Private/Closed The Disappearance of a Friend

[Merciless Medic]

Miel nodded, a little saddened at their apparent and preemptive rudeness when he gets to meet them. He looked out towards the pool and saw his Walrein, Lapras, and Milotic leave the pool and say their goodbyes to the resident Kingdra before making their way to Miel. Miel pressed three buttons lining the bottom of his satchel, which returned the three Pokemon, who were ready to go. He looked over at his more land-based creatures and they got in a line, including his Delibird. The four Pokemon then got sucked up into his satchel as he pressed their corresponding PokeBall buttons.

He wondered for a minute before looking up at Alex with a devious smile. "Normally, the guardians of the house have the option to allow cops and detectives in. Though, most people know not to do this as we tend to walk around the house and find evidence of anything. If her brother is there and not their parents, then we basically have free reign of the house without a warrant. Then we can come by when the parents arrive and get their eyewitness account."

Seeing his grand master plan unfold, he looked to Alex if this was okay to do. Hopefully, Sara's brother contacted them quickly.

 

[EmoKitty21]

Alex walked over to a table by the door and retrieved his phone. Typing in the password, Alex began to type a message to Sara's brother. With that done, Alex began his daily ritual of checking the pokefood that he had in his pantry. "I just texted Sara's brother. He is probably still asleep. He works as a bartender to pay for college. Zack and his parents are not on the best of terms. Zack was devastated when he found out that they kicked Sara out of the house. It took him a couple of months to go back to his normal joking self. Though with Sara gone, it was like a piece of him was gone as well."

Alex spoke about Sara's brother as he started packing up some of the jars he had on the shelves. He arranged them neatly in boxes, and sealed them shut. "If you are wondering what I am doing, I am packing up the pokefood that I make every week to take to a local pokemon shelter. They need a lot of help with some of the pokemon they have, and their funds are very limited, so every week I make pokefood for the pokemon there."

 

[Merciless Medic]

Miel nodded. That was very usual when something like that happened. If his parents ever disowned any of his siblings, he would be distraught and would never be the same. In fact, he may just as well disown his own parents.

It was at this time that his mind spiraled out of control into memory lane. He stood there as his mind's eye replayed events of 17 years ago. Back when his sister, Shade, and him were 13, it was around the time that they had hit puberty. She was a menace and couldn't be controlled. Common sense and a moral compass wasn't established before she hit puberty, so she did things that no normal child should. She scared him so bad that he had his first panic attack, she trashed her room, she scared her own Pokemon, she hurt bullies at school and ran before the teachers could see the actions, she frolicked with the Dark-Types who would hurt other people and Pokemon for no good reason, and she almost started stealing things from people. It was when her and Pyros had a tussle with each other that caused her to realize that she was in the wrong. If she had kept up her behavior, she would have likely been sent to some facility because even their parents couldn't control her.

Zooming back out of his memory lane, only a moment passed but to him it felt like a few minutes. He shook his head to clear his mind and to get him back on track. He looked over to see Alex pack up some Pokefood and smiled when he heard of his intentions. "My, aren't you the sweetest soul in Kalos," he teased before looking at his watch. "It's almost 8, we should get going. But here, I can help carry that."

Miel walked over and helped Alex with packing and carrying the food.

 

[EmoKitty21]

"Thanks." Alex took out a roll of large scotch tape and began to seal the boxes. There were two large boxes of food that had to be sealed. When that was done, Alex picked up one of the boxes. You would not think that the way he looked, he would be able to pick up a box that heavy, but the purple haired guy had a couple of years of practice at it.

"You know there are a lot of creatures out there that have it worse off then we do. Thinking back, I started doing more charity work after Sara disappeared. I think it was because I wanted to help her, and was not able to, so now I do more for others to rectify that. It pains me to see someone hurting. Which is why I always help when I can." Alex sat the large box outside of his front door to the left.

"I will be right back I am just going to change into something more for going out." With that Alex walked into his bedroom and changed into a pair of leggings, a sweater, and a pair of dark purple converse.

Walking out of the room, Alex was pounced on by Aipom, who landed on his shoulder swiftly. "Well good morning, Aipom. It is good to see you so happy this morning." Turning to Miel, he said. "A friend from the shelter will come by later to pick these up. I usually set them outside of my door when I am away. Since the gaurd at the front desk will only allow certain people in I do not have to worry about someone else running off with the food."

