Fear - An Aureliashipping and Lonashipping Story

-24-

Plunk!

"C'mon, dude!"

Two men in white uniforms jumped back at the sudden sound of a heavy box hitting the metal floor. "Dude, why did you let go?!"

"It slipped!"

"Hit the gym, stick bug, and pick up your side again. Faba isn't going to wait forever." the first Aether employee groaned.

"Stick bug...?" the second agent questioned. The two had picked up the large box when the sound of an automatic door interrupted them. "What's the hold up, you two?"

The two Aether employees jumped and the box fell to the floor again. Boom!

"Arceus almighty, be careful with that! There's important research to be done!" Faba snapped at the two men. They both instinctually bowed to him, but the first employee spoke up. "Sorry sir, but we could have really used some help with this thing, but we're incredibly short staffed at the moment."

Faba rubbed his temples. "Yes, yes, I know!" he mumbled. "I don't know where everyone has gone. No matter, just bring it in here!" he finished, spinning around to walk through the door. The employees followed him into the room. "Just put it here," Faba ordered, motioning to a table. The two men maneuvered themselves to a position where they could put it down. "Easy, easy!"

Plop.

Down went the box. The two employees sighed: one less headache to deal with. Faba immediately opened the box and began pulling out parts for a machine, metallic and complex. "Thank Arceus these were unharmed, it's not as if reconstructing this machine is going to be easy," Faba muttered, almost to himself. "Now I need you two to-"

"Sir, we would really appreciate it if other agents were reassigned to help us," the second employee said. "It would make the process of moving the boxes more efficient."

Faba quickly turned to look at the employee. Such movement would freak any other people, but not anyone who worked at the Aether Foundation. Everyone recognized that look: his undivided attention. Faba loved that word: efficient. Quickness, precision, time that is not wasted, time that is earned. "Yes...yes of course!" he said with an enthusiasm not present before. "One moment, I'll call Madame Lusamine." he finished and went to a separate room to make a call.

The first Aether employee slapped his colleague on the back. "Nice work. Malasadas on me after work."

The second employee adjusted himself and straightened his hat. "The rest of the day is going to be as easy as-"

Smash! 

The first employee facepalmed. "He broke his phone. Not a good sign."

Faba stormed back in. "All the money in the world, and we can't hire a few more employees?!" he snarled. Time was being wasted, breakthroughs were being missed.

"Everyone is out?" the second one said in awe. Faba angrily returned to sort machine parts. "Lusamine is continuing her project even though nothing is ready. I haven't even reconstructed the old machine to open the Ultra Wormhole, yet everyone is under her direct command."

"Can't we just get one of the juniors to come over?"

"No, no, no!" Faba snapped. "Karla has the confidence of an abused Rockruff, Earl is too stupid, and Natalie is out sick!"

The two employees blinked. He had gotten none of those names right. "Uh, sir, their names are-" the first one started.

"Wait, Natasha is sick? Again?" the second one asked.

"Yes, are you deaf?" Faba retorted, scanning old notes. "She's been running me errands as I ran tests on our specimen down in containment, but the past week she has been absent from my sight. 'Sick'? Bah! More like lazy," he continued to rant. "I tried summoning her from the dormitory, but Madame Lusamine nearly tore my head off. Her attendance is risk of infection, and an epidemic among the foundation is short of perfection in her eyes."

The two employees knew not to get him riled up any more than he already was. "I'm sorry about the trouble, sir. We'll get those extra boxes to you right away."

"Yes, yes, now hurry."

----

"How is your hand, Miss Lillie? Are you in any pain?" Hobbes asked as he poured her a glass of warm milk.

Lillie was in her pajamas, almost ready for bed. She looked down at her hand, a small part of which was covered by a bandage. "It doesn't hurt as much as much anymore, I guess..." she said absentmindedly.

It had been a week since the gathering in the backyard. Lillie had managed to touch Type: Null after all...if you considered missing the center of its head completely and cutting herself on the side of its helmet "touching", that is.

"Very well, then. Have you put the antibacterial spray I gave you on it? We wouldn't want to it to get infected."

Lillie twiddled her thumbs. 

"Miss Lillie?"

"The spray stings!" she said, sulking. Hobbes sighed. Despite her mature attitude at times, she was still a child.

"Let me handle this." a familiar unimpressed voice said. Gladion walked into Lillie's bedroom and sat on the edge of her bed. "Lillie, if you don't let me spray your cut, Giratina will come from the ground and eat you!"

Lillie hid her face behind her blanket. "Okay!"

Hobbes stifled a laugh. Whatever image of maturity he had of her was shattered. "I'll leave you two to it. Goodnight." he walked out the room and closed the door. Gladion peeled off Lillie's bandage rapidly. "Ow!"

"Oh, it's not that bad," Gladion told her. "I've had worse when I was with Team Skull." he sprayed the cut despite Lillie protests and looked around for a new bandage.  "So...are you cool with Null now?"

Lillie paused for a moment. "Kind of? I kinda pet it. It's...just hard to trust it I guess."

"Fair enough," Gladion remarked, putting a new bandage on Lillie's hand. "You'll come around sooner or later. Null is the biggest baby I've ever seen...next to Moon."

Lillie burst into laughter. Gladion's face pulled into something close to a smile and headed towards the door. "Good night, Lillie."

"Good night!"

Gladion closed the door behind him and was met with Null and Moon in the hallway, staring him down.

"You tryna fight bro?" Moon said, trying to act tough. Gladion walked past the both of them. "It's too late for this."