The HQ Team (PLOT)

"All right then." Steven nodded, satisfied with Wally's suggestion. The boy barely stopped himself from sighing in relief. "I'll meet you there at 3 o'clock. In the meantime, I think I'll follow Wallace's advice and go for a lie down."  

"Th-that sounds like a good idea." Stop stuttering! They're gonna realize! Wally closed his eyes and let the breath out slowly, quietly. That's it. Find your zen zone. He opened his eyes again, trying to pretend that exercise actually worked and calmed him down.

"And don't worry - I'll go and get some medicine on the way back."

"So, um, before you go... who exactly was that person I... met?" Met, not ran into. Nope. They were not learning that he almost bowled the man over. "I heard you call him a professor. Is he one of the professors, or...?"

Why was he torturing himself with asking that question? It would be awful no matter what the answer was, but worse if the man turned out to be one of the Pokemon Professors. So much worse.  

On the other hand, there was a good point to asking; if Wally found out that he was a Pokemon Professor, he'd know that hiding from him forever was warranted and something he should totally do. May as well figure out if he could ever live this down; at least then he could plan accordingly.

Steven was feeling like he needed to leave. He was due a cry; he could feel it coming. His eyes felt damp and pressured; he was almost afraid to blink just in case it all came pouring out of him. The only thing that consoled him was that he usually felt much better afterwards. Then the days and its trials, dramas and turmoils continued on and on, building up the pressure once more. It was a never-ending cycle of misery; Steven often wondered if it would ever end.

He hastily lifted up a hand and wiped an eye with his sleeve. He was ready to head off to the infirmary for that medicine when Wally approached him. "So, um, before you go...who exactly was that person I... met? I heard you call him a professor.  Is he one of the professors, or...?"

Glad for a temporary change of subject, Steven nodded. "Yes, I recognized him instantly. That was Professor Elm of the Johto region. He's an expert in Pokemon Abilities and breeding, I believe. And if what I've read is true, he's the one who discovered Pokemon Eggs." He looked up to the cafeteria doors where Elm had disappeared for his breakfast. "He's only recently arrived here, and I've yet to formerly introduce myself to him. I think I'll be doing that later this morning, after my nap." He lifted a hand and rubbed the back of his aching head. "I'm unsure of his schedule though, so I might have a bit of trouble tracking him down."

"Anyway," he quickly added, wiping his eye again as the tears threatened to come back. "I'd best head off. I'll see you both in an hour or two." He offered both Wally and Wallace a humble nod. "Have a pleasant morning."

He walked away with his head up, both hands in his pockets; anything to look like he wasn't about to sink to the floor in a screaming heap. The quicker he received some medicine and got back to his quarters, the better. Skarmory would still be there, no doubt concerned about his early return. Maybe he'd collapse onto his Pokemon's cushion with him - cuddle up to the spiky bird and drift off into a sleep which hopefully did not contain any blue snakes.

You know you've had enough of life when the most exciting part of your day are the minutes where you pretend you don't exist.

[[Skipping Wallace]]


"Why?" Clair asked mildly as she scratched at Slick's back; he arched slightly at her touch, obviously enjoying the attention. "What's she up to?"

Karen scoffed and regarded the unopened letter with disdain. "She's always been kinda hover-y around me, but lately she's gotten weirder and weirder. Wanting me to go on these stupid quests to fetch things for her. Like I'm her fucking dog." She leaned back in her chair and scanned the room for any sign of one of Agatha's ghosts-- they proved to be effective spies, it turned out. But the quiet search was more out of apathy than fear. At most, the hag's ghosts were simply annoying.

"Of course I haven't gone. It's all menial bullshit that's not fucking worth leaving the only bit of civilization behind. I'm not risking myself or my pokemon out there if I don't fucking have to. Agatha can get her ghosts to go play fetch for her." Slick however, gave her a bored, mildly irate look up at her, to which she rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know it's dumb to not even open it... Eugh." She reached over and snatched the envelope, abusing it as she opened the dark paper. The card was simple. A dark purple hue was its entirety, and the script upon the cover was written with a lavender ink that managed to almost glow in contrast to its canvas.


There was nothing inside. That was it. "Boo". "I swear to God, I'm going to choke that miserable old bitch in her fucking sleep." She chucked the letter away in frustrated exasperation, to which Slick surprisingly responded by getting up and fetching it again. Mildly angered that he brought it back, it simply told Karen that this was some other complicated message. Fantastic. Slick hopped back up and stared his trainer down, looking bored out of his mind. She grabbed it again and smacked it back into its abused envelope. "I'm not solving any crazy hag's puzzles with a fucking hangover; she can eat my entire ass for all I care."

"She's always been kinda hover-y around me, but lately she's gotten weirder and weirder. Wanting me to go on these stupid quests to fetch things for her. Like I'm her fucking dog," Karen huffed, glaring at the envelope like it had just insulted her. Clair merely inclined her head curiously, her fingers scratching Slick between the ears. "Huh ... you've never mentioned anything like this before."

"Of course I haven't gone," Karen went on angrily. "It's all menial bullshit that's not fucking worth leaving the only bit of civilization behind. I'm not risking myself or my pokemon out there if I don't fucking have to. Agatha can get her ghosts to go play fetch for her." Slick gave her an agitated glance then, and Karen rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know it's dumb to not even open it... Eugh."

Clair hung open her mouth into a loud, sleepy yawn as Karen tore into the envelope. Man, maybe she could've lasted without the full breakfast in exchange for a couple more hours in bed. She felt like she could just lie down right there on the table. At least it was a good time for a lazy day; practically nothing was on her schedule for today, unless something unexpected decided to pop up. That liked to happen. Jeez, Lance, get your ass back here and save me from this bullshit already. Having as much authority as she did when her cousin wasn't around was always a blast, but the whole work part of it ... ugh.

