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?"