[X] My Assistant

[Living Arrow]

“Well, they’ll just have to wait and see how good Ivy is at finding things, oh yes they will! I’m no Silly normal! I’s got a nose!” Ivy told herself as she trotted down the street in search of what Sagira had called ‘coffee-flavoured-coffee’. Thankfully for the young Aqua Elite, the area of town they were in was not overly crowded and so movement was not hampered by space-stealing Sillies who annoyed Ivy so much whenever they got in her way.

“But fiiirst…” Ivy licked her lips greedily and tilted her nose to the light city breeze. Amid the stench of car fumes, cigarette smoke and feet came the lustrous and mouth-watering scent of delicious oily, fried gorgeousness. “BURGER STAND!”

The speed with which Ivy reached the small corner-stall was nothing short of miraculous. The bearded fellow who owned the portable grill had spotted her moments before, rounding the bend that would lead her to the culinary delights of his greasy beefcakes. He had noticed the gaze that she had locked upon his meat. The licking of lips. The flexing of fingers. The crazed light of hunger in her little bright eyes.

“GIMME BURGER QUICK FAST!”

“Woah, hold on little lady!” The burger man paused to turn a couple of quarter pounders. “You’ve got to be a little more specific with the order – we’ve got more than plain old burgers here!”

Ivy’s face turned down into a frown. Her eyes narrowed. “Gimme. Burger. Bugger.”

“How rude.” The man mumbled, selecting a slightly burned piece of beef and shoving it in the worst quality bun he had (it was stale and a little smaller than the others) before near-on throwing it at Ivy. He was so surprised to hear such a sweet-looking girl speak so coarsely to him with no warning. “Ten poke.” He demanded.

“WHA-?!”

“Gimme. Cash. Brat.”

It was Ivy’s turned to be surprised. Even so, she shrugged and handed him the money, turning on her heel and giggling with delight as she returned to her search for coffee-flavoured-coffee.

***

“Victoria.” Ivy hissed, her burger forgotten in her hand. She had gone no further than half a block when that blonde girl’s face had jumped out at her from the coffee shop window. Across the street and sat in one of the window seats, the honey-haired-harlot was sipping at a small mug with a faraway glaze in her eyes.

Ivy’s knuckles turned white as they clenched with anger, a wave of emotion capturing the girl like a tsunami. That girl had been one of the ones to corrupt Victor! To steal him away! She had to be punished…

“Why, hello again!” A cheery sing-song voice next to Ivy was promptly accompanied by a dull-coloured coat that blocked her view of the girl sat in the coffee shop.

“Get outta the way, Gray-man!” Ivy moaned, reaching out to shove him aside. He resisted easily – being twice her size made him a mountain to her molehill self. His chiselled jaw, still miraculously unshaven (had it ever been smooth?!) was twisted up into a fond smile under those captivating eyes. Ivy blinked.

“OK, OK!” He stepped aside and looked back across the street where Ivy had been watching. “What are you so interested in looking at, anyway?”

“SHE’S GONE!” Ivy cursed, stomping down hard on Gray’s foot. “Stupid stupid… SILLY!”

“You’re so cute when you shout, y’know that?” He smiled again, this time showing her his white teeth. Oh, how he had a fine turn to his canines…

“DAMN YOU, GRAY-MAN!” She kicked him in the shin and ran into the street. With any luck, she’d find that Victoria and if she could capture her, she’d be able to find Victor once more. And then she would… she would… What would she do?

***

“Ivy!”

The Elite stopped walking when she heard Sagira calling her name and turned around to find her teammates hustling toward her. Both looked somewhat frustrated and red-cheeked.

“Why is there a burger guy back there, claiming that an urchin has stolen someone’s clothes and demanding meat like a bum craving liquor?” Sagira demanded, folding her arms tightly in the stern catlady way she did when Ivy had done something wrong. “And don’t give me ‘I’s gets hungry’ – you don’t see us mouthing off when we ge the munchies, do you?”

“No, Saggie…” Ivy mumbled, casting her eyes to the floor. “The urges…”

“And we all get urges, but you don’t see me just jumping up and-”

“Catseye…” Jay calmed her quickly. “We’ve found her now – no harm done.”

“Yeah but…” Sagira glanced sideways at Ivy. “But we don’t know if it’s completely worn off yet… y’know… the brainwashing?”

“I’s fine. Really.” Ivy nodded to reassure herself just as much as the others. “I’ll try to be more unSilly? next time. Promise.”

“Good enough for me.” Jay-man smiled but Sagira’s took some long seconds to follow and it never reached up to her eyes. Inwardly, Ivy sighed.

Their meeting was interrupted rather suddenly and comically with Sagira’s ringtone from her new phone. Ivy’s eyebrows twitched with mirth as the lyrics began to play out and soon enough the topic of Victoria and Victor was out of her mind.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Sagira and Jay left the burger man to his complaints, still able to hear him grumbling loudly to anyone who would listen (and those who tried not to) about the girl – a demon, surely – masquerading as a child and flinging demands like a spoiled princess. His words were far more crass, and Sagira didn’t like to associate the word “urchin” with anyone she considered a friend. After all, she didn’t have to think too hard about to whom the man was referring. If there was one person who had the capability of ragging on someone’s nerves through the simple task of asking for food, that would be Ivy.

Though, Sagira thought, Jay would probably be just as successful, if in a separate fashion.

Finding Ivy alone proved an exercise in futility. In the end, they had needed to call out Videl and Umbrae and let the two houndoom sniff out their quarry, because trying to track the errant child on their own was foolish at best, dangerous at worst (or aggravating, at worst, in Sagira’s case, which was dangerous for everyone else).

The two dark dogs were a powerful team against all enemies – even sidewalks. It seemed to Sagira to take so long to find Ivy, as her mind raced with possibilities of where the child – for how could she be considered anything but a child? – could have gone. Possibilities filled with knives pulled from hidden places and eyes filled with a darkness that did not fit.

But then Videl and Umbrae stopped at the same moment, sharply, both releasing steady barks, as their quarry was walking down the sidewalk, away from them.

“Ivy!” Sagira cried, racing toward the girl. She worried… feared that Ivy would start to run from her, or glance back at her and, realizing that she had been found, attack. It wouldn’t be Ivy, though, but Kylarian, and Sagira didn’t know what she would do, then, if her friend disappeared again.

When Ivy stopped, however, and turned around, she didn’t run. She didn’t attack, either, but rather watched them with curious eyes. Sagira’s quick gait faltered only mildly, almost imperceptibly (though not enough to avoid Umbrae’s detection, the houndoom glancing back at her in concern), but then she was moving toward Ivy in a long, smooth stride. Sagira cocked an eyebrow and cast her mind to something simple, something to take the focus to Ivy, until she could full regain her composure in the knowledge that Ivy was… Ivy.

“Why is there a burger guy back there, claiming that an urchin has stolen someone’s clothes and demanding meat like a bum craving liquor?” Sagira crossed her arms over her chest and cocked her hips to the side in a way that she knew drew Jay’s attention way from her face. “And don’t give me ‘I’s gets hungry’ – you don’t see us mouthing off when we get the munchies, do you?”

Calm down, Iris, Sagira hissed mentally at herself.

Ivy looked contrite, though, at Sagira’s words, and though she came up with an excuse that, in the past, would have worked, Sagira immediately rebuked it with more words, even as she berated herself. It was Jay who finally quieted her, rebuking her lightly and, when Sagira realized that he had seen through her attempts to hide her true feelings on the matter, she told him she wasn’t sure…

“I’s fine. Really. I’ll try to be more unSilly? next time. Promise.”

“Good enough for me,” Jay declared with a grin. Sagira narrowed her eyes at him. How could he think…? Jay gave her a familiar look. Come on, Catseye.

Sagira sighed, lowering her eyes and turning away from both of them. She heard Ivy sigh behind her, but couldn’t bring herself to turn around. She wouldn’t tell them… she was so afraid of losing the people she cared about, and for a time, Ivy really had been gone…

“I’m an asshole
(He’s an asshole, what an asshole)
I’m an asshole
(He’s a real fucking asshole)

Sometimes I park in handicapped spaces
While handicapped people make handicapped faces

I’m an ass-

Sagira ignored the number of people staring her way, including Ivy and, with a ridiculous expression on his face, Jay, as she unclipped her phone from her belt and flipped it open, cutting off the very loud and rather crass ringtone.

“You shouldn’t call me in public, you know,” she said by way of greeting. “It’s very rude.”

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut your vacation short, Smythe. You, Lange, and Kylarian.”

Sagira sighed, cocked her hips to the side, and a rather exaggerated huff into the phone. “Should I ever bother acting surprised?”

“Don’t waste your breath or my time. I want you, Lange, and Kylarian to rendezvous with me so I can debrief you on a new mission.”

Sagira saw Jay watching her with a pondering look on his face. He caught her eyes and cocked an eyebrow at her. Sagira smiled at him teasingly, but offered no information on what Bryce was saying, allowing he and Ivy to hear nothing by the steady mumbling from the other end of the phone. She listened to Bryce continue to talk to her, his voice holding a commanding tone that wasn’t entirely successful in hiding his exasperation.

Eyes still on Jay, Sagira cocked her hips to the side and raised her eyebrows as she lowered her head slightly, gazing at him from under thick eyelashes. She saw Jay raise his own eyebrows, and then his eyes flicked downward and back up, roving over her body. Sagira smirked and tried to ignore the gagging sound Ivy was making behind her.

“Smythe, are you listening to me?”

“No,” Sagira answered matter-of-factly. She heard a heavy sigh on the other end of the phone and rolled her eyes. “Look, Bossman, I may be sexy as hell, but I’ve got brains, too.” She pulled the phone away from her ear long enough to glance at the time. "We can make it there in twenty minutes, and then you can buy us drinks."

"You're on the clock as of three minutes ago, Smythe."

Sagira huffed. "You know, you really are an asshole." Without waiting for a reply, Sagira snapped her phone shut and clipped it back onto her belt. Then she crossed her arms a made a grunt, thoughtful.

"What'd he want?"

"Vacation's over," Sagira said, glancing sideways at Jay with a leery expression on her face. "He wants us to meet him at the Black Dragon Saloon."

Ivy let out a whoop. "Yay! We's goin' fer da drinkies!"

Sagira didn't laugh, however, and she didn't look like drinks were anywhere on her mind, despite what she had said to Bryce. She'd heard of The Black Dragon and, as places went, it wasn't on top of her list of tourist sites. In fact, it was on her list of places to avoid, but it looked like she would be going, anyway.

~*~

Hinata's fist to his stomach expelled the air from Paladin's lungs in a rush. He choked as it tore from him, and then sucked in a gasp of air as she pulled back her fist again. Eyes narrowed, he reached out, grabbed her fist in both his hands, and buried himself deep into her mind as he teleported.

He remembered that age-old fear, the feeling of being unable to breath, the water rushing over him, coiling around him like the body of a seviper, consuming him, sliding inside of him and stealing everything. He remembered it, buried himself in the memory, and then sent it to her as he carried their bodies together through the teleportation, never finishing one locational transfer before choosing another, and then another, and another, dragging along the moments that they remained in-transit, in that place where there was nothing, much like that area beneath the water, where he had found himself after having failed his previous trainer, and where he had lost his hearing indefinitely.

Paladin drug Hinata through the locational transfer, leaving their landing marks behind without touching down, not hitting the checkpoints, not passing Go, not collecting two-hundred poke'dollars. He dragged her through the teleportation as he remembered...

He remembered the red-haired man who had been his trainer. Not his name, not his face, not even his eyes. He remembered red hair, he remembered the word pathetic, and he remembered, painfully to his heart, the man's voice - the last voice he had heard with his ears before there was nothing but the sound of water.

Pathetic.

And then water. Cold, harsh. He was thrown into the rough waters. Too tired to hover above it, too weary to swim, his wounds from his last battle still bleeding, his muscles still burning. He remembered his crash into the waters, their rough surface as harsh as any brick wall, and as he remembered it, so he lived it still.

He fought the water, their cold, sharp edges cutting into him as he slapped hands against the surface, trying to find a hold where there wasn't. He dragged his head above glassy waves, sucking in air with greedy breaths, only to lose his hold against gravity, against the waters, and be dragged back under them again.

Fighting, always fighting. Fighting for the man, and now fighting the waves, and he was so tired, tired, tired, and cold, and hurt. He was cold, but still burning, and his chest burned and he kicked the water, fought for the glassy surface, and broke it, and breathed, and fell under again.

Paladin fought it now as he fought it then, only now he fought the memories and pulled away from them, somewhere deep within him aware that they were only memories. As he pulled himself from them, however, aiming the end of the teleportation - the end of the memory - at a corner of the room, he'd not even touched a graceful foot on the surface of reality before he was jerked back again, this time not by his volition, but by Hinata's own strength. She grabbed control of the teleportation, and she pulled him back into the waters, back into the river and the cold and the wet, and pushed him under crushing waves.

Paladin fought. He fought, kicking the waves and slapping his arms, but he couldn't get to the surface of the water and he couldn't steal his control back from Hinata. She was stronger than he was, like the waves were stronger than he was, and he was swept away by her control of the teleportation, as was - had been - swept away by the current of the river, caught under the fold of its waves, as they thundered against him, crushed him under their hold, and pushed past his battling defenses and slipped into him, bringing cold and darkness.

Paladin forced himself to remember.

As his breath caught in his chest and, caught in the hold of the teleportation, dragged through nothingness at Hinata's whim, he forced himself to remember hands.

Hands, which had slipped under his arms, which had grasped him tightly and pulled him out of the water. Hands, which had held him gently, even though he felt nothing but knew, like the way that he knows what is happening outside while he is in his pokeball, laying him down, gently, only to hurt him. Hands, which had hurt him, punching him, hitting him, leaving behind bruises as they struck him. Paladin remembered knowing - not feeling until after, but knowing - that the hands pushed him and punched him and tried to crush him as he slept under the waters, everything so quiet...

And then he remembers waking up, and he remembers being sick and throwing up, and he remembers a blanket wrapped around him and how cold it is. He remembers the hands that punched him and hurt him holding him, caressing him, and he remembers how confused he is and how hurt he is. He remembers waking up, he remembers breathing, and he remembers running - he remembers getting away.

Paladin opened his eyes, seafoam green orbs glowing, and the teleportation touches down - he does not know if she does it or if he falters - and his feet touch the ground, and then he feels his power rise within him. He breathes, cold air, and then he screams and launches at her, and suddenly, he is a teenaged boy in a lopsided green helmet and she is a teenaged girl with cloudy white eyes and black hair, and they are not in the hotel room but in a room made of stone, walls cracked and crumbling, and he hates her because she hurt him, and he wants to hurt her, too.

~*~

Sagira, Jay, and Ivy were walking toward their rendezvous point with Bryce when the sound of someone yelling for them to wait was followed swiftly by a thud. The three of them turned together to find the waitress from the restaurant pushing herself back onto her feet, before running - stumbling, more like - after them. She managed to trip three times before reaching them and, upon reaching them, nearly tackled Jay to the ground when he caught her before she fell. She righted herself, breathing hard.

"U-um... right, it's you." She looked at Sagira, who stood with a raised eyebrow, wondering why in the goddess' good name she was being stalked, and abruptly thrust her hands out together, a pokeball clutched in them. "Will you please please please take my pokemon with you?"

Sagira's eyebrow twitched upward a notch as she looked at the pokeball. She glanced from the pokeball to its owner's face and spoke, surprisingly to the others, in a soft tone. "Erin-" The girl twitched at her name, though she kept her eyes closed. "-why do you want me to take your croagunk?"

