WholesomeCryptid
The Wandering Stone Collector
- Joined
- Jul 4, 2024
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- #1
- MATURE Themes
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- TEEN Themes
- Moderate Violence
- Strong Language or Profanity
- Mental Illness or Mentions of Self Harm/Suicide
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The Investigation
Original Character/Original Character
3856 Words
CWs: Past Death of a Fiancée, Trauma and Flashbacks, Animal (Pokemon) Attacks, Profanity
Desc: Contest entry for Bulbagardens Spring 2026 One Shot competition, for the theme "You're Worth Hell".
Lars Fèng is a hardened detective working for the International Police who's been assigned the investigation of Team Flare following the presumed death of Lysandre, with him and his assistant Aston looking into the abandoned remnants of Lysandre Labs.
Reviews are open just please be gentle.
Original Character/Original Character
3856 Words
CWs: Past Death of a Fiancée, Trauma and Flashbacks, Animal (Pokemon) Attacks, Profanity
Desc: Contest entry for Bulbagardens Spring 2026 One Shot competition, for the theme "You're Worth Hell".
Lars Fèng is a hardened detective working for the International Police who's been assigned the investigation of Team Flare following the presumed death of Lysandre, with him and his assistant Aston looking into the abandoned remnants of Lysandre Labs.
Reviews are open just please be gentle.
To the average citizen of Kalos, it was a beautiful morning in Lumiose City, just like any other. The sun and its warmth beginning its gradual trek across the sky as the morning rush of people started to flood the streets and begin their various responsibilities for the day, a salaryman heading to work here, a child being led to school by their mother there: everything seemed as it should be.
Hidden in the rustle and bustle of the city was International Police detective Lars Fèng, a tall, stern-faced man hailing from the nearby region of Paldea. He was tasked with investigating the possibility of remnants of Team Flare lingering around the city after the presumed death of Lysandre two years ago.
It was busywork, and Lars knew it. Any investigation on the group that could have possibly been done had already been completed ages ago when the organization had first fallen. Lars was pretty sure the International Police just wanted to keep him where they could watch him after the death of his fiancée.
Lars was sure he was never going to forget that day for as long as he lived – the flashes of blood and talons would be etched into his mind until the end of his days. Officially, the International Police had called it a Pokemon attack, but Lars had his doubts. He was an experienced trainer himself, after all – he knew how Pokemon behaved, and that thing was nothing like any Pokemon he had ever seen.
Hell, it behaved unlike anything that belonged in this world.
The man had tried to bring up concerns about what exactly had happened that day – he was a member of the International Police, after all! And yet, each and every one of his protests had been firmly shut down by his superiors, who gave him harsh instruction not to repeat to anyone what he had seen that day – not even his closest friends or family. Lars didn’t get the privilege of a support system for what he had gone through; he supposed that was just part of the cost of being a detective for such an important organization.
After going through such an incident, Lars preferred to keep people at a professional distance, avoiding even his closest friends and family as he dug himself deeper and deeper into isolation. It was for the best, he’d tell himself, that this was the only way to keep more people from getting hurt because of him. He’d put up with a bit of loneliness if it meant nobody else had to die.
There was one specific man making it incredibly difficult for Lars to self-isolate as much as he’d like, however:
Aston Crowe.
Aston was unofficially Lars' investigative assistant, at least for the time being. It wasn't an arrangement that was officially on paper, as Aston didn’t have any proper training with the International Police, after all… or training in detective work, period.
Honestly, Lars would much rather be working by himself on this case – there was no risk of people getting hurt because of him that way – but Kalos was a completely unfamiliar region to him, and he needed some sort of guide to help him find his way around the winding streets of Lumiose. So, for the time being, at least, Lars was stuck with Aston.
Perhaps the concept of having to deal with what was essentially a glorified tour guide wouldn’t bother Lars too much if it weren't for that fact that Aston was so… affectionate, so eager to try and get to know him, so kind to him. Lars found the casual, almost mischievous personality that Aston showed around him absolutely terrifying. Aston was trying to get close to him, to try and actually see the man beyond the gruff detective exterior, but Lars refused to let that happen. He had already lost one person after he let them get too close, so he refused to let that happen to anyone else ever again.
Lars shoved his hands deep into his pockets as he continued his trek down the blindly bright streets of Lumiose City, trying to clear his mind of any lingering feelings of Aston or the past as he walked. He had a job to focus on and he wasn’t going to let his feelings get in the way of that, even if a part of him wanted to cancel his meeting with Aston for the morning out of his own fear of facing the other man. Lars was a respected member of the International Police, after all – surely he could handle talking to some Kalosian.
