[X] My Assistant

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

Justin rolled his eyes in frustration as Tag commanded Protect. It was a good strategy to test the waters, see what the opponent was going to do as an opening move. Notably, it would have been effective against Hitmontop, who liked to open the battle with Fake Out, which only works if it's a surprise. Of course, Fake Out wouldn't work on Orin anyway. But there was some merit in Tag knowing that Sudowoodo had Rock Tomb at his disposal, and that Justin was planning on using it. Based on the battle up until then, assuming Justin would continue using Rock Tomb was a fair assumption. That's what he'd been doing the whole time, with the exception of Swords Dance on Ninjask.

And yet, Tag still managed to overestimate Justin by using Wake Up Slap instead of what would surely have been a much more powerful special attack (using Froslass's high Special Attack against Sudowoodo's low Special Defense) or a status inducing move, which was Froslass' specialty.

"Rock Tomb!" Justin called out. Though Orin attacked first with her particularly weak Fighting attack (which did some decent damage due to his weakness to it and her notable level advantage). It hurt, to be certain, but not as badly as it could have. His Rock Tomb, however, would do decent damage, assuming it hit (and there was some shaky accuracy to it), as Sudowoodo had decent strength and Orin's physical resilience left much to be desired. If it did manage to hit, her speed would be reduced, though she would still probably be faster.

[Kamaitachi]

Tag had hoped for Wake-up Slap to do more damage than it did. He wanted to end the battle without 'crushing' Justin's pokemon, as some show of faith. He wasn't taking it easy by any means, but he definitely wasn't playing his usual strategy of controlling the field through slick combinations and status ailments. He was meeting Justin head on, and it was working in his favour.

Yet, the painful Rock Tomb on his Froslass snapped yet another painful reminder that he could absolutely not afford to lose this battle. He was sure Nate would back him up if Justin tried to kill him, but this was something of a grudge match that Tag had looked forward to since Justin beat him outside of Petropolis. (Then later again inside Petropolis.)

Orin felt herself moving a bit more sluggishly than usual, but as a very speedy pokemon against a much slower Sudowoodo, she still retained her advantage.

"Ominous Wind"

A gaseous, dark cloud swept up in front her in a cyclonic manner, obscuring her from sight. Without too much warning, Orin gently waved her sleeved arm, sending the conflageration towards Sudowoodo. It was one of her most powerful attacks, but she definitely didn't have the stamina to pull it off many times in a match. Ominous Wind also carried the chance of boosting herself up by absorbing the dark winds into her body, but that seemed to have passed to no effect.

Tag needed this to be the last move in the match. Tobi would find himself at a great disadvantage, and Zuki's main array of moves would find themselves against Sudowoodo's rocky hide, potentially proving ineffective.

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

"Rock Tomb, again!" Justin called out. As Sudowoodo prepared for another Rock Tomb, Orin launched her Ominous Wind, which was loaded with hurt. It was clear to Justin that his bro was in no shortage of pain, but stayed in the game long enough to launch another Rock Tomb, which, if it landed, would likely finish the Froslass off.

Either way, Tag had two pokemon remaining, though Justin didn't consider the possibilities. His strategy did not involve the future, unlike his more tactical opponent. Sudowoodo was on his last leg, and without the help of Hitmontop, Justin really didn't stand much of a chance. Still, though, he stood strong and insisted that Sudowoodo give it all he had, though his encouragement lacked much in the way of positivity.

Sudowoodo, more than likely, was going to go down after one more attack from Orin or, if the Rock Tomb knocked her out, one or two more hits from Tag's next pokemon. Justin hadn't thought of what would happen if (when) he lost. All he knew was that he wanted desperately to win, and to beat the living hell out of one of his only friends (granting a loose definition of the term, of course).

[Kamaitachi]

Despite the Ominous Wind wreaking some ominous havoc on Sudowoodo, the Pseudo-Wood pokemon stood firm. Even while being attacked, he launched another Rock Tomb. The few Bug Bites from Ninjask and the super effective Rock Tombs was pretty much all a frail pokemon like Orin could take. The heavy rocks slammed into her, knocking her forcefully to the ground. Slowly, she rose up again, only to gently float back down. With surprising grace, she simply laid down on the floor, appearing as if she were asleep.

A red beam shot out, recalling her to her pokeball to rest. Tag's hands drifted over the remaining two pokeballs, in the fourth and sixth slots respectively on his belt. Justin's Sudowoodo stood, still ready to fight, but appeared to be teetering on the brink of unconsciousness. He felt a surge of confidence, sensing the end of the battle rapidly approaching, but made sure not to get cocky.

