Washington DC

"The hell do you mean he got shot?!" Greene shouts.

"Police got reports of gunshots near the La'Enfant Plaza metro stop sir. When the EMTs go there they found Mr. Ayala on the ground in front of the entrance to the station, he was shoot fifteen times, whoever did this really wanted him gone" A voice over the phone

Greene runs his big paws through his thick hairlike fur, "Was a statement put out yet?"

"Already done sir"

"When the ballistics report is ready send it to me"

"Got it sir"

Greene pushes a button on the reciever and leans back into his chair. Braxton was an obstacle in his way but he never wanted him to get attacked though. The Arcanine gets up from his chair and goes upstairs to pay a visit to the surveillance division. He goes up to a Pangoro sitting at a desk, the Pokémon looks up at Greene and stops eating his chips.

"Have you found anything on Ayala's attacker?" Greene asks.

"Not yet, but I have seen something like this before while I was stationed in Budapest, a scientist from Poland was on his way home in Rome when he was gunned down in a crowd of people, guess where she used to work at?"

"... I don't know, wait... Kai Industries?"

"Bingo"

"Well then... Looks like we're gonna need to have a chat with one of our visitors" Greene says.

"Also the ballistics report you asked for came in not too long ago. This gun has custom ammo... Doesn't use any of the usual shit"

"Well that's not really surprising now... Keep me posted" Greene says, walking away.

"Yes sir-"

---

Washington DC VA Medical Centre

Braxton squints as the sunlight hits his eyes, it stings but he's happy to be alive. The Garchomp lifts his hospital gown to see all the bandages, he winces as he adjusts the position he's laying in, he can't move an inch without his torso begging for mercy.

"Great" He says.

Delevio and Keyen arrive in the room, the Glaceon wearing a fancy white coat and Keyen in a regular jacket. When Ayala looks over at them he grunts and squeezes his eyes shut for a second, he immediately notices Delevio holding a bouquet of flowers and a sense of dread hits him almost immediately.

"Even better" Braxton mutters.

"Are you done?" Delevio responds, putting the flowers in the vase by the window.

"Lemme guess, you're here to finish the job?"

Delevio laughs for a moment, "Mister Ayala, if we wanted to have you killed, we would have done a much better job at it unlike that dumbass"

"Well that's pretty reassuring..." Braxton retorts.

"Look we just wanna know what happened dude" Keyen says.

Braxton looks up at the ceiling and lets out a pained grunt.

"Honestly? You wanna know what happened? I saw my entire life flash before my eyes. I saw a Gengar. Blue hoodie, his face was completely hidden... It's all a blur, but I don't have a shadow of a doubt as to why this happened. The Metro was as usual, which means VERY Crowded. Of all the mons there were to potentially attack, the bastard had to choose me? I don't see how this' just terribly convenient. I was a target, not a random victim. That Gengar wanted me dead, and I doubt it was some radical acting on their own accord..."

"Yeah we gathered that much" Keyen responds.

He coughs as he sits up on the bed, "You can't tell me at least one of those foreign ambassadors didn't have a hand in this. You really expect me to believe they weren't infuriated by the jury not seeming convinced, by me simply defending a friend from a fate he doesn't deserve. This was just a trial to end something, to get closure on this chapter of our lives. Instead, some hitman tried to take me out... Oh god, What happens to the trial now?!"

"Right now, we don't know. We're investigating everymon involved, in the meantime, they're probably going to assign Rico another lawyer though-" Delevio says, leaning on the nightstand.

"You mean some spineless, third rate lawyer who will try to get Rico to take a deal or who will try to get Rico to plead guilty on All charges..."

"What? No..." Delevio responds.

"You can't look me in the eyes and tell me you don't want me off the case, Miss Botellavici. Tell me, You claim to know Rico well. What's he like, in ALL your prior experience?"

"Even outside of the courtroom he manages to stir up a storm" Keyen mutters.

"Are you kidding me?! First off, no we did not want you off the damn case, you're annoying but we don't want you off the case necessarily. Second, the Rico we knew and loved was a gentle guy, a caring Lucario with a bright future, one capable of hurting people but he had his heart in the right place. But then all because we were trying to arrest his beloved brother, he did a complete 180, threw us off guard and hurt us" Delevio responds.

