[X] My Assistant

[Master Houndoom]

Isra's face showed no change. That was one thing she had learned from Her Olivia: Emotions may change, but the face should not. Her Olivia was, in fact, a master at this: Often only the very subtlest of facial changes would denote her emotional state, and that was only in her most emotionally intense moments. Isra and Her Nyx could always tell, however. As well as Her Olivia masked the facial features, there was no hiding the scent. Not with humans, at least.

It was worthy of noting that, since Her Olivia had begun traveling out of the office, and since Her Olivia had met the loud mouth, her scent changed a lot more often.

At any rate, the nidoran had copped to Isra's ploy, and refused to budge. Ordinarily, that would be a cause for admiration. However, this one was preventing Isra from helping Her Olivia win the mission, and that meant one thing.

The Nidoran Wench had to die, of course.

The (adorable!) togepi was practically bouncing out of his shell in anticipation of the battle, but unfortunately, the nidoran was far too level headed to have fallen for Isra's admittedly hastily improvised trick. That was fine. Isra had more tricks.

The Nidoran would still have to die, of course, but in the meantime, there were more tricks to be had.

One would pop into her head any second now.

Any.

Second.

The Nidoran's ears twitched, but it took Isra a lot not to jump when she heard the screech attack that Her Olivia's stupid partner's dumb napkin-like pokémon seemed to favor. The question, "did you hear that" was nearly answered with "did you almost miss it?!", but Isra kept her calm.

"Oh, goodness, that does sound dire." She bristled when the Nidoran began barking orders, and more so when she acknowledged Isra almost as a passing thought, but she kept her emotions in check.

"That is a wonderful idea," Isra gushed. "Who knows if some evil pokémon is trying to steal our food?" She, indeed, looked back mournfully toward Her Olivia. She had counted on getting some fish, and even saving some for her hunk of felinoid-maleness, but, unfortunately, Her Olivia's winning of the mission had to take precedence. "My name is Isra, by the way. Purrloin is my mother's name!" She laughed in a false delightful tone. The truth was, she did not know her mother's name. If asked by anyone she trusted, she would have told them "Olivia" was her mother's name. It was much more accurate, besides.

Isra was not about to deal with another bout of self-loathing from Her Olivia. Even if she had to bite Her Olivia's stupid partner in the butt to fix it.

Cacklebutt, she thought as the three of them made their way toward the kitchens, I could just kiss you. I won't, but I could, and that's the important part. As they left, leaving Her Olivia to discuss the terms of the "sale"

*-*-*-*-*

Olivia stiffened when Marcia mentioned 7000 poke. It wasn't because the number was overly high, however. It was a lot of poke, but then, it was a clandestine exchange of goods for money, and those tended to reach the high mark. It also wasn't because she did not have that much money on her. There were ways around that, and so long as Marcia believed that she would get her money, Olivia felt the girl would be patient.

No, what made her tense was the damp feeling bulbous knot that suddenly pressed against the back of her head. It was not one of her pokémon doing this: Nyx could only make herself or another pokémon close by invisible, and while she was light on her feet, she still couldn't fully mask her weight when trying to climb on Olivia. Isra wouldn't have bothered with this ham-fisted (or, if her suspicions were right, tongue-fisted) attempt at stealth.

Really, the identity of her little messenger was very clear when she thought about it. She nodded, seeming to do so to Marcia, and reached into her jacket pocket (wishing she could have at least kept her larger coat during this charade) to pull out her pokénav.

"Let me go and make the arrangements. I will return in a moment."

She stood and moved toward the kitchens, egged on by Strings tapping on the back of her head more frantically. Once she felt she was far enough away from her contact, she whispered, "That's good, Strings. Go back to Ghost now and make sure he'll be all right." Looking back at the table, she clucked her tongue: The signal for Nyx to join her immediately.

Nyx was surprised, to say the least. She wondered if perhaps Mother-kin had grown immune to her illusions, and had caught her half in and half out of Marcia's purse, despite being invisible. She had almost found the package that clever Sister-kin had managed to leave unguarded, but Mother-kin's command was not to be ignored.

There would be another opportunity, she thought as she trotted to Olivia, swiping the woman's calf with her tail so that Mother-kin knew that Nyx was a good, obedient pokémon.

Olivia walked briskly to the kitchen. It was the most logical place for him to be, acting as a waiter who had just taken orders and needed them filled. She had briefly wondered if she should have, instead, worked her way back to the alley to look by the dumpsters. She wouldn't be surprised to find him smoking, or lazing about.

She was trying very hard not to vilify him, considering his recent cleverness and seeming dedication to the mission, but all of that was still too new for her to attribute it to being something he would normally do. She was slightly surprised to find that she wanted this cleverness to be the more normal action for him.

She simply couldn't help wondering what he'd done to mess things up this time, at the same time being rather annoyed with herself for having that state of mind.

The normal sounds of a busy kitchen reached her ears before she'd gotten half way, and she could not pick out any abnormalities in it. Fortunately, Nyx had large ears and the delicate sensitivities needed to be able to tell the difference between pots slamming onto a stove and a pot slamming onto a head. Nyx tugged, lightly, at the cuff of Olivia's jeans, and that was all the notice that Olivia needed to know there was trouble.

She knelt, as if tying her shoe. "Get Isra," she whispered, "and help Ghost. If you can't help him win, stall until I can come assess the situation. I'll be there as soon as I'm done with our... friend."

She stood and found a corner, calling into her office. "Yes sir, this is Shiva." She rolled her eyes. "Miss Prewitt, sir. Yes, Ghost insisted on a code name. No, I chose this one. Sir, I don't believe I have the time to discuss it." Licking her lip, she brought the screen portion of her pokénav into view. "I need an account set up with 8,000 poke. Yes, apparently that is the price agreed upon." She knew it was a lie, but it would sweeten the deal sufficiently that she felt that the other girl wouldn't say no at all. "I could do it if I were in the office, sir," she said, unable to keep the slightest hint of sarcasm from her voice. She listened for a moment, then, pressing her lips together, spoke clearly. "I have a plan for that eventuality as well."

*-*-*-*-*

Nyx skittered into the kitchen, being sure to make herself as invisible as possible. Her Mother-kin had asked her to help the Ghost, and she would, but it was one thing to take commands during a battle, and quite another to be asked to improvise.

She didn't even know if she knew how to improvise...

The situation looked grim for Ghost, that was certain, but rather than leap in, she took the time to watch. What she saw filled her with outrage. The trainers were not concentrating their attacks on Hamlet or the floating mask pokémon that had evidently come to help Ghost (probably because it liked his name: ghost pokémon could be weird like that). Instead, they were attacking Ghost directly and forcing him to take the defensive (though, in Hamlet's case, it was a strikingly offensive defense).

This wouldn't do.

