"Shadow ball!"

It was nearing dusk on the Alolan island of Ula'ula. Regardless, the island's largest city, entitled Malie City, remained bright and energetic as ever. People hustled through the streets under the vibrant orange sky, all the while, a small crowd formed around two opposing trainers.

A sailor, short and stout, had a vein popping out of his head. His partner, Blastoise, was feeling drained from the intense battle, panting heavily as its skin was noticeably bruised. On the opposing side was a blonde boy, dressed in all black. He didn't show any stress, any fatigue, but his hands twitched as the fight continued. His eyes were not steady, as they incessantly switched their focus between his opponent, and his own partner Pokémon, Umbreon.

A Shadow Ball was shot towards the exhausted Pokémon mercilessly, courtesy of Umbreon. The attack hit the unprepared turtle straight on, causing for it to fall back onto its shell. It no longer had the energy to stand back up, cementing the blonde's victory. The petite audience cheered for his success, raising their fists into the air and applauding. The sailor grunted, returning his Blastoise before spitting down at the cement below him.

"Damn it! I thought Blastoise had that one in the bag! Shit!"

The blonde boy had no interest in the man's curses. He directly approached the sailor with an intimidating silence, and reached out to him with a cupped hand.

The sailor said nothing. The boy made a simple command with a grounded, heavy tone. "Pay up."

Grumbling and gritting his teeth, the sailor dug through his pockets and slammed several dollar bills into the boy's hand. After making his proper payment, the man pushed himself through the crowd and vanished within the stream of passersbys.

The crowd began to disband, as the blonde boy kneeled down and scratched Umbreon's head. His frown remained consistent as he raised a Pokéball and returned his companion, leaving him alone as the day turned into night.

Abandoning the bustling shopping district and entering a more quiet, modest alleyway located right at the rear of a restaurant, the boy counted all the money he currently had as he walked. The outcome made him swear under his breath, realizing he had nowhere near enough to rent a motel room or a short stay within an inn. This left him with only one real option: Sleeping on the street.

He was tired, and he knew it wasn't going to be long before he crashed. Of all places, right next to a restaurant's dumpster was not the most appealing, but at least it wasn't too noisy.He accepted the situation for what it was, and leaned his back against the diner's brick wall, and began to close his eyes.

His attempted slumber was interrupted by the shaking of a Pokéball within his bag. He shook his head, reaching in and gripping the vibrating red and white ball. For an instant, he remained still, hesitating. Despite this, he soon sent out the Pokémon from within, who most would consider on first sight to be some sort of monster from a forgotten horror movie.

The creature almost looked like multiple Pokémon thrown together into a mix. Unlike its hind legs, its front legs were green and bore claws. Its tail was shaped like a fin, similar to the ones found on vaporeon, and it had white frills decorating its neck. As for its most bizarre feature, its head was concealed by a large, wooden helmet, with only its eyes visible underneath.

The boy smiled, though it was so small, and could have been missed easily by a short glance. He lowered his head, looking to his knees as he began to speak to the creature,

"I'm sorry to keep you confined all day, Null. I'll let you out for a little while, but really, only for a short while. You know it's dangerous to have you out in the open."

Barely taking note of the boy's words, "Null" walked to the boy's side and curled up into a comfy ball, similar in fashion to a cat. As it laid beside him, the boy began to stroke its back, admittedly enjoying the company as well as the ease of that moment.

He attempted to will himself to stay awake, but the softness of night alongside his exhaustion made that task difficult. Before he could stop himself, and before he could concern himself with troubled thought, he fell into a peaceful sleep.

As the blonde boy began to wake, the first thing he heard was the sound of laughter.

The sound wasn't highly pitched, but it did not have the mature sound of a fully grown woman. It was a young laugh, that much he could tell, though he had little idea of how such a thing has come to awaken him. Opening his heavy eyes, he caught images of hot pink and gold. As his sight focused, he noticed those colors belonged to the hair worn in pigtails, attached to a girl dressed in all black. Rubbing against her hips was a familiar figure, one he has grown to care for, and had a massive desire to protect. To hide.

To hide...

