Killian wouldn't put her through this unnecessarily. She'd practically crawled out of her skin when he mentioned the job. He didn't blame her either. With everything she'd been through being here had to bring back painful memories.

He frowned.

But they needed to be here. Not because something of Killian's would thrive when the casino flattered. Lex and how she felt meant more than some silly project.

Kaito.

The bastard from a past best left buried and forgotten. He'd set up shop in Hoenn, and this place had become one of his. Anger boiled in his veins at the thought. Time to send him a lesson, remind him of what happened when you fucked with what belonged to Killian.

"Hit me." The dealer nodded, a card sliding across baize green felt to him. "7." added to what he already had, that made 14. Killian motioned to stay, shifting in his seat. The one hundred chips he wagered wouldn't be a huge loss. A stack worth at least 1,000 Poke sat comfortably beside him. Give Killian a few minutes; he'd turn it into more than chump change.

Counting cards. Easy to do and noticeable to those looking for it. Like the people trying to make sure the house always won.

"Are you doing okay?" he reached out, an Orbeetle outside the building maintaining a Telepathic link between them. "I know this is hard, but I promise it's worth it."

Silence brewed between them, lingering like an antisocial kid at a party. Eventually, Killian broke it, "Just let me know when you need me to start."

Alexandra Briarwood
MISSION

For how many times they’ve done this (the Telepathy thing) it still surprises her to hear Killian’s voice so clearly in her head. Although it makes her jump, it’s ultimately comforting. After a moment of realization she relaxes as the elevator door chimes open, “I’m fine,” she lies, stepping out onto the casino floor. The rush of lights and sounds is overwhelming. She remains neutral, taking in a sharp breath to steady her steps as she weaves through people and the various game tables.

The only reason she’s dressed like she is, is to get into the High Stakes gambling area. It’s the private restroom there that will grant her access to the particular vent she needs. Partially thanks to her outfit and a well-dressed smile, she’s allowed past the velvet ropes to blend in with the wealthy of Hoenn that frequented this establishment, “I’m ready,” she responds, moving deeper into the exclusive area. Her shadow twitches, undoubtedly growing impatient.

Killian Decker

"Hmm. If you say so."

No one's ever fine when they answer like that. Killian hadn't been on Mt.Pyre and she'd seen straight through the lie. But now's not the time to press. He needed Lex at the top of her game. Not arguing in her thoughts, distracted.

"I'm here if that changes." he reminds her.

The same time Lex says she ready, new hands are dealt to the players. A 13 and a 5 land on Killian's side of the table. He smiles, sliding a stack of silver chips worth 2,000 Poke forward.

Let the games begin.

"She'll tell me if she sees him won't she?"

A thought meant only for him reaches into her mind.

Alexandra Briarwood
MISSION

Lex doesn’t know why she thinks lying to him is something she’ll get away with. He knows her far too well at this point. He recognizes it even in the most subtle shift in her voice. It’s a deep sigh that indicates her immediate regret as she walks through the high stakes area. But what else is she supposed to say? The truth is she’s terrified. It’s a conflict between trauma and duty tearing at her from the inside. It’s impossible to say no to Killian, even if she resists for a moment. She’d grant whatever wish he asked for, even if it meant crawling through casino vents with a quite high possibility of having to confront her demons at the same time.

There’s a moment she hovers nearby, letting her amber gaze fall on the back of his head. Him being so close does bring a sense of comfort if shit hits the fan. After a beat, she continues towards the bathroom, finding the stall she needs when the intrusive thought creeps into her mind.

She’ll tell me if she sees him, won’t she?

Immediately, her brows furrow and her voice snaps back in his mid like the crack of a whip, “Of course I will,” she knows exactly who he is. Now particularly frustrated, her hand flicks in annoyance she closes the stall door. Her shadow flickers and disappears. A few thumps can be heard as the very few women in the bathroom were lulled to SLEEP.

Lex wastes no time shimmying into the vent and disappearing as if she was never there.

“If YOU see him you better tell me,” she’s more worried about Killian keeping that information to himself for her protection.

