opened his mouth to insist back that that was a perfect reason for him to pick a different book, but before he could say it, the other had already turned to put the book back. Colress noticed that it had been placed incorrectly, but he had politely ignored it. Unfortunately, the other scientist had noticed and nervously righted it before putting it once again in the wrong place. At this point, Colress honestly felt a little bad about how awkward he was making the other man feel when the other still felt the need to put the book back properly in front of him. Colress tried to give the man a reassuring smile when he nervously laughed at his error.

Colress was going to let everything pass by without comment, but R2 decided to take the opportunity to tease his trainer while hopefully reducing the awkward atmosphere. "Hey, at least you had the decency to put his book back properly unlike a certain someone I know." R2's large green eyes went to his trainer with a mischievous grin.

Colress pointedly ignored the Beheeyem's jab; he was not going to touch that book again even with a ten foot pole. He felt a little guilty given how Wally usually wanted to keep the library organized, but Colress refused to be seen anywhere near that book. Especially when near a potential coworker who could vastly misinterpret the situation. Given the contents, Colress felt the need to rub his hands against his sleeves; almost as if he could wash them clean from the action.

The other man finally introduced himself and held his hand out for a handshake, "I'm P- Professor Elm of Johto, but y- you can call me Emmanuel, if you'd like. It's a pleasure to meet you." At the rather prestigious name, Colress immediately felt nervousness come back with a vengeance. He schooled his features into a polite smile anyway, but, internally, he was ready to leave. How many more ways could he screw up the idea of laying low? First, he befriended someone with close ties to a Champion and a gym leader. Next, he got himself caught up in a murder case of all things, and now he was talking to one of the famed regional professors. Even R2 was a little stunned at the reveal.

As much as he just wanted to up and leave, manners dictated that he at least accept the handshake and reciprocate the introduction, and it wouldn't do to make a bad impression. Colress was proud that his hand was steady when he took the Professor's hand for the shake. His own grip was firm like he had been taught and didn't betray his inner panic. He erred on the side of professionalism, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor." Now came the other thing he had been concerned about; every time he gave his name, there was a chance of being recognized. He stumbled over his words in a way that really illustrated his nervousness. "I-I'm Doctor C-Colress Gannon. Fr-from Unova." R2 was casually keeping an eye on the professor and the Furret; Colress had given his name to many people at this point, but R2 still remembered what had happened the first time. Granted, it had happened outside of HQ, but the Beheeyem was not going to take any risks.

"Look at you, Mr. Smarty-Pants. Feeling good today?" Steven couldn't help but smile wider as the Gym Leader brushed his hand through his hair. Ah, Wallace. Never change. "Since we're strolling down Memory Lane, why don't I shove you in the pool, just like in the good ol' days?"

"Hey, now let's not be too hasty-!" He could scarcely remember the last time he'd backpedaled so quickly when it didn't involve any actual tension. Even so, he'd really rather not have to go all the way back to his quarters to change his clothes and fix his hair not to Wallace's satisfaction so that the man would spend at least three minutes fussing over him.

"Wallace, don't be such a bitch," Siren interjected, a familiar glint in his eye. "Besides, you really do have a hair out of place."

"You're a filthy liar and I'm not falling for it."

Yes, Wallace, you absolutely did not fall for it. That was why you ran a hand through your hair. For... other reasons that were completely unrelated. He couldn't help the chuckle that leaked out as he shook his head.

"Okay, if you say so..."

"So!" Wallace clapped his hands together to divert all attention away from him being... well... Wallace and back to whatever topic he had in mind. "What's the special occasion? You going to escort me to breakfast like a proper gentleman?"

"But of course," Steven shot back smoothly with a polite little bow, just like how he used to greet guests at all his father's social gatherings and functions. "But of course. Because I am a proper gentleman, and it's breakfast time, and if we don't hurry there will be nothing left."

There seriously wouldn't be. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if they were already too late. They might have to sneak into the kitchens beyond the cafeteria just to make some decent coffee.

"And I don't know about you, but I for one would like to start a day off on the right foot, for once. And that image of 'the right foot' includes coffee. And... maybe some toast." He really did need to be better about eating, however much he may regret that later when Clair was around again and threatening to spill their secret everywhere.

As they made their way to the cafeteria, he pondered about how this day would actually go vs how he feared it would go inside of his mind. Worst case senarios are always best to keep in mind, but maybe it wouldn't come to that today. Perhaps if he were lucky (and he was due for some small amount of luck) she wouldn't even be around much. After all, they had an investigation to conduct. Surely they would have to take separate paths to do so? Splitting up would get a lot more ground covered in a faster amount of time. In which case not eating would be a foolish idea, because then later he might feel faint. If his days with his friends having respect for him were numbered, then he wanted to be awake to enjoy them, thank you very much.

If she did end up hovering around them, then toast should be nonthreatening enough even if it wouldn't completely fill him up.

He opened the cafeteria doors to hear the rush of noise wash over him like a wave, though it was quieter than usual. Good, there were still people here, at least, even if they were fewer in number. It didn't look like a significant difference in number, so they must not be too late.