"H-hey!" The boy snapped into full consciousness, hopping onto his feet. "Who the hell are you?! Get away from Null!"

"Null? Ah, is that what this cutie is called?" The girl spoke without a care, peering at the boy in a dismissive manner. "I must say, Nully deserves a better name. And a better head accessory, poor dear."

The girl continued to stroke the creature's back, causing it to release cries of content. The boy fists clenched, nearing the point of drawing blood, as he stomped his way over to the girl.

"Listen, I'm going to be blunt here, this isn't any of your business. So, if you want to walk out of here in one piece, I suggest you forget about—"

"Oh no. So scary. I better listen." The girl held back a snicker, looking down at the sour boy attempting to intimidate her. Without as little as a quick flinch, she brushed past him, and leaned her back against the wall. She slowly slid to the ground, resting upon the street's cement. Null trotted after her and sat at her side, only making the boy angrier.

"Null, come back here! And you... I told you to get away from Null! You...need better—"

"You're troubled. It's written all over you... then again, of course your troubled. You were sleeping in the street. We should talk about it. I'll listen, and Nully will too." The girl crossed her legs, and wore a smirk. She pet Null's side, as if it were her own Pokémon. The boy's face grew a bright red, a vein beginning to pop out on the side of his forehead.

"Quit interrupting me, and listen! Listen well! Leave. Leave now." The boy made his demand with a stomp of his foot, but his words were as good as void. The girl leaned further back with an exaggerated sense of ease.

"No," she said. "I wanna talk. What's your name?"

"... Are you serious? You better beat it or—"

"I'm Plumeria," the girl continued. "I'm a member of Team Skull. Technically I guess I'm an admin or whatever. Eh, the title barley matters."

The boy paused, his curiosity bubbling. For an instant, he forgot his hostility. "Wait, you're a member of the pathetic, wannabe gang? With all those stupid wannabe gangsters?"

Plumeria chuckled from under her breath, while shaking her head. "Wannabe gang? I can't lie, that's accurate. But don't make too much fun of my cute lil' brothers and sisters, okay? They're quite adorable, and I'll defend them if I have to."

The boy rolled his eyes. "You find idiocy cute, apparently."

"Well, I won't deny that."

"You're also an idiot. Do you find yourself cute?"

"Oh?" Plumeria raised an eyebrow, folding her arms. "You think I'm an idiot? Quite the quick judgement."

"It's obvious. You told me straight up you're a member of Team Skull. You realize I could waltz over to the cops, and then send them right after you if I wanted to, right? At this point, I'm highly considering it."

The boy's face was solid, serious. Plumeria looked up at him with her eyes wide, not seeing a sense of levity. She began to burst into a nearly breathless laughter.

"W-what?!" The boy shouted. "I... I didn't say anything funny!"

The girl wiped tears from her eye, her laughter finally beginning to steady. "But you did!
The cops! Like they would actually go after me! That's really gold, I've got to give it to you!"

The boy bit on his lip, his head mixed up in both embarrassment and confusion. "It's not funny! You do realize you guys are notorious at this point, right? As criminals?"

"Barley." Plumeria put a hand over her mouth, still giggling despite her efforts to restrain herself. "We're more notorious as a joke than anything else. The cops, they don't care. As long as we don't cause too much trouble, they let the cute lil' grunts play. Really, they don't want to bother with us. Their content focusing on the Underbellies, where people mug each other and shit, pretending we don't exist. Like we're a nuisance to just be scoffed at, and kicked away."

Plumeria lowered her hand, her laughter fully stopped, as she wore a tiny smile. She looked away from the boy, her eyes becoming distant. "We mostly stay caged up in Po Town anyways, you know? We stay to ourselves for the most part. So, no one needs to really care. They could just laugh at us, like we're nothing. Like we're all just nothing."

Silence began to linger. Plumeria kept her glance locked on the distance, while the boy had no words reach his throat. As if to surrender, the boy approached the wall, and sat besides the girl. Null excitedly barked, switching its position to sit alongside its trainer.

"Gladion," the boy said.

Plumeria scratched at her cheek. "What did you say? Glad I'm what?"

