A/N - Sorry for the delay! I was away. Updates should return to normal from Friday.

Chapter Forty Five

The Bricked Inn squatted between two tall buildings along Fuchsia Avenue. One could have easily overlooked it if it weren't for the old, wooden sign creaking in the artificial breeze.

Annie had insisted on checking out Moonlight Lounge first, which her friends implored desperately against. And not just because of the price, it seemed. After Annie had terrorized about a hundred different space pirates using only her presence alone, Trojan had dragged her out by her collar, muttering something about 'jackin' humans being jackin' impossible' before he finally released her in a narrow alleyway.

Annie pushed the old door to the Bricked Inn open, and a tinny sound rang out over her head. She ducked and skittered into the room, wafting at whatever it was that had made the intrusive sound. An ancient wind chime hung over the door. A tiny starly swinging back and forth between four hollow tubes, striking each one with a metal ball.

"Calm yer ass," Trojan muttered as he pushed past her towards the desk. "Don't you think you've terrorized enough 'mon today?"

Annie stood up straight and beat down her blouse. Web caught her eye and raised an eyebrow before following the scrafty into the lobby.

A dark-furred meowth sat behind the desk, her entire body trembling. Her whiskers quivered as she stared wide-mouthed at the human. Annie stared back at her and inclined her head on one side. The feline seemed to be about to faint.

"Don't worry 'bout her," Trojan told the meowth. "She's with us."

"What..." the meowth gasped out. "What..."

"I said don't worry 'bout her!" the scrafty snapped. "Can we book two rooms, or not?"

The meowth reached under the desk, not taking her eyes off Annie, and pulled out a tattered folder. Even as she opened it, her wide eyes remained on the human.

Trojan tapped the desk with his claws, loud enough to drag the meowth's terrified eyes onto him.

"S-sorry," she sputtered. "I'll... I'll just check."

Annie felt a wing flop onto her shoulders and she tore her attention from the quaking meowth. Waveform stood beside her, keeping a close eye on the receptionist.

"They'll get used to you," he said quietly.

Annie shrugged, causing Waveform to remove his wing. "I'm not bothered if they get used to me. I'm going home anyway, once I get my hands on that Time Onion."

Waveform's eyes widened slightly and he turned back to the receptionist. "Well, I'm sure we'll find it. We just need to know where to look."

"We're still starting a rebellion, right?" Zip's small voice rose up from her right.

She looked down at the glass bowl containing the goldeen. Those stitches still looked very red and sore but they didn't seem to bother him at all. His tiny eyes sparkled, almost pleading.

Annie simply shrugged. "Sure. Why not. Gotta stop these weirdos eating themselves, right?"

Waveform's paw fell over her shoulder and he let out a sharp 'shh!', giving her a violent jerk. Annie let out a yelp as she fell sideways into the decidueye.

Zip's laughter at her clumsiness lifted any suspicion from them, despite the fact the meowth was still as tense as a bow string about to snap. Trojan rolled his eyes at them and returned to whatever it was he was doing. Where had he got that pen from?

He slammed it down onto the counter and the meowth took it, hiding it away under the desk along with the folder. She then turned her back on them, glancing over her shoulder occasionally to look at Annie. The meowth pulled over a stool and climbed onto it to reach a cork-board full of... keyrings?... behind her.

"Here are your keys," she told Trojan. "Don't lose them, or it'll be fifty credits each."

Trojan snorted and tucked them into his baggy fur.

"Your rooms are on the second floor," said the receptionist. "Check out is at noon."

He waved a paw at her then gestured for Annie and the other pokemon to follow him.

Waveform ushered Annie ahead of him, all the while keeping an eye on the receptionist. Annie wanted to ask him what his problem was. What had the meowth done to deserve being stared at like that? Nevertheless, she forgot all about it as she climbed the stairs to the second floor.

Trojan was already stood outside one of the rooms, twirling the keyring-like key-thing in his claws.

"They're opposite each other," he said with a nod to the opposite room. "Made sure we weren't split up. Here's your key." He handed the one he was twirling to Annie then narrowed his eyes. "Don't lose it 'cos I ain't payin' for it."

Annie frowned down at the black lump of plastic. "It looks like something you'd use to lock a car."

All four pokemon fixed her with equal looks of confusion. She looked up at them and glanced at each one in turn.

"What?" she asked. "You never seen a car before?"

"We aren't that retro," said Zip.

Trojan nodded at the fish. "What he said. Now, get in your room and get some sleep."

