Novelux Downtown Novelux

[Jackie Cat]

Nolan grimaced a little at Odette's opening question. Even his ego didn't support the notion that he alone could perceive the contradiction – especially when he'd been so agonisingly slow to come around to even considering it seriously. Despite his embarrassment, he heard out the rest of what Odette had to say with fingers steepled. And then narrowed his eyes at the notion that Matthias was a divine error.

"If the Beacon can err so grievously, how then could we hold that the light's chosen are deserving of faith and support...?" he murmured.

And yet, he could no longer force himself to believe that Matthias was owed just that. The conflicting pressures roiled in him like a waterfall against rock, the tides against the shore, wearing him down.

He put a hand to his head and rubbed gingerly at his temple.

"To answer your question, it is not widely discussed, no... The society as a whole is content to delight in his inclusion and cheer his accomplishments. This matter is of greatest interest to my department, and I suppose to the council. When I first entered into a conflict with Matthias, the official position of the Sable Office was that the boy would eventually be one of us, and we needed only to persevere, win him over, prove ourselves worthy, explain to him that we were his natural allies... In a sense, we are now vindicated in that position. And yet... And yet, if his light-ordained journey necessitated years of conflict with us, does that not call into question why such a thing was necessary? Was there no candidate for his duty who could have obviated such a conflict? In all Creation?"

The Inteleon's voice rose, not so much in volume as pitch, until he sounded almost petulant. Still, the indignation in his voice was bitter and real. He'd been the one on the receiving end of Matthias' attacks all that time, after all. And they hadn't exactly reconciled...

"And why," he asked, tremulously, "have my my initial hopes not then come to pass? I did not become his mentor when I ceased to be his enemy. I do not even rightly know what he considers me, now. Perhaps only as a defeated opponent."

 

[Sinderella]

It was odd, listening to the normally hoity-toity and superior-sounding Nolan coming off so moody and testy. But, when your entire world philosophy was seemingly crumbling around you--or at least causing a severe level of high blood pressure--Odette supposed that would make even the most stick-in-ass ailed individuals want to crumple into the floor.

But now she was being faced with a dilemma, one that she had to tread on the tips of her toes around. Again, her suggestions about what was going on remained--Beacon was wrong, the Covenant was wrong, or Nolan himself was wrong--but she didn't have enough information in her own right to push herself, and subsequently Nolan, in any which direction. Not only would that be foolish on her part, that would put a substantial risk on whatever relationship she'd managed to build here. Somehow she'd presented herself in a light where Nolan was comfortable enough to let this much of his guard down, and she had no interest in fucking that up...without good reason, of course.

That made one thing certain. "I don't think I can give you those answers. At least, not at this point in time," she said. "But part of your strife over this might be because you're putting too much stock in this organization, and this one stupid greninja...because if this stuff even has room to be questioned this deeply, then neither half deserve blind support. In its falliability for you to even have this line of thought, its already proven to be, well...not the dogma it wants to be."

She casted her gaze off toward some painting hanging on a far-off wall, thumbing her lower lip with a pondering ease. "At least, not without the undeniable facts. If I'm looking to support something, no matter which direction its facing, I need the cold hard facts. And right now, in your case, there are none. Speaking as somebody who helped crack a worldwide conspiracy."

She was slow in glancing back at him, taking a moment to gauge his reaction to what she'd said.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Nolan sighed, and leaned back in his chair. He looked as if he were composing a reply... but it was then that a smartly-dressed Gumshoos finally arrived bearing their meals. The lizard untensed visibly, the smell of cooked fish apparently calming his nerves. He thanked the waiter politely, and waited for Odette to begin eating before he tucked in himself. Seeing the Inteleon deftly use actual silverware was strangely alien after months spent in the Soja', where even the Sun Stone had plenty of patrons who ate with bare extremities, or directly off a plate.

"I am an investigative auditor, as you know," he said, when he at last picked up the conversation. "I'm familiar with the value of factual evidence. It's... strange, to realise that my loyalties and guiding principles are based on faith, not facts. Disconcerting, even."

His gaze drifted off to the same painting Odette had lingered on – a Novelux-typical piece of bright colours and clean angles, depicting pokémon competing in street race. He swallowed a mouthful of salmon.

"How do you know what is right, and what must be done, Odette?" he asked, quietly.

Not 'how does one know', but 'you' – Odette specifically.

 

[Sinderella]

Her answer was almost instant. “Gut feelings and reckless abandon.”

Still true to her human heritage, she began to pick at her dish with a fork, a smug smirk playing on her lips. She took a bite, allowing Nolan to sit with her answer and try to decipher the exact amount of irony she’d laced it with.

“Well. That’s 1/4 of it, at least,” she said after she swallowed. She let her joking demeanor drain out of her and stabbed another bit of her meal on her fork.