 

[Merciless Medic]

Miel sealed the package and didn't make much of a sound as he picked up the box and threw it on his shoulder like it was nothing. Chuckling at the weight, he teased Alex. "How much did you put in here? It is as light as a feather."

Miel knew the box contained pounds upon pounds of food. It probably was a good 40 pounds, but it wasn't enough to cause Miel to break a sweat. Being a ranch hand since he could walk really did wonders for his muscles. The muscles that rippled underneath his suit could actually be seen. Being as skinny as he is, the muscles made him looked almost twice as big, and he wasn't even flexing all of his muscles in his body, just his arm and back.

He set the box down next to the one Alex set down and listened as he talked. He then waited outside of the door for Alex to come back and he arrived back outside with his Aipom. Now they were ready.

He nodded and motioned for him to follow as he walked towards the entrance and made it out on the streets of Lumiose City. The stark contrast between the happy and cozy setting of Alex's apartment and the hustle and bustle of the city streets would have caused him an anxiety attack if he were 13. But he had taken his medication and he was more than accustomed to such a change.

Looking about, he looked over at Alex to make sure he was following him and then began walking to the left, and he kept an eye out for the police station. He kind of kept silent, as he didn't know what else to say. After a bit of silence on his end, he finally spoke. "You know, you are pretty sweet and generous. I don't understand why Sarah would disappear on you and won't contact you, even though you two were best of friends. Maybe her leaving behind the ring and possibly taking your painting might be a way to contact you. But, I digress. I will treat this as two scenarios at the same time, so I can see more of the picture instead of blindly thinking of just one."

He looked over at Alex, smiling as he gave him that compliment before keeping a vigilant eye out in front of him and on each side of the road.

 

[EmoKitty21]

Alex chuckled at the teasing it was kind of sweet of Miel. Miel seemed like someone who was not really social. That made the purple haired 23 year old feel a lot better about their growing relationship. Through the walk, Alex easily navagated his way around the other pedestrians on the sidewalks.

"You know I think about that all the time. I do not know why she would leave the ring. It was something she treasured dearly. She hardly ever took it off. If she did leave the ring to try and get in touch, then I must have missed the clues. It is quite possible that she could have done it to send me a message, but why I do not know."

 

[Merciless Medic]

Nodding, he thought some more before spotting the police station. He gestured to it and continued their conversation about the possibilities. "Well, it will say so on the ring and the location of where it was obtained. Let's cross the street."

As the light hit red, Miel crossed the road, walking at a brisk pace so as to beat the light with plenty of time. As he hit the other end of the crosswalk, he turned and waited for Alex before continuing his travel towards the police station.

As Miel walked up to the station, it still held some rustic feel. The station itself needed an upgrade, as it had brick walls, old style font above the automatic sliding doors, and a couple of windows on its front. It was still a big police station and had all of its rooms it needed, but the only upgraded thing about it was the automatic sliding doors and even those needed to be upgraded to match the feel of the city.

As Miel walked into the police station, he had to take a deep breath in as he scoured the area. The inside was completely different from the outside. The floor was linoleum, the walls were white and there was a reception up front. To the right was a door for personnel only, while the left was a hallway with a security gate. No weapons allowed when coming in, unless you were an officer. At the front of the desk, which had a large bulletproof pane of glass protecting the receptionists from the occasional cuffed criminals coming in, there were two police officers holding a guy by each arm with a secure grip, and the guy was cuffed. He was entering in his information and was generally silent except when asked for information. He sounded drunk, as well.

Miel had to squint from the bright LED lights from above before getting adjusted to the brightness and he walked to the other lady. Flipping up his ID, the woman nodded before Miel continued. "This is Alex, a witness who knew of Sarah before she disappeared. He is helping me on the cold case. May he come in with me and review the case files?"

The woman took a moment before calling someone to request entry. After a moment, she nodded and pointed him towards the gate. Miel thanked her and walked up to the gate, where there was a police officer manning it. Miel gave the man his ID and the man used a light and a scanner to verify his identity and that his card was legit. Seeing that it was, he gave him the card back and looked at Alex before gesturing him over to get his ID checked and to put him through the security gate, while Miel simply walked through.

The man said: "I need you to empty everything from your pockets, take off your shoes, set them all here on this belt, and then walk through."

Like all security gates, there was a little bucket to put your small things in and a belt with a box it goes through that scans them.

 

[EmoKitty21]

Alex walked the rest of the way in silence. He would reach a hand up to pet his shiny aipom every now and then. It was a way for him to calm his mind, it helped to know that the pokemon was there for him through a lot of rough times.

