Pueltown Hotel - 5/9/14

"<Okay.>"

She then start to play, but fails miserably as she can't even get past the first barrier no matter how many times she tried.

"<Come on! Work!>" she said, as she flailed at the screen.

Pueltown Hotel - 5/9/14

"<Stupid tentacles!>" she said as she kept flailing at the screen.

Pueltown Hotel - 5/9/14

"<Eh, but I haven't done anything but sleep lately, it's getting boring. Can't we go play outside? We could play with Pluto!>" said Recette.

Pueltown Hotel - 5/9/14

-Lucius begins to look slightly uncomfortable.-

Lucius: I... I'd rather stay here, please. Just for one more day.

Pueltown Hotel - 5/9/14

-Lucius sighs, his gaze falling to the floor.-

Lucius: You could say that... if I go outside, there's a chance I might run in to her again, and I don't think that's a conversation I'm ready for quite yet. Honestly, I don't want to talk to anybody if I can help it... I know I'm going to have to man up and apologise at some point, but right now Duke's the only person I feel comfortable talking to, and even then we're still... well, you saw...

Pueltown Hotel - 5/9/14

-Lucius hugs Recette back.-

Lucius: I know he is, and it makes me feel like a really shitty person for treating his kindness with fear and suspicion... he's the one person who's going out of his way to support me, the one person I have left after she decided to betray my trust. But I can't erase the memories of what he said and did to me back in Orre. No-one can.

Pueltown Hotel - 5/9/14

-Lucius nods once.-

Lucius: Yeah... yeah, we did. I should've known that they couldn't last...

-He sighs again.-

Lucius: You say that Duke wouldn't go out of his way to help me if he was planning on hurting me, but I never thought that Sarah would, either... she was always the first person I went to when I needed comfort, the one emotional crutch I had to lean on, and look at where we are now...

Pueltown Hotel - 5/9/14

Lucius: You don't think I don't know that? He's doing his best to try and help me, and I'm grateful for that, I really am... but I can't forget about what he did in the past, and he's saddled with guilt because of that, which in turn makes me feel awful because that's my own damn fault... me and my stupid paranoid delusions...

-A dark look comes into his eyes.-

Lucius: ...Maybe I should be focusing on the bastard responsible for tearing us apart in the first place. Maybe killing him would make everything better... put an end to this cycle of pain and fear, make things up to Duke once and for all...

Pueltown Hotel - 5/9/14

-Lucius looks up at Recette, his eyes burning with a dark and uncontrollable fire.-

Lucius: "Just"? Just for that? As though "that" were something so minor, something so trivial, that it can easily be "worked around" like some kind of bump in the road? You have no idea what Allen did. He tortured us, turning Pokemon into savage killing machines and putting his human pawns under constant mental and emotional duress, treating them no better than slaves. And he enjoyed it. He took pleasure in every moment of suffering, devoted his days to finding new and inventive ways to turn friends against each other for his own amusement. I don't even know why. I'd like to think that there was some sort of reason, that everything we went through wasn't all for nothing... but no matter why he did what he did, he deserves to die because of it. I want to see him punished within the bounds of the law, but if they won't do what's necessary... then I will.

-His eyes smoulder for a couple more moments before he drops his gaze, looking like a lonely and scared young boy again.-

Lucius: I'm sorry you had to hear that... I am trying to overcome my fears, I really am. But every time I try, my efforts are rewarded with yet another betrayal or tragedy, and the path that Sarah went to such lengths to stop me from going down starts to look that little bit more appealing...

Pueltown Hotel - 5/9/14

-Lucius doesn't say anything as Recette hugs him, and simply curls up on his bed again.-

Lucius: ...Forget pizza. I'm going back to sleep. I wasn't even that hungry anyway...

Pueltown Hotel - 5/9/14

Lucius: No, wait, it's not-

-His protests are rendered pointless as Recette flies out of the room.-

Lucius: ...Great. I just made an adorable Inkay cry. Good job, me... driving away the few people who are actually trying to help...

-He sighs and closes his eyes, waiting for sleep to come.-

Illusion Outpost, Oblivia - 7/9/14

-Shard is sitting in a darkened office somewhere far from the centre of the facility, looking over a sheaf of blueprints, when the door opens and a dark-haired Member steps in.-

S: Well, you called, so here I am. You're gonna give yourself eye strain in this light, you know.

Shard: Am accustomed to darkness. Low-light vision comes naturally to Obscurics.