"I swear to God, I'm going to choke that miserable old bitch in her fucking sleep," Karen suddenly seethed, snapping Clair out of her sleepy thoughts. She tossed the paper away, only for Slick to slide off the chair and retrieve it for her. "I'm not solving any crazy hag's puzzles with a fucking hangover; she can eat my entire ass for all I care." She stuffed the letter back into its envelope. Clair leaned over and took it back out, genuinely interested. She loved a good riddle.

"...'Boo'? The hell's that supposed to mean?" She squinted to see if there was any hidden small text, and found none. Even after turning it upside down and checking the other side, 'Boo' was all that was left on the page. "What a tragic waste of such pretty card," she mused, tilting it towards the light and watching the words shimmer and blink at her.

"So is it like a selection of clues you're supposed to follow or something? Wait..." Clair clasped at her chin as she suddenly had a thought. "Agatha's Gengar is called Boo, isn't it?"

(Skip please; I can only scrape together one post before the time skip and I'd rather it be the one right before the time change.)

Steven slouched down the corridor towards his quarters, carrying a brown glass bottle of medicine in one hand. He felt so...empty, for lack of better word. His mind was like a hollow space in his head, the feathers of any thoughts and emotions he had drifting about silently to a non-existent breeze. He wanted to go outside, up onto the rooftops, where he could feel the morning winds cutting into his face, numbing his cheeks and hands. But he also wanted his room; his bed, his records, his stone collection...they were all there waiting for him, as if nothing had ever happened, completely oblivious to the fact that they even had an owner and, indeed, that they even existed.

He stopped halfway down the hallway, his numb mind not even possessing the power to make any decisions for him. He stood there for a good couple of minutes, staring into space, almost unaware of the worried and puzzled faces looking at him as they passed. His room was closer; frankly he was sure that his legs wouldn't be able to carry him all the way up those steps to the roof, so he resumed his slow pace. It wasn't long until he reached his door, pulled the key out of his pocket and unlocked it with a click.

Austentitic wasn't on his cushion anymore, but nestled up in the blankets of Steven's bed. He raised his head as his master entered, blinking sleepily, then seemed to wake up enough to notice that he was back far earlier than he said. He inclined his head, chirping softly.

"Bad... bad morning." Steven's voice came out in small croaks as he worked to keep himself under control. He entered the bathroom and put the medicine in the cabinet above his sink, quite sure that he would never use it. Splashing his face in a handful of cold water, he looked up at his reflection in the mirror for a moment. He had the face of a man who had been through an entire lifetime of trials; nobody would've guessed that he was still in his twenties.  Dark, sunken eyes, pale skin, hollow cheekbones...in the bright bathroom light, he looked like a damn ghost.

He patted his face dry on a towel and slumped back into the lounge, where Austentitic was now on his feet and flitting anxiously around him, clearly distressed by the terrible state his Trainer was in. Walking straight past him without looking, Steven threw his blazer onto the couch and collapsed face-first onto the bed, clutching the pillow close to his face.

Finally, his mind seemed to be working again. An entire week's worth of troubles and torments cascaded around it like a giant whirlpool; one memory barely had a chance to surface before it was dragged under by another. He thought of that evening when he'd tried in vain to open the safe for the umpteenth time; the afternoon he'd stood on the roof craning his neck over the edge and wondering how long it'd take for him to hit the bottom; that mealtime he'd snapped at Erika over the table to keep her nose out of his business. And...and last night. Most of all, he thought about the giant, incomprehensible mistake he made last night- about the woman who lured him in and how he, like an idiot, allowed it.

He hated himself. He hated this place, everyone here, everything about it; loathed what had become of the world, wondered endlessly what they'd done to deserve it. He hated--

"Karr...?" The cold but comforting touch of his Pokemon pulled Steven out of the blaze of hatred he'd found himself in. That happened a lot: his head just went on a rampage against everything it could think of. He didn't hate HQ, nor the majority of the people there. He didn't know where he'd be now if it weren't for Wallace, Wally and his other friends. Words could not even begin to express his gratitude.

Austentitic was crawling over the bed towards him, nudging his elbow worriedly. Steven wrapped an arm around his Pokemon's neck and held him close. Austentitic knew what was coming; he draped his spiked wing over his master's body and cradled him close as, finally, he began to weep.

(As Wally mentioned, a timeskip will take place in the next cycle to later on in the morning, perhaps around 11am. Use this current cycle to establish where you'll be and what you'll be doing around that time.)

Wallace watched the exchange with a sense of dismay; his boys were so fragile, they were both nearly becoming undone with a small, minor encounter with one of the least intimidating men that walked HQ's halls. Lamps were more terrifying than Professor Elm. But as the two "recovered" -he used the term loosely- he hid the look of pity from his face. That would have only made things worse. As Steven left to catch some much-needed sleep, Wallace bid him a soft, "I'll see you later, hon," as his Champion exited the mess hall. He turned to Wally and gave him a tight hug. "I'm sure you need to head to work now," Wallace remembered, soon releasing the boy from his grip. "If you need anything, I'll be in Steven's office." He gave Wally a light kiss on the forehead before walking out as well, not wanting to give much more detail than that.

He knew that issues that came up to Steven's office were things that needed the highest authority, but often times, people liked to go around the chain of command straight to Steven-- as if the man didn't have enough to worry about. So while Wallace kept his nose out of many affairs, especially ones marked by the other Champions, he felt he could at least help with the more menial tasks. Head held high, Wallace quickly marched his way toward Steven's office before the man had the chance to stop him.

