[X] My Assistant

[Xal]

Malcolm sighed. He didn't expect that either of them would be able to win, even against this epic nubcake. The orange haired stranger seemed more knowledgeable than him and she wasn't holding out much hope.

"Look around you, people are starting to see what's really going on here. If you really want a battle then I'm sure someone here would be willing to teach you a few manners, but I doubt either of us are going to bother with you."

Pichu looked up at Malcolm and frowned. She wanted to show the cocky kid how to behave, and she was sure Pidgey and Fishy felt the same way.

"No Pichu, you'll get eaten alive." He said. He realised that that was probably the wrong to see and that he wasn't making himself and his pokemon sound particularly intimidating, so Malcolm tried a slightly different approach.

"So Timothy, how does someone like you have a pokemon? I mean, you don't even know the trainer code." He chuckled. Malcolm hadn't ever heard of it before the young girl mentioned it, but he was hoping he could bluff his way through this sticky situation. "You seem too young to have raised a strong pokemon on your own, and in those rags I find it difficult to believe you're living with anyone. That means that they're not training it for you, and I don't expect that anyone would want to give you a gift. You didn't steal it, did you Timmy? It's like you said, there's kids we hear about in the news... You certainly look like one, and you can't have trained this pokemon by yourself without having learnt even the most basic principles."

A few people from the crowd started muttering, and Timothy didn't seem so confident.

This post has been edited by Xal: Dec 14 2009, 03:54 AM

[KamonPeachFox]

Timothy began to stutter his words, "I... I... I just want to battle that girl, sh-she's a thief!" He responded but the crowd was unamused with him, and he began to become even more upset.

"I told you, I'm not a thief." Kamon sighed, "Look, kid-- Timothy-- I want to know the answers to his questions too, so either answer them, or..."

"Or you'll battle me!?" Timothy exclaimed, getting more worked up by the second.

"...No, I'll report you to the police for being suspicious in action." Kamon rolled her eyes.

"H-hey! You can't do that!" The boy shouted, but one look at her showed she wasn't joking. "...I've had this Pokemon 3 months, OK?! Is that all!?"

"Three months... Did anyone own it previously?" Kamon prods.

"Gr..." The boy sighed. He did not like answering questions. "It was likely abandoned, I found it in an old alleyway." The boy glared.

Groove was hopping from foot to foot, uneasily. Kamon shot a glance at it, wondering its story, but quickly re-organized her thoughts. "So... how old are you?" Kamon asked.

"..." Timothy was silent.

"Well?" Kamon hoped the kid wasn't under ten.

"...Not telling." Timothy seemed to act like a Stantler caught in the headlights, and might jolt at any second.

[Xal]

"I don't think that really matters anyway." Malcolm sighed when Timothy refused to give his name.

They weren't going to get anywhere, and Malcolm felt like walking off there and then. He'd come to Furoh to study pokemon, not to argue with cocky kids. He didn't look much younger than Malcolm, and stealing a strong pokemon wasn't easy. Regardless of age anyone with the mental capability to steal a powerful pokemon must also know what they're doing and the consequences of those actions, so he couldn't be too young to accept responsibility. Even so, he was acting indredibly immaturely. How could someone like that steal a pokemon? How would he know how to do it, let lone take it seriously enough to be able to go ahead with it and not get caught? If he was a thief then he was an exceptionally lucky one.

Malcolm decided to consider the idea that he was telling the truth, that he really did just happen to find a strong pokemon abandoned in an alley, but that raised another question.

"If it was abandoned, how did you catch it? I'm sure it would have run away, you'd have needed a pokemon at least as strong as Groove if you were going to battle it and catch it." Malcolm asked. "And why are you so desperate for a battle? It sounds a lot like you've just got that pokemon and you want to try it out, like thinking a new toy is the greatest thing in the world once you get it and then getting bored a few days later."

He knew it was possible that Groove was weakened when Timothy found and captured it. Perhaps it had been in a battle, or it hadn't been able to survive without an owner. On the other hand, Malcolm was sure that even weakened it wouldn't want to be captured by Timothy, so it would have to be so weak that it would have no choice. Timothy would surely have mentioned that he found it almost motionless, wouldn't he? Still, Malcolm wanted to hear his answer, but still suspected that he was a thief. He didn't know how Timothy would be able to successfully steal a pokemon, but his story seemed dubious at best. There was something he was hiding. It might not mean that Groove was stolen, but there was still more to this story than met the eye.

"Timothy, perhaps you should just leave this well alone now. You're not getting a battle, and even if you were there's too much at stake here now. I'm sure that there are lots of people here who think you're a thief, if you had any sense you'd avoid stirring up even more trouble." Malcolm said.

At this point he didn't really care what people thought of Timothy and if he was a thief he hoped he'd be punished for it, but Malcolm was just so bored of his whining that he simply couldn't be bothered anymore.

[Dragon Maiden]

Aussie tried to take heart in the boy's assurances, but it wasn't doing much. It was a Growlithe that came running by and tripped that made her smile nervously and forget some of her fears. As a mob of Jennies came chasing after the Growlithe, the Officer that had led her here rolled her eyes and glanced apologetically at them "I'm so sorry. That's one of our Growlithes-in-training... It’s still... having problems."

Aussie smiled again and nodded. The Officer smiled too and grabbed her hand. "No time to waste. Let’s get this taken care of as quickly as possible."

Before Aussie could even blink, she was being dragged deeper into the confines of the jailhouse. She left the boy and the cute Growlithe behind and ventured into another world, another world that was full of locked doors and other unpleasant things. Panic welled up again as she was walked down the halls. The halls were clean, sterile, and angular. The walls were a pure spotless white. The floors were a grayish-blue that were so well buffed, Aussie could see her own reflection, and every door seemed to be particularly sharp, menacing, and angular.