"Zuki" The cute puppy pokemon appeared on the field, staring curiously at Sudowoodo and Justin. He, too, like most of the pokemon who had appeared during the battle, had been working alongside Justin and Nate throughout the entire series of nightmares. Looking back at Tag curiously, his ears drooped, indicating that he didn't particularly want to fight.

Tag looked down at his companion, then back at the enemy, simply ordering:

"Zuki, Bite!"

Zuki had a fairly shallow move pool at his disposal, and at current, Bite was the most powerful move he had. Luckily for him, Sudowoodo didn't resist his dark type attack, which was rather bizarre. Sure, the rock-tree had considerable defense against the attack. But, in Tag's defense, Zuki was probably the better trained of the two pokemon; Sudowoodo evidently rarely saw battle, thanks to Justin's almighty Hitmontop.

With a solemn nod, Zuki charged forward, baring his little fangs as he lunged for his enemy.

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

Zuki's appearance had little impact on Justin's demeanor or his strategy: Hit as hard as possible. "Wood Hammer!" For a move not of the same type as the user, this was an incredibly powerful attack. It was more powerful than any of Sudowoodo's Rock attacks, even given his boost to that type. Low Kick was a Fighting attack, which would be super effective against Zuki's Dark type, but would do minimal damage because of his low weight. Wood Hammer, a Grass type, typically had the negative effect of hurting the user, but because of Sudowoodo's ability, the sheer force of the attack put its full force on the opponent.

Of course, the attack would deal decent damage to Zuki, if it ever got the chance to hit. Poochyena was not a particularly fast pokemon by any means, but it outsped Sudowoodo fairly easily. Bite hit and it didn't do too much damage, but Sudowoodo was already defying his own unconsciousness. Sudowoodo fell to the floor with a thud, causing Justin to angrily call him back into his pokeball.

He stood, shaking with rage, staring Tag down. "Justin-" Nate began.

"Shut up," Justin said. "Shut up, Nate, I swear to God."

"It's over, man,"

"No!" Justin yelled. "It's not over!"

He charged Taggarty Lee. Maybe he couldn't win a pokemon battle, but he could still beat the guy to death. Tag wasn't a small guy, but Justin was freakin' huge. Even though Zuki stood in between he and Tag, Justin did not hesitate to kick the puppy across the room in a preemptive attempt to get to his target. Justin charged Tag with speed, rage and power in a desperate attempt to accomplish something, but he had no idea what that something was.

[Kamaitachi]

Tag's Poochyena had not been expecting a bodily attack from a human. Such things were really quite rare, and he took a full blow from Justin's kick. A sharp pang of pain, he flew through the air, slamming into the wall near Nate and Hitmontop and sank down to the ground, wind clearly knocked from him.

His trainer's eyes widened in a shock that quickly gave way to anger of his own. Tag was not known to be an emotional sort of person, but here he was, his pokemon injured by a pique of rage, and it inspired a rage in his own.

Most obviously, he was at a clear disadvantage when it came to engaging Justin in fisticuffs, and it was pretty clear that Nate, a much scrawnier guy, would stand even less of a chance. Yet, spurred into action by Justin's callous treatment of Zuki, Tag met the man head on.

As gallant as his counterattack had been, Tag had virtually no experience in scraps like these, and immediately took a punch to the face, sending him staggering backwards. It would only be a matter of moments before Justin was on him again, but clearly he would spend those moments dazed and confused as to why he was bleeding from his nose.

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

Justin wasn't surprised by Tag's counterattack, but he hadn't been expecting it. As previously mentioned, the future was not a concern for him in his state. As Tag stumbled back after the hit, Justin refused to let up. He moved towards Tag relentlessly and, in Tag's state, a defensive move would have been difficult. Justin's next punch, aimed for Tag's nose, would do some serious-

He was stopped before his next assault could land. He couldn't figure out what happened, but he had been pushed to the side, away from Tag, from his left side. No, he'd been punched, taken completely by surprised, and was thrown straight into the wall. Pain came from so many parts of his body and all he could do was fall to the floor, face down.

It was Hitmontop. He used his notorious Fake Out Mach Punch combo on his own trainer to keep him from punching Tag out of pseudo-consciousness. (Of course, I would say consciousness, but can one really call their dream world bodies conscious? Maybe. Neither Justin nor Hitmontop were much for philosophy.)

Justin Smart slowly pushed himself to a sitting position, upright against the wall, so that he could look Tag, Nate, Hitmontop and poor Zuki head on. For a moment, he looked confused. Then, his confusion turned to shame. He lowered his head, looking at the ground in a desperate attempt to save face. He had completely failed his allies and his dream world objective, whatever it was. He was the bad guy in his own nightmare, and he couldn't do anything to stop it.