-------------------

"...'Boo'? The hell's that supposed to mean?" Karen scoffed at the innocent enough question, her entire body seething with frustrated rage. "Like I fucking know." "What a tragic waste of such pretty card," Clair continued, seemingly mesmerized by the simplistic mystery the card held. Karen, on the other hand, was far from being hypnotized by Agatha's offer of a game. That had long ago lost its charm.

"So is it like a selection of clues you're supposed to follow or something? Wait..." Karen gave the dragon gym leader a sidelong glare, almost daring the other to continue. And continue she did. "Agatha's Gengar is called Boo, isn't it?"

Eyes widening with what could have been horror, Karen leaned forward and snatched the card from Clair. "What?! Don't tell me you want to actually do this? Clair, there's a reason I've never told you about this shit-- because it's fucking stupid and ridiculous and childish." She stared at Clair a moment, though, forcefully tossing the envelope back at her before heaving a heavy sigh. "...Yes, her Gengar is named 'Boo'. But he's a ghost-- he could literally be anywhere."

"What?! Don't tell me you want to actually do this?" Karen stared at her incredulously, snatching the sparkly card out of her grasp. "Clair, there's a reason I've never told you about this shit-- because it's fucking stupid and ridiculous and childish."

"Aww, come on, Kaz," Clair pouted mockingly, giving her friend the wide-eyed puppy look. "It's not like we've got anything to do this morning. And this place is hardly bursting at the seams with fun, is it?" She did want to do this, as much as Karen insisted that it was ridiculous. Clair was never one to pass down an opportunity for a laugh. Even if it did turn out to be a waste of time, at least it was something to pass away the empty, dull hours of HQ life.

"...Yes, her Gengar is named 'Boo'. But he's a ghost-- he could literally be anywhere," said Karen, shoving the card back into its envelope.

"Good job we've got plenty of time then, isn't it?" Grinning impishly, Clair leaned back and folded her arms. "Look, she's not going to just send you off on a ghost chase for no reason, is she? She may be old and slightly batshit, but surely she's going somewhere with it." Her mind made up, Clair pushed Karen's plate of toast back towards her. "Now you eat that up before it gets cold - we're going on a ghost hunt."

[ ooc: Skip me this time around so I can catch up without holding you all back! ]

"Yes, I recognized him instantly."  Oh god.  "That was Professor Elm of the Johto region. He's an expert in Pokemon Abilities and breeding, I believe."  

Wally checks out of the conversation as the self loathing threatens to choke him.  Oh gods, did he seriously just make a fool of himself in front of someone so important?  What kind of embarrasing excuse for a human being is he!?

"Anyway," the Champion says, the "switching topic now" tone pulling Wally from his mind. "I'd best head off. I'll see you both in an hour or two.  Have a pleasant morning."

"I'll see you later, hon," Wallace murmurs as Steven moves to leave.

"You too!"  Wally calls after the Champion, pulling up enough inner strength to fake a cheery goodbye.  "See you later!"

As soon as he lowers the arm he used to wave, Wallace turns to him and wraps him up in a snug embrace.  "I'm sure you need to head to work now," Wally nearly whimpers as his cousin releases him-- no, don't let go; just a little longer.  The thoughts are so bad today already... "If you need anything, I'll be in Steven's office."

"Okay," Wally murmurs as his cousin pecks him on the forehead.  "I'll see you later, Wal."

With a swallow, he pulls his walkman from his pocket and his headphones from his bag.  

It takes him ten minutes to walk to where the janitors clock in and receive their assignments, and the music is dulling out the thoughts you're an idiot, you're an embarrassment, god go die in a hole; no one will miss you, drowning them beneath angry guitars and drums.  The knots in his chest loosen one by one.  Maybe today won't be so horrible after all, maybe...

"Hey, Simmons!  There's a new guy but he's only here for today; boss says you have to be his babysitter!"

Wally snaps his head over to look, and all color drains from his face.

You can't be serious.


Of course.  Of course of course of course.

Putting far more force than needed into the scrubbing of the floor, Wally attacks the filth caked to the linoleum near the exit to the mines, scowling.

What are the fucking odds I'd get stuck with the same man I nearly ran over this morning because SOMEONE is being a lazy piece of shit and is stalling on processing his paperwork.  If he'd been processed immediately, Professor Elm would not be here at the moment; he'd be in the section of labs with Col, doing sciencey stuff.  But no, thanks to someone who he'd love to punch for shoving this little slice of misery into his face, the professor is stuck on janitorial duty until that paperwork is done.  Which will only be a day.  But of course he would wind up with the terrible fucking luck of being the one person they singled out to keep an eye on him.

Of course none of them know what happened at breakfast.  That wasn't on purpose.  Does it still suck?

Fuck everything.

Yes, yes it does.

(I don't remember what time the timeskip was to, so I'll fix it later.  ^^; )

The steady ticking of his clock slowly pulled Steven out of his slumber. He groaned, half of his face buried in his pillow, and hauled himself upright. Skarmory rolled off of his master as he sat up, moaning blissfully and stretching out his wings.

Steven couldn't even remember falling asleep; he must've just gone out like a light. He raised a hand up to rub his eye, the other blinking dazedly around the room. ... Oh no, what time is it? Scrambling to the clock on his table, he breathed a sigh of relief that it was only 11:04am.