No Wally though, he noted with a glance at their usual table. The boy must have been in a rush this morning. That, or he was late and hadn't arrived yet. He supposed he won't know until later.

"Would you like me to get the breakfast this time?" he offered as they walked towards their table, which happened to be en route to the food. Wallace was always the one getting their breakfast together, usually in an attempt to coax him to eat. He should return the favor.

"But of course," Steven retorted politely, even punctuating it with a little bow reminiscent of all the dumb politeness and tradition that had saturated his father's old parties. Wallace couldn't help but watch in stunned silence as his old friend quickly and fluidly righted himself. The Steven of yesterday and the Steven of today were stark contrasts to the other. For a brief, shining moment, Wallace seemed to finally have his old friend back. "But of course. Because I am a proper gentleman, and it's breakfast time, and if we don't hurry there will be nothing left."

Missing breakfast was increasingly likely, especially as they spent their time dawdling in the hall. "And I don't know about you, but I for one would like to start a day off on the right foot, for once. And that image of 'the right foot' includes coffee. And... maybe some toast." So Steven was getting up early, meeting Wallace at the pool, bowing, AND hungry? Who the hell was this person and what had he done to Steven?

Unwilling to shatter the facade of... whatever was happening, Wallace was content to keep his questions firmly bitten back and he happily indulged the happy fantasy. He looped his arm into Steven's as he often did to get a rise out of his father's more ignorant and conservative guests and strolled down to the cafeteria in quiet companionship, Siren slithering along beside them with a look of cautious wonder.

Thankfully, it seemed most of the crowd was still in the cafeteria; as Steven pushed open the doors, the noise of hundreds of different voices engaged in casual conversation washed over them like a wave. Wallace unhooked his arm so to better navigate the closeness of the tables, gladly following Steven's lead to their empty table. Wallace returned Siren to his ball; as much as he loved the sea serpent, he was far too large in a closed space like this.

"Would you like me to get the breakfast this time?" Yet another surprise. Wallace was left in shock again, having to take a moment to actually manage a reply.

"Uh... yes, please. Uhm... some eggs with pepper and ketchup, a biscuit and some sausage, if they still have some? And coffee, please?" He sat down, still somewhat in awe that Steven was acting so... normally after a day like yesterday. Maybe the poor man had finally gotten some sleep. "Thank you, Steven."

"N-no you're not," Her fake smile started to fall into a sneer as the little whelp started to backtalk. Who the hell did he think he was talking to? "You never are.  What, does seeing me upset somehow make you feel better about your own" sad life?  You and I both know you did that on purpose." The smile melted away completely as Clair's lips curled back into a look of contempt.

"Look brat, I took away something you weren't even supposed to have in the first place. I happen to have been called away for an extremely critical meeting last night and I lost your stupid toy in that time frame. I don't feel sorry for you just because you might cry. Nearly everything I do in the day is more important than you will ever be so suck it up."

The little fairy-in-training pouted as he started to storm off, his whole body rigid as he struggled internally. Awww, the little shit didn't want to cry in front of her. How pathetic. "Gods, I don't have time for you.  I've got better stuff I need to be doing." Clair smirked at his retreating form and wiggled her fingers goodbye. "Oh yes, I'm sure the toilets need a good scrubbing after everyone's morning explosions. Have fun~!" Fucker.

Clair flipped him off as he rounded the corner from view and went into the comfort of her own office. No stink of underprivileged whelps in here. She sat down in her chair and allowed her mind to conjure a lovely image of that sorry sack of tears begging for his mommy as she slowly carved little designs out of his skin. Now that would be a good morning.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor." The other man gripped his hand and he returned the handshake, Elm feeling his heart soar. Oh, yes! This was going to be a good day! He was going to make a new friend, and tomorrow he would start a new job. He would get back to his research, and live in this wonderful city, and everything was...

Everything was going to be okay.

"I-I'm Doctor C-Colress Gannon. Fr-from Unova."

"Gannon?" The professor blinked. "That name is familiar- oh!" Fiona watched as his face brightened. "Colress Gannon! Y- yes, I recognize that name! You're the one who conducted studies into the bond between human and pokemon! I looked into that study; I wanted to see if the bond could start even inside the egg. You've done great work; I wish I could have had more time to properly review it." Sadly, he'd been swamped in other work at the time. "I suppose y- you'll be one of my my new coworkers?"

"I lost it."

Of course she plays the 'yeah whatever it's not my fault' card.  Doesn't she always?

"Oh yes, I'm sure the toilets need a good scrubbing after everyone's morning explosions. Have fun."  

"F-fuck you," Wally mutters, pulling his coat further around himself as he tried not to cry or walk away too quickly.

"Besides, it needs to get done."  Yeah, he'd rather not be among those doing it, but at least it's a job with meaning.  Even if he hates it.  And gets snickered at for it.

He rubs at his face.  Okay.  Whatever.  Time to just forget that happened and search for Colress.  He wasn't doing okay yesterday and Wally didn't bother to go make sure he was okay this morning, but there's still time to make that right.  Shouldn't be hard to find him.  He's always in his room.

