Chapter Text
"Grab your stuff and get ready to disembark, we're just about to the dock," said a voice from the front of the plane. Apart from him, the plane held only Daniel, Charles and Evelynn, surrounded by their luggage.
Daniel yawned and stretched. "Thanks, Raul," he called back. "You heard the man." He sorted his luggage out into three small piles. One roller with clothing, two hard cases with gear and one thin case bearing Morrissey's shotgun. He handed one of the hardcases to Charles and the other to Evelynn and then bounced in his chair and seaplane touched down onto the water.
Once they'd pulled into the dock, Daniel led Charles and Evelynn off the seaplane and gazed at Ula'ula. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the salty sea air. He smiled and turned back to the approaching bisharp and disguised zoroark and said, "Damn shame we're only here a little over a month, huh? At least now I know for certain Ana's been thriving."
Evelynn stared out at the distant beaches and giggled. "I'm going to break necks out here, I think."
"Alright, don't go walking around with your tits hanging out," said Daniel, frowning, "Besides, you're spoken for. Tell 'er Charles."
The bisharp shifted his gaze from Daniel to Eve, and after a long and silent stare, shook his head and mumbled down to the dock below them, suppressing a smile.
"No use? You're just gonna let her run free?" asked Daniel, grinning. "Well, do what you want then Eve, you heard him."
"Daniel." Raul stepped over to the three, his hand outstretched. The detective returned the pilot's firm handshake.
"Thanks for everything, Raul," he said, nodding.
"Don't mention it," he replied, smiling. "Really, don't. Can't have people knowing I was the one that got you here without these things going through the proper channels." He pointed at the cases they held and winked. "I sent word along to Ana to meet you. She should be waiting by the Aether House by the time you get to it yourself."
"How far away is that?" asked Daniel.
"Hm… not too far, but it'll be an annoying one. Had to set you down at Ano's dock, which is about the furthest from the main island itself as you can get." He gestured to the lagoon they sat in. "But it'll raise the fewest questions. Seaplanes land at small little docks like these all day. Speaking of, there's the man himself." He waved at an elderly gentleman leaving his small beachside home a few dozen meters away. The man returned the wave before shuffling over to a chair bearing a fishing pole situated at the water's edge.
"Lazy old bastard," said Raul, smiling. "Can't say he hasn't earned it though."
"Veteran?" asked Daniel, frowning.
"Yep."
Daniel tapped his foot and stared down at the dock beneath him, lost in thought. "Not a whole lot fucked in the world as far as conflict's concerned."
"Nothing worth fighting a war proper over anyway. Plenty of room for proxies and deniables though. Retired mercenary."
"Orre?"
Raul nodded. "That'd be it. Kept tight-lipped about what he saw too. Mentioned places, never mentioned actions. So definitely not deniable ops."
"Think I could squeeze anything out of him?" asked Daniel, watching Ano cast his line into the sea.
"Not without damn near killing him, no. And I don't have you chalked up as the 'beating up grandpas' kind of guy."
"Not wrong there. Well, thanks again Raul. Why'd you say getting to the Aether House was going to be a bitch, anyway?" asked Daniel.
"Only way there is to take sets of bridges. Some of 'em are pontoons, some of 'em are just floating logs held together with rope. Hope you've got waterproof boots on."
"What do you take me for, an amateur?" said Daniel, chuckling.
"Take you for a lot of things Daniel. And I'm not keen on confirming any of 'em." Raul winked and climbed back into his plane. "Say hi to the missus for me!" he called back.
The roar of the seaplane's engine as it took off once more faded away behind Daniel and his friends as they set off towards the nearest bridge. As Raul had said, it was a long set of logs floating on the water, tied together with rope.
"Alolans aren't ones for infrastructure, are they?" asked Eve, looking thoroughly displeased as her disguised feet sank into the water.
