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Posted by: Umbrae Calamitas Jun 8 2009, 03:07 PM

Cats and dogs are considered by most to be mortal enemies.

Dogs chase cats up trees, and cats leave the nose of a dog covered in scratches.

That was how it worked, and everyone knew it. Cats and dogs aren't meant to be friends. They don't get along. They are enemies. Bound by Fate to face each other from different sides.

But Sagira had never followed the laws of the world.

She had considered Ivy a friend. Her first friend, in fact, since Mattie. At points, she would even call Ivy her sister, as she considered her pokemon to be her siblings.

Maybe that was why it hurt so much to jump in front of Jay and stop Ivy from tackling him.

Or maybe it was because Ivy was nothing but coiled wire, propelled forward by anger and hatred. Her entire weight (which really wasn't all that much) slammed into Sagira with nearly as much force as her Buizel's aqua jet attack could manage. Sagira, however, dug the heels of her boots into the ground and pushed back against Ivy. She spun the girl around so her back was facing Sagira, and then she tightened her fists around the girl's thin wrists and tried her damnedest to keep her still.

Her damnedest wasn't going to stop her three attacking pokemon, though.

"Calypso, Paladin, Umbrae!" Sagira yelled.

Three of her four pokeballs burst open. Umbrae was the first out, running forward before the red light even faded. He tackled Alpha to the ground and the two of them rolled past Victor, snapping and snarling at one another.

Calypso and Paladin appeared at the same time. The Ralts hovered in the air and spread his arms. Abruptly, Ivy's buizel froze in midair and looked around in confusion, obviously wondering what in the hell happened to physics and why he wasn't plummeting at his target.

Calypso dashed forward like a scarlet streak, sending a abrupt burst of flame in front of Beta that brought the electrike to a sudden halt.

Her wrists aching from Ivy's continuous squirming, Sagira gasped for breath, finding herself exhausted. When Ivy slammed her head back into her chin, Sagira hissed loudly and gave up being gentle.

She wrapped her arms tightly around Ivy's torso in what constituted as one hell of a bear hug, pinning the girl's arms to her sides. Then, kicking Ivy in the back of the knee, Sagira hit her own knees, dragging the girl down with her.

When she felt she had a more stable hold on Ivy and her own semblance of balance, she swore loudly, aware that she was, from this position, speaking directly into Ivy's ear. "Would you calm down, you damn mutt?" she snarled. "I don't have the energy to deal with you right now."

Ivy made no verbal response that Sagira could understand. She snapped her teeth together angrily and let out a series of growls that her pokemon obviously understood. Alpha barked loudly, but Umbrae, the larger of the two, was keeping him verily occupied in a furry wrestling match. Calypso was using her flames to keep Beta from moving any closer, but was about a second away from using a Confuse Ray. Paladin...

Paladin seemed to be having the least amount of trouble. He was holding the confused buizel in the air and the two seemed to have come to the agreement that it was a lot less of a hassle to simply watch what transpired.

Sagira was about to make a comment about that to her newest pokemon, but Ivy had started to squirm again. She swore loudly and tightened her hold on the feral child.

"For the sake of the Goddess and my limited patience, Ivy, would you stop being so... so... silly!?"

Sagira shut her eyes and shook her head, trying to dislodge whatever connection she had to her dog-girl, as Paladin put it. That was certainly going to confuse the mutt.

Oh, Goddess, show me some mercy?

Posted by: Living Arrow Jun 8 2009, 03:37 PM

With all of Sagira's weight on top of her, Ivy had no chance of getting free no matter how much she struggled against the Catlady's iron-like grip. She kicked and elbowed with all her might but not once did she managed to find her target. Luckily for Ivy, however, she had a very clever Buizel.

"Bui bui?" Kappa asked the Ralts floating in front of him politely. The psychic Pokemon cocked its head to the side but made no response. Obviously, Kappa did not know that his opponent was deaf. Unluckily for his opponent, Kappa was not limited to physical attacks. He drew in a sharp breath and a strong Water Gun erupted fiercely from his mouth to blast the Ralts out of the air. Plopping to the floor, Kappa span and fired two more Water Gun at the two Fire-type canines attacking his teammates.

The Houndour was caught up immediately, freeing Alpha from the close-range battle and allowing him to run to Ivy's aid. Calypso, however, nimbly dodged the stream of water but at least it left Beta to scamper towards his adopted big sister and offer his own support.

"Crap." Sagira muttered, jumping off Ivy before Alpha and Beta could reach her. Clearly she wasn't fool enough to stick around when two defensive dogs were charging in.

I've got to stop this sillyness! She can't be protecting him! If she is, then she's bad! I've got to do all I can to bring her home! Stop her then stop the one controlling her! I can make things alright again! Ivy battled with her conscience even as she threw herself onto all fours and splayed her legs wide in the beginning stance of her specialist move. Alpha and Beta automatically rushed to leap onto her back while Kappa kept their opponents at bay with Water Gun.

"I'm sorry Sagira, but you have to get out of my way!" Ivy screamed, hurtling towards her at top speed. Alpha and Beta flew into the air with a co-ordinated surge which Sagira watched warily. Wrong move. Ivy was still coming. With a slide, Ivy dashed in under Sagira's nose and kicked upwards. The wind was instantly snatched from the girl as bare-foot met ribs and a fresh gasp of air was brought in even as the girl was launched from the ground.

"NO, IVY!" Victor squealed from behind but the move was already in motion. Alpha and Beta's jaws clamped onto Sagira's arms even as Ivy jumped clear and announced her speciality:

"FANG OVER FANG!"

Posted by: Hungry Hungry Houndoom Jun 8 2009, 05:43 PM

This has gotten way out of hand!

Jay only recognized Ivy from Paladins description of the "dog-girl" and Sagira's insistance to find the "Mutt" early on. Luckily adrenaline could clear a tired mind as much as it could cloud an alert one.

Ivy evidently thought that Sagira was in the way of something, and the only thing she'd gotten in the way of was Jay. Therefore Ivy was after Jay, and with a vengeance.

He watched Sagira go down to Ivy's foot, and saw red. However, years of keeping his emotions in check for fear that his psychic sister would be hurt or worse overrode his instinct to leap into the fray, kicking like wild rapidash. Just once, I'd like to be able to blame blind rage for my actions. Just one time!

I, for one, am currently finding your restraint refreshing...

Jay pointed at the electrike that was leaping at Sagira, and Hinata managed to hold it in place, spinning to Sagira's left and a little behind her. I can't catch the other one, she cried mentally, distressed. Jay swore, making a mad dash for the boy that was simply staring at the fight. He released Videl, who was wobbly, but still standing, steaming from the near KO of the last fight. "Videl, ROAR!"

"DOOM!" The sound was like thunder, and the four pokemon around the blonde's feet cowered at the sudden noise. It was the opening Jay needed, but he just knew that Sagira had gotten a nasty bite.

"ALL RIGHT, ENOUGH!" Jay had dashed at Victor, grabbing him and pulling his arm behind his back, sliding a choke hold around him, too. "Everybody FREEZE!"

The three were still, but movement had not entirely ceased. A group of glowing leaves floated around the buizel, the electrike struggled against Hinata's hold, Calypso and Umbrae quivered in anger, and Ivy was about to fly into a towering hissy fit. Jay made his voice firm and loud to forestall any new action.

"Hinata, let it go. You, girl, Ivy, you need to listen to us! We're tired, and desperate, and frankly we've been through a whole lot of crap! Now either we sit down to a nice hot meal somewhere, BEFORE the guards come to catch us all, or Sagira and I let our psychic types teleport us out of here, after I break Blondie's arm!"

um, Jay... I've never teleported in my life. Neither has Paladin. And we won't last in a fight, they out number us and Videl's a hit away from a mandatory nap!

I know that. They don't.

Jay made sure his hold on the blonde wasn't actually choking him. He leaned in, whispering to the other boy's ear. "Seriously, dude, sorry about this. But your meowth is chewing on my boot, so I'm not too sorry."

"Well," he growled to Ivy, "what'll it be?"

Posted by: Pumpkin King Jun 8 2009, 06:08 PM

This is why I'm not cut out for Team Aqua, Victor thought as he waited patiently in Lange's grip. Ivy seemed to be taking the battle very seriously, but Victor's mind was elsewhere. Starbucks...

"Hinata, let it go," Jay Lange said. "You, girl, Ivy, you need to listen to us! We're tired, and desperate, and frankly we've been through a whole lot of crap! Now either we sit down to a nice hot meal somewhere, BEFORE the guards come to catch us all, or Sagira and I let our psychic types teleport us out of here, after I break Blondie's arm!"

Another one! I hate nicknames! Victor was just about ready to accept defeat, but that hot meal was sounding pretty appealing.

"Seriously, dude, sorry about this. But your Meowth is chewing on my boot, so I'm not too sorry," Lange whispered in Victor's ear. "Well," he growled to Ivy, "what'll it be?"

Ivy opened her mouth to speak, but Victor interrupted with the clearing of his throat. "If you don't mind," Victor said. "I think I should do the talking." He gave a stern look to Ivy and continued. "My associate and I will gladly accept your offer and talk things over like civilized people. And-"

"But-"

"Shh!" Victor cut her off. "And I would very much appreciate it if you let go of me. I'm chafing and it's ot very comfortable. I'll call off my Pokemon and-" He glared at Ivy. "-Ivy will do the same."

Jay hesitated, but put his trust in Victor. He let go and as promised, Victor returned his Pokemon to their Premier Balls.

The group relaxed for a moment. The area was silent except for a low growl in Ivy's throat. Victor was staring her down, but it didn't seem to be very effective. In a flash, Ivy pounced on Jay.

"Ivy!" Victor cried while the two wrestled. Sagira intervened and separated the two.

Posted by: Umbrae Calamitas Jun 8 2009, 10:45 PM

Sagira pushed herself to her feet, groaning. Her chest hurt where Ivy had kicked her and she rubbed it unconsciously as she stood. Shit, she's got one powerful kick. She supposed it had to be the running on all fours.

When the boy Jay was keeping a tight hold of took charge, Sagira immediately had her doubts. For starters, despite whatever battles and trials had done to the boy's image as it was when he started that morning, it was clear that the kid wasn't your next Indiana Jones. For starters, his hair was styled and he looked the type to try out for a modeling career.

For another thing, this was Ivy. And Ivy... was a dog.

"Shh!" the boy snapped, cutting off Ivy's attempt to speak. "And I would very much appreciate it if you let go of me. I'm chafing and it's not very comfortable. I'll call off my Pokemon and-" He sent a fierce glare at Ivy. "-Ivy will do the same."

Sagira heard the growl begin in Ivy's throat even as Jay, taking the boy at his word, released him. There was a few moments of peace, in which both the boy and Ivy recalled their pokemon.

Of course, Sagira knew that it wasn't just Ivy's pokemon that were dangerous.

A moment later, Ivy had launched herself at Jay and both of them collapsed to the ground, writhing in a mass of flesh, Ivy snarling and snapping.

Having been at least semi-prepared for Ivy to do something, Sagira rushed forward and grabbed the girl by the arms and dragged her off of Jay. Moving more on instinct, Sagira spun on her heel and shoved Ivy to the ground on her back. Laying half on top of her, Sagira's right arm was spread horizontally over Ivy's chest, her left pinning both of Ivy's arms above her head. Eyes narrowed to slits, Sagira met Ivy's eyes with a glare. She didn't think about the fact that meeting a dog's gaze was a challenge, or that whoever turned away first was admitting defeat. She didn't think about how a dog baring its belly was a sign of submission.

She didn't think.

She simply acted. Staring into Ivy's eyes, she tried to convey, without words or even her own understanding, that she needed to back off and listen.

And somewhere beneath the animalistic nature that had overtaken her mind, much like the one that Ivy had been born into and accepted long ago, Sagira prayed that this worked.

Posted by: Living Arrow Jun 9 2009, 11:46 AM

*She has me...*

Ivy mentally panted, her brain working into overdrive.

*She has me completely restrained...*

Old memories flashed to forefront of Ivy's mind. More specifically those concerned with finding her place in the pack. When she had been very little and fighting with the Poochyena to gain some status under their collective PokéMama, Ivy had come up against one particularly burly bitch who had managed to hold her in the same way, arms imobilised and weight restraining all other muscles in an effective body-lock. Naturally, it had been the case for Ivy to give in - you don't snap at the claws that are gripping your belly unless they squeeze tigheter.

Even so, Ivy was loathe to give in here. She was not fighting a Pokemon - this was a human being. A person who had once been Ivy's comrade and yet now protected one who had betrayed his cause. She couldn't believe that Sagira would do it on her own but just like the mind of Team Magma, her old friend's thoughts may have become addled by talking with a cunning traitor.

"-Ivy will do the same."

"VICKY!" Ivy gasped, her frustration getting the better of her as it always did. "We've got to-"

"Oh, come on, Ivy!" Victor whined, pointing up at the arm around his neck. "We aren't in the sort of position to complain or negotiate here. Let's just calm down and think things through before we start fighting again, alright?"

Ivy's resolve wavered slightly.

"Bui!" Kappa called from nearby, a worried frown displayed on his muzzle as he anticipated the encolsure of the leaf-cage around him.

Ivy chewed her lip with mutual worry.

"Trike?" Beta hung limply in the air, a sorrowful grimace of defeat searching his sister for guidance.

Ivy's eyes began to itch.

"Pooch..." Alpha stood strong, the fur on his hackles rising and falling rythmically. He claimed to be ready to keep fighting but Ivy could weigh up his opponents just fine from where she lay - he stood no chance against a Vulpix and a Houndour, let alone an evolved Houndoom.

Slowly, Ivy's muscles eased and she looked back into the slitted feline eyes of her captor. Those eyes were hard and commanding but something else was there, too. They looked like the eyes her PokéMama used when she was angry...

"Fine..." Ivy grumbled, pouting petulantly with unshed tears grasping her hazel eyes. "We can talk but please don't hurt my friends, 'kay?"

Posted by: Hungry Hungry Houndoom Jun 9 2009, 11:55 AM

The little monster tackled me!

Jay tired his hardest to try to get Ivy away from him without hurting her, but he was rapidly losing control of himself. Something about the girl simply made him not want to hurt her. For a brief, giddy moment as she struck and bit at him, he wished it was Ezira. He'd hit Ezira before.

Sagira, of course, if she'd heard that thought, would think he'd wanted Ivy to be Ezira for a completely different reason, but that was stupid.

In the short tussel, he learned two things about her. She earned her reputation as a dog girl. She was trying to bite as much as hit, claw as much as grapple. And she had tiny, bony, hard little fists.

Then the weight was taken off of him, and Sagira wrestled with her friend, finally pinning her and staring into her eyes.

The blonde kid stepped toward the pair, but Jay's hand was out. "What's your name?"

"Um... Vi-vitalis..."

"Well, Vivitalis, if you take another step toward them..." his glare finished the sentence more effectively than any threat.

He felt his lip. Bleeding. He touched the bandage on his cheek. Gone, and therefore the scratch was also opened again, and stinging. He spit. waiting for Sagira to either need his help again or get her friend under something like control.

It was odd that the girl's pokémon didn't attack, but Jay could see why in a moment of contemplation. The buizel was still surrounded by floating, glowing leaves courtesy of Paladin, and Hinata floated in front of the electrike, eye's glowing, the air between her horns shimmering, looking for all the world like she would like nothing more than to smite the little electric pup to tiny little sparking bits. Videl, still shaky, Umbrae, strong and angry next to her, and Calypso, tails snapping back and forth more like a cat's than a canid's, faced the poochyena, all growling at each other.

When Ivy finally capitulated, he attempted, one more time, to bring a semblance of peace.

"Hinata, let him go now. It'll be all right. Videl, stand down." His pokémon warily did as he said, Videl sitting wearily and Hinata, reading Jay's intent, lowering the elctrike gently rather than dropping him. Jay sighed, then spit again, frowning. "This is stupid and pointless," he growled, unheading of Vivitalis next to him. "Why do things have to go so bad for Sagira..?"

He didn't notice Vivitalis take notice, or ponder, his concern for his partner.

