Blissfully unaware of her new neighbor, Lulu had been poolside, getting some sun as recommended by priam conrad . She lied on concrete over a towel, still unable to decide on furniture and suffering from Sabine Calcifet ’s absence.

She squinted as her phone buzzed from a shadow, groaning, rolling up and retrieving it. There were no breaks in such a life…

She did not expect to see three angles of Amor Rose in 4K (the landlord would never find the cameras, nor would anyone else).

Her mood sunk.

Muttering, she made her way down steps, grabbing a black robe from its place thrown over a bed on an open floor plan, wrapping it around and tying it tight. She then grabbed a large  pistol out of her junk drawer in the kitchen.

There was the click of metal catching into place from the other side of the door. Eyes were as narrow, as was the crack of the door as it opened. The armed hand remained on the other side, out of sight.

“What do you want?”

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Lulu shifted on a hip, pressing the barrel of the gun flush against the other side of the door. Her eyes attempted to read him, putting together elaborate scenarios in which the mafia might have sent someone to live in her building in order to shake her up. Yeah. That was something they would do.

“Mm.”

It wasn’t until he pointed out his company that they were even noticed. The crack opened a little wider and her eyes shifted to the butler and then back to him. If one of them had a gun, it was probably that guy. Walter. She didn’t trust him. The barrel of the gun behind the door shifted.

A pleasure to meet her. “Is it, really?”

She didn’t shut the door in their faces. Rather, since avatarship, Lulu had decided to fully take back control of her life. She wouldn’t panic. She wouldn’t live in fear of them, or change addresses. Rather, she would let them inside, and if she found she needed to send a couple of men to hell in her own home, at least marble was easy to clean.

“Hold on.” She replied, sort of gruffly. The door was shut, and minutes later, she returned—in plain black shirt and pants, a combination which rarely changed. “Come in, then.”

The entryway went wide, revealing an open floor plan with angles likely varying slightly from his own. The ceiling was towering, with a wall of windows which overlooked Mossdeep’s developed cityscape. On bright white walls were paintings selected from the collection of the princess of Galar, Sabine Calcifet . Her eye had decorated the room. Art, sculptures, fashionable furniture.

A large Houndoom immediately noticed the guests. As Lulu rarely had any, a low ground rumbled as it placed itself between them and its master.

“Djall, sh.”

The kitchen was fully visible, and she went to work with a brew. “Coffee?” The pistol sat hidden in an oven mitt beside her, within reach. Extra comfort. Some things didn’t change.

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“I don’t, really. Girlfriend’s the one with the eye.” She’d never referred to Sabine Calcifet as such, but at that moment, it was the easiest way to explain things, and it served a multitude of purposes.

Her eyes passed to the Pichu on the man’s shoulder. The pairing couldn’t seem any less ironic. No coffee for the mouse. “Right.” But he had to have a drink, right? Otherwise, he was just standing in her home awkwardly. “Herbal tea, then? Water? … Wine?” Loosen the lips. She looked to the butler, not leaving him out, although her tone was notably more suspicious as she asked for his preference. “Walter?”

The coffee sat in the press, infusing. “Lulu.” She was stony. Face flat, eyes discerning. Thick silence pervaded the room for a long moment. Under the crossing of her arms, one finger ran along another to distract herself from her heartrate.

“So. Where did you all come from?”

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Lemonade? Her eyes bore into him for a moment. What did he think this was? A Mendy’s?

“No; no lemonade. Tea it is.”

A butler not wanting to get drunk was reasonable, but she’d figured it was worth a shot. Eyes shifted between the two of them as she then went to work on tea, flipping on a kettle closer to the stove. Her stare, unabashedly suspicious in the moment she left the oven mitt, went to Walter again. When she returned to the coffee press, however, she was more at ease.

Although, Lulu did find the relationship between these two decidedly uncomfortable.

She cleared her throat, pressing plunger down into beaker and trapping blonde-roasted coffee grounds at the bottom. Poured herself a cup, and the smell wafted more. The remainder was stored in a stylish thermal carafe.

His interest in Hoenn’s powerful companies caused a shift in her. “Don’t be sorry. Of course, I would have wanted to meet my neighbors.” If only to ensure they weren’t serial killers. “I work for Infinity Industries, actually. Are you in business?”

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Why did he tap his cheek?

Her amber eyes cut for only a moment, sharp as nails. They still drifted to the butler. The oven mitt was at five ‘o’ clock, two feet away. Her arm was roughly twenty-two inches long. That would not take but .2 seconds to grab.

His words glazed over her eyes at a certain point. Her mouth was dry. She pressed a plunger down into a beaker, making coffee that did nothing for her. Attention was only piqued by his watch.

'…and if I remember correctly can also act as a computer.'

She blinked.

'Siris open up the Battle Broadcaster...I want to know who wants to battle within a ten kilometer radius.'

She stared at the hologram. It was nothing new to her. They had these on the sub, but this was a new idea. Silently, she absorbed. Most everything Rocket dealt with was stolen--just strung together. Maybe this was worth something.

Sixty-two trainers desired to battle. Lulu raised her eyebrows. Asking for lemonade was already too much. This was not how she wanted to spend her Thursday morning.

