The LUMIOSE Team (PLOT)

"The professor must have had no more information on any of this than any of the other professors did..."  

Looker sat back in the high backed chair to squeeze the bridge of his nose, letting out a huff. It was about what he'd expected, truthfully, but a man can always hope.

And then be grossly disappointed, he reflected with another huff.  

Was there anything in this office he missed? He could always go over the bookshelves again. Maybe the professor had a secret room? It would be worth a try, however silly the idea may seem. There were scant other options, after all, and all the time in the world.

"There must be something here; he can't have just... not... known anything!"

He could indeed not have known anything. Looker decided he will ignore that fact.

"Let's see," he mumbled as he moved to the bookcases to examine them.  If there was a secret room with his information safely hidden away, one of these would make an excellent door to that room. "What do you two have to hide?"

As he began to pull the first book off the shelf, an idea occurred to him. "Of course; the switch can't be a book, but perhaps it's hidden behind one of the books?"  

Ten minutes later he found himself surrounded by neatly stacked books and an empty bookshelf. Triple checking the back of the bookcase did nothing.

With much less patience than the first time, he tore the second bookshelf clear of books and examined the back of it with fervor. Still nothing.  

"Is there anything I haven't checked in this room?" he hissed as he stepped away to cool down for a few moments. His eyes lit upon the gramophone. Oh. He probably didn't look at that. Maybe...?

He leaned down to examine it, testing to see if it worked. To his shock classical music began to play-- this thing still worked after all this time?

Well... if its batteries were charged when the professor had to leave, that would explain it. And evidently they were.

No secret room opened, though. He sighs and allowed himself to collapse back into the high-backed chair.  

As much as he would like to pretend otherwise, it was time to face the facts. There was nothing here. The professor likely had no more of an idea about what the outbreak was or where it had started than anyone else.

"Can't blame me for trying, I suppose." With a sigh, he drew out the oldest page of his ever-growing collection of random pages and stared at it for a moment before pocketing it again. No, there was no point in torturing himself with that right now. Staring at the same circled words would do his headache no favors. But perhaps this didn't need to be a total waste after all. He perked up and returned to the jumbled mess of books, pulling out one about dragons. He flipped through it on his way back to the desk.  

"There should be something in here about the Flygon species, right?" Someone from his past had to have had one. If he could only remember...

Ah, there it was. He groaned at the picture of the Flygon accompanying the text. Green and red. The wrong colors, but not according to everyone he'd spoken to.

"Maybe something will jump out at me. It's worth a try." Just about anything would be.

Pulling the chair over to the gramophone, Looker sat down and began to read, allowing the classical music to wash over him.

The city was thankfully quiet as Vi kept guard over the small camp he and his Pokemon had made in an alleyway. It was a very temporary one, but they didn't have time to get to a stable location before night fell. Even though some of his Pokemon had good night vision, stumbling on the locals was a possibility they didn't want to deal with. Lyra was out scouting for the moment, and that left the human as the only one alert. His remaining Pokemon were all asleep outside of their balls since it was easier to have rotating watches with them all out, and Drizzt and Vi slept lightly enough to jump up at a moment's notice. There were few concerns about undead, surprisingly, though that didn't mean they let their guard down. If anything, the crazy locals who literally wanted Vi's head on a pike kept them on their toes for other potential threats. After a quick look around, the human began to pack up their necessities; this wasn't a place they wanted to stick around for long. Too exposed. He had shoved one of the large trashcans to block off one end of the narrow alley, but it would be so easy for a scouting party to stumble on them...

A loud human shriek echoed in the still morning air, and Vi froze as he tried to locate the sound. Drizzt's eyes opened immediately, and the Weavile leapt to his feet. He gave Vi a questioning look, and when another yell, angry this time, rang out, the spell had been broken. The human and Pokemon began picking up their items and shoving them into Vi's backpack when they could hear the sound of many legs skittering in their direction. When the Galvantula came into view and bolted down the alley, Vi asked, "Do I even want to know what happened?"

Lyra immediately countered, "Sorry man, I didn't think they were even awake!"

Letting Drizzt finish shoving everything in the bag, Vi started recalling the remaining, drowsy Pokemon. Most of them had woken up, but they were too dazed to know what was going on. He didn't let up on the question, however. "Why were you that close anyway? You know they hate Pokemon."

"Hate to say it, but they don't like you a lot either."

"And I don't go out of my way to tick them off," he snapped back. "You didn't answer my question. What were you doing that close to them?"

Vi never got his answer when a loud shout rang out, "OH, LOOK WHO I FOUND!"  His eyes snapped to the open end of the alley, and there was a tall and burly man blocking the way. Green light formed between Lyra's pedipalps as she launched an Energy Ball towards the human, and Drizzt handed Vi the straps of his backpack. The man had to dodge out of the way of the attack, and that allowed Vi to quickly pick up his bag and put it on. Unfortunately, he hadn't had the time to recall all of his Pokemon, so he bent down to pick up Jozan before the man had time to recover. Going towards the hostile human was out of the question, so Vi cradled the small Pokemon in one arm as he shoved the large garbage container out of the way. Thankfully the wheels on it weren't completely useless, and it slid out of the way easily. Drizzt and Lyra followed Vi as he bolted into a much larger and open street. Unfortunately, some of the man's friends had come to investigate his initial shout, and upon seeing Vi and his Pokemon, they started laughing and hollering.

One of them taunted, "Gonna squash ya, spider!"  All of them had a melee weapon of some sort, and the initial one that had found them was cradling what appeared to be a handgun. The alley forced the humans into a funnel, and Vi waved his arm down for Lyra to use Sticky Web at the exit. "Ugh what is this shit!?" was their reward, as the humans had to either figure out a way around the web or attempt to wade through it. Drizzt glanced over his shoulder quickly to see which they would go for, and when he saw the "leader" bring up his gun, the Weavile quickly tapped Vi's side. Taking the hint, Vi quickly turned right down the large street, and two loud bangs echoed behind him. The quick turn had messed up his aim, and the two bullets didn't hit anything. The building that Lidda had called the region's main lab came into view.  Most of the windows showed signs of being busted in, and Vi quickly formulated a plan to get the locals off of his tail. The avenue was about to dead end into the Lab, but there were plenty of other ways he could go. As long as he could make them think he turned down one of the side streets, then they wouldn't bother checking a decrepit building. One of them shouted a threat, "YOU CAN'T RUN FOREVER, YOU BASTARD!"

As quietly as he could, he ordered the Weavile, "Drizz, make them think we went to the left." When Drizzt took off down the street, knocking things over to make an obvious path, Vi told Lyra, "Sticky Web behind him." The Galvantula obeyed quickly before following him to the once beautiful building. Not even bothering with a potentially locked door, Vi ran to one of the busted windows. Throwing his free arm into the window, he quickly jumped and pulled himself through the window.  He tucked around the Chikorita to make sure the small Pokemon didn't get hurt, and he rolled into the dirty reception room. Lyra climbed in quickly after them, and Vi crouched low as he got to his feet. They hid behind one of the couches as they waited for Drizzt to get there. Vi's heartbeat was racing as he feared for his friend, but he knew that if any of his Pokemon could lose the humans, it would be Drizzt.

For a while, all they could hear was their own heavy breathing, but even that quieted down. Lyra and Jozan started twitching and fidgeting in nervousness, but Vi remained perfectly still in his position except when he moved his hand to pull out his own handgun. The silenced weapon would allow for a quick and quiet kill, and that would hopefully buy them some more time. After what felt like several agonizing hours, the sound of something light landing inside the building broke the tension. Lyra was unable to hold her curiosity and peeked around the couch to see the Weavile sneaking towards them. Her relaxed posture alerted Jozan and Vi to what she saw, and they both eased up as well. When the Weavile joined them behind the couch, he whispered, "Lost'em in the alleys, not comin' this way anytime soon." With that declaration, the human put his weapon away and sat down properly. He leaned his back into the couch as he closed his eyes and took deep breaths, and he placed the Chikorita on the floor beside him. Remembering the previous argument, Drizzt turned to Lyra and pointedly asked, "Now... What. did. you. do?"

