"Your parents will be there. And so will Team Solaceon," Aaron finished, his stare serious.
There was deafeaning silence for a couple seconds, before the boys erupted.
"NOOOOO! I don't want my mom and my father there!" Ash pouted, twisting his cap freakishly, muttering.
"Hey, you think I want your mother, your dad, and my grandfather in the same room?" Gary countered. "You know how annoyed my grandfather gets at your dad, because his son died? So now with the whole descendant thing...it annoys the crap out of him! Plus, your dad married into the family. It's so complicated."
"Or my papa," Calem said quietly, wincing at the though. He subconsciously looked towards Serena, but quickly caught himself and looked away. Paul was the only one to notice, but he didn't say anything about it. "He thinks that toutes choses have to go his way. At least my older sœur, Charlotte will be there," Calem accepted.
Paul growled angrily, and kicked at a nearby sand bag. "Reggie will be here. He's so annoying. And...Peter. Won't he?" he snarled, glaring at Aaron.
"Yeah," Aaron answered apologetically. "Peter Shinji will be there. But...Kaylyn Shinji will be too!" he offered quickly.
Aaron turned to look at Drew. "So will Mr. Christian Hayden, Mrs. Jennifer Anderson and little Rose Hayden as well."
Drew looked elated that his little sister was coming. But shock washed over him as he realized a new fact. "Wait...but you said Team Solaceon will be there..." he whispered with sudden horror.
"Yes," Aaron nodded, "That's why this mission is the most important. Because your families could die, if you fail." He leaned in close.
"This is why you're an agent. Prove to us that you can do it."
He backed up with a disturbed look in his eyes. "Hmm, I'm starting to sound like Cynthia. Just to let you guys know, I argued with Cynthia for days about this. I wanted to send just backup, and S...never mind, but Cynthia insisted on sending you guys as well."
Team Eevee shared looks, but shrugged in agreement. Except Drew. Drew was off in his own world.
Drew's glassy eyes stared back, as his lower lip trembled. Leaf, who was standing next to him, poked at him. "Hey! Grass-head! Cabbage-head! DREW! WAKE UP!"
Drew started, as the rest of Team Eevee stared back at him curiously, wondering what was wrong with him.
When Aaron started talking again, everyone turned around and listened to Aaron.
Only May still stared at Drew curiously. As much as the two disliked each other, May had to admit, he was handsome, and she had a crush on him when she first met him, but Drew had been such a pervert, and an annoying ass, that May immediately 'changed' her mind.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ahh!" May screamed, her Glaceon's big, blue eyes were panicked, as if she didn't know what to do. She windmilled her arms, trying desperately not to fall. Why did she have to be so clumsy?
"Glaceon! Glace, glace!"
A pair of warm, strong, gentle arms wrapped around her and lifted her upright.
"Whoa there," a soft, gentle voice said close to May, and the arms pulled tighter around her.
"Hmm? Oh! Thank you! You're so kin-" Thirteen-year old May stopped short as she turned to stare into fourteen-year old Drew's green, dragon-like eyes. "Oh," she muttered in a small voice, backing away.
"What's wrong?" Drew asked, brushing away at his bangs, eyes actually worried. "Oh...um...nothing?" May squeaked out, wincing.
Suddenly, Drew's expression changed to satisfied and smug.
"Is it...don't tell me you want to kiss me too?" Drew said in a bored tone, his mouth widening into a sickening laugh.
Well...maybe not. Perhaps Drew was not genuine.
May immediately stopped thinking that he was cute, and started thinking about comebacks. "And I would want to kiss you because...?" May asked indignantly, coming up with thin air.
"'Cause you think I'm gorgeous?" Drew smirked.
"Ha," May snorted, though she could feel the flush of her cheeks and the light tremble in her voice. Drew took two steps towards May, and May took two steps backwards. Right into a wall. She was too young! She was going to fight the urge to kiss this gorgeous...ahhh...annoying! Person.
"Why would I like a ass like you?" May shot back, her knees quaking lightly. "You're obviously rude, and you haven't shown much respect either!"
"Uh...because I'm gorgeous!?" Drew repeated, as if May was just another child. "And because I do things so much better than you!"
