Getting through Oreburgh city with an unconscious guy on my back without drawing attention to myself was a feat. Luckily, Oreburgh City was home to a lot of down-to-earth people who were happy to mind their own business. I managed to get to the hospital without too much difficulty, but I paused briefly a block from the building. Chewing on my inner lip, I tried to figure out the best way to get this guy in without me having to sign papers or anything.

My back was beginning to complain heavily from the dead weight of the unconscious trainer, so I let out a frustrated sigh and continued towards the hospital. Just as I was approaching the crosswalk, an ambulance's siren rang out from behind me. Glancing awkwardly over my shoulder, I saw the ambulance blazing down the street and turning right in front of me, going towards the back of the hospital. An idea popped into my head and I promptly turned and followed after it.

By the time I made it to the ER entrance, there was already a flurry of activity going on as hospital staff and the EMTs were unloading several banged-up people on gurneys from the ambulance. Glancing around, I saw an empty gurney and remained casual as I made my way towards it. Checking once again to make sure everyone's attention was diverted, I awkwardly unloaded the trainer onto the empty gurney. Not wanting to interrupt a life or death situation, I just pushed the unconscious trainer over closer to the door then turned and walked away calmly.

"Pika pikachu?" Pikachu said as he walked along beside me. I looked back at where I had left the trainer and saw that a nurse had already noticed him and was walking over with a confused expression.

"He'll be fine. We've got to get back before Junpei decides to take off without me," I said with a shrug, pounding my sore shoulders to try to get them to loosen up.

"Pika pika," Pikachu muttered darkly and I couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yah, I'm going to be excited to not have to work with him too," I agreed, still chuckling. Pikachu gave me an exasperated look and then jumped up and climbed onto my shoulder. His familiar weight made my sore back twinge a little and I decided that I was going to have to get back into the habit of doing some strength workouts.

As we cut through a side street to get back to the forest and make our way back to Junpei and Garret I came to a stop so suddenly that Pikachu lost his footing and nearly fell off my shoulder. He latched onto my shoulder at the last second and scrambled to pull himself back up, bopping me on the side of the head to show his displeasure. I hardly noticed though because I had already ducked down a side street and was peering around the corner of the building to make sure I hadn't been seeing things.

A familiar broad-shouldered silhouette with feathery brown hair caught my eyes and I groaned quietly. Pikachu had also gone silent when he saw the guy and recognized him as the detective we had fought against back in Jubilife City.

Feelings of guilt and shame resurfaced as I thought of how I had helped Team Galactic kidnap the researcher, and then how I had gone on to supply Neptune with Detective Aryan's name. I was briefly relieved to see that Neptune hadn't found him yet. It had made me incredibly uncomfortable when I had seen the open hatred on her face when I told her the detective's name.

What is Aryan doing in Oreburgh City? I wondered to myself as I peeked around the corner of the alleyway again. I had purposely gone down this street because it was more out of the way and less crowded, but that decision was coming back to bite me now that I couldn't even use a passing group to conceal myself from Aryan's view.

"Crap," I muttered to myself, glancing back up the street and wondering if I should risk trying to just go around. Looking back over at Aryan, I noticed for the first time that he was stopped outside of what looked like a flower shop. I blinked as he moved from one bunch of flowers to the other with a critical expression and I glanced over at Pikachu in surprise.

"Good evening, sir! How can I help you?" 

I nearly jumped out of my skin when the loud voice of an elderly woman came from near Aryan. I whipped around, hiding completely in the alley as I scolded myself for reacting so dramatically.

"Good evening, Granny. I was hoping to order a bouquet for tomorrow morning. Am I too late?" Aryan asked with polite respect in his voice.

"I would be delighted. What is the special occasion?" the older woman asked with obvious happiness in her voice.

"My friend Serena is participating in the Contest tomorrow and I wanted to get her some flowers for encouragement," Aryan explained easily, his voice carrying over to me without any issue. Oddly, my body froze after hearing that and I completely missed the rest of the conversation between Aryan and the shop owner. Only the tinkling of the bell attached to the shop door penetrated my weirdly numb brain.

