CHAPTER 276

I watched a trainer's strategy collapse in real-time.

Gardenia had set it up slowly. Seeing as this was an 8th badge battle, she wasn't pulling many punches. First, she drew her opponent in, letting his Macargo burn the Grassy Terrain she'd set up and take down her Ludicolo without much of a fight, even though his Rain Dance was still active. At this level, Grassy Terrain grew trees and shrubs as well, though not as many as that girl I'd seen on TV in Sunyshore, and Gardenia did not use the trees to fight either. Instead, everything went up in smoke and ash. Draw him into a false sense of security. The battle continued as it had been, with both trainers taking down Pokemon, but with Gardenia perpetually being one behind. Really, what this showed me was that my idol actually brought less fire to the table than I'd believed she would. Save for the occasional Solar Beam, which made the one Sunflora had thrown at me look tiny, the rest of her moves were… not weak by any means, but certainly not powerful when compared to her challenger, who was making Wake's Palafin look normal. Hell, his Grumpig— which was his apparent ace— even managed to force Gardenia to switch out her personal Leafeon, unless that had been intentional? It was difficult to tell, with the grass type Gym Leader.

Firepower had never been her prime tool. Gardenia brought up another Grassy Terrain as soon as her opponent switched out Macargo, which was a sound decision despite this one not being as powerful as her Ludicolo, but that caused the trainer to send out his fire type again as soon as his Staraptor fainted.

But it was when her Shiftry came around as her final member that everything took a turn for her challenger.

He had two Pokemon left, both of them being grass types, and Gardenia knew it because she'd researched him and his team. She'd baited him into using Macargo, Staraptor, and the rest of his team so he would no longer have answers. Shiftry's arms blurred as she clapped her leaves together, generating a massive ash storm that obscured his opponent's Sunny Day and rendered it useless. In fact, it made their grass type moves incredibly slow. Shiftry was a grass type used to fighting in the dark, and so she made quick work of Lilligant and Gogoat. People in the stadium did not cheer, because someone losing their 8th badge was recognized as an awful thing by trainers and civilians alike. Had Gardenia not given him that early lead and allowed him to keep it, he wouldn't have played this aggressively and might have won.

It took an ice-cold focus to stumble into a numbers disadvantage on purpose and to keep it that way. Not once had Gardenia's face twitched in panic or displeasure. Not once had she made a wrong decision, which I could understand now that I had hindsight on my side. The Ludicolo trap had been obvious to me and her challenger as well, which I believed was a mistake, but the longer Gardenia did not reap the trap she had sown, the more I believed it actually hadn't been a trap and just a blunder, or her having gone easier on her challenger. Instead, it had just been a strategy she'd set up to not pay off until the battle was almost finished.

Damn it, she was so cool.

I rose from my seat and shimmied my way out of the bleachers. When I'd heard that there would be someone battling for his 8th Gym Badge today, I knew missing the fight wouldn't have been an option, headache or not, and had opted to stay an extra day. This fight had taught me a few things that would be useful against Byron. One, the Gym Leaders didn't just research you, they dug at your weaknesses and brought them to the forefront of the battle. That challenger's might have been getting too excited when things went his way and he got an early lead, though I couldn't lie, I might have fallen into that trap as well, given the fact that it took the entire battle to spring up. This ash storm thing? Using a fire type's fire against their team? That wasn't something Gardenia was known for. Hell, I'd be surprised if she'd ever used a similar technique until today. That meant that I'd need to expect techniques and Pokemon specifically tailored to defeat me. If I could figure out those weaknesses beforehand, I could potentially preempt what Byron would have in store for me, though I knew catching every single thing was a pipe dream. There was no way I'd go in that fight without getting caught off-guard multiple times.