Alex took off his shoulder bag once they reached the security gate. He openned up on of the side pockets of his very organized bag, and pulled out a large wallet that held his ID and other information. Handing it to the guard, he took off his boots, and then empties his pocket that included his Eevee Phone. That was the only other thing that he had on him at the time besides his bag.

 

[Merciless Medic]

The man took his belongings and scanned it through the box and motioned for Alex to walk on through. The light stayed green and the man nodded and motioned for Alex to take his things. Miel smiled and led the way as he took many turns to get to their destination, which was the archival room that held the cold cases and more. He looked for the missing person's boxes and then found a folder in a file cabinet that had Sarah written on the tab of the Manila folder. Taking it of the s section, he took the folder and exited the room, only to go into another room that had a table and a couple chairs and some cabinets and a sink. It was pretty bare bones compared to other rooms and Miel set the folder on the table.

Opening it up revealed a ring found at the site, a drawing and a picture rendition of the site, the officer's notes who was on duty at the time of the site, and then background information on Sarah, Alex, and some officer notes on the background information. He paused and realized he was missing something and exited the room. He walked past the cold case archival room and found the archival room with the current cases being investigated. He found a copy of the folder that had Alex's missing painting. An officer was on duty at the time and put down notes, as well as eye witness testimonies of the event and beforehand, as well as pictures of the crime scene and the entire map layout of the museum and the list of staff members.

He brought this folder, which was thinner than the cold case, to the investigation room and laid them out in front of him. He didn't sit down, as he thought better standing up. He began looking at the scene where the ring was found. He then asked Alex without looking at him. "Where did you say this was again?"

He took a moment to look over the background information and the officer's notes on the subjects. The officer was suspecting Alex of placing the ring there, as the officer was not hopeful that Sarah is still alive or wanted to come back. But he also was wondering if she was kidnapped, but put more importance on the fact that Sarah ran off, possibly with another person due to the events that took place right beforehand.

It seemed like the officers did question her parents, but they didn't get a whole lot of answers to their questions - just bigoted snarky comments about their daughter.

Realizing how difficult this was going to be, Miel sighed and sat down. He took out his eyeglasses, as he forgot to put in his contacts, and began reading everything. He looked up at Alex and nodded towards the case files. "You can look through them if you like. I will have to ask that you keep the ring in the plastic baggie though, and if you do handle it, please say so. I have to write down our names and how long we were in possession of it, so we don't get into trouble for tampering with evidence."

The other file that had the missing painting case had the officer's notes saying that this act of stealing could potentially be connected with the cold case, but how he didn't know. But he was suspecting a kidnapping. Possibly a psychotic stalker/lover. The notes talked about how they found fingerprints, but they didn't match that of Alex or any of the staff members or regulars of the museum there, or any of the artists that supply the museum with art.

 

[EmoKitty21]

"The ring was found in a box. It was adressed to me. I opened the box and the only thing inside was the ring. Who ever put the ring in the box did a very good job of covering their tracks as the only finger prints were mine and the people's who handled the box in the post office." Alex took out his sketch pad and begun to draw some as to help clear his mind a bit. Though he did want to read what was in the folders, he did not want to be overwhelmed by it.

"If they found finger prints of the someone who did not work at the museum or any of the regulars, then could you not run the prints through the children identifaction card system. In our school we had to have a missing child's ID in case of emergency and the child is lost. If the person who stole the painting was in the school system around here then they might have the fingerprints on file." Alex let his mind wonder as he drew. He always did his best drawing when he let his mind wonder.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Miel nodded, wondering if it was really that simple. An informational database that held the fingerprints of all the students at their school... Weird. He took that knowledge and jotted it down in his notebook to check out later. Even though he was a little technology inept, he had someone here who could help him with the computer, which can help him access the database. He wrote down on the evidence handling page who handled the evidence and at what time they did so before reviewing the rest of the case. The information he was gathering from police testimony was that her parents were not understanding her homosexuality, so she left them. One day she was there, the next she was gone, which was what they likened it to. Why would she just run away like that? Something was telling him there was another person involved.

He asked Alex, his eyes not looking up from the folder of evidence, "What did Sarah say to you before she left? Did she give any hints as to who may have helped her? I have a sneaking suspicion she wasn't alone on this. And did she have any Pokemon?"

He then checked the status of the ring. His eyes couldn't find anything that was of any use, so he gave the ring to Alex to see if he could see anything on it. "I also can't seem to find anything on the ring. If there is any fine print or scratch marks, you would easily see it better than I can."