Daniel shrugged. "Why spend money on this shit? Probably wasn't even built by the local gov, just slapped together by locals that wanted to move between the tiny islands in this lagoon without boats." He looked around - most of the micro-islands seemed entirely devoid of human life. "Not like anyone comes out here. Local swimmers and surfers, some fishermen, but tourists? It's just like Lumiose, if the money ain't there, why spend it?"
"I don't know, quality of life?" asked Eve. She groaned, "Ugh, I'm going to be soaked all the way up to my crotch at the rate this is going."
"Whoa now, don't rile up Charles."
"Fuck off, you're not covered in fur. And actually…" She rapped the back of Charles' head with her knuckles. "Neither are you! I bet you're having the time of your life hearing your mate complain about turning into a wet sponge."
The bisharp bit back laughter, though poorly, and mumbled something to Eve that sounded like a half-hearted apology.
"Yeah, I bet you're sorry," grumbled Evelynn. They hit another micro-island and began to cross through it. "How many of these do we need to cross?"
"Probably seven or eight?" guessed Daniel. "Maybe more. Hopefully the bridges are set up to make getting to the mainland quickly."
They were not.
An hour's travel later, the three found themselves at an actual, properly built bridge that led them from the largest micro-island to Ula'ula proper. Daniel's eyes were drawn to the enormous sign beside the bridge, proclaiming:
AETHER FOUNDATION
RECREATION SITE #3
"Joy through blooms, community and Aether."
Daniel silently mouthed the words and then rolled his eyes. "Surprised to see shit like this is even still up. Imagined that scandal involving the head of the foundation would've toppled them, but I guess that's asking too much." Beside the bridge were several immaculately clean benches and perfectly placed tropical berry trees. He turned around and properly realized this micro-island was landscaped, featuring small hills that were, without a doubt, perfect locations for picnics. After so much time spent cutting through wild islands, only some of which bore small homes and confused looking natives, he wondered how he'd even let the detail pass him by. The sleepy Alolan breeze, I guess.
He watched a couple ascend up to the top of one of the hills and lay out a blanket and basket, and then laughed out loud. The thought of picnics had become so far removed from his thoughts that even remembering they existed surprised him. He pointed to a nearby hill topped with a swaying palm tree and covered in delicate pink and red blooms. "Found you a date spot, Charles."
The bisharp rolled his eyes and grumbled a grudging response.
Evelynn's eyes lit up. "Wait, really?"
Daniel threw his head back in laughter and turned to cross the bridge. "Guess Alola really does change you, eh? Don't get too complacent out here Charles, you'll rust." He continued along the bridge, his footfalls shifting from hard taps against the concrete walkway to the soft sound of packed dirt underfoot as they finally reached the mainland and began their trek towards the Aether House.
As they passed by the third huge sign pointing them down along the route towards Aether House, Daniel turned to look at Charles and Eve and said, "You ever know you'd hate an organization even leaving aside everything they've already done?"
Evelynn cocked her head and frowned. "N-no?"
"Well, I can't imagine you would come to think, given you're a wild 'ark." He paused and shook his head, sighing. "Gods damn it all, I don't know why I asked."
"Are these signs really that big a problem?" she asked.
Charles provided a curt reply.
"You're godsdamned right they're an eyesore, Charles," said Daniel, nodding. "Pristine nature's in abundance once you're out of just about any major city, but Alola's a world-renowned paradise of a region." He gestured to the sweeping view of beaches and distant isles around them, and then back towards the looming jungles and the soaring peak of Mount Lanakila. "Just look at this place. People that live here know to leave a lot of the island well enough alone."
"I thought the island guardians were the reason they did that," replied Eve.
Daniel stopped walking and stared at Eve. "You really know a lot about gods and religious shit, don't you?"
Evelynn averted her gaze and nodded. "A Johtoan sort of… took care of me? This was before all this, of course," she gestured to her body. "Didn't walk around with big tits and a 'fuck me' gaze." She snickered. "I was still a zorua, so that would've been weird."
"But now that you're an overgrown bipedal fox that likes hanging tits big enough to beat a man with from her chest, now it's not?" said Daniel.
