_{[They say the only city with food better than Goldenrod is Olivine.]}

[But after those two (or was it three? The frantic digging of trenches and building of miniature barricades against the tides had made them rush past in a blur) days spent spitting out saltwater and getting dirty in the muddy spray of the 'line of fire', Heather was pretty sure that even the crappiest hot meal would taste like edible heaven.]

[The diner next to the Pokemon Center is small, crowded, and smells like wet Pokemon, but it's a nice respite from the last vestiges of the dying storm outside.]

[An UTTERLY filthy Cujo is lying under the table like an enormous slug, letting out groaning dog snores. Having done the bulk of Heather's digging himself (she couldn't exactly wield a decent shovel without popping the stitches on that arm), he's completely tuckered out after all that excitement. Now relatively dry and warm (though still muddy) and full of food that had been graciously provided by the diner's owner (on account of him being a "hardworking doggie, whozzagoodboy!"), Cujo was all too happy to just lie there and provide a nice footrest for his trainer's aching feet.]

[Heather, for her part, has her head down on the table when the feed comes on, although after an admonishing "Heather, you're getting mud on the tablecloth," from an off-screen Harry, she lifts it again with a groan.]

[As the camera turns, there's a dizzying spin of color, but a couple of glimpses of the fish and chips on the table-- and the sulking, muzzled-and-leashed Totodile sitting on one of the chairs. Then the focus settles on Heather's face. It's smudged as all hell and her hair has that wiry blown-away look that only someone who's been standing out in a stiff ocean wind can achieve.]

So yeah, uh...

For anyone who didn't take the Road Trip From Hell all the way up here to Olivine, in case you haven't heard it from somebody else yet, things are A-OK, looks like.

The weather's dying down and the ocean's receding.

... And, uh... stuff.

_{[Looking a little distracted for a second, she glances off-screen and mumbles.]}

Hey Dad, can I borrow one of those notebooks for a sec? ... Thanks.

_{[There's a brief rustle of paper as she takes something from the other side of the table an uncaps a pen with her teeth, tucking the cap up in the corner of her mouth. There's sounds of scribbling as she continues to talk, her eyes looking down at something below the screen.]}

So anyway... once the rain's all gone, Dad'n I might take off again... There's no way we're gettin' on that stupid bus, though. I think I prefer taking a hike to trying to cheat death every time something big enough to crash into comes into the windshield's view...

But yeah, uh, in the meantime, if any of you're still working out there, pack it up and come try this diner out, the french fries are awesome.

And I kinda wanna see how many people can pack into this place before it explodes.



_{[And with her usual cheeky smirk, she waves a bandaged hand gingerly at the camera and ends the feed there.]}

[Once she tucks the 'Gear back into her bag, she leans back in her seat, looking down at her notepad. The diner's so cheerfully noisy that probably only those directly nearby, whoever they may be, can hear what she mumbles to herself.]


So... guess Johto has gods, after all.

 _{[Johto had gotten a brief taste of summer, but it looked like they were subject to belated April showers for awhile longer...]}

[Normally Heather wouldn't mind so much-- being cooped up did make her a little stir-crazy, but it just meant the sun's next appearance would be all the more satisfying-- but she'd kind of wanted to, y'know, keep showing her dad the NEW WORLD they were currently inhabiting. Oh well. Stuck in the hotel for the time being, it looks like.]

[Besides, she's... got another matter to think about right now.] 

Bet you'd get along with Butch...

_{[She pats the enormous pink hide of the drowsy Slowbro lying on the carpeted floor next to her absent-mindedly, watching the rain trickle down the window. On one of the plush seats scattered in various locations around the lobby, Godzilla sprawls, looking a little sulky-- sulkier than usual, even. But then, it's nothing new for him to be a little petulant.]}

[As for Heather, she looks sort of thoughtful, and a little melancholy, when she addresses the network. The rain today is ... somehow appropriate.]

Hey, so...

I don't know if anyone else here really... uh, knew him, but... James S-- .... Sunderland disappeared sometime pretty recently. He left a bunch of his Pokemon behind... um... I guess if anyone knew him and uh... wants to take care of one of 'em...

_{[She gives Pinky-- ugh, Pinky, what a lame name... she won't change it, out of respect for James, but maybe she'll call him something a little less... doofy. Pink, maybe. Like Pink Floyd!-- another pat on the head. The big Pokemon rumbles sleepily.]}

[Meanwhile, Godzilla glares over from behind Heather in a generally surly manner. He's been getting shunted aside in favor of all these new Pokemon lately and he doesn't like it. AND he's hungry AND his head is kinda hurting AND he's bored and wants attention. >8( He lets out a huff, which goes unnoticed by Heather, who continues talking.]

Anyway, he and his wife are both gone now. He didn't... talk a whole lot, so I guess it's probably safe to say not many people knew hi-- cut it out, Zilla, I'm doin' something.

_{[The Totodile, which had been pawing slightly at the hem of her vest, withdraws with a surly expression. HMPH.]}

But yeah.

James's gone.

Otherwise... uh, how about this weather, huh?

_{[Godzilla lets out a squeaky snarl, covering his ear-holes with a wince. UGH. Everything is making him so MAD right now. Especially the fact that he's being blown off! His trainer is so MEAN!]}

[So mean.]


[It happens very quickly. There's a flash of ivory teeth as the strong-jawed crocodile Pokemon suddenly surges out of his seat and clamps his jaws down with an awful snap around Heather's bare elbow.]

[The girl's face goes from casual to shocked in the space of a split second before the 'Gear goes flying.]

YEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGHHH---!






_{[ooc: Action replies can either be in the Goldenrod hotel lobby or in the Pokemon Center ten or fifteen minutes after the broadcast!]}

[ooc: BEEN AWHILE SINCE THERE'S BEEN ONE OF THESE, HUH. Solid the _{Onix Steelix and Butch the Quagsire are used with permission from Snake and Phoenix's players, respectively. As usual, reading this TL;DR monstrosity is TOTALLY NOT NEEDED so feel free to skip over it completely to the Action/Voice section of this post!]}

( Read more... )

Because here she was, sitting on a giant snake made of metal, with a bird in the hood of her vest and an electric-mouse-containing egg nestled in her small carrying bag, which was swinging gently back and forth from where it hung on one of the many convenient spikes jutting from the back of her mount’s neck.

