[X] My Assistant

[Kamaitachi]

Cast:
Taggarty Lee - Kamaitachi
Jill Laurent - Yzarc Drowsnam
Darryn Kellor - Living Arrow

[Kamaitachi]

Tag released a sigh of relief as Nate caught up with the group. The story of Entei's appearance, however impossible it sounded, was much preferable to the one where Nate died and Tag ran away. Entei being captured could be undone; to his knowledge, a ressurection was not.

Then, the threat of Omar remained a very real one. Tag ventured, however, that Omar's top priority was getting the captured Entei back to his superiors. On the other hand, the possibility that he dumped it off on Ace was still plausible. At the same time, Tag figured Omar wasn't the sort of person to let Ace take all the laurels for the capture, and he imagined that the Upper Echelon of Team Deception would like that their member ran off in pursuit of some no name enemy who periodically appeared in their reports.

Would Omar chase after a traitor and a rag-tag bunch of do-gooders? It seemed unlikely.

Darryn, too, was right about maintaining public appearance. Though, he didn't say it out loud, it seemed just as likely that Omar could make something look like an accident. Maybe Team Deception had a PR unit aimed directly at manipulating media. Any one of them could've disappeared, and it would be the result of some tragic accident.

"I'm not going into hiding." Tag stated firmly, "I'm not running away."

The group finally exited the tunnels, finding the ropes they'd used to descend. Friendlier faces peered down at them from the opening in the ceiling, and Tag waved half-heartedly up at them.

While they were still out of hearing range from the rest of the group, Tag turned to Nate, meeting the younger man's eyes.

"You're welcome to travel with me. If we stick together, we're less likely to be caught off guard." He looked to Jill and Darryn, who had also been wrapped up in this mess, the former entirely on account of Tag. "The same goes for you two." He wondered if offering his services as a bodyguard to either Jill or Darryn would be more beneficial in keeping them safe, or more detrimental by bringing them more trouble. He couldn't keep all of his thoughts straight with the sun beaming down on him. The catastrope had taken its toll on him, and he needed to rest. "These are things we can figure out after some food." He sighed, trying to remain as upbeat as was possible for Taggarty Lee. The thought of Entei's capture guilted him only somewhat given the destruction of the Levelling device, as well as Nate's survival. He'd already been a rescuer of Pokemon before; Entei, and by that logic, Suicune and Raikou were most likely also present and therefore captured as well. He didn't know what to do about any of it though; everything before him seemed like a monumental task, and he wasn't ready to take the first step, not before-

His Pokeball belt was suddenly overwhelmed with light. Similar lights wrapped around Darryn and Jill's belts, and as the light faded, Tag felt a more familiar weight around his waist.

Disbelievingly, he drew the pokeball and stared at it, dropping it on the ground to reveal his most cherished friend.

"Suzu."

"Yan."

"...you're back..."

His voice choked with barely contained emotion, Tag reached forward and wrapped his arms around the Ledian, whom he'd met when she first hatched from an Egg back in Johto. This alone was enough to give him some comfort. Enough to know that next time he faced Omar, he'd at least be at his own full strength, whatever that meant.

"Guys. Let's get out of here."