That made her mad. Because May did think he was gorgeous, but that didn't mean May was going to tell him that. Plus, no one did better than her on the EIA tests. Even the boys. "You think? I've seen much better. And you do not do things better than me." May sneered weakly, trying to look nonchalant, even though her voice was an octave higher than normal. "We, beat everyone."
"Glaceon? Glace?..." Glaceon cocked her head curiously at the duo, unsure of what to do.
"Mm," Drew muttered, unconvinced. May flushed again, and started stalking away from him, beckoning politely at Glaceon.
Glaceon followed reluctantly, staring with confusion at the boy who made her trainer so furious.
May turned the corner and started sprinting, needing to get away from the boy who made her feel so flustered, yet so furious at the same time.
Drew stared after the brunette with wonder in his eyes. He hadn't acted like that with a girl in a long time. But he had felt...compelled.
To say Drew was shocked was the least of it. She left him breathless, and wanting. Left him actually eager to see someone! Who was this girl, who came and changed his life, just like that?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ignore me," he muttered, turning away, but still tilted his head so he could hear what Aaron had to say. Aaron shaked his head sadly, nodding at Drew's response.
May shook herself out of the memory as Aaron started talking again.
"Let's see...Jimmy, your mother and brother will be there, but not your father. I think," Aaron sighed, taking a deep breath.
"Mom's coming? And Chuck?" Jimmy asked with raised eyebrows, giving Marina a pointed look.
"Is Vincent?" Marina stepped forwards, questioning Aaron.
"Uh...no, I don't think. Mr. Kenta's secretary?" Aaron replied. "Yeah," Jimmy nodded, his jaw notably clenching at the mention of Vincent. Serena poked Dawn, and the two erupted in laughter.
"What?" Marina scowled, glaring at the two girls. Leaf nudged her in comfort, and Jimmy gave a sheepish shrug.
"Nothing!" Dawn and Serena giggled, simultaneously raising their hands to wave nonchalantly. They laughed harder when they realized that they had done the exact same thing.
Silence washed the entire Team Eevee. Aaron sighed, and pulled out his phone, furiously tapping and talking to the device. The Team Eevee agents shared looks, wondering what Aaron was doing.
"Uh...Aaron? Was there anything else?" May finally asked impatiently.
"Hm?" Aaron looked up, noticed the annoyed teenagers, and quickly slipped the phone back into his pocket.
"So yeah...Zebulon is at the LaRousse Hall to steal the Volcarona Drew's dad is currently protecting. The Haydens' are hosting, and their company owns the LaRousse Hall. We don't know the exact details revolving around how he got the Volcarona, but your dad, Drew, knows that you guys are coming, and he will not give her to anyone but you. Our spies have reported, that Zebulon wants the Volcarona badly, and will kill to get it. A Cryogonal is being held by the Charbonneaus'. Calem, you will have to get that from your dad. Okay? There is nothing else really...wait! Also, you will be needing your gear, but not your special combat clothing and stuff...but your weapons, devices, everything, you must carry in with you."
The Eevees gear included clothes in all black, relatively light and safe armor, black bandannas to cover their hair, a black mask to cover their faces, comm units, emergency units, on body cameras, simple hackers, simple tools for lock picking, four flashlights, spare batteries, trackers to place on enemies, traps, nets, spare Pokeballs, all six of their original Pokeballs, simple first aid, four lightweight pistols, two daggers/hunting knives, twelve throwing knives strapped to their belts, two, three foot swords strapped on their back, four explosives, two smoke bombs, rations, and water. Each of the girls had their own special weapon if they chose.
"There will be a limo to pick you guys up at six, an hour before the time the party's supposed start. The girls have an assortment of dresses, and the boys, suits in their rooms. You guys can pick your own outfits. You have four hours to get ready. You guys have dates, and there will be no arguments. It's required. It'll also look less suspicious if you guys only stay in touch by comms. Leaf and Calem, Lucian says to use the special ear pieces, and the special, small, Mac book that has voice recognition and stuff so that things will be easier to manage."
Leaf grinned, and reached for her bag, wiping sweat off her forehead, and slipped out two thin, silver, extremely expensive looking computers out of her bag. She tossed one towards Calem, who caught it in one hand casually, and the pair shared a grin.