The second thing I noticed was the number of Pokemon in a Gym Leader's personal team I'd have to face. A long time ago— actually, in this very city, I believed, I believed that number would be more akin to three to five, but my expectations were skewed because as a kid, I'd only watch 8th Gym badge battles from people who'd gone through the Circuit multiple times. That number actually depended on what Gym Leader you were facing. For someone like Crasher Wake or Roark, a first-timer could expect two or three, so I'd been… a little correct. Any other Gym Leader, though? A single one was what I'd need to expect. In this battle, it had been Gardenia's Leafeon. Against Byron?

The steel type Gym Leader had eight Pokemon at his disposal on his personal team, and I'd need to prepare a counter against each one, which would no doubt involve multiple members of my team, and that wasn't counting the other five 8-badge level Pokemon I'd need to take down. I'd been thinking about working with lava again, but even though I would, it couldn't be the same tactic I had used against Volkner. I couldn't treat Byron like a fool who would be surprised when he no doubt knew I'd used lava already.

There was a lot to plan for, and for the first time, I was starting to feel a little overwhelmed.

Eterna City was still the same as always, except that there were no more protests to be seen. That didn't mean people were more endeared by the League than they were back then, though. It just meant what Cynthia was doing was working with terrifying efficiency. After having gone through Eterna when civilian agitation was at its highest, going through the city on Angel's back was like night and day. I wasn't planning on staying here. Hell, I already would have left if I hadn't been watching that Gym Battle. The plan had been to buy my team their TMs, spend the night, and then get out.

It had been a productive shopping spree, though I wasn't left with much money. Remember when you had an emergency fund, Grace? I remember.

As it turned out, setup moves were a lot more expensive than I first thought them to be, especially with how much work you needed to put in to be able to use them effectively. I'd wanted to get one both for Honey and Princess, but I'd needed to make a choice, and I'd picked Princess due to the electric type's attacks already being so strong. For her, the choice had been between Calm Mind and Nasty Plot, but I'd settled on the latter for a single reason. While Calm Mind would bring her the focus to improve her precision and the speed of her attacks, which would in essence, also improve her offense, Nasty Plot was less of a scalpel and more of a hammer, which I needed to beat Byron. It had been expensive, but worth it, I'd say.

The second TM I'd gotten was Surf. I hadn't actually bought it for Buddy, but for Sweetheart. Part of me couldn't help but think this was a waste, but it was an old promise between me and her. She'd take a long time to be able to use the move in actual battle. Right now, the most she could do was move a little water around (which she was ecstatic about), but the knowledge had been there, at the very least, and a Tyranitar knowing Surf would certainly be something that'd catch Byron off-guard. That was the kind of stuff Barry would come up with, not me.

The third expensive TM I'd gotten had been a difficult choice for me. I had taught Buddy Protect.

I'd first come into the store wanting to get him Psychic, but I'd changed my mind at the last second. This wasn't something I envisioned him using much or effectively in normal battles at all like Honey did. It was more of something I thought could be useful if anything tried to kill me and Honey was too far away to get to me in time, even with Radiant Leap. In essence, I'd prioritized a potential confrontation with Team Galactic, the future battle with the ghost in that ancient city, and potentially Ruth in the Lost Tower over my battle with Byron. Better to have contingencies than not. The 8th gym wouldn't matter if I died before I made it there.

Sunshine's TM had been bought to synergize with him dropping onto unsuspecting Pokemon when he flew by using Shell Trap, namely, Heat Crash. Combined with the fact that he was making steady progress with Shell Smash, he was going to be a menace no matter what Byron brought up. Tricks, or overwhelming power, Craig had said, and I was going to go with the latter.

Since I hadn't had much money left over, the only TMs I managed to get for Honey and Angel were Rain Dance and Bulldoze, respectively. Rain Dance would synergize well with Thunder and Buddy in general, and Bulldoze would be a nice coverage move to have. Both attacks would serve me well for the plan that was forming in my head against Byron, despite the fact that I hadn't studied him yet. The team would be split into… well, not exactly halves, but close to it, each group having a distinct strategy to work with. It was important not to get too lost in the plan, however. Battles were not a clean affair, and I'd need contingencies in case everything went to hell. That included getting Nightstalker to teach Princess that move he'd used to clear the weather to make transitions between each strategy easier and more efficient than having to wait for the weather to peter out.

