Chương 99: Chapter 80 - The Calm Before

Fione POV"So who are these new friends of yours? Part of your mysterious plan?" The question came from Mr. Gima, or Grimsley, though it felt weird to think of the man with his first name. He'd never told us it, but that wasn't the sort of detail you could obscure when communicating as deeply as we'd been while trying to rescue North and Mayal.

"This is Rubber," I introduced the Porgyon with a nod to his projection, "my dad programmed him. And this– is Dreepy, I guess," I indicated my pregnant shadow, and a small, surprisingly-sharp claw scythed out of the ground in a little wave.

"They're both part of it, and so are you. Golems, I need Alyssa's help too."

"I don't know how much help I'm gonna be right now Fe," my best friend replied as she hung bonelessly from Alister's arms.

"I can't even feel my face. Everything is just– tingly." A small coating of water appeared around Alyssa, surrounding her except for where she rested in the Bisharp's grasp.

"Oh, that's nice. Thanks Mana."

"Washi," my partner responded as she swam alongside us, effortlessly keeping pace with us as we hustled through the city streets.

"Sounds like you're close to whiting out. We should probably get you to a hospital–" I mused, the part of my mind worried about my best friend momentarily overtaking the part concerned with schemes and plans.

"No, I'm okay," the girl protested.

"Just tired. I never actually passed out, I just need to rest a bit. Pikachu too."

"Honestly, me and mine as well," Mr. Gima affirmed.

"And yours, Fione. I stand by what I said earlier. You look like shit, and your partners aren't that much better off."

"It looks worse than it feels," I lied, wilfully ignoring the parts of my mind that were aching and screaming.

"And I don't have time to relax. Need to move fast. RealTech grabbed my dad earlier today, and I don't want to think about what they're doing to him."

"So that's what you need help with? Rescuing your father?" Mr. Gima pressed.

"Because I'll admit, we owe you one, but we need to get Mayal some help, and get the hell out of this shithole. Uh, no offense."

"Some taken," I replied dryly.

"Look, I– I'm leaving too. That's where she," I nodded down at the Dreepy, "comes in. If you don't have something lined up already, maybe I can get you out with us." The Unovan man's face turned considering, "That might be helpfu–""You're leaving?" Alyssa's voice cut our mentor off.

"Like, for good?"

"Yeah, for good," I said, quietly, the truth of it settling on me like a shroud.

"Like I said, RealTech grabbed my dad. They want him to take the fall for releasing the encryption for jailbreaking the BfGs. Even if we free him, they're not going to stop coming after him."

"... shit, so you're sure then." Somehow, she sagged even further, almost deflating in Alister's hold.

"I'm sorry Alyssa, but– we can't stay." My pronouncement was met with silence, and for a few moments, it loomed thick and heavy between us.

"You could come with us!" The statement burst out of me in a rush, popping the bubble of quiet.

"Your family would have a hard time tracking you down overseas."

"They'd find me," Alyssa shook her head.

"My father– he'd never let me go like that."

"What if your father– what if your whole family weren't a problem anymore?" I asked. My question was met again with silence. Eventually, Alyssa found the guts to respond, "Uh, Fe– is that a– a threat?" My eyes widened.

"What? Guardians, no!" I paused, "Um, well, only sort of? Look, Rubber's loaded up with some incriminating stuff, and your family's name comes up more than once. Same with the Largessi and the Trinite. My dad was doing a lot of digging when RealTech finally caught up with him. Rubber's been running me through it, and it's– well, it's pretty damning."

"Yeah, but judging by the looks of that bad boy, that shit wasn't acquired legally," Mr. Gima remarked with eyebrows raised, watching as the intimidating Porygon preened and sharpened his virtual claws.

"Plus, last I heard, you're wanted by the cops. Not sure how exactly you plan on weaponizing this evidence you've gotten hold of."

"Like I said, I've got a plan," I reassured the sceptical Dark-specialist.

"I'm still not sure I could go," Alyssa spoke up again, interrupting me before I could explain.

