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brandyllyn · 5 months ago

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Silk from their soul (25)

The Ghoul / Cooper Howard x f!reader [no use of y/n]

Rated: E (Cooper needs a primer on consent but it's all good, oral (m receiving), forced orgasms (literally)) Words: 2.4k Summary: Truths

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Your feet hurt but you refuse to stop.

It’s been hours since you left Nero’s compound, hours of walking without interruption. Cooper’s still there, you can hear his boots on the ground, but he’s been uncharacteristically quiet.

Good. You’ve got a lot to think about.

Your hands had been steady when you’d ended Galen’s life - but now your whole body seemed to be vibrating. Adrenalin? Shock? It was anybody’s guess, all you knew was that your heart was beating so hard you felt you might burst.

He was dead.

No more experiments. No more games. No more watching women who looked just like you being sold off to the highest bidder.

No more.

You don’t know what you’re supposed to do.

Oh, you know where you’re going. There’s unfinished business to be taken care of. But after that… well, it was complicated now.

“Hate to interrupt a snit, sweetheart, but where exactly are we headed to?”

You don’t falter your stride when you answer, “The facility.”

“The facility,” he hums thoughtfully. “The one that made you?”

“Yes.”

“We gonna find any trouble when we get there?”

You pause and he catches up, looking at you from under the brim of his hat. “Maybe? I don’t think so though. Unless Galen removed me from the security systems.”

“Robots? Lasers? Automated mech suits?”

You give him a rueful look, “Yes.”

“Sounds like a party.”

A snort of laughter bubbles up and you see his grin turn into a warm smile. “You ready to stop for the day or you gonna march that pretty ass all the way there?”

Looking around you spot a partially collapsed building in the distance, “We can stop I guess.”

“Good, ‘cause I got an inkling we need to talk.”

Well shit.

The building is concrete so most of it survived whatever happened in these parts. There’s a wall with a gaping hole, but that looks like it was a roll up door someone has stolen for scrap. Cooper crouches once you’re inside, digging in his pack and eyeing the ground for kindling.

“I’ll get some stuff for the fire,” you offer quickly.

“That’s not necessary, you’re tuckered out. Have a seat.”

“No really I-”

“Sit.”

You do immediately, legs folding under you and hitting the ground with a soft oomph. Cooper eyes you thoughtfully.

“Take your pack off.”

You shrug out of it, setting it to the side and giving him a wary look. He purses his lips and then you see a mischievous light enter his eyes.

“Come.”

The word has many meanings but his tone leaves no doubt which one he intends. Your eyes roll back as the pleasure washes over you. You barely notice when you fall backwards, hitting your head on a small rock but you don’t care. You call his name and suddenly he’s there, leaning over you, his face centimeters from your own.

“Well I’ll be,” he grins down at you, “can’t say that won’t come in handy.”

Your breaths are still shuddering pants when you manage to open your eyes fully, his face coming into focus. He flinches at the fear in them and immediately sits back on his heels.

“Don’t look at me like I’m a monster, darlin’, there’s a host of worse things I could have told you to do.”

You shift away from him, sitting up so you can look him straight on. “And will you?”

His face falls at the question and he bites off a curse. “Sit there and let me fix us some supper, we need to have a talk.” A second later he adds, “That’s not an order.”

The constriction in your chest relaxes and you watch him work, getting the fire going and spearing a couple of pieces of meat to roast. He opens a can of beans and offers it to you and you accept, still side-eyeing him.

“So I reckon you and I need to have a discussion,” he says carefully, “about what precisely is going on here between you and I.”

“I think you figured it out.” You’re sulking, and you know it shows in your tone.

“Maybe I have, but I’d like to hear it from the horse’s mouth, as it were.”

“My sisters and I, we were made to be the perfect partner. Beautiful, loyal, obedient… once we’ve imprinted that’s it.”

“And you’ve ‘imprinted’ on me?” You nod and he cocks his head, “When we kissed, I reckon?”

Another nod, “It’s not as simple as touching mouths, there has to be a… connection I guess? But it’s not hard to get someone to slip, to respond for just a moment.”

“And is that what it was?” He looks hurt. “Just a moment?”

“No, I knew… I knew I didn’t have a choice. If I didn’t want it to be Nero it had to be someone else.”

Cooper huffs a short laugh, “And you got stuck with me.” Before you can say anything he pokes a stick in the fire, glaring into it and saying, “Well I won’t make you stick around. Ain’t got no use for a hanger-on anyway.”

You know he’s lashing out but it still hurts. “I don’t have a choice, if we’re apart too long I’ll… I guess wither is the right word. Eventually I’ll die.”

His eyes shoot to yours. “Loyal, eh?”

“The perfect partner.” You stare at your hands, turning the can to avoid looking at him. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Shoot.”

“Why didn’t you take me in when you found me? You were after the bounty, why’d we go so far out of the way?”

He’s quiet now too, the only sound a distant animal howling. Eventually he sighs. “That was the plan, alright, but then… I dunno. Things changed.”

“Changed how?”

“You did, sweetheart.” With one hand he sweeps his hat off, setting it on the ground near him and pulling his gloves to lay near it. “You acted like I was a still a man and I… well I can’t say I didn’t like it.” You purse your lips, waiting, and after another long pause he continues. “What do you want me to say? I got a soft spot for ya.”

“I seem to remember being drugged and tied up not too long ago,” you point out.

“Well, that was after you ran away from me,” he returns with sardonic look. “Can’t fault a fella for getting a bug up his ass.”

You try to hide you laugh but it slips through and he gives you an answering smile.

“So,” you say, “if I hadn’t run…”

“Wouldn’t have had to chase you down.”

He makes it sound so reasonable. “And we… I mean, would there have been a we, an us even?”

“The thought did cross my mind.”

You sigh. “Maybe I should have talked to you. I just… I saw the poster and I got so scared.”

“Don’t blame ya. Hell, felt like I was carrying a damn grenade in my pack the whole time.”

“Why didn’t you get rid of it?”

He pauses, frowning at the fire. “Didn’t occur to me.”

You let the silence settle again, feeling out your own emotions and letting him do the same. For a moment it feels like you’re back in that small bunk, the night he’d told you his real name and held you like you were precious.

“Cooper?” He startles at the sound of his name, eyes flying to yours. “I like you. I probably shouldn’t, given everything that’s happened, but I do. And if I had to imprint on someone, I’m glad it’s you.”

“You sure about that sweetheart?” he asks, hesitation wreathing every syllable. “I can’t say I’m a good man, barely even a man anymore. And knowing you gotta do anything I say… it gives a fella ideas.”

You stare at the small fire. “Would you tell me to hurt myself?”

He seems genuinely shocked by the question. “Of course not.”

“Tell me to fuck other men?”

His face gets downright scary as he snarls, “No one else is touching you.”

“It’s terrifying,” you admit, “just knowing that you could tell me to do anything and I would have to do it. I feel it here, in my chest, I can’t not. Even… even the theoretically good things. I’m worried.”

“You worried I’ll force you to do something you don’t want?”

“I’m worried you won’t even realize.”

You refuse to lift your eyes to see his reaction. It’s silent in the small room, save the crackling of the fire. After a long pause you hear a heavy sigh. “Get over-” he trips on the words and rephrases, “Will you come over here?”

A choice.

Giving him a wide smile you slide his direction, slipping under the arm he holds up and tucking yourself into his side. He offers you a skewer and you bite into the crisp flesh while he does the same.

“I ain’t ever made a woman do something she don’t want in bed, I ain’t about to start now.” He says after a moment. “How ‘bout this? I ever tell you to do something you don’t want you say barbed wire. That work for ya?”

It’s a safety hatch, of sorts, and requires a lot of trust. Still... you did trust him. Maybe it was idiotic but you trusted him with your life already… maybe you could trust him with your body too.

“Is that for all the time, or just… you know?”

He grins, settling his hand on your knee. “Well, I reckon you can use it just about whenever, but I gotta be honest I had some bedroom activities in mind that that little gift of your might prove useful for.”

God you love this playful side of him. “Oh? Like what?”

The hand moves to your thigh, sliding up and under the hem of your dress. “Well I’ve been thinking a few things. Things like, can I just tell you not to gag?”

A flush rips through your body and you’re immediately so turned on you can’t see straight. You’re still wet from your orgasm and you moan when his fingers press to the outside of your panties.

