I walked across the field towards Gawain as Emilie teleported back to my shoulder.

“You sure you need me?” I asked.

Emilie blushed. “Don’t act like I didn’t use your tactics, I just swapped out power for speed. Besides, I listened to the few commands you did give.” A grin pulled at Emilie’s lips as she looked back at me. “Thanks, though. I needed that.”

“Do you feel better now that you’ve gotten that out of your system?” I asked.

“I do.” Emilie nodded once. “I’m... more confident that my decision to remain as I am is currently the correct one.”

‘Good, do you mind apologizing to Gawain for being kind of a bitch to him, then?’ I narrowed my eyes as I locked gazes with my starter.

Emilie winced. ‘Do I haaave to?’ Emilie asked, sounding extremely petulant as she looked anywhere but my eyes.

I held firm.

‘Fine! Ugh. You’re way to nice, you know that, right?’

I smiled. ‘Don’t care. Thank you.’ I turned to see May walking towards me.

“Soooo...” May started as we got closer. “Congrats?”

I grinned. “We’ve been dating for less than a week, and you’re already using the word fabulous in sentences.”

May huffed. “See if I ever judge for you again. You’re both terrible fighters. Neither one of you listened to me. I may as well have not been a judge at all.”

“I love that you got mad at me for stall tactics, and then proceeded to stall out the entire last round for Leech Seed to do its job.” Wally complained as he walked closer, Gawain’s Poke Ball already in hand. “Good match.” He extended his free hand my way.

“Good match,” I replied. “Do you... really think that helped at all?”

“It was odd...” Wally said. “Towards the end of the fight, Gawain started talking to me again. He seemed confused. Like he wasn’t completely sure of what was going on.”

I frowned. “Do you think he’s going to be okay?”

“He’s having a hard time controlling his emotions,” Emilie said. “They’re even more heightened for him right now, and he’s getting everything, from everyone, all at once.” Emilie winced. “I got some biofeedback from that. It wasn’t pleasant. Not to mention...”

“Fairy issues?” I asked.

“Fairy issues,” Emilie confirmed. “He’ll have to learn and adapt to that part of his brain being stronger and act accordingly. Meditation will help.”

Wally nodded along before sighing. “More meditation. Yay.”

‘Good to know that Fairy Pokémon are still completely insane, even in this era,’ Lucas said as he drew closer.

‘Yeah, Emilie’s had more than a few episodes where she just goes off the deep end,’ Suzy confirmed.

“I’ve only lost it once!” Emilie shouted.

‘Yeah, but there’s other things that are obviously signs of an unstable mind. Like, seriously, you think you can take me in a one on one in that tiny ass body of yours. You obviously have a few screws loose.’ Suzy sneered, chuckling lightly to herself.

Emilie leaned forward, glaring intently at May’s starter.

I reached up and patted her on the head. “Down girl.”

Emilie swiped at my arm and glared at me. “I am not a dog Pokémon; you can’t treat me like this!”

“Yeah, yeah. Would you like a treat for not fully rising to the bait?” I asked, leaning down and pulling my pack off.

“Yes please,” Emilie said, suddenly staring intently at me.

‘Not a dog Pokémon, she says...’ Suzy said.

Lucas snickered.

“Don’t suppose I could borrow that Stealth Rock TM you got for beating Roxanne while you’re in there?” Wally asked, with wide pleading eyes.

“Yeah, yeah. One second. The suit does jack all for your ability to beg, by the way.” I sifted through another side pouch to find it empty. What the... that can’t be right. I unzipped the main pouch and fingered through some of my clothes. Not there... “Am I... out of cookies?”

Emilie crawled down my arm and more vigorously checked, only to find empty pockets and barren bags. As the realization came, it was like watching Emilie’s soul vacate its host as she gazed towards the ground with a blank, empty look in her eyes.

“There is no joy left in this world,” Emilie commented, her voice sounding as vacant and lifeless as the rest of her. “Only sorrow.”

“And you call me a drama queen. Hey May, you- huh?” I looked to my left and noticed that May had adopted a similar state of being to Emilie. She sat down on the sand near my starter and pulled her legs to her chest.

“This truly is the darkest of days,” May commented.

Emilie nodded her agreement before leaning her head against May’s knee.

