Pokemon Umbral Intermission: The Ensnaring Conspiracies

[Astral Harmony]

Armored Bishoujo: "This is only for the intermission segments between Pierce's Sidequest and Mission 4, which I imagine will actually fill up this thread. Additionally, I will also stop color-coding spoken text. It made every post look like a plate of hurl. But if you PCs prefer it, I have no problem doing it."

Shannon listened carefully to Renny explaining about Sexy.
"Shevenston's dead?!" Shannon recoiled as though slapped in the face. "How could a mountain of a man like him die?! Holy shit, forget about me, I'm good. Damn it, what kind of enemies is PATCA making these days?"

"I think you might be able to answer that question, Miss Mordhaus."

Shannon turned away from her plate to see Jeanette standing in one of the doorways. Darcelle wasn't with her.
"Oh, wow, Professor Ricewood. You look like you could use about a week of shuteye."
"Shut the hell up!" Jeanette spat, then revealed that she was armed with some kind of futuristic-looking polearm. "And prepare yourself. You think you can just attack my daughter and get away with it?!"
"What? Your daughter?" Shannon asked her, but Jeanette was already moving. Renny and Lola were already too late to stop Jeanette's deadly charge to put Shannon down when-

Shannon quickly put Jeanette down.

"Ow! Damn it!" Jeanette shouted as her butt collided with the floor. Then she looked at her opponent. And froze.
Shannon Mordhaus has a rose-themed sword wrapped around her right arm with a long, green shiny thorn blade that extended three feet from her hand. Two large, white angel wings extended out of her back without ripping her shortsleeved dark-green turtleneck sweater.
Shannon was more surprised by her sudden change than Jeanette was. "What the hell?!" she said, flicking her wings and panicking.
"So you reveal yourself, eh, she-devil?!" Jeanette said, and stood up to charge Shannon again when-

An apple flew over Jeanette's shoulder from behind.

"Signature Technique! Apple Slicer!"
Both the apple and Jeanette's polearm were split in two.
"Incredible, my lady," Tsubasa marveled. "Your attack can hit something without hitting the obstruction in front of it."
Rio stood between Shannon and Jeanette to keep them from killing each other while Mika moved up to Shannon. "Hmmm. Yes, yes, I see. Interesting."
Shannon backed away a little, obviously creeped out. "You...see what, exactly?"
Mika turned back to Shizuka. "Mizuno-sama, I think I already figured it out."
"That fast? I'd like to hear about what you discovered," Shizuka said.
Irene's voice came into earshot. "I'd like to hear about it, too."

Irene had returned to PATCA. "But not here. I think we're stepping into a sensitive moment," she added, winking at Renny. "Lady Mizuno? Shannon? Professor? I'd appreciate if you all came with me."
"Of course," Shizuka nodded.
"I want an explanation as well, so sure," Jeanette agreed.
"I'm not in trouble, am I?" Shannon asked.
"This won't take long, Shannon," Irene promised. "And then you can go be with your friends again."
"Umm...where is Mister Granger?" Chizuru looked around.
Irene shrugged. "He might've come back here somehow, or perhaps he's still at the hospital. But if he's left there, I'm sure he came back here so just stick around for him."

And that was it. Renny and Lola were left alone to consider what had happened.

-----and that night...-----

Lola opened her tired eyes and found that her scouter was emitting Renny's frightened voice and transforming it into text.
"Renny?" she asked to herself as she clawed for the scouter. She picked the device up and put it on and listened carefully as Renny let her in on his fears and his feelings.
"Renny," Lola said, still half-asleep. "I want you to know that your parents aren't wrong, but I also know that you are aware of what PATCA is going through right now. Had I not known you for as long as I have, I would say that you're being silly and trying to make this decision as a little boy striving to be a hero. But you're not a little boy, and I think that your parents don't realize that. I don't know if I'm making the right decision by encouraging you to take these kinds of risks, but if you're determined to stay in Honmyr and remain in PATCA, then...well, come in like usual and I...we'll think of something, I promise. Get some sleep. We might be busy tomorrow."

-----Shevenston's Funeral-----

It happened about a week after his death.
"Are you sure he wanted to be buried in that?" Irene asked Catherine quietly after the prayer ended.
"He told me so specifically," Shevenston's wife responded. "He loved that army trenchcoat so much."
Irene nodded. "He wore it nearly everyday that it wasn't hot. Said he never got used to wearing normal clothes after the war."

