[FIN] Reviewing the Fragments

[Gwennythe]

Of course, if you asked Lasi, usually his response would be that any sort of candy bar would be utterly fine as long as it was candy, but the pink bat seemed to have enough sense that that wasn't really the best choice of words here.
He grinned at the patting and reminder and nodded emphatically; yes this candy bar was perfect still.
Not the candy, itself, mind, but the fact that even if it turned out to be terrible (which he doubted very much), the fact that they were sharing it would turn it sweeter than any other bar available.

Tambrey gave a look of doubt as she nodded anyway, still petting the sleeping pokémon in her lap, agreeing with his statement about paying more attention to Weidman but suspecting, perhaps, that he wasn't being entirely forthcoming.
He was, though, a little hard to read and, though she agreed with it too, his last statement, truth or no, caused her to believe such a thing further.
It made her smile, at least, a little; the statement wasn't exactly a comfort but remained, somehow, what she had needed to hear.
"I s'pose. How d'ya thing we should look into Weidman? I s'spect people've already thought of 'googling' him."  

[Wylde Roses]

Comforted by Lasi's reassurances, Mimi carried the candy bar to Lasi and broke it in half, tossing him his half and starting to nibble delicately at hers. They were supposed to eat it together, right? And this kind was even better than the last, with a delicious creamy center that tasted vaguely of marshmallows and strawberries. And even better - the filling inside of it was pink!
"Pika pi pikachu chu!" She exclaimed, waving the candy bar around so that Lasi could see the filling. This was destiny! Fate! Their love was written in the stars and predicted by the great Snack Vendor! They were meant to have dates and share snacks forever and ever, wasn't this amazing?

Kratos wondered idly whether Tambrey had detected that he was working on theories that he wasn't quite ready to share. She certainly seemed smart enough to have realized it, but he didn't feel it was that important right now. There were other matters to discuss instead. "There's likely an official background check already underway," he said thoughtfully, narrowing his eyes as he puzzled out an idea. "His connections are what we should focus on. Those that might not turn up in a standard background check." A man with that kind of pull, doing what he was doing? There had to be under the table deals going on somewhere. Or at least, that's what Kratos thought.  

[Gwennythe]

Lasi looked stunned and then quickly returned to delighted.
She was right! The inside of the candy bar was all pink! Well, that kind of made sense with the strawberry flavour, he supposed, but still; what were the chances of getting such an appropriate treat for their date?!
He bounced up and down, buoyed by Miette's enthusiasm.
Unfortunately, his lack of paws and rather large mouth had made holding his own piece of the bar, to inspect it, rather impossible and it had been eaten moments after he'd gotten hold of it; he very much enjoyed the flavour though.
He was, therefore, glad that she had paws and was delighted to be able to look upon what she was talking about.
"Guh buh buh!" He agreed; some sort of magic Snack Vending Love Deity must have smiled upon them to send this sign!


The initial nickname that Tambrey had given him may have slightly coloured the things she suspected of him; hiding a theory or two was certainly one of those things.
"All right," She agreed, cautiously "but how would that be done? I mean, it'd be a little difficult t' just... ask him."  

[Wylde Roses]

Miette giggled and waved the candy bar half around for a moment before finally deciding to settle down and eat it. It was delicious - a delicious sign of their devotion and love for each other! Hail to the Vending Machine, distributor of tasty treats and signs of wondrous, lifetime love! Finishing off the candy bar in just a few bites, the pink pikachu did an impromptu little dance, celebrating this sign from the tasty vending deity! They were fated to have the most wonderful, yummy, best dates ever forever and ever!

"No, the best opportunity to do that has already passed," Kratos said thoughtfully. He was referring, of course, to the party and their initial encounter with Weidman. If either of them tried to approach him now it would only raise suspicion against them, and they dearly needed to keep their cover as much as possible - especially now that there had been tracking devices planted on some of them. "He probably has connections... but he's not the only one. There are many here who do, as well." And the police kept a lot of records that never quite made it into their filing system, but instead stayed in the minds of the cops who wished to keep it hidden. There were ways to get information, especially when a person wasn't particular about keeping to a moral code while obtaining it.  

[Gwennythe]

Well.
The vending machine had also kind of attacked him, he still though, but maybe this was an apology too, as well as being this wondrous sign.
They were, of course, going to have the best dates ever though and Miette's little dance was entirely adorable.
Lasi tried to emulate Miette's dance but he was certainly not a natural dancer.

