Pokémon Mars

Chapter 33: The Invitation

For the first time since they arrived on Mars, the corridor was empty when Callerya dragged her feet out of her studio. Thalassa wasn't there to greet her. She wasn't sure if it was because she was later than ever, or if she would reach Hexagon Coffee to find that none of her friends were there.

Jin and Eden were there. Thalassa stared blankly in to the fridge. She didn't order her usual iced cinnamon coffee. She bought a bottle of Fresh Water. A Grunt collected Team Aqua's orders: a hazelnut latte for Firmino and mochas for Epsilon and Waridi. Julien's Rillaboom picked up his iced coffee. Callerya looked wearily around.

'Where are Mercury and Nyx?'

'No.'

Jin sounded like he was about to cry.

'No. Nothing's happened. It can't have. I'm not having it... I don't even know what I'm on about... I...'

He was about to say that he wanted to go home, but he stopped himself. Callerya frowned. Her eyes rested on the repainted Ares binoculars sticking out of a bag. She nudged Thalassa.

'Look.'

'What...?'

Callerya switched to Kantonian and hoped that man wouldn't understand.

'Binoculars. Potential stalker alert.'

Thalassa blinked. So did Jin and Eden.

'Who is he?'

'Oi!' Callerya hissed, 'Rillaboom! Get Julien!'

Rillaboom was baffled, but it returned with Julien, who must have assumed something happened. He brought Epsilon.

'Yes, my dears?'

'There's a guy with stalker binoculars over there... who is he?'

Epsilon frowned. 'I've no idea. Julien?'

'I... have no idea, either. But those binoculars do look rather suspicious. Could he be...? He isn't the one, is he?'

'The one who killed Joshua? I doubt it, but... who is he?'

'A spy for Courtney, I'll bet,' Epsilon said, 'Those binoculars are her MO.'

Julien shook his head. 'No, I don't think so. I don't recognise him as a member of Team Magma... he looks like... never mind. I must be seeing things.'

'I guess she could've recruited new people since she left.'

'I suppose...'

The automatic door scraped open. They were all relieved to see Nyx and Mercury, though the relief didn't last long, because Nyx looked like a different person. It was the first time most of them saw her without make-up. She even wiped off and reapplied her make-up on their expeditions. Her eyes were puffy and bloodshot. The dark circles around them were deep. Nessie and the twins trailed after them. It was also the first time any of them saw her without make-up. She looked broken and exhausted.

'Nothing... else happened, did it?' Jin asked, 'Are y'all OK? Well, I know you're not, but...'

'No,' Nyx curtly replied, though her voice caught in her throat, 'Nothing. Just... Joshua is dead.'

'Well...'

Mercury pulled out a chair to sit. As if Nyx knew what he was going to say and didn't want to be amongst them to hear it, she strode straight over to the counter to order Mercury's mocha, Nessie's strawberry milkshake and a black coffee with no sugar for herself.

'Nyx is feeling really, really bad. She's seen four deaths now. And she thinks she's our security guard, but she couldn't do anything for those geologists or Joshua.'