[X] My Assistant

[knil1]

Jened watched as a group of girls sat and gossiped in near the bar. They would eye over guys sitting at a table and, once enough courage was built up, eventually one of them would branch off and take a chance with a suitor. Morte gossiped with them. They would crowd together and squee as their partner turned back to them, mouth wide open with excitement and forearms projecting from their sides.
The girl would return to her date and as the couple walked to the dance floor, the group, now with one less person, would return to their general routine.

Morte seemed to be the leader. She would look around more than the others, and once she found prey, she chose from her select group of minions to risk their social lives and ask for a dance. She did it rather carefully though. Ms. St. Saëns seemed to have a way with words and convinced her minion that the two were a good match. She would flip her garnet hair over her shoulder and whisper.

Eventually, much to his dislike, Jened found himself to be Morte’s next victim. He looked off and continued to look over what was left of the ball, making sure to keep the flock in his periphery.
From what he could see, there was a power struggle and a bachelorette inevitably walked his direction.
“Excuse me, sir?” The girl’s voice sounded sweet and soft. It seemed as though the person was shy, but Jened could tell that it was an act. Jened recomposed a character and closed his eyes as he turned to his visitor.

Jened sat straight, his legs were crossed, and his hands were folded on top of them; his typical romantic, rich person stereotype. His eyes softened from their usual sharp steel-blue into something more comforting, but they weren’t ready to see Morte St Saëns standing directly in front of him, twirling a black ribbon on her dress in her fingers.

The new character sitting in the velvet chair smiled and spoke, “Hello, Ms. St. Saëns. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Granted, it’s rather late in the ball, but I’m glad I could thank you for inviting me, nonetheless.” He took his right hand and brushed his hair back. Jened held back every sense of self-loathing in his body.

Morte’s expression changed. She quit twirling the ribbon and held her arms stiffly by her sides. Her tan skin surprisingly grew a little redder and it was her turn to speak. “I noticed you sitting by yourself, Mr.…. I don’t believe I know your name, I’m sorry.”

“Emil Fallon. I work at Groudon’s Thumb with your father.”
“Oh, well, Mr. Fallon, would you accompany me to a dance?”
Jened’s heart stopped for a moment. How would he get out of this predicament? Granted, it wasn’t a big deal if he couldn’t dance. He was sure that if this girl fell for the act he was putting on now, she would be even more charmed if she had to teach him how to dance. It was more that he hadn’t thought that far, even though it was obvious.
At balls, people dance.

Jened stood up, holding his hand out to her, taking note of another person he seemingly towered over. “I would love to, but I’m afraid you’ll have to teach me.” Jened was right. The reaction of a victorious girl he saw earlier was seen again, and Morte turned from her group of followers back to him, skin glowing as red as the necklace on her chest.

~~~

The two approached the center of the salon and ‘Emil’ took Morte’s waist and right hand.
His partner grinned and looked up to him, “Ok, since you’re new to this, I’ll lead.” She took her right foot and sent it forward and Jened took (as smoothly as possible) a step back with his left. They slowly began turning and Jened realized that the typical dances that are shown in movies are actual dances. The basic spins and steps were there, and the Rebel had no problem catching on.

A low ‘D’ note vibrated from a string and a solo was being played by the maternal cellist. Harriet had all but sunk deeper into her chair and the arrogant violinist pouted in his seat.

The mellow sound gave the Volbeat and Illumise a rhythm of which to sway to. Morte kept her head down, trying to avoid eye contact as much as possible. The song picked up and Jened attempted a few tricks, which thankfully turned out correctly.

Song shortly ended and the two returned to the side. Ardaine sat on a nearby table (unaware of the people who were trying to eat in “her” sitting space) looking at her trainer intently.

“Thank you for the dance, Ms. St. Saëns. I greatly appreciated it.”
“I’m glad, Mr. Fallon. I hoped you enjoyed the ball.”
“I did, thank you.” Jened noticed her motion for her pocket and, Jened assumed, her PokeGear. “I’m sorry Ms. St. Saëns, but I have to go now. I have business to tend to back at the Thumb, and I must get going. Thank you for the lovely evening.” Jened brushed her red hair behind her ear and leaned over her to kiss her on the cheek. He turned and walked off soon becoming enveloped in the deteriorating crowd.

Morte sat motionless for a moment, turned back around, and squeed.