The scrafty flashed his key fob at a panel beneath the door handle and it let out an audible click. He turned the handle and tried to push it open. The catch caught in the frame and he muttered under his breath, using his shoulder to barge the door open. The wood splintered slightly around the catch, but it eventually swung inward, revealing a room that looked like it hadn't been slept in in decades.

"So I guess I'm sharing with Web?" Annie turned to her room. "I hope she doesn't snore."

"You ain't sharin' with Web," said Trojan. "You're with Zip and Waveform."

The scrafty waved a paw at the skuntank and she gave Annie a shake of the head as she followed him into the room.

Annie raised an eyebrow. "What's that about?"

Waveform took her key fob and opened the door. It opened a lot smoother than Trojan's had, but the room was in an equal state of sadness.

"They're married," he told her.

Annie looked up at him with a start.

"You didn't know?" he asked.

"Hadn't a clue." She retrieved the fob and ducked under his wing to enter the room. "They bicker like-"

"Like an old, married couple?" Waveform chuckled, which Annie thought was rather uncharacteristic. "They've been married for about ten years now. That's why Web gave up being a space pirate. She wanted to stay on System Ground."

Annie sat on the edge of the bed. "Why didn't Trojan just join her as a space pirate?"

"His job." Waveform leant against the door frame, inching aside as Zip scurried past him. "He didn't want to leave his bar."

"Yeh, and that went to pot." Annie yawned and stretched, flopping backwards onto the musty sheets. "This room is gonna give me a headache."

The decidueye strolled across the room towards the lone, pokey window. He hoisted up the blind and shoved the window open. Fresh air rushed into the room, clearing up the musty air like an obsession.

Annie finally looked around the room. One bed. Single. One dressing table. Grey with dust and falling to bits. One chair. Three legs, the other lying against the wall. A crimson rug. Threadbare.

"Who gets the bed?" she asked.

Waveform turned and leant against the wall, searching the room with his scarlet eyes.

"I don't need a bed," said Zip from beside the dressing table. "So I'm fine here."

Waveform turned to look at Annie then kicked himself back from the wall. "You take it. I'm going out for a while."

Annie watched him as he marched across the room towards the door. "Where to?"

"I need to pick up a few things." He placed his paw on the handle and gave her a nod. "Don't worry. I'll be back before dawn."

Annie yawned widely and let herself flop back onto the bed. "All right. But I can't guarantee the bed will be free."

He said nothing. She didn't even hear him move from the room. The only thing that truly betrayed his exit was the click as the door locked itself behind him.

...

Tracer poked his head out of the narrow alley, watching the decidueye cross the street. The owl didn't even look around him at the other space pirates. A black scarf was fastened securely behind his head and covered his silver-clad beak, making his crimson eyes stand out even more.

Clever. Quite clever.

Waveform had taken a huge risk coming to Pulse City and he knew it. A bounty hunter like himself would be a prime target and space pirates wouldn't bat an eyelid at giving him a hard time. They might even have resorted to killing him. The scarf coupled with the lack of his silver quiver and arrows would remove suspicion from most, if not all, of the space pirates.

Tracer warred with the desire to follow the decidueye and to stay true to his job. His curiosity was getting the better of him. Why on earth would Waveform so brazenly enter Pulse City with his reputation?

Widget shifted beside him as he poked his head out around Tracer's knee, dragging the delphox right back into reality. He became uncomfortably aware of the incineroar stood behind him, leaning back against the damp wall. Not remotely watching the events unfolding. Good. If he'd noticed Tracer's interest he'd have pushed him for information on the decidueye's identity. Tracer had already told the space pirate enough as it was.

So long as that never got back to Socket, he didn't have to worry.

"What you waitin' around for, fuzzy?" N0ize's voice sent a chill down Tracer's spine.

He looked back over his shoulder at the space pirate, meeting his eye.

"I think the coast might be clear," said Tracer. "I was just waiting for her friend to leave."

"Y'ain't followin' him?"

Tracer shook his head. "It's not him I'm after."

"Fair enough," said N0ize. "But you might've been able to punch him for information."

"I think you mean 'pump him'," said Widget.

N0ize laughed heartily. "I really don't, kid. I want information and someone ain't willin' to give it, I punch 'em up."

Tracer wanted to reply with an 'I can believe it' but decided he much preferred his spine intact. Instead he nodded for the incineroar to follow him and slipped around the corner, hugging tightly to the wall.

Widget, however, marched boldly down the street to the Bricked Inn, then vanished inside.

"Kid's got guts," said N0ize, somewhat impressed. "Way more guts than you."

"I sometimes worry he has more guts than any sane pokemon should have." Tracer shook his head and waved a paw at the open door. "Let's just follow him inside."