Their meeting place was a cozy little cafe near the center of the city. Lars would have much rather preferred a more private meeting place, but Aston had been rather insistent that he simply had to try the location's parfaits, and Lars didn’t have the mental energy to tell him no.
He just hoped the location at least offered a simple black coffee.
Aston was already there sitting at a table waiting for Lars by the time he had arrived at the cafe. his all black get-up contrasting the almost cartoonish amount of pastries he had had somehow managed to pile up onto his plate. Lars would almost be impressed… if the sight didn’t make his teeth hurt just by looking at it.
Aston’s face lit up as he spotted Lars from across the room and raised his hand, causing a bit of a scene as he attempted to grab Lars’ attention and wave him over.
“Oi! Mr. Detective! Over here!” Aston’s voice echoed across the cafe, causing multiple people to turn their heads and look at him.
Lars couldn’t help the quiet sigh that escaped him as he sat down across from Asto. He was already finding the man far too energetic for this time of morning. Didn’t Aston work nights, anyways? How on Earth was he this peppy?
“You don’t need to yell, you know. I’m not so old that my hearing is going.” Lars huffed with a cross of his arms that was more for show than anything else – not that he’d ever admit that.
Aston simply just laughed at Lars’ comment, clearly enjoying the banter between them, as he rested his chin upon his hand, only momentarily taking a break from mindlessly stuffing his face with pastries.
“Could’ve fooled me – you certainly act like an old man. Sometimes I even forget we’re the same generation.”
“I do not act that old! I just – never mind, you're getting me distracted, and we have a job to do.” Lars groaned, pinching his nose in exasperation, already trying not to fall into a back and forth with Aston. He was trying not to let the man get too close, after all – the last thing he needed was Aston getting his hopes up because Lars entertained his teasing.
“I know, don’t worry, I was just trying to ease up that uptight attitude of yours. I swear, I get gray hairs just by being around you.” Aston raised his hands up in defeat, almost dropping a crêpe he was holding into his lap as he did.
Lars chose to ignore him and focus on the matter at hand, the reason he had met up with Aston today in the first place: investigating Team Flare.
“As you are already aware, we’ve had limited progress in our investigation. So, I'm suggesting we try something slightly different this time… I've gotten the two of us permission from the higher ups to look around Lysandre Labs.” Lars began to explain, his ragged voice as cool and unshakeable as ever.
“Woah, really!? Didn’t they board Lysandre Labs and the cafe up pretty tightly after everything with Team Flare went down?”
“It wasn’t easy, but I convinced them to let us look around for today, since we haven’t been having much luck with the case so far. You’ll need to stay close to me the entire time, though. Understand?”
In reality, it had taken very little effort for Lars to convince those at the International Police to let him and Aston look around. He had a feeling they didn’t really care that much about this case, or what happened with it at all, just as long as Lars stayed sane. He wasn’t going to tell that to Aston, though – he had to try and maintain some level of respectability around the other man.
“Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Don’t worry, I can behave myself if I have to, believe it or not. I have my serious moments every now and then.” Aston said as he stood up, stretching his arms.
“I want to believe you, but sometimes I have my doubts.”
The walk to Cafe Lysandre was uneventful, with the pair walking alongside each other in relative silence.
Cafe Lysandre had certainly seen better days for sure. The once bustling cafe was now grungy and abandoned, no one wanting anything to do with such a location that held so many negative associations for Kalosians.
“You know, I never actually ate at this place. I always thought their food was totally overpriced, and I didn’t like Lysandre, even before he turned out to be a nutcase.” Aston told Lars casually, as if he were discussing a beat up old Poke Mart, and not a business owned by a man who had tried to wipe out the entire population.
“Really? You didn’t care for Lysandre much? I was under the impression he was fairly popular in Kalos before his involvement with Team Flare was revealed to the public,” Lars spoke before he could stop himself. He was supposed to be keeping Aston at a distance, and here he was, making casual chit chat!
“Well, sure, most people were all over him. I just disliked him ever since he gave my buddy’s ballet act a scathing review.”
“...You know, I don't really know what else I should have expected, knowing you. I suppose it doesn’t matter too much what you thought of him two years ago – he’s pretty universally disliked now, anyways. Let's just focus on the task at hand.” Lars grumbled out before examining the door to the cafe, which had been pretty thoroughly boarded up with sturdy planks of wood.
“Hmm, that looks like it might be a problem. Think you might be able to get one of your Pokemon to possibly smash it with–?” Aston began before being suddenly interrupted by Lars tearing off one of the planks with his own pure strength, no Pokemon needed.
