"there's the charm," he says with a wink at summer. her pokemon are quick to dispatch the stunned foes. while fists and clawed feet continue to fly, nio slaps at the water with his tail, watching the mud spray around him. captain perches on his head, trying her damn hardest to avoid getting her fur muddied. 

and somehow, through all this, they've managed to avoid raising an alarm. incredible, really, how bad some of the security is with his father's underlings. but he can't shake the feeling that they're getting lucky. 

sam and summer both come home with bruises and cuts, sometimes worse. 

regardless, he recalls the quagsire as he jogs after summer. captain leaps onto his shoulder. 

"do you kill the trainers too?" knox says, feeling green as they pass some of the unconscious men. "they...i mean they're just hirelings, right? like we've been?"

Summer Atreides

☉

Summer watched as the carnage rained. Electricity zapped in the air, mud squishing under the Pokemon's feet as they walked back to their trainers. She recalled her team before preparing the stride to the home.

She paused at Knox's question.

The trainers, huh? She hadn't thought about it, really. The trainers she had met had typically honored their masters, were loyal. In her mind, it would be another repeat situation of what she was doing now.

So why wouldn't she wipe them out now?

However, she knew what Knox would do and say if she expressed these thoughts. Perhaps it was paranoia that ate her thoughts, as she was trying to bring her family forward in the world.

"Only the ones loyal to him. The ones that don't care leave unscathed. However, if they've pledged everything to him... they're a threat too."

knox prescott

☉

most of them lay unconscious now, mud marring their faces and fancy suits. knox nudges one of them with the toe of his sneaker as they pass. the grunt's head lolls and he looks dead. captain shivers against his shoulder and knox looks away. 

if summer wants to kill them, she can. he won't do anything to stop her, but he can't pull the trigger. can't ask his pokemon to do that. and it's here, and now, where he realizes just why his father shunned him as he did. because he doesn't have the stomach for this. because he refuses to blacken his soul like summer. like sam. 

and he thinks, am i wrong? selfish? for letting them handle this burden, for not being able to bring himself to it, even though at the end of the day, they are doing good. 

the house looms up above them. it's eerily similar to their own, with its ostentatious presence. a couple of guards roam the property. knox looks past them and points to an open window on the bottom floor.

Summer Atreides

☉

If killing these grunts were going to be a bother for Knox, Summer would have to handle them when he was gone. That or ask if samuel carter would be willing to come quickly and help with clean up.

Either way, it had to be done. And she knew that her brother was not the person to ask.

Summer's gaze followed his finger, pointing to the open window. She nodded, giving a small look that was the equivalent of praise before leading the way. She examined the window before going inside.

There, she found their secondary goal, and the most important aside from eliminating the target.

"The kids. Make sure we get them out as quickly as possible."

Summer quickly and quietly explained what they were doing, that they would be safe as long as they listened to what they told them to do. She looked back to Knox.

"Do you have a good way to get them out of here quickly? A GARDEVOIR like Sam?"

knox prescott

☉

oh, that's right. summer had been behind a one-way mirror the night hypatia teleported him into their father's hellhole. he reaches for her ball now and drops it neatly. she emerges, beautiful as always, and her elfin features perk up the kids in front of them. mental pulses wash off of her in waves, soothing them as best she can. 

"you're gonna feel a little woozy after she teleports you, but you'll be safe now," knox says to them. one of the girls reaches a tentative hand out to hypatia; the other two give summer and knox a bit more of a berth while they join her. 

they're scarred and scared and knox's eyes go glassy. he swallows past the lump in his throat and then hypatia is gone. 

newfound resolve curls in his fists. "let's finish it then, sister mine."

Summer Atreides

☉

Out of the Pokeball came the GARDEVOIR. Summer shouldn't be surprised. Perhaps she was a pair from samuel carter, a gift for Knox. Or Knox had simply thought smart one day and decided that TELEPORTATION would be useful for him.

Either way, she was glad that he had access to her now, since it made for easy transportation for the children.

"To the hospital, if you please. We will be there shortly to help after we handle the rest," she told Hypatia, watching as they disappeared.

Another set gone. Summer let out a breath from her mouth before her gaze turned to her brother. The air around him seemed to change, even if it was ever so slightly. She couldn't help the small grin that crawled on her face as he spoke.

"Well said. Let's go."

With several steps up a flight of stairs, their target awaited them. Taken aback and shocked, he sputtered a few curses at them.

"Miss Prescott? You... I mean, Mr. Prescott. Why are you both here?"

"I think that reason is clear enough."

knox prescott

☉

you...i mean, mr. prescott. his posture straightens, terror clawing into his back as he imagines merrick strolling in from behind him, but logic forces its hand. it only makes his expression sour when he realizes the mr. prescott in question is himself. 

a shiver runs through him and he flexes his fingers. his hands are deft and are quick to remove the pokeballs from his belt. blue and lena stand at his side and the man in the chair makes a face. but that irritated sneer shows some fear when he looks over at summer. 

"frozen roots," he says gently. it's the same command he'd given them all those weeks ago, that same tangled spray of frozen water that had rooted sam to the ground while knox left to met his fate. 

the ice freezes him solid from the waist down. now, at no risk of getting away, completely immobilized, knox turns to summer and then looks away.

Summer Atreides

☉

Summer barely noticed the discomfort her brother showed, how he straightened as his last name was used. The one name she could think of was Merrick. She stayed silent, only for the time being, as Knox froze their target.

There was a pained cry, as the ice stung his skin and froze his blood vessels. But the numbing would cease the pain, shortly.

"You can leave," Summer murmured softly, a small offer to her sibling before she finished off the man.

To give him some peace of mind, even though she knew that it would probably haunt him in the back of his mind.

Approaching him, she summoned her Pokemon beside her, towering over their quivering target.

"It's over. Merrick's dead. You will not longer be a threat to me or my brother. You're captives are gone. How does that make you feel? Worthless? Terrified? I hope so. Tell my father hello in hell," she said before giving the final command.

knox prescott

☉

this is mercy he is still unaccustomed to. his sister was always such a callous thing - always demanded the world, knowing he would fail to meet her expectations. but here and now she offers him escape and she is so weary and knox's stomach flips. sam and summer have been through so much. 

so he stays. so rather than walk away he walks towards her, takes her hand. he shares this burden with a squeeze of his fingers. without looking away. 

blood sprays and he swallows. it's over quickly. almost so much so and then silence lapses. the man's head hangs, shoulders sagging, and knox says, "i'll help you get rid of the body."

Summer Atreides

☉