Your writing is so incredible and I’m wondering if you have any thoughts on single parent Dennis? I live for blended family and Robby and Jack stepping in to helping an overwhelmed Dennis with his like 18 month old child. Just maxed out caretaking and protective Jack and Robby.
giggling hey hey tysm
i LOVE the single parent Dennis fics out there. The baby got dumped on him by a gf, the omega ones, dead partner; whatever. (i think about this one daily omg) It adds a whole extra level of angst for the poor guy. He sacrifices so much to be able to care for his sweet baby and get his education so they can have a better life.
I think the best scenario is where baby girl (girl dads idc) shows up in the ER for some reason. She got hurt at daycare, temp too high and the neighbor got nervous, something like that. Dennis is freaking out over this random child and Robby checks the chart to put two and two together; that's his kid, and no, Dennis, you can't treat your kid.
Which, of course, Dennis disagrees with and he only allows someone else to look at his babygirl when it's Trinity or Robby or Jack. (bonus points if it's night shift Dennis bringing his daughter in who's having some sort of allergic reaction or something and Jack is texting Robby like "hey the kid has a kid. how do we proceed")
but having a kid is so much work. trying to pay for daycare and baby needs and his own needs and he keeps coming in more and more exhausted, and Robby and Jack are kind of like "We want to help. As your bosses who care about your education. No other reason."
So Dennis and babygirl move in with Jack and Robby. They insist on helping pay for daycare even though most days Jack adjusts his sleeping schedule for her needs and likes to bring her into day shift so she can see her dad and her "bobby" (r's are hard). Jack is just "ack" or "jay" when she finally gets that j sound down much to everyone's delight.
Dennis in general is calm ish with her. He's always been around a lot of kids, so he knows the difference between a "i want attention" vs "im hungry" vs "im hurt" cry.
Jack and Robby do not. Nor do they care to learn. If the baby starts crying, they're rushing to get her settled. They'll offer up different things until she gets what she's after. Normally this means Dennis listens to her baby babble for .2 seconds and goes "Oh, the applesauce? Yeah, you can have one, sweetheart" and they look at him like how tf -that is NOT what she said
and yeah they slowly fall in love because how could they not? close quarters, a baby, the stress and scariness of having a child? they get caught kissing by her mulitple times and she mumbles a very soft "lub you" to both jack and robby when they put her down for a nap or for bedtime and now they're wondering how they could ever let their little girl or her dad go.
Dennis doesn't ever live down that his kid said I love you to his partners before he did.
hucklebaby is spoiled rotten by the time she hits the terrible 2s and thunderous 3s. she's watched her dad bat his lashes to get whatever he wants from his boyfriend and she picked up on his manipulation tactics. but she's also picked up on her other parents horrific habits, including jack's swearing.
she dropped her snack one time and mumbled "fuckin shit" in a little toddler lisp and Jack had to leave the room he was laughing so hard. Robby was horrified.
She crosses her arms like Robby does. Rubs her neck when she's stressed like he does too.
but she is Dennis made over most of the time. The color of her hair, the curls, the bright blue eyes. It's no wonder she gets whatever she wants.
The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice. Except it doesn’t bend on its own—it bends because we pull it in the direction of justice. What keeps me hopeful during times like these is being surrounded by people who are doing just that.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
master post
first new chapter on my new keyboard.
and here I was worry about the lake trials not having enough content for their own chapters.
Chapter 24
Kamado groaned loudly as he slowly started to open his eyes, squinting against the bright light coming from the lamp hung over his head.
Where was he?
He blinked a few times, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the light as he looked around.
He could tell right away, that he was lying on a bed, the mattress far softer than the hard ground of the underground jail he recalled standing in before. The walls around him were white with pink curtains pulled shut over the window, and there was a privacy wall next to his bed.
So he was in the medical wing.
But how…
Suddenly memories of the highland Warden flashed before his eyes.
Those cold yellow eyes.
The way he laughed as the fire roared around them, unfazed as the commander loomed above him.
The icy cold feel seeped into his arm where he held the man at arm's length as the limb slowly started to go numb.
“Commander!” Pesselle’s voice snapped him back to reality as the captain of the medical crops rushed to his bedside. “Thank goodness you’re awake. How are you feeling?”
Quickly the man shook his head, rubbing at his eyes as he forced himself to sit up. “Mnh, stiff but I have been through worse,” he answered gruffly looking over at Pesselle. “What happened? And the prisoners? Are they still being detained?” Kamado vaguely recalled seeing the children outside of the cell they had been locked in, though how they managed that the commander had no idea.
But the doctor simply shook her head. “We’re not sure exactly what happened. You were found on the floor of one of the jail cells unconscious and your right hand was severely frostbitten.” she paused, looking away from him she continued. “As for the prisoners…I was told they escaped.”
“What?!” Kamado roared causing Pesselle to jump and stumble back as he suddenly get to his feet. “Get me, Captain Cyllene! Now!”
“Ye-yes! Sir!” the doctor stuttered giving a quick salute before she quickly ran off.
Kamado sighed, a hand coming up to rest against his forehead. A headache slowly started to form under his fingers.
They escaped.
How could that possibly have happened? They had been building full of trained guards, men and women he had trained and worked with for years. Yet somehow Warden and his sons just…escaped.
What, did they just walk out the front door?
Then again, should he be surprised? Those boys had just seemed to slip through the bars like nothing and the Warden…well if he was correct, and clearly he was, then he was a fool to think he was able to hold them at all.
A part of him was thankful that they had somehow broke free, the guilt of having imprisoned a possible innocent family lifting ever so slightly from his shoulders. He could only hope they had hidden away in the icelands where his reach was next to none.
But the rest of him was drenched in dread at this news.
Clearly, the Warden was a dangerous man, with strange powers over the minds of humans while his children, as innocent as they may seem, were more or less just as minacious. And now they were loose, free to wreak havoc on the lands of Hisui.
No doubt they had fled back to the Icelands to seek shelter from the Pearl clan once more, all the while telling Irida of how they had been detained. Bringing war to Jubilife Village.
Kamado just hoped that the Diamond clan could take their side.
Or maybe…
Maybe the three had returned to the highlands to continue to carry out whatever plan they had. Furthering their strange goals.
Finally, Cyllene stood in front of him, her head held high as she stood at attention. “Sir” she gave a sharp salute.
“Captain.” he greeted, pulling his hand away from his face. “I’ve been told the prisoners escaped.”
“Indeed,” the blue-haired woman nodded, “I’ve already launched a full investigation into how they were able to do so. Apparently, someone left a window open and the three were able to jump through before anyone was able to stop them.”
“A window?”
“I have sent word out to our base camps in both the highlands and the Icelands, and had search parties sent out to watch out for any sign of the Warden or either of the twins.” she continued without so much as missing a beat. “So far there has been no sign of them in either area, but those stationed at the Moutain Camp in the Coronet Highlands have been reporting strange activity as of late.”
The commander perked up at this. “Strange activity? How so?”
“The Rift, sir,” she answered promptly, looking down at the report she had in her hand. “It seems to be…getting bigger sir.” she looked back up at him. “This may be simply a trick of the light caused by the red sky, the pokemon that normally live atop the mountain have been migrating to the lower plains.”
“Hm.” the commander brought a hand up to his cheek in thought. This was worrying.
It could very well be an illusion just like the captain had said, but the Pokemon moving away from it told him otherwise.
So far the only thing to come from the rift was lightning that had caused the Nobles to frenzy, Akari and possibly three strange Unovans. If it was getting big then who knows what else could slip through that unstable crack in the sky.
Even so, the Pokemon moving locations could be problematic for them in the long run and soon these mountain-dwelling pokemon could be sitting on their front doorstep.
They needed more eyes in the highlands.
But at the same time, there was still the Warden and his kin.
And sending more troops out into the highlands would risk spreading them too thin, leaving Jubilife open to possible attacks from pokemon, one of the clans, or even Akari and the Warden should they feel so bold.
He needed to make a choice.
“Cyllene, send word to the search parties and have them regroup at the highlands. I want all eyes on that rift.” Kamado order.
“Sir!” the captain nodded, giving a quick salute before quickly heading back towards her office to put in the orders.
The rift felt like the more immediate threat at present. Let the Warden and his children before now, with any luck he would be able to collect better evidence while observing the rift.
And should Irida come at him for the slight against her clan then he might be able to at the very least point her at the real threat that loomed above, maybe even convince her to hand the man over to him.
“Let the Warden continue to run. His and Akari’s guilt will be proven in the end.”
—-
Gyarados carefully lowered her head down toward the shoreline, allowing her trainer and his twin to slip her neck and one to the stony island in the middle of the lake.
Ingo was the first one off, turning around to help his twin down. “Thank you so much for your help Gyarados.” the boy thanked his pokemon, digging in his bag and retrieving her pokemon. “Why don’t you take a rest for now? I’ll call you when we need to get back across the lake.”
The large red beast rumbled happily leaning in towards the little ball and allowing herself to be drawn into its confines.