At least he'd managed to catch up on some of the sleep he'd lost in the night. Stretching out his arms, he got up and slouched into the bathroom. Once more he splashed his face at the sink, the cold water shocking him into alertness. Looking up in the mirror, he was relieved to see that his reflection, for once, did not match how he felt inside.

His head was clearer, his eyes wider and brighter. It just proved how much good a quick cry could do. He actually felt ready to go out and face the day instead of digging himself a pit and hiding in it. His heart gave an involuntary flutter as he thought of his friends; they'd probably be wondering if he was all right. It'd give them at least some comfort to actually see him out in the halls.

One side of his hair was plastered to his face; Steven knew Wallace would have a thing or two to say about that as he combed it back into place as well as he could. Straightening his clothes and putting his blazer back on, he headed for the door just as Austentitic chirped from the bed, eyeing him with worry.

"I'm feeling a little better now," Steven reassured his Pokemon, actually telling the truth for once. So long as nothing else went wrong today, it would be all right. Namely, avoiding Clair for the rest of the day - a difficult task. Swallowing back his prickling anxieties, he added, "I'm going to see if I can find the Professor. I feel guilty having not formerly introduced myself yet." He inclined his head towards the door and smiled. "Do you want to come with me?"

Skarmory was off the bed in a flash, flapping up to his master's side and giving him an affectionate nip on the hand. Steven patted the avian's head, his love for his Pokemon warming his heart. Yes, the world was a mess; yes he'd lost a lot and yes; mental illness had crippled his soul, but it could always be worse. So much worse.

Stepping out into the corridor, Steven locked the door and started to wonder where the professor might be at that time. Hold on, he thought as he made his way to the stairwell, wasn't he on janitor duty with Wally this morning?

Well, it looked as though he wouldn't be so easy to find after all.

[[skipping Wallace]]


"'Aww, come on KAZ,' she said. 'It's not like we've got anything to do this morning,' KAZ. 'And this place is hardly bursting at the seams with fun, isn't it,' KAAAAAAZ? Titty-fucking, tap-dancing CHRIST, this is just so FUCKING FUN, CLAIR," Karen angrily moaned and snapped as she carefully climbed into the dark rafters of one of the condo attics. Because ghosts liked fucking attics, right? And they already had checked the graveyards. And the basements. Attics was the next logical fucking step. Karen spat out hair and what was likely a spider nest and wiped away the sweat from her brow. "I'm just SO FUCKING HAPPY I went on this SUPREMELY IMPORTANT scavenger hunt with you instead of just fucking off to my room to get high and draw. That's COMPLETELY the opposite of what I wanted to do today, because FUCKING COBWEBS WITH MY FACE is what I wanted. THANK YOU SO MUCH, CLAIR, FOR THIS ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY TO FACE-FUCK SPIDERS. I FEEL SO GODDAMNED PRIVILEGED TO BE YOUR FUCKING FRIEND." She batted away more spiders BECAUSE THERE WERE ALWAYS MORE and spat more bullshit from her mouth.

Clair, personally, thought that the morning had been quite nice.

I mean, sure, they hadn't found Boo yet, but actually taking time to chill, talk to people and visit HQ's unexplained areas was a hell of a lot better than sitting around waiting for things to happen. Clair found that if you actually searched for fun rather than holding back to see if it came to you, it worked out far better. For her, it certainly had.

Karen didn't seem to share her optimism though. The Dark-type Trainer seethed as they climbed up the wooden steps into one of the attics, ranting out curses at her as they entered.

"Oh, will you just sssshush," Clair hissed, snickering with laughter at her friend's genuine displeasure. She and Karen were alike in a lot of ways, but clearly ghost hunting wasn't something they shared a liking for. "You have done literally nothing but moan all morning. Honestly, you're worse than that guy who sits in the courtyard selling toothpicks."

She looked around her at the dank, dusty room. There's so much space in here, she thought, turning her gaze to the high, triangular ceiling. Why couldn't they put all the lowlife nobodies up here instead of letting them take up all the good rooms and eat all the food? Like that Wally brat. Y'know, leave all the good rooms for the useful people who actually mattered? Not asthmatic little runts who mopped floors.

"Wait, did you see that?" Clair gripped Karen's arm as one of the shadows at the back of the room suddenly moved, swooping across the wall and disappearing. "These ghosts are sneaky fuckers ... you reckon that was Boo?"

Ugh, this is going to take forever. Evidently it had been a long time since someone had cleaned this particular hallway. That, or the miners were just exceptional at tracking filth. And my arms are already complaining. I really shouldn't've been using so much force earlier when pushing this thing. Wally gave the mop a glare. Stupid thing. It didn't even weigh that much; why should his arms hurt from pushing it?

You already answered that, dumbass; you were pushing it way too hard. He sighed and moved the pail down the corridor a little. May as well mop up the dirt in the easier areas, where the clay and grit hadn't been tracked as far. 

Attacking the filth turned out to be such a bad idea-- not only did he not feel a relief from his frustrations, but now his arms ached a little. Well... I don't think the crap closer to the mine entrance will need TOO much energy. If I use one of the brushes and get down on the floor and scrub there, I shouldn't be putting too much force on my arms, so the ache oughtta fade since I won't be renewing it... God, he hated having to do that, though. There was something so humiliating about getting down onto your hands and knees to scrub at the floor. The mop wasn't that much better but at least he retained the dignity of remaining on his feet that way. It wasn't much but he'd take what he could get.  

Maybe it was the way they couls literally look down at you as they walked by when you had to scrub the floor on your hands and needs that he hated...

Oh! Wally's mouth quirked into a small smile as the opening melody of an old favorite reminded him that his Walkman was on. God, he shouldn't have been tuning his music out. It would have been much better to be paying attention to his songs than stewing in his anger. If My Heart Was a House!  I love this song!