The large, triangular headed scythe-armed bug type was not something that Nyx recognized readily, but the snivy, she had seen those all over the place when they were still in Unova. There were ways to deal with it. They weren't as dumb as some of the "exotic" plant types that had been bred there, like the tangela and carnivine, but they were usually vain. Luckily, Nyx had another trick up her sleeve, one she had specifically been told was from her Sire.

Reaching out with her mind, not her paws, she nudged the snivy from behind. It stumbled, then cast about, looking for the annoyance, but, of course, it could not see Nyx. So, when the snivy turned back to Casper, Nyx pushed it again.

Only harder.

Snivy did not like being interrupted, nor did they like feeling they were being pushed around, a pair of traits that grew more and more prominent as they evolved. If one was a pure-bred snivy, it was even worse.

One more push, and Nyx was suddenly face to face with an irate snivy throwing the biggest hissing tantrum she had ever seen. Luckily for her, it did not see through her illusion. Unluckily for its trainer, it did think that *he* had been pushing her...

*-*-*-*-*

Olivia returned to the table, putting her pokénav on it and spinning it so that Marcia could see the information on it: a bank account with 8000 poke in it.

"This is the payment, and all you need to do is put in the name that money is to be transferred to, press enter, and both of our supervisors are happy." Olivia stopped and cupped her hand over the device. "After you give me the package."

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Casper ducked to avoid the bladed arm that swished through the air right where his head had been. Hamlet dodged the vine whip aimed in his direction from the snivy and brought his bone club crashing down over the scyther' blade, causing the praying mantis to hiss in pain and back off slightly, putting some distance in between it and the angry cubone.

Out of the corner of his eye, Casper saw the snivy's vines curl back. Leaping to his left, he snatched a skillet from a drying rack on the counter. The vine whip lashed out, but Casper jumped in the way, using the skillet like a baseball bat and swinging it with both hands.

"Hamlet, skull bash on the bug!"

The cubone dodged a downward slice of the scyther's blade, landing on his hind legs and crouching down, before shoving off the ground with as much strength as he could manage, his head lowered. The top of his skull mask slammed into the scyther's midsection, sending the praying mantis crashing to the ground on its back with legs in the air.

A flash of red light and Rizzo had recalled her pokemon, but Hamlet caught sight of the two pokeballs she filled her hands with now that he was fallen.

Meanwhile, Casper was busy swinging the skillet at the snivy's vines, but the vegetative tendrils clanged heavily against the bottom of the pan, sending vibrations racing through Casper's fingers.

"Vine whip on the cubone!" Doodie shouted at the snivy.

"Protect, Sheut!" Casper snapped.

There was a flash of light blue light just beyond Casper's line of sight. He attempted to intercept this new vine whip attack with his chosen weapon, and one of the snivy's vines did clang against it, while the other that swooshed past his face was stopped by Sheut's Protect. The vine that had clanged into the pan wrapped around its handle and jerked the skillet right out of Casper's grip.

"Hey!" he snapped, lunging for the pan.

A loud clang and an explosion of light behind Casper's eyes accompanied the utterly unpleasant sensation of having a wrought iron skillet slammed against the side of one's head.

Casper felt the strength in his legs give out slightly and fought to remain standing while trying to uncross his eyes from the position that they had decided to take, attempting to stare at the inside corners of his eyebrows. He thought perhaps he had passed out and was hallucinating about more pokemon being summoned (because surely the gods couldn't be that cruel?), but then he heard Rizzo call, "Double-slap!"

"Protect!" he yelled, not sure at all whether he had managed to speak it loudly enough to be heard above the ringing in his ears.

There was a flash of blue light right in front of his face, causing the gothita to miss its target, which had apparently been him.

"Using the cute factor to win," Casper said, as he rolled over from where he had apparently fallen onto the floor and pushed himself up. "Rizzo, you pussy."

"Mareep, thunder wave on the tongue-wagging jackass."

The mareep Casper had just noticed had also been called out shook out her thick coat of wool with a "maa-a-a-a" that sounded far more ominous than it should have.

"Get it right!" he shouted at Rizzo, backing up while scanning the area. A mareep and a gothita, freshly released, a snivy who... was apparently very angry at its trainer for reasons unknown, and whatever other pokemon the two trainers had in their pockets. And then there was the grey-haired trainer.

"I'm a Jerkass!"

He made the stupid attempt to dodge the mareep's attack as the pokemon cried out her name, yelling, "Bone Club Haze!"

There was a feeling, abrupt and ridiculous at once, like he had been dragged across a mile of carpet. Static electricity surrounded him, waiting for him to touch someone else's bare skin and shock them, filling the air around him with a thick, heavy feeling, and making the tiny, dark hairs on his arms stand straight up.

And then the heavy static descended, and the thunder wave rushed through him from nose to toes, like electricity through a copper wire. Casper let out a gasp of surprise more than pain, for this was not nearly as painful as a thunderbolt attack would have been. He felt the muscles in his body contract, his equilibrium leave him as his control of his limbs was displaced. He grit his teeth together tightly in leiu of being able to swear as he hit the ground on his back again.

Casper's limbs twitched oddly, the muscles contracting haphazardly from the charging current still trying to take over his body, it seemed. His tongue was like a soaked cotton swab in his mouth as he grumbled at the two jerks still standing.

"Seezer... See... Czar... Caesar..."

"I think Mareep addled his brains," Rizzo commented dryly, not sounding at all concerned.

"What the hell are you saying?" Doodie asked, stepping over to look down at Casper with a mixed expression on his face.

"Juice!" Casper yelled, and abruptly twisted his body, sending both legs sweeping to the left to crash into the back of the large cook's knees. The man let out a cry as he toppled to his feet.

Casper stumbled back onto his own, still shaking, and pointed an accusing finger at Rizzo. "You're sheep about sent me into a Caes... seizure!"

"Pity," she muttered in response. "Thunder bolt!"

Casper felt a brush of something cool against the back of his neck and grinned.

"Skull, hamba-- hambur-- head hit the lamb chop!"

Hamlet was smart enough to get what Casper was trying to say around a mouth still full of cottonswabs and a head that was buzzing sharply. He crouched down and sprang forward, lowering his head, as Casper called out, "Sheut, Protect! Strings, Sha-- Curt-- hit that doll!"

Sheut let loose a blue shield that stopped the mareep's thunder bolt from striking out at Casper, before narrowing its eyes and using a manuever that Casper had not called for, but would keep the mareep from using that move again.

Strings flashed into view abruptly, right in front of the gothita's face, and waves his hand-shaped tongue in a greeting, before letting loose a blast of black and purple light in a Night Shade attack.

"Tackle that cubone, mareep!" The sheep jumped at Hamlet, but the cubone swung its club hard and cracked the mareep across the face. The sheep let out a shaking cry and stumbled, nursing its hurt face.

"ThunderBolt!"

"Skull Bash!" Casper yelled. He didn't bother to pay attention to the mareep, knowing that Hamlet would take care of it, and so didn't see that the ThunderBolt failed before Hamlet had slammed into the wool pokemon. "Sheut, Strings, get the doll baby! Night Shade! Astonish!"

