“So who were they?” Felis asked when they were finally out of that stale warehouse. Seriously, it was old and musty, hadn’t been cleaned in years, where did Gloom find the place?

“The Low-down Alley.” Gloom replied, her voice holding that suave tune it usually had, “I wouldn’t call them small-timers, but they aren’t exactly big game either.”

“So are they a gang then?”

“Correct.”

“I’m guessing they don’t like that these other guys are getting big, right?”

“Also correct.”

“Get a third guess right and you get a gold sticker.” Omega said, before closing her eyes and going back to her weird psychic shit.

“Funny.” Felis deadpanned, “Anyways, why does Eterna even have gangs? Why are they running against each other? What’s their purpose?”

Gloom shot him a look, an amused smile creeping up her lips, “Curious, are we?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe.”

In truth, they were walking and there wasn’t much to really talk about. He’d have expected they could at least catch a taxi or something, but Gloom insisted on walking, to ‘enjoy the night air’ as she put it. He didn’t really mind, but the other two were unnerving, simply staying quiet anytime he tried to pry about their personal lives. Respectable, but Felis didn’t like the fact that he was being ignored, or the awkward silence following the 'being ignored' part.

“Hmmm. Eterna is a little bit of a strange city.” Gloom began, crossing her arms as she walked, “Low housing often draws people in, but the lack of any real economy within the city often pushes them farther and farther away from the interior of the city. There’s no real business here, and as such, people turn to crime to make ends meet.”

Oooh. Lore. Felis decided there were worse things to listen to, and gave it his full attention, confident that Sirius would keep an eye out for him in his stead.

“What little money does circulate around here is usually from lower income jobs, the ones most regular folk don’t want to do.”

“I can see that, sanitary work, like plumbers and stuff?”

“Very good!” Gloom smiled, patting him on the shoulder. Felis couldn’t help but feel like he was being talked down to, like a child solving 1+1 in front of a teacher.

Strangely enough, he didn’t mind.

“Of course, there is experience in such work.” The older woman continued, “But between you and me, I’d rather not scour through the sewers fighting Pokémon to unclog someone’s drain.”

The image of him and Aken staying in a sewer all day to do battle had him shuddering, “Yeah, no. Not for me. Maybe Sirius–”

“Ew.”

“Nevermind. Yeah not for us. Is that why we saw a lot of battling? Felt more like a festival rather than just a training montage though.”

“There was blood in the air, too.” Sirius added.

“You didn’t feel it?” Omega asked, her eyes boring into Felis’s as she looked for his answer.

“Feel what?” And this time he wasn’t lying.

“Strange…I assumed because–nevermind.”

“Please don’t do that.” Felis winced, “I hate when people say ‘nevermind’ right after saying something.”

Omega said nothing, but a glint of mischief in her eye told Felis that he’d given her a weapon she would abuse.

“To answer your question.” Gloom said, chuckling, “While the people here work to remove pest Pokémon, they are too weak to provide any substantial experience. Despite that, you saw many of them were partaking in battle, no one would be training that much for simple Rattatas or Wurmples. Which means...”

“There’s another threat?”

“Spot on. Ghosts.”

Felis could hear the soft whisper of Aken as he slipped out of his shadow, intent on figuring out what she meant.

“Ghost type Pokémon, especially this close to Eterna forest, are a major threat to people, children especially.” Gloom said, before sighing, “It’s a shame they’re so annoying to catch sometimes, they make for very useful allies, especially against their own kind.”

“I read that ghosts weren’t that bad though. Didn’t Fantina change their outlook?”

“Did you read that from her autobiography?”

“Was I not supposed to…?” Felis asked.

“No, no, the author is right to an extent.” Gloom sighed again, “But I’ve met the fellow, a complete Fantina fanboy. Or as the kids call it--"

"Don't." Omega pleaded.

"A major simp."

"Ugh, she said it."

"It's not my fault I'm hip with the kids." Gloom grinned, wriggling her eyebrows at her partner before turning back to Felis, "Anyhow, he may or may not have exaggerated a few things.”

Well that was annoying. He’d have to double check everything he read now for errors.

“That biography is written from the perspective of someone from the safer parts of a city. But here on the outskirts? Ghosts can be a problem. So they battle, play music, and keep things as bright and cheery to ward the ghosts away.”

“That’s…hm, that's actually pretty fucking awesome.” Felis blinked, looking back down the way they came. The road they’d taken was filled with dimmer lights, so the pulsing light of the outskirts stood out from the rest, softly keeping the night alive.

