Mal smiled slightly as he waved, glancing over her subtly with a critical eye and over where he knew she had bruises from his and Nurse Joy's examination of her. Then he was watching Sonia walk off towards where she was going to meet the journalist he'd recommended and had set the meeting with. His smile dropped a little and he sighed. It had been a very long and stressful week. He took a piece of paper Nurse Joy had given him.

Lance was in Pewter City. And he wanted to meet with Mal in the Pewter Museum.

Mal wasn't sure how he felt about that. While he was glad Lance was here and he'd get to see him, he was getting an ominous feeling. The last time he'd talked to Lance, there had been a sense of urgency.

"I'm on an assignment. Things are...not as they seem."

"Problem?" Colress interrupted his thoughts.

Mal winced. "...Not really."

A blond eyebrow raised, while Teddi patted his cheek sleepily.

Mal shrugged, deciding why not. "An old friend wanted to meet me now. Would you like to come with me?"

"Sounds interesting," Colress smiled. "I'd love to."

So the two of them went together on foot towards the museum, with Mal listening in interest as Colress described the various fossils he should expect to see on display in the museum. Halfway through, Felix caught up to them and yelled out.

"W-wait! Mal!"

He and Cascade slowed to a stop in front of Mal and Colress. Mal looked at his friend curiously and Felix grinned back awkwardly.

"I was just wondering where you were off to and if I could come? Raph's busy with something –League business, I think? –and Sonia's off to do her media thing."

"I just saw Sonia off," Mal confirmed. "As for you coming, sure. I don't mind. You sure you don't want to go see N, though?" he tacked on, drawing a brief, small grin that had the other flushing red.

Felix coughed. "So this is?"

Mal blinked and then realized he hadn't introduced Colress, who had patiently waited beside him. "Colress, this is my friend Felix and his Buizel Cascade. Felix, Cascade, this is Colress, a scientist I befriended recently. You might have glimpsed him at the press conference?"

"I think I remember," Felix hummed in thought.

"Anyway, I was just about to meet another old friend at the Pewter Museum, so that's where we were just headed," Mal explained.

"Oh! Great," Felix beamed. "Cascade and I wanted to sightsee before, but hadn't a chance. It'd be nice to check that out, right Cascade?"

Cascade smirked and gave his own version of a thumbs up, chattering in his own language about his excitement. Felix chatted back for a moment, and Mal could see curiosity and interest light up in Colress' eyes. Grabbing hold of the scientist's sleeve, he started to lead the way before Colress could attack Felix with a bunch of questions and they would literally end up not moving from that spot for a long time.

"Who are we meeting?" Felix asked, breaking up the silence during their walk.

"Hm? Ah, just someone who I met when I was younger in Kalos," Mal remembered the time, frowning briefly. "I was kidnapped..." he hesitated, glancing at Felix unsurely, "by a bunch of Plasma members. He stopped them and saved me and a bunch of pokémon."

Felix's eyes widened and he looked stricken, looking back at Mal unsurely. Mal hadn't wanted to bring it up, since he knew how much Felix liked and was getting into Team Plasma, but he didn't want Felix to misunderstand every time Mal gave some sort of reaction towards any time his friend mentioned the Team or something similar.

Still, he oddly noted Colress' arm stiffening from underneath his grip. He wondered about that, but put it out of his mind as they finally neared the museum. Entering it, Mal quickly looked to the back, knowing better than to look for Lance where he could be easily seen.

Unless the government agent was prepared to be seen out in the open and hiding in plain sight (which he would have told Mal he was), then he would be much more comfortable being unobtrusive and milling about in less open areas.

Spotting Lance in casual clothes and wearing a pair of glasses, he signaled to his companions to follow him and headed towards Lance. Before he even reached Lance, his fellow red head had turned and lifted a hand to silently greet him. Mal wasn't surprised. Lance had a habit of knowing his surroundings and could spot someone approaching him a mile away.

"You know Lance Wataru?" Felix hissed quietly behind him.