Posted by: Umbrae Calamitas Jun 9 2009, 12:14 PM

It shouldn't hurt, Sagira knew, to hear Ivy ask her not to hurt the pokemon. They were fighting. They were enemies. It was common sense. It shouldn't hurt.

But it did.

It did, and Sagira couldn't keep herself from whispering, "Ivy... they're my friends, too."

She was just tired, that was it. She was tired, and that was why her eyes burned a little. She needed sleep. Nothing more. Nothing. More.

Slowly, Sagira removed herself from her position over Ivy. She was sore, and exhausted, and she wanted nothing more than to pass out happily, somewhere safe.

Obviously, Fate thought it was amusing to keep her from being able to sleep. She didn't know how much longer she could run simply on adrenaline, though. She was wearing thin.

"Ren," Sagira said softly.

There was a soft hiss in reply, and Serenity slithered out from her position wrapped around Sagira's wrist. Ivy's eyes widened slightly at the appearance of the ekans, and Sagira didn't bother to tell her that, yes, Serenity had been wrapped around her wrist the entire time, and no, Sagira hadn't told her to bite Ivy.

She didn't know how much good it would do, to tell the mutt that she didn't want to hurt her.

"All right," Sagira said, not even bothering to stand, but rather folding her legs Indian Style and sitting comfortably on the ground (or as comfortable as was possible on the ground), "we need to have a little chat, so let's start this Pow Wow."

In response to this, Serenity crawled up to hang over Sagira's shoulders. Umbrae and Calypso dashed over to stand on either side of her, and Paladin floated down to sit in her lap. Sagira sighed.

"So... I think there's been a bit of a misunderstanding."

"You thing?" Jay asked, raising an eyebrow.

For the first time since before she had pinned Ivy, Sagira looked at him. She blinked. "You look like hell."

"Thanks, Catseye," he retorted sarcastically.

Sighing, she pulled the first aid kit out of her pocket, a little annoyed at Fate for making it become such a familiar object. She tossed it to Jay and he nodded in gratitude.

Sagira turned back to Ivy. "So. You were sent to hunt us down."

Ivy's eyes narrowed and she sent a glare in Jay's direction. Unlike before, however, she did not attack. She had been shown her place and it was a testament to her loyalty to her upbringing that she followed the laws of Dominance. Sagira mentally sagged with relief.

"We came to bring you home, Sagira," she growled, "and to turn the traitor in." If looks could kill, Jay would most certainly be dead.

Sagira sighed. "Jay's not a traitor, Ivy." The girl huffed and crossed her arms, obviously not willing to believe a word of it. "He's my friend. He was my partner on a mission." She narrowed her eyes. "A false mission."

Ivy glanced her way out of the corner of her eye, which Sagira took meant she was listening, if reluctantly. "He saved my... well, he saved my ass, Ivy." Jay looked up at her. "My life, too." She looked back at her friend turned enemy. "He's not a traitor. Or if he is, so am I, but we're not... bad." She rubbed her head. "I'm too damn tired to do this," she growled, "and I'm hungry, and my head hurts, and I keep channeling you! It's bloody annoying!"

"Why don't you show them the papers?" Sagira looked down at Paladin. "If she doesn't believe that you, or Jay, aren't traitors, then why don't you show them that Dawson is corrupt?"

Sagira smiled. "Thanks, Paladin." She motioned to Jay who, obviously having heard Paladin's advice, handed over the papers.

Sagira handed them to Ivy. "Take a look at this," she said, "and then tell me if you still think we're the traitors."

Posted by: Living Arrow Jun 9 2009, 12:47 PM

"Take a look at this," Sagira said, "and then tell me if you still think we're the traitors."

Ivy didn't like confusing words like 'channeling'. She also didn't like the way that Sagira spoke fondly of the traitor. But most of all, Ivy didn't like the talk of 'papers'.

Ivy took the forms from Sagira with a suspicious frown and automatically walked them to Victor, passing them quickly to him after galncing over it with disinterested eyes. Her illiteracy was an embarrassing topic among humans and she didn't really want to start a talk over her inability to view the evidence for herself. She did, however, trust Victor to tell her the truth and explain what to do next. She honestly was happy that Sagira was proving herself to be a good-guy still and hoped that Victor would be able to tell her just that.

"Well, Vicky?" She pursed her lips with mock-scrutiny, trying to make it look like she had already read them. "What are we thinking?"

Posted by: Hungry Hungry Houndoom Jun 9 2009, 01:10 PM

Jay busied himself with the first aid kit, Hinata helpfully providing him a mental image. Sagira was right. He looked like hell.

She didn't look much better. Her hair was mussed, her face drawn, and she looked like she wanted to cry.

And you still think she'd beautiful, so quit trying to fool yourself. Hinata's words were tinged with a kind of wistful amusement. He tended to his cheek, then pulled out a potion from the kit and administered it to Videl, who perked up instantly.

He didn't dignify Hinata's observation with a remark. It was almost impossible to lie to a psychic type, anyway.

"Hey," he said, not knowing what he could offer. He was decent at tactics and good in a fight, but this was beyond him. "It'll be OK," he said, finally, lamely. "If she's as good a friend as you seem to think, she'll believe you."

He hoped that it was true.

* * * * *

Videl sat, rear legs poised and ready to lunge if needed, forelegs flat to the ground. Her head was up and her eyes alert. The spray medicine had worked again, but not as well as it did when she was littler. Still, it would be enough. If Hina-dancer and Palaghost could keep the Spitter down, she could take care of the other two alone, if she had to.

Cutie growled in his throat, not threateningly, but reassuringly. Manytails made a kind of chirrup noise that meant the same thing as Cuties deep manly hotness growl. She wasn't alone.

Even Chew Toy (Noooooo, Hisser!) was confident. She hadn't bit the Ladydog, and that made Videl want to trust the Ladydog, but the Ladydog's pack was still warily watching, and the Ladydog was sending challenging stares at the Alphaman. If she wanted to take the Alphaman's place in his own pack, well, she'd get a fight.

Alphaman's hand rubbed between her horns, and that felt goooood. She let her tongue loll out and grinned her happy grin, tail whipping. She even tapped the Kittywoman's side playfully.

Alphaman liked Kittywoman. Videl could smell it. She wondered, briefly, what the pups would be like, until Hinadancer made her shush.

Posted by: Umbrae Calamitas Jun 9 2009, 01:59 PM

Once Ivy had taken the papers over to the boy, Sagira moved over to sit near Jay. She felt... off. Out of place. Ivy had been her first friend since Mattie, and Jay was a good friend, too. On some levels, he was more than that. Sagira felt like she was being pulled in separate directions, and she didn't want to choose.

"You shouldn't have to choose."

Life isn't always fair, Paladin, Sagira whispered softly in her mind.

"It should be."

I know.

"If she's as good a friend as you seem to think, she'll believe you."

Sagira sighed. "Maybe," she admitted, "but Ivy is... different. We're both different. She has loyalties that come before her friendship to me. Her pack comes first. Her way comes first."

"It's the same with you," Paladin noted. Sagira didn't offer up anything to admit that, but nor did she deny it. "You've changed. So can she."

Yes, but will she?

"She might not have a choice. People change people."

"I'd have to agree," Jay admitted, revealing to Sagira that Paladin had been projecting for both of them.

He ran his hand down between Videl's horns, and the large demon dog let her tongue loll out, drooling heavily. Sagira smirked. How strange, that she had come to be so dependent on the presence of even one canine.

"You're drawn to their loyalty. Jay's like that, too."

I know...

Sagira squirmed when Videl pressed her tail into her side, and she batted the tipped appendage away softly with a paw... hand. She shook her head. Sometimes I wonder, she mused, if I'm not falling too far into this whole cat thing.

"Personally," Paladin offered with a smile, "I think you're more like your Doglady than you know."

That was something to think about at another time, as Sagira looked up to see the boy walking over, holding the files.

Posted by: Pumpkin King Jun 9 2009, 04:18 PM

Victor scanned the file handed to him. He was dying to take a shower, but the mission was supposed to be a priority. I better get promoted for this, he thought. Ivy anxiously stood over Victor's shoulder waiting for a response. Most people would get a sereve scolding from Victor for penetrating his personal bubble, but he let it slide. After reaching the end of the files, Victor realized he hadn't picked up most of the information. His mind was busy thinking about the luxuries he craved ever so much. "Umm... Yup! They're totally innocent! Smythe and Lange."

Ivy looked at the letters on the page for a moment in disbelief, hoping a better explanation would appear. However, no divinity would intervene. Victor walked over to Sagira and handed her the files. "So what're we gonna do Vicky?" Ivy said. Her tone was uneven, as if she was unsure how she should react to the situation.

"We should... take them to Kyogre's Maw of course!" Victor said cheerily. "We can explain what happened, show them those files and I can take a well-deserved shower!" The emphasis in tone was definitely towards the end of the sentence.

Posted by: Hungry Hungry Houndoom Jun 9 2009, 04:59 PM

We should take them to Kyogre's Maw, of course...

The words floated through Jaima's head like a bullet through a butterfly. He glared up at Vivitalis and levelled his best "were you born stupid or did you grow that way" look at him.

"Yes, yes, let's go there. Let's head straight to base with two known criminals about whom it has been said 'attack on sight', and see if we can get the people who made that order listen to reason." He stood up, wary not to make sudden movements lest the fighting start again. "You have no idea what those papers said, do you?"

He stalked to Vivitalis and plucked the paperwork from his hands, handing it back to Sagira. "You want to take proof that an Elite is stealing pokémon from the local zoo, sleeping with subordinates and then putting them in cushy jobs when he's tired of them, and basically being a real ass, and you really think they're just going to say 'Oh, wow, how wrong were we?'"

He looked back at Ivy. "Sagira's commander tried to hurt her. He tried to take her away and make her do something that no woman should be forced to do for anyone. And I stopped him. And that was when we were called traitors." He pointed at Sagira, his anger boiling over. "She's been chased, hit, punched, and used as an object, and now you want to let them take the only thing we have to prove we're not the horrible people they say we are?"

He deflated. "Well, I'm not letting the only proof we have slip into their hands, not when her lively hood is resting on it." He pulled out the two pokéballs from his belt, ignoring the third. He clicked the button, recalling Videl and Hinata, ignoring Hinata's cry of Noooo, my head pa-- DAMMIT!, and clipped them to his belt.

"Let her go. Let her prove her innocence. You can take me in her place."

Posted by: Umbrae Calamitas Jun 10 2009, 01:24 AM

"Wait a second... WHAT?!"

Sagira stormed up to Jay and stuck him hard in the chest with her finger (she was careful not to use her left hand, since that still bore the clawed glove). "You. Are not. Going. Anywhere." She spoke slowly, in case her message had to take time to travel through his thick head. "Of all of the stupid, idiotic, asinine ideas that you had come up with since we've met, this has to be the silliest-"

Sagira put a hand to her head and groaned. She was getting so sick of that.

"Yeah!" Paladin interjected in Sagira's moment of crisis. "Stop being so noble and charming!"

"Paladin," Sagira said warningly.

He gave her a small grin. "Sorry, Sagira, but you have to admit, you like it. Makes you think of princes and people opening doors for you-"

"PALADIN!" She fumed silently, trying to keep her anger up high so that her embarrassment wouldn't show on her face. From the looks she was getting, she knew that Paladin had been projecting so that everyone could hear him, and she was decidedly annoyed.

"I am not a happy cat," she growled through clenched teeth.

"Go buy some catnip," Jay suggested. "In the meantime, Catseye, do you have any better ideas?"

"Yeah!" Sagira snapped. "First off, BlueJay, you quit 'Catseyeing' me, trying to butter me up. You are not letting yourself get dragged into the Maw. Do you know what a maw is? It's a mouth. Of fangs. Bigass teeth. You go in the beast's mouth, you come out the demon's ass, as chopped liver. Dawson called us traitors." She looked at Ivy. "They would never let us even get close, mutt. The way things are going, I'm pretty damn sure they'd take us out before we even reached the Maw." She rubbed her head. "Look... can't we just... wait? Can't we all just go, find a nice hotel, sleep for two days, and then decide how to commit suicide?"

It looked like Jay was about to reply, when he was interrupted by an unfamiliar, and unwelcome, voice.

"Hey! You there!"

All four of them turned to see the mass of Aqua members making their way down the corridor, toward the door they stood in front of.

"Goddess damn it," Sagira swore.

"Why is it always Goddess with you?"

"Personally belief," Sagira muttered. "Hey, isn't that the guy whose pokeballs I nicked?"

"There's that damn bitch!" the kid swore.

"They looking for you, too, Ivy?" Sagira asked sassily.

"Where are my pokeballs?!"

"Check your boss's office. I hear Dawson's in the poke-napping business."

They finally moved out of the building and stood together, revealing that there was six of them. Sagira pursed her lips in annoyance. She was really too damn tired for this.

"We know who you are," one of the men said with a cocky nod.

"Wow, give the boy a gold star," Jay said sarcastically.

"Can it!" one of the others said - a tall, lean man with wild black hair. "You're Jay Lange," he said, nodding toward Jay. He merely glared in return.

"And you're Iris Sagira Smythe," one of the others offered.

"Wow," Sagira said, with a mocking smile, "that's so nice of you to introduce us. Here, let me do you." She pointed out the three nearest her. "Harry, Curly, and Moe."

Jay nodded and picked out his three. "Looks like I've got Dumb, Dumber, and-"

"Let me guess," the third snapped, getting right up in Jay's face, "I'm Dumbest?"

"Well, if you insist. Personally, I thought since I was Jay, you could be Silent Bob." And then he punched 'Bob' in the head.

And then, all of the pokemon came out.

Sagira didn't like their odds too much. Who knew, anyway, if Ivy and her friend were going to fight with them, or against them.

She looked over at Jay. "Are we ever going to get to sleep today?"

Posted by: Living Arrow Jun 10 2009, 12:50 PM

"But Mister Door-sun is nice..." Ivy muttered quietly to herself, her lower lip sticking out with a forlorn droop. "Why's he wanna hit Catlady unless she did something wrong..."

Things were getting too much for Ivy. She'd not been the subject of lies by any Pokemon but humans almost made her sick. Why could they go around saying untruths all silly-willy-nilly? If they did that all the time then no-one would believe what anyone said and that only meant that no-one could be friends because they couldn't trust each other...

"Let her go. Let her prove her innocence. You can take me in her place." Lange said forcefully. Ivy wanted to believe him because he sounded like he meant it, but if he meant it that only meant he liked Sagira a lot. And if he liked Sagira a lot, they *had* to be friends. But then again, humans did a thing called 'acting' and that meant they could practice at lying all the time so if he sounded like he meant it then it might not mean that he meant it and-

"Oooh..." Ivy clutched her frizzy hair with a hopeless look of confusion on her face. "I don't know what to do" (Ivy -> )

When Sagira started yelling at Lange, Ivy was in no condition to listen to more human-talking. It all sounded the same when she started getting worked up and confused. Sagira suggested waiting but that made Ivy nervous, too. If she decided to wait with them, that could mean that her bosses would think she was a traitor, too.

"Hey! You there!"

Ivy flinched to find a total of six Aquas striding towards them. They did not look very happy to see them.

"There's that damn bitch!" One of them said in an angry tone.

"They looking for you, too, Ivy?" Sagira replied.

"They're looking for me!?" Ivy jumped to the wrong conlusion. "I've done nothings wrong!!!" She leapt to Victor's arm where she took hold and shook her head with wide-eyes at the other Aquas. She watched on as Pokemon came to their trainer's sides and squared off against each other. Everyone was naming each other in the formal manner in which humans sometimes did when signalling that a fight was going to start.

*But Sagira says that she is inni-...inna-... hasn't done anything wrong!* Ivy warred with herself, looking back from one side to the other. *And more people want to hit her now... People shouldn't hit my friends... But if I get involved, I might be shouted at for going all traitory... But look at those Pokemon... Catlady and her friends are tired now and so are Lange's... Oooh... what do I do?... What would PokéMama say?...*

Ivy looked up sadly at Victor. "I's got to. I hope you don't get mad at me, Vicky..." And with that, she ran to Sagira's side. Alpha, Beta and Kappa launched themselves to stand prepared at her feet.