Aussie folded into herself and tried to find her happy place amongst the cold sharpness of the jailhouse, but that was an impossible thing to do. Her happy place was with her Pokémon, free to watch the wild Pokémon. This cold hard place would never be a place where she could be truly happy. She tried to think of this as an adventure as she had been earlier, but her attempts were fruitless. It was one thing to feel adventurous out under the open skies of Barley, but it was quite another while in this place built to contain and control.

Aussie felt as if she was going to wander through these sterile halls for eternity when suddenly Officer Jenny stopped in front of a door. It was a door just like any other, and yet somehow it seemed more ominous then the others. It brought a chill to her spine as she stood in front of it. Something was about to happen. Officer Jenny reached into one of her pockets and drew out a key ring. Sliding it into the door, the lock opened with a click. As she pulled the door open, she nodded to Aussie. "Before you go in I'll have to ask you to please hand over your things, just standard procedure."

Aussie paused and swallowed. This was asking just as much of her as it was to give up her Pokémon. Inside her bag were her notebooks, perhaps her most prized possessions after that of her Pokémon. Giving them up was like giving up her heart and her innermost thoughts, and yet as Officer Jenny looked at her; she knew she had no real choice. Silently, Aussie took her bag off her shoulder and held it out to Officer Jenny with shaking hands. Officer Jenny smiled appreciatively and then looked at Aussie's ear. Aussie's hand flew up to her ear as she grabbed her pen "Do you really need this too?" she asked quietly.

Officer Jenny nodded solemnly. "I'm afraid so. It's procedure. We can't allow potentially dangerous people have a hold of even the most commonplace objects. They tend to fashion them into weapons. It's a sad fact, but the truth."

Aussie nodded then and handed the pen over. In her mind she was marveling at how she had just been called 'potentially dangerous' once again. That was the second time today she had heard that phrase and it made her feel dirty and guilty even though she had done nothing wrong. As Jenny took a hold of the pen, Aussie reached into her pocket and handed over the last of her notebooks, entrusting her innermost feelings to this Officer.

The Officer noticed her reluctance and instead of looking sympathetic, her face changed into that of someone suspicious. "Don't worry Ma'am. We'll sort all this out. Now please step into the questioning room. Someone will be around shortly."

The words were brusque and insincere unlike the comforting words she had heard earlier. Aussie wondered what had caused the sudden change of mood as she stepped into the room, but then she realized what an idiot she had been. Of course her reluctance would have made her appear suspicious, as if she was trying to hide something inside her bag. This was when her fears reached a whole new level. She had thought there was no way possible she could be falsely accused of a crime... but what if she was? What would happen to her?

The door closed behind her with a loud thud. She heard the lock turn. She was locked in a jailhouse, completely alone, waiting to be questioned for stealing a Pokémon. How had she ended up in this situation?

[KamonPeachFox]

Me and Xal are currently battling Timothy, and since it was my NPC we figured we would do it in PMs. Its not finished because we made it too long so we're gonna do it seperate posts. I'm not god-modding/bunnying him, and he's not god-modding or bunnying me.

Timothy continued to glare at the two people who wouldn't provide him with the relief he so desperately needed. He needed a battle now! Why would a stupid thief not want one? He's had enough experience with thieves...

"If it was abandoned, how did you catch it? I'm sure it would have run away, you'd have needed a pokemon at least as strong as Groove if you were going to battle it and catch it." The boy with the glasses asked.

Timothies glare lessened for a second as he responded, "Groove was badly wounded, there was a smashed Poke Ball next to it. I read in a book that when Pokemon are released, the Trainer smashes the Poke Ball to release it, and if it's hurt is usually has a bad effect on it." Timothy glanced at Groove, who was looking very confused, and muttering to itself. "I took it to the Poke Center, Nurse Joy would vouch for me for that! It wanted to come with me!" Timothy was getting more angry by the minute.

Kamon observed quietly. She figured he was telling the truth, how he acted seemed to be enough reason for that. But both boys seemed to have their irritation level rising. She sighed, she couldn't leave now or else people might start to believe she was a thief.

"And why are you so desperate for a battle? It sounds a lot like you've just got that pokemon and you want to try it out, like thinking a new toy is the greatest thing in the world once you get it and then getting bored a few days later." The boy seemed unsure about the last thing he said, but he also looked like he expected a answer.

"She's a thi--"

"I told you, I'm not a thief." Kamon rolled her eyes.

"Whatever! Just battle me!!" Timothy glared, his fists were clenched so tightly, Kamon half expected them to turn blue.

"No." Kamon sighed.

"Groove! Make her!!" The boy shouted, but Groove was unsure as to how to make a human do something when they couldn't understand him. Groove sighed, and was about to growl menacingly, hoping the message would get across, when the other boy spoke.

"Timothy, perhaps you should just leave this well alone now. You're not getting a battle, and even if you were there's too much at stake here now. I'm sure that there are lots of people here who think you're a thief, if you had any sense you'd avoid stirring up even more trouble." The boy spoke, and Timothy began to twitch.

"WHAT-DID-YOU-JUST-SAY?! ME A THIEF?! Forget the girl, Groove!" Timothy pointed at the boy. "I demand a battle with you!"

"All right then Timothy, you shoudn't be too hard to beat. The names Malcolm by the way, since I know yours."

Malcolm motioned for Pidgey to move forward, something Pichu didn't seem happy about. She looked up at Malcolm with a confused expression on her face, but Pidgey stood a much better chance due to the type advantage.

"Pidgey, fly up and use gust!"

"Go, Groove!" The Grovlye glared up at the Pidgey, keeping his eyes on the little bird. "OK, Quick Attack the bird, hurry!" Groove nodded, and got down on all fours for a moment, before springing forward, aiming for the bird.

"Quickly Pidgey, avoid it!" Malcolm called out, just in time for Pidgey to swoop to the side and avoid the full brunt of the attack. Groove was a strong pokemon though, and Pidgey faltered in the air and seemed hurt. He pulled himself together though, and seemed to be able to battle.