“You like that idea? I got a few more.” He pets you gently then twists the fabric away so he can press two fingers inside you. “Been wondering if I can order you to relax this pretty little ass and let me slide right in there. Maybe see how many times I can make you come in a row. Get my cock all the way down your throat and facefuck you til you got my cum dripping out of you.”

You nod, fingers gripping his wrist. “Yes.”

“Yes to which one, darling?” He’s leering down, his tongue startling pink against his rough lips. “I’m going to need you to be clear, I don’t want no repeats of a bit ago.”

“Can I-” a soft moan interrupts as he crooks his fingers inside you, “Can I suck on you?”

“Ah darlin’,” he purrs, “anytime you want.”

Hands pull at his belt, both yours and his, and he helps you maneuver between his legs. You hadn’t actually seen him before, and he’s as scarred here as he is everywhere else.

“Does it hurt?” You ask softly, running a finger down his length. He lets out a hiss between his teeth and you jerk your hand back. Just as quick his fingers grip your wrist and pull you back, encouraging you to wrap your fingers around him.

“You feel like silk, darlin’, why don’t you get that pretty mouth down here too?”

You kiss him in response, then lower your head to press a kiss to the tip of his cock. He grunts, one hand coming up to grip the back of your neck. You slide him between your lips, cradling him on your tongue as you bob your head forward. When he hits the back of your tongue you gag, pulling back slightly and blinking up at him.

“Ah darlin’.” He pets your cheek and then says sternly, “Don’t gag.”

You feel the compulsion shiver through you and you push forward once more, feeling him slip further with ease. When he hits your throat there’s a moment of discomfort but a quick, “Don’t choke neither,” from him smooths the way. Your nose presses to his stomach, your mouth full of his heat.

A rough groan rends the air and you glance up to see his head thrown back, his throat working. You suck softly and pull back, feel him slide along your tongue, then take him completely once more.

“I can see why you were worth so much to that fucker.” You let your teeth graze him and he grunts, meeting your glare with a lop-sided smile. “It was a compliment.”

You hum and pull back further, waiting until his hand catches your neck and he stops you.

“Now now, no need for that,” he chides, “why don’t you let me fuck this gorgeous mouth and when I say so we both come. That alright by you?”

A moan vibrates out of you and you lick around the head of his cock. He must take that as a yes because he interlocks his fingers behind your head and pushes forward until he’s deep in your throat once more. It feels strange, but there’s no discomfort. Just the hard length of him moving past your lips.

You love it.

You love hearing him groan and grunt. Hear his breathing speed up and his boots scrape on the floor. Feel his fingers dig into your skin.

“Can I come in your mouth?” he pants and you nod, your healing should take care of it and if not, there was always the Rad-Away. “Fuck,” he grits out, “fuck fuck-”

He’s so deep you almost don’t taste it, salty and burning hot in the back of your throat. It’s sour, but you don’t mind, you can’t get enough of how he holds you to him while he comes.

And then he remembers.

“Come for me.”

It’s instant. Relief and pleasure and sheer bliss rocketing through you. You suck on him harder and hear him curse, your own sharp cry muffled by the cock filling your mouth. He pushes you away, his hands on your shoulders and you blink up at him in a daze. With a sly grin he presses a thumb to your lower lip.

“Do it again.”

When you regain your sense of self - minutes, maybe hours later who even knows - he’s got his arms wrapped around you and a smug smile on his face.

“Now darlin’, I reckon we’re going to have a hell of a lot of fun with that.”

☢ ☢ ☢

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#the ghoul #the ghoul x reader #the ghoul x you #fallout series

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prophecydungeon · 2 years ago

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i'm watching rvb11 again so here's a running list of everything i love about this season

contact, my beloved

a nice recap intro for anyone who is new (why...) or got lost in the sauce during 9/10!

"i'm a cyborg, you wanna bow down to me?"

grif's bit about them always holding their weapons never fails to land for me

the way that tension is built throughout this season is so good. SO fucking good. this season is all the lighthearted BGC-ness that the show had been missing for a chunk of seasons and the way that the "something's not right here" gradually grows and grows is so fucking good.

specifically, we see locus for the first time at 31:10 (i'm watching the complete one on yt) listening to wash's mayday. at 34:30 sarge uses a sniper to scope out what the reds are doing; at 46:58 we see the blues through a sniper's scope again shortly before grif and sarge bust into the blues' conversation, and then sarge hops out of the warthog without a sniper rifle on him. it's not till 53:10 that we see locus again up on the cliffside.

d: can i get a heck yeah? s: hell no. d: close enough!

the dead body as the camera pans around the refueling station... chef kiss. what an introduction to locus.

felix's intro isn't as juicy as locus's but i love the way it comes right on the heels of locus murdering a dude over wanting to tell people about the crash -- of course someone else might have found out!

the way that wash is framed so ominously when he's fixing caboose's helmet is so great too; the cracked screens on the wall mimicking the room we first see him in in 6. fantastic.

felix's massively dramatic pearl-clutchy oscar-winning introduction to the reds getting utterly wasted on the two lopezes is SO GOOD especially in light of how hard he stroked his ego over his good acting

"you're going to want to sit down for this story, it's about 20 hours long and i only enjoy telling it in five-minute intervals" is one of my all-time favorite jokes in this entire series and i manage to always forget it's from this season

wash's apology to caboose for not being there for him (or tucker) is one of my favorite wash moments in this whole arc, if not my favorite. it's such a lovely and touching moment, and it also makes me all the more furious that epsilon a) came back at all and b) was a horrific dick to tucker in particular

felix and locus snapping at each other is, again, all the funnier When You Know because felix is so transparently enjoying "riling up" locus and locus's "shut up and be glad i missed your head" is so transparently genuine

g: holy shit, did you see that? c: NO! WHAT HAPPENED? PLEASE DESCRIBE IT TO ME.

the fucking orange juice gag

💛 aggressive, paranoid, and a little melodramatic 💛

the ongoing gag of everyone thinking they had someone to do with the crash is also so fucking good

"no, i'm a freelancer. NO, I MEAN, I'M A MERCENARY-"

again, When You Know: the implication that felix murdered the three people he came to the crash site with! delicious!

caboose's radio breaking in the middle of his speech is SO funny

"man, you are just cryptic"

ugh! ugh! the reconstruction theme coming back when wash changes his armor! gets me every time!

and with donut's line i'm immediately reminded of how fandom apparently chewed itself to pieces over thinking that wash is black/gold not steel/gold lol

(H4 wasn't kind to simmons either but w/e)

dos.0 attacking and felix immediately going "this isn't right" is, yet again, so transparent in hindsight

this is also a very fun and well-done machinima battle

rocket hog my beloved

pan across the canyon my beloved

reconstruction theme again! my beloved!

tucker's reaction to finding out that wash, sarge, and donut didn't make it is also so good. his character arc on chorus is Just So Good.

and so is kimball's intro with felix -- especially in how she exerts authority over him immediately ("you're not getting paid the full amount") and we see over time just how much felix has worked to make sure that she thinks that's what their relationship is

man. kimball. my beloved.

"you just need to try."

in conclusion: still my fave season of the chorus arc, probably

#red vs blue #rvb11 tag #i've watched this season sooooo many times and most of them in a very unserious/background noise way #and it's been a long long time since i sat down and paid attention to how it was written as opposed to looking for AU fodder #and the conclusion is still that this season is Fucking Good Actually

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misty-groves · 7 months ago

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Josie is standing before Tucker's room dressed in nothing but her kevlar undersuit. Though she still has knives strapped to her thigh. She dosen’t like to feel defenseless in a warzone.

She's exhuasted after trying to take down Felix today.

She knocks, waiting for whatever happens next.

Tucker opens the door, in lose sweat pants. He looks her over and gives a low whistle, "damn Josie, visiting me in next to nothing late at night?"

She laughs, "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure."

He steps aside, and she walks in.

"Can't sleep?" Tucker asks, trying to figure out what she's doing here.

"Not really. You can't either."

"Sho says?"

"You're up, aren't you?" She gives him a soft smile, the real one she hides from people because she thinks it's dorky and stupid.

Tucker is struck by just how genuine she's become around him. The others too, but she is genuine around him.

His whole persona is being a play boy! And she trusts him.

He snorts, "guess I am, sweet cheeks."