"You know him," Mal quietly said in amusement.

"That's different! It was brief and to get prepared to meet Raphael and you guys for this pokémon journey!"

"Ah, well. Like I said, Lance is an old friend," he waved Felix off. "So don't worry about it."

Closing the distance, they stopped in front of Lance and Mal adjusted his goggles on his head, before he went into his customary bow.

"I swear you get more and more formal each time I meet you," Lance rolled his eyes. But those same eyes quickly ran over the companions by Mal's side, which he noted.

"This is Felix, who you should know," Mal gestured to his friend. "You should know Cascade too. And this is Dr. Colress Achroma. We met and became friends recently."

Lance's eyes lingered on the blond, who smiled thinly back. There was a tenseness in the air that made Mal hyperaware, before it was gone and he was left confused as Lance nodded.

"Please to meet you," Lance said politely to Colress before looking to Felix and Cascade. "And it's good to see you two again. I hope things are well?"

"Just great, sir," Felix said nervously, while Cascade let out a series of "Bui! Bui!" that made Lance grin. He then turned to Teddi and Su Lin, affectionately greeting them.

"Hey, you two," Lance greeted Mal's pokémon, rubbing their heads fondly.

"Pan pan," Su Lin greeted back, while Teddi reached out for a small hug.

"Why don't you two look around the museum?" Lance suggested, looking at Felix and Colress. "I'd like to talk to Mal privately for a bit."

Even if it was phrased like a question, it was easy to tell that it wasn't. Felix and Colress got the hint and left, and Mal tensed up while he waited for Lance to start.

"Let's move over," Lance murmured, grabbing a hold of Mal's arm and directing him further to the back and to where there were even lesser people there. "There was a break-in here not too long ago."

Mal's eyes widened just the slightest. "Was anything taken?"

"Most of the museum's fossils kept in the back. Nothing else, but something tells me that their target was something else. Or at least they had a different main target, aside from the fossils."

The teenager frowned, wondering what else could be desired from a museum.

"I told you about a fossil revival machine being built, right?" Lance spoke quietly.

His eyes widened. "You don't mean..."

"It wasn't here, but the plans for it and the location of the machine were, though no one was supposed to know about that. The plans and the location was located in the museum's databases, and even if no signs of electronic fingerprints were found...my gut is telling me that's what they were after," Lance scowled.

Mal scrutinized his older friend. "If you're telling me this, then there has to be an important reason why," he concluded.

Lance nodded solemnly. "I'll be out of touch, starting in a few days. Besides not wanting you to worry, I wanted you to keep your eyes peeled open and to be careful, especially after hearing all the things you've already gotten into. Your run-in with a unit from Team Rocket concerns me, especially since it's not one from the 'Idiot Brigade'. If you'd have run into the JJM or the B&C units, I might not be too worried, but this new group seems competent and most likely part of the actual faction of Team Rocket. I'm also probably going to be attempting to infiltrate the Team, since I'm more than sure this break-in was their doing."

The younger red head chewed on his lip. "That's worrying..." he looked at Lance. "You'll be careful, won't you?"

Lance's lips quirked up. "Of course. So you should be too."

Mal nodded, returning the small smile.

"Which reminds me," Lance started, digging into his pocket. He pulled out a pokéball and held it out to Mal.

"Happy Birthday," Lance grinned widely then. "I know it's a few days late since your birthday was on the 1st and it's already the 3rd, but I couldn't make it here until now."

Mal flushed red. "You really didn't have to. I'd even actually forgotten it myself," he admitted.

Lance looked playfully aghast. "What? How could you! It's your Sweet 16, Mal!"

Mal huffed. "It's not a big deal. After everything that happened, it really didn't cross my mind."

The Johto Champion groaned. "I wish I didn't have to leave right away. I would have dragged you out to celebrate or something."

"Don't worry about it," Mal insisted. "Anyway, what have you gotten me?" he asked, eying the pokéball and then Lance speculatively.