Killian Decker

The dealer busts hitting the bittersweet number of 22.

Killian chuckled and glanced at his fellow players. A gorgeous blonde with long hair and red highlights sat next to him. Dressed in a flowing cocktail dress that accentuated curves and voluptuous assets.

She, much like Killian, had the patience to hold. Sitting pretty with a hand of 19 while the older gentlemen beside her on the left grumbled. Cards totaling 24 lay before him on the table.

"I feel bad for him." he whispered to the blonde.

She giggled and leaned closer, hair brushing over her shoulder in such a way that the scent of lavender perfume drifted in Killian's direction."I wouldn't." the woman cooed, "He's been playing risky all night." she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Are you a risk taker?"

"I can be." a salacious smile crossed her lips.

The sudden snap of Lex's voice sent tension through his shoulders. Killian pulled back from the blonde but kept a smile on his face. "You heard that?" he'd need to have a word with Orbeetle about recognizing which thoughts were meant to be shared. "Sorry, It's just..." how exactly did he explain this? All the ways he could think of would only dig him deeper into a hole.

"I've been worried about you since the other day." better to be honest. It's what they'd promised each other.

Caught between the claws of a Scizor, hesitation holds his tongue in place. Would Killian tell her if he Kaito? She'd hurled that pirate through glass without a second thought. If that darkness crept back up...

"You know I wouldn't keep that from you."

"You look awfully focused." the blonde chimed in suddenly, as new cards flew across felt.

"Huh? Oh - yeah, sorry. I'm just talking with myself." he joked, an awkward smile plastered on pink lips.

Inside the vents, one of Killian's Rattata greeted Lex. Its curled mustache made it easily recognizable as Curly. She squicked, nose twitching - the first of many tools Lex needed wasn't too far ahead. Curly would guide her toward it. The vents were a complex maze, one that the Rattata scooped out meticulously.

Alexandra Briarwood
MISSION

“It’s fine, Killian just . . . keep an eye out,” she sighs, flipping onto her stomach and crawl through the shaft, “Alright, Curly, let’s go,” she whispers, following the Rattata to her change of clothes and the rest of her pokemon.

While Killian flirts with a random blonde, Lex is shimmying out of her dress in the vents to trade it for the black body suit and utility belt with the rest of her pokemon. She’s half distracted as he struggled through his words. There’s really no point in trying to explain himself. She gets it. She understands he’s worried. It’s not every day you put yourself into a situation as dangerous as hers right now, especially when her emotions remain unstable.

Lex’s shadow grows, moving forward and onto the walls of the vent. The Shadow Gardevoir’s crimson eyes peer out from the darkness for only a moment before moving forward through the vent to take the lead and eliminate any obstacles in their way. Seeing the length of the dark, empty vent brings back some troubling memories. Lex takes a deep breath, touching her chest where her ring hangs from a chain around her neck, secure beneath the clothing. Anything for him.

Lex begins her crawl, following her guide through the maze towards the offices.

Killian Decker

Silence befell the telepathic line.

Killian didn't need to distract Lex any more than he already had. He focused back on the game of Blackjack and the beautiful woman at his side. Little more than a distraction, their brief bout of flirting continued. A game that would end only in disappointment for the blonde.

The hands of the clock tick by, and before Killian knows it - he's quickly sitting on a pile of chips as large as a Snorlax.

"Wow, you're really good." she purred.

At some point during the last few games, the blonde, who'd learned was named Olivia, had crept closer. Barely any space kept Killian and her apart.

"Just lucky." he laughed, but the dealer knew something was off. The little button under the table is already pressed to alert those watching the camera. There was a cheat amongst the patrons.

It's a familiar song and dance. Kaito's casino in Goldenrod has long since familiarized Killian on how these things worked. First, the dealer keeps him seated.

"One more game sir, how does that sound?"

"Great! I'm having mad luck at this table, I wouldn't swap it for the Champion himself."