~~~

Ardaine hopped off the table, making sure that eating utensils were to hit the ground. She trotted over to her owner to find lead him back upstairs. She had scoped out the house enough; it was about time work had gotten done.

As she walked under tables for the most direct path to Jened, she noticed a familiar Poochyena run by. Ardaine felt this more important than keeping her trainer on task and redirected her course to stalking the new pokemon.

~~~

The rebel found himself approaching the bar. On his way over, he could pick out a conversation that was seemingly important. As Jened tried to hone in on a conversation, Harriett popped up once more. Jened jumped, but not noticeably.
“I’ve noticed them too. I don’t think they work for us. If they do then they must be new.”
”Where did she come from? How would she know this?”
“You didn’t notice me when I was upstairs with you? I guess I’ve been trained well.” Harriett showed her first display of emotion as she smiled to herself. “I’ll keep a lookout for the remainder of the ball. It’s almost over. Afterwards, I’m leaving. I suggest you get back upstairs. I was just up there and the meeting is still going on with full-participation.” Jened gave up on guessing what rank this girl actually was. She was about the same age as Morte, but experience wise, there was clearly a huge gap.

Jened had kept his eyes on everything except Harriett as she talked, but when he looked back down to her, she wasn’t there.
He wasn’t very surprised.

[Kamaitachi]

Kanoa remained glumly seated, watching the party dwindle down with a bored expression on his face. With nothing to really do and no one else to talk to, he actually found himself feeling really lonely. A somewhat sad look then crossed his face.

"I'll find Big Chief and pester him a little bit more." Kanoa hopped up, trying hard to rally his drooping spirits. Without even really noticing, he trotted behind Verdani, unknowingly stalking the little puppy pokemon outside into the backyard.

After a moment of the coincidental stalking, Kanoa happened to look upwards. It was there he noticed that Julian was basically hanging from a window ledge.

"Oi, Big Chief. What're you doing up there?" It was really an innocent question with innocent intention, but Kanoa shouting up towards a second floor window would more than likely draw attention to Julian.

[Eremol]

The room in which Julian emerged was dimly lit, illuminated only by a desk lamp in the far corner. The walls were a pinkish-red, and a plush carpet adorned the floor. Lace curtains hung like cobwebs over the windows, and he brushed them aside as silently touched his feet to the floor. An elegant four-poster bed to the left of the window told Julian he had just broken into someone’s bedroom, but he doubted the master of the house was fond of lace curtains. Before he could ponder the issue further, he heard a shout from outside, below the window.

“What are you doing up there?”

Julian froze. Dammit, he’d been caught already! But no, it might just be a curious onlooker who thought he had seen someone at the window. If he remained silent, he might still be able to get away with this.

He eased away from the window and tip-toed towards the door, noting the posters of handsome band members and movie actors hung on the walls. Could this be Morte’s bedroom? Julian made a note to remember the location, since it may be his only way out of the house. He took hold of the doorknob and slowly opened the door, poking his head out of the crack and looking both ways down the hallway. All clear. He crept out into the hall and closed the door quietly behind him. Now it was just a matter of finding his way through this labyrinth to get that blasted piece of paper.

Julian removed a Pokeball from his jacket pocket. “Skorupi, come out,” he whispered, and a red flash released the Scorpion Pokémon onto the carpeted hallway floor. The purplish-blue Bug-type snapped his jaws in greeting, but Julian held a finger up to his lips. “We need to be very quiet, Skorupi. I need you to take a look down this way,” he said, pointing to the left, “while I go this way,” and he pointed the other direction. “If you find a crumpled piece of paper on the ground, I need you to pick it up and bring it to me. Got it?”

Skorupi clacked his claws in response, and began scuttling down the hallway. Julian took a breath, and began walking down the path to the right, hoping this wouldn’t take too long.

---

‘What a strange place,’ mused Skorupi, as he scurried silently down the long rectangular cave. A strange moss was beneath his legs, though it felt a little like fur. The walls were also very strange; they were flat, and an unusual violet color. Skorupi figured it must be the den of a Giant Smeargle, and thought sadly, ‘It’s so very different from the desert.’ He could see no other Pokémon (or people, for that matter), and it was a little lonely. But he knew his master needed him to go undiscovered, so he decided that no company was good company.

