The first sign that it was Hideo's room was the sheer volume of Pokemon that occupied the area - not just inside the room itself, but outside as well. One assassination attempt was all it took for an Orbeetle to keep an eye out in the air whenever Hideo was around.

It would be the first thing Cass would notice on her flight over. The only reason there hadn't been any resistance (other than an annoyance look from the Orbeetle) was Azelf's early arrival heralding her entrance, an open window making it easier for her voice to reach Hideo.

And it would've been hard for Hideo to sleep through their commotion, or the smell of pizza in the morning.

"Yeah," Hideo said, "I'm up."

Several Pokemon looked over at Cass: an Indeedee, a Blissey, and a familiar, tired-looking Hatterene. And of course, a "Ralts" who was eagerly digging into the pizza that was brought in.

Hideo himself was visibly better than the last time they'd met; he was dressed in lighter clothing, simply shorts and a striped t-shirt. There was a cast on his left arm, as well as a bandage around his chest (though it was less visible).

"Wanna come in? Dunno if your Pokemon'll fit through the window, but you might be able to."

Cassandra Kubrick

It's a relief to see several of Hideo's pokémon posted up as guard, and it's also a relief that Azelf went ahead and announced their arrival. Else, she isn't sure if the other trips have been enough to mark her as "safe" - and she really doesn't want to test it. She smiles (a bit awkwardly) and gives a wave at all the pokémon before nodding and replying, "Yes, if you don't mind ... I think I should ..." She carefully makes her way from Effie to the window, which is definitely harder than all the movies make it seem.

In the end, Azelf had to quickly teleport her in just before she could lose her footing - after all, the Talonflame can't really fly too close, and while she does adore Cass, her pride would not allow Cass to step on her head unless absolutely necessary.

Once she's inside, Azelf settles next to Uxie enthusiastically eating up the pizza, feigning disinterest in the cheesy treat that its sibling devours with glee. Cass walks up closer to Hideo, looking - seeing if she can recall what wounds have been there, what might have healed. But the biggest ones are those she can neither see nor heal.

"How are you? I lost you in that storm ..." she asks. And after they parted ... she shakes her head, hair rustling quietly.

Hideo Kino

Hideo could tell that Cass tried to enter through the window by sound alone. He would've asked his Pokemon to help her in, as none took the initiative - but Azelf had that covered.

None stopped her when she approached Hideo.

"I'm…doing alright," Hideo sighed. "Got some bruised ribs and a cracked arm, but those'll heal."

He raised his casted left arm to show off. "Closest I've gotten to a broken bone. Thought it'd hurt more in the moment…but I guess I was kinda out of it for a while."

He paused - those were the least worrisome injuries.

"But I still gotta stick around here for a week. I got a brain injury from something messing with my head too hard. I can't really remember what caused it, but I was told it could've been a lot worse."

With his healthy arm, he pulled up the hair over his temple - showing her the sutures.

"Docs said they were lucky they could find it so fast. Helped that my Pokemon gave me first aid, but if the pressure started building up, I wouldn't even be awake."

He let out another sigh. "Guess I gotta add that to the pile of near-death experiences."

A small chuckle escaped his lips, but his attending Pokemon were not amused.

"Gotta avoid any Psychic Pokemon doing stuff to my head for a while though. Can't even get their Telepathy 'til the docs say it's safe. Don't wanna risk any more damage…they don't even want me doing any Gym Challenges for a while."

The frustration in his voice seeped through his smiling facade. He could hardly celebrate his time off considering the circumstances.

"...what about you? I'm guessing you got off better than I did, since you can sneak in through people's windows."

Cassandra Kubrick

Cassandra "Hm-mh,"s along as Hideo describes what has happened to him, the slightly horrified expression on her face lost to him as she takes in the amount of injuries ... but the worst one is the one not visible to the eye. She thinks back on the feeling of being unable to help, and she finally puts get a small firstaid kit and learn how to do first aid into her mental notes. Though this might have to wait until she also confronted her mom once more ...

