First GIDEON GRAVES, now PENELOPE LIVY. How Macro Cosmos had gotten ahold of such personal information from Gunner was beyond him. He'd have to bring up the investigation into their business again with his boss, because this was a gross invasion of privacy. [break][break]

The worst part was the third option. Why did the game even provide it as a choice, and how did it know it was a lie? [break][break]

Feeling more disturbed than angry, Gunner selected the last option. [break][break]

TAGS – Elisabeth Fiorelli[break]
NOTES – rvl social

[attr="class","pkmn"]

"Smart thinking," Gunner said as he watched the Swampert's EARTHQUAKE bring several Muk and Grimer to the surface. "Ophelia, Tom, give them a hand." [break][break]

His Pokémon obliged. The Steelix DUG into the toxic sands, mowing down the wild Poison-types. Meanwhile, the Baltoy swatted at stray Grimer and Muk with MUD SLAP. Soon, their efforts saw all of the offenders corralled into an unconscious pile. [break][break]

Turning to Beau, Gunner asked, "Do you need help getting these to Ranger Headquarters for relocation?"

TAGS – Beau Fontaine[break]
NOTES – mission

[attr="class","pkmn"]

The mention of PENELOPE LIVY caused Gunner's anger to spike again. He slammed his thumb on the third option, not noticing how incongruous it was with how he would have responded in real life. [break][break]

He never called his boss 'Penelope'. Even in private, he only called her 'Penny'. [break][break]

And he knew she wasn't resisting Chi-Yu, either. She was harmonizing with it. [break][break]

TAGS – Elisabeth Fiorelli[break]
NOTES – rvl social

[attr="class","pkmn"]

With his two Pokémon leading the way, Gunner forged a path toward the center of the sludgy, swampy mess. On the way, he noted fewer Poison-types than he expected to see—a disconcerting fact, considering how much poison had accumulated along the beach. [break][break]

"Fontaine!" he called out when he saw Beau's tall figure alongside his own Pokémon. The Ranger and his team were putting up quite the good fight, it seemed. [break][break]

Gunner waited until the distance between them grew smaller before saying, "There's way too much poison for the number of wild Pokémon out here. Something's not right." [break][break]

He glanced around, frowning, hands on his hips.

TAGS – Beau Fontaine[break]
NOTES – mission

[attr="class","pkmn"]

"Gideon, are you up here?" Gunner called out as he climbed the stairs to the second floor of their childhood home. Wooden floorboards creaked beneath his feet. [break][break]

Like his brother, Gunner had arrived to check on their parents following the incident at Mt. Chimney. After surveying the damage to their property, he'd arranged for local services to help remove the debris. Their parents were getting older, after all. [break][break]

Peering into Gideon's old bedroom, Gunner found the elder Graves sitting at the desk inside. Gunner stopped short, lingering in the doorway. [break][break]

"Hey, Dad wants to know what you want for dinner. We're doing takeout since he and Mom are still pretty shaken," he said.

TAGS – GIDEON GRAVES[break]
NOTES – mission

[attr="class","pkmn"]

The overt taunting returned. Gunner found himself grinding his teeth at the fake Elisabeth's haughty manner. It was difficult to reconcile the woman he'd met in Petalburg Woods with the one on the screen; in his mind, it was easier believing they had been two entirely different people. [break][break]

Gunner considered the options. He doubted Elisabeth knew declan walsh's plans; despite her rank as Underboss, she might not have been privy to everything the Boss knew and planned. [break][break]

The same could be said of the other Rocket Avatars. Somehow, Gunner felt that whatever she shared could be tainted by her arrogance and any ignorance. [break][break]

That left only one option. [break][break]

TAGS – Elisabeth Fiorelli[break]
NOTES – rvl social

[attr="class","pkmn"]

The false Elisabeth's reaction was enough to ease some of Gunner's anger. Until that moment, she'd been playing games with him, toying with his emotions. Realizing this meant that he could rise above them and approach the route with a clear head. [break][break]

He considered the newest set of options. Information about kyle lopez and MATIAS SILPH was valuable, but he had less of an emotional tie to them as others did. Instead, his eyes lowered to the third and final option. [break][break]

