Across the scene, timers rang out. Bells, chimes, whistles, physical screams of excitement, groans of relief. A symphony of controlled chaos, yet all for a common goal. Grigori himself kept calm and reserved, but he let his handful of nails clatter back into the box all the same.

Beneath the sapphire blue sky, the clock struck noon. For construction workers across Petalburg, the blessed time had arrived. Ordained by Arceus itself. One hour of relief, of food and deliciously cold water. Some flocked to work trucks, and others began to huddle around cheap fans and water gallon jugs.

The grunt, instead, opted to visit the remnants of Petalburg. Not all had been destroyed. Some infrastructure had come out relatively unscathed. They’d been fixed first, if only to offer some normalcy to the people who remained.

Across the street was one such place. A very limited selection of stores remained, but remained they did. Usually occupied by the overseers, foreman, and…

Sometimes, on rare occasions, the cream of the crop of Rocket. For one reason or another, they procured spots at these little stores. They watched progress for many reasons. Boredom, being told to, waiting for noon to pull away select grunts for other matters.

“Good…” he glanced at his wristwatch. It now read twelve-o-one. “Afternoon, Dr. Ameena. What brings you to our productive worksite?”

howard slayte likely hoped it was to wait for her turn in the guillotine. He’d heard the groans and complaints about her ‘experiment’ plenty. To a nauseous degree. “Anything I can do to assist you?”

He hoped the sweat that caked his simple t-shirt and jeans did not smell atrocious. It was only natural, underneath the hot sun and under such physically demanding conditions.

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ameena abadi