June only saw the aftermath of whatever the fuck that was. A woman was sent reeling, her cane little more than a light catcher that followed its owner down. And none other than a pig was the one dishing out the blow. It was enough to get her to take an earphone out, which blared EDM as she stared in disgust.

She bit her lower lip and pressed her small package closer to her side. Her argument with annalise henderson rang clearly in her mind. Do something? Oh, she’d do something alright. Damn the package. They could get delivery free.

Without much more than murder on the mind, June spared a quick glance down both sides of the road before she darted across the grey pavement. Her other earphone followed, and she shoved them into her pocket before she rushed to–

Oh, fuck. Damn it. But… she wasn’t going to back down now, was she? Right after she’d rushed to Absinthe’s side.

“Hey yo, buddy, don’t think you killed her with that one, might need a curb stomp,” she spit out. “Cause that’s the saying, right? Abuse and kill?”

“Wait, no, it’s serve and protect,” she stood up once she realized that the girl was, in fact, not dying. Not that she’d know of, but it was out of her hands at that point either way. “My bad. Mixed you up with the terrorists.”

Maybe it was the avatarship, maybe it was the burning hatred of what she witnessed, maybe it was the second June she saw getting into a fist fight on the spot, or maybe it was the tenure at Rocket. Many different factors made her get into the face of the cop and almost shove a finger into his chest.

“Why don’t you call an ambulance, and I’ll consider pretending I didn’t just see you abusing a cripple. Unless she’s packing.”

“... You aren’t packing, right?” June turned to Absinthe with a genuine look of worry in her face. She wasn’t about to risk her own beating just for the girl to reveal several bombs in her jacket.

---

Absinthe Blackwood

Unfortunately for the chemist, June had been there one too many times to simply stand by and let this injustice occur any further. There’d been enough anger at those who passed herself over and didn’t glance twice. Passer byes unwilling to help out. Her fists clenched.

“Not happening,” she swiveled her head backwards, then back to the cop, “and wrong answer. But good to know you two know each other.”

What had she said back then? Corrupt cop husband? Sounded like this was one of the fellow pigs, and this was some sort of revenge scenario, or personal vendetta. Regardless of the circumstances, all it served to was make her hair bristle.

“I’m telling you right now, you do not want to fuck with me,” she whispered back darkly. “You do not scare me, and I’m not gonna let you pull whatever you want just cause of whatever she or her husband did.”

Out of line, but true nonetheless. “So either get some help down here, or get the fuck out of my sight.”

Then and only then did she turn her back to the bastard, and once more return to Absinthe. Consciously. “Keep pressure off, I can help you up. Give me your arm.”

---

Absinthe Blackwood

Great. Piggie had just as fucked friends. June hefted Absinthe further over her shoulder and reached down to her side. Arceus, it’d be so easy and convenient to use Violet here. Race off and have no chance of being caught. But then she’d have bigger problems. Thus, she instead reached for the well-worn ball.

And out came a massive Talonflame. June practically pushed the chemist onto the bird’s back, “I hope you aren’t afraid of heights.”

“And you, fucker,” June pointed a finger straight at the face of the cop, “hope you like freya morningstar , ‘cause you’re not the only one who knows people in high places.”

Maybe not friends. But she could finagle something with the councilwoman, surely. Give her a hand for a week and perhaps this fucker would be behind bars for a while. But first, she had to get away. Thus, she scrambled onto Matchstick and pulled up on the saddle.

“C’mon girl, guess we’ve gotta run,” she called out. Matchstick screeched and flapped her wings furiously. Soon enough, they were going slowly, then swiftly down the street.

Unfortunately, she also heard distant sirens. “Well, not what I had in mind when I said I’d deliver anything you needed. You know the name of that bastard? Might need to write a letter to someone after this.”

Even more unfortunately, she asked this right before they took a hard left, nearly braining themselves on the corner of one building while avoiding a head-on collision with another. Perhaps worst of all, this was her only chance of getting away. June wished she put herself in front of Absinthe right about now.

She wasn’t a fan of vomit in her face.

---

Absinthe Blackwood

For better or worse, June was oblivious to most of the chemist’s problems. She did not bear the physical problems of her forced companion, a constant pain that refused to leave her be. Nor the feeling of losing all power, one that she was awfully familiar with in her own way.

But when her options were to soar above the streets of Slateport with a woman that had harassed her horribly the last time they met or contend with a corrupt pig who had horrible intentions. Deserved or not, one seemed better than the other. Not that June knew; she put all of her attention towards the ‘road’ ahead.

