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You"ve only been here a few months, but honestly things aren"t that bad here in Team Magma. Sure it"s technically an illegal group, but the worst you"ve heard so far was something about another Grunt trying to steal an old man"s Wingull (not a bad Pokémon, but really? They aren"t rare), which didn"t even go well. But the group isn"t entirely pathetic, chasing off thugs messing with park gardens and giving some of their battle winnings to organizations promoting berry planting. So compared to the Team Rocket horror stories back in Johto and Kanto (and whatever the hell is going on in Sinnoh), you figured that this group of amateur, if not rogue, earth-lovers was probably the better way to pay off your student loans. It definitely beats retail by a long shot; anything that doesn"t involve shouting to tired mothers over kids" screaming is good for you.
The work still sucks though. No question there.
"Okay, that"s… twenty-three, twenty-four…shit." A look from your clipboard back to the crates in front of you draws out a tired sigh, looking at the Zubat on your shoulder. "Hey, did I already say 25?"
You were given the little guy on the first day of your recruitment; you weren"t vocal about your disappointment, even after seeing a Poochyena for the first time (fluffiest little things, could give Growlithe a run for its money), but the others around you sure were. Well, up until the Boss brought out what that Pokémon could become in the end, and if everyone else"s jaws weren"t on the floor, yours sure was, and all complaints flew out the window.
The Zubat on your shoulder chirps once, then once more. Took a little while, but you"ve learned after a day or five that probably means no.
"We"ll go with twenty-five crates of Potions then, yeah?" A chirp in the positive, and you"re writing that down. ""Kay, that"s all. Because I am not recounting all of that. How about we turn this in and test out your echolocation, huh? Lots of treats in store for you."
A happier, louder chirp, and your Zubat flies off your shoulder towards the door of the storage room. You almost lost him the first time he did that, but after a month it"s pretty easy to catch his screeching even through a wall.
"Oh hey man." Up the short flight of stairs, letting your Zubat land on his hand, is Murphy. Decent guy, joined a couple weeks before you did, and has some of the best stories about his family back in Unova. "Finished up with inventory?"
"Yeah, finally. Think I was in there for hours. Surprised I didn"t find a Geodude in there."
"Heh, it"s not that bad," Murphy chuckles. "Besides, it could be worse."
"The task or the environment?"
"I mean, if you"re worried about Geodude then clearly you"ve never scared a Whismur. Plus at least you"re not pouring over all those calculations the scientists are looking at."
"Yeesh, don"t remind me." The little you remember seeing over a scientist"s shoulder is enough to make you shudder as you and Murphy start walking. "Shit gives me calculus flashbacks."
"What, and not geometry?"
"No."
Trigonometry?"
"Stop."
"Your fault you decided to major in History." Okay, that deserves a playful shove. Your Zubat chitters and flies ahead as his perch is compromised; Murphy hardly budges though, laughing with you.
"I don"t need to take this from an English major. Anyway, what have you got planned? Thinking of dropping this off at the Boss"s office and taking the little guy out to practice his echolocation some more."
"Ooh, sounds fun," Murphy says, pulling out a Poké Ball of his own. "Can Mina join?"
"Yeah! Hey, we could make it a bit of a competition." You wave at a few other Grunts as you two pass them in the hall.
"Howso? Not gonna put my paycheck on the line, are you?"
You roll your eyes at that. "Please. Our checks combined couldn"t pay a year"s worth of rent. We could bet a pack of Poffins though."
"Ooh yeah, much more doable," Murphy agrees. A flash of light and another Zubat, shorter tails but longer ears than yours, flies next to your little guy. "Plus more incentive for these two."
"Mhm." The Zubats continue to fly ahead of you as you both walk, Murphy stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Outside or indoors?"
Oh, that has you thinking for a minute. "Outside would be cool, but inside would be more challenging for them…"
"Might be easier actually," Murphy points out. "More stuff for the sound waves to bounce off of."
"Shit, you"re right. Inside then?"