Erin seemed as surprised that Sagira knew her pokemon was a croagunk as she was that she remembered her name, but she didn't say anything as she opened her eyes and stood up straight, hugging the pokeball to her chest. She looked down at it as she spoke, her voice shaky.

"Shin likes to battle," she said quietly.

Sagira closed her eyes and shook her head sadly at the name, though Erin didn't notice. Sagira couldn't help but feel some internal part of her screaming. Oh, how she hated Crayon Shin-chan.

"But he's not very good at it," Erin continued. Her shoulders sagged. "Actually, he's not good at it at all, but he does try." By the time she looked back up at Sagira, the older girl had recovered and was watching her closely. "You're a really good battler, and you're kind to your pokemon, and... and you're not... clumsy." She scuffed her shoe on the ground as he glanced down again. "I know he's not very good right now, but I think Shin could be a great battler... if he had someone to teach him how." She glanced up shyly. "I was just hoping... maybe..." She swallowed.

"That I would teach him." Sagira finished.

Erin nodded. "I don't mean... I don't mean just for a little while. I don't battle very much. I don't really know how and, well... I fall a lot." Sagira smirked. "But Shin likes to battle and I think he could help you, if he learned how. I think if he was trained by someone who was like him, then he'd be happy, and he'd make a good partner." She gasped softly and continued quickly, "Not that he's not a good partner to me, of course, but I think he'd make a good fighting partner, and I know he's content with me but he's not really happy and I want him to be happy... you know." She blinked, then looked up at Sagira. "You know?"

Sagira nodded. "Yeah. I get it." She looked to her side, thinking.

"You wouldn't need... to trade me anything." Sagira glanced at her quickly. That had been what she was pondering on, in part. Though she had already made the decision to send Serenity home, it was to home, not to the arms of another trainer the ekans didn't know. Even if Erin did seem like a nice girl.

"Do you have another pokemon?" Sagira asked. If Erin only had... the croagunk, she'd wouldn't take it. Even if the girl was just a civilian, she would be vulnerable in Noverus without a pokemon. She'd be vulnerable anywhere. The attack at the restaurant was proof of that.

"Oh... yes." Erin stuck her left hand into her pocket and pulled out a pretty ball - Sagira recognized it as a Luxury Ball - and clicked the button on it to summon the pokemon.

The pokemon appeared in a flash of red light - big, snarling, with drool spitting from a large mouth and great fangs. Sagira blinked in surprise at the juxtaposition, and then again, when Erin patted the granbull gently on the head, and the salivating pokemon calmed instantly, and nuzzled her hand.

"My daddy gave him to me," Erin said, and Sagira had to wonder why the girl didn't summon the granbull during the restaurant battle. "He's a big teddy bear, aren't you, Kanabo?" Erin wrapped her arms around the granbull's neck and hugged him as though he were a fluffy teddiursa and not... not a granbull. "He looks really mean, but he doesn't like to fight."

Right. Sagira looked at the granbull's mouth, nearly larger than Erin's head. She smiled at Erin, a fond smile that you gave a very stupid child. Whatever you say.

She thought about the clumsy croagunk with its tongue stuck to a mask and sighed. "I suppose it couldn't hurt."

[Master Houndoom]

Jay smirked a bit as they walked along the sidewalk, sending the blushing, stumbling waitress off after Sagira had agreed to train the girl's croagunk. The way she was glowering down at the pokéball seemed to be a warning, both to the pokémon inside it and to her travelling companions. Jay decided, discreetly, not to bring it up just yet.

They came to a building and stopped. The building itself was almost nondescript, a single story building that seemed to sprawl on the outside, taking up more area than it should. The parking lot was empty, perhaps owing to the fact that it was still early in the day. There was no flashy neon sign, only a wooden sign above the door with the image of a shiny rayquaza on it, which had the uncanny effect of seeming to stare at you.

Walking into the black dragon was an experience in and of itself. Though it was clearly still daytime out, the party was struck by the dimness of the place. They stayed in place while their eyes adjusted, and it was then that they were approached by two larger men, both with smiles on their faces.

"Well, well, lookie here, Stu! Got us a couple o' pretties, we do. Never seen 'em before, they're fresh meat! Looks like we stumbled on a tasty treat!" The man, tall and thin, cackled gleefully.

Jay stepped to the front of the group, snorting softly. He'd likely hear no end of it from Sagira, but he felt any protest offered by the girls would excite the two men further. Him stepping up might cause a fight, which they were perfectly ready for, or might make them back down, which would be preferable.

Stu, the other man, tall as well but heavy set, grinned toothlessly at Jay. "Aww, the ickle man's gonna step up and protect his girlyfwiends! How cute!"

Jay sighed. Looked like it might be a fight. He didn't back down, but lowered his hands to his sides. "Guys, we don't want trouble--"

"Trouble? Trouble! There's no trouble! We just wants a look at the girlies double! Maybe if you back away, Stu and I can have our say!" The thin man cackled wetly, and Jay bit his lower lip.

"Yeh, boy, why don' you back off, let Les and me have some fun, whot?" The thin man stepped forward, menacingly.

Jay's hand whipped to his belt. Behind him, he could feel Sagira and Ivy prepare their own pokémon. "Why don't you eat hot fiery--"

"LANGE!"

Jay's head snapped up, where, behind the two men, Bryce appeared, as out of place with them as Jay, Sagira, and Ivy must have looked just walking in.

Bryce smirked, then patted the two men cordially on the shoulders. "It's all right, Stu, Les. They're with me."

An instant change came over the pair. Stu swiped his hands through his hair, pushing it back away from his face, and Les rose to his full height. Jay hadn't been aware he'd slouched.

"Oh, hey, sorry about that, kid," said Les with a smile. "This isn't really a place for civvies, you know? "

"Yeah," Stu nodded, the accent gone. "We like to cut 'em off before they get in and somebody actually harasses them." He nodded, then he and Les moved back to their table, leaving a stunned Pack behind at the door. Bryce's smirk raised to an amused smile.

"Come on, I need to talk to you. There's a couple of rules in the dragon: No fighting. Doesn't matter if you're Magma or Aqua, this is neutral ground. I expect you to adhere to that as if it were an order from me-"

"So hardly at all," Sagira quipped with a raised brow. Bryce ignored her.

"Two, he serves alcohol. Don't come home falling down drunk, or else you'll get the loudest, noisiest job in the morning. And those start early."

Bryce sat at a table, looking up at the three. There were already drinks waiting. Soda, from the looks of it. Jay waited for Sagira, who took the seat directly across from Bryce, then sat and moved his chair closer to her than to him, taking his drink and leaning back to lift his legs onto the table. Bryce looked, but did not comment. Sagira leaned onto her elbows as Ivy, who had also moved her seat closer to Sagira, mimicked Jay, which had the unfortunately comical effect of putting her head almost below the edge of the table.

Sagira sat straight and tall, her arms flat on the table, near enough to Jay's lounging arm to be touched if he'd stretched his fingers a little. Instead, she shifted her own hand, laying her pinky and ring finger across his. She looked at Bryce and raised a brow, saying nothing.

Bryce rolled his eyes.

"We've received reports of attacks on various locations," he said, dryly, pushing a folder across to them. Sagira took it, releasing Jay's fingers for the time and looking through the packet; a dry, stale sheaf of papers with sparse facts and a blurry picture which could have been a woman with a surgeon's mask and lab coat, or an actual surgeon, or Dr. Doofenshmirtz. The cartoon character.

"Truly, you're on top of things," Sagira drawled.

Bryce leveled a flat gaze at her, then looked at Jay, who shrugged. "What?" he asked, smirking eerily like the girl next to him. "I agree. I mean... obviously you've learned so much."

"They're hitting known Magma locations. People are starting to blame us."

"I bet you'll find that they're hitting known Aqua locations as well."

"Retaliatory strikes," Bryce said, but Jay could see in his eyes that Bryce was repeating the official line, not agreeing or even believing the theory. Jay reached into his shirt pocket, pulled out the patch he'd pulled off of one of his attacker's lab coat, and tossed it on top of the folder.

"Or, maybe, people are just seeing what they want to see..."

-----

Hinata swallowed thickly, her gaze soaring around the space she and Paladin were in, avoiding, while she could, Paladin's face. "What have you done," she hissed, horrified, angry, her hands shaking as she took in the scenery.

The entire realm was a visual cacophony, swirling, shattered images, nondescript faces screaming as they approached or receded from the shard of mental memory that had made up the joined realm they were in. Hinata recognized almost as many as she didn't.

"What have you done," she repeated, unable or unwilling to hide the mortification in her voice.

"What you deserve," came the quiet, strained reply. Finally, Hinata looked at him. He was in the same clothing he always was on the plane: a shirt two sizes too large, a knight's tunic on a squire. Trousers that were rolled at the cuffs and scuffed all over. A green helmet on his hear, a size too large, slightly lopsided, the hair underneath covering his eyes as he stared down.

Paladin's fists were clenched, and Hinata backed up, not in fear. "You brought... you brought me to a place where I could see?!" She tried, she tried so hard, to sound haughty, as if by removing her one handicap he'd lost the battle prematurely. Her voice, however, came out shaky, almost terrified. "Are you stupid?"

"You did this. You pushed this." Paladin's voice was getting more and more vehement, but Hinata couldn't concentrate on that. He was right. She had pushed this. Attacked him first, when she'd sworn she wouldn't again, not after building up an emotional weapon that would have devastated him. Even in the middle of the battle, when it was equal amounts attack and counter attack, she had used his worst moment against him. Yes, it was to prove a point, that forcing her to teleport was not as damaging to her as it was to him, but she had done it, at the worst time possible.

This, none of this, was what she wanted...

"You did this to me!" Paladin looked up, his teeth gnashing. Somehow, he had grown. The clothing was no less shabby, but now seemed to fit, and where he had looked like a skinny boy, there were now muscles corded under his arm. He put his hand to his waist and drew a shining sword, charging with a growled shout of such madness that she had reacted by dodging before she even realized how much danger she was in.

Paladin had charged past her, but spun sooner than he seemed able and was sending another blow crashing at her back. Hinata leapt to the side, twisting and then curling to evade his weapon, hitting one of the shattered mirror walls feet first to launch over his shoulder, which she grabbed to drive him to the ground.

"Paladin, wait-" she tried, but was cut off by him raising the sword, only missing cutting her arm off by her quick reaction. Even so, it tore through her own tunic and sliced her shoulder. She backed up, hands raised in front of her chest.

"Paladin, I was wr-"

"GRAAH!" His anger was so great, his frustration so deep, that he had been reduced to wordlessness, and as he charged, more than his screams and grunts as he swung his weapon in wide arcs, missing her as she skipped back, she heard whispered voices, a multitude, sibilant and insistant: Hinata did this... Hinata did this... Hinata did this... You did this...

I did this...

-----

Jay's head started to tingle, and that was not a good sign.

He peeked over at Sagira, who's brow was just beginning to furrow, but whether it was Dawson's explanation of his personal theory of the new attackers or the same feeling he was feeling, Jay couldn't know. What he could know was that this feeling inevitably lead to a headache.

He got Sagira's attention, leaned in and muttered, "I'm going to get us some water. Feel a headache going on." The nod was almost imperceptible, but he saw it and brushed her wrist with his fingertips. Bryce looked up at him, but with Jay walking away, and Sagira waiting patiently, he stored his observations for another time. *

Jay approached the bar, sat on the stool, then put his head in his hands. The headache was starting sooner than he'd expected. The tingling was in the back part of his mind, and years of contact with psychic individuals, it only confirmed his suspicions.

If it's causing that much trouble, then stop! It was a desperate attempt: He knew Hinata could hear him if he spoke to her, but at the same time, the headaches brought on by a distressed psychic presence tended to distract both parties.

He'd wondered why he hadn't had this happen before. It used to happen quite a bit with Amber, but, then, she had been trying to break through whatever natural barrier he had to psychics. In this case, Hinata had already forged that connection.

And then, like that, it stopped. The tingling lessened, the headache began to ebb, and Jay felt a lingering sadness and surprise before the forced connection ended.

Jay looked back to Sagira, surprised at his line of thought, and turned forward.

"You OK, buddy?" Jay turned forward, looking at the worried face of the bartender. The man was a large man, bald with a red van dyke beard and moustache and bushy eyebrows. One of which he raised.

"Yeah. Fine. Could I get three, waters and whatever the walrus faced guy sitting with the teen girls was drinking?"

The bartender smirked, looking over at Bryce. "You must be Lange."

"My reputation precedes me," Jay smirked, and the guy nodded.

"Look, some advice: Talk to the girl."

Jay blinked. "What?"

"She obviously likes you. You can tell by the way she's staring."

Jay looked over to the table. Sagira and Bryce were talking calmly, but Ivy was staring longingly at Jay. He gave a start until he realized, she wasn't staring at him. She was staring near him.

"Ah. No, the brunette's my girlfriend. Ivy's not attracted to me. She's attracted to the bowl of pretzels next to me." Jay picked them up and put them on the tray with the drinks. "I'll just take them to meet her. She'll eat them up."

As he got to the table, Bryce took his drink, nodded his thanks, and left to the jukebox.

"He's letting us talk it over," Sagira said, quietly. She looked thoughtful, even regretful. Jay tilted his head, sliding the water and pretzels to Ivy.

"S'matter?"

"He wants to cut off our off time. Send us on a mission to a place they think these people will hit." She sighed, leaning back and sipping her water before giving it a look.

"And you don't want to get back to work?"

"No," she admitted. "I mean, eventually, of course, but... it was nice, just being able to... spend time together."

Jay grinned. "We're going undercover to a place where these guys might attack?"

"Yes," Sagira said, looking at Jay as if he were a fool.

"Like, say, a restaurant?"

Sagira's face changed, and she smiled, a slow, curling smile. "As long as it's not Chez Chimecho..."

Jay's brows rose, and he winked at her. "I hope you wear that dress again..."

He could have sworn he saw Sagira blush, but instead she changed the subject. "Ivy and I are going back. In the mean time, there's another mission, suited to your talents..."

-----

In the Psychic Plane, if one's will is strong enough, one could last forever. Any physical looking action was merely a personal representation of an actual mental one, anyway. A swing of a sword in the plane might be a psychic jab in the actual world. The same jab could be represented by a flat-palmed strike, or a gunshot, or the manifestation of an animal attacking. For Hinata, she tended to take after the comic book character that her name came from, a shy, unassuming female ninja who's hands moved like lightning when she was provoked. Of course, she wasn't exactly shy nor unassuming like the character, but her manifestation of attacks tended to follow that theme.

But Paladin, who she'd never fought before, was much better at defense. As she watched, as she battled, sketchy armor appeared over his tunic, which was now tight across his chest. Bracers appeared on his wrists, and his helmet straightened.

She swung behind him, jamming a palm strike to his back, but he shrugged it off, reaching back and throwing her across the room. She rolled and stood. It was getting harder to stand, but she had to. She had to stop him, now, and find a way to end this thing that she had started.

But it was so hard. He wasn't listening to her. He was swinging, wildly, his attacks strong yet unfocused. He was not listening at all.

It was too hard. She'd messed up too much.

If it's causing that much trouble, then stop!

Jay's voice sounded strained, and she looked behind her to see his reflection in a shard of the mirror wall, sitting near a counter somewhere, holding his head.

Stop... yeah, right...

Paladin knocked her down, straddling her, and raised his sword for a two handed blow.

If she was skewered in the psychic plane, would she die in the real one?

What would that do to Jay?

What would that do to Paladin.

She rose, just before his sword came down, and slipped between his arms. Wrapping her own around his chest, she hugged him tightly, breathing harshly, sobbing. "I'm sorry," she said. The noises in the plane stopped, and only her words, echoed from her own mouth, a litany of apologies. She felt tears, hot and viscous in the real world, but normal here, running down her face and his chestplate. "I'm sorry, Paladin, I'm so sorry. This isn't what I wanted. This is never what I'd want..."