"I'm really glad you're recovering from ... all that. It really looked bad," she says, her tone quiet as she tries to fight off the resurging feeling of helplessness. Not now. Not right now. Not in this moment when there's maybe not even anything to do. But in the future ... she'll worry about that later.

"The evergrowing list, yeay," she remarks with weak sarcasm about the list of near-death experience. As long as it's not ... . "Hey, take it easy, it's been. Really crazy," she returns as she hears the frustration, adding a bit more certainty to her voice than before, "Focus on reovery, then there'll be plenty of things to do ... but it won't do to have you there haphazardly."

It's frustrating, but she really hopes Hideo listens to the docs for now, at least some more days until he'd probably go and prepare. She knows in his shoes, she might do that, too.

"I'm ... physically fine, circumstantially on the run from my mom, so that's ... why the window." The paranoia she has whenever she enters a city ... she really needs to talk to her mom. But she doesn't feel like she can, not yet. "But in Petalburg, besides the whole things ... ... ..." She starts and stops - not wanting to worry him further, but maybe. She only saw Munkidori. "I met Munkidori again. Did you ... did you see any of the others?"

Hideo Kino

"Mmh."

That small grunt of affirmation was meant for all she'd said - he knew he had to rest up, as restless as he was. But even if he tried to get out, he knew his Pokemon would drag him back.

"To be honest…I barely remember most of it. Doc said I was barely conscious when I was brought here, and I dunno how long I was out of it for. Last thing I remember clearly was when we got into that forest…"

He stopped himself, trying to get it off his mind. He wasn't even supposed to be thinking about everything that happened there.

Hideo raised an eyebrow as Cass mentioned avoiding her mother.

He could focus on that instead; he'd fled from his own parents in the past, after all.

"I can…remember hearing chains. They sounded like the Dog's, the one that tormented my jail block. I think it was that one…"

"...but why are you avoiding your Mom, Cass?"

Cassandra Kubrick

The forest ... Cass swallows. That's ... quite far into their journey together during the invasion. That's ... that's not good. Probably. But Hideo doesn't seem to have any obvious lasting damage, which is a relief ... just what the hell has happened back then, she wonders. But that's gonna be really hard to find out ... and she wouldn't press that topic for now, as something else comes up.

"They sounded like the Dog's, the one that tormented my jail block."

She swallows. "So ... you also met your captor from back then," she exhales slowly through gritted teeth. Part of her had really wished that she had just somehow imagined it - a really bad dream in which Eris Halla' red chain got corrupted and Azelf couldn't do anything. Even as they all hit on it, it just came back, pledging loyalty to ... whoever. "Don't use your red chain on it. I ... I saw Eris do it, and it partially got corrupted into a Toxic Chain. Ah, we- we saw Munkidori, the monkey of the trio. So they're ... they're not dead."

She leans back in her chair as she says these words, before her body freezes as Hideo asks. Immediately, a wave of thoughts rush through her mind like the blood in her veins chilling her whole. But then she thinks on Hideo and Eris, and ... Eris ... . "I trust you not to ... snitch, so ... ... I found out my mom's in Rocket before I met up with you guys in Petalburg. ... yeah."

And she still has no idea what to do about that whole situation.

Hideo Kino

"Yeah. Guess they don't wanna stay down. And Uxie seemed pretty certain they were dead, so I guess they got some way to come back to life."

Which meant they would keep coming back until he found a way to put them down permanently.

He had an idea in his mind, his free hand tapping on his bed. Until Cass dashed that plan entirely.

That was bad news.

"...shit," he muttered. "Then we really gotta stop them. Last thing we'd want is them corrupting the chain when we need it most." He couldn't help but wonder just how those Pokemon had the ability to oppose the Lake Trio like that.

He could probably get some people in the League to help him with it. He could just say Uxie told him. Maybe spin it as something Mesprit told Uxie.