She laughs this time. She likes that name, from him at least. If someone else called her that she'd tell them off. But for whatever reason, when Tucker calls her that it makes her happy.

It didn't used to, but somewhere along the lime she warmed up to it. Maybe it's because she warmed up to him.

Josie sits herself in his bed, leaning back on her hands as she looks at him.

"Thanks, for stepping up." She says.

Tucker blinks, taken aback by both the words and the image of her on his bed.

"Uh- sure thing. Someone had to."

"I appreciate it though, Tucker. I'm glad I'm not the only one leading."

"Yeah well... we make a good team, don't we?"

"Of course we do!" She tilts her head, thinking.

"What's on your mind, Josie?"

"I miss the others... It's weird to be away from Wash again."

"You really love him, huh?" Tucker asks.

And it hurts, knowing that Josie is hedlad over heels for the ex freelancer.

It hurts that Wash is so gone on her he dosen’t even look at anyone else.

But he's seen Wash and Josie together, they fit together better than anyone he's ever seen but Simmons and Grif.

"You do too." Josie says simply.

"What?"

"At the very least you like him. I'm not stupid, Tucker, you two have a thing."

"You're fucking with me. It's not fucking funny, Josie. Next you'll tell me you're interested in me."

"And what if I do? Would that be so awful?"

"Don't fuck with me." Tucker says, crosshis arms firmly.

"I'm not. Do you need me to lay it all out?"

"Might as well, since you're so sure how I feel."

Josie sighs, turning her gaze to the wall for a moment. But she looks back at Tucker. Her hair sways as she crosses her legs.

"You already know Wash and I have this- thing."

Tucker rolls his eyes. "Everyone knows."

"Wash and I aren't together, never have been. I know you have a thing for him, which, I totally get by the way."

"So what? Just because he's hot doesn't mean-"

"Tucker," Josie interrupts, "Don't bullshit me. I know you."

"Whatever."

Josie takes that as a win. She continues, "But more than that I have a thing for you. And I think you like me too. Or I would like to think you do."

"Wait- you're serious?"

"I've told lots of lies, Tucker. But I wouldn't lie about this. Not to you."

And Tucker nearly chokes. He knows she's lied. She faked her own death, created a new barley different identity, and kept her A.I hidden. She'd withheld info from Wash back when he was hunting them

Hell. Josie had even admitted to sneaking out as a teen.

But she sounds so earnest. And she hasn't ever lied outright to Tucker only kept things hidden to protect herself or others. But never outright lie.

"Fuck." Tucker manages.

"This is the part where you tell me of you have a thing for me or not."

"Are you kidding? Of course I do you dumb bitch."

"Women don't usually appreciate being called that." Josie says, smiling nonetheless. "But it's good to know how you feel."

"You don't expect me to fall into being your boyfriend do you?" Tucker asks.

And he doesn't know what answer he wants.

She laughs, shaking her head. "No, there's a lot of talking that should happen before we slap any real label on us. There's the whole "we like Wash" thing."

"Yeah. I guess."

"How about for now you just come sleep with me?"

"Bow chicka bow wow!"

She rolls her eyes, "You know what I meant."

"I can dream."

"You don't to, we can try that later. But for right now, come lay your ass down and sleep."

"Bossy."

"You like that."

"I really do." Tucker agrees.

He joins her on the bed. They lay down and curl under the blanket. He finds that he likes having her in his space aren't he falls asleep.

Tucker wakes up before Josie for the first time he can remember. He's sprawled across his bed, one arm around her.

She's curls up with her back to him. He wild curls spread haphazardly about them both.

She's still breathing slow and steady, dead to the world as he moves to sit up.

"Josie?" Tucker asks softly.

"Ngh?" She groans, stirring.

"Josie."

"Shhhh...."

"Josie wake up."

"No." She says, closing her eyes harder.

Tucker snorts. Struck by the way the artificial light highlights her scars.

Josie opens one eye and looks at him "mhh, mornin' Tucker."

"Morning, sweetcheeks."

"You're awful flirty."

"I just go after what I like."

"Good."

And she's sitting up, smiling again at him. She's done that a lot lately.

"You are a menace when you sleep. You tried to kick me."

"Sorry. I forgot about that."

Tucker just rolls his eyes. Of course she did. The menace.

His menace though.

Wait-

"I should go get ready. See you at breakfast?"

"Like I'd skip breakfast."

She just snorts as she stands up.

She grabs her knives she left on his nights and and heads out.

And this time, Tucker dosen’t feel any guilt for staring at her as she leaves.

#misty's oc #oc x canon #josie beaumont (agent west virginia)#rvb #rvb oc #red vs blue oc #red vs blue #lavernius tucker

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echantedtoon · 1 year ago

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A Champion Time For The Heart Ch22 To Hammerlocke Again

Whelp. After all the craziness that was yesterday..You shouldn't have been surprised when you ended up sleeping in. After you had gotten back to your hotel room last night after the rain, you had yourself a quick hot shower, then quickly changed back and went to bed with the oncoming sounds of the storm still ongoing outside when you drifted off. Needless to say you slept like a log in deep slumber through the rest of the night and well into the morning. At one point you did half wake up and thought you heard music, but you almost instantly fell right back asleep still more tuckered out than a snorlax. By the time you did come too it was because Silver couldn't stand waiting around longer for food and had continuously shouted at you and patted your face until you were forced to get up to him frowning and chirping at you more and more.

Your tired f/c eyes blinked tiredly at him and you yawned before stretching the dusty blankets of the hotel falling off your body. "Ok Ok. I'm up."

The very first thing you did was trudge yourself back to the shower to wake yourself up and wash all the dust from the bed off of your body. The second thing was getting dressed and ready, making sure all of your belongings including your were packed away, and you pulled out some of your food rations for yourself. Handing off some of the strange jerky you had obtained from before to Silver as he literally wouldn't let go of your leg as he wrapped himself around it like a little kid as he did and shout at you until you did. Honestly, he acted more like a sobble than he did what a drizzlie was supposed to act like. When you looked out of the window you had noticed that it was still raining, not as much or hard as it was yesterday or last night, but it was still thundering with the stormy clouds and rain still hit the roof with apparently no end in sight. With a sigh you quickly made the bed(the hotel might've been abandoned but it would've still been rude of you to just leave a mess), you grabbed your bag flinging it over your left shoulder, and took off with Silver at your heels. As soon as you stepped out into the hallway you were greeted with a sight you weren't expecting. All three teens just standing there chatting away in the hallway but they looked up hearing your door open.

Gloria was the first to respond when she smiled and waved. "Y/n! Good mornin'! Ye finally woke up huh?"

You sighed walking towards the trio and nodding. "Yep. Silver here decided he wanted breakfast now."

"Silver?"

You gestured to the pokemon at your heels. "Thought it would've been better to give him a name. Silver Veil reminds me of the rain and he's a water type so it kinda stuck." You looked to Hop. "I don't suppose you're ready to battle Piers huh?"

"Aw cute name!!"

Hop looked nervous for a moment reaching up to rub his head. "Yeah about that. Sorry, Mate. But we already did battle Piers and won may I add."

.......You blinked at him. "HUH?!"

"We battled him earlier this morning," he repeated to your blank face. "We tried to wake ya, but you were asleep deader than a rock! Victor thought it'd be better to let you sleep and heal up from yesterday...Sorry about that."

"You already battled him?" He nodded. "Man...I hoped he put on a good show."

He then beamed making you smile in return. "YEAH! There was this cool trick he used using his skuntank's more stinkier attacks to keep Wooloo from going near him because it smelt so bad! And he was blasting this really loud music and singing and-"

"I think she gets it, Mate."

You chuckled before nodding towards the stairway down towards the exit. "What do you say then? Back to Hammerlocke again?"

