soothinggrace:

Cheryl began fanning herself in order to quell her writhing nerves “um… Well I was in victory road, looking for flower paradise and” she halted to sniff and wipe her eyes “and I got lost again and then I found myself in a completely different place”

The girl stood before lenora, messing with her nails “oh gosh I’ll probable end up having to live here forever! I’ll loose all my friends!”

Lenora stood next to Cheryl, holding a hand up helplessly. She could understand the girl being distressed, heck, she’d probably be stunned as well if she somehow wound up in an entirely different region.

“Okay, sweetie, just take a deep breath and try to calm down,” Lenora said, speaking softly and slowly. “If you got here on your own, it can’t be that hard for the authorities to find a way to get you back to your own region. Just relax and try not to panic.”

achromaticresearcher:

“Thank you, Lenora. I’m glad to be friends with such understanding people. I would likely be very lonely if every foolish action I’ve made left me with one friend less.”

“So perhaps that is what I’ll do, then… I’ll try to keep in touch with Ghetsis. If for any reason, to prevent him from pursuing any wold-changing plans. It’s a wonderful idea.”

“Ah, come here, you,” Lenora said as she pulled Colress into a hug. As she pulled away, she smiled and said, “You know you can come talk to me about anything, right?”

“That’s the spirit! Go put that mad genius of yours towards a good cause! And in the meantime, if you need help with anything, don’t you hesitate to come to me for help, you hear me?”

achromaticresearcher:

“Lenora, I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner… In all honesty, it’s just one of those things I’d often rather not talk about. The whole experience was very… hard on me, you could say. Remembering some of the things I had done and relationships I had during that time just…” he cut himself off.

As Lenora grabbed onto his hand, he felt comforted. He gave her a faint smile. “I’ve never been called anything even remotely close to a hero, before. I suppose I should be proud of myself for putting things to an end once and for all as well. …It’s just a shame that I know that Ghetsis is still out there, his goals likely the same as they were when he ran off that day. I wish he would listen to those trainers or I. Or even learn from his mistakes. I worry about the man’s mental health now and then.”

“I suppose I should try and forget about him though, shouldn’t I? After all, I have plenty of work ahead of me now. I have no time to worry about past acquaintances… I should focus on what I have today.”

“It’s alright, Colress. I know. It’s not something you have to apologize to me for again,” Lenora said, smiling gently at the man. “I don’t blame you for wanting to hide it.”

When Colress mentioned Ghetsis, she brightened. “Well, that’s something you can do if you feel like you need to make up for your misdeeds as a member of Team Plasma. You could help put a stop to whatever Ghetsis is planning. That is, if he ever launches another one of his schemes. With Team Plasma disbanded, who can say if he ever will?” She scratched her chin. “You know, I never found out why Team Plasma wanted that fossil in the first place.”

She smiles again. “Yes, that sounds like a good plan. Focus on the future, try to make a better tomorrow.”

fucking-lyra-bitch:

” .. Yeah? .. I mean, I don’t think it was bad. I did learn a lot!” She flashed Lenora a smile, unable to pick up the uneasiness in her tone. “It was kinda fun learning on my own sometimes, really.”

The poor girl. She had no idea, did she? She didn’t have any idea of the education she’d been deprived of. Lenora thought back to her own adolescence, afternoons in the school with her teachers, staying late for extra tutoring and help. For every A grade Lenora received, she’d had plenty of plenty of guidance. And Lyra, sweet, gifted Lyra, had never even had that chance.

“I think I’d like you to get some supplemental tutoring,” Lenora said, swallowing her sadness to force a smile onto her face. “Just to make sure you’re where you should be in your education. Would that be alright with you?”

achromaticresearcher:

Colress’ eyes quickly shot back to the floor as Lenora spoke. Calm as she seemed, he knew well how she was feeling. Without thinking, he had broken the trust in one another the two shared. His face began to turn pale.

“No!” The scientist just about shouted, and had to take a few seconds to regain his composure. 

“Lenora please, just hear me out. I was once the head of Team Plasma… I thought that if it would help me to accomplish my goals, I would do anything! I didn’t care what the consequences might have been, and I acted selfishly. But I met Kyouhei, and I met Mei and Hue. I saw myself what Team Plasma was doing, and those trainers showed me that I didn’t have to result to criminal activity in order to get what I was looking for.”

Colress looked at the ground once again, his eyes shut tight as he shook his head to rid himself of the self loathing that crossed his mind. “I’m sorry, Lenora. I’m so, so sorry. I never meant to hurt anyone, but I know that I have. I let down those trainers when they discovered that I was their enemy all along. Even Ghetsis thinks I’m disgusting for changing my beliefs while I was still working for him. I- Well, I suppose I’ve let you down, as well.”