"Yeah, inside sounds-"
Just as suddenly as the Pokémon were playing with each other they"re now flying back to you: within seconds Murphy has his hands full of a worried Mina, and your own little fella practically flies into your face.
"Whoa whoa, easy!"
"Hey, what"s gotten into you?"
Your Zubat just shakes in your hands, only giving short and urgent chirps in quick succession. Huh, that"s new.
You look over to Murphy, who"s gently stroking Mina and cooing at her. "Any idea what that noise means?"
"Not sure. Guessing a danger signal." He returns her with a frown, your little Bat Pokémon still chittering away worriedly.
"Wait, like something"s wrong?"
"Yeah, but it could also mean they"re just… surprised by…" Murphy blinks, brows furrowing. "Hey, can you return him for a minute?"
"Uh, sure?" One last pat and you return the little guy. "I mean, yeah it was loud but-"
"Shh!" Your friend just holds up a hand, and you both wait in silence. A minute, then two passes. You almost say something at the five minute mark when-
Thunk.
It"s faint, definitely something you"d have to be looking for. Murphy exchanges a look with you, eyes wide but more confused than worried.
"That it?"
"It"s gotta be. Zubat have crazy good hearing, so they must"ve heard it and freaked out."
"Well what do you think it is?" At that Murphy frowns, lifting a hand to rub his chin.
Thunk.
"Not sure… it"s far, but doesn"t sound small. We can at least check where it is, then tell the Boss or one of the Admins."
Risky, but at least he"s not suggesting you both face it. Doesn"t stop you from grimacing though. "All right, but if it"s a Missingno I"m leaving you behind."
"Missing no what?"
"... Nevermind." Lucky Unovans not having to hear about corrupted Pokémon. He just shrugs it off and walks ahead, and you fall into step behind him.
"You think someone"s Pokémon got out of control?" You ask as you pass by a few hallways. "There was that one guy with the Mightyena that freaked out…"
"Oh yeah I heard of that one. But I think they usually roar and run, and not just…" he stops talking, holding up a finger.
"What?"
"Wait for it…"
"Wait for wh-"
Thunk.
"That. They don"t usually sound like that." You can"t help but give him a flat look.
"That was shitty timing."
"Not my fault it doesn"t follow a set-"
Thunk.
"-Pattern," Murphy finishes, frowning a little at the interruption. You can"t help but frown too.
"Was it just me or did it sound… closer?"
"Think so. Hey, maybe they know something," he adds, waving to a cluster of other Grunts. As you walk closer, you can recognize some as joining the same time you did. Others are older faces though. A girl with braids trots over to meet you halfway.
"You heard it too then?"
"Yeah, any idea what it is?" She just shrugs at your question.
"No one wants to go near it in case it"s another panicking Mightyena. Or that time someone caught a Whismur and then brought it into the base."
Thunk.
The quiet little Pokémon in the caves? You saw a few once or twice, but they didn"t do much except make hushed little noises. "Wait, what"s wrong with those?"
Murphy and the girl exchange quick looks before she answers, "Let"s just say it evolves into Loudred and then Exploud."
"… Ah." Explains nothing, but terrifying all the same.
Thunk.
"Does everyone else know?"
"Someone already went to tell one of the Admins," a bigger guy answers. "Me an" Kendra saw a broken pair of glasses on the way here. No blood though, I think."
Glasses? Some of the grunts have them, but no one you see looks like they"re missing a pair.
"Anyone ask about them?" Murphy asks, but the other just shakes his head.
Thunk. Could just be you, but that noise actually sounded… farther? You look at the others, but the girl just shrugs.
"Here"s hoping the Boss knows," Murphy mutters.
"He"s gotta, right? I mean, there"s a bunch of us here, that"d draw his attention." You"ve only seen him a handful of times–tall and thin, hair and coat both as red as a Scizor–and while you can count the few times you"ve actually seen him angry on one hand, well… it"s never pretty.
Thunk.
"Well considering what happened with that freaked out Mightyena," the girl with braids brings up, "I"m sure he"ll understand right?" Thunk. "I mean, a few people even got hurt, so I"m sure he"d unders-"
"FUCK!!"