‘Dammit May, you’re better than this. Calm down, it’s just some-’

Suzy wisely shut her beak as May shifted her gaze and stared ominously at her starter. Their eyes locked, and Suzy paled slightly. A thin veneer of sweat shined on her forehead as she slowly backed away, never breaking eye contact with her overly dramatic trainer.

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it, please stop, I’m so sorry...’ Suzy pressed her forehead to the ground, breaking the spell as May looked around the clearing.

“Suzy, are you okay?” May asked, looking incredibly confused.

“What on earth did you see in those eyes?” I stared at my girlfriend with wide, terrified eyes.

‘Unspeakable things...’ Suzy cried.

“Okay, May’s a cognitohazard. Good to know,” Wally said, quickly putting as much distance between himself and my girlfriend as he possibly could.

Lucas was currently dying for the second time at my friend’s antics. The wails and shouts echoed in the clearing, and I felt a dull throb behind my forehead. I lifted his ball, called him back, and sighed in relief at the blissful silence.

“I’ll ask Nurse Joy if I can use their kitchen tonight. In the meantime, please calm down. Legends above you’d think I don’t feed you two. I literally just got out of the hospital!” I groaned before handing a small disc to Wally. “Here, enjoy.”

Wally grabbed the disc before frowning down at his Poke Balls. “Guess we’re heading back to the center, then.” Wally groaned. “The long, long walk to the center.”

I sighed, glancing down at Joern’s and Apollo’s balls. Emilie slowly perked her head up and glanced at me with a hopeful smile.

“I, uh... potentially have a solution to the walking problem.” Emilie said hesitantly. “I think I’m strong enough to manage a teleport with a tag along.” Emilie looked away, a faint red glow on her cheeks. “If one of you wouldn’t mind being a guinea pig.”

“Er... I’d love too, but really. Dewford’s a lovely island, and I’d love to take in more of the sights.” Wally looked my way pleadingly.

I held out my hand.

“Give em here,” I said.

Wally instantly gave me three of his Poke Balls. “Thank you. I really didn’t want to teleport again.”

“Thank you for trusting me,” Emilie said.

“You’ve already accidentally teleported me once. I think at this point you can handle teleporting with me on purpose.” I smiled down at my starter as she beamed at me. “Just don’t throw up on my shoes this time.”

“Would you stop mentioning that?” Emilie begged, her face red again.

“Nope,” I replied.

Emilie teleported to my shoulder and the world around me changed before I could even say goodbye to May. The center foyer came into focus, as I felt my body lurch downward. I almost fell forward as my knees buckled, but I held my ground and grinned.

“Nice try.” I laughed before slowly standing up straight.

A weight leaned up against my neck.

“Emilie-”

“Sorry... kind of tired.” Emilie panted before pushing herself up.

Pushing my head to the side as a result.

“Why is it you being tired leads to me getting manhandled?” I frowned when I didn’t get a clap back. “You good?”

“Yeah, I’m good. That was hard, but doable. We’re definitely not pushing it any further than that though,” Emilie said. “Hurry up and talk to Nurse Joy, already. I wanna take a nap in a restoration machine.”

“Oh, right.” I lifted Emilie’s Poke Ball up and returned her before jogging up to the front desk.

“Ah, good afternoon. Did training cut out early for you?” Nurse Joy asked.

“Not quite. We had a mock battle and a lot of Pokémon got banged up in the brawl. I’m here to drop off my team and a few members of my friend’s team,” I held up a few shrunken Poke Balls.

She held out a tray and I put all seven of them down.

“I’ll be taking these, do you-”

“I know the drill.” I said, cutting her off with a grin. “Thanks.”

The Joy smiled back before turning and walking to the back room. I sighed, turned around, and froze.

This was an exceedingly rare sight. On the couch, staring with angry eyes at the coffee table in front of him, sat Wayne.

Not Wayne and Jasmine. Just Wayne.

I slowly walked across the room and sat on the couch opposite him. “Hey, big guy.”

Wayne whipped his head up and stared at me with wide eyes before leaning back, barely stopping himself from tipping the entire couch back.

“Give a guy a little warning next time, Lea. Damn,” Wayne patted his chest a few times before grinning at me. “Give a man a heart attack, why don’t you?”

“Somehow I doubt you have to worry about that. What’s up?” I asked. “You look... lost.”