"I, uh," he began, with absolutely no idea how to begin. "I don't know what that was." His eyes grew a little bit watery. Justin was admittedly somewhat of a drama queen, but crying wasn't generally his style. This was a strange experience for him, the amount of guilt and emotions he was feeling at that moment. "Tag, I- Zuki..." He looked at the puppy, who he had kicked across the room. Zuki was a fairly high leveled pokemon, but that didn't seem to apply to humans, not that it was a common experiment.

"Hitmontop!" His words were coming out all at once, and he didn't know how to say everything he wanted to say. He had wronged all of them, every one of them who was staring him down. He recalled the sound Zuki made when he punted him, the anger and emotion in Tag's eyes. Ninjask, Sudowoodo, Pinsir, none of them wanted to fight, but they all did. Hitmontop was the only one to stand up to Justin's reign, and he took punishment for it. Finally, he forced himself to stand, and said the only thing he knew he could. "I'm so sorry."

"Justin," Nate stood forward, shaking his head. "What that was, that was all part of the nightmare. This whole thing was just a nightmare, remember that. That wasn't you, who did all those things."

"No," Justin shook his head. "I wanna just say that, yeah. But the thing is, it was. It was me. I knew what I was doing the whole time it was happening, and I was the one doin' it. All the things I said, the awful things, I meant them. I don't, uh. I mean, I don't know like, how I feel about them now. But everything I said, I meant. And everything I did, I meant to do. I wasn't just possessed. I was me. I was just really, really mad. Like, so mad. Madder than I've ever been. And scared, too. And lonely, a little bit, I guess. I don't know. I just, I didn't trust anybody. I didn't trust you guys."

Justin had failed his nightmare, and he had failed his allies. But his allies did not fail. They saved him. They all did. Even Nate played a part by rescuing Hitmontop from Bachi's poison. Without that, Justin likely would have wailed on Tag to death. Justin didn't trust any of them, which seemed to be the root of his nightmare. But in the end, they proved to be extremely trustworthy. Few pokemon are willing to punch their trainer in the face. Even fewer are willing to do it because they love and respect that trainer.

"I was wrong, though," he said. "I was wrong not to trust you. Obviously, I was wrong about everything else, about all the shitty stuff I did, but I was wrong not to trust you. Thank you. All of you. Nate, Hitmontop, you guys are my best friends. I need to tell you that. I trust both of you. I love you guys. Tag, I hate to say it, but," He paused for a moment and looked at Tag. "You're definitely one of my best friends too. I know you were looking forward to battling me again, I was too. Sorry it had to be like this.

"And about the Seviper. I plan on keeping my promise. I'm gonna free it."

[Kamaitachi]

Still reeling from the attack, Tag managed to think to himself that...well...Justin had some really large fists. This particular one was aimed at his nose, and that was a lights-out sort of hit.

But the blow never landed. Justin was flung aside, and in his place, noble Hitmontop stood...or...headstood. Justin was laying face down on the floor, knocked out by his own pokemon.

As Smart slowly raised himself from the ground, Tag slowly sank to the ground, still reeling in pain from the blow. Zuki limped over, whimpering slightly, and Tag scooped the pokemon into his lap briefly. He gave a quick scratch the Zuki's haunches before pulling out the pokeball and drawing the canine back in.

"I'm so sorry."

Tag fought the urge to respond with: "You should be." While that would've been a line that he would've used back in his earlier days in Furoh, he'd softened considerably. He shrugged, making a sort of "no worries" face. Nate then proceeded to justify Justin's actions, which made a surprising amount of sense. Tag hadn't even thought about the dream objective the entire time, since he'd simply been wrapped up in the battle. He was definitely glad that he wasn't forced to kill Justin, even in a dream.

The downed man blabbered a bit more. It was awkwardly worded, but wonderfully sincere. To date, Tag figured it to be the most honest thing Justin had ever said.

"You lashed out. It happens." Tag nodded sagely, neatly summing up Justin's ramble. "This may come as a shock, but you two are probably my only friends. We'll battle again, under better circumstances." He smiled at Hitmontop, pointing at him "And I expect to take you on this time, too."

"And about the Seviper. I plan on keeping my promise. I'm gonna free it."

"Glad to hear it." Tag rose back up, walking over to offer Justin a hand up.

The moment Justin stood though, the world began to fall apart again, but in a different way all together. It appeared, this time, that the world was simply unraveling. Someone appeared to be pulling it apart at its seams, fading everything into a soft, white light. It wasn't blinding by any means, it was just gentle.

Tag looked around, a bit worried. Normally this was the end of things. White light meant death. Maybe all of the fighting they'd done, all the horrors they'd just endured and all the pain they'd just went through...was it all for nothing? He couldn't accept it, but at the same time, he couldn't find the motivation anywhere in his body to move, or even make noise. Then it all faded out into that beautiful white light.

