Summer didn't mind if Sam took a break. Truly, she didn't. Except, for the fact, there had been a planned elimination tonight. So, when she found out the Sam was out for the count...

Part of her was happy that he finally was getting rest.

The other part was annoyed, since tonight was the only night to take this person out. Giovanni Colombo.

So, she waltzed into the room knox prescott was in, tucking in with Sam, and leaned against the door. She raised her eyebrow at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I need you to assist me with work tonight. STAT. It's the only chance we have," she said simply.

knox prescott

☉

he's actually dozing off himself by the time summer lopes into the threshold of the room. blue eyes snap back open and he regards his sister warily. they still haven't made up since their fight. sam had, in a way, apologized for both of them, but that didn't stop knox from letting his prickles show. 

he makes a face and raises his voice to object, but the direness of the situation hits him. sam is, essentially, summer's bodyguard. and with her working overtime to ensure the people who were on her father's side are actually loyal to her, she hasn't been able to take anyone but sam on their missions to hunt down merrick's previous buyers. 

so knox could say no, but it would mean letting her go in without backup - because fuck, she would just to show him she could. 

he tries to jar sam again to no avail. so he slips out from under him, sends him a text saying 'went out. rest well.' and approaches summer. 

he offers a wan smile. "i remember a time you'd pitch a fit if i got thrown on your squad." oh, look how far we've come. 

Summer Atreides

☉

Summer didn't acknowledge him at first, walking forward to prepare for the mission, ready to strike with her team of three and more Poke balls ready at her disposal.

"That was in the past. Merrick was keen to pit us against each other. He's not here anymore."

She was still bitter, still annoyed with him from the previous interaction they had. Her words were frank, to the point, as she exited the mansion, with her THIEVUL and ABSOL rushing out in front of her. Surtur walked behind, the door opened for Knox to follow.

"We have other priorities to handle now."

knox prescott

☉

aaaaand things are not okay. it's not like he was expecting everything to be peachy keen (ok, yes, he was) so he's frowning at her back while she walks away. and even though she's not saying it, he's feeling like she still would rather have anyone else beside her than him.

on his way out, he grabs his belt. he's not...really thinking about what they're going to do. out of sight, out of mind, right?

"fine, yeah," he says and follows. he coos for captain and the pikachu throws down her snacks to leap onto his back. knox falls obediently into step beside her, uncharacteristically (although, maybe less so now) quiet than normal.

Summer Atreides

☉

Summer heard him follow, thank Arceus. Because while she would take a mission alone, she didn't want to go on one alone. Not since she was pregnant and had no idea what sort of danger she'd be up against.

Sure, she had scouts and had an idea. But things could change in the flash of an eye.

"Giovanni Colombo. That is out target tonight. Per standard protocol for me and Sam, we take down any guards, evacuate the children, and eliminate him last."

knox prescott

☉

captain totters on the edge of knox's shoulder, rump wiggling as though she's preparing to jump the short gap and onto the other sibling. knox raises a hand and palms her head to discourage her, muttering to himself when she sends an annoyed shockwave down his hands. 

on their way out of the house, he swaps his shoes for his custom vans with their rubber soles - they haven't seen action in quite a while. captain nuzzles his cheek and zaps him happily. 

"okay. fuck shit up. got it." he rubs the back of his neck. "sam and i talked. it helped."

Summer Atreides

☉

Summer prepared her CHARIZARD, wings expanding broadly as fire shot from its nostrils upon breaking free from its Poke ball. Her main three were recalled into specific Poke balls themselves, as she stepped aboard her dragon.

"Talked. About?"

She tried to peg whether this topic would be of interest or not. Especially about how it helped.

Helped with what exactly?

knox prescott

☉

he does not like summer's charizard. he does not like the idea of flying on the back of a giant fire lizard. but he does not express his grievances to his sister. because she's being stoic and weird and isn't even responding with, like, anything when he tries to initiate Real Talk. 

why's it easier to talk to her when they're both fucked up? 