"No. I said my name. Gladion."

Plumeria smirked, making direct eye contact. "Oh. Finally, you're coming around."

"Shut up." Gladion turned his head away. "You went into deep mode. It would be pretty lame if I didn't at least give you my name after you went on blabbering about crap."

"True. I blabbered on about crap, so it's your turn now. What's your crap?" Plumeria asked.

"Oh, no no. I am not sharing anything with you. You're lucky you got my name, don't be greedy." Gladion let out a loud puff of air. Plumeria simply laughed.

"Okay, okay. I get it, I can't know all of Gladion's mighty secrets at once."

"But you do need to know something. What's important here is that you don't tell a single soul about Null. Not one. If you do, I'll punch you straight in the face. Right in the jaw." Gladion's voice lowered as he raised a fist, his piercing green eyes aimed right at the girl beside him.

"So scary, oh no. Whatever shall I do?" Plumeria snickered before shrugging her shoulders. "It's whatever, I wasn't going to say anything to anybody anyways."

Gladion nodded with reluctance, before beginning to stare down at his knees. His hands were suddenly starting to twitch. He began to bite on his lip once again, harder than before. He could taste the copper flavor of blood.

He felt a elbow nudge into his side repeatedly, attempting to regain his attention.

"You don't trust me on that, do you?" Plumeria asked.

"...How could I?"

"I dunno, but trust me anyways, okay? You're about to start shaking like a leaf, and I don't like that. Here." Plumeria extended a single pinky out to the boy.

Gladion raised his head, scratching at his cheek. "What?"

"Pinky promise," Plumeria said.

"You're shitting me."

"Just do it."

Gladion grumbled, not approving of the gesture, but put out his pinky regardless. Plumeria wrapper her finger around Gladion's, weaving together a promise.

Once they both removed their grips, Plumeria suddenly shoved a stack of dollar bills at his chest.

"What the—"

"There's a really cheap motel near Po town, I could show you where it is," Plumeria explained. "You know, so you won't have to sleep in the street tonight. Where's my thank you?"

"I don't need your charity—"

"Quit with the snark, you clearly do."

Gladion crossed his arms, gritting his teeth. "I do not. Besides, where the hell did you get this money from, anyways? Team Skull pay well?"

"Oh, no no. I just 'borrowed' it." A sly little grin etched across Plumeria's face, her eyes bright and lively. "And you know there's more where that came from."

"You're shameless." Gladion rubbed the back of his head with a sigh. "Absolutely shameless."

"No shame in that. Now, how about I show you where that joint is? I'm sure you'll love the luxurious feature of a roof, especially when it's over your head." Plumeria stood up, jamming her hands into her pockets. She slowly walked forward, barely giving the boy a chance to object or agree.

"Wait! I did not agree to this! Hey! Come back here!" Gladion jumped onto his feet, screaming loudly enough to strain his throat. "I said come back here!"

The girl didn't even look back. Gladion returned Type: Null into its Pokéball, and dashed after her. Despite his hesitance, in the end he followed her lead to the cheap motel.

On Ula'Ula Island, there were several outposts created for the Aether foundation. One was a petite little trailer located nearby Malie City, the interior consisting mostly of machinery purposed for the care and research of Pokémon. Only a man and his underling currently resided within it, each grasping a transceiver, waiting for their coworkers to update them on their investigation.

The man sipped at his mug of coffee, agitated, while his subordinate tapped their feet in impatience. Her eyes shot to the from the floor, to the man, and back to the floor. There was an nerve-wracking silence hanging over them both, or at least that's how she saw it. Though she feared she may be too faint of heart to avoid breaking out in an anxious stutter, she decided to try and speak.

"Um... Mr. Faba... sir?"

"That's Branch Chief Faba to you." Faba immediately snapped at the employee with little warning, only making her more stature grow more stiff.

"Oh! Uh... yes... sorry." The woman tugged at the ends of her short brown hair. "Branch Chief Faba... I just wanted to ask, maybe we should page the others? I just want to check up on them, they haven't reported back yet. I hope nothing happened while they were searching..."