“Well look at you! I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone tame a Gyarados like that, let alone one so young.” Ingo whipped around quickly, almost knocking himself off his feet, to see Akari and Volo approaching them with Irida close behind, the two of them having arrived before them thanks to Lord Basculegion’s speed. The blonde man looked down at them with a smile plastered over his face. “But maybe that should be expected, hm. Keep taming dangerous Pokemon like that and you just might give Akari a run for her money.”
Ingo shifted slightly in place, as he felt his brother inch closer to him, unsure what to make of the praise or the man’s knowing tone.
What did he mean by that?
“Such a dangerous Pokemon to be allowed around children,” Irida sighed as she approached, shaking her head. “I don’t think I’ll ever truly understand Warden Ingo’s way of thinking sometimes, but I guess having something so fearsome on our side is quite useful.”
“Oh please, anyone willing to give a Magikarp the love and attention it needs has a protector for life.” Akari laughed as she stepped toward the large dome-like rock formation in the center, Ingo and Emmet quickly running up to follow her. “Same goes for any pokemon. Now let's find the entrance to this place, it should be around here somewhere.”
The twins looked over at the large clump of rocks, then back at Akari, it was an odd shape to be such and there might have been space underneath the rocks. But the structure hardly looked big enough to hold that big of a cavern. Though maybe it led further down like Wayward cave.
“If you want, me and Emmet could split up and run around both sides of it and see if we can find the opening,” Ingo suggested, looking up at Akari. It would be easier and quicker than the whole group just wandering around the island looking for an opening.
The teen hummed in thought for a moment, before nodding. “Yeah, that’s a good idea. Just be careful. I may be your dad’s favourite niece but I’m pretty sure he’d still kill me if anything happened to the two of you.”
“I’ll yell if we find anything,” Ingo called out as he and Emmet ran off in either direction.
Ingo ran off to the right while his brother ran to the left, running his hand along the surface of the wall with the hope of maybe finding some kind of dip in the rocks that the group could squeeze into. He wasn’t quite sure how Akari knew that there was an opening but he was willing to trust her on this.
“They say this lake actually used to be a volcano. Then it erupted, leaving a huge crater that filled with water. And so Lake Vertiy was born.” he heard Volo talking on the other side of the mound, either trying to enlighten those present or just trying to fill the silence. “It is protected by a Pokemon called Mesprit. It was when Mesprit first took flight that people first learned the joys and sorrows of living. Or that’s how the old tales go, anyway.”
To this Ingo slowed to a stop, his hand still resting against the stone structure.
Mesprit.
They had learned about that Pokemon in school. It was one of the three pokemon said to embody the aspects of the mind, that lived in Sinnoh. They had learned about all the legendaries from Sinnoh as some of them had a habit of visiting the Unova region, and Mesprit just so happened to be one of them.
Mesprit was said to be the aspect of emotion and normally dwelled in the lakeside cave of Lake…
The realization hit him fast, causing his mind to slightly derail as he down toward the grass-covered ground.
“That can’t be right…”
Lake Verity was just on the outskirts of Jubilife city in the Sinnoh region, and Ingo had heard of no other region to have a lake to go by that name let alone one that was also said to house Mesprit.
But that would mean that Hisui was Sinnoh…
But if that was the case then…where were the cities? And all the people? And why would people call it Hisui then? Ingo wasn’t that familiar with the region, he’d never been outside Unova before, so he could only go off of what he’s learned in school. But he did know that there were several large cities within the Sinnoh region that housed tens of thousands of people, and yet so far the largest settlement he’d seen so far was Jubilife village, and even then there were only a handful of people there.
People in Hisui were also scared of pokemon, while Sinnoh was known for their contests and even known for letting people walk around with their pokemon out.
And what about pokemon like Sneasler, and Kleavor? Why had he not heard of them being a variant found in Sinnoh?
And at the same time, it made sense. The three lakes, the familiar-sounding places…
his family had been living on the side of mount Coronet for dragon's sake. It was one of the major landmarks within the region.
It made sense, and yet it also didn't.
Unless…
"Oof!"
Suppose the realization of possibly being in Sinnoh had slightly derailed his mind. In that case, Emmet smacking into him like an out-of-control bullet train completely knocked him off the rails…literally.
"Ow." Emmet groaned as he pushed himself off of his brother, rubbing at his now sore head. "Ingo, why did you stop? Did you find something?"
Ingo let out a low whimper, his whole body throbbing from the impact with both his brother and the ground, and yet his mind was no longer spiralling. Slowly he pushed himself up and shook his head. "No, nothing." He sighed looking back at Emmet. "What about you? Did you find anything?"
"Nope." His twin answered. "No openings, not even a loose rock." Emmet huffed a little in frustration, then frowned as he looked his brother over. "Are you okay?"
No, he wasn't.
But Emmet didn't need to know that, nor did he need to needlessly worry his twin with theories of time travel. Not until he had more proof that was the case.
"Yeah, I'm fine." He lied, flinching slightly when Emmet gave him a look. It was impossible to keep anything from his twin. "Look, can I tell you later? Like, maybe after we're done helping Akari?"
Emmet opened his mouth, looking about ready to argue.
"Ingo! Emmet! Are you two okay?! Did you find anything!" They heard Akari shout from the other side of the mound, and Emmet's mouth snapped shut, his frustration clear on his face.
"We’re fine and No! Doesn't look like there are any visible entrances back here either!" Ingo called back, grunting slightly at the end when his brother punched him hard in the shoulder.
"Then come on back! We'll find another way inside!"
“Okay!” the boy replied rubbing at his now sore arm, glaring are the younger twin.
“This better not be super important.” Emmet hissed getting back to his feet and pulling his brother up with him.
“It is, just not right now, okay.” Ingo attempted to whisper back, doing his best to keep his voice as low as possible, choosing to elaborate when his twin crossed his arms. “Look, I’m still kind of processing all this, and I’m probably wrong and I hope I’m wrong. but I think I know where we are.” he sighed in defeat. “I just need…I don’t know…more proof? And things are already crazy enough right now. I wanna focus on the task at hand.”
Emmet was silent for a few moments before letting out an exasperated sigh. “Fine. but you have to tell me what it is if it starts to derail you again, yep, we are a two-car train after all.”
He guessed that was fair.
“Okay, deal.” Ingo nodded. “Now let's get back to Akari before she or…” he shivered a bit at the thought. “...Volo, come looking for us.”
Quickly the two brothers ran back around the mound along Emmet’s side, Ingo double-checking the wall in case his brother had missed anything. But sadly, there is still no opening.
“There you two are.” Akari greeted them on the other side, her hands on her hips. “I was starting to worry the two of you got snatched up by something.”
“Sorry, we had a head-on collision, the damage was minimal but it took a little bit to right our rails.” Ingo apologized, though was slightly annoyed by the fact that Akari started laughing at them. Normally he would have snapped back at her for this, but after everything she had gone through with Kamado, she could probably use the laugh, so he would let her have this. at least for now.
“I’m sorry, What?” Lady Irida asked, tilting her head slightly in confusion.
“They ran into each other.” Akari translated as she shook her head.
Slowly, she took a few calming breaths, her smile soon falling away as approached the mound of rocks. “But, if the opening isn’t on the other side, then how do we get in?” she mused, reaching out and carefully touching the large boulder in front of her.
Suddenly, there was a loud buzzing coming from her satchel, like a Combee had burst out its Pokeball and was trying to find a way out. Akari quickly reached inside and pulled out that odd phone of hers and stared at the screen.
Ingo had only seen Akari’s phone a few times. It honestly looked more like the Pokedex they had been given by the professor back in Unova, if only a little more Arceus themed, than the flip phone that Eleas’s parents had given her. He knew it had a few different functions on it, like a camera that would have made Eleas envious, a map of Hisui and was even able to play music. Whatever else it could he honestly wasn’t sure.
He knew it wasn’t able to call out, as Akari had told him as much the first time he had seen it, dashing his hopes at the time of being able to contact his Uncle. But Every so often it would buzz loudly, Akari would look at the screen and would then know what to do next. It was strange but with everything else going on, Ingo had chosen not to question it, maybe there was some kind of oneway messenger on its something.
But when Akari looked at the phone and then turned the screen out to face the mound of rocks, only for a bright light to flash causing one of the boulders to just suddenly disappear before their eyes; Ingo suddenly had a lot more questions about her ‘phone’ and yet he couldn’t find the words to ask them.
Volo didn’t seem to have such a problem.
“Th-that cave-it just…appeared from nowhere!” the Merchant stuttered just as surprised as the twins, if not slightly more so as he quickly ran up to Akari to get a better look at the device in her hands. “Is that the Arc Phone the Professor was going on about?”
“Ye-yeah.” The teen chuckled awkwardly. as Ingo and Emmet slowly walked up to join her, they could see her staring at the phone in her hands, looking just a little freaked out. “G-guess I have an app for that. Huh,” she said, forcing a smile as she looked over at them. “Looks like we can get inside now.”
“What surprises wait within, I wonder…” Irida commented as she joined the rest of the group.
“Let’s head in,” Akari muttered, taking a careful step forward, into the mouth of the cave and down the sloping path.
“Well ‘nothing ventured, Nothing gained’ as Uncle Drayden often says.” Ingo agreed, looking back at this brother and taking his hand as he started to follow the teen into the darkness, pulling his twin along.