“We should make time to visit.” He whispered to Sirius, keeping his voice as low as possible while Omega began to berate Gloom for ruining their image in front of them.

“It’d be good training.” His brother nodded, “Might be some money to earn too.”

“Battles could get us some extra bucks for sure.”

“Or we could run jobs like we used to. If there’s a gang war going, guys like us are in demand.”

“Untraceable with no ties…” Felis realized, his eyes widening. He hadn’t ‘run jobs’ since Al wiped out all the competition in the Before, and even then after that he’d been bedridden and unable to do anything. But Arun was right, this was a prime opportunity to start building contacts outside Galactic. How useful they’d be was a different question altogether…but he was sure they could figure something out.

“We’re here!” Gloom said with a little cheer, “Oooh I haven’t been to one of these since my twenties!”

The place was…really fancy looking. It was taller than it was wide, three stories tall, 4 if it had a basement. The glass panes on the outside were reflected the night sky, so he couldn’t see inside the building itself, but he could hear the faint thrum of music emanating from inside. Neon lights plastered onto the roof of the building spelled out “SOMEONE’S BOX”.

“Is that…is that referencing the PC storage?” Felis asked, a chuckle of disbelief escaping his lips.

“Focus.” Omega sighed, turning to face them all, “This is the place. We aren’t making any big moves today, it’s just reconnaissance, and it’ll probably be like that until we have something concrete to make a move off of.”

“We’ll be splitting into two teams.” Gloom added, “Tonight, I think we’ll have team 1 enter the building, team 2 will be setting up a temporary base of operations.”

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“I call team 1.” Felis immediately said.

“Felis will go to team 2 with me.” Gloom smiled.

“What? Why!?”

“Your file has a little report about an altercation with a bouncer last time you were at a bar.”

Oh…oh shit he totally forgot about that.

“I see your point.” He conceded.

“Don’t worry dude.” Sirius grinned, patting his shoulder, “I’ll have enough fun for the both of us.”

Bastard.

—------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lines.

Sirius hated lines.

Apparently his displeasure at waiting to enter the building was clear on his face, as Omega nudged his shoulder and said, “Smile more, you look like you’re here to start a fight.”

“I don’t see you smiling like you’re happy to be here.” He retorted.

“I’m not. I’m a psychic, entering a place where a bunch of people are crammed together. The difference is, I'm hot, and you're a bald dude.”

Sirius sighed, running a hand through his buzzed hair. He had a haircut only his mother would love, and that statement was being proven every second he stepped outside.

"So what does it feel like, being near all these people?" He asked, trying to change the subject.

She clicked her tongue as a group of partygoers left stumbling, “It’s like one big soup of feelings and emotions that just washes over me. It's gross.”

Sirius laughed, unable to help himself, “So why not bring Gloom instead? I know she dragged my brother off but she was looking like she wanted to enter herself.”

“Unfortunately for me, this club wants to promote a certain image.” Omega nodded towards a group of 7 guys who were pushed off to the side to let a more even group of 3 guys and 4 girls enter instead.

“Ah, see what you mean.”

A lot of clubs liked to play with gender ratios, they wanted either an even split or leaned towards a more female audience due to social customs of guys buying girls a drink. On top of that, it was free advertisement. ‘Look at us, we have girls here! Come spend your money so you can “win” these girls over!’

Smart, from a money point of view. Drinks were expensive as shit and he'd have easily dropped a hundred back in his Uni days.

“Yep.” Omega said, as they moved up the line some more, “These fuckers just had to use a club. They couldn’t pick a back alley instead?”

“Feels like any psychic could figure them out if they did.” Sirius replied, “Though…could I ask you some more about it, being a Psychic?”

She gave him a side eye, a frown touching the edge of her lips, “Are you still going to deny it?”

Obviously.

“Deny what?”

“Ass. Alright, what do you want to know?”

“What does it mean? What can you do? How do you even know you’re a psychic?”

Instead of answering any of his questions, Omega pointed a finger towards Sirius’s belt, which as if on its own, unclasped itself from his waist and now hovered a few feet ahead of him. He stared at the belt, then at her, then back to the belt.

That was...that was straight up magic. A thousand questions entered his head at once. Where did the weight go? How did one apply for with their mind? How fine was her control? How much could she carry?

“...Nice.” He said instead, unwilling to look too impressed, “But can I have my belt back? I don’t know if my Pokémon enjoy being held up like that.”

Both balls were radiating muted waves of confusion, though Sirius forced himself not to respond, caution telling him Omega would find out the second he did.

Luckily she returned it easily enough, “I can also tell you approximately how many people are inside that building right now, what they’re feeling, and a couple extra tricks I think I’ll keep to myself.”