Widget stood on his hind legs, leaning his forepaws on the reception desk. Only his nose poked over, but he spoke confidently to the dark furred meowth. The meowth squinted down at him, having to stand on her chair to see him clearly.

Dark fur. One of the several changes a paw-full of pokemon had undergone when the types split. A result of a lack of steady sunshine and a drastic change in career path had resulted in the meowth being more suited to night time excursions. Tracer hadn't seen one on System Ground, but finding one in Pulse City didn't remotely surprise him.

"So if you could tell us where she is," said Widget, "I'd be very grateful."

"I'm afraid I can't do that," said the meowth. "It's my policy."

"How about I pay you?" Widget went on. "Five thousand credits."

The meowth's eyes almost spun in her sockets. Tracer even thought he saw the charm flash on her forehead, but it was more likely the light from a well-timed laser fire outside. Her lips curled into a smile and she chuckled as she fell back into her seat.

"You know how to spin a bargain," she said. "Make it seven thousand and I'll even give you a key to her room."

Widget looked like he was about to reply, but Tracer placed a paw on his shoulder and made him back down.

"I don't think that's necessary," the delphox said around his cigar. "I'm sure she'll let us in."

"You sure about that?" The meowth smirked. "You don't look like space pirates." She then looked up at N0ize and her smirk faltered. "He does. But you two? Not even in the slightest."

"Hey!" Widget protested. "I like to think I look more like a space pirate than my friend here."

"Which one?" the meowth asked. "The delphox? Sure."

Tracer removed his cigar and toyed with the urge to flick ash onto the floor. It went against everything he believed in, but if he went outside to do it that would only solidify the meowth's accusations. So he flicked it right onto her desk.

"I think you have us wrong," he told her. "Now kindly tell us where we can find this strange creature who's taken a room here."

N0ize chuckled and stepped up beside him, ramming his fist into his open paw. The meowth cowered behind her desk and did her best to disguise it by pulling out a tattered folder.

She didn't even need to open it. She spewed out the room number before she even got to the page, then tossed a key fob right at N0ize.

The incineroar caught it and twirled it around his claw. "Thank ye kindly."

The malicious note in his voice pushed Tracer's fur on end, making him oddly grateful for his long coat. They left the lobby and followed the meowth's fractured directions towards the stairs.

"That was fun," said Widget. "We should do this more often."

"I am not becoming a space pirate," Tracer muttered under his breath. "I think you need to get your priorities straight."

"Keep talkin' like that," said N0ize icily, "and you'll find yourself shaved and tremblin' in a gutter."

The delphox gulped as quietly as he could and trotted silently after Widget. The eevee found the room before they did and stood sniffing at the floor.

"I think this is the one," he said. "Smells like a skuntank rolled around on the floor."

Tracer puffed on his cigar as he eyed the door. It was definitely the right room. The faded numbers on the wood showed where the metal plates used to hang, until someone decided they'd rather steal them and melt them down into something else. He lifted his paw and knocked rapidly.

Someone moved around inside, their feet clattering over the wooden floor. Something scraped against the door as though someone was desperate to claw their way out.

"Argh, I can't do it," a young voice said. More clattering. "Annie! Annie, someone's at the door."

Mumbles. Heavy footsteps.

The door creaked open and the contrast of long, black fur around a pale, bald face stared back at them. She rubbed a hand over her green eyes and frowned.

"I know you," she said. "You're that fox. What are you doing here? Waitaminute... Are you a clone?!" She looked left and right frantically and backed into her room.

"I can assure you I'm not a clone," said Tracer. "I'm here because I need to talk to you."

"You ain't talkin' to me," she said. "I don't talk to strangers."

N0ize stepped closer to Tracer, towering over him as he smacked his paws together.

Annie stared up at him and her green eyes widened. "That's a pretty big pussy cat."

"What's going on here?"

The voice came from behind Tracer. He turned but struggled to see past N0ize. He caught a glimpse of purple fur and a fluffy tail spread out over a skuntank's back.

"We're just here to talk to the girl," said N0ize. "Nothin' you need to concern yerself over. Wait... I know you. You're Webber!"

Web tutted. "I was hoping you'd have forgotten by now, you big lout. What are you doing hanging around with a couple of detectives? You changed sides?"

"Hey, I'm just a curious bystander." N0ize turned back to Annie and grinned at the amusement on her face. "Listen here. You're gonna talk to these fuzzies, and I'm gonna listen. You understand?"

"I don't think so." This voice was male, and a familiar scrafty stood behind Web, his paws tucked into his baggy fur. "You ain't makin' her talk. You'll turn her over to the jackin' mayor!"

"I don't have jack to do with the mayor!" N0ize roared. "I just wanna know why some lanky, bald creature is livin' in System."