They all agreed and with Silver tailing you all, you all went down the stairs into the abandoned lobby and like the night before when you opened the door rain is what greeted all four of you. Although you were right in that it wasn't as bad as last night. Sighing, you pulled the hood of your jacket over your head and headed on out into the world. Being daylight out now it was a lot clearer to see the streets wet from the water as you all headed out and into the rain. Most of you weren't really all that prepared from the rain after all. You clutched your backpack to yourself as you lead the charge with Silver at your heels(guess being a Water-Type meant he wasn't affected by the rain at all) Hop and Gloria shared shelter with Hop holding his jacket over the both of them to the best of his ability, and Victor just used his giant pack as a makeshift umbrella. As you all briskly walked down the streets, your group passed the gym. Glancing briefly over at it, you didn't see Piers at all on stage or in the Gym's area. Perhaps he went home? The four of you walked and walked down the streets and took twists and turns past the abandoned ice cream shop and down the streets you remembered back towards the exit. And not once did you all see Team Yell or Piers...Or that blasted wall. Guess Piers kept his word and had them fix everything you all were almost to the exit from the city of Spikemuth when you spotted a particular pink pokemon center and decided to take a dive through it's doors and you were surprised when it opened and what the inside contained. Just like the rest of Spikemuth the place looked pretty much abandoned except the place where Nurse Joy would usually stand, which was occupied by a Team Yell grunt which must've been this town's Nurse Joy. It didn't take much to convince both the guys to allow Nurse Joy to check over their pokemon as you thought it'd be better to do it now then to make them wait days and days before getting to Hammerlocke. It didn't take long at all, and soon you all left with some abandoned umbrellas Gloria had noticed someone had left to collect dust in a pot by the doorway. Hmm. Maybe you all should've bought umbrellas along with all your other supplies when you bought them? No matter now. You were already dreading the trip back to Hammerlocke for obvious reasons so you had better suck it up early. The small group left the town (which to Piers's credit was opened back up) and stopped in front of Spikemuth for Victor to quickly recheck his regional maps.

He pointed forward after a moment, "We need to go back straight ahead back onto Route Nine and then back onto Route Eight leading back to either Hammerlocke or Circhester, and then just take the road back to Hammerlocke.''

"Sounds like a plan. Let's get walking before the weather gets worse."

You all walked until it was too dark and still raining. You certainly had a hard time pitching the tents with Gloria and Hop trying to balance holding umbrella's over you and Victor as you all put up the tents. Getting practically soaked in the process...and even more soaked when Silver all soaked still wearing that sweater hoodie you got him, decided it'd be a good idea to flop himself inside the tent all wet from the rain. Safe to say you both had a harder time sleeping that night then the boys. Same thing the next morning trying to gather your things and put the tent away as it still rained, tho not as bad as before. The rain persisted for the next three and a half days as you all traveled. Having trouble setting up tents and staying dry during it all, silver certainly wasn't making it any easier on the lot of you. Thankfully by the middle of the fourth day the rain hand leaked the last of it's water and the clouds began rolling away. But you made sure to keep your umbrella put away and handy just in case. You'd definitely want to keep that in case you'd need it again. Continuing to walk through the forested areas you had come to known since before getting to Spikemuth, you were fairly certain that you were nearing the end of said forest as the days continued to pass by and you were pretty sure that any day now you all would come out the other end and see the Route Nine Tunnel, and the halfway point back to Hammerlocke ......Sigh. And Raihan. But you'll deal with him once you get there.....If the ground under all yours feet hadn't shaken like an earthquake. It all happened so suddenly. One moment you four were almost out of the woods, the next moment BOOM!! The ground shook under your feet and you all wobbled around, but it wasn't very strong. Only almost making you lose your balance. Overhead a couple bird like pokemon flew away in a real big hurry with caws of worry, Victor flung his arms about trying to stay balanced, and Hop instinctively grabbed Gloria in a protective hold gold eyes blow wide at his surroundings. But you somehow managed to remain on your feet, only Silver falling over onto his bum in the process. At the end in left the lot of you on edge and frantically looking around the forest you all were in.

"WHAT THE BLOODY RAPIDASH CRAP WAS THAT!?," Gloria cried out still clutching onto Hop wide eyed.

"I have absolutely no idea!," you answered back blinking and looking around with an uneasy feeling. "...But whatever it was it seems to be gone now." You straightened back up now giving a careful look around but didn't see anything out of the ordinary within the forested area. "...I say we keep going and get out this neck of the woods before it happens again."

"I second that!," Victor piped up.

The others quickly agreed too and without hesitation you all sped walked away from the area. Speculating what it was that happened back there. Earthquake not very likely. There would've been much more damage and panic from pokemon. Hop suggested perhaps it was a couple wild pokemon fighting or maybe someone having a battle nearby and that seemed more likely in your mind. After all how many times have you watched the Pokemon anime and the main characters just ran into someone while in the woods?? ...You lost count but def a lot of times. And you all couldn't have been the only people who ever traveled along here or caught pokemon in the wild. ...And you all DID run into someone. You all had traveled about one or two hours away from where you had first felt the earthquake or whatever it was, stopping to have a quick break and eating some food from your food rations before continuing, and then you ran into someone who was walking rather quickly in the opposite direction heading towards you all. The man seemed a bit spooked as he walked, but did catch notice of you all when Gloria gave a friendly passing wave.

"Mornin' to yas! Nice day ain't it?"

The man stopped as you approached before quickly shaking his head and pointing behind him. You were almost out of the forest at this point you reckoned. "H-Hey. N-No not really! There's some trouble on Route Nine! It's so b-bad even the Champion's come to sort it out!"

"Lee?", Hop perked up but then again you figured he'd pop up at any mention of his famous brother.

"Trouble?," you asked eyes widening at the man who nodded. Did it have something to do with the shaking earlier? "What kind of trouble?"

"T-T-There's a giant pokemon on a r-r-rampage down by the highway! .....Oh, hey! You gave Piers a good thrashing didn't you?," he asked pointing to Hop and Gloria seeming to recognize them. Huh. Did he see their battles against other gym leaders and figured you came from Spikemuth? "You should head over there to help! C'mon then!" Wait what?! "I'll show you the way?" He turned and pointed towards the place you all were heading anyways. "U-U-Up there b-by the Tunnel!! ...Heed my warning though! If you're s-s-smart you'll get out of here as fast as you can like I'm doing!"

"Wait what are- HEY!!" You nearly got knocked into Victor, he flinched, by the man who then in a hurry pushed past you and sped up his pace back towards the way you had just came from. You shooting a dirty look after his retreating form. "HEY!! SAY EXCUSE ME NEXT TIME BUDDY!!"

"LEE'S HERE!!"

Uh oh- Your head snapped to Hop and an arm instantly flung out to stop him but you barely missed him fingertips inches away from his jacket as he, as you expected, wide eyed and smile on his face took off up the road through the woods. "HOP COME BACK!!"

"WAIT FOR ME, MATE!!"

"GLORIA!!" It was the same song and dance between Victor and his twin as she slipped past his grab at her and too both of your horrors ran off right after her best friend. Both your faces paled and a rock sank in your stomach. OH NO!! There was a giant pokemon rampaging up ahead that was so bad even LEON had to be called out to stop it and those two were heading right towards it!! Victor growled holding his hands up like claws before sighing and looking towards you. "C'mon! We gotta stop those ninnies 'fore they dig 'emselves an early grave!!"

Well scottish accent intensified. But all jokes aside you totally agreed! Those two were going to get themselves turned into pancakes!! Without hesitation both of you RAN to catch up to the others. Up through the forested pathway the both of you ran, around one corner, straight ahead for a little while, and then around another corner and straight again with the tree line breaking before you to open grasslands- BOOM!! In a flash of red and another shaking you tripped. Just like when Milo's wooloo bowled you over, you fell face first onto the shaking ground and there you laid as Victor kept wobble-running not noticing you had fallen over. At least you didn't have to worry about further harming your shoulder. A VERY LOUD cry of some kind of animal roared out in the sky, dirt stuck under your nails as fingers curled into the ground, and you felt light as the shaking rattled the poor body further. It was like back in your dream when you were falling and heard the roar of Leon's charizard. But different...You might've not gotten up even as your body instinctively froze at the flashback of heights, if Silver had shouted as LOUDLY as his tiny lungs could into your ear. Disoriented you screamed in fright, throwing yourself away from the flashing images of the corvinight coming to take revenge...But blinked only seeing the greyish skin of Silver and then a flash of pink as he chirped loudly at you and slapped your face. A groan escaped you and you pushed yourself up and out of his reach of slapping. Head still spinning and everything still wobbling, you blinked towards the horizon. And far far in the distance if you squinted, you could see the Tunnel (even though it was more like a bridge-) and faintly the figure of Victor still running ahead.....!? And you scrambled after him. So even after you broke the tree line you ran....and ran....and ran. Your heart began to get to the point of pounding in your ears, and your lungs were starting to REALLY ache and burn but you didn't stop in a desperate attempt to catch up to the three teenagers who ran off in front of you. Head spinning and body aching, you were rapidly approaching the tunnel and was met with both an alarming and relieving sight that both alarmed and made you relax. Silver right behind you, you quickly started to come down from the adrenaline rush from the vast amount of distance and saw that there was a couple officers putting up a road block in front of the tunnel and not letting anyone through. Anyone being Victor, his sister, and Hop. That made you all relieved as you were sure they wouldn't be allowed near any danger, what made you ALARMED though was a car that looked absolutely RUINED from a crash with ten elephants was knocked off from the highway above the tunnel and was stationed crashed halfway down the hill!! What the world happened?! Was there a car crash!? It didn't look like there was any signs of anyone that was seriously hurt thank goodness. But that didn't answer your question as you slowed down to a walk approaching breathing heavily as your body felt as stable as a bowl of jello that got thrown off a skyscraper. Victor was shaking Hop by his jacket, scowling, and very angry and you could only catch the last sentence when you finally made it over to them.

