They of the Sun
Chapter Twenty-Three: A Little Nightmare

gladion

      This incessantly maddening little girl... Since Hau'oli Cemetery she haunted me like a spirit. There was a spark in her eyes like a glowering sun, even in the pale silver light. She was just as fickle as legends say the Tapu are... A flash of lightning from outside lit the room to reveal the blackened eye and chain around her neck that said enough.

     "Why?" I asked, short and curt, shutting the door as I turned to face the Team Skull Admin. Plumeria pushed herself off the wall, tossing her head to either side to crack her neck. "The Tapu chose her for a reason."

     "This is her choice," Plumeria stated, crossing her arms over her chest and tilting her head up to look down at me; asserting dominance in the situation. "And she gets that much. As far as I'm concerned, she's one of us. Guzma's rules."

     Arceus.

     "Ridiculous," I grit my teeth. I joined Team Skull to get stronger not to fucking babysit a brat! I was their extra muscle, not some errand boy!

     "Don't worry," Plumeria picked at her nails, already bored with this brief meeting, "Whoever boss is working with lended us some of their Recon, too."

     Guzma seemed to be working with a lot of people lately. Whatever they were up to wasn't my concern as long as it promised to improve our power. Hell, not even "our" strength, just mine. As long as I could free Type: Null from the prison my mother had put it in. Taurosshit.

     "Can't one of the grunts do it?"

     Plumeria let out snort from her nostrils then a long laugh, "Those numbskulls? Yeah, right! Good try."

     She took short strides to get to me, putting a sharpened nail to my chest. There was suddenly the vague scent of Watmel Berries. This woman... "She can beat them to pulp. You stand a chance."

     "Why can't you?" I quietly snapped, narrowing my eyes straight to her own golden eyes. A short giggle was her response as she cupped my cheek and met my eyes with venom.

     "I'm Guzma's right hand woman. He doesn't waste my time with... this. Besides, I have plans and she's a bit of a set back. Tomorrow she stays with me, but after that, she's aaaalll yours."

     Plumeria flicked my nose, whipping my face with her hair as she turned away. I hadn't realized I was holding my breath until it hitched again in my throat as she looked over her shoulder. Fuck. The woman was intoxicating... her Pokémon was fitting.

     "You report to me here from now on. Got it? And avoid the Kahuna."

     I let out a grunt, staring at the door where the little nightmare slept. That's really what she was. Fighting tooth and nail against anything that opposes her... To get her way. To survive. Why?

     My hand raised to pinch the bridge of my nose, shaking with frustration. What has she fucking dragged me into?

•••

cyra

       "Rise and grind, newb!"

     The splash of water trickled down my shirt, matting the fabric against my skin in an instant. What a nice way to wake up! Not. I was out of bed almost immediately, blindly lunging at the dimwit who decided this was the best way to wake me up. Never fuck with a sleeping Pyroar, as they say.

     "Hey! What's going on in here!" Plumeria's voice sent the lurking grunts into a running frenzy down the hall. I tried to keep my best straight face, ignoring the throbbing sensation that started to pulse through my body through the sleepy fog. She definitely had a mean right hook. Pumeria's attention was on me in an annoyed look. "You're gonna have to chill that temper because these dolts don't know their boundaries. They'll get tired of it quick. Here."

     She handed me a neatly folded stack of mostly black clothes, a hat resembling a skull and black combat boots sitting on top to complete the set. "I suggest you toss what you have on in the trash, your new life starts now."

     I could only stand there for a few minutes after she departed. My focus unable to settle between the irritating pain in my skull, the disgusting wetness of my clothes, and the thought of what the actual FUCK was happening here. Was I really here? Was I really doing this? This is what the Tapu'a curse had boiled me down to?

     I squinted at the clothes in my hand to answer my own question, ignoring any intuition that arose. Of course I was doing this. For Dialga's sake! It was either fall back into the Tapu Trap or go home as a disappointment (not to say I already wasn't). At least here... I could reform something. Change it. On my own will! Not because some mystical entity told me to. Not because some shirtless scientist pushed me to.

     After a quick change, I went off into the decrepit mansion in search of the yellow and pink haired woman. I didn't even bother looking into the mirror to see how dopey I looked in pants that slightly resembled hers and a tight-fitting top. Not to mention this ridiculous chain Guzma had bestowed upon me. Arceus. Everything suddenly seemed to matter less... not that it mattered much before! Hah!

     The halls were oddly empty for the amount of Skull members that potentially existed. I could hear shuffles every now and again behind a door... One opening to my surprise, a shock of green jolting through me in an instance. Those eyes? How and why? My already scrambled thoughts fucked themselves even further. Only for an instance.

     "What are you-" I took in Gladion, rumbled hair and all. His hoodie was in his hand, he had on the red shirt he wore underneath. I narrowed my eyes, feeling my heart sink. As if it could have been her. "What are you doing here?"

      He scoffed, pulling the hoodie over his head. I caught a brief glimpse of the reddish-purple marks adorned his neck... Even with my best attempt to keep my face neutral, he must've noticed me notice. This boy was quick like that. His cheeks were tinted pink and his eyes were in a blank glare down the hall he headed down. He swatted me away like a pesky Surskit.

     Already a grunt with pink hair was yanking at his sleeve. He paid them no mind as he tried to escape. Amusing was the best word to see him so flustered.

     No words left him. I felt a smirk place itself right on my lips as I called after him. "Hit it and quit it, am I right?"

     He raised his middle finger. I smirked, hoping this would be a constant. Nothing gave me more of a thrill than being a little nightmare.