This time, the galvantula was much more nervous, "I... uh... saw an undead and tried to kill it, but I didn't realize how close they were... I had snuck past them earlier, but they were all asleep..."

At this, the Weavile sighed and brought up a claw in an emulation of a face palm, and Vi pinched the bridge of his nose. "You should have come back as soon as you saw them..." Lyra was visibly disheartened at the scolding, and the fact that her fuck up could have gotten them killed didn't help either. Realizing how harsh he had been, Vi placed his hand gently on the Galvantula's back and tried to encourage her, "Well, we got away, thankfully, and you know not to do that again. Good job distracting the guy with a gun."

Jozan spoke up for the first time that morning to nervously ask, "What do we do now?"

The human was the first to speak up, "Well, we know the first floor is clear for this building, maybe we could set something up here for a while?"

"Only two or three more floors to check," Drizzt added with mild approval.

"Yeah... might be best to let those assholes burn out."

The Chikorita shrugged, and Vi took that to mean he didn't care either way. Since they were all in agreement, Vi glanced around to see if he could find the stairs. There was a fancy elevator near the back of the room, but Vi highly doubted the thing worked anymore. Assuming that this building wasn't a fire hazard waiting to happen, he tried looking for something marking a stairwell. Unfortunately, his seated position on the floor was not a good vantage point, and he had to get to his feet before being able to see the rest of the room. He remained low out of habit, and dark green eyes scanned for doors. The open reception area took up most of the first floor, and since they didn't see something like a spiral staircase going up, the stairwell was probably hidden behind a heavy door. Yay fire protocols. He began creeping along the wall, and when he finally found it, he stage whispered,  "Over here!" He gently tried opening the door, but years of no maintenance made the door squeak unbearably loud. The small party flinched, but Vi kept pulling it open until it was wide enough for them to enter. The Weavile glanced out the windows for threats, and finding none, he gestured for the others to enter. The human tried to ease the door shut, but the hinges still protested at being used and squeaked loudly again.

The four of them found nothing of note on the second floor other than the hinges on that door had the same terrible squeak, and so they went up to the third floor. The door opened the same as the last two, but this time, Vi found his group wasn't alone in the lab. Very soft classical music reached their ears, and the human froze in the doorway. Jozan and Lyra peeked from behind his legs while Drizzt tensed his legs to prepare to leap. Vi quickly analyzed the strange man in the room, and it looked like he had simply been enjoying the music and reading a book. A very strange past time in the apocalypse, but one that Vi had admittedly missed. Something about the scene tugged at him, and though he stayed poised to defend, the part of him that had desperately missed human company started to hope. Maybe this one wouldn't try killing him. There was only one way to find out. "Uh... Hello? Didn't expect to see someone here..."

[[Post count continued from Oceanside]]


Their journey from Kanto had been a somewhat treacherous one, but survivable nonetheless. Giovanni had immensely enjoyed having human company again, even if his traveling companion was naught but a naive child. There was the issue of her being pragmatically useless, and so, in their downtime from traveling, he attempted to teach her some more poignant skills. Some, she took to easily. Others... not so much. A fine example was navigation, which failed so abysmally Giovannni promised himself never to attempt to teach it ever again.

A storm over their last route caused them to flee in a different direction entirely. His Gliscor, as strong as she was, was not suited to battle those kinds of winds while also carrying two passengers. The land below was foreign to Giovanni and for a small moment, he had worried that they'd managed to find a region beyond his vast knowledge. But a single white shape pierced the lush green landscape-- Lumiose Tower. They had arrived in Kalos.

They had a small rest before actually stepping into the city. Giovanni wasn't sure what he could find here other than trouble, but his gut instinct couldn't let him avoid the city. Something was in there... he could feel it.

He himself had only visited Lumiose once, perhaps, many years ago. The city was cleaner than he'd expected, with minor amounts of bloodstains decorating the white brick the city had once sported. There were fewer bodies a metropolis should have had... something else that piqued Giovanni's attention. Did that mean that someone was disposing of the bodies or... was something simply eating them whole? Either possibility had its own dangers, but Giovanni kept them to himself, instead opting to busying himself with keeping an eye on the scenery and making idle conversation.

"So Miranda," he began as he slowly walked from the entrance gate, "You're from here, are you not? I--" He stopped himself abruptly as his ears caught shouting echoing in the distance accompanied by a sound he would never forget: gunfire. He glanced behind them to look at the entrance gate, wondering if it would likely be better to leave the city all together, but soon people emerged from a nearby alleyway. Too soon for them to dart back outside the city.

"Fuck, where did that little fucking asshole run?!" One panted out, followed by his friend pointing at Giovanni and Miranda. That didn't bode well.

"She's got a Pokemon!"

"Fuck it-- kill them and we can find that twerp later!"

Well... that escalated quickly.

Seeing no room for negotiation, Giovanni pushed Miranda toward another alley, as it had far more cover than the path back to the gate entrance. More gunfire sounded as the feral locals shot at them, laughter escaping them  as one bullet bit deep into Giovanni's shoulder. A small cry of pain escaped him as they fled and rounded a corner, his hands immediately seeking out a pokeball and produced Ferry, his Steelix. In the alley, Ferry would be able to block their pursuer's path long enough to come up with a plan. "Ferry-- Stealth Rock and Curse. Make sure those bastards can't get near."

He grunted in pain and leaned against a wall, clutching his wounded shoulder with his other hand. His white tee was already stained crimson, as the bullet had gone straight through him. The position of the wound put it just above his heart-- it seemed he had some time on this world, still. There was that, then. Thank God those bastards had bad aim. Panting from the throbbing pain in his chest, he slid down the wall to sit, leaving a blood trail on the bricks that were supporting him. "Miranda, I can't run like this," he admitted. "I'll lose blood too fast. I can't... imagine you know how to sew or... cauterize?"

It had been a long journey from Kanto with Miranda becoming more and more dependent on Giovanni the further they traveled. They had to stop and hide less frequently than when she and Papa had been together, but neither of them had flying types so it was necessary. However she was hardly an easy companion.

During their stops Giovanni would try teaching her some basic survival skills, but since she had never truly had to learn any of it herself her mind had a hard time grasping many basic concepts. Heaven help her if the man ever tried teaching her to navigate again. She had failed so miserably that now neither of spoke of it, the very event creating a taboo between them. Her only defense was that they both came out of it alive, and even then that was a bit of a miracle.

However her skills in self defense had been picking up rather nicely, the practice making her more confident against any possible assailants when foraging with Giovanni. Though that didn't mean she was comfortable straying far from the man, should she need his help.

Crossing over into Kalos had been very subtle, though the further inland they drew the more Miranda started to recognize. She didn't want to say anything to her companion, for fear of the "incident" being brought to mention, but she was sure this was her home region. She had explored enough of it during her short journey as a trainer that after a few days she felt confident enough to tell Giovanni so, at least until the storm hit.

The route they were on was struck so hard and so fast that it began to easily flood, the rain coming down in curtains as they blindly fought to seek shelter from it. They eventually took comfort in a relatively dry patch of trees, dense enough to shield them from the torrents though not much of the wind. She was going to tell Giovanni where she thought they might be when a familiar shape stuck out against the landscape, illuminated by a brilliant flash of white hot lightning.

Prism Tower.

Miranda could barely contain her heartsick joy at seeing the brilliant monument of her home town glistening against the darkened sky, nearly nauseous with excitement that it was still standing in its graceful defiance. The Lumiose Gym that lay within had been an early refuge for many during the initial days of the Kalos outbreak, but even then it proved unable to hold indefinitely.

It was in the center of the city, in a wide circle that offered no safe area to traverse in attempts for food or medicine, so it was quickly abandoned. But that didn't stop the amazing architecture itself from holding out against the plague, even with its power gone the bright white tower was a sight to behold for anyone who hailed from it's shadowed bosom.

Miranda was overjoyed when her companion suggested they head into the city proper, rather than hang around the outskirts. She had been tempted to ask him but was too scared of being told no, and while she didn't know why he wanted to enter Lumiose she was certainly going to hold no objection. Maybe she would even be able to show him around for a change.