And then - from the corner of his eye, he watched security step out from their hidey-hole. "Ah, it took them long enough, but they finally caught on. If we're dealing with Kaito then about to get special treatment." The admin kept his smile.

"How are things on your end?"

Alexandra Briarwood
MISSION

Curly led the way with Lex following closely behind at a slow, army crawl through the narrow vents. There’s not much choice but to focus on the task at hand. Letting her mind wander would no doubt lead to panic. Unfortunately, that meant staring at a Rattata’s ass scurrying in front of her. It really couldn’t get much worse . . . wait, yes it could. Genesect. Lex shivers beneath the thought and pushes the thought far out of her mind.

A few turns later and Killian’s voice breaks the silence in her mind. It’s a welcome distraction. Perhaps she should have been chatting with him the whole time, “I really don’t like this plan,” she growls into his head. Especially the part where Killian gets scooped up by security and Kaito likely beats the living shit out of him . . . or worse. Probably worse.

“Fine, I think we’re almost there,” Curly clicks his teeth together in confirmation, “You should get out of here, Killian. I’ll be done in no time,” although it’s not confirmed she knows he’s here because she feels sick to her stomach about the whole thing.

Lex finds herself peering through the thin slits of a vent at the end of a hallway. A screwdriver is conveniently leaning against the side of the vent for quiet entry. Before she starts, she sits and waits patiently. There has to be a guard somewhere in this hallway. A hand pushed forward in a sweeping motion sends the nearby shadow through the thin beams of the vent, melting like smoke to drip into the hallway. The Shadow Gardevoir races across the wall, searching for prey.

Killian Decker

"I wasn't going to let you do this alone."

Too much could go wrong, the worst of which was Kaito spotting and managing to get filthy hands on her. Killian would scowl at the thought if he didn't need to keep a straight face. At least this way, the bastard would be too focused on him to worry about Lex.

Felt like he was playing some messed-up version of chess where taking the Queen won you the game. Thinking of it that way, it's only natural he'd sacrifice himself to keep her safe.

The last hand of cards sliding across the green baize couldn't have tensed the air more. "I'm not going anywhere, Lex." Killian tapped the table, puzzling the woman next to him.

"You're not even going to look?"

Diamond hues remained fixed on the dealer and their blinding smile. Killian didn't need to look anywhere else. He could hear the shuffle of feet from the guards as they narrowed in on him. "There's no need to. I've lost either way." No one cheated the house and walked away with it. Not in one of Kaito's casinos.

What sounded like a playful giggle echoed from the blonde. The line hadn't been that funny, so why was she laughing? He couldn't help but pull his eyes away to look. His head barely began to turn when something hard pressed into his side. "Shit." Killian spoke from over the link.

"Kaito said you were smart, Killian."

"You're working with him." he had to give Kaito credit. Killian didn't see this one coming. Lips curled into a frown as she motioned for him to stand.

"Stand - casually, and throw your arm around me. We don't want to cause a scene."

He stood slowly from his seat and did as instructed. From there, they left the table behind, chips and all, and slowly made their way across the casino.

"They're taking me somewhere. How much longer do you think you'll be?"

Alexandra Briarwood
MISSION

I’m not going anywhere, Lex.

Of course he isn’t, and it’s the pit in her stomach carved out by worry that makes her shift uncomfortably in the vent. In the silence she hears the soft thud of a body hitting the floor from somewhere around a corner. It’s familiar and expected. It’s not long afterward that the Gardevoir appears in her full form in the hallway, crimson eyes locked onto the vent. It’s her ominous way of giving Lex the ‘all clear’.

Her every intention of doing this quietly is thrown out the window when she hears him whisper shit across their link. Lex is primed to think the worst, her worry (and much more) is a tight string ready to snap. The tool falls from her hand, clattering against the metal, “Killian, are you ok?” His answer is the last thing she wants to hear.

“Damn it, Killian, RUN.”

Kaito’s patience for them had no doubt run thin after their recent trip to Johto, and when his patience expired, so did his sense of mercy. With no time to spare, subtlety is thrown out the window. Two strong kicks, and the vent catapults off its hinges, crashing into the wall opposite them.

