Chapter Text
Onyx returned from his most recent mission with a shopping cart hung over his shoulder. The mission had nothing to do with the trophy he’s dragging home, just that he saw the shopping cart and thought it would be something for Sango to enjoy.
Of course, Sango is currently preoccupied with Spinel. He’s using her as a distraction in another region. It’s unfortunate for the people Spinel intends to throw off course with Sango’s presence, as she has a tendency to attack members of the public. Last he was aware, she has no diseases to be able give to others through biting, but not for lack of trying.
In the meantime, what to do with the shopping cart? He’s rather bored without Sango’s company, even though she tends to annoy him.
Hamber has no interest in him outside of missions, so Onyx rules him out as a potential solution to his boredom. He crosses Agate off from the list as well, she’s mostly interested in scheming with Spinel and certainly not with being pushed around in a shopping cart or even engaging in civil conversation with him.
Amethio is never on board with his shenanigans, and neither of his lackeys are comfortable in Onyx’s company. Apparently, they find him and Sango to be too destructive. Though, he can’t fault them for that given what happened to their pokemon the last few times they partnered on missions. He sets the shopping cart onto the floor with a loud rattle.
It really is quiet without Sango.
Who else is here? He thrums his finger on the handle. Spinel recently got a new mechanic. He only met her once so far, as Spinel forbade him from interacting with her during her first week. It was something about “not scaring her off” or “breaking any new toys”. Onyx has only scared away a few newcomers, so he finds the order unwarranted.
It hasn’t quite been a week since she became the new live-in mechanic, but Spinel is traveling so there’s no one to stop him from entering that wing of the building.
With his mind made up, he wheels his shopping cart down the halls to the wing where Agate, Spinel, and now the mechanic are staying. He finds it bothersome that Spinel is choosing to keep his new subordinate so close to him. Amethio does the same with his lackeys. The wings of this building are supposed to be for the admins only.
There’s another section where the disposable employees of the Explorers are allowed to stay, it’s just that Amethio refuses to send his subordinates there. Given his mannerisms and trust issues with the other admins, Onyx isn’t surprised by Amethio’s decision. But it’s a different case entirely with Spinel. He’s not overly fond of or affectionate towards any of his underlings, so keeping the new mechanic close by is just a way to flex his power and taunt Onyx.
He can practically hear Spinel’s voice saying,
“Look Onyx, I’ve got a new employee when Hamber forbade you from doing the same”
Onyx could handle a subordinate of his own if he desired, and he won’t stand to have Spinel dictate what he does.
He leaves the shopping cart by the entrance of the hall so the sound won’t alert Agate, and steps into their wing of the building. Agate might be in the lab right now, as she tends to spend time there, but she may be in her own residence since Spinel is absent. He’s not sure how much supervision they usually afford to the new employees, given Spinel hasn’t previously kept any of his subordinates within his own hall.
Again, Onyx can’t help but feel this decision was made to target him.
He trods down the halls, letting Garganacl follow. He prefers his Garganacl to be with him during first introductions, as it’s presence prevents unwanted behavior. He’s well aware his height and choice in partner combines to create a good deal of intimidation, and he’ll happily use that to get what he wants.
The new mechanic is located at the very end of the hall, which requires him to pass by both Agate and Spinel’s personal rooms. It’s an unnecessary display of control to choose this room rather than any other in the building.
He stands in front of the door. There’s a decal of a Magnemite stuck on to it to signify her residence. What was the mechanic’s name again? He only saw her long enough to remember she has short light blue hair and a Magnemite. Spinel was quick to whisk her away the moment he’d stepped into the room.
It doesn’t matter what her name is. He knocks on the door three times.
There’s some shuffling, and then the door opens. He looks down. She’s shorter than he expected, smaller than Sango. He should be able to carry her just as easily, then.
“Mechanic,” he greets. She opens the door wider and takes a step back to look at him without straining her neck so much.
“Ah, I’m Frankie. I don’t believe we’ve met yet. You’re Onyx, right?”
Instead of immediately answering her, he takes the opportunity to stare. It’s after their usual hours of opportation so he’s not surprised to see her wearing a gray hoodie and exercise shorts. The live-in mechanic doesn’t have a set dress code as far as he’s aware, though this outfit is certainly not for performing maintenance checks or repairs.
Amethio matches his subordinates outfits to his, so he wouldn’t be surprised if Spinel intends to do the same. He eyes her shoulders, imagining how her small frame might look wearing a cape similar to Spinel’s. She shifts her feet, possibly uncomfortable by the attention. Onyx is still wearing his usual work attire, so he can see how she might feel underdressed. He’s also been told he has a rather unkind resting face, which could contribute to the discomfort.
“Yes, we’ve met briefly” he says, finally breaking the silence. She glances between him and Garganacl.
