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Nosedive.[break][break]

It's frustrating. Looking at this overwhelming ball of sunshine. Like... where does he get off? Stating he could make things work like this? And the spiral begins, and it isn't a pleasant spiral. Quite the contrary. It feels like pity. It feels like he pities her, and that-[break][break]

Angrily, she pours another shot, a pissed off look in a drunken face.[break][break]

And then he up and says he wished he was in Circhester. And it hits like a truck. Every feeling wells to the service at once. Twenty years of pain, bubbles and burns, and Isaac was now toiling with trouble.[break][break]

Crash.[break][break]

"Stop."[break][break]

For the first time, she bitterly bites with venom on her tongue, hazel eyes showing her own anger. The fact is, being an adult meant accepting the changes that happen. She was over her Pokemon dying. Dr. Rhythm was gone. Cardi B was gone. Lady Bloom, Ms. Clean, and Mr. Business were gone. She takes the next shot.[break][break]

And slams down her hand with the empty glass, her face red, her hazel eyes hot.[break][break]

"Don' you dare pi'y me." The words move like lava from her lips, as her eyes prick with the angriest set of tears she ever shed. She's reluctant to go further, but liquid courage pushes the best and worst of us. "You WISH you woul'have? Is tha'joke? You didn'. You were SURO'N'ED by love and frien's... my hero ignor'd me, and my lov'an'friens lef'or died. Y'u don't ge'to pi'y me." Now it was really coming out. The truth of the matter is, she wanted to make a difference. But really, the people that acknowledged her... were so few.[break][break]

She stared at him. Hateful. Spiteful. Bitter. Wanting to bite the world, to burn it down. But she just went on. "I ha'to pick myself up. Me. No'ne was ther'tuh do'et for me. So you c'n shove y'r pity ba'up your-"[break][break]

... she catches herself before she regrets it. Moves to pour another shot. And moves her fingers over the glass. She had made a scene, with people looking over to their table now. But she didn't care. Not anymore. That was the agony that was now Genevieve Cromwell.[break][break]

Alone.

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If the last twenty years hadn't have happened, the squeak of a very shy Ranger would have sounded out. However, Genevieve was not the same little naive cadet, and seeing the Rookidee swoop from above, dive bombing Genny. She didn't flinch, not even a little. In fact, she remained calm with a poker face she had built over years of time. All but a whisper upon the wind...[break][break]

That wasn't the fault of the voice that came from nowhere, but when she dropped, leaves showered the two of them. Genevieve finally got a good look at her. Oddly cute, despite the cooler demeanor.[break][break]

Had this been before the mission, she'd probably fangirl for the woman before her, giddiness in every word. Pretty, efficient, and so cool! But that died with the good doctor, leaving what was left all the colder behind. Someone who gazed upon her with apathy. Hazel however, hops and waves at the duo, both arms moving with the chipmunk, with Wander tilting her head curiously.[break][break]

Gold meets hazel finally, and with a hand on her hip, the slightly older Ranger smiles. She caught that brief annoyance, but made no note of it. She'd had rockier relationships, but in Glasswork's salute, it left Genevieve utterly melancholic. Like the wind taken from her smile, a bygone era. There's a sadness in her, a smile that reignites at the memory of what once was, carrying a weight to it now that she never had before.[break][break]

She did that too. A lot. She came to Hoenn to make a name for herself. She failed to attend Meteno due to her training, but lost so much in the dog conflict...[break][break]

"Shion Uehara. Yup, that sounds about right." With a nod, she finds her adorable. In fact, utterly so. Miss Uehara here cared so much to be on time, that she made a great first impression. Officer Concordas would probably get along well. It almost seemed like a natural fit. She'd have to introduce her sometime.[break][break]

Reporting both Autonoe and Eua, those were two names, but she only saw the bird. Thankfully, the little chameleon water type revealed herself, and the sudden pull to pet them and call them cute became harder to ignore. Still, Genny stood unrelenting, just smiling in turn. It got harder, seeing them both more or less salute.[break][break]

Focus, Genny.[break][break]

"Senior Ranger Genevieve Cromwell. To my left, is Wander-" The Rockruff barks at attention, attempting to, without opposable thumbs, to mimic the salute "-and Hazel.", the Chespin hops up and down, tumbling a step forward, goggles flopping onto his little neck, as he excitedly bounces. So much life, so much vigor. "Just call me Genny. No need for titles." She hardly felt like she deserved it with an entrance like Glasswork's.[break][break]