"Pairs...uh, May and Drew," Aaron stated as both agents glared at each other.
"Paul and Dawn." Dawn flushed and she looked shyly at him. Paul merely grunted and gave the barest nod towards her direction. Though a slight pink color crawled onto the base of his neck.
"Leaf and Gary."
"I'M NOT GOING WITH THE PERVERTED, ARROGANT ASSHOLE!" Leaf screamed, nearly dropping her computer, as blood seeped into her face.
"Exactly!" Gary shouted, but then he stopped short and thought about Leaf's words. "Uh...um...I meant, I'm not a perverted arrogant asshole! And she should be happy to go with me! I just tell the truth!"
"NO! You just use girls and are cruel to them! You don't care about their feelings! It's all just sex for you! You freaking find time to do..that! Even though your an agent!" Leaf spat fiercely, her brown eyes glowing with unearthly power.
Gary looked lost, as if he wasn't sure how he was supposed to reply. He ended up turning around and stomping up next to Drew. "She thinks she's everything." Gary muttered under his breath. Drew patted his back awkwardly, and gave a pondering look towards Leaf. After staring at her for a couple seconds, something seemed to click, and Drew chuckled quietly. Gary gave him an annoyed look, but Drew just smiled.
Leaf looked vulnerable after he left, and Serena wrapped her arms around her, and Marina placed a gentle hand on her shoulder.
Aaron raised an eyebrow, shrugged, and continued. "So...Serena and Calem."
Calem looked torn, both excited and happy, yet melancholy and depressed.
"My papa?" Calem offered when Serena looked at him curiously over Leaf's shoulder. "Hm," Serena nodded, agreeing with Calem's worry.
"Ash and Misty," Aaron continued.
"Yeah! Up top Mist!" Ash grinned, and raised his hand high in the air. Misty smacked his hand, and smirked herself, though her cerulean eyes were wide with anticipation and nervousness.
Dawn winked at the flustered Misty, and she swatted at Dawn, laughing. Dawn whispered something into Misty's ear, and she blushed red before muttering, "That's not possible! And it will never happen! Never! You hear?"
"And finally, Jimmy and Marina," Aaron finished, looking pretty self-satisfied.
Marina shrugged with light embarrassment, and Jimmy looked almost hopeful. But they were the last ones left, so it was pretty obvious who the pair was going to be.
Dawn and Serena laughed together, trying to cheer Leaf up with some joking comments. Leaf gave a weak smile, and let out a small giggle at one of the really funny ones.
"Okay, ya'll dismissed," Aaron smirked, waving at them, and Bertha stepped forward to shoo them away.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dawn, Marina, and Serena started jabbering loudly as the group left the training grounds. "I call hair!" Serena offered, twirling around giddily, tripping.
Calem caught her by instinct, looking at Serena with surprise when he saw that she was in his arms. She thanked him breathlessly, and continued bouncing along, talking animatedly with Dawn.
"And I call make-up! Smoky eyes for May? Or light? Maybe some wings for Misty! Hm, probably not. Maybe something else..." Dawn chirped with just as much excitement.
"Hm, I dunno, I can do different things, perhaps we should...I don't know, can I like...organize the outfits? For the girls? Rena, you can take the boys!" Marina added.
"They don't get out much...do they?" Gary smirked, twisting at his shirt. Every once and a while, he'd glance sadly at Leaf, who was sending him death glares, and currently being walked by Misty. "Nope," May sighed, walking alongside Paul and Jimmy, grinning from ear to ear.
"So Paul, how're we doing this?" May asked, poking at the sullen agent. "Let them take the initiative," Calem suggested, rubbing subconsciously at his cheeks, trying to get rid of the warmth. "If we let Zebulon do what he went there to do, me and Leaf's jobs, will be so much more facile. Trackers, on everybody, we infiltrate the system, and we can immediately tell what's going on. But if we take initiate, who knows what traps and crap Zelo will have set up," Calem said.
"Wait...but, I thought Drew's family owned the building? How the heck can Team Solaceon get in and set traps?" May squinted her eyes, and gave Calem a look.
"I dunno...it's Team Solaceon!" Calem snorted.