No matter how vehemently she’d sworn to never pass through that city where she’d so thoroughly managed to make a bad impression on every last law-abiding resident around, there was no way she was going to sit tight and wait for her father to struggle his way through a completely foreign land to her. Not after what happened last time. She wouldn’t sit idly by and wait for the universe to snatch her second chance away again. Hell no.

She had saved the friggin’ world.

She could handle walking through Violet City and getting side-eyed by all the Nurse Joys if it meant actually being able to hug her father again.

The last time Heather had made this trip, it had been at the tail-end of winter and she’d been accompanied by two other people and their teams of Pokemon, and therefore a great deal of distracting noise.

This time around, the only sounds were the morning birdsong, a patter of light rain, and that great echoing vastness that characterized every large forest-- … well, that and the deep, metallic groaning of Solid’s body winding his way between the trees, deepening the already well-trodden trail. It was a noise that made her think of the far-off thrum of machinery that she had sometimes been able to hear in that town, like some sort of industrial heartbeat. But in this case, it was … a little more comforting, knowing that the thing creating the sound was her.

The newly-evolved Steelix was not the most comfortable of rides, but from her perch behind the steel serpent’s head, Heather couldn’t find it in her to complain about it too much. Snake had given her one of the dubious looks she’d come to expect from him when she’d asked him if she could borrow the Pokemon, but after a brief, heartfelt explanation, he’d handed the Pokeball over to her with firm instructions to be careful on her own.

She fully intended to.

It would be beyond lame if she somehow died on her way just when her father had returned to Johto, this time knowing who she was.

Heather sank forward to let her chin rest on her arms, which were folded on the cold metal cranium in front of her, grimacing slightly as Solid skirted around a bramble patch with a chorus of think shrieking sounds from the thorns on his sides.

“’Least the last time I did this, I had Phoenix’s sissy-yelling to distract me,” she mumbled to herself, shifting slightly to alleviate the ache of sitting on bumpy metal for hours on end. She was pretty sure she’d sat at high school desks more comfortable than this. “… And I could move around without sliding straight off.”

The sun should have been peeking through the bud-covered branches by now, but the cold drizzle that would go on to permeate the rest of the day had slipped in during the night, painting the misty woods in a monotonous set of gray-greens. It wasn’t really rain so much as just an all-encompassing wetness. And while Solid’s body had been pretty easy to hang onto when he was an Onix, now that he was coated in slick metal armor, the condensation mare it more or less impossible to get up while in motion without risking your feet flying out from under you and then the rest of you shortly following suit and careening off into the undergrowth like the star of an America’s Funniest Home Video. So not worth it, even if it was uncomfortable.

“I should make some kinda ‘Please remain seated while the vehicle is in motion’ sign before we get to Dad…”

A squawk of apparent agreement sounded from behind her head, where Wren the Murkrow, now a fluffy black mass of squirmy, toddler-aged bird, was bundled up in the hood of her trainer’s vest. Letting her ride in there meant having to put up with a lot of hair-tugging and the occasional ear-nibble, but it was nice having a neck-warmer.

Heather quirked a brow over her shoulder.

“What’re you fussing about? You don’t even have to worry about a sore butt. You get to ride in style. I should be charging you or something.”

She expected the bird to settle down at the sound of her voice as usual, but the squalling continued, more insistently—and Wren started to scrabble out of the hood and onto Heather’s bare shoulder, whapping her in the side of the face with a flaily wing in the process.

“OW! Hey! Don’t do that, you can’t fly ye—OW!”

Gritting her teeth, Heather adjusted her balance before lifting both hands and trying to grapple the little bird into a secure hold so that she wouldn’t go fluttering off into the forest, never to be seen again. She got her fingers nipped viciously for the effort.

“Frickin’—hold still, y’little monster—hey. HEY.”

Finally pinning Wren’s wings to her sides, Heather lifted the bird up inn front of her face to glare squarely at her.

“What’s the big id— … no, I’d rather you not attach yourself to my nose, thanks. It’s tempting, but no.”

Denied the opportunity to vent-via-biting her displeasure at being detained from wherever it was she planned on going, the Murkrow just wiggled in Heather’s grasp and angled her head backwards to stare intensely in the direction she’d initially been going, yellow beak wide open and continuing to emit noises like a cat stuck in a trash can with a firecracker. Heather sighed.

“Look, I’m gonna have to put you back in the ball if you decide to be a brat— huh? … What’re you looking at? Whoa, whoa, slow down, Solid.”

Turning her attention away from the bird in her hands for a moment, Heather squinted down with furrowed brows at the bracken-covered terrain below. At first, nothing seemed to be amiss—maybe Wren just really wanted to go explore and was being overdramatic about it. But then something had caught her eye.

A large, pale blue blob—she’d almost thought it was a big rock at first, but no normal rock was that smooth or shiny. … And it looked familiar.

“WHOA! Whoa—Solid, stop! Stop! Down, let me off!”

With a deep, groaning in reply, the mighty snake ground slowly to a halt and lowered his head to the forest floor. Before his broad lower jaw even made contact with the earth, Heather was already stuffing Wren back into her hood and leaping down to the damp ground.

The ‘shiny rock’ raised its head just slightly from where it was huddled under a clump of ferns, opening its beady little eyes to stare at the three figures, one small, one medium, and one massive. It did not move from its meager shelter. Just stared, with the corners of its wide mouth stretched downwards and its big, webby paws tucked under itself like a large, amphibious cat.

Heather gave Solid’s side a distracted pat before taking a wary step forward, holding onto her hood to keep Wren contained. The creature curled up on the ground a few meters in front of her was familiar, but… she had never once seen him wearing anything but a big doofy smile. Was this… the same one?

“… Butch?” she asked cautiously.

The Quagsire’s eyes lit up and he let out a few grunting chuffs as he got to his oversized feet, rudderlike tail starting into a feeble wag. Making happy bugling sounds, the big blue amphibian waddled his way over to the teen, who for once didn’t make a face as he clamped his cold, clammy arms around her legs in a hug and stared up at her adoringly.

“Wh—Butch, what the heck’re you doing all the way out here?! I thought Phoenix was in Cherrygrove! I—oof!”