"I think we all do," said Web.

"Oi!"

Annie dragged all their eyes back to her. She stood with her arms crossed and her lips pulled down into a perfect frown.

"I have you know I don't like being called 'bald'," she said. "Lanky, sure. But not bald. Nor just 'creature'. I'm a human, okay. Well... now, anyway. But when I'm a human, it's 'human'. And when I'm an archeops, it's 'archeops'. All right? Not 'creature'. Not 'bald thing'. Not 'weirdo'-"

"We've never called you 'weird', dear," said Web softly.

"I heard him do it." Annie pointed at Trojan.

The scrafty shrugged at Web's disapproving frown. "I was tired and grumpy."

"You're always tired and grumpy," said the skuntank.

"Now," said Annie firmly. "If it'll get Mister Fox off my back, I'll tell him whatever he needs to know. But I can tell you one thing for certain."

She stopped, making Tracer's fur bristle. He removed his cigar and met her eyes dead on.

"And what's that?" he asked.

She frowned. "I ain't ever goin' back to that mad mayor. She ain't putting me in no lab. Capiche?"

Tracer puffed on his cigar, fixing his amber eyes on hers. A mixture of craziness, fear and anger stared back at him. This wasn't a creature he wanted to mess with, that was for sure.

N0ize looked between the two and a loud laugh came from deep within his chest. "A lab?! So the mayor's experimentin' on living things now? Man, somethin' makes me think I'm gonna love this."

...

When Macro woke up, it was dark. He rubbed a paw over his eyes and let out a long groan as he pushed the sheets off himself. The idea of staying in bed until the sun rose fluttered through his mind and he briefly considered lying back down and going back to sleep. Then he remembered those co-ordinates.

His eyes snapped open, all sleepy fog expelled from his mind with the force of a typhoon.

No, he couldn't go back to sleep. He had to find out if those co-ordinates were working, and if so, where exactly they were taking them.

He slipped from his bed and made for the door, being sure to grab his scarf and goggles on the way. His scarf was still damp, but he didn't care. Light flooded the corridor as he stepped outside, the automatic signal triggering as it detected him.

No one was awake?

He'd never been up so early before. Matrix often put the ship into auto-pilot, but surely the ribombee would want to know if the co-ordinates were legitimate?

Macro cautiously entered the cockpit, his nerves getting the better of him. The ship felt barren, and not a single member of his crew was awake. What time was it? He glanced at the navigation screen, first checking the time.

Two in the morning.

His heart sank and he warred with the desire to return to bed. But first, he needed to check where they were.

Navigation systems were alien to him. All he really knew was that the green dot was his own ship, while red ones usually meant trouble. Large splodges indicating cities scattered over the screen, their names clearly marked. The fainter ones were System Ground, and most of them were behind them now, leaving nothing but a stretch of sea and the Analogue Isles far to their right. Only two of System Sky's islands could be seen, one of which they'd just passed. He didn't care to check the name. He was too bothered that the co-ordinates were taking them well out of System's boundaries. Across the ocean. The vast ocean that seemed to have no end. Towards a block of coldness that would freeze the ship's fuel and then send them to an icy death.

Macro hugged himself as he watched the green dot travel over the blackness. Sure, they'd gone outside System's boundaries before. That's how they'd found DL. But something felt different this time.

He pushed himself from the navigation system and turned towards the window.

Blackness. Blackness dotted by stars.

Not a city in sight.

Wildcard Gamma's own lights lit up ahead of them, revealing nothing. It all felt so empty.

Macro pinched his upper arm tightly then stifled a yelp. Nope. He was definitely awake. He absently paced towards his chair and placed one paw on the back of it, searching the nothingness.

Wait... Something was on the horizon.

He squinted into the darkness, wondering if it were his imagination. But Wildcard Gamma's lights danced over something far ahead of them. Whatever it was, it was moving. No... they were moving. Back and forth, like bright specks in the dregs of black coffee. He leant forwards, holding himself steady against his seat. They grew gradually clearer as Wildcard Gamma encroached upon them. Their forms becoming more defined. They appeared to be pokemon, but pokemon couldn't fly freely in System Sky. The air was too thin, and too cold. They'd die of suffocation if the cold didn't kill them first.

One of them rotated its head, looking straight at Wildcard Gamma. Then it froze. The others froze beside it, their limbs flailing with... with what? Were they flying? No... it was irritation. Whatever they were, they weren't happy to see them.

Then it hit him. They weren't pokemon at all. They were androids. Hundreds of them. All designed to look like the tried and failed Porygon Z.

And they were not happy to see him.