The girl was the final item up for auction for the night. There was nothing left to see after that unknown man that presumably worked for Team Plasma won the bid and so, there was no reason for Vance and I to stay. In fact, Vance had nudged me to get a move on even before the auction for the night was officially declared to have come to a close, saying that we had attracted too much attention. If we want to leave without getting harassed by people who want to make acquaintances with us, now is the time.
"A hundred and twenty million, while still within our family's budget, is not an amount that should be carelessly spent."
I guess my foul mood was plain for Vance to see because he actually tried to explain himself. I simply shook my head, indicating that I understood his rationale and why he stopped me. That still didn't change the fact that I'm pissed at the Plasma representative. If it wasn't for the fact that this auction venue was where numerous powerful individuals and factions tend to gather, I would have already come to blows with that villain and sic Kratos on him. Even in the event where that man may be a much more powerful trainer than I am, I still have Vance, and he's someone who could give even Pillars a run for their money.
"Well, if you really want to save the girl, I have a backup plan."
My head snapped back up to look at Vance.
"Come on, Vel. Think about it, what is the nature of this auction? It's illegal. So, hypothetically, what can that guy do if he so happens to get mugged not long after he left the auction house? Hypothetically, he wouldn't even dare to report the mugging to the authorities because he got himself involved in something as illegal as human trafficking and hypothetically, he wouldn't want to do anything to offend the underground powers that had been ensuring the secrecy of the operations of this auction house all this while by calling in the police… You get what I'm saying?"
Seriously, Vance was right. Why hadn't I considered this option? This way, we would be able to save the girl without needing to fork out a hundred and twenty million.
"Vance, you are a goddamn genius."
"We need to hurry and hide ourselves before he comes out," Vance whispered as we quickly left the auction house with hurried steps. The area where the auction house was situated was right between an affluent district and a slum. There were many abandoned buildings in sight just a few streets away from the auction house that we could use for a stakeout and that was where Vance brought me to.
"Alright, you stay here," Vance instructed me when his gallade teleported us to the eighth floor of the abandoned building of his choice. He promptly cut me off when I was about to protest.
"You don't have any experience in tracking," Vance was quick with his rebuttal. "Were you trained to erase your tracks? How to move about without being caught? I was one of the best operatives in ACE and even I cannot claim to have mastered the art of tracking. That man back there, have you seen his weavile?"
"What's wrong about his weavile?"
"Maybe you didn't pick up on it because you never raised one yourself, but that weavile back there, it's not just strong, it's definitely seen its fair share of combat. I don't mean the usual pokemon battles, it's the kind of battles that even ACE wouldn't want to partake in unless necessary. I don't know to what extent, but I can safely tell you that man is definitely dangerous."
Vance placed his large hand on the top of my head and ruffled my hair.
"You are not ready yet, Vel. One day you will, but that day is not today. I'm not saying that you are a liability, but this matter is clearly out of your depth for now. So, have some faith in your big bro that he can help you save that little girl. After all, helping their little sis is what big brothers are for, yeah?"
I don't know what else I should say, but I'm grateful that I'm still wearing that masquerade mask that I wore to the auction because Vance would undoubtedly tease me if he were to see the expression on my face right now.
"Be careful."
"Aww, my cute lil sis is worried about me?"
"Just shut up and go," I pushed him away, not wanting to deal with his tease and trying to ignore the faint heat I could suddenly feel blooming on my cheeks. I know Vance is a highly capable trainer and I trust that my brother is able to deal with that Plasma no matter how dangerous he could be. He is the goof that you can always rely on when it matters most.
Vance disappeared into the night, his usual goofy persona vanishing along with his presence as though he was back being Wallace's second-in-command when he was still in ACE. I simply looked out of the window of the abandoned unit that we are in, observing the desolate area where Vance had tracked our target to. He had to be nearby somewhere, it's just a matter of time before Vance locates him.
'Do not worry, Mistress. Vance will be able to save the girl.'
I simply used my fingers to lightly scratch Rena behind her ears, conveying my thanks to her. I can feel the ghosts in my shadow shifting every now and then. They were clearly enjoying the silent night, the time of the day when they are the most active.
Minutes passed as the seconds ticked by. It's only been a short while since Vance left me here to track our target down in order to rescue the girl but it definitely did seem like an eternity to me. Rena engaged in idle conversation with me, probably doing so in order to distract me because it was obvious to her that my emotions were currently highly strung.
Something about the little girl being auctioned off in the black market like a commodity to be sold just rubbed me the wrong way. I don't know why I felt so extremely bothered by it. I had expected to witness some of the darkest side of humanity before I decided to attend the underground auction. I had mentally prepared myself for it, but apparently no amount of preparation was enough. I simply lost it when those heartless auctioneers threw a raging haxorus and a little girl into the same cage just to put up a show.
What if the girl's ability didn't work as it is supposed to? What would happen to her then?
Everything is just so wrong.
I continued to look out the window, the desolated room that we were in dimly lit by the moonlight that shone through. A part of me was hoping to somehow be able to help Vance spot the man that had screwed my plans over to save the little girl, even if the chances of me actually spotting him was miniscule. Maybe I should have lent Vance a ghost or two before he left since they work best in the dark. It was an oversight on my part.
I was lost in my thoughts, and was rudely yanked out of it not long after when a very unfamiliar voice whispered into my right ear. The owner of the voice was so close to me that I could feel his warm breath blowing right into my ear, and I could feel the literal chills running down my spine when I heard his voice from literally out of nowhere.
"Looking for me?"
I jumped and turned around from the shock. A rush of adrenaline and fear filled my body while my mind tried to remain calm to no avail. Right by my side were Rena and a respectable number of ghosts residing in my shadow. Yet, none of them realised that there was someone who had sneaked up on us until he chose to reveal himself when he was merely a few centimetres away.
I managed to catch a glimpse of who it was thanks to the dim moonlight shining through the window. The familiar visage of the masked man who had ruined my plan to save the girl was what entered my vision. That same weavile was still beside him alongside a new addition, a bisharp.
Rena had reacted faster than I did. She had immediately leapt at the man, showing no hesitation to physically put herself in between me and this unknown threat that even Vance had deemed dangerous upon first glance. What happened next was a blur because everything happened so fast, so soon, but I understood that we were severely outclassed in terms of ability when the man's weavile easily took out Rena with a single hit by punching her into the nearby wall. Rena never got back up.
I panicked. The last time I felt such intense fear gripping me was during my first exposure to war back during the Lilycove Invasion. I never expected to feel that same fear again by the hands of a single man.
"RENA!"