Aston whistled impressedly at the sight of Lars tearing the boards off and tossing them behind him, not bothering to hide how he was admiring the detective’s physical strength.
For a split second Lars felt a slight sort of warmth rise up in his chest in response to Aston’s reaction. But he quickly gritted his teeth and buried that down, focusing on tearing off the remaining planks.
“There… that should be enough of an opening for us to get inside. Let's go.” Lars instructed Aston, a slight pant behind his voice.
“After you.” Aston bowed as he spoke, gesturing towards the entrance with his arm.
“Just, watch your step, okay? Who knows what kind of condition this place is in after being abandoned. The last thing I need is you falling through a hole in the floor.”
“Don’t want to deal with the paperwork if I break my arm – is that it?” Aston teased. Perhaps his habit of keeping up his laid back attitude even in the most serious of investigations made Aston a good counter to Lars’ hard as nails attitude, or perhaps it just made him immature.
Both possibilities were equally likely, as far as Lars was concerned.
“Something like that.” Lars muttered, not wanting to admit that in reality, the International Police would hardly bat an eye if a random civilian got hurt. He certainly couldn’t admit that he was looking out for Aston not out of some requirement from his job, but rather his own deep-seated desire to not let the man be hurt while he was around.
The two carefully walked into the building that had formerly been known as Lysandre Cafe. Aston mindlessly ran his finger over the dust covered countertop.
“Now, then, if my information on this case is correct, there should be an entrance to Lysandre Labs hidden somewhere in plain sight. We’ll need to search the cafe thoroughly. Lysandre was a criminal mastermind, after all – he probably left the entrance somewhere we’d never expect, so–”
“That cabinet looks pretty suspicious to me.” Aston quickly cut Lars off, already moving to pull it out of the way.
“Now, come on, lend me some of that strength you were showing off just now!”
The detective paused as the hidden passage to Lysandre Labs came into view, his jaw practically on the floor. Aston solved the problem in a mere matter of seconds, like he was the one who was the detective. Lars quickly did what he could to compose himself, though, helping Aston move the cabinet out of the way with a strong push (and an embarrassed blush on his face).
“I knew that was it! Honestly, I'm surprised Lysandre wasn’t caught earlier if he was this shabby at hiding his top secret hidden evil base.” Aston practically laughed out his words, as if he were pointing out the most obvious thing in the world.
Lars avoided eye contact to hide his embarrassment.
“Well… Lysandre was a well loved public figure – many will overlook the red flags when they’re coming from someone they admire.” Lars said in an attempt to sound smarter than he was currently feeling.
Aston just walked away with a careless shrug, heading towards the apparently not-so-hidden entrance of Lysandre Labs.
Saying that the space was in disarray would have been a compliment. The building was practically falling in on itself after just a couple years of abandonment, dirt and mold claiming every surface visible in the faint light.
…Not to mention the unsettling sound of a faint growling that made Lars' hair stand on edge.
Lars was about to give Aston a command to be on high alert, to tell him he didn’t trust this place, that he heard something breathing, to tell the man to be careful. But before he could get more than a syllable out from his throat, a sharp flash of light encased the room, taking Aston away just as quickly as it came, teleporting the man to who even knows where.
Shit.
His mind quickly began to race.
Every report Lars had read had stated that the power in Lysandre Labs had been cut off ages ago. that the hideout was nothing more than an abandoned chunk of concrete at this point – yet, apparently, they had enough of a power supply for the teleporters to still be functional.
And now, Aston was missing – he was missing and Lars didn't have the damndest clue where he could even possibly be. Aston could already be dead for all Lars knew, he’d be dead and it’d be all Lars’ fault. He had been the one who’d thought it to be a good idea to take Aston here, to involve him in his investigations – Lars should have just handled this matter all on his own, never even risked Aston getting close in the first place.
Aston had made the stupid mistake of trusting him and Lars was failing him, failing him just like failed his fiancée.
Almighty Arceus, he was going to lose him, just like he had lost his fiancée.
Lars grasped at his chest with desperate, shaky hands, his heart feeling like it was about to burst at any moment. Visceral images of that horrible day in Alola that the woman he loved died flashing through his mind in an almost never ending loop, as he struggled to stay on his feet.
“Aston!,” he cried out in desperation. “Aston, are you there?! Can you hear me?!”
“Yeah… I’m alright, Detective.” Aston reassured him, his voice muffled through the wall, “Are you alright, though?”