Faba shook his head as the woman spoke. "If they got into trouble while performing such a simple task as finding a single kid, then they are better off resigning and never contacting Aether again! Really, I'm working with a ton of nincompoops."

The man stomped his foot as he took another drink of coffee, while the woman looked back down to her knees. She felt sweat building on her forehead, her nerves not allowing her to speak the words she wished she could.

'Oh Faba,' she thought to herself. 'You're calling us nincompoops, but you should look at yourself. We're only here because of you, everybody knows that. Everybody freaking knows about what happened. You take your eyes off Type:Null one second for a coffee break, and right under your nose the boy snatches it.'

The woman's glanced to the side, thinking of Faba's little addiction as the screaming silence made it's return. As quickly as it returned, it was halted by the sound of beeping receivers. The employee was startled, but Faba calmly lifted the transceiver to his chin.

"Did you finally find the brat?" Faba asked into the device.

"Yeah. He just checked into a motel." A firm voice responded from the other side of the transmission. "He was with some weird punk chick, I think she's a member of Team Skull. The motel is right near Po Town, and she sure would fit in. She left though, so now it looks like he's all alone in his motel room with the Beast Killer."

"Good. Good." Faba grinned a wide grin, one filled with anticipation brimming with greed. "The motel near Po town, you say? Got it. Stay right where you are. I'm coming now."

"Roger, Branch Chief Faba." With a final diligent response, both men switched off their communicators. With their target locked, Faba carelessly threw his coffee to the side and leaped from his seat. He bent his knee forward, and pointed a finger into the air.

"Alright! It's time for the one and only Branch Chief Faba to strike! That blonde little fool will regret the day he was born once we take back our precious experiment! We'll rip it from his hands, reclaim our prize from the thief! He'll never see it coming..." Faba laughed, rubbing his hands together as he thought of his inevitable success. Watching his behavior, the employee was hesitant to voice her reluctance. Yet, she found herself stepping forward, her hands shaking.

"Faba... I mean Branch Chief Faba! Branch Chief Faba! I'm sorry, I've just been thinking about this all and...are you sure going after that boy with so few people... is really a good idea?"

Faba's neck twisted back, the sharpness of his eyes stabbing at the woman. "What? You question my authority? My leadership?"

"What? No! No no! It's just... that Team Skull! We'll be awfully close to their territory!" The employee panicked, and attempted to backpedal. "I mean, it's not that this is a bad idea, it's a very good idea! I'm just worried, you know, about those thugs! What if they attack us? They might start a turf war! Or maybe even a gang war! I was just thinking uh... maybe we would need more backup... in case that were to happen. You know, you know they are said to have a really mean boss! They say he's... he'll... beat you down and never let you back up! He... he does it with bug type Pokémon! Yeah... he... he loves bug types more than anyone they say... and you know how scary bug types are! And... and you know all the vandalism there is over there! We—"

The employee blurted out words she barley grasped herself, spitting it out like chunks of vomit. She didn't understand what point she was trying to make at that point, and Faba grew impatient of her rambling. He clapped his hands together, and made a single command.

"Shut up!"

The employee's mouth slammed shut. Faba sighed, putting one of his delicate hands to his forehead. "Seriously, how stupid are you? You know as well as I do that Team Skull are a bunch of incompetent losers, everyone knows that, and it's not like we're even going into Po Town."

The employee winced, feeling as if she has turned herself into a fool. "But—"

"But what? Our eyes will be assaulted with graffiti? We'll be beaten down by some guy?" Faba crossed his arms in a similar fashion to a bitter parent, waiting for their child's answer.

The employee glued her eyes to the floor and folded her hands. She struggled to find words within her spinning mind. "Um... we'll be beaten down by some guy who leads a gang... and has an extreme love for bugs?"

"Yeah, I know someone who I'm sure could blow anyone's love of bugs out of the water." Faba closed his eyes and lowered his head, shaking it side to side. "Listen, we aren't running into this 'big bad boss', we're just taking care of our business and leaving the area. Besides, he wouldn't be able to face my glory! Not a bit of it!"