"Fly higher, and try gust again!" Malcolm said. He was hoping that the battle would stop somehow, since he didn't expect Pidgey would last very long.

Groove faltered as he was about to land, eyes widening at the pavement before him. and slid down the pavement a little. "Vyyyyyyle!" It groaned, and picked himself up, pawing its nose which had a small cut on it now.

"Groove!" Timothy shouted. The Grovyle didn't look back, but simply glared up at the Pidgey, and nodded. "Try and jump onto a stall and then jump at it and use Pound, then Fury Cutter it as you fall, then Leer at its patheticness!" Timothy smirked, delighted at finally having a battle.

"Pidgey, just fly out of its range!" Malcolm shouted whilst Groove prepared to do his ballet dance around the stalls.

Pidgey rose much higher into the air, too high for Groove to easily land a hit but too high to attack Groove as well. He'd need to come down in a moment, but at least he'd escaped the danger for the moment.

"Maybe in the middle of all that leering he'll faceplant the floor again." Malcolm thought.

Groove got on all fours and ran over to the closest stall, and stopped three meters before getting to it, "Yyyyle!" It shouted as it sprung up on top of the stall, causing one of the stall owners to call out an angry warning at Timothy, who merely shrugged, smirking.

"Good job, now jump up and use--" Timothy started, but Kamon spoke quietly.

"You do realize that your Grovyle will most likely fall and hurt itself and not touch the Pidgey at all with how high it is?" Kamon said, with a straight face, looking at the gap between the two Pokemon. "Of course, if you want to lose go ahead." She looked back to Timothy with a slight smirk.

"Sh-shut up!" Timothy shouted, and Groove turned to look at the source of it's Trainer's anger. It's eyes narrowed at the girl, who was his original target. He forget about the battle while thinking about how annoying the girl was.

"Go Pidgey, quickly whilst it's distracted - see if you can use a powerful gust to knock it off the stall!" Malcolm needed to shout quite loud for Pidgey to hear him, but Pidgey wasn't too far off. He concentrated for a moment whilst he figured out what Malcolm said. When he finally realised, Pidgey then came down a bit lower and before he had a chance to react Pidgey fired gust towards Groove who was looking towards the girl.

Groove gasped in pain as the blades of wind cut his of grass, he put his arms in front of his face, in an attempt to protect it, but this movement caused him to be flung off the stall, and the wind stopped as he fell, but he was in too much pain when he landed to tell for a few seconds. "Oooo..." He gasped, but a quick look at crowd watching made him get up. "Vyle!" He shouted, to show he was still in the battle.

"Hey! You-you!" The boy pointed a finger at Kamon and anger, his other he had in his air as a fist. "You distracted him!" Kamon glanced at the angered boy by her side, and frowned. He was getting way to worked up, how old was he?

"Oh, I'm sorry." Kamon paused, "But it was you who distracted him. You're so loud, of course your Grovyle looked over." She waved a arm in the air as she spoke as though she was speaking on a TV with no sound, and only subtitles.

"Gr...! I did not!" Timothy looked back at Grovlye, who was awaiting orders, and shouted out, "Use Bullet Seed!" The Grovyle's eyebrows went up, but then went back down. "...Please, act professional..." Timothy whispered, so very quielty.

"Vy! Vy! Grovy!" The Grovyle began to puff up his cheeks, trying to summon all the power he had, then jumped back. Grovyle opened it's mouth, and a few stray seeds spun out, aiming for the Pidgey, but weren't going very fast.

Two of the seeds hit Pidgey square on, and for a moment Malcolm thought he was out of it.
"Pidge!" Pidgey shouted out as he fluttered to the ground, determined to carry on. There was an angry look on his face, he didn't take kindly to having a hit put on him like that. Victory wasn't too far off, and a pidgey winning a battle like this was unheard of, or even getting as far as Pidgey had done so far. Malcolm knew it was down to Timothy's lack of skill as a trainer, but Pidgey clearly thought it was down to his awesome skills.

"He's not going to take a lot more of this, but that Groove doesn't seem too strong either... I'll let him have one last time, then send Pichu in." Malcolm thought.

"Pidgey, use gust one more time!" He called as Pidgey started to float into the air again.

[Douken Sota]

As the girl headed off for questioning, Douken got up and looked over to the hyper Growlithe. "He will just not calm down..." he said as he got up and began chase as well, though taking his time to watch the puppy's reactions. From watching him, he saw that the Growlithe didn't know much about the schematics of the buildings, but knew how to get around the blind spots of the people around. "Cornering him would be the best option. He sped up and caught one of the chasing officers, and told her of the plan he thought of. When she understood, she pulled out a radio and forwarded the plan to the others as Douken went to the place of encounter.

AS the Growlithe ran around, the people inside began to close the doors around them, diverting the many forks off to the place of encountering: the Lounge. There wasn't enough time to do some rearranging, so he had to deal with the chairs and tables around. Making sure this door was open wide, he let his Croagunk out and hid him behind the door.

The officers near the lounge formed a wall in the highway making sure he couldn't get through them, giving him the only option left, into the open room. When he entered, Croagunk closed it shut before Douken returned him back into the pokeball. "Well then, little puppy, it seems you got a lot of energy and speed in you. You can see you are trapped, so you can come quietly, or I will have to force you..." he said, holding out the other pokeball.

This post has been edited by Douken Sota: Dec 14 2009, 10:19 PM

[Dragon Maiden]

Aussie stood alone in the room, taking it in with her large blue eyes. She was full of fear and wonder. This simple room was mysterious for her. It held an unknown future. Would she end up locked away in one of these cells, cursed to be forever labeled 'potentially dangerous'? Would she ever be allowed to hold a pen in her hands again? Would she ever get to hug Shadow until she squealed in protest? Would she ever see Sandman try to bolt again? It was funny how all of these simple things seemed terribly important to her when they were taken away in the blink of an eye.