She was cut off as Butch butted his head against her middle affectionately (and over-enthusiastically), letting go of her hood so that she could detach the Quagsire from herself long enough to figure out what was going on. Hands on his slimy shoulders, she looked him square in the round, dotlike eyes.

“Butch. I’m serious, where is Phoenix?”

The smile (which was more reminiscent of the faces that Butch usually made) that had sprung across his face when Heather had recognized him drooped back into an upside-down ‘U’ and he let out a long, crooning whine that was as unsure as it was sad.

The barest beginnings of a flutter of panic started beating its wings deep in her gut.

“… Okay, just— … you just sit tight here. I’ll call him and let him know I found you, okay?”

Reaching into her pocket, she tugged out her PokeGear and started to move away, only for what passed for brows on the Quagsire’s mostly-spherical head starting to peak. He started to tug on her arm, making muted, unhappy sounds.

“Wh—Butch, no, just—stay here, all right? I promise, I’m calling him—okay. Y’know what, look—here.”

Grabbing Wren from her hood with both hands, she presented the young crow Pokemon to Butch.

“Remember Wren? You batted her egg around Phoenix’s room that time in the Center every time I walked out for like five minutes. You’re probably the reason she’s such a nut. She’ll keep you company—just lemme go for a bit, okay?”

Once the two Pokemon were sufficiently distracted with each others’ presence, Heather left them under the watchful eye of Solid and made her escape from the circle, walking to the edge of where the trees began to grow thicker and pulling Phoenix’s number up as she went.

Dialing...... |

Her fingers twisted the little belt-loop cord dangling from the ed of the device around and around as she waited, mumbling tensely under her breath.

“C’mon, c’mon…”

A brief dialing tone, and then…

ERROR: NUMBER NO LONGER IN USE. beeeeeeep.


“… No. No. Must’ve—hit the wrong number or something.”

Trying to ignore the growing sick feeling that was gnawing at her insides, Heather scrolled through the contacts list again. There. PHOENIX WRIGHT, with ‘lawyer-man’ and ‘phoenix + ledges = <3’ listed in the slot underneath it for a description, a result of some late-night conversation from months past. She hit ‘Send’.

Dialing...... |

The strap was wound so tightly around her index finger that the tip was turning purple. She noticed, but didn’t really care.

“C’mon. Pick up. Pick up, lawyer-man. This isn’t funny. Pick the hell up.”

ERROR: NUMBER NO LONGER IN USE. beeeeeeep.

“No! Fuck you. Put me through, you goddamn piece of junk!”

A horrid, hollow feeling was starting to creep in, starting at the knees and working its way up. It was that empty sensation you got when you went up or down in an elevator a little too quickly—like her organs had all been carved out, leaving a space with nothing in it. She felt lightheaded. Her knees threatened to buckle.

SEND.

He never DID answer that last message… NO.

She shook the thought from her mind— literally giving her head a toss, as if the physical motion would somehow help dislodge the creeping sense of dismay. Her knuckles were white where they gripped the ’Gear.

“Don’t do this to me, man. Don’t do this. I know you’re there. You’ve gotta be there. Stop kidding around and pick up—”

ERROR: NUMBER NO LONGER IN USE. beeeeeeep.

“NO.”

SEND dsgklj

Heather had argued ferociously that Phoenix wouldn’t disappear. Would never disappear. That she wouldn’t let him get snatched away from this place like that so crudely—this place of second chances and friendships that never would have happened anywhere but here.

But as reality came crashing in, words from all the way back in February came drifting back up into Heather’s mind, like some water-rotten body floating to the top of a lake, straight from the mouth of one Dahlia Hawthorne, the woman who’d tried to murder him right here in Johto.

Can you really be so sure, Heather? Nothing is certain in this world. What if he just... disappears one night while he sleeps, right under your nose?

But… but he hadn’t.

He couldn’t have.

People disappeared all the time in Johto— important people, even people she liked— but never the ones that were hers. Never the people she’d talked to almost every day at times, the people who had sat up with her on bad nights and let her cry her stupid teenage tears on their shoulder even as she tracked dirt and snow all over their furniture. Never the people who’d come checking up on her anxiously for days after that, hovering like tie-wearing, spiky-haired mother hens until she’d just hauled off and started chucking pillows at them every time they poked their head in the door. Never the people who’d cared enough to talk the truth out of her even though she’d given them every reason never to try and help her ever again.

Never her best friends.

“C’mon, Phoenix, you gotta—just—you gotta be here, don’t do this… I haven’t paid you BACK for everything yet—and DAD’S here, I wanted—I wanted you to meet him after everything I told you, and after—after you—hell, YOU’RE the one who freakin’ got me THROUGH what happened before—you’re like the biggest, shiniest example of the fact that I can make friends with GOOD PEOPLE and I wanted him to meet you, and just—just PICK THE FUCK UP, all right?! Pick UP, Phoenix, I’m NOT kidding arou—”

ERROR: NUMBER NO LONGER IN USE. beeeeeeep.

“No! NO! You can’t!”

Fully aware that the hot, burning feeling in her eyes that was making the trees blur in front of her was unwanted tears, Heather snarled and tried to slam the SEND button again, only to hit the wrong key and turn on the radio instead. She found DJ Mary’s overly perky voice obnoxious even under normal circumstances, but having it blare into her ear right now was nothing short of some sickening insult in Heather’s eyes, and she reacted as she would to any other insult.

Snapping the ’Gear shut so hard it wouldn’t have surprised her if she cracked the screen, she flung it at the ground with every ounce of strength in her scrawny arms. It bounced a little on the spongy soil. That wasn’t satisfying enough, so before she even thought to stop herself (because, you know, the ’Gear was sort of important…), she drew her leg back and sent it spinning off across the little clearing with a vicious kick and a frustrated yell.

That didn’t help much, either.

Behind her, she could hear a concerned rumble from Solid. Not being one of her own Pokemon, he had probably never seen her lose her temper before. She didn’t look over her shoulder— just let out a huff that disguised a hitch of the chest, and wiped her eyes with one hand while clenching the other.

That old urge was rising again, the urge to just let her fists fly against something solid until she didn’t feel like she was going to explode anymore.