Paladin's muscles bunched beneath her hands, then, slowly, relaxed. She heard a ping as the sword hit the ground behind her, narrowly missing her, but having no direction.

"I'd let you," she murmured. "I'd let you, but it'd hurt you so much when... when you came to your senses... but I attacked you, I deserve it... I'm so..."

His hands dropped to his side, and he made no move to embrace her. The breast plate that had appeared slowly dissolved back into the plain off white tunic it had been. The bracers stayed, however, and the helmet didn't slip back as much as he took it off.

She pulled away from him, her eyes on her knees. She couldn't look at him now.

"I..." Her voice caught in her throat. "I won't... stop you. I won't... you don't have to be with me anymore... we... we don't have to work together, except when it will help our... our trainers."

He still hadn't moved, and she didn't want to weep in front of him. It would make him feel guilty. She tried, then succeeded, in lifting her head, facing the consequences of her actions as he would if he were wrong. She couldn't stop the tears, but she could arrange her face to a stoic mask of acceptance. "I hurt you, Paladin. I overreacted. I was angry with you for pushing me away without finding out why. I won't bother you again."

She turned to go. Both to get out of the psychic plane, and our of his sight in the real world, in order to break down in private, where he wouldn't feel guilty. She had already started to close her mind off, to keep others from hearing or feeling her emotions, when it happened.

Paladin, his eyes blazing, made a noise, and as she turned to look at him, eyes widening, he tackled her. They left the psychic plane, and were in the real world, where she could not see, but she could feel the crush of his mouth on hers, and could feel his hands, and knew what he wanted.

If anyone had still been in the room, if their mental shields had slipped, if anyone had thought to investigate the squeaks and giggles coming from the room of Jay Lange and Sagira Smythe, they would have found out, first hand and in graphic detail, how kirlia eggs were made.

[Living Arrow]

Four heads tilted to the side in contemplation, regarding their master with some consideration as she flounced back and forth in front of the mirror. All canine, save one, nodded fervently as she smoothed down the latest outfit, removing crinkles that had collected from where she had left it neatly scrunched into a ball on the floor. The ever watchful eyes and growled or barked opinions of Alpha, Beta, Kappa and Tau were important to the young girl but the snooty yips from Epsilon were ignored altogether.

“Saaaaaggyyyyy?” Ivy moaned, frowning at her equally bemused reflection. “I’s not sure these is the right clothes for me.”

Sagira’s head bobbed around the door. Since Ivy had been placed into the three-man-cell with Sagira and Jay, she had relocated her room from the Maw to be closer to her friends. It turned out that that meant she slept with only one wall and her cat-like friend and only a couple to her gingery maned partner.

“Whats the problem now?”

“S’difficult doin the lunges…” Ivy stated, showing off the lack of movement at her hips by performing a series of long stretches. “Lady nurse at the healing center said something about a Camperupt? And a toe? Dunno what it meant exactly, but me thinks it is too tight.”

Sagira face-palmed. “That’s one way to put it.”

Ivy relaxed as Sagira came bustling in and set to pulling the shift back over Ivy’s head and choosing another from the very small collection in Ivy’s wardrobe. If anything could be said for the canid girl’s way of life, it was certainly simplistic. Everything the girl owned could literally fit into one bag and so her selection of undercover garments was meagre at best.

“What happened to all those clothes Victor got you?” Sagira asked. Ivy’s mood darkened.

“Trashed ‘em.” Came the dead reply. The matter was not persued.

“Well, when we have another day of leave I’ll make sure we get some more things in here. I mean, look at this jacket! It’s threadbare! And where are your underwear?”

“Underwear?” Ivy’s head cocked to the same angle as her boys, arranged along the opposite wall. “Why would I put something on under other clothes?”

A wide eyed stare was the only response she got.

*****

“Don’t see why we aren’t on a special mish-mish like Jay-man…” Ivy grumbled as she followed Sagira toward their mission’s entry point. “Bet he’s off fightin’ and doin’ the gymnasticals.”

“Yeaaah…” Sagira glanced sideways at Ivy. “Gymnastics on his mission… Jay bending over backwards sounds about right to me.” She giggled to herself. Ivy frowned. Humans were so weird sometimes.

“NARGH!” Ivy yelped as he newly acquired phone vibrated against her thigh. The sensation, not only pleasurable, was extremely alarming! Why she couldn’t have the speaker on, she’d never understand – the vibrate option was hardly silent.

“Who’s that?” Sagira asked as hey walked.

“No-one!” Ivy blushed profusely. “No-one at all! Serviceproviderman!”

“Whatever you say, Ivy…” Sagira smirked as a very red and embarrassed Kylarian trudged along behind her.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"Mm..." Sagira tipped up her cardboard cup and let the last remnant of the espresso slide over her tongue. Coffee. Wonderful, wonderful coffee-flavored coffee.

"You've passed this test, Agent Jacob," she said, licking her lips and calmly replacing the lid of the cup.

Jay smirked and nudged her elbow with his as they walked. "Was there any doubt, really?"

"Hm... not with you, but the incompetence of the world is high at the best of times. But I have another mission for you." She tossed the cup at him, which he caught in surprise. "Recycle."

"Hey." Jay grinned, catching up to her from where he'd stopped. "I'll get you coffee. You deal with your own trash." He handed the cup to a passing Aqua. "Recycle that, will ya?" Neither he nor Sagira stopped to see if the man followed directions. Their paces were matched as they walked through the lobby of the "hotel," heading for the elevator.

It opened before they even reached it, an older gentlemen with a balding white head being led out by a busboy.

"I don't understand how it's possible that you can have no vacancies! The whole fifth floor was empty!"

"I'm terribly sorry, sir, but those rooms are reserved and simply have no place for you. Now, there's a pamphlet at the service desk with a list of hotels nearby. Surely we can find one to your suiting-"

The elevator doors slid shut with a gentle ding and the civilians curt reply was cut-off as the lift began to rise, carrying to two passengers to the third floor.

"Where did Ivy run off to, anyway?" Jay asked casually, clearly accustomed to the flightiness of the younger girl.

"I'm not sure, but there was something about a serviceproviderman." Jay cocked an eyebrow at the fact that Sagira was amused by this, but said nothing, and the doors opened on their floor.

They matched paces until they reached Sagira's door, where Jay gave her a sideways look and a teasing grin. "Do you need my help to get dressed?"

Sagira turned fully toward him and, pressing her fingertips against his chest, pushed him lightly up against the wall opposite her door. She leaned her face close to his until she could feel his breath on her lips. "I think I can manage fine without you," she said, grinning that feral gleam of a smile, "but if I need help, you'll be the first I call." She leaned in and kissed him lightly on the lips, lingering for just a moment before she turned around and danced to her door. It was, as she had left it, locked, which she quickly remedied before pushing it open.

Jay was still standing behind her when she did and it was, in unison, that they spoke.

"What the-"

"Sunuvacrap!"

The room was in complete and utter disarray, and the word didn't even rightly fit. The floor was littered with clothing, both torn and whole, pieces of splintered wood, jagged springs from a half-massacred bed spring mattress, and part of a... wall.

Sagira took a step into the room to gape at the wall, which stood crumbling, a great hole ripped through its center and drywall dust scattered about the floor near it. Framework boards had been splintered and a few stuck out haphazardly, clearly ready to give way.

Jay followed behind Sagira, walking in slowly with his mouth open a little, staring at the same hole in the wall. Hinata, who had been the first to move, was reaching for clothes out of reflex, only to pause halfway through gathering a pile of shredded black shirts and a few pieces of tattered lingerie. It seemed to occur to her, post-panic, that she was a pokemon and therefore didn't wear clothes.

Sagira had turned slightly from the wall to try and spot the rhydon who had formed this hole in her wall, found her gaze on the bed, which wasn't quite whole - the box spring mattress with half of its insides missing and the blankets torn off of the top mattress. On top of that mattress lay two kirlia. The more noticeable was the one sitting up, clutching some black tatters to her chest, blind eyes turned toward the only sources of sound in the room.

"... Hina?"

Jay, who had still been focused on the wall, spun quickly to look at where Sagira's gaze had focused. The movement was done midstep and lost him his balance as he tripped on half of a board and fell through the hole in the wall, into his own room.

Sagira glanced at him absently, but quickly turned back around to gaze, open-mouthed, at the kirlia on the bed. Two of them. Hinata still holding the clothes in some silly attempt to hide herself, and Paladin laying sprawled on the bed, looking very happy, and glancing idly at her.

"Oh, great!" Jay said, pushing himself clumsily to his feet. "JUST GREAT! Some great big huge pokemon tears a hole in our wall and you two are playing Doctor!" Jay paused in what appeared to be the beginnings of a lengthy rant, looking quite surprised at what he had just said, and the rest of them were silent in a sort of shock. Sagira's mouth closed with an audible click in the silence, and the four looked back and forth between each other for a time.

Abruptly: "All appointments are full!" Paladin said, louder than necessary, and teleported away in a loud crack born of embarrassment and shock.

"I'LL GET HIM!" Hinata hardly paused, teleporting away with a great deal more finesse, and then the two humans were left alone in what had become a conjoined room. They were silent for a long time.

"I'll change in the bathroom," Sagira said after a long moment and walked out of the room. She left Jay standing alone in the room as she, unbeknownst to him, rode the elevator down to the lobby and left the building, in search of a clothing store. She didn't want to know what little remained of her wardrobe.

The elevator doors were dinging closed as Sagira exited them when, up in the room, Jay gaped in sudden realization. "... HEY! WAIT A MINUTE, THEY WERE--"

~two hours later~

Sagira was well-aware of the fact that Jay would be slightly disappointed that she wasn't wearing the same dress on this mission as she had on their previous date, but there were two reasons for that. One was that she intended to draw attention to herself, or rather, her image, and thereby away from her actions and from Ivy, who would be doing a good deal of the snooping.

The others was that she really enjoyed watching Jay's eyes bug out.

The dress she had picked was black, though she doubted many would notice the color. Soft satin and shorter than anything that Sagira had ever worn, the dress ended above her knees in a lacy black border that tickled her legs. The top of it that covered her breasts covered little else but them, two separate strips of cloth that stretched in either direction, tying behind her neck. Her stomach and lower back were covered in little more than a decorative lacy mesh of cloth, easily seen through, and the skin between her breasts from the base of her ribcage up was bare. A delicate, wide necklace of cloth was all that adorned her throat, and the dress itself was held tight across her torso by nothing more than a simple black ribbon, which Sagira had demanded she have instead of the pink one that normally came with it. The base line of the dress had also been altered and now gleamed a shiny black, instead of pink.

Sagira stepped into the high boots she had bought specifically to wear with this. They weren't as delicate as some others that she might have chosen, the heel of a wider, more stable material than most others that she had seen. They would hold her weight better and she would be less likely to break her ankle she she had to run. The boots didn't look it, but they bent nicely and allowed for a good deal of movement. In this line of work, that was necessary.

Sagira turned around, running her fingers through her short hair - now dyed black - as she glanced at her back in the mirror. She grinned sideways at herself. Jay would, indeed, be surprised, she was sure.

"Time to go see, isn't it?" Sagira asked, looking at Umbrae, who was lounging in the corner of the fitting room where Sagira was changing - her and Jay's rooms were... less than private, at the moment - obfuscating asleep. At her words, he opened his crimson eyes and regarded her curiously. He made no noise of disagreement, so Sagira assumed he approved of her wardrobe as much as any canine might. Though Umbrae always had been rather protective of her. He never would have let her out of her house like this when she was younger.

Sagira grabbed the clothes she had previously been wearing and stepped out of the fitting room to head back to the hotel. "Come on, Umbrae. Let's go see if Jay's ready, yet." She mentioned nothing about the possibility of seeing a certain pair of kirlia, because really, what would they say?

Top is like this

Boots are like this

[Master Houndoom]

She wasn't sure when she woke up. Part of her felt that it didn't matter, because she felt so light, and cool, and free where there had only been responsibility and hot anger and the weight of hatred on her shoulders that if she stayed where she was all the rest of her days, it would be all right. So long as she didn't feel that way ever again.

Slowly, she became aware of another, pressed close to her and breathing evenly. She opened one eye, pushing a stray lock of black hair away from It, only to see more hair, rich brown in color, in front of them.

The memories came flooding back, stopping at the point where they might ruin the moment and happy feelings. She let them wash over her like a hot shower, soothing the aches of her recent strains and hurts, so effective at that duty that she stretched, giggling lightly (had she *ever* giggled? Even as a ralts? She didn't think so) and nudging the one snoring softly next to her.

"Paladin," she cooed, softly, running a finger along his chest. "Paladin, wake up..." He stirred, but did not wake, and she stopped trying to make it happen after a while. If she had had a lot to deal with bearing what had happened between them, he had been more strained causing it. Or, at least, beginning it. In the aftermath, she was more than willing to accept her own responsibility in making it worse. Instead, she took a good look around. The Psychic Plain was tricky when one entered it willingly. They had done so in the throes of so much emotion that it had been nearly automatic, as if the Plain had pulled them in rather than them manifesting themselves their of their own accord.

That the walls were nearly featureless and black meant that she had a lot to do with the creation of their shared pocket of the Plain. No vision meant no references. What did it say about her desires then? Likely, that she had wanted no false input. She made the place as she knew the world: featureless, black, with only his beauty in it.

The bed was another matter. It wasn't the typical storybook romance furnishing that she had gleaned from Jay or Amber's minds (more Amber and their mother than Jay's, as the two women were more prone to those types of stories), but instead much smaller, much cozier, and much warmer. It almost forced them to hold each other close, to stay close to each other, but did not make it so needed that there was no comfort. Instead, it enhanced that comfort.

Sounds were nearly as absent as sights were. There was a breeze, but it was silent. There was music, but it was muted, heard and sung as though in another room, in another mind. The voice that sang the muted, unintelligible words was beautiful, however... and there was running water. It was all quite soothing.

She lay back and stretched again, running a hand along the smooth skin of Paladin's arm. He stirred again, rolling over to face her and draping an arm across her chest, but his breath against her neck was still slow, still even. Still asleep, then.

She decided, since she wasn't willing to stir him to wakefulness, yet at least, to at least check on those he and she had taken as charges, and had been taken as charges by, and opened her mind, one way, to her trainer. Jay was mildly amused, enraptured by something Paladin's trainer, Sagira, was doing, and she did not dig deeper. It made her happy, his devotion to everyone he loved. Even those he barely knew got that same amount o fdevotion: Ivy, Lady Jaye, Raven, Cammy--

Cammy! She started and sat up, pulling her half of the covers with her to cover her upper body. There was something she had to tell to Jay, now... Let's see... blush... rage... anger... indignance...

Right! Cammy was a mute, but had been taught, once, to speak in sign by the one technician that had anything resembling pity, and even that had been laziness. Cammy could not tell them what she was going through because she was a pokémon. He taught her to sign. And then they cut her vocal cords out.

Lightning flashed outside, and thunder rolled ominously, and Hinata had to calm herself lest she wake Paladin.

She could not open the link between her and Jay to communicate, however. He'd know, there would be no way for her to hide it. So, instead, using the same stealth and soft touch Paladin had used to pull Cammy's pain from Hinata's mind, she planted the desire, the near need, to learn sign language as well, into Jay's mind. She'd explain later.

Maybe.

That done, she leaned over, kissed Paladin on the corner of his mouth, and stroked his hair until he woke up.

That was the plan. Instead, she ended up falling into a deep sleep once again.

