Project: Titans -- Phase 2

Chapter 8

"Stow-On-Side! Stow-On-Side!" Iris and Larkspur cheered, putting their hands in the air as Salamence flew through the air, the wind whipping through their hair and sending it flying in all directions. Piers, on the other hand, was less than happy to be there.

"I ain't ridin' on another flyin' Pokemon for as long as I live!" Piers swore over the wind, face visibly turning green when he keeled over and looked straight down at the ground thousands of feet below us. I felt his hands tighten around my waist and Meowsie laughed from her perch on my shoulder.

"Stop it, Meowsie," I chided, running my hands across the smooth scales of Salamence's neck; he purred, the sound rumbling like an earthquake between my legs. "If I remember correctly, you hated when we used Dragalge to traverse Circhester Bay just last week." Meowsie huffed and muttered something I couldn't hear fully; something along the lines of "it's not the same" and "playing favorites". I chuckled.

"Wisteria, are you excited for the concert?" I called back to her, turning my head to see no reaction from her; not even a tilt of the head. I frowned, turning back to face forward and think. Wisteria had been acting off for days now. I noticed as soon as she got home from school one day, when she avoided eye contact with me and Piers and promptly locked herself in the girls' room and refused to come out.

It bothered me a lot. She hadn't been this antisocial since before she met Opal, and even before that she'd been less mopey and sad. I was especially worried when she didn't even react to attending her dad's concerts. They always made her smile, no matter how down she was, but when I mentioned it to her later today she just ran away to the bathroom. I even thought I heard her sob before the door slammed shut behind her.

"Oi, Wiz-Kid," Piers called back to her. "Chin up, eh? Yer actin' all wonky an' I won't stand fer it. 'Kay?" Wisteria lifted her head a fraction and half-smiled at the nickname, though it didn't reach her eyes. Before I could make a comment to Piers, Meowsie yelled with an obviously fake pirate-esque accent, "Stow-On-Side approaching off the port side! Get ready to dock, ye scurvy scallywags!"

That sent up another rally of cheers, and I smiled. Leave it to Meowsie to turn the energy of a crowd. Even Wisteria sat up a little more as we started our descent.

*********

Piers was always shaky on his feet after he got off of a Flying Taxi, but I'd never seen him collapse to the ground, much less start grabbing at it to keep steady. "Songbird I adore you, truly, but we're never doin' that again," he said after I'd kneeled down to check his head for any injuries. Salamence sneezed in offense. I made a mental note to check up on him later; for now, I turned my sights to the incoming Corviknight carrying our cargo.

"Why couldn't we just take the bloody Taxi?" he asked once the band equipment had landed. "I told you," I said, watching Espeon accept the speaker from the first Pokemon to land and carry it to where our makeshift stage would be with Psychic. "Maddie enlisted over half the entire service just to get the set pieces here, and we can't use up every single Flying Taxi in Galar. Besides, Salamence is faster."

"Yeah, but the taxis're safer," I caught him muttering before he went off to check the amps.

"What's our checklist looking like, boss?" Meowsie asked as I accepted a clipboard from a passing Team Yell grunt. "We need to make sure everything made it in one piece," I started, making my way to where Maddie was unloading the portable stages from Braviary's carriage. "'Ello there, guv!" She called to me, grinning before pulling me into a bear hug. "Ready for the show?"

"As we'll ever be," I sighed after she pulled back. "We need to build the scaffolding for the stages, can your ladies handle that?"

"We're on it!" She saluted jauntily, before whistling to her fellow Taxi drivers and tossing out her remaining Pokeballs. They each picked up a piece of stage and walked to the front of the stadium, where Bea and Allister had generously agreed to host us.

"What's next?" Meowsie continued, batting at the edge of the paper. I flipped it, scanning over the tasks already finished and mentally marking them off in my head as we went. "'Test the speakers and make sure it's loud enough to hear but not so loud that we don't blow the whole town's ears out'—" I read, struggling with the chicken scrawl crammed into the box. "Karla, did you write this?!"

"Sorry Missus Gia!" the young grunt shouted from the top of the stadium. "'s the only way I keep it in me head!"

"Just make sure I can understand it next time, okay? I need numbers!" I called back, checking off the rest of the to-dos. Speakers were unloaded, the stage was almost set up, the scaffolding for lights was underway and our soundboard would be arriving shortly by car so as to not damage the sensitive equipment. We worked like a well oiled machine; a product made through many years of hard work and my steady hand to run Team Yell the way I knew they could. A sudden tug on my shirt sleeve made me turn, meeting two pairs of excited eyes.

"Mum, can we help with Toxie's Toxel?" Iris begged me, green eyes shimmering with desperation. "Pretty please?"
"We'll be careful, promise," Larkspur added, and I sighed as I looked into their Yamper eyes. "Alright, fine. But be aware if Toxie tells you to back off, okay? You know she gets testy," I warned them, and they scampered off to find my backup guitarist. Now, to find Daughter Number Three.

Looking around, I noticed Wisteria sitting off by the staircase leading up to the Gym, back turned to the chaos of setup. Small blobs that I recognized as Yamask and Shuppet danced around above her head as she slumped, clearly upset by something. A frown tugged at the corner of my mouth uncontrollably, a stabbing feeling of guilt invading my gut once again. I didn't like guilt; it was always the hardest emotion to deprogram out of me as a child.

Meowsie must have picked up on my stewing, as she sighed loudly, swinging herself around dramatically as she walked down my arm to hop safely to the ground. "I'll take care of the boring stuff, alright?" She said, stretching a paw up for the clipboard. "Boring for you," I corrected, but smiled as I handed it over. "It's a necessary evil of concert setup. Marnie should be by in half an hour to run soundchecks."

"Yeah yeah," Meowsie waved me off, grinning as if I had handed her a tool of ultimate power. "Marns can answer to me if she has any problems."

"You're still not in charge!" I called after her as she scampered off.
"Sorry! Can't hear you! I'm doing boss things!!!"

I chuckled, turning back to Wisteria, who had seemed to slump even further down. Steeling myself, I started to walk slowly over to her. "Hey," I whispered once I was closer, taking a seat by her side. The Ghosts immediately scattered, save Shuppet, who looked around curiously to where her friends had gone. Wisteria sighed, longingly watching for where they disappeared to. "You wanna tell me what's going on?"

It's nothing. She replied firmly.
"If you're sure," I said slowly, not wanting to provoke her. "But..."
I am, she said, glaring.

"Okay, I don't need attitude."
It's not attitude.
"Then can you please tell me what's bothering you? Because you're obviously upset and I want to help you, but I can't if you won't tell me."

Just leave it, she said with a huff, quickly standing up and walking away.
"Hey, no." I marched after her and cut her off. "I know you're clearly mad about something, and I want to know what about."

Why do you care? She snapped. I could see the beginnings of tears beading in her eyes. I took a deep breath in, exhaling loudly before running my hands down her arms. "Because I'm your mother, because I love you, and because I notice when you're acting off."

I took her hands in mine, squeezing them. "You don't have to tell me anything, but I want to help fix whatever's going on." Wisteria stayed silent, hanging her head low apologetically. "Come on," I murmured after a few seconds. "The concert will be starting soon. You can sit backstage and write some songs if you want, okay?"

With a gentle nod, I looped an arm around her delicate shoulders and guided her back to the stage, hoping the concert would lift her spirits enough to be willing to talk to me about what had happened.