The path led down fairly deep into the underground, and the air started to become cold, and damp, it was dark from the lack of sunlight filtering through the open passageway and yet there was still enough light that they were able to see. Soon the path evened out into a wide cavern, with what looked like four man-made pillars adorning the walls, and water dripped down from the ceiling, filling in the deep grooves in the stone floor.
“The air feels somehow tense in here…” Lady Irida commented, breaking the silence as she rubbed at her shoulders, even her ability to withstand the cold failing to protect her from the unnatural chill in the air.
Ingo opened his mouth to agree, as he looked around at the large open area, but quickly shut his mouth when he heard a deep growl echo off the walls of the cavern. Wide-eyed he looked around quickly, his grip tightening around his brother’s hand as he tried desperately to find the source.
Two glowing red eyes appeared out of the darkness, towering high above them, a long purple neck extended down towards the creature's two hind legs. Its tail curled up behind it covered in what looked like a hard iron shell, and a thick slime dripped from the creature's body.
“Groo”
The dragon’s growl echoed from off all the walls, causing everyone within the cave to flinch away from its gaze.
“Is that an alpha Goodra?!” Emmet cried out in shock at the sight of it, as the beast glared down at Akari.
“I think so…” Ingo replied, trying to look up at the dragon type, he wasn’t overly familiar with Goodra, though he had seen at least one or two while exploring the highlands. “But, how could it have possibly gotten in here? The entryway was sealed up until a few minutes ago.”
The Pokemon charged at the teen, and Akari was quick to send out a pokemon to defend herself. Akari’s Decidueye appeared in front of her and delivered a hard kick to the dragon’s chest before firing three like feathers at it.
“You and your Pokemon quelled Hisui’s Nobles. You can handle any battle, Akari!” Irida called out.
Ingo and Emmet looked at each other, nodding before separating and going to stand on either side of Akari. Sending Lampent and Eelektrik out into the fray.
“Ingo?…Emmet?”
“Don’t worry, Akari, we have your back,” Emmet spoke first.
“I know you can handle this on your own, but just because you can doesn’t mean you should have to,” Ingo added. “And with the three of us together we’re sure to reach victory faster than a bullet train.”
The girl’s worried frown quickly turned into a determined smile. “Thanks, guys.” She then turned back to face the alpha in front of them. “Now let’s show this Alpha who’s boss!”
The battle against the alpha was difficult, yet not impossible. The large Pokemon hit hard and used attacks with a wide range to try and hit everything within its sight.
,
Emmet’s Eelektrik struggled to get any real damage done, having to fall back on status effect moves just to keep the alpha as still as possible. On the other hand, Ingo’s Lampant was able to do some damage at the very least, but the Goodra’s use of water-type moves hit back much harder, forcing Ingo to remain on his toes.
In the end, it was Akari’s Decidueye that was able to do some real damage, with its hard-hitting fighting moves, while the twin’s pokemon chipped slowly away at it.
It wasn’t long until the dragon-type realized it was being overwhelmed, and started looking for a way out. Its body battered and bruised as it struggled to maintain conciseness, it started throwing out attacks at random, with the fading hope of downing one of its opponents and making an opening for itself.
Ingo watched from the corner of his eye as Akari reached into her satchel and pulled out a Pokeball, painted like one of the Ultra Balls he had seen in the stores back in Unova. With a powerful and practiced throw, the teen lobbed it at the tired dragon, drawing the creature into its confines.
The ball hit the ground, shaking once, and twice, and then there was a click as a small firework shot from the top of the ball, announcing a successful catch.
“Good catch, Akari. Yep, Verrrry Good.” Emmet cheered, as he recalled his pokemon.
And Ingo couldn’t help but agreed. “YES! BRAVO! I sure that Goodra will make an excellent member of your team!” he added, his face turning slightly red when he realized just how loud he sounded in this cave. he recalled his poor Lampent back into her Pokeball, he’d have to make sure to spoil her just a little bit more after this was all over, and quickly rushed over to join Lady Irida and…Volo… near the exit.
With any luck, Mesprit will appear, and Akari would be able to complete the legendary trial, given that the battle with the Goodra wasn’t the trial itself.
“Of course not. That was simply…a warm-up you could say.”
Ingo stopped in his tracks at the sound of the voice, looking around for its source only to find that he could no longer see anyone around. Not Lady Irida, not Akari, not Emmet, not even Volo.
“Don’t panic.” the voice spoke up as his heart started to race. “You will be returned to your friends soon enough. I simply want you to answer a few questions for me while Arceus’s champion completes her trial.”
“Questions?” he repeated, eyes still darting around, looking for something, anything to focus on. “Arceus’s champion? Do you mean Akari?”
“Yes.” The voice answered, sounding like it was coming from all sides. “I promise these questions will not be hard. I simply wish to know how you feel about certain events. Though I do require a completely honest answer.”
Ingo chewed on his lip a bit in worry.
Was this Mesprit?
Why would Mesprit want to ask him anything?
Would answering the guardian's questions help Akari? Wasn’t like he could just say no, anyway.
“Ah…sure, I’ll answer your questions, so long as it helps Akari out,” he answered, looking towards the ceiling.
“Thank you. Let us begin, shall we.”
There was a bright light, and Ingo found himself forced to shut his eyes to try and block it out, raising his arms in an attempt to shield himself further.
—
“Ingo. Ingo!” his brother’s voice called out to him, causing his eyes to snap open in response. “I am Emmet, and I can’t believe you fell asleep against that wall. Your back is going to be very sore tomorrow, verrrry sore. Yep!” his brother laughed at him as he stood up, brushing the blue dust off his light gray jeans.
Slowly, Ingo blinked as looked around, trying to get his bearings. The walls around him were no longer a dull brown colour but a deep blue and rather than pillars, there were glowing crystals embedded into the walls. But the walls were supposed to look like this, this was Chargestone cave after all. Why would he think differently?
He then looked down at himself, seeing his favourite black hoodie, purple squirtle neck sweater, and a pair of gray jeans that matched his brother’s. It was the outfit he had changed into before they left the pokemon center that morning. Why did he think he was wearing something different?
“S-sorry, guess I didn’t sleep that well last night.” Ingo yawned, stretching his arms over his head, before standing up.
That's right, their last gym battle had been a rough one, with Elesa and Emmet using up their stockpile of potions and revives. Eleas, being the last one to go up against Clay, had been the one chosen to go restock their supplies, while the twins waited for her at charge stone cave. During their wait, the skies opened up, and it started to pour, causing the brothers to seek shelter inside the cave. Once inside the two had decided to wander deep in, with the hopes of maybe catching a pokemon or two, while trying to keep an eye out for their friend.
"Any sign of Elesa?" He asked as he brushed the blue dust from his clothes.
"Nope, not yet," Emmet answered, bending down to gently pat the fuzzy body of a Joltik. "A few of the trainers nearby said that it's still raining verrrry hard. She might be waiting for it to stop."
"Makes sense I guess." Ingo shrugged. "Wouldn't be good if she got sick while we headed through the cave."
"Mmhum"
An easy silence fell between them as his twin occupied himself with the little bug types that crawled around the cave. Ingo knelt next to his bag, ideally going through it as he tried to shake the Odd feeling of dèjà vu.
It had to have been a dream, right?
"Hey!"
Ingo nearly jumped a foot in the sudden new voice. He hadn't even heard someone approach.
Slowly he looked up, seeing a tall blonde man standing over him, tossing a Pokeball in the air.
It was just a Pokemon trainer, and yet for some reason, his skin started to crawl.
"Um… hi?" He greeted, leaving his bag as he stood back up. "Can I help you with something?"
"Sorry, I thought I was being obvious." The man chuckled, tilting his head slightly with a smirk. "Could have sworn all you needed to do to challenge someone to a Pokémon battle was to look them in the eyes."
Oh, he just wanted a pokemon battle. But why was he standing over him like that?
"W-well that is normally the case, my brother and I are a two-car-train, and often battle using multi-battle rules outside of gym battles," Ingo explained, his voice stuttering slightly as he spoke, so he tried to distract himself by dusting off his pants once more. "N-not everyone is prepared for such a rule set, s-so we try to give people the option to walk away."
He once more looked up at the challenger, noting his strange way of dressing, this guy had to be a tourist. Who wears sandals while walking through a cave? And he was sure Elesa would have something to say about this guy's hair.
"That's fine. I'll take you both on then."
Cocky? But that was fine, it was good to be confident in one's abilities.
Why was he nervous?
He wasn't. He just hoped this guy didn't eat up the last of the healing items before Elesa got back.
"Emmet! We have a challenger!" He called into the tunnel, and it wasn't long until his twin came running to his side, Tynamo's pokeball already in hand.
With a quick movement, the twins stood side by side and in sync, tossed their pokemon out into battle.
"Too easy " To their surprise, the challenger put away his pokeball and simply smiled.
Ingo opened his mouth, wanting an explanation for all this, only for his words to be stolen from him but crushing pressure that seemed to be pressing down on his shoulders.
Litwick uttered a cry of alarm, drawing her trainer’s eye towards the ground underneath her, the colour slowly draining away, leaving only a dull stone in its wake.