-----

It was only twenty minutes since they had left the Black Dragon that Jay found himself walking alone, near the more affluent parts of town. He couldn't help but feel nostalgic, at least a little bit. While they didn't live in the more glamorous parts of Jubilife, the Lange family was a frequent visitor of them, and Jay spent a lot of his childhood there with other child stars and children of stars.

Seeing the "rich" part of a town like Noverus was both familiar and very foreign. The rich were the same all over, a fact that Jay had had long since grown tired of, even when he was early in his teens. Knowing that these rich were fat off of the misery of others, paid by Magma excesses, turned Jay's stomach even more.

He caught himself looking into the window of a large bookstore, the kind put in the shopping areas of well to do neighborhoods. Too large, and with too many books for any one person to read. He was about to turn when something caught his eye.

How long had it been since he'd learned something for the sake of learning it? He'd always sought out something new to do with his hands (or, in many cases, his whole body) or something to occupy his mind. French had been a good for a while, and parkour and martial arts, any martial arts, were great ways to just let himself go. He'd learned chess to be able to play his father, and was now convinced the man cheated to win as often as he did.

Maybe there'd be something in there he could do in his off times. Maybe something he and Sagira could do together, so that their time wasn't just fighting Magma.

Well, wasn't just fighting Magma and kissing. They could fight Magma less, and learn to do stuff more.

And the kissing could stay the same.

He walked in, and instantly his eye was drawn to the Language section. By the time he'd gotten there, it was as if a whole section of books had jumped out at him: Sign Language.

He could learn a language, and have something to do with his hands. It was perfect, and the only weird part was that he hadn't given it a second thought before. Jay paid for two copies of the beginner's book, as well as another, more comprehensive selection, to help him once the beginning lessons had done their job.

Leaving with his books, he looked across the street. There was a small shopfront that looked out of place among the larger stores around, but with a name like Lava Java, it had the requirements he sought, and couldn't possibly be worse than the other places he'd visited.

Walking in, he had a bad feeling. But the mission was paramount, so up to the counter he went, looking at the menu the whole time.

"I need to know if you sell coffee." As soon as the words came out of his mouth, he knew that there would be a glare in his direction. The barista, a girl in all black with a red apron, hooded her eyes, which were covered heavily in black mascara. Her hair, dyed jet black curled around her face, and the only other color was lipstick as red as her apron. Her otherwise pale skin caused an outlandish contrast.

Jay sighed. "Yeah. I know. Dumb question." He leaned against the counter, looking the girl in the eye. "The thing is, I've been to about twenty coffee shops today. They all sell coffee, sure, but it's all... flavored crap. Mocha hazelnut lemon crème de menthe au lait, you know? And my girlfriend, she wants... just plain coffee. Espresso, sure, but none of that fruity crap. Coffee flavored coffee."

The girl stared at him for a little while longer, rolled her eyes, and said, "fine. What you want is the Basic."

"Great. Make it a double."

The barista cocked an eyebrow at her in what Jay saw as a poor imitation of Sagira's most scathing expression, but shrugged. "Her heart attack," she said, making the coffee as ordered. Jay prepared it the rest of the way: Irish cream, two packets of sugar to take a bit of the bitter out, stirred clockwise with one counter clockwise turn every seventh rotation. He also ordered a hot chocolate with two squirts of mint for himself.

How to get it home was solved by getting a cup holder, which the store supplied in two and four cup sizes, and putting it in a small plastic handled bag. It wasn't like he was going to be chased all the way home. He should be fine.

"Are you sure," he heard, from behind him as he paid for the coffee. The barista seemed to have also heard. Her eyes shifted to the left, looking over his shoulder. Jay made a show of looking at the small case of (mostly chocolate) pastries as the men behind him spoke.

"Yeah, I'm sure," the other said, supposedly quietly. "This is the guy that Laird was supposedly raped by..."

"Yeah, but that was all faked by Bays, wasn't it?" The second man, the doubter, sounded dubious, even nervous. Jay sighed.

"So what? I don't care if it was true, the most important part to me isn't what he did, it's who he's with."

The second man seemed to cheer up. "Oh yeah... dude's an Aqua, isn't he?"

The barista turned her widening eyes to him, and Jay rolled his eyes. "Lava Java... another word for Magma... how stupid am I, huh?"

Reaching into his bag, he grabbed his cup of cocoa and worked the lid off, slowly. Just as one of the men grabbed his shoulder, he spun, pulling the cup from the bag and tossing the liquid inside in an arc across their faces. "Sorry, boys, I have a delivery to make."

With that, and before he could be stopped, Jay was out the door, spinning to his left and sprinting down the street, turning into an alley way as he heard others giving chase. Of course, just his luck, one of them had a radio.

-----

Siryn stayed in the dining room, long after Cammy had left, sick to her stomach. It wasn't Siryn's fault that there were no cookies as she'd promised. It wasn't her fault there was cookie dough instead.

It might have been her fault that Cammy had eaten so much of it, but so had Siryn, and she wasn't any worse for it!

Right now...

She was changing. Siryn was. Changing in drastic ways, and now that everyone was gone, Snootypup (Raven), Horndog (Videl), Copybird (Lady Jaye) with Jaytrainyman, poorhurtriolu (Cammy) to a place she could be sick, and...

and The Hinata with The Paladin, which is what got her thinking about all this.

Siryn had fallen in love with The Paladin. She knew she had. But The Hinata... Siryn loved her, too, in a much different, and much less make me lay your eggs way. She hadn't even wanted to admit it, but the seething hatred for the black-crested kirlia had somehow turned to much less seething, much more wow-what-a-nice-kirlia-with-a-black-crest feelings. Likewise, her burning desire for the green crested noble kirlia had turned, briefly, into anger on the other's behalf.

It was strange.

Siryn took another gulp of cookie dough. She'd just have to admit it. She didn't love The Paladin the way she had, and The Hinata still did, so...

so?

So.

So that was it.

Siryn's thoughts were interrupted by a slamming door, and a young, feminine cry of, "Hey, where's my cookie dough?!" She decided, happy with her revelation, to beat a hasty retreat.

-----

Ordinarily, Jay liked to run. Moving smoothly from one stepping point to another foot hold to that climb was invigorating.

He was learning, rapidly, that it lost quite a bit of charm when someone was chasing him.

He tied the little bag that the remaining drink was in around his wrist via the handles and prayed to several different gods, including ones he was sure hadn't been released yet, that he didn't spill too much. Ducking into an alley, he squeezed through a gate in a chain link fence, closing and slapping down the gate latch as he spun. It wouldn't keep them out, but it would slow them down. He'd probably make it through the ally before they got it open.

He was halfway through when he heard the telltale ringing sound of someone climbing the fence, and not the hand over hand. Spinning again, he caught sight of a dark, lithe figure running up the fence, pushing from fence to wall to fence and leaping over the top. The figure landed with a roll and continued pursuit, much closer to Jay than it would have been if he hadn't let himself get distracted.

Passing under a dim light on the side of one of the buildings, Jay turned to see his pursuer. She sneered at him, her face alight with both malice and excitement. Jay couldn't deny that he felt the same kind of excitement.

The other end of the alley had a similar gate, but Jay wasted no time wondering who would put a fence and gate on either ends of an otherwise unused alleyway. Using the same maneuver he'd heard the Magma girl use, he pushed from fence to the perpendicular wall, stepping up and over. Instead of using a hand to flip himself over the fence, he kicked off of the top bar and over it, landing in a crouch, allowing his legs to take the force of the drop. His pursuer grabbed the top railing and flipped herself over, lessening the fall but giving Jay time to put distance between them.

He'd almost made a straight line toward the hotel, but he quickly realized that would be foolish. Instead he broke to the left, crossing traffic rapidly. The drivers of the cars were startled to see the human-sized blur pass in front or behind them and hit their brakes on instinct, causing more of an obstacle for the Magma woman. While it offered only a few seconds at most, forcing her to leap onto and over the car hoods or twist one which was still in the act of stopping, a few seconds was all Jay needed to put some quick distance between them.

There was a low wall which kept cars from driving off of the edge of a bridge, near which was a large parking garage. Without a second thought, Jay topped the wall and leapt, hanging briefly over a good twenty foot drop, falling at least a floor in level, before he reached the building. Reaching out with his free hand, he caught the cables that stretched across the otherwise empty front of the parking bays, and flexing his legs to absorb the impact, uncoiled his muscles to spring off of the edge of the platform and kick over the cabling. As soon as his feet touched the cement, he was running. He checked the bag, which was flecked with large drops of coffee, but the liquid still seemed to be mostly inside the cup.

He turned to look over across the chasm to see the girl stopped short, fairly glaring at him over the expanse between the elevated road and the parking garage. Jay smirked. If she didn't feel like she could make it, so much the better. He'd gone far enough out of his way. With a cocky salute, he turned and dashed toward the nearest exit.

Behind the girl footsteps sounded, coming to a stop next to her.

"No bloody way," said an amazing voice, deep and rich with a foreign accent. The girl turned and let her eyes fall on a tall young boy, who happened to be a native of South Africa. The dark skin on his bald head beaded with sweat, which was the only indication of his exertion in catching up.

"He jumped over this, did he, Keela?" An eyebrow raised, and Keela snorted.

"He cheated!" She crossed her arms, pulling off the cap she wore and letting her curly red hair fall free. "He had some kind of device! Like... like a great bloody rocket, or something!"

"Really?" The young man's tone was curious, not at all accusing, but Keela glared at him as if he'd laughed. "Didn't hear anything, and it'd have to be pretty strong to push him that far."

"I saw it, Fen! Then was a blue flash, and then he was flying over there!"

Fenyang eyed her, then nodded. "OK. So he cheated. Why didn't you send your pokémon after him?"

Keela dropped her green eyes from his brown ones. "I'd hoped he was a match, all righ'? That he'd be a challenge. He seemed tae a good runner, and... I didn't want tae cheat." Her gaze hardened. "But he's a dirty cheater anyway. So next time, the gloves are off, and the balls are out!"

"Pervert."

Keela blushed deep red. "STIFLE IT!"

-----

Sagira met him outside of the hotel. Arms crossed, eyes hooded, she was the picture of discontent. Jay opened his arms when he saw her, spreading them wide as a gesture of supplication.

"I ran into some Magmas outside of the shop I found," he said when he was close enough not to be overheard.

Observers wouldn't have noticed the change in her demeanor. They would have simply assumed that whatever explanation he chose to give her was sufficient. She took the bag from him, but her fingers lingered on the back of his hand. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah," he mumbled to her. "Just took me a while to shake 'em..." He looked behind him before going into the door. "One of them... does parkour. Gave me a run for my money."

Sagira's brow furrowed, and she lifted the bag. Quite a bit of the coffee coated the inside, but not enough to empty the cup overly. "Where's the cream, Jay?" The concern that had been in her eyes, while not gone, was definitely wise enough not to get in the way of her ire. Jay opened his mouth, but Sagira raised an eyebrow. "I always get Irish Cream in my coffee, Jay." She tsked, then sipped. A smile crossed her lips. "Oh... There it is." She closed her eyes, savoring the taste, briefly, then leaned into Jay, nuzzling his cheek.

She took another sip, a long one, and licked her lips. "You pass this test, Agent Jacob."

"Was there ever any doubt," he shot back with a cocky smirk.

"Hm..." She pretended to ponder. "Not with you, but the incompetence of the world is high at the best of times. But I have another mission for you." Her voice had turned serious, and Jay perked up to listen, only for the cup leaving her hand to almost strike him in the forehead. "Recycle."

Jay smirked. "Hey, I'll get you coffee. You deal with your own trash!" He bumped her with his hip and, as another Aqua passed them, he tossed the cup to that person. "Recycle that, will ya?"

At the elevator, he reached into his jacket. "I..." He bit his lip. "I have something I want to do. Us. To do. Together."

When Sagira didn't answer any further than a modestly curious look, Jay pulled out one of the books. "I like learning stuff... you know, on the side." Sagira's brow rose, fractionally, and Jay handed her the book. "I want you to learn this with me."

Sagira looked. "Sign Language?"

Jay swallowed, but realized just before he launched into a tirade that she didn't sound mocking. "Well, yeah. I figure it'd be good on missions, and interesting..." He trailed off when she smirked at the book, but then she smiled, a small smile that caused her nose to wrinkle in a way that Jay could only think of as cute.

"You want to learn this... with me?"

"Yeah..." He smiled, sheepishly, and they entered the elevator that took them to the floor their rooms were on.

"I'd like that," she said, quietly. She was looking away from him, almost sheepishly. Jay didn't press it.

"So," he said after the doors opened and they were walking to the doors, side by side, which lead to their rooms. "Need any help getting dressed?"

"I think I can manage fine without you," she said, pushing him back with her fingertips. He winked as he entered the door to his own room.

Seeing her through the wall was just too weird to acknowledge.

Seeing Hinata and Paladin intertwined on her bed caused his mind to lock.

It was almost a relief when they teleported away, and when Sagira left to get dressed. Jay, after a moment of deep pondering, decided getting dressed and leaving this for later was a fine idea.

This catches Jay up to the rest

[Living Arrow]

[Dindins again? Sounds like it’s time I asked you to come with me. Hope you have fun. G. x]

Ivy’s bright red cheeks feel like dual bonfires in her face as she read the text message. Suddenly the sound of hers and Sagira’s heels ringing on the sidewalk sounded all the more clippie and cloppy and the smell of the dead street air was all the more rank in her nostrils. Everything was just so Silly!!!

“Who was that, Ivy?” Sagira asked, peering sideways at her companion. “Serviceproviderman again?”

“Yes! Serviceproviderman!”

“Who’s providing Ivy with a service?” Jay asked from the other side of Sagira.

“NARGH! No-one!” Ivy’s face, now completely beetroot, was hastily hidden as she turned away and grabbed for her Pokeballs. “It’s Recon time, anyway! I’ll go scout from the air and radio in if anything seems suspicious. If it’s clear, you two go in as we planned and I’ll follow in a few minutes in case we’ve been compromised.”

Tau burst free from his Pokeball and barked in rapid succession, stomping around in a circle and dropping his head in an attempt to lick Ivy’s face. She nimbly side-stepped the slobber attack and launched herself over his neck to sit between his paired wings. Her team-mates eyed her mischievously.

“Mission mission! Tau, Fly!” With a great beating of his enormous leafy wings, the Tropius sprang from the ground and upwards into the dark night air. Within only a few seoncds he was a dark stain on the midnight blue of the sky.

High over Noverus, Ivy tried desperately to focus onto the right thing but couldn’t help slipping back to the wrong thing. The wrong thing and his lovely hairy face and messy hair. Warm-looking clothes and sturdy boot. Playful smile and healthy teeth and gums. The smell of roasted chestnuts.

“Oh, Tau… My brain’s a little fussy.” Ivy sighed, their shadow flitting over the main business district and into the retail centre. “And it’s all his fault.”

The Tropius’ whine of support was enough to earn him a good old scratch between his broad shoulder blades. Ivy was particularly fond of Tau, Since his capture she had bonded closely with the vegetative reptile and enjoyed his company. Unlike the others in her group, Tau could not communicate with her with the more complex series of barks and whines and howls that her other partners could. Nor could he engage in mutual battle alongside her since he was so big and not very agile. But, on some level, that made their bond more special – they didn’t need to speak to each other to understand each other.

“Say, Tau, what were you doing in that market when I caught you? Seems like a pretty Silly place to go for a walk for such a big guy like you.” Ivy contemplated all the possible reasons why her new friend would have flown into a busy city but decided none were very plausible. Especially the ‘my long-lost love was in town’ theory.