The yamask exploded in size, yelling something loudly at the gothita and causing the baby pokemon to jerk back in fear. Strings' Night Shadow sent the psychic pokemon reeling backward, tears leaking from her eyes.

"Knock Off! Sheut, Protect!" Casper called, hearing Rizzo called "Thunder Wave!"

The yamask turned toward the mareep. There was a flash of blue light that lit up suddenly... before fizzling out.

"Wha-?" Casper asked, but then the Thunder Wave raced through, striking Sheut and caused the pokemon to twitch and whine in pain. Casper heard the dull thunk of Hamlet's bone club clocking the mareep across the skull, and the thud of a pokemon hitting the floor before it was recalled by a pokemon.

"Haze, Sheut," Casper said, hoping the yamask could dismantle the probable paralysis taking over his body. He looked back toward Strings in time to see the shuppet punch the gothita in the face with his fisted tongue, and the doll baby pokemon get recalled.

Casper looked between Rizzo and Doodie, the latter having pushed himself to his feet, his snivy standing by his legs, pissed off and awaiting an order.

Casper, aching and tired and hungry, flashed the both of them an obnoxious smile. "That all you got?"

[ShinyRalts]

Marcia knew this was coming, and was ready for it. "Sorry, YOU give me the money first. I know what you'll do. As soon as I give you the package, you take off, and I get no money. My parents were CEOs. I've seen enough shady business to know the ropes. If not, then I believe we have reached an impasse." Marcia may be a ditz from time to time, but she was no idiot. She had pulled that exact same trick on people before. Her ma and pa had too, until her brother straightened them out.

"Say, on a completely unrelated note, where's the waiter? I'm hungry. Why on earth is he taking so long?" Then, she looked down. "And where'd our Pokemon go? NIDORA? TOGINI?"

What the hell was going on?


Had Marcia seen the kitchen, both of her questions would have been answered. Togini and Nidora were staring as an absolute assault was aimed at the waiter, of all people. Who on earth attacks a waiter at random? It made no sense. It was just plain mean.

"Ooh, I'm going to be so mad- oops, I'm not acting like Marcia again, am I?"

"Yes, but good point. If he's much later, Marcia's going to blow up. I say we help the poor kid out." Nidora and Togini walked up to the boy, and tried to say that they would help. They couldn't tell if he could understand. Humans could be odd that way. Still, they tried to tell him. Togini tried to look intimating, and Nidora laughed, though it was in a 'we're so screwed' sort of way.

[Master Houndoom]

Olivia felt her nostrils twitch. It was almost as if this girl was trying to make this difficult. Internally, her eyes narrowed, and she watched, more closely, for signs that the girl knew exactly who Olivia was. Externally, she pressed her lips together and nodded.

"All right, let's try this. You put the package on the table, and we will both put our hands on it. You may then enter your account number, and wait for verification. You may even call your bank to be certain the funds have gotten through. Then you will let go of the package, I will put it away, and we will finish our lunch." She nodded down to the untouched seaweed salad delivered by a grey haired waiter.

Olivia resisted the urge to look back to the kitchen. She had been concentrating on her goal: getting th eobject of her quest. She hadn't noticed until Strings mussed her hair that it hadn't been Casper who'd delivered the food. Hurry up, girl. I have business to take care of. Casper is either in trouble, or he's going to be.

However, the girl, who had neither introduced herself nor ordered a salad, had taken that time just then to realize that 1) she was hungry, and 2) she had no food. This, somehow, through no connection that Olivia could see, had lead her companion to notice that 3) there were no pokemon under the table.

"And where'd our pokemon go?!"

Olivia found herself at a loss for words. Had Nyx or Isra allowed themselves to be seen? Casper was being competent? She was on a mission..? The world, or possibly just her, was going mad.

It was almost a relief, until she realized that, no, this madness was her true life and had to be worked through, a little bit at a time.

"My pokemon is allowed to run free. However, if you would finish the deal, we can go look for them together. Perhaps they have been tempted to raid the kitchen? I'm afraid mine can be a bad influence." She hated the lie. But it would serve a purpose of getting what she was required, and possibly coming into a position to help Casper...

If the girl would cooperate, that is.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Isra took stock of the situation. Nyx had made herself known silently by smacking her in the face as they entered the kitchen, something that ordinarily she would take playful offense at, except with the kitchen in the chaos it was in, it could easily be forgiven.

The nidoran female seemed to still think she was in charge, and Isra did not disavow her of the idea just yet. "Why, that is a marvelous idea! Let us help the poor human! He seems so out of his depth, so very, what's the word I'm looking for... Ah! Inept!"

She was interrupted by the sudden appearance of Strings, eyes bulged out and slanted in obvious anger, his tongue shaped like a fist and shaking at her. He twisted in place, shifting his lower body hack and forth, the flawing edges of his napkin-like body raising as if an old-timey cartoon were getting ready for a fist fight. Vanishing, he reappeared in front of her, brandishing his fist-like tongue as if he were going to hit her. Isra flinched despite herself, until his tongue flattened again, and she was drenched in ghost drool from the raspberry he was blowing. Finally, his tongue looped into a loose pretzel shape, and he turned away from her, face in the air, eyes closed... ignoring her. He even peeked to make sure she knew he was ignoring her.

"It was an act, cackle butt," she muttered, but he only popped out of vision, popping back in to bop the brown haired lady on the head before going back to his battle in earnest.

She watched as the (aDORable!) togepi and tiny poison rodent tried to get the boy's attention, trying valiantly not to roll her eyes. She managed to hold out until the pair wasn't looking at her, and then briefly lost sight of them as her vision snapped to the ceiling, and then back down.

"No, no, no, darlings. Humans don't listen to us, unless they are bound to us, and that one, as you can see, hardly has the attention of his own. Observe." With sinewy grace that was belied by her squat body and large head, she climbed in a spiral up onto one of the workstations, up to the topmost shelf of that same structure, and jumped off, claws bared, teeth in a death mask rictus.

"DEATH FROM ABOOOOOVE!!!!!"

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Strings had taken the snivy's vine whip as a challenge and was using his tongue to mock the crack-snapping of the grass-type's vines, slobbering the pokemon on the head each time he used this variant of Knock Off. The snivy, who was finding it more than a little difficult to hit a pokemon that continued to disappear and reappear, was getting angry and tired of the game.

There was a loud hiss from somewhere - somehow - above him, and Casper ducked on instinct, glancing up just in time to see Isra, Olivia's purrloin, used gravity like a trebuchet. The purple feline landed, claws extended and hissing, onto the snivy's face.

"What's new, pussycat?" Casper called. He wasn't sure if Isra's hiss was in rage at the snivy or at his cavalier attitude.

"Sheut, Disable!" Casper called, when the snivy tried to use a vine whip to attack Isra. The purrloin leapt clear and the yamask's attack solved the problem of dealing with those vines anymore. "Strings, Night Shade. Hamlet." Casper recalled the tired cubone, knowing that the ground-type didn't stand as much of a chance against the grass-type as his two ghost pokemon did.