"Mhm... So you admit YOU'RE the ones who caused his change in behavior?"

"He did on his own, what are you talking about?"

"What I mean Miss Botellavici is Luke is almost quite literally the only family Rico has left. Their mother is constantly busy, and their father killed by the Surren forces. He lost Luke once, and my guess is, now that he had the Opportunity to actually prevent that, to be there for his brother this time, to avoid Luke going missing for another 6 years... He jumped on the chance. Just because he didnt witness his father's murder doesn't mean he does not carry that trauma from his childhood."

"That's great, but that doesn't change the fact that he still backstabbed us and violated several agency ethics codes"

"You put yourself in a lose-lose situation. You threw Luke out. You pushed him away when he needed you most. Yes, he can be... hardheaded and proud sometimes. But you're the first girl I've ever seen get through that layer of him... yet when the Opportunity arose? You folded under pressure and took an easy way out."

"Luke lost his shit because I blew the whistle on his illegal activities, if I was really pushing him away I would let him continue to fight in the underground ring-"

"And then you asked Rico to choose between locking his brother away for... what, alleged tampering? Luke was tracked by those agents, Their injuries were a result of Luke defending himself. So you really could've avoided ALL this... if you had just been a good partner, stopped, and listened. If you'd just let the mon blow off some steam, if you'd let him be there for his kids... everything would've righted itself."

"He attacked other agents on a separate case and interrupted quite a few of our operations. Also do you hear yourself? Let him fight in illegal fight clubs? Let him fight criminals? Let him kill someone? To blow off steam?! Are you fucking kidding me?! I would prefer a Lukarin who wasn't battered and bruised everytime he came home unless it's for an honest days work protecting our country like he's supposed to!"

"Instead of listening to his frustrations, you pressed on. You took extreme measures and wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars chasing down someone who was not an international threat to the security of everymon. They only sought their survival, yet any collateral damage was due to that batshit crazy agent that Greene sent after them. I guess that's why you should never send a sociopath to take out a super soldier."

"It is the agencies job to bring in rogue agents and former ones, like Luke, who go off the rails! What should we do sit back and do nothing?! Fuck that!"

"Is there a problem here?" An orderly says from the door in a gruff voice.

"Get out!" Delevio and Braxton scream at the same time.

Keyen shrugs, the orderly grumbles and walks away from the room. Delevio takes a deep breath and runs on the back of her head, Braxton takes the cup of water by his hospital bed and takes a sip.

"We're your temporary security until the agency can figure out who the hell to send, after that you're not my problem anymore"

"Mhm" Braxton goes, then he takes another sip of water.

Delevio goes outside of the room and sits on a chair, Keyen follows after her and puts her hand on her shoulder.

"I can't wait until this shit is over" Delevio grumbles.

"Me too, me too" Keyen says patting her shoulder.

It's at this point when a Whimsicott and two female Pryroar come out from the lift in the hall ahead. Delevio immediately notices them, it's takes a moment for Keyen to catch on but he too look over at the small Pokémon and her escort.

"Dorian"

"Botellavici"

"You two know each other?"

"We've worked on cases together quite a few times, she's a lot of fun" Delevio replies ruffling her cotton like fluff.

"Cut it out"

Delevio chuckles a little, "Anyway, that's the guy in there"

"Excellent, I'll be having a chat with him" Dorian responds with glee.

"Me and Keyen are gonna go relax, because this guy really knows how to push people's buttons" Delevio responds squeezing her fist a little.

"I see, farewell"

The two take the lift downstairs so they can exist the building, when their gone the two Pryroar stand outside the room on opposite ends of the doorway while Dorian steps inside. Braxton looks over at Dorian who tosses him a file.

"What's this?"

"Good afternoon Mister Ayala, my name is Ashley Dorian and I have been chosen to take over for Mr. Jamison's case. Since your in no condition to be in the court room. And that is an order from the judicial committee ordering your removal from Jamison v. USA..."

"Excuse me?" Braxton says, somewhat alarmed by what is going on.

"Would you like me to repeat myself? You're off the case, it's for your own safety. You'll thank me later"

The Garchomp presses his teeth together angrily, "So you are trying to get me removed"

"The agency is concerned of every citizens safety at all times, including yours. Aren't you not a born and bred American? Do you really want to let whoever tried to kill you strike again? Do you want them to succeed?"