President Matthew Andricksen arrived in his bulletproof limosine to stand up and take the podium after the priest had given his brief sermon.
"My fellow Honmyrans," he said. "Well, I guess saying that isn't proper at this point in time. Today is a day that I shall never forget, but it is also one that I fear too few will remember. Antonio Shevenston was a man who lived like he fought: under the radar. He never asked for much. He didn't care for promotions or recognition. He simply asked for the opportunity to continue doing his job. This man could have had anything with ease, even the position I hold right now, but he humbly refused as this would prevent him from doing what he truely wanted to do with his life. He believed in karma, and wanted to make up for all the deaths he caused on the battlefield. For all the lives he had taken during the Second Succession War, he wanted to find those destroyed by the war and give life to them. And give life he did. We are honored to have his wife Catherine, his daughter Miracle, and his son Travis who unfortunately could not make it today. These three are prime examples of the big heart that my friend Antonio held in his chest. And today, we honor this man who gave so much to as many as he could with all that he had. I, who Antonio fought so hard for, wish my good friend only the best as his body is commited to the earth."

After the funeral rites were completed, Irene and Catherine continued to talk. "Travis couldn't make it?" Irene asked. "We could have held the funeral at a later date."
Catherine shook her head. "Travis could have easily made it if he wanted to. Travis was proud of Antonio because despite his old and tired body, Antonio always pushed himself to be stronger and faster than Travis, to give him something to shoot for. And now, he'll never be able to do that again. I guess he didn't come because he didn't want to see that Antonio was dead."
Irene nodded solemnly.

-----

Lola, clad in black just like most everyone else, came up to Renny. "I've been asking around all week. Hey, did you know that my sister has a boyfriend? I met the guy a couple days ago. A little too wild-looking for my preference, but he's very polite. Oh, but that's a story for another time. I think I found someone we can rely on to get us what we're looking for. Apartments are booked like crazy, but fortunately Milsha's living in an apartment that has a spare bedroom. I haven't talked to her yet. I didn't wanna make a decision like this without your input. Do you think we should speak with her after the funeral?"

Milsha wasn't at the funeral, and because her hobbies weren't really exposed for all to see, it looked like she wouldn't be easily found today.

-----

"Ah, death," Phantomere breathed deeply. He appeared as a wavy, distorted version of his final form from the manor, but Charlotte was the only one who could see him. He was staring into the hole that Shevenston's coffin had just slowly and gently been placed in. "Is it the concept of death that frightens mortals so much, or is it the belief that one's soul will be judged upon release from its corporeal shell based on its sins? It matters not. Death is as inevitable as stupidity these days. Best enjoy life while you've got it."

Then he turned back to Charlotte. Despite the fact that Phantomere no longer even had a body, Charlotte could still feel an unearthly chill from his body. Maybe it was her imagination? "I think I'll take this time to remind you that you wanted to speak to me for some reason? Or have you already found the answers to any possible questions you had?"

[Dracorion]

Jeez...

Pierce arrived at the PATCA building's mess hall only to find Shannon sporting wings and a rose-themed sword and Jeanette sitting on her ass on the floor. Obviously they had been fighting, but before he could intervene the Kimonos, all of them, showed up and put an end to it. Then Irene arrived.

--------

Enmakki took its chance. The younger one would need more time than the others, but for now it would just plant the idea in her mind.

--------

Pierce felt something like a gust of air brush past him in their direction, but shrugged it off. He just stayed in the doorway, going unnoticed while Irene went off with Shizuka, Jeanette and Shannon. He heard Chizuru inquiring about him, and he sighed. That... was not something he was looking forward to. He already knew that Chizuru was going to give him a look of pity, not because of the sorry state he was in, but because her opinion of him had suffered after everything that happened at Millenium House. He really wanted nothing more than to just go home and hide.

Instead, he put the cane he had recieved at the hospital to support his injured right leg forward, and limped over to her resignedly. "Ummm... hi."

----------------------------

A few days later

"Oh, sorry!" The small, purple-haired girl said apologetically to the man she had bumped into. Wearing a none-too-flattering combination of a yellow turtleneck sweater and long brown skirt, Sophia Vernier walked hesitantly into PATCA headquarters, pushing her glasses up her nose.

Nervously, she asked the receptionist where to find District Chief Irene's office, and managed to squeeze into an elevator with her small frame up to that floor. Soon, she found herself taking a deep breath and knocking on the District Chief's office door.

