Rigorous Relationships

The First Step In A Long Journey

------------------------------------------
Somewhere over the Kalos region.
------------------------------------------

"Boss, you sure this is the right spot!?" A man shouted over the whirring of helicopter blades. He was dressed head to toe in midnight black camo gear, a black mask with a large red R on the front was visible around his neck as he spoke to his commander.

He and nine other people dressed in the same apparel, were all flying towards a hidden valley in the Kalos region, following another lead to the clue Suecra had given them. This was in fact the third lead they'd had on the rather elusive beast of burning water and they were starting to doubt its existence.

Their first lead had taken them to an island in the Sinnoh region, known for its abundance of iron type Pokémon. The thinking behind that lead had been a result of the skin that's harder than steel part of Suecra's riddle. But that lead had been a disappointing dud, leaving them with nothing to show for their efforts.

The next clue they followed was to a cave in the Hoenn region, apparently inhabited by the mythical Pokémon Heatran. Heatran was a fire steel type though and even though he fit the steel skin and the burning portion of the riddle, as quite a few grunts learned, he did not fit the water portion of the riddle. Resulting in another failure.

The lead they were currently following up on was for another mythical Pokémon that had been supposedly lost to time during a war a millennia ago. Only recently had three operatives stumbled across its location and had given them the coordinates to the remote Kalosian valley, albeit after a substantial reward was posted for any information relating to the riddle.

The person who the man had been addressing repeated the part about the origins of the intel back to him, attempting to deter any doubts he had about their assignment. His doubts along with the other eight people were not eased but rather became more strenuous.

"Ariana, you don't mean to tell us our Intel is from those three clowns, do you?" A woman asked nervously from the back of the chopper.

Ariana tensed, not wanting to lie to her men but also not wanting them to know that they were trusting the trio known for their screw ups with their lives. Lucky she was saved by the pilot who told them they were nearing the drop point and to get prepared.

All ten people slipped on a thin but sturdy mesh like fabric and a backpack, two of the beefier people in back grabbed two large cylindrical tubes from off an overhead wrack and clipped them onto their backs. The choppers doors opened allowing a strong gust of crisp moonlight wind to blow in, nearly knocking the people off their feet. They quickly regained a firm footing on the choppers metal flooring and patiently waited to receive the drop signal. The closest to the doors looked out over the edge into the darkness below, knowing but not entirely believing that there was any ground down there.

He looked roughly around thirty years old, yet still as fit as a teenager. He had deep brown eyes full of compassion but seemed to be hiding something beneath the surface. His hair, black as the darkness below, was cut short across his entire head making him look like a military man. The grit of his hair however looked like it was made to be in longer unruly tufts and ruined his otherwise handsome appearance.

"Nervous, Marian?" Ariana shouted to the grunt who had been looking out over the edge.

Marian smiled sheepishly beneath his mask, absolutely terrified of jumping out but not wanting his boss to know it. "No, Ma'm. I'm just excited to jump!" He lied, a little too convincingly.

Ariana smiled in response to his enthusiasm and a second later they received the green GO light. She then stepped back and gestured for him to go first. "Anyone that excited should be privileged with jumping first!"