He'll soon find he didn't account for what is scientifically called, "the best friend factor."

Colress' heart nearly stopped when the Professor spoke, "Gannon? That name is familiar- oh!" His mind started going a mile a minute as he filled in the blanks of what he assumed Elm was going to say. There was no scenario that this could end well. R2 wasn't far behind in making similar assumptions, and he edged closer to his human and quickly started a Calm Mind. It wouldn't be an obvious threat, but he was getting ready to bust them out of here if they had to.

Needless to say, they did not expect what Elm actually said. When his face brightened,  Colress was so confused. "Colress Gannon! Y- yes, I recognize that name! You're the one who conducted studies into the bond between human and pokemon! I looked into that study; I wanted to see if the bond could start even inside the egg. You've done great work; I wish I could have had more time to properly  review it." When the Professor complimented Colress' work, Colress looked shocked and his thoughts were completely derailed. He had forgotten that he had published his findings, and therefore other researchers probably had read them. None of the other scientists here had commented on it to him... R2 wasn't fairing much better, and his focus that usually accompanied Calm Mind was shattered.

Colress wasn't sure how to even respond to such glowing praise, so he nervously accepted it, "Um... Thanks?" Amber eyes glanced away as he brought up a hand to rub the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. Any compliments to his work surprised him, and especially considering when he had been doing some of his research, he wasn't always sure about how he felt about his own projects. There were some he was unabashedly proud of, while others he would rather forget.

Any further musing was cut short when Elm inquired, "I suppose y- you'll be one of my my new coworkers?"

This would be an easy question if not for what had transpired yesterday. Even though Colress had been released, he still had doubts about his continued freedom. However, he really didn't want to talk about yesterday and how he might be locked up for it to a regional professor. He settled for a potential half truth while quickly redirecting the conversation towards Elm's situation. "Um... Maybe? Are you assigned to cure research?"

"Uh... yes, please. Uhm... some eggs with pepper and ketchup, a biscuit and some sausage, if they still have some? And coffee, please?" He watched Wallace sit down as he moved to walk beyond the table. "Thank you, Steven."

"Food heretic," he teased gently, eyes twinkling. "You know ketchup doesn't belong on eggs; we've had this discussion before." And it never ended with Wallace conceding, ever; Wallace rarely conceded in anything. But it was fun to pretend he had just to watch the man pout over it and dear Arceus above knew they both needed some lightheartedness after the disaster of yesterday. "But I will graciously honor your request.  One breakfast coming right up."

And he scurried off before Wallace could shoot back an objection, because cheating at this little argument by denying the other his turn to speak was all part of the silly boyhood game they never quite grew out of. Did anyone?

Actually witnessing the food dragged his enthusiasm down several feet as the Champion remembered the guillotine looming overhead. Amazing, how the sight of breakfast could remind him of the perils that faced him later today. Still, despite the grimace, he forged on. Obtaining Wallace's breakfast was easy; he wasn't the one who had to eat it. A shame, that he was only able to get a couple of sausages for him, but he'd survive.

Getting that single piece of toast for himself was much harder. It was honestly pitiful, the two breakfasts side by side one another; a plate laden with a healthy morning meal and the other with a single slice of bread in the middle. The only thing that saved it from looking like an anorexic's breakfast was the fact that it was entirely carbohydrates, really.

Thank the stars above that "eating disorder" wasn't on his list of issues, honestly. That would have ensured his demise long ago, otherwise; he had enough trouble mustering appetite without it.  With a sigh, he added a cup of coffee to his own tray, and then, checking again to make sure he did everything right, he returned to Wallace's side, laying his tray down in front of his friend and forcing a smile, trying to recapture that normalcy he'd so easily maintained (and actually felt!) just a few minutes ago.

"Here you are; sorry about the sausage. That was all that was left." Steven took his seat next to him and began to nibble half-heartedly on the toast as he stirred his coffee, waiting for it to cool a bit.

Hm; if there was fresh coffee now, and if Clair wasn't here, she was either really late or had come between when the coffee from the early crowd ran out and when new coffee was made for the slightly later crowd. If that was the case, he hoped she'd been earlier, and that she choked on the barely edible sludge she must have gotten.

"Food heretic," Steven joked, his eye twinkling with a gentle mischief Wallace had thought extinct. "You know ketchup doesn't belong on eggs; we've had this discussion before."

Wallace was all too eager to take the nostalgic bait, scoffing lightly and allowing his grin to spread. "We have, and you're always wrong," he happily supplied, but Steven wasn't about to let the full discussion cycle. Necessary for breakfast-retrieving.

"But I will graciously honor your request. One breakfast coming right up." And with that, Steven scuttled away to grab his place in the shortening line. Wallace's own face stayed pleasant; his instinct was to question and doubt this miraculous change, but... at the moment, he just wanted to enjoy it. He closed his eyes and imagined that, just for a moment, the world wasn't dead and everything was normal. That they were in Kanto for just a vacation or a Champion's Summit or something... not that because this was the last sanctuary for civilization and Evergrande wasn't a smoking pile of possible ruin.