Now for why they were here.[break][break]

"I've taken up the job of assisting in training you today, Shion Uehara. Exercise is important, Ranger or Officer, and so we have to keep in good shape to get the drop on Team Rocket or any other threats. Vendanturf isn't too far west of us right now, and Mauville is right behind us. We'll be doing a two lap run, where all Pokemon must participate. Then I believe there was also target practice."[break][break]

Genny begins to stretch in her uniform, with Hazel attempting to do the same by spinning like a certain blue hedgehog. Wander makes her own stretch, paws forward, stretching her back. Both Pokemon were incredibly ready. Genny just flexibly stretches her legs out, and cracks at her neck. Readying for the run.[break][break]

Maybe she doesn't want the teacher spotlight, but she'll do it. That's her job. One day she'd be Head Ranger, no matter what it took.

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It wasn't wrong; she can feel every vibration beneath her, the movement side-to-side. Ulysses was being nice enough not to splash Genny, but the Ranger didn't find herself caring so much. They were going to get wet, and though it's bouncy, it isn't unbearably so. She grips the reigns, and the Dewgong picks up speed.[break][break]

Hearing the little tidbit on Sharpedo, an orange brow raises, curiously. Made sense. Teeth were strong, powerful things. Last she recalled, they also underwent Mega Evolution, a phenomenon she wanted to use for herself one day.[break][break]

"That's cool." Though she's definitely a lot colder about it than she should be, it isn't Josh that was the problem. A lot is weighing on her mind, and as she places a hand down on Ulysses, she speaks. "Pick up the pace, big guy. We have a mission to do." Yup. She definitely wanted one...[break][break]

When they rounded the corner, and spot the target vessel, Josh gives them the play-by-play.[break][break]

Twenty years ago, Genevieve Cromwell would never have wanted to hurt others. She was a sweet, innocent girl in Galar, but the growing up part those twenty years had made her far colder. More analytical. To a degree, it likened her to paxton concordas. So when he offers the choices, she looks to Josh.[break][break]

"The best way to win here is to capsize the ship, and take as many of them out at once. More holes than they can fix with Pokemon or engineers, and they'll be waterbound. That point, it's a matter of divide and conquer." This was war. The region was League versus Rocket. This would ensure to hurt them greatly. But it was a far cry from the innocent cadet who entered that mission so long ago. It was colder, confident, assured.[break][break]

"You ready, Josh?" She releases Hazel, the little Chespin who rode in front of Genevieve now. She had a plan. Calculated.

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Oh well. It wasn't like Genevieve was really into Caleb Harcourt anyways. Guys were the worst. They leave with a letter saying they were staying in their home region... not that Genny could really blame Elio. But it still doesn't sit well with her heart. Wait. What the fuck, that wasn't something she wanted to think about.[break][break]

She was still too few shots in. Eyes go to the shotglass, but she leans on a hand, elbow to the table. She's ruder than before. A lot of innocence dies.[break][break]

"Too baaaad... I lik'd him." She doesn't hold it back. The thing about liquid courage was that it was quite literally liquid courage. Drink it, bam, you can fight Giratina in a boxing match. Might still lose, but it's still a fight not normally made. And Genny was there. She was far past there, in fact.[break][break]

So when he asks how she is, she shrugs. "Oh, I'm GREAAaaAAT, Izzy! Can'ya tell?" Yeah... six shots in, and she's livin' like Larry, alright. Another shot full, another one filled. Hope, aspirations. Wanting to be the head ranger, and where does it get her? A mission impossible to predict, no more heroes, and a dream that's fallen like a star.[break][break]

"Com'back from my HOME LAND, where I'm BORN... and whatta I get? My boyfrien' breaks up'wi'me, Dokor Rhythm is gone, an- all the gifts from Kieran Roth and my ex... DIE. Jus'like that, Izzy." She grabs the glass. She throws it back like her college days.[break][break]

"S'yeah. I'm PEACHY."[break][break]

And mad.