The Hatterene shot a glance at Cass - had the Pokemon had the energy to act, she might've approached the girl. But it was for the best that she'd already exhausted herself helping Hideo stay calm.

It also helped that the Blissey shot the Hatterene a glance as well; she wouldn't permit any harm in this room.

Though Hideo couldn't quite see the tension, he could feel it once Cass fessed up.

"Oh." It took him a moment to think of something else to say other than Oh. "I'm, uh, sorry you had to go through that."

It was a difficulty he wasn't unfamiliar with.

"I won't tell anyone. And if she tries coming here, I won't tell her you were here."

"...do you want me to not tell her where you've been? If she ever visits here."

He didn't know if Cass wanted to confront or avoid her mother - but he'd help her with either.

Cassandra Kubrick

Cass nods with Hideo's words, a shiver going through her as she frantically thinks how they might be revived. She has no clue. There's just ... she knows nothing, and if even Hideo doesn't mention any specifics, she has absolutely no idea. (A memory of grotesque statues. Do they got anything-?)

There's a weak smile at Hideo's swear - she's not sure why, but she simply hasn't expected him to. Though she probably used that exact swear around him often enough as well ... should she watch her language? "Yeah ... I just have ... where to even begin?" she sighs, before another shiver runs down her spine. "Do you think they'll ... they can intervene also when they're not the ones that are chained?" she asks, "Maybe the red chain's also stronger together ..." She curses inwardly for not having used her red chain earlier - but the presence of so many others, and Azelf's clear desire to be the one to end them ... "... but I suppose it's three and three, if it comes down to it."

She shakes her head, and ends up making brief eye contact with Hideo's Hatterene- oh, right. She has some experience due to previous encounters with her, as well as both of her sisters having one of the line (and she being presumed to have one, but she doesn't). She tries to turn the emotions down a notch, even if the attempt is well-intentioned at best.

It's hard when the talk shifts to her being on the run at the moment, and from her mother no less ... she's grateful for being able to confide in Hideo, truly. "Thank you - I really hope she won't ..." But she has an inkling that her mother will come here before she's ready to confront her, on her own terms. "Please don't tell her I was here, yeah ... I'll ... I'll talk to her once I sorted my thoughts out." Which is truly easier said than done.

"But thanks for your help, I really appreciate it and you."

Hideo Kino

Cassandra wasn't wrong to be concerned; Hideo was too. He knew they'd been able to capture Azelf, but to find out they had this kind of advantage meant they were far more troublesome than he'd thought.

"Three and three…and the Lake Trio are the ones at a disadvantage."

Unless they could somehow purify the chain around those Chained Pokemon, they were the ones at a disadvantage here.

"I doubt they can only corrupt the chain if they're caught by it, and I doubt they'll just let us haul off one of'em without retaliation. Which means they're all gonna be a threat to us. We probably got a better chance working together against them…but who knows when we'll find them again."

Them popping up at Petalburg had been a complete surprise.

"And I don't wanna just sit back and wait for them to show up. We gotta take the fight to them."

How exactly? He wasn't sure yet. His mind was still in a bit of a fog - but he was getting better with each day.

And Cass had another problem to deal with.

"If she's anything like mine…she's gonna come here at some point." He knew his parents did everything they could to try and track him down when he ran away to do the Gym Circuit - it was why he had to be so thorough covering his tracks.

And when he finally got a Gym in Littleroot? His Shadow Alakazam made sure they wouldn't try to come here.

It was safer for them in Slateport.

"Yeah, don't worry. If she does try to show up, she's a known Rocket, so I don't gotta tell her anything. I could also arrest her, so she doesn't try to chase you down."

Though would Cass want that?

Cassandra Kubrick

Hideo's words chill Cass to the bone, filling her with a shaking fear - and she can almost feel Azelf's stare, but only keeps her own eyes on the gym leader as he continues. "Yeah, that sounds ... unfortunately real," she sighs, though she's also not got the best family track record of actually knowing what is real. "But ... I like that attitude," she smiles, glad that Hideo can't see her expression faltering as she steadies her shaky voice.