"Mm, that sounds pretty solid. All we really have to do position entrance and exit guards, though it will have to be less suspicious, and us guys will have to mingle a bit. Because...you know, heirs of rich companies," Drew added, flipping his bangs.
"Well...but if you are seen without your dates...what will they think then?" May shot back.
"Do you have to find something wrong with everything I say, December?" Drew said.
"Don't call me DECEMBER! MY NAME IS MAY! OH MEW!" May got in his face.
"Really June? Because sometimes, I don't know who you are, because your face just blends into the background."
Jimmy sighed towards Calem, who was on his left. "Do they have to argue every single day?"
Calem shot him a sideways smile. "What do you think?"
"Yep, they absolutely have to." Paul chipped in with a roll of his eyes.
May heard this, and she turned around, walking backwards, and glared at the boys. "How do you live with him?"
"We don't," Jimmy, Calem, and even Gary said at the same time. Ash turned his wide eyes at the arguing group, away from the girls, who were still loudly planning the outing.
May groaned in disappointment, and glared a bit.
They reached the base of the stairs, May still arguing about the plan with the boys, while Dawn and Serena giddily planned, and Misty and Marina comforted Leaf.
"Okay! Okay. We'll kinda just wing it, okay?" Ash said with an air of finality.
May furrowed her eyebrows and stared at him disbelievingly. "What?" Ash muttered, "We do it all the time! It turns out fine! We do whatever is necessary to prevent Zelo and Team Solaceon from getting Volcarona, and Cryogonal...right? And the rest is just...well, a mystery! We can't really do anything about that...can we?"
"Sages paroles...sages paroles, Ash," Serena laughed, starting up the stairs. Everyone laughed at Ash's confused expression, as they split up at the top of the stairs. Boys to the right, girls to the left.
"Wait...what does that mean?" Ash asked.
"You'd think you'd pick up some French after being around Calem and Serena for so long, and so often," Gary muttered.
"It means wise words Ash. Someone called Ash wise..." Calem shook his head in disbelief. "Rena called Ash wise."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May sulked all the way to her room.
Dawn and Serena immediately collecting the assortment of dresses at their disposal, and sorted through them, looking for the right one for the right girl.
"Hmm...the bright red one with the sequins...May? Nah...Serena would look good in it," Dawn muttered. "Look good in what?" Serena popped through the doorway, carrying a few more dresses.
"It would look good on her!" Serena argued, placing the new ones onto the bed, next to the options already there.
"Nah, this one's better. See? Brings out her complexion. And fits her body shape," Dawn countered.
May ran through the connecting door, her hair wrapped in a towel, and in only a camisole and boy shorts. "May! Where are you going?" Marina asked sharply, racing after her as May passed through, and into the 'safe zone'. A.k.a. Misty and Leaf's rooms.
"Shut the door!" May squealed as she passed through the door frame. Misty tried to slam the door, but Dawn placed a book in the corner, blocking it. "Dawn!" Misty complained.
"Nope! you guys are getting dressed in these gorgeous dresses if it's the last thing I do! And May, I know you like getting dressed up! You just don't like how 'restricting' they are!" Dawn chided. Serena nodded in agreement. "And I got the perfect dress for you May! It's not even that restricting! It's silk!"
May poked her head out, and twisted her mouth to the side. "Not restricting Serena? Silk? Really?"
"Yep!" Dawn said happily, reaching over to tug on a strand of May's hair. Serena simply grinned
May made a face, but still reluctantly slipped out of Misty's room, and allowed Dawn to drag her over to the mirror, and compare the gorgeous blue, silk dress that made May's eyes glow.
"See?" Dawn said smugly towards Serena, who held up the red, sequined one, and shook her head, agreeing with Dawn. "Ouais, yours is better."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Can we just play the Legend of Zelda?" Jimmy asked, taking off his cap.
"Why not?" Drew though aloud, reaching over to throw his suit onto the growing pile.
"I agwee!" Ash mumbled, chewing with his cheeks poofed out.
"Sure?" Calem nodded, placing his suit on the pile.
Gary was already setting up the game console, grinning like a madman.
"I'll watch now, play later," Paul muttered, turning around to sit down.