As they made their way into the city Miranda couldn't help but note how empty it felt, especially when compared to the bustling metropolis it was before. It didn't occur to her that there should be more carnage, more destruction present than she was noticing, though in the back of her mind she did feel a small tingle of pleasure that her home was not nearly as devastated as other towns she had seen. "So Miranda," Giovanni called to her softly, "You're from here, are you not? I--"

A loud crack pierced the air and silenced Giovanni, the gunshot startling Miranda enough to tuck herself behind him and subconsciously grip at his arm. Where had that come from? Who was still here and what where they shooting at? The pair looked around for the source when suddenly a small group rounded the corner and stopped not too far from where they were standing.

"Fuck, where did that little fucking asshole run?!"

Miranda's nervous tension made her draw back even further behind Giovanni as the tempers of the strangers became evident, Durandal moving off of her back to block her if they came near. Apparently they didn't like that very much. "She's got a Pokemon!"

"Fuck it-- kill them and we can find that twerp later!"

What?! They were going to kill them just because she had a Pokemon protecting her? What kind of logic was that?! She didn't have time to ask as suddenly Giovanni was forcing her into an alleyway to try and escape the encroaching mob, Miranda panicking when she realized where he was leading her. "No Mr. Don! This is a dead-" crack. The loud shot echoed in the narrow path, the hot spray of her companion's blood misting across her face as she turned to look back in horror at the wound in Giovanni's shoulder.

"Ferry-- Stealth Rock and Curse. Make sure those bastards can't get near." Giovanni, despite his injury, made quick work of summoning a powerful Steelix and barricading their path, but unfortunately he also boxed them in at the same time. They hadn't reached the end of the alley yet but Miranda knew this city better than anyone, and they were stuck in a dead end.

"Miranda, I can't run like this," Giovanni began, grabbing her attention. "I'll lose blood too fast. I can't... imagine you know how to sew or... cauterize?" She nodded grimly, pulling out her sewing kit and grabbing the thickest thread she had along with a needle. "This isn't sterilized nor is it medical grade, so this has to be temporary. We need to find proper medical sutures or this will get infected, okay?"

Without waiting for any further instruction she set to work peeling back the collar of his shirt and had him hold it out of the way, giving a brief apology about the pain he would be in before she set to work stitching his wound closed. The blood was hot and slippery, coating her fingers and making her ability to grip the needle very difficult. She had stitched and sewn clothing for years, but sewing flesh was an entirely new experience that she wasn't particularly happy with learning. But Giovanni needed her.

Thankfully the holes were not overly large, the wound a clean through and through that left much of his skin still in tact on either side of his body. She was done in a matter of minutes, but the angry mob was still on the other side of the Steelix and her barricade. Their voices were feral and loud, each one antagonizing the others until they were beyond unruly. They needed to get away from here.

"Mr. Don," she said quietly, putting away her kit and trying to wipe the blood from her hands, to no avail. "I tried to tell you before but...this is a dead end. How are we supposed to get you out of here?"

The frustration was unbearable at first. As it mounted, he flipped through the book to a different page to read up on some other Pokemon. He needed to get his blood pressure down. No sense in angering himself this much. He could... always try again later.

As dangerous and empty as the world was, he had to believe there would be a later. There couldn't be one, after all, unless he made it happen, and for the sake of whatever family may be left, he had to make it happen. There were no other options and no other choices.  

The horrid squeaking startled him and for a moment he wasn't even fully sure it had really happened. As one hand dipped into his pocket for his gun, a voice.

"Uh... Hello? Didn't expect to see someone here..."

He kept his hand on the gun, but didn't draw it. The sight of it might prompt the him to attack, and frankly, that was the last thing Looker wanted right now.  

"I could say the same of you." He looked the boy up and down, noting he looked about as disheveled as himself, which was not a surprise. If he didn't attack immediately there was a chance he didn't plan to, but sometimes the bandits who had overtaken cities or parts of cities weren't as direct as he wished they would be. There was still a chance this meant trouble. Even given his age.

Now hopefully, he would be wrong.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked as he glanced around at the man's pokemon. "Do you live here?"

Maybe if he could pick his brain a bit, he could figure out whether or not this boy was a threat.

Vi didn't miss the man reaching in his pocket, presumably for a weapon, but the fact that he didn't actually draw it was promising. That didn't mean he wasn't in the clear yet, though this was already the longest he had been around another human without having to fight or run. Vi kept his hand on the knob ready to slam it shut, however. The man guardedly began, "I could say the same of you," as he looked Vi over, and Vi took the opportunity to do the same. The brown coated man was as disheveled as to be expected, but he wasn't doing terribly. Also, Vi was fairly good with faces, and the man before him didn't look like any of the feral locals he had encountered. They were both understandably wary of the other, and thankfully it stayed peaceful as the other man inquired, "Is there anything I can help you with? Do you live here?" If this wasn't a really good ruse, then this guy was definitely new here; just by living in the city, he had created something of a name for himself among the locals. They didn't like outsiders or Pokemon, so his mere presence royally angered them. It probably didn't help that they couldn't catch him.

He didn't have a lot of time to figure out anything else, so Vi settled for the truthful answers. Even if the other man didn't believe him, it couldn't be worse than getting caught in a lie right now. "No... not really. We," he waved towards the Pokemon behind him, "were just trying to hide for a while. A group of people saw Lyra here, and they took offense to our presence."

The Galvantula sarcastically commented, "Understatement of the year."

Vi ignored her to answer the man's other question, "We don't actually live in the lab, if that's what you meant, but we do live in the city. Or at least try to."  He suddenly realized that the man might take offense to intruders if he planned on staking the place as his own and tried placating, "Um... If you want us out... can we please stick around for just an hour or something? We lost them a while back, but they were pretty set on trying to catch us."

"Uh... I don't think they wanted to catch us," Jozan nervously interrupted.

Lyra bluntly added, "Pretty sure they straight up wanted to murder us."

The human sighed, "You know what I meant."

"This isn't sterilized nor is it medical grade, so this has to be temporary. We need to find proper medical sutures or this will get infected, okay?" Giovanni merely nodded, somewhat surprised and impressed at the firm, direct tone her voice had acquired. She wasn't a coward, that much was apparent.

He took the strap of his duffel bag and stuffed it into his mouth as Miranda began to work on sewing him back up. The pain was just as he remembered; he would have been more able to sew it back together himself if the wound hadn't almost completely disabled the use of an entire arm. He kept his pained grunts at a minimum, punishing the poor piece of cloth between his teeth in lieu of screaming.

Though he'd been shot, he was lucky that it missed his heart and both entry and exit wounds were fairly small and clean, rather than messy wounds like buckshot. It didn't take terribly long, but already Giovanni felt his head get light and dizzy. That... was not a good sign. "Mr. Don," Miranda began, her voice barely audible over the cries of the lunatics that attacked, ricocheting gunfire and Ferry's roars. "I tried to tell you before but...this is a dead end. How are we supposed to get you out of here?"

Giovanni cast a tired glance at the offending wall blocking any exit and heaved a small sigh. There was a way out; he could only hope that his little helper wouldn't get shot in the meantime. With his good arm, he reached and handed her a poke ball. "That's Scout. Use her to find a safe place. Keep low, out of the sky. Once you find a spot nearby we can actually rest, get back here and we'll go. Ferry can hold them off for years, so don't worry about me. Just make sure you aren't seen." He placed the ball in her hand and pushed it toward her.

"She's a good girl. You know her. Just... try not to dawdle. We are a bit on a time crunch..." He glanced down to his wound and patted her bloodstained hands. "Go."

Giovanni's color was getting worrisome for Miranda as she waited for some kind of response, chewing her lip nervously as he looked around the enclosed alleyway. He reached around and produced a pokeball, placing it into her delicate hands despite the fact that they were still sticky and coated in his blood, and looked her right in the eyes as he explained. "That's Scout. Use her to find a safe place. Keep low, out of the sky. Once you find a spot nearby we can actually rest, get back here and we'll go. Ferry can hold them off for years, so don't worry about me. Just make sure you aren't seen."