“Don’t worry, I wasn’t gonna drop your name,” June called above the wind. Once more, they banked hard and disappeared into a narrow alleyway. Faster than they should, but they didn’t slam into one of the many blood-red brick walls. “But nothing will change if you don’t do anything. That’s usually how stuff goes.”

No action meant no change. And no change was only desirable if the situation was beneficial for the one being subjected to it. Odds were that Absinthe was not benefiting from being harassed and stalked by police. But the fear of the council woman was an understandable one.

Being on the radar of a high-ranked league member as a Team Rocket member was terrifying, theoretically. And in practice

“If anything, I can just lie to her. Make some shit up about harassing me. Or we can paint him as a chronic liar. But letting him be on the streets is dangerous for people,” she insisted. They left the safety (and danger) of the alleyways. Sirens were still present, but further and further.

“Cause it sounds like this problem goes beyond you. You just happen to have the personal connection.”

---

Absinthe Blackwood

“Yea, like all the people that were biting at your heels to step in against a fucking bully?” June scoffed into the wind. They both knew that if she hadn’t, then no one would’ve. That’s how it worked, whether by bystander effect or plain disinterest or wanting to keep safe. “No one will, until it’s too late.”

If it did happen, it’d be when they bit off more than they could chew. They’d choke on their prey and finally take their last look at life at the ripe age of seventy. People like that were only stupid when they were old. When it didn’t matter as much anymore. What’s five years of life behind bars when you only got seven more to go?

“I’d protect you from him any day of the week anyway,” she said. Promised. “Or I’d get Freya to protect you– no questions asked. It’d be a week or two of lying low, maybe a month if you’re unlucky, and then you’re free of that fuck face.”

She was different from herself and annalise henderson in their grief. The ranger would let the world crush her beneath its tread if it meant she got to feel the warmth from it. June wouldn’t let the world touch her with a ten-foot pole, as it’d mean the struggle was worthless, and it was all for nothing.

But something told June that Absinthe was the type to let the wound fester, simmer, and boil beneath the surface until the world suffered for her pain. She’d gone to Rocket after all. And she fucked with dangerous chemicals. They probably didn’t heal the sick Yamper, that was for certain.

“Because if he ever starts going down, even if you’re not involved– he’s coming for your ass whether you like it or not,” she spit out. Another left and the edge of Slateport came into view. “I don’t need to be book smart like you to guess that. Might as well get a head start on it, so you don't get blindsided.”

---

Absinthe Blackwood

“If it helps, I’m not exactly doing this for you,” June said. She could be just as blunt as the chemist, given the opportunity. “Yea, you’ll reap the rewards, but I’d be offering the same thing to just about anyone– except maybe Rocket’s top brass.”

They could rot in hell for all she cared: they didn’t want to give the little guys any help. And while it took a certain level of apathy to even stomach Rocket’s clear abuse, it wasn’t like she was planning to stick around for long. She was but one person. Even avatars couldn’t carry the weight of the world.

It wasn’t like the world cared anyway.

“Like I said last time, I’d like to stick to delivering whatever to wherever you need it and not blood pacts,” she tugged the reins a little to the left, towards the distance foliage and trees. No way in hell they got chased there. Cars sucked and no one could navigate near death like she could.

“But also like last time, I said the cops and investigators told me to go fuck myself. I’m not about to let any of them walk free, even if it costs me everything.”

The innocent would have to distance themselves enough not to get caught in the hell-storm that was freya morningstar . And if they couldn’t, then tough shit. She wasn’t gonna lose sleep because someone wanted to be friends with a dick.

“‘Sides. I can be a real bitch too.”

---

Absinthe Blackwood

“Appreciate the thought, but no need to thank me,” June said. “Just doing what a person should be doing. Make sure you won’t get caught in the crossfire, and you should come out alive.”

Probably not unscathed. Never unscathed. Regardless of what happens, she’ll likely get some amount of flak or scrutiny. People like her or June would always get one final kick whenever possible. But if she lived, then that was good enough for June. Easy enough to put someone else's life at risk than her own.

Not that she wouldn’t, if the need arose. There were worse things than death– they both knew that well enough.

“I’ll just say some corrupt fuck threatened me with a bad time, and I have reason to believe they’re in some bad shit,” she offered. “Unless you got a better idea. Or wanna do it yourself.”

The call of sirens had all but disappeared at this point. She might not even need to escape into the trees. “You think they’ll put a warrant on our heads?”

---

Absinthe Blackwood