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

As the world around them began to crumble again, Justin recalled Hitmontop into his ball and accepted that this was the end. Of what it was the end, he wasn't entirely sure, but he figured this was for the best. Then, the three of them were stuck somewhat motionless in this empty white space. There was nothing here but some white light, which thankfully at least allowed them to see each other.

Then, a male, low pitched voice spoke very calmly. "This is my nightmare."

Before them, appearing out of virtually nowhere, they saw a ghostly black figure. This was Darkrai, a very rare pokemon known for its effects on people's dreams. It was what forced them into their nightmares. It was the bad guy. It continued. "You do not have control of your own bodies right now. Even before now, in the previous dreams, you were simply being manipulated by your own fears, the way I designed them.

"This is what I fear. Being controlled or manipulated by someone who does not have my interests at heart. Being captured in some pokeball, in other words. Even in such unfamiliar and dangerous situations, your pokemon followed you, all of you, with little question or concern. I saw innocent pokemon tear people asunder, blood dripping from their claws as they continued. All because you told them to do so.

"With one exception. Justin Smart, to say that your Hitmontop outshined you would be a grave misstatement. He is not 'your' Hitmontop, and he has proven this. He is his own pokemon, and you are lucky to be his friend. But you are not his trainer; he is too strong for you, and I don't just mean physical strength.

"I refuse to be a pokemon bound to a trainer. It is for this reason that I spread this nightmare, to protect myself from those who wish to possess my power. But the three of you have proven your strength. You survived all seven rounds of torment, and I can no longer hold you captive. I will release you, as well as your friends, from this dream world twisted by myself under one condition: You must not reveal that I am making a return to Furoh. I like my privacy, and I don't want trainers in over their head seeking me out, forcing me to lay them to rest in endless torment.

"Things that happen here in the Dream World do have the power to come true, and I can grant this power even in this twisted version of it. Those pokemon whose minds and bodies were clouded in shadow will be released. Special abilities and moves used here will also be able to be used in the real world from here on out. Pinsir will retain his altered pigmentation, which was only inhibited by his shadowed form. Most importantly, if any of your pokemon wish for freedom, it will be granted. This is the condition - If one of your pokemon wants freedom, you must release it.

"If there is an understanding, I will release you."

[Kamaitachi]

Of course.

Mentally, Tag rolled his eyes. Of course it was Darkrai. The Team Deception people, Helms and company, had probably been after the Legendary Pokemon, hence the dreams they fell under. After the events of Starfall Field, Tag wanted to think that he was used to seeing Legendary Pokemon by now, but he still found himself awed at its presence.

Tag listened slowly to Darkrai's soothing baritone. Under the rules of dream logic, he had absolutely no questions about the fact that this pokemon was speaking english with perfect accuracy. The shadowy pokemon floated before them, as plain as day, sounding bold, but sounding slightly scared. Darkrai was offering them a deal because they'd gotten through his nightmares. They had the potential to beat him, possibly capture him, which meant that they, too, were also a part of Darkrai's nightmare.

He felt a gradual re-gain of his body...well...enough that his face could move, which probably meant that he could talk. He attempted to do so, staring the Nightmare pokemon directly in the eyes.

"I understand."

Hopefully it didn't take long for Justin and Nate to agree; he wanted out. He wasn't in the least bit worried that his pokemon would leave him, and he simply wanted to wake up.

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

"Yeah," Justin nodded. "Okay." Nate simply nodded, but any form of communication was likely enough to portray what they meant to Darkrai, who was in essence the king of this world. The pokemon did not speak again, but instead just disappeared into the white light. Then, the white light began to fade into darkness. The entire world slowly became black.

Justin opened his eyes while simultaneously jerking awake, sitting straight up, gasping for air. He just sat, breathing for a moment, going over what had happened in his head. He took in his surroundings. He was back in Ace's house, right at the doorway where he had fallen into nightmare. There was Ace right next to him, who woke up somewhat less abruptly than him, but still with some sense of fear on his face. Tag was also right there in the doorway, which was wide open.

He looked to his right to see Omar, who fell asleep on the couch, already standing and pulling Nate, who fell right next to the couch, to his feet. Miriam stood from the couch as well and over in the corner, Helms was sitting up on his bed, running his right hand through his hair to pull it out of his face. Omar turned to look at Justin and nodded at him. Justin waited a moment for that to register in his mind and responded with a nod in return.