When the restaurant came into view, Ivy guided Tau into a lowering spiral, circling the site while she view from above using a mini telescope that had been donated to her upon her promotion. Now an official member of the Recon Corps, she had been trained in several more skills and given even more tools. Ivy felt for the extra Pokeball at her side. It was cold but certainly not lifeless. She had put the Pokemon in herself after briefing it on its possible requirement in the next mission.

“Nothing below, huh, Tau?” Ivy used her knees to guide her Tropius lower into the street. He swooped obediently down into a dark alley to make a surprisingly soft landed. Ivy congratulated him on a job well done and recalled him, instead summoning two other Pokeballs.

“Beta, Kappy – you guys got to keep an eye out while we’re in doors. If anything seems amiss, gimme a signal.” She told the Manectric and Floatzel. They barked quietly in agreement before springing out into the dark. On her own once more, Ivy tapped her comm. device to send the all-clear message to her teammates and waited patiently for their arrival. Patience, however, rapidly turned to impatience as a certain young man began to invade her thoughts once more.

*Oh Saggy, Jay-man… hurry up!*

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"Luxray Palace?"

"Well, they are the king of the jungle."

"Luxray don't even live in the jungle," Sagira said, raising an eyebrow at Jay. "Don't tell me you're one of those people?"

Jay matched her expression. "Which people?"

"The type that don't know the laws of true reality because your knowledge is based off children's movies like... The Luxray King?"

Jay smirked at her. "You loved that movie and you know it."

"Of course." Sagira smiled teasingly at him, but then looked toward the restaurant.

It was large and imposing, but utterly beautiful. Built like a palace as its name implied, it was dark blue and gold, spires circling toward the sky.

"I feel under-dressed."

"You're the one who wanted to draw attention to yourself."

Sagira grunted.

"Come on. Mission or not, I'm starving!" Jay took her hand and together, they walked into the Luxray Palace.

"Welcome to the Luxray Palace. Table for two?"

"Yes, please," Jay replied. "And nothing by a window. My girlfriend doesn't like being watched while she eats."

Sagira stuck her tongue out at Jay when the hostess turned around and began to lead them through the dining room. Jay smiled at her. "Were you expecting something outwardly pretentious?"

"Well, if we're telling the truth..." Sagira eyed him for a moment. "You've been here before."

"Here, no. But the Luxray Palace are a chain of restaurants. There's one in each region and my parents took me to the one in Sinnoh when I was younger. The owner of the chains calls himself the Luxray King." He smiled at the irony and she smirked in reply. "He prides himself in owning beautiful, famous restaurants, but more than that, in having a team of waiters, hosts, and chefs that are polite and kind to patrons. Not like some we've met before elsewhere."

"Interesting." Sagira smiled at him. "Maybe if things go well here, we'll have to come back after the mission."

"Maybe."

Sagira took note of the looks she was getting from some of the other patrons, but ignored them. Jay was smirking at her in that manner he did to mimic her. She'd asked for this, after all. She deserved what she got.

"It will serve its purpose," she whispered to them, as they took their seats.

Jay thanked the waitress as they received their menus. "I'm sure it will." He flipped his menu open and muttered to her as he scanned the choices. "Let's just hope things aren't going to be as bad as you seem to think."

Sagira flipped to the seafood section. "Let's hope."

[Master Houndoom]

As planned, many eyes were attracted, willingly or not, to Sagira. Jay found himself walking straighter next to her, smirking ever so slightly as if to say he were the luckiest male in the place, and everyone else was just getting around to figuring it out.

It was, of course, completely true and not at all an act on his part.

Jay's eyes flicked down as he pulled Sagira's seat out, purposely yet discreetly taking in the shape of her thigh, and accidently yet not unwelcome getting a decent look at her cleavage. He lingered not too long on either body part, but long enough that the truly observant knew he'd gotten a good look. More than one man, and quite a few women, felt a singular flash of jealousy. Just as many felt a lingering hint of annoyance at such a display.

"You," he said, not at all insincerely, " are the most beautiful woman in here." He expected a blush, and got it, but he also got a cocky smile with twinkling eyes.

"I'd tell you the same, but you're not a woman," she flirted back, earning a smirk and a bowed head of acquiescence.

One of the few things Jay's father taught him about what he'd termed "The Life" was how to observe people without letting them know they were being observed. "It's very handy," Robert Lange would say when explaining to the then young Jay, "to figure out who you might be working with in the future. It's also nice," he added once, with a leer, "to scout out your next night's companionship." At the time, Jay hadn't known what his father was talking about, but it wasn't long before he was not only understanding, but applying the lessons he had learned.

He found that watching the crowd for potential pokémon thieves was very similar, and, though stimulating in a much different way, as exciting as his previous use of the techniques.

There, to his left and diagonal, were a man and a woman, eating but not talking. Prime suspects, in Jay's mind, but soon it was revealed, but the growing, hissing argument, that they were a couple having a spat. Jay nearly rolled his eyes, but satisfied with simply looking somewhere else, smiling at Sagira as he did so. Yes, they bickered, but there was hardly ever any real anger in it anymore.

A little beyond, further away and more toward Sagira was a man sitting alone. He was impeccably dressed, in a full suit that Jay would not have been surprised had tails on the jacket. His hair was styled and swept back, out of the way but complementing his face. Purple, rectangular glasses finished the ensemble off. He even had a pair of white dinner gloves on, something Jay had only seen in movies. Jay shook his head a bit and moved on. The man was eating his soup carefully, and not looking at them, but Jay did catch him raising his head as his eyes passed. Jay didn't stop looking around, but did subconsciously decide to keep a more subtle eye on that one.

Behind Sagira was a harried woman trying to control her young daughter, while the husband ate on, seemingly oblivious. Not at all a suspect, and Jay paid them no mind. The woman's daughter was merely being curious for her age, but the woman seemed haggard nonetheless. Perhaps the nanny was out sick.

Sweeping toward the right, there was a suspicious pair, and a face Jay thought he recognized. A black, bald man sat with his back to Jay and Sagira, but the girl with him, a pale, freckled woman with curly red hair, had a look as if she were trying to get as much information in as little time as possible. Most people would not have noticed such scrutiny, or would have taken her as being stuck up and in a mood, but Jay picked her out, mostly because she'd looked familiar. He decided to keep an eye on them as well.

The man directly in front of her from her perspective, sitting with his back to her, was also watching, keeping an eye on things with narrowed eyes in a way that screamed bad news. Jay did not see a white coat or a mask like before, but it was possible that he would put them on before they made any moves.

"See anything?" Sagira asked quietly. Jay had not tried to show her any tricks for observing silently. She had been part of Aqua long before he was, and had proven herself besides as, at least, an accomplished thief. If she had wanted pointers, she'd have asked. Offering would have lead to a fight.

And a chance to make up, but some things were more trouble than the convenient excuse to make out warranted.

Jay looked up just then, spotting the waiter coming toward them just before he was within ear shot. He smiled at her. "I'm seeing quite a few things I like, and only one is on the menu." She blushed prettily, her eyes sparkling in warning for making her blush, and Jay smiled.

"Welcome," The waiter said with a smile, "To the Luxray Palace. I am Johnathon, and I will be your waiter this evening. May I interest you in a beverage or an appetizer this evening?"

Jay looked across the table at Sagira, allowing a slow smile to play over his lips. "Oysters," he said, watching her eyes. They narrowed, and she seemed to redden again. "A double order, please." His tone was pitched to seem as if it were neutral, and yet held a hint of seduction that made Sagira's own mouth curl upward at one corner. "And champagne. Chateau de Chasselas." Sagira's eyes widened, but Johnathon simply smiled politely and bowed, asking no questions and making no assumptions.

"Chateau de Chasselas?" she whispered, and her smile became much less warning.

"It's not on our dime, so why not," Jay smirked, causing Sagira to laugh. He reached across the table, letting his fingers graze her wrist, and her eyelids lowered to halfway down, her smile becoming sultry.

"And oysters, Jaybird? What exactly are you expecting to happen tonight?" She smiled as she said it, but there were teeth showing through a thin opening in her lips; not entirely a good sign.

"It isn't what I expect, unfortunately," Jay said airily, keeping a wary yet seemingly relaxed eye on her, "but what others assume I expect." He shrugged, still stroking her wrist, and looked at her hand, not out of embarrassment, but out of the desire not to let anyone read his lips. "There's a guy diagonal to us watching when he thinks I can't see. There's another girl watching everything. And a guy who looks awfully guilty. If I can make them out, I want to make it harder for them to make me out."

Jay looked up and smiled, and Sagira smiled in return. Her eyes held that deeply buried concern she always had on a mission, but her skills in surveillance and acting were as good or better in some areas as Jay's. He glanced toward the impeccably dressed man. He was watching, from the corner of his eye, and scowling. His soup was probably cold. Or warm, if he got the vichyssoise.

A sudden shot of an emotion Jay knew wasn't his own passed through him, and he nearly jumped out of his seat. Covering it with a cough, Jay stood, looked apologetically at Sagira, and made his way past the man toward the bathrooms. The man looked up at him with clear annoyance on his face, but Jay passed him, coughing all the way. He went into the bathroom only to keep up appearances. Once inside, he stopped coughing.

That was not normal. That was not normal at all.

Jay tried scanning his memory, and then tried scanning the area around him, trying to pick up the emotion again, but he was no psychic, a fact he constantly reminded himself. As he knew it, he was almost anti-psychic. His sister had come to rely on the fact that he seemed to block out the psychic noise that plagued her. To feel such malicious intent so strongly meant a strong psychic, or something else.

Like an ariados sense.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose. That still sounded stupid.

He let himself out, moving much slower than before, and observed the impeccably dressed man from behind. Now that Jay was gone, the man was staring, most intently, at Sagira. Her back to him, she could not see the intensity or creepiness of his glare, but Jay was sure, somehow, the man had projected a hostile feeling, and it must have been toward her.

He'd have to keep an eye out. But confronting him now would jeopardize the main mission.

Why hadn't Sagira felt it? She was a psychic.

He shook his head and made his way back to the table, smiling apologetically at anyone who seemed curious, including the annoyed man he passed. Sitting, Sagira's eyes met his in undisguised concern, but Jay merely smiled, a smile that widened when an orchestra struck up a song. Looking back and to the left, he spotted an empty, wooden floor that could only mean one thing.

Jay turned to Sagira, stood, and held out a hand. "May I have this dance?"

[Living Arrow]

Turns out waitress’ heads are soft… Ivy dusted off her new-fitted outfit and draped a dark blanket over the slumped form of the unfortunate girl who had stepped out for a smoke break. Luckily, she was of the same small stature as the Aqua Elite herself so fitting her uniform was no hassle at all.

“Cheers, m’dears!” Ivy saluted the unmoving lump and slipped into the restaurant through the kitchen door.

What welcomed her was the most outstanding smell young Kylarian could have ever imagined. Cheeses, steaks, breads… there was all of the meats and starches a girl could wish for!!! Around her, six different chefs moved with precision and haste in a co-ordination that shamed Ivy to the core. She and the others to stand to learn a little from these people. Sure, she had gone off the rails before and her team mates had… fallen out… with her but that was behind them… right? Ivy sure hoped so. She loved being around Sagira, Jay and Vi-… Sagira and Jay.

“Game face, Hedera.” Ivy reminded herself, stolidly taking in the floor plan. The kitchen was basic – simple aisles with a serving window at the front of house. She tied her hair back into a curly ponytail and set off.

It really didn’t take much to copy the other serving staff. Pick up food, walk it out to the designated table. When someone new came in, ask them if they wanted drinks and give them menus. There were a couple of problems with this particular restaurant, however. First off, the plates were too thick. Of course, Ivy would never admit that carrying a plate was too difficult for her, but her strength was in her legs, dammit! Not her arms! Secondly, everyone talked so… so… human she’d never be able to mimic it properly and get away with it – even she realised that.

That’s why…

“Cheers, m’dears!” Ivy saluted the unconscious body of the bathroom attendant. The poor woman, a couple of times again Ivy’s own age, didn’t have a suitable outfit for Ivy to nab so instead she simply donned the hat and apron – the black dress underneath would have to do.

“Now, wheeeere’s old Saggy-poo?” Ivy muttered to herself as she loitered in the hall outside the bathrooms, peering into the restaurant. “Aha!”

On the dancefloor, her subordinates team mates looked wonderful. Ivy wasn’t one for dancing and she didn’t know a great deal about it, but from the way they were moving she was sure they were good.

“Good and neglecting the mish-mish.” Ivy sighed and rolled her eyes. Those two were unstoppable.

She managed to tear her eyes away long enough to get a better view of the room, examining the people scattered through the establishment as best she could. Couple. Man. Family. Another couple. And not a one with the right evil-doer uniform.

“Buggers, m’lubbers!” Ivy sighed to herself. Then giggled. “Geddit? Lubbers? I’m totally in Team Aqua... Hehe… Lubbers.”

<DING>

The attendant timer maxed out on the men’s room and Ivy shuddered. Men’s rooms were icky! Why did she have to resort to this disguise? It was the most ridiculous idea she had ever had… And yet it was the one that saved the mission.

“Grosses, guy!” Ivy whined, closing the main door behind her and swinging around the ‘Female attendant’ sign for the patrons’ benefit. She paced into the room without a care, pushing open the stalls as she went. That is until the final door didn’t swing at her push.

“Ooh, sorry, sir!” Ivy cooed. “I’s wait until done, m’yeah?” No answer. “Siiir?” Ivy trilled. No answer. She pouted. “Now, sir, there’s no need to be a rudey dudey!” She dropped to her knees to look under the door – maybe it was jammed.

Ivy was up like a shot and back to the main door. Wide-eyed she scanned the room once more. She had been wrong to check out just the customers of the Luxray Palace – they should have been monitoring the staff, too! Either that, or she had knocked out one too many people on her infiltration and he was lying on the floor in the men’s room… Resuming her position in the hallway, Ivy begged silently for Sagira or Jay to look her way – they had to be told before something bad happened!

[Umbrae Calamitas]

"I didn't know you could dance."

"So you invited me out on the floor hoping I would trounce on your feet?" Sagira cocked her head and smiled at him. He took his one hand off of her hip and spun her with the other. Sagira thought it would have been a great deal more fun if she were wearing an appropriate dress and not this attention-grabbing cloth. Still, it was effective and that was what mattered.

"I think we should come back here, after the mission."

"Do you?" Jay pulled her back toward him and wrapped his left arm around her back. "I think that might be a good idea."

The orchestra was playing a slow, rhythmic tune that was made primarily from violinists and some various string instruments, including a harp. The song they played created the perfect rhythm for a dance called the Viennese Waltz. Sagira was equally surprised that Jay knew the dance.

"I didn't know stunt men had to learn to dance so gracefully." She smirked at him teasingly as he led them around the dance floor in an elegant twirl.

"You know some people have no qualms about interrupting a date to attack their opponents. You can't expect the main actor to risk cutting his face by leaping through a window, can you?"

"I don't know... I might be pretty angry if your face got cut up from having to run from someone. I might have to teach them a lesson."

"I guess they'd be smart not to interrupt, then." He smiled at her, and then the two spun away from one another, twirling across the dance floor in opposite directions. They matched each others smiles as they paraded in a series of elegant twists along the edge of the polished floor, before spinning in time back into each others arms. Jay led them off again.

"I am a little surprised you know the dance so well, though your grace is no surprise at all. Of course." He leaned his cheek against hers and whispered into her ear. "Catseye."

Sagira smiled. They released hands and spun next to each other, synchronized, before clasping hands again. They repeated the gesture, and then they were off again, carried across the floor by music and grace.

"We were offered a choice in the academy. Take a gym class, or learn to ballroom dance." Jay deviated from the natural form and twirled Sagira again. She smiled as he caught her in an embrace. "I hate football."