That was when he noticed it was starting to get darker. Chargestone cave was not known for being overly well-lit, but there was always a light glow from the crystals that gave it its name. And now, one by one those same crystals were slowly going out, like someone or something was stealing its charge.
It wasn’t long before the only light source was Litwick’s light flame.
Ingo's eyes trailed around the darkened cave, his hand blindly feeling around for his twin and pulling him closer. His chest was tight, and his heart raced in his ear.
He could just make out the face of their opponent in Litwick's dim light… could they even call him that anymore.
Suddenly a cry rang out, breaking the silence and he could just make out Tynamo's form falling to the floor of the cave.
He didn't even see what had hit the Pokémon.
"Tynamo!" His brother cried out in distress, a red beam of light shooting out of his brother’s pokeball, pulling the injured Pokémon back to safety.
A laugh echoed off the walls of the cave, drawing attention to the blonde made once more, that smile of his looking more and more wicked by the second.
"Are you really trying to hold a candle to the might of Giratina?" The man cackled.
"Gira-Giratina?" He stuttered out, barely able to make out his voice against the sound of his own heart pounding in his ears. He knew that name, but dragons he couldn't begin to wonder why, he could hardly think.
But he was right, Litwick didn’t stand a chance against that thing.
Another cry snapped out of it, as something hit Litwick hard. Once again he hadn't seen what did it. she was hanging on but there was no way she could take another hit like that.
"Litwick!"
He wanted to withdraw her from the battle, and call her back into her pokeball where she would be safe. This wasn't a pokemon battle, at least not one by league standards, there was no need for his partner to needlessly suffer.
But if he recalled her into her pokeball then they would be in complete darkness, with no clue as to which way to flee.
"Lit,"
"Just hold on, Litwick! I'm coming!" He shouted dashing forwards, dragging his brother behind him.
It was a dumb idea, but it was the only one he had.
If he ran up and grabbed Litwick, then she would be safe and they would have light.
And if he held her close, then her flame would get brighter. That was fine! sure Emmet would half to drag him out of the cave, but at least they would be able to see the way out.
Besides, this guy wouldn’t attack a trainer, would he?
"Litwick Lit!" But Litwick just shook her little head, waving her arms trying to get him to stop.
Something suddenly shot from the ground in front of him. A large black mass passed in front of his face, missing him only because his brother had pulled him back at the last second.
Litwick had not been so lucky, her little body hit the ground hard once the thing had passed.
"Litwick!"
"Ingo" He heard his brother's voice pleading with him, pulling at his hand and pointing towards the man, or more accurately the looming shadow high over his shoulder.
Yeah, it was time to go.
“Litwick! Return!” he called, returning his Pokemon to her ball, before Emmet started dragging them away, Ingo practically tripped over himself trying to keep up.
“Giratina! Get rid of these pests! And with any luck, we’ll have fixed our last mistake!”
It was like one of those horror movies their uncle didn’t like them watching before bed, with them running for their lives as the creature lurched toward them with a serpent-like movement. Its red eyes glowed brightly in the dark, as the golden crown around its face opened up to reveal a large mouth.
And it was gaining on them.
There was no getting away, they were running blind.
There was only one thing they could do, that he could do.
He took in a sharp inhale and started to shout. “Someone! Please Hel-”
A thick liquid choked out his words and quickly started to fill his mouth, leaving behind a horrible irony taste.
He felt weightless like he was somehow spinning in the air. And yet there was a pressure on his chest, and something pulling him back by his arms.
He was pretty sure his eyes were losing focus as the inky blackness of the cave was suddenly overwhelmed by a blinding white.
Everything was suddenly freezing, and he felt himself finally hit the ground with a heavy thump.
It was cold… so very, very cold.
And then everything was dark again.
“Ingo!”
—
Ingo gasped, his hands flying to his chest only to find the soft fabric of his Pearl clan tunic, still in one piece, and then up to his face where the only liquid he could feel were the tears leaking out of his eyes.
What in Zwekrom’s name, was that?
A memory?
“In a way, yes.” that voice.
Once more Ingo looked around, seeing that he was once more in the cave under the lake, with no one but himself and the voice.
“I required an honest answer, but your memories of the event were…foggy at best. And no wonder. Emotions are powerful and feeling them with such intensity can unfortunately lead to…feeling nothing. Apologies for making you live through that once more.” the speaker hummed in dismay. “Do not worry, the others will not be quite as long.”
“Wha-”
—
“It’s curious, but when I watch you and your Pokemon battle, it feels like there’s no obstacle that can’t be overcome in people and Pokemon work together.” Irida mused as she walked toward her, the twins quickly falling back toward the exit now that the battle was over. “Now let's see about the Pokemon of the lake…”
Akari almost laughed as Irida cut to the chase, hardly letting her get a word in…Adaman would have been impressed.
The teen turned her attention towards the center of the cave where the Goodra once stood and watched a pink and blue pokemon with two long tails twirled into existence with a soft “Kyauun”.
It was good to see Mesprit again.
Even if this was the first time for the Pokemon.
Calmly, Akari walked towards the master of emotions as the Pokemon greeted her with a soft smile and glowed a soft pink as she approached.
“Your emotions…share them with me..” Mesprit’s voice echoed inside her head.
“Of course, they’re yours,” Akari answered, with a nod. She was here to complete a trial from each pokemon, so there was no point in arguing.
“I can only imagine how it must feel to speak directly with a pokemon like that.” she could Irida comment quietly from a little ways back.
It was kind of tingly if Akari was being honest.
“When you fell to this Land, what stirred your heart?” the pokemon asked calmly with a slight tilt of its head.
Wow, just getting right to it.
Akari took a moment to think about her answer, it felt like it had been a lift time ago since Arceus pulled her from her bed and dumped her into the past. She knew it had only been about five or six months, but still.
“Bewilderment,” she answered, not going into detail as she didn’t want Irida or Volo to overhear her as she still very much wanted to try to preserve the past as much as she could.
But Surprised and panicked also came to mind, but when she woke up on that beach in nothing but her PJs with the Professor standing over her, Bewilderment had been the only thing she could feel at that moment.
And Mesprit seemed to accept this answer with a small twirl in the air.
“How did it feel to bond with Pokemon and Work together?” the next question came, and Akari almost laughed, Mesprit might as well have been asking how it felt to breathe.
“The same way it always does, Exciting!” she didn’t even have to think about the answer for this one. Every time she caught a new Pokemon she was always excited to bond with it and make a new friend.
Once more the lake pokemon chirped and twirled in the air as her answer was accepted.
“What did you feel when you mingled with Hisui’s clans?”
If the last question had made her want to laugh then this one made her feel like she was being held at gunpoint.
Irida was right there, after all. Only a few feet away.
“We’re all so different.” it felt like a non-answer really, but at the same time, it was true. Every member of each clan she had met had been so different from each other, it had swayed her opinion of the clans greatly.
Luckily, Mesprit accepted this answer with a simple nod.
“What did you feel when you were cast out of the Galaxy team?”
And then they punched her in the gut.
And here she thought she was just getting over the fact, only to be remained once more.
After everything, everything she had done, and Kamado just tossed her out for doing exactly as he asked, and then learn that he had tried to arrest her uncle and the twins…luckily failing. You could say…
“I felt bitter about it…and I still am,” she admitted, her hands shaking at her sides as she clenched them into fists.
“INGO!”
Akari snapped out of her bitter thoughts of betrayal and swung around at the sound of Emmet’s panicked voice. completely forgetting about the trial and rushing towards the group that had formed around the ten-year-old.
“What’s wrong?” she asked as she approached, Lil Ingo stood completely still with his back still facing her, not reacting to her voice in any way.
“I-I don’t know” Volo stuttered looking up from where he was knelt by the boy, looking worriedly up at Akari. “He started running back with this his brother and then he just…Stopped. We didn’t notice until just a few seconds ago.”
“I’ve seen this before, not on the twins but their father,” Irida explained, quietly waving a hand in front of the boy’s face. Akari quickly made her way around and saw what they were talking about.
Lil Ingo stood completely still, eyes dull and focused on something distant, his mouth hanging open only slightly. She’d seen this only a few times on her uncle. A lost kind of look on his face, like he was lost within his thoughts. Her eyes drifted from Ingo’s face down to his brother, the younger twin was no longer smiling as he hugged his brother tightly, telling Akari that this was not a common occurrence.
Then what caused this? He had been fine before the battle.
“Apologies, I was asked to speak with him while you were doing your trial.”
Akari looked up only to be met by the Lake guardian floating a foot away from her face, the pokemon giving her a soft smile. “What?”
Suddenly, Ingo’s dull eyes rolled back and his knees gave out under him, and Emmet let out a shriek. Akari was forced to act quickly to keep the boy from falling on top of his brother.
“It was perhaps a little rougher than I intended. But he will recover soon enough.” Mesprit continued holding out its paws, where a feather rested. “Please take this piece of the spirit to bind the world once more.”
Volo reached out to grab the boy's shoulders only for Irida to beat him to the punch, freeing up her hands and allowing her to take the Plume.
"T-thank you." She picked up the small feather, holding the pokemon faze as the rest of the group slowly started to make their way from the cave. Slowly, Akari turned around to join them, her mind buzzing with questions.