"i dunno," he says lamely as he mounts behind her, feeling queasy. "us? and..." he blows out a long sigh. "ollie. and i know it's - well, it never was your fault. like i know that. but i just get in my head and get shitty and it's easier, y'know? to be shitty." worst apology ever, knox. 

he's trying though, okay?

Summer Atreides

☉

Frankly, Summer didn't care to hear about him. Ollie. She had enough remembering him, his terrified noises and the shots as her father pulled the trigger. The smell of metal, iron, around her as his body laid out on the floor.

Waiting for Knox to show up.

The thought was nauseating, and she had to close her eyes and hold tightly to her CHARIZARD'S scaled body to keep herself from getting sick. The rise of her hormones didn't help either.

"Is this a way to apologize to me, or are you just stating the obvious?"

Summer was still a bit cold, giving the command to take off. The Pokemon's wings flapped several times before shooting into the air. Up, up they went, before flying steadily below the clouds.

"You know, Ollie was the only person I thought of that I could use to get you and Sam out of Hoenn in time, with the possibility of saving him. But my plan backfired. I didn't think that he'd try to catch him the same night I gave him the information. He was always the type to wait."

Take time to strike perfectly, without error. Though, it worked out perfectly for Merrick Prescott.

knox prescott

☉

she cowers lower against the charizard and he has no choice but to follow. his own stomach is doing flips right now. he thought teleporting was bad? this fucking sucks. knox prescott would like to keep his feet on the ground, thank you very much. or at least, if he's a few dozen feet in the air, know that it's because one of his water-types was throwing him for the fun of it. 

there's nothing but hard earth on the ground, though, just waiting for him to slip off or for the charizard to faint. or, y'know, for summer to get pissy and throw him off. 

"you did...what you thought was right," he says with a grimace. "and i can't be mad at you for that." so say you're sorry. say you're sorry, knox. 

"and now merrick's dead and we can move on. i want to move on."

Summer Atreides

☉

Summer took his words and thought them over. He sounded serious. It was perhaps one of their first few serious conversations that didn't involve spitting insults or yelling at each other in who knew how many years.

Honestly, she could appreciate these moments.

"Okay. We move on then."

Knox didn't verbally apologize, say "I'm sorry," and Summer didn't say "I'm sorry" either. They moved on. It was the Prescott way, it seemed.

They touched down, landing a wide breadth away from the home of their target.

"He has many fighting types guarding his place. Inside, outside, wherever. Keep your guard up."

With that, she stepped off, waiting for him to join her to recall her dragon.

knox prescott

☉

and just like that it's swept under the rug. that mile-high godsdamned lump of a rug with grime and shit and blood leaking out from under it, but hey, at least they can ignore it now. at least they can pretend, for a while, that everything is a-okay, captain. 

he slips unceremoniously off the charizard as soon as he's able, legs shaking from how tightly he'd been gripping it. the solid earth is a blessing, but he has little time to appreciate it before summer Gets Down To Business. 

he thumbs nio's ball. the quagsire emerges with a schlop right next to them and then slowly looks up at knox, eyes taking their turns blinking. he pats his rubbery head and captain jumps from knox's shoulders on top of the mudfish. 

"you go hot 'n heavy? i'll hit 'em with the knox special?"

Summer Atreides

☉

There was not another word shared about it. And, if she had to guess, there wouldn't be another one spoken about Ollie or the actions of that night for a while. Not until a heated argument or worse.

That wasn't her focus, anyway. She needed to eliminate this threat and be one more person down, out of the way that could hurt her. Hurt her goals.

Her family.

Summer shot him a look, one that suggested he was crazy. Quite honestly, she wasn't exactly sure what the "Knox special" entailed, but perhaps she'd leave it up to him while she went on the offensive.

"Keep me covered," she responded, marching ahead.

Out of her Poke balls came Hela, the HISUIAN ZOROARK, her CHARIZARD, MR. MIME, and DRAGAPULT. Surtur would be ready for her call should she deem it necessary.

On the field, there was a KOMMO-O, MACHAMP, HARIYAMA, MIENSHAO, and LUCARIO to handle.

"Think you're ready?"

knox prescott

☉