S: If you say so, boss.

-She sits down opposite Shard.-

S: So, I take it you've heard the news by now?

Shard: Of course. Information is this department's purview. Know of the whole sordid affair.

S: And aren't you happy about it? I thought you hated Mathilde.

Shard: Hmph. Should have been expelled from Project completely. Thrown to wolves instead of sheltered and protected. Disgrace to everything we stand for.

-The cloud of Obscura around her begins to darken as she looks up at S.-

Shard: Demon's Run served to illustrate the Project's many weaknesses. Our reputation as a refuge for society's outcasts has been compromised by the ego projects of other senior staff. Need to escalate. No more individual cruelty or random acts of terror that only serve to prompt retribution. Time to show our enemies the true price of their barbarism.

-She hands the papers she was poring over to S, who looks at them curiously.-

Shard: Have a plan. Ambitious, certainly, and will take time to execute properly. Would enlist your assistance, but first need to know if your loyalty lies with Administrator or Project.

-S shrugs.-

S: Does it matter?

Shard: Neo-Galactic's collapse proved the two are very different.

S: I'm willing to go along with this plan of yours, if that answers your question.

Shard: ...Yes. It does.

-The darkness pervading the room seems to fade slightly.-

Shard: Will brief the other Members involved. You are dismissed.

S: Should I fetch the-

Shard: No. Don't want her compromising operation before it even begins. Best if she remains unaware of the parameters until we have need of her.

S: You got it.

-She gets up and heads out of the room. Shard gives a hissing sigh as she leaves, then makes sure that the door is securely locked before reaching up to unstrap her mask.-

Vien Forest - 7/9/14

-A pair of Neo-Galactic Grunts and an Excubitor are making their way through the forest, eventually emerging in the small clearing that Titan battled Lyuri and Duke in. The trees still bear the scars of Omega's fire.-

Neo-Galactic Grunt 1: Alright, let's take a breather. I doubt anybody's going to be looking for us out here.

-He takes a seat on a charred tree trunk, and the other two members of the group follow his lead.-

Neo-Galactic Grunt A: So... what do we do now?

-The Excubitor pulls their helmet off and shakes a head of long blonde hair free, brushing it out of her eyes.-

Excubitor: I'm not sure. I've been following Titan's orders ever since the original Galactic... and now he's gone.

Neo-Galactic Grunt A: Maybe we could try and bust him out?

Neo-Galactic Grunt 1: Yeah, the three of us versus every Ranger in Almia. I'm sure that'll go just wonderfully.

-He stands up.-

Neo-Galactic Grunt 1: I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to throw in my lot with Illusion. It's not like anybody else'll take me after that incident in Hoenn.

Neo-Galactic Grunt A: I'm coming with you. No way am I going back to working for some creep like Allen. I've heard how he treats his people.

Excubitor: ...Good luck with that, then.

Neo-Galactic Grunt A: You're not tagging along?

Excubitor: No. I still don't know what I'm going to do from now on, but going from Galactic to Illusion feels like a waste of a second chance. I hope it works out for you two, but I've been doing what other people tell me to do for my whole life. I want to change that. So I guess this is goodbye.

-She drops her helmet onto the grass and walks away, disappearing into the forest.-

Neo-Galactic Grunt A: ...I didn't even get the chance to tell her I liked her.

Neo-Galactic Grunt 1: Plenty more fish in the sea, buddy. Now come on, if we ditch these uniforms we might be able to catch a ride to Oblivia before the sun goes down.

-The two continue on their way.-

A boat, Coral Sea - 7/9/14

-Io and a handful of Neo-Galactic members are on a boat. Instead of dolphins and mermaids, however, all they have onboard is a set of hastily cobbled-together scientific apparatus.-

Io: Ugh, I cannot believe this. Just as the Ascension Project was entering the manufacture stage, this happens... I don't even have a proper lab anymore! How am I supposed to work in these conditions? There's no way the handful of samples we've got will be enough...

-She rounds on an Excubitor.-

Io: Just so we're clear, the fact that Mammor's not with us doesn't change your orders. I still want that pest dealt with ASAP. You understand?

Excubitor: ...

Io: Silence. That's a nice change. Maybe now I might actually be able to focus for once...

Pueltown Hotel - 7/9/14

-Lucius is currently sitting alone in his and Duke's room, fiddling with his Pokegear. He notices a familiar name on his contacts list, feels a pang of guilt, and decides to send her a message.-