Wayne sighed before leaning forward and resting his arms against his knees and looking down. “I am, a little bit. Me and Jazz had another fight this morning.”

“About Slateport?” I asked.

Wayne nodded.

“I know she’s been wanting to do something like this for a while now. She’s wanted to be a reporter for as long as I’ve known her. A live, in person look at what’s going on there would be fantastic for the channel.” Wayne sighed. “I just... I just got done watching her get out of the hospital. I’m not so eager to go back into one if something goes wrong.”

“Is it bad?” I asked, suddenly feeling anxious. MudkipSupremacist commented that it was more or less a minor annoyance, but those thugs at the ruins were scary.

The fact that I was able to look back on that now and wonder what the fuck I was smoking made me anxious for entirely different reasons.

Wayne pulled up a video on his phone and passed it my way. I tapped play.

There was a picket line all around the Devon Labs. That was going to be fun to get through. I could faintly hear a chant in the background, but it was discordant and all over the place that I couldn’t really tell what they were saying. I could, however, read a few of the signs people had. Stuff like ‘Stay out of my Ocean’ and ‘Down with Devon’ were dotting the crowd, as no less than a hundred people in blue bandanas shouted bloody murder at a worker as he flew over the picket line on a Fearow to head home.

A flash of light blinded the camera for a second, and a single bolt of electricity arced towards the fleeing researchers. I leaned back in shock as the person just trying to go home narrowly banked to the left of the attack before passing the phone back to Wayne.

“Got it. Bad. Very bad. I...” I closed my mouth and swallowed.

“Yeah. My girl wants to run head first into that. League sanctioned news networks are practically ignoring the damn thing, too,” Wayne said. “A few smaller channels are talking about it, but it’s not something they’re putting a ton of focus on. It might get more traction if we covered it, but...”

“You don’t want to risk getting hurt,” I said.

“I don’t know if I’m strong enough to see Jazz get hurt again,” Wayne said, before leaning back in his chair.

“You could mount a camera on Skarm and just... report from a distance. You don’t HAVE to get up close and personal with the picket line,” I suggested. “When are you leaving?”

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Jazz wants to go soon, I keep dragging my feet.” Wayne chuckled bitterly as he finished. “It’s why we argued this morning.”

I sighed before leaning back. My eyes widened as a thought occurred to me.

We had to deliver something to that damn building. Fuck me, why was President Stone’s errand shaping up to be something so bad. It was bad enough that we would have to go BACK underground in this shit hole of a cave system to find Steven.

Wait...

“What if we went with you?” I asked. “If Jasmine is dead set on going, we could be your back up and extra security. We already have business in Slateport.”

Wayne looked at me with a grin, before sighing and looking down.

“How long are you going to be in Dewford?” he asked.

“Our gym battles are scheduled to happen in three days, and after that we were tasked with finding someone that’s on an archaeological expedition underground. We can’t leave until that’s done, and I don’t know how long it’ll take,” I said. “I’d also probably have to talk to May and Wally about it, but considering our business is going to take us right next to that,” I waved my hand towards the phone. “I think they’ll be happy to travel together for a bit longer.

Wayne’s brow furrowed. “I can ask Jasmine about it,” he said. “You guys being there would make me feel a bit better. Though I don’t know how I feel about you all getting anywhere near that picket line.”

“I can probably cheat and have Emilie sneak me through. She actually teleported me here, if you can believe it.” I laughed to myself. “You said you would’ve stuck with us even if I warned you, yesterday.” I stared intently at my suddenly nervous friend. “That’s a lot for someone you’ve known less than a week.”

“Not a lot of people have the patience to put up with Jasmine. Don’t know if you’ve noticed, but she can be a bit...”

“Abrasive?” I supplied.

“That’s one word for it. She’ll say or do something that someone hates, and it ends up chasing a lot of people off. She really appreciated y’all giving her a second chance on the ship. I did too, honestly. I’m looking forward to your interview, by the way. That’s one of the things I’m using to keep her from running off to Slateport,” Wayne said.

I winced.

“You forgot about it, didn’t you?” Wayne asked with a grin.

“In my defense, a lot happened, okay?” I asked Mareepishly, before looking more intently at Wayne. “I want to be there for you guys if things go bad, okay? I... probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for your team.”