“How I'm doing isn’t important! What are your surroundings like?” Lars tried his best to force his words to be as steady as possible, though there still was an obvious shake in his voice that he couldn’t hide. Lars could only just pray the other man didn’t pick up on it, but his gut had a hunch he did.
“It’s just as dark over here, so it's hard to make much of anything out, but I'm pretty sure I can hear something moving around in the dark.” For once, Aston was the one being calm and level headed between the two.
Maybe Aston had always been like that underneath that carefree persona of his, and Lars just hadn’t been giving him enough credit.
The detective didn’t get the chance to reflect on that thought too much, though, as his mind began to race intrusively, hearing Aston’s comment that something was moving. His mind raced back to the breathing sound he had heard earlier in a panic. A sound he was now certain was getting louder.
“Stay where you are – let me come find you–”
“Don’t worry so much, Detective, me and Mismagius can handle ourselves just fine–”
Aston's words cut off with a sudden thud, and the increasing sound of something growling. Something that sounded like a Pokemon.
Just when Lars’s heart rate had finally started to slow down, it suddenly picked right back up again. The man felt like he might almost be sick from the sheer levels of panic that raced through his body.
Lars called out Aston’s name multiple times to no response, a familiar feeling of dread making his breathing quicken. Lars needed to find Aston, and he needed to find him quickly, especially with the growling from the other side of the wall getting louder and louder.
The detective’s next actions were a blur. With the room being as dark as it was, and Lars not being entirely sure which of the multiple teleporters Aston had accidentally set off, Lars found himself quickly running back and forth, trying all of them as quickly as he could. The decaying building filled up with sudden bursts of light and the repeating zapping noise of the teleporters going off.
Lars finally came to a stop when he found himself in a room where the growling reached its loudest. He found himself facing a scene where a rather unhappy looking Houndoom was inching ever closer to a trembling Aston backing himself up against the room's concrete wall.
In hindsight, Lars would realize that he had multiple options here: he could have sent out one of his Pokemon, or tried to distract the Pokemon away from Aston, giving him a chance to escape.
Currently, though, Lars’ brain was going off of pure adrenaline and the fear of losing another person he’d grown to care for, and so it decided its best option was to tackle the Houndoom with all the strength he had.
Aston watched in mild bewilderment as Lars struggled to wrestle the Pokemon onto the ground, the man wincing as its fangs and claws dug into his skin, blood beginning to soak the coat he was wearing. It wasn’t until Lars gave the Houndoom a firm kick in the stomach that the Pokemon was momentarily stunned, and the two were given a momentary opening.
“Get out of here!” He barked out at Aston. “Don’t just stand there looking dumb, move!”
“What about you, idiot? I’m not gonna let you get mauled to death either!”
“I can handle myself just fine! I’m more worried about you right now!”
“I’m not leaving without you!” Aston told him definitively. “You’ve stunned the thing more than enough to give both of us an opening – let's go.”
Ever a stubborn man, Lars opened his mouth to argue further, but Aston began to physically pull Lars away from the Pokemon and towards the teleporter. (Albeit, he did so with some struggle, given he did not have Lars’ upper body strength.)
“Fine– Dammit, I’ll go!” Lars grumbled defeatedly.
“You’re gonna pull your back at this rate.” The man quickly stood up, grabbing Aston by the wrist and dragging him over to the teleporter in a quick movement.
As soon as the two were in the clear, Lars let out a heavy sigh of relief, just about collapsing onto Aston out of both mental and physical exhaustion.
“Easy, there…” Aston comforted him, patting his back in a gentle motion. “It was awfully dashing of you to rush in to save me like that, even if you probably should have sent out your Staraptor instead.”
“Right… That probably would have been a wiser idea.” Lars admitted, still a bit out of breath and holding onto Aston for stability.
Lars was almost not embarrassed by the way the closeness made him blush… almost.
He had promised himself that he would never get close to anyone the way he had gotten close to his fiancée ever again. Telling himself that even being friends was too risky for the other person involved, that from then on out he would be working solo.
But over and over again, Aston made that difficult.
As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he cared about Aston. He wanted the man to be safe, and happy, and much more. He wanted to protect him from all the dangerous things in the world he had seen in his many years as a member of the International Police.
Possibly the thing Lars least wanted to admit?
He was starting to think he was starting to love the other man – his feelings for Aston had been sneaking up on him when he least expected it.
Maybe… Lars was actually contemplating if Aston was worth the risk of loving, after all.