All the tunnels were exactly the same, and it was hard keeping track of them. It was a little similar to the desert Combee hives he had ventured into, but he had never known so unusual a structure. His thoughts were interrupted by something on the floor that had caught Skorupi’s eyes. It was roughly ball-shaped and white. Could this be what his master wanted? It was laying off to the side of the tunnel, but before he could examine it close, he heard a melodious sound approaching quickly! He scurried behind a plant (whose trunk was stuck in some strange colored rock or something), hoping he wouldn’t be seen. The sound turned out to be the humming of a young girl, who was skipping down the tunnel in the direction Skorupi had come from. A black ribbon in her air trailed behind her as she carried on. ‘That human is headed towards my master! He might be discovered!’ panicked the desert Pokémon as she passed. ‘I had better follow her in case master needs assistance!’

And with that, Skorupi scooped up the ball in his left claw and quietly scampered after the girl.

[Rasu]

"...Quite a furball of personality you got there. At least yours didn't try to kill you once... or twice, like a certain Rhyhorn." Khezu's Rhyhorn wasn't the best Pokemon to relay on. The thing was huge, even for the species, and it also had an habit to ignore pretty much every direct orders given to him. He was more an hassle than helpful but what could Khezu do? It was the strongest battler and field clearer of his group.

"Speaking of codenames, you can treat me as Charles here. Charles Lockhart." he gave himself a second introduction before continuing "I'm fine about going outside, there shouldn't be guards on the roof, at least not as much as in here. No offense, but for the sake of my cover I can't be seen leaving with you two, so if you don't mind, I'll go ahead." Khezu reached for Lucille's Pokeball and released the pup under the table.

"Listen, I need a little help here. Run out of here. Get outside and wait for me. Go, girl!" the Houndour did so and in less than a few seconds it had passed through the door and reached the backyard. Khezu got up quickly and shouted to keep the realism going, soon leaving the other agents behind and returned Lucille as he got outside.

"Doing good for your first mission. Lets just hope we don't blow it up. So, Double S, feel like doing some climbing?" the Aipom followed with the ever cheerful "Pom!" before leaping into the amazing porch's roof. Near the walls was a stack of boxes conveniently placed well enough so that Khezu could follow the ape.

"Well, lets just hope they can... catch up with us."

[Kamaitachi]

"Ohhh...I bet Big Chief is doing a little mischief making" Kanoa mused out loud to no one. Not particularly wanting to spoil his nice clothes by clambering up the wall after his new buddy, he figured he'd take the easy way: The stairs.

Reentering as swiftly as he'd exited (Which is to say, at a fairly leisurely pace), he made his way up the stairs that he'd been guarding.

"Hey, what're you doing up here?" He blinked upwards at the new guard standing there. This man was in full intimidating uniform red, making his fierce green eyes pop out all the more. Kanoa felt slightly intimidated, but fabricated something as quickly as he could.

"Oh, you were my relief so I could go take my smoke break." Kanoa smiled "So I figured I'd offer you the same courtesy." He held out his pack of Numel lights, to which the guard smiled and nodded in thanks.

As the man left, Kanoa signaled to another guard from downstairs. "Oi, fill in for me here, I've some business to attend." The voice, though Kanoa's seemed somewhat authoritative and commanding, enough so that the passing guard shrugged and trudged up the stairs. Not waiting for him to reach the top, let alone catch on to the absurdness of the stunt that had just been pulled on him, Kanoa strolled off down the forbidden hallway.

This post has been edited by Kamaitachi: Sep 14 2010, 01:27 PM

[knil1]

The sole of Jened’s dress shoe grace the floor as he approached the other agents. Magma members proceeded to leave the ball in pairs, groups, and the occasional loner. He reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a slip of paper. He read it, fumbled with the words and before meeting his “partners”, slid the note back into his pocket. Harriet was good, but Jened could sense slight-of-hand.

“Lady Lilja and Mr. Terrence.” He intruded in on their conversation. “My name is Emil Fallon.” He decided he liked this name for the mission. He put on his Fallon persona and continued with the two others. By what he observed of the two so far, “Lilja” would not appreciate his offering of kissing her hand, probably as much as he despised doing it. “I have noticed you seem troubled. I know you may not trust me right now, but I can help you, and in turn, you would help me. Think symbiotic relationship. I understand you are working with Mr. Lockhart, but it would prove useful to stick with me until you reunite with him later. Now if you would, fylgio mér.”