The man proudly puffed out his chest and landed his hands on his hips. The employee couldn't maintain eye contact, as she turned away from his attempt to appear tall and glorious. "Er... understood sir."

"Good. Now, come on," Faba said, beginning to walk forward. "Don't waste anymore of my time, we have property to reclaim."

Plumeria leaned against the exterior shady house within the walls of Po Town, puffing on an electronic cigarette. Evening was beginning to settle, the sun long having hidden itself from sight, though the air was far from quiet. Non-stop rap music blasted in the background, but she has long learned to block the access noise from her mind.

But piercing through her silent thinking was the sound of screaming, particularly, arguing.

"Would you quit sneezing? Your snot's getting everyone!"

"You think I got control over this? I can't help it, you little nugget!"

"Yo! You ain't allowed to call me that! We've been over this!"

Plumeria lifted her head to see both Wrap and Zip, the two grunts practically screaming in each other's faces. She noticed that Wrap's cheeks were flushed a bright red, and her nose was running on both sides. She also noticed a green mark on Zip's tank.

"If you insist on bein' a little turd, then I'll call you whatever I want, bub!" Wrap shouted.

"That's wack! Screw you!" Zip shouted.

"Ay!" Plumeria stepped forward, throwing herself into the middle of the argument. "Cool it!"

The two's heads turned to Plumeria, as they backed off from each other. She stepped in between the two, her eyes locked on Zip. "The girl's sick, you need to give her a break, got it?"

Zip lowered his head, staring at the ground in both embarrassment and shame. "Got it."

Plumeria turned her attention to Wrap, placing her hand on her forehead. It was burning to the touch. "How long have you been feeling ill?"

"It started yesterday," Wrap answered. "It seems to be only getting worse..."

Plumeria nodded, and patted Wrap's shoulder. "I'll go out and get you some meds, okay? The pharmacy should still be open. Rest up while I'm gone."

Wrap perked up like a puppy with its tail wagging, smiling bright. "Really? You are the best, big sis! I'm in your debt!"

"It's nothin'. Like I said, just rest." Plumeria brushed her hands through one of her twin tails. She walked away with a steady, confident pace, leaving the two Grunts to themselves.

"Ah! Really!" Wrap folded her hands together, filled with energy despite her stuffy nose and aching head. "Big Sis is just the best!"

Zip scratched the back of his head, looking to the side. "Yeah... she's pretty, too."

In the motel room, which beared a particularly distinct odor, Gladion tried to force himself into sleep. It was a difficult task, however, as Type: Null was insistent on laying its stomach on Gladion's chest.

"Null... Nullllll..." Gladion attempted to shove the Pokémon off of him, but its weight proved to be a major obstacle. "I can't breathhhhhe..."

"Siiiii...nooooo..." Type: Null remained unconscious, merely snoozing its night away. Gladion sighed, plopping his arms down in defeat. His closed his eyes, trying to ignore the discomfort and allow his companion its uninterrupted slumber.

Until Null's head lifted.

The Pokémon lept off the bed, beginning to circle around the room. It screeched and cried, its slow pace became a run, its tail twitched. "Nool! Val! Liii! Nolii!"

Gladion threw off the bed sheets and jumped to his feet. Sweat began to build on his forehead. "Null! Null! Quiet! Please, quiet down! What's wrong?!"

Suddenly, Null came to a halt, its head turning to look at the window. It took a lowered stance, ready to pounce. It released a threatening growl from the depth of its throat. Gladion stood still, his body tense, his hands tightening into fists. His sight locked on the window as well, his heart beginning to pound in worry and anticipation.

Seconds passed both of them by. The moment was long, silent, and torturous on the boy's nerves. The abrupt sound of a door being kicked open broke into the motionless air, both trainer and Pokémon flinching in surprise. Gladion's head tilted back, seeing a thin blur zoom forward.

There was a shrill sound, and a cry from Null. A small dart appeared on its rear, pure white in color. The Pokémon turned around to face the source of the quick, sharp pain. It attempted to position itself for battle, but its legs gave out. It fell onto its side, its consciousness fading as the tranquilizer did its work.