Almost on autopilot, I slipped from my hiding spot and ran down the street, flinging myself into a somersault to avoid being seen through the shop window and then popping back to my feet to continue running. Pikachu, who was attuned to my evasion tactics after so many years of training, hopped off my shoulder before I began rolling across the ground and then quickly sprinted after me.

Once we had left the flower shop far behind us and the forest line was in sight I finally stopped my mad dash and came to a normal walking pace. As I walked, my mind seemed to be jumbled as I tried to process what I had heard but also tried to ignore it.

"Serena's a pretty popular name, right, Pikachu?" I muttered as Pikachu continued to walk next to me. He looked up at me with one ear tilted slightly.

"Pipi chu?" Pikachu responded and I grimaced, recognizing that that was his form of Serena's name.

Sighing heavily, I accepted the guilt that felt like a ball of lead developing in my stomach and causing me to feel sluggish and slightly sick. When Serena had mentioned her friend Aryan that had helped her catch her Feebas I had managed to convince myself that there was no way it could be the same Detective Aryan from the International Police that I had just ratted out to Neptune... But now there was no escape. There was just no way that Aryan could be buying flowers for a coordinator named Serena and have that be someone other than my Serena.

Dang it! I growled inwardly, clenching my hair into my fists as the gravity of the situation hit me like a bag of bricks. If those two are friends then not only have I put Aryan in danger but Serena too!

"Pikapi?" Pikachu called up to me, looking worried. I sighed heavily as I slowly let go of my hair and let my arms flop back down to my sides.

"We need to figure out Neptune's plan and stop her fast, buddy," I said, feeling my jaw harden with determination. "I won't let her ruin Serena's pokemon journey."

* * * * * *

As I made my way back to the jet I wasn't surprised to see that Junpei was midway through a complaining tirade, but Garret looked relieved when he saw me approaching.

"Killian! I'm so glad you're back. Where did you take off to? We followed your signal to the entrance and it looked like something had smashed through the cover and you had disappeared!" 

Junpei whirled around and glared daggers at me, but I was in no mood to put up with his attitude so I glared right back at him, throwing in a snarl for good measure. That did the trick and I watched as he instantly deflated and took several steps back.

"Yah, sorry about that. I got into a battle with a random trainer. They smashed into the entrance and I had to take care of them," I responded, trying to hold back my horrendous mood as I spoke with Garret.

"'Take care of'... did you...?" Glancing over at Junpei and the obvious terror in his expression I figured he thought I meant I had killed the guy, which was the exact opposite of the truth. But honestly, I had no desire to hear any more complaints or words in general from the idiot so I just fixed him with a blank expression and said nothing. Just as I thought, I watched as the color drained from Junpei's face and he fell back onto his bottom with a terrified expression.

"Did you really?" Garret muttered under his breath, giving me a wary look. I turned so Junpei couldn't see me and then gave Garret a reassuring smile.

"No, of course not."

Garret sighed slightly but made no move to correct Junpei and I found myself liking him much more. Although my temporary feelings of comradery were quickly overshadowed by the gnawing guilt and worry in my stomach as my mind was once again filled with thoughts of Aryan, Serena, and all the other innocent people that Neptune was planning to destroy.

Once Junpei had gotten over his terror, we all piled into the jet and made our way back to headquarters. I was a little sad that I was missing Serena's contest by just a day, but I figured it would be dangerous for me to try to get close to her until everything with Team Galactic was settled. Especially if Aryan was hanging around. Pikachu had curled up and almost instantly fallen asleep on my lap after we had taken off and I turned my thoughts to Neptune and how I could convince her to accept me into her inner circle so I could expose her plan and take her down.

The sound of something approaching through the air caught my attention and I turned towards the window. Another jet, much larger than our own, whizzed past us just as I glanced out the small window next to me. I frowned slightly as I wondered if Proteus was on his way to the mine entrance that I had accidentally uncovered and what he could possibly want with a bunch of evolution stones.