Soon enough, however, Steven was back and Wallace opened his eyes to greet his best friend holding his imminent breakfast. "Here you are; sorry about the sausage. That was all that was left."

Wallace chuckled as he accepted the plate, flashing Steven a grin. "Well, it's no secret that you could never satiate my appetite for sausage." His smile faltered a moment when he spied Steven's meager meal, but said nothing. He didn't particularly feel like leaving his fantasy just yet. "But this is fine. Thank you, hon." He quickly dug into his meal, ignoring Steven's struggle to finish even a single piece of bland toast. He looked around, trying to spy a splash of green against the crowd. "Do you know where Wally is? He's usually here by now."

She was on roughly her fourth fantasy of making the little moss rat squeal when Clair found herself growing indisputably bored. Sure the little guttersnipe was fun to torment once or twice but he wasn't a challenge, he was an easy mark and like all simple prey there was no thrill. Just simple slaughter. She sighed heavily and leaned back in her chair letting her feet prop up on the desk as the precarious balance of weight and gravity took over to support her. Pulling one of her knives out of her boot she began toying with it, dragging it along her pale skin and watching the red bubble up under the thin surface of the fragile skin but not quite able to get through without a sufficient puncture. And of course without an outlet it would eventually settle back into her skin leaving the canvas as blank as it was only a moment prior.

Bored. She was completely, utterly, bored.

She still had to wait for the summons to find out whatever Karen and that slack jawed moron Sidney had discovered on the tapes, though she doubted there would even be anything, and once again found herself wondering why anyone even cared. This idiot was dumb enough to get himself killed and no one had even heard of him before. How did they know he wasn't moronic enough to get himself locked into that freezer and died in there out of sheer stupidity? Was there anyone in this compound competent enough to do an autopsy? Probably not but fuck it, it wasn't really her problem. They just wanted to make it her problem because Lance wasn't here.

Lance.

That fucking holier-than-thou choir boy would have made it his personal mission to find whoever sullied his perfect world and bring them to justice. Which was all the more reason she shouldn't have to. This was her world now, not Lance's. If some idiot got offed because he was too stupid to protect himself that was not her fault, nor her responsibility unless the perpetrator happened to be an undead or infected pokemon. Let Karen or one of her goons handle human on human conflict. That's what they were there for, right?

Ugh. All this nonsense was getting her so riled up she just wanted to cut something. She hadn't been down to the cells in so long...and everyone that was down there had already been released for having served their sentences. It had been so long since her blade sliced so delicately through skin she could practically feel the membranes snapping and splitting away....

A smile crossed her lips as she pictured it, her favorite fantasy, and the reigning star as usual was her beloved cousin. His hard, proud body bound before her as her blade carved intricate patterns into his skin. Patterns she had designed just for him over the years. Each one held such special meaning to her... Like the one right above his left knee, looping around and then trailing down to go around his calf to his Achilles heel. That was for the way he always had to have a leg up on her in everything they did. Studying, training, battling, hell even little things like reading. He always had to be better.

Who was better now, huh Lance?

"Um... Maybe? Are you assigned to cure research?"

"Why, yes! So we will be working together." Good, he was already making friends with someone who will be his coworker! He grinned, unsure how to properly behave when this happy and in front of company, and it was all he could do to force himself not to bounce on his heels like a child.

He really did need to become reacquainted with how to behave in front of other human beings.

But he hadn't scared Mr. Gannon off yet, so...

"It'll be a pleasure to work with you, I'm sure."

Wait a moment.

"I... suppose this means I'll be taking the place of whoever died recently." That was a very sobering thought, effectively killing a good half of his enthusiasm. "I hope I get along with his partner and that I do well to continue his work."

"He's not here."

It was kind of stupid to say it, since it was so obvious, but something about voicing the fact made it easier for him to calm down and think about what it meant. Colress wasn't here, where he should be, given that there couldn't be any work for him to do. What with the murder that happened at the labs and all...

Okay, so if he wasn't here, where could he be?

"Maybe he went to get food?" Lavender mused, the large cat rubbing her side against the nervous teenager. She purred and nudged further against him as his hand came down automatically to scratch behind an ear. "R2 might've won the battle to make him eat on his own."

On his other side, out of the corner of his eye, he watched Orion make a face. Yeah, there's no way that happened. Most likely, anyway.

"Well... it still wouldn't hurt to check the cafeteria. For all we know, R2 could have bribed him with something to convince him to go down and get something."

"With what?"

"I don't know, but do we really have any other ideas? This one is the best we have right now; you know he doesn't want to go anywhere with a lot of people, and the breakfast crowd is probably dropping off by now."

"Actually, pretty sure there's still some people there. Don't they put out a little more fresh food at this time, just to see the breakfast crowd through to the end? That'll attract some stragglers..." Jetstream leaned back into the conversation from around the corner.

"I'm guessing no sign of him around the area...?"

"Nope."  