It was at this moment that she really took a look at the room. It was fairly small, even claustrophobic. The walls were a drab grey similar to that of her recent moods. The floor was an even drabber shade of blue, if it was even physically possible to be drabber then grey. In the middle of the room was a metal table bolted to the floor. Why in the world was the table bolted to the floor? Aussie tried to think up all kinds of scenarios that would warrant bolting a table to a floor but nothing came immediately to mind.

Beside the table was one bright orange plastic chair. The chair nearly blinded her with its brightness. It was the only touch of color in this drab cold room. Even Aussie herself was drained of color and slightly drab looking at that particular moment. Aussie's fingers twitched nervously as she wondered what she was expected to do. They had left her here alone with no instruction whatsoever... but there really was only one thing to do. Aussie hesitantly walked over and sat in the orange chair and began waiting.

She leaned over and rested her elbows on the table. The metal was cold against her skin. The contact made her shiver and yet she was sweating up a storm as if she was unbelievably hot. The shivering started to take effect after that. The twitching and paranoia set in next. Her breathing and heartbeat reached a rapid pace as the fear doubled in proportion. Was this some sort of panic attack? How long had she been waiting? Would they forget her and leave her rotting in this drab room?

Aussie had not known it was possible to feel such a depth of fear. Not even when she had become lost as a child in the woods had she been this deeply and irrevocably frightened. She felt the fear gnawing away at her sanity with unrelenting ferocity. Her eyes were growing bigger with every moment. She was on the verge of breaking into tears when the door finally burst open.

She let out a sigh of relief as the Officer stepped into the room. At least they were getting somewhere with this. No more waiting, no more fear, only results. That concept was the most calming one that Aussie had considered all day. Results were a comforting thing. Everything was better then this endless waiting.

The Officer shut the door behind her. Once again, Aussie heard the telltale click of the lock. She was trapped once again, but she was trapped with results, which made the concept less frightening then it had been before. The Officer turned around to face her, a very serious look on her face. Aussie swallowed at this look and waited for the Officer to reply. Jenny only stared for a moment, gauging Aussie's panicked expression and sweaty clothing. Her mouth twitched down into a frown. "This is a very serious situation. Do you realize that?"

Aussie nodded dumbly. What else was there to say?

"There is a whole mountain of evidence stacked against you. You had the stolen Pokémon in your possession, and if that wasn’t bad enough there is also the notebooks."

Aussie went from panic to hysteria. They had read her journals! Her face turned red as she tried to control her rage, fear, and humiliation. She wrote out all her thoughts and her whole soul into those notebooks. They contained everything from poems, journal entries, and most of all observations about Pokémon. She protected her notebooks with an animalistic ferocity, and yet these Officers had violated that so easily it made her want to scream in frustration, but she didn't understand how the notebooks could possibly be incriminating. "What about the notebooks?" she managed to ask in a whispery voice, strained with the depth of her emotion.

"Don't you think it's curious how you observed Pokémon so in depth? Those journals are filled with their eating habits, where they nest, where they live, almost everything they do. It was almost as if you were planning to do something with all that information such as...?"

Aussie understood now. The Officer was trying to ferret a confession out of her. She wanted Aussie to admit the info in the notebooks was her way of planning out the best time and way to steal a Pokémon quietly and effectively. Aussie blushed. They certainly could be interpreted that way. There was enough information in those notebooks to make it a simple thing to figure out a Pokémon’s habits and learn the prey through and through, but her reason for gathering this information was far from sinister as Jenny seemed to suspect. Aussie was just insatiably curious about Pokémon and their lives.

"I want to be a Pokémon researcher when I get older. I just like collecting information." Aussie replied as confidently as she could.

The Officer seemed unconvinced. "Of course. I have more questions for you though. I would also like you to know we have contacted your guardian."

Aussie paled at this. What would her Aunt say? At the moment she had more urgent concerns though. "I have a question to ask first. I would like to know what I am being accused of. I don't have the full details on the situation. I suppose I have a right to know?"

The Officer nodded and gave her a skeptical look "You are being charged with the theft of one Ponyta from a farm just outside of town. The Ponyta we were searching for was found in your possession. The original owner has been contacted and the Pokémon has been returned."

This information hit her like a shockwave. How could she have been so dumb? Of course this had something to do with Sandman's mysterious past. Hadn't she herself wondered whether foul play had led him into the forest almost falling over from exhaustion? Here was her answer staring her in the face. Foul play had definitely been involved, but how could she prove she wasn't the one at fault in this situation? A new sense of purpose flooded her system. Finally she had something of a viable lead for Sandman. She would get him the justice he deserved and hopefully prove her innocence in the process. The first step on this path was to get herself out of here. That was the only way to achieve these goals. "May I request a lawyer?" she asked Jenny with a new sense of confidence.

Douken asked me to mod his Growlithe for him. It was previously agreed upon.

The Growlithe barked and wagged his tail. Turning his head, he looked for some avenue of escape. At first it seemed as if he was cornered but... his large eyes caught onto an open window. He barked once again and his tongue lolled out. He pranced excitedly on his feet as if this was all one huge game of tag. Cocking his head at the boy in front of him as he spoke, he merely continued standing with his head cocked to the side.

He continued panting for a moment, locking eyes with the boy. A few seconds ticked by before he leaped into action. With a surprising degree of speed, the Growlithe dashed across the room, headed for the window. He jumped nimbly onto a chair that was in the way and then jumped onto a table, landing on a pile of magazines that had been placed haphazardly on top. He barked again as the momentum from his jump caused the pile of magazines to fall, causing him to slip off the table. He fell to the floor with a whining bark before he started to roll across the floor. When he finally stopped, he came to a halt directly at the boy's feet. The Growlithe barked again and stood up as quickly as he could before attempting to make another dash for the open window.