Everyone was alive, but there was little doubt that they all went through the experience together. "Justin," he heard and looked up to see Ace standing, offering a hand. As Justin took Ace's hand, he noticed two things at once - Ace had a red ring around his neck, what looked like a recovering cut. He also noticed a similar cut in his own left forearm, where he was cut in Helms' dream. It didn't hurt or sting in any way, but it was still there, likely as a reminder of the horrors they had experienced and of the subsequent promise they made.

"Thanks," Justin said. He had some concern with the idea of allowing his pokemon free if they wanted it. He wasn't sure about Pinsir, and Shedinja didn't seem to care about anything. Then there was Octillery, who had never showed any level of affection for his trainer. Justin looked at Nate and, once eye contact was made, there was some level of communication between them. Their nightmares were closely related and a solid discussion about them would likely change their futures. It was important that Tag be let in on this conversation.

"Nate Guzman and Justin Smart," Helms approached the two, shaking Nate's hand first and then Justin's. The three met by the couch. "Omar told me a little about what happened here and mentioned that the two of you are the only ones to make it through everyone's nightmare. As well as that Tag guy. I just wanted to say that I appreciate what you've done for me and for all of us here.

"Tag," Helms approached the man and shook his hand as well. "I don't know what you were doing here, but I'm glad you were here. I didn't get to see much happen, unfortunately, but Omar did speak highly of you."

"Tag," Omar approached him as well. "I wanted to offer you a position in our organization, in Justin and Nate's unit. You showed that you're capable of keeping your head in dangerous situations, and that kind of thing goes really far with us. What we do is, I'll admit, in a legal grey area, but we pay well. Think on it, and feel free to say no. It's important that this be your decision and that you not feel pressured to join. That's not good for anybody. So, if you do say no, we'll part ways, but it's important that you not speak of what happened here, or of our organization at all.

"So, think on it. Talk it over with Smart and Guzman."

With that, Helms nodded at the two, nodded at Justin and Nate, then at Ace and Miriam. Then, he just left the house and began walking. He probably had a destination, and Omar probably knew of it, but Justin and Nate were at least smart enough to not ask.

[Kamaitachi]

Quickly lifting himself off of the ground into a standing position, it took a full moment before Tag realized where he was. The discombobulating effect of waking up had taken its toll, and he seemed almost wobbly as he looked about the room.

It looked like the apartment in which the team had fallen asleep. Most importantly: Everyone had returned, and was now awakening in kind.

Unlike Justin or Ace, Tag had no horrific reminder of his time in the dream world: He'd gotten off rather unscathed. Drowning didn't leave many marks save some petechial hemorrhaging, but that had been more likely to come from his violent vomiting several times throughout the dreams.

His face, though, hurt like crap. Justin's dream punch had the same effect of a not-dream punch, which stung worse than it did from when Justin had actually hit him.

Then Helms approached him before he could get the rest of his thoughts in order. It felt incredibly odd, talking to someone whom he'd seen get gunned down, THEN get torched by Tobi's flamethrower in two separate dreams. He'd watched the man die twice, once by his actions (This first by his inactions), and now the man was speaking highly of him.

Then Omar, whom Tag had also watched die via sniper shot, offered him a position in Team Deception. He felt odd on this decision too. He didn't know much about Team Deception except that Justin and Nate did some questionable work for them, and that Omar, Miriam, Ace and Helms were members. "Legal Grey Area" seemed the best euphemism for the Team's shady activities. He understood that they were criminal in nature, and that was enough to solidify his answer.

"I'll think on it."

Tag simply could not accept a position, considering how hypocritical it would've been for him to do so. He'd given Justin and Nate (Justin in particular), such a hard time about it, that he simply couldn't shrug it off and go "Okay". It wasn't that easy. On top of it, Darkrai had made a chilling point: Tag had killed dream people sans hesitation. That part of him he'd sought to bury back in Johto, where he'd killed actual people in a glorified temper tantrum.

Yet, simply saying no meant potentially making an enemy out of Omar right then and there, even if Omar had said it in the most cordial, professional way possible. Omar was not someone he wanted to face on such uneven grounds, considering that Ace, Miriam, Justin and Nate were all working under Omar at that moment. He'd have to give his rejection in the way of silence: Not answering Omar's question would ultimately provide the answer.

Likewise, Omar's instructions as to not talk about the events came with the lingering hint of a threat. The fiercely calm man would not say such a thing without implying the punishment that came of not accepting that part of the agreement. Tag had no choice but to comply there as well: He was on his own.

Also, not to mention, that Tag had learned virtually nothing outright about Team Deception except that they had units, and that they had maybe been hunting Darkrai.

"I won't say a word." Tag nodded. "I should get to the pokemon center. I'll need to hold up my end of the bargain." He wasn't sure if Omar knew what he meant, but Justin and Nate did. He'd have to see which of his pokemon wished to stay with him, and which wished to go. With three pokemon waiting via PC Storage, there would have to be some swapping around. "See ya."