My hands were already reaching out for my pokeballs. I'm desperate at this point because I immediately realised just how big of a trouble I had landed myself in. I had thought that Rena and my ghosts were enough protection while we remained here far away from the hypothetical site of the battle. I never thought that the man would see through our intention and struck where he was least expected to be at. I should have released several other members of my team out with me so that I wouldn't be so helpless now.
My hands were about to reach my pokeballs. At this point I don't really care who I called out because that man is bad news. His pokemon could easily take Rena out in a single hit and Rena is by no means weak despite the inherent type disadvantage. I don't even care if I have to call Kratos out and bring the whole building down with us because the presence the man gave off was just that dangerous.
I didn't succeed.
That man was fast. I felt an iron grip choking me as his hands grabbed me from behind my neck as my world turned and twisted. I could feel my body being forcefully lifted as gravity seemingly detached its hold from me temporarily. I didn't even have the time to react and scream because pain was what greeted me next when the man brutally slammed me face down onto the floor, restraining my hands and preventing me from accessing my pokeballs.
I cannot see the man thanks to the position that I am currently in but I persisted in my struggle, still having plenty of fight in me. I still have one last trump card in hand, a highly deadly one that is often overlooked. With that, I can break free and fight back.
"Dolly!"
I felt my shadows responding to my call and my emotions. I felt them raging and pushing to get out, to rip our foes apart for daring to harm Rena and for daring to harm me. Just like how the ghosts that were always by my side are able to discern my emotional state, I could feel some semblance of their intentions as well through the tether of connection we shared.
I could feel their rage, their intention to burst forth and fight to the death. However, even after seconds had passed none of the familiar screeches and howls that I am used to appeared. A cold sweat broke out across my body when I realised that there was only one explanation why I am still being physically restrained by the man and why none of my ghosts had come to my aid. My hunch was further supported by the fact that I could feel the desperation, followed by the instinctive emotions of hurt and pain before the rage in my shadows were forcefully quelled and went silent.
I could feel my heart skipping a beat, the sudden empty feeling in my gut growing larger and larger. I could hear the thundering of my heartbeat and feel the clamminess of my cold sweat as fear that I had never felt before gripped me and held me hostage. Somehow, one way or another, not only did that man realise that there were ghosts hiding in my shadow, he had prevented my ghosts from exiting my shadow through unknown means to come to my rescue. I couldn't even turn my head to see just what he had done to make that impossibility a reality.
I am totally defenceless, at the mercy of the man who was very possibly the Plasma representative that we were originally here to hunt. I know just what kind of people would frequent places similar to the underground auction I just attended and my life and fate is now in his hands.
Even if I had already experienced death before, I still cannot quell the intense fear I felt from the man.
I don't want to die.
I could feel the man lowering his head closer to mine, now at a very uncomfortable distance that was too close for comfort. His voice whispered into my ear once more, his warm breath felt as if every word he said was another omen of my impending death.
"Now now, we really don't have to do this, but since you were so eager to make friends, why don't we get to... know each other a little better?"
I struggled to break free. I was so close to reaching for my pokeballs and calling out my team. It doesn't matter who. As long as I can call them out, even if it's just one member of my team, there is hope that I can turn this situation around.
"Let me go-! Ah!"
I was forced to cease my resistance when I felt my airway being choked to the point that I was unable to breathe properly. I could feel the man increasing the weight he is pressuring on my body to keep me restrained. One hand on my neck, one knee firmly planted on my back, and his other hand twisted my arms so that he can painfully hold both my wrists to the point I am starting to be unable to feel the blood circulation to my fingers.
I need to break free, I need to continue to struggle. I need to alert Vance to this somehow, even if it's just shouting for help but I wasn't given a chance to. The moment I regained the fight I had in me I immediately felt the sharp cold whistling of the wind as an object stabbed itself right into the floor less than a centimetre away from my face. It may be just a small crack, but that man had somehow stabbed a dagger into the concrete floor and I knew that if I continue to persist in my struggles, the next time, the dagger would be stabbing into my body instead. He's not playing around.
It's like Vance had told me. This man is dangerous, definitely someone who had lived with his life constantly on the line in the darkest parts of society. This is definitely someone who had taken lives before and would not hesitate to do so if needed. I never knew it was possible to be able to feel someone's bloodlust but that was just what I felt. I could feel the suffocating presence that he was emitting that could only be best described as killing intent, the feeling that clearly tells me that he wouldn't hesitate to end my life if I didn't do as I was told.
I had no choice but to cease struggling and remain still.
"Since you don't seem to understand the kind of things you are poking at. We can do this the easy way, or the hard way," The man's hand had released his hold on my neck, but I involuntarily released a choked cry of pain when I felt my hair being violently pulled on instead as he forcefully lifted my head away from the ground by a few centimetres. That fight in me was briefly reignited due to the anger I felt from this harsh treatment but it was also instantly eclipsed by the feeling of fear when I felt the sharp cold metallic edge of his dagger lightly tracing across my neck horizontally in a subtle warning.
I don't know how to put it into words. I had thought that I'm not as afraid of death as most people do thanks to my reincarnation and the doctors' warning of my supposedly short lifespan of my second life as a result of my frail body. Even so, this man was able to make me feel fear in the worst way imaginable with just a few words and gestures.
I never, ever, felt so afraid for my life before.
I knew that I definitely wasn't imagining the warm sensation of liquid slowly trickling down my neck. The man's dagger was so sharp that I didn't realise that I was being cut until the warmth of my spilled blood alerted me to it, and all he did was to lightly trace the tip of the weapon along the skin of my neck.
He is telling me that he can end my life anytime he wishes to, and that there is nothing I can do to stop him. I can only remain still and listen to what he has to say.
"The easy way will be for you to forget everything that has ever happened tonight. You have not been to that auction house, you have not seen what happened inside, and you forget everything about me. You go back and enjoy that pampered rich life of yours and go back to being the spoiled rich brat that you are, never taking a single step into such places ever again. We good?"
I had heard a lot of unsavoury words hurled at me before and usually, I never cared much about those. I am fortunate to be able to be born as a Vera and I am fortunate to be the daughter of two very loving and capable parents, but I lost all semblance of rationality the moment he insinuated that I am a spoiled pampered girl who knew nothing better, as if I am who I am today simply because of my background and not because of the blood sweat and tears that I had exerted to get to where I am now.
"Go fuck yourself."
My first reaction was to spit at him which in hindsight, really wasn't the wisest choice. It was simply stupid to antagonise the person who can now easily end my life with nary a thought. Maybe Looker wasn't wrong to say that I can be reckless at times.
"Then the hard way it is."
His voice was cold and calm, as if he was simply stating something unimportant. The next thing I knew, I felt my head being lifted higher as he pulled on my hair before swiftly slamming my head back down against the floor. Pain filled me and my vision blurred. I don't know if this was intentional, but I am still somewhat conscious even if I cannot make out much of the sounds around me with my ears or see clearly with my eyes.