In theory, I was done with everything, and I could just have Princess whisk me away and fly toward Celestic, but Ramon Casaus had gotten other ideas. My fellow sponsee was in the city as well, for some reason, and he had asked me to meet in person. When I had asked Melody if it was a good idea, with the tension brewing within Poketch and all, she told me that a meeting to make sure of what position Ramon was in couldn't hurt, so I agreed and was now on the way to the north-east of the city.

I found him looking up at a massive golden statue, a Delibird and Raticate by his side. Angel waved at them both, though the Raticate was sound asleep and Delibird ignored him, being too busy scrounging through his gift bag-tail to care. The grass type gently dropped me onto the ground.

I'd seen the statue before, in passing during my first stay here. It was apparently some deity some Eternans still worshipped and placed above Arceus himself. Some kind of dragon, standing on its hind feet, though most people couldn't agree if that was the actual way it walked or if it walked on all fours. Large plates jutted out of its shoulders and back, and a massive tail stretched beyond the podium the dragon sat on. Speaking of its shoulders, they were clad in large circular pads with a gem at their center, while another gem sat some kind of bony plating on its torso. Its forelegs had three claws stretching down its leg while the hind ones were flat and had a single, dull one. It was… strange-looking, to say the least, but according to the religious here, this dragon had brought about the creation of the world. Save for Sunyshore, Eastern Sinnoh was far more religious than the West, and though the majority worshipped Arceus, still, a lot of Eternans still prayed to this deity. The white plating that had once been on the statue had been torn off, meaning that the actual name of the dragon had been lost to time, though that didn't stop people from calling it Holy Sinnoh, which generated friction with other religious sects. Holy Sinnoh was supposed to be Arceus, not whatever this was, or at least that was the argument.

"Ramon," I said. "You wanted to see me?"

The dark-skinned trainer turned toward me. "Sheesh, not even a 'good afternoon'?" he said, clearly sarcastic. "But yes. You must already know what this is about."

"Poketch, yes. And sorry, I guess I'm just on edge. You know, Melody's been telling me not to worry, but that's kind of difficult when I know that your liaisons are all plotting against me."

Ramon shrugged. "Don't take it personally. Really, it'd be weirder if they just let this opportunity pass them by," he said. "Me, though? I'm no Aubri. I don't really care about being the face of the company. Too many eyes and ears on me."

"Wouldn't Aubri think the same? You said she was close to her Mega Stone the last time we met."

"But she's got another Pokemon capable of it," he said. "It took her years to save for her first one. If she got your position, it'd still take a while, but a lot less time. Anyway, I'm not here to talk about Aubri. We haven't spoken in weeks anyway, it wouldn't be my place to talk about her and her plans… unless…" he trailed off with a sly look.

"Where do you stand in this, Ramon?" I warily asked. "You've warned me multiple times about your liaison, and now you've said that my position doesn't interest you, yet you're still here. What's your angle?"

I couldn't get a good read on him. What did he gain by helping me, other than just being nice? I wasn't above thinking that people could just be nice, but come on. There was a play he was making that I wasn't seeing here, and being kept in the dark just meant I'd arrive in Jubilife with a knife on my neck. And possibly a hundred other knives beyond what I could see.

"You were supposed to go to Jubilife. You canceled," he stated as he crouched, his arms slung over his knees.

"Something came up. But I was just going to see my Dad, not doing anything Poketch-related."

"Before we continue, I'm going to need to confirm a couple of things from you," Ramon said. "Is it true that you're going to Unova next year, or are you staying on to continue to train to become an ACE?"

I frowned. Only the board and Melody knew the answer to that question, and it had created countless theories and rumors online. The problem was that if I answered honestly, then the entire excuse for me being in the raid would crumble… or maybe not? If my stay in Unova was temporary, then I could still come back to Sinnoh at a later date and join the League again. Hell, I wouldn't be the first trainer to do so.