"So ballroom dancing it was." He grinned at her. "You're very good, for it being a class at the academy."

"My dance partner was a jerk," Sagira said, the two twirling again before clasping arms, "but he was a jerk with grace and talent. He thought men should lead on the dance floor." Sagira twisted, ducking under Jay's arm and pulling him after her, the two spinning together toward the other side of the floor. "And off it."

"A misogynistic jerk, then."

"Quite. That really left me with just one option if I wanted to put him in his place."

"At your feet?" He smiled at her, baring his teeth.

"See? You're smart." She trailed her hand down his chest. "I had to beat him at his own game." She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her face in close, until she was breathing the air onto his lips as she spoke. "And I did."

"I'm so unsurprised by that," he whispered, leaning his face closer to hers.

Sagira half-closed her eyes and smiled at him, her one hand still flat against his chest. "We're in public, Jaybird."

"Mm-hmm," he mumbled absently.

"Getting kicked out of the restaurant would jeopardize the mission."

"Ivy's not a newbie. She could handle it on her own."

"We haven't even had the oysters yet, Jacob."

"Don't need 'em."

Sagira cocked her head and smiled at him, the orchestra winding down the song. She had glanced Ivy a few moments ago, staring at her from the bathroom, wide-eyed and looking like a shuppet had just proposed to her.

Sagira gave Jay a quick kiss on the lips and smiled sympathetically as she pulled away. "Duty calls," she whispered, and trotted off to the bathroom, her dress flouncing slightly as she walked briskly away, a satisfied smirk on her face.

Ivy slipped into the men's bathroom before Sagira got there. She sent a cursory glance toward the table area, but only Jay seemed to be watching her at the moment, though it looking like he was simply very interested in his glass of wine. Sagira knew he was watching her, though, so she sent him a smile, and slipped into the men's room.

"Ivy," Sagira called, glancing at the urinals and rolling her eyes. Only men would require two different types of restroom equipment to remind them of how to perform the actions. "Why are you a restroom attendant? I thought you were going to be a waitress."

"I's a waitress, Silly, but everyone speaks so - so HUMAN! Sooo... now I's the toilet attendant." Ivy crossed her arms importantly. "I's don't know why they don't have a boy watching the men's toilet." She stuck out her tongue in obvious disgust. "But I's seen where the bad man is!" Ivy rushed to the last stall and dropped to her hands and knees, peering under the apparently locked door. "See?"

Sagira grimaced and opted to peer through the crack in the door. "Looks like somebody's gonna lose pay for sleeping on the job." She turned back to Ivy as the girl got to her feet. "So the guy we're looking for is disguised as a waiter. I hate it when people steal my plan."

Sagira glanced at her nails and sighed. "Ivy, do you have a quarter?"

The younger girl scuffed her foot. "Aw, yeah, but Saggy, I's gonna get some machine sweets laters."

"You can have it right back. I only need it for a moment."

Ivy sighed heavily, as though it was all a great chore. "Fiiine." She handed Sagira a quarter. "What are you doing?"

"I want to know this guy's name so you have something to call our thief if you find him." She smiled. "And I'm sure you will."

"I'll sniff him out!"

"I'm betting this guy has his ID on him, and I want it."

There were always those little tricks you learned from working in a restaurant, no matter how long. And there were always those kids who thought it was hilarious to lock the bathroom stall doors and crawl out underneath them, so people thought that the bathrooms were constantly occupied. What most people didn't realize was that it wasn't impossible to unlock the doors from the outside, just hard. Unless you had a habit or carrying around loose change.

The locking mechanism was little more than a bolt that turned, and the shallow groove on the outside was just the size of a quarter. Sagira fitted the coin properly and, pressing against the door, twisted the coin to the right. The bolt slid open and the door swung inward.

"All right." Sagira tossed the quarter back to Ivy, who quickly hid it somewhere (Sagira did not want to know) on her body. "Let's see who you are, my sleepy friend." She front his ID conveniently in his front pocket, probably where the thief stuffed it once he read the guy's name. "Hello, Kalvin Darrow. I imagine you didn't expect to have such a crappy day this morning."

She handed the ID to Ivy, who stuffed it in a pocket. "Keep it on you, in case the authorities show up and we have to prove we're not lying. Who knows if this guy has accomplices around ready to hide this guy." Sagira crossed her arms, thinking. "You better try to find our Kalvin imposter. No doubt he's hiding somewhere in the kitchens. If you go get the mop to clean up this filthy men's room, you can have a good reason for lingering around, trying to spot someone out of place."

"No's problem, Saggy-poo!" Ivy took off the apron, revealing the waitress outfit underneath. "I's blend right in!"

"Good. I'll go let Jay know what's up and we'll get ready for whatever's coming. If you need a distraction-" She grinned at this, "just let us know. I've got something in mind, if you need it."

"Will do, Saggy-poo! Have good dindins!"

Sagira waited for Ivy to escape the bathroom at an excited trot, before exiting herself and making her way back to the table. She sat down calmly across from Jay and sipped her wine while he watched her.

"What's up?" he asked.

Sagira twirled the wine in her glass, watching the light reflect off of it. "Our thief is posing as a waiter by the name of Kalvin Darrow. The real Kalvin is taking a nap in the toilet."

"Ivy looked excited."

"She's playing bathroom attendant and waitress. She's trying to scout out our thief now. I told her if she needs a distraction, I have one planned."

"Oh? And what would that be?"

Sagira's smile was a tad more than feral. "What exactly were you thinking when we were finishing that dance, Jacob?" She ran her fingers lightly up his arm.

"Ah." He grinned at her. "What are the odds, do you think, that Ivy will need that distraction?"

Sagira's eyes were half-lowered as she smiled at him. "High, I hope."

[Master Houndoom]

Hinata found him, finally, on the roof of the hotel. It wasn't that he had blocked her, it was that she had respected his privacy. Admittedly a new thing for her, but she found that after her reconciliation with Paladin, she was much calmer.

Perhaps it was a type of bond. She had gotten something from him, and he from her. If that was the case, then she couldn't see how she didn't get the better of the deal.

She approached him from behind, floating silently above the gravel and cement top of the roof. He sat, also floating, watching the city. She had, instinctively, known that he would be in a place where he could look out, see everything around him. It was similar to her. If she wanted to work through things, she played music.

As she came within feet of Paladin, she could feel him open to her, allowing her to see what he was seeing. She smiled despite herself. She hadn't wanted to disturb him, and yet he'd opened himself to her rather than pushing her away/

Hi, Hinata said, sheepishly. She received only warmth as a response, warmth tinged with worry that he was, it seemed at least, trying to hide from her. She "sat" next to him, leaning against his arm. Why are you worried?

She felt a sense of shame float through the connection he had allowed, and felt him begin to pull back. She did not try to force him to stay, but she did run her arm along his, and his recession from her mind stopped.

They must be so ashamed of us.

She had expected something like this. It was why she had come looking for him. And now that she'd heard it, she found that it wasn't as upsetting as she thought it would be.

No, she started, centering her mind, as the image was something she could not control, I don't think so. Hinata leaned even closer to Paladin, and was rewarded with him putting an arm around her. I think that if they were going to be upset about it, they would have forced us to explain then.

They had a mission... Paladin's mental voice sounded fretful, but resigned. Hinata sighed.

They did, but they... both my Jay and your Sagira... are very impulsive.

Paladin looked at her, his worry beginning to recede. I distinctly read annoyance intermingled in the shock, milove.

Hinata felt herself blushing. Yes, love, but... I think it was less what we did and more that we did it... first.

Hinata registered the surprise in Paladin's thoughts, and then, as if he'd checked, a profound sense of relief. She cuddled closer, admiring the city from his point of view, and opened his mind to the music she could hear from several spots in the neighborhood.

So... I suppose they will call us should they have need of us, he spoke, softly, and Hinata allowed him to feel the wicked thoughts in her mind, finally allowed to be thought and not held back for his sake.

Yes... but will we hear them, I wonder, she thought, allowing the words to flow like chocolate.

-----

As Sagira handled whatever it was that Ivy needed from her, Jay sat back, glancing at his fingernails. Or appearing to. In actuality, he was flicking glances back around. There was something familiar... a gut feeling, more than a sight.

The impeccably dressed man explicitly ignored Jay, which was fine. It gave him a chance to... Well, Jay really had no idea, but he was hoping that if there was bad intent to sense, he'd sense it again.

Instead, out of the corner of his eye came a flash of movement. Jay flicked his eyes that way to see the redhead he'd noticed earlier, caught in the middle of standing, with the man she had been sitting with holding her back with a hand on her arm. She was openly glaring in Jay's direction, and something about the look on her face, the flash in her eyes, brought back a memory. He had seen that look, angry and eager, chasing after him not long ago.

Jay gave a cocky wave, secretly hoping they didn't have a confrontation later.

-----

"Th' nairve," spat Keela, sitting down. Fenyang rolled his eyes. Whenever Keela was upset, her accent, carefully hidden otherwise, came out in full force. "Did ye see him, Fen? Wavin', all cock-sure an' relaxed as if he weren't on th' run from us earlier!"

"Keela, let us not cause a scene. We are here to track down the ones giving Magma a bad name. Or at least, a worse one than we already have here."

"An' he has th' nairve tae be on a date," she mumbled, glaring at the redheaded boy with open malice. Keela's mouth worked and she leaned back in a huff, throwing her napkin on her half-finished plate. "Fookin' cheater," she spat, finally, pulling the napkin off and shoveling food into her mouth.

Fenyang sighed again, also eating, but much more delicately. In a way, he'd understood. Nobody who had been pursued by Keela Shaunnesy had ever gotten away, and she was taking it personally. Hopefully, for the sake of the mission, they wouldn't have a confrontation later.

-----

And then The Hinata was all, "Oh no you di-in't and Siryn said "Oh yes Siryn di-id and if Siryn had had hands she would have won that slap fight!A spare wad of pilfered cookie dough floated in front of her, held as if by invisible hands, and she looked down at the riolu, who in turn looked slightly green at the wad of dough. What does poorhurtriolu think?

Cammy.

Oh, of course, poorhurtriolu can't talk! This won't do! Siryn floated above the riolu, back and forth, slowly, as if pacing. As she did the ball of dough began to disappear, bit by bit.

He calls me Cammy. You should also call me Cammy. My name is Cammy. Cammy's face distorted in frustration as the misdreavus above her head did not acknowledge her.

Siryn has it! She moved a decent amount away from Cammy, but, having given no warning to the riolu, Cammy followed her. Once Siryn felt that she was a good distance away from Cammy (which she would have known wasn't true if she had only looked behind her,) she opened her mouth as wide as she could.

THE HINATA!

Siryn turned at the sound of a thud against the wall behind her, finding Cammy against the wall, upside down. The riolu's legs were propped on the wall, and her body was on the floor, so that she looked much like an L.

If poorhurtriolu wanted to take a nap, poorhurtriolu should have said something!

There was a light pop, accompanying the smell of ozone, and both pokémon looked toward the noise. There, her pale grey eyes glowing, the veins around them bulging in anger, was Hinata, her black crest still scuff and showing green through the paint after her fight with Paladin. What.... do you want..?!

Cammy cowered, pulling up from her awkward position and staring at Hinata as if she were a demon. Siryn, however, had no such reaction.

Poorhurtriolu can't talk!

Hinata rolled her eyes, though only Siryn caught it, as it was hard to determine with the kirlia's eyes being blotted out with blindness. We know she can't talk, Siryn!

Siryn, too, rolled her eyes, much more successfully for it being recognizable. However, her target being blind, it had no effect. Duh! Poorhurtriolu can't answer Siryn when Siryn asks poorhurtriolu a question!

Hinata pressed her lips together (effectively causing her mouth to disappear), and counted, silently, backwards from ten. When she finished, she looked in Siryn's general direction and said, sweetly with an inflection of steel in her mental voice, She spoke to me fine... mentally. You have to listen for it. She's not a psychic like me.

Siryn's eyes widened, and she looked distressed, causing Hinata's ire to melt, slightly. But Siryn can't listen for it! Siryn also isn't like The Hinata! Her lower lip quivered, and Hinata sighed.

Oh, poor th-- Siryn began to wail and sob, not deafeningly, but enough that Hinata knew she wasn't getting through. I don't think-- I mean, really, it's not... She sighed. Forgive me, chef... Isn't there a new batch of cookie dough in the kitchen?

Siryn snapped out of her sobbing instantly. Oh! That's right! Come, poorhurtriolu! She fled toward the kitchen, Cammy glancing over her shoulder with a pleading look. Hinata, sensing the riolu's mind, chuckled.

Her name is Cammy, Siryn!

Though the misdreavus was already around the corner, her voice came to Hinata clearly. Nuh uh! Chefcookiedough's name is Agnes!

No! The riolu's!

-----

The chef was delighted! So many more people today, and all on his first day as head chef! She knew that the restaurant had made the right decision to promote her after Gaston had left in his huff! She'd show them, all the naysayers, all the jeerers, all the mockers! She'd show them that Monica Bing was not a chef to be reckoned with!

She looked out toward the doors, just in time to see a young girl, one of the waitresses, peeking out. She obviously was looking for something, and not doing her job. Monica, HEAD CHEF Monica, approached her, prepared to teach the young newbie waitress that being in the Bing Kitchen meant being disciplined!

And that is how she noticed the blue at the back of her. The waitress' skirt was sloppily tucked into her shorts! Shorts with a stylized A... an A that looked like the symbol for those ruffians, Aqua...

Not in her kitchen!

"Freeze!"

"Oh, spit!"

-----

There was a clatter from the kitchen, and Sagira looked over her shoulder, and sighed. "It looks as if Ivy needs that distraction after all..."

"Bless her," Jay said, grinning. Sagira, it seemed, couldn't keep a grin off of her face, either.

As they leaned toward each other, however, the man to Jay's right stood up, and, as if with four voices, (Jay confirmed, quickly, that it was at least four people scattered throughout the restaurant) called out, "This establishment is being robbed! Hold out your pokémon and submit to the will of the MagmAqua!"

Jay turned, gritting his teeth, then furrowed his brow. "Wait, that's their name? Really?!"

[Living Arrow]

“Kylarian Dodge!” Ivy squealed her technique as she sprang up and kicked at the doorframe, narrowly escaping the deadly arc of the rolling pin. Clopping to the floor and dropping to her hands, her eyes darted left and right looking for a fast way out.

“We’ll not be having any of your sort in here!” A red-faced woman advanced on Ivy once more, brandishing her wooden flour-covered weapon of choice. “No gang or club or cult or whatever it is that you are is coming into my restaurant, my restaurant, and ruining a perfectly good evening. You’ll learn not to trouble Chef Monica, you will!”

“I’m not a culty!” Ivy pouted angrily. “Dat’s for the Sillies, DUH!”

The enraged chef took a swing which Ivy easily avoided, launching herself upward to land on the kitchen worksurface. Her hand splashed in something warm and brown…

“Oooh! Gravy!” Ivy’s delight was not masked.

“Hiya!” The next attack swooshed in.

Keeping the rolling pin at a safe distance, Ivy skittered across the slippery shiny kitchen counter to its opposite end, bounding back up to her feet and spinning about to face the woman chasing her. Ivy was surprised that someone with such fat fingers could really cook but then realised that most things that came out of this kitchen in particular required stirring with a spoon – something that this woman was probably capable of. That said, she was already working up a sweat from only a moment of pursuing Ivy…

“I don’t thinks you’ll be able to get me, y’know?” Ivy raised a quizzical eyebrow and folded her arms. “We Recon speshla… speshee… types are far too good at the dodging.”