"Even with my father out of the picture, I don't think Pikachu and I could leave Ferrum." I hadn't thought so either, though I'd hoped against hope.

"Well listen closely then, because if you're going to stay, we're going to need to make sure your family isn't in any position to bother you ever again. I'll explain as we go." - Step one of the plan was going back to our apartment. Okay, that wasn't entirely true. Nothing at home was strictly necessary to what I was plotting, but we needed to clear out the apartment anyway. Ink snuck us in under the cover of his illusions, and then we ransacked the place. If it was useful, or sentimental, we grabbed it.

If it was identifying in any way, we destroyed it, and if it was neither, we left it to gather dust. It felt– bad. To be in this place, to tear it down with the recognition that we'd likely never return. Not because we chose to move on, but because we had to escape. It felt like cowardice. The living room where I'd found my childhood dream, and the bedroom I'd torn apart when that dream failed. The kitchenette where I'd made more meals than I could count for my ever-growing family.

The places we'd rested and slept and relaxed together. The only home I'd ever known, and the place my partners had grown to love over the months we'd spent together, becoming a family. Leaving felt like tearing out a piece of myself, and I could tell my partners felt much the same. And that was just step one of the prep we needed to do. - Step Two"Golems, Fe? Is that you? What the hell happened? I thought Suicune healed us?" Gretchen's frantic whispers evoked a harsh laugh from the subject of her interrogation.

"What can I say?" the mangled teen replied.

"Trouble just seems to find me. Is your mom in?"

"Lenora?" Gretchen's face scrunched up.

"She just got back like an hour ago. Why? And seriously, what happened""I– we," the girl patted something hanging off her belt, a Pokégear, by the looks, "have something she needs to see. And some questions we need answered."

"Um–" for a few seconds uncertainty twisted in Gretchen's stomach, but in some ways, she still owed the girl one.

"Well– come in then." She turned around, facing deeper into the townhouse, and cupped a hand around her mouth.

"Mom, someone's here to see you."

"Gee? Who's here?" her step-mom tracked down the stairs, hair still wet from a shower. The woman startled when she caught sight of Fe, and her hand immediately dipped down to her waistline, cupping around an open spot, where a Poké Ball might normally hang.

"Ms. Alvida," Lenora spoke, and Gretchen had never heard the security agent's voice so nervous before. Not even when confronting her scumbag of a father.

"Lovely, ah, lovely to see you again so soon," the woman continued, her whole body wound like a spring.

"Mom, what's wrong?" Gretchen asked, looking between the other teenager and her clearly terrified step-mother.

"It's just Fe."

"Gee, step away from her," Lenora pleaded, as she settled in a low stance, while snapping her fingers a couple of times.

"Please Mrs. Crall, there's no need for that. We just want to talk." Gretchen turned back to Fe. Her former classmate's face was pained, but not surprised by her step-mom's reaction. The security agent didn't relax, "Not while Gee's right near you like that." Hearing how protective the woman sounded made something warm in Gretchen's chest, even as her confusion about the rapidly-spiraling situation made her head spin.

"Seriously, what the fuck is going on?"

"No swearing young lady!" her step-mom shouted, even as the woman's partner, an aging Boldore named Gorgot, tromped into the foyer.

"Now get away from there!"

"Gretchen, why don't you get behind your mom, if it'll make her feel better?" Thoroughly weirded out, Gretchen slowly walked over to, and then past her step-mom, before turning back to look at the brewing confrontation.

"Like I said, we just want to talk," Fe was continuing.

"I don't know what you've heard about me, or about what's happened today, but I promise you don't have the full picture of what's going on."

"And you do?" Lenora shot back, as she gestured Gorgot forwards.

"What the hell am I supposed to think about you Ms. Alvida?" Fe took several deep breaths, and then sagged, as one of her partners, the strange fish-like Pokémon, nestled into her tangled hair.

"I'm just a girl, Mrs. Crall. One who needs some help right now. Please, hear me out? I promise you, if you're half the person I think you are, that your kids think you are, you'll want to see this." Her step-mom hesitated, and Fe dove into the gap.