TAGS – Elisabeth Fiorelli[break]
NOTES – rvl social

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Gunner's finger hovered over the options. This version of Elisabeth Fiorelli was grating on his nerves, but perhaps that was the point. To distract him, or to bait him into picking the wrong dialogue choice. Hesitating, his eyes flickered over them. [break][break]

Under ordinary circumstances, the first option was exactly what he wanted to say. But kyle lopez's name stood out to Gunner, stoking the fires of his curiosity. Is that why this new route had been released? Because it contained information about the Top Champion's death? [break][break]

Ultimately, duty won out over personal grudges. [break][break]

TAGS – Elisabeth Fiorelli[break]
NOTES – rvl social

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Gunner froze as he read the next section of text. How does it know? he wondered, aghast. [break][break]

He had kept Summer Atreides's connections to Team Rocket a secret, out of respect for the friendship they had cultivated over twenty years in another world. She had disappeared after then, so how did the game know? [break][break]

Only then did Gunner notice that his free hand had curled into a fist so tight that his knuckles had paled. Unclenching, his hand shook from barely contained wrath from Elisabeth's mockery. [break][break]

No. No, it wasn't Elisabeth. No matter how real she seemed, it was just a game. [break][break]

TAGS – Elisabeth Fiorelli[break]
NOTES – rvl social

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Gunner had not opened the RONDEZ-VIEW OF LUV app in over a year, too occupied by work to play the dating sim game. But finding himself in need of a distraction one night, he opened it and started browsing routes from the newest update. [break][break]

When he saw Elisabeth Fiorelli's face stamped with NEW in bright red letters, he immediately sat up. "What's she doing here?" he asked the empty room, not expecting an answer. [break][break]

The game had a route for Elisabeth during its initial release, but he'd heard it had been mildly pleasant, if somewhat boring. But that was when it still depicted her as a harmless florist. By now, Gunner knew she was anything but. [break][break]

Morbidly curious, he tapped her image and read the opening words. Rage shot through him in an instant, and he almost threw down his phone. Instead, he took a deep breath, remembering it wasn't the real Elisabeth on the screen but a recreation of her. [break][break]

How does Macro Cosmos know? Gunner wondered, even as he selected his answer. [break][break]

TAGS – Elisabeth Fiorelli[break]
NOTES – rvl social

[attr="class","pkmn"]

Soaring in the sky high above the battlefield, Gunner did not hear PENELOPE LIVY. He did not hear her venomous boasting nor see the sneer plastered across her face as she exulted in the victory within her grasp. He did not notice the way her triumph bled away as wrathful envy overtook her, bringing her far across the line of reason and goodness. [break][break]

What he did see from that height was the crystalline city as it manifested before him. Circhester, he realized, recognizing the skyline from photographs and videos. [break][break]

No—not just that. [break][break]

Hazy half-memories emerged from his subconscious as scenes flickered across the faces of crystal, filling Gunner with the strange sense of watching his life unfold on a television screen. Yet that had not been his life, not really. [break][break]

Or had it? Was that GIDEON GRAVES next to the rough-looking woman with the VI on her cheek? Why were they smiling and laughing? [break][break]

The image of a young man appeared, barely out of his boyhood years. Light shining on smooth crystal blurred his face, and yet a strange familiarity filled Gunner at the sight of him. An unusual longing, like missing an old friend. [break][break]

Bruin twisted in the air, jolting his trainer from uncertain thoughts. Gunner breathed air warmed by volcanic fire and looked down at a single orange dot. The Mega Blaziken, carrying a screaming Rocket grunt. [break][break]

Gunner's Salamence descended upon them with all the speed and fatality of a launched missile.

TAGS – Naomi Sato parker jones PENELOPE LIVY[break]
NOTES – mission

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"Hey, Concordas!" [break][break]

Finding Paxton was not a difficult task, not during the work day and not at the headquarters of the HBIC. Gunner knew the path to Paxton's desk by heart and could find his way blindfolded. [break][break]

This time, though, his feet dragged as if leaden weights had been tied to his ankles. A great reluctance made even opening his mouth seem like an impossible task. And at first, he could not look the other man in the eye. [break][break]

Man up, Gunner, he chastised himself, before forcing himself to meet Paxton's gaze. [break][break]

"Can I talk to you for a moment?" He gestured to an empty conference room nearby, indicating a desire for privacy.

TAGS – paxton concordas[break]
NOTES – social, ~1 week post-Primeval

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