There was a mechanical poofing sound and Casper groaned when James called out two more pokemon.

The purple pig pokemon bounced on its spring ridiculously, next to a large serpent that coiled around itself and hissed. James studied the playing field, his face draining of color. Casper laughed.

"Like bringing a knife to a gun fight," he muttered.

He saw Rizzo move out of the corner of his eye and lunged, slamming his forearm into her chest and shoving her backward. She nearly lost her balance, but stumbled backward, into the counter behind her. Casper glanced at the counter next to him, grabbing the closest thing to him that he could use to keep Rizzo from running off and warning someone that not everything in Seaweed Sensations was as sensational as they would expect.

The counter was cleaned out of frying pans, but a large knife made for cutting fish would work just a well.

Casper stepped closer to the woman, the knife held tight in his white-knuckled fist, lowered down near his knee so the woman wouldn't freak out and try to attack him to get away. He was trying to avoid cutting anyone's fingers off.

"You're gonna stay right here," he said, trying to force his words to come out in an angry growl, rather than a tired slur like they wanted. "Got it, Rizzo?"

The woman, older and emotionless as she had appeared, glanced at the knife fearfully and gave a jerky nod. "Good girl."

Casper glanced briefly behind him when there was a loud hiss. Isra had lunged forward and attacked the spoink. Good, she was a dark-type. It shouldn't take her long to finish off the psychic-type pig pokemon.

"Strings! Sheut! Take the seviper down!"

Poison-type pokemon. Casper turned back to the woman and smirked.

Didn't stand a chance.

~*~

Casper shut the outer door to the walk-in freezer with a sigh of relief. He slid the bolt into the door to lock in, just in case, though he highly doubted Rizzo and Doodie could get out of the inner freezer when that door had been locked and they had a whole bunch of pokemon - all fainted.

Groaning, he leaned his forehead against the door, relishing the feel of the cold temperature against his skin.

Sheut was back in his pokeball, but Strings was still hovering over Casper's shoulder, invisible once again. Casper didn't know where Isra had gone - the purrloin had disappeared like cats were wont to do after she had fainted the spoink.

With a final sigh, this one of disappointment, Casper pushed himself away from the door and went scouting around the kitchen.

"Is it finished, yet?"

"Just so, sir."

Casper peered around a shelf of dishes to see the greying waiter who James had spoken to earlier was talking to a chef younger than him. The boy was decorating the dish he had in front of him with the delicate care of an artist. Casper sighed when he recognized the design of the meals. So, Olivia and the hot chick's dishes were done. About damn time.

"I'll be back in a moment to get them." The grey waiter turned and surged off, looking self-important. Casper listened to the younger chef muttering foul things about him under his breath, before he turned and walked off, done with the dishes. Casper guessed he was going to check on some other meal he was preparing.

Quickly slipping around the shelf, he ran his fingers through his hair, tidying it up, and put his outfit back into order. He grabbed the tray that the dishes had been placed on and picked it up, snagging a couple rolls and putting them on the plates. Then, he slipped out of the kitchen and into the restaurant proper.

"I am so sorry, ladies," Casper said, placing the girl's dishes in front of them. "We had a bit of trouble in the kitchens, but I've brought you some rolls, on the house. And your drinks are free, for the trouble."

He couldn't actually promise that, but if it got them the deal... little white lies.

[ShinyRalts]

Marcia nodded. "Thank you for the drinks, sir." She wondered what sort of trouble could have left the waiter looking that exhausted. Shrugging, she turned back to more important matters.

"I agree. Now, three two, one..." At the same time as the numbers rolled up on Marcia's bank account, she allowed the buyer to snatch the package. It looked like the buyer was not going to back out of the deal. Finally, when the last dollars trickled into Marcia's account, she relaxed her grip on the package. She had the money. She had done her job.

"Oh, Togini, Nidora, you're back! My, did you have an adventure?" Suddenly, Marcia felt a whole lot less hungry. She just wanted to get out of the building. She felt like something shifty was going on. Normally, she would have loved that. However, she felt like the joke was on her. She still felt elated enough, though, to preform an act of unusual kindness for Marcia.

"Sorry, I need to leave now." She slapped several bills on the table, a few too many for what the meal cost. "Tip the cute waiter the change, sweetheart! I paid for yours too." She strutted out of the cafe, leaving a few boys staring at her legs.


Nidora was relieved, Togini was upset. They had avoided actually battling. That was okay, she supposed. It had been a long day, getting caught by the lady, battling, almost battling, arguing with that stupid Purloin... Both of the Pokemon were exhausted, and ready to leave. They fell asleep in Marcia's bag, wondering whether Marcia knew that the waiter wasn't who he said he was... They assumed she did. Nidora briefly wondered if that thought was correct, seeing about their master's track record, but hearing what had gone on in the kitchen, she figured she did...

...right?

[Master Houndoom]

Nyx surveyed the damage. The kitchen was relatively overturned, food and other matter, more than likely that of the grass type, strewn everywhere. The rest of the combatants had fled. Casper, and Strings, had risen exponentially in Nyx' eyes. He may not be sneaky, the human, but he managed to take on multiple foes and keep his cover, and the ghosts were a marvel to behold.

Isra sat in a corner, cleaning off her claws with what could only be a look of severe distaste on her delicate mouth. Nyx skirted around the kitchen to come up behind her, but a flick of Isra's ear told her that she had once again not succeeded in surprising the purrloin.

"Did you win, dear? I'm not sure, but I think you might have won..." It was, of course, obvious. After launching herself from the highest shelf, Isra had proceeded to tear into the snivy's leafy tail and plant-like body with teeth and claws. It was the result of this that Isra was now cleaning off of her otherwise well groomed paws.

"Shut it, My Nyx," Isra hissed. "You could have helped."

"I was helping, Sister-Kin," Nyx pouted, hurt. "I was invisible, and what do you think kept the thing off balance?"

"My slashing claws and hissing teeth?" Isra looked down her snout at Nyx, until the fox-like pokémon squinted, and Isra was shoved backwards without the slightest movement from the zorua. She blinked, then, in a rare showing of anything other than pride, ducked her head. "Ah, right, I had forgotten. I am sorry, My Nyx."

Nyx did not answer, but looked around. Humans would be there soon. There were noises from the cold room; The one's shoved in there so unceremoniously would soon work their way out.

Not that they would ever see Nyx, nor Isra, if neither of them wished it. They had, however, seen Isra, if they'd paid attention, so it would be better to bring the risk of them recognizing her down to zero if possible.

"Whatever possessed you to fly screaming from the top shelf?" Nyx was assuredly amused, but Isra snorted.

"There are two ways to hide, My Nyx. I was simply making sure their eyes were only on me-"

As one, they stopped, ears twitching. Their heads snapped toward the dining room, and, without another word or gesture toward each other, they dashed into the dining room.