"AND MY NAME IS IVY!" She shouted at the top of her lungs. "LEAVE MY FRIEND ALONE!"

Posted by: Hungry Hungry Houndoom Jun 10 2009, 05:55 PM

Jay sighed. It wasn't that he hated fighting. He liked it. Even though he hadn't fought for anything more important than training before he came to Noverus, he found that the danger of fighting an opponent "for real" hadn't dampened his enthusiasm.

So it wasn't the prospect of a fight, or a battle, it was the fact that he and his team were so tired, and he knew that Sagira and HER team were, as well.

When the battle began, he reached to his belt to pull off Videl and Hinata's pokéballs and accidently pulled off a third as well. Great. I threw an empty ball. Air, I choose you!

However, instead of simply bouncing in closed mockery, the ball opened, revealing a trembling, angry Misdreavus.

Misdreavus HATES that thing! Misdreavus doesn't like YOU, EITHER! You made Misdreavus go into darkness!

"The hell?!" Jay stared up at the misdreavus, when one of his opponents, a large, square built man he'd dubbed "dumber", pointed at the misdreavus.

"YOU! I'll take you apart MOLECULE BY MOLECULE!""

Leave Misdreavus alone! Despite the ghost type's angry entrance, she seemed more afraid and sad than anything. Misdreavus is HUNGRY! She whined, terrified.

Jay thought deeply. "Hungry, eh?" He grinned. "You eat fear, right? If you do as I say, you'll make them afraid of you... and I'll make sure you eat afterwards, if it's not enough."

The Misdreavus looked back at Jay longingly. Misdreavus... Misdreavus doesn't trust you...

Jay directed Hinata and Videl to attack, but answered the Misdreavus without looking at her. "You have my word.” When the Misdreavus didn’t move, he bit his lower lip. “I’ll feed you myself.”

She turned, opened her mouth, and screeched at the water type that had put a bead on Videl. It started, then staggered as a psybeam attack hit it.

Ah! No fair! She knows Psychic attacks?!

But the ghost was suddenly lively, swooping down and attacking any Aqua guard’s Pokémon it could reach, not bothering to hit one until it was down, but skipping from opponent to opponent. Videl and Hinata stuck with a traditional one on two or three battle style, but the new addition was chaotic, and it was confusing their opponents enough to give Jay’s team a real edge.

The misdreavus screeched again, and Jay grinned at her enthusiasm. “I think… I’ll name her Siren.”

Spell it with a Y! Spell it with a Y!

Jay laughed. Despite Hinata’s initial reaction, he felt that this little show of exuberance was a sign that she liked the ghost. “Siryn it is.”

Siryn thinks maybe you’re not so bad after all!

Jay turned to see how Sagira was doing, surprised that the “mutt”, Ivy, was helping her. Then he saw something that chilled his heart, and he wasn’t thinking anymore, he was moving.

Posted by: Umbrae Calamitas Jun 11 2009, 12:33 AM

There were many things that Sagira didn't know about Umbrae: Where he came from. How he managed to end up among her father's pokemon. Why he was so fond of cats.

And that he was afraid of ghosts.

Of course, the moment that Jay unwittingly released his mysteriously-caught third pokemon, Umbrae went completely nuts. And, of course, Paladin decided this was something that needed to be shared.

"It's a GHOST!" Umbrae wailed loudly, Paladin channeling his cries for her to understand. "It's a ghost!" He threw his head back and howled loudly, accidentally sending a Pidgey fluttering away in fear. Then, with a loud whimper that embarrassed Sagira to no end, he went and ducked behind Videl, crouching low to try and hide himself from view. "It's a ghost! Make it go AWAY!"

"Umbrae, you big baby!" Sagira yelled.

He made no response other than to continue whining and crying out, "It's a ghost!" every time he spotted the Misdreavus darting from one opponent to the next. The only good thing about it was that his frequent howling was startling some of the opposing pokemon into making mistakes.

"Shit!" Sagira swore, leaping out of the way of a darting Quilava. "Calypso, take out that Leafeon!"

"What, and stifle her cries of how perfect she is? Why would I ever want to do that?" Her sarcasm was not lost on Sagira. Nor was the look of joy on Calypso's face when she quick attacked the eevee-evolution flat on her ass.

Paladin was doing some weird dance move in midair, channeling Sagira's pokemon, even as he sent confusion attacks in every direction. He seemed to have adopted Siryn's fighting style minutely, choosing to take on a number of opponents at once, rather than just one.

Like her, Paladin seemed fairly good at it.

Abruptly, Paladin twitched, his attention caught by something else. He barely managed to teleport out of the way of a thunder attack, but when he reappeared, he cried, "Miss Sagira!"

Miss? Sagira pondered, turning to see what had grabbed Paladin's attention. She caught the glint of light reflecting off of some metal object, and then the sound of a gunshot rang out through the suddenly-still air.

Posted by: Living Arrow Jun 11 2009, 11:00 AM

"Friend, huh?" The closest Aqua rounded on Ivy and sneered. "I hope you realise that you're defending a fugitive and a traitor, Kylarian."

"Well, DURR!" Ivy stuck out her tongue and pulled a face at the silly man. "I's not stupids, y'know?!"

"Well shall see about that." The Aqua retorted, calling upon his Nidorino and Nidorina to both attack together. The Poison Pins broke into a charge, hurtling straight for Ivy's trio who were standing firm.

"Bui?"
"Trike?"

"Yeah, guys! You two, go!" Ivy sent Kappa and Beta into battle with the poison type Pokemon, opting for herself and Alpha to run straight at the man himself. "Let's go, Alpha! Time for our super special one-on-one move. You ready?!"

"Poochy!"

"Great, then let's get started!" Ivy switched to running upright and allowed Alpha to back-somersault and land on her shoulders. His teeth glistened wetly as he salivated with the hunger for battle - something that their opponent noticed straight away.

"Hey, whaddaya doing?" He sounded nervous.

"OK, Alpha! Now!" Ivy yelled, letting Alpha jump forwards and straight at the guy's head. She dropped to the ground and skidded straight past him, springing back to her feet behind him. Alpha's flight was straight as an arrow but the dude moved just quick enough to dodge the Poochyena's teeth from clamping on his neck. Instead, Alpha's teeth found purchase on his collar bone which produced a high-pitched howl from the Aqua.

As fast as Alpha landed the Bite, he was moving again - his momentum from the jump still carrying him through the air. Ivy's outstretched arms were his target. She grabbed his middle soflty but firmly, turning the motion into a spin before throwing him straight back at the Aqua. Alpha's teeth this time, caught a wrist before the man could move and in much the same way, Ivy was already waiting on the other side of him with her hands ready to catch and return Alpha.

A total of six times, Ivy dashed around the man while throwing Alpha right at him to deliver Bite after Bite which rapidly drew free long rivulets of blood from the fool's head, arms and torso. Not once did Alpha have to touch the ground as Ivy's trained speed carried her around the target faster than it took Alpha to fly through the air like a living arrow. With the final strike, Alpha sprng free of his target to backflip through the air and land neatly on Ivy's back.

"Kylarian Cani-Fang Combo!" She announced proudly, Alpha mimicking her stance almost to the hair. He barked once, extremely proud of himself and suddenly began to glow. "Wha?" Ivy gasped, watching her little brother suddenly explode with growth and very rapidly become her big little brother! "Alpha! You 'volved!?"" Ivy was awestruck as a glossy-maned Mightyena grinned proudly back at her through insanely white teeth.

"Why you!" The man roared, blood flowing past his eyes from the Bite wound in his brow. "You'll regret messing like that with me!"

Ivy's eyes immediately widened as her opponent raised a short metallic weapon from the holster hidden underneath his jacket to point straight at Ivy's face. A tiny hole in the device produced a sharp click sound as it was armed and, before Ivy could make the observation of "A gun?", a deafening *BANG* split the air like an overripe melon.

Posted by: Hungry Hungry Houndoom Jun 11 2009, 01:29 PM

Jay heard a little pop, and something hurt, but the blood rushing past his ears was overpowering everything. This guy pulled a gun. On a kid. Sure, she had probably been the one that caused the cuts and scrapes, but she was still a kid. He'd almost shot her, and that royally. Pissed. Him. Off.

He'd managed to get in front of him before he'd pulled the trigger, his foot arcint out to strike at his gun hand with the instep. That was when the pop started, and that was when he felt the burning sensation. He spun and lashed out, sending a backfist to the bridge of the man's nose. He squawked and staggered back, and Jay's backfoot came up as he spun, driving his foot into the man's gut.

His left arm wouldn't move, but that was fine. He only needed one for this coward.

"You son of a bitch! What kind of coward brings a gun to a pokémon battle?!" He reached down and grabbed his enemy, slamming a knee into the man's chest as his fist gripped the man's collar. "Is it that important that you win? You a big man now?!" He spun the man and slammed a fist into his kidney, before grabbing him and sending his head into a lamp post. The man staggered up, eyes wide, seeing the gun on the ground and nothing between him and a raging martial artist.

Videl leapt in and savaged the man's shoulder, and Jay stopped. The pain was worse, and he was feeling woozy as the adenaline left him. Videl would take care of the guy. He just wanted to sit.

He turned to see if Ivy was OK. She was staring at him, wide eyed. But not his face. She was looking down and a little to his left. He took a moment to check on his friends. Everyone had stopped, and he had no idea why. Sagira's eyes were just starting to bug out, and Vivitalis, who was surronded by fallen or fighting pokémon (his team was performing admirably), had his hand to his mouth. He looked at Ivy again. "You OK?"

She pointed to his arm, and he wondered, briefly, why it looked like she would cry. He looked down, noticing the spreading red blotch on his left shoulder and chest. "Huh," he said, as if someone had proven that the sky was actually a cool yellow rather than blue. The red spread a little farther. "Shit."

And then he fell as blackness claimed him.

* * * * *

J-jay..?

She couldn't see him, but she felt him as his thoughts receeded, like the fading light from an old tube style television. Which he had let her watch through his eyes. So much had been seen through his eyes, including her. To him, she was beautiful, and smart, and a wise ass, but a good wise ass. He couldn't be gone.

Jay?!

No one else was doing anything. Videl had leapt off the man, who was, unfortunately, alive after shooting Jay, and nudging Jay's leg, whining. Siryn was silent, still. No one was moving. No one was doing anything.

Jay!!

He was silent, in her head. She had't even known he was there, but he wasn't now. No vision came through his eyes, no sound through his ears. Nothing. She couldn't find anything that said the bleeding lump on the ground was ehr Trainer. Her friend. Her father.

And the man who'd shot him was still alive.

To the outside world, Hinata rose. Her head crest turned black as she gathered what dust and dirt to make it so telekinetically, and shaped it to be smooth and sleek and BLACK. As black as her mood. As black as her heart without Jay.

The man stood, shaking, bleeding in the shoulder, and stepped toward the gun. Maybe if he'd stepped away, Hinata would have let him.

NO! She stopped him with her mind, enveloping him with purple fire that was her biological father's gift to her. She lifted him, turning him to face her.

What is your worst NIGHTMARE?! she snarled into his mind, into any mind that could hear her, but focused her power on him, forcing his mind to grow more and more addled. He screamed, and screamed, and screamed. And then was silent.

She dropped him and turned to the others.

One guard from the building turned to the other, completely unconcerned that he'd soiled himself. "Hey," he said in a shaky, high pitched voice. "Ever see that movie, Carrie?"

Small, thin arms came behind her, and Paladin's soothing voice sounded in her head.

You need to stop before you do something you'll regret.

You need to let go before I do something you'll regret.

Hinata-

Bored now, she snarled, and threw him, telekinetically, toward Sagira. She felt the flash as he flew, but didn't heed it. She had men to kill.

I said, said the voice, in a much deeper tone, you need to stop now.

Posted by: Umbrae Calamitas Jun 11 2009, 03:32 PM

It didn't quite hit her right away.

Of course, the fact that Jay continued to kick ass like he had been blessed by Ares, God of War, didn't help her to connect the dots. She could feel a charge around him, as well, as though there was a storm and lightning was striking from the ground everywhere around them. Her head was pounding, sending pain down her neck and spine, and causing the world to take on a white tint. She thought that she was losing her sight for a moment due to the headache, until her vision abruptly shifted, and she was staring into the world of colored lines.

The lines seemed tighter this time than they had been before. There was lines connecting Ivy to her pokemon. The lines to Alpha and Beta were thicker than the line to the buizel - Kappa, she suddenly knew - but his line was growing.

The lines connecting the boy - Victor, but then why does Jay call him Vivitalis? - were thinner than Ivy's, connecting to his pokemon. They, too, seemed to be growing, however.

Sagira could see the lines connecting her to Serenity, wrapped tightly around her wrist, and Umbrae, snapping and snarling with another pokemon. Calypso's line was a gentle pinkish-white, stretching from her heart to Sagira's. Paladin's line connected at their heads, as he held a continuous link to her mind.

Hinata and Videl were linked strongly to Jay, which didn't surprise Sagira. He was close to both of them. Even the Misdreavus held a link to him, though the line was think and barely perceptible. Still, it was there, shimmering and growing. Sagira could also see waves rolling off of some of the pokemon, but especially off of Umbrae, and flowing to Siryn.

She was feeding, of course. No doubt enjoying herself. Heh.

But the lines were shifting, changing color, tone, and position. Sagira blinked and then she seemed to see both layers of the world at once - the world as it was to any other, with the colored lines super-imposed over top of them. Like plastic wrap held over a television screen and doodled on, to make it look like there was a magic makered dinosaur eating Scarlet O'hare, or something of the sort.

There was a snarl as Videl leapt for to rip the arm off of the guy that Jay had been fighting with - the guy with the gun. Though, the gun wasn't in his hands anymore.

Sagira caught sight of Jay as he staggered drunkenly. He looked like he had been drugged, and his eyes were dilated, but glazed. Almost feverishly.

And then, of course, she saw the blood on his arm and chest. Funny, how the world can slow down when you realize that all of the puzzle pieces were there, and you were just too damn stupid to see it.

"Shit," she heard him mutter, before consciousness seemed to abandon him like an unwanted toy.

Sagira didn't quite remember moving.

Of course, she wasn't sure that her brain was working at full capacity. It seemed to still be locked heavily on "Oh my Goddess, Jay's been shot!" Obviously, however, something seemed to be working right, because she had managed to dart forward and keep his head from slamming into the ground at a tremendous weight.

The boy wasn't exactly light, though, and it hadn't been Sagira's most graceful moment. She'd forgotten about Serenity and the ekans had been squished momentarily by Jay's falling body, but she had simply slithered up to rest on Sagira's shoulders. Sagira could almost feel the concern rolling off of her and, distantly, she noticed that the lines were all still there in her vision. They simply weren't as noticeable as when she fell into that world completely.

Sagira sank to her knees, Jay dead weight against her chest. She moved her body around his, until he was held up by her right arm around his shoulders. She could feel hot, sticky liquid sliding down her arm, and she felt tears come to her eyes as she found the source of all the blood. She tore off her jacket and quickly pressed it hard against the wound, but bit back a cry of fear when he didn't even react. He didn't even react!

Vaguely, she could hear the sounds of battle around her and see the flashing of lights both from attacks and her own lingering link to the world of colored lines, but she ignored the goings-on. They weren't important. Only Jay was important.

Only Jay.

"BlueJay, you bastard, don't do this to me!" she snarled. She kept her jacket pressed tightly against the wound in his chest, trying to stop the blood. She couldn't stop her tears, though, and they slid down her cheeks in rapid succession. "Jay! Jay Lange, you son of a bitch, wake up! WAKE UP!"

He didn't react, though, and Sagira simply sat there, holding him, crying, wondering if this... was this the end?

Her anger was less an emotion, and more a physical force.

Paladin could hear it. He could feel it. Like an ocean's wave, the air around them was sucked toward her, before she released it with all the enraged strength of Poseidon, Lord of the Sea.