I felt his cold fingers prying off the masquerade mask off my face and there was nothing I could do to stop him in my current state. A part of me was afraid about what it would mean if he saw my face and eventually found out about my true identity.
But there's nothing I can do. I am helpless and defenceless against this man.
I heard muffled sounds around me but I wasn't conscious enough to make out what the conversation was about. I am constantly slipping in and out of consciousness with how hard he has hit my head against the floor, unable to move a single finger.
A new jolt of fear briefly forced me back into consciousness for one short moment when something materialised into existence right before my eyes. The haunting visage of a spiritomb, one of the most violent and temperamental creatures currently known in existence, stared right at me with its eerily luminant green eyes.
A spiritomb is never good news, especially one that is hostile.
Am I… going to die here? How ironic, that I would meet my end by the hands of a ghost when my moniker is the Ghost Mistress.
The spiritomb locked eyes with me, floating closer and closer. All along I thought I was indifferent to my eventual death but it was at this very moment that I realised that I really do not want to die. I still want to live. I still want to be able to see my parents, my brother, my friends, my pokemon. There are still so many things that I want to do and see. I still haven't got to fulfil my wish to be able to travel the world.
I don't want to die. I really do not want to die.
I tried to will myself to move away, tried to shout only to realise that my throat was unable to make a sound. I mentally screamed at my body to move because there's still so many things I want to do, so many unfulfilled wishes that I haven't completed. An irrational part of me tried to believe that this was just a very realistic nightmare that I will wake up from but it did not remove the rapidly growing fear festering within my heart with every inch the spiritomb got closer.
Somebody, someone, anyone, save me. Please save me. I do not want to die just yet. Vance, Vance! Save me! Please!
I'm scared. I'm really really scared. I'm so afraid that my last words to you would be "Just shut up and go".
I could feel the chill in my bones as spiritomb activated its otherworldly powers on me to do whatever its trainer had commanded it to do. A cynical part of my mind pointed out that I actually attained the realisation of something which I thought I never cared much about when I first heard from the doctors that I will never live past fifteen.
I… I really want to live, even if it's just a little longer. I am not as unafraid of death as I thought I was.
One singular thought permeated my mind as my eyes gradually closed shut.
I really do not want to die.
69
Please be okay please be okay-
He was able to safely track his target from a safe distance despite feeling uneasy about it. He had brushed it off and chalked it up to him doing such work for the first time in a foreign land. That was not the first time he had been doing covert ops and he was one of ACE's finest operatives. He had faced worse.
That uneasy feeling in his gut only grew when he suddenly lost track of his target after that man made a turn around the corner. He had immediately raised his guard, fully expecting an ambush but that worry was slowly dispelled when none of that happened. All that greeted him was the silence of the dark alley and the cold whispers of the wind.
He spent some time doing a quick check of his surroundings with the aid of his pokemon and they still came up with nothing. He doesn't know how, but that man had mysteriously vanished with the little girl he had bidded and won from the auction. He never even heard the typical crack of a Teleport being used. Their disappearance was so sudden and thorough as if they had never been here all along.
It's a complete mystery to him how that man just up and literally disappeared into thin air. The uneasiness within his gut only grew even more.
Something was definitely wrong. He had never felt so uneasy before, as if his instincts were trying to tell him that something really bad was going to happen. His thoughts suddenly returned to his little sister who he had safely left behind a fair distance away from his current location before he started on his tracking mission.
Logically, he knew his sister would be safe. Velda will always be safe with Rena and those overly protective ghosts that are always by her side and there's no way that man would be able to locate her.
But that uneasiness he felt suddenly grew.
So, he decided to head back. He had lost track of his target with no clues to follow, that is a fact. Very likely, the target had simply teleported away from here, somehow, to ensure that he will not be followed, that is all. His sister will be safe, she's not weak, that was what he kept repeating over and over again in his mind to reassure himself.
He returned back to where he had left his little sister, only to receive one of the biggest shocks in his life. The last time that happened was when he saw his sister drenched in blood when he arrived on the scene halfway into the Lilycove Invasion.
"VEL!"
Lying face down motionlessly on the floor was his beloved sister. Her face was in full view, the masquerade mask she was wearing before he left lying just a few feet away. Rena was also unconscious, lying close to the nearby wall where she was obviously slammed into, the large cracks on it the only telltale sign that Velda had tried putting up a resistance only to be quickly overwhelmed. She had been taken down by the element of surprise.
He had immediately ran up to her, kneeling down to bring her into his arms and he thought his heart had stopped when he spotted the thin line of blood trickling down her neck. No, she couldn't be dead, she couldn't be-
The slow rise and fall of her chest was the only thing that prevented him from experiencing an outright panic attack. It had to be the man he was tracking. He was the only possible person to have done this. He had no idea just what on earth he had done to his sister and he prayed with all his heart that it wasn't too late.
"GALLADE!"
His gallade knew what had to be done the moment it was released. They were being teleported back to their residence in the next instance. Despite his inner panic Vance had not yet lost all control of his thought processes. Bringing Vel to a hospital would be preferred, but there's just simply too much he doesn't know about the man who he highly suspects to be the culprit of this aggression. That man was able to sneak up to Vel despite the protection of Rena's empathic powers and her ghosts' ability to sense negative and hostile emotions. Vel's ghosts were also nowhere to be seen and neither were there any signs that they were around.
That man is not just powerful, he is dangerous, and the only place left he knew of in Unova that could possibly guarantee his sister's safety is where the interpol is at. It is where Looker had gathered the best trainers he found from all over the world.
They were teleported right back to their residence in Nimbasa and Vance's first action was to yell for Looker and Sebastian, uncaring if the din woke up everyone else in the dead of the night. His father had warned him about the mysteries surrounding the man before he made his trip here but right now, Looker is the only one who he can reliably depend on with such a threat on the loose and had targeted his beloved sister.
Looker was the first to arrive through Shadow Sneak. The shock in his eyes was plainly obvious and he immediately got to where Vance had gently laid his injured and unconscious sister on the large sofa. Sebastian came running in shortly, followed by the rest of the occupants in the building who trickled in one after the other after hearing the commotion.
"Vance, allow me."
It wasn't much of a question, more like a statement when Looker said that. Vance made way for Looker despite the distrust he had for him because right now, his sister's wellbeing takes priority.
Looker had taken Velda's right hand and placed two fingers on her wrist to examine her pulse and Vance recognised his actions for what it was. Such an ancient art had been mostly forgotten but Vance knew that there are still practitioners of it in modern times, even if their numbers are small. What Looker was doing is an ancient art of pulse reading that was once popularly practised before modern medicine revolutionised medicine and healthcare. That ancient art had since quickly dwindled because very few practitioners could reach the level of expertise, quickness, and accuracy that machines used in hospitals can now easily provide within seconds.