Sights set on a gnarled tree trunk, Heather gritted her teeth and stomped towards it, raising her fist— … only to stop when her blurred vision settled on the gnarled, shiny white scare tissue decorating her knuckles.

A souvenir from the last time something like this had happened.

They probably wouldn’t be permanent scars—they’d fade with time. But they weren’t gone yet, and Heather felt her throat tightening as she looked at them.

Phoenix had bandaged those self-inflicted wounds.

Bandaged them and told her, in that slightly-deadpan but still concerned way of his that the next time she got the urge to turn her hands into raw hamburger, she could come to him.

“… Well I can’t do that now… jerk…”

Her voice was smaller and more choked-up than she wanted it to be, and somehow the sound of it made, at long last, the hot tears came spilling out over her cheeks and plopping down into the dirt. Dropping her fist, she just stood there for a moment, shoulders quaking.

After a time, a plaintive “Quaaaag…” sounded behind her and one of Butch’s clammy flippers pawed at her elbow.

She swiped an arm across her eyes hastily and looked over her shoulder at the trio of concerned Pokemon. Even the normally rambunctious Wren had gone quiet and was staring up at her trainer with alarmed red eyes.

After a solemn pause, Heather heaved a deep sigh and sniffed, scrubbing at her face. “Sorry, guys… um…”

With a wet cough, Heather started to head for the trees to retrieve her PokeGear… then changed her mind and turned back towards the Steelix with a dismissive hand-wave. She’d get another one in Violet, they were cheap and easy to replace. And she didn’t… particularly want to talk to anyone right now.

“You can come with us, Butch... let’s go.”

Once the heavy water Pokemon had been helped (with some difficulty) onto Solid’s back and Wren was safely re-situated in Heather’s hood, the motley crew was off again. With Butch behind her and her arms folded once more on the back of Solid’s head, Heather buried her face in them and tuned out the rest of the world entirely.

She’d rather not be awake.



[Three days later….]




[They had arrived in Violet three days after that, on Saturday.]


  _{[Heather wasn't planning on staying in the city long enough to justify paying for a hotel room.]}

[So she and her team of six (plus one Quagsire) were crashed in the hotel lobby during this brief rest stop, taking advantage of the few daylight hours that a trainer could feasibly get away with doing this (before getting kicked out by a stern employee saying 'There's a free Center right down the street for moochers!' in admonishing tones). And with the Easter festivities going on outside, there weren't many people milling about in the lobby to stare oddly at the dirty, travel-sore girl being a bum with her Pokemon.]

[Heather was curled up tightly on the couch, staring straight ahead. The team were all asleep around her, but she just couldn't slip out of wakefulness. Now that the rigor of the road wasn't around to distract her, the full reality of what had happened had time to sink in.]

[She supposed, all things considered, that she should have expected something like this. Some price to be paid. Her father showing up had just seemed too good a gift to be true, especially after she had let the last present go without even trying. Of course she wouldn't get him back without having to let something go. It was even sort of fair.]

[... She just hadn't expected that thing would be the person who had gotten her through the first time Harry had vanished from Johto.]

[On the floor beside the sofa, Butch sighed deeply in his sleep.]

[He'd been taking it well, all things considered... not much could keep the happy-go-lucky creature down for long.]

[Heather, on the other hand... well, she'd cycled through most of the typical emotional responses to the situation... From shocked disbelief to sadness to guilt at ... Right now she was settled on just ... being mad. Mad at the world for giving her the one thing she'd longed for but then taking away something so important as payment. Mad at herself for not having paid closer attention. Mad at Dahlia for accurately predicting that Phoenix would vanish. ... And mad at Phoenix for leaving before she could properly introduce him to the man whose loss he'd comforted her through.]

[She knew it was stupid. She knew it was totally irrational, and that it wasn't his fault at al l.]

 [... But she was still mad.]

[A thought struck her and she shifted slightly to pull the brand new PokeGear she'd picked up earlier from her pocket. Might as well break it in... she'd have to make this announcement sooner or later, anyhow...] 
 

[AUDIO]

_{[It's the first anybody's probably heard from Heather in a few days. No video, because she doesn't feel like showing her sorry face on the network while it's still all blotchy and obviously-was-crying-like-three-seconds-ago.]}

[Even so, her voice is... very noticeably OFF. It's thick and croaky and flat-- none of the usual pep and pizazz that usually characterized her transmissions.]

Hey... so...

If anyone's seen Phoenix Wright... I've got Butch here.

... I'll just... y'know. Hang onto him until...

Yeah.

_{[... A pause, and then a click. She can't bring herself to make a graceful close to that message.]}

.....


_{[... But, as an afterthought...]}

You're dead meat.






|





_{[ooc: Anyone walking through the Violet City hotel lobby is free to spot Heather!]}

  
_{[This is what one might see if they are outside on April Fool's Day in the fine city of Goldenrod.]}

[When Heather set out from Violet, she did it with a vengeance-- making it to her destination in record time purely by force of will. .... Well, okay. Snake and Solid the Onix helped out a little too. But REGARDLESS, it looks like she made it just in time for the stormclouds to come rolling in.]

[Johto, you been PUNK'D.]

[By the time the lobby doors to the big hotel she had left about two months before slide open and Heather staggers inside, she's thoroughly drenched and gasping. Not even sprinting through the deluge (which had blown in fast, as deluges often do-- the last quarter-mile to Goldenrod had been a mad dash to try and beat the roiling sky. She hadn't made it.]

[Spluttering and dripping everywhere, Heather stumbles into the lobby, letting the doors slide shut behind her to be drummed on incessantly by the big fat raindrops.]

[Cujo, who looks surprisingly happy for a Fire type about being wet, prances in alongside her and proceeds (much to the disdain of the bellboy who had started over to her with the intention of offering her a towel, only to quickly change his mind when he saw what was about to happen) to SHAKE. OFF. EVERYWHERE. And with a coat as shaggy as his? Fur could hold half its weight in water. Once he's finished, he happily goes gambolling off across the lobby to re-investigate the potted plants that he hasn't seen in a month or two. SUP PLANTS.]

[Heather, meanwhile, is doing some shake-drying of her own, sluicing water off of her hair vigorously. BRRRRRRRR. The bellboy is crying on the inside.]
  
UGH!