Upon being allowed in, the seemingly-unattractive girl nervously stepped into the office and closed the door behind her, then turned to face Irene, who was sitting in her desk. "Ummmm..." She stumbled, then looked up, blushing profusely. "Ah... hello. I'm Sophia Ver- Professor Sophia Vernier, I mean." She began in a soft, nervous voice. "But everyone just calls me Sophia or Sophie. It's very nice to meet you, Chief Crosswald-sama." She bowed. "I- I think you were informed that I'd be coming? Professor Ricewood-sama volunteered me to join the Watchmen. She... um... feels you could use a scientist on the team, and also I'm supposed to field test some experimental gear."

"I'm at your service, Chief Crosswald-sama." She concluded with relief, bowing again. By her standards, that had been one of her better introductions. Her first interview at Ricewood Masterworks had been an absolute disaster.

----------------------------

At the funeral

Pierce really hated wearing a suit. The collar and the tie always felt so constricting and bothersome. Even so, he went to pay his respects to Antonio Shevetson. Still walking with a cane, he paid his condolences to Catherine and Miracle, then milled about and listened to the President's speech.

After Andricksen was finished, he looked around and saw Professor Ricewood not far away. He limped over to her with a smile that said he was glad for some friendly company. "Hey." He greeted. Then, he decided to be subtle: "How's Darcy doing?"

----------------------------

Still the funeral

After his chat with Jeanette was over, Pierce once again took to milling about, bored out of his mind. As he was doing so, though, he spotted a certain large, grizzled woman. "Chief Baskinova?" He said, approaching her. He saw that it was, indeed, the District Chief of PATCA for Wintervale. "You look well." He said, smiling.

[DanteFalcon]

Matthias was just as reclusive as usual. He showed up to PATCA when work needed to be performed there but would give little more than non-committal nods to others. Thus far his facade seems to have served his purpose well enough. He'd have to keep an eye on it though. Walking a line that small was difficult enough without screwing up and having to fix things. Whenever possible he'd work from home, using his Porygon Z form to race through paperwork and get back to information gathering. Also he had to do some research on one of his teammates. Missions like the last one were not acceptable risks and put far too much at stake on the judgement of one person.

This thought gave Matt a small chuckle. Hypocrisy at its finest.

----------------------

Matt attended the funeral of Shevetson, formally dressed in a tux and his Porygon Z form. He would have preferred his natural state but poisoning the guests accidentally was hardly a good way to be remembered. He put off his relentless searching for traitors for a short while, paying his respects to the old soldier and voicing condolences to Catherine and Miracle before moving to a quiet corner to observe everyone. Social gatherings never were his strong point.

"Geez sis. I'm really gonna have to find a new past time at these. Its difficult to come to them and just watch everyone."

He laughed under his breath, making the note that no one was actually talking to him as of yet.

[Bard The 5th LW]

It had been quite a long time since Charlotte needed to wear the black dress. Or fix her hair. Or wear make-up. In short, it had been a long time since Charlotte had to try to look nice for anything. She protested at first, but Jeremy insisted that they go to the funeral, as he wanted to make a good first impression on the team he was to work with.

So Charlotte wearing her rarely used long black dress, and Jeremy wearing his actually rather commonly used black tux, they got in Jeremy's car and drove to Antonio's funeral.

"Not like he was dressed for a funeral," Charlotte mentioned in regard to Shevenston's attire once she felt that jewremy and her were a bit further out of earshot. The president's speech had passed by this point.

"Shut up Charlotte," he responded curtly as he straightened his bowtie, "I'm going to go look around, maybe talk to someone. You just stand here and be angry or something."

With an annoyed shake of his head, the man purposefully stepped away from Charlotte in an attempt to socialize a bit. He had a pretty average build and frame, about 5'11, his features were a bit pointed, but he also looked pretty youthful aside from a pronounced gray strip of hair along the edges his curly brown locks. He looked around for a bit, until is eyes laid upon Matt, who seemed to be alone at the moment.

"Uh hey," Jeremy said as he approched the pokebrid, "I'm Jeremiah, I'm going to be joining the Sharpedo patrol starting soon. Wish we could meet under better circumstances... anyways, nice to meet you." He reached out to shake Matt's hand as he awaited a response.