"It's about my father. I know you guys have him, but RealTech's not telling you the whole story. And I have proof." - Thirty-minutes, and a meeting with the scariest Porygon ever later, Lenora's head was in her hands. It's been there for the last five minutes, and showed no signs of leaving. Bert had joined them at some point, lured out of his room by the commotion, and the entire Crall clan and their partners had witnessed the video stored on Fe's Pokégear.

"Again," her mom murmured from between her fingers.

"How could I have been so blind again?" An instinct pulled at Gretchen, one she reflexively resisted. But a moment of self-examination later, and the teen gave into that foreign impulse. She laid a comforting hand on her step-mom's shoulders, and then knelt down to wrap her arms around her.

"It's okay mom. There's no way you could have known." The woman let out a choked cry.

"You of all people shouldn't forgive me for being so fucking stupid. Not again."

"I, I never really felt like it was your responsibility," Gretchen admitted to her ste— to her mom.

"I was just grateful that you got us out of there, as soon as you did know."

"Apparently that was the only good thing about RealTech dragging us back here," Lenora bemoaned, finally taking her hands away from her face so she could wrap them around Gretchen, even as Bert awkwardly joined the familial embrace, hugging their mother from the other side.

"Golems Gee, Bert, I'm sorry." Lenora was weeping openly now.

"I'm so, so sorry. I should have done something sooner. Anything."

"It's my fault," Bert said, similarly choked up.

"I let him push me around instead of helping you, instead of saying something to mom. I could have reached out to her, I thought I was helpless, but there's so much I should have done. Golems Gretchen, I'm sorry."

"You two— I never thought either of you owed me anything. I'm just— I'm glad you think of me as family." Gretchen wheezed, her composure failing her.

"You are family, Gretchen." Her mother informed her.

"Now, and always, you'll be my daughter." And then came the Pokémon, Fierce and Champ and Gorgot all joining the group hug, creating a massive pileup around the kitchen table. For a moment both far too short and far too long, the whole Crall family held each other. And then reality reasserted itself again in the form of a cleared throat, coming from the interloper at the kitchen table.

"I'm sorry to be a bother, seriously, but I've still got things I need to do tonight, and some of them are predicated on knowing where my dad is being held."

"I'll tell you," Lenora responded instantly from the middle of the group embrace.

"And anything else you need. Whatever it takes to make this right."

"Nothing too much," the girl promised.

"Nothing that should even put you at risk. I just need you to convince your coworkers to take my threats seriously."

"Threats?" Gretchen asked, turning to look at Fe, her face betraying her incredulity.

"Fe, RealTech is a massive company. How are you going to threaten them?" A dark grin stole over the other teen's face.

"I've got a plan. Let me explain." - Step Three"Fe, what the hell have you been getting up to?" Donna demanded of the phone on her desk "And why are you calling from a payphone?"

"So you do watch the news," her erstwhile pupil's voice came over the receivers.

"I wasn't sure."

"News never gave your name, but every government agency and corporation even sort of adjacent to law enforcement was provided with your deets. Someone very important wants you bad, Fe." The girl chuckled, "Well then you know why I'm not calling from my personal Pokégear." The levity quickly dropped from her tone, and her next few words were delivered with steely resolve.

"I know who's after me, and they're going to get way more than they bargained for. That's part of why I called, actually. I have a plan, and I need some help."

"If I see that Scythe creature, I'll kick his teeth in for you," the ranger sergeant promised.

"Scythe's not a problem anymore," Fe responded in a tone that made the skin on Donna's arm pimple.

"And he's not why I'm calling. You're the person I know with the most contact with the Underleaders." Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

"I may know a few of them," she hedged, feeling a sudden urge to tread with far more care than she usually employed in conversation.

"What exactly is this about Fe? Do you need help getting out of Ferrum?"

"I've got that part covered," the teenager reassured her, "honestly, I sort of need something even trickier." Donna felt her eyebrows climb into her hairline. Her surprise was so evident it made Grinder set down his blacksmith's puzzle and stare at her.