When she telepathically knocked the man unconscious with his mind's own worst fears, Paladin finally stepped in.

He floated up behind her and wrapped his arms around her. She really needed to calm down, or she was going to do something that she regretted when the anger receded. He knew she didn't really want to kill anyone - not as Hinata.

But she wasn't Hinata right now, and she proved that when she telepathically flung him away from her.

But he had to protect her, even from herself.

When the light enveloped him, it was warm. It gradually grew from warm to hot, and he felt it melting his body, reshaping it to fit a new and better purpose. He felt some things become clearer, and others more important.

And then he was righting himself, before he could slam into Sagira, who was still holding Jay and begging for him to wake up, with a quiet, hoarse voice that was too choked on tears to be fully understood. But the message was there. The need was there. The love was there.

And here.

Paladin moved through the air swifter than before, more gracefully, and instead of coming up behind Hinata, he moved in front of her. In between her and the men she so desperately wanted to hurt in her rage. He didn't take time to notice that he had evolved and congratulate himself on the accomplishment, because that wasn't important right now.

Hinata was.

Taking her hand in his, he knelt down, even as they floated in the air. "My lady," he said softly, linking his mind to hers so that she could see through his eyes, "please... do not act now with anger, when your heart isn't present. I don't want to see it cry when it is permitted to return." He stared into her face, wishing that she could see him, but hoping that his holding her hand would be enough to show how sincere he was. "It is your heart that it needed now, my lady Hinata. Your heart for your trainer, not your anger." He squeezed her hands softly. "Please, my lady."

Posted by: Hungry Hungry Houndoom Jun 12 2009, 02:23 AM

When Paladin allowed Hinata to see through his eyes, she only could sneer at how ugly he'd become. He glowed, certainly, but his face was creased and his eyes were red and white and...

She had been looking at herself. He had been looking at her. And as the anger drained, he saw that, though she was ugly to herself in her rage, he still looked at her with compassion and kindness.

You suck, Paladin. Hinata's eyes filled with tears that fell thickly down her face, like tar, or syrup. She slumped, lowering herself to the ground, and the black shell on her head crumbled and fell to the ground, returning to the dust and dirt it had been before.

You're right, of course.

No, I'm not, Hinata snapped, then sighed. I'm sorry, I'm sorry..! Look at Jay, please... I... I want to see him.

Paladin looked at Jay, letting Hinata see through his eyes, and both of their breathing stopped. Sagira was clutching him, tears streaming down her face, shouting and whining alternately, her voice growing more and more hoarse. To Paladin, it was heart breaking. Hinata was touched as well, but another thing caught her attention.

Jay's chest was rising and falling, steadily. He was alive.

Hinata floated up like a cork. Videl! Umbrae! Siryn! Auron! Alpha and Beta! Cry out! Roar and Howl! Send our enemies fleeing so that we may seek shelter and heal our fallen!

Very dramatic, Paladin mind spoke with a sigh.

I broadcast it to the humans. They're still afraid of me. It should help.

And it seemed to. With a sharp DOOM, Videl's roar, mixed with the howls and screeches and yowls of the rest, caused the humans to shake, trembling, and then run away, one, then two, then the rest breaking like a tidal wave on the shore.

The kirlia pair floated down to Sagira, who had buried her face against Jay is despair. Hinata spoke soothingly, her mental voice trembling. Iris, he's safe. He's all right. He's breathing. We need to get him to a safe place. Let me and Paladin carry him. We need you to lead us to safety...

Paladin was also mind-whispering soothing thoughts to her, and she raised her eyes, red and wet, and looked around. Their enemies were routed. They had fled. She looked at Jay.

"He needs a d-- I know a place." She stood, watching Jay float limply, tears again falling as he still didn't respond.

"I know where Dr. Robinson lives."

Posted by: Living Arrow Jun 12 2009, 12:25 PM

Ivy couldn't take the sight of tears on Sagira's face. She absolutely hated it when people she liked were made to cry. Tears were unnatural raindrops that made puddles of sorrow in her own heart whenever she saw them fall and once free, they could not return to their clouds. She also did not like how this special type of rain often came with a special type of thunder. The booming wails of her friend rang clearer in her ears then any sky-borne drums and managed to reach down to her own core much more efficiently.

"Pwease don't cry..." Ivy's plea went unheard as Sagira yelled her anger through her tears, willing her friend to stand up on his own once more.

While Ivy stood in stunned silence, Victor moved close to her and calmly rested a hand on her arm.

"Come on Ivy," his own voice was shakey but he wasn't crying like Sagira was... well, not quite anyway. "We'll help take Lange to a Doctor and you and I can have a proper talk about what we are going to do. It does seem like these two are innocent for the moment but I for one will not mess about with guns and the like - this is getting nipped in the Budew."

"But Vicky, Catlady's friend has the red water coming out - he's hurt and stuff. What are we gonna dos anyway? They said Mister Dawsum is the bad one - he's my Kerranging Officer. But he was nice to me and let me get my Buizel back - Old Crichy said so! I can't believe he is a bad one... but Saggy said he is and I think I believe her... my head hurts!"

Victor rolled his eyes. "Sometimes, Ivy, I think you're a few crumbs short of the full biscuit..."

"Ivy likes biscuits!" Ivy grinned. "Thanks for cheering me up, Vicky!"

"But I didn't do anything..."

Ivy watched in silence as the floaty Pokemon with twig-limbs used their magic spells to lift the bleedy man into the air and carry him away from the scene. There was a crackle on Victor's Comm Device and a voice rang out on the line, commanding and firm:

<<CALLING ALL DEPLOYED SQUADS ON 'OPERATION: RETURN TO THE FOLD'. LANGE AND SMYTHE HAVE BEEN SIGHTED IN THE CENTRAL WESTERN SECTOR NEAR OUTPOST 64D. THEY ARE ARMED AND DANGEROUS AND HAVE RECRUITED TWO MORE MEMBERS OF OUR FACTION. ONE OF THEM IS GRUNT KYLARIAN, THE OTHER IS STILL UNIDENTIFIED BUT APPEARS TO BE A NEW RECRUIT. USE ALL FORCE NECESSARY TO BRING THE FOUR IN.>>

"Nooo!" Ivy stomped her feet. "They's callin' me a traiotr and I've done nuffin wrong! Alpha!" Ivy's newly evolved partner sprang to her side where she jumped to his back. THe luscious fur that poured from his shoulders made the perfect reins as she wheeled him about in a circle. "I'm gonna go back and tell 'em to leave Catlady alone!"

"Ivy, wait!" Victor grabbed her by the arm. Alpha immediately growled with tension but made no move unless Ivy asked him to. Victor winced slightly at the growl and gave a girly squeal but still managed to hold his ground. "Please don't run off like that - we've got to think before we act now more than ever. If Lange and Smythe have managed to avoid detection for so long, we're better off sticking with them until we work out a real plan of action, m'kay?"

Ivy sighed and nodded. "You're so clever, Vicky." She said sagely, kicking her heels to get Alpha to folow Sagira and the band of Pokemon with Lange floating in mid air in front of them. "I'll send Beta and Kappa out to watch behind and they can warn us if any trouble is coming after us, yeah?"

"Well done, Ivy." Victor nodded. "That's a good plan."

"Hey, how far's it to this mendy-man?" Ivy rode forward to Sagira as her other two Pokemon immediately fanned out behind the group. "We've got to get off the road quick as possible, me thinks."

Posted by: Umbrae Calamitas Jun 12 2009, 01:53 PM

Dr. Robinson didn't live very far from where they were, thankfully.

It was odd, she had always thought, that the woman didn't live in an house. Rather, she rented a storage unit near the warehouses and simply lived there with her son.

Danny (which was short for Daniel, but everyone called him Danny) was fifteen. Like his dad, who had been an Elite but had died when the boy was four, he had extremely dark skin, like ground coffee beans. His eyes were a deep blue, which stood out eerily on his face. Danny was an extremely kind young man, with a big heart. Most people didn't see this, because the boy always seemed to have a frown on his face. Danny was very serious. He enjoyed a good joke, but he didn't laugh out loud like most people. If you knew him, you could see the amusement in his expressive eyes, but so few took the time to get to know him.

Sagira had known Danny for years. Dr. Robinson had known her father, so Sagira had been friends with their family for years. She'd been over to the storage unit many times.

This was the first time that she had wished she had no reason to go.

She pounded on the door, ignoring the fact that she was being rudely loud. There was the loud creak of metal running against metal as the door swung open, revealing Danny's face. As always, his observant eyes took in the scene with a detached air. His mouth was set in a line as he looked back at Sagira.

"You're being hunted." It wasn't a question.

"Yes."

He keep eye contact with her for a time, searching her soul, before nodded. He opened the door wide, and Sagira stepped inside. The others followed.

What happened?

Sagira didn't react to the voice echoing in her mind, but Victor's eyes went wide and Ivy let out a dog-like yelp, looking around for the source of the strange, ethnic voice that left no echo in the physical world.

"He was shot," Sagira said, as Paladin and Hinata lowered Jay gently onto a bed that Danny indicated. She looked to her companions. "It's all right, Ivy. It's just Persephone."

"Who's Persu... Porsa... who's that?" Ivy demanded, sounding frightened.

There was a chuckle that echoed around in their minds, somehow managing to sound thickly distinguished. Sagira had never been able to place the accent. It was like a mix between Russian and Egyptian, but it was neither of them at all.

Quite the feisty little one, isn't she?

"Please, Persephone," Sagira said, her voice pleading at the same time that it was commanding. There was a sigh.

Of course, little kitten, of course.

She wasn't what anyone else had been expecting, when she stepped from the shadows. Slim, with dainty paws and a lithe body, the cat pokemon had a long, elegant tail that split into a fork at the end. The creature's fur was short and so sleek that it appeared to be skin alone, but it was a soft violet in color. There was a ruby gem that rested in the centre of the creature's forehead, right between her two dark purple eyes.

"An Espeon..." Victor breathed.

Very perceptive of you. She leapt onto the bed with grace that only a cat could ever possess, stepping daintily up to stare down into the unconscious Jay's face. She was silent for a long time, seeing all that they could not.

He is very lucky, she admitted finally, her voice soft.

"How is being shot 'lucky?'" Sagira snapped. She was at the end of her nerves. This had all gone on for too long!

Persephone looked at her without concern, always aware. Less than an inch to the right and he would be dead. There was no sugarcoating the truth when it came to Persephone. That was one of the reasons that Sagira had liked the Espeon from the start. At the moment, however, she found the trait just pissed her off.

"Where's Doc?" she demanded.

Coming swiftly, Persephone assured her. I told her of your arrival when I felt your presence at the old mill. The old mill was about a half a mile from the storage unit. They'd had to pass it on their way here. She has been preparing for your arrival. She has everything that is necessary to help your... She met Sagira's eyes. friend.

Persephone leapt down from the bed on which Jay lay and walked over to the one that Sagira had sat down on. She was weary, but unwilling to take her eyes off of Jay. She was afraid if she looked away... something would happen to him.

You are killing yourself, little kitten.

"I'm fine."

Sleep.

"No."

Sleeeeep.

Persephone smiled as Sagira's eyes slipped closed at her mental command. The young girl slumped to the side and collapsed onto the bed, the buoyant softness of the mattress catching her easily.

Persephone turned as Doctor Robinson appeared suddenly, Danny at her elbow (though no one had even noticed when he slipped away). Immediately, silent as always, she went to work on Jay.

And Sagira slept on.

Posted by: Hungry Hungry Houndoom Jun 12 2009, 04:43 PM

People kept pressing to come in. Some were wanderers, and one was a beautiful woman that he wished he could let in, except that she seemed frightened to, and unused to travelling. Others were deliberately trying to see him, but a veile, a plastic sheet, something that obscured vision kept them out as well.

He kept thinking about the woman. She was hesitant, and she kept calling while also seeming to be lost herself. At times she was very still, but then would rouse herself.

Another was a woman with coffee colored skin and lavender hair. She had a gem in the middle of her forehead, and a kind smile in her blue eyes. She could see him, but not talk through the veil. Or, at least, she didn't try. Her hair, bunched up at the top, broke into triangles at either side of her head. At times, she intercepted the woman who was lost, sending her back to where she would be still.

There was a young man with a green helmet, and a young girl with a black hair and pale eyes. The young man kept the girl close, but was not leading or forcing her; The girl could navigate quite well here. He looked, and she called, but neither looked over to see him. It seemed to cause the girl distress.

"Hi!" The voice giggled behind him, and he turned, surprised. There was a little girl behind him with light blue purple hair. The hair had purple-red tips, and she wore a necklace of the same purple-red color. Her dress was the same color as her hair, and she giggled when he started. She had no feet, but was floating there. The dress was smokey tatters at the bottom.

"Siryn likes you now!"

He blinked at her.

"Siryn likes you now." She repeated, looking confused. Then she nodded and struck her palm with her fist. She pointed to herself. "Siryn." Then she pointed to her heart. "Likes." She next pointed to him. "You." And pointed to his wrist, where a pokétch appeared. "Now!"

He raised his brows, and she giggled. "Siryn was hungry! And you said you would feed Siryn, and you did. Everyone's afraid!" She frowned. "But Siryn isn't happy because everyone's afraid. Siryn was just SO hungry. Siryn would like to eat things that make it so Siryn doesn't need to make Siryn's friends afraid!"

Then she grinned, a tiny, evil grin. "But the puppy is funny!"

"Where am I?" The words came out haltingly, as if he hadn't spoken in a while. But his lips, he was sure, didn't move.

The girl shrugged. "How should Siryn know? The girl cries in her sleep, and she looks. The kirlias look, but one can't hear and the other can't see. Siryn thinks they're silly, 'cause they forgot that here, that's not a problem! The other girl marches and fusses and growls and whimpers, and the healer lady has to point to a shiny to make her stop! And the other boy plays with his head, but he looks and sometime he looks sad. And then the Espeon goes to look, but she knows you need to rest (that's what she says, but Siryn thinks you need to wake up so the girl stops crying in her sleep), so she leaves you alone. Siryn will keep you company!

"Ivy." The word came out with concern. "Catseye. Are they OK?"

"Oh, the humans are fine, they're all sad, but fine. You are not fine. You are hurt, and Siryn thinks you need to wake up to show you're not too hurt."

"I don't know how."

"Siryn does!" Then she opened her mouth and let out an ear piercing screech.

"SUNUVA--!" The first thing Jay felt was pain, and he regretted jerking awake. a misdreavus floated next to him, making loops and cackling. Siryn did it! Siryn did it!

There was a pounding of feet, and there was Ivy, hair as wild and matted as ever, and Vivitalis, who's hair was on the other scale; perfectly quaffed. There was a sever looking young man, and next to him, a familiar site.

"Doc," he rasped, and she put a hand over his mouth as she checked him over. Once she was satisfied that he hadn't done lasting damage, she turned a scowl on the misdreavus.

Siryn was only trying to help, it said forlornly.

"S'ok. Needed to get up anyway." He looked around. "Where's Sagira?"

The doctor pointed, and there she was, sleeping behind him on the bed, just beginning to stir. "Oh. Great," he joked, his voice still dry. "She's going to kill me for letting her oversleep again..."

Posted by: Umbrae Calamitas Jun 12 2009, 11:57 PM

The dreams were horrible.

They were dreams this time - well, nightmares. Nightmares, but not visions. They were fabrications made up by her mind, as she slipped back and forth from consciousness to deep slumber. Every time she felt herself nearing wakefulness, she felt something press down on her with a soothing touch, sending her back down, deeper into the depths of sleep.

Persephone, you are so getting a squirt bottle to the face.

It wouldn't have been so bad, if not for the nightmares. She knew she needed the sleep and that she'd feel better when she woke up, for having rested.

Except for the nightmares.

If they were about her dad, she would have been used to them enough to be able to ignore them for the most part. But no, they weren't about her dad. They were about Jay.

Less than an inch to the right and he would be dead.

Her mind had latched onto this fact and twisted it to become, not an escaped possibility, but a fact. In her nightmares, Jay had been shot through the heart. In her nightmares, everything seemed too real... too real...