The Gardevoir stirs in excitement, much preferring a more direct approach instead of the sneaking around. A sharp turn has her leaping over the fallen body of a guard slumbering and no doubt plagued by nightmares, thanks to her companion.

A second ghost appears, cantering before them on spectral hooves. War BULLDOZES forward, straight through the double doors leading to the main administrative office only to find it . . . empty?

---

Meanwhile, Killian will find himself led to a service elevator at the far end of the casino with his companion. It sinks down below into the belly of the beast, the basement levels, only accessible to those with the clearance. It’s quiet, more private, sound-proof.

It’s a cold, concrete room. The darkness is broken by the flashing TV monitor set up in front of a single chair. In front of the monitor stands a familiar figure with two Houndoom at his feet and the heavy white smoke of a cigar softly drifting through the dull beams of light around his head. His broad shoulders shift slightly at the sound of their entrance but he doesn’t turn, “Been too long, Decker,” he spits the name out like venom, “You’ve been busy, you both have,” it’s rare for him to display such emotion, but there’s clear distaste in his voice. Afterall, his patience for them has grown non-existent, “Sit. Watch.”

It’s a split feed of three different cameras, all situated at a different angle inside the administrative office. It’s empty, and the only movement is the sudden crash of the Spectrier as he BULLDOZES through the doors, “Whoa!” Kaito laugh heartily, “She could always be a bit dramatic, couldn’t she?” he finally spares a glance over his shoulder towards Killian, a pleasant smile wrinkling his dark eyes.

“Ahhhh there she is,” he sighs, admiring what he’s lost, “It’s a pity she has to die,” he gauges Killian for a reaction, expecting one, wanting one, “I know all her tricks, they won’t work this time,” he sounds confident in that as a swarm of Ariados equipped with INSOMNIA begins to flood the room. One could see the panic in the way she jumps as steel doors seal them in and a HAZE fills the room.

Killian Decker

Lex doesn't get a reply. The sight of Kaito saps any sense of urgency to do so from Killian's bones, replaced by seething anger that boiled blood like water in his veins. If looks could kill, then surely the glare of Killian's ocean blues would cut like the blade of a Honedge.

"So have you."

Killian doesn't sit. Should this be where he dies, then he'll do it on his feet.

Taking his attention off Kaito sounded like a bad idea, but when the monitors flicker to life, he can't help but look. "Lex, run." his stomach dropped. The second Spectrier barrages through the door, Killian knows what is about to happen. A realization made all the worse by Kaito's vile laughter.

Killian recognizes the way Kaito's looking at Lex too. It's the same longing stare he's given her a thousand times. "No." he tells himself, the look isn't the same. All Kaito saw was an object, something to pervert and toy with as he pleased.

Anger rises and burns with a heat akin to the sun inside his heart. Each beat of the organ pumped the fury through him in waves. Killian's limbs begged for him to act, to lunge over the desk and wrap his hands around Kaito's throat and squeeze until the life left his eyes. Even the haunting voice from his nightmare whispered for him to indulge in violence.

He doesn't.

Though he'll never admit it aloud, he has Lulu Flint to thank for why. She showed him that acting brashly for Lex only made things worse. Every ounce of restraint Killian has is spent keeping himself in check. But containing all that anger is challenging, and as it seeps out from the cracks, his hand trembles.

To get out of them out of this, he'll have to use the one thing he has over Kaito. His brain. "Cosmo, danger." it's only two words, but the Orbeetle outside knows what it needs to do. Killian only needed to buy them some time.

"You don't know anything, Kaito." he spat, "Frankly, all you're doing is proving how pathetic you are." with a scoff, Killian smirked.

"And how stupid."

His once trembling hand came to a rest as he slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out a pack of smokes. Lightning one up, Killian blew smoke in the sleazy fucker's direction.

"You're aware we work for Rocket. But did you know that I run their intel division? So, let me ask you. What do you think happens if you kill Lex? Kill me?"