"Trickier than getting you out of Ferrum is pretty scary-sounding Fe, considering how many folks are looking for you."

"It's for a good cause, I promise. Look, you know how the corps blew multiple years of equipment-budget on PSS's?"

"I'd say I'm pretty intimately-familiar," Donna replied dryly, her eyes unconsciously tracking to the inert device sitting on her desk.

"Well they overpaid," Fe told her, "and not all of the money they spent made it into RealTech's coffers." The statement hung for a few moments, as Donna tried to process what the teenager was implying.

"Fe, are you saying someone high up in the corps overpaid the people who made the PSS's so they could embezzle the difference in price paid and received?"

"I'm saying exactly that," the girl confirmed.

"RealTech overcharged them on the units, but only reported earnings on half of the cost. The rest just disappeared."

"That's–" Donna felt something ugly stirring in her guts.

"How do you know that? How could you know that?"

"My dad was investigating RealTech. He was the project lead on the BfGs, but he found it suspicious how quickly people cracked the encryption on them, and how rapidly the company deployed PSS's after things went to shit. He was digging into them, and they abducted him for it. That's why RealTech is looking for me. They want me as leverage so he'll be forced to take the fall for releasing the BfG encryptions."

Each revelation was like the pounding of a drum, and the ranger sergeant heard a ringing in her ears that had no source other than the gorge in her chest.

"And your dad dug this up?"

"That and a whole lot more. I don't have time to go over all of it now, but short version, PSS's were made way before the BfG was even thought of, as a weapon for law enforcement and security firms. RealTech knew there wasn't enough demand for that sort of firepower though, so they rushed out the BfGs and intentionally left vulnerabilities in them. They also went ahead and secretly passed some to gangs and poachers, all to drum up enough unrest that people would clamor for stronger law enforcement.

They bought out some politicians in the city government to get the sub-contractor laws passed, and bribed a bunch of people in the rangers, city-security, and in some private security firms to purchase all their PSS's." Red was creeping around the edges of Donna's vision now, and it had nothing to do with the crimson painted on her station's walls.

"Shit Fe, I mean– that's quite the story," she hedged, though the words sounded hollow in her ears. The explanation lined up so very well with what she knew, with what she'd already suspected.

"And by vulnerabilities–""They knew how volatile the things were, Donna. They knew about the shadow synergy stones, they knew that the artificial crystals they were using were more susceptible to corruption. To them, it wasn't a problem. Sky's taint, they saw it as an upside. More chaos. More unrest. Plus, they've been selling the bad stones off-shore, to some shady company in Orre called Enigma, to help bankroll their operations." The pounding in Donna's ears made her erstwhile pupil almost inaudible.

"So– Mark, those gangers and cops, the Mudbray, those doctors–"" They knew," Fe said again, and her tone made it undeniably clear how certain she was of that." They knew, and they went ahead with it all anyway." The words blasted out of the phone like a bomb, the tinny speaker spiking and distorting the statement, warping and elongating the tone until Fe's voice sounded as if it were one spoken among many. And still the certainty in it left no room for doubt.

"Fuck," Donna breathed, as her skin hardened like steel. The plastic handheld cracked in her grip.

"Someone has to– we have to do something about this. They can't– they can't get away with this."

"Like I said, I've got a plan," Fe replied, her voice still crackling and glitching as the speaker began to fail.

"I know this is crazy short-notice to be asking this, but between your contacts in the rangers, with Techne's wild Pokémon, and with the underleagues, how big of a protest can you put together in a single night?" Something hot and burning settled in her throat.

"Shit Fe, if what you said is true, if you can get me some sort of proof that I can show to others, then fuck a protest," names flashed through Donna's mind, comrades, contacts, and friends of a friend, who'd been sorely lacking a place to vent their loss.

"I'll get you full-ass fucking riot." Donna could hear the girl's smile through her failing desk-phone.

"Perfect." - Step Four"This is the place?" Grimsley asked, staring at the second armored-compound he'd been tasked with infiltrating this week.

"That's what Mrs. Crall said," Fione muttered from her place next to him on the rooftop, the two looking down on the bustling campus.