At the doors entrance was a single woman. In her arms was what appeared to be a gun of sorts, clearly used to fire the dart, She was dressed in all white, her clothing decorated with gold accents. Gladion immediately recognized the design of the uniform, an instant intense hatred plowing through his mind.

"...Damn it!" In his peripheral vision, Gladion noticed his bag that contained his Pokémon. His first impulse was to make a dash for it. He realized, however, that standing before him was a woman who could render him unconscious on a whim. His better judgement forced him to keep his feet planted.

His mind was rushing, sweat began to drench his clothes. Matters grew worse, as he heard the squeaking sound of an opening window. Two men, dressed exactly like the woman, hopped into the motel from outside, and rushed towards Gladion. Before he could properly react, the two shoved him onto the ground. Despite the boy's struggle, the two held him down, easily overpowering him.

The woman lowered her weapon, and sighed. She looked to the door, hearing the sound of slow, mocking footsteps approaching. A man appeared, his hand on his chin, his smile wide and wicked. He walked inside, looking down at the trapped Gladion.

"Well, well, well, what do we have—"

"Do me a favor and cut the shit, Faba." Gladion huffed, still struggling against the two men and refusing to give up. Faba found it amusing, as he giggled at the sight.

"You're in no shape to ask for favors, little man." Faba's voice rang with a condescending tone as he stuck his nose into the air. "If you haven't noticed, your stolen merchandise is knocked out, and you're helpless."

"Don't you dare call Null merchandise!" Gladion's voice reached the tip of his lungs, as he lunged his body forward in an effort to break free. "It's more than just your little experiment!"

"Oh ho ho ho, that's where you're wrong, Gladdy." Faba laughed off the boy's words as if they were little more than empty air. "Type: Null is Aether's creation. It's our possession, our experiment. Not yours."

"Your wrong! Null will never be yours!" Gladion shouted. "Never!"

Faba smirked, approaching the boy and kneeling in front of him. He poked at Gladion's nose, as if he were simply playing with him. "Really now? Explain to me how it won't be ours when we stick it right back in the lab, where it belongs. You can't, can you?"

Gladion opened his mouth to say something, anything, but he found no words to speak. He grunted his frustration, both at the man and at himself. Faba laughed, each chuckle light with a weightless glee, as he stood up once again. "You're a funny boy, Gladdy. Don't you worry your small little brain, our science project isn't the only thing returning to its proper place. You, my pitiful fool, will be taken back to your mother."

The color drained from Gladion's face after hearing those words, his body feeling as if it were about to freeze into a cold ice. His resistance began to wane as reality creeped its way through his skull. He was going to be taken "home."

Nothing could be worse than that.

The situation, though Gladion wished to fight until the end, seemed almost hopeless. It wasn't in his nature to abandon even the smallest chances, and he despised the idea of losing to someone like Faba, but he was also a realist. He couldn't see any way for him to successfully escape with Null, and that made his heart ache.

He did not account for a possible wild card.

Gladion, Faba, and the two men all heard something that sounded like a slap, along with a shout of pain. Their attention shifted to the female employee being smacked by a leaping dark figure, the hit powerful enough to send her flopping onto the floor. The slender figure landed with grace on the ground, it's violet eyes glistening.

"A salazzle?..." One of the men looked at the Pokémon in bafflement. The other looked to Faba in uncertainty, watching the chief's fists clench tight.

Salazzle's delicate hands wrapped around the dart gun, lifting it to its chest. Once again, the motel room's door widened to allow an entry. Her arms crossed, her teeth grinding, Plumeria stepped inside with an intensity brewing in her eyes.

"So much for a simple trip to the pharmacy. What a thing to come across, a group of pricks." Plumeria scoffed. "You two, back there, I suggest you let him go if you don't want to own a designer black and blue ass."

The two men flinched at the sound of the threat, but Faba stood his ground. "Keep him down, boys, I'll deal with this thug."

Faba reached to grab a Pokéball from his lab coat pocket, yet Plumeria was quick to notice this action. Being one to act without hesitation, and being one to know how to play dirty, Plumeria quickly followed through with a makeshift plan. She grabbed the dart gun from her Pokémon's hands, aimed, and fired.