Miranda nodded slowly, not breaking eye contact. She knew this city better than anyone, it was the one thing that she held over her savior and she was determined to not let him down. "She's a good girl. You know her. Just... try not to dawdle. We are a bit on a time crunch..." His large hands enclosed hers and gave an encouraging pat, his expression encouraging but still faltering from his wounded state. "Go."

"You can count on me," Miranda said firmly, grasping his hands and giving a brief squeeze before summoning and mounting the man's Gliscor. "I'll be right back, I promise." With a quick word to Durandal the Aegislash mounted his Shield Forme to her back for added protection, should one of the men spot them and fire, and without wasting any more time Scout had them airborne. Thankfully they were up and over the back wall before the mob noticed, as far as she could tell anyway, and Miranda began to direct the flying type down a few side streets as quickly as possible.

Her instincts kicked in fully as she was able to navigate even with the breakneck speed, getting to the one place she thought might still have the provisions necessary that might not have been raided. The Sycamore Pokemon lab. She and Scout hovered for a bit, quietly moving around the building and inspecting it. There were several busted windows, and some signs of looting, but for the most part it looked like it had potential. At the very least it seemed it wasn't occupied which was what they needed. She tapped Scout's side and the Gliscor quickly raced back to her trainer, eager to get him back to the hideout so he could begin to recover.

The other man was thankfully forthcoming with answers. Good. He would have to be worry if his unexpected guest started being cagey. "No... not really. We-" he waves a hand at his companions, -were just trying to hide for a while. A group of people saw Lyra here, and they took offense to our presence."

"Understatement of the year." Ah. So the fluffy yellow one had an attitude.

"We don't actually live in the lab, if that's what you meant, but we do live in the city. Or at least try to." And apparently, her trainer was used to that attitude. He didn't miss a beat, though for some reason he stalled at the end of that sentence.  

"Um... If you want us out... can we please stick around for just an hour or something? We lost them a while back, but they were pretty set on trying to catch us."

That's why he was worried. He didn't want to come off as hostile. Smart move.

"Uh... I don't think they wanted to catch us..."

Oh, no. Are they in pursuit? He only just refrained from groaning aloud.

"Pretty sure they straight up wanted to murder us."

Better and better.

"You know what I meant."

"And so do I. I don't mind some company for a while, not at all. In fact, maybe you could even help me?" By letting the other man stay here, he might feel he owed him a favor. That would be a good position for Looker.  

Fingers crossed.

"I need to get somewhere in the city, but I'm afraid I can't remember where it is, only its name. Would you be able to tell me where I can find The Looker Bureau?"

Thankfully, the strange man remained non hostile, and Vi's grip on the door knob loosened. He responded to Vi's request calmly, "And so do I.  I don't mind some company for a while, not at all.  In fact, maybe you could even help me?" Since he wasn't getting kicked out or attacked, Vi figured he could give this a shot. The other man said the word 'company' with no implications and with a straight face; if he hadn't, Vi would have bolted right then. There were still some things he refused to do; even if it would give them an easier life, he couldn't do it.

"I'll do what I can."

The brown coated man made his request, "I need to get somewhere in the city, but I'm afraid I can't remember where it is, only its name.  Would you be able to tell me where I can find The Looker Bureau?" At the question, Vi pulled his hand from the door to cross his arms in thought. The name honestly didn't ring a bell immediately, but when they had been running around the city, Lidda and Elise had occasionally yelled out a lot of different names of buildings. He nudged the two Pokemon near his feet with a foot, but they both shrugged and shook their heads. Drizzt remained quiet, so Vi turned to ask him and was met with another shake.

He met the other man's gaze apologetically, "Sorry, I've only been here for... a year? And a lot of it has been spent running around." He brightened a bit however, for even if they didn't know, he did have two Pokemon from here who might. "But... Two of my other Pokemon used to live here a while before... this. They might know." At this point, he was fairly certain he didn't need to worry about the other man attacking and came into the room properly. He finally introduced himself with a genuine smile, "Name's Vitaly, by the way, but you can call me Vi. And these guys are Jozan, Lyra, and Drizzt." He named each one as they came in. The Chikorita and Galvantula appeared at ease, but the Weavile, not so much, but he wasn't focusing too much on the other human so much as the rest of the building and the windows.

"In risk of it getting too crowded, I think it's time for you two to take a break," he said to Jozan and Lyra. Even though Drizzt had arguably done a lot more running, putting the Weavile away felt wrong. However, he didn't want to crowd the other with almost his entire team at the same time, so it would be best to put up two of the ones that had had to deal with the morning's excitement. Jozan didn't put up any argument, and the chase had drained Lyra despite her neverending sarcasm. With them put away, he pulled out two more Pokeballs, and Talonflame and a beautiful shiny Greninja appeared in the room. The pair of Pokemon were still a little dazed from the rude awakening, and thankfully, they didn't see the other human in the room immediately. "We got away," Vi quickly tried to placate any fears before continuing, "Lidda, Elise, This nice man has said we can hide here." He gestured behind them, and though startled at the presence of a non-hostile human, they quickly brightened. "One last thing, he wanted to ask if we knew where something was, and since you guys used to live here, I thought you might have an idea. Ever heard of something called 'The Looker Bureau?'"

Elise spoke up quickly, "Sorry, I don't know a lot of names for smaller buildings; I can tell you the big names but that's about it. I was still wild when I was last here." She glanced apologetically over to the new man. She wouldn't deny that something about him tugged at a memory, but she she dismissed the thought. Humans, especially back then, had a tendency to blend together in her mind's eye.

However, the Greninja's eyes sparkled in recognition, "Oh! That... that name sounds familiar! It's been a while though..." She paused as she tried to remember exactly where she had heard the name, and she started fretting as the pieces refused to come together.

At the shiny's visible distress, Vi gave her a gentle smile and encouraged, "Take it one step at a time. That was with your old trainer, right?"

She grimaced at the mention of her previous owner while Elise sneered, but the Greninja nodded. "Yeah... He liked going around the cafes and restaurants here to... uh... show off." Suddenly hit with a memory, she exclaimed, "But-but there was one, a really nice one, that he didn't go back to after a detective agency opened up right across the street! I think that's it!"

Vi immediately guessed why said trainer avoided the place afterwards, but that was a topic to be avoided at the moment. Instead, he tried nudging her for more information, "Do you remember where that was?"

Lidda suddenly deflated and apologized, "No... sorry. He didn't let me out a lot for travelling. Though I remember the place served some sort of weird fish."

Elise suddenly inquired, "Oh... Fish Place? I think that's somewhere on the northern side of the city."

"You can count on me." Her voice was sturdy; Giovanni was impressed. Already, she had grown so much from the meek victim he'd encountered on Cycling Road. She squeezed his hands, her face full of firm determination. "I'll be right back, I promise." He watched her go, her Aegislash mounting her back as she did the same to Scout. It didn't take long for his skilled Pokemon to scale the wall and fly out of sight.

And now... to wait.

His eyes trailed to Ferry, the Steelix's occasional roar shaking the very cobbled road beneath him. It was odd, placing his life into the hands of a timid little Kalosian girl. Still, it was the only thing he could really do. There were few choices other than "get shot more".

He closed his eyes against the noise, both from Ferry and the gutter-eating trash that Ferry was currently fighting. He needed to focus. Focus on not passing out, mostly, but also focus on how to eliminate the cretins that were wasting their bullets on a Curse-boosted Steelix. With his arm taken out, shooting wouldn't be reliable. Ferry was too brazen with his attacks and would likely destroy any viable shelter they could use. Any of his other pokemon, sadly, were vulnerable to bullets.

Different noises caught his attention and he turned to see Scout gliding down beside him. His face broke out into a weary smile and Scout nudged his bloodstained hand. "Back so soon? Find something already, then?"

Scout was impressive with her memorization of the path they took, easily getting back to her trainer without direction from Miranda. As the crested over the wall she dropped like a stone to keep the men on the other side of the terrible Steelix from noticing them, then peacefully made her way to where Giovanni was leaning and at noticing how pale he was becoming the young girl immediately jumped off of her Gliscor ride to check on him.