“I’ve been told I have a very pronounced moral compass. Something innate, I guess. With that comes a desire to find what’s ‘right’ based on the parameters of that compass. But the funny thing about being ‘right’ is that half the time it’s not that black and white.” She bit down on the fork and dragged the morsel off, covering her mouth while she chewed. “So when that’s the case, it’s all an info hunt. Collect all the facts and go from there. That’s how I’ve always operated. Or, tried to.” With a hair trigger temper and a harsh reckless streak, sometimes that didn’t work out.

“But I definitely don’t follow things blindly. I aim to always think for myself, rather than go along with the masses. Helps keep my sight lines—physical and mental—in check,” she said.

She allowed another smile to tilt her lips. “So if you’re asking for my advice in that regard, you should do just that. Think for yourself. Go with your gut. Collect the hard facts, with your own thought processes, and go from there. You’re not feeling disconcerted for no reason.”

Not wanting to let her meal get cold, she took a few minutes to get a couple bites in, enjoying some more sips from her tea, which had already started to cool off. Although she was truly hungry, the break in her short dissertation gave her time to decide if she wanted to propose what was on her mind. If what she was thinking would have been a mistake.

Finishing off the last of her tea, she set the cup on the saucer and pushed it toward the end of the table for a waiter to pick up.

“If you’re not sure where to start…I’m happy to lend you my help.”

 

[Jackie Cat]

For whatever reason, Odette's musings, advice, and offer of help seemed to occupy the whole of Nolan's attention. A piece of fish waited on his fork, ignored, as he listened. This was new territory for him – he would hardly have a quippy reply to hand when he'd likely never so much as solicited someone's moral advice before.

"...Thank you," he said, at length. Haltingly, as if he thought the offer might be summarily withdrawn if he gave any offence. "I would like that, I think. Yes."

He cleared his throat, and blinkingly put the fish to his mouth, washing it down with a sip that was certainly just to give him a moment longer to think over what more he wished to say.

"Odette, since my powers of reasoning and my given understanding have fallen short of late, I feel sure that must give me leave to trust in the counsel of another. I will trust in yours, Miss Odette. If nothing else, I believe that you..."

He paused, hesitant. Then he kept going, unwilling to let himself trail off.

"That you, at least, are no mistake."

That she was not like Matthias. That she was meant to be here, to help this world. That she would be a hero.

 

[Sinderella]

Surprise tore through her like a hollow bullet, striking her core and fracturing off into the deepest corners of her nervous system, causing it to short circuit. She was left staring, blinking, as a thick warmth leaked into the tip of her nose and gradually spread across her face. She knew it, she knew how flushed she was—how stupid she must of looked, because gods, she always turned such a stupid shade of purple; why was it fucking purple?—and yet, she was frozen. Trying to reset her mental breakers. Trying to figure out if she’d heard him correctly.

That was not the way this was supposed to go. Or, rather, that was not the way she’d expected it to go. She just wanted to convince him to help the Wayfarers get more dirt on the Covenant, but apparently she’d done too good of a job of trying to get under his skin. Now he was complementing her. Sincerely.

Why could she hear her heartbeat in her ears now?

“Uh…” she stammered. Swallowing hard, she forced herself to down another small bite of her meal. She took that opportunity to cover her face with her napkin, not doing too good of a job of being entirely subtle about it. “W-well…I’m just one ‘mon in a group of a dozen…” she said under her breath, eyes falling diagonally to the booth bench she sat upon. The divots in the leather were suddenly quite fascinating to behold.

“…but…thanks,” she said. “That…that means a lot.” And she genuinely meant that. Of all the people to tell her she wasn’t a mistake, the snooty lizard who looked at her group with such scorn felt like a win in her book. She lowered her napkin to allow remnants of a crooked smile to poke through. “Although…I do still want you to think for yourself. I’m still trying to collect facts myself. So, uh…we can work on that together.”

She reached for her cup and held it up with an awkward tremble in her wrist. She righted it by tightening her fingers around the handle and flashing a broader smile that bordered on a grimace.

“What say you? Partners in trying to get to the root of the Covenant’s true intents?”

 

[Jackie Cat]

"Well, I— I would say, that is – I would say yes, of course," stammered Nolan, his facial scales saturating sharply. Something – Odette's appreciation, her willingness to work with him, the offer to be 'partners' – had flustered him.

He took a breath, his long fingers dancing apprehensively on the table by his plate.

"But first— I mean to say... I must confess something."

The look on his face – brows fallen, mouth grimacing... Was that guilt?

"I have not been entirely honest with you. With all you Wayfarers, that is. The truth is, I knew a little more than I let on – and that while I certainly am an auditor, I do so in my capacity as an espionage operative of the Covenant's Sable Office. I take orders both from Lady Tawenna, chair of the Office, and from another. One who is... well-connected, a 'friend of the light' as we call them. You might call him my 'handler'. I was sent by this person to investigate Cipher in full awareness that we had some dealings with them, though I was not privy to the specifics. And... I was instructed to look out specifically for a pokémon matching a certain description, and to ensure their safety. A pokémon like your Mister Gladion and Mister Nova."