Sometimes she would reach him too late. She would take him in her arms, or just sit there and cry over his body. Paladin and Hinata, Umbrae, Serenity, Calypso, and Videl would be there, or sometimes, she would be alone. Sometimes, Ivy would hug her close and nuzzle her like a dog trying to offer comfort, and Victor would stand in the background. And sometimes, there would be no one. She would have no one.

Sometimes, they all died, too.

The worst was when she wasn't too late.

The worst was when she was standing beside him when he was shot, or when it wasn't Ivy that he pushed out of the way, but her - Sagira - that he stepped in front of. He would be shot and he would fall back into her, and she would catch him. And they would sink to the ground together, and the world around her would grow darker.

He would talk to her. Words that meant nothing in the long run, as she held him close. Sometimes she was shivering, and he would try to tell her that everything was going to be okay, even though they both knew it was a lie. Sometimes he would be the one who was shaking, quaking in the last moments of his existence, life being shaken from him, and she would try desperately to warm him up, when he kept telling her how cold it was. Why couldn't she feel it? It was so cold...

He talked to her about nothing a lot. Words of comfort, of reassurance. Petty lies to try and stall her crying, to make her smile. He was always like that. Bastard. She didn't want to smile. She couldn't smile.

Sometimes, he told her he loved her.

He would whisper it. It would come out on his breath, not something tangible enough to be spoken loudly. It was like a gentle breeze - uncatchable, impossible, because... it couldn't be anymore. Those dreams that came with those words weren't possible if he was dead.

Sometimes, he would kiss her.

She would capture his lips and hold him close, and they would share something that was stronger than life, more passionate than existence, more powerful than anything! Or... it should have been...

But every time she pulled away, he'd be gone. Every time she lifted his lips to tell him she loved him, to meet those beautiful electric eyes, the life would be gone.

It was too real in her head. Oh, it was a nightmare and somewhere, she knew that. Somewhere, she knew that everything she was experiencing - every scene that shattered her already broken heart - was a fabrication of her exhausted, worry-burdened mind. But it was too real, and she couldn't escape the possibility that she would wake up and find that she wasn't dreaming, that he was gone.

The dreams were dreams, and nightmares were nightmares.

But the tears were real. Every one that she cried.

She had shed enough to shame the ocean, and wondered if soon she would have enough to drown herself. If she woke up and this was the reality - that he was gone - she really wasn't sure if she could live. She wasn't sure if she could handle it.

Maybe she should just stay asleep. At least, trapped within these nightmares, there were doubts. Here, she didn't know what was real and what was false, and she could still dream, somewhere beneath the nightmares, that he was still alive.

And that he loved her.

Consciousness appeared abruptly, as though it had teleported in on the back of an Abra. Sagira shuddered convulsively, fearing what opening her eyes would reveal. She didn't want to be awake - not if her nightmares were memories... not if... if...

My lady.

Sagira twitched. Pa-Paladin?

Your soul cries, my lady. What burdens you so?

Paladin... is he... he... Jay...

She felt the familiar tingling sensation in her mind, stronger than it had ever been before. Visions flashed as memories... memories of dreams and dreams of memories, and she couldn't tell which was true. She watched Jay being carried by Hinata and Paladin to Dr. Robinson's, and then she watched him die in her arms. She watched his heart falter when Doc was doing surgery, and then she watched him kiss her. And he died again, and again, and again, and Sagira found herself sobbing, unable to stop herself.

She brought her legs up to her chest, curling into as tight a ball as she could manage, and she simply cried, releasing heart-wrenching sobs that shook her whole body. She didn't know what was real, and part of her didn't want to know. The majority of her dreams and memories were so horrible... they all had cruel endings, and she didn't want that to be true. She didn't want to lose him, or have lost him. She didn't want to be alone. She didn't want to remember, or to know, or... or...

She felt arms suddenly wrap around her from behind. She couldn't even fight it as someone pulled her up into a sitting position, pulling her so her back rested against their chest. She had no strength with which to even demand release. She didn't care. She was a limp doll, dead weight, as she let the tears course down her cheeks, let her puppetmaster control her movements to their whim. She didn't care. She didn't care.

"Catseye?"

Posted by: Living Arrow Jun 13 2009, 06:07 AM

While Sagira and Mr Langie slept, Ivy was ushered out of the room by a shadow of a man named Danny. Ivy liked Danny. He smelled sweet and had eyes that were so interested that she just wanted to sit and look at them for days. He spoke to her softly and calmly, reminding her of the old way her PokéMama had coddled her when she was just a child. He guided her with broad hands to a large room at the back of the house which was pretty much empty except for a few benches along the walls and some odd objects here and there which Ivy could not name.

"While you wait for the Doctor to finish with your friends, why not relax back here?" Danny offered, showing Ivy to a bench near the door.

"But I was helping" Ivy protested as she sat down in a huff. "Just cos Dockie said I was inker-, infer-,... disturbing her work doesn't mean I wasn't helping!"

"Yes, yes. You were certainly helping," Danny lied as he backed towards the door, "the Doctor just likes it to be a bit more quiet in there is all. I shall come and fetch you when they wake up. Is that OK?"

Ivy bit her lip and mumbled something about 'Ivy knows best' but resigned herself to confinement since Danny had been so polite about it all. Victor hustled past Danny as the man left, flicking his hair with disdain as he shut the door behind him. He fixed Ivy with a stern look and pouted.

"Ivy, we need to talk about our next steps." He said directly, sitting down next to her. "I don't know if you realise just how bad our situation is right now. We are in big trouble."

"It's gonna be alright, Silly!" Ivy patted Victor on the head, ruffling his hair a little in the process. He quickly fixed his hair with a practised sweep of his hand and tutted.

"No, Ivy. This is serious. We have to come up with a proper plan and follow through on it as soon as possible. I did not want to join Team Aqua, much less become their enemy. It's annoying, but we are in the same boat as Smythe and Lange now so we need to include them in whatever we decide but I think it prudent to have some sort of back-up plan to use in case anything goes wrong." Victor insisted. Ivy nodded her head the whole time, her 'serious face' worn for all the room to see.

"I see... Then we should probably get thinkin' then, huh?" Ivy surmised. Victor rolled his eyes and nodded with exasperation.

"I've already been thinking while you lot were messing about." Victor said, standing up and leading Ivy out to the middle of the room. "I'll be damned if I'm getting shot at and I am not seeing the inside of a prison cell again."

"Sounds like Vicky's got a plan?" Ivy scratched her head thoughtfully.

"Not a full one yet, but I have some intentions, yes." Victor explained, picking at the Premier Balls adorning his belt. "And you're going to help me with them."

"Wassat?" Ivy leaned forward, feeling like she was in an some big secret. Victor sighed and smacked a hand to his forehead.

"Just get your Pokemon out and teach me how to battle properly with some of those combo things that you do." He said, while guiding Ivy's hand to her Pokeballs.

"Oooh! I geddit! You wanna fights like me!?!?!"

"No... I want to be able to fight in my own style. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve courtesy of an old teacher but I just need some help to practise them. You ready for a sparring match?"

"Does a doggie pee on the ground?" Ivy asked back, thinking she was extremely clever in the process. Victor screwed his face up with disgust. "Uh, yes..." Ivy sheepishly confirmed.



"Beta!" Ivy gasped with shock, her Electrike collapsing under the strain of Victor's practised Combo. Little sparks of static electricity crackled from his body as he struggled to rise but in the end gave up.

"Excellent work!" Victor gathered his team around him and fondly stroked their heads. "With moves like those, we'll be able to hold our own, no problem. Like Juan always said, strategy wins the battle - not strength alone!"

Ivy grinned. After a couple hours of training she had been mightily impressed with Victor's efforts with his Pokemon. She was always thinking of new combinations to do with her Pokemon but he seemed to have loads in his head already! True he didn't actually get involved in the fighting himself, but the odd pairings he made with his teammates resulted in some shockingly powerful moves that made Ivy's mind boggle. Vicky was actually very strong! She had thought he was more like a new-born pup up until now but he proved to her that looks could be very deceiving, indeed!

"Your friends have woken up now." Danny's voice called from the doorway. "I'm sure they would like to see you."

"Alright!" Ivy punched the air. "I knews they'd be fine. I did say so!" She recalled Beta hastily and rushed through the door to see them, Victor close on her heels.

Posted by: Hungry Hungry Houndoom Jun 13 2009, 01:13 PM

One of any human's fondest wishes was that he could honestly say he had never been heart broken. Jay Lange was the closest one could come to that without admitting to be an utter monster, mostly because the lifestyle nor women in Jublife city didn't attract him, with it's glitz, glamour, and easy on and off relationships. He had broken hearts, true, and regretted that. However his heart had only been broken once before.

He was ten, and already on the road to becoming a fighter and practicioner of parkour. His parents were out, and he was practicing in the living room. The lone person watching them was a babysitter and a body guard, hardly needed but hired just in case. After all, there were plenty of sickos in the world who would try to take advantage of even the moderately wealthy.

The "sitter" paid them little mind. Amber stayed in her room most of the time between visits from Sabrina. At seven she was learning to control her powers, but still often found herself worn down and tired. Jay kept to himself, and had learned quickly that breaking things or getting into trouble with the sitter, while not dangerous, was no fun whatsoever.

He was taking a break, making himself a sandwich, when he heard his sister scream. It was a wail of sorrow, a shock of sudden, angry surprise, like waking up and finding your pet buneary skinned and boiling in a pot of water. It was agony, and Jay dropped the butter knife he was spreading jam with and dashed to his sister's room.

She was holding her head, keening, screaming, but softly, her face screwed up in pain. Jay walked to her and grabbed around her waist, and she jerked, but sank against him. Sobbing now, the almost hysterical sobbing of someone who's seen too much, she clung to him, unable to articulate what had caused this. He held her until her sobs became the normal, soft sobs that came with sadness, but as she wailed before that, his heart had thoroughly broken. They found out later there had been a car accident a mile away.

Today, his heart had broken again. Sagira sobbed in his arms, dead weight, unable or unwilling to move, to fight, even to get comfort. She simply sobbed, hoarsely, brokenly, as Jay pulled her back.

"Catseye..?"

She stiffened, trying suddenly to bring her crying under control. Now, however, instead of coming freely, they built and forced their way out of her, each new sob a surge of sadness.

"Catseye," Jay whispere, his mouth right up against her ear. "Catseye, it's OK. I'm fine. I'm alive."

"D-don't," she said, her body attempting vehemence, terror, but her strength not yet sufficient for more than pleading. "Don't... say... don't..." She fell into sobbing again, and he held her, his right hand stoking her hair, his left little more than a throbbing cushion. He ignored the pain, didn't feel it as more than a far off, unreal problem, one that couldn't rival what he felt in his heart.

"Don't cry, don't cry. It's OK, now. It's OK." He whispered, trying to be soothing, insistant but soft, and her sobbing fell to hiccups, then, slowly, faded.

She looked up at him, eyes rimmed red, face pale, hair mussed, and he smiled at her as if she was the most beautiful person on the planet. "Hey, beautiful."

Her eyes glazed, as if she was at war with herself, wondering inside herself if this was real or fake, if this was another memory, or the reality she'd hoped for. Had her heart finally given up and shown her what she wanted to see in order to stave off reality? Could she risk it?

She leaned forward, and he leaned, too.

Their lips were millimeters apart when she gasped, scrambling off the bed, a shout of "no!" coming from her in a squeal. She stared at him, not angry, not upset, but terrified, and then, without even heeding the others, dashed pell mell out the door.

He struggled to get up, to give chase, but the reality of his wound crashed into him, almost as if she'd taken his heart with her and left him with only the pains of his body to prove he was alive. He crashed back to the bed, groaning in agony.

Empty. He felt, oddly, empty. And maybe a broken heart was better than no heart at all.

* * * * *

Hinata, at first, had been ecstatic when he'd awakened. But now, with the onslaught of emotion, both from her trainer and from Paladin's...

That was the problem. Neither of them would allow themselves to see what she saw now, so plainly. They were stupid, she wanted to growl, and she did in her mind. But a psychic type is never truly alone in their own mind.

You're being harsh. The words were not angry, or even sarcastic. They didn't warn, or rebuke, or even sound annoyed. They were, in fact, as understanding as any words could be. Hinata lashed out at them anyway.

What is her problem?! Why won't she let him close?! And why won't he just give up?! They're stupid! They need to either kiss or walk away from each other!

Paladin took her hand gently. May I show you what her 'problem' is..?

Fine.

And he did, opening his mind fully, and though it caused Hinata a hint of residual fear, she entered, opening her mind enough to see what Paladin wanted her to see.

It was overwhelming, the images, repeating but with slight variances each time. The feelings, of failure, aloneness, so much despair that even Sagira's shield of rage couldn't stand against it, and was shattered, never to be erected again, had the images proven to be true. And, progressively, the images became more and more tied to Sagira. From Jay's saving Ivy, and Sagira not being there to save him, to Jay's saving Sagira, to Jay's dying because Sagira had somehow faltered.

As the guilt grew worse, so did the consequences. And Hinata knew, could tell, though the images were ordered by Paladin, they had happened near simultaneously for Sagira.

And yet the girl's heart fought. Held him instead of kneeling next to him. Talked to him instead of screaming at him. Stroked his face instead of simply lookng at him. And finally kissed him, throwing her passion, her heart's true feelings, down the well of oblivion that he was headed toward, to warm him in that cold place, leaving her with nothing.

And each time, he still died. To the point that, in Sagira's mind, the kiss had come to mean his death.

Paladin tried to break the contact then, fearing he'd overwhelmed Hinata, but Hinata held on, and physically and mentally hugged the male kirlia.

You endured that alone. You blocked it from me, and from Persephone. You weren't going to even show me just now. She didn't need an answer. She knew she was right. Idiot, She said, gently to him, stroking away the residual despair. You're not alone. If they can't see that they are not alone, either, then we need to show them. And the best way is by example. Don't be alone anymore.

Paladin didn't answer, but she felt him return her embrace.

Posted by: Pumpkin King Jun 15 2009, 02:21 PM

Victor closely followed Ivy into the other room. He was content with himself and his Pokemon. He most certainly had improved his battling skills and the bonds between him and his Pokemon were stronger. Victor was developing as a person, as a trainer and as a criminal. He was now an enemy of Team Magma, Team Aqua, his family and the outside world. Victor had made himself an enemy of absolutely everyone except those in the same situation: Ivy, Sagira and Jay. He pondered how he could continue this life of his. Victor had already proved himself capable of fending for himself in battle, but life wasn't just a big Pokemon battle. The memory of the Aqua pulling out a gun flashed in his mind. That could have been Victor that was shot. I can't continue living like this, he thought. I have to find a way to escape and quickly.

The first step, Victor realized, would be to break to relationships he had created. Those associations with Ivy, Sagira and Jay would only get him in more trouble. Even if they did manage to prove themselves innocent, they would only have eliminated Team Aqua as an enemy. Victor would still be up against Team Magma, his family and the just population of the world. Team Aqua was a criminal team, no matter which viewpoint it's looked at. They were out for world domination and would not stop until they have. I'll run away. Far away. I'll leave Hoenn and start a new life in another region under a different name. I'll leave all of this behind me. But how?

"Vicky!" Ivy cried. Victor found himself falling on top of Ivy's small body. He hadn't been paying the slightest attention to his environment. Ivy was pushing Victor off of her shoulder, Jay and Sagira were having some sort of romantic moment and Victor saw a Kirlia staring deep into his bright blue eyes. "Get off me, Vicky!"

"My apoogies, Ivy," Victor said. "I suppose I'm more tired than I thought." The Kirlia was still staring at him, as if it was penetrating Victor's very soul. Victor did not know much about Kirlia but knew that they had psychic powers. He was afraid of what the Kirlia was doing to him. Was it reading my mind? he wondered. That could prove to be more dangerous. The Kirlia might report to its trainer, either Jay or Sagira, Victor did not know who owned which, and identify him as a traitor. The last thing Victor needed was to make even more enemies. "I think I'm going to step out for a bit of fresh air." Victor hastily left the warehouse and heaved a deep sigh. "I'm in deep trouble," he stated to the air around him. It was dark outside and the night sky was filled with dark clouds. Only the moon shone through the darkness. Victor remembered the story of Darkrai and Cresselia he was told when he was younger. Using the massive piles of boxes as steps, Victor climbed onto the roof of the warehouse and released his Meowth.