"Back so soon? Find something already, then?" Miranda gave a pitiful smile in response to Giovanni's attempt at placating her fear, the man obviously trying to avoid pointing out that he was getting weaker by the minute from blood loss. "We found a place not far from here," she said quietly, checking on the hastily stitched wound to make sure it hadn't popped a stitch. "It isn't a fortress by any means but it may have what we need to dress this properly. It used to be a Pokemon Lab."

Her expression grew more worried as she stepped back to see how weary the normally solid man was getting. "I don't want to seem pushy but you won't be standing much longer if we can't get you some fluids and a place to lay down. We need to go Mr. Don....please..." She was sure that Scout would easily be able to transport them both back without her assistance, that way she could focus on keeping the large man upright and balanced on his own pokemon. The only hope she had left was that the medical supplies they needed would be inside.

His heart sank when the other man gave him an apologetic look. "Sorry, I've only been here for... a year? And a lot of it has been spent running around."

Well... disappointing for sure, but he couldn't say he didn't see it as a possibility. If the man had never been here before the apocalypse, remembering the location of one building among many in such a huge city would be impossible. At least he had tried.

"But... Two of my other Pokemon used to live here a while before... this. They might know." Looker looked back at him, eyes brightening with hope. A lead! "Name's Vitaly, by the way, but you can call me Vi. And these guys are Jozan, Lyra, and Drizzt." Looker smiled at them and gave them all a quiet greeting.

People. Real, friendly, people. He felt nearly giddy with joy; it had been so, so long...

"In risk of it getting too crowded, I think it's time for you two to take a break," he said as he recalled two of the Pokemon, leaving Drizzt out. In their place, he sent out two other Pokemon-- a black frog and a beautiful, fire colored bird.  

Vitaly was quick to reassure the Pokemon of their safety before getting to the point. "Lidda, Elise, This nice man has said we can hide here." He pointed behind them and they started before brightening as well. Looker felt his joy inch a few millimeters higher and he returned the smile.

"One last thing, he wanted to ask if we knew where something was, and since you guys used to live here, I thought you might have an idea. Ever heard of something called 'The Looker Bureau?'"

The bird answered first. "Sorry, I don't know a lot of names for smaller buildings; I can tell you the big names but that's about it. I was still wild when I was last here."

He was set for disappointment but the frog kicked his hopes back up several notches. "Oh! That... that name sounds familiar! It's been a while though..."

... She was... growing upset? Looker frowned in confusion, feeling concern tug at him. Did she associate the place with bad memories?

"Take it one step at a time. That was with your old trainer, right?"

Oh. That was why. He took a moment to feel contempt for anyone whose mere memory would haunt someone even all this time later during the middle of an apocalypse.

He focused his attention back onto the frog as she tried to talk it out. "Yeah... He liked going around the cafes and restaurants here to... uh... show off." Her eyes grew wide. "But-but there was one, a really nice one, that he didn't go back to after a detective agency opened up right across the street! I think that's it!"

Detective agency...?  He was a detective? The name on the inside of his coat and the name of the agency suggested he owned it. He'd assumed he was a businessman until now, but...

A detective would explain so much.

"Do you remember where that was?"

"No... sorry. He didn't let me out a lot for travelling. Though I remember the place served some sort of weird fish."

"Oh... Fish Place? I think that's somewhere on the northern side of the city."

"I'm... not sure where that is," he apologized, hoping he didn't look as sheepish as he felt.  "I think it's a safe assumption that it's on the other side of the city, though?"

Indecisiveness gripped him so tightly it was painful. He was alone. He did not know this city. He was so close to answers. Vitaly was the only friendly human he had met and these two pokemon were his only lead to what would hopefully be a goldmine of answers. Or at least something that would point in the right direction. Should he introduce himself under another name and then leave when they arrive at their destination-- if they even agreed to escort him there? Perhaps the smarter idea would be to venture out alone. But...

This city would be full of dangers.  Navigating it alone would be dangerous. He'd come so far; he couldn't die now!

But there was risk in every choice he could make. He scanned Vitaly with his eyes again, searching for... something; he wasn't even sure what. But maybe he found it in the man's earlier attitude towards him...

He didn't have to tell him the entire truth just yet...

"I... I hate to ask you this but... is there any way you could help find the place? You've been here for a year and I've only just arrived and I need to get to that bureau. I wouldn't ask for anything else; you'd be free of any deal with me once we got there, and if you need help with anything, I'd be willing to help you with it in exchange for helping me find the agency your friend described."

If Vitaly called him out on the odd request to find someplace that must have been empty for years, then he would tell him.

But for the moment... there was no need.

The other man sheepishly apologized, "I'm... not sure where that is." Vi's head tilted in confusion as he tried putting together what this guy wanted. The brown coated man wanted to know where something was, but all he was working on was a name? Why would he look for an old building in a huge city during an apocalypse? Family or friends were possibilities. Was this "Looker" a friend of his or family? Was it a meeting place in case things went wrong, and he got horribly lost or sidetracked? As he mused this over, he analyzed the man's appearance, and something about him gave off a "cop" vibe. That... that could be a problem, depending on things, but that was something to deal with later. It didn't appear as if the man had anyone else, and Drizzt hadn't detected anyone else on the floor. If worse came to worse, Vi had numbers and Pokemon on his side. However, there was still that stubborn bit of hope that maybe he won't have to worry about his shady past hurting his chances with others. Vi had heard the next question, but his Pokemon were the ones who could answer it, "I think it's a safe assumption that it's on the other side of the city, though?"

Elise opened her beak to answer, but then realized she wasn't actually sure where they were. She had no idea where the hell Vi ran after the morning's chaos. Sheepishly, she asked, "Uh... Where are we now?"

Drizzt promptly and quietly answered, "The big Pokemon lab."

The Talonflame cringed at the distance before answering, "Oh Arceus. Yeah, Fancy Fish Place is clear on the other side of the city." Before the place had gone to hell, the flight would have been so short, but now they had to watch out for people shooting all Pokemon out of the sky. When she did fly, she had to stay below the tops of the buildings, and that severely limited her options. Straight lines were out of the question.

The other man appeared to be contemplating something, and the Pokemon quieted down to see what else he would ask. Vi and Drizzt both noticed the second look over, and he came to a decision. It seemed like that he had wondered if they were worth trusting, and they couldn't blame him for that. Not everyone was a friend in the apocalypse, and it was more likely to find assholes who would do almost anything for survival. Apparently they passed whatever test, for then the man asked, "I... I hate to ask you this but... is there any way you could help find the place?  You've been here for a year and I've only just arrived and I need to get to that bureau.  I wouldn't ask for anything else; you'd be free of any deal with me once we got there, and if you need help with anything, I'd be willing to help you with it in exchange for helping me find the agency your friend described."

Lidda cautiously looked towards her trainer for the response; she refused to answer for him, but Elise had no such caution. She almost voiced an agreement before Drizzt tapped her wing and startled her, and when she glared at the quiet Weavile, all he did was nod his head towards Vi. The Talonflame thankfully caught the unspoken command without further issue.

Vitaly's caution refused to let him answer immediately despite how much he wanted to help. The terms seemed more or less fair, but he still turned them over in his head. Vi's curiosity piqued again as he wondered just what was so important about that building that this man would risk life and limb to get to it. He was taking a risk by asking a complete stranger to help, and he had actually taken strangers at their word. The man must have been desperate to find this place. The man had been incredibly vague about why he wanted this, but Vi was also not sure how much he could pry. Maybe one or two questions couldn't hurt? He looked the taller man over again as he contemplated the trustworthiness of this stranger again; the other had at least not gotten angry with them barging in... and he wasn't trying to pull anything. He looked over at Drizzt; he knew Lidda and Elise's opinions, but the Weavile's thoughts carried a lot of weight. Ruby eyes met his own emerald ones as the Weavile gave a steady nod.