"Can you afford that kind of heat when you're here all alone?"

Alexandra Briarwood
MISSION

That fucking bastard.

She recognizes the trap the moment she sees the room empty, void of any guards or personnel manning the several computers that sit on top of desks. Still, the slamming of the metallic door makes her jumps. Trapped. Like a Litten in a cage. Her heart rate rises, thrumming in her ears while vents cracks open and Ariados come pouring into the room.

Fuck.

Spectrier responds with a HAZE, OBSCURING the room in a white mist thick enough to leave the viewers anxious. Shadow dance through it. Some large, some small. Flashed of pink PSYCHIC energy come from both the Spectreir and the Shadow Gardevoir. If Smoke was all she had, the swarm would have been smart. INSOMNIA made them immune to her usual tactics and the Gengar would have been overwhelmed in addition to Thorn.

Kaito, having an ego as large as the sun, doesn’t react to Killian’s taunt. He’s above that, above Killian. The information broker had proven useful in the past but now he’s just a menace along with his harlot. Admittedly, there were parts of him that regretted having to make this decision. If only they could see things clearly, accept his authority. The HAZE is frustrating. He wanted to watch. It’s also unsettling, what was that horse pokemon?

His frustration manifests slightly when his gaze snaps towards Killian, “I know hoe Rocket works,” He’s not stupid, if he was how had he becomes so successful? “I’ve watched Rocket come and go for years. If there’s one thing I’ve learned from them . . . it’s that you’re replaceable. You all are,” he motions towards the screen, towards Lex, towards his goons as a whole. Was it a pain in the ass to lose a talented pawn? Yes. But there were a dozen more lined up to take their place. His grin grows as he peers through the heavy cigar and cigarette smoke, “I’m never alone, Decker.”

As the haze dissipates, the shadows become more clear. The room is littered in the corpses of Ariados, crushed by PSYCHIC or split in two by the sharp blade of PSYCHO CUT. The woman’s body language is unmistakable. She’s angry, very angry. Part of her body suit are torn and a dark red line across her cheek indicates she didn’t come out unscathed. She stalks across the room, a Rotom buzzing by her side. It cracks with electricity before it disappears into the computer at the main desk.

“Bitch,” Kaito hisses, leaning closer to absorb the scene, “Lex has new toys,” he growls, inspecting the haunting figures of the Gardevoir and Spectrier.
Digit, the Rotom, buzzes through the main circuits, breaking the few barrier that stand between it and the casino’s electronic security. There aren’t many firewalls between the head administrator’s computer and the casino’s main frame. It plants a virus that spreads like a wildfire before popping back out and into its pokeball.

On the casino’s main floor, the electronic slot machines blink momentarily before seemingly returning to normal. A patron presses a button, lining up a row of 7’s. It buzzes to life, chiming and singing to indicate a win. Another rings out from across the floor. And another, and another. More join in, quickly noticing the pattern and placing a bet within the machines. 10’s of thousands of dollars quickly becomes 100’s as each machine dishes out a wining roll.

The chaos can’t reach the soundproof basement they find themselves in, but it won’t be long until Kaito’s phone is blowing up. It’s the simple, smug smile on Lex’s face that drives him to shoo away the woman that escorted Killian to him, “Find her and kill her.”

Killian Decker

Killian can do nothing but sit and wait. Grit his teeth and feel useless while Lex struggles for her life. He hated it. Loathed it with every fiber of his being. This wasn't how things were supposed to go.

"That's not how Rocket runs anymore. They've changed." odd that Cillian Quinn's words came to mind at this moment. "Rocket takes care of their own, Kaito." Distressed as he is to admit it, he and Lex belong to them for now.

He blew smoke, lips curving into a confident smile. A cocky, hateful grin worn out of spite.

"Take the gamble. You'll lose."

The woman that escorted Killian here nodded at Kaito's order. Without a word, she turned and made her way to the elevator. The security room is where she's headed. From there, she'll find the redheaded lynx causing problems.

Alexandra Briarwood MISSION