"Yes," said Eve, looking proud. Her expression faltered and she shifted to looking thoroughly forlorn. "He taught some kind of backyard class near the edge of Castelia. People that wanted to learn more about Johtoan beliefs as well as beliefs from around the world." She smiled for a moment before her expression became glum once more. "He'd give me food or leave it out if I was busy getting into mischief somewhere else a bit longer than I expected. He knew I was always listening to his classes but he didn't know I was really listening, if that makes sense."
"Someone put him in the dirt?" asked Daniel.
Evelynn looked horrified. "No! You've got even less tact than Charles!"
"That's a surprise. Darty always told me I mince words more than he does," said Daniel, rubbing his chin.
The zoroark groaned. "He didn't die. Worse. He just disappeared. Didn't mention it. Just… one day he told the class he'd see them tomorrow, and then the next day…" She shrugged. "Nothing. People kept showing up for a little while and then eventually some police came by - but that was it. Never saw him again."
"And that's why you know so much shit about the gods and spirits, eh?"
"Yeah. That and I did some more research of my own once I got good enough at pretending," said Eve.
"That's… a bit alarming. How many zoroark do that?" he asked.
"What, pretend to be you? Blend into your human world and you never know?" asked Evelynn.
Daniel nodded.
"Damn near all of them."
"What."
"You heard me. Just about all of them. Our kind is largely urban. What choice do we have?" she asked.
"I dunno, the same ones someone like Charles has?" said Daniel.
The bisharp interjected with a short reply, pointing from Eve to himself, then to Daniel and then chopping horizontally through the air.
"I don't follow," said the detective, shaking his head.
"Most of us know enough to stick to the fringes. We use this to our advantage." She gestured to her body. "But believe me, most of the time we look like how we're supposed to."
"Seems like unnecessary complication," said Daniel.
"It's not. It gives us the best shot at food, finding companionship, working our way into the lives of people who'll care for us and that we can care about." She shrugged. "And I mean, makes it pretty easy to find dick."
Daniel stared at her.
"I'm half-kidding. But, it's a pretty good deal if you're willing to put up with how wrong it feels."
"Not a fan of looking human?"
"Not really. Don't like looking like one or speaking like one. People don't like it when you pretend and they find out. So this all becomes very intertwined with just generally feeling kind of anxious." She sighed and closed her eyes. The illusion around her melted away, leaving her scarred and discolored form in its wake. She looked at Daniel and Charles meaningfully for a moment before the illusion came back up and she was her usual, attractive form once more. "I might not like how I really look, but I'm much more at peace with it than this. Around you guys anyway." She brought her hands up under her breasts and jiggled them. "This is about as much fun as I can get out of it."
"Explains a lot."
"And I guess I'm a horny cunt, whatever. Aren't we supposed to be meeting someone?" insisted Eve.
The three continued their walk in silence for a short while before Daniel looked over at Eve and said, still walking, "Hey."
"Hm?" she said, looking at him.
"Drop the front. We're basically on vacation for the next month or so." He paused. "But drop the front all the way."
Evelynn's expression became incredibly uncomfortable. "I know I said I was okay with it around you two but- but that doesn't mean I like it."
"I've got an abstract painting carved on my chest and stomach and I'm still gonna head to the beach. I've got a puncture wound the width of a baton in my back and nicks and scratches all on my legs. It's a wonder Ana opened her legs even once, let alone multiple times."
"You've got a real way with words, even about your mate."
"I'm trying to make a point here. Shift back when you need to talk to us. But you should at least be at peace when you're vacationing."
Evelynn sighed. "People are looking."
"People are gonna be looking 'til the day you die. Fuck 'em. They don't like it, they can find somewhere else to look. Worked out great for Jo, didn't it? He fucks gardevoir."
Charles chuckled and grunted out a single word.
"Okay he fucks a gardevoir, but the point still stands," admitted Daniel.
"We're going to meet your mate, what kind of a first impression is that going to make on her?" said Eve.