With that, he left Ace's apartment as well.

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

Joint post between me and Kam

"We'll be in touch," Omar said as Justin and Nate, too, left Ace's house sometime after Tag had left. There was confidence in Omar's voice and a sense of pride that somewhat implied there may be a promotion in their future. Though they pretended to be gracious for his kind words, neither Justin nor Nate felt confident about their continued career as criminals.

As they walked to the pokemon center, entirely to meet up with Tag, they remained silent for the first minute. Discussion was going to be had, of that they knew, but the question was who was going to start it.

Nate did. "You were afraid of yourself," he said, eliciting a sigh from his partner. "Why?" The way he asked was not rhetorical, but he did it in a tone which implied he already knew the answer, like when a teacher asks a question to a student.

"Team Deception," Justin said. "The way I treat Pan. The way I treat pretty much everybody. I hate that the more I grow, the more and more I become the bad guy. I'm afraid of waking up one day and being like Omar, cold and ruthless."

"Omar is cool," Nate shrugged.

"Yes," Justin said. "But I don't wanna have to be that cool. I don't want to have to be that tough. I just want a normal life, you know? I like relying on people and having friends. But you're the only person I can really talk to about everything, because I can't talk to anybody else. I wanna be good. That's what my dream was about."

"Okay," Nate nodded.

"And yours?"

"The opposite," he replied. "I'm afraid of Team Deception itself. I'm so much more afraid of our bosses, of Omar and Helms, than anyone we've ever fought. You remember Dr. Mondo?"

"How could I forget Dr. Mondo?"

"I still have nightmares about that fucking maniac," Nate said. "Justin, I never signed up to do this for my whole life. No one told me there was a lifelong commitment, but here I am afraid to leave. Afraid for my life. You heard what Omar said to Tag. They're worried about word spreading, and we know so much more about Team Deception than Tag does."

"What do you suggest?"

"We talk to Tag," Nate said. "Omar offered him a position in our Unit, and maybe we can use that."

"What do you mean use it?"

"I mean I think we should start to seriously consider bringing down the organization from the inside. It's the only way I'll be able to get out without being hunted down, and it's the only way you'll get to be the hero you apparently wanna be."

It was about then the two got to the Pokemon Center and found Tag. "Tag!" Nate got the man's attention. "We got some stuff to discuss."

Tag looked up to face the two as they entered, nodding to them in greeting. "Go ahead."

Nate looked to Justin to speak. Of the two, Nate was likely the smarter, more strategic, but Justin had developed more of a rapport with Tag, though whether or not it was positive was still up in the air. Either way, they figured he was the better one to talk to him. Justin nodded and spoke. "Nate and I want to bring down Team Deception. We want your help."

A curious look crossed Tag's face, and he slowly crossed his arms in a subconsciously Justin-like manner. His first instinct told him that this was a trick. Yet, after what they'd just endured, he couldn't bring himself to believe that. "How exactly do you propose to do that?"

"We don't know," Justin shrugged. "We just agreed on it, so we don't have any plans yet. After, uh, after what happened today, we both kinda realized that it's tearing us apart, but we can't just leave."

"Don't take his offer, by the way," Nate said. "About joining. Don't do it. Just in case."

"Fair." Tag nodded. He hadn't exactly expected them to have a plan on such short notice. "I didn't intend to take the offer." A grim look crossed his face for a moment; he wasn't sure what he had to gain by taking on Team Deception, of which he knew very little about. On the opposite end, he potentially had a lot to lose. But, Justin and Nate were, in the end, basically his only friends in Furoh. The least he could do now was help them out in their attempt to get out of their lives of crime. "Fine. We're allies. Officially."

[Kamaitachi]

One task remained.

A large lump formed up in Tag's throat; he wasn't looking forward to asking his pokemon the next question.

Turning from Justin and Nate, he drew out all six of his pokeballs and dropped them onto the floor. An overwhelming radiance briefly lit the room, causing the few clients in the Pokemon Center to look over.

Arranged in a neat semi-circle, Tag's active roster of six pokemon appeared, facing him curiously.

"Suzu, Bachi, Kyoko, Tobi, Orin, and Zuki." He cast a sad stare over them, meeting each of their eyes in turn. The team watched him, and their breaths held quick as he spoke:

"Do you want your freedom?"

A deathly silence filled the pokemon center. Such a move seemed unprecedented, though no one knew the conditions of Darkrai releasing the trainers from the nightmare world. All six of Tag's pokemon, in stunned silence, simply stood there, awkwardly.