“Get ‘er, Douglas!” Monica the Chef cried with delight. Ivy’s eyes widened as hands clasped around her ankles and yanked. Like a sack of yummy potatoes, she went down and slammed on the work surface before she could untangle her arms in time to ease the fall. Wind was knocked from Ivy’s lungs and before she knew it she was being dragged to the equally hard floor.

Amid the ringing in her ears, Ivy was aware of noise around her and the raised voices of people in the restaurant. "This establishment is being robbed! Hold out your pokémon and submit to the will of the Aquagmabellion!" Rang out along with the sound of this Douglas person clocking the chef out cold with her own rolling pin. A firm hand gripped her hair roughly on top of her head and yanked upwards, pulling her away from the floor with a yelp.

“Well, well. What do we have here?” A lofty voice crooned as Ivy struggled under him. He tilted her head around so that his eyes came level with hers. They were dark and cold. Beneath them, on the side of his neck, stood an oddly shaped symbol that Ivy had seen somewhere before. “A pretty one for Team Aqua… A shame, really – the Aquagmabellion could do with some lookers.”

“Gerroff!” Ivy flailed in vain.

“Oh?” He muttered mocked her. “You still have your senses after that? Well, you’re either a tough little cookie or you didn’t have much sense to hold on to. No matter – I’ll just have to put you down anyway.”

“I’s no cookie.” Ivy hissed through gritted teeth. “I’s a BIZKIT!”

She kicked out hard, finding the floor and arcing her body high over herself to twist Douglas’ arm back. He gasped and tried to make some distance between them but his fingers were so caught up in Ivy’s hair that he couldn’t budge free.

“KYLARIAN KICK!” Ivy threw her knee up into his stomach even as his other arm came around to deflect it before impact could be made. Successful in his own defence, the man named Douglas wrenched his arm around, spinning Ivy free and casting her aside. She tumbled back and found all fours once more flipping sideways into a clear aisle between counters in the kitchen and sucked in a ragged breath of air.

*How is he so good at all of the dodges!?* Ivy mentally cursed.

“You’re probably thinking how I’m just as good at dodging as you are.” The Aquagmabellion grunt smiled.

*WHAT!? GET OUT OF MY HEAAAAAD!*

“Looks like we’re both Recon – the first members of our teams to arrive and scout the place out. We’re not meant to battle, so let’s not make things difficult for ourselves, hmm?”

“Ya!” Ivy threw the knife like a dart. She didn’t know where she had picked it up from but, hey! It’s a kitchen! It slashed where Douglas had been standing – nicking his arm rather than cleaving his breastbone. It was a shallow wound – he really was good at dodging!

“Dammit, you little bitch!” Douglas advanced on her once more. “Don’t get in my way!”

“Eat teeth!” Ivy wailed as she leapt for him. “Alpha!”

The Pokeball under her dress exploded and mid-leap the Mightyena materialised between her legs, carrying her straight across the kitchen. Douglas cursed and dodged nimbly sideways, snatching at a Pokeball of his own.

“Looks like we’re in for a Recon battle, eh?” Douglas dropped the Pokeball. “Let’s go, Zoroark.”

[Umbrae Calamitas]

The sound of pokeballs opening with their customary "bwoosh" sounded repeatedly through the dining area. Sagira didn't even turn around, choosing instead to smile at Jay, tilting her head to the side. "It appears that someone was foolish enough to interrupt our date."

"Again," Jay added, with a eyebrow-raise that mocked her own.

"Again," she agreed.

"I want everyone to stand up, nice and slow, and get ready to hand over their pokemon!"

Raising her eyebrow at Jay, Sagira rose slowly from her seat. She held a hand out to Jay, smiling. "I believe we need to finish that dance, Jacob."

"So we do." Jay took her hand as he rose to his feet, stepping over to her. Sagira wrapped her arms around his waist and curled her fingers around his pokeballs discreetly. Giving her a teasing smile, Jay gripped hers, as well.

"This should certainly prove to be interesting."

"And no small amount of fun," Sagira said, just before someone's hand clamped down on her shoulder.

"Hey! I said turn around and hand over your pokemon!" The man jerked hard on her shoulder.

Sagira twisted quickly, causing the MagmAqua member to overcompensate his strength. Sagira smiled as he stumbled slightly, and then kicked him in the shin with her heels.

"You really shouldn't ask for what you can't handle." Sagira chucked Jay's pokeballs, at the same time that he threw hers. The pokeballs snapped open, releasing the pokemon they had brought with them specifically for this mission. Sagira grinned widely. "All right, guys. Let's play."

[Master Houndoom]

There were several thrills running through Jay's body at this point. The thrill of having been so close to Sagira. The thrill of combat. The thrill of danger, as many of the people decided that these new people were very dangerous and fleeing, no matter what might be in the way, was a capital idea. There was even a small, unquantifiable thrill that seemed to go away as soon as he noticed it.

He grinned as Sagira wrapped her arms around him and took the three pokéballs from his belt, reaching similarly and taking her own three. As one man tried, unsuccessfully, to force Sagira to turn around and hand over her pokémon, Jay turned, now back to back with her. The two in front of him, again wearing masks of different shapes, sizes, and complexity, simply stared, one holding a bag for people to drop their pokémon into. Jay shook his head.

"Really, guys-"

"Guys?!" said one, a bulky yet short person holding the bag for her partner, who was tall, muscular, yet decidedly feminine. The bulky one looked like she (presumably) was wearing layers under her lab coat, but Jay shrugged.

"I call 'em like I see 'em." The taller woman scowled fiercely, and the shorter girl narrowed her eyes.

"I think maybe you better recall that and hand over your pokémon, little man..." She straightened to her full height, which still put her a good three inches under Jay's, and the other one pulled two pokémon off of her belt. "Or else Diana's going to have to get rough..."

"What is it with you people giving out your names?!"

"AMAZON, Dammit, I meant Amazon..."

The taller woman looked down at the shorter. "It's OK, Shiara--"

"AMAZON! Use my codename, it's STEPH-... a.... nie..."

"Wow, you're bad at this." Jay grinned as the shorter girl slapped her palm to her face, and the Amazon snarled.

"That's it, kid," she growled. "It's time to face me!" She tossed the pokéballs she held to the ground, and a brilliant flash of light rose from them, fading to reveal an igglybuff and a cleffa, who, upon seeing each other, did a little dance and spun each other around, giggling.

"... Really?"

"Diana!" The short one, once again with her face in her hand, seemed to drop all pretense of keeping secret identities. "Weren't you bringing the Fighters?!"

"Um..." The taller woman actually looked embarrassed. "Yeah, I was going to, but no one's ever tried to stop us..." She straightened. "Besides, these two are good enough! Gigi! Fifi! Attract!"

The two pokémon continued dancing with each other as if they had not heard. All three humans watched, two incredulously and one looking as if he might begin to laugh his houndoom's tail off. Finally, Diana was fed up.

"HEY!"

The two stopped, blinking up at the woman, and she pointed to Jay, who's taillow had landed on his shoulder, her face mimicking his. "Attract!"

"Ig!"

"Fa!"

The two spun around, still holding each other's hands, and ended in a pose, leaning against each other and winking with the eyes closest to the other. Pink hearts floated rapidly toward the quadrupeds at Jay's feet, who had joined him, also looking on with confusion. The hearts wafted over the houndoom and eevee, resulting in the obvious outcome.

Nothing happened.

"They're girls, am I right?"

"But... but... buhbuhbuhbuhbut..."

"Mine too," Jay said, grinning. "Raven, why don't you watch these two, make sure they don't get into any trouble."

<Because I don't want to?> Raven yipped, rolling her eyes. Still, she walked to the pair and sat next to them. With a delighted squeal, the igglybuff and cleffa began climbing on her and pulling her ears.

<Stop it.>

<FLUFFY!>

<YAY!>

Raven sighed.

"Wait a damn minute," Stephanie cried out. "You're actually commanding your eevee, which you have no right laughing at Diana's pokémon because of, I might add, to babysit?!"

"Hey, they're kids. I don't want them getting hurt..."

Diana, wide eyed, nodded, but Stephanie let out a scream of frustration. "Stop mocking us! That's it! Face the power of never before seen pokémon! Sent to me by my uncle in a far off land! Nothing you have can defeat what you don't understand!"

Jay crossed his arms, looking bored. "Are you going through an entire transformation sequence, or is there a point to this?" His smirk turned into a grimace. "I hope it's not one of those 'clothes removed' things... nobody wants to see that..."

Stephanie's eyes narrowed to slits, and she pulled two pokéballs from her belt, letting the bag drop. "Coca! Atari! Squash this man's team so that we may liberate his pokémon!"

The taller girl's brow beetled. "Steph, we're not trying to liberate them, we need them to--"

"QUIET!"

The pokéballs opened and shut with the usual bolt, allowing the pokémon to form in front of Jay. Unlike Diana's pair, these were not cute baby types. Towering over the humans were a large, angular white pokémon that looked like a narrow-shouldered, bearded ursaring, and a slightly larger bug type that looked like an irradiated pill bug. Imposing as they were, Jay allowed his face to finally lose its relaxed smile.

Stephanie smirked. "What will you do now, you over confident moron? There's no way you can have seen such powerful creatures! How will you command your pokémon?!"

"I'm going to ask Videl," he said seriously, pointing to the houndoom, "to use Fire Fang on the bear, and Lady Jaye," he pointed now to the taillow on his head, "to use Aerial Ace on the big bug, and see how it goes from there."

Stephanie stared at him, blinking. "G-good idea..."

Though she seemed less confident, she sent her pokémon forward, and the battle was on.

[Living Arrow]

"...Kylarian owwie..."

Ivy slumped down against the cupboard, a smear of thick red sauce trailing down behind her. The sauce wasn't one of her favourites - like gravy or the oh-so-sweet'n'sour - but one of her least favourites, more like bloody, blood sauces. She winced as she pushed back to her knees, clutching her shoulder where the skewer had stabbed straight through the flesh of her armpit. It seemed that she wasn't the only one who used the resources of her environment to fight.

"You can't beat me." Douglas crooned, advancing on her with the skewer held low in a reverse grip. "And now, you can't even escape."

"Alpha, Bite attack!" THe Mightyena locked with the Zoroark again, his long teeth sinking down into the flesh of one of the werewolf's arms and eliciting a terrified yelp from the other Dark-type.

"Night Slash!"

The other claw came down in a deadly arc, flinging Alpha away and ripping dark fur away from his ear which hung lip at the side of his head. The two canids separated momentarily, circled, and then pounced again to rip and tear at each other in a frenzied ball of grey and black that would be impossible to break up.

"Why's are you even here?!" Ivy demanded, back on her feet and edging away from her human opponent. "These peoples done nothing to you and you attack me without sayin nothin."

"Orders are orders." Douglas replied, not breaking his stride. "Of all people, you should know that Recon don't ask questions - we just scout and deliver information. As the first point of contact for others joining the mission, we relay the lay of the land, advantages to our footholds, weaknesses in our approach that require masking, opportunities for-"

"Eppy, Covet!" Ivy declared, her Eevee exploding from her Pokeball and taking Douglas completely by surprise. She slammed his stomach and nimbly used his chest as a springboard, snatching the skewer from his hand in her mouth and landing neatly at Ivy's feet. With the weapon now in Ivy's hands, the tables had turned once more. Douglas glared.

"You got me monologuing." He stated. Ivy glared back and held the skewer ready. "You're not as stupid as you pretend to be."

"Recon's gotta have the best defences." Ivy reminded him sagely. "We's all knows that."

"Quite."

"Alpha, Shadow Ball!" The Pokemon named Zoroark was struck point-blank by the black ball of darkness and was sent rocketing over the pass and into the main restaurant where the others were battling. In a flash, the Mightyena was in hot pursuit and his trainer was not far behind.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Sagira and Jay stood back to back in the center of the dining area. As his pokemon faced off against their opponents (or otherwise occupied them), Sagira's pokemon leapt loyally to her side. For the most part.

Umbrae took his spot on her right, and Topaz flanked her on her left. Whether by indecisiveness or simple foolishness, the croagunk tried to find a place midway between them. This was, unfortunately, right where Sagira was standing.

"Oof!" The force of the frog pokemon hitting her in the back knocked Sagira forward. She caught herself and glanced back at the creature, now sitting clumsily on the floor and looking embarrassed.

When Erin had given him to Sagira, she had referred to him as Shin, and Sagira took that as being his full name. Only once she had returned to the hotel base did she learn that it was a nickname. Having decided to send Serenity home out of understanding that her lifestyle was far to dangerous and unpredictable for the passive ekans, Sagira had registered the pokeball in which the croagunk lie as being an active member of her party. When his information came up on the computer, she learned that his name was not Shin, but Shinobi. Fitting, she supposed... or it would be, once he overcame his clumsiness.

And one only does that through practice, Sagira reminded herself, before she got angry with the clumsy croagunk. Instead, she waited until he met her gaze, and then nodded at the ground in front of her. Hesitantly and not without a sight stumble, he took position there.

Turning back to see her opponents - two men wearing oddly-shaped masks - she found that they were regarding her with amused or disappointed expressions.

She raised a slender eyebrow in their direction.

"This is a roaring disappointment." The one that spoke did so in a blasé tone of voice that raised Sagira's hackles. At her feet, Umbrae growled low in his throat. "Honestly, I thought if we were forced into a battle, it would at least be with someone of..." He ran a chocolate brown eye up and down her form. "Better taste." Sagira's hand twitched, but she resisted the urge to curl slender fingers around the man's pale neck. Instead, she took in what appearance she could - brown eyes, pale skin, and short, muddy-brown hair swept back across his head. The mask he wore was in the shape a ditto might take after it had been splattered across someone's windshield at high speeds. Not a pleasant image, she noted. She mentally identified him as Splatter.

"Oh, get over yourself. You know as well as I do that the boss only sends us after the places that'll give up the best dough without much fuss. If you've been wanting a battle, you should be thankful for what you're getting, regardless of how ridiculous it looks." Hm. Black, spiky hair, bright lime green eyes (probably contacts - I know that trick, you conceited jackass), and skin bronzed by tanning solution. Sagira refrained from making a crack and noted the jagged mask like a fat lightning bolt that stretched across the man's face. In her mind, he became Crispy, and if she gave Umbrae an overly-feral smile at that thought, she knew the houndoom wouldn't say anything.

"Well, I suppose we can't drag out this affair any longer," Splatter said, pulling two pokeballs off his belt. "Let's get on with it."

"At least try to have a good time, man," Crispy pleaded, pulling out two pokeballs of his own. "You get so cranky when you don't get to battle."

Sagira smirked darkly at Splatter. "PMS, man? Sucks, don't it?"

The pale flesh that she could see beyond the mask flushed a dark red and Sagira grinned. Splatter either didn't see or didn't understand that this was something to be feared, as he tossed down both pokeballs. "PMS is right. Positively Making you Shit yourself!"

"That would be PMYSY. It sounds like the name of a stuffed teddiursa."

"Koryū! Jaga!""

The two pokemon who burst out of the balls leapt forward. Sagira did take a moment to admire them, as she had seen neither before. The first was a muskrat-like pokemon with piles of fur that hung low around his legs like a tunic. It moved with grace, nearly dancing across the ground, moving feet and hands in skillful tandem. A fighting type, without a doubt.

The second pokemon, however, stole all of Sagira's attention. Sleek, slim, purple and tan, the leopard-like pokemon did not so much leap from the pokeball as slip from it, gliding across the ground to rush forward in a move that was graceful and utterly, she realized, deadly.

"Umbrae, the cat!" With a snarl, the houndoom launched himself forward at the feline, who neither recoiled nor retaliated. Instead, the creature pulled back lips in what Sagira realized was nothing short of a smile, and twisted around Umbrae like a serpent, easily evading his attack.

