Sophia just bit her lip before giving a tearful nod. She quickly moved out of the room with Catherine as Charly watched her leave, while Lance held the door open for them. Once they had made it out of the room, he walked over to Charly who was still being held back by Callum.
"You can release her now officer Deepwater."
"Yes sir" Callum did so immediately before taking a step back away from the two of them, the rest of the room doing the same leaving Lance and Charly stood face to face.
"While you did technically fail the test, we do require more recruits, and if you had not been interrupted, there was certainly a chance that you would have passed on your own merits. Welcome to the LFP officer Springfeather" Charly took in a deep breath as she looked like she was about to scream or cry, possibly both, however, deflated as she raised her hand to her head in an almost reluctant salute.
"Thank you, sir." She manages to stammer out. Lance seemingly didn't notice anything turned and walked out of the room. The room stayed silent until Charly collapsed down onto her knees and started to cry, tears dripping out slowly at first but cascaded down her face as the frustration and anger gave way. No one moved immediately. They stood watching her cry, now sobbing into her hands, Ise, Freddy and Ciel were the first to move. Ise and Freddy helped her to her feet while Ciel got her a chair to sit on. Callum instead went over to grab something from the vending machine while Vaal went to the kitchen area.
"At least she pas-" Lee started murmuring to himself but was stopped before he could finish when Zed karate chopped his head, a warning glint in his eyes as his smile strained into a grimace. Lee got the message and gave the girl some space, taking out his phone and tried to connect it to the wifi.
"Anyone know what she likes to drink?" Ise whispered around as Freddy patted Charly's back. Freddy and Ciel shook their heads. Callum returned from the vending machine with a packet of fried locust which he offered to the crying pokemon, Vaal started making something in the kitchen. Charly fought back the tears as she looked up at the solemn-faced Callum before wordlessly accepting the packet from him. Sniffling she broke open the package of fried goodies and grabbed one and started nibbling on it. Looking back up, she whispered in a wobbly tone.
"Thanks..." before turning back to the snack, still crying and shaking lightly. Vaal came over from the kitchen, dropping off a cup of something hot, the steam rising from the top of the mug, before walking off to another table and pulled out his phone like Lee. After a minute or two Charly managed to get her emotions under control, turning to the others, she gave them a weak smile, before speaking in a quiet tone.
"I will be fine, thank you though" Ise nodded softly before walking away to another table with Callum.
Ciel went over to join Vaal over at his table.
"You sure?" Freddy questioned, a little unsure. Charly turned back to look at the table, holding her hands around the warm mug of hot chocolate, her favourite.
"Yeah, I just need some space that's all" Freddy took the hint that time and wandered back over to Alice, leaving the Swellow along on her table.
Fifteen minutes later, Sophia walked back into the room, saw her partner sat alone on a table and started to move over towards her, a determined look on her face. She made it halfway towards Charly where Freddy intercepted her, blocking her path towards Charly. Freddy shook his head as he guided her away from her partner, whispering to her.
"Not now, give her some space" Sophia ignored his advice, pushing past him, she made it to Charley's side.
"Charly"
"What you want?" Charly spoke in an unfriendly tone, her phone in her hands, she focused her attention onto the screen, not looking at the Seaking. The water type was slightly off-put from the response, bit her lower lip as she considered her next move.
"I am terribly sorry; you must know that" she earnestly inquired, her mouth straight as she bowed her head down.
"Saying sorry isn't going to make it go away, Sophia," Charly spoke plainly as she lowered her phone but stared out ahead of her, lips pressed tightly together. Sophia shuffled uncomfortably.
"That is true, but-"
"Sophia, tea or coffee?" Ciel cut in, dodging the bullet the Seaking was about to fire.
It doesn't matter now, does it? We both passed
The words went unspoken, barely. Sophia finally got the hint as she walked over to Ciel, a defeated look showing on her face.
"A cup of tea if you would be so kind" Ciel was tempted to respond with "it's all over there ready for you", but he reasoned that would be a bit too cruel so started making one for her silently instead.
The room remained quiet for the next 30 minutes. In which time Alice had woken up and made herself a cup of coffee in preparation for the final test.
"So what happened to the princess and fly girl?" she eyed up Sophia and Charly, who was currently at either end to the room. Freddy sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as he replied.
"Sophia nearly got the two of them failed" he whispered to Alice, who whistled lightly, eyeing up the defeated looking Sophia out the corner of her eye, she hadn't moved from her seat next to the kitchen area at all during the following 30-minute interval.
"Guessing she isn't a flavour of the week then, what's the plan?" Alice glanced over towards her partner; eyebrow raised, Freddy matched her look before double-checking.
"Are you sure you are good to fight?" the question caught her off guard.
"Will we be fighting?" Freddy nodded.