Why did Mesprit need to speak with Ingo?
Why had it caused such a reaction?
Who had asked Mesprit to do this?
"Wait…"
Akari stopped just in front of the exit, looking back at the lake guardian, with confusion.
"I have one last question… you need not answer it now. It is simply food for thought."
One more question.
She guessed there was no harm in that.
"Okay, what is it?"
Slowly, Mesprit floated forward, like the pokemon was going to whisper it in her ear.
"How would you feel if I told you that the one you call Lil Ingo and the one you call Uncle Ingo….
…Are one and the same?"
"What?!" Akari's voice echoed off the stone walls as pulled herself away.
But when she turned to face the lake guardian, Mesprit was gone.
___
Akari was shaking slightly as she walked out of the cave and out into the fresh air of the fieldlands where the rest of the group waited for her.
“Looks like that worked out well, Akari.” Volo smiled at her and he watched her finally exit. “Well, all except one of the Warden’s boys passing out. But I imagine these trials aren’t for the faint of heart.”
Irida on the other hand shook her head. “I have to disagree, that looked exhausting…and we still have two more challenges to go.” the clan leader then looked over the teen with a worried expression, seeming to notice the shakiness in Akari’s shoulders. “Are you all right Akari? You seem pale? Did you want to head back to the retreat to rest?”
Quickly Akari shook her head attempting to clear her thoughts. “Y-yeah, I mean no I’m fine. Besides we have to pass through the Mirelands to get retreat anyway, so might as well knock another lake off our list.” she turned to look toward Emmet who was sitting on the ground next to his twin. “How’s Lil Ingo holding up?”
It couldn’t be true…
Mesprit was just trying to get a reaction out of her.
They only shared a name. They didn’t look that much alike.
“He still hasn’t woken up yet,” Emmet muttered sadly with a shake of his head, and Akari was slightly torn between heading to the next lake right away or waiting until the elder twin woke up.
“How about I take the kid back to the retreat and meet up with you all at Lake Valor,” Volo suggested stepping up next to Akari. “That way he can be safe and rest with Mistress Cogita.” Despite his kind smile, Akari couldn’t help but notice as Emmet flinched slightly, scooting closer to his twin and holding him tighter. No doubt, not wanting to be separated from his brother, and Volo was still a stranger to them after all.
But before she could agree and assure the younger twin his brother would be in safe hands, Irida stepped up.
“I am Sorry Volo, but their father is a member of my clan and for their safety is my responsibility,” Irida stated, kneeling next to the boy as she started to remove his belt. “If he has not awakened by the time we reach the Mirelands then I will take him to see Warden Calaba.”
Surprisingly, Volo seemed to be slightly offended by this, but maybe Akari was miss reading it or the Merchant felt like he wasn’t being trusted. “Didn’t we talk about this before? No disrespect Kamado wants these kids behind bars, it wouldn’t look very good for you to be seen with one of them.”
“Lady Irida, are you sure?” Akari added.
But the clan leader just shook her head, and reached up and pulled the boy’s hood up, hiding most of his face. “These Hoods are made for more than just decoration. So long as no one looks too close, then he just looks like any other member of the Pearl clan.” she pulled the belt free and handed it to Emmet, with a soft smile, taking only Lampent’s Pokeball. “Emmet, I want you to stay with Akari. You can command your brother’s pokemon, correct?”
“Y-yeah” Emmet nodded, carefully taking his brother’s belt.
“Good, then your brother and I will meet you all at Lake Valor.”
Sitting in the stand of the sports arena
Waiting for the show to begin
Red lights, green lights, strawberry wine
A good friend of mine, follows the stars
Venus and Mars
Are alright tonight
Come away on a strange vacation
holiday hardly begun
Run into a good friend of mine
Sold me her sign
Reach for the stars
Venus and Mars
are alright tonight.
(Ooo... less than an hour to go!)
(Hey)
(Happy Valentine's Day, tumble-buddies!)
Buck & Eddie got married and forgot to tell everyone and this is how it gets out:
It’s been a long day and it seems as though the 118 has finally caught a break; they’re in the middle of some much needed down time, hanging out in the kitchen lounging area, when Bobby gets the email.
“What on God’s green...” He half mutters, blinking and scrolling back up because there’s no way he read that correctly, is there? He stares at his laptop screen but it’s there, written in black and white, clear as day.
Normally he would call both parties into his office and deal with this privately, but it comes as such a shock that the Captain blurts out, “You two got married?!” without a second thought.
Hen and Chimney look up from the game of cards they’re playing, confused for a moment before everyone’s gazes ultimately fall on Buck and Eddie, who were sharing the loveseat, watching some sitcom they both like.
“Oh,” Buck clicks his tongue and snaps his fingers. “Yeah, I almost forgot about that.”
“Wait, you what? This is for real?” Hen drops her cards on the table, revealing her hand, though she can’t be bothered to care at this point.
The Captain blinks again, shaking his head. “Why am I only hearing about this now in an email from HR?”
“And why weren’t we invited?” Chimney complains. “Maddie’s gonna hear about this.” he says, already taking out his phone to text her the gossip.
Eddie shrugs. “Well for one, we were drunk.” he says.
Buck nods in agreement. “It seemed like a good idea at the time, though. Still is.”
Hen snorts. “Oh God, and pray tell, how?”
“We got into this whole long conversation about that time we were all suspected of having robbed that bank--you guys remember, right?” Eddie starts, acting as if it’s no big deal.
Bobby nods slowly, confused as can be. “Yes? And how exactly did that lead to marriage?”
“Buck mentioned how if we ever did commit a crime--”
Chimney tries to hold back his laughter but it’s impossible, especially at the look on the Captain’s face as Eddie goes on.
Buck shrugs helplessly. “What? Not saying we would, just like, it’s a possibility!” he tries to defend himself, nodding at Eddie to continue.
“So anyway, he said spouses aren’t legally required to snitch on each other and uh, you know, one thing led to the other and I mean, c’mon, we live in LA, there’s no waiting period after you get your marriage license, so. Yeah.”
“Oh my God.” Hen covers her face with both hands, unable to stifle her own laughter. “And you guys didn’t think to maybe get it reversed once ya’ll sobered up?!”
Buck shrugs again. “When we did sober up the next morning and realize what happened we talked about getting the marriage annulled.” he admits.
“But the more we spoke about it the more we realized it would just be easier to stay married.” Eddie says, as if it’s the most reasonable thing in the world. “Buck is already in my will as Christopher’s legal guardian if anything were to happen, so really, the fact that we’re married now--”
“Woah woah woah, hold on, wait, what?!” Chimney gapes. “My heart can only take one piece of juicy gossip a day, folks! My fingers can only type so fast!”
Bobby turns to Eddie, “You put Buck down as Christopher’s legal guardian?” He asks, looking between the two now, with raised brows.
Eddie notes the way Buck sinks into the loveseat a little further, the way his shoulders hunch, and he hates that he knows damn well what Buck is thinking. That everyone will ask Eddie what he was thinking, to reconsider, or something stupid along those lines. So he quickly goes up to bat for Buck. “Of course. There’s no one I’d trust with my kid more.” he says, confident and unwilling to back down.
He feels Buck relax beside him and it tugs at his heart.
The Captain smiles warmly in response and sighs fondly. “In that case, let me approve these HR forms.” he waves the two of them over. “C’mon, to my office, you two have a lot of forms to fill out.”
As soon as the three men are out of sight Hen turns to Chimney and purses her lips. “Karen predicted this would happen and I told her she was outta her damn mind.” she sighs. “I owe my wife a crisp twenty.”
Chim stares at Hen. “I know you’re married to a genius but there’s no way in hell Karen predicted this exact scenario, c’mon.”
Hen shakes her head. “I shit you not, she said those two are gonna end up married for Christopher’s benefit before they even realize they’re in love.”
Marinette walked through the museum, trying to keep her footsteps soft as Plagg floated alongside her.
“You sure that it’s here, Plagg?” Marinette whispered.
“Trust me Pigtails. It’s here. And you need to get it before we have another Hawkmoth incident,” Plagg said. Marinette winced slightly. Yep. Did not want a repeat of Hawkmoth anytime soon.
“And the reason you didn’t want Tikki or any of the others to know?”
“It’s a surprise!”
Marinette looked at him.
“...And Tikki wouldn’t let us go if she knew we were stealing from a museum and the other kwamii can’t keep a secret from her to save their lives. But I swear. There’s a Miraculous here. It’s not the first time you know.”
“I know. I know. And we don’t need a repeat of that incident either,” she muttered under her breath. “Are we close?”
“It’s just over here. Sheesh, patience Pigtails.”
She rolled her eyes slightly at him as he led her to an exhibition case.
“Care to do the honors?”
Plagg flew into the case unlocking it. Marinette gently opened the case and pulled out the belt that laid inside, tucking it away, before closing the lid.
“Plagg can you relock it?”
“On it.”
“That’s it right? We can leave now?”
“Yep. Unless there’s anything else you want to steal while we’re at it. A little souvenir or two”
“No. We’re not taking souvenirs, Plagg,” Marinette told the mini god without turning around to face him.
“Why not? It’ll be fun.”
Marinette turned around to face him. Eyes widening as she looked at him.