"I think I know what y're getting at, but 'm not entirely sure who y' mean and how they'd go about, uh, using their connections," Tambrey admitted "so, I take it, y' know who to go to then and what to ask?" Honestly, she wasn't exactly sure how one would do a secret, 'black market' style background check.  

[Wylde Roses]

Oh, right! Hm. Well, maybe it had been an accident? The vending machine could have been expecting someone mean and rude and entirely un-Lasi like and that was why it had attacked! And then it offered them this wondrous sign of their devotion and love as an apology! Miette squealed when Lasi tried to dance with her, and spun around in a circle before coming to a stop just in front of Lasi. Once she'd stopped, she gave him another kiss and giggled. Wasn't this just a wonderful, beautiful date? "Pi pika pikachu!"

Kratos nodded, but only slightly. "I used to. Whether such connections are still of use, I can't say," he admitted. The redhead blinked slowly and turned his gaze across the room. "And there are many who would prefer I not bother them." Especially after he had worn out his welcome while investigating what had happened to Anna and Lloyd. No, there were far too many of his old contacts who would rather he choose to look elsewhere. But perhaps, someone else in the organization might be able to approach them, instead...  

[Gwennythe]

Oh! That could be true! In which case, Lasi should apologise to the vending machine for startling it.
"Guh buh!" He did so.
And then beamed all sorts of happy at another kiss. His mouth worked up and down, emulating what he thought might look like 'blowing' a kiss, as he rather wished he could kiss properly but lacked a mouth suitable for it.

Tambrey, suddenly, began to pack away the chess set properly and hastily.
"Then we should find out if they are as use and see who is willing to be bothered." She decreed, suddenly having decided to invite herself along on some investigative task right there and then.  

[Wylde Roses]

Mimi gasped and giggled, jumping around to try and 'catch' the kiss that was blown to her. She didn't really mind that Lasi couldn't actually kiss her, because this was really just as good. She brought both her little paws up to her mouth and blew kisses back at him - maybe they could play catch with kisses!

"Piii, pikachu," she chirped, making her suggestion to her 'date'.

Kratos watched her for just a moment before moving to assist her with putting away the pieces. "It's not something that can be done instantly - at the very least, it will take a few hours to be able to go out," he said, trying to subtly caution Tambrey against rushing off for any reason, whether or not it was related to her desire to prove that she wasn't in need of psychological help after the Galactic incident.  

[Gwennythe]

Ooh!
Now that sounded like a lot of fun!
Lasi (clumsily) mimicked the Pikachu's jumping around as, he too, jumped about trying to catch Miette's kisses to him and then waggled his wings trying to push the ones that he 'blew' toward her.
"Guh guhbuh!" He told her, happily, just how much fun he was having.

She moved carefully enough, not wishing to wake the sleeping pokémon in her lap, but still packing away quickly and efficiently.
"Yep." She acknowledged as he cautioned her against being too hasty but followed up with the defence; "Sooner we're ready, though, sooner we can go."
In all honesty, he was likely onto something with the idea that she wanted to prove she was 'fine'; getting into an investigation, as soon as they could, seemed, to her, to be a perfect way to gain some mental comfort from the discovery of whatever the truth happened to be.  

[Wylde Roses]

Miette giggled and bounced around for another few minutes, playing 'catch the kisses' with Lasi, before she got tired of that and ran at the golbat, intent on tackling him for another snuggle session. "Pi! Pi pika piii!" The warning she provided was brief, and followed by a flying leap as the electric type sought out her special friend for snuggles.

Kratos nodded and actually broke his mask just a little to give Tambrey a reassuring look. "We will work this out," he said quietly. "If you have any ideas, feel free to share them."  

[Gwennythe]

There was a high likelihood she'd end up /in/ his mouth, given the Golbat was, basically, 'all mouth'. Also, even if it wasn't always open, the surprise of her 'tackle' would have caused him to open it wide anyway.
As such, the Golbat, though he definitely enjoyed the game and was happy to have Miette hurling herself at him, was immediately concerned that he might be about to accidentally eat her.
He went down and kept his mouth open wide, though still tried to play, determined that she wouldn't get too far toward being eaten if she ended up in there.

The change is expression was surprising and, as she'd been gradually getting used to 'Bruce', Tambrey found herself frowning a little puzzled and almost suspiciously before she managed to shrug it off to offer a tired smile.
It was appreciated, at least.
"Uh. Well. You have th' connections. 'M not going to be a lot of help in the idea department unless he was ever at the university in Sandalwood... Or came t' Jinko..." Tambrey admitted with a frown; after all she'd been through with the team, did she really know so little else about the other places she'd been? "Anyway. Need t' get them back in their balls 'r such and get this put away first." She referred to the four pokémon and then the chess set, which was almost away- substituted pieces and all.  