He sighed, recalling the fairy with a murmur of thanks and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Looks like we're checking the cafeteria anyway..."

It was their best bet, even with Jetstream's reminder about the food. Hopefully Colress was there and is, for once, eating voluntarily. Not like he was counting on it, though.

The other scientist was just so happy that Colress honestly had no idea how to react to him. The professor happily commented, "Why, yes! So we will be working together. It'll be a pleasure to work with you, I'm sure." Colress' polite smile never faded, but it flickered at Elm's next observation. "I... suppose this means I'll be taking the place of whoever died recently. I hope I get along with his partner and that I do well to continue his work." Colress managed to keep himself from flinching at the reminder, and thankfully, the words seemed to snap R2 from his stupor. Between the two of them, maybe they could find a way to get out of any further questions. He could mention that he was Henry's partner, but Colress didn't think he could handle any questions or suspicions thrown at him right then.

He was sorely tempted to lay out the situation surrounding "Henry's partner" but neglecting to specify who that was, but he didn't want to think on that. He had come to the library with the intention to get away from those thoughts. He settled for a polite platitude, "I guess. I'm sure you'll do fine, however." R2 then nudged him urgently, as if there was something important, and Colress took the cue to leave, "It was nice meet you, Professor, but I have to get going. R2 is reminding me that I have an appointment." Elm and his Furret didn't need to know that he was basically going back to his room to hide and rest. He nodded in farewell before turning on his heel to walk out with R2 floating beside him. He sent a feigned cheerful wave before getting too far, "I'll see you later!" Hopefully... he added internally. If he did see the professor again, it would be because he still had his job and wasn't rotting in a jail cell.

When they exited the library with the doors shutting behind them, the pair kept walking. R2 checked around them to see if they were alone before saying, "Well, he seems nice at least. At least a lot nicer than..." When he saw the look Colress gave him, his voice trailed off. "Too soon? Okay, I'll stop."

Colress' annoyance stemmed from his despair yesterday, "It happened yesterday. Besides, it won't even matter if he's nice if I'm incarcerated for it."

The Beheeyem matter of factly stated, "Dude, I highly doubt you would be if they haven't already."

This did nothing to reassure Colress, and he cynically said, "It doesn't matter. If I'm the only one they can blame for it, then guess what? They'll blame me."

"I dunno, you didn't have a reason to do it."

"They could find one, I'm sure."

Sensing that continuing this argument was hurting Colress more than helping him, R2 decided to try focusing on something else. With all the subtlety of a freight train, he switched topics, "Do you wanna try the library again later? Or you could just send me. I could try finding that book that you were oh so interested in again." He hoped that Colress would rise to the bait and focus on something else.

Colress wasn't stupid, but he appreciated that R2 was willing to leave the topic alone. However, he had to address that last question, "Oh dear gods, no. I'm not sure if I want to try again, yet, and I might take you up on that offer. But no, I am not interested in that... that..." He wasn't even sure what to call that particular novel. While it was in the romance section, he was fairly certain that people were not reading it for well explored character relationships. He vaguely waved his hand as if that somehow would fill in the word for him, but when nothing came to mind, he just let it drop. The Beheeyem had been with him long enought to get the gist of Colress' gestures when speaking.

"Garbage?"

"I was trying not to be rude."

Wallace gave a little laugh as he accepted the plate, eyes glittering with mischief. "Well, it's no secret that you could never satiate my appetite for sausage."

Steven struggled not to sputter, face coloring as laughter bubbled up inside him. Wallace, was that a sex joke!?

But the moment of mirth faded along with Wallace's smile; though the gym leader kept his face carefully neutral, his eyes betrayed the thoughts in his head. He was staring at Steven's pitiful breakfast.

Mercifully, he made no comment on it. "But this is fine. Thank you, hon." He went right to work on his breakfast, studiously avoiding watching his friend nibble on his toast, something for which Steven was immensely thankful.

It was so very nice to pretend that everything was normal, even if it would only last another half hour at most.

Pulled from his thoughts by Wallace's head looking up, the Champion glanced over at him, finding Wallace scanning the cafeteria. "Do you know where Wally is? He's usually here by now."

"Actually, no; I haven't seen him." Not incredibly unusual, but still a bit odd. Usually he'd at least seen the boy in passing by now, even if he didn't come to eat with them.

"Come to think of it, I don't think he has the earlier shift today." That sould be tomorrow, not today.  He frowned, setting his toast down. "... Maybe his asthma is acting up again...?"

He dearly hoped not. Wally had been improving but that didn't erase the problem completely.

"Maybe one of us should- oh!"

A fluffy green head peeked into the cafeteria; paler than usual, eyes ringed with dark shadows, and unusually squirrley in how he held himself, but present, at least.

[Wally has given me permission to let him appear, since that makes everything run far more smoothly and also gives Wallace something to react to.]

"Actually, no; I haven't seen him." The statement made Wallace frown a bit; it wasn't unheard of if Wally didn't show for breakfast. Generally, he was hanging with his scientist friend. But... something didn't quite sit well. "Come to think of it, I don't think he has the earlier shift today." Wallace shook his head. No, that was tomorrow. "... Maybe his asthma is acting up again...?"