"I'm winning this!" Gary laughed, punching the air. "I win every time!"
Jimmy smirked. "I might not win every time, but I win almost every time against you, now days at least, Gary!"
"Psh," Ash laughed, making a silly face, "That's because Gary's an arrogant idiot! Even Leaf agrees with me! And that's saying a lot! She's seen everything!"
Gary glared at him. "That's true, you know Gary? Maybe you should bring yourself a notch down," Drew offered, flicking his hair.
"You're the one talking?" Gary shot back, his fists clenching. "Yep," Drew said nonchalantly, whistling lightly. He plopped down, snatching a chip from Ash.-+
"Shut up guys. Vous êtes pénible!" Calem snapped.
"I agree," Paul said indifferently, popping open a bottle of Pepsi.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ow! I don't want you to do my hair!" Leaf yelped, trying to hit Marina, who was trying to pull her hair into a tight waterfall braid. "Hold still!" Marina snapped, brushing her wispy bangs out of her face.
"Leafy! Hold still for her, s'il vous plaît?" Serena called out as she reached for the gray eyeliner. "May!" she snapped, whipping around and slapping the powder out of her hand. "Let the professional!"
Leaf sighed deeply, and slumped her shoulders, but let Marina work on her nevertheless. "Your hair is so long and thick! I don't know why you leave it down so much Leaf! I know the little barrette like things you do with your hair, is cute, but there are thousands of hairdos and braids I could do on you if you'd just let us!" Marina told her in a serious voice. Leaf raised her eyebrows, and reached for her computer.
"Nuh-uh! Keep still!" Marina tutted.
May gently placed the container back, but gave Serena the evil eye in the mirror.
"Hmph," May grumbled, glaring at Serena. "Why though?" she whined. May looked miffed, as she actually enjoyed putting on her own make-up, but even she would admit, that Dawn, Serena, and Marina, were professionals on this type of thing, and they would make her look better.
"You guys never let me have any fun," May pouted. "Oh, you'll be okay chérie," Serena waved May off.
"Hmm," May said, not amused at all.
On the another hand, Dawn was bravely taking on Misty, who threatened to kill Dawn with every little bit of makeup Dawn put on her.
Misty didn't understand it. What the hell was make-up for anyways? It was just...Eugh. Misty did not understand. At all.
Dawn gently dusted Misty's cheeks with blush, and gave her a light shadow, but no more, and gave her little gloss, but no lipstick. Otherwise, Misty would kill her. "Good?" Dawn prompted Misty.
"Yep, that's fine," Misty sighed forlornly, her fingers already itching to wash it all off.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"NO! YOU KILLED ME!" Gary wailed loudly. Ash shoved him, Jimmy punched him, Paul kicked at him, Calem whispered, "Shh!", and Drew stage-whispered, "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"
They had moved on to Super Smash Bros.
"You just burst my eardrums," Paul deadpanned, glaring.
"But...but..." Gary whimpered childishly.
"Ha!" Ash laughed, stuffing some chips into his mouth as he maneuvered his Pikachu around the screen.
Drew gave a lopsided smile, as he knocked Ash right off the platform. "What?" Ash's startled gasp came through the mouthful of chips.
"Karma's a bitch!" Gary crowed, punching Ash in the arm.
"Shut it Gary," Jimmy said grumpily. He had been kicked out of the game early on.
Now it was just Paul, Drew, and Calem left in the game. "You guys are going down...perdants!" Calem smiled, ordering a combination from his figure, and killed both Drew and Paul instantaneously.
"Really Calem?" Paul sighed, giving the black-haired guy an irritated stare.
"Oui, Paul, really." he grinned back.
"You suck dude..." Drew sulked, glaring, but quickly forgetting about it when Ash tried to change the game.
"Don't you dare!" Drew nearly shrieked, and tackled him. Gary let out a chuckle at the amusing sight, and started a new game. This time, Jimmy kicked at Drew and told Drew, this time, to shut up.
"Who's in?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three hours later, Marina, Serena, and Dawn marched into the boys' rooms, unplugged the game devices, and told them to get ready.
Of course, Drew and Gary were absolutely fine with getting all pretty and dressed up, but they were pretty irked about getting their game time cut short.