Elm should be far enough away... maybe he could indulge himself a little...

"You're the sky that I fell through
And I remember the view
whenever I'm holding you
The sun hung from a string
Looking down on the world
As it warmed over everything"

The song washed over him, and he shut everything out but the music, his body on autopilot as he started to move to the rhythm of the song while he mopped. The walls echoed his voice pleasantly-- he liked that about working as a janitor, at least.

"Chills run down my spine
As our fingers intwine
And your sighs harmonize with mine
Unmistakably
I can still feel your heart
Beat fast when you dance with me"

His mop became his dance partner, oops. He barely noticed.

"We got older and I should have known
Do you feel alive?
That I'd feel colder when I walk alone
Oh, but you'll surviiIIIII--"

His shoes were not made to grip the floor and one sneaker touched down too quickly, at an angle, on a wet patch. His pathetic weight now off balance, one leg thrown randomly in one direction, he fell with a cry, landing on his side in the muddy water with a grunt.  

"Oh, you cannot be serious!" he screamed as he eased himself into a sitting position, arms held up in disgust as the muddy water dripped from them. "Seriously!?" AUUUUGH! One foot lashed out, an expression of his fury.

He forgot the pail was that close.

The bucket clanged over, spilling water all over the floor. Wally could only watch in helpless shock as gravity and his own stupidity proceeded to make an even worse situation out of the mess he just created.

He reached up to his headphones and slid them off to hang around his neck, staring at the now monumental task that lays before him, switching off his Walkman to digest the situation. In the silence that follows, the urge to burst into tears was overwhelming.

The morning had been rather uneventful and it went mostly according to routine. The biggest change was that R2 glared at him and promised later glaring and telling on him to Wally if he didn't get something to eat this morning. Colress was still recovering from a fever a few days ago, and the Beheeyem was adamant on making sure he took care of himself. Since Colress still expressed a fair amount of anxiety on actually going to the cafeteria himself for food, R2 volunteered to get something for him. Soon R2 returned with a plate for Colress and some fruit for himself. Colress did give an attempt at eating the food since R2 practically stared at him, but he could only stomach about half of the eggs and a few bites of the toast. When R2 saw how much food was left on the plate, he sighed but didn't otherwise comment. At least Colress had eaten a little bit.

Afterwards, the pair went to the labs for the workday, and they noticed that Colress's partner was strangely absent. The man had missed days or shown up late randomly, so this wasn't the strangest thing. However, both could admit that it was a little aggravating. Colress didn't mind as much as R2 since Colress typically welcomed the extra work, but R2 was peeved for the same reason.

Several hours later found Colress and R2 still alone. R2 had been organizing some of Colress's paperwork when he asked, "Hey, Colress, what time is it now?"

Colress was focusing intently on slides under a microscope, so the question took a few seconds to register in his mind. He leaned back to look at the clock on the wall, "A little past eleven."

"Oh come on... Where is he? It's almost lunch time, already," R2 muttered as he paced near Colress's desk.

"Well, it's not like we can't handle the workload without him," Colress tried to placate the Beheeyem.

Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect as R2 was further incensed by his comment, and  he stopped his pacing to directly look at Colress."You've said that each time he's been late, and that usually means you stay in here for too damn long," R2 glared at him as if daring Colress to say he was wrong.

Colress couldn't deny the accusation, so he tried a different tactic and appealed to R2's sympathy. "If he's not feeling well, then it's for the better that he doesn't come in."

The attempt worked as R2 visibly deflated."A notification would have been nice," he grumbled and looked away.

"We'll be fine, R2," Colress reached down and patted R2's head.

"We're stopping at twelve on the dot for lunch. I don't care if he isn't here and we have more to do," R2 firmly stated and looked him in the eye. Getting Colress to eat three times a day was a challenge, but that wasn't going to stop R2 from trying. The pitiful amount Colress had eaten this morning was not enough to sustain him through the day, as much as the scientist would try to deny it.

Colress rolled his eyes at the demand, but somewhat unwillingly acquiesced. "If I agree to that, will you stop complaining about Dr. James?" He bargained.

R2 defiantly looked up at him, "Well, you're going to lunch regardless if you agree to it or not, but if me being quiet about him motivates you to eat, I'll stop. He'd take anything if it meant there was a chance he could use it to make Colress eat.

Colress sighed and replied, "Deal."

(Terribly sorry, but please skip me for now.)

[[skipping Wallace]]


"Oh, will you just sssshush," Clair feigned anger poorly, as she just kept snickering like a fucking asshole. The bitch had been like that all morning, and while it was good that her friend was in fine spirits, Karen fiercely opposed the fact that it was at her own expense. Karen gave the dragon bitch a glare that could kill, stopping mid swat in front of another cobweb. "You have done literally nothing but moan all morning. Honestly, you're worse than that guy who sits in the courtyard selling toothpicks."

"Well, I'm sure his shitty friend also dragged him through some god-awful attic and forced him to swallow a bunch of fucking spiders. I don't fucking blame him for throwing toothpicks at everyone-- sounds like a grand ol' time to me! When we get out of here, maybe I should throw toothpicks at you? Or WRENCHES."

"Wait, did you see that?" Clair grabbed Karen's sweaty-ass arm, to which the latter supremely disapproved. The frown didn't disappear as she scanned the awful place for whatever the hell Clair had spotted. "See what, Clair, my eyes are full of spiders now." "These ghosts are sneaky fuckers ... you reckon that was Boo?"