Jened turned and faced his destination, surveyed the area and began walking. He congratulated himself for learning only three phrases in Icelandic, and one of them turning out to be useful. Also on how he handled the situation. He left it so that they could come or not and they had no real say in the matter if they wanted to succeed.

Jened dropped his act as soon as he reached the chair in the corner. He looked around and began entering numbers under the vase. Any comments they had, had they any, could be asked more privately.

[Kamaitachi]

Kanoa took a moment to study the pristine, decorated hallways, but realized, as always, that he was alone. No one else seemed to be wandering around indiscreetly up there, and the meeting was probably drawing to a close. Now everything seemed pointless. He'd come up here looking for Big Chief, and found no one. At the very least, he'd just wind up in trouble; not something he wanted since this was officially before his first job with Team Magma. Who knew, maybe he didn't fit in with this rich lot. Sighing, he turned around and strolled right back the way he came. He took off down the stairs, grabbed his suit coat, and made his way back to the door, stepping outside past the dwindling party.

The only highlights of the night were battling with Julian, and catching his, evidently, Shiny Shroomish. Perhaps it was best to take things in small steps. Stepping outside, he lit a cigarette. Too bad Dreds McHottie had a girlfriend. He had been shot down so quickly in his attempts to make friends that it really was quite sad. In the end, he realized, he came to the party alone, and essentially left alone. Taking a long puff on his cigarette, he couldn't help but wonder what his future in Noverus held for him, seeing as he couldn't even really make a friend on his first foray into this, essentially, whole new world. What was he to do next?

With something of a sad, resigned sigh, he made his way over to the street, where he waited patiently for a cab.

[knil1]

Jened lifted the closet floorboard above the tunnel. He remembered turning around just before going down the steps and watching Lilja and Terrence decline his offer. He could tell that Lilja held contempt for him ever since he kissed his/her hand. The two had walked off and Jened continued, assuming they had eventually left the party.

Strangely enough, once Jened opened the closet, a small fire puppy was waiting for him, sprawled out on the rug taking a nap before her trainer had gotten there. She seemed to have given up on the pursuit of the Poochyena and returned to where her trainer would most likely end up. She woke up and snapped to attention just as something ran down the hallway. Jened could merely hear a scuttle, but Ardaine chased it down the hallway. Immediately afterward, a voice could be heard down the hallway. Jened ran to the room to the right of the meeting and quickly snuck into the closet.

Unfortunately, the light in the room flicked on and the Rebel could hear a familiar voice. He peeked through the door crack and saw Morte St. Saëns removing her shining garnet necklace. Jened could also hear the scraping of chairs in the opposite room. The meeting had finished and he didn’t get a bit of information. The door to Morte’s room clicked as she left her room. Jened scrambled out of the closet and crept to the window. It was locked. He ran over to the door and opened it slowly, trying to be cautious of the men leaving the meeting and the girl who lived there. When the hallway seemed clear enough, He slipped out into the hallway and proceeded to walk down the stairs.

“You there! The party is ending, everyone is to leave now.” Jened took step after step, his black glove siding down the banister. He ignored the bouncer, who seemed to be both angry, but polite. He walked over to the orchestra ensemble as they began to leave. He avoided eye contact with Harriett and began to pack up. He grabbed his case and advanced to the front door.

As he walked down the lawn, he took notice of the red limo and turned back to the mansion. A man walked around from the back of the house with a scorpion-like Pokémon. He seemed rather upset under his guise as a guest. The waiter he saw earlier had appeared as well. Jened felt extra weight on his foot and found Ardaine standing on his dress shoes. She sat down and grinned, her tongue half hanging out. She growled at the Scorpion Pokémon as it passed by, but soon returned her attention to her trainer.

Lilja and Terrence were entering a limo, Lilja fidgeting uncomfortably and Terrence seemed unsure of what to do. They seemed rather upset as well.

The rebel waited as the chauffeur opened his door and took his violin. Jened climbed in and began to take off his formalities.

“Any place else, sir?”
Jened gave one last look as his recent mission, another incomplete mission. He responded solemnly, “No. Just home.”
Ardaine laid her head on his lap and passed out.