“I’m glad they were able to help,” Wayne said, a dark look settling on his face. “I’m glad I don’t have to worry about them anymore. I know Jasmine’s been breathing a whole lot easier since yesterday.”

“Lea, your mons are ready.” Nurse Joy said from the front desk.

As soon as she finished, two flashes of light engulfed the room. Emilie teleported to my shoulder instantly, and Lucas floated close by with a glare.

‘Why on earth did you hand me off? I didn’t need looked over!’ Lucas complained.

Wayne leaned back from the ghost type and darted to the other side of the couch, putting as much distance between them as possible without getting up.

“I was hoping they could fix your sense of humor,” I said before standing up. “You really don’t like ghosts, do you.”

“I’ve seen some things, aight?” Wayne never took his eyes off of Lucas.

‘There ain’t no fixing what isn’t broken. These pointed words will not go unanswered,’ Lucas said with a glare.

Emilie tensed on my shoulder.

‘I know a song that gets on everybody’s nerves, everybody’s nerves, everybody’s-’

“Stop translating,” I snarled at my starter.

“If I have to listen to it, so do you.” Emilie put her hands over her ears as she glared at Lucas.

I quickly ran up to the front desk and snagged Lucas’s ball before returning him. I sighed in relief as blissful silence once again graced my ears and snatched up the rest of the Poke Balls. “Thank you.”

She bowed. “Have a wonderful day. We hope to see you again.”

Emilie was right. That’s a terrible thing to say as a nurse.

I turned back around and walked over to Wayne. “You sure you don’t want to join us for a day of training?”

“I’m good. I might hit you up later though.” Wayne sighed. “I think I should brave our room and talk to Jasmine again. Talk to you later.”

I nodded as he got up and walked towards the rooms, before turning to give Emilie a grin.

“Ready to make a return trip?” I asked.

Emilie groaned.

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

I looked at my team in front of me, carefully inspecting the squad as I walked up and down the beach in front of them.

“You as a tough as nails instructor would be a lot more believable if I didn’t catch you singing the Pokémon Rap into your hairbrush after your showered,” May said with a grin as she took in the scene.

Lucas and Emilie both dissolved into giggle fits as I turned to glare at my girlfriend.

“You have no proof,” I said with narrowed eyes.

“I have a Sergei.” May smiled happily at me with closed eyes.

I sighed as the little guy popped up out of May’s pocket and flashed me a salute emoji, before looking to Wally for support.

“I really do take joy in the fact that I’m not the dorkiest person in our group,” Wally said before cupping his own Poke Balls. “Can I release my Pokémon now that May’s ruined your bit.”

“I didn’t ruin it, I preempted it. There’s a difference,” May walked up and patted me on the head.

“Go away,” I said with a huff.

She just smiled at me. “I want you to know that you’re adorable when you’re embarrassed like this.”

Wally tossed out his squad and I froze.

Wings.

“How the fuck did every single member of your team evolve?” I stared, wide eyed, as a pair of wings glared down at me from on high. Legends above that looked creepy in person.

‘I’m so happy we’re traveling together again. I missed your food so much.’ Nimue talked over Wally as she flew down and landed gingerly on my shoulder. ‘You too, I guess.’

“Thanks,” I deadpanned. “I don’t have any treats for you, so buzz off.” I sighed at the grin Lucas shot my way as Nimue flew back to Wally.

“I had nothing to do but train for a week, and most of my Pokémon evolve fast. What do you want from me?” Wally asked before looking at Gawain nervously.

The little guy was staring down at the ground, making it a point to not make eye contact with anyone.

That didn’t feel right.

“Sir Gawain,” I said firmly.

He snapped to attention instantly. ‘Yes, your grace.’

I giggled before walking over and bumping him in the forehead. “How are you feeling?”

‘I wish to apologize for how I have behaved. I acted below my station and lashed out without thinking.’ Gawain knelt down. ‘Please forgive me.’

‘That wasn’t what I asked,’ I said. ‘I asked how you were feeling.’

Gawain remained in a kneeling position.

“I forgive you for reacting to Emilie acting her age, please get up,” I begged silently.

“Rude,” Emilie shouted as Gawain rose up from the ground.

I stared pointedly at my starter and tilted my head toward Gawain. She stared at me for a few seconds before groaning.