“Can you read minds?”

“You’ll never know~” Omega hummed.

She didn't, otherwise she'd know Sirius was thinking she was a little too full of herself. And she didn't seem like type of person to accept an insult to their image.

They spent the rest of their time together in silence until they reached the front of the line, a bouncer as tall as Sirius asking them for IDs. They presented the fake ones given by Galactic, and those weren’t scrutinised too much. Both of them looked like adults, and the IDs confirmed they were over 18 so they were shooed in after leaving their Pokémon in a storage machine.

“Don’t worry about it.” Omega whispered, as she caught his look, “Today won’t have any action, so just relax.”

“You don’t know that.” Sirius muttered back, still, he complied. He wouldn't ruin the mission because he was nervous.

It was the music he felt first. The heavy thumping that sent his blood pumping with every beat of heavy bass. It got louder and louder as he and Omega walked past the fancy lobby and through another set of doors.

Darkness washed over them as they stepped into the Storage Box proper, the only lights visible being the faint neons off to the sides that cast those nearby in a faint purple glow, or the light machines that flashed fast and bright. He could tell now there were three floors now that he was actually inside. Their current floor was filled with tables and bars, bird Pokémon that Sirius couldn’t recognize flew back and forth with plates of food. Drinks were served by waiters and…

No way.

“Are those Lopunnies?” He had to shout for his question to be heard.

“Yep!”

“You don’t think that’s weird!?”

“Of course it’s weird! But this way you get eye candy and bodyguards at the same time!”

He shuddered, politely refusing a drink offered by one of the bunny Pokémon. Anyways, back on point, the floor they were on split two ways. Down below where the larger dance floor was, and another set of stairs that led up to who knows where.

“Up the stairs?” He asked Omega, she was looking like she was having trouble focusing from all the noise.

“Probably, let me sit for a bit. Take me to the bartender, ask him.”

He did as she asked, wrapping an arm gently around her waist and pushing past people to get to the bar. He picked one with a smaller crowd, the smell of spilled beer likely the reason why it was a little more deserted than the others. Sitting her down in a dry seat he waited for the bartender's attention to go to him.

“How can I help?” The employee asked with a practised smile.

“Some juice please, whatever you think's good. And something non-alcoholic.”

It was amusing to see that the price of the drinks was still way too overpriced, it reminded Sirius of home. Normally he’d be adverse to the money he’d have to pay, but he’d swiped some cash from Omega when he was pulling her over, and didn’t hesitate to spend that. She was her senior in the business, only made sense for her to pay.

“What’s up there, by the way?” He asked, briefly opening up his mind to the emotions around him. The assault of hundreds of bodies washed over him, but he was able to focus down the man in front of him with some effort. Their emotions were still muted compared to those of Pokémon, making it easier for him to not be overwhelmed.

“Nothing much.” The bartender replied, “Private rooms, sometimes people want to pay a little extra for private parties.”

If it weren’t for the quick spike of nervous energy that emanated from the man, he would’ve believed him. “Are we allowed to check the area out before buying? How does it work?”

“You’d have to go to our website, but right now the floor is fully booked.”

“Shit, really? Which gang?”

“Roo-nothing. Sorry, no it's a bunch of different rooms that are rented out.”

Big lie. Didn’t need Pranav to figure that out.

“Ah. Oh man, poor Janitors, eh?”

Another practiced smile from the bartender, thought it was a tad brittle. The man seemed happy to dash away as another customer called him over, leaving the conversation without so much as a goodbye.

“You hear any of that?” He asked Omega, handing her a glass of red-ish juice. Judging from how eagerly she sipped at it, the bartender picked a good one.

“It’s too fucking loud to hear shit.” Omega complained, “I could feel him though, just a bundle of nerves that one, hold on–are you drinking on the job?”

“Non-alcoholic.” He grinned, holding up a can of "beer" for her to see the tiny print at the bottom, “I don’t drink too much these days. Anyways, do we check upstairs?”

“Let me finish this first and we’ll go.”

Omega knocked back her drink like it was her last meal, before standing up and wrapping an arm around Sirius’s back. “Follow my lead.”

He nodded, pulling her close with an arm around her waist. She stumbled forward, giggling and fluttering her eyelids at him. The sudden change had him pause, before he blinked back to reality and followed her lead, adopting a dopey smile and swaying slightly with each step.

When they reached the stairs of the third floor, Arun was surprised to see trainers halting their path. They were young, maybe only 17 or 18. One guy had an Aron by his feet, it seemed agitated, maybe from all the music? His companion was a girl about the same age, a Magnemite by her side.