"I… am going to Unova," I said.

Ramon smiled. "Okay, I wasn't sure. We can negotiate, then. You see, I'm actually here on behalf of Bobby. He was too busy to come here, and I was already planning on stopping by anyway. Me, I don't really care about any of this, but him? Floaromans are a tightly-knit community, and they all want one thing. Recognition. He's thinking of making a play, Grace."

Shit. Zachary was from Floaroma too, and he'd wanted to be the first to make it to the top sixteen. Bobby, I assumed, was no different. He wanted to make his town proud, not only by placing far in the Conference and beyond the top thirty-two where he'd placed last year, but by becoming the face of a massive, Jubilife-based company. Part of me instinctively wanted to pull on my empathy to see if Ramon was lying or not, but I stamped down the thought. In a world where I learned self-control, then maybe that'd be an option, but not now.

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"He didn't sound like that. He warned me about gunning for me through text, just like you," I said.

"Ah, but here's the thing," Ramon said with a raised finger. "That was more than a week ago. I don't think you realize how quickly things are moving, Grace. He's gotten an offer. People are throwing their support behind him. The wind's at his sails."

"So, who's coming after me? Aubri, Bobby… what about Sharron?"

"Sharron's too small to have a real shot, it's just those two, trainer-wise," Ramon said. "And I'll be helping Bobby take you down, unless we can come to an agreement."

"You're helping him too? Why?" I asked, biting my lip.

"We're best pals. I told you back in Sunyshore, didn't I?" he shrugged.

I paused. "Melody hasn't said anything."

"Your liaison is good. Among the best, really, which is crazy considering the fact that you're the first person she's working with, but she's not infallible."

Did I have any allies to count on inside the company? Besides Melody and the board, I did not. My isolating ways had come back to bite me. There was also Craig, but the man was nigh unreachable, since he was inside of Mount Coronet, at the moment, and putting everything he had into winning the Conference for his final year. But did I have to make any deals, if I had the board on my side? Couldn't they just shut down any rebellion and reiterate that they were on my side? But then Ramon wouldn't even be offering this… supposed olive branch— unless he was trying to trick me and acting like he was in a better position than he was. He and Bob were best friends, and since that was why he was taking his side, I doubted I could convince him to just stay neutral. Unlike Aubri, Bobby was actually outgoing and a good option to take as the face of the company. From the few times I'd interacted with him, he was extroverted, outgoing, and genuinely nice, which was far more than could be said of me. Were they gambling that the board would see reason and pick him instead of me?

"Before I go any further, I need to call—"

"No. It's you and me, Grace," Ramon said. "No help from the outside."

Fuck. My face and tone remained stoic, but the situation was deteriorating, and quickly. Had I gone to Jubilife earlier, could I have stepped in front of this? "What are you offering, then? I'm sure you wouldn't just preemptively warn that everything was going to go to shit for me without anything in it for you— well, for Bobby."

"We're offering you the best damn deal you're going to get, that's what we're offering," Ramon smirked. "Doesn't even come with a loss of your position, or your salary, really. I'm asking you to act in your self-interest."

"I'm listening."

"See, Poketch only operates in Sinnoh. Compared to X Technologies, who does business in Unova, Kalos, Hoenn, and Alola… they're pretty small, and they want to remedy that by using your trip to Unova as a launchpad to promote their products abroad. That much is obvious." Ramon stood back up, though he kept his back slouched forward, staring right into my eyes. He's confident about this. "Wouldn't it make sense, then, to divide your position? One face of the company per region?"

Oh, I saw the angle, now. He wanted to have Bobby step up and be Craig's replacement in Sinnoh while I embraced the same role in Unova.

"Really, it doesn't change much for you. You'll still be able to sell your merch— which I hear they're starting to make. You'll still be paid the same amount, and even more, really, given the fact that you'll need a lot of support in a brand-new country. All that changes, really, is that Bobby gets a slice of the pie."