“Plagg No,” she whispered yelled at the kwamii who had draped himself in a couple priceless necklaces and wearing a bracelet around his middle.
“Plagg Yes,” he cackled with glee. Marinette sighed running a hand through her head.
“Plagg. Put them back. We don’t have time for this.”
“Aw come on. Live a little.”
“No. Hurry up and put those back. I’m not trying to get caught by GCPD or worse one of the Bats. Now, Plagg.”
“Can’t I at least keep-”
“NO.”
“Fiiiiiine.”
Marinette watched him as he put the stolen jewelry back in its case, muttering under her breath about ‘chaotic mini god of destruction giving me headaches every time I turn around’ and “God Tikki is going to kill us when we get back, why did I let him talk me into this, oh right because it’s “my duty” to.
“You know the museum doesn’t allow visitors for a few more hours.”
Merde.
Marinette glanced behind her and cursed seeing Nightwing. Of course. Just her luck. Not the worst one she could have been caught by, but definitely not good to be caught by. Marinette angled herself so she could keep Nightwing in her periphery while also trying to keep an eye on Plagg as she tried to decide which was the lesser of two evils. Why hadn’t she worn a mask again? Oh right because Plagg convinced her not to, saying: “I’ll take care of the cameras. No one will see us, you'll be fine. And if you end up needing a quick escape you can just transform. Relax.”
“Good thing I was just leaving then.”
“Not without returning the six things you stole.”
Six?! Goddamnit Plagg.
“They’ve already been returned, I’m sorry to drag you away from your patrol or whatever it was you were doing. Now if you excuse me-” Marinette said as she started to try and make her way to where Plagg had hidden and book it out of there.
“Where’s the belt?” he asked. She froze.
“The belt. It’s unaccounted for.”
“I’m sure I don’t know what you mean,” Marinette said as she considered her options.
One: She could put on the belt and try to deal with and learn from an unknown kwamii on the fly.
Pros: Powers, Protects her identity.
Cons: Nightwing is right there, would reveal the Miraculi to Gotham’s vigilantes, unknown abilities, Plagg.
Two: Grab Plagg and book it, hoping she can find somewhere to duck where she can safely transform without getting caught by Nightwing anyway in the process.
Pros: Gets her away from Nightwing (hopefully),Powers, Protects her identity (hopefully), gets Plagg out of the way.
Cons: Have to evade a trained vigilante as a civilian, Plagg.
Three: Face Nightwing head on, with nothing to defend herself with, and hope she can take him down and book it.
Pros: Better able to take in her surroundings and where Nightwing is.
Cons: Blown identity, No weapons, No helpful abilities, Plagg.
“Atalanta’s Belt. Main exhibition piece. It’s still missing,” Nightwing told her, moving forward, trying to close the gap between the two of them. “You seem reasonable and like this isn’t your usual gig. If you give it back now, maybe I can let you go with barely a slap on the wrist.”
Marinette backed up as he moved closer, trying to keep him in sight while hiding her face was proving frustratingly difficult. She moved over to where Plagg was hiding and reached to grab him- Where was he?! She let out a frustrated breath as she scanned the area behind her.
“Plagg, get your butt over here,” she hissed under her breath, before raising her voice to address Nightwing. “I’m sorry but I can’t do that.” As much as I wish I could right now.
“Why not? Are you being forced to do this?”
What was Marinette supposed to respond to that with? Sorry, no can do. It houses a mini god with some unknown power and it’s my job to make sure the wrong person doesn’t get their hands on it and the magic it contains because that could spell disaster, so I need to get it back and put it in my box filled with other pieces of magical jewelry amd magical, powerful mini gods. Nope. She wasn’t trying to sent to Arkham anytime soon.
“No. I’m sorry but it cannot stay here. I do not make it my business to rob museums nor do I intend to continue to do so after this, but this belt needs to come with me,” she said carefully, scanning for Plagg- there!
“I can’t let you take that.”
“Good thing I’m not letting you then isn’t it?” Marinette asked before dashing to the side, snatching Plagg as she booked it, while Nightwing went to subdue her. Plan Two it is.
Marinette booked it out of the hall they were currently in and sprinted down a narrow hall into a new exhibition, Nightwing on her tail as she looked for someplace she could duck into quickly to transform without getting caught.
“Sheesh relax, Pigtails. You’ll be fine. Want me to distract him for you?”
“NO! Not the time Plagg. I’m not looking for mass destruction right now. Just some place to hide and transform.”
“Aww You're no fun. Want me to scout ahead?”
“Not now Plagg,” she ground out rounding a corner, vaulting over a display case, hoping to cut sometime and put some distance between her and Nightwing. Why were these exhibition halls all so wide open?! There! Marinette spotted a vent. Big enough for her tiny frame to get in comfortably, but small enough that Nightwing would struggle to move if he could even fit into the vent. She kicked in the grate and ducked in, crawling a little until she wasn’t in view of the mouth of the vent, smiling a bit as she heard Nightwing curse.
“Time to even the odds out. Plagg, Claws Out!”
Marinette grinned as she transformed into Lady Noire once again and poked her head around the corner towards the mouth of the vent. She couldn’t see Nightwing watching it, but she’d be foolish to assume he was gone. The possibility was there but with her luck she wasn’t counting on it. She wormed her way towards the vent and jumped out as fast as she could, rolling as she landed on the ground, recovering and taking off once more, back towards the original hall she was in.
“The hell-” Nightwing started as she burst out of the vent, startled for a moment before taking off after her. She couldn’t help the small laugh that came out. Damnit Plagg and making me more chaotic. She put on a burst of speed coming back to the exhibition where she had originally been caught, stopping and turning on a dime, she grinned and gave a small salute to Nightwing.
“The pleasure’s been mine Nightwing. And while I’ve enjoyed this game of cat and mouse I’m afraid this is where it ends. Catch you later, Canary,” she told him, extending her baton, using it to carry her upwards and through the glass of the skylight, landing on the roof, before she began free running over the rooftops in a winding route in case of a tail. She was not trying to get caught twice in one night.
She was about half way back to her destination, when she heard a small noise, the ears on top of her head twitching, she barely looked over to see a figure come flying and tackling her to the rooftop. The two rolled over each other. Marinette recovered and tried to stand, making it about two steps before she was grabbed from behind and knocked to the ground, Nightwing on top of her, pinning her down.
“Back for round two already?”
“That was some quick change you pulled back there. Thought you weren’t a criminal for a living?”
“I’m not. Just this once. It’s the exception,” she replied, looking up at him. Actually managing to take in her pursuer for the first time that night, she swore internally. He was hot. Why the hell did he have to be so hot.
Nightwing’s eyes narrowed as she said that.
“Funnily enough I’m having a hard time believing you.”
She shrugged. “Believe what you want, it’s the truth,” she told him before quickly moving to break the hold he had on her and rolling away, to her feet, grabbing her baton and extending it slightly into a staff, holding it at ready. “I don’t suppose you’re going to let me go are you?”
“I told you otherwise earlier, didn’t I?” he asked, drawing his escrima sticks out.
“That’s unfortunate then.”
Lady Noire spun her staff as Nightwing came at her. She brought it up to block his escrima sticks, the sound of metal clashing hurting her hypersensitive ears. She bent down quickly to try and sweep his feet out from underneath only for him to flip away. She narrowed her eyes as she watched him land. She grinned. Acrobatic. She could work with that. Probably similar to how she fought. God she missed having her yo-yo, not quite as used to the baton that came with Plagg.
“Why do you need the belt?”
“Sorry birdy. Can’t tell you. You're not in the loop,” she told him as she dug her heels in, weapons clanging once more. She pressed back against him, their weapons interlocked for a moment, before Nightwing managed to twist her staff out of her hands. She cursed as it landed on the rooftop, behind her opponent. NIghtwing quickly stashed his sticks and lunged to grab her wrists, pinning her once more as he pulled out a pair of cuffs. He slipped one cuff on one of her wrists and the other to a pipe on the roof.
“Where is it?”
“Nowhere you can get.”
“You couldn’t have hidden it that fast, so where is it.”
“Like I said nowhere you can get it. I couldn’t get it at the moment even if I wanted to. Sorry to disappoint you. You aren’t getting it off me.”
Nightwing stared at her and narrowed his eyes.
“Like I said, I don’t make this a habit. After this I’m going back to my everyday life. No need to worry about me being a criminal on the streets. I have a very nice day job and I intend to keep the vigilanteism to you. So if you’d just let me go we can both pretend this never happened.”
“Not going to happen.”
Lady Noire sighed. “I’m sorry for this. I mean no hard feelings between us. But I can’t wait for Batman or whoever you’re waiting for to get here.”
“What do you mean-”
“Cataclysm!” Marinette dissolved the handcuffs holding her in place and lunged for her staff, grabbing it and swinging it into Nightwing, wincing slightly as she heard it connect, knocking him into the ground. She took off her belt and used it to tie his hands to the same pipe he handcuffed her too earlier.
“Sorry about this. I truly am. But I have a duty I need to see through. No hard feelings,” she told him before taking off over the rooftops once more. She made it a block away from her apartment before dropping into an alleyway and calling off her transformation. Plagg dramatically falling into her hands.