His tongue wet his lips – he was unused to revealing operational secrets like this, and it both thrilled and unsettled him.

"A pokémon like my handler."

 

[Sinderella]

Watching Nolan flush a different color made Odette feel better about her own color-changing face. Good. Tit for tat. Blush for blush. Why the fuck was he blushing, though?

None of that mattered though—not her own heat in her face, not her blood pulsing in her ears, and not their apparent new partnership. Not with the guilt that carved those frown lines into his face, and into his brow.

She’d had a feeling from the beginning that he wasn’t letting on as much as he truly knew, both about the Covenant and its operatives. She didn’t say as much, but it might have been hinted in the way she tilted her head, almost expectantly. However, there was a focus in her eyes that indicated that not even an aggron, sparking with Radiance and crashing clean through the restaurant window would tear her attention away from him. She hung onto his every word. Sable Office. Lady Tawenna. Espionage. Friend of the Light. Though her nose visibly screwed up at the drop of the word ‘handler.’ She wasn’t a fan of how…autocratic that sounded. But, she didn’t want to interrupt. That didn’t feel “partner-ly” of her.

She didn’t know what she was expecting, but what he dropped definitely wasn’t it. “Wait…” she said, raising a hand and squeezing her eyes shut, trying to process what she’d just heard. “Your boss is a Type:Null?” She paused and quickly sputtered over her mistake. “Sorry, an ARK Unit?”

Odette raised her hand to rub slow circles into her temple. She’d thought they were mostly done with Cipher’s shit, but in hindsight, it was stupid to assume that much. Groups like that never really disappeared, now did they?

“Did…did they tell you why they specifically wanted you to hunt down other ARK Units? Or why that might have to do with your dealings with Cipher?”

Another question burned on the tip of her tongue. She wasn’t going to ask, but her impulses won.

“…do they have a name?”

 

[Jackie Cat]

"...Presumably," said Nolan, awkwardly. "But I know him only by the codename 'Neo'. He is, indeed... an ARK Unit."

Normally he was defensive whenever he didn't know something, but right now he just seemed embarrassed to disappoint Odette. The Inteleon place his cutlery neatly on his plate at the 4 o' clock position, ready to be taken by the waitstaff. He sighed.

"My instructions from 'Neo' don't give much away. The need-to-know principle, you see. Even so, I was given to understand... that Neo had some investment in a specific ARK Unit he expected me to discover in Terminal Two. Imagine my surprise when I found two of them, walking about in broad daylight in the main street of Frontier Town!"

The Inteleon smiled thinly. Was that his way of making a joke?

"I just... I thought you should know. It could be important, and I've felt... Khhm. Increasingly ill-at-ease about the whole business. It perturbed me to learn that the Covenant may have given over a pokémon like that to Cipher, given what we know about them now."

Nolan likely had had no-one to talk to about these misgivings. Now that he was Odette's 'partner', the words came more readily.

 

[Sinderella]

"Neo?" Odette asked. "Like the fucking Matrix?"

She blinked her way into a stupid look, tonguing the inside of her cheek for an excruciating second. "Uh...sorry. That's a thing from my world. Movie. I'll explain another time."

She chugged what was left of her tea to shut herself up. That gave her time to think more about what he'd actually said.

"I can't necessarily blame you," she offered. "I too would flip a little shit if the 'mon I'd been sent to investigate was idly walking around in broad daylight. That would warrant a drink or 10, and a lot of metal to set on fire."

At least she could attempt to joke back, though she was certain she was worse off.

Finishing off the last bite she could fit in her stomach, she also set her cutlery down, sighing with all the sympathy that she had left--and maybe some guilt. She really had read this lizard all wrong. To think that this whole time he'd been just as skeptical as she was about the Covenenant. He just needed the extra push to see it.

"Yeah, that's...strange, to put it lightly," she agreed. "I don't feel great about the prospects of the Covenant somehow being involved with the likes of Cipher and these ARK units. I appreciate you telling me." And there was very little hesitation in the confession, too. Perhaps all he needed this whole time was a partner to confide in. A partner who wasn't drinking the Covenant Kool-Aid, at least.

"Well. Should you uncover anything else strange or remember anything that might be of use to our little, erm...investigation going forward, you can always come find me." Her lips twitched into a coy smirk. "You know where I live. And, of course, same goes vice versa."

That declaration chased her smirk away. A startled frown took up shop in its place.

"That's not me asking you to tell me where you live," she said quickly. "That's just me saying that if I find information that I think might be useful to your half of this thing then I would..." Her body seemed to deflate as she registered that she was starting to ramble. She clapped her hands together with an air of defeat. "Yeah..."

Raising her hand, she craned her neck to hunt for a waiter. "Check, please."