Well, that wasn't good. Wallace's demeanor fell a little as he pictured the boy stuck in his room wheezing. Usually, though, one of his pokemon managed to get him medicine fairly quickly... so maybe asthma wasn't it? He was going to worry himself sick at this point. "Maybe one of us should- oh!"

Wallace turned to see the green mop bobbing in and out of the swath of people that populated the cafeteria and relief washed through the Water master... only to immediately recede. Judging by the boy's shallow face and hollow eyes, something was very wrong. Once he'd gotten close enough to them, Wallace stood and hugged his young cousin. "Did you have a bad night, hon? Sit down, warm your bones." He rubbed Wally's far arm with his own, keeping the boy in a side hug.

---

Karen groaned as she entered the police station; no one fucking there. Here she was, trying to be the vigilant fucking security warden and... everyone else had fucked off. Probably to breakfast, but still. Sidney had sulked back to his room, still sick with his hangover -because the newb hadn't fucking figured out how to drink yet, apparently.

Trucking her angry ass all the way back to the other dorms, she soon found herself rounding the corner toward Clair's office. Steven hadn't been in his -shocker- and so hopefully she'd find her friend in hers... and not boinking anyone. That was always awkward. Still, it was grating that after everyone bitching that she didn't do her job and she finally did it-- no one was fucking around for her to report to. Once at the doors that led to the big office, Karen angrily knocked. "Clair? Get your hand out of your or someone else's pants-- I have the dumb security discs." She turned to wait, her arms folding across her chest. "If you're not fucking in there, I'm burning this place to the ground. Tired of walking everywhere."

Her fantasy had moved on to the swirling filigree being carved into her cousin's back when a loud voice just outside of her door came crashing into the dream world Clair had concocted. "Clair? Get your hand out of your or someone else's pants-- I have the dumb security discs." Clair withdrew herself from her fantasy with a hiss, the knife she had been playing with digging into her fingertip and drawing a drop of crimson. What the hell was she shouting about? "If you're not fucking in there, I'm burning this place to the ground. Tired of walking everywhere."

Wiping away her displeased frown at having been torn from her daydream Clair plastered on her usual smile for Karen, opening the door and leaning against it casually as she stared at her friend. "You look like shit doll, what on earth have you been doing?" Clair's eyes darted down to take in the rest of Karen's disheveled and obviously rushed appearance, which seemed oddly close to the outfit she wore yesterday, and her grin widened. "Though maybe 'who' would be a more appropriate question."

She barely noticed the disks in her friend's hands but even so knew what they likely were. That moron who died was still on everyone's mind huh? "Might as well come on in. I don't know where the others are this morning, didn't see them at breakfast, so I've just been waiting. You?"

Stepping into the cafeteria is a mistake.

As soon as he spots no Colress but does spot Wallace and Steven, he knows it was a mistake.  But as his eyes watch Steven make eye contact with him seconds after spotting the Champion, he knows it's too late to run.  Fleeing his cousin and his cousin's best friend would just look weird; no way would he be able to pull that off (assuming he could outrun his much taller, more fit cousin) without being asked a ton of questions later.

And like hell he wants to answer any of those.  He forces his legs to take him forward, feeling himself start to shake a bit as he draws within range.  

I really don't want to talk to anyone today...   He has to talk to Colress, to apologize to him for not checking on him in the morning despite all the garbage that happened yesterday.  So he's okay with making himself do that, but this is... different.

Every time he interacts with Wallace when he feels this much like a creature held together by sticks and glue, he's a little more convinced that Wallace will eventually see just how sick he is.  And that's nothing he can afford.  Wallace can't afford that.

As soon as he's close enough, Wallace stands and draws him into a hug.  The boy can't help but lean into it; mark that down as another reason this was a bad idea.  Whenever he's this bad he can't resist being coddled even though he really ought to resist.  "Did you have a bad night, hon? Sit down, warm your bones."

Well, it's not like he can lie, exactly, but nothing says he has to tell the whole truth.  "Didn't sleep well; I guess I dreamed too hard?  That's a thing, right?  Because I went to bed on time and I don't think I had a hard time falling asleep..."

"I guess. I'm sure you'll do fine, however."  Oh, that... sounded like what someone said when trying to avoid his incompetence with polite words.  The smile on his face grew a touch more plastic as the Beheeyem at Colress's side nudged him urgently. With barely a glance at his friend, Colress added, "It was nice meet you, Professor, but I have to get going. R2 is reminding me that I have an appointment."

R2? He welcomed the distraction from the pit of shame in his stomach. What an interesting name. He wondered where it could be derived from and was about to open his mouth to ask when Colress gave a polite nod and turned on his heel, walking away.

Oh, that was stupid; didn't he just say he had an appointment? His drooping shoulders perked a bit when Colress paused, half turned, and waved.  

"I'll see you later!"