Everyone goes dead silent. There"s a knot in your stomach as you let out your Zubat and hold the little guy close; for your nerves or his, you don"t know. A few others have the same idea apparently, as now the big guy is holding his Poochyena and petting it nervously.
"That… that wasn"t-?"
"I think it was," the girl says shakily. "R-right?"
"Yeah." Murphy sounds just as nervous, swallowing before saying "Yeah that-that was the Boss."
Oh fuck. Ohh fuck.
"Should we go look for him?" You hear someone ask among the growing mutters.
"Are you nuts, if Maxie is having problems then what odds do we have??"
Everyone"s now getting antsy. Those who have been here longer are insisting that everyone stay put, but some of the others are already booking it. As for you, well… you can"t help the slow steps closer to the nearest hall, where the shout was clearest. If he is in danger, then wouldn"t it help to see what the threat is? Fighting it is certainly out of the question, Zubat are practically training fodder, but it sure would beat standing here being nervous and panicked.
"Dude! Dude!" You look back over to Murphy, gesturing for you to come back as he hisses out. "What are you doing?!"
"Well shouldn"t we check what it is?"
"Heck no, the Boss is working on it-"
"But he needs help!"
"What help can we do?!"
"We could at least-"
"Coming through, coming through!!" Oh shit–you both scramble to attention as the crowd parts and Admin Tabitha storms in. "Has anyone gone in?"
"No-no Sir," the big guy answers first, patting his Poochyena. "We were a bit nervous about a repeat of the Mightyena situation. Not that some of us couldn"t handle it, but-"
"Of course," Tabitha nods. "Everyone stay here. Additional assistance will be asked for only if needed. For now, all of you remain on standby."
Oh thank the Three Birds. At least things will get resolv- oh no why are they walking here. You swallow as Tabitha stops right in front of you, one thin brow raised.
"You"re in the way, Grunt."
Oh. Right. Duh. Your Zubat flies out of your hands as you scramble to get out of their way. You look over your shoulder, about to apologize, but instead you notice that the Admin is holding in one of his hands something… squarish? You can only catch them grumbling something about “taping it to his face” before they walk into the hall and their words become less recognizable.
“Hey. You all right?” You snap back into focus just as your little guy lands on your head.
“Yeah, I… I’m good, just–glad I’m not dead I guess.”
“Likewise, with both of them pissed off. Hope the Boss is okay.” You nod and scratch your Zubat behind the ears.
Almost twenty minutes pass before your Zubat perks up, the little guy making hushed chirping noises. And soon after, you can hear two familiar voices–the words are unintelligible at first, but they grow more recognizable as the footsteps grow louder.
“-Can’t just have an emergency pair on you-”
“-Did, and those broke as well, they’re not exactly durable-”
“You have a durable pair, you have them almost all the TIME-!”
“I don’t need it outside of battling, Tabitha-”
“Well apparently you DO-!”
You and Murphy exchange confused glances, only to scramble to attention with everyone else as the Admin and Leader Maxie become visible. You glance over to Murphy–are you supposed to salute, do you have to say something–but the Boss speaks up before you can voice any of these questions.
“I appreciate everyone’s concern regarding the… situation earlier today.” Like usual, the Boss’s form is stiff as he speaks, two fingers rubbing at his forehead in annoyance. Every word sounds like it’s being pulled through grit teeth, and the way he adjusts his glasses makes the light hide his eyes, expression blank and stoic. “Rest assured, the problem has been solved, so you may all return to your stations.” Everyone falls into silence as he adjusts the thick-rimmed glasses resting on his face.
Tabitha clears their throat loudly from next to him, and a hissing breath escapes the Boss’s throat as he adds a very ground out “... please.”
Mutters of relief ripple around you as the crowd disperses. Leader Maxie and Admin Tabitha are now talking to each other in hushed tones, everyone momentarily forgetting them as their duties come first. You can’t help but frown though: the Boss didn’t explain what had made those noises, what had gotten him so frustrated, and what had those snippets of argument meant? Something breaking, having a more durable pair… for-
Oh.