Lance lightly smirked. "Go check."

Mal tossed the pokéball to the ground and a small, baby blue and white pokémon appeared, curled up and wiggling slightly. Mal's eyes widened as he saw it, leaning down to gently pick up the Dratini that Lance had gifted him with.

"He's injured," Lance said quietly. "I figured, aside from your birthday present, you could also nurse him back to health."

He double-checked to see if Lance was right about the Dratini being a 'he' just in case (though that was silly since Lance was a Dragon Master and all –but habit) and then proceeded to stroke the Dratini's head softly.

"What's his name?" he asked Lance, though he kept his eyes on the Dratini, who gently head-butted his hand and was rubbing it with his head eagerly.

"Doesn't have one," Lance answered. "Thought I'd leave that up to you."

Mal thought carefully. Remembering Leaf, especially after the recent exposure to her and some of her past, he began to remember how she'd normally name her own pokémon after various deities.

"Seiryuu," he finally decided on. By the quiet coo coming from the Dratini, he guessed he approved.

Lance nodded. "Good name. Reminds me of..."

He trailed off and Mal slowly moved to look at him, but his older friend said nothing and didn't indicate he was going to continue on.

"Anyway, I also want you to have this. Keep it safe for me, alright?" Lance said instead and he handed over some sort of rock, which Mal took in confusion. Then he felt the ridges and looked it over, realizing it was a fossil.

"This wouldn't happen to be a Helix Fossil, would it?" Mal asked, gears turning in his head.

"Yes," Lance affirmed.

Mal nodded and then suddenly turned from Lance, holding up the fossil slightly.

"I'm so honored to meet you, Lord Helix," Mal said reverently to it.

Lance cuffed the back of his neck, before snatching his collar and pulling the teen after him.

"Let's head back to your friends," Lance said in annoyance and Mal briefly entertained a smirk on his face, wrapping Seiryuu firmly around his neck, where he was examined curiously by Teddi (on Mal's back) and Su Lin from atop Mal's crimson head. Those two would keep an eye on him and keep him quiet company. He slipped the fossil into his pocket.

They traveled back to the others, where Mal saw the duo's eyes alight onto the Dratini obviously draped around his neck, but they thankfully said nothing right then as Lance gave them a professional smile.

"We can go around and look at the museum," Lance offered, keeping that professional smile on as he looked at the group.

"That would be nice," Mal agreed.

"Yeah, I'd love to!" Felix tacked on.

"I was supposed to do some consultation here as well, until the whole...you know," Colress gave a look to Lance, who nodded sharply. "So it'd be nice to play tourist here instead."

"Then it's settled," Lance's smile turned warm a bit as he looked to Mal, and then he led the way around the museum.

Mal briefly caressed the Dratini around his neck in comfort. His sweet bears nuzzled up to Seiryuu, who relaxed even more.

The poor thing will be fine with them, no matter what his circumstances were.

~*~*~

"Alright, I need to be going now," Lance told them outside the museum. He gave them a friendly smile and wave, with a look to Mal that made him remember what Lance was going to be up to. "Happy 16 again, Mal! We'll celebrate when I see you again, hopefully before your 17th birthday!"

When the older man left, Colress and Felix turned to Mal quickly.

"It was your birthday?!" the two practically demanded in unison. Cascade came stomping over and began jabbing a claw into Mal's leg, lecturing the red head in his language (it sounded like a lecture).

Mal waved them off. "Like I said to Lance, don't worry about it. I forgot about it myself, and there was a lot more important things going on. It wasn't today either."

"You mean it already past?" Felix asked, genuinely aghast compared to Lance's reaction earlier.

He sighed. "Two days ago. Look, it's okay. Why don't we just head on over to the café we promised we'd meet Sonia at?"

"This isn't over, you hear me?" Felix glowered at him, though seeing a 'glower' on Felix's face made Mal almost smile. Felix had such a sweet face, it was hard to take him serious.