[Wylde Roses]

Sure enough, Miette managed to cannonball straight into the Golbat's mouth with a war cry of "Pikaaaaaaaa!" She wasn't afraid, but she was most certainly loud, and her cry jolted Iris into wakefulness with a screech of panicked fluffball. The tiny Eevee, startled by the cry, mewled plaintively and tried to burrow under Treestar in order to hide from the sudden noise.

Kratos witnessed all of this with a flat expression and sighed, gently recalling Iris into her pokéball so she could relax there. "Miette," he said simply, pinching the bridge of his nose to try and cope with a frustration-caused headache that was building up. "Get out of his mouth." He offered a very, very slight apologetic glance to Tambrey, but didn't bother elaborating on why he'd been willing to let her help.

In truth it was simply because he couldn't suggest she sit out an investigation when he had been looking so hard in his own for three years now. To tell her to hold off and wait until she was mentally recovered would be both hypocritical and futile. Besides, she might gain more peace of mind from helping with this than she would otherwise. He still hoped that he would gain the same at the close of his own investigation.  

[Gwennythe]

Treestar flinched and then immediately raised himself up, leaf twitched back like some kind of weapon, to allow Iris to burrow under.
He hunkered down, slightly, looking around for the 'threat' with wide eyes, getting ready to grab Iris and 'run' if he had to.
It was likely a good thing it wasn't a threat as he wasn't all that good at running, let alone while trying to carry anyone else.
He flopped slightly, as Iris vanished, and was panicked for a second before he realised what had happened to her.
Well, at least she'd be safe enough in her ball... Though it looked like the 'threat' was just Aunt Miette and his big brother playing nearby.
He yawned, frowned, and nuzzled at Tambrey, who had an automatic reaction of petting him, then recalling him too, to his ball.

"What the frak?! Lasi..." She startled, before comforting and recalling Treestar, then fixed the Pikachu/Golbat pair with a rather searching expression, eyes narrowed behind her glasses.
"Lasi, spit her out..." She was pretty sure he wasn't trying to eat other pokémon now, but this was a rather startling image to look across to.
She looked to Kratos and gave a little head-shake with an apologetic look of her own.
"I'm sure he needed no goading int' this sort of behaviour... Sorry, he's a bit 'f a boisterous bat 's well..."
She held up Lasi's pokéball: "Should probably have gone back a little while ago; 's been out f'r some time."

Lasi, meanwhile, was trying not to talk and to spit the Pikachu out; he -really- didn't want to swallow his special friend, but she'd knocked him on his back and he wasn't going to be able to spit her back out without her helping herself. He was a little frightened to 'talk' or move just in case he swallowed on reflex.  

[Wylde Roses]

Miette giggled from inside Lasi's mouth and waved at her trainer, showing no interest in moving just at the moment - this was a whole new way to see the world, even though she was - wait... was she getting wet? Ew ew no no no Lasi drool! Ewwww! Shrieking out a loud series of "Pipipipipipipipipi!", Miette rolled out of the golbat's mouth and climbed up to Krato's shoulder, trying to shake herself dry.

Kratos' expression remained flat as he was splattered with shed golbat drool, merely lifting a hand to wipe the substance away. "I think that's enough playtime for these two," he said, voice as flat as his face. The things he put up with in taking care of Miette. There was a reason she had been Anna's pokémon and not his originally - their personalities were much more suited to each other than the Pikachu and himself.  

[Gwennythe]

Golbat breathed a sigh of relief as the Pikachu exited his mouth; thank Arceus for that, he wasn't going to swallow anyone today.
He felt momentarily sad though and definitely regretted the fact that Miette had 'run away' from him drooling, but her being out meant he could get back up and...
...glance over at his trainer to see his pokéball.
Well, he supposed he had been allowed out for a nice amount of time and he had had a very nice 'date' with Miette, so he was okay about the fact he had to go back, though he didn't really want the date to end.
The events had left him a little startled and tired to dodge the beam though; he 'blew kisses' before he vanished as Tambrey pressed the button.

"Uh." Tambrey replaced Lasi's ball on her belt. "Agreed. Sorry." She was trying, very hard, not show that she actually found the image, even if she was getting a bit of it her way, really rather amusing.
It had certainly 'cheered her up' a bit, anyway; a Pikachu attacking by showering Golbat drool around.