"As long as I'm breathing, I will not let anyone else take over for Ricardo's defense! And I'm not scared of some clowns with guns!"

"Well then, it's a good thing the decision is not yours to make! Please, again, it's for your own safety. If you have any questions or concerns, which I can already see you have plenty of you may call me at this number"

"Tch!"

"Now, I must be going I have a busy day today, and court case to pick up for you while you're recovering"

Dorian heads to the doorway of the room taking her phone from her pocket.

"Hey! THIS ISN'T OVER!"

"On the contrary, I think it is. Goodbye Mister Ayala" Dorian says with with polite, compassionate smile.

When she's out of the room she stands infront of the Pryroar guarding the room, "You have two objectives, protect him and make sure he doesn't leave that room, understood?"

They nod and watch for a moment as the Whimsicott walks towards the lifts. Braxton bangs his first on the nightstand and groans loudly.

---

London

Kovar, London and Isabel walk down the sidewalk in a sweat from their pursuit. They were fast but lost the Monferno in foot traffic.

"I'll get someone on finding him. The sooner we know who this guy is and what he's a part of, the better we can sort out whatever our super Eevee is made of." Kovar says walking in front of the couple.

"Why did he come into our lives? He just grabs us by the necks and drags us around like we're his playthings. Does he really think this highly of himself?" London exclaims flailing his arms about.

"I don't even know how he does what he does. He invaded MI6 from the rooftop. I saw some footage to further prevent it, he came down from the sky with wings on, turned into water and once our own went up there, he snuck into the door they came from and just disappeared."

"Why? His moves are so extravagant and powerful, why not just teleport his way in?"

"I think he's trying to prove that he doesn't need to teleport and can reach us in various ways. He may use it as a last ditch effort to escape if need be, not as a general offensive action."

"Fucking Canadians. Just trying to be nice and abide by everyone else's rules and all that only to infuriate them more."

They take the turn to the house walkway. Isabel decides to chime in.

"That last bit sounds a little more of military culture as well as passive aggressive compliance. Abiding by the words of others and doing what you want to get done at the same time." She pulls her house keys from a pocket.

"A little dangerous though, yes?" Kovar asks.

"Not when you walk as a god amongst mortals." London says in mild disgust. Isabel opens the door to the house to see Moonlake donning Ketster's hat but the brim is covering his face with little eye covers over his eyes as he's using his powers, but they only take notice to the mask

"MOONLAKE!! GET THAT OFF RIGHT- the fuck?" London asks as the three rush in through the door to see a Leafeon in cargo trousers and a brown short sleeved T-shirt. He has some bruising and a trickle of blood down his cheek as Moonlake's tendrils have wrapped around him and slammed him into the floor.

"He teleported here." Moonlake says in a distorted voice.

"What's with the voice?" Isabel asks, not exactly caring much for the other Leafeon.

"It's not me, it's the mask, and I can't get this bloody thing off!"

"Why not?" London walks over to Moonlake to check on the mask to get an outer view.

"Because it's trying to figure out if he's right to hold the helmet or not." The Leafeon says in a feint West Country accent. Kovar smacks the Leafeon.

"Who the hell are you? You're not from here so drop the accent."

"Sir, Kovar, I wish I could. But it's almost a full part of me now. Kinda hard to fit in if ya can't at least speak in a mild accent." The Leafeon is then punched by Kovar.

"I'll ask again, who, are, you!?" The Leafeon coils back from the hit and gags on some blood before spitting it onto the floor.

"Oh, crap. Sorry about that." Kovar debates as to wether he should pick him up or punch him out now due to the stressors of today as a thunder of footsteps come down the stairs to London and Isabel.

"Mommy! Daddy!" The kids all scream as they tackle the Flareon and Leafeon. Moonlake is miraculously left standing as he holds the leafeon in his tendrils.

"Psst, hey, Kovar."

"What, Leafeon?"

"My name's Asperch Greane." Kovar looks at the Leafeon in frustration and rage.

---

GTF Group Chat

In multiple undisclosed locations around the world, the Eeveelution group known as the Guardiolem Task Force talk on a secured network of video calls. A Sand coloured Eeveelution with a Venomous Eeveelution and what could be described as a near armadillo Eeveelution are in one screen, a Flareon and a Shield-like Eeveelution in another, a Jolteon is alone, an Umbreon with a pegasus Eeveelution and an Eeveelution like mon with bandages on his legs.