"Shit." Sagira turned back to the other pokemon, in time to see the croagunk duck an attack aimed for his head. She mentally praised the fast reflex. "Shinobi, he's yours to handle." She thought she saw the croagunk shiver a little, but chose to ignore it. If the pokemon was with her, it would fight. He would learn.

"It seems you'll be outnumbered if I release both of my pokemon." Sagira turned to head to find Crispy was regarding her with an amused, predatory smile. "If I were a gentleman, I would release only one and wait for you to defeat one of our pokemon before letting you face the other." He clicked the pokeballs, setting them both off to release their occupants. "What a pity I'm not a gentleman."

Sagira smiled at him knowingly. "I knew you were the bitch in the relationship." It amused her to no end, watching the smile slide from his lips, but she quickly turned her attention to his pokemon. These ones she recognized.

The seviper moved swiftly, twisting and curling over itself with viciously pleased hisses. Much like the leopard pokemon that Umbrae was having some issue with, the serpent was quick and deadly. The other pokemon cackled with certain glee, fading in and out of view.

"Topaz, looks like it's all you," Sagira said, watching her two new opponents. The eevee hunkered down beside her and growled, tail waving in the air. "Watch out for the haunter, but concentrate on the seviper. He's the bigger threat."

The small dog yipped in response. "Go, Topaz!"

His lips contorted in a snarl, Crispy thrust his hand outward in an offensive motion. "Copperhead, Banquo - attack!"

Sagira's eyes flicked from Topaz's darting form to the image of Umbrae slamming into the ground as the purple leopard twisted around him elegantly, and Shinobi being forced backward by a thrust of the muskrat's hands. This was, actually, going to be a tough battle.

Sagira smirked. 'bout damn time.

[Master Houndoom]

Jay did not like to think he was cocky. At worst, he thought he could be a little rash sometimes, and at best he was a decent tactician, able to compensate for any unforeseen circumstances.

His sister, Amber, knew better. She knew that when Jay had figured something out that he knew his opponent didn't think he could have, he would feel a sense of superiority that surpassed his actual skill.

In other words, he got cocky.

Usually, Jay had an incredible luck that followed him. Not that he hadn't lost his fair share of battles, but he would, more often than most others, just manage to eke out victory, wrest it from the jaws of defeat. This would not help assuage his cockiness, and there were times that Amber, or even their parents, would rest their forehead in one palm and sigh with longsuffering as Jay gloated over a victory he had pulled out of a pokéball no one knew he'd had.

His accomplishments, which included reigning in a hyper active houndour and molding a blind ralts into a formidable battler, while genuinely impressive, only fueled those moments when he over extended his reach.

So when he figured out his opponents types and sent his pokémon out to strike with super effective attacks, he would later look back and that and think, embarrassed with himself, "Dammit, I got cocky..."

Much to the consternation of his opponent, a short, semi-stocky girl named Stephanie, Jay had commanded his houndoom, Videl, to attack her beartic, an ice type he had never seen before, with Fire Fang, and commanded his taillow, Lady Jaye, to attack her scolipede, a bug type he had never seen before, with Aerial Ace. Both of those moves would have been powerful against her pokémon, but even as the flames enveloped her roaring bear, she gave a wicked, split second grin.

"Coca! Use Icicle Crash on the bird! Atari! Steamroller on the mutt!"

"MUTT?! Videl i-- Wait, what?"

Jay watched as, just coming out of the Aerial Ace attack and flying back to Jay, low enough to climb dramatically and land on his shoulder when she arrived, Lady Jaye was overtaken by a gigantic icicle the polar bear seemed to shoot from his snout. She gave a terrified, surprised squawk and hit the ground, rolling, her wings flapping wildly. She lay still panting, hiding her head under one wing as she drew the other close, trembling. As that happened, the scolipede curled into a wheel and rolled straight for Videl, its antennae like wicked blades bearing down on the houndoom. Videl tried to leap for safety, but a moment too late: She was caught in the chest and sent flying, crashing into the wall.

Jay took it all in with wide eyes, his jaw tightening as the implications hit him. Dammit, I got cocky, he mused, rushing to Videl's side.

"Atari, Toxic on the bird! Coca, hit it with Powder Snow! I want it to know what's coming! Freeze that fowl in place!"

Jay's teeth grit again, and his lip curled as the snow surrounded Lady Jay, still curled with her head under her wing. He did not take into account that, in the long run, she was lucky the snow had hit her first: The freezing effect of the move encased her in a block of ice, leaving the toxic venom from Atari oozing harmlessly down the ice.

"Videl," Jay commanded, his eyes still on the woman battling him. Somehow, without his looking, he knew she was up. "Let's even the playing field a bit. Smog, then Fire Fang on the gigantic bug". He filled the last word with such malice and disgust that his opponent hissed in outrage. Videl gave a bark and charged, taking a step or two longer to gain momentum, her mouth open and spewing a small cloud of smog around the two larger pokémon. Though their heads were not enveloped by the thick smoke, Videl was able to move within it, using Odor Sleuth, and the bear was affected by the noxious smell.

"Don't just stand there, get it!" screeched the woman. The beartic and scolipede turned in circles, confused that the houndoom had seemingly disappeared, until the scolipede reared up, one burnt leg rising out of the smog to crash down again in anger.

"There!" the woman pointed at a whip like tail that had risen and fallen out of the smog. The beartic ducked his head under the surface, but rose up quickly, gagging. "No, just... Dammit!" The woman shot a scowl at Jay, then sneered. "Atari! Venoshock... on THAT thing!"

She pointed dramatically at Raven, the silvery eevee, who was sitting on her haunches, ears pinned back as an igglybuff and cleffa danced, sang, and snuggled into her ruff. As the woman pointed, Raven stood, growling fiercely, and the two pink pokémon scampered behind the eevee and hid behind her legs.

The taller woman, Stephanie's partner, pulled her around by the shoulder. "What are you doing?! Those are my pokémon over there!"

"They're in the way, Diana! Call them back!"

"It's not hurting anyone! Why are you attacking it?" Diana rose to her full height, impressively towering over the shorter, stocky woman, but Stephanie held her ground.

"That thing is the enemy! It's his fault for letting it play babysitter!" She looked at the scolipede, which also seemed confused by the order to seemingly attack an ally's pokémon. "DO IT!"

As the scolipede reared back and sent a fast-moving cloud of venomous spray at the three, the two pink pokémon scowled.

"Iggly!" cried the igglybuff, flapping its tiny arms. A blue, gemlike field rose and constructed itself around the three.

"Clef!" cried the cleffa, putting one tiny star-like appendage out in front of herself. A sphere of green light expanded within the shield. The cloud passed through the shield, changing color from a sickly green to clear, then splattered against the bubble. The bubble popped, but protected the trio from harm.

"VEE!" Raven charged, bounding from side to side, and glowed white. Though her target was the scolipede, the beartic had stepped up, trying to swipe at the new arrival. Instead, Raven's head impacted with his chest, sending it crashing down, the force of the beartic's impact with the ground clearing the smog. Unfortunately for the ice type, he landed right in front of a flame-grinning Videl, who bit down on his snout with glee. The beartic arched, swiping with a paw, but Videl jumped away this time. The beartic rose, wobbling, to his feet, his eyes drooping in fatigue from the chest attack combined with the fire weakening him.

Any and all outcries, and from the red faced look on Stephanie's face to the dangerous way that Diana was clenching and unclenching her fists toward Stephanie, there were going to be some, were interrupted as the immediate area was bathed in light. With a crackle and then a great pop, ice shattered, and a large shape rose from the ice.

"SWEEEELLL!!!"

The swellow folded her wings in front of her, matching Jay's folded arms, and the corner of her beak turned up to match his smirk. "I believe," Jay said as Videl crouched to spring, and Raven trotted back to the two baby pokemon, "The phrase is, 'It's on.'"

The moves that the igglybuff and cleffa used are teachable to them by TM. They were Safeguard for the igglybuff and protect for the cleffa. Because they are an NPC's pokemon, and not actively trying to battle (they were, in fact, only spurred to move for Raven's sake, who they think is too pretty and nice and fun and whee! to be hurt), I don't think there should be a problem with them having those moves.

Lady Jaye has evolved from a to a !

[Living Arrow]

Epsilon sprang after the so-called leader of the pack, and the Prey, into the main restaurant where chaos reigned supreme. Taking it all in with her large dark eyes, the Eevee sat back on the pass and surveyed the many combatants like a warrior queen over a battlefield. They were all pathetic excuses for Pokemon and humans. Did they not all see that this battling today was worthless. It did not matter who would win – further battles would be had soon enough and even more after that until the Final Battle decided to show its ugly face. Until then, exerting oneself was a waste of time and energy. If these imbeciles could not recognise that this skirmish was meaningless then clearly none of them were worth her own time.

These fools would need a true leader when the Final Battle came and if she was the smartest then she would have to claim the crown sooner or later. She glared after the one that held her Pokeball. Hedera Kylarian was a weak excuse for an Alpha Female and time would show that she was the rightful master of their pack.

Her eyes narrowed again. Actions would have to be taken to claim her own unit… The right opportunity would just have to show itself. With a smug prnce, Epsilon dashed after Ivy and Alpha with mutiny in mind.

*****

“This is so not cool with me, bro…” Kappa muttered to Beta as they circled back to back, enemies all around. Just how they had been found and caught off guard so easily was beyond the Floatzel – they had been careful enough to avoid detection and hadn’t noticed anything approaching either. Something simply wasn’t right!

“Keep your eyes, ears and nose alert brother Kappa!” Beta urged. The Manectric was equally startled but had managed to hold his nerve a little better – he was the sub leader of their team, after all. “We can make it back to Ivy and regroup as a team if we’re fast. Just watch for an opening and move as quickly as possible…”

Dark shapes gurgled and moaned around them. Bright eyes glittered from garbage bags that hid the stink of the Pokemon within… Within?

“Uh, bro?” Kappa shifted uneasily. “What Pokemon are these?”

“I have no idea… They’re nothing like I’ve ever seen before…” Beta growled. “But they can’t move like we can. Are you ready?”

“Just call it.”

“QUICK ATTACK!”
“AQUA JET!”

*****

“Take this!” Ivy roared, pouncing towards Douglas with the skewer. He vaulted away and toward the exit, dashing through the open door and into the street. His werewolf sped after him with Alpha right on his tail.

The cool of the night air was like a welcome old friend to Ivy’s burning skin – especially the fiery wound in her armpit that sang with burning blood an aria of painful tragedies. Ivy blinked. Did she think of that metaphor herself? Ugh. Too much time around Gray!

“Kylarian Fang Over Fang!” She screamed, flying alongside Alpha as they poured on the full-frontal assault. Douglas and his Zoroark, however shimmered like a mirage before the two could make contact. Tumbling through the illusion, Ivy and Alpha rolled across the ground in a confused ball of legs and fur.

“Nice try, but we Recon class are built for dodging – not assault.” Douglas schooled Ivy mockingly from the other side of the road where he materialised with his Pokemon. “You and your friend may have interrupted our plans for now but we will not leave empty handed.” He rolled two Pokeballs around in his hand. “Who knew Douglas would have two Pokemon worth this entire operation.”

“Thief!” Ivy spat. “Give me those Pokeballs right now!”

“It’s very annoying when you shout like that.” The villain wearing Douglas’ uniform and namebadge uttered. “And now if you’ll excuse me, I shall be leaving. Zoroark?”

Unable to do anything, Ivy watched as the two began to fade behind another illusion…

“VEE!” Epsilon smashed the side of the Zoroark’s face with a blinding Quick Attack that produced a scream and a broken mirage. The werewolf went down in one, the Eevee prancing from its body as fast as she had collided with it and aiming right for the human.

“Not again you don’t!” He protected the Pokeballs in his hand by turning swiftly on the spot so that Epsilon’s Covet missed its mark. Instead, the man was faced by her Bite attack that clamped into his tricep and elicited a scream from him. Ivy used the opportunity to get back to her feet and plan how to ensure any stolen Pokemon were returned while Alpha jumped back into the fray and took to clawing at the Zoroark that had begun to rise once more.

Blood pooled around her feet, her breath escaped in short ragged bursts, her shoulder was going numb and her mind was unable to focus on formulating the next battle plan. One thing was for certain. Ivy had lost control against this opponent and now she had to rely on the wits of her Pokemon to make sure they came out of the battle on top.

[Umbrae Calamitas]

Umbrae let out a pained howl as the panther unleashed a fury swipes attack on him, cutting deeply into his flesh. Steam rolled off from his blood as it hit the open air, and he snarled as he snapped back with his fangs, attempting to catch the cat’s paws in his teeth, but it was far too fast for him.

“Your little puppy seems to be doing well against my Jaga.” Splatter sneered at her, but Sagira ignored the jibe.

“Umbrae, faint attack!”

The demon dog lunged from between the feline’s grip, moving quickly to strike fast at the cat’s side with paws and fangs. Umbrae hit the cat hard, but the panther struck back even harder.

“Jaga! Slash!” Splatter grinned as the panther cut a deep slash through Umbrae’s short fur. “Now, Taunt.”

The panther let out a purr and curled around Umbrae, dragging its tail across Umbrae’s muzzle. Umbrae let out a snarl and lunged at the cat with a snarl, snapping teeth and claws, trying to hit her repeatedly with the same attack that had previously done little damage.

“Damnit!” Sagira narrowed her eyes as the panther easily handled the attacks. They clearly affected it, but didn’t do a great deal of damage. She hadn’t considered that the feline was a dark type, but if that were the case…

Sagira whipped out two of her pokeballs and recalled Umbrae at the same time that she called back Shinobi. The croagunk had been at the mercy of the muskrat’s Force Palm attack. Sagira had been under the impression that only riolu and lucario could use that move, but apparently, that wasn’t the case.

But that was for another time.

“Giving up?” Splatter asked with a grin.

“Just evening the odds up a bit,” Sagira said with her own smile, and switched which pokeball was in each hand. She released Umbrae and Shinobi again, this time with the houndoom standing in front of the fighting type, and the croagunk in front of the panther.

“Umbrae, fire fang! Shinobi, venoshock!”

Both pokemon moved to comply, with varying levels of success. Umbrae lunged for the muskrat pokemon, fangs on fire, and clamped down on the arm that moved out to strike at him. The muskrat let out a shriek of pain and punched with his left arm.

Umbrae released his hold on the one hand and ducked the punch while releasing a roar attack. The muskrat jerked back in fear and Umbrae brought his head up, releasing an ember attack directly into the pokemon’s fearful face.

As the houndoom and mienfoo were battling, Shinobi had unleashed a poison from his gullet that shot into the air and rained down over the liepard. Or it was supposed to, except the liepard was particularly fast.

Running on swift paws, the purple panther dodged the attack and came at Shinobi with a deep-throated hiss. Claws extending, it raised its paws for a fury swipes attack.

“Shinobi, mud bomb!”

The croagunk let out a loud belching sound as he spat a ball of mud from his bulbous throat, spatting it into the rushing liepard’s face. The mud sloshed across the panther’s eyes, blinding it, but it kept coming, claws extended, and slammed into Shinobi, slicing his rubbery skin.

When Shinobi attempted a poison sting attack, however, he only managed to spit out a couple of the poison barbs. The rest he spat into his own lip. Sagira groaned as both he and the panther staggered drunkenly.

Sagira turned quickly to see the seviper that Topaz ad been battling collapse to the ground with a hissing whine and an exaggerated slither. With a growl, the eevee turned to the haunter.

Sagira grimaced and glanced around. Umbrae and the mienfoo were still battling fiercely. Shinobi and the Liepard were both staggering around each other, poisoned. And now Topaz was up against a pokemon she had no attacks that could hurt him.