“Good job there, Pigtails.”
“Nope. That’s enough out of you for tonight. You have caused enough trouble for one night,” she told him as he flew into her bag. She left the alleyway hurrying back to her apartment, praying she could just collapse in bed and sleep until she needed to get up.
“Where have you two been?”
Dangit.
-------------
Dick sat with his family as they waited for the new designer his father commissioned to arrive. Dick played through the events of last night, questioning a few things that had happened. There is no way that girl could have gotten changed in that vent so fast. And nothing about her staff was normal. He mulled over these questions until a voice cut through his thoughts.
“I am so sorry I’m late. I was up late working on a last minute commission for Jagged, you know how he can be, and completely slept through my alarms. And then traffic was a nightmare to get through. I promise it won’t happen again, Mr. Wayne.”
Dick’s head snapped up hearing that voice. No way. It couldn’t be. He stared at the up and coming designer his dad had commissioned on recommendation of Jagged Stone. For new Gala suits for the family.
“That’s quite alright Miss Dupain-Cheng. Jagged is a force to be reckoned with, but he did sing your praises last time I saw him,” Bruce replied with a small chuckle. Dick grinned at the memory of Jagged Stone quite literally singing his premises for his 'rock-and-roll personal designer’ as he put it. “I know my sons have all had similar experiences and mishaps in the past.”
“Thank you. But please, just call me Marinette.”
“As long as you call me Bruce in return, Marinette.”
“If that’s what you want, Bruce.”
“It is. These are my sons, Dick, Jason, Tim, and Damian. Like I said when I first reached out to you, we’ll each be needing a suit.”
Dick watched as the woman, thief?, nodded. “It’s nice to meet all of you. When do you need them by again?”
“Six weeks if that’s possible.”
“That should be doable,” she said, looking up slightly. “My current commissions are almost done, so I should be able to get started on them by this weekend, if all goes well.”
“That soon?”
“Mhmm. I like to keep myself busy, with commissions. And I prefer to do a large part by hand, especially if there’s any embroidery included in the design. I always do that by hand, so the sooner I can get started the better,” she explained. Bruce nodded at her explanation.
“Okay, so I’ll need to take all of your measurements, and I’d like to have a quick one on one with everyone to get their preferences for styles, fabrics, colors, and such. Is there a room I can set my stuff in and meet with you each individually?”
“We can use the living room, if that works for you. Is there any specific order you would like to meet with us?”
Marinette shook her head, as Bruce led her to the living room and she pulled out a binder, notebook, and a tape measure. “Whichever order you all decide is fine. It won’t affect the creative process or consultation in any way. Maybe You and Tim first so you two can get back to work if need be?”
Bruce nodded, before Marinette smiled and ushered the boys out of the room.
Dick frowned slightly as he pulled out his phone using it to look up Miss Marinette Dupain-Cheng while he waited. He scrolled through the general results as he waited.
marinettedcdesigns.com
Commissions About Me
Pricing Contact Me
Jagged Stone’s Mystery Personal Designer revealed as young Parisian Marinette Dupain-Cheng
Rockstar Jagged Stone has finally got the go ahead to reveal the name of his personal designer and no one had guessed right. With speculations of his designer being Gabriel or Audrey Bourgeois, no one would have guessed it to be a young girl that Jagged discovered when she was only thirteen. Her first commission, according to Jagged Stone, was…
Marinette Dupain-Cheng: Taking the Fashion World by Storm
Marinette Dupain-Cheng, revealed by rockstar Jagged Stone in a recent interview as his personal designer, has taken the fashion world by storm.Having been commissioned by celebrities such as Clara Nightingale, Jagged Stone, and internships with the Style Queen, Audrey Bourgeois, everyone has their eyes on this young designer as she…
2016 Style Queen Internship awarded to young designer Marinette Dupain-Cheng
The highly coveted Style Queen internship winner has just been announced for this upcoming year, as one Marinette Dupain-Cheng. When asked about the decision process, the only response was “The answer was obvious. I had seen her designs before when I went to Paris for Fashion Week and she has only improved since then.” The Style Queen herself…
“Dick? You don’t mind if I call you Dick? Your last up,” Marinette told him, poking her head into where he was waiting with a smile.
“Not at all,” he replied as she led him into the living room as she grabbed her tape measure. Turning around to look at him, head tilted to the side in a cute little gesture.
“I’m going to take measurement first, and then we’ll talk about preferences and all that jazz. Does that sound good?”
“Yeah, of course. You’re the expert,” Dick replied grinning. “So Marinette…”
“Mhmm?” she hummed as she jotted down measurements, flitting about him with her tape measure.
“You look awfully familiar. Have we met before?”
“No I don’t believe we have. I think I’d remember someone as handsome as you,” she said, before clapping a hand to her mouth, face turning beet red. “I’m so sorry that was completely unprofessional of me. I am so sorry.”
Dick laughed. “It’s fine Marinette. I just swear I saw someone who looked as beautiful as you last night,” he told her. He was playing a risky game. He was almost sure it was Marinette he had caught in the museum last night, their voices were too similar for it not to be, but he never got a good look at her face before she had changed and put a mask on. Their builds were the same. If she caught on he might give away who he was.
Dick noted that Marinette tensed as he asked that. “You must be mistaken. I was home all night working on a commission for Jagged, like I said earlier. I don’t get out much anyways except for groceries and consultations. No one saw me last night.”
“That’s unfortunate then.”
“If you believe so,” she said, measuring his torso and arms. “Why is your whole family so freaking muscular?” she muttered under her breath. Dick laughed at that. “I said that out loud, didn’t I? I’m sorry. I swear I am usually more professional than this. But when I’m running on coffee and fumes my filter tends to go down.”
“Please you have no need to apologize. It’s cute,” he told her, grinning as a blush found her way onto her cheeks. She was quiet for a minute as she finished jotting down a few measurements in her notebook before sitting down and gesturing for him to do the same. Dick took a moment to really look at the woman in front of him. She was beautiful. She was small, dark hair, blue eyes, stylishly dressed in a fitted, yet professional looking dress, cinched at the waist with a belt. His eyes narrowed at the belt. Something about it stood out to him as not quite fitting. It didn’t sit right with him.
“I like your belt,” he told her. Raising an eyebrow as she froze, glancing down to her belt for a moment.
“Oh, Thank you. My friend gave it to me last night.”
“I thought you were home alone last night?”
“It was at the beginning of the night. Anywho, do you have any preference when it comes to your suits?”
-------------
“Plagg, what is this?” Marinette asked holding up a bracelet she knew for a fact did not belong to her.
“A Souvenir.”
“You didn’t.”
“I didn’t not do it.”
“Plagg I told you to put them all back.”
“I did. And then I grabbed a new one.”
“Plagg!”
“It’s not that big of a deal. Calm down.”
“Not a big deal. Not a big deal. Plagg, do you realise how much trouble I would get if anyone found this!? I would go to jail for years.”
“So we’ll just go return it. No harm no foul.”
Marinette sighed, pinching her nose, looking at the unfinished commissions she was hoping to get done that night. “We’re leaving at midnight.”
Midnight came and went, and sooner than Marinette would have liked she found herself back in the exhibition hall she was in last night.
“Hurry up and put it back and don’t steal anything else. I’m not looking to come back here three nights in a row,” she told Plagg, watching him like a hawk, to ensure the safety of the exhibits. She didn’t notice the arrival of someone else until she felt someone lean over and whisper in her ear.
“I thought lightning didn’t strike in the same place twice?”
Marinette shrieked in surprise, and hastily unfolded the neck of her turtleneck so she could cover the lower half of her face as she turned to face Nightwing.
“Do you make it a habit to sneak up on unsuspecting people in the middle of the night?”
“Only when they’re breaking and entering in museums.”
“I’m not here to steal anything.” “Why do I find that hard to believe?”
“I only came back to return an unwanted souvenir that found its way into my apartment. Though if another finds its way into my apartment, there will be repercussions,” Marinette told him, glancing over at Plagg, to check up on him. She once again found herself on the opposite side of the room from Plagg. She twisted the ring on her finger slightly as she watched Nightwing, positioning herself so if he moved forward, she would move backwards closer to the headache named Plagg. Nightwing looked confused at her as she said that.
“A thief breaking in to return something? That’s new,” Nightwing remarked dryly.
“As I told you last night, I am not a thief.”
Marinette backed up, close enough that Plagg could phase into her bag unnoticed by Nightwing, she glanced over her shoulder at the kwamii, jerking her head slightly for him to get in her bag. Her mistake. Nightwing took her brief moment of distraction to pin her against him and pulled down the fabric covering her face. Marinette cursed, ducking her head and wormed her way out of his hold, yanking her hands through his grip. In his attempt to regrasp her wrists, Nightwing managed to snag the ring on Marinette’s finger pulling it off as she slipped through his hands. Marinette turned eyes wide, and stared at him as he clutched the ring in his hand.
-------------
Nightwing looked at the ring he had just pulled off Marinette’s finger on accident, closing his hand around it as Marinette whirled around to face him.
“Give that back,” Marinette told him, looking panicked, her voice hard. Nightwing tightened his grip on the ring.
“I don’t think I will.”