"WHAT. WERE. YE. BLOODY. THINKIN'!?," He yelled at Hop scottish accent becoming more thick with each word he threw out at them. "Are ye tryin' ta give me a heart attack or somethin'!? Or do ya got a death wish!?"

"i'M SoRRy!!," Hop garbled out dizzy somewhere between the shaking. Between all the shaking you managed to slowly walk over and bluntly push your way between them making Victor let go of Hop as the dizzy purple haired boy stumbled back into the arms of Gloria who looked equally guilty as you took the chance to lean forward in an attempt to catch your breath. Breathing heavily and coughing as you attempted to get your heart rate to still. Behind you some where Silver flopped face first onto the ground out of exhaustion.

"What *gaaaasp* ....happ-p-p-pened!? *cough cough*", you demanded between gasps of air not even looking up.

"Y/n! This is mad....You know what I mean?," Hop asked back.

"What..... was;....*cough cough!!* t-t-t-that*gggaaaaasssssppp* loud noise?"

"That's what I'd like to know. That noise..It was like some massive explosion! There was this huge surge of red light and then wild pokemon just started dynamaxing around me brazon as you like!"

"One pokemon," Gloria corrected holding up a finger, "One pokemon dynamaxed. And it's on the other side of the tunnel!" She then gestured to the blocked off entrance currently occupied by at least seven officers who were laser focused on your group so close to the entrance. "They're not letting anyone through due to safety or somethin'."

"And it's a good thing they didn't!", Victor scolded, "You two are nuts you are!!"

You groaned. Tuning out the rest of their convo in order to focus on your breathing and trying to get the burning sensation out of your lungs as you stood there. Oh what you wouldn't give for a chair at this moment in time to sit down and rest your sore body for just a little while longer. You didn't notice the giant flying form of a charizard flying through the sky over head and coming down towards all of you...But Hop sure did. And Gloria and Victor as they looked up along with the police officers as whoever it was came down fast and if it wasn't for the tuning out you were doing you would have heard the landing. You only really noticed anything when Hop suddenly barreled (again-) away from the group making you yelp and blink to where he suddenly ran off too. And quickly understood why.

"LEON!!," He cried out with a giant smile on his face waving his arms, unfortunately he was stopped by the officer and portable gate barricade. Leaving him to wave an arm, call out to his brother, and lean left and right to try and get a view of his famous older brother. "OVER HERE!!"

The Champion who was just starting to walk towards the tunnel paused hearing his name being called and turned his golden eyes around. By now the other two had already joined Hop and slowly you brought up the rear groaning and stretching out your back. Of course seeing your little group, Leon instantly smiled and his direction changed from towards the barn towards you all.

"Hey everyone!," he greeted picking up his pace and stopping on the other side of the portable fencing in front of all of you. "Wow! Look at all of you! Haven't seen you all for a while. What's the lot of you doing all the way out here?"

"We're headin' ta Hammerlocke!" "We're here to help you take down that pokemon!" Hop and Gloria answered at the same time.

Leon blinked for a moment before smiling again and reaching over to delivery a small pat to Hop's head. "Ah! I see news always spreads faster than Charizard's wings. Thanks for coming but I've got a handle on this. Whatever's making that noise I'll see to it!" They both frowned at the gentle shot down for their help Leon gave them before he returned his hand to his hips. "But seeing as you're here on Route Nine on you're way to Hammerlocke, that can only mean one thing." He winked and pointed. "You all just finished defeating Piers, right?"

"Yep!," Gloria confirmed proudly crossing her arms, "No offense but we got this in the bag, Lee! And we can totally still help ya out too!" Hop eagerly nodded in agreement making Lee chuckle again.

"I'm sure you could, but now isn't the right time for that." He pointed a finger up. "I already told you, didn't I? Keep your eye on the goal. And for you, that's winning the Gym Challenge! Unless you have still have any other gym leaders to defeat, the only gym badge left is the one you'll get from the dragon gym's leader, Raihan. Right? Raihan is the only trainer out there I consider a real rival. He's that good you know! So you both might have a hard time beating him."

"Mr. Champion!" Leon hummed and looked behind him to where a nervous looking policewoman was looking between him and the tunnel. "S-S-Shouldn't we t-take care of the rampaging pokemon first? I'm not sure how long our distraction is keeping it docile."

....He blinked and reached a hand up to rub his neck. "Ah. And there I go again. Sorry, but I suppose this is no time for me to be stopping for a chat. There's a bit of trouble here with my name on it! But don't you worry about a thing!" He sent a smile and thumbs up to the surrounding police force. "The unbeatable Champion is here to look after things and keep you all safe!" He turned back to your group and in a slightly more serious tone spoke to them. "Alright you three. It was really nice seeing you again, but unfortunately I have to go take care of some serious business here." He pointed back up the way you came towards the forest. "Now I know I'm bad with directions but there's another pathway through there that goes around the long way back to Route Eight. I want all of you to go back and use that pathway instead immediately. Just because you all fought dynamaxed pokemon before doesn't make this any less dangerous."

"But-", Hop started but was stopped when his brother grabbed his shoulder. His face dropped when Leon shook his head.

"Sorry, Hoppy. But a big responsibility of the Champion is making sure those around him are safe, and I know Ma would want you to be safe too. So please. Trust your big bro on this one, ok?" He smiled widely. "I'm gonna be heading to Hammerlocke too anyways! So if you all hurry we can meet up there. In fact let's make a game out of it!" He pointed to your small group. "If you three can beat me to Hammerlocke I'll buy everyone a free full meal! Ok?"

"I'm sold!," you answered hearing the prospect of free food.

"I-..." Hop gave one last look at his big brother before sighing and giving a nod. A determined look once again taking over his face. "You can count on me Lee!"

He nodded and went to say something else but before either of you had the chance to say anything else it happened again!! A giant BOOM noise and a roar that sounded like a monster came from directly behind you all. The three teens in front of you all grabbed onto the portable fence and Leon instinctively leaned himself over the smaller kids protectively turning almost horrified behind him as you tried not to fall again. Soon after the trembling stopped ...and everyone slowly looked back up with shocked or concerned faces.

"Are you alright?," Leon asked turning back to his brother and friends who nodded. He breathed a sigh of relief before nodding and leaning back up. "That's good. I want all of you to leave now and go as fast as you can to Hammerlocke. I'll meet you there ok!" Without giving any of you any time to answer he turned back around to the tunnel smirk on his face. "That came from the tunnel wouldn't you say? Seems I'm about to have a champion time!!"