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Shrugging it off, she downs the shot, tasting almost of fruit punch, as she slams the glass back down, only to have the waiter who was nearby move to deliver a bottle. A little apology for the jackass with the broken arm. Genevieve wouldn't say no. In fact, she liked the attention. She hardly got it these days.[break][break]

Or maybe after twenty years, she craved it so badly that even the guy's arm she broke was a desperate cry for it? She knew she could work the system a little. She was cute. She had the mojo.[break][break]

"Always had'em." she blows orange hair from her face, tucking a loose strand behind her ear. Her hair was short. Not so much that she still didn't have that little move she did, but enough so that she didn't have to spend forever combing it. She liked it shorter now. It made sense to her. Body dysmorphia and all that jazz.[break][break]

It gets worse when he seems to be distraught over his wife being missing. And the normal Genny would promise to go find her, make it her mission over the next couple of days to go out and search. Whole search and rescue mission, with flashlights, and Pokemon. Getting the Slateport crew on the down low.[break][break]

That was old Genevieve. Where were they for her when she needed them? Selfish as it is, she's bitter. Not for them. Or at them. No one reached out a hand. Turns out, people don't have the best interest at heart.[break][break]

"Sorry t'hear that."[break][break]

Pouring another shot for herself, she stares down at it, as Isaac says the one true thing. Oh yeah. Ever since they got back, it's been so messed up. Practically reverberating on so many people. But how can she blame her? Or anyone? She'd love to run away herself. But life doesn't stop when your dog dies.[break][break]

"All the more rea''n to drink. Wuh' abou' your number two?" She sounds incredibly interested, if not a little more than just tipsy. Maybe it was her rosy cheeks at the mention of Caleb Harcourt... no. It was a girl crush. A big girl crush she had a while back. And probably still does.

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Thanks to her efforts in the legendary dog conflict between Rocket and the League, and her own losses, she had been promoted all the way from Cadet to Senior Ranger. In all honesty, Genevieve didn't feel she deserved that. Who would under that sheer level of strain? She felt so tiny and miniscule.[break][break]

Still, she knows better than to question it. Today, bright and early, after that glowing promotion and promise of better pay after getting drunker than she needed to last night with Isaac Merlo, she would start the morning right. Coffee in the morning, and two of her own. Hazel the Chespin, who gave the closest thing to a thumbs up he could after he had his coffee black. Wander the Rockruff, who would yip and yap for another bit of sugar in her own.[break][break]

Genevieve didn't mind it. They were her morning workout buddies, and after getting ready in her freshly cleaned apartment, she found her way up the beaten path to Mauville, and finally, at the early time of 8:00 AM sharp, in her Ranger get-up with both Hazel and Wander running beside her.[break][break]

Her Ranger pocket watch said the right time, so now all she can do is wait for the newbie. She offered to assist with training, like paxton concordas did twenty years ago for her. And turned out, it worked like a charm. Genevieve was a senior ranger now.[break][break]

She hoped he was doing well these days.[break][break]

On his forehead, Hazel wears a small pair of goggles that he's playing with a little. He liked seeing through them. Wander just bites at the little red bandana Genny got for her. She likes it. It smelled nice, freshly clean. She liked clean.[break][break]

"Hope she didn't get lost."[break][break]

She didn't used to be this much of a stickler about time. That's what twenty years in a metaphysical dimension that didn't actually matter did to a woman her age. She was forty-four just the other night, and yet in a few weeks, she'd be twenty-five.[break][break]

Weird how time works.

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That's the thing though. Genny isn't a drinker. She isn't usually a fan of having some random guy's arm around her waist either.[break][break]

We'll get to that.[break][break]

But with every sweet shot that gets in her, a little more inhibition gets out. Instead of being normal, she was acting more like a college party girl, downing shot, after shot. This one, ooooooh, it has a hint of pineapple in it. As she downs the shotglass, she frowns at the guy next to her.[break][break]

"GET OFF ME."[break][break]

Instead of slapping him, or telling him what for, Genny breaks his arm. Flat out, in the middle of the bar, and than spits on him after she's done. That's the ol' Ranger training. Taking a step to fix her much, much shorter hair, she moves with another set of shots, setting them on the table where Isaac was. It's no date, and frankly, she doesn't care if it were or not. She just wanted a friend to help her... to do what, who was to say.[break][break]

"Here ya go." She's a lot colder about it, a poutier lip from her face. It's a a much shorter cut for her vibrant orange hair that used to go down to her shoulder. Something she cut off after coming back. Just like her older self.[break][break]

"So, King Isaac. What are you doin' now? Where's your... hot wife?"[break][break]

She was already five shots in. She doesn't sound that sloshed. Yet.

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