Second.

[azumods]

ENCOUNTER 2. Saturday evening arrives, and with it the time to follow through on that invitation. Upon entering the resort area, the group will be greeted - inasmuch as the emotionless can properly greet anyone - by staff that evidently works there. They don't appear to be affiliated with Team Galactic, at least not outwardly; they're all dressed similarly, but not in Galactic uniforms, and their hair is down and noticeably not covered in identical wigs. They seem to have retained some aspect of individuality, in other words, as opposed to being absorbed into what appears to be the Team Galactic hivemind, and while they don't seem genuinely pleased to see the lot of you, they'll smile politely as they usher you in, albeit in an odd, uncanny-valley sort of way that doesn't reach their eyes. A purely mechanical reaction, their bodies smile while they do not. It's probably a little difficult to say whether that's preferable or not to the usual blankness you may be getting accustomed to. However, they seem cordial enough as they escort all of you further into the resort proper, past several bungalows that likely contain a few rooms apiece for people to reside in for the duration of their stay. The walk will take you up a few sets of stairs built into the rock formation the resort is built upon, leading eventually to a restaurant that likely overlooks Lake Valor from the north side of the building - it certainly seems elevated enough, and the positioning is right. The seating area itself seems to have been prepared in advance for your arrival; rather than several separated tables, there's one long arrangement draped in white, with twelve chairs arranged down each side - twenty-four total - and one at the head of the table. That one appears to already be occupied with your host for the evening; the smile Saturn is offering is soft but it isn't nice, disingenuous in a way that's only slightly less unsettling than the mechanical expressions of the staff. "It's good of you to join me." His voice is likewise soft but it isn't nice; just the same, he'll gesture at the rest of the table easily. "Feel free to have a seat, and keep your Pokémon out if it pleases you; this used to be a battling establishment, so the staff is more than accustomed to things like that." Food will be brought out shortly after people are seated; there are no arranged seats, so you're free to sit wherever suits you along the table. It's likely noticeable once things are laid out that either the people here don't hunt or Saturn is aggressively vegan; either way, there's no meat involved and nothing that would insinuate that Pokémon were harmed in any way to obtain what's in front of you, though the food is still decidedly nicer and more substantial than anything you've had for the past week - high-class and freshly-prepared, and not...you know, relying on berries and nonperishable stuff from a department store shelf. "Enjoy yourselves." Saturn's voice is still even, still calm to perhaps infuriating levels regardless of whatever the atmosphere in the room may happen to be, "since I did say that this was intended at least partially to apologize for the incident at the lakefront. And of course, you're welcome to ask whatever you like, seeing as you did have questions and I'm no longer strictly on company time. After all, a peaceful solution to this entire...situation is what we're all striving toward, isn't it?"

Comments

[azumods]

...Very well, then.

[His hand slips below the level of the tabletop then, for the sake of finding one of those Pokéballs at his belt; the creature he releases is far different than Cynthia's and not quite as large, but still very obviously built for combat, physically speaking.

She's also just as dead behind the eyes as the rest of the Pokémon you've encountered in this world.]

[greydients]

[.....oh, wow. Rey hadn't actually thought that Saturn would do what she asked (at least, not without another ten minutes of him avoiding her questions), so for a moment, she's speechless as she takes in the sight of his Pokemon. It looks strong, for one thing - far stronger than anything they've got, and yet...]

...oh. It's a....

[...even with its size, Rey doesn't feel all that intimidated. Just...sad, especially when she sees the lack of light in its eyes.

What sort of a monster is Saturn's master?]

...Croagunk. No, wait-

[She's seen its picture in her book, what was the name....]

Toxicroak. It's a Toxicroak, isn't it?

[azumods]

Yes, she is.

[You've researched this because of course you have.]

...She's been with me since I was a child. They can be found in a certain area in Pastoria City; that's where I grew up.

[takestheblame]

You let someone you have been with since you're a child undergo something as cruel as this?

[Kiryu sounds both in disbelief and absolutely furious]

[azumods]

[Oh, that's - ]

I didn't simply let that happen!

[...You aren't the only one that's Fucking Pissed right now, Kiryu, let's put it that way.]

[takestheblame]

Then explain this! What reason's there to have your companion be a shell of what she was before?

[azumods]

It was Master Cyrus' will! It wasn't something that I simply stood there and allowed!

[...He's...really not explaining this very well, but...]

[heritrix]

[She's going to make gestures with her hands at Kiryu know, as if to say "settle down". He's onto something, she thinks, but in the wrong direction.]

...You didn't actually know, did you? You only learned after the fact.