Looker had seemingly already come to a conclusion himself, but he turned to look at the mismagius who had also appeared almost at the same time Looker did. Its purplish yellow eyes shone briefly while looking at Velda before turning to Looker and shaking its head.
"She's fine," Looker concluded with an obvious sigh of relief. "She's been hit in the head, probably will suffer from a minor case of concussion but that can be easily recovered from. We just need to wait for her to wake up, but it will take a while. The oddity in her pulse suggests external interference from a sleep-inducing move, most likely the work of Hypnosis. Not only that, the slight irregularity I felt indicated that she was probably very afraid of whoever or whatever she had met before becoming like this. What happened?"
"I… We… I…" don't know, but those words couldn't even manifest from Vance's mouth even if he tried. He could not help but feel so angry at himself. He's her older brother and he was there with her, yet he had no idea just what on earth had happened to her. Just thinking about his failure made him feel so mad and useless at the same time.
By some stroke of luck, Velda only suffered light injuries. If she was any less fortunate, if he came back much later, if anything irreversible were to happen today and she…
He wouldn't forgive himself, ever.
His gallade gently closed the light wound on his sister's neck with Heal Pulse while carrying the injured and unconscious Rena with an arm. Looker's mismagius had taken a tissue from somewhere and with its wispy tendrils, gently wiped off the thin trail of blood on Velda's neck, displaying her sister's flawless smooth skin once more now that the cut was properly healed. Her sister's red blood on the tissue seemed so glaring, as though mocking Vance for his incompetence in protecting his sister and inability to exact vengeance.
"Sorry to cut in, I know there is a lot going on right now, but if Velda is fine now, Velda's espeon is in need of treatment, and I think Velda could rest better if she could change out of her clothes. Those don't look too comfortable to sleep in, us girls can help with that," Mary interrupted the conversation with a soft yet firm voice. Looker and Vance shared a quick look before Vance gave a silent and resigned nod of agreement. Skye managed to identify Rena's pokeball after searching through Velda's handbag, recalling the loyal psychic back into its pokeball before handing it over to Sebastian.
Sebastian wordlessly took over possession of Velda's belongings before taking his leave to send Rena for treatment. Vance, on the other hand, gently carried his sister in his arms again and headed towards her room. She still felt so light and he couldn't bear to let her go, afraid that she might really disappear this time the moment he turned elsewhere. It wasn't until the ladies shooed him out of her room so that they could help Velda change out of her dress and into something comfortable to rest in did he reluctantly leave.
Looker was waiting outside with his back against the wall, arms folded across his chest. Vance would have mistook the man for not having felt anything but he did notice the slight tightening of the man's fingers on his biceps, showing that the man was not as emotionless as he previously thought.
Looker fell silent for a short moment after Vance told him what had gone on in the underground auction they had attended to gather information about Team Plasma. The girls were done helping Velda change out of her clothes by the time Vance had informed Looker what he knew of and they regrouped in his sister's room, because he cannot bring himself to be anywhere else as of this moment. He can only feel assured if he is there to personally look after her.
"Assuming that he was the aggressor, he must have noticed that he was being tailed right from the very beginning," Looker kept his voice low and so did everyone else while they discussed the things that had happened tonight, not wanting to disturb Velda's rest. "I agree with you that Vel must have been taken out by the element of surprise. Like you said, there were barely any signs of combat with Rena being the only one present when you arrived."
"But… her ghosts, they are always with her," Skye pointed out and that is another mystery Vance was unable to understand. Even putting the untrained wild ghosts aside, how had his sister come to harm with Dolly and Wacky always being there for her in her shadow? Where are they?
"That means that he must have also realised all along that there were ghosts hiding there and he took preventive measures. For people who are familiar with ghosts, it's not hard to pick up on the signs. In fact, I think I know where they are, let me show you," Looker explained and his sableye appeared with a wordless signal from his hand.
The sableye waded its way into Velda's shadow before disappearing entirely. It reemerged a few seconds later, its long lanky arms carrying a bunch of unconscious ghosts and Vance immediately identified Wacky thanks to its unique colouration. The sableye made a few more trips as more and more unconscious ghosts of various varieties started to pile up in a corner of Velda's room, showing them just how many of them were accompanying her all along. The only factor that was common and applicable to them is that all of the ghosts were injured and unconscious.
"I take it that none of you here faced a bona fide Ghost Specialist before?" Looker asked and received a collective shake of the heads currently in the room, because Ghost Specialists are rare to come by and even if they were to meet one, most would think twice before trying to get on their bad side. Not many know about them and even fewer were able to glimpse into their secrets.
Looker simply carried on explaining his deduction on what he thought had happened based on the few facts they knew.
"Whoever the attacker may be, that person prevented the ghosts from protecting Vel by defeating them even before they could leave her shadow. It is a very simple trick. All you have to do is to direct a powerful surge of ghost or dark type energy right into the shadow itself before the ghosts within could exit."
"Would that be harmful to Vel?" Vance asked in concern and Looker shook his head in response.
"That person's method may be brutal, but I don't think he really meant to put Vel's life in danger. Case in point, her ghosts are all still alive when they should be dead, even the much weaker ones that from my judgement, are newly born and had only recently joined Vel's company. Missy did not sense any other effects on her mind other than the signs that Vel was forcefully put to sleep. That was it. There were no malign mind interferences, so she's fine other than the mild concussion she suffered. She was definitely hit in the head more than once but like I said, that can be easily recovered from after a good rest. She didn't suffer from any long-lasting injuries."
"How are you so sure?"
"Because I am Looker, and the last thing I wish is for the people under my command to come to harm. If you really want to know the specifics, Missy had briefly connected herself to Vel via Destiny Bond, temporarily linking their lives together and that was how she was so sure that Vel would be fine. If she isn't, the first thing I would have done is to teleport her to the hospital. Trust me."
"Destiny Bond? Something like that is… possible with Destiny Bond?" Nova's disbelief was shared with everyone present, not expecting that Destiny Bond could be used to conduct an accurate diagnosis on a patient. Destiny Bond is one of the most notorious suicide moves a pokemon could ever use and learn. Nobody would ever associate that move for one that could be used for medical purposes.
"Only if the ghost in question knows what they are doing with it. I wouldn't recommend using it like Missy did unless the ghost using Destiny Bond in question has complete mastery of the move," Looker elaborated before turning to Vance. "If you are still concerned about your sister's well-being and have doubts about my diagnosis, you are free to move her to the nearest hospital, but as Vel's superior I must remind you that the security there will not be as good as where we are now, and we cannot be sure if the perpetrator will strike back to finish the job."