“You don’t understand I need that ring back. Please give it back.”
Nightwing raised a brow and looked at the ring once more. “Why is the ring so important?”
Marinette let out a frustrated sound. “That is none of your business.”
Nightwing shrugged. “Then I guess I’ll keep it,” he told her before starting to try and put the ring on for safe keeping. He got stopped in halfway through the action as he was struck in the middle as Marinette tackled him to the ground, knocking the ring from his hands. He was surprised by the strength, he was not expecting that from her petite build.
Dick stared up at the woman now on top of him, pinning his wrists down on either side of his head, her face inches from his. Dick was not expecting this. She’s strong. She’s beautiful. She’s on top of me. She’s on top of me. She’s a thief. She’s a strong, beautiful, thief on top of me. I’m so screwed.
The two stayed there for a minute staring at each other, before Marinette slowly seemed to realize the position she’d put them in, a blush swiftly forming on her face. Dick grinned up at her.
“Like what you see?” he asked, her blush only deepening.
“Wouldn’t you like to know, Canary?” she murmured under her breath as she pushed herself off of him. Nightwing took advantage of the brief release to reverse the situation, flipping them so she was pinned underneath him now.
“Two can play your game, Marinette,” he leaned down to whisper in her ear, revealing that he knew who she was. Her eyes widened as she stared up at him. “So what’s so important about the ring and belt that you need both of them?”
“Let’s just say I need to keep them from getting into the wrong hands, and I don’t trust museums to do that.”
“You don’t trust me to take care of the ring or keep the museum from being robbed?”
“No offense, but I don’t know you, and considering that everytime I run into you, you end up trying to subdue me, we haven’t gotten off on the best foot,” she replied, squirming under his pin trying to get out. He tightened his hold as she did so.
“You’d be surprised. I’ve seen the whole cat and mouse act work out pretty well for some people.”
“Would you like that?” she asked, leaning up so her lips brushed his ear. “Want me to be the Cat that caught the Canary?”
Dick felt himself blush slightly at the proximity and the idea. Marinette took advantage of that and broke out of his hold and rolled away scooping up the ring and sliding it back onto her finger. Dick looked up at her as she ran from the hall, slowly standing to chase after when she came back, changed into her cat costume once more, baton by her side, keeping to the opposite side of the room. Damn it. It runs in the family, he thought looking at her, her long braid, the ears perched atop her head, the belt she used to tie him up on the roof, that mysteriously disappeared, back once again slung low on her hips.
“Sorry for tackling you earlier. This should be the last time you find me breaking and entering this museum. Like I told you I don’t plan on making thievery my night job. I have plenty on my plate as it is. Hopefully, the next time we run into each other will be more enjoyable for the both of us. See you, Canary,” she told him, with a smile and wink. She gave him a small salute and extended her baton, carrying her through the skylight once more.
Nightwing hurried up to the rooftops, watching her effortlessly move across the rooftops with the grace of an acrobat.
He was so screwed.
-------------
Marinette looked at Dick as he tried on the suit she made for him. She kneeled on the ground as she began pinning the hem line at the ankle, marking slight adjustments that needed to be made here and there. She took a step back and looked at her handiwork.
“How does it feel?” she asked.
“Absolutely amazing.”
“Perfect. I just need to make a few adjustments and it should be good to go unless there are any specific requests you want to make to be added to the suit?”
“Do you think you could embroider a little cat somewhere hidden? Maybe in green?” he asked, smiling at her. Marinette froze and looked at him. He knew. How? How the hell does he know? No that doesn’t make sense, he couldn’t only one person had seen her- Nope. Not following that train of thought. Not right now. She took a deep breath and smiled at him.
“Of course. Anything else?”
“That should be it.”
“Great. That shouldn’t take too long to do. I can have your suit ready on Friday if you want to arrange to pick it up or I can drop it off if you’d like.”
“I can swing around to grab it. I have nothing planned that day anyways.”
“Sounds good then. Thank you so much for stopping by for a fitting,” she told him, smiling. She busied herself putting a few odds and ends away while he changed out of the suit. Marinette held her hand out for a handshake to wish him goodbye, trying to remain professional. He grinned as he shook her hand.
“That’s a beautiful ring you have on.”
Oh he definitely knew.
“That’s the second time, you’ve commented on my accessories. Are you always this observant?” she asked cooly.
“Only when it comes to beautiful women such as yourself.”
Marinette felt herself blushed and cursed herself.
“Does that line work on all the ladies?”
“I don’t know. You tell me?”
Dammit why was he so handsome and smooth.
Marinette smiled at him and took the suit from him.
“I’ll guess you’ll never know then.”
“Oh?”
“See you on Friday, Dick.”
“See you on Friday, Marinette.”
Marinette closed the door behind him, before leaning back against it and slid down.
“He’s Nightwing. He has to be. Of course he is.”
“I don’t see what the big problem is, Pigtails,” Plagg replied, flying out to float in her face.
“He’s Nightwing. He wants to catch me. Because I stole from a museum, because you convinced me to. It doesn’t help that I had to break back in to return something that you stole. And now he knows who I am.”
“Like I said. I don’t see what’s the big deal. You obviously like him. I say go for it.”
“What part of I broke the law do you not understand?”
“Rules are made to be broken. I say you sneak back into the museum to get his attention again. Lead him on a game of cat and mouse. Maybe take a souvenir while you’re at it.”
“Plagg,” Marinette said, warning clear in her voice.
“Come on. You know you want to. Live a little. Who knows you probably won’t regret it,” Plagg replied, ignoring her tone.
“I hate that you’re right,” she groaned. Plagg simply cackled.
“Midnight as usually?”
“Yeah, Plagg. Midnight.”
“You know you’re going to have to take something for it to be worthwhile.”
“Really, Plagg?”
“I’m just saying.”
Marinette really hated how Plagg brought out the chaos in her sometimes.
-------------
Nightwing dropped into the Gotham Museum for the third time that month, silently making his way to the main exhibition hall. He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t mildly excited to see if it was Marinette once more. As he entered the hall, he found Marinette, already suited up, holding a necklace in her hand, as she grinned at him.
“Hey, Canary.”
“I thought you weren’t a thief?”
“I’m not.”
“Then why is that necklace out of its case?”
“Wouldn’t you like to know?”
“I would actually, the belt and ring as well,” Nightwing said, as he made his way towards her, as she idly twirled her baton.
“In my defense the ring was mine before I even moved to Gotham.”
“I’m not going to be able to convince you to give back am I?”
“I don’t know? Do you think the third time’s the charm?”
“Why don’t we find out?”
“Good luck,” she told him with a wink before, for the third time, escaping via skylight.
Nightwing looked over the rooftops trying to trace where she went. He moved over the rooftops in pursuit, losing sight of her before pausing, turning around to see if he could spot her. There. Dick spotted a flash of bright green duck beneath a chimney a few roofs over. He grinned as he gave chase. He continued in that direction for a few blacks before being knocked to the ground, finding himself being pinned down by Marinette once more.
He looked up at her, the long braid trailing down her back, hands pinning his wrists on either side of his head like the first time she had tackled him. Her face was flushed and he grinned up at her.
“Someone looks pleased with themselves. I thought I was the one who was supposed to do the catching?” he asked. She grinned leaning down slightly, reducing the already short distance between the two of them.
“Didn’t you know, Dick?” she whispered. “I’m the cat who caught the canary.”
“How’d you figure it out?”
“You asked for a cat embroidered in and noticed both the belt and the ring. It was clear that you knew who I was, and only one person has seen me as Lady Noire. Nightwing. 1+1= you,” she explained looking down at him.
God. Strong, beautiful, and clever. She’s perfect.
“Don’t worry,” she continued. “I won’t tell anyone. I know how important keeping your identity secret can be. Your secret’s safe with me, Canary.”
“And why should I trust you?” he asked. Marinette leaned back slightly.
“That’s up to you. Your move birdy.”
Dick broke her hold and quickly stood pinning her to a wall. He grinned as she blushed with the proximity.
“Maybe I’ll have to keep a closer eye on a certain thief.”
“I’m not a thief. The necklace is already back in it’s case,” she told him. Dick stared at her for a moment. She doubled back without his notice to return a stolen object. Holy-
“The belt?”
“Think of it as reacquiring it. Trust me. It’s better off in my hands.”
“Still stolen, making you a thief.”
“It should, technically, belong to me.”
“Oh? There is one more thing you’ve stolen?”
“And what is that?”
“My heart.”
She blushed, grinning up at him.
“Can I kiss you?” she whispered.
“God yes,” he muttered before their lips met.
He released her hands as he wrapped his arms around her waist pulling her closer, enjoying the feeling of her arms settling around his neck.
The two broke the kiss, blushing and grinning, staring at each other, continuing to hold each other in their arms. Marinette laughed as she pulled him in for another kiss. Dick had no problem with that. The two found themselves sitting with each other until the sun rose, indicating it was time to separate, for now. Dick stood, pulling Marinette up with him. He smiled down at her, and gave her one last kiss before the split ways.
“I’ll see you Friday?” Dick asked
“See you on Friday, Canary,” she replied, giving him a wink before leaving him to watch her traverse Gotham’s roofs.