Suzu, naturally, was the first to finally act. She buzzed forward, wrapping herself in a hug, with her face in Tag's chest. A look of great relief crossed Tag's face as he returned the hug. Suzu had been his most valuable friend and partner for the longest time. Her birth had been a symbol of his rebirth, and he couldn't have standed to lose her now.

Bachi trundled forward too, spurred on by Suzu's action. Even despite his greater size, he stooped down to nuzzle at Tag's hand, an action he'd done since he was a Nidoran. A second relief crossed Tag's face. His old friends would stay.

Bold Kyoko wasted no time in following. As Suzu removed herself from Tag's grasp, she jumped up into his arms in her stead. The Bellossom smiled happily up at him, nestled in his arms like when she was an Oddish. Tag had adopted her after her abandonment back in Petropolis; she wasn't going to abandon him in turn.

Tobi trotted forward, yawning boredly and settling down at Tag's feet. Tag eyed the little earring that Tobi wore, and had not removed. Neither had wanted it, as it had once been an identification tag on the black market. Tag had risked a lot to save the Vulpix, and Tobi was not backing out now.

Tag looked to the remaining two pokemon before him. Orin and Zuki. Orin had been captured in the wild deep in Mt. Carello, and Zuki had been caught almost on a whim at Starfall Field. These two pokemon were the first pokemon in Furoh that Tag had not rescued, and he was anxious to see their responses.

Orin slowly floated over, placing her sleeved hand on his shoulder. It seemed that she was not a loner by trade, and needed the company of others to flourish. Only in Tag's care had she grown from the timid little Snorunt into a beautiful and powerful Froslass. She also didn't have anywhere to go.

Lastly, Zuki remained in place. Five pokemon before him had approached Tag and confirmed their loyalty. He looked between all five of them, meeting Tobi's pleading face. The Vulpix usually seemed bored with everything, but the two had bonded during Zuki's tenure.

However, with a soft bark, the Poochyena turned and moved towards the door of the pokemon center. Tag had caught him while running around in Starfall Field, and all he had done since then was get hurt. He'd seen Tag command the other pokemon with great aplomb and skill, while Zuki had been beaten repeatedly and repeatedly. His win against Justin's Sudowoodo had been his first real win, and he was tired of battling already.

"Zuki." Tag blinked away the tears welling up in his eyes. After a moment of that, his usual, stoic face returned. "Take care."

The Bite Pokemon nodded to the team and trotted out the door into the streets of Gigarte, not looking back a second time. Tobi, at Tag's feet, let out a sad, strangled noise, but didn't move to go after him.

Reaching down, Tag picked up Zuki's pokeball, and in one motion, popped it open, and snapped it in two. Moving over to the computer, aware that all eyes were on him, he returned the five to their pokeballs and began tapping away.

Within moments, Zuki had been removed from Tag's pokemon registry. Placing pokeballs for Orin and Tobi on the machine, they disappeared in a flash of light, with three balls returning in their place.

Without waiting, and greatly fearing the outcome, Tag summoned his remaining three pokemon, taken from their second home in Johto at the Elm Lab.

Tonbo the Slowpoke, Kana the Spinda and Uchi the Nosepass appeared now in the Pokemon Center, all looking at him in the same way that the first six had.

"Do you want your freedom?"

Uchi immediately slid over to Tag, grabbing on to his leg. The tattooed man seemed a bit confused by this, as he'd just captured her recently. But, the nosepass seemed to have taken a liking to him immediately, and her eyes smiled up at him happily.

Kana stood with her eternally confused look on her face, then tottered forward, hopping up onto Uchi's head and holding out her arms at Tag. Tag scooped her up, also confused, as the two girls had been caught in an attempt to rescue Tag's pokemon. Perhaps they'd sensed that this was a trainer who would spare no expense at saving them? Perhaps this was a trainer they could really get behind. Tag squeezed the Spinda in one arm, kneeling down to hug the Nosepass as well. He resolved to get better acquainted with his two new friends here.

Tonbo slowly moved forward, his ever-blank stare meeting Tag's.

"Poke." he said, simply. Standing in place and staring at his trainer, Tag finally took that to mean that he wasn't leaving. Still a bit rattled at Zuki's departure, Tag reached out and pulled in the Slow Pokemon as well, hugging the three close. He didn't blame Zuki for choosing freedom, but he was surprised that the other three had gone along with it so easily.

Not saying a word to Justin or Nate, Tag simply sat there in the pokemon center, holding his three pokemon, whispering 'thank yous' to them as he did.

Tag released Zuki

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

WHAT THE FUCK KAMAI YOU TOTALLY ROCKED MY WORLD JUST NOW.