"It's hard to make a bad first impression with Ana. You have to be an actual asshole to manage that and even then she might chalk it up to you having a bad day. Besides, she can probably see past your illusions or some crazy shit, I dunno, I never really asked her about every single last thing she can do with her ghost powers. Shit goes over my head," explained Daniel.
"Aren't you a detective?" asked Eve.
"Yeah, but that just means I'm good at figuring shit out and putting holes in people. Or was 'understanding the occult' part of the job requirement?"
"Charles said that your last job-"
"My last job put me so out of my element that my best friend was killed," said Daniel quietly. "The shit we did to Morrissey's gang was much more my speed. I could see Morrissey. I can understand insanity. I can find a suicune. Find, neutralize, retrieve. That was routine back in Lumiose. The shit with Agilrad… That's not routine."
Evelynn lowered her gaze. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it wasn't your fault." Daniel looked ahead and grinned. "Either way, drop the front, because Ana's right over there." He hurried over to his girlfriend.
Ana was standing in front of the looming Aether House, staring at Daniel, dumbstruck. As he pulled her into an embrace, he heard her mumble, "H-he didn't s-say…" Ana clutched at the shirt on Daniel's back and buried her face into the crook of his neck and began to cry.
"Take it easy with the weeping there," said Daniel in her ear. He pulled her away from his neck and lifted her chin to wipe tears away from her brilliantly red face and bloodshot eyes. "I'm back. And the swirls are still gone" He pointed to her irises.
And grabbed hold of Daniel's head and kissed him. "Y-yes," she breathed, "Y-you are. Thank the g-gods."
"Where are Jean and Darty?" asked Daniel, looking past Ana briefly. "Thought they'd come along."
"They w-waited back at th-the house. I thought R-Raul was going to d-deliver me a package or s-something…"
"I mean, he kinda did," reasoned Daniel.
Ana gave him a watery chuckle. "I'm s-so g-glad you're b-back," she mumbled. She pulled him into another embrace. "I l-love you."
Daniel grinned. "Love you too."
"Oh. Wh-who's th-this?" she asked, letting go of Daniel and walking over to Eve.
"Evelynn," replied Daniel.
The zoroark stood beside Charles, her scarred and discolored form on display, and nodded.
Ana smiled and said, "Pleased t-to meet y-you." She held her hand out towards Eve, who took it somewhat awkwardly and shook it.
She let go and turned to give Charles a gleeful hug when Daniel said, "Don't think I'd be here in one piece, relatively bullet-free if it wasn't for her."
Ana's face lit up. "R-really?"
"Yup. Made us invisible and even took a bullet at one point, so I think I owe her quite a bit."
Ana gasped. "Y-you took a b-bullet?" she asked.
Evelynn looked awkwardly from Ana to Daniel and then back and nodded. At this Ana drew the zoroark into a tight hug. "Th-thank you for k-keeping D-Daniel safe!"
The expression on Eve's face made it very clear to Daniel that she had not expected this, and it was with enormous bemusement that the zoroark patted Ana on the back in a feeble sort of way.
"You're v-very s-soft," remarked Ana, pulling away. She pulled a lock of hair from Eve's long mane and rubbed it between her fingers. "Th-that's impressive for s-someone who l-looks so w-well traveled."
Evelynn transformed into her typical human form at this and said, half-laughing, "Excuse me, did you call my appearance well-traveled?"
Ana clasped her hands together and smiled. "Oh! Y-you can s-speak to h-humans. And y-yes, I d-did. Why?"
"That how you'd describe him, then?" asked Eve, pointing at Daniel.
The hex maniac nodded vigorously. "Y-yes! D-Daniel has s-seen a l-lot in this w-world."
"That's a good way to put it. Kinda rolls past the horror of a lot of it," said Eve.
Daniel shrugged. "Sometimes that's all you can really do." He pointed to Ana. "Just look at her. Same thing. Why do you think she stutters?"
Eve stared.
"Much like the three of us have seen a lot in this world," said Daniel, giving Charles a swift nod, "Ana's seen way too much of the next."