“I’m sorry.” Emilie forced out with great difficulty. “I was... being a brat.”

Gawain stared at Emilie with wide eyes before a grin slowly pulled at the corners of his mouth.

‘Thank you, my lady. Your words warm my heart that-’

“Please stop,” Emilie begged.

“Good, are we all friends again?” May asked as she grabbed her own Poke Balls and released her team.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m going to find a quiet corner somewhere to focus in. I want to work on setting up barriers,” Emilie said, staring intently at Gawain.

‘I-’

“Alone,” she said, cutting Gawain off before disappearing.

I groaned as she disappeared. “Sorry about that, Gawain. She’s... working through some stuff.”

‘It is fine, Lady Lea. I’m sure she’ll work through it in her own time,’ Gawain commented.

Suzy glared at the spot she disappeared from, before clucking twice at May and leaving the group.

“Er, okay. That’s-” May trailed off as Suzy left.

‘Wants to. Talk to friend.’ Samie pushed out slowly.

‘Good job. You’re getting much better. We’ll get rid of that pausing in no time,’ Leshy complimented.

“Samie, I think calling Suzy and Emilie friends might be a bit of a stretch,” May grinned down at her team before looking my way. “Though... considering the last few days...”

“They are, but they’ll never admit it,” I agreed. “Thanks for translating, Gawain.”

He nodded my way once without saying anything further.

‘Can I talk, yet?’ Joern asked quietly as l turned to look at the rest of my team.

‘The captain hasn’t dismissed us from lineup, yet. Stay your tongue or I’ll have yer leaf,’ Apollo replied, glaring at Joern.

‘Wait, are we a crew? Oh, could I be the musician? I’ve got quite the collection of songs-’

“Denied.” I cut Lucas off. “You lost your singing privileges this morning, swabbie.”

‘Swabbie!’ Lucas said, sounding scandalized.

‘Yo, someone lower than me on the totem pole,’ Joern commented with a malevolent grin. ‘I could-’

‘Quiet,’ Apollo ordered.

I grinned down at my bird before waving my hand. “You’re all dismissed from whatever it was Apollo called it. I appreciate you trying to hold some kind of order together, Apollo, but I think it’s a lost cause with everyone out here at once.”

‘Aye, cap. I do believe you’re right.’ Apollo saluted with a sigh.

‘I missed hanging out with these people. I forgot how weird everyone was,’ Gwen said, earning glares from my team.

‘You’re being rude again,’ Nimue pointed out before flying down low.

‘What do you mean, thinking someone’s funny is a compliment, isn’t it?’ Gwen asked, tilting her head.

“Not... in this context,” Wally glared tiredly at his water mouse.

‘Well, I think so, and I’m usually right, so...’ Gwen trailed off.

‘No, you’re not, you stuck up-’

“Alright, everyone shut up,” Wally said, staring intently at the conglomerate of Pokémon in front of him. “We’re here to train.”

“Right,” May and I both said. “Jinx.” Same time again. We giggled.

Wally sighed. “My job is way too hard, alright, look, I don’t think any of us are going to get anything done if we’re in a group like this, so let’s split off. I’ll take my team and work with them by the beach, May can work with her squad by the entrance, and Lea can work with her team here, sound good?”

“Aww, but I-” May stopped at Wally’s look before nodding. “I guess things were getting a little silly. It’s just... been a bit since everyone’s been out and about all at once.”

“I’m fine with it, but I need to borrow May’s Pokedex for Lucas. I can’t use mine and I have no clue where to start.” I looked forlornly at my spectral pain in the ass as he and Apollo stared each other down.

May fished around in her bag before walking over and pressing the fancy tech into my hand. She leaned forward and pecked my cheek.

"Uh..."

“We’ll meet back up shortly after sunset, agreed?” May smiled cheekily at me.

I nodded slowly, faintly hearing Wally sigh as he usher his team towards the shore. May let go of the dex before darting away, leaving Leshy and Samie as they slowly trailed after their trainer. I turned to look back at my squad with a grin.

“Now then.” I pulled the Dex up and scanned Lucas. “Let’s get started.”

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

Emilie’s POV

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

Emilie looked out across the beach before closing her eyes and focusing on what she wanted, the calm breeze and ocean air helping her focus on the task at hand.