He then checked the missing painting section. There seemed to be a hallway that led from the back of the museum, where the large garage door was to bring in statues of art, all the way to the holding area where the art would then be taken to be displayed on the main public floor of the museum. Problem was, this hallway was gigantic and linear. Nobody could have gotten through the hallway without being seen by the cameras or a staff member. Was a Pokemon or someone aiding her? Or did she merely take a different path, like blend in with the populous? He couldn't wrap his head around as to how she got there and stole the painting, if she did so, but he had a gut feeling she did steal the painting. But how did she do it?

 

[EmoKitty21]

Alex did not want to put any finger prints on the ring, so he took out some cotton gloves he kept in his art supplies. They were made for charcoal as the medium is quite messy to work with. After picking up the ring, Alex studied the ring. His eyes were tained to pick up even the smallest detail that most would miss.

What surrpirsed him the most was that there was a large hairline scratch that was on the inside of the ring. Though he must have been mistaken it lookes to on continuous word. Though it was more then one word, they were just all bunched together. "You know I did not ever look at the ring closely before. I mainly let the police handle it as I was too distraught. Well it looks like there was something carved into the ring. Here let me try something."

Alex took out his charcoal pencil and a sheet of very flexible paper, and laid the paper on the inside of the ring. Using the pencil, he was able to make an imprint of the scratch. It looked like the scratch said, "Under the large meadow tree the prize will be found." Though the words seemed to circle around the ring twice to fit it all.

"I am surprised no one found that scratch before. Though I am sure not many in the police are trained to spot this type of thing." Alex took a moment to think about what Miel had asked him.

"Before she left, Sara said that she was going to come out to her parents. I do not know why she had the change of heart as she wanted to wait until she had a nice job of her own before she told them. The only reason I would think she would tell them is if she had met someone. My guess is that she may have met a girl who wanted to get serious. It must have been fairly recent as we had an agreement that if we found someone to love we would tell the other after about a month to make sure it was the real deal. Sara has always been pretty smart for her age. Though most would not get that from the way she looked. Sarah was very model like in beauty."

Alex took off the gloves and put away the charcoal pencil. He ran a hand through his hair and rested it on Aipom who snuggled into the crook of Alex's neck. "The gallery would have had cameras in the hallway where they bring in pictures and sulptures, if the person who took the painting went that way then they would have been seen. Though it would have been harder for someone to take it disguised as a patron as they are watched like hawks. Only the artist and gallery staff are allowed to touch the artwork if needed... Though if soneone was more tech savvy, then they could find a way around the cameras if they really wanted to. If they have some level in hacking or knows someone who could do, couldn't they just make a loop of the empty hallway and the replay that over and over until the person taking the painting was out?" Alex had once again started to draw. He knew that some of his ideas were out there, but that mainly came from his mind and how he worked a canvas when he painted or drew something.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Miel watched as Alex saw something on the ring and began to do the process on getting it on paper. When it was read, Miel knew their plan of action. This was their major lead and they really needed to follow it quickly. This was amazing. He could feel the rush of adrenaline and dopamine flow through his body and brain, exciting him.

"We'll see the camera footage of the museum and see what's missing. But before that, we should pay a visit to this meadow. I don't think we'll need to talk to her parents, but I would like to see her house. But the meadow comes first. Let's put everything back before we leave."

Miel set all the evidence back in the folders and set them in the boxes. He wrote down the time that they had put the box away on the time sheet taped to the boxes and set it back in the rooms they belonged in. Now, it was time to get there. He motioned for Alex to follow him and he immediately left the building, going through a little gate next to the security check, which was only for people exiting the building. Once he made his way out of the building, he looked to Alex. "Shall we use one of our Pokemon to get there? Do you have any because I do have one Pokemon I can call that should still be out here."

 

[EmoKitty21]

Alex knew that he did not have any flying types that could carry him as he did not own any. He always walked where he needed to. "I actually do not have a pokemon that can fly me anywhere. When I need to I use the airport here to get to other towns that or I just walk. The meadow is actually not that far out of town. We could walk as me and Sarah used to do most of the time."