“But I disbanded Team Plasma myself… Two and a half years after their first attempt to take control of Unova. Like I said, I was young. No matter how intelligent I was, I was still ignorant and self-absorbed. Even if it meant I would be poor for the rest of my life, I would not repeat my actions. I promise you that.”

Lenora stepped back, surprised when Colress shouted. It wasn’t like him to lose his cool like this, Lenora knew that. And as Colress explained himself and apologized, she knew he was being sincere. She could see his anguish and see how badly he regretted what Team Plasma had done. 

“Well…I’m a little disappointed you didn’t tell me about your past with Team Plasma sooner. But more than that, I’m proud of you. Changing your beliefs about Pokemon and about whether the ends justify the means…I know changing your entire worldview is an incredibly difficult thing to do. To tell the truth, disbanding Team Plasma makes you something of a hero in my eyes.”

She reached forward and gave Colress’ hand a gentle squeeze. “I think you have incredible strength of character. I’m honored to call someone as noble as you my friend.”

She winked at him. “And you won’t be poor. Once you’ve established yourself as a published expert in your field, I’m sure you’ll be able to get a job with any university or institute you like.”

achromaticresearcher:

“Ah, unfortunately I have yet to affiliate with anyone. After graduating college, it was difficult for me to find work. No one understood my ideas, and I was turned down many times when applying for jobs. Ghetsis, the man in charge of Team Plasma was the first to recognize my potential. He praised me for my knowledge and my inventions, and invited me to work with him.

“I was offered any amount of money I would need to further my research. I… was so excited, that I couldn’t say no. With his assistance I managed to accomplish much more than I could have on my own, and I was grateful for that. He offered me a job as the head of Team Plasma, and I agreed to take it.”

Raising his eyes, he looked to Lenora. He knew well how most felt of Team Plasma, and was waiting for the look of disapproval he knew he would receive. 

All signs of mirth left her face as Lenora turned over in her head what Colress was telling her. She was quiet for several long moments, her face impassive as she thought about everything she knew about Colress and about Team Plasma.

“…So you’re the head of Team Plasma.” Her voice was calm. “I’m a little surprised this didn’t come up sooner. Usually, that’s the kind of thing you tell people, especially people who are your friends.”

“Team Plasma once tried to steal a valuable fossil from my museum. Thousands of years’ worth of scientific evidence would have been lost.”

achromaticresearcher:

Funding! Of course Colress had let such an important recourse slip his mind. The last time he’d needed great sums of money for his work, it was all supplied by Team Plasma. Even since then, he had plenty left over from working as their scientist.

“It would! That all sounds wonderful!” The excitement could clearly be heard in his voice, if not seen on his face easily enough. This idea was totally new to him, and was absolutely worth a shot.

“I’ll get right to to work on writing my research down in ways more comprehensible to others as soon as I get back to the frigate! Thank you, Lenora!”

Lenora laughed, happy to see Colress so excited about her idea. “You’re welcome! I have to say, it’s wonderful to see you so enthusiastic about this!”

“You know, come to think of it, I don’t think you’ve told me about the research institute you’re affiliated with. You’re such a gifted researcher, I bet once your name becomes well-known, you could get a job anywhere!”

fucking-lyra-bitch:

“Um .. ” Lenora’s next question had Lyra thinking harder than usual. Bachelor’s degree? Master’s degree? What had her mom had, really? She never bothered to ask.

“Well .. she graduated high school .. I know that! I .. don’t know about degrees, though .. “ 

Lenora closed her notebook. She was beginning to suspect that Lyra’s mother wouldn’t have been qualified to homeschool Lyra, even if she had actually been there to homeschool Lyra.

“Lyra, do you think you had a good education,” Lenora asked, unable to keep the worry out of her voice.

soothinggrace:

Cheryl froze “U..Unova.. Yes I really should sit down.” She raised her hand and stroked her hair “how did that even happen.. I.. I just wanted to look at flowers!” Tears began to pool in her eyes.

Lenora’s eyes filled with pity. She couldn’t blame the poor girl at all for being so upset; it must have been a terrible shock to discover she had somehow wound up in an entirely different region.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get you back to Sinnoh,” she sighed. “Do you have any idea how you wound up in Unova in the first place?”

fucking-lyra-bitch:

She continued to go along with Lenora’s questioning, swinging her feet as she thought about what to say.

“Um .. ” Lyra trailed off. ” .. I’d say about .. 60 percent? Mom had a lot of work, so I ended up doing most of the reading and writing and math stuff by myself .. “ 

Lenora couldn’t keep a small frown off her face. Only 60 percent? Lyra might have been dedicated, but Lenora doubted she was focused enough to coordinate more than half her education without any guidance or help.

“I see,” she said. “Do you happen to know what sort of education your mother had? Master’s degree, or a bachelor’s degree, or something else perhaps?”