Effectively stressed, Lulu poured herself a mug. It honestly didn’t surprise her that businesses weren’t interested in Hoenn. She was stuck here. You get what you get.

She gave a heavy sigh. This guy had a lot of money.

Maybe she would give him her email.

The kettle chimed and she went to pour him his tea, realizing she hadn’t asked: “I’ve got all kinds of shit.” What was this? She rifled through. “Lum, Qualot, Hondew.. What do you prefer?” The choices were endless. You name it, they had it.

She would let him keep talking.

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Hondew. The expensive looking one. She didn’t know if Sabine Calcifet even drank tea—Lulu wasn’t that attentive—but they had it, supposedly with the assumption that one day, a guest would request such a thing in a typically empty apartment.

That time was now.

She poured a kettle into a plain white mug and set a bag into it to brew. Three minutes, the instructions said. Her amber eyes flashed to the clock. Had to do things right. This guy had a hologram watch.

No mere desk jockey. No, most certainly not. The computer hidden away, never to be suspected in such an open layout, would rival the best in the world.

The man in charge…

That pissed her off, but it wouldn’t be seen. Her face was the same steel as the gun in the oven mitt.

If you are unable…

The complicated thing was, that there was a man in charge. oscar clayton was in charge of the money and investments, and perhaps half of the engineering work which had gone into the whole thing. Smart cookie. But Lulu, and the team behind her, were the science. The revolution, and the progress. Of course, they died beneath the name of money, and the shadow of a dick.

Lulu was an easily riled person. It didn’t take much, but this man had a lot of money. A lot. He was new. He was interested in the big corporations. He had just bought half of the building, apparently. This kind of situation sucked. All bitches existed for the glory of Rocket.

Slightly adverse. That was on the lighter end of the spectrum these days.

She tapped fingers on a mug too hot yet to sip from. His tea still brewed. “I don’t mean to be rude Amor. I don’t have many guests.” What else did she even have to say at that moment? She usually did meetings with people. This was very unexpected. Her brain didn’t work well like this. She needed time.

His interest in renewable resources was as cast aside as @lev ’s astrology.

“The energy is the namesake: infinity. It’s very powerful.” As far as renewable, she wasn’t so sure. Sources were high-dollar rarities, as of yet. She didn’t typically dig in the dirt. Time would tell. “It’s derived from mega stones. They’re not all that easy to come by in large quantities, so research has been a bit of a journey.” She glanced at the clock. “If you’d like to get in contact with the CEO, I do have a business card…”

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Lulu had no loose bag of sugar to borrow from. She couldn’t, and didn’t cook. skyler dross would know well enough. The oven mitt had never been used before.

I'm actually quite bad with people.

She quirked a brow. Two peas in the same penthouse, perhaps.

Hydraulics were certainly a part of their generator. The water propelled functions, but it was the mega stones which contained the energy—the true source—which nothing else on earth could emulate; not even Rocket. Life.

This guy reminded her a little of Miles Sharp . Help the people. Help the earth. Sustainability. Woo.

Except this one was about money, maybe. Honestly, Lulu could get more on board with that. She liked someone with teeth and a cold heart.

Lulu didn’t care. Lulu had one goal, and that was to put the next two next pieces together. Money bought pieces. It didn’t matter what the puzzle was. It didn’t matter what the destination was—although it would be pretty cool if that destination were to wind up in Ultra Space or perhaps a different time entirely to redeem her lost life. The possibilities of achieving her dreams (?) were low. At this point, everything was one step in front of the other, and she kept her eyes focused on her own two feet—except when someone else fucked up.

Or when a Rotom set them all weeks back.

'… you, and your board…'

He was backpedaling, and she heard it. It resonated. She appreciated it. But unfortunately, it still wasn’t true.

He was right.

She had no control over anything. She was just a big brain behind the curtain. She'd give him that business card, at the end of the day, but they had tea to share still.

This man was chockfull of questions. It overflowed the cup of coffee in front of her which was still yet too hot to drink. His tea finished, though, by the look of the clock, and she went to go set it in front of him. Her steps were evenly spaced, careful, confident. Her amber eyes flashed for a moment to the butler.

The mug of Hondew tea was set down for him at a coffee table near a window, ceiling to floor, overlooking the city. Around it was a leather couch and loveseat. She took the loveseat, setting down her cup of coffee, plain. The plate across from her, for him, was presented on a small plate with gold detailing. Snug in between was a cute napkin, with sugar cubes (the only form which they kept) and a spoon.

Yup.

She sat, new leather creaking under her weight.

The mention of the Kalos legend made her think of priam conrad ’s recent, glittering presentation involving mega evolution. She would look into that. She let it go, for now.

“Mm. Meteors haven’t fallen here in quite a long time, but perhaps you’re thinking of Meteor Falls. That city exists in a crater. Bit of a tourist trap, but you could probably buy the lot, so… I dunno, explore...”

“As far as the mega stones go, there is no way to replicate them.” She was firm on it. Did she know? She certainly felt confident that she did. Of course, they’d thought of this. They were in it for the money just like him. How do we make more of it? More, more. “Readings don’t matter, in the end. Some things, you can pull apart at the molecular level and still not understand.”

And that pissed her off, too. Maybe that was why she was so angry all the time.