---

"Ah, death," Phantomere breathed deeply. He appeared as a wavy, distorted version of his final form from the manor, but Charlotte was the only one who could see him. He was staring into the hole that Shevenston's coffin had just slowly and gently been placed in. "Is it the concept of death that frightens mortals so much, or is it the belief that one's soul will be judged upon release from its corporeal shell based on its sins? It matters not. Death is as inevitable as stupidity these days. Best enjoy life while you've got it."

"Shut up Phantomere," Charlotte responded as she walked Jeremy waltz on off.

"I think I'll take this time to remind you that you wanted to speak to me for some reason? Or have you already found the answers to any possible questions you had?" He was evidently undaunted by her retort. Why did he look different all of a sudden.

'Yeah, why do you look different all of a sudden?' she inquired, 'and can you turn off the cold for a moment?'

[DanteFalcon]

Matt looked at the hand briefly, somewhat surprised that someone was talking to him and shrugged, reaching out to shake it firmly. His eyes looked over the person in front of him and he was a bit curious how this somewhat normal person knew Charlotte.

"Matthias. I'm part of the Watchmen. I see you know the crazy one."

Under almost any circumstance it would have been a joke about a person's choice of company. But Matt was completely deadpan about his reference to Charlotte and it hardly sounded flattering. Then again he almost always was deadpan so who knows.

[Bard The 5th LW]

"Matthias. I'm part of the Watchmen. I see you know the crazy one."


Jeremy put a hand behind his head with a nervous smile, 'Jeeze Charlotte, doing wonders for your reputation.'

"Yeah... I'm a friend of hers. We both came from Silverholm. I've been in a different patrol up to this point, but I got myself moved here as Charlotte's enforcer. Anyways, it was nice to make your acquaintances, Charlotte mentioned good things about you Mattias... well good in comparisons to the others."

He then hesitantly began to tread away to speak with someone else. He was sorta hoping for an introduction that didn't involve Charlotte in the opening statement.

[DanteFalcon]

Matt raised an eyebrow. Charlotte talked about him in a comparably good light? He didn't even think that was possible let alone that she'd talk about him that way. That would require more...consideration.

"My apologies on bringing her up. I merely expected her friends to share her tendencies so I was attempting to make it clear I didn't approve of how she does things, regardless of how effective they are. Did you know Shevetson?

[Menarker]

Mess Hall
--------------

The unbelievable sequence of events left Renny dumbfounded as his pokemons formed a shield around him. Jeanette's aggression. Shannon's unearthly revelation, the Kimono's timely intervention as they arrived seemingly as a complete group. Irene then broke things up. She even winked at him as she mentioned a "sensitive moment", which made him embarressed.

"... What has been going on? I hope Shannon is ok."

He then looked at the remaining people. A few he recognized from his party and he also saw Tsubasa who partnered with his group briefly in Mystery Manor. He also saw Pierce supporting himself on his cane. But he looked preoccupied, so Renny didn't want to single him out.

"Hey everyone! What brings you all here? Is everything ok?"
He hoped his appearance hasn't changed too much for the few that have seen him before.

-------
Night
-------

Renny listened nervously to Lola's timely response.

"Ok..."

However his attempt to sleep was marred with frustration and great uncertainty all throughout the night.

--------------
Funeral
--------------

Renny was dressed conservatively in black, watching with a depressed solemnity at the ceremony. He hadn't known the Chief personally, but he had tried to fight in PATCA's defense. Renny's own failure still lingered in his mind. At first he had thought to offer his sympathies to Catherine and Miracle, but what could he say when he didn't know the man? Even stating that he was there fighting would probably have sounded pompous and pathetic. He imagined that if that was even the slightest bit important, Irene would have filled them in on those details.

Then Lola came up to him, his attention fully drawn to her.

"I've been asking around all week. Hey, did you know that my sister has a boyfriend? I met the guy a couple days ago. A little too wild-looking for my preference, but he's very polite. Oh, but that's a story for another time. I think I found someone we can rely on to get us what we're looking for. Apartments are booked like crazy, but fortunately Milsha's living in an apartment that has a spare bedroom. I haven't talked to her yet. I didn't wanna make a decision like this without your input. Do you think we should speak with her after the funeral?"

"Yes. My options look so limited right now, I can't really be picky about my choices. However, it sounds like a good possibility. I talked with her a little before when she joined and she was very open and friendly."

[Bard The 5th LW]

"My apologies on bringing her up. I merely expected her friends to share her tendencies so I was attempting to make it clear I didn't approve of how she does things, regardless of how effective they are. Did you know Shevetson?"