"It's fine, I trust you on this," Vance sagged and finally felt the large weight being lifted from his shoulders. His sister is fine now and that is all that matters.
"The girl on auction that you told me about… If that man is really working for the Plasmas, and if he really was the one who attacked Vel, then this is worrying. I will compile what we know about him, as little as that is at the moment, and see if the Dandolos can help us uncover any leads about this mysterious person. If there's anybody in Unova who could conduct such a search, it would be the Dandolos. If that girl's ability is similar to the Mad Conqueror and is now with the Plasmas we cannot afford to sit still and do nothing. The Dandolos wouldn't ignore such a potential threat either."
With the assurance that Velda is going to be alright and considering how late into the night it already is, people started to leave her room after giving her one last worried glance and telling Vance to feel free to wake them up if he needs any help. Once left alone, the only thing Vance could do was to helplessly sit by his sister's bedside and hold onto her hand, hoping that she would wake up soon.
The last time he felt so helpless was right after the Lilycove Invasion where his sister fell into a brief coma. He had done the exact same thing, keeping a constant vigil by her side and was unable to do anything but pray and hope that she will be fine and trying to reassure himself that she will eventually wake up. He had sworn that such a thing would never ever happen again and look at him now. History had repeated itself.
Nothing has changed.
He still wasn't there when his sister needed him most.
Velda woke up more than twelve hours later. It was a slow and agonising wait despite Looker's reassurance and guarantee that his sister is alright and will eventually wake up. Vance was almost tempted to have his gallade try coaxing Velda's mind to wake up and open her eyes only for Looker to sternly warn him about the hundred and one ways that might go wrong.
Looker's argument was that in the end, Velda only suffered minor physical injuries that could be easily healed. This was the very reason why Looker thought that there was no reason in bringing Velda to a hospital once he confirmed that her life was in no danger. Looker even brought out the highly confidential file titled "Project Illusion" to prove his point about the possible side effects of Hypnosis on the human brain if something goes awry. The human brain is a powerful yet delicate thing. Trying to intervene in its workings in any way, shape, or form is dangerous. Just one misstep is all that is needed to bring about irreversible consequences.
And so, Vance reluctantly stayed his hand.
Sebastian dropped by a few times and it was after much persuading on his part did Vance temporarily leave Velda's room to wash himself up and have a quick meal. It was back to keeping a vigil over his sister's side right thereafter, a tortuously long wait that reminded him of his failure as the older brother with each passing second.
It was somewhere around the afternoon the next day when Velda started to rouse. He spotted the slight twitching of her fingers and the furrowing of her eyebrows as though she was experiencing a nightmare. Then, her eyelids started to flutter open, the look in her eyes blank and unfocused.
"Vel? Vel, can you hear me? Vel?"
"... Vance?" Her voice was hoarse and dry. Vance almost wanted to cry in joy but he knows that he has to at least appear strong for his sister right now. His sister blinked her eyes a few times and tried to sit up, only to fail and remain lying on her bed with an uncomfortable groan escaping her lips.
"What was I…" He heard his sister mutter before noticing the subsequent panic in her voice, her eyes widening slightly when she remembered just what had happened to her before he found her. She turned back to look at him, eyes wide, and he watched, almost in slow motion, how her lips began to quiver uncontrollably, how her eyes started to water, and how she was trying to hold herself back.
"It's fine now, I'm here. Your pokemon are all fine too, Sebastian had them checked. Are you alright? Do I need to call a doctor over? I…"
It was like an emotional dam had broken within his sister. He could only watch as his sister started to cry. It's almost an exact repeat of the time his sister just woke up from her long coma after the Lilycove Invasion and the only thing he could do back then and right now is to hold her close, hugging her, rubbing soothing circles on her back and whispering assurances into her ear that she is alright now.
Nothing has changed. It hurts to realise that nothing has changed.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry-" His sister kept repeating those words in a near inaudible whisper, her head buried into his chest and her tears staining his shirt wet. He hates himself, hates the fact that his sister has to undergo all of this because of his incompetence and hates that the only thing that he can do right now is to hold her tighter in hopes that it might calm her down.
"You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one-"
"My last words to you were just shut up and go," Her volume was soft, yet her words weren't. "I… I was so scared. I really thought I was going to die, and I… I really regret that those were my last words to you and I-"
"It's fine, it's fine. It's fine," it took all of his willpower to prevent his voice from cracking entirely. He could feel how tightly Velda's fists were clenched and holding onto his shirt, not wanting to let him go. They stayed like this for a while. For how long exactly, he does not know, but his sister calmed down eventually.
"Vel?"
"Mm?" Vel made a soft grunt in reply, still burying her face in his chest. He knows that she doesn't want him to see her in her current state. Ever since young she hates being seen as weak and defenceless. He could count the number of times he had seen her cry with the fingers on a single hand because if she does cry, she often does it behind everyone's backs when she's sure nobody was looking, because her pride does not allow her to easily show her tears. So, he let her be, even if he wants nothing more than to personally help dry her tears with his own hands.
"Do you… still want to stay here? I mean, in the interpol? After… all this?"
If this is the kind of danger that being a member of interpol entails, Vance wished for nothing more than to pull his sister out of it with immediate effect. However, he also knows that Velda would not agree to it. This stubborn sister of his has her own pride and she would not budge an inch once she had set her mind on something. She had always been too headstrong.
Still, he has to try, because he does not want to experience something like this ever again.
Velda shook her head and remained silent, her head still buried in his chest and adamant about not showing him her crying face. The only sounds occasionally puncturing the silence were her uncontrollable sobs that were gradually dying down. Eventually, she spoke up.
"You know something? I thought… I thought I was indifferent to the idea of my death. Ever since the doctors told me that I would not live past fifteen I thought I was fine with the idea that I might die anytime soon. I thought I had made my peace long ago."
His hold on her tightened. He can never bring himself to tolerate the very notion of that idea.
"But this encounter made me realise that I am not as brave as I thought myself to be. I was so scared, so scared of dying. The idea of my life just… disappearing, it scared me. When I genuinely thought I was going to die I recalled my last words to you, my unfulfilled dreams, I… I never felt such a strong desire to live until then. I was praying for someone to come save me, praying that you might come back, but all I received was a knife to my neck and my head being slammed against the floor and nobody to my rescue and-"
Velda stopped herself from continuing when she became increasingly agitated as she continued to speak. Even so, it was enough to make the guilt Vance felt grew large enough to swallow him whole.
This is all his fault.
"I'm sorry."
"I should be the one saying sorry," Vance replied, his voice going hoarse as well. He was so lucky that his sister came out unscathed as it is. He could have lost her forever.
"Rena? Tell me she is alright."
"She will be fine. She just needs time to recover, Sebastian will make sure of it," He reassured her and will continue to do so as many times as he needed to.