“Listen–” Aston began, “I know you’re as stubborn as a Mudbray, but with how much of a beating you took earlier, I'm not letting you finish this investigation! And if your stupid higher ups have a problem with that, they'll have to deal with me, and I’ll tell them to stick it! So–”
“Okay, okay– I’ll go to the ER and get myself stitched up, I won’t fight you on that this time. Now, let's get out of here before we find out if that Houndoom has any friends.”
“Sounds like a plan, Detective. And… seriously, thank you for earlier. You probably saved my hide back there.”
For once, Lars smiled at that.
“I suppose I should be thanking you as well. I could have been in even worse shape if it weren't for you dragging me away when you did.”
For a quiet moment, the two didn’t move, just taking a breather – and maybe enjoying the close proximity a bit more than either would admit. But eventually, just as Lars was about to collapse from his earlier mauling, they started to move towards the exit, Lars relying on Aston for support.
Maybe getting closer to others was more important than some stupid work as a detective.
Hidden in the rustle and bustle of the city was International Police detective Lars Fèng, a tall, stern-faced man hailing from the nearby region of Paldea. He was tasked with investigating the possibility of remnants of Team Flare lingering around the city after the presumed death of Lysandre two years ago.
It was busywork, and Lars knew it. Any investigation on the group that could have possibly been done had already been completed ages ago when the organization had first fallen. Lars was pretty sure the International Police just wanted to keep him where they could watch him after the death of his fiancée.
Lars was sure he was never going to forget that day for as long as he lived – the flashes of blood and talons would be etched into his mind until the end of his days. Officially, the International Police had called it a Pokemon attack, but Lars had his doubts. He was an experienced trainer himself, after all – he knew how Pokemon behaved, and that thing was nothing like any Pokemon he had ever seen.
Hell, it behaved unlike anything that belonged in this world.
The man had tried to bring up concerns about what exactly had happened that day – he was a member of the International Police, after all! And yet, each and every one of his protests had been firmly shut down by his superiors, who gave him harsh instruction not to repeat to anyone what he had seen that day – not even his closest friends or family. Lars didn’t get the privilege of a support system for what he had gone through; he supposed that was just part of the cost of being a detective for such an important organization.
After going through such an incident, Lars preferred to keep people at a professional distance, avoiding even his closest friends and family as he dug himself deeper and deeper into isolation. It was for the best, he’d tell himself, that this was the only way to keep more people from getting hurt because of him. He’d put up with a bit of loneliness if it meant nobody else had to die.
There was one specific man making it incredibly difficult for Lars to self-isolate as much as he’d like, however:
Aston Crowe.
Aston was unofficially Lars' investigative assistant, at least for the time being. It wasn't an arrangement that was officially on paper, as Aston didn’t have any proper training with the International Police, after all… or training in detective work, period.
Honestly, Lars would much rather be working by himself on this case – there was no risk of people getting hurt because of him that way – but Kalos was a completely unfamiliar region to him, and he needed some sort of guide to help him find his way around the winding streets of Lumiose. So, for the time being, at least, Lars was stuck with Aston.
Perhaps the concept of having to deal with what was essentially a glorified tour guide wouldn’t bother Lars too much if it weren't for that fact that Aston was so… affectionate, so eager to try and get to know him, so kind to him. Lars found the casual, almost mischievous personality that Aston showed around him absolutely terrifying. Aston was trying to get close to him, to try and actually see the man beyond the gruff detective exterior, but Lars refused to let that happen. He had already lost one person after he let them get too close, so he refused to let that happen to anyone else ever again.
Lars shoved his hands deep into his pockets as he continued his trek down the blindly bright streets of Lumiose City, trying to clear his mind of any lingering feelings of Aston or the past as he walked. He had a job to focus on and he wasn’t going to let his feelings get in the way of that, even if a part of him wanted to cancel his meeting with Aston for the morning out of his own fear of facing the other man. Lars was a respected member of the International Police, after all – surely he could handle talking to some Kalosian.
Their meeting place was a cozy little cafe near the center of the city. Lars would have much rather preferred a more private meeting place, but Aston had been rather insistent that he simply had to try the location's parfaits, and Lars didn’t have the mental energy to tell him no.
He just hoped the location at least offered a simple black coffee.
Aston was already there sitting at a table waiting for Lars by the time he had arrived at the cafe. his all black get-up contrasting the almost cartoonish amount of pastries he had had somehow managed to pile up onto his plate. Lars would almost be impressed… if the sight didn’t make his teeth hurt just by looking at it.
Aston’s face lit up as he spotted Lars from across the room and raised his hand, causing a bit of a scene as he attempted to grab Lars’ attention and wave him over.