That settled, Vitaly finally said, "Sure, we can try. I would warn you that travelling with us could be dangerous, but, uh, even if the locals really don't like me, I don't think they like outsiders at all. So... yeah, safety in numbers is for the better." He then paused as he tried to figure out how to word the questions that were now hounding him. He settled for cautioning the other, "Though... I'm sure you already know that if you're looking for someone, then they probably aren't there anymore. Not with these crazies around..." The cautionary statement was the best substitute for blatant questions that he could come up with; he hoped that the other would defend the argument to at least give a reason why they wanted this despite the nonexistent. Arceus above, what if he was looking for someone that had joined the locals? Disregarding that, they likely either left, or... they were no longer here anyway.  

Then there was a matter of practicality that needed to be addressed, "May I ask what your name is? Or what should I call you?" The second question was a free out if he wanted to keep his true identity secret, or, as Vi sardonically mused, he didn't know his name. He quickly dismissed the thought. That was highly unlikely; how many people in this world didn't know their birth name besides himself?

"We found a place not far from here," Miranda replied quietly as she quickly went to his side and fussed over his wound; Giovanni nearly had to strain to hear her over Ferry's roars. The alley made them echo considerably-- or maybe that was his own light-headedness. Either way, the girl could stand to speak up. "It isn't a fortress by any means but it may have what we need to dress this properly. It used to be a Pokemon Lab."

A "pokemon lab"? Did she mean the Professor's Lab? Giovanni's scrunched his face a bit as he trudged through the thick fog in which his mind was beginning to drown. Who had been Kalos' regional professor? Some... tree... He glanced up to Miranda, who was now wearing a look of pity and concern. Oh, dear, did he really look that terrible? "I don't want to seem pushy but you won't be standing much longer if we can't get you some fluids and a place to lay down. We need to go Mr. Don....please..."

Giovanni gave a small wave of his hand to dismiss her cares. "It's a shoulder wound, Miss LeClair. Please don't look as if I'm passing just yet." He swallowed, his throat dry for some reason, and then moved to stand. Keeping his bad arm curled against his chest, he pushed himself up with the help of the wall behind him and stood a moment before looking between Ferry and Scout. After taking a moment to make sure that he could indeed walk without falling over, he stepped to the giant Gliscor and settled onto her back in a way that wouldn't anger his shoulder. Once Miranda had followed suit, he took in a deep breath.

This entire time, Ferry had been building Curses. She was slow, but her defenses were sky high-- more importantly, however, her attack was as well. Anything she did at this point would demolish anything in her way. "Ferry!" Giovanni called over the noise. "Gyro Ball the road!" The Steelix roared her acknowledgement and made her move. The steel snake almost spun as she coiled and moved with the attack's building power. As she did, Scout moved to climb a nearby building to wait on the roof; she and Giovanni both knew the power that was about to be unleashed. The men attacking her recoiled, unsure of what to do when the sphere of power quickly formed near Ferry herself. With a final roar, she released it straight into the ground in front of her, utterly destroying it.

Bits of asphalt, broken glass and debris flew out as Ferry's attack created a brand-new, sizable, deep crater that separated her from the attacking men. Frankly, it separated the road itself, in addition to shattering the building opposite her. With the distraction and obstacle in place, Giovanni recalled his Steelix and Scout turned to go back to the place Miranda had pointed out.

Scout's pace was much slower than the one she'd set with just Miranda as her passenger. It wasn't that she didn't remember the way; with two passengers and one only able to use a single arm for tethering himself to her, she knew that any stray movement had a significant chance to dislodge him. Still, her movements were deliberate and smooth in an effort to keep her injured trainer as comfortable as possible.

The building was soon near, and Scout found herself having to make a decision. The third story windows, at least the ones she found herself speedily heading toward, were boarded with wood. It would take an attack to demolish those, which might dislodge her trainer. However, the second story windows facing her were already smashed or glass. Besides, she was too large to just fly into them. Despite the third floor being the most optimal place to land, she found herself steering toward the second floor. "Path of least resistance" and all of that.

Her claws clamped onto the window sill as she docked, giving her trainer and their companion time to crawl through the window. Giovanni motioned to the open window with his head. "Ladies first," he chuckled, then before she could protest, added, "And I might need you to spot me as I climb in, which is best if you have your feet on the ground. Please."

Miranda felt a little upset when Giovanni casually dismissed her concerns with a wave of his hand, the injured man still struggling to put up a brave front. "It's a shoulder wound, Miss LeClair. Please don't look as if I'm passing just yet." She flushed in embarrassment and lowered her head at the placation, tiny fists balling at her sides as she tried to keep her composure. Though that didn't stop her from muttering under her breath. "It's the passing out that concerns me."

When she realized she said it aloud she flinched, hoping that the older gentleman didn't hear her sassing his words, but thankfully it seemed as though he did not as he mounted the waiting Gliscor and motioned for her to follow suit. She easily slipped back up on to the flying pokemon and slipped her arms delicately about his waist in a pitiful allusion of her intent to keep him seated once they were airborne.

She could feel his deep intake of air as he surveyed their chances, preparing herself for the booming voice that would follow the necessary breath. "Ferry!" his deep voice called out, resonating against the stone walls of the alleyway. "Gyro Ball the road!" Miranda's shock was only concealed by the blinding flash of light as the Steelix complied, Scout dragging them up and over the 'battlefield' to watch the devastating attack from a safe distance. The power behind it was immeasurable and Miranda was awestruck. Giovanni was an incredible trainer to have pokemon so powerful respectfully follow him, and to have helped cultivate that kind of gift.

With the trouble more or less dealt with her companion recalled his Steelix and Scout took off back towards the lab they had come across earlier, her movement much slower this time in respect for her injured rider. Thankfully the added time was little and they arrived safely, the pair waiting as the Gliscor chose the easiest drop off point. When finally she chose a window for them to crawl through Giovanni was already three steps ahead of Miranda in figuring out how they should approach crawling inside. "Ladies first."

Her confusion must have been apparent because the man was already chuckling and clarifying his order, which quickly quashed the protests building in her throat that the injured man needed to go first. "And I might need you to spot me as I climb in, which is best if you have your feet on the ground. Please." Smiling shyly, embarrassed that she hadn't thought of that, Miranda nodded and climbed down in to the window. She hissed as her hand became pierced by a bit of stray glass while climbing through but didn't let it stall her, finishing her awkward tumble through the portal and standing back up to assist Giovanni.

Before he made his way in, however, a light bulb went off in her mind and she quickly pulled her sweatshirt off and draped it over the edge of the window. Thankfully the white camisole she wore underneath didn't leave her exposed to the older gentleman, though she was feeling a sight more vulnerable without her sweater. "Now you won't have to end up with more stitches," she joked casually, trying to make herself feel less awkward as she offered her arms out as support to let him climb through and paying absolutely no mind to the small trail of blood running down her palm. "I want to make sure we find enough supplies for the wounds you already have, not add more."

"Sure, we can try. I would warn you that travelling with us could be dangerous, but, uh, even if the locals really don't like me, I don't think they like outsiders at all. So... yeah, safety in numbers is for the better."   Looker could sag with relief at the news.  He had guessed that anyone who had made their home in this city would be hostile.  Travelling with someone who knew the area at least slightly better than himself would be much more preferable.

"Though... I'm sure you already know that if you're looking for someone, then they probably aren't there anymore. Not with these crazies around... May I ask what your name is? Or what should I call you?"  

Oh.  Now it was decision time.  Should he tell him the truth or keep it to himself?

Honesty was not always the best policy, but lack of honesty could often come back to bite a person.  Vi did not look like someone he wanted to get on the bad side of-- not with the man having survived this hostile area for so long.  Besides that, he owed it to Vi to admit he had no idea what sort of adventure they could be in for once they ventured outside.  If anyone he'd had bad blood with was still in the city and recognized him...

The area was too unfamiliar to take chances with.  If something arose because he lied, he would have a far harder time than Vi navigating the streets to get away.

"I know that no one is likely to be there... it's... just..."  Calm.  He breathes out slowly.  "Forgive me for how insane this is going to sound.  The truth is, I suspect I owned that detective agency.  Two months before the outbreak I woke up on the shores of Hoenn with no memory.  The memory damage was so terrible I couldn't even remember what a Pokemon was.  I had to relearn that.  Yet somehow I retained the knowledge of how to read, write, speak, add, subtract-- all basic, essential functions.  I tried searching for answers as to who I was and what happened, but... the outbreak cut off my mission."