*~*~*~*~*~*

Olivia had to blink, then blink again. Had the girl called her "sweetheart"? Had she, Olivia, been that condescending to adults when she was that young?

She felt the corner of her lip rise ever so slightly. No, of course not, but many of her classmates had...

She examined the package. It didn't seem like much. A small, rectangular package wrapped in plain brown paper. This made sense, the wrapping did, because one did not want to call too much attention to one's self. Of course, Olivia felt that arranging to exchange a brown paper package in a public restaurant was a little cliché, and therefore would grab attention when it wasn't meant too...

She was over thinking things. Quickly, she counted out the money, putting the money for the meals in her pocket. The leftover was at least 30% of the total bill, quite the generous tip. She placed that on the top of the package as she waited for Casper to return. The salad was actually quite good, if a little bit salty. Salt seemed to be a problem at this restaurant. A cook was profusely apologizing to a perturbed couple a few tables toward the door. As he walked past, his face care worn, she could hear him mutter, "How? How did it happen again with the salt..?!"

Finally Casper arrived, looking a bit puzzled when he noticed that Olivia was alone. Before he could ask a question, she put up a hand. "My companion had to leave suddenly. Thank you for your exemplary service, but could I please get those meals in a to-go box?" She gestured to the tip. "She also left this behind in her rush. Could you please put it somewhere," her eyes widened as she watched his eyes, willing him to understand, "in case she comes back looking for it?"

Casper's eyes shifted rapidly from side to side, as if he were trying to figure out a course of action. Olivia felt her lips pressing together. There was trouble. This was confirmed when he bent to scoop the money and package up and muttered, almost too quiet to hear, "We need to get out of here. Now."

She nodded. "Thank you for exemplary service, Thomas." She noticed a wince from her partner, but decided to let it go. There must really be something wrong, he was being twitchy. "I'll take care of the bill at the front."

She swept herself off of her seat and walked briskly to the front podium, where the sour looking hostess stood, behind a cashier's till. She was as unpleasant looking now as she had been when she had entered. The woman seemed to be agitated, hew jaw clenched. Perhaps she had gotten wind of the problems in the kitchen.

Olivia pulled out the cash that Maria had left, putting it and the check on the podium. Her eyes narrowed, however, when the woman's large hand clamped down on hers.

"I think you read the bill wrong. You're missing something." The woman's voice was gravelly, as if she smoked a lot, and her teeth where slightly protruding, as if she were part bird and had begun to grow a beak.

"You are mistaken," Olivia said, slowly, holding the woman's blue eyes with her own intent gaze. "The check is correct."

"Don't play with me, little girl," the woman snarled, pulling Olivia's ear close to her mouth in a poor attempt at looking inconspicuous. "You have something you shouldn't. You didn't really think Kenickie came without backup, did you?"

Olivia raised a brow, her jaw working very slightly behind her closed lips. "I think you have me mistaken for someone else," she tried, calmly. The woman scoffed.

"Fine, then. Let's see if a little canine therapy doesn't jog your memory." She reached under the counter with her other hand, flinging Olivia away and off her balance with the one that had been gripping her wrist. When Olivia righted herself, she turned to face not one, but two snarling, canine pokémon.

The first was one that Olivia had seen on television quite often, and around town as well. A lot of Magma and some of the city's police force used this species and its evolution often: A poochyena, known for its large fangs. This one in particular looked as if it might have been bred to be imposing, or perhaps it was close to evolving; thick, muscular legs and a large barrel chest only added to the menace of the beasts snarling mouth pulled back in a parody of a grin.

The second Olivia had not ever seen before. It was a largely orange canid pokémon, on stout little legs. His back was covered in thick black fur like a blanket, and thick cream colored fur obscuring all of the features of his face, save for his eyes. He would have been cute, except that that his deep, baritone growl was a deterrent from any such thoughts.

Olivia felt her mouth go dry. Her mind, usually focused, scattered in many directions. The pokémon were large, but healthy. They were quivering with eagerness, but well trained; they wouldn't move without their trainer's command. Much like Nyx, some like Isra.

Who were not with her.

She felt her tongue prickling with adrenaline, unspent as she was unable to respond to her natural fight-or-flight response; she could not fight, and if she fled these two pokémon would be on her in seconds. Within her line of sight and peripheral vision, she could tell that no one was able, or willing, to see the danger she was being placed in; A common ailment of a population ground under the foot of an oppressive regime - the populace became apathetic to instances of violence.

"Boys," the woman growled, her Adam's apple bobbing in her throat. "Why don't you take a Bite out of this bitch?"

The two did not wait, but charged with almost feral glee, barking and yapping the whole time. Olivia clenched her fists at her side, taking a deep breath and closing her eyes tight.

A foot in front of her, the yaps and snarls turned into a pair of surprised yelps.

Olivia's eyes sprang open, half, much to the chagrin of a more practical part of her mind, out of concern for the pokémon who were about to attack her.

One, the orange and black one, was flying through the air, to his left, for no apparent reason. His face was almost comical in its surprise, but that was the furthest from her mind. Looking to the pokémon's right, there was nothing to be seen, save for the flicker of a red and black tail. That slightest flicker did everything to ease the racing bird wings in her chest.

The poochyena had been waylaid by more direct means. It howled and snarled, running in circles, trying desperately to dislodge the maniacal, screeching purrloin attached to his backside via her claws.

The woman was apoplectic as her pokémon struggled to right themselves, giving a particularly unintelligible shriek as Isra hopped off of her faltering poochyena and nonchalantly began cleaning her claws.

"Incubus! Jikininki! Take that little piece of crap out of the game!"

The two turned, each facing Isra, and snarled, leaping in unison. Isra remained where she was, her attention seemingly taken with a troublesome piece of something on her foot. The woman commanding the canid pokémon began to grin, the grin growing wider and wider as her pokémon approached the seemingly oblivious feline.

Olivia swallowed the impulse to physically shove that woman's face into a wall, feeling instead her lips press together. Isra was calm, but Olivia knew her muscles were tense, awaiting her command.

So she gave it.

"Now."

Isra leapt straight up, her back arched, allowing the poochyena to pass underneath her. The other pokémon, which Olivia hadn't yet identified, went once again sailing off in another direction.

"How are you doing that?!" Olivia almost smiled, but instead swallowed it.

"Fury swipes," Olivia said in a quiet, clear voice, a command that Isra followed with relish, swiping claws across the poochyena's nose with relish and a cat-like grin that was nowhere near as pleasant as the Cheshire's.

She turned slightly to the left. "The same. No need to stay hidden now."

With a ripple, Nyx appeared, already running toward the other pokémon, swiping her front paws across the snout of the other pokémon.

The woman hissed, her throat bobbing."Jikininki! Take Down! Incubus! Bite! That one's the psychic that was pushing your herdier brother around."

Ah, Olivia thought, a herdier. She'd heard the species name before, of course, but had never bothered to look up photos. It was good to see one in person, the circumstances notwithstanding.