"It's BattleTech's headquarters in Ferrum. They're a subsidiary of RealTech, and handle corporate security for them.

"This place looks like a paramilitary base," Grimsley protested, eyeing the barbed-wire fences and patrolling Pokémon.

"What the hell is this doing in the city?"

"Apparently they only started to build up like this earlier this year. Before that it looked like any other corporate campus. Almost like they knew things were about to hit the fan."

"Yes, yes, you've explained the conspiracy to us already," Grimsley groaned.

"Look, Fe, Ink and I are good, but we're both exhausted, and you're asking us to breach a fortress. I don't want to say we can't do it, but we can't really fucking do it, okay?"

"I know it looks intimidating, but I'm not leaving you out to dry here," his erstwhile mentee promised.

"I can get you, your partners, and Mayal looked at tonight, no questions asked. And tomorrow, I can make sure that there's only a skeleton crew left in that compound when you and your partners go in."

"That… would certainly make all of this more possible," Grimsley hedged, "but how the hell do you plan on pulling all of that off?"

"Okay, first of all, I reached out to some family earlier and asked them if they could keep their Pokémon Center open late tonight…" - Step Five"I can treat your Pokémon Fe, they're mostly in good shape, but these others are almost all severely injured," Setna fretted as she stared down at her younger 'cousin.'

"And none of them are registered in our system!"

"I know this whole thing seems crazy, Setna, but it all ropes back to that thing we discovered earlier this morning. This guy and his partners are… outside help. They're going to work with me to make sure we foil RealTech's schemes. Do you have the, what did you call them, memory carts?"

"Yeah, I put them together," Setna nodded, pulling a handful of portable data cartridges from the pocket of her dress.

"It's as digestible a summary as I could create on such short notice. I was going to finish compiling everything and uploading it tomorrow." Fione snatched up the drives with her good hand, before turning and dropping them. Setna opened her mouth to let out a cry, but before they could hit the ground, something reached out of the girl's shadow and sucked the drives into it.

"Thanks Setna, I know this is all really crazy, but we're not letting them get away with it," her 'relative' said, completely ignoring the casual violation of reality.

"H-how exactly do these help us stop RealTech, anyway?" the nurse tore her eyes away from the writhing shadow to ask, her curiosity overwhelming her trepidation.

"I don't have time to go over the whole plan–" Fe hesitated, before continuing, "but I can give you the highlights. It all kicks off tomorrow…" - Step Six"And you're sure no one can listen in on this call?" Fe's voice came from the PokéNav, barely audible over the wind as Cutter tore through the air.

"I already sent as much through Rhea's spawn, right? That troublemaker better have spit up that note we sent," Drake growled.

"She did," Fe informed him, "and she's been extremely helpful besides," the girl continued, sounding defensive of the spiteful creature." I'm just… a person of interest for a lot of people right now. I'm a bit paranoid."

"Well this call is totally secure, I promise," Drake reassured the girl." I asked for a favor from Wisteria. She'll make sure no one overhears, and that this whole conversation is scrubbed from the records."

"Shit, sorry to cost you another favor," Fe murmured, the wince evident in her tone.

"Hey, none of that. Cutter and I always felt like we still owed you one. It's nice to get a chance to level the scales," he told her. A few moments of silence passed between them, before Fe finally responded.

"Thanks Drake. I really needed the help."

"It sounds like you have quite the party planned," Drake grinned, imagining the chaos the girl was intending to unleash.

"Shame I can't be part of it."

"You're doing more than enough," she told him.

"As long as this friend of yours can actually get us out."

"Don't let her hear you doubting you. Especially not after I tell her what you said about that Sabrina kid. Psychics can be competitive."

"I thought you said she was married? And that she had twins! Shouldn't she be more mature than that?" Fe asked.

"Hah," Drake barked.

"Kid, if there's one thing you should learn, one thing I wish I'd really imparted on you before I'd left, it's this." He took a breath, and let his boisterous tone dip low, emphasizing through restraint the import of his advice.