When they say April showers bring May flowers, but I didn't expect it to hit on the first, on the DOT.... Cooj, if you 'mark' those potted plants and get us thrown out into the rain, I will leave you in a box on someone's doorstep.

_{[Now giving the dripping coat that she'd been using as an (ineffective) umbrella a shake (in the bellboy's mind, Heather's threat level went from amber to red) or two, she grabbed up the strap to her bag and started to drag it towards the thankfully-carpeted sitting area, leaving a big watery trail the whole way (WHY COULDN'T HE HAVE GONE ON TO BE A SPORTS ANNOUNCER LIKE HIS MOTHER WANTED INSTEAD OF BEING A BELLBOY SOB).]}

[Once there, Heather popped down into a squat on the carpet, whistling for Cujo while she rummaged in her pockets for the Pokeballs containing her companions.]

Boy, sure am glad I decided to take Alvaro with me... Sure hope these things are waterproof. _{[Fearing that shoving the orphaned Cubone into a BOX right off the bat would damage its fragile emotional state even MORE, Heather had opted to take him with her. Here's hoping that decision wouldn't bite her in the butt. At least Carousel had been box'd-- Heather had already witnessed the wonder that was a drenched Ponyta trying to re-ignite its mane and she wasn't sure her already-shot nerves could take the stress of watching a pony shed sparks everywhere.]}

Good, nobody fell outta my pocket-- hey, Claudy, c'mon, get outta there, I gotta check on my stuff...

_{[Tossing the bag's flap open, she ushers the damp, ruffled-looking owl out of the bag. Claudy picks her way delicately onto the carpet and fluffs up to about twice her size before starting to preen unconcernedly. Heather watches the display with a roll of her eyes.]}

Y'know, if you'd just go in the ball like a NORMAL Pokemon, that bag would've weighed like half as much. Probably would've been able to beat the rain if I hadn't had to lug YOU around, too... Man, my 'Gear better not be busted...

_{[She reached into the bag to fish around for the contraption in question-- ... and stops.]}

.... Claudy, what the fuck, did you cough up a pellet the size of GOD in here or--








.... Oh.





.... What the--





_{[The camera turns on. Its feed is focused first on Claudy's head. She's grooming something, but all that can be seen for the moment is her feathers as they bob up and down.]}


This.... this is an owl.


_{[The camera shifts away from the Noctowl and over to the bag, giving a nice view of the inside of Heather's bag (partially emptied so that her stuff could dry. Littering the bottom of the bag are crushed fragments of eggshell.]}

Owls lay eggs.


_{[And then... then the camera zooms out a little, and moves back over to Claudy-- who can now be seen in full, contentedly preening a damp, squeaking little Eevee with ears about the same size as its body.]}


That is not a baby owl.


_{[The camera turns around, onto a confused and slightly-disturbed-looking Heather. Her hair is still plastered wetly down around her face.]}

I... I think I was just pranked by Mother Nature.

<sub>[There's a whole lot of jostling noises before the 'Gear, turned on in the hubbub, tumbles out of a small pile of clothes and lands on the bed, showing a jumble of items and ... general junk that Heather's allowed to accumulate in the hotel room.]

[There's a few crumpled paychecks, unfolded clothing, spare Potions and Pokeballs, and more than a few of the Christmas gifts that she'd gotten from her friends (all the candies and sweets, however, are long gone. Because if Heather didn't eat them, Honey the Butterfree was more than happy to pick up the slack.)]

[Is she... doing some early spring cleaning or what?]</sub>

Where-- ... is it? Dammit...

_{[Her voice, though slightly muffled on account of a small Girafarig plush pressed against the 'Gear's speakers, is clearly audible from somewhere off-camera. There's some sounds of stuff being shuffled or thrown about.]}

I swore I just put it d-- NO, Cujo, don't touch that! I said NO. Leave it alo-- good boy.

Okay, now where is that-- AHA.

_{[The 'Gear is plucked up out of the pile of odds and ends and the camera shows Heather's face briefly. She frowns a little bit at the sight of the red 'recording' light, but shrugs a little bit and lets her arm fall slack, giving everyone a nice, motion-blurred view of her jean leg. She seems a little harried-- too busy to care enough to turn it off.]}

Okay, I think that's just about everything-- Zilla, take that out of your mouth or I'll drop-kick you and you'll choke on it. Just gotta-- _{[Rummaging sounds.]}-- find a way to fit everything in... _{[Wait a moment, is she... packing? Since when was Heather leaving Goldenrod??]}

I think with the new bag, I should be able to-- ....


... CLAUDY. Get OUT of-- ....Claudy, NO-- aw, hell. Claudy...

<sub>[... There's a brief, resigned pause, and then Heather brings up the 'Gear to eye-level to show the network just what it is she's looking at.]

[Anybody remember Claudy's oh-so-endearing choice of habitat back when she was a cute little Hoothoot who could fit into small spaces? Anybody remember how that adorable (and very inconvenient) habit had disappeared once she had evolved into something as tall as Heather's torso? Juudai, remember how you gave her that great big RK9 sports bag for Christmas?]</sub>

_{[The feed opens out on the expansive city skyline, though the slight reflection of the PokeGear shows that, thankfully, there's a panel of glass in between it and the unholy winter storm raging outside. It's nothing compared to that blizzard from last month in terms of whiteout-- the buildings outside, lit up brightly as usual, are still perfectly visible, but the low, gutteral moaning of the wind and the occasional pulsing flash far off in the roiling skies-- tumbling with clouds of that weird velvety orange-gray color only seen in the thickest of snowstorms-- indicate that it is not a pleasant night to be outside.]}

Screw my shift, man. I'm not goin' in tonight.

The ol' bat can kiss my ass.

_{[There's a low rumble of thunder and a clump of buildings off on far side of the city go dark.]}

Ugh. See?

Screw that. I'm staying in my room.

_{[... Well, she might go and bother what few of her friends remained in the hotel. ... Though it was a dwindling number, lately. It made the enormous city seem surprisingly lonely. She'd gotten used to having most of her buddies within walking distance and it was funny how quickly it had seemed normal. Ah, well. She'd already known she took things for granted... at least they were still in Johto.]}

[Though it did make her wonder if she really wanted to stay in the city much longer. ... The old wander gene was kicking in, and then there was the arrival of a certain prominent figure (although they'd never formally met...) from Heather's past...]