Karen grunted in frustration and moved forward, ahead of Clair. "If it is him, he's just going to fuck with us more-- He's an ass, just like Agath--"

"Gengaaaar!" Karen cursed a little as she suddenly remembered she'd switched off her com, fumbling in the dark around her neck as she squinted to see a bouncing shadow in her peripheral. "Gengar gen gen gargarg-- didn't know I'd have company or else I would have swept! Eheeheehee! Good afternoon, Ladies~" He appeared before them in all his pudgy glory, only causing Karen's frown to sour further. God, she hated this asshole. Boo's characteristic grin fell as his crimson gaze landed on Slick, who had silently been following his trainer. "Aww, didn't you get Agatha's note? Were you not a good doggy?"

Both Slick and trainer twitched in anger, the former's tail lashing from side to side. He wanted to take a chomp out of this fat fuck as much as Karen, but they both stayed in their spots. Though Karen had the obvious advantage with typing, Boo had just about everything else to his. "No, I got it." She flung it at him, which flew straight through him, because of course it did. "It says 'Boo', Boo. So tell us what the fuck we do now."

Boo stared at them a little before his grin returned in full, and he took out a crisp, new dark envelope from... Karen didn't know where, and frankly, she didn't care to know. He flung it to her much in the same way she'd done just moments ago, which she caught with ease. "You're actually participating this time? Agatha will be so pleased. Have fun, girls." Eyes narrowing with mischief, the ghost was gone as suddenly as he'd come, and Karen couldn't help a sigh of relief.

"Let's get the fuck out of here, Clair. I want out of this awful fucking attic." She led the way back out, faithfully ignoring any words out of Clair's useless mouth, nearly running out and back down a ladder into the A/C and light of the normal dorms. Someone passed, giving her a look of concern, to which she returned with a complementary hand gesture. When Clair descended, she presented the envelope to Clair and proceeded to open it. "I hope you're fucking happy," she growled. Of course, when she opened it, her eyes widened with immediate rage, and then shoved it into Clair's face.




"I swear to God, I am getting Aaron to give me a thousand spiders and then I'm going to wait till you're asleep and then shove them up your stupid TWAT!"

"If it is him, he's just going to fuck with us more," Karen replied, confidently moving further into the dark room. "He's an ass, just like Agath--"

"Gengaaaar!" The loud voice startled Clair, and she gripped one of the wooden support beams and immediately regretted it. Removing her gloves and trying to shake the dust off, she watched as Boo appeared, regarding them with that wide, Cheshire-cat grin. Jeez, ghosts were creepy fucks.

Karen pulled out her communicator, and Clair went to do the same but swore when she realised she'd left it in her room again. Probably on the bathroom sink or some other random place. Apparently Boo was asking about the note, to which Karen replied, "No, I got it. It says 'Boo', Boo. So tell us what the fuck we do now." She tossed it at the ghost, who made no effort to catch it, and it phased straight through his blobby form. Boo sneered out his own name a few more times as he tossed Karen another envelope and promptly disappeared.

"Let's get the fuck out of here, Clair. I want out of this awful fucking attic." She led the way back down the staircase, Clair staring at the new envelope in Karen's hand as she followed. Maybe that contained the second piece of the puzzle! She pumped the air with excitement as her feet landed back in the corridor. A few passing people gave them both curious glances as Clair pushed the stairs back up to the hatch, which ate them up and closed.

"I hope you're fucking happy."
"Of course I am," Clair smiled sweetly as Karen ripped open the envelope. "I'll bet this contains the next piece of the puz ... zle..." Her friend's face was not indicating that they'd found what they were looking for. She thrust the card straight into her face.


"...Oh."
"I swear to God, I am getting Aaron to give me a thousand spiders and then I'm going to wait till you're asleep and then shove them up your stupid TWAT!"
"H-Hey, c'mon. Don't -- ahaha! -- don't blame me!" She just couldn't help it. Clair doubled over into fits of laughter. Karen got so pissed off over just about everything; it was always a delight to watch. The fact that Agatha had gone through all of this trouble just to take the piss made it even better.

"It's not -- It's not like I knew that was gonna happen," Clair gasped once she had finished howling. "And why the fuck would Agatha make you do all that just to get you back to square one? The old lady clearly has a few screws loose -- you just need to stop falling for it!" She gripped Karen's arm as she almost fell on her face laughing once more. "Oh jeez -- hahaha! -- we wasted our entire morning on this shit!"

(Skip me this time. Technical difficulties and I will not be able to get a post done in time. I sincerely apologise.)

The other good thing about being a janitor, Wally has to admit, is the potential for total isolation.  And never has he been more grateful for that before than now, when this day has literally been so shitty that the tears come despite his best attempts to stop them.  

Oh my god, I can't believe this-- someone could see-- calm down calm down get a fucking grip-- but, despite his frantic thoughts backfiring and making the tears come out faster, merciful Legends, the hallway remains empty; his cries are smothered into short bursts of sobs, muffled by his hands and sleeves.  Within minutes it has passed, and he can choke down the remaining tears and drag himself to his feet.

Wordlessly he picks up the pail and hails it to the nearest supply closet, filling it up with clean water from the sink inside and grabbing a brush before returning to the site of the spill.  Trying to swallow past the lump in his throat, he pours soap into the bucket and dips the hand brush into it, getting down on his hands and knees to scrub the filth.  

If you'd just been more careful--

If you weren't such a screw-up--

This is why Mom and Dad trusted you with nothing--

God you're a childish piece of irresponsible shit--

You're so pathetic--

He doesn't bother to slide his headphones back on.  After such a stupid, easily preventable disaster, he doesn't deserve the luxury of slipping into the musical world.  Why should he, when it was losing his focus to the music that caused this in the first place?