"The real masters, the ones who go all the way? The ones who never stop striving, never give up? They've all got something in common. Rei, Shirona, Mura, Mustard, Juan, Kanto's Crone, the Wataru Brat, even the old Oak himself. Hell, even me. We're all the same at the end of the day." The Dragon-master felt a grin steal across his features.

"Now, what do you think it is that ties us all together?" The groan that came from the other end of the line, exasperated and pained and so very, wonderfully honest, was music to his ears.

"Really, right now?"

"No better time, Fe. I promise. After all, I love my games. I'll never give them up," he let the silence hang for a few moments, before continuing, "and that's your big hint, Fe. Now tell me. What do we old masters all have in common?" His reward was moments of thoughtful silence, and then minutes. He let it pass, accompanied only by his partner's thundering wings and the whipping of the wind. Until finally, Fe found the words with which to reply.

"Games. Immature. Brat. You're– playing with me. You've always been playing with me. You love your games, like you're just a– big– kid." Fe sighed, long and deep.

"That's it?" she asked exasperated.

"That's the big secret? None of you ever grew up?"

"Adults settle for mundanity, Fe. Children dream of the exceptional. I know which one I'd rather do." For a few moments, he was met with even more silence, and then, ringing like a bell, laughter. Clear and bright and free, a child's laugh. The giggling of a girl who'd just figured out the joke the gods were playing on everyone.

"Thanks Drake. That's– that's something I really needed to hear, tonight of all nights."

"You're the one who figured it out. Now, Cutter'll be pulling up over Mossdeep in just a few minutes. I'll hand you off to Rei in a short bit and you can coordinate your schedule with her."

"Perfect. If everything goes right, I'll see you soon, Drake."

"When, kid. When. I'll see you then." - Step Seven Bert found their unexpected guests arguing over the kitchen table.

"That line sounds horrible!" Fe groused, frantically scribbling something out on the pad in front of her.

"You're the one who asked for my advice on what to say, and now you're ignoring it!" Alyssa accused, wearing a matching frown with the bandaged Pikachu hanging off her shoulder.

"Yeah, because I'd thought you'd have good ideas, not shit ones!"

"No swearing," mom's voice came from the living room, where she and Gorgot were watching the FSBC's pundits discuss the upcoming Chroma League Championships.

"Sorry Mrs. Crall," Fe called out, giving Bert the gap he needed.

"Champ and I made up the guest room. It's got a full-sized bed, should be big enough to share," he told them, as he pulled out a seat at the table.

"Thanks for letting us stay the night Bert," Alyssa groaned.

"Not sure how safe it'd be for us to return to our apartment right now."

"Same here," Fe nodded, though her tone was still notably frostier than the other girl's.

"Hey, no problem," Bert shook his head.

"You three look like you need a good long rest." Alyssa winced, and Fe rolled her eyes, before whispering in a caustic tone, "Pro-tip Bert, never tell a girl she looks like shit."

"I said no swearing!" an exasperated voice called out.

"Sorry!" Fe shouted again, before turning back to the table with a grumble.

"How the he—ck did she hear that?"

"I've always said mom was part-Marill," Bert grumbled, just as Gretchen stepped into the kitchen.

"Bert putting his foot in his mouth again?" she asked as she pulled up a chair.

"You must have your mom's ears if you made that out too," Fe drawled.

"Actually, I was making a safe bet. Bert lives sucking his toes," Gretchen chuckled, taking any sting out of the insult. A half-year ago, those words would have riled the boy up, but months of good-natured ribbing from his sister and his partner had toughened his skin.

"Besides, I couldn't have inherited anything from Lenora. We're not actually related," Gretchen continued, laying her hands out on the table.

"She's my step-mom, actually. Married my asshole of a father five years ago, before she knew how bad he was." The explanation left both of their former classmates wide-eyed and off-balance, neither seeming to know what to say. Bert reached a hand out and rested it on his sister's shoulder.

"He was a real piece-of-work, but Gee's nothing like her old man. And now he's behind bars and she's with her real family." Fe's eyes widened in realization.