Serena picked out their completed outfits, using the suits pre-picked out for them, but also added her own special touches. Marina and Dawn helped, but Serena did most of it.
Though a couple threats from Dawn about cutting off their um...man parts, in their sleep, and warnings about how they should be blending in, the boys grudgingly agreed to go and get ready.
Marina stayed behind and supervised, and you could hear her yells and threats all the way across the twenty foot wide hallway.
"WHAT THE CRAP!? GET DRESSED JIMMY! NOW! PAUL! I DON'T WANT YOUR BOXERS! HELL NO! GET OFF! PUT ON SOME CLOTHES! NOT HERE! THE BATHROOM IS RIGHT THERE! I'M ONLY SAYING THIS ONCE MORE! ARGH!" Marina could be heard screaming.
All the girls were ready, except for Serena, who organized the boys' outfits. And for the last hour, Dawn was busy trying to get Serena perfect too. Dawn braided her long, very long, honey-blond, thick hair into a intricate dutch braid, that curled up into an elegant, prettily messy bun. Her dress was a navy blue color with silver spirals, and gray blue accents, bringing out her grayish blue eyes and making her look fairy-like.
When everyone(boys including), were dressed, the group headed down to the weaponry.
Somehow, being the clever agents they were, the girls managed to get everything they needed into the belts, and handbags. The guys, all found ways to carry the necessary items. Calem and Leaf both had computer bags, full of the most expensive equipment the EIA could offer.
Equipped, dressed up, and unprepared, Team Eevee sat in the 'front lobby' on level one(the only non-sublevel floor), of the EIA Base, and waited for the so called limo.
Sure enough, a few minutes before six, a sleek, glistening limo pulled up along the crystal doors. A purple haired man stepped out from the driver's side, and a lady with pink hair, sunglasses, and dressed in a light coral color, gracefully flicked open the passenger door, and got out of the car.
"Mew," May gasped in surprise. She turned to look at Dawn, and the two shared extremely excited looks. Everyone else gave them curious, but weirded-out looks.
The pair walked through the revolving doors, and both girls shrieked in excitement. "SOLIDAD! HARLEY!" they squealed as Solidad took off her sunglasses, her cerulean eyes wide with mirth.
"Hello girls. Team Eevee? Remember me?" Solidad laughed easily. May rushed at her, moving faster than you would think possible, considering she was in two inch high, wedges.
Drew grinned at Solidad, and shot Harley the evil eye, but hung back. "Drewie poo! Sweetheart! I see you back there!" Harley sang, smiling almost smugly.
"Ugh," Drew muttered, inching backwards towards Calem and the shadows.
Harley bounded forward, his black shoes clicking against the granite, and smiled cheekily. "Come here and give me a hug, honey!" Drew started bolting, running wildly. Harley cackled and chased after him.
Solidad laughed at the sight, wrapping her arms tightly around the two girls.
Solidad and Harley were also EIA agents, though mostly in the Hoenn division, so that was how May knew her. Dawn had been introduced to her, and of course, they got along perfectly. They had worked with Team Eevee on many different assignments, often helping out with the parts Team Eevee didn't cover, like interrogation, torture(rarely, but sometimes necessary), pressing charges, press...the list went on.
The entire Team Eevee knew them, but no one better that Dawn and May.
"Missed you Soli..." May muttered into Solidad's shoulder.
If Aaron was Team Eevee's dad, Cynthia was the mom, Lucian the older brother, Flint an uncle, and Bertha the grandma, then Solidad and Harley was like the ultimate Uncle and Aunt pair that made all the children scream in happiness during family gatherings.
"Heh heh, I've missed you guys too, sweethearts!" Harley chimed in, breaking the hug to hug the girls himself. Solidad shook her head. "Hi Harley...your crushing us!" Dawn squeaked.
"Sorry!" Harley said cheerfully, leaning back, and reaching out towards the other agents. "Gonna give me a hug, guys?"
Everyone hugged Harley and Solidad, some more eager than others. As in, some eager, and some screaming and kicking(a.k.a. Drew).
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When the reunion was done, everyone piled into the limo. Harley swerved through the LaRousse traffic, humming along to some boring, popular song.