“Oi! Mr. Detective! Over here!” Aston’s voice echoed across the cafe, causing multiple people to turn their heads and look at him.
Lars couldn’t help the quiet sigh that escaped him as he sat down across from Asto. He was already finding the man far too energetic for this time of morning. Didn’t Aston work nights, anyways? How on Earth was he this peppy?
“You don’t need to yell, you know. I’m not so old that my hearing is going.” Lars huffed with a cross of his arms that was more for show than anything else – not that he’d ever admit that.
Aston simply just laughed at Lars’ comment, clearly enjoying the banter between them, as he rested his chin upon his hand, only momentarily taking a break from mindlessly stuffing his face with pastries.
“Could’ve fooled me – you certainly act like an old man. Sometimes I even forget we’re the same generation.”
“I do not act that old! I just – never mind, you're getting me distracted, and we have a job to do.” Lars groaned, pinching his nose in exasperation, already trying not to fall into a back and forth with Aston. He was trying not to let the man get too close, after all – the last thing he needed was Aston getting his hopes up because Lars entertained his teasing.
“I know, don’t worry, I was just trying to ease up that uptight attitude of yours. I swear, I get gray hairs just by being around you.” Aston raised his hands up in defeat, almost dropping a crêpe he was holding into his lap as he did.
Lars chose to ignore him and focus on the matter at hand, the reason he had met up with Aston today in the first place: investigating Team Flare.
“As you are already aware, we’ve had limited progress in our investigation. So, I'm suggesting we try something slightly different this time… I've gotten the two of us permission from the higher ups to look around Lysandre Labs.” Lars began to explain, his ragged voice as cool and unshakeable as ever.
“Woah, really!? Didn’t they board Lysandre Labs and the cafe up pretty tightly after everything with Team Flare went down?”
“It wasn’t easy, but I convinced them to let us look around for today, since we haven’t been having much luck with the case so far. You’ll need to stay close to me the entire time, though. Understand?”
In reality, it had taken very little effort for Lars to convince those at the International Police to let him and Aston look around. He had a feeling they didn’t really care that much about this case, or what happened with it at all, just as long as Lars stayed sane. He wasn’t going to tell that to Aston, though – he had to try and maintain some level of respectability around the other man.
“Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Don’t worry, I can behave myself if I have to, believe it or not. I have my serious moments every now and then.” Aston said as he stood up, stretching his arms.
“I want to believe you, but sometimes I have my doubts.”
The walk to Cafe Lysandre was uneventful, with the pair walking alongside each other in relative silence.
Cafe Lysandre had certainly seen better days for sure. The once bustling cafe was now grungy and abandoned, no one wanting anything to do with such a location that held so many negative associations for Kalosians.
“You know, I never actually ate at this place. I always thought their food was totally overpriced, and I didn’t like Lysandre, even before he turned out to be a nutcase.” Aston told Lars casually, as if he were discussing a beat up old Poke Mart, and not a business owned by a man who had tried to wipe out the entire population.
“Really? You didn’t care for Lysandre much? I was under the impression he was fairly popular in Kalos before his involvement with Team Flare was revealed to the public,” Lars spoke before he could stop himself. He was supposed to be keeping Aston at a distance, and here he was, making casual chit chat!
“Well, sure, most people were all over him. I just disliked him ever since he gave my buddy’s ballet act a scathing review.”
“...You know, I don't really know what else I should have expected, knowing you. I suppose it doesn’t matter too much what you thought of him two years ago – he’s pretty universally disliked now, anyways. Let's just focus on the task at hand.” Lars grumbled out before examining the door to the cafe, which had been pretty thoroughly boarded up with sturdy planks of wood.
“Hmm, that looks like it might be a problem. Think you might be able to get one of your Pokemon to possibly smash it with–?” Aston began before being suddenly interrupted by Lars tearing off one of the planks with his own pure strength, no Pokemon needed.
Aston whistled impressedly at the sight of Lars tearing the boards off and tossing them behind him, not bothering to hide how he was admiring the detective’s physical strength.
For a split second Lars felt a slight sort of warmth rise up in his chest in response to Aston’s reaction. But he quickly gritted his teeth and buried that down, focusing on tearing off the remaining planks.
“There… that should be enough of an opening for us to get inside. Let's go.” Lars instructed Aston, a slight pant behind his voice.
“After you.” Aston bowed as he spoke, gesturing towards the entrance with his arm.
“Just, watch your step, okay? Who knows what kind of condition this place is in after being abandoned. The last thing I need is you falling through a hole in the floor.”