This post has been edited by Dragon Maiden: Dec 15 2009, 04:19 PM

[Douken Sota]

Douken noticed the pup make a dash somewhere, but he wondered where, watching him slip upon the magazines. Tracking the trail of where it would lead as he rolled, he noticed the open window and thought, Knew I forgot something, and darted at the window when he made a second attempt. However, Douken had longer legs and didn't have to do any jumping for the window and closed it in front of the pup before he could jump out and darted to the other windows, just in case they were open as well. "What a smart pup," he complimented, "but now you are really cornered now..."

[Dragon Maiden]

The Officer looked as if she was about to reply, but suddenly Jenny paused as an indecipherable crackling voice reached her ears. Aussie looked around for the source of the voice but noticed as Jenny reached down to her belt and pulled out a walkie talkie. "Will you excuse me for a moment?" Jenny said before standing up and walking out of the room.

The door closed with a click behind her. Aussie paled as she was locked alone in the room once again. What could the call for Jenny be about? Had they found more evidence to stack up against her? Had something terrible happened? Panic started to resurface again. It was illogical to be so afraid and yet she was. She was reaching the point where she was on the verge of crying again when the door flew open. At the sudden unexpected slam of door hitting the wall Aussie jumped out of the chair she was sitting in and fell squarely to the ground with a little shriek of surprise.

The Officer raised an eyebrow at Aussie's reaction. Aussie blushed a deep red as she thought of how she had just made a complete fool of herself. "That lawyer will not be necessary. I've just had word that the person whose Pokémon was stolen does not wish to press charges. You'll be free to go very soon, but first we have some things we need to handle first. Your guardian will have some paperwork to sign before we can properly release you."

Her eyes were huge at this news. She wasn't convinced she had heard the Officer correctly. "I'm... off the hook?" she asked hesitantly.

"In theory, yes, but I want you to realize this is not a free pass to continue to do what you have been doing. Next time a Pokémon gets stolen we'll know who to look for. If I were the person whose Pokémon had been stolen I would have pressed charges and put a potentially dangerous criminal behind bars but that’s not my decision." Officer Jenny threatened.

Aussie paled once again and hung her head in shame. The way this Officer spoke almost had her convinced that she had stolen Sandman in the first place. It was also damaging to her psyche to be called 'potentially dangerous' for the third time today. Would that phrase follow her for the rest of her life like a bad runny nose that wouldn't stop running? She wasn't sure she would be able to survive the humiliation and shame such a title brought. "What about my Pokémon and my things?"

"They will be returned to you as soon as your guardian signs the proper forms... except the Ponyta of course."

Aussie paled at this. She hadn't stopped to consider that Sandman would be taken away from her. Tears clouded her eyes as she considered this. She hadn't owned Sandman long but it was as painful as if someone had told her they were taking Shadow or Mimic away. Bonds had already been forged for her with Sandman that bound her to him. Those bonds had been forged the moment she saw him in the woods about to fall over. They were unbreakable bonds that were about to be forcefully broken. Aussie burst into tears finally. The stress had gotten to her. She noted that the previous Jenny had mentioned that the Ponyta was going to be returned but that fact hadn't hit home until this moment.

The Officer didn't seem phased by the tears coming from Aussie's eyes. "You are welcome to wait in the waiting room until your guardian arrives."

The Growlithe whined when the window was closed. Why was this boy spoiling all the fun? It would have been great fun to jump out the window, but there were definitely other ways of having fun. He would just have to be creative. He barked enthusiastically at the challenge and ran to the other side of the room. Scanning, he looked for another source of enjoyment.

His eyes slid over the magazines spilled on the ground and the chairs. There wasn’t much to do in this small room, but there was one place that caught his eye. Hide and seek was just as fun as playing tag. Yipping excitedly, the Growlithe dashed for a couch and wiggled underneath it. If he could have smiled he would have been. He snuggled up as deeply under the couch as he could and hoped the boy wouldn’t be able to reach him here.

[Douken Sota]

He sighed as the pup went over to hide underneath the couch. "You are just playful aren't you?" he muttered to himself as he walked over and began to lift the couch, resting it on his knee. "Sure, he couldn't grab him, but if it meant him scurrying again to somewhere easier, it would be a better chance. The small room didn't provide many areas to hide anyways.

"Now, now, little Growlithe, now is not time for games." He told the pup. "Now get out here and come back quietly and we will get you some food. But the more you refuse, the bigger the chance you got to meet my team and have to fight your way out."

[Dragon Maiden]

Growlithe whined when the boy picked up the couch. This game was no fun at all. Barking, he stood up and walked out from under the couch. He sat squarely in front of the boy and growled. If this boy wasn't planning on playing then what did he want? It was better to just scare him away and find someone more fun to play with.

With that, the Growlithe opened his mouth and let out a roar. It was an attempt on his part to scare the boy away, but the roar that came from his mouth was almost laughably pitiful. It sounded more like a growl then a roar. The Growlithe didn't know this though. He thought he was the most intimidating Pokémon around. He waited for the boy's reaction. He would either run or they would battle.

[Douken Sota]

He grinned at the "taunt" from the young pup. Surely, it did not have a lot of power behind it, but it was a challenge indeed. Setting the couch down, Douken grinned, saying, "So the pup wishes to fight then? Alright. If you win, then I will let you go and run around some more. Of course I have no intention in losing!"

((Allowed use of Growlithe for the battle. Battle was planned via PM.))

He took a Pokeball in hand and tossed it out, calling, "Seel, Battle Field!" It burst open, letting out a stream of white light taking form of his very friendly Seel. "Seel, time for battle! Start with Headbutt!"Seel's mood changed from friendly to serious on the command and charged forth, but the Growlithe was ready and ran out of the way. As expected, he is using his speed to his advantage, Douken thought.

While Seel recovered and repositioned herself, the Growlithe took the time to charge into the defenseless Seel and chomped down onto her side using Bite. "Seel! Get him off you!" In order to do that, Seel launched a barrage of Icicle Shards at the Growlithe until he finally released his grip.