Feeling frustrated at how little I knew, I turned back and looked down at the ground. I hadn't had a chance to report to Director Falon yet about discovering the mine, but I wondered what she would do once I did report it. No matter what information I give her, she never seems to do anything about it. What if Neptune goes after Aryan before the IIA finally puts a stop to this? What will Serena think if that happens? What if Serena is WITH Aryan when...

Frustration and helplessness battled inside of me and I scratched my head fiercely as if I could physically dig through the mess of my thoughts and pull out something useful. Pikachu stirred slightly on my lap and I leaned back against the seat with a deep sigh. I knew that going around in circles like this wasn't helpful. Still, it was hard to remain calm after finding out one of my oldest friends that had wandered back into my life was in direct danger because of something I had done.

The trip back to Mount Coronet seemed to last an eternity as I struggled to hide my fear and guilt behind a pleasant smile. As I clambered off the jet first I was surprised when a familiar head of pale purple hair caught my eye. A rush of distaste went through me as I recalled how attracted I had been to Neptune when I had first seen her, but now all I could see was a cruel tyrant. Her usual cold expression was gone, replaced with a smug smile as she watched me walk stiffly over towards her.

"Welcome back, Satoshi. I knew that my perfect soldier would be able to find the mine for me," Neptune said, coming directly up to me and completely ignoring Garret and Junpei coming out of the jet behind me. I bowed slightly to her, looking off to the side so I could school my face into a natural expression.

"As I've said, I will do anything you ask of me, Neptune."

"Good," Neptune replied with a satisfied look before turning on her heel and walking purposefully towards the exit of the hanger. She raised a hand and motioned once for me to follow her.

Feeling like a growlithe going through obedience training, I stifled my annoyance and followed after Neptune's retreating figure. Glancing over my shoulder briefly, I saw Junpei giving me an incredulous look tinged with jealousy, while Garret looked confused. I shrugged helplessly at Garret before turning and continuing to follow Neptune.

After several twists and turns through the complicated pathways throughout the heart of Mount Coronet, I blinked in surprise when I realized we were heading towards Neptune's office. Pikachu had remained silent on my shoulder the entire time we were walking, but I could feel his little paws tighten around my shoulder as we walked up to the imposing door Celeste had taken us to what felt like ages ago.

She entered the code swiftly into the pad next to the door and walked into the large room without a backward glance. I followed after her, trying not to seem overly excited as my eyes flitted around the room, trying to find clues as to what her true purposes were.

"You have done extremely well lately, Satoshi."

Neptune's voice jerked me out of my frantic observations and I quickly turned to face her. She was leaning up against her desk with her arms folded in front of her chest as she leveled a cool expression at me. Not quite sure how to respond to this comment I bowed and mumbled a thank you.

"Celeste believes you are hiding something," Neptune stated, her voice blunt without any kind of emotion to hint at what her own opinion was on the subject. It took all of my training not to flinch and I calmly cocked my head away from Pikachu and gave her my best puzzled expression.

"Hiding what?" I inquired innocently. Neptune's face remained inexpressive as she continued staring right into my face.

"She says that someone with your skills and such a strong pokemon partner has no reason to give up on becoming a skillful pokemon trainer. Celeste told me she wants to torture you until you tell us why you really joined us, or dispose of you if you do not talk."

I didn't bother to hide the shock I felt at that statement, said with such perfect boredom that I was legitimately worried that I was about to be surrounded by dozens of grunts and taken away to a hidden torture chamber. Sparks immediately began gathering around Pikachu's electric sacs and he tensed his entire body, growling out the most threatening sound my little buddy could make. Neptune did not seem intimidated or offended by Pikachu's reaction, however. She just simply stood there leaning against her desk, waiting for my response. I cleared my throat quickly and shrugged my shoulders.

"It's... an honor to hear Celeste thinks I am so skilled. I can say with confidence that Pikachu is tougher than anyone could ever expect... but I guess my training just didn't cut it for the pokemon league's standards," I said slowly, thinking back to when I was a kid and challenging the leagues.