Aipom nuzzled into Alex. He was glad that his human was in a good mood. It was a good thing from where the monkey pokemon was concerned.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Miel nodded, but he wanted to get there faster, but, he'll allow a longer trek. They still had time, as it was still before noon. He began walking, but stopped short as he wanted Alex to lead. "You should probably lead the way. I have no idea where I'm going," he chuckled. "Usually, I like to get things done quickly to race against the sun, but we have time to walk there and back. I have a feeling we can take shortcuts in this. If this gets us that much closer to Sarah, then hooray." He was unusually cheery and excited, which could be seen on his facial features. His eyes were smiling (yes, that is a phrase and you can see it), and he had a perpetual smile on his face. Once Alex takes the lead, he'll walk alongside him.

 

[EmoKitty21]

"It is not far from here actually." Alex began to walk along the path to the exit of the city. It was on the northern side that they came to a small path that led into a dense clump of trees. Alex started to explain how they found the meadow for Miel.

"When me and Sara were younger, we used to play around in the area infornt of these tree for years. Once we were a little older we found this path by accident one day. It leads to the meadow that we used to go to. It is home to many kinds of pokemon that are featured in the painting."

 

[Merciless Medic]

Miel nodded and followed alongside Alex to the meadow. When they reached the grouping of trees, he smiled. It did seem like a hidden grotto, like those found in Unova. Instead of a grotto, it's a meadow.

He walked through the trees and saw the meadow just as how it was portrayed in Alex's painting. There were a few Pokemon running around and playing, while there were others he figured were hiding from him. Smiling, he looked over to Alex. "This place is absolutely stunning. I could see why she would choose this place to tell you."

In the distance, he could see the large meadow tree the ring spoke of. He walked towards the tree, careful to not spook too many of the Pokemon. Some of them looked at him curiously, others followed him, while others hid away in fright. Some of them even recognized Alex and cried out in glee.

 

[EmoKitty21]

Alex had stopped in front of the tree. He was glad fo see that the place was untouched by others. It still remained hidden and out of sight of prying eyes. A very large espeon came out from behind the tree to great Alex. He knelt down to her level, and started to rub her neck. "Hey there girl. It has been a long time since I have seen you. I am sorry for not coming sooner, it was just hard after what happened to Sarah. I promise to come see you guys more though."

The espeon rubbed her head against Alex and his Aipom. She was truly happy to see the guy that she grew very fond of. If she was not the protector of the meadow, she would have went with the breeder. Though as he mentioned Sarah, she walked behind the tree and brought out a neatly wrapped box. The brown papper was darker with age, but other then that it was well preserved. She brought it to Alex for him to open.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Miel smiled and he walked up to Alex and knelt down. He saw the Espeon had given Alex something. Interested, he peered at the box and saw it was in fairly good condition. He didn't know when Alex received the ring, but knew that it must have been some time ago, but not too long. He decided to let Alex open it and extended his hand out to the Espeon to have her smell him.

"Hello, there, Espeon. I am a friend of Alex. Thank you for taking care of the box," he said as he gratefully looked at the Espeon with soft eyes and a thought ran across his mind. And thank you for taking care of Alex.

 

[EmoKitty21]

Alex had a bit of hesitation to open the box. He knew it was from Sarah she was the only other person who knew about this meadow, so she had to be the one to place it there.

Once he was over that he carefully opened the paper. What was revealed was a small jeawlery box. It was silver and dark purple. Opening it, caused a wave of relief to come over Alex. Inside was a picture of Sarah and a beautiful girl two years older then she was. It was when she was 16 about a week after she disappeared. Inside was an address to a town house in Anistar City. There was also a note inside. It read as followed.

"Dear Alex,
I am writing this to let you know that I am going to be ok. I have met the most amazing girl, and she has taken me to her townhome in Anistar city. I left clues for you to follow to find me. I did not want to have my parents force me back home when I want to be free, so I hide a way for you to get to me. If you do not show up, I will find someway to help you get started.
Love your friend,
Sarah."

Alex had tears in his eyes as he read the letter. He was a bit emotional because of the content of the letter. Aipom tried to comfort Alex the best he could.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Smiling, Miel felt like the case is about to be closed. He wrapped his arm around Alex's shoulders and brought him in for a hug to comfort him. He was just as relieved though, happy she was okay and that her love interest helped her out of this situation. He gut feeling was correct. She ran away with someone's help.

He read the letter over and smiled. He knew a way to get to Anistar City.

He gave Alex a moment to cry before asking, "I do know of a way to get there quickly. Do you want to fly?"

 

[EmoKitty21]

It took Alex a bit to stop the waterworks, but when he was done, he looked to the man who wrapped his arm around him, and turned to Miel. He pulled the blue haired man into a loving kiss. He put everything that he had into it. He wanted Miel to know what he felt for him.