Still, this one was in for a surprise. As Olivia had been ignorant of herdiers, so this one seemed ignorant of zorua. So much the better for her.

"Nyx, Faint Attack, please, on Jikininki. Isra, attack Incubus with payday."

Nyx seemed to disappear suddenly, leaving the poochyena looking confused, just before it was pelted with gold, oval coins from Isra's attack. This distracted the herdier, which blinked toward his partner. Nyx appeared behind him, and tapped him on the rump. Confused, he turned, straight into a headbutt from the dark fox.

Being slammed around twice and struck when he wasn't expecting it was too much for the herdier, who'd confused eyes rolled back into his head. He had obviously been bred, or raised, to attack.

"Damn it! You're going to regret this!"

The woman's next sentence was cut short, as the poochyena, snarling in rage and trying to chase after a the now taunting Isra when he stopped, head bowed, then arched his back and howled, long and low, a howl that frightened everyone in the building. A bright light filled the area, causing the humans and pokémon who's eyes had been turned in that general direction to turn away. The ones interested in the battle, especially the participants, turned to see that Incubus had just grown larger, his hide shaggier and thicker, his body even more taut, more imposing than before.

Olivia's heart skipped a beat. Nyx disappeared, not to run away, but to prolong the fight as long as possible. Isra's stance suddenly because serious, and frightened.

The woman snarled. "You're screwed now, kewpie doll."

Olivia could not deny the vulgar assessment. Besides being an evolved form, putting him past her two, he had been larger than Nyx and Isra before he had evolved. It was Isra's agility that had kept her out of harm's way.

"Clockwise," was Olivia's only answer. Nyx and Isra began running around the mightyena, picking up speed as the monstrous beast watched them. Soon, he was turning in the direction the two smaller pokémon, slavering, his jaws drooling, his eyes burning with intensity. He wanted to clamp those large jaws down on one, or both, of the smaller pokémon circling him.

Olivia wracked her brain as her pokémon circled the larger one. All of them were dark types, so attacks using that particular energy would be weaker on each other. That was little comfort; As large as he was, he'd still damage them worse than they could damage him.

Still, there were other venues.

"Sand attack!"

Other venues that her opponent evidently knew of as well.

Incubus snarled, waiting until the opportune moment when Isra was just behind him to kick with his back foot, sending a plume of dust and dirt and possibly wood shavings from the floor up into her path. She coughed, sneezing, and stopped, trying to clear her eyes.

"Fury Swipes," Olivia blurted, the corner of her mouth twitching downward. Unfortunately, the attack had left Isra with watering eyes that could not get a decent grasp of where the larger beast was, and her claws only ended up striking the thick fur of his coat with a glancing blow.

Nyx, however, also knew the attack and was already executing it, causing her own type of blinding attack by virtue of imposing her body in front of the mightyena's eyes, which caused her to be swept around as the mightyena turned to attack the blinded purrloin.

Nyx lost all propriety in realizing who the target was. She clamped down on the mightyena's ear, refusing to let go. The mightyena had no qualms about being injured, but it seemed as if he were at least annoyed, and the initial attack had the benefit of keeping fangs from tearing flesh.

Another yowl sounded as the mightyena snapped his head, sending Nyx flying off and leaving deep gouges in his ear. A purple form landed on Incubus's back, dinging claws into his fur, and hissing and spitting.

Olivia's eyes widened. This new pokémon, a purple feline with a spiral tail, and was completely unknown to her. She was, however, as always, observant, especially when it came to her own pokémon, and this new one was making sure that Incubus could not take the time to attack Isra.

When the mightyena would turn toward her, the newcomer would clamber up his back. When he would turn his attention to the new feline, that pokémon would run back toward his tail, with a sly, snarling grin on his face.

In the mean time, Nyx concentrated on Incubus' front legs, dashing in to attack whenever the larger pokémon turned toward the newcomer.

When Isra's eyes cleared, and she noticed who was helping, she, too, would attack, ferociously, when the large pokémon would turn his attention to the new ally, or to Nyx. Soon, the battlefield was a flurry of hisses, quick, darting bites, and yelps, claws flashing, tiny teeth snarling.

The mightyena began to falter, then to stumble, and soon, he was down.

"YOU--" The woman, her large Adam's apple bobbing in her throat, sputtered, her voice coming out in a surprisingly deep growl. She clenched a fist that suddenly seemed too large by half, cocking it back and charging while Olivia was distracted by the spiral-tailed feline scampering out the door.

Olivia turned, just as the blonde was closing the gap between them, and swallowed. This... this would hurt.

Until a form rose between them, yellow, grey, and red, a large, vicious looking pokémon Olivia knew from personal research was called a haxorus. The woman let out a scream, tried to skid to a halt, but the suden motion caused her to slip, her feet flying up above her head, and she fell, the back of her head cracking against the ground just after her shoulders hit. She lay, dazed, blinking, as Olivia bent over enough to see that she would live.

Olivia's lips pressed together. "You may want to consider chondrolaryngoplasty. It makes the operation more convincing."

She did not wait for a response, but turned and hurried out the door, making certain that Nyx, who's haxorus illusion was fading, and Isra, still sneezing a bit and blinking her eyes, were with her before she turned the corner and made for the alley near the store she had bought her disguise from.

The sooner she was in her normal clothing, the better she would feel.

She only hoped Casper had packaged the alomomola. Isra, Nyx, and, if she could find it, the newcomer, deserved a treat.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Casper headed toward the kitchens with the package in his hands, underneath the one girl's plate, with Olivia's plate grasped in the other. He was so ready to leave, he could hardly wait to get away from this restaurant. Of all places, why did they have to be assigned to meet someone in a seafood restaurant, when Casper was hungry and hadn't had anything to eat? Surely, someone, somewhere, hated him.

He blinked for a moment and then sighed. That wasn't really a question, was it?

The doors to the kitchen swung open before he reached them and the grey-haired waiter walked right into him. Casper kept his grip on Olivia's plate and the package, but the other plate, which had been resting on top of the thin brown box, was knocked away from his hands. It hit the floor and shattered, sending food flying all over the place.

Casper stumbled back, partially in show to make it look as though the waiter had really thrown him off, but mostly to put some distance between himself and the man who he knew to be friends with the two he had battled against. The older waiter merely glanced at him briefly, however, before he walked swiftly by, and Casper wondered what he was in such a hurry for.

He didn't care, at the moment. He was just glad the guy hadn't decided that Casper was a threat and tried to take him out. He didn't know if his pokemon could handle another battle.

Gratefully slipping into the kitchens, resigned to letting someone else pick up the broke plate, Casper grimaced as he found a styrofoam box and transferred Olivia's leftover meal to it. Despite them playing at being someone who they weren't, he had no doubt she'd needed to pay for that meal, and that she would want the remains of it. He only hoped she hadn't intended to eat the other girl's meal, too, because he had no intention of picking shards of porcelain and dirt out of it.