"Meow?" Aurum asked, wondering why he was released from his gleaming Premier Ball. The cat fell onto his four legs and began forming figure eights between Victor's legs, rubbing against the boy's dark jeans.

"Aurum, one day we'll fly away," Victor said. "Leave all this to yesterday..." He smiled at the rhyme he made and stepped closer to the moon. "Why live life from dream to dream and dread the day when dreaming ends?" He imagined himself soaring through the night sky on the glossy wings of some Pokemon, but he imagined Ivy trailing behind him. "I could never leave her behind... It'd be too hard." He couldn't fly away, not with Ivy as his only true friend. He heaved another deep sigh and climbed down the warehouse. "I need a new new plan. One that includes Ivy and because of Ivy it'll probably include Sagira... And because of Sagira it'll probably incluse Jay. There's just no easy way out," he concluded. He stepped inside the warehouse with Aurum att his heels.

Posted by: Umbrae Calamitas Jun 15 2009, 03:01 PM

It was a distant area of the building, separated from the main area by a makeshift wall of plywood and boxes that Sagira found herself. She had curled up into a corner, her legs pulled up against her chest as she shivered convulsively. The world around her seemed to spin and dance in several directions at once, and Sagira wasn't certain as to what to believe. Her nightmares, as all nightmares, had begun to cloud and fade from the sight of her memory, becoming distorted and merging with all other might-have-beens. Though the fabrications of Jay's many deaths fell short of truth, however, the fear lingered.

In every nightmare that he had told her he loved her, she had dared to hope. No matter the circumstances, she had felt her own... admiration for him rise up. In every dream, she had wanted it to be true. She couldn't forestall her own feelings. Against herself, she was powerless.

Just as against death.

He had died, every time. Every time he had said he loved her, that love died with him. Every time she kissed him, her kiss stole away his last breath. Her lips were poison, and she had almost done it again. She had almost kissed him.

But this wasn't a dream. There was no waking up, no turning back, no trying again. If she kissed him here and now and he died... that was it.

Game over.

Sagira released a shuddering sob that seemed to shake her very heart from her chest, but not enough to make her feelings for him go away. They had made a complete turnabout from when she had first met him. Her near-hatred of him at the beginning had evolved to tolerance, to acceptance, then friendship. But they had surpassed friendship when she started admiring him as something more, and thinking about what would happen after... everything.

And now, she realized, admiration wasn't a strong enough word to mark her feelings. She didn't even just like him anymore.

"I love him," she whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek. "I love him, and that will surely be the death of him."

"I have to say, Iris, that this is the lowest I have ever seen your heart sink."

Sagira jerked in surprise at the abrupt arrival of the voice, but she was not shocked at seeing Danny there. He had a way about him, and a manner that she had grown accustomed to over the years. Danny couldn't be loud. It was physically impossible for him. Physics simply would not allow it.

The boy moved with the silence of a stalking tiger, the grace of a frolicking gazelle. He could move like a wary antelope, or a striking cobra, and all the while, he would be as silent as a nonexistent breeze.

He also had a way, how he came upon you when you needed something. It didn't matter what it was; solitude, company, an enemy to lash out at, or a friend: Danny was there.

Like always, he had arrived just when Sagira needed something.

Perhaps he could tell her what that something was.

"You love him."

It wasn't a question, and so Sagira did not offer an answer. She merely turned her head away, refusing to look at Danny. They both knew that he cared for her. They both knew that, on some level, Danny had always loved her. He would always love her.

"We..." Sagira broke off, unsure of what to say. Should she apologize for something that she couldn't truly control? It's not like she wanted to love Jay. She couldn't, if... if she would be his end.

"I know," Danny said, smiling softly. It seemed a sad smile, and he offered it up to her as he did to so few others. "We wouldn't work, Iris." He sat down on a box full of books, facing her. "I am a creature set to remain in one place. This is my home" he spread his arms, "and it probably always will be my home." He looked at her. The smile was gone. That perpetual frown was back, but it wasn't one of anger or sadness. He seemed... content. "You are a creature born to fly, Iris. You are the wind, and one cannot chain the wind, lest they destroy it." His eyes softened when they met hers. "We're too different. But him - Jay."

Sagira looked away, her eyes filling with tears. Danny reached forward and grabbed her chin lightly, turning her head to look back at him. He gave her another of those rare smiles.

"You love him," he said softly, "and it's nothing small or insignificant. It's not something that can be ignored. Everything with you is extreme, Iris. The way you move, the way you act, the way you speak, or sing." She blushed at some of the memories that brought up, but held his gaze. "This won't be any different. What passion you hold in your heart will be as true and wild and unchainable as anything else you do. I know that." He brushed her bangs away, tucking them gently behind her ears. "I will always love you, Iris," he whispered softly, "but your heart belongs to someone else. I wouldn't dream of taking you away from someone whose heart you've stolen in return."

"He doesn't-"

Danny placed a finger over her lips, shushing her. "For the ten years that we've known each other, Iris, we have never once shamed ourselves with a lie. Let's not start now."

She closed her eyes. "He loves me."

"That is unmistakable, and beautiful. Love is such a hard thing to find, to keep, in this world, Iris. Don't let this pass you by because you're afraid." He smirked. "I thought the great ShadowCat wasn't afraid of anything?"

Sagira huffed softly, half-amused. "I think I'm losing every bit of the cat that was ever in me," Sagira said softly.

"That I doubt," Danny admitted. "You've been acting like a cat since as long as I have known you. Even some of the other kids around here called you Cat-Girl. It's not something you can just lose. It's more than the gloves and the ears." He flicked at her clawed left hand. "It's the way you move, the way you act. Even the way you speak. You'll always be more like a feline than anyone I have ever known. I doubt Persephone would call you Little Kitten otherwise."

Sagira laughed. "She does seem very fond of the nicknames she makes up."

"She's learned from the best," Danny said. He trailed a hand down her cheek. "Promise me, Iris, that you won't give up on your love for him?"

Sagira smiled. "You know, I think this is the most you've ever spoken to me at one time, Danny," she said, trying to change the subject.

Danny wasn't fooled. Her gave her a scowl that held very little fire behind it. "Iris." She sighed. "Promise me. You don't have to tell him now, or even soon. But don't give up on this, or him. This is something too precious to let go of."

Sagira nodded, meeting his eyes. "Danny, I... I'm sorry," she said, bowing her head.

"We wouldn't have worked, Iris. You know that as well as I. We're too different. You're a cat, and I'm a mouse."

She smirked at the metaphor, but there was a level of regret within her eyes that would remain for a while. "You'll find someone else, Danny."

He nodded. "But never someone like you." His eyes softened with his own level of regret, but he was glad that he didn't think to keep her. She would never have survived being chained by his desire. "There is no one like you," he admitted.

"You're a regular poet, Danny," she said softly. "You'll woo some girl into hearts and stars, and they'll love you forever."

"You're right, of course," he said, nodding, his eyes moist. "Let me have just one thing?"

She offered him only a smile in return. He curled a hand behind her head, entwining it in her hair, and kissed her softly on the lips.

The contact remained for just a moment, before he pulled back. Without a word, he turned and left her, unwilling to let her see any more of his weakness.

Sagira lowered her head, a lone tear sliding down her cheek. Yet another ray of possibilities flashed brilliantly, and then burned out before her eyes. A file of could-have-beens, burnt into never-possibilities by Fate and choices made.

Sagira touched her lips softly but found that her heart did not thrum as it did every time she had kissed Jay in her dreams. Her soul did not ache whenever she looked into Danny's eyes, as when she did with Jay. Everything inside of her was as silent with Danny as with Ivy or Mattie. With Jay, however, all that dwelt inside of her seemed to cry out in joy whenever he was near.

She loved him, and there wasn't anything that she could do about it, so she might as well accept it. Danny had, and if he was willing to let her go, then Sagira was willing to turn her back on her fears.

Wiping her tears, she rose to her feet and headed back to the room where Jay was.

Those nightmares were just nightmares, and she couldn't let their cloudy presence blind her. Danny's words, Jay's... actions... they proved to her that there was a chance for her to hope. A chance to dream.

Posted by: Hungry Hungry Houndoom Jun 16 2009, 01:15 AM

Jay lay on the bed, waiting for the pain to ebb, but there was more pain than just that in his shoulder.

Just thinking that way makes me feel like a huge block of cheddar, he sighed mentally. He would have sat up, walked it off, and gotten over it, except that his shoulder *did* still hurt, and there was nothing cheesy about that.

So he lay back, closed his eyes, and tried to follow thing logically. First, he'd gotten shot. That... that was not a good thing. The next thing he knew, he was waking up, and everyone was around him. Everyone but Sagira. But she was there. She had somehow worked herself up so badly that she was crying, openly, curled in a ball. He did thew first thing that had come to his mind. He pulled her close and held her until she stopped crying.

THey had been close again. SO close. And yet, when the time came, she pulled away. At first he'd thought it was because there were so many people around, but the more he considered it, the more he remembered her face.

She was terrified. It wasn't mortfication or annoyance, she was absolutely terrified.

Jay... Jay, I think you should know-

"No, Hina."

He could feel Hinata's confusion, through their link. He could feel Paladin also trying to get through. He ignored it. "I know something happened, Hina. But I think this time she needs to come and tell me if she wants me to know." His voice softened. "I think she needs that kind of trust this time."

There was silence as both kirlia thought about what he said. Finally Hinata floated over and sit down on the bed. So... how do you... She was hesitant, but touching Paladin's mind seemed to bolster her. How do you feel about her?

He didn't answer for a long time, then smiled. "She's... hard to deal with. She goes to extremes so quickly. One moment she's cracking wise, and the next he's slamming me into a wall. One moment she's fighting like a cat, the next she's got herself worked up so much that she's afraid to touch me. It's... it's like riding a roller coaster."

Paladin seemed to deflate, but Hinata actually smiled.

You love roller coasters.

Jaima gave a small chuckle and closed his eyes again. "Yeah. Answer your question?"

She nodded, then floated to Paladin just as Sagira walked into the door.

She looked like she had mastered her emotions, but could not help but falter when she saw Jay. She turned, minutely, then decided against interacting. He opened his eyes at the moment she started turning away.

"Hey."

She stopped, seeming to shrink into her herself. If she'd had ears, they would be flat against her skull.

"C'mere. Please."

She turned, slowly, to see him struggling to sit up. His breathing was labored, and he took a moment to rest before he opened his eyes again. She stood, transfixed, looking as if she still might bolt. Jay watched her for a moment, then raised his right hand. "Please c'mere, Sagira."

She walked to him, looking between his eyes and his hand. Or, more accurately, between his ear and his hand.

"Touch it." Sagira stepped closer, but made no move to reach out to him.

He knew she was upset because she didn't offer a snide remark. She didn't move either, so he cleared his throat.

"Please."

She stepped forward. Her arms were crossed across her stomach, as if she were cold, but slowly, she lifted one away and reached for Jay's hand. Her hand shook.

Until their fingertips touched.

"I'm real. This... this is real. Whatever you thought, or feared, or anything... that wasn't real." He looked at her, but her eyes were glued to their hands.

"Do... do you have any idea what I went through?" She whispered it, and her voice was not angry, but rather she had the air of someone who wanted to talk, to unload her feelings.

"To be truthful, I don't even know what I went through." He smiled softly. "I've kind of been unconscious."

She looked away, and he sighed. "Sorry."

She sighed, too. "Did you even think of how I'd feel?"

He looked over at her. "I kind of thought that you'd be sad if your friend got shot."

She gave him a significant, if annoyed look, and he smiled sheepishly. "The truth is... It was just the right thing to do."

Sagira looked at Jay, sighing. "You're not just saying that because you think it's what I want to hear..?"

Jay grinned at her. "C'mon, Catseye. Guys who get shot don't need to lie for credibility. The wound itself makes everything we say true. 'Yeah, sure, I was delayed. I got shot!' 'Yes, I was in the movies. See? I got shot!' 'Yes, my sister is Uma Thurman. See? Got the gunshot wound to prove it.'"

Slowly Sagira's mouth twitched, then curled up, then, just once, she gave a laugh. Jay smiled at her and reached out to take her hand. She squeezed his hand softly, looking very intently at her knees.

He tilts his head at her and lifted the hands they were holding, using his forefinger to pull her chin to look at him. He was close, and she licked her lips unconsciously.

"I... I can't."

Jay raised a brow, fighting a look of disappointment. Sagira looked away. "OK."

He didn't understand, and she looked at him, stricken. "I'm sorry... I just... I'm not ready." She looked away. "I... I can't. Not... not yet."

Jay looked at her and nodded, looking at Paladin, who's eyes briefly unfocused. Hinata, too, was checking on him, and he tried to send her reassurance. Paladin was likely doing the same for Sagira. "I understand."

"You do?" He wasn't looking at her, but the incredulity in her voice almost made him laugh.

"I waited this long. I can wait a little bit longer." He leaned back against her and shrugged. Fair warning. There's something you should know."

A hint of Sagira's usual attitude came through. "What's that," she asked, and he could hear her arched brow in her voice.

Jay smirked. "Once you get the stones up to do it... there's no getting rid of me."

Sagira leaned back as Doctor Robinson came in with a dish. "I'm counting on it," she said, almost too soft for him to hear.

* * * * *

The first week passed by uneventfully. Jay spent it in bed, which was ggreat for the first two days. It allowed him some rest, and it allowed him and Sagira time together.

Not that much happened, but didn't it say something when you could sit with someone, not saying or doing anything, and you didn't feel like anything was missing, so long as the person was there?

Increasingly as time went on, however, the only time he felt content was when Sagira was there. The rest of it, he felt lazy. Or worse, like he was doing something wrong.

Rather, that doing nothing was wrong.

It didn't help that the doctor's son didn't seem to like him. Sagira had explained about his perpetually thoughtful frown, but Jay was a student of human naturel. He could see the boy's eyes harden whenever he passed.

After the first week, he'd decided. They had to leave as soon as possible. Which means he had to get better.

He had gradually been allowed out of bed. Dr. Robinson had said he could walk around whenever he'd like, but Sagira had insisted on rest. Now he was in a small area that had been partitioned off with beaded curtains. There were aerobic step blocks, and he set them up for pushups and dips.

He must have been groaning louder than he thought, because when he'd finished his tricep dip, a feminine voice cleared her throat.

"Oh. Hey, Catseye."

Sagira had never looked more livid. "Jay Lange, what in the hell is wrong with you?!"

"I got shot last week."

Sagira's lips pressed together, and she cocked her hips, her arms crossed in front of her. She arched a brow. "You should be resting."

"We need to get out of here, Sagira."

Sagira actually frowned, incredulous. "What?"

"The longer-" Jay grunted, dipping again, his arms shaking, "-we stay here," his brow beaded with sweat, "we put the... doc in... danger." Sagira chewed her lip, and Jay continued. "So we have to get out of here."

Sagira watched him attempt his fifth dip, but falter and fall. She took a step toward him. "Reopening the wound isn't going to make that happen, Jay."

Jay panted, holding his arm. "I..." He looked away from her, to the wall. "I'm holding us back."

"If you continue trying to injure yourself, then yes, you will hold us back." She gave him a devil-may-care grin. "In all seriousness, though, ignoring the circumstances, I'm enjoying the break."

"The only part I'm enjoying is sending time with you." Just before Sagira melted completely, Jay sighed. "What about the doc? OW!"

A deeper, calmer voice came from behind Jay, and he turned, startled, both from the doctor's raised hand and the fact that she and her son had snuck up on them. Even Sagira blinked, but she seemed used to it. "What mother is trying to say is that she knew what she was getting into when you first came here. She's not the type to run." He looked at his fingernails. "She knows the difference between right and wrong."

Jay could see the tightness around his eyes, but couldn't deny the guy was right.