"Oh!" He'd... bothered to give a final goodbye?  Elm almost forgot where his words were; while ungraceful, at least he managed to remember before Colress had to leave. "I- I'll- s- see you later! Have a great day!"

At his exit, Elm walked backwards a few paces into a little nook near the shelves, sinking into the reading chair. "W- well, that was nice. He seems pleasant to be around."

"He stank of terror the entire time," he was surprised to hear Fiona remark. "And the Beheeyem was protective. I don't think he's having a good time of it, lately."

"O- oh." He fidgeted. "I hope it's only a bad day. Maybe he'll be b- better when we see him next?"

"Here's hoping.  We'll see him at work tomorrow, so I guess we'll know then."

"I n- never thought someone could be afraid of me," he confessed. "It's s- surreal."

"What, you? You're scary. All the thugs run for cover when you come around."

"Pfft- st- stop it," he snickered, booping her lightly with one of the chair cushions, the ferret sticking her tiny pink tongue out at him and moving to examine the shelves. "Th- that's not even what h- happened."

"You saw them run. I've never seen a pack of vicious gang members look so scared."

"It w- was the Bewear behind me, Fiona."

"You never saw her so you can't prove it," the furret says sagely as she returns from the bookshelf and to his side, handing him a book and curling up on her lap. He sighs with a bit of a laugh and rubs her head, opening the book and beginning to read aloud as she nuzzles into his hand.

As the pair walked back to Colress' room, they fell quiet when people started appearing in the hallways. They didn't have much to say to each other, yet, so for the time being, they were left alone in their thoughts. Decidedly avoiding any thoughts of yesterday, Colress tried to focus on the professor he just met. The man seemed nice at least, but there was no telling how he would react if he found out that he had been nearly pinned for murdering his partner. Or the still strong possibility that he'd still be pinned for it. It was still so surreal; Henry had been alive only a few days ago, and... now he wasn't. While he wasn't the easiest to work with, Colress had no idea what would lead someone to murdering him. He caught his line of thinking and realized that he had already failed his internal task. He really needed to do something that would take his mind off of things...

Colress' door couldn't have appeared quickly enough, and once they were safe inside his room, Colress took off his coat and heavily sat on his bed. R2 wasn't sure what was going through his trainer's head, but given the worn out look, the Beheeyem figured it wasn't anything good. He broke the silence with a question, "Think you need some rest?"

The scientist rubbed his temples before removing his glasses and rubbing at his eyes. "Not really... I'm not physically tired, and my thoughts aren't slowing down anytime soon." It was a feeling that he'd grown used to, unfortunately.

R2 then suggested, "Since the library was a bust... why don't you pull out one of those weird side projects? Take your mind off things somehow." He remembered the blueprints and whatnot that Colress had in his desk. Generally, R2 was against Colress doing any sort of work when he was supposed to be resting, but leaving him to think too long could be bad. Also, to call the projects "work" would be unfair; they were things that he genuinely enjoyed working on. Even if some of the ideas behind them were weird.

The idea got Colress to stand up and walk over to his desk where he pulled out a stack of papers. "That, that might be an idea. Though that's going to leave you bored."

The Beheeyem shrugged; he didn't mind being bored if it meant he got his trainer focused on anything else. "Eh, I'll live. I'm determined to figure out your voodoo language when it comes to those things." He couldn't leave a chance to tease Colress alone.

"It's not like I'm trying to obfuscate my work," Colress countered as he took a seat. He looked over his shoulder at R2.

R2 then went on a mini-rant. He waved his hands around and teased, "You've never heard yourself talk when you're focused. You tend to leave thoughts and words hanging, and it's really weird to hear you yell random words when something hits you."

Colress' face turned a little red for the statements were true. If truly focused on something, getting straight answers out of him could be difficult until he finished a thought. He let R2 win the round of debating as he glanced over the various ideas he had written down. Some of them were simply exercises in things he could do, but with the state of the world, it would be highly unlikely they would ever see production. As his mind went through calculations, R2 could see that his trainer was, if not happy, at least doing something.

He regretted musing over Wally's asthma the moment he saw Wallace's face fall. That had been wholly indelicate, and now Wallace was fretting. Wally's appearance did little to lift that, either; Wallace was quick to stand and intercept his cousin as the boy drew closer to the table, wrapping his arm around Wally and drawing him close.

"Did you have a bad night, hon? Sit down, warm your bones," he soothed. Wally leaned into the hold gratefully, eyes closing as his body relaxed.

"Didn't sleep well; I guess I dreamed too hard?  That's a thing, right?  Because I went to bed on time and I don't think I had a hard time falling asleep..."

"I think that exists, yes." And it was a tad worrying. "Were they nightmares? Do you need to talk about it with someone?"

Wally was so much healthier looking than when they met- he remembered the day Wallace introduced them, how the boy was pale, sickly, and underweight, how his eyes sparkled and he smiled, like a sunbeam breaking through clouds. Such a strong soul inside a frail body. Under Wallace's care he'd... well... he was no longer quite so pale, and his clothes no longer hung off of him the way they had. Nor did he spend so many days in bed. In fact, nowadays he was up and about, doing something somewhere even if he was not with them.