That sounded too good to be true, despite how much sense it made. The problem with this suggestion was that I was planning on staying in Unova for a year, maybe two at most, depending on what happened there. A regional face of the company actually needed to stick around to build a reputation and turn into a household name. Meanwhile, if there was only one trainer representative for everywhere, as was the current setup, then the location would matter a lot less. This wasn't going to work if I wanted my goals to be a reality, I realized, and so, we were at an impasse unless I could figure out something really quickly. I could potentially tell him and Bobby to fuck off, but could I really afford to leave everything in Melody's hands? She was good, but as Ramon had said, she was not infallible, or she would have gotten ahead of this— not that I blamed her. I had no idea what things looked like in Jubilife right now, but it looked to be a game of cloak and daggers.

"Where does Aubri fit in all of this?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I needed to buy time.

"She's doing her own thing," he answered. "But don't expect her to sit still."

Damn it, that had been shorter than I expected.

"And are you sure you get nothing out of this?" I continued.

"I grew up in the streets, Grace. I'm content with what I have. I'm more concerned about battling than this shit, but I owe Bobby, so I figured I'd help."

How would I make everyone happy here? My breathing slowed, and for a moment, I became someone else.

If I'm Bob Wallace, my goal is to gain Grace's current position, either through a deal or through corporate assassination. After our first meeting in Sunyshore, I liked Grace Pastel enough to warn her about people going after her, even after seeing videos of the raid, but now, the opportunity of a lifetime has presented itself, and there is simply no way I can say no. It was either now or never, because Grace would never be in a weaker position than she is now. Even worse, her position was currently quickly improving, both with trainer and civilians alike. The longer I wait, the longer she cements herself in her position within the company. I have until she goes to Jubilife with Craig— who might be a crucial ally of hers and is currently impossible to contact— to handle the real transition to strike, and the days were ticking, so I hear Grace is passing through Eterna City and decide to send Ramon, who I trust unconditionally not to betray me, to offer one last compromise. If Grace refuses, then I can say that I tried. I strike, and it's all-out war, potentially allying with Aubri Schneider to get Grace out of the way. It would be difficult, with the board still supporting her, but if we started using my leverage to make the company lose money, then they could potentially be brought to the negotiating table. They could also fire us, but we could balance the way we acted, being a thorn in Poketch's side instead of a full-on obstacle. I know this is possible, because I've seen Grace and even Aubri do it time and time again with minimal pushback. It would just take a careful balancing act, something I was willing to risk because there would never be a better opportunity than this one. But! This was still an incredibly risky play, and I didn't particularly like those, given the fact that I was staking my entire future within the company with this move, so I decide to offer Grace this deal. A deal where, from my perspective, everyone ended up happy despite the fact that I'm twisting her arm into accepting.

I held back a gasp as I snapped back to reality, blinking rapidly to remember who and where I was.

"Can I call Bobby on the phone?" I kept stalling. "I'd rather negotiate with him than you. No offense."

"None taken. Really, you're being a whole lot chiller about this than I thought you would."

"Thought I'd get angry?" I smirked.

"Frustrated, mostly, but I honestly prefer it like this. This way, you're clear-headed when making the decision, and we both have no regrets. But I'm afraid Bobby is busy, at the moment."

"You keep saying busy. Where is he?"

"Jubilife."

I saw the shape of it now. This was a thinly veiled threat that basically meant the moment I disagreed with this deal, he'd instantly put his plans in motion, and it would take me days to get back to Jubilife. That would, of course, delay everything I had going on. My plans to go to the Lost Tower, to see Bella and to catch Claydol. It might even give me a lot less time to train than I currently had, given the fact that I'd most likely be stuck inside of the Poketch Building for days or weeks. And we have one month until the Red Chain is completed. Not accepting this deal would screw me, and so I needed to twist it in a way where I lived through this ambush to see the sunrise.

"Say, Ramon," I muttered. "Would you like to enter an alliance?"

The teenager grinned. "Sing it to me."