After he released Miel from the kiss, Alex looked into the man's blue eyes. "Yes I would love to get their as fast as we can. If we need to fly then I do not mind, but Aipom will have to be put into my bag, as he hates being inside of his pokeball."

 

[Merciless Medic]

When Miel got pulled into a kiss, he was a little stunned, but went with it anyway. It felt extremely nice and he held Alex closer to him. It felt like their mystery was about to be solved.

As they pulled away, he smiled and looked deep into Alex's own eyes. He nodded before standing up and helping Alex up. He then pulled out his PokeGear and texted his brother if he could borrow his Charizard. The brother got back immediately and had accepted the request. In a moment, a flash of light and a breeze went by the duo as a Charizard emerged from the light. She was Teleported here.

Zarda looked at Miel and walked over to him, giving him a lick on the cheek and pulling him into a hug. Miel giggled and hugged back. He pulled away and introduced Alex to Zarda. "Alex, this is my brother's Charizard, Zarda. Zarda, this is my boyfriend, Alex," he felt pretty proud in saying that. He continued. "We need to get to Anistar City. Can you help us get there?"

Zarda nodded. Seeing as she already had her saddle on, she got on all fours to allow them to climb up her back. Being 6'07", she had the size and strength to carry them both around.

 

[EmoKitty21]

"Well I am glad to kbow that your family has means to do this sort of thing. Thank you for helping me with this." Alex stood up with the man's help, and giggled as he saw the charazard lick Miel. He was glad to see the love that she had for someone not her trainer.

Aipom climbed down into Alex's shoulder bag, and bundled himself up inside. He had a blanket around him and fell asleep as his friend climbed onto the back of the large fire type.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Miel smiled and hopped on after Alex, choosing to sit behind him. He grabbed a hold of the edge of the saddle in front of Alex, snaking his arms around him for a brief moment in doing so. Curiously enough, there were know reigns or anything around Zarda's neck. He sat his chin on Alex's shoulder and smiled. "We use our body weight to lean her in different directions. But for now, she is on autopilot, as she knows where Anistar City is. She usually flies gentle, so you don't need to hold the edge of the saddle too hard. Plus, I'm behind you, and I'll make sure you don't fly off."

With that, Zarda huffed and flapped a couple of times to get off the ground. Then four huge flaps and they were off to Anistar City. They climbed the sky higher and higher, reaching the low-hanging clouds. Miel kept his arms around Alex and stared at the now tiny Kalos below them. It was beautiful. The sun was now past its zenith and has descended a little. Miel guessed it was about 3 in the afternoon.

Ahead, they could see the sundial, marking Anistar City. Zarda kept a relatively nice and even pace the entire time, making sure the ride was as smooth as possible. She didn't want to embarrass Miel. That was Pyros's and Todo's job.

 

[EmoKitty21]

Alex really enjoyed the ride that he had. It helped that his boyfriend was behind him to make sure he did not fall off. It also just felt right to have the arms around him. Even though he did not fly on pokemon much, he knew how to do it.

When they arrived at Anistar City, Alex directed Zarda to the adress of the townhome. The place was very well kept and in a bit of an older section of the city. It was a bit darker then most of the other homes around it, but it was just as quant and beautiful.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Zarda softly landed near the front of the home and bent down, allowing Miel and Alex to slide off. Now that they were here, it was time to investigate if Sara was still here. Miel helped Alex off by giving his hand for him and then walked over to the door. He allowed Alex to knock, since she was his friend. He stood a ways from the door to let them have some space, once she comes out.

 

[EmoKitty21]

Alex stood in front of the door. He knew that Sara had to be on the other side. Everything led up to that being the case. Knocking on the door, he grabbed the hand of Miel to give him a bit of comfort. He stood there with the blue haired man and his pokemon for what seemed like hours, but it was only a few minutes at most.

The person who opened the door was Sara. She was a bit older about the same age as Alex, but she still had the same look as before. She was still as beautiful as the day she left. Though something she was not expecting was to be hugged by Alex as soon as he saw her.

He had tears in his eyes. It took him a bit to get it under control, but once he did, he leaned back and smacked Sara on the back of the head.

"Hey what was that for Alex. I don't see you for a long time and you smack me on the head?!" Even though she was a bit upset about being smacked, she had a small smirk on her face.

"Take that smirk right off your face. That is what you get for having me go on a wild ducklet chase. For years you have left me a trail to follow, and you know how bad I am with those things." Alex had his hands on his hips, and tried to act stern, but he could not keep a straight face for long. He ended up laughing, and Sara joined in.