"You alright Seel?" he asked, who nodded in response, stating she was. Time was short, however, when the Growlithe charged in for another Bite. "Counter with Headbutt!" Seel charged in as well, sending her head into the puppy's open mouth, sending him flying to the other side of the room with dizzy eyes. Douken saw the moment and pulled out an empty Pokeball and tossed it at the down puppy, but all it did was bounce off him. Seel looked over and stuck her tongue out, as if asking, "What was that about?" and Douken chuckled, replying, "Habit..."

Douken walked over and picked up the empty ball and placed it back to where it was and picked up the Growlithe and a Potion and began tending to his wounds. He did this walking out, looking at the officers who stood at the door and just said, "Sorry, had to use a little force," and continued to the waiting room with Seel out as he healed the Growlithe until he woke up again.

This post has been edited by Douken Sota: Dec 17 2009, 10:28 PM

[Dragon Maiden]

Aussie was silent as she walked back to the waiting room. It felt great to not be locked in that stifling little room anymore, but she knew that she wasn't getting Sandman back and that was enough to make her feel extremely depressed. Nothing would make her feel better until she got her little ball of fiery energy back. As she slipped back into the waiting room, she looked over the scene with her wide eyes.

It seemed the boy had had party while she was away. There was Jennys all over and the room looked as if a tornado had gone through it. She remembered the Growlithe puppy and smiled to herself when she saw it in the boy’s hands. He must have helped catch it... and as she looked around the room she realized this must have been the result of the fiasco. She wished she had been there to see it. It must have been a great thing to watch.

Silently, she made her way to the boy's side and said softly "Thanks for coming. My name is Aussie. I don't believe I caught your name."

Her shyness had slightly subsided because this boy had taken the time to come here and wait for a complete stranger. He had taken the time to help her when she was scared and nervous. If anything, she at least needed to know his name and properly thank him. Common courtesy required that much.

[Douken Sota]

He sat down and returned Seel back to her Pokeball before he continued to work on the damage done. When she asked for a name, he paused and turned to her, smiling, and said, "My name is Douk-" just to be interrupted by the puppy waking up and lunging at his face, licking him. "Hey, down boy, down!" He calm down instantly and panted, looking at him. "Sorry," he said, looking back at Aussie. "The name is Douken."

Another officer soon came with a Pokeball in hand and returned the puppy. "He is certainly a handful..." she muttered, sighing. "Well, at least he made another friend." at that point, the Pokeball exploded open with the Growlithe back out and returned to Douken's lap. "He certainly has grown fond of you..."

[Dragon Maiden]

Aussie laughed aloud as the Growlithe exploded from the pokeball and returned to Douken's lap. The Growlithe certainly was a handful, but a playful and joyful one. It sort of reminded her of how Shadow would run up to her and try to climb her leg in a desperate attempt to crawl into Aussie's awaiting hands. Aussie frowned. She couldn't wait to get Shadow back where she belonged, by her side.

Shaking these thoughts off her mind with surprising force, Aussie nodded in agreement with the Officer's statement. The Growlithe really did seem to like Douken a lot. The Growlithe's unrestrained enthusiasm was enough to make her smile a tiny bit. It was hard to force a genuine smile out of her at the moment, but Douken's Growlithe somehow managed it.

Aussie was just about to make a statement on the Growlithe's seemingly boundless vitality when the door to the jailhouse burst open with spectacular speed. Looking up quickly, Aussie felt a huge smile eclipse her face as she saw the woman who had come in. She was quite a sight. Leaves were tangled in her windblown hair and dried mud caked her face and clothing, but under all that dirt it was obvious who this woman was. There was no way Aussie couldn't recognize her.

Jumping slightly with excitement, Aussie rushed over and smothered her Aunt in a gigantic hug. She didn't bother to ask why her Aunt was caked in mud with leaves in her hair. Her Aunt had a talent for looking strange. Aussie was already laughing hysterically internally as she envisioned all the crazy outfits her Aunt had worn over the years. Compared with those, the mud and leaves were thankfully tame. She was lucky her Aunt hadn't burst in wearing a sombrero and a mustache.

"I missed you mom." she said loudly. "You won't believe what happened after I left. I met these..."

Her Aunt laughed and hugged Aussie back so hard the air was pushed out of her lungs before she could utter another word. "I missed you too Aussie, now please, stop talking before you begin to ramble."

Aussie giggled and let go of her Aunt. She really didn't mind being told to stop talking. It was actually a blessing. If her Aunt hadn't stopped her, she might have continued talking till they were all in their graves. It was a habit of hers around people she knew well and liked. Rambling was the first clue Aussie gave to someone that they had earned her trust and friendship. It was a strange way of showing friendship, but Aussie was strange to say the least so it fit her perfectly.

"How did you get here so quickly?" Aussie wondered aloud to her Aunt.

"I learned how to fly." her Aunt said jokingly.

Aussie rolled her eyes. She certainly loved her Aunt, but she could also be rather childish. Sometimes Aussie felt like the parent instead of the child. "Seriously Mom?"

"No. I was helping plant flowers in the nearby park. Never hurts to do community service." her Aunt said with a smile.

Aussie giggled again. That certainly explained the leaves in her hair and the dirt on her clothes. Getting her Aunt anywhere near a garden was a sure disaster waiting to happen. The last time her Aunt attempted to raise a potted plant the plant was dead before they even brought it home. Her Aunt had accidentally bought an already dead flower at the store without even noticing the wilted dead appearance. "How many innocent plants did you manage to kill this time Mom?" she prodded.

Feigning mock hurt, her Aunt replied overdramatically "Oh really Aussie, how you could blame me of such a thing. I'm hurt. All I did was trip over a tree root and crush four or five small plants. Nothing huge really."