"I can give Bobby what he wants, but he'll need to pitch this with me when I get to Jubilife. All it takes is for him to agree for me to keep my position as the face of the company."

Ramon frowned, and his face fell. "I don't follow."

"My current position's official name is Poketch Pokemon Trainer Ambassador. Nowhere in that title," I exhaled, "does it say Sinnoh."

Something shifted in Ramon's eyes.

"Here's what I propose. That Poketch creates a sub role for ambassadors like what Bobby wants— one per region. It comes with a promotion and a lot of attention from the media, especially for something this fresh and exciting. Bobby gets what he wants, starts representing Sinnoh, Floaroma gets on the map, and he makes his hometown proud." Thought I doubted the city would grow, with how expensive buying land was, but this was more about principle for Bobby. "I stay as Trainer Ambassador— a role that would fit all regions no matter where I traveled. I wouldn't be above Bobby, quite exactly, but I'd be a lot more fluid, which is what I want."

"I'd… have to speak to Bobby about this, even if I like it. It'd require someone to fit the bill in Unova, though, since you wouldn't be getting this new position."

"I could still theoretically get it, if we took things slow and Poketch splits my current role for a year between the regions before creating what I was talking about. That way, I get to test the waters. But I'm thinking we give it to Aubri."

"It'd fit, wouldn't it?" Ramon said with a sigh. "Unfortunately for you, Aubri has no plans to go to Unova. She's sticking to Sinnoh."

"Then I represent Unova until Poketch finds a replacement, and then I get my old job back when they do."

Finding a replacement of… well, not my caliber, because most Poketch sponsees were of my level or higher, but finding one who was willing to spend the rest of their career in Unova would probably take a while. Uprooting your entire life and plans was a challenge, even if it came with a promotion.

"I think Bobby will agree with this," Ramon said.

And I knew he would, because a solution where everyone was happy and they progressed up the ladder was better than a full-blown civil war where we'd both come out battered and bloodied.

"Aubri's still a problem," he continued. "He was negotiating with her, and now she'll think he's a turncoat."

"Aubri can't offer you what I am. She's offering you a drawn-out conflict which you don't know how it'll end. I'm giving you this on a silver platter. No one has to take any risks, and both Bobby and I get a promotion— he gets a tangible, financial one, by the way. All I'm getting is a new title at the end of the year. And I'm not asking you to go to war with Aubri here, just to, you know, help me keep her at bay."

Ramon hummed, and stayed silent for a few seconds as his eyes locked with mine once more, as if he was trying to figure out if this was a trap or not. He approached me with an outstretched hand, and I shook it.

"Now, you understand that we need assurances, yeah? I need you to call Melody and get her started on this so I can be sure this isn't a lie. She'll get in contact with Bobby's liaison, and by the time you get to Jubilife, I'm sure there'll be a shiny new arrangement to present to the board."

"Fair enough," I nodded, letting relief flood through my veins. Holy shit, that had been close. I had essentially been forced into a new job and lived through it by the skin of my teeth. Had I been staying in Sinnoh, this deal would not have been anywhere as appealing, which was why Ramon's first question had been if I was still planning on going to Unova. "The transition will be slow, though. I don't think Bobby will get what he wants until I'm gone."

"He's a patient guy," he said. "Been waiting for this for years, really. He'd given up when Craig recommended you, but with this opportunity… he had to take it. And despite what you probably believe, he does like you, still. Sometimes, it's just about looking out for yourself."

"I get that. What about Aubri? Think she'll strike on her own?"

"She'll throw a fit, but since you have the board on your side, and now both Bobby and I, there's not much she could do without pushing herself out of the company."

Contrary to before, where she'd been on the sidelines and would have waited for my side and Bobby's to maim each other, offering help, but not committing fully. This was a terrifying game I'd stepped into, and by the Legendaries, I'd almost lost. Hell, maybe I'd already lost. It would depend entirely on what Melody would say to this, but I'd done my best with the information at hand.