"Well some of them are," Jeremy said as he turned back, relieved to change the subject. "No, I didn't particularly know him. I'd see him around, but I never held a conversation with him. I've only heard a few things about the stuff he'd done. Impressive guy. I'd bener put a bet on him dying in combat"

He looked around a bit before continuin. "Charlotte and I were there the night it happened, but I was sorta unable to help, and I wasn't aware that he was dead. Do you have any more info on what happened? I was stuck behind the barricade, and I doubt Charlotte was paying enough attention to know."

[Astral Harmony]

Pierce Reunites With Chizuru

"Mister Granger! Guess what?! Oh, uhh...nevermind. Are you okay?"

As she got closer, Pierce noticed something about Chizuru. She looked like she had tried to get through a hurricane, but unlike Pierce himself, the girl didn't look like she got the chance to heal up.

In fact, all of the Kimonos looked like they had a rough night. Still, their collective mood seemed rather positive.
"I'm so sorry that we had to leave you like that, but there was kind of an emergency. We lost our hold on the Fahngrest Imperial Ruins. We had to hit and run."
"And so here we are, beaten up and ashamed," Tsubasa said.
"I hope the seal doesn't open while we no longer have control over those ruins," Chizuru worried.
"It could break at any time, but let's hope not until we're ready to deal with whatever's inside," Tsubasa shrugged. "We're nowhere near those ruins anymore, and we'll have to wade through the entire Honmyr Prideguard to get over there again."
"Ultimately, we'll just have to wait and see what Shizuka and Irene come up with," Takano said with a strong hint of boredom.
"I guess we should go have a chat with Lexhur," Kirie offered.

-----
Irene Meets Sophia

"Oh, uhh...good to meet you finally," Irene said, bowing to Sophia. She didn't have a Hiroshiho name, but she sure acted like she was from the empire. "Professor Ricewood recommended you highly. It kind of feels like you were sent here as her stand-in, doesn't it? But believe me when I say that PATCA is certainly blessed to have you onboard."

-----
The Meeting, Part One...

"Doors," Irene said as the last of them walked through. The doors electronically closed and sealed. "I'll go ahead and do introductions for all of us since I know all of you myself. I am Irene Crosswald, current Squad Chief of the Watchmen here in PATCA HQ. This gentleman here is Killian Andricksen, son of Matthew Andricksen who is president of the Republic of Honmyr."
"It's a pleasure to meet all of you," The only male in the room, Killian bowed politely and took his seat.
"Over here is Experimental Sciences Expert, priviledged member of the Science Council, President and CEO of Ricewood Masterworks, and Honmyr's very own Pokemon Professor, Jeanette Ricewood."
"How did a woman with only one head wear so many crowns?" Jeanette joked with an exhausted heart and sat down.
"This is the Chieftain of Wintervale Village as well as the Branch Chief of Wintervale's PATCA branch, Natalya Baskinova."
"Live up north as much as I have and you'll never get used to normal weather again," Natalya chuckled and sat. "I'm Natalya Baskinova, please to meet you."
"This is Lady Shizuka Mizuno. She's a ninja master who is surprisingly not from Hiroshiho Empire."
Shizuka simply bowed and sat down.
"And last but certainly not least, Empress Sakuya Kazetsubaki of the Hiroshiho Empire and the Supreme Commander of her armies."
"Pleased to meet you," Sakuya spoke formally and sat down.

Irene then took her seat. "First order of this meeting today is entry to the Corpsemire. Mister-"
"You know, Irene, you can just call me Killian. We've known each other for so long," Killian said, sensing that things were already a little too stuffy as they were. "Rest assured that the proper documentation is well on its way to being approved. It will still take a few weeks, but you will most definitely see a proper response."
"I have to wait that long to find out what has happened to my daughter?" Jeanette asked him with an edge to her voice.
"We apologize for the delays regarding the issue, but this document will approve a whole formation minus a Destroyer unit to enter the Corpsemire. Extensive background checks and everything is in this whole process."
"We're extremely lucky that it's just a few weeks," Irene mentioned. "That level of work normally requires well over half a year. I'm sure that President Andricksen is doing everything in his power to get us approval as fast as he can. But you should know as well as the rest of us that things are really sensitive when it comes to the Corpsemire."
Jeanette folded her arms, not satisfied with the answer but deciding not to fight it.