And he left. Or more like ran away as he turned and ran off past you and the officers and into the tunnel entrance. You took that as your cue to gently tug on Hop's shirt and as quickly (but gently) as you you could quickly guide them around and shooed them around and too even your disgruntle back up the pathway which had come judging by the roars that echoed from behind you all, Leon must've confronted the beast. With new worry and adrenaline in your system, you snatched Silver off the group with a giant chirp and pushed them to walk faster and faster as the ground shook under your feet again. Looking over your shoulder every so often and thinking you caught a glimpse of towering pokemon but you weren't sure. You were too busy pushing them all back to the forest and urging Victor to check his regional maps for the other pathway, which thankfully he listened to you and whipped out his phone. Although clearly by the faces of the children they were distressed and worried. You were too but Leon was THE Champion of Galar. He wouldn't be defeated that easily by a random wild pokemon. By the time you had reached the forest again, aching bodies be darned, the group had shaken quite a few times and the roaring sounds of the battling pokemon could reach your ears completely. But you didn't let that distract you in your mission of pushing these guys to the other path.....Which granted DID take a bit of time to find, since two giant bushes had grown over the front of the entrance. No wonder no one noticed it at first. It looked so old and overgrown. Never the less another shaking urged you all to flee down the pathway. And from there you traveled more and more. The forest went on and on for a good while until the path lead out of the woods and into a large open area of grasslands and the occasional house again. Guess this really was the long way around. The four(five of you counting Silver too) traveled all day along Route Nine's other path until the sun had set and you all were forced to make camp and rest for the night, before waking up the next morning and following the road again. The trip was like any other you all have taken before. Taking many days and passing the occasional small town, houses, or other passersbys. Only this time it took a bit longer until you all eventually rounded back onto the main road. Even when you all stopped at a small town to restock supplies, stay at the local inn, and even did a few odd 'poke jobs' to earn a bit of pocket money. A day or two's journey later your group ran into a fork in the road and stopped as Victor whipped out his phone to check his regional maps.

"This is where Route Eight connects to Route Nine," he explained looking at his phone's screen smiling, "So we should just keep walking straight forward onto Route Eight and by that we should reach Hammerlocke in no time."

So back on Route Eight you all made for Hammerlocke ...and it's Gym leader which you really weren't looking forward to seeing again at all.

"Hey! Take a look at the news!" He held his phone out to all of you and you looked. There was a picture of Leon there arms crossed next to a GIANT pokemon that looked like one of the evolved forms of Meowth you thought. It looked like a reporter took a picture of it at some point with some professional journalism colom under the picture with a caption. "See! There's Lee! He really is the greatest, right?" He took his phone back beaming at the picture with wonder. "Lee and his charizard took down that dynamax pokemon in the blink of an eye! I knew Lee was strong but this? Really makes you appreciate how great he is eh?" He smiled widely a new excitement in his step. "Let's go meet up with him everyone! He should be at Hammerlocke stadium!"

"And that free food bet!" Your mind disregarded any disgruntled thoughts of Piers's smooth voice laughing or even Raihan coming to mind as your stomach grumbled at the thought of any good food.

"Well what are we waiting for?," Gloria asked pointing forward, "Let's get to Hammerlocke!!"

For days and days you all traveled. Discussing Raihan and their battle strategies for him. Turns out unlike other leaders Raihan's gym would only conclude in two battles. One would be a tag team battle with two pokemon and the last a dynamax one against his dragon type. ...While battling inside a sandstorm....Great. You REALLY weren't looking forward to this. As days past and your food rations getting lower and lower, you all FINALLY came across Hammerlocke finally. The castle town reared it's head up at you and the pathway lead up to a draw bridge being the entrance. Picking up your speed, you four all made down the path all the way to Hammerlocke. You already taste what curry Leon would be treating you too if he wasn't already there, which you doubted he would be. He was terrible with directions after all. Like any of the other times you came back to Hammerlocke there was a man who worked for the league stationed there and the three had to show him their gym badges in order for them to get inside. Guess that rule was still applied here, and inside you four went. It looked exactly as you all left it since the last time you left here weeks ago to travel to Spikemuth....But there was a clear difference this time. You were on edge. Eyes narrowed and looking this way and that for that fanged gym leader. If you two were gonna meet again you definitely weren't going to be caught off guard. Yep! You were NOT going to be surprised by anything- Hop gasped suddenly and you yelped. Jumping back and bringing your arms up to defend yourself from any flirts!

"Over here!" He cried pointing in front of all you and a little ways away right in front of the entrance to Mr. Rose's power plant was Leon. Hey! And Sonia too! You hadn't seen her since Circhester. "Look! There's Lee! C'mon!" And the three ran...As you blinked. Before sighing and letting your arms slump back to your sides. Get it together Y/n. You had to keep your mind about you. You trudged slowly behind as the others ran towards Leon and Sonia. "LEON!"

The Champion paused mouth open in mid conversation with Sonia....before looking behind him and like a switch going off in his mind, he instantly smiled, turned around, and opened his arms out. Unfortunately he didn't take into account the force of three about fourteen years of age kids leaping into said Champion's arms. Hop got there first of course, Leon letting a loud 'OOF!' at his contact but smiling happily, then the twins...And you watched as Leon went down to the ground under the weighed down hug of them all in one giant laughing mess. Sonia blinked in surprise but then chuckled at the sight. As did you shaking your head and slowly walking up to them. By the time you got there, Leon had sat up with his hat somehow ending up on Hop's head as he laughed at them all.

"Well if it isn't the troublesome trio," Sonia greeted and then smiling in your direction as you walked up to her, "And Y/n! It's been so long since I last saw all of you! How were things in Spikemuth?"

You waved. "Hey Sonia!" You greeted. "Been well. And it looks like you've been doing pretty well too. Have you put together any clues with the tapestries?"

She nodded as Leon stood up. "I think so. It's only a matter of time until I figure out why the tapestries were separated in the first place."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out!," Leon complimented. In the time you two were talking, the others had gotten up and placed the hat back on his head. "It's like fighting a pokemon. It takes a few tries but in the end you'll end up catching it!"

"Speaking of which you made the news pretty recently," you commented hands on your hips.

He chuckled back at you and smiled. "Well I couldn't have it causing anymore damage to anyone else. Luckily no one was hurt but it could've gotten wild if I hadn't taken it down."

"I'd expect nothing less from you and your charizard, Leon," Sonia commented, "You took down that dynamax pokemon in no time."

"Well I am the unbeatable champion after all. But what's going on here?"

Sonia hummed and brought a hand to her chin, a thoughtful look on her face. "An overflowing red light...Pokemon dynamaxing without a power spot?"

''Yeah. But why?," Hop asked. Yeah. You'd like to know too. That was a weird experience.

Sonia shook her head. "I'm not sure. What's going on? That red light could suddenly appear again at any time and we'd have no way of knowing." That wasn't a good thing. If it happened again other people might be hurt. You shivered at the thought of the crashed car you remembered seeing at the Tunnel. If that meowth thing did that what if a pokemon dynamaxed in a city?!

"But being able to predict such things is part of a scientist's work. Didn't you forget, Dear?" The six of you looked over at the new comers voice and you had jumped at the prospect of Raihan..but relaxed when you saw WHO it was. Definitely not Raihan. Too old and not even a boy....But what were the odds of Sonia's Grandmother coming here?! YES. Ms. Magnolia was here. Her can making a tapping sound as she walked up to your group.

"GRAN!?" Sonia gaped mouth open in shock. "What are you doing here?" She asked as if hearing your thoughts.

"The Chairman called for me," she explained carefully. The Chairman? "He wanted to know all about the red light's relationship to the dynamax phenomenon. But I wasn't expecting you running into you all while arriving."

"Did the Chairman know anything?," Leon asked and....and you looked at him. An unexplained familiar feeling falling over you and a bad feeling sitting into your gut. ...Huh?

Ms. Magnolia shook her head. "Nothing worth my time. The Chairman's all wrapped up in fretting over the future our energy apparently."

"Is it really that big of a problem?," you asked and everyone turned to you as you rose a brow, "I mean..Everywhere we've gone there doesn't seem to really be any really bad power cuts or anything."

Leon sighed and reached a hand up to rub his neck. "I'm afraid so. It may not really look like it to you especially since you're from a whole nother region, Y/n. But.....You saw Spikemuth right?" You...Nodded. And Leon frowned further. "The entire town was almost completely shut down due to the power problem. And nearly a quarter of Wyndon City now too. The Chairman's trying to combat it by installing a lot of green energy supplements. Solar panels. Wind turbines. Things like that...But it just seems most of the energy they've been zapping out's been going missing too." He shrugged. "It's a mystery we're trying to figure out. We think someone might've been stealing the power but we haven't detected any outside tampering or signs of electric type pokemon seeping up the energy..Besides the occasional small jolteon."

You looked at him stunned. So Piers's situation was really out of his control. You frowned a feeling of pity falling over yourself. Poor Hot Pink. He was blaming himself when all this time he couldn't have really done anything to prevent his town from falling apart. "Well what about his scientists? Haven't they figured out ways to fix it?"