Sobering up, Alex took Miel's hand, and brought him forward. "Sara I would like you to meet my boyfriend Miel. Miel this is the crazy woman I painted in the picture. I am guessing yhat you are the one that took it?" Sara nodded when he asked that question. Alex just shook his head.

"Come on in guys. I want you to meet someone. They have been a lot of help for me. Especially getting out of Lumiose to here." With that Sara led Alex and Miel into the house. The place was very well furnished with accents of blacks, purples, and dark greens in the place. The feel was very clean and modern dispite the homey atmosphere.

Sara led them to a large room, and there above the fireplace, was the stolen painting. It fit the room very well, and seemed to match the place perfectly, as if the painting and the room was ment to be. On the couch sat another woman who was on a very advanced laptop.

She had glasses on the bridge of her nose, and dark green hair. She was a more subtle beauty compared to Sara. Though her dark brown eyes, shown a light when Sara entered the room. The love that she felt was still there even after all the years they were together.

"Alex, Miel, I would like you to meet the love of my life, Viviane Merdew. She has helped me countless times to get over my fears and be with her. V, I would like to introduce you to Alex, and his boyfriend Miel."

 

[Merciless Medic]

Miel squeezed Alex's hand to comfort him, when Sara opened the door. He watched as the two reconciled with each other after having been gone and needing to chase her down with vague hints. He just chuckled in his deep voice and smiled as he bowed his head a little when being introduced to her. He walked in and absolutely loved the place. He wasn't a fan of the colors, but everything looked amazing. He followed Alex and Sara and saw Viviane. Smiling, he bowed his head at her, as well.

He looked at the painting and chuckled. "How did you manage to take the painting without the cameras taking any footage of you?" he inquired.

 

[EmoKitty21]

"Well I guess that is my handy work. As I am the one who came up with the plan." Vivane spoke for the first time since the two walked in. She motioned them to a large glass table so they could see the screen on the laptop.

Pulling up several apps, V showed them what she had done. "Taking the camera offline was not hard from a remote location, the tricky part was to have a video feed put onto loop of the hallway to the gallery where the painting was." With that V pulled up the program she used to remotely change the feed to the day before where the hallway was empty except for a couple of boxes.

"That is what was played while Sara here went in dressed as one of the artists bringing in one of their works. Then as Sara took the painting, she took both the painting she brought in and the one Alex painted. It was not hard for people to believe that she was an artist packing up her painting for sale. Which happens quite a lot."

 

[Merciless Medic]

Miel smiled at the trick. "Well, how did I not come up with that?" he asked rhetorically. He admired her handiwork nonetheless and felt that the painting they put up in the house fit the place very well. "Well, I will have to take down the case and say that you have been found and the paintings were put in their proper places. And don't worry. I'll make sure your parents won't know if they come asking. Not that they will, knowing what kind they are after Alex so succinctly described them. Anyway, thank you for taking care of Sara. The goose chase was a little fun," he smirked and playfully looked at Alex, who seemed to not be having a great time with the idea of finding his best friend through a wild goose chase.

 

[EmoKitty21]

"Well we have had an eye on that painting for a long time. We had hoped to ask for it in person, but this one here had not found all of the clues yet." Sara smiled as she teased her friend. She looked happy to have him back into her life again.

Alex had a bit of pout on his face as she said that, but it slowly morphed into a smile. The room really did go well with the painting. He would have given it to her nonetheless, but he would have liked for her to have asked for it.

"Well sometimes it takes someone else to show you the perspective that they see to find the clues. I am glad to see that you care for one another Alex and Miel." Viviane spoke to the purple and blue haired men. She was glad to see her girlfriend's best friend find someone who loved him as she loved Sara.

Sara looked to Miel, and noded. "Yeah that will probably be best. Me and my parents are not really on speaking terms. Though my brother and I have been emailing." Turning to Alex, she saw that he was about to have a bit of a fit that her brother knew and did not tell him anything. "Now before you get mad at my brother, I had asked him not to tell you. I wanted you to find me yourself. Besides it was only recently that he found the clues for him as well."

 

[Merciless Medic]

"Huh, smart," Miel muttered. He then smiled as he put a hand on Alex's shoulder. "I mean, the wild Swanna chase was fun, you got to admit. Thank you for the game. I figured you wouldn't get yourself kidnapped, especially after I heard about your parents. I'm just glad we found you." He then thought for a moment before speaking again. "Is there anything else we would like to talk about?"