Well, that and your dumbass temper, or at least what passes for it, because you're so fucking pathetic you couldn't kill a fly; ooooh, what a badass you are, kicking over a fucking pail, like that was supposed to solve anything, you moron--

Right, stupid.  He'd forgotten that was part of his list of defects.  How nice of him to remember.  Fitting, he supposes.

How am I supposed to help Col or Steven or anyone.  If I disappeared right now, I bet they'd all be just fine.  I bet they'd be secretly glad, not that I blame them.  God, I'm annoying and useless.

After a few more minutes, Colress finished looking at the slides and looked at the time again. He didn't want to push R2's patience on the issue about lunch, so he knew that what he picked to do needed to be something relatively quick. He could conveniently forget the time and pick a time consuming project that he couldn't leave alone, but R2 knew enough about the lab to call him out on it before he could progress beyond the point of no return. He could look at that pile paperwork that his partner more or less left him, but even he found reading and signing papers for long periods of time boring.

R2 sensed his trainer's dilemma and recalled something Dr. James had said the last time he was actually there. "Hey, didn't Dr. James say something about sticking... dammit I forgot what it was... in the freezer? Should we take a look at it?  'Cause I'm sure leaving it in there for too long won't be good for it."

Colress had to think for a second before remembering the conversation R2 was referencing. Dr. James had placed a very particular sample in the freezer room to ensure that it would be in the same condition when he had time to inspect it thoroughly. Unfortunately, due to the man's forgetfullness and terrible time keeping, he had lost a few samples in this fashion."Oh yes! You're probably right, we can go make sure it hasn't frozen solid on accident." It went unspoken that this would also mean inspecting it themselves like Dr. James was supposed to, but neither of them expected that to take more than an hour.

Colress stood up unsteadily from the chair. After having sat down for so long and barely changing positions, his legs needed a few seconds to get used to standing. R2 was close by just in case he accidentally fell over, but he didn't need the help thankfully. He then leaned back a little to ease the tightness he felt in his lower back. "Alright, let's go," he stated to no one in particular. He reached into his pocket to try and locate his keyring, and had to take a few things out before finding it, of course, at the bottom. He moved the keys until he found the one he needed and held the key between two fingers to keep it seperate from the others. As he inserted the key and turned the lock, both human and pokemon thought they heard a sound, but finding nothing, Colress pulled the door open.

Something fell forward onto him. It was about the same height he was, and it weighed a lot. Unfortunately, due to being surprised and having no upper body strength, Colress stumbled and fell backwards with the thing landing on him. R2 was able to catch his trainer in a Psychic hold to ensure he didn't accidentally hit his head, but Colress had already landed on the ground mostly and his glasses had been knocked askew.  The Beheeyem saw what the thing was first, and his arms and jaw dropped in horror. Colress, however, was unable to see until he righted his glasses, so all he knew was that the thing was big, heavy, and really cold.

He pulled his arm out from under the cold object to fix his glasses, and for a moment he really wished he hadn't. The thing that had fallen on him was Dr. James frozen solid. Colress didn't even realize for a second that he had started screaming, and his eyes locked onto the frozen body. Images of Opelucid flashed into his mind, and he started flailing in an attempt to get it off. Eventually, he managed to scramble out from under it, and scooted away from it on the floor. He didn't trust himself to stand, and soon he felt really sick. R2 had been stuck staring at the scene in shock, but then he heard a sound that drew his eyes back to his trainer. Seeing how green Colress's face looked, R2 quickly saw a trash can not too far away and used Psychic to lift it towards his trainer quickly. R2 couldn't help the thought, Well there goes his breakfast... despite how dire the situation was.

After vacating the contents of his stomach into the trash, Colress placed his head in his hands and was practically in the fetal position on the floor. R2 quickly moved over towards him and started trying to calm the man down, but he was too far gone. He started almost petting Colress's head in an attempt to do something, but that was interrupted when they heard loud stomping coming towards them. Colress's screaming had caught someone's attention, and soon another person in a lab coat busted into their lab. She took one look at the scene and also let out a scream before running back out of the room. R2 had a feeling she was about to get the police, and he wasn't disappointed when soon after, several officers bolted into the room to assess the situation. Since Colress was obviously not of any threat, he wasn't too worried about him, but R2 knew that he had to tread carefully.

One of the police officers came towards them, and seeing Colress's condition, he slowly approached and knelt down next to Colress's shaking frame. "Hey are you alright?" he asked. R2 disappointedly noticed that the officer lacked a universal communicator and was frustrated that he wouldn't be able to say anything to the human. So he settled for continuing to stroke Colress's hair, because helping Colress to calm down would be better for them in the long run.

All Colress could say was, "Frozen... Dead... Fell..." as his shaking intensified, and the officer took pity on the man.

He tried to catch Colress's attention by saying, "I'm going to try to help you sit up, is that alright?" He wanted to make sure someone so frightened was aware of what he was doing before touching them. Thankfully, Colress did understand what he said and nodded. R2 moved out of the way, and the officer pulled Colress to a sitting position against a wall. The Beheeyem then sat next to Colress and hugged his arm. The officer continued to speak calmly to Colress to get him to calm down when another one came into the room.

This one didn't have good news. "According to the other scientists, no one except for Dr. Gannon has been seen with Dr. James before he went missing." Neither trainer nor Pokemon had to see the nicer officer's face to know that it immediately hardened. Colress's face turned sheet white, and his shaking started back up again while R2 gripped his trainer's arm tightly.