"Well, that's that," Ramon said. "If you want, we can get some lunch after you speak to your liaison. Been wanting to talk about that Tyranitar of yours. Maybe we can even have a one-on-one."

"Maybe I would have agreed if you hadn't tried to stab me in the back," I said with a rueful smile. "Plus, I've got to hide what she can do from Byron… and you know, you might be an opponent at the Conference. I'd be revealing my hand far more than yours, and I don't think it'd be worth what I would learn from the loss."

"Always with the stabbing metaphors," Ramon cackled. "In my defense, that comparison doesn't work. I basically said I'd shank you if you didn't accept our deal or find something better," he shrugged. "But no worries, I expected that answer. Fightin' one just gets me all excited, you know?"

"Hmhm."

I grabbed my phone, and dialed for Melody. Of course, he wanted to be here to be sure I'd tell her the truth and hadn't tricked him. She answered right away, since she'd been anticipating this call.

"How did it—"

"Hi Melody!" Ramon said with a sheepish smile.

"Please don't talk," I groaned. "It went… okay, but it could have been worse for all parties involved. Here's what happened…"

I spent the next five minutes trying to explain what had happened to her, which was a lot more time than I had expected. She wanted far more information that I had with me at the moment, but at the very least, it looked like this wasn't a complete and utter disaster.

"I'm sorry, Grace. I should have known things were going too smoothly… it was obviously a trap. They were keeping us in the dark, and I was none the wiser."

"I just need to know—" I turned toward Ramon and sighed. "Is this a trap, or does it sound good?"

"It weakens you slightly by making your position less special, at least until you regain your position after a replacement for you in Unova is found," she rambled. "But it is a sound plan. You negotiated a good deal, given the circumstances."

It was probably a setback, money-wise. If I was to be one of a half, sharing my future position with Bobby, then I wouldn't be able to increase my salary as much when I arrived at Jubilife. It was… bad, but not a catastrophy as it could have been. What this did teach me, though, was that I'd been fucking stupid by thinking that I could just keep doing whatever I wanted and have Melody handle everything. This was on me, because had I kept in regular touch with Bobby, Ramon, Sharron, or even the other sponsees who hadn't been in Sunyshore during the photoshoot, then I could have had people to count on and fought this, instead of rolling over.

"I'll get in touch with Dennis, but Jules and Aubri are going to throw a fit… goodness," she sighed. "It'd be good if you could get here as fast as possible, Grace. Before the agreed upon date would be ideal."

"I'll try not to spend too many days out in the wild," I said. "If I can get there sooner, I will. You have my word."

"Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a lot of work."

"I figured. Take care, and thanks," I said. "I'll try to be better."

"So will I. This is a learning moment for both of us."

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice?

I would not get caught a second time.

I hung up the phone and looked at Ramon, who'd been texting Bob. "Are we happy with this?"

"Yeah."

Better make connections now than keep putting it off, I thought.

"Oh, and Ramon. I did say I wouldn't be battling you, but are you still up for lunch before I leave the city?" I asked, ignoring the little voice in my head that told me not to. I smothered the growing enmity, that little voice that told me to snuff him out and make him pay for what he'd done. That feeling that made me want to exact some kind of revenge— and revenge could take many forms— died before it could take hold and control me. I took a deep breath and plastered a smile on my face. Aliyah had been correct, when she'd said I could still backslide and get back to how I was. Two weeks ago, would I have subtly screwed with his emotions for doing this? Probably... not? The fact that I wasn't sure about the answer didn't bode well, though I didn't think I would have done anything permanent— but that was just thinking like Mesprit. Perhaps I would have made his emotions fray slightly so he failed to negotiate a proper deal with me, or tried to slowly pull him over to my side, to seed doubt into his mind and to make him stab his best friend in the back over the course of... well, a lunch.

What was done was done. I'd best adapt to the new situation instead of getting stuck in the past no matter how wrong it felt and tugged at me.

"Well, I'll be damned," he smirked. "Sure, why not?"

And all things considered? Lunch went surprisingly well.