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Evacuating those still alive, whether unscathed or injured, had been Gunner's top priority since the sudden emergence of Tera crystals in Callan Young's Elite Four building.[break][break]

Ambulances arrived to deliver the injured to the hospital. Working with the local police, Gunner set up a perimeter around the building, cording off the area with yellow tape.[break][break]

In the middle of discussing the rescue with paxton concordas, the small hairs on his body suddenly stood on end. Whirling around, Gunner looked northwest toward Sootopolis City.[break][break]

He couldn't see anything from where he stood, but he couldn't deny the feeling in his gut that something had gone terribly wrong.[break][break]

Another agent caught Gunner's attention, informing him that the crew was ready to break into the earth beneath the building. He nodded, refocusing. Rescue first, weird feelings later.[break][break]

Eventually, they broken into a complex system of underground tunnels, Tera crystals covering the walls. The entire AQUA Initiative was gathered there, not a single member missing. Even Navy was with them.[break][break]

Gunner went straight to PENELOPE LIVY, stopping in front of her. He almost reached out a hand, but refrained. They were in public.[break][break]

"Are you okay, Miss Livy?" he asked, trying to ascertain her mood or thoughts from her expression alone. "Any injuries?"

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"No," was Gunner's immediate, defensive response when Gideon asked about Mila. And then he relented, saying with some reluctance, "Maybe. I don't know."[break][break]

He embraced the welcome diversion of the AmiGo app. The guilt on Gunner's face immediately brightened into mischief and intrigue.[break][break]

"Oh yeah? Wait, does that mean you're single again?" he asked, hope and apprehension rising within him in tandem at the prospect.[break][break]

Hope, because the HBIC had recently learned that the woman Gideon had been courting, one Elisabeth Fiorelli, was actually a high-ranking leader within Team Rocket. If he was single again, then he was free of her.[break][break]

Apprehension, because Gunner did not know the circumstances of Gideon's breakup with her. If the woman had been a camouflaged viper all along, how much had she hurt him?[break][break]

"What happened between you and," Gunner paused, as if her name tasted of bile, "Elisabeth?"

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TAGS – Serena Malcolm[break]
NOTES – mission

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Gunner's body burned with a feverish heat at the sensation of Mila's mouth on his neck, but her forwardness touching him elsewhere in broad daylight snapped him out of his lust-fueled haze. The last thing he wanted was for someone to call the police on them for lewd behavior in front of minors.[break][break]

"No, I don't," he admitted, his voice rough in his throat.[break][break]

Withdrawing his arm from around her shoulders, Gunner instead grabbed her wrist and tugged her away from the main corridor of the carnival.[break][break]

"I don't know what's gotten into you today, but I think I know what will mellow you out," he said, leading her toward the House of Mirrors attraction.[break][break]

A maze was the perfect place for a quick rendezvous; plus, the mirrors might make it more fun. Knowing Mila, she'd find it thrilling.

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Noel was new to Pokémon training, then, Gunner guessed. The younger man looked no older than college-aged, so the news did not surprise Gunner in the slightest.[break][break]

"Travels, huh? So you've been all over the place?" he asked, moving to a topic of conversation he assumed would fill the time until they reached Lilycove. "I'd like to hear more about that, if you don't mind sharing."[break][break]

Gunner himself did not need to catch more Pokémon, so he did not bother keeping an eye on the tall grass. His Mienshao remained out of her Pokéball simply for the pleasure of light exercise.

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Gunner moved automatically as soon as he saw what Mila intended to do, so in-tune was his body with her own. Despite being angry with each other for a week, the kiss was bruising in its force, electrifying in its expression of their need.[break][break]

One hand pulled her body against his as the other fisted her hair, angling her head to deepen the kiss. His tongue licked against her lips, then slipped into her eager mouth.[break][break]

A teenager yelling, "Ewww! Get a room!" snapped Gunner back to reality. He parted from Mila to glare at the insolent child and their friends.[break][break]

But before either of them could cause another scene, he wrapped his arm around Mila's shoulders to lead her away.[break][break]

"Maybe we should continue this back at my place," Gunner rumbled into her ear.

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TAGS – Seiya Arai[break]
NOTES – mission

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Barely twenty-four hours had passed since the battle at the Ancient Tomb. Dressed in a suit, with his HBIC ID card hanging around his neck on a lanyard, Gunner felt like he was walking through a dream.[break][break]

The halls of the Bureau's headquarters were so familiar to him and yet so foreign at the same time. Everything was exactly where he had left it, including the paperwork in a neat pile on his desk.[break][break]

Yet it was absurd that nothing had changed when it felt that twenty years had passed for him.[break][break]

Eventually, Gunner found himself outside the door of PENELOPE LIVY's office. He hadn't seen her since the fateful clash on Route 120. When he tried to recall their interactions in that memory of Galar, however, his mind could only conjure hazy images. But he knew she'd been there.[break][break]

She'd been his friend.[break][break]

Knocking to announce his presence, Gunner let himself into the unlocked office. "Penny? Are you in here?" he called out without thinking.[break][break]

That was the name she'd told him to call her by. Not Penelope. Not Miss Livy.[break][break]

Penny.

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Much to Gunner's surprise, Mila backed down. A stubborn petulance still clouded her face, but she stepped away from the food stall, tugging him along with her. He followed without question, falling into step beside her.[break][break]

"Are you okay?" he asked after a moment. Unlike past incidents, when he would snap at her, her kept his voice calm and low.[break][break]

They were in public, after all. The last thing he wanted was to draw undesired attention to themselves.[break][break]

"We can get food at someplace without a line, if you really want." She'd said she wasn't hungry, but he knew her better than that.

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Unexpectedly, Mila caught Gunner's hand as he swatted her fingers away. His heart skipped a beat, even though touching her was not a new experience. And when she finally let go, his hand flexed unconsciously, as if straining to reach back out.[break][break]

Gunner caught the brief emotion in Mila's eyes and knew she was thinking of Mei. His own thoughts flashed to GIDEON GRAVES in that moment; there was no closer friend in his life than his own brother.[break][break]

Guinevere's joyful bark at Mila's suggestion drew Gunner's attention back to the present. He ruffled his Typhlosion's ears, a fond smile stealing over his face.[break][break]

"You'll eat anything, won't you?" he teased the Pokémon. Looking up at Mila, he said, "Why not kebabs? I know a good place near my apartment."

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