"I'm afraid it's not as easy as it sounds dear," Ms. Magnolia sighed. "He's left everything to that executive lady. We just don't have enough data. That's why I wanted you to start looking into things too, Sonia. You know more than anyone about the Darkest Day after all."

"Hold on! Are you saying that the red light and the Darkest Day are connected?!"

"Hey." Leon hummed and turned to Hop who grabbed his arm. "Do you reckon there's anything we can do to help out?"

"There must be!," Gloria insisted.

Leon stared for a moment before smiling. "Thanks. I appreciate the thought. But all I could ever ask of you would be that you join me in the greatest final match ever. I'll do my part to make that happen by keeping everybody's future safe." He ruffled Hop's hair with his other hand. "So you both just keep on doing your part by winning your way through the Gym Challenge!"

"Right! 'Course! You're the unbeatable champion after all, right?!"

"Gran," Ms. Magnolia looked back to Sonia as she asked her, "There's something I wanna look into. You'll help me right?"

"Naturally," she answered back nodding, "Come. You can tell me all about it while conversing with the Chairmon." She turned to the powerplant's entrance. "Come along. We mustn't be keeping Mr. Rose waiting. Arceus knows what's going on in there?"

And with that Sonia turned and followed without another word, and you all watched their retreating forms as they walked away. ..Until Leon sighed and turned back to all of you. "Looks like we all know what we need to do. So you three clear the Gym Challenge." Hop and Gloria smiled and chuckled as the older brother ruffled there heads with a teasing smile. "So we can meet again at the Champion Cup. I've had so much fun watching your battles!" He turned to Victor and smiled. "And you!"

Victor jump and held up his hands. "No wait! Lee not my hair-"

Too late. Leon ruffled his hair and beany as Victor groaned and Gloria giggled at him. "Hmhmhm. You're doing a great job capturing those shots on your blog! I know Hop looked so great in those pictures you took of him Battling against Opal! I'm so happy the camera I got you is working so well! I'm sure both our Mums are so happy you three are doing so well for yourselves." Victor groaned even after Leon stopped ruffling his head but didn't complain like he did with the snow in Circhester. You blinked when he finally turned to you. And your eyes bulged out of your head like those funny googly eye stickers when he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small stack of money!! And it was small. Only being around sixty dollars as you stared silently as he held it out to you. "Now I believe I promised you all lunch. I'm afraid I can't join you as the Chairman has called me as well, but this should be enough to tide you over."

".............Huh?,'' you asked.

"Wha- But Lee. We didn't get here before you remember?," Victor pointed out.

And you finally snapped out of it nodding and pointing to him. "Y-Y-Yeah! What he said. ...And why are you giving this to me?"

He smiled before placing the money in your hand using his other hand to close your fingers around it, and you looked between him and the money into your hands as he waved you off. "Take it as a thank you for looking after my little bro and his friend on their journey." You opened your mouth but he held up a hand to stop you. "No. Please. I don't give hand outs, but I also know it's a bit rough for you out there not having any money like the others. I can't give a whole lot but I hope this helps you. Go ahead and get everyone some lunch and the rest is yours."

"You're not joining us?"

He turned to the kids and shook his head. "Sorry guys. But the Chairman calls. It's a part of the job. But I promise I'll make some time to spend with all of you soon." He gave a thumbs up. "But you all go ahead and get some food in the mean time! I can't wait to see how you all handle my own rival."

Oh right....You all were originally here to see Raihan. Joy. You all bid Leon good bye before he turned and jogged off in the direction where Sonia and her grandmother disappeared towards the power plant, but not before pausing and taking another glance at you to give a giant smile to which you blinked at. You stood there for a long moment before looking down to your hands to the $60 sitting in your palm. Not believing what had just happened....but grateful for the kindness he showed you. He really was a really nice guy.

"I know what I need to do all right!" You blinked at Hop pumping a fist into the air. "Defeat that Piers once and for all! You're off to Hammerlocke stadium yeah? Raihan's a tough nut to crack! As Lee would say! Let's do our best!!"

"....Uh Hop. We just came from Spikemuth."

Hop paused...blinking for a moment before lowering his fist. "Oh yeah. I forgot. I guess I got a bit carried away."

"Well before any of that," they turned to you as you held up your hand with the money Leon had given you, "Why don't we get something to eat first like Leon said?"

"I wouldn't be opposed to that," Victor agreed.

You nodded and smiled. "Alright. I remembered there's two places to eat around here." You leaned back up and looked around a good portion. And stopped pointing off towards the train station. "Do you guys want to eat at the small curry corner at the station or the cafe on the other side of town?"

The three voted for the cafe on the other side of town and you nodded in agreement before heading over there. Silver trailing behind. But of course you kept an eye out looking around for that fanged fiend. To your relief not seeing anyone fitting his description. Safely arriving at the cafe and going inside. It was ...nice. Quiet. And the store owner smiled greeting you all as you sat at one table. You all practically had the place to yourselves too, with there only being one or two other people in there with you. And you all ordered. Curry for everyone of course for Gloria to get more pictures of for her curry Dex. You got another Egg curry, this time being different from the others. The Dry Boiled Egg Curry, as you didn't think Silver would handle the sour, bitter, or spicy egg curries. Like a hawk, Silver's yellow eyes laser focused on your plate as soon as it was brought out to you. And soon you all got his reaction. Silver had grabbed a hold of your pants leg wide eyed and immediately began babbling off and looking expectantly between you and the egg sitting in the middle of your dish. When you didn't immediately give it too him he started whining and tugging on your pants to get it.

"Ok ok." He watched as you carefully picked up the egg in your hands and he instantly held his tiny pink hands out towards it. Smacking his lips once it was gently lowered to him. Guessed he must've been really hungry too. "Here. Man. It seems you get hungrier every time I turn around." Silver ignored your comment in favor of shoving half the egg into his mouth and plop himself down next to you. With a sigh and roll of your eyes you turned back to the others. "So...Have you all figured out what you're going to be doing?"

"We're still working on that," Hop answered pointing his fork at you. Somehow already these three were already half way done with their food. "I figured I could stop by the stadium and see when one of us could battle Raihan. I haven't met him yet and seeing him in person could help me get a feel for what he's like in battle beyond the videos I've seen."

Gloria held up her hand. "I'm gettin' more food!! Since the Champion Match ain't gonna take place til the end of the year, we'll need more supplies for in between time!....And just in case we need ta stay extra days ta defeat the bloke. Eh?"

Victor nodded in approval. "Exactly why I'm goin' to be settin' up our camp sight right outside the entrance by the Vault. It's late in the day so someone has ta get a spot for us ta stay before dark."

You nodded. All of those sounded like a pretty good idea. Camp. Supplies. And a time scheduale for the upcoming battles. Preparing ahead was always a good idea. "That sounds like a good idea. When you're all finished eating you can go ahead and do all that. I'll finish eating and probably join all of you back at camp. Ok?''

You didn't think they could've eaten any faster and soon their plates were empty and they were getting up from the table bidding you far well for the moment. You reminded them all to meet back at the camp sight Victor would be setting up on their way out and you were left with Silver lazily sitting at your feet to finish your own food. With a sigh you enjoyed the silence of the small shop with the elevator like music playing, and the delicious smells coming from the cafe's kitchen in the back. You only really looked up when Silver tugged on your pants again and with a curious chirp pointed to your drink. With a roll of your eyes you handed him the glass of water as he took it. And drank. Forgetting he was a water type for a moment. Guess he must've needed water too. As you nearly finished eating the cafe door opened again, only being alerted to it when the small bell rang. But you didn't look up when the man in the orange bandanna walked in.

The cafe owner paused but quickly smiled and leaned his arms against the counter. "Well, well." He said amused raising a brow. "Coming in town this late in the day? Hmhm. Weren't you on a long holiday yet?"

You finished eating and sighed leaning back as the bandanna man chuckled back. Still not looking up or aware as it was none of your business. And not suspecting anything. "Well, I was. But you know me by now. I have to stop by every so while in case there's anyone here for me. Y'know that a lot of them dropped out thanks to Kabu again?"

The cafe owner chuckled again. "HA! Doesn't surprise me one bit. That old geezer's been doing that ever since he came here years ago. *sigh* But back to business. What can I do you for today? The usual?"