“Did you need something?” He looks past her and into her room. There’s what looks to be a microwave disassembled on her floor.
“Not particularly. Explain that” she turns around to find what he’s looking at, gaze settling on the microwave after a moment like it was the most natural thing in the world to have that on her floor, and not something worthy of comment.
“Oh, those are some scrap appliances. Collecting the parts is useful and more entertaining than browsing shops for gears and circuits”
He’s not really sure what those words mean, but she sounds excited and he takes the opportunity to step inside the room. Politeness and social etiquette are rather boring to him. And it’s not like there’s anything she could do about it. He could easily thwart any attempts on her behalf to evict him from the room, and Spinel isn’t here to threaten him with Umbreon. That pokemon really dislikes him.
The room looks about what you’d expect given she’s been here less than a week. There’s not a lot in the way of comforts like the plushes he’s seen in Conia’s residence -she wasn’t happy with him in her space, Amethio was somehow even less thrilled- and instead the main indication that someone lives here is the array of tools and mechanical bits scattered on the floor and desk. He picks up a small motor like the ones on electric lawn mowers.
“You like collecting broken machines to utilize?”
“Yeah, non-broken ones are fine, too. Anything that’s made of metal or containing electronics is fair game”
Anything made of metal, huh. He sets the motor down and looks at her. She’s preoccupied staring at a stopsign on her wall that he doubts was acquired through legal means, and is rather surprised to see she has her back turned to him.
That’s awfully trusting within this organization.
“What do you do with them?”
She turns around, then picks up a piece from the microwave,
“You see this? This here can become-” she opens on of the desk drawers and pulls out an item Onyx doesn’t recognize until she flicks a switch and electricity sparks, “-a DIY taser”
He’s starting to see why Spinel hired this one.
It’s never normal people that work here. Still, he’s not sure she’s going to last. His coworkers -and himself- can be slightly homicidal, and she’s far too trusting of him already. He watches her set both items down onto the desk.
Right, he came here for a reason.
Stepping past the scrap metal on the floor, he reaches over and without notice, lifts her up under her shoulders. There’s a stifled yelp before she relaxes, letting her hands settle on his arms like it’s second nature.
He holds her in front of him, curious about how quickly she relaxed. Most people struggle or freak out being grabbed unexpectedly. Aside from her initial shock, there’s no form of protest. He remembers how loudly Amethio had yelled at him the last time he grabbed him like that. The teenager had nearly managed to nail a kick to his stomach in the four seconds Onyx held him before Zir came to his rescue.
“You’re not bothered?” she blinks at him.
“Not really. I feel like if you wanted to hurt me, you could’ve done so by now” Interesting. Again with the trusting nature.
“You know, some people like to play with their food” he feels her lift her legs slightly closer to her body when he says that, but otherwise there’s no noticeable reaction to his words.
“If that’s a threat, then I’ve heard worse”
Hmm, this one might make for a decent Sango fill-in after all. Though thankfully, she seems less likely to bite than that pink-haired menace. Back to the matter at hand: which is that he’s bored.
“I may have a new addition to your metal collection”
She looks up at his words, eyeing him curiously. He starts walking them out of the room, not bothering to set her down yet. He gets annoyed when people walk slower than him, anyway.
“Something I picked up on the way back. I’m sure you can find good use for it.”
Sango would be trying to climb on his shoulders or jump onto her Glalie by now. Has she met the mechanic? Onyx is certain Spinel would try and prevent that meeting. Especially after what happened to the last one.
It seems there’s an ever-rotating cast of mechanics coming in and out of the Explorers, so he might as well have some fun with this one for as long as she’s here. Anything he does to drive her off will be inconsequential with the high turnover rate. It’s not fair that Spinel gets a shiny new toy all to himself.
They step out of the hallway where he left his shopping cart, and she finally starts to squirm in his hold. He considers holding her tighter like he sometimes does with the new-hires, but he doesn’t feel like breaking any ribs today so he sets her into the shopping cart instead.
She clambers around, investigating it with uncontained excitement. The shopping cart highlights how small she actually is. He’d wager she’s around 5 feet tall, awfully small for an adult. It would’ve been too easy to break a rib. Any bone, really.
“Wicked, it’s been a while since I modded one of these”
“Modded” he repeats, unfamiliar with the term.
“Yeah, if I had a fridge motor I could turn this thing into an RC car”
Sango would probably like a motorized shopping cart. He can imagine how much that might annoy Spinel. He’s too large to fit in the cart, but Sango and the mechanic could both fit in it easily. It’s been a while since Sango had anyone else to play with, and Spinel’s new hire seems durable enough to withstand her usual methods of entertainment.
A fridge motor. He can do that. He learns over, bracketing the mechanic into the shopping cart with his arms,
“And where do you usually find fridge motors?”