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The jokes eased the unfamiliarity that still hung between them.[break][break]

The officer and the historian felt like they were on different wavelengths–different lives that shaped them in ways that felt completely polar from one another. As she watched the white-haired woman proceed, Bailey can only wonder why Persephone seemed older than she was. There was only a year gap between the two of them; she was supposed to be the older one. Did it feel that way? Absolutely not.[break][break]

But, then again, she never did act her age.[break][break]

Bailey Cooper watched the small flames as they descended into the dark, lighting the way like distant Volbeats. “Sure,” and she waded through the waters. Her Darmanitan shuddered as he trailed after them; with his wide shape, there was no worry of something striking them from behind. He could deal with it.[break][break]

“It went so well the first time,” for her. It was not the same for the others. Her tone tried to convey that disparity with its infliction... but the Officer does not dread the possibility. Another Legendary to battle? Why not?[break][break]

She was here for the battling; it was what she was good at. In every other aspect of life where Bailey Cooper lacked, she compensated with her pokemon.

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fuck, she was hungover.[break][break]

Bailey Cooper hid the signs of her misery behind her sunglasses, avoiding any sign of light and life as she prowled the streets of Littleroot. She had awoken in the Pokemon Center, sprawled out on one of the couches in the lobby, and ushered to the streets as if she were an amateur trainer than an officer.[break][break]

Chewing through a stick of spearmint gum to hide the tinge of liquor on her breath, she started a daily patrol; watch the town for anything amiss and eye the perimeter where the wilds crept in. It was a simple job. The most excitement she would find would be a wild pokemon that wandered from the grass.[break][break]

Each step is made in tempo with the pounding in her head. Throb, throb, throb.

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Bailey forgot her flashlight.[break][break]

The Officer let the Darmanitan by her side light the way; his large hand caressing a small flame that flickered as if it were emitted from a pilot light. It helped to illuminate the passage as she found herself following after Persephone. She kept her hands tucked into her pockets, fingers brushing against the fur lining, to seek warmth from the chill in the air. Shoal Cave left the taste of salt on her tongue.[break][break]

“I dunno. Looks a little deep to me,” she returned the jest and spared the faintest hint of a smile. “Do you believe in God, Persephone?” A callback. There is a wet slosh as Bailey took her first step into the water, shuddering at the cold.[break][break]

She zipped up her jacket, trying to keep the core of her body warm as she felt the water ooze into her boots and soak her socks; it was a miserable feeling.[break][break]

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A member of the council was coming to Lavaridge.[break][break]

Bailey Cooper was the only officer in close proximity to the unsuspecting town–it was her job to stand and wait for their arrival. From there, she would have to play the role of a guard, following them on whatever business they had planned; something about the Lavaridge gym and the absence of a gym leader. [break][break]

Even the name of the position fizzled in the back of her mind, raising flags. Who needed a bodyguard in Lavaridge? Was the League worried that this person would slip and drown in the hot springs? It seemed pointless, but it was an order that she had been told to adhere to.[break][break]

And the officer had been told to not draw attention to herself; it had been thrown into the mix as a last minute suggestion, jabbing into her like a thinly worded threat.[break][break]

She chomped on a candy cane, staring at the brightly strung lights that dotted the simple town. Winter decorations hung on every street corner, plastered to every window, for the entire world to see.[break][break]

Her eyes saw the head of blue hair. “...Him again?”

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A voice called to her–its wisp-like utterances sounded forlorn to her ears.[break][break]

Bailey turned, tugging at the cusp of her hood to keep it in place as she regarded the stranger with a hand to her waist; a hand that itched with the urge to draw, preparing for a duel that could erupt at any moment in a place such as this. She had done this dance. She was faster than she seemed... but the glint of her gaze caught the lack of hostility from the distant stranger.[break][break]

Or, not so strange after all. There was a moment of familiarity. The officer does not let her hand budge, but the firmness in her gaze seemed to ease. “Can't let people get a good look at me. City's gone to shit,” and she knew she had drawn fire for her actions at the Train Station, even if introductions had never been given.[break][break]