"Stay with me? Like this?" She whispered, her small frame still seeking shelter in his arms. Her sister had rarely asked for anything from anyone and he will never reject a request from her. She is his one and only little sister.
"As long as you need, sister dear. I will be here for you, as long as you want me to."
This time, he will be there for her.
70
He knows what people call him behind his back.
The man who cannot be trusted, the man who is a walking library of secrets. The emotionless man whose decisions are dictated by logic and pragmatism for the PWL's cause.
They couldn't be more right, but at the same time they couldn't be more wrong.
He doesn't enjoy keeping secrets, but he has to. He doesn't particularly enjoy having to constantly wander around the grey areas of the law and morality, but he has to.
Because he is Looker.
He continues to look out of the window of his room, which happens to oversee the training ground located just outside of the building the interpol is currently staying at. The Vera siblings are going at it again, with Velda trying her best to beat her older brother in battle and causing quite a din as a result. He can feel the tremors constantly shaking the building despite how the building is supposedly built to be able to withstand pokemon assaults of the highest level.
Velda had shut herself in for a few days after that incident, not wanting to see or talk to anybody after the fear she experienced. The only exception was Vance, who managed to finally coax Velda out of her trauma and get her to somehow channel all of her fear into a drive to get stronger, so that something like that would not happen again.
Personally, Looker is glad that Vance is here in Unova, or it would take much longer for Velda to recover. Physical wounds will heal eventually, but mental wounds are those that are the hardest to recover from. Vance is integral for Velda's recovery.
Looker continues to spectate the battle from an unseen corner, his thoughts intermittently flitting between the past and the present. Yes, he has seen much, but he's far from being emotionless. The responsibilities he holds, the wishes he wants fulfilled, the person who he's searching for and yearning to see again, all of these were reasons for why he had made the decisions he made.
For now, there's nothing he could do other than to ensure that the interpol becomes stronger. Be it through recruiting more members or having the current members improve their respective skills, the interpol must be stronger than they are now. The members he picked had a taste of what a world-ending calamity could possibly be like during their participation in the war in Indigo, they now know what they could possibly be up against.
Team Plasma is not Team Rocket. Compared to Team Rocket, the way Team Plasma's operations are being handled are almost like the handiwork of unprofessional amateurs but that doesn't mean that they are to be underestimated. They are also extremely dangerous in a very different sort of way. There is no reason to take Team Plasma lightly, especially if he assumed that the mysterious masked man that assaulted Velda was indeed working for the Plasmas.
Velda, Skye, Shannon, Nova, Akamu, Mary; each of the interpol members he recruited hold immeasurable potential, which was why he recruited them in the first place. It would be better if he could get people like Volkner and Jayce on his side but he guessed he should already be counting his blessings. If all goes well, if the prophecy really unfolds as it was told, then their fates would eventually intertwine with each other again.
He cannot help but take out the omamori charm from his pocket, his fingers gently caressing the fabric of the amulet. It had definitely seen better days, the colour of the cloth had already faded to an extent that it shouldn't be possible. Hopefully, this time, nobody would have to be sacrificed for the sake of peace.
Hopefully, this time, nobody would have to share the same fate that befell his older sister. He had seen too many die in battles that were waged in the name of peace.
"Regret? Why would I? I did what I could to the best of my abilities. Have you ever regretted what you did?"
"No, I did what I had to. For you, and for her."
"And it's the same for me too. For him, for you, for my child. It's just… I wish I was able to spend more time with you, with everyone. I'm sorry, I cannot be there to protect you anymore."
Those words had once haunted him for many nights. There were some things that his older sister did that he never once understood the reasons for. Now, he's starting to understand. If things do unfold according to what he suspects to eventually develop into, if the prophecy that his older sister was a part of does have some truth in it…
It was by his own decision that he became Looker, but he's also starting to understand the role that he was being thrust into by the hands of fate. Maybe she understood her role too, because it would explain the things that she had done behind his back all this time.
It's been so long.
Vance and Velda had finished their spar and Vance was gone by the time he was done taking a trip down memory lane. Velda had remained at the training ground, sitting by the side to presumably cool off while being surrounded by the company of her pokemon. Looker briefly recalled what he witnessed from their spar earlier before deciding to make his appearance.
He will never deny that Vance is a capable and skilled trainer. However, ultimately, Vance is a Generalist, and being a Generalist is not where Velda's potential will shine. Yes, Velda never cared about being the strongest, much less if she ended up being a Generalist or a Specialist, but to not teach her to tap into her affinity with ghosts is a criminal waste of talent.
As the resident and only Ghost Specialist in the group, the least he could do is to teach her how to think and fight like a Ghost Specialist.
He reappeared a short distance away from her through Shadow Sneak. Not too far that it would make them seem distant, but neither too near so as not to spook her and made her feel like her personal space was being infringed upon.
"Looker?"
"Couldn't help but notice the battle earlier," Looker initiated the conversation as Sparkles and Missy made themselves known as well. "And after seeing that, I thought you might want to learn a thing or two from a Ghost Specialist if you are feeling up for it."
He could see how her eyes lit up in anticipation at the mention of learning something new, displaying the thirst for knowledge that is uniquely hers.
"Use your ghosts, Vel, and only your ghosts. Our lessons start now," Looker stated as his own ghosts swirled and appeared from the shadows. Velda's reply was to stand up and let her ghosts appear as well, each more eager than the last to battle with their kin.
"Agatha taught you the characteristics of ghosts and how to command them, so my approach will be different. It will be a little more… hands-on as compared to Agatha's theoretical lessons. I only have one demand for you," Looker pointed to himself as his own ghosts swirled around him with excited howls and cackles, his own thoughts momentarily going back to the day when he had his first lesson with his teacher.
"Our lesson starts now. Your first task is simple: hurt me."
He cannot help but let the edges of his lips curl up a little into a smile at the memory as he recited those same words.
"Hurt me."
He spotted the hesitation in her body language. He also saw how she quickly brushed it aside when she realised there's no hope of her ever hurting him at her current skill level unless she gives it her all. Her army of ghosts immediately rushed into battle, each playing a different role under the leadership of Wacky and Dolly.
Looker's ghosts weren't idle either.
Sparkles alone was able to block the brunt of their assault with a lazy wave of its arms, the invincible green shield of Protect manifesting upon its command. Underhanded tricks and reckless attacks were exchanged between their ghosts as their bloodlust gradually took over, indulging in the violent and vicious nature that is innate in their species with increasing intensity.
Looker discreetly observed Velda as their battles went on. One can never hope to be a proper Ghost Specialist if they are not comfortable with seeing their worst side, and he's glad to see that he spotted no signs of discomfort from her upon witnessing just how cruel her ghost types can be in their battle. Just like how even the most violent of pokemon have the capability to be gentle, even the most gentle of pokemon can turn violent under the right circumstances. This is especially true for ghost types, and he wants to make sure that Velda understands that before he shows her more.