You took a couple seconds fishing through your pockets to pull out the leftovers from after you paid for everyone's food and rose a brow trying to figure out how much exactly you should leave for the tip before you leave. Mr. Orange Bandanna chuckled and put his hands behind his head. "Yeah. Y'know what..Can ya make that to go? Oh! And a dozen of those pokemon-safe donuts! My guys deserve to have a little treat too yknow."

"Hahaha! Ever the classic Raihan!" Your body froze. The cafe owner turned a moment. "It'll take about twenty minutes. Feel free to sit and wait while I go get everything."

"Sure! I got time."

Your body froze. Cold shooting through your veins like ice was directly injected into you. Your face paled whiter than Circhester's snow....And you slowly, ever so slightly looked behind you over your shoulder. Not enough to show your entire face but just enough to let you see clearly behind you. And your f/c eyes widened, pupils shrinking. And the money was almost dropped into your lap. .....OH NO- Standing there looking off bored thankfully away from you ....Was Raihan. The Gym leader didn't seem to notice you or even recognize your existence literally a few feet from him. You stared wide eyed and he didn't seem to feel your intense stare on him either. You nearly jumped when he yawned showing off those fangs (what HUMAN had fangs!?) and looked forward again. Removing one hand from his head he reached down into one of his jacket pockets and pulled out his phone. Oh CRAP CRAP CRAP! You snapped back forward...Big mistake. Because the suddenly movement caught the eye of two people. Silver who held up the now empty cup to you, and Raihan who hummed and turned his head curiously to you. ...Before turning back to his-....Scrunching his brows his face dawned a 'Wait a minute-' look to it before he turned his head back towards you and rose a brow. Even though you didn't know he was looking at you, you swore you could FEEL those blue eyes on you. Unlike Piers's electric bright blue eyes, Raihan's were a periwinkle baby blue. And soft like the petals of flowers, but somehow also gave the impression of a fierce storm about to rain itself upon the world. Not like Piers's at all which gave the impression of a tired hard working soul but also some hidden exciting 'electric' personality. You quickly flipped through your money trying to find something, before just settling on a five dollar bill and left it down on the table. All the while Silver had stood and like a toddler with his mother, kept chirping at you, tugging your jacket, and holding up the cup to you. Raihan's eyes blinked shifting between you...and that familiar shiny drizzlie....And his eyes lit up as something clicked in his mind. .....And he smiled.

You flung the five dollar bill onto the table for the tip and went to stuff the money back into your pocket- "ACK!" A glass bumped into your cheek and you frowned over at Silver who innocently chirped and tried handing you the glass again. With a sigh you finally took it from his teeny pink hand. "Sil. You couldn't have waited for me to finish?" You didn't notice the guy sit down in the chair next to you. Head in one hand. "We need to leave." You looked back up and placed the cup down, in view now of the man. "Cuz I'm not gonna-".....You paused mouth slightly open making Raihan chuckle right next to you. You nearly JUMPED out of your chair bristled like a cat as you snapped over to the guy. "GAH!?" Instead you leaned away fast arms up. "WHAT THE HE-...YOU!?"

He ended up chuckling a deep rumble that sounded like a deep purr. Now any other woman, and some men, would've swooned or blushed at the sound of such a chuckle..But instead you frowned. It only reminded you of a sound a cat would rumble out before chasing a mouse. He gazed at you with half lidded eyes and waved his other hand at you. "I thought I recognized you from somewhere."

....You frowned and lowered your arms but didn't stop leaning back. "Oh joy."

Despite you not hiding your annoyance he simply chuckled again a lazed smirk pointed at you. "Y'know...I actually didn't think it was you at first." he shrugged. "Honestly didn't expect to see you at all again either. But the chances of another woman with f/c hair and f/c eyes running around with a shiny water type are pretty slim to none." His smiled widened to show his fangs. "But I'm not complaining.~"

"Bro. What the heck?," you deadpanned at him and crossed your arms, "I thought I told you, very politely might I add, last time that I wasn't interested."

He hummed and nodded. '' You did. You did. I'm not denying that fact for a bit."

....You rose a brow. "Ok. Then what do you want then?"

"That's just the thing." He sighed looking you over as you narrowed your eyes. Silver chirped in question peeking over your leg curiously to why you were angry. "...You see...I usually don't get the kind of reaction you gave me all those weeks ago. Not so fast. Not so blunt." He chuckled and rose a brow. "And definitely not with the kind of sass you delivered. I haven't been able to forget about it."

"Not my problem, Dude. Not interested."

"Oh come on. That's a little unfair since you don't know much about me. I'd like to get to know a girl like you more! Why don't I buy you dinner and we can chat?"

"I already ate thanks." You pointed to the dishes. "And I have some people waiting for me so...Polite pass."

He smiled brightly an idea flashing from behind those eyes and you cringed. Oh no. He pointed at you. "Hey! That's right you were with that gym challenger right?" You didn't like where this was going. "That could only mean she's passing through or here to battle me right?"

"The latter," you answered truthfully.

His smile got wider. "Then how about this? If I win against her I get to take you out for dinner!"

You have a huff staring at the wild suggestion he even made. "You honestly believe I'm going to agree to THAT!? You don't know when to stop huh?"

His hand was placed on his chest. "You got me. But yes. I'm known for being pretty determined for the goals I strive." He winked at you. Oh brother. "But I promise I don't bite.~.....Much.~"

You were already darting your eye around on edge trying to figure out a way out of this mess you had accidentally and unintentially put yourself in. UGH!! WHY COULDN'T THINGS JUST BE EASY FOR YOU FOR ONE DAY!? Your f/c eyes gazed over him and eventually locked onto his hood....then to the white straps on his jacket. A light bulb switching in your brain as an idea finally came into your head. And it made you cringe. Oh. You DIDN'T like it. Faaaaar from it....But it would certainly be a fast ticket out. You just had to suck it up and go for it!......May Arceus have mercy on your dying pride for what you were about to do.

Forcing yourself to relax, you inhaled a deep breath before exhaling your tense body relaxing. Before leaning forward towards Raihan and smiled. Eyes half lidded. "Yeah?~ Well Dragon Boy. Maybe I ought to kidnap YOU and see how you like it.~" Raihan paused. Seeming to blink taken aback for a moment. His blue eyes looked over you at the confusion of the sudden flirty (GAG-) tone you were forcing yourself to do. But you didn't give his brain any time to process it before standing up in the blink of an eye and leaning over him. "Maybe I ought to badger your handsome face and see how cute you look.~" You cringed inwardly SO SO SO HARD and reached your hand up and over his still processing face to grab his hood. Gently pulling it over and placing it softly on his head. "And how sweet you look in his hoodie of yours.~ You know what else is a good look for ya?~"

.....Raihan relaxed, a flirty smirk printed on his fanged face as he delivered another rumbling purr-laugh. God you wanted to hide and RUN!! "No.~ Why don't you tell me?~"

You chuckled and stared at him. ".....THIS!!"

In a flash your hands grabbed onto those white straps and YANKED!! In an instant, with a ZIP noise raihan's hood shrank in around his head and he suddenly gave a loud yelp of surprise at the suddenly hoodie attack you gave. You didn't even blink. Not waiting for him to respond, you quickly whipped around, snatched Silver into your arms with a loud chirp from him, and RAN!!

"SAY HI TO LEON FOR ME!!"

Booking it out the store, the bell rang like a maniac above your held as you legged it panic running through your veins like when the onix was chasing you back in the Wild Area. Not even caring anymore. You went right down past the other stores, past the Vault and homes, and past through the draw bridge exit Hammerlocke had. Stopping and breathing heavily from panic you looked around wildly, you spotted them. Two tents set up a little ways out of the exit like Victor had said, and right in front of said tent was Hop and Victor talking. Without hesitating you RAN towards them. Victor was first to notice then Hop hearing the incoming footsteps and both seemed surprised as you skidded to a stop in front of them breathing heavily with Silver in your arms. .....Both boys looked at each other. Hop Shrugged. Then looked back to you.

"Um....Are you ok, Y/n?," Victor asked uncertainly.

"Yeah. What happened to you, Mate."

With a final breath you scowled in annoyance at nothing in particular. "....Don't ask. Move over. I'd like to hide-...I mean sit in the tent for a bit."

#a champion time for the heart #pokemon leon x reader #reader x leon #leon x reader #pokemon leon #pokemon shield #pokemon sword #pokemon swsh #pokemon sword and shield

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pokeexehasstoppedworking · 2 years ago