Justin and Nate watched the scene along with the rest of the crowd at the pokemon center, holding their breath. Of course, the big surprise of the day was that Zuki had opted to leave. He didn't even give Tag the opportunity to take him back to his home. He just left, as soon as he got the opportunity.

Then, Tag stood, embracing his remaining pokemon, filled with emotion. Justin and Nate looked at each other for a moment and nodded. Tag did it. They did make a promise. They had to do it too.

But it seemed tacky to do it in the same building while Tag was still embracing his pokemon. So, just as Justin was about to begin calling out his pokemon, Nate touched him on the shoulder and just shook his head, then nodded it towards the exit. It took a second, but Justin got the gist.

They left and each called out their pokemon. Hitmontop, Ninjask, Sudowoodo, Pinsir, Octillery and Shedinja, in that order, were called in front of him. He looked at them, sadness on his face. He couldn't get the image of Zuki walking out on Tag, and Tag's subsequent face. Every single one of these pokemon had served him in the dream world, and they were all mistreated by him during the final sequence. He gulped and began.

"I'm sorry," he said. "For what I put you guys through. That fight against Tag, when I pushed you further than I should have. It was wrong of me. And I'm sorry. I made a pr-" He was going to tell them about his promise to Darkrai, that he had to give them the option to leave, but after some thought, it felt like a cop-out. "I don't have a good excuse for that. It was the dream world, it made me mad. Something in me changed, but I don't know well enough what it was to make an excuse out of it. So, I'm offering all of you a choice. All of you suffered because of me, and so here it is. You may leave. If you do this, I will take you back to your home where I caught you, and release you.

"I'm not saying this because I want any of you to leave. Pinsir, I-" He looked at his Pinsir, still that bright purple color from the dream world. "I'll admit that I hated you for some time. But I now realize that it wasn't you I hated. You're different." It was true. Not only the color of Pinsir stayed, but his entire demeanor. He was calm, looking at Justin with less anger and more concern. His shadow form had been revoked. "Anyway, I want you to stay. I want all of you to stay. But if you want to leave, I'm giving you an out. Feel free to think on it."

He stood in front of his pokemon. Hitmontop, perhaps the most mistreated of his pokemon in the recent battle, was the first to step forward. It was a bit too serious of a moment for him to be spinning happily on his head, so he walked awkwardly towards Justin. He wasn't too great on his feet, but Justin appreciated the added effort. Almost immediately after, Ninjask and Pinsir stood forward. They didn't waste time. Sudowoodo was next, waddling lazily over.

Next, Shedinja and Octillery looked at each other. Justin really wanted Octillery to stay with him, as he was one of his strongest pokemon, but he wouldn't blame him for leaving. The eight legged pokemon looked at each of Justin's pokemon, and then glanced at Justin himself. He did a sort of shrug and pulled himself forward to join the team, which left Shedinja, who floated for a moment. It looked over at Nate, oddly enough.

Nate's pokemon had all joined his side. Ninja, Da Bomb and Pinch all joined him immediately. Whip, whose Espeon evolution had remained and Ursaring (who had evolved as well) joined him as well soon after. Shedinja saw this and decided to join Justin as well. Why this was the case, Justin wasn't clear, but he wasn't going to complain. He just smiled and got down on both knees to be closer to his shorter pokemon. "Thank you," he said. "For staying with me. I won't let you down."

He called them back into their pokeballs and looked to Nate, who had done the same. "Congratulations," Justin said.

"Thanks," Nate replied. "You too. What happened with Shedinja?"

"No idea," Justin shrugged. "It seemed to care about you, though."

"Well," Nate shrugged. "I'm a lovable idiot."

"Something like that," Justin smiled. "We should get back inside."

"Tag's probably going through a rough time," Nate said.

"Yeah," Justin nodded. "Hey, real quick."

"What's up?"

"I meant what I said. After the fight?"

"Hm?"

"You're my best friend, Nate," Justin said. "I didn't like you when we first met, but I'm really glad it worked out the way it did. I hope that whatever happens, we can still hang out and stuff."

"Yeah, but," Nate said. "What about the other thing?"

"What other thing?"

"You said something else," Nate said. "Something pretty specific."

"I'm not-"

Nate raised an eyebrow and let loose a slight smile.

"Okay," Justin said. "Fuck you."

"Nope," Nate shook his head. "I believe the exact words you used were 'I love you guys' about me and Hitmontop."

"At least I didn't make it all gay,"

"You made it pretty gay," Nate shrugged. "But who am I to judge? You have a girlfriend, after all. Don't you?"

"Maybe," Justin shrugged, opening the door to the Pokemon center. "I'm gonna take a nap before we do whatever it is we do next." He could only hope that his sleep was entirely dreamless.