Pokémon Mars

Chapter 51: The Three Teams

Nyx had an appointment in Ironville before she thought about Nessie and the eerie glow. Firmino's father Merlin took his first day off in months for the dinner she was invited to. The family apartment was cramped, but had a pleasant view over the park with the lake, Arabella's favourite place in Ironville. It was decorated like a surf shack, complete with a colourful collection of surfboards that clearly, since they were on Mars, hadn't been used in years. Back when they brought those all the way from Earth, the family apparently believed that Mars could be terraformed in their lifetimes. It was the most Earth-like place Nyx visited since she landed on Mars. She felt comfortable on a Carvanha cushion on the faux-wooden chair pulled out for her.

Merlin was a surgeon at Ironville Hospital. He used to be a decent cook – apparently, Arabella's grandpa Siebold would never let her marry someone who wasn't – but since arriving on Mars, let alone since his wife disappeared, he never had time to cook. He was always at the hospital. There were many injuries and not so many doctors. He still tried his best to cook up a feast from one of Siebold's recipe books. Most of it was burnt, but Nyx and her Pokémon didn't care. They were touched that he tried. Zorua was especially touched that he bought expensive mushrooms – Zorua's favourite – from Pip Pip Piplup because he heard so much about Zorua from his son.

Nyx liked Arwyn's family. She was still welcome at their home in Alola. His brother still sent Zorua memes. This was different. She felt more comfortable because she never feared that she would break any welcoming hearts by deciding that the man who invited her wasn't the one. She was convinced that this time, he was. Even though she was in the last place in the universe she ever wanted to be, she felt like she was at home.

She worried that she wouldn't like the family, since Arabella came from nobility, but she did like them. Plectrude knew Nyx's music. She knew about the rumours that followed Nyx wherever she went, but never believed them. Their nephew, Simpliciano's three year-old son Simon, was adorable. All of them, even Simpliciano's girlfriend Ebony, were enamoured of Zorua and Zoroark.

Ebony was a Team Aqua geologist who, like Firmino, found her ambitions stunted by sewage work. She arrived five years ago. It was only six months until she wished she had gone to the Moon instead.

'So the Moon's all above board?'

'Yeah, as far as I know, but I'm willing to bet Cipher is there. You're Orrean. You know what I mean. Wherever there's people, there's Cipher. But what the heck is this thing up here? Is it Cipher, Mars Madness Edition, or is it something else? All the disappearances and deaths – they have Cipher vibes. But I get Team Rocket vibes off of some of it. Cipher needs money, but Team Rocket wants money. You know?'

Plectrude sighed. She wrote many songs about the dark side of the Ares program, including whatever killed her mother, but she was tired of discussing it at their rare family gatherings. They always did.

'Let's not talk about that for once... please...'

'I bought a few of your records,' Nyx said to change the subject, 'Back when I thought Firmino was a bad guy. They were great.'

All of Firmino's relatives, even Simon, laughed raucously at the suggestion that he was a villain.

'Firmino? A bad guy?'

Simpliciano nudged him. 'I guess you could be mistaken for a "yes man" bad guy just 'cause you're the biggest pushover on Mars.'

'I'm not going to be a pushover anymore...'

'So, Nyx,' Plectrude said, 'Have you experienced his driving?'

'Hey, I've been called a "boy racer" back on Earth. We're both gonna be at it when we do our big all-around-the-world trip.'