The warnings make her quirk her brow as the woman walked past, letting her presence dissipate as fast as it had appeared. “I'll live.” Bailey kept her volumes low, but knew that her voice would carry in the dead silence of the street. Maybe, her hand seemed to lose its twitch as she switched to her full height.[break][break]

The pink contrasted against the black. It was jarring. The white walls were gone; tarnished and left to ruin.[break][break]

If she breathed, she could still smell the smoke. “You're one of those Silph kids.” Now she remembered. “The one that did that cutesy shit on the internet, right?” It was funny. She remembered her but had failed to recognize the actual heir to the Silph lineage. Maybe it was because of the rumors that were latched to the young woman?[break][break]

The turncoat. She had been told about this one. Everyone talked when the news broke out. It had been the tastiest gossip to grace the League offices; but, that had been before the invasion, before the threat was truly realized.[break][break]

If that fact fazed Bailey, she does not let it show as she walked to the tables, yanking back a chair and giving it a sharp spin. She sat with the back of the chair against her chest, arms dangling over the front. “Better be ready to pay up,” because Rocket had really fucked this place over.

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She strangled the elastic band to her go-goggles, snapping the protective lenses into place.[break][break]

The roaring of the sands is familiar to Bailey Cooper. Beyond this windswept landscape, she could see Mt. Pyre loom in the distance, harking her home. While the officer felt no familiarity with the pillars that jagged out from the rolling dunes, she was familiar with their presence.[break][break]

“You can read that stuff, right?” The girl jeered a thumb to the strange carvings; what was gibberish to her was a clear language to another. “Looks like squiggly lines to me,” which was why she was here as muscle.[break][break]

Her gaze focused on the white crown of hair and how it draped itself over Persephone's shoulders; a veil. The woman had taken the lead.

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She felt better.[break][break]

Bailey bunched her hair into her hands, twisting to try and drain it of the residual water as she stepped out from the shower. Her skin was still flushed from the heat. “Yeah, I know a few places,” and she would have been eager to show him as she bowed down to fetch her clothes from the pile; her fingers fumbling with the buttons on her top as their moment is suddenly interrupted. [break][break]

The door was kicked in. “What the fuck–” and the word is caught in her lips as the barrel of a gun was pointed in her direction; in his direction. Two Rocket Grunts. Her eyes flickered from the weapons to Daniel, but they are unable to hold the stare for long.[break][break]

“Wait, what?” They... thought they still had the professor? “Dude, we don't have that dweeb with us,” and she had to shoot up her hands, dropping her jacket when the guns were pointed back in her direction. She can see their hesitance. For a moment, she wondered if the guns were even loaded, but knew that was not something she would want to test.[break][break]

The jacket hit the ground with a hard clank, the sound of a pokeball hitting against the tile. All eyes in the room dropped as the capsule rolled out from its hiding spot, out from underneath the leather.[break][break]

A beat. A pause.[break][break]

She kicked the pokeball. “Go!” Their eyes dropped to follow the capsule; her eyes moved to Daniel as she lunged to him. For some reason, the men had prioritized the threat of a pokemon than the threat of the officers. An unwise move.[break][break]

Because the capsule was empty. It would crack open, revealing the split-second deception as she pushed through the blasted door. Her pokeballs were in the locker. Hopefully, Daniel had some on his belt. Hopefully, that had bought them time.

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The bike was parked, engine idling, as she took in her surroundings.[break][break]

Life in Lavaridge continued as if nothing was amiss–people still walked the streets, heading to the modest attractions that the town had to offer. As Hoenn transitioned into the colder months, there was an influx of travelers from surrounding towns that came to enjoy the hot springs. It was a way to relax and unwind from all of the stress these last few weeks had brought.[break][break]

Bailey couldn't understand it. She couldn't understand how people could distract themselves from a looming threat, seeking an outlet to distract them from the inevitable.[break][break]

“I'm thinking too much,” she murmured, letting her arms dangle over the handlebars as she slouched. There was nothing left in this town to keep her here–her parents had long since left the region. The now “retired” couple could take their life savings and live their golden years in Sinnoh. It had always been a part of their plan, but the arrival of Rocket had forced it to happen sooner than they thought.[break][break]

Now, the girl pocketed the keys to the house behind her–her childhood home–wondering where the day would go.

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