A dart flew and pierced through Faba's labcoat, hitting his shoulder. For an instant, he stopped, slowly reaching to touch the point of impact. Before he could even register what was about to happen, his vision grew unsteady, and he fell to the ground.

Plumeria didn't look to the unconscious, pathetic man. Her eyes remained focused on the two men on top of Gladion, the dart gun pointed straight at them. "Last chance. Either way, you are all leaving. I don't care if you walk out the door, or if we throw your unconscious bodies out the door."

The two men remained motionless, speechless. Behind Plumeria, the woman began to stand, her cheek a bright red from Salazzle's attack.

"Let him go, guys. We'll tell Faba they overpowered us, or whatever. I dunno, we'll make a good story," she said.

"But won't he still be pissed when he wakes up?" One of the men asked with a shaking voice.

"You know he's a bit...what's the word?" The other man asked.

"Scary? Yeah, but do you two have any other bright ideas?"

The men were silent, having no true answer for the woman's question. They finally stood up and released Gladion, who quickly ran to Type: Null's side. They lifted the unconscious Faba, and promptly made their retreat out of the motel room. The woman, however, stayed behind of a single moment, a somber expression worn upon her face.

"I know it probably won't mean a thing, but sorry, kid." The woman looked to the boy stroking his companions back, his hands shaking with worry. "Really... it's not personal."

"Shut up." Gladion had little patience, spitting her apology right back at her. "You're right, it doesn't mean a thing."

The woman eyes widened in surprise, but she was forced to nod her head in both acceptance and understanding. She left, following her coworkers, leaving Plumeria and Gladion alone.

"Why the hell am I doing this?"

It was morning once again, though neither Gladion or Plumeria have gotten much sleep. The two stood side by side just outside the walls of Po Town, Gladion's face twisted in a strange mix of frustration and humiliation. Plumeria wore her usual smirk as she placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Let me see, you stole from some high end company and now you have some sleazy dude coming after you. You need a place to sleep, you need shelter, you need someone to back you up in case trouble arises, you need—"

"Okay, okay okay!" Gladion shouted. "You don't need to tell me my own story. It's just... joining Team Skull... ugh. It just feels so degrading."

"Yeah well, it's better than sleeping in the street." Plumeria shrugged, sticking her tongue out. "Besides, I think you'll fit right in."

"That's insulting, Plumeria. I wouldn't resort to this if it weren't for Null's sake..."

"Of course. You need to take care of Nully. Poor sweetie seems to have some bad people chasing after it."

"Some very bad people." Gladion sighed, jamming his hands into his pockets. "You know what's stupid? The Aether Foundation treated Null like shit, but if I were to go to the authorities, I would probably be the one to get arrested. It's ass backwards... I bet they would send cops after me if they didn't want to keep their shady practices on the down low."

"That's justice for you. It doesn't make sense half the time. But then again, who am I to understand it? I'm always on the wrong side of it." Plumeria ruefully chuckled. She wore a gentle smile. "But same goes for the entirety of Po town. Who knows, maybe you'll relate to them. Maybe you'll begin to see Skull as family..."

Gladion shook his head. "No... I doubt that. I already have a family."

Plumeria tilted her head. "Oh? You do?"

"Yeah. Well... in the least... I have my little sister."

"Where is she now?"

"Home. I had to leave her behind."

"Why?"

"None of your business."

"Okay, okay, I'll leave you to your secrets."

As Plumeria turned to walk into Po Town, and gestured for the boy to follow, Gladion tugged at his ear. "Wait, Plumeria. You aren't the only one who gets to ask questions."

Plumeria looked back at Gladion. "You have a question for me?"

"Yeah. Why are you so insistent on helping me? You're too... I dunno, nice. What the heck is up with you? Why do you care?" Gladion scratched at his cheek, taking a heavy sigh of relief, that very question having been consistently hovering over his head.

"Hm. So that's your question, huh. Well, the answer is simple, really." Plumeria turned began to walk forward once again, the boy unable to see her expression. "We're friends. That's all there is to it."