He moved, charging forward in her direction. That definitely took her by surprise and he could see her other pokemon reacting in response to the perceived threat to her safety.
"Only ghosts, Vel!"
His reminder was effective. Velda had immediately commanded her non-ghost types to stand down while having several of her ghosts regroup around her for defence. Perhaps he should thank Rena for trusting him that he will never harm Velda, or else the importance of this lesson might never sink into its trainer if that espeon is always so protective.
The wispy dark arms of his cofagrigus lashed out, grabbing onto and restricting several of Velda's ghosts at once to clear a path for Looker. Wacky reappeared from thin air, punching cofagrigus back with a Shadow Punch only to be intercepted by Looker's own gengar. That left Velda wide open.
"First lesson: do not be entirely dependent on your pokemon for safety!"
The moment he was close enough, Looker's hand lashed out as if telegraphing a punch. He had held back, making sure that he gave Velda enough time to react because his only purpose for this lesson was to leave an impression on Velda. Still, Velda barely managed to dodge the punch with a shocked yelp, clearly unexpecting things to develop in such a manner. A trevenant tried to ensnare him but was immediately greeted by his chandelure, allowing Looker to carry on pressing his advantage.
Looker's gengar reappeared in front of Velda, quickly inflating itself in a bright glow.
"Second lesson: When facing ghosts, expect the unexpected! Always assume the worst! Powerful ghosts are notorious for their love for suicide attacks! Use it to your advantage!"
He's not sure if he was too hasty to teach her about this particular aspect of ghosts, he's not sure if doing this would be taking this too far for their first lesson together, but he trusts that her ghosts and other pokemon will be able to guarantee her safety for what was about to come next.
"Gengar, Explosion!"
Shadows raged on both sides just as his gengar blew itself up in an explosion. Looker was relieved that Velda and her pokemon had disappeared completely when the smoke was cleared, indicating that she had made her getaway. That would also mean that he had successfully carved the shock that he wanted to carve into her. Ghosts thrive in life-and-death battles; they grow best in treacherous situations. Having a gengar suddenly trying to take her down by attempting to blow itself up right in front of her would definitely sear this lesson into her mind as an unforgettable memory. It will force her and her ghosts to learn as quickly as possible, it's a rite of passage that all Ghost Specialists and their ghosts will have to experience at one point.
Like this, one of his objectives for this lesson is complete. To be a proper Ghost Specialist is to be comfortable with the idea of having danger as your constant companion. To live alongside danger, to not hesitate to gamble and take calculated risks, to be readily willing to snatch victory at the cost of your well-being are traits expected and needed for a true Ghost Specialist.
Because that is what ghosts are, and thus Ghost Specialists have to be able to reflect those traits to be able to command these fickle creatures and unleash their true potential.
Missy intercepted an unseen attack with a Shadow Ball, alerting Looker to the ambush. Velda reappeared a short distance away with the entirety of her team while gasping for breath, a scowl clearly visible on her beautiful face. Looker allowed a smirk to show, because it seemed that Velda was progressing a lot faster than he had hoped.
Not like he expected any less from someone who is so loved by ghosts.
"Not bad. I wasn't aware you finally realised the things you can possibly do with Phantom Force."
"That was… Phantom Force?" Velda looked a little confused, but quickly turned to look at Dolly. Dolly simply gave an unconcerned shrug from where she was floating close by, freely admitting that she was the reason how they managed to avoid his gengar's Explosion earlier.
Oh great, so that escape was a fluke on her end. That would not do, Velda must at the very least, be aware of and be able to utilise the properties of Phantom Force with expert ease. He is sure that given enough practice, Dolly's Phantom Force can grow to become her literal get-out-of-jail card.
"Alright, time out. You need to learn more about Phantom Force if you intend to continue using it like how you did earlier, or else you would only hurt yourself," Looker clapped his hands twice to get everyone's attention before deciding to demonstrate it personally. "Golurk, Phantom Force."
Looker felt the familiar chill which signified that he had been temporarily warped into a separate plane. Even after more than a century of studies nobody could properly explain just where ghosts disappear to when using Phantom Force. The best explanation they had was that ghosts temporarily shifted themselves into a parallel plane when using this move. From Velda's perspective, he had disappeared, but in fact he's still standing where he was standing all along before Golurk took him for the ride. The only difference is that in this plane everything is muted. Be it colours, sounds, smell; everything. In fact, the air here is thin as well, making it harder to breathe than it is supposed to.
The biggest advantage from this move, in Looker's opinion, would be how the user would be undetectable and temporarily invincible in the real world while Phantom Force was active. It is the perfect tool for both espionage and also to save himself in emergencies, a tool he frequently relied on.
However, most ghosts are only able to stay within this realm for a few seconds before being forcefully ejected. Only ghosts above a certain strength and possess a certain level of mastery in the move can possibly use it to bring other people or pokemon along, and very few ghosts have the ability to keep themselves and other people or pokemon in this plane long enough before this alternative plane inevitably ejects them back to the real world.
For ghosts who had thoroughly mastered this move, however, they not only have the ability to hide in this untouchable and separate plane of reality for however long they like, they could also theoretically bring along other passengers regardless of their consent. Again, the scale of the move, number of passengers, and duration in which the ghost in question could hold Phantom Force's influence over itself and the guests it brought along is highly dependent on its power, mastery, and experience.
Dolly had proved herself capable of a huge group away with Phantom Force earlier, even if it was only for a second or two. That would mean that Velda must be getting closer in becoming a Ghost Specialist even if she is obviously still unaware of her progress. Phantom Force is not a move that can be easily mastered without the guidance of an experienced trainer. It is a very important defensive skill for ghosts who are able to learn this move because it guarantees a short period of invulnerability. It signifies that they will have in their arsenal a move that can possibly turn the tide of the battle. The results of this lesson had exceeded what he was originally hoping for.
Looker took a few steps forward until he's now standing right in front of Velda. Golurk is still keeping them here with Phantom Force and he knows his Golurk can hold them here for far longer, but his objective was to simply make Velda aware of the applications of Phantom Force, not test Golurk's limits. He's sure Velda would be able to figure out everything else from here on.
Golurk released them from the alternative plane of reality upon his silent signal. Velda jumped a little in shock at how they seemingly appeared in front of her from out of nowhere but recovered quickly enough.
"That is what you can possibly achieve with a ghost who mastered Phantom Force. They can bring you along with them to a different plane where you are effectively untouched and also undetectable by inhabitants of the real world. The stronger the ghost, the longer they can assist you in staying there. But, there's a risk."