"Next issue of this meeting is the Honmyr Prideguard," Irene said. "Mistress Shizuka has informed me briefly that the Prideguard has overrun their little base in the Fahngrest Imperial Ruins where the Ruin Pokemon invasion began."
"I've been given a report about this whole Ruin Pokemon problem," Killian said, pouring himself a cup of tea. "Obviously, it's going to fall into the hands of PATCA to destroy them. I wish it didn't have to. You all have enough to put up with."
"All part of the job," Irene shrugged. "Here's where we stand so far. Idolus, the Dragon Ruin General who is considered the leader of them all by virtue of his immense strength, has a deal with us. The deal is for PATCA to destroy any and all Ruin Generals that have gone rogue, which is all but four of them to my knowledge. There're these ruins called the Fahngrest Imperial Ruins up north in Tri-Scar Canyon, which is now in Prideguard hands. We can take it on faith that Idolus, Marionata, Twiloch, and Lexhur all have their seals intact. We don't know about the ones that have gone rogue, especially since it's impossible to tell a Ruin General that has released its seal from one that hasn't."
"We also can't tell which seals have been released by looking at the seal itself," Shizuka observed.
"With Marionata on our side, we'll have a much easier time finding each and every rogue general."

"Speaking of the Prideguard, why have they not tried to invade all of Honmyr?" Sakuya asked.
"Tell me something, Empress. If Burkmont conquered the Presidential Estate, what would you do?"
"It may sound cruel, but it's only natural that I would then invade him," Sakuya said, not looking at Killian.
"Precisely, and who would blame you?" Irene nodded. "And that's why Burkmont isn't attacking yet. Defeat the Republican Guard? Sure, Burkie can do that. But fight PATCA and the Empire, too? Even I'm not that brave. Burkmont needs more power and he needs more time to maneuver his pieces into place."
"I see," Sakuya said. "And once he does all this maneuvering, I'll already have my naginata in his throat."

"The President congratulates you all on a job well done with neutralizing Reynold Faynoc and his cult," Killian said more to change the subject. "This Black Cradle you've mentioned in the report and the return of Adonova both disturb him greatly, but your victory down there gives him confidence that you will continue to reap great success."
"We're the only ones who can. Hell, defeating them was the reason PATCA was created in the first place."
Sakuya laughed. Killian blinked. Irene coughed.
"I believe the good empress is calling our attention to that fact that Edelweiss, the second in command of Adonova, was involved in the Second Succession War," Irene groaned lightly.
"This...is the first I've heard of it," Killian admitted.
"Despite our best efforts, the war wasn't going well in our favor," Irene admitted. "The appearance of Gaea helped a lot, but it was Edelweiss who really turned the tables by eliminating eighteen of Empress Sakuya's generals and advisors. To this day, we're still investigating who paid Adonova to get involved."
"Matthew did it, no doubt in my mind," Sakuya huffed.

"Let's uhhh...call a brief recess, shall we, Irene?" Killian asked Irene, already standing up. "I'd actually like to talk to you about a few private matters."
"That sounds good. I'd like to speak to Mika about Shannon myself."

-----
Pierce & Jeanette at the Funeral

"Darcelle is doing good. She's started to use a toilet."
Pierce was probably weirded out by the response.
"And no, that's not me joking. I hate comparing the two, but Darcelle is a lot like a newborn Hondour or something. But she's a fast learning one at that. I don't know about her learning how to speak or read very well, but she's certainly serviceable as a combat unit. Which is what she seems to want more than anything. You can expect her to join PATCA alongside me very soon."

-----
Pierce Reunites with Natalya

"Oh, hey there, stud," Natalya said. It was odd seeing such a powerful woman as Natalya without a hulking weapon in her arms. "I see you havee taken to this 'fight for justice' stuff like a fish to vater. That is good to know. But are you still happy vith it? You look kind of...apprehensive."

-----
Phantomere Explains It All

"Accept my humble apologies, Mistress," Phantomere said. "It's all the death around here. Tends to let me exist slightly apart from you and even impart some of my more serious powers that could help you in battle. Actually, that does bring up a good point. You obviously don't care to talk about it now, but when you have the time, we should talk about what I can do for you since you spared my life...or rather, my afterlife, as well as the conditions you must fulfill to use said powers. But perhaps sometime later. I'll go sublimate myself right now to get rid of my deathly chill."

And with that, Phantomere was no longer around to disturb Charlotte. She couldn't feel his eerie chill on her skin anymore. But his talk of powers did sound interesting.