He pulls open his coat a little to reveal the name stitched on the inside.  "All I had to go on was the name inside my coat.  Looker.  Until a short while ago, a memory of a name, The Looker Bureau, came back to me."  He smooths the coat back into place.  "I'm hoping inside the Bureau there will be clues to my identity, or some sort of lead I can follow."

"I know that no one is likely to be there... it's... just..." The other stumbled over his words before taking a deep breath, and they waited patiently as he gathered himself enough to fully explain. They were rewarded with a long-winded explanation that sounded almost fantastical, "Forgive me for how insane this is going to sound.  The truth is, I suspect I owned that detective agency.  Two months before the outbreak I woke up on the shores of Hoenn with no memory.  The memory damage was so terrible I couldn't even remember what a Pokemon was.  I had to relearn that.  Yet somehow I retained the knowledge of how to read, write, speak, add, subtract-- all basic, essential functions.  I tried searching for answers as to who I was and what happened, but... the outbreak cut off my mission." As the man continued, even Drizzt paused in his careful watch to listen and analyze the other man. Lidda and Elise were confused at the oddly specific memory wipe, but the Weavile and Vi gave each other looks as he spoke. The pair focused intently on... "Looker" for any sign that could indicate a falsehood. He pulled open his coat to show them a name stitched inside, "All I had to go on was the name inside my coat.  Looker.  Until a short while ago, a memory of a name, The Looker Bureau, came back to me. I'm hoping inside the Bureau there will be clues to my identity, or some sort of lead I can follow."

When the tale was finished, neither Vi or Drizzt had found anything off with... Looker's body language and story. Which meant... That he had suffered something far too similar to Vi, but unlike Vi, Looker was trying to find the pieces of his old life. Vitaly couldn't help the feeling empathetic, and his analytical gaze softened, but he tried to keep it from showing too much. If the pieces they had were true, then Looker used to be a detective, and he likely hadn't lost those skills. Some things couldn't be removed with a simple memory wipe, and Vi wasn't going to spill the secrets of his past this quickly. Even if Looker appeared nice and couldn't remember much, people generally didn't like those that had blood on their hands regardless of circumstances. "I'm... sorry for your loss. I hope we can find something that triggers something for you," Vi attempted to console.

"Dude, that story sounds fishier than that fish restaraunt," Elise sharply interrupted. She gave Looker a harsh glare before asking, "How do we know he isn't lying?" Her wings slightly flared.

Drizzt smoothly answered, "People don't tell stories like that with no tells, Elysium."

The Talonflame wasn't deterred, "But... Come on... Laser guided memory loss? That's bullshit, and you know it."

The only Pokemon that knew the entirety of Vitaly's story were Drizzt and Pelor, but the unintended insult still hurt. Vi firmly stepped in with a "Drop this now" tone, "No I don't know it. I have known things that strange to happen. Ever heard of Beheeyem? And I'm pretty sure even other Psychic types can screw up memories."

Elise flinched at the logical explanation, but she still seemed suspicious. However, Vi's tone indicated that she had stomped on a nerve somehow, and she figured that it would be best to leave the topic alone for the moment. She muttered, "Sorry..." It was an apology directed to both humans in the room, even if she didn't know why one of them needed it.

Lidda had stayed out of the conversation; while she still had her suspicions, she also trusted Vitaly and Drizzt. If the Weavile trusted the other man, then she would follow his lead. Drizzt wasn't easily fooled from what she had seen.

Vi apologized again, "Sorry about that... Besides, if that Bureau is a detective agency like Lidda said, and you're Looker, then it's not too hard to guess that you might have been a detective. And... Detectives tend to get on people's bad sides. It wouldn't be surprising that you got attacked."

Giovanni couldn't help but frown slightly as he saw her flinch when she made contact with the window. Did she not know to clear a sill out first? It shouldn't have shocked him that she lacked the proper etiquette for climbing into a broken window, but he still found himself mildly frustrated with her ineptitude. Though it obviously hurt, she made an attempt to dismiss her wound and laid out her sweatshirt on the sill. "Now you won't have to end up with more stitches," she began, her wide grin still on her face. She must have been trying to ignore the trail of blood oozing from her hand. "I want to make sure we find enough supplies for the wounds you already have, not add more."

With a bit of a grunt and a lot of effort, Giovanni shimmied his way up from his perch on Scout. He took her hand with his weaker one, not willing to put the majority of his weight onto a girl that was barely half of that weight. Once through the sill, he shakily straightened himself as he looked around the room before glancing down to her bloodied hand. "My apologies," he murmured, "I thought you would have known to clear the window... for some reason. I must already be a bit out of my own head." The admittance was more for himself than her; his decisions were beginning to be affected. He looked to the still widening smattering of crimson staining his shirt. Yes, the make-do stitches obviously weren't quite doing their job.

A creak and crack brought Giovanni's attention to the window; Scout was pushing her way through. The giant Gliscor managed to squeeze through and offered her back to her trainer to lean against, which he happily took. "So Miss LeClair..." he began before closing his eyes against a sudden wave of dizziness, "I think I... need to stay stationary for a bit." He reached for his waist and retrieved his water skin, only to find it empty. Shit. Perhaps his years-long good luck streak was finally waning. "...I don't... suppose you have some water?"

With a bit of effort Mr. Don made it through the window, thankfully without a scare. He was starting to look woozy and the growing lack of color on his normally bronzed skin was causing Miranda great distress, especially when he started shaking as he tried to straighten himself. "My apologies," he stated off hand, "I thought you would have known to clear the window... for some reason. I must already be a bit out of my own head."

The realization that she had fumbled in her task caused a well of shame to spring up, the small teen worrying at her bottom lip as he cast her eyes down out of embarrassment. Was she supposed to have known to clear the glass first? Was that another trait of common knowledge she had not absorbed growing up? Miranda knew she wasn't stupid, not by any means, but she did have trouble with some basic life skills because she had never needed them before. Was this just another grand exposure of her lack of ability thus far? She did so hate being such a burden to Giovanni.

"So Miss LeClair..." her gaze snapped back to his as she was addressed, color in her cheeks as she tried to stop fidgeting nervously. "I think I... need to stay stationary for a bit." Miranda sighed in relief at the news and gave Giovanni a bright smile, happy that he had finally seen that his health was a top priority for the pair at the moment. She was about to suggest she start looking around herself for a bit when she saw a look of disappointment cross his face at the water skin in his hand. "...I don't... suppose you have some water?"

"Oh! A bit, yes!" Her voice was chirpy, a strange blend of nervous and relief all bundled into one high octave affirmative. She pulled her satchel up onto a nearby desk and began rummaging around inside for a moment, finally pulling out a bladder sized leather cask and handing it proudly out to her companion. It was a simple thing, a throwback to when she had first started working with leathers as a clothing material. Sadly it was the last of her work, as working with leather had proven too much for her. Mostly due to the intense smell. "There isn't much left, but it should help. I will try and find us some more while I look around for some medical supplies, but you need to rest while I am gone, alright?"

Hope nearly choked his windpipe off when Vi not only did not react negatively... but positively. "I'm... sorry for your loss. I hope we can find something that triggers something for you."

But the brief rush of joy wasn't meant to last. Though he managed not to balk at the harshness the bird levied at him, it was a lot harder not to than he'd like to admit. "Dude, that story sounds fishier than that fish restaurant." He didn't budge when she glared, though he hoped she'd stop staring at him like that.  You'd think he just tried to mug them, not maybe pass off an untruthful story. "How do we know he isn't lying?"

"People don't tell stories like that with no tells, Elysium."

"But... Come on... Laser guided memory loss? That's bullshit, and you know it."

"No I don't know it.  He turned his gaze on Vitaly.  His anger startled him a bit.  Why would he be so deeply bothered? "I have known things that strange to happen. Ever heard of Beheeyem? And I'm pretty sure even other Psychic types can screw up memories.