"Fine," Jay said after a moment. "But I have a call to make."

"Who," Sagira asked, narrowing her eyes.

Jay looked her in the eye. "Someone who can get us closer to clearing our names. My old CO."

Posted by: Umbrae Calamitas Jun 18 2009, 01:20 AM

If Jay had been in better condition, Sagira would have kicked his ass.

There were many reasons for this, but the main one was his insisting on trying to hurt himself. He wasn't yet strong enough to exercise fully, though secretly she admitted that some walking around and ever minor lifting might help. Still, he shouldn't be doing dips. It was obviously far too straining on his body, and he risked reopening the wound in his shoulder.

She hadn't been near enough to hear him groaning in pain while doing the dips, but Hinata and Paladin had both come to her, concerned. Only her awareness of his injuries and her desire to see him well again kept her from turning him into a scratching post. The boy was hopeless.

However, once Doc gave him a sound slap to the back of the head, and Danny offered up information that should have been obvious, Jay actually came up with a good idea.

Jay's Commanding Officer was a man named Bryce. He was a bit taller than Jay, with a stern face enhanced by lines of worry and age. The man must have been in his fifties, but he was lean, with an impressive muscle tone and fierce blue eyes filled with experience. His hair was once completely black, but was now grey and streaked with white. He had a thin beard and a small moustache beneath a straight, firm nose. His lips twitched when Jay came into view on the video screen.

"Now, this is an impressive surprise," the man said gruffly, his voice a deep rumble. "Montgomery Leppenhouser, calling me personally? I'd be honored if you didn't look like shit."

Smart man, Sagira mused.

The truth was, Jay looked like Jay. They had discarded a good portion of their costumes. Jay's hair had begun to grow out faster than Sagira's, and he'd stopped slicking it back a while ago. Sagira's look wasn't so easily vanquished, but neither of them seemed to mind.

The fact of the matter was, if Bryce was calling him Monty when it was obviously Jay, that meant that he had known for some time about the ruse.

I say again, smart man.

"Sir," Jay greeted, nodding.

"You look like shit, son," Bryce admitted.

"Don't feel much better, sir." Jay sighed. "Sir, I want you to know, Sagira and I aren't traitors-"

"Don't get presumptuous, boy," Bryce snapped. "I'm old, not a fool. That damn Dawson's been naming Aquas traitors every time they don't agree with him, for years. Problem is, we can never prove he's corrupt. Son of a bitch always has a scapegoat." He leveled a look at Jay. "So what'd he do, son? Steal your pokemon? Embezzle your accounts?"

Sagira stepped forward, into view of the screen. "He tried to rape me, sir," she said, forcing herself not to stutter. The idea of that occurring still bothered her, but she couldn't let it get to her now. "Jay defended and protected me, thereby eliciting Elite II Dawson's rage. He named us traitors, then, and we were forced into running."

"No need to be so damn formal, girl," Bryce responded gruffly. "You and I both know the man's a jackass. So he tried to get you in his bed, huh? Fuckin' son of a bitch!" He growled, much like an angered wolf, and he did have the appearance of one, with those fierce eyes and the thick grey hair. "Damn bastard did the same thing to my daughter. Even with her testimony, there's nothing much we can do about him. He's got too many damn allies in the higher ups."

"Well, we may have something that can help pin him as the traitor, sir," Jay said. He lifted the thick folder so Bryce could see it in the screen. "Dawson's been stealing pokemon from the local zoo, and somehow managed to keep it quiet."

"We think he's probably got someone working on the inside, who can adjust the records so it looks like pokemon were either transferred or died in captivity. We're not sure, but these records were scheduled to be destroyed."

"There's enough information here to mark him as a traitor thrice over, and we might be able to get a testimony from another source, as well."

"You mean me?" A younger woman appeared on the screen beside Bryce.

"Melissa?" Jay gasped.

The girl smiled softly. "Yes. Don't worry, I've already told my father everything that I knew." She rolled her eyes. "Not that he thought you were traitors from the start."

Jay smiled. "Thank you." Melissa blushed and disappeared from view. "So, where do we go from here, sir?"

"Clearly, you need your rest, son," Bryce said, making Jay grimace. "I can see from here that you've been injured, and you're tiring yourself out. You rest, get your strength up, and when the time's right, we'll find a meeting place. Then, we'll bring that son of a bitch down."

Sagira and Jay both nodded in agreement. They had a plan!

Posted by: Living Arrow Jun 18 2009, 11:51 AM

"Now! Fang over Fang!" Ivy screamed, jumping out of her parnters' landing zone.

Alpha and Beta locked fangs onto the training dummy and began the final spin to drive the doll into the ground as they had practiced so many times before. This time, however, something was wrong. The dummy was forced into a frightful spin but at the same time, Beta's jaws were loosened and his attack weakened as he was barely able to hang on as Alpha drove his way downward. Their strength was uneven - that much was clear.

"No!" Ivy yelled, but not fast enough. The pair of canines hit the ground, the dummy underneath them, but Beta was immediately knocked free from his grasp and set flying into the air, straight towards where Victor was training. "Look out!"

"Wha-? Aiieee!" Victor screamed, holding his arms up for defence and screwing his eyes shut. Aurum looked up from where he was practicing some sort of hidden-swipes combo while using Hydro's Bubble for a sort of shield that distorted the opponent's vision of the Meowth. Oxys' jaw dropped wide open - and for him that was WIDE - in shock but somehow, Mercury was on the move.

"Spoi!" He cried, the pearl on his head glowing a bright blue as he brought the flying Electrike to a halt in mid-air with a blast of telekinesis. Proud with his achievment, Mercury bounced on the spot with glee but such a celebration broke his concentration. With a whimper, Beta plopped to the ground with a moan.

"Oooh! Piggy's gotten more practice!" Ivy clapped her hands, dashing over to Beta to make she he was alright. Once he had licked her hands and face sufficiently, she let him scamper back to training.

"What's going on, Ivy?" Victor made his way over to her, tidying his hair in the process (it had become mussed in his attempt to shield himself from the incoming projectile-Pokemon).

"I dunno." Ivy admitted, frowning heavily. "Looks like Alpha's too heavy to do the Fang over Fang with Beta now... I think it's cos he 'volved? Beta just can't match that sort of strength so the timing goes off and the landing is ruined!"

"I see..." Victor muttered, stroking his chin slowly. "Can you have your Buizel team up with Beta, instead?"

Ivy shook her head. "Nope. He doesn't know the bitey attacks..."

"Hmmm..." Victor's brow furrowed a little deeper. "Then it look like you need a new Combo or you need to make your Electrike evolve... There doesn't seem to be a way to balance the power struggle between them so those are the only options, I'm afraid."

"So I should help Beta to 'volve?" Ivy cocked her head quizzically. "What does he turn into? Something bigger like my Alpha?"

"I don't have all the answers, Ivy!" Victor held up his hands, "But evolution usually does mean an increase in size. You should go and get one of those Pokedexes from our last mission and look up what Beta will become and how much training it will take. Same goes for Kappa - he'll probably do it at some point, too."

"Oooh!" Ivy's wide eyes bulged in her head as she nodded with understanding. She suddenly shook her head to clear her thoughts and raised her hands in the air. "OK! We can't stand around chitty-chatting all day! Time to pack up and have a biscuit then let's go see if them Sillys are ready to move out!"

Posted by: Pumpkin King Jun 18 2009, 12:21 PM

Victor lay face up on the floor of the warehouse, dying of boredom. Ivy had rushed out of their training session, leaving Victor alone. Instead of following her, he had just collapsed on the ground, tired. He returned all of his Pokemon except Aurum. "Oh my God! Can we leave this stupid warehouse already?! This isn't accomplishing anything! And Aqua might have already identified me as a traitor!" He knocked his head against the floor several times saying, "I-hate-my-life!"

Ivy, eager as ever for action, came running on all fours towards Victor. "Vicky! Catlady says she has a plan!" Ivy ran three circles around Victor's sedentary body and dashed out of his sight. Victor lifted himself to a sitting position as Ivy dashed back and ran three more circles. "Come on Vicky! Quit being silly!"

"I'm going!" Victor stood up and brushed himself off. "Let's go Aurum." The Meowth responded with a nod and silently led the way. The cat had an elegant gait, similar to Victor's, but the strut was beginning to lose its luster, as was Victor's. Spending too much time away from their luxurious home was affecting their methods, habits and thought processes. Both Victor and Aurum's gait was now more relaxed and comfortable.

"Vicky!" Ivy called impatiently.

"I'm going!" Victor called back, quickening his pace. He was fixing his beautiful golden hair when he joined the group. Victor felt two sets of eyes on him. Sagira and Jay were looking at him like he was being ridiculous. "My hair needs to be perfect at all times!" Victor said in his defense. "What's this plan of yours?"

Sagira cleared her throat and said, "We just spoke with Bryce-"

"Who's Bryce?" Ivy interrupted.

"Ivy, could you wait until I'm finished to ask questions?"

"...Yes."

"We just spoke with Bryce, Jay's commanding officer, and he is willing to help us prove that Dawson is corrupt. We will be meeting with Bryce as soon as Jay's wound gets better. For now, we're going to wait here with the Doctor and Danny. You two," Sagira pointed to Ivy and Victor. "Don't need to stay with us. You're free to do whatever you wish, but you're welcome to join us. Ivy, you've already been named a traitor, but you, Victor have not. You could leave, and I don't blame you."

There was silence. Victor had already contemplated leaving, but was determined to help Ivy. Sagira and Jay, not so much. Victor didn't care too much for that couple, whether they were innocent or guilty.

"But if you leave," said Jay, breaking the silence.

"I'm staying," Victor interrupted. "I want to help clear Ivy's name... and yours too."

"Yay, Vicky!" Ivy said, excited.

Posted by: Umbrae Calamitas Jun 21 2009, 12:54 AM

Sagira didn't much care for Victor.

Of course, Sagira didn't really like anyone, but people tended to force her to remain in their presence, thereby calling forth some sort of feelings toward them. She had been on a mission with both Ivy and Jay, and she felt close to them. Doc and Danny didn't count, since she'd grown up around them and they were almost family.

But she didn't like Victor. She could tell that he felt the same.

For starters, it annoyed her that he had lied about his name. Jay had told her that he'd said his name was Vivitalis, but through some form of her growing psychic awareness, Sagira had learned that his real name was Victor.

She didn't like liars. He was a liar, therefore, she didn't like him.

Ivy seemed to enjoy his company, however, so she didn't intend to do anything. Yet. If things turned ugly around him, however, her claws would be out, and he better hope he could forget about fixing his hair long enough to run for his life.

That was the least of their concerns at the moment, however. For whatever reason, despite his obvious dislike or both Jay and Sagira, Victor chose to stick around. His choice. He had been moaning about not being able to do anything for the past couple of weeks. He seemed extremely happy that they were finally leaving the storage unit. Personally, Sagira would have been content to stay. She'd enjoyed spending time with Doc and Danny. It was almost as good as it had been when they were kids.

"Be on your guard, little kitten," Persephone sent to Sagira. She smiled in response to the Espeon and nodded in thanks. Twitching her tail in farewell, the cat pokemon turned and gracefully left the room.

Danny came up with a shoulder bag in hand, which he handed to Sagira. He offered her a smile, something so rare to see. "Always be prepared," he said, mimicking something they had always said when they were kids, planning their great pokemon adventures. No doubt the pack contained both food and a first aid kit. That would be Danny and Doc.

He turned to Jay and took in his entire form, before nodding. Over the past couple of weeks, Jay's strength and endurance had returned. His shoulder was still sore and it was still wrapped in bandages, occasionally opening and bleeding again, but it was healing nicely. He would always have a scar from the wound, but they were sure now that he would make a full recovery.

To be truthful, Sagira wanted to stay another week, but Jay had insisted that they leave, even against Doc's suggestions, through Persephone. The doctor had finally given in, knowing the reasons why the boy wanted to leave. He felt that they were a danger to Doc and Danny, which may have been true. Also, they were all a little restless (Victor most of all, but Ivy not far behind), despite Sagira's contentment at their location.

"Take good care of her, Jay," Danny said, using Jay's given name for the first time since they had arrived. He didn't smile at Jay, but his expression was one of contentment, and he shook Jay's hand, surprising Lange. Sagira smirked. "I'll see you around," Danny said, before walking off, Doc following him.

Sighing, Sagira turned to see Ivy and Victor, ready to get moving. She shook her head. "All right, we've got one more stop to make before we go meet Bryce and get this whole thing over with."

"What we have to do noooow?" Ivy whined, crouched down on all fours next to Beta, as they two had been wrestling a moment ago.

Sagira smirked. "Jay wanted to call his mommy," she said.

Said boy rolled his eyes. They had discussed this. Getting shot and being bedridden for the most part had given him a lot of time to think. He very nearly could have died, and they weren't out of the woods, yet. They still had to meet up with Bryce at the dock.

First, though, he wanted to make sure that he got to talk to his family, and Sagira, despite her teasing, couldn't fault him that.

Posted by: Hungry Hungry Houndoom Jun 22 2009, 11:40 AM

Jay had always considered himself a good judge of character. He could usually tell what someone was thinking or feeling when he watched them for a moment. However, when Danny stuck his hand out and asked that he take care of Sagira, he realized he had read the Doctor's son completely wrong.

It made him wonder who else he had read wrong, and that was not a pleasant process. He knew he had read Sagira wrong in the outset. He had thought she was a cold hearted stuck up priss. He was actually a little ashamed of how wrong he was on that score.

Ivy he hadn't even tried on, and he was relieved to note that that was the right thing. She was unpredictable, much like the writers had assumed any pokemon-human hybrid might be. She seemed to think of her team as family, which was fine with Jay, but seemed to think of herself as a pokémon as well, crouching down on her hands and feet. He thought he'd caught her once, scratching behind her ear with a foot, but didn't dwell on it.

Victor...

Victor he was sure he had pegged. Of all of their motley crew, Victor was the most like people in his hometown, and his feelings and intentions sang out loud and clear from his actions and moods: Victor was in it for himself. It told in the way he concentrated on his looks, in the way he'd sometimes be caught staring into space, and in the way he had lied about his name. Sagira had been especially angry about that, and Jay was sure if it wasn't for the fact that they'd been able to rest some with the Doc, the blonde boy would be less a person and more a scratching post.

A scratching post with a perfectly quaffed sisal top. Jay smirked.

"Jay wanted to call his mommy." Jay's eyes snapped to Sagira, but she was grinning, her eyes twinkling. It was good to see her in a good humor again, and she had been pleased (he could tell by the way the corner of her lip had risen when he suggested it) that he'd wanted to contact his parents. Jay rolled his eyes.

It probably saved her the energy of forcing him to do it, anyway.

Finding a more or less public video phone wasn't hard. Most hotels had one, and most in this part of town didn't care if you walked in off the street and used it. Finding one that worked was a little bit harder, but they managed after two tries.

Jay put the call in, and it didn't take long for the video to pop on with his mother's face. "Monty," she said coolly, her glance going from Jay's to Sagira's face. "And Alyssa. A pleasant surprise."

"Hi, Mom." Jay couldn't help it. This woman had raised him, and was formidable. One had to be when one directed actors. He was contrite, possibly for the first time in Sagira's presence.

"Oh, 'Mom', is it?" Despite her tone and her words, Samantha Lange was beginning to soften. "Not Sister, not Auntie Sam, not Ms. Lange, but 'Mom'..?"

Jay sighed. but he put on a more professional front. "Our cover was blown a while back. No sense in keeping up the charade," he pronounced the word "charade" in the british style. His mother smirked, either not amused or trying to hold back a smile. "Is Dad there?"

"Yes, your father is here, and is on his way. Amber is in school right now. I shall tell her you called." She once again glanced at Sagira. "I assume that your name isn't really Alyssa, then?"

"It's Sagira, ma'am," the girl replied. Samantha smiled slightly.

"A lovely name."

There was a slight commotion in the back ground, and Jay's mother looked back. She was joined after a moment by Jay's father. He looked sternly at the camera. "Mon-"

"It's Jay, luv," Samantha corrected. Any possible pretense went out of his father's face.