Both of them had a belt, three balls each.

“You can’t go up there.” The girl said, crossing her arms as Magnemite hummed dangerously.

“Oh come on~” Omega sang, “We’re just looking for a little quiet spot.”

“These are VIP rooms, you’re not allowed in.”

“But we have money.” She huffed, waving a card she’d pulled, “See this? That’s a black card, they don’t give you this unless you have money-money.”

The girl’s eyes hardened, “I said no. Go have fun with your boy toy somewhere else.”

“Ugh. Where’s the owner of this place, let me talk to him.”

It was the guy’s turn to step in now, “He’s not here. So back off before we do something you’ll regret.”

Omega’s eyes narrowed, making herself look like she was going to say something before giving Sirius’s sleeve a tug, he caught the signal.

“Sorry, we’ll be on our way.” He grinned, “Didn’t mean to make your jobs hard. Come on, let’s go dance.”

“Yeah. back the fuck off.” The boy snorted.

They swayed together until they were deep within the dancefloor. The music was blaring so loudly it was near impossible to hear anything, the humid smell of sweat and bodies pressing together was oppressive, overtaking every other scent that could've been there. Sirius and Omega kept themselves near the edge of the floor, far enough away from those in the mosh pit, but close enough that they were still covered.

“Those weren’t the usual guards.” Even though Omega held him as if they were in a slow dance, nearly a breadth apart, she still had to shout into his ear to be heard.

“They seemed young, but how can you tell?”

“Pictures from the Low-down’s PI. Plus, you saw the Pokémon there, that’s an Aron and a Magnemite. You don’t see those around here.”

“Then let’s just see who comes down from there, we’ll shadow them, see where they go.”

“I’ll let you know when I feel someone coming down.”

They “danced” for a while, though really, it was just stomping around sometimes when they got pushed deeper into the crowd, and had to force themselves back out. More than once Omega was hit on, even though Sirius was right there. Honestly, he respected Omega's patience after the seventh guy, she looked like she was just about ready to snap.

Thankfully she found her mark before that happened, Omega eagerly pushing Sirius up the steps. They made their way back upstairs, looking as flustered and drunk as possible, which was easier now that they were both extremely sweaty from all the body heat, and tired from all the dancing.

The cool night air was a very good change of pace, and though Sirius couldn’t see their mark, Omega was able to sense them better now that they were away from all the people. It felt good to have his belt back too, comforting knowing his Pokémon were there for him.

“We’re being followed.” Omega said, immediately pulling Sirius out of his happy thoughts.

“You should act better next time.” He sighed. "They were onto us the minute we approached."

“Screw off. I’m a trainer, not an actor. Now figure something out.”

“You’re certain they’re following us?”

“Ask that again and I’m cutting your pay.”

She could do that? Well he wasn’t going to test it, he didn’t want to lose his meagre earnings.

“We’ll keep our tail, let’s make it look obvious we’re following them.” Sirius decided, “If they belong to the same group then they’ll pick up the pace.”

And pick up the pace they did, Omega described a brisk but measured walk to a straight up light jog after they’d been following their trail for about 15 minutes. Sirius made sure to look surprised when he turned to look at them from a dozen meters away, both him and Omega breaking into sprints before ducking into a side alley once they’d gained distance.

Down the dimly lit road they went, making it obvious as they left a trail of upturned boxes and crushed trash in their wake. Sirius tossed out both the Pokémon on his belt as he ran, catching Zubat mouth in one fist before she could make scream to figure out her surroundings.

“Zubat, Valor, take to the rooftops, be silent.”

Determination from Valor. Understood, I am ready.

Panic, from Zubat. AH! IM BLIND! WHAT IS HAPPENING?

He sighed, sending over a wave of reassurance before tossing Zubat upwards, and after a few panicked flaps she found her way, following after Valor who leapt up the walls surrounding them.

“You’ll be cutting off their escape when they try to run.” Omega said, as she slowed to a stop. She picked a good location, it was between two offices, so no bystanders, and the walls seemed to almost absorb sound instead of reflect it. The cameras were an issue, he'd tell Gloom about them later.

“I can be backup.” Sirius argued, “You don’t know what they’re capable of.”

Omega shot him a cold smile that caused a shiver to run up his spine, “Tell you what.” She said coyly, “If I end up needing help in battle from you, I’ll give you my cheque for the week.”

He stared, “Are you serious?”

“You better pray they’re as good as you think, Grunt.” Omega grinned as a hand drifted towards her belt, “Because I get paid a lot.”