It was strange that he'd stopped being practically attached to their sides when he had free time to do so, but that was good. Growing independence for a boy his age was good, and it was a sign that whatever horrors he'd survived those first few days of the outbreak, he had more or less finished his recovery from. But maybe they'd grown complacent in his good health...

Or maybe this was one bad night and he was overthinking it and being a worrywart.

[[Skipping Wallace; he's waiting for Wally to speak]]


"You look like shit doll, what on earth have you been doing?" Karen gave a scoff. "Fucking grunt work, that's what," she grumbled under her breath. "Though maybe 'who' would be a more appropriate question." Accurate, but that wasn't why her head was trying to detonate.

"Might as well come on in. I don't know where the others are this morning, didn't see them at breakfast, so I've just been waiting. You?" Karen gave an appreciative, exhausted groan as she sat down in the guest chair and gently placed her throbbing forehead on the cool desk. That desk was her savior. Thank God Hard-Ass McGee wasn't there to tell her to fuck off and stop using his desk as a cold pack.

"I..." she began, unwilling to move her head. Her words were muffled somewhat by the desk, but she didn't give a shit. All out of shits to give. "...have been staring at a fucking security screen for the past ten fucking hours trying to find the goddamn murderer. And you wanna know what I found?" She lifted her head to cradle it in her hands, propped up by her elbows on the desk. "Guess. Guess what I found. You know what, I'll give you a fucking hint-- it's nothing. I found nothing, Clair. I spent... ten hours... staring at a fucking screen of a boring fucking lab... for nothing."

"Not nothing," Slick quietly corrected from the doorway.

"Oh my God, that's right, there's a blip." Karen finally glared up at Clair, her animosity toward the past day reigniting her energy. "Four or so missing seconds. Because people get murdered, dragged into a freezer and their murderers disappear all in four fucking seconds."

Clair arched an eyebrow as Karen all but dropped onto her desk in an undignified heap, rolling her forehead across the cool surface as though it were the best thing she had seen all morning. Clair gave a small smirk as the other woman began to recount her night while she opened a drawer and began searching for something during the tale. "I..." Was she even going to pick up her head?

"...have been staring at a fucking security screen for the past ten fucking hours trying to find the goddamn murderer. And you wanna know what I found?" Guess that was a no. The dragon tamer paused in her rummaging to meet Karen's gaze as the exhausted woman lifted her head for the briefest of moment's to stare at her while making her point. "Guess. Guess what I found. You know what, I'll give you a fucking hint-- it's nothing. I found nothing, Clair. I spent... ten hours... staring at a fucking screen of a boring fucking lab... for nothing."

"Not nothing," Another eyebrow arch. A contradiction?

"Oh my God, that's right, there's a blip." Karen finally lifted her head and glared up angrily as though she were about to unleash her entire day onto the other woman. "Four or so missing seconds. Because people get murdered, dragged into a freezer and their murderers disappear all in four fucking seconds." Clair laughed lightly, the sound almost playfully mocking in its tone despite the friendly smile she wore.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I know a few people who can only manage four seconds." She hoped the poor attempt at humor would rise Karen from her stupor. The woman was one of the few Clair could stand in this entire shit heap and she would be a lot more tolerable if she would simply stop being a drag right now. "But in all seriousness, four seconds is plenty of time to teleport in and out to dump a body you had murdered elsewhere. All you'd need to hide is the glow. Don't you think?"

Steven frowns, and for a moment, his heart beats a little faster than he would like.  But, though the look is one of thought, it becomes clear quickly enough that Steven doesn't suspect there's anything missing from what Wally just told him.  "I think that exists, yes."

Thank god.  Now maybe he can find something else to say that'll redirect the subject--

"Were they nightmares? Do you need to talk about it with someone?"

Oh.  Fuck.

For a moment he just stares at his mentor with the stupid expression of someone whose brain has not quite caught up to the situation at hand yet.  It snaps into focus so quickly that Wally doesn't notice, at first, that there are words falling from his mouth.

"No, I'm good.  No nightmares; just really weird dreams that for some reason I don't remember much of anymore, anyway.  It's a shame because I bet there was some funny stuff in there too, but-" he shrugs, a smile finding its way to his naturally enough that he could almost believe it was real, himself. "Oh well.  How're you guys doing this morning?"

Deflect, deflect, deflect.  Actually, that was a good thing to ask even discounting the need to move the topic away from himself.  Eyes scanning his cousin and his mentor, he notes that while the heavy shadows are still beneath Steven's eyes, he seems more... lively than he usually is.  Something about the way he holds himself is different.

I call bullshit.  No one gets better that quickly after so many months of struggling just to do things.  Either Steven is just having an exceptionally good day or he's trying extra hard to fake it.  His eyes move to their breakfasts.  A single slice of toast for Steven.  Doesn't tell him much other than eating is still an issue for the Champion.  "Exceptionally good day" doesn't mean all his issues are going to disappear for the day.

Guess he'll have to wait and see.