"Holy bovine, when will they get online?" The Umbreon exclaims impatiently. "It's been over a week!"

"Just keep occupying yourself with something, Shadow." The Jolteon replies.

"Yeah, I'm sure that you have plenty to think about up there, seeing as you have a woman up there keeping you company!"

The Jolteon leans back in his chair. "Hey, Lihd, Crystie, you wanna smack some sense into Shadow? He's being a butt again!"

"Why do we always have to?" Comes a feminine voice.

"Because I can't move that fast to be undetected by radar and even if I were to teleport over to him, a snowball is much easier to clean up than the mess I'd make."

"Then don't make one, Thunder Thighs!" Comes a masculine response. The jolteon groans.

"I preferred it when they called me Hammer Head instead of that."

"Well, Mjolnir think of it this way," says the pegasus eeveelution with a slight Germanic accent, "Ein dummkopf ist wie ein dummkopf." He says with a grin before there's an angry cry from the other end of Mjolnir's living area.

"The FUCK did he just say!?"

"Well, now you did it." Comes a slightly distorted voice from the Sandy Eeveelution's screen.

"Pesus! I swear to Arceus on high! If you make another comment like that again, I'll freeze your wings stiffer than Mjolnir's static could paralyze you!" Almost everyone explodes laughing at the female's remark.

"Well, that's quite amusing and all, but where in the world are Asperch, Hiemdall and-." The chat room chimes as someone has joined in. "Brutus, there we are, someone with... what happened over there?" The Sandy Eeveelution asks taking notice to the Sylveon's bruises and cuts as well as him fixing up an Espeon.

"Brutus, Asperch, and I had a minor disagreement." Hiemdall says as Brutus uses heal pulse on him.

"So we can tell. Where is Asperch?"

"He's been reassigned to Europe, he will be assisting the agents there as we see fit. Hopefully, he can get some help leading them along while we continue our recruitment process here. Has anyone heard from Mom or Dad yet?"

Johnny speaks up. "Last we saw, they were in an agricultural area of China. It's in a weird area so we aren't quite able to contact them and decided to wait for them to contact us. Most of what they hear and see is fed to them from a VPN series in that location anyhow. Unfortunately, it seems that they've been kinda busy."

"What makes you say that?" Hiemdall asks.

"Shadow, you have all the paperwork."

"So, good news and bad news, good news is, that Mom and Dad are alright. Bad news, they're pissed and are making Jason Bourne look like a damn firecracker." There's a pause before Hiemdall speaks again.

"Who sent them the memo that three of their sons were kidnapped?" All of the present brothers denied ever doing something like that.

"We need to contact Asperch about this. It could throw everything off the rails."

"So long as they don't move further west, it shouldn't be an issue."

As if on queue, there was a mass signalling of their respective devices going up all over the rooms.

"Shit."

"Oh, fuck."

"What's happening, what's going on?" Came some voices that weren't part of the general call.

"Sol, I need you to send an alert the forces in your stead in Kazakhstan. Get yourself and one more there quickly."

"What's happening?"

"Our parents just burnt down the safe house in western China. You're closest, now go."

"Matt, hold down the fort, Smaug, you're with me." The two grab a cloak and Sol grabs a curved Egyptian sword from a rack as they both leave the room. Hiemdall speaks again.

"Remember everyone, we are the Guardiolem Task Force, chosen by Arceus to guard this world, we are without fear,"

"""Without fear."""

"Without mercy,"

"""Without mercy."""

"And without limits."

"""Without limits."""

"For the One above all, we fight."

"""For the One above all, we conquer."""

"Standby your posts for further orders, until then, we are implementing radio silence. We will coordinate everything from here. Golem 4, out." The feed is disconnected from the members.

---

Unbeknownst to them, someone else was observing the group. "Xiānshēng, wǒmen yǒu yīgè dàgài de wèizhì. Hāsàkè sītǎn, zhōngguó biānjìng. Kěnéng shì juānzèng zhě (Sir, we have an approximate location. Kazakhstan, border of China. Possibly the Donor.)"

"Míngbáile, jiàn 3 chuánshū wánchéng (Understood, Jian 3 out.)"