Her Aunt winked and Aussie giggled again, but suddenly her Aunt's demeanor changed. "Alright Aussie. Tell me what happened. How did you end up here? I heard the charges from the police... but I can’t imagine you doing such a thing. I want to hear your side of the story."

Aussie's enthusiasm wilted like her Aunt's poor innocent plants. Gesturing towards a pair of empty seats, Aussie sat down and prepared to speak, but first she threw an apologetic glance at Douken for ignoring him in her enthusiasm. Her Aunt noticed her glance and raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps, before we begin, you should introduce me to your friend."

Aussie coughed and looked down. Douken was nice but she barely knew him. She had just learned his name, but she didn't bother to correct her Aunt's mistake. Standing up, she made her way over to Douken, her Aunt trailing behind. "This is my Aunt Georgia, Douken, and Mom, this is Douken."

She blushed and looked down. She was used to her Aunt's wild boisterous personality, but it was slightly embarrassing to be around her in public. How would Douken react to the strange woman in front of him caked in dirt and leaves? Relief flooded through her that at least her Aunt wasn't wearing a mustache and sombrero, but she blushed as she remembered how her Aunt had been wearing just that ensemble on her first day of school. The other kids had laughed when they saw her Aunt dropping her off at school.

[Douken Sota]

Douken watched the fiasco occur in front of his eyes; a wild woman who has been doing yard work, obviously, seemed to be her mom, and when she was introduced, she called the woman named Georgia her Aunt. It was easy to piece together she was Aussie's caretaker. "Down, Growlithe," he told the puppy in his lap, and without any argument, the Growlithe hopped off his lap and sat next to him, which made the officer blink in disbelief.

Without Growlithe in his lap, he stood up and offered her his hand. "A pleasure to meet you, Miss Georgia."

[Dragon Maiden]

Her Aunt took Douken's proffered hand and shook it with perhaps a little too much enthusiasm. She was looking at Aussie the whole time though, taking in her blushed and nervous expression. A little hint of a playful smile edged her dirt streaked face as she said to Douken "Nice to meet you Douken. Quite the gentlemen aren't we?"

She let go of his hand just as quickly as she had picked it up and looked apologetically at Douken. "If I may talk to my niece for just a moment privately."

Her Aunt grabbed Aussie's hand and dragged her across the waiting room before Aussie had any time to object. Aussie wondered what her Aunt could possibly want. It was an impossible thing to try and predict what her Aunt was going to say next. Whenever she guessed, her next comment always caught her off guard. Her Aunt smiled playfully again and leaned against the wall. Her next words were whisper quiet so that only Aussie could hear "Quite the gentlemen, isn't he?"

Confusion spread through Aussie. Was her Aunt talking about Douken? Looking up, she raised her eyebrow questioningly and put a wary look on her face. It was hard to tell here her Aunt was going to go with this so best to tread carefully. "I suppose I guess." she said carefully, gauging her Aunt's reaction.

Her Aunt seemed to notice Aussie's careful expression. That only made her smile become more playful. Aussie didn't like that in the least. Her Aunt was going to go someplace with this conversation she didn't want to go. Her stomach twisted and her face was bright red. She wasn't sure where this was going but her instincts knew it was going to be someplace embarrassing and touchy.

"So... where did you meet this... boy?" her Aunt asked experimentally, almost cautiously. That was strange and immediately alerted Aussie that something was dreadfully wrong. Her Aunt was never careful unless the subject was something terrifying or bad.

"Uh... I just met him actually, not too long ago. I met him before I was... um... arrested." The last word came out softly, sounding a bit forced. It was hard to say she had been arrested. The word made her feel guilty and dirty just like the phrase 'potentially dangerous.'

"He followed a complete stranger to a jailhouse? I find that hard to believe Aussie." Her Aunt said accusingly, as if trying to guilt a confession out of Aussie.

Aussie shrugged and nodded "Strange but true."

Once again, her Aunt seemed cautious. "Are you sure there isn't something... more to this Aussie. He does seem like a very nice boy after all and he was willing to stick by you even after you were arrested. A complete stranger wouldn't do that."

Aussie blazed as bright as a thousand burning suns as she realized what her Aunt was getting at. At first she was horrified, but soon she was rushed with relief. She had been expecting a topic ten times worse then this. Soon her relief turned to amusement and soon she was laughing in hysterics. She managed to pant out between her laughs "There... is nothing... more to... it Mom. He really did... just come with... me to the prison... right... after meeting... me."

Aussie took another deep breath and managed to stop laughing. The hysterical laughing was starting to cause cramps in her stomach. "Really Mom. There is nothing more to it, and since when have you ever worried about my dating life? It's not like I've ever had one."

Her Aunt smiled with relief. "That's good to hear Aussie. I trust your word though. It just seemed to me you liked this boy a lot. I'm supposed to be the guardian here and I was just trying to do my job. Its what your mother would have done."

They both paused at the mention of Aussie's mother. The tension in the room suddenly deepened. The atmosphere went from amused to somber in the blink of an eye. Aussie almost wilted and her Aunt's usual cheerful strangeness disappeared in a heartbeat.

"I'm sure she would have." Aussie whispered quietly.

There was an awkward silence as they both thought of Aussie's dead parents. It was a hard thing to think about for both of them. "Perhaps you should explain what happened to the boy too. If you just met him he probably has as much an idea of what's going on as I do. He deserves an explanation as long as he got dragged here."

Aussie nodded silently and made her way back to where Douken was, her Aunt trailing not far behind. As she stopped in front of him, her Aunt stood beside her and said "I'm sorry for dragging my niece off but we had... important things to discuss."

Her Aunt smiled a painful smile as they both thought of the awkward conversation her Aunt had just attempted to start. They both looked at each other and when they locked eyes they giggled like two schoolgirls in on a big secret. Aussie only thanked her lucky stars that Douken hadn't heard any of that... she hoped.

"Now that we have that settled though...perhaps Aussie could explain what happened to both of us. I'd really like to know."