[The feed lingers on the window for a moment or two before the camera-holder seems to snap out of her thoughtfulness and turns away, transforming the scene into a brief, ugly blur of floral hotel wallpaper.]

Anyway. Anyone else in the hotel hungry? Maybe we can pool a little money and order some epic room service, because like hell am I gonna try and go out to eat tonight.

.... Oh yeah, and-- heh.

_{[The camera turns once more from where Heather's flopped down on the bed and shows.... this.]}



... I think being cooped up indoors makes them restless.Hey!

It's, uh-- ... it's Cheryl.

I hope you got somewhere sheltered because this storm's a real doozy. Have you made it to Cherrygrove yet?

Anyway, uh...

... Listen. I'm probably gonna be heading out of town soon and backtracking to Violet City. Which is... probably on your destination list if you're goin' the usual way.

_{[There's a brief pause. Heather sounds almost humorously sheepish and unsure. To anyone already familiar with her usual cocky way of talking, it'd probably almost sound adorable how uncertain she was. But really could you blame her after what had happened when the last person she knew from back home showed up? This was a big deal and she didn't wanna fuck it all up.]}

Do you... I dunno, wanna meet up for coffee or something while I'm there?

_{[ooc: Hey guys! Like most tl;dr stuff I post, THIS IS OPTIONAL READING so feel free to completely skip over it, although those with characters in the hotel are also free to say that they saw Heather leaving her hotel room with a really, really dark expression. She will not be deterred or particularly receptive to any attempts to engage in conversation. If you would like to, however, here's some appropriate listening material.]}











Heather's thumb hovered over the 'Connect' button, but didn't press it again. She'd already done it about fifteen times, hoping to hear something else, but she'd already known that the message wouldn't change, no matter how many times she called. The truth was that it wasn't even a surprise, no matter how much she wished it could have been, nor how much she simultaneously dreaded and expected it.

With each passing day, she had known it more and more.

Hearing this now was only a confirmation.

The last nail in the coffin.

He was gone.

( Don't remember one jump or one leap... just quiet steps away from your lead. )


[Audio-- locked to Phoenix Wright.]

_{[Her voice is punctuated by gasps-- she's out of breath and wheezing. Her voice is hoarse and there's weird gaps between the words, like she's struggling to put them together.]}

I-- ... P- ... Phoenix?

Uhm.

Are you-- ... are you there?

I gotta-- ... can I talk t'you?

It's.

Uhm.

It's important...





_{[ooc edit: thank you so much for your lovely comments, guys. I can't even begin to describe how much I appreciate ALL of them. I'm screening them to cut down on clutter, though! ILU!]}

_{[Given the work week, Heather has not had a chance to really enjoy the snow that much. Whether the Pokemon world celebrates Christmas the same way most 'normal' ones do is up for debate, but one thing is clear: holiday shopping is universal. The Department Store has been going absolutely insane with gaudy decorations and increasingly-frenzied customers buying up everything in sight. Between the exhaustion and the ever-earlier setting of the sun, Heather's been spent by the time she gets off of work.]}

[Friday night was spent mostly-asleep under a pile of blankets and obscenely fluffy winter-coated Pokemon (Arty and Cujo both seemed to have doubled in volume in the past few weeks), and when the gray winter morning light crept in through the snow-lined window, it fell largely upon the same scene. SOMEWHERE under there, there was a human being. ... Or maybe they had just eaten Heather and the tuft of scruffy blond hair and the single disembodied foot sticking out from between blanket and Cujo's tawny belly were in fact the only pieces left of her. Who could tell?]

... MREEP

_{[The alarm on the PokeGear (which was ... poking out of the blankets somewhere, giving a glorious view of the hopeless chaos that was Heather's bed. Of COURSE the alarm function had randomly turned on the video feed, too-- alarms always did dumb shit like that without being told to) had turned on, and-- oh, look at that. A scrawny, pale arm had emerged from somewhere amid the dogpile (literally) and was now groping around in search of the 'Gear. Looked like Heather was alive under there after all.]}

Hmghghh... where're you, dumb ... dumb thing.

MREEP MREEP MREEP

_{[Her hand encountered the roly-poly form of a sleeping Totodile and shoved him to the side unceremoniously before finally getting to the actual 'Gear.]}

Ugh, there you are... _{[Sitting up and making Cujo slide off the bed with an elegant thump, Heather stared blearily at the 'Gear and shut off the alarm. Ugh what time was i-- ... OH HEY IT WAS SATURDAY. FUCK YEAH, SNOW TIME.]}

[The 'Gear was dropped briefly onto the bed once more and the sleepy Pokemon came awake with various stretches and growls as their Trainer hopped around, one-handedly tugging on her (un-eaten) boots and a fresh-from-the-department-store new coat-- yeah, it was finally too cold for her to continue going sleeveless.]

--C'mon, Cooj!

_{[The Growlithe struggled out of the blankets he had wrapped himself in with an excited woof and Heather grabbed up the 'Gear again, turning the radio on as she headed for the door, one mitten in her mouth.]}

Ghotta getd'guys...

_{[Stamping one foot a little harder than the other to get her heel more firmly down into position, Heather clomped over to the door to Liquid and Otacon's room and raised her fist to knock obnoxiously as usua--- .... oh.]}

[Oh yeah.]

[Deflating, she lowered her fist sheepishly. There were already new people in that room and she'd just come preeeetty close to waking them up at like nine in the morning. Aawwwkward.]

--And the weather's just getting colder, citizens of Johto, so us here at the weather department would like to advise you all to stay bundled up indoors instead of trying to go out today! _{[--buzzed the weatherman's voice over the 'Gear's radio. Frowning down at the screen, Heather sank back to lean against the hallway's wall and heaved a big sigh.]}


.... Hnm. Maybe we should just...

_{[She trailed off there to look down at Cujo, who was staring adoringly up to her and wagging his entire body more than he was actually wagging his tail. WALK?? WALK? WALK?! OHPLEASE? circle?]}


.... Ugh, you know what?

Screw the cold. _{[... And screw the absence of Otacon and Liquid. Snake had said their being gone was no reason why they couldn't have a good time back here in Goldenrod, right?]}

[Jutting her chin out stubbornly, Heather pulled on her hat.]