"Yeah solo, cannot back each other up, it's what nearly got them failed" he motioned towards Charly with a flick of his head. Alice nodded with an understanding look dawning as she pieced two and two together.
"Gotcha" was her reply before downing the remains of her coffee. Having finished the coffee, she got up and started stretching out her body from the nap while yawning.
"You ready?" she smiled towards Freddy, who nodded.
"Whenever you are," he replied, returning the smile.
"Good, let's go then", and with that, she marched out of the room, Freddy paused briefly before rushing up to join her.
Elsewhere in the station.
"You sure about passing the Swellow? She didn't take the leniency too well" Catherine asked Lance, "she likely feels that we are hiring her because she applied not because she deserves to be here, it isn't going to help her in the long term."
"We are the ones that messed up on that, not her or her partner. Also, that was the third mistake that happened today, that is sloppy, very sloppy" Lance countered before pointing out today had not gone smoothly.
"Like you pointed out we need more officers, the suspect riot happened because we don't have the pokemon there to deal with it, we are stretched thin Lance. I get that but pity hiring the girl is not going to be a good thing long term. Heck, look what it did to their partnership." Cath wasn't happy. She had a wide stance as she faced down her husband, who just rubbed his eyes while letting out an exasperated sigh.
"Cath, I hired the girl because while she did receive help from her partner, she would have been passed anyway."
"So why did you not tell her that? Instead of telling that she might have had the possibility of passing."
"Because the final pair was still in the room, I couldn't tell her that even if your partner helped you, you still passed. It would have given the remaining pair the idea that they could battle together and could get away with it" Lance turned and got up into his wife's face, glaring her down. They were in his office. He had gone in to do some paperwork while Catherine watched from the security room. She had stormed in a couple minutes ago asking for an explanation about why Sophia and Charly had now broken down in terms of the partnership. She had been advised to go through the video feed after asking Evil-eye why the pair were sitting apart from each other.
"Lance, you could have quite easily taken her out of the room to tell her the truth away from the others. Instead, you did it in front of her classmates!" she paused to take a deep breath and to hold down the urge to swear at her beloved. "You basically told the pokemon in the room that she only got in because we need the officers, not out of her merit!" Lance argued back.
Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.
"I was not the only one that messed up. I seem to remember it was you that tried to explain due to our current situation we needed as many recruits as possible so that we will overlook the rules. How do you think that looked to her?" Cath stammered slightly as she processed that and remembered that she had, in fact, said something along those lines, the realisation causing her to blush as she put her hands onto her face.
"We need to deal with this quickly" Cath spoke in an exhausted tone, Lance backed down and moved back to his desk.
"Agreed but how," he asked as he took his seat behind the desk. The desk was a modernist table with two computer screens attached to the tabletop, a type board just beneath them, a paperwork filler on the other side of the desk next to a couple of photo frames. There was a picture of his wedding day, he and Cath in human form, the picture next to it seemed to be a family photo, with he, Cath and three others all dressed up.
The door to his office opened as Reala walked in.
"Sorry, Sir, Marm. The final pair are ready and waiting for you now. They are in the reception" she informed the two pokemon as they turned to face them.
"Thank you, Reala. We will be down in a minute" Lance answered, the receptionist just nodded once before heading out of the room.
"Back to work then" Cath spoke in a monotone voice. Lance pushed himself up off the desktop.
"No rest for us just yet, let's go."
Elsewhere in the city, however…
The sun shone down on the city, the weather forecast had predicted it was going to be a pleasant day, and various pokemon were out and about enjoying the sun. Well, not everyone was enjoying it.
"C'mon, Daisy. You are just seeing things you know that there is absolutely nothing to be scared off" A Gorebyss was smoking while she tried to console her workmate, Daisy, a Dewgong. Daisy was shivering and twitching; the cup she was holding was shaking so heavily that the tea was spilling everywhere. The woman looked terrified.
"I swear someone is coming after me, Lisa. I keep seeing something on the way home from work, recently I saw it at the club!" Lisa just sighed as she leaned back before taking a draft from her cigarette. Bellowing it out she just eyed up Daisy.
"Daisy it's probably just another over-excited customer that is trying to get into your pants if you're that worried about it get Bull to keep an eye out for them."
"Lisa, that's the problem. I don't know who it is! You have to listen to me!" she yelled, her eyes narrow and bloodshot. "All I see is a dark shape in the corner of my eye, always when I don't expect it..." her voice got quieter towards the end. Lisa didn't look too impressed. She just brushed off the comment.
"It sounds like you have a Gengar following you Daisy that's all" Daisy snapped back to Lisa, she had been staring out of the window.
"Eh?" the Gorebyss just gave an understanding smile.
"First time getting stalked by one? Or in general?" the question made Daisy pause before looking down as if considering her answer. The shaking slowly stopped as she took in deeper, smoother breaths calming down.