"Jay, what in the hell are you doing?!" He had, obviously, worked himself into a real snarling fit. "You take off without telling us where you're going, you get your sister to lie for you--"

"Hold on a second," Jay's hackles rose. "I never told Amber to lie, I just asked her not to tell you right away!"

"And," Samantha's voice oozed acidly from the speaker, "you don't think she would have to lie to do that..?"

"No," Jay said, arching a brow. "You weren't awake when I left. She could have told you in the morning."

The couple looked at each other, and Robert spoke. "What are you doing, Jay?"

Jay sat back, crossing his arms. He hissed as he pulled the wound a bit.

"What's happened to your arm?" Like any good mother, Samantha was instantly aware of any notion of pain.

"It's nothing, Mom," Jay groaned, but Victor piped up.

"He's been shot!"

Two pair of eyes glared at Victor, but the damage was done.

"SHOT?!" Samantha bolted out of her seat, standing and looking into the screen as if she could check Jay over from Sinnoh. "Someone's shot my son, Robert, someone has shot our son!"

Robert had paled, and was trying to calm his wife down, but she would have none of it. "Well, that tears it, Jay Lucian Lange, you are coming home this instant!"

Jay, too, stood, his face cold. "Like hell I am."

Evidently, Jay Lange didn't speak back to his mother. She stopped, open mouthed, and allowed him the opening to speak his mind. "Maybe coming here was a stupid thing to do--"

Samantha had recovered. "Stupid?! Jay, you're getting shot at! What could possibly be worth getting shot at?!"

"I made a promise, Mom! OK? So maybe I think that's worth getting shot for!"

"No it's not!" That was Sagira, wide eyed and frightened enough to get angry. "No one should be shooting at anyone-"

"Thank you, young lady," Samantha was saying. "All of you should simply go home-"

"It's not that simple, Mom!" Jay grabbed the edges of the table, leaning into the screen. "It's not like some movie! It's real, and it's worth fighting for, and we all have reason to do it!" So, that was a lie. He'd already guaranteed he'd get grounded for life if he ever came home from this.

Samantha Lange opened her mouth to shout her son down, but she was superceded by a crashing noise, sounding like thunder as the door was kicked clean off of it's hinges.

* * * * *

From the Lange's perspective, there was a loud noise and their son disappeared from view. The angle of the image widened, and the group, Jay, Sagira, the blonde boy who'd announced that Jay had been shot, and a... young boy or young girl who had wild hair, were surrounded by six burly men in blue bandannas. Pokémon were released, and the battle was on. It was no battle from a television show, as Jay had pointed out. It was raw, and real, and frightening to watch.

And it wasn't simply pokémon, either. The men began to reach for Jay's group, and each member of the group evaded capture in their own way. A houndoom and houndour leapt in almost synchronized arcs to take down one man. Hinata, recognized by her blurred white eyes, bobbed into view and send leaves from a nearby plant at another man's trapinch.

Someone rose behind Sagira, both fists raised, unheeded as she dealt with her own opponent, and Jay flew into the picture, his face a mask of fury as he tackled the man, rolling to his feet and using the momentum to throw his opponent into the wall. Sagira, jostled, lost her opponent, who tried to punch Jay in the shoulder. She, too, reacted in anger, claws on her left hand's fingers flashing briefly as she raked them down the man's back, then pulled him into a joint lock and threw him aside.

He flew into the phone, and the screen went black.

"Robert," Samantha croaked, overwhelmed by her son's situation. "Robert, can you believe this..?"

Robert, too, was staring at the screen. "I... I believe Jay. I think he's telling the truth." Samantha looked at him owlishly, and he shrugged. "I mean... he has been shot..."

Samantha's eyes narrowed. "I am not amused, Robert!"

Robert smiled grimly at his wife, and she sighed and leaned against him. "We have to bring him home."

"We can't force him." Robery patted his wife's shoulder as she moved to glare at him. "He'll resent us forever if we tear him away from that girl."

Samantha glared up, but her husband's gaze didn't waver. Finally she sighed. "Fine. When he does come home, he's grounded. Until he's our age."

Posted by: Living Arrow Jun 22 2009, 02:52 PM

"Baaaw! Get offa me!!!" Ivy wailed, squashed underneath an unconscious Aqua. Although the man was not exactly fat, his large frame was more than enough to pin Ivy to the ground with her legs kicking wildly from beneath his bulky form.

Alpha padded over and gently picked at the man's uniform, lifting him easily of Ivy and dragging the body clear of her thrashing limbs.

"Lemme at 'im!" Ivy sprang up, fists pumping, but quickly sagged as she saw the man was already out cold. "Awww! Someone beats me to it!"

In all the commotion of the sudden battling, Ivy had managed to lose track of Beta and Kappa but they werent far - Kappa was shaking Aurum's paw on a job well done while Beta...

"Beta! Stoppit!" Ivy screamed, running over to the Electrike and spanking him on the rump. "BAD BETA!"

"Wha? Ivy!" Victor strutted over to her. "Don't hit your Pokemon like that - it's undignified."

"But he was doin' the big sniffs on Saggie's Wulficks."

"Vulpix."

"That's what I said, Silly."

"He was doing what?!" Sagira demanded from her crouch over a man who looked like he had been used as a scratching post.

"The Big Sniffs!" Ivy announced, pointing down at her brother. "And in public! BAD BETA!"

Calypso looked up at Ivy with a 'what-the-frick-you-talking-about?' expression, raised her nose and sauntered over to Sagira where she began to wash herself. Beta watched after her with... puppy dog eyes... and let loose a long sigh of "triiike".

"Back in ballsy!" Ivy held up the thunderbolt-stickered ball and recalled Beta, that silly grin still showing on his face. "We's already got one person doing the big sniffs, we don't need two!" She added with a pointed look at Jay.

"Wha-?" He began.

"Big. Sniffs." Ivy rolled her eyes and stalked away, Alpha and Kappa trotting in her wake. "Come on, Sillys! Gotsta move!"

Posted by: Umbrae Calamitas Jun 22 2009, 03:09 PM

Sagira, finished investigating the unconscious Aqua members, walked over to the video phone. She had thrown the man into it without meaning to, cutting off Jay's parents' view of their battle. She sighed. They must be worried, but there wasn't much that could be done about it now.

"The phone's broken," she said, when she heard Jay's familiar gait heading in her direction. He swore loudly, causing a smirk to come to her face. "We'll find another phone," she said, "and let them know that you're all right. I think, however, that we may have to postpone that conversation." She waved a hand at their fallen attackers. "It looks like Dawson's getting desperate."

"We must hurry," Paladin said, his eyes distant as he hovered in the middle of the lobby, "there are more who come to harm us." He moved over and took Hinata's hand in his, pulling the Kirlia after him as he headed for the door. "Come. We must be swift."

This attitude change of yours is... interesting.

She felt that familiar tingling in her mind, stronger than it had ever been when he was a Ralts. "You approve, my lady?"

You are who you are, Paladin. I am happy to have you.

She could feel his pleasure at her words, and she silently followed him out of the lobby. She glanced back to see Jay speaking softly to the lobbyist, no doubt telling her to call the police to handle the unconscious men. They would be gone by the time the authorities arrived.

Hopefully, they would be at the dock by then.

Jay hurried after her and she slipped through the door before him. "I think she's scared of us," he admitted, meaning the lobbyist. "She looked ready to faint when I walked over."

Sagira smirked. "Bet that wasn't in her job description." She scanned the street, happy to find it empty. "How far is it to the docks?"

"Three miles," Jay supplied.

Sagira's lip curled, but she admitted to herself that it could be more than that. "Let's get a move on, then."

Posted by: Hungry Hungry Houndoom Jun 22 2009, 03:35 PM

What in the hell are Big Sniffs, anyway?

You don't want to know. Trust me.

Jay grinned as Hinata's voice wafted into his head. She was as sarcastic as ever. It seemed the only thing tha evolving had done was make her stronger, though she seemed more confident as well. But there was something, in the background. A song. Not one he knew, just a song, like happiness given voice.

I have the greatest confidence that you will know this song soon, Jay.

No "Trainer Jay", Jay asked, trying and failing to ask both Hinata and Paladin at the same time. Hinata sent the question to Paladin as she answered.

You've never been a trainer to me, Jay. And Father Jay just gives me a mental image that makes me want to giggle.

Besides, it is demeaning to make her say that.

Jay glanced back at the two. They were holding hands, but other than that, they were as alert and watchful as he could hope. He shrugged. Hey, it's OK with me. Flattering, too, the Father thing. Doesn't matter what you call me, you're always going to be my Hina.

He could feel the mental heat of Hinata's blush. He smiled, pulling something out of his pocket. The tube of paint was not ruptured, but was crumpled. "I asked the Doc to pick this up for me. No sense in trying to hide now, right?" He tossed the tube over his shoulder, knowing that one of them would catch it. Paladin did.

I love you so much right now!

Jay stepped forward and nudged Sagira, who had been in the lead. "You OK?"

"I'm fine. How's your arm?" Her voice was steady, almost bored, but Jay had come to know her quite well. It was as close as he would get to her fussing over him without his life being in mortal danger. He found he liked that.

"Sore, stiff," he said, after contemplating the danger of trying to tell her he was fine. "I'll live. I don't think it opened, surprisingly." He rotated it experimentally, hissing as he stretched the edges of the wound. "Wouldn't take much more, though."

Sagira snorted, and they walked along in companiable silence. Jay felt, fought and won over the urge to grab her hand.

It was not an easy fight.

* * * * *

They arrived at the dock as the sun set. Near the water, there was a lot of background noise; The shushing of the waves, the drone of boat motors in the distance, wind rushing past, winguls and even the odd pelliper floating in the air currents, waiting for a tasty goldeen. Jay and Sagira stopped just before the wooden deck. "I'll go. If it's a trap-"

"BlueJay," Sagira growled, eyes narrow. Jay gave her a half smile.

"What, the possibility didn't cross your mind? I know less about him than you do about Dawson. Just because he's the only choice doesn't make him the right one." He craned his neck. "I don't see him, so he probably hasn't seen us." He looked back at Sagira, then at Ivy and Victor. "Don't worry so much!"

Despite thir misgivings, they let him walk down the pier alone, blending into the growing shadows. Jay found Bryce leaning against a boathouse.

"Came alone? And here I was just thinking how stupid you weren't. Looks like I have to reassess."

"No sense in everyone getting in trouble, huh?" Jay shrugged. "So, can you help us, or not."

"Don't know. The guy's a bastard, but why would I want to stick my neck out? Why wouldn't I want to just collect the reward myself..?"

"Why don't you eat hot flamin-" Jay's hand moved toward Videl's pokeball, and Bryce's hand moved to catch Jay's in a wrist lock. Jay twisted his wrist and struck, and Bryce grabbed his stricking hand and spun Jay around, slamming him into the wall of the boathouse.

"I'm impressed. You figured out how to counter my wrist lock after seeing it once." He tsked, strining to keep Jay's arms in place. "So why didn't you expect this, huh, tough guy?"

"Needed... to keep... both hands... occupied..."

Bryce's grip loosened by a fraction. "Wha- Shit!"

Jay smiled as he heard the ice-cold voice of Sagira whispering from somewhere around Bryce's head. "Let him go. Now."

Jay was released, and turned to see Sagira with her claw hand at Bryce's throat. "Not such an idiot after all, huh?" He gave a special, proud smile to Sagira.

"Second time I've underestimated you, kid," Bryce said. He looked Jay in the eye, ignoring, or, more accurately, trusting Sagira would not close her fingers around his windpipe.

"It was a test, wasn't it, you bastard?"

Bryce smiled wolfishly. "If we can get rid of Dawson I still want the rest of you in Aqua. We need people like you. So I had to be sure you were actually Aqua material and not the scapegoat I took you for."

"Scapegoat," Jay said, eyes narrowing.

Bryce nodded. "I picked you out of that tournament to fail, to see if I could catch Dawson in a lie. You were too good. You succeeded in your mission, more or less. So I needed to know if it was a fluke or the real thing. I'm proud that it was the real thing. And I owe you an apology."

Sagira finally let him go, eyes narrowed dangerously. Jay's brows rose. "Looks like you still need to pass our test. Unfortunately, it's pass or fail. If we're wrong, we're sunk."

Bryce handed over the folder, then flipped through it. Finally, he looked up. "Let's see what we can do..."

Posted by: Umbrae Calamitas Jun 22 2009, 05:02 PM

Bryce did fast work.

Sagira, Jay, Ivy, and an extremely reluctant Victor hung around with Bryce for two days, before he came in and told them that it was taken care of. Sagira was skeptical and had not been overly polite when demanding to know exactly what had been done. She was still a little displeased about the way they had been greeted, and the fact that she felt more like a prisoner here than she had when they were on the run. At least before they hadn't been surrounded by members of Aqua.

"I've got some friends on the inside of your sector," Bryce informed her, not the least bit insulted or concerned about her icy tone. "And a few pals on the up and up. Seems I have a few more, now that Dawson's been proven a thief." He smirked. "For starters."

"Starters," Jay repeated, silently asking for more.

Bryce sighed in a manner that seemed to ask why he was always stuck explaining the big stuff. "All right, kid, since you need the whole picture." He hefted himself up onto the counter and regarded them with a mock-annoyed look. "Story time, children." He caught Sagira's smirk and grinned himself. "I've got a friend who has multiple contacts in your sector, and he's never been a fan of Dawson. He's also pretty fond of stirring up trouble, so he was more than happy to pass along that information you gathered to a few higher-ups."

Sagira and Jay were wearing near identical smirks, and Bryce couldn't help but share their sadistic mirth. Good for the bastard to get what was coming to him.

"So, rather than just go by a few records, I'm guessing they all thought it would be a helluva lot more fun to catch him in the act." He gave a modest shrug. "Who could disagree with that. I'm afraid I had to leave you guys here alone, because I didn't want to miss the party. A bit selfish of me, but it was worth it to see the look on Dawson's face." He let out a gruff shout of laughter, throwing his head back with the effort.

"Anyway, so ol' Dawson's been charged with embezzlement, theft, pokemon-kidnapping, assault, battery, and unlawful endangerment of subordinate Aqua members." He gave a deep chuckle. "I think the most he can do to defend himself is try to sue me for that love tap I gave his face." He roared with laughter at the memory of that, and Sagira tried to imagine Dawson with a huge black eye. It was a good look for him.

"So, what do we do now?" Jay asked. Sagira came back to the present, aware of what Jay wasn't saying. Where they still on the run?

Bryce chuckled. "Well, kids, you have a choice to make." He smirked, pretty damn sure he knew what they were going to do. "You can run home to your mommies like the scared little kids I took your for to begin with." He grinned at Sagira's heated look. "Or, you can convince your girlfriend to transfer over to this sector, and work under me, as full Aqua grunts." He gave an amused grin. "Complete with complimentary Aqua uniform."

Sagira snorted, and looked at Jay. He raised an eyebrow at her. "What?" she asked.

"Well?"

She rolled her eyes and smacked him lightly. "You actually have to ask, BlueJay? I'm insulted." She looked at Bryce. "I'd rather work under you than any elite that bastard had as his second in command."

Bryce nodded, smirking. "Sounds good to me," he said. He tossed her a keychain, containing two keys. "You two have rooms right next to each other. I expect to see you in uniform next time I catch you running around."

"That's too bad, since Sagira would much rather Jay not be in uniform at all."

"PALADIN!"

Bryce shook his head as the two made their way out of the building. He had underestimated the both of them and he hoped that he would continue to underestimate them. It had certainly done him wonders so far.

He was called back to reality when his cell phone rang, and he flipped it open with barely a glance at the caller ID, to see that it was one of the officer's at the prison cell.

"Bryce," he snapped gruffly.

"Sir," came the professional reply at the other end of the line, slightly static-filled, "I'm afraid we've had a bit of a problem."

"What?" Bryce growled. He'd just fixed a problem!

"Prisoner 611 - former Elite II Dawson - has escaped, sir."

Bryce shut his cell phone with a snap and growled between his teeth. This... was going to be a problem.