_{[ooc: ACTION FOR THOSE IN GOLDENROD. Feel free to encounter Heather out in the snow if your character is hardcore enough to be trying to be out there on a day like this. Or feel free to try and stop her. EITHER OR.]}

_{[Like so many transmissions today, this one opens up with the camera aimed straight up at the velvety-gray sky, with dry little flakes of snow drifting down. It also cuts in about halfway through a sentence--]}

--ime to get some winter gear... Hey, network. Please enjoy five minutes of my dog being a spaz.

_{[It swivels down to focus on the plaza-- looks like Heather's walking back to the hotel from work and is finally getting a chance to enjoy the flurries (though she's c-c-c-cold. The whole sleeveless routine won't work for too much longer...). The flagstones are dusted with snow, and-- ... as promised, Cujo is being a spaz.]}

[The orange-colored pup is lying on his side in the snow and just sort of... wriggling in place, snorfling around in the MAGICAL WHITE STUFF THAT IS FALLING FROM THE SKY. After a few seconds or two he suddenly surges upright, butt in the air and ears standing straight up. He stares, glassy-eyed, at the camera for a few seconds, and then lets out an explosive snort and goes tearing off in a random direction.]

['Zilla the toddler Totodile appears on the screen then, slipping and sliding after him through the snow at a laughably slower pace-- changing direction a few times as Cujo goes rocketing past in the opposite direction. Eventually he gives up and comes waddling back to Heather with a frustrated gargle. She laughs.]

Maybe when you get longer legs, buddy-- hey, let's see how Arty likes the snow. Ya like the snow, Arty?

_{[The camera turns and shows... well, this.]}




.... I think she likes it.

<sub>[OOC: HI GUYS. As per usual with my TL;DR event posts, reading this is more or less optional. All you need to know is that Heather's in the Goldenrod City Department Store, and that you are free to bother her in ANY WAY YOU SEE FIT, anywhere in the store.
Posts on my end might be a little slow, but I AM online and will be replying to every tag!
Out-of-game dudes, welcome to Route for the weekend! I hope you enjoy your stay, and hope that maybe we'll be snagging a few of you for good. ;)]





[Well, Saturday came, and despite the injuries and wreckage accumulated at the Department Store from the aftermath of that robbery, a big mall can't staff itself! As such, the employees have all been respectfully ordered to come back and help with cleaning things up, because god forbid they close the store for a few days!]

[And so, wearing her stupid little employee uniform, a tired Heather got up early with her newly-recovered Pokemon in-pocket (she didn't normally take them to work with her, but given the events there, she was feeling less confident about the prospect of being without them in case of an emergency. And besides, she sort of wanted to spoil them a little bit for all they'd been through), and made her way morosely to the big shiny building.]

[The whole way, Cujo pranced and gamboled around her, completely oblivious to his Trainer's sour mood.]

[She shoved the revolving door a little harder than necessary and went through it, taking care not to let the simple-minded Growlithe get stuck in the turnstyle.]

[And gueeeessss who was right there waiting in the lobby for her, surrounded by bustling janitors carrying around busted vending machines and sweeping up rubble?]</sub>


ABOUT TIME YOU SHOWED UP!

BACK IN MY DAY, SNOTTY KIDS WHO TOOK TOO MUCH TIME OFF OF WORK WERE FLOGGED AND PUBLICLY HUMILIATED!



.... And back in your day, the elderly fell behind and got eaten by saber-toothed tigers...


WHAT WAS THAT?!


Ugh... nothing...


I'VE HAD ABOUT ENOUGH OF YOUR LIP. MY DELICATE HEART CANNOT ABIDE SUCH DISRESPECT. GO HELP THE JANITORS ON THE SECOND FLOOR BEFORE YOUR INSOLENCE BEGINS TO ENDANGER MY HEALTH.



Yes, ma'am...


AND GET THAT FILTHY MUTT IN A POKEBALL IMMEDIATELY!!


_{[Making a sour face, Heather promptly flipped the old bat off as she went huffing away to scream at someone else who didn't deserve it.]}


Don't listen to 'er, Cooj. You might be a filthy mutt, but she's a bitch and that's ten times worse. We gotta stop at the laundry room first. I'll let you chew on one of her skirts.

<sub>[Cujo panted up at her happily, having absolutely no idea that the supervisor had called him anything, and promptly walked into a potted plant because he wasn't watching where he was going.]



[The employee laundry room yawned ominously away from the doorway, its gray-green basement lights buzzing in that ugly way that old, out-of-date electronics that no higher-up has felt necessary to replace so often do. The gaps between the tiles here were always wet, and filled with that gritty mush that resulted when bits of powdered laundry detergent spilled onto a damp floor and was allowed to sit. The whole place smelled like stagnant water from the machine in the corner that was always broken and filled up with cloudy water that nobody bothered to drain for weeks.]

[Old uniforms were strewn across the floor like corpses of long-forgotten staff members who had been trapped down here and died horribly.]</sub>


... Same old, same old...


_{[Heather sighed and stepped in, her boots skidding slightly on the soapscum-covered floor.]}

Don't eat anything I don't tell you is okay, Cooj.

_{[She leaned over the bin of clean uniforms, digging around in it with still-bandaged arms. She needed a new hat and didn't fancy getting screamed at for not having one if she was caught without it on the job.]}

Jesus, there can't be like fifty thousand clean shirts and no hats...


_{[Then she stopped and looked over her shoulder, brows furrowed. Cujo was standing stiffly behind her, his creamy hackles raised and normally-happy brown eyes wide and staring. A low, unsettled growl was drifting out of his throat and his stare was settled firmly on the employee lockers across the room. Swallowing, Heather withdrew from the bin slowly.]}

... What is it, boy?


<sub>[The growl increased in volume, and Heather frowned worriedly, following his gaze.]

[The source of his anxiety became clear instantly.]

[The door to Locker no. 9 was rattling gently, occasionally thumping. There was something inside it. Trying to get out.]

[The hairs on the back of Heather's neck stood up.]

[... It's... it's deja vu all over again...]


[The rattling was replaced by an insistent, metallic banging. Heather gulped, and reached out to pick up a nearby metal laundry basket.]</sub>

Stay here, Cooj...