The Sinnoh league was fresh in my mind as I remembered the incredible trainer that had somehow caught both a Darkrai that took out nearly my entire team and then when I had finally managed to KO the mythical pokemon, he had gone and released Latios. Latios! It had been an epic battle, but I had known there was no way I could win after exhausting my pokemon against his Darkrai. That had been a bitter ending to my pokemon league adventures, and I had always wondered if I had continued if I would have eventually won a pokemon league.

Pulling myself out of my recollections, I met Neptune's eyes and found to my surprise that she was smiling at me. But not a happy, open smile. This was a smile that seemed to ooze power and the certainty that she was in complete control of the situation. It sent shivers down my back and I had to quickly swallow past an uncomfortable lump that was forming in my throat.

"I do not agree with Celeste," Neptune announced with an imperious glint in her purple eyes, and for some reason that did nothing to ease my growing discomfort. "She's just jealous because I've found someone who is loyal to me without ulterior motives."

That comment made me pause and I felt my brow furrow with confusion. Ulterior motives? Could Neptune be blackmailing Celeste or something? Their relationship did seem rather weird... I thought to myself. But my attention was quickly grabbed by Neptune as she pushed herself back into a standing position and began walking toward me. Without thinking, I backed away from her advance and I thought I saw a smile on her lips.

"Stay where you are," she commanded. 

Wanting to do nothing less, I forced myself to stay still and watch as Neptune closed the short distance between us and pointed a finger toward my chest. It was incredibly difficult to keep myself from shuddering in disgust as Neptune's finger rested on my chest, directly over my heart, and I could hear pops and crackles of electricity coming from Pikachu on my shoulder as he glared down at Neptune.

"Pikaaaa," he muttered under his breath, but again Neptune completely ignored him and looked up directly into my eyes.

"I have no intention of disposing of you, Satoshi," Neptune stated, her voice dangerously low as her piercing gaze captured mine. "You are exactly what I have been waiting for to help me bring my plan together. If you keep pleasing me, then I would even be willing to make you one of my captains."

Keeping my desire to toss this creepy woman across the room buried inside me, I felt my eyes widen and tried to assume an appropriately shocked look.

"Me? Captain?" I forced out of my tight throat. Honestly, this was exactly what I had been hoping for. The sooner I could gain access to the secret parts of the headquarters, the sooner the IIA could come in and take out the entire organization. Using that excitement, I was able to manage a natural grin as I tried to ignore her finger poking my chest.

Neptune grinned as her look changed from imperious to something I could only describe as sultry and I couldn't keep from grimacing when she placed her whole hand flat against my chest. A look of amusement crossed her face as she leaned towards me, but then she turned away, slowly lifting her hand off my chest and dragging her middle finger down my front briefly before moving towards her desk. This time I really did shudder and I looked over at her warily as she took a seat.

"If you continue to impress me, that is," she emphasized cooly, looking up at me with a dangerous glint in her eyes. "I am assigning you to oversee the pokemon battle training. I want you to train all the grunts on battle strategy and how to tap into their pokemon's potential like you have with your Pikachu."

I blinked in surprise at her sudden business-like tone and I felt the blood draining from my head.

"Oh... I don't know if..." I began, picturing an army of grunts that actually KNEW what they were doing with their pokemon. Neptune's gaze turned icy though and I quickly snapped my mouth shut. 

If I do this she will make me a captain. I'll just have to warn Director Falon. Swallowing quickly I bowed towards her.

"I will do my best."

"Good answer, Satoshi," Neptune purred while smiling coldly at me. "I look forward to seeing how much your influence will grow through this. Don't disappoint me."

Bowing once more in understanding, Neptune waved her hand through the air, giving me a silent dismissal. Turning around I moved to the door, which opened without me doing anything, and I quickly moved out into the hallway. Gritting my teeth, I moved through the halls that I had memorized expertly, making my way towards the training area.

"Pikapi, chu pikachu?" Looking over at Pikachu I could see the worry in his expression and I sighed.

"I already know what Director Falon will say," I whispered to him, continuing to face forward. "We have to do this in order to take this place down."