"Yeah, yeah," Mal smiled a little, rolling his eyes out of sight.

"I'll have to go too," Colress said regretfully. However, his eyeglasses glinted and he turned a glare onto Mal, which was much more effective than Felix's glower. "This whole birthday business will be answered, understand?"

Mal blinked. "Okay."

Colress' face did a 180 and he smiled brightly. "Good! I'll see you soon. Bye, Felix! It was good to meet you!"

Then it was just Felix and he, and Mal turned to him. "Alright, let's go. We'll be late –"

Just then, in his pocket, Sonia's phone rang. Retrieving it, he scrunched his eyebrows together and looked at the Caller ID.

"Yannoa Darkin," Felix read it aloud, having squeezed in close to Mal. "That's someone related to Sonia, right?"

"Hm," Mal narrowed his eyes as he remembered the woman that had come in with Sonia the day they'd grouped together for their journey. "She's from when we met Sonia at Pallet. I believe she's her mother."

They began to walk and Mal ignored the phone, putting it back into his pocket even as it continued to ring.

"Shouldn't we answer it?" Felix asked anxiously.

"No," Mal said decidedly. "We don't know her and she doesn't know us. And we have her daughter's phone. From what I heard before meeting them personally, they're very private and insular. We'd be intruding as well, so we'll just let it go and inform Sonia that she had a call. If, in the future, Sonia explicitly implies she doesn't mind we do and gives us permission, then we'll answer her phone from then on."

Felix bobbed his head in agreement, back to looking happy. He hoped that meant that Felix had finally forgotten about the whole birthday thing.

It wasn't long until they reached the café, where they were seated and waited to have their orders taken. Cascade minded Teddi and Su Lin, who played around in the seat beside the Buizel. The egg incubator was carefully placed beside Felix and him, though obviously Felix had his arm placed around it protectively (and trying to look more casual about it). Mal perused the drinks, biting on his lower lip when he came across the elderberry tea. It wasn't as common in Pewter as it was in Viridian, but he was glad to run across it.

Given the interview, he debated on whether or not Sonia would need it. He was sure it was going to be taxing and she might feel off, but that didn't mean the tea would solve anything. Despite the homeopathic studies on it (and the recent studies on it linking to helping Psychics), it wasn't an end-all-save-all solution. But he did have a certain bias towards it because of Leaf...

"Oh look! Mal, they have elderberry tea," Felix said excitedly. "We should get some for Sonia!"

Well, if she needed it, it was there. Better as a just-in-case scenario than left wanting, and if she wanted something else, she could order something else.

Nodding his head decisively, he held up a hand to call over a waitress.

~*~*~

The walk back to the Pokémon Center was light-hearted. Mal was glad that Sonia seemed pretty happy, for her that is. He did make a note to see she wasn't especially fond of elderberry tea itself, though it was helpful for her when she needed its effects (as he'd thought). He did enjoy it himself, even if part of the reason stemmed from his late cousin.

That said, he was surprised to find out more about Sonia from the time spent in the café, and he had to say he hadn't expected her to be a gamer. In some ways, it wasn't too surprising, since Sonia was a bit of a loner and playing games didn't require too much interactions. He did also observed that she just seemed to genuinely enjoy it and had fun playing video games, so there was that as well.

However, he was very pleased to find someone else who enjoyed Shauntal Oakwood's works, like he did. He'd have to inquire after her collection of Oakwood's works later on, when they had time.

But then they just took a step into the Pokémon Center and he felt first, rather than saw, Sonia freeze up and then he saw a brief look of terror (so miniscule and quick a change that it wouldn't have been caught if he hadn't been watching closely) overtake her features. He looked to where she was staring and saw a lean, handsome man cheerfully standing beside a Houndoom.

A Houndoom.

Then he saw the police officers and the professionally dressed woman near them, the numerous amount of people crowding into the Pokémon Center, and then he was back to staring at the obviously Dark-typed government agent and the Houndoom. Then he realized –

Sonia was about to be arrested.