“Don’t want to deal with the paperwork if I break my arm – is that it?” Aston teased. Perhaps his habit of keeping up his laid back attitude even in the most serious of investigations made Aston a good counter to Lars’ hard as nails attitude, or perhaps it just made him immature.
Both possibilities were equally likely, as far as Lars was concerned.
“Something like that.” Lars muttered, not wanting to admit that in reality, the International Police would hardly bat an eye if a random civilian got hurt. He certainly couldn’t admit that he was looking out for Aston not out of some requirement from his job, but rather his own deep-seated desire to not let the man be hurt while he was around.
The two carefully walked into the building that had formerly been known as Lysandre Cafe. Aston mindlessly ran his finger over the dust covered countertop.
“Now, then, if my information on this case is correct, there should be an entrance to Lysandre Labs hidden somewhere in plain sight. We’ll need to search the cafe thoroughly. Lysandre was a criminal mastermind, after all – he probably left the entrance somewhere we’d never expect, so–”
“That cabinet looks pretty suspicious to me.” Aston quickly cut Lars off, already moving to pull it out of the way.
“Now, come on, lend me some of that strength you were showing off just now!”
The detective paused as the hidden passage to Lysandre Labs came into view, his jaw practically on the floor. Aston solved the problem in a mere matter of seconds, like he was the one who was the detective. Lars quickly did what he could to compose himself, though, helping Aston move the cabinet out of the way with a strong push (and an embarrassed blush on his face).
“I knew that was it! Honestly, I'm surprised Lysandre wasn’t caught earlier if he was this shabby at hiding his top secret hidden evil base.” Aston practically laughed out his words, as if he were pointing out the most obvious thing in the world.
Lars avoided eye contact to hide his embarrassment.
“Well… Lysandre was a well loved public figure – many will overlook the red flags when they’re coming from someone they admire.” Lars said in an attempt to sound smarter than he was currently feeling.
Aston just walked away with a careless shrug, heading towards the apparently not-so-hidden entrance of Lysandre Labs.
Saying that the space was in disarray would have been a compliment. The building was practically falling in on itself after just a couple years of abandonment, dirt and mold claiming every surface visible in the faint light.
…Not to mention the unsettling sound of a faint growling that made Lars' hair stand on edge.
Lars was about to give Aston a command to be on high alert, to tell him he didn’t trust this place, that he heard something breathing, to tell the man to be careful. But before he could get more than a syllable out from his throat, a sharp flash of light encased the room, taking Aston away just as quickly as it came, teleporting the man to who even knows where.
Shit.
His mind quickly began to race.
Every report Lars had read had stated that the power in Lysandre Labs had been cut off ages ago. that the hideout was nothing more than an abandoned chunk of concrete at this point – yet, apparently, they had enough of a power supply for the teleporters to still be functional.
And now, Aston was missing – he was missing and Lars didn't have the damndest clue where he could even possibly be. Aston could already be dead for all Lars knew, he’d be dead and it’d be all Lars’ fault. He had been the one who’d thought it to be a good idea to take Aston here, to involve him in his investigations – Lars should have just handled this matter all on his own, never even risked Aston getting close in the first place.
Aston had made the stupid mistake of trusting him and Lars was failing him, failing him just like failed his fiancée.
Almighty Arceus, he was going to lose him, just like he had lost his fiancée.
Lars grasped at his chest with desperate, shaky hands, his heart feeling like it was about to burst at any moment. Visceral images of that horrible day in Alola that the woman he loved died flashing through his mind in an almost never ending loop, as he struggled to stay on his feet.
“Aston!,” he cried out in desperation. “Aston, are you there?! Can you hear me?!”
“Yeah… I’m alright, Detective.” Aston reassured him, his voice muffled through the wall, “Are you alright, though?”
“How I'm doing isn’t important! What are your surroundings like?” Lars tried his best to force his words to be as steady as possible, though there still was an obvious shake in his voice that he couldn’t hide. Lars could only just pray the other man didn’t pick up on it, but his gut had a hunch he did.
“It’s just as dark over here, so it's hard to make much of anything out, but I'm pretty sure I can hear something moving around in the dark.” For once, Aston was the one being calm and level headed between the two.
Maybe Aston had always been like that underneath that carefree persona of his, and Lars just hadn’t been giving him enough credit.
The detective didn’t get the chance to reflect on that thought too much, though, as his mind began to race intrusively, hearing Aston’s comment that something was moving. His mind raced back to the breathing sound he had heard earlier in a panic. A sound he was now certain was getting louder.
“Stay where you are – let me come find you–”
“Don’t worry so much, Detective, me and Mismagius can handle ourselves just fine–”
Aston's words cut off with a sudden thud, and the increasing sound of something growling. Something that sounded like a Pokemon.
