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24.

Interlude the Second

Rejected

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Cloud Nine

~Espeon and Umbreon~

"…And it is my belief – our belief - that not once has magnagate technology been used for malicious purposes," Umbreon said, sitting next to Espeon on the visitor's side of a wooden desk. The office around them was fancy and decked out in several shades of rich pink. "That's why we think-"

"But what if it was?" On the other side of the desk, Sparkleglimmer straightened the teal cloak she was wearing with her bottom ribbons. Her tone remained amiable despite the stone-cold look the false smile on her face gave. "What if magnagate technology were to fall into the wrong paws? I understand your concerns as inventors, but we are talking about the power to spontaneously create and collapse mystery dungeons wherever one chooses. What if one were to form over, say, Pokemon Paradise due to this technology? How many lives would be lost? How many pokemon would die that day? And… it would all be your fault! For allowing this technology to be released into the public."

"Is that a threat?" Espeon hissed, but Umbreon quickly stepped between the two before she could get any further.

"We're asking for a lift on the ban. Not for entercards to be sold in every Kecleon Mart on the continent," he said.

"As long as the technology exists, pokemon are going to use it for bad things," Sparkleglimmer said. "It's better not to have it than to create something that could cause mass chaos."

"Look at what we're standing on!" Umbreon pointed out. "This is a pretty big piece of technology, don't you think? What would happen if somemon tried to crash this into Pokemon Paradise?"

"Irrelevant."

"Don't you think it's relevant?"

Sparkleglimmer tilted her head, staring at Umbreon owlishly.

"Is that a threat?"

"What?"

"Simple question. Is that a threat?"

Both Espeon and Umbreon stared at Sparkleglimmer; dumbfounded.

"I could press charges if I could prove you implicated that you had harmful intentions toward myself or anymon on this ship," she continued, keeping that same wide-eyed stare trained directly on Umbreon.

"What are you trying to prove?" Umbreon asked.

"Let me ask you something." Sparkleglimmer suddenly lost all signs of amity. "How do you know there aren't 'mon listening in on this session right now?"

Umbreon looked like he was considering that for a second.

"…Let's say there aren't," he finally said.

Sparkleglimmer smirked and somehow made it look like a scowl.

"Well, then. I suppose I wouldn't have proof. You could say anything you wanted in this room and I wouldn't be able to prove it. But…" And then she methodically placed her bottom ribbons on the table, and leaned in close. "Just for fun, let's say there are. What if I told you that from the moment you entered this room, there has been a gengar hiding in your shadows and keeping a perfect record of this conversation?"

Silence pervaded the room for a minute. Espeon and Umbreon both looked uneasily at their shadows, studying them for any signs of movement. Seeing that she now had complete control over the situation, Sparkleglimmer straightened up.

"I'll cut you a deal," she said, that tone of cheer slowly seeping back into her voice. "Drop it. Drop it, and I'll drop it. We both walk away. I'll even pay your flygon fare back to Pokemon Paradise for you. Otherwise… I can make your credibility as respectable researchers drop. Very, very fast."

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"Do we know?" Espeon marched down towards the gardens angrily; Umbreon following in her wake.

"I don-"

"Do we know? Do we know she had a gengar in there? Because I couldn't sense it! She tricked us! That nasty little- Uurrgh!"

"Calm down," Umbreon breathed. They both stopped next to the gate to the gardens, under the shade of a large hedge. Umbreon put his front paws on her shoulders. "Breathe. It's no use getting angry right now."

Espeon closed her eyes and breathed. Slowly, her ears that had been flattened against her head in anger went back up.

"…You're right," she finally said. "I… I don't know why I acted that way."

"We'll try again," Umbreon reassured her. "That was a one-time trick. We'll make appointments. Every month. We'll send letters. Sooner or later she'll get tired of it. And that's when we strike."

"She'll never let us have it," Espeon muttered. "Getting rid of us is like swatting a fly to her. We need something more. Something better."

"Like what?" Umbreon asked.

"What if we went to the council members?" Espeon asked. "turned them against her?"

"We couldn't get appointments with them," Umbreon reminded her.

"We'll get appointments," Espeon scoffed. "We're the most famous researchers on the entire Mist Continent; there must be something we can use to get there."

The gardens weren't empty. Every so often, a pokemon pushed by them into the garden, and there were several more loitering about or going on their way in every which direction. Not a single one of them even spared a glance at Espeon or Umbreon. Umbreon sighed. It was too peaceful a sunset to waste worrying about things that were said and done for already.

"Let's worry about this tomorrow," he said. "We're on Cloud Nine- there must be something open."

"I think I saw a fish parlor just below-deck on our way up," Espeon said. "Smelled good."

"let's go there, then." Umbreon began to walk off towards the entrance to below-deck, and after he looked back to make sure she was keeping up, Espeon followed.

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The end of Part II.

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Music of the week! :D

A Gift For the Princess - Sonya Belousova, Giona Ostinelli