"Your right, it is my first time..." Lisa just giggled, scaring Daisy, who looked up.
"I'm sorry Daisy, it's just a little funny to see you get nervous over a ghost type stalking you, you are usually so confident on stage you know" Daisy gave a low self-deprecating laugh. She rubbed her right forearm with one hand, glancing down away from Lisa.
"You know now that you mention it, it does sound really stupid doesn't it..." Lisa just laughed as she stubbed out her cigarette before grabbing another one out of the pack before offering one to Daisy. Taking one to help calm her nerves a little faster, Lisa lit the cigarette with a lighter in a practised motion before lighting her own. They both took a deep draft of smoke into their lungs before letting it back out.
"If he or she is only stalking you it probably means they are just a much lower level then you are" Lisa reasoned with Daisy who took a sip of her tea. Daisy lowered the rim of the mug slightly to match Lisa's gaze.
"Yeah?" she asked uncertainly. Lisa just laughed as she motioned with her cigarette.
"Oh yeah, I've had to deal with plenty of that type before. They don't want to get too close to you because they know they will just get beaten up and barred from the club once you recognise who they are, that's all it is" Daisy had calmed down significantly by this point. She was taking periodical sips from her tea or drafts from her cigarette as she listened to the older pokemon.
"I see..." she had a more understanding look on her face, she was still nervous about it all, something nagging in the back of her mind but she could rationalise that it was just a stalker.
"Still I must admit that this is the first time you've gotten worried about someone stalking you" Lisa pointed out before taking a deep breath of her smoker.
"This one is a little too creepy for me, Lisa, and they have been following me for weeks now" explained, wincing slightly at the memory. Lisa seemed to consider that fact.
"Hmmm, just warn the bouncers when you get to work then yeah?" Daisy nodded.
"Yeah will do" that got a sharp smile from Lisa, who leaned back.
"Why come to me anyway?" she asked, curious more than anything.
"I guess I was just a little on edge, you know with the things being as they are right now..." Daisy gave a small smile before downing her tea. Lisa's face morphed into one of understanding.
"Ahhh yeah that..." her words drifted off. There was a moment of silence until Daisy spoke up.
"You think the boss has caught whoever did it?" Lisa focused on her cigarette, watching it burn down slowly.
"I hope so, it has been a couple of weeks since the last one after all" she sounded hopeful, wishing that was the case.
"That's true..." Daisy agreed with her. A lot of people had been scared after they found the third one.
"If your worried you can stay with me tonight, it looks like you haven't gotten a decent night's sleep in a while" Lisa offered, Daisy looked like a wreck, her eyes had deep dark circles underneath them, her eyes were bloodshot and sore, her clothes had stains and bits of dirt. She even smelled of sweat. It was almost as if she hadn't taken a bath in days. Her pearl-white hair was greasy and uncombed. Daisy gave a sad smile.
"Yeah… I haven't been home in a couple of days. I have been hiding in the underways..."
"You know that isn't exactly safe Daisy" Lisa warned her. "There are a lot of non-triad gangs down there, and they won't treat you well if they find you."
"Yeah I know I know, it's just you know..."
"Go home, have a shower, get into some clean clothes and sleep, you are just making things worse for yourself right now."
"I'm just nervous, Lisa" Lisa grabbed her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes.
"Trust me I can understand that, but you need to get cleaned and changed in your home, to prove to yourself there is nothing wrong and you're perfectly safe, got it? Once you're clean, you can come back over here for the night if you're still scared okay?" Daisy paused and considered the offer before nodding.
"Okay..." Lisa smiled as she helped Daisy to her feet.
"Now you have my number if you need to call me, yeah?" Daisy gave her a small smile in return.
"Yeah, just my phone is out of charge."
"Another reason to get home then, charge it when you get there and text me okay?" Lisa guided Daisy to the door of her apartment. The apartment was pretty small, only consisting of five rooms, it was on the third floor of a water triad controlled apartment block.
"Okay will do, I will see you later, Lisa."
"See you later; Daisy" Lisa waved her co-worker off from the door to her apartment. Daisy made her way down to the ground floor and streets outside. She was in the plumbing district; it was where she lived and worked, her house was about in an apartment block very similar to Lisa's but was about 2 miles from her home. Stepping onto the streets, she passed by various other apartments, convenience shops and mini-stores selling a wide range of items from clothes to electronics. She made her way off the main street onto the relatively deserted back alleys, where the only other pokemon were those that lived in the various concrete buildings or worked in them.
Something caught her eye, the black shape was ahead of her, only for a moment. She paused, considering her choices, remembering what Lisa had told her, she decided to end it. Clenching her fists together she made her way towards the ally she saw the black figure slip into, on reaching the corner she turned just in time to see the figure dart down another alleyway as if running from her rather than following.