[azumods]

[He'll take a moment to just...sit back, and breathe, and try to calm himself down.]

No. I didn't.

[discutio]

...

[Well. Fuck.]

So no one but Cyrus truly knew the reach of his goal. Is that what you're saying?

[azumods]

I...knew, it's just...

[Okay, come on. Calm. Stay calm.]

You probably don't want to hear it, anyway.

[hyruglyphics]

I do.

[ ... Look she's a compassionate researcher of course she wants data ]

[semistableman]

You miss her, don't you? Who she used to be.

[takestheblame]

[Rin and Ignis intervening does give Kiryu some time to calm down. He takes a deep breath, trying not to be so upset. Lowering his tone he says:]

It doesn't have to be like this. I'm not asking you to betray Team Galactic or anything like that, but if you were spared from this, then there should be some way your Pokemon don't have to be like that.

It just isn't fair you have to see this happening to them.

[heritrix]

The way he made it sound to me earlier, he wouldn't have to for long. Him being like us; it's a temporary thing. He's not been spared or anything like that, he just has to work for his retirement.

[In other words, once their work is done, Saturn's spirit will be removed as well.]

[discutio]

Enough. We're not here to fight, and that includes you, Commander.

You did it because it was in line with your master's orders.

[azumods]

I didn't do anything.

[greydients]

[At the moment she can just match names to appearances of Sinnoh Pokemon - nothing more than that - but she's working on it. Slowly but surely.]

She's amazing.

[Rey isn't trying to flatter Saturn needlessly; her words are genuine. She now understands what Cynthia meant when she said they wouldn't have a chance against him as they are. This Pokemon looks powerful, and if she's been with Saturn since he was a child, they've likely trained toget-

...

Her train of thought derails rapidly.]

...you've been together since you were young?

[That has to pre-date whatever the hell Cyrus did to this world, so...

...oh. That's...]

...she must know you better than anyone.

[azumods]

[His gaze darts a little before he fixes it solidly back on Rey; he's fine.]

She does, yes.

[greydients]

You must have a lot of happy memories with her.

[Rey returns Saturn's gaze for a moment, frowning slightly, before her focus shifts back to Toxicroak. The spikes on the end of her arms look deadly, and Rey realizes - perhaps a bit belatedly - that Saturn could give her a command and Rey could lose a limb. Regardless of that, though, Rey bends down slightly, so she's on eye level with Toxicroak.

It's a bit late to decide she's afraid.]

...do you think she remembers them?

[azumods]

I've never asked.

[...He's keeping his head up and he's managing to keep his voice from jumping any as he continues, but he's gone very still.]

I don't particularly want to know.

[greydients]

[As she looks into Toxicroak's lifeless eyes, Rey feels a multitude of different emotions flooding through her body - anger (what she wouldn't have given to have a friend growing up, and look what he's done to his), horror (how could this even happen, how do you steal someone's spirit?), grief (this must be a fate worse than death for her, and he's reminded of it constantly)...but the most consistent one is a crushing sense of sadness.

Rey wants to reach out and run her hand along Toxicroak's head - the way she does with Golett - but she manages to hold herself back.

In the end, the gesture will offer no comfort.]

...you're not okay with this, are you?

[It's pronounced like a question, but it's far more of a statement, and Rey makes no move to specify exactly what she's referring to.]

[azumods]

I...

[He's just going to go quiet at that, honestly.]

[greydients]

[The mutual silence continues for a few moments longer as Rey commits Toxicroak's appearance to memory - not just the physical aspects of the species, but the way she hasn't moved since Saturn released her from her Pokeball, the limpness of her limbs and the lack of light in her eyes. She won't forget.

She also won't forget the way Saturn has gone from smug and seemingly in control of the situation, to...this. Terrified of the damage done to his best friend, too afraid to confront it, too deep in his master's control to do anything about it.

Rey has experienced this before, and while that situation didn't end the way she wanted it to...at least the master in that scenario ended up dead.

Hopefully, events here in Sinnoh would play out similarly.

Straightening up, Rey reaches a hand out to Toxicroak, before quickly drawing it back to her side, fingers curling into a fist.]

I'm going to make him pay for doing this to your Pokemon, Saturn.

[And somehow, Rey is rather sure the rest of their group of outsiders feels the same way.]

It's not too late for you to do so too, you know.

[azumods]

[He shakes his head at that, kind of shrugging a bit.]

When the day comes for you to face us, I'm going to fight you with everything I have. We both are. For the world, and for Master Cyrus. For peace.

But I look forward to seeing you, whenever that day comes. Make sure you defeat me, all right?