_{[Slowly, warily, she approached the locker. As though sensing her nearing presence, the banging became louder and more violent. Adamant. Biting her lip, Heather reached out with a bandaged hand... and opened the locker.]}


--AAAUGH!



<sub>[The laundry basket went clanging to the floor as Heather fell backwards, knocked onto the damp, gritty floor as whatever was in the locker came lunging out at her like a desperate predator, barreling its warm weight into her chest and knocking her off-balance. Cujo erupted into a frenzy of barking and whimpering, knocking over the laundry bin as he turned in alarmed circles.]

[Heather thrashed on the floor, throwing the attacker off in the process and struggling to sit up defensively, teeth bared.]</sub>

I-- GET OFF! I'LL-- You-- .... uh. .... Huh?


_{[The attacker wagged its little cinnamon-bun of a tail, the speaker on its headphones giving out a cheery little crackle of static.]}

<sub>[Things have been oddly silent on Heather's end of the line over the past day or so. She hasn't been responding much to other transmissions, or even to private messages. Right after all that chaos, too-- you'd think that given she WORKED at the Goldenrod Department Store, she'd be on the network constantly with all kinds of 'This is CRAZY, you guys'-style transmissions about Evil Bitch-Supervisor of Death bullying all the Officer Jennies for not stopping the robbery or how there was a soda machine with a fist-shaped hole clean through it or something. But no-- nothing.]

[And her friends at the hotel may have noticed that she didn't wind up coming back to her room that night.]

[When the feed does come on, it's a little more obvious as to why.]



[What? Heather in a POKEMON CENTER? Could she be...? ... Nah. She's obviously not in there for herself, although both of her arms are heavily bandaged and a few nasty-looking, angry red scratches are peeking over the edge of the gauze.]

[But she's sitting hunched on the floor by one of the recovery-ward beds for Pokemon, her vest lying in cushioning pile behind her and a battered-looking Cujo asleep by her side. She looks tired... even more tired than she's been otherwise, lately, which was saying something. And judging by the way she kept glancing up at the Pokeballs encased in the incubatory healing device sitting gently on the cot next to where she's sitting, her Pokemon are the real reason she's in here.]


[The camera shakes, then bobbles a little closer, and Heather finally notices. She turns her head to the camera, frowning at first, but then a wry, half-amused smile quirks her mouth slightly.]</sub>

Was wondering where you were, y'little weirdo.

_{[She leans over and reaches out, grabbing the camera and tugging it with some difficulty away from whatever's holding it]}

You must be worried if you're not chewing on it... the other guys are fine. Relax.

_{[The mystery-filmer is revealed as the fat little Totodile toddles over and tries to wedge itself into Heather's lap. She rolls her eyes and lets out a gusty sigh but lets her legs slide down so that there's more room. Now that the camera's on her, though, she frowns a little at the sight of the little red 'Record' light, but then shrugs. Oh well. While she's on...]}


So, uh, police.

The hell were you last night?

I could've used the help.

<sub>[Her tone makes it obvious that working with the cops isn't exactly the first thing on her agenda, but there you go.]

[She doesn't need to say that a lot of people got hurt-- the rest of the network probably already knows that, it's had to have been all over the news by now.]</sub>


Anyway...

_{[She goes quiet again, rubbing the back of her head. Scritch. She... doesn't feel as talkative as usual.]}


... Oh yeah. Last thing. Joker.

_{[Reaching out next to her, she picks a handful of something that chinks and glitters in the low light. A bunch of coins! She grins.]}


Think you dropped these, Bozo.

Great job.




( Aaaand for those who might have been around the aftermath of Joker's getaway last night... )


_{[ooc: Feel free to action if your character was injured during/after the robbery and they'd be in the Pokemon Center too!]}

Hey guys. I am trapped, running a mild fever, and am in need of some form of escape from reality. Since there's apparently no such thing as video games here and my head hurts too much to try and read, you guys are my source of relief. Hi.

Ever since a certain.... um... bathing incident, I'm not allowed to let several of my Pokemon out of their Balls-- .... _{heh. 'Balls'.}-- ... yeah. So I don't even have them for company. ... Except for--
That. And it won't stop staring at me.


That is so not a Dratini, Kairi. I am disappoint.

... On the other hand!_{[She puts the 'Gear down on her lap so that everyone has a very nice close-up view of the pink, lint-covered surface of the blanket, and proceeds to rummage in what was presumably her bag, sitting on the seat next to her. There's rustling noises, a slightly indignant squawk, and a mumble of 'Sorry, Claudy...' from Heather, before she picks up the camera again and holds an Egg in front of it.]}


I found this, too. Anyone know what the hell it is? I'd rather avoid any surprises this time.


.... Oh. And uh... one last thing.

Given... the flooding, and the fact that a bunch of people were... warped or something to ... various places, I kinda wanna ask... uh.

Well. Not that I'm a big organizer or anything, but...


Even if it's just a little text message with the location, I don't really care. I'm just curious. _{[... And a little worried. As she's said to many, she really doesn't want to hear about a body-count once the flooding subsides...]}

.... I hope everybody's safe.






_{[ooc: Feel free to action if you're in the Violet Pokemon Center and your char wants to find Heather's cramped little corner!]}

_{[The entry is dated as having been sent out the previous evening, roughly when she said she'd be reporting back to begin with.]}

[Despite Heather's best efforts, her Pokegear got pretty wet in the adventure, so video and voice is out.]


[There's nothing in the transmission but a picture:
Heather, along with three others-- Kay, Luke, and Rhode-- all of them looking wet (three guesses as to where THEY were for the past few hours!), exhausted, and bedraggled, but nonetheless relieved, are among the milling crowd in Violet City's brightly-lit Pokemon Center, which as expected has been packed to the brim with relief efforts and people seeking shelter. Heather has a towel around her shoulders and is presumably holding up the Pokegear to snap the photo. She's wearing a weary grin and doing the classic thumbs-up gesture with her free hand.]

[Along with the photo, there's a caption:]

STORYBITS: THE DRABBLENING

Over time I've accumulated a lot of random Route-verse or generally Heather-based drabbles! Here's a post compiling them all in one place. See comments for the stories!