That thought encouraged her as she chased after the figure, seeking to finish this once and for all. Once she found out who the figure was, she would never have to deal with it ever again. She picked up speed as she chased the dark figure. The chase lasted longer than expected, but as she gained closer and closer, the braver she became, the surer the idea that the pokemon she was chasing was weaker than her.
And she was about to trap him! The figure had slipped into a dead-end alley if she remembered the area correctly, no escape. She slowed to a walk, trying to catch her breath, the running had left her breathless, but she was nearly there. Turning the corner, she had a triumphant smile on her face, yet the smile faded as she peered down the corridor only to see an open drain cover, leading to waterways. A labyrinth of pipe, passages and dead ends, they ran throughout the entire city, dealing with sewage and water runoff from the various roads and streets when it rained. She caustically approached the opening before peering down into the murk. She sighed, disheartened that she had failed to catch her stalker, only to hear footsteps behind her.
Turning slowly, her eyes widened as the black hooded figure she had been chasing walked up behind her. A hand was extended, swinging something from side to side. That's when she sensed it, the danger.
She ran, bolting down the opening below her, to escape her pursuer. She bolted down into the waterway, swan diving into the water that was flowing slowly towards the water pumps that the district was known for. Her form glowed white briefly as her legs gave way for her original tail, using the tail for swimming fast against the current, she swam as fast as she could, navigating the sharp corners and turns in a bid to escape.
She did this for a good three minutes, not surfacing during the whole time, she tracked how far she had swum. A good mile, maybe more, she had been swimming at high speed, speeds that her purser shouldn't be able to match, she hoped anyway, she doubted that whoever it was could follow her while she was underwater anyway. She looked around, trying to gather her current location.
But then she turned her head to look the other direction, and there he was, slowly but surely walking his way towards her. She had a decent lead on him though, about 200 meters but he was gaining, slowly but surely.
She dived down under the water and sped off again, trying to find one of the vast open-air reservoirs that were scattered around the plumbing district; they were the water type equivalent of an open airpark. She had leapt into a freshwater pipe meaning that it would be connected to a reservoir, if she could find her way there, she would be able to slip away unnoticed in the crowds of water types that gathered there daily.
After what felt like 10 minutes of searching, she surfaced again. She had gotten lost. She was sure that she had gone the right way, what was going on? She thought in her mind as she surveyed her surroundings closer, she noticed something.
"I haven't gone anywhere..." she paled as she recognised the same pipework, the same open hatch she had jumped down into… and the figure was closer now. He hadn't gotten further away, only closer, step by step. He was now within 100 meters of her. She leapt out of the water, her lower half glowing white as it returned back into a pair of human legs so she could walk on land. She scrambled up the ladder out of the open hatch. She was back in the alleyway, the one she had chased the figure down, she fled back the way she came, trying to get back to Lisa's house, but as she turned the first corner.
She saw the figure, still at a distance but slowly but surely making his way towards her, except he was now in front of her, not behind her…
She ran, sprinting down the alleyways trying to get to Lisa's. She ran down the empty streets that she called home. As she did, she glanced behind her, and there was the figure now behind her, again. She turned back running as fast as her legs would allow, the sky above had started to darken…
Reaching the apartment building, Daisy burst into the building before racing up the stairs and started slamming on the door to Lisa's apartment with both fists.
"LISA OPEN UP, LET ME IN PLEASE!" she shrieked as the door creaked open…
Daisy dashed in, crying and sobbing.
"Thank you, thank you so..." she looked up to see instead of Lisa, her co-worker, was instead the black-robed figure, his back facing her. Daisy paled and slowly started to back up, quietly as possible as she stared wide-eyed at the figure who slowly turned around to face her.
A burst of multi-coloured light burst from Daisy's hand as she fired an aurora beam at the figure. The figure didn't move. However he didn't need to, the beam bent itself around the side of him before correcting itself, hitting the wall behind the figure with a boom. The figure just tilted its head to the side as if bemused by the action.
Daisy stood, petrified in fear, she couldn't move her legs, and she suddenly became aware of footsteps coming from behind her, slowly coming closer and closer. She twisted her head around slowly as she saw the same figure slowly make its way up the stairs behind her, turn and walk towards the room…
She snapped her head back around to find the figure in front of her had multiplied, where there was one, were now three…
Click
Her head snapped back around to see the figure close the door behind him, locking the door behind him. She turned to face him and started to walk back into the living room, her eyes set on the figure in front of her.
"Now then" the voice echoed around the room, Daisy felt a strange complement to look towards the window to her right, that looked out onto the street below. Slowly her head tilted as she kept her eyes locked on the motionless figure in front of her. Once her head had tilted towards the windows, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
Then she opened them and stared out of the window.
Directly into the giant bloodshot eye. And everything went black.