"Strings?" Casper whispered, closing the box. He heard a soft cackle behind him, and something spongy and wet twisted in his hair. "All right, let's get out of here."

He took the side exit, into the corridor between the kitchens and the bathroom, and regretted it the moment he pushed the swinging door open. That was when a fist slammed into his face.

Casper staggered back but caught his arm on the doorjamb, managing to retain his balance (barely) and his hold on the box of food in his hands and the package tucked under his arm. "Klingon Face Punch my ass!"

Casper glanced up, his face aching, a groaned. "Oh, it's you."

"Screw you, dude! I mean, what the hell?! I'm so gonna have you fired, man! You are just so totally fuc--"

The boy's voice was drowned out by the sound of a high-pitched screeching. Strings, who had moved, invisibly, in front of Casper, regained visibility only once his attack had started, so that the first thing the waiter saw of the ghost was a fist-shaped tongue flying at his face. The tongue-fist cracked the boy in a comical uppercut under his chin, forcing his head up. The boy was only knocked on his ass because, a moment later, Strings swung his tongue down low and yanked his feet out from underneath him.

"Come on, Strings, let's go," Casper muttered, before the ghost could continue his tender mercies on the waiter. He had just stepped over the grumbling waiter's legs when something sharp pricked Casper's left arm and he felt the package slip from his grasp. He let out a gasp of surprise and tried to catch the falling package, only to find it gone.

Spinning around, he looked for the brown box, but didn't see it. Behind him, Strings gave a screech and the sound of the door slamming open caused Casper to spin again.

A green and yellow pokemon was running out of the restaurant, the brown box held firmly in his hands.

"Damnit!" Casper snarled, and shoved the door hard as he raced out after the pokemon.

Even before he reached the street and saw the crobat swoop down to take the package from the kecleon, he already knew he was too late to steal it back. Grimacing, he gave chase, anyway.

[Master Houndoom]

Olivia had found her way back to the shop and changed back to her normal outfit. Sighing, she contemplated what to do with the clothing she had just bought. It was a bargain, yes, but she certainly was not going to wear them again. Finally she decided to donate them to charity. Someone would put them to good use.

That decided, she walked out of the shop and to the alley next to it. She stood against the wall, checking only occasionally for Casper's approach.

She finally spotted him, winded, mussed, and looking as if he wanted to choke something. Olivia sighed. Everything, except for a few snags, had gone so well. Now it looked as if something had gone wrong. In his hand was a larger white canister, but not the small brown package she had handed him.

Or, she thought with an odd glimmer of hope, he had been turned down hitting on some random woman. She shook her head. It was a foolish thought. Brittany turned him down plenty of times, and he never seemed daunted...

She waved to him, stepping out of the alley, and watched as he slumped over, a scowl on his features.

"What happened?" she asked, as soon as he got into earshot. He rolled his eyes, rolling his head back, the picture of someone having to admit something he didn't want to.

"A pokémon grabbed the package. I chased it, but it got away." He seemed as if he wanted to say more, but stopped, looking at her.

Olivia looked right back at him, right into his eyes. "So you've lost the package?"

With a sigh, Casper closed his eyes, his jaw working. When he looked up, the old light was back, the old mischievous, devil may care disrespect that Olivia hadn't realized was missing since he'd appeared at the table as a waiter.

Before he could speak, Olivia sighed, lightly. "A pity."

Casper's mouth had been open, and his eyes widened as he looked at her, unable to give the smart alec comment he had evidently been ready to deliver.

Olivia looked at him, lifting one brow. "You did your best, I'm certain, and that is evident by the state in which you arrived. Some things can not be prevented." She dug into one of the pockets of her coat and pulled out her smartphone. Pushing one of the keys, she put it to her ear. "Brittany? Please close the account we set up for this buy. Yes, all of it, just put it-- What?" She scowled, then sighed. "It couldn't be prevented. Get the rest out of there, please. I will deal with the consequences." She paused again, her brows coming together. "Everything is fine. No, we will be back soon. All right. I will see you then."

Hanging up, she looked at Casper. "I believe I have enough for lunch," she said. "Where would you like to go?"

If anything, Casper's eyes got wider. "No... I mean, um..."

"Ghost, we have worked all day, made our way through several obstacles we didn't have any way of expecting, and we have been dealt a blow despite the exemplary work we have managed. I would say that a lunch break is not out of the question."

"Um... I don't have -- Wait, did you just compliment me?" Casper's face lit up into a smile, which was decidedly less leering than usual.

Olivia allowed herself a short eye roll. "You did fine work in there, Ghost." Her eyes hooded as she looked at him. "Please see to it that you continue to do so, if you enjoy due praise as you seem to."

Casper raised his hands. "Time will tell, Lollilivliv."

"I take it back," Olivia said, shaking her head. "Now, where do you want to eat?"

"Anyplace without seafood. Ugh... That reminds me," he said, handing her the white Styrofoam container. "Your Alomomola." He cleared his throat, looking away briefly. "Sorry I didn't get the shrimp... it fell."

"That is all right," Olivia said, taking the container. "Shrimp gives Isra gas."

Behind them, Isra's eyes widened in shock and embarrassment. She sunk further into the shadows, hoping no one else heard.

After the lunch, Olivia would wonder why he was subdued, even shy. It gave her a little bit of hope; if something beyond his control upset him, maybe he was a better agent than she first took him to be. Better than he acted.

She pulled the fish out of the container and cut it into three parts, allowing Nyx and Isra to eat two of the parts. After they had finished, she handed the last piece, wrapped in a napkin, to Isra. "I am certain you know where he is. Tell him I said thank you for his help this afternoon." Before Isra left, she cleared her throat. "And try to be more discreet, please."

[Umbrae Calamitas]

This is not going to work.

Casper wasn't hungry. He was sore, but the vast majority of his aches and pains had been dealt with. He suffered mostly from the not-entirely-unpleasant drowsy feeling one gets from taking pain medication, which Olivia had given him when they arrived back to headquarters.

"How is your nose?" Olivia asked as the two of them stepped into the elevator that would take them from the underground floor to the main office area.

Casper tried for a lewd grin, but he was pretty sure his smile was more self-deprecating than it ought to have been. "My nose wasn't broken. We both know that."

"Of course," she said, as though it had been obvious, and it probably had. She wasn't an idiot, by any definition. "But that man was not pretending to strike you, Casper."

He gave her a pointed look and watched her sigh.

"Ghost."

She had asked him again, as they were exiting the elevator, which made him think that she must have actually been concerned, and he couldn't bring himself to be cavalier about that, and so he had told her that his face hurt, but his nose was not broken. And she had given him some pain medication that she kept in her desk. Effective stuff, but not the kind that knocks you on your ass for hours on end.

And then they had gone for their debriefing with Wigglesworth. It had been so very similar to their last debriefing that Casper couldn't help but recall Olivia's taking all of the blame for their previous failed mission. And he couldn't help but remind himself that, despite Aqua not getting the package, the mission was basically a failure as far as intel-gathering was concerned.

