Well, that sure sucked.
While we were waiting for Nurse Joy to heal Rico and the others up, El and I took a few seats in the corner to discuss the results of the test...well, not so much that as getting chewed out for that utter embarrassment.
Seriously, were you even trying?! Ugh, the pundits are gonna have a field day with this one...
Couldn't blame her; that was flat out pathetic, even for me.
Wait, why would they do that? I mean, the glove worked, didn't it?
Well yeah, but it won't stop them from 'raaaaah that guy bombed the fight horribly why would El put her faith in such an idiot raaaaah,' and the stockholders end up believing those jackasses, and-
El kept lecturing me for a while, but went off topic pretty quickly. It got into some personal stuff, so I'll skip the details, but she was basically complaining about her job.
...Okay...so...does this union have anything to do with the losing that fight?
No, they just whine about every concession you make, and they piss me off!
So this is just a rant about work, then?
No, it...
*sigh* Yeah. Yeah, it is. Wow, not like me to go off on a tangent like that.
Still...sorry for fucking that up so hard. Didn't think you'd get so much fallout for it.
Ehh, the gloves worked, at least. Speaking of which, I'm gonna need that back so I can look through the data.
Yeah, sure thing. How close are you to completing it?
Well, I might need to look to an outside party about the Lucarionite, given what went on with Rico...
You mean that aura scarf thing? I figured that might have been a personal touch.
Maybe, but I still gotta rule out any possibilities. I'll need that back too, for the time being. If all goes well, I'll return it along with the finished glove.
Alright then...uh...
I couldn't find the Lucarionite anywhere...fuck, did I lose it? Wait...no, Rico's still got it.
Shit, Rico still has it. I'll have to go get it from him.
...Now that you mention it, where is he, anyway?
I glanced towards the counter; no sign of Joy. El had a point; Shouldn't she have been done with Rico and the others by now? It's not like there was a crowd or anything, we were the only ones here!
Hang on, lemme go check.
I made my way up to the counter and rang the bell...silence.
Hey nurse, you there?
I rang it again...nothing, except-
[♪But yoooooooooooou! Why'd you gotta give me the run-around?♪]
El's phone going off.
[♪Is it a surefire way to speed things up, or is it gonna sllllllllooo-♪]Hello?...Oh, it's you. What's up?...Wait, what?...Can it wait? I just need to secure the Lucarionite and...what do you mean those HaRP idiots are back?! Ugh, for God's sake...fine, I'll be right there. You owe me, though. Hey, Ben! I gotta take off! I'll just come to your place tomorrow to pick it up, alright?
Alright. Night, El.
Night. Give me a call when you're available, alright?
The automatic door began to close, silencing the clack of El's heels against the concrete as I rang the bell a fourth time...
...nothing.
In all honesty, I was starting to get worried. True, nurses have always made me uneasy (long story short, a one night stand gone horribly wrong), but the fact that I haven't gotten a response from this one yet was making me have some really unnerving thoughts...What if Rico's come down with something? What if there was a flaw in the mega glove? What if he's going all Tetsuo?!
...Nah, it's probably not anything that bad. Still, I am a bit worried, so I figured I'd sneak into the back room to have a peek...
...where I found Joy curled up in the corner, bound, gagged and unconscious.
What the fu-
*WHACK*
The first thing I knew is I had a fuckawful headache. The second is that I was not in the pokemon center, but somewhere else, sitting on what I think is a chair.
The third is that my hands were tied behind it.
Benjamin Lad...we meet at last. Valiant work back in Poketopia.
Someone was sitting in front of me. My vision was still coming to, so I couldn't tell who he was exactly. That voice of his sounded familiar, though. He waited a moment before speaking again, presumably waiting for my eyes to focus...then it hit me.
...Do you know who I am?