"Stop it!" Gary whined, pushing Leaf closer to him. Leaf was trying to inch away. "We're supposed to being dating!"
Leaf bared her teeth and practically hissed at Gary. "Bite me."
Gary chuckled, and smirked. "Oh, you walked into that one, Leafy," Marina muttered an instant before Gary put his left arm around Leaf and tugged her closer on the seat.
"Oh," Gary whispered into her ear, making Leaf shiver involuntarily. "I would. If you would let me."
"Shut it!" Leaf snapped, shoving him away angrily.
Serena gave her a sad smile, glared at Gary, and patted Leaf's knee. "Il est un dumbass. Il can go screw himself!"
Leaf gave a shrug, and smiled at her, though the annoyance, but actual hurt was obvious. Calem gave Serena a sharp look. "Tais-toi! Pas plus!"
Serena sighed angrily, and gave him a glare. The two started arguing in rapid French, May catching something along the lines of, "That's enough! They're both guilty!" "It's their problem!" "Friends...solve...own problems." "Leave 'em..." "Not her fault!" "Shut up!"
May sighed, and leaned across the two facing rows of seats, and whispered into Dawn's ear. "Gary needs to start showing Leaf that he can be different, not just the ladies' man Leaf sees him as, and Calem needs to grow a pair and start admitting that he likes Serena and stop being so controlling. Serena is an independent young lady, so she doesn't need no babysitting. And Serena needs to stop being so damn stubborn!"
Dawn giggled into her ear, and accidentally elbowed Paul.
Paul inhaled through his nose, and shot a 'are you serious' look towards Drew, who was sitting next to May, across from Paul. Drew dragged his index finger from the corner of his eye to his chin in a 'tear' motion, and mouthed, 'Too bad!'. Paul glared at him, before settling back into his seat, shaking his head faux sadness.
Dawn narrowed her eyes at that, and punched both boys in their legs, hard.
"Oww! Arceus!" Drew yelped, clutching at his knee, and leaning on Marina, who tried to lean away, and ended up falling onto Jimmy's lap.
Of course, Jimmy had the least luck, dealing with Marina on his lap. He flushed red, and tried to lean back into the seat, away from Marina. Marina stared up at Jimmy, and smiled nervously. "Uh, hi?"
"Hi Mar," Jimmy muttered, trying to hide his blush. "Can you...um...get up?"
"Oh!" Marina flushed this time. She was suddenly all to aware in the compromising position they were in. "Yeah..."
Gary, being the huge pervert he was, catcalled, and whistled loudly. That earned him a slap from Leaf, a punch from May, and when Marina finally got up, a kick(with heels) to the stomach.
He doubled over, groaning and moaning his complaints to Arceus. "Why? Why must these ladies hate me!?"
Leaf snorted, "Oh, what a funny joke. You seriously don't realize why we hate you so much?"
"Exactly! He's so dumb! He thinks he's the best thing the world has to offer," Misty scoffed.
"Wait..." Gary mumbled, sitting up. "I thought I was the best thing the world has to offer?!"
Drew face palmed, and shared another look with Paul.
"You'll figure it out soon cuz," Ash comforted, shoving a pretzel in his mouth. Misty turned to stare in horror at the trainer. "Ash?! This car is expensive! It's rare! We bought it for a hundred thousand PokeDollars! This is a custom made model of..." and at that point, May stopped listening. Misty and her obsession of keeping rare and expensive cars clean.
If May agreed with Ash on one thing. It would be, that every hour of the day, should be happy hour.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Paul growled low in his throat, but still refused to punch Dawn, because she was a lady.
Drew looked like he was going to break that rule though.
"Chill," May scolded, turning around to face him. "Cut it out, all of you."
Everyone immediately turned to May, and sat back, breaking up the fights and arguments between them.
"Wow! You guys changed!" Solidad called from the front. "Last time we saw you guys, you guys didn't listen to anyone! Not even May!"
"Psh," Ash snorted. "Yeah, we only do that because we don't want to anger her, Paul, Cynthia, or Aaron!" Misty finished.
"Probably," May shrugged. "But it works!"
