Sparks and Shadows

37 - Welcome To The Family

[The Next Morning]

"Alright. I've handed the boy off to Brimstone's contact. She was...a character. But she knew all the correct things, messages, and passwords when I asked them so I know she's the right person at least." Sage informed them, sighing heavily. "Is everyone all packed up? I doubt we'll ever be coming back here, save for Chamber of course. And it's not like we brought much to begin with. Well...most of us."

Everyone glanced over at Omega Neon who still had her bag slung over her shoulder. It was full of the supplies she brought with her, including things that she needed to care for Omega Fade. But Neon was quick to spot the way that Omega Fade was leaning against her double for support. The poor woman looked like it was taking all of her strength to even remotely come off like she was stable, but it clearly wasn't enough. Neon saw the subtle tremble of the woman's body.

She nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and immediately relaxed upon seeing Fade there. She wanted nothing more than to lean back in her girlfriend's embrace and just wait there till everything was okay, but she couldn't do that with all the prying eyes on her.

"Hey, Neon! Take a look at this." Killjoy said, approaching them.

Neon blinked when she felt Fade pull away. She couldn't really hide the disappointed look on her face when she saw Fade backing away from them in her peripheral. As much as she appreciated that Fade gave her and her friends space, she also wished that she would stick around so that she could make new ones. Everyone was still a bit weary of Fade, but this whole experience seemed to make Killjoy warm up to the girl, if only a little. She just wished that Fade wouldn't back off each time one of her friends came over.

"Take a look. Raze sent me this picture earlier. It's quite comical." Killjoy said, holding up her phone.

The picture in question was a bunch of the agents surrounding a table where Jett and someone Neon didn't recognize were having an arm wrestling contest. This person appeared to be losing but they seemed to be having a great time if the smile on their face was any indicator. Neon found herself smiling as well at the display of happiness from her friends in the picture. It seemed that these new agents were keeping everyone happy, despite the situation. Although this new person did intrigue her. Not many people willingly accepted Jett's challenges because they knew how competitive she was.

"Alright. We're heading out. Remember to split the groups so that we don't cause too much of a commotion." Sage instructed.

-

[4 Hours Later]

Neon was annoyed. Well. Almost. She knew that there was a certain weight capacity for the airship and they had two extra additions compared to when they arrived here but she still didn't know why she had to keep Manectric in his pokeball. She missed running her hands through his fur, and without that distraction, she was getting rather antsy. She was already incredibly nervous about meeting these new agents and making a good first impression, and she desperately needed her emotional support.

The speedster nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt a hand on her lower back. She looked over to see Fade giving her a concerned side glance from her spot next to her. At that moment, the airship must've hit a patch of turbulence because the cabin bounced and she ended up clinging to Fades arm as tightly as she could. Then she realized what she was doing and pulled herself away, her face burning red. She glanced around quickly to see if anyone noticed. Chambers was still staring out the side window, and Killjoy was still tapping away on her device. Both had a death grip on the stability bars. Omega Neon and Omega Fade were huddled together on the opposite bench.

Truly a mirror imagine of her and Fade right now.

"Are you okay?" Fade asked, staring at her in concern.