"Sir," Casper had begun, and in retrospect, treating his superior with respect for the first time since he'd been hired probably wasn't the best way to start out a conversation he had planned on being serious about, "I take full responsibility for the failure of this mission. I had the package in my hands and I lost it. Olivia's only failure was entrusting the package to me in the first place, and she didn't really have any other choice at the time-"

"On the contrary," Olivia interrupted him smoothly, her emotionless voice steamrolling him into silence out of surprise. "Mr. Weard proved during this mission that he has some talent for tactical decisions when in the field and can be entrusted with specific parameters of a mission, provided he... understands their importance."

Casper felt somewhat like he had swallowed something lumpy and repulsive - an old, sweaty sock. He was... touched and annoyed at once.

"And yet the mission was a failure," Wiggles said, and it was not a question.

Okay, touched sensation vanished. Casper was purely annoyed. Trust Olivia to ruin his attempts to take some responsibility for his actions.

He would see to it that such a thing never happened again.

But damnit, this wasn't going to work.

He was growing fond of Olivia.

That wasn't allowed! He was supposed to be annoying to the point of madness, but not enough that outright complaints to superiors were warranted. Useless to the extreme, but competent enough that he wouldn't be pulled from a mission. Unpredictable to a fault, in so far that it did not appear purposeful.

In a single day, he had managed to let Olivia relax from her previously near-constant state of finding him an utter pain in the ass. He had proven to be both comptent and useful during this mission, to the point that she actually complimented his skills to Wigman! Whether or not she found him to be predictable, he couldn't tell, but so far, he had ruined his original plan for dealing with his partner.

This couldn't be allowed to continue.

Casper slowed his walk and stuck a hand in his pocket. There, he felt the soft, worn edges of a twenty poke note - the tip Olivia had left him on the table after he had played as their waiter. She had also paid for dinner that night, when she took him out after their mission. She had even let him pick the restaurant, but when he had gone to pay for his part of the meal, she had stopped him and taken the bill from his hand.

He loved italian food and he rarely was able to eat it. Or, well, rarely able to afford it, and even when he could, he hated eating alone.

And she had been... Casper shook his head and picked up the pace.

No. He couldn't get attached. Even if he did find her good company, it wouldn't last. He was there so he could find a way to save Sarah. There was no other reason.

He just needed to keep reminding himself of that, apparently.

~*~

Casper climbed the stairs to his apartment, stepping around the occasional empty beer can. The elevator was down again, but he didn't mind. Climbing stairs had never hurt him.

His apartment was on the fourth floor and as he made his way down the hall, he pulled his keys from his pocket. The apartment next to his was filled with people, by the sound of it. Music - tasteless music, as far as he was concerned - blared from beyond the door, muffling the cheerfully drunken cries of the people within. It looked like he would be having another sleepless night.

Sliding his key into the doorknob, Casper unlocked the door and pushed it open. Once he had stepped inside, however, he realized that someone was already present within his apartment.

The crobat flapped thin wings to remain airbourne within the center of the room. He was holding a flat metal box with a screen on it. It looked a little like one of those new Kindle Fires they were coming out with. Casper wanted one badly.

He was pretty sure this wasn't the same thing, though, and that he wouldn't want it.

Stepping into the room, Casper closed the door behind him, locking both the twist and bolt locks. As he slid the chain lock into place, he spoke quietly, in a voice that lacked his usual arrogance. "Don't you think it's a little suspicious that you're waiting for me in my home when all of the windows have bars on them and I routinely lock my door? I don't know how they manage to get away with it in the movies, but I'd like an explanation. Now."

"I'm paying for the apartment, if you'll recall." Casper's shoulders twitched in surprise at the female voice, the muscles of his spine tensing. He turned around slowly. "Do you think I would not make certain to have ways of protecting such an investment?"

Facing the crobat, Casper was able to see that the screen of the small box the bat was holding had lit up, displaying a woman's face.

She did not appear younger than she was, but as she did not look old, either, determining her actual age based on appearance alone was nigh impossible. Her face was tight, the skin pulled firmly across bone and cartlidge, as though by medicational injections, and Casper might have thought so had he not known for certain that that was not the case.

The woman's hair was blonde, not golden, but a dull yellow, like old wallpaper. Her hair was shoulder-length, he knew, but from this angle, he could only see how tightly it was pulled back from her face. Likely latched into a knot at the back of her skull. Her full lips, red and wet-looking from lipstick, were pressed tightly together into a firm look of disapproval that he had come to expect. Her slate-grey eyes were as glaring in disgust as they were emotionless, and as there were high levels of both, he accepted the contradiction as normal.

"Are you saying you have a key to my apartment?" He couldn't find the strength within him to be outraged. How... expected.

The woman's lips twisted into a smirk. "That would be as far as your brain could allow you to imagine, wouldn't it, Thomas?" Casper grimaced at the name, his fingers twitching in a desire to strip out of the waiter outfit that he still wore. "Trust that I have my ways, and you need not concern yourself with anything beyond your job, do you understand?"

Teeth clenched tightly, he could force himself to do little more than nod at her words.

"Good. And by the way, Thomas. I thought it prudent that I congratulate you on a job well done this afternoon. Kec brought me the most lovely package today, and after reviewing the information sent via the chip I programmed into your yamask, I was pleased to see that you kept your mask up quite well. You even chased after Kecleon to make it appear to all witnesses that you did not want to lose the package."

Casper scowled at the mention of Sheut. He had tried to avoid using the ghost-type in battle for the very reason she had hoped that he would. Surveillance. Would he never be free?

The camera trained on her pulled back a little, displaying her torso more clearly. She was wearing a crimson blouse with a low-cut neckline to accentuate her modest cleavage. Casper imagined that she was likely wearing black slacks, as well, but couldn't tell from this angle. He could see, on each sleeve of her blouse, however, the emblem of one of the main factions of Noverus - a triple-peaked mountain with a circular opening at the bottom.

Magma Officer Dahlia Capello smiled, baring the faintest impression of her large, white front teeth. Beside her, a kecleon faded into view, the brown package Casper and Olivia had been ordered to retrieve from the Magma operative in his hands.

But Casper had orders that superceded those.

"But appearances can be deceiving, can't they, Thomas?" the woman asked, her voice soft. Dangerous. "You know what I expect of you, and what I will not tolerate. You do not want to fail me as easily as you fail that fool of a superior you serve now. Find me the information that I want..." Her eyes flashed in amusement and she smiled a foul, sadistic grin. "And I promise that Sarah won't have any scars in places you can see when all her clothes are on."

Her smile faded and her eyes regained that dangerous gleam, her mouth set into a firm look of distaste, assuring him that she did not think him competent of following the simplest of intructions. But he would. He would, for Sarah.

"Do we understand each other, Thomas?"

"Yes, Mother."