"I could hardly breathe in there. The air there was so thin," Velda replied with beads of sweat still slowly rolling down the sides of her face.
"Yes, that's the main problem for us humans. After all, I don't think that plane of existence was created for us in mind, but do you now see the benefits of being able to master this move? Like how Dolly brought you out of my gengar's blast radius earlier?"
"I wasn't aware she could do that, I think she only just unlocked this ability," Velda deduced after mulling over it for a short while, then shot him a glare. "And were you seriously trying to kill me earlier? Explosion, seriously?"
"I have faith that your pokemon there," Looker gestured to the large team of pokemon standing behind and belonging to the girl as he said that, "were able to protect you, and I made sure to let gengar know not to put his full power into that blast. You said you want to learn more about ghosts back on the ship and I did promise that I can show you a few tricks I have, but did you remember what else I told you? Ghosts thrive in life-and-death battles. You need to get comfortable with life threatening situations occurring out of the blue to be able to relate to their behaviour, because that is just what ghosts are. They don't follow logic. One moment they could be content with idling their time away and in the next moment they suddenly would think that trying to fight Arceus itself would be a good way to pass time. I need to impress that way of thought into you while we are still able to guarantee a safe and controlled training environment. If your pokemon wasn't able to get you out in time, golurk would. You were in no danger the entire time."
Golurk made a deep hollow sound of agreement from where he was standing behind Looker. Looker's gengar laughed with a slightly insane gleam in its eyes as it began to reform its gaseous body right in front of them as though it hadn't just torn itself apart with Explosion.
"So lessons with you are always going to be like this?"
"It's how I was taught and how I learnt. If you want to blame someone, blame my teacher," Looker did not hesitate to shove the blame onto his teacher the first chance he got. Missy laughed at his words while zooming about in frenzied loops before chattering something at Velda.
"Leaf got stuck in my hair? Yeah, thanks for telling me," She offered Missy her thanks while fumbling for a stray wilted leaf that had gotten itself stuck to her long blonde hair that she had tied up into a high ponytail even before the start of the training. Looker had frozen upon seeing that, not even moving a single muscle while watching Velda finally locating the stray leaf with her hand and removing it from her hair.
"Vel, did you just…?"
"Just?" Velda looked up, still not aware of what she had done.
"You… understood what Missy said?"
The air went still as they both stared at each other. Velda's jaw went slack, her mouth wide open, before slowly turning back to Missy who was also staring back at them as though not understanding why this was such a big deal.
Velda immediately turned to face Dolly.
"Dolly, say something to me. Something simple."
Dolly started on another of her usual excited chattering.
"Kratos… stupid?"
Dolly clapped her appendages in joy and began to fly excitedly in loops like how Missy was doing. Excitement began to build in the air as the various ghost types around them immediately tried to test if they could now converse with the girl. The only pokemon that doesn't seem too happy is the tyranitar, who is now irritatedly chasing after the mischievous banette with snapping jaws for openly insulting its intelligence.
"Pecha berries… look like Joy?"
Wacky let out a cheer, confirming that its trainer had now somehow unlocked the ability to understand their language. Looker can see how the excitement had infected Velda as well as she immediately began to try speaking to any ghosts in her vicinity, to confirm that what she just did wasn't a fluke.
The outcome of this lesson was a lot better than he hoped it to be. More than the lessons and knowledge that he was trying to impart to her, more than the sudden unlocking of her potential as an Ability Holder, the most important outcome that he wished for had come true. Velda had made a speedy recovery from her trauma from the auction incident.
Finally, she's no longer moping.
Still, who was the masked man that managed to instil such fear into Velda, one of the most fearless and reckless persons he ever met? To instil fear into your enemies may sound easy, but doing so like how Velda described it to be is almost like a sadistic form of art in itself. He had met a handful of such individuals before in his career, but they are far and few in between.
Well, he can ponder over that later.
"Looker! Looker, look! I can speak to ghosts! I can speak to ghosts!"
Velda was unable to contain her excitement, continuously bouncing on the soles of her feet and finally acting like the thirteen year old that she is. Come to think about it, she's going to turn fourteen soon if he recalls correctly.
"Congrats. I guess you can start trading notes with Akamu and co now."
"I don't even know how I did it, I just… suddenly…" Velda trailed off, at a loss of words to describe how she did what she just did. She's still riding on the wave of excitement after finding out she just unlocked another facet of her unexplainable ability with ghosts. "Maybe Phantom Force was the key to unlocking my ability?"
"Who knows? But I don't see Volkner getting struck by lightning or Nova being buried into the earth to be able to understand their respective typings."
"You don't seem very surprised."
"I've seen my fair share of Ability Holders in my line of work, and now the bulk of my interpol are Ability Holders. I have to get used to it," Looker deadpanned.
"I thought Ability Holders are rare?"
Looker looked up into the sky in thought, thinking if it would be alright to reveal to her a little more about his history.
It should be fine.
"Remember my older sister that I told you about?"
"You said she was the one who introduced you to your teacher," Vel nodded, telling him that she remembered what he told her that day.
"My sister was the very first Ability Holder I met. I have been dealing with Ability Holders since I was young, I'm used to witnessing strange things happening around me that I cannot explain. She's like you, just that her affinity was with Poison types."
Velda tried to hide it, but he can identify the shock she was trying to conceal.
"She can understand Poison types?"
"It's one reason why she was so successful as a Poison Specialist," Looker briefly recalled those memories fondly before deciding to stop this conversation here. "Alright, I've kept my word and showed you one of my tricks. Once you are sure you have mastered it, let me know and I'll see if you are ready to learn another one. I'm not going to force you to become a Ghost Specialist, but as a Ghost Specialist myself it really irks me with how you are wasting your talent by not even tapping a fraction of your ability to work with ghosts."
"I'm not that bad of a Generalist, am I?"
"No, but like Agatha said, you could be so much more if ghost types had been your focus all along. Alright, see you."
Looker allowed his ghosts to transport him away with Shadow Sneak. Was he too hasty? Had he revealed too much?
Maybe, maybe not, but after Velda's close brush with that unidentified man it may be better to give Velda the needed push to hurry and familiarise herself with the talent he knows lay dormant within her. The same goes for the other Ability Holders in the interpol. They would need every kind of strength they can get in their quest to save the world.
And once the world is stable and at peace, then maybe, just maybe, he might see her again.
"To be able to keep looking forward is a kind of strength as well."
She said looking forward is a kind of strength, so he became Looker. He will keep looking forward to the day where they can meet once more and this time, he would no longer need to hide behind the false identity of Looker and he would no longer need to remain distant, but he can only do so if this world is protected and safe.
Soon.
Soon, there will come a day where they can be reunited, and he's looking forward to it.