A League of Night

My Hand.

May hissed at her father. He was hiding something. She might not know what, but it was in Alola. How did she know? Because he would talk about it when she was gone. She could barely eavesdrop on him without him sensing her and switching topics. It was her and Drew attempting to drain the secrets out of the normal type gym leader. He remained calm as she hissed.

"Dad, you shouldn't be hiding secrets from me! This has something to do with Alola, and you can't make me believe otherwise!" Norman sighed.

"It sort of is about Alola. Alola is part of it, but not the full thing."

"Then what else are you hiding?"

"Nothing I can say now. I don't have all the details."

"Then tell me what you know! I don't like that you're hiding from me." He grunted as he sent out a pokeball towards a challenger coming in.

"May, I'm not hiding things from you. I'm helping a close friend hide theirs. You have to understand that. If I could tell you, I would. But it's not my secret to tell. That's something you'll have to drag out of the owner of the secret. I can't say any more." The trainer, despite Norman's focus being elsewhere, watched in shock as his Pokemon collapsed. He went over and thanked him for the match before leaving.

"Then tell me who I have to ask." Norman paused as he returned his Pokemon.

"Max." May froze. The one person no one has seen since the turn. The boy that has only been heard from by notes and packages, aiding the region. The kid that fell silent upon the plan to turn. How did she not suspect this?

"Max? Do you know where he is? I've been trying to talk to him for awhile now." Norman hummed as he turned to a table in the back. He went over and grabbed a paper.

"This was all he left when he vanished. He calls here once a week to update us. That's all I know."

"Does he call when I'm not here?"

"Yep." She sighed as she looked at it. Info about a place in Alola. How did he achieve that? This was her brother. He had skills apparently.

"Thanks dad. Don't die." She and Drew walked out as she whispered to the next trainer to not go easy on him. As they went to the center, Drew hummed.

"How do you think he did it?" She shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine." They went over to the phone and May called the number. It took a moment before someone answered.

"Nightwinds. How may I help you?"

"Hi... is Max there?"

"One moment."

Really? She looked at Drew in shock of the reply. Was Max actually there? It didn't seem true until his voice came through the phone.

"Hello?"

"Well isn't it the devil himself."

"May..." His voice went soft. "So dad gave you the details."

"You're hiding something from me, Max. I suggest you start talking."

"Why?" Was he avoiding her?

"Because I'm your sister and I have the right to know." A steady sigh came from the other side.

"May, life isn't that easy."

"Max, I don't like the fact that you're hiding something from me."

"Shocking." She paused. "It's like you're not hiding something yourself."

His tone had changed. It went from a soft, confused tone with a hint of worry to a cold, aggressive tone with a hint of mystery. How he had shifted so fast was beyond her.

"What are you talking about?" Her voice had dropped to a concerning whisper.

"You know what I mean. The turn. The plan to overthrow a falsely predicted loser ally. The defeat that will change sides. I don't have to be clear about it, as one way or another, all players will show their hand. And there'll be one hand that conquers the rest. The question now is, who holds that hand? You're not going to catch me off guard, May. After what happened, there's a lot that you'll need to unmask before you can start playing your hand. Sizakubonana ebaleni, ngoMeyi."

The line went dead as she froze. Drew carefully took the phone from her and put it back.

"Well?"

"I'm not sure we're on the right side anymore."

~!*!~

Max hummed as he walked away from the phone. He pulled the mask over his face that he had on his chin and went over to the group that was waiting for him.

"How many?"

"5."

"Let's get them ready. Because we need to get these out as soon as possible."