‘Just breathe in, and... exhale. And... Wall!’

Nothing happened.

“How the fuck does Mom make this look so easy!” She groaned. ‘Just try again, Emilie. Barrier’s the easiest of the wall moves to learn. Just-’

Darkness surrounded her as a tall looming shadow loomed overhead. Emilie scrambled to her feet and turned to see Suzy staring down at her.

“Whoa!” Emilie backed up, tripping over her own two feet as she fell backwards into the sand. “Don’t DO that. With how often we get jumped on this island I'm halfway liable to actually attack you. Do you know how long I’d hear it from Lea if I accidentally hurt you?” Emilie picked herself up off the ground and dusted herself off.

Suzy glared down at her with narrowed eyes. “You’re being a bigger bitch than usual, what’s up?”

“Excuse-”

“Cut it out with the banter for like... five seconds and answer the question. There’s what we do, and then there’s that.” Suzy waved her hand back towards the training field.

“It’s none of your business, feather-” The words died on her throat as a single feathered fist slammed into her stomach, sending her careening backwards with a resounding crack. The world seemed to slow as she slammed into the sand, before rolling back into the sea with a splash.

Suzy rubbed her knuckles as she glared at the wheezing psychic type. “I happen to like Gawain, so I’m making it my business.”

Water rose up around Emilie and Suzy darted forward, slamming into Emilie before she could even think of moving it. She threw Emilie back into the shore, before freezing.

Emilie strained as she held Suzy in place, desperately trying to suck in air.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Emilie wheezed.

Suzy just glared.

“If I let you go, are you going to attack me again?”

Suzy rolled her eyes. Emilie dropped the confusion.

“Just how hard is it to directly manipulate Pokémon like that? I’m a fighting type, I thought we were... what was it you said? Smooth of brain and full of violence?” Suzy asked.

Emilie glared. “Violence is right.” She rubbed her stomach as she finally managed to get her diaphragm to work again.

“Don’t be such a baby, I held back, and you fucking deserved it. You’ve been extra bitchy since we got back. I know this place doesn’t exactly instill the warm and fuzzy feelings we thought it would, but that’s no excuse to treat a friend like that.”

“I...” Emilie trailed off. “I know. The reason’s stupid, anyway. I’ll be better.”

“Uh uh. I ain’t Lea. I’m not going to take that at face value. Tell me what’s up,” Suzy glared. “And for all that’s fucking holy, what is up with the Everstone fanny pack? Do you know how ridiculous that looks? How the fuck are you going to keep up with me if you’re stuck as a fucking midget forever!”

Emilie froze.

“I... felt that it would be prudent to-”

“Cut the Tauros shit,” Suzy said. “Tell me straight up. Five little words and I’ll drop it. I don’t want to evolve.”

“I don’t need to-”

“I. Don’t. Want. To. Evolve.” Suzy enunciated each word slowly, sounding it out with care and precision. “Nice and easy for you lumpy brained psychic types.”

“I...”

“Don’t want to evolve.” Suzy finished with a grin. “Come on, you can do it if you-”

“I don’t want Lea to be afraid of me!” Emilie all but screamed, before looking away.

Suzy leaned back before sighing as she started to hear sniffling. “Oh, fucking hell, please don’t-”

“That fucking ass hole just gets to prance around in his second stage, not a fucking care in the world! Doesn’t matter that his fairy brain is making him act like a crazy person right now, that shit goes the fuck away when he evolves!” Emilie snarled, water and sand getting lifted into the air as she started ranting. “He doesn’t have to worry about Wally looking at him like he’s some kind of monster!”

“Emilie, I-”

“Shut up!” Emilie’s glare lasered in on Suzy, and the psychic storm she had been holding back lashed out. Sand launched forward in an instant, narrowly missing the fire bird as she jumped into the air. “What the fuck would you know about it?” Emilie reached up and mentally grabbed Suzy before throwing her down into the sand. “May trusts you enough to fucking lean on you while you’re fucking practicing FLAME CHARGE!”

“Emilie-” Suzy stopped as Emilie lifts her up into the air and tosses her back into the sand on the other side of her.

“I...” Emilie stopped talking, panting hard before falling to her knees. “I... I don’t... why can’t I just fucking say it...” Her cheeks felt wet.