"All those bruises you two used to have, I thought you guys were just getting into fights."

"Some fights," Bert admitted, shifting uncomfortably.

"Mostly– mostly not though." It was hard to admit, even now, but mom had been having them go to therapy and Dr. Traise had told them both repeatedly that there was nothing wrong with talking about their experiences. That it could help, even.

"He used to hit us. Gee got it worse than I did. Like I said, I should have stood up to him, should have told someone." The boy looked down, and he couldn't meet the gaze of any of the girls at the table.

"I just– I used to feel so helpless, watching him push Gee around, letting him do the same to me. I guess– taking that out on other people made me feel like I was in control of something."

"Same here," his sister admitted, her voice quiet.

"Plus, getting in trouble and having to stay for detention meant we didn't need to go home." Silence hung over the room for a few moments, everyone seemingly unsure what to say. Bert was just working up the nerve to force a topic change and ask if anyone wanted a late-night snack when Fe spoke, her voice a barely-audible whisper.

"If locked up isn't good enough for you guys, the plan still has some– wiggle room. I think I could fit that asshold into it." Gee blinked a couple of times, before responding in an incredulous whisper.

"Golems, Fe, are you offering to, like, off my dad?" The girl blinked a few times, as if confused.

"Guardians, no," she shook her head.

"Why does everyone think– Look, I could just– take some steps to make sure he doesn't bug you again. You said he's locked up, but for how long? If it's not enough– I could think of some ways to make sure he gets in some more trouble and stays there." For a few seconds, Gee's face was longing, as if she were tempted, but she shook her head.

"The less thought any of us give him the better. He's gone for now, and by the time he's out, Fierce and I won't be small enough to push around anymore." That got approving nods from both Fe and Alyssa, and Bert didn't miss how the latter reached a trembling hand out to rub her partner's head.

"Well– I'm glad you've got family Gretchen. I'm not– related by blood to my mom either, but she is my mom. No matter what," Fe told her. The two girls smiled at one another, and Bert felt a pang as Fe opened up even more to his sister. It seemed like Gee was mostly forgiven for her part in their poor treatment of their classmate earlier in the year, but he still felt like there was a wall up between him and Fe. Not that he thought he deserved forgiveness or anything!

Just– he knew he still had things to make up for, and that awareness hung on his shoulders, like a pair of weights, dragging him down.

"So, what is this plan you keep bringing up, anyway? Is that what you two were working on when I walked in?" Bert asked the pair, trying to distract himself from his melancholy, though the ache redoubled again when Fe's cold eyes turned to him.

"I guess there's no harm in reading you guys in," she hedged, glancing between Bert and his sister.

"We're in the middle of step seven right now, which is writing out what I'm going to say tomorrow."

"Say tomorrow? To who?" Gretchen asked, her brows furrowing. Fe's eyes flashed, "Everyone." And as she explained the rest of her plan, in all its insanity and all its glory, Bert figured out another way he could help to make up for what he'd done. - Step Eight"Well, I promised Maushold we'd do some shopping yesterday. We didn't get around to it then, but we made it out this morning. What do you think?" Fe twirled, showing off her new outfit. Ella didn't say anything in response, because she hadn't woken up yet.

Her daughter was speaking to a photograph, rescued off a nightstand.

"I know it's not my usual style, but spring starts in a couple of days. Seemed like a good time to mix it up." Fe's eyes were watering, and the cloth, medical eye patch she had over one of them grew damp.

"I think it sends the right message for what I'm going to say this afternoon. I just wish– I wish you could watch me right now. Maybe I'll be able to get my hands on a recording. I hope– I hope what we're going to do today will make you proud." The girl took a deep, gasping breath, and wiped her tears with her good arm.

"I'll see you soon, mom. I'm coming, and I'm bringing dad with me. Just hold on, a little longer, okay? We'll both be along, in just a bit, I promise." Vow made, Fe stood up, and slipped the photograph into a duffel bag. She turned to her team.

"Alright everyone. Time to go." And for one final time, Fione Alvida walked out onto the streets of the city she'd grown in.