The officer that had been so nice before now bluntly stated, "We need to take you in for questioning."

((Please skip me just one more time. I shall be making a post next round, I promise.))

Despite there being a mountain of paperwork on the thing, Steven had surprisingly managed to keep it tidy. Wallace fingered through the small requests that had landed at Steven's door, wishing there was an easier way of doing things. Poor Steven's desk was groaning beneath the weight of the amount of paper stacked upon it, but Steven was one of the only few that could delegate who could do what job. Many things needed his signature or approval, which Wallace didn't bother touching. It was an appealing thought to try his hand at forging Steven's signature, but that would likely cause more trouble than it was worth. Still, there had to be something he could help with...

Suddenly, the door burst open, a young woman panting, looking frightened. Wallace started, blinking wide-eyed at the equally surprised youth. "I-I," she stammered, glancing about the office. "I was... looking for Champion Steven..."

"He's... not here," Wallace replied haltingly, keeping his gaze on the girl to make sure she didn't pass out in the doorway. "I'm not really sure where he's gone to-- a-are you ok, honey?" He stood to go to her, but she backed away, eager to get going.

"They need someone in the jail," she gasped, glancing down the hall. There's been a murder."

----

Karen was seeing white she was so pissed off. Clair's insufferable cackling really wasn't helping her mood either. "H-Hey, c'mon. Don't -- ahaha! -- don't blame me!" Karen smacked Clair with the envelope, still snarling. "I will absolutely blame you, you piece of snickering garbage!" She smacked her again, but it didn't seem to do anything.

"It's not -- It's not like I knew that was gonna happen," Her laughing fit seemed to calm after a little bit as Karen took to ripping the envelope and its contents into tiny little pieces of stupid. "And why the fuck would Agatha make you do all that just to get you back to square one? The old lady clearly has a few screws loose -- you just need to stop falling for it!" Though Karen was about to answer that very obvious question, Clair grabbed her arm, doubling over with laughter again. "Oh jeez -- hahaha! -- we wasted our entire morning on this shit!"

"You're damn straight we did!" Karen snapped back, smacking Clair upside the head with her free hand and what little of the envelope remained intact. "Agatha would do that because she's an old, batty bitch. And I for one am not completely tickled that my hair is now a fucking spider's nest. Ugh. I hope my spiders relocate to you and you choke on them and die." She continued to fret with her hair and the envelope, turning away from the guffawing buffoon beside her.

"You're damn straight we did!" Karen snarled, batting Clair with the envelope. The Dragon Tamer stopped laughing long enough to shield her face. "Agatha would do that because she's an old, batty bitch. And I for one am not completely tickled that my hair is now a fucking spider's nest. Ugh. I hope my spiders relocate to you and you choke on them and die."

"Aww, I love you too," Clair cooed, wrapping an arm around her very angry friend and giving her cheek a pinch. "Anyway, that was fun and all but I'm gonna get going. Got another hour or so to kill until lunch, so I'm gonna go find stuff to do." She retrieved her arm and stared at a painting of a beach on the wall thoughtfully. "Might go to the stadium for an hour or two, see if there's anyone there for my babies to beat up. They've been itching for a good fight."

"Anyway, I'm off," Clair said cheerily, giving Karen a wave and a sweet smile. "Say hi to Agatha for me." And she took off down the corridor, cackling, before Karen could swing for her again.

Clair took the knife out of her boot and began swiveling it round and round in her fingers. She was feeling ... mischievous, like she wanted to cause a commotion. Hanging around with Karen always made her feel that way. As long as this day continued to offer her opportunities for fun on a plate, Clair would be just fine.

She strolled along until she spotted a familiar figure at the far end of the hall; a scrawny little whelp with a messy mop of green hair. Oh yes, that could only be Wally, and it looked as though he was having some trouble with his chores that morning - the floor around him glistened with foamy liquid.

Clair bit down on her blade as she casually approached, grinning maliciously. It was time to show that scrounging little runt just who was really important around here.

Slow, deep breaths.  He tries to match his breathing to the motions of his arms, forcing the tightness from his chest as the seconds tick away.

Nobody saw.  Nobody saw him make the mess.  Nobody saw him break down and cry.  Nobody's seen the mess.  And nobody has seen the tearstains on his face.  Hmm.  Thank god.  So fucking careless.  Should do something about this...  He scrubs his face with his sleeve for a few minutes before returning to the floor.  Too bad there's no mirror around.  He'd like to check and see if that actually did anything.

Gods, I'm a wreck.  His breathing is normal now, but he still feels the weight pressing down on his shoulders and his soul.  Why does something so simple have to feel like a marathon?  Why is something so SIMPLE to everyone else so HARD for me to do?  Sure, everyone had grief, everyone had problems, but...

I've been a mess even before the pandemic...

He hates that, he hates admitting that to himself, god does he, but it's times like there's where he's too worn to actively avoid it that it slips through the cracks.  Because it's true, it's so true; not to this degree but... but it was still there.  Getting out of bed was still hard, waking up some days was still disappointing, talking to people was a nightmare.  It used to be scarcer, but it was still there.

Would it have gotten worse even if the apocalypse hadn't hit?

It's not worth wondering; he'll never know.  But it sure doesn't stop him from pondering.

At least... at least, the way things are now, there is SOMETHING I know.  I can be a help.  Somehow, some way, I help at least a little.  Steven likes it when I'm nice to him; Colress does too.  They're both so sad, and if I can help even just a little with that, and it looks like I do help a little, then...  Well, it sure does give him a reason to force himself to be functional and cheerful.

Gods know that he has precious few reasons otherwise.

He fails to notice the approaching footsteps.