Just when Lars’s heart rate had finally started to slow down, it suddenly picked right back up again. The man felt like he might almost be sick from the sheer levels of panic that raced through his body.
Lars called out Aston’s name multiple times to no response, a familiar feeling of dread making his breathing quicken. Lars needed to find Aston, and he needed to find him quickly, especially with the growling from the other side of the wall getting louder and louder.
The detective’s next actions were a blur. With the room being as dark as it was, and Lars not being entirely sure which of the multiple teleporters Aston had accidentally set off, Lars found himself quickly running back and forth, trying all of them as quickly as he could. The decaying building filled up with sudden bursts of light and the repeating zapping noise of the teleporters going off.
Lars finally came to a stop when he found himself in a room where the growling reached its loudest. He found himself facing a scene where a rather unhappy looking Houndoom was inching ever closer to a trembling Aston backing himself up against the room's concrete wall.
In hindsight, Lars would realize that he had multiple options here: he could have sent out one of his Pokemon, or tried to distract the Pokemon away from Aston, giving him a chance to escape.
Currently, though, Lars’ brain was going off of pure adrenaline and the fear of losing another person he’d grown to care for, and so it decided its best option was to tackle the Houndoom with all the strength he had.
Aston watched in mild bewilderment as Lars struggled to wrestle the Pokemon onto the ground, the man wincing as its fangs and claws dug into his skin, blood beginning to soak the coat he was wearing. It wasn’t until Lars gave the Houndoom a firm kick in the stomach that the Pokemon was momentarily stunned, and the two were given a momentary opening.
“Get out of here!” He barked out at Aston. “Don’t just stand there looking dumb, move!”
“What about you, idiot? I’m not gonna let you get mauled to death either!”
“I can handle myself just fine! I’m more worried about you right now!”
“I’m not leaving without you!” Aston told him definitively. “You’ve stunned the thing more than enough to give both of us an opening – let's go.”
Ever a stubborn man, Lars opened his mouth to argue further, but Aston began to physically pull Lars away from the Pokemon and towards the teleporter. (Albeit, he did so with some struggle, given he did not have Lars’ upper body strength.)
“Fine– Dammit, I’ll go!” Lars grumbled defeatedly.
“You’re gonna pull your back at this rate.” The man quickly stood up, grabbing Aston by the wrist and dragging him over to the teleporter in a quick movement.
As soon as the two were in the clear, Lars let out a heavy sigh of relief, just about collapsing onto Aston out of both mental and physical exhaustion.
“Easy, there…” Aston comforted him, patting his back in a gentle motion. “It was awfully dashing of you to rush in to save me like that, even if you probably should have sent out your Staraptor instead.”
“Right… That probably would have been a wiser idea.” Lars admitted, still a bit out of breath and holding onto Aston for stability.
Lars was almost not embarrassed by the way the closeness made him blush… almost.
He had promised himself that he would never get close to anyone the way he had gotten close to his fiancée ever again. Telling himself that even being friends was too risky for the other person involved, that from then on out he would be working solo.
But over and over again, Aston made that difficult.
As much as he didn’t want to admit it, he cared about Aston. He wanted the man to be safe, and happy, and much more. He wanted to protect him from all the dangerous things in the world he had seen in his many years as a member of the International Police.
Possibly the thing Lars least wanted to admit?
He was starting to think he was starting to love the other man – his feelings for Aston had been sneaking up on him when he least expected it.
Maybe… Lars was actually contemplating if Aston was worth the risk of loving, after all.
“Listen–” Aston began, “I know you’re as stubborn as a Mudbray, but with how much of a beating you took earlier, I'm not letting you finish this investigation! And if your stupid higher ups have a problem with that, they'll have to deal with me, and I’ll tell them to stick it! So–”
“Okay, okay– I’ll go to the ER and get myself stitched up, I won’t fight you on that this time. Now, let's get out of here before we find out if that Houndoom has any friends.”
“Sounds like a plan, Detective. And… seriously, thank you for earlier. You probably saved my hide back there.”
For once, Lars smiled at that.
“I suppose I should be thanking you as well. I could have been in even worse shape if it weren't for you dragging me away when you did.”
For a quiet moment, the two didn’t move, just taking a breather – and maybe enjoying the close proximity a bit more than either would admit. But eventually, just as Lars was about to collapse from his earlier mauling, they started to move towards the exit, Lars relying on Aston for support.
Maybe getting closer to others was more important than some stupid work as a detective.