Her Aunt's eyes became alight with curiosity. Her Aunt always loved a good story.

This post has been edited by Dragon Maiden: Dec 22 2009, 03:52 PM

[Douken Sota]

When the two walked off to talk to each other, the officer walked to him and became to talk to him, telling him how she was impressed how attached the Growlithe was to him. Merely the fact he was actually sitting still next to him without any forms of restraint, but all Douken did was say a theory that he could think of Douken as the Alpha Male and he would just stick by his side. With that in mind, the officer took off and had Douken wait until she came back with an odd machine. Asking for his Pokedex, she attached the device to it to change the Pokeball's registry from the station to him and she gave him the Growlithe's Pokeball when they came back.

"It's alright," he said, "We apparently had to take care of some business here anyways," he chuckled, holding out the Growlithe's Pokeball before returning him.

[Dragon Maiden]

Aussie knew this was her moment to speak. Her Aunt had put her on center stage with that last comment. Her mouth became dry as she looked at her Aunt with frantic eyes. She was still not quite comfortable around Douken. It wasn't his fault. She was just slow to warm up to people. Her Aunt watched her reaction and nodded her head slightly, reassuring her. She was more then used to Aussie's strange reactions to new people and how to handle them. Aussie bit her lip for a moment and nodded back.

Taking a deep breath, she made sure to look directly into her Aunt's face and imagine that she was the only one in the room. It didn't work at first. She was only too aware of the presence of Douken and the others, but as she continued to concentrate, their presence drifted away. Soon she was as comfortable as she would have been sitting in her own kitchen at home having a casual conversation with her Aunt. She had used this mind trick on more then one occasion. As long as she focused on her Aunt's face, she could forget everyone around her and speak freely and easily. It really was a relief.

"What happened... right..." she pondered to herself.

It was hard to explain, considering she wasn't really sure of the full extent of the situation herself. There were so many pieces of the puzzle that were missing, it was maddening. She would just have to try and explain as best she could, even with the gaps.

"Well... I'm not completely sure myself, but I'll explain it as best I can." She smiled at her Aunt, feeling the large amount of words bubbling up inside of her like a fountain. Now it would be impossible to contain herself. She’d probably talk her mouth off until everyone ran for cover with their hands over their bleeding ears.

"You should have been there Mom! It all happened so fast, but it was such an adventure. You would have loved it! It was almost like that time we went to Petropolis and that man mistakenly..." She started babbling.

"On topic please Aussie." Her Aunt gave her a gentle reminder.

Aussie gave a quick nod and smiled "How I got here. Right. Well anyways, after I left the house yesterday I wandered around for a bit and found myself outside of town. I was on my way to the old Beedrill nesting grounds actually, but I got lost instead. I suppose that’s part of the fun of traveling though, getting lost. I found this really cool shrine outside in the middle of the woods. It was really cool and there was something almost... magical about I suppose. It made all the Pokémon that came near it happier. It was so strange but so great. I really wish I knew how it worked. I had this theory..."

"Topic Aussie." Her Aunt said again.

Aussie blinked and shook her head. She had not realized she had lapsed into thinking about the shrine again, but it was so mysterious. It was against her nature not to wonder about things like that. Hopefully someday she would go back and figure out how the shrine worked its strange magic.

"Aussie. You're drifting. Come back to me." Her Aunt reminded her politely.

Aussie smiled at her Aunt and nodded, beginning again "None of that really matters though. I can skip over the next few bits and say I found myself wandering into the woods alone to feed the Pokémon. I love doing that. It’s so calming and there is so much to see. You can learn a lot about the different species of Pokémon by observing their feeding habits. I set some food out on the ground and a Spinark and a Ratatta came around to feed. The Ratatta was sort of mean. He kept pushing the Spinark around. I was watching those two when a Beedrill came around..."

"Aussie. Topic. Please." Her Aunt pleaded.

Aussie giggled and shook her head. She was getting off topic again. "Sorry Mom. I was in that clearing where I was feeding the Pokémon when suddenly Ponyta came out of the woods. I was pretty astonished actually and after I took a minute to look at him... confused and horrified. It was absolutely terrible."

Aussie sniffed as she thought back to the scene. Imagining Sandman that way still sent shivers down her spine. It also reignited the flame within her to get him justice. Tears brimmed out of the corners of her eyes as she stewed in thoughts of Sandman. He had been taken away from her before she even had the chance to help him. Hopefully he would have a good life, but still... she wanted him with her. She had caught him. He was her responsibility. Was that fair to the person who had owned him previously though? They probably loved him as much as she did at the moment. It was all so emotionally crushing, she felt herself shiver.

Her Aunt saw her distress and reacted immediately. Softly, she said "It's alright Aussie. Take it at your own pace. We have plenty of time to hear the story. Don't strain yourself if it’s too much stress."

Aussie listened to her Aunt and shook her head back and forth slowly, trying to shake the sorrow from her head. Instead, she focused on the burning inside of her to get Sandman his justice. She may not be able to do much for him now that he had been taken away, but she would do the little bits she could to pay her debts to him. Choking back her childish sobs, she almost growled "No. I'll tell you. Sandy deserves for his story to be told."

As she clutched onto this burning inside of her, she suddenly found the confidence to speak to Douken directly. Tearing her eyes away from her Aunt's face, she turned in her seat to face him. "I don't believe I ever properly told you my gratitude. It was really great of you to follow me here when you didn't even know me. You're a nice guy. You deserve the full story at least for coming here with me." she said to him, surprised by the amount of confidence and relief and in her voice.

[Douken Sota]

He listened on to her story, chuckling at the moments where she drifted away. When she turned to him to give him her gratitude, he smiled sincerely and said, "Well, I just can't let someone innocent be charged with something she didn't do. And besides, I think if you did do it, I am sure it was an accident."

He then went over and patted her back. "I am sure everything will turn out for the better."