"Right, so...we're almost there," Paul stated matter-of-factly. "You guys know the basic plan, and all of that. We've been over this a million times. Right? Get the Volcarona and Cryogonal, get them out of there, but protect the innocents, and take out all Team Solaceon agents. Use whatever you think is necessary. Knock out, destroy, even kill if you need to." May added.
"We know, guys!" Marina complained, and shot Misty a look. "Yes, we understand May, we know the plan. We're not amateurs anymore!"
"No," May's voice was serious. "We're not. And that's a hundred times worse than being amateurs. We have pressure now. Lives depend on us. No more joking. No more hatred. Be in agent mode. One petty spat, one little ounce of hatred, results in more person dead."
"And I'm not sugar-coating. There will most likely be people dead. Team Solaceon has shot, and used Pokemon to do mass killings multiple times already. They aim to kill. And if we're not careful, others are going to suffer. And one of us might even be hurt, or killed. No more jokes," Paul said quietly, his intense gaze going around to focus on everyone. "So are you in?"
"Yeah," Dawn answered, her eyes determined. "I'm in."
"We're ready," Misty and Marina nodded together, fist-bumping.
"Let's go," Gary agreed, his voice dead-serious though. He looked towards Drew. "Yeah. I'm ready." He sat back.
"Oui, Calem?" Serena turned to her partner. "Oui," Calem breathed, folding his arms and leaning back into the shadows.
"No more immature stuff. Got it. Serious shit is going down," Ash muttered, rubbing at his hat and nodding seriously.
"Yeah, that's right Ash! Things are serious now," Jimmy patted Ash's shoulder. "I'm in."
"I'm ready to hack, and do whatever we need. Just give the word," Leaf dipped her head.
Paul turned to May. May held out her hand, "Eevee Sisters."
Paul placed his much larger hand on top of May's and mumbled, "Eevee Brothers."
Everyone shared looks. Now was not the time of jokes, or anything immature, like Ash said.
The rest of the car ride was silent as the agents stared out the window, or up front at Harley and Solidad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Soli..." Harley whispered.
"Yeah?" Solidad nodded.
"They've gone silent," Harley stated, though his eyebrows were furrowed, as if confused.
"Yeah. That's what they do when they get serious about a mission. They put away their past lives, and become a team. How else do you think they've moved up the ranks so fast?" Solidad answered easily.
Harley nodded, agreeing, then focused on driving. "They're pretty remarkable huh? Remember us as kids? We had been rivals with Cilan and Iris, and like..wasn't there a girl called Shauna...N and Hilda? Those were the good days."
"Yeah," Solidad sounded wistful. "We had our action days, the days we were the stars, and ruled our separate Intelligency Programs. Then of course, Cynthia went and made the EIA. So we all converged, the best agents from everywhere, of every race, culture, region...we all had different Pokemon. Yeah, the kids joined a couple years after Cynthia proposed the idea, and it went undercover, collecting résumés of everyone..oh, it was horrific."
"Yeah, I know Soli. We went through it together. We were a team. The best for a little while, before the kids came. The young ones. Before it went public and all that jazz." Harley sounded almost jealous, though it sounded old, as if it didn't really matter to him anyways.
"You ready Soli?"
"Yeah," Solidad twisted in her seat to look at the silent teenagers, sitting silent, as if keeping a vigil. "You?"
"Yes," Harley muttered with an air of finality. "Let's do this sweetheart. Man, we got to retire soon."
Harley pulled up next to the magnificent, unbelievably large LaRousse Hall.
Everyone got out of the car, and stood silently in front of the building.
"Ready for this?" Leaf asked, taking a deep breath, and stood with her arms wrapped around herself.
Solidad stood firm behind the group, and shot a sideways glance at Harley. Were they? Because Team Solaceon was different. They didn't just have a goal. They also didn't care who or how many people, they killed.
Team Eevee all shared serious looks. Now was not the time for petty rivalries and jealousy.
Sure it was play time. But it was play time with the dangerous stuff. They were a team. And now, more than ever, they needed to be working together as one.
One by one, each of the members of Team Eevee nodded.
"We're ready," Jimmy acknowledged.
And Team Eevee walked through the fancy doors. Walked through the marble archway. Walked through the lobby, with it's granite floors, and crystal chandeliers. Their mission began...as soon as they walked through the front door.