“Because it would be a lie.” Suzy wheezed out, slowly pushing herself to her feet and sitting down next to Emilie. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t need,” sniffle “Your pity.”

“It’s not. I shouldn’t have pushed it. At least not on the Everstone. That’s on me.” Suzy sighed, before hesitantly reaching over and patting Emilie on the back. “Er... there, there,” Suzy awkwardly offered.

Emilie chuckled. “You’re really bad at this, you know that, right?”

“I do. I don’t have any idea how what I did with May in Rustboro worked,” Suzy said. “I kind of thought you were handling stuff better. You’re usually quite poised and proper. Makes it hard to get a read on you sometimes.”

“Not all of us have the luxury of wearing our hearts on our sleeves.” Emilie winced. “Sorry.”

“Please don’t apologize, the insult felt normal. I missed it,” Suzy's beak pulled back into a small grin. “I thought-”

“At first, I held myself back to prove a point to mother,” Emilie said. “That I would never be like her. I realized once I had calmed down that going to such an extreme for something like that was childish. I fully intended to let myself evolve once Lea left the hospital, but... then I saw it.” Emilie shivered. “When I tried to help Lea work through her attack, I saw the face of Lea’s fear through her eyes. For the most fleeting of seconds, a distorted, grotesque mutation of my final form stood across from her, taking my place. She was horrified beyond reason, and all but went into a panic attack from the sight.” Emilie pulled her legs to her chest and looked out across the ocean. “She looked at me with those wide, terrified eyes...”

“Yeah, that... that sucks,” Suzy said lamely. “I don’t really know what else to say to that.”

“She’s comfortable around me now. Even with the block not doing its job anymore, she still lets me in. She still trusts me. How much of that goes away if I'm not me anymore,” Emilie said, looking down into the sand.

Suzy snorted.

“Something funny?” Emilie asked with narrowed eyes.

“I’m having trouble picturing you as anyone other than the spoiled princess with an attitude problem.” Suzy grinned. “Doesn’t matter what you look like, you’re still going to be the same bag of crazy that Lea loves, for some reason.”

“You don’t-”

“Nope, I get to interrupt you now, so deal with it. Gawain’s still Gawain, he’s just a little more him. He’s extra protective, surprise. Who’d have thought a knight would want to protect people? Who’d have thought he’d have pride in his skills? I can’t imagine you being any more you than what you are right now, so on that front I don’t see what the big deal is, and at the end of the day...” Suzy waved her hand a few inches over Emilie’s head. “I don’t think a growth spurt is going to make Lea extra jumpy. Give her just a little bit more credit.”

“She’s not ready,” Emilie said.

“This is the same chick that told Solrock and Lunatone to fuck right the hell off when they tried to get her to stab May. I think she can deal with you being you. She has been so far.” Suzy leaned back and glanced back towards the clearing, where Lea was looking hopelessly at Lucas. “I think I see what May sees in her now, so give her the benefit of the doubt.”

“I wish I could...” Emilie muttered, before clenching her fist. “When the dam finally breaks. When Lea is her own person, free of limitations, and is comfortable enough to let me into her mind without fear. Only then will I let myself rise to the next stage.”

“Setting a date for it now?” Suzy asked cheekily.

“It’s the only way I’ll be sure of myself...” Emilie muttered.

Suzy nodded. “I look forward to that day, then. When we can stand as equals.”

Emilie tilted her head. “Did we not see the same encounter? I’m clearly above you now. How would me evolving put us on even footing?” Emilie shook her head. “Clearly, I’ve given you some kind of head trauma. Lea’s going to give me an earful for this, I'm sure.”

“If you want, I can put you in the ground again. I won’t pull my punches this time and you can get one shot like the porcelain princess you are,” Suzy clapped back.

“Assuming I even let you get close enough to try...” Emilie smiled. “Thanks, Suzaku.”

Suzaku leaned back at the full name.

“I feel better. Better than I have in days. I guess... I should listen to my own advice more, huh? I’m giving it so it must be great. I needed this, so... thank you,” Emilie looked away shyly, a blush on her face.

“Don’t mention it,” Suzaku replied with a smile before adopting a more serious tone. “To anyone.” Suzy paused before glaring. “EVER.”

Emilie just grinned back.