"I agree ... I'll see if there's anything I or Azelf can do to track them down without ... actually meeting them. I'm wondering what they exactly needed Azelf for ... binding all those pokémon with the toxic chain, creating it in the first place?" Now that her mind has something to hold onto, she looks towards the pixie and almost snorts with laugh.

Despite its serious, though forlorn expression as it doesn't helpfully provide information on its role aboard the ship, it also is in the process of taking a big bite out of a pizza slice.

"Let me know if you got any leads," she does add, before ... the topic shifts to family.

And she's ... her expression of anxiety "lightens" with surprise as ... "Your mom's also like that?" she asks, surprised. She just notices once more how little she knows about the other, but hey, isn't now a moment to rectify that? "And yeah ... I think she isn't out to the public yet- so please ... don't arrest her, though I ... I appreciate the thought, too?" Cass frowns as she isn't exactly sure what to make of this emotion potion inside of her.

Her paranoia would be relieved, but the stronger part is yelling at her for even considering. They're family still, no matter how betrayed she feels. "It's ... I'm sorry to leave you with that," she sighs. She hasn't even considered his position as gym leader in this conundrum - would it even be alright for him to keep quiet about a Rocket he knows of?

But then again, it's not like she personally even cares all that much about rules, either.

Hideo Kino

The unsteadiness in her voice was hard to miss; Hideo had to remind himself that Cass probably wasn't as used to Hoenn's trials and tribulations as he and Eris Halla were. Perhaps it was for the better that she hadn't gone through as much as he did.

It was that kind of innocence he didn't want ruined for anyone else.

"Whatever they were doing with Azelf," he said, "it seems like they got chains now. They're using them to control people like back in that jail, but I dunno if that'll work now. Unless they get one of the Lake Trio again…"

Did it have to be Azelf, or was it merely the one that they got?

At the request for a lead, Uxie looked up, before sending a mental message to both Cass and Azelf - but not to Hideo.

EFFIGIES REVIVE THEM
WE WILL BREAK THEM

As the topic moved to family - he nodded. "My Mom's not a Rocket," as far as he knew, "but I had to be real thorough when I left home. New phone, secret bank account, had to buy my own Rotomdex - and made sure I knew the right people."

John Sullivan had been a huge help - had Doug not sympathized with him, he probably would have been hauled back home well before now. And Melody Miro had been a huge support for him when he first got marked by Uxie.

"I'll…I won't arrest her, then," he said. He would've loved to take in a known Rocket like that - one that was causing trouble for people - but he'd respect Cass's request. "And I'll just say I don't know you. Or that I haven't seen you in a while."

He wouldn't have gotten this far without people in the League covering for him, at their own risk. He could, at the very least, pass it down.

Cassandra Kubrick

Cass winces at the thought of any of the Lake Trio being captured again. It seems fitting that Azelf would be the one if it comes to controlling people's will, but there's other ways to get others to do what you want ... She can see Azelf punching a slice of pizza in the corner of her eyes, before chomping down on it rather violently.

It seems to be in-tune with Uxie's message about how the Loyal Three might return over and over again - effigies ... ... ... Cass shivers as she thinks back on what happened back then, before the kidnapping, when everyone went wild for those toxic mochi ... And the tunnel, and ... a scene even too gorey for Cass.

"Yeah, we will," she murmurs, before being kind of surprised by Hideo's backstory. She hadn't known he had fully run away from home - did she miss that on the news, or maybe ... she never truly cared to know much about the gym leaders of her regions, given her family's inclinations against them.

"Woah, I didn't know you were fully runaway," Cass grins lopsidedly, "Maybe I'll might really ..." She doesn't finish her sentence, just sighs. She needs to talk to her mother again, not wanting things to end like this - not wanting things to end, period. However, she ... like another chain tying her, it seems to drag her to the bottom of the ocean.

"Thank you so much, Hideo, really."

Hideo Kino