He froze.

Beheeyem.
Memory altering Pokemon.

"Sorry..."

"Sorry about that... Besides, if that Bureau is a detective agency like Lidda said, and you're Looker, then it's not too hard to guess that you might have been a detective. And... Detectives tend to get on people's bad sides. It wouldn't be surprising that you got attacked."

"Beheeyem," he said softly, raising a hand to cup his chin in thought.  "I always-"

He began to pace the room.

"Up until now I've been making an assumption: whatever happened to me was an accident. I based this in the fact that I was washed ashore, and I surmised that it was due to some sort of shipwreck, or maybe an airplane went down. But in the months before the world ended, I could find no face that looked like my own among the profiles of people who had vanished while making their way across the sea. I was about to check the missing persons cases to see if any passangers aboard missing airplanes could be me; maybe an airplane had been blown off course by the wind.  But now that there is a distinct possibility I was a detective-" He stopped walking, swallowing.  "Foul play.  I never considered because... because how much more fantastical would that, to survive an attempt on my life only to survive with no memory.

He resumed the pacing. And besides, I was an ordinary citizen! Until now. Because now the truth is that I may not have been. And if I was indeed a detective, as you said, they're not always revered. People develop grudges. And I didn't know there were memory-altering Pokemon..."

He stopped again, grimacing. Sorry- you stick up for me and I immediately go off on a tangent.  I apologize. Thank you very much for your support; it's deeply appreciated. Should we leave now, or would it be smarter to remain here until a specific time of day?"

Looker froze at Vi's comment about Pokemon who could potentially alter memories, and  muttered, "Beheeyem. I always-" He put his hand up to his chin in thought and began to pace. Vitaly and his Pokemon kept quiet as the man spoke and collected his thoughts. "Up until now I've been making an assumption: whatever happened to me was an accident. I based this in the fact that I was washed ashore, and I surmised that it was due to some sort of shipwreck, or maybe an airplane went down. But in the months before the world ended, I could find no face that looked like my own among the profiles of people who had vanished while making their way across the sea. I was about to check the missing persons cases to see if any passangers aboard missing airplanes could be me; maybe an airplane had been blown off course by the wind.  But now that there is a distinct possibility I was a detective-" The dedication that Looker described in finding any traces of his past clutched at Vi's heart; he himself had actually avoided looking for his past. Then again, Looker didn't have years of baiting and murder on his hands to keep him from looking for family. He still had a shot, and the apocalypse had taken it from him. He really hoped that maybe that building had something for Looker.

The man paused and swallowed before continuing, "Foul play.  I never considered because... because how much more fantastical would that, to survive an attempt on my life only to survive with no memory." He picked up his pacing again, and even Elise's tongue was stilled by the sheer fervor with which the strange man spoke. Her doubts were petering out; this seemed too genuine a reaction to be fake. "And besides, I was an ordinary citizen! Until now. Because now the truth is that I may not have been. And if I was indeed a detective, as you said, they're not always revered. People develop grudges. And I didn't know there were memory-altering Pokemon..." Here he stopped and apologized, "Sorry- you stick up for me and I immediately go off on a tangent.  I apologize. Thank you very much for your support; it's deeply appreciated. Should we leave now, or would it be smarter to remain here until a specific time of day?"

Vi quickly waved off the apology, "Don't worry about it," before answering the next question, "I'm not sure if there is any specific time of day that would be better than another..." He paused as he thought about the group he had just dealt with, "Whenever we get chased, if we can stay out of sight for a while, they usually get tired of looking." He asked Drizzt, "How far away did you lead them?"

"Several blocks over. Though they might use the big street for travel, so we still need to be careful."

He nodded as he muttered thoughtfully, "Yeah, I figured." He was trying to rememeber how long that they had been out of sight. "Might be a good idea to wait a little longer before heading out," Vi suggested. "Let them calm down a little."

"Oh! A bit, yes!" She produced a small leather cask, one about the size of his fist. He hadn't expected her to be toting around gallons under that miniskirt, but this was a bit better than nothing. Perhaps his famed luck was beginning to wane after all. He took a swig, sighing in relief as the cool sensation spread from his throat to his aching chest. "There isn't much left, but it should help. I will try and find us some more while I look around for some medical supplies, but you need to rest while I am gone, alright?"

Her worry and concern brought a small smile to his face, if only because a tiny Kalosian girl fretting over a man such as himself was amusing. He gave a small nod and patted Scout's head. "Please don't worry; you have another set of eyes in Scout. She'll keep me safe." The Gliscor trilled a little at the comment, content with the praise and contact, but her eyes went upward with curiosity. Too distracted with pain, Giovanni settled more on the floor and against the giant ground type, the leather skin still in his hands. "Go on, I'll be fine," he assured as he closed his eyes. The dizziness was beginning to set...

Scout glanced to her trainer, evaluating just how well he'd be able to defend himself were there a scuffle. The probability wasn't great, not in her experience, and so defending him rested on herself and the girl. The Gliscor's eyes went to the ceiling again, her ears twitching. She had thought she'd heard voices when they'd entered, but there had been far too many distractions. Now that it was quiet, there were definitely multiple voices above them, though making out words was difficult.

"There are people above us," she warned Miranda quietly. Giovanni quirked an eyebrow at the words, giving his Gliscor a sidelong glance before closing his eyes once more. "I can't make out words, but there's a few of them. They're speaking, so they can't be Undead. Be careful."

"Please don't worry; you have another set of eyes in Scout. She'll keep me safe." The simple placation brought a measure of relief to the young female as she smiled and nodded, doing her best not to giggle when Scout practically sang from her trainer's praise. The cute behavior reminded her that eventually she needed to let some of hers out to play, once things were more settled of course. "Go on, I'll be fine."

As Giovanni lay back and closed his eyes Miranda set out scouring the area for anything that might prove useful. It looked they were on some kind of clerical or data review floor because there wasn't much but desks, and books, and computers, and more desks. Sighing heavily she started looking near the stairwells, hoping to find a first aid kit mounted on a wall somewhere. What little she did find that could be useful, like a small box of adhesive bandages and disinfectant in one of the desk drawers, she tucked away into her bag to take back to Giovanni. But other than those little things she was coming up pretty empty. Maybe she should try another floor...

"There are people above us," came Scout's quiet voice from beside Mr. Don's resting place. Her alert seemed to have disturbed the older man but after looking at her a moment he fell back into his resting state leaving the two females to their discussion. "I can't make out words, but there's a few of them. They're speaking, so they can't be Undead. Be careful." The small teen came back closer to the Gliscor to not have to speak any louder than necessary, certain she didn't want to meet anyone like the pokemon hating thugs outside. At least not while her companion was incapacitated.

"What do you propose?" she asked quietly, wringing her hands tightly around the strap of her bag. "Shall we go take a look and see if they are hostile? Or should we try and move Mr. Don somewhere else while he's still semi-functional?" She was beginning to get nervous and that didn't bode well for her rational thinking. Finding Giovanni when she did had been a miracle but it was blatantly clear to Miranda that she was useless without a powerful figure at her side. "I don't know what to do Scout... I know this city like the back of my hand but that won't help us if they have weapons that can strike us before we make it out of the door."

The other man was quick to wave away the apology. "Don't worry about it."  

Looker smiled. What a nice person, willing to indulge him in his rambling that way.

"I'm not sure if there is any specific time of day that would be better than another...  Vitaly paused, considering something. Whatever he said next must be important."Whenever we get chased, if we can stay out of sight for a while, they usually get tired of looking.  He glanced over at his Weavile for confirmation.

"Several blocks over. Though they might use the big street for travel, so we still need to be careful."

"Yeah, I figured. Might be a good idea to wait a little longer before heading out." Looker nodded along to his suggestion. Yes, letting them settle would hopefully give them time to wander away. "Let them calm down a little."

"Agreed. Hopefully they'll move on. I assume they're not usually very persistent?" Maybe he should question him about the people here.  He could learn something of use, or maybe even jog his memory...

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about them, would you? I doubt they're anyone from my past but it can't hurt to consider the possibility..."