Oh wait.
Shit.
“Hey Murp–oh.” Turning around you see that the big guy and the girl with braids have been talking with him, and now all three are looking at you. Great. “Um, hi?”
“Hi, name’s Kendra,” the girl says with a small wave. “Eigel and I both work in the field. We were gonna give our reports to the boss, but well…”
“All that shit happened,” Eigel finishes with a shrug. His Poochyena wags its tail, happily nestled in his arms. “Weird, but at least the Boss has it under control. Whatever it was.”
“Yeah, about that…” you look over to Murphy. “Hey, does the Boss usually wear those thick-rimmed glasses?”
“Hm? I… don’t think so?” He looks to the other two (your new friends, you guess). “Does he?”
Kendra shrugs. “I’ve only seen them during demonstrations. I think anyway; they’re glasses, so… not the big focus.”
“Yeah, and it’d be hard to see anyone coming from behind you with those weird frames,” Eigel chimes in, “so it’d be a bitch in public. Unless you wanna get… snuck up on…”
He blinks and looks at you. “Shit wait, that broken pair-?”
It’s only a hunch really, not much to support it. But there’s just as little to say it’s wrong. You can only really nod before a thought hits you: it’s an old memory from running around libraries, listening to Grandma read to you before sleep took over, watching her adjust her glasses and admiring how the beads on its chain would glitter in lamplight…
You hardly even realize you’re moving until you call out. Both the Admin and Leader Maxie turn to look over their shoulders, and not only does ice settle into your stomach, threatening to sink it, but so does the intrusive feeling of being intrusive, stepping into somewhere you probably shouldn’t have.
“Yes, what is it?” The flat yet ground-out voice of the Boss makes you swallow, your Zubat nipping your ear as if to pinch you. Shit right, you wanted to say something dumbass, so say it.
“Well I uh, that is to say, um–” Shit shit shit shit shit there were words, where are the words, why does your mouth feel numb– “I just wanted to say that uh… seeing your glasses reminded me of… something, and I thought to suggest that maybe you should-” Oh sweet Mew why is your voice cracking like a plate on the floor , it feels like even your Zubat is shaking from its spot on your head, “-maybe you could look into getting… a chain? For your glasses? Just-just so they don’t… f-fall and break or anything?”
If the stare the Boss has been giving before felt like he wanted to kill you, the absolute glare he’s leveling at you–leveling down at you, because he has a good foot of height on you and at least half of everyone else on base–gives you the feeling that he absolutely will kill you, here and now, witnesses be damned. He speaks again, and his voice is deep enough that you can feel it vibrate in your core.
“This particular pair of glasses is made specifically for Pokémon battling. It can take something as simple as a fall.” Yep, you’re going to die. You’ve pissed him off and you’re now going to die. Good job you idiot, good fucking job. He looks like he’s going to continue, probably to point out how out of line you’re being to suggest he’d break something that important, but next to him Admin Tabitha coughs. It’s quiet but harsh, and while you can’t make out anything legible you swear there was some message in there. When you look at them though, their expression is unreadable, as is Leader Maxie"s when you look back at him.
"However, I suppose you raise a… valid point." That ground-out edge is back in his voice, and it’s no longer as sharp. "I will look further into it. Thank you for the suggestion."
The last part sounds somewhat forced, and he gives a quick look to Admin Tabitha before walking towards his office. Your Zubat crawls down to your shoulder as Tabitha looks at you and… grins? They give you a short nod before walking off after Leader Maxie, leaving you… still a little shaken honestly.
It feels like you"re frozen in that spot forever when you finally hear Murphy running over from behind.
"Hey, are–are you okay?" Your mouth feels kind of gummy as you try to respond.
"Y-yeah, yeah I"m… yeah. Yeah I"m… I"m good."
The little guy on your shoulder nuzzles your cheek, and Murphy pats your other shoulder.
"You wanna go outside for a bit before we start that echolocation contest? Hit that one ice cream shop?"
"... Yes please."