While Alex and the two girls were talking, Miel heard a beep on his PokeGear. Flipping it open, it was a text message from his brother, Pyros. It said, #I heard about your boyfriend already. Would you like to show him our ranch?#

First of all, how did he know? Whatever. He just sighed and pocketed his PokeGear after sending a quick reply. #If he's up for it.#

 

[EmoKitty21]

Alex loved that he was able to just talk with Sara like they used to. The two seemed to be make up for old times. They shared more of what their life had become since they were teens. "You know I am so glad that we have made up so much time. It is like we have never even had a day away from each other."

Sara smiled as she responded. "Yeah it gets even better now that I can share my life with you. You know I am very proud of the work you do around Lumiose city." She saw the look that Alex had about what she said. "Oh come on not many famous artists take on the task of supplying a whole animal rescue with food each and every week. I know it takes you hours to make the food that you do."

Alex looked a little sheepish, and turned his head to glance at Miel. He smiled as he looked to the blue haired man. It seemed that his smile reached eyes as well, since they seemed to shine with joy. "It is not really a big deal. I am just happy to help when I can. I hate that there are pokemon out there who need the help they provide. If I was able to take them all with me then I would, but I will try to do the next best thing. So Miel who was your message from?"

 

[Merciless Medic]

Miel was very proud at the fact that Alex did what he could to help Pokemon around him. He wrapped his arm around Alex's shoulder in response to his sheepish behavior before mumbling how cute he was. Helping the Pokemon so readily was one of the qualities about him that made him love him so much. On the subject on who contacted him, he smiled towards Alex. "That was one of my brothers. He asked if you would like to come by to our home."

 

[EmoKitty21]

"I would love to see where you live Miel. Besides I have a painting that I want to give to your family." Alex smiled even brighter after he felt the arm around him. He loved being in close proximity to the one he loved. He just seemed to glow with the love he felt.

Aipom who had been asleep this whole time, jumped out Alex's bag, and lept towards Sara, who got a tight hug from the shiny pokemon. It seemed that Aipom missed her as well. Especially when he started to tell her off for being gone so long. Alex could do nothing but laugh.

 

[Merciless Medic]

Miel chuckled at the adorable sight before him. Goodness was this Aipom a little upset. He smiled as Alex offered to give his family a painting. He checked the time and he realized it was getting nearer to 5 pm, and they hadn't eaten lunch in this excitement. "Oh, shall we eat here for... What's lunch and dinner combined? Linner? Dunch? Oh well, shall we eat in good company before we leave?" he asked Sara and V. Meanwhile, three of Miel's Pokemon left their confines to see what was going on. His Vaporeon, Glaceon, and Alolan Ninetales looked about at the interesting decor before settling their eyes on Sara and V. Vaporeon walked right up to Sara and V and rubbed her head and sides on their legs like a Purrloin, while Glaceon waved his paw and sat down where he was. Alolan Ninetales walked over to Miel and nuzzled his pant leg before walking over to Sara and V. She went over to V and set her snout on her hand, wanting to be pet. Miel chuckled.

"My Pokemon love affection. Excuse them if it bothers you. Although, I have a feeling you two don't mind," stated Miel.

 

[EmoKitty21]

"Of course you can stay for dinner. It is actually almost done anyways." Sara said as she reached down to pet the Vaporeon. She loved that the water type was so affectionate. Though she did have to hug Aipom a bit to get him to calm down as he had missed her. V could do nothing but laugh at the site.

Though she did pet the Alolan Ninetails before she went into the kitchen. When V retruned, she had her hands full with the meal. It seemed that there was enough for all of them. "There is plenty. Go ahead and take a seat and we can eat."

 

[Merciless Medic]

Miel nodded and helped V with bringing the food out and setting them either on the table or on the floor in bowls for their Pokemon before pulling out a seat for Alex. Miel then thanked Sara and V for their hospitality.

Miel's Vaporeon, Glaceon, and Alolan Ninetales sat by the table and, once their food was served, they began hungrily eating all the food that was in their bowls.

 

[EmoKitty21]

Alex smiled at how gentlemanly Miel was being. He loved that he would do that for him. As most of his pokemon were at home, he fed Aipom who sat in the chair next to Sarah. When she would look at him, he gave her a bit of look. Alex laughed at the sight. "I think you have a bit of work to do Sara. Aipom is giving you that look, you know the one he gets."

Sara could only laugh as she noticed. "Come on Aipom it is not like I just up and left without a way for you guys to find me."